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.
Story Notes:
this is for my friend since our 2nd anniversary is August 13. i wanted to post this early because i didn't know when our next chance online would be. i hope you all enjoy this impromtu christimas story.
Author's Chapter Notes:
story will be posted in the course of tonight i hope.
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