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For the rest of the day, Justin was on autopilot as he managed to smile and be charming through all the radio spots and TVappearances, but on the inside his stomach was knotted in a mix of anticipation, excitement, dread, and a hundred different emotions he hated himself for feeling. Off camera and away from fans, his mood got darker and darker with every passing second until, by the end of the day, everyone but Trace was avoiding him.

            At eight, Justin finished his final radio spot, got hustled past the masses of fans outside, and waited anxiously, his foot tapping the back of Trace’s seat, as Trace fielded a call from his assistant on promo ideas for the new William Rast line.

            As soon as he hung up the phone, Trace raised a hand at Justin for silence and said, ‘We’ll talk at the hotel. And get your foot off my seat before I break it.’ Before Justin had a chance to reply, Trace picked up his phone again to talk to Justin’s agent, leaving Justin to smolder in anger in the back seat.

            By the time they made it to the hotel, Justin felt as if all the air had been sucked from the car. After being snuck in through the back entrance to his room, Justin proceeded to wear down the plush carpet in the suite pacing and waiting for Trace. Finally, after another 45 minutes, a knock came from the door.

            Justin flung it open, screaming, ‘Dude, where the FUCK have you been?!?!’

            The room service attendant on the other side of the door looked at him like he’d lost his mind.

            ‘Uh...room service?’

            ‘Oh. Thanks.’

            Throwing the cart into his room and flinging a bill at the attendant, he slammed the door behind him, angrier now than he was before. Lifting the silver lid, he moved to throw the plate into the garbage, but paused when he saw what he’d ordered. Smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans. He set the food back on the tray and gave a harsh laugh, vaguely remembering when one of his assistants had asked what he wanted to dinner and he gave the first thing that came to mind. Pork chops. He only ate those when he was thinking of her.

             Justin slowly woke to the heavenly smell of fried foods permeating the air.            

 ‘Good lord, I’ve died and gone to heaven’ he thought before opening his eyes to see the his clock glowing 3:00 am. Sitting up, he looked around, confused as to who would be cooking in his house at this hour, then he realized. Grace. Ever since she’d come to live with him, every day had been different than the one before. He rolled out of bed, threw some shorts on over his boxers, and followed his nose down to the kitchen.          

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked groggily, squinting at the bright overhead lights.           

 ‘Oh, sorry. Was I being to loud?’ said Grace, her fork frozen over the open pan and its sizzling contents.

He shook his head. ‘I smelled food.’           

 She laughed.  ‘I’m making pork chops, want one?’           

He smiled and held up two fingers.          

  ‘Two, really? Fine, but your trainer’s gonna beat it out of you tomorrow.’           

He shrugged, ‘That’s what I pay him for. So, couple questions. 1) Why is the deep fryer out at 3 am?  and 2) Since when have I owned a deep fryer?’          

  She grinned and shrugged.           

 ‘I dunno. It’s my comfort food, I guess. When I was younger and couldn’t sleep, someone used to make food for me. Fried foods would always knock me out instantly, but sometimes we’d bake instead. Ever since, I have a tendency to cook things or bake at all hours of the night. Here, watch these for a minute.’          

  She gave him her stirring fork and left the kitchen for a few minutes, eventually reappearing with one of his sweatshirts.            

 ‘Here. You’ll catch pneumonia walking around the house half naked like that, since you like to keep it icy cold in here. The artic chill doesn’t bother me, but you should remember to throw on some clothes or you’ll get sick.’          

  He started to blush, a feat few people could make him do, as he put on the sweatshirt saying, ‘Do you know how many women would pay to see this?’        

    She snorted, ‘I haven’t a clue why.’        

    He blushed harder, ‘Ouch’          

  ‘Hey, you’re the one who told me to treat you like everyone else.. I’m just following orders. Here’s your plate. Now where do you keep the hot sauce?’          

  ‘I don’t know…. I’m not really in here that much,’ he bit into the hot pork chop and let it melt on tongue. He groaned, ‘God that’s delicious. Marry me.’       

     She laughed. ‘No thank you, sir. I have enough drama in my life.’        

    Justin snorted and shoved her, earning a smile that made the butterflies in his stomach flutter in excitement. 

            Justin jumped at the sound of a quick knock on the door, before it opened.

            ‘You better not be naked!’ yelled Trace as he stepped into the dark room.

            All the anger Justin had felt earlier had given way to depression as he drowned in his memories.

            ‘I’m in here.’

            Trace poked his head around the corner and yanked it back again, waiting for something to be thrown. Seeing Justin with no pointy or breakable objects at hand, Trace proceeded to slowly peek his head back into the kitchen.

            ‘Trace, stop playing. Tell me what’s up, man.’

            Trace gave a long sigh and Justin’s gut clenched.

            ‘Justin….’

            ‘Aww noooo, Tray. Don’t give me that. Please. Where is she? Come on, I can handle it. I just need to know she’s safe, alright? Please.’

            ‘I’m sorry, Justin. Dude, I did everything I could,’ he began to talk louder over the sound of Justin moaning, ‘ I called the tequila company and talked to their HR department who gave me the name of the agency they used who told me that no one works there by that name. I’m sorry. When I asked about the billboard, they said one of their scouts found a new model to stand in and they don’t give out the names of their scouts.’

            ‘What?!?! Did you tell them you worked for me?’

            ‘Yeah and they said, as much as they wished they could, it was against company policy.’

            ‘Noooo….that’s bullshit, man. Straight BULLSHIT! I’m going down to that agency tomorrow to talk to them. They can’t say no!’

            ‘J, you can’t do that man. We have to go to Houston tomorrow morning; we have engagements there, then in Phoenix then back in LA. We can’t deviate from the schedule, you know that. I’m sorry. I’ll do the best I can to –‘

            “NO! No man, I can’t just leave like this. I can’t – It’s like a sign, you know. I hadn’t seen her for years, then she’s on a billboard right in front of me. Dude, it’s like, I’m meant to find her again, you know? I can’t just give up.’

            Trace sighed again and changed the subject, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get through to Justin right then.

            ‘Anyways, you know you have that charity thing tonight at 11.’

            ‘I’m not going.’

            ‘Yes you are. You’re a professional, it’s for charity, and it’s good publicity that we need for your album.’

            ‘Jesus! Don’t tell me what I need. Right now, all I need is for you to go find her. She was my best friend, Trace. She was – I just need for you to find her.’

            ‘Look, the agency already closed for the day, but if I find that damn snotty receptionist again, maybe dangle some tickets in front of her face or something, will you go tonight?’

            Justin nodded, his throat to tight to speak.

            ‘Alright man, I’ll do my best….You know, she was my friend too.’