Just as I finished my hair and was putting the blow dryer away I heard my phone go off in the other room, three times. I went and picked it up to find three text messages waiting for me.
The first was from Kevin. "Bye dorkous. I'm gonna miss ya. Hope to see ya later."
Nick was next. "We're leaving early. I'm sorry. We'll work it out later. I'll call you. Bye."
The last message was one simple yet complicated word. Joe had sent it. "Goodbye."
That last word stung more than I ever thought it could. It didn't feel like a normal 'see you later' kind of goodbye. No, this felt final.
"Damn it!" I cursed, fighting down tears.
I was not going to let this be the end. Soon the house was disappearing behind me as I raced to the airport. There was no way of knowing if I was too late.
The airport wasn't crowded, but there were enough people to make this difficult. I now knew the plane hadn't left yet because I could see it sitting on the mat still out the window. Opining my phone I sent two words to Nick. "Stall it." He would know.
I walked quickly up to the first gate in the airport.
A man stepped in front of me. "Do you have a ticket?"
I looked up at him, seeing the first obstacle between me and the air mat. "Well, um… no. But I just need…"
He cut me off. "Sorry miss. I can't let you through without a ticket."
"Look," I tried and failed to push past him. "I only need to see someone just for a second…"
He pushed me back and raised his voice. "'Miss I can't let you through. This is a high security airport."
M set my brow and raised my voice back. "All I need is to go…"
I was interrupted again. "Tristan? Is that you?"
"Big Rob." I sighed in relief as the J Boys' body guard came into view.
He lumbered up to me and looked down at me from the other side of the gate. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to see Joe." Was my slightly frantic answer.
"They're boarding the plane, kid." He said, as he pulled me through the gate, glaring at the security man, daring him to challenge him. "Go fast." He whispered to me.
I looked up at him, the thanks showing in my eyes as I nodded a thank you and turned to face my destination. As I started running through the air port I heard Big Rob behind, making sure I could get all the way through security.
I hit the gate as there plane's wheels left the ground, too little too late. I was standing at the window watching the plane fly away unable forum complete thoughts let alone to speak. As I stood there gawking I felt someone walk up behind me.
"Too late kido?" Big Rob asked me.
"Ya, Big Rob. I'm too late."
He sighed a bit. "Too bad. Too bad I can't tell you that there flight lands at 5:30 in ______. And too bad I can't tell you they are staying at the ______ Hotel in Center Plaza. It's just too bad."
I blinked and looked up a bit turning to look at Big Rob as what he was suggesting settled in. As soon as I logged all he had said I looked back up at him. "Thank you." I said as I turned and started running for the ticket counter.
It had set in that this was the only thing I could do. I was going to New York.
The line at the counter wasn't as long as I thought it would be, and for that I was thankful. I didn't want to lose the nerve to do this. When I got to the counter the lady behind it smiled at me. Her brown hair was long and sleek and somehow she was just not what I was expecting. "How can I help you?" She chimed.
"I need one ticket to New York. Preferably landing in ____ around 5:30."
"Business?" She asked.
"Urgent." Was my rusted response.
"Any luggage?"
"No."
Her eyes sparkled with interest but she remained professional and jut turned to her computer punching in the things I had asked for. She looked back at me. "I can get you to _____ at 5:40. Will that do?" She smiled, obviously very content to have found me such a close flight.
"That's perfect." I almost jumped across the counter and hugged her.
"Ok. One couch seat. $____" She started printing my boarding pass. "You'll need to hurry. It leaves in three minutes." She winked at me and handed me my ticket as I handed her the money.
"Thank you!" I called as I took off running in the direction of my gate.
I barely made it through security in time and ran up just before they were going to close the gate.
I was happy that my seat was the window seat, however I was not looking forward to the five hours I had on this plane. As I sat watching the ground getting further away from me my mind started to turn. I knew that if I let it keep going I would start to panic. I had to do something to shut it down. Pulling the headphones from my purse I plugged them into the arm rest and started surfing for a radio station.
Somehow I passed five hours without thinking much. I must have fallen asleep about two hours into the flight because I woke up with about an hour until we were to land. Other than that I have no clue what I did to keep my thoughts from wandering.
The pilot came over the speaker and announced that we would be landing in five minutes. Sighing I turned to look out over the city and gasped. The setting sun sent light sparkling from windows and set the world with a pink tinge. It was beautiful.
I got off the plane and headed straight for the airport exit. The place was so busy. Once outside I hailed a cab, and finding it too expensive to get all the way to Central Plaza I settled for Time Square. The cab driver dropped me off and I paid him.
The city was growing dark around me and lights started to flicker to life in the buildings. Suddenly it hit me. I was standing in Time Square, alone, night was coming, and I had no idea where I was headed. My body started to shake and fought to keep the tears from falling from my eye. As I stood there on the sidewalk people walked past in both directions not even taking notice of the only person in the world standing still. Fear coursed through my body and my brain froze in a panic, a falling feeling hitting me.
Think. I told myself. Think, you can get there, but how?
The Footlocker sign behind me flickered to life. Desperate, I walked into the store and was immediately approached by an employee. Wasn't that supposed to be amazing by New York standards?
"Can I help you?" He asked me.
"Ummm." I had no idea what to ask, my mind was still half frozen in fear. "Do you have a bathroom?" Stupid question.
"Straight to the back of the store. When you're done I would be delighted to help you. My name is Dave." With that he walked off, a bit annoyed.
Might as well make a pit stop while you can. Stupid plan!
New York? Really? I hit myself on the temple with the heal of my hand. This was the biggest shoe store I had ever seen. When I got to the bathroom I was nearly crying again. I ran water over my hands and took deep breaths trying to calm myself. After a while I was able to gather my thoughts and set them to getting to the _____. Panic was not helping. Standing up straight I fixed my hair and the smudges in the sides of my makeup and went to work.
I went back into the store and started looking for help. It took me about twenty minutes to find someone willing to help me. It was Dave again.
"Hi." I said.
"Can I help you?" He sounded as if I had just walked off the street.
Right. He probably saw so many people a day that he didn't even recognize me. "I need directions to _____ please."
He rolled his eyes. "Take a cab." He turned and started to walk off.
"I can't. Please." I reached out to stop him.
Raising an eyebrow at me he stopped. "You can't take a cab?"
I sighed. "I just flew in from California. I have never been here before, and at this moment I have five dollars to my name." I sounded pathetic.
I must have looked it too because he said, "Come with me. I'll write down some directions."
Yes! I followed right behind him. He wrote down some directions and even drew me a little map on the back.
"Thank you." I said as he handed it over to me.
"It must be something really important for you to have flown out here with no luggage, no money, and no one to show you around."
"It is. Thank you again."
I left the store and started to follow the directions. Once I got confused and had to ask for help again. After I was set straight I headed off towards the Hotel.
Standing out front all I could do was stare. I had made it this far but now what? They wouldn't let me just walking and ask what room the Jonas Brother where in. That wouldn't go over too hot.
As I stood there staring my eye was caught by movement in the lobby. A large group of people where making their way to the exit. It couldn't be that easy. Could it?
A group of men dressed in black came out and stood by a car. Then six people walked out the doors and stopped, waiting for something. They were the only six people in the world I wanted to see.
I couldn't get my voice to work and none of them where looking my way. Pulling out my phone I sent a text to Joe. "Look up."
I watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the text. I was still a good distance from them but I could see confusion flash on Joe's face. His head darted up and his eyes fell right on me. I was safe.
His face fell and I saw his lips move to form words that looked like "My God." Suddenly he was pushing past his family and headed straight for me.
I forced my legs to work. We crossed the distance in second and then Joe's arms wrapped around me. He spun me around using the force of our bodies hitting. The tears I had been fighting for weeks, added to the ones from today, finally spilled out my eyes. Franticly I clutched handfuls of Joe's shirt. "Joe…" I sobbed.
As we stopped moving I buried my face in his chest. "I'm so sorry." I muttered.
"No." He held me tighter and stroked my hair. "This is my fault. I'm the one who needs to be sorry." He pulled back and put one hand on each side of my face. Using his thumb he brushed a tear from my check "I am sorry. So sorry." His eyes where shining with tears that wouldn't fall. A pleading look had entered his eyes as he stared down into mine.
I smiled softly and closed my eyes. As I nestled my face into one of his hands I brought my hand up to his and kissed his palm. A smile slowly spread over his face and he leaned in and kissed me. It was much too quick for my taste but as he pulled back he rested his forehead on mine.
Loud clapping and a few cheers erupted from where Joe had left his family. Both of us turned to see Nick and Kevin clapping, Kevin the more enthusiastic of the two.
Joe suddenly straitened up. With his arm around me he quickly led me back to the enclosure his family was standing under. We were still a bit off from the rest but we where under the overhang. Joe turned to me. "How? I mean… What? New York! How are you here?"
"I flew on a plane. The same as you did."
"You mean to tell me you bought a plane ticket and flew to New York City? Just to see me?"
"Yes, Joe. It's a long story though, can we not talk about it now? My feet hurt and I'm exhausted." Now that I knew I was safe I really was feeling tired.
Joe looked down at me in amazement. "All right. I'll set you up in my room for now. We have a gig to get to but I'll be back later. We can work this all out then." Slowly we walked over to his family.
I was showered with "What are you doing here?" "How did you get here?" from his parents and brothers. A loud "Hey!" from Frankie and I laughed a little.
Joe took over for me. "She's really tired. I guess she had a long trip." I looked up at him in amazement. He was always so kind. "I was going to set her up in our room Nick. Just until we get back. Is that ok?" He wasn't so much asking Nick as he was his parents.
Denise smiled. "I'm sure that's fine, son." She looked over at Kevin senior (what do I call him?) to make sure he didn't object. After a moment of silence. Denise turned back to us. "Hurry and get her set up. Then come right back down."
"Right." Joe said then he started leading me into the hotel.
As the elevator doors closed I rested my head against Joe and closed my eyes. It was reassuring that everywhere we touched was burning. I never wanted him to let go.
We made it up to the room and when we walked in I gasped. It was amazing, like walking into a fancy hotel room in a movie. It wasn't huge, just really lavish. The two beds looked perfect except for one that had wrinkles at the end where someone had been sitting. Suitcases where pushed up against the wall in a neat fashion. I laughed to myself that that must have been Nick's doing.
Joe smiled. "Will you be ok here?" He asked finally taking his arm from around me.
"Ya." I said as I sat on the bed with the wrinkles. "How long will you guys be?"
"Oh, probably three or four hours. If not more." He sighed.
Looking around I said, "Ok. Have fun. Don't worry about me. I got here after all."
Shaking his head he took my face in his hands. "You amaze me." He leaned in and kissed my lips softly, then my forehead as he stood up strait. "And I'm really glad you are here. Get some rest. Order some room services."
"Don't have any money."
He blinked at me. "It's on our tab."
"And what if I want to go down to the gift store?" I was joking but Joe must have thought I was being serious. He took his wallet from his pocket and laid some bills on the table.
"That should cover you." He smiled.
"Joe I was joking."
He chuckled. "I know. But you don't have any luggage with you. You might really need something. If we aren't here just use that." He said and with that he left me alone.
I crawled over and found that he had thrown two twenties and a room key on the table. Relaxing I fell into the bed and laughed as the covers poofed around me. In a fluke I kicked one of my shoes up into the air and cringed as it hit the table and almost knocked over a lamp. No more of that. Getting up I retrieved the shoe and placed my purse and shoes next to the suit cases.
As I sat back down on the bed I realized that I wasn't so much tired as groggy and gross from the flight. I really wanted to take a shower but I could imagine putting the same nasty clothes back on afterward. I laid around for about half an hour then decided I had to shower.
Getting up I glanced around the room. I had at least two more hours until they came back, probably more knowing how they were with people. My eyes landed on the bed table and the twenties. Could I get something to wear with that? I had no clue and I really didn't want to spend that money unless I absolutely had to.
Then my eyes landed on the suitcases. Slowly I went over to them and located one that was labeled Joe's. Tentatively I opened it, hoping I wasn't being too intrusive. I was in luck and found a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt right on top. Taking those I headed to the bathroom and got into the shower. After I got out I used the blow-dryer that came in the bathroom and did my hair the best I could without a straightener.
When I was done I collapsed onto the bed, snuggling down it to the covers. I soon found myself in that half sleep where you still know what is going on around you but you are still sleeping. The traffic was loud outside, louder than I was used to anyway, but I didn't mind. It was kind of cool.
After a few hours I got back up and went to the window to watch the city. I was sitting in the dark watching the city sparkle with life when flashing caught my eye. Looking down to ground level I found a larger group of people with flashing cameras. Was that my boy or some other celebrity staying in this fancy hotel?
It didn't really matter, and there was no way I would ever be able to tell from this high up. I went back to watching the city in a daze, actually feeling quite energized. This was going to be a strange trip.
-------
I got off of the phone with Tristan and went to sit next to Rob on the couch.
"Did I hear you say New York?" He asked as I plopped down next to him.
"Yup." I said with a sigh. "She was going to settle things with Joe this morning and missed his flight. So she bought a ticket and hopped onto a plane to New York City." I sighed again as the anxiety continued to leave me. "Luckily she found him pretty quick, so she's safe."
I looked to see a huge smile on Rob's face, and he began to laugh in amazement.
"She flew out to New York City alone for him." he still was amazed.
"Yup." I replied with a smile. "That's my Tristan." I was genuinely proud of her, but I just wish she would've called someone a little sooner instead of trampsing the city with no one knowing she was there.
But she was okay so I wasn't going to let myself have a panic attacked over what could have happened, what didn't happen. So I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
The channel that was already on was not one I would usually turn to, especially with Rob in the room, even more especially at that moment.
"After the smokin' hot honey moon scenes in Breaking Dawn what tension remains between Robert Pattinson an-"
Calmly I changed the channel without saying a word or looking at him. He didn't comment either. I browsed through and quickly discovered that nothing worthwhile was on, so I turned it off.
"How about a movie?" I mumbled almost to myself as I lifted myself off of the couch and made my way to the movie shelf.
I scanned through them picking a good number of ones I thought he probably hadn't seen.
I went and was laying them out on top of the TV when he spoke.
"Would you go to New York for me?"
I froze, making myself genuinely think about it.
"I would be terrified and probably have called you or someone from the airport, too scared to go any farther alone, but...yes, I think I would, if not going meant losing you." I said slowly.
I turned to see him walking towards me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and held my face with the other and I stared at his face, unable to make out his expression.
"Would you face the media, the paparazzi, the fans-would you enter that insane world for me, so that I could be with you and you alone?"
His voice was pleading though his eyes were unsure and I was in shock. How did he find it in himself to ask me to join him in a world he hated?
After a moment, I still was unable to find the words and he turned away.
"Forget it." he said, stress in his tone, "It was a stupid question."
I grabbed his arm before he could get away and swiftly stood on my toes and grabbed his face, pulling his lips to mine.
"I might hate every moment. I can promise you that I'll hate them, but I will face them. If I could have the strength to, I'd face all the media in the world for you."
He kissed me again quickly. "Darling, for me, you might just have to."
"Better get on that treadmill then." I chuckled.
He smiled and laughed with me.
Rob was scared just as much as I was, I could see that, but we both had known that this would most likely have had to been done sometime, guess that time was now.
