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Dazed and Confused
By: Teri
© 1999 Teri
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~Chapter 1: The Lying Heart~

BUZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!! My alarm went off for at least the sixth time. It was 7:15 and I had to be gone at 7:30. There was no way. I had gotten home late from my date with my boyfriend Matt or now should I say ex-boyfriend.

Last night me and Matt were celebrating our six month anniversary and my birthday. He had such a romantic evening plan, but it turned out to be a disaster. He didn't want me to go out of town this weekend to see my favorite group *N Sync. That wasn't our only problem. I approached the date with information that he was seen with his ex-girlfriend two days before. It didn't bother me because they were still friends and I had even became close friends with her. Then I was told that it wasn't the fact that she saw him there that concerned her it was the fact that they were all over each other kissing and everything. I wouldn't of believed her, but she was one of my best friends I'd known her since the third grade eight years. So when I got to his house for our special evening I confronted him with it.

"Matt, where were you Monday night?" I asked him as I sat down.

"Home studying for the English test we had Tuesday, why?" he said with no problem.

"I don't believe it."

"What don't you believe?" he asked.

"I can't believe that my own boyfriend of six months would lie to me on our anniversay," I told him with tears in my eyes.

"Why are you saying that, Teri?"

"Because it's true. You lied to me. You weren't home studying you were with Britney." I said now with no doubt in my mind.

"Who told you that?" He asked.

"Jennifer told me," I said.

"So I was with Brit you know we are still friends. Are you jealous?" he asked.

"Friends make out?"

"Some do when the guy finds out his girl is cheating on him," he said with anger.

"What I'm not cheating on you, Matt. Who told you that crazy idea?" I asked furiously.

"Lacey did and another thing I don't want you to go to the concert this weekend with Tiffani, Kiel, Heather,and Wes," he said.

"What you can't tell me what to do. Another thing since when have me and Lacey been friends. She hates me and she do anything to get you away from me. And who was I cheating on you with?"

"Kiel......"he said as I interupted him.

"What Kiel is Tiff's boyfriend?" I yelled at him angerily.

Over the next two hours we argued and argued when I just got up and said "Thanks for making this the best birthday. Bye!" Then left.

Waking up from my awful rememberance of last night and finished getting dressed. It was 7:40 and Tiff was going to kill me for being late. Tomorrow was Friday and we were leaving early in the morning then. First on thursday we had to meet to do our project in English.

~Chapter 2: Bad News~

As I rushed out the door heading for my car I tripped and all of the sudden this fear that something terrible had happened. I got up and tried to shake the feeling and then got into my Mercedes. The feeling was still there. I drove into the school parking lot. Owasso High School as the front of the building read. I got out of my car and ran to the classroom where I was suppose to meet Tiffani. It was 7:50. I was twenty minutes late. Tiffani was there and so was Kiel, Bethany, Jeff, Monica, Andy, Jennifer, John, Ashlee, Nicole, Reggie,and Britney.

"Tiff I'm sorry I'm so late. I got home late and overslept. I'm sorry. Why are all these people here, too?" I asked waiting for an answer.

"Teri," Tiffani started, "it's okay, but I have some bad news about Matt."

"What?" I asked with concern but not complete conern as I usually would have. And now as I looked at Tiff, Monica, Bethany, Jennifer, Ashlee, Nicole, Britney, and even Reggie looked as if they had been crying.

"Ter," Reggie said with tears in his eyes, "Matt was in a bad bad car accident this morning."

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"He's alive Teri, but he was unconscious and was bleeding badly. An ambulance came and took him to the hospital. We don't know how he is," Jeff said.

As I heard that I became dizzy. "Teri are you okay?" Jennifer asked, but I didn't have time to answer before I passed out.

~Chapter 3: Reality Sinks In~

I woke up and looked around to see everyone there waiting for me to speak. Now Coach Oliver was there my school softball and basketball coach. It felt as if I had dreamed it. I got up and saw Tiff and said "I'm sorry I was twenty minutes late over sleeping because I got home late last night after having a huge fight with Matt. That jerk." Everyone looked at me and realized that I was blocking out the memory of being told what had happened to Matt then I saw necklace Matt had given me for our third month anniveray on the desk Reggie sat at. I remembered that I gave it back to Matt and now he has it then my memory came back to me.

"No no no," I started to cry, "Matt please be okay I need you, I love you!" Kiel ran over to my side as did Jeff amd comforted me as Tiff and Beth and Jen and Brit and Mon sat back there and started to cry.

"Teri, he'll be okay," Kiel said.

"Yes he will be okay and when he sees you he'll remember how much you love him and he loves you." Jeff said.

"I gotta go to the hospital," I said.

"Teri, I think we should all go with you." Tiff said.

"Okay Thanks," I said. On the way to the hospital I remembered mine and Matt's fight. I tried so hard to hold back the tears and it worked until we reached the hospital and I just started crying.

"Teri it's okay," Jennifer said hugging me, "cry as much as you need to." With that I cried for a minute or two more got myself together. I walked in and went to the first desk I saw. "Excuse me do you know what room Matthew Thomas is in?" I asked. The nurse looked up at me and told me "he's in ICU room 213 down that hall there's a waiting room and you'll find his family in there."

"Thank you," I said. I went down the halland into the waitng room and saw his family. I talked to his parents and they said it didn't look great. They also said he was awake and he was asking for me and I need to go see him and so I did. I got to his door and hesitated for a moment, but then walked.

"Hey beautiful," he called out as I entered the room.

"Hey handsome," I said back.

Me and Matt talked for a little while and he then asked, "So when you leaving tomorrow?"

"I'm not going to go if you are here," I told him.

"Yes, you are."

"I can't leave you Matt."

"Please Teri go and see *N Sync I'll be fine," he told me. After arguing for a few hours about this he had finally drug everyone in on it and they all told me to go. So I agreed I would as long as if anything happens they will page me. They all agreed.

~Chapter 4: The Unknown Good-bye~

"Sweetie it's time you go. Good night. I love you, Ter" he said.

"Good night babe I love you, too." I said back. With that I kissed him and headed for Kiel's house because we we were leaving from there.

I got to Kiel's house and Heather let me in and asked "Are you okay?"

"Yes" I said.

"How's matt?" Wes asked.

"He's as good as to be expected." I said. I said hello to Kiel's parents Mr. & Mrs. Phenicie and then we ate dinner. After dinner we all changed for bed and met in the game room to talk. After talking for an hour or so I fell asleep. I woke up the next morning an hour early and got ready. Twenty minutes later Kiel woke up.

"Good morning Teri," he said.

"Good morning Kiel," I said back. He started to get ready and everyne else woke up. They got ready fast and we left early.

I started drivng. We were going to Dallas, Texas, to see *N Sync. I kept my mind off of Matt by thinking of the concerts this weekend. Tiff had won 5 front row seats, 5 backstage passes and 5 VIP passes for the party after the show for three nights. We would leave Sunday after the party. That did the job for 4 hours until I heard "Crazy For You" by N Sync. Matt always seemed to get it dedicated to me on the radio. I decided to pull over. Because I started to cry listenig to the words then I realized that it was a tape that Matt had made for me and given it to me as one of my birthday gifts. The tape rewound a little and started the song over. I listened and cried.

Wherever I go, whatever I do

Whenever my heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

I'm crazy for you

It's not easy to be alone

It's not easy to fall in love

Every night I just get down and pray

That you come my way, yeah

I've never had a girl like you (Girl like you)

I've never known what love could do

Wish you'd come, baby and set me free

I can't let it be, yeah

Wherever I go, whatever I do

Whenever my heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

I'm crazy for you

I wanna, I wanna rock with you

I'm gonna, I'm gonna make it true

I wanna, I wanna rock with you

I'm crazy for you

I'm waiting for the phone to ring

And all the wonder love should bring

All the things, darling I left behind

Please give me a sign

A little smile would light my life

And a single touch would blow my mind

Girl you know, by now you've got to be mine

Till the end of time

Wherever I go, whatever I do

Whenever my heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

I'm crazy for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

My heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

I'm crazy for you

I wanna, I wanna rock with you

I'm gonna, I'm gonna make it true

I wanna, I wanna rock with you

I'm crazy for you

Ooh, and I will know

Wherever I go, whatever I do

My heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

Wherever I go, whatever I do

Whenever my heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

I'm crazy for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

My heart is crying out for you

Wherever I go, whatever I do

I'm crazy for you

Matt knew how much I loved that song. He always emphasized the parts Justin sang. I fell asleep and the last thing I remember is hearing that song.

"Teri we're here," Kiel said.

"Okay," I said. We unloaded and took our stuff to our room. We then unpacked.

"Teri, come with me and Tiff to the pool," Heather said.

"Okay give me a minute to put on my bikini and I will."

~Chapter 5: The Hotel~

Me, Heather, and Tiffani got on the elevator and headed down to the pool. Kiel and Wes were taking a nap and were going to be down later. It was the middle of October and rainy. It was the 17th to be exact. Chris Kirkpatrick's birthday he'd be 28. Last year in 1998 I never would have dreamed being in Dallas, Texas, and getting the chance to see *N sync and meeting them too. I never thought I had a chance with Matt either and the chance that Matt could die. If he did I don't know what I would do. When we got to the pool there was only five people in the pool. There was four guys and one girl and another guy was out of the pool laying on a lounge chair. The pool was an inside pool. This is just one of the three they have one outside and two inside. The manager told us that we could only go to this one. I opened the pool gate with one of the keys the manager had given us. The people in the pool stopped what they were doing and looked at us. That's when we realized who they were Britney Spears and *N Sync.

"Oh my gosh, Tiff can you believe it?" Heather asked.

"I can't believe it," Tiff said back. I was excited, but it was hard for me to show because I was thinking of Matt.

"Well, it looks as if she can believe it," Joshua Chasez better known as JC said as he climbed out of the pool, "she doesn't half as excited as you two."

"JC, there's probably a reason for it," Joey Fatone said, "isn't there?" I began to think of Matt and with that I started to cry. Tiffani rushed to my side.

"Teri, it's all right, he's all right, he's going to be fine I know he will. I know you need him and he needs you, but he wants you here and I promised him that you would have a good time," Tiff said, "Please for Matt, Ter?"

Joey then walked ovr to Heather and asked "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know if she wants everyone to know," she told him. Me and Tiff talked for a few more minutes.

"Is it all right to tell them, Ter?' Tiff asked.

"Yes Tiff it is," I told her.

"First let me introduce ourselves. I'm Tiffani everyone calls me Tiff, this is Heather, and this is Teri or as we call her Ter, T, Teri Jo, or TJ." she said.

"Enough with the nicknames, tell us," Chris Kirkpattrick said.

"Okay, Ter's boyfriend is in the hospital and he isn't doing good," Tiff said, "She also feels bad because she's here in Dallas and he's back in Owasso. Also on Wednesday night on their 6 month anniversary and her 18th birthday they had a huge fight, and Teri feels awful. There's something ese I'm trying to get her to tell me."

I was trying to figure out what to say.

Then someone asked, "What was the fight about, Ter?" Justin Timberlake asked.

"Oh my gosh," I said to myself. "Justin was talking to me." All of the sudden this feeling of betrayal hit me. How could I be feeling like this with Matt in he hospital. Justin had me feel all tinglely. "Um Jen had told me that she saw Matt and Brit together on Monday. And that they were all over each other," I started, "and I asked him and he lied to me. Then he acussed me of cheating on him. He said Lacey saw me and Kiel together, can you believe it me and Kiel? Then Then he told me not to come down here with you guys. Then we argued for over three hours before I left. I haven't gotten the chance to even clear it up with him."

~Chapter 6: The Good-bye~

Tiff looked at me and said "Is it true Teri?"

"No, Tiff it's not true about me and Kiel." I told her.

"Thank goodness," she said with relief.

"Why did you ask her if it was true, were you jealous?" Lance Bass asked.

"She's not jealous it's just that Kiel happens to be her boyfriend," I said and as I said it Kiel and Wes walked into the pool. Kiel came up behind Tiff and gave her a huge hug and kiss.

"Hey sweetie," Kiel said.

"Hey," Tiff said.

"Kiel, Wes this is *N Sync and Britney Spears," I said. They all introduced themselves.

"So you're Tiff's boyfriend," Britney said to Kiel, "Let me guess you are Heather's boyfriend."

We all looked at her and said "No!"

"Gosh I'm sorry if I hit a nerve."

"See Heather is my sister," Wes said. Wes had come with us because he thought Britney Spears was hot. We all got into the pool and swam. I talked with Justin a lot. He was really nice to me. Then all of the sudden my pager went off. "Beep, Beep, Beep!" I climbed out the pool and grabbed it. It was Kimberly's cell phone number. She was Matt's 15 year old sister.

"Tiff were's your phone it's Kim," I asked.

"I left it in the room, Teri. I'm sorry," she said.

"I have my phone. You can use it Ter," Justin said.

"Thank you, Justin," I said. I picked up his phone and dialed Kim's number.

"Hello," Kim answered.

"Hi Kim it's Teri," I said.

"Teri, Matt's gotten worse," she said with tears in her voice.

"Oh my gosh," I said as began to cry. Justin was right there to comfort me. "How much worse is he?" I asked.

"He's to the point the doctors say he won't make it," she said.

"No, it can't be," I said.

"He wants to talk to you," she said.

"Okay," I said.

"Hey there beautiful," he said.

"Hey there handsome," I said. We talked for a few minutes before saying goodbye.

"I love you, Teri and I know nothing happened with you and Kiel." Matt said.

"I love you too, I'll miss you so much." I said right before he hung up the phone. That I knew in my heart was the last time I would talk Matt.

"Ter, what's wrong?" Justin asked. I looked at him and said through my tears, "Matt's dying. I'll never see him again," I said.

~Chapter 7: The Concert~

Jusin hugged me and said it'd be all right. I held on to him even tighter and cried even harder. "I'm sorry Teri," he said.

"Thanks," I said. After a few minutes of silence and awkwardness I got up and got into the pool. Everyone asked how Matt was and I told them. Heather and Tiff started to cry. Kiel was thre for Tiffani and Joey was there for Heather strangley enough. Britney walked over to Wes and comforted him. We stayed in the pool for an hour then the guys had to go get ready for a press conference and asked us to come. We gave them our room number and told them to come get us when they are ready to go. We went up to our room and changed. I was still in a since of shock over Matt, but it seemed the closer I got to Justin the more I wanted him. I couldn't believe it that I had feelings for some pop star who will forget about me on Monday. Also while my boyfriend the guy I love is dying. How could I do that to him?

About 5:30 they came and got us. "Chris," I said.

"Yes Teri," he said.

"I just remembered it's your birthday. Happy Birthday Chris!" I said.

"Thank you, Teri" he said. Then everyone else started to tell him happy birthday.

Then after a few minutes Justin asked, "How are ya?" I wanted to say lousy, but didn't want to explain why.

"Better," I said.

"That's good," he said. In a way I wasn't completely lying to him because I did feel better because I was with him. We were in their limo and the way there. They were in the room answering quetions a mile a minute. After that we headed toward the place where the concert was at. We were with them until the concert started and then we headed toward our seat. We listen to Britney. Then it was time for *N Sync. When their manager called their name the place went crazy. They were through four songs. "I Want You Back", "You Got It", I Just Wanna Be With You, and Sailing. When they Got to (God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You. Before they sung Justin did something I didn't expect him to do.

"Hey Dallas! Whats up?" He started off saying. "I am Justin from *N Sync. I'd like to send a shout out to a special girl whose birthday was two days ago and she's having a rough time. She came here because her boyfriend who's laying in the hospital dying told her too. Happy Birthday Ter! I'm sorry about Matt. May not be the best time to say this, but this song is for you and every word I sing comes more from my heart tonight than it ever has. They started to sing and I started to cry. Listening to that song made feel guilty over Matt.

~Chapter 8: What Does It Mean?~

I listen to the song. Thinking what did Justin mean by he was singing it from his heart more now than before. I went through the words in my head to see if I could understand.

Justin: Can this be true?

Tell me, can this be real?

How can I put into words what I feel?

My life was complete

I thought I was whole

Why do I feel like I'm losing control?

Never thought that love could feel like this

And you changed my world with just one kiss

Justin & Chris: How can it be that right here with me

There's an angel? It's a miracle

Chorus
All: Your love is like a river peaceful and deep

Your soul is like a secret that I could never keep

When I look into your eyes I know that it's true

God must of spent a little more time on you

All: A little more time

Justin: yes he did baby

JC: In all of creation

All things great and small

You are the one that surpasses them all

More precious than any diamond or pearl

They broke the mold

When you came in this world

And I'm trying hard to figure out

Just how I ever did without

The warmth of your smile

The heart of a child

That's deep inside

Leaves me purified

Chorus

JC: On you, on you, on you...

JC & Justin: Never knew that love could feel like this

And you changed my world with just one kiss

Justin: How can it be that right here with me

There's an angel? It's a miracle

Chorus

All: God must have spent a little more time on you

JC:On you

Justin: A little more time on you

I listen to every word Justin said. Did that mean he was falling in love with me? I didn't want that to happen. I still love Matt. He knows that I still love Matt, but why is he doing that. I couldn't deny that I felt attraction towards him. He was really hot, blue eyes, nice body, and a killer smile. Justin wasn't just a guy with a nice body. He was a good person sweet, honest, and boy could he sing. He could make a girl melt with just one look or just one word. And that what he was doing to me. And I hated myself for it. Matt was the guy I loved not Justin or was falling for Justin. Why was I feeling this way? Tiffani brought me out of my dream world.

"Ter, are you okay?" Tiff asked.

"I don't know, Tiff," I said.

"What does he mean by the words coming more from his heart than before?" I asked.

"Ter, I think he's falling in love with you and you're doing the same thing, sweetie aren't you?" she asked.

~Chapter 9: Confused~

"Am I in love with him?" I said out loud, "What kind of person am I? Falling in love with another person while my boyfriend is in the hospital dying. Matt doesn't deserve what's happening to him. I'd give anything to take his place," I said.

"Teri, if you were laying there in the hospital he would want to switch places with you," Tiff said.

"Tiff," I said.

"What Teri?" she asked.

"Why did me and Matt stay together so long? What is it that made him love me? I'm such a horrible person," I said that with tears rolling down my face.

"Teri he loves you because you are you. You're one in a million to him, Teri. You're not a horribe person. I bet you aren't the only person to fall in love with someone else while their boyfriend or girlfriend is in the hospital dying. You are only human, Teri. Come on Ter, try to enjoy the rest of the concert," she said.

For the next hour I tried to have a good time as much as I could, but it was hard. Matt was on my mind most of the time. I was scared of losing him. I was also scared of letting into my feelings for Justin. The concert had ended and we headed backstage. It didnt mean we would get to seem them. We also had the passes for the party and that meant we would see them. The party was at 12:00 A.M. and it was only 11:20 P.M. I was hoping that I wouldn't see him until the party. We finally got to the back and they were surronded by girls. I saw Justin. Justin saw me. He headed my way, but before he got there I ducked into the bathroom.

"Tiff, is something wrong with Teri?" JC asked.

"Sort of," she said back.

Then Justin looked at Tiffani and said, "Is she upset with me for what I did onstage?" he asked knowing how true it was. I didn't mean to upset her," he said.

I washed my face off whle listening to their conversation. Then I decided to face Justin. "Justin, honestly what did you think would happen? That all the sudden I'd forget about Matt and fall into your arms," I said, "Matt means the world to me."

"Teri, wait a second I would feel this way even if you didn't have a boyfriend," he said.

"You can't begin to understand how hard this has been for me. My boyfriend is going to die. While that's happening I'm......," Justin interrupted me before I could finish.

"Teri why is it that you just can't admit that you are falling for me?" he asked.

"I can't believe you. You think the whole world revolves around you. Maybe for some thirteen year old girls, but not me! Don't you understand I love Matt? I've loved him for such a long time. That doesn't mean the day I meet a rich and famous, not mention cute guy doesn't mean I'll fall out of love with Matt. Then instantly fall in love with that guy," I said.

"Ter, come on let's head to the party," Kiel said.

"Okay guys I'm coming," I said then I left. I could tell when we left me and Justin weren't finished with our conversation. I was afraid of seeing Justin there. It was if he could see right through me. At the party I didn't want to see him, but I had to. We got to the party and I started looking for Justn. I didn't think that they would be there yet, but I scanned the room a few times. No sign of Justin or the other guys. I decided then to go over sit down with Tiff and Heather.

"Where's Kiel and Wes?" I asked as I sat down.

"They went to get us something to drink," Heather said. "Teri, do you really like Justin or what?" Heather asked.

"I do," I said.

"Then why won't you tell him?" she said. Just then I saw him.

"Excuse me Tiff and Heather I need to go talk to Justin," I said. I got up and worked my way through the crowd. Then I got to him. "Justin, can we talk?" I asked.

"There's nothing else you can say that can make me feel worse than I already do. Please drop it, okay?" I saw how much I hurt him. Why did I do that, I loved him? He was the person who made me feel better. Why was I doing this to him?

"Wait Justin, please listen to me. Why I've been a total witch to you? Honestly I don't know. I guess I've been a little stressed. When you were up there saying that I was special to you that made me feel so good. You could have any girl you want and you want me. That scares me, but not as much as falling in love with a guy when my boyfriend is in the hospital dying," I said with much relief.

"You love me? You really love me?" he asked with some disbelief.

"I do Justin. I love you. Earlier at the hotel you being a pop star totally slipped my mind. I didn't want it to happen, but it did. I love you, Justin!" I had said it finally.

"I love you, too Ter!" he said back to me.

Then he hugged and asked, "Ter, can I kiss you?" Justin asked and with that I nodded my head yes. Then he bent his head down and kissed me gently on the lips, but then the kiss was interupted by the sound of my pager going off.

"Beep!Beep!Beep!" I pulled back from the kiss with a feeling that I had lost Matt forever. So finally I looked down at my pager.

Then Justin asked, "Who is it babe?"

"It's um Bethany," I said.

"Who's Bethany?" he asked.

"She's one of my very best friends. Do you have your phone?" I asked.

"No, but one of the other guys should have one," Justin said. We made our way to the table where everyone was sittting at.

As I got to the table Tiff asked, "What's wrong, Ter?"

"Bethany paged me and I need a phone to call her back," I said.

"Here Ter use my phone," JC said.

"Thanks," I said. I dialed her number and my hands were trembling with fear. As I heard the rings I felt tears rolling down my face. I wiped my eyes when someone picked up.

"Hello?" the person on the other end said.

"Can I speak to Bethany?" I asked.

"Yes, you can Teri," I reconized the voice it was Bethany's mom. There was silence for a moment then Bethany picked up.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi Beth. It's me Teri," I said.

"Hey Sweetheart. How was the concert?" she asked.

"It was great, but that's not why you paged me is it?" I asked.

"No, Ter, it's not. The reason I paged was to tell yu that Matt is um gone. I'm so sorry, Ter," she said. As soon as the words became clear I dropped the phone.

~Chapter 10: Dazed~

The words went through my head again, "Matt's gone, Ter. I'm so sorry." I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I just wasn't prepared. My body felt numb all over like I was laying in a big tub of ice. Why did this hit me so hard? In that brief moment in my mind I could see everything good or bad that Matt and I had been through since the ninth grade. We went out once then and decided it wasn't going to work. Then Matt and I had became best friends almost if not more closer than Bethany and I had been. Then just one day we decided we wanted to be more than friends. It lasted six months. Six wonderful months. It was over and he was gone now. I was so scared. Trying to imagine my life without Matt. Then I got brought back to reality by his sweet voice.

"Ter, baby are you okay?" Justin asked. I didn't answer I was in a semi-state of shock still.

Then I heard Tiff talking, but not to me. "Bethany, what's happened? Teri dropped the phone in shock of what you told her," she said.

"Tiff, Matt's gone. We lost him about 9:30 P.M." Bethany said.

"Oh my gosh! No wonder Teri is in shock or whatever. Why did you wait so long to page Teri?" Tiff asked.

"I was with Matt before he died at 9:20 P.M. and he said, Bethany, make sure if I die before midnight you will page Teri after midnight. Please do that for me, don't ruin her night. I love her so much. Please let her have a good time and please tell her............," Bethany stopped what she was saying.

"Tell her what?" Tiff asked.

"It's something I have to tell her, but not on the phone. I'm going to Dallas. I'm flying in tonite. I'll be there around 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. Also Jen is coming with me. I gotta go, bye," she said.

"Bye Beth," Tiff said back. Justin grabbed me as soon as I dropped the phone. He thought that I might fall. I felt so numb. Then I felt a tear fall down my cheek. Then at that moment it hit me hard.

"NOOO!!" I screamed.

"Babe it's alright. Shh. It's okay. I'm here for you baby," he said.

"Oh my gosh Justin. Is this really happening? Why is everyone looking at me?"

"Baby, you dropped the phne & screamed," Justin said.

"Justin, where's the phone?" I asked him.

"Tiff has it," he told me.

"Tiff, did you talk to Bethany?" I asked.

"Yes, I did. She's coming down her to Dallas," she told me.

"Why?" I asked.

"She didn't say why," Tiff told me.

"Teri, I'm going to take you back to the hotel. Stay here guys have a good time. Whatever they ask about me leaving. You can tell them why or not I don't care. I just got to get her back to the hotel. Okay?" Justin said.

"Okay, Curly," JC said.

"You ready babe?" he asked.

"Yes" I said.

We left the club surrounded by reporters.

"Justin is that your g/f?" one asked.

"What's her name?" another one said.

"Are you two a serious item?" one female reporter about our age asked.

During that moment all I heard Justin say was, "Babe, I'm sorry about the reporters & about Matt."

"It's not your fault, Justin," I said. On the way to the hotel I fell asleep in Justin arms.

~~At the club~~
JC and the guys sat at a table with Tiff & Kiel. He was praying that they wouldn't get attacked like Justin & Teri did. All that praying didn't help at all. About 5 seconds after Justin & Teri walked out of the club they were attacked.

"JC, can you tell us why Justin and that girl left in such a hurry," a reporter asked, but before he could answer that female reporter asked "Are they a serious item, JC?"

"It's a personal matter that you would have to ask Justin," JC said.

The reporters left. "Wait Amber, you want to know if they are a serious item?"

"Yes, I do JC." Amber said.

"I'll tell you what Justin would tell you. It's none of your business. Also leave them alone. Don't ruin this for Justin," JC said.

Early in the year Justin and Amber had gone out. They were serious until Justin caught her cheating on him with another guy.

~~At the hotel~~
Justin & I got back to the hotel at 1:00 a.m. I was asleep. So Justin picked me up and carried me to his hotel suite. He didn't want to wake me up. He thought I looked too peaceful to wake up. He layed me on his bed and took my shoes off and covered me up. Then he kissed me on the head. "Goodnite Sweetheart. I love you. And please be okay," he said. After that he sat on the sofa in his room. Watching me sleep. He sat there waiting for the guys to back.

~Chapter 11: Why?~

ON THE PLANE~~~~~
Bethany sat there thinking to herself. "Why did I do that to Teri, my best friend? I told her she could always trust me but what did I go & do. Matt and I went behind her back & saw each other. Why?" Bethany knew Matt loved Teri with all his heart and not her. It was just that Matt thought Teri was seeing Kiel. Bethany was angry because Andy was treating her like crap. Then they ran into each other at the mall. Matt told Bethany what happened. Then Bethany hugged him. While hugging him, they looked into each others eyes and started kissing. Bethany knew it was a mistake, but it felt so good to her.

"Bethany we're about to land put you seat belt on." Jen told her.

AT THE CLUB~~~
JC didn't want Amber to ruin this for Justin. He knew since Justin broke it off with her she had been trying to get him back and so far it hadn't worked.

"JC, you know what you just answered my question. Thanx a lot," Amber told him.

"I did not," JC shot back.

"I love Justin. And you know what noone will get between us. Not even that little slut," Amber said knowing it might set off the girl setting next to JC, it was Tiffani.

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk about my friend that way. You don't even know her. You can't go around judging her just because she's with Justin or not," Tiff said.

"Thanx to you, too for answering my question," Amber said. Just then Joey & Chris walked up to the table.

"Amber leave Justin & the girl alone. As a matter of fact leave us all alone," Chris told her.

"Whatever Chris." she said as she walked away.

"I wish that girl would give up on him," Joey said.

"Me too, because the way she treated him was awful and she doesn't deserve him," Lance said.

"Guys, I hate to break this up, but I think it would be best if we all went back to the hotel." JC said at about 3:30 a.m.

~~At the hotel~~
Justin was sitting on the sofa still awake when JC, Lance , Joey, and Chris walked into his room. "Hey Curly!" They said in unison.

"How's she doin?" JC asked.

"Okay, I guess. She been asleep since we left the club," Justin said.

"How are you, bro?" Chris asked.

"My heart is just breaking watching hers break. She deserves better than this. I know how much she loved him. I don't know if she can move past him with me," he said.

"J, Amber was asking us all kinds of questions about you and Teri," Lance said.

"It's none of her busness. I wish she would leave me alone," Justin said.

~~AT THE AIRPORT~~
Bethany walked into the bathroom of the airport right after they had landed. She didn't know how to tell Teri about what happened between her and Matt.

"Beth, you alright?" Jen asked.

"No, I'm not," she said back.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You know how Teri thinks Matt cheaed on her with Brit?" she said.

"Yeah so?" Jen said.

"Well he didn't cheat on her with Brit. It was me," she said. Jen stared at her in disbelief.

~~AT THE HOTEL~~
Justin had fallen asleep on the couch when I woke up. I got up and walked over to the couch. "Justin, baby you look so cute asleep," as I said that I bent down and kissed him on the lips. Justin woke up and looked deep into my eyes and kissed me passionately. After about a minute I pulled back.

"I'm sorry. Ter" he said.

"It's not your fault baby. It's just in a way I feel so guilty doing this. Matt hasn't even been dead 24 hours and I'm here kissing you," I said. Then I started crying.

"Ter, don't feel guilty. You'll be okay baby." he said. Then for a few minutes they sat there in silence. Then to break the silence Justin grabs my hand. Lifts up my chin and says. "So I look cute when i sleep?" he said laughing.

I laughed and said, "You heard me?" At that point I looked into his eyes leaned forward and so did he and we kissed. It was longer this, but it would have been longer, but we were interrupted by a knock at the door. Justin got up and I followed him to the door.

Justin opened the door and I heard someone asked "Is Teri in here?" It was Bethany.

"Yes she is." He said.

"Bethany," I said.

"TJ, how are you?" she asked. She was the only one who ever called me that.

"Fine, but it's 5:00 a.m. why are you here now?" I asked.

"I have to tell you something and if I didn't do it now I would never do it," she said. "Why don't you sit down TJ?" I sat down on the couch next to Justin and Beth sat in the chair. "TJ, you know that me and Andy broke up and it's because I cheated on him. He had been treating me like crap lately. So Monday after we had a huge arguement I went to the mall. I ran into Matt and Lacey had told him you were seeing Kiel brhind his back. Next thing that happened is that I hugged him and we kissed. Not a friendly kiss, but a KISS kiss. You gotta understand we were both so lonely and we made a mistake. Matt loves you. He always will. I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you hate me TJ," She said.

All I could do was look up at her with tears in my eyes and say "Why?"

~Chapter 12: Pain~

~~~~AT THE HOTEL~~~~
I couldn't believe what was happening. My best friend is telling me that she kissed my boyfriend. "I have one question for you Bethany," I said.

"Anything TJ," Bethany said.

"Why Matt? Why my Boyfriend? You better stay away from her Justin," I said half laughing and half crying.

"TJ, what does that mean? He was there at the wrong time. I guess," she said.

"Never in my wildest dreams that I would think that you would do that to me," I said.

"TJ I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" She asked.

"I don't know, Bethany. This just hurts me so bad. I honestly thought you were my best friend, but a friend doesn't do that to you. Now do they?" I said.

She looked at me with pained filled eyes. As if I were the one who kissed he boyfriend. "TJ, you're my bestest friend in the whole universe. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you like a sis. Only if......."

I didn't want to hear anyome. "Just go. I can't talk to you right now," I told.

"Okay, but first I have a letter from Matt. He told me to give this to you," she said. She handed me the letter and walked out. I started cying as soon as she left. The pain in her eyes scared me. The pain that she really was hurt when I said that a friend wouldn't do that. I felt so bad now, but why did I?

I sat there for a minute in total silence. Before Justin spoke. "Ter, are you okay?" he asked.

"I don't know baby. I just don't know. How could my best friend do this to me?" I asked. I started crying again so Justin held me as tight as he could. I knew that he was trying to figure out what was going to happen to them.

"Babe, I think you should read this letter," he said. I agreed with him. So I did. I read it out loud so Justin could hear.

Dear Sweet Sweet Teri:

Hey there beautiful. If I know you. You are upset with Beth. Don't blame her. I know what you are thinking "But Matt it takes two to kiss." Well you're right, but I'm gone now and you need your best friend more than ever now. For me forgive her. They're not telling me that I will die. It's just the way people sound. I was unsure until I talked to you. Right then I could sense the fear in your voice. I had a dream not that long ago and I saw you dancing with Justin Timberlake from *N Sync and you kissed him. I'm so happy that you'll move on in your life and if I know you are thinking "man he's probably gonna dump me the minute they leave town," Well don't think that. He's not your everyday pop star like you think. Yes beautiful you do deserve him and he deserves you. Actually I think he's lucky to have you. I also bet he thinks that too. Please let yourself love even after what has happened. Not every guy will hurt you. Well beautiful all I want you to know now is I love you always and forever.

Loving you in Heaven,
Matt I felt better in a sense after reading that. I knew now that I could let myself fall in love with Justin without feeling guilty.

~~At the Dallas Enquire~~
Amber had been working there since August. Amber had tapped Justin's room with stuff and now she was going to use that to hurt Justin and me.

"Mr. Johnson, I have a great story. About *N Sync," she told him hoping he would jump for it. He did. Amber told him every detail. And they worked it into a story. For the afernoon edition.

~~At the Hotel~~
The guys woke up to see me and Justin on the couch laying next to each other like we were holding on for dear life. All the sudden the there was a knock at the door, but it didn't wake us up.

JC ran to the door and opened it. He saw a beautiful girl standing looked as if she had been crying, it was Bethany. Then JC saw Tiff and Kiel. Then he saw a blonde girl he never had before. Holding in her hand a paper.

"Oh hello Tiff. Teri is in here sleeping," He said.

"Thanx Jc. By the way this is Jen & Bethany," Tiff said. They all walked in and introduce Bethany and Jen they all said hi to them.

"Tiff can you wake her up?" Chris asked.

"Yes, just a sec," She said.

She whispered something to Kiel and Kiel kissed her on the cheek and said "It'll be okay babe."

"Wake Justin up first," she said.

"Okay," Joey said. He lifted up his foot & stuck it in Justin's face. Justin made a weird face and woke up knocking Joey's foot out of his face. Then he leaned over to me and kissed me on the lips and said, "Sweetheart it's time to get up."

I just looked at him and shook my head no and buried my face in his chest. Then he started tickling me. "Stop it!" I yelled Just then I fell off the couch and realized we had an audience. "Good morning everyone," I said. I got up off the floor and walked over to the bathroom, but before I went in I saw Beth. I hugged her and said "I forgive you Beth. I love you too much to stay mad at you for much longer," she started crying. As soon as that happened I started crying.

"I'm sorry to break this you Ter, but I have to show you something," Jen said.

"What?" I asked.

"This," she showed me the Dallas Enquire. I saw the picture then I read the headline it said in big letters. POP STAR SEEN WITH GIRL. WHILE HER B/F IS DYING IN THE HOSPITAL. By: Amber Marks

As soon as I read that my body was full of pain. Why was this happening?

~Chapter 13: Emptiness~

~~At The Hotel~~
I read the headline once more to make sure I wasn't seeing things. POP STAR SEEN WITH GIRL. WHILE HER B/F IS DYING. By: Amber Marks

I wasn't seeing things I was right, but the headline wasn't what hurt it was the picture that did. First it was a picture of me and Justin kissing at the club last nite then there was a picture of Matt and me. But how did they get that picture. I went to my purse and grabbed my wallet the picture that I had of Matt and me from the Prom was gone. So I started to cry.

"What the hell? How could Amber do that to me?" Justin asked.

I looked up at him and asked "You know Amber? Did you give her the picture of me and Matt?"

"Yes I know her she's my ex-g/f, but I didn't give her the picture, Ter," he said.

"Then tell me how she got it," I said.

"I don't know how she got it, but it wasn't from me. I promise you that," he told me.

"Ter, you look as if you need some rest," JC said.

"Yeah TJ. I think you need some rest too," Bethany said.

"You're right guys I do."

"Sweetie, you can go sleep in my room," Justin said.

"Okay," I said. I headed back there. I got into the room saw the bed and just fell on it and went to sleep.

Justin hopped into the shower and got ready to go somewhere.

"Curly, where you going?" Joey asked.

"Nowhere just getting dressed, because Amber is on her way and I don't want her to get any ideas if she was to see me in my boxers," he said.

"Can you guys leave the room for a while so I can talk to her?" Justin asked.

"Sure bro," Chris said.

"Hey Bethany, do you want to go get some breakfast with me?" JC asked.

"Eww, JC like's Bethany," Lance said in a little kids voice.

"Shut up, Lance," JC shouted back. Then he turned his attention back to Bethany. "So do you?" he asked.

"Sure JC," Bethany said.

~~AT THE HOTEL around 9:00 A.M.~~
Justin was sitting in the living room of the suite waiting for Amber and thinking to himself about things. "How coud Amber do this to Teri? She doesn't even know her," he thought to himself. Then Justin was brought out of his thought with a knock at the door. So he got up and answered it. It was Amber.

"Hello baby," she said wrapping her arms around him.

"Get off me Amber," He said back to her and she did.

"Why did you want to see me, J?" she asked.

"Why did you do this to Teri? You don't even know her. What did she ever do to you, Amber?" He asked.

"She took you away from me. That little slut," she said.

"Don't you dare call her that. If I remember correctly you are the one who cheated on me," he said.

"I know and I'm sorry about that," she said. They talked for a little longer before something unexpected happened. "You know what J? She'll never be able to forgive you if you cheat on her since he last b/f did that to her," Amber said.

"I'm not going to cheat on her. I love her," he said. Amber stood there in disbelief then out of nowhere she pulls him closer to her and kisses him.

I woke up and it seemed quiet so I decided to go into the living room. I got up opened the door and to my suprise I see Justin kissing another girl. At that moment when I saw them I felt so empty inside. All I could feel was emptiness. Then I asked myself, "How could he do this to me? He said he loved me."

~Chapter 14: How Could He?~

~~~~At The Hotel~~~~
How Could he do this to me? Standing there kissing another girl. Why me? I thought to myself.

Justin was suprised by the kiss and realized what was happening and pushed Amber off of him. He looked up and saw me standing there with tears rolling down my cheeks. "Oh my gosh Ter, it's not what you think at all," he said. I wanted to believe him so bad, but how could I he once went out with this girl.

"You don't know what I was thinking. I was thinking the guy who says he loves me just kissed another girl," I shot back at him.

"She kissed me. You forgave Matt when he kissed Bethany why can't you forget about this," he said.

"You're so wrong to bring up Matt. You're wrong too. I never got the chance to forgive or yell at him for doing that. You don't realize that I would be so glad to yell at him and try to forgive, but I don't get that chance, Justin," I said then I ran out of his room.

~~~~At the Hotel Restauraunt~~~~
Bethany sat across from JC eating breakfast. It was only her and JC. The others had gone out to get some things for like lunch later in the day. "So Bethany how long have you known Ter?" JC asked. That brought Bethany out of her thoughts.

"Oh,..um...since 7th grade which would be five years a little more," she said. Bethany sat there admiring JC's beautiful blue eyes. "Oh my gosh he is so freakin hot," Bethany said to herself.

JC was sitting there trying to think of what to say next. What was wrong with him he never had the problem of talking to beautiful girls before. Why now he thought to himself. "Okay you may think this sounds really stupid, but I think you are very beautiful and I was wondering if you want to go out on a date with me tomorrow say get lunch and do something else?" JC asked.

"It's not stupid it's actually very sweet of you and yes I'd love too," Bethany said.

~~In Justin's Room~~
Justin felt so bad. "Teri saw that and misunderstood that Amber kissed me," he said to himself. Justin looked over at Amber seemed almost happy that I caught them kissing.

"How could you do that Amber. I'm not going to go back out with you. Get that through your head I love Teri not you," he yelled at her.

She looked at Justin and said, "That little slut doesn't deserve you. See what she did she brain washed you or something. I love you Justin," Amber said.

"I don't want you to ever come near me again. You don't even know the meaning of that word. Now get out of my room before I call security," he said.

~~Down At The Pool~~
I didn't know what to do I just had to get away from Justin. How could he hurt me like that? He said he loved me. I started to think of Matt. He was gone. It'd been nearly 12 or more hours since he died.I already missed him so much. "Oh dear God what am I to do? I think I love this guy, but I'm not sure. I loved Matt with all my heart and now he's gone. What if I start falling in love with Justin will I lose him too? I can't he means too much to me. I just need to go and clear my head," I got up and headed toward my room. I got there no one was there. Good I thought. I'll write a note and leave. I wrote the note and headed out the door.

~~Later About 2:00 P.M.~~
Tiff & Kiel were headed to the room when they heard Justin call them. "Tiff have you seen Ter lately?" He asked them.

"No why?" she asked.

"Well I was having the reporter that wrote that story come and talk to her and gripe at her, but when she got there she kissed me and I guess Teri had just woke up and walked in and thought the worst when she saw and then she ran out and I haven't seen her since. I'm starting to get worried," he said.

"Let's see if Teri left a note in our room," Kiel said. He unlocked the door and walked in. They went over to the dresser and there was an envelope that said: TIFF, KIEL, HEATHER, WES, BETH, & JEN. Tiff got everyone up to the room before she read it.

Tiffani read it out loud. It said:

~DEAR GUYS~
I'm sorry for taking off. If I worried you guys I'm sorry. I just had to go and clear my head. I don't know when I'll be back. I don't think I'll be back before the concert. Tell the guys I'm sorry, but there were things on my mind that I needed to figure out for myself. C-ya guys later.
Love, Teri

P.S. Tiff give the other envelope to Justin it's in the top door of the dresser. Thanx

Tiffani went over to the door got the letter out and handed it to Justin. He felt so bad for what he had done, but he couldn't change it.

~Chapter 15: Thinking~

~~At The Hotel~~
Justin stood there thinking of what happened earlier in the day. How could he just let her walk away. He loved her. Justin took the letter Teri left and read it.

Dear Justin,
Hey! I'm sorry if I've made you worry. I just needed some time alone to think about some things. When I saw you and Amber kissing it hurt so bad. I know she probably kissed you. And you pushed away. Thing is the reason I needed to be alone to find out how I feel about you. I'm not sure if I really am falling in love with you or I'm just using you to get over the pain of losing Matt. Losing Matt hit me so hard. Last nite when you brought me in and layed me on your bed and covered me up and said, "Goodnite Sweetheart. I love you and please be okay," That melted my heart so much. I don't want to hurt you. I'm just too scared that I fall in love with you and then you go back with that girl Amber. She's beautiful.You deserve better than me anyways. Well I need to go now. C-ya later.
Love,Teri

"No Teri you're so much more beautiful," he said.

"Justin how could you do that to her? Kiss this girl." Bethany asked.

"Like you have any room to talk when you cheated on your b/f with Matt," he snapped backed.

"Yo Curly calm down bud. I know your worried abot Ter and everything, but that's no reason to snap at Bethany and accuse her of things," JC said.

"If you would stop trying to get on this girls good side for a minute I'll tell you that I'm not lying just ask her about if you want to know. And Bethany I'm sorry that I snapped at you it was uncalled for." Justin said.

"You are right I have no room to talk on that subject. JC it's true that I cheated on my b/f. And if you don't want to go out with me I understand," Bethany said.

"I still want to go out with you," JC said.

~~A Cliff Over Looking Dallas~~
I sat there watching the sunset anytime now the guys would be heading off to the concert. I couldn't bare to see Justin right now. I was just sitting there trying to think of good times before Matt died when someone walked up to me.

"Excuse me, are you Teri?" the person said.

"Yes I am," I turned around and it was Amber Marks.

"I'm sorry you had to see me and Justin like that, but it's good you found out the truth now," she said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked her.

"That me and Justin are getting back together," she said.

"What?" I said with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"He missed me and said he couldn't live without me, but he couldn't break your heart like that. I told him it shouldn't be hard cuz you have no heart cuz you are such a freakin slut cheatin on your b/f while he's dying," she said.

~~Backstage at the concert~~
"Curly man you got to get focused," Joey said.

"We are all worried about Teri man, but she said she'd be okay," Lance said.

"I know guys I'm worrying too much," Jusin said.

I was standing outside the place where they where playing. Should I go in or not? I did. I saw one of the secruity guards on my way to my seat and he told me to follow him backstage. So I did. They were out on the stage when I got there. They should be taking a break in a minute or two. I stood there thinking of what to say to Justin.

They headed off the stage and Justin saw me & hugged me. "Get your arms off of me," I said.

"What's wrong babe?" He asked.

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth instead of lying?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't stand there and act like you don't know what I'm talking about," I said.

"I don't," he said.

"Oh my gosh. You should have told me you didn't care for me only Amber. I'm glad I found out today you jerk. How could I ever think I could fall in love with you. I hate you," I said running of crying.

I really did love him and he broke my heart. How could he do that to me.

~Chapter 16: Scared~ ~~At The Concert~~
I ran from the backstage crying. "How could Justin do this to me? Someone Tell me," I said to myself.

"Miss, Justin told me to stop you and to take you backstage," a bodyguard said.

"Well tell Justin he can go to Hell!!" I said in a loud, but unsteady voice.

"Teri, wait," Tiff said trying to stop me.

"What Tiff?" I asked her.

"Where are you going?" she asked me.

"Back to the hotel & then home," I said still with tears in my eyes.

"Why are you going home? You can't," she said.

"Cuz Justin Timberlake is a jerk," I said.

"What happened?" She asked.

"He said he loved me and then he goes and tells Amber that he misses her and wants to get back together," I said crying even harder now.

~~BACKSTAGE~~
"Curly what happened?" JC asked.

"Amber happened," Justin said sill not believing what happened.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Amber said something to her. I just know it." Justin said.

"Okay man one more song then you can find out what happened," Joey said. So they headed back onstage.

~~CONCERT~~
"Who told you this?" Tiff asked.

"Amber did," I said.

"Well, she's lying to you. Justin loves you and only you. He doesn't want anything to do with her. He said so himself," she said.

"He does love me? Why would she do that to me?" I asked.

"Ter, she knew if you saw her and Justin kissing it would hurt you. She's so obessed with having Justin that she'd hurt anyone regardless of who they were. I know for a fact he loves you and not her. Don't go. Let him explain," she said.

"I guess I should let him explain. I tell him I really don't hate him. That I......" I said my voice trailing off.

"Don't worry about it right now. It's the last song," She said.

~~The Guy's Dressing Room~~
Amber sat in there thinking of her plan to get Justin back. "Justin baby if I can't have you then she won't have you. Afer you see how much I love you. You won't care what happens to that little slut," Amber said out loud. She didn't want me with Justin and even if I wouldn't forgive him. She knew that he loved me and his heart was mine. But that wasn't the way she wanted it. She wanted Justin to forget about me. And now she knew what to do to make him forget.

~~On Stage~~
The guys came out on stage. Justin looked to be a little sad. "Okay Dallas it's our last song of the nite. Justin please tell them what song we are going to sing," Chris yelled and with that the crowd went crazy.

"Hey Dallas!" Justin started off, "Well if you all read the paper you probably saw me with a girl. Well her name is Teri. For her I'm sending out this. 'Everything I Own'" Justin said.

The music started, but Justin said, "Hold up for a minute," then he went on, "Ter, you gotta know baby I love you. What happened today was a mistake. My heart belongs to you in every single way. Please don't hate me. Okay guys go on," he said finishing. As he said that you could hear the whole crowd going "AHHHH"

~~Backstage~~
I was waiting there for the guy to get off the stage when someone grabbed me. "What the hell," I said.

"Teri now look what you've done. Now you'll pay," Amber said dragging me off somewhere. That moment all I could feel was fear. I was scared for my life.

~~Later On~~
Justin got off the stage. He looked around for me. He couldn't find me. "Why isn't she here?" he said to himself.

"Hey Curly what's wrong?" Joey asked.

"I was hoping Teri would be here, but I guess she left," he said.

Tiff came walking backstage. "Hey guys. Great show. Where's Teri?" She asked.

"What do you mean I haven't seen her since she left crying," Justin said.

"She said she was going to come back here and talk to you," she said.

"Oh my gosh what if something happened to her?" Justin thought to himself. "Maybe she just left," he said.

"Well I think we should look around before we go back to the dressing room," JC said. So they did.

~~Later On At The Guy's Dressing Room~~
Justin & JC were the last ones to meet right outside their dressing room. "Did anyone look in here?" Justin asked. They all shook their head no.

"Maybe she's in their Curly," Chris said. The guys walked in and saw me sitting in a chair, but what they didn't know was Amber was behind the door waiting.

"Ter, we've been lookin everywhere," Justin said. Then all of the sudden the door slammed behind Justin. They all turned around and saw Amber with a gun.

~Chapter 17: Life Or Death~

"Oh my gosh Amber what are you doing?" Jc asked with a confused look on his face.

"I'm showing Justin that I love him too much to let some slut stand between us," she said very calmly pointing the gun at me. I sat there thinking of what happened earlier in the nite.

"Why can't you understand that it's over between us. You messed up when you slept with that other guy. I cared for you Amber and you hurt me. And you think hurting her will make me love you. Well you are wrong. She's the one I want in my life not you," Jusin said. Why was she doing this? She wanted to kill me and make Justin suffer.

"Gosh Amber what you want to kill me cuz he loves me and not you?" I said.

"How could he love such a slut? All you are doing is using him. He can't see it, but I'm here to prove it to him. I love him Teri and he loves me."

"No I don't Amber get it through your head. I don't love you. I love her," Justin said. I saw Amber getting more and more aggravated.

"See what you did you little slut. Now you will pay," she said pointing the gun up at me. Next thing I know a shot goes off and someone jumps in front of me, but I don't know who. I fall to the floor and get knocked out for a minute or two and I wake up. I see blood, but it's not mine. I start to cry when I see the person on top of me bleeding.

"Oh my God!" I scream. It's.............

~Chapter 18: Praying~

"Oh my Gosh, Justin NO!!" I screamed when I realized he was the one shot. I sat there starting to cry. Then I saw the look in Amber's face. "How could you do this to him? " I screamed at her crying. Then secruity came in and took Amber away.

"You little slut Teri. You were the one who's suppose to get shot not Justin," she said.

"Please Justin," I said holding his hand, "be okay. I need you in my life. You can't leave me. I just found you. If you die I won't be able to go on," I said crying.

The ambulance finally got there. They didn't say anything except that they wanted me to go to the hospital too. As they sat Justin in the back of the ambulance his eyes opened. He said to one of the paramedics "give this to Teri," then he closed his eyes. The paramedic handed me a piece of folded paper and we climbed in. They said that he was losing blood, but not as much as a normal gun shot victim loses from that close of range. I held the piece of paper in my hands. We got to the hospital. They took him into surgery. I remember after seeing him I decided to go to the hospital chapel. I sat in there for a minute then took out the paper, unfolded it and read it. It said:

Dear Ter,
Hey baby!!! I'm sorry about what you saw today betwwen me and Amber it meant nothing to me. I know you don't really hate me. After the show I was hoping you were there, but you weren't then Tiff came and asked if we knew where you went. She said you wanted to talk to me. I can sense that something is wrong. It's Amber she's goig to hurt you in some way and I have to stop her. Cuz if I lose you I won't be able to go on. I promise you if something happens tonite I won't leave you. I promise you that. Well I'm going to take this next line off of a song '...In my world, before you; I lived outside my emotions; Didn't know where I was going; 'Til that day I found you; How you opened my life; To a new paradise; In a world torn my change; Still with all of my heart; 'Til my dying day...' 'I Do (Cherish You)' by 98 Degrees. Please do't give up on me cuz I'd never give up on you. I love you!

Love Always,
Justin'Curly' Timberlake

I read the note and started crying. Then I got went to the front and lit a candle for Justin and prayed. 'Dear Lord, please hear me? It's about Justin. I just lost Matt and I can't handle losing Justin. I hate myself for it, but I love him with all my heart. Please give him the strength to keep going. Let him know I love him before it's too late. I love him and I need him in my life. Please let him be okay he's just 18 and he has his whole lie before him. I know I'm being selfish. But I'm not the only one who needs him JC, Lance, Joey, Chris, and his friends and family need him. Thank you for listening.' I then got up and sat down in a pew. Then about 5 minutes later JC came in.

"Teri, it's Justin," he said.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"He's......

~Chapter 19:Waiting~

~~Hospital Chapel~~
"Ter, Justin is still alive, but in a coma," Tiff said.

"Oh my gosh. Is he going to be okay?" I asked.

"Ter, I'm not sure about that. All we can do is hope and pray he will be," she said.

"How can I sit around doing nothing. If he dies I don't now what I'll do Tiff. I love him. He needs to know that, but if he dies he never will. I cant just wait. It's killing me knowing I'm the one who is suppose to be lying in that bed not Justin," I said crying.

"Teri, this is not your fault one bit. Don't say that. Don't give up on someone you love," Tiff said. "I've already done that Tiff. I gave up on Matt before he was gone. I thought I loved him, but I couldn't have cuz no one could be this awful and love someone else while their boyfriend is dying. I did that. I fell in love with Justin. I don't regret it one bit. I'm just angry that I did. Why did I have to fall in love with him while Matt was dying?" I said. Tiff and I talked for awhile longer before I decided to go see Justin.

~~~~Waiting Room~~~~
"Jc, what happened?" Bethany said coming up to him.

"Justin was shot by Amber. She was aiming for Teri, but Justin jumped in front of Teri and got shot. Teri blacked out for a minute, but is fine," Jc said.

"What about Justin is he okay?" she asked.

"No, he's in a coma," he said with a painful and sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry Jc. I know you and Justin are best friends. I'd probably be as upset if that was TJ. Justin saved her life. She means that much to him. TJ won't be able to handle it if she loses Justin. I know sometimes it's hard for people to see, but she loves him," Bethany said.

~~~~Justin's Room~~~~
I stood outside of Justin's room for a minute trying to get myself together. I walked in the room. I saw Justin lying in the bed with all these machines hooked up and tubes everywhere. I was about to walk out and leave, but somethig stopped me. Last time I left someone's hospital room I loved he died and I didn't want that to happen again.

Man he looks so cute and peaceful sleeping, but I didn't want him to sleep I wanted him to wake up so I could tell him that I love him. Before I went in I had talked to the doctor and he said that they can hear you and sometimes it helps a patient recover. I decided to listen to the doctor and talk to him.

"Hey Justin!! I've missed hearing your voice. Geez I can't handle it baby I love you. I don't want you to die, but it's hard holding on. I promise you I will never again give up on us. I won't look for another way out. No more excuses. We were meant to be together. Justin gosh why did you have to go be a hero and save my life. I love you please don't go. I need you in my life," I said and I was crying again and harder.

All of the sudden I hear a machine beeping like crazy it was Justin's. "Oh my gosh Justin!!!" I cried. The doctors rushed in and told me to get out of the room. Then about five minutes later the doctor comes and tells me that..........

~Chapter 20: Relief~

~~Justin's Room~~
I cried in relief as the doctor told me, "Miss, he's okay. The machines go off like that to indicate that something in his heart rate and/or brain activity has changed. His heart rate is better and so is his brain activity. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but there is not much more we can do for him. It's up to him and God now. If he wants to hold on he will. All you can do is sit there and talk to him it may not seem like it's helping, but in all reality it does 2-3 patients who go into coma survive when they have had someone there with them talking to them and letting them know what they mean to a person," the doctor talked for a few more minutes, but the rest was a blur.

~~~Waiting Room~~~
Jc walked back and forth trying to figure out why this was happening. Joey got tired of watching Jc pace that he turned on the t.v. It came on and he flipped through the channels stopping at a local station when he saw a picture of Justin.

"Everybody quiet down. It has something about Justin on the news," Joey said and everyone gathered aroud the tv. Joey turned it up.

The reporter said: "We have just been informed that Justin Timberlake of the popular boy group *N Sync has been shot tonite and is in the hospital in a coma. Police said after their concert tonite Justin and the guys went to look for his girlfriend Teri Randolph and couldn't find her. After a little bit of looking they went to their dressing room and there Teri was being held hostage by Amber Marks of the Dallas Enquirer. Marks is said to be one of Timberlake's ex-girlfriend apparently he broke it off a short while ago. Marks was going to kill Randolph cuz of Justin involvement with her. Just as Marks shot a Randolph, Justin jumped in frot of her and was shot. Police have taken Amber Marks into custody," Joey turned off the tv.

~~~Justin's Room~~~
I sat in the chair holding on to Justin's hand and trying to get the image of his body with blood all over it, but I couldn't. I thought I heard a noise and I turned around and I saw Jc.

"Hey Ter," Jc said.

"Hey Jc," I said back.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Okay I guess," I said to him returning my eyes to Justin.

"Ter, can I ask you something?" Jc said.

"Sure."

"What is it about Justin that you can't trust?" he asked.

"What do you mean Jc?"

"I mean you gave him no chance to explain both times. Why is that, Ter?"

"Jc, I don't know anymore. These past couple of days have ben big blurs. After I found out what Matt and Bethany had done to me I was crushed. Then Matt dying and I'm afraid of loving someone and then them leaving," I said.

"Ter, he love's you with all his heart and you are what he's fighting to stay alive for. Don't push him away or we will lose him," he said with tears in is eyes.

"Jc I know he loves me and I don't know why he does. Gosh if you give me a chance then you know I love him too," I said crying. It looked as if he was about to say something when.................

~Chapter 21: Suprise~

~~~Justin's room~~~
I was standing talking to Jc and he was about to say something when we heard something fall to the ground and it was a glass of water that was on the table next to Justin's bed. I went over to the bed and it look as if Justin knocked it off.

Then I heard someone say, "Teri, why were you & Jc arguing?" Justin said.

I looked up at him and I was about to cry cuz I was so happy that he woke up. "Oh my gosh Justin you're awake I should go tell the others," Jc said and rushed out of Justin's room to the waiting room.

"Teri, why are you crying?" Justin asked.

"Cuz I'm so happy that you are okay. I thought I might....." I said crying, but I got cut off before I could finish.

"Teri, you'll never lose me. I promise you that. I'm so happy to see you here. Ter, I know you're mad at me, but I love you. Could you ever forgive me for being an idiot?" He said with tears in his eyes now. I looked into his eyes. I didn't know what to say to him. Nothing could explain how happy I am to that he's alive.

Waiting Room~~~
Jc was walking towards the waiting room. He was so happy that his best friend was alive. Now he was hoping that Justin and I could work everything out cuz he knew how happy Justin was with me. He walked in to see everyone sitting down not really talking only people who had been talking were Tiff & Kiel, but they were attached at the hip so it was no big suprise.

"Jc, you're back so quickly. I thought you were going to talking to Ter?" Chris said.

"I did talk to her, but guys something happened while I was talking to her," Jc said.

"What?" Tiff asked.

"Justin woke up," he said cheerfully.

"He is oh my gosh," Joey and Lance said at the same time.

"Guys let's go see him," Chris said. Everyone started to follow.

Justin's Room~~~
"What's wrong Ter?" Justin asked.

"Nothing is," I said.

"Come on baby tell me. I know something is wrong," He said.

"Justin, I was so scared of losing you. I didn't know how I would survive if I did. I lost Matt and then coming this close to losing you. It scares me. You have been so good to me and I keep trying to push you away. The thing is you won't let me push you away. At the club when I told you I loved you I thought I did, then I wasn't sure. Then when I saw you on the ground realizing that you love me enough to risk your own life to save mine. I realized I loved you. And Justin I was so scared that I might not be able to tell you that I do love you," I said crying.

At that point I didn't kknow we had an audience listening in to our conversation. I looked into Justin eyes deeply and I lost myself in them and then we leaned in and kissed at first it was a sweet gentle kiss and then as it went on it got more passionate. We probably never would have stopped kissing, but.............

~Chapter 22: Confessions~ Justin's Room~~~
Justin and I were in his room kissing, but were interrupted by someone, "Um hem," it was Joey and everyone was there behind Joey. I looked at them and blushed.

"Oh we made her blush Jc," Chris said.

"Ah how cute look at the two little lovebirds over there," Jc said.

"Shut up guys! You're just jealous that you not the one laying here and being kissed by a beautiful girl," Justin said which that made me blush even more.

"Oh we may be jealous of you being the one with the beautiful girl, laying there I think not," Lance said. I was still blushing pretty hard when Jennifer spoke up (some of you may not remember her, but she's the girl who came with Bethany and is one of Ter's best friends)

"Guys, I think you are embarassing Teri over there. I don't think I've ever seen her turn that shade of red." Everyone talked for awhile longer, but then everyone headed back to the hotel, but Teri stayed with Justin.

Later On~~~
I sat there in the room watching Justin sleep. He looked so damn peaceful. There was an ocassional talking in his sleep. Then at one point I decided to join in on the conversation since I couldn't sleep, but I didn't know how big of a big mistake it was.

"Jc, guess what?" Justin said. I decided to act like I was Jc.

"What Curly?" I asked.

"Guess who I love so much," he said.

"Who?" I asked and when I said that I thought the answer would be Teri, but I was so wrong.

"I love Amber Marks," he said and when he said that I felt the tears falling and I knew I couldn't stop them. Then I decided to ask.

"What about Teri? Don't you love her?"

"Who's Teri? Oh wait her no. She's just not the girl and I told you Jc I love Amber," he said. That just made me cry even harder. I just needed to get out of there. I grabbed a notepad and pencil and wrote a note to Justin then left.

At the Hotel~~~
Jc was awake at 7:00 A.M. so he decided to go down and get some breakfast. On his way down he ran into Bethany at the elevator. "Good morning Bethany," Jc said.

"Good morning Jc. How are you?" Bethany asked.

"Fine," he said and all the sudden it stopped.

"Oh my Gosh!!" Bethany screamed.

"Are you okay?" Jc asked. Bethany is just a little claustophobic so by the time Jc had asked the question Bethany was already crying. With Jc seeing that he put his arms around her. "Shh it'll be okay Bethany don't worry," He said. He lifted he chin up and she looked into his his beautiful blue eyes and became mesmorized. They just kept looking at each other for a couple more seconds and then kissed. It was a soft kiss at first, but with every moment it became more passionate.

That Morning Justin's Room~~~
Justin had slept so peacefully through the night that he hadn't realized I had left. Justin woke up and looked over at the chair where I had been sitting, but I wasn't there. "I wonder where she's at?" Justin asked himself and then he saw the note I had left him. He picked it up and read it.

Justin,
I'm sorry that when you wake up I'll be gone, but I needed to clear my head. I promised myself I wouldn't give up on us, but now it seems impossible. I know you're thinking what did I do. Well nothing really except talk. I mean talk in your sleep. You said some things that are hard not to listen to. I know I know I shouldn't have done that, but I just wanted to hear what you had to say. I want us to be together. But I don't know. Gosh Justin. If I can't be with you I don't want to be alive. I can't handle losing you. Just like Matt and other people in my life. Loving you.
Love, Teri

"Oh my gosh, Ter. Please be not thinking of killing yourself. I love you too much to lose you," Justin said reaching for the phone.

At the Hotel~~~
Everyone was in the guys room. Bethany and Jc hadn't left each others side since the elevator incident. They were all sitting there talking when the phone rang. Jc picked it up. "Hello?" he said.

"Hey Jc. It's Justin. Have you guys seen Teri?" He asked.

"Not since last nite, why?" Jc said.

"Well, I need you guys to come here right away. I think Teri is thinking about killing herself," Justin said. Jc just listened he was too shocked then he agreed to getting everyone over there.

"Jc what's wrong?" Bethany asked.

"Um Justin thinks Teri wants to kill herself," Jc said.

Bethany looked over to Tiff and Jen and asked "What day is it?"

"It's October 19th," Tiff said. With that all three girls knew what this represented to me in my life.

"So what's so big about the 19th?" Lance asked.

"See something happend to Teri three years ago on October 19th. It was the day.......

~Chapter 23: Death~

At The Hotel~~~
"Tiff what does this day mean to Teri? What happened three years ago ?" Joey asked.

"Guys it's not easy to tell. It's very hard for us to remember and to tell, but for Teri it's so much harder," Tiff said with a few tears in eyes.

"It's okay Tiff," Kiel said trying to comfort her, but it didn't work.

"No, it's not okay Kiel. Teri didn't deserve to lose her parents and her best friend on the same day!" Tiff yelled.

"What do you mean, Tiff?" Jc asked.

"Teri has played softball since she was 7 years old. When she was 15 her and her best friend was Jamie and they were on the sane team. Well Jamie's parents had gone out of town for the weekend and Jamie was staying with Teri. Well, on the way to a team meeting a car caused Teri's Dad to swerve, they went off the road, and flipped a couple times. All that happened to Teri was a broken arm and she was lucky considering not having a seat belt on. Well, Jamie and her parents had their seat belts on. Her parents were thrown from the car," Tiff paused for a minute to try to stop the tears.

It was hard for her too, but not near as hard as it was for me. "They died instantly. Jamie was in the back with a broken arm, broken leg, and was unconscious, but was alive. Jamie was rushed to the hospital. She was in a very deep coma for two weeks and Teri was by her side except to shower, change, and go to her parents funeral. She missed two weeks of school cuz she was staying by Jamie's side. Teri & Jamie were inseparable. The bestest buds. Jamie was like a sister to Teri. Ter was an only child. The day Jamie's heart just stopped Teri took it hard and couldn't stop crying. Then for the next two weeks Teri was just quiet that it kind of scared some people. Then she just broke down. She couldn't take it anymore. Her parents and her best friend were dead. But she couldn't handle the fact that she was still alive because she didn't want to be," Tiff said still with tears in her eyes.

"The one thing that makes it even harder to remember was Teri tried to kill herself," Jen said and she was even crying now.

"What stopped her?" Chris asked holding back tears.

"Well, on December 18th, Jamie's birthday. Teri went to their team practice field with a bottle of pills. She was ready to die, but Tricia another girl on her team who was close to Teri and Jamie and Matt went there. That's when Matt became a major part of her life. She had already written a note. Telling everyone she was sorry, but Tricia and Matt got there before she took them. Tricia and Matt started talking to her. asked her 'What can't you handle, T?' She said the fact that Jamie and her parents were dead and they were doing the right thing and wearing their seat belts and they died. I wasn't wearing it and all that happened to me was a broken arm. They said when Teri finally handed over the bottle that she just broke down in Matt's arms," Jen said crying and thinking 'I've known her forever why can't I help her when she needs it. God please let her be okay' They then rushed to the hospital to tell Justin about this.

Justin's Room~~~
Justin sat there so worried about me. 'God please let her be okay. You can't understand how much I love her.' His thoughts were interrupted by Tiff and the others, "Have you found her?" he asked noticing Tiff, Bethany, & Jen had been crying. They told him what had happened and he was so shocked after they finished he began crying. "Oh my God please don't do anything stupid, baby," Justin said.

~Chapter 24: Decisions~

The Roof Of The Hospital~~~
I sat on the edge of the roof looking down at all the cars pass by. Why was this happening? I asked myself. I love him so much, but he doesn't love me. He loves Amber. Geez of all days I coud have found out on, but I had to find out today that he loved her. Finding that out just pushed me over the edge. I began to write a note.

Dear Tiff, Jen, Bethany, Kiel, Justin, Jc, Chris, Lance, Joey, Heather, and Wes:
Hey guys. I'm sorry I'm doing this, but I can't handle it anymore. It's been three years today since Jamie and my parents died. Gosh I miss them. I should be where they are and they should still be alive, but I guess I'll be joining them soon. Justin I hope you and Amber are happy. I know you love her. Please forgive me for doing this. I love you guys!! Loving you,
Teri

I finished the note and then sat there for a second thinking of what would happen next. I began to cry.

Justin's Room~~~
"You guys got to understand that Teri didn't have any family left after her parents died. She was an only child. Then Jamie dying being like a sister to her hurt her. She feels as if she has no one. Then she lost someone who had been a secure part of her life since Jamie died. She obviously said something that pushed her right over the edge like saying you love someone else and she could take that to heart," Tiff said.

She was so scared that I was going to do something stupid. I didn't know what I was going to do I just wanted to end the pain.

"Has anyone looked on the roof yet?" Jc asked.

"No, why?" Justin answered.

"For all we know she could be up there wanting to jump so we got to stop her," Jc said. After that they all headed towards the roof.

The Roof~~~
I sat there looking up at the stars seeing the beautiful nite sky. Then I began thinking of Jamie and my parents. "Oh Mom and Dad you would have loved Justin he's a great person. You would be proud of me because I've been getting straight A's in school and I'm in the NHS. I'm finally doing good. I miss you guys, but hopefully I'll see you soon," I said up to the stars with a few tears in my eyes. "Now Jamie my best friend I miss you. Softball is going great. You'd be so proud of me because two years I got the awards for player of the year. I met this guy J. He's so sweet and cute. You would instantly fall in love with him. I did. I miss my best friend so much. I missed our staying up all nite, eating ice cream, and telling each other everything. Why did you have to go. It hurts so bad," I said not holding the tears back anymore. I was sitting there and all of the sudden I see them talking. It was Justin and Tiff.

"Ter, please get away from there," Tiff said.

"No," I said "the pain is too inbearable.

"Why are you here?" I asked looking at Justin. "I love you. I need you please don't hurt yourself,"Justin said.

"You don't love me. You love.......Amber," I stammered out crying feeling my body going forward even more.

"What?" Justin said with a shocked look on his face.

~Chapter 25: Help~

I was on standng up on the ledge. "Ter, please don't do this. We can't lose someone else. Get down and let's talk please?" TIff said pleading with me.

"I'll talk, but I won't get down," I said crying.

Justin was standing there with the most horrified look on his face. "What do you mean I love Amber?" Justin asked.

"Last nite when you were talking in your sleep you said you loved Amber and I meant nothing to you," I said crying. He stood there with the most hurtful look I'd ever seen. "Justin, no one cares about me anymore!" I said yelled. By that time everyone had got to the roof and heard what I said.

"We care about you!" Jen and Bethany yelled.

"No, you just feel sorry for me," I said. Then I looked up at the sky and I thought I saw Jamie.

"Hey J, I need your help to get out of this world. See here is the guy I was talking about his name is Justin Timberlake. I love him so much. I just wish he felt he same way. I know you didn't exactly die on the 19th, but I lost you then. You know Matt is gone too. You probably have talked to him. J this is hard. I lost my only family in the world and then I lost my best friend who was basically family to me. Then I lost the only secure part of my life . I know you know about what happened when I was at the softball field. I could feel you watching over me, but this time please just help me. After that happened me and Tricia went to my house and talked all nite. Once I called her J because it felt as if I was there with you. My house is still as huge as ever. J, I miss you so much. Why'd you leave? You know how much it hurt to see my best friend dying, but the thing is I know you give it your all, but I'm so mad at you for dying on me I still need you. You know that anklet we have both have it says Best Friends and on the back you had them inscribe: Sisters not by blood, but Sisters in heart. Teri and Jamie BFF. I remeber the summer before you died was the best because of softball it brought us so much closer, but in a way it drove us further apart. Please J, just go so I can leave this world without any guilt," I said crying.

Everyone was listening to my conversation with the 'air' and I saw Bethany, TIff, Jen, and Justin crying .

At that point I thought heard Jamie's voice say, "I'm sorry I left you like that, but it was time for me to go. You think it's time for you, but t's not. You love JustIn and he love's you. Please listen to him. Let him explain. Trust him. He's not going to leave you anytime soon, I promise you," Then I felt a hand touch me.

It was Justin he was crying. "Ter, please let me explain I love you, baby. I don't know...."

I stopped him before he finished "I love you, too. I understand," I said. I got down and fell into his arms and kissed him.

We walked towards the door, but he stopped and kissed me passionately. "I love you, Teri with all my heart," Justin said.

"I love you, too, Justin," I said and I kissed him again and walked into the hospital.

The End