There was a defining silence on the other end of the phone. “Timberlake? What’s going on?”

“Well, I think I kinda figured it out. Are you sitting down?”

Nick plopped himself on the bed. “Yup. Now, explain to me how I got stuck in your body.”

Justin sighed. “OK, well, did you read that letter yesterday?”

“Which letter?”

“The one that came with the necklace. That cool looking silver medallion…it was in the back pocket of your pants.” Justin hoped that Nick’s answer would confirm what he believed to be true.

“Oh, that letter! Yeah I got it, I read it. What does that that have to do with anything?” Nick was perplexed; he still hadn’t put two and two together.

Justin rolled his eyes at Nick’s density. “I was the one who got the other one. And, well, the letter said that we would be granted one wish. And from the looks of things, I wished to be you and you wished to be me.”

Nick still didn’t get it. “Wait, I don’t understand. Why did you want to be me?”

He paused for a moment, formulating his answer. “I dunno, you seem to have it all together, but that’s not really the point anymore. We have to figure out how to switch back Nick. And we have to help each other make the best of it until we can.” Justin sat quietly thinking, grasping for some sort of plan of action for this awkward situation.

Nick did the same on the other line, but he was still baffled that Justin Timberlake had wanted out of his life as much as Nick had wanted out of his own. The two didn’t speak for nearly 10 minutes, and the silence became unbearable for Nick. “So J, you taking care of my body over there?” he asked, breaking into Justin’s reverie.

Justin laughed. “Yup, I guess so. I even bathed today, something you probably wouldn’t have done to it for another couple of weeks.” They both laughed. “What about you Nick? You watching out for my person?”

Nick smiled widely. “I don’t have to. Leigh is doing a damn good job of it!”

Justin’s eyes widened. Even though he had kissed Alicia, the thought of Nick and Leigh together gave him a strange feeling inside. Although, it wasn’t quite jealousy, more like a protective nature. “You slept with her?” he asked incredulously.

“Um, yeah…”

“How could you do something like that Nick? You’ve been in my body all of 5 hours and you are boning my girl?” Justin’s voice was a little harsher than he had intended.

Nick wasn’t quite sure what to say, but he blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Justin what was I supposed to do? She practically jumped me, was I supposed to push her away and say ‘I know I am supposed to be your boyfriend, but actually, hi I’m Nick Carter in his body. He’s in mine at the moment, so I really can’t have sex with you, sorry’?”

“Yes!” After a moment though, Justin laughed slightly. “Actually Nick, I understand. There isn’t really anything you could have done, knowing Leigh. I guess this just means I get to have a little more fun with your girlfriend. I mean, I kissed her, but…”

“Wait just a second there Timberlake. My girlfriend?”

“Uh yeah, your girlfriend…” Justin was a little confused by Nick’s question.

Nick was equally lost. “Dude, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Of course you have a girlfriend Carter…long smooth legs, perfect body, big green eyes, brown hair, goes by the name Alicia? Geez man, I know Leigh’s good, but she couldn’t make you forget about someone like Al.” Justin was staring off at the wall dreamily, remembering his little encounter with the girl only minutes before.

Nick was shocked to say the least. “Justin, you kissed Al? In my body? Oh damn…”

“What? What did I do?”

“Justin, Al is my best friend, NOT my girlfriend, although she kinda wishes she was. I’m just…I don’t think about her like that, she’s like a sister to me. Now she’s gotta be all confused.” Nick put his head in his hands, holding the cell in the crook of his neck.

Justin was shocked. He had just assumed… “No wonder she looked at me weird!” Things were making a bit more sense now. Although one thing still bothered him. “Carter, how could you not see Alicia like that? Are you blind? Or gay?”

“Not funny Justin. And what the hell are you talking about? Here you are acting all gaga over my best friend, when you’ve got what has to be the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen at your beck and call.” Nick’s voice had become a bit irate, and he was practically shouting.

“Nick, chill, it was a joke. We can be fighting right now, OK? We need each other, as much as we would love to deny it, and we will never make it if we don’t help.”

Nick was still peeved by the gay comment, but he saw Justin’s point. “You’re right, sorry. OK, here’s some stuff you’ll need to know so you won’t make a mistake like that again. Got a pen?”

Justin picked up a hotel pen and pad off the dresser and poised himself to write. “You do realize that you got the better end of the deal in the girl situation, right Carter?”

Nick smiled. “Boy, do I ever!”

It took Nick about 3 hours to give Justin the lowdown on his life; he told him everything he would need to know for interviews, conversations with the other Boys, and downtime with Al. Justin knew what to say to Nick’s parents and siblings when they called, and he knew what days Nick was supposed to phone home. He even knew what Nick orders at McDonalds. The hotel pad had become Justin’s Bible for the next— well, however long it took to figure this whole mess out. But now it was Justin’s turn.

“OK, Nick, you ready?” Nick sighed, knowing this would take a while. And Justin began.

“OK, so we are in LA for 3 more days and then we go to New York, where we have a show and then an after party everyday for 4 days.” Justin said about 20 minutes later.

Nick’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, you’re on tour?”

“Uh, yeah…oh shit, you don’t know the songs, do you?”

“Well, not all of them, but its not the songs I’m worried about Justin…how the hell am I gonna learn all that choreography in 3 days?”

Justin was stumped. That would be a definite challenge, probably the hardest Nick would face in his time in Justin’s body. But, without help, he wouldn’t make it at all. There was only one solution. And it too would be pretty difficult for Nick. “You have to tell Leigh.”

“Wait a second, I think I heard you wrong, I have to do what?”

“You have to tell Leigh what’s going on. She’s a dancer, and she knows all of our moves, she can help you. But, she will never believe that I just forgot dances I know off the back of my hand. So you have to tell her,” Justin repeated slowly.

Nick sighed. “I was afraid you said that. How am I supposed to tell Leigh?”

“Tell me what?” Leigh asked as she stuck her head through the door.

Justin heard this too. “Looks like you are about to find out. I will call you back in an hour or so, and we can pick up where we left off.”

“OK, Just—Nick, talk to you later.”

“Bye Nick. Be good to her, OK? She deserves it.”

“Ditto to you. Now who got the short end of the stick?”

Justin laughed and hung up the phone.

Nick did the same minus the laughing, as he looked straight into Leigh’s expectant eyes