He took another deep breath and started to spill his guts. "I...I've struggled and fought with my emotions for what seemed like years, I've tortured myself trying to hide these feelings I have for you... Remember when I asked you to meet me at the park and I told you that I needed to talk to you about something?"

She nodded slightly.

"I was going to spill everything that I had held in my heart right there at the dock, right where you told ME everything. But somehow, I couldn't get it out. I couldn't find the words to express how much I care for you, how much I want to protect you, and I let time get away without telling you. That's never happened to me before, Olivia. I'm usually able to just be straight-up and honest with a girl about how I feel, but you...you were different. You left me speechless. And now I realize that I can't hide it anymore, this attraction to you... its too strong, its too obvious. When I kissed you before, the first time... it was like, my mouth just did it on its own. I didn't know if you felt the same way about me as I did for you, so I didn't want to rush anything... but your five words spoke volumes.", he paused and took a breath. "I...I've been so lonely, Olivia. It's hard, life on the road. I rarely or never get to meet new people without them screaming in my face or...or using me to get to other people. You've never treated me like a superstar. You've never made me feel like I wasn't normal, like I didn't belong because of who I am. When I'm with you, I feel good inside because you treat me like Justin. You don't treat me any different from your other friends just because I'm 'THE' Justin Timberlake. Every night before I met you, I would pray that someday I would find the girl that could keep me happy, keep me smiling...even when the times got rough. I haven't met anyone that has blown me away as much as you have... I don't know if you could feel it, but when we first got to talking I knew we were destined to be together."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair when he looked at her and saw her face. She was staring at the sky blankly, seemingly in deep thought. Her face was expressionless, he couldn't tell whether she was thinking he was nuts or if she was happy he had told her what he was feeling.

Great going Timberlake, now she's going to think you've lost your mind. Real slick, reaaal slick, man.

Neither of them said anything for what seemed like eons, and Justin remained quiet until the silence grew beyond deafening. He looked at her. "Say SOMETHING!!"

Olivia finally turned to look at him, tears glistening in her eyes. She clutched the small box with the key inside tightly. "I don't know WHAT to say, Justin. What DO you say to something as...as..."

Stupid as that? he thought and waited for her to finish her sentence.

"...as incredible as that?"

His head snapped up instantly and his eyes focused in on hers. A tear fell down her cheek and his thumb instinctively came up to wipe it away. She continued talking, her voice shaky. "You're, you're amazing. You come into my life with open arms, willing to do anything to get me to talk to you. You opened your heart and soul to me. I haven't seen one flaw in you yet! What is wrong with you?"

He smiled and touched her cheek, shrugging. "I have a bad temper."

She laughed and hugged him close to her. Quietly, she whispered in his ear: "Your heart is safe with me."

He pulled back slightly and grinned before leaning towards her for their most passionate and meaningful kiss yet.

A few hours later, dusk was settling in on the horizon. Olivia and Justin were still snuggled up together on the swing, and had been for most of the night, talking quietly to each other, or just watching the stars, sometimes making wishes on them. Neither wanted the night to end, but knew it would eventually.

At the moment, Justin had his eyes on the stars, while holding a sleeping Liv against his body. It felt so good to have gotten everything off his chest...everything except one thing that is. He sighed and glanced at his watch. 12:30... Mom and dad are gonna kill me. He glanced down at the sleeping figure leaning against him and smiled. Oh well, it's worth getting killed for. He softly began to stroke her hair, not even realizing that she was smiling.

Before long, she yawned and opened her eyes. He bit his lip and looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"It's okay. As comfortable as your body is, my head is calling out for a feather pillow.", she smiled. "What time is it anyway?"

"Quarter of one."

"Justin, you should go home and get some sleep. You are going to be so tired tomorrow if Jon got you up at six and you go to bed at two!"

He stood up and took her hand, walking towards the back door. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm gonna just go around the lawn this way to my car to leave so I don't wake anyone up.", he kissed her forehead and smiled. "Goodnight sweetheart. Merry Christmas..."

"and Happy Holidays...", she finished in a singsong voice. He grinned and started walking but stopped himself. "Oh, Liv... hang on a second."

She turned and looked at him. "Yeah?"

Justin pondered for a second and changed his mind. "No, nevermind. I'll just wait till tomorrow to ask you. Go get some sleep." He waved, blew a kiss, and dissapeared behind the side of the house.

Olivia shrugged and quietly opened up the door, slipping inside to get some sleep, even though she knew that it would be nearly impossible with so much circling her brain. She creeped up the stairs and into her room, clutching the "key to Justin's heart" the whole time.

(the next afternoon)

After being bombarded with questions from her excited family all morning, Olivia finally managed to get away from all the frenzy and escape into the den to clean up after her messy toddler cousins. She was absolutely drained when the last piece of trash had been thrown in the garbage can. She hadn't gotten much of any sleep the night before because her mind was so focused on Justin's words that she wouldn't allow anything else to seep into her head. Other than not getting sleep, she had been up since nine cleaning up, and answering the same questions over and over...

"How did you meet HIM!?", "Why didn't you tell me you were dating him!?", "Is he a good kisser?!"

The list of them went on and on... All she wanted was a little rest, some time to herself to sort her thoughts out and some peace and quiet. But....unfortunatly, she wasn't getting what she wanted this year. Starting the twenty-eighth, that Monday, she had to be at work from four til ten p.m. five days a week, for four straight weeks. As ridiculous as that sounds, the store was having one of those big "after Christmas/New Years" sales and they were short on employees. Just thinking about it exhausted her, so she decided to put her mind on something else.

"...nevermind, I'll wait till tomorrow to ask you..." Justin's words circled her mind, just like they had been for the whole night. "What could he possibly need to ask me?", she said out loud.

"Maybe he wants your hand in marriage.", a playful male voice sounded behind her.

Her body froze and her muscles immediately tensed up at the person's voice. Without turning around, she said through clenced teeth: "Wh-what are you doing here, Brian?"

He smirked and walked towards her, circling her slowly. "Just thought I'd drop by to say hello. Why so jumpy, Olivia?"

She swallowed the huge lump that was forming in her throat and continued to stare straight ahead of her. "W-who let you in?"

The glint of his teeth shined against the light and his evil smile made her physically ill. "I believe it was one of your cute cousins. I told her I was your friend and if I'm not mistaken, her exact words were... 'God, she gets all the hot ones.' Maybe I should consider leaving Bridget for one of the Jacobs' chicks."

Liv was as stiff as a deadman's courpse and her jaw only got tighter as his words penetrated her brain. "If you so much as TOUCH one of my cousins, I will --"

Suddenly, he put his hands on her shoulders, starting to massage her tight muscles. "Olivia, you sure are stiff. Relax angel, I ain't gonna hurt ya. You act as if I came here to threaten you at gunpoint."

She jerked away from him and backed up slowly. "I told you I didn't want to talk to you. Get away from me, STAY away from me, and stop making my life miserable."

He sighed, putting a fist to his chest. "Such a change of heart, my dear. What's gotten into you?"

"I'm warning you Brian. Don't ever come near me again. Stay away from my family, my friends...", her head shot up as she thought of something. "And don't you DARE go near Justin or I swear to God I'll --"

The phone rang as if on cue interrupting her. Brian leaned against the counter, amused at her little threats. She grabbed the phone without taking her eyes off of him. "Hello?"

"Hey sweetheart...what's wrong? You sound a little um, frightened. Is everything ok?"

Olivia sighed, a sense of relief washing over her body. "Um, I'm...I'm fine..."

Brian chuckled. "Well if it isn't loverboy himself. What a coincedence! Why don't you let him know that we were just talking about him."

Liv pointed a finger at him and hissed raspily, "I swear to God, don't you even DARE touc--"

"Who are you talking to, babe? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, Justin, someone just decided to be an ANGEL and dropped by to see me...", she began but he interrupted her.

"Brian is there, isn't he? You tell him that I swear to God if he lays ONE FINGER on you I will beat his ass so hard he won't know what hit him."

Brian stepped up to where she was standing, smiling that disgustingly evil grin, and with a quick motion swiped the phone away from her and hung up, taking it off the reciever so no incoming calls would go through.

"You sick bastard. Why do you get such a thrill out of making my life a living hell?"

He leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. "Because I like it and I'm good at it." He grabbed her wrists and held her against his body. "And I don't suggest toying with me, my dear, because in the end... I always win."

She glared at him and stuggled to get out of his tight grip. "Get your hands off me."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I'll get Justin over here before you can even say his name and he'll beat your loser ass, that's what!", she yelled still squirming and twisting in his arms.

He leaned in even closer and growled, "He's not always going to be there when you need him, Olivia. He's leaving on Monday, you do know that right?"

Her eyes formed tiny slits. "How would YOU know when he's leaving? Get OFF me!"

He snickered, tightening his grip. "Bridget comes in handy once in awhile. He's ALL she talks about... I know more about him than HE knows about himSELF."

Olivia kicked him in his shin so hard he let out a loud groan, but his fingers only gripped her wrists harder out of pain. Suddenly, a loud pounding echoed through the hallway from the front door. She screamed, trying to wiggle her way out of his strong hold. The knock sounded again, but not a second later the door slammed open and an infuriated Justin ran into the kitchen. The blazing fire in his eyes was strong enough to burn a hole through the wall and his cheeks were flushed with anger. As soon as he saw him, Olivia thought he would explode. He practically pounced on Brian, throwing him off Liv, socking him in the face.

She stood back rubbing her wrists, watching in fear at the fight that was breaking out in front of her. This is not happening.... just when I think Christmas break this year rocked, Brian goes and ruins it. Typical. Kill him Justin, kill him!!

Justin threw him against the wall and glared at him like he was the most disgusting thing on the face of the earth, snarling, "The goddamn threats were bad enough you stupid prick. Don't you EVER put your hands on her again or I'll personally see to your arrest. Do you understand me?"

Brian scowled as blood from his nose dripped down his face. "I'm not scared of you. You're the one that should watch out because you have no idea what I am capable of." He pushed him away from him and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

Justin punched the wall angrily, not even caring that he had ripped the skin off his knuckles. "DAMNIT!" He took a long, deep breath to calm himself down and slowly turned around to make sure Liv was all right. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and wet a washcloth, pressing it against his bleeding hand. The cool water instantly relaxed him and he put his free arm around her, kissing the side of her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes, wishing that she had never talked to Brian in the first place. He was so different back then... I was so blind, too... She sighed and remembered what he had said about Justin leaving Monday. He can't be right...Justin would have told me by now, wouldn't he have? She looked up at him. His eyes were squeezed together tightly, as if trying to bear the pain in his hand and trying to protect her with everything he had. His forehead was scrunched together, the cute little worry lines creasing his skin, and his cheeks were still flushed in a light scarlet out of anger. "Justin?"

His eyes remained closed but he mumbled softly, trying to control his temper. "Yes?"

"Um... B-Bri-- uh, I mean he told me that you were leaving on Monday. Is, is that true?"

Justin's eyes popped open in shock. "How does he know that? Olivia, I don't want you believing anything he says about me."

She pulled back and looked at him. "I don't. But, when are you leaving?"

He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Except that... yes, it's true. We're leaving Monday..." The gleam in her eyes faded quickly. He looked away, saddened by her expression. Might as well tell her everything now... "...and, and we won't be home until the last week of March."

She was too stunned to say anything for a few minutes. "You're going to be gone for ALMOST FOUR MONTHS!? When we you going to TELL ME!?"

"I was...don't get mad, Liv, please! I was going to tell you last night but I decided I should wait until today..."

Olivia groaned. "So is that what you wanted to ASK me about? Huh?"

Justin bit his lip and looked at her hopefully. "I was going to ask you... um, I was hoping maybe you'd ... come with me?"

She blinked and looked at the floor. "Come with you."

Justin nodded. "Yeah. Please come, we have SO much fun on the road. You could hang out with us all the time, even on the bus! And you could come to all the parties and promotional things we do. Although, you would have to play along and pretend you're not my girlfriend... but other than that, it'd be great! What do you say?"

She looked up at him and sighed. "I can't."

His heart dropped at her words. "What? How come?"

"Justin, that's ridiculous. I can't just drop everything and come tour or whatever with you guys. I have work, I have family, I have a life to maintain here. ESPECIALLY work... I'm on a MAJOR shift the next few weeks. Nine til twelve at TransCon and four til ten at American Eagle. They're doing some sort of sale and I can't just forget about that."

He looked down at the gash on his hand and started to pick at the loose skin. She took his hand to stop him. "Don't do that."

"But, Liv... I'm gonna miss you too much!"

"Me too..."

"What about Brian? What if he trys to hurt you? I'll be half way across the country!"

"I'm not as helpless as everyone thinks I am. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"What if --"

"Justin... I'll be fine. Just make sure you call me everyday or then I'll have to hate you.", she smiled.

He struggled to give her a small smile, but to no avail. Unless smiles look like frowns, that is. "I will... are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I want to... but I CAN'T."

He sighed. "All right... well, I better get going. I'm supposed to meet the guys at the studio for something in a few minutes." He kissed her forehead. "The plane leaves Monday at seven. Try to be there so I can say goodbye, ok?"

She nodded. "I'll be there."

He smiled and waved as he left the house. Liv groaned as she heard the door close. "What am I going to do for four months without him?"

(Monday morning, early)

The airport buzzed with people trying to get everything together for their flights. Many, many girls were lined up at the terminal to New York City, where the guys were flying to first, screaming and talking excitedly about hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols. The *NSYNC staff were scattered about, paging each other every five minutes about how to get the guys onto the plane without a huge mad rush, making sure the luggage was secured on the plane, and where they would be arriving to get onto the plane. A few bodyguards stood stationed at the entrance to the terminal, their large arms crossed over their bodies.

Olivia checked her watch as she ran through the airport at full speed. It was quarter of seven and she was praying to God that they hadn't boarded the plane yet. Her alarm clock hadn't gone off on time and she rushed around the house like a madwoman trying to get changed and get to the airport before seven. The pass around her neck flew behind her as she ran, her hair following the plastic pass' lead. She finally arrived at the crowded terminal and was literally shocked at how many people were jammed into one small space. "Good God..." She raced up to one of the security guards. "Has *NSYNC boarded the plane yet!?"

He looked down at her and noticed her pass before answering. "They're on their way here now, I believe."

As if right on target, screaming pierced through the building and camera flashes started going off left and right. Sure enough, the five familiar figures made their way to the terminal, surrounded by bodyguards, each of them holding a carry-on bag. Liv's eyes wandered over each of them. They looked dead tired, but still, they put on their best smiles for their hordes of fans gathered all over to see them. Joey was the first to see her and he waved enthusiastically, nudging Justin and pointing to her. She grinned and waved at them. When Justin saw her, his tired face completely lit up and a huge grin crossed his face. He sped up his pace to reach her, keeping his eyes on her the whole time, much to the dismay of his fans.

A voice sounded next to her that made Liv smile. "I don't know how you do it. You make him smile in the morning, which is something no one has been able to do in a long long time."

She smiled and looked at the curly haired blonde woman next to her. "It's not that hard, he's a beautiful man with a great heart, Mrs. Harless."

"Oh sweetie, call me Lynn."

"Oka--", she was cut off when Justin ran up to her and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around. "Hey!! I'm so glad you made it! I was so worried that you wouldn't get here in time!"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything!"

He held her close to him, resting his forehead against hers, hiding behind the ticket counter so the many fans weren't able to see him. "I'm going to miss you so much, I wish you could come with us."

"I do too."

He sighed sadly and put his lips to hers in a soft kiss. "I only have a few minutes left before I leave..." He kissed her again, this time a little longer. "I promise I'll call you twice a day, EVERY DAY." He pulled her against his warm body and let his lips control his feelings.

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder. Justin spun around to see JC standing in front of him. "J, we gotta go." He looked at Liv. "Oh, hey Liv..."

Justin swallowed and squeezed her hand. "I'll see you in three and a half months... just in time for your birthday." He forced out a smile and let go of her hand, winking and waving before his body disappeared into the terminal.

Olivia sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes, walked to the window and watched sadly as the plane took off and vanished into the clouds.