Saturday 20 December 2008

Chapter 16

As the door slammed behind her, Sophia heard John shout something so fast she had no idea what he said and looked around to see what the problem was.
"Well that was fucking smart!" Jon shouted at her. It took Sophia a little time to realise they were locked in, the door could only be opened from the outside unless you had a key, which judging by Jon's reaction, Sophia was pretty sure he didn't.
"How the hell was I supposed to know it would lock?" Sophia shouted back. "How were you planning on getting out?"
Jon looked at her, "Well I was careful enough to leave it open a little when I came in. Then you announced yourself with a scud, bang, wallop and now we're fucking stuck!"
"Well if you hadn't stomped off like a two year old earlier then I wouldn't have had to come after you!" Sophia shouted back.
"Oh, so it's my fault you locked us in here then?" Jon asked sarcastically.
"I was coming here to apologise to you but I don't think I'll bother now", Sophia said moving closer to Jon.
"Suits me, an apology will hardly open the door for us!" Jon replied. Before he knew it he had moved towards Sophia and planted his lips on hers. To his shock, he found that her lips welcomed his and they shared an intense kiss.


The silence in the room was deafening. It was as though the realisation of what had just happened had left them both in shock. Why, when all they ever did was argue, were they so attracted to each other? Sophia eventually worked up the courage to look at Jon, who she was sure was wondering the same thing as her. She watched him for a short time trying to think of something to say to break the silence. Eventually she burst out laughing.
"I'm glad someones happy", Jon said in a half serious tone before bursting into laughter himself. "You should have seen your face when I shouted not to let the door close, it was priceless", Jon told her.
"Oh, that's what you said? I thought you had made up your own language! I didn't know what you said but it sure as hell sounded funny and what the hell was that scud, bang, wallop rant all about? Been catching up on your comic books Jonny-boy?" Sophia laughed while Jon tried to convince her that she had made it up and insisted he couldn't remember saying any of it.


They spent the next 20 minutes laughing at each other before Sophia turned the conversation serious again. "You probably already know, but I was acting the way I was earlier because of the whole my sister and your best friend thing. We've got to work together and it's clear where both our loyalties lie so how about we make it a deal never to mention their break up and we start again? I'm Sophia Tallarico, nice to meet you", Sophia said, putting her hand out in hope that Jon would accept. Jon's hand reached hers in lightening speed and he took her by surprise by choosing to kiss her hand rather than shake it, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sophia". It was exactly what Jon was wanting, to be able to talk to her without thoughts of Richie and Victoria hanging over them. They then set about trying to get out of the room but to no avail and instead took turns banging on the giant door. Jon was sure no-one would hear them from the other side but he didn't let Sophia know, he was finding it entertaining watching her beat up a door. They were going to have to wait it out until someone came looking for them.


Sophia had finally given up on banging on the door, instead she rummaged around the room to see what she could find. After bringing out a box of junk and searching through it she found an old radio and turned it on to hear Def Leppards Love and Hate Collide playing, "Oh great, one station and it had to be depress us FM", she said rolling her eyes. "Why were you in here in the first place?" She asked Jon.
"I was given an old film and a guy told me I'd find an ancient projector to play it on in here", he pointed out the projector he had been looking for.
"Who's idea was it to build a room with only one way out and no handle to use it? It's like they little axes you get on buses and stuff, you know that say "break glass to use" and you just think well that's just pointless, the reason I wanted the axe in the first place was to break glass and escape say a fire or something, then the information on the axe tells you to break that glass before you get to break the real glass and then you give up and run through the glass cos the axe is fucking pointless!" Sophia stopped her rant when she noticed Jon seemed to be lost with what she was saying, instead they both burst out laughing again. "Sorry, I like to rant! But really this room is like having the only fire exit at the top of a 100 storey building!"
"That was all you were trying to say with that other nonsense?" Jon laughed harder. It was at that moment that Sophia realised she liked Jon enough to want to see him again out of work. "You know that offer of dinner? I think I'll take you up on it", she said. They had arranged all the details of when and where while they awaited rescue which eventually arrived 3 hours later in the form of a security guard looking for missing staff.

Thursday 18 December 2008

Chapter 15

Jon being his usual self was early on set again. He enjoyed arriving before the rest of the cast as it gave him the opportunity to relax before work began. Relaxing was something of a problem for him right now, he still blamed himself for the state Richie was in. If he hadn't told him what he heard his best friend wouldn't be sitting in rehab right now. Jon was moping around the set when he heard Sophia's voice in the make up room. Careful not to let her see him, he glanced into the room to see Sophia talking to what Jon assumed was a trainee. He still wasn't sure how he felt about her and after watching her for a further few minutes he forced himself to walk on. He wanted to speak to her but wasn't sure what to say or whether he should since she was Victoria's sister. Eventually he pushed the matter aside choosing to go back to his trailer and concentrate on his script.


Sophia was busy showing Rachel, her new trainee, how to get the best effect from the make up she was using when she spotted Jon walking around the set. She knew he was watching her but refused to acknowledge him, unsure if it would appear as being disloyal to her sister. Part of her wanted to talk to him but a big part of her still didn't understand the man in the slightest. Their meetings before had always ended up as an argument and that was something she didn't want on the first day of filming. "Girl, you've used that colour at least 10 times now, you feeling okay?" Rachel asked her.
"I'm so sorry Rachel! I'm miles away," Sophia replied.
"Well, as long as it's sunny there hunny I'll forgive ya!" Rachel smiled. She then told Rachel about the whole situation as she had grown to trust the trainee and found her more of a friend than a student. "Are you mad girl? Go for it! I know I would! No chance would I be sneaking around avoiding Jon Bon Jovi", Rachel told her. It was simple for everyone else but they seemed to be blinded by his fame, that was what drew others towards him but was the thing Sophia hated most. She didn't know what to do about him.


Jon had been pacing up and down his trailer for most of the morning while he wasn't filming. He still couldn't decide what he should do regarding Sophia. After much thought he decided the best thing to do was call Richie and find out what he thought about it. "Go for it bud! No point in the two of us being miserable", Richie had told him. Richie had been pretty surprised at his view and wondered why Jon had even thought it would bother him, as far as he was concerned Sophia and Victoria were two different people and he trusted Jon as a good judge of character. After their conversation Jon took a while to work up the courage to go in and talk to Sophia. He stood at the door waiting for the room to empty a bit more before he went in. He was making polite conversation and tried to sound natural even thought they both felt awkward but he soon became more confident and before he could stop himself he had asked her out to dinner. He had thought they were getting on quite well but her reaction to the dinner suggestion proved otherwise. She didn't look impressed and the look she did give was enough to cause him to leave without an answer.


Sophia stood beside her work station thinking about their conversation. It wasn't that she wasn't wanting to go to dinner with him, she had just never thought about it and with him asking during their first conversation since the whole Richie and Victoria thing she was taken by surprise. "Was I horrible to him there?" Sophia asked Rachel.
"Ice cold, girlfriend that was harsh but I'll be happy to take him off your hands", Rachel replied with a wink.
"I better go find him and apologise", Sophia told her as she left the room. She had been walking around the set for some time before she found Jon going into a small building. Reaching the door closely behind him she entered and slammed the door behind her.

Chapter 14

The months that has passed since Richie and Victoria's break up had been stressful for Sophia. She was trying her hardest to get her sister back to the way she had been before the whole Richie thing but nothing seemed to work. The more she tried to help her the more her sister pushed her away. Sophia could only watch her sister throw herself into work and be there for her when she decided she wanted to talk. As time went on and Bon Jovi released another album it became increasingly difficult to keep the magazines and newspapers away from Victoria. Jon and Richie seemed to be photographed every night with a different actress or model on their arm and Sophia did her best to keep those pictures out of sight from her sister. Now and again Sophia would read the articles, which she knew she would regret as soon as she ended the page, they always emphasized how happy the band was to be touring again and it made her angry to know that Richie was having a ball while her sister was still suffering.


Jon felt exhausted as he collapsed into one of the dressing room seats. They had just finished another sell out show and the band was doing better than ever. The publicity was great mainly due to the plan Jon had devised of having all the guys step out with a famous woman almost every night as well as the non stop TV interviews. In theory the guys would have been pleased about it but the whole idea was just more work and it was taking its toll on all of them. It should have been the best time of their careers but they were all too exhausted to appreciate it and the tension between them was growing every day. It was becoming an effort to be around each other and Jon was increasingly worried about Richie's behaviour. He was drinking a lot more than normal and Jon had to constantly cover for him with the press.


Victoria arrived home from work to find Sophia ripping pages out of a magazine. Curious at what her sister was up to she sneaked up behind her and pulled the pages from her hand. Sophia swung round to see Victoria's face drop. The expression on her face was unreadable and Sophia assumed she was upset at what she had found on the page.
"How long have you been doing this?" Victoria demanded, the anger in her voice rising with every word.
"I thought it would upset you so I've been taking them out before you read them", Sophia confessed.
"I can't believe you would do that! How do you expect me to get over him if you hide everything he appears on!" Victoria shouted. Sophia didn't know what to say to her, this was far from the reaction she expected. Victoria stormed to her room while Sophia sat in silence. An hour or so later Victoria appeared from her room with a suitcase in her hand. "I'm going back home for a while. I need to get away from this place. Don't try and stop me Sophia, it's what I have to do", Victoria's face was deadly serious as she spoke. Sophia stepped out of her way and let her leave, she had never seen her sister like that before and so she did as she asked.


The tour was almost finished now and they had succeeded in selling out every show they had done. Even though everything had gone as Jon had planned there was still something missing. He thought taking Richie on tour and getting back to work would have helped him but it proved to have done the opposite. Jon rarely saw him without a drink in his hand and the more he watched him, he realised how unhappy he was. There were times that he wished he hadn't heard what Victoria had said and felt guilty at being the one to break the news to Richie. He hadn't been able to get through to him during the tour, it was as though he had taken a shadow of the man with him rather than his best friend. It was watching Richie that made Jon decide they would take a break after the tour and he would go back to acting while he helped get Richie back to his old self.

Tuesday 16 December 2008

Chapter 13

Sophia found her sister sitting in the living room and couldn't help but stand and watch her from the doorway for a few minutes. She was the happiest Sophia had ever seen her.
"Look at the state of you", Sophia said, startling her sister.
"You always sneaking up on people?" Victoria asked.
"Your sitting here like a love sick puppy, it's disgusting!" Sophia teased her.
"I can't help it, he's just amazing! I've never met anyone like him before and he told me he loves me", Victoria beamed. Sophia was pleased for her sister, it was clear she loved him too.
"Your lying, you only love him for his money. Admit it", Sophia teased.
"Yeah, your right, I'm with Richie because he's rich and famous, just think of the life I'll have and the career prospects", Victoria played along. "No, seriously sis, I really love him. I've never felt like this before". Sophia studied her sister for a minute before giving her a big hug and saying, "I know sis, I know. Now pass some of that love around!"


Jon burst into Richie's room telling him to sit down. "What got you all fired up?" Richie asked Jon, amazed at how angry his friend was.
"She's taking you for a ride!" Jon half shouted, attempting to keep his anger under control. Richie's face dropped, "What are you talking about bud?" Jon paced up and down the room and explained to his best friend what he had just heard from Victoria.
"You sure it was Victoria who said it?" Richie asked solemnly.
"Well who the hell else is dating a Richie around here. It was her, I know her voice", Jon threw his words at him and then watched Richie try and take it all in. "Think about it bud. It was me she wanted first, remember on set? You were her second choice and her plan worked perfectly, you fell for her big time! Hell, even I believed she was real!" Jon told his best friend. Richie had tears in his eyes when he spoke, "Thanks for letting me know, but can I have a minute on my own?" Richie opened the door to let Jon out, barely looking at him so not to reveal the tears in his eyes. Jon patted him on the shoulder as he left, "I'm sorry, I had to tell you". Richie nodded at him and closed the door.


Sophia was on her way back to her room when she heard someone crying hysterically. Pushing the door open, she found her sister sitting on the floor sobbing into her hands. "What is it?" Sophia asked, panic in her voice.
"He doesn't want anything to do with me. He told me to leave and never come back", Victoria eventually managed to sat through her tears. Sophia was confused especially after their chat earlier. She put her arms around her sister to comfort her. "He was so angry, I don't even know what I've done wrong. Why did he tell me he loves me and then do this?", Victoria burst into tears again.
"Well is that's how he really is then he's not worth crying over", Sophia felt her anger growing, she didn't know what to say to her sister, "Lets get packed and get out of that assholes life!" Eventually she got Victoria to calm down and they packed her things first before heading to Sophia's room to do the same. Once they were packed, they called for a taxi to the airport and left quietly without saying goodbye to anyone.


Jon stood by Richie's side watching them leave from an upstairs window. He was unsure how he felt about the whole situation. He never thought he would have to break news like that to anyone in his life and it hurt to see Richie as sad and angry as he was. Yet he was glad that he had seen Victoria for what she was before things went any further between them. Sophia however, was another matter altogether, he had no idea how he felt about her leaving. He knew she was loyal to her sister but a sadness filled him when he watched her leave. He spent the next few hours watching Richie closely and knew that his friend needed something to take his mind off things. "Back to work?" Jon asked. Richie looked at him, managing a slight smile and replied, "Back to work Jon".

Chapter 12

"What the hell are you doing?" Sophia asked him, standing back looking shocked. Jon stood looking at his feet in silence. Where had that come from? Why did I do that? he asked himself.
"Stay away from me Jon", Sophia told him as she turned to leave.
"From what I recall there was two sides to that kiss", Jon shouted after her. Sophia continued to walk away with Jon following close behind.
"I told you to leave me alone", Sophia growled at him.
"I will just as soon as you tell me you never felt anything when we kissed, I know I felt it", Jon managed to get in front of her and stop her in her tracks. Sophia stood looking at him for a short time, expressionless, before shaking her head and pushing passed him.
"Your nuts! Your such a self obsessed asshole that you'll make things up just to get what you want!" She continued to march away from him.
"You've got me all wrong babe. I definitely felt something during that kiss and you did too", he smiled at her as he caught up with her once more. "Will you just stop running and talk to me, if you never felt a thing then prove it". Sophia stopped walking and turned to look at him, "What the hell are you on about now?"
Jon flashed her his best smile before saying, "If you kiss me right now and tell me honestly that you never felt anything then I'll stop running after you and leave you alone". Sophia considered his words and then quickly brought her lips to his as they shared a second kiss.


"There, are you happy now? I didn't feel a thing!" Sophia shouted.
"Yeah, I'm happy but I still don't believe you, if you didn't feel anything the first time then you wouldn't have agreed to kiss me again", Jon grinned. Sophia looked stunned for a second and then a smile crossed her face. She couldn't help it, the guy had been so right and had managed to catch her out too. She tried to turn away before Jon saw her face but it was too late, he had spotted his sign to keep moving.
"I know I said that if you told me that you didn't feel anything I would leave you alone and I'm a man of my word, but how about we're just two people heading home in the same direction? Is that allowed?" Jon asked as he put his arm around her and they started walking again.
"Piss off Jon!" Sophia told him through laughter as she pushed him away. Jon in turn playfully nudged her back and they continued home together.


The next morning Sophia woke up unsure what she would say to Jon when she saw him at breakfast. She didn't know how she felt about him or how to analyse his behaviour. Was he really feeling what she felt? or was it just another way to get what he wants? She didn't understand the man in the slightest, everytime she thought she had him worked out he would pull another stunt and they would be back at square one again. Pulling herself away from her thoughts, she got out of bed and got dressed, taking a deep breath at the top of the stairs to work up the courage to face Jon at the breakfast table.
"Darling, if I make you breathless from a kiss the night before, then just imagine how you would feel if we spent the night together", Jon appeared behind her and kissed her on the neck as he brushed passed her on the stairs. This guy's unreal, he knows exactly what he does to women. Don't wobble Sophia, don't let it show, she thought to herself.
"Don't flatter yourself, darling and isn't it ladies first?" Sophia replied as she pushed passed him on the stairs.


Jon couldn't believe her reaction to him on the stairs, that had never happened to him before. Most women melt at the slightest touch from him and yet she was telling him not to flatter himself. He couldn't work her out but it only made him want her more. He hadn't spoke since breakfast and found himself constantly thinking up ways to win over Sophia. It was going to be his new challenge he decided, no-one had ever made him feel that way from one kiss and no-one had ever treated him the way she did. Still thinking up his plans as he made his way back to his room, he was distracted by the sound of voices from the living room. It was Victoria's voice he could hear and was about to keep walking when he heard her say, "Yeah, your right, I'm with Richie because he's rich and famous, just think of the life I'll have and the career prospects".