Chapter 8: A Trip Home!
Hayden could barely contain her excitement once the plane landed in Minneapolis. She was looking forward to seeing her family and friends. It had been over a month since Hayden left for California and she was definitely ready to see everybody again, especially Riley. She had called everyone last night and let them know she would be coming home for at least a week and that Justin would be coming back with her. Everyone was really excited to see her and meet Justin.
“Wake up sleepy.” Hayden said while shaking Justin lightly on the shoulders.
“WHAT!?” Justin yelled, throwing his arms out like someone was attacking him.
“Holy shit…what the hell was that?” Hayden managed to get out through her laughs.
“Fuck…Hayden you scared the living daylights out of me.” Justin said while trying to control his breathing and get it back down to normal.
“Remind me never to shake you when you’re sleeping again.” Hayden laughed while getting out of her seat and grabbing her carry-on.
“Well if we didn’t have to get up at 3 in the morning to catch the flight, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep.” Justin winked at her. “But I’m good now…got my power nap in.” He said following Hayden out of the plane and up the walkway.
Justin was excited to spend the entire week with Hayden; it would help get his mind off of the craziness that would soon envelop his life. Hayden had mentioned the night before that it would probably be cold in Minnesota; therefore Justin chose to wear a sweatshirt and hat. Not only would it help keep him warm but it would help disguise him amongst the people. If the media knew Justin was in Minnesota, this week could definitely be over before it even started. So far Justin and Hayden had been lucky to avoid any media attention in California and they hoped to continue that streak in Minnesota.
Once they got their bags, they started walking through the terminal; it wasn’t long before Hayden spotted Riley outside. Hayden quickened her pace out the door towards the car. The girls nearly knocked one another over when they went to give each other a hug.
“Oh girl, it’s good to see you!” Riley said.
“You too…I’ve missed hanging out with you.” Hayden said before reaching to pick up her bag she dropped to hug Riley.
“Well you haven’t missed much around here…” Riley said trailing off when she noticed Justin standing there.
Hayden finally realized she forgot to introduce Justin. “Oh Riles, this is Justin. Justin, this is my best friend since kindergarten, Riley James.”
Justin extended his hand to Riley. “Nice to meet you Riley.”
“Likewise. Well, how about I get you guys out of the airport.” Riley said while walking around her car to get inside.
Justin had been the gentlemen opening Hayden’s door before getting into the backseat of Riley’s car. Once on the road, Hayden and Riley talked like they had never been apart; Justin was starting to feel a little out of place around these two.
“So what have you been doing out in California?” Riley asked Hayden.
“I’ve basically been following this guy around all the time while he prepares to release his next album.” Hayden said as she turned around and gave Justin a wink.
“I hope she’s not getting on your nerves too much…” Riley said while looking back at Justin in the rearview mirror.
“Nah…she’s been a lot of fun to have around.” Justin said.
“Well I hope you guys don’t mind if we just head back to the apartment…I’ve got night class in a couple of hours. Plus, I figured Hayden; you’d want to show Justin around or something.” Riley said while getting off of the interstate and heading towards their apartment. Hayden was busying glancing around at the houses and buildings flying by. It had been over a month since she started her last semester of college and over a month since she’d been in Minnesota. Damn, she missed this place. Yes, she was extremely thankful for the opportunity she had been given but there was just something about being home that was comforting.
“How’s Tyler?” Riley asked, interrupting Hayden’s peaceful thoughts.
Hayden gave her a knowing look and smiled. “He’s good…why?”
“Oh you know…just wondering...I just know it’s been a long time since you two have seen each other…umm..yeah.” Riley was completely flustered and desperately wanted to change the subject now.
Justin picked up on Riley’s awkward behavior and made a mental note to ask Hayden about that later. Like Hayden, he was enjoying looking out the window at everything passing by, however for Hayden it was the comfort of being home…but for Justin this was the most time he ever spent exploring Minnesota. He could tell you about every nook and cranny of the Xcel Energy Center and the Target Center but being out in the communities, this was definitely new territory and he was enjoying himself.
Suddenly, Riley pulled into the parking lot of a small apartment complex. The building was tiny compared to his house in L.A., but quaint nonetheless. The entire building was made of bricks and Justin had to admit it brought character to the complex. Hayden was already out of the car and collecting all of their bags before Justin finally realized this was their apartment complex…oops.
It wasn’t long before they had made the trek inside the building and were finally entering their apartment. Justin couldn’t help but take it all in, the lavender scent that was all Hayden, the pictures frames of the two girls everywhere, the candles, and beautiful lush couches…it was exactly how he pictured Hayden’s apartment to be.
“I know I just met you Justin…but I really have to get going if I’m going to make it to night class on time.” Riley said interrupting Justin from surveying the room.
“Oh no, I understand…I’m sure I’ll see you later anyways.” Justin said putting his bag on the ground near the couch.
“Hey Hayd…I’ve got class, but I’ll be back later tonight to get some of my stuff.” Riley said collecting all of her books and hoisting her bag to her shoulder.
Hayden came walking out of her bedroom, “What do you mean get some of your stuff?”
“I figured I’d crash at Krystal’s for the week, one because we have to work on a project and I’ll probably be late every night, and two that way Justin can actually sleep in a bed, rather than the couch. It’s no biggie…Krystal’s cool with it.” Riley said.
“I don’t want to put you out Riley…the couch is fine.” Justin piped in.
“Oh you’re not at all…no worries. I’ll see you two later though. Nice to have you here Justin. Bye Hayden…love ya hun!” Riley said before walking out of the apartment and leaving Justin and Hayden alone for the first time since getting into Minnesota.
“I don’t know about you but I’m kinda tired.” Hayden said while sitting on the couch.
“I think the nap I took on the plane helped…although I didn’t enjoy being woken up the way I was.” Justin said while sitting next to Hayden.
Hayden couldn’t help but laugh when she thought about Justin’s freak out on the plane earlier. “You have no idea how funny that was.” Hayden said while shifting her body to lean up against Justin on the couch, his arm instinctively wrapped around her waist. It was in that moment that Justin felt a pull on his heart when she snuggled up close to him. It had been so long since he’d ever felt anything on those terms towards a woman. Justin hadn’t been in a serious relationship ever since everything with Cameron went up in smoke, and let’s not even go back to the destruction Britney caused him. This new feeling scared the life out of him but at the same time he couldn’t get enough of it.
Justin noticed a couple of pictures that were lining the coffee table and he instinctively reached for the frame. Hayden smiled at his interest in the pictures and decided to explain what was going on in each of them.
“This picture was taken, oh lord…about fiver or six years ago when Riley and I were getting ready to go to a concert here in Minneapolis.” Hayden said pointing to the first picture in the frame.
Justin could tell the picture was definitely a long time ago because Hayden looked significantly younger and carefree, there wasn’t that something in her eyes that told the world “I’ve been through a lot...” anymore. Justin was fascinated by the picture, she looked so happy in it.
“What concert were you going to?” Justin asked, still mesmerized by it.
Hayden suddenly got quiet and Justin turned to look at her. Her cheeks were flaring bright red and she was trying her best to hide in his chest. Justin pulled his arm out from her and forced her to look at him, she was definitely cute when she blushed, he thought.
“What concert did you go see?” Justin asked again.
“Umm…you know, it’s not important,” Hayden said while grabbing the frame from his hands and darting off of the couch towards her room. It wasn’t long before Justin caught up to her and tackled her onto the bed. Hayden screamed once she felt herself fall to the bed and a huge grunt escaped her lips when Justin landed on top of her.
“Are you crazy?” Hayden said looking up at him. “I could have hurt myself falling down like that.”
“Nah…I won’t ever let you fall, unless I intend to catch you.” Justin said his gaze a bit more intense than even he wanted and Hayden shifted uncomfortably underneath him.
“All right, get off of me…I can’t breathe.” Hayden said breaking the stare going on and desperately trying to buck Justin off of her.
“Not until you tell me what concert you were going to…why is it such a big deal?” Justin said lifting himself slightly off of her, to allow her room to breathe.
“We went to…umm… (cough) *Nsync (cough).” Hayden said smiling sheepishly up at him.
“What was that? I couldn’t understand you.” Justin grinned evilly at her; in fact he was well aware of what she said.
“Alright damn, we went to watch you, when you were with *Nsync.” Hayden said as she gave Justin a shove and managed to escape from underneath him.
“You went my concerts before and you never said anything until now?!?!” Justin asked while sitting up on her bed.
“Yeah, didn’t want you to think I was some crazed fan that was just looking to get to know you better…I wanted you to trust that the sole reason I was there was to work on my senior project, not because I am, I mean was a fan before.” Hayden said while futzing with her shirt.
“Awe…that’s so cute.” Justin said and Hayden’s head snapped up to look at him like he was crazy.
“What’s so cute?” Hayden asked completely lost.
“You had a crush on me.” Justin said while puffing out his chest.
“I never said I liked you...I went to the concert to see *Nsync, last time I checked that included four other guys, not just you, in fact my heart totally belonged to JC.” Hayden said trying her hardest to keep from laughing hysterically when she saw Justin’s chest deflate at her last comment.
“Ouch, that was harsh Hayden.”
“Awe poor baby, just kidding Justin…you know I love you.” Hayden said brushing her hand through the small curls that adorned his head before getting up and walking back into the living room. Justin was quick to follow behind her and took a seat on the dining room chair.
“I’m kind of hungry...what about you?” Justin asked.
“Yeah, I am…what are you in the mood for?” Hayden asked while rummaging through her cupboards.
“I kind of feel like vegging out in front of the TV and just order a pizza or something.” Justin said while opening his bag and taking off his sweatshirt.
“Yeah me too…besides we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow…I want to go show you the campus, I should probably meet with my professor quick to talk about my project and then I was thinking about going to the Mall of America.” Hayden said while flipping through the phone book in search of the number to a pizza place.
“Umm…all of that sounds good, but the Mall of America might not be the best place if you want to keep a low profile with me around.” Justin said as he went to go sit on the couch again.
“It’ll be fine, besides it’s the middle of the week and we’ll go when most kids are still in school. Just make sure to wear a hat and sweatshirt, it’ll be cool.” Hayden said before dialing Toppers pizza.
“Yeah I’d like to order a large pepperoni pizza and an order of toppers sticks with ranch.” Hayden quickly scribble down the amount and made her way over to sit next to Justin.
“It’ll be here in 30-45 minutes. What do you want to watch?” Hayden said flipping through the channels. Just then a voice broke through on the TV that caught Justin and Hayden’s attention. “Justin Timberlake is preparing to release his new album but sources say he’s been spotted hanging out with a mystery girl lately in Los Angeles, but who is this mystery girl?” Justin could feel Hayden tense up and he grabbed the remote quickly changing the channel. Justin reaching his arm out wrapped it securely around her waist and pulled her close.
“Don’t worry about that…” Justin whispered into her ear while rubbing his hand up and down her back.
Hayden tried her best to just brush it off but at the same time, it bothered her. Hayden was the epitome of a private person and she definitely did not want her friendship with Justin to be broadcast over the world.
“I’ll take care of it and call Ken, my publicist, to take care of it. Don’t let this ruin your time here…it will all blow over, I promise.” Justin said honestly.
Hayden snuggled up close to him and flipped on a movie, she was definitely done with the TV. “If you say so, I trust you.”
Justin felt another pull at his heart when she said those three words,I trust you. He knew how hard it was for Hayden to open up and give her trust and it made him feel wonderful that she was putting it all in his hands. Hayden and Justin were definitely treading in untouched ground when it came to their friendship, hell everything had been so up and down for awhile, but tonight Justin finally felt comfortable in her presence. The two of them enjoyed the night just lounging around, laughing at stupid jokes, watching movies, and eating pizza. It had been a long time since Justin ever felt normal and not a celebrity.
Riley returned to the apartment around midnight to collect some things and when she opened the door she was surprised to find Justin and Hayden fast asleep snuggled up together on the couch. Riley couldn’t believe her eyes at the sight in front of her, it had been over two years since Hayden’s ever gotten close to another man in any way. Quickly, she went into her room and grabbed her camera, snapping a couple of pictures of the two of them; it was definitely the most precious moment Riley’s ever seen. Trying her best not to wake them, she collected everything she’d need and left a note for Hayden. Closing the door softly, Riley left the two alone for the rest of the night knowing that something between those two was definitely starting to brew; she only hoped she’d be around to witness it all.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's another chapter...please review...I really appreciate it!!
Story Tags: justin college
