* Author's Note: If you haven't read You Weren't Part of the Plan you may be a little lost but not too much. I suggest you go and read that one first or just take your chances here. You should be able to figure out what's going on if you don't want to read it. :) *
The other story may have followed a rough time-line of their summer tour but this one is purely my imagination due to a situation that occurs rather early on in this story.
"Guys, you have to hit your mark on 6 not 8. And Chris, you're even more behind than that. Come on, you need to get this down so we can move on to the next part."
The five gentlemen groaned loudly as they made their way back in line as the music started up.
"That's it. Keep going. Pop right Joey, not left. JC tighten up your arm. Yes. Yes. Good." The choreographer yelled over the music as the guys twirled and turned to the tune of their latest song.
They were working on the choreography to a new song that hadn't been involved in their last tour. They had to get this routine down and work on the others as a 10-day refresher course to prepare for more traveling overseas in a few days. They were on their eighth day and the guys were running on empty.
When the music stopped, the guys froze in place, then heard hands clapping together, bringing them out of their stance. They each turned towards their newest instructor, Dean, to see him glaring at the door. He had NOT been the source of the applause but as Justin followed his stare, his tired eyes lit up when he saw who was.
There in the doorway of the studio, stood the most beautiful sight imaginable to him: Liz. It had been several months since they had gotten together and she had taken a permanent job with his mother's company, working with the group Innosense.
His smile soon faded when he heard Dean groan and approach him. "Justin, who let her in here?" He asked, obviously upset over the distraction.
Justin rolled his eyes at the older man merely two years older might I add and shrugged him off as he walked closer to his girlfriend. "Hey you." He said as he went to wrap his sweaty arms around her waist.
He suddenly heard the clearing of several throats and he turned around to see five faces showing their disapproval of the two of them and his 'break' from work.
"Um, Justin, no one said you could have a break, now get back in line." Dean snapped.
Liz smiled warmly to the other guys, mouthing her apology of her intrusion then got Dean's attention. "Please, I only need 5 minutes." She said as she gave him the same pout that the others used all the time to get what they wanted.
He looked at Justin who appeared to be just as pitiful as she did and when he turned to see the exhausted faces of the others, he threw his hands up in the air and gave in to them all. "Fine, you have TWO minutes." He said as the others collapsed onto the floor. He walked up to Liz and Justin and held up two fingers.
"Four minutes." Liz said, trying to bargain for more time.
He grinned evilly at the game she was playing. "Three and that's my final offer."
Liz nodded and quickly drug Justin out the door and a few steps down the hall.
When the door closed behind them, Liz felt her body being pushed up against the wall as two arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She smiled to Justin as he closed the gap between them and kissed her gently on the lips.
She slid her arms up and around his neck then tugged on him to deepen the kiss. Her fingers got tangled up in the wet curls that were sticking out of the red bandana he wore that day. She didn't care that she was probably going to stink after this little make out session, only that she was able to do this in the first place.
When the two finally broke apart, Justin held her close to him so she couldn't get out of his arms. He leaned over and closed his eyes as his cheek rested gently on the side of her forehead. "I missed you." He whispered.
She smiled tenderly against his collarbone and felt herself drawn to his neck for some reason. It was all sweaty but something inside of her wanted to stick her tongue out and lick him dry. She giggled at the dirty thought she had and pushed him slightly back so she wouldn't do what her mind was telling her. She had something to say to him and only had a minute or two left.
She felt him try to keep her from pushing him away so she grabbed a hold of his hair to pull it. "OW!" He yelled and let go of her. He brought a hand up to his head and rubbed the spot she had just pulled. "Hey, why'd you do that? It hurt." He said, sticking his lower lip out at her and pouting just like before.
She rolled her eyes playfully at him before punching him lightly in the stomach. "Get real, it didn't hurt that bad. Anyway, I didn't come here to make out with you, I was sent to check up on you and the guys."
Justin's face fell even more. "You mean you didn't miss me?" He asked, a little upset that she wasn't sad that they hadn't seen each other in over a week.
Liz's face softened and she smiled at him. She approached him and put her arms around his waist. She looked up before answering. "Are you kidding me, of course I missed you but since Slave Driver in there won't let me have more than three minutes with you, I only have time to see how you're doing or I could lose my job."
Justin looked at her questionably not understanding what she was talking about.
She laughed at his confusion but continued. "Your mother sent me here to see if you and the guys are okay. She is worried since you haven't called her all week."
He got it now. He and the others had been so worn out that they all went right to sleep after practicing and he hadn't even thought of anything else but the dance steps they were working on. "Oh yeah, tell her I'm so sorry. We've just been so busy that I haven't had time to eat let alone call her. And don't tell her that part about not eating, she'll get in the car and speed down here if she knew, okay?"
She saw the dark circles under his eyes, the pale complexion to his skin and the worn out look he had going on. She wanted to kidnap him and take him away from all of this. 'The fans in Europe wouldn't be too upset if he didn't show up, right?' She asked herself but shook that thought off.
"Justin, I won't tell her but the tour hasn't even started and you look so run down. Please take care of yourself. You know I worry about you." She said as she pulled her body closer to his and placed her cheek against his damp chest.
She heard him sigh in relief and wrap his arms around her as well. "Ebby, I know you do and I promise I'll take care of myself. I should be home in a few days and then I'll rest. Look " He started as he pushed her shoulders away and made her look him in the eye. "Are you okay?" He asked, sensing that something was wrong with her, too.
She shook her head and smiled up to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired as well, I guess." She said as she felt him place a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Well the last time I spoke to my mom, she said you had taken a few days off work because you were sick. Is everything okay now?"
"Justin don't worry about me, I'm fine. Now, you need to get back in there before Dean sends the troops out to find you." She said as she started to let him go but he wasn't having any of that.
He leaned forward and smiled evilly at her. "Let them come and find me." He said as he brought his lips down on hers. She let out a moan against them and felt herself falling literally.
She was strangely relieved when Dean stuck his head out of the room down the hall and yelled that their time was up. Justin sighed deeply against her lips and kissed her one last time before pulling away and glancing back at his choreographer. He tilted his head up to signal that he would be right there and grabbed Liz's hand to lead her back to the studio room.
She looked down at the ground the whole way back. He noticed her solemn stance and commented on it. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, concerned about her now. She didn't look to be feeling all that well but when her head rose and she met his eyes, he knew she was okay.
"Yes Justin, I'm fine, I just miss not having you around but I'm glad I came here to check on you." She said as she squeezed his hand in her own.
He smiled at her and brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "I'm glad you came here too. Remember that I'll be home in a few days and don't tell my mom about the not eating thing okay?" He asked as he lowered her hand down and let go of her.
He slowly opened the door and peeked inside to see the others setting up to begin again. He turned his head back to Liz and smiled when she leaned up and gave him another kiss. "I won't say a word. Now get back in there." She said as she pushed him inside the room.
She watched him return to his place in line and waved through the glass as she turned to leave. She didn't make it a few steps before she had to lean against the wall for support. She felt dizzy and had to put her head in her hands then lean over so she wouldn't fall. She prayed that she would snap out of it and not pass out. She didn't know what she would tell the guys and Justin if they found her out cold.
A few seconds later, she regained her composure and slowly stood up straight, took a deep breath, then made her way out of the building and towards her car.
'I just got a little dizzy, that's all.' She repeated to herself as she laid her head on the steering wheel. 'There's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.'
Liz woke up early to get a workout in before work. She had been running at night before her and Justin got together but now she was doing that in the morning. She found that it helped her relax for the busy day she would always have at work or school.
Lynn was a slave driver of her own but it was all good. Liz loved what she was doing and working with the girls was fabulous. Lynn wasn't so bad either.
Liz had grown quite close to her and for the past week, while Justin was out of town just a city away but locked up with rehearsals she had eaten dinner every night with her. They would talk about work, about what Liz and Justin had planned for the few days he had off until the group left for Europe and even about future plans.
Lynn had wondered if they were serious yet, because she said she could see it in Justin's eyes how much he was in love with Liz. Liz told her that the two of them had never actually said 'I love you' to one another but just assumed that they did.
Liz knew Justin loved her and she definitely felt the same but after he had heard it everyday from about 10,000 people, Liz felt that one more wouldn't mean as much. She tried to SHOW him her love and not say it. She hoped he knew.
Her thoughts of the last week were interrupted when she opened the door of her apartment and greeted the sunshine. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the sky to feel the warm sun on her face. She involuntarily smiled at the feel of the large yellow light from above.
"Hey Liz, how's it going?" Her neighbor said as she passed him in the parking lot.
"Nothing much. You going for a run too?" She asked the handsome gentleman as she noticed his running shorts and tennis shoes on.
He nodded to her as he began to stretch his legs out. "Yeah, you want a partner today?" He asked, lowering his body over and sitting on the ground.
Liz bent her body over as well to stretch while she accepted his offer. "That would be nice. Are you ready?"
He again nodded his head and the two of them were off for their run through the nearby park.
The two ran past a few early risers walking small animals or pushing their young children in strollers. They were almost hit by a couple holding hands and skating by them. They shook their heads at the spaced out pair.
They made their way back to their apartment complex an hour or so later and both doubled over to catch their breaths. "I didn't know you had it in you to keep up with me." Liz's neighbor, Scott, said as he got his breathing under control.
Liz smiled and brought her hands up to her ponytail to let her hair out. She shook her head to get her hair untangled and replied to his statement. "Yeah, well I've been running a lot for the past few months. Just something I do to help clear my mind."
Scott approached her and tugged on her now damp hair. "I say that you've had A Lot on you mind if you can run like that."
She started laughing at him and pushed him in the shoulder to get him to move out of her way as she headed to her apartment. "I guess so. Anyway, thanks again for joining me today." She said as she bye to him.
He raised his hand in return. "Anytime." He turned around and walked towards his own apartment until he heard a crash. He swung around and saw Liz standing in her doorway well, slumped in front of her door was more like it with a broken pot by her feet.
He rushed over to see if she was okay. "Hey, what happened?" He asked as he saw her trying to regain her balance.
She shook her head to gain control of her body and slowly stood up. "Oh, sorry about scaring you but I just reached for the door and lost my balance. I knocked over the pot and I had just planted those flowers in it." She said as her fingers picked up the yellow and purple flowers that had just started to bloom.
Scott eyed her carefully. Her face was pale but her cheeks were bright red. "Listen are you sure you're okay? You don't need help inside?" He asked as he hesitantly touched her forearm.
Liz shook her head at him. "Nah, I think I probably just took the run a little hard, that's all. I'll be okay once I get a cool shower. Thank you though." She said as she opened her door and stepped inside.
"Yeah, well, if you need anything, give me a call. I'm leaving for work in about an hour but if you need " He started but she interrupted him.
"Scott, I don't need anything, really, I'm fine." She said, waving again at him as she closed the door behind herself.
Once inside, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes as her head raised to the ceiling. 'Take a few deep breaths, Lizzy, just take a few deep breaths.' She said to herself before sliding down the door and cupping her knees under her body.