New York Beauty

Part 1: Chapter 5

[A/N: Surprise 3rd chapter for today! Because tomorrow's Sunday which is strictly family day and I didn't think I would be able to publish tomorrow. I might publish a chapter tomorrow if I have time. But I promise that's it for today!... or is it? ;) -hint hint- xx]

Chapter 5

"I'm glad you came!"
We were performing in front of an extremely huge crowd - one of the biggest in months.

"Next up," Max announced after Glad You Came. "We're gonna do Heart Vacancy. Usually we call 5 girls up but today we're only getting 4 from the crowd."

I gave Nathan a confused look but I only got a cheeky one from him. I looked to the rest of the boys and I seemed to be the only one who had no idea what was going on.

"You're staying put," Siva said to me as they made their way to the audience.
"Well this is an awkward surprise.." I said nervously to everyone else while the boys chose their Heart Vacancy girls.

I felt a slight tap on my shoulder and when I turned around, it felt like I was dreaming.
"Jas--" her tight bear hug - surprising that it could come from a girl of such a small size - cut me off.
"Jaybird, we've got a song to do," Tom teased.

After the song, the other 4 girls were sent back to the audience while Kev escorted Jasmine backstage.

Right after the last song of our set, I was the first to run backstage. I ran to the bottom of the steps where Jasmine was waiting and I picked her up in a hug while spinning her around.

"What're you doing here??" I asked her.
"My mom's staying here for a couple months and I decided to tag along."
"And Jessica?"
"We made a deal." She simply said. "She's staying in New York."
"This is amazing!" I said and hugged her again.
"Hey hey, Jas! Don't forget there are 4 more members of this band!" Nathan said when the rest of the boys joined us.

Instead of staying with her mom, who had to work all the time, driving all around England, Jasmine stayed with Nareesha and Siva - they lived pretty close to my flat so I could still visit her freely. We went on a couple dates - simple dinner and lunch dates, to the movies, to the mall. We were followed by fans and paparazzi and Jasmine seemed to really enjoy spending time with the fans.

"That was so much fun!!" She told me when we ran away from the paparazzi in the rain.
"I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that ever!" I laughed. We had run into a mall and I decided to take her on a shopping treat.

I was sitting on a bench while waiting for Jasmine was in the dressing room trying on some clothes when I got a phone call from the hospital. Apparently I was listed as an emergency contact for Leslie. I guess she hadn't changed it yet.

"Hey, Jas," I said, knocking on the door.
"Yeah?" She said as the door flew open.
"I have to get to the hospital."
"What-- did any of the boys get into an accident?" She asked, starting to panic.
"Er.. Leslie, actually."
"Leslie, your.. ex-girlfriend, Leslie?" She asked, in a more nervous tone.
"Yeah," I sighed.

I drove to the hospital, with Jasmine - who had insisted she should come with me, and thought of how awkward things would be, my ex-girlfriend and a girl I might be in love with in the same room. But I wanted to stay positive. I spoke to each of the boys through speaker phone and they all reprimanded me in a similar way. They didn't want me to go see Leslie, "But I'm already half way there! Besides, I don't think she's got anyone else to call." I told them.
When we reached the hospital, we were rushed to Leslie's hospital ward where her older brother Daniel was.

"Jay," Daniel greeted me formally.
"Dan." I said similarly. "Dan, this is Jasmine. Jasmine, this is Leslie's brother Daniel. And that's Leslie." I said, gesturing to the unconscious Leslie Grane.

Daniel explained to me that Leslie was driving to pick him up from work - his car was in the shop getting repaired. But she was checking her mascara in the rear view mirror. *Typical Leslie.* She was always so vain, so full of herself. I honestly didn't understand what it was I saw in her besides the fact that she was extremely fit.

"On a scale of 1-10 how awkward was that?" I asked Jasmine as we walked back to the car.
"What, being in that room with Leslie there? Oh, not at all," she said.

There was something off about her then. Like she was upset all of a sudden and from the time I've known her, she never was upset. Except for that time she had to leave London to go back to New York. After I dropped her off Siva's and got a 15-minute lecture from him about seeing Leslie, I started thinking about her. Leslie, I mean. How we were so in love, how much fun we had to each other and I realized I felt the same with Jasmine as when I was with Leslie. I knew then that I just to figure out whom I felt stronger for.