“Wow. I had no idea,” Riley breathed. “So how often…”

“Depends. On what I have going on, on what happened that day. On who’s around. I can mostly control it.” Justin explained.

Anxiety. ANXIETY? Justin Timberlake, prince of pop, star of teenage dreams, cocky pop star - dealt with anxiety? 

She would have never guessed. It never seemed to her that he had any struggles. He definitely hid it well. Then it dawned on her. 12. He became famous when he was 12. She started to try to imagine her childhood in the spotlight. She couldn’t.

She quickly went over his schedule in her head for the next few weeks, a few weeks in a career that was over 20 years long. It was daunting. 

Wow, Riley...You would have anxiety, too… 

“So what do I need to know...Do?”

Justin sighed. “I guess know what to look for..” He looked a little embarrassed suddenly. “I think I get quiet.”

“Distant?” she offered.

“Yeah. Yeah, and ...Unfocused?”

“Ok. and what helps?”

“Yell at me.”

“I’m sorry, what??”

“I have to be..brought back to reality. Don’t curse me out, Marin, just- snap me out of it.”

“Won’t that just make it worse?”

“Sometimes, but I don’t exactly have the time to- fall apart…”

Wow. No time to fall apart. Wow. Being a celebrity 101. Riley’s heart sank a little. She may not be famous, but she knew that feeling.

“I get it Justin. I get it…” Riley looked down.

 She thought of Derek. She thought of all the time she spent at home lately. Why her life had felt so foreign to her since he had left. Why not much made her truly happy anymore. But she had pressed on. Life happens, and she didn’t have the luxury of taking a break from it. 

Justin looked over at her. There was an awkward pause and he noted her silence. The look on her face. She did get it. How did she get it? Who was Riley, really? He realized he didn’t really know anything about her.

She spoke up, breaking the awkwardness. “ For what it’s worth...You can’t tell Justin. I would have never guessed.”

“You just met me, Marin..”

“No, yeah I know but I mean, in general, ya know from-I mean ya know appearances and performances and...stuff.”

He smirked. “Stuff?”

“Yeah. I mean I own a tv.”

“Uh huh...and my face-”

“Oh my God NO. I just. I knew who you were, Justin. Not living under a rock.”

“How long have you known who I am...”

He was having entirely too much fun now. 

“Awhile, I guess.”

“You guess...since like...I dunno...2000?”

“Why does it matter, Justin?” 

He smiled “Riley...Were you an *NSync fan…?”

She felt her face go red “Wasn’t everyone…?”

No, no they weren’t, Riley, she thought quickly to herself.

Justin started to laugh. It was a laugh she had heard as a kid. A laugh she immediately recognized. He couldn’t help himself, and it got a little higher pitched the longer it went on.

“Childhood things, Justin. Can we drop it?”

He calmed himself down and noticed her expression. 

“Ohhhhhh…”

“What?”

“Huh. Makes sense now…” He said, some sort of realization in his eyes.

“What makes sense?”

“Nothing.”

“Justin…”

“Nothing, Marin...It’s fine. I’m sorry I had you worried. Now you know, though. Thank you for making sure I was ok.”

“That’s my job, right?” she said simply. 

He gave her a small smile “Right. I’ll see you at the shoot.”

Bingo. She hated him. Or at least she resented him. 

 Justin tried not to pay too much attention to tabloids and rumors and critics, but he knew what was said about him. He knew it would happen when he started making music on his own. He knew that most people had no idea what had actually happened, or the real story of *NSync’s “break.” That most people had no clue how much he thought of or spoke to his four brothers, or how he wished things were different. They didn’t need to know. It was their story and their story alone to tell. 

Her guard made sense now. Who was this woman? She kept herself buttoned up, but he could tell there was an edge there. He had seen her resume. He knew she was smart, and could see the spark hiding in her eyes. She was going to be an amazing assistant, if only because she refused to fail. Felt familiar. She needed to relax, though. How would he get her to relax? 

He hated making people uncomfortable. Another thing most people didn’t know…