**On a side note, this tour is the end of the world tour of the debut album--NOT the NSA tour. For my story, *NSYNC has obviously already switched to JIVE and their looks and actions are all the same. The album is just being released as a later date**
Jen and JC made it to the venue quickly, and JC was forced to put his wig back on as they got closer and closer to the surrounding madness.
”Oh my God these girls are seriously crazy Jace. I mean, why are they at the venue so damn early? Its only 1:30, the show doesn’t start for six more hours…what could they possibly do besides scream their lungs out?” Jen marveled as they made their way through the traffic.
”I don’t know, why are you asking me?” JC asked, pulling up to the gate. A group of girls started rushing to the car when they noticed the gates starting to open.
”Shit, like a pack of freakin’ wolves. They wanna take a big bite outta ya babe,” Jen laughed as she watched the looks of hope on the young girls faces. She glanced at JC who rolled his eyes and glanced back at the approaching girls.
They drove into the backside of the venue amongst the tour buses and local crew cars to park. The girls screaming did not cease, and once the two opened their car doors, it seemed to have gotten even louder. The two quickly entered the venue and Jen followed JC towards the dressing rooms. A newer member of security stepped up in front of Jen from out of nowhere and she ran right into him.
”Ow! What the hell…?” she asked, rubbing her head and looking up at the large man.
”Are you authorized to be here?” he inquired, crossing his hands over his chest and looking down upon her.
Jen rolled her eyes and tried to look around the new guard for JC. He stepped in front of her, not allowing her to get a great look. However, JC seemed to be no where in sight. “Look here, um…well, I don’t really know your name do I now? I’m Justin’s best friend, Jen. Now how about you let me get back to the dressing room so I can see the boy and the rest of the motley crew?”
She tried to walk around him but he blocked her path once again. “Sure you are honey, along with every other teenage girl in America. Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
He grabbed her arm and she jerked it away from him roughly. “Wait, lemme find my damn pass muscle-man. Hang on…” she said, opening up her purse and looking for the laminated pass Justin had sent her earlier in the week. After searching through her purse twice, she smacked her forehead, remembering where she had put it.
”Shit I left it on the dresser while I was getting ready…”
The guard looked at her unconvinced and this time, he was the one rolling his eyes. He went to grab her arm again and she began to panic, because JC had not yet backtracked to find her. “Justin! JC! Christopher, anyone! Jace I’m going to KILL you for leaving me here with this big ox! Just wait until I get my hands on that scrawny lil’ body of yours!”
She tried to make her way around him one last time, but it was useless. He grabbed both of her arms securely and started walking her to the door almost effortlessly. The guard was opening the door to the back of the venue to toss her out when he was tapped on the shoulder. Jen felt him stop and looked back at the same time the guard did and her eyes widened while she sighed. There was Justin, with a bright smile on his face.
”Hang on one second Justin, I need to help this young lady out of the venue.”
Jen looked at Justin and stared at him with her eyebrow raised, and the guard took it as her looking at the young star in awe. He couldn’t have been further from the truth.
”Oh, it can wait then.”
Jen continued to look at him but now narrowing, shooting him a look of pure death.
”Fine…” she said menacingly, knowing he would cave in he thought she was really angry.
He chuckled and shook his head. ”No need to, that little spitfire belongs to me. Jax this is Jen, my best friend. Jen, this is Jax, the newest member of our security team. He just joined up a few weeks ago, that’s why he’s not totally familiar with our ‘friends’.”
Jen looked back at Jax exasperated and motioned to her arm. “Um, can I have my arm back now?” He looked down and nodded, releasing her arm instantly. She reached over and smacked Justin on the arm once she was free and shook her head.
”Took ya long enough Timberflake. I was about to get my ass tossed from the venue.”
”I’m sorry…I didn’t know and well, you look like a fan and lots of people try to get backstage…” Jax stuttered.
”…and you aren’t wearing your pass cool girl,” Justin added, looking her up and down for the first time, finally taking in her appearance leisurely. He raised his eyebrows at how the pants and top hugged her body in all the right spots VERY nicely. .
Jen blushed and Justin’s beyond obvious appraisal of her and patted Jax’s arm. “Don’t worry about it, you’re doing your job. I will just kill JC for ditching me, that’s all. Um, I would say it was nice meeting you…”
Justin returned from his wandering thoughts and smacked her arm, and she turned around on instinct and whacked him back. “Fine, it was nice meeting you, Jax. Oh, and sorry about the ‘ox’ comment. Happy superstar?” she said, rolling her eyes at Justin. Jax just watched the exchange amused and shook his head.
”Extremely. Later Jax,” Justin answered, throwing his arm around Jen and leading her back down the hall. He glanced over his shoulder at Jax and winked, causing Jax to let out a hearty laugh.
”They are trouble.”
After Jen went off on JC for a few minutes, everything seemed to be back to normal. Justin had gotten Jen another backstage pass and they were all just sitting in the dressing room, chatting away.
”So what’s the deal after the tour ends guys?”
”Well, It’s April now right? OK yeah. The new album is being released next month, so as soon as the tour is over next week, we move on to promotional stuff, gigs most likely out in LA and New York, lots of signings and talk shows, so we’ll be out in Chicago too,” Lance answered. Jen nodded and noticed everyone’s reaction; they seemed thrilled to get the new album out into the public finally.
”So hey, you guys will be coming over for dinner and all? My mom will be thrilled to see you.”
”Don’t worry, we are thrilled for your mom’s cooking J,” Joey responded, patting his stomach and smiling wide.
Justin watched Jen silently, giving himself another long glance at her and the way she seemed totally relaxed around them. He hadn’t seen her this relaxed since before the whole tabloid incident, and he was happy that she was comfortable around them once again.
Jen was continually sneaking peaks at Justin. She took notice of how good he looked in a pair of jeans and a simple white undershirt, totally relaxed and confident.
He could make a paper bag look good…
”Jen?”
”Hmm?” she replied in a dreamy state, looking towards Chris.
”Are you ok? Your eyes are all glassy…” he asked, smiling.
Jen shook her head and cleared her throat, trying to stop the blush that would most likely overcome her face at any second. “Yeah, yeah…I was just thinking.”
”About someone…” JC muttered under his breath, looking over at Justin.
”What was that Jace?”
”Aren’t snacks ready in the pavilion?” he said, glancing at his watch and totally ignoring her question. Jen cocked her head and then closed her eyes.
”I swear, I don’t know WHY-“
”You put up with us,” the five answered in unison, cutting her off. She looked at them shocked, and then just began laughing. JC stood up first, stretching his arms out above his head and laughing slightly.
”Come on, snack time.”
The six strolled out into the hallway, amongst the groups of people still setting things up and double and triple-checking the stage. The conversation continued on about the new album and the difference between the first one and the coming one.
”Dirty Pop? That’s…well, I like that,” Jen said as they reached the pavilion. Justin glanced over at Joey, who nodded and smiled evilly, letting him know that everything was in place for the plan they had come up with in the dressing room earlier.
They reach the table and Jen spots one of her favorite pastries. “Oh my gosh, you guys got eclairs?” she squealed in happiness.
”Yep. You should have seen it though. We aren’t really supposed to eat that before a show right? So we had Lance go and talk them into it, saying you were coming and we hadn’t seen you in a long time and we knew you liked them and what not. Then of course Lance asked for some for all of us, like we were going to pass up eclairs!” JC explained, picking one up off the table and handing it to Jen.
”So we are only allowed one of ‘em,” Joey added, already taking a bite.
Jen looked at the rest of the table, noticing the oranges, apples, bananas and all other types of fruit, along with some juice and water. Everyone was helping themselves and filling their plates, then making their way over to the picnic tables a few feet away. She grabbed a banana and walked over to the table and sat next to Justin.
”Just a banana, skinny?” he asked, glancing at her plate and then into her eyes.
”You should talk. You probably weigh less than I do, which isn’t very good for the ego,” she replied, and then took a bite out of her éclair. She pulled the pastry away from her face and could not feel the cream resting on the edge of her lip.
”Jen…” he trailed off, his eyes focused on her lip.
”mmm?” she asked innocently, looking over at him.
”You have a little...” he whispered raspy, leaning closer to her. Her eyes locked onto his face as he reached his hand up. She swallowed hard, unaware of what he was doing, or the fact that every other person at the table was watching the exchange.
He gently rested his hand against her face and cupped her cheek, and then slid his thumb across her bottom lip slowly, his eyes locked on his finger as he removed the cream. He kept running his thumb back and forth across her lip, like he was in a trance.
She stared at his face with hooded eyes, her breathing very shallow. Her eyes roamed his face, his sparkling blue eyes, his furrowed eyebrows, and the way he had focused all of his attention on her. He was very much real and there, in front of her, making her insides twist and turn. All of the sudden, she realized where she was and closed her eyes tightly, trying to snap out of his trance.
She pulled back, reached onto her plate and got some cream from the éclair on her finger. Before Justin knew what was happening, she proceeded to smear it on his nose. He jumped back and looked at her with wide eyes, while she just chuckled. He smirked a bit, and then noticed the pitcher of water on the table next to him. She followed his eyes and hers widened as she tried to squirm off of the bench and away from him. He reached over and grabbed her arm, restraining her while he picked up the full pitcher of water.
”Justin that is SO not fair, let me go! Guys, come on, help a sista out here please??” she began talking quickly, glancing over to the guys for help. They all sat back and watched amused.
Justin reached up to pour the water over her head, and Jen closed her eyes, awaiting the inevitable. After a few seconds, she realized she was still dry. She slowly opened one eye and glanced at Justin, who was still holding the pitcher of water over her head, but was staring at her thoughtfully. She opened her other eye and looked at him in wonder.
”I cant do it now. You look absolutely adorable and cute standing there; I can’t like, mess it up now. I can’t bring my self to get you back…yet.”
Jen looked into his eyes to see if he was really telling the truth, or if he was just trying to get her to relax so his revenge could be sweeter. After a few seconds when nothing happened, she smiled.
What is this? No pranks? He is just full of compliments and today…and boy a few seconds ago I was about ready to ravish him. Am I REALLY ready to pick things up with him?
Justin watched her contemplate what he was doing and he was glad that he had rendered her speechless; it was something that did not occur often. She stood up to full height and suddenly grabbed the pitcher of water from Justin. He thought she was trying to get it away from him to put it on the table, but he couldn’t be more wrong. She surprised him for the second time that day by pouring the water over the top of his head and down his body, totally soaking him to the bone.
The guys were still watching what was going on, and when they saw the look of pure shock on Justin’s face, they could not hold their laughter in any longer.
”Oh she GOT you boy! Go Jen!” Chris laughed, slapping his hand on the table continuously.
”Jus you should SEE your face!!” JC added, holding his sides from laughing so hard.
Jen put the empty pitcher down on the table and looked him up and down slowly.
He just HAD to wear a white T-shirt today…oh well…I don’t mind…
He noticed her perusal and smiled, knowing full well that he was getting to her. Her eyes reached his face and she jumped, starting to back away from him.
”Oh my God girl, you are SO getting it!” he shouted and she took off with him hot on her tail. She shrieked and he began laughing as he followed her throughout the pavilion. She made her way backstage and he followed; their laughing and yelling being heard throughout the whole venue.
He caught up to her and grabbed her around the waist from behind, stopping her abruptly. She squealed and he turned her around so she would be facing him and hugged her tightly to him. He then pushed his head down and rubbed his hair in her face and along her shoulders, soaking her.
”Ahh! Justin I’m all wet!!” she screeched as she stepped backwards to try to get away from him. He laughed and still held her tight.
”You deserve it you little beasty!”
She laughed and just hugged him back, giving into defeat. Her back hit the wall and after he thought she couldn’t get any wetter, he released her and took a step back, still laughing.
She smiled at him, her eyes were twinkling with happiness. Her hair was wet, her cheeks were flushed, and her top had water spots all over it, but Justin didn’t think she could look any better. She was still giggling, her hands resting lightly on his sopping shoulders.
He smiled back at her and his hands went up to her hair, pushing it out of her face and behind her ear. His eyes were locked onto hers and she couldn’t think of another place that she wanted to be. Their laughter died down and they went from joking to suddenly very serious.
Jen’s hands ran from Justin’s shoulders to the base of his neck where she played with his hair gently. His hands made their way further into her hair as he took a step closer to her, gently resting his body against hers. Her eyes began to droop and his head slowly lowered, getting closer and closer to hers. She tilted her head up and her heart was pounding, waiting for the second his lips would touch hers, craving the feeling.
”Bounce we NEEEEED to get to wardrobe!” Chris’ voice rang throughout the venue, breaking the spell between Jen and Justin.
Justin sighed out onto her lips frustrated as he took a step back. He ran his hand over his head to the back of his neck where Jen’s fingers were just resting. He looked down to the ground and shook his head unbelievingly.
Jen tried to slow her heart rate as she also looked at the floor and took deep breaths. She looked up and pushed her hair behind her ears nervously.
”Um, you should get going…” she said in a wavering voice.
Justin cleared his throat and looked up at her. “Yeah…I’ll see you up on stage then.”
He leaned down and kissed her cheek quickly and made his way down the hall, lost in his thoughts.
Damn Chris, I am going to kill him. I am sure Joey’s plan will work though, I was thisclose…just stick to the plan. Focus on the show…
The guys were on stage, singing and dancing to “I Want You Back”. Jen had been standing just off to the side of the stage, watching the show from there the whole time. She had just been engrossed in the show, in the way they move and work the crowd as one, but her thoughts were starting to focus on each one, and how much she had missed them when they were gone.
Lance was always fun to watch on stage. He gave the impression that he knew what he was doing, but that he was just not as dance savvy as the others. Even though he was shyer than the others off stage, his presence on stage was very confident, and the girls loved it. He was very talented vocally, and she loved the way you could hear the deep bass voice when they sang live as compared to the blended sound of the album.
Joey just made her laugh. She could watch Joey constantly and always be entertained, because it was like Joey never did the same thing twice. He was a good dancer, and many people didn’t give him credit for it. His faces and the way he would work the crowd would throw her into a fit of giggles. He was extremely talented, his vocal range was one of the widest she had heard; he wasn’t shy about belting out notes almost as high as Chris.
Moving to Chris, she watched how he shyly danced and tried to keep up with all the steps that were running through his head. His voice was so high, she thought it was adorable that he sounded almost like a twelve-year-old boy through the loudspeakers at the venue. He stepped up and sang his verses and was hitting the harmonies every single time, never off key. She had to constantly remind herself that he was twenty-eight years old, and was keeping up with shows nightly. She gave him all the credit in the world.
Watching JC also made her laugh, but it also made her wonder. WHERE did he get the energy? She always asked him, and he always said that it was just an adrenaline rush. She knew from experience that adrenaline can only take someone so far, but she credited him for being downright crazy on stage. His voice was purely angelic, full of power yet able to be soft and soothing, just like the way he talked. His dancing was very precise; he didn’t miss a step and worked his ass off on stage, giving it more than his all for himself and his fans. You could tell he loved the music, it radiated from him.
Then there was Justin. Her eyes always gravitated to him, and not just because he was her best friend. She knew that every single person in the audience would be watching Justin in awe, because his stage presence was constantly overwhelming. Whether it be a smile while he is singing, or an added pelvic thrust wherever he felt like it, he knew he was good at what he did, and so did the crowd. He dancing was so smooth and flowy; it was almost like he was walking on air. The attitude that he gave off was one of confidence, and combining that with a powerful singing voice made him outright sexy. You could tell he had a love for singing and performing by his eyes. They were always the window to his soul, and when he was out on stage his eyes became this bright shade of blue, indicating his happiness.
Justin continuously glanced over at Jen and noticed her eyes were following his every move, and she was singing along. He made a face at her, but she was so lost in her own world she didn’t notice it. The song ended and the lights went down, snapping Jen out of her thoughts.
”Great…space out during your favorite song…” she muttered to herself, waiting for the lights to come up, because the show was over. The stage lit up once again, and she was baffled as to why.
”Hello Tampaaaaaaa!” Joey yelled out to the screaming crowd.
”We have a surprise for you tonight. You all know our new album is coming out next month right?” The screaming, if possible, became louder. Jen had no idea what was going on, and she stared at them on stage with her eyebrows furrowed. Joey glanced back at Justin, who nodded and made his way up to the front of the stage, glancing at Jen quickly.
”Well, since we are home, we wanted to give y’all a preview of a song. I wrote this song…”
He paused as the audience continued to go wild. He waited a few minutes for them to calm down so they could hear him, and then he continued.
”…and its dedicated to you.” His eyes were focused on the side of the stage where Jen was standing, making it clear that he was talking to her. Her eyes were wide and she just stood there watching.
The music started up and she tried to figure out if she had heard it before. She had heard a whole bunch of the tracks for the album, but this one was unfamiliar. She also knew Justin was working on a song, but that was the one thing he was extremely secretive about. He always said that if she didn’t like it he would end up being miserable, so she wouldn’t get to hear it until it came out.
The chorus started and all she could do was watch as Justin began to sing.
I’ll be good for you
I aint gonna take my love away,
and I will love you more girl every day
I’ll be good for you
My baby girl its plain to see,
That our love was meant to be
The guys weren’t dancing; they were just making their way from the back to the front of the stage in no particular order. Jen was bopping her head to the beat, listening to the words.
I know your hearts anticipatin’
And my love is on your mind.
Don’t you worry I wont keep you waitin’
Cuz I aint never seen a lady so fine..
I know you want me to,
Its in your eyes they say you do
They’re telling me you’ll open your heart to me, yeah
Cuz if you want me to
I’ll sacrifice my world for you
And show you, the way loves supposed to be
Justin was facing the audience to his left, and Jen was standing on that side of the stage. He stared at her and she looked back, tears coming into her eyes. She felt like he wrote the song for her and their life. She reflected back to when they were young, back when Justin was making the decision to start *NSYNC. She just continued listening to the song, wanting more than ever to pull him into her arms and tell him how she felt.
I wanna be with you,
And girl there’s nothing I won’t do
To make you see
That this is where you should be
Cuz baby we can do,
Anything you wanna do
Girl I wanna be a part of your fantasy
The music stopped and the guys sang the last verse acappella, in perfect pitch. Jen smiled and clapped for them as they finished the last note, quickly wiping a stray tear from her eye.
They smiled and thanked the audience one more time before disappearing into the back and getting their towels. Jen stood in her spot for a few minutes, looking at the empty stage and thinking about the song and what has happened in the past couple of months. She was tapped on the shoulder and turned around, seeing a smiling Lonnie.
”Time to go sweetie,” he said, slowly moving her in front of him to usher her to the bus. She nodded and made the trip down the hall, thoughts flying through her mind.
”Where is she?” Justin asked, pacing the bus with a towel draped over his shoulder.
”Im sure she’s on her way Justin,” JC answered and then took a drink of his water.
”She’s ALWAYS on the bus before us. Do you think she got mad? Do you think she hated it?” he continued to ask, looking at each of his friends.
Chris took his towel and shoved it in Justin’s mouth. “Do us a favor and shut up. Did you not see her when we were singing? Hello smartie, she was anything BUT upset. Now Lonnie went to get her. Do you have any doubts on Lonnie’s ability to keep her safe?”
Justin shook his head, towel still in his mouth. He then heard Jen’s voice and felt the bus move, meaning she was getting on. He yanked the towel out of his mouth and threw it at Chris, then turned around to face where she was coming in.
On the way to the bus, Jen had come to several conclusions. Her heart had soared when she finally made her decisions, and she almost ran to the bus so she could get to Justin to tell him exactly what was on her mind.
Jen walked through the door and saw Justin standing there, hands on his hips and ready to ask her what took her so long to get to the bus, she had no doubt. She walked straight up to him determined.
He couldn’t read the look on her face as she approached and he decided to ask her what took so long. “Jen why weren’t-“
He was cut off by Jen, who did not stop when she reached him and planted her lips on his, interrupting him by kissing him thoroughly.
He was surprised at first, totally and incredibly shocked by how forward she was. A few seconds later he recovered and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back just as passionately.
The guys watched and started cheering, everything was falling into place. Jen started laughing on his lips and pulled away. She opened her eyes and looked directly into his. He smiled and started laughing; his arms still securely around her.
”Hi,” she said quietly, smiling.
”Hello,” he answered back in the same voice.
”Hi!!” Joey called out from the chair. Lance reached over and smacked him in the back of the head and then motioned for Jen and Justin to continue.
”You don’t need to say anything. Except why you weren’t on the bus before us…” Justin said.
The guys groaned and threw their towels at him while he tried to dodge them all.
”Only you would ask me that now Justin, I swear.”
”Yeah, you love me,” Justin said, jokingly making a conceited face. Jen sighed and nodded.
“Yeah, I know I do.”
