What the boys didn't know was that most members of the crew couldn't stand her and just thought she was faking everything to seek fame. Unfortunatly for her, they never gave her a chance to prove herself otherwise.

The reset of the girls on the wardrobe staff were the worst. They constantly ignored her, making her have to do things her own way. She did everything herself including washing all of Justins costumes where as the other girls just got them sent out to be washed.

The only friends she had were the guys, but they were so busy she kept to herself most of the time. She was constantly surounded by people but had never felt more alone. She finally a point after a full week of chaos.

In the dressing room whoever was first in, could put in a CD and thats what they would listen to. Shelby made sure she was the first person and put on a CD she'd been listening to for days. She turned up the volume until the CD was blasting and started setting up Justin's section.

"Maybe they'll notice this." Shelby muttered as she started singing along.

"What the hell is this shit?" Brandy--one of the girls--yelled then went to turn it off.

"Don't touch that." Shelby stopped her.

Brandy ignored her and pushed stop then put on a CD they normally listened to.

Shelby tried to hold her anger in check as she walked over to the CD player to put her music in. She watched the other girls walk in and cranked up the volume out of spite.

"What are you doing?" Brandy glared at her.

"Putting my music back in." Shelby asnwered as the guys walked in.

They watched Brandy and Shelby face off and wondered what was going on.

Brandy reached out but Shelby stopped her with a slap on the hand.

"Don't touch me." Brandy snapped.

"Don't touch my music. We have an agreement, whoever gets here first, has the first music choice. I was here first and this is what we listen to." Shelby said getting in her face.

"This music is worthless, just like your presence here. Nobody likes you Shelby, we can see right through your little act. You're just here for a free ride and a bit of fame."

Shelby couldn't hear any more.

"You BITCH, you don't know ANYTHING about me." Shelby screamed then lunged at her knocking her to the ground.

Shelby slapped her as much as she could as they rolled around on the floor.

"Get off me!" Brandy yelled.

"Shelby stop it." Justin said, the first one to snap out of their daze.

"You don't know me at all." She yelled hitting Brandy.

Justin grabbed Shelby as the other girls picked Brandy off the floor.

"BITCH!" Brandy screamed.

"Shelby," Justin said trying to hold her back.

"Justin, let me go." Shelby struggled against him.

"No." Justin held her back.

"DAMMIT JUSTIN, I'm not going to hit her!" Justin screamed as she pulled herself from his grip.

Brandy's eyes widened and she stepped back.

"You want to know why I'm here?" Shelby said walking closer. "I'm here," she lifted her shirt over her head keeping her back to the guys, "because snotty bitches like you," she held up her arms making sure her scars were visible, "made me hate myself so much I wanted to DIE," she stressed the last word and held up her wrists making sure they saw her deep scars, "to take the pain away. So PLEASE, tell me again that I'm here to get a free ride off fame."

The room was silent except for the music. Shelby put her shirt back on then turned the CD to a certain song.

"This song is for all of you." Shelby said before walking out, making sure to slam the door behind her.

Is it worth it can you even hear me
Standing with your spotlight on me
Not enough to feed the hungry
I'm tired and I felt it for awhile now
In this sea of lonely
The taste of ink is getting old
It's four o' clock in the fucking morning

Each day gets more and more like the last day
Still I can see it coming
while I'm standing in the river drowning
This could be my chance to break out
This could be my chance to say goodbye
At last it's finally over
Couldn't take this town much longer
Being half dead wasn't what I planned to be
Now I'm ready to be free

So here I am it's in my hands
And I'll savor every moment of this
So here I am alive at last
And I'll savor every moment of this

Justin listened to the lyrics and felt proud of Shelby. This song showed how she felt. She was sick of living on the run, being tortured and not sticking up for herself. She wanted a way out, she wasn't just here for kicks, she was here to heal.

And won't you think I'm pretty
When I'm standing top the bright lit city
And I'll take your hand and pick you up
And keep you there so you can see
As long as you're alive and care
I promise I will take you there
And we'll drink and dance the night away

Justin walked out of the room and found Shelby rightout side the door. He pulled her into his arms and held on tightly. They sat there for a few minutes and listened to the music. Justin feeling the words most of all.

As long as you're alive
Here I am
I promise I will take you there

As long as Justin was alive, at least as long he was around, he would take care of Shelby. He would care for her and no matter what happened with their relationship, whether they just remained friends, or if they were more, he'd always be there for her.

"We better go back in, we need to get ready for the show." Justin said pulling away.

"Justin, what are you guys doing after the show?" Shelby questioned searching his eyes.

"Going back to the hotel, why?"

"I need to talk to you all."

"Is everything okay?"

"I'll be fine." She shrugged.

"But you're not fine now?"

Shelby ignored the question and walked back into the dressing room. Everyone turned to look at her, but she chose to ignore them and continued her routine as if nothing was out of the norm.

The show started without a hitch and while the guys were performing, Shelby dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Brad."

"Hey babe, its good to hear from you. How is your therapy going?" Brad asked.

"So far it's exhausting. I feel like I never sleep anymore. I can't imagine how the guys put up with it all the time, and they're the ones who actually go out and dance all night."

"Yeah. Hey, listen Shebly, I'm at work right now. Can I call you back sometime?"

"Yeah, I gotta get going too. Quick change after this song. I miss you Brad."

"Miss you too."

Shelby hung up the phone and waited for Justin to run offstage so she could get him changed and be done with it.

The show finally ended and they were headed back to the hotel to shoewr and change. They agreed to meet in Justin and Lance's room in a half an hour giving everyone adequate time to shower.

Shelby knocked on their door twenty minutes later and waited for someone to answer.

Justin answered the door with only a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was wet indicating he'd just gotten out of the shower.

Shelby's eyes widened when she saw him and she quickly turned around and let out an embarassed sigh.

"I'll come back later."

"No, it's okay, come in." Justin said pulling her into the room.

Shelby felt the fluttering in her stomach as she watched Justin walk back into the bathroom.

"Hey Shelby." Lance smiled.

Shelby blushed when she realized she was caught staring. "Hey Lance."

"You're really cute when you blush." Justin said when he saw her red face.

Shelby just covered her face with her hands and shook her head.

"What's the blush for anyway?" Justin questioned sitting on the bed.

Shelby turned and saw Justin was dressed in a white beater and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms.

"Nothing." Shelby whispered.

"It's a slumber party." Chris said entering the room from the joined door.

JC followed Chris and sat down on Lances bed and got comfy.

"Where's Joey?" he asked Shelby who was rooming with him this week.

Shelby just shrugged her shoulders and stretched out on her stomach on Justin's bed.

"The party can start." Joey said coming into the room.

Joey chose the recliner next to the table and sat down.

"So, what's up Shelby?" JC asked taking the leadership role.

"What do you mean? You're supposed to be my 'councelors'," Shelby held up quote marks then continued. "I've been on tour with you guys for a week now and this is the first time we've actually had five minutes of us being in the same place at the same time with no interruptions. I'm a basket case remember? I need to get over this.

"I'm sorry Shelby, this whole week has been planned for months now even before we signed on to help you. From now til the end of the tour we will have time for you, I promise." JC explained apologetically.

"I understand, I just wanted to get it out i the open. I haven't had anyone to talk to since we started. Everybody has been like Brandy."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"The whole crew hates me."

"How do you figure" Lance questioned.

"Everybody has went out of their way to make me miserable. I've had to figure everything out on my own. They didn't even give me the set list. I had to wait til the first show to know how the songs and costumes went."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Joey wondered.

"I refuse to be a burdon. I'm trying to do things on my own, like I normally do. I'm sorry about earlier, but I couldn't take it any more." Shelby sighed feeling the anger burning through her again as she thought about it.

"Don't be sorry. It's good to see you shout and get angry. Think about every other time somebody has attacked you, at least since we've know n you. You've always ran away from the issue. It's about time you stick up for yourself. You're making improvements already." JC smileed.

"I suppose you're right." Shelby nodded her head slightly.

"When did all this start?" JC inquired.

"I've been messed up since I was a kid. After my mom died, I lived with my stepdad for a while and thats when it really started. He was really abusive and put me down all the time. After that I went to live in Foster care and that was just as bad."

Shelby sat up and leadned back against the headboard as she relived her childhood.

"How old were you when she died?" Chris asked softly.

"Eight."

"So young."

"What was she like?" Justin asked bringing her mind to happy memories rather then the bitter ones.

"She was very soft spoken, I don't think I ever remember her yelling at me. She had the prettiest laugh, I can remember one time she told me that to laugh was to cleanse the soul."

Shelby smiled tenderly and felt tears roll down her cheeks as she thought about her mother.

"You're mother reminded me so much of her." Shelby whispered looking at Justin through her tears.

Justin moved over to put his arms around her and gave her comfort and strength.

"How did she--?" Chris asked the hard question.

"She went to the doctor and found out she had breast cancer. They had her on chemo for a month and the next time they checked the tumor, it had spread through her body. The doctors said that was the fastest he'd ever seen cancer spread. Two months after she was diagnosed, she passed away."

There wasn't one person in the room who didn't have tears in their eyes. Their hearts went out to the slip of a girl, who fate had brought into their presence.

"I just miss her so much." Shelby cried turning her head into Justin's shoulder drawing comfort from him.

One by one the guys circled Shelby and Justin. They all had their arms around each other comforting the girl in the middle.

Shelby looked up through her tears and laughed, "All we need now is make up and lots of junk food and we'd have a real slumber party."

The guys looked around and laughed, she was right. They looked like a bunch of girls sitting around in their huddle crying.

"Somebody needs to move, I need to pee." Shelby sniffled.

"That was what we like to call an over share, Shelby." Joey shook his head.

"Bite me."

Shelby went to the bathroom and when she came out, she was knocked over by Chris and Justin who were wrestling again. She rubbed the back of her head where she'd hit it on the floor and got up.

"You okay hon?" Joey asked.

"Yeah." Shelby nodded still rubbing her head. "They sure do this alot."

"They're worse than kids." JC agreed.

"I can see that. So what time do we need to be up tomorrow?"

"We roll out at 6 as usual."

"How do you guys do this all the time?" Shelby questioned as she stiffled a yawn.

"We sleep whenever we can; on the bus, between interviews, anytime theres a quiet moment. You'll get used to it." JC assured her.

Shelby just nodded and watched Justin and Chris roll around on the floor. She didn't notice Joey getting ready to lunge at JC until it was too late.

Shelby lay on the ground between Justin and Chris looking dazed.

"Ow."

"Are you okay?" Justin asked looking down at her.

Shelby tried to answer, but the wind had been knocked out of her so she could only nod.

"Shelby!" Justin pulled her into a sitting position allowing her to catch her breath faster.

"At least warn me next time." Shelby said to Joey.

"Sorry."

Shelby was getting used to feeling Justin's arms around her and everytime she was in his arms, her heart raced. She felt the butterflies in her stomach everytime he touched her, even if it was just in passing. She was scared of the feelings she was experiencing, she was afraid of letting them show. Because if she did, and someone caught on, then things would be akward and she didn't want that at all. She was afraid Justin would stop being her friend if he found out and that was something she feared most of all.

"Penny for your thoughts." Justin whispered.

Shelby blushed and looked at him, "They're not worth it."

Justin leaned closer and whispered. "They must be something if it made you blush. Tell me Velma."

"A girl has to have some secrets." Shelby shook her head and leaned against him, relaxing in his arms.

Joey nudged Chris to look over at the couple on Justin's bed.

Chris smiled and nodded his head. One thing was obvious, they were falling faster than any of them had thought they would.

"They're cute." Chris whispered.

"I know, I wonder when they're going to discover their feelings for each other." Joey looked at the couple then back at Chris.

"I think they already know, but are denying or hiding them." Lance added.

"Well, one things for sure, they'll have an interesting story to tell their grandkids if it ever gets that far." Joey laughed.

The guys eventually calmed down and everyone decided to watch a movie. Half way through the movie they decided it was really late and they were all really tired and they would go to bed.

"Goodnight everyone." Chris exited the room through the joined door, JC following close behind.

"Anyone wanna wake them up?" Joey pointed to the young couple that were sleeping on Justins bed, wrapped in each others arms.

"I don't want to. I think they need this. Do you mind if I room with you tonight?" Lance asked.

"Sure, thats fine with me. Just grab your stuff and I'll bring Shelby's over here."

Joey brought over Shelby's bag and all her belongings and left them on the other bed with a note. Him and Lance then went back to his room and went to bed.

"Hey Joey, what do you really think about Justin and Shelby?" Lance asked moments after they'd shut off the light.

"I think they're going to get together sooner than anyone thinks. They have chemistry." Joey sighed.

"Is it a good idea for them to get together?" Lance wondered.

"I think it is. I really believe Justin cares about her, and Shelby needs love. I know he won't hurt her, especially after everything they've been through.

"Yeah."

"Well Lance, I'm goin to sleep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Joe."