I’m not really going to comment. I know, I know. You want to know what the hell is going on. She didn’t have sex with him, right?

Well I can’t exactly tell you that right now. JC keeps telling me that I need to tell everything in chronological order, and I must say, he’s absolutely right (which rarely ever happens by the way). As much as I’d like to spill everything right now, JC keeps looking over my shoulder as if to make sure I’m doing this right. Men.

As I said before, I can’t exactly ruin the whole thing for you now. Especially not after we’ve gotten this far together. This is Piper and Justin’s life, so I can’t precisely go back and change the mundane details with the delete key on the computer. It all happened.

Anyway, I’m rambling again. Let’s get back to the story because I’m sure you’re all dying to know what happened next. Told you I could keep you on the edge of your seats.

Virginia yawned and lazily stretched as she prepared to get out of bed for her 11:10 class. God, she loved sleeping in, and Tuesdays were the few days she actually got that luxury. So she milked it for all she could.

Still half-asleep, Virginia tumbled out of bed and down the ladder, another yawn escaping her lips. It quickly died, however, when she turned around and she caught sight of Justin and Piper, asleep on the pull-out futon.

Justin… Justin and Piper… Justin and Piper asleep on the futon… What? Why? How?

Virginia’s brain went into overload trying to assess the situation. Last she had heard, Justin was across the country in California, moping over Piper. Now he was here. Asleep on her pull-out futon. Cuddled up to her best friend.

Oh Virginia really hated to admit it, but she was a generally nosy person. Yet as much as she wanted to know the story behind Justin’s sudden appearance, she took one look at the two of them, oblivious to her presence, and decided to let them sleep on. God knew Piper needed it what with having an 8am class every day but Friday. And Justin looked exhausted.

So Virginia happily grabbed some clean clothes and hopped into the shower, unaware of the grin that wouldn’t stay off her face. She hadn’t failed to notice the fact that the two looked extremely cute together…

It was about forty-five minutes later that Piper finally managed to rouse herself from sleep. The clock read 11:00 and she immediately knew Virginia was on her way to class. She grimaced to herself, realizing that she had missed two of the three she had today. And if she wasn’t careful, she’d miss the third one as well.

With a yawn, she looked down, smiling when she saw that Justin was still asleep, his head resting on her stomach as he clutched her close, his blondish-brown curls an unruly mess. He seemed so much more relaxed, so unburdened, that she really hated to wake him up. But they couldn’t stay in bed forever.

Last night had been nothing short of crazy. After Piper had finally managed to calm Justin down, they had grabbed his duffel bag from his car and hurried back up to her room. With a new set of dry clothes, Piper had wanted to plunge into the heart of the problem right away. But Justin had been drained, physically and mentally, and she had quickly noticed that and decided not to press her luck.

So instead, Piper had sat there, holding Justin and providing him with the comfort he had desperately been seeking. They hadn’t really said much, but Piper knew that he felt safe in her arms and enjoyed the simple pleasure of protection if only for a short while. She undeniably hadn’t planned on spending the night on the couch with Justin, but things had obviously not worked out in her favor where that was concerned. Not that she really minded. Justin was quite a cuddly person and it had been awhile since she had been lavished with so much attention, albeit from a sleeping man.

Piper stretched her arms above her head as she tried to run a hand through the tangle her hair had become. It was definitely time to get up; especially since they were bound to get a lecture the second Virginia got back. Piper knew she’d have to be ready for that. She loved her roommate to death, but there were times she wished Virginia would shut her trap and keep her nose to herself. Not that her intentions weren’t anything but harmless.

“Justin,” Piper softly whispered, shoving the thoughts away as she tried to wiggle free of the pop star’s embrace. He only pulled her closer.

“Not yet,” he mumbled, tickling the small portion of her stomach that lay bare to his stubbly face. She giggled at the invasion.

“Come on Jus, it’s time to get up,” she said a little louder, poking him in the side as she did so.

“No,” he whined, “Don’t wanna get up.”

“Sorry pop star, but I’ve got class. You already made me miss two, but I’m not missing the third. Not when I’ve got a quiz to take,” she stated, still unable to remove herself from the circle of his arms.

“Who cares,” he mumbled, grinning against her stomach.

“You ass!” she cried, smacking him, “You’ve been up this entire time.”

“So?” he challenged, still not moving from his very comfortable position, “Doesn’t mean that I want to get up.”

“Well I hate to break it to ya, but you gotta,” she replied.

“How many points is your quiz worth?”

“Ten…?”

“And what grade to you have in the class right now?” he lazily drawled, his southern accent a little stronger due to sleep.

“A 4.0, but that’s beside the point,” she argued, not feeling like she was getting her point across due to the fact that she was half-covered by his very muscular, very sexy, very…

Holy shit, no. No, her mind did not just dip into the naughty gutter. No, she would not think those thoughts about Justin, despite the fact that he was naked from the waist up and was looking mighty appealing… Damn, no! Not going there sister. Not on your life.

“C’mon Pip, you know you wanna spend the entire day with me,” he whined, pouting at her, “Who knows when I’ll have nazi JC out here to drag me back home.” Piper sighed.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” she finally managed.

“This had better be good, or else I’m kidnapping you for the rest of the week,” he threatened, grinning up at her as he finally began to move.

“Of course it’s good, what do you take me for? Virginia?” Piper teased. Justin pretended to shudder at the thought.

“No, of course not,” he retorted.

“How about I go take my quiz and then we can do whatever the hell you want after that?” she suggested.

“You promise?” he prompted, hugging her close.

“I promise,” she practically choked out as she tried to ignore the heat shooting through her body at Justin’s nearness.

“Okay,” he agreed as he jumped up, unaware of her sudden discomfort.

“So I take it the whole rumor that you’re grouchy before you have your cereal is entirely false, right?” she wryly questioned as he bounced around the room, a surprising bundle of energy.

“Hey, it’s not my fault that magazines print a bunch of crap,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders, “So do you have a towel I can borrow? Cause I’m pretty sure I don’t smell too pretty right now.” Piper laughed.

“As long as your manly aura can handle using a purple towel, then I think you can borrow one,” she stated, stretching as she stood up.

“Just don’t tell the guys,” Justin replied, grinning as he bopped his head along to an imaginary beat that only he seemed to be able to hear.

“You’re weird, you know that?” she questioned, walking over and grabbing one of her towels. She threw it at him, which he promptly caught.

“I know, but you still love me, right?” he questioned, pouting.

“Of course silly. You’re one of my bestest friends,” she explained, smiling up at him.

“Yay!” he exclaimed, just like a little kid.

With that, Piper quickly showed Justin where everything was and promptly left him alone in the bathroom. She needed to put a little bit of space between them to calm her pounding heart. What was happening to her?

She was starting to think that she was attracted to Justin. She couldn’t be. He was starting to become one of her best friends and there was no way that she was going to jeopardize that in any way. Hell would freeze over before she put the moves on Justin Timberlake.

“I don’t wanna be anything other than what I been trying to be lately…” Justin suddenly belted out, startling Piper from her thoughts.

She promptly burst into a fit of giggles as he purposely sang off-key and forgot the words. Thank god her two suitemates were gone to class or else she might be getting in some serious trouble (the two were Nsync fanatics). As it was, Piper wasn’t too sure how she was going to get around campus without somebody recognizing Justin.

It wasn’t a normal occurrence to see Justin Timberlake roaming across Michigan State campus on a weekend, much less a regular school day in the middle of April. They’d have to do something about it, because there was no way in hell she was capable of fighting off a bunch of college girls who insisted on acting like teenies. And there was no way she wanted to do that anyway.

With a sigh, Piper pulled out her binder and began to look through her notes for class as she waited for Justin to finish with the shower. She’d worry about the upcoming quiz before she worried about Justin getting mobbed. Besides, as long as Justin didn’t do anything extremely outrageous, they’d probably be fine.

Justin ran a hand through his damp curls as he stuck his head out the bathroom door ten minutes later in search of Piper. He found her curled up in her desk chair, her attention solely on the material in front of her. A tangled wisp of hair suddenly fell across her cheek and Justin felt a small tingly feeling near his heart.

But he quickly shook it away as he grabbed his discarded boxers and sweatpants from the floor and emerged from the bathroom. He cleared his throat to get Piper’s attention, and the minute she looked up, her eyes widened. He almost grinned. For some reason, it made him feel good to know that he could affect Piper in a sexual way.

Not that he should be thinking those thoughts. Piper had provided him a place to stay for the night and a protecting shoulder without asking any questions. Hitting on her would definitely not be the best way to thank her. No, definitely not indeed.

“I’m done with the shower,” he finally voiced as she set the binder down and extricated herself from the chair. She quickly glanced at the clock before walking over to him.

“Alright, my class is at 12:20, so let me grab a quick shower, I’ll go take my quiz, and then I can show you around campus and we can get something to eat. Sound good?” she stated as she rummaged around in her drawers for a clean pair of clothes.

“Fine with me,” he agreed.

“Alright, now don’t go getting into any trouble while I’m in the shower, you hear me?” she prodded, poking him in the chest.

“Aww, does that mean I can’t walk down your hallway in just my towel?” he questioned, pouting.

“Holy shit, no. Do you want to get yourself killed?” she demanded, rolling her eyes.

“Would you rescue me?” he sweetly asked.

“Of course I would,” she snapped, “Well, not that I’d really be any help. I’m not exactly in the position to be saving your life; I’m too short.”

“No you’re not, I think you’re perfect just the way you are,” he sincerely told her. She blushed from the praise.

“Thanks,” she replied, before darting into the bathroom to hide her flaming face from view.

Chuckling to himself, Justin finished getting dressed and began to clean up the mess they had made of the couch. It was only fair that he help clean up after all that she had provided him with last night.

As he began to put things back in place, his attention was caught by a letter lying haphazardly on Piper’s desk. Curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up. His mouth fell open as he read the contents.

“Piper!” he yelled, barging into the bathroom.

“Justin, you better not be in this bathroom while I’m in the shower!” she yelled back above the din of the running water.

“Yell at me all you want woman, but why the hell didn’t you tell me you got into Tisch?!?” he demanded, ignoring the fact that she was completely naked and the only thing that hid her from view was a measly shower curtain.

“I never got around to it,” she called, “I was too busy taking care of you last night, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” he guiltily replied, “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry, you needed some love last night. I’m one of your best friends, so there is no way I’m going to ignore you in a time of need,” she explained, “Besides, you were starting to scare me last night. The last thing I needed to bring up was something good that happened to me. It would have made you feel worse.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he agreed, rereading the letter, “So I think we need to celebrate. How about dinner tonight, completely on me?”

“Justin…”

“No buts, you’re going,” he told her, “It’s the least I can do to make up for what I did last night. Besides, it’s not everyday that you get a scholarship to the school you’ve always wanted to go to.”

“If I say yes, will you get out of the bathroom?” she questioned.

Justin finally realized exactly where he was and began to turn a very unbecoming shade of red. Muttering an excuse, he hastily retreated from the bathroom and shut the door after him. In the shower, Piper laughed to herself.

Life was definitely more interesting with Justin Timberlake around; there was no doubt about that. She was a little scared to see what the rest of the day would bring. But as long as she could keep him happy and keep his mind off the whole Cameron issue (which she had yet to fully learn about), then she’d be okay with him being around.

With a roll of her eyes, Piper proceeded with her shower, her thoughts turning towards the quiz that she’d be taking in less than an hour.

“So this is Grand River,” Piper said about two hours later, “Not exactly much to look at especially compared to all those big cities in California.”

“No, I like it,” Justin told her, his eyes wandering around like a typical tourist. If East Lansing could be called a tourist attraction.

Truth be told, Justin was enjoying pretending to be a typical college student. Nobody seemed to notice that he was Justin Timberlake, world famous pop star and millionaire, which just made his day. It made him feel like he finally had freedom, even if it didn’t last.

“Oh, there’s Steve and Barry’s,” Piper suddenly announced, pointing to a store, “We should get you a Spartan t-shirt or sweatshirt so that you actually fit in.”

“I don’t fit in?” he questioned, glancing down at his nondescript jeans and simple American Eagle t-shirt.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she giggled, enjoying his puzzled expression, “I shouldn’t have put it in those terms. Would you like to get a t-shirt or sweatshirt from the best damn college in the US?”

“Now you’re being cocky,” he teased as they entered the store.

“Whatever,” she told him, rolling her eyes.

The two of them browed through the merchandise until, about twenty minutes later, Justin had an armful of clothes. Piper couldn’t help but laugh. The man sure could shop.

“Quit laughing and help me pick something out,” he told her as they stood next to a full-length mirror. He immediately held up a t-shirt to his body. Piper made a face.

“That’s not you at all,” she told him, grabbing the gaudy t-shirt out of his hand and setting it down.

“How about this one?” he said, gesturing to the simple green sweatshirt that said Michigan State University on the front and had a big white S on the back.

“Much better,” she agreed.

They continued on like that until Justin had decided on the green sweatshirt, another gray one, and two white t-shirts. They quickly checked out and headed out of the store, Justin amazed, yet again, that nobody recognized him. Not that he was complaining.

Twenty minutes later, with take-out from Taco Bell, the pair sat under a tree a little ways from Grand River. Piper studied her eating companion as he fell silent. His eyes got a faraway look in them and Piper knew it was time to discover exactly what had happened between Justin and Cameron.

“Justin, I think you need to tell me exactly what happened with you and Cameron,” she quietly stated. He jerked to attention.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he softly agreed, running a hand through his hair, “Let’s see, well I guess this sort of starts before me and Cameron. It actually goes back to Britney.” Piper’s eyebrows rose but she didn’t say anything.

He told her the real truth behind the relationship he and Britney had had, how she had been his first real love, starting all the way back on the MMC. Of course, they had kept their relationship secret for awhile because that’s what they had been advised to do.

And things had actually worked in the beginning. It had been when the two of them had gone public that all hell broke loose. Rumors flew nonstop, especially about Britney’s supposed virginity (which was nonexistent), and did nothing to keep their relationship together. So they gradually began to drift apart.

Oh, half of the problem was definitely him. He had been enjoying the new successes that Nsync were bringing him, so he had more than likely neglected her when he shouldn’t have. But she was the one who had cheated on him.

She had cried, begged, pleaded with him to take her back. She had claimed that it was just a drunken accident that would never happen again. And he had believed her. What a stupid, blind fool he had been.

She continued to cheat on him, with numerous men that he never met. But the blow came when she slept with Wade, their choreographer that Justin had considered one of his friends. But that was put to an end real quick.

The break-up had been really messy, and he had never seemed to recover from that. Genevieve, who had just started dating JC at the time, had tried to get him to talk about it, but he refused. His heart had been broken too badly, and his pride too bent out of shape for him to let loose.

He had gone through numerous dead-end relationships after that until he and Cameron had finally clicked. They had hit it off right away, and for only the second time in his life, Justin had felt like he was falling in love. And Cameron had seemed to reciprocate his feelings.

Their relationship had been great; Cameron was the complete opposite of Britney, not a cheating bone in her body. But that was because she wanted something else from him. His last name.

She wanted to get married and Justin balked; he wasn’t ready for such a long-term commitment. Cameron had gone on about how she wasn’t getting any younger, but Justin refused to budge. They had argued and argued about it, until finally Justin had had enough. He tried to break things off with her.

Then she pulled the biggest stunt Justin didn’t even know she was capable of. She told him she was pregnant. Of course, he balked. He wasn’t one to leave his child grow up without a father, so he had been all set on marry her, despite his qualms.

Then he had discovered she had lied. She wasn’t pregnant, not even remotely so, and all that she wanted was a marriage license and a piece of paper that rightfully declared him as her husband. Once again, he had been used and made to look the fool.

All hell had broken loose after that. They had had a huge fight where Justin said he never wanted to see her again. And he meant it. He had gone and changed all his phone numbers so that she couldn’t try to call him. She wasn’t welcome in his home, and he made that very clear. He even avoided her at all costs.

His personal life, though, became a living hell for him. He drank, he partied, and he didn’t give a damn about anybody or anything anymore. It became a ritual that he would go out and get trashed and one of the guys would be forced to come pick him up.

No way was he going to be anybody’s fool ever again. Of course, when he got drunk, he made a complete fool of himself anyway. Then, he had met Piper. Things had gone smoothly after that.

He had quit drinking, his life seemed much more bearable, and his interest in music and acting finally picked back up. Until she had gone back home. He had been fine at first, then had gone right back into his slump.

Cameron had been a freak encounter on one of his drunken escapades. He didn’t even remember meeting her at whatever club he had gone to, but in the morning, he had woken up in her bed, the two of them completely naked. There was no doubt to what they had done, and Justin knew that he’d never forgive himself.

But then Cameron turned out to be pregnant. It was just his luck that the one time he had unprotected sex with her, she got pregnant. He’d been devastated, which led him to the surprise trip to Michigan.

“I’m so sorry Jus,” Piper consoled, putting an arm around her friend, “Is there anything I can do?”

“Just be my friend,” he mumbled, leaning into her embrace for support.

“I can definitely do that for you,” she agreed, rubbing a hand soothing up and down his back, “If I may ask, what are you going to do with Cameron?”

“I don’t have a choice. I’m going to marry her.”