Prologue

"You guys ready?" Jc yelled from the garage. Joey came walking in with Chris laughing and clutching his sides, shortly behind. "Oh my gosh, Jc. You gotta hear this joke," Chris choked out through his laughter. They both climbed in the Jeep as Jc stared at them from the driver's side. Joey look at him from the passenger side and said in an annoyed tone, "Its not THAT funny."

"You are such a liar!" Chris yelled as he leaned in from the back seat. Jc started the car and turned it around. "Tell it to me then and I guess I'll be the judge," he said as he drove down the driveway of the WEG complex. He pulled onto the street and drove downtown. "Turn on your lights dude," Chris said. "I want you to live to hear the joke." "Oh," Jc said as he reached over a clicked on his headlights. "With the street lights, I didn't even realize they weren't on."

"Tell him the joke Joey," Chris whined.

"Fine! I'll tell him," Joey said. He turned to Jc and retold the joke for the thousandth time that day. "Why do Irish people only put 339 beans in their soup?"

"I don't know. Why?" Jc played along. He heard Chris smother his giggles as Joey finished the joke. "Because if you add one more it would be 2-farty!" Joey finished. Chris busted out laughing and almost fell into the floor board. "That is kinda funny," Jc laughed, "in a corny kinda way."

"Awww...you guys have no sense of humor," Chris proclaimed. "So where are we going? There's like a thousand coffee places downtown."

"This one's my favorite though," Jc said as he pulled into the parking lot of the Coffee Crib. The sign in the front of the parking lot read "KAROKEE NIGHT" in big neon letters. "Turn around, turn around," Joey whispered to Jc.

"KAROKEE NIGHT!" Chris yelled as he bounced in his seat. "Too late," Jc said.

"You dig your own grave," Joey stated as they got out of the car. Chris practically ran into the cafe leaving Jc and Joey in the parking lot. "Do you have the list of what everyone wanted? I forgot," Jc said to Joey.

"Yep, it's in my pocket," Joey said as they entered the cafe. They looked around and finally spotted Chris sitting at a table in the back laughing at a man singing Bob Segar.

"Chris we're just gonna get what we need and get out of here, remember?" Jc stated firmly as if talking to a five year old. "Awww...come on! It's karaoke night!" Chris whined. People around started to stare as he threw his temper tantrum.

"No way! I'm not singing Sheryl Crow with you again Chris," Joey stated as he sat down beside Chris. That's when Jc knew he had lost the battle and sat down in the last empty chair at the table. "Fine, we'll watch a couple of acts and then we'll leave," Jc said.

"Yes mommy," Chris said in an innocent tone. They all laughed as the man on stage finished his (to put it nicely) horrible rendition of the Bob Segar song and walked off stage. Another man came on and tapped the microphone. After it had finished ringing he said, "Sorry about that folks. I know you guys came to sing, but we'll have to take a break and let our paid performers do their job. We'll have a small break then our very own Miss Anna Mitchell will perform for you."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Once the noise quieted down a waitress approached the back table. "Hello guys. My name is Carol. I'll be your sever. What can I get you guys?" Joey reached into his pocket and pulled out the list of items everyone at the WEG complex had requested. "Just get us these," he stated as he handed the list the her.

"No problem," she said as she turned and walked behind the counter. Jc turned to say something to Joey about the way he had ordered his items when he heard someone speak through the microphone.

"So how's everyone tonight?" Everyone clapped and cheered as the young girl pushed a strand of strawberry blonde hair out of her face. "Yeah me too," she said. When the crowd finished laughing at her attempt at a joke, she adjusted the guitar strap on her shoulder and said, "This is one of my favorite songs. It was originally recorded by REM and I hope I don't butcher it too bad. It's called 'Losing My Religion'."

She let the melody flow from her head through to the guitar as the played the short intro to the song. She captured the entire crowds attention, especially three guys sitting in the back, after the first words of the song left her mouth.

Jc, Joey, and Chris stared in amazement as she sang. She sent chills down their spines with every word that came out of her mouth.

As she finished her song, the crowd erupted in cheers. No one had ever heard a performer sing that well since the cafe had opened. Jc, Chris, and Joey were all on their feet. As they sat back down. Anna Mitchell stood and took her bows. She exited the stage as the next karaoke act walked on.

"Man she was good," Jc said as the waitress walked back up with their orders in a to-go tray.

"There you go. Here's your check, pay at the front and you guys drive safe," she said. Joey look up in confusion. "But I didn't tell you that our orders were to-go." The waitress turned and smiled innocently at Joey. "I get more lists than you think," she said. She turned and walked back behind the counter.

"Ok Chris, we saw a couple of acts," Jc said.
"Well no one could beat her anyways," Chris said as he stood and pushed his chair in. Joey and Jc did the same and walked to the counter. After they had paid and drove back to the WEG complex, it was around 8:30. They walked into the bowling room and set the cups down on the table. Justin, Lance, and Britney were bowling when Jc yelled, Get it while it's hot!"

They all turned around and walked to the table. After they had distributed their orders, they went back to their game of bowling and Chris went on about the cafe. "She was really good man. You should have been there. She even made the drunks shut up."

Everyone laughed shortly at his joke and Lance put in, Was it because she could sing or because she was hot?"
"It's a toss-up. She was both," Joey said as he sipped his coffee.
"What about you Jc? There rambling their asses off this chick and you don't have anything to say? You did SEE her didn't you?" Britney asked. "Duh! Yeah I saw her and what they're saying is nothing but the truth. She was gorgeous and had the voice of an Angel. She put REM to shame."

"Amen to that," Chris said.

"Hey we're finished with this game. You guys wanna get in on the next one?" Justin asked.

"Sure," Chris and Joey said in unison and they set their cups down and stood up from the table. They grabbed shoes from the rack and slid them on.

"What about you?" Lance said as he turned to Jc.

"Nah I think I'll just watch you guys."

As they started their next game of bowling, Jc's mind wandered. After the 5th frame, Britney noticed Jc's scrupled look and walked over to the table.

"What are you wasting precious brain cells over?" she asked.

"Nothing," Jc said without looking up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Britney went back to the game and Jc went back to his thoughts. After a few moments Jc whispered to himself, "Amy Michaels....Ashley Michaels......Amy Mitchell.....god what was her name?"

Chapter 1

As she sat on the cold, hard concrete, she let the music take control of her. She let the lyrics and the words flow out of her like an open book. People walked by and threw money into her guitar case, which someone had opened without her realizing it. She wasn't there. She was in a place much more peaceful than the real world that most people dreamed about, but never found. She was at peace with herself and the world around her as she sang.

She finished the final chord on her guitar as the crowd around her clapped. More money was thrown into her guitar case. Maybe it was because the peace she had had transferred to them for a few seconds. Maybe it was because her words truly came from the heart. She smiled as she remembered, and quietly reminded herself, why she was still living. The peace that music gave her was something she liked to share with as many people as she could, even if they didn't listen...


Chapter 2

"No..."
"Yes..."
"NO..."
"YES..."
"NO!"
"YES!"

Justin and JC's voices nearly echoed in the back of the security SUV as Lonnie drove them to the radio station for an interview. "Why can't you guys just compromise and agree to do your own thing for one night," Lance added. Everyone in the SUV knew about Justin and JC's tradition. Whenever they were away from home for long periods of time, they always spent the first day of their return to Orlando together. It was a silly, yet sentimental tradition they had carried on since the Mickey Mouse Club.

"Come on man! It's just one concert and it won't take long. You know it's a good show," Justin whined.

"Yeah I know because I've already seen it twice. I'm canceling my plans with Bobbee. Why can't you cancel yours with Britney?" JC retorted. He was writing his own will by canceling his plans with his girlfriend, Bobbee. He knew she wouldn't be happy, to say the least.

"Because I really wanna go to her concert! It's not often that our tours cross paths. So come hell or high water I'm going..."
"Ok, ok...how about we compromise? You go to the concert and I will go out with Bobbee. After you get done we'll meet up at my place and hang out for a while. Sound fair?"
"Fair enough."
"Ok...about what time should I expect you at the house?"
"Well the concert starts at 6:30," Justin said as he scratched his head in thought. "I would guess around 8:30, give or take a few minutes."
"See now! Was that so hard," Joey said as he slipped off his head phones. He had had his music up as loud as it would go and still heard their bickering. Lonnie looked at them in the rear-view mirror and said, Its Britney and Bobbee. Things are never simple."
"I'm going to ignore that comment Lonnie because your my friend," Justin said, but you know how badly I can kick your butt right?"

Everyone nearly fell into the floorboard in laughter, as Lonnie pulled up to the radio station. Lonnie was nearly twice Justin size and Justin was the most muscular member of the group. They climbed out of the SUV clutching their sides. As they walked into the building, Chris added, You couldn't beat him if someone gave you a shotgun and the first punch."
This made everyone, even Justin, laugh even harder. They made quite a scene as they stumbled into the building and made their way to the on-air booth.

"There you are! It's about time you got here sweetheart!"

Bobbee ran into Jc's arms as he cringed slightly. He couldn't stand pet names, but tolerated them because she used them so often. 'Here goes nothing.' He thought it would be best just to blurt out the bad news instead of beat around the bush. He pulled himself out of her death grip and looked into her eyes. "I promised Justin we would meet up with him after he and Britney got done at her concert."

He got just the reaction he thought he would. She pulled away from him and threw her hands into the air in frustration. "Why? I thought this was supposed to be just us. You and me. No interviews, cameras...or band mates."

"You know about me and Justin's tradition! You have never had a problem with it before."

"That's because it never interfered with our plans. Are you saying you would rather spend time with him and Britney than me?" She threw her fingers through her brown hair as Jc looked at her accusingly.

"You know that's not what I'm saying."

"Well then what exactly are you saying??"

Their voices grew louder and made heads turn as they continued to argue. 'This is going nowhere' Jc thought to himself. Then as he looked around, he noticed all the people staring at them. He was suddenly nervous for some reason, and not to mention, very angry. Then Bobbee interjected, Who do you care more about? Me or your friends?"

Jc leaned and almost whispered when he spoke. He was afraid if he didn't, Justin would have heard him over all the screaming fans at Britney's concert because would have yelled so loud at her. "I'm not going to be put in the position to choose between you and my friends. You won't do that to me. I won't be put that position. So when you get finished pitching your temper tantrum give me a call."

He turned around and stomped out of the hotel. Bobbee stood in her place for several seconds until she finally turned around and walked to the elevator that took her back to her room. After fighting his way out of the revolving glass doors, Jc started walking endlessly down the dark streets of uptown Orlando.

Chapter 3

He didn't feel the slight breeze. Jc was still burning with anger as walked down the streets of Orlando. He looked down at his watch, which read 6:00. "What am I supposed to do for two and a half hours?" he said out loud. While he figured this out, he walked endlessly down the sidewalks.

He passed restaurants, novelty shops, music stores, and just about every other kind of store you could imagine. He saw a young girl with a guitar at her side pulling her jacket on over her and for the first time, he noticed the breeze and shivered. When he came upon the Coffee Crib, a few paces later, he dug in his pockets and realized all he had was a few cents in change. Having left his wallet at his house, he didn't have a credit card to charge any coffee with.

"This just isn't my night," he said out loud and continued to walk until he heard something that made him shiver again. It was a beautiful voice that sent a chill down his spine. He turned to see the young girl playing her guitar and singing as if she was the only person on that street to be heard. She was performing for her most faithful audience of all; her heart.

Jc slowly walked towards her and noticed she had her eyes closed as she sang. She didn't care about the world around her. She let the music take her away. He leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting down right beside her. Her voice was peaceful and breathe taking. He calmed himself down and she warmed his heart as she sang.

She slowly opened her eyes as she finished the final chord on her guitar. She saw JC sitting there with his eyes closed and smiled to herself. She turned and faced him. That song never does sound right without a piano, but its still one of my favorite songs.

JC snapped back into reality and opened his eyes. He turned to face her and found her blue eyes staring deep into his. There was something about her eyes he just couldnt read. They were almost...empty. As if she felt no emotion at all. He realized he was staring and finally said, Sarah McLachlan?

Yeah, I dont know though. Maybe I like it because it was one of the first songs I ever learned how to play. Theres something in the message in the lyrics I like though. She looked up at the sky as she spoke. After a very brief moment of silence said with a laugh, I gotta tell you though. Ive had crowds and people compliment me on my singing, but Ive never had anyone almost fall asleep while I was singing. Youre a first for me.

I wouldnt say that I was asleep. I like sorting out my thoughts better. Asleep just sounds so unearthy. I have to say though that youre a first for me too.

Hows that? she asked looking down from the sky and back into JCs eyes. There was so much depth in his eyes that she loved the mystery of them. Ive never had someone sing and put me in a trance before. Thats very hard to do. A lot of times the only time that happens to me is when Im writing.

Well, Ive never actually tried to write my own stuff, so I dont really know how relaxing that can be. As she spoke, she put her guitar into the case. She picked it up and slung the strap over her shoulder. As she stood up she said, Listen, I have to walk somewhere. You welcome to come with me if you want. I could use the company. JC stood up, took her guitar case out of her hands, slung it over his shoulder. I would love to, he said with a smile.

After walking about a mile down the deserted sidewalks, Jc looked down at his watch. "7:00," he groaned to himself. "Huh?" she said as she continued walking endlessly down the street. "Nothing," he said as he kept walking.

They had walked the whole distance in silence. Jc couldn't stand it anymore. "How long have you been playing?"

"Since I was about 11," she said as she looked over at him, but continued her journey. "I can play guitar and bass. When I get enough money, I wanna take some lessons and learn how to play piano." Jc laughed quietly to himself and said, "I can play the piano, I just can't play the guitar."

"Well isn't it a small world! Here we are." She stopped walking at an ally and looked down it for a few seconds. After leaning into the ally to get a better view she said, "She's there. Good." She turned to Jc. "Listen, it's best if you stay here. I some dues I have to pay. I'll be back in a few seconds."

Confused, Jc watched her as she ran down the alley and bent over behind a trash can. It was then that Jc realized that there was some laying on the ground behind the trash can. She started rambling in what sounded like Spanish as the woman on the ground slowly sat up. She reached in her pocket and handed the woman an envelope. The woman said something just as they shared a very heart warming embrace. She stood up and muttered something else in spanish as she waved good-bye to the woman. She turned and walked back to where Jc was standing with her hands in her back pockets.

"Sorry about that," she said as her eyes met Jc's once more. She wiped a strand of her blonde hair out of her face as a thought hit Jc like a brick. Soon after, he formed a plan. "Listen, I'm supposed to meet up with a couple of my friends in an hour and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to my house and..."

"Woh! Woh! Wait a minute...just because you find me on the sidewalk doesn't mean I'm going to..." She stopped in mid sentence to watch Jc double over in laughter. 'God he's cute when he laughs...'

"Let me rephrase that," Jc said as he controlled his laughter. "I'm have a get
together with a couple of my friends and I was wondering if you wanted to come?" She looked at Jc as if trying to see if he was telling the truth. She stared deep into his eyes to try and find her answer. He eyes were deep and showed lots of wisdom, but they also showed a friendliness she couldn't explain. She knew he would never hurt her.

"Ok...I'll go," she said. He smiled and his eyes almost glowed in the darkness.
'Get a hold of yourself...'

Jc held out his hand, and introduced himself. She took his hand and shook it just as he said quitely, "I'm Jc."

"I'm Anna. It's very good to meet you."

Bobbee paced her hotel room and thought about her and Jc's argument. "Ok," she said out loud to herself. "Maybe you were being a little selfish, but I mean come on! You haven't seen the guy in two months and he wants you to hang out with his friends. You deserve better than that Bobbee. You know you do." She plopped down on her bed and buried her hands in her face. She sighed loudly and ran her fingers through her hair. "Then why do I feel like such a heal?" She looked at the clock, which read 7:30. She stood up and grabbed her coat and her keys. "I have to go and talk to him." She walked out of her room not knowing what to expect when she got to Jc's house.

Chapter 4

After the long walk back to Jc's car, which was parked in the hotel parking lot, they were both pretty tired. Jc had a lot of questions running through his head, but he felt like he didn't know her well enough to ask her these questions. They climbed into his Jeep and after a few minutes of fighting the traffic, they were driving down the backroads that lead to Jc's house. There entire car ride had been in silence, yet neither of them were doing all that much complaining. They were both deep in thought.

'Am I going insane? I just met this guy an hour ago. I'm in his car and I'm going to his house? It's official...somebody take me to a mental institute...'

"How many people are going to be there when we get there?"

"Oh it'll just be us when we get there," Jc said, taking his eyes off of the road for a few seconds to glance at her. "My best friend and his girlfriend are coming over in about an hour."

'Oh that's great....alone in a house with this incredibally gorgeous guy that is incredibly sweet and......and why is this a bad thing Anna?'

"I've known this guy since I was a kid," Jc said.

"How'd you two meet?" Anna asked curiously. Jc clammed up. He didn't want to tell her the truth. 'Oh god, what do I say? Umm...we met when we were child prodigies in the Mickey Mouse Club?'

"I guess that wasn't the right question," Anna said as she looked out of her window. "No, no," Jc said,".....let's just say that it was fate. We've been best friends since the day we met and it was fate that we met in the first place."

"Oh ok..."

"What about you? Was that old lady back in the alley one of your friends or is it just a buisness thing?"

"Ummmm.......she's kinda both. I help her out when she's needs help and she does the same for me."

"What do you mean? You mean......money?"

"Ummmm.......yeah. Money."

'There's something she's not telling me. Well Jc you can't say anything because she doesn't know who you are.' "Here we are," Jc said as he pulled into his driveway. Anna sat with her mouth open as she stared at his house. It was a big, two story, white brick house. The gardens all around the front of the house seemed to add on to the houses beauty. Jc stopped the car and pulled the key out of the ignition. He opened his door, but noticed she wasn't moving. "Uh....we're here," he said trying to catch her attention.

She shook her head, slightly embarassed, and reached into the back seat to get her guitar. "You don't mind if I bring this inside do you?" "Not at all. Maybe we can jam later....."

"Excuxe me?"

'Oh shit! Way to go Jc, you just blew your cover.....' "Uhhhh....nothing. Just....nevermind." He shut his car to leave Anna sitting in the passenger side.

'He may be cute, but he is one wierd guy...'
She got out of the car and slung the guitar over her shoulder. She followed the Jc to the house, where he was waiting with the door open. "After you, madam," JC said holding the door open for her. "Why thank you my kind man," Anna replied stepping into the house. Just as Jc was stepping into the house, he heard a car peel out close by. He looked outside, and after not seeing anything, he shrugged and shut the door.

The house was even more beautiful on the inside than it was on the outside. The huge foyer alone took her breath away. "Are you ok?" Jc asked. His hand brushed her shoulder as he took her guitar, causing her to shiver. He sent an electric volt through her entire body that made her jump slightly. "Don't be so jumpy! I told you we're just hanging out with some friends."

"I know, but I just don't normally do this kind of thing."

"Well, I'm special then," Jc said as he started to walk down the hallway. "Come on." Anna followed Jc into a huge kitchen with a set of glass doors that lead to a porch that overlooked the pool in the back yard. "Can I get you anything?" Jc asked as he set her guitar on one of the stools by the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Do you have any orange soda? I'm a freak for that stuff," she said as she sat down at the stool next to her guitar.

Jc opened the refrigerator and revealed a stash of canned orange sodas. "It just so happens that one of my friends is the same way. Here." He handed her a can and grabbed a coke for himself. "My friends should be here in a few," he said as he sat down beside her. She took a sip from her soda and pointed outside. "Do you have a lot of pool parties?"

"Nah...I'm never here." 'GOD JC! Smack yourself or just tell her!'

"God, if this was my house I would never leave. It's gorgeous."

Jc stood up and took her hand. "Let me show you something," he said as he dragged her off of the bar stool. She set her can on the bar and let him lead her down the hall. She couldn't take her eyes off their hands. It just felt so right. He dragged her down the hallway and opened a door to reveal a room that had several instruments in it. Eletric guitars, acoustic guitars, a drum set, a keyboard, an electric drum set, you name it, it was in there.

"Oh my gosh!" She ran over to the electric guitar and examined it from a closer angle. "It's gorgeous." She picked it up and turned it in her hands. "That's a Fender. It's really nice. That's not really what I wanted you to see though," Jc said with a laugh as he took the guitar out of her hands and gently put it back on it's stand. "Close your eyes," he said as he took her hand again. He led her to another door in the room and opened it. He clicked the lights on and said, "Ok, open."

She opened her eyes and cried with excitement. In front of her was a huge white grand piano that nearly took all the space in the small room. She walked over to it and sat down on the chair and ran her fingers across the keys. "I've never seen one more beautiful!" Jc sat down beside her and put his hands on the keys. "It's an antique," he said as he started to play a melody off the top off his head.

It was a pretty song that Anna didn't recognize. Jc had played "This I Promise
You" so many times he had memorized the melody. "It's something a friend of mine wrote," he said as he watched her eyes following his fingers. "It's very pretty," she said. He stopped playing and looked at her. "Why don't you try?"

"Oh I told you, I don't know how."

"Well, you have to learn sometime."

"I just don't know if I can," she said shaking her head. Just then, they heard a feint yell coming from somewhere in the house. "We have arrived-d-id," Justin yelled, quoting the movie "The Pest".

"Saved by the yell," Jc laughed as he stood up from the piano. "Come on, I want you to meet somebody."

He stood and walked to the door and waited for her to follow. She sighed and stood up. 'Please don't hurt me Jc.....don't break my heart....'


Chapter 5

"Hey man," Justin said as Jc walked into the foyer. He walked up to Justin and whispered in his ear, "Don't ask any questions. Just be nice and I'll explain later."

"What?" Justin asked with a confused look on his face. He something moving behind Jc and focused his attention on Anna. She was standing in the doorway of the studio. Justin looked at her as if she was some kind of alien, while Britney pushed passed Jc and stuck her hand out. "Hi! I don't think we've met. I'm Britney," she said as Anna took her hand and they exchanged there greetings. "I'm Anna," she said as she let go of Britney's hand.

Justin gave Jc a strange look, which Jc returned as if to say "don't ask". Justin held his hand out to Anna which she shook as had done with Britney. "Anna," she said. "I'm Justin," he said as he let go of her hand. "Jc can we talk for a second," Justin said.

"Sure," Jc said as he led him into the studio. "You guys just go on in the kitchen. We'll be right there." Britney and Anna turned and walked to the kitchen. Once they were out of the foyer, Justin walked into the studio with Jc almost jogging to keep up with him. Once Jc was in the studio, Justin shut the door behind them and turned to Jc.

"Dude, where's Bobbee?" Justin said in a more confused tone than he meant to. "We had a little fight and..." Jc was interrupted by Justin.

"You guys have a fight and in hour you already have another girl in your house!"

"Sit down, shut up, and let me explain," Jc said as he pointed to the couch in the corner. Justin followed his orders and folded his arms once he sat down on the couch. Jc paced the floor in front of him as the words came spilling out. "I had a fight with Bobbee and I just stormed out of the hotel. I don't even remember what the fight was about. I heard somebody singing and it was amazing! I turned around and I saw her! It's her man!"

Justin thought about that for a second, even more confused than before, and finally blurted out, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know the girl that me and Joey and Chris have been telling yall about for the past couple of weeks? The one from the cafe? Well that's her! I just met her on the street! Her name is Anna Mitchell and she is the most talented person I have ever heard, in music, in my life. I mean, God she sent me into a freakin trance! One thing led to another and now I have her at my house and I don't know how it happened and..."

"Woh man, calm down," Justin said as he held out his hands and forced Jc to sit down beside him. "Just see where the night goes. Did you and Bobbee breakup?"

"HECK NO! I said we had a fight I never said we broke up." Jc looked at Justin in shock. "Then what the heck do you have to worry about? You have a girlfriend. You don't have to worry about anything happening between the two of you. Just come on out and hang out with us and we'll see what happens." Justin stood up and patted Jc on the back before leaving him dumbstruck in the studio. Jc sat with his mouth open until he finally muttered to himself. "When did I ever say I liked the girl..."

Justin walked into the kitchen to see Britney and Anna sitting on barstools laughing and talking. He walked up to Britney and wrapped his arms around her. "What haev you girlies been up to while the men where gone?"

"Sure do think a lot of yourself don't you?" Britney said with a laugh.

"You better believe it," Justin said as he leaned in and kissed Britney on the forehead. "For your information," Britney said with a laugh, "we have been talking about JC."

Jc walked into the room and heard this statement. "Oh really," he said as he walk over to the bar and leaned on it with his elbows. "And what was said?"

"That's for us to know and if you're extra nice you might find out," Anna said as she winked at Britney.

"You guys wanna watch a movie?" Justin said.

"Nah," Britney said. "I was thinking you guys might let me and Anna hit the studio for a little while. Do you mind Jc?" The thought of actually having a track done by Anna was enough for him to jump up and down. "Sure, I guess I don't mind."

"Thanks Jace," Britney said as she jumped off the bar stool, leaned in and kiss Jc on the cheek. She grabbed Anna's hand as they ran off to the studio. "If this girl is as good as you say she is, then you need to gold plate this demo tape."

"Forget that! I'm gonna send it off. They'll crap when they hear two things. One: her voice. And two: Britney. It's not every day you hear two of the greatest singers in the world on the same demo tape." They walked into the living and plopped down on the couch. Before turning the tv on Justin added, "I couldn't agree with you more."

Chapter 6


Justin and Jc had gotten into watching The Real World marathon that was on MTV. They didn't realize how much time had gone by until they heard the clock that was sitting on the mantle chime. "Damn! It's 11:00 clock already," Justin shouted as he looked at the clock and then stared down the hallway in the direction of the studio. "Just let them be Justin," Jc said as he turned the channel on the tv. Jc got into watching a cops show while Justin started to get impatient.

Justin was looking down the hall and was first to see Anna and Britney imerge from the studio laughing and joking. "What took you guys so long?" Justin asked as Jc looked away from the tv and stared at the noise making duo. "We were just recording," Anna said with a large smile on her face. Jc had never seen her smile before, but it lit her blue eyes until they seemed like the were almost on fire. To see her so happy made him want to jump into the air and dance a jig. Instead he just stood and acted like he was stretching.

"Justin," Britney said when she walked over and grabbed his hand. As she pulled him off of the couch, she whined, "We have to go. I want us to get up early in the morning so we can go to the mall." Justin groaned at the thought of a day in the mall with all the teenyboppers running up to him. Britney immediately caught his sarcasim as they walked to the door. "Oh wear a diquise you party pooper," she said as she whacked him on the arm. They walked out of the door leaving Anna standing in the hallway and Jc standing by the couch in silence.

"Would you mind giving me a tour of your house? I've been here for three hours and the only rooms I've seen are the kitchen and the studio," Anna said trying to break the nervous tention she felt. Jc walked down a hallway that lead deeper into the hosue and started to show her the multiple rooms in his house. The guest room, the bathrooms, the game room, and finally they were back in the den. "I have one more place to show you," Jc said as he took her hand and lead her to the kitchen. "Jc, I've already seen the kitchen," Anna said with a laugh. Jc dragged her further still, until they reached the double glass doors. Jc opened one and lead her outside to the beautiful pool area. They walked outside and sat down on lawn chairs that faced each other. "God Jc, I don't know how you could ever afford to get a place like this. I can't imagine how much it costs. What do you do anyways?"

I give up, I just flat out give up.... Jc thought.

Jc stood up as quickly as he had sat down and tilted his head towards the house. "Come inside, I want to show you something," he said as he started to walk back into the house. Anna ran to catch up with him. They walked down the same hallway Jc had lead her down when he gave her the tour of the house, except he opened the door to a room they hadn't been inside. It looked like another bedroom except Anna instantly noticed the number of plaques on the walls signifying Nsync's platinum records. She had a puzzled look on her face as she went up to one and examined it closer.

"What are these?" Anna said as she read the small type in the platinum plaque for their debut album. Jc walked to her side and examined the puzzled look on her face. He figured she would know when she saw the name. "You know the group Nsync?" he said making his best attempt to look at her, but ended up looking at the floor. "No, why?" she asked, still examining the plaque. Jc's head shot up from his feet and he looked at her right in the face. "You've never heard of Nsync?" This came as a major shock to Jc. Most of the time whenever he mentioned the name Nsync he was immediately recognized and had to flee the scene. Anna acted like in was the most normal thing in the world not to know what he was talking about.

"Tearin up my heart, I want you back, Bye Bye Bye? You've never heard any of those songs?"

"Nope. Never heard of 'um. They must be pretty big though to have all these albums." Jc was dumbstruck. He didn't know whether to slap her to get the reaction he wanted or to hug her for not knowing who he has. Instead he just stuttered out, "I...well I....it's getting pretty late. Maybe I should just take you home."

Now it was Anna's turn to get tongue tied. "Ummm......well.......I think I'll just walk," she said as she backed out of the room and walked down the hall into the kitchen. Jc ran after her and once he caught up with her, she noticed he was laughing. "Oh......my......god.......that was a good one. You'll walk," he said as he bent over clutching his side. "Come on, I'll take you home." He picked up her guitar off the bar stool, but she reached out and grabbed it. "I said I'll walk home, but thanks for the offer," she said as she turned and headed down the foyer. Jc, once again, ran to catch up with her and caught her just as she was turning the doorknob.

"You can't be serious? It's five miles until you even get a glimse of a street lamp from here! It'll take you all morning!"

"I'm a big girl. I can manage," she said. She opened the door and then closed it in his face. After a few seconds of staring in shock, he opened it again. I'm not gonna let her slip away.....I spent too long looking for her...

"You know, I don't get you!" Jc shouted as he chased her down the driveway. She didn't look back as she walked a steady pace down the driveway. He caught up with her and stood right in front of her to prevent her from going any further. "First you pay off some woman and won't tell me anything about it. Then you come to my house and spend hours in MY studio with my best friend's girlfriend, Britney Spears. And now when I try to be nice and offer to take you home, you blow me off! I have been nothing..."

"I'M HOMELESS JC! I don't have anywhere for you to take me! If you want to drive me back to the Coffee Crib that's fine! But where the hell would I go from there? Huh JC? I have NOWHERE to go!" As the words came spilling out of her mouth she turned and ran her fingers through her hair in aggrevation. She slowly started to cry with embarrassment. Jc sat in his own silence. How could he not have noticed it before? All the signs pointed to it. He felt like hitting himself. "I.....I'm sorry," he managed to push out.

"Don't be. I've lived with it for 8 years of my life. The last thing I need from you is pity, Jc," she said tear-struck as she tried to move past him. He stepped out in front of her again. "I don't pity you, I admire you."

"Yeah right," she said as she tried to step out, but was blocked again by him. "I do. I have no idea what that would feel like. Not knowing where you're going to be the next day. Never knowing what you're going to do for a meal..."

"I have a job, Jc. I just don't have a house. I pay for what I need. Unfortunately the Coffee Crib doesn't pay part-time artists enough to rent an apartment in this stupid town," she said. "So please Jc, I'm sorry for ruining your evening and blocking up your studio for what it's worth."

"I'm not letting you leave."

"You don't have a choice," Anna said as she tried to get past Jc, but wasn't fast enough. He moved out in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me and listen carefully. I don't care that you are homeless. I wouldn't have cared if you lived in Buckingham Palace! Until five seconds ago I didn't know that you were any different from me and my friends in there. After seeing what talent you have, and getting to know YOU, I can't let you go back to the streets. I have to go out of town tomorrow, but until then I insist that you stay in my guest bedroom." Anna started to cry again, as she choked out the words, "No....Jc. I can't. I don't want you to have me in your house because you pity me...I don't want things to be like that..."

Jc thumped Anna on the head and turned her back towards the house. He guided her back to the house as she rubbed her forehead. "What was that for?" she asked.

"To get it through your thick skull that I'm not doing this because I pity you." They reached Jc's front door and Anna stopped him from pushing her any further to look him straight in the eyes. "Then why are you doing this?" she asked.

Jc looked into her eyes and for the first time, read her emotions. He could see her filled with happiness as he looked at her and said, "Because you deserve better."

"You're kidding right," Justin said to Britney as they pulled into Justin's driveway. "Nope...one hundred percent serious. The girl's got talent. And to think that she so bad off..."

"Why do you think she didn't tell Jc?" Justin said as he put the car in park and took the keys out of the ignition. They both got out of the car and Britney yawned as they walked up the porch steps. "I have no clue. Probably because she didn't want Jc to look at her as the poor homeless musician."

Justin opened the door to hear the phone ringing. Britney ran down the hall as Justin took off his coat and set his keys on the table in the foyer. Britney walked back into the foyer and handed Justin the cordless phone. "Hello?" Justin asked as he walked down the hall and into the den. He plopped down onto the couch as he finally heard Jc speak on the other line.

"Justin? I need you to do me a HUGE favor," Jc said in a hushed voice, as if he didn't want someone to hear. "Man, it's late," Justin whined. "Can it wait til tomorrow?" he asked as he kicked off his shoes.

"Yeah you can do it tomorrow. Just get Britney in on it alright?"

"Ok.....what do you need?"

"I need you to make a few arrangements for me...."

Chapter 7

Anna walk into the kitchen rubbing her eyes. She took a deep breath to take in the aroma and sat down on one of the bar stools. Jc turns around from the stove and laughs. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he said. He turned back to the pancakes on the stove. He gave them one last flip and put them on a plate. He carried the plate over to the bar and set it down in front of her. "Hungry?"

"My Prince Charming," she said as she grabbed a fork. He handed her the butter and syrup as he turned back to the stove and started frying some eggs for his own breakfast. She buttered her pancakes and took a bite. "Thank you," she managed to choke out. "Eat up. You have precisely," he looked at his watch and then added, "two hours to get ready."

"For what?" she grunted through a mouth full of pancakes. "Now that," Jc said after battling with his eggs in the frying pan, "is a suprise."

"Jc....I have to work......so whatever you have planned will have to wait," she said forcing more pancakes in her mouth. Jc laughed slightly as he finally got his eggs on to a plate. He walked over to the bar and sat down beside her. "You need to give me a little bit more credit than that, now," Jc said as he cut his eggs.

"What do you mean by that?" Anna said as she smiled slyly.

"You need to trust me a little bit more than that. Your boss, Lou, is a nice guy, you know..." Anna dropped her fork on her plate and stared accusingly at him. He knew she was looking at him, but he tried not to laugh or look up as he ate. "What did you do?" she said.

"You got the day off," Jc said with a slight smile.

"JC! I have to work! I need the money and..."

"Relax. It's with pay..." Anna stared at him in shock. "How did you manage that?" she asked as she picked up her fork and begin to eat again. "Let's just say, Lou's daughter is a *Nsync fan..."

"You're evil," Anna said with a smile and punched him in the arm.

"The devil himself," he said as he unfolded the newspaper. "Did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she said. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Look in the 'frige. I ain't sure," he said, without looking away from the paper. Anna got up and looked in the refrigerator. After a few minutes of silent debate, her thoughts were intterupted by the doorbell. "I'll get it," Jc said as he jumped off of his bar stool and ran to the foyer.

'He just get's wierder and wierder....'

When he came back into the kitchen, he was right behind Britney, who bounded in and stole Jc's seat. "Hey! You gonna go and get ready?" she said to Anna as Jc moved his plate to the seat beside her.

"I haven't told her about it yet," he said as he stuffed his mouth with food and went back to his newspaper.

"Aww...you left me to suprise her! Thanks Jc!" Britney turned back to Anna and said, " Shopping!"

"What?" Anna said as Britney bounced in her chair.

"I got Justin out of shopping and I want you to go with me!" Anna thought about this and was a little excited. She hadn't been "shopping" since she was ten. Then the word she hated more than anything in the world popped into her mind. Money.

"I'd love to Britney, but I just don't have the money," Anna said in a truly disappointed tone.

"We've got you covered. This is on me and Jc," she said as she pointed at JC.

"How much are we talking about here?" she directed her question more to Jc than to Britney. He looked up from his now empty plate. "Whatever you want, get it. Like she said. It's on us," he said as he stood up and carried his and Anna's plates to the sink. "Oh you guys, I can't..." she started to say.

"No excuses," Britney said. She grabbed Anna's hand and dragged her off of the stool and down the hall. Jc heard Anna whine all the way down the hall, "Not so fast! I just ate..." Jc laughed to himself. The phone rang, so Jc stood up again and walked over to the phone. The caller id read the name of some hotel. Jc immediately recognized it as the hotel Bobbee had been staying at.

'I don't feel like hearing her right now....I'll let the machine get it....' He walked back into the kitchen as the machine clicks on. "Wassup? It's Jc's house alright....I just AIN'T here right now. MAYBE if you leave a message, I'll think about calling you back....depends on my mood." After a long beep, he heard Bobbee's voice and immediately thanked himself for not answering the phone.

"Jc....oh wait.....sorry, I didn't mean to break into your schedule of pimping. I forget your SO busy. Forgive me please...anyways. I'll cut to the chase. It's over JC."

Jc spit his coffee all over the kitchen and coughed as he heard her continue. "I figured you would at least wait a few days before getting any action, but the night we have a fight. Wow. I thought I meant more than that. It's alright though. I don't know who she is, but I hope you two are happy together. I might see you in the future for an interview or something, but until then, see you later Jc..."

Jc stood in the kitchen with his jaw hung open. 'Her?? What the hell is she talking about?' He thought for a few more minutes as it all came together. 'She was watching. She saw Anna come into the house with me last night and must have gotten the wrong idea. God, the car peeling out! Why didn't I realize it before!' Jc sat down on the couch in the living room with his head in his hands. He wasn't so much sad, as he was worried.

"We're gone Jc," he heard Britney yell. "Meet you in at 5:30." He heard the front door open and close. He sat back and picked up the phone. "What's gonna stop me now, huh, Justin?" he said out loud as he dialed his best friend's number to ask him for advice. "Ain't nothing keeping me away now..."

Britney and Anna sat down at a table in the food court to eat their lunch. "Come on, Britney! I figured you would tell me," Anna said after she took a bite from her pizza. Britney took a sip of her coke and set her bags down at her feet. "Well, you ain't gettin nothing! Jc wants this to be a suprise and it will be!" she said as she sat down across from her. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Anna kicked her bags and said, "How am I ever going to pay you and Jc back? This is nice stuff Britney."

"Oh don't worry about it, it ain't like it'll hurt his banking account," she said as she took the final bite of her pizza.

"Back up just a minute....you said HIS banking account. I thought this was from both of you guys," Anna said as she looked through her clothes. She was feeling guilty already and they had only gone to three stores.

"I'm gonna pay him half in cash. Besides, he wants you to look good for tonight," she said with an evil grin. Anna looked up at her with a menacing look. "Listen here Miss teen queen. If you're not gonna tell me, then you just shouldn't say anything." Britney laughed as she examined Anna going through her bags. She looked at her in every aspect and realized what potential she had to be a beauty queen.

"Have you dyed your hair blonde?" she said. Anna looked up and closed all of her bags.

"Yeah. Some drunk at the cafe paid me $100 bucks to. He said I would be a good looking blonde."

"What's your natural color?"

"Well I have brown hair, but it had a little blonde in it."

"Let me give you a make over!" Anna shot Britney a look.

"Come on Brit."

"Listen, do you wanna look good tonight? Just give me complete and total trust and let me do whatever I want and I promise you will be a fox when I get done with you. PLEASE!??!?!?!?!?" After knowing she had already lost the battle, Anna gave in.

"Just don't screw me up alright," she said as she tossed a french fry at her.

"Boy, this is gonna be fun. And trust me...you won't regret it."


Chapter 8

"Come on out, Anna! We have to get going! Jc wanted us....uh....there at 5:30," Britney said as she looked at her watch. She heard Anna laughing from inside the bathroom. "You almost said where we were going! Way to keep a secret, Brit."

"Just shut up and get your cute butt out here," Britney said after she placed her hands on her hips. "I wanna see if all my hard work paid off."

"Alright, alright. But you have to promise not to laugh if it looks bad."

"You won't look bad." From inside the bathroom, Anna sighed as she looked in the mirror. She had to admit, she had never looked like THIS before, but she was afraid that it wasn't going to be a change for the better. She sighed one more time and opened the bathroom door. Britney's jaw dropped to the floor. Anna walked out of the bathroom and twirled in a circle. "So stylist Britney, what do you think of your final results?" Anna said in a kind of worried tone.

"Girl," Britney said shaking her head. "I'm not sure I want you near Justin. He might start looking at you and not at me."

"You really think it looks ok?" Anna said as she stared at herself in the mirror in the hall. Britney grabbed her purse off the couch and they walked to the door. "Of course I mean it! You look really good, Anna."

"Thanks Britney," Anna said as she walked outside into the driveway. Britney locked the door to JC's house and said, quietly, so that Anna couldn't hear. "Jc won't have a doubt in his mind when he sees her."

"Thanks again for coming out, Johnny," Jc said as he shook his friends hand. The rest of the group sat around on the couches. Chris and Joey were playing some nintendo game and Lance and Justin were in conversation with Johnny and JC. Without looking away from the nintendo, Chris added, "So who is she anyways? What makes her so special?"

"I don't think you've heard of her before. She's some cafe singer named Anna Mitchell," Jc said. Joey and Chris dropped their controllers in shock at the mention of that all too familiar name.

"You mean it's...," Joey said, but was interrupted by Justin.

"Yes. It's her. Just act like you don't know her when she and Britney get here. She doesn't know what's going on."

"I hope she's as good as you say she is JC," Johnny said.

"OH trust me. She is," Chris said after picking up his controller again. Jc leaned in towards Justin, while Lance and Johnny went on about something else. Justin took the hint and leaned in closer so that Jc wouldn't be heard. "We need to talk later, ok?" Jc asked. "I tried to call you this morning, but there's wasn't any answer. It's really important."

"Can you not say it now?" Justin asked. He hated suprises and really didn't want to wait for whatever important news he had.

"No, I don't want anyone else to hear. I'll just tell you later."


"Just don't be nervous, ok? It's just Jc and a couple of his and my friends," Britney said as she drove through traffic to a huge arena.

"Where are we Britney?" Anna asked while surveying her surroundings.

"I guess you could say it's 'The Warehouse'." She said she pulled her convertible beetle into the back parking lot in the back of the TD Warehouse Arena, next to the tour buses. They got out of the car and walked up to the back entrance. When Anna saw the large sercurity guards at the door, she drew back a little. "Uhh....Britney?"

"Hey Lonnie! Hey Rob!" Britney said waving at the two guards.

"Hello Miss Britney, and how was your day?" Lonnie asked.

"I'll let you know when it's over. It ain't even started yet," she said as she grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her into the backstage area of the arena. Anna was pulled dumbstruck through half of the arena. They reached a room label the Toy Room and Britney stopped at the door. She turned and checked Anna's hair one more time. Anna leaned back to avoid her and said, "Good gosh Britney! You're more nervous than I am!"

"If you only new," Britney said. "If you only knew."

Jc and Justin saw the door open and both stood up. Justin walked to meet Britney
in a tight embrace. Jc stood and stared. It definetly wasn't the same girl standing with Britney that had spent the night at his house last night.

Anna's once dirty blonde and brown rooted hair was now back to it's natural brown color. It looked like, from far away, that she had subtle red highlights here and there. He looked down at her outfit and his jaw almost dropped. He had never noticed how fit she was. She was wearing a pair of very low cut denim jeans that had self made holes in them and a baby blue halter top that made her eyes almost scream.

He shook his head after he realized he was staring and walked over to her. He hugged her and said in a horse whisper, "You look....you look...."

"Thanks, JC," Anna said as she pulled out of his hug and looked at everyone around her. "Are you gonna introdue me or do I need to do the honors?"

"Oh right," Jc said as he turned to all of his friends. He pointed to each person as he said their names, "Chris, Joey, Lance, and Johnny, this is Anna." Chris's jaw nearly hit the ground as Joey whispered out of the corner of his mouth to him, "That can't be her." Chris just nodded and responded, "We'll see."

JC lead Anna over to the couch and sat her down beside Johnny. He sat down and watched Justin and Britney sit on the floor together. Anna got his attention as she bounced up and down. "So what's goin on? Can you tell me yet?" she asked as Jc slowly began to smile. "As I said before, Anna, this is Johnny Wright, our manager, Jc said as he moved out of the way so that Anna could see Johnny.

"Hi," Johnny said as he held out his hand. Anna took his hand and shook it firmly. "I told him you sang and I told him how good you were. He said he would take a look at you for me," Jc said as thought about getting tape. He really needed something to hold everyone's jaw up as Anna's fell.

"Run that by me one more time," Anna said as she held on to Johnny's hand. Johnny laughed and said, "It means I want you to sing for me." Anna's eyes instantly lit up. "Now? Here? In front of eveyone? I don't have a guitar," Anna said as she finally let go of his hand. Jc walked over to the corner and picked up a guitar. He walked back over to Anna and said, "You're lucky that we have a band."

Anna took the guitar and tuned it to her liking. She strummed the first few chords on her song and then stopped. "Listen I normally sing everyday, and I haven't today. So if I suck..."

"Not possible," JC said with a grin. She smiled at him and went back to the guitar. A few seconds of playing and she stopped. Looking directly at Jc she pointed and said, "I will sooo kill you for this."

"QUIT STALLING AND JUST PLAY," Jc said as he laughed silently. Anna sighed and started to play the song that she played when she met Jc. He immediatley recognized the melody and sat down on the other side of her. She sang and a huge smile came over his face, when he saw Johnny smiling. 'You got it....just keep going...'

She stopped the song short and looked up to see the entire room clapping and some of the guys whistling. Johnny felt like giving her a standing ovation. Anna looked at Jc and saw him smiling and clapping with the rest. Chris leaned towards Joey and through all of the noise said, "Yep. That's her alright." The clapping slowly died down after Anna had turned red in the face. Johnny stood and shook her hand.

"I will definetly see what I can do," he said before turning to Jc and the rest of the guys. "You guys have a good show. You'll be hearing from me Anna."

He stood and walked outside the toy room as Anna bounced in her seat. "What does that mean? Do you think he liked it?"

"If he didn't then I think he's loosing his musical touch and his hearing," Justin said as he stood up from the floor. "Come on you guys we got sound check in a few minutes." Jc stood up with the rest of the guys, then said in an almost planned voice, "I'll be there in a second." After the guys and Britney had left the room, Jc took Anna's hands and started to drag her off of the couch. "Come on, you got to have your suprise." She set the guitar down and let Jc drag her up a flight of steps outside the toy room. 'Could this day get any better?'

He dragged her up a the stairs and down a narrow hallway with doors all around. "Umm.....Jc where........" Before she could finish, Jc opened a door and took her into it. It was a box that overlooked the entire arena. He sat her down on one of the chairs near the glass windows, then knealed down in front of her. "Next time you see me, I'll be down there," Jc said as he pointed to the arena. "Johnny should be up here a few minutes. If things go my way then there's one more suprise under way."

Chapter 9

With that, he stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Anna stared at the door for a few seconds before turning around. She stared out the window and watched as the band on stage warmed up their instruments. They laughed and joked around as Justin and Lance walked out on stage. They started joking around with the other members of the band. Jc was the only absent from the stage. Just then she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she said as she turned around. Johnny walked into the room and sat down in the chair that was right beside her.

"Are you excited?" he asked he watched the guys play around below them.

"About what?" Anna asked without taking her eyes off of Jc as he ran on stage. Johnny laughed at her and said loudly, "Opening for them! I figured you would be excited!" Anna whipped her head in shock and stared at Johnny. The grin vanished from his face when his saw she actually had no idea what he was talking about. "Run that one by me one more time??"

"Did Jc not tell you? I went to work it out with the band. You're going to be Nsync's opening act!" Johnny said with excitement. Anna stared at him opening and closing her mouth. Before her antics drove him insane Johnny spoke up. "Say something. Do something," he said.

"SAY SOMETHING? I didn't even know this was a concert! I didn't know why I was here, I didn't know this was their concert, and now I'm going to be opening for them!!! I don't know whether to run down their and smack the crap out of Jc or kiss him! I just.....oh god. What song will I do?"

"You need to come with me so that you can work that out with the band. Maybe you can do one of your own songs and just play the guitar without the rest of the band." They stood up and began to walk back downstairs. "I think that you should just make it a solo performance, you know? No band or back up. Just get out there with a guitar and a microphone and sing. That's all the audience needs to see." They walked down the stairway and through a hall that led to the stage. When they reached the stage, Anna saw Jc and Justin dancing around like idiots and laughing. She shook her head.

They walked onstage and made everyone turn their heads. Jc walked up to Johnny and although he already knew the answer, he asked, "So...what's the verdict?"

"We'll work her in tonight and see how it goes," Johnny said while he laughed at the hidden grin on Jc's face. Jc smiled and looked at Anna. She pointed to him, and shook her head. "And we need to talk," she demanded, reaching out towards him. She grabbed his shirt and dragged him backstage. To her suprise, he wasn't objecting to her controlling him. She opened the door to the nearest closet and threw him in.

"What?" he said. He tried to play like he wasn't enjoying himself, but he wasn't doing a very good job. She reached out and wrapped her arms around him. She lingered in his arms for a few seconds before pulling away from the embrace to look him in the eyes. "What was that for?" Jc asked.

"I just wanted to thank you in private for everything you've done. I'm not sure why you've done all of this for me, but it's been a blast. I'm actually gonna miss you when you leave," she said. Jc could tell that she truly meant it, which made him smile.

"Well actually I wanted to talk to you about that," he said without looking at her.

"We can talk later! I have to go work with the band," she yelled as she left the closet. Jc sighed and followed her. "She's a handful," he said to himself as he walked down the short hallway. When he reached the stage, he saw her conversing with the band. "No...I've never heard that song. Do you guys know any others?" she said shaking her head. He stopped a few feet behind her to listen to her conversation. "Well why don't you just do a song you wrote? That's probably the best thing to do," the drummer said.

"Maybe because I've never written my own songs before," she said, slightly embarassed. Jc walked up to her and whispered in her ear from behind. "Sarah McLachan." She turned and looked at him as he was backing away from her with a confident grin on his face. "Trust me," he said as he turned and walked over to the other guys who were working with their choreographers.

"I'll tell you what," she said, turning back to the band. "Just get me a guitar and a microphone and I'll be fine. I don't need you guys to play anything for me." The band nodded their heads and went back to tuning their instruments. She turned and watched the group dance.

There was no doubt that they were incredibly talented. Each guy had his own style when he danced and they were fun to watch. She watched Jc as he concentrated on his dance moves. It was to some song she had never heard, more than likely one of theirs, but she liked it. She tried to listen to the words, but the little boom-box wasn't powerful enough to reach her ears from that far away.

After they had gone through a few songs, one of the choreographers that they called Wade told them to file backstage. It was about an hour and half until the opening acts had to go onstage and they had to start letting the fans get into the arena. When they were walking backstage, Anna caught up with Jc and put her arm over his shoulder. "Let's hope you guys sing as well as you dance," she said. He looked over at her and stared into her blue eyes. Ignoring her comment, he said, "Are you nervous?"

"Me? Never," she said with a grin. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and looked back in the direction they were walking. She looked up at him with a grin and thought to herself. 'I don't know what life will throw at me next Jc. But I'm enjoying the ride so far...'

Chapter 10

Anna peeked from behind the curtain and smiled when she saw the huge crowd. Jc laughed at her from behind and hit her playfully on the arm. "Aren't you nervous? I'm mean that is a pretty big crowd," he said as she stared out of the curtain. She closed the curtain and returned his punch on the arm. "The more the merrier. I don't concentrate as hard when there's a big crowd," she said.

A stage manager ran up to them and taped the guitar hanging from Anna's shoulder to get her attention. "You're on in five minutes," he said as he bolted back down the hallway. Anna sighed as she looked back out in the crowd. She had to admit, she was a little nervous. She turned back to Jc and asked, "I'm I going to be announced, or do I just walk out when they tell me too?"

Jc thought about this for a moment. "Good question. I'll be right back," he said as he bolted down the hallway. She stood there alone and waited for him to come back. After a few mintues, the stage manager ran back up to her and said, "Two minutes," before he bolted down the hall again. She started to get jumpy as she looked down the hall. 'Where are you Jc?' She couldn't stand the thought of going onstage without him there. The stage manager yelled from the end of the hall, "One minute!"

'Come on Jc!' She played with the strap on her shoulder in frustration. Just then she saw the lights come on from underneath the curtain and the crowd erupted in ear-shattering screams. She sighed, and got ready to walk on stage. Just then she heard a voice in the speakers all around the stadium. "Hey Orlando! How you feeling?"

Anna smiled to herself as her tention lifted instantly. 'Jc. What else can you do to make my life easier.....'

The voice continued, "Well we have a special guest that's gonna lend us a hand and open the show tonight. I want you guys to give some love to the new coming artist, Anna Mitchell!" Anna broke through the curtain as Jc walked towards her. As they passed each other, Anna yelled over the crowd, "New coming artist?"

"We'll see," he yelled as he walked through the break in the curtain. She walked to the front of the stage and sat on the stool that had been placed there for her. "Hey Orlando, how you feelin?" She heard the crowd erupt in screams. "I'm gonna keep it short so you guys can see the real show! I'm doing song that I heard when I was young, and well....here it is, and I hope you like it."
She opened the song with a few chords on her guitar. She sang into the microphone and didn't hear the crowd instantly hush.

It was twice as easy as an other performance for Anna. There was a short musical break, and then Anna dived back into the song.

There was another musical break in the song. She turned and saw that Jc was still pressed against the curtain, watching her every move. It was comforting to feel him there. She contunied playing her song while she sang into the chorus.

There was a key change and she started to play an all too familiar song that she had known on the guitar. She sang into the microphone with all her heart.