Whitney, on the other hand, was nervous about seeing Justin. She didn't know how this was going to affect their friendship, and the friendship between her and Denise that had taken so long to establish. She never thought that anything like this could have happened. Everything in her life was going perfect. She had friends that she could count on and she had the love of her life. But, she was given the chance last night to see just how quickly it could be taken away.
They pulled into Justin's drive way, and they both climbed out slowly. Jc grabbed her hand, and they walked to the door. When they rung the doorbell, they didn't have to wait long until they were met with Denise's unemotional face. She opened the door wider, signaling for them to come it.
When they were in the living room, Whitney's eyes locked on Justin sitting in a recliner staring out the window. He knew that they were in the room, but like them, he was still stunned and afriad of what could happen next.
Whitney and Jc sat down on the couch, along with Denise. They all just sat there, comtemplating what they should say to get this started. After it looked like no one was going to take charge and say anything, Whitney spoke up. "What do you need to talk to us about, Denise?"
When Justin heard her speak, he tore his gaze from the window and looked over at them all on the couch. He listened to what Denise was telling them, along with studing their facial expressions.
"Jc..I know that you dont like this idea, and I can't say that I'm crazy about it, but it's the only thing to do," Denise said, after she had explained the plan to him.
He had remained silent for the most part, but now he was full of words. "I don't think its a good idea...I trust Whitney, and I know that she loves me. We worked through what happened this morning. I'm sorry if Justin and you couldn't, but I don't see what that's going to accomplish."
Denise narrowed her eyes. "If you're so confident, then why don't you agree to it? If you say nothing will happen, then let them spend a weekend together alone."
Jc had been pushed. "Fine, if you think that's what you need to help strengthen your relationship, then go for it. But, its not my decision to make..it's up to Justin and Whitney."
Whitney swallowed. She didn't know what to say. If she said that it was ok, Jc may become suspicious and question why she agreed to it. If she said no, it could hurt Justin because he would get the idea that she didn't want to spend time with him. "I don't care..it's..it's up to Justin."
All eyes turned to look at Justin. The whole time that they had been there, he hadn't spoken one word. "I..I'll do anything to prove to you Denise that you're the one I want."
"Then that settles it. You two can spend this weekend together..but it won't be here. I think you should go someplace, that the two of you haven't been together, so that there won't be any memories to influence you."
"We've been a lot of places," Whitney explained, as she firmly held onto Jc's hand. She knew that he didn't like the idea...but to her, it was a good plan. This would be a way of showing Jc that she could be trusted, and that she didn't have feelings for Justin.
"Have you ever been to Hawaii?"
Whitney and Justin looked at each other and shook their heads. "Then that's where you guys are going to go. I'll arrange this since it was my idea. Just be ready to go by Thursday."
JC and Whitney nodded their heads, and left the house, leaving behind a determined Denise, and a confused Justin. He had said that he didn't have any feelings for Whitney beyond friendship, but he knew that he had lied. They weren't that strong, but the main fact was that they were present. He could hide them, if it meant causing trouble in people's lives that he cared about.
The only thing that Denise didn't know was about the place that she had selected. While Denise made plans, he let his mind wonder back into time....
Justin pushed her in the swing. Her hair was flying around her face, and he couldn't help but smile. Even at thirteen, she looked older. They both did. "Whitney, when we get older and I have enough money, we're going to go on a vacation together."
She giggled and continued to work her legs to get higher. "Where are we going to go, Justin?"
"I don't know," he said, moving from behind her to climb on the other swing. "Maybe Paris?"
She thought for a second. "No, I wanna go someplace warm and tropical. Hawaii sounds great."
"Then that's where we'll go. I should have known that you would have said that....you've always told me that you have dreams about going there..just wait, Shorty..one day those dreams will come true."
She smiled. "And I couldn't think of a better person to have them come true with than you."
"We'll conquer a lot of our dreams together. I think we were meant to be friends."
He knew that she rememered that. The way that she had looked at him when Denise had mentioned Hawaii had proved it. The surprise in her eyes, had stirred up the memory for him. How was he suppose to go with her, to the one place that they had always said that they'd go to together? True, he had been to Hawaii a few times, but they had never been together.
Denise placed the phone down, and turned to look at Justin. "Everything's set...do you need help packing?"
He came out of his thoughts and turned to look at her. "I think I can manage that...we're going to be back when? Sunday?"
She shook her head. "The earliest flight to get back is Tuesday, and that's the one I booked. That's ok isnt' it? I mean, you'll probably be having a great time, and not even wanna come back."
He stood up and sighed. "Denise, don't start that bullshit again. You know that nothing is going to happen down there. Just dont try and start an arguement. It doesn't help anything. I know you're upset, but until your little experiment is through you're just going to have to wait and see what happens along with the rest of us."
She narrowed her eyes. "What's eating at you?"
"I just think this whole thing is stupid. I don't know why you're having to prove some point, and why you can't accept my word? Isn't it good enough for you, Denise? I mean, I was honest with you last night, why would I stop being honest now?"
"I thought you said we weren't going to argue about this? Who's the one that keeps dragging it on?"
"YOU! You're the one that has to prove your point. You cant admit the fact that this event has brought the fact that I might be falling in love with you around. You just can't accept that."
"Justin..right now you're just saying anything and everything, trying to make everything better. Don't EVEN try and go there. We both know that you're just saying that.."
He stepped closer to her, forcing her face up to meet his stare. "Why would I do that? I wouldnt lie to you about something that important Denise..I'm not that big of a jerk."
She sighed. "You can't do this to me, Justin," she said , her voice cracking from emotion. "I have to be completely sure. I told myself that I wouldn't be hurt anymore. I won't just put this event in the past and move on...Jc and Whitney might have been able to, but we don't have that strong of a relationship. We dont have the history, and we certainly don't have that strong of a trust level. I can't just try and live in a fantasy world where that exists. If you say that you are falling in love with me, and God, you don't know how hard I want to believe that...then well you're just going to have to do this."
"I told you, I'll do anything to prove that to you. I just think its foolish."
"It might be..and it might be me acting spoiled and selfish, but for once Justin..I think its my right to act like this. I've given and its now time that I take."
He moved away from her and headed up the stairs. "Justin, where are you going?"
"Considering that my plane leaves in two days, I might want to pack. You need to call and let Whitney in on the details."
She watched his back walk up the steps, and let a tear fall. Things were spinning out of control, and she longed to close her eyes and make it stop.
When Jc and Whitney reached her house, they walked into the house, each heading seperate ways. Jc heading to the kitchen, and she headed to check the messages that they had. There was only one new one, and she pressed the button, while curling up on the couch.
Beep
"This is Steph, girl I just wanted to check up on you. Everything between me and Lance is better. Thank you for caring. Call me when you get this."
She watched as Jc walked in and sat down on the other end of the couch. "Who was that?"
"That was Steph calling to say that everything between her and Lance was fine."
"She doesnt know about any of this does she?"
Whitney nodded her head, but refused to meet his gaze."I'll probably call her in a few minutes."
Jc sighed. "Whitney, why won't you look at me? If you don't want to go to Hawaii, then don't go."
"It's just that I don't know what it is. I'm so confused right now as to why this is even happening in the first place. Jc, my life was going perfect, I had you, Justin and friends that I adored. But now..its being threatened."
He moved to comfort her. "I'm not going anywhere, Baby. Don't you even worry about that."
"I know Jc..its just building up."
"Go call Steph..she'll know what to say to you. Right now, I'm going to go take a shower and see if that doesn't help."
She nodded her head, and walked upstairs to her room. She dialed her number and waited for Steph's voice to come through. But, instead she was greeted with Lance's deep voice. "Hi."
"Hey, Lance..can I talk to Steph?"
Lance could hear the sadness in her voice, and immediately handed the phone to her, covering the mouth piece up. "It's Whitney..something's wrong. I'm going to run to the store. I'll be back later," he said, kissing her cheek and walking out of the room.
"Girl, it's Steph."
"Hey girl," Whitney said, her voice coming out soft.
"Ok, what's wrong?"
Whitney launched into the story, finally allowing the tears to fall. "Steph...what am I going to do?"
"I..I don't know, Whit....why are you going to Hawaii..why didn't you just tell Denise that you'd rather go some place else?"
Whitney had even told her of the plan that she and Justin once had. "That would have just brought around more suspicion, and ..ugh I don't know, Steph. Everything is just happening so fast and I don't know what to do to stop it..I just want to make it go back to how things were...not confusing, and going great."
"It will, but this is just something that you're going to have to deal with. It's just a few days with Justin. I'm sure that you'll be able to handle it."
Whitney sniffled, and saw that Jc had walked into the room. He must have heard her crying, because the look in his eyes was a concerned one. "Hey, Steph, I'm going to go. I'll talk to you before I leave."
She hung the phone up, and crawled to Jc's awaiting arms. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing. He said nothing, just holding her, and letting her know that he was there for her. He held her until her last tear was cried, and she fell asleep. He pulled the cover up over her, and turned off the light. He had an important conversation with someone that was about to take place.
He walked out of the house, and hopped into his Jeep. He took of towards a place that he had been many times, and yet this was one time he wasn't going out of just going on a friendly visit. He wanted answers and he planned on getting them. He was there in no time, and hurriedly walked to the front door.
He knocked, and the person that he wanted to talk to was the person to answer. "Hey, Jc."
"We need to talk, Justin," he said, as he stepped in the house, noticing that Denise wasn't there. "Where's Denise?"
"She had some things to do...um..what do you want to talk to me about."
Jc plopped down on the couch and ran his hands through his hair. "I want some answers. And you know what I want answers on."
"Jc I really don't know what to tell you. I didn't plan any of that last night.."
"I'm not talking about that...we went home, Stephanie called Whitney, and well I overheard a part of their conversation. What is the deal with you two and Hawaii? I didn't catch all that part, but I know that you know, and this is one time that I'm not backing down until I get an answer."
"What do you want me to tell you? It was something that happened way before you two ever thought of even hooking up. We were thirteen, and it was just something that we promised each other. I told her that when I had the money and we were older, that I'd take us on a vacation..I let her pick the place and well you know how much she loves tropical weather. Bam, brings you up to the present."
Jc's eyes narrowed. "So, you had Denise arrange Hawaii in some sick attempt to try and win her heart over?"
Justin exploded. "HELL NO! I may have had feelings for her, Jc..but I'd NEVER try and take her away from you. You two are perfect for each other, and why the hell won't anyone believe me that there might be a chance that I've fallen in love with Denise? Is it too hard to believe that the famous Justin Timberlake has finally found love and is willing to settle down?"
"Justin..I didn't mean it like that..."
"No, Jc..you and I both know that you did. Atleast you're being honest. Yes, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm actually scared to death of what might happen in Hawaii, but it wont be because something happens to us..it might be because our friendship right now is on the rocks, and going there..there's no telling what might happen. Hell, sticking us on a plane, sending us there for five days..its got disaster written on it."
"Everyone else has had their chance to talk, but have we? No, we're just having to go along with this to make everyone peachy and happy. But, right now, believe it or not, I'm not ready to sit back and watch a 8 year old friendship go down the drain."
"Justin.."
"No, Jc..listen to me. If I wanted Whitney so bad, I could have made a move on her long before you were ever in the picture. I'd rather have her friendship. I know that it will hopefully ALWAYS be there for me if I ever need it. You may have her heart, but I'm the one that she comes to when there are things that you two can't talk about. It's me that gets to hear about your relationship problems. I cherish that more than you'll ever know."
"Justin, I know that...but I mean this is just all of a sudden. I don't know what to think."
"Do you love her, Jc? Do you TRUST her?"
"Of course I do. We've been through hell together. That built up a level of trust that you couldn't even imagine."
"If you trust her, then don't worry. She won't turn her back on you. I know that..my heart knows it, her heart knows it, but the question is, does YOURS?"
Jc sighed. "Yes, I'm..I'm just being stupid. I'm sorry, Justin. I better go. She cried herself to sleep before I left, and I might need to check on her."
Justin nodded his head and walked his friend to the door. "Jc, I'm sorry that this is happening, and believe me, if I could change it in any way, I would. But, I can't..and time is just going to have to heal this."
Jc nodded his head, and got in his car. He drove away, feeling a little bit eased.
Justin on the other hand, was still nervous...would she act any differently around him? Or, would they still have that strong bond that had always been there.