Fragile Heart *unfinished*

"I don't care, Blaire!" Zion screamed at her best friend. "I'm sick of hearing all this christian stuff! Why won't you leave me alone?" she turned her head, trying to hide the tears that came to her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Zee. I'll go." she got up and left. Zion got up slammed the door, shut out the lights, turned on her Marilyn Manson CD as loud as she could, and flopped on the bed crying. Why can't we just be friends? Why do we have to fight all the time? Just then her stepmom barged in and yanked the CD out of the player and broke it in half.
"What the-?"
"There. That will teach you to keep your demonic music down." her stepmom turned and left the room.
"Oh no you don't!" Zion jumped up and ran after her. "You can't just come in here and rule me around. I'm 19 going on 20 and I don't take crap from people like you!" she yelled angrily.
"You will as long as you live in my house!"
"Fine then. I'm leaving!" she turned to walk away and as she did her stepmom grabbed her arm and said, "I don't think so! You are staying right here in this house. You are NOT leaving!"
Zion struggled with her for a moment and finally she threw out her hand and slapped her stepmom as hard as she could. Her stepmom became angry and swung back at her. When she did, her long acrylic nails scraped her cheek. It took a layer of skin off her cheek. It started bleeding furiously.
"I've had it!" her stepmom jumped up and ran to the phone. She dialed 911 and told the police what happened. Before Zion could run, the police came and took her to the women's detention center for a week. This wasn't her first offense, it was more like her third. After that, they wouldn't let her go back to live with her stepmom (not like she wanted to). When she got back from the center the government gave her enough money to get an apartment but she had to get a job to pay the monthly rent. She did, eventually. She got a job as a waitress. Her first day at work, she got ready. She wore her favorite outfit. Since her friends called the "gothic chick" she decided to look that way. She had her pitch black hair and ghostly white skin which she never let the sun tan. She had on a really weird black shirt that ended at the ribs and from there a net covered all the way down to where her extremely short skirt started at her pelvic bone. She had bought some fish-net stockings to go w/ her combat boots. Her make-up was extremely heavy. And her waist length black hair hung straight down her back. She looked in the mirror before going out. I look like a hooker...she thought. Just what I wanted. She grinned and hurried out the door. When she got to work, her co-workers eyed her with disgust. But, she just gave them dirty looks and went on. On Saturday, she called her boyfriend Chris.
"Hey man, what's up?"
"Hey babe, actually me and my buds are gonna go hangout and do something."
"Oh, ok. Well, if you want to call me later, go ahead. Call me at this address though. Alright?"
"Sounds good. Hey, how come you are calling me this at this number? The caller ID says something different than your stepmoms number.
"Well......" she told him the whole story of what happened.
"Man! Your stepmom is a witch!"
"Yea....I know. But, I'm SO glad I'm not living with her now. I like living by myself."
"I know the feeling...Well, I have to go cause someone's beeping in on call waiting. Peace!"
She hung up and when she did someone else called.
"Hullo?"
"Zee?"
"Hey Blaire." she already knew who it was when she heard her known nickname.
"Your stepmom told me to call you at this number. What happened?"
"Well, do you want to come over so we can talk?"

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"Ok, Zee, talk." There at Zion's apartment she spilled everything out. After Zion stopped talking, Blaire spoke up, "Well, at least you are on your own like you wanted."
"Yeah. Very true."
"So, will you be doing ok? I mean like with furniture and stuff?" she asked looking around at the bare room.
"Well, I really need to go shopping for that stuff. But, first I need to save some money for that. Right now, I have my furniture from my own room back at my stepmom's place. I have my bed, a small sofa, a chair, and my two dressers. Really, what I need is some stuff for the kitchen and some more furniture for the living room."
"Well, when you get the cash, I'll will go with you to the furniture store. Ok?" she replied with a smile.
Zion grinned back, "Sweet! Whateva you say!"
"Hey, I'm going to a concert in about 4 weeks. You wanna go with me?"
"Hmmmm...Let me guess. The concert is a christian thing, right?"
"Well...Yes, but-"
"No buts, Blaire. I'm not gonna go to some stupid concert where people act all sweet and innocent and say life is grand. I'm not that kind of person and you know that."
"Yes, you tell me all the time. But, these people that are performing are REALLY awesome! They are actually really good friends of mine. When they are in town, I'm always hanging out with them."
"What's their names?"
"Well, they are called Plus One. But the guys in the group are Nathan, Jeremy, Gabe, Jason and Nate. But, Zee, I'm not lying. These guys are the bomb to hang out with!"
"That's great, Blaire. I'm glad to know that my bestfriend has turned into a teeny-bopper who likes boybands." she replied sarcastically.
"I'm not a teeny-bopper-"
"It sure looks like it to me."
"Well, get over it. I'm not. Anyways, I'm telling you that you really need to come, cause this group is really popular and there are tons of peeps goin'. But since I know them, afterwards we can go in the back and hangout. They even told me that I could go out to eat with them! Oh my word! I'm so excited!"
"Give me a break! You can count me out."
"How come?" she said with a disappointed look on her face.
"Because, I can't listen to that stuff! I can't believe people call it talent!"
"Well, its better than Marilyn Manson and Papa Roach, who screech and yelp to the sound of a recorded demolition derby. And their lyrics suck and have no point. All they talk about is drugs, rape, pain, and killing people who get in their way! I still can not believe you can listen to that traffic jam and call it 'rockin'!"
"Hey! I like that 'traffic jam'. It puts me in a good mood. And for you information, they don't 'screech and yelp', they get the message clearly across. "
Blaire grimanced at the thought and said dryly,"You have a very vivid imagination and are too ruthless for your own good." Zion laughed loudy at the expressionon her face.
"Thank you, thank you very much!"
"Yes, well, in your opinion it does."Blaire continued softly then her voice rose dramatically in response to the bored almost laughing expression on Zion's face." But, to 99% of the people its very offensive. Anyways, I want to show you this song on the Plus One CD. It's awesome! I love it. For my sake, just listen to it. Ok?"
Zion crossed her arms and said, "Sure. Whatever." with a flippant attitude and a roll of her heavy made up dark eyes.
Blaire popped in the CD. "The song's called, When Your Spririt Gets Too Weak. It's beautiful."
When the song was over Blaire asked, "Didn't you like it?"
"Well, I'll tell you this. It's something I would never play in my CD player again, but other than that it was ggrrrreeeaaat." she smirked then grinned sarcastically. "Did you like my rendition of tony the tiger!"
"Tony the tiger?!"
"Yeah, you know, the big orange tiger off of the frosted flakes box? Don't worry if you can't figure it out. Blondes are like that."
Blaire was soo intense on pondering who Tony the tiger was that she missed the sarcastic blonde remark. It took her a while to figure it out, then was hit with the realization.
"Ha Ha. You're a funny girl." She said grabbing a pillow and throwing it at her. Zion ducked and the pillow sailed above her head and landed on the floor.
"Thank you. I try to be."
"Anyways, you need to come, it would be good for you. It you. Going to this concert would be better than going to hang out with Chris. That dude does nothing for you. I don't see how you can stay with him. I mean come on, Zee. You are a gorgeous woman! You can do better than that!"
"Umm...Obviously not or I would've had someone better right now. Besides, Chris is great. I love him and I think he loves me."
"You think?"
"Oh, nevermind. Talking to you is useless. You can never see my point of view. Why bother, Blaire?"
"I'm just trying to help you. To give you some advice to make your life less complicated."
"Okeeeey. Now, I'm taking advice from a girl who is a year and a half younger than me."
"Well , we are supposed to bestfriends. I thought normal friends got advice from other friends."
"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, Blaire, we aren't normal friends. We fight all the time, we hardly ever have a good time together."
"Well, then lets do something that we both dig and go have a good time."
"Like what? You don't 'dig' anything that I do."
"Hmm....Let's go play putt-putt." she said excitedly.
"PUTT-PUTT? Are you serious? I would never be caught dead putt-putting!"
"Well, then where do you want to go?"
"Why don't we go shopping, because I really need some clothes. Then we could go catch a flick."
"Alright, sounds like a plan, Stan."
"Stan??"
"Sorry, it's another nick for you. Zee and Stan." she laughed hysterically.
"That's just wonderful. But please do not call me Stan in public. Besides, you know I like to be called Michele, my middle name."
"Yea well, Michele is too plain."
"Yadda Yadda Yadda. Michele sound harder. It's better than some dumb name like Zion. To this day, I still do not know what my mom was thinking when she named me that."
"I think its awesome. It's from the Bible, you know."
"So? I don't care if it was from a dictionary. It's a stupid name. Anyways, so what day do you wanna go out? How about tomorrow, on Sunday. I'm not working."
"Nope, I have to go to church. You know that."
"Ugh! Why can't you just skip church. Just this once?"
"Sorry, I can't. I teach the sunday school. I have responsibililty."
Zion made a face. "How about when I get off work on Monday? I get off at 6:00, and we could meet at the mall."
"Ok. We can do that. Well, I'm gonna have to go. I'll see you in a little bit. K?"
"K. Bye Babe." she said as she walked her to the door. She opened the door to see rain pouring down and thunder then a split second later a jagged streak of white lightning. it looked like a leathal weapon.
"Drive safely, girl!" she teased.
"Yes, Mother!" came the response.
Blaire smiled beautifully and got in her car and drove off. Zion, feeling nausiated for some odd reason then pulled on her boxer shorts and wife beater tank and laid on the bed and fell asleep. An hour later, the phone rang again.
"Hullo?" she said with a groggy but irritated voice.
"Yes, this is Janet from 'Baptist East Hospital.' Is Zion Brown there?"
"This is her. Can I help you?"
"Yes, we having a dying patient here by the name of Blaire Reynolds. And she has asked to see you."
Zion became frantic. "Where is the hospital?"
The woman gave her directions and when Zion finally got there, she ran into the room where Blaire was.
She scanned the room, recognizing no one. Then went hysteric "Where is she?!"
"I'm sorry. You missed her." came the soft reply connected to a male she didn't know. But she was too hysterical to understand and keep repeating herself..."Where is she, where is she?!" Every one in the room was crying softy, the womem dabbing their eyes and the men hiding their faces in their hands in slumped over positions. The guy gripped her fore arms tightly and she frantically searched his face. He shook her hard but just enough to get her attention. She stared, not seeing, not believing, letting the words sink in. Then with a realization of those five words..."I'm sorry. You missed her..."she went balistic.
"NO! SHE CAN'T DIE! She's all I have!" Zion ran out of the room with the rage of a maniac. She had the look of an insane person. She was insane! She ran down the hall and to a door that led to the balcony on the side of the hospital. She heard someone running behind her but she didn't care. She yanked the doors opened and ran to the rails of the balcony. I can't live with myself! I can't do this! Rain was pouring down, her shorts and tank were already drenched. She climbed up on the ledge intending to jump off, but she slipped. She tried again but someone behind her slipped his arms around her and pulled her down. Zion struggled hard, but whoever was holding her had extremely hard, strong arms.
she raged. "Let me go! let me die!"ranting like a mad woman and not seeing the guy who was holding her tightly. All of a sudden, she broke. Weeping and crying hysterically. She then leaned over to vomit as the guy held her head and hair back. He then aprighted her against the wall. She then cried with all she had in her. Tears of anguish and sorrow streamed down her face, leaving black streaks from the make up she had never taken off . After what seemed like hours in the cold rain pouring down, soaking their bodies, chilling them to the bone without them realizing, she pass out cold. He then picked her up in his arms, surprising himself at how light she was and carried her from the balcony.

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Man, this girl must really have it bad. She is really hurt, he thought. He waited as the nurse looked at her in the other room. She is really gorgeous, even though she could use a nice tan.....and man! she is really light! he thought, wondering how a girl her age could weigh as much as a 9 year old. While the nurse looked at her, Jason went back to the room where is friends were. Gabe, Nathan, Jeremy, and Nate were all still tear eyed to see their best friend die so tragically. They were also concerned about Blaire's friend, Zion.
Gabe got up. "How is she? She ok?"
Jason replied, "The nurse is looking at her."
"That's good. We will come in there with you." Nate said. They all said there good byes to the family and left the room. They walked in Zion's room just as the nurse was leaving and asked to speak with Jason privately. They stepped outside the room and the nurse spoke, "Are you related to Zion?"
"No, actually, I just met her. I'm a really close friend of her friend, Blarie. Why?"
"Well, I really need to speak with her parents but I looked at her files and she doesn't live with her parents. But, since you are here with her, I need to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"Ok. Zion is not healthy at all. Actually, it appears that she has started starving herself. She told me she has been this way for a few weeks, nearly a month. She only weighs 96 pounds. If she keeps this up she will be in a serious condition. So, my question is, I need you to keep in touch with her, at least everyday. Make her eat, don't let her starve herself. She's killing herself and she doesn't even know it."
"So, you want me to be with her and help her get back to health?"
"Exactly. It appears that she is really having hard times with her life, maybe thats why she is doing this to herself. So, please, I ask you. Help her." she gave him a pat on the shoulder and left. Jason went back in the room. Zion had just came back from her unconsciencness. She looked around surprised. "Who are you guys?"
Jason introduced them all and said, "Your name is Zion. Right?"
"Actually, I prefer Michele." she said bluntly.
"Nice to meet you." They all nodded.
"Well, I'm leaving now, to go kill myself......" she mumbled those last few words to herself but they guys heard.
"Why would you want to kill yourself?" Jeremy asked. All the guys had concerned looks on their faces.
Michele looked straight and hard. "Why? You ask me why? Well, lets see. If your mom and brother died, and your dad married again, to a witch, then he left you stuck with her and all you had was your best friend. Then today she dies. Are you telling me that you would want to live?"
"Woah. We didn't realize. Sorry." Jeremy apologized.
"Yes, thats what everyone says. Now if you guys would exuse me, I'm leaving." She got up and slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag and keys and headed for the door.
"Wait!" Jason yelled, as he walked after her.
She stopped and turned. "Yes?" she asked irritatedly.
"Why don't you let me take you home? You don't seem like you are stable enough to drive." he said worriedly.
"No thanks. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."
"No really. I think you should let me drive."
"Fine. Usually I would fight you, but I'm too tired." she threw him the keys and hurried out the door. She just wanted to get home, cry and drink it all away.
They walked to Jason's black Jeep Cherokee.
"How am I supposed to get my car home?" she asked.
"We can come back in a couple days and get it, when you are feeling better."
Zion nodded. They drove off and Zion directed him to her apartment. On the way, Jason tried to keep the conversation flowing. "So, were you close to Blaire?"
"Yes, you could say that." she said soflty. "We were always together, although we fought alot." Tears came to eyes, as she thought about it.
She cleared her throat and asked, "What about you? Were you close to her?"
"Yes, actually, me and all the guys you met at the hospital were extremely close. Every other day, we'd call her or vise versa. Everytime we were around this state, we'd all hang out. She was awesome to have fun with. She always talked about you. She always wanted us to meet you. She says you are a great friend."
Tears came to Michele's eyes. "She did?"
Jason nodded his head. "Yeah. She said you were really sweet."
Michele turned her head for a moment to choke back the tears. "Yeah. So was she."
Jason leaned forward and turned on the radio. He flipped through the stations to find the song "When Your Spirit Gets Too Weak" playing.
Michele brightened. "Hey! That's Blaire favorite song!"
Jason tried to hide a smile. "Oh yeah?"
"Yup. She knows the guys who sing it too. Plus One, I think they're are called." she nodded.
"Yeah. I'm in Plus One, you know."
Michele gave him a weird look. "Yeah right, and I'm Britney Spears." She said sarcastically.
"No, I'm serious." he said grinning.
"I'm happy for you. But, I have to tell you. I'm not a teeny-bopper. I don't like groups like that." she said bluntly.
For a minute, Jason was surprised, to see that someone didn't like their music. But then again, not everyone likes Plus One, Jason. he told hisself. "Then what kind of music do you like?"
"Everything from Marilyn Manson all the way down to Creed."
Jason raised his eyebrows.
"What? Never seen a girl who likes hard music?"
Jason shook his head. "Nevermind." He said as he turned at her apartment.
"Welp, here we are. Will you be ok?"
"Yes. I told you that I don't need any help. When will I get my car back?" she said as she got out of the jeep.
"Well, why don't I give you a fews days, and I'll come pick you up for the funeral next week, then we can go get it. What's your phone number?"
She told him and say goodbye and walked in the apartment and immediately took a shower and went to bed. But, that night, she couldn't go to sleep. She had Blaire on her mind. She cried uncontrollably for her best friend. She couldn't believe she was gone. She couldn't believe God would take the one and only person she had left. She had so many emotions mixed inside her. Finally, after wrestling with her feelings, she fell asleep in her tears.

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The next week, Michele, took off work the whole week and the next. Her boss wasn't to pleased but she did it anyhow. The whole week, Michele sat around watching old videos of her and Blaire. She had a box of tissues right beside her. She cried endlessly. About, every other day Jason called her to see if she doing ok. And to see if she was eating.
The veiwing of the body at the funeral home was on Wednesday. Michele got ready. Dressed in her traditional black, she waited for Jason to come pick her up. He did and they arrived at the funeral homejust when people were going out. The doors were going to be closed soon, so Michele had only a few minutes. She walked up to the casket and looked down at her friends dead body. She reached out to touch her hand and face. Her skin was cold, but somehow her face still seemed peaceful like it always was. Tears rushed down her cheeks as she looked at her. Since know one was in the room she wispered softly, "Hey Blaire." she said as if Blaire could hear her. "I know, we didn't get along much but I still want you to know....that I could have never had a better friend than you. I'm so sorry. I don't understand why this had to happen, and I still don't want to believe you are gone. Please come back....." she sobbed. "I love you." She couldn't hold it in much longer. Right there in front of her casket, Michele slumped down to the ground and cried it out. She must have been there for a long while because Jason came and helped her up. She immediately fell in his arms, crying. She whispered into his neck, "How could God do this to me?" Jason's heart went out to her. Her wrapped his arms around her and tried to comfort her. She clung to him. Her tears drenched his shirt. After awhile, she pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's alright." he said comforting her. He slipped his arm around her and held her close as they walked out to the car. He drove her home. When they got there, Jason asked, "Do you need me to stay?"
Michele shook her head. "I just want to be alone."
Jason understood and said, "I'll be here at six tomorrow to pick you up. Ok?"
Michele nodded. She went inside and flopped on the couch. Once again, she cried herself to sleep. Lately, that was all that seemed to help her sleep.
The next day, Michele called Chris to see if he was going to go to the funeral.
"I'm sorry, Michele. I promised my friends I was going to go to the movies with them, but when we are finished I'll come over."
"Oh ok. So you are going to go and see a movie while I go to my best friends funeral. That's real cool. You know what? Don't even bother. If you aren't even gonna be there when I need you the most than what are you good for?"
"Michele-"
"It's over, Chris. Good Bye." she hung up and bitterly cried. She couldn't believe everything was crashing down on her. Later that day, she went to the funeral with all of Jason's friends from Plus One. They got there a little bit before it started because it was requested by Blaire's parents for Plus One to sing at the funeral. They had to go over the song they were to sing. They went to their seats and the procession began. Blaire's pastor got up and began to speak. He talked about how it was sad that she left, but it is a joy to see she went to a better place. It was more of a encouragement then a depressing sermon like most funerals. While he talked, Michele, who sat between Jason and Nate, couldn't believe what he was talking about. How could he be like this? This is a horrible time and he's telling us to be happy. She looked around and everyone seemed to be peaceful. There were a few tears in the peoples eyes, but they all had a joyful expression. She was glad when the pastor said he was finished and it was time for Plus One to come up and say something and sing.
Nate started talking. "I know that it is hard to accept this but I believe we will see our friend again someday. She truly is in a better place. I remember her telling me awhile back that she couldn't wait to go. She couldn't wait to see how it was up there. And now, I believe she got her wish. We are going to sing one of Blaire's favorite song. It's called, When Your Spirit Gets Too Weak. They began singing and the whole room was filled with an awesome harmony. It just made Michele just cry all the more. Once they finished, it was Blaire's brothers turn to speak. Then it was Michele's turn. She walked up to the platform, took the microphone and began to speak.
"Blaire was my best friend. She was always there for me. She always wanted the best for me even when I didn't give a care for her. I sometimes wonder why she wanted to be my friend. She was the best. When my family died, I felt no one was there. I thought my world had ended, but then I met her and my life turned." she said shakily. "And now God took her away from me. I'll never understand it. I mean, I had nobody to talk to until she came and changed...." she trailed off. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She couldn't talk anymore so she went back to her seat. Jason put his arm around her and tried to comfort her. By the end, Michele felt physically drained. They only would let immediate family to see the burial so Jason and the guys took Michele home.
"I'll call you tomorrow. Ok, Michele?" Jason said.
She nodded her head. That nite, Michele went through her usual crying. This had pretty much became a habit. She went through the whole next week doing the same. The only highlite of each day was when Jason called to check on her. She began to like him calling. It seemed that he was the only one who would. Michele took the time over the next few weeks to recover from Blaire's death. She eventually went back to work. Everyday, she got worse and worse. In her appearance, in her language, and in her attitude. Everyone at work, hated her more and more. Finally, on Saturady, she got a call from Jason.
"Jason?"
"Hey!"
"What's up?"
"Nothing really. Just got done from rehearsal."
"What were you rehearsing?"
"Dancing mostly. We already have our singing down pretty good. Our album is coming out so, we have to get our dancing for the tour."
"Great. Sounds like your week was fun."
"It was ok. What about your week?"
"Same old thing. I had to work all week like always. Everyone hates me there. No biggie." she said sarcastically.
"Why do they hate you?"
"I don't know. It's mostly the chicks who hate me. Maybe it's because I have nice legs and all the guys stare at me and not at them. I don't know." she said laughing.
Jason laughed hard. "Your crazy!" he said still laughing. "Are you busy tonight?"
"No. Why?"
"Because me and the guys are going out tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"
"Well, I'll go only if they want me to go. I don't want to intrude on the boy's night out." she smiled.
"Ah, they don't care. I already asked them. We are just going to the movies, I think. Sound good?"
"Sure. What time do I have to be ready? Where do u want me to meet you?"

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They all went and had the time of their lives. They watched the movie and went out to eat afterwards. Gabe began to get bored, so he decided to play a couple tricks on the waitress, who was new. Before they left, Gabe took a quarter and made it spin. While it was spinning, he took the salt shaker and as hard as he could he slammed down on the quarter and left in the middle of the table. He then took a napkin, put it on top of his cup and held it tightly. Quickly, he turned the cup full of Coke over and sat it down and tore the rest of the napkin around the edges to make it look like there was just an empty cup turned over. They all paid and went outside and went to the window so they could watch as the waitress cleaned their messy table. She picked up the cup, but little did she know that it was full. Coke cam streaming all over the table and on to her clothes, and on the floor. Her face turned red as everyone began to stare at her. She quickly tried to wipe it up. Outside everyone was rolling with laughter. Gabe yelled, "Yes! I knew it would work!" The waitress cleaned up the table as fast as she could. The last thing she did was move the salt and pepper shakers to the back of the table where it always was. She picked the salt shaker up and salt poured out at the bottom. And this time people began to laugh at her. She got so embarrassed she ran to the back of the restaurant, crying. Looking through the window, laughing, Jeremy said, "That was probably her last time coming to work here." They all laughed. "Gabe, you're horrible." Nate said with a mischeivious smile. "What do u all want to do now? It's getting pretty late."
"We should probably go back to the hotel, because we have a rehearsal really early in the morning." Nathan finished.
They all nodded and headed for their cars. Jason walked Michele to her car, while the rest went to theirs.
"Thank you for paying. You didn't have to do that." she unlocked her car.
"It's nothing." he smiled. "Hey, I had a great time tonight with you. Maybe we can do it again."
"Sure! Sounds fun. Just let me know when."
Jason's eyes brightened. "Really? You want to do this again? I sorta got the impression that you didn't want to be around me or the guys." he said nervously, waiting for her to reply.
She paused for a second then said, "Yeah. Well, I'm still kinda trying to get over Blaire and stuff. It's still really hard to get the fact that she's gone. I don't really have anyone, you know?....That's why I agreed."
"Well, Michele, you know that's not true! You can hang and talk with us!"
Michele smiled prettily, and showed girlish her dimples. Wow! She's really gorgeous when she smiles like that, he grinned to himself.
"What are you smiling so big about?"
"Ah, nothing. Just glad I met you." he shrugged.
"Really? You are glad? Most people can't wait to get away from me!"
Jason's brows furrowed. "Yeah right. You are awesome to hang with. Your hilarious! Remember at the movies, when you told that joke and everyone around us was laughing. No one was even watching the movie they were laughing so hard.:
"You flatter me, Jason. But, really, you haven't seen the other side of things."
"Other side of what?"
"Just.." As her face turned more serious. "I dont know. Just my life, and my friends and my priorities. They are so much more different than most people would think."
"And what do you think most people think of you?"
Michele looked away and shrugged. "Nevermind. It's nothing important. Honest."
Jason still had a concerned look on his face.
"Jason,.." after seeing his face. "There's no need to be worried about me. I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby. Even though you think I'm so tiny, which I'm not, you think i can't do jack. I assure you. I'll be fine." she said with a reasurring smile that flashed her white teeth, that of course no one can resist, Jason thought.
"Anyways, I'd better go. It looks like we have an audience." she said giggling. Jason looked around as he saw all the guys peeking thru their windows straining to hear what they were saying.
"Ok. Well, I'll see you later. Maybe we can do this again sometime."
She nodded - even though she knew they probably never would.
Jason leaned over and gave her a warm hug. "I'll see you later!"
She got in her car and drove to her apartment. She went to bed in a better mood she had ever been in. Man, I didn't realize how much better it feels to laugh and smile. She'd cried so much and felt so depressed it was almost awkward to smile. But, you aren't supposed to smile, Michele. Look at everything around you. There's nothing to live for. Everything around you is crumbling. She fought back and forth with her thoughts. She couldn't seem to find an answer. She hated feeling this way. For once, she just wanted to be free of it all. Later that night, she finally went to sleep.

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Months began to pass and Michele kept up with her job. She began to improve with eating disorder and with her appearance. Ever since she'd been talking and hanging out with Jason and the guys everything began to change, but for the good! She had started to lay low on the heavy makeup. She still wore it all, just not as much. Her clothes changed from less black to more color. She still had that slut look goin' on but she was working on that. They all did stuff together alot, Jason tried to get her to be involved with people and not shut herself away. He even brought her to some of their dance rehearsals for their tour. That was awesome so her because she loved to dance. She walked in with Jason readt ti warm up and have fun. And she did!
"Hello Michele, I'm Wade - the choreographer. Since you are the guest today, "he said with a twinkle in his eye, "You get to be front center!"
Zion looked at the guys nervously, "ok! Just show me what i have to do." They started out, and Wade showed the first few moves and by the time he got thru with the whole song they were perfoming with, Michele knew it all perfectly. She had to help Gabe and Nate alittle bit with their parts. Gabe kept wanting to turn then cross his legs, but you were supposed to do it the other way around.
"But!" he protested, "It feels better!"
Michele grinned, "It may feel better, but it looks retarded! Here, watch me." She quickly crossed her legs then did a full, smooth turn. "Now your turn."
Gabe did it just fine, but right at the end when he tried to stop his spin just as Michele had done with perfection. But instead, he used the little "cross-leg" technique and lost his balance and fell on his butt. Everyone watched with laughter."It's ok, Gabe. Maybe we should quit for the day. Let's go grab a bite to eat and go shopping or something." Jeremy said.
Nate must've been really excited to go to the mall because he was drove like a maniac! Gabe got out and dropped to ground and kissed it, thanking God that they were there safe.
"I'm not THAT bad of a driver!" Nate scowled and all they all laughed. Inside, they decided where they wanted to go.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I really need some clothes. So that's where I'll be." she said as the guys looked down at her extremely short, black shorts, and her 5 sizes too small tank.
"Maybe we should go with her.." Nathan whispered to Gabe, as he grinned. They all followed her into a clothing store she had picked out. Once, Jason discovered that all the clothes were black, he took her arm and lead her to another store. "This store is too depressing." He lead her into his favorite store and they all found clothes to try on. Gabe and Nathan were walking on the platform, where there were mirrors surrounding. They were acting as if they were models on a runway. Michele walked out in her outfit and saw them. She started laughing, "No guys, this is really how you do it." She walked forward, placing each foot directly in front of her at each step. Everyone stared in amazement at her confidence when she walked around. Her face held no defined expression just as if she were a professional. People in the store began to gather around to watch. She kept on, until she realized that she had an audience, and stopped. She blushed as they cheered and jokingly yelled out their numbers as if they were judges. She finished trying on the stuff that was picked out and waited for the guys. By the time they left the mall they had tons of stuff. "Whew! That was tiring!" Jason said sitting down in the car. "Hey, Nate do you mind if I drive this time?"
Nate nodded. "Sure. Just make sure you get me to the hotel in one piece."
Jason rolled his eyes, "Only you can't do that."
They dropped everyone off and it was just Michele and Jason. They decided to go to her apartment and just lounge around since they were so tired.

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They rented a movie, ordered chinese food and talked all nite. Jason noticed her eating. Dang, that girl can really shove it in! He looked at her face and noticed a normal color, and her weight had improved greatly. During the movie, he accidentally fell asleep on her shoulder for a few minutes. She woke him up, "Is this movie boring you?" she said with a smile. Jason shot up. "Aw, my bad Mickey. I was just ...."
Michele laughed. "It's ok. We can turn it off if you don't want to watch it anymore."
"Ok."
Michele got up and turned off the movie and grabbed the remote for her cd player and turned on some music, but with the volume low.
She eased back on the sofa next to Jason, as he began to talk. " You know I was watching you in the mall, on that platform trying on clothes...Where did you learn how to walk like that? Were you a model or something?"
Michele tensed and immediately Jason knew he shouldn't have gone there. "Never mind that question."
She paused for a minute and then shook her head, "No, I think I need to tell you. To atleast get this off me."
She sat up sat up straight, "You see, I was a model when I was younger. My mom thought I was 'beautiful' enough to be one and she got me into contests when i was about 11 and all thru my high school years I was a runway model, I did photo shoots, almost everything. To be honest, I succeeded in the business and my family was very supportive for it. Especially my mom. We were the best of freinds tother than Blaire." she explained as tears shimmered in her eyes.
"Mom was always there at my shoots, at my contests, runway shows, everything. She never missed one of them. And then on the day of my big nite to get promoted for some big modeling business, I was supposed to model some clothing for them. And my mom and the rest of my family was coming to support me. I told them not to be late, but they were. I had to start without them. I finished and was so very happy to see that they liked me and what I did. But, as I was leaving, a woman came up to me and told me that trying to get here as fast as they could, my mom and brother was killed in a car accident-" she broke off and a tear escaped and slid down her face.
She quickly wiped it away and continued, "I was so desperate. I went into stages where I didn't talk, eat, or sleep. My dad was still alive but it was as if he didn't even care if they were alive or not. A month later he got married to some witch who didn't give a rip about what happened to me or what I did, as long as I listened to her and did what she says when she says it. But, I'm sorry, I dont take crap from people like her...Anyways, a few days after i discovered what happened to my mom and brother, that company that I was modeling for called me and said I was accepted. I was so mad and hurt, I hated modeling. It was what got me into all this. I turned them down flat and I have never modeled ever since...." she turned and looked at Jasons face. "And that's my life in a nut shell." she wiped the rest of the tears that fell and leaned back. Jason stared dumbfounded at the stuff she told him. "I...I..don't know what to say. I didn't realize..."
"No, it's ok, Jason. It's all over. I'm not going back, the memories have haunted me for a long time, and finally they are gone - and I'm not going back."
"But, You were good! You succeeded!"
"Yah, but what's it matter now? If there was someone to be there to...Maybe I would go back...."
"So are you saying that if someone one would be there to support you. You would do it?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. It's not a matter anymore. It's over."
He shook his head, "No, Mick, It's not over. You should get back into it! I mean you said you were good, I have no doubt you are. If I helped you, would you do it?"
Her eyes brightened, "You would do that for me?"
"Of course!"
"But, I..I..can't!"
"Why not?"
"Cause..I don't know.."
Jason grinned, "That settles it. You will get back into."
Michele stuttered, "But, But, how?"
"I dunno, but we figure that out later. Let's watch the movie now."
She grabbed a pillow and beaned him with it on the head. "I can't believe you!" she said laughing.
"What? What did I do?"
"Oh shutup and watch the movie." she laughed.

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Weeks later, Michele was shopping at an outlet mall, when she heard her named called. She turned to see a man she didn't recognize. He was wearing a sophisticated black suit and his hair was combed and gelled neatly. She shuddered at the thought of his hair. She preferred the messy look. (but thats besides the point)
"Can I help you?"
"Zion Brown?" he asked.
"Yah, that's me."
"Hi, I'm Mark Nelson. I work with a modeling company that I believe you were apart of once. Does..,"he named a bigshot company,".. mean anything to you?"
Michele's jaw dropped, "Oh my word. You were the company that I rejected awhile back."
Mark smiled and nodded. "We aren't accepting anyone at the moment. But a certain someone called our company last week and mentioned you."
Michele grinned, knowing who that someone was. "So what are you telling me, Mr. Nelson?"
"I'm asking you, Ms. Brown, to accept the invitation to come model for us."
Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" he smiled. "What do you say?"
She paused to think of her answer. Momma would have wanted me to do it...But should I really? she argued with herself. Think of how proud Jason and the guys and Blaire would be of you. Do it for them!
"Well, Mark, I.." she started out. NO! Don't do it for anyone else, just do it for yourself, Michele.
She looked directly at him, "I accept." She finished as a huge smile broke out on her face.
Mark clapped his hands together, "Wonderful!" He got into his pocket and pulled out a card with the business number and address on it.
"Here's my card, what's your number so I can keep in touch with you?"
She told him as he wrote it down. He shook hands with her, with a thankyou, and left. She was so happy for once in her life. Things are getting normal again. she thought with a smile. She needed to share her news with someone. She ran for a pay phone. She dialed Jason's number.
"Hello?"
"Jas! It's me, Mick."
"Whats up!"
"You would not believe what just happened to me!" she said excitedly.
Jason smiled over the phone, knowing what she was gonna say. "What's that?"
"I was offered to model for that company I told you about! The man I talked to wouldn't tell me how he found me, but I knew it was you." she sighed. "Thank you so much Jason. It means alot. Nobody would've took the time to help like you did. Thanks alot."
"No prob, Mickey. It was my pleasure. But, hey! We have to celebrate, are you free tonite?"
"Yep. What did you have in mind?"
"I was gonna call the rest of the guys and maybe go out to eat?"
"Sounds great. But I have to finish my shopping and go home and shower then I'll be ready. K?"
"Ok. I'll be there with the guys to pick you up at about 7?"

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By the time Jason got back with the rest of the guys from the night out, celebrating..it was around 1:30 A.M. They had had a fabulous time. Especially Jason. He was so happy to see Mickey smiling again. They all went to dinner, and laughed and talked hours at the table. Finally, they left and the rest of the guys went back, and Jason and Michele went downtown and took a stroll thru the city. It was totally beautiful seeing the lights of the city and all the people at night. But the best part was being with Mick. She was totally glowing and looked gorgeous. He was glad they were together. Altho, she did have some issues, this girl was the type he wanted.