the ladies room » "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

View, unobstructed · 1/28/2015 10:24 am

I am so not a fan of the average "fanfic"...and their smuttiness. In fact, I have only ever read part of one, and that was enough - never again.

But this little fanfic, and its writer - the blogger who is #TEAMJANELSKIY - receive some good comments, and so I'm reading it...

Lotus - Chapter One
Note- Thanks for being so patient everyone! This takes place present day, although this particular chapter takes place on like Tuesday of this week (the 20th) I just took forever to post it so bear with me here. Some parts stick to real life events, others not so much.

There’s something funny about living in Los Angeles. At least, he’s always found it sort of funny, the way there’s so many people everywhere and yet no one ever seems to really belong. Everyone always says that New York is America’s melting pot, but in New York at least you can grow some roots, find your family, your community, make a home for yourself. Here in Los Angeles everyone is just transient.He’s not immune by any means from this assessment. He may have a house here, but it’s only for the sake of convenience. Home for him is where is family is, and right now they’re all other places. His parents are home in New Jersey, his friends are in New York mostly, or traveling, and he has to admit he can’t keep track of where his brother is anymore. The Dancing with the Stars tour travels so much Val seems to be in a different state every time they talk.

And where is he? Alone on this rainy January day, waiting in line behind what must be half of the neighborhood for an overpriced coffee. The peculiar aroma of rainy must mixed with coffee is stifling, the sound of loud chatter over thunderous rain overwhelming, but somehow they’re both still more appealing than going back to his empty house to watch Netflix and eat leftover pizza for the third time this week. So when he finally reaches the counter and the barista asks if he wants his coffee for here or to go, he says “for here”.

At least surrounded by other people he can take solace in the illusion of not being alone.Surrounded is sort of an understatement though. There are so many people here it almost feels like being packed in a tin of sardines, and when the barista hands him his coffee in a mug he immediately regrets not getting it to go, because it doesn’t seem like there’s anywhere to sit. Apparently all of the other lonely people had the same idea he did, because he can’t find an empty seat in the place until he turns towards the back of the room and spies one empty spot at a small table.

Normally he wouldn’t share a table with a stranger, not just because it was awkward but because fans seemed to be everywhere, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The only other person at the table seems too distracted by her phone to care about anyone around her anyways. From the side her face is concealed by a sheet of long, dark hair tinted purple at the tips as she bows her head to focus on the device in her hand. The only thing Maks takes note of as he approaches the table is that she happens to have very nice posture.“Excuse me,” he says, trying not to startle her as he gestures towards the empty seat, “Would it be alright if-”

Then she turns her head to look at him, and the rest of his sentence is lost.“You can sit,” she says dryly, “There’s not really anywhere else.”She must have seen him looking, must have watched him try to find anywhere else to sit before resorting to this back corner. Maybe that’s why she ducked her head the way she did, hoping he’d take the closed off body language as a hint to find somewhere else, to not even try and join her.But she’s right, there’s really not anywhere else to sit. So after a moment of hesitation he sets his mug on the table and claims the seat across from her.“Thanks,” he replies, trying to sound as grateful as possible. The sort of half-nod half-shrug he gets in response says without words what he knows she must be thinking. That causing a scene wouldn’t be worth it.Her eyes drop back to her phone, and he averts his own gaze, trying to appear very interested in the art on the wall. But the abstract squiggles don’t interest him as much as she does.He hasn’t seen her in weeks. Not since the day after the Dancing with the Stars finale when she’d tagged along with Val all day in New York. His brother had been brooding all day, his sulking thinly veiled. He’d sworn all day that he was fine, that he was proud of her and proud of what they’d accomplished together, and who needed a mirrorball trophy anyways. And she had smiled too, said she was happy just to have had the opportunity she did. She was a good actress too, very believable in her interviews. The only thing that gave her away was the way she clung to Val’s arm, as if she’d collapse if he let her go.

The girl across from him now hardly seems like the same person. This girl seems sort of empty. He doesn’t see the excitement in her eyes he used to see when she danced, or the bashful adoration reserved for when they all went out together and Val would wrap his arm around her, or even just brag about how well she’d done that week. There’s no fire, no life. This girl is like a puppet, going through the motions but dead behind the eyes. Even as she taps away at her phone, probably texting someone or scrolling through some feed, her face remains blank.He can’t help but wonder if she’s just putting up a guard against him, or if she’s like this all the time now.His eyes drift, genuinely wandering this time because he doesn’t want to think about that now. He’s already intruded on her afternoon enough just by being here, and it’s really none of his business anyways. Her body language is making it clear that she doesn’t want to talk to him, and to be honest he doesn’t know what he’d say to her.

There’s no way to ask the questions he wants to ask, and even if there were he knows he shouldn’t. Val is his brother, he should take his word for what went down and leave it at that. His instincts may be telling him that something about the way she’s acting now doesn’t add up with the stories he’s heard, but it’s really not his place to speculate.Still, it’s hard to sit across from her and not talk. Seeing a familiar face is a luxury these days, and even if that familiar face is nothing like how he remembers it, it’s still something. So when he notices the scrawl on the side of her coffee cup, he doesn’t stop himself from chuckling.“Jamal?”She lifts her head in surprise, and for the first time since he’s sat down she actually shows some semblance of emotion when she rolls her eyes.“Yeah, you’d think they’d be able to get five letters right.”“Who knows,” he offers quickly, while he has her attention, “Maybe there was someone named Jamal and you stole his drink.”For a moment it seems like she doesn’t know how to take that, so he flashes a smile to let her know he’s joking.“Somehow I don’t think Jamal would be drinking a skinny vanilla latte,” she says finally.

He laughs in earnest now, and he can’t help but notice that she seems to relax a bit as she takes a sip of her drink.“If it makes you feel any better they always get my name wrong too.”She quirks an eyebrow, almost as a challenge, but he doesn’t mind her hesitation because she’s set her phone down on the table so he knows he’s caught her intrigue.“They always spell it with an X,” he explains.She scoffs, “It’s still your name though. Like, I don’t get upset when they spell mine with e-l-l-e instead of e-l.”

“But J-a-n-e-l and J-a-n-e-l-l-e are pronounced the same way. Janel. M-a-k-s and M-a-x are totally different.”That seems to spark something in her. Maybe he knew that it would. In the few times they had met before he’d noticed that she loved a good friendly argument. She seemed to revel in back and forth bantering, even about the most trivial of subjects. So when she narrows her eyes and leans forward on the table he has to hide his smirk. She’d been easier to crack than a porcelain doll.“How could they possibly be different?”“M-a-k-s is Maks, the right way to say it. M-a-x is how you Americans say it.”“Oh,” she laughs haughtily, “and how do us Americans say it?”He clears his throat, putting on his best American accent,“M-ahh-kss” he drawls, putting a nasally emphasis on the A. To his surprise she actually breaks into a small smile, shaking her head at him with a laugh,“I don’t know anyone who says it like that.”“You’d be surprised.”“I guess so.”

Her phone buzzes on the table, and he has to admit he’s surprised when she ignores it. For a moment her eyes wander, and he just watches quietly as she takes in the room around them, her gaze lingering on the glass storefront rendered almost opaque by the sheets of rain falling outside. He notices that she is dry, and wonders idly how long she’s been sitting here alone. Then her eyes find their way back to him,“So what are you doing here?”The question is direct, her voice lacking any hint of what exactly she means by that.

“Uh,” he furrows his brow, “Drinking coffee?”She smirks, “I mean in LA.”“Oh, right,” He had forgotten that the last time she saw him he’d been planning on staying in New York. His plans had only changed recently, apparently recently enough that Val never mentioned it, “I have contract negotiations for a job out here.”“So you’re back for good then?”It takes everything he has not to physically shudder at the thought,“No,” he explains, settling instead on a very firm shake of his head, “it’s a seasonal gig. If I’m lucky they’ll have my contract by the end of next week, then I’ll be back in New York until the job starts in March.”Her eyes widen slightly with a look of smug realization,“Wow, so the rumors were actually true for once?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about it until everything is final.”“Okay,” she shrugs, drumming her fingers playfully on the table, “I mean, I didn’t say which rumors…”“Look, the fact that I can’t answer should tell you what you need to know.”For some reason that makes her giggle, and he’s forgotten what a sweet sound it is. It’s a little hard to hear in the loud coffee shop, but still light and sweet like a breath of fresh air in the spring. And it takes him by surprise. Outside the rain is coming down harder than ever, and every new person who enters the coffee shop looks more and more miserable than the last, and not twenty minutes ago he was feeling sorry for his boring lonely self, but now she’s here giggling and he must really be losing his mind if it’s enchanting him this fucking much.

View, unobstructed · 1/28/2015 10:59 am

“What about you?” he asks, trying to snap himself out of the weirdness that just happened, “What are you still doing here?”
“Uh,” she furrows her brow, seeming to take a moment to decide how to answer that, “I mean, besides the fact that I live here, my show got extended until the end of the month.”
“The Romeo and Juliet one?”
“It’s not really…” she sighs, and he feels a pang of guilt because he knows it’s not just Romeo and Juliet it’s a bunch of other stuff too that he can’t remember at the moment, “yeah, it’s the Romeo and Juliet one.”
“I just meant the one you play Juliet in,” he clarifies, because her face is already starting to sour, “it has all the different movies put together and the song mash ups and stuff.”
“Oh, yeah exactly. It has a few other Baz Luhrmann movies. I used to play Daisy from Gatsby too, but I stick to Juliet now.”
“I think that suits you.”
The words slip out before he even knows he’s saying them, and he takes a long sip of his coffee to hide his embarrassment. She smirks, but he notices that her cheeks flush a slightly darker shade than their natural rosy tone.
“I think I’m going to take that as a compliment,” she says. He nods, setting his mug back on the table and trying to ignore the fact that he just burned his throat,
“You should,” he recovers in an attempt to be smooth, “What are your plans for when that’s over? I know you’ve got the Dancing with the Stars tour, anything else?”
In an instant all of the color her cheeks had gained disappears. Her whole face pales, and he can tell immediately that something isn’t right. She drops her gaze to the table, rolling her cup between her hands and letting out a quiet hum.
“I guess Val didn’t tell you I dropped out of the tour.”
His heart drops, because no, his asshole brother didn’t tell him that. The last time Val had mentioned Janel all he had said was that they “weren’t really talking” anymore, and that if she was going to “be pissy about everything” he wasn’t going to waste his time trying to work things out. In retrospect Maks had found it kind of odd the way Val talked about her. He’d complain about how he couldn’t put up with her jealousy and how she’d been ignoring him, all in one breath. There always seemed to be slight contradictions like that. Sometimes it seemed like he had been the one looking to end things with her, other times he acted like a scorned lover trying to win her back.
But Maks had never questioned him. The few times he’d tried to get Val to elaborate he’d just gotten pissed off, and it became clear that he was just looking for someone to vent to. So he stopped asking questions and just let him rant about all of these great injustices that Janel had supposedly committed against him, ranging from how she whined about him never defending her to straight up unfollowing him and ignoring him on all forms of social media. Val had painted her as some kind of manipulative bitch, but now sitting at the table she just looks sort of resigned.
Maks knows he shouldn’t press the issue. He knows he’s in hot water already just from sitting and talking to her. One of the unwritten rules of his and Val’s bro code is that if one of them is on bad terms with an ex, so is the other. They’d always taken that to heart in the past, never once questioning what caused the relationship to end. But there’s something about this that feels so wrong. Janel worries her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes now lifting towards the window in a way that seems to be gauging just how terrible it would be to go outside right now, and there is nothing about her that screams “manipulative bitch”.
Even though he knows he’s opening Pandora’s box, he can’t help himself.
“What happened between you and my brother?”
Her eyes dart back to him, shaded with genuine confusion,
“He didn’t tell you?”
“Only bits and pieces.”
She sighs, staring down at the table for a long moment before looking up and making eye contact again. It’s a little intimidating the way she stares so openly at him as she takes a deep breath and begins to speak,
“Long story short, I freaked the fuck out after the show ended and got crazy jealous about stupid things, and we ended up getting into a huge fight about it. I apologized, because I really was just being dumb, but he said some really awful things about me and never even made an effort to apologize for them. So I told him if that’s was what he really thought of me I’d do him a favor and get out of his life. And I did.”
He doesn’t question her story for a minute.
Part of his brain is trying to tell him that this is wrong, that no matter what really happened fam comes first and if Val says that Janel was the one in the wrong then he needs to just accept that. But he also knows what his brother is capable of. Maks knows that if Val was upset and wanted to hurt Janel, he easily could have said any number of things to drive her away, and admitting he’s wrong and apologizing don’t come easy to him. As far as what the specifics of what he said, Maks doesn’t have a guess. He just knows that whatever he did say she probably didn’t deserve if she was willing to break up over it.
“Val is such an idiot,” he thinks aloud, shaking his head in complete disbelief. Janel just shrugs,
“I mean I started it.”
It breaks his heart to hear her say that. Her lips have fallen into an almost pout as she tries to keep a straight face, and he knows that she doesn’t really believe that’s an excuse for his brother’s actions. She probably just thinks it’s what he wants to hear, that he doesn’t want to blame this on his brother. And he doesn’t, but it’s impossible not to.
“You apologized, he didn’t.”
“That’s true.”
He won’t shit talk his brother, that’s where he draws the line, but he hopes she can at least see that he believes her. She really is such a sweet girl, and she had cared so much for Val when they were together. The way she looked at him you would have thought that he created the sun moon and stars just to shine down on her. She would have done anything for him, everyone knew that, and yet this is how he chose to treat her.
Maks has never been so disgusted with his own brother, and he doesn’t even know what he said. It doesn’t matter.
“I’m surprised they let you out of the tour,” he muses after a moment to break the silence.
“I actually got another job opportunity, something more long term, so they let me out of the contract. It was kind of a double win for me.”
He knows without asking what the “double win” was- more work, and not having to dance with Val again after what’s happened.
“Well that’s good,” he says, “What’s the job?”
To his surprise she actually smiles again, with a mischievous glint in her eye,
“I’m not allowed to talk about it until everything is final.”
It takes him a minute to realize that she’s using his words, then he chuckles, glad that she’s not putting her guard up again. Now that he thinks of it she had probably been so hesitant when he first sat down because she thought he knew what had happened.
“Okay, fair enough. Something good I hope?”
Now she grins, “Oh yes, I think it suits me.”
He’s about to ask if she’ll be playing another beautiful young lady like Juliet, but at that moment her phone begins to ring. It’s probably for the best, because he realizes seconds after he’s interrupted just how lame that would have sounded. He takes a sip of his drink, trying to appear politely distracted as she speaks briefly to whomever is on the other end of the line.
“Sorry,” she says after a moment, hanging up her phone and stuffing it into the purse hung over the back of her chair, “I have to get going. My friend’s flight just landed at LAX and her ride bailed on her.”
“No problem. Good to see you again.”
“You too.”
There’s actually a moment where he feels disappointed as she stands and pulls her coat on. Her company today had been unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome. And even if things had been awkward to begin with, he’s somehow glad to know the truth about what happened with her and Val. It even makes him a little sad to realize that this can’t happen again. Knowing now how bad the situation really is, Maks doesn’t think he should even mention that they ran into each other at all. Val will just get angry, and it will just start a fight, and it’s not worth it. Seeing Janel today had been surprisingly nice, but now it’s time to let her go.
She’s bundled up in her coat and hat, bag slung over her shoulder and turning to leave when suddenly she stops.
“I have a show on Friday,” she says hesitantly, hands playing with the strap on her bag, “if you’re not doing anything…”
“Uh, I don’t know yet.”
“Cool, yeah, no worries. I can have them hold a ticket for you if you want, you know, just in case.”
He doesn’t think, just nods,
“Yeah, do that. I’ll try to be there.”

View, unobstructed · 1/28/2015 10:32 pm

One can make the case that this is about Janel and Val....sure, it's a bit of a stretch. But it's all we have.

Remember a couple of days ago, Janel had a shoot for a fun commercial with Ryan Seacrest. It's for Coca-cola and will be run during the Super Bowl !

Ryan tweeted this just now:

And it may be just a rumor, but I thought I heard that the Budweiser commercial for the Super Bowl will feature the song, "500 Miles". Oh my.

And who will be watching the Super Bowl...? Yes. Sunday is a travel day - for a performance in Colorado Springs on Monday. So whether on the road or in a Colorado Springs hotel, you know Val will be watching and live tweeting the game. Wonder if he knows.....

Last edited by View, unobstructed (1/28/2015 10:38 pm)

View, unobstructed · 1/28/2015 10:45 pm

O M G

Last edited by View, unobstructed (1/28/2015 10:47 pm)

Cassidyc6 · 1/29/2015 5:53 am

Morning, View!! Wanted to talk to you about the commercial!! I saw a preview of it somewhere (Billy Bush, maybe?) and thought.....really?? Not only about the puppy but the SONG!! Omg is right!! Have a great one!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

View, unobstructed · 1/29/2015 10:00 am

For anyone who read Chapter One of "Lotus" and would like to read more,
the author has just posted Chapter Two.

http://xoxojanelskiy.tumblr.com/post/109462251207/lotus-chapter-two

Janel: "My next tatoo will be of a lotus, a flower that can bloom in the darkness."

-

Last edited by View, unobstructed (1/30/2015 10:21 am)

View, unobstructed · 1/29/2015 10:47 pm

Well, she's off to Hawaii tomorrow.

And I'm patiently (no, not patiently) waiting for her cover of "Lay Me Down" with Brian Justin Crum to be posted!!!!

View, unobstructed · 1/30/2015 10:13 am

Looking back,

View, unobstructed · 1/30/2015 5:19 pm

Oh, Val, oh, Val...please don't mess with us. We are all in a fragile state here.

Actually it may have been picture 7 and picture 10 that he most liked...

From the janelskiy Tumblr page:

View, unobstructed · 1/30/2015 5:56 pm

This is new....to me. Posted, possibly made by the tumblr "zqzng"

Index
» General Discussion
» "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/28/2015 10:24 am #291

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/28/2015 10:59 am #292

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/28/2015 10:32 pm #293

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/28/2015 10:45 pm #294

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/29/2015 5:53 am #295

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/29/2015 10:00 am #296

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/29/2015 10:47 pm #297

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/30/2015 10:13 am #298

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/30/2015 5:19 pm #299

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

1/30/2015 5:56 pm #300

Re: "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

Index
» General Discussion
» "A Match Made In Heaven" The Finale and Beyond

Board footera