**Before this story begins I just want to say that the dates for the Snowed In taping are wrong. I did this to fit the time frame of the story. So instead of Snowed In being filmed at the end of January, I'm going to have it being filmed in the beginning of February. I also want to let everyone know that the words in Italics are VERY important to the story so don't skip over them. This story is starting off right where Sometimes I Wish ended and yes you need to know that story in order to understand this one. The first few chapters will be an introduction and the pace will pick up soon enough. Enjoy! **
The house was silent except for the faint whispers of the early morning and the dawn of a new day. The day's first rays of light touched the curtains and blinds that protected the restful eyes of the occupants inside. Birds were waking, the creatures of the night were silencing their night melodies, and a new day was dawning. It was a day that would hold many opportunities, many dreams, and even a few disappointments, but it was a new beginning for everyone. A new beginning for the world and for the people who still cocooned themselves in the sanctuary of their restful dreams.
All except for one.
A pair of black and gray Nikes softly pattered across a spacious living room floor and bounded over creaky boards that might draw attention. They paused as the owner paused, moved as the owner moved, and worried as the owner worried. The toes of the shoes softly pressed into the carpet and the pace and stride of the steps lengthened to a cat-like leap. Down the long hallway they crept and over to the fourth door on the left that held a sanctuary all its own.
A tanned and well-sculpted hand reached out and tightened around the doorknob before slowly and hesitantly turning it. The click of the latch removing itself from the doorframe sounded off like a cannon in the quiet house and there was a trembling to the hand as its owner paused with strained ears for any sound of realization. When there were no sounds other than the chirp of the birds outside and the faint roar of the cars driving by, the hand turned the knob the rest of the way and slid across the door to open it.
The lithe body slinked into the room and closed the door with the same delicate care in which it was opened and the figure's eyes scanned the room that had been the secret goal all along. White shelves held books that were no doubt organized by author, a small desk was cluttered with papers and fashion magazines that were still turned to the pages that had held her last interests, pictures covered the mirror to the point where it was more of a display than a tool of vanity, and amongst the clean room of practicality stood a bed.
Once again the shoes made soft tracks in the carpet and carried the figure over to the bed where a form was sleeping peacefully underneath the pale pink comforter and pale light. A gleam lit those eyes as they scanned the form and noticed the tranquility and the vulnerability of the slumbering girl. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, her features were softened by not only the light but by the relaxation of the moment and by the pure gentleness of her beauty.
One by one the Nikes were shucked off by a silent foot and carefully the figure slid onto the bed beside the still sleeping girl. Laying on his side he propped his head up on the pillow next to hers and smiled tenderly as he watched her. Her small and delicate hands were cradled against her cheek, her skin was still tanned from the summer months and it glowed with youth, her normally stubborn chin was relaxed and lowered enough to part her full lips, and her honey tinted brown hair cascaded around her in a recklessness that didn't fit the picture he saw before him.
Just lying beside her gave him comfort and it brought out a protective side of him that was always near whenever she was around. It was a protectiveness that he didn't quite understand at his young age but at the same time it completed him in a way that no words could describe.
Her long eyelashes gently touched her cheek, he could feel the warmth of her breath as she continued to sleep, and he continued to watch. A strand of hair tickled the side of her face and he watched it thoughtfully as it moved against her smooth cheek. One would never guess that the girl he stared so adoringly at would have the dominating and strong personality that she possessed, but for some reason he understood that too. It was all he had ever known and it was all that encompassed the word 'normal' for him.
When the traitorous strands of hair moved to slide over her cheek he reached out and pushed them over her bare shoulder. He resisted the urge to pull the covers up to tuck them in around her but he couldn't resist reaching out again to pull another strand of hair away. His hand was a fraction of an inch away from touching her when…
"I don't know what you think you're doing Justin Timberlake but you won't be doing it at age twelve if you touch me again."
The spell was broken and he flopped over onto his back with a sigh. "I'm already twelve years old Val or did you forget that birthday party last week?"
Her arms came out from under the fluffy comforter to stretch out above her head. She gave a soft yawn as she slid over onto her back. "Yeah whatever."
She rubbed the sleep from her tired eyes before turning back over to glare at his profile. It wasn't the first time that he had come into her bedroom while she was sleeping for one reason or another. There was always a reason and no matter how big or how small that reason may be…it was important to him to be there. For the weekend his parents had left him in the care of her parents while they finished moving everything from their old home in Tennessee to their new abode in Orlando, Florida. From the looks of it…he wasn't taking the move very well.
"What are you doing here anyway? I mean it's five o'clock in the morning Justin."
It was his turn to rub his hands over his face tiredly. "Couldn't sleep."
Eleven-year-old Lauren Owsley looked at the boy lying beside her who she had known all of her life and who sometimes she felt knew her better than she even knew herself. It seemed like every time she thought she was going to lose him that they were brought back together and lately their worlds had been turned upside down. He had been torn away from her with a move to Orlando only to be brought back with a move of her own to that same city. She had prayed night and day for her mother and father to decide to move and finally her prayers had been answered.
Never did she think that the move would be this hard or that it would cause her best friend to have the lost and torn expression that was on his face at that moment as he stared up at the ceiling silently.
"Justin, I know what you're doing in my house. You're staying here until your parents get back. Now what are you doing HERE?"
He shrugged noncommittally. "I wanted to see what you were up to."
"I was dreaming quite well thank you and I was up to the part where Joey McIntyre was on his knees begging…"
He rolled his eyes and gave her a look out of the corner of his eyes. "Begging you to marry him? Oh Val get real."
Her arm reached out and she slapped his arm playfully. "Did I say that he was begging for marriage? I said he was begging. BIG difference there Timbercake. He will be mine one day and then you'll feel stupid."
Justin looked up at the pictures of New Kids On The Block that graced her dresser mirror and turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "One of your torture dreams again huh? You scare me…you really scare me."
"Oh you're one to talk about scary dreams. Well that brings me back to my question, what are you doing here?"
His eyes stayed on the ceiling. "Couldn't sleep."
And this was the boy who girls were screaming over on television as he sung about a mouse. "I got that much, what's wrong?"
He still didn't say anything and that worried her. She nudged his side with her elbow and yawned again. "Come on Justin…what's wrong?"
After a few more moments of silence he rolled over onto his side to face her and propped his head on his hand casually. His look was anything but casual. It was a far more serious look than someone with only twelve years under their belt should have, and his distress was proven even more in the way his fingers picked at the ruffles on the blanket nervously. "Everything is spinning faster and faster and I can't keep up anymore. There are rehearsals, practices, classes, recordings, dance classes, voice lessons, people yelling to go here, people yelling to go there, crowds screaming my name, and…and…"
She thought he was going to cry and she always considered him the strong and driven one. The anchor. "They told you this when you tried out right? I mean, didn't they tell your mom what it would be like?"
His shoulder shrugged again. "What are we doing here?"
"We're here because you had the dream of performing. You've always said that you wanted to sing and to perform for people and now here you are. Here WE are."
He bounced onto his back again. "That's exactly it. Not only did I bring my own family down here but I also made you leave everyone you've ever known and move down here too."
It was Lauren's turn to sit up and look at him strangely. "You're scared and you're in a strange place. I didn't want to move away from Tennessee and from my family, but I would have been sadder knowing that you were just an image on a television screen and words on letters that I know you wouldn't have written."
"Don't you understand?" When he realized how loud his voice was getting he took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Don't you understand how many people have changed THEIR lives just so I could be on some stupid show?"
"You don't want to do this anymore Justin? It has only started and you want to quit now?"
He shook his head with uncertainty. "I've changed so many lives with my dreams."
He had definitely done that and she had no doubt that his passion and his talent would change many more lives before his was over. "Yes you have changed lives but we're too young to worry about that."
She lifted up the edge of the comforter, he quickly slid underneath, placed his cheek on the pillow, and snuggled into the warmth as he looked at her. "I forced my parents to move to Orlando, to move here with strange people, to leave the rest of my family behind, my dad, my grandparents, everything I've always known in Tennessee, and…"
Lauren saw the sad look on his face and it broke her heart. "And?"
"And now you're here too."
She smiled into his eyes and nodded. "I'm here because of my mom and dad, not because of you."
His eyes widened with shock. "Well thanks A LOT!"
Lauren realized what her words sounded like and she giggled. "You know what I mean. My family needed to be with your family and so we moved. That's it. I just came along for the ride."
"They wouldn't have moved if I wouldn't have pushed to go to Orlando. I moved my family and I moved yours with my dreams. You're in a new city, with new people, new school…"
"New dreams Justin. Can you just imagine the number of people I can warp in a big city like Orlando? Tennessee was small potatoes, but this…this is a quest for power baby."
A huge smile spread across his face and he laughed loudly for a moment before shushing himself and ducking down on the pillow. "You're not mad at me?"
"Is that why you've been careful around me since we moved here?" His eyes and expression held the answer. "It has been hard living somewhere new. It's been even harder having Mr. MMC as a best friend here in Mouseland, but I wouldn't go back to Tennessee if you paid me to because it would be harder to live that "normal" life without you in it. You've ALWAYS been in my life Justin…don't you see that?"
"Is there such a thing as a normal life?"
It was her turn to laugh. "Around you? I'm not sure that's possible."
He stared at her and felt some of his uneasiness slip away. "I'm glad you're not mad at me for shaking up your whole life."
She shrugged and grinned evilly. "Eh…I'm used to it. I'm just glad that you want me around."
His movement wasn't seen, but suddenly his arm slid under the covers and his fingers entwined with her much smaller ones. His head moved forward on the pillow until his forehead was against hers. "I want you with me forever. You're my Val."
As she watched, his eyes began to droop until they finally lowered closed. His fingers tightened around hers even more as he sought comfort and relaxed to the point where his breathing deepened in sleep. Her guess was that he hadn't slept much at all since he had moved to Orlando many months before, and he had probably gotten even LESS sleep when her family had moved there two months ago. A lot of dreams and a lot of lives were balanced on his young shoulders but she couldn't imagine being away from him or his friendship for even a day much less years.
His breathing deepened even more and she smiled at how beautiful he was…this friend of hers. He was so driven that it made her want to have those dreams too and to fight for them…for HIM. Her whole life she had been drawn to him and looking at him now only made her realize…