~~~~~*~~~~~

Libby woke at around four a.m. when the first rays of daylight began to filter in through her office window. She felt completely disoriented, and it took her several minutes to remember where she was and why she was there.

She remembered her drive to the Compound, her several trips to the kitchen downstairs to fill up her coffee mug and someone turning up unexpectedly. A frown crossed her face as she tried to remember and then suddenly it all came back to her.

Justin. He'd turned up out of the blue and had followed her back to her office. He'd said that he had something to talk to her about, but she couldn't remember what it had been. She assumed that it either hadn't been that interesting or she'd fallen asleep. Either way, she couldn't remember much past him mentioning something about the future... and possibly the tour?

Stretching out her arms beside her as she let out a yawn, Libby was surprised to feel her arm slap against something hard. She turned her head in surprise to find Justin still sitting upright on the couch beside her. He was fast asleep with his mouth hanging open and still had one arm outstretched along the back of the sofa beside her shoulders.

Libby fought back a giggle at the look on his face. She wished she had a camera to record it and show to him later. She shuffled a few inches away from him and stood quietly so that she didn't disturb him. Just as she began to tiptoe away across the room to her desk, her desk phone began to ring loudly causing her to jump in alarm and Justin to wake with a start.

Libby rushed to snatch up the receiver and answered the call in a breathless voice. She peeped over at Justin, who let out a howl of a yawn and stretched his arms out in front of his body as he came to.

"Hello? Lib?"

"Yeah... it's me."

"Lib! What are you still doing there?" Clare asked her in a panicked voice.

"I was studying and must've fallen asleep... why?"

"Why? I've been worried sick! You said you'd be back in a few hours and then you were gone all night!"

"Sorry, Clare," Libby said as she finally met Justin's eyes. He'd only heard one half of the conversation and yet he could guess exactly what Clare was saying to her. He grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Please tell me Justin is with you or we have another problem," Clare continued in a rush.

"Yes, he's here," Libby said as she grinned and rolled her eyes back. Clare was such a worrier that it was almost funny sometimes.

"God, what's the matter with you two? His mum's been calling me to say that he's been out all night, and no one knows where he is. She's really upset."

"Okay, I'll pass on the message. It was a mistake, Clare, honest."

"I know," Clare said as she let out a huff of frustration. Libby could tell by the change in her voice that she'd already begun to forgive them. "Just let us know next time so we're not worrying where you are, okay?"

"Okay," Libby said sheepishly. "Bye."

Libby put down the receiver and grimaced at Justin. He continued to grin back at her, completely unaware of the trouble that he was in back home.

"Bad?"

Libby sniggered. He had no idea. "Pretty bad," she admitted. "Someone forgot to call his mommy last night. You're kinda in the shit."

"Damn!" He swore as he jumped to his feet and searched the back pockets of his jeans for his cell phone. When he located it, he noticed that the screen was illuminated with six calls and several more text messages that he'd failed to notice. He held up his phone to show Libby, who nodded back in understanding.

"Whoops."

"She may kill me."

~~~~~*~~~~~

That night, all the girls gathered at Libby and Clare's apartment for their weekly sleepover. However, on this occasion, they were determined to make it a male–free zone.

"I can't believe you're going to get married!" Libby exclaimed as she nudged Lisa playfully with her arm. "Our little Lisa, a wifey!"

Lisa chuckled and nudged her back. "Not for a while. We're going to have a long engagement," she explained.

"And does Joey know that?" Jamie teased as Clare returned from the kitchen carrying two glasses of wine. She handed one to Jamie and kept one for herself.

"Yeah," Clare added as she took a seat on the couch beside Jamie. "Have you answered him yet?"

Lisa glanced sheepishly between her friends. "Err..."

"Lisa!" Libby chided her, her voice raising an octave. She couldn't believe that her friend still hadn't answered the proposal. "It's Wednesday! He asked you on Monday! How comes you still haven't answered him?"

"Aren't you scared that by the time you answer he'll have found someone else?" Sara asked her from her place on the easy chair. Her tone was teasing but there was an element of truth in her question.

"Thanks guys..." Lisa quipped dryly as she looked between her friends. They could all tell by the twinkle of amusement in her eyes that she wasn't really offended. "At least I know who my real friends are!"

Clare and Jamie went to protest but Lisa interrupted them. "Trust me, girls. I know what I'm doing. Joe wouldn't expect me to answer him right away. After all, it took him three months to convince me to go out with him in the first place, remember?"

None of the other women in the room had been there in the early days of Lisa and Joey's relationship, but they'd all heard the story a million times before.

"So what? You're just going to leave him hanging?" Jenny asked in surprise. Jenny didn't know Lisa very well, but from the little that she'd learned about her, and from what she'd heard from Libby, she was surprised by her actions.

Lisa smiled affectionately at the younger woman. "It's good for him to have a bit of uncertainty," she told her. "It reminds him that he's human, you know? Keeps his feet on the ground."

"Sounds pretty risky, Lis," Clare added as she took a sip of her wine and looked over at Lisa. Jamie nodded her agreement.

"I know. But like I said, I know what I'm doing. Besides..." She grinned and met Jamie's eyes as a mischievous look appeared on her face. "I want to hear about Jamie and Chris' date..."

Jamie groaned as all the women excitedly turned to look at her.

"Yeah, Jam," Clare said with a chuckle as she grinned at her friend. "How are things between you and Christopher?"

"Fine," Jamie replied curtly as she tried to avoid taking Clare's bait. She'd known that her date with Chris would no doubt be mentioned at some point in the evening, but she hadn't been expected it to be so early on. "We had a nice date, and we're probably going to go out again soon." A sly grin crossed her face as she added, as an afterthought, "he actually wanted to do something tonight, but I said I already had plans with you guys."
 
"What? You could have re–scheduled!" Clare told her as she shook her head in disbelief. "If I had a choice of spending time with my boyfriend or a girly sleepover, I know which I'd choose!"

"Oh yeah?" Libby teased her. "Which boyfriend is this, Clare?"

Clare playfully glared over at her friend. Only Libby knew about the kiss that she'd shared with JC, and the sad truth that since that night, nothing had progressed between them. Clare was relieved that things hadn't become awkward between her and him, but she had been secretly hoping that it might have been the start of something more.

She still woke every morning with butterflies in her stomach at the thought that today could be the day that he chose to take things further with her. However, she knew that JC was a cautious person who regularly over–thought his actions, and therefore she'd learnt not to expect grand gestures or spontaneous decisions from him. She realised that she simply had to bide her time and be patient.

"Come on then, Jenny..." Cyndi, Jenny's best friend, said as she turned the conversation away from Clare. She smiled at her friend and raised an eyebrow. "What's been happening with you and Lance?"

Since welcoming Jenny into the group, it had been a natural transition for Clare and the others to invite Cyndi along, too. To their surprise, they had found that she had a lot in common with the other women, and it now seemed as though she'd always been a part of their friendship circle.

"Well... we went out for dinner last night," Jenny said shyly. "It was very romantic. We had a table out on the terrace, and it was really secluded... Yeah, it was nice."

"But has he asked you out properly yet?" Sara asked curiously.

Jenny shrugged and shook her head sadly. "Nope."

"That's our Lance!" Clare exclaimed with a chuckle as she shook her head. Lance was notorious for being slow to notice—and act—when someone liked him. It wouldn't surprise her if he and Jenny still hadn't gotten together a year from now. She only hoped that Jenny wouldn't lose interest in that time.

"So... Kelly! Any boyfriends yet?" Clare asked the younger woman who was seated on the floor near her feet. Kelly glanced quickly at her cousin and shook her head shyly.

"Come on, Kel," Jamie teased her with a smile. "Don't pretend to be all shy."

"That's okay, Jam, she's bound to be shy. She doesn't really know us," Clare said, feeling the need to defend the young woman.

"Clare, you haven't seen this girl in action!" Jamie argued. "She's got more mouth on her than anyone I know. Seriously, she could even put you out of business!"

"I seriously doubt that!" Libby replied in jest.

"Wow, with friends like you guys who needs enemies?" Clare chuckled sarcastically as she once again narrowed her eyes at Libby. "I don't know what I would do without all of your loving, kind words!"

She winked over at Kelly causing the youngster the smile back warmly. It was easy to feel comfortable around Clare.

~~~~~*~~~~~

The girls had four uninterrupted hours of girl chat before the guys of *NSYNC descended on them.

"You have to be kidding!" Clare shouted as she heard them burst through the front door like they had on so many occasions before. She heard them talking and whooping loudly in the hall before they entered the room.

"Seriously, Lib," she said sarcastically as she turned to her friend, "you need to hide that spare key!"

Libby shrugged back helplessly. "I did! What can I say? They always sniff it out no matter where I hide it!"

"Oh no, we've been invaded," Jamie said dryly as Joey and Chris bounded into the room. "We better hide the strippers, girls,"

"Strippers?" Joey exclaimed excitedly as he pretended to fall for Jamie's joke. He searched the room for a moment before grinning. "If it's strippers you want then wait no more!"

He quickly rushed over to the girls' stereo and grabbed the first C.D that he could get his hands on. As he waited for the first track to start playing, he spun around to face the girls and began seductively unzipping his hoodie top.

Immediately, the girls began to shriek and squeal in protest as they fought against their laughter.

"No! Put it away! We have minors in here!" Jamie screamed as she jokingly rushed over to Libby and Cyndi and tried to cover their eyes with her hands.

"God, no!" Clare yelled at Joey as he turned his attention to his next layer and began flashing them glimpses of his stomach as he lifted up his t shirt. "Joey, there's not enough room in here for your stomach!"

"Can't you make him stop?" Clare asked Lance, who was standing in the doorway watching the commotion with an amused grin on his face. He shrugged back helplessly and did nothing.

Also ignoring Clare, Justin made a beeline across the room towards Libby and promptly sat straight down on her lap for a joke, crushing her under his weight.

"Eurgh! Libby complained as she tried to push him away, but he refused to move as the group burst into laughter at the expression on her face.

"You've got that the wrong way 'round," Chris said to Justin as he flashed him a cheeky grin. "She's supposed to sit on your lap!"

Libby pushed Justin up off her lap and smiled sarcastically in Chris' direction as Justin sat down in her now vacant seat. When he was comfortable, he glanced up at her with a glint in his eye and she sat straight down without saying a word.

"The girl's got brains," Chris commented with a chuckle. "But she won't be able to talk about the first thing that rises; the sun won't be up for hours!"

All the men in the room burst out laughing except Justin, and Libby felt her cheeks begin to flame with embarrassment as Clare and Lisa let out groans of complaint at the crassness of Chris' joke. "Okay, that's it," Libby complained as she jumped to her feet and went to find herself somewhere else to sit. She couldn't look in Justin's direction, but as she failed to hear him laughing she guessed that he was as embarrassed as her.

"Oi, leave them alone you!" Jamie said as she walked up to Chris and swatted him playfully around the head.

"Oit! I'll have you prosecuted for physical abuse!" He retaliated as he pretended to rub the place where she had hit him. He playfully narrowed his eyes at her before unexpectedly lunging towards her and trapping her in his arms. In less than a few seconds he had her over his shoulder and he beamed as he made his way out of the room, calling loudly behind him, "See y'all later!"

As he made his way out of the apartment the group could hear Jamie's loud protests all the way.

"Where is he taking her?" Jenny asked Lance as he took a seat on the floor beside her and sweetly wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"It's Chris," Lance replied with a helpless shrug, "who knows."

"No one knows what goes on in his head!" Clare said as she went over to turn the stereo down now that Joey's stripper routine had been interrupted.

"And most of the time we don't want to," Lisa added with a chuckle.

"Come on, let's go and save your cousin," Sara said as she got to her feet and turned to Kelly. "I think she might need our help." The younger girl smiled and followed Sara out of the apartment.

"Hey!" Joey objected as he realised that the music had been turned down and no one was paying any attention to him. "Whatcha' doin'?" He asked Clare with a huff.

"Look, Fat Boy, we don't need to see it!" Clare told him as she made her way over to him and gave him a patronising pat on his shoulder.

"Not that there's much to see anyway!" Lisa teased causing both Clare and Libby to whip their heads around and gawp at her. Lisa was usually the last person to make fun of Joey and the first person to rush to his defence. Hearing her tease him made both the women throw their heads back and burst out into howling laughter.

"Is that so?" Joey said as he narrowed his eyes at Lisa, who grinned innocently back. He stomped over to where she was sitting, and in one easy move grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. Following after where Chris had gone with Jamie, Joey ran out of the apartment with Lisa bouncing up and down on his shoulder and shrieking as he went.

"Six down," Clare remarked as she watched the departure of Joey and Lisa. "Just six more to go and I might get my evening of peace after all." She turned to smile at JC who sat down in the seat next to her on the couch. He returned her smile and settled comfortably into the cushions before letting out a weary sigh. Unlike his band mates, as the evening went on he was getting more and more lethargic.

Not too long after, Lance turned to Jenny suddenly and whispered something in her ear that the group couldn't hear. She smiled at him and nodded before the pair of them got to their feet and left the room without a word.

"Where are you goin'?" Cyndi called after them. She felt a little put out to not be included in the invitation, especially as the evening was meant to be time spent together, not with her being left at the apartment whilst Jenny went off somewhere with Lance.

"Down to the beach," Lance replied as he stuck his head back around the doorframe and smiled at her encouragingly. "You comin'?"

Cyndi returned his smile and nodded. "Sure."

"Some girly evening this has turned out to be," Libby remarked sarcastically as she watched another of her friends leave the room. Clare glanced at her briefly and nodded before turning back to face JC.

"Come on, Chasez!" She said as she stood and held out her hands towards him. JC eyed her wearily but reluctantly allowed her to pull him out of his seat. "Where are we going?" He asked sleepily, "I just sat down."

"Well, you know what they say; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

"Well said, Gid'!" Justin agreed as he followed Clare and JC across the room. As an afterthought he glanced over his shoulder to see if Libby was following. She wasn't. Instead, she was sitting cross–legged on the floor watching them go.

"You comin' Lib?" He asked her as he stopped walking and turned back around to face her.

"Nah, you go. I'm gonna stay here," she replied casually.

"Come on. Don't stay here all by yourself," he told her.

"I don't want to. I'm shattered and if everyone's gone then I can get an early night," She said as she tucked her arms around her legs and stared up at him determinedly. She'd made her decision, and she was adamant that he wasn't going to be able to change her mind.

"An early night?" He repeated sceptically and raised an accusing eyebrow at her. He wasn't buying it. Neither was he going to leave her all alone in the apartment when she was supposed to be having fun with her friends. He'd seen enough of her keeping herself to herself the past few weeks—thanks to her studying—and he knew that she was long overdue some fun.

He shook his head several times and for a moment Libby thought that he was going to relent, but without a second thought he quickly made his way over to her and in one quick movement, hoisted her over his shoulder.

Libby barely had time to make a protest before he calmly made his way out of the room, grabbed a set of door keys from the bowl by the front door, and even turned to shut the front door behind him—all with her still on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" Libby shrieked as he ran along the path that led around the back of the apartment block towards the beach that was around a half a mile walk away. Justin could see and hear his friends in the distance and wanted to catch up with them before they got too far ahead.

"Put me down!" Libby shouted again and began to pound her fists on his back in an attempt to make him listen. He didn't. Instead he let out a sinister laugh and continued running. "Seriously, J," Libby complained unhappily, "I'm gonna throw up."

"You'll be fine," He assured her as he caught up with JC and Clare, who were slightly behind the rest of the group. They both turned and looked at the pair as Justin ran past them with Libby still bouncing up and down on his shoulder.

"It seems she changed her mind," JC quipped dryly as he slowed his walk to match Clare's. Clare shook her head as she watched Justin run towards the sound of the waves.

"Oh, he'll be sorry," Clare replied confidently as she fought back a smile at the furious expression on Libby's face. "It might not be right away, but he'll pay for that."

As they reached the beach and took the first few steps onto the sand, Clare let out a sigh of satisfaction as she saw all of her friends together having fun and laughing.

Chris and Jamie were stood a way off, their arms around each other as they looked out across the water. Joey and Lisa were a little way off from Chris and Jamie and were sitting on the sand together talking. Kelly, Sara, Jenny and Cyndi were playing in the water, splashing each other whilst Lance looked on and Justin—who still had Libby captured over his shoulder—was running through the waves with a look of sheer delight on his face.

JC heard the sound of Clare's sigh and looked down at her questioningly.

"This is so strange," Clare explained as the pair of them came to a standstill and she turned to meet his eyes.

"What is?"

"Us. Together like this. When was the last time you saw everyone having such a good time all together? We all seem to be off doing our own things nowadays. It's not like it was a few years ago when we were all getting to know each other; it's only a matter of time before this won't happen anymore."

JC was surprised by Clare's sudden melancholy mood and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey, what's brought this on?" He asked.

"I don't know," she replied with another sigh. "I guess I just love seeing everyone like this and wish it would go on forever. Just having fun as a group without worrying or thinking about work."

JC flashed her a fond smile before playfully rolling his eyes. "Ah, see. You had to go and ruin it by mentioning work," he chuckled.

Clare shrugged but returned his smile. "I know. But it does take up eighty percent of my life. And besides, without it we wouldn't all be together anyway."

"Uh–oh!" JC said abruptly as he watched Justin run through a wave that was much deeper than he'd expected causing Libby—whose face was only inches away from getting a soaking—to scream even louder.

"He's going to drop her in a minute, isn't he?" Clare remarked dryly as she, too, watched Justin playing in the waves. She felt sympathetic for her friend but also knew deep down how much Libby secretly enjoyed the playful banter she had with Justin.

"Probably," JC agreed.

Almost as soon as JC had said the words, the idea seemed to flash through Justin's mind and he froze as he hatched a plan. Sensing a change in him, Libby tensed her body, and rightly so for only seconds later, Justin tipped her from his shoulder and she plunged headfirst into the ocean.

Quickly coming up for air, Libby reached forward and shoved Justin angrily away from her with both her hands. He was bent over double laughing at her, but Libby's face was stony and unimpressed. As he reached forward to help her to her feet, Libby shoved him away once again. Whether deliberate or not, he lost his balance and fell backwards into the waves.

Clare laughed as she watched Libby tentatively make her way to the shore before angrily stomping up the beach in the direction of the apartment. Probably in search of clean and dry clothes, Clare thought. So far Libby was the first person to be completely submerged in the water and she didn't look too happy about it.

As Justin broke through the waves and got to his feet as the water poured out from his clothes, he searched the shore for Libby and eventually found her half way up the beach. He cupped his hands around his mouth to act as an amplifier for his voice and shouted to her, "Where you goin'?"

Libby ignored him and continued walking. As she passed JC and Clare she shot them both a warning glare, daring them not to laugh at her. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.

"You alright there, Lib?" JC chuckled as she passed him. Libby said nothing but flashed her middle finger up at him and continued to walk past.

Clare and JC exchanged a look and laughed.

"Where are you goin'?" Justin repeated as he ran up to beach after Libby. Hearing him coming after her, Libby began to run away from him causing Justin to start chasing her. They made a big loop around the beach before he managed to chase her back towards the waves. By the time Libby realised what was happening, Justin caught up to her and grabbed her around the waist. "I didn't say I was done!" He chuckled as he lifted her around and clumsily carried her back towards the shoreline.

"Justin… No! No! Justin! JUST–IN!" Libby screamed as he dropped her into the water for the second time.

"He's dead," Clare stated as she watched Libby disappear under the waves. "I'm certainly glad I'm not her right now."

"J!" JC shouted loudly down the beach to Justin, whose head snapped to attention at the sound of someone calling him. "Gid' said she wants to go in!" He lied before flashing a cocky grin at Clare.

"What?" Clare exclaimed as she turned to face JC with a look of horror on her face at his betrayal. "I do not!"

As she realised that Justin was already heading up the beach towards her with a grin on his face, Clare began stepping backwards away from both Justin and JC. "He was joking, Curly," she said with a roll of her eyes as Justin neared her. She had absolutely no intention of ending up in the water, and unlike Libby, she was prepared to physically hurt anyone who tried to make her.

"Tell him you were joking, Josh," she ordered JC in a slightly shrill voice.

"No can do, Clare," JC replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but you need to be punished for using the 'doubleyou' word."

"Oh, she did, did she?" Justin said as he met JC's eyes and sniggered.

Clare held her hands out in front of her to give her more space between herself and Justin, who was steadily gaining ground on her. "Come on Curly," she threatened. "Don't make me hurt you."

For a moment, Justin hesitated as he pretended to consider her threat, but then his smile broke and he shook his head playfully. "Yeah... That's not gonna happen," he replied as he reached out and tried to grasp a hold of one of her wrists. Clare realised that the minute he had a hold on her that she'd be upside down in the surf just like Libby, and so she carefully dodged his hands.

Realising that she could only avoid him for so long, Clare cut her losses and turned abruptly before running as far, and as fast, away from him as she could.

Unfortunately, her short legs compared to his long ones meant that he caught up with her easily and he had both his arms around her within moments of her making her break for freedom. He promptly began to drag her down the beach towards the waves. Even though she knew that she was about to get a soaking, Clare couldn't keep the grin off of her face or the stop the laughter that was shaking her body.

As she plunged into the water, which was—thankfully—much warmer than she had been expecting, she heard her friends burst into laughter. As she stood up and wiped the salt water out of her eyes, she spotted Justin doing a victory dance only a few steps away from her.

"You'd... better... run!" She threatened him in between breaths and he turned around to grin at her playfully. "I will get my revenge, Timberlake!"

~~~~~*~~~~~