Chapter 31: Into
The New
Chance and Darren sat in the waiting room of the hospital together. Chance curled herself up in his arms, quietly sobbing her anger and disbelief.
“This is all my fault,” she cried, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into Darren’s shirt.
“No, it’s not. It was an accident,” he tried to comfort her. “Don’t blame yourself for things that are well past your jurisdiction.”
“But I could have stopped him from leaving,” Chance reason.
“No, you couldn’t. We were both arguing,” Darren replied. “So, that puts some of the blame on me too.”
“It’s still mostly my fault. I was the one talking care of him. It was my responsibility not to leave his side.” Chance wiped a few tears off her face with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe I started such a stupid fight with you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry for not telling you Dan was missing,” Darren apologized.
“Forgiven?”
“Forgiven.” Darren kissed the top of her head and rested his chin on the same spot, holing Chance as she tightened her grip around his waist.
A doctor soon walked into the room. He was tall, lanky, and young with majestic blue eyes and a muscular body. “Ms. Malone, Mr. Hayes?” he asked. They both stood up with stony faces ready to expect the worst. “I’m Dr. Austin Blake.” Darren and Chance shook hands with him and waited for the information.
“You’re friend, Daniel Jones, is pretty beat up. He’s suffered a mild concussion, sprained his neck, and broken his left arm and leg, but he’s very lucky not to have done any more damage to his spine. He was very close to being paralyzed. He’ll be fine in a few months,” Dr. Blake said with a smile.
Chance and Darren both let out a sigh of relief. “Can we go see him?” Chance asked, eager to talk to Dan about what was going through his head when he left.
“Sure, follow me.” The doctor led them through a set of double doors and down a brightly lit hallway. He showed them to a door marked 284 and opened it.
Darren stepped inside first, taking Chance’s hand and pulling her in with him. Dan lay in his bed, his left arm and leg propped up by pillows and his neck in a brace. Chance was relieved to see he was awake and alert.
“Will you guys ever stop fighting?” he asked as he saw his two best friends walk into the room.
Chance and Darren laughed. “Don’t worry, we made up,” Chance answered.
“Good,” Dan replied.
“Since this was all our fault, we want you to stay with us until you get better,” she said. “And I don’t want to hear you complaining about it because I know you lost your home and all your stuff, so this is the least we could do.”
“I don’t object to that,” he told her. “Changing the subject, I heard you were going to be on ‘Roswell.’”
“Yep, I start filming tomorrow. Isn’t that so cool!”
“Very.”
“I can’t believe the only way I got the part was by accident, literally. The girl who actually beat me out was involved in a car crash, so the producer called me as a backup and of course I accepted,” Chance explained. “That reminds me, I gotta send the poor girl something to cheer her up. I feel bad about what happened.”
“Do it later, I want to spend some more time with you,” Dan said. “I haven’t seen you in a very long time. I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too, Danny. And I’m sorry about what happened.” Chance looked down at her watch and realized it was getting late. “This totally sucks. Darren and I have to get going because I need to memorize my lines for tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget to pick me up in the morning,” Dan said.
“We won’t. Goodbye for now,” she replied, bending over and kissing his cheek.
“Bye.” Dan waved to them as they left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chance was at the studio in Covina the next morning promptly at 6 AM. She milled around for a while before the rest of the actors showed up, and even then she didn’t feel as if she belonged. Filming started at seven, but her scenes weren’t until later on that day. She sat alone most of the time writing new lyrics for songs. No one came over to her as she sat along on one of the tall chairs on the set and wrote in her small notebook. Chance was used to being the outsider, but it was hard to get back into her invisible ways after being in the limelight for so long. She wished Darren were there to comfort her and talk to her, but he was picking Dan up from the hospital.
The director called for the next setup, which involved Chance. She stood up from her seat and walked onto the set. Her hair and makeup was already done, and everything was quickly started. She was amazed at how much time it took to film each scene. She’d stand around for 20 minutes waiting for things to be moved and set up in various locations, then everything would start all over again. The other actors stood in a tight circle talking with each other, not even noticing she was standing behind them, left out.
Chance began to feel like shit. She didn’t even have enough courage to go over and converse as she usually did. She was so out of place, she wanted to quit. This was the first time she had ever been afraid of the people around her. Chance stared out at the people she admired as they talked with each other. Jason Behr, who she thought was the hottest guy alive besides Darren, was standing and talking to Shiri Appleby, Majandra Delfino, and Brendan Fehr. Katherine Heigl, Nick Wechsler, Colin Hanks, and Emilie di Ravin were also in their own little circle talking amongst themselves.
Noticing Chance’s removal from both groups, the director called her over to talk to her. “Chance, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, I’m just waiting for the next scene to begin filming,” she replied.
“Why aren’t you talking with everyone?”
“Because no one even knows I’m alive.” Chance’s angry retort sent a light on in his head.
“Come with me.” The director led her to one of the trailers and told her to wait there for a few minutes. He stepped outside and called the rest of the cast in for a meeting.
“Everyone,” he said once they were all situated in the small trailer, “this is your new co-star, Chance Malone. She’s been feeling a little lonely for the last few hours since none of you have even noticed her presence, so I’m calling this short meeting so you all get to know each other. Chance, why don’t you start off by telling everyone a little about yourself.”
“Well, I’m 18, I’m originally from New York, and I’ve got an upcoming album coming out with the lead singer of Savage Garden, Darren Hayes,” Chance hesitated. She hated being the outcast in the center of a tight group of friends.
“That is so cool!” Majandra said.
“How did you hook up with him?”
“MTV, my savior,” Chance replied as she smiled, finally feeling a little
accepted. “Anyone got any other questions that you’d like me to answer?”
“Where in New York did you used to live?” Shiri asked.
“Smithville,” Chance cringed. She didn’t want to remember her old home
even though so many good things had happened there.
“Doesn’t bring back old memories, does it?” Jason added.
“Not really,” she responded. “There were way too many bad things that
happened to me out there that have really changed my life.”
“Really? Like what?” Brendan asked.
“Well, for starters, that was where my fiancé was killed,” Chance began
as she twisted the diamond ring around her finger in nervousness and hatred.
“Oh, that’s so sad. What happened to him, if you don’t mind me asking,”
Emilie spoke up.
“It’s a long story, but my therapist says that I should talk about it
instead of keeping it bottled up inside,” Chance continued. “It all started
after I met Darren. Scott, my late fiancé, and I had just started dating. He
was a friend of my worst enemy, Brad, who I hated with a passion. Anyway, Scott
and I had only been going out for a month when my 18th birthday rolled
around. Darren threw me this huge party at this really nice restaurant, but
Scott didn’t show up until the end of the party. It turned out really good for
us, though, because we got to dance to our song, ‘I Shall Believe.’ When we
left the restaurant and were heading to his place, the limo began to have engine
trouble, so we had to walk. That was when Brad spotted us and got so pissed
off that he tried to run us over with his car. Scott pushed me out of the way
only to get hit. I crawled over to him when Brad was gone and held him in my
arms for what was to be the last time. That was when he asked me to marry him.
I can still remember him saying ‘I love you’ before taking his last breath and
dying in my arms.”
Chance burst into tears recalling the painful memory. She curled up in
her chair and placed her hands over her face so no one could see the tears as
they dripped slowly down her face. The others could still see the pain she was
in as she cried. Jason stood up from his seat and walked over to her, wrapping
his arms around her body and holding her as she wept. Chance stopped almost
suddenly feeling the warmth of his body. She looked up at him, her makeup running,
and said, “Thank you.” Jason smiled and went to sit down again.
“Sorry about that,” Chance added. “It’s only been about four months since
his death, and I still haven’t had any closure. I don’t even think the police
have caught Brad.”
“Oh, Chance, it’s okay. I also lost someone, but that was over 18 years
ago,” Shiri sympathized. “You’re not alone.”
“Thanks,” Chance replied. “Who did you lose?”
“My sister. I didn’t even get to see her before she was given to another
family for adoption,” Shiri answered. “I just hope she’s happy where she is.”
Chance smiled finally feeling accepted throughout the group. Her thoughts
immediately switched gears when she saw the clock. 5:00 PM, she should have
been home half an hour ago to check on Dan. “Oh, shit. I have to go,” she said,
quickly standing up and gathering her things from the floor and wiping her eyes
with the back of her hand.
“Whoa, wait a minute, princess. We still need to shoot your scenes before
tonight,” yelled the director.
“But I have to go check on my friend. He just came home from the hospital.
I can’t leave him at home by himself for more than a few hours,” Chance complained.
“Well, you’ll just have to call your boyfriend and ask him to do it,”
he replied.
“I can’t! Darren’s in San Francisco finishing the editing on our album.”
“Then get someone from the set to do check on you friend.”
“It’s only going to take me a few minutes to check on Dan and I’ll be
right back.”
“I can’t let you go, Chance. We’re already behind schedule. You’ll have
to get someone else to do it.”
“Did you say Dan, as in Daniel Jones?” Majandra asked. She looked over
at Shiri with devilish eyes. “I only assumed that because you are friends with
Darren.”
“Yeah,” Chance replied a little more hesitantly.
“We’ll go,” Majandra volunteered, taking Shiri’s arm and leading her
away from the studio. “We’re done with our scenes, and we’ll be glad to. Just
hand over the keys.”
Chance tossed Majandra her keys to the condo and the directions. “Okay,
but you’d better not bother him! He’s been through enough these last few days!”
she called out as she watched them run towards the parking lot.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dan surfed through the channels once again as he waited for Chance to arrive from her first day of filming. He was eager to find out what had delayed her so much and how it had gone. He heard the key turn the lock and the door open.
“Chance!” he called from the couch in the living room.
“It isn’t Chance, but two of her friends,” an unfamiliar voice called from the door.
A young blond girl who appeared to be in her 20’s walked into the living room wearing a black halter top and a pair of faded jeans with her hair up in a ponytail. “Hi, I’m Majandra,” she said, holding out her hand.
Dan tried to extend his right hand, but was restrained after feeling a painful jolt from his back. “Dan,” he just said, hoping she wouldn’t take offense.
Another young dark haired girl walked into the room a few minutes later. She looked exactly like Chance except for the fact that she had longer hair and wore clothes the looked a little more modest, a pair of dark jeans and a light blue baby tee.
“Chance?” Dan asked, wondering how his best friend could have gotten such long hair in such a long time.
“No, Shiri,” the girl replied. “Why is it that everyone mistakes me for her?”
“Probably because you look so much like her,” Majandra replied, sitting down on the sofa across from Dan.
The phone rang before Shiri had a chance to say anything else. Dan picked it up and said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Danny, it’s Chance,” came the response from the other end. “I just called to warn you that two of my friend are coming over because I can’t leave the set.”
“We’ve already met,” he replied.
“Great! They’re already there. That’s good. I told them not to bother you too much because of your condition. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it out there. The director was pissed since we still hadn’t shot my scenes yet, so he made me stay. Majandra and Shiri volunteered to take care of you while I’m shooting. I’ll hopefully be home in another hour. If I’m not, I’ll call you, okay?” Chance said.
“Okay,” Dan answered.
“I’d better get going. The director is going to kill me if he sees me on the phone between setups. Bye,” she replied.
“Bye.” Dan hung up and let the phone slide onto the floor.
“Let me guess, Chance?” Majandra asked.
Dan nodded. He tried readjusting his position on the couch only to end up hurting himself more. He let out a sigh and quit. Shiri noticed and walked over to him.
“Need some help?” she asked, her deep brown eyes meshing with his emerald green ones. Calmness swept over Dan, one that was only brought about when he and Chance were together. Shiri was definitely making an impression on him. She gently fluffed the pillows under his arm, neck, and leg, then sat down on the floor beside the couch.
“So, what happened to you?” Shiri questioned.
“I took a nasty fall down a flight of stairs,” Dan answered. “I’m lucky to be alive, let alone not be paralyzed.”
“Oh, wow. You are lucky,” Majandra said.
“I was so disoriented from consuming too much alcohol the night before that I just didn’t see the first step and fell. That’s not the only thing that was running through my mind. I saw my fiancé kill herself and I guess my only way of coping with it was to get drunk and go crazy,” Dan explained.
“Was her name Alexia?” Shiri asked. Dan nodded, flinching at the sound of her name. “I saw the whole thing on the news! Were you really about to turn her in?”
“Something like that,” he said. “I pushed Alexia into telling the truth after Chance sent me an article about her wrong doings in New York. She broke down when she found out I knew her secret and told me everything. That was when she decided to hit me over the head with a crystal vase. I was knocked out for a few minutes. When I woke up, I saw her holding a piece of glass up to her neck. I tried to stop her, but it was too late.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Shiri said as she took Dan’s hand and held it. They smiled at each other, happy to share comfort and pain.
“So, what’s it like traveling the world and performing?” Majandra changed the subject seeing that Alexia’s death was still touch and go.
“It’s a pain in the ass,” Dan said. “Spending so much time with the same people on the same bus for nearly a year can get on your nerves, especially if Darren’s one of them.”
Shiri and Majandra laughed as Dan continued. “He gets all the attention from the fans and the road crew just because he can be such a flirt, but all that has changed since he went solo and met Chance. Those two are a perfect match. I’ve never heard two voices compliment each other the way theirs do. And Chance is incredibly talented. Not only does she sing and act, she can play guitar and piano. The girl is a prodigy. Give her an instrument and she’ll learn it within minutes. I know from experience. I taught her to play the piano while we were recording some of her music at her parents’ studio. I’ve never met someone with such promise. She’s incredible.”
“You talk so highly of her, you must have a crush on her,” Majandra speculated.
“No I don’t,” Dan rejected. “There’s no way the two of us would ever get together. We do share a special bond, but it’s more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend. Besides, that’s Darren’s job. He madly in love with her and will do anything to keep her happy.”
“Aw,” Shiri replied. “I wish I had a boyfriend like that, but there’s no such thing as the perfect guy.”
“Yeah-huh,” Majandra complained. “Look at Brendan.”
“Oh, please. With the number of fights you two get into, he’s not perfect,” Shiri retorted.
“Well, he’s perfect for me. That’s all that counts,” Majandra replied.
“Then I guess I’ll never find the perfect man.”
“What makes a guy perfect in your terms?” Dan asked.
Shiri blushed. She hadn’t expected him to ask that question. “He has to be kind and sweet. He had to be able to sweep me off my feet with the little things he does to show his love for me. He has to have a gentle heart. He has to have nice hands. He has to have a cute smile and very cute eyes. What else?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, Shiri’s never ending list of qualities she wants in a man,” Majandra joked as Shiri tried to figure out a few more qualities she wanted in a guy. Before she had the chance to retaliate, the door swung open and in walked Darren, cold, wet, and hungry. He walked right past the living room, only glancing for a moment at Dan, Shiri, and Majandra, then heading into the kitchen.
Darren ran back out and asked, “Who are you, and Chance, where did you get that wig?”
“Okay, for the second time, I’m not Chance!” Shiri yelled. “I wish all of you would just stop getting the two of us confused.”
Darren’s cheeks turned rosy red as he backed into the kitchen, his embarrassment showing more than ever. “I’m so sorry,” he hollered from the fridge.
“That’s okay,” she replied. “I’m Shiri, and this is my friend, Majandra. We’re both from ‘Roswell.’ Chance sent us here to take care of Dan while she was shooting her scenes.”
“Pleased to meet both of you, and I’m sorry for confusing you with Chance,” Darren told Shiri as he walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand. “ I’ll be right back,” he added, heading for his room. A few minutes later, Darren reemerged wearing a Star Wars t-shirt and a pair of sweats instead of his soaking wet suit. His hair was slicked back making him look even more out of place among the rest of the crowd.
“My, you must feel comfortable,” Majandra observed as she slid onto the floor making herself more at home.
“I am,” he replied, sitting down on the recliner in the corner of the room.
“When did it start raining?” Shiri asked.
“About 10 minutes ago. Where’s Chance?”
“Still filming her scenes, which have probably been cut short now that the rain has set in. She should be home soon,” Majandra answered. Seconds later, the door flung open and in walked in completely soaked Chance.
“This has been the worst day of my life!” she cried, dropping her soggy coat onto the floor beside the door and walking into the living room.
Darren stood up and walked over to her, then wrapper his arms around her cold body as he asked, “What happened?”
“I was the outcast for nearly the entire day, then when I got to know everyone, the director wouldn’t let me come home to check on Dan because we hadn’t done my scenes yet, it started to rain about 20 minutes ago, so we could all go home, but my car was all the way at the back of the lot, so I was completely drenched by the time I got to it, and then I couldn’t find a parking spot down the street, so I had to find one a block down, only to get even wetter when I was walking home,” Chance complained as she walked into her room and began to change into something warm and dry.
Hearing about Chance’s bad day, Majandra stood up and began to head for the door. Shiri stood up also, not realizing that she had been holding Dan’s hand all along. They let go of each other, unable to break eye contact even as she made her way out the door.
Chance walked back into the living room in her favorite pair of black track pants and sweat shirt noticing the two leaving. “Hey, you’re leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah, we need to get home. It was nice meeting everyone,” Majandra said.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Chance,” Shiri added as Majandra pushed her out the door.
“I owe you guys!” Chance yelled as they closed the door. “So, did they bother you much?” she asked Dan once they were gone.
“Not really. They were pretty nice,” he replied.
“That’s good. I’ll ask them to give me a hand tomorrow if I can’t make it home on time again,” Chance said, turning to Darren. “So, what did you think of Shiri and Majandra?”
Dan tried to hold in a laugh. Chance started back at him wondering what was so funny. Noticing the expression on her face, Dan answered, “He made a total ass out of himself in front of them. He thought Shiri was you wearing a wig!”
“Darren!” Chance sharply screeched, then exploded into laughter. “You idiot!”
“Well, excuse me if you and her look so much alike I can’t tell you apart,” he retaliated. Chance and Dan kept laughing as they saw the embarrassment on Darren’s face.
“Okay, enough!” he yelled, hopping on top of Chance and tickling her until she could take it no more and recanted her statement.