November 19th, 2000. St. Louis, MO
Eric had forced Gina to see a doctor, and one was called into the venue to check her out. It turned out that she had a deep bruise on her back and a small bump on the back of her head. The doctor said she’d be able to perform, but it wouldn’t be comfortable and he suggested that she take a few days off. That advice was pretty much in one ear and out the other; there was no way that Gina would not perform, she’d been through much worse and didn’t feel all that awful.
Once Eric had gotten Gina off stage, they looked all over the place trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. They talked to the crew and to Gina’s dancers. The crew swore up and down that the stage was spotless before Gina got on it, and the guys believed them. They took their jobs to heart and would never let someone get hurt. These crew members had been traveling with *NSYNC from the beginning.
Gina’s dancers had explained that she was acting funny, but other than that nothing appeared to be wrong with the stage. They were all over it during sound check, so they really had no clue how she fell. They also concurred that there was no way that her feet just got tangled, because she’d been doing those routines for some time. It seemed to be a mystery.
Justin had been remarkably quiet ever since the incident. He wanted to check up on her and make sure she was ok, but he had no IDEA where those emotions were coming from. This was the same girl that had insulted him over several different occasions for crying out loud! Something had happened over the past few days. He didn’t know how to explain it, but he felt like he needed to know more. He decided that he’d hunt down one of her dancers and talk to them about Gina. If he went to Sharlene, she’d blab to Gina or even worse, JC, since the two had gotten extremely close throughout the tour.
He had made his decision. Rachel had known Gina all her life and she could definitely give him some perspective.
Gina was chilling in her dressing room, flipping through a magazine which of course, had *NSYNC on the cover. It seemed like all of the magazines lately had the men of *NSYNC sprawled on their covers. She turned back to the cover to study it. She’d seen plenty of their pictures, and now, finally getting to know them, she was beginning to see what all of their fans saw. She found it amazing that a fan could read these guys so well, and she had to meet them to find out their personae.
She focused on Joey, who was all the way on the left making a totally cheesy face. She laughed; it was so typical. He was just a fun loving guy that embraced his life and his job and did it with a smile on his face. Then she studied Lance, who was next to him with a pleasant smile and his arms open wide. It was like he wanted to hug each and every one of his fans, which she suspected he would if he actually could.
In the middle was Justin. He was in the middle in a large portion of the pictures taken. He was standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, his head tilted up, and a sexy grin crossing his features. It was an excellent picture of him, and Gina’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes lingered and her finger touched the cover, right over his face. Why did he come to her rescue a few days ago? Why was he so gentle, and why did she feel so safe in his arms?
She shook her head and banished her current train of thought. He’s still the same old jerk he’d been the whole tour, and that was that. There was a sudden knock on her door and she jumped in her chair a bit, startled.
“Come on in, its open!” she called out, not wanting to get up from her seat.
Justin opened the door slowly, hoping he was doing the right thing. “Gina?” he said softly, closing the door behind him and looking at Gina, who was sitting on the couch facing him. Her eyes widened and she tossed the magazine quickly away from her.
Smooth, G. Now he’ll NEVER know you were reading a magazine with him on the cover.
“Um…hi. Come on in…I mean, have a seat,” she stuttered, pointing to the rest of the couch that she was on, and the chair across from it. Justin opted for the chair, and Gina breathed a silent sigh of relief.
The tension in the room was unbelievable. They were both nervous, considering it was their first interaction since Eric walked off the stage with Gina the day she got hurt. They were both confused, experiencing every sort of emotion possible. Justin quickly glanced at the magazine that Gina had tossed and smirked; they were on the cover.
“Thanks…um, well…I just wanted to see how you were doing…” he said, tilting his head back and forth and gesturing with his hands.
Gina giggled; he looked hilarious. She tried to stifle it but it slipped out just a tiny bit. Justin rose his eyebrows and that was it. Gina busted out laughing. She didn’t know WHAT was up with her.
“I'm sorry…it’s just…you looked…funny. Um…ahem, I’m doing a lot better. My back is kind of sore but you know…I’m ok…”
“I looked funny?”
He was still stuck on why she was laughing at him. It was adorable, but he wasn’t ALLOWED to be adorable.
“Just the hand thing…you were very animated.”
“I’m glad I could be the source of your laughter,” he said sarcastically, his eyes lighting up.
Before Gina’s accident, she would have sent a biting comment back at him, but this was different. His sarcasm wasn’t meant to hurt, it was meant to be funny. She stayed quiet and an awkward moment passed. They weren’t friends…but they didn’t seem to be enemies either.
She smiled a bit back at him, and he just shook his head. “So you’re sure you’re OK and all? Do you know what happened?” Justin asked, rubbing the hair on his chin.
Gina’s eyes held his for a moment and then she looked away. “I slipped in something, I think. All I know is that I was dancing my ass off one minute, and the next I was slammed into the floor, clocking the back of my head,” she responded, rubbing her head as she remembered.
“No one seems to know what the deal was either. I mean, we talked to the crew and to your dancers. It’s just crazy.”
“Tell me about it. I'm sore as hell but hey, that’s life right?” Gina said, shrugging her shoulders and smiling. Justin nodded as he smiled in return. Gina didn’t really realize how tantalizing he was until his smile was directed at her. It threw her for a loop.
Another bout of awkward silence passed as both tried to think of things to say to one another. Gina bit her lip as Justin looked down at his sneakers, and they both listened to the noise outside of her dressing room.
“Well, I just wanted to see what was up since I haven't really seen you around the past few days,” Justin finally said as he stood up from his chair and stretched. Gina nodded and tilted her head as he walked towards the door.
“Thank you, Justin. For everything. I didn’t have the chance to thank you for coming to my rescue when I fell, so thanks for that….and thanks for checking up on me. It’s sweet.”
“No problem…Biv.”
Gina looked up at him confused, and he smiled evilly as he stood in the doorway. He rose an eyebrow and began singing the song he caught Gina singing in the hotel room.
“Michael Bivins here and I'm running the show…Bell Biv DeVoe…”
Gina let out a shout of laughter as Justin closed the door behind him and started walking down the hall, laughing as well.
To the average fan, Gina seemed to be totally on her mark and dancing without missing a beat. To Gina and her dancers, as well as Wade and Sharlene, Gina looked a bit tight and not quite one hundred percent. Sharlene wondered seriously if Gina should be out there at all, but Eric was quick to silence her.
“Shar, she’s gonna do it no matter what any doc says. Besides, she’s probably loosening up better like this than sitting around. We all KNOW what she would be like if she couldn’t have performed tonight.”
“I know but still…”
“She said she was feeling better today,” Justin added after silently listening to Sharlene and Eric’s conversation. Six pairs of eyes turned on him in shock, and he looked around at his bandmates and Eric and Sharlene wondering why.
“What?”
“Nothing. Anyway, we should get back there so we can change and hackey,” Lance said, nudging Joey and smirking. The four turned to head on back but stopped, realizing they were minus one.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Justin said, his eyes fastened on Gina as she floated across the stage like she was on air.
JC grabbed Sharlene and pulled her close to him so no one could overhear. “I think things are going to be getting interesting VERY quickly,” he muttered in her ear. Sharlene giggled and turned so she could talk to him.
“You take the boy, I’ll take the girl and we’ll pump them for info. I’ll meet ya tomorrow for lunch and we’ll chat over food. Sound like a plan?”
“You’re evil…and it’s a date,” JC answered, smiling and dropping a kiss on her cheek. He then grabbed Justin and pulled him through the VIP section to head backstage so they could get ready for their show.
November 20th, 2000
“Justin, seriously, tell me what’s going on. One day you cant stand her, and the next you’re checking up on her in her dressing room and wanting to stay and watch her perform. Spill it,” Chris said as he and JC grilled Justin.
“What do you mean what’s going on? I was just worried, I mean, the girl DID fall and hurt herself pretty badly.”
“That’s the only reason eh?” JC said with an evil smile.
“Sure. I was worried.”
“Dude, you are the world’s WORST liar. I think it’s cute, and that you should go for it with her.”
“Whatever Chris…”
“At least you guys are talking now. I mean, you apologized for being a prick from the beginning and now you are on talking terms.”
Justin cringed. He hadn’t quite made it that far yet. “Well…”
JC noticed Justin’s face and his eyes went wide. “Wait…you mean to tell me that you haven't apologized to her yet? You just waltz around and talk to her like you’re friends but haven't said you’re sorry for being a jerk?!”
“First of all, I never said we were friends. We’re just not…fighting as much. Secondly-“
“Secondly I think you need to APOLOGIZE. Then you need to turn on the Timberlake charm and go get that girl. You two would be totally cute together; ‘stubborn’ and ‘stubborner’,” Chris interrupted. Justin rolled his eyes and sighed.
“Just drop it for now, OK? Be glad we aren’t fighting anymore.”
“Ok, for now. I have to go meet up with Sharlene for lunch, so I’ll check you later!” JC said, quickly leaving the room. Justin glanced at Chris who just shrugged his shoulders.
“I think I'm gonna go find Rachel and see if she wants to grab a bite…” Justin trailed off, staring into space.
“You do that…I’ll tend to Gina.”
“’Tend’ to her? I bet she’d kill you if she heard you were talkin’ bout her like that.”
“So what, you’re gonna tell on me now? It’s all in good fun.”
“Why don’t YOU go for Gina. You adore her,” Justin said, poking his friend’s arm.
“Because she’s not interested in me. She’s interested in someone else in this group. It just hasn’t really hit her yet…like someone ELSE I know.”
Rachel was in the makeshift studio at the venue, working on some choreography she was coming up with to one of Gina’s new songs. It was one Gina didn’t dance or sing in her show, but Rachel was hoping to present it to her cousin to see if she’d add it in there, or even make it into a single. It was another way for her to get her name out into the music world.
As Gina’s voice pounded through the system, Rachel lost herself in thought. Gina and Justin seemed to be fighting less and less. They actually hadn’t had a real fight since Gina’s accident, and Rachel couldn’t understand why. Rachel and Justin had a pretty good relationship; they’d grab food here and there together, and he’d come to the dressing room to chat with her when he was bored. However, ever since the accident, she hadn’t really seen him. It bothered her a lot.
She didn’t want Justin to get caught up with Gina; her cousin got everything in the world and there was no way she would let Gina take Justin from her too. It just was not going to happen.
“Rachel? What up girl?” Justin said, breaking her out of her thoughts as he walked into the studio with a smile on his face. She quickly turned the stereo down and spun so she was face to face with him.
“Nothing much. Just goofing around with some choreography for one of Gina’s songs. What’s up with you?”
“Well, I was wondering if my favorite dancer would like to grab some lunch with me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, when ya put it that way, how can I refuse? Lemme just change my shirt real quick and then I’m yours.”
The two walked to the cafeteria, just chatting about everyday things. They managed to find a table that was a bit secluded from the rest, and Rachel was thrilled that Justin wanted her all to himself. Justin however, had ulterior motives.
“So Rach, I have a question for you.”
“Shoot!” she said in an almost giddy tone.
“It’s about Gina. I want you to tell me about her…”
“Oh,” Rachel said quietly. “OK…well what do you want to know?”
Justin sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know…is she as nice as she comes off to be? Does she pick her nose? I mean, anything. I don’t really know all that much about her.”
“Why don’t you ask her…she’ll tell you…”
“Because we aren’t really friends yet. I don’t know if I want to be, I am just all mixed up and I figured I could talk to you and you’d give me a straight answer. I mean, you did grow up with her and all.”
“I sure did…” she muttered, pushing her food around her plate with her fork. The last person she wanted to talk about was Gina. Here she thought that Justin might actually be interested in her but now even he was curious about her cousin. It just wasn’t fair.
“Rachel?” Justin asked, reaching over and touching her hand.
Rachel looked up and smiled at him, obviously snapped out of her trance. “Sorry about that, I was just reminiscing. Is Gina as nice as she comes off to be…well, I think so. She pretty much lays it on the line. If she likes you, she’s nice to you. If she doesn’t like you, she can be a flat out bitch and a half. At least then you know she isn’t stabbing you in the back. She’s not like that because it’s happened to her. Although sometimes I wonder about her decisions and her judgment of people. I mean, she thought you weren’t the nicest person and even told me that, but when I met you you weren’t obnoxious or arrogant like she said you were.”
Justin sat, listening attentively as he tried to absorb what Rachel was saying. “She said I was arrogant and obnoxious?”
Rachel nodded. “I didn’t want to believe her though. I mean, some of the things she said…”
“What else did she say?”
Rachel was reeling him in. He was leaned over the table and his eyes were wide; he was totally entranced. “Let’s see…that you were egotistical and that you weren’t as cute in person as everyone said you were.”
Justin just laughed as he covered his face with his hand. For some reason, he found it hilarious that Gina would think that about him. Maybe it was because he had made the exact same judgments about her, and he was realizing how wrong he had been.
That was not the reaction Rachel thought she would get. She thought he would be mad; that he would want to fight with Gina about what she had said. How could he be laughing?
“Well, dang. So is that really all there is to tell? How was she like when she was little? What about when she was a teenager?” Now that he had gotten a taste of her personality, he wanted to know more…and more, and more.
“Dude, do you want to know her life story or what? This could take hours.”
“Just the highlights…please Rachel. Humor me. You are the only person I can talk to about this…I’ll love you foreverrrrrrrr,” he pleaded.
“Well, when you put it that way…let’s say that she was born an entertainer. We would put on performances for our parents. Our mom's are sisters so we pretty much grew up together. We both had voice lessons, dance lessons, all that good stuff. Gina just seemed to get the better luck of the draw when it came to voices. She belted it out while I sang her backup…” Rachel reminisced, with an almost bitter tone at the end.
“Her mom got her into commercials and her career took off. My mom thought that it was too much for someone so young, and kept me away from the entertainment aspect of it. I went with her everywhere though and almost lived through her, just one step behind it seemed. Anyway, she was always singing around sets and on catwalks, and people took notice. Then we were part of a dance company for awhile, touring. It just wasn’t enough for her; she couldn’t be just the best dancer. She had to do more than dance and act. She was never satisfied…and once, on stage…she just started singing along with the song we were dancing to. I mean she really belted it out. People just stood in awe…and her agent had called up Arista on the spot, stuck his cell phone into the air and let them get a good listen. Soon after, she landed her recording contract and well, you pretty much know the rest right?”
Justin was floored. He wondered why she never tried out for the Mickey Mouse Club briefly, but then shook his head. THAT would have been interesting. “Wow. That’s a busy childhood. Did you guys ever have time off?”
“Of course. We were in school and had our school friends too. Gina’s last year of real school was…hmm…freshman or sophomore year of high school. Then she was missing too much of it to continue. All the drama that goes on with high school, we had. She wasn’t like, prom queen or miss popular, but she was an athlete when she could be and was well-liked…anything else?”
“Actually…yeah. How did she handle fame in the beginning?”
“Seriously, I could sell this story to VH1’s Behind the Music or something,” Rachel joked. Why couldn’t Justin ask more about her? Why couldn’t he be disgusted with her cousin? Then it came to her.
“Well, she kept the group of us close to her and we kept her grounded. Especially Charlie…”
Justin’s eyebrows furrowed. He had heard that name before. Gina had actually called him ‘Charlie’ and he wondered why ever since. Who was this mystery guy, and would Rachel actually tell about him?
“Charlie? Who is this guy?”
“That ‘guy’ is Gina’s ex-flame. I’m talking SERIOUS relationship…with a pretty nasty ending.”
“She can be eighteen…eighteen with an attitude, nineteen kinda snotty actin’ real rude, though as long as you’re a thicky thicky thick girl you know that it’s on…” Gina sang in her dressing room along to her Nelly CD as she signed a large stack of her own promotional CD’s. She had a few hours to kill before show time and was looking for a way to distract herself from her thoughts.
Thoughts about Justin.
He wasn’t all that bad, to be honest. He was funny, smart, and she had finally admitted to herself that he was definitely cute. He seemed to be a good listener and was truly passionate about his career. It was in his eyes. There was something about his eyes that just captivated her. From the same look she had recognized in herself when she mentioned Britney, to the way his eyes lit up when he was trying to be evil and funny. The emotion was just overpowering.
“Um Gina? Do you plan on signing that album in your hand anytime soon, or are you going to sit there with that marker hanging out of your mouth while you stare into space?”
Gina jumped almost a foot out of her chair, and whipped her head around frantically. Eric was standing there with a smile on his face, his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the doorway.
“Who were you thinking about with that daydreamy look on your face? A man?”
“Why were you creeping up on me without even knocking? Can we say ‘Gina’s dressing room’?”
“Why don’t you answer my question Gina?”
“Why don’t you answer mine, Eric?”
“Because I asked first!”
“So I asked second!”
“You’re avoiding me…you were thinking about a man. I bet it’s Justin because you two are not fighting so much anymore…and I heard about his visit to your dressing room before.”
Her cheeks colored and she waved her hand in the air. “I am not and I was not! Go away and…and…do something else!”
“My job is to guard you hon. Sorry. You are so bad at keeping secrets.”
Gina sighed and let her head roll back over the top of the chair. “You SUCK Eric…the only reason you think I'm bad at secrets is because you’ve known me too long. Now come in here and close the door so the whole world doesn’t hear our conversation.”
“Too late…so someone was thinking about me huh Biv? Was it how I am an arrogant and egotistical guy who isn’t as cute in person as people say?”
Gina spun on her chair and looked at the door wide-eyed. There was Justin, leaning on the other side of the door next to Eric with the same stance and same smile on his face. She pointed at Eric and narrowed her eyes.
“You. Out. I can’t believe you sneak up on me and…ugh. I'm disgusted. Be gone security man,” she said, shooing him away with her hand. Then she looked at Justin.
“And YOU, Mr. ‘I think everyone is thinking about me because I think I'm sexy’, who may I ask spilled the beans to you about what I said? I know you know I thought you were arrogant and egotistical because I most likely said that to your face…but the cute thing…that had to be from a girl. Do tell!”
Eric first watched in awe as Gina barked her orders. How she went from hating Justin’s guts a little over a week ago to bantering with him in an almost flirty way blew his mind. He reveled at how some event could totally change two people by accident. He also wondered why Justin called Gina ‘Biv’, but that would come out in due time, he was sure of it.
“I think I’ll stand right here, because this show should be great,” Eric said, not moving an inch.
Gina raised an eyebrow and just stared at Eric. He rolled his eyes and sighed, slinking away from the door and shutting it behind him, leaving Justin and Gina alone. Justin watched the silent communication and shook his head. Everyone listened to and respected this woman, and he found it quite fascinating. He chuckled and smirked before answering her question.
“Well you can ask, but I won’t tell,” he winked after he spoke, and Gina’s eyes widened.
“Don’t worry your little head, I’ll find out. I find everything out. What’s up?” she asked, spinning around in her chair.
Justin cocked his head and watched her. “So you like Nelly eh?”
Gina stopped her chair and stared at him like he was nuts. “Of COURSE I do. I actually saw him a few months ago and got to meet him, he’s an awesome guy, and his parties are slammin’.”
“You partied with Nelly?” Justin asked as he sat down in a chair right next to her.
“Yep. And the St. Lunatics…the ‘tics. They are some crazy guys. Eric wasn’t too thrilled when we kinda sneaked away from him…but they were sweet and wouldn’t let anything happen to me. What a wild night.”
“You snuck away from Eric? Are you crazy? At a show?”
Gina bit her lip and smiled evilly. “Oh yeah. I got the lecture. Dude, I can party even though you think I’m squeaky clean.”
Justin was blown away. “I don’t think you’re squeaky clean…”
Gina rose her hand up to silence him. “You so do, but that’s OK. We’ll have to head out and you’ll see. Anyway. What brings you to my area of the arena J-man?”
Why Gina was being so friendly and nice was beyond her. She actually enjoyed surprising the hell out of Justin, and would jump at the chance to do it again because he seemed thoroughly impressed.
Justin shook his head. He would have never thought she would be the type to party…and the fact that she hung with Nelly just surprised the hell out of him. He wondered what else she was capable of. He wanted to just sit down and talk to her for awhile and swap stories. She had been around for a long time, and must have met thousands of different people.
“Actually…I wanted to say something to you,” Justin said seriously.
Gina became serious when she heard the tone of his voice. She sat up straight and tried not to get defensive, even though it was her first reaction when Justin looked like that.
Justin noticed her appearance and shook his head. “Oh it’s not a bad thing, I promise.”
Gina visibly relaxed, and then thought for a second. How did Justin read her reaction? Maybe he was used to the way she reacted to him when they were fighting, and he saw the same thing this time.
“Well, I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry about everything that has gone on this tour. I know that that’s a pretty general apology, but there was no reason for me to be shitty to you when we first met. I had no grounds and I was a straight up jerk. So, I’m sorry and I hope that we can talk and maybe become friends if you want to. I promise I'm not normally like that…I just don’t know what it was…” he trailed off, looking up and around the room, anywhere but at her.
Gina was staring at him, and his eyes finally met hers. She blinked a few times and then looked to the floor, almost in a shy way. She couldn’t believe he actually apologized…it was the last thing that she had expected, yet it was totally sweet and honest. The way he was staring at her made her heart pound and she had to get control over herself before answering.
“I…I don’t really know what to say…this is something I didn’t expect…”
Justin smiled a bit and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t like to be predictable. I like to keep it interesting.”
Gina giggled and shook her head. “Well then, that’s good to know. I have to say that in getting to actually have some civilized conversation with you, you aren’t as bad as I thought you were. Or as you came off to be. I’m not normally on the defensive so much either…so I don’t know what it was with me to tell ya the truth.”
“Well at least we can both say that we don’t know what it was that caused us to act like that, right?”
“Most definitely.”
The two just stared at each other. Another awkward silence passed and Gina began laughing. Justin stared at her and waited for Gina to calm down and tell him what was so hysterical.
“We are losers Justin. This is the second time in two days that we’ve sat here and had weird moments of silence. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to talk like normal people, because all we’ve done is fight. I think it’s hilarious. We have issues dude, serious issues,” Gina explained with a bright smile.
Justin nodded and laughed a bit. “Yeah well, I never do things the easy way so it figures.”
“I’m the exact same way.”
“So wait, we have something in common?” Justin asked with mock shock.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this…but I think we do!”
“Sound a bell! Set off some pyro or something! We’re bonding!”
“I wouldn’t take it THAT far now,” Gina said feigning seriousness, reaching over and touching Justin’s shoulder. He sobered quickly and played along with her game.
“Sorry about that, you’re right. I got a little out of control there.”
Their eyes met and they both started laughing again.
Sharlene stood outside Gina’s dressing room door with her ear pressed up tightly against it, straining to hear the conversation. Beside her stood Eric and JC, waiting impatiently for any kind of response. JC reached over and poked Sharlene in the side, but quickly got his hand smacked.
“Damn girl, vicious.”
“Shh! I can’t hear when you talk cool guy,” Sharlene hissed. Eric looked at JC and sighed.
“Dude, you’re like a woman I swear.”
JC glared at him while Sharlene stifled a giggle. She pulled her ear away from the door when she heard loud laughter coming from the room. She glanced at her two partners in crime and smiled widely.
“I think that things are going to get VERY interesting around here with those two actually talking…hell, laughing with each other. Maybe we FINALLY got through to them,” she grabbed JC’s arm and looked up at him evilly.
“Now, let’s go fill everyone else in on what I heard. Come on, time’s a wastin’.”
With that, Eric watched the two scurry down the hall as he stood outside Gina’s door, listening to Gina and Justin laugh and talk like two people that had just met each other for the first time.
