This is one of my favorite parts of Piper and Justin’s story. As you can imagine, by this point, Justin was very protective of Piper and didn’t trust Andrew as far as he could throw him. And he hadn’t even met the guy yet.

I still can’t believe that the asshole actually thought he could show his face at Piper’s party. Especially after his sister specifically told him to stay away. Some guys just never learn.

At the time of the incident, I was horrified. But looking back on it now, I’m glad Justin handled things the way he did. Besides, Andrew deserved what Justin gave him, there’s no doubt about that.

Anyway, on with the story.

“Justin, what’s with the blindfold?” Piper demanded as soon as the offending material was placed over her eyes, relieving her of sight.

“It’s a surprise,” he simply told her.

“Well duh, I got that much,” she retorted, bouncing on the car seat as the limo drew closer to its destination, “You’re not trying to seduce me, are you?” Justin smirked.

“If I wanted to get down your pants, I would have done it by now,” he teased, poking her in the side.

“You wish,” she bit back, grinning.

“Ouch, are you saying that I’m unattractive?” he demanded.

“Yep, you’re butt ugly from what I can see,” she said.

“Meanie,” he whined, now wishing she wasn’t blindfolded so he could give her the puppy dog face, “You’re supposed to tell me that I’m gorgeous and that you want to fuck me.”

“Oh really? I thought that was JC’s job,” Piper responded. Justin almost choked.

“Shh, you’re not supposed to know,” he joked back.

“See, now you’re openly admitting it,” she razzed him, “What would your loyal fans say if they knew you and JC got it on every night?”

“Um…” he stumbled, not able to think of a comeback.

“Hah, I win!” she gleefully cried.

“Shut-up, I let you win cause it’s your birthday,” he replied.

“Whatever lets you sleep at night pop star,” she teased.

“Hey look, we’re here,” Justin suddenly commented, surprised at how fast they had gotten to their destination.

“Where is here?” were the first words out of Piper’s mouth.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he stated as he helped her out of the car, “But I guarantee you’re going to like it.”

“Okay, if you insist.”

Silently, Justin led her through the full restaurant to the back ballroom, which he had reserved entirely for Piper’s birthday. He walked in, happy to see all invited guests sitting around, quietly talking. The minute they saw him walk in, however, they became increasing silent.

“Justin, what’s going on?” Piper demanded, unnerved by how quiet it seemed to be. They were at a restaurant, weren’t they?

“Happy Birthday,” he whispered in her ear before whisking the blindfold off.

Piper stared in shock at the group of people, who immediately began to yell ‘Surprise!’ and ‘Happy Birthday!’ in her direction. There had to be at least a hundred people here. Did she know that many people?

Her eyes widened even more, however, when her parents and her younger brother came forward to greet her. Giving a shout of joy, she launched herself into her dad’s arms.

“What are you guys doing here?” she demanded, eyes welling up with tears, “And how did you get here? I just talked with you this morning.”

“We couldn’t pass up a birthday of yours, even if that meant flying across the country to come and see you,” her dad, Jacob, explained, hugging his daughter close.

“Virginia called us up a couple days ago and set everything up, and your friend Justin flew us out here,” Julia, her mom, added, giving her daughter a big hug once she had disentangled herself from her dad.

“The plane ride was awesome!” 9-year old Dylan added, grinning up at his big sis, “And I got to meet Justin at the airport. We got to ride in his limo, and he even let me play video games on the ride to the hotel.”

“You’re kidding,” Piper finally managed to squeak out, glancing over at Justin, who sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Your Justin is some guy,” Jacob added, placing a hand on Piper’s back, “He’s a real keeper, if you know what I mean.”

“Dad!” Piper protested, blushing, “Justin’s just my friend.”

“That’s what you said about Andrew before you two started dating,” Julia piped up.

“Mom, that’s an entirely different situation and you know it,” Piper ground out, keeping the frown from her face.

“Hey Piper! Over here!” Virginia suddenly called, interrupting the conversation.

“Be back in one second,” she told her family, “Don’t go anywhere.”

She quickly hurried over to her friend, not noticing how Justin and her dad immediately struck up a conversation and how interested her mom seemed to be in something Genevieve had to say.

“Brat!” Piper squealed as soon as she reached her friend’s side, “I can’t believe you and Justin planned all of this!”

“Rae helped too,” Virginia supplied, grinning, “But anyway, I got a present for you girl.”

“Do I have to open it now?”

“You wanna wait until after dinner?” Virginia prompted.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me,” Piper agreed, dragging her friend back towards her family.

She barely got a word out, however, before Justin whisked her away to introduce her to those she didn’t know. The names and faces flew past her, and she wondered how Justin kept them all straight. She did remember meeting the other three members of Nsync, Lance, Chris, and Joey, and also Justin’s best friend Trace. But other than that, she hadn’t a clue to any of the names Justin had rattled off.

Soon after all the introductions were made, a DJ began to play music as the guests took their seats at tables situated at the edge of the dancing floor. The waiters immediately began to take the orders as the guests chatted excitedly amongst themselves.

“You’re an ass, you know that?” Piper leaned over and whispered in Justin’s ear when she was sure no one was listening.

“Yeah, I know. But you’re gonna love me forever, right?” he pleaded, sticking his lip out at her. She laughed.

“Of course I will, silly,” she stated, tugging on his lip, “This is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”

“Well it’s only beginning,” he told her; she glared at him.

“What else do you have planned Mr. Timberlake? A piñata? Or how about some male strippers?” she teased.

“Ha, ha, real funny. I’ve got better taste than that,” he huffed.

“Coulda fooled me,” she retorted. He almost chocked on his glass of wine.

“You know, you’re gonna be in big trouble with me if you don’t shut that mouth,” he stated.

“Ooh, I’m so scared,” she replied, mustering a fake shudder at his expense. He laughed.

“Hey Piper, can I help you open your presents?” Dylan suddenly cut in, tugging on his sister’s sleeve as he pointed to another table, “You’ve got a lot of them.”

“Sure can big man,” she agreed, pulling him in for a hug and ruffling his hair, “And you can help me write all the thank-you notes as well.”

“No way,” he protested, wrinkling his nose at the thought.

“Hey, back off my buddy. He and I are gonna play some MarioKart tomorrow, so he can’t be bothered with you,” Justin butted in. Piper rolled her eyes at him.

“I see how it is. I don’t count,” she sniffled, holding back a laugh at Justin’s stricken face.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he quickly amended. This time, she couldn’t hold back the laughter, which bubbled forth between her lips.

“You brat,” he commented, tickling her side, “You had me worried there for a second.”

“Yes, score another point for me. Saunders 2, Timberlake 0,” Piper commented, grinning cheekily up at him.

“Are you going to kiss her?” Dylan suddenly questioned.

“Dylan!” Piper cried, her cheeks flaming a bright pink.

“It’s okay buddy. Piper’s just one of my bestest friends,” Justin explained, leaning forward to look the youngster in the eye, “You don’t kiss your best friends.”

“Oh, okay,” Dylan replied, shrugging his shoulders and turning his attention to his plate of food that had just arrived.

“I’m starving,” Justin commented as he dug into his food.

And with that, the previous conversation was finished; an unspoken agreement between the two friends. That’s exactly what they were. Friends. And friends definitely didn’t kiss each other.

But as Justin sat there chewing his food, he thought about how close he had actually come to leaning down and uniting their lips. Would she taste as sweet as he imagined? For as unwelcome as the thoughts were, he felt the deep urge to just grab her and lay a big one on her.

He quickly shook the thoughts away, knowing that they were wrong. He and Piper were strictly friends and there was no way he was going to spoil that. Especially not on her birthday.

About an hour later, after Piper had opened the mound of presents, with Justin and Dylan’s help, the guests began to get up and dance to the music. Piper soon found herself alone at her table, sipping a glass of wine her parents had allowed her to have, and gazing around in awe. She was amazed at how wonderful her birthday had turned out.

She had purposely not told Justin when her birthday was because she knew he would do something crazy. But now that she knew what it was, she was glad that Rae had told him. This was the best birthday she could ever remember having.

All of a sudden, the music cut out and everybody stopped dancing. Piper’s head snapped up as she heard a familiar voice come through the speakers. She almost groaned aloud.

“Sorry for the interruption everybody,” Justin began, “But I’ve got one more surprise for the birthday girl. Piper? Come on up here and quit hiding behind that wine glass.” A rumble of laughs emanated through the guests as Piper walked up to the stage where the DJ had set up.

“Yeah, thanks for refraining from embarrassing me,” she teased as she joined him on the stage.

“It’s my job,” he replied amidst more laughter, “Okay, now be a good birthday girl and sit on the stool.”

“Only if you promise not to bite,” she announced as JC set the stool to her right.

“I don’t know if I can promise that. But I trust you’ve had your rabies shot, right?” he retorted. More laughter.

“They’re funny to watch together,” Genevieve whispered to JC.

“I know,” he replied, pulling her close, “It’s so good to see Justin so happy.”

“I agree.”

“…don’t laugh all that much, it’s been awhile since I’ve used these vocal chords of mine,” Justin continued, oblivious to his friends’ conversation, “And with all due respect to Mr. Kadison, but I’ve changed the lyrics a bit.”

You're my peace of mind in this crazy world.
You're everything I've tried to find, your friendship is a pearl.
You're my Mona Lisa, you're my rainbow skies,
And my only prayer is that you realize
You'll always be beautiful in my eyes.

The world will turn and the seasons will change,
And all the lessons we will learn
Will be beautiful and strange.
We'll have our fill of tears, our share of sighs.
My only prayer is that you realize
You'll always be beautiful in my eyes.

You will always be beautiful in my eyes.
And the passing years will show
That you will always grow
Ever more beautiful in my eyes.

When there are lines upon my face
From a lifetime of smiles,
And when the time comes to embrace
For one long last while,
We can laugh about how time really flies.
We won't say goodbye 'cause true friendship never dies.
You'll always be beautiful in my eyes.

You will always be beautiful in my eyes.
And the passing years will show
That you will always grow ever more beautiful in my eyes.
The passing years will show that you will always grow
Ever more beautiful in my eyes.

Piper felt the tears well up in her eyes as the last chords of the song faded. She didn’t hear any of the clapping from her friends and family; all she could do was stare at Justin in awe.

She had mentioned at one point that Joshua Kadison was one of her favorite artists, but she had no idea that he had actually remembered. Obviously she was wrong, because he had just sang one of her favorite songs. After wiping the tears away, she quickly got up and gave him a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered, burying her face in his neck.

“You’re welcome,” he responded and grinned at her when she had pulled away, “Now I’m done with surprises.”

“Thank god,” she commented, rolling her eyes, “Now I can actually relax.”

“Very funny,” he stated, pulling her off the stage as the DJ began to spin some more music, “I thought I did very well, thank you very much.”

“You did,” she agreed, smiling, “I must admit, it has been the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“Well I’m glad,” he replied.

“Hey, this is one of my favorite songs,” she suddenly commented, cocking her head to the side as the theme song from Dirty Dancing came on, “Wanna dance with me?”

“What is it with women and Dirty Dancing?” Justin demanded.

“Shut-up. It’s a good movie,” she protested, “Now do you or do you not want to dance with me?”

“Of course I do,” he said.

The two of them immediately stepped together and began to dance. Piper knew Justin was a good dancer, but she was surprised when he began to twirl and dip her, like a regular Casanova. She giggled as he over-dramatized the next dip and wiggled his eyebrows at him.

They were so caught up in dancing that Piper almost didn’t notice Andrew walk through the door, a leggy blonde in tow. She felt her face pale. Why had he shown up when Virginia had specifically told him not to?

“Hey beautiful, what’s wrong?” Justin suddenly questioned, immediately noticing when she stiffened in his arms.

“Andrew’s here,” she quietly whispered into his ear. Justin scanned the room until his eyes landed on the newcomer, who seemed to be shifting nervously from foot to foot.

“Asshole,” he grumbled.

“Justin, don’t start anything, please,” Piper pleaded, grabbing a hold of his arm to stop him from rushing towards her ex-boyfriend.

“Fine. But if he tries any funny business, he’s going to have an immediate appointment with my fist,” Justin ground out.

“Violence isn’t the answer to anything,” Piper lectured. Justin sighed.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I just don’t like to see you all upset, especially when it’s your birthday,” he explained.

“I know. Thanks for caring so much,” she commented.

“As if I could do otherwise,” he added, grinning at her. She smiled as he pulled her back into his arms as a slow song began to play.

Andrew searched the crowd, looking for Piper’s familiar figure. He was surprised at how many people had shown up, and immediately knew he’d have to try to get Piper by herself so he could talk with her privately. Not that that would be an easy task.

She seemed to be enjoying dancing really close with her new “pal” he observed, scowling. How could she do that to him? had she actually broken up with him to get with this Timberlake guy?

“Oh, that’s Lance Bass!” Becca suddenly gushed, and immediately rushed off. Andrew shrugged his shoulders and began to approach his ex.

“Hi Piper,” he hesitantly greeted, walking up as the couple broke apart.

“Hi Andrew. What are you doing here?” she frostily greeted, Justin standing at the ready behind her.

“I came to wish you happy birthday,” he explained.

“Bullshit,” Piper spat, unaware that the room had gone silent and everybody’s attention was trained on them.

“C’mon Piper, can’t you give me a chance to explain?” Andrew pleaded, oblivious to all the stares he was getting, “You and I have history Pip, you can’t just ignore that. It all happened.”

“Are you forgetting the fact that you’re the one who cheated on me?” Piper demanded, crossing her arms over her chest, “Or did that conveniently slip your mind like my birthday last year?”

“Hey, it’s not like I dumped you for some other girl. You dumped me for this loser,” he angrily replied, pointing to Justin.

“Justin is just my friend,” Piper spat, placing a firm hand on Justin’s arm, “I never cheated on you, especially not multiple times.”

“What?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. Rae and I are best friends now,” Piper stated, “You know, Rae Daniels, one of the girls you cheated on me with? She told me all about your unfaithfulness.”

“Rae Daniels?” Andrew questioned, thinking. Rae came up next to Piper’s side. “Oh, that Rae.”

“Yeah, this Rae you asshole,” Rae practically yelled, “Now I suggest you apologize to Piper and then get your sorry ass out of here.”

“Oh, and make sure you take your bimbo with you as well,” Piper added, eyes flashing with anger.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Andrew cried, “You and I are going to talk and I’m not leaving until that happens.”

“She asked you to leave,” Justin began, stepping forward, “Now I suggest you do it before I make you do it.”

“Are you threatening me?” Andrew said, eyebrows raised in doubt, “You couldn’t take me even if you tried your hardest.” With that, Andrew pulled back and swung in Justin’s direction.

But he didn’t count on the slimmer man’s quickness, and Justin was able to quickly duck out of the way. Rae immediately pulled Piper back as she tried to get between the two men.

“Let them go at it,” she said in her friend’s ear, “You know as well as I that Justin is more capable of Andrew.”

“But violence doesn’t solve anything,” Piper stubbornly argued, trying to pull out of Rae’s embrace.

“Andrew deserves whatever Justin gives him and you know it,” Rae spat.

“I know,” Piper wearily agreed, her fight suddenly gone.

The two men began to throw punches, darting around each other as a crowd formed around them. The other four Nsync members quickly materialized out of nowhere, so Piper knew they’d jump in if Justin needed help. Nevertheless, she nervously watched the two guys go at it.

It was a scoreless battle, as far as punches were concerned, until Justin finally landed one square in Andrew’s left eye. The younger man retaliated with a blow to Justin’s mouth, and the pop star was soon sporting a bleeding lip. Justin got in another three punches until Andrew tackled him to the ground and the two began to wrestle.

At that point, JC, Joey, Chris and Lance jumped in, pulling the two men apart before anymore damage could be done. Both had to be held back as they were still ready to go for a second round.

“Andrew Harwood, what has gotten into you?” Jacob Saunder’s voice boomed over everyone else’s.

“I’m sorry sir,” Andrew stuttered, not looking all that tough with a black eye, bruised lip and mussed clothing.

“You had better stay away from my daughter or I will call the police on you,” Jacob continued, glaring at the young man in disgust, “Now get out of here.”

Andrew didn’t have to be told twice. He quickly grabbed Becca and the two of them fled, leaving behind a room that was awkwardly silent.

“How about some music?” the DJ suddenly announced.

The crowd began to depart, going their separate ways as Piper ran up to Justin, Rae, Virginia and her family not far behind.

“Are you okay?” Piper demanded the second she reached his side. Besides the bleeding lip and rumpled clothing, he didn’t look too much worse for wear.

“I’m fine,” he assured her, pulling her in for a hug, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“No, I’m glad you took care of him,” Piper whispered, not wanting to let him go, “It’s about time that somebody gave his ego a check.”

“Tell me about it,” Chris agreed, grinning, “He looks better with his tail between his legs anyway.”

“Chris!” Genevieve cried, slapping the older man on the arm.

“Well it’s true.”

“Nobody asked you,” Lance piped up, rolling his eyes.

“Whatever,” Chris mumbled, walking away to go find his date. He was soon followed by Lance, Joey, JC, Genny, Virginia, and Rae.

“Justin, son, I’m not normally one to resort to violence, but let me tell you, well done,” Jacob stated, shaking the pop star’s hand, “I never knew what a jerk Andrew was. Thank you for looking out for my daughter.”

“Not a problem sir,” Justin responded.

“It’s Jacob,” the elder winked, before whisking his wife away to the dance floor.

“Well, now that I’ve got you all to myself, let’s get you cleaned up,” Piper stated, smiling.

“You’re not mad?” he questioned, surprised.

“No. I’m glad that you beat the shit out of him, it saves me the trouble of having to do it myself,” Piper cheekily responded.

“Very funny,” was all Justin managed to get out before Piper dragged him in the direction of the bathroom.

Beautiful In My Eyes - Joshua Kadison
View actual lyrics here