Nine Times Blue

Just as Joey finally made it to the table that Athena was sitting at, her breath stopped. “Hey”, he screamed over the crowd. She was at a lose of words, but managed to force out a “hey”, back. He stood there, staring at her for a moment, looking into her dark brown eyes. She could tell that he was looking her over, to see if anything in her appearance had changed. Which it did a little. She had highlighted her dark brown hair with blonde. “Is this seat taken?” he asked finally, realizing he was staring at her for a little bit longer than he should have. “um…no.” she said. He sat down next to her, and she could tell he was looking for the right words. “so, how have you been?” he asked. She was hoping for something else to come out of his mouth. “Fine I guess. But, you know me. If it was another answer, I would have still said fine.” Athena looked him over, to see if he too had changed appearance. His hair was half red half dark brown! ‘what a weird look’, she thought to herself. “What are you doing here?”, she said, finally getting herself together. “Well, we’re on our second tour, and we have a few concerts here in New York. So, me and the guys came here to just have fun I guess.” He said taking a sip of her drink. “The guys?!” she asked. “yea, ya know, Chris, Lance, JC, and Justin?” She slyly looked around her, to see if she could spot any of them, ‘cause they were all really good friends of hers also. “But yea, when we got here, we bumped into Amber, and we were talkin’ for a little bit. She told us that you two were gonna be here tonight, so, we decided to come”. He said, still stealing the last sips of her Shirley Temple. She just hoped he wouldn’t eat the two cherries on the bottom, for those were her favorite part! “Amber told ya huh?” she said, finally figuring out why Amber had been so excited to get her at the club. “yea. And you should have seen it, Justin and JC both want her! They’ve been fightin’ over her ever since we talked to her! Is she still with David?” he said, laughing at his two friends. “No. They broke up awhile ago.” She said, not finding any of it funny. She couldn’t believe that after all this time, and all of the love they shared together, that he would just sit there and talk about other people. Like they were nothing but good friends!

A few minutes passed, and Joey was still not bringing up the soar subject of their love. He was tellin’ her about the tour, and the new album, and about all of the interviews they had to do to promote it all. She stared at him the whole time, sending him subliminal messages through her eyes, ‘talk to me about us, not your career!’ He then stopped speaking, and took one of the cherries from the bottom of the glass. He took it in his fingers and examined it. “I remember how much you love cherries. And how much fun we use to have with them!” he said, with this really sexy smile. She couldn’t help but giggle a little bit from that. They had done some pretty kinky stuff, and cherries had something to do with it! As she gave him a little smile, he still looked at her with the same grin. He then gently put the cherry on his lips, as though he were about to eat it. But he only licked it seductively! This put memories and images in her mind you would only have to see to believe. Joey still had a way with her. He could still turn her on like no other man could, and as fast, like turning on a light! She then came to her senses. “What are you trying to do?” She said. He took the cherry away from his lips, but still had that look in his eyes and on his face. “I’m trying to get you to open up. To tell me how much you’ve missed me, and how much you still love and want me!” as he said that, he could see that Athena’s jaw and eyes were wide. “Wha….what are you talking about?” she said, trying to catch her breath. “You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about us. About what we were, and about what I want now!” Once he said that, she immediately snapped back. “What YOU want?! Why is it always what YOU want?!” She screamed, even though Joey didn’t hear much of a difference because of the loud music. “You know what I mean. What I want does make a difference ya know.” He said. “Yea. It makes ALL…….the difference!!!” she said, as she stopped herself before she mentioned for the first time on how she felt that he had all the control. “Listen, do ya wanna go somewhere to talk? Somewhere where there aren’t loud people and loud music?” he said, screaming like usual. “Fine!” She got up from her chair and put her purse strap around her shoulder. As Joey got up, and of course took the two cherries with him, Athena realized that she was doing the same thing to Amber that Amber had done to her, leaving with a guy and forgetting about her. “Hey, I have to go and tell Amber I’m leaving”. She said. Joey just nodded as he gulped down the last of her drink.

As Athena walked over towards Amber, she could see that she was talking to JC and Justin. Just then, she could see Chris from the corner of her eye coming up to her quickly. He pulled her into a big hug. “Hey babe, how’s it goin’?” He said loudly in her ear. “Fine, where’s Lance?” She asked. Just then, she could see Lance coming up from behind Chris. Once Chris let go of her, Lance scooped her up into his large arms. “Awww, babe, where have you been all my life?!” He joked. They both laughed and kissed on the cheek. “I’ve been right here” she said, playing along. He let go, so she could walk over to Justin and JC, who were still trying to impress Amber. Justin took her into his arms, and started saying something in her ear. All she could make out was hot, horney, and excited! She didn’t even have to hear the rest to know what he was talking about. She quickly pushed him away playfully, as he gave her one of his all too famous perverted smiles! She then turned to face JC. He too hugged her. But this time, he grabbed her ass! “JC!!!!!!!” she screamed. She hit him hard in the arm! Well, at least she knew these boys were still the same, loving, humorous four-some that she grew to know and love. She then realized how much she missed them, and how much she really lost when her and Joey broke up. She then turned to Amber, trying to be heard over the crowd. “I’m leaving with Joey. I’ll call you later” She said. All five of them heard that one! Their eyes were wide, and their minds were wondering. “I knew it! I knew you and Joey would be getting back together once you saw eachother! Guess it looks like I won the bet?!” Chris screamed. “THE BET?! What bet?!” Amber screamed. “We made a bet on how long it would take for Athena and Joey to get back together. And Chris’ guess was the first time they saw eachother.” Lance explained. “Oh, thanks for having so much confidence guys. But for your information, we have not gotten back together. We’re going somewhere to talk.” She straightened up their curiosity. “Yea, in a hotel room. Then four hours later…….” Justin joked. The four of them laughed, including Amber. “Ah, but see, Joey can’t last four hours!” She said, playing along. They all had their shares of ‘oooohhh’s from that statement! “Well, I’ll see ya guys later.” Athena said. “Yea, in my dreams!” JC said, pretending as if he had just seen an Angle!

As Athena and Joey walked into Athena’s dark apartment, Joey could still smell the all to familiar sent of Strawberry incense, that he loved and missed so much. Athena turned on a light next to her couch, and dropped her purse on a chair next to the door. Joey looked around, remembering her apartment as it was a year and a half before. Not much had changed, so, he knew where everything was, and should be. But as he looked down at her couch, all he could see, were faint ghosts of him and Athena, wrapped up in a blanket watching a movie. Holding eachother tightly in the other’s arms. Holding on for dear life. He could also see what went on after the movie was well over! He closed his eyes and smiled, for he could still picture the two of them, making love on the couch, covered in blankets even though it was 100 degrees out! “………ey? Joey? JOEY?!” Athena screamed in back of him. He then lost his train of thought, opened his eyes, and turned around to face Athena. "What were you thinking of that you couldn’t hear me?” She asked. “I……I…” he couldn’t find a good enough excuse, so he just decided to use the truth, “us.” They started deep into eachother’s eyes. Athena then turned away, afraid of what his eyes might lead her to do. “Do you want anything to drink, eat?” She asked, making her way to the kitchen. “I want you!” She then stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart leaped out of her chest, and she could swear she could see it laying there, lifelessly on her floor, beating fast from what had just come out of Joey’s mouth. She then turned to Joey once more, who had such passion in his eyes, that it could kill another living being! “you want me?” she said, trying to fight back the tears, “well you had me, but then you let me go! You let love pass you by while you were out partying with your groupies, and singing your heart out. Out of me.” With those words, she turned away and started bawling! Joey stood there and realized his big mistake. Why did he let her go in the first place? He could have sacrificed other things. But why did he choose love, true love? A love that was so strong that he could never ever feel it again with anyone else, but Athena. Why did he give up his life?

He approached her from behind, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. He closed his eyes, and searched deep down in his heart to find the right words. For only the right words were the words that needed to be spoken at this time, and he knew he needed to choose his words carefully. “I have made mistakes in my life. Some I have learn to live with, and others that haunt me, that let me know each given day that what I did was the worst thing I could have ever done,” as he spoke, Athena wiped her eyes, and listened. “I know that you must hate me, and I don’t blame you. I hate my self just as much. The truth is, is that you were the only real thing in my life. The only thing that kept me from losing my insanity. The only thing that kept me doing what I love to do. Sing. Every word I sing, and every single word I sang on the first, and even this album, deep down inside, I was singing it to you. Hoping that one day you would hear the songs, and hoped that one day………I could sing them to you while we layed down next to eachother at night.” He continued on, with words that only a singer could posses. “I want you back Athena. I need you back!” Athena turned around to face him. She looked into his eyes, and she could see a sign of tears that were being held back. “Joey…………………..,” she said, as he looked at her with eyes filled with love and hope,

“I can’t…”

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