NBK:Different Story

Chapter Nine: Downhill!

Author: Jaycee

Josie woke up the next day to the incessant ringing of her alarm clock. She bolted up from her bed, seeing that she's way beyond her schedule. She was up all night talking with her brother Rob since he didn't want to put down the phone because he was still very excited about his new job.

She went through her morning routine as quickly as possible and wore her black slacks and a white knitted top. She stepped into her boots and went to her living room where her dummy and laptop top were.

She placed everything in her bag, completely forgetting about the 'Coulson-Geller Nuptials' title that she placed on top of the original title. She got into her car and went on her way to the Country Club.

* * * Sam paced nervously around the ballroom, thinking of how he was going to tell Josie and Maria everything.

He decided to tell Josie first before Maria since his fiancée was not there yet. 'Where are they?' he asked himself. Looking around, he saw Josie's crew but not Josie. He next saw Mark, Josie's boyfriend talk to Josie's best friend. 'So he doesn't know where she either.'

Sam went out of the ballroom, into the pool area, so that he'll not be too nervous about the thing that he's about to do.

* * * Josie breezed through the ballroom, her bag slung over her shoulder. "Hey Anita! Sorry I'm late!" she said to her friend. "Here's my laptop, if you need it."

"That's okay Josie! Yah, we do need a laptop. Um…Mark is at the courtyard. He said for you to meet him there. He sounds serious and he looks really mad." Anita informed her, worriedly.

"Oh, okay! I can break up with him now. Wish me luck!" she called out, as she walked out. She saw Mark sitting on a bench his back turned from her.

She touched him on the shoulder. "Hey Mark!" she said, as he stood up. What she saw in his eyes was not what she expected. It was filled with pain, as if she did something wrong to him. "What is it?" she asked as she laid a hand on his arm.

"So, how's your project?" he asked, shrugging off her hand.

Josie recoiled at his reaction to her, so she shakily opened her bag and took out the dummy. "Here, you can see it for yourself."

Mark reached for it, and something on the paper made his eyes glint angrily.

"Mark, is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Something wrong? Of course, there's something wrong! Look at this!" he said, his voice getting louder at every word, as he pointed to the headline.

"Oh. My. God!" she said, her face paling. "Mark… I wasn't even thinking…. I was supposed to take that out…. I forgot!"

"No, you didn't forget! You just liked how it looked on paper didn't you? And you know what else? I found out a little secret of yours." He took out a piece of newspaper from his pocket and showed it to her.

"Mark…. I…"

"What? Now you can't speak? You we're the 'Never Been Kissed' girl! And, the man you we're waiting for that night was Sam Coulson! The same Sam Coulson whose getting married within a two weeks. I can't believe you! What? Did you forget to tell me something as important as this? So, that's why I see you stare at Coulson so many times this past week. At the park, at the bar…when you thought I wasn't looking! You're a liar Josie! And now I know why you never let me kiss you. Deep inside, even though you knew that it might never happen, you we're waiting for him to give you your first real kiss." He ranted, his face turning a scary shade of red.

"Mark, I'm sorry! I was supposed to tell you when you get back. I wasn't going to keep it from you anymore. I'm so sorry!" she pleaded, crying.

"No! Maybe that day you called me on the phone saying that you wanted to talk, you we're going to break up with me. Weren't you?" he asked, his hands shaking in anger.

Josie looked down at her shoes, not knowing what to say. "I knew it! God, Josie! How could you do this to me?"

"I'm sorry Mark."

"Never been kissed huh? We'll see about that." He threw down the papers, and pulled Josie roughly against him, and kissed her hard on the lips, against Josie's protests.

* * * Sam looked for Josie at the courtyard. Anita told him that she was out there with Mark and he hoped that she was breaking up with him. He turned at a corner, as he heard voices behind the bushes.

What he saw made Sam rage with jealousy and anger. Josie was kissing Mark, passionately, it seemed. Here he was, about to throw everything away for her, but it seemed like she wasn't ready to let go of Mark. Hyperventilating, he went back inside of the club, ready to forget about Josie Geller, forever.

* * * Josie couldn't believe what was happening to her. She tried to break away from Mark's embrace, but he wouldn't let go. His lips were pressed firmly against her and she didn't like it one bit. She closed her lips tightly so that he wouldn't think that he liked him kissing her.

She finally broke away and slapped him on the face. "How dare you!" she shouted, as she stepped away from him. Mark was grinning maliciously at her.

"Now, you've been kissed! And for the record, I'm the one who's breaking off this relationship. You're delusional if you would think that Coulson would choose you over his fiancée. Good riddance Josie!" he said, as he stalked off.

Josie stared at him for a second, the meaning of his words finally seeping in through her brain. "You're delusional if you think that Sam would choose you over his fiancée." She heard him say. 'He's right! Why would Sam choose me over Maria? You're a fool, Josie Geller!' she said to herself. She sat on a bench, placed her head on her hands and wept.

* * * Anita went out to he courtyard to look for her friend. She was needed inside by Rigfort for him to look at the dummy.

She didn't notice Sam walk away from the other side of the courtyard. She saw Josie sitting on a bench, and she called out, "Hey Josie! Rigfort is calling you!"

Josie lifted her head and looked at her friend. "Josie, what happened to you?" she asked frantically as she saw her friend's bloodshot eyes. It was obvious that she was crying. She walked to her side, and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Mark found out about my history with Sam…. He kissed me…. And then he broke up with me. He said that Sam would never ever choose me over Maria. He said I was delusional. And I know that he's right. I'm such an idiot. Anita! I made such a mess with everything!" she cried as she continued to cry harder.

"Oh, Josie! You poor thing! I knew that you should have told him about Sam, but don't believe about what he said about you being delusional. You're an amazing person. Sam would be crazy if he would let you pass him by. You should just tell him how you feel." She said, as she fished for a tissue in Josie's bag. She saw the dummy on the ground and picked it up. It read, 'Coulson-Geller Nuptials' "Josie, what's this?" she asked.

"Oh, I was fooling around last night, and I though that would look good. And not only did it look good to me, but I also felt good. That's what made Mark lose his head earlier." She explained as she reached for the tissue Anita was handing her.

"Oh, Josie! Come on, I'll fix this. It's needed inside." Anita said, as she quickly took out Josie's surname from the headline. "You know what you need? A day at the spa!" she said, her eyes twinkling.

Josie smiled at her friend, but she shook her head. "Anita, you know that I can't afford the spa here. It's too expensive." She explained as she stood up. Anita grinned impishly. "Don't worry! I have Gus' membership card with me. It's going to be his treat for the both of us."

"Anita! We shouldn't!" she said, a shocked look on her face. Anita grinned again at her friend then linked her arm through hers, pulling her to the entrance to the Country Club.

* * * Sam went to his jeep as quickly as he could as soon as he left Josie at the courtyard with her boyfriend. 'Here I was about to throw away everything for her, and now I see her kissing Mark when all the while I thought that she was in love with me. You're such an imbecile Sam Coulson!' he thought angrily to himself. O

n the ride home, a small voice kept on telling him at the back of his head that he shouldn't feel this angry. That Josie has seen him kiss Maria all that time, but he pushed those thoughts away. He felt so betrayed and hurt. 'I'm going to marry Maria next Friday! Maybe, she's the one who is really for me!' he said, 'I won't think about Josie anymore! It's finished!'

* * * Josie tied her soft bathrobe around her. "This really feels so good Anita! I've never felt this pampered before." She exclaimed as she ran a finger down her right arm, feeling her soft skin.

"I know! Gus' is going to be so mad at me… but all these are definitely worth it!" she said softly, as the masseur continued to gently massage her back. Anita closed her eyes, sighing to herself.

Josie laughed at her friend, but a pending thought is still bothering her mind. "Anita, I don't want Gus to get angry at you! Tell him that I'll pay for all this." She said, as she sat down on a couch at the corner of the room.

"Don't worry about it! Gus will understand, especially if I tell him that I was cheering you up. And, he'll be more than happy if he learns that you're no longer with Mark. You know that he doesn't like the guy." Anita said, her eyes still closed.

"I know! Anyway, I'm telling Sam everything tomorrow. The sooner, the better."

"That's good! I just hope that you know what you're doing." She advised her friend.

Josie sighed, "Don't worry! I know the consequences of everything." Suddenly, she heard a very familiar voice coming from the hallway outside of their room. "Oh, God! It's Maria!" she exclaimed. "I hope she didn't hear us talking. She's been on my case for the past week, saying that I'm not doing my job."

Anita stood up and listened. "Well, it seems like she didn't. She's laughing. And she's with a guy." She said.

"She is? Oh God! If that's Sam…. It just means that they go to a spa together." She walked closely to the door. "Hey, that's not Sam's voice!" she said, a confused expression on her face. Josie opened the door quietly, peeking at the couple outside. She was right.

It wasn't Sam.

Maria was with another man. A great looking man to be exact. He had brown hair and a really nice body. It appears that they were more than friends, when, at Josie's astonishment, they leaned towards each other and kissed passionately.

"Come here Anita!" she whispered urgently. Anita looked at the couple and they listened quietly to their conversation.

"Why are you marrying him?" the man asked as he held Maria against him.

"Sam is the one who my father likes. You know that I can't go against my father's orders." She explained.

"We can always elope."

"Oh, Ramon, I wish we could. I don't want to marry him too. You're the one I love!" Maria exclaimed as she pulled Ramon's head closer to her and kissed him.

Josie quickly closed the door, a stunned expression on both their faces. Anita faced her friend, a smile slowly creeping to her face. "Oh, my God Josie! That means you and Sam stands a chance to be together! All you have to do is tell Sam that his fiancée is in love with someone else. Then, bam! You guys will be together again!" she explained, rubbing her hands together.

"What if he doesn't believe me? What if he thinks that I'm lying and that I'm only trying to ruin his relationship? What if…?" Josie cried as she sat down on the couch.

"Stop it with the 'what ifs' of yours! Just go to him and say everything tomorrow! Okay?"

"Okay! Thanks Anita!" she said, hugging her friend tightly.

"You're welcome!" Anita answered, as she hugged her back, hoping that her friend would be truly happy at last.