~~~~~*~~~~~

A few hours later, Libby, Clare and the members of *NSYNC met outside their favourite nightclub in downtown Orlando.

Although technically a few of the group were too young to enter the club, the bouncers knew the group of friends well enough to know that they rarely caused trouble, and therefore they turned a blind eye to the very obvious fake I.D's.

As the group made their way inside the building, Clare felt the heavy bass of the music penetrate through the walls and floor, causing her heart–rate to increase in response. Clare had been looking forward to this night all day long and she couldn't wait to let her hair down with her friends.

The group often spent their evenings out at this particular club. It was a local's haunt, and was relatively hard to find for newcomers to the area, which made it unlikely that any *NSYNC fans would be there. This gave the guys an opportunity to properly let their hair down and have fun. Fortunately, even though they were exhausted ninety–nine percent of the time, the men were still young enough to pull an all–nighter and still be relatively fresh enough to do their job the next day.

As Libby quickened her pace and walked ahead of the group into the building, she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. This evening out was just what she needed to put her relationship horror show behind her. Here she was, with people who cared about her, looking fantastic—as Clare had put it—and ready to go out and have a good time. She was determined to move forward and put the past behind her and she was going to start right away.

Hearing laughter from behind her, Libby glanced over her shoulder at her friends and watched with amusement as Chris said something funny to Joey, who in turn doubled up and clutched at his stomach as he roared with laughter.

Yep, Libby thought to herself, I definitely need to be with my mates tonight.

As she continued to laugh at the expression on Joey's face, Libby spun her head around to see where she was walking just in case she stumbled into something, or someone. Knowing that a lot of her friends from college also spent time at the club, Libby scanned the crowd for any familiar faces that she might recognise.

The building was crowded with people but not completely packed, and Libby was relieved to see that there were still a few empty tables scattered around the room for the group to claim as their own. It was usual practice for the group to find themselves a table to use as their base for the evening before breaking off to dance and find themselves drinks.

As Libby headed towards the nearest table—followed closely by her group of friends—a flash of something familiar caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and immediately found herself staring at Dan, who was locked in a passionate embrace with a mystery brunette in the very middle of the dance floor. Libby felt the bile rise in her throat and hot tears sting at her eyes as she watched her boyfriend with her mouth hanging open in shock. She could barely turn around to face her friends as the humiliation washed over her.

As she heard the laughter behind her abruptly die down, Libby felt the tears that she had been struggling to contain begin to fall. Now everyone would know that Dan had been unfaithful, and she'd be a total laughingstock. No wonder he's always accusing me of cheating, she thought bitterly to herself. It must have been his guilty conscience doing the talking.

Finding herself unable to face her friends, Libby turned and ran back through the crowd and straight towards the nearest exit, which happened to be the same door that she'd just come through. As soon as she was outside she found a quiet spot by the side of the building, a short distance from the lines of people queuing to get into the club.

Noticing the few concerned looks that she was receiving from several people in the queue, Libby tucked her head down low onto her chest and avoided making eye contact with anyone. As she leant her back against the wall she imagined her friends' reaction to her boyfriend's betrayal and once again felt the shame begin to colour her cheeks.

I bet they’re all laughing at how blind I've been, she thought to herself as she angrily began to wipe away the tears that had fallen. She only noticed the streak of black mascara that'd become smudged across the back of her hand when it was already too late. And now my makeup is ruined and everyone will know that I've been crying. Wonderful.

~~~~~*~~~~~

"I’d better go after her," Clare said to no one in particular as she prepared to follow straight after Libby. As Libby had suspected, the whole group had witnessed Dan's betrayal, and the group had halted in the doorway completely unsure of how to react.

As Clare turned to head after Libby, she felt a hand reach out and touch her arm and she glanced over her shoulder to meet Justin's concerned eyes.

"Let me go. Please," he asked her.

Clare read his expression and pulled a face. "You might be the last person that she wants to see right now," she warned him.

"At least give me a chance to try," Justin pleaded. "I have to do something."

Clare nodded once in understanding, which was enough of an affirmative for Justin to turn and head straight after Libby without a backwards glance. As Clare watched him go she hoped that she'd made the right decision. She couldn't fight the niggling feeling that developed in the pit of her stomach that told her that she hadn't.

~~~~~*~~~~~

It was so busy out on the sidewalk that it took Justin a moment before he spotted Libby. She had her back pressed closely up against the external wall of the building, her head tucked down so that her chin was practically resting against her chest. It was clear to Justin that she was trying to remain inconspicuous, despite the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Once he reached her side, Justin stood awkwardly beside her. Libby kept her head down and said nothing, she felt shy and embarrassed and she'd hoped that if anyone would have followed her outside that it would've been Clare. Libby felt uncomfortable enough that Justin had had front–line seats to her very public humiliation without having to discuss it with him.

"What are you doin' out here?" Justin asked after enduring a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. Libby shot him a sideways glance as she discreetly wiped away another tear with the back of her hand.

"Nothin'," she replied as a lump formed in her throat. Justin nodded and stared ahead at the cars that passed by in the street. Although the noise outside the club was loud, Justin could swear that his heart was beating loud enough for Libby to hear.

"You know, the best thing to do right now would be to come back inside and have a good time. Show him what he's missin'."

Libby let out a bitter laugh and turned to face him. "Yeah right," she whispered as another tear dribbled down her cheek, "Look at me. I'm a mess. Why would he miss this?" Libby glanced down at her shoes and let out a small, uncontrollable sob.

Justin turned to look at her and felt an ache begin to form inside his chest. He couldn't bear looking at her like this, when her eyes were swollen and rimmed with tears, her mouth downcast and pouting. It made him want to beat Dan to within an inch of his life for hurting his precious Libby in this way.

They both stood side by side for at least another five minutes before either of them spoke again. Instead of feeling uncomfortable, Libby found that having him near to her felt surprisingly reassuring and comforting. For the first time since she'd gotten together with Dan, Libby felt that she could finally open up to Justin about the problems in her relationship. She hoped that he'd be willing to listen. She needed to unburden herself to someone who cared and understood.

"You know, he was always accusing me of cheating," Libby said in a weak voice. "It's ironic, isn't it. I guess his conscience was eating away at him."

"Funny how that happens," Justin remarked thoughtfully. He'd been there himself once and could completely relate to how Libby was feeling.

"I never would have, you know..." Libby said as she turned to face Justin, their eyes meeting properly for the first time that evening. Libby swallowed the lump in her throat and continued to speak as she searched his eyes. "...even if I liked someone else, and the temptation was there, I wouldn't have done anything."

Justin nodded silently. He understood that there was a much deeper meaning hidden behind Libby's words but he found himself unable to summon the courage to ask her outright. It was painful for him to watch her be with someone as unworthy as Dan, especially as he could see how unhappy he was making her, but whenever Justin had an opportunity to reveal his feelings towards her, his courage deserted him.

The seconds ticked by and Justin continued to stare at Libby silently. She watched him—holding her breath, her heart in her throat—but pretty soon her shoulders began to sag in defeat as she realised that he had nothing to say. Not one thing to tell her that might somehow turn this evening around. Libby dragged her eyes away from his and scowled resentfully at the ground.

"I guess Dan couldn't see that in me..." Libby continued as she tried to compose her face. Justin's silence had hurt her, but she didn't want him to see it. How could it be that they were such good friends and yet he still acted so guarded around her? It made Libby feel angry with herself for being so open with him and receiving nothing back in return.

"It was you, you know," Libby said as she let out a bitter chuckle and risked another glance over at him. "Always you, never the others. He always said I was cheating on him with that Justin kid." Libby shook her head at the irony. "I'd tell him a million times, 'I don't have any feelings for Justin,' but he'd never let it go."

Libby only realised that she'd gone too far when she saw Justin flinch infinitesimally beside her. The movement gave her a slight glimmer of hope but also disappointment. If it was so easy to hurt him with her words then why didn't he say something? Why couldn't he just be honest with her, and tell her what she'd already begun to suspect? Was she really barking up the wrong tree, imagining that he might have feelings for her?

"Right..." Justin mumbled as he stared down at his sneakers. He tried his best to keep his face blank, but Libby's words had hurt him deeply and he felt sure that his expression was showing it. "No feelings," he repeated to himself.

"None," Libby said as she looked away and bit down hard onto her bottom lip. She hated lying to him and silently willed him to challenge her, but Justin continued to stare down at his shoes in silence.

There was an awkward silence for several minutes before Justin said, "Are you comin' back in?"

At the sound of his voice, and the slight tremor within it, Libby felt the shame of what she had said begin to wash over her. Justin's voice revealed all the injury that his face was trying to conceal. Here's a good man who would probably treat me better than I deserve and yet I can't seem to stop hurting him. What is wrong with me?

"Justin..." Libby whispered, hoping that there was still time to repair the damage that she'd just caused. If only he'd say something—anything—to make it easier to be honest with him, she thought.

"—'Cause the others are probably wondering where we've got to—" Justin said as he ignored her attempt to speak and pretended that he were distracted by something interesting on the underside of his left sneaker. Justin knew that he was behaving like a jerk, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her for fear of losing control of his emotions. No feelings. The words cut deeply into his heart as they swirled around in his head. None.

"Okay..." Libby replied as she continued to stare at him, hoping to catch his eye. She knew what he was doing, but felt powerless to stop the moment—the opportunity—from slipping away from them. The harder that she tried to engage with him, the more Justin shut down.

"Let's go back in then," Justin mumbled and took off back into the club without waiting to see if Libby would follow. Libby watched him go and felt the tears once again sting at her eyes. Now all she needed to do was have an argument with Clare and her evening would be complete...

~~~~~*~~~~~