Disclaimers can be found in Part One

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So Close, So Far
by Dimples
~ April 21st, 2002 ~

Part Two

Ch.3

Jay was looking into the most beautiful, most captivating eyes she had ever had the pleasure of admiring. They were standing close to each other, exchanging soft words while in the midst of a deserted-looking garden. The smell of both the wild flowers and of her companion were intoxicating, blurring her senses and just as she was about to lean over and...

Jay was cruelly snatched out of the beautiful dream when she heard the loud knock on the front door. Blinking her eyes open, she groaned as she raised her tired body out of bed. The knock that followed just served to infuriate the tired singer even more. Stomping her way to the door, she unlocked it and pulled it open with such force it almost caused her to stumble on her feet. "What?!" She barked at the smirking manager.

"Good morning, sunshine." Answered the manager as he elbowed his way into the room.

"Oh please, come in." said Jay, sarcastically. She closed the door and turned to look at the now sitting manager.

"The hair guy will show up, probably at around 8:00 AM and the make-up girl will be here at 10:00 AM. Afterwards, you're both free to do as you please until 4:30 PM. At 5:00 PM sharp, we leave for the autograph signing and from there you know what's going to happen. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, okay. You can go now. I'll get dressed and wake sleeping beauty."

Jonney chuckled and got up to leave, "Now don't go and fall asleep on me. And put something on, I don't want the hairdo guy to have a heart attack."

Jay looked down at herself and smiled, "You got it." She was wearing very tight boxer shorts and an almost see-through tank top. She winked at him, making him shake his head as he left the room.

Jay went back to her bedroom and looked at the clock. It read 7:15 AM. She stretched her body and yawned deeply. Scratching her head, she decided to go finish up in the bathroom. In ten minutes, she was clean with minty fresh breath. Jay figured this was as good a time as any to finally wake Jennifer up. Jay walked to Jennifer's bedroom and knocked softly, hoping that Jennifer was already up. After several seconds she realized she'd developed false hopes and entered the room. "Jennifer? Wakey, wakey."

Jennifer mumbled something incoherent and turned on her other side, away from Jay. Jay laughed and tried again. This time she received a crankier response as she was greeted with a pillow to her head. "Hey!" screamed Jay as she started tickling the now giggling Jennifer. "You little sneak!"

"Stop! Stop please." Jennifer begged between fits of laughter. Jay finally relented and let Jennifer sit up.

"Come on, sleepy. We need to get ready. The hair guy's coming in half-an-hour."

"Oh all right."

Jay patted her on the knee and let her get ready. Fifteen minutes later, both women were sitting in the living room, talking over a cup of steaming hot coffee. "I'm a little nervous. I don't really know why, you know? I mean, we've done this before but this is really big." said Jennifer.

Jay smiled softly, "Hey, It's normal to feel nervous. All the great artists feel nervous before going on stage, even if it's their thousandth concert. Every concert is a new experience. Just remember, I'm with you all the way and this will be the greatest concert in the history of music."

Jennifer smiled and thanked Jay for her encouraging words. The sudden knock on the door distracted them from their conversation. Jay got up and walked to open the door. A young, "freaky-looking" guy stood on their doorstep. He had piercings in every imaginable place and more, topped off by his hair that was dyed blue with streaks of green. Furthermore, his shirt looked like it met many sorrowful fates and his jeans sported so many holes that the blue was barely visible.

"Hi." he said, cheerfully.

"Hi." answered Jay, looking him up and down skeptically.

"I'm Ray. I'm here to do your hair." Ray noticed the critical look in Jay's eyes and his smile faltered slightly but when a flash of blonde stepped into view, his smile returned fully. Jennifer saw everything from behind Jay and when she noticed the nervous look on the boy's face, she quickly got up to intervene and introduce herself. She knew Jay could be a bit too much for someone who didn't know her. "Hi, I'm Jennifer and this here mean-looking statue is Jay. It's nice to meet you, please come in."

The goo-goo eyed boy was practically drooling and this fact didn't help his case in Jay's book. He had just made her list. She would have to keep an eye on him at all times. Slowly, she moved away from the door and let Ray enter. Her movement was barely noticeable and Ray had to bump into her to get through. "Okay Lurch, stop it. Be nice." Jennifer whispered to Jay as she pulled her into the room with her.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Asked the still-nervous hairdresser.

"Okay look, roach boy. I'll do my hair alone. You don't have to be a genius to tie a pony-tail." Said Jay, earning her a slap from Jennifer and a hard frown.

"Don't mind her, Ray. She's just cranky because she doesn't like this part very much. You can do me." Jennifer said, smiling.

"Her hair! You can do her hair!" Clarified Jay. Jennifer looked at her strangely and shook her head. Jay was always very protective of her but this was getting ridiculous --- the boy was just that, a boy. Jennifer couldn't see any reason for Jay to scare him off the way she did. She didn't realize that Jay didn't understand her reaction either. Jay just shrugged it off as plain instinct.

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"You look amazing." Jay said to Jennifer when she returned to the room. Jay went to her bedroom to get a little more rest in. She pulled her hair into a tight pony-tail that accentuated her high cheek bones and her aquiline nose. "I've got to hand it to that freak. He did a great job. It helped that you look the way you do, though."

Jennifer blushed and let the 'freak' comment drop. "Thanks, you look amazing yourself."

Jay winked at her and looked around the room, "So, where is freak-boy, anyhow?"

"Jay..." growled Jennifer, threateningly.

"What?" Asked Jay, innocently.

At the site of her big blue eyes, looking at her innocently and the pout forming on her full lips, Jennifer slumped her shoulders and let the subject drop, "He left a few minutes ago. For some reason, he didn't want to stick around for more than it was necessary..." She said, sarcastically.

"Hmm...I wonder why?" Jay picked up her innocent act once again as she looked at Jennifer's frown that was slowly turning into a smile. Jennifer playfully backhanded Jay's stomach as she went into the kitchenette."When is the makeup artist supposed to come?"

Jay went to sit on the sofa and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Jonney said to expect her at around 10:00 AM."

"Well then, we have plenty of time and I'm starving." Jennifer started fixing them a small breakfast of toast and jam.

Jay smirked and said quietly, "Tell me of a time you aren't..."

"I heard that!" Yelled Jennifer from the kitchenette, making Jay laugh.

As soon as their meal was ready, Jennifer brought it into the living room and sat down next to Jay, who was lounging on the couch. "Here you go, you ungrateful brat."

"Oh, come on. You know you love me..." Said Jay teasingly, rubbing her head softly against Jennifer's arm. Jennifer tried her best to look away and ignore her but she failed miserably. She petted Jay's head and pushed her away, leaving a plate full of food in her lap.

Lost in thought and in conversation, they barely noticed the time pass. At 10:30 AM, their make-up artist arrived with her arms full of all kinds of make-up kits. "Hi, I'm Rachel."

"Hi Rachel." Greeted Jennifer.

"Hey." Nodded Jay, missing the lingering look the make-up artist sent her way. Jennifer noticed that fact and immediately developed a dislike to this woman.

"How about we start with you?" Said Rachel, motioning for Jay to sit down. "We'll leave the harder work to the end."

Jennifer couldn't believe she had heard right and Jay just wasn't paying any particular attention to what Rachel was saying. She was too busy ogling her body that was wrapped in scarce clothing. She had a low-cut, spaghetti strapped, black top and a matching mini skirt. Jennifer kept her mouth shut and fumed quietly.

Rachel started applying a soft layer of make-up on Jay's smooth face and made sure to push her deep cleavage into her face as much as possible. Jay wasn't going to complain. "I know how much you sweat on stage so I brought a special kind of make-up. It's water and sweat resistant." After finishing with her face, she started on her eyes. "I'll use this silvery blue eye shadow to accentuate your beautiful baby-blues."

Jay smiled.

Jennifer ground her teeth harder.

Jennifer fumed as she watched the woman practicly give Jay a lap dance for half an hour. Finally' Rachel finished and moved away. Jennifer was starting to think that when she opened her mouth dust would fall out from all the teeth grinding she had done. When Rachel moved out of the way, Jennifer's breath caught in her throat as she looked at her friend. She was even more stunning than before. Jennifer had to admit that Rachel knew just what to do to bring out one's beauty. All of Jay's qualities had been highlighted.

"Well, what do you think?" When Jennifer didn't respond immediately, Jay pulled back and turned to leave the room, "I knew I'd look stupid. I'm going to take this off."

"No!" Jennifer's shout stopped her dead in her tracks and she turned to look at her quizzically. "You look beautiful!"

Jay's lips curled into a lop-sided smile and she blushed faintly, "Thanks."

Rachel looked distastefully at the exchange and snapped her fingers in front of Jennifer's face, jolting her from her motionless state. "I don't have all day." Said Rachel, irritably.

By noon, both women were washed, dressed and looking like the stars that they were. "Well, we don't have much else to do but hang around. The autograph signing is at 5:00 PM and until then we're free. So, lady singer, what would you like to do?" asked Jay.

"Hmm, I don't know. How about we go and visit this new restaurant I've heard so much about and then we'll see?"

"We could do that... if we want to get mobbed by screaming fans."

"Maybe it's good promotion for the show. I mean we mingle, give out some autographs and then try to eat in peace... Please? I really wanted to go there..." Jennifer was giving her the puppy dog eyes that she knew Jay could never refuse.

"Oh, all right. Just cut it with the puppy dog act."

"Thanks!" Jennifer clapped her hands giddily and jumped to hug Jay. Jay almost stumbled backwards from the force of the impact but managed to steady herself and return the hug.

Picking up their key, they walked out of the room to be met by one of their body guards, Jimmy. He was a big guy, which was a preferable quality in good body guards. He had short cropped black hair, a large muscular built that fit his tall frame and kind brown eyes.

"Hey you two."

"Hey Jimmy."

"Where are you guys going?"

"Oh, just to grab a little lunch." said Jay.

"Oh? Where?"

"Well, there is this restaurant that Jennifer wanted to see so..."

"Oh no. No way. Jay, Jennifer, I'm sorry but I can't let you two go out there without professional escort."

"Now, Jimmy, you know damn well that I can take care of both of us perfectly well. And besides these are our fans, they don't aim to hurt us."

"No...But some people do and I don't want to take that chance."

Jay was starting to lose her patience, "Jimmy, it's none of your concern. We decided to go and so we'll go and you know that nothing you will say would make us change our minds." Her voice was starting to turn into a growl. Jennifer laid a comforting hand on the low of her back and felt the tense muscles bunched up and ready to strike. "Jimmy, we'll be fine. You know Jay won't let anything happen to me, to us." Jennifer decided to take things into her own hands and tried to pacify the situation.

She saw Jimmy take a deep breath and run a thick hand through his unruly black hair. "All right. But be careful, okay? They may be your fans but sometimes people go overboard when they're excited. Just remember that, all right?"

"We promise to be careful. Thanks, Jimmy." Jennifer laid a soft kiss on his cheek and smiled at the blush that crept up his tanned face. Jay pulled her towards the elevator and waited till it reached the ground floor. Stepping out of the elevator, they saw the mob of people crowding the entrance of the hotel and smiled, "It's show time." Said Jay as they started walking towards the sliding doors.

The action that greeted the duo at the front of their hotel didn't take too long and soon enough they were in a rental car, which Jonney helpfully provided them with when they had first arrived in town, driving to the restaurant.

"Here we are." said Jay as she entered the restaurant's parking lot. They stepped out of the car and locked it. Jay memorized the place where they parked the car and then they walked over to the entrance. Jay pulled the door open for Jennifer, and they climbed the flight of stairs that brought them to the back entrance of the restaurant. A kind-looking young lady approached the duo with a broad smile, which turned broader when she noticed just who had stepped into their fine, little establishment. "Hello, I'm Kim your hostess for this fine afternoon. How may I help you?"

Jay slipped into her public persona and a charming smile that would make the strongest heart melt, spread across her features . "We'd like a table for two. A more private table would be nice, if you don't mind."

The dumbstruck hostess snapped herself from her daze and nodded vigorously, "Of course, of course. I have just the right table for you. Please, follow me." She said as she turned around and led them through the restaurant to a more secluded area in the back. Large plants were obscuring the view of the table from possible prying eyes and it was situated far from the large windows of the restaurant. Waiting for the two women to settle, she gave each a menu and with a curt nod to Jennifer and an alluring smile to Jay, she left them to their privacy. Jay had never been shy of her attributes and she fitted the celebrity scene perfectly. She was always ready with a sexy smile or an inviting wink. Though Jennifer was just as beautiful, she had never actually fitted in this scene, she had always been the quiet one, a fact which rarely made her accessible to this kind of response from her fans.

"This is nice." Said Jennifer to Jay, who was checking out the menu. Jay looked up from her menu and smiled gently at her companion, "Yes, yes it is." Another tender smile passed between the old friends before both turned their gazes to the tantalizing dishes offered on the menu in front of them. The rest of the meal went wonderfully. Jennifer ordered a plate of grilled shrimp while Jay contended for a well-done steak with mashed potatoes on the side. They chatted between bites, laughed and then shared a piece of chocolate cake that was far too alluring for Jennifer to say no to, even though their meal was very filling. Wiping the remnants of their lunch from her lips, Jennifer smiled contently as she looked over at Jay, "Thanks. We haven't done something like this in far too long a time."

Jay returned her smile and nodded, "I know. We should do this more often. How about this, let's make this a sort of a tradition. Before every concert we go to lunch together, no matter what. Even if we have something planned or I don't know, anything, we try our best and do it. How about it?"

Jennifer took her lower lip between her pearly white teeth as she looked at Jay skeptically, "And what if it's rehearsal we'd be missing?"

Jay shook her head and said, "Doesn't matter. We go anyhow. For good luck." She paused for a few seconds and then added almost as an after thought, "For old time's sake."

That brought a smile to Jennifer's face and she agreed, "All right. It's been too long since I spent some nice quality time with my best friend."

"Yeah, it has. Then it's a deal." They smiled at each other and shook hands. "Deal."

All through lunch they felt the shy glances that were thrown their way from the other diners and the soft whisperings of "It's them", "It's not". Finally, as they raised themselves from their seats after paying the bill and leaving a large tip, Jay led them through the restaurant, throwing smiles towards the shocked looking people all around them. When they reached the exit, they thanked their hostess, Kim, politely, tipped her as well and left the cozy restaurant with a sweet sense for more. Their free time was slowly coming to an end but they still managed to squeeze in some more exploring of the beautiful town.

Ch. 4

At 4:15 PM sharp, Jay reached their hotel to find it still mobbed by screaming fans, who only turned louder at the sight of their favorite singers. A young valet came and opened their doors, then took the key from Jay. As they approached the fans, a slow chant of their names started to echo through the half-closed hotel entrance. Twin smiles arose on both faces as they started handing out autographs. From the corner of her eye, Jennifer couldn't help but noticing a group of screaming young women trying to jump the separating fence just to touch Jay. Jay moved closer to them and smiled, handing one of them her autograph. Jennifer saw one of the other women in that group, shake her head at Jay and point to her chest. Jay cocked her head to the side, as if not quite understanding. The woman happily demonstrated her meaning to the confused Jay. She pulled her skimpy shirt from hr skirt and pulled it above her head. Jennifer was so shocked that she had stopped signing and just stood there, staring. She noticed, however, that Jay's expression was much the same as hers of pure shock. Jay shook her head and smiled at the woman when she understood what she had meant. She took the marker from the fan's hand and signed her name in large, bold letters on the woman's bra. Handing the marker back to the ecstatic fan, she grinned.

Jennifer, on the other hand, groaned.

They noticed the time and started walking away from the fans, waving and smiling at them until they entered the hotel's lobby. Hurrying to get out of view, they went to sit at the bar. Jennifer still couldn't believe that Jay had agreed to signing the woman's bra. Something like that had never happened to them before. "What was that all about?" Jennifer blurted the question before she could stop herself, she was curious.

"What was what?" asked Jay, innocently.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Since when do you go around signing women's bras in the middle of the street?"

Jay smirked and shrugged, "Oh that. Well, what did you want me to do? She asked me to give her an autograph and I did. What's the big problem?"

Jennifer shook her head and blew out a breath, "Nothing. Just forget it."

Jay shrugged again and called the waiter to their table. She ordered a coke for herself and asked Jennifer if she wanted anything. When she wasn't given an answer, she dismissed the waiter and started tapping her foot nervously. Ten minutes later, they were found by their manager and the rest of their crew. "There you two are! How was lunch?" Asked Jonney.

"It was good. Are we leaving?" Said Jay.

Jonney noticed the mood she was in instantly by the constant tapping of her foot but he grew to like his life, so he kept quiet and answered her immediately, "Sure."

Jonney glanced at Jennifer and saw a sad look cross her fair face as she got to her feet. He let the rest of the crew move in front of him as he trailed back and tried to catch Jennifer's gaze. "Hey..." He said softly as he neared her. Jennifer raised her eyes and looked at their manager and old friend, "Hey."

"Are you okay, kiddo?" He asked, gently as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Jennifer spared him a soft smile and nodded, "Yeah."

Jonney knew that something was bothering her and he was quite positive it had something to do with her tall, dark companion but he didn't want to pry into things that weren't his business. Besides, he knew that if Jennifer had wanted to talk, she would have told him what had upset her. He gave Jennifer a final squeeze and released her as they left the lobby and stepped into the awaiting limo.

The atmosphere in the limo was tense and no one but the two singers knew the reason why. Actually, the two singers, who were supposed to know the reason were quite baffled too. And although the reason for this situation eluded them, neither was known for their ability or readiness to apologize. After an hour or so because of heavy traffic, they reached their destination. It was the largest records store in the area and it was closest to the stadium where they would perform later in the evening.

Thousands of fans were already blocking the streets surrounding the store. The body guard's job just became harder. They would have to literally 'body' guard the stars. The fans were crowding the entrance, making it almost impossible for them to exit the car. It was a miracle in itself that the singers had managed to push their way in the car as far as they did. With the help of thir four bodyguards and members of the local police force, Jennifer and Jay managed to open the door and get out of the car. Without another thought, they started running towards the entrance. Suddenly, somebody from the crowd tried to make a grab for Jennifer. Amazingly, he had succeeded in passing their security and as they were almost at the door, he jumped in front of the frightened Jennifer. In the whole mess, no one noticed the guy. The security thought they were safe as they neared the door and missed the crazed fan that was slowly drawing something out of his coat pocket. Jay, however hadn't missed anything as her eyes were transfixed on Jennifer from the moment they stepped out of the car. She pushed Jennifer away and straight into the arms of Jimmy, their body guard as she thrust herself forward and made a grab for the fan's arm. She pulled his arm out of his pocket and bent it backwards. The guy was shocked that someone had seen him, he thought that his plan was flawless and he discovered the bitter truth. He was too shocked to do something about the counter-attack. He hissed in pain as his arm was bent at an unnatural angle and pushed painfully, almost to its breaking point. Jay was ready to break his arm off when she was stopped by a police officer who came to intervene. She let go of him roughly and let the police officer take over. Grabbing hold of Jennifer's hand, she pulled her inside the secure store.

"Are you okay?" asked Jay, concerned as she gave Jennifer the once over.

Jennifer was trembling slightly. She hadn't noticed the man until it was too late and if it wasn't for Jay's quick movement, she knew this could have ended badly. She took a shaky breath and released it slowly. "I'm okay, just a little shaken."

After making sure that Jennifer was indeed all right, she turned angry eyes onto the frightened security team. "You were supposed to watch out for her! How the hell did that guy penetrate your security, huh? How is it possible that you didn't notice him, even when he was about to harm Jennifer, hmm?" Jay was angry and her tone was rising with each word she uttered but she knew that she wasn't angry at them. She knew they did everything in their power to try and keep them safe and this wasn't entirely their fault, but she was scared. She was scared for Jennifer and for what could have happened if she hadn't noticed him on time. Her fear morphed itself into anger and the only people around that she could vent her anger at were standing in front of her, shuffling their feet in shame and looking defeated, at the ground.

Her fury calmed somewhat when a gentle hand laid itself on her shoulder. She turned to look at Jennifer's green eyes and all the strength that pushed her anger to the surface, dissipated. She turned to face her and took her into her arms, gently. Jay stroked her hair and mumbled a few things in her ear before she let her go. Jennifer nodded and composed herself. Suddenly, the door burst open and Jonney came in, "What happened?!" He yelled, frantically looking around. He had been stuck outside in the crowd, trying to push his way in for the past few minutes. The police was frantic as well from the happenings and hadn't let anyone go past them.

"Jonney, Jonney!" Yelled Jay until she saw him relax a little and look at her. "Everyone's all right, don't worry. We had a little...mishap but nothing happened."

"A guy almost pulling a knife on one of my singers, you call nothing?!" He yelled at Jay and then turned to look at Jennifer, his face softening considerably, "Are you okay?"

Jennifer smiled and said, "Yes, I'm fine. Really, nothing happened."

Jonney took a deep breath and asked, "Do you want me to cancel this? It's no problem, in a few sec..." Before he could even finish his sentence, Jennifer spoke up, "No way! Just because some crazy guy tried to attack me, I'm not going to crush all those people's hearts and cancel this signing." She softened her tone and looked pleadingly at Jay and Jonney, "I'm fine and I want to do this."

"Alright. But if another thing happens..." started Jonney.

"Nothing will happen. Relax, okay?" Said Jennifer.

Jonney grunted softly and went to talk to one of the owners of the store. Both singers took their places behind the large table in the middle of the store and prepared themselves for the crowd that was to enter soon. The duo's bodyguards tensed and readied themselves, the police officers did the same thing, creating some sort of a protecting ring around the singers. Anyone crossing the line would be immediately noticed and taken care of. A few minutes later, the doors were opened.

The mess was indescribable. People were trying to squeeze themselves in, in every possible corner, filling up the store fairly quick. All in all, it went alright. Jennifer and Jay made a lot of people happy and bought a lot more people's hearts with their simple, charming attitude. Jay, however, couldn't keep herself from flirting with every female that approached their table, making Jennifer grumble with annoyance. With every wink Jay sent a woman's way, Jennifer sent a radiant smile towards a good looking young man.

By the end of the ordeal, both were tired and irritated.

Jonney let them sign a few more autographs before he had to intervene. They were already running behind schedule and they needed to get to the stadium so the girls would have time to get ready for the show. Wrapping up, the fans were pushed outside as the duo left the store, using the back door. In fifteen minutes, they were getting out of the limo at the stadium's parking lot. To their right, was a door, opening into a long hall. On both sides were rooms with their names on them. Quickly finding their own room, Jay and Jennifer went to get ready.

Their first outfits for the show were laying on a large, leather sofa. Jennifer grabbed her clothes and went to get changed in another room. Jay picked up her clothes as well and did the same. She would be wearing skin tight, blue jeans that were torn in the knees and a black tank top that showed off her well defined upper body. The black, cowboy boots finished the outfit. Jennifer came out of the room after several minutes. "You look great." Said Jay.

"Thanks. You too."

Jennifer was wearing low cut, black leather pants with a white, silk, button-down shirt and a pair of black boots as well. Her first two shirt buttons were open and so were her wrist cuffs.

"I'm getting kinda nervous." Said Jennifer.

"Actually, me too. It's a good thing. We'll do all that much better."

"You're up in five." Came a voice from outside their door.

Taking a deep breath, Jay went over to Jennifer, took her hands in hers and squeezed them. "Good luck. We'll do great." She winked at her and pulled her to the door. It was show time.