A/N: I used a few Dutch words in this chapter but once again translated it for the people who don’t speak Dutch (almost everyone ;)

~*~ July 22nd 2000 ~*~

Chantal turned off the TV when she heard the front door shut followed by a loud thud when his bag hit the floor.

“Sweetie?” he called while he sauntered into the living room.

“Hey baby” Chantal said happily scooting to the head of the couch while opening her arms so he could slide on the couch right into her arms. She wrapped her arms around his chest and he let his head fall back on the arm of the couch.

“Ahh, I’m so tired” Justin let out a heavy sigh.

“I missed you” Chantal said softly caressing his cheek with her hand. Justin lifted his head up, smiling at her touch.

“I missed you too” he said rubbing his hands over her leg. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face closer to hers before she brushed her lips against his. She gently kissed him and moved her hands to his cheeks, holding his face in her hands while Justin put his hands on her waist.

“How were the rehearsals?” she asked once she pulled back out of their long passionate kiss. She’d been waiting at his house till he came home today.

“It was exhausting but really cool!” he said with a weary smile on his face which brought a smile to Chantal’s face as well.

“What did you do all month?” he asked looking her over.

“I did absolutely nothing” she said while she stretched her arms above her head.

“Lazy girl” he joked.

“Hey watch it” she said poking his chest.

“I more than disserve being lazy, I studied my ass off, I think I disserve a little time off” she defended playfully.

“I know” he snickered.

“You hungry?” she asked after a few minutes, while stroking his hair.

“Nah, I ate after rehearsals wouldn’t have made it home if I didn’t”

“Want to watch a movie?”

“Nah, too tired I just want to lay here” he said smiling, burying his face in her chest.

“Alright” she said pulling him close for a second before she moved to stand up, getting out from under Justin. She hopped off of the couch.

“Where are you going?” he pouted in a whining tone of voice as he grabbed her hand.

“I’m getting my diner I haven’t eaten anything” she smiled while he let go of her hand. Five minutes later she came back with a plate full of food. Justin scooted back making room on the couch so she could lay in his arms. She placed her plate on the floor before she lay down against him kissing him before she grabbed the plate off the floor. Justin rested his head against her shoulder while she ate. When she was halfway through Justin lifted his head up from her shoulder looking at her adoringly.

“What?” she asked smiling seeing how he was eyeing the food.

“You eat so slow, I think you need help with that” he said smiling while he pointed towards the food.

“You want a bite?” she asked smiling and he nodded innocently.

“Food you got wasn’t that good huh?” she asked smiling while she scooped some food on her spoon and brought it to Justin’s mouth.

“No” he said accepting the food. Together they ate the rest of the good.

“What are you going to do the rest of your vacation?” he asked with alternative motives but she didn’t notice.

“Uh, dad suggested to go on vacation together”

“Really?”

“Yeah I even think he meant it. First he only wanted to go with the three of us but Bryant doesn’t want to leave Jen so she’s coming too, Bryant is starting to trust him again. Last time we went on holiday together was when I was 9, last summer in the Netherlands” she sighed.

“When does school start again?”

“Uh September something” Chantal had enrolled in college; she had deliberately chosen a college nearby. She didn’t want to move, her friends and family all lived here and now with Jen’s pregnancy she was glad she had made this choice. She was going to study Medicine.

Bryant was not going to college and neither was Jen, at least not this year. Craig had offered to take care of them; he felt the need to make up for everything which happened the last few years and wanted Bryant and Jennifer to stay at his house. He would make sure everything was taken care of and they didn’t have to worry about anything else than their baby. Now that Craig had told them all the money issues had been solved he could really take care of them financially and although Bryant had protested at first, Jennifer and Chantal both made him see that Craig took care of them financially before he came back and he had no choice but to accept it. Craig had said that they should enjoy everything that would happen to them the next year and he didn’t want them to worry about anything, just enjoy. Bryant appreciated it more than he wanted to admit but Chantal saw it anyhow. No matter how hard he was trying to hide it and so did Jennifer, she was just glad Bryant’s father wasn’t as bad as Bryant had always told her.

“When are you going on vacation?”

“Uh I don’t know yet. Beginning of august or something” she answered before she looked at him, “What’s up with all the questions?”

“Well I was thinking if you have the time, I’d like it if you would come to The Netherlands with me” he asked with a smile knowing how much she would want to go there. She shot up right.

“Are you kidding?” she asked unbelievably.

“Nope, the MTV Europe Music Awards are in Rotterdam this year and we have a few days off before the event so I thought maybe we could discover The Netherlands together” he said proudly, happy he could make her smile.

“Really?” she asked again, her eyes wide with excitement.

“Ooh I would love that, thank you” she said happily leaning in for a kiss to thank him once again. They settled in on the couch and not long after they were both sound asleep on the couch.

“Hey sweet brother” Chantal said enthusiastically when she entered the house through the kitchen door, finding Bryant at the counter making a tray full of food.

“What do you want?” he asked a little suspiciously, she hadn’t been cheerful in a while and he suspected he was going to have to do her a favor and he was busy enough with Jennifer right now.

“Nothing!” she exclaimed innocently putting her hands out in front of her in defense. Bryant chuckled at the sight, seeing her happy made him smile, he couldn’t bare to see her miserable like he’d witnessed the past month. That was the reason he’d warned her about Justin, sure he was a great guy but what did it matter when he was absent 75% of that time?

“What are you making?” she asked walking up to him, hugging him for a brief moment before turning towards the food, silently thanking him for putting up with her for the past month.

“Just some sandwiches and ice cream for the pregnant girl” he said rolling his eyes but followed with a loving smile.

“She hungry again?” Chantal asked incredulously, Jennifer was hungry all the time and she wasn’t even half way through. Bryant shrugged,

“Yeah well better this than the crankiness she had in the beginning” Chantal laughed at his remark then suddenly remembered what she came here to do,

“I’m going upstairs to pack a few things” she stated as she turned towards the stairs.

“You spent the night at his house?” Bryant asked as she moved towards the stairs.

“We slept on the couch” she called over her shoulder.

“Ooh, you didn’t make it to the bedroom?” he snickered which caused Chantal to stop and turn around abruptly.

“Ok. Shut up” she said playful before continuing her journey towards the stairs, taking them two at a time eager to get back to Justin. She only had a few days with him and she was planning on fully using them. She quickly tugged some stuff in her overnight bag before making her way down the stairs again, finding Jennifer and Bryant in the living room,

“I’m going” she informed them.

“Yup” Bryant nodded, “Have fun and enjoy ok?” he said sincerely.

“I will thanks, be back in a couple of days, I’ll call you”

“K, bye” he smiled. Jennifer waved at her with an encouraging smile and Chantal smiled back before she turned and left the house.

“Hope she’ll be ok” Bryant said worriedly once they heard the door pulled shut.

“I think she will, she’s been waiting for this since what? Last month?” she wondered what Bryant was talking about, she was with the man she loved how could she not be ok?

“I’m afraid it will only be worse after these few days” he let Jenn in on his worries.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s done without him for a month, now she sees him again and she’s ecstatic but what happens when he’s gone again, she’ll be even more miserable because the memories are fresher” Jennifer nodded,

“So she’ll miss him more, but you don’t think she actually got used to him not being there?”

“I don’t know, all I know is that she started handling it a little better at the end, I’m just afraid she’ll go back to where she was a month ago” Bryant said, thinking how that had been. She’d been crying without a reason, she didn’t have an appetite; she was bored and sad, sad when she saw pairs together in the mall and whished she could be like that with Justin. Bryant had pressed her to talk to him and finally she did. She’d told her brother that sometimes she wished she hadn’t fallen in love with him, whished it was someone else who’d picked up the magazine at the same time as her. Someone with a normal job and was around every time she needed him but when she heard his voice through the phone she knew she didn’t want to be with a normal guy, she didn’t want to be with someone else. She wanted to be with Justin and Justin alone, too bad the time that they had together was so little. Jenn nodded in understanding.

“At least you’ll be here and we’ll try to take her mind off of it, I’ll take her shopping some more times”

“Oh yeah you would volunteer for that huh!” Jenn nodded innocently,

“Sure!” Bryant laughed at her endearingly, kissing her whishing Chantal would be ok after this, he knew that he’d be here for her no matter what.

“Hey sweetie, what are you doing?” Chantal asked when she walked into the living room, she put down her bag with clothes she just got at her house and walked towards him. He was sitting behind the computer. ‘nsyncworld.com” she read at the top of the screen.

“What are you doing there? Checking what they are saying about you guys?”

“Yes and chatting with some people in the chat room”

“Anything interesting?” she asked, sitting next to him.

“Yeah this girl from The Netherlands asked me if I’ve ever been to an Nsync concert I said ~yeah all of them~ she says ~that costs a lot of money~ so I say ~Well actually I have lots of money~” he told her.

“Haha does she know who you are?”

“Yes she asked me if I as Justin so I said yes. It’s mean to lead them on” he said with a smile.

“Well that’s very sweet of you” she said while she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“But you know they mostly don’t believe that it’s me” he informed her.

“Well can you blame ‘em, lot of people say they’re you but are just playing mean tricks on them”

Justin nodded, “Yeah well they always want me to prove I’m him but how can I do that? It’s not like I can type a certain way” he said holding out his hands. Chantal laughed at the gesture before she got up from her seat and walked over to the couch and turned on the TV.

“I’ll just leave you then” she laughed, flipping through the channels.

~Don’t you know someone in the Netherlands~ appeared on the computer screen.

“Very subtle” Justin said to the screen.

“What is?” Chantal asked from the couch.

“The girl asks ~Don’t you know someone in the Netherlands?~”

“Subtle but also sweet. She probably doesn’t want to ask you about your girlfriend”

“Yeah that’s true” Justin shrugged.

“So what are you going to say?”

~Yes I know someone who is from the Netherlands~ he wrote.

~cool~ appeared on the screen.

~Does she teach you Dutch?~ the girl asked.

~She is trying but I’m stubborn~ he answered her question.

~lol~ she said and continued with ~Can you say a few Dutch words?~.

~Um I can say Hoe gaat het?~

~Met mij gaat het goed en met jou?~ she returned.

“What?! Chantal!” Justin said.

“What’s wrong?” Chantal asked curiously.

“She said something in Dutch and I don’t know what. I can figure out a few words but…” he rambled.

“Alright I’m coming” Chantal said. She got up from the couch and walked over to Justin. She read it and said to Justin

“She says I’m fine how are you?”

“That’s all?!?! I thought it was like a whole story”

“Nope that’s all”

“Alright how do I say I’m ok too and from what city are you?”

“Met mij gaat het ook goed. Uit welke plaats kom je?”

“How do you spell that?” he asked smiling at her. She typed and pressed enter.

~wow you’re good and I’m from Eindhoven~ the girl answered.

~Cool I’ll have to confess I cheated a bit~

~What do you mean? You got a dictionary with you?~

~Yeah sort of ~

~Well that’s not fair. I can’t lol ~

~lol ~

~Are you guys planning to come to the Netherlands soon?~ the girl asked.

~I’m sorry I can’t say that~

~That’s ok~

~ sorry g2g ~

~ Bye Bye Bye lol ~

~lol~

~Stay //\\//sync~

~I will lol~ Then he was off.

“Ok sweetie your turn”

“Thanks move over you’re not the only one with an internet addiction” She logged on and the first second she was on a girl said to her

~Hey Chan~

~Hey Lien Hoest?~ (= “Hey, how are you?”)

~Geweldig!!~ (= “Great!”)

~Hoe komt het?~ (= “How come?”)

~IK HEB MET JUSTIN GEPRAAT!!! OOH MY GOD!!~ (= “I talked to Justin!”)

~Wat?? Wanneer?~ (= “What? When?”)

~Net voordat jij kwam~ (= “Just before you came”)

~Cool heeft ie nog wat leuks gezegd?~ (= “Cool, did he say something interesting?”) Chantal asked. Justin was still sitting beside her.

“Who is that?”

“A very nice girl from the Netherlands. She is an Nsync fan you know”

“Really?”

“Yeah” Chantal nodded.

“What is she saying?”

“You know you should really try harder learning my language. Then you can read it for yourself” Chantal said playfully.

“You don’t mind translating it do you?” he asked with a sweet smile.

“Of course not but I learned English when I moved here”

“I know”

“I could teach you some Dutch if you want? You know for your award show. That way you can impress your Dutch fans” she said smiling.

“Cool I would like that but can you translate it for me now?”

“Sure” she said and she translated Lien’s words.

“Was that the girl I just talked to?” Justin asked.

“It could be. I’ll ask what she asked you”

~Ja zoveel~ (= “I asked him a lot”) Lien answered Chantal’s question she typed earlier.

~Zoals kommop vertel!~ (= “Like what, come on tell me”)

~Ok hij was aan het proberen Nederlands te praten. Was kei leuk !! Hij kon het kei goed. Ik heb hem ook gevraagd of ze binnekort hierheen komen alleen dat mocht ie niet zeggen~ (= “Alright, he was trying to speak Dutch, that was funny. He was very good. I also asked him if they’re going to be in The Netherlands soon but he couldn’t say”)

~Vet man!! Is ie aardig?~ (= “Cool man! Was he nice?”)

~Ja ontzettend. Hij is helemaal hetzelfde als op tv~ (= “Yes very. He’s totally the same person as on TV”) Lien wrote.

“Common” tell me what she is saying hun” Justin said curious.

“It’s the girl you talked to. She said that you were trying to speak Dutch and she loved it. She thought you did a really good job. I asked her if she liked you and she said you were very kind. That you were the same person as on TV.”

“Cool but why don’t you say I’m sitting next to you?”

“I didn’t want to tell her because then she might only want to talk to me because I know you”

“Yes but how long have you known her?”

“Um 2 months”

“It’s not very long but you know she has talk to you for two months without knowing, you know me. I think you can trust her”

“I know I can but….”

“But what?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Hey when is the award show again?” Chantal asked, an idea forming in her head.

“End of August why?”

“Maybe I can meet her and bring you along for the surprise.” She suggested.

“Yeah that’s cool. I can be a surprise I’ll pop out of a hat” he said smiling.

“It’s in a month so....”

“Yeah cool!! That’s a great idea. I thought she was nice too” Justin said.

~Maar hoe is het leven in Orlando?~ (= “How’s life in Orlando?”)

~Goed hoor maar ik mis Nederland wel~ (= “It’s good but I do miss The Netherlands”)

~Kom je snel naar Nederland?~ (= “Are you coming over here soon?”)

~Eigenlijk wel. Ik ben van plan om samen met mn vriend eind augustus naar Nederland te komen~ (= “Actually yes, I’m planning on coming to The Netherlands at the end of August with my boyfriend”)

~Ooh leuk. Welke plaats.~ (= “Oh cool which city?”)

~Rotterdam en ik wil mn vriend mn hometown ook nog laten zien~ (= “Rotterdam and I want to show my boyfriend around my hometown”)

~Ooh vet dus je komt ook naar Eindhoven~ (= “Oh cool so you’re also coming to Eindhoven?”)

~Ja dat zijn we wel van plan misschien kunnen we ergens afspreken?~ (= “Yes we are planning on coming, maybe we can meet up somewhere?”)

~Ja cool!!~

“What what what?” Justin asked curiously, seeing the messages pass by but without a clue as what they were saying.

“I said I miss The Netherlands and she asked me when are you going to visit The Netherlands. So I said I was going to be in The Netherlands at the end of August with my boyfriend. She asked me what city.”

“You said Rotterdam and Eindhoven, your hometown” Justin interrupted.

“Good”

“Yeah I know a little bit Dutch” he said proudly.

“So I asked her if she wanted to meet me in Eindhoven and she said alright. Cool huh?”

“Yes very cool”

“Hey we gotta go” Justin said when he looked at the clock.

“Already?”

“Yeah common”

“Ok I’ll just say goodbye”

“Alright”

~Hey Lien ik moet gaan. Ik spreek je snel (soon in the flesh ;)) ~ Chantal typed and when Lien said ~Ok see ya~ she got offline and turned off the computer.

“How was the prom?” he asked interested when they had taken their place on the couch again.

“It was cool” she said with a grin.

“Sorry I couldn’t be there” he apologized, he really felt bad for that and she had been disappointed that he couldn’t come with her but she understood why he couldn’t come. He had been on the other side of the country at that time and he really couldn’t leave.

“That’s ok, I understand besides you would have been mobbed anyway” she said dismissing the issue.

“You didn’t dance with other guys now did you?” he asked seriously and Chantal looked at him, shocked he would ask that. She was scanning his eyes to see if he meant it.

“Kiddin!” he exclaimed innocently with a smile that she bought it. She was never good at taking a joke it reminded him a lot of JC and he laughed at her reaction.

“Jerk” she accused.

“You don’t see me act all jealous after I see you slap some girl’s butt on national television” she shot back, she couldn’t take a joke very well but she always had a killer come back.

“Hey it was choreography!” he defended holding out his hands in front of him.

“Right” she said smiling slapping his hands away and reaching out to pull him close.

“Did I give you my sunglasses?” Justin asked all of a sudden, Chantal looked strangely,

“Why would I have your sunglasses?” she asked, her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“I don’t know, I just lost them and I thought maybe I gave them to you” he explained, Chantal was still confused,

“Check my bag” she offered anyway although she was fairly sure it wasn’t in there. He wouldn’t shut up about those damn sunglasses if she didn’t let him look. He jumped up from the couch and walked towards the hallway where her bag rested under the coat rack. He rummaged through it, he didn’t see his sunglasses but found something that he never wanted to find in his girlfriend’s bag; a business card, Robert Davidson showbiz journalist. “What is this?” he called trying not to jump to conclusions.

“What is what?” Chantal called back, waiting till he was back in sight and she could see what he was talking about.

“This” Justin simply said while holding out the card for her to see.

“Ooh um just a card I got from some journalist. He kept bugging me so I accepted the card so he would leave me alone” she explained without a moments thought, not knowing it wasn’t just as easy for Justin.

“Just a card?” he asked incredulously.

Chantal nodded her head without looking around.

“Are you planning on using it?” he asked her a little suspiciously.

“What?” Chantal asked turning her head swiftly towards him, taken off guard by his question.

“Are you planning on using it?” he repeated his question, his face a mask of suspicion and uncertainty.

“No of course not!” she said a little fiercer than normal while her eyebrows frowned in confusion.

“Then why do you still have it?” he asked all defensive.

“What are you saying? Are you afraid I’m going to call him?” she answered his question with two of her own.

“No I didn’t say that” he denied, the conversation started into an argument.

“But that was what you were thinking!” she accused while getting up from the couch.

“Don’t turn this around on me!” he yelled back.

“Look,” she started taking a breath she didn’t want this to end in a huge fight and it was beginning to look like it so she calmed herself down before slowly continuing, “I just forgot about it, I didn’t…”

“But you kept it!” he interrupted her, not giving her a chance to explain and that made Chantal throw her calmness out the window,

“I don’t have to defend myself here I did nothing wrong” she bit back.

“I think you did” he told her pointedly.

“Accepting a business card is not a crime Justin, I didn’t even accept it he shoved it in my hands” she defended herself again while gesturing wildly.

“That’s not the point!”

“Would you stop being so paranoid? I just forgot I still had it! I’m not going to use it but…. ” A shrill noise coming from Justin’s pants pocket interrupted their conversation.

“Hello?” he snarled annoyed to be interrupted and still pissed for finding the card in his girlfriend’s bag. Chantal turned her head away from him, vaguely hearing his part of the conversation,

“Yeah… uh huh. Right now? But…. Yeah… ok, ok… yes I’m on my way” Chantal looked at him expectantly, still angry but she’d managed to let the anger drain from her body as she’d counted to ten when Justin was on the phone.

“I gotta go” he told her curtly, as she sighed and looked down at the floor while closing her eyes for a brief moment he added, “I’m sorry” Chantal sighed again,

“Fine” she accepted disheartly.

“We’ll talk about this later”

“Whatever” she said, angry he had to go on his break and the fight they were in the middle of when the phone interrupted them didn’t help to improve her mood. It wasn’t his fault he had to leave but at this point she didn’t care.

“I just…” he tried to explain but she cut him off, she didn’t feel like talking to him anymore,

“I know, just go” she said turning away from him. He sighed, his shoulders slumped, he screwed up by flying at her and instead of explaining he had to go which wasn’t really helping his cause. He slowly walked towards the front door, grabbing his jacket and car keys before he slipped out the door without a word.

“Hey Bryant is Chantal there?” Justin asked hopeful, this was the second time he called but she wasn’t there. He’d tried to call his own home but no one was there either. Chantal had left a few moments after he did. He had a feeling she was avoiding him and he couldn’t blame her, he blamed himself too. He was still stuck at the fucking meeting and was extremely pissed mostly at himself for loosing his temper but also that he had to leave on his day off. The last thing he wanted to do was argue on the few days they could spend together but something snapped when he saw the card. He just couldn’t think clear and he was angry at himself for it. He also didn’t want to be here at this meeting but knew Johnny wanted them all to be there and they all reluctantly agreed but that didn’t mean they liked it. He only hoped his absence wouldn’t worsen the situation but the way she was avoiding him didn’t make him feel better. The other end of the line was silent as Bryant looked over his shoulder at his sister, she mouthed no, and Bryant sighed.

“No sorry Justin, she’s not here”

“Ok” he accepted,

“Could you tell her I called? Again” he chuckled but Bryant heard that it wasn’t an earnest chuckle.

“I’ll be here for a while, can you tell her I’ll call as soon as possible”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her” Bryant agreed, not happy with being in between.

“Thanks, bye”

“Bye” Bryant put the phone down and stared at his sister.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing” she denied looking away from his stare.

“Chantal” he warned.

“No leave me alone” she said, usually she’d spill whatever what was wrong when he used that tone but not now and Bryant decided to let it go,

“Fine but better talk to him soon, I’m not your secretary” he said a little angry.

“Bryant?” she whined.

“No Chantal forget it. You can’t keep hiding, now whatever happened talk to him, you can’t keep avoiding him and I won’t cover for you again” he finished.

“Fine” she muttered angrily.

“Jennifer and I are going out, we’ll be back later” he called from the hallway, she didn’t respond. She fell in a kitchen chair and propped her elbows on the table. When the door closed she let her head fall into her hands,

“Damn!” she cursed under her breath while silent tears slid down her face.

“Fuck!” Justin cursed while he slammed his phone down on the table.

“You okay?” Joey asked cautiously while he came into the room. Justin looked up surprised,

“I screwed up, Joe” he said in all honesty. Joey frowned.

“How?” he simply asked, taking a seat beside the younger man.

“I found a card from some journalist in Chantal’s bag and I kinda accused her of some things I shouldn’t have” he admitted.

“Bad?” Joey asked concerned. Justin nodded his head in confirmation,

“Yeah, asked her if she planned on using it… ooh shit” he groaned letting his head fall into his hands, which were propped up on his knees.

“I’m an idiot” he added, without looking up.

“Yeah you are” Joey agreed. Justin’s head snatched up to meet his friend’s eyes,

“Not helping Joe” Joey smiled and clapped him on the back before standing up.

“I know I’m sorry just, you made a mistake just go over there and apologize, if she loves you she’ll forgive you”

Justin nodded determined, “Since when did you became such an expert on love?”

“Since I got passed the second date with Kelly” he winked at him. Justin laughed at Joey’s remark and Joey soon joined him. When their laughter subsided Joey said,

“I actually came looking for you they want to go on with the meeting, come on”

“Yeah k” Justin said as he followed him into the next room.

When her sobs died down she slowly lifted her tired head and wearily looked around the kitchen, she spotted a whisky bottle on the counter and pulled herself out of the chair, using the table to push herself off. She snatched the bottle with both hands and put it to her lips, taking a big swallow. She coughed as the liquid burned its way down her throat but she didn’t take much notice of it. She placed the bottle back to her lips and drank again, drinking away her anger, fear, helplessness and her worries.

“Lianne!” Chantal exclaimed in her drunken state as she discovered her friend on the other side of the door. She threw her arms around her awe struck friend.

“Chantal what the hell happened to you?” she asked as she pried her friend’s arms off of her neck.

“Nothing” she said innocently as she let her in.

“I thought I’d drop by since JC had to run out of our date, knew Justin did the same” Lianne informed her.

“Yup” she nodded like a two year old.

“Lets go out!” she exclaimed all of a sudden, something she never really did, she didn’t really like the clubs and Lianne was surprised to say the least.

“You don’t like clubs,” she informed her friend, “And besides shouldn’t you wait for Justin? He’ll be back later, JC said he’d be this evening”

“So?”

“So… shouldn’t you wait for him?”

“Screw him, he cancelled on me before and I don’t feel like waiting around for him till he finally wants to spend time with me” she paused for a second, “Always saying he can’t meet me because rehearsals run out or they still need to meet with several reporters” she mimicked Justin, reasons he gave her sometimes when he’d call to let her know he couldn’t make it.

“Chantal what did you drink?” Lianne asked concerned looking her friend over.

“Nothing” she denied.

“I don’t believe you” Lianne stated.

“Yeah…. well maybe I had a little bit of water in a glass bottle. Don’t they usually put water in a plastic bottle? What an idiots those Americans at least we get it out of the tap” Chantal rambled.

“You drank whisky?” Lianne asked worried, Chantal never drank, she hated alcohol, in all the years she’d known her she had never been drunk and it worried her to see her this way.

“A smidgen” she said innocently holding her index finger and thumb a few inches apart to visualize her words before she giggled.

“Alright let’s get you to the kitchen” Lianne said while she pulled Chantal with her. Chantal almost fell over and Lianne was just in time to catch her before she hit the floor.

“The room is spinning” she commented while holding her head.

“Alright, come on” Lianne urged her friend while she dragged her with her to the kitchen.

“There you go” she said after 5 minutes when she finally reached the kitchen table and Chantal plumped down in a chair after she bumped into the wall several times on their way to the kitchen. Lianne wondered how the hell she’d gotten to the door. Lianne left Chantal sitting at the kitchen table while she made some coffee. Chantal sat hunched over holding her now pounding head in her hands, her giggling mood suddenly changed when the liquor hid her, hard. Lianne put a cup of coffee in front of her.

“Drink up” she ordered.

“I hate coffee” Chantal whined while she shoved the cup aside.

“Yeah well you hate alcohol too, that didn’t stop you so stop whining and drink up now” Lianne said strictly.

“Fine” she muttered taking a sip.

“When did you become my mother” she asked childishly.

“When you decided to get drunk, drink” she ordered pointing towards the cup of coffee in Chantal’s hands. Chantal eyed her but in her drunken state she could still tell Lianne meant business and was angry with her so she shut up and drank the cup of coffee she made for her. Once she finished it Lianne poured more coffee in her cup, Chantal didn’t say anything just started drinking from the black liquid. Lianne stared at her in silence watching her drink cup after cup, a while later the doorbell rang. Chantal made a move to get up but Lianne cut her off.

“I’ll get that you just finish that coffee” she said sternly before she disappeared to the front door.

“Hey Lianne what are you doing here?” Justin asked shocked when Lianne opened the door instead of Chantal. He’d prepared to apologize but when Lianne opened the door he changed his initial words.

“Picking up the pieces” she stated.

“What do you mean?” he asked confused.

“She… um well maybe she should tell you this herself but she was drunk when I got here, really drunk” she informed him, she didn’t want to tell him everything, she wanted to leave that up to Chantal, she didn’t know how much Chantal wanted him to know so she just told him the basics, leaving the details to Chantal.

“Drunk?” Justin asked again thinking he’d heard her wrong. Chantal didn’t get drunk, why would she be drunk he wondered.

“Why?”

“I don’t know why exactly but when I got here she was out of it” Lianne lied, again not wanting to tell Justin too much.

“Where is she?” he asked concerned.

“Kitchen” she responded while Justin took a step forward to rush to the kitchen. Lianne stopped him, “I don’t know if she wants to see you right now, Justin”

“I would like to see her” he said concerned. She sighed,

“Alright” Lianne agreed knowing she couldn’t make this decision for her. If Chantal didn’t want to see him she would sent him away but she didn’t think she would so she opened the door a little further allowing Justin to step inside.

“Chantal someone is here to see you” Lianne called before she went into the kitchen, surprised when she didn’t find Chantal where she’d left her.

“Where did she go?” she wondered out loud.

“Chantal?” she called while she looked around.

No answer.

“Chantal!!” she yelled louder this time and then she heard gagging sounds coming from the bath room in the hallway. Lianne rushed towards it and pulled the door open quickly, finding Chantal hunched over the toilet bowl, puking the toxic alcohol out of her body. Lianne crouched down next to her rubbing her back comfortingly while Justin helplessly stood behind them.

“Justin could you get a glass of water?” Lianne asked, focusing her attention on Justin but continuing with rubbing Chantal’s back. Justin nodded almost unnoticeable and disappeared to the kitchen. When he returned moments later Chantal was sitting up with her back against the wall next to the toilet bowl. Justin handed her the glass of water and this was the first time she noticed he was there and she felt very ashamed he witnessed this.

“Thanks” she mumbled ducking her head so he wouldn’t see how ashamed she felt. She took a few sips and when her stomach calmed down she slowly stood up with Lianne supporting her. She brought her to the living room and sat her down on the couch.

“Do you need anything else?” she asked concerned.

Chantal shook her head no, “Thanks” she mumbled but she didn’t look at her.

“You’re welcome,” she said gently.

“I’m going to Josh, call me if you need anything” she said looking down at Chantal who crawled into a ball in the corner of the couch. She nodded and smiled at her best friend before she left the room. The front door closed behind her and Chantal kept her eyes on the carpet not wanting to look at Justin.

She felt the couch dip when Justin sat down next to her. He looked her over, she looked very pale and her eyes were blood shot.

“Sweetie?” he addressed her.

“What happened?” he asked gently reaching out to touch her cheek, knowing this wasn’t the best time to start apologizing for his earlier behavior. He needed to know why exactly she decided that drinking would help. Chantal slowly looked up to meet his very concerned eyes.

“I um… I don’t know” she croaked, her voice hoarse from throwing up. He leaned over and pulled her up, hugged her closely.

“I’m sorry” she whispered into his ear holding onto him for dear life.

“What happened?” he asked again while pulling back holding her hands in his.

“I um just felt miserable after our fight…” she started, seeing Justin adverting his eyes.

“I was angry you left me I was angry that you had to leave when you were off, I just…” she sighed.

“Angry and disappointed and I wanted to forget it” she explained.

“I was just sitting at the kitchen table when I saw the bottle and it seemed like the best solution at the time” she shrugged ashamed.

“I’m sorry” Justin apologized, for leaving her. He was angry at himself he wasn’t there to be with her, that he couldn’t stop her from drinking because he was at that stupid meeting, but he was here now and he would help her as much as he could.

“I’m sorry” he apologized again taking her into his arms, rocking her back and forth, kissing the top of her head not caring she smelt like alcohol, coffee and vomit all at once.

“I’m sorry about this afternoon” he apologized again this time for a different issue as he pulled away slightly.

“Can we talk about it tomorrow, I can’t think about that now, please” she asked, she didn’t want to think about it anymore, at least not now.

“Ok” he smiled.

“Do you want to hang here for a while?” he asked considerate, trying to make amends for everything that had happened today. She slowly nodded her head, wincing when pain shot through her skull. Justin kissed her head,

“You take a nice hot shower and I’ll get some snacks and stuff then we can hang out the rest of the evening” he suggested.

“No interruptions?” she asked while she sat up a little.

“I promise” he said smiling down at her.

“That would be great” she said snuggling against his chest once more before she sat up and wobbly walked towards the stairs. Justin watched her go and smiled but he was angry with himself, he would make it up to her he promised himself and before he headed towards the kitchen he turned his cell phone off making sure nobody could interrupt them.

“I’m sorry” he said as he kissed her awake, straddling her in his arms. She slowly opened her eyes and winced at the bright light, she quickly closed her eyes again to keep the bright light from attacking her head. She groaned and rolled over into his embrace, he surveyed her tightly closed eyes and chuckled.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me” she warned, her eyes still closed.

“Sorry” he said, hoping the smile that was still on his face wouldn’t come through in his voice.

“I can still hear you smile you know” she informed him and his smile grew wider, the tense situation of the day before was gone and Justin felt relieved. He knew he still had to apologize and explain why he’d reacted the way he did but he was glad she wasn’t distant of him, that she allowed him to hold her.

“Open your eyes sweetie” Justin ordered gently.

“No,” she told him stubbornly.

“Too bright” she whined.

“I’ll get you some coffee and aspirin” he informed her before he released his hold on her and scooted off the bed. He walked into the kitchen finding it completely abandoned and he felt relieved somehow. Maybe he was afraid Bryant would lunge at him not to mention her father, he chuckled slightly as he thought about the first time they’d met while he started making coffee. Opening one cabinet after another till he found what he’d been looking for. When he gathered the items he’d collected he walked back towards Chantal’s bedroom where they’d ended up after their relaxing night.

“Here drink this” he said to her after she swallowed the small tablets against the pounding headache. She wearily glanced at the muck of coffee and scrunched up her nose,

“I hate coffee” she muttered but taking it anyway, she took small sips as Justin watched her, brushing the hair out of her face lovingly.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized when they were both lying on their sides, facing each other on the bed an hour later. They’d been silent for a while, waiting till Chantal’s headache subsided somewhat till they decided it was time to talk about the argument they’d had the day before.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you and listen to you. I’m an idiot I just read too much into it”

“Why did you think I’d do something like that?” she asked quietly because her head still protested when she spoke loudly.

“Because it happened to me before; losing a girlfriend to those dirt diggers, they bribed her into spilling some stuff about me and I didn’t want you to fall for them…. I didn’t want to loose you” She smiled slightly, now she understood.

“I thought you didn’t trust me” she admitted.

“I do, I just don’t trust them, I’m sorry” he apologized again. She leaned in and gave him a reassuring kiss,

“I know, just don’t worry ok? I won’t fall for that, I know how they work, Stephanie taught me that” she said chuckling slightly.

“Oh don’t mention her please” he teased smiling, her smile grew wider and he drew her into another kiss.

“Promise” she mumbled against his lips.

“Bryant we’re leaving!” Chantal called when they stood at the front door. Bryant walked into the hallway and nodded.

“K, how’s your hangover” he asked playfully.

“Shut up” she dismissed while giving her brother a playful punch.

“Take care alright” he said serious again.

“Man I’ll be back in two days” she said, he made it sound like she’d be gone for months. He laughed.

“I know, have fun”

“Thanks, bye” she said quickly kissing his cheek as a way to say thanks, he really was always there for her she thought as she walked with Justin to her car. They’d decided to go back to his house since it was quieter, less people and that meant privacy. Just the two of them and that was what they needed now before Justin had to leave again.

“You’re staying here right?” he asked that night, their last day together.

“If you want me to” she said teasingly. Justin held her closer as response,

“You want to stay with me or should I get the guest room ready?” he asked considerate.

“I want to stay with you” she replied before leaning in for a kiss, that’s all they had done till now but they both felt that they were not ready for something more. They’d talked about it a few times and came to the conclusion that they simply weren’t ready for that step. They still had so much time, they were both so young; why rush it? So that night when they slipped into bed together Justin’s arms went around Chantal’s body, he held her close as they lay face to face. Their noses touching, feeling the warmth of each other’s bodies, savoring the scent, they shared a few short kisses before drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms.

When Chantal opened her eyes the next morning, she looked at the peaceful sleeping young man still holding her in his arms. She let her eyes travel over his face and wished she could still time, stay like this forever; together in a sweet embrace, his breath on her face and feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath he took. The clock read 6.30am and she couldn’t help but wonder why in the world she was awake at this time of day, she didn’t care really. Seeing the red digits staring at her only made her realize Justin would have to leave her again in just 2 hours, she sighed heavily stroking the messy curls with her right hand as she kept her eyes on the beautiful face.

“Hey” a sleepy voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Good morning” she replied smiling.

“Why are you up so early?” he asked rubbing his eyes.

“Couldn’t sleep anymore” she shrugged, still playing with his hair. He pulled her closer, she turned around spooning into him as he buried his head in her neck.

“I’ll miss you” she whispered, leaning into him, stroking his hands resting on her stomach.

“I’ll miss you too but it’s only for a couple of weeks and then we’ll be going to the Netherlands together” he reminded her knowing that would cheer her up and it did, a smile spread across her face,

“Yeah” she croaked, “Can’t wait” He could hear the sadness in her voice and held on tighter, he knew that the one thing that would really make her feel better was something that he couldn’t give her and that was time. Because he simply didn’t have it, he needed to go back to the guys, rehearse, do promo stuff etcetera so he hoped that by taking her to her home country would make up for the lost time, he knew it helped. It didn’t make everything better but it would help.

“I gotta get dressed” he said in an apologetic tone. She nodded against his chest and felt the arms around her pull back. She rolled over onto her back watching Justin as he sat on the edge of the bed and slowly stood, stretching his long arms above his head before shuffling towards the bathroom. She heard the water running and curled up on her side once again. She listened to him softly singing in the shower, the water splashing against the bathroom tiles. Ten minutes later he reappeared and she once again followed him with her eyes.

“Please stay” she whispered barely audible.

“Oh baby, you know I can’t” he said gently while stilling his movements; holding the shirt, he was about the pull over his head, up on chest height.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she said shutting her eyes for a brief moment.

“You can always try right?” she asked with a sad smile, he mirrored the same smile before he pulled the shirt over his head. Walking into the closet, silently cursing and swallowing hard a couple of times, pushing the lump that formed in his throat back down. He took a few moments to gain his control and quickly pulled on his pants before walking out into the bedroom again, Chantal was sitting on the edge of the bed reaching for her robe before standing up and pulling it on. He gave her a quick kiss before he took her hand in his, they walked downstairs together, getting some breakfast. Chantal tried to enjoy every minute of it but her mind kept getting ahead on her to the time they’d have to say goodbye again and that time came all too close.

Justin was all set to go, he’d loaded his stuff in the car earlier and now they were standing in the door opening holding onto each other tightly.

“Take care of yourself” she said softly, sniffling.

“You too” he said kissing her cheek. They pulled away slowly sharing a long kiss followed by a few short ones, then he pulled away for good. Chantal angrily wiped the tears away; stop being a baby she scolded, its not like he’s leaving for ever!

But then why did it feel like he was?

She’d been without him for a month before but him leaving again just sucked and she whished once again they could lock themselves up in the bedroom and never come out, she made a mental note not to think about that because it made the reality even worse. As she waved him off she told herself she would see him again soon and that they would be enjoying themselves in her small country. She closed the door when he was out of sight and went upstairs to get dressed and pack her stuff. Once she got everything she looked around the bedroom, her gaze fell on the bed, where they’d been lying together just a few hours before. A small smile came to her face at the memory of his sleeping form lying only inches from her, she kept that image in her mind as she slowly descended the stairs and left the house of her love.