Chapter Nineteen
“Brian! Where the hell did you put that business card the DJ gave us?” Rachael asked frantically. It was the day of Justin’s birthday party and with only an hour before he was due to show up, she was rushing to make sure everything was ready. The DJ should have already arrived and been setting up, but he was nowhere to be found.
“Hold on a second, Rach, I’ll find it,” Brian assured her, digging into his pockets in search of the alleged business card as Rachael bit her lip nervously.
“Calm down,” Laura ordered from where she sat on Justin’s couch. “Everything’s going to be fine. So the DJ isn’t here yet. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I just want everything to be perfect,” Rachael whined. She’d been very jittery all day and was becoming increasingly convinced that this party had been a bad idea. Suddenly the whole “piss him off so he’ll be even more surprised” technique that Justin had used on her for her 21st birthday wasn’t seeming like the best idea. They’d arranged for the driver to pick him up at the airport and bring him back to the house instead of to the venue, and she was sure he’d be exhausted and mad and the party would be horrible and he’d hate her forever. Brian frowned.
“I don’t know what I did with it,” he realized.
“Brian!” Rachael exclaimed in exasperation. “I need that phone number. We have to find out where the hell he is! Why do I even trust you with anything?”
“Beats me,” Brian replied with a shrug. The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door and Rachael sprinted to open it, hoping it was the DJ.
“Oh, it’s you,” she sighed, seeing the two women who stood on the other side of the door.
“I feel so welcome,” Hollie replied sarcastically as she and Gaby entered the house.
“Rachael’s in a bit of a mood,” Brian informed them. “Things aren’t working out as perfectly as she’d hoped. And I’m Brian, by the way,” he added, realizing he’d never met Gaby or Hollie.
“Oh, sorry,” Rachael apologized. “Hollie and Gaby, this is Brian and Laura. Brian and Laura, Hollie and Gaby.” She gestured to each pair as she said their names and they all greeted each other.
“So what’s not working out?” Gaby asked with a frown.
“The DJ’s a no-show and Brian lost the card with his number on it and this whole thing was a really stupid idea and I just want to go to sleep or something,” Rachael rambled.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, we brought refreshments!” Hollie exclaimed, holding up the bags of food and alcohol she was holding.
“Great. Go put them in the kitchen.” Rachael pointed to the hall that lead to said kitchen and turned back to Brian. “You have no idea what you did with that business card?”
“Nope. I’ll go look in the car.” Brian rushed out of the house to avoid the glare Rachael was giving him. He knew better than to hang around her when she was the type of mood she was in at the moment. She’d actually punched him once for saying the wrong thing when she was in one such mood. She still claimed it had been an accident and she hadn’t meant to be so forceful, but ever since he’d done his best to avoid her at all costs when there was even the slightest sign she wasn’t in a good mood.
“Rachael, sit down,” Laura suggested calmly, patting the couch next to where she sat. “You really need to calm down and just take a second to breathe.”
“I can’t! I still have to make sure all the-“
“Sit,” Laura interrupted firmly. “You’re going to give yourself a heart attack or something. I don’t know why you’re stressing out about this so much anyway. It’s going to be fine and Justin’s going to love it. So stop worrying already.”
“I can’t,” Rachael groaned, sitting down next to her friend and running her hands through her hair. “I don’t know why I can’t, but I just…can’t.”
“You can,” Hollie’s voice interjected as she and Gaby returned from the kitchen.
"Can't," Rachael insisted, sitting back on the couch and mumbling something to herself about how no one understood her. Suddenly, she shot up, a look of horror on her face. "Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" she exclaimed, jumping up of the couch and grabbing her keys from where they sat on the table.
"What is it?" Laura asked with a frown.
"The cake! I forgot to pick up the cake! Shit!" Before any of her friends could say anything, she'd dashed out the door, nearly knocking Brian over as he returned from the car.
"Hey, I found it!" he called after her, but there was no response so he frowned and turned to the women who remained in the living room. "What's wrong now?"
"She forgot to pick up the cake," Laura replied, sighing and walking over to him. "I swear, she's going to kill herself before the night's over."
"What is with her anyway?" Hollie questioned from where she and Gaby still stood on the other side of the room. They'd just met Brian and Laura, but lamenting the fact that they shared a mutual friendship with a psychopath seemed like as good a way as any to get to know one another. Laura rolled her eyes.
"Search me. I think she's just determined for it to be perfect, so she's freaking out at every little thing. The woman seriously needs to take a chill pill."
"I'm sure she'll be okay once the party gets started and everything," Gaby assured them. It did strike all of them as somewhat odd that Rachael was in such a foul mood over the whole thing. It wasn't unlike her to be a perfectionist about things, but she wouldn't normally be quite this worried about it, even with the things that had already gone wrong.
"Let's hope so," Hollie agreed with a sigh as she and Gaby made their way over to the couch and sat down.
"Women are so dense," Brian blurted out with a roll of his eyes. Somehow it didn't seemed to have occurred to him that vocalizing this sort of judgement in a room occupied by three women was probably not the best idea. All three eyed him with a certain amount of contempt before Laura spoke.
"Care to elaborate, oh wise one?" she requested, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You guys really don't get it, do you?" he asked incredulously.
"Get what?" Gaby asked, her brow furrowed in confusion and Brian sighed.
"She's overcompensating. She feels bad that she had to tell Justin she couldn't go to the Grammy's with him because of Lance and so now she's wigging herself out over making this party perfect because she wants to make it up to him. It's all so obvious," Brian explained with another laborous sigh. He was finding the fact that he had to explain this all to them rather irritating, since women were supposed to be the observant ones in these types of situations. He really wasn't that observant himself, but he'd spent enough time with Rachael and had her vent about the men in question enough that he'd had no trouble figuring out what was going on.
"Wait, what?" Hollie exclaimed. "She's going to the Grammy's with Lance? Why didn't anyone tell me this?"
"Oops," Gaby replied with a grimace. Trace had mentioned it to her about a week earlier and she'd meant to tell Hollie, but had completely forgotten.
"What the hell is she going with Lance for?" Hollie wasn't entirely astonished by this information, she and Gaby had been saying for a while now that Lance was going to make another move soon enough if Justin didn't do something about it, but somehow it still came as a slight shock. Rachael hadn't mentioned Lance to anyone other than Brian and Laura lately, and had only really talked about him to them because they were around her all the time and constantly grilling her about the situation. It was like she'd been trying to keep any communication she had with him a secret, hoping everyone would just stay out of it and leave her alone.
"Why shouldn't she go with Lance?" Laura questioned defensively. Hollie was about to respond, when the front door swung open again and one half of the subject of their conversation hurried into the room.
"Forgot my wallet," Rachael explained, grabbing it off the table and heading back towards the door. Realizing they were all just staring at her, she looked back at them. "What are you guys doing?"
"Nothing," came the eerily unified reply.
Rachael was getting the distinct feeling they'd been talking about her before she walked in but was in too much of a hurry to press the issue. "Right, well, uh...try and do something productive for a little while. I'll be back in a few minutes."
***
Justin sighed as he made his way through the airport, surrounded by bodyguards and personal assistants. Flashes were going off all around him as the local paparazzi all attempted to get the best pictures of him that they possibly could. Normally he didn't mind this sort of thing at the airport, but he wasn't in the best of moods and he couldn't remember the last time he had been in a good mood, so having to look handsome and happy for the cameras wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. They finally reached the car that was waiting for them and he slid in, letting out a sigh of relief.
"You okay, man?" Trace questioned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just don't feel like performing tonight is all," Justin replied, leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes. "And isn't this kind of late to be getting in? It's almost 4:30."
"Yeah, well it was a last minute thing, you know. It'll be fine," Trace assured him. He was having a very hard time not spilling the beans about the party, but he knew Rachael would kill him if he didn't keep his mouth shut.
The two men rode in silence for a good fifteen minutes before Justin opened his eyes again and glanced out the window. He frowned. "This is the wrong exit, isn't it?" he questioned as they exited the freeway.
"No," Trace answered immediately. It hadn't occurred to him that Justin would realize they were heading towards his house and not the venue. It obviously hadn't occurred to Rachael either, since she'd given him instructions on how to deal with pretty much every scenario other than this one.
"Are you sure? I thought the venue was the other way."
"Yeah, I'm sure. You're just tired and turned around." Trace could only hope that he sounded confident and convincing. Justin frowned.
"Are you sure?" he asked again.
"Yep." Trace nodded his head vigorously and let out a sigh of relief as Justin shrugged, closing his eyes again.
"Okay."
Trace sighed, leaning back in his seat. Justin had been in a bit of a funk for the past month and it was beginning to worry him. He was quieter than usual and never wanted to do anything fun anymore; all he ever did was work and he didn't even seem to enjoy that a whole lot these days. Whenever Trace tried to get him to talk about it, he'd just shrug and say he was tired, then go back to whatever it was he was constantly writing in that notebook of his. Trace just hoped that attending this party and seeing Rachael would help snap him out of it. He could use a good night of fun.
"Wait, what are we doing here?" Justin asked as they pulled through the gates that led to his LA home.
"Nothing," Trace replied with a shrug. "Come on." He got out of the car and Justin followed suit, continuing to question him in confusion as they headed into the house.
"What are we doing here? We have to get to the venue, we're going to be late." He finally stopped talking as they walked through the front foyer and into the living room.
"Surprise!" a multitude of voices greeted him and his mouth dropped open as a DJ started playing the Beatles' "Birthday" per Rachael's request.
"What's going on? I thought I had to-" Justin turned to Trace who was grinning widely at him.
"You thought wrong, man. Happy birthday!"
"Okay, who do I have to kill?" Justin questioned, a smile finally spreading across his face.
"Don't look at me," Trace replied quickly, raising his hands in surrender. "It was all Rachael's doing."
"Where is she?" He didn't wait for an answer and pushed his way through the throngs of people, most of whom had started dancing, his eyes searching the crowd for his best friend. When he didn't spot the head of loose auburn curls anywhere in the crowd, he frowned and made his way into the kitchen. Rachael had never been big on crowds and so he thought perhaps she had found solace in a different room. He did indeed find her in the kitchen, finishing some last minute food things and talking to Hollie and Gaby.
"Seriously, the only thing that has gone right so far is that Britney can't come." Rachael paused for a minute. "Did I just say that out loud?" Her companions burst into laughter.
"Yes," Gaby replied through her giggles. "Yes you did." Justin couldn't see Rachael's face, as her back was turned to him, but he had a feeling she was grimacing as she let out a sigh.
"Oh, well. It isn't that I don't like her, I'm just worried that she'll be weird to me because of that whole thing where I made out with her ex-boyfriend and it was broadcast to the entire tabloid reading world."
"Rachael Ailish Jacques." Justin decided this would be an opportune moment to make his presence known and Rachael whipped around, looking quite surprised. She'd heard the cry of "surprise!" in the other room that signaled his arrival, but hadn't expected him to leave his guests within seconds of walking in the door.
"Justin! Hi!" she exclaimed.
"You planned this whole thing?" he asked, fighting the smile that was threatening to make its way onto his face and looking at her with a completely unreadable expression. She nodded, biting down on her lip.
"Do you hate me?"
"Yes." He couldn't help it anymore, the smile won and he grinned at her. "But thanks." He picked her up and swung her around and she let out a little yelp of surprise before smiling back at him and running her hand over the top of his head and down to his shoulders. Justin couldn't help feeling that he was simultaneously in Heaven and Hell. Being with her and touching her and having her touch him like that was Heaven, but knowing how much he loved her and not being sure she felt the same way was killing him. He mentally decided to just focus on the Heaven part of it for the rest of the night worry about the Hell later.
"You're welcome," Rachael replied. "Now let me down."
"Get a room," Hollie muttered as she walked past them and was rewarded with a punch in the arm from Gaby. "Ow!" Rachael and Justin, however, had not heard the comment as they were too busy grinning madly at each other and talking a mile a minute.
***
"Hey, Chris, have you seen Rachael?" Justin asked his friend. The party was pretty much wrapping to a close and there were only a few lingering guests. Rachael had disappeared a good half hour ago and he'd been trying to find her, but kept getting sidetracked by the other guests. Chris shook his head.
"Nah, not for a while now. Listen, man, I've gotta get going.
Happy birthday!" He gave his friend a quick pat on the back.
"Thanks," Justin replied. "And thanks for coming. I'll see you later."
"Yeah. Later!" Chris agreed with a nod before heading out the door and leaving Justin to consider his search for Rachael.
In general, Justin had enjoyed a pretty decent night. It had been fun to just let loose and hang out with his friends and have a break from the stress he was under from the tour. Truthfully, he'd felt happier that night than he had in quite a while. It might have been the alcohol, but for once in his life he wasn't worrying about how things with Rachael were going or anything else. He was just having fun and it was great. The only bad spot he'd had the entire night was when he'd seen Rachael sandwiched between Chris and Lance and dancing to some Usher song. He didn't mind Chris so much - he was practically like an older brother to Rachael and the two of them dancing together always consisted more of flailing arms and bad 80's dance steps than anything else - but he did not like how close Lance had been to her and the way the blonde's alcohol consumption had squashed any qualms he would have had about grinding against the woman in question. And he further disliked the fact that Rachael seemed to have no problem with the grinding and was even reciprocating slightly. It had taken everything in him to resist the urge to march over to them and pull Lance away from her like some crazy, jealous boyfriend. Fortunately, he'd had enough self-restraint to remind himself that he was not her boyfriend and he had no right to make a scene over her dancing with a friend. But that didn't stop him from glaring at Lance anytime the man had entered his field of vision for the rest of night.
Wandering into his backyard, Justin finally found the person he'd been searching for. She'd tied her hair up into a messy bun and was shooting baskets, or at least attempting to. "There you are!" he greeted her and she turned to look at him.
"Hey you!" she returned with a smile. "What are you doing out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. Aren't you supposed to be the hostess of this here soiree?" He walked over to her and picked up the basketball she'd just bounced off the backboard. Rachael shrugged.
"Not a big fan of large groups of inebriated morons. And I think we've had this discussion before."
"Most likely. They're pretty much all gone anyway," Justin informed her, aiming for the basket and missing. Rachael raised an eyebrow and looked at him with an amused smile. It wasn't like him to miss such an easy shot.
"You must be drunk, Timberlake," she observed. He gave her a wry smile.
"Only a little," he allowed with a wink and she laughed.
"Sure." She plopped down on the asphalt and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Did you have fun tonight?"
"Absolutely," Justin declared, sitting down next to her. "Although I have to say, I could have done without you and Chris getting so into 'Dirrty.' Watching him sing about sweating 'til his clothes come off while you did the robot beside him may be the most disturbing thing I've witnessed in a while."
"Don't be jealous." Rachael smiled and gave him a little nudge.
"Oh, don't worry." He smiled and nudged her back. It was moments like this he'd missed since lately. Just sitting together under the stars and talking without having to think about anything complicated. Rachael groaned as she heard the Beatles' "Real Love" drifting through the window.
"I ask him to play one Beatles song and he takes it as a sign that's all we want to hear," she lamented, referring to the DJ who had yet to pack up and go home. Justin laughed.
"I like this song!" he exclaimed, jumping up and reaching his hand out to her. "Dance with me." Rachael rolled her eyes and he pouted playfully. "It's my birthday, you have to do what I want."
"Oh, do I?" she replied with a smirk. "Hmm...I think perhaps I shall just sit here and defy you merely out of principle."
"Please Rachael?" He continued with the pouting. Rachael was pretty much immune to the Timberlake pout, but he'd never let that stop him from using it.
"Fine," she caved, taking his hand and allowing him to help her off the ground. "But only because I'm nice. And for the love of God, would stop with the pout already?" He just grinned back at her, singing along to the song as he spun her around.
"All my little plans and schemes. Lost like some forgotten dreams. Seems that all I really was doing was waiting for yooooouuu."
"You're so lame. Where did you learn to waltz?" Rachael asked with a laugh as Justin lead her around the backyard.
"Just like little girls and boys playing with their little toys. Seems like all they really were doing was waiting for looooove."
"Oh, sure. I ask a question and all you can do is sing."
"Don't need to be alone. No need to be aloooone! Everybody now!" Justin interrupted his singing to exclaim and Rachael burst into laughter.
"Everybody? Talking to your imaginary friends again, Justin?"
"Just sing the song, woman." She appeased him by joining in and they sang together. "It's real love. It's real, yes it's real love. It's real."
"How is it that you and I always end up outside dancing to Beatles songs?" She stopped singing to ask him.
"Always?" Justin repeated, dipping her and causing her smack him on the back for scaring her. "We've only done this once before and as I recall we were dancing to our own rendition of the song, not the actual song."
"Same difference," Rachael reasoned, poking her tongue out at him and he grinned sloppily at her.
"I really miss this."
"What? Dancing around like morons?"
"No," he laughed. "This. You. Us." Rachael smiled as they he spun her way from him, then pulled her back towards his body.
"Me too," she admitted. Sliding her arms around his shoulders, they went from moving around the entire yard to just swaying back and forth slowly as the song played in the background.
From this moment on I know
Exactly where my life will go
Seems that all I really was doing
Was waiting for love
"I love you," Justin blurted out and Rachael just laughed.
"As well you should," she replied playfully. Justin shook his head.
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean I love you. I really love you." His voice got increasingly quieter as he spoke until it was barely above a whisper. He hadn't been planning to tell her this tonight, but for some reason it had just come out. Maybe it was the mood, maybe it was the fact that he'd had just enough alcohol to lower his inhibtions, but whatever it was it shocked him almost as much as it shocked her.
"Oh," she choked. She really didn't know how else to respond. There was a part of her, the ‘smart part’ as she liked to call it, that was telling her to pull away and run into the house. To run away from him like she’d been doing for the past year. But unfortunately the ‘dumb part’ was letting the fact that he looked so good and felt so right influence her way too much. His eyes searched her face slowly for a minute, removing her arms from his neck and intertwining the fingers of one hand with his own and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear with his other. Slowly he began to lean his head down closer to hers, stopping only when their foreheads were pressed together and their lips were only inches away from touching.
"Tell me to stop," he whispered softly.
Stop! Stop! her mind screamed frantically. "Don't stop," she breathed in response as her hand instinctively flew to the back of his neck and pulled his head down, assisting him in closing the space between them and causing their lips to meet.
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