The next morning everyone was awake and eating breakfast in the dining hall of the hotel. Liz had tried to keep her distance from Justin, though she did steal a few glances of him from across the room. She was still unnerved that every time she got near him, Britney would interrupt. She didn't know it was JC that had called last night.
The reason Justin grimaced when he saw who was on the phone was because he knew JC would be upset since it had taken him too long to get to their room. After seeing the upset look on Liz's face though, he knew that she hadn't gotten over this whole Britney thing and probably never would.
He thought about coming clean with what Lance and the guys were up to because he didn't know if he could handle letting them set him up with Liz if she still couldn't deal with Brit.
His thoughts were interrupted when a strawberry came flying in his direction. He shook his head to get the fruit chunk out of his hair after it landed smack dab in the middle of a braid. He looked around the room to see who threw it then gave the culprit of the act an evil look. He stood from his seat, popped the red fruit in his mouth to chew and walked determinedly over to the other table across the room.
He placed both his hands on the table and grinned at a nervous looking girl just about his own age. "Um hey Justin, what's up?" Veronica asked as the others around her tried to muffle their giggles.
Justin merely smiled and leaned over the table to place his chest right above her. He slowly opened his mouth and let the juice of the strawberry that she had thrown at him, run down her hair and onto her face.
She screamed when she felt the juice hit her head and tried to shake it out but that only made it run faster down to her cheek. She stood up, knocking Justin out of the way and went to get the goo off her face.
The other girls busted out laughing when she left but knew she wasn't mad at him. "Justin that was so mean of you." Mandy said in between giggles.
"Yeah, but it was too funny." Danay chimed in.
The others nodded their heads in agreement and Justin laughed along with them until he saw that Liz wasn't joining in. She simply stood to throw her food away and began walking off.
Justin looked at Nikki who just shrugged her shoulders at him and mouthed 'I have no idea.'
He didn't have time to think about what was wrong with her because before he knew what hit him – literally – he felt something wet and cold running down his back. He turned sharply and saw a smiling Liz with an empty glass in her hand that had had fruit juice in it.
Everyone in the room, including the bodyguards and the other guys, busted out laughing at the sticky mess Liz had made when she poured the goo on Justin. Veronica suddenly came into the picture carrying a camera. She snapped away and had to dodge Justin's long arms when he reached out for her.
Liz got in the middle of the two of them and placed both hands on her hips while glaring up at Justin. "Nobody messes with my friends." She said as Veronica nodded her head in agreement from behind.
Justin was shocked beyond belief that Liz had the balls to do that to him. They were barely on speaking terms then last night they were within inches of kissing, but now, she was getting him back for playing with Veronica.
The other girls held up their hands and Liz walked over to their table to 'high-five' them all then felt someone link their arm with hers. She knew who it was because the hand was sticky.
She turned around slowly and gave Justin the sweetest look she could muster but it was no use. He rolled his eyes at her and dragged her towards the door to leave. They both heard the two groups of singers making kissing noises at them, which caused Justin to yell out sarcastically– "YEAH RIGHT!"
That made Liz stop in her tracks. The groups were only playing around but Justin more or less said that he wasn't going to be doing what they were insinuating. She pulled her arm out of his grasp and turned to face him. "Oh, so is it really that bad that they think we were going off to make out or whatever? Half the world already thinks we do that anyway. I'm surprised you aren't trying to stay away from me so the press doesn't see us together." She barked at him before leaving the room
He watched her retreating form and wondered what she was talking about. He turned to look at the nine pairs of eyes of his bandmates and friends who all looked like they had been caught. "Um, guys, what did she mean by the world thinks we're together?" He asked and when he didn't hear anyone reply he folded his arms across his chest and eyed his mother.
She quickly stood up and wiped her mouth clean before approaching him. "Honey, don't look at me like that. I have no idea what those people are doing but by the look on their faces, I'd be careful." She said, glancing over her shoulder then turned back to her son. She tapped him on the cheek before signaling the girls to pack up and leave. "Be VERY careful."
The rest of the day, neither group saw one another. The girls apologized numerous times to Liz for making her feel bad. They had only been playing around and didn't mean anything by it. Liz accepted their apologies and tried to go on with the day without worrying about it but it wasn't working.
She kept hearing Justin's 'yeah right' in her mind and the sour look he gave her. She didn't understand how someone could change that fast. Last night she was certain that he was going to kiss her but maybe it was just herself wishing that he would.
She shook her head to clear the image of him standing in front of her, looking so adorable and yet childlike when he asked if she liked his new hairstyle. She smiled to herself when she looked at her fingers and could still feel the softness of those braids. When doing this, she also let her mind wander to when Justin was kissing her fingertips, which sent her senses skyrocketing.
The feel of his delicate lips on her fingers was enough to drive her crazy. She brought them up to her face and ran them across her cheek, hoping to get some of the feeling of him to rub off on her.
"Lizzy, what ARE you doing?" Nikki asked as she came out of the dressing room in her outfit for the show.
Liz snapped out of her dreamlike state and shook her head. "Oh, um, I think I have a hangnail but I'm not sure. Here, what do you think?" She asked, as she approached Nikki and ran a few fingers across her cheek to check.
Nikki backed up and gave Liz a questioning look. "Um, no I don't think you have one. Are you okay?" She wondered when she saw the lost look in Liz's eyes.
Liz shifted nervously in her shoes but managed to keep a smile across her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Look, are the others coming out soon?" She asked, trying to get the attention off herself.
Nikki adjusted her top then went to make sure her pants were zipped up before answering Liz. "Yep, the others will be out in a sec. I just got ready first. You know them, always behind." She said as she motioned with her hands to asked Liz if she looked fine.
Liz nodded her head then heard the door to the dressing room open and out came the rest of the group, followed closely behind by Lynn.
She ushered the girls towards the stage and grabbed Liz's arm on the way by. "Come on, we're late." She said as the group made their way around backstage and got fitted for their earpieces and were handed their microphones.
The girls gave each other a quick hug and said a short prayer before heading on stage for their set. Lynn and Liz stood in the wings listening to them and taking note of anything that needed to be changed later.
Lynn finally spoke after a few minutes, asking Liz the question that had been bothering her for a while now. "Elizabeth, what is going on with you and my son?" She asked as her body turned to face her employee.
Liz tensed up but kept her eyes on the monitor that showed the girls on stage. "Nothing, why?"
Lynn folded her arms over the chest and let out a sigh. "Dear, look at me." She said, as she physically had to turn Liz's body to her.
Liz tried not to look her in the eye. She would crumble in a second if she did. Instead, she glanced behind her at a few of the crewmembers getting things set up for the guys to come out. "Yeah, I'm listening." She said as politely as possible.
Lynn cleared her throat, giving a nod to the monitor when she saw Veronica finally hit the one step in 'Say No More' that she had been missing then returned her focus on Liz. "Elizabeth, you can say all you want that you and Justin have nothing going on and maybe the others will believe you but I am not as blind as they are. You like Justin that much I know is for sure. I've seen you walk around in a daze with that far off dreamlike look to your face then you light up when his name is mentioned and that blows your cover BIG time."
Liz did NOT want to discuss this with Lynn – Justin's mom of all people. "Lynn, I really don't think…"
Lynn immediately interrupted her. "Elizabeth, I know I am someone you might be uncomfortable with talking about Justin but as his mother, I can tell you that his feelings are definitely the same as yours. He is absolutely crazy about you and I couldn't be happier."
Liz gave her a nervous grin. "Um, thank you I guess." She said, not really knowing what else to say.
Lynn just chuckled to herself. "Dear, you don't have to thank me – at least not yet." Liz didn't understand so Lynn explained. "I'm saying that I have never tried to interfere in Justin's love life – Lord knows he needs help in that department though – but I've left it up to him on who he wants to date. But, the two of you are being so stubborn and can't see that you are his match and he is yours. So if the two of you haven't figured that out by the end of the summer, maybe I can extend the time you have to open your eyes."
Liz's widened those same eyes Lynn was talking about and wondered what she was meaning. "Um, Lynn what do you mean by extending our time?" She asked, hoping with everything inside her that what was about to come from her boss' mouth would be what she had been wishing for.
Lynn smiled brightly at her and knew she already knew what she was going to say. "Elizabeth, I can tell you know what I'm meaning but I'll make this formal. What I mean is that I would like to extend you an offer of a permanent position with my company if you'd like to take it." She said but didn't need to give her any time to think about it.
Liz squealed and jumped towards Lynn, throwing her arms around her and squeezing her tight while she repeated 'yes' aloud. Lynn laughed at her obvious excitement and after she calm down, looked her square in the eyes. "Now, I'm glad you accepted but we still have a few weeks left with the guys and then when we get back to Orlando, we'll discuss things further, okay?"
Liz wanted to bust out with the song and dance at that moment but then she suddenly got a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach and had to ask the question that was burning inside. "Lynn, does this job offer have anything to do with Justin?"
Lynn took a deep breath before answering her. "Okay, let me just say this once. When you came to me in my office several weeks ago, I should have hired you permanent right on the spot but I wanted to see if you were serious about staying first. I even called your family…but I didn't mention anything to your mother, only your father, and he seemed to agree with me that it was time you tried your hand at what you wanted."
She eyed Liz carefully to make sure she wasn't upset that she had called her father. When she saw no ill will towards her, she continued. "I watched you these past few weeks and you are more than capable of doing what I need from you but a part of me wants you around here for my son as well."
Liz suddenly cringed at that. "Lynn, I don't want a job so I can be closer to Justin. Please…"
Lynn held up her hands to Liz. "Let me explain. Ninety-nine percent of my decision was based on your ability to do the job at hand. But there was a small part of me that knows you and Justin could be right for one another and if you don't see it now, then maybe if you're down here you will."
Liz still didn't like that idea at all. "Lynn, I appreciate your support for Justin and me but I don't want this job so we can get together. That wouldn't be fair to do that to me or to him. Hasn't he been through enough with the whole Britney thing?" She asked, unaware that they were being watched by two very upset blue eyes at that moment.
Lynn sighed heavily before shaking her head at Liz. "Dear, I wish I could tell you that Justin has been through enough but I don't think what he's going to go through is anywhere near ending. He's a big boy and can handle the press and the rumors going around. As for doing what's fair for you and him, I think I am being fair. I'm not trying to say that you should fall in love and get married tomorrow but you have to admit that you could be great together. I just want you both to be happy and it seems that together, you could be."
Liz heard every word she said and felt a part of her extremely happy that Lynn would think so highly of her that she would pick her to be with Justin but she didn't want to be pushed into anything ever again. "Lynn, I appreciate the job offer but if I don't get together with Justin, is that going to change anything?"
Lynn came back up to her and hugged her close. "No way. A mother can only hope that her child finds the right person to be with but if it doesn't work out for the two of you, I'll be just as thrilled to have you working for me."
Liz smiled warmly at her. "Thank you Lynn. I would love the job. The other stuff, we'll see." She said as the screams became louder as the girls rushed towards them.
They all congratulated one another before being ushered to their dressing room to get ready to go back out and watch the guys' show.
Liz walked back slower than the others, contemplating what she was given and smiled when she realized she would be staying around a little longer. "I've got the job, now I have to get the guy." She said a little too loud for that mystery person who was watching her earlier.
He got a smile of his own on his face and wondered if she would fall for the plan that his friends had to bring them together.
"Lizzy can I see you for a sec?" JC asked as he came out of his room just in time to see her walking down the hall with Mandy.
She smiled brightly to him and accepted his invitation. She walked into his room as he held the door open for her but he glanced back at Mandy and winked at her.
She nodded her head and ran off to her own room to get the others.
"So, what did you need?" Liz asked as she entered the room.
JC shifted nervously in his shoes, trying to think of something to keep her busy. "Oh, I wanted to um, know how you were doing?"
She eyed him carefully, wondering why he was acting strange but shrugged it off. She sat down on one of the beds and asked where Justin was.
"Oh, he's out with Joey right now." JC answered but saw her face fall a little when she pictured Justin out at a club dancing away with other girls.
Before he could correct himself, she answered his first question. "Oh, okay. Well, I'm doing just fine, I guess. It's been tough this week but work is great. And about to get better."
JC asked how so and she debated whether to mention anything to him about it but decided he was a safe person to talk to. She started in on the job Lynn was offering and how they still had to talk about things when they got back to Orlando. JC was beyond thrilled for her but glanced at the clock every few minutes. He had to get her to her room soon so he made up an excuse to go see Mandy and Liz took the bait.
She wondered why he rushed her to her room but was about to figure it all out.
When she entered, she found Mandy sitting on the bed reading a magazine. "Hey, JC wanted to see you." Liz said as she walked over to her suitcase and pulled out her tennis shoes.
Mandy watched her put them on and knew what she was doing. "NO, you can't go for a run now." She said, startling Liz.
"Um, okay. I know it's late but I'm feeling cramped here in the hotel." She started as she eyed the two of them again. They were up to something she was sure of that.
JC stood and patted her on the shoulder as he led her over to the glass doors that lie on the far end of her room. "Why don't you go out on the balcony and get some air. That would be so much better and safe for you to do." He said smiling sweetly at her as he literally pushed her outside.
She was facing him so she never saw the balcony or who was out there until JC shoved her and she lost her balance. She didn't even realize that someone caught her. All she saw was fire in her eyes and wanted to rip JC's head off for that. "JC what's up with you? Why'd you…"
She didn't get her question out because he waved innocently at her then slammed the door shut, locking it, much to her chagrin. She tried to stand but felt two hands on her. She turned her head up and noticed the bright white teeth of one Justin Timberlake shining down at her.
She shook her head and pushed up and away from him. She was catching on very quickly when Mandy appeared by the door and with the help of her new conspirators, Lance and Joey, the three pulled the curtains closed to leave Liz locked out on the balcony alone with Justin.
She slowly turned around and glared at him. "Was this YOUR idea?" She asked with disgust in her eyes.
Justin waved his hands in the air. "No way. They just told me to come out here and wait for you. But yeah, I knew what they were up to." He said wanting to be honest with her. She didn't look in the best of moods at all.
Liz groaned loudly before looking around him and noticing the iron chair behind him. She pushed him out of the way and sat down in it. "So, what did they expect us to do out here?" She asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Justin turned around and grinned at her. "Um, well they wanted to set us up and…"
Liz held up a hand to interrupt him. "And get us together. Yeah, it seems that everyone is wanting that to happen." She said to him.
Justin leaned his long body against the railing before talking again. "I know, my mom can be quite sneaky with that job offer and all." He said chuckling to himself.
Liz's eyes widened at his comment. "WHAT? How did you know about that?" She asked, not knowing who told him. She knew his mother hadn't spoken to him about it and JC didn't have time to tell him either since Liz had just told him and no one else knew.
"Oh, because I heard my mom and you talking earlier at the…oops." He said, realizing he was caught.
Liz stood up and approached him. "You mean you were eavesdropping on my conversation. I can't believe you did that. Well, I guess I can since you went along with this little charade that your buddies had planned. Did they really think that we would magically fall in love with one another and live happily ever after?" She asked, almost choking on her laughter.
Justin looked upset by that. "Hey, I'm insulted by that. Yes I went along with their plan to get you out here so we could talk and I think it's nice of them to care so much for the two of us." He said crossing his arms over his chest and shooting an evil look at her.
Liz just rolled her eyes. "Justin, I wasn't trying to sound mean but come on, I would think that with that article that ran about us, you wouldn't want to get within 10 feet of me again." She said to a confused looking young man.
"What article?" He asked an equally confused Liz.
"Um, don't you remember? The article where Britney said we were together? Come on, you know what I'm talking about. Joey said you had barricaded yourself in your room for a week until it died down. Remember now?" She looked at him like he had lost his mind. "What I don't understand is why you're even still friends with Britney after what she did."
Now Justin was beyond confused. "Ebby, I have NO idea what article you're talking about or why I wouldn't like Brit. I think I need a little more information than that."
Liz just rolled her eyes at him and became increasingly frustrated by the second. "Look, if you need me to spell it out for you then I will. According to the paper, Britney was quoted saying that you and I were going out and she wasn't happy about it. I confronted her and yelled at her but she didn't seem threatened. Joey said that you were upset over the whole thing and even worried about me. Did he just make that up or were you worried about me?" She asked when he still looked confused.
Justin stood there thinking as hard as he could how in the world that he didn't know what she was talking about until it hit him and anger rose inside until he thought he would bust.
He marched past Liz and began banging on the glass door and yelled to his friends. "JC, Lance, open the door NOW!"
Liz watched as the curtain slowly opened and the two of them simply smiled and shook their heads no at him. "Not until you work things out." Lance said as Justin's face turned bright red.
He threw his fists against the glass and pounded loudly. "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" He yelled which started to scare Liz.
"Justin don't get so upset. I'm sure they'll let us out sooner or later." She said as she came up to him and touched his shoulder.
He turned around abruptly and glared at her. "Tell me what paper you read that in." He said as she stepped backwards.
"Um, I don't really know. Whatever the local paper was, I guess. Why?" She asked, uncertain of this line of questioning.
Justin turned back around and saw the shocked faces of his friends on the other side of the door. He brought his hands back up to the glass but instead of pounding again, he raised his fingers in warning. "What paper did she read that in Joey?" He demanded as Joey turned his eyes to JC, who looked at Chris, who looked at Lance, who merely turned white as a ghost.
They all glanced into the room and heard the girls inside telling them to leave. The guys took that hint and started walking off.
Justin lost it right there. He grabbed the handle and yanked on it to loosen the lock. Liz just watched wondering what was going on.
Justin pulled harder and harder on the handle until it busted and he flung the door open. Liz had to walk in order to catch up to him as he entered the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him right in Joey's face.
"Why would Liz think I was barricaded in my room, Joey? Why would she think Britney said we were together? Tell me, Joey before I do something YOU will regret."
Liz was both confused and scared at that moment. "Joey, tell him about what you emailed me with. You said he was worried about me. Did he not tell you that?" She asked as she crept closer to him and looked into his eyes hoping to find the answers to what was going on.
Lance and the guys saw that Joey was caving in and knew they had to fess up. "Um, Lizzy, I think you and Justin need to sit down." JC said as he came up to her and gently led her over to her bed. She sat down and watched as Justin was forced to sit as well.
She glanced at him and they both wondered what was going on. JC cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, I don't really know where to start but please hear us out before you kill us, okay?" He asked as Liz shook her head and Justin just glared at him. He didn't like being left out in the cold and he knew what they were going to say had to be awful.
JC started again but Mandy and Nikki interrupted. "Maybe they won't get as mad if we tell them." Nikki said as she smiled at JC. He nodded and the girls sat in front of Liz.
Mandy reached out and held onto Liz's hand. "Tell me Nikki what is going on?" Liz asked, with a shaky voice. She was afraid of what they were going to tell her.
Mandy gave Nikki an agreeing nod and Nikki took a deep breath before beginning. "Well, I just want to say that we all think that you and Justin are so perfect together but you were just too stubborn and wouldn't give each other a try. We wanted to get the two of you together so we arranged for you to be stuck out on the balcony with him so you would have to talk but we did something else first."
She looked on the bed at the flowery comforter and said a silent prayer before speaking again. "We sort of…well, um." She was having a hard time getting it out but Danay blurted it out instead.
"We rigged the newspaper with a phony article about you and Justin."
Liz's eyes widened with shock and she yanked her hand away from Mandy. She sat back away from them all and looked at their faces. She saw the same sorry faces on them all but one. Justin sat in the corner of the room livid at what he was hearing.
Jenny came up to the bed and tried to calm Liz down. "Listen, we are so sorry but there was no other way to get you guys to open up your eyes and see each other."
Liz shot back at that comment. "What about staying the hell out of our business. That would have been just fine by me." She said as she stood and pushed Chris and Veronica out of the way. The small room felt much smaller with the eleven of them inside. Liz had to get out of there before she heard any more.
She grabbed Mandy's keycard and started out the door but was caught by Justin. When she spun around, she looked into his eyes and wanted to cry right there. "Don't go until you've heard it all." He said as he cautiously let go of her arm.
For the first time since meeting him, she felt a real connection with Justin. He had known about the balcony plan but had no idea of what else his friends had done so the two of them would face their friends together.
She nodded her head and felt him latch his fingers with hers and they both turned around to glare at the other nine people in the room.
All of a sudden, everything went quiet. They could hear each other nervously breathing but who would be the brave one to tell them the truth: all eyes pointed to JC.
He pointed to himself and the others bobbed their heads up and down. He sighed heavily but took the initiative to step forward and face his friends.
"Ahem, well, we sort of wrote a fake article that only Lizzy would see that said Britney had spilled the beans on you two being together, hoping that she would get upset and come running to you to see if you were alright and in the process, realize just how much she really cares for you." He rambled off as he approached Justin.
"You did what?" He asked, the fire returning to his eyes.
JC took another deep breath before looking at Liz. "Yeah, we took out the entertainment section of the paper and replaced it with our doctored one – well the girls replaced it after we sent it to them." Liz looked over JC's shoulder and glared at the group of girls who all hung their heads.
"Well, we called Britney and told her what we were doing and she went along with it because she thought you two would be good for each other, so when you…"
Liz interrupted right there. "Oh my God. You brought Britney in on this?" She asked as JC and everyone else in the room slowly nodded their heads. "I can't believe I yelled at her like that and called her a bitch."
Justin tugged at her hand and she smiled nervously at him. "I thought she really said all those things about us." She started then returned her attention to JC. "I knew it was too easy getting by that Mountain of a bodyguard she has. Was he in on it too?" She asked.
"Yeah and so was Johnny." Lance chimed in from behind JC.
Liz let go of Justin's hand and brought them both up to her face to rub her temples. "I don't believe this. First you guys get me all worried that the press is hounding Justin about me by faking an article and have Britney in on it – which, thanks to all of you, I now have to apologize to her – then you try to lock us out on the balcony to get us to talk. You guys are truly amazing. If you'd only spend this much effort on your own love lives then maybe you guys would be happy and could leave us alone." She said as she stormed out of the room before anyone could catch her.
Chris stood and approached Justin. "Man, we're sorry. We thought we were doing the right thing."
Justin just shook his head at his friend and turned to leave to find Liz. "You know that warning I gave you all about what she is capable of – well, double that and watch out cause now there's two of us after you all." He said as he stormed out of the room.
The other nine people slumped down on either the floor or the beds and let out groans of their own. Many of them held their heads and prayed this nightmare would end. "We screwed up BIG time on this." Danay said as she banged her head against the wall.
The others agreed and were sulking when they suddenly heard an alarm go off. They all jumped to their feet and ran outside into the hallway. They saw a few bodyguards standing by the elevators shaking their heads. One of them was on a cell phone screaming at someone.
The group crept closer and asked what happened. "The elevator got stuck between floors and they can't get anyone to fix it for awhile." Said one of the guards.
The group looked at one another not getting the urgency of it all. "Um, and we're upset because…" Chris asked.
"Because Liz and Justin are stuck in there, that's why." Another guard chimed in while pointing to the elevator.
The nightmare wasn't ending anytime soon – for any of them!