"Audrey, wait!" Justin called as he quickly got to his feet and ran down the hall after her. He caught up with her quickly, and grabbed her arm.
"Don't touch me!" she shouted, and he dropped her arm quickly, alarmed at the vehemence of her reaction. "What, have you come back to have another go at me?"
"No!" He paused, staring down at the ground for a moment. "I want to apologize."
"The almighty Justin Timberlake apologizing? But why? We all know you could never be wrong," she snapped.
"Okay, I deserved that," he cringed. "Would you please let me explain?"
"Explain what? That you're a jerk. I already knew that." She turned to leave again.
"Audrey, come on. Please. I know I was wrong, but please just give me a chance to explain why I acted that way," Justin pleaded, sticking out his lower lip.
Dammit, I can't resist that pout, Audrey thought with a sigh. "Fine. You've got five minutes." She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.
"Not here. Can we at least go in your room?" he asked.
"This isn't a social call."
"Please!" The lip protruded a little further.
Not the lip again! Audrey wailed mentally. "Fine."
A relieved smile broke out over Justin's face. "Great!"
Audrey's scowl remained firmly in place as she stalked past him back to her room. He hurried to keep up with her, and soon they were at her room. She slid the card key through the lock and opened the door, flicking on the lightswitch and moving in to the room. She tossed her bag onto the bed and turned to him, crossing her arms and looking at him expectantly. "Explain."
Sighing, he sat on her bed and patted the spot next to him, indicating she should sit. Ignoring the gesture, she remained motionless, waiting.
"Okay," he began. "I know I had no right to attack you like that today, but there is kind of a reason. You've heard of Rachel Clark?" he asked, naming a quite popular female singer.
"Yes," Audrey acknowledged shortly, not understanding what she had to do with any of this.
"Well I met her a few years ago, back when N Sync was just starting out, and she was fairly unknown. She was really sweet, and I fell for her." He paused, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his curls. "To make a long story short, we had a relationship, and she pretty much played on my feelings for her and used me to get herself a record deal. After she got the deal, she changed so much... Suddenly she was prancing around in skanky outfits, batting her lashes at all the influential people, and I was dumped so she could move on to someone else who could help advance her career even more. I guess I didn't realize how much of that bitterness I still feel... But I know it wasn't right to take those old feelings about her out on you, and I'm really really sorry."
Audrey stared at the floor for a long moment. She felt murderous towards that other girl for how she had treated Justin, but she still couldn't quite get past the nasty things he had said to her earlier. "I understand."
"So am I forgiven?" he asked with a tentative smile.
After a pause, she grinned softly. "Yes, Timberlake, you're forgiven."
"Great!" The smile was out in full force. "Let's order room service!"
If he noticed her sudden neglect of his first name, he didn't say anything.