***
Justin jerked awake after hearing the key rattling in the door. He rubbed his eyes, and looked at the clock over the entertainment center. "Holy shit, it's 3:30" he mumbled. As he heard the front door open slowly, he shifted his weight, trying not to wake up Jordan.
"Awww..CRAP!" Rachel giggled as she stumbled over some shoes by the front door. Struggling to see by the dim light of the glowing tv screen in the living room, she made her way into the house. "Jordan is so annoying, leaving the damn tv on all night." she complained as she set her purse down on the table before making her way into the living room to shut off the television.
"Hey.." Justin said quietly as Rachel entered the living room.
"Uh...hi." Rachel greeted him, confused. "Why are you here still? What happened..." she trailed off, gesturing to the sleeping Jordan.
"I couldn't get her to spill about what was bothering her. She is really emotional right now about something. I have a feeling it's deeper than anyone thinks...she's not just stressed about the tour or the Disney special. Ya know?" he said, meeting Rachel's gaze. His face was drawn and tired looking, concern for Jordan evident in his blue eyes. "I didn't mean to stay here, but she was so exhausted from all her emotion..I felt bad just leaving her once she finally fell asleep. I sat up for awhile, but I ended up nodding off a little while ago."
"Aww dude, it's cool. I know why you wanted to stay..." Rachel grinned, winking at Justin playfully. "You can just sleep here...we pry shouldn't wake her. Ya know how pissy she gets."
"Yeah, I forgot bout that." he said, looking down at Jordan, her head on his chest, a peaceful look on her face as she slept. "She looks too sweet to wake up right now...but I am gonna let her have the couch to herself." Justin shifted gently, trying hard not to wake her as he slid off the couch and carefully placed a pillow under her head.
"Aight, sounds good boy. So, are you like super tired, or you wanna talk for a bit?" Rachel said, always energetic.
"We can talk...is there something on your mind?" he inquired as he followed Rachel into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and began digging around as Justin plopped down in a chair.
"No, not really. I just wanted to talk to you bout a few things." the blonde's voice was muffled as she rummaged around.
"Shoot." Justin prodded.
"Well..." Rachel closed the fridge and sat down at the table, shoving a soda toward Justin. "I am not one to beat around the bush...so tell me this. What are your intentions? I don't want to see my sister hurt." she stated plainly, locking her gaze on Justin.
Avoiding her intense stare, Justin looked down and twirled the tab on his soda absentmindedly. He looked up into Rachel's serious face and grinned. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me boy...you know I can't stand that. I mean, that's why Joey pisses me off so much...he's too damn stupid all the time."
"Speaking of Joey, what's going on there between you two? Ever since that dare, Joey's been eyein' you." Justin said, skillfully changing the subject.
"Aww dude, whatEVER! Eww...now I think I am gonna go barf." Rachel rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, forgetting about her question for a moment.
"You know you like it." Justin laughed quietly, remembering that Jordan was asleep in the next room.
"Believe what you want. I am gonna go to bed...you suck. Now I am gonna have nasty Joey dreams all night. And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" she accused teasingly as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen. "You can sleep in the living room if you want, have fun squishing yourself on the loveseat...or you can stay in Jordan's room. Otherwise you're shit outta luck mister."
"Wow, so many options. Gee thanks." Justin's voice dripped with sarcasm as he thought about his choices. "Would Jordan get really pissed if I just stayed in her room? I really don't feel like sleeping all smooshed on that tiny love seat when I have rehersals tomorrow afternoon." he commented to Rachel as she began walking down the hall.
"Aww she won't care" Rachel laughed, standing outside the doorway to her room. "Let's just hope she doesn't get up in the middle of the night..or morning..whatever...and decide to crawl in bed. Whoops!" she giggled.
Justin groaned as Rachel said good night and shut the door to her room. He wandered into the living room and placed a blanket over Jordan, who was still sleeping soundly. 'She looks so beautiful...almost angelic.' he thought, smiling to himself in the dark room. Jordan sighed in her sleep and rolled onto her back, her eyes fluttering. Justin sat down beside the couch and brushed her hair off of her face. Jordan stirred slightly at his touch, but didn't wake up.
"Can this be true, tell me can this be real?" Justin began singing softly, not noticing Rachel standing in the hallway watching him.
'He's so sweet to her...I just wish I knew what Jordan was thinking. I need to knock some sense into that thick head of hers. She can't let this one get away!' Rachel thought, smiling in the darkness as Justin continued to sing.
"How can this be, that right here with me...there's an angel? It's a miracle..."
Justin trailed off as he stood up and glanced down at Jordan one last time. Rachel moved out of the hallway quickly, before Justin began making his way down the hall toward her sister's room to crash for the night.
He entered the room, flipping on a lamp as he took in the contents of the fairly neat bedroom. Justin glanced around curiously as he stripped down to his boxers and a wifebeater. He was getting ready to lay down for the night when something caught his eye. Noticing an open photo album on the floor, he picked it up gently, curious about a picture that grabbed his attention. "Wonder who this is.." he trailed off. He stared intently at the photo, which was a tan, dark haired man smiling a familiar mischevious dimpled grin. Not able to figure out why it was so familiar to him, Justin put the album back in it's original position before lying down and falling into a deep sleep.
***
"Heyyyyy...if it isn't sleeping beauty. Looks like you forgot the beauty back where you were sleeping." Rachel teased Justin as he stumbled into the kitchen the next morning.
Justin gave her a dirty look and helped himself to some cereal. "Ohh, did you just growl at me boy? Hmm? I don't think animal sounds are appropriate at this hour of the morning. A simple, 'My...Rachel, aren't you looking beautiful this fine morning' would have been sufficient." she giggled.
He finished up his breakfast, and then sat back in his chair, yawning. "So where's Jordan? Still sleeping?" he asked casually.
"Nahh, she's up already. She should be back soon, I think she went running." Rachel commented, getting up to put Justin's bowl in the dishwasher.
Just as Rachel finished her comment, the front door opened and slammed shut. "Speak of the devil.." Justin said as Jordan walked into the kitchen.
"Oh...hey." she said, slightly embarassed about Justin seeing her so upset the night before. She grabbed an apple out of the fridge and hopped up to sit on the counter.
"Soo...Rach, you all ready for our taping tomorrow afternoon? Disney's callin our name bay-bee." she grinned, her dimples showing prominently.
"Yeah, yeah, I am just praying to God that I don't trip and fall on my face in front of everyone and their dog." the blonde replied sarcastically.
"Well, I am gonna get goin...I guess I will see you guys at rehearsals this afternoon." Justin interrupted as he stood up and began walking toward the front door. Jordan glanced at Rachel before she jumped off the counter and followed him outside.
Justin walked out into the Florida humidity to his car, as Jordan ran up behind him. "Hey, wait a sec.." she said quickly, placing her hand on his arm as he opened the door to the Benz. Justin looked down at Jordan, locking his gaze with hers.
"I just want to say thank you...for last night. It was really cool of you to come after me, cuz you didn't have to. Also, I'm sorry for ..ya know.. crying like that. I am usually not that emotional..it's just that..." she trailed off and looked down at the ground.
"It's just that what?" Justin prodded.
"Nothin...just forget bout it." Jordan smiled, trying to convince Justin that there was nothing to worry about.
"I do worry about you..and I am not gonna just forget about it. I'm here if you need to talk bout it." Justin frowned as he remembered the photos he found the night before. "Hey..."
"What?" Jordan questioned.
"Nevermind." Justin said as he started to get inside his car. Before hopping in, he turned back to Jordan and kissed her gently...taking her by surprise. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes.
"What.." Jordan trailed off as Justin shushed her, putting his finger to her lips.
"I'll see you later." he said before getting in his car and pulling into the street, leaving Jordan standing in the driveway staring after him.