Just A Dream...

A Gabor Legacy
 

Chapter Six: Dilemma

Nancy hurried into the dressing room, shutting the door behind her with a bang and dropping down into a chair. Her three bandmates exchanged confused looks.
"Nance, something up?" Copper ventured.
"No." Nancy's looks belied her words. "Just Sirena. That's all."
"Sucks she's doing this show too." Sylva rolled her eyes. "More damn publicity for that girl." She examined her nails. "There, done and perfect. This new polish of mine rocks!"
"Oh, shut up." Nancy snapped.
"Dean was here, looking for you." Topaz observed.
"Dean?" Nancy looked startled. Then, "Great. More trouble."
"He wanted to talk to you. He said you wouldn't talk to him on the phone last night."
"I had other things to do." Nancy frowned. "And my calls are none of your business, Topaz!"
"All right, what's eating you?" Copper demanded. "You were in a perfectly rational state before you went in search of a drink, and now you're acting possessed. What's wrong?"
"I don't want hassle over Dean."
"You were wound up before I mentioned him." Topaz objected.
Nancy sighed.
"I'm sorry." She said slowly. "I just discovered something about someone I care about - something big. I don't really know what to do about it."
"Can you tell us?" Topaz's expression softened. Nancy hesitated, then shook her head.
"I don't know if I should."
"Is it about one of us?" Sylva demanded.
"No." Nancy replied. "Someone...someone else."
"Aaron?" Copper looked anxious.
"No, Copper, nothing to do with Aaron, I swear." Nancy reassured her. "Please, stop guessing. I can't...I don't think I should talk about it." She groaned. "The last thing I feel like doing is a live interview - my mind is all jumbled and confused about everything!"
"Sounds normal to me." Sylva replied laconically. Nancy scowled.
"Can it, Syl. I ain't in the mood." She growled.
"With Sirena here at such short notice I think our airtime might be cut down anyway." Topaz said sensibly. "Just let us handle the general questions, Nance."
"Thanks." Nancy shot her a grateful smile. "Oh, but she'll ask me specifically about Blade because of our history - what can I say?"
"Just that you're sorry he's died and that he had a lot of talent." Copper suggested. "When Papa died tons of people he had met like once in the business came out and said that - it's playing safe to pay tribute that way."
"Business?" Topaz asked.
"Yeah. Papa was a film director." Copper nodded. "That's how he met Mama, when she began to dabble in acting."
"Oh, I see." Topaz grinned. "Cool. You all have such star studded parents, I feel left out!"
"In any case, Connie won't push you, Nancy, if she realises it's a sore spot." Copper continued. "She knows that she can get us on her show anytime as it is."
"Yeah, okay." Nancy nodded. "I s'pose it's too soon after his death for people to expect anyone to be totally coherent about things, isn't it?"
"Right." Topaz agreed. "I woulda thought that Sirena'd get the toughies, anyhow."
Nancy frowned.
"I kinda hope she doesn't." She owned.
"Why?" Sylva demanded. "You gone soft on the girl now?"
"No, of course not." Nancy replied. "At least...I don't think I have. But she's not well tonight, Syl."
"She must still be in shock." Copper observed.
"I think so." Nancy agreed. "Else she wouldn't've said..." She paused, shaking her head. "Never mind. It's not important."
"Jewel, you're wanted on set."
At that moment a man with a clipboard poked his head around the door of the dressing room, and with one accord the four girls got to their feet, following him up into the big studio. Constance greeted them with a smile.
"They're running a commercial." She explained as they sat down. "So we're going straight to you once we return to air. You four ready for this? I know it's been a rollercoaster couple of days in the music world."
"We're fine." Sylva said firmly, glaring at Nancy as if daring her to disagree. "Ready to go."
From the sidelines, out of the view of the cameras, Dean watched Jewel's interview carefully. He was a close friend of Constance's daughter Zoe, who made Jewel's music videos, and he had grown fond of the young group over the year he'd known them all. He had not realised initially in what direction his feelings for Nancy had been heading until a short few weeks before, when Zoe, more intuitive to people's feelings than most had asked him exactly what the deal was. It had hurt him that Nancy had refused to speak to him the night before, so he had come to the television set in the hope of talking to her after the interview.
She looked preoccupied, he decided. He hoped it wasn't because of Blade's death. The last thing he wanted was to find that she still had feelings for him.
"No, she disliked him as much as me." He reassured himself. "I'm sure she's barely given him a second thought since their fling those months back."
The interview was not a long one, but to Dean it seemed to last forever. Once the segment was finished and they were running another commercial he crossed the set to greet them.
"You girls did great." He remarked with a grin. "I was afraid you might get some tough questions tonight."
"So were we." Copper told him. "But with Sirena coming home from San Diego, most of the attention will be on her and for once we're happy to let her have it."
"If someone says one more nice thing about Blade then I swear I'll scream." Sylva rolled her eyes. "He was the world's most egocentric loser!"
"I agree." Dean said quietly. He met Nancy's gaze quizzically, but she blushed, looking away.
"Nancy, you didn't answer my phonecall last night." He said levelly.
"I was busy. You don't own me." Nancy muttered. "It's not like we're going out or anything."
Dean looked startled.
"I know that." he said. "I just wanted to talk to you, that's all."
"I think it'd be a really good idea if we three let you talk this one out in private." Topaz observed wryly. "C'mon, Copper, c'mon Syl. We're not wanted here."
Nancy shot the elder girl an entreating look but Topaz pretended not to see it, leading her two bandmates across the set and back to the dressing room.
Dean frowned.
"Nance, what's the deal?" he asked gently. "I thought we were friends."
"So did I."
"So what's wrong?"
"Syl said..." Nancy trailed off, feeling uncomfortable. "Look, Dean, tonight is not a good time. I've a whole other thing to deal with at the moment."
A shadow crossed Dean's face.
"Are you thinking about Blade?" he asked. Nancy looked taken aback, then shook her head.
"No, of course not. He's a creep." She replied. "I mean...I mean he was a creep."
"Then what?"
"I can't tell you."
"What did Syl say that's stopped you even wanting to talk to me?"
Nancy blushed.
"She...she said that you were in love with me." she confessed awkwardly.
Dean stared.
"She what?"
"So it's not true?" Nancy looked hopeful. Dean sighed heavily.
"You mean a lot to me." he said slowly. "How much I don't know, Nancy. But...but I think of you a lot. I think..."
"No, don't!" Nancy covered her ears. "I thought you were my friend!"
"I am! I always will be!" Dean protested.
"Friends don't fall in love with each other!" Nancy flung back.
Dean looked pained.
"Just because Blade tried to force himself on you doesn't mean that I want to." He chided her, his tone hurt. "I care about you way too much to jeopardise our friendship like that, Nance. It's not any of Sylva's business, anyway, and I wish she'd not interfered. I deliberately didn't say anything to you because I was afraid this would happen and I'd scare you away. If you only want to be friends then that's fine. I don't want anything that will make you unhappy."
Nancy stared at him, then she sighed.
"I'm kinda confused and I can't deal with this tonight." She said finally. "There's too much on my mind at the moment, Dean, I'm sorry. I really don't...don't know what to say to you." She frowned. "I should go - I'm holding up the others and Mom'll freak."
Dean was silent for a moment, then he nodded.
"All right." he said quietly. "I'll see you soon, then. Bye, Nancy. Have a safe trip home."
Nancy bit her lip, then turned, hurrying across the set and out to the waiting limousine.
"Well?" Copper asked gently.
"Don't ask." Nancy rolled her eyes. "Just don't ask."
 
 

PART SIX: A GABOR LEGACY
Prologue: Twenty One Years Ago
Chapter One: Sirena And Blade
Chapter Two: Nancy's Heart
Chapter Three: Coup D'Etat
Chapter Four: The Reaction
Chapter Five: Nancy Finds Out
Chapter Six: Dilemma
Chapter Seven: Facing Phyllis
Chapter Eight: Scandal!
Chapter Nine: An Unexpected Shock
Chapter Ten: A Revelation
Chapter Eleven: Harvey Takes A Hand
Chapter Twelve: Sirena vs Pizzazz
Chapter Thirteen: Settling Rory
Chapter Fourteen: At Misfit Music
Epilogue: A New Beginning
 

JEWELFIC MAIN PAGE:
Copper, Nancy, Sylvie, Anna, Blade, Sirena, Topaz, Aaron, Sophie, Justin, Elliot, Rosita, Luis and any other characters in this fiction which do not appear in the animated Jem series are copyrighted to me (E.A Woolley) as of January 2002 <unless otherwise specified> and are not to be reproduced without permission ANYWHERE. Jetta, Pizzazz, Stormer, Roxy, Raya and all other original Jem characters are the copyright of Hasbro Inc, Sunbow, Christy Marx and the other writers of the Jem series.