...With You

Chapter 18


Madison got to Radio City a little early to get touched up. She had decided on a long black halter dress with silver rinestones.
"Wow" said Brian.
Madison turned to the doorway, saw Brian, and smiled.
"Hi Brian" he said, smiling.
"You look wonderful" he smiled.
"Thank you. You look pretty hot yourself." Madison said.
"I try" Brian smiled. "So, you ready for this?" he asked.
"Yep. I'm excited." Madison smiled.
"I know what you mean" Brian smiled. "We should probably get going" he said.

**~*~*~*~**

Madison couldn't believe her lucky stars. Her she was on the red carpet of Radio City Music Hall interviewing some of the biggest stars in the world. Currently though, she was standing and chatting with Ricki Martin. How lucky did one girl get?

On Air

"So Ricki… You're going to be presenting and performing tonight, but is there anyone who you're looking forward to seeing tonight?" she asked.

"Performing wise, I'm really looking forward to seeing Janet Jackson. She's such an amazing artist. But now that I've met you, I think I can go home happy!" he smiled.
"Wow" Madison smiled. "This is my lucky day" he said.
"Mine too" Ricki smiled, and kissed her on the cheek.

Madison smiled as Ricki said goodbye and went on his way toward the door. She was surrounded by people that she'd admired and listened to. It was an amazing night already, and it was just beginning.

**~*~*~*~**

Meanwhile…

JC, Justin, Joey, Lance and Chris piled out of the limo and onto the red carpet when dozens of photographers and interviewers anxiously waited for the
m. Justin only saw one reporter though. Madison sparkled only a few yards ahead of them. "Wow, do you guys see Madison?!" Joey asked.
JC's head snapped up and spotted her only yards away from them. She looked beautiful.
"She's lookin' good" Chris smiled.
"Guys!" JC said.
"What? We can comment, she's not yours anymore!" Joey joked.
"Not funny, Joey." JC said. "And really… thanks for pointing that out!"
Justin kept his mouth shut in fear that he would give something away. He never commented when Madison was the subject, especially when JC got in his moods. Justin looked on as Ricki Martin appeared to be all over her. Eyeing her up and kissing her on the cheek. He saw Madison glowing through it all and suddenly felt a pang of jealously that he couldn't do that with his own girlfriend. They'd find the right time to come out, it just wasn't now.

**~*~*~*~**

On Air

"As if I could be luckier I see *Nsync coming toward me so let's see if we could get a few words with them." She said into the camera.
"MADISON!" they all rang out.
"Hey guys!" Madison smiled, looking back and forth to all of them and stopping on Justin. "So who are y'all looking forward to seeing tonight?" she asked.
"Actually, I was just looking forward to seeing you" Justin joked.
"Is that right?" Madison laughed.
"Would I lie?" Justin smiled.
"Let's hope not" Madison smiled, and turned the microphone over to the other side of her. "Let me re-phrase the question. Are you guys looking forward to any performance in particular?" she asked.
"Janet Jackson" JC, Lance and Joey said in unison.
"And Blink-182" Chris piped up.
"All good choices" Madison said. "Well, I'm going to let you guys get in there. They should be starting pretty soon."

The guys walked off and through the doors. Madison saw Justin look back at her and smile. She smiled back at him and watched him disappear into the lobby.

On Air

"Well, y'all that's all from here. On behalf of Brian and I and all of MTV, we hope you enjoy the show. Join Brian, Kurt and Serena to discuss all the highlights and winners of tonight’s show. Good night." Madison smiled and signed off the pre-show.

**~*~*~*~**

Madison entered into the show room and found Carson and Tara.
"Hey Madison" Tara smiled.
"Hi Tara" Madison smiled.
"Hey Madd." Carson said. "You look nice."
"Thank you" Madison said. "I assumed I was sitting with you two?" she asked.
"Yeah, you're on the other side of Tara." Carson said.
"Good. Thanks." She smiled, walking into her seat.
"Madd," Carson said looking over at her. "How did it go out there?" he asked.
"Alright." She smiled. "Pretty good, actually."
"Good." He smiled. "I didn't think any less though."

The show went on. Each time *Nsync were on stage Carson shot looks over at Madison. She wondered if he had told Tara about her and Justin. Probably. Not that she cared, it was JC that they didn't know what to do about. The *Nsync performance was amazing and Madison loved every minute that she saw them up there. There was a time when she'd be speechless after a performance and this wasn't an exception. It was a different feeling though. Suddenly those five guys were her friends and not just gods. The show ended and Carson, Tara and Madison walked out together.

"Madison, we're going to meet you at the party later, ok?" Carson asked.
"Promise?" Madison asked.
"Of course." Carson answered.
"Ok." Madison smiled.
Madison got in a car and headed back toward her apartment to change.

**~*~*~*~**

Madison showed up at the club where the guys were holding their party about an hour later. She wished Carson and Tara would have been with her. She felt weird coming alone for some reason. No sooner that she walked through the door did she see Lance walking over to her.
"Hey there beautiful" he smiled.
"Hey Lance." She smiled.
"I wasn't sure if you were coming tonight. I'm glad you’re here." He said.
"Thanks. Me too." She said.
"Ah! Look who's here!" Joey smiled.
Madison looked up and saw Joey and Chris headed toward her.
"Hey guys" he smiled.
"Madison, we're glad you came" Chris said.
"I wouldn't be anyplace else" she said.
Joey, Chris and Madison chatted for a little until the guys excused themselves to mingle with their other guests. Madison walked further into the room and spotted Justin talking to someone.
"Madison?!" a voice said from behind her.
Madison turned around and spotted Mandy Moore.
"Hey girl!" Madison smiled.
"Hey" Mandy said. "I didn't know you were going to be here" she said.
"Yeah, the guys and I are pretty tight" Madison smiled.
"Yeah, I guess so! I saw you with Lance, Chris and Joey earlier." Mandy smiled.
Madison had met Mandy at MTV and quickly became friends. She was so cute and she always seemed to have to smile on her face.
"Oo. I think I see someone. I'll talk to you later?" Mandy asked.
"Sure." Madison smiled back at her "See ya"
She turned around and spun right into Justin.
"Well… " he smiled.
"Hey" Madison said softly, smiling back at him.
"I was just coming to say hello to you" he said.
"You were?" Madison said. "What took you so long?" she joked.
"I don't know… " he smiled, laughing along with her.
Her gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. As they released from the hug his hands remained on her hips and he remained smiling at her.
"I missed you" Justin admitted, speaking softly so no one else could hear him.
"How much?" Madison teased.
"Too much to show you right here" Justin said softly into her ear. "Later?" he asked.
"Yeah." Madison smiled.

**~*~*~*~**

JC saw Justin go to greet Madison. Maybe there were too many people around to really see what was going on, but it seemed that Justin was a little too close to Madison for his liking. JC quickly pushed away any thoughts of Madison and Justin. 'Ridiculous' he thought to himself. 'Justin would never think of Madison like that. Especially because he knows I'm still crazy about her.' JC dismissed all suspicions from his head as he made his way over to the two of them.

**~*~*~*~**

"Hey you two!" JC yelled over the music.
Justin and Madison were jilted out of their conversation and looked toward JC.
"Hey JC" Madison smiled.
Justin dropped his hands off of Madison which, until that time, were still resting upon her hips. Madison turned to face JC and he took a step towards her to embrace her. He kissed her lightly on the cheek as they parted and continued to smile.
"You looked wonderful tonight" he smiled. "You still do" he said.
"Thank you" Madison said, smiling nervously.
It was strange having JC hitting on her right in front of Justin. But this was the price they paid for keeping their relationship a secret, a very high price to pay.
The three of them talked for awhile until JC excused himself to talk to other guests. Finally Justin turned to Madison.
"Madd, I can't take this anymore" he said honestly.
Madison looked down at the floor.
"Look, we both know that he's always going to feel something for you. Telling him now or telling him later isn't going to make a difference. I hate having to stand here and watch him try to get you back." He said softly.
"Justin, what to do want me to do?" Madison said, just as softly. "You know what this will do to him!"
"I know, Madd. But what are we going to do? Stay in your apartment for the rest of our lives. Hide out from, not only people, but our best friends? Lying isn't my strong suit, Madd." He said.
Madison sighed. "Justin I want to tell people just as much as you do. I just don't think this is the right time." She said. "Oh, um, Carson knows. He asked me today and I couldn't lie to him again." She said. "I'm sorry."
"That's ok, Madd." He smiled. "You shouldn't have to lie to him too. It's JC we're worried about."
"I know. I wish we wouldn't have to deal with this. We have the right to be happy, right?" Madison asked.
"Of course we do. All in good time, Madd. All in good time." He smiled at her and lifted her face to look him straight in the eye. "We'll get through this Madison… we will. But while we're on the subject of people knowing. I think Lance may have an idea." He admitted.
"Yeah, I think you may be right about that." Madison said.
"He's been watching us every time we're together. He's brighter than he looks, old Lancie." He smiled.
"Oh boy!" Madison smiled.
"Don't worry baby. It's gonna be alright. I promise." He said.
"I know. And Justin --" she said.
"Yeah?" he answered.
"As long as I'm with you… nothing else matters." She said.
Madison smiled and he felt as if he could never love her more. Letting her be on her own for the rest of the party was too difficult to imagine, but he couldn't stay glued to her side. Lance was already suspecting, who knows who else.

**~*~*~*~**

Lance watched Justin earlier in the night talking with Madison. It was now several hours later and Madison was off and about dancing with different people. Lance looked over at Justin a few times and caught him looking at her. Lance slowly made his way over to Justin.
"Hey man, can I talk to you a minute?" Lance said, without looking at him to cause attention.
"Yeah, sure" Justin answered, looking at him suspiciously. Lance walked into the back to talk to Justin in private. Justin f
ollowed him having a sneaking suspicion he knew what this was about.
"Justin, please just answer he honestly" Lance started and Justin nodded.
"What the hell is going on between you and Madison?" he asked, directly.
"I don't know what you're -- " Justin started.
"Honesty Justin!" Lance repeated shortly.
"Alright. You want the truth. I love her. I'm so in love with her that I can't see straight. I can't think of anything else but her and the next time I'm going to kiss her." Justin said excitedly.
"The next time? What the hell are you doing Justin?!" Lance exclaimed.
"Lance, I don't need the third degree, ok? I love her!" Justin said.
"Huh. That's funny because you know that your best friend is in love with her too!" Lance exclaimed once more.
"Lance, listen. I didn't choose to fall in love with Madison, ok? It wasn't my choice to fall for JC's ex. You gotta believe that." Justin said, quietly.
"Then I suggest you think about everyone involved here, and stay away from her" Lance said.
"I can't do that Lance" Justin said straightly.
"And what about JC?!" Lance asked.
"What about me? What about Madison?" Justin answered him without really answering his question. "Should we have to hide our feelings because JC can't except the fact that it's over between them?" he asked.
"How long, Justin?" Lance asked, leaning against the wall.
"A month" he answered, leaning against the opposite wall facing Lance and sliding down to the floor.
"Wow" Lance said. "You mean to tell me, you've been lying and sneaking off to be with her for a month?" He asked.
"Yeah" Justin answered, looking down at the floor. "Lying to you guys is nothing I'm proud of, ya know!" he said.
"So I'm guessing that's where you disappeared to the night of JC's birthday party?" Lance asked, thinking back to the morning Justin came in at six.
Justin looked straight over at Lance. He didn't want to have to lie anymore. "Yes, I was with Madison." He answered. "Look Lance. Bottom line is that I'm not ashamed of being with Madison. It's not like she cheated on JC to be with me. They were broken up almost two months before we even started seeing each other. The only thing I'm afraid of is hurting JC. I hate sneaking around to be with her, and more than anything I hate pretending that there is nothing between us." Justin said.
"Justin no matter when you tell him, you're going to hurt him. It's not something that you going to avoid by waiting. He loves her, and he's going to keep trying to get her back. It's going to kill both you and Madison to sit around and let it happen." Lance said.
"I know Lance, I know." Justin said. "What should I do? Honestly, how the hell do I tell him this?" he asked.
"I don't know, buddy." Lance answered. "I really don't know."

**~*~*~*~**

Meanwhile…

JC noticed Madison standing alone at the bar getting a drink and made his way over to her.
"Hey" he said.
"Hey JC" she smiled.
"Madd, can we talk?" he asked.
"Um, yeah, sure" she said nervously. She didn't like the look of determination on his face, it made her nervous.
"Madison, I know we talked about this before, but I need to just get this off my chest." He started. "I have never felt about anyone the way I felt about you. No, the way I feel about you. I know I messed up by not admitting to the two of us. And Madison, I can't even tell you what came over me, because I loved you at the time too. I'm apologizing to you with all my heart." JC said, taking her hand.
Madison closed her eyes and pulled her hand away from JC. "JC, I'll accept your apology. But I can't go back with you.. We've been over this a million times. You have my friendship, please just accept that." She said, looking at him.
"Madison, I just don't understand why we can't have another chance." He came back. "Is there someone else?" he asked.
Madison froze at his last question. "JC, there are millions of girls who would be totally at your mercy if you told them what you're telling me, I'm just not one of them" she said.
"Madison, I don't want any of the millions of other girls. I want you!" he said, looking into her emerald eyes.
"JC, please… " Madison started. "…please just accept the fact that we're never going to be."
"Madison, I'll never accept that. Never." JC said, walking away, leaving her alone once again.

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