Alison was in the kitchen in the middle of making a sandwich when Joey burst in. Her hand froze mid-air, jaw open at the sight of him in snow gear, superman hat and all. He already had a few good clumps of snow on him. "Andrea will kill you if you drip on the carpets," she said recovering.
"Don't mind her." This was his chance to distract the girl. He knew if she sat by herself too long she'd wonder about a certain curly-haired boy. So he pulled her to the back door at the same time as taking her sandwich and stuffing it in his mouth.
"Hey, that was mine! Joseph Fatone, what are you doing?!" the girl exclaimed as she was handed her coat, gloves, and snow boots.
"Get dressed, we're going outside."
"Well, I can see that but what are we doing?"
"Good food by the way," he smirked as an afterthought - ignoring her question yet again. This would be fun. Ali sighed and then was once again pulled outside. Carefully though; Joey didn't want to knock her off of her crutches. Standing on the sidewalk she noticed Lance, Chris, Briahna and Kelly (who'd arrived in the middle of the night) and Lance's mom Diane, all playing in the snow. Kelly was pulling the baby in a small sled while the boys and Diane made snowmen and women.
Justin sighed as he looked at the time on his phone. 12pm already. His plane had been rerouted because of the storm and they were forced to land in Buffalo. The flight clerks had no idea when a connecting flight would be since Buffalo was under a heavy storm right now. So, if he really wanted to be with his family and friends by midnight then he'd have to rent a car. He looked towards his bodyguard who was standing a few feet away. The big man looked casual, as to not draw attention to the young celebrity, but still kept a firm eye out. Justin himself was in a disguise under his heavy winter coat; his curls hidden under a hat, eyes hidden behind sunglasses. The glasses also covering his eyes from the glare of white snow.
Justin walked to the counter arranging to rent a car under an alias Johnny had given him. His manager was not happy he left the photoshoot early but after hearing the plea in the young man's voice, and knowing what the others had planned, he was able to reschedule the shoot for a weekend *NSYNC had free. "As long as it's before they send out promos for the movie," Johnny lectured.
It took a good deal of arguing with the clerk but he managed to charm his way into renting the last car. Even if everyone advised against driving in this weather. And so him and Eric were off into one of the worst storms this town had seen. If they didn't get held up anymore, Justin could make it to the house just in time for Christmas. He'd tried to contact Alison...He wasn't sure she wanted to talk after not hearing from him for so long; but he wouldn't get to even ask the question because her phone went to voicemail. Justin assumed the young girl was vacationing somewhere with her family. That made him smile, he knew how she always wanted to travel. But man, he just wanted to hear her voice. If he couldn't reach her by....well, he just couldn't imagine spending such a special time to them without some form of contact. Frustrated, the boy threw his cell onto the dashboard and looked at his guard and friend.
"Ready for the storm of our lives?" he asked half-joking, half serious.
"Yup, J. C'mon let's get you to your family."
Of course, Eric had known the other guys' plan too. "So, you invited your girl up here?" Justin questioned as he started the long drive to the border. It was a good hour away and he still had a few hours to drive once they get to Canada. God, he wished he'd make it.
"Mhm," Eric confirmed. "JC's girl said there're enough rooms."
The young charge laughed. "Don't let them hear you say that. They're still too blind to see it," he joked.
'They're not the only ones,' the big bodyguard thought.
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The group outside the big house in Canada was nearly frozen now. Kelly had taken Briahna inside awhile ago and now it was just the adults. Joey had finished his snowman; complete with one of his own blue and red capes, and an 'S' shape out of coals on it's chest. Everyone laughed knowing his obsession with superman. Lance was building a nice, normal snowman. To which he'd named Frosty. Chris cuffed him upside the head and said he was boring. But Diane and Ali smiled and applauded to which Lance gave a grand bow. Chris was making was snowman with sticks and yarn for dreads like his own.
Soon, it was near dinnertime and significantly chillier. Alison was standing near the edge of the woods, looking as the sun began to drop. Kelly came up to her as the others went inside. "Beautiful, isn't it?" the blonde asked.
The other girl sighed. "Yeah, it sure is." She looked up and gave a weak smile. She loved Christmas, loved the magic and innocence of the season. Whenever one of them would look at her during the winter months, her face would be glowing like a child's. She truly and whole-heartedly believed in love on Christmas. But this year, it was hard because she just wanted one person to share it with.
As they joined the group inside, Alison looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen JC or Andrea at all today?"
"If they know what's good for them, they're probably up in his room," Joey joked. They then heard muffled shouts and a door slamming.
"That doesn't sound like -" Chris was cut off by a strong glare from the girls.
Suddenly the singer in question came tearing down the stairs and headed for the door. "Whoa, where's the fire, man?" Lance asked.
"I'm going out for air," was all JC said.
"Dude, it's -" but his protest was cut off as their friend stormed out into the cold weather. "- only 10degrees..."
They all looked helplessly at each other.
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JC walked through the bitter cold as he watched the sunset. He knew going out in this weather was stupid but he needed to get away, to clear his head. He pulled his collar up against the biting chill but didn’t really feel it; JC only felt the lone tear on his cheek. Why did he let himself get into this? He knew she could never return his feelings, no instead he got sucked into some foolish deal. Fooling himself with some fake feelings he thought he felt from her. All it was was some stupid game…
The man scoffed, kicking at a piece of slush and ice as he walked down the road. Looking up at the sky he breathed out and watched it turn to smoke. “Why did I do this?!” he screamed to the empty air. “Why did I let myself get in so deep?!” He laughed bitterly as he kept walking. ‘’Cause you love her’ the voice in his head accused. “But she’ll never love me that way. I’ll be lucky if she even looks my way again.”
‘But she played you, dude. She led you on…’ Suddenly a tune popped into his head and JC started to hum softly.
Why do you keep us apart
why won't you give up your heart
you
know that were meant to be together
... Why do you push me away
all
that I want is to give you love
forever and ever and ever
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Justin drove down the horribly snowy road, cussing under his breath as he tried to see out the windshield. It was already 9pm and very dark out. He'd never make it to the cabin by midnight. He'd miss Christmas with his family.....
He muttered another word as he flipped on the radio; getting nothing but static for a few channels. Finally: And now, an oldie but goody; a rare number by one of the charts' hottest boybands, *NSYNC, 'Feel the Love'
The young man heard his bodyguard snicker, eyes still closed and head against the window. "I thought you were sleeping," he grumbled.
"Oh, oh I am. Just dreamin'," Eric smirked.
Justin was about to change the channel when lyrics he'd forgotten reached his ears.
I never knew before
But now I know for sure
Cause you've got me
Writing poems, sitting by the phone
Waiting for your call
Girl it's you I'm longing for
So girl don't stop what you're doing
Keep going cause you know that I
I feel the love
(The love)
I feel it
(Oh yea)
I feel the love that you give to me
Can't get enough
(I cannot get enough)
Cause I need it
I feel the love that you give to me
He sighed and rested his head back at a stoplight; looking through the snowy night as he remembered a lost moment.
Justin was with Alison; it was summertime and the boys had a few days off before their summer tour started. He'd snuck away at the end of rehearsals and pulled the girl outside with him. Keeping an arm behind her back so she didn't fall off of her crutches on the rough ground, Justin led Ali across WEG compound to a secluded spot.
It was a open field, grass in some spots, sand in others. And it was beautiful looking out over the small stretch of water. They walked behind some trees so they couldn't be easily found.
"Wow, I thought I'd seen all the land out here," Alison gaped in awe. The sun was starting to set, casting gorgeous oranges and pinks and purples.
"Yeah, no one really comes out to this side," the young boy smiled. "It's like my hideout here in Orlando."
A frown formed; even though he'd dragged her out here, Alison felt she was intruding. Many times this week she wondered just what she was doing here. Miles and miles from her home. Did she just want visit her friends, give them a big send off before she didn't see them for 8 months, or was it something more? She flashed Justin a small smile before walking away. "Well, then I'll go."
Justin looked up startled, poofy fro bouncing in the breeze slightly, and Ali almost laughed at how cute he looked. "Wait, Al!" He lunged forward and caught her wrist but totally forgot her hands were holding crutches. This threw her off balance; she would've fallen had the young boy not wrapped his arms around her waist. The small young woman looked up into her friend's blue eyes, both people breathing heavily.
"Jus, I -"
"Wait..." his voice no more a whisper, lips hovering above hers. One hand pushed her brown curls back from her eyes. "Just stay with me..." It seemed as if they were going to kiss but instead Justin lost his nerve and pulled back awkwardly.
"Ummm..." Alison had no clue what to say. Did she really feel his heart pounding or was that a reaction.
"We can feed the fish over here." And for the rest of the afternoon the two teens talked about everything and anything, except the elephant in the room.
When the memory was over, Justin huffed and hit the steering wheel. "Damnit, I should've just gone there this Christmas. The guys would've understood if I'd just gone to Boston right?"
Eric looked up, hiding the knowing look in his eye (yes he knew what the guys had planned for his charge and the young girl he liked). "They'd understand, J. Why don't you just call the lady since you can't be with her?"
Before he could answer, Justin looked out the windshield and squinted against the snow. "Is that - is that JC?" he asked seeing a shivering, snow covered figure on the curb.
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