"He did tell me it was a month...was he lying?? I can't believe this... And he actually wanted me to trust him...", she shook her head, not knowing the real reason for Justin's early flight to Europe.

(Germany...second week in August)

Justin stretched his arms out, yawning. The guys and himself had just gotten out of a grueling interview with a radio station in Germany. Just like every other day in their busy lives, they systematically got out of their limo, shaking hands and smiling at the hordes of fans that were crowded out by the boys' hotel. The screaming got louder as each of them exited the shiny limosuine. By the time they actually got into the hotel lobby, fifteen minutes had gone by.

"Man, I'm ready to conk out.", Lance sighed, rubbing his eyes.

Joey ran up to him, giving him a noogie. "Well, wake up man! We've got all night to party!"

Lance smiled. "Alright, get me sugar and some coffee and I'll be fine in about two hours. But for now, I want some shut-eye." He slid the key through the lock on his hotel room door and entered the large, comfortable room. Lance closed his eyes, resting his head against the soft pillow, trying to drain out the screams from Justin and Chris in the hallway.

Justin raised his voice to a high-pitched feminine tone and squealed, "Omigod!!!! It's Chris Kirkpatrick!!! Omigod, Chris!!!", running up to where Chris was trying unsucessfully to get his door open. Chris turned around ready to make a wise-ass comment but was surprised when he saw Justin charging at him and about ready to body-slam him into the door. In a quick movement, he leaped out of the way sending Justin flying straight against the hard wooden door.

"OoOoo....", Justin wailed painfully, his voice cracking into a high pitched cry, as he slid down to the floor.

Chris could not contain the laughter that was building up inside of him and let it all out at once, sending a bellowing echo down the hallway. Almost immediately, Jason, the boys' bodyguard appeared at the door. "What did you do to him, Chris?", he asked, watching Justin squirm on the floor holding his head.

"He ran into the door, the dumbass.", Chris cackled between laughs.

Jason laughed and pulled Justin off the floor. "I pity you not. Go make use of your spare time or something.", he told him and pushed him forward towards his room.

Justin rolled his eyes and entered his room, heading straight for the shower. As the hot water rolled down his body and his hair got lathered in shampoo, he contemplated his future as a rising star and as a regular person. The fame hadn't effected them much in the States yet, but over here...especially in Germany...it was relentless. He wanted to be known in his home country, but he hated to have to lose the freedom of going out and hanging with pals as a regular teenage guy. That was something he knew he would miss, but also something that he knew he had to sacrifice for his dream to come true.

Then he thought about his life as just Justin...not THE Justin Timberlake...just...simply, Justin. What would happen to his love life? With all there was to be done for everything to go smoothly, it'd be hard for him to find the time to have a steady girlfriend like he used to. He had always believed that there was one person for everyone, and he had made a vow to himself that if he found her, the "one", that no matter how famous he was, he would not let her go. He would find a way for them to be together and to follow their hearts in what ever situation they found themselves in. That was one promise he wouldn't let himself break.

And what about his family, and his friends? Would he still be able to spend time with them if he was all of a sudden propelled to superstardom? No one understood what it was like to come back from Europe to the States and have a normal life again. It's like, you fly to another country to do your job and then fly home to carry on your regular life. His family and friends didn't see what it was like to have girls throwing themselves at you and staying overnight at your hotel just to get a glimpse of you. He had tried to explain it, but no one really believed how crazy it all was. He was scared. Scared that he wouldn't be able to handle everything and that he wouldn't be able to see his parents and brothers when he needed to the most. After all, he was only seventeen...this was more than a lot to deal with at that age.

Justin sighed and rinsed the lather out of his hair. He felt refreshed and energetic when he walked out of the bathroom. He had figured out a lot of things in his head and was more than ready to get some sleep. But instead of going to bed, he got changed and tapped on JC's door.

"JC? Can I come in?"

The door slowly opened, and JC put a finger to his mouth, motioning for him to come in, and then returned to his phone conversation. "...yeah, it's great. We just got done a photo shoot and interview. I wish you were here too..."

Justin flopped down on the single bed and flipped on the TV, surfing through the channels.

"...what? Okay, tell T.J. and Heather I miss them......I love you too....bye mom.", JC finished his conversation and hung up the telephone, before turning to Justin. "What's up man?"

"Nothin'. Are you doin' anything tonight? You guys aren't goin' out are you?"

"Joey, Chris, and Lance might, but I'm beat. I need some shut-eye. We have to be up at four a.m. tomorrow."

He nodded and turned off the TV, realizing there was nothing on. Rolling over on his stomach, he reached for the radio and flipped it on. "Me too. I think I'm gonna stay in. At least I'll look good in the pictures tomorrow. We have a six a.m. shoot, right?"

"Yeah, and then we fly to Switzerland for some promo stuff I think. Lance would know more than I would."

"Okay.", he said, stretching his mouth to form a loud yawn. He switched through the radio stations until JC smacked his hand.

"Will you stop switching? It's really annoying."

The knob was on an Oldies station and Justin hmphed, and spurted, "Fine. I'll leave it here...on the OLDIES station." He stuck his tongue out and laid back down on his back staring up at the ceiling. JC picked up a new book he was reading and settled into his comfy chair.

Five minutes later, the mellow notes of a song flooded into the room, as the singer's rough but soothing voice sent a wave of warmth through Justin's body, as he listened intently at the lyrics.

"When the night has come, and the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we will see
No, I won't be afraid, oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me..."

Justin looked up at JC. "JC?"

"Hmm?", he answered, not looking up from his book.

Justin listened to the lyrics for another second before continuing his thought. "Do you believe that there's one person for everyone and that if you look hard enough, you'll be able to find her?"

JC lowered the book and looked at his friend. "Yes, in most cases. Why?"

Olivia was laying on Serenity's bed, staring up at the ceiling. The radio was playing softly in the background...

"If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me..."

Liv turned to look at her friend, who was sitting on the floor, painting her toenails orange. Serenity's reddish brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and the bangs fell curled over her forehead. Her sharp blue eyes were entirely focused on her big toe, and her tongue stuck stubbornly to the side of her mouth as she ran the small brush over the toe, trying to get the edges perfectly. Her back was hunched in doing so, and her left hand held the bottom of her foot up.

Serenity was a big Oldies fan, for some reason, so she always had the local Oldies station playing, much to her friends' dismay. She insisted that the classic songs were the best out there, but Liv tended to disagree about that. But this song...the song that was playing now...the lyrics got to her and she got up to turn the volume up.

"...Whenever you're in trouble just stand by me
Oh stand by me..."

Serenity looked up. "Olivia? Are you feeling alright? You are aware that you just turned up an Oldies station, right?"

Liv shushed her, trying to listen to the rest of the song.

She laughed and said, "It's about time you realized how good these songs are! I've been trying to get that through to you forever! But noooo, always 'Ser, you're nuts...Oldies suck!' I knew this day would come eventually!"

Olivia sat back down on the bed and sighed. "That was a beautiful song...what's it called?"

"Stand By Me?", she asked. "That's one of my favorites! Ben E. King sings it."

"Stand By Me...yeah...", she whispered, thinking to herself, "I wish I had someone to stand by me..."

Serenity had gone back to painting her nails and was putting the second coat on. "Hey, Ser?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you believe that there's one person out there for eveyone and that if you look hard enough, you'll be able to find him?"

Serenity looked up at her friend and smiled. "I believe it. Yeah. And I bet that 'one' person...the one that you're looking for...I bet he's wondering the very same thing...."

(a few weeks later, on the airplane. the guys are flying home for their promo tour)

Chris flung the cellphone towards Justin. "Dude, I borrowed your phone about a month ago...here ya go. I just found it."

Justin looked stunned. "You mean YOU had it all this time? I was going NUTS looking for that thing!"

"Sorry, man."

Justin sighed and clicked on his phone to check his messages. "Blah blah...one from management, mom, dad, awww Jon called me...", he said outloud. "JC, listen to this message from Jon!"

JC held the phone up to his ear to hear the voicemail of Jonathan Timberlake, Justin's younger brother.

"Hey Justin...I miss you. Are you coming home soon? Daddy told me to call you. Bye Bye. I wove you!"

"That's adorable man. You should keep that one saved.", JC smiled and handed the cell back to Justin.

"I know.", he said and continued listening to the messages. "...fans....fans...more fans..." One of the last ones struck him cold.

"Uhh, J-Justin?...this is, um, Olivia Jacobs... I thought-- I thought you weren't leaving for a month...My number is 123-4567 ...c-call me back if, um, if you have time..."

"Oh my God...she did call...", he whispered.