Chapter 6
"Thanks a lot guys! I told Jen I'd say good-bye before I left, but I didn't. I'd be surprised if she didn't break up with me," Drew began his complaining on the jet as it took off from the airport. It had begun to drizzle outside indicating the storm was approaching.
"Shut up, Drew! We're already sick of it! Hold on, did you say break up?" Nick questioned.
"Yeah, I said break up! Uh-oh. . . ," Drew blurted.
"Did you ask her to be your girlfriend?" Jeff asked.
"Uh . . . kinda . . . yes."
"Drew!" Justin, Jeff, and Nick yelled at the same time.
"Don't you think you're rushing into this?" Justin asked.
"No, I have thins feeling about her. And what ever happened to that supportive attitude you all had?" Drew turned the tables. "You two were rooting me on." He pointed to Nick and Justin.
"Would you stop fighting! I'm
sick of hearing this crap over and over!"
Jeff exclaimed. He sat back
in his chair and relaxed. "I
hope I don't have to listen to this all the way to
Drew pulled out his cell phone and began to punch in the numbers to Jen's room. He was about to press send when the stewardess walked by and told him he couldn't use it on this flight. He wasn't about to argue with her so he put it away.
Hours Later in Jen's Room
"Where the hell is Drew? He said he'd be here to say good-bye," Jen said as she laid in her bed.
"I don't know," Rick shrugged as he walked into the room. "But you know how big stars are, they never come back."
"Shut up, Rick. I wasn't talking to you," she retorted.
"Then who were you talking to, the air?"
"Go to hell!" Jen shrieked. She looked down at the silver ring Drew gave her and began to think Rick was right.
"Hey, where did you get that?" he asked noticing the ring.
"Drew gave it to me," she answered. Jen looked at the ring for a few more minutes before looking back at Rick. "You know what I forgot to say? You look like Nick Carter." Jen knew how much he hated being compared to a Backstreet Boy, but she did it anyway.
"Shut up," Rick groped, but there was some truth to the statement. Rick had the same color hair and eyes, and he was 18. The only difference was height. He was much shorter, about 5' 10".
"I thought you'd take that as a compliment? You know girls love the Backstreet Boys."
"I'm bored. Wanna watch t.v?" he asked, changing the subject. Rick began to flip through the channels until he reached MTV, Jen's favorite.
"You know, there's supposed to be a special on right now with 98 Degrees that Drew told me about. I wonder if the guys made it there before the storm hit?" Jen said.
"Whatever," Rick answered, flipping the channel.
"Put it back!" she yelled, throwing an extra pillow at his head. Rick had no choice but to flip it back. He was just in time. The commercials had finished and Carson Daily was beginning his chat with 98 Degrees. Jen now knew the reason why they didn't say good-bye.
"Hey, guys. How's life on the road?" Carson asked them.
"Right now we're doing promos for 'Because of You,' and that's pretty much it. After we're done, it's time for our well deserved break," Nick answered. He was wearing a pair of black pants along with a white shirt and black overcoat.
"I heard you guys were in L.A. yesterday, why?" Carson continued his interrogation.
"Well, my cousin was in this big accident and her parents practically begged me to come visit her at the hospital. I hadn't seen her in a long time, so I thought it would be a good idea," Jeff said.
"I hope she gets well soon." Carson turned to Drew and added, "I heard a rumor that you were going out with someone in L. A. Is it true?"
"What is this? Get the scoop from 98 Degrees?" Drew replied. He wore basically the same thing as Nick. Everyone began to laugh. "Well, to tell you the truth, I am dating someone in L. A. Her name's Jen and she's a really sweet girl that I simply adore. I also wanna tell her that I'm sorry for leaving without saying good-bye. If you're watching, I'm sorry baby." He blew a kiss towards the camera.
Jen melted in her seat. She couldn't believe that Drew told all of America about her. Picking up the phone, she dialed the number to the studio. It was her luck that she got an answer.
"Hey, this is Carson. Who are we speaking to?"
"Hey, guys. This is Jen," she calmly answered.
"Hi Jen," they all said at once.
"You know we were just talking about Drew's girlfriend named Jen," Carson added.
"I know, this is the same Jen you were talking about," she replied, not wasting time to get to the point.
"Is it really you?" Drew asked, his brown eyes wide open in astonishment.
"Yeah, and I can prove it. At about two this morning, you snuck into my hospital room to find me awake. You asked me to be your girlfriend and gave me a thin silver ring."
"Is she right?" Carson questioned.
"Absolutely on the mark," Drew said. "Jen, I'm so sorry about this morning. . ."
"It's okay, sweetheart. I understand," Jen cut him off.
"This is getting a little weird for me. Jen, are you Jeff's cousin?" Carson interrupted.
"Yeah, and I'm proud to be."
"So, what's wrong with you? Why are you in the hospital?" Carson interrogated.
"I have a broken arm and a sprained neck because someone pushed me down a flight of stairs. I'm not willing to discuss it at this point in time," she answered.
"Could I ask you one more question before we go to break? Is Jeff okay with you and Drew?"
"I guess so. Ask him and see," Jen said.
All eyes were on Jeff. He shifted his position and replied, "Yeah, I'm cool with it."
Jen waited on the phone for another half hour before Carson finally decided to call it quits. She said her good-byes to everyone and hung up. Rick was still in the room watching everything.
"So, he's coming back in two weeks. I can't wait," he said sarcastically.
Jen rolled her eyes. Suddenly her body began to feel numb. "Rick, something's wrong," she whispered. Before she had a chance to say another word, every muscle in Jen's body began to contract. Rick leapt out of his chair and ran down the hall to find a doctor.