Justin's eyes slowly opened once again and sadness shined out of their watery blue depths. He looked out at the sunset in front of him and silently cursed the sky for being so beautiful at a time like this. At that moment, there wasn't a lot that was beautiful to him anymore. He had been stupid and so damn foolish that he didn't deserve to see something as innocent or as treasured as that sunset was. He didn't deserve a lot of things that had always been in his life much in the same way that sunset always had been.
He wiped the tears from his cheeks, leaned forward to rest his arms on his thighs, and his head dipped low with not only embarrassment…but regret. He didn't know how long he had watched her sleep, but finally he had given up on his entertained thoughts and had walked over to his bed to rest a while. The day had been long, tedious, and draining because of the need to rehearse choreography for the video all day long. His body was tired, it was weakening, and it was in need of a shower, but he had stood there above her and had watched her sleep like he hadn't done in a long time.
While he watched her, his thoughts had been drawn to motives and misunderstandings inside of her that he couldn't understand. She had told him that she loved him, that she wanted to protect him, but all of the evidence said otherwise. His mind was spinning with tale after tale of lies and deceit that he didn't know which way to turn next. So he had turned away from her and he had laid down with his CD player to get some rest and to hide from it all. How Miranda ended up with it, he didn't know, but he wasn't prepared for what he heard when he clicked it on.
At first he was lost because he had no idea where the CD had come from or why it was in his player, then he assumed that it must belong to Miranda and that she had been listening to an interview, but when he recognized Tom and Lauren's voice…he knew. He didn't want to know and he wasn't sure he was ready to know, but he knew that this wasn't just some conversation that would back up Tom's lies and plans. That CD had shattered every bit of confusion that he had felt, while at the same time putting him in such a deep pit of sadness and remorse that he felt he was drowning in it all.
Lauren had been telling the truth, she had been forced into signing the contract, and she had been trying to help him by protecting him from all the lies. It didn't excuse the fact that she had kept all of this from him, but she had been an exception…she had done it for his own good. Or so she believed at the time.
For nineteen years he had trusted her with his secrets, his dreams, his talent, and his devotion. For nineteen years she had never let him down, and he couldn't help but think of what kind of betrayal SHE was feeling because finally…he had let HER down. He had let her down in one of the worst ways possible because he hadn't done the one thing that she had more than earned and had deserved the most…respect.
Hearing her stand up to Tom, actually listening to the pain in her voice, and still hearing her take it all on and fight against it was the hardest part for him to listen to. That conversation had to have taken place shortly after he had shut her out in one of the cruelest and heart breaking ways possible. He had done that to her, he had let Tom and his own anger win, and STILL she had fought for him. She fought with every last strand of hope she had to overcome the pain, but in the end it was much too big for her to handle alone.
She was alone and it was his own fault for that. If he had just listened, if he had just pushed aside his anger, if he had just TRUSTED her the way she should have been trusted then none of this would have happened. Now through his stupidity he had not only lost his best friend…he had lost the love that only she knew how to give to him. His stupidity and his ego wouldn't allow him to see that the kisses, the declarations, and the utterly mature sparkle to her eyes when she looked at him were anything more than a cover-up.
Now he saw, now he understood, and now…he regretted.
He sniffled a few times and took several deep breaths to clear his head before stretching out on the bed and hugging a pillow to his chest. The room felt cold, his entire world felt cold, and he couldn't stop listening to the voices or the conversation that had brought him back into the ugly reality he was dealing with now. He thought believing Lauren capable of schemes and falseness was bad, this reality and the understandings behind it were worse than any nightmare.
"When you signed on the dotted line, you forgot to date it. You were in such a turmoil and you were so upset that Justin was making the moves on Shai, that you left that all important space blank."
"So you went in and you put that I signed that contract on Friday when I was here to see Miranda."
"NOW you're catching on. Not only does it say that you signed it, but it says that you did it on Friday. Justin wasn't too thrilled when he heard that and he fought not to believe it, but when Miranda was called in and she said that you were here on Friday…well…I'm sure you can imagine how hard it is to deny that."
"You used Miranda to back up your plan? You pulled her in to shove that down his throat?"
Tom's laughter ran out. "I can tell you're impressed, but there's more."
"I didn't come by here Friday to sign that contract and you KNOW IT!"
"Do you have proof to say that you signed it four weeks ago? We were the only two people in that room, sweetheart. I have the paper that shows that you did sign it on Friday. But let's move on, shall we?"
He hugged the pillow even tighter and closed his eyes while his finger turned up the volume.
"Your father is a lawyer, surely you know that words can be mixed and played with to fit your own personal needs.
Tears built up in his eyes again and his body curved against the pillow until he could bury his face in it. The darkness that took over was nothing compared to the darkness that was surrounding his life and his heart at that moment. Tom had taken his knowledge of contracts, of the English language, and he had written that contract in a way that would back up his side of things. It would have appeared innocent and exactly what Lauren assumed she was getting herself into, but read the words a different way and they took on a whole new meaning. For people who were fed other truths and thought other thoughts, the contract held completely different meanings.
"I haven't changed anything other than the date. I changed that for my own personal reasons, and for reasons that I don't think you need to know right now. Lauren, the contract still goes as follows. You cannot, CANNOT tell anyone about this contract or our deal…or you'll be gone. With Justin's frame of mind right now I don't think he's going to fight to get you back, and when he's finished telling the guys I'm sure that they won't be yearning to have you return anytime soon either. If you let this spill, if you go public in any way, then Shai will take over and you will have no say in the matter. Of course, you don't really have a say in the matter right now so it doesn't really matter."
"If Justin is this mad because of me signing a contract, why would he handle Shai any better?"
"See this? I'm not sure if you and Justin really sent a letter to UCF or not, but it's funny how their letterhead can be easily duplicated with a little surfing on the Internet for logos. This paper right here clears Shai of everything. Take a good look at it, Lauren. She's a registered student and she's even on assignment with N SYNC.
It was like he had a checklist in his head and he was checking off every part of this plan, piece by piece. Lauren's initial reaction to Shai had been disgust, she had said that Shai was on Tom's side and was only after him because of who he was, but that had been forgotten until he had listened to this. Shai had been clever, she had been manipulative, and he had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
"I'm not going to believe that he chose to accept your reasons over mine. I think…I KNOW that there is more here that you're not telling me."
"Hmm…you might be right, but why would I tell you? Why would I give you all of the ammunition you need to fight this? Why don't you ask Justin about it." He snapped his fingers. "Dammit that's right. I keep forgetting that the guy would rather chat with a snake than to look you in the eyes and open up."
"Whatever you told him, whatever lies you fed him, the truth will overcome it. I swear that I will do everything I can to not only get him to see the truth, but to bring you down in the process."
"You should have seen his face when I handed him that contract. You should have seen the look in his eyes when realization hit and he fully understood what evil intent you're capable of, Lauren. You should have seen his eyes darken with pain and anger when he finally grasped the fact that you're not everything he thought you were, and when he realized that you're nothing he wants to be associated with. He stared at that paper, at your signature, and ran his finger over it for a good twenty minutes. It was rather heartbreaking to see him that way."
He skipped through part of the CD until he found the part that angered him the most. It was all enough to make him want to track Tom down and spend about five minutes alone with him in a soundproof room, but there was one section that he had replayed over and over. The part that he knew had crushed Lauren to the point of giving up and realizing things that weren't really true. The comment had been true in many ways, but just imagining the look that must have been on her face when she realized that nobody cared anymore just made him want to cry even harder.
"The first true test of your friendship, and you failed. You FAILED this, Lauren. All you had to do was go to him and explain it, you would have lost your access to his body, but you still would have remained in his heart. The first true test of your honesty towards him, and you tossed it aside just so you could be near him. I think now he sees how selfish you really are."
"Going against people like me isn't as much fun when you have no backup…is it?"
She whispered softly and with a voice hoarse with pain. "This wasn't about you. None of this was about YOU. We just wanted to be left alone and we wanted to be together, but from the very beginning you have gone against us. Why? Why can't you just leave us alone?"
He wanted the answers to those questions himself, but he knew that it was information that Tom wasn't going to willingly give. In time they would know, but right now he needed to spend his energy on talking to Lauren and somehow fixing what had been broken. It was like he had taken a precious work of art, had slammed it against the ground, and he knew he had to put it back together before it was too late…but there were so many pieces scattered everywhere that he wasn't sure if he could find them all. If the pieces weren't found, if everything wasn't mended and put back where it used to be, then it would never be the same again. In this instance, if all of the pieces weren't found and replaced…it would never hold up on its own again.
He hugged the pillow even tighter, buried his face into the dark softness, and gave into the feelings that were beating against his head. His legs curled up towards his chest, his arms strained as they held tightly onto the pillow, and his shoulders gently shook with his quiet tears of anguish.
The bathroom door opened up and Lauren coughed as the cool air flowed into the room and replaced the steamy air that she had been breathing for the last ten minutes or so. She wiped the mirror with a towel and stared at her reflection while she tried to decide what to do. She didn't even know why she was there to begin with, but what she did know was that pushing Justin's buttons wasn't working. She had opened herself up to him, she had laid it all out on the line, she had been honest, and he STILL had questioned her intentions. As someone who prided herself on being strong, being loyal, and being thought of as a trustworthy person…that assumption on his part stung. It stung a lot.
She brushed out her wet hair, soaked up some more of the dampness into a towel, and then grabbed her stuff to walk back into the room. Ever since rehearsals she had had their song in her head, so she hummed it softly while she put her things away. Her steps faltered and paused when she came around the corner and spotted Justin. He was wound up tightly into a ball, it almost looked like he was trembling a little, and she was confused by it. Maybe he really was getting a cold or maybe that blow to the head that she had dealt him had cost him some permanent damage.
Whatever was wrong with him was no longer her concern, he had seen to that personally. He was probably just tired and that usually equaled moodiness and lately bitchiness so she left it alone even though her heart told her that something was very wrong with him. She continued humming as she tossed her bag up on the bed and unzipped it to put the items from her shower inside. When he continued to lay there, she sang the words softly.
"Every little thing I do, never seems enough for you. You don't want to lose it again, but I'm not…like…them." Her voice trailed off when she thought about the words and how much they fit the situation at hand.
With that thought still slamming her she cleared her throat, kept packing her stuff, and started to sing again. "Baby when you finally, get to love somebody, guess what…it's gonna be me."
Justin's legs straightened on the bed and he shifted on the mattress until he was more comfortable, but Lauren continued her song unaware of how much it was hurting him. "There ain't no time to waste. You're just too blind, to see, 'cause in the end you know it's gonna be me. You can't deny, so just tell me why."
He looked so small and so fragile that she couldn't help but be pushed towards him. On their own accord, her feet started moving around his bed towards him, but she was stopped when there was a knock at the door. She gave him one last look, sighed at her stupidity because he would only push her away and make things worse, then headed towards the door to answer it.
"Oh hey, Mike. Just give me a few seconds and I'll be there."
He peered over her shoulder but couldn't see Justin because of the wall. "Are you coming alone?"
She nodded slowly and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Yeah I think so. I don't know if he's hungry or not."
"Justin not hungry? You've got to be kidding me. Anyway, did you ASK him if he's coming?"
She gave up on looking presentable so she patted his shoulder before pushing past to step into the hallway. "That would involve actual conversation between the two of us and that idea is pretty much laughable at this point."
He watched her walk down the hallway and he waited until she was far enough away before walking into the hotel room and quietly closing the door behind him. Lauren wasn't aware of Mike's entrance into their room just like she wasn't aware of the two sets of eyes that spotted her and were now making their way towards her.
"What am I doing here?"
Tom shushed her and leaned in close to Shai to whisper as they walked. "Are you kidding me? You saw what went down at the homeless thing and now they're both here together."
Shai nodded in agreement before shaking her head in confusion. "Yeah I saw that, but what am I doing here?"
He took his eyes off of Lauren and stopped to turn and look at Shai in disbelief. "Are you really this stupid? I guess God spent too much time working on your beauty and by the time he was finished he was too tired to work on the intelligence part. JUSTIN kissed Lauren. Now I understand that people were probably pushing him to do it, but the fact of the matter is…he did it. Justin Timberlake doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do and especially not when it could hurt N SYNC. He…kissed…her and that means that she's getting to him. Dammit…she's getting to him!"
"He didn't seem too happy to see her at rehearsals today."
Tom stopped walking again to turn and shake his head. "He didn't seem to happy to see anyone, but did you see how his eyes kept following her wherever she went? He looked like he was even measuring the deepness of her breathing patterns. He gave her so much attention today at rehearsals that he slammed into the mirror twice and into Chris three times…although that last time I think was for spite. The point IS…she's up to something and it will be ended."
"I heard some fans talking outside, they aren't too happy about that kiss."
"I know they aren't and as long as they are against Lauren, Justin will have no choice but to stay away from her."
Shai was forgotten as he kept walking towards her. She looked perplexed and worried by something and that look made him smile. Vulnerable and needy was exactly how he needed her because it would make his next plan all the more destructive and gratifying in the end if she had no means to fight. "Going for something to eat, Lauren?"
She kept walking, but groaned and rolled her eyes when she heard his voice. "It's something I do every day, Tom."
"Speaking of things you DO every day, where is Justin?"
She knocked on Miranda's door and checked her watch. "He's not hungry and I think he's getting some sleep."
"You think he's getting some sleep? Did you wear him out or something?"
She turned slowly to see the disgusting smirk on his face. "That doesn't even deserve an answer."
"If you're looking for Miranda, she's downstairs with everyone else who is going out to eat. I have a few things that I need to talk with you about. That kiss between you and Justin yesterday is at the top of my list."
After pushing on his shoulder to move him out of the way, she walked back down the hallway towards the elevators. "That's not my problem."
"Oh but it is. Let me remind you of the little contract that you signed. The one you have to keep a secret and that says you must do whatever it takes to hold onto this relationship. It would look really bad for Jive if you two were hot and heavy only to split up the next day. You don't want the girls to think that Justin is a one-night stand type of guy now do you? And with his best friend of all things."
"They won't think that."
He caught up with her and continued. "You will talk to Justin and you will push him into making a statement about that kiss."
"That's your job to cover this up, not mine."
"Haven't you learned by now that fans don't believe anything until one of the guys says it? Justin will make a public statement and it will be done soon. I need to be happy with it, so YOU better get busy."
"I better get busy? Since when am I the person who tells him what to do or say? If you want him to talk about something, then YOU go to him and tell him that. Weren't you the one who boasted about being able to control them and about you running the show around here? If you run it, let me see it ran."
His eyes narrowed at her sarcasm and he was quiet for several moments while he tried to get his anger calmed down. "How long is it going to take and how many beat downs are you going to be dealt before you finally realize that you're never going to outdo me, Lauren? You're outclassed and you're outwitted so do everyone a favor and go with your defeat. Talk to Justin and do it ASAP!"
She watched him stroll back towards his hotel room and she bit her tongue until the door closed behind him. After that was done, she growled a few obscenities and pushed the elevator button a few more times for good measure. It was times like these that made her wonder if it was all really worth it. If she left now, if she left it all behind and went home to start all over again, she wouldn't have to deal with Tom, her feelings, or any of the stuff she was going through now. She knew that was a lie because she wouldn't be able to forget her feelings that easily, but at least she wouldn't have to look them in the face or analyze them the way she was having to every time she looked at Justin.
"All we need to make everything complete is to have Shai here." As if on cue, Shai came around the corner and smirked at her. "Dear Lord, give me strength."
"Hey Lauren. You're looking absolutely…frightful."
Lauren turned and slowly folded her arms across her chest. "Let me guess, that was the 'word of the day' on your 'make me smart because I'm a complete MORON' calendar?"
Shai huffed and smiled as if it didn't bother her. "Now why would you say something like that?"
"It was out of concern sweetheart. You used two big words in one sentence and I would hate for you to hurt yourself."
The elevator doors opened and Miranda looked between Lauren and Shai a few times before stepping out cautiously. "Is it safe to exit or should I get some riot gear?"
Lauren held a hand up in Shai's direction and smiled at Miranda. "She's so not worth the calories I would burn kicking her ass. What are you doing up here?"
Miranda stared Shai down until the girl gave up and walked down the hallway to her room. "I came up here to see what was keeping you and Justin. Where is he?"
"He's not coming I guess, and I was going to come along but I'm suddenly not hungry anymore. Not that I was hungry to begin with."
Miranda hugged her tense body before pulling back and touching the dark circles under Lauren's eyes. "What you need to do is go get some sleep. Have you been sleeping at all?"
"I didn't get much sleep last night so I was going to catch up tonight."
"Uh huh…right. You didn't sleep last night because of Justin. Now you're sharing a room with him, which I really don't understand, and you're supposed to sleep better? Excuse me if I sound disbelieving but…yeah."
"Not now, Miranda. Now is not a very good time for this." She rubbed her temples where yet another headache was forming.
"Ok ok…I won't add anything more to your day, but please promise me that you'll get some sleep."
"I took a nap and I'm about to hit the vending machine to grab something small to eat. Happy?"
Miranda took her time looking Lauren over before she finally gave in and nodded. "Yeah that sounds fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning when it's time to go back to the shoot. I don't want to see you wandering around tonight. Sleep Lauren…sleep is good."
That made her smile and she even giggled. "JC is rubbing off on you."
"I'm certainly trying…certainly trying indeed." She smiled evilly and winked as the doors of the elevator closed.
After getting a few Pepsi's and some crackers, she headed back towards the room and halfway there her cell phone started ringing. Since her hands were full it was hard trying to juggle everything at once, but finally she gave up to drop everything onto the floor and answer the phone. "Yes? Hello?"
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
She frantically looked around the hallway before sliding down to the ground and whispering into the phone. "Harrison? Why are you calling again?"
"I'm upholding my end of the bargain and this was the first opportunity I had to reach you. Anything exciting going on over there?"
"Not really, but it's still early for chaos."
He laughed and Lauren rolled her eyes at the sound. "Oh Lauren, you're too young to have this many problems. I do have some information for you that I found particularly interesting."
That caught her attention and she gripped the phone tighter to her ear. "What is it?"
"Consider this one a freebee and don't forget that I actually CAN be nice."
"You're da man. Now tell me!"
She heard the sound of shuffling papers before he finally spoke again. "I hope you're sitting down because there seems to be a lot more to Tom's story than I thought there would be. Are you sitting?"
She growled into the phone and softened her voice when she realized how loud she was being. "I'm firmly planted on the ground. What did you find out?"
"Tom was married, which we already knew, and he was married to a young girl. What we didn't know was that she was pregnant at the time and it was a shotgun wedding. A shotgun wedding is where…"
"I know what a shotgun wedding is. Keep going."
"Okey-dokey. Well she was pregnant, at sixteen years old, and from what I can gather…her poppa wasn't too happy about it. Statutory rape charges were filed but were never seen through. Do you get the feeling I'm getting here?"
If he was talking about disgust, she was right with him. "This is sick."
"This is sick but why would a father stop charges when he's angry? If anything, they try to RUSH the charges. We all know how clever the man is and how good he is at blackmail and manipulation."
"So you think that he somehow blackmailed the father into dropping the charges? That was his boss of all things. Do you really think he would do that?"
Once again, Harrison laughed at the thought. "I think it's insane and stupid, but we're dealing with Tom here. We're dealing with a man who has done this over and over, hasn't been caught yet, is at the top of Jive Records, and married a child. If I had to take a stab in the dark here…anything is possible."
"Very true. Do we know her name or her father's name yet?"
"I'm still working on that. So far everyone refers to her as Tom's wife or Tom's wife's father. I'm not able to get any information on who was station manager at the time so I'm lost there, but I'll find out. However, I did find out something even more interesting."
Lauren waited and when the dramatic silence lasted too long, she spoke. "What did you find out? Do you realize how much you're like a scary movie?"
"I'll take that as a compliment. Tom's wife is dead."
She didn't know what it was, but those words, the finality of them, caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. She shivered and swallowed hard before speaking. "She's dead?"
"Dead, Lauren. I don't know how she died or when she died because I haven't been given her name to check the records yet, but she's not alive."
"Do you think he…do you think he had something to do with her…her death?"
"Murder isn't something you can drop the charges on, so no I don't. He could have inadvertently had some hand in it whether it was pushing her to kill herself or whatever, but legally he's fine. I have two people working on criminal records that he may have, but so far he's clean."
"And the baby?"
"I haven't heard anything about a child."
She had seen way too many horror movies because she couldn't help but wonder if Tom was a murderer or if he had somehow gotten rid of his pesky wife and unplanned child. "Th…thanks, Harrison."
"There's more."
She didn't know if she had the strength to listen to much more of this. "What?"
"Who is Mary Beth to you?"
Mary Beth's name mixed into this conversation was like a glass of ice water being dropped on her. "Wha…Mary Beth?"
"You do know her, correct?"
"I know her. She was in some of my classes last semester and we were kind of like friends I guess. Why would you be asking about her?"
He sighed loudly. "Ever hear that saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closest? Are you absolutely sure that Mary Beth is a friend?"
"I…I guess so. Oh God, please don't tell me something has happened. I don't know how much more of this I can take."
"Lauren, you need to pay closer attention to sources and to credits in articles. Mary Beth's name is ALL OVER anything that has to do with you and Justin."
She closed her eyes and felt so very tired. It seemed like when one door was opening or when she finally got to see a little sliver of sunlight, it was all destroyed. "What did she do?"
"The club articles were what tipped me off to begin with. The photographs of Justin and what's-his-name fighting outside were credited to her. She was quoted in an article that ran in New York, and she even gave an eye witness testimony to a paper in Los Angeles. Her name is popping up everywhere and it always has something to do with you."
It saddened her and it made her even more wary of the people outside of the "celebrity realm" she lived in because the first time she had reached out to someone as a friend, she had been stabbed in the back. "Yeah…thanks for letting me know."
"Are you ok?"
"I'll be fine. I just learned a valuable lesson and one that I won't be forgetting for a very long time."
"I'll call you in a few days if I find out anything more. Make sure you keep in touch with any information that you think I might find interesting. By the way, beautiful kiss yesterday."
"Thanks. Goodbye." She clicked off the phone and hugged her knees to her chest while her thoughts swirled with astonishment and treachery. It was all around her and every day it seemed like more and more people were clawing at her in an attempt to scrape away one more piece of her already raw self.
A few minutes later she gathered up the stuff that she had scattered on the floor and made her way back towards her hotel room. Harrison's words were hopeful and disheartening at the same time. She was even more confused and lost than she was before he had called. At least she knew that he was determined to find out the missing puzzle pieces and knowing he was on her side gave her some sense of comfort. Comfort…she had almost forgotten what that feeling was like.
Pulling her key out of her pocket, she unlocked the door, opened it carefully because Justin might still be asleep, and paused when she heard two voices inside. It was wrong of her to eavesdrop, but when she heard Mike's tone she couldn't help but listen in quietly.
"So you screwed up, you blew it, you bit the big one, but that doesn't mean you have to screw it up even more by sulking and beating yourself up about it."
"You don't understand, Mike. You don't understand what I have put her through because I was too stupid to listen. Don't you get what I'm saying here? She put every part of herself into saving me, into saving our friendship, and I gave her nothing in return but pain."
Lauren looked down at the floor and leaned in closer to hear better. Justin sounded stuffy like he either had that cold she was thinking about earlier, or he had been crying. The second option wasn't possible because he never cried, but it certainly did sound like he was teary even now.
"I tried my best to warn you, Justin. You were too pigheaded to listen to what I had to say so I left it alone."
"I was just so angry and so determined to hate her, but it made me angrier when no matter what I did or said or thought…I couldn't get past the fact that she's everything to me."
"So you pushed her away, tore her apart, ripped her a new one, destroyed everything special that you two shared, and you did it because you cared about her? Am I missing something here? I'm a guy, but I think you've invented some NEW male crap here. Have you lost every bit of sense that God gave you boy, or am I just being judgmental and moody because I'm hungry?"
She heard the bed shift under someone's weight and Justin's frustrated groan. "I wouldn't blame her one bit if she hated me. I hate me."
"I've got a few more things that my momma always said, and stop giving me that look because you know you want to hear them. First of all, I love ya man but I've been extremely disappointed in both you two these last few weeks. I'm sorry, but you have been the biggest disappointment."
Justin just nodded solemnly. "Yeah."
"However, I have a short memory or I wouldn't still be covering your ass on a daily basis. My momma always told me that the rainbows of life follow the storms. You're in the storm right now, ok you're in the middle of a category fifty hurricane, but that doesn't mean it isn't fixable. That doesn't mean that things can't get better and that that rainbow can't still appear."
"I'm so mad, Mike. I'm so mad that I can't see straight."
"That temper of yours, that right there, is going to get you in even more trouble. I've tried to tell you all along…speak when you're angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."
Justin rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and nodded. "I'm not mad at Lauren, I'm mad at this entire situation. I'm mad at myself, I want to burn Tom and Shai at the stake, and I want my life back. I want her back, Mike."
"I think you laying that on her right now will be a bit much. You went from hating her a few hours ago, ignoring her like she wasn't even there, to wanting her back? What if she doesn't want YOU back? Ever think of that?"
Justin sat up to lean his legs over the side of the bed and give Mike a funny look. "Nobody can cheer me up the way you can, Mike. Thanks A LOT!"
"Hey…I aim to please. You said yourself that you said some very hurtful things to her and those kinds of words are very hard to erase from memory. I wouldn't push the issue if I were you. If forgiveness is possible, it will take time."
"Yeah…ok yeah you're right."
Mike stood up, lightly pushed down on the top of Justin's curls, and sighed with amazement as he turned to walk to the door. "Huh…like a wad of noodles on your head. I'm going down to get something to eat but there are four guards up here if you decide to go somewhere. Don't…bother…me…Justin."
"Yes sir. Mike?" He waited until Mike turned around before continuing. "Thank you."
Lauren pushed her way through the rest of the door and made quite a commotion so everyone would know that she had entered the room. Mike gave her a disbelieving look and leaned in to whisper as he walked by. "The wrapper on those crackers gave you away a long time ago. You two have a lovely evening."
She grimaced and rolled her eyes with a grin. "No way to fool the pro."
"Amen girlfriend."
She looked over at Justin and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed with his head cradled in his hands. He still had on the clothes that he was wearing when she had left, and it surprised her that he hadn't showered yet. One thing that he had always been picky about was cleanliness and here he was still sweaty from rehearsals.
She walked over and put one can and one package of crackers down on the dresser before sitting down on her bed and opening her pack and can. Justin didn't move at all, he didn't say anything, so she clicked on the television and flipped through the channels while she chewed on a cracker.
Even though she was looking at the TV and appeared to be interested in what was on the channels, Justin had every bit of her attention. He sat perfectly still, gripping his head like it was about to explode, and he was so quiet that she wondered if he was still breathing.
"Um…there's some crackers and a can of Pepsi over there if you want it."
"I'm not hungry."
"That's fine. I was just saying…"
Justin ran his hands over his face and looked at her for the first time through burning and bloodshot eyes. He could tell that she was well aware of his gaze, but she was trying so hard not to acknowledge it or read into it. She sat there chewing on crackers, sipping her Pepsi, and putting her heart into looking somewhat normal. But he saw the fatigue in her posture, saw the dark circles under her eyes, and he knew the pain that was in her heart because he had been the one who had personally put that pain there.
He wanted to blame Tom, he wanted to blame Shai, he wanted to blame his fans and his status, but what he had come to grips with, what had hit him so hard, was the fact that he was the one to blame. True, he had no control over her inability to come to him or Tom's sick games, but he had every bit of control over his mouth and his actions.
With that thought, he stood up and stretched in front of her. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Um…ok."
She tried hard not to watch him as he gathered up his things, pulled off his sweaty shirt, and removed his watch. It was bad enough to have him so near, but watching him out of the corner of her eye while he unhooked the watch shirtless was enough to make her take a few quick peeks before he could see her.
He was beautiful and there was no denying that fact. What she also couldn't deny was how hurtful and painful he could be when he was angry. For the first time in her life she was scared of talking to him. Even after hearing his conversation with Mike, she was unsure of talking to him because at any time that anger could come back. If the anger came back…so would the cruel words. Instead of seeing him as the rock he had always been in her life, she was hesitant and scared of what he might say. It was like she was living with a time bomb that could go off at any point and that feeling made her so nervous that she couldn't speak out. HE made her nervous and that was something new for her when thinking about Justin.
His shower was quicker than she thought it would be, or maybe she had lost track of time while she was thinking, but he emerged in a cloud of steam and she was thankful when she saw that he was fully clothed. He had changed into a dark green T-shirt and black sweatpants to sleep in. On his way by, he grabbed the can of Pepsi and the crackers from the dresser before sitting down on his bed and opening them up.
His eyes wandered around the room and finally settled on the television before he spoke. "Find anything good to watch?"
"Not really. Pretty boring night I guess."
He popped an entire cracker in his mouth and chewed. "I thought you were going out to dinner with everyone."
"I was, but I got sidetracked by a few people in the hallway. I wasn't very hungry anyway."
For some reason, that made him feel even guiltier. "You look tired."
"You do too." She took a good look at him and sighed when the clean smell of him took over her senses.
He finished off the package and finished his drink before tossing them into the trash. "Thanks for the food."
As tenseness went, this conversation was breaking the scale. It was like they were two strangers who had been asked to share a room together. "You're welcome."
They both sat there blindly staring at the TV while their thoughts were on what to say next or how to say it. Lauren had no clue what he was up to, but her distrusting mind told her that he was up to something. In fact, the last time he had been nice to her had led up to a huge argument. She wasn't up for any arguments tonight. She had had her share of arguments with him to last a lifetime.
Justin stretched out on his side and propped his head up on a hand as he stared at the TV. This was getting them nowhere and while his big mouth had always taken charge before, it seemed not able to work anymore. He had tried to say something about ten times now and every time he couldn't get the words out or figure out what exactly he wanted to say to her. How to begin this healing process was beyond him.
"Is Jerry Springer on?"
She shook her head with a sigh. "I don't know. I'm not really up for watching people fight right now."
He plopped back on the bed and scratched at his wet scalp in frustration. He completely forgot about the cut that was there and he only remembered it when one of his fingernails ran over it and he looked down to see blood on his fingertips again. "That was brilliant."
Lauren gave him a confused look, but that look turned to worry when she saw him sit up with blood on his fingers and a small trail of blood running down the side of his face. There was no thinking needed as she jumped up, ran into the bathroom for some paper towels, and came back to hop onto his bed beside him. Justin looked up at her through the pain and kept his fingers against the cut to stop some of the blood that was now slowly making its way down his neck.
Lauren held the tissue up and pleaded with her eyes. "Can I…this might help."
"It was my fault. I forgot about it being there and I accidentally scratched it. I don't know why it's bleeding so bad because it's a small cut and…"
She pushed his fingers away and replaced them with the paper she had brought. Her other hand ran a tissue up and down his neck to stop it before it could reach his shirt. "Head wounds always bleed a lot whether they're big or small."
"I've got a pretty big head, huh?"
That comment took her off guard and it took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about. "I was actually talking about it being a big cut or small cut, but now that you mention it…"
He wiped his hands on one of the extra tissues and the corners of his mouth twitched in a partial smile. "Thanks for taking care of me."
She pushed up onto her knees and leaned over him so she could see better. "I guess it's just habit, but if you mind then I'll…"
"I don't mind. Um…I mean…it's easier for you to see anyway. I'm sorry I wasn't clearer."
"I'm sorry I did this to begin with. I was throwing a tantrum like a two year old and I hurt you when I shouldn't have. Stop and think, Lauren. Stop and think."
Very slowly he reached up to push her fingers away and hold onto the tissues himself. He turned to face her as she sat back on her legs and the innocent look on her face almost broke him completely. "You hurt me, but really I was the one who drew blood first."
"Yeah I…I guess so."
"This cut will heal, it will disappear, but the things I said to you won't heal that easily, will they?"
The way he was looking at her was nerve wracking and too intense so she looked down at her hands to avoid his penetrating gaze. "I don't think so, Justin."
"I understand and I won't push you about that. I said some pretty terrible and vulgar things to you, but I…I didn't mean them."
This was what she had wanted to hear him say from the beginning, but now that she had…it only made her angry. She stared at his pitiful face, saw the pained look in his eyes that was screaming for forgiveness, and realized that he actually thought that she was going to just accept his words at face value. "What do you mean you didn't mean them? You…said…them. Not only did you say them, but you said them over and over until you made SURE that I not only understood them, but that I believed them." She pushed up and walked across the room with a bitter laugh. "You didn't mean it? YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT? That's it? That's the big explanation? Why now, Justin? Why do this now?"
He didn't know if it was possible, but he really wanted to kick his own ass for being so stupid and blurting that out without any warning. "I um…"
"Why…NOW…Justin? So you were lying while you pushed me out of your life? You were lying the entire time you told me that you wished you never had the pleasure of knowing me to begin with? Were you lying when you threw me aside like a piece of trash? Let me guess, you were lying when you told me over and over and OVER that I was a manipulative bitch? How about the prostitute comment…another lie? For someone who didn't mean the words or didn't believe in them, you certainly made your point pretty damn clear, don't you think?"
He deserved this, he deserved this anger from her, and he wasn't going to stop her. She needed to fight him and fight the pain before she could ever think about healing it. "I heard your conversation with Tom about the contract. I know all about it."
She froze in mid-step and stared at him for a few seconds before laughing out loud. "That was quick. Miranda and JC are one hell of a duo. You heard that one conversation and now you're remorseful? It took an illegally taped conversation to get you to pull your head out of your ass when the SAME WORDS coming from me meant nothing?"
He pressed on the tissue he was holding and looked down. "You didn't have proof and…"
"And once again I say…I shouldn't have had to have proof. I came to you, I came to you as a friend, I came to you as someone I trusted, as someone I cared deeply about, and I told you what was going on but you wouldn't believe me! Pushing me aside is one thing, giving up on a lifelong friendship is another, but believing Tom over me…I can't…I don't know if I can forgive you for that. I don't know if my heart will let me forgive you for that. I don't know if I can forgive you for some of the things you've said."
"I'm sorry, Lauren. I don't know what more to say, but that I'm so sorry."
She turned away when she couldn't bear to look at him anymore. "Justin, if you hadn't heard the conversation on that tape…would you be saying this now?"
"What?"
She turned and walked over so she could meet his eyes. "Without the tape, without the proof, would you still be sitting here saying that you're sorry? Be honest with yourself and with me. Without that proof and without that accidentally taped conversation…would you have believed me? Would you be sitting HERE like you are now…asking for understanding and forgiveness?"
He twirled and twisted the paper in his hands before finally whispering his answer. "No."
She shook her head and straightened. "THAT is the problem right there and THAT is why I'm not ready to forgive you. I'm not even ready to forgive myself so I'm sorry if you feel this is harsh."
"No…no I understand that you're mad and you're hurt. I knew that the words wouldn't be enough but at least give me a chance to prove that I'm sorry."
"A chance? Like the one you gave me?"
He winced at the words and the truth behind them. "I don't deserve anything, I know that, but I want to try. I want to prove to you that I…" He swallowed hard and finished. "That I care. I do care and I'm not ready to lose you, Lauren."
She wanted to run to him, hug him, and allow both of them to cry out their pain, but at the same time she also wanted to give that cut on his head a twin sister. "I wasn't ready to lose you either, but I had no choice. You gave me no choice on the matter. You promised me that you would always be there for me. You promised me that you would fight hell or high water to protect me. But nobody was there to protect me from…from you, Justin. I had nobody and worst of all, I didn't even have myself anymore."
"I'm sorry. Why can't you just listen to me and believe me when I say that?"
"Maybe for the same reasons that those words meant absolutely nothing when I said them to you."
He leaned forward and opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him. "I don't want to hear this right now. I can't hear this right now! I'm so sick of these talks and these conversations that are supposed to make me feel better. I'm NOT going to feel better tonight, Justin. No matter what you say or do, you won't make me feel better about this. I just want to sleep and I want to be left alone. Please…can you do that?"
"Lauren, don't…"
"Justin, if you want to help me, if you REALLY want to help…leave me alone right now and give me time to digest it all."
He looked hesitant, but finally he nodded. "I'll leave you alone…for now, but I can't promise that I'll leave you alone forever."
She pulled back the covers and slid underneath them with her back to him. With her eyes closed, she listened carefully to what he was doing, but all she could hear was the TV and his soft breathing. This was everything she had wanted to hear from him in so long, but just the fact that it had to be said was pulling her spirits down. He had laid it all out on the table, had apologized, had asked for a way to make it up to her, but it wasn't as magical or as special as she thought it would be. She always thought that she would be able to push everything aside and forgive him because that's what she had always done in the past, but this was different.
She was scared and she was worried because with those words of apology and regret…she didn't feel relieved. In fact, what she felt right then…was sorrow unlike anything she could ever imagined.
The light clicked off and she heard him quietly pad across the floor before the bathroom door slammed shut. She fought against it, but tears came to her eyes and she wiped them away before they could gain any distance. Strength was what she needed most…and prayers for her ability to somehow forgive him.
(The next day. Taping for the It's Gonna Be Me video.)
Lauren and Miranda stood to the side with a hand over their mouths as they gazed upon the scene in front of them. Lauren's head slowly moved back and forth before she pulled her hand away and spoke. "Do you think he knows?"
One of Miranda's eyebrows lifted evilly. "I think he has no clue."
"Think we should tell him?"
Miranda thought about it for a few seconds before giving in. "Hmm…if it were me, I wouldn't say a word. But since you're standing here too…hmm, what do you think?"
Lauren's eyes widened when there was a huge crash. "I think we keep our mouths shut."
"Could we get in trouble for this?" She stepped to the side when something flew towards them. They turned to watch the water bottle skid across the floor behind them.
Lauren shrugged and her head moved back and forth as she watched the idiot in front of her. "I don't see how. We didn't tell him to get up in the harness."
"Didn't they use these things on the last tour? It's not like he's never seen them before."
"Maybe he had some sort of separation anxiety from it. I have no clue, but we're talking Chris here."
Miranda covered an ear when Chris' piercing scream rang out. "Isn't he scared of heights?"
Lauren jumped out of the way when an apple was flung her way. "I'm warning you, stop throwing the fruit or I'm going to slice and dice on your girly butt! I thought he was scared of heights too. Maybe it's the sugar he's eaten today or…"
"Dare we say that this is just normal behavior?"
They looked back up at him and sighed with amazement. Chris had somehow gotten away from the wardrobe people, had come out with some sort of Tarzan, King of the Apes outfit that barely fit him, and was now swinging back and forth across the studio in a harness that would be used during the video shoot at some point. If that wasn't bad enough, he was screaming and yelling like the building was on fire, and the harness rode high in the back to reveal a little more of Chris Kirkpatrick than they really wanted to see.
A few crewmembers were busy trying to get him down, but he slapped their hands away and laughed loudly when their attempts were met with failure. Lauren giggled and turned away to walk over to some chairs that were placed beside the filming area. When she noticed that Miranda was still standing there with an amused yet shocked expression on her face, she whistled and motioned to the chairs. "Enough excitement?"
Miranda gave him one last wide-eyed look before turning away and walking over to the chairs. "That man really terrifies me."
"Who needs coffee to wake you up when you have Chris' bare butt to stare at as he swings across a studio full of people as they try to get him down? THIS is the American Dream right here."
"To hell with apple pie."
Miranda had been pretty feisty lately and it cracked her up whenever she heard her say something that was VERY unMiranda-ish. "Thank you for the CD you so cleverly put into Justin's player."
She took a sip of her coffee and leaned back comfortably. "Did he listen to it?"
"He did and now it's up to me to figure out if I can forgive him."
"Do you really have a choice?"
That was an interesting question indeed. "Of course I do, but it's not something that I can figure out right now. He…he apologized and it didn't feel as good as I thought it would. It didn't make me feel better at all. In fact, I felt worse."
Miranda signed her name on a clipboard that some man handed her before turning to give Lauren a thoughtful look. "You feel worse because it's just words right? Words are what got you into this whole mess to begin with. Whether it be cruel words, falsely used words, or words of love…words are to blame and it's hard to trust those words again when they have done so much damage already." She gave Chris a 'thumbs up' as he swung by them.
"Should I believe him, or am I just making things worse by not pushing it aside and moving on? I mean, it's all about forgiveness. It would be rather hypocritical if after all this time I was begging for him to forgive, I couldn't do it myself."
"You didn't get personal, Justin did. He needs to SHOW you that he deserves to be forgiven. Let him grovel a bit, see how much he wants it, and then make up your mind."
The thought of Justin groveling was an interesting idea, but she pushed it aside. "I don't want to hurt him anymore by playing hard to get, because that's not what I'm doing. I just…I don't know what to do."
"Ooh a doughnut! MMM…ok what you should do is give him the chance to make this up to you, but at the same time save your sanity by letting him know that he hurt you deeply. If he doesn't understand that…it will happen again. He needs to LOVE you instead of just try to make it up to you or explain his reasons. Good reasons or not, he was wrong and I don't think you should let him back into your heart until he has proven that he is worthy of having your heart again."
She picked at the armrest of the chair and nodded. "I hear you, and you're right. What would you do if this was JC?"
"If JC ever treated me the way Justin treated you? Ha! There would be some interesting articles and pictures in every major newspaper and magazine in the country. Speaking of newspapers…has Harrison found anything?"
Lauren looked around to see if anyone was listening, but the coast was clear. "I'll tell you all about it later. I don't really want to say in here."
"Understandable. Are those people working on the criminal record yet?"
"How did you…?"
She finished chewing and smiled evilly. "There IS a reason why this information is falling in his lap so easily. Harrison is awesome at gathering information from sources, getting stuff that other people can't seem to find, but he SUCKS at actually going out and finding sources. Once he has them in his possession, there's nobody better."
"You've been feeding him the contacts?"
"Not directly, but I've slipped a few people his name. This also clears me if Tom gets clever and wants to know if someone is searching for information on him. Everything will say Harrison Jacobs and not Miranda Hill."
A smile spread across Lauren's face before she laughed aloud. "You are too much. I swear that you're my hero."
Miranda took a deep breath and gave her a funny look when Chris flew by again. "I try. Now let's go back there and see what is going on behind the scenes because that doughnut is coming back up if I have to watch this much longer."
The day was going to be a long one and fortunately for them they didn't have to get into their costumes just yet. The dancing and singing sequences would be filmed first and that called for makeup and hair specialists. Lauren wasn't surprised at all when Miranda went straight for JC. He was looking pretty damn good and the person doing his hair was a genius in her opinion. JC either looked really good, or he could look like someone who had just gotten out of bed and was dragged into the studio…behind someone's car.
Her eyes scanned the busy room full of people and she finally spotted Justin. It was the first time she had seen him all day because he was already gone when she had woken up, but he looked just as good, if not better than JC when it came to sculpting art and creating an image. She had to smile when she saw Suzy shaking her head and walking around him while he watched her fearfully.
"Did you sleep in a windstorm last night, Justin?"
His wide eyes followed her as she circled him. "Don't hurt me."
"How come nobody gets to do your hair but me? I was supposed to work on Lance today, easy head that boy has, but instead the curls decided to be a pain and I was assigned to you. Now why is that?"
He swallowed hard and shrugged. "You're just lucky?"
She picked up a brush and eyed him carefully. "Luck is not what I'm feeling at the moment."
"You're not actually going to use that on my hair are you? I don't really want frizzy hair for this video and…" He stopped talking when she raked the brush through his hair and it caught every single tangle and knot on its journey through.
Lauren grinned with pleasure when she saw Justin's pained expression and she could see him blinking his eyes rapidly to stop the burning tears that had appeared.
Suzy brushed a little more and winked at Lauren when she spotted her. "Hey girl! Come on over here!"
"I don't want to interrupt anything."
"Come…here."
Lauren walked closer to his chair and covered her mouth with a hand to hide her smile when he turned and gave her a lazy look. Macy Gray had nothing on Justin Timberlake at that moment when it came to impressive displays of fro-ness. "Um…it uh…looks great."
His teeth were clinched as he ground out the words. "I am NOT going anywhere like this."
"Oh stop being a baby. I'm just brushing all this out before I wet it. The curls will be back in their original glory before I'm done." She started misting his hair with water and gel while Lauren continued to smirk.
"How does the set look, Lauren?"
She looked at him through the mirror. "It looks wonderful. I don't understand some of it, but it's impressive."
Suzy didn't miss the tenseness between them as she rubbed some mousse into his hair. Her fingers parted the curls so she could get in deeper and paused when she spotted the cut on his scalp. "And where did this cut come from?"
Lauren blushed and Justin coughed loudly before answering. "I cut myself um…um…"
Suzy gave him a disbelieving look. "While you were shaving maybe? Sorry buddy but that excuse won't work here. If you EVER think of shaving your head…please let me do it. I think I could retire and live on the streets in splendor just knowing that I once shaved these curls from HELL."
"I'm not shaving my head, Suzy."
She shrugged and continued misting his hair. "Just imagine what that would fetch on Ebay. You think the french toast with your drool on it caught thousands, imagine what actual strands of your DNA would raise. Hmm…now that I'm thinking about it…"
Lauren giggled at Justin's horrified look and he turned to give her a playful smile. "What are you laughing at?"
Her laughing stopped and her smile disappeared instantly. "Nothing."
Suzy wasn't the expert on young people and especially not these two, but she knew that they were going through something that was unusual for them. They were a fun pair and she enjoyed watching their friendship just as much as they probably enjoyed having it. After listening to the silence between them for a few more minutes, she held out her hand to Lauren and pulled her over to stand behind Justin.
"What's going on between you two?"
They both answered together. "Nothing."
Suzy petted Lauren's hair and pushed her head down until she was close to Justin's. Then she pushed and maneuvered a little more until Lauren's cheek was against Justin's and they were staring into the mirror at each other. "Now if that isn't a friggin' Hallmark card…I don't know what is."
Lauren rolled her eyes as she stood up, and Justin laughed. "Yeah right."
"I'm serious here."
Lauren hugged her in thanks before she turned to walk away. "Nice try, Suzy."
She watched the young girl walk away and she clicked her tongue at her a few times before looking back at Justin. "You're not going to let that one get away are you?"
"I'm going to try my best not to let that happen." It looked like she was done so he stood up and stretched his back.
"You make sure that you don't. And where do you think YOU'RE going? Sit down mister, I'm not through with you yet."
Justin groaned and sat back down with a whine. The only thing that got him through the next few minutes of torture was thinking about Lauren and remembering the smile that had been on her face and the sound of her laughter. It had been far too long since he had heard that out of her and while she didn't realize it, the sound of it had given him hope and strength.
He was going to prove to her that he cared…that much he knew without a doubt.
(Three days later, Lakeland, Florida.)
The video shoot was completed without any major problems and everyone was back safe and sound in Florida. The tour was going to begin in a little under a week and a half and the stress was building more and more with each passing day. Rehearsals had been moved to Lakeland where the stage was now set up in concert preparation and this was the part that meant the most. Choreography would be perfected, the show would be put together, and common mistakes or errors would be worked through over and over until they were gone.
While this was the exciting part, it was also the draining and tiring part. Lakeland was far enough away that the guys weren't sleeping at home in their own beds. They were all staying in hotels or houses that had been rented especially for this week of rehearsals. It was fine for the week, but there was nothing quite like sleeping in their own beds. It was a luxury that they didn't indulge in much, and it seemed worse to know that their beds weren't all that far away to begin with.
Lauren wasn't going to go to any of the first few rehearsals because she didn't know why she had to be there. Justin had been quiet and had avoided her for most of the trip back to Orlando. She didn't know if he was realizing that she wasn't worth the effort it took to make things better, or if he was too busy thinking about everything that had to be done with the tour. Either way not a lot had been accomplished and she felt somewhat refreshed to have spent a day without having to see his face at all.
Catching up on sleep was her top priority and she had indulged in that for the last twenty-four hours. She was either sleeping or napping or just plain resting. Her mind continued to work though and she tried her best to think of good and happy memories that she had shared with Justin. Those were the things that she wanted to fight for and create more of. If she remembered those, the other memories, the bad ones, would be replaced and forgotten.
This was all theory and it probably wouldn't work, but it was a way to keep her hope alive.
She had promised herself to stay away from Justin for a few days to give him time to think and to give herself time to sort through all the loose ends. That was until she got a call from Miranda to come to Lakeland. As it turned out, Tom managed to schedule a press conference for Justin and for her to address the rumors and the infamous kiss that had caused more problems than had done good. This was what she wasn't looking forward to and she didn't know how Justin would handle everything. He would either deny it all or he would play it off like it was nothing, and she knew that both responses would hurt because it did mean something. It HAD to mean something even if he wasn't ready to admit it.
At first she had told Miranda that she wouldn't do it, but when Miranda assured her that it wasn't really a press conference as much as it was getting a statement down on paper for her to distribute…it made her more at ease. Sitting down and talking with Miranda was never hard, and she knew that Miranda would be fair in her questions and write up. The other thing that caused her to be in her car at that point driving to Lakeland was Miranda's promise that Justin wouldn't be there either. He was scheduled to be at a radio talk show in Tampa with the guys to talk about the new tour and album.
She parked in front of a huge building that said the Lakeland Performing Arts Center across the front of it and she held a hand up to shield her eyes against the sun as she looked at it. It was an impressive building and huge at that.
Her eyes scanned the parking lot for Miranda's car but she didn't see it. "She must have parked around back or I'm at the wrong building."
Walking up to the door she smiled at the armed security guard standing there and gave her name. He held the door open and gave her instructions on where to go. After going down many hallways and alleys, she found the door she was looking for and opened it. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw on the other side of that door.
It was one of the biggest rooms she had ever seen in her life and in front of her was the stage completely set up and ready for the tour. The room was dark except for the spotlights that illuminated the stage in blue, white, green, and red tones. Lauren took a deep breath and sighed with appreciation at how beautiful this was. She remembered the teeny tiny stage that they had first performed on at Pleasure Island, and now this was what they had worked up to. This magnificence was all for them.
With her eyes wide, she slowly walked towards it and took it all in. When she reached the stage itself, she reached out to run her hand over the smooth white surface and over to the clear Plexiglas surface of the front middle section of the stage. She had seen parts of rehearsals, she had seen their moves on smaller stages, and this was going to bring them to new levels that even they couldn't comprehend yet.
"Oh…wow."
She jerked her hand back and spun around when she heard the voice beside her. "Justin? What are you…I thought…aren't you supposed to be in Tampa?"
His astonished eyes scanned over the stage and the lights. "Can you believe this? This is…insane! Wait a minute, Lauren?"
"Yes that's me. What are you doing here?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper. "I could ask you the same thing. I was supposed to meet Miranda here for a press conference type thing."
She sighed with relief. "Me too, but I was told that you were in Tampa for the day."
His hands ran over the stage much in the same way hers had. "Huh? Tampa? Nuh uh."
Lauren was getting that strange feeling again and Miranda's evil grin appeared in her mind. "Where are the guys today? Justin, where are the guys today?"
He was extremely distracted by the sight in front of him. "They're um…they're working on the dialogue part of the tour back at the hotel. We're not supposed to work here until tomorrow."
"Did you happen to see Miranda's car outside? JC's?"
He sat down on the edge of the stage and grinned like a Cheshire cat. "No I didn't. Why?"
"My lord she's up to something AGAIN. I'm getting a strange feeling that Miranda set us up somehow. She told me that you were going to be gone all day, that I was talking to her alone, but here you are."
He laid down on his back to look up at the lights and shrugged. "I don't hear scary music yet."
Lauren ran over to the door she had come in and it didn't surprise her at all to find that it was locked. "Justin, the door is locked. Do you hear that music yet?"
"Not really. Try one of the other ones. Would you look at this? This is awesome!"
She rolled her eyes at him and tried every door but they were all locked. Finally one of them opened and it led into a small room that served as a refreshment room. It was full of food, drinks, and Lauren yelled back to Justin. "Would you come here for a second?"
She heard his footsteps as he jogged across the tiles towards her. "What's wrong?"
"Would you look at all this food?"
He looked over her shoulder and put his hands on her waist to move her out of the way. "This is impressive."
"Isn't it odd that food was left THIS early? Why would you have food laying out like this for rehearsals that are tomorrow?"
He checked out the drinks and the food while she stood at the door staring at him. "I have no idea, Lauren. OOH look at this!"
She leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes. "I'm telling you, this isn't right."
Justin gave her a stern look and walked over to grab her arm and pull on it. "I don't know why you're acting this way. Come here and look at this."
"I don't want to look. I want to get out of here and see what's going on."
He pulled even harder when she resisted. "Just come here for a second."
"Justin, I'm telling you that I don't want to come there. I'm standing here so…"
"Would you come here?"
She pulled back even harder. "I don't want to! Stop pulling me around! I'm trying to keep the door from…"
He lost his grip on her arm, she lost her balance, and they both went crashing onto the carpet with a grunt. Lauren turned and watched as the door clicked shut. "I was trying to keep the door from closing."
"It's not like it won't open again. Oh God, I think you broke one of my ribs."
She pushed off of him and walked to the door. She knew what was going to happen before she even tried, so it wasn't a huge shock when she turned the doorknob and it was locked. With a smirk on her face she crossed her arms over her chest and turned to look at Justin. "Any other bright ideas, Einstein? We're locked in!"
He pushed up off the floor. "What do you mean we're locked in?" He rattled the knob and pulled on the door but nothing happened.
"Thanks a lot, Justin. Now what do we do?"
"Hungry?"
She gave him a hard look. "What do we do?"
His eyes scanned the room, saw that there were no windows, no other doors, and he shrugged before giving her an innocent smile. "I guess we wait."
"How…long?"
"Well my guess is until…um…tomorrow?"
Lauren slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest when she reached the floor. "This is just great. Absolutely wonderful."
He smiled at her and winked. "Look on the bright side, at least we have each other."