“Oh... five more minutes,” Julie moaned.
“No, Julie now. C’mon get up,” Justin begged.
“Oh, all right,” Julie said, rolling out of bed. They both got dressed, half-asleep and barely able to stand up. Once they were ready, Justin took a flashlight and a blanket and led Julie quietly out the front door and up to the roof.
“Justin, where are we going?” Julie whispered. It was still dark out since it was only about a quarter to five a.m.
“Shh... Just follow me,” he whispered back.
Once they reached the roof, Justin found a flat area that he and Julie could sit on. They sat close together to keep warm from the chill of the early morning. Justin turned to Julie with a sincere look as he began to speak softly.
“I was afraid to come here and spend the week with you because of our fight about a month ago. But, when you first turned me down back when we first met, I thought I would never see you again. And when Lance told me you called that one-day, I was so happy, I didn’t know what to do. And I figured that I couldn’t let one fight get in the way of coming here to see you. And you know what? Even with all the heartache we’ve gone through this week, I don’t regret it for a second. You’re worth all I had to go through this week and I want you to know that”
He leaned forward and kissed her gently at first, and then more deeply.
They made out on the rooftop until it started to get a little light out. Julie began to shiver as a little breeze blew by.
“Cold?” Justin asked her.
“Uh-Huh,” she nodded.
Justin took off his coat and wrapped it around her. He then took the blanket and wrapped it around the both of them. Julie moved from sitting beside Justin to sitting between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head against his shoulder as they watched the sunrise together.
“Justin?” she looked up at him, “Thanks. This is great. Even though you interrupted my sleep, I’m glad you did this” Justin chuckled.
“You’re welcome,” he said kissing the back of her neck. They sat there just enjoying each other’s company until six o’clock.
“We should go back down now,” Julie said, trying to stand up. “Wait,” Justin grabbed her waist to keep her seated, “I wanted to give this to you”
“My ring,” Julie said putting it on.
“Yeah. I found it on the kitchen counter the day after our fight”
“Yeah, I put it there cuz I was mad at you. I went to go find it again and it wasn’t there. I thought I had lost it”
“I’ve had it this whole time”
Julie gave Justin a kiss and smiled at him causing him to smile as well. They stood and picked up the flashlight and blanket and headed back downstairs to the apartment. When they got there, Lance was the only one awake.
“Good morning, Lance,” Julie greeted him as they walked in. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went straight for the cereal.
“Morning,” he said looking confused, “Did you just come in through the front door?”
“We watched the sunrise from the roof,” Justin told him. He sat next to Julie and also had a bowl of cereal.
The rest of the group slowly started to wake up and eat. When it was nearing 7:30 and everyone had showered and were ready to go, the reality hit. Julie caught Kristina in here room crying.
“Kris, what’s wrong?” Julie asked, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.
“I’m gonna miss JC that’s all,” Kris replied.
“I know,” Julie said hugging her, “I’m gonna miss all the guys”
“Me too. But, JC the most. He’s the only one that’s ever-”
“Treated you right?”
“Yeah,” Kristina nodded.
“It’ll be OK,” Julie assured her, “Justin and I have gotten through the long distance thing pretty good when we weren’t that close. You and JC are extremely close and believe me you two will be fine”
“I guess,” Kris tried to calm down. Julie looked at her for a second.
“You really do love him don’t you?”
“Yes I do. Very much so”
Julie smiled, “Don’t worry about a thing. I know you guys will make it”
“Thanks Jewels,” Kris gave Julie another hug.
“Welcome. What are best friends for right?”
“Right”
The two left the room and joined the guys just in time to leave for the airport. The whole group was somber as they packed their things in the car.
The girls were going to follow them to the airport in Julie’s car, but at the last minute decided to change the arrangement. They decided to have
Kris drive Julie’s car with JC, Joey and Chris, while Julie would ride with Justin and Lance.
Once everything was worked out, they were off to the airport. In Julie’s car, Kris and the guys were having fun just cracking jokes and messing around. In Justin’s car, Julie and Lance were talking while Justin kept quiet. Julie wondered why he wasn’t talking but she didn’t bring it up.
This has got to be the worst day of my life!, Justin thought, How am I going to go for months without Julie by my side? This is so not fair! We just got back together! I should be spending way much more time with her right now!
Justin tried gathering his thoughts and tried thinking about how he was going to say good-bye when they got to the airport. Meanwhile, Lance was thinking about Justin.
I can’t believe him!, Lance thought, How can he sit there silently, knowing we’re leaving soon, while the girl that he so-called “loves” is sitting there next to him?! Why doesn’t he say something to her?! Doesn’t he see the upset look in her eyes? I shouldn’t have agreed to back off. If Julie were mine, she wouldn’t be hurting like that!
“So, what are you guys doing the next couple of months? You’re not touring yet, right?” Julie asked, trying to ease up the stress.
“No, we’re just doing a lot of promotion right now for the new album,” Lance told her, “We won’t be touring again until May”
“Wow. You’re doing promotion for that long?”
“Yup,” Lance replied.
“May. That’s a whole three months of promo,” Julie said, “You guys will come and visit again during that time right? I mean, three months is a long time without...” her voice softened as she said his name, “...Justin”
Lance looked down as he slowly nodded. She put her hand on his knee and he looked up at her. “Sorry” she lipped. Lance smiled as he lipped back
“That’s OK.” The lull of silence was broken by Justin, who was finally decided to speak.
“Don’t worry, Jewels,” he put his hand on her leg, “I’m coming to visit every chance I get. Anytime we go through this area or we get a few days off, I’m coming here to see you. Three months is way too long for me to be without you”
“Justin, we were apart for since months before this week”
Justin glanced at her for a second realizing she was right. “Well, let’s not let that happen again, OK?”
“OK,” Julie grinned with delight.
They pulled up to the airport parking lot and found a couple open spots next to each other. They got out of the cars and started to unload their baggage. “Umm... Justin?” Julie asked looking at his car.
“What?”
“How are you getting your car to Florida?”
“There’s this thing I forget what it’s called but you can transport vehicles on it. So, that’s what I’m doing. It’s all taken care of”
“Oh,” Julie nodded.
They made their way into the airport without a single person stopping them. But, when they got close to their gate, that all changed. A couple of girls who seemed to be around fourteen or fifteen years old approached them.
“Hi Justin!” one of them screamed.
“Hi,” Justin blushed. He signed some autographs for them while making conversation.
“So, how are you two young ladies today?” he asked being friendly.
“Fine,” they said together
“I saw your interview the other day. Oh my God it was so cool. You guys are so funny! But what was up with that thing between you and Lance?” one of them asked.
“What thing with Lance?” Julie asked, suddenly interested in what the girls had to say.
“Oh, well-”
“Well, we were just messing around and stuff that’s all. No biggy,” Justin told Julie, trying to draw her attention away from the girls.
The two girls just looked at him in confusion. Justin grabbed Julie’s hand and walked away waving good-bye to his two fans. “Justin, what were they talking about?” Julie pulled her hand away from Justin’s grip.
“Nothing, Jewels. I promise. Believe me if it mattered I would have told you. Like I said, we were just messing around”
“Is she talking about that interview you did two nights ago? The one where you and Lance came home with all bruised up cuz you were ‘just messing around’?”
Justin hugged Julie tightly and whispered in her ear. “Jewels, we have less than an hour together before I leave and we don’t see each other for who knows how long before we come through this part of the country again. Please, just try to let us have to have the best time together right now and not worry about anything else. Please?”
“OK,” she whispered back.
They headed for the terminal gate hand in hand. When they got there, the rest of the group was already there. They had passed Julie and Justin up when Justin stopped to sign autographs.
Justin helped Julie to a chair and then sat next to her as they waited for their flight.
“You know, we still have about forty minutes to kill before we have to board the plane,” Lance said noticing Julie and Justin’s faces. He knew they wanted to be roam around alone together. He was surprised at himself though. On the car ride over, in his mind he scolded himself for giving to his deal with Julie about backing off, but here he was, suggesting to them to leave and be alone. Maybe he was finally coming to accept the circumstances and didn’t even know it.
“Did you want to do anything in particular?” Julie asked Lance. She didn’t think for a second that Lance would be suggesting that her and Justin be alone together.
“No, but I thought that maybe you two wanted to do something,” he replied, seeing the confusion on her face.
Julie looked at Justin to see what he would say about the situation. He looked back at her and without a word let her know he was confused but that they should go along with it. Julie nodded and turned back to Lance. “Are you sure you don’t want to do anything?”
“Positive. I’ll probably just roam around with Joey and Chris or something”
“Well, OK,” Julie took Justin’s hand in hers and they headed down the hall to the small shops, “We’ll be back in a bit”
Kristina and JC were siting by the window watching the planes on the runways. “Hey, Kristina,” JC turned to her
“Yeah?” she asked
“I was wondering since we have a while before our plane gets here, if you want to go and get something to eat or something before I leave,” he asked, looking down.
“I’d love to”
JC smiled and kissed her sweetly. They told Lance they were leaving and they headed down to the food court area.
“Ooh, that looks good,” Kris said, pointing to the menu.
“Yeah, I’m getting that,” JC agreed.
They placed their orders and when they got their food, they found a small table in the corner to sit at. They dug into their very early lunch. Kris caught JC staring at her twice. The third time she spoke up.
“What? Do I have something on me?” Kris asked, annoyed
“No,” JC chuckled, “You just look so amazing sitting there”
Kristina laughed.
“My hair is a mess, my eyes are red and my face is pale because of all the hustle and bustle of the morning, I’m wearing my most tackiest outfit, and my hands are covered in nacho cheese. But, you say that I look amazing. What have you been smoking?”
“I don’t know but if it’s responsible for making me feel the way I do about you, then I like it”
** Julie and Justin **
Julie and Justin were both laughing and having a good time goofing around in the stores. They were looking around at all the souvenirs when something caught Julie’s eye.
“Justin!” Julie cried, “Justin!”
“What is it babe?” Justin rushed over.
Julie pointed to the small television screen in the corner of the store. Justin turned away with a look of terror, knowing what was coming next. Julie listened as the voice of the reporter started the top story.......
** Lance, Chris, and Joey **
The guys decided to just walk around explore the airport. They stopped in all the stores and looked at the menus of all the food places. They were in a small clothing store when Lance thought he heard someone say the name *N SYNC. He turned to see their picture on the television screen the cashier had behind the counter.
“Excuse me, could you turn that up a little please?” he asked the cashier.
The young girl, about twenty, nodded and turned up the volume. “Oh my God! JOEY! CHRIS!” he screamed, “We gotta go! We find Julie and Justin, fast!”
“What? Why?” they asked, running up to the counter. Lance pointed to the TV. They looked at each other worriedly.
“OK, spread out,” Lance ordered, “Look everywhere for them. Whether you find them or not, no matter what, meet back at the gate in twenty minutes. Got it?”
“Got it,” they chimed.
They separated and started their search.
** JC and Kris **
JC and Kris had finished their food and were walking around aimlessly.
“Hey look, you’re on TV,” Kris pointed to a television in one of the nearby gates.
JC turned to see a picture of them next to an anchorperson’s head with the words ‘Top Story’ above it. He suddenly realized what it was.
“Oh no! Kris, we have to find Julie and Justin right now!” JC grabbed her hand and started to walk fast.
“JC? What’s going on? Why do we have to find Julie and Justin?”
“Umm... well...”
** Julie and Justin **
“... There have been some suspicions as to what caused the argument and whether it was truly an argument or a joke being played the members of the group...”
Julie’s jaw dropped as she watched the clip from the interview the guys did just two days ago. She watched in awe as Justin and Lance began arguing over who had a girlfriend and who didn’t. The reporter continued her story.
“... Sources say they overheard arguing in the halls of the studio that the interview was shot. There are even some reports that say Justin was hospitalized for small injuries caused in a fist fight between him and Lance...”
Julie turned to Justin who was standing slightly behind her. “You lied to me,” Julie accused, “You and Lance both. You two lied to me! I can’t believe this! No wonder you didn’t want me to worry about it!”
“Julie!” Lance ran up to the couple. He was the first one to find them.
“Take another step and I’ll slap you again. I’m not kidding. So help me I’ll do it again!”
“OK OK,” Lance took a step back.
“Now, I want to know EXACTLY what happened the night of the interview”
The guys looked at each other and nodded. They couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. The story had to be told.
** JC and Kris **
“Well?” Kris asked, awaiting an explanation.
“You know how Justin got stitches, right?”
“Right”
“Well, we didn’t ever get around to explaining why he got stitches”
“He was having a wrestling match with Lance and it got out of hand-”
“No, that’s not what happened,” JC shook his head, “That’s what Justin and Lance told you guys. But that’s not what happened”
“Well then, what happened?” Kris asked
JC pointed to the television. Kris stood silently as she watched the same images that Julie had. She turned to JC with a stunned look.
“Did Joey and Chris know about all this?” she squealed.
“They know about the fight but they didn’t know about the stitches until afterward,” JC answered.
“They never said anything! They would’ve been the first ones to say- Oh no! That’s what Chris was talking about!”
“Yup,” JC nodded, “Now we have to hurry and find Julie and Justin before things start gettin’ messy”
They ran off hand in hand to look for their friends.
** Chris and Joey **
Chris and Joey searched for Julie and Justin for a few minutes before finding each other in a nearby store. They decided to stay together to search for them. They weren’t too worried about the situation so they took their time.
“Dude, I don’t see what the big fuss is,” Chris said, “I mean, if anything, Julie should be happy that they’re fighting over who gets her. I don’t have anyone fighting over me!”
“That’s cuz you’re you,” Joey laughed.
“Shut up,” Chris said, shoving Joey, “Look, all I’m saying is that Julie shouldn’t be so upset over Justin and Lance fighting over her. She should probably be more upset about them being so egotistical on camera”
“Egotistical,” Joey repeated, “ooh... big word”
“Joey, you’re useless when it comes to these types of conversations,” Chris shook his head.
** Julie and Justin **
“I’ll explain,” Lance stepped forward.
“No,” Justin stopped him, “I’ll do it. Julie, I’ll explain but you have to promise not to get upset or over react”
“Not get upset? Not over react?! Don’t worry about my reaction, just tell me what happened!”
“OK, “ Justin sighed, “Well, you saw the interview. You saw what happened between me and Lance on the interview. After that, we were arguing in the halls and the guys caught us. The argument was basically over until I told Lance something that I shouldn’t have and he punched me in defense”
“What was the argument about?” Julie said, crossing her arms.
“You,” Justin said softly.
“Well, I assumed that after seeing that interview. What I meant was, what was said?”
“I’d rather not discuss that,” Justin responded.
“Well, you’re gonna discuss it whether you like it or not!”
Justin gazed into her eyes blankly without saying a word. He didn’t have the heart to tell her what Lance had told him. He knew she’d be angry at him. He definitely didn’t want to start another argument between her and Lance after they had finally made up the day before.
“Justin?” Julie looked deep into his eyes as if pleading for an explanation, “Justin, what did you say to Lance that made him hit you?”
Justin thought about the consequences he’d face if he told her what she wanted to know. Without a doubt, she’d be mad at him. But he didn’t want to leave her with questions unanswered and enough secrets had been kept this week. He swallowed hard and proceeded to tell her. “I... I...,” Justin stuttered, “... I said that... umm.…” Just then, tears fell from Lance’s eyes.
“Lance what?” Julie turned her attention to Lance.
“You’re only 18,” he said softly, “You’re too young to get married. You can’t marry Justin yet. Not yet”
Julie turned her attention back to Justin. “Married? What is he talking about?”
“I didn’t mean it,” Justin sighed, “I told him that I was gonna ask you to marry me and that I knew you’d say yes and so he would have to give up on you. I guess he didn’t like that very much and well, these bruises and stitches are the result of his dislike of it”
Julie calmed herself down before she did anything irrational. She took a deep breath and looked Justin square in the eyes. “You deserved being slapped, not Lance. I won’t slap you, but just so that you know, had I known then what I know now, I would have” She turned and walked off, not knowing where she was going or where she’d end up. Lance soon followed, somehow knowing where she might have gone. After he left, JC and Kris showed up to find Justin standing in the same position with a shocked look on his face.
“I take it Julie saw the TV?” JC asked, snapping Justin out of the trance he was in.
“What? Yeah, yeah she saw it. Now I think I’ve lost her again. I hope Lance doesn’t take advantage of the situation, or else I’ll lose her for good” The three were silent, none of them knowing what to say. It was a bit awkward until Chris and Joey found them.
** Julie **
Julie sat on the bench outside a small music shop. She had her face covered with her hands, crying as hard as she could. “Is this seat taken?” a deep, southern voice asked.
“Lance, not now OK?” Julie snapped back, quickly recognizing the voice. Lance sat next to her and put his hand on her back. She scooted farther away from him. He then moved a bit closer to her.
“Jewels, I have to tell you something. What Justin said wasn’t right, but you have to understand why he said it. Those words didn’t come out of nowhere. What I said beforehand is what caused him to say such a thing”
Julie put a lock of hair behind her ear and gave Lance a slight glance. “What... what did you say beforehand?”
“I told him that he was taking you for granted”
“Well, he sorta was,” Julie positioned herself on the bench in order to face him.
“No, he wasn’t. Well, he was, but there’s a reason for it. I told him off. I said that he was taking you for granted because he was so worried about losing you to someone else that he forgot about you”
“Lance, why would you say such a thing? What ever gave you the idea that Justin was so worried about someone stealing me that he’d forget about me?”
“Because,” Lance paused for a second, “He’s done it before. With other girls. You know that he’s been cheated on his whole life. When you’ve been cheated on so many times, after a while, you start being more careful. His last few girlfriends, he was so careful hat he tended to forget about the girlfriend which then causes the girlfriend to end up cheating on him because of it! I was sick of hearing about his pathetic love life that I had to give him a piece of my mind about it. Julie, you shouldn’t be mad at Justin. You have to understand where he’s coming from. What happened at that interview was my fault. I was angry because of the things going on between the two of us that I let it interfere with other things. You and Justin have something real special. Don’t let go of that because of something like this. He loves you,” Lance swallowed his tears, “As hard as that is for me to say, he does love you. Very much so”
Julie rested her hand on his. “Thank you,” she smiled, “Thank you so much for being here for me through so much. I know this is extremely hard for you. I’m trying to make it as easy as possible for you. I know I’ve slipped a couple of times but-”
“Julie, you don’t have to apologize. It’s my problem, not yours. Don’t go rearranging your life cuz of me. You do what’s right for you and don’t worry about me OK?”
“OK,” Julie replied, “Lance, I love you. Not the same way as Justin of course, but, I do. I love you. Thanks for everything”
“I love you, too,” he leaned forward giving her a hug, “And you know what I mean by that”
“Heh, yeah. I know what you mean,” Julie giggled. She hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “By the way, how’d you know where to find me?”
“I saw this store on the way to our gate when we first got here. I knew at a time like this, you couldn’t resist such a place”
“Last call for flight 714,” blared over the PA system.
“Oh no, that’s us! We gotta run!” Lance quickly pulled away from Julie, taking her hand and running as fast as he could to their boarding gate. When they got there, they were both out of breath.
“Well, look who decided to show up!” JC said sarcastically.
“Excuse me, but you guys need to board the plane,” the attendant motioned to the plane. They nodded and turned to the girls to say their final good-byes. Chris and Joey took turns giving Julie and Kris hugs and then made their way to the plane. JC took Kris in his arms, hugging her tightly.
“Don’t forget about me OK kid? I’ll be back soon,” he whispered.
“I won’t forget you,” Kris whispered back, “Not now or ever. Call me as soon as you can”
He pulled away from her arms and gave Julie a hug as well. “Thanks for helping me on Friday,” he said, rubbing her back
“No problem,” she smiled.
JC returned to where Kristina was standing. They shared a short but passionate kiss and soon JC was on the plane. Lance was next to say good-bye.
He started by hugging Kristina and telling her he’d miss her sarcasm. Then it was time to say bye to Julie.
“Here, I got you something,” he reached into his carry on bag and pulled out a stuffed Tasmanian devil, “I won it back at the beach”
“Ha! I won that!” Justin yelled from behind Lance.
“Did you have to ruin the moment?!” Lance yelled back. Julie burst into giggles.
“I like it anyway,” Julie smiled
“Yeah, well, try beating Justin at basketball,” he replied with a laugh, “You can put Taz next to your big Tweety bird or something”
“OK,” Julie said, getting serious, “I’ll miss you. You better call me like, everyday, you hear me?”
“Mmhmm,” Lance nodded, tears coming to his eyes. Julie hugged him tightly.
“Bye,” he waved as he boarded the plane.
“Bye Lance. Don’t worry, you’re not leaving forever! We’ll see each other real soon”
Now it was Justin’s turn. “Bye Kris,” he gave her a peck on the cheek and hugged her, “See ya soon”
“Bye,” she replied. He took a deep breath as he stood just a few inches away from Julie. He looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say or do. Was Julie mad at him? Should he ask what Lance had told her? What should he do?
All of a sudden, Julie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He responded by doing the same and it wasn’t long before they were both crying.
“I’m sorry, Julie. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” Justin cried.
“Of course,” Julie sniffled, “I wasn’t mad at you, Justin. I realized that you not telling me what the argument was about was for my own good and that you and Lance weren’t just thinking of yourselves. I love you, Justin. I won’t forget that if you won’t”
“I won’t,” Justin swallowed his tears, “I love you, too. Don’t you go forgetting that either”
“Here,” Julie pulled a small package out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Justin, “This is for you. But, don’t open it until you get on the plane OK?”
“OK,” Justin took the small gift in his hand and stuck it in his pocket.
He gave her a quick peck, and then another, and another, which then lead to a long, passionate kiss. He slowly stepped farther and farther away in the direction of the plane. Julie held on to his hand as long as she could until only their fingertips could touch.
At that point, Julie and Justin both took a step away from each other. Justin gave one last wave and turned to board the plane. Julie watched as he walked away and disappeared the portable hall to board.
Julie and Kris then went to the window and waved as the plane took off.
“OK Jewels, let’s go home in case the guys call,” Kris motioned for the exit.
Julie wiped away a tear and followed her to the parking lot. When they got there, Kris offered to drive.
“No, that’s OK,” Julie replied, “Driving will keep my mind off all this”
They got in the car and headed home.
** On the airplane **
Justin sighed to himself once the plane was airborne. He leaned back in his chair to try to catch up on the sleep he lost that morning. He put his hands in his pockets and felt the gift Julie had given to him inside. He pulled it out and decided it was OK for him to open it now.
He slowly tore the paper surrounding the surprise. He smiled and laughed out loud when he saw what was inside. The candle he had seen at the beach was now in his hand. He put it up to his nose and took in its scent. He closed his eyes to see Julie and her bright smile. He opened his eyes once again to see Lance now sitting next to him.
“Are you OK man?” Lance asked him.
“Yeah,” Justin grinned, “I am now”
To Be Continued…