~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAY, 2000: It was a couple of months later, and the tour was just about
to begin. Leslie was excited and nervous at the same time. Things were better
between her and Justin, but she was nervous to see what would happen once
they were surrounded by the pressures and the fans, and the rumors. She knew
they would come up sooner or later. She was hoping later than sooner. Team
Elite had practiced almost every day for 12 to 13 hours, and they were ready
and prepared for the tour. Leslie had noticed her change in being able to
handle the hard dance moves and being able to still breathe really well after
dancing for three songs straight. She also noticed her more noticeable
stomach and leg muscles. She had always had them, but they were more
noticeable now. The group was so close, she loved every minute of being with
them, and she couldn't wait to start. She was going to be staying on NSYNC's
bus for a few weeks when Jacob's girlfriend was coming to stay with him. She
was curious to see how that was going to work out.
"JUSTIN RANDALL TIMBERLAKE!!!! WILL YOU HURRY UP!!!!???" Leslie screamed
up the stairs impatiently. She had offered to drive over and pick up Justin
on the way to the studio where the bus's were parked. Lynn didn't like taking
him to the studio or the airport anymore, it hadn't gotten to hard to say
goodbye around other people.
JC and Chris had already went ahead, and Leslie offered to stay behind
and wait. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Jeez, patience woman, patience." He said
rushing by her, pulling his cap on backwards on his head.
"Do you always repeat yourself when your running late? I would have
patience if the buses weren't in danger of leaving us IN 20 MINUTES!!!!" She
finished yelling, pushing him to hurry up. He had to find his baseball cap
that he just had to wear.
"C'mere, Justin. We have to hurry and say goodbye to each other. They'll
leave you, and you know they will." Lynn said, referring to the last time,
they had left him. He was running really late, and they hid on him in the
airport and had the lady behind the counter tell him they had already left.
Finally, when he looked like he was about to cry, the guys jumped out from
the hiding spot. Lynn had never seen four grown men run so fast in her life
or one boy chase after them so fast. She shook her head at the memory.
"Mamma...." Justin sadly started. He stepped forward and swept his mom in
a hug. "I'm going to miss you so much. I hate leaving you."
"I'll see you soon, I'm coming out on tour with ya'll for a bit in a
couple of months. You be careful and behave yourself. Miss Leslie, you better
watch this kid, and keep an eye on him." She stepped away from him, and
opened her arms to Leslie. Leslie rushed into them and they hugged for a few
minutes, and Lynn gently kissed her on the cheek.
She hugged Justin one more time, and kissed him quickly on the lips, she
raised her hand and rested it on his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too Mamma." He replied, tears filling his eyes. She patted
his cheek told Leslie she loved her and quickly left the room, before the
departure got any more emotional.
Leslie quickly hugged Justin, and they left the house hand in hand.
"We're going to have a blast Juh. Don't worry, you'll see her soon. We're
going to party, and we're going to shop together." She laughed and then
continued, "You know, you're being such a baby." She giggled.
"Ha, ha. Just because you had to say goodbye to your family already and
you've already cried, doesn't mean you can bust me down for it. Besides, I am
still a baby, ya know." He stuck his bottom lip at her and when she swung for
him, he ducked and somehow grabbed her in a headlock. He quickly released her
as she brought her leg up to kick him in a sensitive area.
"Hey, hey. Let's keep the pleasure for later." He laughed getting in the
passenger side.
"We're here, we're coming, don't leave without us!" Leslie yelled,
running through the crowds, trying to manage her luggage at the same time.
"Wow. Look at the sexy lady run." Joey whistled through his teeth, as he
reached out to pat her butt.
"JOSEPH ANTHONY FATONE!!!! IF THAT HAND TOUCHES ANY PART OF THAT AREA,
YOU'LL HAVE TO USE YOU'RE OTHER HAND TO HOLD YOUR DAMN MICROPHONE AND TAKE
CARE OF THE OTHER BUSINESS YOU ATTEND TO EVERYDAY! YOU PERVERT!!!!!" She
yelled, still running towards her bus. She threw her luggage on the bus,
before she realized, she hadn't hugged the guys of NSYNC. She always hugged
them before they left for a tour. She ran out and ran up to them. JC saw her
coming and stopped talking to Sarah, and opened his arms. She ran and jumped
in them.
"Les, your coming on tour with us." He laughed.
"I know, but I'm kinda nervous and why ruin tradition." She answered
laughing. He set her down, and she walked over to the others and hugged them.
Justin was on the bus, so she walked in to hug him. He was sitting on the
couch with his hands holding his head. "Justin. What's wrong?" She asked
worriedly.
"Just tour jitters. I always get like this. You just never see it after
you say goodbye to me. I usually sit like this until the bus starts moving.
I'm usually praying." He laughed, then turned serious again. She pulled him
up off the couch and looked in his eyes. She slowly wrapped her arms around
his neck. He stood there for a second, taken by surprise. He wrapped his arms
around her lower torso, and squeezed her to him gently. He would never forget
the way she felt in his arms. He buried his head in her neck and breathed
deeply. "Or the way she smells in my arms." He thought to himself.
"Oh, boy. I need to let go. He's making the butterflies come out of their
cacoons again. Oops, there they are. Now, they're all flying around, and
those feelings are going to come back again. Oh no." She pulled away gently,
nervous. He hadn't made her feel that way in awhile. She felt that they were
closer than ever now, even closer than what they were, when they were
together. "I just wanted to wish you luck. I always hug you guys when you
leave for a tour, so I decided to keep the tradition going." She felt like
she needed to explain herself.
"Thanks. It made me feel better actually. I knew I was missing something.
You wanna know something that you never did with the guys, but you did with
me? You always kissed me before we left." He told her, his eyes sparkling. He
stooped down to look her in her eyes.
"Cute Justin. Very cute." She laughed, and turned to walk down the stairs.
He laughed before he answered her. "Oh right. You knew you wanted these
hot lips of sugar to touch yours. You were almost begging for it." He started
to walk back to his bunk. "I'll see ya tonight at the hotel."
"That kid is a story all by himself." Leslie laughed joining the others
in the sun.
"Yeah, but he's your favorite story." Tami said, half seriously.
"Oh, I'm going to miss you guys so much." Leslie whispered, tears
gathering in her eyes.
"Oh no! Your supposed to make me cry, not the other way around. We'll see
you soon, Les. We're coming on the tour soon, remember? You take care of
yourself, your our earth angel. You perform well, eat well, shop well, and
party well!" Tami said laughing. She pulled Leslie into a hug, and the other
two girls joined in. They whispered among each other, giggling.
"All for one, and one for all. Forever!" Jayla said laughing. They pulled
away, as the guys rolled their eyes. "Girl talk." Lance said sarcastically.
"Your just jealous cuz you can't join in." Jayla said teasing him, and
pulled him into a hug. She pulled away and gently kissed his lips. "I'll see
you soon, knight. Take care." She whispered, leaning her forehead against
his.
"Oh, I will, especially after that." He said, with a dazed look in his
eyes. Jayla had broken up with Matt after she realized that she loved Lance.
She was now proving it to him.
"Well." Leslie said clearing her throat. "We're off." She looked at the
other's sadly. The girls hugged once more, and as they pulled away, they all
had tears streaming down their faces. The said quick see ya later's and
parted. She ran to her bus, for fear of turning around and running back to
the safety and comfort of her three best friends.
"We are on the *NSYNC TOUR!!!!!!" Ryan screamed as Leslie walked into the
bus in tears. She laughed through them and he quickly hugged her. "Don't
worry Les. You'll see 'em soon." He soothed her gently rubbing her back.
She let go, and stepped back. "WE'RE ON THE *NSYNC TOUR!!!!" She
screamed, jumping up down, gripping his hands.
"SHUT UP!!" Jacob and Max yelled from the bunks.
"Their sleeping, or trying to." Ryan said, laughing. Leslie exploded in
giggles, as she and Ryan collapsed on the couch.
"Oh, this is going to be some wild trip." She said, giggling again. She
got up to wave out the window at her friends one last time, as the bus rolled
away.

Two weeks later:

The weeks had flown by for Leslie. They were going by so
fast for her, she hadn't had time to eat too much. She was getting in late at
night, and had to wake up early too. The sleep was few and far between, she
found herself sleeping anywhere and everywhere. The other day, in the
elevator, when everyone was going down to the lobby for breakfast, she leaned
back against Max and quickly fell asleep. She woke up a couple of seconds
later, and found his arms wrapped around her middle. He had his face buried
in her neck. She looked up quickly, and noticed Justin looking at them with a
spark of anger in his eyes. She quickly stepped away from him, just as the
doors opened. She walked over to Justin, to link arms with him, but he
quickly slid away.
The stress was getting to her, from Justin to the relationship she was
building with Max, to performing, to not eating, to missing her friends. It
was slowly driving her insane. She was starting to like Max, no doubt about
it. But, the feelings still burned inside her for Justin.
"C'mon Leslie! You guys are up next! Let's go! Let's go!" Nick Davis
clapped his hands at her. They had chosen him as their manager, and at first,
he refused. But, they convinced him to do it. They trusted him the most.
"Okay, I'm coming." She sat in her chair for a bit, before dragging
herself out the door. The rest of the group was waiting for her, they were up
next, to perform. They would all perform together for one song, then the
three boys would perform, then the girls, and then Miriam and Leslie had a
solo each. The next concert, Rachel and Ric had a solo each, they alternated.
Then, they would come back out and perform two more dances together. Leslie's
solo would be last, tonight. They always changed up the order they danced in,
to keep it lively and not boring. Team Elite had complete control over their
performances, and the music they chose. Leslie loved it.
"Leslie, do you feel okay?" Ric asked, looking at her closely.
"Yeah, I'm just tired. Let's do this guys!" She yelled, forcing herself
to sound energetic. The group huddled together in a quick prayer and a pep
talk. They stretched quickly and then ran out on the stage.
All through the songs, Leslie could feel herself losing control. Her
dance steps weren't matching too great with everyone else's. When the boys,
then Miriam went our for their solo's, she gladly accepted the break. They
went out for their group dances, and Leslie got worse. She tried to take deep
breathes, but it wasn't working. Finally, before the second song, Rachel told
her to go backstage and take a breather, before her solo.
It was her turn next, and she had gathered enough steam to finish it,
smoothly. It wasn't the greatest performance ever, but she did it. The group
came out with her, at the end, and bowed together. They ran off the stage and
into the back hallway. They were driving to the hotel right away, because
they wanted their rest. The hallway slid in and out of focus, as Leslie
became dizzy. She leaned against the hallway as the ground slipped and dipped
in front of her. There was a loud buzzing noise in her ears, and everything
moved out of focus. She felt somebody shaking her shoulder, and yelling in
her ear.
She turned slowly, and noticed it was Chris. "I'm okay, I'm alright. I
just got really tired." She told him, hoping he'd fall for it.
He didn't, but the security guards were pushing him to keep going. He
squeezed her hand and gently kissed her cheek. "Get some rest when you get
back to the hotel, okay?" She nodded her head and kept going, she knew that
Justin and JC were going to round the corner next, and she could not fake
that she was alright. Not in front of them.
At the hotel, she finally caught her breath, and took a shower. She let
herself into Justin's room and waited for him to get back, it was Tuesday.
Their day. They were going to watch, Brokedown Palace, Leslie's favorite
movie. She had convinced Justin to watch a chick flick.
She heard the door open and close, and she sat up quickly. She was going
to act like everything was fine.
"Oh, I'm tired." Justin said, sighing, collapsing on the bed. He sat up
after a few moments, and looked at her. "Are you okay? How do you feel?" He
asked, looking at her closely.
She quickly looked away. "I'm fine." She answered, if he looked close
enough, he would see she wasn't. He was looking close too. "Go take a shower,
and then we'll put the movie in." She instructed.
After he got out of the shower, she got up, and put the movie in.
She leaned back against Justin's chest and he wrapped his arms around her
waist. She breathed in deeply, and finally relaxed for the first time in
about a week. She loved the smell of him after he got out of the shower. He
had that masculine smell of him. It was a mixture of after shave, soap,
shampoo, and shaving cream. She began to stroke his arms, like she used to,
and it slowly lulled her to sleep.
She felt him pick her up in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his
neck. She snuggled closer to him, enjoying his comfort and warmth. She was
half asleep, but she knew she didn't want him to leave her. When he softly
laid her in her bed, she held on to his neck.
"Please, stay with me tonight? Just sleep with me." She murmured in his
ear. That was all he needed. He crawled in next to her, and pulled her close.
She woke up the next morning and cuddled against all the pillows stacked
next to her. She leaned her head against them, and felt a heartbeat. She
jerked her head back, and looked around her. Justin was laying against her.
"What the hell?!" She asked herself. Then, she remembered her falling asleep
and asking him to stay. She was so embarassed with herself. He had his arms
around her, and she had one arm around him, and one of her hands up his
shirt, resting on his chest. Like, she used to. "It can't get much worse than
this." She thought, then she looked down. "Oh, it can." She groaned. She had
one leg wrapped around his waist, and the other was entertwined with his. She
didn't want to wake him, but she needed to get up. She held her breath as she
slowly tried to pull herself away.
"Now, Miss Leslie. You know better to do magic tricks on me, while I'm
asleep. I can't watch the wonder. There is no way you can get out of this
position, without waking me." He told her with laughter in her voice.
She was beyond humiliated, she was tired, and she didn't feel good. It
wasn't a good day. "Oh, get the hell up!" She told him irritable, pushing him
away from her, which caused him to fall off the bed.
"What is up your ass and sideways?" He huffed.
"Nothing! Why are we in the same bed together?" She yelled.
"You asked me to stay, remember?!" He yelled back.
"It didn't mean you had to!" She didn't know why she was yelling. She
couldn't remember why she was so angry.
"Why? Would you rather it be Max instead of me?" He yelled back with hot
anger.
"Oh please! Can you just shove your male ego aside for one frickin'
minute?" She jumped out of bed. "There is nothing between Max and I! You are
so jealous! Why? Why do you let this get to you?!" She yelled. She wanted to
sit down. She had jumped up way to fast, and the world was starting to slide
again. She saw colorful dots in front of her and specks of black. The world
turned fuzzy again. She felt herself sway back and forth.
Justin was going to yell at her, but saw her condition. She had turned a
kind of whitish color, and she was swaying back and forth. "Leslie. Leslie.
What's wrong?" He asked stepping forward.
It felt like he was yelling at her from far away. "Justin. Get...away..."
She gasped, then changed her mind. "Help me. I think I'm going to fall down."
The world was turning violently in front of her, and she couldn't hold her
footing. The world slowly slipped away.
"No! No, stay awake Les. Stay awake!" he shouted, but she had already
slipped into unconciousness. "Help me!" He yelled. "Mike! JC! Somebody help
me!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, holding her in his arms. He had
her cradled against his body.
The guys were out in the hallway walking downstairs when they heard the
screaming. "Justin! Justin, where are you?" JC yelled running up and down the
hallway, trying to figure out what room he was in. "Mike!" He yelled.
Mike rounded the corner, just as JC reached Leslie's room. The guys flew
into her room, and saw Leslie in JC's arms.
"Oh god! What happened?" JC demanded.
"She fainted. She collapsed right in my arms. JC, what is happening to
her?" He asked, terrified.
"Somebody call 911!" JC yelled at the guys.

"Justin! Would you sit down!" Chris screamed at Justin. Everyone stared
and looked at him in surprise, he never yelled at anybody that way. Well, he
usually never yelled at anybody that way. "God Damn. Your more annoying right
now than me on a sugar high. Just sit down and be patient. Like the rest of
US!" He finished with an agitated yell.
They were all in the hospital, waiting for some news on Leslie. She had
woken up in the hotel, shortly before the paramedics showed up. Justin stayed
with her the whole time, until they arrived at the hospital. He sat down in a
chair dejectedly and stared at Chris. He looked like a schoolboy who got in
trouble and was giving his teacher the silent treatment.
"Don't look at me like that Justin. I'm sorry okay, I'm sorry. I...I
can't deal with this." He finished, grabbing his jacket and walking out of
the room.
Everybody stared at each other in shock. Usually, Chris was in control.
He was always making everyone laugh, and he was the one who was always in
control in the hospital. His knee was always bouncing up and down, but
tonight, he sat staring at the ground.
They had been in the hospital way too many times in the last couple of
years. "You know, I'm really beginning to hate this place." JC said, staring
at the wall. Everybody looked at each other and started laughing. They just
realized the situation they were in and the reason why Leslie was in the
hospital was because of the same reason Lance and Justin had been in the
hospital. The tension was lightened a bit, and the doctor walked into the
waiting room.
Well, Gentleman and Ladies. Leslie is awake, she took a long needed rest,
and she is feeling better. She wore herself out, with mental, physical and
emotional strain. Maybe, one of you would know about the emotional strain."
He looked pointedly at Justin. They all looked at him in astonishment.
"Hey! Don't point the finger at me, maybe you should ask Max a million
over there." he lifted his head in Max's direction. Max glared at him in
return.
"Anyway." the doctor said, breaking in before a fight broke out. "She is
doing fine, but I think it would be best if she didn't perform for a few
nights, and took it easy. I know you guys all have two buses and I'm
requesting she ride with the *NSYNC bus for a couple of days. She informed me
that somebody's girlfriend from Team Elite is coming on tour next week, so
I'd like for her to just stay with Nsync for the next three weeks on their
bus. It'll be quieter and she can get better rest there. She won't want to
play around as much and talk as much. She doesn't like them as much as she
likes you guys." He said laughing, looking at Team Elite.
Leslie had told the doctor it would probably be best if she did ride with
nsync, for the simple fact, that she was always doing something when she was
on her bus. If she was on nsync's, they wouldn't let her do anything.
"Can we see her?" Justin asked, standing up.
"Sure, but right now, your other friend Chris is in there, I passed him
in the hallway, and I delivered the news to him first. He requested to see
her, so I said yes. Ya'll can see her next, after he's done. This looks like
a close knit family, and it seems to me that there are many people who love
her very much. So, I'm trusting that these people will make sure she takes it
easy and doesn't dance for at least three or four concerts." He finished,
leaving the room.
"Damn Chris! Why is he in there first? He knows, I would want to be there
first." Justin said slamming his fist in the chair. It was important for him
to be there first, she was there for him first, and he wanted to be there for
her. She was the first person he saw, when he was in the hospital and he
wanted it to be that way with her.
"Calm down, Justin. I know what your thinking, but I honestly think that
Les wouldn't mind that she didn't see you first. You were the last thing she
saw last night, the first thing she saw this morning and the first thing she
saw when she opened her eyes after she collapsed. You'll see her next, okay?"
JC said, trying to console him.
Max got up and left the room in disgust. It was so annoying to him, to
see the way these guys acted like they really loved each other, and it
annoyed him more to see Leslie and Justin show their care and love for each
other. "I'm going to get her." he thought as walked out of the room.
"You guys, this is all my fault. She collapsed because of me, we were
fighting and she collapsed. I upset her." Justin said sadly, staring at the
floor.
"No, it would've happened sooner or later, Justin. It's not your fault.
I'm kind of glad she did this now, because if it had went on longer, she
would've been worse. Like how you were awhile ago." Ric said, trying to
comfort him.
Justin jerked his head up, how did she know about that. What exactly did
Leslie tell her group mates? "Relax, she didn't tell us anything. I asked her
about it one day and she told me the story about how you were in the hospital
for awhile." Ric said quickly, when she saw the look on his face.
Chris walked in the room, with tearstains on his face. "You can go now."
He said softily, looking at Justin.
"Gee, thanks. So kind of you to offer." Justin said angerily, brushing
past Chris' shoulder.
"Hey." Leslie said, looking up to see Justin in the doorway. She weakly
smiled at him, and held out her hand.
He rushed over to her side, and took her hand. He noticed the tearstains
on her face. "Les. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He asked worriedly,
panic setting in.
"Nothing, I'm okay. Well, I'm not okay, but you know what I mean. It's
Chris. I was dissapointed when he walked in the room, because I wanted it to
be you, but he was crying and upset and I didn't know what was wrong. Justin,
he thinks this is his fault. The other night, I was leaning against the
backwall at the arena, and I was pretty close to collapsing then. Chris
passed me and shook me out of it. He knew something was wrong then, and he
didn't tell anybody. That's what he told me, so therefore, he thinks it's his
fault." She finished, using her free hand to wipe away her tears.
"What?! He saw you like this, and he didn't tell anyone? I'm going to
kill him!" Justin said, anger filling his voice. His cheeks had two little
red spots in them. They did that, when he got angry.
"Justin, no. It's not his fault. Really, it's nobody's fault. It's mine.
It's not yours. We were arguing over something stupid, might I add. I started
it. I'm sorry for getting so angry with you, I was just embarassed."
"It was both of our faults." Justin decided to compromise, he didn't want
to fight anymore, and he definitly didn't want to upset her. "Why were you
embarassed? Look at how much we've been through? There is no need for you to
be ambarassed with me anymore."
"I know, I guess it's just been a long time since, we've...ya know. Slept
in a bed together." She replied, her face turning red.
She looked too cute, he leaned over and quickly brushed his lips against
her forehead. "We're going to make it, Lessie. You and I, as friends. We're
going to be together forever."
She smiled greatfully up at him, and pulled his hand towards her. She
kept pulling his hand over, and it took him a moment to figure out that she
wanted him in the bed with her. "Stay with me, until I fall asleep." She
requested.
He climbed in the bed and wrapped her in his arms. He stroked her hair
and her back, and let silent tears fall down his cheeks. He had never been so
scared in his life, and he was so happy. She was okay, and their friendship
was getting better. "For the moment, anyway." Justin said silently, laughing
to himself. They always fought, and they always got better after a day.
She was soon asleep, and he climbed out of the bed. He looked at her for
a few quiet moments, enjoying her beauty. She always looked so peaceful and
so little while she slept. But today, she looked weak and hurt. The anger
automatically returned, when he thought of Chris knowing about this.
He walked out into the waiting room, and kept walking. "Justin. How is
she? What did she say?" JC asked, worriedly.
"She's fine. She's tired and weak, but she's sleeping now. She'll be out
of here soon." Justin said, crisply. He stopped in the middle of the room, to
answer JC's question. He continued to walk on.
"Do you want us to come with you back to the hotel? I'm glad you got to
see her, she was relieved you were here." Chris added.
"No, Chris. Maybe, you should just pretend everything is okay, why don't
you come to the hotel with me. Then, when I ask you how Leslie is doing, you
can say she is fine, and there is nothing wrong with her." Justin said,
slowly turning around.
Anger was written all over his face. The guys knew not to talk to him
anymore for the night. When Justin reached this point, he was dangerous. He
didn't get very angry often, but when he did, everyone knew to leave him
alone. JC took a step forward to calm him down. He was the only one who could
ever calm him down, him and Leslie. Justin's body was stiff and rigid with
anger. He held up his hand to stop JC.
"Why don't you tell me what happened, Chris? How you saw Leslie leaning
up against that backwall, almost passed out. How she was close to collapsing,
and how you asked her if she was okay. She lied to you, and you knew it, but
you pretended she was fine. Is that how it went? Even after, I asked you how
she was doing, you said she was looking a little tired, but fine. How could
you do that?!" He asked furiously.
"You wanna talk about telling people things, why don't we discuss the
competition Leslie was in?" Chris yelled back. He immidiatedly regretted it.
He brought up a subject, that was supposed to be kept a secret.
Justin's face went white. "Shut your mouth Chris. I'm in no mood for this
right now, so just back off!" He yelled.
"Wait, what about the competition?" Lance asked, standing up. "Justin,
what about the competition?!" Lance repeated, yelling. He didn't often get
involved in the fights with Justin. But, if Justin did somehow set up that
competition, he was going to get involved. Leslie was really upset about that
after the competition, and he didn't want her to get hurt. It's one thing to
not tell anyone when she looked really weak, but to screw with her career,
and her mind, that was something on a whole different level.
"Nothing, Lance. Chris doesn't know what he's talking about." Justin
said, pointedly looking at Chris.
"No, I think he does know what he's talking about. Tell us now, Justin.
What about the competition?" Lance asked again. He wasn't going to give up.
JC took a step back and Joey slowly stood out of his seat. If Justin did do
something, JC wasn't going to protect him, He would be right in the middle of
it. This was the girl that was like his little sister. he cared too much
about her, if Justin did do something, there would be hell to pay. Joey
wasn't going to stop this, whatever Justin had done, he deserved what would
happen.
"Nothing happened, Lance! Just stay out of this." Justin yelled. "Chris,
tell them you were lying. That I didn't do anything!"
The members from Team Elite, sat in their chairs in shock. They didn't
understand what was going on. This was something they've never seen before.
Chris turned his back. He wasn't going to deny this. He wasn't going to
say he was lying, he wasn't a liar and he was telling the truth.
"You son of a bitch!" Justin growled, springing foward at him. JC quickly
intercepted him.
"You are not going to fight here in the middle of a hospital. Now, you go
back to the hotel, and calm down. We'll settle this later. Do you hear me? Go
to the hotel Justin. And, don't come out of your room, until one of us comes
and gets you. Understood?" JC told him, standing in front of him, holding his
arm.
Justin stared at Chris. JC tightened his hold on his arm. "UNDERSTAND?!"
He yelled louder.
"Yes, yes. I understand. We will forget this happened. Do you guys
understand? This did not happen. If Leslie asks where I am, I didn't feel
good and I went back to the hotel." He said, turning and looking at the dance
group. "If any of this is mentioned to her, you will be kicked off this
tour."
Jacob stood up and looked Justin in the eye. Sarah quickly followed suit
and pulled him down on the chair, before he could say anything he'd regret.
"We'll deal with this later. Just say okay." She told him, pleading.
"Fine, whatever you say Mr. Timberlake." Jacob said, looking at Justin
with anger.
"Leave now Justin." JC said releasing his arm. Justin looked at all the
guys in the room, before turning and leaving.

"This did not happen. Okay?" JC said, looking at the members of Team
Elite.
"This is not fair. JC, how do you expect us to hide this big of a secret
from our group member? Our teammate? One of our best friends? That's not
fair. If this was happening to Joey or Chris or Lance or You or even Justin,
you would tell them in a heartbeat. In a heartbeat! And you know it!" Ric
shouted, standing up and looking JC in the eyes.
"I understand that. And, you're right. We would tell each other, but I'm
just asking for the next week, to keep this a secret, until we know what is
going on with Justin. Okay? Please? For your sake and Leslie's sake?" He
asked, pleading with the members.
Ric turned and looked at Miriam, Rachel, Ryan and Jacob. They all nodded
their heads at them.
"Fine, Fine. We'll keep it from her, but only for one week." Ric sighed.
"Somebody go find Maxwell, and tell him what the hell is going on. You know
we're going to have problems with him keeping this from her." She instructed
the group.
Miriam left in search for Max. She could always explain things so well
and get the others to go along with it. She had the perfect view on
everything.
"Get the hell out of your room, and into mine." Chris instructed Justin,
slamming open the door to his hotel room.
Justin stalked out of it and stormed into Chris'. The rest of the guys
were all in there.
"Now, talk. Explain to us, what the hell happened." JC demanded.
Justin walked over to the bed, and let his head fall into his hands. He
sat hunched over on the bed. "Nothing. Nothing happened." He sighed.
"God Dammit!" JC yelled, causing Justin to jump in fright.
JC was just about tired of this game. "Stop lying! I'm sick and tired of
this game, Justin. Now, you fucking tell us what the hell you did, or...I
don't know what's going to happen." He yelled.
Justin got up off the bed and paced around the room. He didn't understand
what was going on. Yeah, what he did was wrong, but how could he explain
these things to the group.
"I..I can't tell you what happened. Because, I didn't do anything wrong."
He pleaded with his best friends.
JC looked at Chris. "Fine, Justin. Don't tell us. Chris? What happened?
What did Justin do?"
Chris looked at Justin. "He talked to the judges. He told them to look
out for Leslie, that she was an incredible dancer, and she deserved to win."
"You asshole!" Justin yelled, charging at Chris.
JC again, intercepted Justin and slammed him up against the wall. Mike
heard the bang, and charged into the room. "What the hell is going on here?"
He demanded.
"Nothing, Mike. We're fine, now if you would kindly leave the room..." JC
asked, not looking away from Justin. Justin glared at him in return.
"Justin." Mike asked tentatively, taking a step.
"I'm fine Mike. Just leave. We're working something out right now."
Justin choked out. JC had his arm against Justin's throat, causing him to
have a hard time breathing.
"Okay, but JC can you move your arm away from his neck. He's having a
hard time breathing." Mike asked.
JC moved his arm down and kept it across his chest. "Thanks." Mike left
the room.
"Now, are you going to settle down? No fighting Justin. We've never
physically fought, and we're not about to start now." JC told him.
Justin nodded his head, and JC cautiously backed away. "You want to
explain to us, what Chris just told us?"
"I did." Justin confirmed. "I don't think I did anything wrong. I just
suggested they watch her. She is good, and she would've won without me saying
anything. I feel bad for doing that, but I don't think I did anything wrong."
"But, you did Justin!" Lance exclaimed, jumping up. "You know how proud
Les is. You know she wouldn've wanted you to do that. That's why you feel
bad. Those judges watched Leslie, because you told them to. How do you know
she would've won if you hadn't done that? You don't know that. Nobody does.
You fucked up, Justin. And, you've got a week to tell her." Lance finished.
"I know I gotta tell her, and I will. In my own way. But, please not now.
Not after, we've started to get along." Justin begged.
"No, Justin. She needs to know now. Or, I'm going to tell her." Lance
stated, walking out of the room.
Justin sank to the floor on his knees. "I'm sorry you guys. I was wrong.
What I did was wrong. I'm sorry. I don't know how to fix this."
"I don't know if you can Justin. But, you know Leslie. She'll forgive
you, eventually. She might even forgive you right away, she may not care."
Joey said, sinking to his knees also.
JC patted his shoulder, and walked out of the room. Joey rubbed the back
of his head affectionately and followed. Justin looked up to find Chris
sitting on the bed.
"I'm sorry, Chris. I'm sorry." He stood up, tears threatening to spill
over.
"Don't cry you big baby. It's okay, I'm sorry too. I shouldn've done
that, but she does deserve to know." Chris stood up, and they embraced in a
quick hug.
"I'm going to go and get some sleep." Justin said, leaving the room. He
wanted to call Leslie so bad, but she needed her sleep. They had to go to the
hospital tomorrow morning, and pick her up. Then they were heading to the
next city. Leslie would be staying with *NSYNC.
Leslie headed straight for her bunk as soon as she got on the bus. "I'm
sleeping all the way until the next city. Do not wake me up, or there will be
hell to pay, Chris!" Leslie yelled. She knew that Chris would be loud and she
hoped the threat would work. It did, the guys were quiet all the way to the
next city.
"Now, this is what I call Heaven." She whispered, sliding out of her
bunk. They still had about an hour left to go, and she decided to get
something to snack on. She was hungry and the hospital food wasn't that
great. It was unusually quiet. "Too quiet." She thought.
She walked to the back of the bus, and she found Joey watching TV
quietly, he was almost asleep. She waved to him, and he waved back. She
opened the bunks and found Chris curled up in one, asleep.
She found JC in another one of the bunks. She looked at him
affectionately and reached out and gently rubbed the back of his head. He
opened his eyes and winked sleepily at her. She reached into the bunk and
hugged herself to his chest. He kissed her gently on the nose. "I've missed
you Lessie." She smiled at him, and backed out of the bunk.
She walked over to the next one, and found Lance asleep. She gently
kissed the back of his head, and stroked his soft hair. "Leslie, go pet
Busta." He laughed gently. He rolled over and patted her cheek. "I love you
Lanceten." She told him with love and respect in her voice.
"I love you too." He replied back. "Justin is in the kitchen area." She
laughed and walked into the lounge/kitchen area where she found Justin
sitting at the table. He was looking out the window and bouncing his head to
the rhythm in his discman.
She slid in next to him, and he jumped slightly. "Holy shit! You scared
me!" He yelled.
"Shh.." She pointed to his headphones. He took them off, and she
continued. "Let's not yell. It's nice and quiet. The way I like it." She
laughed.
She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about the collapsing
thing, J. I was so stupid. After all that you went through, you would've
thought....I should have known better."
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. You were under a lot of stress,
there's nothing you could've done about it." He told her, trying to console
her.
Leslie noticed how tense Justin's shoulder was. Usually, when she showed
some kind of affection towards him, he would relax. He didn't even put his
arm around her, he didn't even look at her. "Justin?" She asked.
"Hmm.." He answered, absentmindedly.
"Will you tell me what happened at the hospital last night with the
guys?" She questioned, looking directly at him.
This would be the perfect time to tell her, but he couldn't. "Nothing,
really. I was really upset with Chris and we fought. JC made me leave the
hospital, so I went back to the hotel. We talked about it last night, and
everything is better now."
She could tell he was lying through his teeth, but she let it slide.
"Okay, well, I'm going to get something to eat. I'm up for some ice cream,
are you interested?"
"Yeah, sure." He smiled.
"Do you want some whipped cream with that?" Leslie said, switching over
to a southern accent.
He laughed at her impression from one of their favorite movies, Varsity
Blues. "No, I don't want whipped cream with that. I don't think your body is
in any condition to handle whipped cream."
Everything was going to be fine. "I hope." Justin thought to himself as
he watched her make their ice cream. "She is so beautiful. God, please. Let
her forgive me for what I did." He pleaded to himself.

The tour bus was quiet as the brown haired male snuck into the back
lounge area. He glanced around quickly and smiled mischievously when he
spotted the person he wanted sleeping on the couch. She was sleeping on her
side, her back to him. He snuck up to her and just as he reached her, she
flipped over and squirted him in the face with a squirt gun.
"Auuggh!!" Chris yelled, jumping away.
"I told you Chris! I told you I was going to get you if you didn't leave
me alone! Ha!" Leslie shouted jumping up from the couch. Chris had been
irritating her the past three days and she had finally had enough.
Her laughter and triumphant yells halted though as Chris started
advancing toward her.
"Uh....Chris. What are you doing?" Leslie asked, nervously. She didn't
like the smile he was giving her. It wasn't a nice 'I love you and I'm going
to give you a hug' kind of a smile. It was a mean 'I'm going to tackle you to
the ground and tickle you to death' kind of smile.
His arms shot out to grab a hold of her, but she was too quick for him.
She slammed the door open, causing it to bang into one of the bunks. The bunk
Joey was sleeping in.
"Ow! Damn! What the hell is going on?!" He shouted. When the door slammed
into his bed, it forced him awake. He shot up and in the process banged his
head against the top of the bunk. He stumbled out of bed to be slammed
against it again by Chris. He was tearing after Leslie trying unsuccessfully
to catch her.
"Oh that is it Kirkpatrick! You are dead!" Joey yelled running after him.
"Help me! Help! He's gonna kill me!" Leslie shouted sliding onto JC's
lap. JC was sitting on the couch across from the eating area and Lance was
sitting at the table. Justin was in the front, sitting next to the bus
driver. If you wanted to be alone, you could go up there and sit. Nobody
would bug you. He turned around to see what was going on.
"What the hell? Leslie get off me." JC tried pushing her off.
"No! No! Don't make me leave, he's gonna kill me!" Leslie hooked her arms
around JC's neck in a death grip.
"Leslie. Let go." Chris had ahold of Leslie's waist and was trying to
drag her off JC's lap. Her whole body was in the air, except for her arms.
"Let go Les!" Chris grunted. Joey had his arms around Chris' neck, trying to
get him away from Leslie. Lance took the moment and his foot shot out,
knocking Joey into Chris and they all fell on top of JC.
"Oh now. Isn't this a classic moment?" Justin grinned from his seat in
the front of the bus.
"Smile for the birdie everybody." He laughed.
"Huh?" JC asked, oblivious the camera Justin had in his hand. Just as the
four of them looked over, Justin snapped the picture.
"Just once." Joey groaned. "Just once, would I like to go on tour and not
get caught in a compromising position on film."
Chris finally got Leslie away from JC and they landed in the floor on top
of each other. Chris fell on top of her heavily, knocking the breath out of
her for a second. Chris took no notice though and started tickling her, he
knew this bugged her like crazy. She couldn't stand it when people tickled
her, she felt like she wasn't in control of herself. She tried rolling away
from him, but it didn't help.
"Chris. Man, get off. She can't breathe, can't you tell she's in pain."
Justin yelled from the front of the bus. He jumped up from his seat. Chris
backed away, and it gave Leslie the advantage she needed.
"I told you to not mess with this CHRISSY!" Leslie shouted, tackling him
to the ground again. He hated it when people called him that. He thought it
made him seem like a girl, of course that was the whole point.
They rolled around on the ground wrestling together. JC quickly got bored
and walked out of the room. "I'm going to watch a movie."
"Get off me, you flea!" Leslie squealed, trying to shake off Chris. He
had ahold of her T-shirt by his teeth. "Thanks Justin for the diversion."
"No problem, buddy." Justin said offering his hand. "Hey Jace! What
movie?"
"Varsity blues." He called out.
Justin yelped in excitement and let go of Leslie's hand, causing her to
fall back on top of Chris. She heard a rush of air come out of him. "Sorry
Chrissy." She laughed scrambling off him as she and Justin raced to the back
of the bus.
The days rushed past Leslie and before she knew it, she was ready to
perform again. She would still be on the *NSYNC bus for the next three weeks
though and if Chris kept annoying her, she was going to have to hire another
body guard. For the protection of Chris, not her. She headed into her
dressing room to get changed and she noticed a letter sticking out of her
bag. Her face paled as she read what was on the paper.
She opened her door and looked both ways, glancing up and down the
hallway. She was looking for somebody in particular. She spotted him, and he
quickly walked away. That confirmed what she needed to know.
She stormed down the hallway into the room where *NSYNC was, they were in
a meeting about the concert and security. She took a deep breath before
slamming open the door. She quickly stepped in front of it, to keep it from
slamming shut again. All of the guys jumped when the door slammed against the
wall. She glared at Justin and curled her hands into fists at her sides.
"Excuse me, Miss Moorehead. We are in a meeting as you can see." JC said,
glancing up from his paperwork. He was always professional to everybody when
they were in the middle of something important.
"Ooh, he looks cute in glasses." Leslie thought to herself. "I'll have to
tell him that later." She reminded herself, as her steady glare situated
itself back on Justin. His nervous glance roamed everywhere but her.
"Leslie.." Lance started, standing up. He sat back down though, when she
raised her hand up to stop him.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting gentlemen, but Mr. Timberlake when
your not busy speaking to judges or whatever it is you do besides try to
dance and sing, could you please speak with me in private?" Leslie asked. Her
voice was hoarse from anger and her face was turning red from anger. Justin's
face paled, when he heard the tone of her voice and the words. Her voice was
as sharp as ice, and he could feel the anger and hatred pouring out of her.
Usually, she would cry when she got mad and upset. But, she surpassed the
feeling of anger and being upset. She was in the state of hatred now. She
couldn't believe he had betrayed her that way. She even asked him for the
truth and he still denied the fact that he had done something at the
competition. One of the things she hated the most was being lied to and she
would hate the people that lied to her. It took her a long time to forgive
people who lied, if she forgave at all.
She turned around, and slammed the door shut. "What the hell are you
looking at?!" She screamed at Ryan and Jacob. They had heard everything that
she had said. They threw their hands up in defense and backed away. She
stalked over to the other side of the hallway and leaned against it. She was
going to sit there and wait for Justin all night, if that's what it was going
to take.
"Oh shit guys. She knows. Who told her? Did you guys tell her?" Justin
demanded, letting a breath out. He didn't realize he was holding his breath.
He had never seen her this mad, not even when she saw the pictures of him and
Britney.
"No, Justin. Did you ever think that maybe one of the members of Team
Elite told her?" JC questioned calmly, looking up from his paperwork.
"I forgot. What am I going to do?" Justin meekly asked.
"First off, we're going to finish this meeting, and then you can go out
there and talk to her. I mean go out there and get killed. " JC giggled
nervously.
Justin groaned and let his head fall on the table. He blew it and he knew
it. She was never going to forgive him, especially with the way she found
out. He wanted to tell her in his own way. Now, he was going to have to rush
together an explanation and she was going to be so mad. She probably wouldn't
even listen to him.
The door slowly opened after 10 minutes had passed. Justin cautiously
stepped out of the room and opened his mouth to explain the one of the
biggest mistakes he had ever made.

Parts 16-20