...

    "I hate you! I never want to see you again. Just leave me alone!" Sarah
stormed out of the hotel room JC and Joey shared, letting the door slam
loudly behind her. The silence that was left in her wake did not last long,
but it was unbearably heavy.
    "I’m going after her," Tami said, shooting out of the room like a
lightning bolt, Chris hot on her heels. Justin started to follow, but Leslie
grabbed his sleeve.
    "Stay," she commanded. Her fiancé’s sister was close to Leslie, like the
sister she always wanted. "Two with her will be enough pressure." Everyone in
the room knew how Sarah reacted under pressure - her emotions stayed inside
her when she was upset, and when people pressured her for those feelings, the
result was unbelievably like an atomic bomb.
    "She didn’t mean it, Joe." Jayla put her right hand on his arm, her left
entwined with Lance’s. Joey didn’t respond.
    "Why did you say that to my sister?" Justin got in Joe’s face, wanting a
reaction. He needed some way to let his anger out.
    Instead of reacting, however, Joey was quiet. "I have no idea."

…

    "Sarah?" Tami knocked lightly on the door to the hotel room they shared.
Chris took a more direct approach.
    "We’re coming in." He opened the unlocked door to see a stiff Sarah
mechanically folding and packing clothes.
    "What are you doing?" Tami set her hands on her hips and tried her best
to look fierce.
    "Leaving." Sarah shook out her favorite shirt, the one Chris had given
her, the one with "Princess" emblazoned on the front. She folded it extra
carefully and placed it in one of her two huge black suitcases.
    "You can’t leave," Chris stated, striding across the room to stop
Sarah’s motions. "You can’t just walk out on us."
    "Watch me."
    "Don’t do this." Chris touched her hair and her jaw. He could see her
soul, no matter how much she tried to hide it.
    "Do you think I can just stay here, being happy, keeping things running
smoothly behind the scenes, running errands for my brother’s band after this?
I’m not doing that, Chris. I’m not giving him the satisfaction of watching
me struggle."
    "I’m going with you," Tami declared.
    "No." Sarah smiled softly. "You have a boyfriend, a life, here. Your
whole world is here."
    "So is yours," Chris muttered. It was, to put it mildly, the straw that
broke the camel’s back.
    "Let it go, Kirkpatrick. Just let it go!" Sarah screamed. She covered her
mouth a second later. "Oh my gosh, Chris. I didn’t mean it. Please…" But
Chris was gone. His Princess had never raised her voice at him before, and it
stung.
    "Goodbye, Tami. I’ll stay in touch." With a quick hug, Sarah was gone.
Tami stayed behind, breathing in the lingering scent of Sarah’s Tommy Girl.

…

    Sarah sat the way that she always sat on an airplane - in first class,
window seat, forehead pressed tightly against the Plexiglass. She wouldn’t
allow herself to cry, no matter what.
    ‘I don’t need him. He never meant anything to me - not really.’ She sat
back slightly and used her fingernail to trace a heart in the spot her breath
had left on the window.
    "Miss…" Her seatmate tapped her on the shoulder. Sarah turned to find
herself looking intothe most amazing pair of blue eyes she had ever seen.
    "Would you like something to drink?" the stewardess repeated.
    "Yes, please." Sarah took her Diet Coke in both hands and thanked the
flight attendant.
    "Good choice." The young man next to her tipped his head towards his own
can of Coke.
    "So what are you doing on your way to New York?" Sarah asked, taking a
sip of her cold drink.
    "Running away. How about you?"
    Sarah smiled wryly. "Same."
    "I’m Tommy."
    She removed one of her hands from the can to meet his outstretched palm.
"Sarah."

…

    Joey sat in Tami’s hotel room, taking deep breaths. Sarah’s scent was
synonymous with Tommy Girl. She had the works - perfume, lotion, body wash -
you name it. The smell had permeated the hotel room slightly, and Joey was
trying to fall asleep by himself, pretending he was smelling her. He had
switched rooms with Tami earlier in the evening.
    "I miss you, Sarah," he whispered to the moon. His favorite pictures of
her, jumping her horse Venus, sat next to him. But her perfume and pictures
weren’t enough. He needed to talk to her, at least one more time.

…
    "I’ll call you."
    "Not if I call you first." Tommy shot back, smiling one last smile before
the crowd in JFK International Airport swallowed him up.
    The vibration on her hip made Sarah jump, then glance down at her pager.
    911-911-69
    Sarah quickly erased the all-too-familiar message. Double emergency code,
followed by Joe’s tag.
She checked the time on her watch.
    "Go to sleep, Joe," she whispered to the moon. "It’s past your bedtime."
Sarah slipped into a taxi and glided off into the New York City night.


...

    "This sucks." Justin stomped into Leslie and Jayla’s hotel room. Jayla
sat on Lance’s lap, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist. Jayla’s thumb
lightly rubbed Lance’s wrist.
     "I know." Jayla sympathized with him. "But it was her choice."
    "I…I wish he could take it back."
    "We all do," Lance spoke up.
    "I don’t know what to do to get her back here."
    "Look, Justin." Leslie placed her hands on each side of Justin’s face and
looked him straight in the eye. "You have to let her go. All things happen
for a reason. Maybe she was meant to leave."
    Justin was silent for a moment; when he spoke again, his voice was
unusually low. "I will never, ever believe that a sister’s place is away from
her brother."

…
    Sarah met Tommy at the curb as he exited a taxi.
    "So this is the place, huh?" he asked, staring up at the apartment
building from under his Knicks hat.
    "Yeah…I’m finally out of that hotel. Ready to get started?"
    "You bet."
    Sarah loved her new apartment and furniture. She thanked God for sending
her Tommy to help her move in; he had been a lifesaver in the past three
weeks.
    They spent all day at the apartment, hooking up the phone, arranging and
rearranging the furniture and painting the bathroom. When they were finally
finished at eight o’clock, Tommy insisted on taking Sarah out to dinner. They
laughed over pizza, and slowly were learning about each other’s lives. Sarah
told Tommy about her brother and his fiancee, and Tommy told Sarah about his
wealthy parents who lived in upstate New York.
    "Rich brat," she teased him.
    "I love it when you do that." Tommy reached across the table and covered
her hand with his.
    "Do what?" Sarah tilted her head slightly to the right, as she always did
when she was concentrating on something.
    "That. The way you twist your head or look into my eyes - like I’m the
only person in the world." Tommy moved from just covering her hand to
gripping it.
    "Tom…you are the only person in my world right now," Sarah said
truthfully. She let a comfortable silence fall between them as she held up
his hand and traced his fingertips with her own, studying it as she went
along.
    "You don’t have rich brat’s hands. You look like you’ve worked your
entire life, so-"
    "Shut up and let me kiss you."

…

    *brrrriiiinng* *brrrriiiinng*
    " ‘lo?" Justin said, dragging the phone to his year. It may have been one
in the afternoon, but it was a rare day off, and all of the *NSYNC team was
taking advantage of it by sleeping in.
    "Hey, big brother, get your butt out of bed."
     "Sarah?" Justin’s head shot up. "Where the heck are you?"
    "The Big Apple. What about you?"
    Justin ignored her question. "Why haven’t you called us?"
    "I just got my phone hooked up last night, and then I went out. You were
doing a concert, anyway," Sarah said defensively.
    "Hooked up? You mean you’re LIVING in New York? And who did you go out
with?"
    "Cut it out, Justin. You might be older than me, but only by four
minutes. Yes, I’m living in New York. I’m not just on vacation. I moved out.
And I went out last night with Tommy."
    "Tommy - Tommy who?" Justin sputtered angrily. "What about Joe?"
    There was quiet on the other end of the phone before Sarah spoke again.
"Come on, Just. You can’t believe there’s still something between me and
Fatone." Her brother’s silence told her everything. "Justin, there’s not.
Not after what happened."
    "I think he misses you."
    "I…oh."
    "You miss him, don’t you?" Sarah’s twin had always been perceptive.
    "He’s the reason I left. I didn’t just wake up one morning and say ‘gee,
how about today I leave my friends, family, boyfriend - everything I’ve ever
known - and go start another life’." Sarah could feel herself choking up.
"I’m sorry. I can’t talk to you now."
    "No, Sare, wait-" But she was gone. Justin groaned and rolled over.

…
   
    Sarah stared at the brand new white cordless phone in her hand. She still
hadn’t even really taken the time to think about Joe. Maybe she should.
Holding it in couldn’t be good.

*Flashback*
   
    "Happy birthday, dear Sarah and Justin…Happy birthday to you!"
    "How come her name came first? I’m older!"
    "Justin!" Sarah hissed, elbowing him in the side.
    "Ladies first," Tami reminded the impatient young man; JC was draped
across her shoulder.
    "Come here, Sarah." Joey took her arm and tugged her over to an alcove in
the room. Most of the industry’s top people had turned out for the twins’
twenty-first birthday party.
    "Here." Joey handed Sarah a velvet box. "Go on, open it," he urged when
he saw her hesitate. She did and he smiled at her gasp.
    "Oh my Lordy…Joey…oh…this is - incredible." She carefully extricated the
ring from the velvet and examined it more closely. It was a thin band of
white gold with a light blue, star cut sapphire. On each side of the sapphire
were engraved tiaras, and the inside read "To the Princess of my heart. From
now unto forever. Joe. 1-31-02."
    "It’s amazing."
    "You’re amazing." Joe couldn’t stop smiling at the way she turned it
over and over in her hands.
    "This is an
I-love-you-more-than-anyone-else-on-earth-please-stay-with-me-forever
ring…happy birthday, baby." And they kissed.

*END FLASHBACK*

    There were other memories, too - Joey throwing her into the ocean,
twirling her around, eating ice cream. Tickling her. Taking her out on their
first date - on Valentine’s Day - because they were the only two without
dates. Teaching her to beatbox. Teaching him to do the high ropes course.
    There was a knock at the door. Sarah jumped up to answer it, expecting it
to be the Chinese food she had ordered for lunch. Instead, there stood Tommy,
holding the Chinese and a bouquet of daisies and baby’s breath.
    "Picnic?" he offered, smiling shyly.
    "You’re on." She found one of her new blankets and spread it out on the
floor. The rest of the drizzly, depressing day was spent making laughter.

…

    Eventually, Sarah’s life settled into a steady routine. Cleaning house,
walking her puppy, working at a radio station, and exploring New York City.
    And Tommy. There was Tommy everywhere. Going with her to pick out Daisy,
a miniature schnauzer. Looking over the edge of the top of the Empire State
Building. Clubbing. Cooking together. Chasing taxis and skiing in the winter.
    Meanwhile, as Sarah had developed a steady rhythm in her new life, things
in Orlando were all screwed up. Justin and Leslie had postponed their wedding
for an undetermined amount of time because of Justin’s obsession about
"getting Sarah back". Chris wasn’t himself - quiet, withdrawn, cracking only
sarcastic and bitter jokes. Joey was busy trying to prove that he didn’t need
any one girl - clubbing, partying, having a new girl every other day. His
entire life, like Chris and Justin’s, was unbalanced. Sarah had kept everyone
level and grounded. Now Tami and Jayla were doing their best to hold things
together and support Leslie, who was having a hard time with Justin. Lance
and JC worked on the guys, and all around things were slowly improving. They
were getting used to Sarah being gone.

…

    "Yes!" Sarah saw her present for Tommy on the doorstep, delivered
straight from Abercrombie overnight. It was a navy, long-sleeved shirt that
read "Property of Abercrombie and Fitch" on the front and said "Tom" and the
number 17 on the back.
    "Sometime’s being Justin’s twin comes in handy," she thought, wrapping
the present quickly. Stores never questioned putting things through on
special order.
    Sarah couldn’t wait for Tom to see it, so she decided to run over to his
new apartment - only three blocks down and one block over - even though his
parents were there for lunch. True, Tom’s mom had been less than polite, but
his father was nice enough. Sarah checked her watch. They might be gone by
now, anyway.
    The doorman nodded her right up to the apartment. When she pressed the
doorbell, she heard clattering, then a female voice ringing out "I’ll get
it!". The door opened, and Sarah took a step backwards in shock. There stood
a slender blonde with a huge smile on her face.
    "Tommy, honey, someone’s here to see you. Come on in. I’m Saundra,
Tommy’s fiancee from Detroit." Saundra opened the door a bit wider, inviting
Sarah in.
    "No…no, thank you. I didn’t realize he had out of town company. Just
give him this." Blindly Sarah tossed the gift - the $107, specially ordered
gift - into Saundra’s perfectly manicured hands, then fled.
    She began her journey home in a state of numbness. Soon, however, she
couldn’t hold back the one memory she had repressed for so long.

FLASHBACK

    "Joey, baby, I brought you some chicken soup. I made it in my hotel room
microwave and-" Sarah reeled back, sick to her stomach. Joe, who couldn’t go
out with her last night or today because he "felt sick and contagious" and
thought she should stay in her own room, was on his bed making out with
another girl.
    "Joe…" she whispered. "No…"
    "Sarah!" He sat straight up, the other girl still clinging to his bare
chest. "Wait, I can explain…" But his girlfriend was gone.
    "Go…get out of here!" he screamed at the female in his bed. When he had
quickly dressed and combed his hair, he flew down the hall to Sarah and
Tami’s hotel room. No one answered, so he went to Jayla and Leslie’s. No
answer there, either, and no voices inside. Only one room was left - the rest
of the guys’. There they all were. Sarah sat curled up against Chris,
sobbing. Justin stood behind her, and the girls surrounded her, talking and
rubbing her back. Lance and JC stood at the outside of the circle, next to
their girlfriends.
    "What the HECK are you thinking, Fatone?" Justin shouted, venom in his
voice.
    "I…I…"
    "I don’t even want to know. It’s not worth my time. All I know is that
you hurt my little sister. Leave."
    Joe could feel his anger rising defensively. "Hey, it’s not like she’s
the only one in this couple getting some from other people."
    All heads swiveled to Sarah. "That’s not true," she yelled. "It’s not.
You’re the only one in the world…" and she broke down again.
    "Then who was the guy at the Mine last week?"
    "A friend! A freakin’ friend, Joey! His name is Matt, and he’s A FRIEND
JUSTIN AND I GREW UP WITH." Sarah started screaming. "Why, Joe? WHY?" Chris
held her tighter against him.
    "Because you were just a toy. Something fun. Something to play with when
I was bored. You know, lead on the best friend’s little sister, get some,
then move on. It’s quite entertaining, really. You should try it sometime."
Joe smirked, talking before he knew what he was saying. All other people in
the room stopped breathing, including Sarah. She straightened, wiped her
eyes, and set her jaw, pulling away from Chris.
    "I hate you! I never want to see you again. Just leave me alone!"

END FLASHBACK

    And then there was now. How come guys did that to her? Sarah didn’t
know…all she knew was this incredible pain as the snowflakes turned to
raindrops and the raindrops pelted her harshly. Now, outside her apartment
building in the middle of December in the pouring rain…Sarah cried. She cried
loudly, letting the raindrops mingle with the tears. When she was all cried
out, she went inside and prepared to start a new life in her old house -
alone.

...

    "Daisy!" Sarah called, tapping on the blue food dish. "Time for your
dinner!" The little gray dog came running, and dug right into her food. Sarah
watched for a moment before signing online to do some research for work.
    *rrriinng* *rrriinng*
    Sarah hesitated before picking up her cell phone. Tommy had been calling
often, trying to explain his actions. Sarah would listen to his fumbling
words for a few seconds before hanging up on him. After five rings, Sarah
decided to answer the phone.
    "Hello?"
    "Sarah?"
    "Leslie! How are you?"
    "I’m good…how are you?"
    Sarah swallowed what she really wanted to say - "I’m so lonely. I miss
you so much."
    "I’m fine, thanks. Haven’t heard from you in a while."
    "Actually, I have a question for you. How would you like to be in a
wedding?"
    Sarah gasped. "Really?"
    "Really!" Leslie giggled. "I need another bridesmaid. How about it?"
    "I’d love to. How come Justin didn’t tell me?"
    "I made him wait so that I could surprise you."
    A sudden thought came upon Sarah. "Will…will Joey be there?"
    "Hold on a sec, Sare." Leslie covered the phone and glanced behind her at
her crowd of friends, minus Joe. "Crap, you guys. What do I Say? She wants to
know if Joey’s in it first."
    "Say we’re not sure. Right now she’s paired with Chris," Tami suggested.
    "Perfect!" Leslie flashed Tami a thumb’s up and returned to the phone.
"I’m not sure about Joey. But right now you’re paired up to walk down the
aisle with Chris."
    "Okay…when should I come?" Sarah still wasn’t sure that this was the
best decision, but she really wanted to see her older brother get married -
no matter how annoying he had been about her move to New York.
    "How’s tomorrow?"
    "Tomorrow?" Sarah couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
    "Yeah…I want you to help me pick things out. You’ve always been good
with color, design, ideas in general. The guys are off for a long vacation -
a little over a month. The wedding is three weeks from tomorrow. Please?"
    "Yeah, I’ll be there. Let me arrange some things, and I’ll call you
back."
    "Okay."
    Sarah called the radio station to get a leave of absence. It was no
problem - she was their best, most dedicated new employee. She scheduled a
flight for 10:00 a.m. the next day, and rented a car in advance.
    "I’m not going to be stuck in a limo with Joe," she thought as she made
her last call before returning to Leslie. The call was to Mrs. Nielson, her
next door neighbor, who agreed to watch the apartment.
    "Les…it’s all set." Sarah rattled off her flight information. "Oh…I have
a dog now. So we’ll have to pick her up at the airport, too. Does Mom know
I’m coming?"
    "Yeah." The two friends chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up.
Sarah was excited about going home for the first time in six months, but also
nervous about having to see Joe. She had grown up a lot since their breakup.
As she packed, she carefully weighed and considered all the ways she could
react to Joe. Finally, she decided to just play it cool with him.
    "No on will find out about what happened with Tommy, Daisy," Sarah vowed
to the little dog lounging in the doorway to her bedroom. "It’s going to stay
our little secret." With that, Sarah slammed the suitcase shut. It was time
to get some sleep - tomorrow was going to be a long day.

…

    Sarah stood fidgeting in the middle of the Orlando airport, Daisy at her
side. Absentmindedly, she tried to twist the ring that she had left behind
all those nights before. Rubbing Joe’s ring had always comforted her. Now, it
was just an old habit yet to die.
    "I hope she got the right information, Daisy. I hope she didn’t forget."
Another, much worse, thought struck Sarah. "What if this was some horrible
practical joke they decided to play?" At once, Sarah was ashamed for even
thinking about doubting her friends. They would never do that to her.
    "Sarah! Princess!" Sarah whirled around to see three of her favorite
people in the world barreling towards her.
    "My girls!" She was engulfed in hugs from Tami, Jayla and Leslie, all
laughing excitedly. Daisy yapped at their feet, adding to the general chaos.
    "You got your luggage already?" Tami asked, pointing to the two huge
black suitcases, Sarah’s bags from when she went on tours.
    "Yeah. I don’t want to seem rude, but where in the world were you guys?"
    "Stuck in traffic. As always." Jayla picked up a suitcase. "Come on, the
limo’s waiting."
    The four young women chattered nonstop throughout the twenty minute ride
to Sarah’s mom’s house.   
"Where are the guys?" Sarah asked. Tami, always the animal lover, held Daisy
on her lap.
"Interview," Tami answered. They’re coming over to your mom’s house for
dinner tonight."
"Oh." Sarah shifted in her seat. Jayla, sensing that her friend felt
uncomfortable, changed the subject quickly and easily. In just a few minutes,
they were parked in front of Lynn’s two story house. Before Sarah could even
get halfway across the grass, the front door flew open and Lynn scurried down
the steps.
"Mom!" Sarah flew into her mother’s outstretched arms.
"My baby." The mother and daughter held each other for a long time. When they
finally pulled apart, Tami marveled again at the amazing similarity in looks
- they could pass for sisters. Sarah looked exactly like Lynn, only with her
father’s dark coloring.
Sarah, her mother, and her three friends spent an hour catching up, while
Lynn ran back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, checking up on
dinner. Sarah had really closed off her former life, needing a chance to grow
and be more independent. As a result, however, she had missed out on so many
things at home.
Jayla, with her exceptional sense of hearing, was the first one to realize
that a limousine was pulling into the driveway.
Suddenly, Sarah was nervous, and she knew why. She straightened her short
black skirt and red tank top, and awkwardly ran her fingers through her newly
cut and highlighted hair.
The front door opened with a bang, and Justin sailed into the room.
"Jelly!" he screamed.
"Peanut butter!" she shouted back. They held onto each other even longer than
Sarah and Leslie had held each other. The twins loved each other so much; it
had been torture for them toe be separated after living together for
twenty-one years.
As soon as the twins let go, Sarah was surrounded by JC, Lance and Chris.  
    "Princess, don’t cry." Gently, Chris took his thumb and wiped away the
tears on Sarah’s cheeks. He kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes.
"I’ve missed you so much."
"Me, too. Me, too."

…

    Joe stood at the outside of the group, feeling completely out of place.
He had no idea where he fit into this big welcome home celebration. He would
just have to take his cues from Sarah.
    Unfortunately, he didn’t get many signals from Sarah’s direction. She
glanced at him, whispered a "hi" without looking him in the eye - and that
was it.
    "Look at you!" JC took her by the hand and twirled her around. "You’ve
turned into a walking, talking billboard for Manhattan!"
    "Sarah laughed self-consciously. "Yeah, I guess I have changed a little."
    "A little?! You’ve gone through like a whole transfer-" JC took in
Tami’s raised eyebrows and slowly shaking head, and he shut up.
    Leslie, always tactful, covered the left over silence, filling Sarah in
on the wedding plans made so far. It would be on a beach, at sunset, with
tents for dancing and eating afterwards.
    "It sounds perfect."
    "Yeah." Leslie glanced over at Justin. "And we ARE doing pink."
    "Baby blue," Justin objected.
    "Oh, Lord, you two. Don’t get her involved in this right after she
arrives!" Jayla rolled her eyes, looking typically at home on Lance’s lap.
"They’ve been having this ongoing battle for days. You’re the deciding
person."
    "Oh, really?" Sarah smiled, beginning to relax. "I feel honored."
    "You should." Lance smiled. " The press is already calling it ‘The
Wedding of the Decade’."
    "When do we start planning?"
    "Monday. Tomorrow we’ll go to church, then rest."
    "Dinnertime, kids!" Lynn called from the kitchen. Sarah breathed in the
smell of spaghetti, her favorite food.
    "Coming, Mom!" Sarah and Justin beat each other up, trying to get to the
table first. Things were going back to semi-normal.

…

    The next two weeks flew by in a blur. Sarah and Leslie met with the
wedding planner. When the woman began acting snippy, Sarah inserted her
"fresh from NYC" comments on the setup. Instead of a complete tent, they
would set up a three sided wind break (unless it rained) so that the guests
could see the stars. The men’s cummerbunds were sky blue, and the
bridesmaids’ dresses were medium pink. Jayla, the maid of honor, wore a dark
pink dress, and the little flower girl had a very pale pink dress.
    Sarah had managed to avoid Joey like the plague, but on Sunday night -
only a week before the wedding - they were having a party like old times,
slumber party style.
    Sarah busied herself with making sure everyone had food and drinks until
Chris tugged her hand and made her sit down next to hi to watch their
favorite movie - "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".
    When the movie was done, Tami took in the whole group with mischievous
eyes.
    "Time for Truth."
    Groans filled the room. The group and long stopped calling the game
"Truth or Dare" because the only point of playing was to get people to
divulge secrets.
    "It’s a friggin’ bunny rabbit!" Chris interjected. He and Sarah burst
into hysterical laughter.
    "Someone shut them off," JC moaned from his position next to Tami.
    "Impossible," Lance laughed. Joe watched.
    After a few questions, it was time to ask Sarah. Justin asked what he’d
been dying to know since Sarah arrived.
    "Sarah, how’s Tommy?"
    "What?" She breathed in hard, and her face turned pale.
    "I said, how’s Tommy?"
    "He’s…fine."
    "No, I mean…what’s up with you two?"
    "Nothing."
    "Come on, Princess, you can tell me." Chris patted her check. "Nee!" For
once, Sarah didn’t laugh at one of their jokes.
    "Nothing happened."
    "Tell us, Sare. It’s Truth," Justin reminded her.
    "NOTHING HAPPENED!" Sarah screamed, scrambling to her feet. "Tommy did
what every other guys I’ve ever loved has done to me!" She refused to look at
Joey. "He played me, Justin. HE PLAYED ME and now I don’t know where he is.
Somewhere with SAUNDRA, I’m sure. I DON’T CARE where he IS!" Sobbing, she
flew out of the living room and upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door.
Luckily, Lynn and Paul were still out.
    "JUSTIN!" Tami and Jayla moaned simultaneously.
    "Go to her, Joe." Leslie looked up into his brown eyes.
    "No."
    "GO to her, Joey."
    "No, Les."
    "Joey…just GO TO HER." Leslie’s voice began getting louder and louder.
    "My place isn’t with her."
    "You’re right - your place is in bed with whatever piece of booty you can
dig up that night." The rest of them gasped.
    "No…Leslie. That’s not true."
    "Then GO TO HER. After you KILLED her with what you did, make it up to
her."
    "NO!"
    "I HATE YOU for what you did to her, to all of us." Leslie shook with
anger and launched herself across the room, smacking and punching Joe, who
quickly recovered and held her away from him until JC and Justin grabbed her.
    "Calm down, Leslie."
    "No! If you won’t have the simple respect to go comfort her" here Leslie
shot daggers at Joe "then I will. It’s the least we owe her." And Leslie,
too, left. It was dead silent in the living room.

Things were tense, to say the least, around the *NSYNC team. Leslie had
apologized to Joey, but they still weren’t on the best of terms. Sarah had
been quieter than ever, now that her secret had been pulled from her. One
night, Sarah, Justin, Chris and Joey went to pick up pizzas and a movie, and
Leslie, Tami, Jayla, Lance and JC were left to scheme - and scheme they did.
    "Okay, let’s make sure we all agree on everything." Jayla crunched into
an apple, leaning across the kitchen counter. "First off, Joey and Sarah
should never have broken up. Two, it’s all Joe’s fault. Three, Joe wants
Sarah back and Sarah needs Joe and Four - both of them are too proud to do
anything about it." All the heads in the room nodded in agreement. That’s
exactly the way it was.
    "But what can we do about it?" Lance asked, stealing Jayla’s apple and
biting out of it.
    "Well…" Tami smiled wickedly. "What’s more romantic than a wedding?"
    "Yes!" Leslie shouted, giving her friend a high five. "You are too good,
Tami."
    "Yeah, yeah, I know. What can I say? It’s a gift."
    "How are we going to set them up at a wedding? We can barely get them to
look at each other," said JC, always the voice of reason. "Forget trying to
get them to dance together. I mean, we all know how bad Joey wanted to go to
Sarah the other night, but he wouldn’t. Imagine trying to get them to dance."
    Leslie started to laugh.
    "What’s so funny?" Jayla asked, taking her apple back from Lance.
     "What if they HAD to dance together? What if…we paired them up in the
wedding?"
    Now everyone started to laugh. It was such a perfect idea that it was
almost too good to be true.

…
   
    It was too good to be true. Chris would have none of it.
    "I’m paired with Sarah, and I like it that way. Don’t try to pull this
over on her, you guys. She’ll only get upset. Let it go. If Joe and Sarah are
meant to be together, they’ll be together. But I will be the one who will be
holding Sarah’s arm when she’s walking down that aisle."
    "Okay, Chris." Jayla leaned forward. "Let me lay it all out on the table
for you. We have another girl, Leslie’s cousin, Rae, coming in, and she’s
going to be a last-minute bridesmaid. Now, since she’s a little on the short
side, and you are…too…um, we need you two to walk together."
    "No. No. No."
    "Yes." Leslie pouted. "It’s my wedding, and you are not going to ruin my
matchmaking, Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick!"
    A doorbell sounded, interrupting the conversation. No one moved.
    "Fine, I’ll get it." Chris was irritated, no doubt about it.
    "Hi." A sweet voice echoed down the hallway. "Is Leslie here? I was told
that she should be at Justin’s house."
    "Yeah, she’s in the living room. You must be Rae."
    "The one and only." Rachel laughed.
    "Here, let me take your coat."
    Not a person in the living room moved, or even breathed, as they listened
to the ongoing conversation between Chris and Rachel.
    "Well, I guess I’ll be the one walking you down the aisle. I’m Chris."
    "Wahoo!" Shouts rang out from the living room, blocking out Rae’s
response. Leslie and Jayla exchanged not-so-discreet high fives, and Tami
jumped up and down. Everything was going their way.

…

    "Don’t do this to me, Leslie." Sarah’s eyes welled up with tears as she
drew her knees up to her chest. Her reaction to the change of plans was
completely opposite to Joey’s; Joe had hugged Leslie in thanks before quickly
leaving the room.
    "Come on, Sarah. For me. You’ve seen how Rae and Chris interact. It’s
natural for them to walk down that aisle together." Leslie knew that Sarah
wouldn’t back out of the wedding - she couldn’t do that to Justin.
    "Why are you changing things the day before the wedding?" Sarah ran her
hand through her freshly cut and highlighterd hair. As always, she was
dressed "New York", as JC called it: tight dark blue jeans, paired with a
sparkly gray tank top and boots.
    "Leslie! Sarah!" Tami’s voice carried up the stairs of the Harless house
to Sarah’s bedroom.
    "Let’s go see what Juno wants." Leslie grabbed Sarah’s arm and dragged
her off of the bed and downstairs.

…

    The next day dawned cool, but sunny and clear - the perfect day for an
outdoor wedding. The "boys" in the wedding party had camped in Chris’s house,
while the girls had staked out the Harless home for their pre-wedding
preparation. In keeping with tradition, Justin wouldn’t see Leslie until she
began her march down the aisle.
    Leslie was the flawless picture of a bride - calm and collected, yet
bubbly, with a huge smile surfacing every few seconds. Rae and Tami fussed
over her from the instant they woke up, while Jayla made on of the girls’
famous "energy runs" for Coffee Coolatas and doughnuts from Dunkin’ Donuts.
Sarah ran a tight ship, answering the phones, applying makeup and running all
over the house. The day flew by in a flash of light, and before any of them
knew it, they were sending Rae’s little sister Whitney down the aisle as the
flower girl against the backdrop of a slowly setting sun.
    Rae and Chris almost floated down the aisle. They made such a great
couple. Chris opened Rae up, and Rachel calmed Chris down. There was no doubt
in anyone’s mind that the aweseom - yet vertically challenged - couple had a
long future in front of them.
    Tami and JC were the next pair to make their appearance. Tami positively
glowed on her boyfriends arm. JC couldn’t stop himself from glancing at her
every few seconds. He was hardly able to believe that this beautiful woman
next to him was his girlfriend.
    Sarah and Joe were the next couple to enter, and Alia, the wedding
coordinater, had to force Sarah to put her hand on Joey’s arm. They walked
far apart from each other, and there was no lingering and smiling at the
altar, as there had been with the previous two couples. Sarah slipped quickly
into her spot next to Tami.
    Jayla made her lone walk down the aisle, her eyes never breaking contact
with Lance’s. All bets were on them to be the next couple to make their lives
one.
    The music changed and Leslie made her appearance; a gasp went through the
audience at the sight of her, and Justin’s eyes filled with tears. She was
absolutely gorgeous. The dress was simple and pure white, with delicate pink
roses around the princess waist and neckline. The frothy veil was secured by
a band of pink rosebuds.
    The vows were said quietly and with sincerity. Before anyone could
believe it, they were Mr. and Mrs. Justin Randall Timberlake, and were racing
down the aisle to the backdrop of a setting sun. All of the staff went into
high gear. The plan was to have the toasts at the exact moment when the sun
burned most brilliantly, and the first dance was to go as soon as the stars
appeared.
    Lance made his best man toast, and Sarah made a special one as the sister
of the groom. Both were sweet, with dashes of humor and memories.
    The great orange ball of fire slipped from the sky to below the horizon
and the DJ began talking. "Now, it’s time for the first dance. Leslie and
Justin chose ‘Back at One’ by Brian McKnight’." Sarah smiled at the sight of
her brother and sister-in-law swaying slowly to the song. It was perfect for
them.
    Leslie stepped into the DJ’s booth and began speaking.
    "Everyone, Justin and I chose a special song for our attendants dance.
All of our attendants are our friends, and all of our attendants ARE friends.
That’s why we chose this song by Jordan Hill."
Strains of music began to play, and Joey took Sarah awkwardly in his arms.
    "Every now and then.
    We find a special friend
    Who never lets us down."
    Sarah felt the tears stinging in her eyes, and tried to will them to
stop.   It didn’t work.
    "Who understands it all
    Reaches out each time we fall
    You’re the best friend that I’ve found."
    "Don’t cry," Joey whispered, wiping the tears away. "I hate it when you
cry."
    "Oh, you mind the crying, but don’t mind making me cry. I get it," Sarah
snapped, backing away.
    "Look, just dance this once. For Justin. And then you don’t have to see
me or talk to me for the rest of the night." Sarah reluctantly let him take
her back in his arms for the rest of the song. Immediately after the final
note sounded, she disappeared.
    Joe found her half an hour later. She was standing barefoot on the shore,
the wind whipping her hair around her face and her dress around her legs. She
was skipping stones into the ocean and singing softly to herself. The
moonlight cast a glow all over her. As he drew closer, he was able to make
out the words of the song she was singing.
    "Hold me and you’ll be holding…me in the palm of your hand…kiss me and
you’ll be kissing…the girl with only one man…know me and you’ll be
knowing…a heart drawn in the sand…love me…but only if you can."
    "Sarah?"
    "What?" She was impatient with him. "I thought you said I wouldn’t have
to see you the rest of the night."
    "I forgot…they’re doing the bouquet now, and I think Leslie really wants
you to be there."
    Without a word, Sarah began trudging through the sand towards the
reception with Joey tagging along.
    "One…two…three!" The crowd cheered as Leslie tossed the bouquet
backwards over her head. As planned, the roses flew directly into Sarah’s
arms. Sarah laughed with the girls, waving the flowers in the air.
    "Everything’s going perfectly," Jayla thought with satisfaction as Joe
caught the garter. Now, it was all up to Joey.
    Instead of the normal sexy music the DJ usually played during the placing
of the garter on the leg, they were playing "I Will Always Love You" by
Whitney Houston. Joey got down on one knee.
    "Sarah…I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I know now what people mean
when they say that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. My life was
gone after you left. You took all the sunshine, all the laughter, all the
love away from me. I was too proud to go after you, and you wouldn’t have
listened anyhow."
    "I found this the night you left," he continued, drawing his hand out of
his pocket. There, in the large palm of his hand, sat Sarah’s ring, looking
tiny.
    "Please…come home to me. I will always love you." He took her hand in his
and slowly slipped the ring onto her finger, never taking his eyes off of her
face. Still, Sarah didn’t say a word.
    "Say something. Anything." Her fingers were interlaced with his.
    "Oh, Lord, Joe. I love you so much." This time, the tears were happy
tears. Sarah had let go. And with one long, slow kiss, Sarah finished
releasing.
    As her friends applauded loudly behind her. Their mission was complete.

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