“Not that I’m ungrateful for the invitation, Justin, but why are we here?” Lance wondered.

“Consider this an intervention,” Justin said.

“Wait, for who?” Michael asked.

JC quietly raised his hand, having his head face down on the table, his other arm cushioning his head.  “I may be hung over, but I can still hear you…”

“He had a lot to drink this morning…” Justin recalled.

“He was fine last night,” Michael said.

“Until he got home.  You gonna tell them, or should I?”

“I should, but I’m too busy keeping my head from exploding.  I’m feeling every one of my 46 years… Fuck, how does Chris do this?!”

Justin looked at Lance and Michael as he sat next to JC.  “Jen left him last night.  Banged him then went on her way, packed a bag and everything.  She’s probably there now packing up everything else.”

“I get to keep Bronson…” JC said, trying to be positive.

“What the fuck happened?  You guys were so happy last night,” Lance wondered.

“No…” Michael gasped.

“What?” Justin and Lance asked.

“Is this because of Jenna?”

JC gave a thumbs up.  “We have a winner…”

“She thinks he’s in love with her.  Told him to sort out his feelings,” Justin replied. 

“I love Jen!” he groaned.  “Why can’t I keep a woman?!”

“You know she’s right, don’t you?” Michael replied.  “You totally are.”  He left out the part where Jenna is just as in love with him.  If this was going to happen, they needed to figure it out themselves instead of doing it because other people told them to.  He loved drama, but this was different.

“We’re.  Just.  Friends… Why is that hard to understand?!  Oww, the sound of my own voice hurts…”

“Jesus, how much did you drink?” Lance asked.

“We had a shot of tequila and he chugged a full glass of whiskey, then by the looks of it, drank half my liquor cabinet…”

“Did not.  Maybe an eighth… FEELS like half though…”

“You’re replacing the bottle you emptied,” Justin said, JC giving him a thumbs up, not looking up.

“You danced with her twice, both were kinda big moments…” Michael said.  “I saw how you looked at each other.”

“She just has a celebrity crush on me.  It’ll fade once she knows the real me.”

“And she gets to know the caring guy that’s been taking care of her for the last month… the horror, how will she ever find you attractive?” Lance laughed.

“Not my problem.  I want Jen…”

“Uh.  You want Jen-UH…”

JC gave the middle finger.  “I want my life back.  Can I redo last night?”

“You’re saying you wouldn’t do the same things again?”

“You made me dance with her after things closed down.”

“I didn't MAKE you do anything.  I just put a suggestion out there.”

“We danced to Norah Jones, you asshole.  You knew what you were doing.”

“Just giving you a nudge.  I didn’t realize Jen would react like that.”

“Nudging me into another woman’s arms in front of my girlfriend?  You’re sadistic.”

“You’re taller, I nudged her into YOUR arms,” Michael corrected.

“Why?  For fun?”

“She’d had such a great night, a great week at work, I wanted it to end on a high note.”

“Well, for me it ended terribly.”

“Did it?” Justin asked.

“Yes!” he shouted, pounding his fist. “I love Jen, this was never the plan.”

“What WAS the plan?” Lance asked. 

“I just wanted to make sure she was ok. That was it.”

“Then what happened that things went deeper?”

JC was quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts.  “I saw her. I talked to her, however briefly. I knew I needed to make this more than her not dying, getting to the hospital ok.  I heard her story, the stress she was under.  I wanted to help her.”

“You wanted to be the hero, there’s no shame in that. But why bring her to Rocco’s?”

“I wanted to get to know her.  I learned so much about her in a short time frame. In spite of the shit she’s been through, she has this amazing aura about her. She’s been hurt, not always the confident woman I saw last night, but I want to bring that out more. I loved seeing that side of her, I love her…”

“What did you just say?” Michael nearly choked. 

“I loved that side of her, I want her to feel that way all the time.”

“After that. You said you love her,” Justin said.

JC paused. “Fuck, what do I do?”

“You pray that she feels the same way. That this isn’t some celebrity crush, that it’s real.”

“And if it’s not?” JC sighed.

“You go back to Jen, everything the way it’s always been.”

“I don’t want that.  I want Jenna,” he said, sitting up. “I need time, but she’s who I want, if she feels the same way.”

…

“I’ll be home late tonight, it’s back to school night. Might as well just stay here since by the time I get home on the bus, I’d need to come back to school.”

“Are you nervous?” Kelly asked. 

“Not really. I’ve done these before, though, thankfully I have Kim to help with any questions I don’t have answers to.  She’s picking up food for us in a bit, gotta clean up the room a bit, make sure it’s perfect for tonight.”

“Let me know if you need me to pick you up or if Kim is giving you a ride home, ok? Pulling a JC and making sure you’re ok…”

“I’ll be fine. Is it bad that night feels like a dream?  I danced with him, twice…”

“I could see you and Michael becoming besties.  Maybe you’ll get to meet the twins, feed your biological clock a bit…”

“I’m 39, pretty sure that ship has sailed…”

“That’s why you need to see the twins, feed your body a little bit if only to satisfy those motherly urges but not have to actually have one…”

“We’ll see. I gotta go, see you at home.”

Jenna put her phone on her charger, trying to figure out what needed to be done. 

“What happened that feels like a dream?  You danced with someone?  Did you meet a new guy?” Kim asked. 

“No, no new guy,” Jenna sighed . 

“Don’t tell me you danced with your hunky hero…”

Jenna nodded, a blush rising to her cheeks.

“Do you have pictures?!”

“I got to see JC and Lance, I went to Lance’s new club…”

“Did you plan on meeting your hero at the club?”

“Yeah.  It was incredible.  Like a sexier version of Cinderella, but no glass slipper.”  She grabbed her phone, showing the pictures they’d taken together that night, glad she was none the wiser about just who her hero was.

“I’d take pictures with these guys over ones with your hero any day,” Kim said.  “I mean, you look like you’re one of them in this picture.  And that outfit…”

“They’re really nice, down to earth, they made me feel like I was part of their group.  It was a fun night, for sure.”

“How did things go with your hero?”

“I danced with him twice, one fast and one slow as they were closing the bar.  I won’t lie, it felt nice to be in his arms.”

“You totally like him.”

“He’s got a girlfriend.  I saw them making out a lot that night.”

“Wait, he brought her and danced with you?”

“I’ve come to accept that I”m a pity project.  Yeah, he wants to be friends, but that’s all we’ll ever be.  She’s gorgeous and I’m not his type.  I’ll take what I can get, he’s been really nice to me and a level of friendship I haven’t had for a while.”

“You aren’t wanting more?”

“I am, but I know I’ll never get it.  I’ve seen the way he looks at her.  As much as I wish, he’ll never look at me like that.  I’m used to it by now.”

“Jenna, we gotta find you the right guy.  You know, that’s actually single…”

“Let’s focus on the classroom and tonight before I cry,” Jenna requested.  They cleaned the desks from an art project they’d done that day, making sure the desks were just so, everything in its place.  

Kim quickly grabbed dinner from somewhere nearby, both of them eating as quickly as possible before the parents came.

The room filled with parents, some greeting Kim as they knew her from their older children at the school, making conversation with Jenna before things started.  Once all the parents were seated, they began their presentation of what their child would be learning that year.  They reviewed the curriculum, going over field trips, specialty classes they offered during the school week like music, PE, and foreign language.  They discussed the extra curricular activities for after school, touching on everything they would need to know for the year.

Jenna had been confident in what she was presenting, not needing to deflect to Kim on any questions.  The night was soon over, parents leaving to go home.  The room was empty when she heard a knock on the open door.  “Kim?” a familiar voice asked.

Jenna looked up and about jumped out of her skin.  She tried to keep calm, but seeing him… in her classroom…

“Hi, Justin,” Kim smiled.

Jenna looked at Kim.  “You knew about my fandom and didn't tell me you’re on a first name basis with Justin Timberlake?!”

“You partied with JC and Lance last Friday, so…” Kim began, shurgging innocently..  “Silas was in my class when he was in Kindergarten.”

“You’re Jenna, right?  Heard a lot about you…” Justin smirked.

Jenna’s face began to turn a deep red.  “I’m sure.  Kim, can you excuse us?”

“Sure,” Kim said, leaving the room.

“Did you come to see Kim, or me?” Jenna wondered.

“You.  JC won’t stop talking about you.”

“Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual.  Too bad he’s got Jen.  Yeah right, like I ever stood a chance even if he WAS single…  He’s done a lot for me lately, I don’t know if he told you.”

“He’s done more than you realize.  You’re welcome, by the way.”

“For what?”

“The lunch on the first day of school, that was from me.  Mainly to try and make sure you got it.  I’m the thankful parent.  And, well, there’s something else.  Not sure JC wants you to know…”

“What?”

“I helped get you this job.  He asked if I knew if they needed a teacher.  I reached out and luckily they did.”

“I knew it seemed fishy that a school I never applied to somehow got my resume…  So he got me this job, too?  Since he knew I couldn’t get one on my own…”  She was torn between thinking it was sweet for him to at least try, but sad that she couldn’t do it on her own.

“We got you the interview.  YOU got yourself the job.  There was no quid pro quo situation.  I recommended you be interviewed, but they made it clear that they wouldn’t hire you if you weren’t a good fit.  I’m glad it worked out.  Kim’s great, you’ll love working with her.  Silas really liked her.”

“Doesn’t your nanny come to stuff like this for you?”

“Usually, yeah.  But knowing that you were working here now, I had to say hi.”

“I gotta admit, it’s taking everything I have to stay calm right now.”

“Kim said you partied with JC and Lance, which I know about, by the way.  I heard all about Friday,” Justin said, his voice shifting a bit.

“If I’m being honest, you were my favorite, still are.  I mean, I’ve met all of you except Chris at this point, though I’m gonna try and meet him at his Pop2000 show in October up north.  I really made the group chat?”

“Oh honey, absolutely.  I can introduce you to Chris now, just FaceTime him…”

“I can wait.  You’re the first one I interacted with.  You grabbed my hand during one of your LA shows for Man of The Woods.”

“Guess you freaked out a bit once you knew JC had saved you?”

“Yeah.  Though I’m also not surprised, the more I get to know him.  Anyone else might have left me to die, but JC, well, he always does the right thing.”

“He tries to, for sure.  That day changed both of you, that’s for sure.”

“So you came to meet the woman JC saved?  Is that it?”

More like meet the woman JC is completely in love with, Justin thought.  “Yeah.”

“I should get going, I have a bus to catch…” 

“Let me take you home,” Justin offered.

“Justin, I can’t…”

“Enough.  I insist.  Would you tell JC no, or Lance?”

“No, I suppose not.  Just feeling like a charity case at times.”

“Definitely not.  If Lance likes you enough to have you be part of their entourage, that’s good enough for me.”

“JC’s opinion doesn’t matter?” Jenna giggled.

“It definitely does, but he’s biased, saving your life and all.  I was glad to help you get the job, do my part to help you.  But not out of pity.  If you’d become friends with any of them, and needed this, I’d still have done it.  We’re all team Jenna,” he said, meaning it in more ways than one.

Jenna pulled out her phone, texting Kelly. Getting a ride home. She looked up at Justin. “Any way you’d wanna come up to my apartment?” she asked with a smile. 

“Surprise your roommate?” he replied. 

She nodded silently, Justin chuckling. “Has she met JC and Lance?”

“Yeah. We were at Rocco’s when she pieced together JC was my ‘hero’.  Then went with me last weekend.”

“Hey, you don’t need to use quotes around the word hero with JC. I’ll openly admit he was one of mine for a lot of things, especially my teen years.  Let’s get to my car and I’ll meet your roommate.”