Saint Joseph School

[the events here take place immediately following the Snow Ball]

The two of them, Sam and Jason, left the school dance a little before it ended, hurrying to the tram, which would take them back to the dorms. Jason pulled out his cell phone and made a hurried call.

"Doug, Jase. Yeah, I know, we're late, but the dance turned out to be fun, even if I am in a powder blue tux. We're on the tram back to the dorms. You've got the packages? GREAT! See you in like ten? Cool deal."

Jason flipped the phone shut and grinned at Samantha, a grin that spoke volumes for the fun to be had, and the mischief he was up to. The two seemed to go hand in hand when Jason was involved.

She hooked her arm in his and leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with doe eyes. "Um, Jase, what packages?"

He grinned down at her, at first not going to tell her, until he saw that look and all but melted. He chuckled, "Well, I kinda sorta let slip to Valentina that we were going to the Premier, and she kinda sorta asked; Scratch that, demanded that we wear something from her store. Something along the lines of 'If you and Samantha are going to be seen together in public, you'll be dressed well, because you WILL be dressed by me.' When she puts it that way, how can you possibly refuse?"

Sam giggled at Jase’s perfect impression of Valentina’s voice, and a huge part of her was relieved. Yeah, the dance was a blast, even with the color scheme. And true, it was the first real “social” event at St. Joes Sam attended, but it was different. Underneath the dressy clothes, they were still her school-mates. She was glad Joni won, because it’d do wonders for her self esteem, and she was happy Roo finally stood up to Tolliver - regular school issues, just in fancier packages.

The opening was another story. When they went to see Phantom, people were dressed in everything from cocktail dresses to full out evening gowns, but this was a premier. Being overdressed would be just as bad as being underdressed, and it’d be more than just a class buddy giving her a ribbing about it. Black was out- according to Valentina that was a color best left for winters, and since Sam fell between spring and autumn she should stick to colors in her range… whatever that’d meant. At the time she asked if that would make her a summer, seeing as summer fell in between spring and autumn, but judging from Valentina’s amused reaction, it didn’t quite work that way. In any case, she was grateful for it. Jeez, how did Jase do it all the time? She’d made runs from the dorm to the donut shop for breakfast wearing sneakers and mismatched flannels, if Jase did that, he’d likely end up in some magazine column as a “Fashion Don’t.”

“I’m sorta glad.” She replied, smiling back up at him as they boarded the tram, hanging onto the rails rather than taking a seat for the short hop back to the dorms. “She’s got better taste than Serge, and this way, I can just go back to concentrating on my smile, nod, and wave." She giggled and demonstrated for him on the half crowded tram, "And at the risk of you yelling at me- it’s appreciated, lots. It's gonna be a blast."

Jase took her arm for the short walk back to the school from the tram, and the two of them talked about the dance, and everything that happened, laughing for the most part, but Sam could tell there was still something that Jason was keeping hidden behind those green eyes. Try as she might, no amount of prodding pulled that secret out of him, until they cut through the school grounds to the horseshoe driveway in front of the front gates. A silver-gray stretch limo waited for them, the familiar sight of Doug leaning against the car, dressed impeccably in a chauffeur's uniform, complete with cap. Lying over the hood were two garment bags, with the unmistakable 'DuChampes' script logo. Doug lifted the two bags, meeting the duo half way to the car, handing one to each of them. Jason took his with practiced ease, and looked over at Sam, who was still staring at the limo.

"You didn't say anything about a limo!" She turned and smacked Jason on the arm, playfully, then leapt up, grabbing him around the neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"Miss Samantha, you'd better take this. I understand from Valentina that it may take some time to get into." Doug smiled. "She did send some help along. Insisted on it, actually, and said that they're to help with everything, if you want."

Jason looked at Doug, brows furrowing just a bit. "Doug, I told you not to let Valentina make too big a deal out of this. I know she mea..."

Doug cut him off, grinning. "Then you can tell her NO yourself. You think I'm going to do it??"

Jason laughed. "Coward. But yeah, you've got a point." He turned to Sam. "Well, let's have a look, and then you can figure out if you want the help."

Sam reached for the dress, but then realized if she grabbed it, she wouldn't be able to open it, and faltered, half reaching for it. Doug came to the rescue and held the bag up at arm's length so Sam could unzip the bag for a look.

Inside was a Champagne colored dress, which had a thinly strapped neckline with a fishtail train. The body made of flowing satins, while the layered train pooled in lighter fabric and silk.

Jason smiled, and looked at her, eyes shining with merriment. "Well, what do you think? Going to need help?"

Sam’s blue eyes lit up at the sight of the limo, then went wide again when she saw the dress Valentina selected, giving a muffled “Wow!” under her breath. It looked... complicated. She raised her eyebrows and looked sheepishly to Jason, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Usually ‘bout now my pride would’ve kicked in, and I’d tell you I been getting dressed on my own since I was four, but for whatever reason it‘s off hiding somewhere. I mean, I don’t have the Broadway-star-quick-change thing going for me, so I reckon if you want to get there tonight, a little help wouldn’t be bad. I mean, normally I’d ask Sandy or one of them, but it’ll be a ways ‘til anyone gets back from the dance, and I don‘t want to either rip something or screw up the zipper, or…”

Doug opened the door to the limo as she spoke, revealing three more women, two of which carried what looked to Sam like miniature cargo trunks, one patent leather shiny enough to see your own reflex ion in, the other a vibrant shade of deep pink. The third woman carried a large bag slung over her shoulder, but was obviously in charge, either that, or just the bossiest of the three. She circled Sam once and nodded, the woman with the black case zipping up the bag before the bossy woman took it from Doug.

“We don’t have much time, and there’s much to do, so let us get started.” She said in an indiscernible accent, grabbing Samantha’s arm with her free hand. Sam laughed, wondering what she just got herself into before turning to Jason with a huge smile and mouthing the word “Help?” His smile grew wider too as he shrugged, and then pointed towards the boys dormitories.

“Where do we set up?” The bossy woman asked, once they were inside the building.

“My room’s over this way…” Sam said slowly, pointing to the left. “But I’m supposed to sign you in as visitors, since there are no…” She was already being led down the hall before she could finish. She fumbled with the door for a moment, remembering the four digits to punch to unlock the door, her fingers suddenly feeling like cinder blocks. Finally she hit the numbers right or at least hit it hard enough that the lock popped open, and they were inside. Immediately the other two women set their trunks on Sam’s bed, one of them wrinkling her nose at having to toss aside a well worn pair of tennis shoes lying atop the comforter. The black case opened into what looked like the entire make-up department at some fancy store, and the pink case just needed a sink and it’d have been a full hair and nail salon. What happened from that point on was a blur that would put most NASCAR pit crews to shame. Curlers were put in her hair at the same time someone was painting her nails, and Sam found herself being just following random directions without questioning them, step in, look up, tilt your head, close your eyes, sit still, stand up, until the bossy woman took a step back and declared they were done.

She turned Sam towards the full length mirror on the back of the door, the younger of the two staring at the image for a second, barely recognizing it. She laughed and turned sideways- the gown fit like it was made for her. How Valentina could remember exact sizes, measurements, it was amazing. Her normally pin-straight hair was decked with a few curls, swept back from her face and up off her neck in a loose twist, a few tendrils intentionally left dangling. And the make up was just enough, but not overly done, but she felt like she could easily pass as a college sophomore.

“Yes, you look beautiful, and yes, you are late.” The woman stated matter-of-fact, once again grabbing Samantha by the arm, and leading her towards the door.

“Wait! My backpack!” Sam protested, motioning to the black and tan Eddie Bauer pack by her bedside. The bossy woman gasped.

“NO, oh no, no no” She protested. “You are not putting that thing next to this dress.”

“Just for the car.” Sam promised. “It’s got my camera, and wallet, and phone and stuff.”

“People will take plenty of photos of you; you’ll not need the camera. Do you plan to buy anything? This is a premier, not a trip to Canal Street. ” Sam thought for a moment.

“I might want a pretzel.” Sam smiled at her, causing the woman to gasp again, and shake her head. She took a small clutch matching the dress and handed it to Sam.

“Whatever fits in here, you may bring. That…” She said, scrunching up her face as if it was painful as she pointed to the backpack. “Stays here.” The action caused Samantha to laugh, but she squeezed her cell phone, school ID and a few bills into the small bag, before heading back out to meet Jason.

She whistled and smiled, seeing him all decked out, true, he could make anything look good, he proved it earlier with the light blue suit, but she knew without a doubt why he trusted Valentina. Sam didn't know if he was a summer or a winter, a spring or an autumn, but whatever it was Valentina called him? He looked amazing.

Jason watched as the entourage came first, followed by Samantha. His eyes widened a bit as she approached. The dress moved with her, and hugged her curves, the train leaving an elegant wake behind her. He smiled broadly "Sam....you look stunning."

Sam blushed a bit at the compliment, and took a moment to take in the sight of him. Dressed in a charcoal grey tuxedo jacket, and a white shirt with just the slightest tint of cream to it, so it matched her dress better, the shirts banded collar was fastened with a button of deep green, as were the rest of the studs lining the front. A thin chain of gold snugged tightly around the collar, adding just a hint of sparkle. His slacks were the same charcoal grey, but flowed like water around him. His face was framed by a pair of Revo glasses, tinted a grayish color, but still showed the green eyes behind them.

"You clean up pretty well yourself." She found herself thinking that this was a definite improvement over the powder blue that he wore to the SJS dance. It was almost hard to believe that it was the same guy. He definitely turned on that 'it' thing, and she loved seeing it, but at the same time was nervous that she'd get lost, or left behind by it.

Jason just smiled at her, and took her hand, with a squeeze. "Well, I'll have it easy tonight."

She looked at him confused. "Why, what do you mean?"

He led her to the limo, after Valentina's crew got in, and smiled at her, catching her gaze with his. "Because, with you around, I won't be the center of attention." He winked, and she giggled, half heartedly swatting his arm, as she got into the limo.

Inside were the three magicians of the cosmetics, and to Sam's surprise, Jason's publicist, Lynn.

"You must be Samantha, right?" She extended her hand and Sam shook it. "I'll be handling all of the photo information, with the publications so you don't have to. We can do this a couple of ways. We could just leave your name completely out of it, so any shots of the two of you would show up as 'Jason Berenzhin, and guest', or if you can sign for your own releases they'll use your name. The second might get a little tricky since you're a minor, but seeing as how you're on your own at school, I'm assuming that you can sign for some things on your own? The first way will also pull Jason away from you often, since people will want pictures, and we do have to oblige them, and from the look of it, I'd say that Jason wants to remain attached to you for most of the evening?" She gave Jason a telling smile, and Jason blushed, and nodded. "If you can sign, I'll have you sign some standard releases, and then I'll run interference on anything that we think might be objectionable." She smiled at the deer in the headlights look that Sam had on her face. "From the way that you look in that dress, I don't think anyone could find anyway to show you in a bad light, though." Lynne looked at Sam, "So, what shall we do?"

“I... I can sign for stuff.” Sam said a little nervously, looking over at Jason. “If that’s what you want, or what he wants, I mean. My dad had to sign a waiver for it, ‘fore I came to St. Joes, this way if I needed anything medical, or wanted to go play any sports or go on field trips and stuff, it was no biggie. But really, either’s okay with me. S’gonna be a lot of fun.” She smiled back towards Lynn as she removed some papers from a nearby briefcase, leaning them up against the case as if it was a desk. Sam’s eyes flicked towards Jason before each signature, Lynn pointing towards various places with a pen of her own while Sam played John Hancock. “Running interference would be good.” Sam said with a smile towards her. “I’m really not so good with the make up an excuse on the fly stuff. But I can smile, wave and nod like nobody‘s business.” Jason laughed a little, causing Sam to giggle as well.

“You’re going to do fine, Samantha.” Lynn assured her with a smile of her own, double checking the papers which were just handed back to her. Sam slightly leaned back in her seat, staring at the passing scenery and hoping the butterflies buzzing around in her stomach would somehow magically disappear. On one hand, it would be great to see him in his element again, and damned if he didn’t look absolutely amazing for it. And she’d get to meet with his mom, which was a plus. Sam couldn’t help but chuckle at her next thought. Her cousin Katie would likely have a coronary.

“Penny?” Jason said, nudging her, using her expression back on her. Sam thought for a second, and smiled back at him.

“Just really happy you asked, s’all. It’s gonna be a blast.”

He smiled back with that crooked smile of his, showing white teeth behind it. "Uh huh." She smiled again as she knew she was caught. "So what's really going on beneath those beautiful curls?" He reached out, lightly twisting one of the tendrils of hair around his finger, much to the chagrin of Valentina's drones, who looked about ready to tear the offending finger off the hand and away from her creation. Jason caught Sam's eyes with his own and that familiar heat he felt when he and Sam had a moment washed over him. Sam grinned when he unconsciously ran a finger around the collar of his shirt. He looked at the rest of the people in the limo, and let his hand drift away from Sam's face. There was a certain unmistakable redness high on Jason's cheeks, as he sat back in his seat, his hand finding hers, with a squeeze. "Come on, your adoring public wants to know."

“My adoring public of one wants to know what‘s on my mind?” She kidded, feeling the blush start to subside from her own cheeks as she gave his hand a squeeze back. She turned to him, flashed him a smile, complete with nod and a hand wave. They shared a laugh before she leaned towards him slightly. “I was thinking Katie’s likely gonna curl up and die when I tell her all this tomorrow.”

“So why wait? Did you bring your phone?” Jase said, flashing his trademark impish grin, reaching into his inside jacket pocket and retrieving a razor thin cell phone. Sam nodded, shooting an I-told-you-so look to the woman who’d been in charge.

“I got mine. She won’t pick up unless she knows the number.” Instead, she reached into the small bag and retrieved her own, turning the power back on. She intentionally turned it off; nothing would be worse than sitting in the theatre and have Elvis’ Hound Dog start blaring out in ringtone form.

She opened the flip phone, saying the word “Donner” to dial up, then chewed her bottom lip waiting for her cousin to answer. Funny how the make-up woman looked just as angry as the hair dresser lady had when Jase touched her hair, so she consciously stopped. She scooted back in the seat a bit more, the butterflies leaving when the familiar voice picked up on the other side of the phone.

“Katie! It’s Sam, listen, you’ll never guess where I am this second and what I’m doing.” The smile on her face broadened as her cousin responded, near forgetting she was in a car full of other people. “No, but that all sounds like fun, too. No lie, I’m in the back of a limo, with that guy I told you about, you know, Jason Beerhazing.” She winked at Jason, intentionally mispronouncing his last name, before holding the phone away from her ear, where shrieks of “Get out! No way!” was being uttered. “No lie, here, look.” She leaned next to Jase, flipping the phone around to capture a picture. Immediately, Jason was on, placing his head next to Sam’s and flashing a zillion watt smile, before Sam went back to her own side and fiddled with the phone to send the picture. More shrieks could be heard, before Sam turned to Jason and asked “Can you say hi to her.”

“Or I could smile, nod and wave.” He said back with a laugh, holding his hand out for the phone.

“Watch your ears.” She warned him, and he nodded, pressing the phone to speaker.

“Hi, Katie, this is Jason….”

“Jason Berenhzin!” She shouted back. “I know who you are! I loved your last album! I mean, I loved the album before that too, and Oh-my-God, Oh-my-God! Track 3 was the best! Well, really, I like track 7 the best, but track three they played at this dance that I went to, and when it came on, Randy James asked me to dance with him, and it was the best ever, so that’s why that one was my absolute favorite. One time, I read in this magazine, that you write all of your own stuff, and that’s just, wow, because nobody writes their own stuff, I mean, look at Jessie McCartney, those songs aren’t his, but your songs, they’re yours and you can tell they come from inside, and that’s why they’re so… Oh-my-God, I can’t believe I’m talking to Jason Berenhzin!”

“Actually you’re doin’ all the talking.” Sam reminded her, thoughts of back home making her smile warmer. She flipped the phone back off speaker, and brought it to her ear. “And hole-lee cow! Randy James asked you to dance? Didja die? Did he actually ask, or was it you were just dancing near him and he started dancing with you on account of you were there? No way, get out! Said the words, Kate, do you wanna dance?” She laughed at her cousin’s response, knowing the feeling; she felt it the minute Jason asked her to the Snow Ball. “All right, I gotta go, listen, I’ll call you tomorrow? Yes. Every detail. All right. Kiss your mom for me. Bye!” She closed the cell phone and jammed it back into the small purse, looking at Jason. “Thank you. You just made her entire year.”

“I said five words.” He laughed.

“Yeah…” She laughed back. “I’m surprised you got that many in. My cousin, she can kinda ramble sometimes.” She smiled at her own expense. “Good thing it’s not hereditary.”


Jason grinned at her "Yeah, good thing that, huh?"

The rest of the ride sort of blurred for Sam. There was a lot of talk about who was going to be there, and who they'd need to talk to. Be careful about asking about this with these people, and make sure you mention that with those people. She'd never imagined just going to a party could be that much work. Not only that, but she was impressed by how well prepared Lynn was, she seemed to know everything about everyone! Every once in a while, Jason would give her a sidelong glance, a smile and a squeeze of her hand, and Sam would smile in return, neither relinquishing her grasp on his hand, nor worrying that he would take it away.

She did note several times along the ride, that Jason passed up opportunities to drink the Champagne that was being handed around, instead opting for bottled water, or all natural fruit juices.

As they pulled into the NYC traffic, the change in the car was almost palpable. Lynn snapped shut the briefcase, and put it aside, and relaxed, loosening the collar of her shirt, and losing the tie of the skirt suit she was wearing, even going so far as to accept a glass of Champagne. The trio of Valentina drones were laughing and having a good time, till they came within a few blocks of the obvious destination. Doug slid the limo in line behind a number of others, and the drones went to work. They fussed over Jason's hair, fixing it just so, even though to Sam, it looked like there was nothing wrong with it. Off came the slim chain around the collar of the shirt, and a silver one replaced it. Another drone took the gold bracelet off his wrist with a concerned look, and opened the black case she carried, the chain went into the case and another gold bracelet with nugget links came out, and she held it up, but shook her head. Reaching back into the box, she pulled out a silver Tag Huer watch with a blue face, nodded and placed it on his wrist. The whole time this was going on, Jason held another easy conversation with Lynn, discussing his Mother, and what she'd be doing there. Finally the bit of primping was done, and the drones’ collective attention turned to Sam.

Sam looked up at Jason with a moment of panic, and Jason squeezed her hand, smiling at her. "Just relax, and it'll be over before you know it."

"What are they doing?" Sam's voice held a hint of panic.

"Finishing touches, Sam. Now they see the light, and the colors that are set, so they can finish." Jason smiled, and leaned back, at ease, even with the attention. "So, what did your cousin have to say, when you got back on the phone?"

Sam did a double take, kind of an odd question to ask at this moment, but she tried to take it in stride, even as the butterflies in her stomach threatened to leap into her throat. "Well, she couldn't believe that I was in a limo with you, and kept saying she was going to frame the picture, all at about a million miles an hour." Sam giggled, and hardly noticed as the jewelry drone draped a bracelet on her wrist, and continuing to talk to Jason about nothing, she let them move her head forward to put the necklace on, and earrings.

Jason nodded slightly to the drones, and smiled back at Sam, "See, I told you, it's over before you know it." One of the drones held a mirror up so Sam could see.

She gasped when she saw the jewelry. Three tiered diamond dangles fell delicately off each ear, the necklace was tight around her neck, and three strands fell down from her throat, glittering as if dusted with diamond dust, each ending with a small gem, emeralds on the outside and a small ruby in the middle. The tennis bracelet on her wrist sparkled with the fire that only diamonds had.

"Jason...I can't...I mean, this is...." She fumbled with words. She'd never worn much jewelry ever, and now this? She loved the way they looked but still, she'd be scared to hurt any of it.

Jason smiled broadly. "Sam, it's okay, they're on loan from Lancaster. It's pretty common; they know this'll get a lot of coverage, so they lend them to get exposure." His grin turned crooked and he winked "Who knows, if they really like the way it looks they might just give it to you."

Sam gaped, until Lynn smacked him, "Quit teasing her, she's nervous enough!" Lynne turned to Sam, "It's perfectly okay, the jewelry is all insured for way more than it's worth probably, so even if you damage or lose it, you'd more than likely be doing them a favor." She grinned as Sam finally remembered to breathe.

Jason hooked his arm in hers and grabbed her hand, twining his fingers in hers. "Well, we've got about 5 more cars to go till we hit the red carpet. Ready to go?" Jason looked at her again, smiling softly "You can have some Champagne if you want, I don't mind."

“I’m not twenty-one.” Sam replied matter-of-fact, not taking her eyes off the cars and scene in front of her. The comment made Lynn chuckle, and even the woman with the make-up near outright laughed. He’d told her on the roof when they talked with Stasis about not being able to drink, nothing chemical, he said. So no Mt. Dew or Cokes or anything with caffeine either. Chemicals had something to do with what he could do when he wasn’t being a red-carpet superstar. Truth be told, she’d tasted it before, Champagne, beer, and some sort of whisky her dad would keep for once in a while if his nerves were shot, and it was like coffee, they were all so… bitter. Besides, that’s all she’d need, most situations she felt like the proverbial bull in a China shop, dulling the senses didn’t seem like such a good idea, even if it likely would’ve taken the edge off. The car inched forwards, fourth in line now, and she squeezed Jason’s hand a bit tighter.

“Are you sure?” Lynn asked, pouring just a touch into the bottom of a small stemmed glass, the make up woman poised and ready with lipstick in hand, just in case.

“No. Yes, I mean, no I‘m good with not having it, and yes, I’m sure.” Sam replied with a nod, her eyes darting from the line of cars back to the scene in the car.

Stop. She chastised herself. They’re just people. Relax, relax. Just remember… She was struck by the sudden desire to go back home. Just go back to the dorm, put on some jeans, and maybe hit the skate park. This was all just so… dizzying. Not even walking into a room full of the deadmen made her stomach flip-flop this much. It was like all of a sudden, there was no air left in the car, it was hard to breathe. How could he sit there so calm? Their car was next. NEXT. Jason’ll understand. He’ll be fine. This is his thing, what he does. I'll just go home. She turned to face him.

“Jase?” He turned from where he was looking out the window, his eyes dazzling even from behind his sunglasses peering at her.

“Hmmm?“ He asked, his smile warm as ever, his thumb rubbing the top of her hand reassuringly. And just like back at school or around Paragon, any anxiety melted like an ice cube left in the sun’s rays. She forgot for a moment about all the cars and the lights, the dress and the jewelry which could likely pay for a house back home, and found the impish smile in him which kept her on her toes and made her smile in return. “Sam?” He asked, his one eyebrow raised up from beneath his sunglasses. She let her shoulder muscles relax and took a deep breath in as their car pulled up to a rolling stop next to a sea of people parted to either side.

“Just… yeah." She smiled. "I’m ready to go.”

Jason smiled back at Sam and took her hand as the limo started to move forward, next in line to let them out. It was there. That electric jolt that started somewhere in around the pit of his stomach, and traveled up his spine in a dizzying feeling of nerves, excitement and euphoria. This was the addiction that so many actors talked about. Everything seemed sharper, every breath clearer. Still, this time there was something different, a hint of dread. It was his first really public appearance since the stage door incident, and that fed in a kind of doubt, and with everything moving at the adrenalin assisted rush, it started to prey on him. He swallowed hard, watching and waiting for the door to open, and let out a deep breath. This was his. It's what he was meant for, and lived for. Sam could almost feel him buzz, the energy that seemed to collect around him that had nothing to do with any superpowers that he possessed.

Lynne put a hand on his arm, and squeezed. "Go dazzle em, wunderkid." They shared a smile and Jason let out a soft chuckle, and was suddenly just on. There was no better way to describe it, it was like a light switch turned on, and caused focus to swing to Jason. Lynne let the arm go, "Remember, I'll be there behind you all the way, you two just have fun."

Jason's smile lit up, and he turned to Sam and leaned to whisper, "It helps if you get nervous, to just imagine the whole crowd standing there in Spiderman Underoos." Before Sam had a chance to react, the door opened, and Jason was pulling her gently from the limo. She exited the car with that though on her mind and it caused a dazzling, bemused smile of her own.

Then she was hit by a barrage of lights and sound. All she was aware of was a constant strobe of light, flashing from all sides, closing in on top of her, a buzz of camera shutters as they whirred and voices, all calling out for Jason, and any of the other stars that came before him. She about froze, but Jason drew her to his side, and quietly used his powers to sing right at her ear "Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can... Sam almost started to laugh, but just turned it into a smile. Placing the second hand on Jason's arm, she moved forward with him.

"Jason! When's the new album coming out....Jason, what shows will you be doing next? ... Jason, look this way!... Jason, a picture please...Jason, do you have time for a few words....Jason, who is that with you?...Jason, who's your next costar?"

The cacophony of calls came from behind a red velvet rope. Jason turned this way and that, trying to meet every request for a photo, and waving to requests for more. Calls for his attention came from everywhere, and the pace up the carpet seemed agonizingly slow to Sam, and came to a halt as a woman with a microphone and a cameraman following came up to them. Sam had a moment where she almost fled, but Jason squeezed her arm, and smiled at her, with a quick wink. He knew...knew and took that moment to set her at little at ease.

The interviewing duo came up and the microphone was presented. "We're here speaking with Jason Berenzhin at the premier of Pirate Queen. Jason, what are you expecting from the show?"

Jason smiled and let out a small chuckle "I'm expecting some great performances, and a fantastic show. It should be one of the best shows of the year."

"Jason you look fantastic, this is a Du Champes outfit?"

"Of course!" Jason replied, "Come on now, you know that Valentina wouldn't let me come under, or overdressed. We're both wearing her finest."

Seemingly for the first time, the interviewer seemed to notice Sam, and the Cameraman moved to get the both of them framed in the shot with the interviewer. "And just who is this new beauty? A new girlfriend for you, Jason?"

Jason smiled down at Sam, and she managed to return the smile, Jason's eyes pulling hers to him. "Right now, I'm just the guy lucky enough to be escorting her to the premier." He looked back at the interviewer with that impish megawatt smile he was known for, "As for anything more, well, we're working on it, and you'll just have to find out later." He laughed, looking back to the interviewer, reaching out and squeezing her arm companionably.

The interviewer laughed in return, "Enjoy the show, Jason." Jason nodded and he and Sam continued their march down the red carpet, as the interviewer turned to the camera, "Well, there you have it. Girls, it looks like Jason Berenzhin may have found a flame."

As they neared the theatre, things quieted a bit, and Jason turned to Sam, and caught her eyes again, then leaned down to whisper to her, "You can breathe now, Sam." He kissed her lightly, and several flashbulbs went off. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

Sam let out the breath she was holding, still looking at their surroundings with awe. “Cake.“ She kidded enthusiastically with a smile. “But Spiderman helped. A lot.“ It was true, he did, just not as much as another “hero” she was a fan of.

True to her word, Lynne was right behind them, pointing out directions and people, and just how Jason memorized what Sam thought was mentioned in passing was astonishing. He knew who to congratulate, who to kid around with, and it seemed ever 45 seconds or so, Lynne was leading them in a different direction, sort of like a well oiled machine. Once in a while, she’d lean in to whisper a name to Jason, Jase then greeting the person with ease. Wave after wave of people, just like being at the ocean, and he seemed to know them all, and all of them seemed to know him. She smiled and relaxed a bit more. This was his ‘A’ game, he wasn’t showing off, he wasn’t being insincere, this was… him. Part of him. And seeing him in his element, electricity seeming to radiate from him was contagious. It was impossible to let anything dampen her mood. Plus, no matter how many people they saw or how many questions he was asked, he always had a moment to put aside for her to offer a smile, a wink, or a private joke, showing the “Jase” she was more familiar with. Sam drank it all in, the crowd, the noise, the glitz and the glam, faces that she recognized from TV and scores of faces she didn’t, until Lynne announced they’d finished “working the room.” They were offered drinks or food from really well dressed people carrying trays, but Sam declined both, her stomach still having too many butterflies to have anything in it. Yet more waves of people came to speak with Jason while they waited, asking about the album he was working on, or who he was with. He fielded everything, quick with a comeback, most of the on-comers leaving as quickly as they came.

“Face hurt from smiling yet?” He asked, giving her a wink from behind his sunglasses. She laughed slightly.

“Hole-lee cow, yeah! Unless you mean “does your face hurt, ’cause it’s killing me” in a Tolliver sort of way, in which case, I owe you an ear flicking.” She replied, causing him to laugh as well.

“You get used to it.” He said, pointing and nodding a hello to someone in the crowd. Lynne finished speaking to someone on her cell phone, turning to whisper something to Jason, who in turn leaned next to Sam. “And let’s see if you can muster a few more. Let’s go meet my mom.”

Jason noted the hesitation and the momentary stiffening of her body, and chuckled. "Come on, she's not some sort of girl eating gargoyle or anything." He grinned, "Well, at least not that I know of. I've never really brought anyone to meet her, outside of someone in a show." His grin turned impish again, and she smacked him.

"That's mean. I'm nervous enough already!"

Jase just shook his head lightly with a smile, and headed over towards the center of the foyer, where Sam saw a group of people standing in a circle, When Sam caught sight of the woman that was standing poised, sharing polite jokes with them. From her angle, Sam couldn't tell much, except that she was beautiful. She wore an elegant dark blue dress that bared one shoulder, tight to the woman's frame, a silver stripe dropped following the diagonal line of the cut of the dress from the covered shoulder, across her chest, to the ground, where it formed the hem for the slit "up to here" that showed a bare leg when the woman moved. When the woman moved so Sam was able to see her better, there was no doubt this was Jason's mother. She had the same unmistakable green eyes, and the same easy mannerisms that she'd instilled on her son.

"Mom!" Jason called from across the room, and she turned towards them, beaming a smile that was similar to Jason's in drawing people towards it. Jason moved forward, with Sam right beside him, and the crowd seemed to part to allow the two of them an aisle to get to his mother. She grabbed both of his hands in hers, and kissed him lightly on his cheek, then moved a hand up and brushed away the faint lipstick mark she'd left.

"It's so good to see you, Jason!" Maria smiled, then turned to look at Sam, and to Sam's surprise took both her hands, holding them out a bit. "You must be the Samantha Jason talks so much about." She held Sam's arms out a bit, "You are even lovelier than Jason let on about. I wish I would look half as good in that as you do. Jason should have told us more about you."

"Mom!" Jason blushed, as the group around them let out a good-natured laugh. Despite the protest, Sam saw the grin on both their faces. This kind of thing was obviously part of their normal relationship. Jason turned and took one of Sam's hands back in his own. "Okay, you've fawned over her enough, and embarrassed me as much as you want too." He smiled at them both. "Happy now?"

"Of course. I promise not to tell any embarrassing stories until after the night's over." Maria winked at Sam, and Jason just rolled his eyes. She looked at Samantha, smiling warmly, "So, where did my son get lucky enough to find you?"

“School?” Sam replied, shooting a glance towards Jason first, almost looking for approval. He smiled, and squeezed her hand, almost willing her to be less nervous. It wasn’t all that hard to do. His mom had the same sort of presence as him, almost instantly putting her at ease. “And I sorta found him. I was a little lost at the time.” She smiled sheepishly at her own expense, remembering the day well. He was under the yellow risers in Atlas, standing there with Eric, both in their school uniforms. At the time, she didn’t want to intrude on their conversation, simply to ask which way back to campus, but something about the good-looking green-eyed boy invited her to stay and talk. Then he sang that song from Three Doors Down, and she suggested… She almost groaned at the memory.

“That would explain why you’re so eager to get back to class in between recording sessions, Jason.” His mom kidded with him. “And here I thought it was concern for your academics.” She had a sing-song voice, almost melodious, even when she spoke, Sam noticed. It was as stunning as Maria was beautiful, and beautiful didn’t even begin to describe her. Sam never would’ve pegged her as being someone’s mother, let alone the mother of a 17 year old High School student. Even without the make-up and glitz, she would turn heads, just like Jason. Even if he was wearing a pale blue tuxedo, he could pull it off.

Jason responded with another half-hearted protest, prompting his mother to again laugh and promise to stop teasing her son. A tinge of homesickness washed through Samantha, but it flickered off as quickly as it came on, and her smile broadened, seeing the two of them together. They were so comfortable, it was like they ran into each other in a department store, not at some black-tie, invite-only upscale theatre party. Lights really did flicker on and off, indicating the play was about to start, the waves of people starting to find their seats.

“She’s incredible.” Sam whispered to Jason, while his mother’s attention temporarily focused on someone else. “This whole thing… this is just… wow.” He smiled, and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, before Lynne was again leading them somewhere else.

Lynn walked the duo up to the first balcony, to a small section that overhung the orchestra section, and looked down slightly on the stage. The usher handed them Playbill magazines created for the occassion, and Jason and Samantha sat to watch the show that depicted the life of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen of Ireland. The show was dazzling, thoroughly entertaining the both of them. Sam was somewhat sad to see it end, the thought of going home after being at the show seemed anti climatic.

After the applause, and the house lights coming on, she took Jason's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm relieved, and a little sad that it's all over."

Jason smiled down at her and didn't say a word, but she recognized that light behind his eyes. He was up to something. She narrowed her eyes a bit at him, with a quirked smile, and he winked. "You want to go home already?" He shrugged, the impish grin returning. "We can do that, but you'd be missing the party, and a chance to meet the cast." He took her hand and started to move in a slightly different direction than most of the crowd, his grin growing broader, as he teased her with the idea of leaving already. "I'll just tell Doug we're headed back to school." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

Sam laughed, planting her feet and tugging him in the opposite direction. “Quit it! ‘Course I want to go to the party, meet the cast. The show was incredible, the set and the stage and everything, and when they had that whole fight scene, and especially the singing. I have to remember to buy me a soundtrack when we get home, they were just all so…. Wow.”

“But how would they fare on American Idol?” Jase teased, kissing the hand that he’d been holding and shooting her a wink. Her cheeks instantly reddened, but she laughed all the same.

“Now how‘s it gonna look for you if I curl up here and die?” She kidded back as they started being swept along with the crowd. “I promise, I’m not mentioning the AI words to any of them… but I really think the woman that played Grace was the voice of Barbie on this DVD that Katie’s sister watched near every day.”

“Stephanie?“ Jason questioned. “Check your playbill. It’ll list the actors’ names and all of their accomplishments.” How he kept track of everything and everyone was still amazing.

Lynne went back to telling Jason something Sam couldn’t overhear, pointing to his watch once or twice, and Sam went back to being starstruck. She recognized one or two of the actors, one of them was in Million Dollar Baby, she was sure of it, and the playbill she flipped through one handed confirmed it, just like it confirmed Stephanie J Block was in fact the singing voice of Barbie. But besides the cast, there were a slew of people she recognized from TV, the movies and such. Once again it was dizzying, and once again, Jase lit up when they entered. She let out a content sigh, and beamed a smile of her own. Not because of where they were, or in anticipation of a big party, but for Jason. This was his element, his thing, his A Game, this was just… him.

After the party started to wind down, well into the small hours of the night, a time when many of the stars in their amazing dresses were holding heels in their hands by the straps, to save tired feet from any more agony, and gentlemen loosened ties, and unbuttoned collars, Sam and Jason were wrangling with the decision to go home, or stay just a bit longer. It was Doug that made the decision for them.

From seemingly out of nowhere, he came up behind the two of them, making Sam wonder if the guy had superpowers of his own. "Jason, I think now would be a good time to make an exit." Doug caught Jason's eye and nodded off to another part of the hall. While the alchohol had been flowing freely all night, which didn't bother Jason much, what he saw there did. A group of young stars, about the same age as he was, maybe a bit older, were passing a mirror, with lines of a greenish powder on it, which, one by one, the young men and women were inhaling through their nose. When Doug caught Sam's confusion he whispered to her, "It's called Phreak. Coccaine cut with powdered Superadine. It gives all the kick of Coke, with some of the physical boost of 'Adine. All in all a bad combination, since it also makes the user more aggressive." Doug looked over at some of the security hired for the party converging discreetly on the users. "Security has them, but we might want to be gone before this all comes out." Both Sam and Jason nodded, and started to leave, Jason taking one more look around.

"Doug, Mom?" Jason asked shorthand.

"She's outside waiting by her ride. I took the liberty of getting her out first."

Jason let out a breath, and took Sam's arm in his, pulling her close, just happy that she was by his side. They said their farewells, which took a bit of time, and got out to the limo, where Maria was standing with a smile, waiting for her son.

"There you are. Doug told me that it was time to leave." She shook her head, and smiled at Sam, "Well, I suppose any party is going to have the people that will spoil it in the end, and with the means comes the bigger spoilers." She took Sam's hands in hers and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm just sorry you had to see that, after all the fun. I do expect to see much more of you." Maria flashed an impish grin of her own, "After all, I have so many more stories about Jason to tell you. Has he told you about his first time on stage?"

"MOM!!" Jason protested, and turned bright red.

Maria winked at Sam, "I won't embarass him with that story....tonight. You two have a safe trip back to the school." She squeezed Sam's hands again before letting them go, "Make him bring you by to visit, that way I get to see you both."

“I will.” Sam promised with a smile of her own. “And it was really great meetin’ you, Mrs. Berenhzin.” Jason’s mom laughed.

“Please, call me Maria.” She insisted. Sam nodded and smiled in agreement, turning her attention to the car. It was dual purpose, half to give mother and son some privacy, and half because the thought of sitting down was becoming very appealing. Doug opened the door for her, the action still making her uncomfortable, but she thanked him just the same. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jason and his mom exchange good-byes, Maria hugging Jason tightly and kissing his cheek before heading to her own limousine. She turned one more time, kissing her fingertips and lightly waving to him before being led into the back of her car. Once she was settled, he turned his attention back to Doug and his own car, Jason nimbly sliding into the back seat next to her. Once the door was securely closed behind him, Sam let out a breath and relaxed back into the leather seat. Jason smiled at the overdramatic action.

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” He asked with his trademark impish grin.

“Bad?” She asked with a smile, sliding off both shoes and rotating her ankles. “Jeez, no! Jason, that was just… amazing! I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for the world. I mean, okay, yeah, I was y’know, a little sorta nervous at the beginning.”

“No….you?” Jason teased, bringing a hand to his chest while pretending to be surprised, causing her to laugh and smack his arm.

“I’m definitely gonna ask your mom about your first time on stage!“ She returned, folding her arms across her chest. He laughed a good natured laugh, then draped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer and kissing her on the top of her forehead. Sam leaned into Jason‘s shoulder, stretching her feet up on the bench seat to the side, sighing. “Still, I can’t believe it’s over, it went so fast.”

“Always does.” He replied, a little hint of regret creeping into his voice, almost as if he was coming off his own “high.” She turned to him, studying his features for a moment with a slightly concerned look before leaning up and softly kissing his lips to help chase away any blues which tried to cloud his mood. His faint smile brightened, causing her to brighten as well, feeling the same warmth she felt many a time back at school when he was around.

“I had the best time, Jase. Seriously, thank you, for all of it.”