A mumbled "shit" stirred her into consciousness but she disregarded it and slipped into dreamland again.

A yelled "FUCKING SHIT!" hurled her into an up right position with wide, tired eyes.

"Come on Sarah don't DO this to me, come on baby...come on..." She scratched her head with one hand and rubbed her eye with the other, her lips pursed, confused about what the hell was going on, and still half asleep.

She heard the sound of a car cranking, or trying to be cranked for that matter. The engine started off like it was going to start going and then it coughed and she heard a banging noise and when she rubbed both her eyes and looked out the front window she could see smoke seeping out from under the hood.

The door slammed and she watched Rick walk to the front of the car, stare, and then an angry look came to his face and he started kicking the car.

Sarah had died.

Readjusting her tank top and slipping on her sandals she scooted over to the door from her make-shift bed in the back seat. The air outside was cold and Rick was pacing, which wasn't a good sign. At least they were at a gas station, she thought.

"What happened Rick?" She said, hugging her arms around herself to try and regain some warmth that had just surged away from her.

He stared at the van like it was the lowliest creature he had ever seen. "Fuckin piece of shit wont start. I hate it. I hate it. I always said I hated this shit."

"No, you-"

He cut her off with a biting glance and a fierce voice. "Fuck off Kristen."

With a "psycho" mouthed into the air and a turn of her feels she walked back to the van and pulled her favorite jogging jacket that had a big pink stain on the sleeve. She had gotten it from a thrift store back home. It was worn in, stained and tattered and was perfect. She grabbed her duct tape wallet as well and stuck it in her back pocket of her oversized jeans and strutted into the gas station.

Minutes later, her favored Sunkist was staring her in the face, and when she opened the door and a rush of refrigerated air hit her, she jumped and made a high-pitched squeal.

But not because of the cold air.

"Hey KT."

She ignored the extra beat her heart gave and shook off the goose bumps rising against her skin. She turned and smiled genuinely. "Hey! What are you doin?"

"Gettin some completely unnutritional carb-filled junk to make me fat." Justin smiled and shook a bag of plain potato chips in his hand.

"Not possible, string bean." She playfully hit him in the stomach, trying not to gawk at how hard it was when she made contact.

He dropped his mouth a little. "Hey! JC is the string bean. I'm all muscle baby."

"You have a vivid imagination, kid."

"KID!? I'm older than you! We've discussed this."

"But I'm so much more mature." She giggled when he started to pout. She took in his appearance. He was in track pants and obviously wasn't paying attention to the way he had put them on because about 3 of the snap buttons on the side were unsnapped and a few were snapping with the wrong one.

He had a pull over on and the hood was covering his head. He must have just woke up, she thought.

"Hey, you wanna sleep with me tonight?"

"EXCUSE ME!?" She about fainted. He had said it so casually, like it was nothing. And now all she could think about was Justin and her....doing...

This was bad. He wanted to have sex with her and she hated it because she wouldn't be able to say no, and that meant that she was about to have sex with Justin...Justin Timberlake.

She was going to have him touch her and kiss her and...

"Ya know, with us, on the bus. You either stay with Rick and are bored and get to listen to him bitch about Sarah or you get to ride with us in a luxurious tour bus to Seattle." He exaggerated the word luxurious in his perfect Justin way.

She breathed a sigh of relief and when he started to laugh she hit him, again, in the stomach. Whew, now she wouldn't have to have sex with him. "Where will I sleep?"

"We got some extra bunks." He shrugged.

Last time she remembered the guys were, well Justin in particular, were complaining about how little bunk space they had so they had taken over some of the other bunks for storage and such. "they aren't taken?"

"Nah, I might have to clean one out or something."

She looked out the glass windows of the store to see Rick hovering over the open hood of the van, staring fiercely at Sarah's inner parts. "You sure you don't mind?"

She heard him sigh and when she looked up he had his head cocked to the side with a tired but serious look on his face. He planted his hand on her shoulder and it made her get chills. "Kristen its 1 in the morning. Chris is asleep, surprisingly. And I'm just getting me some Nyquil before I knock out."

"Nyquil? Are you a junkie?" She smirked and shrugged off his hand from her shoulder. She was going to have to have a long talk with herself about how Justin was affecting her physically. It was stupid and girly for her to get so enamored with every part of him, physically and otherwise. And it was just pathetic that every time he got near her she felt like falling on the floor in a puddle of mush. He had turned her into a teenybopper as well and she couldn't have that anymore.

"No, I just can feel the mucus building in the back of my throat and nose and I know that if I don't get any meds by tomorrow I'll be a full on booger business."

And there were times like that. When he said something completely boyish and immature and the faces and voices he used with his comments made her think how completely insane women were for falling for his act. "Sometimes I wonder how you charm the ladies."

And when he smiled brighten and said "nice teeth!," she realized it was that immature boyish charm that made the woman fall.

"Don't forget the hip thrusts!"

"Oh god, I couldn't ever forget those." He said with a bright smile. She was really liking the friendship they had now. It was playful and fun and he pissed her off more than anything but deep down there was a mutual appreciation and respect for each other.

They both knew it. Maybe he didn't know how much she appreciated his little touches, but that's besides the point.

They had reached the check out counter and she pulled her wallet out and opened it. "Oh shiznit."

He chuckled. "Cute. What?"

"I don't have any moola."

He grabbed the drink from her hand and placed it on the counter with his chips and Nyquil. "I got it."

"No, that's ok." She said, grabbing the drink and starting to turn.

He put his arm out so that she couldn't move and pried the bottle from her fingers. "It's a 80 cent drink, I think I can spare that much."

She watched him as he pulled out his wallet and placed a five on the counter. It wasn't usually her nature to be nosey but she couldn't help but notice that it was the only bill in his wallet, or so she could see. She felt guilty that he bought her drink form his. If someone had asked her, she would have pinned him for the type to have a lot of cash on him. But not everyone liked to do that, and some people...

God, she thought, I'm noticing way too much shit about him.

"Here, milady." She snatched the drink from him with a scoff and roll of her eyes. She needed to piss him off: fast. This whole worshipping thing he was making her do when he was nice to her was getting old.

"What'd I do?" He said in a cautious voice.

"You breathed." She stomped out of the gas station and to the van. She pulled her pillow and her small backpack from the backseat and mumbled to Rick that she was going on the bus. He didn't respond in any way, just kept staring at Sarah's engine.

She heard flip flopping of sandals and at first thought it were hers, but when the flip flopping doubled she knew she was being followed.

She was two seconds from turning around and hitting him with her pillow when the pillow was snatched from her and he ran off to the bus with it, growling, "And you call me the skitzo."

"HEY!" She yelled, running after him and finding it hard in her sandals. She gave up and realized there was no point at making a scene at 1 in the morning in a random gas station parking lot. James, the bus driver was chugging on a big cup of coffee when she stepped up the first step of the bus.

"Welcome to the bus, Miss Topsell. Don't mind the boys, they're...boys. Try not to trip over anything."

"Hey watch it James. I cleaned today." She glared at the voice that came from deeper in the bus as she took a swig from her Sunkist bottle. She could now hear the scratchiness in it and when he started coughing moments later, she kinda felt sorry for the guy.

"You think stuffing all that junk in the empty bunk is cleaning?" James asked with a chuckling laugh.

"Oh, shit."

"Oh, shit what?" She repeated.

"The empty bunk is so packed with crap, uh, uh..." He looked around a moment and then just waved his hand in the air. "Just take my bunk I'll sleep in the back."

Justin's bed. Her in it. No thanks, she thought. She had too much temptation on her as it was and being in his bed would be overdrive for her senses. "No, I'll sleep in the back."

"No really..." He smiled at her. "...I sleep better back there anyway, just take my bunk and -"

A mumbled groan came from behind them. "Ey, shut up, some people do like to sleep."

"Sorry Chris." She said.

A head popped out trough the curtains of one of the middle bunks and looked over Justin's shoulder straight to her. "Kristen?" He asked with squinted eyes and tousled hair.

"Hi." She meekly waved.

"What you doin? I didn't booty call ya."

She sighed and put her hand to her heart. "Sarah died."

"Oh poor Rick." Chris said, yawning.

"Yeah, so he's staying here with the van and I'm bummin a ride."

"Really now? Wanna hop up here in daddy's bunk?" he winked and it made her skin crawl. She liked Chris a lot, but his sexual jokes were something she couldn't handle; and now that she was getting to know the guys a lot better, they seemed to be more playful and joking with her.

She'd rather Justin say a sex joke to her.

The talk with herself would be a very very long one, in deed.

"eww, you're like my grandpa."

"Hey, I got viagra baby." He winked again.

"Ewwwww!" she covered her mouth and pretended to gag. But when Justin pulled on the shoulder straps of her backpack and pulled her back towards the bunks, towards him, all gagging stopped. She looked down at his hands. He had nice hands, nice large hands.

She was going crazy.

"Now that's a scary thought." Justin said in a smooth voice.

Chris scoffed out a comeback and disappeared behind the curtain of his bunk. "You're scary."

"Nice one dude. Go back to sleep."

"Fine. night kiddo." She felt a hand rubbing against her head, messing up her hair that was for once, pulled back in a ponytail.

She slapped Chris's hands away and mumbled out, "Night gramps."

"Come ere." Justin tugged on the straps, pulled the backpack off her. He slung back the curtain for the top bunk and pushed the bag back in the corner of it.

"Ugh, I have to climb." She pouted as Justin threw her pillow into the bunk.

"I'll hoist ya."

He put his hands on her hips and she felt his breath on her neck as he bent to push herself up. "Th-thanks." She climbed into the bunk, and threw her bottle of soda at the foot of the bunk. She immediately being swallowed in the smell of Justin. IT wasn't too strong, but very light. She struggled to pull the comforter around her and she felt a hand, those nice large hands, helping her out, pulling on the comforter and finally covering her body with it, up to her shoulders.

"Just make sure you don't roll out." He smiled and patted her stomach, her lower stomach. She knew he probably couldn't see how far her abdomen really went being in a cocoon and all, but if he had put his hand 3 inches lower....

"Oh great, I'm gonna die on your tour bus."

He rolled his eyes and then looked at her with those big deep blue eyes that she could just stare at...good god she was going insane! She didn't need a talk session with herself she needed damn therapy!! "hey hand me my pillow."

She smiled secretively and rolled over so he was facing her back. "No."

"Come on now, I gave you yours."

"But yours is all niceeee." She then rolled to her stomach and clutched their pillows together to her face. His bunk was comfortable and warm and even though she was never a touch-feely person, the urge to snuggle washed over her.

"So is yours, please Kristen, I'm tired and I'm about to knock out some Nyquil so I can go to sleep."

When she turned and saw him there with droopy eyes she gave up and let him pull the pillow out from under her. "Fine."

"Thank you." She huffed a little and relaxed and then closed her eyes.

Moments later she heard a chuckle and then, "comfy?"

Her eyes opened and she smiled at him. He was crossing his arms on the edge and leaning into her, well his, bunk and biting his lip a little. "yes thank ya."

"alright now go to bed and don't cause a fuss."

She saluted him. "Yes sir."

His voice turned into the annoying baby one that he often used when trying to be silly. She use to think it was very annoying. Now, she didn't know what to think. "you need a lullaby or a story?"

"No she doesn't. GO TO SLEEP." Chris yelled from his bunk.

"Someone's pmsing." Kristen said quietly.

"Hehe, night KT."

"Night JT," she said as he closed off the bunk with the curtain.

About 2 minutes later, she peeped through the curtain and saw him standing a few feet away in the back room with his pillow under one arm and the small plastic top of Nyquil in the other. He had taken off his pull over and was standing there in sweats and a wife beater.

Good enough to eat.

Minus the talk, minus the therapy, bring on the straight-jacket.

"H-ey Justin?"

"hmm?" He said, knocking back the Nyquil with a painful gulp.

"Thanks." She smiled and he coughed a little.

He cleared his throat and screwed the top back on the Nyquil, then set it down somewhere. "Don't mention it."

She snuck back in the bunk, but contorted herself so that she could see through the crack in the curtain to the back room. He placed his pillow on the couch and then started to lay down.

And then he stopped, and stared directly at her. She thought maybe he had caught her spying on him, but then he just got up a bit, reached over and slung the curtain shut.

"Damn..." She breathed.

It was too late, not even the straight-jacket would work now.

She was a lost cause.

-------

The looks she was giving him were messing up his brain.

This was little Kristen. Cute little skater chick that, as everyone says, was not his type, never would be.

"I've got to be on the rebound or something," he thought.

The back of the bus was dark now that he flicked off the light. He wish he were in his bed. The back couch was pretty comfortable, but for some reason, he couldn't sleep there. He couldn't get himself positioned right, and even the Nyquil didn't seem to work.

It was obvious she had a crush on him. Maybe he was being too cocky, maybe his women-radar had been damaged with the break up. All he knew, was he was getting weird signals from Kristen.

And the strangest thing about it was, he kinda liked it.

Oh, plenty of women had thrown themselves at him since they found out about the break up. The night before the tour some girl that knew some guy that knew some friend of his called him up and bluntly said. "I'll let you fuck me anyway you want, Justin. That's how much I want you."

And he had had the more subtle motions, too, like women in clubs talking with him, or dancing. Some of the tour girls had offered back-rubs (much more than they use to), told him they should go out and get lunch some time, and other things.

He tried not to let it go to his head, having all these women approach him and stuff, but he couldn't help it. It was like they all wanted a piece of him.

And then there was Kristen. Loud-mouth, hot-tempered Kristen, who had lately been kinda shy in her own "Don't touch me or I'll cut off your dick" kind of way." Maybe he just was reading into her actions as a crush.

But she smiled a lot more at him now, and giggled a lot more around him. Maybe it was just some weird stage.

Oh, she blushed more, too.

And found excuses to touch him, like hitting him in the stomach or shoulder.

She use to never do that.

But dammit! She wasn't his type. She listened to music he usually didn't. She wore these god-awful clothes that swallowed her whole and hid her figure. She never did anything to her hair, it was always flat and just hanging there. The only thing he had ever seen her put on her face was chap-stick and a Chiquita banana sticker that she wore on her forehead for about 5 hours one day.

She was everything he had never looked for in a girl.

And it made him want to crawl up in his bunk and say hi to her and hold her and fall asleep. And maybe sneak a kiss or two.

"I must stop flirting," He decided. "Tomorrow."

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep then, but he couldn't stop thinking about that damn Chiquita banana sticker. For some strange reason he started craving his aunt Ellen's homemade banana pudding.

The night just went downhill from there...