She felt like she was suffocating. He'd wanted to have sex, but there was no way in hell she was ever going to sleep with him ever again. She told him she was on her period and even if she wasn't, she didn't feel comfortable with everyone else in the other room.

Nancy was supposed to be sleeping in the other bed, but she told Shelby she wouldn't feel comfortable as long as Brad was in there also.

So there she lay feeling like she was spooning with her brother. When she finally couldn't take it any more she got up and moved to the other bed.

"Where are you going?" Brad asked groggily.

"I've got really bad cramps. I think I'm going to go downstairs and grab something to eat then I can take some Midol." Shelby said not even feeling bad for lying.

"Do you want some company?" Brad asked sitting up.

"No, I don't want to bother you, just go back to sleep." Shelby said then threw on a pair of work out pants and a sweatshirt. She gave Brad a quick peck on the check then grabbed her room key and wallet then left the room.

~*~

Justin sat alone at a table in the hotel lounge nursing a beer. He hated beer, but it was the first thing that came out of his mouth when the bartender asked what he wanted. He couldn't drink anything harder as getting drunk was not something he could afford to do when he had to get up in three hours.

The image of Brad kissing Shelby while she was sitting on the bed plagued his mind. He had no right to be jealous or angry at Brad. Stupid, Justin, stupid. He wished he had someone to talk to, someone would listen and understand, but not judge him. He looked up and saw JC sit down at his table. It had to be a sign.

"Why are you still up man?" JC asked sitting down.

"Couldn't sleep." Justin shrugged taking a sip from his nasty beer. "What's your excuse?"

"Just got in." JC answered.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Justin asked picking at the label on his bottle.

"Sure, you can always talk to me." JC nodded.

"You have to promise me you won't get judgmental or give me a lecture. Advice would be nice, but please don't chastise me."

JC stared at the younger man and wondered if he should agree or not. He slowly nodded his head and waited for Justin to begin. He was fairly certain that everything was going to be about Shelby.

"I don't know what to do. Every time I'm around Shelby I'm drawn to her. I feel myself falling again and I can't. I love Cameron and I like being with her. Then on the other hand the more I'm around Shelby the more I wish it was like it used to be.

I ask myself where would we be if it wasn't for all that BS. I know in my heart that we'd be either engaged or married. I wonder if Danielle would be our child."

JC nearly choked when Justin said that last part and coughed loudly. If only he knew.

"Yeah, intense, I know. I don't want these thoughts, but they keep plaguing me. I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms and never let go. Then I think of Cameron and I know I love her, I'm so confused." Justin sighed.

"Damn." JC said watching his younger friend. "Sounds to me like you need to figure out which one you really love because you can't love them both. You know Shelby is getting the short stick. You know that she has feelings for you, yet you still play her. She's very vulnerable and she can't help falling for your charm, she's in love with you. You have to decide what you want and stick with it. You can't keep this up Justin. You realize that Cameron has no idea what you're doing. None of us like her, but that doesn't mean she deserves to be cheated on. If you have to just end things for now until you figure things out then do it. I mean it Justin."

"Dammit JC! I know all of that. I don't know how to decide, or how to stop these feelings. Sometimes I wish I never would have forgiven her, that would make things so much easier." Justin grumbled.

"Let's change the subject, ears involved have just entered the room."

Justin turned his head and saw Shelby sit down at a table in the back. She had her hood up and seemed to be hiding from something. She looked very subdued as she kept to herself.

JC watched the emotions play across Justin's face and raised an eyebrow. If it was fair, he'd tell Justin to get rid of Cameron and go for the woman that was perfect for him. Hands down Shelby was the girl for Justin, but Justin would have to figure that out for himself

Shelby felt someone staring at her and glanced up. She saw JC and Justin sitting a few feet away. JC was looking at her and smiled when she caught his gaze. She smiled back timidly then get up and went to the coffee shop next door. She grabbed a decaf irish creme and vanilla latte and piece of strawberry pie then went back to sit down in the bar.

She had to eat something to satisfy her now guilty conscience for lying to Brad.

What was she going to do about him. She really wanted to break up with him, but she was really dreading the confrontation. She didn't want to ruin their friendship.

She was deep in thought when JC sat down in front of her interrupting her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" he asked noting her somber face.

"Yeah, just thinking." She answered with a shrug.

"About?"

"How in the world am I going to break up with Brad. I've known for a while that I was going to do it, but now that he's here I'm nervous. I hate confrontation with a passion." Shelby sighed warming her hands on her hot mug.

"I can understand that. It's never easy to break up with someone. I've never liked doing it either, but you just have to suck it up and do it. He'll understand, and you know what, if he doesn't then that's his problem."

"I don't want to lose his friendship, but I can't continue with this charade. I don't like him like that." Shelby groaned.

"So tell him that. That's all you need to do." JC said understanding her fear.

"I think I will." Shelby nodded before finishing the last of her pie.

"We should probably call it a night and go to bed. We leave at four." JC said standing up.

"Ouch. That's only three hours from now. That means we have to get up in two hours. How long is the drive tomorrow?" She asked hoping he'd say a long time so she could sleep.

"Were going to be driving all morning tomorrow. Our next stop is New Orleans, our ETA is fifteen hundred hours."

"Why can't you just say three o'clock? Are we in the military? No we are not." Shelby said cutting him off.

JC ignored her outburst and kept on talking as if she'd never said a word."We are to go straight to the club for sound check and we'll check into our rooms later. Well we'll be checked in, but we won't be going to the hotel until after the show."

"That's fine. At least I'll get to sleep on the bus. That also means I'll have to shower before we leave and that'll wake me up."

"You look fine, as long as you don't go putting a bunch of grease in your hair between now and then you'll be fine." JC assured her.

"Oh, trust me, I won't. Scrubs until we get there." Shelby nodded.

"Well you have a good night and I'll see you sometime tomorrow or later today if you wanna be technical." JC said bidding her goodnight.

"Good night JC. Thanks."

"Your welcome."

Next Day

Sitting out in the audience with her legs draped over the seat, Shelby focused her attention on the paper in front of her and what she had been trying to accomplish. As she read over the lyrics scrawled out on the paper, she felt herself bopping her head to the beat only she could hear. It had been plaguing her mind endlessly for the past week or so, so she finally decided to work on coming up with some lyrics. She hadn’t gotten very far on the lyrics so far, but what she did have she was actually quite proud of. Maybe once it was done the guys would let her perform it.

Still, it felt like something was missing maybe a certain edge to the lyrics. She read them silently over again and again and just couldn’t grasp what the chorus should be. Deciding that it would be easier if she sang it aloud, Shelby opened her mouth and let the words come out. It wasn't a song that she would sing, this one would fit Ryan better.

No one will ever see
This side reflected
And if there's something wrong
Who would have guessed it
And I have left alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like
It's not too late
It's never too late

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it all around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late

The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get back
The life we had
Won't be ours again
This world will never be
What I expected

Something was still missing, that was for sure. And before she could even form another thought, she heard someone clear their throat only a few feet from where she sat. Looking up, Shelby felt something akin to surprise wash over her as she looked into the blue eyes of her inspiration.

“That was great Shelby, is it done?”

“Not even close. What’s up, Justin?”

“Just kinda bummin around before sound check." Justin answered.

"Sounds like fun."

“Yeah.” He looked down and fidgeted, kicking something imaginary on the ground. Why did he look so nervous?
“Did you want something, Justin? Or just looking for company?”

“Oh.” He reached back and scratched the back of his head, looking into her eyes. She hated when he did that, he looked absolutely adorable.

Damn him.

"I don't know I just saw you sittin there and I just wanted to come over and see what you were doing." Justin shrugged.

"Well, now you know. I'm just trying to get this song onto paper. Did you get a good night sleep?" Shelby asked trying to extend the conversation.

With his hands in his pockets, Justin leaned back against the seat behind him and looking at Shelby. "I slept for a while on the bus, it was good as to be expected."

"Yeah. I wish I could say the same. I tried to sleep, but with the girls and Brad I got about three hours maximum."

"Where are they?"

"The girls are with Carrie and Brad went with Nancy somewhere."

"Oh, my mom called earlier and wanted to know how you all are. I told her you were good. and I told her about Carrie. She wanted to know your phone number so she can call you herself. Since when did you and mom get along so great?" Justin asked.

"She was always nice to me back in the day and we just kinda talked while she was here and I guess bonded again."

"What's your phone number?" Justin asked opening his phone.

"Wouldn't it be easier if I just called her myself?" Shelby answered with a question of her own.

"Just give me your number. I'll make sure she gets it." Justin said ready to put her number in.

Shelby gave him the number and watched while he entered it into his phone. Was it really a good thing that he now had her phone number. Time would only tell.

Walking into the arena fully expecting to see Shelby working hard on her new song alone, Brad found himself stopping dead in his tracks when he instead saw her in laughing conversation with none other than Justin Timberlake. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel any sort of jealousy or even hate towards the guy. After all, he had broken up with Shelby and never looked back, not even bothering to hear her out.

Brad understood completely that Shelby was in love with him and probably always would be, but why all of a sudden did Justin seem to want to be her friend? They had started this tour at one another’s throats, so what happened?

Finally Justin walked away

Walking over to his girlfriend, Brad sat down beside her. “Hey.”

“Brad! Hey.” It was obvious this was a good visit from the ex, Shelby immediately planted a kiss on his cheek, hugging him hello, smiling all the while. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to see if you wanted to take a break from this brainstorming and go get lunch.”

“Oh, uh yeah. I could eat.” Picking up her things, Shelby and Brad left the club and walked a couple blocks down to a little restaurant.

Leaning back against the seat, he looked at her and Shelby was afraid of what he was thinking. He looked as if he were about to do something terrible. “What were you and Justin talking about when I got to the arena?”

It was obvious to Brad that Shelby hadn’t expected him to say anything about Justin, she hadn’t even known he had been there watching her interact with him. She looked away from Brad as if she were embarrassed, having been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"We were just talking. Nothing really."

Sighing, Brad looked down as he played with a packet of sugar. The waitress came over and took their orders. Once she was gone, he finally looked back up to meet Shelby’s eyes. She seemed as though she was fighting with herself, afraid to say what she needed so desperately to get out.

“What is it, Shelby?”

Finally meeting Brad’s eyes, Shelby admitted defeat. “We need to talk.”

“I know.”

Sighing once again, Shelby ran her hands over her face trying to find the best way to tell him her true feelings without hurting him. She couldn’t be with him like this anymore. She had tried, but her heart would always belong to the one man who stole it away four years ago and never gave it back.

“You’re never going to feel anything for me, are you?” He said it so softly has he played with the straw in his glass, Shelby could feel how badly she was hurting him.

“Brad, I love you, but I’m sorry. My feelings for you don’t stretch beyond friendship."

“I am such a fool.”

“What, why?”

“Somewhere down the line I fell in love with you, hoping that if I could just find the words to tell you then you’d be mine. But you are never going to let him go. You‘re just going to wait around with the idea in your head that he‘s going to take you back. That he is the only man you could ever love.” Shelby tried to ignore the anger in his voice, but it still hurt.

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because I want you to be honest with yourself! You know how he feels about you. If he wanted you back, he’d have taken you back by now.” Unable to meet his venomous eyes, Shelby stared down into her lap, trying not to let her confusion over Justin show on her face. She didn’t know how Justin felt about her, not really. They were friends, but when he was near, he never left her side. He’d find little ways to smile at her, to touch her…to kiss her. Just what did he feel?

Shaking his head, Brad took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. “Unless he has and that’s why you’re saying this to me. I saw you two earlier back at the club. He really has warmed up to you again.”

That was the last straw. She had been accused by Justin that she had cheated and now Brad was accusing her too? Her best friend? “You know what Brad? I don’t need this shit. If you want to be an asshole because I’m being honest with you about my feelings, then go ahead. But don’t you dare make me out to be a cheater when you know damn well that I’m not!” shaking her head, trying to fight back the tears, Shelby laughed unbelievingly. “This is why I didn’t want to get involved with you. Your friendship was too important to me to ruin this way.”

Grabbing her purse, Shelby got up and walked briskly out of the restaurant, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Brad had been an asshole to her when she worked at Denny’s but now he was just cruel. How could he have said those things? Part of her knew that he was just angry and upset and was just saying anything to get a rise out of her but, the other part knew that he spoke the truth. If Justin wanted her back, he would have said something about in the past few weeks they‘d spent together. He wouldn‘t keep leading her on like that.

“Shelby! Shelby wait!” Hearing Brad calling behind her, Shelby sped up. She did not want to deal with him anymore today. “Damn it Shelby, will you wait a second? Slow down.”

Stopping dead in her tracks, Shelby turned on him. “What?”

“Look, I’m sorry for being such a prick. I shouldn’t blame you for how you feel. You can’t control who your heart wants.” Shelby looked away and Brad could only think of how beautiful she looked as she bit on her bottom lip. But most of all, he had to admit to her that all he ever wanted was for her to be happy. “Don’t let a word I said get to you. You really think that he doesn’t still love you? Then you didn’t see how he was looking at you today, Shelby. Trust me, its not too late for you guys.” Getting in a little closer to her, Brad pointed his finger at her. “But I’m telling you right now, if he hurts you again, I’m going to kill him.”

Shelby couldn’t hold in the laugh as she leaned forward and hugged Brad. He really was the best friend she could ask for. She only hoped he was right, that it wasn’t too late for she and Justin.

“This mean you forgive me for my stupidity?”

“Yes, I forgive you.”

Shelby felt a huge burden lifted from her heart. She felt happy that it was over. She could finally get on with her life and not have to worry about Brad. He would still be a friend, but only that. Her mind wandered to Justin and she wondered if she should tell him that she broke up with Brad.

What good would it do? He still had his girlfriend. Wishful thinking Shelby, wishful thinking.

"What are you going to do now?" Shelby asked Brad.

"I'll probably leave tomorrow. My flight is scheduled to leave at eight tomorrow morning." Brad answered.

"Are you leaving because of this?" Shelby questioned.

"No, I could only take three days off. I have to be back for the night shift tomorrow."

"Oh. You came all the way just to see me for three days? Thank you. I feel bad now." Shelby said.

"Why? Because your feelings for me don't extend beyond friendship? Even if we weren't dating, I still would have come to visit you on a short weekend. At the end of the day, we're still friends." Brad answered.

"Yeah. I do love you, Brad. I'm glad we could figure this out without ruining what we have. I was worried about that." Shelby said taking a sip of the water bottle she'd had in her bag.

"You're stuck with me." Brad smiled.

"I'm stuck on band-aid brand 'cause germs don't stick on me." Shelby sang making them both laugh by her rendition of the band-aid theme song.

"You're crazy." Brad smiled when he'd caught his breath.

"Nonsense." Shelby denied with a shake of her head.

"We should probably get back." Brad said heading in the direction of the club.

"Good idea. We have a radio interview in an hour then it's show time." Shelby said falling in line with him.

"Where?" Brad asked.

"The radio station is doing a special on the show. All the ticket sales and select items at the merch table is going toward hurricane relief. I think it's a great idea, I just hope they actually use it for something good and they don't just waste it." Shelby answered.

"Yeah, I've heard of corruption of relief money."

They walked back to the club and checked on the girls before Shelby went to find her boys to discuss the radio interview.

They had done a few interviews in the past, but nothing at this magnitude. They would be sharing the mic with both JC and Justin. It was sure to be intense.

Shelby dared to hope that they would stick with professional questions and didn't get personal. When she was dating Justin for that small time nobody knew about them, but if they found out now lord knows what might happen. They might find out about Danielle before she had a chance to tell Justin herself.

Oh god. what a mess she'd gotten herself into. She should have just told him last night, but she couldn't find the words to say. She wasn't ready for him to know yet.

Cameron, of course, was another reason she was reluctant to tell him. She didn't want Cameron anywhere near Danielle without Shelby's supervision. Who was to say that she wouldn't try and brainwash Danielle into hating her or something.

"What's up Shelby?" Scott asked being the first to see her coming.

"Hey. Just thought I'd come and see if y'all are nervous for the interview or if it's just me." Shelby smirked shrugging.

"We were just discussing that. This is our first big interview, but we'll have to get used to it. When our album comes out next year I'm sure we'll be doing interviews all the time to promote it." Ryan answered.

"Leave it to you to be all business." Shelby chuckled dryly sitting on the couch between Jason and Ryan. Scott sat on the floor opposite the couch.

"The manager side of me comes out, what can I say." he smiled sheepishly.

"We need to discuss that too." Shelby said crossing her legs. "I think we need to get a real manager. Not that we don't appreciate your skills, but we're going to be really busy touring and recording. We need someone who can take care of it for us while we focus on our craft."

"I've been thinking about that too." Jason nodded, "but we need someone who won't take advantage of us or screw us over."

"We should talk to Johnny. I know he's trustworthy." Shelby suggested.

"Isn't he a little big named for us?" Scott asked.

"I don't think so. He was with Nsync when they first started, but I don't know if he would manage us personally or someone else from his company. I'm sure he has his hands full with Justin, he's very hands on with Justin." Shelby explained.

"I say we go for it. The worst he could say is no." Ryan nodded.

"Now hopefully he'll agree to it." Scott added.

"If they ask anything about me and Justin, please don't say anything." Shelby said changing the subject back to the interview.

"Why would they ask about you and Justin? You never went public with your relationship and he's with Cameron." Jason asked.

"I don't know, they probably won't, but I don't want any rumors to start." Shelby shrugged.

"I understand. We'll keep it as professional as possible." Ryan nodded.

"Do you know what songs we're recording next time we go in the studio?" Shelby asked.

"I'm not really sure. I do know that we should write a few more songs for the record." Ryan answered.

"I actually started a song this afternoon. Y'all can see it if you want. I don't know if it's any good, it's pretty raw and no where near finished." Shelby offered.

"Sure. You're songs usually are good." Ryan answered.

"Who sings lead?" Scott asked.

"It's for a male voice so definitely Ryan." Shelby answered.

"That's what I like about you Shelby, you're not biased. You don't just write songs for your voice. It's pretty sweet." Jason added.

"I just write what comes out. I don't pay attention to who would sound better singing it. Usually it ends up one or the other, but you never know if we may have a song where we share the lead." Shelby shrugged.

"We need to make sure that we stay true to our music and not give in to the recording company. We write all of our own stuff. I would rather stay unsigned if I have to play something that we didn't write or at least choose." Ryan said revealing his passion for music.

"I agree. There are too many record company clones out there. Even if we do have a similar sound we write our own stuff." Scott nodded.

"Blub. We should go to the interview now." Shelby sighed.

"What's blub?" Ryan asked raising an eyebrow in her direction.

"Sorry. It was something Cassy used to say. It just came right out." Shelby smirked followed by a shoulder shrug.

"Yeah. I can see her saying that." Ryan smiled at the memory of Cassy.

"I miss her heaps. I could really use a close female friend with me. She was my only real girl friend. I hope I can get to know Carrie as a good friend, she seems like a really sweet girl."

"She is." Ryan nodded.

"We should probably go over to the interview now." Shelby said standing up.

"Where is it?" Scott asked also standing to his feet.

"Where they normally do the meet n greet with the J's." Shelby answered.

The J's was a nickname the band had come up with to describe Justin and JC without having to say both their names. They'd affectionately shortened it to the J's.

"If we get big and start playin larger shows we'll probably have to stop signing after our set." Ryan added.

"Yeah, that'll be weird. If we become famous I mean. To have your face in magazines, people screaming your name wherever you go. I hope our album does well, but I really want to keep a low profile." Shelby sighed.

"If for some reason Justin ditches Cameron and you guys get back together you won't be low profile unless you keep your relationship private." Ryan reminded her.

"I know, but what are the chances of that happening." Shelby answered with a shrug.

"Better than you realize. First you have to get rid of Brad and him Cameron." Jason added.

"I broke up with him at lunch, before I came here." Shelby answered.

"Let's continue this later." Ryan said when they'd walked within earshot of the radio DJ. The last thing they needed were some loose rumors.

"Hey, you must be Broken Angel." A young woman holding a clipboard told them.

"Guilty as charged. And you are?" Ryan asked oozing with charm.

"Angel, the show's producer. We need you to sit down at that table in front of the mic's. You'll find a list of tentative questions on a sheet of paper in front of you. The DJ that'll be conducting the interview is Damien. He may not stick with those, he tends to be impromptu. Now if you'll excuse me I've gotta go over there. We're still waiting for the others."

They sat down in the middle seat next to their name tags and looked around taking it all in.

Justin was to sit on the right end then Shelby, Ryan, Scott, Jason and JC on the other end. Shelby was secretly glad she was sitting between her two favorites. Justin was an obvious answer and Ryan was her other best friend aside from Brad. She needed to make sure to keep her feelings and emotions in check when Justin sat down next to her, because if they picked up on it they'd mention it.

JC and Justin came down about five minutes later and they were anxious to get the interview started.

"This is Damien on 102.9 WGO. We're live from what could be described as the largest club tour in the country. I'll let my special guests introduce themselves when we come back from this commercial." Damien said starting the interview.

The on-air light went off and they relaxed for a minute while the commercials went on. The table was set up in a circle so Damien sat at the same table for the interview. It was a quick interlude before they went back on air.

"Thanks for joining us again I'll have my guests introduce themselves starting with you." he said to Justin.

"Hey New Orleans this is Justin Timberlake. How y'all doin?"

"I'm Shelby from Broken Angel." Shelby answered when it was her turn.

The others answered in accordance and they went on with the interview from there.

"So how is the tour going so far?" Damien asked.

"It's going great, we're having a lot of fun." Justin answered.

"Yeah, it's been a learning experience. We've obviously toured together before, but not as solo artists, so that's been interesting." JC added.

"And what about you guys and girl of course. Is it true this is your first major tour and you don't even have a record out yet?" Damien asked Broken Angel.

"We've done shows in the past, but you are right nothing on this level." Ryan answered.

"It has been a great learning experience." Scott added.

"As for the record, we have our demo at sale at all our live shows and we are currently recording our debut. I think they're releasing our first single in a few weeks." Shelby answered.

"What's the first single going to be? We'll watch out for it." Damien asked.

"I believe it's going to be Welcome to My Life." Ryan answered.

"How did you come to be on this tour?"

"Actually we came to them. Our original opening act had to cancel and my mom actually recommended we see their live show because she had seen them previously. We saw their live show and knew they would be perfect. They bring a different sound and that's what we wanted." Justin answered.

"What's it like being the only girl on tour?" Damien asked Shelby.

"I'm used to being the only girl. I'm in a band with three guys, I'm used to being the only female. Although, I do have my daughters with me so technically I'm not the only girl." Shelby answered.

"We have to go to commercial and when we come back we'll be taking some of your questions, so if you have a question to ask, call it in now." Damien said leading them into commercial break.

"So you have kids on tour, is that hard? This is just me talking, totally off the record." Damien asked assuring her he wasn't going to be talking about it on air.

"Yeah it can be hard, but I have to have them with me. They could stay with their grandparents, but I love having them with me. I'd miss so much if they weren't." Shelby answered.

"Yeah. I can understand that. I always think it's great when musicians have children and they tour with them." Damien answered.

"Five seconds to live." Angel warned them.

"We're back with Justin, JC, and Broken Angel and we're going to get some callers on right now. Katherine you're on the air, what would you like to ask?"

"My question is for Justin. I saw this your in Dallas and I think you guys were awesome," Katherine started.

"Thank you." Justin answered then paused to let her finish.

"My question is would you ever do a duet with Shelby? My friend thinks your voices would blend well together and I just thought I'd ask."

Justin smiled at Shelby and answered the question. "If the opportunity ever came up, I wouldn't mind working with her."

"She's a really talented writer." JC added.

"Thanks guys." Shelby said feeling a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Look at that, she's blushing." Damien commented with a smirk.

Justin's hand found Shelby's under the table and held it securely in his. He squeezed it gently telling her what he was thinking without anyone knowing anything. Both of their minds were on the same memories from another age.

"And who said you could watch me sleep." Justin said accusing her.

"Who said you could move over here. What's wrong with your bed?" Shelby answered with an accusation of her own.

"You looked so cute and cuddly over here all by yourself." Justin smiled.

Shelby didn't know what to say to that, especially after feeling her face grow warm from blushing.

"You look so cute when you blush," Justin laughed. "Oh, there she goes again."

"Stop it." Shelby said turning her face into her pillow.

"You know I'm only teasing Velma, besides you are really cute when you blush." he said kissing her forehead. "Now, lets get up, we have a busy day of fun ahead of us."

~*~

"What's your favorite Disney Princess?" Lance asked.

"Cinderella. Story of my life, except the whole princess part and I'm still waiting for my Prince to come." Shelby smiled shyly.

"That's okay Shelby, he's out there. He's just waiting for a Princess like you." Lance smiled then glanced at Justin.

"Thanks Lance," Shelby said blushing.

Justin leaned over to her and whispered for her ears only, "You still look cute when you blush."

Shelby didn't say anything she just leaned her head so that she wasn't looking at the others and more towards Justin and turned even more red.

"Justin leave the girl alone, you're embarrassing her." Joey teased.

"What I was only telling her the truth." Justin said looking at Shelby who was trying to hide.

"Stop it," she said to Justin trying to hide behind him.

"Okay, I'll be good," Justin said then kissed her cheek.

It took several minutes for Shelby to gain her composure. Justin had never been so open with her in front of everyone else before and she was beginning to wonder why.

"Let's take another call, Serena, you're on the air what's your question?" Damien asked bringing them back to the task at hand.

"Are you single, JC?" a over excited girl asked breathlessly.

"She gets right to the point, doesn't she." Damien laughed. "Well JC?"

"Yes, Serena, I am single." JC answered with a laugh.

"And how about the rest of you? Any of you seeing anyone?" Damien asked of everyone else.

"I'm single." Jason said holding up his hands.

"Single." Scott added.

"I have a wonderful girlfriend." Ryan answered.

"And you?" Damien asked Shelby.

"I actually just broke up with someone this afternoon." Shelby answered.

This came as a surprise to Justin because when he'd talked to her earlier they were still together. They must have talked when they went to lunch. He felt her small hand trembling within his so he gently squeezed it giving her comfort. He didn't dare look at her for fear that the wrong emotions would show on either of their faces.

"You all know I'm taken." Justin added.

"There you have it New Orleans. I'm afraid we're out of time. If you have tickets for tonight's show it's going to be a good one. All of the proceeds are going to be donated to the hurricane relief. This is Damien signing out."

Justin reluctantly let go of Shelby's hand and looked her in the eye and smiled. He watched her smile back shyly amazed that after all these years she could still be shy around him. It was too adorable. He wanted to corner her and ask her about Brad, but that was just going into an area he just didn't want to enter right now.

Shelby stood up and breathed in a sigh of relief. Nobody brought up anything about her relationship with Justin past or present. She could handle the single or not question and even the duet question, but she was dreading any mention of her and Justin.

Holding Justin's hand gave her an inner strength that she longed to keep with her. It wasn't so much an inner strength, but his presence. She felt like she could do anything with him by her side. The deep feeling of loneliness that sometimes plagued her never appeared when she was with him.

"Penny for your thoughts." Justin said softly, falling in step beside her.

His statement gave her goose bumps and she had an erie sense of deja vu.

"Penny for your thoughts." Justin whispered.

Shelby blushed and looked at him, "They're not worth it."

Justin leaned closer and whispered. "They must be something if it made you blush. Tell me Velma."

"A girl has to have some secrets." Shelby shook her head and leaned against him, relaxing in his arms.

"They're not worth that much." Shelby answered going with the flow.

"Let me be the judge of that." Justin said putting his hands in his pockets.

"I'm just relieved that that's over with. I was really worried that they would ask questions about our past." Shelby answered.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We keep everything on the down low when we were together." Justin shrugged.

"Yeah, but other people know about us. Like what if Cameron decided to say what she knows, then the cat's out of the bag." Shelby sighed.

"Cameron hates paparazzi and reporters She wouldn't start rumors. Besides what would be the point when it could easily involve her too." Justin said defending his girlfriend.

Shelby hated the fact that he would take Cameron's side over hers, but she had no right to be. It was getting hard to be near Justin without getting extremely jealous of her.

Cameron didn't deserve someone as good as Justin. The only side she had ever seen of the older girl was the manipulative jealous bitch. Shelby didn't understand what Justin saw in her, but there had to be something there that she didn't see. It was like Britney all over again, well that wasn't fair as she'd never actually met Britney.

"Are you mad at me for saying that?" Justin asked noting her silence.

"No, I was just thinking." Shelby answered with a shake of her head.

"About what? You looked pretty serious." Justin asked walking into his dressing room.

Shelby followed him and stood in the door ready to bolt if necessary. "I just don't get what you see in her. She has been nothing but mean to me."

"I'm sorry. I guess when I first met her I thought she was beautiful and sophisticated. She was interested in me even though I'm so much younger than her. I think at first she was a conquest--a test of whether or not I could get with someone like her. It just kind of evolved from there." Justin answered.

Justin's answer was not what Shelby wanted to hear. She tried to smile and nod but failed miserably before turning around and walking away.

Sophisticated and beautiful; that's what attracted him. It hurt to hear him say that because it felt like he was saying she wasn't Like she was boring and plain. That's probably not what he was thinking, but that's what her heart felt. She felt like she was inadequate.

She must not come close in comparison to Cameron and that thought made her sad. She didn't look like she used to when they first met. She'd lost a lot of weight after she'd had Danielle. She wasn't skinny by any means, but she was a healthy size ten.

Whatever, there's no sense in feeling depressed over something so trivial. He never made any hints that he'd wanted her again anyway. Yeah, he'd kissed her a few times and seemed to be touchy feely like he used to be, but she didn't want to read into anything.

~*~

Justin watched Shelby walk away and knew he'd hurt her again and felt remorse. It was the truth, but he supposed it came out wrong. The look on her face was enough to make him want to run after her and ask her to forgive him. Reason stopped him from doing just that, he had to keep level headed and not do something that could jeopardize everything.

He stood up and went out into the hallway closing the door behind him. He looked at the closed door and sighed. He needed to close the door on a part of his life and he had to figure out which one he needed to close. That would be the hardest decision of all.