Justin Timberlake looked around the crowded room and sighed inwardly. He and the four other guys that formed the group *NSYNC had just finished another two hour concert and were now backstage in a large room about to meet some fans in a ritual known as the 'meet and greet'. After two hours of dancing and singing all he wanted to do was collapse into a soft bed, but he knew how important it was to meet the fans and to be as engaging and personable as possible. All the people waiting in line to meet them and have autographs signed were female, most were young, and he estimated that at least 90% of them were screaming hysterically. His head pounded in unison with the screaming and he again sighed inwardly. 'Gonna get a migraine,' he thought wrly. Outwardly, he plastered a huge smile on his face that he hoped would satisfy everyone and prepared himself to face the crowd.
Twenty minutes later, the throng of people had ebbed as had the noise level. Justin began to relax, thinking to himself that he would be free to nurse his migraine in another ten minutes or so. He looked up after finishing an autograph for a completely flustered blond girl and that's when he saw her.
She was dressed all in white, from her long white skirt and white long sleeve turtleneck blouse to her white shoes, which he caught a quick glimpse of under the skirt. He thought to himself that this was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. She looked like an angel as she walked slowly towards the group, her skirt trailing on the ground behind her. He realized as he stared at her that he could not see an ounce of her skin except for her face and hands, everything else being covered by her clothes. 'Wow! No one dresses like that anymore,' he thought.
He looked at the other guys and saw that they had also noticed her. They were all looking at her with a mixture of awe and lust. They also looked incredibly eager for her to get to where they were.
JC, being the first in the greeting line, stepped forward and offered her a winning smile as he said, "Hi." She merely glanced in his direction as she walked purposefully past him. Justin could barely control the laughter that threatened to burst from him at the sight of JC's shocked face. No one had ever just ignored him like that!
Justin watched as she walked past Joey, Chris and Lance as if they weren't even there. He thought it odd that she was supposedly here to meet them and then acted as if they didn't even exist. He was prepared for the same treatment when she suddenly stopped right in front of him. Now that she was up close he could see her features clearly and was again amazed at how truly beautiful she was. Her jet black hair hung low around her shoulders and framed a face that belonged on a painting. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, her dark eyebrows perfectly arched, her cheekbones high and regal and her lips full and inviting. Her eyes however, were what captivated him the most. They were just as dark as her hair and seemed to radiate a serene strength and wisdom that he had never encountered.
He smiled timidly and said "Hi." He was surprised to find that his usual confidence around women had completely evaporated in front of her. Inside his mind he was thinking, 'You are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen in my life, please don't let me say something stupid."
For a split second she didn't respond or react in any way and he figured that she would walk past him as she had done with the other four guys. Then suddenly she leaned forward, her lips so close to his ear that he could feel her hot breath against him, and whispered, "Fortune favors the brave."
"What?" he asked in confusion. Had he heard her right?
She backed away from him and curved her lips in a slight smile. "Remember," she said and with that she turned around and began to walk out the door with the same slow, purposeful stride she had used to enter.
Justin watched her leave. 'Fortune favors the brave? What the hell does that mean?' he wondered. With barely a second thought he ran behind her and just as she reached the door, grabbed her arm. He began to ask, "What does that...?" but before he could finish the sentence, he fell to his knees in pain, cradling his hand, the hand that had touched her, close to his chest.
'Cold! She's so cold!' was all he could think as he held his hand and began to rock back in forth in time with the pain. After a few moments he became aware that he was surrounded by his bandmates and one of their bodyguards, all asking him if he was ok.
"I don't know guys, I think we should call an ambulance," he heard Lance say.
"No!" he managed to exclaim. "I'm ok, I just need a minute." He looked down at his hand and found the statement to be true. The agony in his hand was slowly subsiding. His friends let out a collective sigh of relief.
"What the hell happened Justin?" Chris asked him in concern.
"I don't know, I just touched her and...she was so cold!" he replied.
Sean, their bodyguard, stood up. "Man, I knew I shouldn't have let her go! I'm gonna go find her," he said and began to walk out the door.
"No, man it's ok," Justin said, stopping him with his words. "She didn't DO anything to me, SHE was just cold."
Everyone regarded him strangely as they tried to make sense of his statement. Finally JC took Justin's hand and said, "Let's see it."
Justin showed him the hand that only moments before had him in agony. The fingernails were blue, as if he had been outside in the cold, but otherwise it looked fine. He flexed it and moved it around. "It feels ok. Barely even hurts now," he stated.
JC shot him another worried look. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital and just get it checked out?" he asked.
"I'm sure mom," he said as he smiled.
JC smiled back. "And on that note, let's call it a night guys".
Three days later, Justin and the guys found themselves getting ready for another concert. He sat in a chair staring at the mirror in front of him as a small blond woman applied his makeup for the show. As she worked on him silently, he found himself thinking back to the events of the past few days. Ever since the night of the meet and greet, he could think of nothing but the mysterious woman and her whispered words. During the day he ruminated about the possible meaning of her statement. He had gone on-line to see if the internet held any clues, but found no information other than that it was a quote from an old Roman writer and poet. During the nights, he dreamed about her. In his dreams, she was standing next to him, saying the words over and over in a quiet litany. When he tried to turn towards her and ask her what she meant, the dream would end and he would wake up frustrated and confused.
Even now, when he should have been preparing himself mentally for the show, he could only really focus on her. 'Fortune favors the brave,' he repeated over and over in his mind.
"You're done!" he heard as a cheery voice interrupted his thoughts.
He stood up quickly and smiled, "Thanks Laura."
"Anytime cutie-pie," she answered. "Will you please call in my next victim?"
He laughed and walked away, his mind again focusing on her words.
"Showtime!" Chris yelled enthusiastically. The show would be starting in a little over two minutes. Justin pushed thoughts of the woman out of his mind and focused on giving a good performance. They were all now strapped in their harnessess and were eager to begin.
"Here we go!" yelled Joey as the curtains lifted.
Justin was having a great time. He and the guys were putting on a awesome show, the fans were enthusiastic and the place was filled with a positive and energetic vibe. He looked out into the crowd at all the screaming faces and felt a great sense of rightness. 'It's all good,' he thought to himself. It was at that moment that his eyes drifted to the front row, and he found himself frozen in shock. It was her! The woman from the other night! She was staring at him intently, her eyes locked onto his.
'She wasn't there a minute ago, I know she wasn't," he thought incredulously.
His bandmates noticed that Justin had stopped singing and dancing and was now merely standing on stage looking into the crowd. They shared looks of confusion and worry but continued to perform. JC took the lead and stepped up to the front spot that Justin was occupying. He gently took him by the arm and guided him backwards. He then stood in front of the stage and began to sing Justin's portion of the song.
Justin allowed himself to be led, all the while staring at the woman in the crowd while she stared back. Suddenly, he heard movement and a loud noise that shocked him out of his near stupor. He looked up to see a man running onto the stage with a gun in the air. Before security or their bodyguards could react, the man had his arm around JC's neck and the gun pointed at his temple. There was stunned silence in the arena for a split second, then all hell broke loose as everything appeared to happen at once; the crowd began to scream in terror as people jumped up from their seats in an effort to escape, security drew their guns and began to yell at the man to put his down, Joey, Chris and Lance all were all on the ground, having been frightened by the initial gunshot. Only Justin seemed strangely calm as he continued to stand just slightly to the left and behind JC.
'That should have been me,' he thought as he watched the man whispering into JC's ear.
As the chaos continued, JC put the microphone to his lips and yelled, "Stop!". Everyone froze, including the terrified fans that were making their way to the exits.
"He...he has a bomb!" JC continued in a shaky voice. "If anyone else leaves he'll set it off." <>The man again whispered in his ear. JC closed his eyes and again spoke into microphone, "If anyone tries to stop him, he'll set it off."
The crowd grew still after hearing JC's words. No one dared move for fear that the man might actually set off the bomb. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of frightened sobbing.
Justin watched as the man forced JC to his knees. He could tell by the way that JC was closing his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth that the man's hold on him was hurting him. He saw JC's hand shaking as he was again forced to put the microphone to his lips, the muzzle of the gun never leaving his temple. In his mind he thought, 'That should have been me, not JC.' He then looked out at the crowd. He felt he could almost reach out and touch their fear, it was so thick and pervasive. 'All those children,' he thought sadly.
"He says that we have all sinned. That this is the day of reckoning." JC continued, repeating everything he was told to say.
As JC continued to speak for the deranged man with the gun, Justin tuned him out and turned his head towards the front row. He was not surprised to see the woman in white had disappeared. Her words however, resonated in his mind, almost as though she were again whispering in his ear. He heard her say clearly, 'Fortune favors the brave. Remember'.
He nodded, then silently repeated the phrase over and over until he could hear nothing but the words echoing in his head. He looked at the man and JC and without a second thought, ran towards them and threw himself at them. The man had seen Justin moving out of the corner of his eye and relinquished his hold on JC. JC scrambled away from him as he held his throat in pain and looked up to see Justin and the man fighting for the gun. Suddenly he heard a shot and saw Justin fall backwards holding his arm. One second later, three other shots rang out as security was finally able to fire upon the man. He fell down heavily; dead the instant he hit the stage.
Later that night...
Justin walked into the waiting room with his doctor in tow to see his friends sitting there anxiously.
"Hi guys," he said cheerily.
They all stood up simultaneously and walked towards him with huge smiles of relief on their faces. He looked at all of them, their concern for him so evident, and he smiled. His eyes settled longest on JC. He looked ok despite the bruising now becoming evident around his throat.
"So are you ok?" Joey asked.
"The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. Right Dr. Simmons?" Justin asked.
"That's right. The bullet went clean through and caused almost no damage. He can go home tonight."
The group cheered in unison at the news.
"He will have to take it easy with the arm for the couple of weeks. And I expect him back here in a week so we can take that off," he said indicating the cast on Justin's arm.
Justin turned to the doctor and said, "Thank you Doctor."
Dr. Simmons smiled broadly at him and said, "Well, it's not very often that I get to treat a real live hero."
Justin blushed and looked down at the ground in embarressment.
Sensing his discomfort, the doctor suddenly turned serious. "You were very lucky Justin. That bullet could have done some serious damage. As it is, I've never seen a bullet go through so cleanly. You're a very lucky young man," he repeated. "Take care of yourself, and I'll see you in a week."
Justin looked at his friends and smiled. "Let's get out of here!"
By the time they had arrived at the hotel, Justin's arm had started to ache and his eyelids had begun to droop.
"But I'm not tired!" he protested as his bandmates suggested that he go to bed.
Lance opened the door to Justin's room and gently ushered him into it. "Oh yes you are," he said. "Now be a good hero and listen to your buddies."
"Oh great, now you're going to be my mom too?" he grumbled in mock exasperation. The truth was he was exhausted and he was very grateful that his friends had insisted on him going to bed.
He said goodnight to his friends and closed the door to the room. He began the process of getting undressed then realized, much to his chagrin, that he would not be able to do it by himself with his good arm in a cast. He thought about calling one of his friends to help him, then decided he was so tired he could sleep in a scuba suit if he had to.
He slipped in between the covers and settled back against the pillow. Just as he was about to fall into sleep he sensed that he was not alone in the room. He opened his eyes and let out a surprised gasp. His mystery woman was back and standing at his bedside, gazing at him calmly.
She was again dressed all in white and looked every bit as beautiful as she had three days ago. He noticed that despite the room being pitch black, he could see her perfectly.
A thousand questions swirled in his mind as he thought of all the things he needed to ask her. Before he could speak, however, she smiled at him and said, "You did very well Justin."
At the sound of her voice, his emotions quieted and he became strangely calm. He realized he felt completely at peace with ths stranger.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"Your actions saved many lives."
"You warned me though. Why? And how did you know it was going to happen?"
She smiled at his questions as she answered simply, "It was not their time to die Justin". She moved closer to him, hovering near him but never touching. "You have seen a glimpse of the world that most people never see Justin. It's wonderous and magical and defies explanation. Do not be afraid of it."
"I'm trying not to be, its just so strange," he said honestly. "I mean, how did you know that I would act on what you said?" he questioned.
"I didn't."
"And why me? Why pick me?"
"Why not you?"
Justin sighed as he realized he was not getting any of the answers he was yearning for.
As if reading his mind, the woman spoke. "That is because you are not meant to know the answers Justin. Just know that you have done well. We are pleased."
With that final sentence, she turned slowly and began to walk toward the door.
"Wait a minute!" he cried. "At least tell me who YOU are."
She stopped and without turning towards Justin, said, "You already know. Sleep now."
Justin watched her walk away and disappear into the shadows. Although he had not seen her walk out the door, he knew that she was no longer with him. He closed his eyes contentedly and sighed just before sleep overtook him, "I do know. My angel."