Melissa threw her car into park, and sighed heavily. She looked up at the quaint house. 'Finally,' she smiled to herself. She left all her luggage in her car because she wanted to surprise her mother. She opened up the screen door to the front porch and rang the doorbell. She leaned against a cement wall that lined the kitchen window-completely out of the site from the front door. "Hello?" her mother answered the door, and swung it open, "Any one there?"

"Probably those neighborhood brats," her farther chimed in, right behind her Mom.

"Only the best one on the block," she said calmly stepping back into view from the front of the door. Her mother squealed with excitement as they both stepped in and gave her a giant hug. "It's so good to be home," she smiled as her parents loosened their grip on their baby girl.

"We have a lot of talking to do," her mother requested, pulling out a chair for her in the kitchen. The three talked about everything from the cute little chocolates on the pillows in Japan to the fans in California. They were so proud of their little girl, it brought tears to their eyes. Her mother lead her into the living and showed her a photo album she was starting with all the newspaper clippings about her. Being a local newspaper she was in it almost daily, speaking very highly of her. It felt so good to be home. She missed her parents so much while she was on the road.

The conversation that beamed with happiness was soon over a few hours later. Melissa looked at her watch, "Well, guys, I have an early flight out of Fort Lauderdale tomorrow, and I want to see the girls before I go."

"Well, you better get going. Call them before you go though, make sure they're home, and still awake," her mother instructed carefully.

'Shit,' she thought to herself. She had forgotten to call James, and more importantly Justin. She figured she'd just call them in the car on the way to Josephine's house. Undoubtedly, her three bestfriends would all be together. The four of them were inseparable-at least they used to be.

She jumped back into her car, and sped off. Josephine's house was relatively close to her own-and definitely the closest of all her friends. She picked up her cell, and dialed while she was stop at a light. "Hello?" the other line answered.

"Well, see I'm a little lost and I can't remember how to get to 9264 Oakridge Lane."

"MELISSA!" the girl shouted so loudly into the phone, that she had to pull it away from her ear.

"Hey girl! Ya miss me? Cuz I'm coming over and boy do I have a lot to tell you," she smiled as her friend gushed.

"Oh wow, you're home? The girls are here, hurry up!" Jo replied, hanging up the phone. Only moments later, Melissa arrived at her friends house.

The three girls met her outside with huge hugs, and a million questions. Melissa brushed them back inside, she was completely embarrassed, and didn't want to cause a scene. As they were inside, the girls became extremely quiet-all with anticipation clearly read across their faces. "Hold on, I just need to call James real fast," she said as she dialed, "I meant to do it in the car, but I wasn't thinking."

James answered, quickly, "Hey Melissa. You forgot didn't you?"

"Yup, but I'm safe and sound. What times my flight tomorrow?" she questioned.

"Well, you need to be at the airport by 7:30, plane leaves at 8," he replied. He heard her groan, "Did you call Timberboy yet?"

The three friends looked up at her, and she smiled. "No, not yet. Did he call you or something?" she said trying to hush the phone.

"Yeah, something about you said you'd call-and he was worried cuz it had been longer than he imagined," James replied. "Got quite the hold on that boy."

"What boy?" he friends inquired. All at once, she shot them a glance of innocence, and got back on the phone. "All right, well if he calls again-which I doubt he will, tell him that he has my number if he wants to talk to me."

"Aren't you gonna call him?" James questioned.

"No, he's probably not home anyway. I mean it's late, and he's probably out partying or something," she smiled at the thought of him.

"He said he was gonna wait up for you-so give him the decency."

Her face lit up at that last comment. He was waiting for her? Gosh... "Good night James." And with that, she hung up.

"What boy?" her friends all looked at her, and Symone chimed in, "Yeah, who's Timberboy?" When the words left her mouth, something snapped in her head, "You didn't!?!?"

"I did my friend," she replied filling up with giggles, the two other girls still didn't catch on. "He took me out to lunch today. Oh my gosh, Sym, he's so cute!"

"Timber~ Oh my God, you had lunch with Justin Timberlake!?!?," the two remaining girls screamed out loud together.

"And Jo, you'll be happy to know, JC is even cuter in person. In his pajamas no less," she let that last line slip through quietly.

"IN HIS PAJAMAS?!?! Oh Jesus, someone get me a drink," she joked. "I can't believe this, what did he say?"

"Well, nothing really. He called me early this morning, and woke me up. He asked if he could take me out, and that was it. It was a lot of fun, he gave me a lot of pointers. He was just trying to be nice."

"Just trying to be nice? Two seconds ago you were gushing how cute he is. Don't give me that crap, we can see right through it."

"All right, so he's absolutely beautiful. And he's sweet, and charming, and everything else you could possibly imagine. But I need to focus, I can't have a crush on a superstar," she said, disappointment evident in her voice. "He's out of my league."

"I don't know how much more 'in your league' he needs to get. You seem to forget who's the superstar on the rise," Josephine gave in her two cents. "Do not sell yourself short. But save JC for me."

"What about the other guys, did you meet them too?" Vanessa asked patiently.

"No, not really. Chris was there, and we talked, but only for a short time. Because Justin had to bring me home," she smiled. "But guys, really don't say anything to anybody, cuz that's all I need is for rumors to start already."

"We totally understand," Josephine assured her. They would keep their promises, they always have. The four girls continued to talk about her schedule, and everything that was happening for her, and they were disappointed to say they least when she told she had to get going. The three girls followed her out to the car. "Oh, guys, I almost forgot," she said popping her trunk.

"Please tell me you kept JC in there, and he's coming to propose to me," Josephine replied sarcastically.

"No not quite," she said digging through her duffle bag that still remained in her trunk. She finally got a hold of what she was searching for. She pulled out a small plastic bag and handed all three girls a light weight gold anklet. "This are for you guys," she smiled, "just to let you know I'm always thinking about ya."

All four girls squeezed together in a tight hug, and they said their thank yous and good byes. When they pulled apart all four were in tears. "We'll miss you," Josephine managed to spit out through her tears.

"Have fun," Symone said wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. Melissa started to pull away when Vanessa waved her to roll down her window. "Take care of the curly haired wonder," she replied sarcastically causing all three girls to giggle.

Melissa sped off and honked the horn on her way down the familiar road. She was really going to miss them. As was turning the corner she saw a flashing light coming from her cellphone that rested gently on her plush leather seating. She picked it up and dialed her voice mail.

"Hey Meliss, It's Justin here. I just wanted to make sure you got in on OK. Give me a call whenever you get this. Doesn't matter how late-I'll probably be up. But in case you don't call... Good Night-Sweet Dreams."

She smiled, feeling the blush rise to her skin. How can someone be so incredibly sweet, and still be human? She dialed up his cell phone, and took the option of leaving a voice mail.

"Hey Timberboy," she started off happily. "I just wanted to let you know I was home. Hope you didn't wait up too late for me. Thanks for the concern, maybe I'll give you a call tomorrow," She really didn't know what else to say, and the next line rolled off her tongue before she could even comprehend it, "Goodnight sweetie."

She abruptly hung up the phone and smacked her phone head, "What were you thinking?" She continued to bash herself out loud for being so stupid her entire way home. She got ready for bed, and continued to think about. And soon she was off to sleep...sweet dreams ahead.

Justin lay in bed frozen, waiting for her to call. He looked at his clock again. She wasn't going to call. He gave his cell phone one last hard look before he rolled over onto his side. As almost on cue, right as his eyes shut, his phone started to beep. He had a voice mail, and his large frame clumsily tried to find the phone in the dark. He picked it up, and it automatically dialed the number. "You have one new message. To play this message please press one," the recorded voice instructed into his ear.

"Hey Timberboy, I just wanted to let you know I was home. Hope you didn't wait up too late for me. Thanks for the concern, maybe I'll give you a call tomorrow," there was a long pause, and for a second he thought she hung up-but nothing could have prepared him for what was to come, "Goodnight sweetie."

His mouth dropped as he scrambled to listen intently. He couldn't believe it-she called him sweetie. Although it was a small term of endearment, it meant a lot to him. The smile was evident on his face, as he rolled back over into his bed, "It is a good night, isn't it?"

Melissa quickly boarded her plane, waving to her parents. Her mother was hysterical to say the least-Good-byes were not here strong point. Most of the time when she left her Mom would call her only moments later just to check up on her. It was a bad habit that she couldn't seem to break. The young girl made herself comfortable in her black leather first class seat, and began to day dream, when her cellphone started to ring. Undoubtedly, it had to be her mother. She flipped it open and smiled, "Checking up on me already?"

"Well, what was I supposed to do when you give me a heart attack that it takes almost 7 hours to get from Orlando to Boca," it wasn't her mother, but he was definitely checking up on her.

"Hi Justin, I'm sorry about that. I would've called you sooner, but I was talking to my parents and just lost track of time. Did you get my message?" why did she even remind herself of the embarrassing message.

"Yes, I did SWEETIE," he gushed into the phone.

"Oh shut up. I knew it was a mistake the second it passed my lips," she confessed.

"So you didn't mean it?" he asked in a disappointed tone.

"Please put all cellphones and laptops away, we will let you know when it is safe to use them again, Thank you," the stewardess announced over the speaker.

"Justin, I gotta go," she said. Thank God, anything to get her out of answering that question.

"But, did you mean it?" he smiled, she was squirming, and he could almost feel it.

"Of course I meant it," she said abruptly, and switching off the phone. She gave a sigh of relief as she shut off her phone and returned it to her carryon. 'That was a little embarrassing,' She thought to herself, as she closed her eyes and relaxed enjoying the silent flight.

Justin laughed out loud numerous times, "Ha ha, I got her right where I want her." He said still gripping his cellphone. 'It's amazing what a little charm can do,' he thought to himself.

JC turned over in his bed, "Will you shut up, I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry Jace, but no can do," he said annoyingly-sitting on the edge of JCs bed. "I'm in a good mood, and nobody can stop me."

"I'll stop you when I pull those cute little curls out of your head-one bye one."

The large smile slowly faded from Justin's face as he realized how annoying he really was being. But he was excited...this was a big deal to him. She was starting to come around. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't help it. She was irresistible. He bounced lightly on JC's bed one more time before heading down stairs.

The aroma of a home cooked delicious breakfast filled the air, as well as the overwhelming smell of coffee. Justin's Mom appeared coming down the stairs, "Justy-baby. I don't know who this girl is, but I want to meet her."

Justin looked at his mother curiously, and downright shocked, "A son can cook his mother breakfast just for the hell of it. It has to be because of a girl."

"Well, it's not mothers day, and you definitely don't cook your own meals on your days off. So it has to be a girl. Come on spill-what's her name?" she asked filling herself a warm cup of coffee.

"Melissa," Chris answered as he came down the stairs groggily.

"See, I knew it was a girl," she smiling over at her son, until she realized something off, "Chris...what are you doing up so early?"

"Did you hear the mass of curls? Whistling around the bathroom, and the kitchen. I could damn nearly kill him."

"So, tell me about her?" Justin Mom inquired making herself comfortable at the kitchen table.

"She's cute, light hair, big smile. She's a singer too, ya know, don't want to mix with the 'other kind,'" Chris answered for him.

"I wasn't asking you sweetheart, I was asking him," she pointed to her son.

"Really, it's not a girl. I was just in a good mood, and I decided to get up early," he replied innocently.

"You called her before she got on the plane this morning didn't you," Chris asked politely, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"He most certainly did, and he woke me out of a dead sleep with evil laugh like he had conquered the world," JC interjected pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"If you woke up JC, you must've been really loud," Justin's Mom replied.

"I wasn't that loud," Justin answered back.

JC and Chris looked at one another and answered simultaneously, "Yes you were."

"I'll get it out of you eventually boy, so you might as well spill it," his mother informed him.

"Really Mom, it's nothing. I just took this girl out to lunch yesterday and we-well I, had a great time," he smiled. "But I swear-the breakfast is just because I love you, and it's good to be home."

"You were home yesterday morning and you didn't make breakfast," she replied sarcastically. He had no comeback-for once Justin Timberlake was speechless.