Aja has always been one of my favorite Jem characters. In my first Jem fic I had intended for her to have a more prominent role, but I couldn't find the room. This story is not a sequel to "Awakening". It can be considered as happening a few months after those events, which took place vaguely sometime after Raya and Jetta joined the bands and before the Stingers appeared.
I do not own the rights to Jem and the Holograms, etc...
Blah, blah, blah.
That's what she heard, anyway. Aja Leith wasn't really paying attention to what her best friend was saying. It was something about promotion for the upcoming Holograms album or the newest band signed to Starlight Music or the Misfit's latest stunt. Jerrica Benton was more than capable of handling all of that.
What was replaying in Aja's mind was a conversation with a certain blue-haired drummer. Craig Phillips was in town and had called yesterday. Towards the end of the hour-long call, Craig had asked to see her today. He was supposed to pick her up at 3:00 and it was almost that now.
"...and then I put a goose on my head."
"That's great, Jerrica. Wait, what did you say?"
"Aja, have you been paying attention to anything we've been discussing this afternoon?"
"Sorry. I have something on my mind."
"That something wouldn't be a tall, hunky drummer, would it?" suggested Kimber.
"Look at her blush," said Shana. "I'm sure that's it."
"It's just that I haven't seen him in a while, and he'll be here any minute."
"Well," said Jerrica, "I guess that's enough shop talk for today. I can fill you in later on what you missed."
"Thanks."
"So, where is he taking you?" Kimber asked. She wanted all the details.
"I don't know. He was actually very mysterious on the phone."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" one of the Starlight girls yelled from the other room. Ashley raced to the door. "Aja, it's your boyfriend!" Ashley was never very subtle.
"See you girls later."
Once Aja walked into the other room, she couldn't keep the huge smile off her face. She didn't realize how much she had missed Craig until that moment.
"Aja, you look wonderful." She was dressed casually in a red top and blue jeans, but she could have been wearing a paper bag for all that it mattered to Craig. She would have looked just as good no matter what she wore. "Let's go."
As they walked to his car, Aja asked him, "Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
The drive was a pleasant one as the two made small talk, filling in the gaps of their lives since Craig had last been in the States.
"Well, I'm glad your band decided to take a little break. It's been so long since the last time you were here."
"Yes, my sister said much the same thing."
"How is Stormer, I mean Mary, doing?"
"She's doing well. The Misfits have her working hard on the songs for their next album. Luckily, she had some time last night for a visit."
Even though she had no love for any member of the rival band, Aja tried to keep an open mind when it came to Craig's sister. At least Stormer was the least destructive of the quartet.
"Ah, here we are," Craig announced. He pulled into the nearest parking space and then turned to Aja. "Would you like to join me for a leisurely stroll?" They had arrived at the park, the place where the two had shared their first kiss.
"Absolutely."
"Girls, please. You need to finish at least one track today or we'll be behind schedule. We already have a release date for your next album." Eric Raymond was pleading with the Misfits, which he managed, or at least attempted to manage. Today, he wasn't having much luck getting them to do any work. Pizzazz was the worst of the four girls, leaning back in a chair, sipping a can of pop, and looking utterly bored.
"Shut up, Eric. We don't have to listen to you."
"Yeah," Roxy agreed with Pizzazz, as usual. "We'll finish the album when we're good and ready."
"We're the stars here, Yank. What we say goes."
Stormer was the only one who had a slightly different opinion. "But, we don't want to disappoint our fans."
"Oh, boo hoo," Pizzazz mocked the youngest Misfit. "Our fans won't care about waiting an extra week or two. Anyway, we have plenty of time."
This time, Stormer kept her mouth shut. She didn't often stand up to the lead singer, and she definitely didn't want to get on Pizzazz's bad side. While the other Misfits decided to break for lunch, Stormer stayed behind to write some more of the songs. If she worked hard now, maybe she'd have time to see her brother again this evening. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with him before he went back to London.
The Misfits' lunch break lasted for three hours. Stormer was beginning to wonder if the other three were even coming back at all today when they finally returned. The band ended up actually recording the track that Eric had been asking for, even though petty arguing erupted more than once. This was nothing new to the volatile group.
Roxy noticed that Stormer was in a hurry to leave when the girls left the recording studio. "Where are you hurrying off to?"
"Oh, my brother, Craig, is in town. I was going to go spend some time with him."
"We'll give you a ride, won't we girls," Pizzazz said with mischief in her voice.
"That's okay, you don't need to."
"No trouble, love," Jetta replied. "I'm sure your brother is dying to see us again."
Stormer knew she couldn't say no, so she reluctantly agreed. So much for a quiet evening.
Craig was surprised by the knock at his hotel room door. He wasn't expecting anyone. When he looked through the peephole and saw that his sister had come to visit, he opened the door and welcomed her inside. "Mary, it's good to see you again." Before Craig could close the door, three more girls shoved their way into the room.
"Did you miss us?" asked Pizzazz.
"I see you brought your friends with you." Craig commented, clearly not happy about it. Everyone, including the Misfits, knew Craig's feelings about the way the band treated his sister. Stormer would tell him they aren't as bad as they seem, but he wasn't convinced.
"They gave me a ride over here, and they wanted to see you, too."
"Right."
"Come on, Craig," Pizzazz said. "Don't tell me you're still holding a grudge."
"Why don't you let bygones be bygones?" Jetta contributed.
Craig wasn't sure of their sincerity, but he didn't care to take the time to question them further. "Whatever." He then turned to his sister. "I am glad to see you, but I'm afraid we'll have to cut this short. I'm taking Aja out tonight."
"Oh. I didn't realize you already made plans." Stormer looked down at the floor. Not only was she disappointed that her brother couldn't spend time with her, she was also disappointed in his choice of companion. She never really liked Aja to begin with and wasn't sure she liked the Hologram dating her brother.
"I'm sorry. I'll call you tomorrow. We can make plans to meet up for lunch or something."
"Sure."
Stormer hugged her brother and then left with the other Misfits following.
"I can't believe he's going out with that loser." Roxy said as they walked down the hallway.
"She's put some kind of spell on him," was Jetta's theory.
Stormer kept quiet.
"Who cares." Pizzazz was already getting bored with the topic. "I'm hungry. Let's go to that new restaurant that just opened."
Roxy and Jetta excitedly gave their agreement, knowing their rich friend would be picking up the tab. Stormer went along, not having the energy to disagree. All she really wanted was to go home and curl up on the couch, but she knew Pizzazz would be annoyed at having to drop her off first. At least she wouldn't have to make dinner.
"Chez Soleil just opened but it's already getting great reviews. I'm so glad we're going there. I've wanted to check it out."
"I'm glad you approve, Aja."
Aja just laughed at her date. "It doesn't really matter where we go, just as long as I'm with you."
"I feel the same way." Craig looked over at Aja and took her hand in his. They drove the rest of the way in companionable silence.
There was a long line at the restaurant, but the couple was able to get a table relatively quickly due to Aja's celebrity status. She only felt slightly guilty at the preferential treatment.
"I hope your bandmates don't mind my stealing you away from them again today. You must have a lot of work to do for your upcoming album."
"It's okay, really," Aja replied. "We're ahead of schedule, actually."
"Well, look who it is." Aja and Craig heard the familiar, sarcastic voice a second before the green-haired woman came into view.
"Oh no," groaned Aja. "What's she doing here?"
"I'm surprised they let losers like you in the door, Aja. Craig, you should come join our table."
"Buzz off, Pizzazz. Can't you see we're trying to have a nice, quiet evening." Aja was already annoyed. When it came to the Misfits, particularly Pizzazz, Aja had no patience.
"I think Craig can speak for himself." With that, Pizzazz turned to him and said, "What do you say, drummer boy?"
"As my date already stated, we'd like to be alone."
"Fine. Suit yourself."
Of course, Pizzazz couldn't just leave it at that. As she turned away, she knocked over Aja's water glass, which promptly spilled onto her silk dress.
"Oops. Sorry." Although Pizzazz said this apology, her tone of voice gave the words the opposite meaning. The Misfit walked back to her own table, where two of the other three girls were clutching their stomachs as they laughed out loud. Only Stormer was not amused by the event. She hated to see Pizzazz cause a scene involving her brother. She thought about going over and apologizing for her friend but didn't think Aja would believe her to be sincere.
"Ooh, she makes me so mad," fumed Aja. "And this is my favorite dress!"
Craig started to stand up. "She will apologize and pay for the damage to your dress."
"No, don't bother." Seeing her date ready to stand up for her had quickly diffused her anger. "I don't want to cause an even bigger scene. Besides, you know Pizzazz will never apologize, not for real."
Craig resumed his seat. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Aja smiled at him. "I'm just going to head to the restroom and dry this off as best I can. I'll be right back." She gave him a quick kiss as she got up.
The rest of their meal was uneventful, although several times they could hear the Misfits complaining to the waiter from across the room. Neither was surprised when the manager went over and asked the rowdy group to leave.
"We didn't want to eat this muck, anyway," shouted Jetta.
"Yeah, this place stinks," agreed Roxy.
"Let's get outta here," said Pizzazz.
As they left, Stormer looked over and waved to her brother. He smiled and waved back.
"Your sister would be so much better off without those troublemakers."
"Don't I know it. But, she won't leave them. She thinks she needs them to make it."
"Kimber was disappointed that she didn't join us after they made that record together."
"Yeah, Mary told me she had a good time making that record with Kimber. I keep telling her she's too good for the Misfits. Maybe one day she'll believe it."
The two finished their meal and completed the evening with a walk along the beach, looking up at the stars and feeling the magic of the night.
"I had a wonderful time, Craig."
"I did too, Aja."
Craig cupped Aja's face in his hands and gently kissed her. Aja sighed. At this moment in time, she was perfectly content.