Temporary Madness

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."

--Captain Corelli's Mandolin

July 2, 2006: Nicole McGuire's 21st Birthday. It was a day of happy wishes, a million phone calls, presents, cake, and most importantly... a party. Living in Los Angeles, Nicole knew that she had to have the best 21st birthday party imaginable. After all, she had skipped out on a Sweet Sixteen and the gift of a new car in exchange for a promise from her parents that her 21st birthday would be unforgettable.

"Nicole!" Nicole's mother, Charlotte, shouted from the bottom of the staircase. Nicole's house was a fair size, but it was not a house of a celebrity queen... just your normal and average girl. "I have a birthday surprise for you!" she shouted excitedly while waiting for her daughter to answer her calls.

Upstairs in her room, Nicole scoffed at every outfit she had pulled out of her closet. Nothing was good enough for this birthday bash. It was planned to be in her backyard, but her parents had hired a party coordinator that would make the entire party look almost like a red carpet event. Nicole had been waiting for this party since she could remember. She scrunched her nose up in disgust as her blue eyes scanned over every possibility. She pushed back her blonde hair into a ponytail and groaned when she heard her mother calling.

"Yeah?" Nicole almost whined out to her mother as she flung open the door to her room in a panic to make her way to the top of the staircase. "What is it, Mom? I'm trying to pick out a dress to wear and I'm having absolutely no luck."

"Adam's coming." Charlotte answered, a grin spreading across her face when she saw the instant reaction from Nicole.

"WHAT?!" Nicole shouted excitedly as she ran down the stairs. "Is he really coming?! Did he call? What did he say?" she managed to squeeze out in one breath.

Charlotte laughed, "He called just now and apologized for RSVPing so late... but he's coming by. He said he couldn't not come since he's known you since you were both running around in diapers. Or.. well, you know. More like you were running around in diapers."

"I thought maybe he would have had some kind of tour thing or a band thing... or whatever." Nicole said, unable to wipe the smile off her face. "I can't believe he's coming! This is definitely the best surprise I've had all day."

Adam Levine and Nicole McGuire were childhood friends... in fact, they were practically brother and sister. They grew up together and they hung out together since Charlotte and Patsy were close friends. However, once Adam formed Maroon 5 and broke into incredible success, it was extra hard for him to make time to see his childhood friends. In fact, Nicole's birthday party would be the first time she's seen him in over a year. Anytime Adam had down time, he would spend it with his girlfriend, Brittany, and unfortunately she would monopolize his time along with family members. Nicole was busy doing her own thing trying to break into the makeup world and become a professional makeup artist. In fact, she was beginning to come into her own and she was now doing makeup for soap stars.

"I was going to have it be a surprise but I couldn't keep it to myself. I'm pretty excited as well. Patsy has always been telling me about what he was up to but I haven't seen him in forever. He's practically like a son to me." Charlotte gushed. "It'll be a nice reunion."

Nicole happily ran up the stairs. It was even more of a reason for her to find the perfect outfit. Today couldn't be any more perfect than it was.

Hours later, the party was in full action. Between friends, family, co-workers, and clients of Nicole's, it was a huge success. There was a DJ and music, catered food, people were mingling and having a great time. Of course, Nicole was the woman of the hour. Although the attention she was getting from everyone was extremely nice, she couldn't help but wish that Adam would arrive already. Then again, he always did know how to show up stylishly late. She knew this time would be no different. Finally, as if he were on cue, the patio door swung open and out walked Adam. Naturally, he was wearing his shades combined with tight black pants and a white t-shirt... typical Adam style. He never changed. Nicole breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that he came on his own. Surprisingly, Brittany was nowhere to be found. Nicole never had a problem with Brittany... in fact, she was actually a very sweet girl. However, she didn't like how much time she took away from Adam.

"Well, look who decided to show!" Nicole exclaimed as soon as she saw him, practically charging him with a hug. Adam was caught off guard, but he laughed and returned her hug with the same enthusiasm.

"How's my favorite girl?!" he asked excitedly when they pulled away. "Happy Birthday. God damn, you're getting old." he joked.

"Look who's talking, you've got six years on me, buddy." Nicole joked with a laugh. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, you know that." he added with a bright smile. "I left your present with your mom inside, by the way." he added as he took his sunglasses off and hung them loosely on the neckline of his shirt. "So, how does it feel?" he asked, his eyes scanning the backyard. "Very impressive. I hardly recognize this place now since the sandbox days." he joked as they walked towards the bar that was set up to get themselves some drinks.

"It feels great. I have to say, when I heard you were coming... I just couldn't believe it. It's been too long." she breathed a sigh of relief. "It really is so good to see you."

Adam nodded as he handed her a pina colada. "I'm not going to pretend that this is your first time drinking, so here's your favorite." he said as he handed it to her and then proceeded to sip his rum and coke. "It's great to see you too. I'm sorry it took me this long to finally get around to doing it. Thank God for all these technical devices like cell phones and laptops otherwise we'd be fucked as far as friendship goes. My mistake totally." he laughed it off nervously. He was just thankful that she wasn't incredibly upset with him for not coming to visit.

"It IS your mistake but hey, they say true friends look past everything and come back together as if no time has lapsed, right?" Nicole said, raising her glass and clinking it against his. "So, here's to friendship."

"Absolutely." Adam agreed, clinking his glass to her's again and drinking some more. While his eyes scanned the backyard, he quickly noticed a young and lively girl with dark hair. Her complexion was practically flawless from afar, her skin an extremely light mocha color. He caught her eyes and flashed a smile in her direction. She noticed him too and smiled right back, but quickly took her attention away from him to continue chatting with an older woman. "Who's that?" he asked Nicole, his eyes going back to her as he nodded in the direction of the brunette.

"That?" Nicole asked, spotting her right away. "That's Ava Kensington. She's one of my clients. She's on a soap and I do her makeup." she explained, noticing the way that Adam was looking at her. "Oh no, no no no." she dismissed him immediately, placing her index finger on his cheek to turn his head in her direction. "Do not even think about it, Adam. I work for her. Well, sort of. She's leaving the soap she's on to star in some kind of movie. But still."

"Do not even think about what?" Adam played innocently. "I have Brittany, remember?" he said as he smirked.

"That's right, you DO have Brittany." Nicole politely reminded him. Nicole averted her eyes back to Ava, who kept taking notice of Adam too. She groaned. There was no way they were having a connection right now. "Besides, she has a boyfriend anyway."

"Boyfriend?" Adam repeated, pressing his lips together. "That's nice for her." he added, grinning again as he shrugged nonchalantly. "Beautiful girl."

"I am not being held responsible for anything." Nicole said as she threw her hands up with a laugh. "As a matter of fact, my mom is waving me over. Behave yourself until I get back." she warned him as she ran off towards her frantic mother, who looked as if she had something urgent to tell her.

Adam noticed Ava laughing at whatever the older lady was telling her. He sat down at a table nearby the bar, making sure to slip his sunglasses back on so that he wouldn't be too noticeable. There were so many people around that he doubted anybody recognized him. He was by himself at the table just sipping his drink. Sunglasses were great... they hid his eyes. Before he knew it, he saw Ava heading towards the bar. Score. He swallowed the last bit of his liquid courage and then slid out of his seat to approach the bar at the same time she did.

"A screwdriver, please." Ava requested from the bartender, who nodded with a flirtatious smile as he fixed her drink.

"That's a pretty hefty drink for a tiny girl." Adam said immediately, leaning against the bar and flashing her a smile. She was incredibly tiny, which was something that he really couldn't tell so far away. However, now that she was closer to him... she was even more beautiful than he thought she was.

Ava smiled and turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "You're right." she agreed as the bartender handed her the drink. "Which is exactly why it's not for me." she answered.

Adam pressed his lips together. Ouch. Struck down. "I knew I was a good judge of character at least. I figured that it wasn't your kind of drink." he quickly saved himself. He shook his head slightly, his smile never fading. Flirting was innocent enough. He had Brittany, he loved Brittany. There was nothing wrong with just flirting a little bit. He stuck his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Adam."

"Ava." she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. His grip seemed to firm up when their hands met. Once they let go, she flashed him a smile. "Well, I have to hand this off to my friend over there." she said as she nodded in the older woman's direction. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Levine." she added, giving him a little wink and walked off.

"Real smooth." Adam heard Nicole's voice from behind him.

"I guess I wasn't as incognito as I thought I was." he laughed it off as he turned to Nicole, his eyes still watching every move Ava made. "When did you get back?" he asked.

"Alright." Nicole groaned as if she was in defeat.

Adam looked confused as he turned his focus to her. "What?"

"Come on, idiot." she said as she grabbed his arm. "Let's go." she pulled him towards the direction of Ava and the older woman.

Ava noticed that Nicole and Adam were approaching her and laughed a bit. "Sophia, Nicole's bringing him over here." she said to the older woman.

"He is so sexy, I swear if I was younger..." Sophia trailed off, sharing a laugh just as Nicole and Adam approached them. "The birthday girl! How's my favorite makeup artist?"

"Great!" Nicole said enthusiastically. "Listen," she said as she pulled Adam forward a bit. "I want you to meet my best friend since.. oh I don't know, forever." she said as she nudged Adam playfully. "Sophia Marcello, Ava Kensington..." she said as she pointed to each woman when she said their names. "This is Adam Levine. Adam, this is Sophia and Ava... I'm their makeup artist."

"Pleasure to meet you, Sophia." Adam said as he shook her hand, his eyes gazing over at Ava. "Ms. Kensington, I believe we've already met."

"Yes, I believe we have." Ava replied while giving Sophia a knowing look.

"I'm a big fan, actually." Sophia said as they released their handshake. "Songs About Jane is actually one of my favorite albums of all time."

"Well, thank you. I'll pass that along to the rest of the band, we appreciate that." Adam said casually. "So, you're both actresses, huh?" he asked, trying to pry information out of them in an effort to get to know them.

"Yes, I've been working on General Hospital for about twenty years now." Sophia said. "Ava's been working with us for about five, but she's going to be leaving us unfortunately to move onto bigger and better things apparently." she joked with a laugh as Ava shook her head.

"My first major film... I'm pretty excited." Ava said happily. "I'm really putting myself out there, I think it's a great career move for me."

"Well, congratulations." Adam said as he nodded in her direction. "So, daytime TV to big star. That's a big adjustment. So, now besides women fans, you'll have guy fans that will be itching to oogle you on screen."

"Ava actually has guy fans now, it's crazy!" Nicole said as she started laughing hysterically. "Ava, tell him about the time you caught that crazy guy spying on you through your dressing room window! How creepy!"

"Actually, I know all about that time." Adam said as he grinned. "That was actually me in your bushes, sorry to freak you out and all." he joked as they all laughed.

"At this point in the night, that doesn't surprise me." Sophia joked, trying to be subtle in mentioning the fact that he was practically oogling her from across the backyard. "Nicole, sweetheart... introduce me to your mother, I have been dying to ask her about the pastries she has spread out here. Did she really bake them herself?"

"Uh um.." Nicole stammered as Sophia took a hold of her arm and dragged her away from Adam and Ava. "Yeah, she did... you see, she owns the bakery right down the road..." she trailed off as they walked away together.

"So," Adam started as he pulled out a chair from a nearby table for her. She smiled at the nice gesture and sat down. "Where's your boyfriend tonight?

Ava seemed hardly phased by the fact that he already knew that she had a boyfriend. "He's working." she answered simply while she watched him sit across from her. "Where's your girlfriend tonight?"

"Home." he replied simply as he took a sip from his rum and coke. "Let me get your number."

"Absolutely not." she replied, a smirk forming on her face.

"As friends." he answered, smirking right back at her. He was playing with fire and it was fun. "Double date."

Ava gave him a knowing look. He was persistant. Truth was, she felt the obvious chemistry that they had between them. She had never had such an instant attraction with any other guy before, not even Brian... her current boyfriend. She knew that he had to have felt the same way because he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off her the entire night and now he was begging her for her number.

When she stayed silent, he leaned across the table. "Let me put it this way, if you don't give me your number... think of how crazy one determined person can be. One way or another I will find out. I think it's better if you just give it to me so it's not so weird." he teased, the grin spreading across his face. With that, he dug in his pocket to take out his iPhone and gently slid it across the table.

Ava pressed her lips together and shook her head. The both of them sat there staring at each other. Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding. After an intense staring contest, she grabbed his phone and programmed her number in it, gently sliding it back over to him. Without a word about it, he took his phone back and slid it into his pocket. Suddenly, her phone rang from the inside of her purse. Grabbing it, she took it out to see that it was Brian calling. She froze as her guilty conscience kicked in. She flipped it open.

"Hey." she said as she tried to force a smile. "Are you finished at work already?" she asked.

Adam sensed that it was her boyfriend. He smiled to himself and shrugged just a little bit to pretend like he didn't notice. As soon as she hung up, he smiled at her. "Well, listen. It was absolutely great meeting you. I should get going through, Brit will probably kill me if I'm late to meet her."

"Brit... as in your girlfriend?" Ava asked as she stood up from her seat at the same time he stood up from his.

"Right." Adam said nonchalantly. "I'll get in touch with Nicole. We're looking to record a new album so I'm going to be in LA for a while. We should get together and hang out sometime."

"Sure. I mean, with Nicole and everything... sounds perfect." Ava said as she nodded while getting her purse so that she could walk away.

"A pleasure, really." Adam repeated his sentiment from earlier all while flashing a smile. He watched her walk away quicker than he could blink... unsure if he would ever see her again.