Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 15:22:23 -0600
From: Danni Bailey <dannibailey@hotmail.com>
Subject: Decisions - Chapter 19

Disclaimer: If you are under the age of 18, don't read any further.  If you
are offended by stories containing homosexual themes, this probably isn't
for you either.  I have no personal knowledge of the sexual preferences of
the individuals discussed in this story. It's fiction, pure and simple.


I just want to take a minute to say thank you to all of you who have
written me.  I appreciate your input!!


Chapter 19

You knew from experience that Lynn Harless was not one to mince words.

"Justin Randall, what the hell were you thinking?"

Ouch!  She had used his middle name. This was never a good sign when it
came to moms.  It was reserved for times when they were really unhappy and
evidently this was one of them.  Why you had agreed to be with Justin when
his mom first saw the video was now very unclear.  If you thought there was
any way of sneaking out of the living room undetected, you would certainly
consider it, but as you looked at your options, you knew you were trapped.

"And to be honest Gary," she added "I'm a little surprised you approved of
this."

Damn, now you were on the spot.  You were hoping just to be an innocent
bystander, but Lynn had other ideas.

"Lynn, first of all, I don't interfere in Justin's professional decisions.
Secondly, I think the video was tastefully done."

"Tasteful?  You call a topless 45 year old women kissing my 19 year old son
tasteful?"

Justin tried to interject.  "Mom, she's not 45, she's 41, and the camera
only showed her from the back.  You couldn't see anything."

Bad move, Justin.  You could see this one coming. "Excuse me young man,"
Lynn said angrily, "the camera may not have shown her topless, but it was
VERY evident she was.  Am I right?"

Justin quickly realized his mistake.  "Yes ma'am, she was."  You could tell
by the look on Justin's face that his mother's reaction hurt him deeply.
He already had concerns about the video and Lynn was only making matters
worse.  You could feel that the tension was escalating.

"Mom," Justin said remorsefully, "I wanted you to see the video before it
premiered next week.  You've seen it now, and I'm sorry you don't like.  To
be honest with you, I don't like it either, but you have to live with the
decisions you make.  At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do.
You have no idea what it was like for me making that video.  I hated every
minute of it, but I was tired of being looked at as some 16 year old kid.
If you are waiting for me to admit that I fucked up, here you go.  I admit
it!"

He turned, frustrated and hurt by the conversation, and headed upstairs to
his room.  Your first instinct was to follow him, but you realized he
needed a few minutes to cool off before there could be any conversation.

"Well, I guess I couldn't have handled that more poorly if I would have
tried," Lynn admitted.  "I never thought of how uncomfortable he must have
been filming it.  I just think that video is way too mature for him."

You felt sorry for her.  "Lynn, I know you're not happy about this whole
situation, but I think Justin really needs your support right now.  He's
beating himself up over this.  Look at him again in the video, not as your
son, but as an actor.  Lynn, he did a good job.  He's believable.  It's a
love story and the two of them pulled it off."

"Gary, I'm not going to say I approve of this video, because I don't."

"I'm not asking you to Lynn," you assured her.  "Of course you are entitled
to your opinion.  All I'm asking it that you be as supportive as you can."

She nodded her head in agreement.  "You're right Gary.  I guess I need to
go upstairs and clear things up with him."

You looked at your watch and smiled slightly.  "I'd give him a few more
minutes.  I learned the hard way that your son has a mandatory cooling off
period of about 15 minutes.  Anything short of that just means another
argument."

She sat next to you on the couch and you put a comforting arm around her
shoulder.  "How is it you know so much about my son?" she asked as she
leaned her head on your shoulder.

"I work at it every day Lynn," you reminded her, "and trust me, I've seen
him in every mood imaginable."

"He's very lucky to have someone as patient as you.  I know he and Chris
butted heads more than once over his moods."

You chuckled.  "Well, they still do occasionally, but Danni pretty much has
Chris under control, so I'm sure it's not as bad as it used to be."

After a few more minutes of casual conversation, Lynn headed upstairs to
settle things with her only son.  While she and Justin talked, you called
the airlines and made flight arrangements for the morning.  If you planned
things just right, you would be able to accomplish what you needed to and
head back to Orlando by Tuesday afternoon, when the video premiered.  If
things moved too slowly you could fly out again at the end of the week and
finish up then, but if Justin wanted you with him on Tuesday, you'd make
sure you were there.

You had only just hung up the phone when the two of them made there way
back downstairs, joking as if nothing had transpired between.

"I just got off the phone with the airlines," you informed them.  "Can one
you take me to the airport in the morning?"

Immediately, the smile vanished from Justin's face.  "You mean your still
going on the trip?  You know I wanted you here on Tuesday!  We didn't even
get a chance to discuss it!"

You reached over and took both his hands in yours, making him face you.

"Justin, it's all worked out.  I'll leave first thing in the morning.  I'll
get done as much as can over the week-end and on Monday.  If there is
anything I don't finish by then, I'll finish up at the end of next week,
but I'll be here Tuesday and Wednesday.  I promise."

He looked embarrassed.  "I guess I should have known that huh?"

"Yeah, probably," you agreed.  "I don't remember too many times when you
haven't gotten your way, especially if its important to you."

He looked around quickly to see if Jonathan could be watching.  Seeing that
the coast was clear, he hugged you tightly and quickly kissed your waiting
lips.

"Mom says you spoil me," he admitted with a slight tone of pretend guilt in
his voice

You glanced at Lynn and shot a quick wink her way. "I knew your mom was a
smart woman. She doesn't miss much."

"How can I miss it," Lynn laughed.  "And I thought I spoiled him."

You and Justin enjoyed a quite evening together with Lynn and you turned in
early knowing that you both had another long day in front of you.  You're
flight left at 7:00 am the next morning and even though you had made it
clear that Lynn could easily drop you off, Justin insisted on taking you to
the airport.

"I can't believe I won't see you for 3 days," he complained as you neared
the terminal.  "We've never been apart since we met.  I know damn well I
won't be able to sleep."

"Justin, it's only for a couple of days," you reminded him.  "And your ass
is gonna be so tired you'll sleep just fine."

Another thought entered your mind "Don't the other bands fly in this
week-end so you guys can discuss how you're gonna handle the 5 dates where
you guys perform together?"

"Yeah, they'll be in on Sunday, he said excitedly "so next week is gonna be
really busy."  He grinned.  "Of course, Britney is flying in early, but I
doubt if it's to discuss concert plans."  He shook his head.  "Did Joey
tell you what his cell phone bill was last month?  It was almost $600.00,
and he's got unlimited air time, so that was all long distance!"

You had now arrived at the airport and Justin pulled the car up to the curb
in front of the Delta terminal.  He leaned over and kissed you, obviously
unconcerned if anyone was watching.

"Hurry back.  This is gonna be the longest 3 days of my life!"

"I will," you assured him.  "Do you think you can manage to stay out of
trouble while I'm gone?"

"Like I have a choice," he chuckled, "I'm staying with mom, remember."

You kissed him one last time, then grabbed your bags and headed into
Orlando's bustling terminal.

You were amazed at first, realizing you had managed to make all of the
needed arrangements in just 3 days.  Everyone you had talked to had been
extremely cooperative, but then considering the final bill for their
services, they damn well better be.  You were somewhat apprehensive when
you had called Johnny to fill him on the final costs, but instead of being
shocked he was pleasantly surprised that you're shopping around had paid
off.  You had managed to save about $5000.00 a show by doing some serious
negotiations and Johnny informed you that your diligence would pay off.
Your bonus check would be waiting for you when you got back to Orlando.

You found it hard to stay awake on your flight back, and had to admit that
without Justin in your arms, sleep had not come easy the past few nights.
You laughed to yourself as you remembered your conversation with him
regarding Joey's cell phone bill.  His was not going to be much better.
You had talked for several hours Sunday night.  The other bands had flown
in that day and Justin wanted to fill you in on the details.  The guys from
LFO were great he informed you and they would be staying with his mom for
the week that that were in town. 5ive flew in from England, very tired, but
thrilled to be part of the tour.  They had decided to stay with Chris and
Danni since they were the largest group and Chris had plenty of room at his
new place.  98 Degrees would wait until Monday to fly in and move in with
the Fatones, along with Britney.  Joey was ecstatic, almost giddy and
Justin found it humorous.

"You should see him Gary." "He is totally devoted to her!  This is not the
Joey Fatone we saw on tour.  That guy must have been abducted by aliens."

"Maybe he's just in love," you suggested.

"He damn well better be," Justin insisted "or I'll have to kick his butt.
Britney is like a sister to me."

The jolting of the plane's tires hitting the runway snapped you back to the
present and you hoped Justin had managed to get away from the rigors of
rehearsal to meet you at the airport.  You were disappointed when you saw
Lynn at the gate.

Evidently, she could see the chagrin on your face. "Sorry sweetie, there
was no way he could make it. Wade had them working on a new dance routine
and was not in the best of moods. Justin usually has no problem, but he is
totally out of it. He can't remember any of the moves and Wade refused to
let him come.  According to Lance, they are at each other's throats.

You weren't really surprised.  The video would premiere on MTV in a few
hours and you knew Justin's concentration was not on dancing today.

"He'll be fine Lynn," you assured her.  "He just needs to get the release
of the new video behind him. Tomorrow things will be back to normal."

"I hope so, Wade really lost his patience with him and that just made
matters worse. Fortunately, they have an off day tomorrow" she said finding
it hard to believe her own words.  "Johnny wants all of the guys to just
spend some time together and have to get to know each other. Of course
Johnny knows they'll end up discussing the tour, so it will kinda kill two
birds with one stone. But I'm grateful. Justin needs a break."

You both needed a break, you thought.  You were beginning to contemplate
which was harder, being on tour or getting ready for one.  You were
exhausted and knew Justin was too.  You were grateful he could get some
rest tomorrow.

"Lynn, would you mind dropping me off at the studio. I know Justin is
rehearsing, but I like to stop by and let him know I'm home."

She smiled slightly, "Of course I will.  I kinda figured you'd want to stop
by there, and I know Justin could use a friendly face about now.
Hopefully, they will be wrapping it up shortly.  Wade said they would
finish up before MTV premiered the video."

When Lynn pulled into the lot you could fell you heart pick up its pace.
It had only been three days, but you had truly missed Justin.  You walked
quickly to the front entrance and you could hear Wade's voice before you
ever opened the studio rehearsal door.

"Justin, you're giving me this routine at about 50%!  If you're not gonna
do it full out there is no point in rehearsing."

"We've done it about 20 times Wade," Justin argued.  "I'm tired!"

"Listen Justin, maybe if you would have paid attention on the first 19
times, we wouldn't be doing it again."

You opened the door quietly, hoping not to disturb anyone, but Justin saw
you immediately.

"Yes!" he said excitedly as he as he rushed toward you. "You're home!"

Wade immediately stepped into his path.  "No way!  When you show me as much
enthusiasm for this routine as you do for Gary, we'll call it a day and you
can have him, but not until."

A huge grin came over Justin's face.  "Trust me, you start the music over
again and I guarantee it will be the last time we do it today."

"Well, I hope so," Wade concluded, "because I'm damn tired of watching you
fuck it up!"

The music started and the sounds of "It's Gonna be Me," filled the studio.
You watched Justin, never taking your eyes off of him and couldn't believe
that he ever had trouble with the routine.  He was so smooth and looked
like he could perform it in his sleep.  When the song finished you glanced
quickly at Wade to see his reaction.  He was smiling and shaking his head.

"Dammit Justin, if you could have done that hours ago, you would have had
the afternoon off."

Water bottles flew Justin's way and he covered his head, bracing for the
impact.

"Thanks rabbit," Lance teased." "We've been at it for 3 hours, and Gary
walks in and 'boom' all of a sudden it's perfect."

"And you're surprised," Chris added.  "That's always the way. We all know
what motives him."

Justin said nothing, but grinned and gave them an easily interpreted hand
signal as he walked toward you.

"Damn I missed you," he whispered while wrapping his arms around you.

"I missed you too, but I finished up.  The rest of the details can be
handled over the phone."  You returned his hug and kissed him gently on the
cheek.  "How about you get a much needed shower and I'll buy you something
to eat before the premier"

Justin looked uneasy.  "Mom invited everyone over tonight.  And I mean
everyone.  We're gonna grill some steaks and open a couple bottles of
champagne. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all.  Sounds great, but I have to admit I'm a little surprised.  I
didn't think your mom would be celebrating."

Justin grinned.  "Well, she's kinda had a change of heart.  I mean, she
still doesn't like it, but she knows it was important to me, and she knows
how nervous I am.  I think she's trying to be supportive."

Of course she was.  This was Lynn Harless we were talking about.  You would
have expected nothing less.

It was almost ten minutes before the premier would be telecast and Chris
was no where in sight.  You were surprised.  Danni and he were never late,
and it obvious that Justin was feeling uneasy.

"I can't believe they haven't called. It's not gonna be the same if Chris
isn't here."

"Justin, he'll be here. He probably just got stuck in traffic."

As if on cue, Chris rushed through the front door.  "Sorry, I'm late guys,
I was waiting for the new magazines to be put out on the shelf at
Blockbuster, and let me tell you it was worth the wait."  You could tell by
the grin on Danni's face that Chris was right.

Chris was orchestrating the moment.  "OK, everybody hold it down.  Justin,
since you are the man of the hour, how about you sit at the bar so we can
all see your expression when I read these headlines."

"Are these tabloids?"  Justin asked cautiously.

"Only one of them buddy," Chris said with a grin. "The other two are
legitimate publications."

Without any enthusiasm, Justin took his place.  "Ok, let's get this over
with. I can hardly wait."

You looked around the room and realized the crowd that Lynn had brought
together.  All five groups that would be performing together were assembled
in the Harless living room.  You were amazed at the array of personalities
and were even more amazed at how quickly friendships were made.  In
particular you noticed JC.  He and "J" from the group 5ive had become
almost inseparable according to Justin.  From Justin's tone you could tell
that something about it bothered him, but you were glad to see JC taking a
break from his otherwise serious nature and relax a bit.

"Ok, here we go," Chris announced. "This the first headline. It's from
"Entertainment Weekly" and happens to be Danni's favorite."  He held up the
magazine so that the group could see the cover.  It was a picture of Justin
and Maggie Lawson.  A huge grin covered his face as he read the
caption. "No More Model Behavior!"

Justin shook his head. "Please tell me the others aren't as bad?" he asked
as his face blushed.

Joey chimed in. "Oh, they get better, trust me. Chris called me from his
cell phone. He could hardly talk."

Lance added, "Don't say anything Joey, we want him to be surprised."

"Oh, I'm surprised alright!" Justin assured him. "Embarrassed, but
surprised."

Chris continued, "Here's number two, from Rolling Stone."  He looked at the
assembled crowd. "You guys will appreciate this one.  Naturally, we have
yet another picture of Justin on the cover and it reads Timberlake Says Bye
Bye Bye to Boy Band Image"

Justin grabbed the magazine from Chris' hand.  "I can't believe it!" he
said laughing, "I'll never do another interview with them. How corny is
that?"

"Wait a minute sweetie," Danni interrupted, "the best is yet to come."
This was Danni's moment.  You could tell she was going to enjoy this and
knowing it made Justin squirm.  "Allow me to announce the headlines from
this week's "Globe".  She sat on his lap holding the publication behind her
back ensuring he didn't see the headlines before she was ready.  "Ready?"
she said with her devilish smile.  Justin only nodded. He knew she was
moving in for the kill.  She held up the paper and the noise in the living
room was deafening.  "Teen Idol Tagged as Madonna's Boy Toy."  As much as
you tried, you could not help but start laughing.  Even Justin had tears of
laughter rolling down his cheeks.  You were grateful that he could make
light of the moment.  He had been so nervous all week and Chris had found a
way to finally take away some of the pressure.

Britney's voice interrupted the laughter.  "Hey you guys, hold it down.
Carson is introducing the video."  Immediately, the room fell silent and
all eyes were on the projection screen in the Harless living room.  Justin
moved slowly from the bar-stool over to were you were standing and leaned
his back against your chest as you wrapped your arms around his waist.  He
exhaled deeply as he saw the video begin and you squeezed him just a bit
tighter knowing he was extremely nervous.

"Everyone is gonna love it, trust me," you whispered.  His only response
was a gentle nod of his head.

If the rest of the viewing audience reacted like the crowd in the Harless
living room, Justin would have nothing to worry about.  The corks flew as
the image of Carson Daly returned to the screen and you could see the
weight of the world being lifted from Justin's shoulders.

"We're gonna take a quick break," Carson informed the viewing audience,
"and when we return we're going to take a few calls and talk to some of the
people that have joined us in the TRL studio to get some feedback on our
latest video."  The camera panned away from Carson and into the crowded
studio.  Justin refilled his now empty champagne glass and reached over and
took your hand.

"Don't let go, Ok?" he asked softly.  "This is the part I'm not looking
forward to.  I knew everyone here would be ok with the video, but now I
have to hear what the fans think."

Before you could say anything, Lynn walked up with a cell phone in her
hand.  "It's Carson sweetie.  He says he needs to talk to you."

Reluctantly, Justin took the phone and downed what was left in his glass.

"Hey Carson, what's up?  You're in the middle of a show."

"Aahh, so you are watching." Carson chuckled.  "I kinda figured you would
be.  So, you know we are taking calls from viewers when we get back,
right?"

"Yes, and please don't ask me to be on the air.  I can't do that right
now."

"Justin, I've already talked to Gary today.  I have no intention of making
it any worse, although for the life of me I cant figure out why you are so
damn edgy about this.  I just called to tell you I think you did a helluva
job.  You looked good buddy."

A huge smile encompassed Justin face.  "Thanks Carson, that mean a lot
coming from you.  And what were you and Gary talking about today?"

"What do Gary and I ever talk about......You, of course.  Hey, I gotta go
we're on in ten seconds. I love you, J.  Talk to you soon."  There was a
clicking noise on the phone and Justin looked at the TV in time to see a
rushed Carson take his place in front of the camera.

Justin sat on your lap as Carson began to take calls from excited viewers.
The more calls Carson took, the more relaxed Justin became.  Evidently he
had worried for nothing.  The video was a hit!  As the show closed Justin
poured another glass of champagne and with a twinkle in his eye pulled you
away from a conversation with Johnny.  He led you upstairs to his bedroom,
locking the door behind him.

"Don't even think about it Justin," you warned him. "you've got a house
full of guests downstairs.

He laughed, "I'm definitely thinking about it, but that's not why I brought
you up here.  We'll save that for later, but I did want to tell you
something."  He was busy digging through a stack of CDs piled on his desk
as he spoke. "Ah, here it is! Now that Jonathan knows how to use my cd
player, I can never find anything."

He quickly put the cd in the player and rushed over to you before the music
started to play.

"She can say it so much better than I can, but trust me, it's how I feel.
From the first note, you easily picked up on the artist and the song.
Justin held you tightly, singing softly as you both moved to the music.

When I'm lost
In the rain
In you're eyes I know I'll find the light to light my way
When I'm scared
Loosing ground
When my world is going crazy
You can turn it all around
And when I'm down you're there pushing me to the top
You're always there giving me all you've got

For a shield from the storm
For a friend
For a love to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you

For the strength to be strong
For the will to carry on
For everything you do
For everything that's true
I turn to you

Justin slowly took his head off of you shoulder and while staring deeply
into your eyes placed his soft, warm lips on yours.  His tongue slowly
entered you mouth and you could feel your knees weaken.  His kiss was
tender and caring, and all of the stress of the last few weeks disappeared
while you were in his embrace.

It was not until the song was over that Justin removed his lips from yours.
"I know I don't say it enough, but you're my world.  All my strength comes
from you and I can't imagine getting through all of this without you."

"It goes both ways, J" you reminded him "Being away from you this weekend
was hard.  Harder than I expected it to be."

A huge smile covered his face.  "So, you really missed me huh?  Do you plan
on showing me how much?"

You could only shake your head.  "Maybe later, rabbit, but right now you
have a house full of guests that are probably wondering where you are, not
to mention your mom."

Justin tried to hide is disappointment.  "Yeah, I guess you're right.  We
should head back downstairs before mom sends out a search party!"

The two of you rejoined the others, your lips still tingling from Justin's
touch.

It was close to 3:00 am when you and Justin crawled into bed and nearly
5:00 by the time the two of you, exhausted by your lovemaking, drifted off
to sleep.


TBC...any comments can be directed to dannibailey@hotmail.com