Once Jen got off the phone, she called their friend across the hall and told Ashlee to come back to the room. Ashlee was back a few minutes later, and she looked very concerned. Jen sat back on the futon, and Ashlee joined her. Jen had calmed down a lot since talking with JC, he always knew what to do in every situation, and he had that soothing voice that could pacify anyone who was worked up and frenzied. Jen explained everything to Ashlee, getting a little choked up. Ashlee hugged her friend and comforted her some more. They both decided it was time to rest, and were lucky that it was Saturday so they could sleep in with no interruptions. Sleep didn't come for Jen though, every time she closed her eyes, images of Kyle flashed through her mind frightening her.
The next morning, Jen woke up and looked across to Ashlee's bed, but she was gone. Jen sat up and got down off of her bed and looked around, eyes resting on their futon. Images of last night came flooding back to her and she gasped slightly. Then the door opened and Ashlee walked in with some breakfast.
"Hey girl, how are you this morning? How did you sleep?" she asked, setting their food down on the floor.
"Better I think. I slept terribly though. What's this you have?" she answered gesturing towards the food, which smelled wonderful. Ashlee looked down and then back up to Jen.
"I hope you don't mind, I borrowed your car to get us some real food, instead of crap they call dorm food. We have Dunkin' Donuts right here, complete with coffee and OJ," she said and tossed Jen her car keys.
"No problem, this looks great!" she replied, and they both sat down on the floor and began to eat.
They talked about what they wanted to do today, and they decided to get off campus and do something away from college life. They were both in their pajamas, and were just finishing up when someone knocked on their door. Jen froze, fear raced through her veins. Ashlee glanced towards the door and then back to Jen, then she stood up.
"I'll get it."
"If it's Kyle…" Jen started.
Ashlee interrupted her and said, "If it's Kyle, I'll get him outta here. I'll call security if I have to," she said as she put her hand on the doorknob and pulled the door open. She was shocked to be face to face with five familiar looking guys. They all had a mixture of concern and happiness on their faces, trying to gauge Ashlee's reaction to their sudden appearance. She smiled broadly, if anyone could cheer up Jen, they could. She opened the door wide and motioned them inside.
Jen looked up from the floor like a lost, scared little girl. Their hearts went out to her, they have never seen her so alarmed and frightened. Once she realized who it was, she sighed visibly and stood up, making her way over to them. Justin was holding himself back with all his might; he wanted to run up to her and hold her in his arms and protect her from the world. She smiled half-heartedly and stared at JC.
"I TOLD you that I would be fine here with Ash. But did ya listen? Nope! Thanks for comin' though," and she gave JC a huge bear hug. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, gently rocking her back and forth.
The guys were a little confused at her actions. She was always happy to see them, she always welcomed them all with a hug, but she normally went to Justin first. They glanced at Justin and saw a confused look on his face. They had noticed that a lot lately. Then they turned their attention back to JC and Jen.
JC leaned down and started to whisper to her, "I know, but I had to make sure you were OK, ya know? I worry about ya Jen." She looked up at him and smiled, then kissed him on the cheek.
She turned towards the other guys and Justin opened his arms wide, inviting her into them. She looked at him, but then glanced away quickly, like she was embarrassed. He raised his eyebrows in question, and she started to walk to him, carefully. She then stepped into his embrace, and as soon as he wrapped his arms around her, she sighed heavily. Justin looked over her shoulder at JC, but JC just looked away guiltily. Justin then looked towards Lance and Chris, and they both shrugged their shoulders. He kissed her head, like JC did, and she pulled away and quickly kissed his cheek. She then turned towards Lance and Chris and hugged them also. Justin was really puzzled now, and he vowed he would figure out what was going on. She then turned to the guys and spoke.
"Now, what are y'all doin' here on a Saturday morning at 10am? That means you left Orlando at like, 8," she said, counting the hours and looking at them expectantly. Chris shoved JC forward and JC glared over his shoulder quickly, then turned back to Jen.
"Actually, we wanted to take you guys out…to Disney World," he answered her, fidgeting and looking at anything but her. She looked at the others, and they were all staring at her with something in their eyes, and she was trying to figure it out. She then looked at Justin; she could always read his features. She saw it, finally. It was concern. A mix between concern and worry, and then she saw the true love that the guys had.
She turned her gaze back onto JC, and he was looking at her for the first time. She stared at him hard, asking him a silent question. He slightly shook his head 'no', and she smiled briefly, relieved.
"Disney World? Sounds good, just get me off this campus," Jen said half-heartedly. The guys frowned; they had some major cheering up to do. Ashlee spoke for the first time.
"Well, let us change and get ready all right? You guys can't really hang in the hall, and you can't stay here while we change…"
"Why not?" Joey interrupted and smiled evilly. Ashlee rolled her eyes, and Jen giggled. Justin's eyes lit up at the sound of her laughter, even if it was slight. He looked towards the guys and they all nodded back at him. It was an improvement.
"Because Joey! I swear, you have the sickest lil' mind!" Jen said, laughing a bit more. He laughed along with her, and Ashlee continued.
"As I was saying, you guys could chill in the lobby and wait for us, then we'll come get you," Ashlee explained. Then Justin jumped in.
"What if we get recognized or something?" he asked. The guys looked at Jen, waiting for a smart-aleck comment. Ashlee looked over at her too, and when none came, she stepped in for her.
"Justin, most of the people that listen to your music are under the age of 16, and sorry sweetie, this is a college campus. So there may be one or two fans that you run into, so sign an autograph and take a picture!" Justin smiled at her amusedly and shook his head back and forth.
Why won't Jen talk to me? She has talked to JC and Joey already, even to Chris and Lance when we walked in. What did I do?
The guys headed towards the lobby and sat down and waited. Justin looked at the guys and initiated conversation.
"So, something is definitely up. She won't even talk to me, much less look at me. What did I do?" he asked, wondering. They all shook their heads and shrugged. Then JC spoke up.
"Well, just chill today, don't press her J, ya know? I know she'll tell you what's up soon enough," he said, staring straight at Justin. He nodded and sat back in the chair, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Then he heard a familiar voice.
"…So we were talking and went to this barbecue some of her pop star friends were throwing…" Justin opened his eyes and looked in the direction the voice was coming from, along with his other band-mates. It was Kyle. They watched him walk across the lobby with one of his friends.
Kyle suddenly stopped and turned towards the sitting area and caught everyone staring at him. Joey, Lance and Chris broke into a conversation, trying to be conspicuous. JC just watched him with raised eyebrows, and Justin was flat out glaring. Kyle looked a little worried, but then shrugged it off and continued on with his friend.
The girls got dressed and went to get the guys. They all headed back to Orlando in Justin's car again, with the big conversation being how the guys got out of the studio. They each told a little part of it, making it into this big dramatic story.
Ashlee was in the middle of it all, having a blast. Jen was up in the front seat trying to act enthused, but she couldn't fool Justin or the rest of the guys. They kept glancing at her and she got so fed up that in the middle of the conversation, she turned her head the other way and gazed out the window. Justin glanced back through his rearview mirror, but the guys waved him off.
They arrived to Disney in an hour and a half, right around noon. The guys had on their hats and sunglasses, especially since it was a Saturday and kids would be around. They were also without bodyguards, so they tried to lay low and be inconspicuous. They got in easy and started down Main Street USA, dawdling and commenting on the tourists. They headed towards the major rides, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and Space Mountain.
Every chance she could, Jen avoided Justin like he was the plague. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she made some lame excuse and ran towards the other guys. She clung to JC and they were talking non-stop, sitting together on rides and even siting with each other at lunch.
Joey hung out with Ashlee and told her about his days working at Disney, while Lance and Chris were jumping into the conversations that JC and Jen were having. Justin was pouting and keeping to himself.
"Where to next guys? By the way, I am having a good time, thank you," Jen said, lowering her head. JC smiled and knocked her chin up towards him.
"We're happy you are happier. How about we head to Pirates of the Caribbean?" He replied, glancing towards the others. They all nodded and smiled. Justin's eyes sparkled behind his shades; he had a plan.
Jen glanced nervously at him, knowing he was upset that she was staying away from him. She saw him smile, and she wondered what he was thinking.
Maybe he is FINALLY going to let this go. I know he wants to ask me what's up, I just can't tell him about Kyle yet. I am having a good time; they are keeping my mind off of Kyle. But whenever I look at Justin, I can't help but think how disappointed he'll be in me when he finds out what happened, and that hurts me more than most things would.
They headed towards the ride, and Jen and JC were holding hands in the front of the pack, while everyone else trailed behind them. JC squeezed her hand in comfort, and she squeezed back and smiled at him. He looked towards her and smiled himself. Jen stopped, leaned up, and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you especially, you are great," she whispered into his ear. He kissed her forehead and smiled even bigger.
"Anytime girl, you know I am here for you, all of us are," he replied, and they continued walking.
Justin was glaring at them from the back of the group, clocking their every move and getting more upset than he wanted to.
Wassup with this? Is she interested in JC? No, he is too old for her. Why is she doing this in public? What if we get recognized and people think she is JC's girlfriend?? Why did she kiss him? Why are they holding hands?
Justin's thoughts were a mess, and the others were quickly catching on to his emotions. Lance and Chris were watching him, and they knew something was up. They could only begin to imagine what was going on in his head, even though they had a pretty good idea.
They were waiting in line when Justin decided to make his move. He walked up to JC and whispered into his ear, with Jen watching them intently. JC glanced at him wearily but sighed, knowing he wouldn't get his way. Jen looked up expectantly as Justin and JC switched places in line. Jen looked back towards JC wearily, but JC shrugged at her apologetically and started talking to Joey and Ashlee.
"So J, why are you avoiding me?" He asked, casually. Too casually to Jen. She glanced back again towards JC.
"That's not going to work, JC is not going to help you here. So, why aren't you talking to me?" He asked again, staring ahead. Jen sighed and looked at him.
"Justin, I really don't want to get into this now," she whispered, keeping her voice low. There were some young teenage girls around, and they were looking in their direction.
"Too bad, I am sick of the silent treatment," he replied, looking at her over the top of his sunglasses, pulling them down a bit, revealing his eyes. She looked into them and realized it was going to come out, as much as she didn't want it to.
"Stin, keep these on your eyes. We have boppers who keep looking back here," she said, pushing the glasses back on him.
Maybe I shouldn't push her…I mean, she cares so much about me, I know that. Trying to keep me hidden, that's my girl. Still, there is a reason behind this and I wanna know…
"Thanks, but you aren't changing the subject," he said softly.
She looked at him and said firmly, "I do NOT want to tell you now."
"Fine, let's talk about something else. You and JC," he said, getting angry. Jen looked at him incredulously, and then started getting upset.
"Lower your voice JR. There is nothing going on with me and Josh, and I cannot believe you would even accuse me of that!" she said, her voice raising. She reverted to other versions of their names to keep their identities intact. Its what they always did in public in larger crowds. The group noticed Jen and Justin's conversation getting louder and was staring at them in awe.
"Oh yeah? Well what was that on the way to this ride then? It looked more than friendly!" he said, his voice raising as well.
JC looked at him and said hesitantly, "JR…bud, not here," but Justin was not giving up, and neither was Jen.
"Excuse me?! I can't hug and kiss my friend who is like family to me? Since when do you dictate my actions?" she said putting her hands on her hips, getting defensive. Justin tried again.
"Well, that looked MORE than friendly JJ! Are you interested in him?" He spat out, disgusted by his words.
Jen's mouth dropped, she couldn't believe what she just heard. Their argument was drawing more and more attention and the rest of the guys and Ashlee were growing uneasy in the direction it was going.
"You have GOT to be kidding me Justin! He is like my big brother, and he helped me through a lot last night and I was thanking him for it!"
"Why didn't you talk to me about whatever happened? You are my best friend, not his Jen!" he yelled, waving his arms. His hat flew off in the meantime, revealing his unmistakable hair. Jen was so enraged she didn't notice, and neither did he.
"How could I tell my best friend that the guy I was dating tried to rape me?! Huh Justin? How could I tell you that and hear you say 'I told you so'?" she yelled back. Then she froze and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. The whole line hushed, and JC threw his hands on top of his head. Chris and Lance covered their mouths in shock, and Joey swallowed hard.
Justin pulled off his sunglasses slowly and just stared at her wide-eyed in total shock and confusion. Jen looked around the line at all the people staring at her, and it was all too much; she bolted out of the line and into the park.
"Jen!" Justin yelled and started to make his way out to follow her.
"Justin Timberlake! Oh my GOD it is HIM! I told you so!" a girl screamed and about 10 other girls from the line bolted out to grab him. He looked around frantically; the only thing on his mind now was his best friend and finding her.
He looked towards the guys and yelled, "Help me y'all!" The guys all pulled off their sunglasses and hats and started talking loudly.
"Justin buddy, need some help?" JC asked, getting out of line. The crazed fans saw him and some of them left Justin, bolting towards JC and the others. Many of them stayed by Justin, swarming him and asking questions.
"Who was that girl Jen that you were arguing with?"
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Are you dating her? Is she just a friend? What's going on?"
They were firing questions a mile a minute, and they wouldn't get out of the way. He became more and more frazzled every second he was cooped up.
"Excuse me! I am sorry, I have to go!" He said and moved the girls out of his way and took off in search for Jen. He mentally cursed his stubbornness and sent up a silent prayer, hoping he could make everything ok between him and her once again.
