Jen looked over her shoulder quickly and stared. Ashlee stood in the doorway wide-awake with a slight smirk on her face. Jen tried to absorb as much as she could and had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.
”Justin I will call you back,” she said monotone into the phone, not taking her eyes off her roommate.
”JJ? No what’s going on? Wait don’t-“ Justin didn’t get to finish because the phone clicked off and all he got was the dial tone.
”SHIT! What the hell was that?” he yelled, glaring at his phone like it was all it’s fault. He threw the door to the bathroom opened and stormed out, running his hand through his hair. His eyes were blazing, and he looked about ready to kill someone. One minute he was talking to Jen and everything was ok, and the next her tone changed and she was off the phone without even saying goodbye. He chucked his phone onto the couch and sat down next to it, then stood up two seconds later, unable to sit still.
Why would she hang up like that? She better call back soon…looks like I’m not sleeping tonight.
”Ashlee…” Jen said in a calm voice, turning the phone off and gathering the pictures and Enquirer in a pile.
”Jen, going through my things? What kind of roommate does that?”
”And what kind of roommate sells out her friends?” Jen shot back, standing up and walking towards Ashlee, her eyes on the set of pictures Ashlee had in her hand.
Ashlee watched her with a slight smile on her face. “So you were looking for these pictures, from the club. You and Justin look awfully cozy here…no wonder people thought something was going on, especially in this picture of you two kissing…tsk tsk Jen, out in public where ANYONE can snap a photo.”
Jen walked past Ashlee into the room and turned back around to stare at her. “Get in here and lets talk about this, the whole world doesn’t need to know…oh wait, you seemed to broadcast my life pretty damn well to a TABLOID. Want to go fight it out in the quad? I mean it would be a LOVELY show for the campus, I’m sure. Maybe we can charge them to actually see it, hey, maybe we can make more money off of it than you did selling our pictures.”
Ashlee’s eyebrows rose at Jen’s sarcastic comments and she stepped inside and closed the door. She handed the pictures to Jen. “No need to be sassy, here, take a look.”
Jen yanked the pictures from her hand and looked at them hard. Her eyes closed as she remembered that night at the club, the conversation about dancing, the way he smelled, the way he looked, the way their emotions washed over their bodies and led them to each other. She flipped through the pictures and cracked a tiny smile when she saw the one of them kissing. Ashlee cleared her throat and brought Jen back to reality, hard and fast.
”Still mushy over the boy. I figured that since you had broken up, things would be different. Must be hard to be pining over him here while he’s out on tour banging everything with a skirt eh?”
Jen glared up at Ashlee and stared coldly. In a matter of seconds, a bitchy smile crossed Jen’s face, and Ashlee looked at her questioningly.
”Oh, you only wish huh Ash? Whatever you say about Justin has no effect on me. You stand there, cocky as hell thinking whatever you have done has messed things up between him and myself. Well trust me, you aren’t the first person, or the last I’m sure, that has tried to come between us. So, you can take these pictures and shove them up your ass for all I care. What I want to know is WHY?”
”Why? WHY? Look at you Jen. You have five best friends that happen to be some of the most wanted men in America, and you just don’t know how good you have it. Your best friend is a teen heartthrob that millions of girls wish they could see up close, and here he is buying you cars and taking you out and you don’t think TWICE about it. You don’t think about what his fans would do if they found out he was seriously dating the girl he claimed to be his best friend. You don’t even CARE about them.”
Jen could not believe her ears. Was Ashlee really trying to pin the blame on her? There was more to the story, and Jen was sure the plot was only thickening. She tilted her head and motioned for Ashlee to continue.
”I was so excited to get to school this year, meet my new roommate, bond. You know how it goes. Imagine my surprise when my roommate liked NSYNC, seemingly as much as I did. Then on top of it, right at the beginning of the year…NSYNC showed up at our door. I couldn’t believe it. At OUR DOOR, like it was no big deal.”
Ashlee looked around the room with stars in her eyes, and Jen had seen that look on many people faces before when talking about the guys; she was sure it was on her own face once or twice.
”I was welcomed immediately, I mean, I had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming what was happening. I was ‘Jen’s roommate Ashlee’. I figured that would pass after hanging out with them for awhile, but no. I was always in the shadows, always. I saw the way you were with the guys, especially Justin…and I wanted that. I wanted HIM. I had the biggest crush on him, but you ruined it for me. I told you I liked Joey…well I lied. I could tell Justin had it bad for you, I mean; the way he looked at you gave it away, even before you two knew what was going to happen between you.”
”Wait a minute, you wanted Justin?” Jen asked baffled and dumbfounded.
”Yes. Why is it so hard to believe? Every other girl wants him; he’s got everything going for him. Anyway. Joey, yeah I pretty much used him for information…I drilled him at the club about you two, before I took the pictures that is. He wasn’t hesitant to give it up…and I’m not just talking about the information either, if you know what I mean. Not that I would do that with him, he’s just not my type.”
”Kyle was also my idea. We met him and I thought he was a cutie too, but then when the guys were over and he stopped by, man I just knew that he would be perfect. I figured you would be so interested in Kyle you would pretty much ignore Justin and he would finally notice me. Well then the bastard Kyle had to push it too far and you ran right back into Justin’s arms. You wouldn’t accept any of Kyle’s apologies, and of course it brought you and Justin closer together, he gets that protective vibe going and what not. “
Jen tried to digest the information as Ashlee was spitting it out, but her head was reeling. She was trying to focus, but she had no idea that Ashlee had really planned all of it out that much. Ashlee noticed her shocked face and snickered evilly.
”You didn’t think I could concoct something like this did you? Sweet innocent lil’ Ashlee. So then we got to the club, of course you two were drooling over each other. Everyone thought it was so cute, it made me sick to my stomach. Well, I followed you outside and when you guys thought you were alone, I snapped a few pictures. The National Enquirer pays very well, might I add. They adored the pictures, and keep calling for updates. Trust me when I say it was really hard to have them call at the exact times you weren’t here. You were crushed when you saw those pictures and that article…and it drove you away from him.”
”So…you sent pictures in to National Enquirer to break us up…because you thought he would go for YOU?”
”Don’t say it like its unbelievable and intangible. What do you have that I don’t? Now let me finish,” She said, raising her voice.
”Integrity? Morals? Wait, oh please, go ahead. I’m intrigued.”
”So you were miserable, and I tried my best to get you to not call him. I figured you would both move on, realize what a mistake it was to get involved after being friends for so long, blah blah. Then you HAD to go and call him. I knew he wouldn’t have called you first, so I figured something was up when he started calling. It was so nice to talk to him though, and it didn’t really hurt me to tell him that you had gotten all of his messages and just chose not to call him. He stayed on the line with me and asked me why and how, and you know, I was almost like a shoulder for him to cry on.”
”You are one sick girl, do you know that?” Jen said disgusted.
”Yeah whatever. So then the phone rang tonight, and I heard your voice catch and you crawl outta bed, I knew it had to be him. Then you came back in and were rummaging through my drawers, I just knew you spotted the pictures. I also knew you hadn’t found the club pictures because I had them somewhere else. I didn’t think you would put it together this fast to tell you the truth. I really thought that we would get through this semester and moved out before you figured it all out.”
”What kind of MORON do you think I am Ashlee? How could you do this to us? We let you in with open arms and welcomed you into our group of friends, and into their crazy life. How could you sell us, sell THEM out? To a tabloid of all places, that’s so…dirty,” Jen lectured as her voice rose.
”I’m not some evil person…I just wanted something I couldn’t have.”
Jen rolled her eyes and stood up off the couch. She was pissed. “Did you ever stop to think, ‘wow, if I sell out Justin…he probably wouldn’t like me too much’? You have to be brain dead to think that they would ever talk to you again! What kind of person does this? I could see if you were out to get them, pull them down, what not…but you did this over a crush? This is like some bad movie or something, God.”
Ashlee narrowed her eyes and glared at Jen. “It was a great plan, everything was working out until you spoiled it.”
”You bitch. I’m going to spend the night across the hall, good thing there are only a few more weeks left of the semester. I hope you realize you have just lost the best friends and most loyal people you will ever meet,” Jen explained, grabbing her pillow and stuffed animal. She also reached for the phone as she looked up at Ashlee one more time, who was standing there with her hands on her hips.
”One more thing,” she said at the door. “Don’t mess with me or my friends…you’ll never win.”
With that she closed the door and walked across the hall to her friend’s room, setting her stuff on the futon and promising her friends she would tell them what was up in the morning.
Jen was upset before, but the more she thought about it, the more her anger turned into sadness. She had moved from her hometown to a new city, taken a huge step, and thought she had met someone she could confide in. Who would have ever thought her roommate would turn on her in such a dramatic way. She clutched the phone to her chest as she exited the room and wandered down the hallway. She glanced at her watch and closed her eyes as she read it was 3:30am. Jen made her way into the lounge and waved slightly at the security guard, who just nodded back towards her. It didn’t surprise her that there were a few people studying, someone always had a book opened, no matter what time it was. She spotted a comfy couch and stretched out on it, resting the phone on her stomach as she stared up at the tiled ceiling.
Justin would not sit still. It had been an hour since he last talked to Jen and he was itching for his phone to ring. Luckily he hadn’t woken up any of the guys, he knew they would be pissed if he did. He tried watching TV, he had even grabbed his Walkman and placed the headphones on his ears-until he realized he wouldn’t be able to hear his phone with the music on. He found Mike’s deck of cards and was attempting to play solitaire when his phone rang.
”Hello?” he answered quickly.
”Oh my gosh…is this…is this Justin Timberlake?” a young voice squealed on the phone. He immediately turned the phone off and grunted in frustration.
The phone rang again and he glared at it for a minute before picking it up. “Hello??”
”Hi…is this Justin Timberlake’s phone?” a different voice asked. His eyes widened and he once again shut the phone off and tossed it onto the couch. He couldn’t believe that fans would call him in the middle of the night, and was even tempted to shut off his phone.
The phone rang for the third time and Justin finally lost his patience.
”YES this is JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!” he vented into the phone, raising his voice.
”I sure hope it is, it’s the number I have been dialing for YEARS to reach him…” Jen said in a quiet voice.
Justin smacked his forehead and fell back onto the couch, sighing. “I’m sorry Jen…the last two calls in the span of a minute have been girls asking for me...”
”Well well Mr. Popular, getting the love from everyone huh?”
”Hmm, 13 year old girls don’t count, I like the older women J.”
”Good thing, jail doesn’t suit you well…I think you would have some problems, probably end up being someone’s bitch.”
Justin laughed slightly into the phone, but was well aware of her avoiding what just happened. “Never mind that comment. Now what the hell happened JJ?”
Jen took a deep breath and snuggled deeper into the couch, closing her eyes. “Well, almost World War Three.”
”Meaning?”
”I just had it out with Ashlee.”
”So…she did it didn’t she,” Justin said, more as a statement then as a question.
Jen nodded, even though she knew Justin couldn’t see her. “Justin she was so malicious about it. It was like she did a complete 180 on us. You know WHY she did it?”
”Enlighten me,” he answered, starting to get upset.
”Like millions of other girls all over the world…she had a crush on you wonderbread.”
”You’re kidding me. Ashlee? I thought she had it for Joey?”
”Well didn’t we all. She pulled a fast one on us Justin. I feel so stupid…I brought her into this world, into our lives, and she made a mess of it. A complete and total mess. How are we going to fix it? What are we going to do to stop her from sending stuff in to the tabloids or other papers?”
Justin sat quietly for a few seconds as a plan began to formulate in his head. “Jen, don’t worry. I’ll talk to Johnny in the morning and we’ll straighten it all out. We’ll even sick Jeremy on the case, the slimy bastard. He’ll think of a great story. She’ll get hers, no worries ok?”
”How am I going to live with the bitch for the four weeks we have left of school?” she complained, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
”You can’t stay in that room Jen.”
”What am I supposed to tell the R.A.? ‘I can’t live with Ashlee anymore, she turned pictures of me and my best friend Justin Timberlake into the tabloids and we just found out, I hate her’? Justin, things don’t work like that around here and you know it.”
”What about next door or across the hall?”
”For four weeks? That’s awful to do to someone…without a good explanation. Ashlee is the only one that knew about you and the guys, now I’m wishing I had told everyone BUT her.”
”What about with my mom?”
”In Orlando Stin? That doesn’t work either. I’m bucked. I just have to live with her for a few weeks…steer clear of the room and just sleep here…or sleep across the hall. That’s where I am staying tonight.”
”Well that’s really all you can do huh? Damnit. I wish I were home,” he muttered, his eyes beginning to droop. Jen could hear the tiredness in his voice and managed to take a deep breath before she spoke.
”Justin get some rest, you sound exhausted. Don’t worry about me, I’m a tough girl and I can hold my own here-“
”I’m calling you every single day. Don’t you dare try to shut me out again, I can’t deal with it.”
”Justin…how can you trust me when I trust the wrong people? I’m hurting everyone here, this wouldn’t have happened if-“
”Quit it right now, I’m not even hearing this again. Do you understand? I trust you with everything I am. Why? Because I know you, and you are the most loyal, caring, sweetest and truest person I know, and I’ve known it for a long time. Girl you KNOW I know a lot of people too. Our friendship is so strong because of our trust and love for each other. Don’t even think of giving up on me now, cuz I wont let ya. We’ve been through stuff like this before…and it makes us stronger.”
Jen wiped the stray tears off of her cheek and tried not to sniffle in the phone. “I guess I’m just tired or something, I tend to babble right?”
Justin chuckled softly and smiled. “Stop crying, and don’t tell me you aren’t because I know you are. Yes you babble…but most people underestimate a good babble. You are going to crawl into bed and get some sleep. Are you in bed yet?”
”No, I’m in the lobby…”
”Well get back to the room already and get into bed. Is the night checker there?”
Jen rolled her eyes and started back towards the room. “Yes JC…I mean Justin. Or should I just call you dad?”
”You just wait till I get home. Are you there yet?”
Jen crept into the room and closed the door quietly behind her. She climbed under the covers and pulled them over her head so her friends would not hear her. “Yes, now what?”
Justin cleared his throat and began to sing to her, and continued to do so until he could hear her soft and rhythmic breathing through the phone, indicating her slumber.
”Sleep tight baby girl, I will talk to you soon.”
