"Hey Lizzy, how's it going?" Veronica asked as she walked into her office.
Liz looked up from the stack of papers on her desk and removed her glasses before smiling to her friend. "Hey yourself. Come on in." She said as she pointed to the chair in front of her desk.
Veronica rushed right over to it and sat down, crossing her feet under her. She shifted uncomfortably for a second. "V, I don't think the chair's big enough to sit Indian-style in." Liz said as she chuckled at her friend's frustrated face.
Veronica crinkled up her nose at Liz. "Well, then get a bigger one." She got out as her legs finally crossed together and she smiled triumphantly at her success.
Liz just shook her head. With everything in the world to worry about, Veronica found that the act of sitting with her feet in a chair to be the worse thing imaginable. "Ahem, so what brings you by here?" She asked, noticing the content look on her friend's face now.
Veronica eyed the papers the lay on Liz's desk. "Damn, how much work does Lynn have you doing, Lizzy?" She asked as she leaned forward in the chair and picked a few pieces up. She looked them over and raised an eyebrow in confusion. She lowered the papers and smiled sympathetically to Liz. "I envy you, girl. Dealing with all that junk and still going to school, I would have pulled my hair out by now." She said as she looked curiously around her office.
Liz had finally moved into a bigger space than the one she had when she interned this summer for Lynn. She now had a few pictures mounted on the walls, nothing too extravagant but classy none the less. She also had two frames on her desk. The first one was a picture of the entire group of girls and guys. It had been taken right there in Orlando at the first show the girls opened for 'Nsync. Veronica remembered that night and the wonderful fans that showed up.
The second one was of Justin. Veronica didn't know where it was taken but assumed at a local zoo. She chuckled at the upset and shocked look Justin had on his face while he held a large snake in his arms. "How'd you get him to hold that thing?" She asked, pointing to the second picture.
Liz grabbed it and laughed with Veronica when remembering the day. "Oh, that was just my way of getting him back for going along with that dumb plan of Lance's. And, by the way, I still haven't repaid you for that." She said, propping her elbows up on her desk and smiling sinisterly at her.
Veronica chuckled nervously and cleared her throat. "Yeah, well, the later the better. So, anyway, what's up?" She asked, trying to get the subject off the backfired plan that they had all gone in on to get Justin and Liz together. Their plan hadn't worked exactly according to what they hoped but it did help them get together in the long run.
Liz just smiled at her lame attempt to avoid the topic but let it go. "Can't you see, work - but you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" She asked once again.
Veronica sat straight up in the chair and smiled brightly to her friend. "Oh, yeah. I was suppose to come and ask you if you wanted to come to a party tonight?" She asked, spying a pencil sharpener on the desk. She scooted closer to it and grabbed the device along with a pencil to play with.
Liz merged her eyebrows together and shook her head. "Girl, you're worse than Chris about keeping still. Now, whose party is it anyways?" She asked, picking up a few of the top papers and replacing her glasses on her face.
Veronica held up the sharpened pencil, examining the tip. "Ouch, that's sharp." She replied as she touched the top of it but stopped and put it down when Liz gave her a displeasing look. "Oh, sorry about that. Anyway, Trace is throwing a party since Justin should be back tonight. He's setting everything up at Justin's house, who doesn't know a thing about it."
Liz put the papers back down and eyed Veronica over the top of her glasses. "And you need me there to keep Justin from going postal on his ass?" She asked as Veronica nodded her head. "You know he's gonna be too tired for a party. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. They have to leave for Europe in a few days. He should really get some rest before he goes." She said as she slid her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.
Veronica uncrossed her legs, allowing her body to come closer to the desk. "Lizzy, come on. We haven't seen him or the other guys in a while and since they are leaving soon, a party is just what he needs. I know he'll be tired but it'll only be for a little while, I promise. Then you can kick us all out and welcome him back in your own way." She said, moving her eyebrows up and down.
Liz just shook her head. "Yeah, what do you know about my welcoming back techniques?" She asked her dear friend.
Veronica shrugged her shoulders. "I don't but I can just imagine due to the fact that every time your name is mentioned, Justin's face lights up. You must be doing something to that boy." She informed Liz.
She could feel her cheeks heating up and wanted to change the subject again. "Yeah, well, I guess I could stop by his house later. But the minute I see Justin yawn, everyone's out of there, got it?" She said, pointing a finger at Veronica.
She stood from her seat and saluted Liz. "Yes ma'am." Liz could only laugh at her antics. Veronica turned to leave but stopped at her door. "Really, thanks Lizzy. I know Justin'll love seeing you tonight." She said as she waved goodbye to her friend.
Liz took her glasses off and held onto them as she leaned back in her chair. She brought both hands up to her face and rubbed her tired eyes with the backs of them. "Oh, but can I stay awake long enough to see him?" She asked herself aloud. She returned her chair and her body back to the desk and sighed at the large pile of papers still left untouched. "And can I finish ANY of this before tonight?" She said as she replaced her glasses and went back to the job at hand.
"Hey Liz, how's it going?"
Liz entered Justin's house around 8:00 that night, half expecting to see a hundred or so people there by the way Veronica had talked but only about 20 faces seemed to be in sight.
"Hey Jenny. I'm doing fine. Is Justin here yet?" She asked as her eyes darted around the corridor of the hallway, searching for him.
Jenny shook her head and she stepped forward to link her arm with Liz. "Nah, he should be here anytime though. Look, come on in, Trace is having to play guard to all of Justin's things so nothing gets broken. Justin would kill him slowly and painfully if anything wound up cracked or even chipped." She said as the two walked past the living room.
Liz spotted Mandy and Nikki sitting on one of the couches talking to Jeremy, who Nikki had a BIG crush on. Liz had tried several times to get them hooked up in the last few weeks but Nikki didn't want to be pushed into it, since he was a good friend of Justin's. Liz had to remind her that SHE helped push Liz and Justin together and now look at them.
Nikki told her that she would try to talk to him and see if he took the hint that she liked him. Liz just chuckled at the pair. Nikki was too cute to watch. She acted like a little kid with her first crush and not a grown woman. It was too amusing to see but Liz felt her arm being dragged away from the scene.
"Come on, Trace wants to talk to you." Jenny said as she pulled Liz along with her to the kitchen.
They entered the room and Liz's face lit up when she saw the curly hair of Jenny's boyfriend, it reminded her of Justin's. Soon she would be seeing him again – though it had only been two days since she last saw him, but that was just for THREE minutes, according to Dean. She would have more time with him tonight, she hoped.
The guys would be leaving shortly to head to Europe to do a 3-week concert stint before heading home for the holidays. She hated to see Justin leave but knew that was part of being involved with him. She vowed to make the most of the time they had together.
Things had worked out great though. It was Friday night so she would have the weekend off work and wouldn't be returning to school until Monday so that left two full days with Justin.
Trying to juggle working full-time AND finishing up school, she was exhausted but didn't let on how much because she didn't want Lynn thinking she had made a mistake in giving her the job. She only had a few weeks left before Winter break and she knew once that was over and her hardest classes were behind her, she would sail through the spring semester and graduate ON TIME!
"Hey Lizzy, glad you could make it." Trace said as he excused himself from a fellow partygoer and walked to Liz and Jenny. He wrapped an arm around Jenny's waist and smiled at the newcomer. "So, you lookin forward to J getting home?" He asked as he took a sip of his drink that he had carried over with him.
Liz smiled warmly at him. "You have no idea. Hey, when is he…" Her question was interrupted when they all heard a loud yell.
Trace quickly put his drink on the countertop and the three of them rushed to the front door to see what was going on. In the doorframe stood a shocked and confused looking young pop star. Added the tired look on his face made him appear more pitiful than he really was.
Trace looked at Jenny who looked at Liz. Liz just rolled her eyes at the pair. "Gees, you can organize a party but expect me to take the blame for it." She said as the two shook their heads at her.
"Yeah, he won't get mad at you." Trace said, giving Liz a little push towards her waiting boyfriend.
She glanced back and shot him an evil look before returning her attention to the man in front of her. She adjusted her top and smoothed out her pants before clearing her throat and approaching him with open arms. "Honey, so glad you're home." She said as she flung her arms around his neck.
He stood there with two bags in his hands, not hugging her back. She took the hint and slowly let him go. "So, how were rehearsals?" She asked as she took one of the bags from him but quickly dropped it. "Lord what do you have in here, Joey or something?" She asked, trying to make him smile but it didn't work.
"Um, why are all these people at my house and how did they get in?" He finally asked.
"Well, you can speak." Trace said from behind Liz. She turned her head and shot him another warning look before smiling at Justin.
"Justin, these are your friends. They just came by to welcome you back from Hell. And they got in because…because um,"
She started to tell him the truth but heard Trace cough behind her. She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt to be subtle then returned to telling Justin what was going on. "Um, I sort of let everyone in. You see, honey, I thought that you could use a night with just friends, you know, kicking back, watching a few movies, laughing, catching up on the latest gossip, fun stuff." She was trying but the look on Justin's face showed that he didn't believer her.
He shooed her away with his free hand and closed the door behind him. He picked up the bag on the ground and walked past her, much to her disappointment. She thought he would be happy to see her but he didn't seem fazed by it all.
He walked to the bottom of the stairs then turned around to face the small crowd that had gathered to see his reaction to this whole party idea. "Give me 15 minutes to take a shower then I'll be down, okay?" He said as he slowly climbed the stairs towards his room.
Right on the dot, he reemerged 15 minutes later freshly showered and feeling much more alive. He searched the house for Liz but only found a dozen or so of his friends to talk to. He chit-chatted with Mandy and Nikki. Spoke briefly to Jeremy – giving him the go ahead with Nikki. Said hi to a few other people in the living room before heading towards the kitchen.
He walked in and found Trace and Jenny talking to Liz. She seemed upset by the look on her face and he knew he was to blame. He didn't mean to disregard her but he was just too overwhelmed when he first arrived, that he needed a few minutes to let it all sink in.
Now he was better and he slowly approached the group. Liz had turned her back to him and he put his finger up to his mouth to tell the others to keep quiet and not blow his cover. They slightly nodded in agreement and kept talking to her.
Suddenly, she felt two warm arms encircle her waist and the fresh smell of him filled her senses when he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Can I talk to you a minute?" He asked and without telling the others goodbye, she allowed herself to be led onto the patio outside.
It was raining, a rarity this time of year for Orlando, but was a welcomed blessing. The ground needed a little saturation but it kept the partygoers inside tonight. That gave Justin the time he wanted alone with Liz.
They stood under the overhang and listened to the dropping of the rain. Justin reached over and grabbed Liz's hand then pulled it up to his mouth and kissed the back of it lightly. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up when a cool breeze blew by. "It's nice out here, don't you think?" She asked, not opening her eyes.
He looked over at her and smiled. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes. He had only been gone a few days but for some reason, he felt that he had missed out on so much of her life in that short time. He would have to make the most of this weekend before he left early next week.
He lowered her hand from his face and pulled on it to give her the hint to turn her body towards him. When she took it, she opened her eyes and stared back at him. "Are you still mad about the party?" She asked, nervously.
He lowered his head and brought a hand up to his forehead to scratch it. "Nah, not really. I know you didn't put this thing together. Trace did but your covering for him needs work." He said as he saw her eyes widen.
"I uh…" She started but couldn't think of anything to make up so she told him the truth. "You're right. Veronica came to see me today and asked me to help Trace pull this off. He just wanted you to have a good time with everyone before…before you leave…us." She said, slowing down her words at the end.
He picked up on her concern. He replaced the touch of his forehead on his fingers with that of Liz's cheek. He ran his hand down it and as it cupped around her chin, he raised it so her eyes were level with his. "Before I leave them or before I leave you?" He asked as he saw the beginnings of a wet salty substance appear in Liz's eyes.
She shook her head to agree with him. "Justin it's just that I hate to see you go. I know this is part of it but that doesn't make it any easier." She said as she stepped closer to him and put her own arms around his slender waist.
She looked at him and willed the tears away. They would come in a few days anyway and now was not the time to lose it. "I'll be fine, though. I promise." She said as she gave him the best smile she could muster.
He sighed and let his breath fall on her. "Yeah but I won't be."
Liz ducked her head and placed it on his shoulder. "Don't say that. You'll go over there and knock their knickers right off." She said, trying to make him feel better.
He shuffled his weight around and forced her head off him. "I don't know if I will or not – be fine that is." He started as she raised her head and gave him a confused look. "I just get the feeling that everything's not right here and I don't feel good about leaving, especially you. I don't know what it is but something is happening and I can't put my finger on it but it doesn't feel good." He said as he shook his head.
Liz tightened her hold on his waist and pulled him as close to her as possible. "Justin, everything is fine between us, and don't worry about your family or friends. Everybody is fine. Please, let's just go in there and have a good time – or if you want, I can tell them all that you don't feel good and can kick everybody out then it would be just the two of us."
She finished and brought her lips up to his neck to give him a soft kiss. She felt him relax under her touch and knew the answer to her question without him saying a word. She lifted her head to look at him and removed her arms from around his body. "Give me 5 minutes to run everybody off." She said as she quickly ran towards to door and smiled evilly as she opened it to begin the evacuation process.
Justin laughed at her eagerness then turned his head and body to the darkness again. He allowed his head to tilt up to the sky and closed his eyes to say a silent prayer. 'Please let this feeling go away.' He said to himself before inhaling the cool air then turning to go back inside and spend the night with his girlfriend.