The entire room froze, and all Justin could feel was a blinding flash of pain. He reached out to his side in an attempt to steady himself, but it was useless. He fell to the floor, landing on his elbow with a hard thud. His broken leg stuck out to the side, as it throbbed and stabbed underneath the cast.
Justin lay on the floor, his eyes clenched shut as he breathed deeply in a feeble attempt to subside the pain. Moving onto his elbows, his lower body stay on its side as he slowly opened his eyes to look at the floor. He tired to take a few deep breaths, but this only caused his chest to hurt. If he took shallow breaths, he could feel the pain in his leg intensify. If he took deep breaths, his healing ribs would protest. No matter what he did, it would hurt.
He heard no more music, and no more voices around him. All he heard was silence, and he knew without having to look up that everyone was staring at him. Wondering if he was alright, and feeling sorry for him for being where he was.
And that feeling of pity was worse than the pain in his leg.
He focused on his breathing, taking just enough air in to steady the pain, without causing discomfort in his chest. After a few agonizing moments, he rolled over onto his side, staring up at the concerned faces around him.
Blinking back a few tears, Justin propped himself up on his elbow and began to lift himself up.
"God, dude, I'm so sorry." Chris apologized, shaking his head feverishly. "I'm so, so, so sorry."
"Its okay, Chris." Justin said quietly. "It was just an accident."
"Here," Chris bent down to help Justin up by taking his elbow in his hand. "Let me help you."
"Its okay, I got it." Justin said as he pushed himself onto his one good knee.
"No, let me help." Chris protested as he began to pulled Justin up.
"I said I got it!" Justin snapped, turning to give Chris a look of warning. Chris let go immediately, stepping back out of Justins way. Justin looked back down to the floor, before pushing himself back up to his feet unsteadily. Grabbing a hold of the mantle, he steadied himself before taking the crutches from JC, who had picked them up off the floor after Justins fall. Placing them under his arms, Justin turned slightly to face the room, hopping uncomfortably on his good leg.
The pain in his broken leg was not so blinding now. It was a constant throbbing, but the stabbing sensations had passed. His toes were a little numb, but he had been having that feeling on and off for the last week, since he started using the crutches. The doctor said because he was moving around more, the circulation to his broken leg would be improving. He may have some moments of numbness, but that it was nothing to worry about.
Looking up, Justin noticed a change in the faces of his friends and family. It was no longer pity that showed in their eyes. It was shock. Justin had snapped at Chris, who was only trying to help him. Turning to look at Chris, Justins heart broke. Here was one of his best friends, his mouth turned into a solid frown as he stared at the floor nervously. His hands fumbled with each other uncomfortably. Justin shook his head at himself.
"Chris, man, I'm sorry." he apologized. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."
Looking up to Justin, Chris gave him a weak smile. "Its okay. I just wanted to help."
"I know." Justin gave Chris a reassuring smile before hopping on his foot a few times to prepare for the trek across the room to a chair. As he headed for the couch, everyone backed up out of his way. It almost resembled the parting of the sea the way everyone split apart to allow Justin through.
Sitting back onto the couch, Justin placed the crutches on the floor at his feet. He gently lifted his broken leg to set it on the table in front of him, the hard cast making a thunk sound as it hit to surface of the table. Leaning back, Justin leaned his head against the back of the couch, rubbing his hands over his face.
Looking back at his friends, Justin noticed that everyone was still standing in the same place they had been moments before. They all continued to stare at him with uncertainty
"I'm okay, you guys." Justin said, giving them a small smile. "I'm gonna fall down a hell of a lot more than that over the next few weeks, so you better just get used to it." he joked.
Everyone smiled slightly, before Lance spoke up. "Okay, lets get this party back on track!" Walking over to the stereo, Lance turned the volume back up, which JC had turned down when Justin had fallen. Everyone slowly began to relax, chatting and joking with each other again.
Walking up to sit beside Justin, Joey smiled at him. "Dude."
"Yeah?"
"You popped a boob." Joey grinned as he looked down at Justins shirt.
Justin looked down at his chest and noticed that Joey was right. When he had fallen, he must have burst one of his balloon-boobs, because now he only had one, which was sticking up by his shoulder. He hadn't even realized that he burst one.
"Here." Joey said, handing Justin another balloon. "Heres a new boob."
"Thanks, man." Justin smiled as he took the balloon and replaced his broken boob. As he lifted the bottom of his shirt, his broken boob fell out onto his lap. He laughed as he positioned his new boob before throwing the remains of his old one at Joey.
"Dude, don't throw your tit at me!" Joey whined, tossing the broken balloon back at Justin.
The two continued to throw the balloon back and forth for a few moments, before settling down to look back out at the crowd. Everyone had returned to their happy conversations, chatting away with each other. Joey smiled as he looked over at Lois, who was rambling on about something, her arms flailing about dramatically as she spoke. Justin followed the direction of Joeys eyes and grinned when he noticed who he was staring at.
"So, you and Lois, huh?" Justin asked, reaching his arms out to his side on the back of the couch.
"Yeah" Joey admitted. "We've always kinda hung out and stuff, and always told each other stuff. Like when something was bothering us, we were like each others confidants or whatever. And when you had your," Joey stopped to look at Justin before continuing. "accident." Joey cleared his throat uncomfortably at the mention of the accident. "We just really turned to each other. I don't really know how it happened, man, but it did. I mean, Ive always adored her, but she was always just Lois. The pain in my ass." Joey joked. "But now, she's Lois. The pain in my ass that doesn't really feel like such a pain in my ass."
Justin smiled at Joey, who was looking back out at Lois across the room. She stopped rambling long enough to turn and notice him staring at her. This must have made her uncomfortable, because she made a face at him before continuing her conversation.
"Yeah, I know what you mean about her being a pain in the ass, man." Justin said. "But at least she's a good kind of pain in the ass." Lois noticed Justin was now staring at her also, and she flipped them the finger jokingly before resuming her rambling. "Most of the time." Justin corrected.
A familiar song came on the radio, and Lois jumped up and down excitedly. Running over to JC, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the middle of the living room. She instantly began to dance to the song, while JC stood staring at her in shock.
"Oh my God!" Joey said quietly. "Please tell me that she's not really dancing to the Macarena."
"Sorry, dude." Justin smiled as Lois thrust her hips at JC. "Whoa, she just thrusteded herself at JC!"
JC laughed at her, as she turned him away from her and placed her hands on his hips. She swayed him to the music, singing happily as she danced. When the time came for the small thrust before changing directions, Lois slapped JC on the ass, this causing a jut forward in his hips.
Joeys eyes shot from his head at her bold move, before he stood from the couch to join them.
Taking Lois by the hips, he smiled down at her. "Watch where you put those hands, Lois." he teased.
"Aw, com'on Joey. JC doesn't even have an ass to smack, so its not like I'm slap cheatin' or anything." she smiled up at him.
"Yeah, man." JC called from behind her. "Shes just copin' a feel."
Turning to give JC a look, Lois scowled. "No, my dear. This would be me coping a feel." she said as she reached around him with both hands, and firmly planted them on either butt cheek before squeezing as hard as she could. JC yelled out, his face scrunching in discomfort as she tweaked his ass. He shot his hips forward in an attempt to get away from her hands, but she only followed him until his was pressed right up against her. JC reached around to remove her hands, as he whined. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW! Lois!"
Giving him one last hard tweaking for good measure, she release his butt before turning to wrap her arms around Joeys neck. "See, I'm a good girl. I could have grabbed the front." she smiled.
JC pouted behind her, rubbing his butt with his hand. Dropping his jaw, he whined a little before walking away. As he tried to leave the room, Chris grabbed his ass. "Dude!" JC yelled, jumping away from Chris. "What the hell are you doing!"
"Well, Lois got to touch." he joked. "And might I add that you have a very firm buttocks."
JC gave him a strange look before backing out of the room cautiously.
Justin had been watching the spectacle from his seat on the couch, and had just about died laughing when Lois had a hold of JCs butt. When Chris grabbed him, Justin thought for sure that he was going to pee in his pants.
The laughing finally started to hurt his chest, so he had to control himself and settle down. He hated the fact that he couldn't get up and fool around with everyone, or even laugh along with the jokes the way he normally would. He hated that he had to sit here and watch everyone have fun.
Turning to face the window, Justin smiled as he noticed Ryan dancing with Lance. They were laughing about something as they swayed to a slow song that had replaced the Macarena. Ryans arms were around Lances shoulders, while Lance had his arms around her waist. Normally, Justin wouldn't like the idea of any other man touching his woman, but he knew that he didn't have to worry about the guys. They were like brothers to her, and he didn't have to worry about anything coming between them.
Looking over at Justin, Ryan smiled when she noticed him staring at her. She gave him a small wave, which he returned. Lance looked over and waved back at Justin, who laughed at returned yet another wave. Chris noticed Lances wave, and waved back at him enthusiastically before coming up to them.
Justin laughed out loud when he saw Lance mouth the words 'I wasn't waving at you' to Chris, who then punched Lance in the fake boob before walking away to sit with Justin.
Throwing himself back into the couch comfortably, Chris sighed loudly as he stretched his arms out on the back of the couch. "Ya know," he said, looking down at his chest. "I don't know how women do it."
"Do what?" Justin asked, looking over at Chris.
"Keep these things in place. Ive had them around my back, up at my ears, and falling out the bottom of my shirt all night!" Chris poked a boob before looking over at Justin seriously. "You think I need a bra?"
Justin could only stare at his friend in amazement. How the hell Chris came up with some of the stuff he did was puzzling to Justin, but the fact that he actually said most of it out loud made him want to scream.
When Justin didn't answer, Chris shrugged before looking back out at the crowd. "So, how ya feelin'?"
"Okay." Justin replied as he adjusted his position on the couch. "I hate the fact that I have to sit here like a gimp, but other than that I'm doing good."
"You'll be back on your feet in no time, and you'll be wishing you were all jacked up again when Wade gets us back at rehearsals." Chris commented with a nod.
"So what have I missed. You know, career wise?" Justin asked.
"Not much. The tour has been pushed back at least two months so you have time to get better. Johnny is thinking about pushing it back another month or so just to be safe, and since nothing has been actually booked or released to the media, there is no problem with pushing it back." Chris scratched his chin before continuing. "There hasn't been too much drama around you're accident since Johnny released a statement right away. And you should see all the cards and stuff that people have sent for ya, man. Its like a madhouse with all the letters and stuff."
Justin smiled as he thought of all the fans taking the time to send him get well cards. They always supported them in everything they did, so it was no surprise that they would want to show their love when Justin needed it the most.
"But other than that, nothing much has been going on. We're just getting a nice long vacation." Chris said with a yawn.
Justin leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. It may be a vacation for the rest of the guys, but for him it was going to be the hardest experience of his life.
The party died down by midnight, and everyone said their goodbyes and well wishes to Justin before heading home. JC said he would stop by in the morning to check in, and Chris promised to bring over a 'Moms House Survival Kit' sometime in the afternoon.
Ryan was about to head home, when Justin stopped her. "You're not going." he said affirmatively.
"Oh, I'm not?" she smiled back at him.
"Nope. You're staying here with me tonight." he answered, giving her a sly smile.
Ryan didn't bother to argue. Like she would have to be persuaded into staying with Justin? Whatever.
After helping Lynn clean up the mess that had been made, she said goodnight to her.
"'Night, sweetie." Lynn said as she kissed Ryan on the cheek. "You need me to help you get that one in bed?" she asked, motioning to Justin with a tilt of her head.
Justin sat on the couch, trying desperately to reach an itchy spot under his cast by shoving a pen down his leg. He must have reached the spot, because his face softened to a content smile.
"No, I think I can handle him." Ryan smiled as she watched Justin.
"Okay, just yell if you need me. I set up the guest room next to Justins for you." Lynn said as she laughed at her son.
"Thanks Mama Lynn." Ryan smiled.
Walking over to Justin, Lynn leaned down to hug him. "Goodnight baby."
"Night Mommy." he said in a tiny voice.
Kissing his mother on the cheek, Justin grinned up at her adorably as she left the room and headed upstairs.
Hearing Lynns bedroom door close, Ryan turned to Justin. "So, you ready to go upstairs?"
"I thought you'd never ask." he grinned seductively as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"I don't think so, Timberlake." she said as she walked up to him. "Com'on, lets get you to bed."
"Do I get a sponge bath, too?" he asked and he pushed himself up from the couch.
"Maybe tomorrow." she joked.
Justin hobbled to the foot of the stairs, before hopping on one foot to steady himself.
"How do you want to do this?" Ryan asked as she tried to figure out a way to get Justin up the stairs.
"No problem." he said. Handing her the crutches, Justin gripped the banister tightly. Hopping a few times, he began to bounce up the stairs on his one foot. Ryan was amazed to see him make it half way up before he had to stop for a break. He only stopped for a moment before hopping up the rest of the way. Reaching the top, he turned and smiled down at her proudly.
"I'm impressed." she admitted as she jogged up the stairs towards him, the crutches under her arm.
"I'm a man of many talents." he nodded.
After leaving Justin in his bathroom to change, Ryan ran downstairs and returned with his medication and a bottle of water incase he needed it. By the time she had reached his room again, he was already in bed.
"Heres your pills and a bottle of water incase you need them, okay." she said as she left them on his night stand.
"Yup." he yawned.
Ryan leaned down at kissed him gently before running a hand through his curls. "Goodnight, Justin."
"You're not going to stay here with me?" he whined, his bottom lip sticking out his a pout.
"No, I don't think its right to stay here in your mothers house, okay." she smiled, knowing fully that Lynn wouldn't really care if they did stay together.
"Fine." Justin pouted a moment longer before sticking his lips out for another kiss.
Ryan laughed before leaning down to kiss him again.
Standing up again, Ryan smiled at him before leaving the room.
Laying in the dark room, Justin sighed. He could feel a tightening in his chest, and had to take several deep breaths to release the tension. Repositioning his broken leg above the covers, he squirmed until he found a comfortable spot.
Closing his eyes, Justin relaxed into the comfort of his old bed as he drifted off into the first peaceful sleep he had had in the last few weeks.
