"Yes, but with her past, it's easy to see why she believed them," Howie said.
"Her past?" AJ asked, confused and wary.
"Yeah, with her ex cheating on her and just generally treating her like crap. If your ex had done that, wouldn't you not trust your next girl?" Howie asked logically.
"I wouldn't..." AJ admitted slowly. He cheated on her. He cheated on her. Timberlake cheated on her!
"You just gotta show her she can trust you," Howie reasoned. "Do something sweet, and keep doing it. Don't act rash, and don't do anything that can be taken wrong."
AJ smiled as an idea came into his head. "Thanks, D., I got an idea. Gotta go!"
"See ya, Bro," Howie laughed and hung up.
AJ took off with a piece of paper and a mechanical pencil, headed for his deck, where he could overlook both his pool and the ocean, and began writing. For once, he was satisfied with the song first time around. He had it all set up in his mind, he knew exactly what he wanted. He made a few calls to the record company, pulled a few strings, and headed straight for the studio.
Finally, at three a.m., AJ was satisfied with what he was hearing. He slipped the CD into a paper cover so it wouldn't get dirty or scratched, and drove to his girlfriend's house, knowing she would be up.
He rang the doorbell nervously and fidgeted with his t-shirt until she answered the door, clad in only sweat shorts and one of his old t-shirts.
"Don't say it," AJ said, holding a finger over her lips. "I did this for you today, I want you to listen to it. I didn't know how to tell you this, so I wrote you a song."
He stole your heart
Only did it because he could
Chewed you up and spat you out
That guy never was no good
Baby I would never do that
I will love you faithfully
But your suspicious mind thinks
I'm gonna repeat his story
It's making you crazy
Making you a wreck
Making you follow me
Making me a suspect
You seem to think I'm playing his game
Don't you know my name
That was him, this is me
We're different as can be
He and I are nothin' alike
You're confusing day with night
That was then, this is now
You wanna trust me but you don't know how
I'm never gonna mess around, let you down, can't you see
That was him, and baby, this is me
Stop making me feel bad
I'm the best thing you ever had
Only thing I'm guilty of
Is giving you too much love
He's making you crazy
Making you a wreck
Making you follow me
Making me a suspect
You seem to think I'm playing his game
Don't you know my name
That was him, this is me
We're different as can be
He and I are nothing alike
You're confusing day with night
That was then, this is now
You wanna trust me but you don't know how
I'm never gonna mess around, let you down, can't you see
That was him, and, baby, this is me
Don't suffocate me, give me some space
Don't make me pay for all his mistakes
Believe in the love that's in my kiss
Don't see things that don't exist
That was him, this is me
We're different as can be
He and I are nothing alike
You're confusing day with night
That was then, this is now
You wanna trust me but you don't know how
I'm never gonna mess around, let you down, can't you see
That was him, and baby this is me
"Thank you," Britney said, looking at AJ. Justin would never have done something like this for her. But then, that was him, and this was AJ. It was time she realized that. "I believe you."