It’s the eve of Justin Timberlake's 30th birthday and he knows he's about the get into some major trouble. He's only been home in Tennessee for a mere 30 hours but he's still suffering from a severe case of jetlag and almost no sleep. If it were up to him, he'd be enjoying a piece of the birthday cake his grandmother had so lovingly made for him and then pass out on his mother's couch but Trace and Jesse have a different plan for him. So he relents, and jumps in the shower against his better judgment. He now stands in front of the bathroom mirror, his jeans riding low on his hips and his chest still bare as he runs his fingers through his freshly cut hair. He sprites on some of his favorite cologne and sighs a little; all he really wants this year is sleep.
"You don't have to go you know. I don't know why it’s so hard for you to say no." His mother’s voice chimes in as she sets his laundered clothes on his bed and leans against the doorframe of the bathroom.
He smiles at her, "They're my friends mama, they wanna see me."
"I know that but you look so tired baby. You've been working so hard and you just broke up with Jessica and all. You should just stay in with your mama tonight." She says, watching her now 30 year old son finish his primping ritual.
Justin chuckles again, "What kind of 30 year old would I be staying at home with my mommy? Plus, I won't stay out to late and you'll have me all to yourself tomorrow." It grows silent between the two as Justin pulls his shirt over his head, "And I told you a million times mama, Jessica and I made the right decision."
Lynn throws her hands up in the air softly, trying not to pry as he pushes past her, "I know, I know.” She grows quiet again as she watches him move about his room, her eyes watering a little. Her little boy isn't so little anymore, that hurts a mother.
"Ma, stop it." Justin says, already knowing exactly what she's thinking. He turns back to her and grabs her into a tight hug, kissing into her hair as she laughs off her sudden emotional breakdown.
"Oh, get offa me boy, I'm fine. Just... be careful tonight, okay?"
He smiles again and nods, "Of course mama."
Just then, the front door of his childhood home opens as Trace and Jesse let themselves in, "Justin! Let's go homeboy, where you at?" They scream at the foot of the stairs.
"I'll be right down! I gotta go mama." He plants another kiss on her cheek before grabbing one of his hoodies.
"Okay, I love you. Happy birthday son."
He waves one last time and jogs down the stairs, his smiles widening as his two very best friends come into view, "Oh shit. Look at my man! What's up Jay?" Jesse says, embracing Justin as he steps off the last stair.
"I'm good man, I'm good. You're looking good."
Jesse scoffs and dusts off his shoulders, "As usual. Now, let’s get the hell outta here, shall we boys? We've got some drinking to do and some bitches to fuck, let's go."
"Now hold on a second. We gotta do this right." Trace chimes in, pulling out a bottle of vodka from his coat, "Jesse, get us some glasses dude."
Justin laughs and runs his fingers through his hair. He may be delirious from exhaustion but at least he's in good company. Trace pours the poisonous liquid into the three glasses and hands out to each of his counterparts, "Now for a toast to my boy, the one and only JT," Trace starts, raising his glass into the air, "We've been friends for thirty fucking years, let’s hope for thirty more, huh? Happy birthday punkass."
With a loud whoop from Jesse, the three boys consume their alcohol quickly and slam their glasses down on the wooden coffee table in front of them, "Goddamn! Alright boys, lets hit the town!" Jesse says, opening the front door.
It's gonna be one long ass night for the three of them.
%^%
It’s now two thirty in the a.m. and Jesse is obliterated. Trace is well on his way and Justin is... well... nursing his third beer. He glances back at his two drunk friends from his place at the bar and turns back to his drink, running his finger over the Miller Light logo.
"You need another, handsome?" The short, blonde female bartending asks, leaning up again the bar from the other side.
Justin shakes his head, "No thank you. I'm fine. But uh, no more for my friends okay?"
She nods and smiles then continues making her way down the bar and attending to the other patrons. Justin takes another sip of his cold beer, savoring the taste for just a second before sending it down his throat and into his belly, feeling the cold rush through his body. Even though it didn't seem like it, he loved being home. Only in Tennessee could he sit in a bar and not be bothered. Sure, people knew who he was and patted him on the back a few times, but other than that, they left him alone, knowing he probably needed his privacy.
So there he sat, on his 30th birthday, completely happy and content. After finishing his beer and starting another, he finally stood and flagged the short, blonde bartender and grabbed his wallet pulling out a few extra bills to compensate for her having to deal with Trace and Jesse all night.
"You really don't have to; ya'll were no trouble at all." She giggles, pushing the extra money back toward him.
"Please, they've been impossible. Jesse! Get off the table man, come on!" He yells, "You see? You deserve it."
She laughs again, finally relenting to his charm, "Well thank you. You guys get home safe alright?"
Justin turns and heads toward the back of the bar, where a mildly drunk Trace is trying to coax the beyond shitfaced Jesse off of the table, "Come on man, let’s get you home." Justin coos, grabbing his friends hand and pulling him down into his grasp.
"Dude, this was the best fucking... wait, what? Where are we right now?" Jesse asks, struggling to stand on his own two feet as Justin props his up against him.
"We're going home buddy, come on. Trace, you got him?"
Trace nods and throws Jesse's arm around his neck and they begin they're slow walk out of the bar, "Hey! It's your birthday right? Awe man, happy birthday dude! Hey, it's my friend’s birthday today!" Jesse screams, causing a little laughter to break out from the other bar patrons.
Justin shakes his head but can't help but laugh as he helps his friend through the now rather crowded bar. Just a few more steps and they'd be on their way home. Just a few more steps and Justin would be on his way toward his warm, inviting bed. Just a few more steps and-
"Look! Justin look, it's Everleigh! Hey Everleigh!"
The name makes Justin stop in his tracks. He turns toward Jesse's voice and there she was, looking just as shocked and caught off guard as he was. She runs her hand over her face and tries to ignore her old acquaintances but Jesse is making it harder and harder to do so.
"Everleigh! Hey!"
"Hello Jesse! Jesus Christ." She finally exclaims, running his fingers through her long brown hair.
Justin still stands in shock, staring at her as if he hasn't seen her in a decade. She glances up at him and scoffs again, rearranging herself in her seat but glances over at Justin again, averting her eyes quickly when she realizes he's still watching her. After a few more tense seconds, she looks over at the trio again, "Can I help you? Do you need something?"
"Hey Ever." Justin chokes out, still shocked that even after all of this time he's still astounded by how beautiful she is.
"Don't call me Ever. Nobody calls me that." She answers curtly, grabbing her beer and taking a swig.
"Except me. You don't have to be so mean girl." He answers back, shifting Jesse's weight on his shoulders, "How you been?"
She laughs sarcastically, shaking her head a little, "Fine. Shouldn't you be getting him home?"
"You need to lighten up, seriously."
"And you Justin, need to fuck off. Excuse me." She says gruffly, grabbing her jacket and beer and pushing past the three men and disappearing into the back of the bar.
Justin watches until she's completely out of sight, tempted to go after her until Trace pipes up, "Come on Jay."
Once outside, Justin and Trace throw the now unconscious Jesse into the back of Trace's jeep and climb inside, bringing the car to life and starting their journey back to quiet Millington. It’s quiet between them, except for the soft country music piping through the radio and Jesse's snores from the back seat.
"How can she still hate me after fifteen years? I mean, fuck man. If looks could kill." Justin finally says, taking one hand off of the wheel to rest it on his forehead.
Trace chuckles and leans back into the seat, resting his head on the headrest, "She's was always a tough ass broad, you know that. Most of it is probably an act anyway."
"Naw, I don't think so. You saw how she looked at me Trace. Shit, we run into each other almost every time I come back home and every time it’s the same reaction from her."
"Jay, don't worry about it, she'll come around. I know you miss her." Trace says with his eyes closed and his head beginning to swim from all the nights’ activities.
"Yeah," Justin says scoffing lightly, "Somehow I highly doubt that. She looked good though."
Trace smiles and nods, "She always looks good, always did."
Half an hour later and after dropping Jesse off at his mothers, Justin pulls into Trace's driveway and helps him inside. They make plans to see each other the next day and Justin retreats from the house, beginning his short walk home, his mind still on the stubborn and callous Everleigh Bryant. He knew what he had done was wrong but damn, it was fifteen years ago, they were just kids. He had apologized time and time again throughout the years but she never stayed around long enough to hear his explanations. And Justin knew that Trace was half right, a lot of it was just an act because she was always to goddamn stubborn to admit that she's being an ass, but half of her was still angry and he accepted that.
Once home, Justin threw off his jacket and climbed the stairs quietly, checking in on his sleeping mother before shedding the rest of his clothing and plopping into bed. Grabbing his iPod, he plugged his headphones into his ears and drifted off into his first peaceful night’s sleep in a week as Cat Stevens crooned into his head.
%^%
September 1995
Everleigh lies quietly beside him in the grass as the cool breeze washes over them, "Look at that one, it looks like an elephant." She giggles, holding her arm up above her and pointing out the fluffy cloud.
"It does, hahaha. You have a good eye for this." The young Justin answers back, nudging her a little bit with his elbow.
It gets quiet between the two kids as they lay together in one of the many vast fields that inhabit Tennessee. Justin glances over at her, drinking her in as if he's never going to see her again. Her small body is covered with a large red and pink plad button down shirt and a pair of cut off jean shorts. Her tiny, manicured feet are shoved into her favorite pair of ripped, dirty red flats and her long dark slightly curly hair spiders down to her hips. Light freckles are sprinkled across the bridge of her nose and cheeks and her square glasses sit low on her nose. She's absolutely the most gorgeous woman he's ever seen in his short fourteen years on this earth. And little does he know then, that after traveling the world and seeing millions of beautiful women, she'll always stay the prettiest.
"You're leaving again next weekend?" She asks quietly, not looking over at him because she knows if she does, she'll lose every ounce of will power not to cry.
"Yeah, I'm only supposed to be there for six months but, you know how that goes. Who knows when I'll be back."
"You gonna miss me?"
"Of course I'm gonna miss you Ever, you're my best friend."
She rolls over onto her stomach and eyes him quietly, searching his ice blue eyes to see if he's just saying that or if he really means it but she knows already. She bites her lip as she thinks about how lonely she always gets when he's gone, having only Jesse and Trace, who she loves just as much but won't admit that out loud. He gets her. She doesn't have to speak for him to know what she's thinking; he knows exactly what her little glances and movements mean without her having to explain them. That's what she misses the most when he's gone. She's just the weird, quiet girl to everyone else.
When she leans in and kisses him suddenly, catching him off guard but he goes with it, deepening their kiss by adding his cool tongue into the equation. They break apart a few minutes later, their lips red and irritated from their passionate, devilishly sweet kiss.
"What was that for?" Justin asks, searching her eyes, brushing a few strands of her locks out of her face.
She shrugs and pulls into him, laying her head on his chest, "I'm gonna miss you." She replies quietly, playing with the hem of his shirt with her red fingertips, "Promise we'll always be friends Jay."
He hugs her into him, running his hand over and through her hair slowly as the sun begins to turn the sky all kinds of oranges and pinks, "We'll always be friends Ever. We'll always be together."
Oh, how naive you are when you're young.
