Disclaimer: The author is by no means affiliated to the factual people, institutions, companies mentioned or used for purposes of this fiction. She does however own the plot and the original characters. Plagiarism is illegal.

TRACK TWO
Always on My Mind



I'm told that I'm a victim of obsession
That's what my friends say
Oh, I'm a fool for having ever let her tempt me



Glance at the clock next to the bed, and you see that it is 2 a.m. Try to get comfortable. Deny to yourself that you are unable to sleep because you have too much on your mind. Do not under any circumstances leave the guestroom to seek him out. Remember that you have a fiancé and that you do love him. Also, keep in mind that he's his friend and what you are thinking of falls under the category of worst betrayal. Bite down the pangs of guilt, because you are here in his house and that in a way you are cheating. No you did not sleep with him, nor did you give in to the temptation of even just kissing him. But isn't emotional attachment just as bad as the actual physical aspect of cheating on someone?

Put your phone down. Any calls made at this hour would likely merit discussions you do not want to delve into this early into the day. Decide to wait until a more decent hour, probably when you've made-up your mind over the matter, to call him. You have after all resolved to think matters through. Do not act on impulse and resist the urge to even have alcohol in order to ease your anxiety. You do not need an excuse to give in to your curiosity, or worse, unearth thoughts and feelings you've kept at bay.

Again you shift in the bed, and wonder why resting on one which is better than your own cannot conjure sleep.

Hear him enter the room and know that it's your cue to feign sleep once more. Ignore him, calling out to you, trying to gauge if you really are asleep. Will your breathing to even out. Do not give him the slightest clue that you are awake. Dare not move a muscle as he sits next to you, looking at the wall opposite himself. Command your pulse not to quicken when you feel his fingers, lightly treading through your hair -- fingers barely there, yet enough to spread that dreaded warmth through your body.

Above all things, do not listen to him when he says that one sentence that's enough to throw you head first into oblivion, completely unsure of yourself, your feelings about him and his friend -- your fiancé.

"I love you, Kayla."

Fight back the urge to cry as soon as you feel his lips graze your temple. Do not let even a single tear escape until you hear the door close behind him as he leaves. And when you do break into sobs, it is only when you are sure that you are once again alone in the room.

Decide to leave early, in a few hours at the most. Do your best not to see him or let him know you've been crying. It would just open up questions you do not want to delve into, and put you down a road you're not ready, nor willing to take. No matter what, you cannot forget that you are meeting your fiancé afterwards and that you are going to talk about your future with him.

Crying yourself to sleep, you realize that no matter who you pick someone you love will end up getting hurt.


“Just call her already.”

“No can do. That’s against the rules.”

Trace Ayala scoffs at his best friend’s response, shaking his head in disappointment as he goes through the racks of clothing inside his office. “I’m telling you man, if this girl is anything like you’ve described her to be, she’s not staying available for too long. Pretty soon you’ve missed out on your chance... Then you’ll be your miserable self... Whining to me about how I didn’t warn you that this would happen.” He says in between cross-checking the catalogue and the samples.

The other man in the room simply chuckles at this, leaning back on the table he planted himself on earlier. He had come to Trace in order to brag about his restraint in being able to withstand not contacting her. He was not entirely sure why he had gone a few of days without contacting her but it happened. After arriving at the meeting, all thoughts were refocused to work and he became complacent over the fact she was interested in him. Though he reciprocated the feeling, he lacked the drive to pursue her. Based on his experience, a woman was more than willing to wait a while for him to get back to them and he was sure that she is no exception. Hence, he took a lax attitude towards his courtship of her.

"I don't know. It feels as though I have this in the bag already." Justin muses as he played with the items on his friend's desk. "Besides, if she wants me bad enough, she knows how to reach me." He then slides off of the table and trots over to where his friend is standing. "In fact, I'm willing to bet she'll call me before this week is over before I even lift a finger to send her a message or dial her number."

"You're fucking insane man." Trace replies, moving away from Justin. He knows where this is headed but he had not the patience to indulge him. He's seen this before and he knows better than to provoke him. "Call, bang 'er, leave like you always do. Since when did you start denying yourself pussy that you wanted anyway?"

Justin pauses, wondering whether to share what he's really feeling with him. He sighs already knowing he'll be on his ass about this if he when does. However, he was not really one to keep things from him no matter what unwanted things he'll hear from him later on. "She's different." He says to Trace as he shoves his hands into his pockets, looking down on his sneakers as they shuffle over the varnished floor.

"All the more reason to call her dipshit!" Trace returns from where he's standing, not looking at his friend. "What the hell have you been sitting on your ass for if you're looking for more than getting laid?"

"I just wanted to be sure where I wanted to take this before I do anything." Justin says, his words edged with bitterness.

Upon hearing this, Trace finally puts aside the catalogue and looks at him. "You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened between you and Jess."

"I'm not." He mutters, moving to sit on the couch, unable to meet his friend's eyes.

"She knew that you weren't ready to commit and she kept forcing to do something you didn't want to do. Weren't you the one who told me you didn't want to get married for the sake of just tying the knot and if you did push through with the wedding, chances are you'd end up being divorced?" Trace continues, his gaze unwavering, knowing his friend needed to hear this.

"I did say that."

"So what's the problem then? You two were obviously at that point in a relationship where either you stayed together or you don't. It happens dude. Just let it go and move on."

"I know." Justin sighs again, burying his head in his hands, willing his guilt in the matter to subside. The last he heard or saw of her was with some other guy. Though he was the one to initiate the break-up it stung to see her, the morning period clearly over. He had no regrets over his decision and he was genuinely happy that she's moving on. He just wished the feelings of guilt would have been gone by now.

"One proper date isn't going to kill you, J."

He looks up at this and finds that Trace has gone back to the work at hand. "Okay, I think I got the point a while back." He quips chucking a crumpled piece of paper towards his friend.

"Good. Now that's settled, would you stop your bitchin' and start helping me here?"


For once he is early. He figures that if they started sooner, he could get out earlier. Tonight is D-Day and he had a lot to do in order to prepare for it. He could only hope that he wouldn't be detained longer than necessary, but that's only if JC would let him. Having worked with him for years, Justin has adapted to his former band mate’s work ethics and knew how his friend went about recordng. Justin may consider himself a perfectionist but that pales in comparison to how JC handled things. This in mind, he resolves to resort to groveling and to begging if that's what it takes to be let out before five. And if all else fails, there's the fallback bribe of promising to work extra hours during the next couple of days.

Now if only said slave driver would arrive.

Not one to disappoint, JC enters the studio on cue, talking to someone on his phone. He gestures his greeting to everyone in the room before walking over to where Justin is messing with knobs on the soundboard. When his friend hands him a cup of coffee, he only raises an eyebrow in question, immediately feeling that something's up. The suspicion mounts when he gets "You're welcome" that’s topped with a smirk he knows all too well. He soon bids goodbye to the person on the other end of the line before turning his attention to the younger man.

“Who was that?”  Justin asks, watching as JC ends the conversation, internally deliberating how best to breech the subject of ending early. His thoughts are derailed upon seeing that his friend does not answer but instead wears a silly grin on his face. His mouth gapes slightly in understanding before switching to a teasing mood. “Was that a girl?”

“Maybe.”

He laughs at his friend's weak attempt at evading the topic and presses him further. "When did the two of you hook up?"

"Just recenty." JC finally concedes, knowing that Justin won't stop until he's got what he wanted. "We were introduced by a mutual friend at a party. We just had our second date last night." He gushes, unable to stop himself from feeling ecstatic over his girl.

"This sounds serious."

"It is."

With this, Justin immediately knows that his friend could be falling for this girl. He feels happy for him, thinking to himself that he of all people deserved to be happy. " When do I get to meet her then?" He questions, originally meaning it as a joke.

"Funny you mentioned that. She's actually dropping by later so we can have lunch since I suggested that she listen to our work. You can join us if you want." JC offers as he instructs the technician to play the initial track Justin had laid out.

For some reason, Justin feels slightly hesitant about this suggestion. Though he genuinely wants to get to know the girl who has won his friend's affection, he did not expect it to be so soon. He is not too big on having strangers listen to his work before it was finalized and although this chick is his friend's girl, he cannot be held accountable for an irritable nature later. Giving it a thought, he realizes that he could use it to his advantage. "Sure, if you guys don't mind," a nod accompanying his agreeing to it. He silently vows to kissing as if it would mean that she could get his friend to comply to his request.


As these things go, the morning was soon over and pretty soon it was time for lunch. The rest of the crew had left the studio for the scheduled break while the two friends stayed behind to wait for JC's date to arrive. In the middle of reviewing what progress they made, the opening chords to Sting's "Fragile" interrupts and filters through the song's melody. Justin then immediately cuts the music, watching JC as he reads the name of the caller. "That's her." He states as he stands up and proceeds to exit the studio. Justin follows suit and the two walk towards the entrance.

In the middle of debating which restaurant they should head to, Justin notices a familiar looking Porsche parked there and he slows his pace. Immediately, a sinking feeling overwhelms him. His friend however does not notice this as he is too busy hurrying over to the car, where the driver is just about to get out. Justin stops completely when gets a good look at the woman, and all too soon, the crushed emotion he previously felt is replaced with that of anger and rage. He feels his temper continue to rise when he sees the two of them kiss and he resorts to glaring at them from where he's standing.

When the two part, JC notes that his friend is a good distance away from them and a not-too-happy expression etched in his features. Utterly confused, he misses the shocked look that register's on his girl's face. Unfortunately for both her and Justin, JC motions for him to come over and knowing he had no choice on the matter he stomps over to the pair, determined to make evident his displeasure. He doesn't greet her once he's next to them as his focus is on his friend's hand comfortably resting on her waist.

It is at this point that JC notices the the obvious tension between them. Not one to opt for a loud and direct approach, he opts to attempt to salvage the disastrous first meeting between them. "J, I want you to meet Kayla. Kayla, this is Justin."

"Nice to meet you." She says, offering him a smile as extends a hand out to him.

The gesture is rejected however when he scoffs in reply, giving her a pointed look. And instead of a cordial greeting and the expected small talk he says, "Hey man, I forgot about this thing Trace wanted me to check on. I think I might have to bail on lunch."

"Okay..." JC responds a little uncertain, but knowing that now was not the time to probe either. "I'll see you back at two though?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He mutters turning away from them, leaving one completely bewildered at what had just transpired and the other feigning innocence whilst coming to terms with her guilt. Justin knows that what he did was downright rude, but like he earlier thought, he cannot be held accountable for his actions when faced with a manipulative, gold-digging bitch like Kayla Lee.