Chapter 1: "Remember When..."
November 13, 1999
~*~FLASHBACK~*~
1978
Jenny Hendersen, a nice looking woman of no more than 23 with honey blonde hair and a welcoming smile, took hold of her small hand and led her further into the room.
"Class, this Annie, and she's just moved here from Colorado!"
"Hi Annie," responded the enthusiastic group of first graders.
Annie maneuvered her way behind her new teacher and hid behind her legs.
Miss Hendersen whispered something to the little girl and tugged her back next to her.
"Now class, Annie is new here, so I want you to make friends with her. Ok?" She asked and smiled with obvious admiration for the youngsters when she heard a resounding,
"Yes Miss Hendersen."
"Good! Annie, why don't you go sit next to Kelly? Kelly, can you raise your hand please?"
A girl with a polyester jumpsuit and short brown hair shot her hand up in the air. Annie looked uncertainly at Miss Hendersen who smiled reassuringly before nudging her forward. She shuffled forward looking intently at her feet to avoid the inquisitive stares of her new classmates.
Once she arrived at her seat, she glanced over at her right side where Kelly sat, watching her.
"Hi! I'm Kelly, but everybody says Kel instead. And you can too."
Annie spoke then, her voice barely above a whisper, "My name is Annabel. But mostly people call me Annie."
"Hi Annie. We're gonna have so much fun, 'cause we'll get to sit next each other every single day!" Kel said in her hurried, excited voice.
Annie smiled and her homesickness depleted some.
She felt someone yank on her left braided pigtail and she spun around.
Sitting on her other side was a mod topped boy with dark eyes that sparkled with mischief.
"That hurt!" She said defensively, her anger revealing some of her trademark spunk.
The boy ignored her outburst and grinned, "My name is Chris Kirkpatrick."
"Which one?" She asked.
"Huh?" He looked confused.
"Well, is your name Chris, Kirk, or Patrick?"
He laughed then, and his giggles caught the attention of everyone in the tiny classroom. "It's all of them silly!
"Chris…" Miss Hendersen said warningly, "Do you want to go into timeout again?"
"No Miss Hendersen," he said and stopped laughing, but his eyes held the same sparkle.
Kel turned to Annie and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry 'bout him. He's only a boy, and we don't like them. He prob'ly has cooties."
Annie covered her mouth to keep from shrieking at the humor only a first grader could find in that statement.
"Yeah," she whispered back, "The boys had cooties at my old school too."
"Boys have cooties everywhere. Even CHINA, and that's far away. That's why they're ICKY."
"Ickyyyyyy…." Annie repeated, and the two girls once again covered their mouths before glancing over at Chris.
1980
"I don't want him to come over mom!! He's so dumb!" Annie yelled and threw herself on the couch in her living room.
"Annie, honey, I can't help it. You know that his mom and I are friends. And she needs us to baby-sit him for a while because she got a new job that's gonna make her work later," her mother explained.
"But mom! Can't he go to a baby-sitter?" She whined.
"Annabel Lynn Benton, you stop complaining right this instant! I didn't raise you to be a spoiled brat," her mother responded.
Annie bowed her head and bit her lip. She knew when she'd been beat.
"Fine! He can come over, but I'm not gonna talk to him!" She said and ran up the stairs to her room.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Annie, come downstairs, Chris is here!"
Annie covered her ears in her bedroom. Even with her hands over them, she still heard her mother shout up the stairs again, this time louder.
Sighing loudly, she pushed herself off her bed, threw her door opened and stomped down her stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she saw him struggling to remove his winter coat and laughed.
Her mother shot her a withering look and she immediately sobered.
When his jacket was removed, Tina Benton took it and hung it on the coat rack behind the front door.
"Why don't you two go watch some TV, huh? I'll get you some cookies that I made especially for Chris today."
Annie rolled her eyes.
Chris looked obviously uncomfortable, but he nodded.
Ms. Benton clapped her hands together and smiled, "Good! Annie, why don't you and Chris go into the living room and I'll be in there in a minute."
Sighing once again, Annie waved her hand, indicating for Chris to follow her and she led him through the kitchen and into the small, but homey living area.
She plopped down on a lazy chair and he sat quietly on the couch. Finally after several moments of silence, he asked, "What do you want to watch?"
She shrugged her shoulders without looking at him, "I don't know. I don't really watch TV, because they stopped playing my favorite show."
"What was your favorite show?" He inquired.
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Me and my mom watched it every time it was on. I loved the song in the beginning. 'You're gonna make it after all!' And then she threw her hat in the air. I want a hat like hers." She answered wistfully.
"Well, that's what I'm going to call you from now on. Mary. That will be my name for you. Mary, Mary, Mary!" He sang out, and Annie laughed.
"I like that name," she told him.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Chris pulled his winter cap on his head and ran out the door to his mother's car. As he was about to step in the passenger seat, he looked up and waved at Annie who was watching him from a window.
She waved back and he stuck his tongue out at her before jumping in the car.
When his car was out of view, Annie crawled off the chair she was watching him from and went in search of her mother. She found her in her bedroom.
"Mom?" She called from just inside the room.
Her mother turned from the mirror to look at her.
"Chris is coming back tomorrow, right?"
Tina Benton smiled at her daughter and answered, "Yes honey, he's coming back tomorrow."
1984
"Chris!! I can't! He's gonna laugh at me, I know it!"
"He is NOT going to laugh at you, Mary," he said confidently.
"How do you know?" She asked her best friend.
"How do you know he's not waiting breathlessly for you to ask him to the Sadie Hawkins dance? Huh?" He questioned back before crossing his arms over his chest.
"I….guess…" she said uncertainly.
"Now go! What's the worst that could happen? He says no, you come back over here and we go have pizza."
"I could make a fool out of myself and be forced to change my name and move to Afghanistan," she retorted.
"Why Afghanistan?" He asked.
"Why not?" was her response.
"Just doesn't seem like there'd be much for a 13 year old to do, that's all. Why are we even talking about this? Just go over there!"
"Chris…I don't know…."
"Annabel Lynn Benton…" he began, mimicking her mother.
She threw her hands up in surrender, "Ok, ok, I'm going," she took a deep breath and said, "What if he thinks I'm dumb?"
"Who wouldn't love you, Mary?
She smiled weakly at him before walking slowly toward Riley Blake.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
She rushed passed without even looking at him.
"Mary? Mary? Annie? Wait up!" He called and jogged after her. He winced when she didn't so much as acknowledge he was talking to her.
She sped up and pushed open the door to the girls' bathroom and walked in.
Chris stood outside and banged his hand on the wood. "Mary, what happened? Come on! Tell me!" When she still didn't respond, he yelled, "If you don't come out here, I'm going in!"
With that, he checked over both shoulders before walking into No-Man's Land.
"So this is what it looks like," he mumbled to himself before standing in front of the stalls.
"Which one are you in Annie?" He asked.
He heard a muffled, "Go away Chris" from inside the first stall, so he walked to it.
"I won't go away. Tell me what happened. It can't possibly be that bad."
"He said no. And I felt so stupid, just standing there. Can you book me that flight to Afghanistan now?"
Chris sighed and put his ear up to the dirty stall door. "Only if I get to go with."
Suddenly, the door swung open and he almost lost his balance, but managed to catch himself just in time.
For a moment they stood staring at each other. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, she smiled.
"Alright, you can come with. But you're paying for your own ticket."
"Deal," he agreed before slinging his arm around her shoulder, "Now let's go to Mr. Pizza to talk about travel plans."
"You're buying. I've just been emotionally scarred."
He made a show of shaking his head exaggeratedly, "Fine, but only because I love you."
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Annie took a bite out of her pepperoni pizza when her eyes widened.
"Oh no! Chris, who am I going to go to the dance with?" She out her head in her hands and groaned.
"Easy Mary, I'll take you," he said simply.
"What? Everyone knows that Stacey Kingston is going to ask you tomorrow," she told him.
"She'll have to settle for the SECOND hottest guy at our middle school then. Because I'm going with you," he grinned wickedly.
"Would you really do that for me?" She asked, shocked.
"Of course! So go do your girlie dress shopping thing, and I'll pick you up Saturday at 7:00." Chris responded.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Smile!" The photographer demanded as he snapped the picture, "You can pick it up sometime next week."
"Thanks. Come on, Mary, let's go boogey down!" Chris said as he pulled her onto the dance floor.
"Just don't embarrass me, ok?" Annie pleaded as she held onto his hand for dear life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1988
"If you don't open this door right now…!!!"
"Chris! I said leave me alone! I'll call you later, I promise!" Annie wailed, trying to keep the emotion from her voice.
His pounding refused to cease, and she watched as the door began shaking in the frame.
"You're going to break my door down!"
"If that's what it takes for me to see you, then fine!" He began pounding harder, "What the hell happened today, Annabel?!! Why won't you talk to me?"
She didn't answer, she just huddled under her covers and sobbed silently.
Finally, his fist stopped hitting her door. She thought for a second that he'd given up, and that saddened her. Then she heard his voice, almost a whisper from under her blankets and behind the door.
"Mary? Come on, please? I'm making my sad face right now…."
Annie laughed, but it came out more of a gasp.
"If you don't let me in, I'm staying out here right against your door all night. And you know that I'm serious. You won't be able to go to the bathroom," he said, desperately trying to lighten the mood.
Annie chuckled again and sniffled before making her decision. "Alright Chris, you win. I'll open the door."
She heard him scrambling to his feet and had to smile. He had been preparing himself for a night of camping out in her hallway.
She got out of her bed, made her way to her door and slowly turned the lock. She then took a few steps back and waited.
The door was swung open a second later and Chris stood in front of her. He looked at her usually teased hair now completely disheveled and her red eyes dripping with mascara and a river of tears, and didn't think twice.
He pulled her to him and hugged her with all of his strength. She'd tell him what happened later. That wasn't important now.
Her hands gripped the back of his shirt and she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck.
Her sobs racked through her body with frightening intensity and her chest heaved from the impact.
He began rubbing his hands up and down her back and whispered whatever soothing words came to mind.
When she'd calmed down some, he released his life-threatening grip on her and held her at arms length.
"Mary, what happened?"
She shook her head as the tears continued to roll rhythmically down her face, "It's not something I should be making this much of a show over. That's why I didn't want to invite you in."
"It's obviously important to you, and I want to know what it is. I want to help you Mary."
"It's just….I saw Rich making out with Angela Baker after school today. I mean REALLY making out. Like they had plenty of practice.
Annie saw the look of anger and disgust that passed over his features, "You mean Rich, as in Rich Kilbourne, your boyfriend?"
His words were said clipped and carefully.
She nodded sadly and another sob escaped her lips.
He closed the distance between them again and took her in his arms. After a few seconds like that, he lifted his head back and kissed her forehead tenderly.
Chris led her back to her bed and pulled up the blankets. "Now, lie down and get some sleep. I'll fix everything, and tomorrow we'll have a chick flick fest like they do in the movies. I'll even load up on ice cream."
She laughed crawled into her bed, "Ok. But Chris, can you just stay with me until I fall asleep?"
He took the chair from her desk and brought it to her bed. When he sat on it, he took her hand and ran his thumb over the back of it. "I've got nowhere else I'd rather be."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1989
"Read it. I can't," she said and thrust the envelope into his hands.
Chris carefully opened the seal and read glanced over it before reading it aloud, " 'Ms. Benton, we would like to congratulate you on your acceptance into…' "
"AHHHH!! I can't believe it! I got in! I got in! I'm going to UCONN! AHHHH!" She started jumping up and down and Chris dropped the envelope to pick her up and spin her around.
"I knew it! I knew you'd get in Mary. What did I tell you! Who wouldn't want you in their school?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1993
She held her cap proudly in her hands, her fingers playing with the tassel.
"Can you believe it? I'm a college graduate. We're both college graduates. Who would have thought? Thanks for coming all the way out here for the ceremony." She said.
He grinned at her excitement, "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world Mary! What I would never have thought is that you were going to major in Business Administration. It seems so unlike you."
"Me! What about you? Psychology? Chris, you're more in need of a shrink than anyone I've ever known."
He laughed at this, "Actually, about that…"
She looked at him inquisitively, "What?"
"I've decided to really pursue my singing. 100%. It's what I want to do," he told her.
"Oh wow. Woah. Wow," she stuttered, in shock.
"What she means is that she's happy you're following your dreams, and she'll be totally behind you," Tina Benton piped up from beside her daughter, "And so am I. Good luck honey."
Chris smiled at the middle-aged woman, "Thank you Mom." He hugged her warmly.
Suddenly Annie pulled him away from her mother and gave him a hug of her own. "Of course I'll support you! You just surprised me!"
He returned her hug with full force before moving back. "You don't know how much I wanted you to say that. I'll need to know that I have your approval when I'm doing this."
She shoved his shoulder playfully, "You've never needed my approval for anything."
"Yeah, but I'm a helluva lot happier now that I have it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1995
She saw him all the way down the block. Sure, he'd changed, his hair was different.
They hadn't lost touch, speaking to one another almost daily. Still, it had been two long years since they had last seen each other face to face.
But she knew it was him. And she took off running when she recognized his form from outside her apartment complex.
After he'd put her down, she led him into her tidy apartment.
"Chris!! What are you doing here! I can't believe it!"
"I had to tell you in person! I had to see you! We got a record deal!! Me and my group. We're signed!"
"Oh my God!!! You've been signed! You're going to be famous! My best friend is famous!" She screamed.
He laughed and put a hand over her mouth. "Don't jump too far ahead Mary. We're going to start recording in a week. And guess what! We're going to Europe! Can you believe it!"
"Eu…Europe. Like the continent?" She asked, her heart dropping to her stomach.
Chris sobered quickly, "Yeah. But that's another reason why I'm here. I have the whole weekend to spend with you before I have to report back to Lou.
Annie shook her head and mentally cursed herself for not being happier for Chris. "You know what then? We have so much to do!! Where do you want to go first?"
"I want to meet your new boyfriend!"
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"This has been the fastest weekend of my life," Chris said while hoisting his bag on his shoulder.
"I know," Annie said sadly, "But I have something for you."
"For me?" He asked and pointed at himself.
She nodded and walked out of the room. When she came back in, she was holding a picture frame.
"Here. I want you to have this," she said and handed him the frame.
In it was a picture of them smiling on command at the Sadie Hawkins dance in the seventh grade.
"Oh my God, Mary! You still have this?" He asked incredulously.
She smiled, "I want you to have it so that you remember the little people when all the little girls are swooning over you."
"I could never forget you. You're my little Mary. Hey, when I'm gone, don't work too hard. I know how you like to do that."
"Me? I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, feigning ignorance.
He gave her a knowing look and said, "I'll be checking up on you Mary. Just watch, I'm the brother you never wanted.
"Don't I know it," she mumbled under her breath before Chris threw down his bag and began tickling her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1998
"Well, if you're really serious about this…."
"I am," Chris confirmed authoritatively.
The man gave him a look and continued, "If you're really serious about this, it will take a lot of work. You can't do this by yourself…"
"That's why I have you…"
The man began to look annoyed at the supposed 'crazy' member of 'N Sync. "You'll need professionals. Designers, advertisers, production facilities, someone to handle the marketing…the real business aspect of it."
Chris' body had been slouched against his chair, but at the man's last words, his head shot up as did the rest of his body, right out of the chair.
"Did you say the business aspect?"
The man looked about ready to blow at this point, "Yes I did."
"Hold on one second and we'll have the marketing position covered."
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the familiar numbers. It rang for what seemed like forever under the man's intense scrutiny.
Finally, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Ahhh Mary! Thank goodness you answered! I have a proposition for you."
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Chris, man, stand still." Justin Timberlake whined as his friend continued bouncing.
"Can I help it? My best friend, who I haven't laid eyes on in nearly a year, is coming from Connecticut in 10 minutes. You guys are finally going to meet her. She's gonna be the one to actually get Fuman Skeeto clothes running. Ahhh yes, right now, life is good," Chris said and laced his hands behind his head for effect.
"I must admit, I'm excited about meeting the elusive Mary. You're always either talking about her or to her," Lance Bass said.
"Yeah, I'm surprised your girlfriends stayed around as long as they did, with you always talking about another girl," JC Chasez added.
"They knew that she was never a threat. She's been my best friend since we were ten. And she'll always be my best friend. AND, let's get this straight. Her name is Annie. Only I get to call her Mary, got it?"
"Woah there, calm down killer. I think we can remember that," Joey Fatone said while holding his hands up in a symbol of innocence.
"Well, aren't we over-protective," came a voice from behind the five men. A voice unfamiliar to all but one of them.
"MARY!" He jumped of his seat on the couch and rushed over to her. She dropped her bags and held out her arms. He met her and scooped her up into a gigantic bear hug.
The other four men looked on in awe. They had never seen Chris so openly emotional.
Their eyes then turned to Annie. They saw a woman with shoulder length brown hair, eyes about the same color as Chris' and a 5'3'' stature. Her face contained laugh lines that indicated her love of the comedic.
"Chris! I'm happy to see you too, but put me down! I wanna meet your friends!" She laughed as he swung her around once more before settling her back on the floor.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be at the airport, but I couldn't risk…" He was cut off.
"…Being mobbed by your adoring fans. Don't worry, I understand. And that limo made up for any possible harm done."
All the men in the room laughed at that and she stepped forward to be introduced.
Chris cleared his throat and began, "Guys, this is Annie. Annie this is…"
"Justin. Hi, it's nice to finally meet the heart throb."
Justin grinned and shook her outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you. I was starting to think Chris was making you up."
"Nope. Though he might have stretched the truth a bit. He has a tendency to do that. You'd think I was one of his sisters the way he talks. Hey, speaking of that, how are your sisters?"
"They're good. Excited about seeing you again."
"Same here. Anyway," she said as she moved down the line to the next person, "You must be the infamous Joey Fatone, ladies' man."
"That's me. And if you don't mind me living up to my reputation, Chris never told you were so beautiful," Joey said and gave her a wink.
Annie giggled at his compliment and even blushed slightly. She couldn't help thinking that he was smooth and really cute.
"Back off Romeo, find yourself someone else," Chris said as he came up next to Annie.
Annie rolled her eyes and held her hand out to the blonde now in front of her.
"The tow-headed Lance. You were always my favorite."
Lance laughed and returned her handshake, "You were always my favorite of Chris' friends," he leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "Look who else I have to choose from."
She grinned broadly and patted his arm, "Oh, I'm gonna like you."
When the next man came into view, her eyes widened and she felt her heart flutter. Sure, she'd seen pictures of him, but to see that chiseled jaw and those bright eyes in person was something she wasn't prepared for.
Clearing her throat a few times, she finally stuck her hand out to him. "And Mr. Chasez. The talent of the group."
When he slipped his hand into hers, she felt electricity flow through her body, and she knew right then that she was in BIG trouble.
~*~END FLASHBACK~*~