CHAPTER 3
Four of them walked to the girls' apartment. Mike had left. When they got to the apartment, Joey and Lisa sat on the couch and turned the TV on. They stated watching some old movie while Anya took the other guy into her bathroom to clean him up.
She was nervous to have a guy this close to her again, but she put those fears in the back of her mind. She had told him she would look at his shoulder and she knew that was all there was to it. She tried to pull at his shirt to see where the blood was coming from, but couldn't get it far enough down. She hoped she wouldn't regret what she was about to ask him. "Could you take your shirt off. I can't seem to get to your shoulder?" Anya looked at him, hoping he was okay with this, because she certainly wasn't.
He didn't answer her. He tried to raise his arm to get his shirt off but winced in pain. "I don't think I can get it off by myself."
She knew what that meant. She would have to help him. She looked like a scared child afraid to touch him.
"I won't bite, you know."
She nervously giggled then regretted it. Gees, I must sound like a 12 year-old girl who just met some pop star. Little did she know how true she was. "Sorry about that. Here let me help you."
She slowly raised his shirt over his head and placed it on the back of the toilet seat. When she turned around to check the wound, she gasped. Oh my Lord, what a body!
He caught her staring at him and became uneasy. "Is everything okay?" He didn't like people looking at him as if he was a piece of meat. He knew it came with the territory, but when he was just himself, he didn't want people making a fuss over him.
"Oh, sorry, again. The cut is pretty bad, that's all." She tried to cover up her obvious blunder. "Let me get some things. I'll be right back." She went into Lisa's bathroom and shut the door. She had to slap herself for looking at him that way. He's what 18, 19 maybe, and you are 24. That is almost illegal to be thinking about him like that. Get a hold on yourself. She grabbed the stuff she needed and returned to her bathroom. This time she was calm and went to work on his shoulder. He had a bad cut but she didn't think it needed stitches. She got out the peroxide and was about to clean the wound when she warned him that it might hurt. He played it off like it was okay, but when she touched his skin with the cotton ball, he yelled out in pain.
"I thought you said you would be okay?" She had to laugh at him. The evil look he was giving her was too much.
"I didn't know if would hurt that much…and still does…do something, please."
"What a baby." She laughed again at his obvious displeasure in what she had just said. She leaned down and blew onto his shoulder. He had to admit that it felt better. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her breathing and the way it made him feel. Snap out of it, boy, she is just cleaning your cut, nothing more.
She saw him close his eyes and relax a little. What I wouldn't do to be a few years younger.
She finished cleaning the cut and bandaged him up. She helped him get his shirt back on and was cleaning up when he spoke to her. "Thank you…um…I never got your name."
"It's Anya," she said as she avoided his eyes. They were staring at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.
"Anya, that's a very pretty name. Is it short for Anastasia?"
"No, just Anya. I don't know what my parents were thinking when they came up with my name." She laughed a little. "Well, you know my name, would you care to give me yours, or would you like me to keep referring to you as the loud mouth kid?" She raised her eyes a little too much. She caught his eye and couldn't turn away. He had incredible eyes to match that incredible smile of his. She looked a little harder and then it hit her. She knew who he was. That would mean that Joey is The Joey. Oh my goodness. I just insulted Justin Timberlake by calling him a loud mouth kid. She hit her forehead with her hand.
He noticed the intense stare she was giving him and then her hitting herself. He knew she had realized who he was. He wasn't sure were to go from here. Great, now how am I going to get out of this one? Please don't scream. Please don't scream. "You know who I am, don't you?"
She looked at him nervously. She had never been around anyone famous before. But he seemed to be like nothing she thought. She imagined a cocky, thinking he is better than everyone else, smart-ass, well he had been when they first met, but now he seemed nice. "Um…yeah, I just realized who you are. I hope that doesn't bother you. It doesn't bother me." She hoped he believed her. Truth was, it really didn't bother her to have him in her bathroom, but she could see him closing up and was afraid he would be mad that she knew.
"I…I guess not. How long have you known?" Most people knew right from the start who he was and since Lisa had gone out with Joey the night before, he just assumed she knew.
"I just realized it, I promise. You had glasses on and a hat. I knew you looked familiar but I couldn't place your face until I looked in your eyes." Great get all sappy on him.
He wasn't sure if he believed her or not. She looked harmless enough but he had learned early on that looks could be deceiving. "But Lisa went out with Joey last night, didn't she tell you who he was?"
"You know that is a good question. No, she didn't tell me who he was. I assume she knows. Things like this never faze her. She isn't impressed too easily. I know she likes Joey for him and nothing more."
Justin could see the honesty in her face. He had noticed her right away when she came onto the court earlier today, but he noticed a lot of girls, most of which he never gave a second look. He wasn't too worried about Anya. For one thing she was older than most of the girls that would make a big deal about having him around. She seemed very kind and he wondered if they would become friends. He needed people around him to keep him grounded. Lisa and Anya had both told him what they thought of his smart-ass remarks on the court and he knew that most girls wouldn't even tell him he looked bad if his face was covered in mud. Maybe she isn't that bad.
Anya could see him thinking about what she had said and thought she should break the tension. "Hey, let's go see what Lisa and Joey are up to, okay?" With that, they headed into the living room to find the two still watching TV.
"Justin are you okay? We could hear you yelling all the way out here." Joey asked with a smile on his face.
Justin gave him an evil glare that told him not to go there.
"Um…yeah…so, anyway, Lisa and I thought we would go grab a bite to eat later. Do you guys want to come?"
Anya and Justin looked at each other for a minute. She knows who I am. I don't know about this.
If this is the double date that Lisa talked about last night, I will kill her. "Sure, it's fine with me. Is it okay with you, Justin?"
What the hell, one date can't hurt me, can it? "Um…sure, its okay with me. Where do you guys want to go?"
They decided to let the guys go home and change and then they would return to pick the girls up. They were going to go for a quick bite to eat and then head to the movies. Joey had wanted to check out a new movie that had just opened. While the girls waited for the guys to return, "why didn't you tell me you were going out with Joey Fatone of NSYNC?" Anya asked her friend.
"Honestly, I didn't know it was him until we got to the club last night and all the girls were screaming for him. By then, I already liked him and it didn't matter. Sorry I didn't tell you. It was no big deal to me. So, I assume that was Justin Timberlake that you fixed up?"
"The very one, and the one we both insulted earlier at the park. I can't believe we didn't know who they were." Both girls got a good laugh at their stupidity. Everyone else on the planet would have recognized those two, but Lisa and Anya hadn't. This made them laugh even harder.
A few minutes later the guys showed up and the four of them were off to dinner. The guys weren't sure if they should try to impress the girls by eating at an upscale place or just be themselves. They decided that if the girls really did like them for them, then being themselves was the way to go. They chose Wendy's to eat at since they were running short on time to make the movie. The girls liked the fact that they didn't try to show off for them. They wanted to get to know the guys and become friends and friends don't need to impress each other. They had been talking for a while when they realized that they were late for the movie.
"Oh great. Do you guys want to go late or just skip it?" Lisa asked the group.
"No way, just skip it. I hate to miss the beginning." Joey told her.
They decided that they would rent a movie and watch it over at the girl's place. Less people to recognize us, the guys thought.
They got back to the apartment and decided on Good Will Hunting. When it was over, Justin sat up and stretched. "You just wanted to see that movie for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck."
"And your point is?" Anya answered. Justin threw a pillow at her. "I know you didn't just do that?"
"Yeah I did. Come on, Anya, show me what you've got." Justin went to pick up another pillow off the couch to throw at her when he suddenly was pelted in the side of the head by a rather large object. "Hey, I wasn't ready yet." He whined.
"You really are a baby aren't you?" Anya was egging him on.
"That's it. I may have to put up with comments like that from the other guys for being the youngest but you are not one of the guys. Prepare to die." He leapt off the couch and grabbed Anya around the waist. They feel on the floor. Lisa and Joey were laughing at the two. Justin was trying to tickle her but Anya got scared. She looked up and knew that it was Justin on top of her just playing around but all she could see was His face and remembered what He had done to her.
"GET OFF ME, NOW!" She yelled at Justin. He was taken back by her outburst and worried he had hurt her.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Are you okay?" He noticed the fear in her eyes and knew that something, or maybe someone other than him had made her this frightened. He got off her and extended his hand to help her up.
"No thank you. I am okay." She stood on her own, straightened her blouse out and turned to face the others. "If you excuse me, I am a little tired and going to bed." She was so embarrassed and shocked by her behavior. She knew it was Justin and didn't fear him, but the memories she had tried to bury, had resurfaced yet again.
Justin stood there, confused by what had just happened. She had been playing around with him one minute and then the next snapped at him. What is going on with her? He questioned himself.
Lisa had seen everything and knew what was going on with Anya, but she couldn't tell the guys. That was her secret and she would have to be the one to tell them if she chose to. "Justin, listen, I don't think Anya meant anything by that. It's been a long day and she was probably just tired." She hoped he would believe her lie.
He wanted to believe her but he had seen the look in Anya's eyes. It's like she was looking at a monster and that concerned him. He didn't know these girls very well and knew it was not his place to interfere. "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey, Joey are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go. It was good to see you again, Lisa. Maybe we can hang out again, soon."
"That would be great. And, again, Justin, don't worry about Anya, I'm sure she just needs some rest." He nodded his head and him and Joey left the apartment.