I tilted my head slightly as he messed with the basketball in his hands, his nervous habit. I didn't get it, what did he mean where he's going with the band?

"What do you mean, J? Shouldn't you be talking to the others about this and not me?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Because...I mean, I kinda want to do something else. I mean, I like the band I like what we're doing it's just...I want to make a different sound I guess." Justin shrugged and looked down at the floor.

"So why don't you tell them that? I bet they'd understand. That song, Girlfriend right? That had an R&B sound to it, it even reached the R&B charts and you guys are a critic claimed 'pop' group," I pointed out.

"I know," Justin agreed. I could see him struggling to say something, admit something even, as he spun the basketball on his finger. I slapped it out of his hand and he looked at me.

"J, it's me, Trace, your best friend. You can tell me anything, man."

He didn't look at me and looked down at the ground.

I scoffed. "Alright if you can't tell me what the fucks bothering you then this whole trip was useless," I spat as I started to walk away. Then he said the words that made me stop dead in my tracks: "I wanna quit the band Trace."

My eyes widen in surprise as I slowly turn around. He didn’t just say that. I probably didn’t hear him right. "You wanna what?" I asked, not being able to hide my shock.

"I wanna quit the band," he says lowly.

I go over to him, "J, how long have you thought about this?"

"I dunno, a while." He goes over to the bench and puts his head in his hands.

"Wow, J, that's some thought. What are you going to do?" I ask as I sit next to him.

"I don't know, I’m scared to tell the other guys,” he admitted.

"Why? They should understand that this what you wanna do."

"Trace, you don't get it. When Joey and Lance decided to do a movie we felt like they wanted a way out and if I do this they'll feel like i'm betraying them!" he says as tears filled his eyes. I've never really seen Justin cry, so that tipped me off that this really must bother him.

"Look Just, if they're your friends they'll understand and support you in whatever happens because that's what I'll do." I smile.

"Really?" he sniffles.

"Yeah and if they give you shit about it, fuck them."

Justin chuckles, "Thanks Trace."

"Hey what are friends for? Just do what you do and you'll be fine. I mean, did you guys feel that JC was betraying you when he decided to produce for Wild Orchid or TLC?" I questioned.

"Well, I kinda did," Justin admitted. "But my reason is biased." He frowned. "But what if they hate me? I mean, to them this is sudden but I've been thinking about this for a bit."

 "So don't quit," I replied simply.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Don't fucking quit," I responded. "Tell them...you want to go on a hiatus. Once you feel you've done what you wanted to do you can go back and make another CD or whatever it is you guys do. I mean, you need a break anyway, right? Weren't you all planning on going on a break for 6 months? Just use that time to do what you want and then get back with them," I suggested.

"That's a good idea," Justin admitted and I beamed. "I just don't know how to tell them."

 "You don't have to tell them yet. You still have...a month and a half of this tour to finish up. Tell them when you're ready. And if you can't, I will."

"It won't be the same," Justin pointed out.

"Yes but I’ll be sure to get the point across," I replied. "Don't feel bad about doing what you want to do. I'm sure they'll support you 100%."

"They always do," Justin admitted. "I don't know, I feel as if they think I'm betraying them because Jive has been pushing for me to be in the spotlight, even though I hated it."

"Well that’s tough shit if you really wanna do this" I laugh. He glares at me. "Look J, you can still think about this fully before making any drastic moves. Just think about it and if you feel you still wanna do this, then do it. Don't do anything to please anyone but yourself because you and I know you want this Justin" I tell him.

He smiles "Thanks man. I appreciate you coming here, I really needed this."

"Hey what can I say? I'm a good person like that."

Justin laughs, "When you wanna be."

"Shut up" I say throwing him the ball. He shoves the ball back.

"Let's see how good of a friend you are when I beat you."

"You’re on, Timberlake."

~*~*~*~

"Getting a little slow, eh Ole Timer?" Justin grinned before squirting water into his mouth from a nearby waterbottle.

"I'm not that much older than you," I pointed out, rolling my eyes as I dribbled the basketball a bit.

"Old enough that you can't keep up with me," Justin replied.

"On the basketball court no, but on the 'playing field' I'm three steps ahead of you," I replied, tossing the ball towards the basket. It went in with a swish.

"Last I checked I was the one with the girlfriend, not you," Justin said as he picked up the ball that rolled back towards him.

"Details," I said with a wave of my hand. "How are you and Ms. Brit doing anyway?" I asked. He threw the ball at me.

"Great," Justin replied. "I...I really love her, Trace," he added. "But are you in love with her?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows. He shrugged and sighed. "She's awesome man, she knows what I'm going through and I know what she's going through. It's just everything seems too perfect, ya know? I mean, we're dubbed the Couple of Pop." He made a face and I laughed.

"What, you don't like your hollywood status?" I asked with a grin.

"I don't want to be known for dating her," he replied. "That's all."

"Did you talk to her about your decision?" I asked, throwing the ball back at him. He caught it easily and spun it on his finger again.

"Yeah, she says she's behind me whatever decision I make, it's always been like that with us," he admitted. I noticed the hint of fear in his voice.

"It'll be fine, man." Justin nodded.

"Hey J, Trace, come on, we're going to get something to eat and then hit sound check," JC called from the window to his hotel room.

"Okay we're coming." Justin shouts. We head in. "Hey Trace?"

"Yeah J?"

"Do you really think I can do this?"

I smile even though I was bit frustrated by how unsure he was. "I know you can. Dude you’re Justin fuckin’ Timberlake you can totally do this."

He chuckles, "Thanks"

"No problem, what are best bros for?" I smile. "Now lets get some food I'm fucking starving," I say as I rub my stomach and he laughs. We head into the lobby to see the rest of the guys sitting down.

"About time you guys got here!" Joey exclaims. "We were gonna leave without you."

"Well we can go now, I'm starving," Justin says.

"Where are we going?" I ask as we leave the hotel and start walking down the street.

"There's a really good restaurant nearby that we go to because it's somewhat secluded. We can eat in peace without being hounded by fans," Lance explained.

I nodded and shoved my hands into my pockets, looking around while keeping tabs on J's behavior. He was talking to Chris about something that happened back when Nsync started, something about an empty airport and pixi stix. Even though J was talking animatedly his eyes were kinda dull, the sure sign that he was thinking about something else. I sighed a bit and kicked at the ground. I don't get why J's so afraid of telling them about his idea. He's not quitting, he's just exploring some stuff. So why is he acting like it's the end of the world? What happened to the J I grew up with? Did the music business really change him that much?