Chapter 9
The Day They Came Back......
Michelle observed herself in the mirror at Lynn's house. She had bought THE outfit the day before and she was making sure everything about her looked okay. She frowned at the dark bags under her eyes. Some nights, she only got about 4 hours of sleep. She had her brown hair cut to her shoulders and it looked really cute. Shayna sat on the couch with a pretty dress on, barely able to breathe. She was so excited that Chris was coming home, and she was dying to meet Mary.
"Gurl, sit down. You're hair looks great for the millionth time!"
Just then, Lynn walked into the room with the boys. "Girls, I just talked to Justin. He said they'd be here soon!"
"How soon?" Michelle said with her back to the door.
Just then, she heard a voice. "This soon..." Justin said.
She turned around and gasped. It was really him. He was home. "Justin...." Michelle choked out.
"Get over here...." he said as he extended his arms.
She ran into his arms as she felt a tear run down her face. "Don't cry....." he whispered, "I'm home.."
He captured her lips for a brief moment until he went over to his mom.
JC, Mary, Lance, and Joey walked in. "Where's Chris?" Shayna asked questionably.
"I don't know. Maybe he's still in the car...." JC said as he held onto Mary's hand.
Shayna walked outside and peeked around the car. There wasn't any sign of him. Then, she felt a pair of arms surround her waist and turn her around. She gasped as she smiled. He touched her cheek with his hand as he wiped a tear away. "I missed you so much..." she whispered.
"I know. I missed you more.." he said as he gently kissed her lips.
They walked into the house and saw everyone crowded around each other. "Well, who is this?" Lynn asked JC.
"Um, this is Mary Green. My girlfriend. She's staying with me, because she's originally from Orlando.
"Mary Green? You look just like a friend of mine, Peter Green. Do you know him?"
"Um, no, no, I don't.." Mary said nervously.
"Oh, it's probably nothing. I mean, he only has 2 daughters and one of them ran away. I believe her name was Mary.....oh my...."
Mary felt tears slowly fill her eyes. "Um, excuse me..." she said as she ran outside.
"Oh, no....." Lynn whispered.
"Um, guys......I'm taking Mary over to my place. I'll catch yall later." Jc said as he walked out the door.
He found Mary on the porch crying. He put his arms on her shoulders. "Jc, why are my mistakes coming back to haunt me?" she said.
"I don't know...." he said soothingly.
"See, that's what's wrong! Nobody knows. You don't know, my parents don't know, I don't know! Maybe I should just leave you alone. You don't want my actions to hurt your career..." she said as she got up. He stood up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Mary, please. Just don't let something like this hurt our relationship. I really like you, and I want to be with you. I'll take care of you forever, you know that..."
She turned around and put her head down. "Why would you want to?"
He picked her chin up with his forefinger. "Because, ever since I bumped into at the hotel, I knew you were special. I knew it. And, everything you do amazes me."
"Really?" she said as she wiped her eyes.
He smiled. "Yeah. Come on, let's go do something..." he said as he took her hand and got in his car.
Later that week......
Michelle was at the studio working on the album when Shayna came over to the apartment. She unlocked the door and looked in. Justin was watching something on TV.
"Hey, sis....." he said.
"Hey, bro....." she said as she sat down on the couch next to him.
"It's boring without Michelle here...."
"Well thanks..." Shayna said as she turned her body around with her back facing Justin.
"I'm sorry....I didn't mean it..." he said as he gave her a hug. She laughed.
"So, what's up?" he said.
"Oh, not much. JC and Mary are off somewhere, so I had to come see my best friend..."
"How sweet....but, seriously, thanks for being there for me, for Michelle. You were my sanity in Europe. I don't what I would have done without you..." he said.
"Well, I just want to make everybody happy....." she said as she smiled.
"I love it when you smile..." he said. Shayna's heart began to pound. She didn't know why or what was making her nervous.
"Thanks..." she said as she pulled her hair back. They looked into each other's eyes. Not saying anything, just enjoying the contentment of looking at each other. Then, Justin slowly moved towards her. Shayna wanted to stop it, she needed to stop it, but she couldn't. She moved towards Justin as their lips touched. Shayna pulled away and looked at Justin with a look of betrayal. But, she touched his cheek with her hand as they kissed once more. Her lips slightly parted as she allowed the kiss to become more passionate.
His hands ran through her soft hair as he kissed her neck. They finally stopped and realised the horror of what they had done.
"Justin, oh my god, Justin. What am I going to do? I betrayed my best friend, and Chris....."
"Uh, I did the same thing, Shayna..."
Shayna lowered her head and began to sob silently. "What are we going to do?" she said.
"Well, I mean...it was nothing, right? We're just friends......"
"Yeah! We're just friends who made a small mistake. It'll never happen again, right?" she said with hopeful eyes.
"Right....." he said. She gave him a hug. "Thanks, Justin. Friends forever?"
He took a deep breath. "Friends Forever..."
I know Justin and Shayna were NOT making out on Michelle's couch. And, Chris is gonna marry that girl! Well, if she says yes, that is.......but, I don't know anything...