Chapter One
November 30, 2002
"Do you ever wonder why this music gets you high?" I sang along with NSync's [‘Pop'], which was blaring in my car speakers. I was all alone on the icy, slush covered roads . . . except for the occasional snow plow and all-terrain vehicles. "Man, I'm tired of singing." Justin voiced, with a little bit of attitude as the dance sequence began. As I ran the moves over in my head, the car started to slide on a patch of ice. "Ohhhh crud." I said out loud as I started to lose all control of the car, and panicked. The car slid onto a larger patch of ice, gaining speed, even though I had the brake pedal to the floor. All of a sudden the car spun into a fast 720º turn and *BAM!*
I slowly opened my eyes half way, taking in a deep breath. "Miss?! Miss, are you ok?!" I looked in the direction of the frantic voice to see a big blob of blur, that was obviously someone's face. "Just peachy." I mumbled and passed out.
When I ‘came to' again, I was laying in a hospital bed. I looked around, expecting to be hooked up to machines, but I was equipment free. "Hi [Crystal], I'm Dr. Neely. How are you feeling?" "I'm feeling alright . . . I guess." I smiled and yawned, "Am I ok?" The doctor gave a little bit of a chuckle. "The tests turned out fine. All that's wrong with you is a scratch on your knee and a bump on your head . . . and you're gonna need a new car from what I heard." "Ah, it was a piece of junk anyway." I sighed. The doctor chuckled again. "Everything's a-ok and you sound well enough to go home, so I'm gonna go fill out a few papers for you and you can be on your way. Do you think you could handle some visitors while I'm gone?" "Who is it?" "The people that brought you here." "They're still here?" "They were worried, so they stayed." "Alright, send em in." "I'll be back in about ten minutes and you can get changed and out of here." "Thanks." I replied as he walked out the door. I laid back and closed my eyes, trying to remember what happened. ‘I was blaring NSYNC when . . .' "My CD!" I exclaimed and sat straight up. "Aw man!" I turned to sit so my legs were hanging over the side of the bed (I made sure that the hospital sheet was still draped over my lap because those stupid hospital gowns are way too short!) and my back was to the door. "What's wrong?" a young man asked as he rushed into the room. "Oh, it's nothing." I giggled, looking out the window. "So, you're feeling ok?" the same man asked as I heard more foot steps in my room. "Are you the ones that brought me here?" I asked as I turned to face my visitors (still keeping the sheet in place). "Yeah, we were worried when we spotted you." Lance Bass of NSYNC, explained to me. I was in shock. My eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped slightly. "When I spotted her you mean." JC Chasez corrected Lance with a little bit of a laugh. "Yeah, thanks to JC's x-ray vision, we rescued you from the hands of evil!" Chris Kirkpatrick exclaimed. I lightly laughed at Chris's joke in disbelief that Chris of NSYNC just told me, personally, a joke. "You ok girl?" Justin Timberlake asked, noticing that I wasn't responding much to what was going on. "Y-y-yeah." I managed to stutter, snapping out of it, and giggling a little. "How's your head?" JC asked. "Is it still attached?" Joey Fatone added. "It's fine." I giggled. "You feel ok?" "Just peachy." I smiled. "Yeah, that's what you said right before you passed out earlier." JC chuckled. I laughed, not remembering the event. "Do you remember what happened?" Lance asked. "Well, I was driving along, blasting NSss . . . you guys on my car stereo, when I hit a patch of ice. The car went out of control, did a few spins, and crashed into a tree. Next thing I know, I wake up here." I explained, just as the doctor walked in. "We ran into a slight problem . . . when you crashed, your pant legs must have gotten caught on something and they are now in shreds." he sighed. "I think I can help." Joey smiled and jogged out the door. He came back rather quickly and had with him, a pair of pants. "Hope these are . . . ok." Joey grinned sweetly. "Thanks Joey." I giggled as he handed me the black JNCO jeans. "Is my shirt still ok?" I asked the doctor. "It's in the bathroom." he smiled. I walked to the bathroom with the bed sheet wrapped around my waist, slipped my favorite white, Penn State t-shirt over my head, then pulled the jeans up and fastened them. ‘I'm surprised they fit.' I giggled to myself, ‘Joey must wear them extra extra big.' The pants were extremely baggy from my knees down, but the top half fit me perfectly. I was afraid that they wouldn't fit me because I'm . . . overweight. ‘I have Joey Fatone's pants on.' I suddenly realized. I screamed in my mind with excitement, but all I did was grin on the outside. I walked back out to see that no one had moved from their spots. "Is there anything else you need?" JC asked. I looked up at the ceiling thinking to myself for a moment. ‘Front row tickets, backstage passes, dinner with you guys, a trip to Hawaii, five husbands would be cool . . .' I giggled at my thoughts. "Nope, nothing at all." I smiled, finally answering JC's question. "What about a ride to wherever you were going?" Justin questioned. "Oh yeah, guess I need that . . . but I can call for a taxi." "Noo . . . we'll take you there!" Lance smiled. ‘I wish you would take me, ahem, there.' I giggled, then scolded myself. "If you really want to." I shrugged. "We really want to!" Chris exclaimed. I giggled and stood up to follow them out of the room but they all stepped away from the door. "Ladies first." Lance smiled at me. "Ya'll are so sweet." I smiled and walked out the door. "Nooo!!" Chris howled as Lance laughed, then held out his hand. Chris angrily reached into his pocket, pulled out a fifty dollar bill and slapped it into Lance's hand. "What was that all about?" I asked. "Chris bet me this morning, that I'm the only person that's under thirty that still says ‘ya'll' and he has to pay me fifty bucks every time someone under thirty says it." Lance explained with a grin. "Yeah, thanks a lot you . . . you female version of Lance you!" Chris joked. Everyone laughed. "You guys can go ahead out to the limo." JC motioned and turned away from the group. "Where's he going?" I asked, "To pay the bill." Joey replied. "He's not allowed to do that!" I exclaimed and turned to follow JC. The guys must have expected my reaction because they jumped in front of me immediately. "You have to let us do what we do second best . . . help people." Justin flashed his cheesy smile and I giggled at the cute expression. "Fine, fine . . . but if there's something you guys need help with, just tell me, and I'll do anything I possibly can." I smiled.
"By the way, what IS your name?" Joey asked with a chuckle as we walked out the front doors of the hospital. "It's Crystal." I giggled. "Well, it's nice to meet you Crystal." Joey smiled and held out his hand. We shook hands and followed the other three guys into the limo. "Guys, this is Crystal." Joey announced. "HI CRYSTAL!" they all exclaimed in unison then laughed. "I'm not Crystal." JC smiled as he crawled into the limo. "Hi JC." I giggled. He gave me a big smile. ‘Wow, he's got a great smile.' I quickly looked away from him as the limo finally started moving. ‘Come on Crystal, get a hold of yourself. You CAN'T fall for JC even though he's sweet, funny, handsome, talented . . . NO! Lance Lance Lance Lance Lance . . .' "Do you go to Penn State?" Chris asked. "Yup." "What's your major?" Justin questioned. "Elementary Education." Lance was next, "How old are you?" "Eighteen." ‘The perfect age for you.' I shut my eyes tightly for a minute then opened them quickly. ‘Gotta stop doing that.' "What kind of things do you like to do?" Joey continued with the questions. "Sing, dance, play piano, write songs, listen to music, hang out with friends, and chat on-line. So basically music and talking." I smiled. "When's your birthday?" JC spoke up. "April twenty-first." I giggled, "Is my interview over now?" The guys laughed a little. "So, Crystal . . . you got a boyfriend?" JC asked. "Nope." I answered and started to blush. "No man attached." I sang timidly, with a smile. The guys laughed. "That's a good one!" Chris laughed. "Thanks." I giggled. Joey turned the radio on and flipped through the stations a little bit. "Beyonce, can you handle this? I don't think they can handle this." came from the speakers. The guys immediately started dancing in their seats and sang along. I just tapped my foot to the beat and moved my lips along with the words. "Come on Crystal! Get into it!" Justin exclaimed. ["Cause my body's too bootylicious for ya babe."] I joined in. "That sounded just like her!" Joey chuckled. "All the screaming fans must be affecting your hearing." I giggled and also joined in the ‘dancing'. We sang, cracked jokes, and talked about whatever the songs brought up, the rest of the way to my house. Some of the things included my best friends--[Ashley], [Amber], [Dawn], [Stephanie], [Stacie], [Amy], [Crystal B.], and [Rachel]--my tight schedule, my study sessions laying in the grass in the school courtyard, the NSYNC CD's that I lost in the crash, and the European Celebrity CD which I could not find ANYWHERE. We talked mostly about me, because I was too shy to actually ask them any questions about themselves. It was also a break for them because they got to ask all the questions.
"Welp, this is my house." I announced as the guys crawled out of the limo. "I would invite ya'll in, but I'm sure ya'll have a tight schedule to keep." I sighed. Lance smiled and held his hand out to Chris. "Dang girl! You're gonna make me go broke!" Chris exclaimed. "I'd already be in debt if I was in that bet." I giggled. "Alright, I'm gonna let you guys go. Thanks for saving my pathetic life." I smiled. They all started yelling at me at once. "Whoa, one at a time." I laughed. "Don't say that you're pathetic!" Joey exclaimed. ‘Well I am.' "You're a cool chick!" Justin commented. ‘NOT!' "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Lance said softly and sweetly. ‘Whoa . . . make me melt!' "And if anyone TRIES to, tell them that NSYNC thinks you're cool!" Chris exclaimed. "Wow . . . thanks guys." I blushed. ‘NSYNC thinks I'm cool, and that's all that matters to me!' "Now it's time to say good-bye . . ." Justin sang. "Yeah, our first and last good-bye, huh?" I sighed and looked down at the ground. "Let's hope not." JC smiled. I slowly looked up at him and smiled. "It was great meeting you Crystal." Joey grinned and gave me a hug. "You can keep the pants." he whispered, then took a step back, still smiling. I giggled and mouthed ‘thank-you' to him. "Stay cool." Justin smiled as he gave me a hug. Chris was next. "It was fun hanging out with you . . . hope we get to see you again soon!" "Thanks, I had a lot of fun too." I smiled. My heart skipped a beat as I wondered who was next. Lance stepped toward me and lightly wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back. ‘Wow . . . why does this feel so . . . so right? I could stay like this forever.' I held on to Lance for an extra few seconds before moving on to JC. ‘Whoa . . . this is comfy too.' I smiled, still hugging JC. Joey went ahead and jumped into the limo first with Justin, Chris, and Lance following. JC and I finally let go and he took a step toward the open door, but then turned around quickly. "Crystal?" "Yeah?" "Do you think you could give us your phone number?" ‘DUH!' "Um . . . sure." I smiled. He smiled back, pulled a pen out of his pocket, held the pen out to me and held his other hand out, palm down. I giggled and lightly penned my number onto his hand. "And just in case you're on-line sometime, here's my e-mail address . . . it's AOL." I explained. "Thanks." he smiled, then jumped into the limo. As the limo pulled out of my driveway, four hands and Chris's head appeared from an open window. "BYE!" Chris exclaimed as the hands waved. I giggled. "BYE BYE BYE!" I yelled back, and waved.
"Wait . . . did anyone get her number?" Joey asked. "AND her e-mail address." JC smiled and showed the writing on his hand. "Man, there is NO way any of you are using my lap top." Justin huffed. "Don't worry, we won't take away your time with the love of your life." Joey chuckled. "Yeah, when are you gonna tell Dinky Pinky about your ‘on-line affair'?" Chris laughed. "I'm gonna call her right now." Justin announced as he pulled out his cell phone. "I was joking!" Chris exclaimed. Justin dialed Britney's number anyway. They had a rather short conversation, then Justin hung up and smiled. "I don't know why I didn't do that a long time ago."
‘Ah, home sweet home.' "[Mom]! [Dad]! I'm home!" I yelled as I closed the front door behind me. There was no answer but my cat came running. "[Callie]! How are you?" I talked to my fat calico cat. She meowed at me and I picked her up. "Oh, I almost forgot . . . Merry Christmas Callie!" I kissed the orange colored diamond on her forehead, then let her down. I got a drink of water out of the refrigerator. "It's too quiet Callie!" I whispered at the ball of fur. She looked up and meowed. Just then, the phone rang. Callie and I both jumped. "It scared me too Callie." I giggled. "Hello?" "Hey Crystal. What's up?" "JC?" "That's me." "Hey, long time no see. I'm just talking to my cat . . . all alone in my empty house." I giggled. "Sounds like fun." he chuckled. We talked for a while, then he handed his phone to each of the guys, allowing me to talk to them for a while.
After JC's cell phone cut Chris off in the middle of telling a joke, I signed on-line, still trying to comprehend all the events of the day.
XBrownIedAngelX: AMBER!
HeavenlyBabe115: CRYS!
XBrownIedAngelX: How are ya lil sis?!
HeavenlyBabe115: I'm great, how are you?!
XBrownIedAngelX: I'm living. lol
XBrownIedAngelX: A lot of things happened today.
HeavenlyBabe115: Like what?
XBrownIedAngelX: Well . . . I was in a car wreck, totaled my car, and met and hung out with NSYNC.
HeavenlyBabe115: lol Good one.
XBrownIedAngelX: lol I knew you wouldn't believe me.
I explained everything to her, saying that ‘a nice family stopped in an old Buick' and took me to the hospital.
XBrownIedAngelX: Did Ash get home yet?
HeavenlyBabe115: Yeah, she wants on, so I'll talk to you later . . . we gotta get together and hang out!
XBrownIedAngelX: Definitely . . . JCya laterz!
"That name will never look the same again." I told myself aloud. I explained the day's events to Ashley the same as I did to Amber. Just then, a new IM popped up on my screen.
8BluEyes8: Hey Crystal. ;)
XBrownIedAngelX: Um . . . Hi
8BluEyes8: Sorry about my phone dying on you and Chris.
XBrownIedAngelX: JC?!
8BluEyes8: The one and only. ;)
XBrownIedAngelX: lol Hey!
8BluEyes8: I just wanted to let you know that this is my e-mail address . . . Justin has to have his laptop back so he can talk to his loooooove interest. lol
XBrownIedAngelX: Britney? ::gags:: lol
8BluEyes8: lol Nope . . . he broke up with her right after we left your house.
XBrownIedAngelX: :-O why?!
8BluEyes8: He fell in love with a ‘better' girl he met on-line . . . "one with morals and a great faith in God" is what he said.
XBrownIedAngelX: Wow.
8BluEyes8: Yeah, he shocked us all. Gotta go now, I'll talk to you again soon. Later Crystal. :)
XBrownIedAngelX: hehe JCya! ;)
8BluEyes8: lol Bye.
PunkinPiezAsh: I wish Jay didn't have a girlfriend and lived in Pennsylvania
XBrownIedAngelX: Josh just left. :'(
PunkinPiezAsh: Who's Josh?
XBrownIedAngelX: One of the guys I met today.
PunkinPiezAsh: Ooooooohhhhh.
ShweetShtuff31: Yo Crystal! J-Dawg here!
XBrownIedAngelX: Hey Justin! You can call me Crys. ;)
ShweetShtuff31: lol Allllllrighty then Crys . . . Mah baby girl's on. :-D
XBrownIedAngelX: lol Go you . . . my best friend, Ash, and you both have ‘significant others' that you're talking to at the moment.
ShweetShtuff31: That's mah girl's name! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHLEY. :)
"There is no FREAKING way . . ."
XBrownIedAngelX: Ash, what's Jay's screen name?!
PunkinPiezAsh: Why?
XBrownIedAngelX: . . . I SERIOUSLY might know him . . .
PunkinPiezAsh: OMG! "You'll never guess where my job takes me today Punkin." "Where?" "Pennsylvania. :) " CRYS! MY SHWEETS IS IN PA!
PunkinPiezAsh: AUGH!
XBrownIedAngelX: AUGH!! IS RIGHT!!
XBrownIedAngelX: Is Jay ShweetShtuff31?!
PunkinPiezAsh: Yeah! How'd you know?!
XBrownIedAngelX: ::dies::
XBrownIedAngelX: I just met him today! . . . he's one of the guys that helped me out!
XBrownIedAngelX: Justin, your Ash is one of my bestest friends!!!
ShweetShtuff31: SERIOUSLY?!?!
XBrownIedAngelX: SERIOUSLY!!!!
ShweetShtuff31: DON'T TELL HER WHO I AM!!
XBrownIedAngelX: Aww, why not?!
ShweetShtuff31: I wanna know if she loves me before I blow my cover.
XBrownIedAngelX: lol BELIEVE ME . . . she loves you man. :)
ShweetShtuff31: Really?
XBrownIedAngelX: REALLY.
ShweetShtuff31: Well then try to convince her that I'm really me. lol
I gave Justin Ashley's phone number and told him to call her in about five minutes and leave a message on CallWave.
XBrownIedAngelX: Ash . . . you're not gonna believe this . . .
PunkinPiezAsh: BRING IT ON! lol
XBrownIedAngelX: . . . Jay's real name is Justin . . . Justin Randall . . .
PunkinPiezAsh: Timberlake? lol
XBrownIedAngelX: Yes . . . and I'm gonna get him to call you and leave a message on CallWave to prove it.
PunkinPiezAsh: DON'T YOU DARE!!
XBrownIedAngelX: I'm only trying to help.
PunkinPiezAsh: CRYSTAL!!!
XBrownIedAngelX: Be expecting a call.
PunkinPiezAsh: Did you seriously give him my number?!
PunkinPiezAsh: CRYS?!?!?!
PunkinPiezAsh: COME ON!!!
PunkinPiezAsh: I am sooo ticked at you right now.
"MOM!" Ashley yelled for her mother. "What?" Julie asked as she walked into the computer room. "Crystal just . . ." the CallWave screen's blinking interrupted Ashley's sentence. She nervously clicked on the ‘play message' button. "Um . . . Hi Ash, this is Jay . . . better know as Justin Timba-timba-timbalake." he chuckled, "Crystal said that this was the best way to prove who I am." There was a short pause. "Uh . . . ok, I'm gonna IM you now." he laughed and hung up. Ashley and her mother were in total shock.
ShweetShtuff31: Did you get my phone message Punkin?
PunkinPiezAsh: ::falls over::
ShweetShtuff31: lmao
PunkinPiezAsh: lol Yes I did Justin . . . why didn't you tell me before?
ShweetShtuff31: lol Would you have believed me?
PunkinPiezAsh: Good point. lol
PunkinPiezAsh: HOW?!
XBrownIedAngelX: Think of what all I told you earlier . . . replace ‘nice family' with ‘NSYNC' . . . ‘old Buick' with ‘limo' . . .
PunkinPiezAsh: . . . and Josh?
XBrownIedAngelX: We know him better as JC. :)
PunkinPiezAsh: Need . . . water . . . and . . . inhaler . . .
PunkinPiezAsh: lol
XBrownIedAngelX: lol
All of a sudden, my AOL screen went blank for a few seconds until a window popped up saying that my connection was lost. "Well find it!" I yelled at the computer and then laughed at myself. I tried signing back on but it wouldn't connect. "Well that's not cool." I sighed. I stood up and stretched as I yawned. ‘A nap sounds good right now.'
When my parents got home, they woke me up and gave me hugs and kisses. "Are those your pants?" my mother asked with a disgusted look on her face. "No . . . well they are now." I laughed. I explained about the car wreck and NSYNC. ". . . And if you want proof, I'm betting that one of them will call again tomorrow." I giggled. We talked for a little while longer until [my brother] and [his fiance] got there and I explained everything to them. By the time I was finished with my story, it was getting late and we all decided to get some sleep.
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