“You knew this was coming,” Justin sighed.  “As much as they’re praising you for being there to support me, there’s that other side of it, too.  Any chance the media can tear you down, they’ll take it.  We’ll ignore it because it’s not worth our time.”

“They’re dragging me for not being faithful to Josh, as if I had a choice back then…”

“Hey, you did what you had to.  They weren’t there, they get no say in what you should have done.  You tried to make things right.  We even asked if he wanted to come to the premiere and he said no.  He thought it would be weird if he went, even if he was in the background.  We sent him pictures of the kids all dressed up, he got them all weekend ahead of the premiere last night.  I’m glad it was at a decent time so the twins aren’t zombies for school this morning…”

“Is Jackie taking them?  I’m surprised they’re not up yet…”

“It’s only 7.  They’ll be getting up any minute now, I’m sure.  I miss the house being so full of family, though.  I like the quiet, but it means it’s just us again.”

“We have Jackie, and JC is a phone call away.  You really think we should just ignore this?”

“Yeah. Honestly, the worst that could happen is probably behind us. Once news got out they could have called you really terrible things. I saw none of that, so this will blow over. We took the kids to see a kids movie, and JC didn’t want to steal any spotlight from me. Everyone else can just suck it.  They aren’t us, don’t know the situation, they don’t matter. It’s not an attack on you as a wife or mother of our kids.”

“It is a little. Some people said I should have stayed home with Silas, that I left our newborn son for a chance in the spotlight.”

“He was with Jackie, that’s her job.  It was a few hours to celebrate a movie I did. People are ridiculous and it’s not worth more time or energy. It really makes me think JC had the right idea, just becoming a hermit. Not being out in public much…”

“Coming from the man wanting to do another album and tour.”

“After that, who knows what I’ll want to do. I’m not gonna just churn out album after album like the old days. I take my time in between to allow for the creative process, but also to live life a bit.  Family always comes first. So if there’s something that comes up, I will drop everything for it. No matter what.  I’ve got plenty of money to live off of if I never do another thing ever again.”

“You’d go crazy not doing anything, Justin.  Music is in your blood.  Even if you acted, you’d miss the music side of art and creativity.  I’m all for being with family when it’s important.  You’d already started Trolls before we got pregnant, and it timed out well that you didn't miss a lot of my pregnancy to do press, and you can be home more once you finish promoting the movie.”

“I’m only doing interviews here in LA, I’m not flying out anywhere to do interviews.  I want to be here with you and Silas and the twins.  I want the song I write for Silas to be one of the last songs I record, so we get him growing up a bit first.  I wanna be here for his first words, his first steps, first everything.”

They heard the rushing sounds of footsteps, Barb and Joshy running down the hall towards the kitchen, walking once they got into the kitchen and saw Mikayla and Justin.  They sat down at the table fully dressed for school, looking more grown up by the day.  Jackie soon followed, getting them set with waffles, fruit, and milk before taking them off to school.

“Justin’s right,” Jackie began, “Don’t take too much stock in what other people have to say.  You did nothing wrong being another side of yourself besides Mom for a bit.  These kids are your life, being able to be a supportive wife and take the kids to something Justin is part of, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”  With that, she headed out the door with the twins.

“I guess we really need to talk in the bedroom if it’s meant to be a private conversation,” Mikayla sighed.

“I don’t have a problem with her hearing any of what we talked about.  Hopefully you’ll take stock in what she said as well as what I said.  She’s more than our nanny.  That’s why you’re trying to hook her up with your brother in law’s brother.”

“I’m glad one of the boys has a birthday coming up just after Thanksgiving.  Who knows, by next month they’ll meet and hit it off.”

…

“This doesn’t seem too… self serving?” Mikayla wondered.

“We asked the twins and this is what they wanted.  Call it what you want, but I think it’s cute they wanted to go dressed as Trolls.  I mean, how often do I get to dress as a character I played?”

“You probably could whenever you want, let’s be honest…”

“When I post to social media, I’ll make sure to say they picked out the costumes… Ours are definitely more complex than theirs. Pretty sure theirs are altered versions from the Spirit store.  Either way, they look cute.”

“Silas as Mr. Dinkles though… that’s adorable.  People will need to watch the movie to get the reference, which is good.  I’m so proud of you, babe.  This is such a fun movie, the twins love it.  You know once you get that advanced copy of the DVD they’ll wanna watch it all the time.”

“We’ll have to take them to see it.  Maybe make it a full family trip, minus Silas.  I’d say bring him and time it with his nap, but with our luck he’d fight the nap and cry the whole time.”

“Yeah, you don’t tempt fate with babies,” Mikayla laughed.  “That sounds like a great idea, though.  Or we take their class to see it, make it a party type thing, rent out the whole theater.  I’d say for the whole school, but I don’t think there’s enough room for everyone…”

“I’d be more inclined to rent out multiple screens in one theater if the school hadn’t asked you to step down…”

“This has given me time to look into non-profits and things to put my time and energy into.  I wanna do something with music for inner city kids.  I think I wanna talk with Brent, see about investing in his music school and putting that in public schools.  I never wanted to work in private schools, to be honest.  It was just something to do while I got my credential.  With this, it lets me help those that need it without me needing to go through more schooling.”

“I would support you if you wanted to do that, you know that,” Justin smiled.  “If you wanna go back to school, but this sounds great, too.  I’m sure there’s grants and things they could apply for as well to help fund it.  You’ve done your share of that for the school, you could help him with that.  I think it’s a great idea, Kay.  Anyway, Halloween is on Monday.  I’m glad we have the weekend to go to some parties.  If you wanna go with JC to the party he’s going to…”

“I dunno.  They’ll want to take pictures, we’d have to sneak around to have any kind of privacy.  I don’t know enough of those people to be by myself like I’d need to be.”

“What if we went together, in costumes with masks?  I have a great idea, the Phantom and Christine.  I could have that full mask, you in a great dress…”

“Justin, that’s way too last minute. Where would I find something like that?”

“You forget who you’re married to, don't you?” he chuckled.  “I could get all of that with one phone call.”

“Calling your assistant doesn’t count,” Mikayla sighed.

“Trust me, I can make this happen.  What do you say?” Justin asked.  

“Ok, let’s do it. See if Justin Timberlake can go unnoticed at a celebrity-filled Halloween party.”

“Put the costumes in the closet for now, the kids will want to wear them the whole weekend if they see them now…  We’re going to JC’s for movie night, so that’ll help.  We’ll ask him if he can get us into the party.  I’ll get the costumes anyway, maybe we can make some sweet music together…”

“Justin, it hasn’t been long enough yet…”

“I know, but that doesn't mean we can’t get more practice in.”

“Pretty sure you’re an expert by now…”

“As are you, my love.  But even the greats still practice to keep things fresh.”  

…

“Justin, you look incredible.  Not that I expected anything less.  You really pulled this off…”

“I know a few people,” he laughed.  “Think anyone will recognize me?”

“This mask covers more of your face, and your hair is a little different than it’s been styled.  I just wish you hadn’t shaved right before the movie premiere so people wouldn’t expect you clean shaved tonight.  I recognize you, but I could spot my husband from a mile away.”

“The matching costumes don’t hurt,” he teased.  “You… this dress took some doing.  This is the actual dress Emmy Rossum wore in the movie version.  Is this a wig or your real hair?”

“It’s all me.  Your people never disappoint when it comes to hair and makeup.  This doesn’t call for a mask, but the intricate lace on it, it’s exquisite.”

“The only thing exquisite about this is the woman underneath it.  You make anything look good.  You would stop everyone in their tracks if you sang ‘Think of Me’, especially the end.”

“I’m not THAT good.  I’m not classically trained in opera singing.”

“Again, forgetting who you’re married to…”

“You forget there’s a male part in there.  You’d give yourself away if you sang with me.  That’s not happening.”

“Sing for me later, when we get home?”

“Like, actually sing, or…”

“You know what I mean,” he growled in her ear before kissing her neck.

“This just might work, Justin.  The kids are with my parents and Jackie is with them.  We just might be able to get in unnoticed.  Our names aren’t on the invites or whatever, are they?”

“No, we’re just guests, JC said he has us down as guests but no names.  The physical invite is enough.  Are you ready to go?”

“Let’s do this.  It feels almost wrong, sneaking into a party…”

‘We have an invite, just no one knows who we are.  Well, except JC.  I don’t even think he told the host we’re coming.”

“Is this one of Eric’s parties?”

“No, I think Matthew Morrison is hosting this one.  Either way, we're going under the radar and it’s gonna be incredible.”

They walked out to a small blacked out sedan, figuring a longer limo would be too much of a giveaway.  They rode to the event, Justin in awe of the woman beside him.  They’d been through so much together, and this was another adventure they would share.  Even if they got caught, they’d be together and not raise any red flags compared top Mikayla being there with JC.  Unless someone caught her and JC kissing somewhere, no one would even know there was anything beyond a healthy relationship between the exes.  

He knew she cleaned up well, but in this costume she was breathtaking.  Her hair all curled and styled like in the movie, he almost couldn’t tell her apart from the on screen actress.  Her makeup was flawless, everything so well put together.  He knew it was more of the woman underneath it than the hair and makeup people.  She was simply the canvas on which everything looked better.

They arrived at the party, both of them putting on their masks.  Justin’s was the typical white, though covering both eyes and his nose.  Mikayla’s was ivory with gold details, a masterpiece on its own.  He presented the invitation and they were let in with no questions asked.  The party had already begun, music playing and people eating and drinking, having a good time.  

Mikayla felt eyes on them, most likely her costume compared to his.  She’d thankfully gotten used to being in lavish gowns for events, so she walked like a natural in the costume.  She smiled politely as people nodded at her.  Justin was just in a fairly basic black tuxedo with a white shirt and tie, so Mikayla stood out in the elegant ivory dress.  She smiled inside as people she knew would have rushed to say hello were noncommittal, their cover was working so far.

Mikayla looked around the room, smiling as she saw JC getting a drink at the bar.  She looked at Justin, signaling in JC’s direction.

“Well, hello,” JC smiled, almost bowing in front of Mikayla.  “Great costumes.  I wouldn’t recognize you if I didn't know you.”

“You know these two?” Matthew said, turning from the bar.

“Yeah, this is an old friend of mine, Renee, and her husband…”

“Randy,” Justin smiled, his voice a little lower.  He shook Matthew’s hand, a slight smile on his face.  If JC could convince everyone they weren’t themselves, this could work.

“We’re gonna have karaoke in a bit, either of you wanna join?” Matthew asked.  “Trying to get this one to go up…” he said, nudging JC.

“Hey man, that shit would be online within seconds.  No, I’m good,” JC said, holding his hands up in refusal.

“You should do it,” Mikayla smiled.

“Only if you sing with me,” JC countered.

“If it gets you up there, sure.”

“Fine.  I’ll do it,” JC resigned, smiling at seeing Mikayla’s reaction as she smiled wide.  

“Any idea what you’ll sing?” Justin whispered in her ear.

“I’ve got an idea. Something fun, get the guests singing along so it’s not just us.”

“You would be the one to get him out of his head.”

“But it can’t be too obvious.  I could pick other songs, but it might make people think there’s something between us.”

They ate and chatted with people, being by JC’s side as his guests.  It was quite the group, the Phantom and Christine alongside JC as Andy Warhol.  People were having fun, dancing to the music that was playing, Justin and Mikayla not giving themselves away.  Mikayla knew she could hide herself more being Justin’s wife and not as recognizable.  It had been years since she’d seen most of the people in the room, associated with JC and Eric.  Justin was playing his role perfectly, his voice a little deeper and a slight accent.  If Mikayla hadn’t gotten ready with him, she wouldn’t have recognized him.  She felt a little flush, like they could roleplay a bit before going home.

The  music softened, Matthew’s voice over the mic. “Alright, we’re gonna start the karaoke portion of the evening.  To start us off, we have Andy Warhol and Christine!”

JC looked at matthew.  “Really, have us start this off?”

“Hey man, only way to get you up on that stage,” Matthew shrugged.

Mikayla and JC stood up on the short platform, JC looking at her song choice.  “This isn't a duet…”

“We’ll trade off lines, I’ll even start,” she said as the intro began.

“Go for it, Christine…”

‘Where it began…” Mikayla started.

“I can’t begin to know when,” JC continued.

They sang back and forth until right before the chorus.

“Hands…”

“Touching hands…”

“Reaching out…”

“Touching me, touchin’ you…”

“Sweet Caroline,” they sang together, the crowd erupting in the obligatory “bum bum bum” before singing the rest of the chorus together.    The crowd was enthralled, excited to hear JC sing, but also at the beautiful woman that got him to sing.  They kept their distance, so as to seem just friends, their eyes saying more than anything else could given the situation.  

They hugged briefly at the end of the song before stepping down off the platform and back over to their little group for the night.  

“That felt good, singing with you.  I’d missed that,” JC said.  “Thank you.  I’d have needed a lot more alcohol to do that alone…”

“I still don’t feel it was very inconspicuous,” Justin whispered in her ear.

“I’d ask you to sing with me, but that would be a bad idea…”

“Why not?” Matthew asked.  “You were incredible.”

“I can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” Justin chuckled.  Mikayla almost spit out her sip of her drink, hearing Justin Timberlake say he couldn’t carry a tune.  All part of the ruse, but still shocking nonetheless.

Mikayla pulled Justin aside, into the hallway near the bathrooms.  “I say we take advantage of no one recognizing you.  I almost wouldn’t if I didn’t know already.  Maybe we leave the group, just sit at the bar, talk a bit, pretending it was a coincidence that we happened to have perfectly matching costumes…”

“Wifey wants a little roleplay, huh?  I can’t wait until you get the all clear from your doctor, but I’m gonna have fun tonight regardless…”