"Hey guys, come on in." Joey said as he welcomed Liz and Justin into his home.
The two said their thanks and walked in through the hallway. They came to the kitchen where Joey's family was gathered and talking about the latest Fatone gossip.
Joey's mom, Phyllis, was the first to notice Liz and Justin enter the kitchen area. "Justin, so nice to see ya." She said as she came up to the pair and hugged them both. "Liz, I'm glad you could come too." She said, smiling at her.
"Well, thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Fatone." Liz started but was waved off by Joey's mom.
"Dear, it's Phyllis please."
Liz apologized to her but was immediately ushered upstairs by a raving young girl. She didn't have time to say bye to the group before her feet hit the steps and she was running up them.
She made it to the top and yanked her arm out of the hold by the stranger. "Um, can I ask what you are doing?" She asked, trying not to sound mean but she had no idea who it was that had forced her up here.
The younger girl said to follow her and Liz shook her head as she stepped into a room that was decorated for a girl – maybe this girl, Liz thought.
As the door closed behind her, Liz spun around and eyed her carefully. "Okay, are you going to tell me who you are and why you dragged me up here?" She asked with her hands resting slightly on her hips.
The girl smiled excitedly at her and plopped down on the pastel colored bedspread on the bed. "You're Justin's girlfriend, right?" She asked, changing the subject.
Liz slowly nodded her head at this girl. "Um, yeah I am but WHO are you?" She was getting annoyed at this young girl's bold attempt to keep her in the dark on who she was.
The girl just bounced on the bed and crossed her legs underneath her. "Oh, I'm Jessie. Joey's cousin. But back to you and Justin. So, what's up with that?" She asked as she patted the area beside her.
Liz took a deep breath and debated whether to sit down or not but the innocent look on her face made Liz soften and take those few steps towards the bed to join her. "So, you're Joey's cousin?" She asked as the younger girl nodded her head.
"Yeah but enough about me. I asked what's going on with you and Justin?" She replied, wanting to know about this older woman.
"Well, why would you want to know about us? We're kind of boring really." She said, not wanting to tell about her private life to this stranger – a relative of Joey's or not.
Jessie didn't like that answer. "Come on, I want to know what you've been doing with MY boyfriend." She said, to Liz's shock.
"Ahem, YOUR boyfriend. Well Justin didn't tell me he had a younger girl." She said, starting to get the whole story.
Jessie crossed her arms over her chest and the sweet young looking girl turned to sinister. "Yeah, he has been my boyfriend since I was eight and now he has you. I don't like that."
Liz tried not to laugh at her but she was just too cute getting jealous of Liz's relationship with Justin. "Um, I am really sorry but what would you like me to do about it?" She asked, noticing that this girl couldn't have been over 12 years old. 'Boy the young ones definitely go for Justin.' She said to herself.
"Well, you could drop dead." Jessie replied completely serious.
"WHAT?" Liz yelled. She tried to think of what else to say to this 'child' but was stopped when she continued.
"Gees, I'm just kidding. Man, who got your panties in a wad? But if you do want to do something about it, then leave Justin to me this afternoon." She said in a sticky sweet voice.
Liz's shocked face softened and she continued to battle the inner demons that wanted to let her giggles out. "Oh, well as long as I don't have to die. Yeah, you can have Justin all day to yourself if HE wants you."
Jessie didn't miss a thing on that statement. "Oh, he WILL want me." She said giving Liz a confident grin.
Liz just shook her head. "Well, we'll see what HE says when we see him, okay?" She replied returning her own grin to the young girl beside her.
Jessie nodded in agreement and told Liz that they were done up here and had to return downstairs.
The two of them made their way back to the kitchen and Liz noticed the stares the adults were giving her and Jessie. Phyllis pointed outside so Liz would know that was where Justin went to. She thanked her and opened the door to exit the house but Jessie stepped in front of her. "Thanks." She said as she pushed Liz out of the way and walked out first.
Liz just rolled her eyes at her younger competitor but smiled evilly when the little witch would get hers because Justin wouldn't pick this child over his own girlfriend. "There he is." Liz said as she pointed to the backyard where Justin was standing.
He was one of a half-dozen people standing around a grill where Joey's dad seemed to be cooking. The two girls made their way over to the group of men and Liz lightly tapped Justin on the shoulder. He turned around and gave her a warm smiled but looked past her to Jessie.
"JES!" He yelled as he pushed Liz out of the way and hugged the younger girl.
Liz stared at him, shocked he had done that. She noticed the triumphant smile that Jessie gave her when she was picked up by Justin and hung off the ground.
Liz felt physically ill at that moment. A twelve-year old just stole her boyfriend. She had to get out of there.
She excused herself and headed back inside. She could hear the group of men chuckle at her departure. She just opened the door back up and entered the kitchen to sit and talk to the women.
"Jessie got to Justin, huh?" Another stranger asked Liz as she sat on one of the barstools. Liz turned her head and nodded slowly with a pout on her face. "That's my girl. I've taught her well." The woman said.
Liz just shook her head, for the umpteenth time. "Your daughter, I presume." She said and the woman simply smiled.
"Yeah, I'm Chloe Joey's aunt." She stood from the chair she sat in, walked up to Liz and held out her hand for Liz to shake, which she did immediately. "Don't feel bad, Jessie's had a crush on Justin since she first saw him and gets jealous whenever we're in town and he brings his girlfriends over. At least you didn't try pulling her hair out like the last one did."
Liz had to laugh at that one. "Let me guess, Ashley?" She said and got a round of groans from the other women. "Yeah, I've heard about Justin's old flame. Not on the nice side, but she did know how to throw a baseball." She started but was finished by Phyllis.
"Yeah, right at Justin's head."
The other women in the kitchen all began laughing. Soon, the group had introduced themselves to Liz and she was enjoying her interaction with them.
"Hey, is lunch ready yet?" JC asked as he and a few friends walked into the kitchen where the women were still talking.
Liz's head shot up at the sound of his voice and rush over to hug him. "JC, You're here." Liz said as she felt him tighten his hold on her as well.
"Are you kidding me, I wouldn't miss a cookout for anything." He answered but looked over her shoulder. "Especially when Mrs. Phyllis makes her famous potato salad." He said, winking in the direction of Joey's mom.
She lifted a bowl and smiled when JC held up both his thumbs at her. "That's what I'm talkin about." He said as he turned back to Liz. "So where's that boy of yours?" He asked, looking around for any signs of men. Not that a room full of women wasn't nice but most of them were like family to him so that thought would be just wrong.
Liz rolled her eyes and pointed outside. JC thanked her and quickly kissed her on the cheek as he and his friends went to see the others. Liz tried to watch him leave but didn't want the others to see her stare – though they all did. "Um, Elizabeth, you would like to take this outside and put it on the table. I think the guys should be done soon with the meat." Phyllis said, coming up to her and handing her a few dishes of side items for their meal.
Liz just nodded her head and gave her a small smile. "And if you want to tell Jessie that she needs to come in so you can have your boyfriend back, go right ahead." She chimed in before Liz took off.
She whipped her head back around and tried to deny the fact that she wanted Justin to herself. "Don't try to say that you're not wanting to separate those two. Either that or you were checking JC out when he left." Chloe said as Liz just laughed at her.
"Actually, I was looking at his friend Andy. That boy has got a walk behind him. Woohoo." She said, fanning herself but the others knew she was full of it. They saw the instant her and Justin walked into the room together that they were crazy for one another. It was so obvious to them all.
"Yeah, he's not bad but Justin, now that boy has got something in those jeans of his to have that kind of walk." Chloe said as she smiled at Liz.
"Hey, I'm the only one who should know about what's in those jeans of his." She announced in warning as she wiggled a finger at her. The two soon cracked up laughing and Chloe came up to Liz to push her outside.
"You remember whose daughter it is out there with your boy. I taught Jessie everything she knows."
Liz pretended to shutter in fright over that but Chloe just opened the door and pointed to where she was suppose to take the food.
She continued to giggle to herself as she walked past the group of guys and Jessie and placed the platters of food on the tables that were set up for the meal.
Once she set the food down, she felt two strong arms encircle her body. She smiled brightly as the person who held her breathed into her ear. "So, havin fun with the Fatone women in there?" He asked as his lips grazed her earlobe.
Liz had to blink her eyes a few times to get the dirty thoughts that invaded her mind about Justin right then. "Um, yeah probably as much fun as you've been having with your little girlfriend." She replied and pushed herself away from him.
She turned around and placed both hands on her hips to glare at him.
Justin just shook his head and slowly approached her. He pulled her hands away from her body and made her wrap them around his neck. He then licked his lips as he brought his head closer to hers. "Yeah, Jes is fun and all but I think what I need is some good lovin that a twelve year old just can't provide." He finished and started to bring his lips towards hers.
Liz decided to have some fun with this one. "Well, Chloe's inside right now wondering what you have hiding in your jeans so she can help you out." She said as she brought her hands down from around his neck and lightly tapped him on the cheek before getting out of his arms and walking back towards the door.
He just stood there with shock written all over his face. She simply smiled and waved as she entered the house to gather more things for their meal.
"Phyllis, Joe, thank you both for having me over today." Liz said as she helped them clean up in the kitchen.
"Oh, the thanks is ours. We loved having you here. You come see us whenever you want – and next time, please eat more. You look like skin and bones as it is. We can't have that in this house, got it?" She said as she pointed a finger at Liz.
She just nodded her head. "Yeah, I got it." She replied, then heard Justin yell that the car was ready and time to leave. She thanked the two of them again then headed outside to leave with Justin.
Joey and JC were standing by his car chitchatting when Liz stepped up to them. "Hey, are we ready?" She asked Justin, wrapping her arms across JC's shoulders.
Justin gave her a questioning look before walking up to her and physically removing her from his friend. "We are now." He said as she tried to protest but it wasn't working. The other guys said their good-byes and laughed at the couple when Liz started punching Justin in the arm for acting like a barbarian.
"BYE YOU TWO." Joey and JC yelled as Liz stuck her hand out the window and waved from the now moving vehicle.
When they were out of the driveway, she turned to face Justin. "Why'd you do that?"
He knew what she was talking about and didn't need further explanation. "I just don't like seeing you hang on my friends." He said, keeping his eyes locked on the road ahead.
She continued to stare at him, hoping he would acknowledge her presence. When he didn't she gave up and turned her face and body to the window, just watching the trees as they past by them.
She heard the radio turned up and Justin flipping through the stations until it landed on XL 106.7 and a slow song came on. She could hear him humming to the beat of it and singing softly to himself. She smiled against the window when he cracked on a high note and tried to keep herself from laughing.
"Hey, I can see your shoulders shaking, so stop laughing." He said all of a sudden.
She whipped her head around to look at him. "They are not. I wasn't laughing THAT hard." She explained to him.
"But you were laughing." He said.
Realizing she had gotten caught, she smiled at him. "Fine, so I was giggling a little. That note you hit was just a tad off, don't you think?" She asked, trying not to make him too mad – he was the professional singer in the car.
He raised his eyebrow to her and smirked. "Well, maybe I went off key to get your attention."
She just rolled her eyes at his lame excuse. "Yeah right." She said as she took her hand and swung it towards his chest. The back of it contacted with his shirt but it never returned to her side.
Instead, he reached for her hand and held it in his own. "Maybe I wanted your attention so I could say that I was sorry for getting upset earlier."
She looked down at their hands and laced her fingers with his. "Well, maybe I shouldn't have hung on JC like that to make you upset."
He kept his eyes on the road but brought their attached hands up to his mouth and lightly grazed the back of hers with his lips. "Yeah maybe, but I shouldn't have gotten upset in the first place. I don't know what my problem was but I'm sorry."
When he finished the kiss on her hand, she pulled at his and he allowed her to lay their hands in her lap. She brushed over his with her thumb and even attached her other hand to sandwich his in between. She looked down at the interaction and smiled. "Justin, you don't have to apologize to me for that, but you should for pushing me out of the way and hugging Jessie back at the house."
Justin started laughing when he heard that. "Yeah, I thought you looked pissed at me. Look, I am sorry about that too. Can I make it up to you?" He asked, pulling his eyes off the road for merely a second to see her lift her head and turn towards him.
She smiled brightly as she nodded her head. "I'd like that." She said as she felt him squeeze her hand in his.
The rest of the way back to her apartment was stress-free. They talked about the lunch they had at Joey's house, a little about when the guys were leaving, and how work and school were going for Liz.
When they reached her apartment, their hands separated and Justin turned the car off. Liz started to unlock the door and open it up but Justin told her that he would do it. She shook her head at his attempt to help her out of the car and laughed when the door opened and he reached his hand in to her.
"You are such a chauvinist." She said to him but he just put his hand on his heart.
"Me? Well then get out yourself." He moved out of the way but held the door open anyway.
She rolled her eyes at him but scooted out of the car. As her feet hit the pavement, she had a sudden pain in her stomach and had to reach out for Justin to hold her up.
"Ebby, what is it?" He asked as he held onto her by the arms.
She cringed at the pain and felt her head becoming dizzy as well. "I don't know. I just feel like I'm gonna…" She never finished her sentence. Her legs buckled and she began to fall. Justin had to react quick or she would have hit the ground.
"Ebby. Liz. ELIZABETH!" He yelled as he held her in his arms. "Please baby, don't do this. Wake up, Ebby. Come on, just open your eyes."
He didn't know what to do. She had collapsed in his arms and was out cold now. He scooped her up and walked to her door. He had a key with him so he unlocked it and rushed over to her couch to lay her gently on.
"Come on, just wake up." He said as he began patting her cheek to get a response out of her. A few minutes went by then she suddenly started to move. "That's it, now just open your eyes. Ebby, open them for me."
Liz slowly twitched an eye open then the other one followed. She had a hard time adjusting to the light and her surroundings so she put her hands up to her face. "Ju…Justin." She said, hoping it was him that was with her.
"Yeah, I'm right here." He replied.
"What…what happened?" She asked, trying to sit up but he stopped her.
"No stay where you are. You passed out. You said you felt like something, but you didn't finish because you just collapsed. Ebby, has this happened before?"
Liz crinkled her brow up, trying to remember if it had or not. "Um, yeah, once or twice. But I'm okay now. I promise."
This time, she shook her head and lightly pushed him away so she could sit up. He allowed her to – but slowly. He didn't want a repeat performance of outside.
He took a seat beside her and held onto her hand. "Well, you don't look okay. Have you seen a doctor?"
She whipped her head around at him. "Justin, I'm not sick. I just got a little dizzy and past out, that's all." She said as she slowly stood up, gained her balance and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water before he could stop her.
"A LITTLE DIZZY?" He yelled as he came up to her. She poured herself a glass and took a sip of it, eyeing him the whole time. "Ebby, I don't care if you stumped your toe, I'm going to be out of the country for nearly a month and I don't want to worry about you so go see a doctor."
She put the glass down in the sink and shook her head at him. "Justin, its Saturday – late afternoon at that. There aren't any doctors opened now."
He just gave her a displeasing look. "I KNOW that, just go on Monday, will ya?" He asked as he slowly approached her and wrapped his arms around her body.
She couldn't help but smile at his concern for her. "I'll go." She said but he didn't look convinced. "I said I'll go on Monday, okay?" She asked as she touched his forearms with her hands.
He appeared to be a little more convinced that time. He leaned in and gave her quick kiss. "I just worry about you so thank you."
She pulled him closer and snuggled up to his shoulder. "I know you do but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." 'At least I hope not.' She finished to herself.
That bad feeling was back. 'Please go away.' He said to the nagging inside. 'Just go away.'