“Hello?”
“Have you seen the paper?” Salina asked frantically.
”I’m good, sweetheart, and you? I had a great flight.” JC said as he settled into the black SUV that was picking him up from the airport.
“JC, I’m serious!”
He sighed. “Which paper?”
”All of them!”
”Calm down. What is it?”
”Us! On the cover of all of the entertainment sections.”
“Me and you?”
”Me, you and Vanessa.” She said as she flipped through the various papers that Jenn had set on her desk that morning.
“Wait, from when?” He said as he signaled for Lonnie, his bodyguard, to pull over at the newsstand. He jumped out and picked up the first three newspapers and magazines that he saw with his picture on it.
“Yesterday. In your front yard.”
“Oh my god.” He said into the phone as he looked at the pictures. Lonnie quickly paid for the papers and ushered JC back into the SUV as people began to recognize them.
“I know. Who could it have been? Paparazzi on your property? Isn’t that illegal?”
JC sighed as he remembered the teenage girls with the cameras. “It wasn’t the paparazzi.”
“What? How do you know?”
”Those girls who were watching us…they had cameras.”
”Oh.”
“I’m sorry, babe. What did Johnny say?”
”Nothing. Just to be sure you have a statement when you go for TRL just in case.”
JC paused not sure what to say. “What do you want me to say?”
”You can say whatever you want as long as you don’t mention Vanessa’s name.”
”I would never do that, babe.”
“I know.”
”Are you okay?” He said as he read the caption that said, “JC Chasez of NSync with Publicist.”
”Yeah, it just caught me be surprise.” She said as she tossed most of them into the trash.
“Are you okay with everyone knowing?” He asked more carefully looking at another headline that read, “JC Makes a Third NSync Daddy,” above a big picture of him and Vanessa.
“I guess. We hadn’t really talked about who would know and who shouldn’t.”
“I know. We should’ve done that before I left. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She said pulling up her e-mail account on her computer so that she could begin to respond to all of the various e-mails she had received over the articles. “It’s kind of weird to be responding to all these questions that are about me.”
“Now, you know how I feel at interviews.”
”Yeah.” She said quietly, still not quite sure how she felt about everything. It wasn’t the same at all. JC was famous by choice, he asked to be put in the spotlight…she did not. She knew what she was getting into when she decided to date him, but now she wasn’t so sure she made the right decision. Her entire career was at stake.
”Salina, are you sure everything’s okay?” He said as they pulled up to the TRL studios. JC inwardly groaned at the number of people that were standing outside waiting for him to get out of the car. “Wait…hold on for a second cause it’s going to get loud.”
He got out of the car and held the phone by his leg as he waved and smiled at the girls crowding the street. He was quickly ushered into the building and immediately turned his attention to his phone.
“Sorry.” He said.
“What was that?”
”All the people outside TRL.”
”Oh.”
He sighed and put his hand out to Lonnie to give him a second alone and walked to a secluded corner in the lobby. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…I just…I don’t know, I’m PMSing I guess.” She lied.
“Oh.” He said not knowing how to respond to that.
“Yeah, well, you’d better go. The show is starting in a half hour.”
“I know. I’ll talk to you later?”
”Yeah, call me when you’re done.”
”Okay, bye.”
”Bye.” He started at his phone as he walked over to Lonnie who was reading one of the magazines that they bought.
“She okay?” Lonnie asked.
“I don’t know. What do you think I should say?”
”Just say, she’s your girlfriend and your girlfriend’s daughter. I mean, you don’t have to go into detail.”
“I know.” He said as they stepped onto the elevator. “I have an idea, how about you take this interview and I’ll defend you when the girls try to rip off your shirt.”
Lonnie laughed. “I would if I thought they’d believe I was a scrawny, little white boy, man.” He said as the elevator doors opened.
JC followed him over to where an intern wearing a headset and holding a clipboard was smiling brightly. “Mr. Chasez?”
“Call me JC.” He smiled briefly. “I’m late.”
”Yes, it’s okay, right this way.” The intern led the way over to a room where JC remembered always getting his make-up done by an elderly woman named, Kit.
“Joshua! You’re late!” She said as he smiled at stepped into the room.
“I’m sorry.” He said as he sat in her chair and closed his eyes waiting for her to start.
“Hey, Sal?” Jenn said from the doorway of Salina’s office.
“Yeah?” She asked looking up from her computer screen.
“It’s three. JC’s on.” Jenn responded before turning Salina’s TV to TRL and sitting in the chair across from her.
“Hi, welcome to TRL. I’m Quddus and this is LaLa and today we’re not only counting down your top 10, but also we have one of the members of the largest pop group in history. Here he is JC Chasez!”
The crowd cheered as JC entered the studio shaking hands and smiling as he went.
“Wassup, man? Good to have you back.” Quddus said.
“It’s good to be back.”
“Now Q and I were talking earlier about how every time NSync came you guys shut down Times Square. Now you all come separately and still manage to do it. Why is that?” LaLa asked.
“We got great fans, man, what can I say?”
“Okay so be honest…when’s the last time you saw, say, Joey?”
“Actually, we were all together in Orlando like a week ago because Chris had a barbecue at his house.”
“What’s a barbecue with NSync like?” Quddus asked.
“Um…I mean, it’s the same as a barbecue you would have with your friends and family, you know? We eat, we drink, now two of us have kids and we never really get to see them so we get to play with the kids. It’s just relaxing with family basically.”
“Speaking of kids, there’s a few rumors going around that you have a kid of your own. True?” LaLa asked as she pointed to the screen displaying a picture of Vanessa holding JC’s hand.
Salina held her breath.
“Well, I wish I could take credit for that beautiful little girl, but those aren’t my genes, man.” He laughed nervously. “It’s my girlfriend’s daughter.”
“What’s her name?”
“My girlfriend’s name is Salina.” He said not wanting to give Vanessa’s name.
“Like the singer?”
“Uh…yeah, yeah…I guess. I’ve never thought of it that way.” He shrugged and laughed with the audience.
“Does your girlfriend sing?”
JC chuckled. “No, she’s a publicist.”
“Your publicist?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Uh-huh.” Quddus noticed JC’s answers were becoming short so he decided that he would cut in.
“Okay, well, we’re gonna cut to a break, but when we come back we’re gonna premier JC’s new video.”
“He talks with his hands a lot.” Jenn commented as she turned to look at Salina. “Sal, you can breathe now.”
Salina let out a breath. “He did good.” She said relieved.
“You didn’t think he would?”
”I don’t know. I guess I knew deep down he would do fine, but I was still worried.”
“Well, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You guys are gonna be”“
She stopped abruptly when there was a knock on the door.
“Salina?” A guy stuck his head in the door.
“Yeah, can I help you?”
”I’m Marco.” Salina raised her eyebrows still confused. “I'm helping to manage JC.”
Salina’s eyes widened. “Oh! Come on in!” Jenn got up and offered her seat to Marco who took it after shaking Salina’s outstretched hand. “What can I do for you?”
”Well, actually, I can’t stay long. JC had mentioned that he wanted you to have a copy of his album and I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d drop it off.” He said handing her a CD inside of a case.
“Oh, well, thank you.”
“No problem.” He said standing up. “So everything’s going okay with appearances and everything?”
”Yeah.” Salina said after hesitating slightly thinking about all the events of the morning. “Yeah.”
“Good.” He said and started to walk for the door. “He talks about you all the time, you know?”
”JC?”
“Yeah. He really likes you and your daughter too. He gets a light in his eyes when he talks about you that only you can put there.” Salina smiled lightly. “I just thought you might need to know that after all that’s happened this morning.”
Salina and Marco’s eyes locked and in that moment she completely understood what he was trying to say to her. He was concerned that she would leave JC over this big controversy and break his heart. Just like so many of his girlfriends had done to him in the past…leaving him shattered. Marco didn’t want to ever watch his friend go through that again.
“I care about JC a lot.” She reassured Marco. “I don’t want us to end any more than he does.”
Marco nodded and exited her office.
JC sighed as he entered his suite in the hotel and set his bags down. He’d been out shopping with Lonnie since he’d finished taping TRL and it was now 9 o’clock. He was exhausted.
He laid back on his bed, reached for the phone and dialed the now familiar number.
“Hello?” JC smiled when she answered.
“Hi, sweetheart. Where are you?”
”I’m at dinner with my mother and daughter.”
“Tell your mom I said ‘hi’.”
“Ok.”
”No, do it now.”
”JC…” She sighed.
“Now.” He insisted like a five year old and she complied. Her mother returned the greeting and Salina held up a finger to signal to her mom that she’d only be another minute.
“You sound tired, honey.”
“I am. I’ve been shopping all day.”
“What’d you buy me?”
“A bowling ball.” He responded while yawning.
“Haha.” She said dryly.
“Hey, can you talk for a minute?”
”Sure, what’s up?” She asked.
“Are…uh, are we okay?” He asked quietly.
“Huh?”
“This morning. You seemed…upset. So I wanna make sure that we’re okay.”
Salina smiled though he couldn’t see it. “We’re fine, JC.” She said and shook her head at her mother’s questioning glance. “Um…Marco came by my office today.”
”Oh, yeah, did you like the album?”
”I loved it, baby.”
“Ok, well, that’s all I wanted. Go back to dinner with your mom.”
”Ok, call me later?”
”Sure. Bye, baby.”
“Bye.” She said in a sing-song voice.
“Your brothers seem to like him.” Her mother said casually as she continued to eat her salad.
“Mom.” Salina said in a warning tone as she put her phone away and turned to smile at her daughter who was munching on her French fries.
“I like him, too.” Her mother said ignoring Salina’s warning.
“And what’s next…‘Dad likes him’?”
“He does.” Her mother said nodding.
“Yeah, right. Dad wasn’t this bad with Miguel.” She responded cringing at the mention of her ex and Vanessa’s father.
“Dad knew you and Miguel would never have worked out even with Vanessa in the picture.”
“And JC and I will?”
”I think so and I’m pretty sure dad does too.”
“Right.” She wouldn’t let herself believe that she and JC could fall in love and live happily ever after because she knew when that didn’t happen she would be crushed.
“You know, you can let yourself live a little, mi hija. You’re only 26.”
“Yeah, but I have responsibilities now and I have to look out for what’s best for Vanessa. If I get my hopes up about this she’ll get too attached and she’ll end up hurt and that’s not fair to her.”
“But you have to let yourself be happy. Vanessa will be happy as long as you are…you are happy with Joshua.” Her mother finished and Salina chose not to respond. Instead she turned to her daughter and began chatting with her effectively ending the conversation with her own mother.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Story Tags: boyfriendjc jc justin hospital tabloids joey chris lance solojc
