Justin stepped out of Donnie Keeton’s suite and let out a frustrated scream. Mike had been peacefully reading sports illustrated and he jumped up ready to attack whatever was hurting Justin. When he realized that Justin was alone he rolled his eyes and prepared himself for a few moments of hell.

“Let’s go,” Justin demanded.

“What’s wrong now?” Mike asked already knowing the answer.

Justin angrily walked over to the elevator and harshly pushed the down button.

“I missed a get together with my mom and the guys, who I haven’t seen in forever, just so I could come to New York and discuss some bullshit about a reality show. How many times do I have to tell those assholes no before it actually registers?” Justin said in frustration.

Mike dramatically rolled his eyes before mumbling under his breath. “Lord save me from spoiled, dramatic white boys.”

Justin looked at him with an offended expression on his face. “Hey, I’m not spoiled.”

“Well at least we both agree that you’re dramatic.” Mike said with a smirk.

“Whatever Mike, I thought you were on my side?” Justin asked with a pout.

Mike rolled his eyes again as they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

“Just cause I’ve been stuck with guarding your scrawny ass for most of your life doesn’t mean I have to put up with the hissy fits.” Mike replied sarcastically.

Justin pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. “I do not throw hissy fits, I was just mad ok?”

“Mad… right.” Mike said as they exited the elevator and headed towards Justin’s room.

“I’m gonna go be lazy and enjoy some TV so don’t bother me white boy. If you wanna wander, wander just be careful.” Mike said seriously.

Justin rolled his eyes and unlocked his door. “I’ve been doing this for how many years Mike?”

“Yeah well, I never know when you’ll get stupid again. You’ve been acting like an adult lately and it’s starting to scare me.” Mike said and laughed when Justin gave him a dirty look.

Justin laughed Mike’s comment off and entered his room. Setting down his key card he pulled out his wallet and tried to find some cash. He pulled out a $50 and as he was about to close his wallet he noticed a picture that he hadn’t looked at in a long time. He honestly didn’t know he still had it. He slowly pulled it out and the memory of that night hit him like a rock.

~Flashback~

“Justin I am not wearing that. Do you hear me, there is no way in hell I’m wearing it.” Elizabeth argued.
 

Justin rolled his eyes and placed the yellow sun dress on her bed. His 12 year old friend was always so stubborn.
 

“Val, you’re acting like I’m the one making you wear the thing. Personally I don’t want to wear his tux but my mom’s making me. I could have put up a fight but she would have won, I’m smart enough to know that. But you obviously think you’ll win this battle with her but you won’t.”
 

She gave a heavy sigh and looked at her feet. He knew she was cracking but she was still trying to hold her ground.
 

“I don’t wanna wear that thing and look stupid.” She said with a pout.
 

Justin grinned when he noticed how adorable she looked. “You mean you don’t wanna wear it and look like a girl right?”
 

Her mouth gaped open but she quickly shut it. He knew he had hit a nerve. Elizabeth had a hard time dealing with her developing figure. Boys were paying more attention to her, even in her sweats and she was getting more offers for dates. He couldn’t say he blamed his peers, she is beautiful, but she didn’t like it, and neither did he.
 

“Come on Liz. It’s just a dance. If we go and you don’t have a good time, we’ll go for a walk and come back before we get picked up. If you don’t wear the dress you can’t go and if you can’t go I’ll be bored out of my mind. Plus I was looking forward to having the prettiest girl at school as my date.” Justin said with an embarrassed smile. He couldn’t believe he just said that to her.
 

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re my best friend J.” She replied her resistance fading even more.
 

Justin looked at her with disbelief. “Do you own a damn mirror Val?” Justin said in frustration. How could she not see what he saw every day of his life?
 

She smiled an evil smile at him. “Oooh I’m telling Aunt Lynn that you said “damn”. She teased.
 

“Then I’m gonna tell Uncle Max, Taylor, Brian, and Matt about the time you snuck out of your room and…” Justin started.
 

“Justin! You promised you would never say anything about that. That would get me in so much trouble. They would ship me off to France or something.” She interrupted in a panicked voice.
 

Justin practically grew horns at her outburst. “Ok then if you don’t wanna be shipped to France first thing in the morning, I suggest you get ready within the next half hour. I’ll send my mom up to help you.” With that he walked out the door, down the steps, and into the dining room.
 

“So?” Taylor asked. Justin smiled and looked at his mom.
 

“You can go help her now ma. I have declawed her.” Justin said. His mom chuckled and headed up the steps.
 

“I see you tamed the lion. I guess you still have the Timberlake charm,” Matt said hitting his arm.
 

Justin laughed and looked at Elizabeth’s brothers. “No amount of charm will ever work on your sister. I swear she gets more stubborn every month, if that’s even possible. If I hadn’t blackmailed her, we wouldn’t be going anywhere.” Justin said and the guys laughed.
 

20 minutes later Elizabeth walked down the steps. To say that she looked pretty would be big understatement. She looked… beautiful, delicate almost. Justin could tell she was uncomfortable and he couldn’t blame her. Elizabeth was the type of girl that never got dressed up. Her closet was full of boy shorts, a few jeans, and a lot of t-shirts. To see her in a dress was interesting. Her black hair was pulled back but a few stubborn curls fell towards her face. The dress was perfect on her because of her olive skin. How could someone be this beautiful? Justin hadn’t known he was staring until Elizabeth cleared her throat. He walked towards her and handed her the yellow corsage that he had picked out.
 

“You look really pretty Val…” Justin started. Elizabeth smiled at him and he could have sworn he saw her blush.
 

“I feel really weird and out of place. Kinda like a fish out of water,” She replied.
 

“Ok kids stand closer together and smile big,” Justin’s mom said. Taylor stood beside her with a camera in hand as well.
 

Justin carefully walked over to Elizabeth and put his arm around her waist. It felt good being close to her, and she smelled like lavender. The unexpected scent made Justin a little out of it. Before he could regain his thoughts, his mom and Taylor were snapping away. He finally turned his head away from her face and they both smiled for the camera.
 

~End Flashback~

Justin wiped away the tears that had gotten loose. He looked at the picture again and completely lost it.

“Why did you take her away from me God? Why? Out of everything you could have taken from me, why Elizabeth?” Justin said through uncontrollable sobs. He sat down on his couch and for the first time in a long time, allowed himself to cry.

~Meanwhile~

Elizabeth placed her things in the room that she would be staying in. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Justin was somewhere in the hotel and she would get to see him soon. To say she was nervous would be an understatement. She was absolutely petrified. What if everything went wrong? What if the guys were wrong and he didn’t want to see her? It wasn’t like she could blame him after everything she had put him through. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but she had to admit that she did just that. She not only hurt him but she hurt herself. If it hadn’t been for Travis, life would have been more miserable. But even though she loved Travis, things ended in a bittersweet way.

“I guess that’s what I get for falling in love in a hospital,” She said to herself and shook off the thoughts of Travis. That was one part of her history that she didn’t want to relive, ever. Elizabeth was startled out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. She walked over to it and opened it.

“Hey bumpkin. I was just wondering if you wanted to come downstairs with us. We’re going to get some food.” Lynn said. She noticed the lost look on her face and she was about to confront her about it when Lance walked up to her.

“So are ya coming Liz?” Lance asked eagerly. Elizabeth felt bad for not wanting to go but she just didn’t feel up to it. She needed to be alone and think about what she was going to do about Justin. Lynn saw the battle she was having with herself and decided to make the decision for her.

“No she won’t be coming Lance. She’s not up to it right now but she asked if we could bring her something to eat so we’ll just do that k?” Lynn said. Lance nodded and gave Elizabeth a hug.

“I hope you feel better Liz. We’ll come back later and pester you, and then we’ll go see Justin. We’ll be back in a bit.” Lance said and walked to the end of the hallway. Elizabeth gave Lynn a grateful smile.

“Thank you Aunt Lynn. I really want to go, but I…”

“You don’t need to explain Liz. I know you’re exhausted from today’s events and it’s going to get even more exciting so please get some rest, we’ll try not to be too long.” Lynn said cutting her off. She gave Elizabeth a quick hug and headed towards the guys.

“Bye.” Elizabeth said after her. She went over to her bag and grabbed her journal. She stepped out of her hotel room and after closing the door she headed down the hallway. She slid on her sunglasses and tried to find the door that led to the roof. JC had told her that there was an amazing view up there and she wanted to check it out. As she walked down the hall she hardly noticed the man that stepped out of his hotel room. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that neither one of them were paying attention to their surroundings.

Justin came out of his room and slid sunglasses over his eyes. The last thing he needed was for Mike to question why his eyes were red and watery. He told Mike to meet him in the hallway because he wanted to head to the park for some fresh air. He was completely oblivious to anything that was around him because his thoughts were still filled with Elizabeth. He didn’t really understand why that particular memory caused such a strong reaction in him, but it was all starting to become too much. Maybe he needed to call his mom. When thoughts of his mom invaded his mind, he picked up his pace but was surprised when he ran into someone. The person’s head landed on his shoulder and sent them both reeling backwards. He noticed that he had knocked some of her items out of her hand and she quickly bent down to gather them. He bent down and retrieved a pencil after she grabbed her notebook.

“I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to run into you… I wasn’t paying attention… sorry.” She said quickly and in one breath. Justin paused for a second. Where had he heard that voice before? That sweet, small voice that was music to his ears. He closed his eyes and images of Elizabeth passed through his mind. He quickly opened his eyes and looked at the woman he had bumped into.

Justin’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This girl looked so much like Elizabeth. Her jet black hair and the thickness of it made him want to reach out and run his fingers through it. Her skin was the same exact tone… her lips were the same exact shade. But it couldn’t be.

“Great now I’m seeing her…” Justin mumbled to himself still eyeing the girl.

“Excuse me sir, are you alright? You seem a little out of it.” She said. Justin looked at her more intently when she spoke again. Why did she sound so much like her? If the dreams weren’t bad enough, this was definitely going to break him. He took off his sunglasses not caring whether or not she noticed his blood shot eyes. He needed to get a better look at the woman that reminded him so much of his best friend. Justin noticed her eyes widen behind her sunglasses and she followed suite and took off her sunglasses. His breath caught in his throat. His heart skipped a beat and his pulse went at an alarming rate. This couldn’t be happening. He had to be dreaming, he just had to be. There was no way Elizabeth was there. She was dead. She had to be dead, she couldn’t be there.

Justin noticed that the girl was frozen in place and her eyes were wider than his. His mouth went dry as time seemed to slow and they both just stood there staring at each other. He stepped closer and looked closer. If this was Elizabeth she would have a small birthmark on her right cheek. When Justin looked at her cheek he saw it. He saw the birthmark that had been there since they had been born.

“Val?” Justin whispered. When he heard her whimper at the sound of the name he had called Elizabeth for years their eyes met again. It was Liz. She was there but was she real? Justin felt light headed knowing that the realization that his best friend wasn’t dead was becoming too much for him. He needed to sit down before he passed out.

Justin cautiously reached out and softly touched her cheek. The shock of knowing who she was and knowing just how real she was became too much for him.

“Oh my god…” Justin whispered before falling to the ground with a thud.

“JUSTIN!”