Clara paced nervously without taking her eyes off the door where people were exiting the airplane, ignoring the snickers from Marissa. Actually, she was glad to hear Marissa laugh; for the last two weeks it had seemed that there was nothing she could do to get her friend to cheer up. Those thoughts only distracted her for a minute, and her attention was back to the doorway. Only part of her nervous behavior was because she was anxious to see Joey again; the rest was due to the completely new celebrity she was about to meet. She ran the meeting over and over in her head, trying to figure out what she was going to say.
"Are you going to pace a hole in the floor?" Marissa asked softly, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice and failing miserably.
Clara didn't look at her. "Yeah. I'm trying to work my way to China so I'm not here when Joey and Britney arrive."
Marissa laughed. "Oh, that's going to happen in the next ten minutes!"
"Actually I'm trying to set the world record," Clara said blandly, her mind really not on the conversation. "Seven minutes and 34 seconds."
Marissa just shook her head. "Why are you so nervous? It's just Joey."
"Joey... and this immensely famous pop star that my kids are going to go insane over meeting!"
"Oh, and they wouldn't over meeting Joey? Come on, Clara. She's not that different from him. She's younger, and she's a girl... She's a female Justin, for lack of a better term. You don't get all upset over seeing Justin."
"Because I know Justin," Clara protested. "Besides, I seriously doubt my kids would care about Joey. He's just Joey. But Britney is..." She paused, trying to find the term she wanted. "Someone else."
"Britney is a perfectly normal girl, just like Justin is a perfectly normal guy." Marissa sighed and slumped in her seat. "I don't understand. It must be because I'm old," she muttered.
"But you and I both know that Justin's isn't normal. Not in the slightest." Clara's eyes twinkled. "Yes, grandma. Whatever you say."
Marissa snorted. "No, nothing in the world would ever make me say Justin was normal - aside from the fact that he's famous. And I resent the grandma comment," she added under her breath, almost bitterly.
"Yes Grandma," Clara repeated, then smiled slightly. "Aw, don't be like that. I'm just kidding," she said, turning around and facing Marissa. "I'll take it back, if you want. I can start calling you baby or something equally as young."
The other woman shook her head to clear it of thoughts of Chris. "It's not you, believe me."
Clara looked at her doubtfully. "If you say so..."
The flow of people slowed, then two very large men stepped out the door and paused. "There," one said.
Marissa grinned. "He's here," she said, sounding like the little girl in "Poltergeist". Then she paused. "Or should I say they?" She got up and started over. "Hey, Matt."
"Joey?" Clara said, turning around and scanning the crowd. Britney completely skipped her mind the minute Marissa said his name.
"No, Matt," Marissa said with mock exaggerated patience. "But where Matt is, he can't be far behind...." She nudged the other woman. "Come on, don't keep him waiting."
As soon as the two got close enough, Joey pushed his way past the guards and grinned innocently at Clara. "Hey. Been waiting long?"he asked, teasing.
"Joey!" Clara cried out, running towards him. She slipped into his arms as if they were made for her. "I missed you."
Joey laughed. "I missed you, too."
"You'd better have," she told him.
Marissa rolled her eyes, and extended her hand to the woman behind Joey. "Hi. I'm Marissa. I guess I'll be your escort until they break up a little."
Britney laughed gently. "He wouldn't stop talking about her."
"Sounds like them," Marissa said, and turned to Joey and Clara. "Would you two just kiss and get it over with?" she hissed, and turned back to Britney. "Welcome to Oregon."
"I heard that!" Clara muttered, not moving from Joey's arms.
"You were supposed to," Marissa muttered. "Did you check anything?"
Britney grinned and seemed to be enjoying the side exchange. "Just a bag."
Reluctantly, Clara pulled herself free of Joey. "Hi," she greeted Britney before turning back into Joey's arms.
Britney turned and smiled at her. "Hello."
"Good," Marissa breathed. "I hope you don't mind, but we've got two cars and I didn't know if you wanted to risk bunking with me or get yourself a hotel room," she continued, rolling her eyes again. "He'll be staying with her."
"You'd better believe it," Clara muttered without moving. Joey grinned somewhat sheepishly at Britney, but his attention went back to Clara pretty quickly.
"Um. Matt, if you'll get..." Marissa looked helplessly at the other man, who quickly introduced himself as Aaron, "Aaron to get Britney's bags, we can leave these two to what ever they want, and you can catch up tomorrow." Marissa wondered how long she was going to have to cover for Clara. It was to her utter relief that she noticed the grin on Britney's face.
Finally Clara pulled herself away from Joey. "Or we can leave you here, in the middle of the Portland airport," Clara retorted.
"Huh. I have my own car, remember? You can't leave me anywhere." Marissa stuck her tongue out at Clara and turned back to Britney, who seemed to be stuck between wanting to laugh and looking appalled. She finally decided on laughter. Marissa flushed. "Now, like I said, I don't know if you want to bunk with me, but there are a few hotels not to far from where I live - or Clara, for that matter - or there's places here by the airport. I have to warn you, though, I get out of my house around six." They began walking toward the main airport.
"So? I can steal the keys," Clara interrupted, "and leave you here. Britney could come with us. We can drop her at your apartment."
Marissa whipped around. "No, you won't. You don't even know where my keys are."
"Joey can hold you while I search your bag..."
"I'm not holding her," Joey protested, interrupting. "That's no fun! Besides, Chris would kill me."
"Or we can leave, and me and Joey can get to bed sooner," Clara finished with a glare at her boyfriend. Marissa rolled her eyes. She wasn't so sure Chris would kill him. He might just add it to his list of how she wasn't what she said she was.
"Ah, ha!" Britney said with a grin. "I did wonder how you fit into all this," she told Marissa.
"What do you mean by that?" Clara asked, turning towards Britney.
"Oh," Britney smiled, "You were obviously attached to Joey - and he is to you - but Marissa wasn't letting me know how she was attached to anyone."
Marissa started. Well, there was no denying it, she was attached to Chris. "You can leave anytime you like," she told Clara, stuttering slightly and hoping no one noticed her discomfort. "But remember, Matt is a part of that arrangement."
"Matt, please?" Clara asked, turning towards Matt with big, puppy dog eyes.
Matt smiled. "I can take the floor in the living room, no prob."
"You sure? There's a mighty comfy couch." Clara grinned.
Matt smirked. "Ah. Well, then, the couch is mine. He can have the floor." He winked at them. "Let's go."
"And there's also this thing called a spare bedroom," Clara continued, as if he hadn't said anything. "I'm pretty sure you've heard of it, right?"
"You can afford a spare bedroom? So not fair," Marissa griped. "Not fair at all...."
"Life's not fair, Marissa. Plus, my family stays over a lot so I need to have one."
Britney grinned, looking a little like she was lost. "I'll take a hotel by you, then," she told Marissa, who flushed a second time.
"Probably a good choice," she said, ignoring Clara.
Clara turned to offer her hand to Britney. "By the way, I'm Clara. I guess I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier."
"Go away," Marissa muttered. "I'll take care of Britney."
"I had rather guessed, since, um... Joey wasn't letting go of you. He threatened that, you know," Britney told Clara in a confiding tone.
"He threatened something? I really need to teach him a few manners... and, before I forget, thanks. My kids are going to love this."
Britney smiled in response. "Oh, I'm going to love this. I haven't been able to do anything like it in a long time."
Marissa snorted softly. "You? Teach him manners?"
"Better me then you, Marissa dear. What was that you were saying about China earlier?"
"Me?" Marissa asked innocently. "Why would I want to teach him manners?"
Aaron returned then, with Britney's bag, and they started walking for the cars.
"Are they always like this?" Britney asked Joey softly, dropping back to walk next to him. Behind her, Matt snickered.
"Sadly, yes," he grinned back. "Part of the package. Makes me feel normal."
"Joey, I heard you," Clara said in a warning voice.
"What?" Joey asked innocently. "It does! I'm being ignored and it's a nice feeling!"
Britney laughed. "It is nice, isn't it?"
"Oh, my.... We didn't mean to ignore you!" Marissa protested. "Well, at least, I didn't," she added with a smirk.
"Are you implying that I did, Marissa? Because, if you are..." Clara turned to look at them with a grin. "I'm sorry Joey, Britney. Marissa was trying to distract me."
"Doing a great job, too," Joey whispered to Britney, who laughed.
"I'm saying that I don't know if you meant to or not," Marissa protested.
"Sure, sure," Clara muttered.
Marissa snorted as they stepped into the parking garage. "I'll talk to you later, Clara. Nice to see you, Joey. Really good to see you again, Matt! Britney, if you'll come this way, and I'm sorry for the car, I'll get you to your hotel."
"Talk to you later, too, Marissa. Bye, Britney!"
Britney waved, laughing, and followed Marissa to the car. "I'm really sorry," Marissa apologized. "I'm just glad she thought to invite me along, but I guess it didn't help much, did it?"
Britney shook her head. "Really, it's okay. Joey's right. It's refreshing to visit people who are... not so conscious of our fame and stuff."
Marissa laughed. "You should have seen her pacing. It was funny." They reached the car and got in, exiling Aaron to the back seat.
Clara didn't know what was going through her students' heads that day. She was so distracted, and it got worse as the time for Britney and Joey to show up got closer. Finally, though, the time came to practice, and with a flurry, the kids began pushing the chairs back against the wall to give themselves room. When it looked like they were about done, she reached to flick the lights on and off. As she did so, she noticed Matt and Aaron right outside her doorway. Taking a deep breath, she turned the lights off and on quickly a couple of times, and the kids straightened with a little shuffling as they got into position.
"I have a surprise for you," she announced, which caused them all to freeze.
"Is it a good surprise?" one boy asked boldly, and she grinned.
"I hope so. Some friends of mine have agreed to come in and help with the dance."
All of her students began talking at once, asking about the choreography, whether they'd have to change it, if the person was nice. The last one caught her attention, and she held up a hand. "I think so. They'll introduce themselves, okay?" She pulled the door open and smiled at Joey. "Hi."
"Hey. They ready for her?" he asked in a stage whisper that carried clearly into the classroom.
"I don't know," she responded the same way. "Why don't you come in and ask them? They don't know you're here, only that friends of mine are coming."
"Okay." He stepped into the room, smiling widely at the children, most of whom stared at him. "Hi. My name's Joey. I'm here mostly to introduce you to a friend of mine."
One little girl waved her hand almost frantically in the air. "Wait!" she demanded. "Wait! Aren't you Joey Fatone?"
He nodded, which set about half of the girls in the class screaming, and Clara reached over and flicked the lights again. It took a while, but they did calm down. "Yes, I am. I'm a friend of your teacher's...."
"You could say that," Clara interrupted softly, and he shot her a grin.
"She asked me if I could bring a friend of mine to help you with your dance."
"I didn't ask, you suggested!" Clara protested, and Joey winked at her.
"I'd like to introduce you to Miss Britney Spears." At the sound of her name, Britney walked in the room, looking normal in a cut off t-shirt and sweat pants.
As soon as she stepped in, the whispering started all over again. "Hi," she said, with a grin.
"I hope this counts as a good surprise, Tommy?" Clara asked.
"Oh, it does, it does," he answered, eyes wide. "My brother is never gonna believe me."
"You didn't tell them?" Britney asked.
Clara shook her head. "Nope. I like surprises."
"My sister is gonna call me a liar," another girl mourned. "She loves *N Sync."
"Is that so?" Clara asked, turning amused eyes on her students. "Well, in that case, then, I'm glad I brought my camera." She pulled it out of hiding. "I'll make sure each of you get copies of the pictures you're in, okay?"
The cheering took a while to calm down, and when they were finished, Britney had seated herself to the side, watching the proceedings with amusement. "Now, before Britney can help us with the steps, she has to know what the steps are that we're using."
Britney looked relieved. "Thank you, Clara. I was hoping to see them first."
"No problem, but it's Miss Young in here."
Britney flushed. "Oh, I knew I'd forgotten something! Sorry."
Clara grinned. "It's okay. This big lug over here better not forget."
Joey looked innocent. "Me? Forget something? Never."
Clara smirked. "I'm not even going to comment, Joey," she said, and turned back to her students. He didn't answer, but one hand covered his mouth and he looked like he was laughing behind it. Clara rolled her eyes, feeling her stomach finally begin to calm down. "Why don't we show Britney our dance moves so far, okay?" She walked over to the cd player, preparing to start the song.
The kids looked extremely nervous, exchanging glances, but they straightened themselves out and got ready. "One thing guys," she added, and they all looked at her. "Pretend Britney isn't here. Just do your best. Maybe think about something other then the dance. That always helps me."
The song began to play, and all of the kids began to dance, quite nervously. Clara watched them for a second, then joined Joey, whispering something in his ear. Britney, on the other hand, watched the students intently, smiling to herself and at them.
When they finished, Britney clapped delightedly. "That was wonderful!"
"Your best performance yet, guys. Give yourself a pat on the back!" Clara added.
"Or each other, it's easier that way," Joey grinned. Clara rolled her eyes again. Britney stood up and glanced at Clara, a little unsure.
"Either way. You guys did great!" Clara told them enthusiastically.
"Yes, definitely!" Britney agreed, with a huge grin.
"And this is where I bow out. Britney, they're all yours. I'll sit over here and um... grade papers." Clara moved toward the desk where Joey was sitting, playing with the camera she'd handed him.
Britney nodded, and became all business. "I noticed a few of you were having troubles with a couple of the steps. You'll have to correct me - and no, Miss Young, you won't, because I need your help. Joey can do that." She winked. "I don't know what the exact order of steps are. But this is the one I noticed you had the worst time with...."
"But...but..." Clara protested, before resigning herself to her fate.
Joey sat back and watched, his dark eyes bright with excitement. He snapped pictures like mad, breaking up the tutorial only once to let Clara know he was out of film. She directed him to a drawer in her desk that was full of extra rolls, and he happily went back to snapping pictures. By the end of the practice, the kids seemed much happier and much more confident in their dancing. Joey got them all together for one huge group picture, and pulled Matt in to take it when some of the girls insisted that he join them. Once the desks were back in place and everyone was ready to go, Joey and Britney stood at the door to sign autographs and get pictures for any of the kids who wanted. By the time they were finished, it was well after the bell, and all three adults were exhausted.
"I'm gonna take Brit back, and I'll meet you at the hotel for dinner?" Joey asked softly as the last child left the room.
"If you'll hang around five minutes, I'll go with you," Clara said.
Joey shook his head. "I'd better get Brit out of here. I'll meet you there, okay? Hurry." He glanced around, caught sight of small faces in the class window, and sighed.
"Okay. I'll hurry."
Matt and Aaron rushed them out, moving quickly past curious students, leaving whispers behind. They climbed into the rental car and left the school. Once they were well on their way, Britney laughed. "That was really fun, Joey. Thanks so much for suggesting that!"
"Thank you for coming." He relaxed a little. "It meant a lot to her."
"I can tell. I could also tell it meant a lot to you."
Joey blushed. "Yeah, well, that's true."
"So, starting to get rid of the whole ‘playa' image?"
He shrugged. "Never really was into that. Just sort of played along...." He drifted off at her smirk, and rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you fell for it too," he said dramatically.
Britney laughed. "You're a different Joey," she smiled. "I like this one."
"Oh, and you didn't like the last one?" he asked in mock offence.
She shrugged. "I liked him, but I don't know that I would have trusted you for something like this."
Joey laughed. "I was that bad, huh?"
"Yeah, you were."
"Well, then, I'm glad I'm a changed man."
Britney grinned. "Oh, believe me, so are the rest of the fans," she teased lightly.
Joey met Clara in the lobby with a hug and a kiss that almost knocked her off her feet. "I have been waiting all afternoon to do that," he said softly in her ear.
"I've been waiting longer," she responded just as softly. He chuckled. "Where's Britney? I have about fifteen messages on my answering machine wanting me to say think you."
"She'll join us shortly. Dinner?"
"Definitely," she said. "But give me another kiss to tide me over until later."
He did so, breaking it off at the sound of clapping. "It's about time, Fatone," Britney smiled as she approached them. "I was beginning to despair of you."
"Hey, Britney," Clara smiled. "Thank you, both from me and from every one of my student's parents. My answering machine is full."
Britney smiled brightly. "Oh, it was a charm! Thank you! I haven't had that much fun in far too long."
"My kids are going to be worshipped for the rest of the year. Allthe sixth graders are envious. There's even talk about making them the winners of the talent show automatically."
"Oh, that's not fair," Britney protested.
"I know. And it won't happen. But still."
She chuckled. "Yeah, I know." They started walking for the restaurant. "I'm glad I could help. Are you going to tape it?"
Clara laughed shortly. "You have better believe it. One of my kids, Vanessa, wants me to send it to MTV, I think she said TRL?"
Britney and Joey laughed, exchanging a glance. "That would be interesting. Do it. But make sure I get a copy, too. You can get it to Joey, and he'll make sure I'll get it."
Clara shrugged. "I can do that."
Britney grinned slowly as they were seated. "In fact, I can introduce it. I'll be on TRL sometime in January - I've got a song coming out then."
Clara's eyes widened. "They would go insane. Would you? Please?"
Britney laughed. "Okay. I'll work it out with Carson, then."
Joey pulled out Clara's chair to sit her down. "Girl's got connections," he said in a fair imitation of Justin's ebonics.
"Shut up, Joe Bear. I need a kiss." He gladly obliged, and sat down next to her.
"That will be in the tabloids tomorrow," Britney teased.
"Whatever," Joey muttered with a grin.
Dinner went on like that; slowly, Clara relaxed and got used to talking with Britney. When they finished, luckily uninterrupted, Britney smiled brightly. "Are you guys interested in hitting a club?"
Clara smiled, and turned to Joey. "You wanna?" Joey nodded with a slight shrug and a grin that said plainly he didn't care. "There's one Marissa and Anika really like. How about there?"
Joey grinned slowly. "Is that the place we met Marissa?" he asked. Clara nodded. "Perfect. Let's go."
The evening was wonderful for all involved. The next day, after school, Clara called Marissa to help get everyone back to the airport. They stood at the gate as the two boarded the plane, and Clara kept her tears inside until Joey was out of sight. Marissa sighed softly and hugged her. "Come on," she said softly. "Let's get dinner."
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