Chapter 38: Fallen Icons

            Two weeks after the proposal, as Chance was filming on the set of "Roswell," she picked up the latest issue of People Magazine to find her face plastered all over the cover. The headline read something along the lines of her engagement to Darren. She ran back into the studio afraid that someone would spot her on the street corner.

            "Guys!" she hollered to the rest of the gang as they sat in the cafeteria eating lunch. "Have you seen this?" She passed the magazine around the table for the rest of her friends to see.

            "You lucky little bitch!" Majandra jokingly yelled. "You get all the good mags!"

            “So, what are you gonna do now that you’re an international star?” Jason asked. “You’re probably gonna leave ‘Roswell’ to tour, and then it’s bye bye bye to our ratings.”

            “J, you know I’d never leave ‘Roswell,’ even though I do have to tour because of my contract with Darren’s record company. Besides, the writers know about this and they’ve decided to cut my character out of a few episodes so I can go on tour for a month or so,” Chance explained.

            “You’re so lucky,” Majandra said. “I wish I was in your place now. I’ve been trying for years to break into the music industry, and now you come along, a complete novice, get picked up by the most popular band in the world, and you become a superstar in a matter of months. You suck, Chance! Has anyone told you that yet?”

            “Majandra!” Shiri yelled as she slapped her in the arm.

            “What?”

            “Don’t be so rude!”

            “I was just joking!” Majandra answered. She turned to Chance and added, “No offense taken?”

            “None,” Chance said as she sat down beside Shiri and began to take out her lunch.

            “I wonder if they’re gonna upgrade your trailer now that you’re so big,” Brendan pondered as he took a bite of his burger.

            “Shut up,” she shot back with a glare. Brendan laughed and turned away from her. He didn’t see Chance stick her tongue out at him, but the others did and began to giggle.

            “What?” he asked them. No one said a word. He shrugged it off and continued to eat his lunch.

            Chance stood up and made her way to one of the prop trailers. She took a sheet of paper, wrote “Kick Me” in large print on it, and stuck a piece of tape on top. Making her way back to the table, she gently placed it on Brendan’s back. This time, the entire table exploded into laughter.

            Brendan stared at them in bewilderment. “What’s so funny?” he almost yelled.

            “Nothing,” Nick replied, trying to keep a straight face.

            Brendan stood up and left the table. He was angry at the fact that they didn’t say what was so funny. A few minutes later, the rest of the cast joined him on the set. It was then that he felt someone kick him in the back of the leg.

            “Okay, who did that!” he yelled in pain. No one dared to speak up. Another kick came from behind him, except this time it was much harder. “OW!” Brendan howled. “Why are you kicking me?”

            Jason walked behind him and slung his arm around Brendan’s shoulders. “You’re gonna have to figure that out yourself,” he said, then left.

            Brendan reached behind his back and pulled the sheet of paper taped onto his shirt. He read it and looked up at the cast. “JASON! I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” he yelled, running towards Jason in an angry rage.

            Jason ducked and Brendan landed in a heap of sand. “Hey, it wasn’t me! It was Chance!” he confessed.

            Brendan sat up from the pile of sand and spit out what he could, then said, “Chance, you’re gonna pay for this, one way or another!”

            Chance couldn’t help but laugh at his weak threat. She was on the ground by the time he walked up to her and pulled her back up. “That’s…what…you…get…” she said between breaths. A smile cracked on Brendan’s dirty face when he saw how red she had turned.

            “Okay, everyone, get back to work!” the director called from behind the cameras. The group scattered and headed to their different areas. Chance headed for the main stage where she’d be filming her scenes when the doors to the studio opened and Darren walked in holding a huge bundle of roses.

            “Daz!” Chance yelled out as she ran into his arms. “Are those for me?”

            “Yes,” he said, gently kissing her as she let go of his neck.

            “You’re so sweet,” she replied, kissing his cheek. “I’m glad you came today. I think you’re the only person who hasn’t seen me in action.”

            “Believe me, I’ve seen you in plenty of action,” Darren seductively answered.

            “You’re such a bad boy,” Chance said as she headed for her stage. She pointed to her chair and added, “Take a seat over there and just watch. Don’t say a word.”

            Darren did as he was told and about three hours later, he was still staring as Chance made her way back to him after filming the remainder of the scene.

            “You remind me of Dan so much,” she said.

            “How?” Darren asked.

            “The way your gaze was fixed on me all that time I was filming. It totally reminded me of the time that Dan came out here and was watching Shiri that way. I swear, you two must have been separated at birth, you’re so alike,” Chance answered as she sat down beside him. Darren only smiled. He had no reply to that. “So, what are we doing tonight?”

            “Hopping on a plane to New York so that we can rehearse for the Rosie O’Donnell show. We’re going to be taping in the day after tomorrow,” Darren said.

            “Really?” she replied, unable to believe the news.

            “Yeah, don’t people tell you things around here?”

            “Uh… No.”

            “Okay, then I’d better take you home now. The plane leaves in three hours and you need to pack.”

            “Ah, shit,” Chance quietly cursed. She stood up and made her way to her trailer. “I’ll be right there. Give me a few seconds to take some things from the trailer.”

~~~~~~~~~~

            The time passed so quickly for Chance that she didn’t realize how late it was the next night. She and Darren were still rehearsing for their first televised performance together in front of a live audience. With over 200 people expected to be at the taping, both knew how important it was to have things down perfectly.

            “How much longer do I have to be here?” Chance complained as she set her guitar down on the stand.

            Darren wrapped his arms around her and replied, “Don’t worry. We’re almost done.”

            “What time is it?” she asked.

            “Almost 11:30,” he said.

            “What! It’s that late?” Chance looked down at her own watch. “Mine says 8:30.”

            “Honey, add three hours to that and you have New York time,” Darren replied.

            “Fuck, I completely forgot about that we were in a different time zone. Uh, I’m too tired. I need sleep!” Chance blurted out as she paced around the stage waiting for the crew to set thing up for another check. Within half an hour, she and Darren were finally able to leave the studio and go to the hotel. Chance dropped to the bed without taking off her clothes and immediately fell asleep.

            Darren didn’t notice until he strode out of the bathroom half an hour later. He gently scooped Chance into his arms and placed her under the sheets. After covering her with a blanket, he also went to bed.

            The next day began with some peace, but by noon, Chance and Darren were catapulted into the spotlight by their appearance on the Rosie show. They performed very well together, only proving that they were as good live as they were on the radio. They made their way to the comfy couches on the stage and sat down.

            “Darren! It’s been too long! Where have you been?” Rosie asked as he made himself comfortable.

            “I’ve been recording my new album with this lovely young lady,” Darren politely replied as he took Chance’s hand and kissed it.

            “Aw! Aren’t they so cute!” Rosie told the audience. “Wow, this is incredible. I remember when you had black hair and spikes, and now you look so different. Is this all her work?”

            “No, actually, Chance hated it when I returned to my natural color. But I think she’s gotten used to it. Haven’t you honey?” Darren asked Chance.

            “You know I’ll never get over it,” she sarcastically replied. “But no, really. I love his hair. At least he’s not as vain as he used to be.”

            “Vain? You? No!” Rosie added to the sarcasm.

            “Is today my day to be the runt of the jokes?” Darren asked as he laughed with the rest of them.

            “Yeah, yesterday was my day, it’s your turn now,” Chance answered.

            “Are you two always this hostile together?” Rosie questioned.

            “No, only when out in public,” Darren joked. “Or in the studio.”

            “Yeah, especially when we were recording the album. We always used to have so much fun,” Chance said.

            “About the album. How did you two meet? I heard Chance won a contest on MTV, and you invited her to sing with you after you heard her voice,” Rosie replied, finally getting to the real questions.

            “Yeah, that’s exactly what happened,” he answered.

            “Were you two always so close?”

            “To tell you the truth, I was actually dating someone at the time, but...um…then he sorta left if you know what I mean,” Chance said.

            “Oh, yeah, I heard about that too. Your fiancé was killed in a hit and run.”

            “But the police have finally caught the killer, and I’m very relieved about that.”

            “And that was when you and Darren got together?”

            “Something like that. I really don’t wanna explain how we got together,” Chance said as she recalled her painful memories of near death.

            “Is that how you got inspiration to write the song?” Rosie asked.

            “I actually wrote it a long time before Scott’s death. This song was originally written for my parents after they died in a plane crash a few years back. I guess you can say it evolved from that,” Chance explained.

            “Wow, you’ve had one very hard life.”

            “Yeah, but that’s all changed ever since I landed this record deal with Darren and my spot on ‘Roswell.’ It seems as if everything’s going my way. And I probably just jinxed it now that I said that.”

            Rosie caught a glimpse of the ring on Chance’s finger and said, “Is that the ring?”

            Chance held it up for all to see and replied, “Yeah, four karats.”

            “Darren! This thing is huge! How could afford it?”

            “After winning so many awards and my other albums going platinum all over the world, you would think I’d have some change left,” he answered.

            “She is so lucky! And let me guess, you’re going to have an extravagant wedding too.”

            “I really haven’t had too much time to plan the wedding. I’m always so busy with ‘Roswell’ and shows that I think I’m gonna get a wedding planner to do it for me,” Chance said.

            “Am I invited?” Rosie asked.

            “Of course! You’ve always been one of my biggest fans. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here today,” Darren replied.

            “Aw, thank you, sweetie.”

            With all that said, it was time to end the show. Chance and Darren made their way to the dressing rooms and changed into something more comfortable than their performance clothes.

            “Oh, that was crazy!” Chance said as she walked into Darren’s dressing room.

            “It’s over. You know what that means, right?” he replied.

            “No,” she retorted.

            “That means we have another one tomorrow when we return to LA. This time, it’s Jay Leno,” Darren told her.

            “Jay Leno! He’s my favorite late night talk show host!” Chance nearly screamed. “I’m actually going to be on the Tonight Show! Oh, my God!”

            Darren laughed at Chance’s pure joy. She still hadn’t been able to settle down, but that would all change after the flight home. They headed straight for the airport and left New York at around nine that night.

            Both Chance and Darren were exhausted. Neither one was expecting their night to get any crazier until they entered a completely silent house.

            “This is weird,” Chance said as she made her way through the hall and towards Dan’s room. “He’s not here. I wonder what’s going on.”

            Darren walked into the kitchen to find a note scribbled on the back of a grocery receipt. “C and D, Shiri got into accident, is at hospital, does not look good. Come quick, Dan,” he read aloud. Chance came running into the room.

            “What!” she exclaimed.

            “Come on, I’m driving,” Darren said as he grabbed his keys out of the kitchen drawer. They quickly made their way to the hospital and found Dan outside smoking a cigarette. Chance quickly snatched it from his lips and put it out with her shoe.

            “You shouldn’t be doing that,” she said.

            “Why does it matter to you?” Dan retorted.

            “Because I’m your friend and friends are supposed to look out for each other,” Chance answered.

            Dan rolled his eyes and pulled out another cigarette. Just after he lit it, Chance snatched it up again and threw it to the ground. “Stop it,” she sternly told him. They looked each other in the eyes for a tense moment. Chance could see the contempt build up in Dan’s eyes, but he was soon subdued, and the three of them headed into the hospital.

            “What happened?” Darren softly asked, knowing the situation was already as heated up as it could possibly be.

            “Shiri was involved in a car accident earlier this afternoon. When I saw her, she looked really bad,” Dan replied, looking down as they walked into the private waiting room.

            “Is she going to be okay?”

            “I don’t know.” Dan waited to add anything to his reply. “I’m so scared,” he finally broke down. “What if she…?” Dan couldn’t finish off his sentence before beginning to sob.

            It was Chance’s turn to jump in and save the day. “Hey, don’t be afraid. We’re here to get you through this. Don’t worry. Like I said before, friends are supposed to look out for friends, and we’re here to look out for both of you,” she calmly said, patting Dan’s back with her hand.

            Dan looked at Chance strangely. “First you get really pissed off at me for smoking, but now you’re my friend again. Stop confusing me about who’s the enemy and who’s not,” he nearly yelled at her. Dan sat down on one of the royal blue couches in the waiting room followed by Chance and Darren.

            “Danny, calm down. You know I’m always going to be your friend. Now, enemy, that’s a little too strong a word to be using. How about look out because I’m always looking out for you the way you look out for me.”

            Before Dan had the chance to speak his mind about the matter, the door opened sending everyone’s attention to the man walking through the door. He was short and old, almost too old to be a doctor. “Mr. Dan Jones?” the old man asked.

            “Yeah, that’s me,” Dan replied, standing up and moving closer to him.

            “Could I speak to you for a moment?” the doctor said.

            “Sure.” Dan and the old man left the room. Darren and Chance sat together on the couch, their arms wrapped around each other hoping that everything was going to be okay with Shiri. Nearly an hour passed before Dan came back to the waiting room. He walked in, his eyes more confused than saddened.

            “Daz, can I talk to you?” he asked.

            Darren stood up and left the room with Dan. Chance could see them talking in the hall. She didn’t know what they were discussing, but she knew an argument was taking place as they bickered among each other. Chance was about to stand up when both finally stopped arguing and came back into the room.

            “How’s Shiri?” Chance changed the subject before anything was said.

            “She’s fine,” Dan bluntly replied.

            “Hey, Chance, you know what just occurred to me?” Darren asked.

            “No, what?” she retorted.

            “We need a blood test for the marriage license, right? We’re at the hospital. Why don’t we get that done?” he said.