Disclaimer The following is a work of fiction. Characters, names, situations, events, and locations described in this novel are purely the invention of the author's mind, or are used fictitiously. Any sort of resemblance to people - living or dead, names and locations is purely coincidental. This story is copyrighted and cannot be taken or displayed without the permission of the author. CONVERTED by Jan Baxter "So there I was, falling off the sofa laughing, and the phone goes...I'm cross because it's a programme I like, but when I answer it, Eve's going barmy. So barmy that I can't understand what she's on about...until I hear the word Jon. Well, you know how mad she is about Jon Bon Jovi..." Cassie sat on the easy chair, glass in hand, and gazed at her brother. "Eventually, I got enough sense out of her to realise Jon Bon Jovi was playing near here. Well, Nottingham anyway, and she's wailing that she's already out that night!" Gary laughed "Why didn't she cancel if she's so mad about him?" Cassie shrugged "Don't know, said she couldn't. I think she would've done anything to get out of whatever it was, because she really is nuts about him. Me, I quite liked the music but he didn't do anything for me with his Dulux dog hair and his impossibly white teeth. Why do Americans seem to have more hair and teeth than any other nation?" Gary grinned "Ask me another, old thing. But you went..." Cassie sighed "Yes, she got this ticket and begged me to go in her place. Front row, she said..." in a mimicking voice she raised her tones several octaves as if highly excited "You've got to go, Cass, take photos and buy any souvenirs. Anything and everything, I'll pay for them all and watch him like a hawk...look at his eyes, he's got such lovely eyes, Jon has... and a fabulous bum. You watch him every second so you can tell me all about it..." Gary sat back and swigged his coffee "Tell me when you fell in love with this chap yourself....because you look all dribbly and dopey..like a bulldog with concussion..." Cassie threw a newspaper at him "I'm not in love with him....I've just changed my mind about him, that's all. He's.....well....he's so..." She stopped, unable to explain to a grinning, mocking brother. Gary grinned even more "He's what...? Hunky? Handsome? Did he point to you and sing you a special song?" Cassie was unamused to find herself going red "Well, actually, yes. Not dedicated to me personally,he wouldn't know my name, but he sang this really nice slow love ballad thing. Bed Of Roses. When he said what it was called, I thought that'd be flaming painful, mate! But he started to sing it, really feeling it, he was looking along the front rows, sort of smiling at people..girls...as he sang. Then he smiled right at me and I went really red. I knew I was scarlet, you know me and blushing, and the more I realised, the redder I went, I must have looked like a pillar box!" Gary chortled "You mean as red as you are now! Cass, you're crackers! He wasn't singing to you, he was just making up to the audience, all pop stars do it! And you...oh hang on, what were you wearing?" Cassie hung her head "A red velvet shirt and black vest top, and black jeans. Yes...all right, so my face matched my shirt and my hair clashed with both. Look, I've got fair skin and orange hair, I admit it, but there's no rule says I can't wear red!" Gary rolled about laughing, and even hitting him with a cushion very hard didn't stop his hysterics. Finally Cassie had enough "All right, joke's over! Go and drown yourself and stop laughing at me...I liked the songs, I liked the man, what's wrong with that?" Gary sat up, puffing breathlessly from too much laughter "He probably looked at you and thought, My God I've never seen a female like that before! Perhaps she's an alien from the Planet Zog! Carrot top!" Cassie stood up, hanging on to shreds of dignity. "You can talk, banana nose! Look, let's call a truce. Another coffee?" Gary shook his head "No, got to go soon....tell me why Mum said you told her you didn't get in until after four in the morning. What time did he finish for God's sake?" Cassie turned away to feed the goldfish swimming in his little tank. "About half eleven. I stayed outside the stage door to get his autograph. I owed it to Eve after all....I'd bought all the T-shirts and things they had on sale, and she gave me her CD to take in case, so I had to get him to sign it." Gary sniggered behind her "Oh yes? And did he? Cass, pull the other one, he'd have been off stage, out the door and away in a limo before you'd even stood up from your seat!" Cassie didn't turn back. "Yeah, fat lot you know, Mr. Big Head! I stood for hours, got talking to some girls from a fan magazine, crazy lot but they all told me he'd be out sooner or later and that he always signed autographs no matter how late it was. And he did, bless him." Gary was obviously mocking her now "And you dribbled all over his boots like a love-struck teenager, I remember how you were over David blooming Cassidy! Did you scream and tear your hair out?" Cassie watched the little fish swimming round and round and her mind flew back to the day before yesterday. "No, but he signed my things, I told him the CD was for Eve, a friend and he grinned, he said why? Don't you want my CD yourself? I couldn't answer honestly, could I? Say I was there as a proxy for my mate? So I sort of shrugged. And then he looked at me." There was a pause. Gary's voice was suppressing laughter again "He looked at you....I told you, he thought you were an alien! How did he look at you? Undress you with his bedroom eyes?" Cassie tapped the glass of the fish tank "No. He just looked, smiled...and his eyes are gorgeous. Bright blue and so piercing...he smiled and said he'd seen me on the front row in my red shirt. He said Good move, anything noticeable and you'll see yourself on MTV! I blushed again, bloody blushed! And he winked and said he'd look out for me next time." Gary stood up after a few minutes silence. "Well, he obviously didn't fall in love with your ugly old freckly face at first sight, I tell you, it was the contrast of your orange hair with the red face and the red shirt that did him, enough to make any man seasick!" Cassie didn't rise to the teasing. "Oh, I don't think so, he looked really nice when he said it, not teasing or laughing at me. In any case, next time I shall wear red again...maybe he'll notice me again..." Gary bent to kiss her cheek "Next time. You're crackers, as bad as that maniac Eve. And I suppose this T-shirt you're wearing is one he signed...touched even? Swoon, faint, scream with unrequited love..." Cassie didn't bother answering. Gary looked into the fish tank "He's grown a bit, hasn't he? Lively little thing. Hey Fish! Fish!" Cassie smiled to herself "Not called Fish any more." Gary glanced down at her "Well, he was called Fish. The one that died was called Gold. Not very original...if he's not called Fish any more, what's this one called now?" Cassie smiled again as she tapped the glass tank "Jon." Gary groaned in despair and left her smiling to herself.