She watched for another ten minutes, before they finally grew tired and walked back to the bar. She followed them, and listened as they ordered. They didn't even card Justin, knowing good and well that he wasn't over 21. "I'm going to the bathroom," she heard the girl say. Justin's eyes watched her walking away, and a sickening smile formed on his lips. This was her time to move. She walked up to him, and sat down on a stool. "You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself," she said, as he took a long gulp of his drink.
"Atleast one of us is. Someone isss being a stuck up...hmmmm bitch maybe."
She winced at his hurtful words. "Justin..you don't mean that..you're drunk..you need to go before you do something you'll regret..or before I do something I won't regret."
"You're back," the girl said, as she came up and kissed Justin on the lips. He made no move to pull away. Whitney stood up and pushed the girl away. "He has a girlfriend."
"Who you?"
"What if I am?"
"You can't keep your man satisfied."
"He's not my boyfriend you moron...now get the hell away."
She sat down on Justin's lap. He had a smile on his face, obviously enjoying the two girls fighting. "Make me."
That's all Whitney needed to hear. In one swift motion, her hand connected with the girl's face. She hand't anticipated the motion, and the girl fell to the floor with a thump. Once she regained composure, she stood up and tried to punch Whitney in the eye, but missing and connecting with her cheek. She stumbled back, and went to hit again, when she felt an arm hold her back.
She knew who that arm belonged to. "Jc.." she said, as the pain in her face increased.
She was passed to Denise, who had witnessed everything, including the kiss that had been shared between the girl and Justin. Jc grabbed Justin and pulled him from the ballroom to the room that Whitney and him shared. Once they were inside, Jc started. "Justin what the hell were you thinking?"
Justin plopped down on the bed. "Relax, man, I was just having some fun. It meant nothing."
"It meant nothing,huh?" Jc asked, as he watched Justin shake his head. "Well if it meant nothing, then why did you do it?"
"Like I said, it was fun. I don't think I did anything wrong."
Denise broke in. "You didn't do anything wrong? DAMNIT Justin.. if you didn't do anything wrong why are there so many people hurt?"
"Who's hurt?"
Denise let the tears flow. "Whitney..she has a bruised cheek, and bruised feelings..but me...damn it Justin..I have a bruised heart. You let that girl kiss you."
He shrugged his shoulders. "So what..I did...what's wrong with getting a little action"
She picked up a pillow and hurled it at him. "Damn it Jusitn...I'm not even going to try..you're drunk and.." she didn't get to finish. He had already passed out. She walked over to the other bed and began to cry. Jc put a comforting hand on her, she looked up at him, letting him know that she was alright.
He walked out the door, and found the room that he and Whitney were now staying in. He opened the door and found her laying on the bed, crying. He walked over to her, and she looked up at him with red, puffy eyes. Her cheek already beginning to turn colors. He immediately was concerned and angry at the same time. "What the hell were you doing, Whitney? She was drunk and you hit her."
"JC, what the HELL WOULD YOU DO? You're best friend calls you a bitch, is hanging over some bimbo like he doesn't have a girlfriend, and insults you...you tell me what the hell I was suppose to do. I'm not perfect, Jc..VERY far from it. I have anger just like everyone else. So, this once I made a mistake and I let it get the best of me..God forbide that I made a mistake, Jc."
"Whitney..I'm sorry..I'm just upset.."
"You think you're upset...Jc what the hell do you think these tears are for? He hurt me, Jc..I know he was drunk..but he had some sort of understandment of what he was saying....he..he knew how much he was going to hurt me when he said that."
He wrapped his arms around her. "You don't know that. He's really drunk, baby..just wait until tomorrow that way you can talk to him about it. Don't make pre-judgements."
She snuggled up to him. "Jc, I missed you."
He smiled. "I missed you too....in a few minutes though I'm going to go check on Denise..they had a spat. And Justin was being an ass."
"Is that something new?"
He chuckled and kissed her lips lightly. "I love you...will you be asleep by the time I get back?" he said, touching the bruise on her face lightly. She flinched. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that would hurt you."
"It's ok..I'm going to put some ice on it, and probably go to bed. If i can get my nerves calmed down, then I'll hopefully fall asleep..it just depends."
He kissed her lips again, but this time with more pressure. She pulled on him, wanting to get him closer to her. His hand wandered towards her face, and not realizing what he was doing, touched the sensitive area below her eye. She pulled away from him, and he immediately apologized. "Whitney, hun I'm sorry..I just forgot.." She leaned up and touched his lips softly, cutting him off.
"JC..its ok baby. Go check on Denise..I'll be waiting on you," she said, smiling at him before giving him a wink.
He laughed. "I'll be back really soon.." he said, as he walked out of the door. Whitney hugged her pillow tighter, as the scene that had happened earlier replayed itself over and over in her mind.
"Why did you do it, Justin," she said, as she touched his cheek gently. "Why?" Her tears fell, she had no control over him. She remembered what Jc had told her earlier...but yet..his words made no sense to her. If he was going to act this way..what was the point in fighting for the relationship? What was the point of crying over him? It was simple really..she loved him with all her heart, and it wouldn't just let her give up.
A soft knock came from the other side of the door. She wiped her eyes, and walked to the door quickly. She opened it to see Jc standing there with lips that were swollen, and she immediately became jealous. She wished that Justin and her were picking up on their relationship and fixing it, not having it get any worse. "Hey, Jc...what are you doing here?"
"I came to check and make sure that you're ok..is Justin still up?"
She wiped another tear that fell away, and shook her head no. "I didn't even get to finished. He passed out and that was the end of our talk."
Jc opened his arms and she stepped into them. "Jc..I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of fighting for him..I just don't want to put myself through this pain. I may love him, but I won't watch him break my heart over and over."
Jc wiped away her tears. "Tomorrow when he's sober, talk to him."
"What do I say to him? Oh, and Justin...if you're going to break my heart, pack your shit and get the hell out of my life? Because, Jc..that's what the hell I want to talk to him now."
"You can't let your anger get the best of you. Talk to him, rationally..not just blow up."
"Ok, Jc, go back to her. You two need some time together. Everything will be just fine tonight..I don't believe that I'll be talking to him."
"Let me know if you need anything. I'll be here for you."
"Thanks, Jc," she said, as she shut the door. She walked back over to her bed, and fell back. She didn't want tomorrow morning to come.
Justin groaned at the pounding in his head. He leaned up to look around, and saw Denise laying in the other bed. He became confused immediately. The only thing that he remembered was going down to the ballroom, and Whitney walked away from him. He ran his hand through his curls, and grabbed his head, trying to stop the pain that was pounding through it. The sun hurt his eyes, and the silence was even loud.
He walked to the bathroom, and washed his face. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he'd been to hell and back. WHen he walked back out of the bathroom, he saw that Denise was up. "Denise...what are you doing here?"
"You don't remember last night?"
He sat down so that he was facing her, and shook his head."All I know is I have a pounding in my head right now."
"Well, Justin, let me fill you in. You went to that party, got drunk, danced with this bimbo, called your best friend a bitch, kissed the bimbo and let your best friend fight for your ass when she should have just left you be."
"What the hell are you talkin about?"
"That's what happened last night. You wouldn't listen to Whitney as she tried to save your ass. She now has a bruise on her face, and I don't even know if you have a friend."
"Why are you here?" he asked, trying to come into terms with what had happened.
"Whitney got scared because she couldn't get you to leave. You were totally wasted. She called Jc and here we are. They are in another room right now, I was afraid to leave Jc alone with you. If I were you,...I'd stay away from him until he calms down. Infact, it might be a good idea to stay away from Whitney too."
"She can't be that angry with me."
"She can't? Oh, but she is...along with Jc and hey even me. I guess its this new club. The pissed off at Justin Timberlake club. I think it has a nice ring to it."
Justin shuddered at the tone of her voice. "I just can't remember a damn thing."
"Well that's really too bad. I mean...you really should try..cause it might help you when I say this. You better have a good reason as to why you did what you did last night..or if not..I'm gone. I will not put up with this, Justin Timberlake. No matter how much I love you..you WILL NOT do this to me. I wont allow you ."
"Denise, I don't know what the hell I did!"
"Justin..you went back to your old ways. Hanging on some random chick, acting like an ass, and now you're paying the price for it."
That's when it clicked. He remembered it all, too fast for him. His hands immediately flew to his face, and his eyes produced tears. "Oh God," he said, as it all became so clear.
She let her tears fall. "The truth hurts, doesn't it Justin? Things aren't so unclear now are they? Tell me something..did you enjoy the feel of her lips on you."
"Denise..ohmigosh..I'm..I'm so sorry."
"You're sorry, huh? Well, that doesn't work for me hun right now. All I want to do is just force you to see the pain that I have right now. Oh, and Justin..did you get some sick pleasure from watching your best friend try and defend you? From pushing her away?"
"Denise that wasn't me..well it was me..but you know what the hell I am saying."
"I do? I thought I knew you, Justin..I never thought that you'd do this to me? HOW THE HELL COULD YOU? I know..I sent you here..but I was hoping to make you realize that you actually cared for me..but hell I guess you were making that up? Tell me Justin..is it because I'm actually there for your ass when you need me? That I'm too weak to resist you, even though I fight it?"
He touched her gently, and she jerked away from him. "Don't touch me..you've touched someone else..and ..it makes me sick, Justin..just..stay away from me. I'm going for a walk. I'm about to go off, and I think you need to think about things. I'll think of talking to you later," she said, slamming the door.
He cried, as he thought about what he had done. He had screwed up in the past, but right now, he had ruined everything that he had worked to gain. He had probably just securied the loss of his best friend, he had lost the trust of another close friend, but the thing that hurt him the most was he had lost the one girl that had worked her way into his heart. He saw that now. He wasn't totally in love,but he was at the starting point. But now, he had screwed up.
"What have I done?" he whispered into the empty room.
She reached the door, and knocked on it quickly. She heard shuffling around, and came face to face with a crying Justin. "Whitney..ohmigosh..your..your face.."
Whitney just starred at him with shock. He opened the door, and his eyes pleaded for her to come in. She didn't say a word, but made her way over to the bed and sat down. She noticed that he coudn't met her gaze, and she wanted so much to be angry at him, but no matter how much she tried she couldn't. "Justin..what happened last night?"
"I..I don't know, Whitney. I just feel horrible..Denise..she's gone Whitney. I can feel it. You're face..you don't know how bad I feel about it, and God only knows what Jc is going to do to me. I just let go, and damn it why..why is this all happening?" he said, breaking down.
"Justin..you screwed up..and I'm not going to sit here and tell you how much you messed up, cause I know you know. I just want to know how you could call me a bitch last night? Yes, I know alcohol paid a big part in it, but I mean you knew what you were saying."
He looked at her, and shook his head. "I don't know. I dont know if it was all of this crap surrounding me that I took it out on you, I don't know if it was just a part of me that I had never experienced before, and I don't know if it was just the alcohol. But I do know that you're very important to me...and..and I would never call you a bitch. No matter what you've done. I respect you too much, and owe you to much. You have to know that I would never hurt you."
"Justin I know that..but I can't just forgive you like this. But, I'll give you some advice..when Denise gets back..don't let her go, Justin. I've never seen the look in her eyes like she had last night. If you have to get on your knees and beg..do it. You'll make a mistake if you let her walk out of that door without a fight."
"Whitney...I'll..ohgod," he said, running to the bathroom. Whitney gagged at the sound, but walked over to the sink, wetting a washcloth. When he came back out, she handed it to him. "Calm down, Justin..you're not accomplishing anything by being worked up."
"Whitney..I need her...what can I do?"
She shook her head, and rubbed his back comforting. "I don't know, Justin. Follow your heart, and if it comes down to it...beg. I know that sounds horrible..but don't let her go. Now I've got to go before Jc comes down here. I'll keep him away for a while so that you can talk to Denise. But, we still have to talk, and you're not going to avoid him forever."
He hugged her to him. "Whitney, I'm so sorry."
She let a tear fall."Justin, its ok...I'll talk to you later," she said, pulling away and walking out the door. As she walked down the hall, she ran into Denise.
"Whitney....how..how is he?"
"Well, while I was in there he was upset and he was sick."
"Is..is he still sick?"
She nodded her head. " I couldn't tell you but, I'd say. He's really worked up. Denise...take into some consideration that he was drunk last night."
"Whitney..I just don't know what to do. I guess when I go back in there, everything will be decided."
"Denise..don't let anger decide for you..push all those feelings aside and consider every option. You owe that to yourself."
Denise gave a weak smile, before walking slowly towards the room. She knocked lightly, and her heart sped up when Justin opened the door. His eyes look horrible, he was pale, and at that moment he looked as if he was scared to death. He pushed the door open a little wider, and she walked in, and sat down in a chair that was in the room.
"Have you thought about what you did anymore?"
He nodded his head, sitting on the bed closest to her. "Yeah, and the only thing I can come up with is that I was angry for you not believing me when I said that I was falling for you. It just kept nagging at me, and I did that last night, in some sick hope of hoping to ease some of the stress, hurt, and pain. But, all its done has created more of it. But, I want you to know something Denise. That will never happen again. I..I would never directly hurt you or Whitney."
"Her face...Denise..I didn't do anything to stop that! Do you know how low that makes me feel? Do you know how low I feel for not stoping that girl from putting her lips on me? Knowing good and well that the only pair that I wanted to feel were yours? IT MAKES ME SICK, Denise..to know what I've done. I'd understand if you walked out that door, and never wanted to see me again."
She turned her head, so he wouldn't see her cry again. "Right now, I don't know what to do..."
"Wait, let me finish. I said that I would understand..I would but not my heart. It would break with those few steps that you took to walk out of here. Denise, watching you walk out of here made me realize something...I didn't like that old Justin..but the new me that you helped create, that's the person I want to stick with. I need you, Denise. I know this doesn't help what I did last night, but if I could change it, I would. But I can't..and right now all I can do is beg you not to give up on us."
"Justin..give me one reason not to give up on us? TELL me the something that I have to look forward to?"
He lowered his head. "Denise..there are so many things to look forward to. To progressing and having the type of relationship that makes people jealous. To having all of your dreams come true with the one person that your heart has bonded with. Look forward to those moments. Don't give up on us...please, Denise..don't."
She looked at him, as his blue orbs looked into hers..pleading with her to understand. She wanted so much to say she understood, and that this incident didn't mean anything. But, she wouldn't sit there and lie to him. "Justin..I..I'm so sorry..but..I..I can't just forgive and forget. I can't get the image of your lips on hers..or the way that you acted...and what you said last night.. it hurt me..damn it YOU hurt me."
His emotions were now running free. The tears in his eyes, from the shaking in his voice. "Don't..please..don't say it..."
She looked at him and shook her head. "Justin....I...I can't do this anymore."
He dropped to his knees and grabbed her hands. "Baby..no...oh God no..don't do this! Please...don't ..don't do this to me." "Justin..until you're sure of what you want...and I..I need time to decide on all of this..I can't be with you."
"Denise..please..I ...what can I do? WHAT THE HELL CAN I DO to prove..to prove to you how much you mean to me? That last night..that wasn't me.."
Her hand wiped away his tears. "Justin..I don't expect you to wait on me forever..but I need time to sort my emotions out. I love you..I won't sit here and say that you abolished that last night..its too strong for you to do that. But, I can't just pick up where we left off. I need time to think."
His head laid in her lap. "Ok," he said quietly, as he sobbed.
"Justin..don't ..please don't cry."
He looked at her. "I..I can't help it..."
"Justin..I need to go back home. I've got to sort this out."
His hand took hers. "How..how long will it take?"
She shook her head, and wiped away her own tears. "I don't know....if you think you can't wait on me,..Justin I want you to be happy...."
"I don't want anyone else..I want you."
"Then you'll have to wait..but if someone else comes along..dont' hesitate..I want you to be happy like I said...if she's better for you..don't deny that chance of love."
"Ok," he said, removing his head, as she stood up. She grabbed her stuff, and walked to the door. "I'll..I'll talk to you later, Justin."
He sent one more pleading look her way. "Are you sure that this is the only way?"
She nodded her head, and opened the door. "I'm positive," she said, fighting the urge to run back to him. She took a deep breath and shut the door. She didn't stay around, because she could already here him crying. She ran into Whitney, pointed to his door, and walked away.
Whitney didn't even bother to knock. She walked in and saw him leaning up against the bed, crying his hurt, anger, and fear out. She walked to him and placed her arms around him. The minute her arms encircled him, he leaned into her for support. They just sat there, on the floor, as he cried. "She's....she's gone."
"Shhh, Justin..she's not gone for good. She needed time to think."
"I ..I want her back," he said, never opening his eyes. Whitney looked around the room to blink back her own tears, and her eyes settled on JC who was leaning in the doorway. He offered her a sympathetic smile, and walked towards the two of them, sitting down in the floor facing them.
Justin must have noticed movement, and he looked up. His eyes settled on Jc, before sitting up straight and wiping his eyes. "Jc..umm.."
Jc held up his hand. "Justin..its ok," he said, as he handed him a tissue. "It's ok to cry, Justin."
"JC..I know I screwed up.."
Jc held his hand. "Justin..don't think you're getting out of a talk..but I have enough compassion not to start in on you right now. I'm going to go get us something to eat. I'll be back later," he said, leaning over to kiss Whitney on the cheek, touching the purple bruise gently.
She smiled softly at him, and turned back to Justin. "Let's get off this floor, Justin...maybe you should lay down."
After she got him settled in the bed, he looked up at her. "Whitney..is..is this a dream?"
"Justin, as much as I wished that it was, its not. You need to sleep though. You're tired and you're emotionally drained. You'll feel better if you just close your eyes and get your mind off of everything."
He snuggled down in the covers, still holding on tightly to her hand. It wasn't long before his breathing deepened and he was asleep. She let go of his hand, and moved to set down in the chair. Her eyes never left him. He looked so small and helpless laying there asleep. She just hoped that everything would work out, and he wouldn't crawl into some type of shell, with no hope of coming out.
None of them had heard from Denise since she had been in Hawaii. Justin had called her house everyday since he had been back, only to get a message saying that she was at a friends. He had called everyone that he knew, in hopes of finding her. But, he hadn't had any luck. He knew that she needed time to think, and he wanted so much to wait patiently for her to return, but he couldn't.
He needed to hear her voice, to hear her say that she would come back to him..if she didn't he would be a lost man. The days that she had been gone, had seemed like years. He hadn't woken up with a smile on his face, because he missed holding her in his arms. She had felt so tiny, yet so perfect lying there with him.
He sighed, and took a drink of his orange juice. The only thing that was getting him through this time was Whitney. She would either call, or come and see him, just to check and see how he was. He knew that he was taking her time with Jc away, but he needed someone to lean on at the moment, and she was the only one that totally understood him.
Jc had tried to reach out to him, but Justin just couldn't make the same connection with him, that he was able to make with her. She understood him emotionally and physically. She understood the reason for his bloodshot eyes, the reason for his pale face, but most of all, she understood the pain that he was feeling in his heart.
Today was the first day back in the studio to start recording their new album. He wasn't looking forward to it. Recording took a lot out of you, both mentally and physically. Having to concentrate on the music was hard, but it was going to be even harder considering he only wanted to think of one thing, and she was far from being music related.
"You can do this, Timberlake,"he whispered into his empty house. He grabbed his keys, and was on his way to the recording studio.
He grabbed a granola bar, and went in search of Whitney to tell her bye. He walked upstairs to see that she was still asleep. He pulled the cover up, bent down and kissed her lips quickly, and turned to walk away, but her voice stopped him.
"You know, I'd like a better kiss than that pathetic thing."
He turned around, his smile was full of love. "Oh, you don't like my soft kisses?" he said, as he walked towards her.
She shook her head against the pillow. "No, I don't..do you have a problem with that? I happen to like those kisses that you get lost in..but you stopped giving me those a long time ago," she said, smiling evily at him.
He bent down and hovered over her lips. "I think I might could produce one for you.." he said, as his lips connected with hers. Her amrs reached up, and pulled him down onto the bed with her. His hands were buried in her hair, as he drove her crazy with his lips.
She was about to run her fingers through his hair when he pulled back. "Dont even think of ruining the hair. I have to go..are you going to stop by today?"
"Yeah, I probably will," she said, as she sat up in bed. "Oh, and Jc..you should kiss me more like that..cause damn."
He chuckled as he walked out the door. "You don't know what all I have up my sleeve."
"I can't wait to find out," she whispered into the empty room.
He knew, without a doubt, that he was in for a lecture. During the two weeks that Denise had been gone, he had went downhill. His weight had dropped, his eyes had changed, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the passion that was usually in his voice, was gone. He sighed and opened the door, to only get looks from his fellow groupmates and Johnny.
"Justin.." Johnny started.
Justin just looked up and his eyes pleaded with him. "Please, Johnny..I know what you're going to say. I know..just please don't question me right now."
His manager sighed. "Justin..I want the story later..but right now we've got to get some stuff done. Now, you guys, there is a song picked out for you to record now. Go in there and lets get something done today."
The guys all groaned and walked into the recording studio. Justin was about to walk through the door, before he was stopped by Stephanie, who had came with Lance. "Justin..if you need to talk..I'm here you know that right?"
He smiled weakly. "I know..do you know if Whitney is coming today?"
"I can answer that," Jc said breaking in. Justin turned to face him, hope present in his eyes. "She said that she was going to try, but there was no guarantee. She had some type of meeting to go to....oh and Steph..when we get a break, I want details about this new job you've got."
She smiled. "Oh, don't worry..I plan on telling you all."
Jc laughed, as him and Justin walked into the recording studio to join the rest of the guys. After they had looked over at the song, the music started and they sung it for the first time. For a first time recording, it wasn't that bad, but they had to get it perfect. Which meant, that it would probably take two or three days to get that done.