Project: nkotBSB

By Rachel

Copyright 2014

Chapter 100

Hanna Jo

Walking around the small wedding boutique I find a few dresses that I like. The sales associate takes them to a dressing room while I continue to look for the perfect dress. I look around for Jessi. She’s standing by a rack of dresses staring into space.

Something is bothering her; she was quiet on the way here. I’m used to my friend being upbeat and the life of the party. Everything seemed fine when Jessi got done talking to Nick earlier.

I set the dress back on the rack and walk over toward my friend. Jessi doesn’t even realize I’m standing there. She looks like she’s ready to cry.  “Jessi, what’s wrong? You, okay?”

She looks up at me startled. “Ho Jo, I didn’t even see you.”

“Is everything alright? I know you and Nick were in a pretty deep conversation earlier.” I pull us over to a set of chairs, and we sit down.

“Hanna Jo, I don’t know if I can do this.” She grasps the chair tightly. “I can’t marry Nick.”

“What do you mean?” I am confused by the sudden change in Jessi. She was excited about marry Nick last night and this morning.

“I can’t marry Nick. He doesn’t deserve a woman like me.”

“Jessi, you know that’s not true. He loves you.” I try to console her. From the look on her face I can tell it’s not working.

Tears start rolling down her face. “He doesn’t even know me. What are his friends and family going to think when they find out about my past?”

“Jessi, they are going to realize that you are a wonderful woman who had to deal with a lot of stuff. They’ll see what Nick sees. Jessi you’re strong. Nick loves you unconditionally. He’s not perfect either. No one is, and none of us expect you to be. It’s time for you to let go of your past and move on to your future.” I hope I get through her to her.

She looks away from me. “You just don’t understand.”

“Cause my past is just so peachy. Stop it right now, Jessica Todd.” I grab my phone from my purse. “Fine, if you don’t want to marry Nick, call and tell him.” I place my phone in her hand.

Jessi stares at my phone for a good ten minutes. Tears continue to stream down her face. Her sniffles start to subside.  She bites her lips and looks up at me. Then she hands me my phone.

“See, I knew you wouldn’t go through with it.” I reach over and give her a hug. “Jessi, I know you’ve had a rough life, so have I, but it’s time to move on. If we keep fixating on our past the future is going to suck. We have two men that love us and want to be with us. We’ve got to move on in order for our marriages to work. Everyone has skeletons in their closets. We wouldn’t be who we are today without them. You’re a strong beautiful woman Jessica Todd.”

“Ho Jo, thank you for being my best friend. You know just when to knock some sense into me.”

“Good now let’s go find our perfect wedding dresses.”

Two hours later, Jessi and I are heading back to the hotel with our dresses. Jessi’s is a beautiful a-line, mid-thigh dress with a floral design in the material. She’s going to be gorgeous. My dress is made of the same material, but reaches to my calf with a ruffle at the bottom.

“I wonder what the guys are up to.” Jessi says when she returns from putting her dress away.

I’m sitting on the couch ready to fall asleep. Trying on dresses made me tired. A nap sounds good. Just as I start to speak, my phone beeps. It’s a text from AJ. “The guys want us to meet them for lunch.”

“When?” Jessi plops down beside me.

“Now.” I slip on my flip flops.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just tired.” I sigh. Jessi looks at me with worry. “I’ll be fine after I eat.”

“You sure?”

“I’m positive. At least the restaurant is only two blocks away. Let’s walk.”

The weather is beautiful on our short walk. When we get to the restaurant we see a small group of women gawking at the window. We realize our men have been spotted. I hope that we aren’t recognized, but I feel our days are numbered, especially one we get married.

“Look over there.” A woman yells to the group.

“It’s Nick’s girlfriend.”

“And AJ’s, too.”

They walk over to us. “Hi, Jessi. Hi, Hanna Jo.”

I look over at Jessi. She has the same look on her face as I do. During the tour, we stayed away from the fans as much as possible. Neither one of us wanting to make a huge scene. Things were about to change.

Jessi speaks first. “Hi!” She says cheerfully.

“You both are so pretty.” One of the women says. I feel myself blushing.

“Is it true that all the guys are going to be in Hawaii? I read about it on Twitter.”  One of them digs for information.

“I am not aware of them all being in Hawaii, but it’s hard keeping track of their schedule.” I reply. I figure being vague is better than lying. I’m a bad liar.

“Plus, you know how things get started on Twitter.” Jessi laughs. “Being a fan myself, I always wondered how these types of rumors got started.”

“Yeah, there have been some doozies. We were just hoping that maybe they were going to do a concert here.”

“Hawaii is so beautiful. We can definitely put a bug in their ear about doing a show here.” I say kindly.

“That would be awesome. The both of you are so nice.”  One gushes.

“Let’s go girls. We need to get back to work.” Another one snaps. “They are clearly trying to placate you.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but it is clearly untrue. We are fans, too. Both of us have been in your shoes. Ho Jo would never lie. She is the kindest person you’ll ever meet.” Jessi says seriously.

“Whatever. You’re bitches like all of the other girlfriends and wives. Playing nice to the fans so the boys think you actually care about the fans. We’re your meal ticket for all the plastic surgery money can afford.”

Jessi’s about tell them exactly what she thinks. I grab her hand to calm her down. “It was nice meeting all of you. I’ll be sure to put that bug in AJ’s ear.”

With that Jessi and I head into the restaurant.