An hour later, JC’s car pulled into the lot in front of the rehearsal studio. It turned out that instead of just doing a second leg of their previous tour, they were going to start a month later, and do a whole other tour all together. This added a lot of stress to the crew, and management, and especially the guys.

JC grabbed his bag out of the back and Jamie followed him inside. She had spotted Justin’s car a few rows over, and now she was nervously chewing on a finger.

      “Will you calm down please?” JC laughed a little to see the worry on Jamie’s face, but he was worried too. He knew that bringing her wasn’t a good idea, but he also knew that the two of them needed to work things out before it got too deep, and they could never forgive one another.

The room where their dance practice was held was filled with all kinds of people. Tour managers, stage hands and crew, the rest of *NSYNC and their choreographer, Toni, all huddled around Johnny.

      “OK PEOPLE!” Toni clapped his hands and tried to round up his pupils. The rest of the crowd thinned until it was just Johnny and *NSYNC.

Jamie stared at Justin across the room. His back was turned to her and she felt a pang of anger, fear and longing all rolled into one. This was a bad idea, and she just wanted to leave. She wasn’t ready to face him yet, and she knew that this was all JC’s doing.

      “Jace, I want to go. I’ll call a cab or something, I can’t stay here. Please.” She pleaded with him and JC almost regretted having to do this.

      “It’s OK James. Just go sit over there on that couch, and relax. Here, read this.” He handed her a stack of papers and she looked at them strangely.

      “JC, this is the stage set up for your show, I really don’t want to read this.”

      “Would you rather watch Justin watch you all afternoon?” Her eyes widened and she shook her head.

      “I’m going to go get a soda from the machine I saw. I’ll be back.” JC was about to stop her from leaving, but Toni called for them to get ready and he reluctantly turned around. He came face to face with Justin, and the boy didn’t seem very excited.

      “What is Jamie doing here? How did you get her to come here?” He seemed eager to her that Jamie was here for him, but they both knew that was too good to be true.

      “Jamie and I were hanging out today, I took her to the airport to say good bye to Luke, and she had to come here because I didn’t have time to take her home. Justin, please, give her space and time, she’s not ready to face you yet.” Justin’s shoulders slumped and he looked as if he had just lost his best friend. Which in a way, he did.

Jamie waited in the hallway, sipping on a Pepsi. She could hear the music and Toni barking out orders. She didn’t want to go in, because she knew that seeing Justin dance would weaken her defenses, she always had a soft spot for his performing.

Pushing her doubt aside, she quietly opened the doors to the studio and crept over to the couch in the back. No one really seemed to notice her, except for Justin that is. His eyes had found her the second the door clicked open, and had followed her across the room. She looked tired, and rightfully so. A familiar pang of guilt shot through his heart and after minutes of watching without her returning his glances, he gave up and put his focus back on dancing. It was no use pushing something he had no control over anyway. So he danced, with more passion than anyone had seen out of him in a long time.

“All right everyone, that’s it for today. Nice job guys. Go get some sleep, and Chris…get some ice, will ya? It hurts me just to look at you.” Chris gave Toni a dirty look and the finger, accompanied by the laughter of his band mates.

Jamie sat in the back of the room nervously twisting her fingers together, anxious to get out of there. But there was a small, SMALL part of her that wanted to talk to Justin. Wanted to see what he would say, wanted to hear his voice. The part was very minute, but it was there all the same, tugging at Jamie’s conscience.

JC walked over and explained that he needed to find Johnny, and that he would be back in five to ten minutes. Jamie nodded that she understood and told him that she would just wait outside. She was about to leave when she heard someone approach her from behind, and Justin’s soft voice called her name.

    “James…can I talk to you please?” Jamie looked around the room, noticing that it was empty. It was then that she knew they had been set up, and JC didn’t really need to find Johnny.

      “Justin…I don’t know if I can listen to you tell me the words I want to hear, and know that you were about to cheat on me.” Justin closed his eyes and searched for something, anything to make her understand, but he came up empty.

      “James, I’m sorry…God I’m so sorry. I know that doesn’t fix the situation, but I just want you to know how much I regret what went on last night.” Jamie stayed silent for a few moments before she spoke.

      “You broke my heart Justin, and nothing even happened. It made me feel so small…and so…so WORTHLESS to see you with Katie. I had felt so terrible about being with Luke, and all along you were with someone else.” A tear slipped down her face, over her slightly red cheeks, and it was all Justin could do not to reach out and wipe it away.

      “My biggest fear is losing control. When I see you with Luke, I feel so out of control it scares me. I know that you two are best friends, but you look so comfortable with him, and you two know each other so well, I feel like competition whenever were all in a room together. I feel as if I’m stealing you from him. When you said that you were going out to dinner with him, I lost it. I felt as if he had stolen you away, and that I would never get you back. It scared me to feel that way; I never want to lose you.” He was bordering on breaking down himself, and his vision blurred for a second with unshed tears.

      “Justin, I’m not an object of your possession! You can’t fight over me with Luke, and there never was any fight to begin with. Luke never had a claim on me, but you were too wrapped up in your own insecurities to see that. I wasn’t going anywhere; you were never going to lose me.” She sighed and rubber her temples. This was harder than she expected, but at the same time, it was freeing, to get all this out in the open.

      “I didn’t want to see any of that James, I was being selfish and I know that. But you have to understand what it looks like to me. I know that’s no consolation for what I did, but James, I never touched her, and there wasn’t a moment that I was with her when I wasn’t thinking of you.” She laughed bitterly.

      “Gee, thanks.” She angrily wiped away the tears and fought to gain control over herself. “Justin, I don’t know what you want me to say to you.”

      “I know that it will take you a while to forgive me, but please, don’t walk away. I don’t think my heart could take watching you walk away from me again. Jamie, I need you. I need you so badly it scares me. Please, please.” He stared at her with eager eyes and she sighed before answering to those eyes.

      “I won’t walk away from you, but I need time. I need to figure out just what it is that I want and need. It will take time for me to forgive you, but I think that it’s possible. Just give me time, OK?”

      “How much time?” His words sounded relieved and he looked like he had just been handed the world.

      “I don’t know. A few days maybe…just let me do this on my own. I’ll call you when I’m ready. Can you do that? Can you give me that time?” He nodded slowly and Jamie let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding.

      “I’ll give you all the time in the world James, and I’m so sorry for everything.”

      “I know Justin, I know.” She leaned in and placed a small kiss on his soft cheek before turning and walking out the door. Justin watched as she left and his heart fluttered with excitement. Things would work out, he knew it.

The next few days were spent in solitude for Jamie. She took a long time in re-evaluating her situation, and what she was feeling. The truth be told, she was falling in love with Justin, regardless of what he was going to do. She was starting to forgive him, but it was going to be a while before it was completely out of her system.

Jamie had decided that in her time off, she wanted to do a little research. This could either back fire immensely, or it could strengthen her bond with Justin. Either way, she felt she had to do it.

Stepping out of her car she looked up at the lush apartment building and took a deep breath, it was now or never.

Finding out who Katie was wasn’t as hard a job as Jamie first thought. She had gotten her information from Joey’s brother, Steve, because he didn’t know about what happened, and he was more than willing to indulge a little information. It turns out that Katie was an old friend of Justin’s from his Mickey Mouse Club days, and that nothing had ever really happened between them. That helped to ease a few of Jamie’s fears, but she still felt that this needed to be done.

Saying a quick prayer for strength she pushed the button for Katie’s apartment and waited to be buzzed in.

A few seconds later she stood in front of apartment 237, waiting to meet the girl that tried to take away her boyfriend.

      “Hey, Jamie right?” Jamie nodded her head and looked the girl over. “Come on in.” Jamie stepped inside the apartment and stood nervously.

Katie was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a white fitted tank top, a far cry from the bikini she had on the other night. Jamie thought that under different circumstances, she would have thought Katie a very pretty girl.

     “Do you want anything to drink? I have water, Sprite, Coke, and lemonade if you’re thirsty.” Jamie walked over to the brown leather couch that sat in the living room and set herself down.

      “Um, water is fine, thanks.”

After the niceties were exchanged, Jamie decided it was time to get down to business.

      “I don’t want to sound like a bitch, so excuse me if I do, but I need to know what you were doing at Justin’s the other night. I mean, what happened?” Katie looked over at Jamie and felt sorry for her. She was a sweet girl, and she knew that this was tearing her apart.

      “Jamie, to be honest, I’ve had a crush on Justin for a long time now. The other night, he called me and asked me to come over. Now, I knew something was wrong, because Justin and I haven’t spoken for a while now, and a few years back he made it very clear to me that nothing romantic could ever happen between us. Even thought I sensed that something wasn’t right, I went anyway. I mean…for a girl like me, when Justin Timberlake asks you to come over, you just go.”

She took a sip from her soda and waited for the next question.

      “Did you know about me? I mean, did you know that Justin had a girlfriend, and you went anyway?” Katie looked and Jamie and nodded her head yes, slowly.

      “I had heard through the grape vine that Justin was seeing someone from back home, but I wasn’t sure. I kind of sensed it when I got to his house, from the way he was acting. He seemed very nervous and jumpy…not the like smooth Justin that I’m used to. But I went anyway, yes. I was never trying to steal him, and if I known for sure I never would have gone…but he asked me over, so I thought maybe…” She trailed off and Jamie knew what she would have said anyway.

      “God I’m so confused.” Jamie sighed and sat back onto the couch. Katie watched her and felt terrible about what she had tried to do.

      “Jamie, I’m so sorry about what happened. I can honestly say that it shocked me when you showed up, because Justin has always been the one that said he would never cheat on any girl. He’s been burned before, and I know how sore of a subject that is with him. I feel awful for putting you through this.”

      “It’s not completely your fault, I mean; he did ask you to come over. I think it was his jealous side coming out, but who’s to say he won’t do it again?” Now Katie was seeing the real reason for Jamie’s visit. It wasn’t because she wanted to hear what had happened in that hot tub, it’s because she wanted to know if Justin had ever done this before, and if risking her sanity over him was actually worth it.

      “Jamie, Justin is the most loyal person I’ve ever met. But he makes mistakes. You shouldn’t hold this against him for very long, because you’ll miss out on so much. He is hard headed and stubborn and he hardly ever listens to reason…But he loves you Jamie. I saw it in his eyes and heard it in his voice when he was talking to you. If he could turn back time and change everything, he would in a heartbeat, but he can’t. Don’t miss out on a good thing because Justin decided to become human for one night.” Jamie looked at Katie for a long while before she smiled weakly.

      “Thanks. I needed that.” 

Jamie left Katie’s apartment with a little more of her pride intact. She had wanted to hate Katie for what happened, but she couldn’t, not after a conversation like that. No, the only person she was upset with was Justin.

He had managed to piss her off, break her heart and lose her trust all in one night. She knew that after talking to Katie, she didn’t really have anything to hold against him anymore. Saying, “I’m mad at you because of something you didn’t do.” was a little weird. She didn’t really want to be mad at him anyway, but she just didn’t know if she could ever trust him like she used to.

Jamie sighed and turned on the radio as she drove. She wasn’t quite sure where to go from here, but she’d figure that out after she ate.

Justin sat in his living room and stared at the phone, tapping his fingers and bouncing his legs. It was taking all his will power not to call Jamie and check up on her, but he was doing it. She had asked for a few days, and by God he was going to give that to her.

He stood and paced the living room; his head kept turning in the direction of the phone. She had said she’s call when she was ready and it had been three days since she said that. He needed to talk to her, needed to hear her voice and hear her tell him that everything was going to be OK.

The doorbell rand and Justin threw one last glance at the phone before moving to answer the door. He was surprised to see Luke standing there.

    ”Hey.” A wave of guilt passed over Justin but he shook it off. “Come on in.” Luke stepped inside and looked at Justin, gauging the singer and intending to make him sweat.

      “I…uh…I thought you were headed back to Tennessee.” Justin stumbled over his words because of the harsh glare Luke was sending his way.

      “I was, but when I saw Jamie this morning I changed my flight.  She doesn’t know, but I think that it’s better she doesn’t, I wouldn’t want her trying to stop me.”

      “Stop…stop you?”

      “Oh, I’m just going to come right out and say it. You are one stupid asshole.” Justin was taken aback but Luke’s bluntness, he hardly knew the man and all he seemed to do was insult him.

      “I guess I deserved that.”

      “I wasn’t done….You’re one stupid ass, and I can’t figure out for the life of me what Jamie sees in you, but she sees something. If I were her I would have left you before you could have muttered a word, but Jamie’s a little more forgiving that I am.” He followed Justin into the living room and waited for him to say something.

      “You have no idea how hard I’ve been kicking myself. I regret everything that went on that night, and I know that I’m a very lucky person…but I can’t take it back, any of it. I wish I could, just so I didn’t have to keep seeing that look of betrayal cross Jamie’s face every time I close my eyes.”

      “Do you love her?” Justin looked up at Luke and thought about the question, but he didn’t have to think about the answer.

      “More than anything. I can’t get over the fact that someone as special as her picked a guy like me, and I realize that I have probably ruined the most precious thing I’ve ever been given.”

      “Why did you do it?” Luke had figure he’d come in here and pound Justin in, all the while reminding him how stupid he was, but he didn’t need to do that. Justin knew it already.

      “I don’t know. Jealousy mostly, I was green with envy when I thought about you and Jamie together. I had no idea that…well…”

      “That I was gay, get on with it.”

      “I only wanted to see that you made Jamie so comfortable and that you knew her inside and out. How was I supposed to compete with years of friendship and a level of comfort like that?”

      “Justin, you didn’t have to compete. You had won Jamie over from the moment she laid eyes on you.”

      “I know that now, but a few nights ago I didn’t see that. All I saw was the fact that my girlfriend wasn’t with me. I was a selfish prick.”     

      “You still are, but at least you understand it now.” Justin chuckled a bit and Luke joined him. “Well, I came here to beat your ass in, but I don’t think I need to. She’s going to come back to you Justin, and I swear if you ever hurt her again I’m not going to be so forgiving. I told this to Jamie, and I’ll tell it to you. Be careful with her heart, it’s a precious thing and it’s been broken before. She’s in love with you Justin, she may not have told you yet, but she is and she wants to trust you, but you’re going to earn that trust back.” Justin nodded in agreement and watched as Luke walked to the door. “Show her how much she means Justin, don’t just tell her. She needs to see it more than she wants to hear it.” He closed the door softly behind him and left Justin standing in the living room.

Today was the first day of preparation for everyone involved in the wedding. All tour practice was stopped, and the focus was on Johnny and Erika, and getting this thing to work. Everyone sat in Johnny’s living room, talking amongst themselves.

Justin’s eyes watched the stairs. He knew that Jamie was here, and he wanted to see her…very badly. His need for her had grown so strong that he was driving everyone around him crazy. They all hoped that the two got back together really soon, because there was about to be one sore pop-star if Justin didn’t shut up.

No one really knew what was going to happen between Justin and Jamie. While they all agreed that the two were great for each other, they also agreed with Jamie’s apprehension about jumping back into things. After all, Justin screwed up, BIG time.

A few minutes after the meeting ended, Jamie came down the stairs, and into the living room. Justin’s eyes found her almost before she appeared, and he watched her every move carefully. She wore a pair of jeans and a tank top, and Justin thought she was a sight for sore eyes. She looked over at him once, but showed no emotion, good, bad or otherwise. He watched as she walked over to JC, whispered something is his ears and then smiled as he said something to make her laugh. He reminded himself that the jealousy he was feeling was what got him in trouble in the first place, so he took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

JC made his way over to Justin and sat down.

      “Hey man. Jamie wanted me to tell you that she wants to talk to you outside…on the basketball court.” Justin gave JC a questioning look, and JC held up his hands. “She didn’t say anything about what she wanted to talk to you about…you’re going to have to find that out for yourself. But J, don’t kill yourself too much.” He patted his shoulder and got up to go mingle with some other people. Justin took a deep breath and made his way outside, to face something he wasn’t very sure of.

Jamie was bouncing a ball around, taking a shot here and there. Justin smiled as he watched her move. Somewhat ungraceful but enchanting all the same. He watched as she took a shot, and when it went it, he clapped and whistled.

Jamie turned sharply and when she spotted Justin she smiled and bowed.

      “Thank you, thank you…there will be autographs after the game.” Justin laughed and walked up to her, stopping only a foot away.

      “Hey James.” His voice was low and husky and it gave Jamie chills. He was the only one that called her James regularly.

      “Hi.” She bounced the ball a few times before throwing it across the court and watching as it rolled onto the grass and then stopped. “Justin, we need to talk.”

She led him over to the picnic table that sat between the basketball court and the volleyball court and motioned for him to sit down. She straddled the bench and faced him, taking a deep breath before she started talking.

      “I was so confused and hurt that I didn’t have any idea what to think first never mind what to do. You took all my insecurities about losing you and you made them a reality right before my eyes, and that scared me. For the first time Justin, you scared me.”

      “I-” She put a finger to his lips to stop him before she lost her nerve.

     “Let me finish. I wanted to hate you, but I couldn’t. As much as you hurt me, I couldn’t let go of the fact that you also mean so much to me. You’ve managed to become more important to me in these last few weeks than anyone else has ever been. I’m falling in love with you Justin, and what you did made me see just how important that love is, how fragile. I also know that relationships are built on trust…and forgiveness. In order for us to trust, we need to give each other a chance, and in your case, a second one. I don’t want to lose what we have, but I can’t just forget what you did either, so I have an idea.”

Justin was in too much shock from hearing her confession so he stayed silent and let her finish.

      “I want to take another shot at this…but I want to start from the beginning. We never started this like a normal relationship. We went from fighting to talking while you were on tour, and I want to start this like a normal couple.” Justin chuckled a bit and looked up at Jamie.

      “James, I’m far from a normal person.” She smiled a little and it made Justin’s heart sore to know that it was meant for him.

      “You’re more normal than you give yourself credit for. Anyway…you, Mr. Timberlake, are going to take me out on a date.” Justin’s eyebrows rose in surprise and he gave Jamie a funny look.

      “I’m going to take you out on a date? Is this like a, trial basis type thing? I don’t get it.” Jamie laughed and wiped away an eyelash from Justin’s cheek.

      “A date, as in a DATE. You’re going to take me out to some place, and we’re going to talk, and get to know each other…and we’re going to take our time, and get this thing right. I want to KNOW you Justin…and I want you to know me.” He stared at her with an amused look, but it was filled with admiration.

      “OK, a date. What time shall I pick you up, Miss Tanning?”

      “Don’t be a dork, or I might not go out with you.” He put a hand to his chest and looked hurt. “You’re being a dork. I don’t know, it depends on what we’re doing, and you’re going too decided. Surprise me.”

      “So, is this like, punishment?” He laughed when she threw him a dirty look.

      “This is serious Justin…” He held up a hand and stopped her.

      “I know, I was just teasing you…that is OK, isn’t it?” She raised an eyebrow at him and thought about it.

      “You’re not earning yourself any brownie points, but if you feel the need…”

      “OK, I’ll pick you up at 7, dress casual. How does that sound?”

      “Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you then.” They stood there for a few moments, and Justin wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t know if that was a good idea. Instead, he ignored the devil on his shoulder and winked at her before turning to go back inside.

      “I’ll see you at 7.”

~*~

There were very few times in his lifetime that Justin had been REALLY nervous; when he was on Star Search, when he auditioned for MMC and a few others along the way. Tonight was another night to add to that list.

He had dated girls before, and this was nothing new, but for some reason, he felt very strange. He already knew James, he knew he was falling for her, and yet he had to start from the beginning. He supposed it was his own fault but it still felt strange. He was nervous because Jamie already had expectations. In a way, this was like a test for Justin, and he was never good at tests.

He fixed his shirt before going inside to get Jamie. She was sitting on the couch in Johnny’s living room, talking to Erika, Johnny’s fiancée.

      “Hey James…are you ready?” She stood and wiped her hands down her pants, she looked a bit nervous too.

      “Sure, let’s go.” Justin took in the corduroys she was wearing and the t-shirt that advertised bullfighting it Tijuana. She looked beautiful, and he was afraid that he was starting to drool. “So…where are you taking me?” Justin opened Jamie’s door for her and ran around to the driver’s side before answering.

      “Well…I’m going to take you out for ice cream, and then I have a surprise for you.” He smiled slyly and Jamie wondered what she was in for.

Sitting at a picnic table outside of a little ice cream stand, Justin watched as Jamie ate her ice cream and talked about her life and childhood.

      “My mother died when I was three, she had a rare form of cancer that we didn’t discover until too late. It hit my father really hard, and for a while things were out of control. He lost his job and we lived in different places; hotels, friend’s houses, anywhere that was cheep. I’ve even slept in a cardboard box before. When he realized what he was doing, he cleaned himself up, and that’s when he ran into your Dad. Randy helped him get a job, and an apartment across the street from you guys.” She played with her ice cream and calmed her nerves before continuing.

Justin tried to hide the shock that had to have been clearly written on his face, but he couldn’t help it. “I’m so sorry James. I had no idea.”

She smiled bitterly at his comment. “No, no one did. But that’s over now…it’s in the past, and we’re not going to dwell.” She looked up and Justin and knew that the worst of what they were going through was over. She could see it in his eyes, and she knew then that no matter what happened he would always hold her heart.