Justin sat hunched over the studio desk, remarkably quiet.

Part of this was his mood, and the other part was trying not to talk too much lest his apparently great buddy Timbaland got an idea in his head that he was behaving strangely. It felt odd, that such a respected hip hop producer was treating him and his work with this much esteem, but it didn't suck. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be this world's Justin Timberlake - he no longer wanted to be that guy, had woken up from that little delusion, but he still liked the feeling. If he was able to go home and recreate it on his own terms, he couldn't ask for much more.

Well, he could, but Renee was an entirely different manner.

Luckily for him, this quiet mood of his seemed to fit the way Tim was used to working with his alter ego. He was apparently used to Justin coming up with lyrics and melodies while he played with beat boxes and the drum machine. Apart from the odd question about what Justin thought of this or that or if Justin could think of a good riff to go with whatever he was playing with, he just left him to it.

Part of him considered it pointless, seeing as he'd decided to go home. The other part of him thought that working with this guy was necessary for him, that he needed to prove that he was up to it. It wasn't like he'd get a chance to finish the song, but he figured the other Justin could either consider it an apology gift or just forget about it. He almost wished it was possible to talk to the guy face to face; it hadn't escaped him how selfish he'd been for the last few weeks, and he probably owed the dude a little grovelling.

While he was busy staring into space, Tim had reached over and whipped the piece of paper out from under his nose, eyes scanning back and forth over the lyrics. As he got to the end, his face stretched out into a broad grin and the man began to chuckle.

"Oh 'cause it's not obvious who this is about," he slapped his hand against his knee, shaking his head at him. "Good thing the world's not going to realise you did this literally, the girls are gonna eat this shit up!"

"Real fucking funny, Tim," Justin tried to joke with him as he snatched the sheet back. Tim had found it funny that he was writing things down, but that was a difference between this world's Justin and him. He had played it off with some lame excuse, but then Tim's cell phone had provided a timely distraction.

"Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if your sad ass did write her a symphony. Did you?"

"No!" Justin exclaimed before realising that he wasn't actually sure. Renee hadn't told him much about how she'd got together with his doppelganger, only that he had been very persistent and creative with his date requests for about six months, and he was using it for a little inspiration. "I probably wrote her a love note or two, but that's as much as I'll give you, ass."

Justin had got half way through the second verse of a song that he figured would have to be titled 'My Love.' As much as he was basing it off of this reality's couple, a little gift he wanted to leave Renee as well as an apology to the other Timberlake, he couldn't help but find his own self in there too. He often wondered what it was he would have to do to win his girlfriend back; maybe she'd been technically with him, but she'd been gone for some time now.

He was now at a point where he wasn't even sure he should have her back - wasn't sure it was good for either of them or if he even wanted it. Putting off the wish was pure cowardice, but he just didn't know how to answer the question. Having been with her for so long, he was a little terrified of the possible outcome of their next meeting.

"Hey, you know we love shorty in here, right Nate?"

"That woman keeps me in Starbucks and smokes, damn straight!" Tim's latest 'apprentice' yelled from the booth where he was playing with the amps. Justin wasn't to know, but Renee's recording sessions tended to be shorter than her boyfriend's and thus she usually wound up making mercy stops for food, drink or anything else the guys might need.

"Still, you write Love Stoned about her, you write this about her - people gon' get the impression you whipped, boy!"

"She ain't got me whipped, Tim."

It wasn't a lie - she had the other Justin whipped. He, as he had now realised, was over his little infatuation with the brunette. It was the blonde version he still had some issues with (or at least, he was under the impression she was still blonde, being none the wiser).

He found it interesting… the other Justin had written a song about her? He had to smile at that; he'd been guilty of the same himself, though he'd never had the guts to admit it to his girlfriend. He'd written a ditty called 'Where Do We Go From Here' which he was tempted to put on the next album, but he was kind of worried what she'd say if she heard it. The whole thing was as suggestive of a break up as a make up, and he had a feeling she'd freak.

She tended to freak no matter what he said lately - hence the reluctance to go back.

"Hey y'all…"

A female voice sounded from behind him and he immediately whipped around in his chair, unconsciously grabbing the piece of paper in front of him and stuffing it under his desk.

"Hey Renee!" The other guys chorused as she made her way over to his chair, standing behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders with a reassuring squeeze. He guessed half of it was just an act to keep up the pretence that all was well, but he liked to think some of it was support for him. She had to know this whole thing was awkward for him, but appearances needed to be kept up.

"How you getting on?"

"We cool, we cool," Tim answered for him. "How was your session, sugar?"

"Crappy, I cancelled." She waved a hand dismissively. "Not in the zone today."

"Well I keep telling you, you let Timbo at your music and he'll weave his magic on it…" Tim said teasingly, trying to tempt her. She'd already had a hard enough time trying to turn him down politely, but he was in his way as persistent as her boyfriend.

"I tell you what, we'll see how J's album does and maybe you'll convince me." She winked at him with a smile. Much as she didn't think he was the producer for her, she genuinely liked the guy. "Speaking of, can I steal you for a couple minutes J?"

"Sure. I'll be back in a few, man."

"Take your time," Tim waved him off before turning back to the desk and getting caught back up in what he had been doing.

Renee led Justin by the hand out into the corridor, and then into the little kitchenette where Tim had made sure a fridge, microwave, stove and an X-Box had been installed for creature comforts. Justin took a moment to process the slovenly Juicy tracksuit (well, slovenly for her) and the worried expression on her face. He took it this was not a social call.

"What's up Ren?" He asked as he pulled himself up onto the counter, dangling his sneaker clad feet in the air.

"You know how Claire said she'd check in with me this morning? Well, she didn't, and now it's no longer morning."

"Well hey, it's not like she can die twice, right?" He said gently. "No need to worry about her."

The brunette looked at him with a scathing expression which suggested he was the village idiot. "I'm not worried about her; I'm worried about whatever the fuck it is she's trying to fix that she won't let us in on. It's keeping her way too long and we're on the clock here. Speaking of, have you worked out your girlfriend issues yet?"

"No," he mumbled guiltily.

"Hurry that up please. I need to get my issues with my boyfriend fixed too and I will need him present for the occasion."

"What issues?" Justin asked curiously. He seemed to recall much complaining that her life had been perfect until he'd made his wish, so what was she talking about?

Renee realised a moment too late that she had neglected to mention a lot of her confusion and most importantly the other world's kissing incident to him. He was now lookin at her with a suspicious expression and she needed to back track, quickly.

"What, you thought you could swap lives and not leave him and me with a little something to talk about too? You being here just… changes the perspective a little. Nothing major, just needs to be said. And, also, I need a hug."

"Well… we're friends, right? I could hug you if you want?" He offered shyly.

Thankfully her expression softened a little and she gave him a smile, poking his rib cage affectionately. "It's not the same, but I appreciate the thought."

"It's really not the same, is it?" He sighed. "Fuck, I don't know what to do, Ren. I love her, but… is that enough? I can't help thinking that maybe we screwed up too much to fix it."

"Well…" She rubbed his sweater clad sleeve comfortingly. "I guess that depends on what kind of damage you did and how hard you wanna work on fixing it. If it's not worth enough to you to fix it then… well, maybe you did fuck it up too much."

"What about you?" He asked, still trying to probe her for details. "Is it worth enough to you to fix?"

She frowned quizzically. "Your relationship's none of my business, man."

"No," he laughed, "I meant yours."

"Course." Despite herself, she smiled. All she could hope was that the other Renee hadn't turned her boyfriend's head enough to make him feel differently." I think we got a little more left in us yet."

"I'm not so sure. About me, I meant, not you." He hastened to include that little addendum. "We…" Sadness passed back over his face again, soft pink lips forming a melancholy pout. "We haven't exactly turned each other into nice people, you know?"

"I have to run, Justin, but…" Renee struggled to offer him something, anything useful. "My grandma always used to say before she died that what we've done means nothing any more - it's what we can do that's important. She said there was no point worrying about shit you can't change so we might as well focus on the future 'cause that's still in our hands."

"You agree with her, I take it? Even after all this destiny crap Claire spouted?"

Even as she backed towards the door, Renee held out her arms with a broad grin and winked at him. "If I'd have listened to Grandma in the first place it might have saved me an inter-dimensional trip, there. 'Cause that was pretty much what that little excursion to your world taught me. And also, I love Claire but I don't care if she has been told a few secrets of the universe, girl's still got a big mouth."

Justin wanted to laugh, and if he hadn't been so depressed he would have. The little mention of Claire had suddenly made what Renee had said earlier actually register with his brain. It was a pretty good point, actually. Why the hell had he ignored it? What precisely was it that had made Claire order him to stay put and then go MIA? He'd been so caught up in his own selfish relief at not being forced back yet, he'd missed the important point.

Maybe he hadn't learnt anything from this trip after all - you'd think he wouldn't have made that mistake twice.