Justin stretched his arms over his head, a soft groan escaping his lips as his back flexed and the tension in his shoulders eased. Making a few more grunting noises for good measure, he returned his elbows to the desk in front of him, resting his chin on his hand.
It was Monday morning. The dinner the night before at his mothers house had been relaxing, much more so than he thought it would be. Just being in his mothers home, having her near, was comforting to him beyond belief. Sitting on the couch in her living room while she and Erin talked, he felt the strange urge to never leave. He wished he could be seven years old again, and be able to relish in the fact that his mother was there to take care of all his problems. That he didn't have to worry about anything, because she was there.
He had made sure to push all thoughts of Trystan to the back of his mind during his dinner at his mothers. He knew how well Erin could tell when something was wrong with him, but she had nothing on his mother. It was as if she could read his mind, even when he wasn't thinking of anything at all. Luckily, she hadn't seemed to sense that anything was wrong with him, and no questions were asked.
Erin decided to stay at her apartment that night, and Justin dropped her off on his way home. They had spent almost every day together since he had ended the tour, and they decided to take a few days to themselves. No matter how much they loved each other, they still agreed that they needed their time apart.
This was a good thing, for the moment anyway. This was going to give Justin the freedom and chance to try and work out his Trystan problem without the worry of Erin walking in or finding something that she shouldn't.
He had called Johnny Wright, his manager, already that morning, asking him if there was any list of the fans who attended the meet and greet that last day in Orlando. He could tell that Johnny was curious as to why he wanted such information, but luckily he didn't ask any questions. He said he would look into it, and if there was such a list, that he would fax it to Justin by that afternoon.
Justin had wondered what kind of information he could find out about Trystan over the Internet. He knew his fans could find out a lot about him; more than he thought possible, but what kind of things could he find out about a girl he didn't even know. All he had to go on was her name, and he wasn't sure how much that would help.
But he had no other options. He wanted to find out as much about Trystan as he could, even if only for his own sanity. He wanted to know if she was capable of anything that he should be wary of.
He hoped that her name, as well as the name of her friend, were on the list from the meet and greet. If he could somehow get in touch with Madison, and convince her to talk with him, then maybe he would be able to get a better grasp on what he was dealing with. Because as of right then, he felt like he was walking in the dark. He didn't know what she was capable of, what she was thinking, or what she had planned.
Madison was his best shot at getting inside Trystans head, but he knew the chances that she would actually talk to him, and give him the information he needed, were slim. She was the girls friend, and he was going to ask her to give him personal information that he may be forced to use with the police to keep her away from him? He knew that it was a long shot, but he didn't have any other options at the moment.
So he was sitting in front of his computer, trying his best to think of a way to find out more about a girl he didn't know.
He had heard that you could find almost anything online, and he was going to put that to the test.
Cracking his knuckles, he connected to the Internet and pulled up a search page.
"Well," he said quietly to himself. "May as well start with the simple stuff."
Looking down at the keyboard in front of him, he typed in her name.
Trystan Michaels.
Hitting the search button on the screen, Justin waiting impatiently as the results pulled up in front of him.
Anything with her name was brought up in the search. There were more than twenty five thousand results.
He scanned over the first page of results, but nothing seemed to look like it would be helpful at all.
"Ugh," he groaned. "This isn't going to work."
Bringing back the start page, Justin brought his hands to his face. Clasping his hands together, he pressed them to his lips, his eyes closing as he thought.
If he just knew where to start. If he had some sort of idea of what kind of information to look for, maybe the job wouldn't look so endless.
Justins eyes burned as he continued to stare at the screen in front of him. His back ached, his head pounding.
He had been sitting in front of his computer for the last four hours, and was still searching.
After the first hour, he had been able to track down her address and phone number back in New York. Lucky for him, her name was easy to locate the accurate information.
But even after all this time, that was the only information he had been able to locate. Nothing else came up in any search he performed, and it was beginning to look hopeless.
He had tried doing a criminal search, but nothing came up. He breathed a sigh of relief for that, at least now being able to relax in the knowledge that she didn't have a criminal record. Or at least, not yet.
He searched a few local newspaper sites, just checking to see if anything with her name would be listed as having an article featured on her at some point over the last few years. Nothing came up.
Leaning back in his chair, Justin closed his eyes as he rested his head on the back of the seat. He kept telling himself over and over that there was nothing else to look for; that he wasn't going to find anything more. But for some reason he couldn't seem to tear himself away. He just knew that something had to be there. Something that would help him in some way.
Sighing loudly, he turned his head to the side, his blue eyes surveying the room around him.
It was a small room in the basement of his house. When he first moved in, he had used it as a storage room. But as time went on, he had decided to convert it into a small office. Just a place where he could go and work if he needed to.
A small couch sat in the far corner of the room, an end table at its side with a small table in front. A phone sat on the table, with another small table in the other corner of the room, holding a fax machine. Shelves lined the opposite wall, as books and papers scattered their surfaces. The desk in which Justin sat at was the main object in the room. His computer was the only item on the desk, with the exception of some paper and pens scattered around him.
Erin usually spent more time in the office than he did. She found it was a nice escape and that it was easier for her to work down in the quiet of the basement rather than sitting upstairs with him.
Suddenly, the phone began to scream at his side. Raising his head quickly, Justin was startled by the noise. Taking a deep breath, he broke himself from the trance he had been in for the last few hours and slowly stood up from his desk.
His legs were stiff, his back sore from being in the same spot for such a long period of time. His body was used to constant motion, so this sitting in front of a computer for endless hours wasn't something he was used to at all.
Sitting on the small couch in the corner of his office, Justin reached out and removed the cordless phone from its stand.
"Hello?" he called through the phone, his voice raspy and dry.
"Hey," Landon replied. "What's with you? You sound like shit?"
Justin grinned. "Thanks man."
"No problem."
"Nothings wrong. My throat is probably just a little dry." Justin explained as he propped his feet up on the table in front of the couch.
"Oh." Landon said quietly. "So, how was dinner at your moms last night?"
"Good. It was nice to be back there for a little while."
"You mean it was nice to have her cooking for you and babying you." Landon teased.
"Shut up." Justin laughed. "You're worse than me for being a mamas boy!"
"I don't know, dude. You're pretty bad."
Justin laughed again. No matter how bad he felt, or how distracted his mind was, Landon was always able to make him forget his problems. Even if only for a little while.
"So, what are you doing today?"
"Nothing." Landon said with a yawn. "I get to work at home for the next few weeks, which is a hell of a lot better than having to go into the office all dressed in a suit and shit. I hate that."
"Yeah, having to dress like something other than a bum really sucks, doesn't it?" Justin teased.
"Fuck off." Landon grumbled in response. "You're probably wearing the same underwear you were wearing last week."
"Dude, that's just sick."
Both men laughed, and Justin grinned at the freedom in his friends voice.
Landon had no idea what problems Justin was dealing with at the moment. He had no idea what had happened in New York, or that some girl was stalking him. It made Justin a little wary that she had followed him to the grocery store that day, because that would mean that she knew who Landon was as well. It made him a little afraid to think that he may be putting Landons life in jeopardy as well.
A light beep sounded, signaling a call on the other line.
"Dude, hang on a second. I have another call."
"Mmkay." Landon said.
Pulling the phone from his ear, Justin clicked the flash button to change lines.
"Hello?"
"Hey, J." Johnnys voice called back to him. "Listen, I got that list you wanted. I had to search through all kinds of paperwork, but I found it."
Justins heart skipped a beat at the news. "You got it? The list of all the fans who attended the meet and greet that day?"
"Yeah. I have it right here. Ill fax it over to you right now."
Justins eyes shot to the fax machine. "Okay. Thanks man."
"No problem. Hope its what you're looking for."
Hearing the phone click on the other end to signal Johnny hanging up, Justin returned to the line with Landon still waiting.
"Hey"
"Hey, man. Who was it?" Landon asked.
"Johnny. He's faxing me over something."
"Cool. You want me to call you back later?"
"Actually, yeah. If you don't mind. Ill call you back in a few."
"No problem. Talk to you later."
"Bye." Justin said. Turning off the phone, he placed it on the table in front of him just as the fax machine across the room began to ring.
Standing slowly, Justin walked over to the fax machine as it began to print out the information being sent from Johnnys office.
Justins heart beat increased as the fax machine slowly began to print out the list. When it was finally complete, he stared down at the paper for a moment, reluctant to reach down and actually read over the names.
What if their names weren't on the list? What if even though their names were on the list, what if he wasn't able to find any information for Madison? What if he wasn't about to contact her, and find out what he needed to know?
Shaking his head at himself, he pushed the questions to the back of his mind. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, and that he had to deal with one thing at a time.
Reaching down, he pulled the paper from the tray beneath the machine, and turned it over to read.
There were approximately forty names on the list. Listed beside each name was the name of what radio station or contest the person won their passed through.
Scanning down the list, his eyes froze half way down.
Trystan Michaels. Beside her name, where it should have listed how she got the passes, the space was blank.
Moving his eyes down to the name below, he stopped.
Madison Underwood.
That was it. Madison Underwood. Beside her name, the space was blank as well.
This was it. He found her name, now all he had to do was find a way to contact her.
Returning to his computer, Justin sat back down in the chair, his hands returning to the keyboard.
Now, all he needed was a little luck.
