Just one more day.

Just one more day to get through of talking Justin and the rest of the guys down from what was becoming a daily freak-out.

Just one more day and then we wouldn't have to worry anymore about the future of *NSYNC.

Just one more day and we'd know if this album would bring the band to new heights of fame.

I stared out the window of the kitchen, lost in thought, and listened as the five guys that were currently in my backyard ran around with the basketball, attempting to let off some steam.

Just one more day and this would all be over.

I shook my head at my thoughts. Who was I kidding?

One more day and everything was going to get flipped upside down.

No this...was just the calm before the storm.

"You need any help?" My best friend Bridgette asked as she walked into the kitchen, shaking me out of my reverie.

"Sure. I've gotta dice up the potatoes still for the potato salad. You can do that if you want." I instructed, grabbing a knife from the rack and placing it on top of the cutting board.

"Okie dokie."

"You know, it's really great that you're doing this for them." She said, slicing into a potato.

"Doing what?" I asked, grabbing a hunk of hamburger meat to mold into a patty.

"Throwing this little BBQ for them to get their minds off of tomorrow."

I shrugged. "I felt like I needed to do something to let them blow off some steam. They've been so busy with press that they haven't really been able to just relax in a long time. And I know they're not really relaxing themselves right now. All of their minds are going a hundred miles a minute about what's going to happen tomorrow. So even if I'm only relaxing them physically and not mentally, that's ok. They need to do something besides sit and stew."

"I don't think I've ever seen JC so tense in my life. And that's saying something."

I bit my lip and turned my head to look out the sliding glass doors at him, hunched over the table, furiously writing something down.

"He's the one who needs to unwind most of all but he just won't. His nerves are coiled so tight I'm afraid he's going to combust if someone looks at him the wrong way."

"After tomorrow, it'll all be over. You'll all collectively let out one big sigh of relief and then things will return to normal."

I snorted. "No. Not normal. Worse. More press, more appearances, tour meetings, rehearsals. This is just the calm before the storm really."

She looked worried. "Are they ready for all that?" she asked.

A wide grin spread across my face as I thought about it. "They crave that. Sure it's a lot of stress and lots of nights of little or no sleep but, that's what they live for. We're all hoping that's what happens."

"You've become so wise about all this." She said with a small smile. "Who knew that this is where you'd land after you left Michigan."

"I question how I ended up here every day. I'm so thankful for it though; wouldn't have it any other way."

My head jerked up when I heard the slider open and saw Justin coming in from outside.

"Hey sweets." I greeted. He gave me a small peck on the lips and a half smile.

"I just realized that I didn't ask if you needed any help." He told me, reaching into the bag of Doritos and grabbing a handful out.

"No. We've got it under control. Tell Joey that I'll need his help on the grill in a bit." I told him as I washed my hands in the sink, drying them quickly after on the dishtowel. 

His eyebrows furrowed. "You sure? I mean, I can help out. I'm good in the kitchen." He said, chomping down on a chip.

I reached a hand up to brush a crumb from his lips and smiled gently.

"I promise. If I need help, I'll ask for it. But really, we're fine."

He pouted. "I just..."

"What's the matter, J?"

"Nothing." He said with a sigh.

"Come on, spill it."

"It's no different now that what I've said a million times before."

I turned around from the counter to look at him, reaching out for his hand and entwining our fingers, giving it a gentle squeeze, urging him to continue.

"It doesn't matter. Just talk it out."

 He bit his lip, his eyes cast downwards. "What if they don't like it?" he asked quietly.

"They will."

"What if nobody buys the album?" His eyebrows creased together in worry and I reached up to stroke his forehead and smooth out the lines.

"They will."

"What if it completely flops?" His eyelashes fluttered as he gazed down at me, trying to channel some of my strength to himself.

"It won't."

"How can you be so sure? What if it's all over?" I tried not to smile. He was absolutely adorable right now. I just didn't understand how he could be so unsure of himself and so unsure of how great their CD was.

I shook my head at him. "It's not."

"What if NSA is the last album that *NSYNC makes?" He questioned softly.

"It won't be."

"Well what if..."

"JUSTIN! Stop with the questions!" I began, pressing a finger to his lips to halt whatever question was about to come out of his mouth. "Bye, Bye, Bye is huge. And if the sales of the single are any indication of how the rest of the album is going to sell, everyone will love it. People will buy the album. There's so much buzz about you guys right now, I can't walk out of my front door or go to work or go to the grocery store or the mall or to PEE and not see one of your faces on something! It's not going to flop. If anything, I think it's going to do the opposite. It's not all over unless you guys decide that it's over. And it's not going to be the last album that *NSYNC makes. You guys fought too hard with Transcon and Lou to get your independence for it to be.

"We won't know anything until tomorrow night about how it did. So until then, just, try and keep yourself occupied. I'm sure Chris has some nervous energy right now. Go run it off with him."

"But..." he tried.

"GO!" I instructed, lifting up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. "You're going to make me pull out my hair if you keep worrying like this."

"Fine." He pouted at me, pushing his lower lip out way past his top one and gave me his sad eyes before he turned away and stalked out of the kitchen.

"Sorry. You were saying?" I asked, turning towards Bridgette.

"So the baby is freaking out?"

"Yes. He hasn't stopped freaking out since he found out that the album was ready to be shipped out to stores." I explained, molding the rest of the hamburger meat and placing the patty with the rest.

"And that was what? A week or two ago?"

"Mhmm..."

My best friends' eyes widened at me. "Yeah, now you see what I'm dealing with. And it's not just him. It's all of them. They're driving me up a damn wall. Some days I feel more like their babysitter or their shrink than one of the guys' girlfriends. JC had a royal freak-out the other night and almost passed out. I think I'm more ready for this album to be out then them."

She laughed softly. "Somehow I doubt that."

Our conversation was interrupted again when Chris yelled out "CANNONBALL!"

Both of us turned towards the sliding glass doors that lined the back wall of my house just in time to see Chris belly flop into the pool, soaking Lance and Joey who were sitting in deck chairs on the side.

I shook my head, a giggle escaping my lips when I saw Justin hit the water not seconds later, almost landing on top of Chris.

"Well, at least he took your advice. He's getting out some of that energy."

Grabbing up the plate of burgers, and telling Bridgette to follow me, I opened the sliding door and ventured out into the backyard.

"Alright boys...who's helping me cook the burgers?" I asked, setting the plate down by the grill.

Joey immediately hopped up out of his chair. "I'm on it." He said with a wide grin.

"Thanks, Joe." I said, patting him on the back and going to sit on the edge of the pool.

Chris and Justin immediately began pushing water back and forth at each other. I had to laugh. It was hard to imagine that Chris was the oldest of the group. Sometimes he acted younger than Justin. He had been out of control lately, his ADD making him completely spastic and causing him to act up and be a little bit more obnoxious than usual. I knew it was just the stress of everything and I knew that he was acting this way to try and ease some of the tension of the other guys. It was hard to fault him for it; the smile that I saw on Justin and Lance's faces right now was worth being subjected to his crazy antics for a while.

I laughed along with them, feeling some of my own tension being relieved with the sound. Even JC was laughing. I sighed and smiled over at Bridgette who had taken a seat next to him, a bright grin on her face.

Pat myself on the back. This BBQ was a great idea.

I eyed a lithe body swimming towards me under the water and grinned when Justin's curls popped up through the water in front of me.

"Hey babygirl." He said sweetly, his fingers tickling the bottoms of my feet in the water before snaking up my calves and coming to halt behind my knees.

"Having fun?" I asked, running my fingers through his wet curls. He nodded, pushing my legs apart with his hands so that he could stand in between them. His arms wound around my waist and I jumped a bit when I felt the coldness of the pool water seep through my shirt.

"Justinnnnn...you're getting my shirt wet." I complained, only half serious. He could keep holding on to me, I couldn't care less that he was soaking my t-shirt with his wet body.

"Are you coming in?" he questioned, peering up at me through wet eyelashes, droplets of water cascading from his hairline down the bridge of his nose and landing on his lips. I leaned down and brought my lips to his, my tongue tracing along his lower lip playfully and I felt him smile against my mouth.

"I gotta finish cooking." I said, pulling away slightly. He leaned in again and captured my mouth briefly.

"Let one of the other guys do it. You've been running around all day. You deserve a break." He mumbled against my lips.

I sighed. I didn't trust those boys in my kitchen. They'd destroy it.

Before I could get another word in though, his arms tightened around my waist and he pulled me into the pool.

"Justinnnnnnnn!" I shrieked once I had come up from under the water. I pushed the hair back out of my face and wiped at my eyes. I batted my eyelashes furiously to try and get the water out and to make the burning sensation from the chlorine stop. I squinted my eyes and searched for him in the pool and found him hiding behind Chris, who was about to keel over from laughing so hard.

"I am so getting you back for that." I yelled, diving in the direction of him and Chris. When I pounced on his back and managed to tackle him under the water a chorus of cheers erupted at my victory.

I threw my arms up in the air in celebration just before Justin jumped out of the water and brought me down. We both came up spitting out water and laughing hysterically.

The sound of everyone's laughter was music to my ears. It was about time that everyone let loose.

*

The sun had set and Bridgette and all the guys had left save for Justin who had opted to stay the next few nights with me. After he finished helping me clean up the place we decided to turn in early. They had press to do early in the morning.

We were laying in my bed in the dark and I could feel the nervous energy running through him. If it was keeping me awake I could only imagine how it felt to him.

"You wanna talk about it, J?" I asked quietly, searching for his hand under the covers.

He sighed. "Same shit. I'm just ready for tomorrow to be over with." I tugged on his hand and pulled him closer to me.

"I'll be glad when it's finally out. I know that things will get even crazier but at least you all won't be worrying about how well your album is going to sell. Even though I have a feeling that it's going to be huge."

He tucked me against his chest and I listened to the rapid fire beat of his heart. No wonder I could feel him next to me, his heart was about to pound out of his chest.

"How can you be so sure?" he questioned softly.

I started drawing lazy patterns on his stomach, attempting to relax him a bit.

"Honestly, I don't know how you're all so unsure. It's because I believe in you guys and your talent and the quality of the record that you're putting out. And I believe in your fans. They stuck by you guys through the lawsuit and changing labels and the album release being pushed back. I think they'll be out in full force tomorrow to buy your record. I have faith in them and in you guys. I just with you guys had faith in yourselves."

Justin reached up and lifted my chin with his forefinger to look up at him. "You're kinda wonderful, do you know that?" he said with the ghost of a smile.

"You're kinda wonderful yourself." I replied, stretching up and brushing my nose across his jaw and kissing him lightly.

"Now, get some sleep or you're going to look like hell in the morning." I joked, situating myself against his side again.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, cupcake." He teased. "I love you."

"I love you more." I whispered back, shutting my eyes and hoping that we would both get to sleep alright.

*

Morning (read: 5am) came way too quickly and I found myself hurrying around the house trying to get Justin ready to leave for the WEG compound so that NSYNC could do all of their radio call-ins and their press.

Justin was grumpy and on edge more so than usual and I had to remind myself that after the sales figures rolled in tomorrow morning, he wouldn't be so moody.

I loved the guy but there was only so much I could take all at once.

He got into his car, a granola bar between his teeth and a bottle of water in his hand and he waved to me as he backed out of the garage.

With him gone I finally had a chance to take a deep breath in and just relax. I had taken the day off from work and had nothing planned but to chill out and take some time for me.

Yeah right. I wasn't going to relax. I'd be worrying all day just as bad as the guys were. There was so much pressure on this album to do well. Especially since the Backstreet Boys album that had last come out currently held the number one spot for most records sold in a day. With the rivalry between the two bands it was such a contest to see who was better. I didn't want to know what would happen if *NSYNC didn't beat out the BSB's first day sales.

While getting ready for the day, I had to remind myself that I couldn't think about it anymore. The album was out and we'd all know soon enough what kind of number's the record was pulling in.

I spent the morning out shopping with Bridgette, both of us picking up outfits for the Jive release party tonight in New York, and getting manicures and pedicures.

We were supposed to meet up at the airport with the guys at 4pm so that the private jet could fly us all up there. Bridgette was completely ecstatic about getting to fly in a private plane for the first time. Since I'd been with Justin a little over a year and a half, I'd done my share of flying in them, it was old news to me.

I packed my overnight bag, picked up Bridgette from her place and we set out for the airport.

On the plane, Johnny was spouting off some rough numbers of album sales that had us all thrumming with anticipation. The figures were already nearing the million mark and the day wasn't over yet.

We could all feel it, but no one wanted to say it: NSA was going to break a few records before everything was all said and done.

The plane touched down in NYC a little past 7 and we got checked into the hotel and situated there, heading out for a celebratory dinner before going to the release party.

And what a release party it was. Red carpet, free alcohol, all the big names in the business, every big wig from Jive Records, every producer from the album; you name them, they were there.

It was madness.

I barely got to speak ten words to Justin all night, he kept getting caught up in conversations with everyone and talking business. But he let me know he knew I was there and that he appreciated my presence with a wink in my direction or he'd squeeze my hand as he walked past me.

When we were alerted at midnight that sales had just hit the one million mark everyone cheered and was given a glass of champagne to toast with and I couldn't have been more proud. Even if that's all that sold, it was still something to be incredibly proud of.

The party didn't wind down until about 2am and we all got carted back to the hotel in drunken/sleepy states. Everyone had finally relaxed and let loose and now all they wanted to do was get a good night's sleep.

In the elevator, I wrapped my arms around Justin's waist and snuggled into his side, his head resting on top of mine as we rode up to our floor.

"Ready to go to sleep, sweets?" he asked, rubbing my back half heartedly.

"Mhmm." I replied tiredly, more than ready to curl up in bed and pass out for a few hours.

We walked to the room slowly, both dragging our feet along and called out a tired goodnight to the rest of the guys and Bridgette as they retired to their rooms.

I got ready for bed quickly and climbed in beside Justin, who sounded like he was already passed out judging from the light snoring sounds he was making. But when he extended his right arm out for me to curl up beside him, I knew he was still somewhat coherent.

He pressed a kiss to my temple and mumbled "thanks for being there tonight, Tris."

I kissed his cheek lightly. "No place else I would have wanted to be, superstar. You know that." I told him quietly.

"Still. I didn't get a chance to thank you before so...I'm doing it now. You've been my rock these past few months. I don't know how I would've gotten through them without you."

"Well, you made it through. No more worries. Get some sleep, sweetie. I love you. So much."

"Mmm. Love you more." He whispered out. Seconds later his breathing evened out and when I knew he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, I let myself fall asleep with him.

*

I was awakened with a start as the shrill ringing of Justin's cell phone pierced through the air.

"Justin. If you don't answer that I am chucking it across the room and then you will hate me for destroying your precious phone." I grumbled, grabbing the pillow from underneath my head and putting it over my ear.

"Yeah yeah, I got it." I heard him say before the obnoxious ringing came to a stop.

I sighed out in relief. That release party last night was amazing and while neither Justin nor I were of age, we still drank a bit to celebrate.

As tired as I was, I tried to listen in on Justin's conversation but only caught bits and pieces of it.

Minutes later he said goodbye and I heard the clunk of his phone being set down on the bedside table. The pillow was lifted off my face and tossed to the ground by Justin and when I rolled over to look at him, the biggest smile was stretched across his face.

He reached out under the covers for my hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss the back of it. I scooted myself closer to him and pressed my forehead against his.

"That was Johnny." He told me, brushing his nose across mine.

"And..." I prodded.

"We did it." He said softly, his eyes glistening slightly, half a smile tugging on his lips.

"Well I figured as much." I said playfully, curling my arm around his waist

"No like...we really did it. Even more than we anticipated." He told me, his voice full of surprise.

"What's ‘really did it'?" I questioned, stroking his back with the pads of my fingertips.

"Tris, we broke a record."

Now it was my turn to be in shock.

"You're kidding?! How many?"

"1.2 million. Can you believe that?! Our little album sold 1.2 million copies in the first day!"

I laughed softly, completely amazed at how genuinely surprised he was about the news.

I mean, even I was having a hard time believing it and I had more confidence most days in "No Strings Attached" than the rest of the guys, but to break the record? That was amazing. My heart was so incredibly happy for him and the rest of the guys.

"I'm so proud of you, J." I told him, stroking his cheek with the back of my hand. "So, so proud. I knew you guys could do it."

"I'm glad you did." He said with a soft chuckle. "Come on. We gotta go check in on the rest of the guys." With that he tugged me out of bed and towards the door. He stopped before opening it and turned to me.

"I know I told you last night but...thank you for being so amazing. And dealing with me through all of this. And putting up with my crazy friends and my insane lifestyle and dreams. You didn't ask to have to put up with all of this but you did. And I'm so grateful for it. The other guys are too."

I smiled up at him, leaning in to his lips for a good morning kiss, only to get interrupted as the door was shoved wide open. Chris came barreling into the room first, followed by Lance and Joey and a still sleepy-eyed JC.

Justin's eyes widened as Chris jumped onto his back and not anticipating the action, fell over under the weight. They tumbled to the ground in a heap of flailing arms and legs, followed by Chris' high pitched squeal and Justin gleeful laughter. Before I knew it Joey, Lance, even JC joined them on the ground in a chorus of laughter and cheering (in five part harmony, no less), in celebration of the news they'd just received.

I heard Bridgette giggle from beside me and turned to give her a bright, tooth-y smile.

And all I could hear from the pile of boys on the floor was a chorus of "we did it" over and over and over again.

At 1.2 million copies sold in one day, they sure as hell did do it.