Devotion Chapter Eighteen: A Friend In Need
Disclaimer: Thanks for lasting through previous chapter, I like this one much better! Plus it's longer then usual (yay!) Oh, right, I've got to put the actual disclaimer here. I don't know/own/have anything to do with *NSYNC. But you probably know that by now.
"C'mon, we'd better hurry," Justin said as he exited the taxi, Britney close behind. Immediately the flashing of cameras began. Grabbing Britney's hand, the youngest member of *NSYNC quickly pushed his way through the throng of reporters, the pop queen in tow. Once they were inside the restaurant the two had chosen, Justin dropped his friend's hand. "How did they know we were going to be here?" he wondered aloud. "They probably didn't," the matredee, a woman in her twenties with short red hair, responded. "Hillary Clinton is hosting a fund-raising dinner in one of the private rooms tonight." "Great, so we just had bad timing," Britney sighed. "*Really* bad timing," Justin corrected. The matredee laughed. "May I have your reservation?" "Scott," Justin replied. "Scott for two, eight o'clock?" the woman asked, looking at the sheet of reservations. "That's us," Justin answered. With that the red-head lead them to table in the corner of the restaurant, where the two pop stars wouldn't be bothered. Once they were left alone, Britney looked across the table at Justin questioningly. "`Scott'?" She asked. "Where did you get that?" "First name that came to mind that I'd be able to remember, but that wasn't too obvious," Justin replied. "What do you mean? What's so memorable about `Scott'?" the young woman persisted. "Well, Timberlake or Spears is too obvious," Justin explained. "And even Randall might give us away. But Scott, well, who'd see the connection? It's such a common name that even if someone *did* think of it, they'd dismiss it immediately." "Um, wait, *how* exactly does `Scott' rank up there with our names?" Britney asked as she tried to make sense of Justin's logic. "It's JC's middle name," Justin told the eighteen year-old, seeming surprised that she didn't know that. "Oh. Ooooh!" Britney exclaimed as a realization hit her. "Of course!" Justin looked at her as if she had just sprouted horns. "Um, you okay?" The young woman laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you doing?" "Fine, thank you," Justin replied politely. Britney laughed again. "No, seriously, Just. You were all spacey in the cab, and you keep picking at your sweater. What's on your mind." "Nothing," the blonde lied. Britney wasn't about to let it go. "Justin," she said, calm but demanding. "Listen. I just flew into New York this morning. I then got to spend several hours with my stylist. Then I got to spend even more time with Darren. Then I had to hunt down you guys. I haven't had anything to eat since about ten this morning, and I'm trying *really hard* not to get cranky, but you're not really helping. So just tell me what the hell is wrong!" Staring at the huffing young woman across from him in surprise, Justin took a deep breath. "Um, I'm having um, trouble with uh, someone, um, that I love," he managed to stutter out. "Is it your mom?" Britney asked quickly. "No," Justin replied just as swiftly. "Everything's fine between me and my mom." "Then it's JC," the eighteen year-old stated. Her tone showed no trace of doubt. She was sure that it had to be Justin's best friend if it wasn't his mother. Justin stared at her silently for a few moments, an answer that spoke louder then any words he could have uttered. Finally he spoke. "How did you know?" Britney smiled. "Well, for one, you said `someone you love,' not `one of the guys,' so that ruled out anyone that you didn't have a more intimate relationship with. Plus, you said `love,' and you don't tend to use that with someone like your little brother. You usually say, `someone in my family' or something like that when you're dealing with anyone except your mom," the pop star explained to the flustered youth across from her. "What about Josh?" he asked, still baffled by how Britney knew that much from a simple statement. "He doesn't fall into any of those categories. He's just `one of the guys,' so why didn't you rule him out?" Britney grinned at Justin "Just, he's not simply `one of the guys,' and you and I both know that." Justin's mouth dropped open. Trying to keep himself together, he quickly shut it, but it was too late. "I knew it!" the eighteen year-old exclaimed in triumph. Noticing several other patrons glancing over in their direction, Justin quickly tried to quiet his friend, "Brit," he hissed. "Would you kindly try to keep it down?!" "Sorry," she giggled. "I'm just so happy we were right!" "`We'?" Justin repeated. "Who's `we'?" "Oh, just a few of us, me, Christina, Karen, your mom-" "WHAT?!" burst from Justin's mouth before he could stop himself. This time the other patrons didn't just glance in their direction, they glared. "What?" Justin asked again, his voice much quieter. Britney laughed at her distraught friend good-naturedly. "Aw, Just, don't get all bent out of shape. It's not a big deal. Remember that barbecue we did at your place before the last tour?" "Yeah," Justin muttered, wondering where the young woman across from him was going with this. "Well, what do you remember most about it?" she asked. "Um..." Justin trailed off, as smile coming to his lips as he recalled the spring day that had occurred a couple of months before. Looking back at Britney, he answered, "Probably lying in the grass with Josh, looking at the clouds. It was so nice, just pretending to be normal, enjoying a nice day." Smiling triumphantly, Britney explained, "Well, that's just it. Remember how you were sitting with JC?" Justin nodded, but Britney told him anyway. "With your head on his chest. But that's not how we all knew." "Then how did you know?" Justin inquired, generally curious. "Joey had asked you to play basketball and you turned him down to stay with JC. And then he took your hand and gave it this little kiss, and you started blushing like one of his twelve year-old fans," Britney teased. Flushing a bit at the memory, and his friend's description of it, Justin quietly asked, "So they all know, huh? My mom, JC's mom, Christina?" "Yep," the eighteen year-old replied cheerily. "I mean, we all knew that JC was gay, and you just were, well, are, actually," she corrected. "so obviously in love with him, and-" "What do you mean?" Justin interrupted. "About you being obvious?" Britney asked. Justin nodded. "Well," she began, smiling at the blonde seated across from her. "For one thing, you two always cuddle when we watch movies. Actually, you two cuddle even when we aren't watching moves." Britney laughed and Justin blushed again. "Well," Justin tried to defend his actions. "Josh, um, is just comfortable to um, cuddle with!" "Ooh," Britney replied sarcastically. "Good reason! Now I can see that you're just friends." "Shut-up," Justin laughed, defeated. "Plus, you two kiss a lot," Britney continued. "We do not!" Justin claimed, but Britney held up her hand for silence. "I don't mean on the lips, just other places, like on the forehead or cheek," she clarified. "Well," Justin muttered. "I can't really deny that." Britney laughed. "Of course you can't, silly! It's the truth! Plus, you just get that look when you're watching him. And, well, you watch him! And you get all jealous when you think people are hitting on him. And there was that time when you moaned his name in your sleep-" Justin blanched. "Wh-when I *what*?" Grinning, Britney admitted, "I'm only playin', Justin." Breathing a *huge* sigh of relief, Justin glared at the eighteen year-old. "Don't even *joke* about that. Josh and I always room together, I'd hate to think that I couldn't do that anymore." "What do you mean?" for the first time that night, it was Britney who was confused. "Things between me and Josh um, didn't exactly...work out," the nineteen year-old confessed. "Oh no," Britney said, clearly distraught. "What happened?" "I don't know," Justin admitted, tears springing forth unbidden to his eyes. "We went out to lunch today, and I think I did something in the cab because he closed up on me. Then he told me that one of the waitresses was pretty, then he said that he didn't want our relationship to change," the blonde babbled. Pausing a minute to look directly at the young woman across from him, he breathed, "Oh Brit," his tears finally falling down his young face. "I don't know what to do. I said that I wanted things to be back like they used to be, but I didn't mean it. He was just angry, and I didn't want him to be angry with me. He's been nice to me since, but I can feel his disappointment. It's like he doesn't want to be around me, but he sticks around to humor me. I just don't know what to do, I can't lose him," Justin's words trailed off as he began to sob quietly, bringing his hands up to his face. "Sweetie," Britney whispered, leaning across the table and placing her hands over Justin's and gently pulling them back, so she could look into his eyes. "Does he know how you feel?" Silently, Justin nodded. He had regained control of his breathing, but the tears still slid down his cheeks. "Okay, that's good. You just need to give him some time. JC feels the same way, I *know* he does. Just work on keeping your friendship, because I know how important that is to both of you. Just give him some time," Britney advised. Again, Justin nodded. "I can't lose him, Brit," the nineteen year-old repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "Without him I'd be lost." Smiling sympathetically, and with an unsaid understanding, Britney patted her friend's hands gently. "I know, Just. That's why you can't let him go. Take it slow; he'll realize what's in front of him one of these days. And if not," she added with a happier smile. "I'll beat him up." Justin smiled back, the tears falling less frequenly now. "You know I won't let you hurt him." Britney immediately turned serious. "Just don't let him hurt you," she said sternly. /Too late,/ the nineteen year-old thought to himself. However, he simply nodded at his friend. "All right, then," the pop queen said cheerfully, picking up the menu in front of her. "Now that that's all taken care of, let's eat!" JC sat on his bed, mindlessly flipping through a magazine. He glanced at the clock. Twelve-forty. Justin was late, to say the least. /Where *is* he?/ the twenty-four year-old thought frantically, despite his efforts to remain calm. He had already called Justin's cell phone several times, but stopped after he saw it vibrating on the dresser. Wishing that he knew which hotel Britney was staying at, and at the same time thankful that he didn't, JC continued to flip through the magazine. About a half an hour later, a gentle knocking at the door snapped JC out of the half-sleep he had fallen into. Getting up and stretching quickly, the brunette muttered, "I'm coming," before heading over to the door. Undoing the double lock, JC opened the door to see Justin standing there, a guilty look on his face. "Did I wake you?" the nineteen year-old inquired, stepping inside. "No," JC replied. "I stayed up." "Why?" Justin asked, surprised by the answer. "I knew you didn't have a key," JC answered honestly. A silence fell between the two. Walking over to his bed, JC asked, "So, how was your date?" Justin spun around to face his best friend. "Date?" the blonde repeated. "Yeah," JC replied, his eyes on the magazine so he wouldn't have to face the younger man. "How's Brit?" Justin smiled a little. "She's great. Looks good, seems happy, everything is fine with her." "Good, I'm glad," JC replied politely. To Justin, however, his voice seemed cold and he appeared to be distant; like he wasn't really partaking in the conversation at all. Justin could feel the tears flooding his eyes again. He didn't want to cry over this, not now. Turning away, he changed into a pair of pajama pants, and headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned, JC was under his covers with his back facing Justin's bed. The only light on in the room was the one on the night stand directly next to Justin's bed. As he walked over to where he was going to sleep, Justin could no longer restrain the tears. They came rolling down his cheeks unchecked as he climbed under the covers and reached over to turn out the light. A few moments passed in utter silence before Justin let out and involuntary sniffle. Immediately there was a shuffling sound from the area JC was in. "Just?" the older man whispered. "Just, are you crying?" "I'm fine," the blonde choked out, but his voice said other wise. After a few more shuffling sounds, Justin felt strong arms wrap around him. "Josh, you don't have to-" Justin felt a finger press gently against his lips, silencing him. "Ssh," JC soothed. "It's all right, Just, I'm here. You don't have to hide." Allowing himself to be pulled up against the older man, Justin rested his head against his best friend's chest. Feeling JC's long fingers gently massage his scalp, Justin's crying slowly ceased. Holding tightly to the older man, Justin whispered timidly, "Josh? Will you stay with me tonight?" "Of course," JC whispered back. "I need you, remember?" Snuggling even closer to the brunette, Justin murmured, "I need you, too. I don't know what I'd do with out you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." JC laughed lightly. "What about *NSYNC?" "That ranks second," Justin mumbled, quickly drifting off to sleep. JC became quiet. Justin's breathing became more rhythmic, and he knew that the younger man had fallen asleep. Tilting his head down to kiss the top of Justin's soft curls, JC whispered, "Thank you, Just. I love you." Gently laying his head against the younger man's, JC, too, finally drifted off to sleep.Okay, I know there was a lot of Britney, but at least it had a good ending! Well, sort of good. I mean, besides the whole Justin sobbing uncontrollably thing ^_~ Anyway, I hope I entertained you, and if you'd like to, send me some feedback at Angel1313@att.net Thanks again to those of you who write to me on a regular basis, I love you all!!