"Thank you, Philadelphia!" JC called out into the sea of screaming fans. The steady dull roar of cheers, whistles and claps drowning out even the music playing behind them.
Out in the crowd, not a single persons eyes were away from the stage. Every one of the twenty five thousand people were fixated on the five men standing in front of them. Whether they were five, fifteen or fifty, they were completely captivated by the energy, the excitement and the spectacle created before them.
Girls that were much too young to be wearing quite so little were jumping up and down, screaming at their favorite members. Pleading for just any sign that the men they adored acknowledged them. A smile. A wave. Even just a momentary eye contact was enough to break them down into hysterical tears.
Young children, boys and girls, were smiling happily at the stage. Their tired eyes drooping, but unwilling to close in the slight chance they missed anything. Their tiny arms lifted into the air, some standing on their chairs to be able to see above the heads of the older fans in front of them.
The parents of the children were smiling at the looks of elation on their children's faces. They happiness that these simple performers brought to their lives was something that was almost magical in its own way. That by doing what they loved, they were able to effect so many with their words, songs and actions.
"You've been a great audience, Philly!" Joey yelled out over the screams. "Thank you for allowing us to be here with you tonight! You ROCK!" A thunderous roar overtook the stadium as the crowd erupted in thanks.
"Thanks for all the support! It means so much to us, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!" Lance added, waving to a small girl in the front row. The girl jumped up and down excitedly when she realized Lance was waving at her, before turning to her mother. Lance grinned when he could see her mouthing the words 'Lance waved at me! Lance waved at me!'
"As always, we want you to know that you are why we do this," Chris said, stepping to the center of the stage. "You remind us everyday why we love what we do, and you make it possible for us to do what we love to do!"
Stepping up to the middle of the stage, flanked by Joey and Lance on his left, and Chris and JC on his right, Justin grinned out into the crowd. An ear shattering roar sounded around them, shaking the walls.
"I only have one thing to say." Justin said when the screaming settled. The crowd got slightly quieter in anticipation of what the great Justin Timberlake had to offer as his closing words. Their eyes fixated on him, their hands clasped to their chests waiting to hear his voice. They hung on his every movement, breath and word.
Smiling out at them, Justin raised his arm in the air. "We love you!"
Another scream erupted in the arena, almost deafening in its strength.
The five men joined hands, lining up to take their final bow.
"Thank you again, Philly. You've been a wonderful audience." JC said. Looking at his friends, he smiled. "We are NSync. And we thank you."
With that, they all bent forward, taking their final bow of an evening that many of these people would never forget. Straightening, they all gave a final wave to the crowd before disappearing backstage.
The band continued to play as they quickly met with their security and made their way to the vans. Towels were handed to them as they ran through the corridor of the backstage area, quickly wiping their faces. As they climbed up and into the vans, they could still hear the band playing the final notes of the closing sequence. As they called it, their getaway music. With a quick close of the doors, they were left it silence as the vans pulled out of an underground holding area and into the back parking lot.
A few fans were already waiting to see the guys depart. Some who had left the concert early in the hopes to see the guys closer as they left. Some who were unable to get tickets, figuring this would be their only chance to see the men they adored.
Rolling down his window, Joey waved out to the small group, causing them to scream and burst into tears. Flashes of light blinded them as they drove through the virtually empty lot and towards the highway to return to their hotel.
Laughing, Joey rolled up his window. "I love doing that." he smiled as he sat back in his seat.
"You love teasing them." Lance commented, poking Joey in the side.
Joey shrugged, nodding his head. "Yeah. So?"
Lance laughed before turning his attention out the window at his side.
It was a cool night. The late night air chilling them from the partially open window of a bodyguard in the front passenger seat. The sound of humming engines filled the air as they passed surrounding cars and sped down the freeway.
Turning around to look at the van behind them, which contained Chris and JC, Joey laughed. "I swear, I almost peed in my pants when Chris tripped and almost took a header off the end of the stage." Slapping his knee, he began to laugh harder. "That one girl looked like a shark ready to take a bite out of him if he had fallen."
"I know," Lance joined in. "I was tempted to push him off the edge just to see what would happen."
The two continued to laugh, before Lance turned and frowned at Justin.
"Dude," he said, calming his laughter. "What's with you?"
Looking over at Justin, Joey wiped a tear from his eye. "Yeah, man. You've been a downer all day."
Justin turned his attention from the window to his friends. His face was drawn into a thoughtful pose, his eyes blank and lifeless. He was usually so hyper after a show, that this behavior was concerning to them.
Justin forced a light smile in the direction of his friends. "Nothing. I'm just really tired."
"You've always been tired." Joey said, scooting down further on his seat. "But you've never been like this. What's wrong? It looks like you're thinking really hard, but I don't see any smoke coming out of your ears." Joey grinned sarcastically at Justin, who rolled his eyes back at him.
"Fuck off." he laughed.
"Oh, there we go." Lance said, poking Joey in the arm, his eyes directed at Justin. "Now we're getting somewhere. Maybe if we get him all riled up, he'll tell us what's wrong."
Justin sighed, rubbing his tired eyes with the back of his hand. "Nothing is wrong, guys. I told you. I'm tired, I miss Erin, and I want to go home."
Lance and Joey stared at him for a moment, as if trying to figure out if he was telling the truth.
They knew him too well to buy that excuse. Yes, it was true that he was tired, did miss Erin and did want to go home, but this behavior was different from his usual tired, missing Erin, wanting to go home behavior. This was as if something was bothering him. And whatever it was, it wasn't as simple as another pimple on his ass like it had been last month. This time, it was something that had caused him to say hardly anything to anyone in the last two days. Something that had consumed his every waking thought. Something that he obviously was having trouble figuring out on his own.
"Man, listen," Joey said, leaning forward to Justin who sat across from him. "If there is something bothering you, you know you can talk to us, right?"
Justin sighed, before smiling at Joey. "Yeah, I know." he nodded. "But really, nothing is wrong. I think I'm just getting anxious. You know how moody I get near the end of a tour." Justin shrugged before turning his attention back out the window. "Maybe I'm menstruating or something."
Joey sat back quickly, a look of confusion and disgust on his face. Lance, however, burst into hysterics, holding his stomach tightly as he laughed.
Justin smiled at the sound of Lances laughter, and the look on Joeys face.
He knew that if he said something like that, that they would back off. As long as he said enough to make them think he was alright, without saying too much incase he tipped them off that he was trying to make it seem like he was alright, then he would be fine. A joke here and there. A smart ass comment to brighten the mood. All he needed was a little time, and a little humor to help him through the next couple of weeks. Lucky for him he was born a smart ass.
A few moments later, the vans pulled up at the back entrance of their hotel. Thankfully, there were no fans gathered at the entrance, and they were able to relax as they entered the hotel and made their way to their rooms.
All piling into the elevator, Chris leaned his head on Justins shoulder. Justin looked down at his head as if it were an intrusion, before quickly jerking it up in an attempt to push Chris away. "Dude, screw off. What do I look like? A Craftmatic?"
"Well, you are pretty bendy, J." Chris smiled, winking playfully at Justin. Justin gave him an odd look before moving to the other side of the elevator, grabbing JC to place between himself and Chris.
As the doors to the elevator opened and they were greeted by the cool air from their floor, they stepped out and dispersed towards their respective rooms.
Stepping up to his door, Justin heard Lance groaned to his right. Looking over, Lances head was pressed to his still closed hotel room door. "What's wrong, Poofoo?" Justin asked, a grin on his face.
"I forgot to get my messages from the front desk." he whined. Straightening, he turned to Justin. "Larana was supposed to leave a message here with her flight info for Boston. And knowing my luck, I have business calls to return."
Justin laughed at Lance. He was always doing some kind of business, even while they were on tour. Whether it was for his management company, working on a deal to open a nightclub, or whatever, Lance was always busy. Always preoccupied with some form of business.
Justin respected Lance for his ability to handle just about anything. It seemed like no matter how much he thought he knew about him, Lance always surprised him.
Smiling, Justin walked up and patted Lance on the back. "Ill go down and get the messages, okay?"
Sitting up, Lance smiled at Justin. "Thanks dude. You know I love you, right?"
"Man, don't start saying shit like that or I wont go and get the damn messages." Justin laughed as he backed away, his hands raised defensively in front of him.
"Hey, while you're down there, pick up mine, too." JC said, peaking his head out from behind his hotel room door.
"Me too." Joey added, as he opened his door and stepped inside.
"Me three." Chris called as he fought with his key card. No matter how many hotels they stayed at, Chris just couldn't get the hang of key cards. They always denied him access, and he would have to get one of the other guys to open his hotel room door for him. "Damn it!" he whined when the door beeped at him for a third time. Turning to JC, he pouted. "Dude, I cant open my door again!"
JC rolled his eyes before walking over and taking the card from Chris hand. On the first try, the door clicked, and JC pushed it open. "There, you useless tit." he said, handing Chris his key card. Chris smiled happily at the open door, before turning to wrap his arms around JC from behind. Resting his cheek on JCs back, he sighed. "Thank you."
"Dude, get off me!" JC said, wiggling out of Chris grasp. Chris did as he was told, and turned around to go inside his room. Stepping up to his door, it closed in his face, locking again. "Damn it!"
Justin tried not to laugh as Chris began to plead with JC to open his door again.
"Fine!" Justin said, turning to return to the elevator. "Ill be back in a minute."
"Where you going?" Chris asked, pausing his fight with JC to look at Justin.
"To get our messages. Remember? You said you wanted yours too." Justin said, raising an eyebrow at Chris.
"That's there you're going?" Chris asked, frowning. "I thought you were going to get ice cream."
Justin rolled his eyes, before resuming his trek down the hall. Chris was too strange sometimes.
Stepping into the elevator with Jake, Justin pushed the button for the lobby.
"So, you talked to Erin today?" Jake asked as the doors slid closed and they began their descent.
Justin smiled at the mention of her name, but his stomach tightened slightly. "No. She's going to call tomorrow from Hannahs grandparents place."
Jake nodded.
Justin watched the illuminated numbers above the door as they made their way down from their 24th floor rooms to the lobby in silence. As they reached the twelfth floor, Jake spoke up again.
"J, can I ask you something?"
Turning to Jake, Justin nodded. "Of course."
Jake looked down for a moment, as if trying to think of what to say. Turning to face Justin, he sighed. "Are you okay?" Noticing Justins curious stare, he explained his question. "I mean, for the last couple days you've seemed really weird. More weird than you usually are, I mean." Jake grinned at his own joke, while Justin remained emotionless. "I just seems like ever since we left New York, you've had something on your mind."
Justin almost groaned at his concern, but thought the better of it. "You guys worry too much, you know that?" he said, looking back to the illuminated numbers. They were now at the eighth floor. "Joey said the same thing tonight. And Ill tell you the same thing. I'm just tired, missing my girlfriend, and wanting to go home. We are all a little wacky right now because of the anticipation of going home. Right?" Pausing to look at Jake, Justin waited for him to agree. A short moment later, Jake nodded. "I know Ive been a little distant, but Ive had a few things on my mind is all. I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Giving Jake two thumbs up, Justin grinned.
Laughing at Justins face, Jake nodded as he turned back to the elevator doors. Slapping him on the back, Jake shook his head at Justin. "Well, you are a strange on, J. But I guess we'll keep you."
"Thanks man. That means so much to me." Justin said, placing a hand to his heart.
The two men stared at each other for a moment, before Justin jumped at Jake. "Aw, com'ere you big lug!" he said, wrapping his arms around the huge man. Jake tried to push Justin away, but his wiry little body was stuck to him like a little Velcro midget.
"J, get the hell off me, man." Jake scolded between laughs.
Laughing to himself, Justin stepped back as Jake wiped his shirt.
"What? You think I got cooties or something?" Justin asked as he watched Jake wipe his shirt.
"Well, you never know."
Before Justin could attack him again, the bell signal their arrival at the lobby and the doors to the elevator opened slowly.
Stepping out into the lobby, Justin approached the front desk, followed closely by Jake.
Leaning on the counter, Justin smiled at the young woman behind the desk. "Hi," he said. "Are there any messages for rooms 2416, 2417, 2418, 2419 and 2420?"
The woman smiled appreciatively at Justin as her eyes scanned what she could see of him. "Just one moment Mr. Timberlake. Ill see what I can find." Pushing back her chair, the woman stood and walked over to a collection of boxes that lined the far wall. All the rooms of the hotel were listed above each box, many of them containing messages. Reaching in to a few of them, she retrieved the desired papers. "You're in luck," she said as she returned to Justin. "There are a few." Handing them over to him, she pointed to the top of the first page. "The room numbers are on the top of the page so you can divide them to the appropriate recipients."
Smiling at the woman, Justin nodded. "Thanks."
"Have a good night, sir." she said, smiling back at him.
Justin said the same as he turned and headed back to the elevator with Jake.
The ride back to their floor was a silent one, and Justin was thankful for that.
Over the last two days, since they had left New York, the guys had been noticing more and more Justins distant behavior. He had his moments in the past when he would need his space, but they all agreed that this was different. This time, there was definitely something bothering him. They had all asked him about it a few times, and each time he simply said he was anxious to get home. Since they were feeling the same thing, they accepted his answer for the most part, but still had the feeling that there was something more to his strange actions.
He had kept to himself for the majority of the last few days. Instead of joking and picking on Chris like he usually did at rehearsals or sound check, he would quietly stand by himself until called upon, thinking intently about something they couldn't understand.
Justin knew his behavior was tipping them off that something was wrong, but he honestly couldn't help himself. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get the thought of that girl out of his mind. The image of her standing in his hotel room in New York, wearing his t-shirt, her hands nervously behind her back as she watched him leave. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of the thought of what he had done. The guilt he felt for what he had done.
He was thankful that he hadn't talked to Erin again since that time in the bus on the way to Philadelphia. The sound of her voice brought him a deep sense of comfort, just as it always had. But along with that comfort came this uncontrollable guilt and hatred for himself for what he had done. And more so for the fact that he hadn't told her. That he was keeping this from her when everything inside of him told him that she had the right to know.
But now, he was convinced that it was too late. He had had his chance to tell her that day on the phone, but didn't. Now if he told her, she would know that he had kept it from her. She would ask him if he had originally intended to keep it from her all along, and he would have to admit that he had. That he wasn't going to tell her and the only reason he did was because of his own guilt and conscience.
He hadn't slept a full night since arriving in Philadelphia. His nights were more or less consumed with thoughts of what to do, what he had done, and what may happen.
He would think of Trystan occasionally. OF that poor girl, who he had just left alone in that room. He knew there was no other choice. That there was nothing else he could do or offer her. There was no way to make it up to her for the mistake of that night. He knew that it was just as much her choice as his that night, even if they were drunk, but he still felt responsible.
Stepping out onto his floor, Justin handed out the messages to the appropriate recipients before retreating to the seclusion of his room. Closing the door, he ventured further into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
No matter what he did from this moment on, it wouldn't change the fact that he had done what he did. He had cheated on his girlfriend; the woman he loved more than life itself. He had a drunken one night stand with a girl he didn't know, leaving her in a hotel room while he left to resume his obligations elsewhere.
These were things he was raised not to do. Things that he knew were wrong, and always prided himself in the fact that he hadn't done.
Now, he had. And there was nothing he could do to take them back.
Shaking his head at himself, Justin looked down at the three small slips of paper in his hands.
Rasing them to his face, he quickly read over the first.
It was from his mother, asking him to call.
The second was from Landon, telling him to turn his damn cell phone back on.
Smiling at the fact that the message had actually used the word 'damn', he placed it to his side with the other message from his mother, before focusing on the third and final note.
Scanning his eyes over the words, his mouth dropped slightly.
It was short, but those few simple words were enough to make his stomach tighten and his skin turn pale.
'Justin, please call me at 273-482-8870. Trystan.'
