Don't get so busy that you miss
Giving just a little kiss
To the ones you love
And don't even wait a little while
To give them a little smile
A little is enough&

She looked out the frosty window, hoping to spot footprints in the snow-covered ground. After a long time of staring, her eyes started to drift close; knowing he wouldn't be here. Not before midnight at least. She knew he was busy, probably with his family in Tennessee if not on the road touring. They hadn't talked in awhile so at this minute she didn't know where he was. Though that didn't stop the dream inside her. Yeah, she was a wishful thinker, no harm in that.

Just as she dozed off warm arms wrapped around from behind. "Looking for me?" a soft voice breathed passed her ear.

Not believing it she cautiously raised her head; blinking away the bluryness of sleep. "It's you..."


2 YEARS EARLIER
“Man it’s cold out here.” Justin Timberlake said, nearing the steps of the old diner. His curly hair was hidden below his hat, and his blue eyes sparkled as he gazed up at the building. He loved these old places, and with the snow falling and New Year's nearing, it just made it feel even more special.

"Dude, what's with you and these places?" Chris asked.

Joey clapped JC on the back. "Yeah, you're almost as bad as Daddy C and his Hard Rock menus," he joked.

"Hey, I'm not that bad! It's just a collection." But even he had to admit something was up with his youngest friend. He could read him pretty well from the eight or so years he'd known him but what was this he was reading? He liked diner's, had a 50's style kitchen back in Tennesee but this was weird.

Justin was acting weird all night; he was antsy for some reason and all the guys were hungry but he refused every place they passed. Until they got here. Mel's diner. What was so special about this exact place? The young man didn't know why but he felt drawn here. And on New Year's Eve no less.

"Y'know, I'm bummed we couldn't be home," Lance drawled.

"Yeah but Johnny booked us for the parade tomorrow," Joey answered. They were all feeling a little homesick. Each boy had placed a call to their families sometime that day so now here they sat at a booth hoping to get a warm meal before heading back to the bus.

Justin was at the counter, apparently going to order the food, but he drifted off into a daydream again.

"Yo, what is up with Baby J?" Chris asked.

"Why're you asking me?" JC commented. "You all know him just as well as i do. And no, I don't know what's wrong." He glanced at the boy on the barstool who was slowly spinning a saucer around.
-------------
Alison Leanne rushed from her car to the diner she worked at. It would be another long night she could tell. And she was working on New Year's when she'd much rather be sitting on the couch with a movie. Then again, she didn't mind; Alison liked working here. The people were nice. Occasionally they got a creepy truck driver but otherwise it was ok. She'd known the owners, Mel and Jim Lucas for over 10 years. Not coming from a good background, and being slightly disabled, Alison had a tough life. The couple had been together for nearly 10 years before that and took her in like their own. They had another son, Aiden who was a year older than her and away at college.

They let Alison stay with them and they enjoyed the company and extra help over the years.

Melinda walked up to the group of boys. "Hey may I take your orders?" she smiled.

"Yeah, four cheeseburgers, two sprites, two colas please," Lance said politely.

"And for your friend over there?"

“Get him the same thing.” Justin was moving towards the booth, half hearing them, but now looking absently out the window at the falling snow.

“It’s coming down heavy,” he commented.

“And Curly speaks!” Chris cheered.

Joey jabbed, in all good fun, “Yeah, I’ve never seen you so quiet.”

“Or still,” JC added.

“Or not stuffing your face when food’s around,” Lance ended.

This woke him up briefly to snap back, “shut up.”

He kicked the boys across from him, elbowing the two next to him, before laughing heartily. Justin didn’t quite know what was wrong with himself today but he knew by the end of this New Year’s Eve, something good would happen. But just what would that be?

Jo, another waitress, brought the table their food along with what the security and drivers ordered. Quiet chatter began and even Justin joined in; acting like he usually did. JC shrugged to Lance’s questioning gaze, maybe the kid was just tired and needed food. But it was still weird he felt they had to come here. Halfway through the meal there was flurry of activity at the diner door.

Alison rushed in, late, and wasn’t going to slow down until she reached the back room. ‘Typical girl,’ Jim thought of his daughter fondly. Her mind always moved faster than her body. See, Alison was a bit disabled physically, having been born with an awkward gait that set her hips at a different angle than normal. That didn’t stop them from taking her in at age 10. The problem slowed her down a bit but she always wanted to do what everyone else did. Suddenly Jim’s head snapped up to look at Mel as they heard a squeak of surprise followed by a grunt of pain.

“Watch out for the…” Mel started but was too late. “…ice.”

Alison lay still on the floor and seemed out cold on the floor. “I’ll get the First Aide kit,” Jim called as the boys were moving to check on the girl. Other than a moan she didn’t move.

“Wait til he checks her, then we can move her to the booth,” Joey told them.

Jim rushed to the front of the diner, expertly checking the young girl for injuries. He used to be a paramedic and loved the job greatly. But once he and Mel had Aiden, he traded it in to be a cook and have more stable hours. “Ali, honey, can you hear me?”

“Jim?” she moaned softly but her eyes stayed closed.

“Yeah, it’s us. Do you hurt anywhere, did you hit your head?”

“N-no. Just, my ankle hurts…” she hissed as he lightly touched it.

“Ok, you don’t seem to have a concussion. Let’s get you up, huh?”

“I’ll get some drinks to warm everyone up,” Mel smiled softly.

“We can sit her here,” JC offered and slid out of the booth in his sweet way.

“Yeah, just rest and take it easy. We know how twisted ankles are,” Chris laughed.

Alison had her eyes closed again and let Jim and Justin lift her carefully up. They settled her back against the boy. “You don’t have to,” she mumbled, not even realizing who the strangers were yet.

“I don’t mind.” He breathed deep, a strange feeling traveled through him. He felt…peaceful now that he’d seen this girl, if that was possible. Could she be why he felt the need to come to this particular diner? He was a believer and maybe, just maybe, it was some sort of Christmas Magic. They would certainly find out by the end of the night.

PRESENT
"What's gotten Juppy so upset?" Chris asked, tilting his head towards the young boy who was sitting on a couch looking out the window, blue headphones covered his ears.

JC shrugged. "It's around that time of year. He always gets in a funk whenever we can't see our family." He sighed. "I don't blame 'im though. It's been months since we've been home. My mom just calls to hear my voice through my voice mail. C'mon, i hate hearing her cry. It's not cool."

"I know what you mean, man," Chris agreed, spinning the football that was in his hands. "Although in this case it wouldn't surprise me if this has something to do with Ali." He and JC snickered at the mention of her name.

It was no surprise that Justin had fallen for her. They met two years before when they were in Boston during New Year's and they had stopped at Mel's Diner with Justin's persuasion. They always went to Mel's Diner when they stopped in Massachusetts. He liked the atmosphere and the 50s feel. It was one day that they had stumbled upon Alison, well she actually slipped on some ice and knocked herself out. They watched her as Jim brought out the first aid kit. As soon as she woke up they talked to her to make sure she was ok and they've gradually become friends since. But Justin liked her more than the others did. Actually, they were sure that he loved her, but he wouldn't admit it.

"You know what we should do?" Lance suddenly spoke up.

"What?"

"We should rent a house somewhere and celebrate Christmas there," Lance said as he sat up and closed the book he was reading. "Somewhere in the north so we can have a white Christmas for once."

"Hey, doesn't Andrea have a place in Canada?" Joey asked, referring to their choreographer. "We can just use her place, right? She barely goes there, she said so herself. Maybe we could borrow it."

"Call her and ask," Lance said, looking pointedly at JC.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" He asked, suddenly defensive.

Lance just smiled. "Just call her."

"Fine." JC got up and went to his bunk to grab his phone.

"Geeze, the boy's almost as clueless as Bounce," Chris muttered, rolling his eyes. They suddenly lit up. "We should invite Ali!"

"Yeah!" Joey and Lance agreed, glancing over at Justin who didn't budge from where he was sitting. "That would be so cool. We could surprise him. You can tell that he's been wanting to be with her. I don't know why he doesn't say anything. It's not like we'll make fun of the kid."

"I would," Chris replied instantly.

Joey grabbed a pillow off of the couch and threw it at Chris. It hit him in the face and Joey burst out laughing. Chris laughed sarcastically before throwing the pillow at JC who came back to the front lounge. "So what's the word?"

"Her place in Montreal is currently being used," JC replied. "But she knows a place we can go to in a small place called Oakland. I think it's in Ontario," he replied, dropping down on the couch. "The rate is pretty cheap but the place is amazing from what she said."

"So all we have to do is convince Johnny to let us have Christmas off this time," Chris agreed.

"Easier said than done," Lance mumbled.

So, the next hour or two was spent with Lance and JC talking to Johnny on the speaker-phone in the back lounge. They heard the older man blow out a breath. "Boys, this is...well, it's a big request, ya know that right? I mean I know ya'll miss your families but you're booked for the holiday special on FOX this year. With traveling time, all the way to Canada, I just don't know if you will have time. I'm sorry."

"So when are we going to see our families? We haven't gotten to see them in over 6 months, J," JC tried to reason.

"And we missed the last few holidays with them. Things are slowing down and we have a short break aside from the special so why can't we just invite them up there? It's a place Andrea knows out in a small town so there's less chance of Paparazzi following."

Johnny was silent for a few moments while he thought it over. He really liked these kids and wished they could see their families more. But Justin and Lance weren't minors anymore and their moms had gone back to their own lives. He was sure the parents missed their boys as they called and flew out whenever they could; but since then *NSYNC had hit their prime. And in the middle of the No Strings Attached tour, *NSYNC was one of the biggest and sought out pop bands across the country. But he knew how much the holidays meant - having a family of his own and not wanting to miss Christmas with them - so he compromised. "How's this: ya'll can take a few days for Christmas but then as soon as December 28th hits, high-tail it to New York. I'm sorry you can't have New Year's too."

"We know, Johnny, it's alright," JC smiled.

"Yeah, we'll take whatever we can get." Lance high-fived the other boy when they hung up. He walked to the curtain where Chris was waiting on the other side. The shorter man bounced excitedly and gave Joey thumbs up who beamed before walking out to the last member.

Justin still sat on the couch but now the music in the headphones was ending and his eyes were closed; long eyelashes fluttering on his cheeks. He was seemingly in a light sleep and Joey shook his shoulders. "Hey, Curly, wake up! We gotta talk."

The younger boy stirred after a few moments and gazed up at his friend. "Wha'ya want, Sup'rman?" he asked, voice rough with sleep still.

"We gotta talk, Baby J," Chris said, sitting down. Justin slowly lifted his headphones off of his ears and looked at his friends in suspicion. Their faces were neutral but their eyes were saying something else. He couldn't put his finger on it but they seemed a little too happy.

"What's up?" He asked, his voice still a bit hoarse.

"We were just talking and we were thinking about how we could spend our Christmas," Lance started, also joining in.

"On this bus?" Justin guessed.

"Um, no. We were thinking of spending it in Canada so we can have a white Christmas this year. Andrea knows a place in Ontario that we can rent out. She says it's very beautiful around Christmas time. It's in a small town so now one will be able to find us, fans nor paparazzi," Lance continued.

"That sounds cool but don't get my hopes up," Justin sighed. "Johnny will never go for it."

JC then smiled. "We just talked to him about it, actually. Johnny went for it, we just have to get to New York once it hits the 28th, but we're cool with that."

Justin stared at them in silence. Once the news set in a huge smile formed on his face. "Are you joshing me right now?"

"No. We finally have off," Joey replied. "The place is huge so our family can come in too." his smile got a bit bigger. "We can invite people to if you were thinking of someone."

Justin then frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dont'ch'a wanna invite Ali?" Chris asked carefully. "Seeing as Mel and Jim Lucas are going somewhere for their Christmas and she'll be alone..."

"I was thinking about it," Justin admitted. "But why do you say it like that?"

"'Cause we all know you have a huge crush on her."

Justin's face flamed with red. "I do not!" He denied. They all lifted an eyebrow. "I don't!"

"The first sign of a crush is denial," JC said in a sing-song voice.

Justin then rounded on him. "Oh yeah, Mr. Hypocrite? You don't see me making fun of you."

JC stopped laughing immediatlty. "What're you talking about?"

Justin smirked. "Oh don't play dumb with me. We all know about your not-so-secret crush on Little Miss Itty-Bitty." JC lifted an eyebrow. "Andrea, stupid!"

JC let out a breath. "How many times do i have to tell you-"

" 'I don't mix buisness with pleasure' " Justin receited, his tongue sticking out so he sounded childish. "Keep telling yourself that, Joshua." he rolled his eyes. "So when're we going?"

"Uhh, in about five days," Lance replied. "But don't get too excited yet; we still have a few shows to put on. Don't change your focus."

"Oh I won't," Justin replied, his voice unfocused before whipping out his cell phone. "Andrea, what's the place look like? Does it have enough space for Jonathan and Stephen?" Justin asked walking to the back lounge.

"Everything I said went in one ear and out the other, didn't it?" Lance asked. They nodded. "That's what I thought." He got up to go back to his bunk and read as they continued on their way to the next venue. Chris went to the back lounge to see if Justin would play a video game with him when he was off the phone. Joey stayed where he was and watched JC flip through a magazine that he had picked up. JC looked up when he felt Joey looking at him

"What?" he finally asked.

"It's just me here, you can tell me the truth," Joey replied.

"What truth?" the 24 year old asked slowly. He didn't like the sound of where things were going. JC was usually very hyper but sometimes he got quiet, thoughtful, and it took him awhile to say what he was thinking outloud. Usually the guys would wait but this had gone on for two, two years, and Joey decided they had to push him this time.

"Oh, come on, man," he groaned. "I know you like Andrea; we can all see it. C'mon, why won't you tell her you got feelings for her?" he asked completely serious. Yes, shocker! Joey Fatone had serious moments; it wasn't all games with him. A brief image of him being a big teddy bear came to JC's mind.

After thinking and knowing his friend wouldn't give up, he sighed. "Joe, I - I just don't know how."

"Come out and tell her. Simple."

"No, it's not that simple. Dude, we work together, it would look bad both on her image and ours. She's a sweet girl and doesn't need that rep."

"Andrea's a big girl, C. I think she can hold her own." Joey narrowed his eyes. "Why are you holding back, Jace?" he asked gently, all joking aside.

JC blew out a breath and ran his hands through his hair; breifly noticed he needed a cut. "I've known her since she was 11. It's too weird."

"Yeah and walking around being uncomfortable around her isn't weird?"

"Ugh, I have feelings for her, I just - 'm 'fr'id..." he mumbled.

"What was that? Couldn't hear you through your hands." His friend pulled his arms down, staring straight at him.

"I'm afraid ok?!"

"Of Andy? Jace, she ain't gonna hurt you."

"How do you know, huh? How do you know that with our stubborn personalities we'll butt heads, get in an argument and say stuff. Stuff we don't mean but by then it'll be too late 'cause she'll have walked out the door. We'll lose our choreographer and one of the best friends we've known." He looked down and whispered. "I'll lose one of the best girls I've ever known."

Joey patted JC's shoulder. "Look, I know how it is. Kelly and I have our share of fights. Heck, Baby J is moping around 'cause he misses Alison. I can't imagine if we worked together. But you and Andrea are strong, you'll make it work; just TELL HER."

"Will you help me?" JC asked shyly.

"Of course but I don't know how I can," Joey replied.

"I all ready have a plan," JC said as he smiled a bit. "I just have to make sure you're around in case she tries to kill me if something backfires."

"She won't kill you," Joey said, rolling his eyes. "Kiss you, maybe, but not kill." His grin was contagious 'cause JC started smiling.

LATER THAT NIGHT
"Guys, c'mon already!" JC said as he let out a breath. "How does it always take you guys this long to get ready?"

"Because we need to make sure we're looking good," Justin replied, shouting from their dressing room. "Something you don't need to worry about." JC made a face. "I saw that!" he called in a teasing tone.

JC rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, grabbing a scooter that was in the corner of the room. He randomly navigated the halls wondering how he seemed to be the focused one when it came to show time. Any other time it was Lance that was making sure they were focused and doing what they needed to do, after all he was the self proclaimed businessman of the group. Sure, JC was the 'Dad' of the group but he knew when to have fun. SO why is it whenever he wanted them to do something they wouldn't listen?

"Penny for your thoughts." JC put his foot on the ground to stop himself so fast that he practically did a split on the ground. His heart soared when he heard the familiar laugh that always made him smile. He turned around and a smile came to his face. "You forgetting something?" She asked with a teasing smile, holding out his hat. Silently he took it from her. "I'm real," she added as if being able to read his thoughts.

"I know, I just can't believe you're here," he said, smiling a little. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I had a choreography gig," she replied, shrugging. "If you actually called you'd know that."

"Sorry about that," he mumbled. "I meant to, really, it's just the schedule-"

"I know, I'm just giving you a hard time."

He smiled and opened his mouth but was cut off by Joey. "Heyyy, we didn't know you were coming!" He exclaimed happily, pulling her into a hug. "What're you doing here?" He didn't even let her finish. "Oh, that choreography thing right?" She nodded. "How'd that go?"

"Pretty good. The kids are eager to learn, which is awesome," she replied, shoving her hands into her pockets. "But that's not really why I'm here. I can get Ali to get to the house tomorrow, that way Just won't know and he'll be surprised when you guys get there. So she can use the three days to get comfortable."

"Ok, do you need help with anything else?" Joey asked.

"Nah, I got it covered. The shopping's been done so you don't have to worry about Chris or Justin starving. The beds have been made and the house'll be warm and toasty by the time you come around. Everything should be fine. Oh, and they have this diner thing in town that J likes to go to so he should be in a super good mood the entire time." She beamed and JC's knees went weak.

"Cool." Joey grinned. "Ok, I'll get the others so you two can talk and catch up." He winked and JC and quickly went back down the hall to get to the dressing room.

"Talk?" Andrea repeated, looking at JC. "What'd he mean by that? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Uh - I don't know. Joey's just being his uh crazy self. You know him; he's lost a few marbles," JC chuckled nervously. Andrea looked at him curiously. "Well, there was something I wanted to tell you. Something that's been on my mind for awhile. And uh I -"

He was once again interuppted in his confession by none other than...Chris. Yup good ol' "Grampa" to ruin the moment. JC's mouth snapped shut as Chris began rambling. Again. "Ok, peoples, let's get a move on. Time for Hacky-ing and then showtime!!!!!"

"Who let him into the sugar again?" JC asked sullenly.

Justin and Lance snickered. "Sorry, Jace, I tried to stop him," Joey whispered and clapped his friend on the back.

"Gee, thanks," he grumbled.

"Cheer up, Josh, we got a show to do!!" Justin crowed as he ran down the hall before promptly stealing the scooter.

"Someone give him sugar too? I thought he was being all mopey and missin' his girl?" Andrea asked. She eyed the curly boy; she'd known him for years but these moods of his still stumped her.

"Shhh!" Chris hissed. "Don't remind him. It took forever to cheer him up."

"It's ok, I'm still a bit bummed; our schedule can be bad. But I'm happy we get time off soon, and with our families!"

"You didn't tell him did you?" the choreographer whispered to Lance as they walked to the stage.

"Nah we didn't. He's as clueless as ever," deep baritone voice laughing at his own joke. "He just knows we're off for Christmas."

"Good. Have a good show, Albino." Andrea then turned to JC. "You wanted to say something?"

"Uh - I'll tell you later," he covered as the crewmen called him.

EVEN LATER THAT NIGHT --- The *NSYNC No Strings Attached tour did perfect that night; the boys announcing that they'd be on break for a few weeks before resuming the leg. Justin nearly bounced to his bunk, pulling out his cell to make a call he'd wanted to for a loooong while.

"Hey, Ali! It's Just, I know it's late but I just had to ask you something. I -" He was speaking so fast he almost missed the beep.

"Hi, this is Alison. Can't get to my phone but hit me with a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"

Her soft voice, what usually had him smiling, now made his face fall. The excitement and adrenaline suddenly faded from his body; leaving him so fast he didn't know what happened. "Hey uh it's me. Just hoping to catch ya but I guess you're asleep. Sorry. Ahem, I'll uh talk to you next time. Bye hun."

"Aww, Baby Justy is saaaad," Chris chirped walking past Justin's bunk. Justin pulled back his curtain and glared at the man. "Don't give me that sad excuse of a glare. You put yourself into this situation so you can't really be mad at anyone but yourself." Justin opened his mouth. "No excuses, little man. You did this to yourself so do us all a favor and stop whining and moaning and tell the damn girl how you feel! You haven't had problems with that before."

"But Ali's different," Justin argued. "I don't want to scare her or hurt her in any way and if I tell her that I like her and she doesn't like me back...that'll hurt me."

"Oh my god!" Chris practically yelled. He grabbed Justin's arm, yanked him out of the bunk, and dragged him down the small hall to the back lounge where everyone else was sitting. He threw the taller boy onto the couch, closed and locked the door behind them so it was only those five in the room.

"What's going on?" Lance asked, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Guys, tell him what he needs to hear about Alison," Chris ordered. "He is driving me insane!"

Lance and Joey exchanged looks before closing their books and putting up their game controllers. JC just sunk in his seat. "Justin, Ali is like the perfect girl for you. You treat her with respect, like a massive load of it. You always drop eveything for her and make sure she's comfortable. If we go to the park or wherever you always walk with her so she won't fall behind. You do that because you love her," Lance said, putting massive amounts of duh on the word love.

"Bounce, why won't you let yourself be happy?" Joey asked him. Justin lifted his head and stared at him as if he grew a second head. "You always do this when you like a girl. You find every fault she has or you think of ways that your relationship won't work before it even leaves the ground. That's why you're always alone. That's why you're never happy. It doesn't help that the press keep saying you're dating someone just 'cause you're walking them across the street." He finally noticed that JC was practically sitting on the floor by how much he had been slouching. "You and Jace are the same way. You're afraid when really you don't need to be. Take it form me, I was afraid to ask Kelly out at first but after she said yes I wasn't afraid of anything at all. Whatever happened between us happens and I'm really happy, as happy as I can be. Like, if Nsync was over tomorrow I'd be happy 'cause I still had Kelly. You guys need someone like that." Justin and JC stayed silent. "We should get to the airport early tomorrow. We'll fly into LAX and then take a plane from there to Canada."
---------------
JC and Justin were fairly quiet the next morning. Only answering if they had to. They kept up appearances as they went through the airport - *NSYNC was snuck in of course and if fans or press caught on, there was a backup plan to distract them and allow the boys to travel undetected. The other three members didn't mind the silence as Joey had given them a good amount to think over. They really did need to get there act together but how? JC had tried to tell Andrea but once it was interrupted he lost courage and hadn't mentioned it again that night. Andrea had left with the excuse she had a gig; but she was really going to get Alison.

When they reached LAX the guys were very surprised to see Johnny Wright waiting for them. "Johnny? What are you doing here?" Lance asked surprised.

"Well, I hate to do this but I need to borrow Justin for two days," he answered and watched all their faces go from shock to sadness.

"But, J, we're supposed to be off. Our families are coming!" the curly haired boy cried out. He wasn't going to see his family after all? It was bad enough he couldn't be with the girl he cared about but now he'd miss his parents and brothers AGAIN?!

"I know, just calm down. The producers for your movie Model Behavior want you to do a photo shoot with Maggie. It'll be quick and then you'll be on a private jet and in Canada before Christmas. I promise you'll be there no later than Christmas Eve."

Justin looked crushed. He had really been looking forward to this trip. But in the end he sighed; knowing his manager's hands were tied because this was a separate project and not NSYNC related.

"Sorry, Curly," JC apologized.

"Yeah, Baby J have fun," the others chimed. He gave them a half-hearted smile and followed Johnny.
----------------------
SOMEWHERE IN OAKLAND --- "So, are you ok?" Andrea asked Alison Leanne. They hadn't seen each other in a few months so this gave them time to catch up.

"Yeah, just a little jet legged." It was her first flight and was pretty rough on her. "I like it here though, it's really nice." They were sitting in Harry's, a dinner in the small country town. It reminded her of home. "How'd you find it?"

"A place as small as this? It's not hard to find things when you're not looking for it." Andrea chuckled and stirred her straw in her apple cider. Ali couldn't help but find it funny that they were in a coffee shop and she was drinking cider. Andrea was always quirkily like that. She didn't like coffee or hot chocolate, her foods couldn't touch, and little things like that were simple to her but weird to others. "So how're you doing?"

"I all ready told you I'm jet lagged," the blue-eyed girl answered in confusion.

"There's something else on that mind," Andrea continued. "I don't only have eyes that are 'windows to the soul'," she finger quoted "but they can help me read people and I can read you like a book. What's goin' on?"

"I've...been thinking about the guys lately," she admitted.

"Any one in particular?" the dancer tried to hide her smile.

Alison smiled a bit. "Justin." Andrea sat back; she didn't expect her to come right out and say it. "I can't explain it, though. It's like...I'm bored even when I'm doing my favorite things but as soon as Justin helps or sees what I'm doing...it's more fun. I like being around him, I find myself smiling when I know I'm going to see him soon. I don't understand this feeling."

"I do, it's called being in love."

This made her blink, mouth slightly open in shock. "Huh?"

"You're in love," Andrea replied simply. "You're showing all of the signs and you basically said it yourself just in a lot more words." She shrugged. "You just gotta say it outright."

"I'm not in love with him," she replied stubbornly. Taking a purposeful sip of hot cocoa.

"So you say, but that's not how you feel."

"Hmm, whatever you say. Besides it doesn't matter. He could have any girl if he set his mind to it. He's sweet, talented, good-looking guy -"

"Who you're in love with," Andrea pressed.

Alison ignored her, continuing on. "And he's had his fair-share of girls. Not saying he's a dog, not even close, but girls are drawn to him -"

"LIKE YOU."

"He's young, like us. He'll find the one he wants soon."

"And you don't think that's you?" her friend asked gently.

"No. Way no. I'm not his type and besides we're too good of friends, it'd be weird."

"But you just said it yourself!" Andrea exclaimed. "When the guys are around you two practically are joined at the hip. You tease each other, you listen to each other. You're one of the few people who can get him out of his moods, he does stuff for you. Makes sure you're comfortable in every situation. How do you guys not see what it is?"

Feeling uncomfortable Alison steered into a different topic. "Ya know, I could say the same for you and C."

"What?" Andrea deadpanned.

"If I'm so blind then so are you. JC's quiet, yeah, but his eyes light up when he sees you."

"We work together, he's a performer, dancing is his thing. Of course he gets happy."

"Yeah suuuure. He's sweet on you." She rolled her eyes.

"Enough of this gooey stuff, let's figure out what to do on our vacation."

"I thought we were relaxing during Christmas?" Ali asked as they left; her falling half-step behind from her awkward gait.

"Hmm, yeah but we have plans so we need to get as much girl time in as we can," Andrea replied mysteriously.

Back at the house, Alison sat on the couch watching as Andrea moved around decorating every square inch she could find in Christmas stuff. Alison offered to help but her friend said that she wanted to do it herself, that she needed to be distracted. She wanted to ask her what it was that she needed a distraction from but kept her mouth shut.

"Hey, be useful and untie this tinsel." Andrea threw a large clump of tinsel at the girl and it draped across her shoulders like a sparkly boa.

"I asked if you wanted my help and you said no."

"Yeah, well, I can't do that and make sure the turkey doesn't burn."

"Why're you making it now anyway? Christmas isn't until Wednesday and it's only Monday!"

"Don't question my work ethics!" Andrea muttered going into the kitchen. Alison's head shot up when the doorbell rang and the other girl stuck her head in the doorway. "You expecting anyone?" She questioned.

Alison shook her head. "Our parents are supposed to be here tomorrow," she replied.

"Go check on that, will ya?" Andrea went back into the kitchen and Alison flinched when she heard the sound of pots and pans clattering as well as a few choice swear words.

She laughed a bit and went to the door. She pulled it open and was immediately dragged into a bone-crushing hug. "What're you guys doing here?" She asked, trying not to wince in pain from Chris' hug. "I thought..."

"Oh my, God, you had a thought?!" he mocked shock and pulled wide eyes.

"Dear, Christopher, of course she had a thought. She is after all smarter than you," Joey ribbed him, smiling.

"Oh this from a guy who can't form a thought without it relating to Superman. You're a big kid, Joe."

"Oh yeah who was it that ate 5 pixie stix and ran around the airport, hmm?"

"We both did that - "

"No, that was you. I was holding the camera -"

"And so goes another argument of the NSYNC-ers," Lance announced. "And he's supposed to be the oldest," he then whispered, chuckling.

To be honest, Alison thought these play-fights were amusing and sometimes cute. But sometimes someone would stray from the original question. She went to open her mouth but JC cut her off.

"Enough, children!!" At Chris' protest he spoke again. "Ah! I think the young lady here asked you gentleman a question. And to answer you, hon: we heard you were up here and figured we'd drop by for a visit."

"What about tour?" She was still confused by their appearance and why was there only four guys? She knew they had break coming up but didn't know where as they hadn't talked in awhile. 'Who's fault was that?' Ali asked herself, somewhat saddened with how Justin was acting.

"We still have that show to do at the end of the month. But for this week we're all yours," Lance smiled. They were now back in the living room.

"Oh well, where's --" She was once again cut off, this time by Andrea.

"Guys!" the other girl exclaimed as if she didn't know before that they'd be there. It had to look like a spontaneous thing and not a setup. Andrea did a double-take, noticing a certain boy was missing. As a puzzled expression crossed her face, JC interrupted.

"Uh, Andrea, can I help you with dinner?" he asked already dragging her from the room.

"Since when does JC cook?" Alison asked confused.

"Oh you know him," Joey covered. "He's probably just excited to see her. You know Daddy C can't stay away from our favorite choreographer."

"Yeah," the others joined in. They knew what question would come next and looked at each other; each guy trying to figure out what to say. Their flawless plan of getting Alison and Justin together was falling apart.

"Well...where's Curly?" she asked quietly.

Lance wrapped an arm around her, knowing the sad expression too well. She loved all five members equally but this was a time of year all of them were supposed to be together. "He just... Well, he couldn't come up this time," he cringed knowing that'd hurt their girl more.

Weren't they traveling together wherever they went? They were a group after all. "He's probably just with his folks," she tried to reason, not sure who she was trying to convince more. The three men shared a skeptical look.

'Bounce better make that shoot quick,' Joey thought. Apparently Alison hadn't known some of the boys' folks were going to show either....
------
"What's going on? Where's J?" Andrea whispered yelled at JC.

"Calm down!" he ordered so he could explain. "Now listen. We were all ready to board the plane when Johnny showed up out of no where and said Baby J had a last-minute shoot to do for his ABC movie."

"What?!"

"Shhh keep your voice down!" JC admonished; busying himself with cookware so no one would overhear.

"The plan doesn't work like that, Joshua. The plan was for you guys to show up, surprise Alison, and her and Justin would get together!"

"I know, I know."

"Didn't Johnny know the plan?" she continued to rant.

"Yes, he knows. Justin doesn't; but Johnny promised he would be here in a day or so. Just in time for Christmas."

"Yeah, hopefully it's not too late for him and Ali..." They peaked around the corner seeing the other NSYNC-ers trying to distract the bummed out girl. If Justin had been mopey, then Alison was just as bad. They needed to fix their quickly-going-south plan. "Ok, ok, let me think," Andrea said as she started to pace and rapidly tapped her chin. She stopped briefly to rush to the oven when a timer dinged. JC watched in amazement as she slid out the large turkey pan and dropped it onto the island before wrapping it in foil, then she returned to her pacing. She suddenly snapped causing him to jump. "I got it!" Her eyes were dancing as she grinned.

"Got what?" he asked.

"An idea to help her get her mind off of him while we wait for him to get here," she replied. Then her grin faltered. "But I don't think you'll go for it."

"I'm listening," he said as he leaned against the refrigerator.

"Well, what gets them off of a topic faster than a show or an awards night?" She asked slowly.

"Rumors," JC replied instantly. "Why?" he slowed.

"Well, what if we gave them a rumor to talk about?"

He squinted. "What kind of rumor? Something that goes to the press?"

"No! Gosh, Sleepy, I'm not that stupid," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"You're not stupid at all," he corrected. Then to cover his compliment, "What's your idea?"

"Well..." she said slowly, suddenly turning away from him. "What if...I don't know...you and I...pretended...to date?" she turned around and looked at him.

JC heard her but didn't know how to react. 'Pretend to date?' he thought sadly. 'I guess she doens't feel the same way about me. It's better than nothing but I don't want to live a lie and get my hopes up for it to come crashing down.' "Uhhh, are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked hesitantly although he knew he would jump at the chance to date her whether or not it was fake.

"Do you want to have to come up with a lame excuse every time she asks why he's not here?" She demanded, lifting an eyebrow.

"No," he sighed.

"Then turn on the charm, babe."
------
Alison stared hard at the Scrabble board in front of her before looking at the tiles. She was trying to aim for the triple word score and she knew that Chris was aiming for it as well. She grinned and put the word down. "A-B-A-N-D-O-N. Abandon! ha! in your face!" she cheered as she pointed at him who was looking at her in shock.

"No! No way! That cannot fit!' Chris said as he leaned over the board to take a closer look at it.

"It's right, Old Man. And that, Lance, is for...47 points! Ha ha."

"Don't hold your breath girl," Chris muttered as he looked at his letters on his board.

Alison smiled a sleepy smile and stretched, tilting her head back to look out the window. Snow was falling against the black back drop. Nothing had been stepped on, it was fresh clean snow. She smiled to herself. Justin would've loved seeing it, they probably would have taken a walk through the woods and then he would've said something about how he liked the way her red cheeks stood out against her pale skin. Her smile got a little bit bigger as she thought about it.

"You dreaming about J again?" Andrea whispered in a teasing tone.

"Shut up," the shorter girl whispered back smiling a bit and shaking her head. Andrea really wasn't one to talk. Either Alison was imagining it or she and JC had gotten much closer than when she last saw them together a few months ago. But they said nothing was going on...

"Is that the only word you could get?" Lance laughed at Chris' word: 'dog'.

"Shut up and go," the oldest boy snarled.

"I'm getting tired," Andrea said suddenly. She then looked pointedly at Alison and cleared her throat.

She jumped. "Oh yeah, me too."

"No way girl! You can't quit when you're winning!" Chris snapped.

"It's not like you're going to beat me anyway," she teased while the others 'ooh'ed.

"I had to move into your room to make sure everyone had enough space for the time being," Andrea mediated as she pushed open the door to Alison's room.

"That's ok," she said as she immediately went into the bathroom. "Did you hear about Jus?" she called over the sound of her electronic toothbrush.

"Yeah, it's a shame that he had to get called away at the last minute." Her reflection appeared in the mirror. "He'd be here if he could," she played along. It wasn't like they didn't want to tell the girl he had a photoshoot, they just didn't want to make it seem unimportant. After all, he would be there if he could have skipped the job. But then he'd get in trouble. Andrea just hoped for her friends' sakes that he wouldn't be delayed anymore.

"Easy for you to say," she retorted as she looked at her friend through the mirror. "Your man is here."

The dancer faltered. "Excuse me?"

The blond just spat out the toothpaste foam and smiled innocently.
"What? I didn't say anything." She crawled into bed. "But I will say you and JC have seemed a lot closer lately....," in a suspicious tone.

"Really? Didn't notice. Maybe I'm taking your advice and liking him finally. He said he liked me earlier," she lied. Though deep down she did kind of want to be with the young singer/dancer. Maybe this game wouldn't end on a rumor. 'If only he felt the same'.

"Oh my God, he did?!" Alison squealed. "So why aren't you in his room?" she pried.

"Whoa, whoa. We ain't that far yet. Now shutup." Andrea looked at the clock. "It's nearly midnight and we have alot to do tomorrow for Christmas Eve."

Alison's face dropped and she rolled over. "Yeah, Christmas..." Not that she didn't enjoy being with the other guys or her friend; she loved it actually - she just really missed Justin and wanted to spend their anniversary together. She wanted all of their family together. The young girl pulled open her phone under the blankets and looked at the pictures of her boy the last time she saw him...
-----------------------------------
AN: i know Model Behavior was originally shot in Canada but I didn't think of that by the time we started writing. and now it's too late lol. so, as it says in the beginning, Justin stayed behind in LA to do the spread, ok?

Justin smiled brightly into the camera; wearing a green wool jacket, light greet t-shirt underneath a red shirt, and jeans. Maggie Lawson sat next to him on the bench; leaning against his shoulder as they held hands. They were at the last-minute shoot for their TV Movie Model Behavior.

"Ok, that's a call on that section. Go change and come back here, then we'll do the next part," the photographer told the young stars. They didn't have an official photoshoot for this movie; what was being done now was pictures for BOP magazine.

"And then we'll be able to leave? I have a plane to catch," Justin asked.

The cameraman nodded.

"Don't worry, I have plans with my family too so I'd like to get this done," Maggie chimed in also.

Justin agreed before going to change. He came back out five minutes later in a red shirt under his new grey suit. The make-up artist did a little touch up and he smiled his thanks. Checking the mirror about his massive curls. For this shoot they were kept short and styled, instead of his normal fly-away look.

"Man, you change fast!" Maggie complemented, smiling.

"Haha, yeah. Quick-changes during shows will do that. It's good practice he joked.

After a few snaps they asked the teens to move slightly so they could change sets. Justin went to grab his water bottle from his bag while Maggie visited with her puppy that her manager brought. While searching his duffel, the young man came across something totally different. A strip of pictures. The irony to a similar scene from the movie was brief as it was replaced with the face in the photos.

It was taken at a local summer carnival last year when *NSYNC stopped in that fateful town of Adams, Massachusetts (an: i randomly picked a place) for a concert. Wearing disguises of hats and sunglasses, Alison had taken the group to the fairgrounds; where she proceeded to drag Justin into the photobooth. His favorite? The one where his arms wrapped around her shoulders, her own around his waist, and they both smiled hugely.

Justin's smile faded with the memory as he was filled with a sense of sadness and longing. Oh, how he wanted to be with her and his family this Christmas. He understood that he had work to do but right now he just couldn't put his heart into it. He was torn and for that, felt very bad.

"Aw that's cute. You look like you're having fun," his co-star beamed when he finally noticed her next to him. "That a friend?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah, uh...ahh, look I'd hate to do this but..." he trailed off.

Maggie smiled softly and looked to where the photographer was setting the shot. "Yeah, go ahead, Justin. I'll work it out and we'll set something up after the holidays."

"I don't want to get you in trouble." Though he knew the blame would rest on his shoulders once Johnny found out.

"No worries. Oh and I won't tell them where you're going," she winked. As an up and coming teen star, she understood the need for as much privacy as possible. And for these special holidays all anyone wanted was to be with loved ones and family.

"Thanks, hun, you're a lifesaver." After a quick change, hug and grabbing his bag, Justin was out of the studio like a shot.
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You're up early." Lance said to JC as he walked into the kitchen.

"Didn't sleep much last night." he said quietly. Truth be told, he hadn't. He'd been up all night thinking about her. She was driving him literally out of his mind. Even though they were only pretending to go out, it looked and felt like she meant it.

"Earth to JC. You still here?" Lance asked.

JC chuckled. "Yeah, man. Sorry."

The blond smiled at his friend. "Andrea got your head up in the clouds?"

He could feel his cheeks reddening. He needed to change the subject. "Do you know when J is supposed to get here?" JC asked.

"I dunno. I think his plane landed already."

JC shook his head. "Naw, he would have called or something."

Sitting down at the coffee table, he ran his fingers through his hair. Letting out a sigh, he then could feel arms gently wrapping around him from behind.

"Hey you." she said, dropping a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Um. I'm gonna see go see what Alison and Joey are doing." Lance said. JC completely forgot he was there.

"Good morning." he said.

"What's with the dorky smile?" Andrea asked.

The smile quickly vanished. "Nothing."

Once Lance left the room, her arms left his body. That's right; this was all an act he thought. Suddenly he couldn't stop feeling disappointed. He had to tell her how he felt. But something was off. Andrea was usually chatty and loud-mouthed, but she was oddly quiet. "Honey, what's wrong?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Don't call me that, Josh. You can drop the act, no one is in here."

He looked at her, puzzled. The sternness in her voice surprised him. It hurt him. Maybe his thoughts had been misleading him. Maybe she didn't feel the same. This was killing him.

He had to at least say something!

"What if I don't want to?" he asked, softly. "What if what I'm doing and saying isn't an act? What if I do feel those things for you, Andrea? What would you say then?"

"I-I don't know."

"Have you just been messing with me this ENTIRE time?!" he cried.

"This whole thing was pretend Joshua." she said.

He couldn't believe this. He could not believe what he was hearing. "I thought you liked me." I thought you had feelings for me!"

Andrea remained silent. "I don't know JC," she muttered.

"Don't know what? Don't know if you like me? If after all this, all the games, you could possibly feel this for real?!"

JC paced the room. He usually didn't raise his voice like this in front of a girl, but she was driving him crazy right now. He was sick of it. Simply sick of being tugged back and forth. He knew their careers presented a challenge and he didn't want to be hurt like before but now - now he was willing to fight for what he wanted.

"Jace this was all -" she started to repeat.

"No! Don't say this was all an act. 'Cause we both know it's far beyond that. Now either admit you feel the same or tell me straight out that you don't. Otherwise, I don't know what the h*** else you want me to do; but I will not sit back and let you lead me on anymore. You know damn well what I feel so the ball's in your court, baby."

It was at that that Andrea shot up and stood right in front of him. "I don't need this from you, JC. I come in here trying to figure out what's going on in my own head and you go off on me?! Why?"

"I think you know exactly what's going on here, honey. You just don't want to admit it to me or yourself. But that's ok; you know why?" JC's anger was understandably coming out but she still looked at him quizzically. " 'Cause I've waited all these years to finally have some inkling of a chance with you and when I think you're ready to try this for real, you pull right back and hurt me again. Well, I'm done, I'm out of this game. If you ever decide you're ready to stop playing these damn games then you know where to find me. But I'm not going to forgive you that easily, if I ever forgive you that is."

And with that the young singer stormed out.

Alison was in the kitchen in the middle of making a sandwich when Joey burst in. Her hand froze mid-air, jaw open at the sight of him in snow gear, superman hat and all. He already had a few good clumps of snow on him. "Andrea will kill you if you drip on the carpets," she said recovering.

"Don't mind her." This was his chance to distract the girl. He knew if she sat by herself too long she'd wonder about a certain curly-haired boy. So he pulled her to the back door at the same time as taking her sandwich and stuffing it in his mouth.

"Hey, that was mine! Joseph Fatone, what are you doing?!" the girl exclaimed as she was handed her coat, gloves, and snow boots.

"Get dressed, we're going outside."

"Well, I can see that but what are we doing?"

"Good food by the way," he smirked as an afterthought - ignoring her question yet again. This would be fun. Ali sighed and then was once again pulled outside. Carefully though; Joey didn't want to knock her off of her crutches. Standing on the sidewalk she noticed Lance, Chris, Briahna and Kelly (who'd arrived in the middle of the night) and Lance's mom Diane, all playing in the snow. Kelly was pulling the baby in a small sled while the boys and Diane made snowmen and women.

Justin sighed as he looked at the time on his phone. 12pm already. His plane had been rerouted because of the storm and they were forced to land in Buffalo. The flight clerks had no idea when a connecting flight would be since Buffalo was under a heavy storm right now. So, if he really wanted to be with his family and friends by midnight then he'd have to rent a car. He looked towards his bodyguard who was standing a few feet away. The big man looked casual, as to not draw attention to the young celebrity, but still kept a firm eye out. Justin himself was in a disguise under his heavy winter coat; his curls hidden under a hat, eyes hidden behind sunglasses. The glasses also covering his eyes from the glare of white snow.

Justin walked to the counter arranging to rent a car under an alias Johnny had given him. His manager was not happy he left the photoshoot early but after hearing the plea in the young man's voice, and knowing what the others had planned, he was able to reschedule the shoot for a weekend *NSYNC had free. "As long as it's before they send out promos for the movie," Johnny lectured.

It took a good deal of arguing with the clerk but he managed to charm his way into renting the last car. Even if everyone advised against driving in this weather. And so him and Eric were off into one of the worst storms this town had seen. If they didn't get held up anymore, Justin could make it to the house just in time for Christmas. He'd tried to contact Alison...He wasn't sure she wanted to talk after not hearing from him for so long; but he wouldn't get to even ask the question because her phone went to voicemail. Justin assumed the young girl was vacationing somewhere with her family. That made him smile, he knew how she always wanted to travel. But man, he just wanted to hear her voice. If he couldn't reach her by....well, he just couldn't imagine spending such a special time to them without some form of contact. Frustrated, the boy threw his cell onto the dashboard and looked at his guard and friend.

"Ready for the storm of our lives?" he asked half-joking, half serious.

"Yup, J. C'mon let's get you to your family."

Of course, Eric had known the other guys' plan too. "So, you invited your girl up here?" Justin questioned as he started the long drive to the border. It was a good hour away and he still had a few hours to drive once they get to Canada. God, he wished he'd make it.

"Mhm," Eric confirmed. "JC's girl said there're enough rooms."

The young charge laughed. "Don't let them hear you say that. They're still too blind to see it," he joked.

'They're not the only ones,' the big bodyguard thought.
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The group outside the big house in Canada was nearly frozen now. Kelly had taken Briahna inside awhile ago and now it was just the adults. Joey had finished his snowman; complete with one of his own blue and red capes, and an 'S' shape out of coals on it's chest. Everyone laughed knowing his obsession with superman. Lance was building a nice, normal snowman. To which he'd named Frosty. Chris cuffed him upside the head and said he was boring. But Diane and Ali smiled and applauded to which Lance gave a grand bow. Chris was making was snowman with sticks and yarn for dreads like his own.

Soon, it was near dinnertime and significantly chillier. Alison was standing near the edge of the woods, looking as the sun began to drop. Kelly came up to her as the others went inside. "Beautiful, isn't it?" the blonde asked.

The other girl sighed. "Yeah, it sure is." She looked up and gave a weak smile. She loved Christmas, loved the magic and innocence of the season. Whenever one of them would look at her during the winter months, her face would be glowing like a child's. She truly and whole-heartedly believed in love on Christmas. But this year, it was hard because she just wanted one person to share it with.

As they joined the group inside, Alison looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen JC or Andrea at all today?"

"If they know what's good for them, they're probably up in his room," Joey joked. They then heard muffled shouts and a door slamming.

"That doesn't sound like -" Chris was cut off by a strong glare from the girls.

Suddenly the singer in question came tearing down the stairs and headed for the door. "Whoa, where's the fire, man?" Lance asked.

"I'm going out for air," was all JC said.

"Dude, it's -" but his protest was cut off as their friend stormed out into the cold weather. "- only 10degrees..."

They all looked helplessly at each other.
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JC walked through the bitter cold as he watched the sunset. He knew going out in this weather was stupid but he needed to get away, to clear his head. He pulled his collar up against the biting chill but didn’t really feel it; JC only felt the lone tear on his cheek. Why did he let himself get into this? He knew she could never return his feelings, no instead he got sucked into some foolish deal. Fooling himself with some fake feelings he thought he felt from her. All it was was some stupid game…

The man scoffed, kicking at a piece of slush and ice as he walked down the road. Looking up at the sky he breathed out and watched it turn to smoke. “Why did I do this?!” he screamed to the empty air. “Why did I let myself get in so deep?!” He laughed bitterly as he kept walking. ‘’Cause you love her’ the voice in his head accused. “But she’ll never love me that way. I’ll be lucky if she even looks my way again.”

‘But she played you, dude. She led you on…’ Suddenly a tune popped into his head and JC started to hum softly.

Why do you keep us apart
why won't you give up your heart
you
know that were meant to be together
... Why do you push me away
all
that I want is to give you love
forever and ever and ever
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Justin drove down the horribly snowy road, cussing under his breath as he tried to see out the windshield. It was already 9pm and very dark out. He'd never make it to the cabin by midnight. He'd miss Christmas with his family.....

He muttered another word as he flipped on the radio; getting nothing but static for a few channels. Finally: And now, an oldie but goody; a rare number by one of the charts' hottest boybands, *NSYNC, 'Feel the Love'

The young man heard his bodyguard snicker, eyes still closed and head against the window. "I thought you were sleeping," he grumbled.

"Oh, oh I am. Just dreamin'," Eric smirked.

Justin was about to change the channel when lyrics he'd forgotten reached his ears.

I never knew before
But now I know for sure
Cause you've got me
Writing poems, sitting by the phone
Waiting for your call
Girl it's you I'm longing for
So girl don't stop what you're doing
Keep going cause you know that I

I feel the love
(The love)
I feel it
(Oh yea)
I feel the love that you give to me
Can't get enough
(I cannot get enough)
Cause I need it
I feel the love that you give to me

He sighed and rested his head back at a stoplight; looking through the snowy night as he remembered a lost moment.

Justin was with Alison; it was summertime and the boys had a few days off before their summer tour started. He'd snuck away at the end of rehearsals and pulled the girl outside with him. Keeping an arm behind her back so she didn't fall off of her crutches on the rough ground, Justin led Ali across WEG compound to a secluded spot.

It was a open field, grass in some spots, sand in others. And it was beautiful looking out over the small stretch of water. They walked behind some trees so they couldn't be easily found.

"Wow, I thought I'd seen all the land out here," Alison gaped in awe. The sun was starting to set, casting gorgeous oranges and pinks and purples.

"Yeah, no one really comes out to this side," the young boy smiled. "It's like my hideout here in Orlando."

A frown formed; even though he'd dragged her out here, Alison felt she was intruding. Many times this week she wondered just what she was doing here. Miles and miles from her home. Did she just want visit her friends, give them a big send off before she didn't see them for 8 months, or was it something more? She flashed Justin a small smile before walking away. "Well, then I'll go."

Justin looked up startled, poofy fro bouncing in the breeze slightly, and Ali almost laughed at how cute he looked. "Wait, Al!" He lunged forward and caught her wrist but totally forgot her hands were holding crutches. This threw her off balance; she would've fallen had the young boy not wrapped his arms around her waist. The small young woman looked up into her friend's blue eyes, both people breathing heavily.

"Jus, I -"

"Wait..." his voice no more a whisper, lips hovering above hers. One hand pushed her brown curls back from her eyes. "Just stay with me..." It seemed as if they were going to kiss but instead Justin lost his nerve and pulled back awkwardly.

"Ummm..." Alison had no clue what to say. Did she really feel his heart pounding or was that a reaction.

"We can feed the fish over here." And for the rest of the afternoon the two teens talked about everything and anything, except the elephant in the room.

When the memory was over, Justin huffed and hit the steering wheel. "Damnit, I should've just gone there this Christmas. The guys would've understood if I'd just gone to Boston right?"

Eric looked up, hiding the knowing look in his eye (yes he knew what the guys had planned for his charge and the young girl he liked). "They'd understand, J. Why don't you just call the lady since you can't be with her?"

Before he could answer, Justin looked out the windshield and squinted against the snow. "Is that - is that JC?" he asked seeing a shivering, snow covered figure on the curb.

AN: was trying to do a scene with the girls but after weeks of trying I gave up. Sorry.

JC looked up at the sound of a car coming his way from where was huddled on the curb. He'd sat down to think but soon got too cold. A familiar face was illuminated by headlights. "Justin?"

"Jace what the heck are you doing miles from the Inn?!" the blond asked as if his best friend was crazy.

And maybe he was. "I - uh - needed some air?" he tried to play off. But Justin wasn't buying it. Nope. JC's nose was red from the biting cold, eyes wet from the emotions of the afternoon, and snow covering his shoulders and dark short hair.

"Yeah, sure, get in. We're just going up there."

The other man stumbled up, legs stiff and cold. grimacing when he remembered he didn't have his phone to let the others know they were on their way. He took the backseat and was pleased to catch Eric hiding his phone and smiled gratefully. "Hey, dude. Glad ya could make it."

"Couldn't let our boy get lost or mobbed by a bunch of teenies," the big guard chuckled.

"Haha, funny guys," Justin grumbled and once again started the car. "Man, Josh, you're nuts for being in this weather. I can't see anything!"

"Look who's talking, curly."

"Not so curly anymore. And you're avoiding the question."

JC shifted and barely met his youngest friend's eyes in the rear-view. "Ahem, um well A-a-andrea and I broke up. Well sort of."

"Sort of? What does that mean? I thought she -" Justin shut his mouth before he overstepped the boundaries. He loved the guys like brothers and they shared everything but he knew it'd be a long and painful process if the dancer would end up with the singer.

"Thought what, J? What'd she say?" The crack in his voice wasn't lost.

"Oh um well...... Let's just drive, it's bad out." He felt a little back holding back, it being out of character, but he wasn't up for confrontation tonight.

"You knew didn't?!"

"Just tell me what happened." And so he did and in turn Justin explained his own story. "I uh tried calling Alison but she never picked up."

JC shot a panicked look to Eric and answered, "maybe she's just out of range?" Truth was after they'd caught the girl checking her phone, they'd stole it. Face to face is better than over a phone right?

"Yeah, maybe," the boy sighed sadly.

The other singer put his hand on Justin's shoulder. "It'll be ok, J, I promise."

"Well first, let's get you with your girl first." This earned a groan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The car pulled sluggishly into the driveway and the occupants slipped on ice getting out. "You go on in, I'll get your stuff," JC told Justin and smiled.


"Uh, ok." He was very confused by his friends' behavior.

"Baby J gets the girl," Eric whispered secretively.

"Let's hope so," JC answered.

Joey, Lance, and Chris watched from the kitchen window. "Oh, oh! Here they come!!" Chris squealed.

Joey slapped him across the back of the head as Lance joked, "what are you, a girl?"

"No but you are."

"Real mature. Where's our girl?"

"In the living room," Joey answered and 3 heads peered into the other room.
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Justin walked in the kitchen door, see that light on first. "Finally made it!" he breathed in relief.

"J, good to see you. You're here early," Lance greeted.

"Or late depending how you look at it. How are you? Why ya'll in the kitchen?"

"Midnight snack," Chris answered a little too fast.

Joey tossed a cookie at him before munching on one of his own. "We got snacks cocoa set up in the living room, bet everyone would love to see you," he mumbled nervously. His young friend raised an eyebrow. "Go on, we'll bring the rest," he lied.

"Ok....." He took to the living room. "Doesn't take 3 guys for..." His voice trailed off at the figure in front of him and he nearly choked on his cookie.
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Andrea, bundled up tight, slowly stepped onto the front porch. There was JC staring at the stars and snowflakes. "W-what are you doing out in the cold still?"

He looked up surprised to hear someone; but saw it was her and turned back to the white falling around him. "What would it matter?" he replied hollowly. He wasn't going to make this easy; he was tired, hurt, and numb in more ways than one. She wouldn't stomp on his heart anymore.

"Guess I deserve that," she conceded.

"Damn right."

The woman took a deep breath. "Look, JC, what I said - well it was wrong and I'm...sorry."

"Was it that hard to say?" still not turning.

"No. Ok yes for a while. But the thing is I didn't know how to say it. For the longest time I liked you, and not for your status, but for you. Now, that sounds cliche but it's true. You could and did have any girl you wanted but they broke your heart. And then I became a choreographer and I thought that if we worked together you would finally notice me."

"Notice you?" he whisper-asked.

"Yeah, we got closer and had more in common and I fell for you. Bad. But......once again Andrea chickens out."

JC huffed a sigh and turned to face her which gave a clear view of his wet cheeks and eyes. "Since when do you back down from a challenge?" he scoffed.

"I don't know but I guess it was because I was scared. Am scared."

"Why?"

She looked into impossibly bright blue eyes and gulped. "Because I realized I love you and not as a trick. Really do."

"Andy, look, you know I love you. But this whole 'game' really hurt me. Hollywood is tough on relationships and it has no room for games. People will only be more hurt. So, I understand what you mean but let's just work back to where we were then take it forward," he compromised.

After studying each other for a few minutes, Andrea nodded. "I can deal with that." And leaned up to kiss his cheek.

He in turn kissed the corner of her mouth and wrapped an arm around her.
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Alison looked out the frosty window, hoping to spot footprints in the snow-covered ground. After a long time of staring, her eyes started to drift close; knowing he wouldn't be here. Not before midnight at least. She knew he was busy, probably with his family in Tennessee if not on the road. They hadn't talked in awhile so at this minute she didn't know where he was besides a photoshoot. Though that didn't stop the dream inside her. Yeah, she was a wishful thinker, no harm in that.

Just as she dozed off warm arms wrapped around from behind. "Looking for me?" a soft voice breathed past her ear.

Not believing it she cautiously raised her head; blinking away the bluryness of sleep. "It's you..."

"Yeah, it's me," Justin breathed out in a whisper.

She stumbled to her feet in a way that was totally her and his arms slipped softly around her waist. "What are you doing here?" they asked at the same time. "No you go first." "No you."

They laughed and Justin spoke. "The guys said we'd catch up with our families but I got held back a day."

"Andy invited me. I didn't know any of you would be here."

"So, neither of us knew the other was coming on this trip?"

"Guess not," she giggled which earned a half groan-half chuckle from the taller boy.

"God, Ali, I missed you. Your laugh, those eyes."

Alison blushed deeply. "I - I thought you were mad and that's why you didn't call or anything."

"I was... and it was stupid. I'm stupid." He smiled in spite of his behavior. "I was a jerk... I wasn't mad at you exactly. I was mad at what I was feeling...for you."

"And that's a bad thing?" She sighed. "Ya know what, I don't want to argue on this day or whatever it is we're doing so....I'll just go."

"No, wait!" he caught her waist as she turned to leave. "It's not bad but with my lifestyle and people demanding things of me, I was afraid of how you'd react. The press is vicious, they'd tear us apart, baby."

She gasped at the sudden name but recovered slightly. "Jus, I understand. And I accept the press and all the junk you have to go through. I just - wanted to matter. You have more important things but I want to be somewhere on your list."

"Oh, Ali you are, I was just stupid and forgot to keep my feet on the ground." He leaned in and gently kissed her for the first time. At first she was shocked but then responded and kissed back.

Alison pulled back after long moments. "Wow. Um does this mean you'll keep your feet on the ground this time?" she asked uncertainly. She didn't want to ask for too much.

"I'm sure gonna try. And...I want to try us too." This caused the girl to look up again in question. He nodded. "I mean it."

The rest of the night was spent with Chocolate Lovers hot chocolate and newly formed relationships in the new fallen snow. Like a blanket protecting them as the guys did so for their girls.

THE END