Chapter 7
Couple Days Later

Groaning softly Justin rolled over and pulled the blankets over his head to block out the pestering sun and hopefully catch at least a few more minutes of sleep. He cursed loudly when he heard the shrill ring of his cell phone and rolled over to snatch it off the table next to his bed.

He flipped it open and mumbled a hello into the small device.

"Hey Justin." The voice on the other end said in a chipper voice. Which only in turn made Justin growl.

"Hello Johnny." He yawned pushing the covers off his head and sitting up.

"Sorry didn't mean to wake you man." He replied looking at the time and shaking his head. "I have some good news."

"What's that?" Justin asked his voice and mood immediately brightening.

"Well I got a call from Jive HQ in New York."

"What'd they say?" Justin questioned wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"In not so many words the said they loved her voice and think she has some major potential in the music business. But they would like to put a face to the voice so they are asking that we get some head shots done to send to them. Then once they get those they will give her an audition."

"Wow, that's awesome. I didn't think it would happen this fast. I just gave you that demo a couple of days ago."

"Yeah well I figured with a voice likes her we need to get her out there fast. The teenies will love her."

"Oh I have no doubt." Justin agreed

"I just wanted to tell you the good news, I have a few phone calls to make and some favors to cash in on. So I will call you when everything is set up. In the mean time go tell the girl the good news."

"Yes Sir." Justin saluted standing up and stretching out his cramped muscles. "Bye Johnny I'll talk to ya later."

"Bye Justin."

After Justin flipped his phone shut, he rolled over and slipped his legs out from underneath the covers. He stretched his arms above his head and grunted softly as the pops ran down his spine. Sighing softly from the release of tension in his back he stood up and pulled his pajama pants over his hips.

He padded softly over to the door and slipped out.

Yawning softly Amber made her way into the kitchen only to be met with Lynn's smiling face. "Good morning Lynn." Amber mumbled wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Well good morning darling. How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good, once I got to sleep." She replied taking a seat at the counter. "How about yourself?"

"I slept okay." Lynn shrugged slipping into the seat next to her. "So I heard the demo."

"What'd you think?" Amber asked biting softly down on her lower lip.

"I absolutely loved it. The song was amazing and you're voice I had forgotten how wonderful it sounded. Justin also mentioned to me that you wrote the song?"

"Yeah I did." Amber said with a smile on her face.

"What gave you the inspiration for that song?" Lynn asked

"I've always felt like I don't fit in all through my life, you know this. I'm sure Mom and you talked all the time. I was constantly being made fun of for a stutter, and my weight. I've never been what you call a popular person. The song came from that, it's how I feel. You know everyone is special, beautiful, etc. in their own way."

"Well I'm sure girls who listen to it will take it to heart and understand the song better then others." Lynn replied

"Yeah I hope so." Amber sighed casting her eyes down towards her hands. "If I ever get the chance to put it out there." She mumbled the rest quietly.

"You will honey, it may take time but you will get your chance. I don't think any record exec in there right mind would pass up a voice like yours." Lynn said patting Amber's shoulder then standing up. "I'm going to go grab a shower before the boys wake up."

"Okay. Who stayed over last night?" Amber asked softly

"Lance and Chris I think. I don't know those boys are in and out of this house so much I can never tell who stays an who doesn't." Lynn shrugged patting Amber on the shoulder. As she made the way out of the kitchen she collided into Justin's chest.

"Whoa mom where's the fire?" Justin asked wrapping his arms around her back to steady her.

Blinking her eyes rapidly she looked up into her sons eyes. "No where. I just wasn't looking where I was going. Oh damn I feel like I just ran into a mountain." She said rubbing a hand over her face.

Chuckling softly he flashed his teeth at then unwound his arms from her back and stepped to the side. "Sorry mom, but I was in a hurry got some news to share with Amber."

"It's okay baby." Lynn said eyeing him warily.

"I'll tell you later but she needs to know first."

"Okay, well then I'm off for a shower." Lynn excused herself then glided down the hall towards the stairs.

Shaking his head he padded softly into the kitchen and stopped short as Amber came into view. She was staring silently out the window with a thoughtful expression on her face. The sight in front of made him sigh quietly the way she was sitting had the sun casting a halo effect around her long brown hair. Letting his eyes travel down he noticed the baggy t-shirt and pink pajamas bottoms.

In his opinion she looked cute, with her legs curled up to her chest as much as she could in the kitchen chair. Smiling to himself he padded softly over to the table and sat down across from her. "Anything interesting out there today?" he questioned softly.

Letting a slow grin spread across her lips Amber turned her head and gazed thoughtfully at him. "Not really, I was just thinking."

"What about? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind." Amber said looking into his blue eyes. In all her life she didn't think she had ever seen eyes so clear and blue, they were like sparkling sapphires. "I was thinking about the demo, and what it's going to be like if I get signed. Then I started thinking about what if I don't. What am I going to do?" she sighed casting her eyes down towards her hands.

"Well did you figure it out?" Justin asked he was busting at the seams to tell her what Johnny said but figured he would ease her fears gradually. This was a learning experience, he was finally going to get into her head.

"Well I've watched you five, the past couple of years and figured it would be some what like that. Photo shoots, recording, dancing, parties, beautiful clothes. Money out the butt. But what I'm wondering is how it feels to know you have the power to impact such a large number of fans with your songs and feelings. You can't make music without feeling, you know this. Tell me something." She spoke softly with a dreamy like quality to her voice.

"What's that?"

"How does it feel?"

"It's the best feeling in the world, not only do I get to do what I love the most but I get put something out there that everyone will like and be able to relate to. All the glamour don't matter to me. Yeah it's a big plus but it don't matter."

"What about if you don't get signed? What are you going to do?"

"I was thinking if I don't, I'd go to college out here or see if ya'll need me for something."

Nodding his head he stared at her thoughtfully, he wanted to know what was going on in that pretty little head of hers, to get inside and figure her out. Figure out what made her tick, he just wanted to understand her better. You'd think after 18 years of friendship he'd have this all figured out but he didn't. She was a big mystery to him. "So what else is going through that head of yours?"

"A lot of stuff. My family, friends, life,. I miss my family so much and I want to see them, and in some ways I wish I was still there. But in others I'm glad I took this step, I think I needed to get away and discover myself ya know." She smiled slightly then cast her eyes down towards the table. "I just hope moving here to follow my dreams wasn't a mistake."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well I moved clear across the country to do something not many in there lifetime get to do, and to be totally honest I'm scared shitless that I'm not going to make it. That my voice isn't good enough or even worse I'm not good enough for the part."

"Now why wouldn't you be good enough? Because I know for a fact the Jive record Execs see what I see in you."

"I don't know." She shrugged while her eyes widened when his statement sunk in. "Wait, what did you just say?"

Flashing his teeth in a broad smile he shrugged. "I said the jive record execs see the same thing I see in you." He said whiled flicking a piece of flint off his shirt.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that they want head shots of you then when they get those you're going to have an audition for a contract."

"Wow you mean they really liked it?" Amber asked shyly

"Yep they did."

"That's awesome." She squealed jumping up out of her chair and engulfed Justin in a hug. She couldn't believe it her dreams were finally coming true after all the tears and sweat she had put into writing her songs and perfecting her voice she was finally getting a chance to show people she was good enough.

"Yeah it is. All I'm waiting for is Johnny to call and let me know where we need to go."

"I can't begin to describe how I feel at this exact moment." She said standing up straight and letting a thoughtful expression come over her features. "I feel like I could jump up and scream at the top of my lungs, then on the other hand I don't want to get my hopes up ya know?"

Sighing heavily he ran a hand over his face and fought not to strangle the poor girl. It really irritated him when she let her insecurities mess with a good thing. He knew at that exact moment a million what ifs were going through her brain. He just didn't understand why she couldn't have faith in her talent and let it take her places.

"Amber I'm going to say this once and only once. You've have an amazing talent all around, and you need to start having faith in it. I know for a fact if they didn't see something in that demo they wouldn't have contacted Johnny and told him to get head shots of you. So be excited and celebrate don't let your own insecurities with life ruin such a wonderful thing."

"It's not that easy Justin. I can't just turn them off, it's like second nature to me."

"I'm not asking you to turn them off." Justin said standing up and putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm asking you to have confidence in the talent that god gave you. You're such an amazing girl and I wish you would wake up and see that. I don't know what people have done to you over the years to make you think you're not."

Turning her head away so he couldn't see the tears shining in her eyes she sniffled quietly and blinked her eyes rapidly to keep the tears at bay. "I don't know what to say."

"Well how about this." Justin offered turning her head so he could look into her eyes. "Promise me you'll work on believing in your self, because that's when people will be able to see the real you, and I know for a fact they'll love you even more for it."

"Okay. I will work on it."

"No, no. I want to hear that promise girl."

"I promise I'll work on believing in my self." Amber said raising an eyebrow in his direction. "Is that better?"

"Very much so." Justin said pulling her in for a hug. "I love you Amber, you're like the little sister I never asked for." He chuckled but on the inside he was thinking something totally different, he didn't see her as his sister anymore, he saw her as what she had become, one beautiful girl that he was falling in love with.

"I love you to J."

The next couple of hours Amber sat around the house patiently waiting for the call to come, she was still in shock over the news Justin had shared with her earlier. She still was having a hard time believing that her dreams were starting to come true. The things she had thought about over the years, the glamour, the fans, the music just the whole enchilada.

She'd been dreaming of the exact moment she hit the stage in front of twenty-thousand fans to show them what she was made of, and show all of the people in school she was more than they thought she was. She wasn't the short chubby girl she once was, she had finally lost all her baby fat and toned her muscles to wear she was fit, which the many hours she spent dancing helped.

Smiling to herself she got up off the couch and decided to do a little exploring. She had been there almost a week and hadn't had the chance to really look around. She had heard Justin talking about a dance studio he had just added to the house so she figured she would go check it out.

Taking a quick detour up to her room she grabbed her cd case and begun her search. She padded softly down the stairs and made a right to walk through the living room. When she made it to the kitchen she peeked in and smiled when the coast was clear. Walking quietly across the tile she opened the basement door and hopped down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs she scanned the wide room in search of her previous quest, when she spotted the room she wanted she made a beeline towards the doors and stepped in.. It was a huge room with speakers in all 4 corners and a impressive stereo sitting along the white walls. On one side of the room there was mirrors lining the wall.

Walking over to the stereo she opened the tray and began to put her favorites cd's in the slots. When she was down she closed the tray and pressed play. She cranked the volume then put her case on top of the stereo, then positioned herself in the middle of the room. Letting the beat of the song take over her body she began to move.

After stepping out of the shower, Justin grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his bottom half, looking up at the mirror he wiped the steam off the mirror so he could see himself clearly. Grabbing his toothbrush and the tooth paste he put a small amount on the brush then began to brush his teeth.

While brushing he thought Amber's reaction the news and couldn't keep a smile off his face it was great to see the smile that spread from ear to ear. He had to admit she was so beautiful when she smiled it just lit up her eyes, the eyes that he had always loved, the ones that changed from brown to a light green when she was happy and a dark brown when she was pissed.

Throughout the years he had seen plenty of the brown but not enough of the green and that thought alone saddened him, in her 18 years of life she had seen so much hurt that it made his own heart hurt for her. He could remember when her parents divorced he had got the call at 2 in the morning from her crying saying how it was all her fault.

Of course he had argued saying that it wasn't and hoping she would take it to heart. But he knew to this day she still blamed herself. He just prayed that she knew deep down it wasn't.

Sighing softly he put his toothbrush down then padded out of the bathroom towards his closet to find something to wear. After selecting an old t-shirt and pair of jeans he pulled them on and sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on a pair of socks and his shoes.

When he was done he heard the distinct ring of his cell phone and reached across the bed to grab it. Flipping it open he muttered a small hello into the device.

"Hey J, I got the information for the photo shoot."

"Cool, what time and where?"

"It will be at the Jive studio at 5 o'clock"

"Awesome does she need to bring anything along with her?"

"Just her smile."

"Okay thanks Johnny, for everything."

"No problem man. Tell her good luck for me."

"I will, good bye" Justin said flipping his phone shut after his manager said his good byes. Smiling himself he dropped his phone in his pocket and made his way out of his room and down the stairs.

When he entered the living room he looked around for any sign of her, shaking his head softly he padded towards the kitchen, when he notice his mom was the only occupant he sighed softly and sat down at the table.

"Who ya looking for sugar?" Lynn asked closing the door to the refrigerator and coming to sit down in front of him.

"Amber, I have some good news and she is no where to be found."

"Have you tried the basement?"

As if a light bulb clicked on in his brain he jumped up and gave his mom a light peck on the cheek. "No I haven't but I will now." Taking his moms advice he quickly crossed the distance between the table and the door flung it open, taking the steps by twos he flew down the stairs and stopped at the end when a blast of music met his ears.

Smiling to himself he walked slowly to the door of the dance studio and watched her silently. As she executed a turn he watched her feet, in his opinion she had really good form but that could of come from being in dance since the time she was three, she really had come along way from those years.

He watched for another couple of minutes waiting for the music to stop he opened the door when she struck her ending pose and called out her name softly.

Spinning around in shock she let a small smile play on her lips. "Sorry I just needed to dance off some steam."

"It's okay, I don't mind." Justin said taking in her appearance, she was wearing pinks short and a white wife beater. "Did you make that dance up?"

"Yeah, well I was just letting the music direct body basically." She shrugged.

"It was good, but I got something that's even better."

"What's that?" She asked walking towards him.

"The photo shoot is at 5'oclock"

"Awesome, then I guess I better go get a shower."

"That would probably be a good idea seeing as you stink." He said a with a sniff then wrinkled his nose.

"Oh thanks." She replied sticking her tongue out.

"Hey don't hate me for telling it like it is."

"Okay whatever you say J."

"Well since you pointed out in not so nice terms that I stink I will be taking that shower now."

"Okay." He replied watching her gather her things an make her up through the door and up the stairs. "Hurry though."

"Uh huh I will." She smiled

"Gotta love that girl." He mumbled with a shake of his head.