*Alisan*

"You all right?"

I felt his breath against my ear as I nodded, turned to my side as he wrapped an arm around my waist, careful of my elbow as he buried his face into the back of my neck, the stubble tickling slightly as it brought a smile to my face and shivers down my spine.

"You cold?"

"No," I said softly, shaking my head as I closed my eyes, wishing for sleep to come. We had been home for about six hours, it nearing two in the morning and since our arrival back to his home, I had already become angry that I couldn't walk, threw myself into a fit of hysterics that sent Justin into a panic when I struggled with my sobs to breathe correctly, and nearly fallen going up the stairs. This, this brought Justin back down to reality and set up camp in the guest room, making it much like his own to make the both of us comfortable in the unfamiliar territory that we were now sleeping in. My mom and dad had been by earlier, bringing over a few bags of my clothes and belongings to keep me comfortable, though, which my predicament that I was now in, I was living in a pair of cheeky shorts and Justin's basketball shirt, the only shirt that seemed to fit over my arm cast.

It was going to be a blast. Getting dressed on my own, that is. Not only can I not bend one arm to pull a shirt over my head, but I can't bend my leg to get pants on. Today, that was there my mother came in. Two days from now, after my parents went back to Georgia, it'd be only Justin and I. I needed to master the once easy task of dressing myself without help ... there was no way Justin would be helping me in that aspect.

He sighed softly against my skin, sending yet another shiver up my spine. His limp hands against my stomach signalled that he had fallen asleep quickly, exhausted from moving so much to and from both bedrooms and making me comfortable in the new environment. I imagined he was quite tired from the last few days, and I couldn't blame him. Even with my being angry at him, he was there when I needed him most - being the best friend that he could possibly be, given the circumstances. My best friend from home had called, but that seemed to be the extent of her concern, she asking how I was and if there were people there to take care of me during my healing process. When I said 'yes', her conversation was cut short with an excuse and we hung up shortly after.

Some friend.

Sighing deeply, I looked down at his fingers, they barely grazing mine yet still maintaining contact, almost entwined, but not close enough to do so. I felt like I needed that kind of touch, loosening my weight up against my good arm and lifting it to his hand, slowly sliding my softer skin against his calloused hands and locking my fingers at his knuckles. At this, his grip seemed to tighten in his dream-state, somewhat aware of what was now holding onto him. It was comforting, knowing that he was holding onto me in more than one way, protecting me and being that one sole person that made sure his presence was never questioned. I felt my stomach knot up at how horrible the past few days must have been for him, turning my head backward slightly to see the top of his head, eyelashes dancing against his high cheekbones and fluttering in dream. My handsome, amazing healer. One smile and all was well again, one touch and everything was forgotten.

Now, I know why Justin Timberlake is the most sought after man.

I heard him sigh softly, his breath cool against my skin as I shut my eyes, attempting to think of anything other than the compromising position we were in. With all the quiet and the near silent 'whir' of the fan sitting in the corner of the room and every so often blowing not-so-cool air in my direction, I was left with nothing but silence and my wandering mind. My wandering mind was a dangerous thing, it always got me into trouble. Always.

And as luck would have it, it didn't fail me tonight.

I lay there, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to keep blank thoughts, thinking of darkness and no sound ... anything to keep me closer to la-la land and further away from my fantasy land. It seemed as though I was driving, reading signs that said 'Thank you for visiting 'La-La Land! Come again soon!' as I went a million miles an hour towards another sign that said, 'Welcome to Fantasy Land, where your dreams become pretty much close to reality! Stay a while!'. It was almost like a 'do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, go directly into your wandering mind and do not move until you have achieved a 'get out of your fantasy' card or have rolled yourself right into crazy. At this, I became scarily aware of every inch of his body that was connected to mine, how dangerously close his ... nether region was to my behind, how close his mouth was to my sweet spot on my neck.

I twisted slightly, attempted to further myself away from him, only to be pulled closer by him, still fully asleep and pulling me in as he snuggled right up against my sweet spot, nose now up against my neck, mouth where the curve of my neck met my shoulder. I felt how close his hand was to my breasts, how his legs felt against mine (well, minus the cast and not feeling that skin on skin contact), how firm his chest felt against my back, rising and falling in rhythm of my breathing. I felt his heartbeat, his somewhat silent breathing, his entire being behind me.

I felt more than I bargained for, that's for sure.

When I woke up the next morning, the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen ignited my senses, the sudden need to have that that hot liquid in my mouth sudden and demanding. I brought my hand down, fingers grazing the metal crutches next to the bed on the floor. With a bit of a struggle, I managed to get myself standing and slowly maneuvering towards the kitchen that seemed miles away. "J?"

"San? I was wondering when you were gonna get outta bed," he called, appearing quickly in front of me. "Why didn't you call me? I would have helped you out of bed -"

"I'm not a baby, Justin," I said, rolling my eyes. "I think I can manage getting from the bed to the kitchen."

"All right, then I'll see you in ten years," he grinned, turning on his heel and walking away slowly.

"Jaaaaay," I whined, watching as he turned around with a sparkle in his eye. If I didn't have all my weight on my good foot, I may have stomped to add on to the slight tantrum of his teasing. "You're here now, you might as well help ..."

"I thought you could do it on your own?"

I jutted out my lip, the weak point in Justin's argument as he grinned, stepping towards me and putting an arm behind me and and arm underneath my legs, lifting me up and carrying me the rest of the way to the kitchen, sitting me down on the stool at the kitchen's island. "You made coffee?"

"This is me we're talking about here," he chuckled, gesturing to the pot that was almost completely brewed. "You want some? I bought some of that vanillia creamer when I went to the store this morning -"

I then realized that I had no idea what time it was. "This morning?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "At about nine. You were still asleep and wouldn't stir when I called your name so I just went. It was only for a few things, so I knew I wouldn't be gone long."

"You don't need to check up on me, Justin. I can manage on my own if you need to go somewhere."

"Right. Just like you being unable to crutch yourself into the kitchen from the guest room?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

"Whatever," he laughed, turning back away from me as he got two mugs, lifting up my favorite mug that he had bought just for me, a deep green (my favorite color), with a wide brim and thick handle, complete ceramic and totally breakable - the worst kind of thing to put in my hands. "Let me guess ... a little coffee with your cream?"

"How else would I drink it?" I grinned, watching as he shook his head in disbelief, pouring almost a full mug full of creamer just before filling the last half with coffee and turning, placing it in front of me. "Thanks."

"Welcome," he smiled, meeting my eyes and winking as he turned back around, tending to his own.

For some reason, that wink and that smile brought a stomach flip on. Or maybe it was hunger. Maybe I was hungry. Hungry. Yeah, that had to be it. I was hungry and I needed food. "Justin, what do you have for breakfast? Or lunch ... what time is it?"

"One-thirty," he laughed. "I'm pretty sure I've got some soups and I know I have lunch meat ... you want a chicken sandwich and some soup?"

"I'd love you forever."

"You already do," he teased. There was something about him, he seemed a lot happier today, a lot lighter on his feet. Was he keeping some good news from me, or was this just a good day? "give me a minute and I'll make your food," he responded, reaching into his shorts pocket and retrieving his ringing cell phone. "Hey, Joe. I'm doing good, man. Yeah, just playing male nurse to Alisan as she recuperates from the accident. Nah, not too much new ... I mean, well ... I did meet a cute girl at the store this morning getting a few things. Yeah. Bad thing is, she kind of reminds me of my one ex ... I don't know whether or not to take that as a good or bad thing. Jenna. Remember her? From like, 2001 or so. Yeah, the dancer. Yeah. Kind of looks like her, too ... yeah, we've got a date tonight. Alisan's mom and dad are here for a few days and will be here tonight so I don't have to worry about that ... yeah, it'll be nice to get out again -"

I licked my lips slowly, swallowing the lump from my throat in surprise. He was still leaning up against the counter, looking out the large kitchen window into the even larger back yard that housed his inground pool, basketball court, gazebo, waterfall and mini-golf course that housed about eight holes. I wasn't thinking about that, though ... at least, I was trying to, but it wasn't happening as my eyes slowly traveled down his body, down his slender back to the almost non-existant butt that so many girls loved to watch as he danced. I felt that familiar flutter in my heart that I had felt when I began to realize I was falling for JC, my thoughts taking me by surprise. I wasn't falling for him, no, I wasn't. No. I shook my head at myself, his laugh bringing me back up to look at him, he looking at me in the reflection of the window with the dark grayness of the clouds. "What?"

"What are you shaking your head at?"

I shrugged, hiding my answer as I sipped the still hot coffee. He made it perfectly. Argh. Yet another thing to add to the list of reasons why he's good to me. Good for me, too ... maybe.

Seriously, Alisan. What the hell is wrong with you?

I made a mental note to check the medications they had given me, maybe one of the side effects was confusion, mixing emotions and feelings with the feel of wanting more medication. That had to be it. That had to be why I was acting this way. "I'm suddenly not hungry."

"What? When are you not hungry?" He asked, laughing as I gave him a hurt look. "San, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"You know I have problems with my ... fluctuating weight."

"Alisan, you can't be more than ... 130 pounds. That's nothing to me. Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I said it though, I know you hate discussing that kind of stuff. You're perfect, okay?"

I looked down at my coffee, one subject that I had been avoiding into yet another one I tried to avoid. "It's fine," I said softly, sipping the coffee again. "I think I want to go to bed."

"San," he said sadly, watching as I tried to lift myself up, now in a somewhat standing position as I waited for him to round the table. "I hurt your feelings."

"No," I said, shaking my head and burying my head into his neck, "I just ... it's the first day I've been up and out of bed for more than ten minutes. It's kind of tiring."

"Okay," he said softly, still sounding unsure. "I'm sorry I said it though."

"I know," I sighed, inhaling the scent of him and letting my eyes drop closed at the scent of coffee, toothpaste and a slight scent of cologne that had been faded from the day before. These were all the scents that reminded me of him, except the one that wasn't there was the one I most associated with him: sweat. Though it sounded gross, it was part of him ... he busted his ass and in return sweat out all his troubles and ... perspiration while doing what he loved. It was comforting in a way, though I always made him shower after he'd attack me with one of his sweaty hugs, feeling gross but loved that he had gone directly to me after a show if I was there, wanting to be hugged by someone who meant so much to him.

Now, all I wanted was that hug again.

Before I realized it, he had laid me back down on the bed, disappearing for a moment and returning with my crutches in hand. "I'm gonna lean them up against the wall," he said softly, kneeling down and smoothing my hair out of my face. "Are you sure you're not upset about what I said?"

"It was a careless little thing," I said, shaking my head. "I'm fine."

"Not everyone can be 100 pounds, San," he said, cutting me off. "You look perfect to me, okay? Perfect the way you are." He placed a kiss on my forehead, getting up and patting my hand. "I need to shower. Your parents will be here in about an hour or two and I need to get ready for that date. If you need me, just holler. I'll be down the hall in the other bathroom."

I nodded, watching as he disappeared, catching myself watching that infamous butt as he left the room.

Seriously, the medications needed to go.