Chapter 1

"Justin, what's the sound on the new album going to be like?"

The young man leaned down, closer to the mic, "It's alittle bit edgier. Still R&B Hip-hop but the basses are dirtier. They're harder."

The chatter started once again and more flashes went off as Johnny pointed to another reporter who was raising his hand.

"What made you chose Kanye West as your producer instead of the Neptunes?"

"Well, I have worked with Hugo and Pharrell numberous times and I wanted to do something alittle different, spread my wings alittle bit. I wanna grow and change my sound and develope myself as an artist with every album."

A soft murmur moved over the room and Johnny pointed again.

"Last question."

"During the MTV Video Music Awards, when your ex-girlriend Britney Spears was kissing Madonna, your expression was, well, expressionless. Can you tell us what you were thinkin at that moment?"

Justin's head began to throb instantly and he wanted ever so much, to be able to shoot daggers with his eyes at the man. Didn't they understand the point of being expressionless? It was so that people didn't know what was going on in your mind. Ofcourse, being Britney's ex, the camera's had panned to him after the kiss with Madonna. And knowing that they were looking for some look of excitement, or jealousy, or anger or whatever, he gave no reaction at all.

You give no reaction when one reaction is expected, that way the ball is still in your court later and you can say whatever you want without anyone knowing any different. That, and he thought it was pretty lame. The media always played into whatever publicity stunt she planned. Everytime an album wasn't doing great or a tour wasn't selling well, she took off her shirt or pulled down her pants and they fell right into it everytime. Her album would be back at number one and her tour would sell out in a matter of minutes.

No, if she wanted a reaction from him she should have done something like completely tounged the older woman, or even better, Christina. No, they should have licked eachothers faces, or even more, eachother's cleveage, or maybe even crotchs. Yeah, now that would be hot.

"That's her career and her thing and she can do what she does," he responded simply.

He smiled to himself, happy with his vague responce.

'Now twist that into me being the bitter ex, bitch,' he thought.

"That's all for today, thank you everyone for coming. Please grab a press packet on your way out."

Justin was hurded off the stage by the ever present Eric, and into the back hallways of the hotel. His days were filled with events like these: press junckets, radio interviews, this, that, and the other. He'd been asked the same twelve questions over and over again so many times that he wasn't exactly sure where he had been and where he hadn't.

"Where to now?" he asked no one in particular.

There was the entourage of the typical eight people around him. Manager and/or manager's assistant. A personal assistant, the assistants assistant, his publicist, clothes stylist, hair stylist, make-up artist. There was Trace, security, and some random people he didn't really know. They were strangers who were there for three days, then disappeared for a week or so, and then were back again. He had no idea what they're actual purpose was, but he did remember hearing someone make a joke about how he looked like he just walked through the mall and told random people to follow him so he looked important.

"We're going to the MTV offices. They have some things to go over with you about the new video."

Justin meerly nodded, wanting the day to be over with.

The group stepped through the metal double doors and instantly the screaming began. Girls with body glitter and large blue signs with obsene, yet humorous sayings written on them. Some were crying against their friends shoulders and some were trying to jump the police barrior yelling, 'Please just let me touch you. I just want to touch you.'

Then there were the flirts, who were trying to seem as though they weren't fazed, thinking that that would get them noticed. People assumed that he was so annoyed with females falling all over him and he was really just looking for the girl in the crowd who didn't give a damn who he was or how much he had in the bank, which was true. But he was almost positive that the girl he was meant to be with wouldn't be there, because if she was that would mean she knew who he was, and cared, on atleast some level, about what he did and who he was. See, they cancel eachother out.

As usual, off to the side, were the friends who had been forced against their will or guilted in some way to coming. Mixed in were the girls that were just to shocked to see him and did nothing more than stare, for fear that no matter what they did, they'd look stupid. Didn't they know they looked stupid anyway? It was weird just having someone stare at you with the 'deer in headlights' look.

None of them fazed him anymore, and he offered a nod and a wave before climbing into the van waiting before him. It was old, the glitz, the glamour, the fawning and pawing. The noise was annoying, but he didn't nessacarily want to go back to him hotel room either. There it was silent, and lonely. Perhaps that's why he was always going to the clubs. That and there were hot, legal girls willing to fight to the death for alittle of his affection, or better yet expose a body part while saying something nasty. Yeah, he wanted that girl that didn't care about his fame, but still, he was a guy. He had his sick side aswell.

"Dude," a popcorn kernel hit him on the forehead, "Snap out of it."

He shot a glare at Trace, who grinned and went back to eating. Justin flippped him the bird and turned to Mark, his assistant.

"Why are we going to MTV again? You're not going to try to sneak me on to TRL again are you? Remember the last time you bastards did that? I still have the scar from that girl who flipped out."

"We're not going to MTV Studios, we're going to the offices. They just wanna talk to you about some of the scenes from the 'Downtown' video."

***

"So bascially you want me to re-edit the whole damn thing," Justin tossed the paper he'd been given on the table.

"No, there's just a few specific scenes that we feel our viewers would find offensive."

"Your viewers live for this shit," he defended, "You think we don't pay attention to the top songs, the top 10 video count downs? People act like this is dumb and that's degrading, but they check it out everytime it's on TRL."

"Justin, we understand your point, but there's a limit to how much MTV's willing to take on. We feel that this goes beyond those boundries. The way these girls are displayed-."

"We're just dancing."

"Your hand is up their skirts," he motioned to the TV behind him, that was playing the aforementioned video over and over.

"It's a video! And it's not like it's showing anything. And if I recall correctly, the last time I turned on MTV, there were 7 rap videos showing worse shit than this."

"You're not a rapper Justin. That's a different category."

"That's bullshit."

The man at the head of the table became frustrated, and rubbed the top of his shinny, bald head.

"Justin, either the video gets edited or it doesn't air on MTV. That's the deal."

Justin leaned back in his chair with a shrug, "Edit it yourself."

The man looked to Johhny, who nodded, assuring him that the video would be edited as requested. Justin know of the silent agreement going on over his head, but he was going to ignore it. No way was some TV station going to tell him how to express himself, or what his fans could and could not take.

But then, MTV was a major TV station, owned by a much larger and powerful corporation, and owner of several smaller ones. If they turned down your video, it was possible that it would never be aired anywhere else in the country. If he was going to continue the success of Southern Style, he was going to need them.

"Now that that's out of the way, we have a business proposition for you."

"You have a proposition for me huh? Well I have a video for you, wanna trade?"

Johnny nudged him with his elbow. He was only being difficult because he could and MTV wouldn't try to put him in his place. He was responcible for a chunk of their audience and he knew it. One of the perks of being Justin, was you pretty much got what you wanted, and when you didn't you threw a fit. Girls thought it was cute.

"MTV wants to offer you a reality TV show," Justin's ear perked up at that. MTV wanted a 'The Justin Timberlake' Show?

"We're planning on calling it 'Senior Year'. The main idea is, you go back to high school. We pair you up with a person who's in the last semester of their senior year and you mirror them. You go to their classes, you do their activities. They live their life normally and you find out what it's like to be in high school," the man handed he and Johnny slim packets laced with details.

Justin stared at the man for a moment.

"Are you... are you kidding? You're joking right? You want me to go back to highschool?"

"Yes. We think it'd be really good for your career. Lots of people have had success because of reality shows. Look at Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. They're touring all over the world, Jessica's album was re-released, she's got book deals, sitcoms, movies roles. Right after the Osbournes aired, Ozzy's new album went to number one, his single was in the top 10, Kelly's was in the top five. Carmen and Dave, who were pretty much forgotten by main stream, were on 13 talk shows this week, and the Jane's Addiction tour sold out faster than it had the past three times they toured."

"You think I have a failing career? That's why you want me to do this?"

"No, but we know you want the ultimate superstar status."

"Who said-?"

"All superstars want to be the ultimate superstar. Especially with both JC and Chris working on albums, you'll have competition for that position."

He knew that, and as much as he loved his brothers and wanted them to succeed, the buisness side of him did view them as the enemy. Especially with people always saying that while he was arguably the looks of Nsync, JC was inarguably the voice of Nsync.

"Look, those guys aren't competition," he said, "I hope they do well. I hope they sell the shit outta those albums and go down in the record books for it. I'm not afraid of them."

"No one said you were Justin. Why don't you take some time to think over our proposal and we'll talk soon."

"When would he need an answer?" Johnny broke his silence.

"In three days."

"Why so soon?"

"We need to begin production in order to start airing it. With the album dropping soon, we're sort of pressed for time."

Johnny glanced at Justin, who discreetly shrugged his shoulders, and stood up to shake the MTV rep's hand. Goodbyes were said and the group met up again in the waitingroom and made the long trudge from the 13th floor down to the car garage.

*~*

"So what's up? What happened?" Trace sat down next to Justin, across from Johnny, and to the right of Lynn.

She immediately pulled on his ear and moved him to another spot, anywhere but between she and her son, whom she hadn't seen in nearly a month.

"They offered me a TV show," Justin replied, his face burried deep in one of the packets.

"Are you serious? That's fucking awesome," Lynn gave him a motherly look, "I mean, that's great. When do you start?"

"He hasn't excepted yet," Johnny added.

"Why?"

"It's twisted," Justin responded. Then he laughed and said, "Listen to this: Mr. Timberlake will be expected to keep up all grades and his graduating GPA will be made known to viewers of the show. So I basically have to pass these classes or they'll tell on me?"

"Sounds like," Johnny nodded.

"But look honey, you'll be attending all Senior functions and activities, including prom.You always talk about missing your Senior prom," Lynn pointed out, one hand subconsiously running over her son's head.

"And you'll be making six figures off of it," Trace was leaning over, glancing at Lynn's copy.

"I think it could be a good opportunity for you. It'll make you seem more excessable to the public, what with it putting you in a daily routine that alot of your fans can relate too," Johnny said and Lynn nodded her head in agreement.

Justin looked up to find the three pairs of eyes staring back at him.

"You guys can't be serious. You actually want me to do this?"

"Justin, I think it's a really good idea. You can't buy the kind of publicity it's going to give you. Especially after that Janet thing."

Justin glared at his long-time manger.

"Justin, honey, I know you were always alittle disappointed about not finishing high school like everyone else, missin' all the parties and such," she continued rubbing his head comfortingly, "This is a chance to do it, you don't get many opportunities like this."

"Do we know anything about who the person I'm paired up with will be?" He hadn't read anything about it in the packet.

"Well, I do, but you as the artist aren't allowed to know any of the details. I can tell you they've narrowed it down to three people, all small towns where there won't be too much media attention."

"Why don't I get to know anything?"

"Because it's part of the show. They're throwing you into this situation where you know no one and you know nothing. But I promise you they're good families and you have nothing to be concerned about."

Sure Johnny could say that, no one was trying to shove him into the unknown for a long period of time. Justin chewed on his lip and finally let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Johnny pushed, "It would mean giving up your life for four months and living someone else's. You read the part about limited phone calls?"

That caused another sigh.

"Yeah, I read it."

"And you'll still do it?"

"Yeah I'll do it," he ran a hand over his face, "But I better get seven figures outta this."

***

"Now do you have everything you'll need?" Lynn stepped up behind her son, her southern drawl evident.

"Yeah, I think so. It's hard to pack for four months when you don't know what your going to be doing, therefor you don't know what you're going to need."

"Well I'm sure there's a store or something around. Besides, there's always FedEx if you have to have something," she reasoned.

"True," he turned to her with sad eyes, "Mommy, I don't wanna leave. I just got home."

"I know. But just think of all the fun you'll have. The parties, the rallies, and it'll give you a chance to get out and meet some people your own age."

"Ma, I'm 21, they're in highschool."

"Well, somewhat close to your age then," she messed with his hair alittle.

He gave her his infamous puppy dog eyes, but she was completely immune to it. However, that did set off her Mommy alarm.

"Do you really not want to do this Justin? Because you know you don't have too."

"No, I do," he sat down on the bed, "atleast I think I do. I'm just scared I think. Giving up everything for half a year and going to live in some strange dudes house and do things his way."

He still didn't know anything about his host family, except for the fact that he had one. He didn't even know where he was going.

"Well that's understandable honey, but things aren't going to be as bad as you think. You and this guy will become friends and you'll love it and not want to come home afterwards."

Justin shook his head.

"Might be true, you never know," she pushed.

A horn honked outside and they stood up, bringing the last of his numberous bags down with them to be loaded into the van. Justin, Lynn, and Paul all said goodbye at the door and Justin was put on a plane from LA to San Francisco. Two man were waiting for him at the gate with his name written on a piece of cardboard.

"Justin? Hi, my name is Ryan?" he reached out to shake Justin's hand.

"Are you the guy I'm staying with?" he asked.

"No, I'm just a lowly producer. I'm here to take you to the person you're staying with."

Justin nodded.

"Follow me," the man headed towards the exit.

"What about my bags?" Justin motioned to baggage claim.

"They're already being taken care of for you."

Justin followed the man through the sliding glass doors and the salty air smell hit him in the face. It was sunny and there were seagulls flying over head, people ducking everytime one came near. He was surprised when he realized that there wasn't a single camera crew or reporter in sight. But then he remembered that it wasn't allowed. Not only was MTV trying to keep the show as much of a secret as possible, but a judge had granted them a restraining order, keeping all reporters and tv stations 200 yards away from production, and specific places in the town like the highschool and his temporary home.

"Now, there's a camera man in the car, because we're going to tape the beginning of the first episode. We'll go over everything, give you information on your host family and such, and when we drop you off it'll be at the house."

Justin's nerves kicked in and his stomach became a ball of knots.

"Alright," he replied.

Ryan climbed into a long white SUV limo, and Justin followed behind, the sharp light from the camera hitting him in the face. Ryan asked about how he was feeling, any oprehensions he had about the show, what he was expecting, and then he pulled out a manilla envelope and Justin could hear the 'Who Wants to be A Millionaire is that your final answer' music in his head.

"Well Justin, it's time for us to tell you about your family," the man put on his glasses and pulled a paper out of the envelope before pressing 'play' on the mini TV just over his shoulder, "You've been partnered with a young woman named Judy Bucklass."

A girl? His partner was a girl?!

"She's 17 years old and is, obviously, a high school senior. She's got more classes than the other seniors at her school, but she's also known for having alot on her plate. She's a member of several clubs, holding an officer positions in most of them. She works closely with international organizations like VDay, Amnesty International and the ACLU, as well as volunteering for her local Demoratic representatives. She works on the school paper and contributes to the literary magazine. She's a budding singer/actress on the side, as well as having her own website. She's popular, her weekends are booked up with parties and other social functions. She's well liked by the student body and the school faculty, but mostly keeps to her close-knit circle of friends. We think you will get along quite nicely."

The video behind him never showed what the girl looked like, but it did show some of the school grounds, her home, and some functions that she must have been involved in in one way or another.

In Justin's mind it bascially worked out to be that he was going to live with a) a GIRL. b) a nerdy GIRL. He was not a happy camper.

"She lives on the East side of Central Valley."

Uh, where?

"It's a small town, one highschool. She lives with her mother, Diane, her brother, Marcus, and her two pets, a dog and a turtle. Do you have any questions?"

He wanted to say, 'Lemme get this straight. I'm being sent to bum-fucking-Egypt to live with a nerdy 17 year old girl?' but he opted to shake his head no instead. He figured this may not turn out to be so bad. Maybe Judy was a hot nerdy girl and he'd have the 'living with her' advantage.

"Alright, let's go over some of the rules. 1) You're mirroring Judy for the entire semester, so you have to follow her everywhere she goes, except for when sleeping, changing, or in the bathroom. You'll have the first day to go where you like in the house inorder to get acquainted and adjusted, but the next day, you'll have to go with her everywhere. Everytime she leaves a room, so do you. If there's ever a time where she's somewhere and you aren't, you're phone call for that day will be taken away.

"That brings us to number 2. In order to help you get into the role of a highschool student, you'll have limited contact with the outside world. You're cellphone is being turned over to us and we're giving you a new phone will limited coverage. This can be used to contact Judy, her mother, and friends of hers, but any one who's number was porgrammed into your old phone, has been blocked. So no calling Trace, Johnny, your Mom, any of the guys, no one. You can contact one person per night, for 15 minutes on the house phone, unless of course you for some reason break rule number one, in which case the phone call will be taken away. If you're still on the phone once your 15 minutes are up, it will simply disconnect you."

Harsh.

"You will have 6 classes a day, ofcourse whether you attend them or not is up to Judy," Justin chuckled and Ryan shrugged, "You know how Senior year is. However, both you and Judy will both be expected to keep your grades up with atleast a 2.5 or better. At the end of the year, your GPA will be aired during the last episode. Do you have any questions?"

"Nope."

"How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm alittle--just--overwhelmed. It's alot to take in."

The camera turned off and Justin turned to look out the window as they rolled down the freeway. He recognised one of the freeway exits, this was Oakland. But the limo kept on rolled for several more miles before it pulled off at an exit marked 'Center Street/Central Valley Blvd.' From there it was a few feet to a traffic light, and then a right turn down a little suburban street.

"We're here," Ryan said.

The limo pulled into a cul-de-sac, with a small pink and green house towards the left with three cars in the driveway.

"This is where we leave you," Ryan said, "Steve will stay with you, filming the series. We're going to try to stay out of it as much as possible, so you get the full affect. You'll only be hearing from me if there's a problem."

Justin took a deep breath as Steve climbed out and then turned to get a shot of him. He climbed out and slowly strolled towards the house, mugging for the camera even though his insides were quivering with nervousness.

This was it.

 

Chapter 2

The driveway was steep as he walked between two cars, one a black sporty looking two door, and the other an old blue mustang, on the other side of the mustang was an old Suburban. He made it to the walkway and up the three brick steps to the mint green door. There was a red bow that looked like it'd been left up from Christmas, as well as blue Christmas lights hanging from the overhang. He rang the bell and instantly heard scratching and whining. That had to be the dog.

The door opened a moment later and a tall slightly toned Black man stood before him, holding the door knob in one hand and the collar of a medium sized dog with blonde fur, and big brown eyes in the other.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice deep.

"I'm Justin, Justin Timberlake-."

"It's okay Marcus, I got it," another voice sounded from inside the house.

A middle aged woman appeared with a smile on her face. She had sleek chin length black hair and full red lips. She seemed very friendly on glance, the slight wrinkles on her light mocha skin told him she had to be the mother.

"Hi, I'm Diane, Judy's mother," she reached out to shake his hand.

"Hi," he said politely, his southern drawl creeping in. It always did when he was speaking to someone older and trying to be respectful.

"Come on in," Diane pulled to door open alittle wider.

"Judy! You've got company!" she called down the hallway.

Justin stepped up into what he assumed was the living room. The walls were a pale green and there were mirrors and little knickknacks spread around. What really made it homey was the oversized blue sofa behind Diane. What didn't fit however, was Steve, moving around them trying to find the best angle.

"This is my son Marcus," Diane touched the man's arm, "this is our dog, Playa, but we call her the Hairy-Beast-From-Hell. I'd love to be able to keep her from you, because she shed's like crazy, but if you're going to live here you'll have to deal with it sooner or later. I promise you she won't bite. She'll just try to lick you to death."

She motioned for Marcus to let go of the dog and immediately the animal jumped at him. He was stunned for a moment before he realized what had just happened.

He'd just been tongued by Playa.

Justin leaned down to pet him, in hopes of calming him down, and the dog dropped on to it's back, hoping to have it's stomach scratched. He had to chuckle to himself when he could see the dog smile as he did. Footsteps could be heard down the hall and Justin turned to smile at the approaching person.

"And this is my daughter, Judy."

"Hi," she reached her hand out to shake his with a grin.

She was tall, with long legs, and black hair cut short. She wasn't skinny, but not obesely overweight either, she just carried extra weight around the middle. Her brown eyes were masked by the smart glasses she wore and he couldn't help it when she leaned forward and his eyes traveled past her chin and right down her shirt. He was a guy, he couldn't help but notice that she was gifted in the breast department.

"I'm Judy," she smiled.

She had full lips, but a small mouth that gave her chipmunk cheeks when she grinned. Judy appeared to be the kind of girl that you didn't really pay attention to. You passed her in the hall, or on the street, but you didn't even think twice as you did so. Not exactly what he was hoping for. But the good thing about plump, average girls, was that they somehow usually had incredibly hot chick friends. Sweet!

"Justin."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too," Playa jumped up at his face again and he took a step back.

"Playa, stop," Judy's voice was stern.

Playa walked to sit by his master's side, calmly leaning against her legs, wanting to be petted.

"I see you've met Playa," she leaned down to pet the dog and looked up at him.

He noticed that while her shirt was black, her bra was a vibrant purple.

"Yes, I've gotten to know him pretty well," Justin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Her. Playa's a girl."

"Sorry, her."

"Sorry about that," she watched him wipe his mouth again, "she just kisses everyone, can't get her to stop."

"It's alright. I'm just glad to know it's a girl who had her tongue in my mouth."

She smiled again and stood up, running her hands over her jeans to her back pockets.

"Well, uh, all your stuff is here already so let me show you around alittle," she motioned for him to follow. She took him down the hall, past a messy office, to a door that she said was his room.

Inside he found blue walls and a queen sized bed, his bags placed neatly in a row at the foot of the bed. Judy walked over to the closets and opened up two of the top doors, revealing a large TV and a VCR.

"There's a DVD player up here too, and a stereo over there." She pointed across the room, "There's a bunch of hangers and stuff in the closet for you."

"Cool, thanks," he felt something wet on his hand and looked down to find Playa sitting by his side, wagging her tail, nose sniffling his hand.

"No problem. Well, lemme show you the rest of the house."

She led out of the room and farther down the hall. She pointed out her room, which was next to his. The layout was the same, but her walls were a lighter blue accented with lime green, hot pink, and purple. Past her room was her mothers, where Diane was watching TV, and then around the corner you found a pink bathroom, which was reserved for the girls. Past the bathroom you went through a doorway and entered the kitchen, through the kitchen and back out another doorway you found a blue bathroom, reserved for the boys and emergencies (i.e. the girls bathroom was occupied when another girl really needed to use it). Then they moved into the dining room, the crackle table covered with old mail, and that room connected back into the living room where they started. It was one big circle really.

Playa jumped up on the sofa, preparing to leap at him, and Judy grabbed his arm, pulling him away and watching Playa land on the floor with a soft thud. She let out a giggle and then glanced up at him.

"Wanna see downstairs really quick?"

There was a downstairs? He thought this was a one level house.

"Come on, follow me," she lead him over to the right of the room, where there was a stairway tucked in the corner. He hadn't even noticed it before.

At the bottom of the stairs there were two doors. They peered into the one on the left and spotted her brother sitting at the computer playing some card game while 94.9 played on the radio, and to the right was the family room, housing a leather sofa, mini fridge, big screen TV, and shelve after shelve of movies.

"You have a nice house," he said leading the way back up the stairs.

Playa ran past him, nearly tripping him, and waited for him at the top.

"Thanks, but if you think this is nice you should see Columbia. People in Central Valley have money, we're like, lower middle class."

If this was lower middle class he, with all his money, wasn't very high up on the chart.

"Well, I'm sure you want to unpack and settle in or whatever," she stopped infront of his door again.

"Yeah, thanks," that was all he'd been able to say lately.

"No problem," she turned to walk away but spun around to face him again, "Before I forget, I know we only have one camera man," she jerked her arm in Steve's direction, "But there's camera's up all over the place so you might want to watch what you do."

He nodded a thanks at the piece of advice and stepped into his room as she went to her own. It only took him a few minutes to put his things away. All of his shoes were set on the floor of the closet, and his clothes had been packed with their hangers, so it was a simple act of taking them out and putting them on the rack. After setting out a few pictures of his family and friends, he decided he was done and wondered what to do next.

The ringing of the phone startled him and he wondered if he should answer it. Yeah he lived there but, should he? Luckily the ringing stopped and he heard Judy's voice flow down the hall. She had a deep voice for a girl, but it wasn't completely masculine. It was something Trace called a 'bedroom voice' because it was low, slightly raspy, and one that phone operators always strive for. She was reminiscent of Meg Ryan or Demi Moore.

Justin moved to the hall, smiling at Playa who made a half hearted leap at him, and made way to Judy's wide open door. She was standing with her back to him, facing a Tim McGraw wall calendar.

"No, I'm sorry sweetie, I have a ton of things to do that day... I can do it on the 12th though... oh you are... oh that's fine, I can do that!... Okay, well I'll see you Monday.... Alright sweetie, bye."

Sweetie? Did Judy have a little highschool sweetheart?

She clicked off the phone and turned around to drop it on her bed. She was holding some kind of datebook in her hand and a pen was hanging from her mouth. Justin decided she looked too old for her age, with her hair back in a clip, glasses slowly sliding down her nose, and a stressed look on her face.

She looked up with a smile when he knocked softly on her door.

"Hey, done already?" she asked cheerfully.

"Yep."

"Cool," she didn't really know what to say.

There was a rustling to his side and he looked down to see a large tank, and a green turtle, about the size of his hand, standing on a rock.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"That's Crush, my turtle," she walked over to the tank and picked up the green container that sat next to it. When she began unscrewing the yellow lid Playa ran from Justin's side to sit infront of her master, her tongue dangling from her mouth.

Judy pulled a few sticks from the container and dropped them into the tank, and then dropped a few on the floor which Playa hungrily went after.

"What is that?" Justin asked.

"Turtle food. Playa likes it because it tastes like fish. I see no problem with giving her some once in a while."

Justin looked at the tank when there was more rustling. The turtle was scurrying to the other side of the tank where the food was floating.

"He knows what that is too. Look at him go. You're starving him!"

"I am not," she defended with a laugh, "She's always hungry. This type of turtle will, by nature, eat everything it can, so you have to pay attention to how much you give her cause she'll eat herself to death."

"She?"

"Yep," Judy shrugged, "Sometimes I feel sorry for my brother, he's the only guy, even the turtle is a girl. I think secretly he's glad you're here."

Justin offered a soft smile and a nod, not really knowing how to respond.

"Oh!" she sounded as if she'd just remembered something, "Did you find everything okay? Were there enough hangers and everything? Anything you need?"

"Nope, everything was fine."

"Well, are you hungry? Thirsty or anything?"

"No, I'm fine really."

She nodded and moved to sit down on her bed. Justin followed suit, looking around at all the different things on her walls. It was definitely a girls room, with posters of different icons like Marilyn Monroe on the walls, and little magazine clippings about TV shows like 'Sex and the City'. What really got him with the number of CD's on the shelves behind him.

"You a big music fan?" he motioned over his shoulder at them.

"Yeah. I've got about six hundred and thirty-seven. I dunno, I lost count after awhile."

"I know what you mean. I lost count of how many I have too, though, my collection is slightly more extensive than yours."

"How many do you have?"

"Uh..." he scratched at his chin, "Somewhere around one thousand-."

Judy's face kinda went blank and then faded into shock.

"You have a thousand CD's?"

Justin nodded.

"What are you gonna do with a thousand CD's? That's crazy."

"You have six hundred."

"Well still, I don't have a thousand. Why do you have so many?"

He shrugged.

"I dunno, I just do. You buy one CD, and then someone comes out with another and you want it, and then someone else has got another and you want it too."

"True."

"What about you?"

"Oh, I wanted to be in record books for the most CD's ever," her voice took on a slight twang and it threw him for a moment, "But then I found out that person had something like ten-thousand so I gave up."

Before either of them could say anything else Marcus came around the corner and began making noises that sounded like planes crashing into things and people screaming. Judy merely looked at him before telling him to 'make like Michael Jackson and Beat It'. He smiled at her, proud of himself, before doing as told. Judy then glanced nervously at the camera and leaned closer to Justin, her voice lowering.

"About my brother," she said, "He's... well he's mentally disabled. So sometimes he'll do something or say something that might seem alittle weird, or maybe he won't understand something that may seem kinda simple, and it's not that he's dumb he's actually really really smart, he just needs alittle extra time than most."

Her eyes glanced nervously at the camera again and he could see she was alittle weary of having to tell all of this to how ever many people on the first day. He felt for her alittle.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be," she smiled, "I'm not. He's a cool dude, sometimes. It's hard for me to try to imagine him another way," her drawl had faded and was replaced with a slow surfer sound.

"What's his disability called?" he hoped he wasn't prying, but he really was curious.

"I don't remember," she looked away thoughtfully, "I don't remember exactly how he got it either, because he wasn't born with it. Alot of things went wrong when he was born."

"Can I ask what?"

"Well, for one thing he was in the womb to long. The doctor wouldn't induce labor on my mother and she was pregnant for like almost 11 months I think. When he finally did come he was water logged. You know how when you stay in the bath tub for to long and your fingers and your toes are all wrinkly?"

Justin nodded.

"He was like that. And then when he was born something happened and he didn't get oxygen to his brain for a minute and that caused damage. And then, a few months later, he got an ear infection that went undetected and all the fluid and stuff in his brain from that certainly didn't help. My Mom never forgave the hospital for it, she wants to sue the city of Seattle, that's where he was born, and all this other stuff. She says it's unfair what they did to him, because he was going to be something special. Even with his disability, there's so much that he can do, and he's still really smart. He even graduated from Community College. Mom says he would have been the next Albert Einstein if all that hadn't of happened to him."

Justin nodded, not wanting to apologize again.

"But why is this turning into some kind of therapy session for me? Let's talk about something else," her smile was back and she made herself alittle more comfortable before turning to him.

"Tell me about you, tell me about why you decided to do this."

Justin shrugged and Judy laid down on her side with a laugh.

"Come on, someone says to you, 'Hey come move in with a stranger for four months,' and you just agreed to it no problem?"

"Seemed like fun."

She giggled and bit her lip, silently pushing for him to explain.

"Well," he leaned back on his elbows, "It wasn't my first choice on how to spend the next four months, but my manager thought it would be good for me, and so did my Mom."

"Lynn right?" she knew exactly who his mother and his manager were, but she couldn't let him know that. It was only day one, she couldn't have him knowing what a complete goober fan she was just yet.

"Yeah. She kept saying, 'You always wanted to go back to highschool, so this is your chance.' Kinda hard to argue with."

"Yeah, Mom's will do that too ya."

The conversation continued on with mindless chitchat. Justin found that Judy was a pretty easy person to talk too, which only helped her Plain Jane appeal. Part of being a Plain Jane, other than not being exceptionally beautiful and friends with the hot chicks, they were sweet and easy to get along with. This is why many of them were always 'one of the guys' and not with the guys.

Finally 8 o'clock rolled around and Judy let out a yawn as she leaned back against her pillows. Steve had taken a seat in the blue blowup chair behind them and propped the camera in his lap so he could relax. They were just sitting there doing nothing, he saw no reason to keep holding the heavy thing.

"You're not tired already are you?" Justin smirked at her.

"I can't help it. This is my usual bedtime."

"You go to bed at eight o'clock?"

"Yep, eight o'clock, fall asleep watching Dr. Phil."

"You watch Dr. Phil? How can you stand him? Man, I hate that guy."

"Hey, don't knock it. That's quality television. Atleast he gives advice, not like those idiots who do things like get their butt cheeks pierced together."

"Hey, Jackass is funny, I don't care what you say."

"Whatever," she giggled and that brought on another yawn.

Justin couldn't help the yawn that escaped his mouth right after. Yawns were contagious ya know, and maybe the day had been alittle more tiring than he'd thought.

Judy giggled and pointed at him.

"You're one to talk Justin," she said.

"Yeah well, it's not my fault it's yours."

"Hey, it's good that you're sleepy. If your gonna hang with me you gotta learn to go to bed early and sleep in as late as possible, because there will be days that seem like they're never going to end."

"You're that busy huh?"

She nodded, with a third yawn.

"I'll show you my, er--our, calendar tomorrow. You'll see what I mean."

"Yeah," Justin watched her eyes droop alittle, surprised as how quickly she was fading, "Well, I'll let you hit the hay," he stood up and stretched his arms above his head.

She nodded a thanks and moved so she could pull the covers down on one side of her King sized bed. Justin waved a 'goodnight' and left the room, Steve following behind. He peered into Diane's room and found a figure hidden beneath the covers and soft snoring. The house was quiet except for the soft murmur of a TV from downstairs where he guessed Marcus was, and the tapping of Playa's nails on the hardwood floor and she followed close behind him.

"Things really start to wind down around here when the sun sets huh Playa?" he gave the dog a pat on the head, which she happily excepted.

"Oh hey Justin," he turned to find Judy standing in her doorway, "I just wanted to tell you that there's extra pillows and blankets and stuff in here in you need them," she put her hand on the slim closet door next to her.

"Oh, great, thanks," now that he thought about it, the house did feel alittle chilly.

"I don't know about your room but I know that mine feels like it's around negative-two degrees at three in the morning."

They exchanged a look and she stepped back into her room.

"Well, goodnight, don't let the bed bugs bite."

Her door clicked closed and now there was a poster of a WWE wrestler and signs saying things like 'Hazardous Material Storage Area' and 'Do Not Enter Without Permission' staring back at him.

Justin stepped into his room, sighing with annoyance as Steve followed him in, camera pointed directly at him. He wasn't really all that tired, but with everyone else asleep or seemingly headed that way, there wasn't really anything to do. The blue cordless phone on the other side of the room started to call to him and he sat down in the plush chair next to it before picking it up, trying to decide who he was going to call first.

His fingers moved over it quickly as he dialed the number, and then he raised it to his ear and waited patiently for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ma," he smiled at the comfort in her voice.

"Justin, sweetie, hi. How are you? How's everything going?"

"It's alright," his voice lowered, "It's kinda weird ya know."

"Yeah? Well that's expected sweetie. You gotta give yourself time, settle in. Tell me about your partner, is he a nice boy?"

"Well, first off he is a she."

"What?" he smiled at her tone. Apparently she'd been just as clueless as he had. They'd both just assumed that since he was guy, they'd put him in with another guy.

"Yeah. Her name's Judy Bucklass, she seems cool enough. I talked to her for awhile, we went over the basic's, names, favorite kinda music, blah blah blah."

"Well, that's nice sweetheart," she said, "I'm glad you're getting along."

"Yeah, turns out she's some kind of overachiever. Part of every club and this and that."

"Says the former class President."

"That's besides the point Ma."

"I don't see why."

"Ma, just listen."

He told her about all the events of the day, some of the things he and Judy had talked about, how annoying it was that Steve was following him everywhere (that got him an evil look) and how he found it odd that both Diane and Marcus had chosen to make only short appearances.

"That's strange. If some new person were in my house, I'd wanna talk to them, find out alittle about who they were. Especially if they were going to be spending alot of time with my 17 year old daughter."

"Mom," Justin groaned as he ran a hand over his head, "I think it's just their way of trying to make Judy and I talk to eachother. If they're not around, we don't really have a choice. I guess it's good that we get to know eachother alittle bit before the weekend's over."

"True."

"Hey Mama, how long have we been on the phone?"

He checked his watch, and it read 8:23, but he didn't know what time they'd gotten on the phone.

"I'm not sure, why?"

"Because I only get 15 minute phone calls remember?"

"Oh, well they'll give you a 30 second warning or something won't they?"

"They didn't say, they just said that the phone will-," there was a clicking noise that he didn't recognize, and no sounds coming from the other end.

"Mom?" he asked into the phone.

There was no response.

"Mom?" he asked again.

There was silence, and then a dial tone. Justin let out a puff of air and pressed the 'off' button on the phone before dropping it back into the cradle.

"I guess it's been 15 minutes."

There was a scratching at the door and he stood up with a curious look. When he opened it, there wasn't a person in sight, but Playa was sitting there, her tail wagging and her tongue hanging out. Justin smirked at her and she trotted past him and over to the bed, which she jumped up on, walked in a circle, and laid down at the end of.

"Apparently, I also have a room mate."

Justin looked around again, deciding that there was nothing else to do, and walked to the closet to pull out some night clothes. The light from the camera shining from his right reminded him that he wasn't alone.

"I need to get changed," Justin said, "You know what, you might as well leave. I mean, I'm not doing anything but getting in bed and going to sleep."

Steve recorded him for a few more seconds before pulling a walkie-talkie out of his pocket.

"Steve to production van," he said.

A moment later there was some static and a voice saying something Justin couldn't even begin to make out.

"Yeah, I'm off for the night. Turn on house cameras."

There was the static and the voice again, and Steve shut off his camera.

"Have a good night. See you in the morning."

Justin watched as Steve walked over to the alarmsystem on the wall by Diane's door, pressed in some code that shut off the red light, and the some code that turned it back on. 'You have 30 seconds to exit' the screen read. Steve nodded as he passed Justin, who was leaning out of his room, and headed for the door.

Justin shook his head at the thought that this could be so nonchalant for him, invading someone's home the way he and MTV were. Then again, Justin wasn't an innocent bystander either.

"Hey Steve," Justin stopped him, "Are there cameras in the bedrooms?"

Now that he knew for a fact that they were on, he was alittle weary about changing in there. He knew it wasn't above MTV's standards to release footage of him in his underwear (or less) to the public.

"No, there's no cameras in the bathrooms or bedrooms. We have to respect your privacy atleast alittle," Steve smiled, "Goodnight."

The door closed behind him and Playa jumped down from the bed and stood next to Justin, her tail wagging as usual and her head cocked to the side with curiosity. Was she getting another new friend, or was one leaving?

Justin stepped back into his room and closed the door, Playa jumping out of the way as to avoid having her face closed in it. As soon as it was shut and he took one step away, there was more scratching and whining. He reached back, opening it enough for her to enter, and then shut it again.

After pulling out a pair of pants and a tee-shirt, he pulled off his shirt and then paused to look over his shoulder. Playa was there, her eyes boring into his back, panting. For a moment, it was really creepy. He had no problem changing in front of his own dogs, but this was a strange dog. He pulled the closet door till it blocked her view, and quickly pulled off his jeans and pulled on his oversized sweat pants. Yanking the shirt over his head, he stepped from behind the door and over to the bed. Playa rolled onto her back and stuck her paw up in the air, hoping for him to pet her tummy.

Justin merely pushed on her till she was on one side of the bed so he could get in on the other. Slowly he slid his body under the comforter and relaxed against the warm cream colored sheets.

Day one down, twenty-thousand to go.

Chapter 3

Justin awoke with a start, not completely sure of why he was awake. He'd been quite happy sleeping peacefully with the dog warming his feet by laying on them. At first it'd been hard to fall asleep what with the new noises and the light from the neighbors front porch shinning into his bedroom window. But finally drowsiness over took him around ten. Now he was pulled out of it, at what time he didn't know, for seemingly no reason.

A doorbell sounded and Playa let out a loud shriek-like whine. Was that what had woken him up? The door? Justin tossed his feet over the side and slowly headed out of the room. As soon as he opened the door Playa bolted out and down the hall, sliding to a stop infront to the door. Marcus was there, wearing black shorts, and grabbed her collar before opening the door.

There was a cheerful 'hi' which sounded like it came from a female. Marcus said nothing, but shifted his gaze down the hall. It was then that Justin realized Judy was standing next to him, (along with Steve who he didn't even know was in the house) pajamas rumpled and hair sticking up in all directions. She grunted and slowly shuffled towards the door when Marcus said, "It's for you."

She peered around the door frame before putting a hand on her hip and walking away.

"What are you doing here?"

Two girls stepped into the living room. One was short, obviously of Hispanic decent, with long brown hair with red streaks flowing down her back. She wore glasses similar to Judy's, and you could tell by her uneven skin tone that she wore no make-up, but for whatever reason it worked on her. Behind her was another girl, her hair cut short like Judy's, but because she was white and Judy was black, it hung differently. She was a plump girl too, but she was cute with a round face and button nose. Not exactly what Justin had expected when he said Judy would most likely have hot friends, but he still kept hope for the future.

"Is that how you talk to your bestfriend?" the Hispanic girl asked.

Playa wiggled her way free of Marcus and charged at the two girls. The Hispanic girl brushed her off with one hand, so Playa went after the other girl instead, jumping all around her. Marcus reached out to grab her, but Playa saw it coming and moved to the other side of the girl, out of his reach.

"Stupid dog," he muttered.

"It's fine Marcus, just leave her. They're used to Playa already," Judy said.

Her gaze then settled on the short Hispanic girl looking at her.

"At this hour, I have no friends."

"It's after eleven," the Hispanic girl defended.

"And? Your point being...?"

The Hispanic girl made a face and moved to follow Judy down the hall. Justin, mean while, stood by watching with both amusement and confusion.

"I don't understand how you can sleep so late in the day."

"That's because you're an insomniac and don't sleep at all."

"Maybe."

Judy stopped walking when Steve moved infront of her to get a better shot and she caught sight of herself in the camera lens.

"Oh my God," her hands clamped over he face and she turned away, "I've just been filed looking like complete crap. I don't have any make-up on and my hair is all over the place and my pajamas aren't cute."

"I don't have make-up on and my hair isn't done and I'm just wearing jeans and a sweatshirt."

Judy's fingers separated so she could give the Hispanic girl a look.

"Vicki..." she groaned.

The girl shrugged, "So, Juicy, introductions?" she motioned at Justin who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

"Justin, this is my supposed bestfriend Victoria, and that's Amanda over there. Amanda, Vicki, this is Justin, my new life-mate and this is Steve, the camera guy."

"Hi," Vicki waved at Justin as she looked him up and down , "God damn you tall people. Juicy, why are you always friends with people who dwarf me?"

"You're like five feet tall, most of the world dwarf's you."

"Five foot half an inch thank you. Five foot five when I put on my Chinese ho shoes."

Justin chuckled.

"Vicki, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Victoria shrugged.

"Boredom. We didn't have anything to do today, so we had Amanda's Grandmother drop us off."

"So you came to bug me? You knew I didn't have anything planned so you decided to come run it for me?"

Victoria grabbed Judy's arm and hugged it to herself while she batted her eyelashes.

"Think of it as enriching your day."

"To enrich my day I'd have to not only want you here, but I'd have to like you. That puts you out of the running. Amanda's still in though."

Amanda, who had taken a seat on the blue couch and was calmly petting Playa's tummy, let out a giggle that was so cute Justin had to chuckle himself.

"Whatever," Victoria sounded, letting go of Judy and heading back towards the living room.

"Just give us a few minutes to change okay?"

"Sure. We'll be downstairs."

Victoria and Amanda disappeared back into the living room, and then footsteps could be heard on the stairs, along with the sound of Play's eager feet running after them. Marcus had long sense disappeared back into his room.

"I'm sorry," Judy turned to Justin, "my friends do that sometimes, just randomly come over without any warning."

"It's cool," Justin waved it off, "Trace does exactly the same thing. I don't even have to be home for him to do it."

"Do you get as annoyed as I do?"

"Yep."

"Cool, I thought it was only me," she smirked, "well, lemme go get changed," she offered another smile before shuffling back down the hall and into her room, Justin into his.

When he emerged from his room again, having thrown on a clean shirt and mussed his hair alittle, Judy could be heard moving around in the kitchen. He walked through the hall, past her door where he could hear Crush scurrying around inside her tank, and into the kitchen to find Judy pulling a bowl out of a cabinet. Steve was zoomed in on her.

"Hi," she glanced up at him.

"Hey."

"You want?" she held up a box of 'Peanut Butter Captain Crunch.'

"Yeah, but first I gotta brush."

Judy nodded as he moved past her and over to the blue bathroom just outside the other end of the kitchen. When he returned the second time she was pulling two spoons out of a drawer.

"Just in time," she glanced at him as she shut the drawer with her hip, "I figure since we're in here I might as well tell you where everything is. Eating utensils, like forks and spoons are in this drawer, and cooking utensils, spatulas and mixing spoons and stuff are in this drawer. Dishes are in this cabinet, glasses and mugs are in the one next to it. Pots and pans are over here, the spices and stuff are in this cabinet over here. Marcus tries to hide the cookies from my mother and I on the top shelf but we know they're there anyway. Down here in this cabinet is all the canned goods, and the boxed stuff like crackers, cereal, blah blah blah. It's the same for that bottom cabinet over there," Justin followed her in a circle around the island.

"Waaay over here in this cabinet we keep all the towels and napkins and place setting stuff. And on this blue cart we keep all of Play's stuff. Her dog food, snacks, treats. These," she picked up a yellow box, "are her favorite."

"Scooby Snacks?" Justin laughed.

"Yep. She loved them. Can't get enough."

Proving Judy's point, Playa, having heard the rustling of the treats when Judy picked up the box, charged up the stairs and right into her master. Both her paws planted firmly in Judy's gut. The girl left out a grunt and stumbled backwards alittle at the force, before giving Justin a look as if to say, "See."

Judy set the box back in the cart and walked away. Playa sat down next to it, her nose gesturing towards it as she let out low whines.

"But she's only allowed to get one when she does something really good. For example, we're trying to train her to not run away every time we open the front door, so when she doesn't, she gets a Scooby Snack."

Having recognized the words, Playa's whines got alittle louder. Judy was immune to it though.

"Got cha," Justin said, "So, where's Diane? She still asleep?"

"She's at work. She's always at work. Sometimes, between our schedules, it'll be three or four days before I see her face."

"Where does she work?"

"The Sears Appliance Outlet store in San Leandro. She's the manager on the back forty lot, but they like to make her run the entire store, the result is really long hours."

Her tone lowered and became somewhat sad as she looked away, a wistful look on her face. But a split second later, she was back to her normal self, smiling at him.

"Here you go," she handed him one of the bowls before leading the way out of the room and down the stairs to the family room.

Playa opted to stay in the kitchen and stare at the box instead of following them.

Victoria and Amanda were seated side by side in the middle of the sofa, lazily staring at the TV screen.

"What took you so long?" Amanda asked.

Judy shrugged.

"Well, it's a good thing you're here. Amanda was doing her Kevin Bacon thing."

"Oh God," Judy's eyes rolled as she sat down.

"Her Kevin Bacon thing?" Justin questioned as he chomped down on a spoonful of cereal from a nearby chair.

"Amanda here can link any actor back to Kevin Bacon," Vicki explained.

"Right," Justin said.

"No, seriously I can. Give me someone."

Justin pondered for a moment.

"Uma Thermon."

"Easy," Amanda rattled off some movie names and sure enough Kevin Bacon came up in the end.

"Hmm," he sounded. Interesting.

"Give me another."

Judy amused her friend and named Hilary Swank and she flipped the channel from Mad TV despite Vicki's protests. Amanda rattled off more movie names and Justin noticed how neither Vicki or Judy seemed to really be paying all that much attention. Victoria gave another name, then proceeded to argue with Judy about the TV when she stopped on a show called 'The Look For Less'.

Once Amanda was done, a pleased look on her face, Vicki laid her head on the girl's thigh and said, "You know, you could just be naming all these people and movies and stuff cause I don't know the difference between one or the other, I wouldn't be able to tell you if you were right or not."

"Trust me, I'm right," Amanda said.

"I'm listening to her. She's right," Judy said.

A few minutes later, Judy had apparently become annoyed with Amanda's Kevin Bacon thing, and named Veronica Lake.

"Veronica Lake huh? Hmm... I'm going to have to think about that one. Hang on," Amanda tapped her chin with her pointer finger.

"Now that we have some time," Judy leaned forward to set her bowl on the coffee table, "what did you guys expect us to do all day? Justin, come sit over here. You're a buddy now, buddies don't sit in chairs. Those are for people we don't like," she waved him over, "like Steve."

While Steve shot her a playfully dirty look, Justin stood, set his bowl on the table, and sat down next to her on the couch. She gave him a reassuring smile and patted his leg before turning to her friends.

"So, what did you guys want to do?"

"Don't know. What were you two going to do?"

"Nothing," Judy laughed, "I'm not going anywhere or doing anything."

"Judy, you're never not doing anything or going anywhere."

"Well, today is that day my friend."

The green rotary dial phone on the other side of the room rang and Judy stood up to answer. With Amanda's pillow now gone, she fell against Justin and looked up at him with a smile.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hi," he had to grin at the nervousness in her eyes. Finally some normalcy. He was used to nervous 17 year old girls staring at him.

"You're... you're really big," she said, her voice meek and innocent.

Justin's eyes widened, wondering what she was looking at exactly.

"You're lucky I like you," Judy said with a smile into the receiver. She was quiet for a moment, "Umm-hmm... call me when you find out okay? All right, talk to you later."

She hung up and strolled back over to the couch, sitting down in her previous position.

"Well, we're not going anywhere today. But how does everyone feel about Cory and Sean coming over?"

"No! I cannot be in the same room with Cory. Every time I'm around that fool he attacks me. Remember when we went to Target and he was throwing those big bouncy balls at me?"

Judy began laughing hysterically at the memory and Justin decided right then and there that she had a killer laugh.

"You have a kick ass laugh," he told her. She only laughed harder and his brow furrowed.

"Sorry," she began once she started to sober up, "it's just, I hear that a lot, but it's always from girls. Girls always think I have a cool laugh and guys always think I sound like a witch."

"Well, I could see that."

Judy made a face and popped him gently on the arm.

"Hey!" she protested, "You better be nice to me mister," she instructed.

He merely nodded with a smile.

"My arm is falling asleep. Why are you laying on me anyway?" Amanda looked down at Vicki.

"Because, your closest to me. I'd sit on Judy but I'd have to climb over you."

"You're not sitting on me," Judy said, "I'm not a chair."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are-Juicy you know you're our official chair, just deal with it."

"I'm not a chair!" Judy exclaimed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Justin inquired.

"They always try to sit on me. Her, Juliet, Sean, everyone."

Justin's face only got more confused. Vicki noticed and sat up, then flung her hair to one side of her head before looking at him.

"She is hella comfortable. She's the honorary chair, she just needs to except that and move on."

"And she's hella soft too," Amanda piped up, grabbing Judy's wrist and running her hand back and forth over her forearm.

"That she is too. Her skin's hella soft, and so it her hair," Vicki leaned over Amanda and started running her hand over Judy's hair.

"Would you people stop petting me!" Judy gave them both looks and she leaned away from them, closer to Justin.

She turned and looked up at him, her voice lowering as if she didn't want them to hear, even though she really did.

"I'm sorry, I also forgot to warn you that my friends are freaks."

"Hey!" a pillow hit her in the back of the head.

* * *

"Hello?" Judy was on the phone once again an hour later, "Hey Cory, are you on your way yet?"

"Man," Vicki muttered, "I don't wanna hang out with that fool."

"Don't worry," Amanda patted Vicki's head, "I'll protect you."

Vicki laughed, wanting to remind Amanda that Cory was taller than both of them.

"What are you talkin about? Where are you walking too?" Judy's voice echoed through the room.

"What is that fool doing?" Vicki asked.

"He and Sean are walking to his Dad's house," Judy moved the phone away long enough to answer Vicki's question and then put it back to her ear, "What? I can't hear you. Why are you walking to your Dad's house? To get shoes?"

Vicki made a noise and exchanged a look with Amanda.

"What the hell is he doing? He left his house to go to his Dad's house to get shoes? What's wrong with the shoes he's wearing?"

Judy plugged one ear, her way of telling Vicki to shut up, and tried to listen to what Cory was telling her. But curiosity got the best of her.

"Cory? What's wrong with the shoes your wearing? You're not wearing shoes? Are you atleast wearing socks? Cory you know they're doing construction over there, why are you walking down the street barefoot?"

Vicki and Amanda started to laugh, loudly, and Judy shushed them.

"He's such an idiot!" Vicki exclaimed.

Judy wanted to tell them to be nice, but when Cory started screeching like a girl into the phone about stepping on rocks, she had to laugh herself.

"He's so dumb. Oh my God Amanda, how can you have a crush on that guy?"

Amanda shrugged, her cheeks turning rosy.

"I don't. I just thought he was cute when I first saw him."

"And kept me up all night talking about him."

"Ok thanks Vicki," Amanda gave her a stern look. Vicki just giggled to herself.

"Sweetie, do you want me to come pick you up?... Are you sure?... Okay. See you in a bit. Bye."

Judy went to sit down again and put her sock covered feet on the table.

"They're on their way in a minute."

"Call them back and tell them not to come over because we're leaving," Vicki said.

"But we're not leaving."

"So. They don't know that."

"Victoria..." Judy said, her tone chastising. "Fine, fine, whatever."

Turned out that Cory and Sean never made an appearance. Cory called back 10 minutes later, complaining that his feet hurt and he didn't feel like going anywhere anymore. Judy managed to surpress her giggles until she was off the phone with him. She knew he could hear Victoria mocking him in the background and she didn't want to further hurt his feelings.

The two girls hung around until seven-thirty that evening, when Judy kicked them out, saying she had to go over school stuff with Justin, and then get to bed early. Victoria told her she lived like an old person, before calling her ride to come get her. Judy was one of only three people who had their license out of the whole 'crew.'

"Kinda sucks I didn't get to meet Cory and Sean."

"It's alright. I need to prepare you for them anyway. Victoria and Amanda are enough for one day, wouldn't want to scare you away," Judy smiled and grabbed a hold of his hand.

She drug him into her bedroom and pushed him down to sit on the bed, Steve staying by the doorway so he got a full view of her room.

"Now," she said walking to the other side of the room and picking up two backpacks, "let's go over school stuff," she sat down next to him and put a blue backpack in his lap.

Justin looked at it oddly before setting it on the bed next to him and unzipping it. Inside were six binders, all different colors.

"Okay, so, you're lucky you came a couple weeks after the start of the semester, otherwise, it'd have been total chaos with both of us trying to figure out what's going on."

She took him through all the binders, explaining that they were already organized for him, and all the papers he would need were already in them, all he would need to do is keep up during the rest of the year.

"Now, this is the binder reminder, it's the school's little version of a day planner and I know it sounds lame but it actually works. Without this and my cellphone, I'm lost. I write down all my plans, school and non-school in here," he nodded along, "I filled out yours up until last Friday for you, you can continue it tomorrow if you want. But it's handy when your doing homework, because you can look at whatever club or whatever you have the next day, and know what your going to need the next day."

Justin nodded along with her, only half listening. School, binders, homework, now he remembered why he decided to get a tutor instead of going to a real school.

"Like tomorrow, we have a BSU meeting."

"BSU?"

"Black Student Union. I'm president of that club, and we're going to talking about Black History Month pamphlets that we're putting together, and a Relief Effort that I'm thinking of doing."

"What's the Relief Effort about?"

"Lots of things."

"Like?"

"Like, FGC."

"Huh?"

"Genital Cutting."

Justin's face squinted up and he squirmed.

"That's all I need to know. Thanks."

"I wasn't going to go into the gory details, wimp. The Relief Effort is for woman in Kenya that have been victims of FGC, as well as girls in Romania that are suffering a modern form of slavery, sex trafficking and forced into early marriages, and Native American women right here in the US that have been victims of sexual assault, because they're numbers are the highest of all minorities."

Justin just watched her for a moment, impressed with her explanation.

"I read about it in Seventeen magazine, it talked about some of the women and then gave the address's of where you could send donations, and I figured, 'hey, I know something that could help.'"

"That's really cool."

She shrugged modestly.

"Well, there's still a lot of work to be done, and only a few days to do it in, I'm not even sure we can pull it off yet. But anyway, that's what we'll be talking about tomorrow."

"So what else is on the list for tomorrow?" he peered down at the open planner in her lap.

"Not much, second period we have Spanish-."

"What's first period?"

"We don't have a first period. There's so many kids at Central Valley High that there's two different schedule options. First through sixth period, or second through seventh. I chose the second through seventh so I could sleep late."

"Ahh," he nodded.

"So, Spanish. I hate this class, I hate it with a passion. I never ever ever want to go, most of the time I skip it and go to Starbucks, but I didn't do all that great last semester so I really gotta try and pull grade up this time."

"What'd you get?"

"A C+."

Oh yeah. Big deal, like that was the worst thing a Senior could get.

"Third period, Government. We have a teacher named Ms. Break. A lot of people don't like her, but I actually think she's kinda cool. She's smart. This would probably be my favorite class if Trisha weren't in it."

"Can't stand her?" his eyes glanced at Steve when he lowered himself onto the floor infront of them and pointed the camera up.

"Nope. I'm a liberal, and I'm totally against the death penalty, but home girl is evil and needs to be destroyed."

Justin chuckled.

"She says stuff like all homosexuals should be killed, and everyone should have to speak English in America because it annoys her when she goes to Jack In the Box and can't understand the person taking her order. She thinks that we shouldn't allow immigrants, and that schools shouldn't get more federal funding because she went to several different Pleasanton private schools and there was nothing wrong there."

"Don't private schools get tuition from their students?" Justin asked.

"Yep. So what the hell would she know about the public school systems and the fact that a lot of them are getting rundown?"

"Sounds like a piece of work."

"She is. Especially considering she's Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish at home. And she's total hypocrite because she'll say we need stricter punishment for criminals, but then she drinks and drives, and has purse parties, which aren't exactly legal, and all this other stuff," Judy was getting riled up at just the thought of the girl.

Her eyes were turning cold and her breathing picked up.

"Whoa, take a breath Zena before you hurt yourself," Justin squeezed her shoulder as she sighed.

"I'm sorry, I just can't stand that girl. I have to hear her comments all period because I sit right behind her."

"Here, let's move on. Fourth period?"

"Fourth is Advanced Photography, which is pretty fun, but it can be stressful. Mr. Tiffany, my teacher, is always on my case about assignments. We're doing this school service folder thing for the district office, and he's down my back everyday about how many pictures me and Amelia have taken."

"Amelia?"

"She's my partner for the assignment. Usually we work alone but the class figured it'd be easier if we paired up with someone. The plus side is, if the district uses any of my pictures, me and Amelia get $50."

"That's a nice chunk of change."

He made that in 30 seconds during his normal work day, but he felt no need to say that. The proud grin she was sporting was too cute to ruin.

"For spending three seconds taking one picture, I'd say it is. Anyway this class has both Beginning and Advanced photo students mixed together. So when I'm not working, I'm explaining to someone how to do something else."

"Do you have a dark room?"

"Ofcourse. How else are you going to develop your own film?"

"Sweet."

Judy smiled at his eagerness. For the first time since he'd gotten there, he actually looked excited about something.

"But I usually work on digital, so I'm rarely back there."

Justin frowned.

"But I suppose we'll do one assignment traditionally so I can show you the ropes."

"Awesome!"

"Yeah, awesome. Now listen we still have more classes. Fifth period we have photography again."

"Why?"

"Well, the class is officially called 'School Service' and I was in the main office last semester, but this semester this girl Anna, who is also in our fourth period photo class was put in there with me, and we just do not get along."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She's just a bitch. I go out of my way to be nice, and she just looks me up and down and mutters behind my back. She's evil like Trisha. Actually they're good friends."

Justin snorted.

"Now, fifth period we are there to help out Mr. Tiffany and the beginning students. But usually it's just go to his box, mix chemicals in the back, and then we can work on our own projects."

"Got it. Next."

"Next is lunch. Monday's we have BSU, Tuesdays we have Amnesty International meetings, Wednesdays we have American Red Cross meetings, Thursdays we have JSA meetings, and Fridays we have Spectrum meetings."

"What's JSA?"

"Junior Statesmen of America. It's like the debate team only cooler because we actually get to meet our governmental representatives."

Justin gave her a look that clearly read 'nerd.'

"Don't know it."

"It's cool," she insisted.

There was the nerd look again.

"Don't knock it. Drop the fact that you're in this organization during an interview and it'll get you to the top of the list for any internship you want."

"Whatever. Tell me about Spectrum."

"Gay and Straight Alliance."

He nodded.

"These are the clubs we'll usually have, some days we'll have to go somewhere else like a Link Crew meeting or a Peer Mediators meeting or a Drama Club meeting."

"Your a Peer Mediator?"

"Ofcourse. People say that I have a calming effect on others."

His eyebrow raised as he held back the remark.

"You know what?" she said, "Stop it. Pay attention, this is important. Yes, we are now Peer Mediators, we are also Link Crew leaders. Basically, we look after 37 freshmen and make sure their year is going well and try to help them transition. It's actually pretty cool."

"Sounds like it."

"I know you're just saying that to humor me. Now, sixth period we have Math. It sucks more than Spanish. I hate it. Now basic addition? That was fun. Anyway, there's some cool people in there, like this kid Doug that sits behind me. If not for him I probably wouldn't even go."

Justin was dying to ask if she liked this guy Doug, but he didn't.

"Seventh period we have Journalism. I'm a co-buisness manager/staff writer."

"And that means what?"

"Well, it means I make sure all the ads are getting paid by the companies on time, and that all the newspapers are getting out to the subscribers on time, and that I write the occasional feature or opinion from time to time."

"Mulitasker."

"You know it. This class gets to be the most stressful and a lot of the time I'm in there just wondering why the hell I took it again, but for whatever reason I keep sticking it out."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "Just don't have the heart to leave I guess. Been doing it for three years. Plus I figure that if the other 30 people in the class can suffer through it, so can I. Who am I too back out on then during the final stretch of the year and create all this unneeded drama?"

He nodded, "They said something about you being a singer/actress?"

"Yeah. That's kinda on hold right now because of all this school stuff, but towards the end of the year we might start having Monday night, Wednesday night, and Friday night classes."

"Classes?"

"Yeah, on how to model, act, sing. Things like that. Training I guess. My turned down version of the Mickey Mouse Club you could say."

"Fun fun fun."

She gave him a sarcastic smile and shoved her reminder back into her backpack.

"Any questions?"

Justin was busy glancing at the clock, wondering why she wasn't half asleep yet.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Not on Sunday nights. Sunday nights it's 9:30."

"Why?"

"Because, the new Sex and the City episodes are on at nine. Speaking of which," she reached across him and picked up the remote.

She turned the TV on and changed to the appropriate channel in one swift motion. Justin watched with amusement as she made herself comfortable and started with unwavering interest as the theme music started.

"You know-," he started.

"Are you staying?" she asked.

He didn't really answer, but watched her, waiting to see what she'd say next.

"Cause if your staying, you have to learn the Sex and the City rules. Rule number one, is no speaking unless spoken to. Rule number two, when spoken to all answers are to be 5 words or shorter and said as quickly as humanly possible."

There was a sparkle of playfulness in her eyes, but her face was all serious. Justin simply nodded and leaned back on his elbows while she turned back to the screen.

Chapter 4

Justin groaned as he awoke, the soft hum of a CD filtering through his door. It was so soft that under normal circumstances he probably wouldn't have even flinched. But he was still getting used to the new space, and he woke-up with every little creak. The only thing that was troubling him about this was that a CD was playing and someone was moving around, but it was still dark outside.

Something fell and Judy could be heard saying 'oh shoot'. Justin sat up on his elbows and peered at the clock. 6:27am. He remembered Judy saying something about having to be ready to go at 8 am and that she got up at 6 am, but for him that sounded unGodly. He rolled over and went back to sleep.

***

Alittle over an hour later Judy was locked in her room with the TV up, Diane was in the pink bathroom, Marcus was asleep in his room, and Justin was standing infront of his closet wearing boxers and socks.

What exactly did one wear on the first day of school? First day of school. The words seemed so juvenile to him. He was used to meetings, money, and buisness suits. Not lunchtimes, homework, and rallies. Finally he decided that blue jeans and a polo shirt would be fine and yanked then on before tackeling the shoe problem. It was another ten minutes before he stepped out of the room, finally ready for whatever the day had before him. Judy's door was cracked open and he went over to it and knocked softly.

"Come on in," she answered as the TV volume lowered.

He pushed it open and spotted her standing infront of her full length mirror, a slight contrast from the girl he was growing used to seeing. She wore jeans and a white halter that dipped incredibly low. He'd already spent the day before struggling to keep his eyes above her chin. It was like she knew she busty and was daring him to stare. Her hair, which had been straight the past two days, was wavy and flipped up at the bottom, in a style that kinda resembled the mom from the Brady Bunch.

"Hey, just in time. You ready?" her fingers ran through her hair again as she turned to face him.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied.

"Awesome, cause it's time to go anyways. Grab a jacket, Jesse says it's going to rain."

"Jesse?"

Was this another friend he had yet to meet?

"The weather guy on Channel 2," she pointed up at the screen.

"You have a first name relationship with the weather man?"

"Shush," she told him, "I watch the news every morning. How else am I going to know how to dress and stay up on current events?"

Justin glanced down at the tan, wood heeled sandals on her feet.

"Those are your rain shoes?"

"They're high enough to keep my feet from getting in puddles."

Justin chuckled.

"Didn't you say we had to go?"

"We do. Come on," she produced a leather and fur bomber jacket and lead him out of the room.

He grabbed his jacket on the way past his room, and patted Playa's head as she rolled over on the living room couch. She'd calmed down considerably once she realised he was staying.

"Alright action Jackson, let's hit it. Mom! We're leaving!"

The bathroom door opened, as did the front door.

"Have a good day! Love you!"

"You too!"

The doors slammed shut.

Judy led Justin up the driveway and to the blue Mustang parked to the side. She unlocked his door, and then went around to hers.

"This yours?" he asked opening the passenger side door.

"Yep. This is my Adriene."

"You call your car Adriene?"

"Yes, and don't you knock it."

Justin was pulling on his seat belt when he spotted a postcard taped to the dashboard. It had a man saying, 'Mind if I smoke?' and a woman replying with, 'Care if I die?'

"Adriene doesn't smoke?" Justin asked.

"Nope. She can't, I'm allergic. I'll be sucking on my inhalers for the next three days."

"Good to know."

When she turned the car on it let out loud 'vrooom' noise before lowering to a low, yet still intimidating rumble.

"I love that," Judy smiled.

Justin just smiled.

"What year is this?"

"'66."

He had a '69 at home.

Judy put the car in reverse and pulled away from the house and headed down the street. A minute later she pulled onto Central Valley Bulivard and Justin stared out the window at the buildings flying by. They were passing big companies like Rite-Aid and Mufflers, but there were still Mom and Pap stores. The town seemed so quaint, he almost expected to pass horse and carriage.

The car turned onto a street next to a shopping center called 'Valley Villiage' and a few stop signs later they were pulling up to Central Valley High. The ride took all of seven minutes total.

"That was the long route," Judy said, "Would you believe that my house is in East Central Valley and you are now in Downtown Central Valley?"

Justin gave her a look. This town was a shoebox. But, in a way, the smallness of it kind of reminded him of Millington, and that was always a nice feeling.

"This is the senior parking lot," Judy explained as she pulled into a spot along the street near the front of the school, "And this is my spot."

"Your spot?"

"Yep. I park here everyday. When anyone else's car is here, I egg it."

Justin's eyes widdened and she giggled evily. They climbed out of the car, pulling their backpacks from the backseat, and headed through the green gates and into the school.

"Your campus has prison gates," Justin smirked.

"I know. It feels like San Quenton for teens."

Judy lead him into the courtyard, pointing out the different buildings. The school was set up more like a college than a highschool.

"Everything's so spread out," he commented.

"Yeah, it sucks when it rains. I wish they'd just build one big building like those schools on TV."

After explaining that every building was a different hall, and every hall housed a different subject, she took him to the biggest building of them all, the 700 hall. It was a newly built two story building that housed all of the math and science classes.

"Why aren't you in science?" Justin asked, climbing the stairs behind her.

"Well, I got through Chemistry and didn't feel like doing it anymore. The school was starting up a Biotechnonolgy course that I really wanted to take, but that got pushed back to next year. Pissed me off because I loved biotech when I took a mini course on it during Biology."

Justin nodded, following her through a set of double doors and into a bringhtly lit empty hallway. Hardly anyone else was on campus.

"This is your locker," she stopped halfway down the hall and put her hand on a green locker, "And this one is mine," she put her hand on the locker below it.

"I get the top? Sweet!"

"Oh shush. I've been asking for three and a half years to be moved to a top locker, and you come in and swoop it out from under me. Or over me, rather."

Justin stuck his tongue out at her. Judy returned the gesture and dropped to her knees, opening her locker with ease. She didn't even have to look at the dial as she did it. Inside were pictures of she and some other people he didn't know. Obviously friends of hers by the smiles on their faces. There was a little mirror, and a blue locker caddy that held a few pencils, a couple dollar bills, and a maxi pad. There were six binders and four books. Written on the spines of the binders were the names of whatever class they were for. Taped to one side of the locker was Josh Hartnett's Teen People magazine cover, and taped to the other was an Nsync Teen People magazine cover.

"You give new meaning to the term 'closet fan'."

She looked up at him with a shy smile and produced a piece of paper from the locker caddy and passed it to him.

"What's this?"

"Your locker combination."

Justin took the paper and fiddled with the locker before it opened. After unloading all of his stuff into it, and pulling out the binders he would need for Spanish and Government he followed her back over to the stairs. There was a window there, facing the courtyard which was now crawling with people.

As soon as they got halfway down the stairs, Justin felt uneasy. People in the hall and passing them on the stairs were staring at him. Yeah, he'd been stared at before but that was different. Before they were oogling over him, screaming names and giving 'come hither' looks. Now they were just staring, maybe even glaring. And he always had a big burly man with him, making sure he was safe, and someone like his Mom or Trace quietly making jokes to ease his nerves. Here, he was alone.

Someone's arm wrapped around his and he glanced down at Judy's face.

"Come on," she told him, "Don't worry about them, the girls are star struck and the guys think you're going to steal their chicks."

She tugged him out of the building and across the courtyard to the cafeteria.

"I'm hungry. You hungry?"

He nodded and she giggled.

"What?"

"You look like you're about two years old with that expression on your face," she grabbed his arm again and pulled him into the building.

There were round tables spread throughout the large room. At the other end was a stage with different props and scenery pieces laying around. There was also a piano, with three or four people banging senselessly on the keys.

Justin followed a step behind her as the staring began again.

"Hey girl," someone sounded.

Judy turned in their general direction.

"Hey," she smiled.

He was noticing that she smiled alot. It was then that he realised that people weren't staring at him. They were staring at her. Judy, for whatever reason, commanded the attention of the room and didn't appear to notice.

"What up Judy?" someone else sounded.

Again she glanced in their direction with a smile and responded with a 'hey', never once missing a step. They walked over to the right side of the room, where there were several different doors. Each section led to the portion of the counter that was serving that particular food. Pizza, Asian Rim Cafe, grilled cheese, sandwiches. Ofcourse, with it being 8:20 in the morning those doors weren't open, only the enter and exit doors in the middle were open.

Judy walked over, by passing the line in the exit door, and up to the counter, Justin hesitantly following. No one in the line complained, just observed her as she did it.

"Judy," the woman working the counter stopped serving the line and moved over to her.

"Hi," her smile brightened and she oozed politeness.

"Cinnamon roll?" the woman asked.

"Yep."

She quickly grabbed a piece of waxed paper and picked up a cinnamon roll.

"Here you go sweetie," she handed it to Judy, who gave her a dollar bill.

When the woman handed her her 30 cents change, they both looked at Justin.

"Who's your friend?"

"This is Justin."

"Oh, he's that Timberlake boy everyone was talking about last week?"

"Yep."

"How you doing? I'm Mrs. Music," she substituted a handshake with a smile.

"I'm doing good. You?"

"Can't complain. So what'll it be?"

He glanced at the display before him. Breakfast burritos and pizzas, french toast sticks, and a variety of donuts, muffins, and cookies.

"Uh, same as her I guess."

By the time they made it out of the cafeteria the bell had wrung and it was time to head across the courtyard, around the gym, and to the 900 hall where their Spanish class was. The 900 hall was made up of portables, and her's was right smack in the middle.

She lead him up the ramp to the door and looked at him over her shoulder.

"You don't have anything to worry about with Senora Breed. She's a nice lady. I think you'll like her."

She pulled open the teal door and stepped in, the room fell silent as she did so. All the students turned to look at the the door, and when they spotted Justin, started the staring thing all over again.

"Hola Judy," the older woman at the potium said.

"Hola Senora Breed," Judy smiled the same smile she used on Mrs. Music.

"Who's this?"

"This is Justin Timberlake."

"Ahh, hello," the woman reached out to shake his hand, "Yeah, I've seen you. My granddaughter is in love with you."

Justin blushed.

"Habla Espanol?" she asked.

"Si, pequeno," Justin glanced at Judy with a proud smirk.

Senora Breed rattled off something in Spanish and by the blank look on Justin's face she could tell he had no idea what she was talking about. His blush only deepend when she stopped talking and looked at him, expecting an answer.

"Uhh... si?" Justin squeeked out a moment later.

The class laughed and Senora patted him on the back before telling him he could go take the empty seat next to Judy's. The pair crossed the room to a row off to the right and sat down.

"Hey Camila, Bianca, Alicia," Judy smiled at the three girls who sat infront of her.

They all smiled back at her.

"Did we miss anything?" she whispered to the girl infront of her, Alicia, once she sat down.

"No, she was talking to Ashley about some papers."

Judy nodded and sat back.

"Ashley's the T.A.," she explained, "Nothing's happened yet."

Judy looked back at the boy sitting behind Justin.

"Hey Bryce."

"What up Judy," he nodded.

"Justin this is Bryce, Bryce, Justin," she introduced as she pulled her binder out of her backpack.

"What up?" Bryce and Justin shared a masculine handshake before Bryce turned back to her.

Justin noticed Bryce's voice was unnaturally low and he spoke really slow.

"Judy, you look good today. Did you change your hair?"

"Nope," she didn't even look up at him.

"Oh yeah? Well you look nice. Can I have some of your food?"

Judy smirked to herself, handing him a piece.

"Thanks Judy, your so nice," he took it and turned back to his friends, the girl sitting behind him and the three people next to him.

Justin leaned across the isle to Judy.

"Hey, does Bryce take any stuff, ya know, recreationally?"

"Oh yeah. Big time," she confirmed.

"Hey Judy," the girl behind Bryce called, "did you do the homework?"

"Yeah," Judy pulled it from her book and handed it to the girl, "Did you get the diario from Friday?"

"Yeah," the girl handed it to her, "Where were you?"

"Peer mediation."

"Oh, cause I saw you later and I was like, 'hey!'"

Judy giggled and excepted the paper she was handing her. When she turned around she could feel Justin staring at her.

"What?"

He looked at her, and then down at the paper, then back at her.

"Tssk tssk tssk Judy."

"Oh give me a break. Just wait, by the end of the week you'll be borrowing something from me. Besides, Senora doesn't know nor does she care. It's the T.A.'s that grade everything."

After nearly an hour of a woman telling them a story about her three year old grandson in some language no one understood, it was time for Government. Judy stood next to her desk and took her time putting all her Spanish stuff away and pulling out her Government binder and book while the rest of the class filtered out. Finally she led him down the isle towards the door.

"Adios Senora," she waved over her shoulder.

"Adios Ruby. Adios Justin."

"So, what do you think of Spanish 3-4?" Judy slowly led him back around the gym to the front of the school.

"It was alright I guess. That Danielle chick seems really cool," he said, referring to the girl who sat next to him and spent most of her time joking around with Bryce and the other three people that sat around them.

"Yeah well, be careful of her. She's only 15."

"I wasn't even thinking like that."

"Uh-huh," she gave him a smirk, "I know she's hot, you don't have to act like you didn't notice. But, we don't really hang out with them out side of class. Bryce and I talk about cars, because he drives a '66 Mustang too, but other than that, they're not our crowd really."

Justin nodded and followed her up something labeled the 100 hall.

"That's our Journalism room," she said, patting a closed wooden door.

She stepped into the room after it and paused next to a very tall blonde woman.

"Hey, Ms. Break. This is Justin."

The woman turned to him and offered a hand.

"Nice to meet you Justin. I'm Ms. Break."

"Hi."

Why was it she seemed to be on such good terms with all of her teachers so far? Judy headed towards her desk, the third row from the board, the thrid seat back. Justin was, once again seated next to her, the kid who had been there was moved back behind him. Once the bell rang Ms. Break said something about not having a Current Even person that day, and then went off into some slide show/lecture about the Supreme Court Justices. Judy was seemingly entraced by the pictures flashing on the over head screen as Ms. Break rambled on and on about political parties and who was appointed by whom.

Justin was busy checking out the other people in the room. The desk on his side of the room were turned to the board was to his left and he was facing the other half of the class, whose desks were turned to look back at them. There was a girl in the back of the row across from him wearing one of the sheerist tank tops he'd ever seen. He could clearly make out every detail of the white strapless bra she was sporting underneith it.

"Hey," Judy snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Don't get taken by the hoodrat hoodrat hoochie Mama's around her," she said.

Justin gave her a look and followed suit when she started to pack up her things. This class for some reason, had zoomed by alot faster than the one before it.

"Where to now?" he asked following her out the door and merging into the hall with everyone else.

"Now it's break. We're gonna meet up with the girls and then go to our lockers."

"The girls?" Was this finally the part where he got to meet the hot chicks?

"Yes, a few of my friends. My closest friends, Juliet and Vicki."

Vicki he'd met before, Juliet he'd heard of but hadn't had the pleasure of seeing yet. After following Judy out of the 100 hall and over to what he was pretty sure was the 200 hall his eyes landed on a group of girls looking in their direction. Vicki was amongse them, so he was pretty sure they were waiting for Judy.

Now this is what he was talking about. The average girls always know the hot girls. Before him was someone cute in every color of the rainbow. There was the latina, Vicki, and another Black (actually he preferred to refer to them as chocolate when around his friends) girl with long light brown hair, and a blonde, brunette, and vivid redhead.

'Thank you Judy for leading me to the promised land,' he cheered for himself.

"Ladies," Judy smiled at them before turning towards the courtyard.

They all followed, talking amongst themselves about someone or something or some class. The brunette came up on Judy's right side and wrapped her arm around hers.

"Judy. Judy. Judy. Judy. Judy. Judy."

"God I hate my name."

"Who dis?" she was talking in her own form of baby talk.

Judy stopped in the middle of the courtyard, right in the middle of someone's hackeysack game.

"Guys, this is Justin. Justin this is Juliet, Julie, Krystal, Allie, and you know Vicki."

Juliet, she was the brunette and seriously thick in a really sexy way. She was an inch or two shorter than Judy, with really long hair that had a few streaks running throughout. He could also tell she wore about the same bra size as Judy. Please God let them be hanging out with her alot.

Julie was the blonde, and she was adorible. Tall like Juliet but she had this thin little body and big blue eyes. Now he thought about it, he could see an eery resemblance between her and the old goody-twoshoes Christina Aguilera.

Krystal was the Black girl, and she like all of them, was shorter than Judy, but her boobs were definately bigger. She had these silver shades and big earrings, a low cut top and he didn't need her to turn around to be able to tell she had a big butt. Last time he had seen someone with that many dangerous curves he'd been Nelly and he'd referred to her as 'Chocolate Thunda'.

Allie was the red head and she there wasn't anything especially hot about her. Her body wasn't especially great but she had this cute face and a voice like Judy's. You know, they all kinda resembled eachother in some way.

They all told him hello and he smiled back. A hackeysack came out of nowhere and he did some little move, saving the shrieking Vicki.

Judy gave him a look and he smiled proudly.

He was such a little show off.

"What?" he asked innocently.

She knew what he was doing. He could tell by the look on his face. It wasn't exactly showing off really, more like, exposing a well developed skill. You don't play hackeysack 50 million times without picking up a trick or two.

"Let's go show off," she grabbed his arm and pulled him a long as the group started towards the 700 hall again.

"So Justin, how long are you here for?" Julie walked along side, slowly sliding off her hoodie to reveal a blue babydoll tee.

Judy rolled her eyes as she raced Vicki up the stairs.

"Four months. You guys are stuck with me for awhile."

"Wow. You're not gonna see your family for four months?"

"Nope. But I don't think it'll be all that hard," his eyes were wandering, "I mean, you guys all seem really nice."

"We are," she touched his arm gently, "We'll keep you really good company."

Interesting.

"So uh, do you ladies hang out with any guys or is this an all girls club?"

Not that he wasn't down for hanging with a bunch of girls, because that would make him big pimpin', but what if they started discussing tampons or something? He needed some source of testosterone.

"Yeah, we have lots of guy friends."

"Like her boyfriend," Judy muttered as she stepped up to her locker and dropped her backpack.

Boyfriend?

"Yeah, Tom. It's nothing serious, really."

Vicki sucked on her teeth and suddenly Julie looked alittle nervous.

"I gotta go by Mr. Mitchs' room. I'll see you guys later."

While she sprinted off Juliet began some conversation about potatoe chips while Judy and Justin traded binders and gathered their things for the next two classes.

"Uh, we gotta go by Senora's so I'll call ya'll later," Judy was pulling him farther into the building.

Juliet gave her a skeptical glance before nodding and leading Allie and Vicki back towards the quad.

"Hey, that Julie, are you guys tight?" he was trying to keep up with her as she headed down another flight of stairs.

"Yeah, I've known her for awhile, and she lives down the street from us."

Yes!

"But she's just a flirt Justin, she's been with Tom for like 3 years."

No!

Crap. Well, Julie was out, but he was still left with lots of options. There was Juliet, Allie, Vick possibly. Plus there was that girl over there, and her, and her, and those two over there. Hey, are they twins? He couldn't really tell, Steve's cameralight was nearly blinding him.

A girl in a green tub dress and heels walked past him and he spun around, putting his fist to his mouth.

"God daymn-."

"Hey, focus," Judy grabbed his shoulders and snapped her fingers in front of his face repeatedly. "This is school, not a mating ground. And this is your first day, don't look like a dog."

Dog?!

"I'm not a dog."

"Well only dogs look at a girls butt and say, "God damn."

"Did you see?"

Judy's eyes rolled.

"Justin, I am a heterosexual female, I don't go around checking out other girls' body parts. Besides, that was Melissa, I know her. I'm sure you'll meet her sometime."

He had to hand it to MTV. They put him right in the middle of HottieWorld, and the ringmaster was his roomie. As soon as he got back home, someone was getting a fruitbasket or a bunch of flowers or something.

Judy led him out a set of double doors and they were some how magically back in the quad. Justin eyed a table where about 12 or 13 people were hanging out, all the girls so obviously decked out in Abercrombie & Fitch. He grunted approval when two girls started dancing together while a few others sang some song, and then they all erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Dog."

He grinned at Judy and let out a bark.

"Ruff ruff baby."

* * *

This is why he didn't go to school. This is why he had been perfectly happy with his tudor and his 2-3 hours a day study period.

The last 3 hours had been the most boring of his life. No, media training, that was boring. But the last three hours were up there with it. BSU meeting, Math, Journalism.

Can we say 'snore'? Thank God they were finally on their way home again. He didn't know how much more he could take. During Journalism they were sending out subscriptions, and Judy made him fold. There was ink all over his hands. That's not what his precious fingers were made for!

"So, your first day. Good, bad, blah?" Judy glanced over at him.

Both good and bad on different levels.

"It was cool," he said rolling down the window.

Judy kept glancing at him sideways.

"What?"

Her phone started ringing and she reached behind her for her purse. Justin watched as her fingertips fell a few inches short and moved to get it for her. He pulled out the pink device and handed it too her.

"Thanks. Hello?"

She was quiet while someone else told her something.

"When?"

Silence.

"Is she gonna drive?... Alright. I'll see ya later. Bye."

She ended the call and handed him the phone.

"What was that?"

"Plans for a Bikini waxing."

He made a face and she giggled. Her phone started to vibrate again and he handed it to her without hesitation.

"Hello?... Hey hun!"

Hun hmmm? He knew there was a boyfriend somewhere.

"No I don't know where that girl is. She's always out. Why?... Where are you?... Do you need me to come get you?... Alright, I'll be right there," as she spoke Judy was pulling into the left lane to make a U-turn.

"What's up?" Justin only spoke when she handed the phone back to him.

"Juliet needs a ride."

Juliet, she was the sexy thick one with the long hair right?

"Alright."

He subtly gave a thumbs up to the camera hung off the outside rearview mirror and settled back for the ride. Several minutes later they pulled up infront of a Burger King out in the middle nowhere. They'd actually passed cows on the way here. Cows!

Justin glanced in the mirror at the MTV van behind them, and then took in Juliet's curvy figure and the lean guy next to her. Hmm... he could be a wrench in the master plan.

"Who's that?"

"That's her boyfriend, Cory."

"Cory from the other day? With the rocks and no shoes."

"No, two different Cory's."

"Boyfriend huh?"

"Yeah, almost a year."

Whatever, she wasn't all that cute anyway. Not that he couldn't have her if he wanted her. This Cory dweeb next to her was no competition, he was in black slacks and dress shoes for Christ's sake.

"Sup babe? Need a ride?" Judy smiled as the two approached the car.

Juliet leaned down and gave her a look, "I wanna go home."

Justin and Judy shared a look before he stood up, allowing them to get into the back. Immediately Juliet settled into Cory's arms, who was slouched back against the black leather.

"So what happened? How'd you guys get stuck out here?"

"Stupid Megan was with us, but she had to leave to go get her boyfriend and she couldn't drop us off. Brat."

"Well, I'm sure it was something important that she had to do."

"Whatever. Oh! Before I forget, here," she reached forward and handed Judy a folded piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"My cousin's phone number," Cory answered for her.

"You guys-."

"Just call him, he's a really nice guy. And he's sooo cute. Seriously, gorgeous. I don't know how he and Cory are related."

He made a face and gave her a sharp smack on the butt. Judy rolled her eyes to herself. A playful wrestling match began in the back and Judy turned toward Justin and pretended to gag herself.

"Thank God we're here, get out of my car," Judy interupted them as she pulled up infront of Juliet's townhouse.

"Thanks Juicy!"

"Whatever. Call me!"

"Juicy?" There was a twinkle in Justin's eyes.

"Don't ask."

"So, Cory's cousin?"

"We'll see," she said pulling the paper from her pocket and shoving it into her purse.

"So you're not dating anyone?"

"I'm dating alot of people."

"You hoochie!"

"It's not like that! I just know alot of guys. Someone's always trying to set me up with someone so now I have all these guys who think we're hookin up and it's not like that."

"You don't want to hook up with any of them?"

"None of them are my type. My friends don't know my type of guy."

"What's your type of guy?"

"I like my men like I like my cookies. White chocolate."

Justin out right laughed and she just smirked knowingly.

"White chocolate huh? That it? Nothing else?"

"Why? You interested in applying?"

He shut his mouth. No, he wasn't interested in applying for the boyfriend position, but he had better manners than to just say 'no' right to her face.

"Alright then. So, you, girlfriend?"

Now this question could have a yes or no answer. Sure there was a chick, but she wasn't serious or official or anything like that. Nor was she someone he wanted to admit to publically.

"You hesitated, there is a girl."

"Ofcourse there is, one in every city."

"Are you serious?"

He smiled.

"Dog."

"Pimpin' ain't easy but is sho is fun."

* * *

"Hello?"

"Dawg!"

"J! Wassup? How's it goin out there?"

"It's alright, nothing but a thang."

"How's the roomie? Mom told me it was a chick."

"Yeah."

"She cute?"

"Uhh... yeah she's cute. Not your type though dude."

"She's got a vaginal, what do you mean she's not my type."

"Loser."

"Don't hate."

"Anyway, what's going on with you? You takin care of my house?"

Trace looked around at the empty beer cans.

"Yeah, yeah your house is cool. And you know me, just chilling."

"Well you better be, that house costs more than you do."

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever, so, are you enjoying school?"

Justin rattled off the events of his day, focusing more on the different girls he'd seen in all of his classes then what the classes were actually on and what had gone on in them. Trace demanded he take pictures and mail them home to him. Then he'd give him instructions on which ones to get numbers from and then they could have a party when this was all over and they were legal.

Once again his time limit ran out before he was ready and he was cut off once again. He really needed to get a timer or buzzer or something for that thing. Once he hung up and all was silent he could hear Playa's soft whinning from the other side of the door. When he opened it she was sitting there patiently, her tongue hanging from her mouth. Justin patted her head and she scooted forward to sniff at his pajama bottoms.

He could hear his own voice singing 'Work It' echoing softly from Judy's cracked door. He was allowed to be away from her because she'd been changing, but apparently she was done now. He crept towards the door and pushed it open, glancing around for her. He found her standing infront of her mirror twisted in some weird position checkin out her own butt, the word 'Juicy' splashed across it.

"Nice."

She just about leapt out of her skin before she turned to glare at him.

"Do you knock?"

"It was open. Sorrrie."

She gave him a look and turned back to her mirror.

"So you do like to me huh?"

"No, I like Nelly," she had her hands on her hips.

Fiesty.

"Yeah, and Nelly seems like your style, with his white chocolateness and all."

"Good night Justin."

He chuckled to himself at the slightly irritated look on her face. He could being to enjoy hanging with her if he got to pick on her this much.

"Night Juicy."

Chapter 5

"Justin get excited. Come on, it's BSU Fundraising Week!"

Justin took in the bright smile on Judy's face before lowering his shades over his eyes. He had been right when he said she was a nerd. She'd had him up till 2am the night before making packets and timelines about Black History. Do you have any idea how long it takes to make a timeline dating back from 1667 that includes every single advancement made by African Americans? Well, now Justin did, and it was because of it that he slept through 2nd and 3rd period.

"Justin, you're not helping," Judy's voice was slightly irritated.

"Helping with what? You're not doing anything."

"Helping to educate the people. The student body isn't going to come to us, we have to go to them. You should be up and passing things out to students with the other members of BSU."

Justin put a hand over his eyes to shield himself from the sun and looked up at her from his chair.

"If we have to go rally the people, how come you're standing here?"

"Duh, someone has to keep an eye on the booth."

"Well, I would be out there but there's one problem with that. Remember reading a little booklet about the rules of this thing? One of them said I can't go anywhere without you, so I can't go rally the people unless you come rally the people too. So unless you find someone to man the booth, I'm staying right here."

Judy raised an eyebrow.

"What's up your butt today?"

"I got 2 hours of sleep last night. I'm alittle irritated."

"You get used to it," she said, pulling more packets from her briefcase and setting them on the table, "A small price to pay for having furthered your education that much more."

"Yes, because I'm sure one day someone's going to ask me who was the 167th black man to be sighed into the NFL. I'll look back on last night be so happy we stayed up late figuring it out."

"Don't mock my history mister," she pointed a finger at him.

She goffed when his attention was already taken away as a group of Sophomores strutted past them on their way into the 700 hall. Judy rolled her eyes and turned back to the packets laid out before her.

* * *

"Do you know what today is?" She asked in a singsong voice as she lead him through the Science hall.

"Uh... a school day?"

"No, it's Monday, the day before JC's album comes out!"

He made a face at her squeal.

"Hey, you're his bestfriend, you've heard it right? What's it like? How does he sound? Are there any slow songs? Someone said it was really 80's, is that true?"

Justin stared at her for a moment before he blinked and made a face.

"What is with all the questions? Do I look like JC Chasez too you?"

"Lucky for you, no. I would have molested you by now."

"You would molest JC?"

"Oh!" Her face seemed to light up at the idea. "I would do the most obscene things to his body."

She was licking her lips with a smile. Justin looked genuinely frightened.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like that," she pointed to his face, "Like I'm some weirdo psycho chick or something."

"I wasn't looking at you like that, I was just thinking, 'Hmm, so MTV set me up with a stalker who's going to follow me home after all this is over....'"

"I am not!" she smacked his arm. "You're just jealous I'm not after your body."

"Right," they reached the classroom they were looking for and he opened the door for her, "cause I want obscene things done to me in the middle of the night."

"I knew you were freaky."

"So glad you could join us Judy," Stephanie turned to them as she stood at the front of the room.

"Sorry, it was Justin's fault."

"What?!"

The pair sat down in the back. Justin slouched in his chair while Judy sat up straight, pulling out her 'Club Notebook' fully prepared to take notes. They were attending a Spectrum meeting, the clubs purpose was to defend gay rights and provide a link between straight and gay students. Judy was all into it, and had even lectured him after he described something as being 'gay'. Justin however, while he didn't have anything against gay people and had attended several GLAAD functions, didn't know that he really want to be so involved with 'the fight' as they put it.

"So I was thinking last night," Jennifer, the club co-president spoke, "and I came up with the idea for us to do a play called 'The Aftermath' about the death of Andrew Shepard."

There was murmuring between the club members. Justin could physically see the excitement rolling through Judy's body.

"It's being done in lots of high schools throughout the country, it's being very well received. I'm thinking the students of CVHS would really appreciate it."

"I think that's a great idea," a girl named Parrish raised her hand, "I would love to direct that if it's something we decide to go through with."

Judy's eyes momentarily narrowed before opening wide again, and a smile gracing her face. Justin knew Judy didn't like that girl, apparently they had been bestfriends years ago, until Parrish suddenly changed and dropped Judy. Judy never completely let it go. The club members continued talking about it for a few minutes before someone slipped in a recorded tape of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and everyone spread out into their own conversations.

"Justin!" Judy grabbed his arm, jolting him out of his sleep, "Can you believe it? It's that awesome?"

"Yeah, sure." What was she talking about again?

Her eyes rolled and she ignored his lack of enthusiasm, "I'm just telling you now, I want a leading role in this play. Oh! I have the best idea!"

Her pen began scribbling feverishly on her note pad joting down idea after idea. Justin settled back into his chair and pulled his hat down over his eyes. He was glad Judy found something to be excited about now that they were half done with BSU's fundraising week-thank God!- but he couldn't see this translating into anything other than long hours for him.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Judy?"

"Hey Krystal. What's going on?"

"What are you doing?"

"Going home so Justin can go to sleep and stop being cranky."

He stuck his tongue out as he flipped through the stations on the radio.

"What are you doing tonight?"

That question made Judy alittle suspicious. Krystal was never this interested in Judy's day.

"Why?"

"Wanna go to the movies?"

"Why?"

"I kinda told this guy you would meet him there."

"Why?!"

"Judy just listen-."

"No, I'm not going."

"Hold up, hold up, just listen. His name is Ben, I've known him for a while. He's Jamal's friend."

Was she supposed to know who Jamal was?

"He's nice guy and you guys would hella get along. I told him about how you've been wanting to see that movie 'Against the Ropes' and just kinda set it up for you."

"You set me up on a blind date the day I'm supposed to go on it?"

Justin's ears perked up at that. Judy had a date? Bow-chica-bow-wow.

"Sorta."

"Krystal!"

"Just go see the movie with him, I promise you won't regret it. Please. He's already planning on driving up from Fremont to meet you."

A puff of air left Judy's mouth as she smacked her hand against the steering wheel.

"Fine, fine, whatever."

Justin watched as the conversation quickly ended before he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Someone got a date?"

"Yes," she sighed, "some dude I don't know is expecting to meet me at the movies tonight."

"Sounds like fun."

"If you say so."

"So, who's my date?"

"You!" Judy turned to look at him, "I forgot about you, Krystal didn't say he was bringing anyone."

"You want me to play the third wheel on your blind date?"

She grimaced, "Sorry."

"You suck Judy."

* * *

"You really suck."

"Stop whining."

Justin continued pouting to himself as he followed Judy through the parking lot and up to the movie theater.

"Look for a guy in a blue 'Bayou' shirt. Krystal said that's what he'll be wearing."

Justin put in minimal effort, glancing about 10 feet to his right and then shrugging in response.

"Judy?"

She spun to her left and looked at the tall figure with uncertainty.

"Ben?"

"Hi," he held his hand out to her.

"Hi."

Justin made a face to himself when he realized Judy liked him right away. Instantly she was adorable and flirty and giggly. Ben was tall with blonde hair buzzed down to a 1/4 of an inch and blue eyes. He was slim and fit with muscular arms.

"How are you?" Ben asked politely.

"I'm good, thanks. How are you?"

"A lot better now that I know I'm not being stiffed."

"Stiffed?" She didn't know what that was.

"Stood up."

"Ah. I'm sorry. I couldn't find clothes to wear."

"It's cool. You look really nice."

Judy blushed, "Thanks. So do you."

Ben flashed a smile. Justin rolled his eyes.

"Well, the show doesn't start for another 20 minutes so, do you wanna go sit inside?"

"Sure, but I still have to buy tickets."

"I already did," he pulled three tickets from his pockets.

"Well, thank you. That's so nice of you."

Justin frowned and cleared his throat, reminding the two he was still standing there.

"Oh sorry, Ben this is Justin. He's doing this TV show-."

"Krystal explained it all to me on the phone. Hi," he offered his hand to Justin.

After shaking hands, Ben gave them each their ticket then offered his arm to Judy and lead her inside, Justin trailing behind. They sat down at a small table and the two began small talk. Judy learned that he was 21 years old and was on workman's comp because of a back injury. But it wasn't exactly a bad thing because now he was free to spend all his time working out. He had just passed his written test for the Air Force and was getting ready for his physical test next month.

Judy was visibly swooning as she told him alittle about herself. She talked about things at school and explained that she had dabbled in modeling and acting alittle. He acted impressed.

Justin gagged. This guy was a weirdo, he could feel it. He was acting all nice and pretending to be interested in what she was saying. And never once did his eyes slip down to her cleavage, a task Justin was doing terrible at. Justin had played this game with a girl dozens of times, and his intentions were never honorable. Yep, this guy had crap written all over him.

It was time for the movie and Ben lead Judy to the theater by putting his arm around her shoulders, after offering to get her something to eat ofcourse.

"Where do you want to sit?" he asked.

"In the middle."

"Well, there's a lot of rows in the middle."

"While you two figure it out, I'm gonna go grab a seat in the back."

The last thing he wanted to do was sit next to Judy and watch them make googly eyes at eachother. Justin stalked off before Judy could protest, Steve followed. He watched as Judy lead Ben to a row almost exactly in the middle, and then bounced back and forth between two seats, trying to pick which one was best. Ben finally bumped her into a seat with his hip before sitting down next to her. Halfway through the movie Justin spotted Judy moving the arm rest up so she could lean against him.

Justin pretended to vomit to the camera playfully. When the movie ended the couple exchanged numbers and talked about going out again. Ben kissed her on the cheek and nodded to Justin before heading off to his car. Judy watched him for a second before slowly beginning the walk to her Mustang, Justin speeding a head of her.

She was quiet the whole way home but an idiot could tell she was happy. She had a smile plastered to her face and she bobbing her head back and forth to the music.

"What's got you so happy? What are you thinkin'?"

Judy turned to him.

"Holy blue eyes."

Justin smiled, "Well thanks I-."

"Did you see his eyes Justin? Holy St. Petersburg they were beautiful."

"Like I go around checkin out guys."

She went back to her happy little world and Justin bit down on his bottom lip.

"You seriously thought that dude was cute?"

"I think he was a doll. He was adorable."

Justin bit on his bottom lip again.

"You don't think his nose was alittle crooked?"

"Justin!"

"Well, he's going into the Air Force, I guess no one will be able to tell with that big ass helmet on."

"Justin Randall, you should be ashamed of yourself," she sounded like his mother, "I liked that guy."

"That guy was four years older than you."

"So?"

"So you're 17. You should be with a teenage boy."

"I find that insulting. Seventeen year old girls have nothing in common with 17 year old boys. That's why most 17 year old boys are dating 14 or 15 year old girls and most 17 year old girls are dating 19 or 20 year old guys."

"Nineteen or 20, not 21. Plus that guy was weird."

"That guy was very nice, and that guy said I was beautiful."

Was she starved for attention or something?

"Well, there are plenty of 18 year old guys out there who will think you're beautiful once they see this show."

"Well, then until they come callin' I think I'll stick with this one."

"But he's 21."

"You keep saying that like it's going to suddenly change my mind or something."

"He's a grown man."

"I can't believe we're arguing about this. This from a man who was checking out a 14 year old yesterday."

"Hey, she did not look 14. First of all she atleast 6 feet tall."

"Yada yada yada Justin."

"Besides, I stopped right after you told me her age."

Judy gave him a look.

"All right, I stopped a few minutes after you told me her age."

* * *

"I can't place my finger on it but there's something about that guy. I don't like him."

"But you said she liked him?"

"Yeah but she's only 17, she's not as experienced as he is. She was playing right into his hands, battin her eyelashes and shit."

"Well, man, if she likes him there's not a whole lot you can do about it."

"But he's 21," he couldn't hold back the whine, "Why is he looking for a relationship with a 17 year old? She's still in high school."

"Didn't you say she looked like she was about 22?"

"Besides the point Trace. Plus he's joining the military. He'll go off to bootcamp and then be shipped off somewhere and she'll be stuck back here."

"I think you're puttin entirely too much thought into her love life and not enough into your own. Atleast she's getting some play, what do you got?"

"Hey, I got plenty of play. Just most of these people are under age."

"Excuses excuses. I say leave her alone. When this is over you'll come back here to your life and she'll still be there so stay out of it."

Justin sighed and ran a hand over his scruffy chin.

"I guess you're right man. I'll leave it alone."

"Good."

"So whatelse is going on?"

"Not much, you know me."

"Yeah, how's my house?"

"Fine. Had a small flooding problem but it's-."

"Flooding problem? What flooding problem?"

"Just a broken pipe and some water-."

"Did you call my Mom?"

"What? You think I can't call a plumber on my own?"

"No," Justin snorted.

"Blow me dude, blow me."

Chapter 6

There was only a single voice speaking in the library. All of the chattering created by the nearly 400 students had died down several minutes before. Everyone was entranced by the story of the older woman standing before them, Justin included. She was a Holocaust survivor who had lost her entire family, and was now showing the numbers tattooed into her arm.

It wasn't that Judy didn't care about this woman's story. She cared about the Holocaust, and thought it was important that people knew what had happened, so it would never happen again. It was just that, she'd heard this story before. It was Days of Diversity week at Central Valley High and every year one her teachers signed up for the Holocaust lecture, and every year it was the same woman. She could probably recite her story verbatim with just as much pain and emotion as the woman who lived it. Besides, they had been up late the night before working on some Journalism article and if she didn't have something incredibly stimulating to do, she was going to fall asleep.

Justin wasn't any help. Usually if she was bored she could turn to him, snap her fingers once or twice to get his attention away from whatever chick he was staring at, and then they could be bored together. But for the first time he wasn't bored, and he wasn't complaining. He was staring wide eyed with his mouth hanging open. She could swear she'd seen a fly go and out and he didn't so much as blink at any point.

With everyone around her mesmerized she was left with only one option. Contact someone not in the library. Judy reached down into her purse and pulled out her cell phone, smiling as she saw she already had a text message waiting for her. It was Vicki, saying she was in the Chinese lecture for the second time that day, and claimed to be literally dying. Judy told her about she was in the Holocaust lecture, trying not to let herself get comfortable, not that it was easy to get comfy in a metal folding chair, and that they was nothing to do but watch Justin drool on himself.

Justin was trying to concentrate on the woman standing a few rows ahead of him. He couldn't quite place his finger on the reason he was so interested in her story. He'd learned all about the Holocaust while he was in school, but they'd never had a survivor come and speak to them before. Maybe he just wasn't used to seeing the story play across someone's face like that. There was a difference between reading a story and hearing a story. Regardless, he was incredibly interested, and his attention was being taken away just at the height of the story, but this constant clicking. It was low and annoying and it was coming from the person next to him. Judy was clicking away on her phone, completely lost in whatever conversation she was having.

He tried to ignore it, and turn a deaf ear, but that only seemed to make it louder. And it didn't help when she started giggling to herself. Then he couldn't take it. Reaching over, Justin snatched Judy's phone from her fingers and shoved it into his backpack. When she went to protest, he put a finger to his lips and then pointed to the speaker. Suddenly, he was the mature one.

***

"Are you sure cutting class is a good idea?"

"We're not cutting, it's a field trip."

"Whatever, point is we won't be there. And I don't think you're doing well enough in your Math class to be doing that. You didn't look up at the board once yesterday."

"Oh my God, this coming from the person who hasn't turned in one assignment in Government? I don't know how you manage that, we do the homework together."

"It's not my fault my backpack is the black hole. Besides, Government sucks. When am I ever going to need to know that crap. So George Washington wrote the Declaration of Independence. Who cares?"

"Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. George Washington was a general in the Revolutionary War and tacked his name on the Constitution."

Justin gave Judy a look of annoyance. She was always correcting him, he hated that.

"And when the hell am I going to need that information?"

"You're right, you'll never have to prove to someone that you have a higher mental capacity than a carrot. All you have to do is smile and look pretty and you're set for the rest of your life."

"No, I also have to shake my groove thang thank-you-very-much."

"Oh I bet all the girls are a sucker for that."

"Oh yeah, that's what brings in the big bucks baby."

Judy rolled her eyes, turning away from him and completely shutting him out. She'd trained herself to be able to do that, any person in their right mind would after spending number of weeks with him like she had. He had the confidence level of a high school quarter back and the maturity level of her dog. Besides, he was only trying to distract her and she knew it.

They were on BART (the Bay Area's version on the New York Subway) on their way to the UC Berkeley campus for an American Civil Liberties Union conference. It was something that the school's chapter of Amnesty International had invited them too and Judy had insisted that they go. The ACLU wasn't an organization she was officially apart of, but she was still interested and eager to see what they were all about.

Problem was, since the UC Berkeley campus was somewhat far and no one wanted to pay for parking, that the group had decided to take BART and walk there from the station. In deciding this, they had completely forgotten about Justin. Famous Justin. Justin who people were now staring and pointing at. MTV had gotten an order keeping the press several feet away, but they hadn't said anything about innocent people who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. There was chatter and flashes of cameras and smiles and waves. Justin didn't really seem to be affected by it at all, atleast not that she could see, but she hadn't mastered his body language yet. Judy however, was definitely uncomfortable. Someone with a camera that you could pretend was just an oddly shaped tumor was on thing. Feeling like you were a monkey in a cage on display while people talked about you like you weren't there was a whole nother category.

The train pulled up to their stop and everyone slowly filed out. The advisor, Ms. Parrish, took down everyone's names and phone numbers incase of an emergency, and then pointed them in the direction of the college. The walk was only a few blocks, but the sun was beating down on their backs constantly the entire time. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when they finally entered the Bears' Lair, also known as, the Student Center. The conference was to take place upstairs.

"What's the point of all this again?" Justin took off his baseball cap, ran a hand over his head, and pulled it back on.

"Well, it depends on what room you go into. Their all different topics, like, Youth and the Media, and Is the Constitution suppressing minority Religions, and Discrimination among Student Unions."

"And why does all this spell out B-O-R-I-N-G to me."

"We went over this, because you have the mental capacity of a carrot."

His eyes narrowed on her before he looked around the room, scoping out the people around him. There in the entry hall and there were various chalk boards placed around the room for people to sign that had questions like, "Who's the most important person in history?", "Who's the most influential person you know?" and odd things like, "Which came first: the chicken, or the egg?", and silly things like, "Got Milk?" What really caught his attention was the pretty blonde by the, "Who should be the next President?" board.

"Hey, how old do you think that girl is?" Justin moved infront of Judy and nodded his head back.

Judy glanced over his shoulder, "Twelve."

His blue eyes rolled again.

"I dunno, she's probably like, 19, 20. Why?"

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Justin shoved his unwanted jacket into Judy's arms and darted off in the girls' direction.

It took a second for Judy to register everything that had happened. After all, he was talking a mile a minute before he shoved his stuff at her and took off. But then she just turned to Steve and rolled her eyes.

"He's such a moron."

Someone touched her arm and she looked up to see Ben's face. She smiled instantaneously and reached up to hug him. They had spoken on the phone once but hadn't seen eachother since the movie date.

"I thought that was you."

"It's me, the one and only. How are you?"

"Great. You?"

"Awesome," now, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm a member. I got the email about it, figured I'd check it out. You?"

"Just tagging along with another organization."

"Well, I'm glad you did," he put an arm around her shoulder and slowly began to lead her towards the doors of the main room, "I was afraid I was going to be all alone. I don't know anyone here, and I don't think there will be may like me here."

"Like you?" She looked up at him.

She loved how he was taller than she was, something surprisingly hard to find in her neighborhood. She also adored the scruff on his jaw.

"Conservative," he answered.

"Ah, I see. You're right, the ACLU is a liberal organization."

"It's not a liberal organization, it's just liberals are the majority, so people assume it's a liberal organization. I never understood why conservatives didn't join, they just gave it this evil stigma. But I don't see how the ACLU's bad, or liberal. It's goal is to protect the Bill of Rights. You'd think that'd be the one thing we could all agree on, that the Constitution needs protecting. I mean, the ACLU has defended both the Black Panthers and the KKK, not to say that all liberals are like the Black Panthers and all conservatives are like the KKK mind you, just that they've been to both ends of the spectrum."

Judy could only stare and nod. God he was so smart, he almost made her feel dumb. Almost. When they reached the doors, she turned to look for Justin, minding the rules that he wasn't allowed to be in a room without her. She spotted him with the blonde, she was laughing and flipping her hair and he was eating it up like the great big dork he was. The girl was called off for one reason or another and Justin watched her leave before beginning to look around. Judy knew he was looking for her and raised a hand into the air. He spotted her, she nodded her head to Ben, and something in Justin's face changed. She couldn't quite put her finger on what the expression was, but it changed. And then was covered as quickly as it had come.

Justin fought back the urge to groan when he saw Ben, smiling back at him, his arm around Judy. He looked like a dog pissing on his territory. She wasn't even his territory yet! They weren't officially going out, she just spent two days talking about him.

Oh Ben's eyes... Ben's smile... Ben's hair... Ben's voice... Ben's body.... But that didn't mean they were going out, dating, official, whatever you wanna call it. But the guy was a weasel, he could tell. Men can smell other men like, well, dogs. Dogs can smell dogs and this one smelled like a, well, dog.

"Justin, it's good to see you again," Ben offered his hand.

Yeah whatever, "You too man."

An uncomfortable silence fell over them.

"Well, that must be my cue to head into the main room," Judy said.

"Yeah, and since we have to sit with our group, we'll have to say good-bye. Such a shame," Justin flashed pearly white teeth at them both.

Judy suppressed the urge to smack him across the back of his head. She knew he wasn't the least bit upset by the idea of having to say good-bye to Ben, and he wasn't the least bit happy about seeing him in the first place.

"Actually Ben's here by himself, so he can sit anywhere he wants to right?"

"Right."

"I'm sure no one would mind if you sat with us, then you wouldn't be alone."

Ben smiled down at her and squeezed her shoulder before his hand slipped down to grasp her own. Judy was beaming up at him, revealing in the feeling of hand in hers. It was soft and gentle, but firm and rough around the edges from the years he had worked on the loading docks and the martial arts fighting. Justin was trying to kill them both by shooting daggers with his eyes.

He followed the oh-so-wonderful Ben, and the gliding-on-air Judy to seats a couple rows from the back, his eyes glued to their connected hands. He sat down on the other side of Judy and tried to focus his attention on what was happening on the stage. Ignoring how whenever someone paused to speak Judy and Ben would lean in close and comment and analyze what they had just said. A woman spoke about being a female in the correctional system, then they did some kinda of metaphorical dance before handing out fliers advertising a show they were doing in San Francisco. Justin couldn't help but wonder why, if there women were supposed to be surveying time in a state prison, how they were out performing shows every other day?

Then two men spoke about how they we suspended from the military for refusing to go fight the war in Iraq. One of them sat down on the runway infront of the plane and refused to get on, then he spoke about the racism and homophobia that had been expressed by his fellow soldiers during their weeks of basic training. Justin was bored. It wasn't that what was going on wasn't interesting, it was just that he knew all of this. How could you live with Judy and not have heard the argument against Bush Jr.'s now infamous war on Terrorism? And it wasn't like they needed to convince him of anything, everyone already knew he was democrat. He was hosting a party after the Democratic Convention.

"I just don't feel it was justified --pardon the pun Justin-- it's not a war on Terrorism, it's a war over oil, and boosting the economy, and trying to become reelected for a second term, and it's about 'You were mean to my Daddy so I'm gonna be mean to you.' It has nothing to do with Terrorism and trying to make America safe."

Justin was trailing behind Judy and Ben as they headed off to join some conversation about the controversy over white student unions. Judy's argument was that student unions were meant for minorities. They were a place for people to learn about communities and cultures that aren't very present in mass media and communications. If you wanted a taste of white society, turn on MTV. Ben's argument was that although the Anglo-Saxons were the majority nation wide, that didn't mean that they were the majority on every school campus and in those situations, when they were the minority and white culture wasn't represented everywhere in their town, that white student unions were necessary.

"That's not true. Removing Saddam Hussein from power is important because he's been torturing the Iraqi people for decades. Those people are living in fear of him everyday, just crying out for someone to come and liberate them. And we know he had weapons of mass destruction pointed right at us. What should we do, just sit back and wait for him come after us? After September 11th a lot more people understood the rule of: kill or be killed. It's our Presidents job to ensure our safety and survival. It has nothing to do with oil, it's not helping the economy, and I don't see how to going to help him get reelected. If it's such a bad idea, how come other countries are going along with it?"

"Because people are going to say, "Well, it's his war, who's going to know how to handle it better than him? And it does have to do with oil. If we gain control of Iraqi oil, which we have, we control... what is it Justin, 25 or 50 percent of all oil revenues in the world?"

"I don't remember," he muttered.

"Well, which every one it was, it's a lot, and that's a lot of money. It's a lot of money when would mean a lot to country with a large deficit and a drowning economy and high rate of unemployment. And kill or be killed isn't a rule, it's a mentality, one that's only gotten us into trouble. And these weapons of mass destruction? Where are they? Have you seen one? Can't we can't find them, we never saw them. We saw pictures, from the 80's, which the UN has testified to have already destroyed. And even if he did have WMD's, we don't know that'd he'd be a danger to us. He has never threatened the United States in the past."

"So we should just watch the biggest threat to our lives get bigger and stronger and do nothing? And when something happens again, and more people get killed, we can say, 'Well, we weren't sure if he was coming after us. Sorry.' I don't know about you, but I don't feel like that's an exceptable response to give someone when they ask why their loved one is dead."

"Well, let me ask you this then. If Iraq was the greatest threat facing the United States, then why did we take over the entire country in two weeks? You couldn't take over the city of Baltimore in two weeks and we took an entire country? Doesn't seem like such a big threat to me. And all those people that were crying out to be liberated. If that's what they wanted, they why are our troops still dying? Not to say that they like Saddam's dictatorship, but it's the only thing most of those people have ever known. It's all they have, they're gonna protect. If you ripe their world away from them, they'll have nothing left, they'll be alone and uncomfortable and they'll want it back."

"She's so smart. Isn't she smart?" Ben stopped in the doorway and turned to Justin know nodded in agreement.

Judy blushed.

"I'm just saying that I've got several friends, and a cousin in Iraq. And maybe soon you'll be there, and I don't think I'd be okay with it if any one of you came back hurt. This war doesn't mean anything. the Revolutionary War meant something, the Civil War meant something. The War on Terrorism is... well for lack of a better term at the moment, stupid, and it's not thought-out and.... I would not be happy if one of you didn't come back to me."

She felt uncomfortable under Ben's stare, trying to understand why she had just said she wanted him to come back to her, as if he was even hers to have in the first place. She was getting way too caught up in this 'relationship' way too fast. One smile from him in her direction and she was ready to pee on him and mark her territory, and was actually tearing up at the idea of him going to war. She was a goober. Ben didn't say anything about it though, and leaned forward to kiss the side of her head before entering the room. When Judy opened her eyes again Justin was standing infront of her, and she could tell he was just itching to ask her a million questions at once.

"What was that?" he asked.

Judy let out a sigh, "Don't ask. I don't even know."

The day was relatively interesting, even to Justin. The lecture on the controversy over white student unions was pointless. Everyone had such strong opinions that eventually it just erupted into a shouting match about how it was just the Ku Klux Klan in a different dress. They then attended a meeting about Media and Teens, where everyone claimed that the television had nothing to do with how they dressed, ate, talked, or anything else. That is, until Judy pointed out that everything the did, they did because the TV told them too. They wore what they wore because some designer on your favorite TV show told you it was cute by putting it on your favorite character. You did your hair the way you did because your favorite magazine said it was the new IT do. You talked the way you talked because someone on the radio said, 'You should sound like me.' Even people who were claiming to 'not care what others thought' and were doing their own thing, were doing it because Seventeen said 'Be unique and do your own thing.' Big business and the media told us how to be ourselves, it had nothing to do with what we thought.

Justin could understand the logic behind that. He couldn't remember how many times he had worn a shirt or a hat or said something, only to see it become part of Pop Culture. Take the word 'crunk' for example. The question, "What does Crunk mean?" had probably been asked close to a million times, especially back in 1998. Everywhere he went people wanted to know, to the point where he finally just answering. If people wanted to know what it meant so bad, wouldn't they try to find out if he had previously explained it at some point?

Now turn on the radio. Crunk is everywhere. Mary J. had said it. Lil' Jon and the East Side Boys, and the Ying-Yang Twins. Everyone wanted to get 'Crunk in here' and 'Crunked Upon' etc. And did he get any credit for it? Ofcourse not. No one wanted to believe that they little white pop boy from Tennessee came up with Hip-Hop's favorite word of the new millennium.

After all the lectures, and the lunch where he had to suffer through the two of them debating over more world issues that he didn't really care about, it was time for them to head back to BART and Ben to head to his car. Judy insisted on walking him, Justin trotted along behind Steve.

"It was nice seeing you again," Ben said as he used his remote to unlock the door.

"You too. Imagine, running into you here."

"I'd like to get together with you again some time soon," he picked up her hand again and swung it back and forth between them as he leaned against his car.

"Well, you do have my number," she said.

Ben nodded with a blush.

"And I do always have my phone."

He nodded again, "Okay I get the point. I'll call you, soon."

"Good. You better. For I am woman, and you will hear me roar."

He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a hug. She loved how he was so much taller than she was. She'd spent many dances having to lean over to put her head on the guys shoulder, resulting in a backache mid dance. She hated it. When she stood in front of Ben, the top of her head just barely touched under his chin. She could wear heels! Her hand pressed into his back and she could feel the hard muscles of his back flexing as he hugged her. He smelled like soap and some sporty cologne. He smelled good. Her eyes slid closed and she was sure her balance faltered for a moment.

"Well, after all the people you attacked today, I'm positive that I don't want to hear you roar," he said, "I'll talk to you later."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, much closer to her mouth this time. He lingered for a second and part of her wanted to pull away, get his intoxicating smell away from her. The other part of her that hadn't been kissed in along time, wanted him to just go ahead and do it. Sure, it was against the rules of dating: No kissing before the 3rd date. But they were both adults, nearly, they could handle it.

Unfortunately, he did the latter of the two and stepped back, giving her a wink before getting into his car. Judy stepped back over to where Justin stood and waved as he pulled out of the space and headed towards the exit. Justin sighed with relief, the dog was gone, and headed back towards the Bear's Lair to meet up with the others. He looked away a few feet later and realized Steve was the only one with him. Judy was still standing by Ben's empty space with a sappy look on her face.

"Come on," he said walking over to her and grabbing her wrist, jerking her in his direction, "You need help girl."

"I know but I can't help it, he's just so cute."

Yeah whatever, "Okay."

It was a couple minutes before Play That Funky Music White Boy started sounding from her purse. She dug down into it and pulled out her phone, squealing and skipping for a second before answering. Obviously it was Ben, probably trying to be romantic by calling her now instead of tomorrow. Justin looked to Ms. Parrish who was watching Judy curiously, and shrugged before putting a finger to the side of his head and moving it in a circle to symbolize that Judy was just crazy and there was no reason to be alarmed.

"I didn't expect to be hearing from you so soon.... Oh no it's fine.... Friday huh? Well, I'll have to check my schedule first.... Oh, since you put it that way, sure. What time?.... Uh-huh, that's fine.... Okay doll, I'll see you then.... Bye."

She hung up and turned to Justin with the most excited expression, he almost felt bad about disliking the guy with a passion.

"That was Ben." He figured, "He wants to go to dinner Friday night," he heard, "I said okay."

"Just tell me one thing, do I have to sit and watch you two make googlie-eyes at eachother? Cause I'd really rather not thanks."

Judy pouted at him for a second and he hand reached up to rub the back of his head. Finally, some Justin attention. She'd been ignoring him all afternoon. He jetted out his bottom lip, allowing himself to look more pitiful. But it was too late. Judy attention had already turned.

"Do you really think he makes googlie-eyes at me?"

* * *

"Are you going to be ready any time this century?"

There was no response.

"This isn't right you know. It's not even my date and I'm the one who's ready early."

Judy's door opened and she headed towards him, "That's because you're excited about seeing your date," she teased.

Judy had managed to persuade her friend Krystal to double date with Justin so he wouldn't be alone this time. She figured since it was Krystal's fault (or good senses) that they got together, she should be the one to help them out. Justin was more and more obvious with his dislike of Ben, and Judy wanted something to distract him so he wouldn't open his mouth and embarrass them both. Krystal's butt the perfect thing for the job. She knew Justin held a thing for the girl, ever since he revealed that he thought of her as Chocolate Thunder.

Justin shrugged her off, "Please girl, I'm a P-I-M-P. This ain't nothing but a thang."

"Right," he eyed him up as she stepped into the living room, and headed straight for the mirror over the fireplace. He looked very nice, in black slacks and a maroon button down shirt. He was a dork, but he cleaned up nice.

Once she was out of the dark hallway and under the bright lights of the chandelier, Justin took in her dark jeans and low V neck black shirt. There was a large amount of cleavage and the fact that it hugged her body didn't help either. While he wanted to stare, the part of him that had grown close to her over the past number of weeks jumped up before the rest of him could stop it.

"You're not wearing that are you?"

"No, I was just hanging out in it, I'm gonna go change into my real outfit now."

"Don't patronize me. You can't wear that out."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well, first let's start with it's only half a shirt."

"Oh shut up! Look at the kinds of thin girlfriends have worn."

"You really wanna compare yourself to them? There's a reason they're all past girlfriends you know."

"I'll bet you didn't tell them not to wear those skimpy little outfits outside."

"Besides the point. Go put some clothes on."

"Justin, stop it, you're not my father," she finished applying her gloss and smacked her lips before heading towards the door.

"You know, the longer I'm around you, the more of your attitude I see."

"And you love every minute of it. Come on slow poke."

* * *

Dinner was boring. He didn't know why, but the tight skirt Krystal wore only managed to hold his attention for.... 10 -maybe 15- minutes. It wasn't that she was boring, because she wasn't, but, the more he talked to her, the more he realized she wasn't exactly his type. Which sucked because he as banging, she definitely was his type in that aspect. But the only people who seemed to be having a good time were Ben and Judy.

"That's interesting because, a friend of mine, when he broke up with his girlfriend, he and her friend started hanging out, and he ended up dating her. When she found out she got all pissed off, but they didn't care, they didn't even talk to her. Her friend stopped speaking to her," they were discussing... something.

"That's... I dunno," Judy said. "That sounds kinda messed up to me."

"Well, he gave her a chance to not be crazy and, she didn't wanna not be crazy so, good bye."

"To not be crazy?" she giggled, "But still, that's messed up. Not so much of him because their relationship is done and over with and he has no loyalty to her, but it's messed up of her friend cause every girl knows you don't date your friends man, ex-man, or wished-he-was-her-man."

"Wished-he-was-her-man?"

"Her crush. You never date someone your friend was crushing on, because, you will never live it down," she leaned forward to rest her cheek in her hand, her elbow on the table.

Her cleavage was practically in the man's face, and Justin was waiting for the second where he let himself slip and glance down. Justin had several times, the waiter had once or twice. What made Ben so special that he didn't notice the two large twins that were practically hitting her in the chin? Something was odd about this guy.

"Hello?" someone snapped their fingers in Justin's face and focused in on Krystal, "Were you even listening?"

"Uh...." Too what?

"Umm-hmm. You know, hella interested in what they're talking about," she said, her head swiveling around on her neck. Justin resisted the urge to snap his fingers in a Z-like formation. He didn't think she'd get the joke.

"Well.... I uh--."

"Umm-hmm." Was all she said. She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair.

"I'm sorry, you're right. Go ahead, tell me what you were saying before," he turned his chair towards her.

She looked at him skeptically before leaning towards him, continuing her story about some hot tub parlor. Justin's eyes, ever so slightly looked to right, and he could see Ben out of the corner of his eye. Any second now he was going to slip. Any minute... any minute... it'd been nearly an hour, how much restraint could one man have? Any minute... any minute.... Aha! He looked! He looked! The pervert.

"I think my type of guy would be the dominant one," Judy was saying.

Justin's ears slowly tuned out Krystal.

"I'm always the one in charge, at home cause my Mom is so absent and at school I'm always in charge, or I'm the one doing the talking. The last thing I need is to be in charge of the relationship too. I wanna be able go to my boyfriend and not have to make a decision, that'd be my relaxation time," she giggled. "Plus I'm an old-fashioned girl. I think men should open doors and they should call the girl, and they should propose and... everything else."

Ben nodded, "I agree. I think the man should be the dominant one. He's the man, he should be the leader. I don't know that I could date a girl who didn't let me have more control than she did."

Justin's eyes narrowed. Why did that statement rub him the wrong way? He couldn't date a girl who didn't give him the control? What exactly did that mean? And still he wanted to know, what did a 21 year old man, want with a 17 year old girl?

Chapter 7

Judy, Justin, and the girls all sat around a round table in the middle of the cafeteria, gabbing mindlessly over nothing. Cellphones were ringing, and people were having side conversations with other friends as they passed the table.

Mostly they were for Justin and Judy. He had become one of the 'popular' ones because of his connection to her. Obviously, you never saw one without the other following closely behind, and because of the hundreds upon hundreds of hours that they had spent together, their thinking was becoming more and more alike everyday. He had become the male version of her and she of him. He had become close with all the guys Judy hadn't really known before, and that would have been a great thing for her, if she hadn't of already met Ben.

"Look at that," Allie was saying to Julie, "Damn Ugg boots."

"I know. Who the hell started that fashion trend?"

"I heard it was Cameron Diaz," Krystal paused in her phone conversation.

"Conformist," Justin and Judy both commented before bursting out with the giggles. It was a strange saying they had picked up with watching an episode of South Park late one night. They were now the non-conformists and refused to do anything other people did. In protest to conformists, they walked the opposite direction while going around the track in P.E., refused to read textbooks, disobaid the speed limit, and gave up Ketchup.

"I'll never understand you two," Juliet shook her head.

Before Judy could reply with the smark comment on her lips, someones hands moved her eyes and she was blinded. However, this is hardly a rare occurance for her and she started to smile instantly. Strong hands pulled her till she leaned back in the green plastic chair, and then lips soft lips exhaled near her ear.

"Do I get three guesses?" she asked.

"And the first two don't count," the person responded.

"JC Chasez."

Justin's eyes rolled. He'd seen that coming. JC was always her first guess when it came to anything having to do with a boy.

"Nope."

"Josh Harnett?"

And he was usually her second.

"Nope."

"Oh, well that could only leave one person."

The hands were removed, and Ben leaned over her to place a smacking kiss on her lips. One that made Justin cringe. Over the past several weeks there had been alot of trips to the movies and local resturants and somewhere along the way Judy and Ben had made it official that they were together. Now the guy was everywhere, at the house, at school, meetings, on the phone. Justin was counting down the days till he was off the boot camp.

"Hey honey."

"Hey baby," he wrapped his arms around her neck and put his chin on her shoulder, "Ladies. Justin."

"Hi Ben," the girls gushed.

Justin offered a wave, inwardly scoffing at how easily the girls had welcomed Ben into their circle. Sure they had excepted Justin with no questions, but he was different, and he wasn't trying to get into anyones pants. Atleast not anymore.

"Are you busy?" he turned to Judy.

"No. Why?" she was beaming back at him.

"Come have lunch with me."

Her raspberry lips turned to a pout, "I can't."

"Why?"

"It's Circle day."

"Ciirrcclle day," Allie repeated happily.

"We have to all hang together."

"Circle day? How come I've never heard of this before?"

"I don't know," Judy shrugged, "I guess I just didn't think about it. It's a weekly thing we do. We skip club meetings and stuff and all hang together. You know, catch up."

"Ahh, well, I'll just stay here and have lunch with you," Ben suggested.

"Oh sorry, dude, no non-students on campus." Justin really hoped the smirk on his face looked sympathetic, even though it wasn't.

"Yeah," Judy's pout deepened even more, "I'm sorry honey."

"Hey, it's alright," he squeezed Judy's shoulders before standing up, "Babe can I talk to you for a sec?" he nodded his head backwards.

"Sure," she hurriedly pushed her chair back and stood up, taking his hand so he could pull her along.

Justin watched as they headed towards the doors of the cafeteria, but didn't leave. He could stay where he was, since they were still technically in the room. He wasn't really interested in hearing their disgustingly mushy goodbyes anyways.

"What's up?" Judy asked.

Ben put his hands on her shoulders, slowly moving them towards her collar before he pulled her shirt closed over her chest, "I was really looking forward to spending time with you today."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Can't you skip this Circle day thing? You see your friends all the time. I'll be leaving for bootcamp in a few weeks, we don't have alot of time left."

"I know you're leaving soon. But I can't just skip it. We've had this tradition for like 5 years. I've never missed it."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Ben," her voice scolded.

"Okay okay. I just really wanted to be with you."

Judy smiled softly at him, "Well it's not like I'll be here all day. We'll just have to go do something later."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth before nodding.

"Alright. I guess I'll have to settle for the short end of the stick."

"Quit your complaining," her eyes rolled as his hands finally released her shirt and moved to slide around her hips. He planted a kiss on her lips.

"See you later."

"See ya."

He let her go and disappeared out the doors. Judy breathed in the deep scent that lingered behind him and moved a hand up to her neck. He had been holding that kinda tight, she didn't even realize before.

"Hey, Juicy! Come here."

Her lip turned up at the sound of Justin screaming that across the cafeteria in front of everyone. Not everybody needed to know her horrid nickname. She slowly headed back towards the table and all the girls leaned forward with knowning smiles.

"Where'd loverboy disappear too?" Allie inquired.

"You know, he had to take off. We're gonna meet up later."

"Ahh, setting up for alittle rendevous," Julie grinned.

"Bow-chica-bow-wow," Allie and Juliet echoed.

Justin put a hand to his mouth to hold back the bile.

"No, it's nothing like that. I'm sure we'll just watch movies at my house or something boring like that."

"Something boring like that," Julie turned to Krystal.

"Bow-chica-bow-wow."

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hello? Can I speak to Ms. Duist please?"

Judy began to fiegne innocent at the mention of her mother's maiden name.

"I'm sorry, she's not here right now."

"Well then, can I speak to the beautiful young girl that lives with her? I believe it's her daughter."

"Oh I'm sorry. I don't know any beautiful young girls that live with her, you must be mistake."

"No I'm not. Tall, deep skin, bright smile, smart. Sassy girl."

"Hmm. No one's coming to mind."

"You're going to have to start seeing yourself the way I see you Judy."

Justin had been curiously listening to the conversation Judy was having, but once she started giggling that air-head, girlie giggle, he knew it was just Ben and turned back to the talk show he had been watching previously.

He still didn't understand the little love affair they had going on. Trace said he was jealous because the attention wasn't on Daddy Timberlake like it had been for the past several months. Justin said he was an ass. It wasn't the fact that she was all giggly and stupid over him, and it wasn't the fact that instead of taking notes for him to copy later in Government she was doodling his name in different colored ink pens, it was something else. Something else entirely.

When Judy's stupid Ben-giggle started to erupt, Justin let out a withered sigh and turned up the volume on the TV. He could barely hear 'Jackass' over her love antics. But the giggling kept going and going and going. The volume kept getting louder and louder. Judy put one finger in her ear to try and block out some of the noise from the dumb TV show, but it stopped working once he turned up the volume again.

She glanced over at him, her brown eyes boring into the side of his skull for a moment. He appeared uneffected entirely. Quickly she told Ben she'd call him back later when she was alone, and hook up. Once that was done, she picked up a magazine from the coffeetable, rolled it up, and smacked Justin over the head with it. That was the first thing to get his attention, the pain.

"What the fuck Judy?!" he rubbed a hand of his hair.

"Stop being a jerk," she stated simply before standing.

"What are you doing? Are you leaving?"

His answer was silence as she turned and headed for the door.

"Oh come on Juicy, don't leave. I wanna watch this. Dammit...." Justin left his comfortable position the leather sofa and followed Judy upstairs and into her room where he plopped down on her bed and turned the TV onto MTV. This time he did feel her eyes boring into him.

"What?"

Judy put a hand on her hip and gave him a look, "What are you doing?"

"Watching TV. What does it look like genius?"

Her eyes narrowed as he mocked her, "Is there a reason you have to do it here?"

"Because you're here. Duh! Now shush, I've been waiting all week for this episode and you're talking through it."

Judy's responce was to toss a pair of pants from the floor at him. He was used to her small outburst though, and simply pulled them back so he could see the television. While he was distracted by Steve-o (who was bending over to let something bite his ass), Judy sat on the bed behind him, pinching the bridge of her nose.

~*~

Graduation was quickly approaching for all, meerely three more weeks before finals and at the end of finals, graduation day. Though the thought of graduating and being done with homework, deadlines, duedates, and meetings was appealing, the realization that Justin would be going away along with all those other things was sinking in too. Over the past several months she had become strangely attached to him, rightfully so. They were together 24/7, and alot of crazy things had happened to them along the way.

They knew eachother like the back of their own hands. He knew he favorite says, TV shows, colors. He could pick out her favorite clothes from her closet, and she could pick his cologne out in any mall. He knew the story of why her friends call her 'Juicy', and now everytime they saw a hot fudge sundae they both blushed. It all made for great television really, seeing as how she and all her friends were real people, the things they said and did were relateable. Everyone had a 'One time we went to the mall' or a 'One time we were driving' or a 'One time, at band camp' story. Everyone had a blonde moment. The fact that Justin was now one of those hanging with the teenagers in the parkinglot and saying incredibly stupid things was just a bonus.

But, her bonus was leaving. And such was not cool.

"I can not believe you didn't do this assignment Justin," Judy grumbled, copying her work onto his paper.

"I didn't have time," he defended.

Judy looked up intime to see him dribble milk down his chin as he ate cereal, "What do you mean you didn't have time. Justin, we did this assignment together."

"Then I probably have it somewhere."

"Then go find it!" she shoved his bookbag at him.

"Wow," he put his hands up in the air to surrender, "What has been going on with you lately Juicy? You've been acting really strange lately."

"Nothing," she closed her eyes and scratched her head, something Justin knew was a sort of stress reliever,"I'm just stressed is all."

"Anything I can do?"

"Yes. Call that friend of yours, JC, and con him into proposing to me," She picked up his paper again and continued filling it out for him.

"Psh, yeah, right after I get him to marry Juliet."

"What? Juliet?"

"Yeah, she's got first dibs."

"No that ho doesn't!"

"I think she does. She asked first."

"So if she gets JC who do I get?"

"Me," he smiled charmingly at her and she noted the piece of cereal stick between his two front teeth.

"Gee, great."

"Hey, what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing babe, I'm so completely grateful for you," she smiled sweetly at him for a second before her gaze was pulled to another direction, somewhere towards the floor.

Justin watched her intently as she suddenly sat up, her face confused as her eyes stayed locked on the floor. All of a sudden she started screaming, startling him.

"There's a mouse! There's a mouse! Marcus!"

Justin's eyes moved to the floor as well, and there it was. A little tiny mouse scurrying past a basket of doggie toys towards the wall, looking for a way out. Now Judy was standing on the sofa, the papers all crumpled under her feet. Her arms were flailing about like she was having a seizure, still hollaring. It was just a mouse. They had mice all the time back in Millington.

After rolling his eyes at Judy's weirdo girliness, Justin picked up the throw blanket off of the edge of the leather couch, and moved towards the mouse. He dropped the blanket over it, then quickly balled it up with the mouse in the middle, just as Marcus came running into the room.

"Where is it?" he demanded.

"In here," Justin handed him the blanket, "You might wanna take this outside before Judy passes out."

Marcus took the blanket and ran up the stairs two at a time, Playa running behind him, wondering what all the commotion was about. Justin turned back to Judy, who was standing there wide eyed and panting. He chuckled at her expression.

"You want to get down off the sofa?"

Judy looked at the floor hesitantly.

"No, not really."

"Yes you do. Come on," he coaxed.

She glanced at the floor around her before slowly stepping off the sofa. As soon as her feet were firmly planted on the floor she bolted for the door and up the stairs. Justin followed her and by the time he got up there, she was seated Indian style on the living room sofa, looking around nervously. He plopped down next to her, letting his laughter finally overtake him. Judy's eyes turned icy and her cheeks red with embarassment.

"Shut up," she muttered.

"You should--Your face--Mouse!!" he only laughed harder as he pointed at her.

Steve started chuckling as well.

"Fuck you Steve."

Marcus came back into the house, slamming the door behind himself.

"Where was it?" he asked.

"One the floor, by the gumball machine, next to Playa's toys."

He stomped off towards the stairs to investigate the situation.

"What's going on out there?" Diane's voice floated in from her bedroom.

"There was a mouse in the family room."

"What?!"

"Yeah, in the family room."

"Well... if you and your brother would clean up your rooms once in awhile it'd be okay."

"My room is clean."

"Right, if you ignore the thirty-thousand pieces of clothing and the pile of crap in the corner covering the floor."

"Shut up Timberlake," Judy crossed her arms pretending to look bored as Justin's laughter only intensified. She watched as he held his stomach and slapped his knee till it died down to just a really really sickeningly bright smile.

"Justin, it was a mouse."

"I know, you told me. Loudly. Repeatedly. You were really freaked out," he started chuckling and Judy hit him with an orange pillow.

"Okay, look, sometimes mice happen. It's okay. You can't tell me this is the first time you've have a mouse."

He'd find it hard to believe considering there was a creek and 400 trees behind her house.

"No it's not, just the first time I've seen one," she shuddered, checking the floor again.

Justin, cruel as ever, slowly reached out and tapped her foot, laughing hysterically when she shrieked.

"Stop it!" she hit him with the pillow again.

"Alright. While you sit there, paranoid, I'm going to bed."

He stood up and she scurried to her feet aswell.

"You can't leave me alone."

"I'm not," he pointed to Playa.

"What am I supposed to do?"

He gave her a look,"Try going to bed perhaps."

Her eyes moved towards he open bedroom door. The room was pitch black and she could hear Stripes moving around in her tank, "There could be a mouse in there."

"There isn't a mouse in there."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do."

"Go check."

Justin groaned at her, and she gave him a gentle push towards her room. He leaned in and turned the light on. Nothing.

"You're fine. Good night," he ran to his room and left her in the hall.

A few minutes later as he was pulling on his pajamas there was a soft knock, followed by a scratch at his door. He opened it to find Judy, and ofcourse, the ever faithful Playa. Playa invited herself in and laid down on the floor by his bed.

"Justin," Judy whinned, "You can't leave me alone."

"Stripes is with you."

"She's a turtle."

"But she's got an attitude."

"Justin please."

A red alert went off in his head. What exactly did she want?

"What?"

"You can't leave me alone. You know stuff freaks me out. What if one comes in again and crawls under my door and into my room in the middle of the night?"

"You'll be asleep. You won't know."

Her eyes widdened and she started shaking, "You think I'll be able to sleep in there by myself now? No way."

Aha!

"Well, I'm not sleeping in there with you."

Her lips curled into the most pathetic pout he'd ever seen.

"Did I teach you that?"

"Please, you think the Timberlake pout is this good?"

He frowned. No wonder his Mother never gave in.

"I'm not sleeping in your room Juicy."

"I could sleep in your room."

"Or not."

"Justin," her pout grew even more pathetic, if even possible, "something could get me. I'll be up all night.

He looked at her hands, which were still shaking.

"You're really freak out aren't you?"

She nodded. He sighed before his eyes rolled, "Do you snore?"

"Yes."

He gave her a look.

"But I'll try really really hard not too."

"How are you gonna try not too? You'll be asleep."

She shrugged. He sighed.

"You get the left side of the bed. And if you hog the covers, you're out so help me God.

Judy smiled and gave him a hug before bouncing into him room and hopping on the bed. He smirked at her, watching as she hugged a pillow to her chest and began flipping channels. She looked like a little girl, with her hair pulled in two pigtails and pink pj's on.

"What are you doing?" she inquired as Justin sat down in the chair by the phone.

"Time for my nightly call."

"Who you calling?"

"My Mama."

"Aw, your Mommy? Cuteness."

He narrowed his eyes on her in mock intimidation before dialing the number. It wasn't long before she answered, since she had been expecting his call, and a reaccounting of all the events that have happened since they last spoke was given. Including the mouse story.

"Honey you shouldn't laugh at her. I get the same way, I hate mice."

"No, Mama, it's hilarious. You have to see it when it comes on TV. You'll love it."

"Justin Randall...."

"Mama I love the girl but it was funny."

"I remember when you were a little boy and crickets were not your favorite animal."

"That's because I got bitten by one, Mama."

"You did not."

As the Mother and son debate continued, Judy had picked the MTV Hits channel on television. They played non-stop music videos 24/7, sometimes even ones you couldn't see on MTV or MTV2. Actually, MTV had too damn many channels now that she thought about it. The 'Pop' video came on and she watched the beginning with interest. It was always her favorite part.

"Hey Justin," she called, "Justin. Do you know you look schizophrenic in the intro to this?" She did what she called and impersonation of him, which included going into fake convulsions before doubling over with laughter at herself.

Justin chuckled along with her, half at how she looked while doing it, and half at the fact that she had done it. The girl was positively goofy, and it was adorible. He watched her re-enact it for Playa down on the floor before climbing back on the bed to catch her breathe.

"So where is Judy now?" Lynn's voice reminded him that he was still infact on the phone.

"She's in here now. She wants to stay with me tonight, since she was all freaked out."

"Uh-huh."

"Mama, don't start."

Judy's curiousity was peeked by that statement. She turned on the bed to look at him, and found a grossed-out expression on his face.

"Ma! It's nothing sexual Mother, Jesus Christ.... The last thing I need is to hear my Mom talking about those things."

~*~

It was 2am on a Thursday morning and Judy was still awake. She and Justin had gone to bed hours earlier, the TV was off and all was quiet. The quiet and darkness was part of the problem however. It meant there was nothing for her to do but lay there and think of ways for supernatural mice to get to her and eat her alive piece by piece. She kept tossing and turning, trying her best to do it slowly so that it wouldn't wake Justin.

"Stop moving."

But apparently that wasn't working.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it."

Justin rolled on to his back and tried to make out her outline in the darkness, "Why are you still awake?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to sleep, but everytime I close my eyes I see giant grey mice the size of cruise ships coming after me."

"You've gotta get over this mouse thing Juicy."

"Leave me alone, I'm well aware of how pathetic it is."

"It's not pathetic, just-."

"Funny?"

"Exactly."

All was quiet in the room again for several minutes. Justin had apparently slipped back to sleep. Judy however, was still wide away, this time plagued by different thoughts.

"Justin?"

"Hrmph?"

"Do you ever wish you hadn't done this?"

His head rolled on the pillow and he searched for her outline again.

"What?"

"Do you wish you hadn't done this whole TV show? I mean, don't you miss being at home, and the privacy, and the cameras in your face, and being able to be alone once inawhile-."

"Is that what's been bothering you lately? You regret doing the show?"

"No it's not that, I just-It's stupid. Nevermind."

"No it's not stupid Juicy," he turned on his side so they were face to face. His eyes had adjusted enough so that he could see her bangs as they fell over her face, and the curve of her cheek and nose,"Nothing you think or feel could ever be stupid."

"I just-being with people 24/7, gets kind of old you know. Don't sometime wish you just had a minute to yourself. To be alone, and everything be all quiet?"

"Yeah, that's why I love it when you go to bed early."

"Shut up," she punched his shoulder playfully.

He chuckled at her lame attempt to hurt him and reached out to grab her hand. They could touch without it being a sexual thing, he was at ease intertwining their fingers while he spke softly to her about something, "No, I understand what you're saying. It's completely natural Judy, everyone needs their alone time."

"I think it's more than alone time. I think I need a break, from everything. I'm so stressed out, and with the school year coming to an end and having to finalize everything I'm about to drop dead. And once summer starts Mom wants me to get a job, and do summer school at the college."

"That would be good for you."

"I know, I just wish I had a day--a week-- to myself to just sit and be lazy and tan and do nothing."

"You tan?"

"Yeah. I need to go soon actually. I'm hella pale."

"No you're not."

"Are you kidding? My legs look like your face."

Justin laughed and she giggled along with him. She could see the outline of his smile.

"We graduate in three weeks, you know."

"Yep," his confirmation was followed by a yawn."

"Then you'll be gone."

"Not right away, we'll still have a few days together."

"Yeah, but you're still leaving me."

"Well, it's not like I'll never see you again. We'll talk on the phone, and you'll come see me, I'll come see you, we'll email."

"And then one phone call a day will turn into once a week, and then once a month, and then you'll go on tour and the calls will stop completely. You'll forget all about poor little Judy Bucklass in Central Valley, California."

"Shut up Ms. Dramaqueen. Like anyone in their right mind could ever forget you," he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, "You're like, engraved in my brain forever."

"Really?"

"Yep, I'll never be able to look at a hot fudge sundae the same way again."

"Shut up!" there was her pathetic attempt at hurting him again.

"No seriously, everytime I see a bottle of Ketchup I'll think of you, because we took a vow to never eat it again."

"Right."

"And, I'm now a pro at Math, because I did all your homework. So everytime I do a Math problem I'll think of you. I'll forever be afraid of other people's dogs, because yours has scarred me for life."

"Leave her alone, Playa's awesome."

"In your world maybe. Anyway, point is, I'm not going to go off and forget you. You're my twin."

"So what are you trying to say? Because we're freaky twins it'll be easy for you to leave?"

"Ofcourse that's not what I'm saying. It won't be easy for me to leave you. I'm too used to see you're big face...."

Judy gasped as if she was offended, but laughed instead. He always said she had a big face, but she countered it by saying he had a big nose. It was a... thing they did.

"...And that cackle you call a laugh. You'll probably cry when I go. I'd cry if I were leaving me, it's only right that you cry too."

"You'd also have sex with yourself if you could."

"What can I say? I am one good looking Mother trucker."

"In your world maybe."

There was silence once again.

"I really am going to miss you."

Judy peeked one eye open to look at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're one of my bestfriends. How could I not miss you?"

"Awww," she made a girly squeek and Justin rolled his eyes.

"Don't start woman."

"You're being so cute right now."

"I know. Don't tell anyone."

"Scout's honor."

"Better be," he tugged on her arm until she scooted next to him and laid her head on his chest. His arm wound around her, locking her to him, and he buried his face in her hair, "Go to sleep. I'll protect you from the giant grey mice."

"How did you know-?"

"Twins, remember?"

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, before she smirked and closed her eyes.

"Get out of my brain Timberlake."

"Shush. You can't talk and sleep at the same time."

While Judy finally started to drift off into dreamland, Justin's mind was now working on over drive. His approaching departure had been on his mind recently, for different reasons however. Yes he was going to miss her, and being around her everyday. He was going to miss this boring, nothing to do town. But more than thinking about how he was going to miss this life, he was worried about her. Once he was gone, Ben would be free to spend however much time he wanted and to do whatever he wanted with Judy. Justin knew it was only a matter of time before Ben tried getting into Judy's bed, with the intentions of eventually ending up holding her the way Justin was now. The knot in his stomach grew so tight, his eyes didn't close again until the sun was coming up.

 

Chapter 8 Three Weeks Later

"Can you believe this?" Judy asked excitedly. "We're rehearsing for our friggin high school graduation!"

Justin smiled down at his smaller counterpart and continued following the guy in the letter jacket infront of him. The entire Senior class was gathered together during 6th period to rehearse the walk for the following day. People were being called up one by one and placed into one of two lines. Somehow the lines were going to walk on the outsides of the chairs, and then fill in all the seat, putting the class in alphabetical order. Don't ask him how it was going to work, it just was.

"Judy Bucklass."

The girl turned to Justin and gave his arm an excited, and surprisingly strong, squeeze before running up to the teacher with the clipboard and being placed in the correct spot. Immediately Judy began a conversation with Krystal, who was a C and placed near her. Justin was a T, and had a while to wait before they got to his end of the line.

"So Justin, now that we're graduating, how long are you going to be in town?" Allie asked.

She, and Juliet were M's, so they had a few minutes to kill as well.

"I'm going to be here for two more days. Then the show wraps and I'm on my way back home."

"When does the show start airing?"

"June I think. I don't know."

Rehearsal continued on, and while it was fun for everyone involved, it also reminded Justin that his time was very limited. In the months he'd spent with Judy, he'd grown to love her like the sister he never had. She was one of his bestfriends, and it was going to be weird for her to be the voice on the other end of the phone cord instead of the lady whispering on the other end of his bed. Plus, he still wasn't fond of her new boyfriend, Ben, and didn't like the idea of leaving her alone with him. When he was gone, who was going to look out for her? Of course, when he voiced this concern to Trace, he was called a jealous bitch in return, and didn't bring it up again.

Late that night, Justin and Judy climbed back into her Mustang and headed toward the highschool football field.

"Are you guys ready to do this?" Judy dropped an arm around Vicki's shoulders.

"Ready to get this crap out of the way and be done? Yes."

"Don't be so negative," Judy pouted. "You better enjoy this because we'll never be here again."

"Thank God."

It was Senior sunset, and everyone came with blankets, candles, cameras, and stereos. They gathered in a large circle in the middle of the football field and quieted down when the Senior class president, Jonathon Hicks, stepped into the middle of the circle.

"Welcome, class of 2004. The gathering of the graduating class has long since been a tradition for Central Valley High, dating back to the founding of the town in the 1800's. Just as we gathered together at 5am on our first day of school for the first sunrise of our senior year, we gather together again, at 8pm to see the sunset on our last day together. We have shared many memories, and jumped many hurdles together. Some of us have only known each other for a year, and some of us have been together since elementary school. But regardless of how long we've been together, what matters is, we all made it together."

"Oh my God," Judy put her hand on Justin's arm, pulling his attention from Jon.

"What?"

"I think I might cry."

Vicki rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to cry. This is melo-dramatic crap. We couldn't wait to graduate, remember?"

"I know, but that was before it was less than 24 hours away. Now that I think about it, I've been here for 7 years. I have been going to school here, with these people, for 7 years. And tomorrow afternoon, it's all going to be over. We may never all be in the same room together again."

"Does that mean no more having to watch Meredith pop out of her push-up bra in Government?" Julie asked.

"Hey," Justin scolded, "that was the best part of that class."

"Class of 2004," Jonathon continued, "It's been my pleasure serving you in student government these past four years. Congratulations, and good luck. See you at the reunion."

When Jonathon lowered his head, and moved to leave the middle of the circle, everyone began to clap, and someone flipped the switch on a boombox and Vitamin C's Graduation began to play. At the opening lines Judy looked from Justin, to Vicki, to Justin, and then broke down. Her brown eyes teared up and she put her hands over her face, crying uncontrollably. Justin couldn't help the chuckled that escaped his mouth as he put his arms around her shoulders. She was so weirdly adorible sometimes.

"Don't cry Juicy. You'll see everyone again."

"Yeah. Bryce works at the Ice Creamery on the Boulevard," Juliet joked.

"It's not funny," came Judy's muffled reply.

Justin swatted at Juliet before pulling back to look at Judy. Her lips curled into a frown and her red eyes squinted at him through her glasses.

"Are you going to live? Or should I call Mikey to give you mouth-to-mouth?"

Judy chuckled, lightly swatting Justin in the stomach at the mention of her one-time "math stalker", a boy in their class who had, at one point in time, desperately wanted Judy's attention.

"You laugh now, but you guys are going to miss this when it's gone."

School the next day was uneventful, most of the school was stuck in final exams. Most teachers with Senior classes wanted their students into enjoy their final day of "adolesence", so they either didn't include a final in the curriculum, or had scheduled it before the last day of classes. Most seniors were sitting in their desks joking around, throwing things at each other, or sneaking out of the door to be with their friends whenever the teachers weren't paying attention. Justin put gum on Steve's camera lens, which later earned him a wet-willy.

Afterwards everyone headed home to change into their attire for the ceremony. Judy wore a black dress with a white bow around the waist, and Justin was clad in black slacks and a blue button up. Diane forced them to take various pictures around the house before they piled into her SUV to head back to the high school.

The ceremony itself was boring. Lots of performances by talent-less graduating seniors. The senior class president had approached Justin about performing, but was denied. Justin was strickly there as a student, and enjoying his time being just another guy in town. Finally, an hour and a half into the ceremony, it was time for the diplomas to be given out.

For the first time, there were two camera men. MTV had kept the production team small, and mostly out of sight, allowing Judy and Justin to be as comfortable and normal as possible. But now, Steve sat on the ground before her, while some other guy had been placed with Justin for the duration of the ceremony.

They went, painstakenly slowly, one by one through the graduating class, calling their name, allowing for applause, and then letting them take their walk down the isle. She'd never realized there were so many seniors before. Judy, because her last name started with a B received her diploma relatively quickly, but it was more than 15 minutes until Justin, Juliet, and the others received their diplomas.

Judy watched her friends proudly as they all stepped onto the stage and received their diplomas. They'd all made it in one piece, and relatively sane, including Justin. Over her shoulder, a few rows back, she spotted Krystal, who waved her over. Moving from her chair and crouching low, Judy navigated the isles and sat down on the grass in front of her friend. Moments later she was joined by Juliet, Justin, Vicki, Amanda, and the rest of their group.

"Should we be doing this?" Julie questioned, ducking her head low.

"What are they going to do, suspend us?" Krystal replied.

A pathetic whimper sounded and everyone turned to Judy, who's eyes were watering.

"We're graduated," she sobbed.

"Oh God, here we go," Justin rolled his eyes, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"God Juicy, all you do lately is cry. I swear I don't know why we hang out with you," Allie teased.

That earned a chuckle, and Judy raised a hand to wipe away her tears. Justin smiled at her, watching the happiness beaming from her brown eyes. He knew she'd worked so incredibly hard to get to this moment in time. This last 5 minutes as the last of the diplomas were handed out, and she was able to sit with her friends and soak it in one last time. Her expression took him back to another place in time. Prom, just a few short months prior.

They'd decided to attend together, which hadn't gone off well with Ben, who'd desperately wanted to be her date. While Justin and Judy thought it was reasonable, because they wouldn't have to fill out paperwork for a guestpass, Ben thought it was his inalienable right as her significant other. He'd even called her the evening of prom, just to yell at her and remind her of his disapproval. He'd almost ruined their evening, which Justin thought was unfair. It was her prom, not his. Who did he think he was, calling her horrible names and making her feel guilty? Justin was honored to be her date, and glad that she wouldn't look back on photos of that night years from now and be seeing Ben's snug face smiling back.

"Wait, wait. Are you sure this looks okay?" Judy smoothed a hand over the front of her black, bejeweled gown.

"You look great. Would you stop worrying? These are your friends, they don't care what you have on." Plus, she was stuck now. It was after 10pm on a Saturday, where was she going to get another dress?

"But I care what I have on. Everyone is going to look so nice, and all the girls have been preparing for this for months. I just want to make sure I blend in. And I do not blend in this dress. I told you and Mom it made me look fat!"

Justin turned to her, taking both of her hands in his.

"Shut up."

Judy's eyes narrowed on him.

"You do not look fat. You look amazing. Those girls in there have been getting ready for prom for the past month and they still have nothing on how good you look tonight. Even in your PE clothes with that ridiculous bun on the top of your head you still look better than them."

Her icy glare warmed a little and she let out a sigh. Justin stepped to her side and offered his arm, which she took hold of.

"Now, stop doing that weirdo-girly-wigging-out thing and come on. Your prom is going on and you're missing it."

Prom had been everything she'd expected. Cheesy decorations hung in the ballroom of an expensive hotel in San Fransisco. An inexperienced DJ was set up in the back, rocking out harder than anyone else to the CD's being played. To the left there were several long buffet tables and the right, several circle tables with faux-crystal place settings. And right smack dab in the middle was the dancefloor, currently crowded to maximum compacity with teenagers.

"Justin! Judy! Oh my gosh you both look amazing!"

As soon as the compliment was given Justin glanced at Judy with a "told you so" grin and wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously.

"Wanna cut a rug?" He offered.

"Let's."

Later on that evening, the pair slipped into the house unnoticed by everyone except Playa around 4am. The sun was still sitting low on the horizon, barely turning the sky deep shades of red and purple. MTV followed them and they immediately headed for their rooms and collapsed onto their beds, fully clothed and began to snore.

"Hey Steve, let's call it a night."

Steve nodded, hearing the voice from his walkie-talkie. He lowered the heavy camera from his shoulder, and set the alarm before slipping out the front door. Green lights flickered on all of the wall mounted cameras and Justin's bedroom door opened and a head peeked out, looking up the hall towards the living room. Nothing moved and everything remained quiet as the slender body tip-toed from the room and towards Judy's door, slowly creeping it open.

"Juicy? Hey, Juicy?"

"Hmmm?"

"You asleep?"

"No. I'm just laying here with my eyes closed, snoring, trying to see how many people I can trick."

He smirked sarcastically at her reply. Sneeking into the room, he inched the door closed behind himself until the knob clicked, and then headed for her bed, where he crawled in beside her.

"Tonight was fun." He stated.

"Yeah it was." The blankets russled as she rolled over, searching for his face in the darkness. "I had a good time."

"Sometimes you looked distracted though. Like something was bothering you."

"Did I?"

"Yeah. While we were doing the Cha-cha Slide, you slid to the right, but you didn't slide to the left. Not once."

Judy chuckled softly. "Just thinking about Ben I guess."

"He still mad?"

"Wouldn't know. He hasn't called since he yelled at me before."

"Juicy, don't let him ruin your night. You had a good time, there's nothing wrong with that. Just because he wants to act like a jealous bitch doesn't mean you need to let it get to you."

"Justin, I can't just dismiss his feelings like that. We're in a relationship-."

"Well he's got no problem dismissing yours. If you're in a relationship then he should have thought about how it was going to make you feel if he called you, hollaring like a lunatic like that, on one of the most memorable nights of your life."

"He wasn't thinking straight," she said. "I think he's just a little jealous of you."

"As he should be."

Judy snorted and Justin scoffed.

"Have you seen me lately? I'm one sexy fuckin' dude."

"Justin I swear, if you could clone yourself, you'd sleep with yourself."

"It'd be perfect. I know exactly what turns me on."

Judy put a hand over her mouth, muffling her laughter.

"But seriously, Juicy," he said. "if the guy is worth it, he'll apologize for being a jerk, and he'll let it go."

"Yeah."

"I'm just looking out for you, you know? That's what older brothers do."

"Yeah, much much older brothers," she teased.

He wasn't much older, but she liked to exaggerate the age gap between them.

"Much older means being much wiser, don't you forget it. But really, I'm just trying to take care of you."

"I don't need a handler Justin."

"Like hell you don't."

"Oh really?" She sat up, leaning her head in her palm and resting her elbow in the pillows. "And who is going to look after me when you leave, if I'm so incapable."

"Me." He responded, "just because I'm not here physically doesn't mean I won't still be keeping an eye on you. And you'll still be looking out for me when I go back to my regular life."

"You won't remember me a month into you 'regular life'."

"Horse shit. Haven't we talked about this? How could I ever forget Juicy? Come on," he scooted closer and held up one of his hands.

"Come on what?"

"We're gonna make a promise and settle this once and for all. Put your pinky in."

Judy raised her pinky, crossing it with his.

"Alright. We're set for life. You're always going to look out for me, and I'm always going to take care of you; and warn you about loser boyfriends, like Ben." The last phrase was muttered as he lowered his head to kiss his thumb.

Judy used her other hand to punch him in the stomach.

"Pinky swear?" He questioned.

"Pinky swear," Judy kissed her thumb, sealing the promise.

"Sweet," he sounded, dipping down to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Now stop your yapping. I'm tired."

Just before he rolled over onto his back and snuggled into the bed, he glanced at her face and caught a glimpse of the bright smile spread over her face.

That same smile was the smile she had on her face now, sitting here on the grass during graduation. A grin of true and utter happiness. Especially now that the name calling was over.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the principle was saying, "I am proud to present to you, the graduating class of 2004!"

Dozens of screams soared through the air, and hundreds of hats were tossed up, threatening to block out the sun.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" Judy enveloped Justin in the biggest bear hug he'd ever been given.

"No, you did it," he told her.

She was the one who'd been here day in and day out for four years, running clubs and activities, and somehow making it all work. She'd put in her dues for this day, he'd simply tagged along for the last stretch of the journey.

"Congratulations."

Judy pulled back and smiled up at him, and everything seemed to come to a pause for a moment. Justin had no idea why, but it did, and the only thing that he could clearly see was the smile on her face, and bright brown eyes peering up at him, squinting in the sunlight. She looked so beautiful right then, so young and innocent, and full of hope and determination. Though he knew this was further from the truth, he pictured her as a girl who knew nothing of how cruel the world and some of the people in it could be. And he wanted to keep it that way.

But the moment ended as soon as it had begun, and the world kicked back into motion. Before another word could be spoken between them, Judy's attention was distracted, and to her left stood her boyfriend. Her smile and bright eyes turned to Ben, leaving Justin alone. The look Ben gave Justin, however, was the polar opposite of Judy's bubbly and lovable nature. The two men locked eyes, and Ben's seemed to flash with anger, or maybe jealousy and insecurity. He was clearly sending a warning, "Your time here is over. Stay away." But Ben's moment, just like Judy's, ended quickly and was replaced with excitement when he turned to his girlfriend.

Justin got chills down his long spine. Did Ben have a split personality or something? And why was he so protective of Judy? The tantrum he'd had over not being asked to attend her prom, and now his defensive glare. Justin didn't like the feeling he was getting. And now that he was leaving the next day, who was going to watch over Judy? How would he be able to look out for her from thousands of miles away?

"Justin Randall!"

His thought process was thrown off as he smiled. He'd recognize that Southern drawl anywhere.

"Mama!" He answered, opening his eyes to the petite blonde.

"It's so good to see you," she said, smoothing her hand over his short hair.

"I didn't know you were going to be here."

"It was a surprise baby. Look at you in your cap and gown! I'm so proud of you honey."

"Thanks Mom. Oh, Mom, I want you to meet someone," he reached for Judy's arm as he spoke. "This is Judy Bucklass."

"The infamous?" Lynn teased as she shook the girl's hand.

"I don't know about infamous, but I am the one and only," Judy replied.

"Well it's so nice to finally meet you instead of just hearing about you over the phoneline."

"Justin! Congratulations dawg!" Everyone's attention shifted when three members of the Varsity football team rushed up to Justin, nearly tackling him and ruffling his hair.

"Thanks dude."

"Going to Dillan's party tonight?"

Justin glanced at Judy, who shrugged. There were so many parties, who knew where they'd end up.

"I don't know man, we'll think about it. I know we're going to Trisha's."

"For sure. We'll see you there."

As the boys rushed off to congratulate others, Lynn smiled at her son.

"I told you you'd be in the popular crowd if you went to high school."

Justin blushed with a shrug before glancing at something over her shoulder.

"Oh! Mom, there's that girl I was telling you about."

"Where?" Lynn turned.

"Over there in the green gown."

"Justin, everyone is wearing a green gown."

"Come on Mom," Justin groaned and took her hand, pulling her long for a closer inspection. "Remember the girl I was telling you about, with the white halter top and the cinnamon roll...?"

 

 

The Next Morning...

Graduation night had gone by in a blur. After coming back to the house for a small family get together with cake and ice cream, Lynn had retired to her hotel room and Diane to bed, while Justin and Judy headed out to the Senior Cruise on the San Fransisco Bay. From there, to Dillan's party at the San Leandro Marina, and then a hotel party at the Hyatt in Pleasanton, where they eventually passed out. It wasn't until 9am the next morning that a call to Judy's cellphone pulled them from their slumber. It was Marcus, questioning his little sisters whereabouts.

"Looks like someone had fun last night," Diane smiled.

Judy and Justin had just come slinking through the front door, looking every bit exhausted and hung over as they were. Judy off of champagne and Justin off of tequila and rum. The doorbell rang and the pair stood there, in the living room, swaying back and forth. Playa ran to the door, barking and jumping wildly. Judy winced and Justin covered his ears.

"Can you do something about that?"

"What do you want me to do, tape her mouth shut?"

"I don't know, but it's too loud. Playa, hush!"

Playa sat down infront of the door and looked up at Justin before whinning and scratching at the door with one of her paws. Marcus appeared at the top of the stairs and headed to the door, holding Playa's collar with one hand and turning the knob with the other.

"Hello, hello."

"Mom?" Justin turned to his Mother as she stepped into the door.

"Hey baby, oh, you look terrible. Did you sleep at all last night?" Her tiny hands reached up to rub his scruffy cheek.

"A little bit."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane I guess."

"Plane?"

"Yes. We have a flight in a couple of hours, remember?"

"We do?"

"Yes," she chuckled. "To New York. You have some press to do. Justin, we talked all about this yesterday."

Justin's face was blank as he nodded.

"I remember."

"Well you better hurry up. We need to leave for the airport in an hour or less."

The mood in the room had suddenly turned heavy, sad. Against hope and wishes, the dreaded hour had finally come. Justin turned to Judy, and frowned when he found her eyes were glossy.

"You need to pack," she said.

They sulked down the hall towards Justin's bedroom, as Diane and Lynn shook their heads.

"Those two are quite the pair aren't they?" Diane offered Lynn a coffee mug.

"I should say so. Did you see their faces? It almost made me want to cry."

The two women smiled and turned towards the livingroom to sit down. Justin and Judy headed to the bathroom, brushing their teeth and trying to rid themselves of some of the aftermath of all night partying.

"Feel any different now? Being all graj-i-ated and stuff?" Justin asked, spitting out his toothpaste.

Judy paused, pulling her toothbrush from her mouth and thinking.

"Nope. Feels the same."

After freshening up they headed to their rooms to change clothes. Judy pulled on her velour sweatsuit with 'Juicy' written on the butt and headed into Justin's room. He stood there in jeans, a button-down shirt, and a suit jacket. Gone were the trackpants, tee shirts, and flip-flops he'd become accustomed to wearing while there. The regular boy was gone, he was back in popstar mode again. Judy silently took a seat on his bed next to the suitcase he was packing.

"I can't do this if you're going to sit there looking at me like that."

Judy turned away, facing the television. From her profile, Justin could see her lips pouting. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"Juicy, we knew this day was coming. We've been talking about it, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. Her nose sounded stuffy.

The observation let him know that she was crying, or close to it, and it was time to have another one of those 'I won't forget you' conversations. Justin rose from the bed, and Steve followed. When the cameraman stepped into the hallway, thinking Justin would follow, the door closed in his face.

"Hey," Steve's palm sounded on the door, "open up."

"Give us a minute." Justin's voice was muffled.

"You're in breach of your contract. MTV could pull the show for this."

"Just give us a second."

"Oh, the checks have already been cashed. Let them alone," Lynn called from her seat on the sofa.

Steve sighed and reluctantly headed towards the leather chair. After radioing to the production van that he was being denied a shot, he let out another sigh and picked up a cookie from the coffeetable. No one but Justin and Judy knew what went on inside of that room for the next 10 minutes. But when the door opened, they stepped out hand in hand, and each carrying a suitcase.

"I'm all set."

"Just in time," Lynn checked her watch. "We should make it right on time."

Everyone stood, and it was eerily quiet in the Bucklass residence. Steve moved around them in a circle, camera posted on his shoulder. Justin turned to Marcus first and shook his hand as Lynn said her goodbyes to Diane. Then Diane hugged Justin as Lynn gave her thanks to Judy for looking after her son. The front door was opened, and Lynn and Steve stepped out. Justin started to follow, but turned back to Judy.

"I'll call you tonight," he said, kissing her lips quickly.

Neither of the two thought much of it as he pecked her and headed out the door, but Diane's eyebrows raised as Lynn's head cocked to the side as she followed her son. Judy stood there a moment, staring at the space he'd just been in. Then she rushed out the front door, running up the driveway to the curb. Justin was already in the limo, she could see him through the tint in the back window. Someone inside motioned, and he turned to her. She waved as they started to drive, and just before they went down the slope to the end of the street, she made out the faint outline of him holding up his pinky.

Pinky promise.

When Judy returned to the house, everything was a blur. She walked wordlessly passed her Mother, who still stood in her place in the living room. She passed Marcus, and Playa who was clearly wondering where her bestfriend had gone. Even the MTV techies who had already set to work removing the cameras installed in the walls were unnoticed as she navigated passed them. She headed straight for her room, and closed the door behind herself.

"Perfect Steve," came the static-covered voice over the walkie-talkie. "That will be our final shot. Go ahead and wrap it up."

Chapter 9

"So Justin what can you tell us about the new album? Where did your inspiration come from?"

The man holding the clipboard clicked his pen closed and looked up at Justin expectantly. It was an interview for a morning talk show, set-up in a hotel room. Justin was on a promotional tour for his upcoming release, and rather than run all over the country, everyone came to him at a hotel in Beverly Hill.

"Well, the new album is going to be a bit more futuristic, kinda of techno influenced. My past solo albums have had more of a R&B vibe, and even R&B is taking more of a turn towards upbeat, techno, almost two-step influenced sounds. But, my inspiration always comes from my life, from what's going on with me personally, what's going on with people around me. I get a lot of ideas from friends."

"Speaking of friends and your personal life, that reality show, ‘Senior Year' was a huge hit for MTV. Millions of people turned in for the first episode and kept coming back every Monday night after that to watch it. How do you feel about the show?"

His management had decided on letting the show run it's coarse while Justin finished recording and perfecting his latest release, letting MTV do all the work of generating a buzz for him.

"Doing the show was great. I had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people. I didn't have the chance to go to a high school like that, I was busy with Nsync. So it was cool to get to have some of the experiences. And I realize now how hard it is. Teenagers have it tough, and it's not easy sticking to it everyday. But Judy made it easy, and fun. She was very focused and motivated."

"And you got to copy her homework whenever you were too tired to do it yourself."

Justin let out a laugh.

"Yeah, I had it a lot easier than most in that respect. I was rooming with a brainiac."

"Do you and Judy still keep in touch?"

"Of course."

That was a lie. He and Judy had tried to keep in touch. But with Justin thrown right back into his normal life, full of travel and events, it was hard for him to find time to call her. And Judy was thrust into adulthood. She began working full-time at a daycare facility, chasing babies in diapers all day. She took classes at the local community college, trying to save some money on the tuition before she had to transfer to a University. And of course, there was Ben, who demanded a great deal of her attention. He had never been fond of Justin, and was even less fond of them keeping in contact after the show ended.

The last time he had really talked to her was about 6 months ago.

"Hello?"

"Juicy fruit."

"Justin!!"

"Hey."

"Ahh!! Oh my gosh, how are you?"

"Well, I'm great now that you've blown my ear drum out." Justin switched the cell phone to his other ear.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just excited. I haven't talked to you in so long."

"It's been a week and a half."

"I know. That's a long time. We used to live together, remember?"

"I remember," he smiled. "So, how are things?"

"Things are crazy, Justin! Since the last episode people have started calling me, trying to get me to do interviews and stuff. People even recognize me on the street. I was walking to class the other day and this girl came up to me and she goes, ‘can I touch you? I just wanna touch someone who touched Justin Timberlake.'"

"I had a guy come up to me saying the same thing about you!"

"Liar," she quipped.

He smiled to himself. There really had been a guy who wanted to meet someone who knew Judy, but that didn't really matter.

"But you're getting a lot of calls from shows and magazines and stuff?"

"Tons."

"Why don't you just do a couple? If you pick the right ones, your college education will be covered."

"No, thanks. I had enough of people knowing my personal life. I just want to go back to normal. Besides, I already know what they want to talk about."

"What's that?"

"What you said to me the day you left, when we were in your room and you locked Steve out and took off our mics. Everyone wants to know what happened."

"We made out."

Judy let out a giggle.

"See, you shouldn't be doing any interviews either. You're spreading lies."

"Only good ones. So what else is new? How's school? How's work?"

"Ugh! Both are fine. School is going really well actually. I love the history classes. And my teacher makes it so simple. She said on the first day, ‘this is one of the hardest classes on campus. If you can't handle that then leave.'"

"Damn."

"I know. But then a couple weeks later we had our first test, and it was an essay. I basically just wrote everything I could ever remember her saying. Like even her own stories about things she did while on vacation in historic sites, and I got an A."

"So if you have the ability to be a human tape recorder, like you do, than you'll do fine in her class."

"I know that was an underhanded insult to me, but it's actually true."

They were silent for a moment, Justin smiling to himself as he thought of her sitting on her bed holding a pink cell phone to her ear. He really did miss her.

"Oh! But I do have news about Ben."

His favorite person to talk about.

"Yeah? What happened? He got shipped to Germany and you guys decided to take a break until he comes back?"

"No," she scoffed. "No, actually it's kind of the opposite. Ben and I recently decided to... be... together."

Justin's brow furrowed.

"Huh?"

"You know," she prompted. "Be together. In a couples way."

Justin's brow furrowed even more, and then a look of realization came over his face.

"Wait, you guys had sex?"

"Duh! God, it took you forever to get that."

Justin moved the phone from his ear, setting it in his lap for a moment while he ran a hand over his face. He did not want to think about this. Ew! Not ew for her, but ew for who it was with. Ben was a jerk, Judy could do better. And now she'd given her virginity to that idiot.

"Well most people just call it ‘sex', not ‘being together,'" he said.

"I know, but I couldn't exactly say that right then."

This time she spoke in a hushed tone. Diane must have been close by.

"So, you guys slept together?"

"Yeah. Oh, Justin, it was so-."

"Stop right there." He didn't need the details.

"I wasn't going to say anything gross," she giggled. "It's just, I really like him Justin. He could be the one. Wouldn't that be crazy? The first one could be THE one?"

Justin nodded. He was happy for her, really. Okay, not really, but he was making a big effort to be.

"That's great Juicy," he said.

But there was a question probing his mind, and he wasn't sure how to ask it. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he wanted to ask it.

"So, um," he cleared his throat. "When you guys were together, he didn't like, hurt you or anything like that did he?"

"You mean like, because it was the first time for me?"

"No. I know it was your first time so that would be normal if he did." He couldn't believe he was talking about this. "I mean like, you did that because you wanted too right. Not because of something he said or did, right?"

"What? No, Justin, he didn't force me or anything. I wanted too. It was nice, you know. Ben wouldn't ever do something like that."

"I'm just making sure," he said. "You know if you ever need me, you can call me, right? I may not be there now, but planes fly 24/7."

"I know. And I will call you if I need something. But you can stop worrying, Dad. I'm a big girl."

Justin nodded to himself. She was a big girl, all grown-up and beginning to branch out on her own.

"So, how are things in Timberlake land? Hey, are you still in Switzerland?"

"No, I'm back in the states."

"How did recording go?"

"It was cool. We got like, 4 or 5 tracks done the week I was there."

"Wow, that sounds so fast."

"It was fast."

"You must have a lot of inspiration going on in that brain of yours."

He did.

"Can you spill any secret insider information to me?"

"Hmmm... pigs really can fly, they just chose not too."

"Yeah okay. Because last time I checked they totally had wings."

"When was the last time you saw a pig, in person?"

"I don't know. I don't usually hang out at farms."

"Exactly. There's all kinds of shit you don't know. Flying pigs. Cows with pre-made steaks hanging off their backs."

"Okay Justin. Don't tell me anything about the album. I don't care. It won't hurt my feelings that you don't trust me."

"I just want it to be a surprise, for everyone. But I promise you'll like it."

After that night, Justin had tried to call her once or twice, but was never able to get through. He usually got her voice mail, and once Ben had answered.

"Leave her alone Timberlake. We both know you're back to your celebrity life, stop pretending like you give a shit about her. Let her get on with her life with the people that are really here for her."

After that he didn't hear from Judy, though he had a feeling it had more to do with Ben's wants than Judy's wants. He'd talked to Diane once or twice while trying to track Judy down. Apparently she'd moved to Travis Air Force Base with Ben when he'd been transferred there after boot camp. She'd told Diane they'd be moving in two weeks, but just 4 days later Diane came home to a note and Judy's empty bedroom. Since then, she hadn't heard from her daughter much either.

"Judy and I will always keep in touch," he told the reporter. "She's a very good, dear friend of mine."

"How has she been lately? The public hasn't seen or heard much from her since the taping of the show ended."

"She's doing great. She's working, going to school. She's great."

---

Judy Bucklass stood in the bathroom of her one bedroom apartment near Travis AFB. The dry blotchy skin on her face was a far cry from the youthful radiant glow she'd had just a year ago. But then, life was very different than it had been a year ago. Now she was 18 going on 19 and she had lived a lifetime since graduation and the last time she had seen Justin Timberlake. He had faded to a distant memory now.

They'd tried to keep in touch, phone calls and emails. But Justin's busy schedule didn't make things easy. Not to mention she and Ben had gotten into an argument about Justin one night. Ben had accused her of emotional cheating. He was jealous of Justin's close relationship with her. He always felt like Justin was allowed into parts of her mind that he could never get access too. So he'd given Judy an ultimatum: Justin or him. And in a desperate attempt to save her failing relationship, Judy made her decision, letting Justin go. It wasn't like they were really going to be able to keep their friendship going anyways. He was a pop star, and she was no one.

But ever since then, things had never been the same.

Her love for Ben had changed her, making her into someone she had never wanted to be. She was depressed, and dependant. She followed his example, and orders, and her days were spent playing live-in maid for him. He was successful in the Air Force. Their structure and system of hierarchy fit him perfectly and he was able to excel. But the respect he demanded on the base was the same respect that he demanded at home. And if he felt that wasn't being given, there were consequences. He took away her schooling, not allowing her to attend college the last semester, and not allowing her to work outside the home so she could put herself in classes. She didn't have friends, she didn't have resources, she had no way out.

Picking up an orange medicine bottle, Judy poured two white pills into her hand. She tossed them into her mouth, tilting her head back, and washed them down with a gulp from a Corona bottle.

"Judy!" Came his voice.

Her body shuddered and she blinked, straightening her clothes.

"Judy! Get out here."

She jerked open the door, and stepped out into the hallway. It was a short walk to the living room where Ben stood with his hands on his hips.

"Didn't you hear me calling you?"

"Yes," she muttered. "Sorry."

She moved past him and into the kitchen where she continued preparing dinner. She'd already put the meat in the oven, so she set to work cutting the vegetables.

"Next time don't make me call you again. The bathroom is only right there."

"Alright," she said, pressing the knife through a carrot.

Ben moved past her, to the fridge. He yanked the door open, sending a blast of cold air across the room. She heard him shift things around before the door slammed closed. Then a moment later she heard a bottle cap pop open, followed by a clinking in the garbage can.

"We're almost out of beer," he said. "I thought you were going to go to the store today."

"I got busy," was her reply.

"Doing what?"

‘Sleeping off that shit you gave me,' was the thought that ran through her head. But she didn't dare say that.

"Taking care of things around here. This place was a mess from the guys last night."

"You're home all day. It shouldn't take you that long to pick up a couple things around the living room."

"And do the laundry, start dinner-."

"All shit you should be used to doing by now."

"Well maybe if I had some help instead of you just coming home and watching TV."

She knew the moment the words left her lips that it was the wrong thing to say. The beer bottle in his hand slammed down onto the beige counter top, echoing loudly through the room. Judy jumped, her head towards him, her body paralyzed with fear. She only had a moment to note the look in his eyes before his hand soared through the air, leaving a stinging slap on her cheek. The momentum hit her so hard that her body spun in a circle, and she braced herself on the stove, the metal hot under her hand.

"God dammit Judy!! Why do you make me do shit like that?!" He yelled, slamming his hand onto the counter.

"If you could just keep your mouth shut sometimes. Do you think I like doing that to you?"

Judy's reply was a sniff as she rubbed her cheek. It was tender to the touch, but no where near as bad as previous times.

"Come here," he said.

She felt hands on her forearms, turning her to face him. Then he put his arms around her, hugging her close.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. It's just, I work hard all day, you know? I don't need to get off at the end of the day and come home to nagging. I get up every morning, I go out and make a living, and you stay home and take care of the house. That's how it's supposed to be, right?"

"Right," Judy nodded, her eyes focusing on the wall behind him.

"Right. So just, do your job. Okay?"

She nodded again.

"Sorry."

Ben put a hand to her cheek, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"Dinner smells great," he said.

Then he picked up his beer and headed into the living room, where he sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

---

"Welcome to the Hotel California... such a lovely place."

Justin dropped his bags onto the floor while Trace headed off into the kitchen, continuing on with his song. They'd been traveling for the past week, doing radio interviews and photo shoots. The album was dropping in less than month and his management had kicked things into overdrive to prepare.

"‘Scuse me," Trace breezed past Justin, a turkey sandwich in his mouth.

"How the hell did you make that so fast?" Justin questioned.

"Don't you know? Your Mama's in the kitchen making sandwiches."

Justin turned and headed into the kitchen. No one was there, but the fridge was wide open.

"Asshole," he sounded, walking into the family room.

Trace was sprawled across the sofa, watching a Tivo-ed Eagles game.

"I was wondering where you went. You actually fell for it? Haha, loser."

Justin sat down on the sofa opposite him and leaned back against the arm rest. A moment later he shifted, turning on his side to stare at the carpet. He chewed his bottom lip, deep in contemplation.

"What's up Timberlake?"

"Huh?" He looked up at Trace.

"What's going on with you? You were distracted all week, and now you're not ragging on the Eagles while I'm watching the game."

Justin looked at the TV.

"Eagles suck," he supplied.

"The line was right, but there was no feeling behind it."

Trace turned down the volume on the TV and sat up, setting the remaining half of his sandwich on the table.

"Remember Judy?"

Justin sat up as well, swinging his long legs down onto the floor.

"The chick from the show? Yeah. What about her?"

"What do you think she's doing?"

Trace gave him a look.

"How should I know?"

Justin rolled his eyes. That question hadn't come out exactly as he'd meant it.

"What's on your mind Timberlake? I mean, is this really because you wanna know what TV show she's watching right at this moment?"

"No. Ding-bat. I just mean, I haven't talked to her in so long. We promised we'd keep in touch, but when I try to reach her I don't get an answer."

"Isn't she still at her Mom's?"

"Naw. I talk to her Mom, she doesn't really talk to her anymore either. She took off with that Ben guy to God-knows-where."

"Well, maybe she's just busy living her life you know. She's got work and school and that Brian guy-."

"Ben."

"Whatever. Point is, she's got her own shit to worry about. And it's not like you're sitting home by the phone. Maybe she's tried to get a hold of you and you didn't get the message."

Justin shook his head.

"I haven't gotten any missed calls from her, and you know I always check my voice mail."

Trace shrugged.

"Maybe she lost her phone. It's not like you're listed in the yellow pages."

"She would email me if she lost her phone to let me know she lost her phone."

Trace rolled his eyes.

"Here's and idea. Why don't you call her again then?"

Justin leaned forward, grabbing the sandwich off the table.

"I will," he said, leaning back on the sofa and taking a bite.

"And the Eagles suck fucking ass."

---

A soft crackling noise filled the air around her as she drew in a deep breath. She watched the small bowl in front of her turn red as the cherry grew, then die down when she pulled the pipe from her lips. A thick cloud of smoke sailed into the air as she exhaled.

"Good stuff, huh?"

She nodded at Michael, Ben's friend, and passed the pipe back to him.

"Good ‘ole California cannabis."

"Ain't nothing like it in the world," Ben interjected. "Look at her, she's fuckin' blown."

The two men smiled at her, taking in her sleepy smirk.

"Well if you think that's good, you need to try some of this."

Michael reached into his backpack, pulling out a long slender leather case. He set it on the coffee table and unzipped it, opening it to reveal an assortment of needles and glass bottles. He picked up two, and handed them to Ben.

"What is it?" He asked.

"The best."

Ben smiled, setting the needles on the table. Michael handed him a piece of plastic tubing and Ben wrapped it around one of his biceps, tying it into a knot. Then he slid the needle into his arm, undoing the knot once the needle was empty. Almost instantly his eyes slid closed, his mouth falling open.

"Ooooh my God."

"Told you," Michael smiled proudly. "Good shit, huh?"

"Oh yeah."

Ben stood from his seat, and moved to the sofa next to Judy.

"Baby, try this."

He held up the needle.

"No, I don't want any." She sat up and attempted to scoot away from him.

Smoking marijuana was one thing, but anything that needed to be injected never turned out to be a good idea.

"You'll love it."

"Ben, come on. You don't like doing stuff like that. You don't even know what's in it."

He sucked in a hiss through his teeth, jerking his head to the side to crack his neck.

"Judy," he said forcefully, gripping her upper arm and yanking her towards him. "Just try it."

Judy looked into his eyes. Whatever was in there, it'd already turned him into another person. His eyes were dark and determined, the needle sparkling in the light from the television. She looked to Michael, and he was just as interested as Ben, his mouth practically drooling as he envisioned the liquid being pushed into her system. He wasn't going to be any help.

Finally relenting, Ben straightened her arm, tying the plastic tube around her bicep as he'd done to his. The needle entered her vein with a sharp sting, and she watched as a little of her blood was pulled into the syringe. Then he pressed down on the plunger, forcing the mixture back into her body. She sucked in a breath at the burning sensation it left. Then he pulled off the tie and all at once she felt it run over her. Her eyes rolled and her head lolled back. She faintly made out the sound of Ben's laughter as she fell back against the sofa in a daze.

---

Justin shot straight up, his heart beating a million miles a minute. He looked around, his eyes dancing wildly. He was home, in the livingroom. The TV was off, but there was a soft lamp on in the corner, dimly lighting the room. He remembered now. He'd laid down in the livingroom after Trace left. He was going to listening to the final mixes of the songs for the album. He looked down on the floor and there laid his blue CD player with the burned CD inside.

He ran a hand over his head, wiping away the sweat that had piled there. What the hell had he been dreaming about? What woke him up? He couldn't even remember. But something had startled him out of his slumber.

Picking up his CD player and the notepad it'd been sitting on, he turned off the lamp and headed for the stairs, and his own room. The clock on the microwave as he passed the kitchen read 4:19pm. He had no business sleeping anyway.

Once in his room he tossed the items onto the bed, and then into the closet to change out of his jeans. He pulled on baggy sweat pants and a white tee shirt, and then settled onto the bed. He knew he needed to get back to previewing the CD, but he wasn't interested at the moment. He'd just taken a nap, so he would probably be up for awhile. He could do it later.

Turning on the TV, it was already on MTV, and an episode of Senior Year was on. He and Judy were in their Math class, in the middle of a test. The teacher was walking up and down the isles, checking over students shoulders. As soon as he'd passed them, Justin and Judy switched scantrons, correcting each other's answers. The teacher made his rounds again, and once again when he passed them, they switched scantrons again. Justin smirked at the memory. He'd gotten her a 98 percent score on that test.

Apparently there was some kind of marathon going on, because when the episode ended, another came on, followed by another. Justin sat and watched them all, reminiscing to himself of all the moments the camera hadn't caught, or the scenes left on the editing room floor. Like their late-night chats in bed once Steve had left, those had always been his favorite parts of the show. But of course, there was never any footage of those, except the night-vision from the hall cameras showing him sneaking in and out of her room, or Judy sneaking in and out of his.

All of this got him thinking, Trace was right. He should call her.

Justin picked up his cell phone, opening his contacts and scrolling down to her name. For some reason, at the sight of her name –Juicy B.– his heart started to beat a little faster. He hesitated a moment, then pressed send.

It rang once.

Then twice.

Three.

Four.

Five.

"Hi, this is Judy B. and you missed me. Leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you."

The service beeped, and Justin cleared his throat.

"Hey Judy it's me, Justin. I was just calling to check in and see how you were doing. I talked to Diane, she said she hasn't heard from you lately either. I hope everything is okay and you're safe and... okay, and everything. Well, give me a call when you get this. My number is the same." He paused. "I miss you, you know. I miss talking with you. Alright, call me. Bye."

His heart sank a little as he pressed the end button. Plugging his phone into the charger on the night stand, he turned his attention back to the TV, and the Judy he used to know.

---

"I have to pee," she announced.

Quickly standing to her feet, she headed for the bathroom. Once there, the door securely locked, she pulled her phone from her pocket. She'd seen his name flashing on the caller ID and put it away before Ben had a chance to notice. She stared at his flashing name.

Justin T.

Justin T.

Justin T.

She wanted to answer so badly. But Ben would be so upset. She'd already sworn off all contact with him, and so far she'd kept her promise. But so far, that hadn't gone her anywhere good.

When she looked down at the phone again, Justin was gone.

One missed call.

But almost immediately it lit up again.

New voice mail message.

Her heart began to bound so loud she could hear the echo in her ears. She sat on the edge of the bath tub and pressed the green button, calling her voice mail.

"Hey Judy it's me, Justin."

Her eyes closed at the mere sound of his voice.

"I hope everything is okay and you're safe and... okay and everything."

"No," she said quietly. "Why, Justin? Why don't you already know I'm not okay?"

"I miss you, you know. I miss talking with you. Alright, call me. Bye."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she listened to his message again. There was so much she had to say, some many events she wanted to tell him about. About Ben, about the drugs, about the abuse. About how she'd given up on her dreams for school and future career to be someone's future military wife. How her friends had gone off and left her and she had no where to run too. Things only Justin would understand.

She listened to his message four more times, memorizing every syllable he breathed. Then she deleted it, and his call from her call log. Ben regularly checked her phone. When she exited the bathroom, Ben and Michael were still in the living room, drinking beers and passing a bong back and forth.

Judy retired to their room instead. She sat in a chair by the window, over looking the military base not far away. The walls and barbed wire. Planes taking off and landing in the distance. She wished she knew how to fly one. She'd run to the base so fast, climb aboard and take off to anywhere but here. Maybe back to Central Valley where her Mom was. Maybe to LA where Justin was.

Anywhere.

No where.

The next few hours flew by, and the next she knew, the once gray sky outside was pitch black. The planes had all landed. She turned to look behind herself. Ben was in the bed, his back to her. But by his breathing she could tell he was soundly sleeping. She looked back out the window. The walls and wire were still there, still the same.

Suddenly it became too much. Her chest tightened and he breathing became labored. It was too much. This place, this apartment. Her body ached as if it were being crushed by the pressure of it all. She had to get out.

Standing, she slowly crossed the room to the closet, grabbing the first few items of her clothing she saw. Then she slithered over to where Ben's clothes were slung across a chair in the corner by the bathroom door. She slipped a hand into the pocket, feeling around for his wallet. When she found it, she pulled it from his jeans and headed into the living room. He had about two-hundred dollars in cash. She took that, and his credit card. Her name was on it, he'd used her credit to get it. She could use that to gas up the car, and the cash for anything else she'd need to get wherever she was going. She picked up the keys to their car off of the coffee table and headed out the door.

---

Justin groaned, pulling the pillow from the other side of the bed over his face. Someone was ringing the doorbell, and they refused to leave.

"Dammit," he muttered, sitting up.

The clock on the night stand read 5:48am. Who the hell had the nerve to show up here this early, on his first day back home no less?

Grumbling to himself he climbed out of bed and headed down the stairs, tripping a few times along the way.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He yelled when the bell rang again.

When he finally reached the door, he angrily yanked it open, prepared to rant at whomever was there. The visitor however, was heading back down the steps.

"Hey!" He called.

They'd already woken him up, they'd better get back up here and explain. But when the visitor turned around to face him, his mind became so clouded with thoughts, his want for an explanation was nearly forgotten. A girl began to walk towards him, her hair a shoulder length bob with a platinum blonde chuck in the front. Her make-up was dark and heavy, with too much eyeliner. Although she looked insanely different, he was as sure of her identity as he was sure that the sun hung in the sky during the day.

"Hey Justin. It's me, Judy."

Chapter 10

"Judy? Oh my God. What are you doing here?"

"Surprise," she joked halfheartedly.

"Come here."

Justin opened his arms to her. She stepped forward, hesitantly placing her arms around his neck. Justin however wasn't nervous at all. He squeezed her tightly, sighing into her hair. When he released her he stepped back to take in her appearance. She looked different, yet the same. Tired. Run down maybe.

"You look so different," he said.

"I wish I could say the same about you, but you look almost exactly as I remembered. I remember that shirt."

Justin smiled, looking down at the tee shirt he'd had for as long as he could remember. When he looked back up at her, her smile was gone. Then it dawned on him.

"It's 6 o'clock in the morning," he stated.

"Yeah, sorry. I was gonna stop somewhere and sleep for a few hours, but once I started driving I couldn't stop."

"You drove? From CV?"

"No, from the base. It's a little further North. Is this your house?"

She stepped away from here, walking further into the foyer. She peered into the dark kitchen, and then into the living room. It was obvious by her sudden change in topic that she didn't want to continue with that conversation.

"Yeah."

"Nice."

"Thanks. So, what are you doing here?"

She turned to face him, her facial expression was nervous and she started to fidget with her hands.

"I just needed to get away, you know?"

She said it as if that statement should have explained everything. Then she watched him for a moment before her eyes lowered.

"I should go, huh?"

"No."

He gave the answer before he even had a chance to comprehend the question. But it was the right answer. He knew he didn't want her to go.

"Hey, do you mind if we finish this conversation later? I can't really think with half my brain still asleep."

He had a million questioned burning in his mind, but he couldn't quite figure out how to form them all. He also got the idea that she wasn't really in the mood to talk about it.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. I kinda know the feeling."

Justin nodded. He waited for her move, maybe she had a hotel room or something. But when she didn't budge he spoke again.

"Do you wanna stay? Sleep for awhile?"

For the first time since she'd gotten there, she looked happy and a little relieved.

"Yes. That's be great."

"Come on, I'll show you the spare room."

Justin headed towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. Then he had to wait at the top for Judy to catch up to him. He discreetly took her hand and lead her down the hall to the room opposite his.

"There's clean sheets on the bed, bathroom is through there."

He pushed the door open and waited in the door way while she looked around.

"Did you bring any clothes, or anything?"

He noticed that she didn't have a bag with her, only a brown purse, which now that he thought about it, wasn't very Judy like. Judy carried big, bright, colorful bags that other girls always took notice of. He couldn't count how many times they'd been stopped in the hallway of CVHS or walking down the street for someone to say, "I love your bag, where did you get it?"

Now she carried a simple, basic brown tote.

"Oh I uh, I left it in the car. But that's okay. I can get it later."

"Alright," he nodded. "Well, um, I'm going to go lay down."

"Okay." She took a seat on the bed, bouncing a few times.

"So I'll see you in a few hours, I guess."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

He didn't know what to say, so he turned and stepped out into the hall.

"Hey Justin," her voice stopped him. "Thank you."

"Of course," he replied. "Good night."

"Good morning."

The door clicked closed a moment later. Justin stood there a moment, his hand still on the knob. Was all of this really happening? Now? At 6am? He started to turn back, twisting the knob to open the door again. But he stopped himself. He didn't know what to say. He didn't have anything to say. Whatever the unspoken words that he couldn't get to come out from deep inside were, they could wait until the sun rose.

---

It was noon when Justin finally awoke again. The moment his eyes opened Judy was the first and only thing he could think about. He jumped from the bed, tossing the sheets back, and scurried into the bathroom. He rushed brushing his teeth and hair, then practically ran from his room into the hall. He had to find out if Judy was really here, or if it was some crazy dream his mind had created.

He paused at the top of the stairs, listening for the sound of the TV or clinking dishes. When he didn't hear anything, he headed for her room. Maybe she was getting dressed or watching TV there. He stopped at her door, knocking softly a few times. When after a minute he didn't get an answer, he slowly pushed open the door, sticking his head in the small opening.

Judy laid there in the middle of the bed, snoring softly. The blankets were rumpled all around her from her tossing and turning. One of her legs hung off the bed, sticking out from underneath the creme colored blanket like a sore thumb. Her shoulder length bob was spread across the pillow around her, the blonde streak in front still falling over her eyes. Justin watched her for a moment before pulling the door closed again and heading down the stairs.

Had he entered the twilight zone? He'd called her last night, for the first time in month, and next thing he knew she was standing on his porch ringing his doorbell at the butt crack of dawn as if everything were fine. Had she already been driving when he called? And what did she mean by she had to get away? Had something happened with Ben? Had he hurt her in some way? There were so many questions flowing through his mind, he had to talk to someone. Picking up his phone, he dialed the first person he could think of.

"Trace? You won't fucking believe what happened to me this morning...."

It wasn't until 4pm when Judy rolled out of bed. She washed her face and used the spare toothbrush she found in the bathroom drawer before she headed down the stairs barefoot. From the stairway she could hear the sound of guns going off and bombs being thrown on TV. When she rounded the corner, she found Justin sitting on the sofa, a video game controller in his hand.

"One kill? One kill? Bitch, I shot you like 50 times," he was saying into a headset.

He must have seen her movement out of the corner of his eye because he glanced back to look at her. Then he paused the game and pulled the mic away from his lips.

"Hey sleepyhead."

Judy smiled shyly.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah."

"There's eggs and sausage in the kitchen. I remembered you liked the maple ones."

"Thanks."

He started to speak again, but something in the headset caught his attention and be pulled the microphone back to his mouth.

"I wasn't talking to you bitch. Make your own food.... Yeah, I got some sausage for you."

When Justin turned back to his game Judy made her way into the kitchen. There was a clean plate on the counter next to the food, and a glass of orange juice. She made a small plate and picked up the glass, making her way back into the living room. She sat down on the sofa next to Justin, setting her food on the coffee table.

A bomb went off on the TV screen and Justin raised his hands in victory.

"What, bitch, what? Whooped your ass."

Judy shook her head. Boys and their Xbox Live... she'd never understand. Justin began to push buttons on the control, accessing menu after menu on the TV screen.

"Hey, I gotta go. I got better things to do than sit here and kick your ass all day."

Judy smirked to herself, biting into a sausage link as Justin turned off the video game and put MTV on. Then he pulled off the headset and tossed it on the table before letting out a sigh and turning to her.

"Well, welcome to the land of the living," he smiled.

Judy chuckled sheepishly, looking down at her lap.

"Did you sleep alright?"

"Yes. Thanks. That bed is so comfortable."

"I know. It's the second most comfortable bed that I've ever slept in."

"What's number one?"

"My bed." He gave her a look.

"Duh!" She supplied, knowing he was already thinking the word.

"Exactly!"

Judy chuckled, taking a sip from her glass of juice.

"So, how the hell have you been? You disappeared off the face of the Earth on me!"

He put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulders before scooting back to turn and face her.

"Umm..." Judy shrugged. "I've been good. How have you been? Do you still talk to Steve?"

"Yeah. He's working the new season of Senior Year."

"With Ciara?"

"Yeah. He says she's nowhere near as much fun as we were though."

"Of course. Like the time we went mudding in the hills to try and ditch the production van following us? Who else is going to do that?"

"Well," Justin scratched his chin. "I do remember you being very happy they were following us when we got that flat tire 5-minutes later."

"Who wouldn't have been happy? Like I wanted to trek through all of that mud to get back to the road."

Justin smiled. He'd actually forgotten all about that time. So many things had been said and done, so many crazy antics and experiences. But, she wasn't going to change the subject that easily.

"So?" He pushed.

"What?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Juicy. Talk to me. What have you been doing? What's going on with you? You gotta admit it's a little out of the ordinary for you to be popping up at my front door at 6am. Even if you and I had spoken in the past couple months, it'd still be weird."

"Yeah, I guess so. I don't know it's just... things with Ben. We're not good anymore. I didn't know where to go, I didn't even really think about where to go. I just had to get out, you know? Did you ever just feel like you had to leave? Like if you didn't, you might never have the chance and the nerve to do it again?" She turned to look at him.

The look in her eyes almost made his heart stop. The expression on her face was so desperate, so lost. But he did know the feeling. He'd felt it on tour, with ex-girlfriends. That feeling of being torn between wanting to be responsible for your obligations, but also feeling a need to be free and left alone.

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

"It was just too much," she said softly.

She looked down towards the floor, blinking several times as she thought hard on something. Then she shook her head slightly, as if answering her own question before she'd even asked it.

"I was sitting there. I didn't know where to go, or who to call, or what to do. And then you called me. I'm sorry I didn't answer. I wanted too but Ben... I heard your message and I just thought, maybe you were a far enough away place to hide."

"Hide from what?"

Judy looked up at him sharply, and he thought for a moment that she might answer. But then her body language changed, and she looked incredibly uncomfortable, shifting and turning in her seat.

"Uhh..." she stammered.

It was odd how badly she'd craved him back at the apartment, and now that she was there with him she didn't have any idea on what to say to him. Her head had swivelled completely away from him when Justin reached out to touch her arm.

"Listen. Why don't we talk about this more later, okay? We have time to spill our guts to each other."

"Okay. Do you think we could maybe wait a day? Or two?"

Justin smirked. If he hadn't been interested in learning about her secrets before, he was definitely intrigued now. There was a knock at the front door and Justin gave her a reassuring smirk before jumping up to answer it. Judy meanwhile let out a deep sigh and went back to her eggs.

"Hey."

"Hey. Where is she? I wanna meet her."

Judy turned to look over the back of the couch.

"Who?"

"The girl. The one you called me blabbering about this morning..." Trace's sentence trailed off as he rounded the corner and saw Judy sitting there.

"Hey," he said walking towards her. "You must be Judy. I'm Trace. Justin's-."

"Hairiest pain the ass."

Trace shot Justin a glare.

"Shut up."

"It's okay Trace. I've seen Justin's ass, it's hairy all on it's own," Judy joked.

Trace laughed, pointing a finger at Justin as he took a seat on the sofa.

"She's funny. I like her."

"Join the club," Justin muttered, heading into the kitchen.

"So, you're the Trace that flooded Justin's house while he was filming the show, right?"

Trace rolled his eyes, his head flopping back against the couch.

"It's bad enough you trash talk me to our friends. Do you have to ruin my cred with strangers too?"

Justin entered the room, a plate with a sandwich in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.

"Don't front, Trace. You know you have no cred."

"Where'd you get that sandwich so fast?"

Trace watched him take a seat on the love seat next to them. Justin smirked, his mouth full of food, and wiped his hands on a napkin.

"Your Mama's in the kitchen making sandwiches."

---

"They can make a shuttle that can fly all around moon, withstand temperatures over a hundred-million degrees. You mean to tell me they can't make an El Dorado where the bumper don't fall off?"

Justin and Judy both let out a laugh, Justin slapping one of his knees for good measure.

"Man. His shit never gets old."

Judy smiled, biting one of her nails as the Comedy Central show went to commercial.

"What time is it?" She asked.

Justin flipped the cable's menu on for a second.

"1:45am."

Judy turned to him, her eyebrows raising.

"Oh my gosh..."

"Yeah. Time flies..."

"I don't normally stay up this last, especially two nights in a row. Ben usually wants me in bed by 11pm."

Justin bit down on his lip, picking nervously at the fabric of the carpet.

"What else does Ben usually want you to do?"

Judy didn't acknowledge him at all, quietly watching the commercials on the TV as she uncharacteristically chewed on one of her nails. She'd always gotten down on him for doing that, claiming he'd grow a foot in his stomach. Now here she was partaking in the same behavior.

He hadn't meant to sit there staring at her the way he was. But he knew that there was something she was refusing to say, some secret that she was hiding inside. He just couldn't understand why she wouldn't tell him about it. Why run to him, to hide, if she couldn't tell him what she was hiding from?

Then Judy turned to him, bringing him back to reality.

"I'm tired."

"Me too. Let's call it a night."

"Yeah."

They both stood from the sofa where they'd been planted for hours that day. Justin turned off the TV and the various lamps that lit the room. Then, just as he'd done the night before, he took Judy's hand and led her up the stairs and over to her room.

"Sleep tight," he said from the doorway. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah. You too."

He hesitated a moment, hoping that maybe she'd start talking. Maybe she'd get his telepathic messages and just start spilling her guts then and there. But she didn't. She just stood there looking back at him. So Justin nodded to her, and then pulled the door shut.

In his own room, he closed the double doors behind himself and headed into the closet to change into some pajamas. Once done with that he continued on with his nightly routine, brushing his teeth, washing his face. Then he got into bed, but this time he left the TV off. He was too tired to hear the corny jokes on late night talk shows.

He'd barely begun to drift off into sleep when there was a soft knock at his door. He sat up on his elbows just as one of his double doors creaked open and Judy stepped in.

"Are you awake?" She whispered.

"Yeah," he croaked. "What's up?"

"Now I know how you felt when you came to my house, sleeping a strange room. And you don't have a soft, comforting animal like Playa to welcome me."

Justin chuckled at memories of Playa, and the adorable way Judy was nervously wringing her hands.

"So, um, do you think I could maybe sleep in here with you? For old times sake?"

"Sure. Climb in."

His answer was so instantaneous even he was a little thrown off by it. He pulled back the blankets on the other side of the bed as Judy crossed the room and climbed up into the large bed.

"Why is your bed so high up?" She asked, pulling on the blanket to help herself up.

"So I don't get attacked by short people like you in my sleep."

Even in the dark he could see her roll her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm tall for a girl."

Justin snorted.

"For a girl."

The room went silent except for the sounds of their blankets and pillows rustling as they attempted to get comfortable. They laid down, face-to-face, and were quiet as they looked everywhere in the room except at each other.

"Thank you," she said. "For letting me stay here."

"Of course."

"Tomorrow I guess I should call my Mom, see if it's okay for me to go home."

"I know she'll be glad to hear from you. I don't think she'll mind letting you move back home, if that's where you want to go."

"It's not exactly where I want to go, but I have to go somewhere. I can't sponge off of you."

"Why not?"

Judy laughed.

"Because. That wouldn't be right."

"Well, I insist you do for as long as you'd like. I think you'd like LA."

"I think I would too."

"Then stay. We still have a lot of catching up to do."

"Yeah. You haven't told me anything about the album yet. You've been keeping it a secret from me for months."

"You're keeping your own secrets from me too."

"Are you going to have to go back on the road soon?"

There was that topic change she was becoming famous for.

"In a couple of days. You had perfect timing on showing up. One day earlier and you would have missed me."

"There you go. We're still connected."

"Still connected enough for you to tell me the truth?"

"The truth about what?"

"Everything. With Ben."

"What color-?"

"Without avoiding it, or changing the subject," he added quickly.

Judy sighed, hugging the pillow closer to herself.

"What do you want to know?"

"The whole story, starting when I left. You and I used to talk, and then you disappeared."

"Ben didn't like me talking to you."

He had figured that much.

"He told that you didn't really care about me. It had all been part of the show and you were just trying to keep in touch with me because it was good PR for your image. So h made me promise to never talk to you again. Get rid of our emails, letters, pictures. Everything. He said you didn't need me anymore, so I didn't need you."

"And you believed him?"

Judy shrugged.

"When you're told something over and over again, it can start to make sense. I didn't really know what to believe."

"And then what happened? You moved?"

"Yeah. Ben went away to boot camp. I wrote him everyday. It was kinda romantic in a way. But he came back, and he found out that he was going to T.A.F.B."

"Travis?"

"Yeah. And he was going to be in off-base housing with a friend and he asked me to come along. He made it sound like so much fun, with the parties, being away from home. And I'd be in that all exclusive ‘military girlfriends' club."

"Oh, the glitz and glamour."

"Exactly. And I thought that he was so amazing, so I went."

He waited a minute for her to continue.

"And?" He pushed.

"And it wasn't. There was a lot of sex. A lot of violence, homophobia, and drugs. Lots of drugs."

All things that his old Juicy would not have been okay with.

"The military, they just have their own rules, you know? They have their own code of conduct, their own way of doing things. You get punished if you don't follow their rules, and there's no one to help you because if you step out of rank, or you break the chain of command, they have a way of sweeping it under the rug, and then you get punished for that too. It's just very different than a lot of people thing. There's nothing romantic about it."

"Did you ever step out of rank with Ben?"

"In the beginning."

"And you got punished?"

"I know what you're getting at Timberlake," Judy rolled over onto her back.

"Well, you said you were going to tell me the story." He sat up, leaning his head against his palm.

"Story is he hurt me."

Her head rolled on the pillow to face him.

"He made me do things I didn't want too. Say things I didn't want to say. If I didn't listen then I was punished, and his punishments were terrible. But I couldn't complain, cause we're in the Air Force and there's no crying in the Air Force."

"You weren't in the military Judy." Justin said, reaching out to take her hand. "And even if you had been you didn't deserve to be punish like some animal, or even a little kid."

Judy shrugged.

"No, not," Justin mocked her shrug. "You didn't deserve whatever he did to you."

He thought that maybe she would say, ‘you're right,' or something else that agreed with him. But instead she stayed silent.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this, Judy? I would have been there to help you."

"I don't know. Part of me was ashamed."

"Why?"

"Because you were right!" She sat up on her elbows. "Everyone was right. You didn't like him, some of my friends didn't him. And admitting that you were right, and he was a bad guy, it was embarrassing. Like I'm some dumb kid who can't even pick the right kind of guy for myself to fall in love with."

"That would hardly make you dumb. We all have problems picking the right guy or girl. So, part of you was embarrassed. What was the other part of you?"

"The other part of me didn't think you'd care anymore. We hadn't talked in forever, and then with everything that Ben was saying... It wasn't until I got that message from you that I thought just because you were right about him, didn't mean he was right about you too."

"How could you possibly think that I wouldn't care? What did I keep telling you that last week we were together?"

Judy looked at him, her eyes confused. Justin let go of her hand and held up his pinky finger. Instantly Judy smiled, and for the first time she looked like the girl he remembered from Central Valley with the gorgeous grin and sparkly personality.

"Come on," he insisted.

Judy held up her pinky, wrapping it around his. Justin gave it a squeeze.

"Forever. Right?"

"Right. Forever."

Judy gave him a squeeze back and moved to let go, but before she could Justin squeezed her finger again.

"And there's never anything shameful about needing help. Okay?"

"Okay."

"You did the right thing. Some girls don't get away from bad guys at all. You did. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks."

"Is that all there is?"

Judy nodded, unable to say ‘yes' because it would only be a lie. Justin leaned over, kissing her temple. Then he laid on his back, opening his arms to her.

"Now come here, and quit your yapping. I'm tired and I wanna go to sleep."

Judy chuckled at him, scooting closer. She cuddling up next to him, resting her head on the left side of his chest as he tossed an arm over her, holding her like he did the night she'd been afraid that the mice were going to attack her. For the first time in awhile she got a good nights sleep without worrying about what was going to happen tomorrow.

---

"Where the fuck are you Judy?"

"I'm at a relatives."

"Bullshit. I talked to all your relatives. They haven't seen you, or heard from you. Even your Mama doesn't know where you are. What the hell are you doing? How could you just run off on me in the middle of the night like that? Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Judy pinched the bridge of her nose, nervous to tell him her feelings even over the phone.

"Ben, I'm leaving you. I can't do this anymore."

"Leaving me?! What the fuck are you talking about leaving me?"

"It just hasn't been working. It hasn't been working for a long time now and, and you're a bad guy Ben. You're bad. And I don't deserve the way you treat me. I don't deserve to be hit."

"I don't hit you."

"Yes, you do."

"I said I was SORRY!!!"

Judy, startled, pulled the phone away from her ear. Ben was silent for a moment after his outburst, panting before he spoke again.

"Judy, I'm sorry. You know I don't mean to hurt you. You just... you know how I get sometimes. You know when I need my space but you just push and push and push."

"That's not my fault Ben," she said. "Even if I am bothering you, it's not my fault that you hit me."

"Judy-."

"And what about the drugs?"

"What?"

Judy heard movement in the hallway, so she closed her bathroom door and moved to sit on the edge of the bath tub. The last thing she needed was for Justin to overhear.

"The drugs. You're always making me take something, keeping me doped up, sticking needles in my arm."

"That's just for fun baby. It helps you loosen up."

"It's not fun," she scratched nervously at the back of her neck.

"You haven't given it a chance."

"Ben, I don't like it, alright? I never wanted any of this shit and you knew that."

"Fine. We'll talk about the drugs, okay? We'll cut back. But first you have to get your ASS BACK HERE!!!!"

Judy closed her eyes tight, visualizing Ben's fist slamming against the counter in anger and the veins popped out of his muscular arms. Then she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Ben. I can't."

"You can't? You can't? You listen to me and you listen to me good you disgusting, drug addicted excuse for a woman-."

"Goodbye Ben."

"Goodbye? Don't you-don't you hang up on me. Judy? Judy!"

She could hear him calling her as she pulled the phone from her ear and pressed the end button. Then she sat there, watching as he called again, three more times. Each time she didn't answer, she just let it ring. Each time he left a message.

"Judy? Hey, Judy? I need to talk to you for a second."

"Okay. I'll um, I'll be right there!" She called back.

Rising from her seat on the tub, Judy crossed over to the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror, taking a moment to inspect the skin on her cheeks. Ben's words played over in her head.

"Disgusting."

Judy opened one of the drawers pulling out a bag in which she kept all of her personal items. She unzipped it and dug down to the bottom, grabbing the orange bottle and pulling it out. She looked at the label, making sure they were the right ones, before she popped the lid off and poured two into her hand. She tossed them into her mouth, and bent down to take a sip of water from the faucet.

She straightened back up, picking up the bottle again to pour two more pills in her hand. She'd just tossed them into her mouth when the bathroom door flew open.

"What is taking you so long?" Justin began.

But then he noticed the deer-in-headlights expression on her face, the running faucet, and the pill bottle in her hand. Then, his expression changed from one of carefree to one of anger.

"What is this? What is this?" He snatched the pill bottle from her hand.

He read the label, and then turned his angry stare back to her.

"Are you taking this shit?"

"No?" Her voice was small, mouse like.

He gave her a rough pat on the back, and the two pills in her mouth flew into the sink. He picked one up, comparing it to the others in the bottle. For a moment she was more grossed out that he was handling something that had just been in her mouth, than she was nervous about what he was going to do or say.

When his suspicions were confirmed Justin turned off the faucet and grabbed Judy by the arm.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered.

He pulled her into the bedroom, seating her on the bed, the pill bottle still firmly gripped in his hand.

"What is this? Is this some of those drugs you were talking about being on base? And you're still doing them? Are you an addict or something?" He was pacing the floor, reading all the information on the bottle.

"No, I just-."

"I was coming up here to talk to you about my leaving in two days. I was going to say that you can stay here while I'm gone. But now I don't know." Now he was pacing and chewing on his thumb.

"What?" Her face looked horrified.

Was he making her leave?

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't-."

"Didn't what? Didn't mean too? Are these even vicodin, or is it something else in a different bottle? Because they look like ecstacy."

"Actually it's both, but it's not what you think. I'm not an addict-."

"Well don't tell me need the vicodin for some recent major surgery because we both know that's not true."

"No, Justin, please just listen-."

"What?!"

He raised his arms in frustration, prepared to hear whatever she felt the need to say. But he also noticed the way Judy flinched and braced herself as if he were about to attack her. He paused, looking at himself. His labored breathing, the hair on his arms standing up. Then he looked at her, eyes wide and face worried. Justin took a seat next to her, running his hands over his head before wiping his face.

"I'm sorry," he said honestly.

"It's okay," she swallowed hard.

He let out a sigh.

"I thought you said you were going to tell me everything last night."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, you wanna tell me the whole truth now?"

Judy looked over at him.

"I just take them sometimes. They help when things get stressful. Ben called and yelled at me. He wants me to come back home, and I told him no. But I was shaking so bad.... I just thought they'd help."

"Did he give these two you?"

Judy nodded.

"Did he give you anything else?"

"Nothing that I brought with me. I swear."

"But he made you take other drugs?"

Judy nodded again.

"Well, number one, this shit is stopping. Doesn't this put holes in your brain or something?"

Judy shrugged and looked away.

"Number two, you are not staying here without me. Not with this stuff going on, and not with Ben looking for you."

"Then what am I going to do?"

"I don't know yet. You have to go on the road with me. That way I can keep an eye on you."

Judy was trying hard to focus on Justin and what he was saying. After all, it was pretty important considering they were talking about where she was going to be staying in the new couple of days. But despite her efforts to focus, she couldn't keep her mind straight. It was suddenly very hot, and everything was getting blurry.

"Or, I don't know, maybe you stay with my Mom or something"

Justin looked up to find Judy fanning herself, and her balance a little off as she rocked back and forth on the bed.

"Judy? Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," she said, looking around. "It's just hot in here."

Justin reached up, placing a hand on her sweaty forehead.

"Judy, did you take any of those pills?"

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"How many? Which one?"

"I don't know... White? Maybe blue?"

"That's both of them. How many did you take? Judy?"

But she didn't answer, she just collapsed against him, her head rolling into his lap.

Chapter 11

"Judy? Judy?"

Justin gripped her shoulders, rolling her from his lap and onto the bed.

"Judy?"

He smoothed her hair back from her face and patted her cheek, trying to revive the sleeping girl.

Judy grunted, her eyes opening slightly. All he could make out were the whites of her eyes as her pupils rolled back into her head.

"Shit."

Justin rose from the bed, sliding his hands under her arms. He pulled her to her feet, but her legs gave out instantaneously, and he grabbed her again to keep her from hitting the floor. Wrapping his arms around her torso, he drug her backwards into the bathroom. He paused for a moment to pull open the glass door to the shower, and then he pulled her inside. Ice cold water came rushing out when he twisted the knob. Shocking them both and bringing goose bumps to their skin. It only took a second for Judy to spring back to reality. She let out an alarmed holler, jumping to her feet. She barely had enough time to spin around and face him before her legs gave out again. Once again, Justin caught her, cradling her body to his chest as he turned the hot water on.

"It's okay," he told her, as she whimpered against his shoulder.

He ran a hand over her wet head, and when he looked down at her, he took note of the healing cuts on her upper arm. He hadn't seen before, because of the sleeves on her shirts. There were five straight lines, all in a row, indicating they were done by a razor, more than likely on purpose. He closed his eyes tight as she shivered and whimpered under the spray of the shower head. Then he lowered his head to her shoulder, squeezing her tighter as steam rose around them.

"What're you doing to yourself Judy? What are you doing?"

They stood in the shower together for 10 minutes before Justin finally turned the water off and wrapped a towel around her. Judy lowered the toilet lid and sat down while Justin took a seat across from her on the side of the bathtub.

"Don't ever do that again," she managed to stutter between shivers.

"Don't you ever do that again," he replied.

Judy nodded and let out a sigh.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No."

"I think you should."

"No." She shook her head adamantly. "My insurance is through Ben. He'll get the bill and know where I am."

"I'll handle the bill instead of you going through-."

"No," she interrupted. "Thank you, but no. I'll be fine."

Justin looked her over again before he nodded and stood.

"Get changed before you get sick on top of everything else."

Judy nodded as Justin headed to his room, his wet jeans leaving a trail of water behind him.

* * *

"What? You must be joking."

"No, I'm not."

Trace and Justin stood in the kitchen, each on either side of the large island, discussing plans for the tour and the situation that had occurred earlier. Justin had thought long and hard, and come to the decision that for Judy's better interest -and his own peace of mind-the best thing was for Judy to accompany him on the tour, where he could keep a personal eye on her progress. Trace, however, was very against the idea of a virtual strange tagging along with them.

"You seriously want to take her on the road with us?"

Justin nodded, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"I think it's the safest place for her to be."

"Didn't you just say she had a drug problem?"

"Not a problem, per say. She was just in the wrong situation with the wrong person."

That made Trace raise an eyebrow.

"So you want to take her out of an abusive-druggie-boyfriend situation and put her into a sex-drugs-rock 'n' roll situation. Why, because that's healthier? And you expect her to get better?"

"She will get better. She just needs to be somewhere positive. If I leave her here alone one of two things is going to happen. She'll A) get more of the stuff and keep doing it and fall even deeper into this, or B) loose what willpower she has and go back to the son-of-a-bitch."

Judy rested her chin in her palm, listening intently to the conversation going on in the kitchen. Justin thought she was in her room taking a nap, but in reality she was sitting at the top of the stairs. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she could hear the echo of their voices from her room, and when she heard her name she became too curious to ignore it.

She was anxious to find out what decision the boys would come to, even though ultimately it was up to her. But she did want the opportunity to travel with Justin, rather than retreat back to her Mothers' in Central Valley. Even though she knew what was in her better interest, and she was going to fight with all of her might to stay strong, she knew that the chances of her going back to Ben were high if left on her own. It wasn't that she wanted him; it was that she had lost so much of herself, now she wasn't sure who she was without him.

She didn't want to be back in that situation. She wanted to travel across the US with one of her best friends. They'd stayed up late many nights during high school, Justin telling her stories of different trips he'd taken and places he'd seen. It all seemed so glamorous and exciting. She wanted to get as far away from Ben as she could, and be as distracted as possible.

"And that's sad, but it has nothing to do with us. She's a big girl, it's not our problem."

"Yes, it is," Justin insisted.

"Why?"

"It is because she's my friend. It is because I care about her. Look, where do you go when you're in trouble?"

Trace gave him a look that was clueless.

"Home. Duh."

Justin rolled his eyes.

"What if you can't go home? You go to the next place you feel safe, right? She came to me for a reason. She knows I'll take care of her, and she knows I'll be strong for her when she can't be strong for herself. What do you want me to do? Tell her I can't because I'm too busy doing an album signing?"

"Justin, I know you spent a lot of time with Judy, but that was awhile ago. Did you ever stop to think that maybe she isn't the same girl you met before?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you think that maybe she could be here because she's looking to get something out of it? If she knows how much you want to be her friend then maybe she could be thinking you're an easy target. Maybe she's wondering how far you'll go to help her."

"You mean maybe she's using me?"

"You have to consider the possibilities. You said she had these pills. Addicts are always on the hunt for money to feed their habit."

"No. She's not like that."

"Everyone has the potential to be like that."

"Except for her. You don't know her. You just met her."

"How well could you possibly know her? You haven't seen the girl in over a year. Then she pops up on the porch in the middle of the night? You don't know what the hell you're dealing with."

Justin stepped back, leaning his hip against the kitchen counter and crossing his arms over his chest. If he said what he was thinking, it would lead to a serious fight with his best friend, so he kept his thoughts to himself. After a moment of silence Trace spoke.

"I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I appreciate that." His tone didn't exactly sound appreciative, but he still meant it. "Just don't judge her, man. Give her a chance. Trust me."

Trace gave Justin a look, trying to intimidate him with his eyes before he let out a defeated sigh.

"Does she understand what she's getting into? There's the traveling, the fans, the schedule. I know she did the show and it got her a little bit of notoriety, but this on another level. She's got to be prepared."

Justin nodded.

"I'll make sure she understands. Just make the arrangements."

"I'll make the arrangements. You explain it to your Mom."

"My mom will understand," Justin said.

He set his used glass in the sink and headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He was halfway to the top when he looked up to see Judy sitting there. He paused for a moment.

"Hey. I thought you were asleep."

"Earlier I was," she nodded.

"Did you hear all of that?" He motioned over his shoulder, referencing the kitchen.

Judy half nodded.

"Come here."

He didn't wait for her answer, just simply grabbed her hand and pulled her back up the stairs and into his room. He shut the double doors behind them and turned to face her.

"I know I should have asked you before I said you were coming on the tour."

"I'm not worried about that. Truth be told, I'd love to go on the road with you."

"Good."

"But maybe Trace has a point."

"What?"

"My showing up here out of the blue was bad enough. For me to tag along you'd have to change your plans. I don't want to inconvenience you anymore than I already have-."

Her rambling stopped when Justin put a hand over her mouth.

"You're not inconveniencing anyone. It's my tour, I can bring whomever I want too. And you just said you wanted to come, so I don't want to hear another thing about it."

As soon as he moved his hand she started to speak again.

"Your Mom isn't-."

He covered her mouth again.

"Not another thing about it."

When he slowly removed his hand for the second time, Judy smiled and opened her mouth to speak. Justin reached up to cover her lips again, but this time she ducked.

"I was going to say thank you!" She laughed, smacking his hand away.

"Oh, well, you're welcome."

As her smile faded an uncomfortable silence fell over them.

"About what Trace said before." He lifted a hand to nervously scratch at his neck. "He didn't mean it, he's just-."

Judy interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

"You don't need to…" she shook her head. "I get it. He doesn't know me."

"He's overprotective. This business will do that to you. But over the tour he can get to know you."

"Yeah."

"Besides, you finally have the chance to check out the hot chicks I was always telling you about."

Judy gave him a sarcastic grin.

"You mean the ones that like to throw you their thongs and flash you when your bus goes by?"

"Exactly."

"Hmm. I'm so excited. Hey!" She showed some honest excitement. "Is JC going to be there?"

Justin smiled brightly, mocking her excitement.

"No."

Judy's shoulders slumped, watching her friend chuckle to himself at her expense.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

* * *

Justin raised his hand to knock on the large oak door for his parents' house. There wasn't much time before he was scheduled to leave on tour, and he needed to explain everything to his mom/manager, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. But before Justin could knock, the door opened for him, and his Mom stood there.

"So, you're taking Judy on tour with you, huh?"

Justin's brow furrowed. So much for breaking the news to her, looks like someone had beat him to the punch.

"How did you know?"

"MTV has already been calling, wanting to find out as many details as possible."

She headed into the kitchen, where she was in the middle of cutting apples for a pie. Justin took a seat on one of the stools at the island and watched her continue chopping apples.

"MTV? How did they find out?"

"As if it's hard to find out information about your life. Justin Randall, I swear, sometimes you must forget just exactly who you are."

"Ha. Sometimes I wish I could forget," he muttered.

"So, why are you doing it? I know when you were filming you spent a lot of time together, but are you two really still that close?"

"Not as close as we once were, but she's still a good friend. She needs help, Mama."

"What kind of help?"

"Bad boyfriend."

Lynn nodded, understanding what he meant.

"Well, if I were running away from a man, I'd want to run to a handsome man like you too."

"It's not like that Mama."

Justin picked up one of the apple slices and bite into it. Lynn scolded him by shaking her knife in his direction.

"We're not interested in each other. It's just a friend taking care of friend when they don't have anywhere else to go."

"I see. And why do you have to be the one to help her? There are agencies and counselors for this sort of thing, you know."

Justin shrugged.

"I wanted too. It was my idea that she come on the tour with me. I don't feel right putting her out on the street like that."

"She wouldn't be homeless, Justin. She has her Mom."

"I know, but you know what I mean. Plus, it would give us a chance to catch up again. Since the show we haven't been the best of friends. I want to see if maybe we can get to be friends again. Plus I promised her that since I got to come stay with her and experience her life, that one day she'd get to come experience mine."

"Uh-huh." Lynn looked unconvinced. "And you're sure there's nothing going on between you two?"

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Can't a guy and a girl be friends without one of them wanting to bone the other? Mom, you would be the first one to know if I liked her."

"Yes, I would."

Justin smirked. Then he reached out, stealing another apple slice. Lynn scolded him again, smacking his shoulder with a kitchen towel.

"It's just hard out on the road Mama," he said. "Every day in a new city, nothing is consistent, nothings the same. I'm surrounded by a thousand handlers, and none of them know a damn thing about me. I don't even know half of their names. I just want someone who is familiar, uninvolved in the business, there for me."

"I completely understand J. I traveled with you for years, remember?"

"I remember." He paused for a moment, chewing on his lip as he thought carefully.

"Do you think I'm doing the wrong thing?"

Lynn set down her apple and knife and placed both her hands on the countertop.

"She's a friend, she's in trouble, and you want to help. There's nothing wrong with that. No matter that Trace says."

"So he's the snitch."

Lynn smiled, but said nothing. Justin sat for a moment, thinking over her words. Then he nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's good that you agree with me, because we already paid for her ticket."

Lynn giggled at her son, turning her back to pull the pie crust out of the pre-heated oven.

"So, what did MTV want?"

Lynn set the pie pan on top of the oven and pulled off the oven mitt as she turned to face Justin.

"They have another proposition for you and Judy."

* * *

"Juicy tubes!"

Justin walked through the front door and headed into the living room. He expected to find her watching TV, but she wasn't there.

"What?" Her voice floated down from upstairs.

"Where you at, girl?"

Justin took the stairs two at a time, heading for her room.

"In my room," she answered as he opened her door.

She was standing at the foot of the bed, folding his laundry and placing it in neat stacks.

"I figured as much. Guess what I have to tell-what are you doing with my laundry?" He paused midsentence to ask a question.

Judy paused in her folding to give him a look.

"Washing it. Judging from the pile downstairs you're obviously not going to do it."

Justin narrowed his eyes at her, and let a low growl rumble in his throat. Then he dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. He plopped down on her bed, knocking over one of her piles. He crossed one ankle over the other, put an arm behind his head, and gave her a cocky smile.

"I have some very good news," he stated.

"Is it good enough that I'm going to forgive you for knocking down my hard work?"

Judy was restacking the white tee-shirts.

"Would you consider MTV wanting to do a show good enough?"

Judy raised an eyebrow, and spun a finger around in the air in mock celebration.

"Woohoo. Justin Timberlake is going to be on MTV. Like that's never happened before. You're right, that's great news."

Justin's eyes rolled.

"Let me rephrase that. Would you consider MTV wanting us to do a show good enough?"

"Us?"

"You and I."

"Do a show about what?"

Justin jumped to his feet and moved to stand next to her.

"Senior Year 2 -- Or maybe it's Senior Year 1 part two -- I don't know, it doesn't really matter. Point is, they want us to do the same thing we did last time, only this time you're in my territory."

"MTV all of a sudden came to this decision that you and I should reconnect? Aren't they filming a fourth season already?"

"Well yeah but they can have more than one variation of the same show. They do it all the time. Look at Laguna Beach. Kristen had her show, then Lauren got one, and that gave way to Brody and Whitney having their own shows. But you see Brody on The Hills still. Whitney isn't because she's in New York, but I'm sure that if she were still in LA she would at least have an occasional cameo. I don't know why she even has her own show, I always thought she was kind of boring. That whole Bromance thing was way too much like Paris Hilton's New BFF show for me. What the hell is a Bromance? I know it's that whole 'bond between bros' thing but who came up with that word? It makes me think gay lovers, not straight friends. What?"

Judy had paused in her folding to give him a look. What guy knew that much about the Laguna Beach phenomenon and its offspring? It was a little weird, and slightly pathetic.

"Seriously?" She questioned.

"There was a marathon." He shrugged. "Anyway, I guess MTV somehow got wind that you were going on the road with me for awhile, and they pitched the idea. What do you think?"

"I don't know Justin." She went back to folding. "It sounds like a bunch of strangers getting into my business and following me around. Been there, done that."

"I thought that's what you'd say, so when I talked to MTV I told them they'd have to make it worth our wild."

He sat down on the bed right in front of her, careful not to knock over one of her piles again.

"What did they offer you? A bigger jet than the one you already have?"

"No. I'm still waiting on the Mercedes they promised me last time. No, it's not about what they offered me; it's what they offered you. They'll double what you got paid for the last season."

That made Judy stop.

"Double?"

"Double."

"Do you know how much money that is?"

"I know exactly how much money that is. And I was thinking, judging by how adamantly you shot down my offer to pay for your medical bills when you should have gone to the hospital, that there wouldn't be any way I could get you to take a small donation or loan from me to get your life back on track."

"You thought right."

"So, I figure that if you do the show you'll have a nice little nest egg to get started. You could get a place, have a little time to find a job while you settle in. You'll have a nice cushy, comfortable life for a while."

Judy crossed her arms over her chest and chewed on her lip.

"I'd be independent."

Justin smiled softly.

"You would. Is that a yes?"

Judy lifted a hand and pointed a finger at him.

"You already told them we'd do it, didn't you?"

Justin shook his head no, but then gave up the lie and nodded.

"Tentatively. Obviously you'd need to sign the papers yourself. But this is such a good deal for you I figured there was no way you'd turn it down."

"It is a good deal."

Her eyes lowered, and he thought he saw a smile beginning to peek out at the idea of standing on her own two feet. But as quickly as it began it faded, and he could see she was changing her mind again.

"Oh, but Justin, when Ben sees the show he'll know. He'll know where I went; he'll know where I am."

"You can't run from him for forever."

"I don't want to be in the spotlight again. I don't want anyone digging into my personal life. Everyone will find out about Ben and what happened. I don't need anyone looking down on me and thinking I'm some stupid druggie trying to capitalize on her famous friend."

"We call those people haters, and no one thinks any of that about you."

"Trace does."

The room fell silent. Judy went back to folding, only this time much more aggressively.

"Trace doesn't think-."

"Yes he does. I heard you guys, remember? She's a druggie. Addicts are always looking for money. He thinks I'm just using you. And if he could think that, having met me, then it'll be easy for some stranger in Wisconsin to think the same thing, or to think even worse. She's the battered girlfriend. She's a slut for running off with a guy who was older. She's a fool. She's hooked on ecstasy. She's using Justin for his money. She deserved it. She's a lowlife statistic."

"Since when do we give a fuck what some stranger in Wisconsin thinks?"

"I care what they think!"

In an instant tears streamed down her face, and she hid them behind her hands. Justin stood, enveloping her in a hug.

"Hey," he said softly. "What's going on here?"

"I don't want to be that girl," she wiped her eyes and lifted her head. "He was the worst person in the world to me, and I hate him so much, but I miss him so bad."

For reasons unknown to Justin, the tail end of that statement sent a surge of pain through his heart.

"Well, that's natural," he cleared his throat when his voice started to crack, "because you were together for a long time and you spent a lot of time together."

Judy wiped her eyes again and shook her head.

"I don't want to end up running back to him. I hate what he turned me into." She raised her head to look him in the eye. "I don't want people to look at me like that. I don't want people to see what I let happen to me."

Justin let go of Judy's waist to put his hands on her face. One of her tears slid down her cheek and onto his hand.

"What he made you, was stronger and wiser."

Judy attempted to shake her head no, but his grip kept her still.

"But no one is going to know that, no one is going to know your story, unless you tell them. You need to do the show. By the time it airs, you'll have your own life back and it won't matter if he knows what city you live in. And strangers all over the country, including Wisconsin, are going to know you're not that girl. Do the show."

Judy sniffed, looking up at his face. She searched his eyes for any hint of dishonesty or a hidden motive. When she found none, she nodded.

"Okay. Okay, I'll do it."

Chapter 12 Chapter 12

"Judy!" Justin yelled up the stairs.

"What?"

"Are you almost done? The bus is waiting."

"Yeah. I'm putting my shoes on."

"You have till the count of five and then I'm leaving you behind. You'll have to take a flight and meet us in Arizona. One."

"Justin."

"Two."

"Stop counting."

"Three."

"I'm not a child."

"Four."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

Judy finally appeared at the top of the stairs, one of Justin's rolling suitcase tagging along behind her.

"I told you I was almost done. You didn't have to count."

When she reached the bottom of the steps Justin took her suitcase and headed for the front door.

"You were taking forever up there."

"I only needed two more minutes. Look, my shoes aren't even tied."

"Tie them on the bus."

Justin set the alarm using the keypad by the door, then ushered Judy outside so he could lock up. While Justin fished for his keys in his pocket Judy wandered down the driveway, taking the sight before her. That had to be the biggest bus she'd ever seen. It seemed 30 feet tall and 500 feet long. It was black with silver swirls, loud, and smelled like diesel. Trace was leaning against the side, talking to a girl with brown hair who had her back to Judy.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Justin appeared beside her.

"It looks so big."

"Trust me, it'll feel really small by the time we're done."

A gentle nudge got her to start walking and when they reached the bus Trace and the girl turned to give Justin their attention.

"Rachel, this is my friend Judy. Judy, this is my cousin and personal assistant Rachel."

"Nice to meet you." Rachel extended her hand.

"You too. Personal assistant? I thought Trace was your assistant."

"Used to be," Trace corrected. "We're just business partners now. I'm along for the ride so we can work on designs."

Judy nodded.

"Justin, we gotta get going," Rachel said. "The equipment and the crew members have already been on the road for an hour. We're way behind schedule."

"Right."

Justin opened the door to the bus and Trace and Rachel hopped on, completely at ease. Judy however looked a little hesitant.

"Hop aboard," he told her.

"What? I don't get my own bus?"

She made the joke as she walked up the stairs, but Justin knew she was using humor as a cover for her insecurities. When she got onboard she found herself in the middle of a small kitchen area. There was a booth, mini-fridge, and bench seating.

"Keep going," Justin told her.

Judy moved ahead, past the bathroom and vanity area, into the middle of the bus where the bunks were.

"Pick a spot. Except this one. This one is mine."

Justin took off his jacket and tossed it onto a bunk up top. Then he pulled the curtain closed. Judy looked around, taking note that three more bunks had the curtains pulled closed. They must have been Trace and Rachel's, but she didn't know who the third belonged too.

"What's so special about that one?"

"I always sleep there. It's up high so it's harder to hear the noise from the back room and people walking around."

"Good idea."

Judy eyed the other bunks up at the top.

"But I don't think I'll be able to climb up there. I'll take this one." She pointed to the one in the middle.

Justin tossed her bag to onto the blanket, and closed the curtains.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

"In the back with Mike."

"Mike?"

Justin turned and opened the door that lead into the back room of the bus. There was seating on all three sides of the room, and a mirror on the back wall. Trace and Rachel sat staring at a large flat screen TV, holding Wii controllers. Next to them was a hefty black man in a jean jacket.

"Oh my God! You totally cut me off!"

It was during Rachel's shout that Judy realized she had the same twang Justin did.

"You snooze, you lose," Trace teased.

"Cheater."

"You already know Frick and Frack," Justin said. "This is Mike, my personal jungle gym."

Justin ended his sentence by taking a flying leap into the big man's lap. He gave Mike a smacking kiss on the cheek. Mike's response was to stand up, dropping Justin onto the floor with a thud.

"Remind me next time some girl tried to molest you, to not stop her." Mike turned to Judy. "He meant to say personal assistant. Justin ate too many paint chips as a child, got his head all screwy."

"And here I thought it was plain old stupidity. Judy, nice to meet you."

Justin stood to his feet.

"Am I going to regret bringing you?"

"It's possible." She shrugged.

They all took a seat, watching Trace and Rachel as they raced their Mario cars.

"When do we start filming?" Judy asked.

Truth be told she was much more nervous about that than she was being on the tour itself.

"Rachel, we're meeting up with MTV in Arizona tomorrow, right?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"They start filming tomorrow morning, first day of the tour. I think we meet the crew tonight when we arrive."

"Will we be working with Steve again?"

Justin shrugged.

"Most likely he's already doing another show, if he's even still with the network."

Judy sighed, leaning her palm into her hand.

"How long is the drive?"

"Six hours. Maybe longer if there's traffic."

"So we'll get there around 1am?"

"Yep."

"I don't think I can stay up that long."

"Me neither."

Judy turned to see that Justin had leaned his head back against the sofa, eyes closed, his long legs stretched out in front of him. If she hadn't known him so well she might have thought he was asleep already. So she followed suit, pulling her legs up onto the couch and resting her head against his shoulder, listening to Trace and Rachel argue.

 

* * *

Judy is standing alone in a dark hallway, doors on either side of her. It took her a moment, but she eventually recognized it as the building of an apartment she'd shared with Ben while they were waiting to get into military housing. It had been dark, run down, and dingy. She'd always been afraid to walk the halls alone. There were always strange people sitting on the steps giving her looks.

But this time she was alone in the hall. The building was quiet and still. Inching down the hallway step by step, she finally approached her own front door, number 37. The door was already ajar, cracked just enough for her to see the flashing blue lights of a TV on the inside walls.

"Ben?" She called softly.

It wasn't like him to leave the door open like that. She had no idea who was inside.

"Ben?"

She stepped forward, tapping the door open a little more. She still couldn't see more than the blank white wall dancing with blue lights.

"Is that you?"

She waited for an answer, but no response came. She reached out again to push the door, intending to push it open all the way. But instead the door yanked open on it's own, and on the other side stood a tall, shadowy figure. Lean, with broad shoulders, hair cut short. She could see the strong jaw line, but not the eyes.

"Ben?"

In a flash, and seemingly without moving, the figure lunged forward. Her body slammed against the wall, long fingers gripping her throat tightly.

"No, Ben!!"

Judy awoke suddenly, sitting straight up on the sofa laid on. Instantly she regretted sitting up so fast, her head became dizzy.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.

She'd been the one shaking Judy out of her slumber, but she hadn't quite expected that reaction.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Judy looked around, recognizing the bus. "You just startled me."

"Sorry," she said. "Just wanted to tell you it's time to go inside."

"Oh. Are we here already?"

Judy turned to look out the window. She could see the lobby of the hotel they were parked in front of.

"Where's Justin?"

Last she remembered he had been her pillow, now she was by herself on the couch, under a blue blanket.

"He's already inside. They always take him in first, before the crowds have a chance to figure out whose bus this is."

"Oh. Okay."

"So, come on. Let's go in. All of us could use a few hours sleep in a real bed."

Judy pushed the blanket away and stood up. She ran a hand over her face as she followed Rachel through the bus, trying to wipe the sleep from her system. Finally they reached the door and she could hear the voices of a small crowd and make out that same smell of diesel. As she made her way down the steps she saw Mike, and several other men dressed just like him clearing a path through a small crowd of girls. Behind the girls were 10 or 12 photographers, cameras aimed and ready. Not only were they on the lookout for anything involving Justin, but they had seen the MTV vans, and knew something was up.

"Let's go," Rachel called, already making her way through the crowd.

Judy followed, flashes going off on either side.

"That's Rachel, Justin's cousin. Hi Rachel!"

She didn't seem at all phased by the strangers calling her name.

"Who is that with her? Hey! Who are you? You look familiar."

Judy paused, turning to face the young blonde who had questioned her. Then she felt a tug on her arm.

"Just keep walking," Rachel said. "Never stop for anything. Once they got you stopped they'll never let you go again."

Judy nodded, following Rachel into the lobby. It was bright, virtually empty, and decorated with white and gold marble.

"Well, well, Judy Bucklass."

She turned at the sound of her name, only this time the voice was more familiar. Her eyes landed on a gathering of people, and one of them flashed her a smile.

"You've come a long way from Central Valley."

"Steve!" She couldn't help the squeal that escaped her lips as she ran toward him.

Judy threw her arms around Steve's neck, squeezing tightly.

"It's so good to see you."

"You too. Let me get a look at you."

He stepped back, giving her a look over.

"You look so different."

She couldn't tell if that was a compliment or a hidden insult.

"A lot has happened," she said.

Steve nodded.

"Justin said something similar to that effect when I saw him earlier."

"You saw Justin already?"

"Yeah, he was on his way upstairs."

"Oh. So, what's with all the crew?" She motioned to the people behind him. "The last time it was just the three of us, now there's a whole…"

"Production?" He filled in the word when she paused.

"Yeah, back in CV, MTV wanted your life to remain as normal as possible, so they just sent me to the floor. But now, a national tour like this with a celebrity like Justin? They had to send the whole team. You're in the big league now, baby."

 

* * *

Half an hour later, after meeting the rest of the crew, Judy shuffled up to her room on the seventh floor. It was average, small, with a single King sized bed, her luggage on the floor in the closet area. Instantly her chest got a little tight. She'd always had a fear of staying in hotel rooms alone. Watching so many episodes of Most Haunted late at night had permanently irked her. In fact, she nearly screamed out loud when the shrill ring of the telephone sounded through the room.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

Judy smiled, breathing a sigh of relief as she sat down on the bed.

"Justin. Hey. Where are you?"

"On lock down in my room."

"Sounds like a party."

"Of course. Your room okay? How you feeling?"

"Surreal. The room is fine, just thinking of heading to bed soon."

"Good. Today will be a long day."

"You mean tomorrow."

"No," he chuckled. "It's almost 2am remember? I mean today."

"Right."

It was going to take time for her to get on the right schedule.

"Let me know if you need anything. I'm right next door."

There was a light knock on the wall above her headboard and Judy knocked back.

"Thanks. G'night J."

"Night Juicy."

 

* * *

After what felt like hours Judy sighed dramatically and dropped the remote. There was absolutely nothing on. The TV was playing some commercial about some kind of Bump It! Hair accessory.

She'd been tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable, trying to relax. But nothing that she did was working. She was either thinking about the nightmare she'd had earlier or she was listening to every little sound of the hotel, wondering if her room was haunted.

Judy glanced at the clock, seeing that in reality it had been less than an hour since he'd called, then picked up her cell phone. She didn't know what the room number next door was, but she knew he'd answer his cell.

"Yeah?" He sounded groggy.

"Hey. You awake?"

"Nope. Just having conversations in my sleep."

"Okay. That was a stupid question."

"Yep. What do you need?"

She didn't know how to say, "Can I sleep with you because I feel safe there." So she simply said:

"Big bed, little person."

"Come here," was his reply.

Judy hung up, grabbing her room key off the dresser. She didn't even bother putting her shoes on as she headed into the hall and to the room next door. She knocked once, smiling shyly at the hotel security guard who stood posted by the elevator. Justin's door opened and before her was nothing but a sea of black. She stepped in anyway and when the door closed behind her the lights magically flipped on. She spun around to find Justin there.

"Were you hiding behind the door?"

"Yes. Paparazzi often hid out in the halls."

Judy followed him into the room, and when she looked up her jaw dropped. They were standing in his living room, decorated in red. Across the room was a door way, and inside she could see a dining table. Judy turned, looking back at the door. Was she still on the same floor? This was what was next to her room?

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"I know. I don't know why they get me these rooms. I only sleep here."

Judy made a face.

"Wanna trade?"

Justin smiled, heading around the corner.

"Come on," he called back. "I'm tired. I have to be up in three hours"

As she followed, Judy noticed for the first time that Justin truly had been sleeping. He was clad in rumbled, plaid boxers, the tattoo on his back exposed for all the world to see. For a moment she got the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, but quickly shook them away. Must have been left over nerves from the dream.

"I promise you…" she began, stepping into the bedroom.

Only half of his bed was touched.

"…I am working on being able to sleep in my own bed more than twice a week."

Justin snorted back a laugh, tossing the decorative pillows from her side onto the floor.

"Keep working," he suggested. "It's going to be hard for me to mack on groupies if you're jumping in my bed at 3am every night."

Judy climbed up into the bed, fluffing her pillows before she climbed in and laid down to get comfortable. But she didn't ever get the chance. An arm snaked around her torso, yanking her backwards halfway across the bed, her back to his bare chest.

"You could have asked," she said.

She already knew from experience that he had an affection for spooning in his sleep. Rather than answer, Justin lifted his hand to cover her mouth for a second before dropping it. It was his way of politely telling her to shut up.

"Night."

Her response from him was a snore. For the three hours she slept peacefully.

 

* * *

"Juice box, get up, let's go."

Judy's heavy eyelids open and she saw Justin coming into the bedroom from the bathroom, shrugging on a cream button down over a t-shirt.

"No."

Justin yanked the blankets up over her head.

"Yes. I told you we had to be up early."

Justin sat on the edge of the bed and yanked the covers back, only to find she was holding the pillow over her head as well.

"You're the one on tour, why do I have to get up?"

Justin looked at her, at least, what he could see of her that wasn't hidden by white linen.

"Okay. You want to sleep?"

"That would be why I'm still in bed."

"Yeah well that's not all there is to do in bed," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. So, okay, it's six am now. You can stay here until noon. I'll send the van back for you, but if you don't get on it and come to the venue than you're getting left behind because we're leaving from there."

"Got it, boss."

"It's so unfair that you get to sleep and I have to go to work."

"Unfair? Do I get paid millions of dollars to smile and shake my non-existent ass on a jumbo tron? Nope."

Justin scoffed.

"Non-existent ass?"

He flung the blankets back over her and headed back into the bathroom.

 

* * *

Around 10am Judy finally awoke, reaching her arms into the air and rolling the stretch down her back before letting them flop back down to the bed. She sat up, looking around the room. It was bright and airy, the furniture decorated in cherry wood. Standing up, she moved into the front room toward the front door, seeing Justin's bags already there, waiting to be picked up.

Grabbing her room key off the coffee table, Judy headed toward her own room. She might as well start getting ready. It was the first day of the tour and the first day of filming. Her first moment of filming came as soon as she opened the hotel room door.

"And we're rolling."

In the hallway waiting, was Steve, holding a camera, another man, Matt, holding a large microphone over her head, and one of the producers, Mindy, holding a clipboard.

Judy blinked at them, then turned the corner to get back to her own room. She hoped her closing door would lock them out, but instead they followed her inside.

"You can come into my room?"

"Yep. We just can't go in the bathroom," Mindy answered. "Unless we know there's something scandalous going on in there that we need to get on film."

"Ah. I see."

Judy grabbed a few things from her suitcase and went into the bathroom and change.

"Oh. Judy, wait one second before you change."

She stopped in the doorway at Mindy's voice. Mindy put her walkie-talkie to her mouth and pressed the button.

"Control, do you want us to go back and do a shot of her waking up in Justin's bed?"

A staticy voice sounded to answer Mindy's question, but Judy didn't wait for the reply. She rolled her eyed and headed into the bathroom, locking the door behind herself. Even if they wanted that shot she wasn't giving it to them. When she opened the door again she was fully dressed and in the middle of brushing her teeth.

"So, Judy, you excited about the tour?"

Mindy was now sitting on the corner of Judy's bed.

"I am."

"Have you seen Justin perform before?"

"I've seen him in concert when he would come through my hometown, but I've never been on an actual tour before. This is totally different."

It was 12:30pm when the white van pulled up behind the arena where Justin would be playing. The car doors opened and the crew filed out, followed by Judy. A large well lit hall was before her, and she moved on the assumption that she was supposed to follow it.

"Does anyone know where we're going?" She asked.

Steve and Matt were walking backwards, their focus on her. They weren't paying any attention to their surroundings.

"Judy?"

A stage hand, dressed in all black, appeared at her right.

"Yeah."

"Follow me."

Judy and the camera crew followed the stagehand through a maze of hallways, the noise from the band echoing louder and louder as they made their way.

"Through there," he pointed to a set of double doors.

The group passed through the doors and found themselves on the empty floor of the arena, the stage in front of them. Judy could hear the band loud and clear now, along with Justin's voice over the speaker saying something about the lights, but she couldn't yet make out which figure on the stage was him.

But as she was making her way toward the stage, an insistent vibration sounded in her pocket, distracting her attention. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, her body language changing when she saw Ben's name on the caller ID.

She looked at the phone hesitantly before she decided to answer. She stepped away from Steve and Matt, hoping they'd recognize her need for privacy. They didn't.

"Hello?"

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"I've been busy."

"Busy doing what? Or should I say whom?"

Judy heard a noise, and when she turned around she ran right smack into the microphone Matt had been holding above her head.

"Hold on Ben. Matt, would you guys go away? I'm trying to have a conversation here."

"Who are you talking to? Who's Matt?"

She could hear Ben's voice yelling through the earpiece on the phone, and he didn't sound happy.

Up on the stage, Justin was focusing on the lights, working with the techs to see if there was a lighting pattern that didn't blind him as much as the one they'd been using.

"Ooh, who is that? She's cute."

The voice of his stage director, Mason, caught his eye. Justin followed Mason's line of vision, and spotted Judy down on the floor. She had her phone in one hand, and was waving away Mindy and her crew with the other.

"That's Judy," Justin answered.

"Oh, my bad man. Is she with you?"

"Well," Justin glanced back out at Judy.

Now she was walking in circles, trying to outrun the camera crew.

"Actually she's not with anyone," Justin said.

Mason smiled and looked to the arena floor again.

"That's because she hasn't met me yet."

Justin began to feel that same feeling of doubt and disgust that he'd gotten with Ben rise in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah," he told Mason sarcastically. "Are we done here?"

"Yeah, you can go. But be back at four so we can run through it again before the show."

Justin heard Mason, but he didn't acknowledge him as he jumped from the stage down to the arena floor. He made his way towards Judy, who was still on the phone, trying to keep Matt's microphone at bay.

"Well I don't care what he said, that never happened."

She was so focused on yelling, that she didn't notice Justin walk up behind her. He reached out, taking the phone from her hands, and closed it.

"What did you just do?" Her eyes went wide.

"Was that Ben?"

"Yes. And you just hung up on him-."

"Good. He deserved it. And you don't need this."

Just as he spoke the phone began to vibrate again. It was Ben, calling back. Judy reached for it, but Justin stuck it in his pocket.

"Why don't you let me hold onto this for awhile?"

Justin slung an arm around her shoulders, guiding her back out of the doors she'd just come through.

"Which way is backstage?" He asked a random worker passing by.

They pointed, and Justin pulled Judy in that direction.

"Guys, next time could you give me some privacy for crying out freakin' loud?"

"Hey, it's not their fault," Justin said. "You knew when you signed on for a reality show…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

After turned down several halls they arrived at Justin's dressing room, and he picked up a black laminated pass off of the table.

"Keep this on at all times. Otherwise, security will kick you out, and then you'll have to flash a staff member to get back in, and even most of them aren't allowed near my dressing room."

"Even if they flash you personally?"

He shrugged.

"Then it depends."

"You're disgusting."

"I'm a man."

Chapter 13 Chapter 13

"That's what I said, disgusting."

Justin chuckled, following Judy's lead when she sat down on the sofa.

"Can I have my phone back now?"

"Nope," he answered. "It's still buzzing. What did he want anyway?"

"You know, the usual questions. Where are you? Who are you with? Then he accused me of running away with this guy Myles that went AWOL."

Justin coughed on the chip he'd taken from the bowl on the coffee table.

"You sure know how to pick 'em Judy."

"I know. So, what are we doing now?"

"I'm going to take a nap?"

"A nap?"

"I have a break, so I'm gonna try to take a nap before the meet and greet at three."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

Justin turned and pointed at something behind the sofa.

"There's DVDs. Watch a movie."

While Justin pulled off his tennis shoes and grabbed a blanket, Judy went to the small shelf at the back wall and looked over the DVD collection. After settling on Knocked Up she put it in the DVD player and turned on the TV. As soon as she sat down on the sofa Justin laid his head in her lap, settling the blanket over himself.

"Who said I was going to play pillow for you?"

Justin turned his head and flashed her a pearly smile before turning back toward the TV screen. Just as his eyes began to drift closed with exhaustion, there was a knock at the door, followed by it opening.

"Hey Justin, I wanted to talk to you about the lights-oh excuse me."

Mason stood in front of the couch, smiling down at them. Justin groaned inwardly at the sickeningly sweet grin. When Mason set on eyes on something, he usually got it, and right now those eyes were set on his Judy.

"I didn't know you had company, JT."

Justin nodded with boredom. He was using the lights as an excuse to come in and meet Judy.

"Yep, I do."

Mason waited a moment, smiling excitedly. Finally he leaned forward and held his hand out for Judy to shake.

"Hi, I'm Mason, Justin's stage director."

"Hi Mason. I'm Judy, Justin's friend."

"Nice to meet you, Judy. I think I saw you earlier, down on the floor with the camera crew."

"That was me."

Mason nodded.

"Well, what brings you to the tour?"

Judy shrugged, "Just along for the ride."

"Well we're glad to have you."

"Uh, Mason?" Justin interrupted. "Do you think we talk about the lights later? I'm gonna try to grab a little down time."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Mason smiled at Judy, reaching out to shake her hand again. "It was nice meeting you."

When Judy shook his hand, Mason leaned down to kiss the back of it, smiling brightly as he let go.

"Nice to meet you too, Mason."

"I'll see you around," were his last words as he headed out the door.

Justin sat up and watched him go, making sure he left and closed it behind him. He then turned to give Steve a look. Steve shrugged back, also wondering what the hell that visit had been about. Then he turned to Judy, and she smiled at him. Instantly his heart sank.

"He seemed nice," she said.

"Hmmm," he replied.

"Is he nice?" She pressed.

"Nice enough."

"He's cute."

Justin sighed, plopping his head back down into her lap.

"I guess."

"What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

Judy was silent, going back to the movie as the mail character and her sister raced through the grocery store looking for pregnancy tests. Justin once again got comfortable in her lap, only this time he couldn't close his eyes. He had that same cautious feeling about Mason that he did about Ben. Only this time, he knew Mason wasn't good for Judy. Mason was wealthy, and he often used it to his advantage, wining and dining girls and then dropping them for the next. He already knew Judy was merely a conquest for Mason, a game he could play to keep himself occupied while on tour. But Judy wasn't a play thing, she was a friend, and he didn't want her being used.

His mind was reeling so fast that he didn't think he'd ever get the nap he'd started out wanting. But then he felt fingers gently running over his head, smoothing down his short hairs. Then his eye lids began to feel heavy, and before he knew it, he slipped into sleep.

 

* * *

"Why did you take out your ear ring?"

"My ear ring?" Justin asked.

"Yeah. Back in the day you wore the silver hoops but the last couple years you haven't been wearing anything."

Justin shrugged, leaning his forearms on the table in front of him.

"I just kind of grew out of them, I guess. And now the holes are closed so I couldn't wear them anymore if I wanted too."

The young girl nodded, taking her seat again. It was nearly four in the afternoon and Justin finishing up the Q&A portion of the meet-and-greet. Judy, and the MTV cameras, stood off to the side as he sat center stage at a table in front of the 50 people who'd gotten passes to meet him.

"Uh, one more question. You, there, in the pink shirt."

Justin pointed to a girl, most likely in her late teens. She smiled, revealing her braces.

"Umm, hi," she giggled.

"Hi." He flashed her the smile he was famous for and she swooned all over again.

"Umm, so, why are the MTV cameras here? Are you doing a special?"

"Something like that," Justin sat back in his chair. "Do you guys remember me doing a show called Senior Year?"

The crowd applauded at the mention of the show.

"Well, I'm doing another one, kind of like it."

"Is Judy in it again too?"

"Judy's here," Justin nodded.

He shifted his gaze over to her and she shrank back behind Matt.

"She's around somewhere. We're partners in crime once again."

"Is it like the same thing where you have to be in the same room all the time?"

"What fun would it be if I told you all the secrets?" Justin teased. "You'll just have to watch the show when it airs."

"But-."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he shook his finger at her. "You'll just have to wait and see."

The girl giggled and batted her lashes. She couldn't have been older than 15.

"I'm sorry folks, but that's all the time we have for today," Mike interrupted. "If you'll line up single file, Justin will sign any memorabilia and take photos, then follow the path laid out through the doors behind you to the arena; Justin has a sound check right after this."

The room erupted with random conversations as everyone rushed to line up to be the first to talk to Justin. Judy smiled as she watched him, taking time to talk to each person, asking them about their lives, graciously accepting their compliments. He wore a fitted green tee shirt and jeans and she could see the girls visibly drooling at the sight of his biceps. Hell, just a short time ago she would have been one of those girls standing in line with her digital camera, staring at him with admiration.

"Judy?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts when two girls walked up to her.

"Yeah?"

"Can we get a picture with you too?" The taller girl in a black tank top asked.

"Uhh, yeah, sure," Judy stammered.

Sure, she'd been popular after the show aired, but her fans had long since faded. She wasn't used to total strangers knowing her name and wanting her picture anymore. The two moved to stand on either side of her, both throwing their arms around her waist. She smiled at the disposable camera, even as the bright flash blinded her. Then the girls stepped away, waving a thank you.

"You're welcome."

Judy turned, looking at Justin, only to find he'd been watching her. He gave her a nod and she shrugged in return. She didn't see what the appeal in her was.

After all the passes, tee shirts, and belly buttons had been signed Judy followed the crowd to the arena floor. Chairs were set up now, and the small crowd had taken up the first 4 rows. Judy sat a little further back next to Mindy. Steve and Matt lowered their cameras, letting Justin's crew handle shooting the footage of him.

They watched as Justin belted out three songs, explaining the personal meaning of each one as he sat on the wooden stool brought out from backstage. He was on his fourth and last song when a tall man with dark hair sat down next to Judy.

"Hi," she smiled.

Mason leaned back, giving her a casual grin.

"Hello again. You didn't tell me you were the girl from that show. I thought you looked familiar."

"Guilty," she said. "Sorry, I didn't even think of it. I forget that so many people watched that show."

"I think you're the only celebrity I know that forgets that they're famous."

Judy rolled her eyes.

"I'm hardly famous."

The two continued chit chatting, not paying any mind as the sound check ended and the fans began to filter out the doors and back to the parking lot where they waited for the show to begin.

"So, what exactly does a stage director do anyway?"

"Well, I coordinate everything on the stage. Make sure all the people, props, and equipment are where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be. I work with the costume director, lighting director, choreographers, and the rest of the crew to make sure everything is pulled off perfectly."

"Sounds pretty stressful to me."

Mason shrugged.

"It can be. But it's a whole lot of fun. Hey, have you been backstage yet?"

"Yeah, you met me in Justin's dressing room remember?"

"No, not that backstage," Mason shook his head. "I mean up there backstage. That's where all the magic happens."

Judy followed Mason's gaze as he pointed to the stage. She shook her head.

"No, I haven't seen anything back there yet."

"Want a private tour?"

"Can you do that?"

Mason gave her a look, his demeanor becoming cocky.

"Do you remember who you're talking too?"

"Well no, I know you can do that, but I mean, can I do that?"

Mason reached out, fingering the black laminated pass that hung around her neck.

"See this pass?"

Judy nodded.

"This is a go anywhere you want and no one can stop you pass. Follow me."

The two walked off, Steve and Matt running behind them at Mindy's orders. Justin watched from the stage, frowning when he saw Mason place his hand on Judy's lower back as he lead her along side of the stage. He turned to Beth and Jon, his own MTV camera crew.

"Every show she's gotta find someone to fall in love with," he said bitterly.

"Wow, I didn't know it took so many people to pull off a show like this," Judy gasped.

She was under the stage with Mason. He'd taken her through the costumes, the lights, the cameras. She'd seen the props and different sets for the stage, and the hundreds of people rushing around with walkie-talkies getting everything set-up.

"Yep. Up on stage, the audience just sees Justin, the band, and the dancers. They don't know that half the population of LA is back here pulling levers and flipping switches."

"So, what does this do Mr. Stage Director?"

Judy pointed to a large clear box that sat beneath the stage.

"That is a lift. We use it to push Justin up on stage from down here."

"Oh, you mean those things where the artist slowly comes up out of the floor?"

"Exactly."

"I always wondered how those worked."

"It's simple, really. The artist steps inside on that platform, and stage hands pull down these two levers, lifting the platform up."

"That easy, huh?"

"Yeah. Want to give it a try?"

"Can I?"

"Be my guest." Mason motioned to the platform.

Judy stepped on, crouching down so she didn't hit her head on the edges of the stage.

"Brett, Andrew, can you show our guest here how the lift works?"

Two tall, well built men walked over as Mason climbed onto the platform beside Judy.

"Go ahead," he told them.

The two men gripped the levers, pulling down simultaneously. As they did, Judy and Mason rose through the cut out square and onto the stage. Judy watched as lights, cameras, and chairs slowly came into view. She hadn't been up on the stage before, and now she was envisioning herself in front of thousands.

"Oh my God, that is so cool," she giggled.

She turned, looking toward the back of the stage where the band would be, and she came face-to-face with Justin, who stood looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Hi!" She chirped happily.

He matched her giddy smile, but inside he was glaring at Mason.

"What are you doing?"

"Mason took me on a tour and I wanted to try out the lift. That's pretty awesome Justin."

"Tell me about it," he said. "But uh, sound check is over now. Are you hungry? They put out the dinner spread in the back."

"Yeah, I'm starving."

"Great. Come on."

Justin reached out, taking Judy's hand, smirking inwardly when he spotted Mason eyeing their intertwined fingers. He pulled Judy along, heading for the stairs off to the side.

"Thanks for the tour!" She called back.

 

* * *

After a dinner of enchiladas, nachos, and fajitas Justin settled into his dressing room. He changed into the outfit he'd wear for the first portion of the show. His entourage came in, touching up his buzzed hair cut and fixing his face. Judy had teased him when she noticed the woman putting loose powder on Justin's cheeks.

"My, my, don't you look pretty. Are you doing eye shadow next?"

"Hey, this is strictly for the stage and nowhere else," he retorted. "I can't be on stage looking all sweaty. Girls don't like that."

"On the contrary, girls dig it when you look like that. Then they can go on with their perverted thoughts."

While MTV filmed Justin doing his vocal warm ups, pacing back and forth behind the couch, Judy, Trace, and Rachel watching a DVD of Two and A Half Men. VIPs came through, taking their pictures with him, having their tour books sighed, and gushing over their love of his music. Finally, it was 10 minutes till show time, and Justin looked antsy than ever.

"Everybody out," he announced.

They all looked up from the TV to find Justin standing there with the door open.

"What?"

"You guys know the routine. It's almost show time, I need a minute. Everybody out."

Everyone stood, filing toward the open door. Justin watched as Trace left, Mindy left, Jon and Beth left.

"You stay," he stopped Judy as she moved to step out the door next.

"You go," he motioned to Steve, Matt and Rachel.

Once they were all gone he closed the door with a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Judy asked.

Justin cracked his knuckles.

"I always get nervous during this part."

"Did you see how many people were out there? I'm not surprised."

"I saw the crowd. Don't remind me."

"There's a thousand," she continued. "No, more than that. Probably like three-thousand."

"Stop," he raised a hand. "You're not helping."

"Didn't you say that you don't get nervous before a show? You look almost queasy."

"I lied," he shrugged sheepily. "Once I get out there I'll be okay. It's just the waiting and anticipation that freaks me out."

Then he made a face, and she could tell he was about to whine.

"Do me a favor," he began, his voice small and high-pitched like that of a little boy. "Do that thing you do when my shoulders hurt."

He sat down at the vanity and Judy stood behind him, massaging between his shoulder blades. He let out a grunt and dropped his chin to his chest.

"What do you usually do just before show time?"

"Remain as relaxed as possible."

"Conserving energy?"

"Exactly."

They were quiet for a moment.

"So, did you have fun on your tour with Mason?"

"Yeah. I'd been backstage on a big tour before."

He could hear the swoon in her voice.

"What exactly did you guys do?"

Judy pressed hard into his spine, shaking her head.

"I don't want to talk about Mason right now."

"Why not?"

"Because whenever he's around, I get the feeling you don't really like him much. Which would mean you don't really like him talking to me much. And I know how passionate you get about things, and you're supposed to be as relaxed as possible, so now would not be the time."

She leaned over his shoulder, giving him a look.

"Am I right?"

"Right," he agreed halfheartedly.

A knock sounded at the door and Mason stuck his head in.

"JT. It's go-time."

Justin nodded, standing up. Mason gave Judy a smile and nod when he noticed her standing there. She returned it, and then turned her focus back to Justin.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Where's my water bottle?"

He patted his pockets as if he would have put it there, and Judy reached behind him, picking it up off the counter.

"Oh, thanks. Come on, walk with me."

Judy followed him into the hallway where Rachel fell into step on his other side. Mike and Mason lead the group, flanked by security, down a few halls before they came to the back of the stage. You could hear the crowd, screaming and cheering as the lights went out and the intro video played. The noise made the walls shake and Judy felt her heart begin to pound. She could just imagine what Justin was feeling as he put his mic-pack on.

"Have a good show Jay," Rachel gave her cousin a hug.

Then Justin turned to her, and Judy put her arms around him.

"Good luck."

Justin pulled back, smiling cockily as he stepped onto the platform she'd been on earlier.

"Ain't got nuttin to do with luck, girl. This is skill."

Judy smirked as the platform began to rise. He'd been right when he said he'd be fine. It was seconds until his performance and he was back to his old self. The band began to play and the platform rose to its full height, blocking Justin from her view completely. The noise from the arena floor was deafening.

At the end of the show Justin was immediately ushered out the back door of the arena and onto his black and silver bus. Judy, Rachel, and Trace were already waiting there when he and Mike climbed aboard. Justin headed straight into the bathroom and climbed into the small shower. Mike raided the mini fridge in front. Trace had already gone to bed. So had Rachel and Mike by the time Justin emerged from the bathroom.

"That might be the coldest shower I have ever taken," he said, plopping down onto the sofa beside her.

He wore the blue track pants and white tee that Rachel had left in the bathroom for him.

"You could have waited till we got to the next hotel."

"And smell funky for 5 hours? I don't think so."

"So where is our next stop?"

Justin grinned evilly at her, rubbing his hands together.

"Las Vegas. The land of sex and sin."

"Oh man. I don't know if I can handle that."

"You can. You'll love it. No one can go to Vegas and not have a blast. The chicks alone-."

"You keep talking to me about girls and groupies like I'm a lesbian."

Justin paused, appearing to be in deep thought.

"That'd be hot."

Judy snorted, rolling her eyes.

"That'll never happen. Sorry. Pervert."

Justin chuckled at her insult, eyeing the First 48 episode on the TV screen.

"What are you doing up anyway?"

"I don't know. Just thinking. I'll probably head to bed in a minute."

"Thinking about what?"

"Nothing particular."

She wasn't looking at him as she spoke, and he followed her vision to the black camera set-up in the ceiling corner of the backroom. MTV had set it up during the day while they had been inside.

"Still worried about the show?"

Judy shrugged, pretending to be interested in the TV. Justin put an arm around her, squeezing her shoulders.

"It'll be fine. I promise."

Judy leaned back, turning her head to look at him.

"Watch you don't make promises you can't keep."

A silence fell over them as the Memphis detectives found the murder weapon used to kill an older man in his living room.

"So why don't you like Mason?"

"Where did that come from?"

"Curiosity. You've been giving him funny looks ever since he introduced himself to me."

"That's because he has a funny face."

"Stop that!" Judy scolded. "Come on, the truth."

"I like Mason just fine." He shifted uncomfortably. "It's just I also know Mason very well, and I know you pretty well. And I know he thinks you're cute, and I saw that little gleam you got when he came into the room-."

"What gleam? I was just being nice and saying hello."

"Uh-huh." He didn't sound convinced. "I just don't want you getting hurt. You're not even over this Ben thing."

I'm not going to get hurt Justin. He's just a guy on the tour, not my next boyfriend."

"Good. You don't need a guy like him."

"What kind of guy is a guy like him?"

"Let's just put it this way, I fear for the safety of any girl he sets his sights on. And that's a lot of girls."

"Why? Is he a dog?"

"He's a great big bulldog that needs to be spayed."

"I seem to remember you being a self-proclaimed dog once yourself. You barked, ran around campus sniffing butts, and everything."

"I didn't sniff anyone's butt okay," he chuckled. "Except that one time and that was on a dare. I got a free pizza out of that."

"You still did it."

"My point is, be careful around him. He's charming, but he's not the one."

"I'll keep that in mind Dad."

"And stay out from under the stage with him. It's dark and he's got fast hands. Though I'm sure you've already figured that out."

"It was just a tour," she giggled. "Nothing happened and he never tried anything."

He was beginning to seem more jealous than concerned and it was sort of cute.

"Yeah, this time it was just a tour. Next time…."

"He'll have his way with me next to the power outlet?"

"Exactly."

"You're insane."

Justin shrugged, letting out a large yawn.

"Do I have to stay up and watch this with you? Because we both know that if you keep watching this alone you're gonna get creeped out and then you'll be trying to share my bunk and that thing is too tiny."

"No," Judy picked up the remote and turned the TV off. "Let's go to bed."

 

* * *

The buses crossed the Las Vegas city borders just after 4am. As usual, Justin was taken upstairs first, followed by everyone else. Thankfully, that night Judy was able to fall into a coma like sleep in her own room. Even at his home in LA she'd wake him up in the middle of the night, asking him if she could come in or if he could stay in her room. She felt bad being so dependent on him, but nights were the worst.

She'd always see Ben in her dreams, or hear his voice echo loud and clear as if she was back at the apartment and he was in the living room. She supposed it was part of mourning the end of their relationship, but she also felt as if she were being a burden on him. He had so much to do during the day; he didn't need her pulling him out of his sleep all the time. She also didn't want to wear out her welcome. You can only annoy people so much before they tell you it's time to go home.

"Judy?!"

A bang sounded on her door and she was jolted out of her sleep. She sat up straight, her hair a wild mess on the top of her head. She looked around with confusion. The bright sun was shining in through the window overlooking the large pool.

"Juice pop, you in there?!"

The bang sounded again and Judy got up, stumbling through the room to the door. Her legs weren't quite awake yet, and she used the wall to catch herself when she tripped. When she opened the door, Justin was standing there with a smile, his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses.

"Morning."

Judy gave him a look, her mind still reeling after being woken up so abruptly.

"What are you doing?"

"Coming to get you. Duh."

Justin welcomed himself into the room. Judy gave Mike a look, and Mike shrugged in response before leaning against the wall in the hallway. Judy followed Justin over to the bed, letting the door fall closed. He'd already turned the TV on and was leaning back on his elbows. He was surprisingly cheerful.

"What the hell are you so happy about?" She gripped.

"What the hell do you have to be unhappy about?"

"I was happily asleep, peacefully asleep, when some lunatic started banging on my door calling me a Popsicle. It's too early for this." She ended her rant by plopping down on the bed dramatically.

"Too early? It's ten. You've been asleep for like eleven hours. What are you trying to do, hibernate? Besides, now you know how I feel when you wake me up at the crack of dawn asking me to share my bed."

See. That's exactly what she was afraid he'd been thinking.

"Fine. I won't do that anymore. I'll stay in my room. Alone. And scared. And lonely."

Justin could hear the pout in her voice even though he had his back to her.

"I didn't mean it like Juicy fruit. You know I don't mind. I just mean… never mind. Look, I'm going shopping and I was going to invite you along. But if you'd rather stay here and sleep some more it's fine."

"I'd rather stay here and sleep some more."

That got him to turn around and fling himself down on the bed beside her with a whine.

"Judy, come on! I want you to come with me."

"Take Rachel."

"She's going, but I want you with us too. She's mean when I shop. She doesn't let me buy what I want."

Judy chuckled.

"So you want me to save you from Rachel?"

"I want you to come shopping with me. Come on, please?"

Judy let out a deep sigh and dropped her arm over her eyes. She could hear the Timberlake pout in full force, she didn't need to see it.

"Please? Please, please, please, please?"

"Ugh! Alright, fine, fine, fine," she answered finally.

Anything to make him quit whining.

"Yay! Thank you. Now, get up."

He gave her a nudge on the shoulder and she sat up slowly.

"Go get dressed. I'll be right here, watching Scrubs."

Judy watched as he pulled a black Ipod from his pocket and put the white headphones into his ears.

"What are you listening to?"

She picked it up from his lap and started to scroll through his cover flow.

"Is that Miley Cyrus?" She gasped. "You listen to Miley Cyrus?"

"Hey, I know what it's like to be a squeaky clean Disney kid, okay." He snatched his Ipod back and put it in his pocket. "Besides, some of her songs are surprisingly catchy."

"Riiight."

"Whatever. Get in the bathroom and get ready."

Two hours later Judy was tiredly following along behind Justin as he went isle by isle through the men's section of the department store. Getting into the store had been quite the tiring hassle in itself. They had tried to park and simply walk through the front door, but when the paparazzi swarmed Justin, pushing and pulling the security guards all around him, they decided on a plan B. Instead they parked in an underground garage, waiting for the store to shut down so he could shop alone. Now they were pressed for time, and Justin was going non-stop, grabbing more items than he could hold himself.

"You can't possibly need all of this stuff," Rachel complained.

She was holding a dozen tee-shirts over her left arm.

"Yes, I do," Justin replied, rolling his eyes.

"Wait a minute, are you even looking at some of this stuff? I think I've seen you wear this shirt back in LA."

Justin stopped and turned to Judy. She had been holding a stack of shirts as well, but she set them down on a display table to examine them.

"I brought you to protect me from her, not to agree with her."

"You have greediness on your side and I have logic. Who did you think was going to win?" Rachel asked.

Justin narrowed his eyes on her for a moment before he continued on his way. After looking through every rack, and picking out more pairs of sunglasses than he could ever wear in one lifetime, he took them all to the register, only to decide not to get most of it.

"I think he just has fun picking things and making us carry it. He knows from the beginning that he isn't buying it."

"Rachel, if you don't shut up I'm not taking you to the shoe department."

"I don't care," she retorted. "I can buy my own damn shoes. You pay me enough."

"Remind me to give you a pay decrease."

When the clerk took all of Justin's bags to put them in the car, the three headed up the escalator and into the women's section.

"What are we doing here?" Judy asked.

"Looking for something for you."

"For me? No, we're not."

"Yes, we are."

"Why?"

"Because I am sick of seeing you in that same sweater everyday."

He pointed at the oatmeal colored sweater she wore. Judy folded her arms subconsciously. He stepped closer to her, talking softly, even though he knew their mic-packs would pick up their conversation for MTV anyway.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to embarrass you or anything, but you didn't bring much with you. You are in need of new clothes, and you and I both know you aren't going to spend the money yourself because you're too worried about him finding you so can you please spare me the half hour of arguing it would take to get you to let me do this? We only have an hour before we have to go to the venue."

Judy chewed on her bottom lip, unsure.

"Okay. But if we're shopping for me we're in the wrong section."

Justin raised a confused eyebrow.

"This is the women's section. You are a girl, aren't you? Or is there a conversation we need to have?"

Judy rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes you are so stupid. I meant that I need the fat girls section, if they have one."

That comment Justin did not like, and he made that clear by the expression on his face.

"Judy Bucklass…"

"What?"

His shook his head at her with disappointment.

"Don't ever let me hear you talk about yourself like that again."

"What? I said I was a fat girl. News flash Justin, the secrets been out for awhile. Besides, I'm talking about myself. I can say whatever I want."

"But that's my best friend you're talking about, and I won't be having that."

"Guys, I don't think we have time for this argument either," Rachel interjected.

"Fine, fine," Judy held her hands up as a sign of surrender. "Plus sized?"

Justin rolled his eyes, but settled for the compromise. He called over a sales clerk, eagerly waiting to help point them in the right direction.

The day continued on as the day before had. Meet-and-greet at the arena, followed by dinner backstage, and then Justin's 'alone' ritual before going on stage. Only this time, they were playing in Vegas again the next night, so there was no rushing to the bus and sleeping in the crammed bunks. When Justin's show was finished he was shuttled back to the hotel in a van, where he went upstairs to take a shower. He was pulling on his jeans when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey man."

Justin smiled when he saw Trace was standing there, along with Beth and Jon. He opened the door wide enough for them to enter before turning to head back into the room.

"What up, G?"

"Just stopping by to make sure we were still going out tonight."

"Of course," Justin looked at him as if he had four heads. "We gotta go out. It's Vegas, and we only have one night to do it up."

Trace nodded in agreement, rubbing his hands together.

"Exactly. I just wanted to make sure."

Justin looked over at him as he shrugged a blue button down on over his Harley-Davidson tee-shirt. He could tell that wasn't all that Trace had come for.

"So," Trace cleared his throat. "How's Judy liking the tour?"

"She's still adjusting. Why didn't you just ask her for yourself?"

"I get the feeling that she doesn't like me very much."

Justin laughed out loud.

"Can't say that I blame her. You did call her a druggie."

"Well I didn't know she was sitting there."

"I know. That's what the problem was. She has this thing about people talking behind her back. Just be nice, she'll come around."

Trace nodded again.

"You two aren't hooking up at you?"

Justin paused mid-cologne spray and gagged when the mist went into his mouth. Trace laughed as his friend coughed before Justin turned to give him a serious look.

"Where the fuck did that question come from? Did they put you up to that?" He pointed at Beth and Jon.

Jon pointed a finger at Beth. Her jaw dropped and she shook her head no, pointing back at Jon. Justin could only smile at them.

"No guys, we're not hooking up. She's far too into Mason for that."

"Yeah, I saw them talking during dinner. He was getting mighty close."

"I know," Justin shook his head, pulling on a silver diamond studded watch.

"I told her to stay away from him."

"I don't think she's listening."

"Why?" Justin looked up from the laces on his white sneakers.

"Cause he was just leaving her room when I was walking over here."

Justin finished lacing up his other shoe, then he rested his arm on his knee as he thought for a moment. Finally he spoke.

"Hey, I'll meet you downstairs at 11, okay?"

"Okay."

Trace watched with confusion as Justin rushed from the room, Beth and Jon following after him. Judy's room was two doors down, and as he crossed the short distance he saw Mindy coming out of her room.

"Hi Justin," she smiled.

"Hey."

He gave her as little acknowledgement as possible. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't really care to talk to her either. He grabbed Judy's door before it closed and welcomed himself in. She was sitting on the bed wearing blue Class of '04 shorts, a white tank top, and gray high heeled boots he'd bought her earlier that day.

"What are you doing?" He couldn't help that laugh that escaped his lips when he asked.

She simply smiled happily.

"I love these boots. I don't want to take them off."

"I'm glad."

He wanted to ask her about Ben, but then he looked to his left and saw Steve and Matt. On his right, were Beth and Jon. He didn't want to discuss this right in front of two cameras. They'd only play more into the fictional storyline that he had developed feelings for Judy.

"So, you're coming tonight, right?"

"Coming where?"

"Out. With us."

"I didn't think you were going anywhere 18 and over. I thought you were going to a bar or casino or something."

"I am."

Judy's brow furrowed.

"Then how can I go? I'm 18, remember? They're not going to let me in."

Justin chuckled at how naïve she was.

"I have so much to teach you about this celebrity thing."

He walked over and took her hand, pulling her from the bed.

"Get ready. You've got a half an hour."

Thirty-five minutes later Judy emerged from the steamy bathroom to find Justin and the crews sitting on the bed watching a Dane Cook special on Comedy Central. Justin turned to look at her, and his jaw would have dropped had he not caught himself. She wore a blue bubble hem dress that Rachel had talked her into getting, and the gray knee-high boots from before. Her hair was stick straight and fell over one eye. She looked more like the Judy he'd known before, but

"Does this look okay?" She bit her lip and waited on his answer.

"It looks great. Rach was right about that dress."

Steve nodded from behind his camera. Judy smiled and walked to the desk, picking up her purse.

"Well, let's go."

The group headed into the hall where Mike and some hotel security were waiting for them. They escorted Justin and Judy into the elevator and down to the lobby where everyone else was waiting for them. Including Mason. Justin saw Mason's eyes as soon as they landed on Judy's cleavage and they flashed with lust. He started to make his way toward them, but thankfully Rachel unknowing cut him off.

"Judy! Oh my gosh, you look great," she drawled. "I love this color on you."

"Thank you."

"Oh, but you don't have any make-up on. You need eyeliner."

Judy's face looked a little worried.

"I do? I don't have any."

"That's okay. We'll fix you up in the car. Come on guys, let's go. We're late."

The large group or techies, roadies, dancers, and MTV crew members climbed in several white vans with deeply tinted windows. Justin made sure that Mason wasn't able to ride with them, wanting to keep Judy as far away from that guy as possible. After a short trip down the strip, the vans pulled up to back of a building, paparazzi vehicles screeching to a halt all around them. Instantly there were dozens of people outside the vans, flashes going off every second. Justin's security team and the clubs bouncers pushed them back, laying out a path for the group to get inside.

"Okay crew, ready, set, hit it," Trace said opening the door to the van.

He exited first, Justin getting out second. The paparazzi seemed to grow in size as soon as they saw his face. They pushed and pulled even harder, the camera flashes began blinding. All of this made Judy want to crawl back into her shell. What was she doing here?

"Come on darlin'," Justin said, reaching his hand out of her.

He pulled her from her seat in the back row and slowly lead her along the path, Rachel following behind them. Judy squeezed his fingers tightly, fearing what would happen to her if she were to let go and be left behind. Finally they made it inside, and the noise of the clubs sound system was quiet compared to what outside had been like.

"Are you okay?" Rachel placed a hand on Judy's shoulder.

Judy nodded.

"I know. It's pretty scary in the beginning. You'll get used to it, unfortunately."

"Hey, guys, this way," Trace waved them forward.

The group was lead down a dark hallway, the walls painted black. Then they went up a steep flight of stairs. Finally at the top they found a VIP section laid out just for them, completely sectioned off from the rest of the club goers.

"Would you like a drink?" A pretty waitress with red hair came up to Judy.

Apparently that was all it took for Judy to get her party started. While Justin took a seat in a booth, Judy wandered over to the bar to check out the selection they'd brought up for them. And moments later Mason was by her side, happily paying her tab as she placed order after order.

Justin was a bit taken back by her behavior. He had to get used to the fact that she had changed, possibly permanently. His Judy didn't drink, smoke, barely cursed, loved to dress up, and was organized to the T. This Judy slept till noon, was unsure of her curves, and currently tossing back Whiskey Sours like it was going out of style.

By the time they left, at 3am that morning, she was completely trashed. Mason helped her stumble down the steps as she laughed hysterically at her own clumsiness.

"So, what are you doing when we get back? Are you tired?" Mason asked.

Judy shook her head, throwing off her balance. Luckily, Mason's arm was firmly planted around her waist, keeping her steady.

"No! I'm not tired at all. Whoo!!"

Mason smiled.

"Well, you should come to my room then. We can watch a movie or something. I'm not tired either."

"Yeah, cool."

Justin chose that moment to step in. No way was she going to Mason's room, completely wasted, at 3am. He had had plenty of alcohol himself, but he was still sober enough to know it was a bad idea.

"Hey, same seats man," he told Mason.

Mason nodded, letting Justin remove Judy's arm from around his neck.

"Alright. Judy, I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Yeah, we're gonna watch a movie. I'm so excited!"

She was talking unnecessarily loud and Justin grimaced at her high tone.

"You ready?" He asked her.

They were at the backdoor. Judy nodded, and Justin shook his head. She looked a complete mess.

"Here, I'll take her," Rachel suggested. "You get in the van. We'll be fine, they don't care about us."

Justin looked Judy over, the playful drunken gleam in her eyes. Then he handed her over to Rachel.

"How you feeling, girl?" Rachel asked.

"Gooood," Judy sang.

Justin chuckled to himself, walking out the door behind Mike. There weren't an many paparazzi outside, thought there were still far too many for his liking. He went straight to the van and got inside, sitting away from the door so they couldn't take his picture while he waited. Rachel and Judy came out next, stumbling over each other's feet slightly. They made it to the van safely, followed by Trace who was teasing them about not being able to hold their liquor. Once Beth, Matt, Jon, and Steve were inside the door was slammed shut and they pulled away. Justin was looking out the window at the bright lights when he felt eyes on him.

"Hi," Judy sounded with a smile.

She looked so cute Justin couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi. You are so wasted."

"No I'm not," she giggled.

"Yes. You are. It's time for you to drink a gallon of water and go to bed."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I am tired. You must be really tired if I'm tired because you had the show earlier. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I've got to host this golf thing."

"Golf?" She scrunched up her face.

"Have fun with that buddy."

"I will. I love golf."

Judy leaned her head on his shoulder and folded her arms. Justin dropped a hand down to her lap, patting her knee comfortingly. She laid on him the entire ride back, and in the elevator on the way up to their rooms. Justin walked to his door, and then watched her continue down the hall, expecting her to enter her own room. But when she kept going he went after her.

"Where you heading?"

"Huh?" She whirled around. "Oh, I'm going to Mason's room. We're gonna watch a movie before we go to bed. I'm not tired yet."

"You were practically asleep in the car."

"I was just resting my eyes, Justin."

She turned her back to keep walking and Justin grabbed her arm.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Why don't you come to my room? You can watch a movie with me."

"No. No, I don't want to keep you awake. You did all that stuff today and you have that golf thing tomorrow. You need to go to bed more than I do. I'll see you at the venue tomorrow, okay?"

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned away again. Justin jumped in front of her.

"Judy-."

"Justin, come on. Don't worry, I'll be fine. We're just gonna talk, okay?"

She stepped around him and Justin grabbed her arm once again, seeing Mason watching for her at the door to his hotel room.

"Judy, stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop acting like a slut."

As soon as the words left his mouth he wanted to take them back. Not only were they inappropriate on their own, but Mason, Mike, and the camera crew were standing there watching them. Mostly he wanted to take it back because he saw the look in her eyes. He shook his head, trying to shake some of the drunkenness away. It didn't work.

"What?"

She ripped her arm from his grasp roughly.

"Umm. I don't think that's what I meant."

"You don't think?" Her brow furrowed.

He reached for her again but she stepped back from him.

"Judy-."

"No!" She was angry now, her eyes fiery. "I expected to be judged by the world Justin, but not by you."

She paused for a moment, her words echoing in the silence before she brushed past him and down the hall where Mason was waiting. Justin watched as they disappeared behind the crème colored door. Then he looked over at Mike. The bigger man shook his head sadly. Angrily Justin swapped his keycard into the door lock, entered his room, and slammed the door behind himself.

Chapter 14

Justin didn't see Judy until well into the afternoon that next day. He woke up that morning and was immediately ushered to the golf course. It was a benefit for a children's foundation, and a few other celebrities were in attendance. Judy would have loved it, had it not been for their argument earlier.

He thought about what had happened all through the benefit, and it threw off his game. He didn't even make top three. He felt bad for what he had said. She wasn't acting slutty, she was acting like someone on the rebound. She'd just gotten out of the most serious relationship she'd had to far and all of a sudden here was this guy, with this glamorous profession, sweet talking her. Of course she was going to be interested. Besides, she had been drunk beyond recognition. She didn't know what she was doing. She'd been young, naïve, and plastered, and he'd humiliated her on TV.

As soon as he got the chance he was going to apologize. He didn't have the right to judge her the way he had. He needed to make sure that their friendship was okay, and still intact. He was also dying of curiosity to know what had happened behind that locked door.

However, finding Judy to apologize to her was a lot easier said than done. He went by the hotel after the golf gig, and knocked on her door only to receive no answer. When he got to the venue, she didn't show-up for the meet-and-greet. He was hoping he'd see her during dinner when he headed outside to where the BBQ was set-up. Justin half-filled a plate, more killing time so he'd have a chance to scan the large crowd for her face. But by the time he was done he still hadn't found her.

"Where is Judy?" He turned to Beth, who was next to him with her ever faithful camera.

Beth shrugged in response. Justin turned, looking over the crowd again. He saw Mason walking out through the double doors. Judy wasn't with him, but he certainly looked cheerful. He spotted Justin off to the side and gave his employer a smile. Justin felt rage beginning to seep down his spine.

Without saying a word Justin tossed his plate in a nearby garbage can and headed back inside, through the twisting halls to his dressing room, where he slammed the door shut. It only opened again and in walked Rachel and Trace, followed by Beth and Jon.

"What is your deal?" Trace asked. "Since when do you storm away from a BBQ spread?"

Justin sat down on the sofa with a sigh, dropping his head into his hands.

"I've been looking for Judy all day and I haven't seen her."

"Why are you looking? Are you going to apologize?"

Justin raised his head at Rachel's question and narrowed his eyes on her.

"Do you know where she is?" Justin asked.

"Apologize for what?" Trace asked.

"Maybe. But if you're looking for her so you can say more mean things to her than no, I don't."

"What mean things? Apologize for what?" Trace asked again, looking back and forth between them both.

"Rach, if you know where she went you better tell me right now."

"Or what? You'll call Auntie Lynn on me?"

"Hello?! Am I talking to myself here? What do you have to apologize for?"

Trace finally stepped between them, sick of being ignored and out of the loop. Justin let out a sigh and leaned back against the sofa.

"I called her a slut."

Trace's eyebrows raised.

"In the hallway last night, in front of everyone," Rachel added.

Trace's jaw dropped and he sat down in the chair opposite Justin.

"Man, and I thought my calling her a junkie was bad."

Justin's shoulders slumped. They weren't helping him feel any better.

"So are you going to apologize? You better be getting ready to apologize," Rachel pushed.

"Why did you say that?" Trace interjected.

"I don't know," Justin said earnestly. "She was trying to go to Mason's room, and it was 3am, and we had all been drinking, and she was wearing that dress."

"That's what you get for getting an 18 year old drunk," Trace scolded.

"I didn't get her drunk. That was Mr. Smooth Mason's plan to get her drunk."

"Don't blame this on the dress," Rachel interrupted. "This is your fault, not the dress' fault. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that come out of your mouth. That's not the Southern boy I know."

"I know, I know. I just overreacted. Horribly. She didn't deserve what I said."

"Then why did you say it? I don't understand where that came from."

Rachel sat down on the arm of the sofa next to him. Justin shook his head with a sigh.

"I just know what she's been through this past year. I don't want her getting mixed up with that jerk and then getting hurt again. She's not even over what happened the last time."

"Well how do you know she's getting mixed up with him? Did anything even happen last night?" Trace was trying to find a bright side.

"No." Rachel answered quickly.

Justin turned to look up at her.

"She was too upset over what you said to do anything with him, even if she had wanted too."

"So you have talked to her."

Rachel shrugged.

"If I tell you where she is, you promise you're going to use the information for good?"

Justin nodded.

"Last time I saw her, she was hiding out on the bus."

Justin stood, preparing to head out back to where the buses were parked. When he yanked the door open a stage hand was there, preparing to knock.

"Justin, they need you out on stage."

His conversation with Judy would have to wait, work was calling.

 * * *

Judy didn't show up to Justin's dressing up before the show, which meant no one had been there to rub his shoulders before he went on stage. Thankfully he was a seasoned enough performer that it didn't affect his show, but every time he went back stage to change or get water he had a moment to think about it.

When he boarded the bus afterwards to leave Las Vegas he skipped the shower and headed straight for the backroom. He opened the door, and it was dark. He turned, walking down the narrow hall to Judy's bunk. The curtain was pulled closed, as were Trace and Rachel's bunks. He could hear Trace's deep breathing, so he knew they were already sleeping.

"Judy?"

He knelt down by her bunks, speaking softly.

"Judy, are you awake?"

He waited for an answer, but none came. He felt bad waking her, but there was something he needed to get off of his chest. He pulled back one of the curtains, and was met with her pillow. The bunk was empty. Justin stood, and paused for a moment.

Where could she be? Did she get left behind in Las Vegas? Had she decided to ride on Mason's bus for the night? Had she jumped on a plane back to Central Valley? His mind began to reel with possibilities and he headed toward the front of the bus to tell the drive to stop, when he heard a cough.

It hadn't come from Rachel or Trace, the voice wasn't the same. It wasn't Mike. He was in the bathroom. That only left one person. Justin headed back towards the backroom, pushing open the door again. He flicked on the light and there was Judy, curled up on the sofa under a blue blanket.

He waited for her to sit up and look at him, but she didn't move. After a moment she let out a snore. Justin's eyes rolled dramatically.

"I know you're awake, Judy. You don't even sound like that when you snore."

Judy's eyes opened and he could see the annoyance bluntly written across her face as she sat up. He closed the door and moved to sit next to her.

"What is it?"

"Why have you been hiding out all day?"

Judy gave him a look, as if the answer wasn't obvious enough.

"You really need to ask?"

"No, I don't," he said.

He was silent for a bit, and Judy repeated her question.

"Well, what is it?"

"I need to tell you something. Judy, I'm sorry. I had no right to say what I said."

"No, you didn't."

She was staring hard at the carpet beneath her feet, and he could tell by her tone that she was still angry. Very angry.

"I didn't. And I'm sorry. I was trying to look out for you, and I took it entirely too far. I shouldn't have judged you like that."

"You embarrassed me is what you did."

He nodded, rubbing the stubble that was growing on his chin.

"I know. I'm sorry."

Judy sat there, arms folded across her chest. Finally her shoulders relaxed a little and she looked toward him. Not at him, but her head tilted in his general direction so he could see more of her face.

"Well, I appreciate your apology, but I'm still really, really angry with you."

"Okay."

"I just don't understand why you said that? I mean, I know you said you were looking out for me, but I wasn't doing anything wrong. We were gonna pay-per-view a movie. Besides, I'm 18. I'm old enough to make my own decision."

Inwardly Justin wanted to laugh. He remembered being 18 and thinking he knew all there was to know about the world. Now, at 23, he realized he didn't know shit.

"I know. I guess I was just concerned that you were going to do something you'd end up regretting. I told you, that guy is sleazy. And you're still a wreck from what Ben did to you. I didn't want you running to the next guy who flashed you a smile so you could get hurt again. I mean, do you really think you're ready for that kind of relationship?"

The truth was, while he was concerned about the stability of Judy's fragile heart, he'd been more jealous of Mason than anything. He paid far too much attention to Judy, and she was too eager to return the favor. He could see exactly where this was going. They'd hang out once in awhile, and then it'd turn into all day. Next she'd be talking to him on the phone all night during bus rides, and then she'd be crawling into his bed when she was lonely at night. That would leave him completely out of the picture, and that he absolutely could not have.

"I'm not a wreck," she defended. "And if I were planning on doing something with Mason, that's not really your business. You're my friend, not my Dad."

Justin perched his lips.

"You're right," he said dryly.

Judy went back to staring at the carpet, arms still tightly folded across her chest. Eventually she dropped them and began to pick at the chipping polish on her nails.

"But I guess it's good that you were trying to take care of me. I guess you had my interest in mind."

"Always," he said honestly, turning towards her. "I always have your best interest at heart. I just let it get the best of me, for a moment."

"Yeah," she said regretfully.

"Are you still really, really mad at me?"

Judy shrugged one shoulder.

"I guess now I'm just mad at you."

"Well, I got rid of the two really's. That's good I guess."

She smirked meekly.

"And the beginnings of a smile. That's good too."

"Stop!"

She pushed him away when he leaned in front of her, making a funny face by crossing his eyes. He always had a way of making her feel better, even when he was the problem.

"I hate you," she muttered.

"Does that mean I can have a hug?"

"No, you can't."

"Come on, just one?"

He didn't wait for her answer as he put his arms around her, squeezing her against her will and laying his head on her shoulder. Judy was squirming, trying to get one of her arms free so she could shove him off. He smiled, nonchalantly pinning her arms to her side as he relaxed again her.

"Get off me, you freak of nature."

"Ahh, there is it. I feel the love now."

 * * *

It was just past 5am when the bus pulled in behind a hotel in Fresno, CA. As was routine, Justin was pulled from his bunk and shuttled inside, followed by everyone else a few minutes later. Judy was practically a zombie as she wandered through the lobby behind Rachel. Her eyes were open, her body going through the motions, but nothing was quite making it to her brain.

Except for when she got off of the elevator on their floor. She began to get excited over the idea of being in a nice, quiet room all alone and sleeping in a real bed for a couple of hours. She swiped her key through the slot and opened the door, only to hear the shower running. She walked further into the room and there was Justin, digging through his toiletry bag. He looked up when he heard the door click closed.

"Hey there Jamba Juice."

Why did he always have a different variation of her horrid high school nickname?

"What are you doing in here?"

"Well, the hotel was booked up when we tried to add an extra room for you -probably fans trying to catch a glimpse of me - so, you and I get to bunk together tonight."

Judy stood there, staring at him with exhausted eyes.

"Unless you'd rather stay with Rach."

"No, you're fine."

Finally she moved. She collapsed on top of the bed. She didn't bother pulling down the blankets as she fluffed the pillows and laid her head down. Justin smirked at her.

"What are you doing? Go to bed."

He barely heard her words, muffled by a pillow.

"Can't. I've got an early photoshoot. I'd be in the shower, if I could only find my axe shower gel."

"Oh."

Well at least he was going to be leaving, and she could get some rest in peace.

"Well, say hello to Kevin Federline for me if you see him."

Justin's response was to throw his tube of toothpaste at her butt before he closed the bathroom door.

By 3pm that afternoon Justin Timberlake was behind schedule. Judy had made it to the venue before him, which had never happened before. With no Rachel to talk to and no Trace to ignore she wandered the halls aimlessly, her pass securely around her neck.

"Judy!"

She heard her name echo against the white concrete walls, and there was Mason, jogging towards her.

"Hey."

She gave him a casual hug when he reached her, and her heart fluttered at the smile he gave her.

"How are you doing?"

"Better. Sorry, again, for being such a drunken mess the other night."

Mason shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I'm always happy to be a shoulder for a friend to cry on. So, did you talk to Justin?"

Judy nodded, tucking her black hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, we talked last night. He apologized for what he said."

"Good. He was kinda messed up for that. I know you two are good friends, and I don't want to come between you guys."

"You aren't," she assured. "Me and you are friends too. He was just acting like his usual self, the over protective big brother."

"Are you sure that's all it is?" Mason raised an eyebrow at her.

"What else would it be?"

He took in the innocent look on her face and smiled.

"Nothing. So, what are you doing right now?"

"Killing time. Justin isn't back from his shoot yet."

"Well, you wanna help me make my rounds?"

"Sure!" She answered immediately.

Mason offered his arm, leading her down the hall as she giggled delightfully. She walked with him as he went from station to station; making sure everything was running smoothly. They'd done the show enough times now that everyone knew their job and most of the kinks had been worked out.

She stayed with him for an hour, watching as he did his job from managing various workers, doing repairs on some of the set pieces, to meeting with the tour director to report what still needed to be done. Finally it was after 4pm and she knew Justin was there, because she had seen the meet-and-greet tour go by earlier, headed for an empty room where the Q&A would take place.

"I better get going," Judy said. "But thanks for letting me tag along. I would have been bored out of my mind without you."

"Sure. Thanks for keeping me company."

Judy smirked, and turned on her heels, heading down the hall towards the conference room.

"Hey Judy," he stopped her. "Can I ask you something?"

She turned, waiting patiently as we walked towards her, closing the distance between them.

"Would you maybe wanna go out tonight? I know this great restaurant I'd like to take you too. It doesn't have to be a date type thing, you know, unless you want it to be."

Judy chuckled on the inside at his nervousness. If he truly was the player Justin had claimed he was, he certainly wasn't acting like.

"Sure, I'd like that," she said.

His shoulders lowered with relief.

"And it can be a date type thing too."

"Great. How's eleven sound, right after the show?"

"Sounds great."

"Cool. I'll see ya."

"See ya."

As Judy walked away, the prospect of a new love interest in mind, she felt like she was floating on air. By the time she made it there, Justin was already seated at the front table, the entire room in a fit of giggles.

"Where do you guys hear this stuff?" He was asking.

A young man in skinny jeans and a black hoodie was standing, trying to contain his own laughter.

"I read it on the internet."

"The devil," Justin said simply, making the room laugh again. "No, no that is definitely not true. There is truth, whatsoever, to the Joshtin rumors."

Judy watched him, a smile creeping onto her face. He really was quite charming, when he wanted to be. He was casual, and relatable. She guessed that was what most of his fans liked about him. When she'd been a closet Nsync fan her attraction was to JC, she only gave Justin the time of day when he was doing something that displayed his abs or his biceps. But now, she completely understood his popularity, especially since she knew him personally. He had this way of talking to you that made you feel like you were the only one in the room, or like you were someone special to him. No wonder so many girls melted when he looked at them. It was like you were the only thing he saw.

"I'm sorry folks, that's all the time we have. If you'll please form a line over there behind the white tape, Justin will sign any memorabilia you have today."

Judy chose that time to walk over to him, bypassing the forming line.

"Well Timberlake, you certainly are the life of the party."

Justin smiled at her, signing the worn 1998 Nsync tour book a fan placed before him.

"Just doing my job. That is what the girls love me for, isn't it?"

"Not me. I love you for your witty remarks and ability to disgust me by how quickly you can devour a cheeseburger."

"Fastest gums in the West."

He punctuated his statement by biting at her playfully.

"So, I have great news."

"Hold that thought," he said.

Justin leaned forward, signing the push-up bra supported left breast of a 30-something year old woman. She smiled seductively before sauntering out of the room and toward the arena where the sound check would occur. Justin, ever so discreetly, watched from the corner of his eye until she turned the corner. He did have a thing for older women. Judy waited patiently, until finally she couldn't stand it.

"Are you done oogling yet?"

Justin sat back in his metal folding chair.

"You're being all feisty today. Your news must be something good."

"It is."

"Well, are you going to tell me or keep me in suspense?"

"Keep you in suspense. I'll tell you over dinner."

Before Justin could question, or begin that high-pitched whine of his, Judy left the room. She headed towards the venue floor, wondering which of her new outfits she was going to wear that night.

Dinner was at 7pm, out back in the arenas patio. Picnic tables were set up, one of them covered with a spread of Italian food. Pastas, sausages, red and white wines. As if any of them needed to drink on the job. Steve and Jon followed Justin and Judy as they made their plates, and then settled at a table in the corner.

"I'm gonna get a drink. You want one?"

Judy nodded a yes to Justin's question and watched as he disappeared towards the table. He returned a moment later, two short glasses in his hands. He set one down by his plate, and the other by hers, sitting down with one leg on either side of the bench.

"What'd you get?"

"Jack and coke for me."

"No wine?"

"Hey naw," he turned up his nose. "I don't drink that. Unless I'm in Napa."

"And what'd you get me?"

She picked up her glass and sipped it, expecting the burn of alcohol. It tasted plain.

"You just got coke."

"Why?"

"Because, when you drink you get crazy. And I don't need any little alchies running around backstage."

Judy gave him a sincere frown.

"So, what's the news you teased me with earlier?"

Judy grinned as she took a bite of fettuccini. She dropped her fork carelessly with a clank and turned to him.

"Guess what."

"What?"

"I have a date."

That made Justin pause, his spaghetti just barely touching his bottom lip before he set the fork down.

"A date?"

"Yes."

"With who? Wait, let me guess: Mason," he said Mason's name in a dreamy way, mocking the state Judy had been in all evening.

"Yes." She made her annoyance known with a roll of her eye. "He asked me this afternoon. We're going out tonight."

"Tonight? He isn't planning on leaving during the show, is he?"

Judy shook her head, taking another forkful into her mouth.

"No, we're going out after. There's some restaurant he wants to take me too."

Justin's head tilted, and he gave her a look that read 'do I look stupid?'

"That means you'll be leaving at like midnight. What restaurant is still accepting customers that late?"

Judy shrugged, chewing on a piece of garlic bread. Justin opened his mouth to speak, but instead tossed a sausage slice into his mouth.

"What?" Judy questioned. "What is it?"

Justin shook his head.

"Nothing. Nothing. I'm keeping my opinions to myself, they only get me into trouble."

Judy reached over, picking up his glass and taking a sip. She grimaced a bit, then took a gulp before setting it down.

"Don't fret, Dad. I have good feelings about this one."

After dinner Judy went back to the hotel to get ready. Their next stop on the tour was Portland, Oregon, a 12-hour drive away. They were staying in Fresno for the night and then driving all of the next day to play a Portland show that night. Justin's schedule was exhausting. She was just along for the fun of it, she didn't have to do any work like everyone else, and even she was constantly tired. She could only imagine how he felt.

Judy took her time getting ready. She took a long, hot shower, tried on 5 different outfits, and pinned her hair up in a bun. It'd been a long time since she'd felt the need to be girly, or dress up for anyone. She was beginning to feel more and more like her old self.

By the time Justin made it back to the hotel, Judy was already gone. He could tell she'd been there by the whirlwind mess she'd left their room in. For the first time, he wished the rules of their old show had applied then. Then she wouldn't have been able to go on that stupid date, with that stupid guy, to that stupid restaurant without him there to keep an eye on her. Without even thinking, he decided to wait up for her. He wanted to hear every disgusting, stupid detail while it was still fresh in her mind.

It was 1am when he fell asleep, no sign of Judy in sight.

 

* * *

It was 2:30am when Judy finally did enter the hotel, draped over Mason's arm. The girl was obviously intoxicated, once again. She giggled obsessively at everything she laid her eyes on. And even as Mason shushed her, she chuckled at him. She made faces, giggling at her reflection in the mirrored elevator doors. She giggled at the numbers and arrows on the plaque pointing them in the direction of their rooms. She even giggled at the security guard standing watch in the hall.

"Ooh! Here we are!" Judy stopped walking and turned to a red door.

Mason sounded a soft 'shhh' in her ear and she snorted a laugh.

"Sorry. Sorry, you're right. Justin's in there and he's probably sleeping. I'll be quiet."

Mason frowned at the mention of Justin's name.

"Judy, can I tell you something? Something private?"

She turned to look at him, her brown eyes questionable.

"You can tell me anything."

He glanced behind her, seeing Beth and Matt there, silently recording. He stepped closer to her, his expression vulnerable and hesitant. She didn't fight him in the slightest when he put an arm around her waist and leaned his head down to whisper to her.

"I like you. A lot. Like, more than someone in my position should."

She couldn't help but feel excited, not just by his words, but by how close he was to her body.

"And what position is that?"

"One where a guy could get into a lot of trouble for liking a girl like you. Justin seems pretty protective of you. Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?"

Judy shook her head.

"Nothing. He's just a friend. You're not moving in on the boss's girl."

Mason smiled, taking one of her hands and playing with her fingertips.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you come to my room, instead of waking Justin up? We can party some more."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can order something from room service. We'll pay-per-view another movie. We can talk, maybe cuddle."

Her eyes sparkled as if the idea had never occurred to her before. Mason smirked at how adorable she was, and leaned down, placing a kiss on her lips. Judy froze for a moment, almost paralyzed. She hadn't kissed anyone since Ben. It felt foreign, and different. It wasn't the rhythm she was used too, they weren't the lips she was accustomed too. But she couldn't help the rush of excitement that washed over her as she kissed him back. Finally, she was kissing someone else. Maybe she was getting over Ben faster than she thought.

"Come to my room with me," he whispered between kisses.

Judy didn't answer. She just allowed herself to be swept away.

Chapter 15 Chapter 15

Justin awoke at 4am. He'd forgotten to set his alarm, but luckily his body clock remembered that they were leaving early to make the next show. For once his lack of ability to sleep past sunrise was working in his favor. He lifted his head, looking at the TV which was now playing an infomercial. He couldn't remember what he'd been watching a few hours before. The bedside lamp was still on, and the side of the bed where Judy should have been was untouched. He sucked in a heavy sigh and sat up. Then he swung his legs over the side and headed for the door. The first person he saw was Mike, standing guard, and he nodded to the burly man.

"Have you seen Judy?"

"Nope, not since she came back last night."

Justin frowned, turning back into the room. They were checking out at 4:30am. Would she make it back by then? Where was she now? Was she still with Mason? Where had they gone? Did he try anything? He had so many questions to ask her that he could barely keep his mind focused. He packed all of his things, and all of hers. He was a professional at fast packing now.

Justin opened the door, setting two pieces of their luggage against the wall in the hallway for the bellhop to pick up. He was getting ready to go back inside and get more when he spotted her down the hall.

She was barefoot, her boots in her hand. Her denim skirt and black and red tank were rumpled, as was her hair. She was at Mason's door, leaning in to give him a kiss -on the lips. Justin shuddered at the thought. He shook his head subtly, solemnly, as she began to walk towards him, running her fingertips over her bottom lip. The dreamy look, the clothes from the night before, it was the morning after Walk of Shame. And it was his Judy making it. He knew immediately by the way she walked that they'd had sex. It was unmistakably written all over her features. He didn't know what to think.

It quickly turned into the morning after Run of Shame when she saw Justin there holding their hotel room door open.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry," she began.

When she reached him, she smelled of alcohol and cigarette smoke. What kind of restaurant had this been?

"We totally lost track of time. I'll be ready in five minutes. Five minutes!"

She scurried past him and into the room, grabbing a suitcase and undoing the work he'd just done. Justin rolled his eyes and followed her back inside.

"You have three minutes."

Fifteen minutes later they were all aboard the bus, devouring the box of donuts someone had brought onboard for them. They were going to be on the road for the next 12 hours, and were at the mercy of whatever was left in the mini-fridge once this was all gone.

"Judy? Are you okay?"

Rachel had witnessed the girl yawning 5 times in the span of 7 minutes.

"I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night."

"She didn't get any sleep last night," Justin remarked bitterly.

"Bad dream?" Rachel asked.

"No. I was out really late, with Mason."

Rachel and Trace raised their eyebrows, waiting to hear more.

"Really now? Well, tell us about this development. Was it a date?"

"It was a non-date, date type thing."

"Ah. I understand."

Trace looked at Rachel, wondering if that was some kind of girl code he didn't get.

"I don't understand," he admitted.

"So, what happened?" Rachel pushed. "How did he ask you? Where did you go?"

"Well, it all started yesterday afternoon when I was waiting for Justin to get to the venue…"

Justin stood abruptly, unable to and uninterested in listening to this story. He didn't want to know any of the disgusting details of their stupid date, or the events that occurred thereafter. He picked up his cup of coffee and headed for the backroom.

"Come on Trace, let's work on those designs."

"Oh, Justin, I wanna listen to this story really quick-." Trace began, only to be interrupted by a grumpy voice.

"Come on, Trace."

Trace frowned dramatically, climbing from the booth. He reached into a cabinet and pulled out a few manila folders and a dozen white papers before heading to the backroom.

"Fill me in on the details later," he told Rachel.

"Trace!"

"I'm coming, dude. Don't get your tighty-whiteys in a bunch."

Rachel and Judy watched Trace disappear before they went back to their conversation.

"So, tell me!"

"Well, I was waiting for you guys to get there, and I was alone so he invited me to go along with him while he did his rounds checking up on everyone and everything."

"That's very thoughtful of him."

"That's what I thought. So, I went so I'd have something to do instead of standing around looking like a loser. And then later when I knew you guys were back, I went to leave and he asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner after the show."

"What restaurant is open that late?"

"That's what Justin said," Judy rolled her eyes. "It was a hole in the wall place with a jukebox."

"Sounds like a bar."

Judy shrugged.

"Maybe. But no one carded me. Anyways, we drank, and we danced, and we talked and talked."

"About?"

"Nothing. Everything. Just random things that popped into our minds. We talked about Justin, about things back home."

"Sounds romantic."

Judy shrugged again, a blush rising over her cheeks.

"It was. That might have been one of the most romantic dates I've ever been on."

"So what were you doing up all night? Answering all of Justin's nosy questions?"

"No, actually I didn't see Justin until this morning. I slept in Mason's room."

"Reeeally?"

Rachel sat forward, a grin on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

"Now we're getting to the good part."

"Nothing happened," Judy giggled.

Rachel didn't believe her in the slightest.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah. We just hung out. I didn't wanna wake Justin up so Mason suggested I sleep there. And he was a perfect gentleman."

Rachel tilted her head, trying to make Judy crack under her stare. She didn't, and Rachel relented.

"So, did you kiss him?"

"He kissed me goodnight. It was so sweet. He was nervous, the camera crew standing there watching us. But it was cute."

"Is he a good kisser?"

Judy sighed.

"Yeah. It was a little different, you know, because I'm used to my ex. But I think he was good."

"You think?" Rachel questioned. "Then he's not the one either. You'll know when it is. He'll kiss you so good you'll forget your own name."

Judy outright laughed.

"I don't think I've ever met a guy who could make me forget my name, via a kiss or not. I was pretty smitten with Ben in the beginning, but even he wasn't that good."

"Oh, just wait. I was in love like that once. His name was Brett Miller," she said wistfully. "He was quarterback on the football team. Tall, dark hair, dark eyes. He was so cute. He used to take me to the drive-in."

"They still have drive-ins?"

"If you're in Millington they do. We don't have any of those fancy-schmancy indoor theatres like you do out West. But we would go every Friday night, and usually see some stupid movie about aliens or serial killers. We didn't watch, we were busy making out. But the time we were done the only word I remembered how to say was 'huh'?"

"What happened to him?"

Rachel sighed.

"Justin, Trace, and my brother went to visit him one day. I don't know what they said but they put the fear of God in him. Suddenly he wasn't so interest in me."

"Justin? He doesn't seem like he could put the fear of God in a fly."

"Don't let that act fool you. He comes off as sweet and perverted, but he can get pretty intimidating when he wants to."

"I'll have to take your word for it, because I don't see it."

"I'm sure you will one day. So, Ben. You don't talk about him much."

"Not much to tell," the carefree grin faded from her face and she looked out the window. "I was in high school. He was older, and handsome, joining the military. We were in love, and now we aren't. The end."

"Hmm," Rachel leaned her chin into the palm of her hand. "That summary of yours tells me one thing."

"What?"

"That there's a lot of more than what you told me."

Meanwhile in the back…

"You're not even interested in working on this, are you?"

Trace dropped the design papers on the sofa. Justin was busy staring silently out of the window at the passing scenery.

"Huh?"

"You're not even listening to me."

"Sorry."

Justin turned toward him, mindlessly flipping through the papers. While there was work to be done for William Rast, he couldn't focus long enough to get it done.

"If we're not gonna do this than why did you pull me back here?"

"I was bored," he lied.

"Bored? Judy was gonna tell us about her date last night. I know how much you love Mason."

Justin huffed, turning back to the window, and Trace nodded knowingly.

"Oh, I get it. You don't want to know about her date."

"What I already know is enough."

"And what's that?"

"That she was drunk. That she had to do the Walk of Shame this morning."

"No." Trace shook his head. "Judy? She doesn't seem like the type to move that fast."

"Well apparently she does."

"Well, how do you know anything happened? Did she tell you?"

Justin gave Trace a look.

"Trust me, I could tell. Besides, have you ever brought a drunk girl to your room in the middle of the night and not gotten any?"

"Good point."

"What's a good point?"

The door opened and there stood Rachel.

"Justin's calling Judy a whore."

Rachel's jaw dropped and she quickly shut the door behind herself, hoping Judy hadn't heard that comment. Trace received a very hard punch to the arm, causing him to wince.

"Justin Randall-," Rachel began, sitting next to Trace.

"I didn't! He's lying. All I said was she stayed in Mason's room last night."

"That hardly makes her a whore. Nothing happened."

"How do you know?" Justin questioned.

"She told me."

"And you believe her?"

Rachel shrugged.

"Why shouldn't I? Don't you?"

"I believe my eyes. You didn't see what I saw."

"But you weren't there."

"Like I'd want to be a fly on the wall during that situation."

"Well, ask Mason if you don't believe her."'

"Like that turd would tell the truth either."

"Know what this sounds like to me? Sounds like someone's jealous," she said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm not jealous!" He huffed.

Rachel and Trace exchanged a look, both stifling their laughter.

"I'm mad that she doesn't trust me enough to tell me the truth."

"Maybe it's because she knows you'll act like a baby if she does."

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Weren't you in the front gossiping? What happened to that?"

Rachel shrugged.

"Judy went to bed, I'm done now."

 

* * *

Judy slept for the next 9 hours of the ride, her snoring filtering from the small confining bunk into the hallway. To block her out, Justin worked feverishly on the plans for William Rast. He scribbled designs, then erased them, and scribbled again. He read over business papers, adding his signature, changing stipulations, making a mental checklist of what still needed to be done.

When they were 2 hours away they began to take turns in the shower, Rachel going first, then Trace, then Justin. He took his things with him, showering, brushing his teeth, and then getting dressed. When he opened the door Judy was there in the front room, patiently waiting for her turn. Her tired eyes showed that she still hadn't slept long enough. She showered and dressed, and then sat out in the front room with Rachel, playing with make-up.

Justin guessed it was for Mason, so when he saw her face it was his bitterness that didn't allow him to admit how pretty she looked. He wanted to hate the navy blue liner around her eyes that made them pop, and the pink gloss over her full lips. But, he couldn't. So he just grumbled to himself and focused on the TV.

He didn't speak to her at all, until the bus pulled in behind the amphitheatre and everyone got off. Rachel and Trace, sick of the tension, practically ran when the motor stopped. Justin would have gone right along with them, had he had his backpack ready to go.

"Justin?"

He heard her voice, but he didn't look up from the bag he was hurriedly stuffing things into.

"Justin? Are you mad at me?"

He shook his head.

"Of course not," he muttered. "Why would I be?"

"Well, you seem like you are. We're on this tiny bus all day and you keep avoiding me. And you stormed away this morning. Is this about my staying out with Mason last night?"

Justin shook his head again, zipping up the backpack. He started to put it on, when he felt arms wrap around his waist. Judy hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder blade. She hated the silent treatment, especially when it was from him.

"Please don't be mad at me, Jay," she whispered. "I won't see him anymore if that's what you want."

Justin melted inside, turning in her arms, and looking down at her face. Her eyes were pleading with him not to make her follow through with what she'd just said. Deep down he knew then that she would in fact never speak to Mason again if that's what it would take for him to go back to normal. All he had to do was nod, and she'd regretfully cut him out of her life. But she was a big girl, and he didn't have the right to take Mason away from her. Even if the guy was a sleaze ball. It would also leave a bitter taste in Judy's mouth where Justin was concerned.

"No," he said, putting his arms around her as well. "No, you don't have to do that."

"But that is what's bothering you, isn't it?"

Justin sighed.

"Well, I have to admit it bothers me a little. But I know you really like him, and I need to get used to that. I shouldn't try to make you feel bad about it. Sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I knew you didn't like him so I shouldn't have gushed about him in front of you."

"Well, that wasn't so much your fault as it was Rachel's. She likes to cause problems."

Judy smirked, removing her arms from around his waist and grabbing his two hands in her own. She rested her chin on his chest, leaning against him as they talked.

"So, are you done being mad at me now? Can we be friends again?"

"We weren't not friends, Juicy." He tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears. "I was just…"

"Having a tantrum?" She supplied.

Justin chewed on his lips thoughtfully.

"Something like that."

Judy stood there looking at him, and couldn't help but notice that he seemed distracted by something. He was staring at her, almost wistfully. And then his vision began to drift lower to her lips. She smiled, and so did he, softly, nearly absentmindedly. Maybe there was something stuck in her teeth. But that wouldn't explain why suddenly he had turned so serious, and the mood so intense.

"What?" She asked quietly.

Justin raised his hand, running it through her hair before his fingers grazed down the side of her neck. She stepped back and broke their gaze, uncomfortable with how intimate they suddenly seemed. Justin's hand moved up her neck to her chin, tilting her head so she was looking up at him once again.

"I don't know," he answered.

He looked almost as confused as she did by his movements. But that quickly, the moment was ruined. The door to the bus opened and there stood Steve and Matt on the steps. The two pairs looked at one another, Steve raising an eyebrow. Then a staticy voice sounded over their walkie-talkies and Steve raised his camera to his shoulder. Justin cleared his throat, stepping back from Judy. He tossed his backpack onto his shoulder and headed for the door.

"Come on Judy, we're late."

"For what?"

"The meet and greet. MTV wants you there this time."

"Me? Why?"

She was hurrying to keep up with Justin's long legs as he walked briskly through the halls of the arena. He seemed to already know where he was going, and she assumed he'd played here several times before.

"I don't know. Just come on."

She followed him down the halls until they came to a large room with a large sign saying MEET AND GREET HERE hanging on the door. Mike was there, keeping watch for them. He opened the door when Justin and Judy arrived and instantly camera flashes went off and screams sounded. Justin waved to the crowd, moving to the long table to take a seat. Judy started to stand off to the side, but Rachel gave her a gentle nudge towards the table.

"There's a chair there for you too," she said.

Judy was officially confused. She moved to the chair, taking a seat as she scanned the crowd. She spotted three girls wearing home-made white tee-shirts that read: We Luv Judy 4eva! What was that about? She pointed it out to Justin, and he shrugged in response.

"I guess word on the show has gotten out. You have more fans than you thought."

"Okay ladies and gentlemen, if you'll take your seats we're going to get started…"

The meet and greet continued on as normal. Justin was charming and comical, answering all the questions he wanted too and dodging the ones that were too personal. Judy began to wonder why she was even there. No one was talking to her. She was considering getting up and going to the dressing room when a fan said her name.

"Actually, my question is for Judy," a girl pointed at her.

Justin nodded, sitting back in his chair and looking at Judy expectantly. He was enjoying seeing her in the spotlight, much to her dismay.

"I heard on the internet that you and Ben were getting married. Is that true?"

Judy snorted. She and Ben getting married? No. No, no, no. She hadn't been stupid enough the make that mistake. She was also thankful that she hadn't wound up pregnant while they were together either.

"No, that's not true," she answered. "Ben and I broke up before the filming of the show began."

"So you guys keep dating after Senior Year was over?"

"Yes, we dated for over a year, but it didn't work out. You'll find out all of the details when Tour Life airs."

Judy had already filmed her interview with Mindy, filling any gaps and holes as to what had occurred between the end of Senior year and the beginning of Tour Life. It would probably air during the first episode next month. That was the episode she was most nervous about.

Judy's moment in the meet and greet spotlight only lasted for those few minutes. Then she found herself sitting next to Justin, making small talk with the fans as he signed their passes, tee-shirts, and tour books. Until a girl received her tour book back from Justin, and then passed it onto Judy.

"Can you sign it too?"

Judy looked surprised.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I loved you on the show. I don't know how you kept yourself so organized with everything going on around you: Justin, the clubs, your friends, Ben. I can barely keep my homework straight," she giggled.

Judy shrugged modestly and scribbled her name on the girls' book.

"That makes two of us. Now-a-days I can barely keep the contacts list in my cell phone organized."

The girl giggled again.

"You know, you're nicer than I thought you'd be."

Judy frowned.

"Well in this situation I guess I'm happy to disappoint."

The girl walked off and Judy turned to Justin. He just smirked to himself and ignored her stare. He already knew what she was going to ask, and exactly how she'd sound when she asked it. She'd whine, her deep voice turning high and nasally, and then she'd pout, wondering if the entire world thought she was mean. He wondered if Mason knew what he was getting himself into by dating her.

As Justin signed autographs it gave Judy a moment to think over the situation that had just occurred. Why had he been staring at her like that? He looked dreamy and distracted, like he was seeing more than just her standing there. If she hadn't known any better, it almost seemed like he was going to kiss her. But they couldn't have been possible. Sure, he had kissed her once along ago, but that was a friendly kiss. He didn't have feelings for her in that way. Maybe he'd been looking at her like that because his mind had run away with him, as if often did.

 

* * *

The tour was taking a break in Portland that night. The next show was the following day in Seattle, Washington. Since it was a mere three hour drive away they were leaving in the morning, giving everyone a chance to sleep in a real bed -that wasn't on wheels- that night. It was after midnight and while Justin wanted to go out and enjoy the city, he knew it was in his better interest to stay in and sleep.

He'd only slept a few hours the night before, and only caught a quick power nap during the day. If he didn't slow down and catch up on his beauty rest, he was going to collapse before the tour was over. So instead he ordered a movie, and dinner from room service, and settled in bed. He was halfway through I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, the horrible homophobic movie that it was, when he realized all of the ice for his beer had melted.

Justin got up from the bed, not bothering to put on shoes, and grabbed the bucket. The ice machine was on his floor, just a few doors down the hall. Opening the door, he nodded to the security guard standing by the elevators and headed to the left, following the direction of the sign.

As he neared Judy's room he briefly wondered what she was doing. If she were awake, what she was watching. He stopped, reaching up to knock on her door, when muffled noises stopped him. He leaned closer, trying to eavesdrop discreetly.

He could make out the soft, distinct sounds of sex. High and low moans, movements. He could practically envision the sweat forming on Judy's forehead. He backed away from the door in horror. Perhaps not from horror, but in shock and disappointment. He'd told her earlier that he needed to get used to the idea of her and Mason being together, but that had been a lie. He'd never get used to it. He hated the idea, and he just knew inside that it was a huge mistake on Judy's part. If they kept this romance up, he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to handle having her on the tour.

Filled with anger and frustration Justin turned, launching the ice bucket at the nearest door. It bounced off with a loud pop, startling even himself and no doubt the person inside. Then he reached up, wanting to pull his own hair out, only to remember he had none to pull. The door opened, and there was Trace, shirtless and sleepy eyed.

"What. The. Fuck."

Justin was so livid that it took him a moment to get the words out.

"Judy. That room. That fuck face. Ugh!"

"What?" Trace stepped out of his room. "Something about Judy fucking someone's face?"

Justin groaned.

"Judy is in there with Mason right now."

He jerked his thumb back in the direction of her door. Trace walked over, blatantly putting his ear against the door. Slowly a sick smile crept onto his face.

"Oh, dude, do you have a key or something for this door? We're missing out on prime-."

He stopped when he saw Justin glaring at him. Trace cleared his throat, stepping away from the door and knob he'd been eagerly trying to twist.

"You're right, not funny."

"No it's not," Justin snapped. "This isn't funny at all. Do you even understand how pissed I am? I want to throw someone out a window right now."

Justin took a swing at the air and Trace's eyebrows raised with surprise.

"Hey, man, what's going on? I mean, I know you don't like Mason but this is a little much, even for melodramatic you. Are you sure there isn't something else bothering you about this, besides the fact that it's Mason?"

As Trace finished his question a door down the hall opened, and out poked Mindy's head.

"What's going on?" She called.

If there was something going on, she needed to call one of the crews and get them into the hall immediately to begin filming. Justin knew this, and shook his head.

"Nothing. Just getting some ice."

"Yeah, ice," Trace agreed, picking up the forgotten bucket from the floor.

Mindy looked at them suspiciously for a second before turning back into her room. The boys waited till they heard her door click closed before they spoke again.

"Are you okay?" Trace asked, his voice quieter this time to keep from disturbing Mindy again.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm cool," Justin answered. "I'm just gonna go to bed."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I just need to get some sleep. I feel like I haven't slept in days, it's got me all screwed up."

Trace watched, his brow crinkled with worry, as his friend headed back to his room. His mission for ice was long since forgotten. He couldn't help but get the feeling that there was much more to the situation than what Justin was admitting too.

The next morning when Justin awoke he was still in a bad mood. He grumbled to himself all morning as he got dressed and packed his things. He grumbled through breakfast, and everyone who caught a glimpse of his stone-like face stayed clear of him. Even Judy, Rachel, and Trace let him sulk on his own in the back while they sat up front.

"What's eating him?" Rachel asked.

Judy shrugged, barely glancing up from her phone. She'd been feverishly texting all day.

"Did something happen?"

"I don't know," Trace lied.

He couldn't tell Rachel about the events that happened the night before. Then Judy would know she was the reason behind Justin's sour mood, and that they'd been listening at her door. Even if he waited until Judy had left the room, Rachel would probably tell her. The girl had a big mouth and loved to gossip.

"Well, something is up his butt."

"A stick," Rachel muttered.

Judy snorted a laugh and gave the girl a high-five.

"So, Judy, I heard quite a ruckus coming from your room last night." Trace changed the topic.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The blush creeping onto her cheeks told otherwise.

"Yeah, I heard that too. I guess you decided Mason was more than just a good kisser."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

Her phone sounded and she pretended to be more interested in the text than the conversation. Rachel gave her a poke in the arm.

"Come on. You know you wanna share."

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell."

"Ha!" Rachel sounded. "Half the fun of doing it is talked about it after."

"Don't lie Rachel. You know half the things you do, you do just so you can talk about it after."

In the back Justin could hear their playful conversation and it made him madder by the minute. Not only had Judy been up all night doing God-knows-what with that loser, now they were sitting out there talking about it while she probably texted him on her phone. He'd brought her on this tour so she could get her life back on tract and they could revive their friendship. It wasn't so she could meet some guy and go from city to city having sex in different hotel rooms. The more he thought about it the more he realized that maybe what he needed was someone of his own to distract his attention.

The tour docked in Seattle, Washington, the windy city of the US. They'd leave at 10am the next day to drive to Spokane, WA. Staying in Seattle worked perfectly in Justin's favor. He wanted to go out. He'd been locked up in hotel rooms and tour buses for too long. He was a man, a young man at that, and he wanted to party.

So he didn't talk to anyone during dinner, he ignored them while they watched movies and he did his warm-ups. He barely acknowledged Judy when they sat in the room alone while she rubbed his shoulders. And when Mason opened the door to tell him it was go-time, Justin caught the wink he threw Judy, and stormed past Mason, walking himself to the stage without waiting for Judy or Rachel. When he went out that night, he only invited Trace.

"So, what inspired you to have this boys night out?" Trace asked.

He and Justin were sitting in a booth in the back of a small understated nightclub. It was dimly lit by color rotating lights. Waitresses in black uniforms and push-up bras moved from table to table. Across the room on the dance floor, men in their 20's oogled girls on the dance floor.

"I just felt like going out."

Trace nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but usually you like a group. The more the merrier. It's not like you to exclude everyone else."

"Who did I exclude," he asked in disbelief.

Trace rolled his eyes, sipping his Corona.

"Rachel. Judy. The techies you like to drink with at dinner."

"So I didn't want a crowd," he shrugged. "I'm allowed. Besides, I need my wingman to mack on girls. I can't do that with Judy and Rachel sitting here. They throw salt in my game."

"Since when do you even have game? You don't do anything. The girls just come up to you and flaunt their shit in your face."

"That's how good my game is, I don't even have to put effort into it."

As Justin spoke a girl sauntered up to them. She leaned down, resting her elbows on the table, effectively displaying her cleavage for all the world to see, Justin in particular.

"Hi," she smiled. "I'm Sandra."

Justin glanced at Trace, wiggling his eyebrows giddily before he turned back to her.

"I'm Justin."

 

* * *

It was well into the wee hours of the morning when Justin finally made it back to the hotel. On his arm, was a very drunken Sandra, burying her face into his neck on the elevator ride up to the fifth floor. She was nibbling at his skin roughly, eager to get him upstairs.

Judy was awake as well. She'd fallen asleep shortly after Justin left, only to wake up hours later. She couldn't stop thinking about Ben, and wondering where their relationship had gone wrong. All of it was making her anxious, and she found herself wanting those pills Justin had tossed out. Unable to go back to sleep, she'd called Mason, who invited her to sleep in his room.

She was heading down the hall barefoot in her pajamas when she heard Justin's voice. She turned, expecting to see him stumbling along with Trace, but she wasn't expecting the tall, slender, perky blonde clinging to his right arm. Her chest tightened and her expression grew angry as she watched them.

"You're going to bed man?" Justin asked, watching Trace veer off towards his room.

"Yeah, I'm tired. You two can continue the party alone; I think Sandra would prefer it that way."

"You're damn right," Sandra smiled.

Then she stepped in front of Justin, grabbing him by the collar with both hands.

"Come on stud," she said.

Justin grinned, blatantly staring down her tank top. Sandra pulled him further down the hall before letting Justin take the lead, considering she didn't know which door was his room.

Before Judy knew what she was doing she was heading down the hall, marching aggressively towards Justin as he swiped his key card through the lock and opened the door. He took the blonde by the hand, spinning her in a circle before flinging her into the room. She giggled endlessly.

"Justin," Judy spoke when she reached him.

Her voice was deeper and harsher than she realized.

"What?"

"It's two o'clock in the morning. What are you doing? Who is that girl?"

Justin rolled his eyes, stepping over the threshold into the room. He pulled the door to his side, blocking Sandra from Judy's view.

"What do you care?" He asked.

Before Judy had the chance to answer he closed the door in her face. Judy stood there, fuming. She raised her fist to knock, but decided against making a scene so late at night. She knew if she saw his face again, she'd scream at him. Instead she stomped her foot to the ground, and then marched back down the hall towards Mason's room.

Chapter 16 Chapter 16

Judy sat on the bed in Mason's room, knees pulled up to her chest, as she glared ahead at the wall. Mason was on his side, his back to her, trying to sleep, despite the fact that she kept rocking and mumbling. The fact that her bedside lamp was still on wasn't helping him either.

"That stupid, stupid, stupid man," she grumbled.

Mason rolled his eyes, turning onto his back to look at her.

"I don't see what you're so upset about. He's not doing anything wrong. He's a grown man, grown men have needs."

"Use your hand."

Mason chuckled, "It's not exactly the same."

Judy let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair.

"You're right; he's not doing anything bad. Maybe I'm just overreacting."

"Maybe?"

"Okay, I'm probably overreacting."

"You're definitely overreacting," he confirmed. "He's not your boyfriend or anything, right? So just let him have his fun."

"Yeah, okay, you're right," she agreed reluctantly.

Judy sank down into the bed, turning off the lamp next to her. The pair settled in silence, in the dark. Mason tried again to go back to sleep, but Judy's mind kept swirling.

"But he doesn't know that girl," she blurted out.

She heard Mason sigh with irritation, but she didn't care.

"She could be infested with syphilis herpes, and crabs. He wouldn't know that."

"I'm sure Justin's heard of condoms, Judy."

"Hearing of them is not the same as using them."

Mason sat up, looking down at her dark silhouette.

"Do you need to call him and ask him if he's using a condom? Would that help you go to sleep?"

She guessed the reason he'd snapped at her was because he was so tired and she was keeping him awake.

"No," she muttered. "Goodnight."

"Night."

He rolled over, hugging his pillow. Judy stared at his back for a moment before she spoke meekly.

"Can you hold me?"

"It's hot," was his only reply.

He didn't move, and soon after she heard him snoring deeply. Judy lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling and wondering what Justin was doing. She hoped that if anything that girl was just a one-time thing, some groupie that had gotten him drunk enough to where he didn't care about the consequences of his actions.

For one, she wasn't cute at all. She was too lanky, with long dangly limbs and no ass. And there was a gap the size of Texas between her two front teeth. Plus, Justin wasn't the type to end up in a real relationship with someone he took home the same night they'd met. He enjoyed more of a chase than that. At least, the old Justin had. She didn't know about this new guy that was emerging before her. He was pissed off and nosy. Well, the old Justin had been nosy too, but not pissed off like this Justin. Stomping up and down the halls, trying to dictate where she spent her free time and with whom. She could see where maybe her past decisions had him a little concerned, and she was thankful to have someone looking after her. But, that didn't mean he had to act like such a baby whenever she didn't do exactly as he'd suggested.

 

* * *

At 8am the next morning Judy rolled out of bed and left Mason's room. He was still asleep, sprawled out across the mattress. She'd been woken up by his arm flinging over her face as he slept. She'd had to get up and make sure she didn't have a bloody nose, and figured she might as well just stay up since they would be checking out of the hotel at 11am.

Judy stepped out into the hall, seeing security guards lined up and down the walls. Tour crew members rushed back and forth, getting packed up, making plans for what to do when they reached the venue. They always left before Justin did, needing the extra time to get the stage prepared for him.

As Judy made way towards her room, Justin stepped out of his. He was fully dressed, and a hung over blonde didn't follow him out.

"Ready for some breakfast, pipsqueak?" Mike asked.

Justin smiled, rubbing his stomach.

"I'm starving!"

Just then he turned, noticed Judy approaching a few feet away. His smile dropped and he turned to stare at her. She wasn't smiling either.

"Where's your new girlfriend?" She asked.

"She had to go home and tell her Mama she fell in love."

Judy rolled her eyes.

"So, she won't be accompanying us to the next stop?"

"Nope. I don't get attached that easily, unlike some people on this tour."

"Excuse me for having feelings."

She moved to step past him and Justin stepped back, sweeping his hand through the air to offer her the floor.

"You're excused."

Judy glared at him as she passed. He was so irritating, and he was doing it all purposefully.

"Jerk," she muttered.

"Brat."

"Spoiled."

She stepped into her room before she could hear his response.

"Naïve!" Justin called.

He already knew she couldn't hear him, but he still needed to say something. She was only being like this because he'd brought a girl back to the hotel and she didn't approve. Since when had she become his Mom? He was grown, and didn't need a chaperone. He could do whatever he wanted.

Justin turned to Beth and Jon, who'd been filming from the sidelines.

"She's so obnoxious," he said.

Justin continued on to breakfast while Judy showered and dressed. She put on jeans, a purple V-neck tee-shirt, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She was finally starting to take more pride in her appearance, like she used to before Ben had gotten a hold of her. He'd effective damaged that part of her, constantly accusing her of flirting and cheating.

Then she went downstairs to the conference room, joining Rachel, Steve, and Matt for a breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit. Her mood was happy and light, until it came time to board the bus. She and Justin sat across from each other in the back room as the engine started and they began to pull out of Seattle.

Rachel, Trace, and Mike sat between them, watching as the couple had a glaring contest. They didn't speak, but they kept sending dirty looks. Judy huffed, picking up a notebook and pen, trying to jot down her thoughts and distract herself from him. But every time she looked up Justin grinned at her, knowing that would get under her skin more. Then he stood and turned his attention to the Wii, tossing a ball down the bowling alley lane.

"You slept with her, didn't you?" Judy blurted suddenly.

She was trying to distract herself, but it was all she could think about. She could swear she could smell the sex on him and it was causing her stomach to churn.

"Huh?" Justin looked over at her.

"I can't believe you slept with her."

"Did you sleep with Mason?"

Judy didn't answer. She grunted under her breathe.

"She wasn't there when you went to breakfast, so she must have left right afterwards. What was that, like ten minutes later?"

"Yes. I'm quick with it. I save the cuddling for girls I wouldn't have sex with. You know, like you, for example."

"Good. I wouldn't want have sex with you. You probably have scabies now."

"What do you care?"

He crinkled his brow, glancing at her before returning his gaze to the screen as he bowled again.

"I'm just looking out for you."

"Well you don't need too. I've got a pretty good understanding of how one night stands work."

"How do you do that?"

"Simple. You meet someone you want to have sex with; you say to them, 'hey, do you want to have sex?' and if they say okay then you get in the car-."

"Thanks for the detail, but that's not exactly what I meant. How can you have sex with girls and then just turn around and walk away like it's no big deal?"

"I don't know. Let's ask Mason, he's pretty good at doing that."

"He hasn't done that to me."

He wanted to say 'yet' but he didn't.

"Well why would he? You haven't had sex with him, right?"

Judy didn't answer, again. She just kept talking.

"How do you expect to find love and a lasting relationship if you're bouncing form groupie to groupie?"

"Maybe I'm not looking for love and a lasting relationship."

He was getting really annoyed with her questions. Hadn't he just apologized to her days before for judging her on her drunken actions? Now here she was doing the exact same thing, only in this situation it was okay because she was right. It wasn't any of her business who and what he was doing in his bed.

"Just because you need to be attached someone's hip at all times doesn't mean we're all that way. You could learn a thing or two from me Judy. I'm enjoying my youth and my freedom. I don't have anyone to answer too, no one checking up on me all the time. And if I'm talking to a girl and she's boring me, I can go on to the next girl without having to worry about her feelings, or hearing her complain later, and that other mushy love relationship stuff. Why don't you relax and give it a shot."

Judy scoffed, standing up in front of him. She was blocking his bowling, so he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as she ranted.

"So you picked up some club-slut, fucked her, and then left town, and I'm supposed to be jealous because you're quote-unquote free?"

Judy put her hands on her hips, and Justin sat back down on the sofa next to Trace.

"You got picked up by a sleazy man-whore director and now you're stuck seeing each other every day like you're in some fucked up relationship, and I'm supposed to be jealous?"

"I don't mind seeing him every day."

"I don't mind leaving her in Seattle."

Trace, Rachel, and Mike all exchanged a look. What exactly was going on here? What girl was in Justin's room, and why did it matter so much to Judy? Not to mention why was Justin throwing Mason in her face for the millionth time that week?

"If I didn't know them personally this would be really entertaining. It's like General Hospital or something."

Rachel sat in the middle, leaning her elbow on her knee and she watched the two go back and forth like a ping-pong match.

"Actually it reminds me more of the Young and the Restless," Mike corrected.

"You're right! It's like how Victor and Nikki were divorced but they were always in each other's business. They'd claim it was because of the kids, Victoria and Nicholas, but come on now. What does Victor's too-young-for-him wife have to do with their 30 year old crazy kids?"

Trace looked at Rachel and Mike, then back at Justin and Judy. He didn't know which conversation was weirder.

"You're using those girls, Justin."

"It's not using someone if they know what they're getting into from the beginning."

"That's disgusting," Judy decided.

"Oh, yeah? Well I'd rather be called disgusting than have the nickname Juicy because one night I decided to-."

"Don't you dare!!"

His response was cut off when Judy launched her ink pen at him, barely missing his right eye. She hated that nickname, and he knew it. Of course he'd try to reveal the meaning behind it in front of everyone and on TV.

"Hey!" He shouted, ducking out of the way of the flying object.

"Whoa, whoa! Don't hurt the talent."

Trace stood between them. This was getting entirely too out of hand. Judy was fuming, and Justin was antagonizing her purely out of spite because she was upsetting him as well.

"Yeah, don't hurt the talent. That's me, baby, right here." Justin pointed to himself cockily.

"Were you two this bad during the first show?"

The pair ignored his question and even presence all together, and continued their immature display.

"Well, the talent is being an ass!" Judy yelled.

"No, the talent is taking care of your ass."

"Well, the talent isn't going to have to worry about that anymore because I'm leaving to the tour."

"Good. Why don't you leave the show too?"

"Fine, I will."

"Good!"

"Great!"

"Get going."

"I will. But first I have to kiss Mason goodbye."

Before Justin could respond Judy marched out of the backroom, slamming the door shut behind herself. Justin sat there, his eyes narrowing on the brown door. No way could he let her have the last word like that. He jumped from his seat, flinging open the door and following after her into the kitchen area.

"Well once you're done catching mono from his mouth, let me know if you need help carrying your bags. I'll have Mike toss them out!"

"I'd need Mike's help because you're too scrawny to lift them!"

Trace reached over, pushing the door closed once again. It blocked out most of their bickering.

"You don't think she'll kill him, do you?"

"Eh, the punk probably has it coming for some reason or another," Mike said.

If it had been any other person, he'd have gone out there with Justin to protect him, but he was pretty sure Justin could take Judy if it came down to it. As long as the girl didn't get her hands on any more projectiles.

"What are they even arguing about?"

All three sets of shoulders shrugged simultaneously.

"I think they're both mad because the other is sexing it up with someone else instead of them."

"What?" Trace made a face. "Justin doesn't like her like that."

Rachel and Mike remained silent.

"You think?" Trace asked.

"Oh yeah," Mike nodded. "Hardcore."

By the end of their four hour ride to Spokane, Washington, everyone on board was sick and tired of being within hearing distance of Justin and Judy. Rachel and Trace jumped off before the brake on the bus had even been set. Mike trailed along behind them, doing his job, but keeping as much distance as he could.

"Loser."

"Whiner."

"Poser."

"Four eyes."

"I'm not even wearing my glasses you idiot."

Mike sighed again. This was going to be a long day.

Indeed, it was. Justin and Judy continued their argument, either with blatant arguing, name calling, or by glaring at each other, for hours. The only time anyone got a break from it was during the meet and greet, in which they played the part of happy friends having fun while traveling the country together. But as soon as sound check was over and the fans were gone, they went back to insulting each other, much to Steve's amusement. Judy didn't bother staying his dressing room to rub his shoulders before his show. She did that more for spite than anything, because she knew that he had wanted her too.

"Look, are you gonna stay and do that thing, or not?" Justin had asked, holding the door open as everyone else gladly left the room.

Rachel had hoped Judy would stay in there with him, and then they argue in private where she wasn't forced to listen.

"Didn't you just say I had man hands?" Judy accused.

She'd made the mistake of confessing an insecurity to Justin late one night. She'd told him that she worried that she'd inherited her father's hands instead of her mothers, so she liked to keep her nails done so they looked more feminine.

"You told me my nose was like a parrots beak. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

"Whatever Justin," Judy raised her hands. "Why don't you go find your one night stand for tonight and have her massage your back?"

As soon as she'd stepped out of the room Justin slammed the door shut, grumbling to himself as he rolled his neck.

Unfortunately there was no hotel for everyone to check into and get a moment's. Justin played the show in Spokane, Washington, and then it was right back to the bus and on to Boise, Idaho. It was a seven hour drive that no one wanted to make.

"Can I ride with the techies on their bus?" Rachel asked.

"You go with the techies, I'll go with the dancers," Trace agreed.

Mike nudged them forward toward the steps of the bus. Justin and Judy were behind him in the parking lot, arguing about who was going to get on the bus first.

"If I have to suffer, you two have to suffer right along with me."

Trace let out a grunt and headed up the steps. How was he going to get any sleep with those two going on and on the way they had been all day? They'd probably argue about who was going to fall asleep first or which side of the bus it was better to sleep on. Yet, he was impressed that they'd been able to keep it running this long. At first it had been intense, honest anger. Now it was just to prove a point and be the last one to give in. If it had been him, he'd have run out of things to argue about, or just passed out from the sheer exhaustion of it all.

Mike stood on the steps, watching as the other buses left the parking lot. Justin's bus was supposed to be leading the way, instead, it was last. Then he looked down at the couple, shaking his head at them. They weren't any closer to getting on the bus or making up than they had been 10 minutes ago.

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?"

"Rachel's already on the bus," he retorted. "That takes care of all the 'ladies'."

"I guess rude blondes that sing like someone's kicked them in the balls would be next on the list."

"Who's bus is that?" He pointed.

Judy's eyes narrowed and she let out a deep breath.

"Okay Justin, you go first."

Justin's brow creased, and then he gave her a look. Why was she suddenly giving in?

"Why? What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing. I'm letting you get on the bus first. Then I'll be known as the one who let you go first."

"Oh no you don't," Justin shook his head. "You're not going to paint me as the anti-chivalry Southern boy. You get on the bus."

"No, you. You stood here arguing with me and you won. Go."

Judy pushed Justin's shoulders, turning him towards the buses open door. But he turned back, jumping behind her and pushing her towards the door.

"No, you go. Get on the bus."

"No," they switched places again. "Just get on the bus, Justin. Hurry up."

The pair went back and forth, arguing over who wasn't going to get on first, and pushing and shoving each other towards the door. A couple of times Judy had to brace herself against of the sides of the doorway to keep from being pushed inside. When she pushed Justin, you could tell she was trying with all of her might, but Justin would barely move. He'd brace his footing and shift his weight back, and then stand there as she strained and strained. He was simply stronger than she was.

All the while Mike stood there watching, not at all amused by the display. In all the years he'd known Justin, he'd done some kooky and crazy things, but he'd never acted this way. He must have really had feelings for this Judy girl. Rachel appeared behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.

"We were supposed to pull out of here a half an hour ago," she said.

Mike turned back to the pair who were still in shoving match outside, the gravel crunching under their feet.

"Hey!" Mike shouted.

He'd seen and heard enough, and was plan sick of it. Justin and Judy stopped, Judy giving him one last shove before they both turned to Mike.

"Get on the bus, both of you. You're acting like two year olds, and we're a half hour behind schedule because of it."

"Well that wasn't me-." Justin began.

Rachel cut him off.

"It was you both, all day long, driving everyone nuts. Now, once you're on here I don't want to hear one peep out of either of you until we get to Boise. Not a peep, got me?"

Justin and Judy both nodded, looking down at the ground in shame.

"Good. Now come on."

Mike moved up the steps, making room for the two to pass him. They approached the door, and hesitated for a moment, each waiting for the other to board.

"Come on," Mike sounded.

Justin reached over, shoving Judy's shoulder. She put her foot out to catch herself, and it landed on the step. She glared, reaching back to swat at him before continuing up the steps ahead of him. They moved past Mike and Rachel, through the kitchen area, and towards the back. Judy stopped off by the bathroom door. She looked back and Justin stuck his tongue out at her.

"It's your fault," she whispered harshly.

"What did I say? Not a peep," Rachel sounded.

Justin rolled his eyes, continuing on towards the backroom. Mike watched, the bus finally beginning to move as they headed for the exit. Then he looked at Rachel, who stood with her hands on her thin hips.

"You know, you're butch after a couple of days on the road."

"Someone had to say something. Those two were giving me a migraine."

Justin and Judy followed their instructions. They stayed silent as they changed for bed, taking turns in the bathroom. Then they settled in the backroom with the others, all curling up under blankets to watch The Ruins. Justin brought his iPod along, and he sat with one earphone in as he watched the movie.

Judy had left hers in her bunk, and she was too lazy and comfortable to get up and watch it now. The bus was cold, and even though she didn't particularly like Justin right now, he was providing too much body heat for her to willingly move away.

When Rachel got up to put popcorn in the microwave, Judy leaned over.

"What are you listening too?" She whispered.

Justin looked down the hall, seeing that Rachel was out of earshot.

"Why?"

"I'm just asking," she said, already annoyed by his lack of an answer.

Justin thought carefully before he answered, a sheepish smile coming over his lips.

"Miley Cyrus."

Judy giggled quietly. Justin offered her the other earphone, and she accepted. The movie was kind of creepy. If she didn't take a break from it, she was never going to get to sleep. What she heard through the headset, was not what she had expected from Justin.

If we were a movie
You'd be the right guy
And I'd be the best friend
That you fall in love with
In the end we'd be laughing
Watching the sunset fade to black
Show the names
Play the happy song

The music was definitely Disney, definitely meant for the tween generation, and definitely cheesy. Regardless, it was catchier than she thought it'd be. Judy had always been a fan of happy pop songs. That's how she'd ended up being an Nsync fan in the first place. Little did she know back then in Central Valley that she was going to end up being best friends with Justin Timberlake, and fighting with him constantly at that. But whatever her feelings on the song were, she couldn't resist the urge to tease him.

"You actually listen to this?" She laughed.

Justin gave her an annoyed look, his mouth dropping open as he reached over and took his headset back.

"If you were just going to make fun of me than why did you even ask?"

"I wasn't making fun. I was just asking."

"You were laughing."

He said it a little too loudly, and instantly regretted it. They looked up and Rachel stood there with a bowl of popcorn.

"That's it! Time for bed," she told them.

Judy and Justin looked at each other.

"What? You can't tell me to go to bed," Judy protested.

"Yeah. I'm 24 years old, I don't have a bed time," Justin agreed.

Rachel leaned over and set the bowl on the sofa.

"Don't argue with me," she told them. "I brought muscle."

She nodded her head in Mike's direction, and he gave them both a stern look. After a moment, they both stood to their feet, shuffling towards the bunks.

"This is so messed up," Justin muttered.

"Sleep tight," Rachel smiled.

 

* * *

The buses parked behind an upscale hotel in Boise just after 6am that morning. The sky was a dark blue, the sun just barely beginning to rise. Justin, of course, was off first, dressed in dark blue sweatpants and a white tee-shirt. He wore black glasses, his overnight bag hooked on his shoulder. There weren't any fans or photographers this time, thankfully, and he was able to enter the hotel and head upstairs in peace. Judy followed a few minutes later, black sweat pants and a blue graphic tee stretched across her chest. She was a bit wobbling, stumbling into Rachel on her way towards the backdoor.

Unfortunately, there wasn't time to go back to sleep. Justin had a full day ahead of him, and it began with morning radio appearances. They were only going upstairs to get ready, and then they'd come right back downstairs and leave ago. Judy entered her room and plopped down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

She felt extremely disappointed in herself at her actions yesterday. Being so emotional invested in their fighting had taken its toll on her, and now she was more exhausted than usual. Judy didn't know what had come over her. She'd seen Justin giving her that grin and his lecture about relaxing and enjoying her single freedom and it had been more than she could handle. But going on forever and ever like they had had been a little out of line.

She made a mental note to apologize to Rachel, Mike, and Trace before she left. That is, if he was going to hold her to her decision to leave.

She glanced at the bedside table, noticing the time, and sat up. There wasn't much time to go until they were leaving.

At 7am they were all loaded into two white vans with blacked out windows. Justin, Judy, Steve, Matt, Mindy and Mike were in one. Beth, Jon, and a few more security officers were in the other, along with Rachel and Trace who'd volunteered to ride with them. Justin and Judy sat in the very back, staring out their own windows. Justin was sipping coffee, and Judy couldn't help but discreetly inhale the aroma. She was dead tired and about ready to fall asleep in the seat.

Justin heard her intake of breathe and looked over at her. He could make out her tired eyes and sluggish movements. She probably needed the coffee more than he did. He was used to the endless schedule, she was not. Justin, ready to end their childish bantering as well, offered her the cup.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"You're welcome."

They both went back to their own windows, Judy sipping her cup. She wanted to speak, but wasn't exactly sure what to say.

"So, about yesterday, we cool?"

Luckily, Justin felt he knew the right words and posed the question.

"I'm cool, you?"

"I'm cool," he nodded. "Still leaving the tour?"

"Do you want me too?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then I won't."

"Cool."

And there it was, that was all the needed to be said.

 

* * *

By five o'clock that afternoon Judy had been at the venue for three hours, and she hadn't seen Mason. For some reason, it was beginning to make her nervous. She'd called his cell phone, but received no answer. She'd walked around backstage, but she hadn't been able to find him. How did he manage to totally disappear like that?

Judy got the feeling that something was going on; she just wasn't sure what it was. Maybe he was a voiding her. She was sure he must have witnessed, or at least heard, about her antics yesterday. Maybe he was embarrassed. Maybe he'd changed his mind. But she didn't want to jinx their perfectly fine relationship by assuming he was already losing interest.

"Everything okay?"

Justin had noticed her bouncing knee and nail biting. Judy never bit her nails.

"I'm fine," she told him.

Justin nodded, not at all thoroughly convinced.

"Alright. Everybody out," he said.

That was his usual announcement at ten minutes to show time. Everyone had learned their routine by then, and they all stood and filed out the door. Everyone left except for Judy, who remained on the sofa watching a House DVD.

It wasn't until Justin sat down in the chair at the vanity that she stood up and moved behind him. Her hands went to his shoulders, kneading the hardened muscles in his back. He let out a groan and dropped his head back against her stomach.

"If I'm that good I should start charging you to do this."

He smirked, his blue eyes closed.

"So, we're alone. Tell me the truth, what's bothering you? Is it Mason?"

"No," she lied. "I haven't heard from Mason today actually."

"Ah, that's what's bothering you," he said. "First time the new boyfriend disappeared and you're freaking out."

"He's not my boyfriend, and I'm not freaking out. He's just busy working, it's fine."

"I bet you're excited for him to come get me for the stage. Just save the making out until I'm already gone, please."

"Shut up, Justin."

"How many times have you called him? Ten? Twelve?"

"Twice, Justin."

"That's good. Don't smother him yet."

"I'm going to stop if you don't leave me alone."

She heard him laugh, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking for the door, waiting for his head to pop in. The door did open, and a man stuck his head saying, 'Justin, it's go time', but it wasn't Mason. It was his assistant Phil. Where the hell had Mason gone?

Justin stood, heading into the hall. Judy followed behind, along with Rachel as they made their way towards the stage. When they reached the curtains, the floors were vibrating from the drum sets, and she couldn't hear anything the stage hands were saying as they got Justin ready. Neither could he. His IEM's were already in place, so they gave him hand signs.

He nodded, reaching over to Judy for the water bottle she held. As he drank, Judy couldn't help but notice how good he looked in his white suit. Justin was a very good looking guy. Tall and lean with wide shoulders. He tilted his head back, pouring the water into his mouth, and some of it trickled off to the side and down his chin. Judy reached up, wiping it away with the back of her hand.

"Have a good show," she mouthed.

He smiled, and nodded, leaning down to kiss her cheek. Then he did the same to Rachel before leaving the girls and going to his mark.

"Something about him seems different tonight," Rachel yelled over the noise.

Judy shrugged. She didn't get that impression, but she watched with interest as the show began. As soon as his platform was raised the crowd went absolutely crazy, echoing so loudly Judy still couldn't hear properly hours later.

He worked the audience perfectly. He moved to different sides of the stage, singing and interacting. He shook hands, held out the microphone, and acknowledged fans screaming his name. The only thing Judy wasn't sure how to take were his dance moves. Sure, all of his choreographed pieces were amazing. He was professional and on point. But when he was allowed to do his own thing, she was a bit taken back by the blatant sexuality. He rolled his hips, reaching his hand down to grab his own crotch. It was disgusting, but she just couldn't bring herself to look away.

"Has he always danced like that?" Judy asked.

Rachel nodded with a smile, her head bopping to the beat. She'd been watching Judy closely, and her reaction to Justin was quite amusing. Judy was beginning to sweat, her hand tugging at the neckline of her tee-shirt.

"Are you alright?" Rachel asked with a knowing grin.

"I'm fine," Judy said. "It's hot in here."

It indeed was. Judy was burning up, her blood pressure rising by the second as she watched Justin under the dancing blue and red lights. A girl bent over in front of him and he gave her a smack before going back to his song. Judy cleared her throat looking away.

That was when she noticed Mason, several feet away. He was talking to one of the stage hands, dressed all in black. He looked good, but she couldn't help but think that Justin looked better in his white three-piece suit. Mason glanced over at her, and Judy offered a wave. Mason didn't return it, he moved under the stage and out of her view.

Judy wasn't sure what was going on. She hadn't expected that reaction out of him. She wanted to follow after him, but she was pretty sure that wouldn't be allowed, regardless of her 'go where you want and no one can stop you' pass.

"Are you ready to go?" Rachel tapped Judy's arm.

Judy nodded, taking one last look at where Mason had gone, before following Rachel back down the hall.

 

* * *

On the ride back to the hotel all Judy could think about was Mason. She wanted to find him and talk to him about the way he'd blatantly ignored him earlier. She was positive that he would be back to the hotel by the time they made it. It'd taken longer than usual because Justin had taken a shower in his dressing room. Something about not wanting to stink with so many people in the van.

They bypassed all the fans crowded into the hotel lobby by pulling into the underground parking lot. The door opened and Judy was the first one out, rushing to the freight elevator. Justin chuckled as he followed behind her. When the crowded elevator finally reached their floor Judy was once again the first one off, speed walking down the hall toward Mason's room. Justin was tempted to stay and watch the soap opera go down, but he was tired, and watching people play kissy-kissy smoochy-smoochy had never been his style anyway. So he opened the door to his quiet room and stepped inside, leaving everyone else in the hall. He'd just sat his bag down on the floor when he heard yelling in the hall.

"What is this?!"

Justin turned to look at the door. What was all the noise? Had some crazy fan snuck their way onto the floor again? Last time that's happened he'd ended up with a swollen lip. How that happened, he still wasn't completely sure.

"What is going on here?! What are you doing?!"

Justin eased open the door. He knew that voice. It was a crazy woman alright, but a woman he knew well. Trying to sneak his spying Justin opened the door just a crack and looked out with one eye.

Judy was at Mason's open hotel room door, and Mason was there in just a pair of shorts. The hair on his head was rumpled and it looked like he'd been in bed. Justin was only spying for a moment, because the next thing he was Judy reach out and give Mason a shove on his shoulder. She barely knocked the man off balance. But Mason's response was to shove Judy back, hard. She fell back into the wall behind her with a thud. That got Justin to open the door completely and leave the room.

"Hey!" He yelled forcefully. "Keep your hands off of her."

Judy had been wrong to push him first, but he didn't need to be so rough with her in return. She was still a woman after all, and a real man just didn't do that.

"What the fuck is going on?" He asked, approaching them.

"Do you see this?" Judy asked, pointing into Mason's room.

He could see now that he was closer, that her eyes were glassy. Judy was on the verge of tears. Justin followed the direction of Judy's finger, looking into Mason's room. A few feet behind him, wrapped in the hotels white sheet, was Denise, one of his dancers. Just as quickly as he'd seen her the door was pulled closed to block his view and Mason stepped out into the hall. No wonder he looked like he'd just been pulled out of the bed.

"What is your problem?" Mason asked.

"My problem?" Judy goffed. "What is your problem? What are you doing with her?"

"What? I'm not doing anything wrong."

Justin looked back and forth between them, Judy's pain coming through in her strained voice. He'd warned her about this exact situation.

"Not doing anything wrong? It's perfectly acceptable to you to be dating two girls at once."

"I'm not dating anyone," he defended.

Judy's jaw dropped.

"Really? Than what was I?"

Mason shrugged.

"Judy, you and I weren't exclusive or anything. It was fun, you know."

Judy nodded grimly.

"I get it. I was fun, and when you were done you moved on to the next girl. That's why you were MIA all day today? You were busy sweeping her off her feet and into your bed. I see how it is."

"Judy," Mason shrugged again. "I'm a man-."

"Oh please!" Judy brought her hands up to her face.

Justin could hear her cries as she brushed past him. She hurriedly opened the door to her room, her shaky hands struggling to hold onto the keycard. Once she disappeared inside Justin turned to Mason. The man stood there nervously, biting his lip. Then he too started to move past Justin towards Judy's room.

"No," Justin's firm hand on his chest stopped his forward motion. "Leave her alone."

"Justin, I didn't know she was so interested in me. I thought she knew it was just a fling thing."

He wasn't sure why he was defending himself to Justin. But with the way Justin's blue eyes were boring into him angrily, he felt the need to at least say something. Justin stepped closer to him, his voice lowered as Beth and Matt approached with their equipment.

"Stay the fuck away from her," he said.

Mason didn't say anything as Justin stepped away, heading towards Judy's room. A moment later Justin heard Mason's door open and close, but he didn't bother turning around to look. He didn't care.

"Juicy?" His knuckles rapped on the door.

He could hear her stirring, and the soft murmur of her cries inside.

"Juicy? It's me, open up."

He waited a moment, and then turned to look over at Mike.

"Someone got a key for this door?"

Mike nodded, turning to another guard and sending him downstairs to the front desk. While they waited, Justin continued knocking on the door, trying to coax her to open up. He could hear her sobbing, but she wasn't getting any closer to the door. He glanced up once, seeing Rachel there in her pajamas. Obviously she much have heard all the commotion and come out to see what was happening. Rachel's face looked about as sad as his heart felt.

Finally the key arrived and Justin snatched it out of Mike's hand, swiping it through the lock. He opened the door to a dark room and stepped inside. Then he saw the bright lights of Beth's camera as she filmed over his shoulder. Quickly he pushed the door shut, despite their protests.

"We have a contract you know!" He heard Mindy yell.

Damn the contract, this was a private moment. If Judy wasn't even willing to open the door for him, what made them think she was going to be okay with an entire production entering her room as well?

"Judy?"

Justin stepped further into the room, seeing her on the bed. Her face was buried into one of the white pillows, her shoulders jerking as she cried. When he called her name she stopped, sucking in a shaky breath and sniffling. She turned her head to look at him, her eyeliner trailing down her cheeks with her tears. Her bottom lip curled sadly as she sat up.

In a moment she was off of the bed and rushing over to Justin's open arms. She nearly knocked him over with her momentum. He hugged her tightly as she sobbed into his tee-shirt. He could feel her hands fisting the back of his shirt as she clung to him, and his heart broke.

"Oh, Judy, I'm so sorry." He laid a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."

Judy didn't say anything. She just cried and cried. Eventually Justin moved them to the bed so they could sit down, and she leaned against him. Her tears were finally beginning to lessen, and she made no attempt to push him away as he rubbed her back in slow comforting circles.

Justin was just hoping for her to start talking. He knew her well enough to know that she needed to get whatever she was feeling out, otherwise she'd just sit and mull over it until it ate her alive. He sighed with relief when she did begin to whisper.

"It's my fault," she began. "I'm so stupid. You tried to tell me and I didn't believe you. Ugh! I'm such an idiot. He did exactly what you said he'd do. He used me and when he was done he was just going to toss me to the side."

Justin looked down at the top of her head.

"I thought you said you hadn't slept with him."

Now wasn't exactly the most appropriate time to be asking this, but he wanted the truth once and for all. Judy sat up completely, wiping her eyes. Finally she looked over at him. He already knew the answer by the expression on her face.

"I didn't want you to think I was dumb."

"I could never think that," he said.

Judy shook her head, coving her face with her hands again before running their through her hair, effectively messing it up.

"I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I let myself get in this situation."

Justin didn't speak. He didn't exactly know what to say. On one hand, he couldn't believe that she had gotten into this situation either. Had her experience with Ben taught her nothing? Did anything that he'd said about Mason sink into that thick skull of hers? But on the other hand he couldn't blame her. She was only 18 years old. He'd been young, naïve, and gullible once too. Mason and Ben were older, they should have known better than to treat her the way they had.

"Everyone makes mistake," he said softly.

"Yeah, well, this was definitely a mistake," she muttered.

Judy turned, climbing all the way up onto the bed. Justin watched as she crawled to the other side, laying her head on the pillow. Her movements were sluggish, she was getting tired.

He didn't need to ask her if she wanted him to stay. He was going to, whether she liked it or not. So he kicked off his white sneakers and laid down next to her, watching her dark silhouette.

"Do you want me to hold you?"

Judy rolled onto her back, a sinister chuckle escaping her lips.

"It's too hot," she said. "That's what Mason told me the other night when I asked him to hold me. It's too hot."

Justin frowned.

"Well, it's like fifty degrees now. Come here."

They both scooted closer, meeting in the middle of the King sized bed. Justin settled on his back, opening an arm to her. Judy twisted on her side, resting her head on his chest and his arms curled around her. In the silence all she could hear was the echo of his heartbeat. It was long until they'd both fallen asleep on top of the covers.

Chapter 17

The next morning when Justin awoke it took him a moment to remember where he was. The curtains were blocking out the sun, which was already shining brightly outside. He wondered what time it was. They were leaving town at 9am. It couldn't have been after 8:30am or someone would have been pounding on the door to wake them up.

In no hurry to get up, he wondered what had woken him up in the first place, and he looked down at Judy. Sometime in the middle of the night she'd scooted away from him. She was on her stomach next to him now. He could only make out half of her face, the other side hidden by her arm. Despite how upset she'd been last night, she looked as if she was sleeping peacefully now. Her raven strands fell across the pillow and her lips were parted slightly as she slumbered. He hadn't paid much attention until recently, but now he couldn't ignore soft her lips looked. They were full and curvy and a natural shade of baby pink.

Justin reached out gently, running his fingertip along her bottom lip. It was as pillowy as he remembered it being during their one and only kiss, and to this day he didn't know what had come over him when he did it. He hadn't really thought of Judy in that way before. Sure she was cute and smart and bubbly, but she hadn't exactly been his type. For one thing she was too young. He was six years her senior and she was still in high school. Think whatever you want about Justin Timberlake, but a cradle robber he is not.

For another thing, she was outside of the type of ethnicity he'd normally date. He had nothing against black women, and he often admired their beauty, but he'd never seriously been interested in a black woman before. Back home in Millington it was generally frowned upon, and while he never understood why or agreed with it, you can't help but be influenced by how you're brought up.

Regardless, there had been something about this Judy girl. She was different than any girl, black or white, than he'd ever met. From day one he'd felt connected to her, like they could share anything. She'd seen him in his most vulnerable moments, in the middle of the night when he was just the boy from small town Tennessee. He'd also always felt a need to protect her, first from Ben, then from Mason, and now it appeared she needed protection from herself the most.

A moment after his lone finger left her mouth, her eyes fluttered open. She blinked, first focusing on her arm which lay just in front of her face. Then she looked up at Justin, and he smiled gently. She responded by scooting closer to him, her arm resting lazily across his torso as her head settled on his chest. She reclaimed the spot she had been in the night before and he didn't protest in the slightest.

"Do we have to get up?" She whispered.

Justin lifted his head, looking at the clock across the room. It was 8:15am.

"Yeah," he answered. "We're leaving in forty-five minutes."

"I don't want to get up. I don't want to go out there."

Justin rubbed her back as he sucked in a deep breath.

"Well, you're only going downstairs to the bus. You won't have to see or talk to anyone."

It took him ten minutes to convince her to get out of bed, and another five before he was able to go to his own room to get dressed. Judy showered and dressed in record time, coming into his room just fifteen minutes after he'd left hers. She was becoming more and more stylish -probably with the help of Rachel- and was wearing jeans, red heels, and a fitted gray sweater. Over her eyes were black sunglasses.

Once Justin was ready to go he took her by the hand, leading her out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. He watched her carefully, waiting for the moment when she would glance back towards Mason's door longingly. But she never did. In fact, she made it a point not too. She hung her head, her blonde bangs falling over her eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

They were safely on the elevator. Judy nodded.

"I'm just ready to get on the road."

As soon as they boarded the bus for the five hour drive Judy climbed into her bunk and Justin headed for the back, where he found Trace and Rachel.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked.

Rachel waved a hand through the air.

"Nothing. Genius over here is watching Tom & Jerry cartoons."

"Classy."

"It's simplistic humor," Trace defended.

"That's the only type of humor you understand."

Trace stuck his tongue out at Rachel for her comment and huffed before turning back to the TV. Rachel chuckled before she turned to Justin and gave him a pout.

"Where's Judy?" She asked.

"In her bunk. I think she's trying to go back to sleep."

He took a seat next to Trace, and Rachel pouted more.

"How is she doing?"

"Why?" Trace's attention left the TV and went to Justin. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's doing okay, I think. She slept pretty well last night but she was really quiet this morning."

"Why? Quiet about what? What happened this time?"

Rachel scoffed at him.

"How are you so unaware of all the extracurricular drama going on during this tour?"

Trace shrugged.

"I'm not nosy. Unlike some people here."

Rachel shook her head at him before turning back to Justin.

"I still can't believe that Mason did that too her. What a dirt bag."

"What did he do? Did she find out he was hooking up with that sluts-her-face dancer, Denise?"

Rachel and Justin both turned to look at Trace as he stared at the cartoon on TV.

"You knew?"

"Duh. They've been hooking up since the tour started."

Their jaws dropped.

"And you neglected to mention this because?"

"It's not my business. Besides, Judy is a big girl, she can handle it."

He attempted to turn back to the Tom & Jerry cartoon, but a DVD case bouncing off of his head disrupted him.

"You ass!" Justin yelled. "You let her walk right into that situation, knowing he was already with someone?"

"Hey! I didn't know she was going to run off and sleep with him. Who does that? Besides, you tried to tell her Mason was bad news, it's not like she would have listened to me if I had chimed in."

"You still could have told her."

"It's not my job to watch after her. I told you to leave her in LA."

The door opened and there stood Judy, her eyes red and breathing ragged.

"But he didn't leave me in LA, so are you going to keep punishing me for it? If I had known he was already with another girl I would have stayed ten feet away from him. I'm not interested in sharing men."

"No one made you hop in bed with him-."

"Like you've never been in that situation! You've probably met groupies at clubs and taken them home the first night, but you're judging me on my actions?"

"That's true Trace," Rachel said.

"Shut up Rach!"

"Don't tell her to shut up. You just don't like being called on your bullshit."

"No, I just don't like being talked down to by sluts."

Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, Judy was across the room. Her fist was aimed for Trace's left eye, but he moved and instead it hit his shoulder. She straddled the cowering man, pulling her arm back to swing again but Justin grabbed it, hoisting her into the air and safely away from Trace. Ideally he would have grabbed her before she had a chance to even get across the small room, but damn she was fast!

Justin grabbed her around the waist, yanking her backwards and out of the room as she struggled and screamed obscenities at Trace.

"Fuck you, you two foot tall Timberlake wannabe! I'll beat your ass you little shit, come say that again!"

Justin finally drug her into the kitchen area, where Mike sat with a raised eyebrow. He tossed the girl onto the bench, and pushed her back down when she jumped up. He was about to lecture her about putting her hands on other people, for the second time in the past 24 hours, when Trace came barreling down the short hall.

"Who are you calling a wannabe? If it wasn't for Justin your ass would still be in Travis with your piece of shit boyfriend!"

"You're just jealous because he was a bad guy and he still had a bigger dick than you."

Justin's eyebrow rose. Where had she gotten such a foul mouth from? His Judy would never have said something like that.

"How would you know? You've humped every guy you've ever met except for me."

Judy lunged for Trace again, grabbing a hold of his shirt. Justin was behind her, trying to pull her back, and Mike and Rachel were between the two parties, trying to unclench Judy's fist. All the while the two were still hurling insults back and forth.

When Rachel finally got Judy's hand undone Mike pushed her and Trace into the backroom, closing the door. The situation was entirely too volatile and they needed to be separated. Justin held onto Judy, until he heard the backdoor lock.

"Bitch!" She cried.

"Stop it! Stop. Stop. Stop." He repeated the word until she finally calmed, dropping her arms to her sides.

"Are you okay now? Can I let you go?"

"I'm fine," she huffed.

Justin slowly let go, waiting cautiously to see if it was just a ploy so she could make a run for the room. She didn't, instead she dropped down into the seat and he sat next to her, taking a deep breath.

"Jesus Christ," he said. "What was that?"

"He called me a slut!" She said. "Am I supposed to just let him get away with that? He doesn't know me like that."

Justin remembered when he'd drunkenly called her a slut. Her reaction had been much different, but then again this time she'd already been upset by the Mason situation. It was horrible timing on Trace's part.

"Calm down," he shushed her. "It's just you and me in here, no need to yell."

Judy huffed again, and started to fidget with her hands. First she crossed them, then she cracked her knuckles, then she tapped on the table, then she folded her arms again. He could tell by her jerky movements she was fighting off tears.

"Judy?"

"That's exactly why I didn't want to do this show, Justin!" She rose to her feet and stomped her foot on the ground. "Did you hear what he was saying about me? He still thinks I'm using you and now he thinks even worse of me. Even you said I was being slutty and now the whole world is going to think the same thing!"

By the time she was done tears were rolling down her cheeks. She looked so broken and upset. Justin stood up, trying to gather her in his arms. But she shoved him away before he had the chance.

"No!"

Judy brushed past him, marching down the hall. He hoped she wasn't going to the backroom to continue her argument with Trace, but she stopped short, climbing into her bunk. He could hear her cries echoing through the small space and he sighed. There was nothing he could do for her. So instead he moved down the hall, knocking on the backdoor. As soon as he heard the lock being undone he shoved the door open, slamming it behind himself.

"What the hell was that?!"

"What?" Trace asked. "What did I do?"

"You called her a slut."

"If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck-."

"That's not your place to say that to her. Calling her names, telling Rach to shut up. You're coming off like an insensitive asshole."

"Me?" Trace pointed a finger to his chest as he stood up. "I'm looking out for you and you're taking her side?"

"How is this looking out for me?"

"She's using you and you don't see it. That girl is on this tour to get famous off of MTV and to see how many phone numbers she can get and that's it. She doesn't give a damn about you man, she's only looking out for herself."

Justin's eyes flashed with anger. Here he'd thought Trace was giving Judy a chance to prove herself, but he'd been quietly sitting around watching her and judging her all along. He hated to have to choose between his two best friends, but in this situation Trace was wrong.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're acting like a totally different person," Justin told him.

"No, you're acting like a different person. Normally you're a good judge of character when it comes to other people. You know who's being sincere and you know how to navigate your way through the ninety pounds of bullshit people serve up to you every day. But with her it's like you've got blinders on. You don't see what she's doing, and you tend to her like she's a lost puppy. It's not your job to save her Justin."

"And you're not my Dad, Trace. From now on, just stay out of my personal life, and stay out of her way."

Justin left the room, climbing into his own bunk. Judy had stopped crying, but he didn't want to bother her just yet. So he closed the curtain and laid there in the dark.

Things didn't get any better once they arrived at the venue in Salt Lake City, Utah. Judy stayed planted in the corner of the dressing room, where Justin could keep an eye on her and her temper. Trace was nowhere to be found, but Rachel would disappear every once in awhile to find him and then would report back that he was fine. Justin had a feeling that he was hiding out on the bus keeping his mind busy with William Rast work.

In fact no one spoke until after the show that evening. They'd made it back to the hotel, and Justin had just settled into his room when there was a knock at the door.

"Judy?"

He was surprised when he found her there. She'd been distant all day, claiming she just wanted some space whenever he'd tried to talk to her.

"Hey. Busy?" She asked.

He shook his head, stepping out of the doorway so she could enter.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to go out with me tonight?"

He felt his breathe catch in his throat. Go out with her?

"Like a date?"

He instantly felt like a fool because of the look on her face. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"No. Like, to a club, or something?"

"A club, huh?"

He folded his arms over his chest. Had she forgotten how old she was?

"How do you plan on getting into a club? Last time I checked they still carded girls at the door."

"Well," she bit her lip. "That's another reason I was hoping you'd come along with me. Maybe when they see you at the door they'll forget about me."

Now it was Justin's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I don't know if that's a good idea Judy. Do you remember the last time you went out?"

Judy's eyes rolled.

"Yeah but this is a totally different situation. Mason is out of the picture. Besides, I just need to blow off a little steam. Today was intense."

"Tell me about it," he muttered.

"Please Justin? Please?"

He looked at her, her eyes pleading with him. Like any other red blooded man on the planet, he couldn't say no to that face. Against his better judgment he nodded.

"Fine."

"Yay! Thank you."

Judy jumped into his arms, squeezing him tightly. It was the first smile he'd seen on her face all day. Maybe the day was salvageable and this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"So, where were you planning on going?" He asked.

Her smile turned shy and he narrowed his eyes.

"Well, that was another reason I wanted you to come. I was thinking maybe you knew of a place."

"Uh-huh. I'm just a pawn in your game, aren't I?"

"Of course not J! The main reason I wanted you to come was because of you're a witty conversationalist."

"Now you're just blowing smoke up my ass, and you aren't very good at it. Leave the bullshitting to the pros Judy."

She pouted at him, and he waved her off.

"Go get ready. I'll think of somewhere."

 

* * *

An hour and a half later Judy found herself staring out the van's window at the bar Justin had brought them too. It was a small, slightly run down place at the end of an alley off a main street. Not exactly what she'd had in mind when she asked him to go out.

"Seriously?" She asked, looking to Justin.

It was bad enough that he had invited Trace along. Now she was going to be spending the next few hours at a rinky-dink bar with bikers standing guard out front.

"It's a place where the media won't look for me, and most of the people here have never heard of you so they won't know right off that you're too young to be here."

Justin whispered the last part, reminding her that he was doing her a big favor. Judy sighed, following him into the bar. It was dark, the floor covered in a cheap gray carpet. In the middle of the room was a small wooden stage, and two drunken girls were on it, singing a Sarah Mclachlan song.

"Oh! Justin, will you do 'That's What Friends Are For' with me?" Rachel asked excited.

Justin turned to her, returning her excited look.

"Nope."

"What can I get ya'll?"

The small group turned to the bartender as she set napkins on the bar in front of them. She was a short girl, barely 21 years old, with long stringy blonde hair.

"Vodka and pineapple," Judy answered immediately.

Justin gave her a look and she smiled sweetly.

"It's just one drink," she said.

He couldn't really say anything about her drinking. He was the one who'd brought her to a bar, after all.

"I want an IPA," he answered. It wasn't his beer of choice, but it would do for the evening.

The bartender took Rachel's and Trace's orders as well before she nodded and set to work. Mike didn't order anything. He didn't like to drink on the job. There weren't many people in the bar, but they'd taken notice of the camera crew as soon as they'd walked in. Generally, people didn't like outsiders, especially those who were filming for TV, coming into their hangouts without permission. He wanted to be ready just in case.

When the bartender returned with their drinks she handed them out, and Trace handed her a twenty dollar bill. Judy raised her brows. Not only was this a cheap bar, but Trace was actually doing something nice for her. She looked over at him, taking in his 'I Can't, I'm Mormon' tee shirt, courteous of the gift shop at the hotel.

"Thanks," she muttered.

He nodded back, turning completely away from her towards the karaoke stage.

"Time for a toast!" Rachel announced.

Everyone raised their glasses, clinking the bottoms together.

"Here's to a good night, and a great rest of the tour."

 

* * *

Two hours later and Judy was definitely having a good night. She had gulped down more than her fair share of vodka, and was currently singing her heart out on the barstool, reading the lyrics to Frankie Lymon's song off the wall with everyone else at the bar.

"Why do fools fall in love? Why do birds sing so gay? And lovers await the break of day. Why do they fall in lo-ove?!"

He didn't have to see her face to know figure out that she was plastered. Regardless, he turned his attention away from karaoke and looked at Judy. She was sitting there, smiling happily, singing and dancing along with a drunken Rachel. Her eyes were bouncy and sparkly, and she seemed as if she didn't have a care in the world. He knew though that the alcohol was a cover for the pain she'd been carrying around.

"Tell me why, whyyyy, whyy. Why do fools fall in loooove?!"

When the song ended the girls raised their hands above their heads and clapped, cheering loudly.

"Justin, come on, won't you sing with me?" Rachel shouted over Judy's cheering.

Justin shook his head. No way in hell was he getting up there and embarrassing himself on some rickety old stage singing karaoke from a machine someone had brought in from their basement. No thanks.

"Can I get you anything else?"

Judy's smile grew when she heard the bartenders' question.

"A shot of Kettle One."

"Yuck," Justin grimaced. "Kettle One?"

"When you're already drunk, it doesn't taste as bad," Trace explained. "I'll take one too."

The bartender poured the shots, and Trace set a ten dollar bill on the bar. He and Judy lifted their glasses, tilted their heads back, and took the shots. Judy had to take hers twice because she couldn't swallow the whole shot at once. When she was done she slammed the glass back down on the counter and shook her head.

"Yuck."

"Told you," Justin teased. "It's all about Patron."

"Patron-Shatron. I hate Patron!" She declared.

Rachel giggled at them before closing her eyes and singing along with the man singing Chris Isaak.

"No I don't wanna fall in love. No I don't wanna fall in love. With you."

"With you baby! Woo!"

Judy was happy for the moment. Her problems with Ben and Mason were long forgotten, and though Trace's presence reminded her of their argument earlier, she was willing to put up with it as long as he kept buying her drinks. She felt great, and free. That free Justin had been talking to her about days before, where she didn't have anyone to answer too and she could just do what she wanted.

She hadn't realized it before but having a boyfriend, or even potential love interest, was tying her down. When she was interested with someone, she had a tendency to focus all of her energy on them, and to want to spend all of her free time with them. That's how Ben had alienated her from her friends in the beginning of their relationship. She'd been eager to spend time with him and to form a strong bond with him. But the more time she spent with Justin, the more she realized how much she'd missed having him, and all of her other friends in her life.

"Timberlake," she started, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad that you and I are still friends."

Justin was caught a little off guard, but he managed to smile and agree with her.

"I'm glad too, Juice box."

"Ben didn't want that," she continued. "He hated us being friends. He made me get rid of all of our pictures, everything. He was so jealous, I guess. I don't know what his problem was. Luckily, I memorized your address or I never would have been able to find your house that night."

She ended the sentence with a giggle and he nodded as she continued on.

"But now that I'm here with you, I'm so excited to be single again. And once the show is over I'll be on my own and I can start my life over and go back to school and do all the things I've been wanting to for so long. It's like-."

She paused mid-sentence, and starred straight at Justin. But she wasn't paying attention to him, her mind was wandering away. He knew the moment she went from perfectly happy and drunk, to drunk and sick by the look on her face. Her smile faded and she put a hand on her stomach.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she said.

She climbed down off of the stool, and immediately her legs wobbled beneath her. She reached out, grabbing Justin's arm for support.

"Are you going to make it?"

Judy shook her head.

"Okay. I've got you, come on," he told her.

Pulling her to stand up straight, he took her arm and led her down the hall to where the bathrooms were.

"Justin, I don't feel good."

"Just hold on, we're almost there."

As he spoke he pushed open the door to the ladies room, and discovered a line of girls waiting for the lone stall.

"Hey!" One of them, a tall thin brunette shouted. "What are you doing? Get the hell out of here, this is the ladies room. You're not a lady."

"Chill out, you ain't got anything I haven't seen before. Or want to see for that matter," he bit back.

Judy made a noise, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Is she going to puke?" Another of the girls asked.

"Any minute now."

Justin pulled on Judy's arm, leading her out of the ladies room and further down the hall to the men's room. He poked his head in the door, seeing no one, and then pulled her inside. He led her into the stall, and as soon as she saw the toilet she let go.

He closed his eyes and turned his back while she hurled into the porcelain bowl. He could handle a lot of gross things, but vomit wasn't one. Just being able to hear the echoes against the tiled walls was enough to make him want to vomit himself.

The door opened, banging against the wall behind it. Trace strolled in, whistling to himself.

"Hey, I thought you were taking Judy to the bathroom."

Before Justin could answer, Judy vomited again, and Trace made a face.

"Gross. Is that Judy? She can't be in here!"

"Stop yelling!" Judy called from in the stall. "You're giving me a headache."

"She couldn't wait for the girl's room," Justin answered. "There were like five chicks in line. She barely made it here."

The door opened again and in walked Steve and Matt, the light from the camera shining brightly.

"Get out," Justin told them sternly.

"I'm just doing my job."

"Do it from outside."

When Steve didn't move Trace turned, giving him a push towards the door.

"Come on man, you know how it is to be wasted. Give her some breathing room."

Once they were out of the bathroom Trace flipped the deadbolt on the door. There were already three of them in the cramped space; they didn't need any other patrons coming in to use the urinal. He started to tell Justin something, but Judy made another noise and he put a hand over his mouth.

"I'm gonna hurl if she doesn't stop."

"Tell me about it. You aren't the one who's been standing here listening to it for five minutes. Where's Rachel?"

At the mention of her name Trace began to laugh gleefully.

"She's up on stage doing karaoke. She's drunk. It's hilarious."

Justin's eyes rolled. Great, another person for him to take care of. He'd only had two beers, but what little buzz he had was gone now.

"Keep an eye on her," he told Trace. "I'm going to go find Rachel."

"What? Me? No, I can't."

But his words fell on deaf ears. Justin was already out of the room, anxious to get away from the echoes for a moment. Trace stared at the closing door before he turned to the stall where Judy was. The door was open, and he could see her bent over.

"Um, are you okay?" He asked, stepping closer to her.

"I'm dying."

"You're not dying; you just don't know your limits yet."

He watched her cautiously, not sure if he should try to help her or if he should just keep his distance like Justin had told him. But when she started to dry heave he decided to be the nice guy he was deep down, and reached out to hold her hair back out of the way.

After a few minutes she decided she was done, and moved over to the sink to rinse her mouth out. Then Trace followed her back out to the bar. Justin was there holding onto Rachel, who was sipping on the straw of a pink fruity drink.

Judy stumbled over to them, and came to a stop just in front of Rachel, but she wobbled back and forth a little on her feet.

"You want to sit?"

Judy turned, trying to focus on the random stranger who was offering her his barstool.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I don't want to take your spot."

"No, it's fine. You're giving me a free booby show so I have to give you something in return."

Judy laughed and looked down at herself. She wasn't showing that much skin. It was a simple yellow tank top with gold beading around the neckline. The cleavage was brought on by the red and black pushup bra underneath.

"Oh, well in that case," she said, reaching up to tug it down lower.

Justin raised an eyebrow, watching her closely. When she tugged harder on her shirt and leaned in towards the man to give him a better view, he passed Rachel over to Trace so he could step in.

"Okay, that's enough of that," he said, pulling her shirt back up to where it had been before.

Judy frowned at him, picking up her drink from earlier. She'd barely gotten a sip out of it before Justin pulled it from her hands, setting it on the counter further away from her.

"You don't need anything else to drink."

Rachel plopped down on the now empty barstool beside her and smiled.

"Don't you feel better after you puke? Like, relieved."

Judy let out a sigh.

"I want to go."

Justin noticed the far off look in her eyes as alcohol raised through her system. She'd been in there throwing up for what felt like forever and she was still drunk out of her mind. Either she was the worst lightweight in the world or she'd had way more than she ever needed too.

"Let's go," he said.

Justin turned, telling Trace that he was ready to leave the bar and take the girls back to a safe, quiet place, where they weren't going to get into trouble or embarrass themselves. Trace nodded, sick of the amateur singing. He'd gotten a pretty good buzz himself, he could go back to the hotel and sleep it off now.

When the boys turned to where Rachel and Judy had been, they found an empty space, their glasses still on the counter.

"Where did they go?" Trace asked.

"I have no idea."

"They went outside," the stranger from before pointed to the front door.

Following the man's directions Mike led them outside to the front of the bar. Random patrons were on the sidewalk, smoking and talking while their cars warmed up. Justin looked around for a pretty girl with a blonde streak in her hair, and he finally found her. Judy was laying on the sidewalk, behind someone's red Jeep, a cigarette sticking up out of her mouth. Rachel was sitting on the curb next to her, smoking as well.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Trace asked as they approached them.

"We needed some fresh air," Rachel said.

"I want to go," Judy whined.

Her voice was soft, all the giddiness gone. She was really feeling it now. Rachel stood, reaching down to grab Judy's arm. She tried to pull the girl to her feet, but Judy barely budged.

"Rachel go get in the car, I'll get her."

While Trace guided Rachel towards the waiting van, Mike watched as Justin leaned down, grabbing a secure hold on Judy's arm. Then he pulled her into a sitting position, and then finally to her feet. He slung one of her arms over his shoulders and held her around the waist. The girl was dead weight.

"Where did you get that?" He snatched the cigarette from her lips.

"This nice man gave it to me," she said.

"You should know better than to smoke things random people give to you."

Justin led her over to the van and put her in the back. She slouched in the seat, her head lolling against the window. Justin buckled her seatbelt as the vans doors closed. Once at the hotel they pulled into the back parking lot. He practically carried Judy inside and to the elevator while Rachel danced happily, spinning in circles and singing Genie In A Bottle.

When he got her up to her room Judy headed straight for the bathroom, and once again he heard the wonderful sounds of vomiting. He turned on the TV, trying to lessen the noise. He wanted to be able to hear her in case she needed him, but he didn't want to hear every little thing she did. He'd barely had time to take his shoes off before the toilet flushed and she was out of the bathroom. She stumbled towards the bed, falling onto one side.

Slowly she pulled one leg up, and then the other, settling into the pillow. She didn't bother getting under the blankets, getting undressed, or even taking off her brown sandals. Judy passed out as soon as she lay down, snoring loudly. Justin shook his head and started to undo the straps on her sandals. It had gone without saying that he was going to stay in her room, once again, to keep an eye on her.

He pulled off her shoes, eased the blankets out from under her, and then pulled them over her. Then Justin stepped back, shaking his head.

"Thank God we have the day off tomorrow."

Chapter 18

The next morning Judy woke up early. Very early. It was 8:27am. The only time she got up before noon was because her alarm went off signaling that there was something for her to do. This time she woke up all on her own, and she wasn't sure why.

She was still tired, and her eyes hurt from left over eyeliner being rubbed into them all night. Her stomach was topsy-turvy and she lay there completely still while she prayed for it to settle.

Next to her was Justin, sleeping soundly and completely oblivious to her consciousness. He was on his back, his head turned away from her. She could see the curves of his face, the clenching in his jaw. Had he stayed there with her all night, again? She wasn't surprised. He was fatherly like that, looking after her when she was too intoxicated to look after herself.

The feeling in her stomach made her never want to touch a drop of alcohol again. What exactly happened last night anyway? She'd have to ask him about it later, but she didn't want to wake him now. Who knows what time they'd gone to bed last night? Apparently it wasn't long ago because her eyelids were still drooping.

Justin shifted one of his legs and he distracted her attention again. He really was a handsome guy, with his broad shoulders and clear skin. Damn him for that. She'd suffered acne through high school while he barely washed his face and had no problems at all. And it definitely didn't hurt his appeal.

She reached out, lightly running a hand down the side of his body. What was she doing here with him anyways? Just two years ago she was a girl from a small town trying to navigate hallways filled with jocks and trying to manage being President of two clubs. Now she was traveling the country with a gorgeous guy who was lusted after the world over. Not only that, but that guy here, in her bed. Shirtless. Sleeping. How did she become so lucky?

A grunt pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up to see Justin's eyes staring back at her.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Morning." His voice was deep and husky, and kind of sexy. "How you feeling?"

She shrugged, and it made her stomach knot a little tighter.

"I don't feel good. I feel sluggish and blah."

"You're dehydrated. Alcohol sucks all the moisture out of you. You want some water?"

Judy nodded and Justin sat up. He'd stripped down to his shorts and Judy couldn't help slowly turning her head to admire his frame as he left the bed and went around to the bathroom. Long and lean with tattoos and a six-pack for days.

He returned a moment later with a short glass of water. Judy sat up to lean back against the headboard while he reclaimed his spot on the bed. He handed her the glass and she gulped the whole thing down. Her mouth had been dry and it tasted amazing, which was odd because Judy had never really been a fan of water before. Years ago her Mother would have had to bribe her to finish a Crystal Geyser water bottle. Then she set the glass on the bedside table while Justin picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

"Better?"

Judy nodded.

"So, what happened last night?"

"Before or after you puked up Kettle One in the men's room?"

Her brow furrowed.

"What? I don't even drink Kettle One."

"You did last night."

"What was I doing in the men's room?"

"Puking your little heart out."

Judy sighed, putting a hand over her face.

"That's so embarrassing," she muttered. "How did I get that bad?"

"Too much, too fast."

"Well, I won't be doing that again. Ever."

Justin was about to comment that people always said that when suffering a hangover, and then the next weekend they right back out doing the same thing. He didn't get the chance to say anything, because he looked at her face and saw the same expression he'd seen last night.

"Go to the bathroom. Hurry up. Go!"

Judy jumped -more like fell because of the alcohol still swirling through her body- from the bed and headed for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Justin ignored the noises seeping from under the door while he watched the newest episode of Steve Wilkos. It was trash TV but he watched every episode. She came back a few minutes later and crawled into bed with a sigh.

"You know all that water I just drank?"

Justin nodded, watching the screen.

"It just came right back up."

"Just wait a little longer and try again," he suggested. "But at least you're getting everything out of your stomach. You won't get any worse."

Judy whimpered, curling into a ball. Her stomach was killing her, and she was still a little wobbly. Maybe she had alcohol poisoning or something. She could be slowly dying from the inside out and they didn't know it.

"Did I really do this to myself?" She asked.

It was rhetorical, but Justin answered anyways.

"Unfortunately, yes."

She whimpered again, this time out of frustration and Justin muted the TV. He turned on his side, slouchy down to look at her face.

"What's going on with you, Orange Juice. Talk to me."

Judy rolled her eyes. How many variations of that dumb nickname was he going to come up with?

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just wanted to have fun. I didn't mean to completely lose control of myself like that."

"Well, that's what happens with Skyy Vodka becomes your best friend. Were you really just blowing off steam, or was it more than that?"

He didn't want to push her too hard, or she'd just shut down completely and not tell him anything. But at the same time he knew there was an underlying problem with her drinking, not just a fun night gone awry.

"It's just," Judy sighed. "When I'm sitting and there's nothing going on or nothing to do all I can do is think about Ben or think about Mason. And when I drink, it doesn't hurt as bad when I think about it."

Justin nodded.

"It's always easier to not feel it than to deal with it."

Judy nodded to, and moaned at the pain in her stomach.

"I'm killing myself, aren't I? I feel like I'm going to die."

"Well, you certainly aren't making the greatest decisions in the world. Getting hammered is one thing, but Mason?"

Judy's eyes rolled.

"I know, I know! It was stupid, okay. I was just trying to get my mind off of Ben, I guess. He was the first guy who was interested in me."

"He wasn't the first," Justin muttered.

Judy looked at him, her brow furrowing as she wondered what he meant. But she didn't question it any, and kept on talking.

"I don't want to ruin myself, and I don't want to look stupid on national television."

"Judy, you know I wouldn't let you go off and ruin your life. As for helping you not look stupid on TV, I'm good but I can't work miracles."

Judy smacked him on the stomach, letting out a laugh and then a whine.

"Don't make me laugh, it makes the pain worse."

Justin reached over, lifting her hand from the bed and holding it in his own.

"Why don't we try a different tactic? How about the next time something is bothering you, you come to me and we'll talk about it? Just you and me without Steve and Matt and everyone else. Okay? We'll give the bar scene a break for a while."

"The way I feel right now, I don't ever want to drink again."

"Good. Who do you think you are anyway, Lindsay Lohan?"

Judy smirked, squeezing his hand.

"Thanks, J."

She turned back to the TV and frowned at the screen. A woman was arguing with Steve about her reasoning for sending her 13 year old daughter to the corner to buy her cocaine for her.

"Do we have to watch this?" She asked.

Justin handed over the remote, and groaned when she flipped the channel to a Sex and the City rerun. He'd seen way more episodes of this show than he ever wanted too because of her.

"Do we have to watch this?"

"I love the ones when she's with Aiden. He was the best boyfriend she ever had. Berger was a pussy. Alexander was an old selfish jerk, and Big was a younger-but-still-old selfish jerk. Aiden, was perfect."

"Yeah well you and Aiden get a half hour and then I get the remote back."

Judy scooted over, laying her head in his lap. It was more comfortable for her to lie down than sit up right now. Justin's long fingers ran through her hair, eventually stopping 15-minutes later when he fell back to sleep. Judy followed five minutes behind. They slept the day away until 3pm than afternoon when Justin got a text message from Rachel.

I think I'm dying. Why did I do this to myself?!

 

* * *

It was 11pm when everyone boarded the bus for the 9 hour drive to Colorado Springs, Co. The other buses had left hours before, wanting to get there early the next morning to set up. Trace and Rachel were already in their bunks sleeping off what little alcohol was still in their systems and Judy was rummaging through the kitchen while she waited for Justin to get on the bus. He was stuck upstairs on a phone interview that had run over.

When he did get on the bus the first thing he noticed was someone waist deep in the fridge, and empty take-out boxes on the table top. He leaned to his left, studying the curve of her ass in her blue jeans while she couldn't see him. Once satisfied he nodded with approval and stood up straight. It wasn't like he'd never checked out Judy's butt before, but one more time wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Juju, what are you doing?"

Judy emerged from the fridge, one of Trace's doggy bags in her hand.

"Juju is your nickname, not mine. And I'm starving!"

He wasn't surprised. She hadn't been able to keep down anything all day.

"You ate all this stuff?"

There had to be five or six empty containers from various restaurants.

"It's not like there was a lot of food in them. You'd have to put them all together to make one decent meal."

"You ate Rachel's buffalo blasters? She's gonna kill you."

"No, she won't."

"And that's Trace's shrimp you're putting in the microwave."

"I don't care."

Justin shook his head, moving past her and into the hall.

"You'll care tomorrow when he wants to beat your ass again."

"Ha! I say let him try it."

Justin went into the back while Judy continued going through the kitchen. He heard the microwave run two more times before she entered the backroom as well, a plate in one hand, and a pint of ice cream in the other. She set down next to him and set the plate on the floor.

"What are we watching?"

"Terminator 2."

"Yes, I love this fucking movie."

Justin looked over at her, his brow furrowed.

"What is with you?"

"Huh?" Judy glanced up at him as she pulled the plastic seal from around the ice cream.

"Where did you get that mouth?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're saying fuck and bitch and talking about dicks. Is that another bad habit you picked up from Ben?"

"You say fuck and bitch all the time."

"But you never did. Your behavior is totally different now. I can understand the drinking thing because depressed people drink, and the Mason thing is marginal because you were on the rebound. But you never used to curse, you never used to sleep all day, even the way you dress is different. Sometimes I wonder if I really know you that well anymore."

Judy made a face, her brow furrowing and her lips pursing.

"Well, Justin I don't know what to tell you. I don't think I've changed; for the most part I'm the same Judy I was when we met. And if I have changed than thank God! The old me was so pathetic."

Justin glared at her.

"I liked the old Judy."

"Justin," she gaffed. "I was innocent and naïve. I was going around day-to-day killing myself over clubs and activities that no one gives a damn about now. You know they closed to BSU chapter at CVHS? All the events we did, no one remembers. I was going around thinking that deep down everyone was a good person, and that everyone deserved a second chance, and that's just not the case."

"There's nothing wrong with looking for the good in someone."

"There is when you keep looking for good people and people keep screwing you over. People aren't good, people are just people. The majority of them are lame."

"So what about me, I'm not a good person?"

"You're the exception."

Justin shook his head. So what if she had been innocent? He liked her innocence. In a world packed with full-of-shit businessmen and phony friends willing to sell you out for a story, her innocence gave him comfort.

Judy took another bite of her ice cream, sighing contently as the chocolate melted in her mouth. Then she looked at Justin, and he was pouting as he watched the TV screen. Maybe he did have a point; there were a lot of things about her that were different now. But it wasn't like she was trying to be someone new, she just was.

"Okay," she sighed. "I can see what you're saying. I am different, and I do go about things differently than I used too. But that's what happens to people over time. They go through experiences and situations, and that's how they grow and change. I changed. This is me. I do like to have a drink now and then, and I do curse. I dress differently, and I like to sleep in. I'm sorry, but that's just who I am."

Justin continued to stare at the screen, pretending to not be paying much attention to her. He didn't really want to be paying attention to her. He didn't want to hear that this new Judy was who she was, he wanted to hear that'd she'd work on changing back to who she'd been before. Regardless, he couldn't help but understand what she was trying to say. People did change over time. He wasn't the same guy he'd been when he first got into the music business. The platinum blonde fro would never make another appearance, and if he could do it over again he wouldn't get that hideous flame tattoo on his leg. He'd changed, so why did he expect her to remain the same?

"So I guess while I'm working on getting over Ben, maybe you could work on getting used to the new Judy?"

Justin nodded. Judy dipped her spoon back into the carton and scooped up a hunk of brownie.

"Oh," she moaned. "This is so good."

Justin looked over at her, taking in the content expression on her face. She looked blissful, in chocolate heaven.

"Whose ice cream is that?" He asked.

"Mike's."

"Let me get some."

 

* * *

The next month and a half passed quickly for the tour, with shows basically back to back along the way. Justin and Judy travelled through Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Judy had kept her promise to tone down her wild ways, and Justin was seeing positive changes in her. Every day she seemed more and more like her old self, with a few changes.

Watching her experience tour life had been the most fun. She went sightseeing while Justin worked, bringing him back little knick knacks. She talked with fans during the meet-and-greet, her own fan base growing by the day. And on their days off her and Justin stayed in his lavish hotel rooms and watched movies and ate popcorn and sundaes. Usually he lost weight while touring, but this time he'd gained five pounds so far.

Judy had gotten her first check from MTV a couple weeks ago, and opened a bank account in Pittsburgh. She put part of it away for her future apartment, and a chunk of it she withdrew in cash. Before Justin could question her about it she disappeared with Rachel. It was hours before he saw her again, when she met him at the venue with bags upon bags piled onto her arm. She had shoes and dresses and make-up palettes, and four very big, very colorful bags in red, yellow, green, and pink. It was something very reminiscent of the old Judy, and it made Justin feel giddy inside.

Things had been peacefully and relatively easy, until the tour pulled into Boston, MA.

"He has undersized testicles."

Justin paused in the doorway, thinking over what he'd just heard. He must have entered the wrong room. Then he turned and looked at the sign on the outside of the door. It said Justin Timberlake's dressing room.

"…It's perfect. Long, smooth, pink-."

"What is going on in here?"

Rachel and Judy looked up at him innocently.

"Random sex quotes from Sex and the City?"

Justin rolled his eyes, closing the door behind himself. He moved over the vanity, where the make-up artist was waiting for him.

"I'll never understand the reason women watch that show."

"Well, you wouldn't. It's about relationships."

Justin glared at Judy through the mirror as she giggled to herself.

"At least I know better than to walk around in yellow shoes."

Judy lifted her foot, examining her yellow stilettos.

"It's fashion Justin," she spat.

"I think they're adorable," Rachel chimed.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, they're great if you want to look like a bumble bee."

"Shut up Justin."

Now it was his turn to chuckle. He saw her glaring at the TV, muttering to herself, and he knew he'd gotten under her skin. That was always his main goal.

When his hair was done and the artist had finished, Justin went into the bathroom and changed into his first costume, and then he performed his pre-show ritual.

"Everyone out!" He announced.

Rachel looked up, seeing Justin already at the door, holding it open. She snarled at him as she tossed her magazine into her bag and stood up.

"You can really be rude sometimes, you know that?'

Justin nodded with a smile.

"Just keep walking."

Once everyone exited the room he moved back over to the vanity, where Judy was waiting behind the chair. She leaned over, patting the seat with a smile. His eyes briefly wandered down to the cleavage exposed by her tank top while she's bent over.

"Have a seat Mister."

Justin plopped down; watching in the mirror as Judy kneaded his shoulders intently, working over each muscle. Her black rimmed glasses rested on her nose, her once blonde bangs were now a deep burgundy, and they matched the shiny gloss on her lips. In fact, burgundy was her new favorite color, from her oversized purse to her stripped sweater. Except for her fingernails, those were a bright sunny shade of yellow.

Judy had gone through a phase in high school where she got her nails done every few weeks. She liked the long, fake ones that were good for nothing but scratching his head when he was going to sleep. Now she kept them short and square, changing the polish every few days. He liked her nails better this way. They didn't get in the way when she played around on the guitar with band during sound check, and they didn't scratch him when he reached for her hand.

"Why did you say that earlier?" He asked suddenly.

Judy made a face, glancing up at him briefly through the mirror.

"Say what?"

"That I didn't understand relationships."

"That's not what I said. I said you didn't understand shows about relationships."

Justin's eyes rolled.

"Don't play dumb Juicy, I know what you're implying."

Judy smirked.

"Well, it just seems that way to me since all of the relationships I've seen you get into ended within twenty-four hours."

Justin stood from the chair, picking up his water bottle from the counter and taking a drink before he turned to face Judy.

"That doesn't mean I can't do relationships. It just that means I haven't found the right girl."

He dropped his bottle back onto the counter with a thud and looked down at Judy. A sexy smirk was playing on her lips and leaned against the chair he'd once occupied. A flirtatious game had been playing out between them over the past few days, and Judy wasn't exactly sure why but she'd welcomed the challenge. It'd been two months since her encounter with Mason, and since then Justin hadn't allowed a guy near her, much less in her room. She was desperate for some male attention.

"How do you know she's not the right girl if you dump her the day after you meet her? You can't possibly know her well enough."

"Obviously if I can get her home and in bed on the first night then she's not girlfriend material."

Judy narrowed her eyes at him, shaking her head distastefully.

"You're Justin Timberlake, what girl is going to say no if you asked her to come to your hotel room?"

"I don't know. Normal girls? If I asked you right now to come to my room would you do it?"

Judy rolled her eyes before she gave him a shy smile. She'd been doing that a lot more lately, smiling. She stepped to the side and around the vanity chair, resting her hand on his cocked hip.

"I've already been in your room Justin."

He stepped to the side as well, and took a step forward, meeting her face to face. He looked down at her shorter frame, smirking as well. He didn't know why this conversation was so amusing, or entertaining, but it was.

"What if you didn't know me? You've never met me before in your life. Hi, I'm Justin. Do you want to come back to my hotel?"

She gave him that same grin, and inside it was beginning to drive him crazy. She looked like she knew something he didn't, and she was coming off as much older and more seductive than she ever had before.

"Well I already know you, so I guess we'll never know the answer to that question," she said.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, following by Mason poking his head in. He cleared his throat nervously at the sight of Judy.

"Go-time Justin."

Judy scowled at him until he disappeared. The two hadn't spoken since that night, and Judy preferred to keep it that way. Distancing herself from him had been incredibly helpful, without his good looks and womanizing ways to distract her she'd been able to get a lot of work done with her inner self. Besides, the entire situation was embarrassing. Everyone, down to the lowest stage hand knew what happened. She couldn't wait until the day where they'd exit the buses for the last time and she never had to see him again.

"Where were we?" She asked, turning her attention back to Justin when the door closed.

"You were telling me how freaking sexy I am." He smiled proudly.

Judy snorted a laugh, stepping closer to him. She rested a hand on his face, holding him steady while she placed a kiss on his cheek. She lingered longer than she should have, and he noticed. When she pulled away, she watched his expression with questioning eyes. Then she looked down, focusing on the buttons of his dress shirt.

"You're much more charming than you give yourself credit for."

Once her words were spoken, she left the room, leaving the door open for him to follow. He could hear voices in the hall, and music of the intro being played. He stood there frozen, replaying the look on her face in his mind.

"Justin," Mason appeared in the doorway. "We gotta go."

 

* * *

It was 2:30am when the bus pulled onto the streets of New York, NY. It had been a four hour drive from Boston and everyone on board was sound asleep until they pulled up to the hotel near Times Square. Judy woke up to the faint sound of someone calling her name, and she opened her eyes to see Rachel holding back the curtain to her bunk.

"Time to go."

Judy sighed, slowly rolling out of her bunk to stand on the floor. She wobbled a bit, shaking the sleep from her head, and then followed Rachel down the steps and into the hotel. Fans were already posted out front, and Mike guided them through the path security had laid out of them. It was by the far the most fans she'd seen this time of night, and even as they passed through the sliding doors into the hotel fans were inside, jumping up and down on the expensive marble floors, anxious for a glimpse of anyone they recognized.

People screamed for Trace, proudly displaying their William Rast tee shirts. People screamed for Rachel, the silent behind-the-scenes cousin of Justin Timberlake, and people screamed for Judy, the witty organized high schooler they'd grown to love on Senior Year. Judy ran a hand through her hair, wishing she'd taken a minute to comb it before she'd gotten off the bus. Flashes were going off everywhere and she was in pajamas and a messy ponytail.

Finally upstairs at their temporary home on the 14th floor, Judy waved a tired goodbye in Rachel's direction and opened the door to room 1431. The lights were on, along with the TV. Walking further in, she found herself in a living room, the doorway to the bedroom at her left. Only one person on the tour ended up with a living room in their hotel room on a regular basis.

"Justin?"

"You're being too loud," his voice floated in from the bedroom.

She turned off the living room TV, along with the lamp, and headed into the bedroom. She dropped her purse and overnight bag on the floor by the closet as Justin walked in from the bathroom in his pajamas. He looked tired and half asleep as well as a blue and white toothbrush hung from his mouth.

"We have to double up again?"

He gave her a nod and a slow blink. Then he stretched his arms into the air with a groan. Judy glanced at the exposed skin between the bottom hem of his shirt and the top of the pajama bottoms riding low on his hips. She glanced again when he turned his back to finish brushing his teeth.

Crawling into the enormous bed she let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. Her mind flashed back to a photo shoot she'd accompanied Justin too in Minneapolis. It had involved camouflage swim trunks, a backyard pool, and hours of entertainment. But just as quickly as visions of his suntanned freckled shoulders popped into her mind she shook them away. Why was she even thinking about Justin?

Cuddling up on her side of the bed she closed her eyes and refused to open them, even when she felt the bed shift as he climbed in. Thankfully he didn't reach out to hold her, because if he had she knew she would have had a hard time controlling herself. She blamed the lack of male interaction in her life, but Justin was becoming more and more attractive by the minute, and it just wasn't fair.

"Night Juicy."

"Night Justin."

The next morning the alarm went off at 6am, and Judy refused to open her eyes. She felt warm, and safe, and comfortable in this big bed and, even though they would be spending the night in New York, she didn't want to give it up yet. She would have gone back to sleep had it not been for the annoying beeping noise, and the fact that her pillow moved.

She lifted her head, looking down to find that she wasn't lying on a pillow at all. Actually, the pillow was several inches above her head. The comfortable mass she'd been laying her head on was Justin's right arm. Then her feeling of warmth and security was gone when Justin removed his left arm from around her waist and reached over to turn off the alarm. Her brow furrowed, how exactly had this happened? They went from opposite sides of the bed when she'd laid down, to practically being molded into one person with her completely wrapped up in him.

But she was too content to complain when Justin shut off the alarm and put his arms back around her. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, her head tucked under his chin.

"Morning," he sounded coarse and groggy.

"Morning," she said back.

He shifted, inadvertently holding her a little more tightly.

"Are you tagging along with me today?"

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to film a couple TV spots, and do that MTV interview."

"Will there be food?"

Justin chuckled at her. He understood her question, now that he was waking up, he realized he was starving.

"There usually is."

"Then I'll go. I call first shower."

She let out a sigh as she sat up, leaving the confines of the bed and heading for the bathroom. Justin shuddered at the cold air that surrounded him when she left.

"Hurry up," he voiced, watching her stumble into the bathroom.

Her dark hair was in shambles on the top of her head and she turned to stick her tongue out at him. He smirked at her, watching as she disappeared in the bathroom. He heard the shower turn on a few minutes later and he looked down at the arm she'd been resting on. She'd been curled up on her own side of the bed when he's laid down last night, but he'd felt her hands reaching out for him in the middle of the night. He couldn't help accepting her subconscious offer.

He laid in bed for awhile, thinking about nothing, and then he looked over at the clock. It was 6:35am, and the shower was still running. She was going to make him late if she stayed in there any longer. Getting up, he raised his arms and let the stretch roll down his spine, and then headed for the bathroom.

"Judy?" He knocked on the door. "Hurry up, I need to shower too."

"Okay, give me one second," she called.

Justin rolled his eyes, opening the door anyway. He knew two things about Judy. One, she never locked the door while she showered because she was paranoid about falling and no one being able to get to her. Two, give me one second really meant give me ten minutes.

"I'm going to brush my teeth," he announced.

He'd at least have that out of the way, and his running the water in the sink would force her out of the shower.

"Okay."

He readied his toothbrush, letting the water run a little longer than he needed. A shriek sounded from the shower, and it turned off just after. He smirked, pleased with himself.

"What happened?" He asked innocently.

"The water just went cold on me!"

"Oh really? That's sucks." He bit back laughter.

He squeezed toothpaste onto the brush and put it too his mouth, running the bristles back and forth along his teeth. He'd just worked up lather when the shower curtain behind him opened. His breath hitched in his throat and his movements paused.

Judy stood there in the tub, a fluffy white towel keeping him from seeing any skin from her shoulders to her mid-thighs. Her hair was wet, and her face completely void of any makeup. He watched intently as tiny beads of water rolled down from her neck and disappeared into the fabric of the towel spread across her chest. The sides of the towel hung at her sides, tucked under her arms as she ran another through her hair. It wasn't wrapped around her completely, and Justin felt his groin tighten at the idea of what the view would have been like had he been standing behind her right now. She stepped out, placing her feet on the floor before she gripped the edges of the towel together behind her back, holding them securely as she walked back into the bedroom.

As soon as she was gone Justin let out a groan and dropped his head down onto the granite counter, staring at his own reflection. He took a deep breath, that fogged up his reflection and he stood up straight to look in the mirror. What was going on here? This is little Judy from Central Valley, she wasn't supposed to be able to get to him like that.

He finished brushing his teeth and ran some cool water over his face. But all the while visions of Judy flashed through his mind. He tried to shake them away, but as soon as the thoughts left they'd come right back again. Her wet golden skin, the smell of her body wash, her legs sticking out from under that towel.

The door next to him opened and Judy walked in. She was dressed now in knee length black tights and the shortest black dress he'd ever seen her in. No doubt Rachel had picked that for her. She had apparently had no problem with it, because she bounced into the room, met his eyes in the mirror and smiled as she set a silver makeup bag on the counter and began pulling out brushes and little bottles and tubes.

"I thought you were going to get in the shower," she said.

He nodded, turning to face her. His hip leaned back against the counter and he folded his arms as he looked her over.

"Well, you better hurry up. It's seven o'clock now."

He nodded again, but he didn't move. His stare was making her nervous and she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. Why was he looking at her like that?

"What?"

Justin's tongue flicked out to wet his lips, and it was then that she realized his eyes were focused on her mouth. His eyes were narrowed on her lips, his brow furrowing as he watched every move they made. Then he pushed off of the counter taking a step towards her, almost aggressively. Judy shifted, a bit taken back by his sudden movements. But she couldn't help the way her heartbeat sped up as he shortened the distance between them. She could smell the faint scent of his cologne from the day before.

Justin's head tilted as he looked at her, and he leaned down slightly. So close to her that she could swear she felt his exhaled breath on her face. But his now navy blue eyes returned to their normal crystal blue color and he took a step back.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Judy blinked, trying to comprehend what exactly had just happened. Justin cleared his throat and turned back to the counter. She put a hand up to her bottom lip, watching as he fidgeted with the faucet for a second before he took a step towards the door.

"Justin?"

He paused at her meek voice. She waited for him to turn and face her before she spoke again, and even then she couldn't meet his eyes.

"Do you remember the last day you were in CV with me? When you kissed me?"

He nodded.

"Why did you do that? I mean, I only want to know because I think maybe part of me has been waiting for you -no, not maybe, I know I have been waiting, on pins and needles waiting-- for you to do it again. But if it was just a goodbye kiss then you aren't ever going to, but maybe it wasn't. I don't know. So are you?"

"Am I what?"

She was rambling too much and honestly, he wasn't paying much attention to her words. Just her lips as they moved while she spoke.

"You know, going to do it again?"

She finally looked up at him with hopeful eyes, but they quickly turned sad when he didn't move from the spot where he stood, and he didn't answer. After a moment of silence she bit her lip and moved to leave the room, embarrassment washing over her features. But she'd only taken one step when Justin's hand on her arms stopped her. She looked up to question him but instead she never got to chance to utter a single word as his lips came down on hers.

Judy was caught so off-guard that she stumbled backwards, her back slamming into the wall behind her with a thud. A dull ache rolled up her spine but she paid no attention to it as Justin's lips work over her, his hands smoothing down her sides and around her hips to rest on her butt where he gave her a gentle squeeze. Figures that'd be the first place he'd go for.

She let out a moan but it was muffled by his mouth. She should have pulled away to scold him properly for getting so fresh with her, but she just couldn't. His kiss was so electric. Like Ben had been in the beginning before the drugs made him dull. And he was nothing like Mason, whose kiss was sloppy and to wet at times. Justin's was perfect, slow and rythmatic as his tongue parted her lips to gently touch hers. He tasted like Colgate, minty and cool. It made her knees go weak.

Her hands moved up his chest, one wrapping around her neck as the other rubbed the fuzz on his head that he called hair. All that did was encourage him as his assault on her continued and his hands squeezed again. Judy let him lead as he kissed her thoroughly, damn near swallowing her whole, until she was too out of breath to continue.

Justin broke the kiss, stepping back against the counter once again, watching her lean against the wall for support. She stood there, panting, eyes closed. She looked so pretty with her full lips pink from the pressure of their mini-make out session.

"Judy?" He called her name after a minute. "Hey, Judy?"

She barely cracked her eyes open.

"Hmm? Who?"

Justin chuckled, taking a step closer to her again.

"You. That's your name, right? You okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "Never better."

"Sure? You look a little out of it."

"I'm fine."

He smirked at her, lowering his head to tenderly capture her lips again. She bit at his bottom lip playfully and his eyebrows rose in surprise. He pulled away, running a hand over his head. She was too damn good at this kissing thing and he was quickly losing his reserve.

"I'm gonna take the shower now. A cold one."

Chapter 19Rachel sat, her lips curled curiously as she watched the pair. Something was definitely up. Justin was doing an interview with People magazine and he was sitting at a table alone with the reporter, a tape recorder on the table. Rachel was sitting at another table not too far away with Mike and Judy. Judy and Justin had been acting funny all morning, whispering and giggling over nothing.

Like now, Justin kept glancing up at her, and the two would smirk at eachother before Judy would look away shyly. Then a moment or two would pass and they'd repeat the process again. Judy had just looked away from Justin and picked up her fork when Rachel rolled her eyes and put her hands on the table.

"Alright, what is going on?" She asked.

Judy looked up, a shocked expression painted on her face.

"What do you mean?"

Rachel sighed dramatically.

"Don't act innocent with me. We've been here an hour and you've hardly touched your pancakes and we all know that's your favorite food, like, ever. And now you and Justin are acting weird and making googly eyes at each other. You know it's not nice to keep things from others, so give me the scoop. What's going on?"

Judy's shocked face faded into innocence and she batted her eyelashes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she forked a piece of pancake into her mouth and smiled.

Rachel's lips curled again and she went back to her own food.

"Fine, play games. But just so you know, you and Justin playing the eye-flirt game is a dead give away to that reporter."

Judy looked over at Justin. He must have felt her eyes on his face because a moment later he turned to look back at her, licking his lips slowly as a smile crept onto his face. Judy smiled as well, nervously scratching at her arm. Then the reporter turned to glance as Judy as well. He was a lanky man in cargo pants and a band tee-shirt. His eyebrow rose at them curiously.

Judy's head snapped forward, and there was Rachel with her knowing glare. She was right, the reporter wasn't an idiot.

Judy kept her eyes on her plate for the rest of the meal.

After his interview, they climbed into the white van that would shuttle them from place to place during the day and headed to a nearby warehouse for a photo shoot to go along with the People article. MTV was too meet Justin there for an interview of their own.

While Justin chatted with them, Judy and Rachel headed into his changing room, finding a small television and a table full of refreshments. Not that they needed it, they'd just had a five star breakfast.

"So…," Rachel began, drawing out her word.

"So…?" Judy echoed.

Rachel watched as Judy picked at her yellow nail polish, doing anything she could to avoid her gaze.

"So, are you ready to spill?"

"There's nothing to spill," Judy whined. "You're grilling me over nothing. Justin and I aren't acting any differently than normal. It's all in your mind."

Rachel huffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"In my mind my foot. Something is up and so help me I will figure it out."

Before Judy could respond the door opened and Justin strolled in, carrying a stack of clothes under his arm. She couldn't help the slight jump her heart made, or the smile that crept onto her face. It was just instantaneous. Steve and Matt were behind him, with their ever-present equipment. Rachel looked up, completely prepared to ambush Justin with an onslaught of questions, but she closed her mouth when she saw Beth and Jon follow Steve into the room as well. Judy was grateful Rachel had sense enough to leave their private life somewhat private.

"Hey, I need the room for a minute. Gotta change."

"What's the look for today?" Rachel asked, standing up and taking the clothes from his arms.

"A new variation on the monkey suit," he said.

Rachel unfolded the clothes, revealing a blue plaid suit, white button down, and a black pea coat. It was summer, why were they dressing him like it was the middle of December? Rachel looked over the clothes, frowning at the tag on the button-up shirt.

"This isn't the right size," she stated. "I'll go exchange it while you put the other stuff on."

Rachel headed out the door, and Justin motioned for the camera crews to leave as well. He wasn't about to strip down to his boxers on television, as much as MTV would love to have exclusive rights to that footage. Judy moved to stand, following everyone else out of the room. She was going to be the last one out the door, and she smirked when it closed right in her face before she had the chance to leave. She had been itched for the chance to have a moment alone with him after their interaction that morning.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked.

Judy grinned, biting on her lip with a shrug.

"Well you said you had to change, so I was going to give you a minute alone."

Justin smirked, his hand leaving the door knob as he took a step towards her. His expression was devilish and she backed away from him slowly, inching deeper and deeper into the room.

"Well I do need time alone," he said. "But I want it with you."

"You don't think that would be a little distracting?"

Just as her words ended a thump sounded as her back hit the wall at the far end of the room. Justin's playful grin brightened as he leaned his arms on the wall on either side of her head. He leaned down slowly, placing a kiss on her lips. Then he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.

"I've been waiting to do that all morning."

"Really?"

He nodded, leaning down to kiss her again.

"And that… and that."

"Me too."

He leaned down to kiss her again, but Judy ducked under his arm and scurried across the room to put some distance between them.

"What are you doing?"

"Maybe I should go. Rachel will be back any moment, and then you'll have to go do your photo shoot and you're getting yourself worked up more than you're letting yourself relax."

"I'm perfectly calm."

"Yeah, not all of you is."

Justin snorted back a laugh, starting a slow discreet stride in her direction. She was walking backwards, unaware that she was about to trip over the coffee table leg and land on the couch. But Justin saw it, and he was patiently waiting for it to happen.

"Believe it or not, I'm capable to controlling myself. I'm not going to give myself a heart attack by making out with you."

"Are you sure? Cause you look a little crazed right now."

"I look annoyed," he corrected. "You keep running away."

"I'm trying to help you." Judy giggled in her defense.

"You're not."

Finally the back of her leg connected with the oak table and she fell onto her back with a shriek. When Judy landed, she blew her bangs out of her face and started to sit up, trying to see what she'd fallen over. She probably should have looked to see where she was going when she was trying to make her way towards the door.

She never got the chance to find out what it was though. Before she'd completely sat up, she saw a blur rush towards her, and then a great weight landed on top of her, knocking her back down with a 'humph!' She looked up to see Justin staring down at her.

"Why are you smothering me?" She grunted.

Justin laughed, shifting a little so he wasn't crushing her. Then he ran a hand through her hair with a sigh.

"You kept jumping around on me. I had to get you pinned down somehow."

He wasn't too interested in her reply, because this was Judy he was talking too. She could talk in circles all day about nothing just to avoid doing something. So instead he covered her mouth with his, slipping his tongue past her lips. Judy's hands slid around his waist, fisting the tee shirt covering his back. By the time Rachel knocked on the door Judy's face was flushed and her head was dizzy. Justin pulled back, sitting up on his knees.

"Wanna help me change?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously.

Judy shook her head while she giggled and panted beneath him.

"I better go wait with Rachel. We don't want to tip anyone off, and she's already giving me the third degree."

Justin nodded.

"That sounds like Rach."

 

* * *

Justin lay awake in the bed, looking down at Judy as she slept soundly beside him. She was curled up at his side, her head resting in one of her hands. Her shoulder was left bare, but he knew she was indeed wearing a tank top. The strap must have fallen beneath the covers. It was day two in New York City and they were sharing the King sized bed on the 14th floor. The sun was barely beginning to peek into their room and it casts a golden glow over her skin.

He'd been thinking about it, and finally it all made sense. Before he hadn't been sure of when his feelings for Judy began. At first she was his friend, albeit a girl, but still just a friend. She had her relationships, and he had his. But there wasn't anything special between them, or so he'd thought. But as he looked back on it now there were plenty of signs, their instant connection for one. Who becomes so close with someone without there being some kind of attraction? His want to protect her and take care of her, and to keep away men like Mason and Ben.

It had been because he'd had feelings for her all along. He didn't want those guys with her because they weren't good enough, and because he wanted her for himself. That's why he'd been so sad to leave Central Valley. It wasn't the place itself. He was used to travelling, to being in one area for so long and then having to pack up and go. But before there hadn't been a girl getting left behind. The idea of leaving her had bothered him for weeks before the day actually came.

"Grad-u-ation. Graduation! Graduation. Graduation. Graaaduation."

Justin's head rolled to the side with boredom as he listened to Judy's insane version of hallelujah.

The girl had obviously seen that cheerleading episode of MADE one too many times because her arms were doing high V, low V, high V, low V over and over as she sang. She'd been like this all day, positively bursting with excitement at the thought that tonight was senior sunset and tomorrow was graduation, her last day as part of the Central Valley Unified School district.

"Judy!"

He finally couldn't take it anymore, and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides.

"It's graduation. Thank you. Everyone here is grateful for you reminding them, repeatedly, all day, but we got the message. You no longer have to act insane."

While she was excited, he was experiencing some unpredicted anxiety at the thought of having to return home and going back to the old Justin Timberlake-the one who ate Ketchup and lived alone. Now here his partner in crime was a walking, talking, SINGING reminder of the countdown.

"Insane, got no brain," she replied out of habit.

It was the curse of that damn Dickie Roberts: Child Star movie they'd watched so many times.

"Yes, you. Insane, got no brain."

"Fine, I will stop singing Graduation if it makes you happy."

Justin's eyes narrowed on her, "You will?"

"Yeah, sure. Now can you let go? My hands are starting to go numb."

Justin's stare started to waiver a little as he hesitantly released her and stood up straight. She'd never, in the months that he'd known her, just agreed to do something to make him happy. She was always telling him 'your Mom' or 'suck a fat one' or something equally rejective.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Why are you being so weird?"

"I don't know what you're talking about? Can't a girl be happy that her dreams are coming true?"

"Your dreams?"

"Yeah. I'm graduation from high school. Finally. Thank God. And with a boyfriend no less. I, Judy Bucklass, have a boyfriend. It only took 18 years."

Psh, some boyfriend he turned out to be. Maybe he hadn't been all that bad in the beginning, but his intentions had definitely been less than honorable. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that he was gone, and the effects he had on Judy were fading more and more by the day. The dark heavy makeup had been replaced with bright colors and shimmers. The bags under her eyes had been slept away, and while her occasional potty mouth remained her love affair with alcohol had ended.

Justin glanced up at the clock. It was just before 11am. They'd gotten to sleep in today, but that time was coming to an end. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, pulling her from her slumber. She shifted against him, nuzzling against his chest before her eyes opened.

"Hey."

"Morning."

"Morning. What time is it?"

"Almost eleven."

"When are we leaving?"

"Noon."

Judy rolled over, stretching her arms towards the headboard.

"Then why did you wake me up? I'm missing out on an extra forty-five minutes of sleeping time."

"Not if you're gonna shower and make it downstairs for breakfast."

Judy sighed.

"I just want food. Do I have to shower?"

Justin lifted her arm, sniffing her skin.

"Nope."

"You just smelled my arm pit. You're weird."

"It smells like watermelon bubblegum."

"It's my deodorant."

"Stick or gel?"

"Stick. Why are we talking about this?"

Justin laughed, rolling onto his back.

"It's just something to talk about."

Judy sat up, adjusting the straps on her tank top so they fit her shoulders correctly, and then she glanced down at Justin. He was on his back, wearing a gray wife beater, his effortlessly toned arms tucked under his head. His eyes were roaming over her figure, studying her. When he noticed her stare he blew her a kiss.

She leaned down, running one of her hands over his biceps as she kissed him. Immediately she felt more awake and more alive than she had in a long time. Something about him made her more relaxed and more at ease, but at the same time more appreciative and observant of the things around her. Ben didn't matter anymore, and the simple patterns on their sheets were prettier. Justin's arms curled around her back, holding her closer when she pulled away.

"That's something else we can talk about," he said.

Judy's brow furrowed as she picked imaginary lint out of his hair.

"What?"

"This."

"Where?"

Justin made a face. He knew she was faking the naivety.

"You know what I'm talking about," he said. "What's going on here? Between us."

Judy laid her head on his chest.

"I don't know."

"I don't either," she heard him rumble. "But something definitely is. I know I like you."

She lifted her head and looked down at him.

"I like you more than I should."

"How much are you supposed to like me?"

He shrugged.

"I told Trace you were like my little sister. But I wouldn't grab my little sister's ass."

Judy outright laughed and sat up on her knees, straddling his waist. She had no idea why, but she just had this urge to touch him. Maybe he could control himself, but at the moment it seemed like she couldn't. If she wasn't careful she'd be climbing all over him in a matter of minutes. If there was anything she'd gained from her relationship with Ben, it was a strong connection to her sexual inner self. And that part of her had been severely neglected as of late. Now that there was a handsome guy sharing her bed and showing some interest, she was considering milking it for all it was worth. Whether anything happened between them or not, Justin was never going to let another guy near until the tour was over and she moved out on her own. That could be months -heaven forbid years-away!

"I kind of like you too, a little, I suppose."

Justin's hands smoothed over her thighs, watching her intently as she towered above him on the bed.

"I hope so. Otherwise I'd have to assume you straddle all of your friends this way."

She pretended to think for a moment, enjoying his hands moving over her hips and settling on her waist.

"Only the cute ones."

"I hope you're not putting me in the same category as Mason."

"Mason was cute-."

"Yeah, for a bulldog maybe."

Judy's eyes rolled. His squeezing her waist was distracting, she really wanted his hands a few inches North of where they currently were.

"Whatever! Mason doesn't matter anyway. So, since we don't know exactly what this is, maybe we should be cautious around the camera crews?"

Justin chuckled, his hands dropping back down to her thighs again.

"Why? MTV would love this story line."

"I'm sure. But, I'd rather we hold onto a little bit of privacy."

Justin nodded.

"Whatever you want, baby."

Inwardly she giggled like a school girl. Baby, huh? She could get used to answering to that word when it fell from his lips. But she wanted to keep her giddiness to herself, so she replied with an insult rather than a squeal.

"Plus, you know, I don't want people to know I'm willing to make out with you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're such a dork, and you've got that nose…"

Justin smirked, sitting up under her.

"Funny," he muttered.

He barely got a glimpse of the smile she returned before they were kissing again. They were like teenagers again who'd just discovered what making out felt like and couldn't get enough. He'd kissed his fair share of girls in the past, but none of them had been quite like this. Where no matter how small the peck was you felt the warmth run all the way down to your toes. Judy was the first, and he'd lied when he said he could control himself. She was in his lap, her hips pressing down on his as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. He was very quickly losing his ability to control himself with her.

For once, Judy was the first to pull back, and for that he was glad. His fingertips grazed over her thighs again and he looked away towards the bathroom. Anything to distract himself from looking at those lips of hers.

"You gotta move," he said. "I need to go eat, or shower, or run, or something."

Judy giggled, climbing out of his lap and watching as he made his way towards the bathroom. She knew exactly what he meant. He wasn't the only one who noticed how in sync their hips had been during that mini-make out session. Apparently Justin was in tune with his sexual inner self as well.

 

* * *

Trace and Rachel sat on the sofa in Justin's dressing room. Justin was at the vanity, one girl touching up the buzz cut on his head, and another girl powdering his face to soak up some of the sweat he'd produce under the lights on the stage. It was their last night in New York, and tomorrow morning they were boarding the buses for Virginia. Judy was on the other sofa across from them. Her back was to Justin as she flipped through a magazine, and Justin was watching her through the reflection in the mirror.

Rachel looked at Judy, narrowing her eyes on the girl when she didn't look up to meet her stare. The girl was focusing entirely too hard on that magazine. Trace, looked at Justin, who met his eyes in the large vanity mirror and then snapped his gaze forward as if he hadn't been looking at any of them at all.

Trace and Rachel looked at each other. Something had been going on for two days, and they just hated being kept out of the mix! When Justin was done they stood, anticipating Justin kicking them out like he always did when the countdown was on.

Rachel stepped over the threshold, still looking into the room, analyzing their movements as Judy stood from the sofa and Justin headed for the door to close it behind them. She wanted to know what was going on in that room every night when no one was around.

"Rach."

She paused when Justin called out to her.

"Yeah?"

"Can you make sure there's water backstage this time? There wasn't any last night."

Rachel nodded, still craning her neck to peek into the room until the door was completely closed. Justin smiled at his cousin's antics, shaking his head. Then he turned his attention to Judy, who was patiently waiting for him by the sofa. She was taking in his black suit. Usually he wore all white, but this black and white combo looked just as good on him.

"You didn't try to run out this time," he said, turning towards her.

Judy didn't get a chance to reply. The door flung open and Trace and Rachel came running in.

"Surprise inspection!" Trace shouted.

Justin and Judy stood there, still several feet apart, staring at them like they were crazy. Beth and Jon were behind the pair, filming into the dressing room.

"What are you doing?" Justin questioned.

Rachel and Trace slowly began to back out of the room.

"We know something is going on," Trace said.

"Yeah, and we're going to get to the bottom of it."

Mike appeared behind Rachel as she spoke, moving Jon and Beth out of the way and grabbing Trace and Rachel by their collars.

"Don't you two have work to do?" He asked, pulling them out of the room.

"I will figure it out!" Rachel called, stretching her neck to glare at them both as she was drug away. "Secrets don't make friends!!"

Justin stepped forward, closing the door once again, this time flipping the lock. He turned back to Judy, finding that she had moved over to the vanity, most likely to be out of the cameras view.

"Those two…"

"Are lunatics," she supplied.

"Amongst other things, yes."

Justin pushed off from the door, strolling over to her as she toyed with his iPod that he'd left on the counter. He was listening to that damn Miley Cyrus song again. Wasn't he a little too old for that Disney pop?

"But they are going to figure it out eventually," she said. "Rachel is to nosy not too."

Justin shrugged with ease.

"Let them work for it."

"She's not going to rat us out to anyone though, is she?"

Justin shook his head. He wasn't all interested in talking about Rachel anymore. He was going on stage in a matter of minutes, which meant he had a matter of minutes to kiss her enough to tide him over for the next couple hours. Besides, it was Rachel they were talking about. She wasn't going to gossip to anyone besides Trace and Mike.

"No. Rachel can keep a secret. That's why I keep her around."

"And what if-."

Sick of hearing her voice, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her into silence. She tasted like the strawberry ice cream she'd had after dinner, and she moaned into his mouth as their tongues dueled and snaked around each other. Her hands slid inside his suit jacket, pulling him closer and tugging on him wantonly.

His hands moved down her sides, gripping her thighs and lifting her up onto the counter behind her. Their kissed paused only momentarily while he moved in between her legs, and then his lips attached themselves to her neck, her hands working his jacket off of his shoulders and down his arms until it pooled on the floor under his feet. He licked and sucked on her skin, electing hisses and breathy sighs from her lips.

She untucked his crisp white dress shirt, practically ripping it out from under his pants so she could run her hands along his skin. Her fingers pressed into the warm skin of his back, feeling the muscles stretch and contort with his movements. Justin's lips made their way up the side of her neck, kissing along her jaw, and finally meeting her lips again. They kissed feverishly, hands becoming braver and bolder. He hooked his hands behind her bent knees, pulling her to the edge of the counter. Judy could feel his growing arousal as their hips pressed together, his hand tickling her ribcage dangerously close to her breasts.

"Justin? It's go-time!"

The door knobbed rattled with Mason's voice and the pair pulled apart for the first time in several minutes. Their breathing labored, lips hot pink from the blood rush as they stared at one another. What the hell was going on here? There was another knock, followed by Mason's voice again.

"Justin?"

"Just a sec," he called back, dropping his head.

He realized all most automatically that that was a bad idea. Now his face was swimming in her cleavage, his nose buried in her bosom. That wasn't going to help the sexually charged situation or his growing arousal.

Justin stood up, taking a step back and beginning to put himself back together. He tucked his shirt back into his pants and retrieved his jacket from the floor while Judy hopped off of the counter and re-hooked her bra. When exactly had he done that? Damn, he was smoother than he thought.

He smirked at her bashful gaze.

"You better hurry," she said. "Forty thousand women are waiting on you."

Justin nodded, wordlessly heading towards the door. He stopped short, running a hand over his head and looking back at her.

"See you at the hotel, Juicy."

When he opened the door and headed for the stage, Rachel came barging in. She looked around the room, finally settling on the messy vanity. She took in Judy's flushed appearance and her jaw dropped.

"Oh, my God."

"Close the door before you say anything else," Judy instructed.

Rachel did so, her jaw still dangling.

"What exactly were you two doing in here? And please, don't spare me of the raunchy details."

"We didn't do anything," Judy lied.

"Right, you normally look like you just got done getting laid. Did you just get laid?"

"No!"

"Well…?"

Judy sighed, and Rachel waited patiently, tapping her foot expectantly. Judy waited. Rachel tapped. Judy groaned. Rachel tapped.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No chance. Either tell me, or risk getting no sleep whatsoever tonight."

Judy picked up one of the empty water bottles, picked at the label absentmindedly.

"We just made out a little."

Rachel let out a shriek, "Oh my God!"

"Shhhh!"

"Sorry," Rachel whispered. "You guys made out? Things got pretty hot and heavy by the looks of it. I know Justin pretty well and he was practically glowing when he left."

"He wasn't glowing."

"Yes, he was. And so are you!"

Judy covered her face as embarrassment crept over her cheeks.

"So, are you guys dating now?"

"Not exactly," Judy answered, peering out between her fingers. "We're not sure what we are."

Rachel chuckled.

"Finally! I've seen this coming for so long."

"What?"

"You and Justin, and this whole situation. You'd have to be blind to not see the chemistry in the air between you two. Private conversations, sharing rooms. Why do you think so many people watched the show? They were waiting for you guys to get together!"

Judy dismissed her with a wave of her hand, walking towards the door.

"Nobody cared if Justin and I liked each other; they just wanted to see him act like a dork."

"I know he's just Justin to you, but to the rest of America he's Justin Timberlake, and all of them care if you and Justin get together."

"Well, we don't plan on letting them in on any of this for awhile. Especially MTV."

"Good luck trying to keep a secret from them. They've got microphones and cameras everywhere."

"Which is why I told you about it, so you can help us hide it, instead of helping them figure it out."

Rachel let out a sigh, following Judy out the door.

"Looks like things just got a whole lot more interesting."

Chapter 20

When Justin got back to the hotel that night, Judy was nowhere to be found. Their room was dark, empty, and untouched. Rachel had stayed at the venue with him, and Trace, well there was no point in asking Trace. He rarely had contact with Judy outside of group conversations. Justin turned back to Mike as he stood in the hall.

"Where's Juicy?"

The big man shrugged and Beth answered.

"She's with Mindy, doing her commentaries for the show."

Justin nodded, walking back into their hotel room. Jon and Beth followed, filming as he stripped off his red hoodie, dropping it onto the bed along with his iPod. Justin let out a sigh as he rolled his neck, trying to work out the kinks in his shoulders. But his mind was wondering.

"What do you think they're talking about right now?" He asked Jon.

The camera crew shrugged, continuing about their work. He smirked at his own silliness. It had been Judy's idea all along to not tell MTV anything about their new found 'relationship' so he had no reason to wonder what was going on in Mindy's room. They were asking her about their friendship, and she was denying it all with an innocent smile.

More and more this new relationship with Judy was beginning to look better. She was casual about it all, as if kissing him was second nature to her. She held her head high in public, kept her personal life personal from the cameras, and still let her hair down when they were alone. She was the perfect balance for his lifestyle.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

He'd heard the door open and knew it was her from the blinding light being shown in his direction.

"Same 'ol same 'ol," she said. "Are you packing?"

"Yeah. You have 20 minutes."

"Okay. I'm pretty much all ready to go as it is."

Justin glanced around the room at her words. Most of her things had been packed away into her overloaded suitcases. It was just a two hour drive to their next stop in Philadelphia, PA. The stop hadn't originally been on their schedule, but was added later after the New York shows sold out with record speed.

The pair finished gathering their belongings and headed down to the lobby and out the back where the busses were waiting on them. Even though they were leaving just after the show had ended, many of the fans had been able to make it from the arena to the hotel as well. Hotel security and local law enforcement had created a human barrier several feet away. Judy could hear the chaotic screams and chanting from the back halls as they drew closer and closer to the door.

Trace was nowhere to be seen, but Rachel was ahead of them, leading the way out the doors and Mike bringing up the rear right behind Justin. The sun had already set, and the smell of diesel was overwhelming as they headed across the lot to the awaiting black bus. Judy glanced over to her right. At the entrance to the parking lot was the human chain of guards, the only thing keeping the group of screaming girls from breaking out in a full blown sprint towards Justin. Rachel ignored them completely, hopping up the steps onto the bus without as much as a glance in their direction.

Judy didn't have to look behind her to know that Justin had done something to acknowledge their presence. Suddenly the black sky was lit up by the flashes of cameras and the screams nearly deafening. Judy continued to silently watch them as she crossed the lot, intrigued by their dedication. Even she was dead tired and she hadn't done much of anything that day, let alone been jumping up and down at a concert for 2 hours wearing high heels. These girls had an amazing stamina.

"No wonder you're so full of yourself," she glanced back at him. "Girls are screaming at you all the time. I can see why you might consider yourself hot."

Even over the noise she could hear his snorted laugh.

"Riiight. Because if they weren't here right now I'd feel really bad about myself," he laughed.

Judy was nearing the bottom step of the bus when she heard her name being called. Her head snapped up to her right, the girls now chanting her name and sending flashes in her direction. It was nowhere near as loud as the way they called Justin's name, but it was still there. They waved at her excitedly when she turned her attention to them, and hesitantly Judy raised a hand to wave back, her cheeks turning crimson when they screamed louder at the gesture.

She probably should have been used to it by then, but every time someone outside of their circle -her world- shouted her name, took a picture, or asked for an autograph it boggled her mind as to what the hell was so memorable about her; a normal nobody from California. A slight push on her shoulder broke her train of thought as Justin impatiently waited for her to board.

"You can stare at your adoring public later," he said. "Right now we have a schedule to keep."

On the bus Trace was lounging on the bench in the front, the mini TV playing some reality show on VH1. Judy headed into the back to lay down for the ride while Rachel called dibs on the bathroom by plugging in her flatiron. She wasn't surprised when Justin came in a few minutes after they'd pulled out onto the street, but she was a little thrown off when he closed the door behind himself. The only time they really closed that door was when an argument was going on, usually between Judy and Trace.

He plopped down next to her, sliding an arm behind her head and pretending to be interested in the episode of I Love Lucy on the TV. When he was silent for a little too long Judy turned her head, studying the side of his face. His jaw was tight, the corner of his bottom lip pulled into his mouth. Despite the act, she could tell something totally opposite of Lucille Ball was on his mind.

After a moment he glanced at her from the corner of his eye and cleared his throat nervously.

"This is the one where she stomps the grapes, right?"

Judy smirked to herself as she continued to stare at him.

"Yeah," she said.

He nodded absentmindedly.

"This one is a classic."

Judy's smirk became a full blown grin.

"What's on your mind, Timberlake?"

He turned to her, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

"Nothing," he said slowly. "Just thinking."

"With that look, I can only imagine what."

"Oh, I think you know," he said.

His arm curled around her tightly, drawing her body closer to his chest. But Judy immediately shoved him away, sitting up straight.

"Justin," she whined.

"What?" He sat up as well, leaning forward to see her face.

"We can't," she whispered harshly.

"Can't what?"

"We can't do that."

"Why not? We're the only ones in here."

Judy frowned at him.

"Big brother's watching," she said, jerking her head discreetly.

Justin's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he watched her. Judy let out an exasperated sigh and jerked her head again motioning toward the corner with her eyebrows. Justin looking up, his features softening when he spotted the forgotten MTV camera mounted in the corner. Big brother really was watching.

"See," Judy said.

Justin sat back, his arms folded across his chest childishly. He'd been thinking about her lips all through the concert, and now when he'd finally gotten Judy alone, they still weren't truly alone. Damn television shows and signed contracts.

"Sorry," she said. "You'll just have to wait until we get to the hotel."

That only made Justin slump further.

 

* * *

It was around one in the morning when they arrived in Philly, the crisp air swirled through the small space when Mike opened the door to exit the bus and check in with the hotel security staff. Justin and Judy were still huddled in the back when Rachel came to get them. Judy had fallen asleep against Justin's shoulder, and he was wide awake watching South Park, one of his knees bouncing with pent up anxiety.

"Time to go."

He nodded, slowly slipping his arm out from under Judy's head. She stirred and cracked open her sleepy eyes to look at him.

"We're here," he stated.

Judy sat up, smiling at Rachel as she stretched her hands above her head. She'd just entered that realm of deep sleep when Justin had woke her up, and now she felt like her body was weighted down by heavy rocks. Justin rubbed a hand across her shoulder blades as she let out a yawn, and then she turned to him.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Let's go."

He stood and offered a hand to her, and she gingerly placed her palm in his. He led her down the small hallway to the front of the bus. Judy could see his exhaled breathes form smoke rings around his head as they neared the open door. She could see the flashlights of the security guards as they patrolled the parking lot, and could already hear the faint murmur of a small crowd as they waited for a glimpse of their favorite celebrity.

Judy had just begun her decent down the stairs when Rachel grabbed her arm, halting her forward movement and therefore Justin's as well.

"What?"

"Justin always gets off first," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Judy shrugged.

"Okay, let me rephrase. Justin always gets off first, alone."

Judy looked thoughtful for a moment before she looked down at her fingers intertwined with Justin's. He was looking back at them with a bored expression.

"Does it really matter?" He asked. "We're just walking off the bus."

"If you two want your little thing to remain a secret it matters."

Justin's eyebrows rose and he climbed back up the two steps to stand next to his cousin.

"Our little thing?"

"Yeah, you two. It's so cute!" She gushed.

His blue eyes shifted from her to Judy, and she shrank back slightly.

"You told her didn't you? I said let her figure it out on her own."

"She did!"

"No way. Rachel is smart, but her mind doesn't work that damn fast."

"Thanks a lot, jerk! I thought guys were supposed to be nicer when they got girlfriends."

"Shh!" Judy scolded.

She could see the lights from the two camera crews as they waited at the bottom of the stairs.

"It wasn't like I had a choice," she whispered. "She basically guessed it on her own, I just clarified a few details."

Justin turned to Rachel, who nodded.

"And it's a good thing she did tell me, because you two suck at hiding this on your own."

"Because you're the queen of secret rendezvous?"

"Are you guys coming? It's cold out here."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Mike who was leaning against the doorway. He was rubbing his gloved hands together in an effort to warm them up.

"We're coming," Rachel said. "Go, Justin."

He glared at her, annoyance clearly evident in his features. Then he jogged down the stairs and toward the hotel. When he had a bit of a lead on them, Rachel and Judy followed behind, ducking their heads at the flashes from the tiny group of girls waiting by the backdoors to the hotel.

"Judy, I love you. You're like, the coolest chick ever!"

Judy glanced up for a moment, smiling at the pre-teen before she passed through the doors. Once inside, they were surrounded by heat, and Mike peeled off his gloves.

"Here's your room keys." He handed them two gray plastic cards. "Call times at 8am."

The girls headed to the elevators and up to the 5th floor, where they split off in different directions in search of their rooms. Judy could tell which one was Justin's by the guard posted next to it, and the two MTV employees standing nearby looking over several pages on a clip board. Judy turned to Steve and his trusty camera.

"How many people does MTV need to film a reality show?"

Steve smirked, but said nothing as he watched her unlock her door and head into her room. It housed a standard King sized bed, covered in a green floral comforter. She dropped her purse onto the floor, turned up the heater a few degrees, and pulled back the blankets. She climbed in, clothes and all, and settled against the rough pillow cases. She heard the door clicked closed as Steve left her alone.

Across the hall and a few doors down, Justin paced impatiently, trying to make the time go by faster. He'd patiently waited -more like pouted- his way through a two hour bus ride just to get to a hotel so he could kiss a girl that he probably shouldn't have been kissing. Then at the last second that whole plan had been thwarted by his prying cousin. Technically he paid her to stick her nose in his business, but he wished she hadn't have done that. He contemplated for a moment calling Judy and asking her to come to his room, but he could hear Mindy's voice in the hall and knew that the producer would love nothing more than to see a half asleep Judy slink down the hall and into his room in the middle of the night.

It was nearing two in the morning, and with a call time of eight, Justin decided maybe it was time for him to go to bed. Judy was more than likely asleep, passed out on top of the blankets because she didn't have the patience to actually get in bed. He changed into his own pajamas -green with little Mountain Dew soda cans- and climbed into bed. He lay on his usual side, leaving room for another person to slip in next to him. Then he sat up and shook his head. Judy had stayed with him two nights in a row and already his autopilot was set for her being there.

He sat up, scooting into the middle of the bed before flinging himself back down against the pillows. This was uncomfortable, he needed more pillows. He pulled one from each side and stacked them on top of each other. Too many pillows. Spreading them back out again, Justin turned onto his side, closing his eyes. This way he was facing the windows, and the moving lights from cars on the street below were distracting even through his closed eyelids. He flipped onto his right side, facing the bathroom and the entry hall. Now all he could hear was silence, and could see a thin strip of light creeping in under the door. Someone walked past, momentarily blocking his beam of light and Justin's eyes narrowed. He turned onto his back, staring up at the plain white ceiling above him.

This was bullshit. Total bullshit. All day long he worked like a dog, his limps were heavy with exhaustion, and now that he was finally in a dark, comfortable room all he could think about was how she was sleeping somewhere else without him.

Stumbling to his feet, Justin climbed out of bed and crept over to the door. He'd been in his room for an hour, Beth and Jon had more than likely retired to their own rooms by now. He put his ear against the door, listening for voices or any movements at all. Thankfully, he didn't hear Mindy. Easing the door open, he saw the shadow of the guard posted next to his door, but didn't see anyone else in the hall. Nonchalantly he stepped out of the room, letting the door fall closed behind him. The guard turned to him, slightly surprised, but nodded to Justin as he moved past him and down the hall, he was a few feet away when he paused and looked back.

"Do you know which room Judy's in?" He asked quietly.

The burly man pointed to a door a few feet down. "121."

Justin nodded a thanks and continued on his mission. He tiptoed down the hall, suppressing the urge he had to slink against the wall and put smears of black paint under his eyes. Who would have thought he'd have to sneak around hotels on his own headlining tour?

Reaching room 121 Justin turned his back to the door, glancing down the hallways in both directions. He was alone in the brightly lit hall, except for the guard keeping watch over his now empty room. Reaching a hand behind him, Justin knocked softly on the door three times, and waited for an answer.

He got none.

Knocking a little louder, he rapped his knuckles against the door again, bouncing on his heels impatiently. Inside he still didn't hear any stirring. Rolling his eyes he lifted his foot, landing a solid kick against the bottom of the door. It rattled loudly against its hinges. Inside he heard a loud thump, followed by muted stomping and muttered curses.

The door flung open and there stood Judy, one hand on her hip, her glaring eyes narrowed into small slits.

"Wha-?"

Before she could finish what Justin was sure was going to be a lecture about what time it was, he pushed past her and into the room, shoving the door closed behind himself. The room had been bright with the light flooding in from the hall, but now they were left alone in darkness. He could hear her breathing, and the shifting of her feet.

"What are you doing? It's 2:30 in the morning."

"I couldn't sleep," he explained.

He didn't need light to see the way she dramatically dropped her head to her chest in mock disappointment. He could hear her feet padding away from him.

"Fine," she said. "Come on."

Heading further into the room he could make out the large bed under the window. Her window over looked the pool, rippling beams of blue and green light danced across her ceiling. Justin climbed over her to lie down on the other side -his side. From here, he couldn't see the strip of light under the door.

Judy was fidgeting beside him, fluffing her pillows and straightening the blankets over her. She was still wearing her tank top and jeans from earlier in the day. Finally satisfied, she settled down and met his gaze across the pillow.

"I was sleeping really well too."

One corner of his mouth raised in an Elvis-esque smirk.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I'll make it up to you."

"How are you going to do that? Turn back time an hour so I can start all over?"

"Better."

She felt his hands under the blankets, smoothing up her arm till it rested on neck, his thumb gently caressing her skin. She could tell by his slow movements that his eyes had already darkened to that familiar navy blue and he was planning a kiss in their near future. Her suspicions were confirmed when he sat up slightly, his face drawing closer and closer to hers. Judy turned her head, feeling his lips graze her cheek. Then she planted a peck on his jaw before she rolled over and snuggled into the bed.

"Goodnight," she chirped cheerfully.

There was silence behind her before the bed started to shift and she heard him grumble low under his breathe.

"…Turn your back on me," he said.

A strong arm snaked around her and she felt her body being hauled across the bed, her back pressing against something warm and solid. A wide grin spread across her lips, and she wiped it away quickly before rolling over to look up at him.

"Can I help you?" She snapped. "It is the middle of the night and some people need their beauty rest."

She was teasing him, and they both knew it. Justin didn't bother giving her an answer. He felt his fingers brush her cheek, holding her head still as he tilted his head down. They kissed lightly, her bottom lip between both of his. All at once her body felt alive with electricity, and she held as perfectly still as she could for fear that she might do something to ruin the moment.

He kissed her again, more intensely as his body settled over hers. She could feel his weight pressing down on her torso, his hands tracing delicate patterns on her skin. This was definitely better than sleeping.

 

* * *

"Judy!"

Instantly she knew who it was. Rachel's voice was a voice you could recognize anywhere, especially when it was being shouted at you down an echoing hallway. Judy's feet picked up speed.

"Juice pop Bucklass, don't act like you don't hear me."

Try as she might, Judy wasn't able to out speed walk Rachel down the long corridor. The older brunette quickly caught up to her, striding happily along her side.

"So, I see Justin's love of juice related nicknames is starting to spread."

"Indeed, although I don't think anyone will be able to come up with as many variations as he does."

"Thank God."

"So," she began with a chestire grin. "What happened after everyone checked in last night?"

Judy dropped her gaze to the floor as they turned a corner on their way to the arena floor, letting her hair block her face from Rachel's vision.

"What do you mean?"

Rachel snorted.

"Judy, how long have we been on the road together? I thought we were closer than this. Not to mention, you dry hump my favorite cousin on a daily basis."

That remark earned her a glare and she giggle lightly.

"Okay, okay. Word on the street has it that when Mike went to wake Justin up this morning he wasn't in his room, and the guard that was supposed to be posted outside his door was posted outside of yours instead."

"Okay."

"So, guess who's room Jon and Beth got footage of him sneaking out of at six o'clock this morning -looking rather rumpled might I add."

Judy already knew who's room Rachel was referring too. She'd been woken up by Beth's bright lights and Justin grumpily shouting at them for some space.

"Rach, I'm not really seeing the point here."

The pair stopped outside the metal double doors that lead to where the Meet and Greet and sound check were already under way.

"My point is, dear little inexperienced one, that if you and Jay want to keep your adorable little romance under wraps you're going to have to be a little more careful. That means not doing things like sleeping in each other's beds or holding hands when you get off the bus."

Judy merely shrugged.

"But what is the big deal? Justin and I always held hands before, and I've slept in his room plenty of times. We even did that stuff on Senior Year."

"And all along people have been asking you what the deal was with you two. How many interviews did you do denying that you were anything more than platonic? Tons. And the more you keep doing it, the more people are going to keep asking questions, and this time you really are hiding something. What if you slip up?"

Judy gnawed at her bottom lip. Rachel did have a good point. The more she and Justin looked like they were playing house, the more people were going to wonder if they were doing more than just playing.

"But no one is paying any attention to us," Judy argued.

"My 'fan club'," she made air quotes with her fingers, "consists of a hundred twelve year olds."

Rachel's eyes widened.

"A couple hundred twelve year olds? Honey, you have no idea what is going around you, do you?"

Judy looked confused and Rachel dig into the stack of papers she'd been carrying and pulled out a magazine. She hurriedly flipped a couple of pages and then shoved the booklet into Judy's hand. She glanced down at it, her mouth dropping open when she saw pictures of herself.

"What is this?"

"This is the fashion forward section, featuring you."

"I'm in a magazine? About clothes?"

"And makeup. See right here were you're doing that cobalt blue gunmetal eye shadow combo I taught you? They LOVED that."

Judy took in Rachel's satisfied grin before turning her attention back to the colorful pages in front of her.

Justin's Girl Gets A Dose of Fashion Confidence, it said.

In the top left corner was a picture of her when the tour had just begun. Her eyes were encircled by thick lines of black liner; her faithful beige sweater was wrapped tightly around her awkward frame. Below it were various pictures of her in more recent days, a blue bubble hem dress, a yellow sequin tank, her beloved gray boots she'd slept in for the first 3 days after Justin had bought them for her. Surrounding those pictures were little comments and inserts on where readers could get their own inexpensive versions of her outfits.

"What do they think, I'm gonna be a fashion icon or something?"

"That's exactly what they think," Rachel said. "And twelve years don't give a damn about this magazine. This is aimed towards college girls and young professionals. Your fan base is alive, thriving, and consist of a hell of a lot more than a couple tweens. You better get used to it."

Judy let out a heavy sigh. While they had begun the conversation talking about hiding her budding romance with Justin, a much heavier, more important problem had reared its ugly head. Inside, the wheels in her head had begun to turn. If she was in this magazine then she was probably others. Those magazines were probably sold in stores all over the country, in places like Los Angeles, Central Valley, and even Travis Air Force Base.

"Okay," Judy said regretfully. "What exactly do you suggest we do?"

 

* * *

Justin was standing in front of the dressing room mirror, hooking his suspenders to his pants. The shirt was warm against his back, having just come back from a last minute press. His nervous hands smoothed out invisible wrinkles once he'd pulled the straps up over his shoulders. This outfit had already been through countless shows and it still looked as clean and sharp as it had during the very first show. He leaned forward, checking in the sprouting curls in his hair and adjusting his cuff links once again.

Finally satisfied with his appearance, and done with his nervous fidgeting he turned to Rachel as she sat on the couch looking over his itinerary for tomorrow. He was ready for his shoulder rub before heading out to the stage, but there was one small problem with that.

"Where did you say Judy was again?"

Rachel looked up, glancing at him over her shoulder with a shrug.

"I don't know," she said. "I think she went to get you water or something."

Justin picked up the chilled bottle on this vanity and tossed it into the air, catching it with his other hand.

"You already got me water, like 20 minutes ago."

"Oh," she said. "Well, maybe she's hiding out on the bus again. You know she does that sometimes."

Justin frowned. Yeah, she did do that sometimes, but something was always wrong when she did.

"I'm gonna run out to the buses," he said.

Rachel's eyes widened into the size of saucers as she jumped from her seat on the couch, the papers in her lap falling to the floor. Justin barely had time to crease his brow at her reaction before the door behind him opened.

"You can't go out to the buses." Rachel's voice was a little higher than normal. He could tell she was panicking.

"Who's going to the bus?"

Justin turned to find Trace, a bottle of vitamin water in his hand and a WR sketch book tucked under one arm.

"I am. I just want to check on Judy for one second."

"You don't have time to go out there, the show starts in less than 5 minutes."

"Yeah," Trace agreed. "Besides, Judy isn't even on the bus."

"Huh?"

"I just came from there, Judy wasn't on it."

"Are you sure?"

Trace made a face at him.

"I know I'm not the most observant person in the world, but the bus isn't so big that I'd miss an entire freaking person."

Justin turned back to Rachel, squinting at her alarm expression.

"Rachel, where's Judy?"

She opened her mouth, stammering a bit as she shrugged. Justin knew her well enough to know that she was stalling. Before he could question her again, the door opened and Mason cautiously poked his head in.

"Time to go," he said.

He peered around the door, surveying the entire room. Finding no sign of Judy, Mason sighed and opened the door all the way and stepped in with a relieved look. It was a look Justin wanted to slap off of his face, but Mason's all too happy demeanor was the least of his concerns right now. He turned back to his cousin.

"Rach, where's Judy?" Justin asked again.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe she went to watch the opening acts. I swear Jay, I have enough trouble keeping up with your busy schedule, do you really expect me to keep an eye on Judy too?"

Justin shook his head, not believing her for a moment.

"I know you're lying Rachel. I can tell, because the look on your face is the same one you had when all those rubber spiders mysteriously appeared under Trace's bed when we were 7."

Trace's eyes shifted accusingly to Rachel.

"That was you?!"

"Just tell me what you're hiding. Is something wrong? Is she hurt? Where did she go?"

He was growing more and more irritated by the second. It must not have been something serious or Rachel would have told him by now. But not knowing her whereabouts was beginning to piss him off. Judy had never missed their pre-show ritual of shoulder rubbing before.

"Justin, I hate tin interrupt whatever is going on here but we have to go. You've only got a few seconds to make it to the platform on time."

Once again, the duties of his career were getting in the way of matters that seemed more urgent and important. This was the balance between personal and professional that celebrities were always complaining about.

"You," he pointed a steady finger at the girl. "Don't go anywhere. I want to talk to you as soon as the show is over. And you better have an answer to my question."

When Justin turned his back followed Mason out of the room, Rachel put her hands on her hips and childishly stuck her tongue out at him. Trace smirked, plopping down on the sofa and opening his sketch pad to a blank page.

"So, what do you want to say?" He asked.

"What?"

"You know, for your last words. What do you want me to tell people you said, cause when he comes back he's gonna kill you."

 

* * *

Back at the hotel, Judy was 5 episodes in to a Cops marathon on FOX. She'd always been a fan of the Bad Girl episodes, but aside from that she'd never been a fan of this show. But with hotel cable, she didn't exactly have a ton of options. It was a little after eleven at night and she'd been stuck here a lone for hours.

She and Rachel had put their heads together and decided that a little distance from Justin was what she needed. Not because her newfound feelings for him were beginning to slip, but because being on the road put them under a much more public spotlight than she had expected. She'd still see Justin on the bus, and late nights after the MTV crews had gone to bed, they just needed to be a little more careful about it.

But now she was starting to regret her hasty decision to leave the arena. It was boring being in this room alone for hours on end. It was one thing when Justin was working and she had Rachel to keep her company, but this was completely boring.

Sick of listening to the bad boys, bad boys theme song Judy climbed off the unmade bed and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes. She hadn't eaten in hours, having skipped the usual buffet dinner at the venue. A quick trip to the restaurant in the lobby was better than nothing. The hallway on their floor was nearly deserted, and she studied her reflection in the elevator doors as she waited for it to arrive. She'd felt pretty good about her appearance that morning. Dark skinny jeans, a teal slouchy tank top, and dark wood wedges were stylish, right? But now she felt as if her shirt was too baggy, her shoes out of date. She wished Rachel had never shown her that stupid magazine. It was a lot easier for her to feel good about herself when she didn't think anyone besides Justin gave a crap.

Stepping off the elevator, he shoes clacked against the marble floors of the lobby as she headed toward the busy restaurant. None of the fans from earlier in the day remain, they were all undoubtedly at the arena, screaming and sharing stories of how Justin had looked directly at them during part of a song.

"Good evening, how many in your party?"

The host behind the podium greeted her with a grin. Judy looked around the restaurant; it was noisy with the voices of the several dozen patrons taking up the many tables.

"Actually I just wanted to get something to go."

"No problem," he said, producing a long plastic menu. "Let me know when you're ready."

Judy moved over to the side, leaning against the wall as she went over the menu options. They offered an array of pastas, burgers, pizzas, finger foods and vegetarian options. She was looking over the pasta dishes -wanting something heavy that would induce sleep- when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

It was probably Justin, on the bus back to the hotel.

"Hello?"

"Oh, so you're not completely avoiding me, just avoiding seeing me."

Judy's shoulders slumped, the menu now forgotten.

"I'm not avoiding you at all Justin."

"Really? Scheming behind my back with Rachel on ways to not spend time with me certainly sounds like avoidance."

"We'll we're not very good schemers if you know about it. I thought you said Rachel could keep a secret."

"She can, from everyone except for me. Now, what's going on? Since when do you go hang out at the hotel alone? And how did you sneak away without Steve? He's been carrying that camera around looking for you."

Judy shifted uncomfortably. This wasn't exactly the most appropriate place to be having this conversation. Who knew how many of the employees milling around were keeping this ears perked up for any little bit of gossip they could sell to a tabloid.

"I just needed a quiet place to think."

"About?"

Judy lowered her voice to a low mutter only he'd be able to make out.

"Rachel showed me a magazine article, all about my clothes. Experts were rating my outfits and giving designers details. It was weird."

"Congratulations."

"What?"

"Congratulations. Most women aren't deemed worthy of getting spreads in magazines like that. You should be proud of yourself."

"Justin, this isn't exactly a cause for celebration. I didn't realize how in the public eye I'd be, and it's making me a little nervous."

"Does this have anything to do with Ben?"

Judy's voice dropped even more.

"Okay, I know Rachel didn't tell you that because I didn't even mention Ben."

"You think I need Rachel to tell me when you're worried about Ben? Why do you have such little faith in me?"

"Jay," she sighed.

"Juicy, just tell me what's on your mind. Are you worried that he's gonna see you in some magazine and come looking for you? Does Ben even read fashion magazines? I knew there was something weird about that guy."

Judy snorted a laugh.

"He doesn't read them, but that doesn't mean someone else on base won't see it and point it out to him. I'm supposed to be lying low and now my face is splashed across the homepage of Instyle.com."

"Juicy, you do realize that you're on your second season of a very popular reality show, right?"

"Yes, but the show isn't airing yet. I was supposed to have time to do the show, get the check, and go into seclusion before he even knew I'd contacted you again."

"Seclusion? You sound like a bad Lifetime movie."

"Justin!" She shouted with aggravation and stomped her foot.

The host looked up from the pad he'd been writing on and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry." Judy smiled apologetically and turned around, facing the wall.

"Who are you talking to? Where are you?"

"I'm having a temper tantrum in front of the restaurant in the lobby and this is no time to make jokes."

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "It's just I've never heard of anyone having such a meltdown over getting compliments in a magazine."

As if a printed compliment was the only thing she had to worry about.

"I guess I'm just not used to anyone caring about where I am or what I'm wearing."

"I care where you are."

For the first time since they'd gotten on the phone, Judy smiled genuinely.

"I know. Thanks."

"And I care what you're wearing too. So feel free to model potential outfits for me anytime you need help. I prefer underwear, but I'm open to other ideas too."

The tender moment was gone and shook her head at the phone.

"You're perverted."

"Is this news to you?" His voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Surprisingly, no it isn't."

"I'd hope not. Otherwise you don't know me at all. Now, listen, here's what we're gonna do: you're gonna order whatever you want for dinner, and you're gonna get a double bacon cheeseburger with extra fries for me. When they ask you how you'll pay you're gonna charge it to your room. In about a half an hour, I'm gonna leave the door to my room propped open-."

"Why are you gonna do that?"

"So you can sneak in. Duh! We're gonna eat dinner, you're gonna explain to me what it is exactly you and Rachel have planned, and we'll figure out the evil Instyle.com website situation before we leave for Chicago in the morning. Okay?"

Biting her lower lip to stop the smirk threatening to overcome her features, Judy nodded despite the fact that she knew he couldn't see her.

"Okay."

"Okay. I don't know what you and Rachel were hoping to accomplish by sneaking away from me anyway," he grumbled cockily. "As if I wouldn't be able to figure it out."

"I'm sorry, we'll never underestimate your intelligence again."

"Thank you. I'd appreciate a little credit. See you in a half hour."

"See you."

As she hung up the phone, the faint smell of diesel floated in from the open doors in the lobby. The buses were back, meaning Justin was as well. If she wanted to beat the rush of hungry techies she'd have to order now.

"Are you ready?" The host asked as she stepped back over to the podium.

"Yes. Can I have one order of the chicken broccoli fettuccini, and one double bacon cheeseburger with extra fries?"