Chapter 01: Just Friends
Orlando, Florida 1994
"Watcha thinkin' about?"
With her back against the softness of the quilt, a barrier between her body and the intricately manicured grass, Leah stared up at the sky, her thoughts getting away from here. "Nothin'." She sighed, turning her head to face JC. They were lying on the quilt supine, head-to-head with their bodies in the opposite direction. Birds and butterflies flew overhead, and the park was alive and buzzing with sounds of kids playing on the nearby playground and high schoolers playing basketball on the court.
"That sigh sure sounded like a whole lot of somethin'." JC clucked. "What's on your mind Lee?"
You. "Just life ya'know?"
"Sounds very existentialist of you." JC teased. "What about life?"
"Is it weird to you? You know that it's all over?" Leah asked.
"Whoa, someone's been listening to a little too much Pearl Jam!"
"No!" Leah exclaimed, reaching her hand back to playfully swat at him. "I mean the show, ya doofus!"
"Oh!" JC laughed, slapping his palm against his forehead. Leah laughed along with him. "That! I mean, it had to come to an end sometime. And we're adults now, you know?"
"Ugh!" Leah gasped. "Please, don't say the A word!"
"What? Adult?"
"Jace!"
"What? We're eighteen now!"
Leah groaned. "I don't even wanna think about it." The thought of her burgeoning adulthood caused thoughts of impending doom and destruction. Thinking back three months ago to their graduation (which just so happened to be broadcast on television), she could've sworn she was the only one sad about graduating. JC, Tony, Rhona, Kerri, and Marc all seemed so excited to not only be graduating from high school, but also from the Mickey Mouse Club. Leah, however, was sad to leave it all behind. No more riding the golf carts around Disney World, no more performing in the studios or filming sketches with her best friends. No more fun, long days on the beach filming for Emerald Cove. No more Mr. Yerger, or Miles Thorogood, or Matt Casella. No more Fred and Terri offering sage advice. No more girl gossip sessions while they sat in the makeup chair in their dressing rooms. It was the end of a beautiful era.
"I mean you kind of have to." JC pointed out.
"Joshua Scott Chasez, always the realist." Leah said sarcastically.
"I'm just being honest." JC said defensively.
"Everything feels pointless now. I mean, where do we all go from here?"
"Well, I'm going to LA to live with Tony and Dale, and you're going to Nashville for college, and we'll call each other every day and write letters, and visit as much as we can." JC answered pragmatically.
"What if I don't go/" Leah suggested. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath waiting for JC's response.
"What if you don't go where?" JC asked, snapping her head, to look at her. "What if you don't go to college?"
Leah nodded. "Yeah."
"You cannot not go to college Lee! You're going to college if I have to drag you there myself!" JC admonished.
"You're not going to college!" Leah pointed out.
JC shrugged. "College isn't for everyone. You're too smart not to go."
"Maybe it isn't for me. And what are you talking about? Are ACT scores were nearly the same!"
"You got a higher score than me." JC countered.
"By one point!" Leah scoffed. "And in math at that, so you know it was a fluke!"
"Hey, we're not talking about me here!" JC deflected. "We're talking about you and what suddenly brought on this thought of you not going to college."
"I made a pro-con list." Leah announced.
JC groaned. "Not another one of those."
"What? You know it's how I make all my decisions."
"Yes, I know."
"Well, the con column is longer than the pros when it comes to college."
"Fine. What are the pros?" JC asked curiously.
"Pros: It's Nashville, so Music City." Leah stated.
"That alone is reason enough."
"It's only two and half hours away from home, and the drive up I-65 is straight shot, so I can see mom and dad whenever I want."
"What more could you ask for?"
"Belmont University has one of the best music programs in the country."
"So there, it's settled. You're going to Belmont end of discussion." JC said definitively.
"Hey! You didn't even hear my cons!"
"What cons could there possibly be?" JC asked. "It's in Nashville, the epicenter of the music industry, everywhere you turn there's a music studio or record label. It's practically a hop, skip and a jump away from Louisville. They have the best music program in all of the country, with like a billion internship and networking opportunities and you have a scholarship! There's absolutely no reason for you not to go!"
Her stomach lurching, Leah knew that JC was right. And she didn't want him to be. She had every reason for going to Belmont University, but there was still some nagging feeling telling her that there was something more out there for her. Everyone else was moving to New York or LA for pilot season or shopping their demos to labels. Why couldn't she do the same. It didn't seem fair that Rhona, Kerri, JC, Tony, and Dale would all be on the West Coast without her. They were her crew. Nikki and Britney had already joined a girl group, so she would be staying in Orlando. Sure, Justin would be nearby in Memphis, but what could she do with a thirteen-year-old boy? An annoying hormonal thirteen-year-old boy who could never look her in the eye. Eww!
"Besides, your parents would kill you if you didn't go to college." JC said.
That was another thing, her parents. She didn't want to disappoint them, but she also couldn't live her life by their expectations just to appease them either. She was never going to be a lawyer like her sister, or a doctor like her brother. She felt like Sandra Huxtable when she told Claire and Cliff that she wasn't going to med school. "I don't even want to think about their reaction."
"You won't have to, because you're going." JC said simply.
"Since when did you become my parental figure?"
"Since you lost your mind and became some crazy free-spirited hippy." JC quipped.
"I'm older than you!"
"By three months, let's not get crazy." JC nudged her.
"I mean, isn't that what being Gen X is all about?" Leah asked. "Aren't we supposed to be these super-liberated progressive critical thinkers, bucking the traditions of our parents?"
JC gave a her a quizzical look. "Oh, so now you're foregoing all your conservative values?"
"Not completely." Leah answered. "Just some of them."
JC winced. "Please don't tell me you're gonna dye your hair green, burn your bra, and stop shaving."
"Oh God no!" Leah chuckled. "I'd rather die."
"Good." JC smiled. "Because I love you just the way you are. "
Leah's breath hitched in her throat. Did he just love? He couldn't have meant it like that, could he? Did he love her the way that he loved Heather? Or the way that Vinnie loved Blossom? How did he love her? Just thinking of the possibility sent her heart slamming around in her chest. It was also that small possibility that made the con list of moving to Nashville. No JC. "Hey JC."
"Yeah?" JC asked.
Do you ever think about me in that way? "Umm..." Leah cleared her throat choosing her next words carefully. "Wanna head back to my place and watch a movie, like old times?" She mentally kicked herself for chickening out.
"Sure." JC agreed, sitting up. "Besides it's getting pretty hot."
"I have an idea."
"Shoot."
Leah sat up and swung her legs around so that she was on the same end of the quilt as JC. "Why don't we hit up Sugar Express and stock up on candy?"
"I though you were on some sort of diet." JC replied.
Leah shrugged. "Why don't we really make it like old times again? We won't get too many more of these days together."
"Aww, you're getting' all sentimental on me." JC teased, wrapping and arm around her and pulling her close.
"JC!" Leah shrieked as he ruffled her hair. Great. If she had any doubt in her mind that he loved her like Heather, then that hair ruffle just confirmed it. "You know I hate it when you do that!"
"I know, that's why I do it!"
"Ugh!" Leah rolled her eyes. "Why do I even put up with you."
"Because ya love me!"
And that she did. He just didn't the depth of her love. And she didn't know if she'd ever be brave enough to tell him.
"What's wrong?" JC asked, watching as her face faltered.
Leah shook her head. "Nothing. It's just. It'll be weird ya know? Living on opposite ends of the country." JC tightened his grip around her, sending shock waves throughout the entirety of her body.
"C'mon Lee, lighten up. Nothin' can separate us. Besides, what's a few states? You act like you're going to the moon."
Leaning into him and inhaling the scent of his Irish Spring body gel she closed her eyes, making a memory. No matter what, he always had a way of calming her down. "You're right. It's just... you know how much I hate change."
"I know. But nothing's gonna change between us. You'll always be my best friend."
With a sinking feeling, and a heavy heart, Leah nodded in agreement. "Yeah Jace. I'll always be your best friend."
