"JC, you have to get up!" Justin yelled from under the doorframe. "Now!"

JC shut his eyes as he faced the wall, his back to Justin.  "No."

"C'mon Jace, we know you're awake. Just get your ass off the bed and start the fucking day!" Chris added in.

"I don't want to." JC mumbled, staring at the cream colored wall.

"Jace we have a press conference today," Justin whined. "Get up or we'll be late."

"Tell them I'm sick." He said simply. "You guys go."

His friends sighed and walked further into the room. Justin took a seat at the foot of the bed while Chris, Joey and Lance stood around the bed.

"JC?" Justin asked quietly.

"What'd you want?" JC asked softly but exasperated. "Can't you guys just leave me alone?"

"We know you're not okay. We want to help." the teenager responded.

"Of course I'm not okay!!"  JC cried out, sitting up in the bed to face his friends.

His friends frowned, noticing that JC's eyes were red and swollen, and his voice was slightly hoarse.

"We're sorry C. I don't know what else to say." Lance spoke up.

JC blinked back tears and shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing you can say. The woman I love is over 1000 miles away in New York, she hates me, I hate me, and our careers are on the line. My life's a fucking train wreck right about now."

"Did you try calling her?" Joey asked.

"Of course I did! I've left her a thousand messages, missed calls, texts, everything! She's done with me guys. I'm never going to get her back after this. I messed up, so bad."

"It'll be okay C." Chris tried assuring him.

"She's never going to forgive me, is she?"

Justin shifted uncomfortably on the bed, knowing that the truthful answer wasn't going to be the answer JC wanted to hear. "Would you forgive Allison, for what she did to you?"

JC shook his head. "Dear God, she's never going to forgive me!" he stated, lying down on his back and holding the pillow over his face. "Fuck!" he muttered.

Joey sighed, grabbing the pillow and Justin pulled on JC's arms to make him sit up again.

"Just go to the fucking conference without me." JC mumbled. "I don't care anymore."

Chris felt his blood boil as the frustration JC was causing him quickly got to his head. He walked up closer to the bed and scowled.

"Listen to me Chasez," he started, getting JC's full attention at the sharp tone of his voice. "We've been through this already with you. This time, we're not letting you do it again. You were an ass, you broke her heart, and now you're punishing yourself! We get that! But guess what JC!? She's gone! She's gone, she's trying to move on with a great job in front of her, and here you are with our careers on the fucking line and we have a chance to make it! I don't know about you, but we didn't bust our asses for almost five years to come this far, and now that you're going through a breakup, you don't want to fight anymore? You don't want to do anything? Well fine, stay here in bed and drown yourself in your misery. But as far as I know, our group has a press conference today that we need to get to and I intend to go! So stay here, but we've only got an hour left to get ready." He turned to the rest of the band members. "Fix him! We actually have something to do today and I don't intend on flaking out on it giving Lou another chance to call us unprofessional by missing this conference! I'm going!"

And with that, he stormed out the room leaving the other guys there speechless.

JC sighed and threw off the covers as he got up and ran a hand through his hair. His friends looked at him with blank expressions.

"I'm sorry, okay?" JC mumbled. "I didn't mean for this to affect what's going on with the group. I'll go."

Justin gave a smile and got up from the bed while Joey and Lance gave him a couple pats on the back.

"It'll be okay Jace. Stick it out for a while. If you guys are meant to be, then it'll be..."

***

"Hey Jace?" Chris spoke up, getting into the driver's seat beside JC in the car.

"What's up?"

"I didn't mean to be so insensitive earlier, but I've seen you hurt before and I just hated seeing it again. I know this time it's your fault and everything, and that sucks for you, I know, but I preferred to see you upset and mad at one of us rather than at yourself or a situation you have no control of."

JC nodded.

"I just wanted to say ‘I'm sorry', and I'll quit bugging you about it. You have a right to be mad and upset, I mean it is your fault-" JC rolled his eyes. "-But yea... I'm sorry."

"It's okay Chris, I wasn't mad in the first place. Not at you, anyways."

"So you made me recite a whole ‘I'm sorry' speech for nothing?" Chris cried out. "You see, this is why I never apologize to you guys."

JC chuckled. "I appreciate it though, thanks."

Chris nodded, pushing him playfully on the arm as they cruised down the highway. The three members in the backseat had remained quiet with magazines in their hands. They looked like a bunch of teenage girls scanning the articles eager to hear what the press was saying about them.

The press conference earlier that day had gone no different from the others. Lance and JC sat quietly and didn't speak up unless they were spoken to, Justin did most of the talking whenever someone from the media would ask a question to the group while Joey was stuck trying to keep Chris from flying out his chair and attacking their manager trying whenever Lou would start talking about the contracts. It had lasted almost three hours, but the guys were finally able to make their escape from the photographers and news reporters and just go back home.

Ignoring the mumbling in the back, Chris continued on with JC.

"Did you even talk to her, after... that morning?"

"Who?" JC replied glumly. "Lizzie or Allison?"

Chris screwed up his face. "Don't even do so much as mention that name in our car, ugh. Lizzie, obviously. I don't care about the other one, and neither should you!"

"I don't care about her! Not anymore, anyways... And to answer your question, no, I haven't spoken to her."

Chris saw JC shake his head softly to himself and stare out the window.

"It's killing me Chris." He said softly. "It's driving me crazy not hearing from her, not seeing her. Just the thought of never holding her again is enough to make me want to just give up relationships totally."

"Damn," Chris muttered. "I'm sorry C."

"What'd I do Chris? Where do I go from here? She can't avoid me forever, can she?"

"I'm not the one to ask Jace, but I guess she can't. Not forever, at least..."

"I just wish there was a way for us to talk, just talk. If I could just apologize and... And tell her I love her," he sighed. "Then maybe that way she'd know I want her back...

A little over 3 weeks later

"The name of the song is what?" Justin asked, leaning forward to make sure he had heard correctly.

"Bye Bye Bye," Johnny repeated, looking at the boys sitting on the couches in front of him. "You like it?"

"Well, we haven't heard the track beat yet." JC said, sitting up.

Justin was still trying to get over the title. "Who the hell names a song ‘Bye Bye Bye'? I mean I could understand ‘Goodbye' or ‘Don't Say Goodbye' but ‘Bye Bye Bye'?"

Johnny chuckled. "Hey man, you're lucky I even got the track in the first place! If you choose it to be a single, you'll be releasing it with Jive. RCA just want their dues and you're out of the woods by the end of the year."

"So you're saying..." Joey urged him.

"You can start recording the tracks for the next album. It's approved, kind of."

The guys almost jumped him, bouncing up and down on the couches high fiving each other and laughing in excitement.

"Are you serious!?" Chris asked, jumping off the couch and in front of Johnny, startling the man.

He laughed. "Yea, I am. But sit down! I'm not done with you."

Justin jumped and landed on his butt, sinking into the cushions. "There's more?"

The bald man nodded. "This suit isn't over boys, Lou's still asking a lot, but you can keep the name. Be happy for now."

The boys grinned.

"When can we get into the studio again? So we hear this ‘Bye Bye Bye' track?"

"Well that's one more thing you guys have to do," Johnny started.

The five friends looked at him with blank expressions.

"I'm flying you guys out to New York this weekend to meet with the writers and couple producers who're interested in working on the album. They've got some tracks lined up, and want to do some co-writing with you guys if you're interested. It's just for two or three days, then you've got another court appearance that Tuesday."

"New York?" JC croaked, a funny feeling of excitement and anxiety running through his system.

"That a problem?"

He looked at his friends and turned back to their manager.

"Not at all," he said as he shook his head. "No problem at all."

***

"Hello?"

"Lizzie dear, how are you?" a warm feminine voice greeted her.

She stopped, taking a seat on the couch a few feet away from her as she recognized the voice.

"Karen, hi! How are you?"

"Oh I'm fine. Everything's been great. We're filling out Heather's college applications this week so we're all excited."The woman laughed.

Liz smiled. "Yea, that's terrific. Tell her I said ‘good luck'..."

"How's your business trip going?"

"It's great!" Liz lied. "Just... It's been a great experience so far..."

"Well that's wonderful! When Josh gets there you two should fly in again for a few days. Heather and Tyler miss you two."

Liz's head snapped up from her fumbling hands on the remote control in her lap.

"What'd you mean when he gets here?"

"Well, *NSYNC's flying in to New York in a few days. Justin's mom called me this morning after Justin called her. Josh's phone is off, so I couldn't get through to him. Didn't he tell you though?"

Liz sighed, tears welling as she silently recalled deleting the close to one hundred missed calls she had on her phone from a number she deleted but still recognized as his own.

"No, uh. I haven't talked to him in a while." She said in a small voice.

"Is something going on between you two?" Karen asked.

Liz let a tear fall but quickly brushed it away with the back of her hand.  "You're going to have to ask your son Karen. I... I don't know."

"Lizzie, what happened? Did something happen? What'd he do?"

Liz squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that saying the name she was about to name would take all the energy she had left in her body to get out. "Do you uh, remember Allison? That girl who used to date Josh?"

"Yes, I do remember actually. Lord knows why she walked out of his life. She didn't deserve him, and I'm not just saying that because he's my son. No one but Joshua clicked with her. The rest of us..." she sighed. "But what does she have to do with anything?"

Liz bit her lip, another tear falling. "I uh..." Was she really about to tell his mom she practically caught her son in bed with her? "I think they're back together." She said, her voice breaking.

"Wait, what!?" Karen said loudly. "Liz, what is going on over there? Why hasn't Josh told me any of this?"

"I don't know Karen, I'm sorry. We had a fight the night before I left and..."

The tears were coming fast and furious now.

"Liz?"

She sniffled. "I have to go Karen, just talk to Josh. I'll talk to you soon alright? Take care."

And without giving the woman a chance to say goodbye, she hung up...

***

"Jace, your mom's on the phone outside."  Lance yelled from the living room.

JC frowned, wondering why she hadn't called on his cell instead before he remembered he had left his phone in the car and hadn't bothered to take it out.

He sighed, running out of his room. "Hey mom," he greeted her, taking a seat next to Justin who sat on the couch playing with a basketball.  "How's it going?"

"I need to talk to you Joshua," she snapped.

He frowned. "What's going on?"

"What happened between you and Liz?"

He felt goose bumps form on his forearms. "What'd you mean?"

"Well I just spoke to Liz on the phone and she hung up the phone in tears when I asked her what was going on between you two. She told me that you and Allison were back together. What is going on Joshua?"

He leaned back against the couch, subconsciously holding in a breath.

"You talked to her mom?" he asked softly. "Did she say how she's doing? Is she okay?"

"Answer my questions Joshua!"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not with Allison mom. But Liz and I..." he sighed. "I don't know."

"She hung up in tears Josh. Why?"

He frowned, knowing that the tears she had cried were tears his actions had caused. "Mom I made a mistake alright? I got together with Allison for one night! Just one night... and Liz caught me."

His friends had all now assembled around him, intently listening in on the conversation.

"You did what Joshua!? I thought I taught you better than that! What the hell were you thinking!?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know mom." He said quietly.

"Well to answer your question from before, she told me that she's doing great but I'm beginning to think she lied. When you get to New York this weekend you better find some time and try to get some contact with her. She's obviously not fine, not after hearing this at least. Fix this between the two of you Joshua. Or you're letting the best person any of us have ever seen you with slip straight through your fingers."

"As though she already hasn't..." JC mumbled.

"I'm telling you Josh, don't let her go without a fight."

He nodded. "I know. I love her mom, I want her back."

"I believe she still loves you too Josh but trying to get her back to you is going to take a lot at this point. She's very upset."

"Yea," he said softly. "So am I."

"Don't let her go Josh."

He heard some voices in the background and his mother sighed.

"Heather and Tyler said ‘hi' and they're arguing for the phone so I'll speak to you soon alright?"

 "Thanks mom," he sighed. "I'll talk to you soon, love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," she said with a smile. "Good luck."

"Thanks ma. Bye."

He hung up the phone and sighed, his hands folded over his eyes.

"You'll get her back Jace, don't worry." Joey said, kicking his leg playfully.

"I'm getting her back guys, I promise you that."

"Not to be unsupportive or anything but how exactly do you plan on doing this?" Justin asked.

JC grabbed the car keys off the coffee table and stood up, heading toward the door. "By getting Emma on my side..."

***

He speed walked in to the blue walled browsing area, past the woman at the desk and down the hallway. He knocked on the closed door, and didn't stop until it flew open, his knuckles almost hitting the person who answered in the nose.

"If you had touched me I would have broken your arm," she said crossly. "What are you doing here?"

JC gulped, his heart racing. "I need to talk to you Em, please. Five minutes, that's all I need from you and I swear I'll stop. Five minutes."

She looked at him. If it weren't for the genuine plead in his voice, the glimmers of hope in his blue eyes and the fact that she really didn't have any work to take care of seeing that she was playing solitaire on her computer before he arrived, she would have slammed the door in his face.

"Please," he begged softly.

She shook her head at herself and stepped aside. "Four minutes, fifty nine seconds. I'm counting."

JC nodded, stepping in as she closed the door behind them.

"What'd you want Josh?" she asked with a sigh.

"I need you to forgive me."

She looked at him oddly. "What?"

"I need you to forgive me Emma. If I can't get through to Lizzie first then I need to get the one person she cares about the most in her life to forgive me for what I did to her, to us. I'm sorry Emma, I really am."

"Why should I forgive you Joshua?" she asked quietly.

"Because I love her more than anything in this world right now, and it's killing me that she won't do so much as pick up my calls or reply to my messages. Emma, I did her wrong and I made a mistake and yea, I probably don't deserve her but the fact of the matter is, I love her! And I need to make it up to her. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I will make it up to her. Right now, I need your help but I'm telling you the truth Emma. I love Lizzie. After everything that's been going on, she's the only thing I had going for me. Just tell me you forgive me, accept my apology. I mean it Em, I am sorry and I love her. Please..."

Emma looked at him, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair. "She loves you too Josh, but I'm not sure if she could forgive you after what you did."

"I just need your help getting through to her this one last time. One more chance..."

She studied him for a moment, contemplating whether or not what he was saying was true.

Finally, she looked him in the eye and nodded. "I accept your apology. I'm not sure if I could forgive you just yet, that'll take some time but I will help you."

JC's face lit up. "You will?"

"I can't see her this way," she said softly. "Not again..."

"I'm going to New York this weekend. *NSYNC has a few meetings with a couple new writers and producers but that's it. I just have to see her when I get there. I have to talk to her... I just want to hold her again, tell her I love her... Don't tell her I'm going alright? I need to make it a surprise, but I need your help."

"Alright," Emma said softly as she nodded her head. "I'll help you..."

JC smiled in relief.

"But Josh," she started, looking up at him.

"Yea?"

"If she does take you back and you break her heart again... Don't expect any of this to play out the way I'm letting it go down now. I'm warning you."

JC nodded, thankful he had at least gotten her on his side. "I promise, it's all about her this time. I'm going to get her back."

"Yea... Let's hope you do..."

That Saturday Night- New York City

"Where is it?" JC muttered, his hand stuck in the dirt of a small potted plant while he balanced his phone between his shoulder and his ear. "Are you sure she keeps it in here?" he asked into the phone.

"I'm positive. Keep looking, dig deeper."

JC squished his hand further down into the dirt, pretty sure he felt something biting him but he finally came across a thin, iron object.

"I think I got it," he said, pulling his hand out, making a huge mess of dirt on the floor where he stood. "Yea, I got it." He held up the small key and kicked the mess of earth into a corner.

"She buried it pretty deep, didn't she?"

"I'll say," JC replied, brushing some of the dry mud from his shirt. "Whatever happened to keeping the spare key under a good ole door mat, huh?"

She laughed. "Alright Josh, go in, and you're on your own from there on. Good luck."

"Wait!" he cried out, closing the door behind him. "What time is she going to get home?"

"What is it... almost nine o'clock now?"

"Yea,"

"She should be there in a minute or two."

"What!?"

"Chillax Josh," Emma giggled. "I was kidding around."

He sighed. "You and Liz just love doing that sorta thing to me, don't you?"

 "Give her a few minutes, but no less than ten. She gets off work at around 8:30. She should be close by now."

"Yea, okay."

"Hey,"

"What?" he asked.

"Don't overwhelm her alright? Remember what you're there for, to talk to her. She still hates you Jace, don't blame her for it."

"I don't. I just... I'm really nervous."

"Good luck. If she lashes out, I hope she doesn't hit you too hard."

JC subconsciously brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his cheek. "Yea, thanks."

"Alright, well I'm out for tonight. I hope everything goes well, and if it doesn't, remember I warned you."

"I know, I know. Thanks a lot Emma, for helping me out here. I really appreciate it."

"Sure Josh." She said with a smile. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye Em,"

"Bye Bye."

JC sighed, stuffing the phone in his jacket pocket and walking into the fairly wide area that was the living room of the apartment. He noticed there was a balcony that overlooked the better part of the city.

"Nice place," he said to himself, taking a seat on the couch and taking a deep breath as he looked out past the see-through sliding doors and watched as the busy nightlife lights lit up the area.

Approx. 15 minutes later

Liz sighed, flicking on the light as she dropped her hand bag and a large envelope full of papers on the table near the door and kicked off her heels as she made her way into her bedroom, taking off her jacket.

JC's heart rate increased drastically and he felt numbed all over again when he heard her sigh and heard the door close. He sat up on the couch, still not sure if he should be sitting or standing, if his hands should be folded or in his lap. She hadn't noticed him yet since her bedroom was closer to the doorway that the living room was. He took a deep breath and let it out as he heard the footsteps coming closer to the room. His heart skipped a beat and he was sure he was about to pass out due to anxiety when he saw her enter the room, catching a quick glimpse of her black bra and bare stomach as she pulled a large white t shirt over her head.

He looked up at her as she flipped her hair out of her face and let out a piercing scream, finally noticing there was a body sitting on the couch.

"What the fu-" she yelled, then felt her knees go weak when she recognized the person. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Oh my God."

JC stood up nervously, successfully fighting a smile and keeping a straight face. She looked like his Lizzie, the Lizzie he had longed to hear from or see for the past few weeks. Her hair looked longer, she looked like she had lost a couple pounds, light circles were forming under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't gotten enough resting time throughout her time in the big apple. He noticed everything. She looked tired and weary, and through it all of it, JC thought she looked completely beautiful.

"Hey," he said softly to her.

Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out for a second or two before she gathered her voice and came to terms with who was standing before her.

"What..." she started, her voice in a heated whisper. "...Are you doing... here?"

"I came to see you,"

She shook her head in amazement. "How did you even find me here?"

He shrugged. "I got some help from Emma..."

Her eyes were wide. "Leave, now." She said, pointing toward the door way. "Get out... Please."

He stepped closer to her, she backing away with every decrease in the space between them.

"Liz, hold on..." he said, walking up slowly toward her. "I want to talk to you..."

She shook her head immediately. "No! We have nothing to talk about JC. I don't want to talk to you and I don't want to see you. Get out, now." She kept moving backward to where the door was, JC following her with every step.

"I-" he started but she cut him off.

"Get out."

"But-"

"Get out of my house."

"Lizzie, I-"

"Get out of my fucking house JC!" she screamed, pulling open the door. He could see the tears already forming in her eyes, and he knew she was struggling to keep herself together.

He frowned, nodding slowly. Looking down, he walked out the door, turning around in time to feel the quick breeze blow against him when she slammed the door.

He could hear crying on the next side of the door and he knew she was leaning up against it.

He sighed, pressing her forehead to the door and knocked gently.

"Lizzie?" he asked softly, but still loud enough so that he knew she could hear him.

"J-Just leave JC," he heard her get out between cries.

He sighed, and could still hear her whimpers from on the outside. Knowing she was still there, he did the only thing he knew to do best.

In a small voice, he started singing to her, his lips just millimeters away from pressing on the door.

Baby I remember... The way you used to look at me and say,

‘Promises never last forever'...

I told you not to worry... I said that everything would be alright..

I didn't know then that you were right...

You're all I ever wanted...You're all I ever needed...

So tell me what to do now, when I want you back...

He heard her crying stop, and waited a few seconds before lightly knocking on the door once again.

"Lizzie?"

He heard her sniffle and could hear her unlatch a lock before the door finally opened up. She stood under the doorframe, wiping away the tears that kept streaming down her cheeks.

He continued the song, looking straight at her.

You're the one I want

You're the one I need

Tell me what, can I do...

"W-Why?" she stammered, trying to control her tears. "Why a-are you here?"

He frowned, desperately wishing he could just take her face into his hands and kiss away all the tears she was crying because of him.

"I love you Lizzie," he said softly, stepping in closer to her. "I just need you to hear me out."

She looked at him.

"Can I come back in, please?" he asked gently.

She sniffled as she turned around and walked further into the room, leaving the door open.

JC took it as a mute way of saying ‘Okay', so he closed the door and followed her in.

She stood in the middle of the living room, her arms folded across her chest.

He walked up closer to her, leaning in to give her a kiss on cheek but she pressed her hand against his chest and pushed him away.

"No," she said shaking her head. "Just tell me what you came here to tell me."

He frowned, taking a small step back. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

She took a seat on the couch behind her. "Sorry for what? Sorry you did it or sorry I caught you doing it?"

He sighed, sitting closely next to her.

"Lizzie I'm sorry for what I did, I really am. That night I was mad and upset and drunk and Lizzie I was completely out of my mind. That night with her meant nothing, absolutely nothing to me and when I woke up the next day before you came in, I realized the shit I had just done and I regret it. Lizzie I'm sorry, and I know I can't take back what I did, but baby I love you. I love you Lizzie, more than anything and I'm sorry for doing this to you, to us. For making us the way we are now. I know you're mad at me, and these past couple weeks I haven't been able to see you or talk to you, I've been mad at myself because I know all of this is my fault. I was a complete insensitive, unsupportive ass and I let my anger get the better of me, which led me to making a huge mistake. Babe, I never meant to hurt you. It's the last thing in this world that I'd ever want to do. I love you Lizzie and I'm so sorry..."

She looked at him. "You love me, huh?"

He nodded.  "More than anything..."

"You had a pretty fucking funny way of showing it JC," she muttered, looking down.

"Liz, stop calling me that."

She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.

"Stop calling me ‘JC'."

"Isn't that your name?" she asked crossly.

"Yea, it's my name to my fans, to the press, to the people in the business. It's what they know me as. The people I love as much as you do use my real name, because you're the people I care about and who know me better than anyone."

"No, I thought I knew you. I thought I knew the guy I fell in love with but that's not the case is it?"

He took her hand and kept it in a fairly tight hold. She tried weakly to pull away but she couldn't.

"Lizzie, I've said it a hundred times before and I'll say it a hundred times more if you need me to but I'm sorry and I love you. Please just... Just find a way for us to work past this babe. It's killing me Liz."

She nodded, another tear falling. "It's killing me too," she whispered.

She pulled out of his grip and walked across the room. Sliding the doors with a forceful pull, she stepped out onto the balcony, the cold New York night breeze hitting against her face. She leaned over the ledge, wiping away her tears and shaking her head at herself and the situation.

Why did he have to come and complicate things even more between the two of them? She thought she was just fine avoiding him and facing her grief silently, crying herself to sleep at night listening to his damn songs! Pathetic, huh? But right now, it sure seemed a whole lot better than looking him in the eye and appear vulnerable and broken right in front him.

He followed her out, her back to him. He walked up to where she stood, wrapping his arms around her. He could feel her stiffen at his touch.

He remained silent as she turned around slowly in his arms, leaning her forehead against his chest. He tightened his hold around her but she didn't hug back. Instead, she started trying to push her hands against his chest to get away but JC kept his arms locked around her.

"Let me go!" she said loudly, tears falling.

JC shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "I'm not letting you go, not again."

"Let. Me. Go!" She started using her clenched fists to pound away at him when he wouldn't release her, but he took every blow wordlessly, letting her express the anger, the frustration and the pain he had caused her.

More tears started to fall from her with each hit and smack, but JC's arms didn't let loose for a second. Between the sobbing and the energy she was using to fight him and get away, after about 45secs she became weary, allowing herself to rest against him in defeat. She felt his familiar, protective embrace around her, taking in his scent and the warmth he brought to her, she sobbed softly.

"You h-hurt me Josh," she cried into his chest quietly.

He closed his eyes, kissing the top of her head.

"I didn't mean to baby," he said softly.

He held her close to his chest as she breakdown in his arms. He hated to even bear the thought that he was the one who had done this to her. Her sobs eventually turned into whimpers which then turned into soft sniffles and he allowed her to pull away slowly when she had started squirming.

She ran a hand through her hair and avoided eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," she mumbled, looking at the tear stained fabric.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

She nodded.

 "It's freezing out here Lizzie," he said softly, stroking her forearm.

"Yea, okay..." she said quietly, stepping back into the warm room and taking a seat on the couch and leaning back tiredly.

He squatted in front of her, taking one of her hands into his.

"Josh..." she whispered, shaking her head weakly. "You can't just show up here unannounced and say all of this and expect me to take you back and forgive you. It doesn't work that way..."

"Then tell me the way it does work Lizzie, just tell me what I have to do! Tell me what I have to do to get close to you again."

She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head in a way of saying ‘I don't know'.

"Liz, tell me you love me, tell me that we can work past this whole big mess and go back to what we were before all of this happened. I need to you babe, I don't want us to end because of this."

She shook her head, looking down to where his hands held hers.

"Lizzie... Do you still love me?" he asked softly. "Do you even forgive me?"

She looked up at him and he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm not sure," she whispered.

He frowned, nodding his head at her response and stood up in reluctance.

"I think you should go," she said quietly.

"Babe..."

"What Josh?"

"What do I do now?" he whispered. "I still love you."

"I know you do, and when I find the answers to your questions I'll let you know."

He knew this was probably as good as it was going to get between them for the night so he held back his eagerness and nodded.

"Okay," he said quietly.

"Go," she said looking around the room, trying to find a place besides his face to focus her eyes.

He leaned over her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, making her flinch and she felt the tears return, though she had a feeling they weren't going to leave. She couldn't stand the thought of his arms wrapped around her much longer the way they were wrapped around Allison's under his sheets, she couldn't stand the thought of his lips on her the way they were on Allison in his bed. She couldn't stand any of it so she got up and speed walked to the door while JC followed her.

Looking down at her feet, she mumbled. "Bye Josh."

He looked at her, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around her and feel her lips against his one more time.

"I'll talk to you soon?" he asked in a small voice.

She nodded, still not letting their eyes meet, but she could feel his blue orbs staring straight at her.

"Until then Lizzie, take care of yourself." He stepped out into the hallway outside her apartment. Giving her one last soft look before she closed the door, he stood there for a moment.

"I'm not giving up on us Lizzie," he promised her softly. "Don't give up on us."

"Goodbye Josh,"