A lone tear slipped unnoticed down her tan cheek.

How could he? How could he treat her like she was some blind fool? How could he tell her that what they had together, everything that they had been through, how much they had grown through each other, was just because of stress? It was a big slap in the face to realize she had once again opened her heart and had only ended up getting burned.

And he couldn’t even tell it to her face. No, she had to learn through the grapevine just exactly how much of a lie the past year had been. Oh she had heard loud and clear how little he actually cared for her. And to think she had actually trusted him!

People talking think I'm all right
Think I'm doing fine
Goin' through the motions of my life
Go to work now every mornin'
Yeah I play the part
And hide away the contents
Of my solemn heart

But when the sun goes down
And the moon is high
I can't control the flood
Of all these tears inside
And if they only knew
They'd be so surprised
I'm just a good pretender
In a great disguise

Keep 'em guessin' keep 'em laughin'
Build that wall up high
As long as they don't
See the other side
You've really done it
Done a number a number on my soul
But I'll be damned
If I'll ever let you know

But when the sun goes down
And the moon is high
There's no way to hide
The truth from me myself and I
Yeah I wear it well
Though it ain't my size
I'm just a good pretender
In a great disguise

“Hey Nessa, who died?” a voice questioned, interrupting her train of thoughts and pulling her back to reality.

“Nobody,” Vanessa shortly responded as she turned away from her friend Neely’s concerned gaze.

“Nobody my ass. Girl, you’re practically falling apart at the seams right in front of me,” Neely Anderson stated as she rushed after her friend, her straight blonde hair waving like a banner, “Come on hon, we’re two days away from opening night, and as the star of the show, you can’t be falling apart now. What is it, stress?”

“Just leave it alone Neely. I’ll be fine and the show will go off without a hitch,” Vanessa tiredly reassured her friend, the show’s producer.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Niely continued as the two of them made their way through the chaos that was the backstage of the theater, “I’m your best friend Nessa.”

“Let it go Neely, I don’t want to talk to anybody about it, so just go away,” Vanessa snapped as she went into her dressing room and shut the door to her friend’s confused face.

Vanessa hated to keep things from Neely (the two had been friends since the second grade), but at that moment, she wasn’t about to share her devastation with anybody. The ache was still too raw, the shock still to fresh on her mind.

Vanessa Miller had grown up loving the stage. Ever since she had been young, she knew that she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a well-known Broadway star. After her parents had divorced when she was five years old, her mother had fully committed herself to advancing her daughter’s career.

It had started first with dance lessons, then learning piano and guitar, and finally voice and acting lessons. Vanessa had never had the chance for a regular childhood; she had always been juggling between her different lessons and school work, which she had a private tutor for. Surprisingly, though, even though she was a home-schooled only child who had lessons for one thing or another day and night, she still found time to make friends.

Where her mother was somewhat shy, Vanessa was more outgoing. With wavy black hair, sparkling blue eyes, a curvy figure and legs for days to go with her sharp and humorous personality, she made friends at the drop of a hat, and was always capable of entertaining an audience, no matter their age. Therefore, it was no surprise that Vanessa landed her first starring role in Oklahoma as Laurie at the age of sixteen. From then on, the roles just kept coming.

Then just last year, on her twenty-second birthday, a day filled with rehearsal, arguments with her father, and the breakup of her relationship with her current boyfriend, everything just seemed to turn around. She was at a point in her life where she had seriously thought about quitting the stage and going back to school. However, that evening, after the opening performance of her current role of Mimi in Rent, she had found herself fighting a very tall, very handsome stranger for a cab.

His name was Justin Timberlake, the eldest son of San Francisco’s mayor, John Timberlake. A quick-tongued lawyer, known for his proficiency in the court room, he was worlds away from her and way out of her reach. But somehow they had managed to connect, sharing that cab, chatting for hours over Chinese food, and then exchanging phone numbers before parting for the night.

Not thinking anything would ever come of their one-night encounter, Vanessa soon found herself romantically attached with one of San Francisco’s most eligible bachelors, and thus the envy of many people, male and female alike. But growing up on the stage taught her how to keep her composure no matter the situation, thus the whispers and evil looks didn’t bother her in the least. However, nothing could prepare her for the utter disdain Justin’s father, John, showed her, when she first met him.

The man did not like her, to put it lightly. And he made his objections known quite loudly, constantly pushing gorgeous, single women in Justin’s direction in hopes that he would drop Vanessa. But despite John’s best efforts, Justin stuck right by her side, not caring whether or not his father approved of their relationship.

That was why watching Justin confess he didn’t love her to some leggy blonde woman had come as such a complete shock to Vanessa. He had done a complete 180 on her that she had no idea what to even think, much less feel. Of course, she had broken things off without letting him explain, had not even bothered to bring the leggy blonde, Justin’s new girlfriend, into the argument. Instead, she had just made up an excuse as to why they couldn’t see each other anymore in order to mask how hurt and confused she actually was.

That was three days ago. Now she was just going through each day, somewhat in a daze. She ignored every single call from Justin – and she had been getting at least half a dozen a day from him, and had turned her full attention to the opening of her show that Friday night. She wasn’t living anymore; she was just surviving.

A knock on the door snapped Vanessa from her trip down memory lane and she quickly leapt to her feet and donned her robe.

“Nessa, it’s your mother. Can I please come in and talk to you?” Alisandra Miller called through the closed panel.

A lecture from her mother was the last thing Vanessa needed at that moment, but she just wasn’t capable of shutting her mother out of her life. Alisandra was one of her best friends, and even though she was her mother, Vanessa knew that she’d listen first without being judgmental. And besides, it’d feel good to actually get this all off her chest.

“Come on in mom,” Vanessa called as she tied the sash of her robe.

The door opened a moment later to reveal Alisandra Miller, an older version of Vanessa. The regal woman stepped into the room and shut the door before taking a seat and looking determinedly at her daughter. With a sigh, Vanessa collapsed into the nearest chair and got comfortable.

“Would you like to tell me what’s wrong?” Alisandra questioned, coming directly to the point.

“Justin and I broke up,” Vanessa quietly stated, looking at the floor as she uttered the still unbelievable words.

“What? Oh sweetie, what happened? You two seemed so obviously happy together,” Alisandra responded as she came forward and enveloped her daughter in a tight hug, “Would you like to talk about it?” Mutely, Vanessa nodded her head as she choked back tears that were threatening to spill.

“I still don’t understand it myself,” Vanessa began as her mother sat back down, “I was going to meet Justin for lunch, and next thing you know, I see him telling this leggy blonde that he doesn’t, and has never loved me and that the only reason he’s been seeing me is because I help him deal with the stress of his father.”

“Oh honey, are you sure you didn’t jump to conclusions?” Alisandra asked, a frown marring her normally beautiful features.

“I’m sure mom. I heard it from his own mouth,” Vanessa replied.

“Well did you give him a chance to explain why he said what he did?” Alisandra continued, “You know his father never liked you, maybe he had something to do with this.”

“I didn’t even want to get into it with Justin because I was still so shocked, so I just broke things off with him, thinking that it wouldn’t hurt as much,” Vanessa explained, not liking where her mother was heading.

“That there is your first mistake sweetie. You should have at least given him a chance to explain himself. You two have been together for a year, and I have never seen you so happy as when you’re with Justin, and the same goes for him, “Alisandra concluded as she stood up, “Now I know that Justin will be coming to the show tomorrow, can you promise me that you’ll talk to him?”

“But mom…”

“No buts, just promise me,” Alisandra commanded as she stood in the open doorway of her daughter’s dressing room.

“Fine, I promise,” Vanessa agreed with a sigh and a frown.

“There’s a good girl. No you get out there and break a leg tonight,” Alisandra concluded before leaving the dressing room and shutting the door, leaving Vanessa to her thoughts yet again.

What was her mom thinking? She couldn’t talk to Justin tomorrow! Not after she had slammed his ego and stomped on his heart a few days ago. Then again, he had done the same to her, so the score was, in essence, equal.

But wait…he was coming to the show tomorrow?

I've said some things I shouldn't have
Tried everything to win her back
I'm human, I messed up.
Is she gone? Are we done?
Forgiveness, another chance
That's all I want, it's in your hands

Justin knew he had fucked up.

Damn his father for putting him in a situation that was sure to spark his temper and cause him to say things he didn’t mean. The man was a brilliant politician and liar, but the worst father someone could ever hope for. It was a wonder his parents’ marriage had even lasted twenty years before that messy divorce they had had.

At twenty-five, a pro at recognizing when his father was up to something, he definitely should have seen it coming. Ever since he had first taken Vanessa to meet his father, his father had been hell-bent on breaking them up. His reasoning was that Vanessa didn’t deserve Justin, but Justin knew the reason his father wanted them apart was because he felt threatened by Vanessa’s success on the stage, a feat he himself had not been able to do in his younger days.

But Justin knew blaming his father just wasn’t right. Sure, the old man had pulled a number on him, but that didn’t excuse the fact that he had been stupid enough to fall right into the waiting trap and thus hurt Vanessa so badly. He didn’t blame her for not wanting to have anything to do with him, and though he had hoped she would give him a chance to explain his actions, he wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t been so lucky.

Truth be told, he loved Vanessa with all his heart and couldn’t picture himself with anybody else. But he hadn’t yet shared that fact with her, and now he was afraid he would never get that chance. She wouldn’t even speak to him, much less listen to what he had to say.

But how could he just give up on her so easily? How could he just admit defeat? He was not going to let her go without a fight, that was for sure. That was why he was going to her performance tonight: to win her back and let her know that there wasn’t and would never be any other girl in his life but her.

Justin sighed as he ran a hand through his blondish-brown curls in agitation. Tailored black slacks adorned his lower half, accentuating muscular thighs and a tight butt, which had been attained from his daily workout regime in the early morning hours of the day. Broad shoulders tapered down to a slim waist and were ensconced in a dark blue dress shirt, complete with a black and silver tie. In all, he was the epitome of handsome; but that didn’t matter to Vanessa, the one person who saw through the outer, good-looking exterior to the man beneath.

He couldn’t lose her, he just couldn’t.

A knock on the door of his luxurious apartment interrupted Justin’s thoughts, and after sticking the little black box in the pocket of his slacks, he went to answer it, his polished shoes clicking on the hardwood floor of the hallway. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see his father standing on the other side, shifting nervously from foot to foot and dressed in evening finery.

“Dad! What are you doing here?” Justin questioned in surprise as his father wordlessly entered the apartment and the young man shut the door.

“I came to apologize,” John Timberlake began as he paced the wood floor.

“Dad…”

“No, you listen to me son. You have every right to an apology right now,” John continued, not allowing his son to get a word in edgewise.

“An apology?” Justin incredulously questioned, “I hurt the one woman who I truly care about so that I can get you off my back and now you come to apologize for your behavior? Why the change of heart all of a sudden? You’re not dying are you?” The young man glared at his father, waiting for an answer.

“Your mother called me last night and you know what the first words out of her mouth were?” John began, shoving his hands into his coat pocket as he talked.

“I can’t even begin to imagine,” Justin replied as he crossed his arms over his chest and began to lose patience with the older man.

“She said I need to stop being such an ass and butt out of your life,” John said with a sigh, “And as much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. I know I haven’t been the best father or role model in your life, and I know that I can be overbearing and over-critical, but I guess that’s because I didn’t want to be like my father, who never cared a damn about what I did.”

“Your point?” Justin ground out, not falling for the sympathetic act.

“Do you love her?” John abruptly questioned, throwing the young man way off-guard.

“What?”

“I said, do you love her?” the elder man calmly repeated.

“Yes I love her, more than words can even say,” Justin passionately stated, “But now I don’t know if she’ll even talk to me, much less believe that I actually do love her and that everything that happened a few days ago was all a lie.”

“You’re going to her performance tonight, correct?” John began.

“Yes, why?” Justin questioned.

“Find some way to tell her then, when she has no way to run away and she’ll have to listen to you,” John responded with a small smile, “Catch her unaware and sweep her off her feet so she has no reason to say no.”

“When did you get so romantic?” Justin demanded, cocking a surprised eyebrow in his father’s direction.

“I blame your mother,” the elder Timberlake supplied with a short shrug of his shoulders. Justin felt his eyes widen in shock at that statement. His parents were…?

“You and mom are…?” Justin began.

“We have a dinner date tonight,” John responded as he stood up to go.

“Unbelievable,” Justin murmured, rolling his eyes, “Well all I can say is you better have her home in one piece, you hear me?”

“Yes sir,” John replied, grinning as he turned to walk out the door, “And Justin?”

“Yeah dad?”

“Just remember that I love you and I’m proud of you no matter what,” John responded before walking out of the apartment and leaving a very confused Justin behind.

The young man could only shake his head in disbelief as he donned his leather jacket and grabbed the keys to his sports car. If that was any indication of how this night was going to turn out, things were going to be crazy if nothing else.

“Is he out there?” Vanessa nervously questioned as she paced backstage, her character heels creating a steady rhythm on the floor.

“Yes he is, now do you want me to go beat him up for you?” Neely questioned as she donned her headset and got ready for the evening’s performance, “I got no qualms about punching that little a…”

“I promised my mom I would talk to him, so you’ll have to wait until after I’m done to beat him up,” Vanessa dryly responded.

Vanessa had finally shared the news of the breakup with Neely late last night, after the afterparty, and her friend had been out for blood ever since. Of course, Vanessa wasn’t going to let Neely come anywhere near Justin, but it was amusing to watch how her friend reacted. It was good to know she could count on somebody to stick by her side even when she was at her lowest points in life.

“You’re going to talk to him!” Neely said in a loud whisper as they prepared for the opening scene.

“Yes. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind and be done with it,” Vanessa replied as she adjusted her headset.

“That’s my girl,” Neely said with a smile of encouragement.

Just then, the audience hushed as the lights of the performance hall went out and the musical began. Vanessa took a deep breath as she prepared to make her first entrance, clad in a demure gray skirt and white button-up blouse, her hair in a ponytail, complete with ribbon.

She was thankful for the bright lights that blocked her view of the audience. There was no doubt in her mind that if she so much as noticed Justin, she would forget all her lines and the words to her songs and make a fool of herself.

As the musical continued, Vanessa became more and more relaxed as the true enjoyment of being on the stage took over. Thoughts of Justin were banished from her mind with each dance step and each musical note she sung. By the time the end of the musical rolled around, her smiles were no longer fake and the queasiness in her stomach had vanished.

“Blue dress!” one of the wardrobe managers called as Vanessa exited the stage after the angry duet with the boyfriend who had supposedly lied to her. How ironic that was, as it seemed to be the story of her life at the moment.

As Vanessa donned the blue evening gown and black character shoes for her next number, one of the makeup assistants pulling down her hair so that it fell in lovely waves about her shoulder, her heart began to race. This was the number she had struggled with the previous evening, but she’d be damned if she messed up in front of Justin. She wouldn’t show how weak she actually was right now.

“Vanessa you’re on in five, four, three, two, and go,” Neely prompted right before Vanessa took to the stage again.

“Alone again? And to think that I trusted him!” Vanessa stated, acting out her part of scorned lover, “Maybe Mallory was right. Maybe our world’s are too far apart; maybe I should just forget about him. But how can I when all I want is to be by his side?”

Vanessa let lose a dramatic sigh as the opening chords of her musical number began and she opened her mouth to sing.

It's funny when you find yourself
Looking from the outside
I'm standing here but all I want
Is to be over there

Why did I let myself believe
Miracles could happen
Cause now I have to pretend
That I don't really care

Justin held his breath as he watched Vanessa sing. He could tell how much of a struggle this performance was for her and he hated that he was the cause of her distress. Oh how he wished he could just pull her into his arms, kiss her and tell her it would all be alright. But he knew that he couldn’t be rash or else he would ruin any chance he would have of getting her back.

I thought you were my fairytale
A dream when I'm not sleeping
A wish upon a star
That’s coming true
But everybody else could tell
That I confused my feelings with the truth
When there was me and you

I swore I knew the melody
That I heard you singing
And when you smiled
You made me feel
Like I could sing along

Vanessa thought she was going to cry. This song was like her anthem; it was like Neely had written this song just for her, even though she knew that wasn’t the case at all. She hoped wherever Justin was, he was listening to the words and maybe understood exactly what he was putting her through right now.

In his seat, Justin could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Vanessa had never been one to get caught up in a song, but he could tell it was taking all her effort not to break down and cry right on stage. Lord, he had to do something, but what?

But then you went and changed the words
Now my heart is empty
I'm only left with used-to-be's
And once upon a song

Now I know you’re not a fairytale
And dreams were meant for sleeping
And wishes on a star
Just don't come true

Justin jumped to his feet and quickly made his way to the main floor, his heart in his throat. He couldn’t watch this anymore. He couldn’t bear to see Vanessa hurting so much, and though what he was about to do was rash and totally irrational, he didn’t really care. All he wanted was to see Vanessa’s beautiful smile once more; to hold her in his arms and kiss her.

Cause now even I can tell
That I confused my feelings with the truth
Cause I liked the view
When there was me and you

I can't believe that
I could be so blind
It's like you were floating while I was falling
And I didn't mind

Cause I liked the view
Thought you felt it too
When there was me and you

As Vanessa was wrapping up the song, thankful that it was over, she suddenly noticed a figure joining her on the stage. Her mouth fell open in shock as Justin casually walked towards her, not caring that she was in the middle of a performance in front of hundreds of people.

“What are you…” she began, but got no farther as Justin pulled her into his arms and held her tight as his lips crashed hungrily over her’s.

For a moment, Vanessa just stood there, shocked. What was this? What was Justin trying to pull? But with a sigh, she finally gave in and began to kiss him back, wrapping her arms about his neck in order to pull him as close as she possibly could.

Finally, a few moments later, the two of them broke apart, breathing heavily, yet completely unaware of anything but each other. Time seemed to stand still as they stared each other down, neither not quite sure what to say. It was Justin who finally spoke up.

“Vanessa, I know you don’t want to speak to me, and I know you wish I was dead, but you have to give me a chance to explain,” Justin began after taking a huge gulp of air, “The other day, everything that came out of my mouth, well, it was a lie. That woman meant nothing to me. She was just another one of those women my father threw at me to try to break us up.”

Silently, Vanessa let him say what he needed, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she watched him.

“My father has been a part of every single aspect of my life since I was a child, and after all these years of the constant pressure, I finally cracked. I was sick of him telling me what to do, who to see, how to live my life, so I did the only thing I thought would get him off my back: I told him that I was dating one of the women he had chosen for me,” Justin continued, running a hand through his hair in agitation, “I know I shouldn’t blame him; after all, it’s my fault that I couldn’t just stand up to him and tell him how I felt. And that weakness made me hurt you in a way I never thought I was capable of hurting another human being.”

Tears filled Vanessa’s eyes as she listened to Justin talk, knowing full well how hard it was to live with his father; her’s was almost the exact same way. She couldn’t blame him for cracking under all that pressure, and she was stupid not to give him a chance to explain days ago, when this whole thing had first happened.

“I came here tonight, with my heart in my throat, wanting, needing, and hoping that you would grant me forgiveness and open your heart back up to me. Because I love you with all my heart and there has never been any other woman in my life but you. But as I got ready for the evening, something else crossed my mind; something else I felt I had to do, that couldn’t wait another moment, whether you forgave me or not” Justin concluded.

Wordlessly, he dropped to one knee and took Vanessa’s hand in his as he pulled a small black velvet box out of the pocket of his pants. Her eyes widened in shock and her lips parted, yet she was unable to utter a word.

“Vanessa, you are the love of my life, the keeper of my heart, and the only woman I ever want to be with,” Justin stated after taking a deep breath, “Will you marry me?”

She didn’t know what to say. She, the woman of a thousand words, who always had a quick and witty answer for anything, stood speechless as he stared up into her eyes. Oh what was she to do?

She had forgiven him the moment he had appeared on the stage and kissed her, so that was not an issue. But marriage? Could she even handle that?

As she looked down at Justin, who’s heart was in his eyes as he patiently waited for her answer, she knew there was no other man she could ever see herself with. Nobody could make French toast as well as he did, or surprise her with a boquet of roses when she was feeling down. Nobody enjoyed going shopping with her as much, or could care less if she hung around the house in a pair of underwear and an old t-shirt of his.

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she responded as tears fell down her cheeks.

Silently, Justin slipped the beautiful engagement ring on her finger before standing up and scooping her into his arms. He spun her around, laughing with joy as she clung to him, giggling.

All of a sudden, clapping rang out through the performance hall, swiftly reminding the pair that they were not alone at all. Justin felt his face go red as he realized that a couple hundred eyes were trained on him and his new fiancée, who was grinning, laughing and waving to the crowd, some of who were whistling, and others who were still clapping. There was a reason the stage was her life.

“I think we have some admirers,” Vanessa teased as she put an arm around her fiancé’s waist and hugged him close, “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have one of your adoring fans?”

“Not on your life,” Justin responded as he pulled her in his arms for a kiss, their foreheads touching, “All I need is you.”

Featured songs:
1. Great Disguise – Martina McBride
2. To Make Her Love Me – Rascal Flatts
3. When There Was Me And You – High School Musical