Chapter 12
<Br><b>Chapter Eleven</b><br><br><p class="h2"> "Hey, man, how you doin'?" Justin shoved his hand into the hand of the radio announcer and thanked him as he took his seat. The entire day had been like that; interview after interview. He'd spent his whole day greeting new people and answering their over-rated questions. His whole <i>week</i> had been like that. He couldn't even remember how many days it had been since he'd seen or even talked to Gabrielle. For all he knew, she wasn't even staying at the hotel anymore.
<p class="h2">As Justin began to answer the same mind-numbing questions he was forced to answer at every interview, he began to day dream about the situation. He felt horrible about not seeing or talking to Gabrielle, but he forced himself to realize that it wasn't his fault. They both knew that the whole point of going to New York was business: his job. <p class="h2">There were four days left until their flight, and if things progressed the way they had been, the next time they'd see each other would be on the plane. Justin wouldn't have that. He needed to talk to her that night; he just needed to see her again. He hurried the interview along, politely answering any questions asked with appropriate answers. He breathed in relief as the interview ended and he realized that he'd finished early for the day. <p class="h2">"Hey, Justin. We've got one last thing for you today. I know it's last minute, but you really need to get down to the release party for the McDonald's campaign. Just make an appearance, show your face, and be done with it. You'll be outta there in twenty minutes, tops, okay?" <p class="h2">Justin angrily stared down the barer of bad news. His night was beginning to look up when he'd finished early, but this was the last thing he wanted to hear. <p class="h2">"Twenty minutes. That's it. Then I'm out." <p class="h2">"Fine." <p class="h2">Gabrielle sighed as she looked around the empty hotel room. She hadn't seen Justin in several days. Actually, she hadn't seen him since their last night together. She wondered if he was avoiding her. When she went to sleep at night, she wondered if he was finished with her. When she woke in the mornings and found him gone, she wondered if he'd regretted that night. She considered flying back home without his knowledge. <p class="h2">Suddenly, she heard heavy footsteps. At first, she ignored them; she knew it wouldn't be him. He was always gone before she woke up and he only returned after she was asleep. She listened as the footsteps came closer, and she heard Justin's door slam. Instantly, she got up and ran to the adjoining door and opened it. It was him, and he seemed to be in a rush. <p class="h2">"Hey, Justin." She happily greeted him. It'd been so long, Gabrielle felt as if she'd almost forgotten what he looked like. <p class="h2">"Hey, Gabby, how've you been?" He ran over and gave her a quick hug before quickly returning to his task at hand: changing for the party. <p class="h2">"What are you doing?" She laughed at him as he ran into the bathroom, ran out to grab a tie, then ran back in again. <p class="h2">"And why are you doing it in such a hurry?" <p class="h2">"I've got a party to go to tonight for this McDonald's thing." <p class="h2">"What McDonald's thing?" <p class="h2">"It's a long story. They're using one of my songs or something. I'm really not clear on what's going on yet, either, so I can't really explain it to you, but I've gotta go to it." <p class="h2">"Oh, sounds like fun. Can I come with? I've been cooped up in this hotel all day-" <p class="h2">"Sorry, Gabby. It's a business thing, ya know? You wouldn't have any fun. Besides, if you come with me, then people will think we're together, and that's the <i>last</i> thing I need right now with the release of this new campaign and everything." <p class="h2">"Oh, well, excuse me for asking." Gabrielle turned on her heel and walked straight back into her room, shutting the door behind her. Justin didn't even notice her disappearance until well after she was gone, and by that point, he had no idea what he'd said or how badly it'd hurt Gabrielle. His only thought was to get to that party so he could get back and relax. Without thinking to say goodbye, he ran out the door and went on his way to the campaign. <p class="h2">Gabrielle sat in her room and forced herself to hold in the tears she felt stinging her eyes. How could he be so insensitive? Did he have no feelings or any consideration for hers? <i>At least if he was feeling that way, he could have held it in</i>, she thought to herself. <p class="h2">The sudden ring of her cell phone jolted her, and for a split second, she thought it might be Justin calling to apologize. <p class="h2">"Hey, Gabrielle! What's up?" She knew that voice...but from where? She thought hard as she tried to place it. It definitely wasn't Justin; he didn't call her Gabrielle, never had. <p class="h2">"Wade?" It finally struck her. She prayed that Justin had already left. <p class="h2">"Yeah, Girl! How you been?" Gabrielle cringed at the loud background noise. <p class="h2">"Good. Wade, where are you?" <p class="h2">"The party of the year, Girl! You gotta get your ass down here! There's not a single sober person in sight!" <p class="h2">"What party are you at?" She was honestly considering going...only if it wasn't the same party Justin was going to. <p class="h2">"I told you, Girl, the party of the year! It's bangin', get your ass down here!" <p class="h2">"You're not at the McDonald's party?" <p class="h2">"McDonald's? Girls, McDonald's doesn't throw parties! There's nothing McDonald's at this party!" <p class="h2">"I'll be there in ten minutes." She was convinced. If Justin refused to be seen with her, she knew Wade had no objections. At the moment, all she wanted to do was have fun, and Justin wanted no part of her for that. Wade was her rescue. She listened as he told her where to go, and she quickly got off the phone, dressed for the occasion, and flew down to an awaiting cab. <p class="h2">Almost instantly on her arrival, she spotted Wade and made her way over to him. They greeted with engulfing hugs and a quick kiss. Wade said goodbye to the people he was with and he pulled her along behind him to an area of more seclusion. Gabrielle loved that Wade had chosen her first over his friends; she wished that Justin treated her the way Wade did. They engaged in casual conversation until a favorite song of Gabrielle's boomed loudly in the air, and she pulled him through the crowd to the dance floor. She turned around to face him, and he pulled her arms around his neck as they began to bump to the beat of the bass. Song after song passed by and Gabrielle forgot all thoughts of Justin or the hurt he'd caused her earlier that night. She was thoroughly enjoying her time with Wade, and she was grateful that he wasn't making any advances on her; they were just two friends out for a night. In fact, she couldn't ever remember Wade literally hitting on her. A kiss or two was it, and even the kisses seemed completely innocent. <p class="h2"><i>"Bada ba-ba-ba! I'm Lovin' it!"</i> As the song changed, the entire crowd stopped and began to applaud. Having never heard the song before, Gabrielle thought nothing of it, and began to applaud, herself. She gave Wade a strange look when he only crossed his arms. Within seconds, the short song had ended; she could hear the muffled sound of someone's voice, but she was much too far away from the stage to hear the voice clearly or even realize that there was a stage. There was more applause, and Gabrielle asked Wade what was going on. He shrugged his shoulders, and pulled her back to him as the song changed to another random dance hit. Her hips resumed their position just in front of Wade's. <p class="h2">Suddenly, she felt the painfully tight grip of a strong hand around her arm, and she was pulled away from Wade into another man's arms. By the time she'd realized who it was, she was already dancing with him, and when she tried to pull away, she realized he had pinned her to him. <p class="h2">"I'm gonna do this as civilly as possible because we're in public....What the fuck are you doing with him?" He was close enough to whisper his words in her ear, and his voice was strained and furious. <p class="h2">"What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked him, shocked at his appearance, "Aren't you supposed to be at a business party?" Her words bit with anger. <p class="h2">"This is my business party, and that's not the right answer. Don't avoid my question." <p class="h2">"Justin, what the hell do you think you're doin', man!?" Wade yelled angrily over the music. <p class="h2">"This has nothing to do with you, dick-face. Go to hell." Justin turned his attention toward Gabrielle again, but Wade refused to let Justin intrude. <p class="h2">"Do you mind, man!? Gabrielle came with me." <p class="h2">"I don't care who the fuck she came with; she's <i>leaving</i> with me. Right now, Gabby; we're leaving." <p class="h2">"Man, let the woman make her own damn decisions!" <p class="h2">"Stay the fuck out of this, Wade. It's got nothing to do with you!" <p class="h2">"Damn, Justin me let go!" Justin's grip was getting increasingly tighter the angrier he became, and Gabrielle tried to tear her arm away to escape the pain. <p class="h2">"I'm not leaving with you, Justin. I came here to have a good time, and I'm not ready to leave yet. Besides, isn't it bad for your rep to be seen with me? What if people think we're together?" She forced her words to sting at Justin, and he gripped even tighter on her arm and pulled her in close to whisper in her ear. <p class="h2">"Gabby, we need to talk and if you're not coming with me, I can just start it right now." <p class="h2">"I don't want to do this here. We're both going to end up blowing up at each other." He didn't give her time to say goodbye to Wade before he began pulling her out of the venue and into the street. He spotted his limo and among a thousand flashes and reporters screaming his name, he pulled her into it and the driver quickly drove away. <p class="h2">"Justin, look-" <p class="h2">"We're not gonna do this here, either. Just shut up until we get back to the room." <p class="h2">"Fuck you, Justin, don't talk to me like that." He shot her a dirty look, and the rest of the trip was taken in silence. <p class="h2">When they arrived, Justin grabbed her hand and forcefully yanked her out of the car; he pulled her all the way until the elevator, and she ripped her hand from his. <p class="h2">"Let go of me! Stop acting like a controlling asshole!" He didn't look at her, didn't touch her, and didn't respond to her. Only after their door was closed behind them did he speak to her. <p class="h2">"Explain yourself, and this better be the truth, Gabby. What the fuck were you doing with him?" <p class="h2">"I was dancing with him, Justin, dancing! We weren't having sex, so calm down." <p class="h2">"We've talked about this before; we've been through this. I thought you understood and respected me." <p class="h2">"I do respect you, Justin, but I'm going through hell on this trip! I dropped my entire life for you, and I've seen you about three times in the last week and a half! I'm bored to death in this hotel room, and the only fun I've had on this trip has been with Wade...and the sad thing is that you can't even understand why. You have no idea why I keep going back to him. All you know is that you hate me for it." <p class="h2">"I do <i>not</i> hate you, Gabby. You just piss me off!" He forced his fingers through his hair in frustration. <p class="h2">"Yes you do. If it's not that, then tell me what it is! The last time we even spoke was the night we slept together, and you've been avoiding me ever since. You even refuse to be seen in public with me." <p class="h2">"Gabby, that's business, you can't be mad at me for that! And why do you keep going back to that asshole, anyway? If you've got a reason, then by all means, enlighten me!" <p class="h2">"Because Justin, he treats me like a man <i>should</i> treat a woman; he drops whatever he's doing to be with me. He actually pays attention to me, and I feel like he and I have a more intimate connection than you and I do...and he and I haven't even had sex. That's the only kind of intimacy we've had, Justin, and frankly, I think that's all you want from me. The least you could have done these passed few days was let me know what was going on...you could have woken me up whenever you left or got back. That would have been enough, but you didn't even try to talk to me. Tonight, <i>Wade</i> called <i>me</i>. He called me after you said the most hurtful thing I've ever heard in my life, and I went with him so that I could forget about you. That's why I went with him, Justin." She felt something other than regret when she saw the hurt and angry look on his face. She couldn't feel regret; she had emptied her true feelings to him, and she felt no shame. <p class="h2">"How did I hurt you?" <p class="h2">"When I asked to go with you, you told me that people would think that we were together, and that was the <i>last</i> thing you needed right now. That hurt, Justin." She let her eyes fall to the floor as she remembered the painful moment. <p class="h2">"Gabby, this is my job. You have to understand that I have to deal with so many rumors in my life. It kills me to have to deal with them; I hate it. So, if I can eliminate any of them before they begin, I do. That's all that was about. Besides, I don't want to go public with anything unless it's serious. Otherwise I'm going through hell for what? A fling? I'm not willing to take shit from other people for a relationship that's gonna end in a month." <p class="h2">"Wow, Justin, you're really not helping your own case. At least Wade acts like he's a real person around me. You can't let your damn celebrity ego deflate long enough to see something special right in front of your face." <p class="h2">"Don't start with the insults. We're already pissed off enough as it is; neither of us needs the effects of your bullshit insults. You just have to have a little patience with me, all right? I know I've got something special right in front of my face, but the timing isn't good right now, Gabby. You don't realize how big a step it is to be in a relationship with me, I know you don't understand how a relationship in the public eye works. Right now I'm not ready to handle publicity for two people." <p class="h2">"God, Justin, I know I'm no expert, but you could have a little regard for my feelings. You're making me feel very small and worthless. I'm not asking you for anything right now. Hell, I'm not asking you for anything at all. But you can't expect me to wait around for you. I won't do that; I know that there's someone else right now who isn't making me wait and who doesn't mind being around me, no matter who sees us. And since nothing's happening with you and me right now, I don't see any problem with me being with Wade." <p class="h2">"You're joking, right? You don't see any problem with that? Damn, Gabby, I thought I was blind!" <p class="h2">"You are blind." He disregarded her insult. <p class="h2">"Gabby, its wrong for you to be with Wade because of <i>me</i>. I don't know how you're missing this, Gabby, but I'm falling in love with you, and I think you're falling for me, too. If that's not reason enough to stay away from him, then something's seriously wrong here." <p class="h2">"Don't you dare. Don't you dare, Justin. Don't you dare say that to me! It's bad enough that you compare me to your ex-girlfriend and expect me to stay away from him when I have nothing to do with that situation! It's not fair to me, Justin. I can't believe that you're so selfish that you actually said that to me. Justin, I know you don't love me; you're willing to say anything to keep me away from Wade because of this constant competition you have with him. That was low, Justin. I can't believe you would stoop that low." <p class="h2">"Wait, Gabby, you've got this all wrong. I said that because I meant it, not because I'm selfish. You're even blinder than I thought you were. And damn, Gabby. Forgive me wanting you to stay away from him because I've been hurt in the past!" He could feel his anger start to flare up again, "The least you could do is be compassionate and try to be understanding. If nothing else, you're supposed to be my friend, Gabby. That's the least I could ask from you! But instead of being a friend, it's like you're recreating that whole situation! I can't understand why you won't just stay away from him. God, it's like this whole thing is happening all over again right before my eyes! Why are you doing this to me?" <p class="h2">"Oh, my God, Justin! I'm not recreating anything; Britney and I are two totally different people, and these situations are nothing alike! It's not my fault that you were so blindly in love with and <i>obsessed</i> with this woman that you had no idea she was cheating on you, and it's <i>definitely</i> not my fault that you were so <i>fucking naïve</i> when she blatantly lied to you about fucking him that you believed her! None of that is my fault, so stop taking this out on me!" <p class="h2">As soon as her last word was out, the anger in Justin exploded from his body and he open-handedly smacked her face with the entire strength of his arm. He watched her fly toward the floor behind her and clutch her stinging cheek. The expression on his face clearly displayed the hurt and anger her comments had caused in him, and he turned his back on her. Before he left, he heard a single sob emerge from her lips and he silently cursed her as he walked away from her and into his bedroom.
