Valentine's Day 2014

"Okay, alterations have been made to the dress, and your shoes will be ready for pickup by Monday." There three weeks left until Autumn's wedding and Teddi, being a dutiful bridesmaid had spent the last month making sure that every detail had been attended to.

"Did I ever tell you how much of a Godsend you are?" Autumn asked.

"Well, it's not like you're a crazy bridezilla or anything," Teddi replied. She plopped down on the couch next to Autumn and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you and I'm so happy for you."

"I love you more," Autumn said. "You're the best!"

"Have you thought about your Bachelorette Party yet?" Teddi asked.

"Honestly, no. Maybe Vegas? But that's so cliché. How about a girl's trip to Carmel?"

"That actually sounds nice," Teddi said, tapping her ink pen against her yellow legal notepad. She scribbled down the idea. "We could get one of those shuttles to drive us there."

"You mean, like a party bus?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"How does shopping, wine tasting, and a spa day sound?" Autumn asked

"Like Heaven!" Teddi groaned, tossing her head back.

"Then it's settled, we'll make a weekend out of it," Autumn decided.

"Perfect, I call around for the best spas and hotels," Teddi said.

"Why don't you leave it to me? You've already done more than enough."

"Tum, it's not a problem. Really," Teddi assured her.

"Ted, you're sitting in my home on Valentine's Day helping me plan my wedding. Don't you have plans?" Autumn asked.

"No," Teddi said, barely audible.

"Teddi," Autumn said sadly. "When's the last time, you went on a date?"

Teddi closed her eyes, and took a deep breath trying not to get frustrated with her friend. Why did Autumn do this? Why did she always have to turn everything back on her? She knew that Autumn cared, but her love life wasn't always up for discussion.

"Honestly, I haven't been on a date since Tyson," Teddi admitted.

"It's been what? A year and a half? My god you're not a widow!"

"Autumn!"

"I know, I know I'm being overbearing, I just worry about you," Autumn confessed.

"What? Worried about me why?" Teddi asked.

"I just don't want you to end up alone," Autumn replied. "You're so amazing, and have so much love to give, and it breaks my heart that you keep ending up alone."

"Wow," Teddi sighed. She tilted her head back and wiped a lone tear away. Is this what her friends thought of her? They pitied her. A pit formed in her stomach. Having people feel sorry for you was the worst feeling ever. "Autumn, I'm fine."

"Are you really, though?"

"Yes, I promise. I've made the mistake of jumping into relationships for all the wrong reasons. I didn't want to be lonely, so I had to have someone. Anyone. And I lost myself in every single relationship. I used every guy to run from my problems, and now that I'm single, I can't run from my problems anymore. I'm learning what it's like to just be me, and what it means to be defined by who I am, and not who I'm with. Do I get lonely sometimes? Sure! But that's why I moved in a block away from you and Matt!"

Autumn gave a faint laugh. "I understand. I just know how amazing it feels when you find your person, and I want you to have that so bad, and if you and JC could jus-"

"Autumn," Teddi warned.

"Could just see that you're perfect for each other," she continued, "then you both wouldn't have to keep going through these pointless, loveless relationships."

Teddi glared at her.

"You know what I'm saying is true."

"I don't wanna talk about this," Teddi pouted.

"You guys came so close," Autumn lamented.

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Teddi repeated.

"You and JC are both my best friends. I love you guys. It hurts me to see the two people I love most not happy. Especially when what would make them happy would be to just bite the bullet and get together!"

"Not gonna happen," Teddi muttered.

"Ugh!  You two are so frustrating. He loves you; you know that! It's been out there for how long now? You both know that you have feeling for each other, and yet you continue this dance. How have you not gone crazy already? What the hell happened?"

"The hell if I know," Teddi replied, exasperated.

"I'm sorry I bought it up," Autumn apologized.

"I'm sorry you did too," Teddi sighed. Autumn hugged her. "I should get going." Teddi laid the pen and notepad on Autumn's coffee table. "I wrote down the extension of the seamstress working on your dress. She doesn't get into the office until 11:00 Monday morning." Teddi got up and headed for the door.

"Thanks again for everything," Autumn said sadly, as she walked Teddi to the door. She hugged her once again.

"You don't have to thank me," Teddi replied. "You know if I do end up old and alone you and Matt could always adopt me!"

*~*~*~*~*

"Yo ‘C, what's up?" Justin asked.

"Hey J," JC replied. He was pleasantly surprised to receive a call form Justin that morning. He had the day off and was channel surfing on his couch.

"I'm in town for the next week, I thought we could kick it."

"I'm down," JC replied.

"Cool, whatcha got going on tonight?" Justin asked. "Shit it's Valentine's Day, that was a stupid question."

"Actually, I don't have plans," JC said. 

"What?! Get outta here, Mack Daddy ‘C doesn't have date for Valentine's Day?!"

JC cringed at the cheesy nickname. Okay, maybe he was a serial monogamous, but Justin was making him out to be a whore. "No, I don't have a date." He and Kathryn had broken up six months ago, and since then, he hadn't even thought about dating anyone new.

"What about Teddi?" Justin asked.

"What about her?"

"What do you mean, what about her?" Justin scoffed. "I thought you two would be married with a couple of kids by now."

JC swallowed hard at Justin's comment.

"Everyone can see how crazy you are for her, why haven't you made your move?" Justin asked.

"Truth be told, I had my chance and fucked it up," JC admitted.

"Word?"

"Yeah, she told me she loved me, and I turned her down," JC replied, and continued to explain what happened the night of Jimmy Iovine's party.

"Damn," Justin sighed. "That's fucked up."

"Gee thanks," JC huffed.

"Sorry. But why didn't you tell her you loved her too?"

"You know that Tyson guy she was dating?"

"You mean that guy from that band?"

"Yeah, him. He was there at the party that night. They dated way back and when she ran into him, she looked at him the way she used to when she first fell in love with him. He looked at her the exact same way, and I couldn't let myself get in the way of that. I didn't want to pursue anything with her if there was someone else in her heart. I wanted to be all in, and she just didn't seem ready. My suspicions were confirmed when they got back together a few weeks later."

"Wow, that's tough," Justin stated. "But she's not with him now, right?"

"No," JC replied.

"Well, then obviously it wasn't meant to be, so what's stopping you now?"

Silence.

"Exactly, nothing," Justin replied.

"Who knows if she even feels the same all these years later?" JC asked.

"You'll never know unless you put yourself On the Line," Justin smirked.

"Oh my God that was so cheesy," JC chuckled.

"It did make you laugh. But seriously just take a leap of faith. I'm willing to bet that she's waiting on you. I mean, you did turn her down the first time. Maybe she's too scared to bring it back up again," Justin advised.

"You know, you might be right," JC said.

"Pfft, I know I'm right," Justin snorted. "You know, to write all these Grammy winning heart wrenching ballads, you sure are kind of dumb when it comes to love."

"Um.... Did you call me because you wanted to hang out, or rag on me about my love life?"

"Right, right. I was going see if you wanted to come out to my show tonight and link up afterwards, but I have a better idea," Justin proposed.

"Okay..."

"Why don't you bring Teddi along, provided she doesn't have any plans, and you two can have a special night out," Justin suggested.

JC contemplated. He and Teddi had gone to plenty of concerts before. In fact, it was their thing. But on Valentine's Day? Would she read too much into it?

"Ugh, you're doing it," Justin groaned.

"Doing what?" JC asked.

"That JC thinking thing you do. I can see it now; your eyebrows are all bunched up and your mouth all twisted."

JC immediately relaxed his face.

"See that's your damn problem, you think too much. You're too fuckin' smart for your own good. Just ask her Jace," Justin demanded.

"Fine, I will," JC conceded.

"Great, see you tonight."

*~*~**~*~*~*

Knocked unconscious walking underwater,

‘Cause I'm thinking of you,

Don't you know that love's intoxicating,

And I need the abuse

Fresh out of the shower, Teddi sang along to her ringtone, as she shuffled across the room to grab her phone. She would quite literally pass away if JC ever found out that her personal ringtone for him was his song Lose Myself. It was such a beautiful song and she felt it was downright criminal that he stopped making music for himself. She tapped the green answer button and answered her phone.

"Hey Jace,"

"What are you doing tonight?" JC asked.

"Oh, you know, I've got a hot date with Ben & Jerry. They're taking me to my couch and we're having a Paul Walker marathon. Oh, and Barefoot will make an appearance, so I guess it's threesome. But wait, Ben & Jerry are two guys, Jace what do you call sex with four people? God I'm a whore!"

JC let out his signature hearty laugh. "Wow, that... that was something. I've got something better in mind than a junk food orgy!"

"Like what?" Teddi asked curiously.

"Justin's in town. He invited me to his show, wanna come?"

"Me?" Teddi asked.

"Unless I know another Teddi?"

"Hell yeah, I wanna go!"

"Great, be ready in an hour," JC said.

"Oh, so now you're telling me when to be ready?" Teddi laughed.

"Just be ready," JC retorted.

"Yes, sir Daddy ‘C!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"How y'all feeling tonight Los Angeles?" Justin called to the audience, and they erupted in a roar of excited cheers.

The Palladium was sold out, and JC and Teddi had the best seat in the house, in the roped off VIP section, seated at a table closest to the stage. Justin had made sure that they were served with the most expensive bottle of champagne and the best of the best bourgeois food on the menu. "I dunno, just give ‘em whatever's the most expensive thing, and I'll comp it," Justin instructed the waitstaff.

To say that JC and Teddi were having a blast was an understatement. JC loved watching Teddi scream and really let loose. It had been a long time since he'd seen that side of her. He got a kick out of the way she would scream every time Justin did a certain hip thrust.

"I thought I was your favorite Nsync-er," JC joked, yelling over the music.

"Being your best friend takes the novelty out of things," Teddi teased. It was half true. Over the years she saw the good, the bad and the downright ugly when it came to JC Chasez. The novelty of Oh my God he's sooo hot! Had worn off over a decade ago. But getting to him, really getting to know him was better than any superficial celebrity crush. She was in love with Joshua Scott, the man beyond the persona.

"You still rockin' wit me LA?" Justin asked the audience. The arena erupted into cheers. "Alright that's what I like to hear. Now I wanna slow it down a bit." A stagehand gave Justin his guitar, which elicited more high-pitched screams from drunk women. "We usually don't do this, but by it being Valentine's Day we decided to rework the setlist a little," Justin smiled, and put his guitar on, pulling the strap over his shoulder, and allowing the guitar to rest against his torso. "Love is a really beautiful thing. I was lucky enough to find it with my beautiful wife Jessica." More cheers, and Justin laughed shyly. "These next two songs I wrote about the beauty of finding that special person and spending the rest of your life with them. Now, I've invited two very special friends of mine, and they're in the audience tonight. Don't worry, I won't call you out, but you know who you are. Anyway, I'm dedicating these songs to you two. Hopefully y'all can stop playing games and realize you're perfect for each other."

JC's blood ran cold.

Teddi's heart dropped to her stomach.

Leave it to Justin Timberlake to call them out on their bullshit.

Said all I want from you

Is to see you tomorrow

And every tomorrow

Maybe you'll let me borrow, your heart

And is it too much to ask for every Sunday?

An while we're at it throw in every other day to start

I know people make promises all the time

Then they turn right around and break them

When someone cuts your heart open with a knife and you're bleeding

But I could be that guy to heal it over time

And I won't stop until you believe it

'Cause baby you're worth it

As Justin sang, JC watched Teddi trying his best to read her face in the darkness. She didn't look at him.

So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me

Cause you might fuck around and find your dreams come true with me

Spend all your time and your money just to find out that my love was free

So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me, me

It's not a bad thing to fall in love with me, me

Teddi's heartbeat matched the intensity of the pulsating drum. Had Justin called them out? Oh my God! She wondered what was going through JC's mind. She could not go through this with him again. They were finally in a stable place in their friendship, she wouldn't allow herself to get her hopes up again just to have them crushed.

No I won't fill your mind with broken promises

And wasted time

And if you fall

You'll always land right in these arms

These arms of mine

From Justin's place on the stage, he looked in the area where Justin and Teddi were sitting. With the bright stage lights, he could barely make them out, but he knew right where they were. He stared in their direction and sang the last chorus directly to Teddi.

Don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me

Cause you might fuck around and find your dreams come true with me

Spend all your time and your money just to find out that my love was free

So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me, me

It's not a bad thing to fall in love with me, me

Not such a bad thing to fall in love with me

Teddi sucked in a breath when Justin sang in her direction. The spotlight flashed on her, and people started to recognize both her and JC. Fuck. JC and Justin in the same place at the same time was bound to cause a frenzy. They'd never make it out alive. Would people put two and two together about she and JC?

As the song came to an end the audience continued to cheer, and Justin gave a self-satisfied smile. He was always the young, cocky one and now he was putting his arrogance to good use. In the last ten years, every time Justin saw JC, he was with Teddi. They we're practically attached at the hip. The whole world could see they were perfect for each other, so why couldn't they? Well, damnit, they see it tonight if it was the last thing he did! He took his guitar off, and handed off to the stagehand, and stepped back up to the mic. "Alright, now this next song is especially close to my heart, and I hope it's message reaches my friends tonight."

The lights dimmed in the arena once again, allowing for an illuminating white light to shine down solely on Justin. The electric guitar led the intro in E flat, followed by the beatboxing sound and drum beat. 

Aren't you something to admire, ‘cause your shine is somethin'

Like mirror, and I can't help but notice you reflect in the heart of mine,

If you ever feel alone and the glare makes me hard to find, just know

That I'm always parallel on the other side,

'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul

I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go

Just put your hand on the glass

I'm here tryin' to pull you through

You just gotta be strong

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now

I'm lookin' right at the other half of me

The vacancy that sat in my heart

Is a space that now you hold

Show me how to fight for now

And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy

Comin' back here to you once I figured it out

You were right here all along

Teddi stared up at Justin completely frozen, swept up by his words. She'd heard Mirrors, who hadn't? But she'd never put the song in the context of she and JC. In the past eleven years he'd been the one consistent thing in her life. Her constant, always there, never changing. The way they worked together, their ideas coming together so effortlessly, their thoughts often fusing together. How they could be in at a party or downtown in a crowd or curled up on a couch. No matter where they were, they were happy as long as they were together. Tyson had been right when he said that JC knew things about her no one else did. With anyone else, she'd feel ashamed to show that part of herself. With JC? It was so natural. She didn't mind being vulnerable around him. He always made her feel safe, protected, and loved. How many times had he rescued her from spiraling? She'd been a naïve eighteen-year-old when they'd first met, not knowing what she wanted or who she was. JC was there to witness each hectic phase of her early adult years, and never judged her for any of it. He just loved and accepted her. And now, she was almost twenty-nine. She had grown and learned so much about herself, and most of that growth had come from knowing JC. He'd taught her so much about music, about life, about herself.

Ooh, I can't ever change without you

You reflect me, I love that about you

And if I could, I would look at us all the time

JC looked across the table and was finally able to make eye contact with Teddi. Her face was tear stained. A multitude of emotions flashing across her face at once. Fear, hurt, anger, confusion, love. There's so much he wanted to tell her. He wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms. He reached across the table and took her hand into his, she jumped slightly, startled. She opened up her palm and let him interlace his fingers with hers. "Do you want get out of here?" He asked shouting above the music.

Teddi nodded yes in response.

"Let's go," JC said. He stood up from the table and helped Teddi up from her chair. He held her hand and together, they walked through the crowd and out of the arena.

Yesterday is history

Tomorrow's a mystery

I can see you lookin' back at me

Keep your eyes on me

Baby, keep your eyes on me

As Justin sang the bridge, he kept his eyes in JC and Teddi's area. With the lights obscuring his vision, his sight was a little blurry, but if he weren't mistaken, he could have sworn he saw JC take Teddi by the hand and lead her out. He smiled to audience, although they didn't know what he was smiling about. He had gotten through to them; he just knew it. It might've been a drastic stunt, but Teddi and JC were both painfully obstinate and often didn't pick up on subtleties. So, if this what had to be done for them to see the light, then so be it, his work was done. The aftermath may be a little awkward and messy, but he knew they'd work it out. He just hoped they let him sing at their wedding!