Justin sat hunched in the front seat of the car that was rolling idely through the barren streets. His baseball cap was pulled low on his face, shading his eyes from anything that tried to see them and the collar of his windbreaker wrapped around his neck to offer some sort of shell that he could hide his fatigued body in. His usually bright eyes were drooped in lack of sleep while the color of them was more tinted than usual. He gave JC a bored look and turned to continue his vigil of staring out the window. "Yes. I had a rough night.", he growled. "I had a rough DAY, for that matter. I'm going to have a ROUGH few months, if you care."

JC snickered while he switched his turn signal on, merging into a different lane. "You know, you don't have to be so mean to her. It's not like she's out there to destroy your career or your life. She's only here to help you learn." He glanced in his rear view mirror quickly before he kept talking. "Remember, we have that MTV shoot coming up really soon... it might even start today, I forget, but you better keep that attitude of yours locked away for the time being." He scratched his chin. "Actually, it might just be better if you lost it all together."

Justin groaned and slouched farther into the leather seat. "Why is it that we always end up talking about Kelsie when I'm with you?"

JC took his eyes off the road for a second to look at him. "Why is it that you have such a problem being nice to only her, but then when she leaves the room, it's like you transform into the 'good Justin'?"

Justin scrunched his forehead and argued back. "Why is it that you have such a hang-up about my behavior towards her?"

JC sighed and let his hands slide to the bottom of the steering wheel. "All right, I'm going to drop it, but not until I give you something to think about. I don't understand why you seem to hate her so much, because for every other choreographer we've had, you've been completely the opposite of how you're acting with Kelsie. Now, I want you to think about something... what if instead of our choreographer being Kelsie Meyers, it was someone like, hmm, shall I even dare to say it... Chloe Andrews?" He turned to watch Justin's expression immediately change when the name was mentioned and he shook his head in misery to himself before pulling into the parking lot. "Think about it. Would you treat Chloe the same?" [aut. note- Chloe pronounced CLO-ee]

Justin sat there for a minute, JC's exit from the car unnoticed until he was jolted by the slamming of the door. He abruptly jumped out of the vechicle and chased after his friend, yelling, "She is COMPLETELY different, man! Don't even bring her into this!"

JC turned around, but continued walking, and pointed a finger at Justin. "No. She's not and that is where this whole biased behavior out of you starts." He turned back around and disappeared into the compound's door, leaving Justin standing outside on the sidewalk in deep thought.

The door to the dance studio in the WEG compoud slammed open and Justin stormed in, expecting to find only JC. "JC, just know this. Kelsie is..."

He picked up his eyes and looked around to see not only JC, but the rest of the group, his manager, the tour manager, Tim, a few people with cameras and of course, Kelsie with Kat by her side. His eyes dilated for a second and he cleared his throat and smiled. "You were definitely right. Kelsie is an AWESOME teacher and a great girl. Not to mention, beautiful." He winked at her and closed the door gently as he made his way into the room.

While he tried not to gag at what he had just said, he forced out his best and most believable smile and acknowledged the camera men. "Are we starting the MTV shoot today?"

The room was silent, six mouths gaping open incredulously at what Justin had just uttered about his, well seemingly, his enemy. Kelsie stood, shocked the most out of all of them, and just stared at him, almost as if she knew that he was lying through his teeth. At first, she thought she felt a small, a very small, twinge of hope when he spoke those words. Maybe, just maybe, he was being sincere. Maybe he didn't hate her as much as she had thought... What if he does really mean that? What if... No. No way on EARTH was that possible. Justin Timberlake being sincere in his words to Kelsie Meyers. Ha, that was about as likely as winning the lottery. She shook off her shock and bit her tongue before a smartass comment escaped her and she made a bad impression in front of the MTV camera people that were only standing less than a foot away from her.

Johnny finally stepped forward after a long pause and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Yes, Justin, we are shooting the footage for the MTV All Access weekend for their Making The Tour show. I assume you already knew about that, though." He blinked. "Yeah, I knew about it. I just didn't know we were starting today." He clapped his hands together. "So, when can we start rollin'?" His voice changed into a crazy, erratic tone. "Let's get dancin'!!"

While the chaos of setting up cameras and the yelling of what was about to happen was going on, Kelsie had Katherine backed into a corner, talking to her quietly. Kat had given her an elbow to the side when Justin had offered his compliments towards her and that angered Kelsie even more than she already was. "What is he doing, Kat? What is he trying to do? Is he trying to discombobulate me even more than I already am?" She grabbed the ends of her hair discreetly and took a deep breath.

Kat giggled and patted her on the shoulder. "Listen, babe. Maybe he was just having a bad week when you guys first met. Maybe he's actually really nice. Why don't you just give him a chance and see if he continues this new behavior?" When she got a glare thrown her way, she folded her arms and raised her eyebrows at her best friend. "Don't give me that. Try it. You've got nothing to lose. And if he turns back into his 'mean self', you just tell him that I'll be over here waiting for him....", her smile turned evil and her eyes twinkled with playfulness. "...waiting for him so that I can give him a spanking. He's being a bad boy. Ow, ow!"

Kelsie tried as hard as she could to conceal her laughter but when Kat started making hilariously immature gestures with her body, she had to let it loose. Covering her mouth with her hand, she giggled furiously and started to walk away from Kat but was stopped at her friend's next words.

"Kelsie! You let him know that I can be a bad girl, too!", she laughed as she said it and when Kelsie turned around to roll her eyes, Kat added even more to the moment by running her tongue over her teeth and winking. "Raar."

"Ha, I'll be sure to tell him. Now go away before I pee my pants.", Kelsie laughed. She walked over to where the guys were standing with the MTV people. "So, what's going on with this telly vision program, hmm?"

Chris grabbed her shoulders and pulled her as close as she would let herself get to his face and yelled in her face: "YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON TEE VEE!!"

Laying her arms over his shoulders in response and pushing him as far back as he could go, she nodded and waved her hand in front of her face. "Whew, Chris. I think you know what I'm gonna say, but take it to heart, buddy." She reached into her pocket and threw a piece of gum at him.

He stuck out his bottom lip and put his hand to his heart, pretending to be insulted. "I'll remember that, Kelsie. Words hurt."

She laughed at his pathetic attempt to look upset and then grew serious when his last words echoed in her head. Her voice grew stern and she stared down Justin, whose back was to her, as she answered Chris. "Got that right. Words hurt."

Justin didn't turn around when he heard her, and oh yeah, he heard her. Loud and clear, but that didn't change his mind about anything. He wasn't about to let his guard down and she wasn't about to make him feel guilty about what he had planned out. Ohh no, she wouldn't win this. He smiled to himself and finally turned around to face her, his grin growing bigger and bigger every time he saw the sparkles in her eyes fade one by one. "Why are you directing such a nasty stare at me, Kelsie, babe?"

Her eyes turned to a dark shade of green when she glared at him, but somewhere in the back of her mind she heard Kat's encouraging words echo in her head: Just TRY it. Her eyelids closed for a second while she fought not to jump on the boy and rip out his damn curls. She smiled and opened her eyes, speaking in the sweetest voice she had the strength to. "What are you talking about, JuJu? Do you mind if I call you JuJu....JuJu?" Her grin got bigger when she noticed his eyes widen a bit and she knew that he wasn't expecting a civil response out of her. She knew what he was trying to do. This was her game now, though. This week, the week that MTV was shooting, would be a challenge for the both of them. While they'll be wanting to pull each other's hair out -- they'll have to keep their spite towards each other a secret and try to be friends during the time period that MTV would be following the guys around. She shuddered discreetly to herself when she thought about the word "friends" in the same sentence as both of their names. Friends? HA! That'll be the day.

While those thoughts ran through Kelsie's head, the same exact ones were running through his own. How was he supposed to keep his friendly image going strong if she would be hanging out with him and his friends the whole time? How could he stay civil to her for this long period of time? He thought to himself briefly and then one question struck him: Why DID he dislike her so much? What had she even done to him? He knew the answer deep in his heart, but it wouldn't stop him from covering it up with hatred. He couldn't, and he wouldn't, admit to the truth that was being concealed from everyone -- including himself.

"So, he didn't say anything after you asked if you could call him JuJu?", Kat asked, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth. It was late -- about eleven thirty and Kelsie had just gotten back from the Compound. She had been there with the group practically all day, only taking a three hour break when the MTV segments were being shot where she wasn't needed. Instead of going home, she had gone to Katherine's, who had gone home about two o'clock that afternoon since she had work. They were sitting on the floor of her room, a few CD cases scattered about and a bowl of popcorn along with some Oreo's and sodas resting on the deep blue carpet.

"Nah, he just kind of shrugged and turned around again. He kind of looked embarrassed.", she laughed. "I was loving every SECOND of it." She took a bite of her opened Oreo and licked her lips as she swallowed. "You know, he was really quiet the rest of the day...all into the dancing we were doing. He's pretty strange, now that I think about it. He has these moods..."

"You like him!"

Kelsie pulled her eyes up from where she was picking at the lint on the carpet. "Oh, God. Not this again."

"Kelsie Lyn Meyers! I'm sorry but I am your best friend and I've known you long enough to know that when you like someone just in the TINIEST amount, you talk about them like you can't stand the sight of them, but then when you do talk about them, you'll start picking at whatever you can. For example, in seventh grade when you liked Mark Techman, I remember trying to get it out of you and when you finally admitted it, you were picking at the bottom of your tee shirt! Now, you're picking at my rug while you're talking about Justin Timberlake and his different moods." Her smile was bright with self-confidence that she was right.

And she was. Kelsie wouldn't admit it, she would NEVER admit it, but there was just something about Justin that would ever so slowly seep under her skin and just make her smile. But on top of that deep seeded speck of attraction, was a very strong sense of hatred. He was everything that she loved to hate, he even made it EASY for her...he fueled his own enemies. She groaned and threw a pillow at Kat. "Whatever spins your barrettes, Montgomery."

Kat chuckled and only rolled her eyes. "I don't WEAR barrettes, Kels, my dear."

Kelsie fell back on the soft floor and heard a muffled ring from her pocket as soon as she hit the ground. She groaned again and pulled out her phone. "Who could be calling me at quarter of twelve?" She pressed the small object against her ear and answered the call reluctantly.

"Hello?"

"Heey, girl!! What are you doing just sitting around at home!?", an excited voice was screaming through the reciever. He was so loud, Kat could hear each word perfectly and was now having a fit of laughter on her floor.

"Chris? What are you doing?"

"We're waiting for you! I've been out here honking at your house for a million hours and I think your neighbors are getting a little mad. Is it bad if someone throws a shoe, an old golf club and a really dirty boot at your car while yelling obscenities out the window?"

Kelsie laughed and shook her head. What a goofball. "Chris, I'm at Kat's house. Just drive down a few streets until you get to Rystone Drive. She's the house with the dark blue shutters and gray siding."

"Ah, you tricked me! I'll be right there.", he paused. "Do you need a new shoe or golf club?"

Kelsie snickered and muttered a "no" before hanging up her phone. What a strange little man. But she loved him. She had to admit that Chris was her favorite out of the group. He was so fun, so full of energy and love of life. The sad part was that he was very close to hitting the big three-oh. Giggling at the thought, she stuffed the cell back into her pocket and looked back up at Kat.

"What'd he want?"

"Oh.. he didn't say. All he said was 'we're waiting for you!'.", she shrugged.

Kat nodded. "I see. He's probably trying to get you and Justin together so you can have a duel to see who will jump the other first."

Kelsie gave Kat a look and stood up with her hands on her hips, looking down at the blonde haired part in Kat's head while speaking. "You know, I just want you to know something. You can go on and on about how I supposedly like Justin, but know this: You would have to kill me and decapitate my body before I felt any single OUNCE of feelings for that arrogant son of a...", she cut herself off by diving into a whole nother subject.

"Do you know what he did today after you left? No, you don't, so I'm going to tell you.", she sat back down. "We were shooting for their retarded MTV special and we did the segment where I had to introduce myself as the choreographer for the tour and all, right? Well I'm in the middle of talking to the camera when Justin races up behind me, grabs my waist in a hug and says to the camera something like 'This is Kelsie Meyers! She's our waay cool choreographer!! She's supposed to teach us these phat new moves... like this, watch this!' and he goes into one of the moves I taught them for 'Space Cowboy'. The WHOLE time we're shooting he acts like we're best friends...and then as soon as the camera is off, he's back giving me the cold shoulder. WHAT IS THAT?", she groaned and grabbed her head.

Kat grinned and shook her head. "He's putting on an act."

"Well, then...WHICH ONE IS THE ACT!?"

The doorbell rang two seconds later and Kat stood up, dusting off her pants. "You might want to ask the guys that."

The door swung open and Chris stood on the front porch with a scheming grin on his face. "Hi there Kelsie!", he glanced at Kat. "Hey Kat!"

"Hey, Chris, what's going on?", Kat smiled.

His eyes moved up and down their bodies and his eyebrows crossed. "You guys aren't planning on wearing THAT out, are you?"

Kelsie looked down at her grey sweats and glanced at Kat to see she had the same thing on. "Out? Where are we going?"

"Clubbin'. Come on, get changed! We're wastin' time."

Kat's eyes lit up. "Yes!!", she bolted up the stairs to get changed instantaneously. Kelsie laughed and glanced over his shoulder to wave in JC and Joey who were sitting in the car, while inviting Chris inside. "Is it just you three?"

"We might stop at Lance's house on our way. But hurry up and throw on a sexy outfit, Kels, we gotta get movin'!!"

She grinned and saluted him before turning to walk up the steps. Chris' voice stopped her and made her roll her eyes. "Oh, yeah! Kelsie? You might want to brush your teeth." He smiled brightly. "You have some Oreo crumbs stuck all over them."

"Gee, thanks Chris. I'll be right back."

"Can you go get Lance, he's being slow, as USUAL!", JC muttered while tapping Kelsie on the shoulder. "Just walk in...the door should be unlocked."

She nodded and jumped out of the car, her pleather pants sliding off the seat with ease. She turned back to JC in confusion. "Why would he leave the door unlocked?"

Joey chuckled. "Well, you see... Lance.... he's an idiot."

Kelsie laughed and nodded. "I see.", she smiled. "I'll be back in a minute."

As she disappeared down the walkway, the three guys in the car were all grinning like alley cats, waiting for the explosion of shock that was about to erupt. They clapped their hands together in excitement at their own genius. Kat only shook her head with a laugh when she was informed of their game.

Kelsie knocked on the door, as some sort of warning, before she checked the knob, which expectantly opened. She stepped inside the big house and called out for Lance. "Hello? Lance are you home?"

She heard footsteps upstairs so she shrugged and jogged up the steps. "Hello??" Glancing down the hallway of doors, she checked a few before she heard a voice seemingly talking to himself, like he was playing a basketball game. She crossed her eyebrows and came to a door that was opened a crack with music playing inside. Slowly, she opened the door and peeked in.

The stranger in the room jumped when he heard the door open and he spun around on his heels to face the girl at his door. Letting out a yelp, his eyes started burning with flames. "What the HELL are YOU doing here?"

Kelsie almost groaned when she saw him standing there and she made a mental note to break the necks of the three idiots sitting in the car in the driveway. "What are YOU doing here?" She kept her eyes on his, trying not to pay too much attention to the fact that he was only wearing a pair of Joe Boxer pants. His very masculine chest was moist with sweat and he held a soft foam basketball in his hands. Her eyes were wide as she tried to keep them from lowering to his irresistible body.

She shook her head and cursed herself for even allowing any of those thoughts to cross her mind. "Where's Lance?"

He gave her a strange look and dunked the ball in the plastic basket before walking towards her. He sized her up carefully before answering. So she did have the ability to look good., he thought. Okay, so she looks really good. Ugh, man, Justin get that out of your head. He shuddered and answered her, his eyes still burning. "Lance? Why would he be at my house?"

Her jaw dropped. "This is YOUR house??"

He raised his eyebrows. "Yesss. And I would like to know why YOU are in MY house, how you got into MY house and why you are all spruced up like you're going to drag me out of here to some club or somethin'." He folded his arms across his bare chest and she couldn't help but to sneak in one quick peek. Uggh, why does that body have to go with this person??

"I was told this was Lance's house and I was told to come in here and get him because we're going to a club that Chris decided that I have to go to."

"How did you get in?"

"The door was opened."

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Damnit, I told JC to lock it on his way out." He kicked the corner of his bed until a thought popped into his head and his eyes shot open. "Wait a second, this was Chris' idea!?"

"Yep.", she folded her arms and pursed her lips. "What now? Did you finally realize that your friends left you out of something that they were planning? Oh no, poor Justin."

He scowled at her and slowly raised an eyebrow. "Actually, they wanted me to come, thank you very much. But I'm guessing that you don't know Chris very well. They made you specifically come inside to get Lance, yet they didn't tell you that this was MY house. You might want to go check if they are still out there waiting for you, my dear Kelsie."

He watched her eyes dilate for a second and she looked at him curiously, as if trying to figure out if he was really being serious, before running to the window. Justin stood at his door, his arm hanging onto the top molding, praying that he didn't know Chris as well as he thought he did and that he was still waiting for Kelsie, although he knew the chances of that were slim to none.

Kelsie ran to the window that looked out onto the driveway and pressed her face against the glass. Her eyes searched the street helplessly. No car. No damn car.

She was stuck here. Stuck...stuck in an empty house with the one person she despised more than anything. She was helpless as she turned around to look back at Justin, who knew from the second she looked at him. He blew air out through his nose and closed his eyes in anger.

His friends were toast.