Get your own Free Home Page
*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members of 'N Sync (nor would I ever really want to....though I wouldn't mind meeting one or two of them just for S&Gs) they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own all fictional characters such as Ashley, Mike, Devon, Rachel and Carli. Everyone knows about plagiarism and my stash of law books. Please don't make me break them out. Thanks.
Chanced Meeting
The room was pitch black as she huddled on the end of her bed, dressed in a pair of old, baggy sweat pants and an equally as baggy sweatshirt. Her hair was damp and went unbrushed as her heart raced wildly inside her chest. Every muscle ached with an indescribable pain. Fear was evident in each dart of her eyes.
The sheets and blankets had been stripped from the bed and stuffed into the garbage barrel in the bathroom. She had done that before she climbed into the shower. Her skin still tingled from the hot water, and in places, bled because of the amount of pressure she had used to scrub herself clean.
Unable to sit any longer, she jumped to her feet and snapped the lights on, casting the room into a harsh glare. She proceeded to clean the room from top to bottom with a vengeance. Cleaning had always helped her deal with things before. Unfortunately, it wasn't doing a thing for her now. Tears came to her eyes and fell onto the wood table she was trying so desperately to clean. She let out an almost animalistic groan as she sank down onto the floor and sobbed with fear, humiliation, and violation.
She hadn't asked for this. Never in a million years had she ever asked for something like this to happen to her. He had told her differently. He had told her that she wanted it because of the way she dressed and the way she flirted with him every time she saw him. He said she would like it. She hadn't liked it. She had hated it. Hated the feeling of his touch, his alcohol soaked breath, his fumbling with her clothes. She had hated every single second of it, but she hadn't cried out after she had screamed 'NO' twice. He wouldn't have listened anyway. He was too far-gone to pay her any heed. He had also planned it well, waiting and making sure the Residential Advisor had gone on his dinner break before entering the room, and even then, he had turned the stereo up so loud that nothing could be heard outside, should someone happen by her door.
The pain had been nothing like anything she had ever felt before and soon after the act started, she separated herself from her body. She closed off her mind from the abuse her body was suffering. When he was done, he had kissed her gently and told her he'd call her in the morning. As soon as he had left, she had stripped the bed and stuffed everything into the wastebasket, then taken a shower in scalding hot water. No matter how hot the water was and no matter how raw her skin became, she couldn't wash the feeling of him away. It would be forever imprinted in her brain, body and soul. Nothing would ever change the fact that she was now so dirty she could barely stand it without taking yet another shower to try and wash the grime off.
Her head snapped up when the door opened and her roommate walked in with a diskman on her ears, blaring the latest contemporary music group. Mike's head bopped in time to the music as she tossed her bag onto the second bed in the room. Mike stopped short when she saw Ashley sitting on the floor, face flushed deeply.
"Ash? What's wrong?" she questioned worriedly as she yanked off her headset. Ashley shook her head, not uttering a sound. Mike glanced around the room and took in the condition of everything, somehow sensing what had happened.
"Who did this to you?" Mike demanded, kneeling down in front of her roommate. Ashley just looked at her with pleading eyes. Mike sighed pulling her into a hug, sitting next to her friend. Ashley had only been in Orlando for two months and already something unspeakable had happened to her. Mike, the veteran Orlando person, had lived there for over two years now and felt somewhat of a responsibility for her friend. Ashley cried again, deep gut wrenching sobs that shook her whole body, and her tears were caught by her roommate's shirtfront.
Ashley sighed shaking her head. "I don't want to go, Mike."
"Why not? It's just a barbecue that some friends are throwing. There's nothing to it." Mike replied as she tossed a beach towel into her book bag.
"Because I just don't want to go." Ashley snapped testily. Mike spun around, her arms folded across her chest.
"So, you're going to spend the rest of your life locked up in this tiny room? I know what happened to you was harsh, and I regret every minute that I wasn't here for you sooner, but its been over a year. It's time to move on and get back to your life." she pleaded with a sigh.
"You don't know what I've been through. You don't know that every time I look at myself in the mirror I see a person so damn dirty that she doesn't deserve to be out in the world interacting with humanity." Ashley shot out with a firm shake of her head.
"You're wrong. I do know what it's like. I was where you are right now when I was fourteen years old. Ash, I know how hard it is to get past the whole issue of thinking everyone will see it just by looking at you, because they won't. I just can't stand to see you waste your life in this room, while great things and equally wonderful people pass you by. Stay here if you'd like, but know this, I would never put you in a situation where anything similar could happen to you." Mike shook her head as she slung her book bag over her shoulder. Ashley sighed, shoulders sagging visibly.
"Okay. I'll go." she resigned with a courageous smile.
"Good. You'll love these guys. They're a riot. And I'll let you know right now, that you'll be safe at the Fatone house. These friends of mine are very protective when it comes to the female race." Mike smiled as they headed out the door. After twenty minutes of driving, Mike pulled into the driveway of a nice split story house and climbed out. Loud laughing and talking came from the back yard.
"Ready?" Mike inquired looking over at Ashley.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Ashley groaned rolling her eyes. She couldn't believe that Mike had talked her into doing this. She didn't think she was ready to be surrounded with a bunch of strangers, let alone men for that matter. It wasn't as if she didn't do anything anymore, she just didn't like to be around people she didn't know and didn't trust. Ashley sighed as she followed her friend to the back yard and saw a dozen or more people lounging around the deck area. A couple of people were playing a game of water volleyball, and others were just sitting at the pool's edge dangling their feet in the water.
"Mike, you made it!" a young man with neon blond hair yelped from the pool's edge.
"Yup. What's up, Justin?" Mike laughed as another young man with dark hair walked over to her with a devilish grin.
"Who's your friend?" he inquired, hiding something behind his back.
"Hi Joe." Mike returned with a smile, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was hiding behind his back. "This is my roommate Ashley. As, this is Joe Fatone. The Q-tip head over there is Justin. The dreaded out weirdo is Chris and he's with my cousin Devon. Over here we have Lance and Rachel, the sickeningly sweet couple. Ans to our left is Brian and David. Over by the grill is Joe's brother Steve, and...wait. Where's JC?"
Joe burst out laughing as Mike made a face. "He's in the house taking a nap, I think."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? You'll hurt yourself." Mike scolded teasingly.
"Sorry, I forgot. I'll do my best to remember next time." Joe shook his head, his face crestfallen.
"It's all right, Joe. It's understandable for a man of your nature." Mike patted him on the head, an evil gleam in her eyes.
"Man, I've missed your sarcasm." Joe laughed as he glanced over at Ashley, who stood a little ways off with her arms folded tightly across her chest.
"Is JC really taking a nap? On a beautiful day like this?" Mike demanded with a toss of her hand.
"Yeah, I think so." Joe nodded, his eyes keep straying to the young woman he had just met.
"Unbelievable." Mike shook her head.
"I know." Joe replied with a sigh as he whipped out a water pistol from behind his back.
"Joe, you freak!" Mike screeched as he soaked her shirt. Joe took of at a dead run and hid behind his mother. Mike turned to Ashley with a sigh. "Come on. I'll show you around the house."
"All right." Ashley replied looking a little nervous. Mike took her hand and pulled her into the house. The kitchen and living room were empty, so they made their way upstairs where they heard some commotion going on. They peered into one of the bedrooms and saw JC sitting on the floor with a little boy, playing Tonka trucks.
"That's JC and Justin's little brother Jon." Mike whispered to Ashley who nodded with a sigh.
"Hey Mike. I see you finally got your friend to come along." JC smiled from the floor, Tonka truck paused in mid-crash.
"Yeah, and I see you found yourself someone with the same maturity level to hang out with." Mike grinned impishly as she pulled Ashley into the room. Ashley jerked her hand away and gave JC a weary glance.
"Such harsh words coming from you." JC laughed softly as he climbed to his feet.
"You know me. The sarcastic witch to the bitter end." Mike grinned in reply.
"I see Joe got you with his water gun. He's been doing that to each person who shows up. By the way, I'm JC." he smiled holding out his hand to Ashley. She tentatively took his hand and shook it briefly.
"Ashley." she mumbled before pulling away.
"How goes the battle with classes?" JC inquired glancing over at Mike who just groaned loudly.
"I don't even want to talk about it, and I swear to God Joe, if you don't stop sneaking up behind me, I'm going to rip your lips off and beat you silly with them." Mike sighed, sensing she was about to be attacked again with a water gun.
"I hate it when she does that. Makes me think she has super powers or something." Joe complained loudly, giving a wink to Ashley.
"It's not super powers, Joe. It's called having many younger siblings and baby-sitting quite frequently. It's just one of those things you pick up." Mike stated with a smirk.
"Man, I'm hungry." JC stated suddenly.
"So, genius, go downstairs and eat something." Joe countered with a shake of his head.
"Joe, I wouldn't talk." JC smiled as he walked from the room, Jon following behind him with a yawn. Mike glanced over at Ashley and shook her head with amusement as Joe left the room.
"Welcome to the Orlando Zoo. Please keep all hands, arms and heads inside the cart at all times. And remember, don't feed the animals." Mike told her. Ashley cracked a smile with a shake of her head.
"Are they always like that?" she inquired.
"Almost always. The only time they aren't is when they're sleeping." Mike answered as she pulled Ashley out into the hallway. The two ladies headed outside again, only to come face to face with a huge bear of a man.
"Gus, what are you doing here?" Mike demanded with a laugh.
"Nothing." he answered gruffly.
"Gus is one of the body guards for the guys. He thinks I'm going to rape one of them." Mike whispered conspiracy in her actions and voice.
"Oh, I see." Ashley whispered back with amusement, finally starting to relax a little. She glanced around the yard and saw that everyone was having a good time. She found that it was hard to stay in a foul mood when everyone around her was laughing about something or other. She nearly laughed out loud when she saw Joe sneaking up behind yet another helpless victim.
"I'm gonna get something to drink. You going to be alright on your own for a few?" Mike inquired as she set her book bag down next to an empty chair.
"Yeah. Go have fun with JC. I know you don't see him often enough." Ashley smirked.
"I'm gonna kill you. Shut up about that. We're just friends." Mike gave her friend a playful shove.
"Yeah, friends who give each other moon eyes." Ashley retorted with a laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike inquired placing her hands on her hips.
"It means whatever you want it to mean." Ashley replied with a shrug.
"You're evil. Nothing is going on between me and JC." Mike shook her head.
"Not that you don't hope something will happen in the near future." Ashley smiled.
"Mike's got a crush on JC?" Justin crowed loudly, standing behind the seriously blushing woman.
"For the last time, I do not have a crush on Josh. Good God. You'd think I'd know it if I did." Mike exclaimed, tossing her hands into the air.
"Sure sure. Whatever you say Mike." Ashley nodded.
"I think I liked you better when you were an underground creature." Mike snorted as she walked over to the picnic table that had cans on soda, bottled water and various other beverages spread out for the guests.
"You go to school with Mike, right?" Justin questioned, turning to face the newcomer.
"Unfortunately, yeah." Ashley nodded with a sigh as she sat down on a chair.
"What do you study?" he inquired, settling down beside her.
"Medicine. Pre-med actually." she answered with a small smile. It seemed as if she were getting the third degree.
"Yeah? Why do you want to be a doctor?" was Justin's third question.
"What is this? Twenty questions?" Ashley laughed.
"Something like that." he smiled contritely.
"I thought questions in that game had to be answered with a yes or no." she commented in a teasing voice.
"Not the way I play." Justin shrugged as he leaned back.
"I don't know why I want to be a doctor. I just know that I want to help people in the long run." she shrugged, finally answering his question.
"How long have you been in Orlando?"
"Almost two years now. Why do you ask?" Ashley raised an eyebrow.
"Just curious. I know all of Mike's friends except you." Justin shrugged. "You like it here?"
"Sometimes." Ashley laughed.
"Why just sometimes?"
"Just sometimes because I miss snow during the winter." she answered with a sigh.
"Where are you from originally?"
"New York City." she closed her eyes against the bright light from the sun.
"Yeah? Joe's from Brooklyn." Justin commented.
"Is he really? There's a plus for him. He's a Guido." Ashley laughed, shaking her head with amusement. These people weren't half-bad. Justin shook his head with and amused smile.
"What do you like to do in your free time?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Depends on the day. See, on Mondays I like to torture innocent children. On Tuesdays I take on my alter ego called Speed Demon and go for a ride around town, terrorizing the populace. Wednesdays are the day that I make fun of old people and basically give them a hard time by hiding their canes and walkers. Thursdays I hang out in the dorm and wreak as much havoc as I can on the RA's, the poor saps. On Fridays I, again, go out on the town. This time to terrorize the middle aged populace and tell them that they're kids are some of the worst gangsters in the entire city and have been caught selling drugs to infants. Saturdays, well, on Saturdays I like picking on people who have the most obvious hair dye job, especially if they're blond and male, and look like they're under the age of twenty. On Sundays I rest, then it starts all over again." Ashley shrugged with a smile.
"Cute. Real cute." Justin grinned at her sarcastic comment. "What's your favorite color?"
"What kind of question is that?" she laughed loudly.
"I'm running out of material here, just bear with me." he sighed shaking his head.
"Fine. My favorite color is clear."
"Um, clear? Why clear?" Justin questioned, making a face.
"Because you can see through it, why do you think?" Ashley shot back with a mock look of anger.
"Right. So, what's your favorite movie?"
"Waking Ned Divine."
"Never heard of that movie." He shook his head. "What's it about?"
"About this old man who wins the lottery in Ireland and dies from shock. Two men find him dead and take the ticket only to pretend that they were him. It was really funny." Ashley shrugged. "It's an independent film. You'd have to know where to look for it to be able to see it."
"Ah, okay. What's your favorite music group?"
"Vanilla Ice."
"You've got to be kidding." Justin groaned, covering his face with his hands.
"Nope. Ice Ice Baby was an awesome song and should have won a Grammy." Ashley shook her head, absolutely loving this version of twenty questions.
"Fine, that was a rapper though, not a group."
"Fine, my favorite group in Men At Work." she smiled, trying to keep herself from laughing.
"Men At Work?"
"You were definitely not an eighties teen. They're Australian. 'I come from the land down under, where women roll like thunder. Can't you hear, can't you hear the...'." she sang briefly for him, which only made him laugh because of her bad Australian accent.
"What's your favorite song?"
"Um, let me think about that one for a minute. Wait, I know! It's 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'." Ashley sighed rubbing her face with her hands to hide the evil glint in her eyes. It had been a long time since she was able to bust anyone's chops.
"Oh, Lord. All right, favorite comedian?"
"Barbara Walters."
"Barbara Walters? How is she funny?"
"Yes, Barbara Walters. She's funny cause she's doing an exclusive interview with Monica Lewinski. Come on, that's hysterical." Ashley countered loudly.
"Okay, I can see it now. What's your favorite TV show?"
"Um, I'm not sure. I would have to say 'Lavern and Shirley' or 'Three's Company'."
"Favorite book?"
"Green Eggs and Ham." Ashley replied with a straight face.
"What?" Justin laughed loudly with a shake of his head, as if to say she was crazy.
"Oh come on. 'I will not eat them on a train, I will not eat them on a plane. I will not eat them here nor there. I will not eat them anywhere.' Suess is one of the legendary contemporary American literature giants. It says it all in his books." she countered, folding her arms across her chest with a smirk.
"He writes children's books." he stated slowly as Joe walked over to them, soda in hand.
"And your point is?" she raised an eyebrow, a mock look of fury on her face.
"What are you two talking about?" Joe inquired as he took a seat on a nearby lawn chair.
"I can't answer that. The twenty questions for me are answered." Ashley shook her head with an impish smile. Joe shook his head with a look of bafflement, opened his mouth to ask another question, but quickly shut it, not wanting to know the answer. Justin slowly climbed to his feet and gave the pair a mock salute with his fingers before sauntering off to meet up with some of the new comers.
"You having fun?" Joe gazed over at the woman sitting next to him.
"Yeah, I guess. Or, at least as much fun as one person can have in a yard full of strangers." she answered with a shrug.
"I hope J didn't bother you too much." he commented offhandedly.
"No," she shook her head, feeling an uncomfortableness sweep over her. It wasn't because she was sitting alone with a strange man, it was because she had no idea what to say. "He actually had me laughing for a while there."
"He has that uncanny ability to do that to people. And everyone thought Chris was the ham who loved all the attention, with all the antics he pulls just to get a laugh out of people." Joe smiled as he surveyed the back yard. Nearly twenty-five people were milling about, having a grand time. Some were family, most were friends. Ashley nodded with apprehension. What in the world is going on? She shook her head to clear her thought away then climbed to her feet.
"I think I'm going to track Mike down. I'll see you around." she gave him a smile before walking away. Joe sat in his chair, watching her walk away. He knew from what Mike had told him that she was one brave woman, but he also knew she was one scared woman. Thankfully none of his female relatives or friends had ever had the gruesome experience of rape, and he would knock on wood to prevent it from ever happening, so he had no clue as to what was going through Ashley's mind when she was alone with someone other than her roommate. He lifted the can of soda to his lips and took a sip, his eyes still on Ashley, who had now found Mike. She's very beautiful....in that whole...intimidated thing. he shook his head as a friend plopped down on the lawn chair next to him.
"Hey Ash," Mike laughed, swatting JC's hand away from the plate of chips sitting in front of her. "You having a good time?"
"You know, you're the second person to ask me that question in the past five minutes." Ashley laughed ruefully as she took a seat at the picnic table. "Yeah, I'm having a good time."
"Good," Mike grinned, slapping JC's hand away from the plate again. "I'm glad to hear it. JC, go get your own chips!"
"But they don't taste as good as yours." JC laughed with a slight pout.
"You know, if you keep your lip out like that for long, a bird's gonna come by and turd on it." Mike giggled, her heart melting at the puppy dog look he was giving her.
"Well, that's one I've never heard before." he shook his head as Ashley filched a potato chip off the highly protected plate.
"Come on now! How is that fair?" JC demanded loudly.
"She's a girl." Mike shrugged nonchalantly as she munched on a chip.
"Oh, I see. Afraid of the whole boy germ thing, huh?" he grinned roguishly. Ashley and Mike glanced at each other with sly grins.
"Ew! Boy germs! He's got cooties!" the both taunted, making faces.
"You know little girl," JC stated as he stood up, his eyes filling with some kind of emotion Mike couldn't identify. "Someday, I'll show you just how you can get 'boy germs'." he grinned then walked off to find Chris. Mike's jaw dropped slightly at the double meaning of his words as she watched him leave. Ashley burst into a fit of uproarious laughter.
"Mike, honey, if you don't close your mouth soon, I will guarantee flies with get just a tad curious." she told her shocked friend, patting her hand.
"Did I totally miss something?" Mike demanded turning to her roommate and friend.
"What do you mean?" Ashley raised an amused eyebrow.
"How did that go from a joke, to something so blatantly....provocative?" Mike inquired, still so shocked that she hadn't quite regained her sarcastic wit.
"Could it be that he may like you?" her roommate laughed popping another chip into her mouth.
"No, that's impossible." Mike shook her head. "Men. I swear to God, the have special powers."
"How so?" Ashley inquired settling back into her seat, waiting to hear this new spawned theory.
"I don't know. They just do." Mike sighed with a shake of her head.
"Um, I believe this is the first time you've become speechless over a guy." Ashley patted her hand with sympathy.
"Oh shut up. At least there's one guy here who doesn't hide that he's attracted to you." Mike ground out teasingly.
"Who would that be?" she demanded loudly.
"Joe. I've been watching him watch you for the past twenty minutes." Mike stated with a satisfied grin.
"Oh Lord, this is exactly what I need." Ashley groaned slapping a hand over her face.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, roomie." Mike laughed.
© 1997 hells_fiction@hotmail.com
Get your own Free Home Page