Summary: nicole is in trouble. will the boys be able to help?
Categories: Completed Het Stories Characters: Group
Awards: None
Genres: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 4 Completed: Yes
Word count: 2536 Read: 5506
Published: May 29, 2008 Updated: May 29, 2008
Story Notes:
this is set 1 year before "destined love." nicole is my original character, please do not take it. ***SCENE ADDED***
1. Chapter 1 by MrsTimberlake18
2. Chapter 2 by MrsTimberlake18
3. Chapter 3 by MrsTimberlake18
4. Chapter 4 by MrsTimberlake18
Chapter 1 by MrsTimberlake18
The five guys of *NSYNC headed to the tour bus, because they were tired from the show. But they were in a good mood. They just wanted to sit and talk about how amazing the show went.
Lance headed for the back of the bus to change while Joey headed for the bathroom. The rest of the group plopped down on the small couches.
Suddenly, they heard Lance scream, "Guys, get back here quick!"
“Lance, what's the prob-,” Chris started.
When everyone got back where Lance was, they all gasped.
In front of them was Nicole, 1 of their best friends, curled up in the corner by the wall.
Justin’s eyes widened at the sight of her bruised & battered body.
“Oh my, God, Nicole,” JC breathed as he moved closer to her.
She flinched away & started screaming.
“Shh, it’s just us,” he told her. “Justin, you want to try?” he whispered.
The young man stood frozen, his heart felt like it was in a vice. Joey nudged him & he snapped out of it. They had to help Nicole. Justin flew into action. “Nicole, Baby Girl, it’s ok. We’re not going to hurt you. You don’t have to tell us right now. Just let us help you make sure nothing’s broken, ok?”
She allowed him to pick her up & set her on his bunk. “There, that helps already, doesn’t it? Joey, get Lonnie & Mike & make sure no one but us is near her until we figure this out. Lance, get some warm washcloths. JC & Chris, call my mom. She should still be backstage. Get her down here now.”
Chapter 2 by MrsTimberlake18
Author's Notes:
***SCENE ADDED***
2 HOURS LATER, Lynn Harless walked to the front of the bus.
“How is she? Did she say what happened?” all 5 boys asked at once.
The woman sighed sadly. “She wouldn’t let me too close but she’s in clean clothes & tucked in sleeping. She has a lot of bruises & cuts but didn’t tell me why. Do any of you know where she was tonight?”
“I’m guessing her house. She lives near here,” JC answered.
“Ok. Give her time. She’ll tell you when she wants to. But keep an eye on her; she’ll need all of you. I’ll be riding on the other bus with the band if you need anything. I’m so sorry, boys. Nicole doesn’t deserve this.”
As Lynn left the bus after hugging all of them, Justin “ who had been silently crying “ spoke up. “I’ll take 1st watch.”
“Ok...Get some sleep yourself, man. We’re all wiped,” Joey said.
That night, the guys slept in their bunks. Except Justin, who was propped up next to Nicole.
---
She could barely breathe. She staggered back, crutches digging into her arms & sides. If her wrists weren’t broken, they sure were bruised. A hard kick came to her ribs.
Nicole looked up & saw the anger in the man’s eyes. “Please...Please, don’t,” she begged.
The next blow that came was across her face. Even more tears joined the ones already streaming from her eyes.
She hit him where it hurt with 1 of her crutches. She then stumbled out the door as he doubled over.
She ran, well as fast as she could, down the street. She had to get there; they’d help her.
She turned to look back & saw the angry face again.
“No! No, get away!” Nicole screamed, waking up from the nightmare.
Justin, who kicked himself for falling asleep, jumped up from his chair. All 5 guys were at her side in an instant.
The frightened girl shrunk away as Lance lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok.”
Justin tried & succeeded in wrapping his arms around. “It’s alright, Sweetheart. You're safe. Shhh...”
JC tentatively reached out with a washcloth to wipe Nicole’s face but when she whimpered, he handed it to Justin.
She continued with shaky pleas for help & Joey asked, “would you like to talk about your dream?”
“It might help,” Chris added.
Nicole froze & stared blankly at the wall behind Justin. “It’s alright,” he told her. “You don’t have to. No one’s going to hurt you now.”
---
A FEW DAYS LATER, Every time Nicole slept, she had nightmares. She’d wake screaming but wouldn’t say what she dreamt.
She felt safe with all the guys but was afraid to be touched. They all understood why she only let Justin near her when she woke up at night. She seemed to have the deepest connection with Justin. He couldn't get too close but was allowed to at least hold her when she cried. The others all thought deep down that Nicole & Justin belonged together. Right now though, it only mattered that they helped her & she had people to protect her.
---
Today, *NSYNC were in the studio. They had taken a few days off, not wanting to travel with the condition Nicole was in. The boys were trying to rehearse but were just too distracted. They were all very worried about their best friend; she meant a lot to them.
“G-guys?” a shaky voice sounded from the doorway.
“Hey, Nic-nack-patty-wack!” Joey called straightening in his chair.
The others followed his lead, seeing Nicole. “How’s our favorite fan this afternoon?” Chris asked.
“Um I’m good.”
“Come sit down. We’re practicing our songs,” Lance chimed in.
She sat between Justin & JC. “What's up, Girl?" JC asked.
"I-I’m ready to tell-tell you guys what happened.”
“You can tell us anything, Baby Girl,” Justin told her.
“Yeah. You're completely safe with us,” JC reassured. “We promise.”
"John did this," she started in a quiet voice.
"Your boyfriend? Why?" Chris questioned.
“I don't know, he just...just got so mad at me. I came home & he said I was late. Even though he knew I was working with the kids at the school on their Tae Kwon Do, he still got mad.”
“He has no right to tell you when to be home,” Lance commented.
“What happened next, Sweetie?” Joey asked gently.
“He usually gets mad when he’s drunk but he wasn't drinking that night. I tried to explain where I was & that the lesson ran late.” With her next sentence, her voice broke. “He shoved me down & he started yelling. He called me n-names I don’t w-w-want to repeat & then...then he started to hit me.”
“Oh, Baby, I’m so sorry.” Justin pulled her into a hug.
She continued sobbing & telling of the beating. Soon, she had fell asleep. Joey carried her back to the bus since she didn’t know it was him holding her.
She stirred as Joey set her on the bed but Justin whispered, “rest now, Baby.”
END OF CH2
Chapter 3 by MrsTimberlake18
Author's Notes:
*language warning for 1 word*
THAT NIGHT, Justin asked his mom Lynn to stay with Nicole. He said him & the guys had to get some recording done.
“We have to do this carefully, man,” Joey said when they were all in Lance’s van.
“Yeah, we’re all angry at what he did but you have to be cool. We don’t want more trouble,” Chris told Justin.
The 5 men, with 5 big guards, walked up to the apartment door & knocked.
“Well, who do we have here?” John asked opening it. “Nicole sent her pretty boys to do her dirty work. Did she come whining to you, too?”
“Apparently, we’re the only ones who care about her,” Lance answered. “You obviously don’t.”
“Hey, I put up with that B**** for 2 years. She’s your problem now.”
At this comment, Justin grabbed for the guy but JC & Lonnie held him back. “DON’T EVER SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HER AGAIN!”
“Easy, J. Back up a step,” Lonnie told him quietly.
“Yeah, you don’t want to break something,” John threatened.
“That’s it, guys, we aren’t getting through. Let’s go,” JC reasoned.
“One thing though,” John sneered as they walked away. “Tell little Nicole she deserved everything she got that night.”
This time all the members of the group lunged forward. Gage, another guard, grabbed John & hissed, “Listen to what they say & STAY AWAY from her.”
“Fine, dude. I could care less.”
Once they were back at the bus & getting out of the car, JC whispered to Justin. “Calm down, Bro. She can't see you worked up.”
“I know,” the other boy sighed.
THE FOLLOWING DAY, the boys were called into their manager's office.
“You’re good kids. Some of our best. But do you want to explain why you cancelled 3 gigs to stay here?” Johnny Wright asked.
“Well, Johnny “,” Lance began.
“We were “,” Joey cut him off.
“We had to help her,” Chris said quickly.
“Help who?” Johnny asked.
“Um our friend Nicole,” JC answered.
“The girl you guys met at the conference awhile ago?”
“Yes. She was in trouble & we were the only ones who could help.”
“Why are you the only ones who can help? If she’s in trouble she should go to the police.”
“Johnny, Nicole was beat up by her boyfriend. She was scared & didn’t have anywhere to go,” Justin said, speaking for the 1st time since they got there. “She wakes up crying every night & she feels safe with us. My mom said Nicole will be fine physically, she just needs to know she has people who care.”
“Lynn knows about this?” Johnny asked them.
“Yeah, we needed help the night we found Nicole because she wouldn’t let anyone move her except Justin. And then last night when we saw the boyfriend, he threatened Nicole...” Joey blurted out.
“What do you mean saw him? He found you guys?”
“No. We “ uh “ we wanted to make sure he stayed away from her so...we took a few of the guards to his apartment. We didn’t get in a fight. We just talked,” JC supplied.
“You do know he can come back, right?” Johnny watched the guys nod. “Well, at least you’re all alright. Go back to the bus & pack. Nicole can stay with you if she wants but you have shows to get to so she’ll need a bag too.”
The 5 boys got up to leave. As they opened the office door, they saw Nicole listening.
“What do you mean you talked to John?” she asked; tears in her voice. She was absolutely terrified of that guy now.
“Come on, Nic. We’re going to go get some food. Chinese “ your favorite,” Joey said, trying to get her on another subject.
“What do you mean you talked to John?” she repeated.
“Sweetheart, we just wanted to keep you safe,” JC answered.
“Yeah, we hate seeing you hurt,” Chris commented.
“And you?” she asked in anger at Justin. “Y-You could’ve gotten hurt by him & - & it’d be my fault!”
“No, no, Baby. We had guards, we were perfectly alright.”
“But “ but he’s dangerous! He could’ve killed you.”
“He wasn't going to,” Lance chimed in.
“They’re right,” Justin said.
“I’m leaving “ for good,” Nicole announced & started to turn.
AN: ha, a cliffhanger. im so evil lol
Chapter 4 by MrsTimberlake18
Author's Notes:
last chapter
CH4 - “Girl, wait.” JC grabbed her arm, not thinking that she didn’t want to be touched. He let go before she stumbled. He didn’t want her to fall off her crutches trying to pull away. “I’m sorry, just let us explain.”
“Please, just hear us out,” Justin begged.
Suddenly, Nicole collapsed. The emotional strain was just too much. “Whoa, easy,” Justin stated as he caught her & slowly lowered her to the floor.
Lance moved her crutches so she’d be more comfortable.
“Let me go, Justin!” she cried out, trying to push him away. Her fists pounded his chest. She was strong from her martial arts training but right now, she was drained.
The others surrounded them as he replied, “No, Nicole. I’m not going to let you go.”
“Please! I just want to get away from this place. I want to go somewhere where I don’t cause trouble. Now, get off!”
Once again, Justin said firmly, “You listen to me. You do NOT cause trouble. We help you because we care. You hear me?”
“We wanted to help you,” Lance said.
“You're our best friend,” Chris stated.
“Yeah, you're always there for us,” Joey told her.
JC added, “Let us be there for you. We’re all family, Sweetie. We look out for each other.”
Nicole finally stopped struggling & sank into Justin’s arms. “I’m sorry,” she rasped.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Justin whispered to her. “Shh...You’re going to be ok now. Shh...Baby Girl...”
As the boys all whispered soothing words, Johnny watched. He saw how much they cared for this girl. He saw they meant a lot to each other & would do anything for each other.
THE NEXT NIGHT, *NSYNC were doing a concert in Georgia.
They all stood on the stage & thoughtful expressions crossed their faces.
”We would like to take this time to do something different,” Joey started.
“About a week or 2 ago our friend came to us with a problem,” Lance said.
“She was in a horrible situation of domestic violence,” Chris stated.
“She was badly beaten & literally running scared, terrified of what might happen,” JC continued. “Domestic violence can be in the form of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Sometimes 1 will lead to another. This occurs in 10% of U.S. homes.”
“We tell you this because it has to be stopped,” commented Lance. “You can prevent it by being informed & recognizing the signs.”
Lastly, Justin spoke. “We never want to see what happened to Nicole happen to someone else. Please talk with your family & friends. If you or a loved 1 has a problem, please speak up. And Nicole, we’re here for you because we want to see you happy. You’re our girl & we love you.”
AFTER THE SHOW, Nicole walked slowly up to the guys backstage. “Guys, that was “,”
“We’re sorry, Nic. But we had to say something,” Chris interrupted. “People need to know it’s a problem.”
“I know. That’s why I wanted to say...thank you.”
“You're welcome, Sweetie,” JC said.
She approached each boy & hugged them carefully.
“You deserve a good life. You're a really good person,” Lance told her.
When she hugged Justin, they all smiled. “Thank you so much, Boy. I don’t know what I would’ve done without any of you.”
“I’ll be there for you, Baby. Anytime you need me “ day or night. Just lean on me,” Justin whispered.
“Ok, enough with the mushiness,” Joey called out. “Let’s go get pizza & play video games in the hotel rooms.”
The group laughed & all filed out; Justin’s & JC’s arms linked with Nicole’s.
THE END
End Notes:
did that fic sound ok?
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