Chapter Eleven: Welcome Back Morning Breath

“What? You don’t need water now?” Ella asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “I think you’re mistaken, I ALWAYS hand out the water…it’s like, a tradition…don’t you care anything about tradition? Isn’t kindness a part of your vocabulary!”

“Ella, Ella…geeze, don’t bite the poor girls head off; Justin wanted you to be in the audience tonight, you know, it being the last show and all” Nicola said with a smile, “isn’t that sweet? You have a front row seat” 

Ella sighed and shook her head, “but I wanted to hand out the water…” 

Nicola looked and her and blinked, “you are such a three year old, do you know that?” 

“Can I just hand out one, please?” Ella asked, looking at the teenage girl with a pouting lip, “please” 

“I don’t care; I’d rather have the front row seat…” Ella smiled and took a bottle of water. She lifted her eyes up toward the ceiling and whispered a ‘thank you’ before grinning at Nicola, “WATER! COME GET YOUR WATER, PLEASE!”  

Nicola looked at the spunky girl and laughed, “Are you finished? The show is starting soon; I really have to get going” 

“But no one has grabbed the water yet” 

“Just keep it; I’m sure Justin would love to receive water from you after the show…”

“That is such a good idea…thanks, Nic…” 

“Oh, here, before I forget” Nicola put a laminated pass around Ella’s neck, “do not take this off, it is your way to get backstage after the show” 

“Okie dokie, I got it…” Ella said, twirling the string around her finger as she started walking off, “I’ll see you after the show, Nic” 

Ella weaved herself through the packed auditorium and found herself staring at the seat that said, “RESERVED FOR MY SUNSHINE” Ella traced the paper with her finger and smiled, “only you…” 

A girl, who looked to be about fourteen looked at Ella and raised her eyebrows, “did you like, put that there yourself?” 

Ella laughed, “why would I do something like that?"

“To make people think that you like, know Justin personally…which you don’t, I can already tell you that you’re not his type” 

“Go on, please, go on…” Ella said, looking wide eyed at the blonde headed girls low rise jeans and halter top. 

“Well, for one thing, you dress kind of strange, and you know – I don’t think he’s really into that, I mean, he dated Britney Spears, and she had the whole “preppy” thing going on, like me” 

Ella glanced down and then back up again, “oh…so you think if I dressed like Britney Spears he would like me?” 

“Maybe if you dyed your hair too…and if you didn’t have those weird clothes on” 

“Um, thanks, for the advice, I mean…I really appreciate it…you’re such a sweet little girl!” 

“I’m sixteen” 

“Oh…sorry…anyway, enjoy the show, I think I’m going to go find a hairstylist or something” Ella laughed and noted how the girl just stared at her like she was from another planet, “sheesh, tough crowd” 

The girl rolled her eyes and sat down in her chair, “things like this take forever to start…” 

----------------------------------------------------

Ella smiled and clapped her hands in unison with the rest of the audience as they unwillingly let him disappear backstage. She grabbed her stuff and started to walk off before the young girl beside her grabbed her arm, “you really know him don’t you?” 

“What are you talking about?” Ella said, fighting the urge to give this girl a piece of her mind. 

“I saw him looking at you” she said, her eyes looking at Ella with a number of emotions running through them, jealousy being on the top of the list, “I guess you really could be his type…” 

“Look, I’ve got to go…” Ella said, giving the girl a look and walking off again. She didn’t know how Justin dealt with obnoxious people like that girl; he had to be stressed out almost all the time. 

Making her way into the backstage area, Ella had her eyes peeled for him. When he was nowhere in sight, she felt her shoulders slump. She thought he would have at least waited for her before he went to his dressing room. Just when she was about to give up and find Nicola, she felt a familiar sense of security when a pair of muscled arms wrapped themselves around her, “welcome back, sunshine” 

Ella smiled and turned around, “Justin!” she enveloped him and they stood still, not caring who saw the intense hug that they were sharing. 

“Come with me” he said, taking her hand in his and leading her back to his room, “I’m so glad to see you!” 

Ella laughed, “Wow, I think you really must have missed me” 

“Oh I did…how is your mom?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice. 

“She’s doing okay, not as good as I would have hoped…but you know, she’s a sick woman now…so things are going to be different for awhile” 

He nodded his head, “yeah…” 

“Can you believe the tour is over? And I missed like, half of it” she shrugged, “I guess that’s how things go” 

He lifted her chin with his finger, “But you’re back! And that’s all that matters” 

She cocked her head at him, “Wow…you really did miss me”  

Justin smiled, “I really did” 

“Hey guys! The limo is leaving, Justin – you do know that you have to make an appearance at your after-party don’t you?” Nicola said, fully aware of the intimate moment she had just interrupted. 

Justin nodded his head, “Yeah, we’re coming” He looked at Ella one more time, took her hand gingerly in his, and they were off. 

As they walked through all of the hidden corridors of the building, Justin couldn’t help but notice how unwilling his fingers were to let go of Ella’s hand. He hadn’t planned on holding her hand either times, but it was just like a knee-jerk reaction. He hadn’t even thought about it, and now that they were walking along, he couldn’t even think about letting it go. Ella of course seemed completely oblivious to the entire situation. She seemed like the type of person who would hold hands with anyone, so it really wasn’t a monumental thing.

He cleared his head and smiled down at her, “You ready to party?” 

Ella just laughed, “Justin, once you party with me…you won’t know what hit you” She raised an eyebrow and smiled at his expression, “Don’t act so shocked! I can boogie like the rest of yall” 

“Ella, as soon as the word ‘boogie’ slipped out of your mouth…I knew this was going to be a very interesting evening” 

She elbowed him in the side as they got into the limo, “You just wait Timberlake, you just wait…”

---------------------------------------------------- 

“Ella, PLEASE stop!” Justin couldn’t even sputter the words without nearly keeling over in laughter, “What the hell are you doing?” 

Ella raised her head and stuck her arms high in the air, with two ‘swishing’ movements of her hips, she brought her body down to the floor, and then back up again, all while continuously shaking her head and smiling, “I’m dancing!” 

“You’re SCARING me!” he said, too enthralled with her lack of dancing skills to do anything but watch her. Numerous girls had come up behind him, practically begging to be his ‘partner’, but with every move Ella would make, he couldn’t tear himself away from her. 

“Oh come on, just try it…forget all about the sexy little thrusts and the grinding and all that madness, “just let loose…it’s not that hard” 

“Yeah, but I have a reputation to protect!” he exclaimed, not even imagining how stupid he would feel mimicking her ‘moves’. 

“You’re such a chicken” she said in the middle of doing some overly dramatic turn. 

“We aren’t all as fun and fancy free as you are dear” he said, grabbing her by the arms and leading her towards the bar, “Come with me…we’re going to have some real fun” 

She was still in the middle of a dance sequence when he moved her from the floor, “Hey…I was really getting with it back there” She said, pouting as she was led further and further away. 

“And that is exactly why I had to come to your rescue” he said with a laugh, “You stay here, I’m going to bring you back something…amazing” 

She smiled, “I’m not a big drinker” “I know, I’m not trying to plaster you or anything…I just want you to try my favorite”  

Ella watched him walk off, completely in awe of the attention that surrounded him. It was like a wave, as soon as he passed, people turned their heads. She couldn’t imagine living that kind of life; it just seemed like such an invasion. 

“Hey stranger”  

Ella turned around and immediately stood up to hug Cole, “Hey! I was wondering where you were” 

“I’ve been here, watching you and might I add...” He laughed, “You’ll have to teach me that one move, you know, with the karate kick” 

She laughed, “I thought Justin was going to kill me after that one” 

“Why would he do something like that? At least you have the individuality to do something a little different in places like this”. Cole said, “That is so like him, trying to mold everybody into who he wants them to be” 

“Gosh, Cole…what do you really have against him?” 

“He’s a prick, Ella, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. I tried to protect you, I tried to get you away from him, but you just insist on wasting your time with that bastard” 

“I think it’s time you leave” Ella said, “You’ve had a little too much to drink and you’re acting really stupid…” 

“Oh come on Ella, you’re kidding yourself drooling over that guy” Cole said, his arms waving as he inched closer to Ella’s face, “What about us?” 

“Look, Cole…I really did like you, but you’re different and I don’t think that I’m enjoying the change” 

“You’re going to regret all of this Ella, you’re going to…” Cole said, shaking his head, “after this is all over, you’re really going to wish that you were on my side” 

“What are you talking about?” she asked, suddenly feeling a little eerie due to the look in his eyes. 

Cole just laughed, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you…” 

With those being his final words, he gave Ella one last smile and disappeared quickly into the crowd. She shook her head, it must have been the alcohol was all that she could tell herself. Within moments, Justin returned to her side, carrying two drinks in his hands. 

“I told you I didn’t want anything” she said, “Don’t you listen?” 

A smile formed on his face, “I brought you a milkshake” 

“They have those in places like this?” 

“Sunshine, when I’m at the counter, they have anything I ask for” 

Ella’s head fell back in laughter, “You are so cocky!” 

“That’s what they say, that’s what they say…now, before you take a trip to the Land of Chocolate, I want you to try this” 

Ella looked wearily at the small glass he held in his hand, “Anything that small has to be really vile” she said, already feeling the urge to hold her nose. 

“Come on, I brought you a milkshake, just try it…” he persuaded, putting the glass in her hands and ignoring the look of grotesque on her face. 

He did present a good point. Staring lustfully at the chocolate shake he held in his hand, and then back at the glass in hers. She sighed, “Fine…” She was deliberately slow in bringing the concoction to her lips, already completely aware of the smell that drifted through her nostrils, “this is going to be really bad” With one quick motion she took a sip of his drink and immediately began sputtering, “my throat…it burns” she said, bringing her hands to her neck as if she was choking. 

He smiled mischievously, “I knew you would like it!” He took the drink from her and swallowed the entire contents of the glass in one gulp, “Ahhh…” he said, looking entirely too pleased with himself. 

“What is in that thing?” Ella asked, still dramatically clinging to her throat, “I think I’m going to die…” 

“I’ll never tell…” he sang to her, smiling, “here’s your shake…you won it” 

“I didn’t know it was a contest – remind me next time not to enter” She took a sip from her straw and smiled, “Now, this…this is what I call perfect” 

----------------------------------------------------

 “What do you mean she’s drunk?” Nicola shouted over the loud music, watching in awe as Justin held a firm grip on Ella, who was trying to wander aimlessly through the crowd. 

“I don’t know how it happened, I got her a chocolate shake and some asshole must have thought it would be funny to add a few extra ingredients” Justin said back, once again veering Ella back to his side. 

“Didn’t she notice?” Nicola asked. 

Justin stared at her blankly, “It had chocolate in it” 

“Nevermind” Nicola said quickly, “I’ve never seen her drunk before!”  

“Really?” Justin asked, somewhat surprised. 

“Not like that!” Nicola said, pointing to where Ella had began flapping her arms in rhythm to the music. 

“It’s not a far cry from her dancing” Justin said with a laugh.  

Nicola shook her head and punched him lightly in the arm, “You’re so wrong! Do you want me to take her home?”

“No, I’ll take her…the party’s kind of over for me anyway” “Are you sure?” Nicola asked, obviously relieved that she didn’t have to be responsible Ella in her time of…well, whatever her time was. 

“Yeah, totally, you have fun!” he shouted, already pulling Ella away from the balcony which she had gotten a little too acquainted with. It took the strength of him and a bodyguard to get her out of the club.

She draped her arm around Justin’s shoulders and smiled, “I just love chocolate” It came out muddled and slow, her words getting lost in the giggles. 

“Yeah, I see that” he answered, holding tightly to the hand that had fallen carelessly around his neck, “thanks” he said to the large man who was holding open the door to a limo. He practically pushed Ella in the door, and had to suppress laughter as she stumbled, “You, my girl, are trashed” he said. 

Ella glanced up and batted her eyelashes, “I love the color blue…” 

Justin shook his head, “Guess what…” 

“What?” 

“I’m kidnapping you” Justin said with a smile, “Ha…ha…ha” 

Ella clasped her hands together, “I’ve always wanted to be kidnapped!” 

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” 

“I like prizes…” she mumbled under her breath, a yawn escaping her lips, “I’m…” it was only a matter of seconds before she drifted away from the world, her eyes closing and her mouth staying wide open. 

“That’s…attractive” Justin whispered, stifling a laugh. He looked at her for a long time, noticing for the first time that she had let her bangs grow out, no longer hiding her forehead. Her lips were full, and her nose slightly crooked. She was so different from anyone he had ever met. He had attempted to get things going with a few girls while she was away, but he never got past the first five minutes of conversation. After having Ella to talk to, everyone else just seemed so superficial and boring. He smiled when some form of a snort came out of her mouth and she quickly recovered by shutting it.  

It only took a few more minutes to get to his apartment. Due to the fact that she had passed out in the car, it didn’t take much effort for him to influence her to walk obediently beside him. She was barely alert enough to open her eyes, but he felt her legs moving in unison with his as they walked past the security guard and to the nearest elevator, “I hope you don’t get motion sickness when your drunk because if you do…this whole knight in shining armor thing is going to take a turn for the worse” 

She looked up at him, "Huh?” 

“Nevermind” 

They rode in silence, Justin calmly aware of how nice it felt to be taking care of her, even if she was going to forget all about it in the morning. He unlocked the door, and ushered her in, “Welcome…” he whispered in her ear. 

“That tickled…” she laughed, her neck craning to her shoulder. 

“Yeah, I bet…” Still managing to hold her up, he led her into his guest room and sat her down on the bed. Looking at the layers of her clothes, he sighed and carefully began remove her scarf. He laid it on the chair next to him and then looked at the next item of clothing. With somewhat nervous hands, he started to unbutton her jacket, “Do you always have to dress so randomly?” he asked, his question going unheard as she stared up at the ceiling, her eyelids fluttering being the only response. Once the jacket was off, he was pleased enough that she would be comfortable. She had been wearing a simple dress that would have looked just as nice by itself without being ordained with unique pieces that she had added.  

He looked down and then sighed, “Of course you would decide to wear boots tonight, wouldn’t you?” He tried to gently tug on the high boots, but it felt like her feet were permanently stuck. “Okay…you can do this” he said to himself, getting a better grip on the boots. With one swift movement, the boot came flying off, nearly sending him to the floor, “Oh…now you decide to unstuck” he muttered, going to the next. It proved easier and he was pleased with himself for the good deeds he had done…not that he hadn’t much practice in the past. 

He smiled at the thought and helped Ella find a comfortable position on the bed. Finally getting her to cooperate with him, she ended up tucked tightly underneath the covers. He pushed the hair out of her face and leaned down, “Goodnight…” he whispered, hesitantly inching closer to her face. What was he doing anyway? Getting thrown back into reality, he stood up and turned out the light, “I think maybe you’re the one who had a little too much to drink…” he said to himself, closing the door behind him as he headed towards his own bedroom.  

---------------------------------------------------- 

A pair of eyes fluttered open, the weight of them seeming almost too much to bear. Ella finally managed to lift them and she felt herself become mentally awake when she noticed that her surroundings were unfamiliar. Ignoring the slight headache she had, she looked at the clock beside her and groaned, it was six in the morning. She remembered the club, she remembered Cole…did Justin ever come back with her shake? Slapping her hand onto her forehead she let out a frustrated sigh, “I’m at Cole’s house…wait? Does Cole live in New York” she shook her head and rose from the bed, “I need chocolate

had brought her home with them was confident enough to remove her jacket and boots. She frowned at the thought, “was I drunk?” she thought to herself. Upon realizing that she had indeed been a little out of her normal state of mind, she shook her fists, “Why? That is exactly why girls like me don’t go to clubs…I mean, I get a buzz out of drinking Red Bull…isn’t there a problem hidden in there somewhere?” 

The apartment she was in was decorated quite posh and she admired some of the artwork that hung on the walls. It didn’t take much difficulty finding the kitchen. The entire place seemed open except for a staircase that led to another level. She shuffled her way into the kitchen and went towards the fridge. Her heart dropped when she opened it. The thing was empty except for bottles of water, “Who lives here?” she asked herself, rummaging through cabinets and drawers for something. She found success in a package of chips, “They’re only…a little bit stale” she said, popping one into her mouth - now on to less important things. Where was she?

Her intelligent guess was that whoever lived her slept on the second floor. Trying her best to be quiet, she went up the stairs that were just a little too spaced apart for her liking. It looked as if she could fall right through one of the cracks! Her dizzy mind couldn’t think of something so horrible, so she clung tightly to the railing before making it to the hallway, “bad stairs” she whispered, mouthing an expletive to them before noticing a slightly ajar door. She saw a bed. “Bingo.” 

Tiptoeing carefully into the room, she tried not to crunch the chips so loud, but how else do you eat stale chips? When she neared the sleeping figure she immediately knew who it was by the head of curls that were resting on a pillow. Relief flooded through her when she realized it wasn’t psycho Cole’s house that she was at. She climbed onto the bed and sat next to him, flooding her mouth with more chips before nudging him awake. 

“What the…” he said, his eyes squinting through the dark room, “Ella?” 

She smiled, “Thanks for taking care of me” she said, “It was so nice of you! I mean, a LOT of bad things could have happened to me, you know? But you were…” 

“Why are you up so early?” he asked, trying to find the clock. 

“It’s NOON” she stated loudly to him, “I mean…do you just…” 

“It is not noon” he said back to her, groaning when the light of his clock displayed the time, “it’s six in the morning, go back to bed!” 

“No” 

“GO back to bed, Ella” 

“No!” a few chip crumbs flew out of her mouth and landed oh so unluckily in his hair. She let out a little giggle and brushed them out quickly, “See, all gone!” 

“Why are you eating chips at six in the morning?” 

“Why? Am I not supposed to?” 

“Again, WHY are you eating chips at six in the morning?” 

“You’re grumpy…” 

“One more-“ Justin began, his frustration reaching new heights. 

“Ah! Don’t say it again” she said, putting a hand over his mouth, “Because you didn’t have any chocolate” 

“It’s SIX in the morning!” he nearly shouted, reaching and grabbing the chips from her. He sat them on the floor and looked back at her, “We didn’t get home until TWO…I didn’t go to bed until THREE…do you know what that means?” 

“Um…” she searched for answer but obviously found nothing to say in reply. 

“Thank you” he said somewhat nicely, “Now please…just go to bed…” 

“Justin, we need to go to the grocery” Ella stated, “Now…I know what you’re going to say…” 

“Ella! We are NOT going to the grocery…do not ask me because I will put my fist in your mouth” 

“It won’t fit…I’ve tried. My dentist used to call me tight cheeks because I have this huge smile but my cheeks wont leave enough room for their tools to reach in th-“ 

Justin sat up straight, put Ella in a headlock and then lay back down with her muttering things into the fabric of his shirt. Pleased with himself, he allowed his eyes to close and enjoyed a few moments of serenity before she wedged herself out of his arms, “But you don’t have ANYTHING…” she whined, “Not even crackers…or ramen noodles. Everybody has ramen-“ 

They repeated the same process, except this time Justin kept a firm grip on the back of her head, “I don’t think it would look good if someone found you dead in my bed. It might ruin some play for me, so you know, I suggest you be quiet” 

“You know…” Ella started, “I’m actually surprised you can speak this many words in the morning, last time you just looked at me…” 

“Ella, I don’t even have morning breath yet. That’s how little the amount of time is that I’ve been asleep” 

“I have morning breath” she stated, “You want to-“ 

“NO!” he said, cutting her off, “I do not want to smell it…please, no…” he begged. When she kept her mouth a safe distance away from his he thanked her. Her mouth started to open and he quickly put his hand over it, “Now listen, Ella…I’m making you go to sleep, okay? I don’t care if I have to stuff you in the dishwasher…I’m going back to bed” 

She gasped, “The dishwasher? That is morbid!” 

“Ah. Listen…” he whispered, “You’ve used all of your words for the morning. You’re not allowed to speak any more words until I wake up, well rested and ready to face the world. Do you understand me?” 

Ella sighed and slowly nodded her head, “Fine…” 

“Thank you. I don’t care where you sleep, just…sleep” 

She complied, “Okay…um…one last thing…” she whispered, inching closer to his face. 

He closed his eyes and prayed for patience, “What?”  

“Can I have my chips back?” 

Justin shook his head, “Why?” he asked, looking towards heaven, “Why?” Noticing the way her hand rested comfortably on his chest, he placed his hand over hers and whispered, “Don’t you just want to sleep?” 

Ella looked down at their hands and then looked back up at him, “I want my chips back” 

“But they’re my chips, and if I say you can’t have them, then you can’t have them” he argued. 

“But Justin, you don’t want them! They’re stale” 

“Then you wont mind if I throw them away will you?” he asked, some playfulness hiding in his voice. She inched even closer to him, “Please?”  

Her face was so close to his, and the morning breath didn’t affect him nearly as much as the closeness of her lips to his own, “Um…” he stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words. Ella blinked and slowly wrapped her arm around his waist. At this point, his heart was beating faster than it ever had, and the coy smile on her face only highlighted the situation, “I…uh” he stammered, not knowing what to do as she stretched across him, “I…” 

Suddenly she jumped up and held the bag of chips in her hand, “HA! I got you, yes I did!” she said with a laugh, “And my chips!” with one leap, she was off of the bed and running through the halls as if he planned on chasing her.  

Only when he heard the door of the guest room close downstairs did he take a deep breath and close his eyes,” How did that happen?” he asked himself, still questioning the rapid pace of his heart. Willing himself to close his eyes, he only reopened them to stare at the ceiling, “How did that happen?” He still felt the place on his chest where her hand had rested. The tips of his toes still tingled due to their feet brushing against each others.

He closed his eyes again and clenched his jaw, “It’s six…I’m a man….you know what they say about the morning…I’m going to bed now, I’m not going to over analyze this…I’m not going to think about Ella” at the sound of his voice saying her name, his heart skipped a beat, and he realized for the first time, right there in that moment…that he was in trouble.