Whitney looked over to where the guys were standing. "However much you want..atleast one verse."
Stephanie nodded her head, and her voice came to fill the cool Orlando night air.
When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know
I'll find the light to light my way
And when I'm scared, losing ground
When my world is going crazy
You can turn it all around and when I'm down you're there
Pushing me to the top
You're always there, giving me all you've got
She paused to take a breath, and Lance heard a sob escape her lips. Her singing wasn't that perfect, but his heart was warmed with hearing her voice. She composed herself, and continued.
For a shield from the storm
For a friend
For a love to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
For the strength to be strong
For the will to carry on
For everything you do
For everything that's true
I turn to you
All of the people watching figured that she would stop, but she didn't. She kept her head held high and continued on.
When I lose the will to win
I just reach for you
And I can reach the sky again
I can do anything
'Cause your love is so amazing
'Cause your love inspires me
And when I need a friend
You're always on my side
Giving me faith, taking me through the night
That's when she lost control. She sank to the steps , sobbing uncontrolably. Lance couldn't sit back and just watch her cry. He loved her, and no matter what he did, there was no way he could watch the woman that he loved, cry over something he had done.
He reached her, and wrapped his arms around her. The other couples went inside, to allow the other a chance to speak whatever was on their minds.
She cried into his shoulder, tryin to regain composer, but having a hard time. Her feelings were getting the best of her, and she couldn't bring herself to stop the hurt that was coursing through her at the moment. "Shhh...Steph..baby..please don't cry," Lance said, his own voice becoming emotional.
"Lance...I ...I.." she said, before she broke down again. He held her tighter, as his own eyes filled with tears. "Baby, lets go back to my place and talk."
She nodded her head, and allowed him to lead her to his car. They drove off, leaving behind two couples that were in for some shocking news.
"How else was she going to be able to talk to Lance? You've known Stephanie for a long time Justin..think about it."
They all knew that her plan had been a sucess, because they had seen the pain in Lance when she had started crying. Even though there was hurt being created, they knew that in the end, love would be restored.
Jc smiled devisly at Whitney. "What game were you playing?"
Whitney sighed and winked at him. "Truth or Dare..heh..Denise here..she had to sing and dance to bye bye bye with ice cubes in her mouth..it was funny as hell."
They all started laughing, except Denise. "I'm glad you guys find it funny..to me it was just awkward. But..lets continue the game..I'm going first..truth or dare Justin?"
"Dare all the way baby."
"I dare you to drink whatever I mix up."
His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't put anything in it to make me sick would you?"
She laughed. "No, I'm not that mean..but will you do it..yes or no?"
"Go fix it."
Denise jumped up, and Whitney couldn't help but follow her. "What are you going to put in it?"
"I was thinking along the lines of milk, orange juice and some tabasco sauce..what do you think?"
Whitney laughed, and nodded her head in agreement. "That's perfect." In no time, they had it fixed up, and walked out to join Jc and Justin. Denise handed him the cup, and he eyed it curiously. "What's in it?"
"That's for us to know and for you to find out....now bottoms up."
Justin placed the cup to his lips, and drowned it. The look on his face when he put the cup down was priceless, and they all couldn't help but laugh. "That was...that...ewww." He recovered and turned to pick out his next victim. "Jc truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Wimp...is it true that the first time you met Whitney...you only talked to her..hoping to score?"
Jc looked shocked. His face turned red, and he couldn't look at Whitney when he answered. "Yes," he said softly.
Whitney jumped up, and placed her hands on her hips. "Whoa..back up there mister...you only talked to me hoping to fuck me in bed? That's low Jc..."
He grabbed her hands and pulled her back down. "That is in the past..you know I love you," he said, kissing her quickly on the lips. She pouted but shut up. "Whitney..truth or dare?"
"What the hell..dare."
"I dare you to do a strip dance for us."
Her eyes widdened. "I don't think that Justin and Denise want to see that."
"OHHH hell yes we do..or atleast I know I do," Justin said, playing around. He turned to look at Denise. "I'm just joking baby..but a dare is a dare. You have to do it."
She stood up, and turned the radio on. The music that came on, happened to be a fast song. She started with her shirt, and Jc let out a low whistle. By the time it was over, everyone was laughing, including Whitney. "Ok..now my turn..Justin truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"In the past...who did you invision your future with?"
He gulped. If he answered this..his secret could come out. "I really don't remember," he lied. The truth was it was her. He could always see himself with her.
She narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie to me Justin Randall Timberlake."
Denise and Jc exchanged looks. It was weird at the bond they shared. They could immediately tell when the other was lying. "I don't wanna answer that question."
Jc spoke up. "It's just a question man..just answer it so we can move on."
"Jc..I ..I don't think you want me to answer that."
Denise was curious. "No..I wanna know this answer." Justin gave her a pleading look, but when she didn't back down from his gaze. He answered.
"I've always seen myself with you, Shorty..you've always been there for me when I've been down..you've always just the one person that has known me almost better than I know myself," he said, turning towards Jc. "For the longest time, I was envious of you, Jc. You got the one thing that I had dreamed of having from the moment I met her...she was standing there on the set of MMC, and she was just like an angel..and angel that I knew I was destined to be with....but then you and her hooked up, and that was crushed."
The next part he lied on. "I've moved on, and now ..I've found someone that makes me happy." It wasn't completely a lie..he had moved on, and he cared for Denise. But, his feelings for Whitney were still there, and he didn't think that they would be going away soon, if ever.
Whitney was in shock, Jc was silent, and Denise felt a tear slip down her face. "It's not..my turn..but Whitney...who do you invision yourself with in the future..did or whatever."
She turned to look at Jc, and saw that he was turned away from her..obviously thinking. She sighed. "Well, I've always invisioned myself with someone that would be there for me when I needed them..someone that cared for me, and would do anything that I asked..even if it meant going through hell and back. I have always wanted someone that cared enough for me to trust me, and allow me to make my own decisions. Before I met Jc..I won't lie..yes it was Justin. No, when we first met each other, I couldn't stand the boy. The arrogance was just something that was a turn off...but we becamse close, and he just gave off a vibe that he was the one that I was destined to be with. But, then I met Jc, and my world exploded in finding the love of my life. Never before had I ever witnessed such a feeling that I got whenever he would kiss and hold me. It was and still is the most important feeling in my life."
Everyone was silent. No one knew what to say. Two people had just poured their hearts out, and everyone was still digesting the information. The silence was defening, and Jc cleared his throat. "I think that's enough playing for tonight. I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning," he said, standing up, and walking away, not even giving Whitney a kiss goodnight.
She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "I'm...I'm going to go talk to him. Just lock the door on your way out."
She ran upstairs, and knocked on the door to the guest bedroom, where she knew Jc was at. He wouldn't open it up, and had it locked from the inside. "Jc..please...let me explain."
"Right now..I don't know what to think...I ..I just don't want to talk to you right now."
Her tears were flowing. "Jc...please..I....I love you..and you know that..don't do this..don't shut me out without giving me a chance to explain," she said, leaning against the door.
His voice came back cold. "I don't want to talk to you right now. Go to bed, get some sleep, and we'll talk about it in the morning."
She cried harder, and banged on the door. "Please....please...no..don't do this...don't do it Jc. Damn it..I LOVE YOU..not Justin..please," she begged, sliding down the door. She sobbed as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
Every sound she made, his heart picked up on. His heart told him to run out that door, and hold her in his arms and comfort him. But, his pride played a major part in it. He grabbed his cd player, and slipped the headphones on, drowning out the sounds of her pleas and crys.
She walked in the door, and stood in the living around, looking around at all the pictures. The majority of them were family and of Whitney. Seeing them together now made her heart ache, and she was over taken by jealousy. He walked in to see her standing there, motionless, fighting back the tears. "Denise.."
She held up her hand. "Just leave it alone for tonight. We're tired, and I dont wanna start an arguement that we both know no one will win. I'm just confused right now..and I think you are too. I'm going to go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, Justin," she said, jogging up the stairs. He heard the door shut, and walked around his living room.
He picked up a picture, and looked at it. It was of him and Denise when they had first started dating. They were standing by a river, and his arms were wrapped around her waist. They were both smiling, and it seemed as if they were a happy couple. He placed the picture down, and picked up one of him and Whitney. It was from a few years ago, and they were both smiling, eating an ice cream cone, walking around Disney World. It was right before Nsync blew up in America, and it was a time when they had the freedom to go out just as friends, with no questions asked.
He put the picture down, and collapsed on the couch. Right now, his head, muscles, but most of all hist heart hurt. He may have ruined a relationship that could have turned out to be the one that lasted for all his life, and in return he may have also lost a best friend, and cost her a relationship as well. What had he done?