That’s what was going on with Piper before she happened to meet Justin. Definitely not too pretty. I felt so bad for her the first time I heard the story, but I guess I should be thankful. It all lead up to her meeting Justin.
Men. They can be so stupid. Yeah, even that wonderful boyfriend of mine. I recently had a run-in with Piper’s ex (who, by the way, is married now to that blonde bimbo) and let me tell you, he and I did not hit it off. To put things lightly.
But where was I supposed to be going with this? Ah yes, Justin. What was Justin up to before he bumped into Piper? That’s easy.
He was drunk off his ass most of the time. He’d be a good boy during the day, well, the part of the day he managed to be awake for, and at night, he’d go get trashed. And I mean full-out trashed.
Now despite the fact that Nsync wasn’t really making music together at the time, the four older members made sure to look out for the youngest. After all, they really are like brothers, as cheesy as that may sound.
Of course, whenever it was Josh’s turn to pick Justin up from whatever sleazy bar he was at and get him home in one piece, I was usually dragged along. Josh said it was for moral support, but I knew that it was for his sanity. After all, I am the therapist.
It just so happened that during New Years of 2004, Josh and I found ourselves with a very intoxicated Justin Timberlake on our hands. Not the way I had planned on ringing in the new year, but shit happens.
December 2004
JC cursed to himself as he half-dragged, half-carried Justin up the stairs to a guest bedroom. It just had to be New Years that he had to take care of Justin, didn’t it?
Normally JC didn’t mind looking out for his younger friend, but ever since Justin decided to drown his problems in alchol, the friendly gesture had quickly become a chore. He and the other three guys were constantly picking Justin up at all hours of the night and in all states of drunkenness. It was starting to take a toll on them.
JC sighed as he gazed ahead at the quickly moving form of his girlfriend. She was turning down the sheets of the guestroom bed, the loose curls of her black hair spilling over her shoulders. Oh how he longed to just cuddle up alone with her, kiss her, run his fingers through her hair and just forget about Justin for awhile.
But JC couldn’t do that to Justin. Justin, after all, was like a brother to him, as much as he hated to admit it at times. It was true that he was getting fed up, but he couldn’t just desert his friend. After all, he knew, personally, the hell that Justin was going through. It was tough.
Besides, JC knew he should be thankful. It was because of Justin that he met his girlfriend, got through problems with his ex, and basically just got back on his feet. No, he couldn’t give up on his friend, no matter how rough things got.
JC turned his attention back to the situation at hand and quickly set his friend gently down on the bed. He pulled Justin’s shoes off and rolled his eyes as the younger man curled into the pillows and began to snore.
“Well, that’s that, then,” Genevieve Micelli, his girlfriend, stated and she went and put an arm around her boyfriend’s waist.
“For now anyway,” JC muttered, squeezing her tight, “Just wait till 4am rolls around and he’s up puking his guts out.”
“Damn, don’t remind me,” Genevieve replied, groaning, “Let’s just go to our room and ring in the new year together. We’ve got about ten minutes until 2005, what do you say? You, me, a little champagne and that sturdy bed of yours?”
“Mmm. I think you read my mind,” JC replied, pressing his lips to her temple, “I’m getting excited just thinking about it.”
“No more thinking then, you grab the champagne and I’ll meet you in the bedroom. I gotta get out of this outfit before I suffocate,” she said. JC laughed.
“Alright babe, be there in five,” he agreed and the two promptly left the room and an oblivious Justin in total darkness.
He had to be dreaming. That’s the only explanation he could come up with. There was no way he could be sitting in his kitchen, making pancakes with Cameron. No way in hell. They had broken up months ago.
The last thing he remembered was asking for another drink at the party he’d attended with JC and his girlfriend, Genevieve. He must have passed out. That explained the weird dream.
“Justin, are you paying attention to me?” Cameron suddenly snapped, frowning at him.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” he said; the dream seemed so real.
“I was saying that I think it’s best if you make some time for the kids. You’re never home anymore and they always ask when they’re going to see you or if you’ll be home in time for dinner,” she said, flipping a pancake. When had Cameron learned to cook?
“Huh? Kids?” he questioned, shocked.
“Your children Justin. Remember? Your son Brandon and your daughter Kayla. Are you having a memory lapse or something? How can you forget about your own children?!?” Cameron started yelling, turning to glare at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Justin cried, throwing his hands up in despair.
“Damn it, J, what’s wrong with you?”
“I can’t deal with this right now. I’m outta here,” Justin stated, quickly making a beeline for the front door.
He quickly got outside and started down the sidewalk, trying to figure out all that had just happened. Was he married to Cameron? He had two children? He was walking so fast that he didn’t even see the woman until he plowed right into her. She landed on her butt in shock.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” Justin apologized as he bent down to help her up, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” the young woman replied, smiling up at him, “You seem to have a lot on your mind today.”
“Tell me about it,” he agreed, rolling his eyes, “I’m Justin by the way.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m Piper. Piper Saunders. I’m a photographer with Jake Summers; I’m his new assistant,” she supplied, “Jack says he’s done a photo shoot with you every now and then.”
“Yeah. How’s old Jack doing these days?”
“Oh he’s good…”
“Justin Randall, get your ass back in the house this second, I’m not finished talking to you!” Cameron suddenly yelled, interrupting their conversation.
“You better go,” Piper said, smiling sadly at him, “Looks like your wife isn’t too happy.”
“No shit,” he agreed, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ll probably see you around sometime, but if you want, stop by and say hi if you get the chance,” she said as she began to walk off, “I’m right across the street if you ever need me.”
“Thanks. It was nice to meet you,” Justin called.
“You too.”
“JUSTIN!!”
“I’m coming!” he yelled back and immediately began to run back towards his house.
“Where were you…” Cameron began but was blocked out by some loud banging.
“What?” he called, walking closer.
But it seemed that every time Cameron tried to say something, the loud banging began. Strange thing was that she didn’t seem to notice or even skip a beat in what she was saying. Confused, he began to look around. That’s when the world began to spin and everything suddenly went red, then black.
Justin bolted up in bed, disoriented by the completely dark room. He calmed is rapidly beating heart, thankful that everything he had just experienced was a dream. He wasn’t married to Cameron. He didn’t have two kids. He didn’t run into strange people he didn’t know.
He knew he should be thankful that he told Cameron no when she suggested marriage. He wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet. He still had a lot of growing up to do before he took the giant leap out of bachelorhood.
Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he turned those thoughts off as he tried to figure out where he was, but soon found himself running for the bathroom as fast as he could. The remnants of the little he had eaten that night quickly came up and forced him to collapse to the tiled floor, legs shaking and head pounding. This was the bad part about getting drunk; waking up miserable.
A few moments later, when nothing else seemed to be making its way upward, he washed his pale face, with the dark circles underneath his eyes, and slowly made his way back to the bed. He was in JC’s house, so it wasn’t like he had anything to worry about. Thank god for his friends. Though he felt terrible. He knew he was being a pain in the ass to his four band mates and friends, but he found it hard to shake himself out of this rut.
It had been for the best that he and Cameron had broken up. They were going in two vastly different directions; wanting very different things out of the life they had been leading at the time. Justin didn’t blame her for wanting to settle down. She was at the age where that was what she wanted out of life, and he had been frank with her and confessed that he wasn’t at all ready.
They had fought and fought and fought. It all came to nothing. They jumped over the issues, dodged around them, called each other names and basically just made themselves miserable. So they called it quits, quietly, which Justin was thankful for.
Yet, even though they had made a clean break, he still had doubts in his mind. Should he have gone forward and gotten engaged to Cameron? Could he have made her happy for the rest of her life? could she make him happy? Was he a coward not to want to get married now? Was he just unable to come to terms with a long-term commitment?
He didn’t have any answers, and he didn’t think he ever would. So now he was just trying to get through each day without thinking about her and without feeling guilty. He was trying desperately not to feel sorry for himself and drown his fears and worries in alcohol. He was failing miserable.
Justin sighed as he sat on the bed, his head swimming with thoughts and a pounding migraine. He wished things hadn’t gotten so complicated. He wished he wasn’t so afraid to end up alone. He wished he could find somebody who was on the same page as him.
But wishing was for fools, and Justin Timberlake was no fool. He couldn’t afford to be foolish, not when he had his job to think about. It’s not like wishes ever came true anyway. That whole wish-upon-a-star nonsense was just bullshit as far as he was concerned.
Justin snapped out of his thoughts as he heard giggling coming through the wall from the room next door. He rolled his eyes. Trust JC to put him in the room next to his; he could hear everything the older man did with his girlfriend. It was gross, considering that he thought of Genevieve like the sister he never had.
It also made him jealous. Damn JC and his perfect relationship with perfect Genevieve who could match JC stride for stride. Why couldn’t have something like that? Was it so wrong to wish for something perfect? Or was perfect just out of his reach because of the mistakes he had made when learning how to become a man?
Again, there were no answers. Only empty space and aloneness. It was probably how he was destined to spend the rest of his life; alone and feeling sorry for himself while his friends and family enjoyed happy, successful, and fulfilling lives.
With a groan, Justin got up and began to pace the carpet in front of the balcony doors. Nothing he did ever seemed to go right anymore, mostly due to the fact that all he did anymore was get drunk off his ass and feel sorry for himself. Well it was time to change that.
Tomorrow, he would change. Tomorrow he would find some way to fill his lonely days. Maybe he’d get a puppy. Yeah, he’d get a loving puppy who could take his mind off Cameron. Then he’d call up Trace and challenge him to a lively game of one-on-one; maybe try to work off some of the alcohol he had consumed over the past few months.
Maybe he should go back to the studio. His current single was doing well on the charts and he knew his managers were being patient, waiting for the right time to urge him back to the recording booth. Maybe he’d shock them and tell them he was ready to get back into the grind.
That was a lot of maybe’s, especially for him. He wasn’t sure if he could actually handle all of that, but he knew damn well that he’d try. No more nights filled with alcohol and loud music. No more mornings waking up in a bed that was not his own in a house that didn’t belong to him. No more doubting himself or feeing afraid.
Justin sighed as he ran a hand through his sleep-tousled hair and opened the doors to the balcony. It was close to 3:30 in the morning, as his watch read, and the night sky was as black as ever. There wasn’t a cloud in sight and millions of stars twinkled down at him. He quickly sat down on the lounge chair that JC had seen fit to put out there and just gazed upward.
It had been so long since he had gotten the chance to just sit outside on a clear night and look at the stars. He had loved to do it as a kid, but once his schedule had gotten hectic, there was no more time for star-gazing and dreaming. No, he was too busy becoming a man too soon.
Pushing the thoughts aside, Justin let his mind wander. He didn’t want to think about all those things anymore, at least for the rest of the night. So he leaned back in the chair and got comfortable as a cool night breeze swept over his long body.
As his eyes were drifting close again, he saw a shooting star jet quickly across the sky. His heart beat faster. Did he dare make a wish? What the hell, it didn’t hurt to try.
God, help me get my life back on track and learn to love again.
