The next morning Steph woke up from banging and the wonderful smell of pancakes. She looked up from the couch, still confused about where she was, and she sas Justin turned around in a wife beater and jeans cooking pancakes. She took this as the perfect oppurtunity to sneak up on him. She quietly walked behind Justin and covered his eyes.

"Ahh! Stop! The poor little pancakes are gonna burn!" She laughed at his remark and uncovered his eyes. "So, how'd ya sleep?" He cheerfully asked with a sly grin on his face.

"Fine, what did you do to me?"

"Huh? No, don't worry, I'm a good boy, I wouldn't want Ricky beating me up!"

"Ha, ha, ha. Well, I better get going, Dan is gonna be really mad."

"Nah, don't go yet, it's only 9, and I'm making pancakes!" He said as he pointed to the stove.

"Fine, I'll stay, but I'm not staying all day AND night!" Justin just let out a little laugh and handed her a plate of pancakes.

"Mmm, they're good! Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"My mom!"

"Oh, interesting! I looove chocolate chip pancakes, those are the best."

"Oh yeah?" Justin said as he opened the cupboard in the kitchen. "Well, look at what I have," he held up a bag of chocolate chips.

"No, it's ok, I probably won't even be able to eat these!"

"Well, then. I guess I'll make these for ya tomorrow!"

"Who said I'm coming over tomorrow Justin?"

"Umm..me?"

"Ha ha ha. I'll think about it." The two sat eating their pancakes and joking around for another half hour. "Hey, I really should get going, J."

"Aww, ok. I guess I'll let you go, but you have to come back sometime, ok?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'll be here!" Justin flashed a bright smile and let Steph go change out of the clothes she wore yesterday. He cleaned up all the plates and put them in the dishwasher, then wiped the table clean. After that he straightened the table cloth and put all the pancake ingredients away, and wiped all the counters. He was in deep thought about Steph, and was startled by her voice.

"You are such a neat freak!" she said, and Justin turned and noticed her standing at the bottom of the stairs with her bags.

"What? Is there something WRONG with that!?!"

"No, not at all," she quietly replied.

"Good."

"Ok, well I'm gonna get going, Mr. Clean, but thank you so much for letting me stay, it meant a lot." She put her bag down and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Bye, I'll be over bright and early tomorrow so you better be up!"

"Yeah, right, you probably won't even be awake til lunch time!"

"We'll see about that." She said, in the same way Justin had said it to her the day before on the way to dinner. She walked out and drove home, thinking of Justin the whole way. As she pulled into her driveway she noticed her brother's car. She was glad he was home and so excited to finally see him, even though she was still a little upset about yesterday, but Justin seemed to make her forget about all her troubles. She got out of her car and practically ran inside. She ran into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. She just stared, too shocked to react. In front of her was the bloody body of her brother. He was on the couch, and his head was bloody. He was dead. There was a gun in his hand and a note from him on the table. She was frozen, not knowing what to do. She picked up the note, but couldn't read it. Nothing registered in her head. She ran out of the house, with the note in her hand and drove back to Justin's. By now she was sobbing loudly, and she could barely see where she was going through her teary eyes. She made it to Justin's house and she ran up to his door and banged on it with all her strength. He quickly opened the door and Steph practically fell into him, collapsing in his arms, crying her heart out.

"Steph, whats wrong?" He said grabbing her and supporting her from falling. She continued to sob into his chest and he repeated his question. "Steph, please tell me what's wrong."

"He- he's dead," she managed to get out between sobs.

"What are you talking about?" He asked sternly, but horrified from the last words that had come out of her mouth. She didn't reply, she just held up the letter she had found. He pulled away from her and took her hand and led her to the couch. She sat, and put her face in her hands as she cried. Justin read the note and was shocked by what it said.

"Oh my gosh," he quietly said. "Steph," he put his hand on her back and gently rubbed it, he couldn't find any words to say.

"Justin, what am I gonna do?" She looked up from her hands, and her eyes were red and puffy, and she was still crying. He simply responded by taking her in his arms and just holding her. They just sat there for about ten minutes and when Steph started to calm down Justin pulled away and held her shoulders.

"Do you want me to call your parents?" He said in a very sincere, caring tone. As soon as he said this, Steph began to cry again, and she knew it was time to tell him.

"No, Justin, I lied to you...about why I came here. I came because last week, my father murdered my mother, and then killed himself." She barely got the words out, and after she did she fell into his arms. Everything he had found out in the last 15 minutes shocked him, and he felt so bad for this poor girl. She had lost her parents and brother withing a week. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

"I'm so sorry, Steph."

"That's why I had so much stuff. I was going to move in with him."

"Come on," he said as he pulled her up. He walked her into his bedroom, and put her down on his bed. He leaned over to her and kissed her forehead. "Rest, I'm going to call the police. Everything will be ok, I promise," he softly whispered into her ear. He walked out of his room and closed the door behind him. He wanted to punch something hard, but didn't want to disturb Steph. He dialed 911 and explained the situation, and they went over to the house. Justin stayed with Steph, not wanting to go see the body of his dead friend.

About four hours later, two police men showed up at his door.

"Mr. Timberlake?" One asked.

"Yes."

"Is Stephanie here?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, we would like to ask her a few questions."

"I really don't think she'll be up to it, can you wait until a lit-"

"No, you can ask, it's ok Justin," Steph said, appearing from behind Justin. He turned and walked to her, with his eyes asking, 'are you sure?' She nodded and walked with him and the two police men over to the couch. She sat on the couch next Justin, while the two policemen sat in chairs across from them. Justin saw her eyes tear up and he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She turned toward him and mouthed 'thankyou' and gave a small smile. Justin loved the way she smiled because she had the most adorable dimples, and her eyes would always sparkle. What Justin felt with her was something he had never felt with anyone else before. He had only known her for about 24 hours, but in those 24 hours he had learned so much about her, and he felt so comfortable around her. She had a very loving, caring, yet funny personality, but she certainly didn't take any crap from anyone. He felt like he knew her for years, and she was probably one of the only girls he had known that liked him for him, and not because he was some famous pop star. He felt like he could spill his soul to her, and not be uncomfortable for one second.

"Well, Mr. Timberlake, thank you for letting us in," the policeman broke him from his thoughts. Justin simply nodded and watched them walk out the door. He then turned to Steph, whose eyes were puffy and teary.

"You ok?" he quietly asked in a very sincere tone.

"I don't now what I'm going to do with my life, Justin!" She sobbed and fell to the couch, burrying her head in a pillow. He sat next to her and rubbed her back. "What am I gonna do?" she asked, picking her head up.

"You're not staying at that house, you can't. You are staying here for a while, until you think you're ready to go back." She sat up so she was sitting the correct way on the couch and Justin put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and she felt so safe in his arms.

"Thank you, Justin," she faintly whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. He kissed the top of her head and the two drifted off to sleep, in each other's arms.