Disclaimer:

This story is purely fictional. I do not know *NSYNC. This is not implying anything about *NSYNC's true sexuality. I do not know if they are gay or not. Do not read this if you are under 18 or it is illegal in your state to read literature with homosexual content.

Pairing: JC/Justin

Chapter 5

"Mel, thanks so much for breakfast. I mean you really shouldn't have paid the bill; I'm a big boy I can pay for myself. Especially since I should have paid for you!" Justin said feeling a little better now that he had some French toast in him.

"No problem Curly, and no you shouldn't have to pay for me just to let you know."

Justin tensed up as he heard the name "Curly". No one called him that except for Josh; he didn't allow anyone to call him that except for Josh. But for some reason, he liked hearing it from her today.

"So, now what. Do you want to go see the sites, go for a walk in Central Park?" Melinda said as she rushed past Lonnie, Justin's personal body guard that went with him everywhere.

"A walk in Central Park sounds nice; it's such a beautiful day!" Justin stared up at the sky as he answered.

"Okay, a walk in the park it is then," Melinda said as she slowly slipped her hand in his.

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"Well, here's the good news guys. Justin is going to be gone all day long so we can do whatever we want; the bad news is we have an interview with MTV tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM." Lance said as he closed his cell phone. Johnny had called him for the millionth time that morning, and he was getting pissed at the fact that the guy never left them alone.

"Well, then what are we going to do today?" Chris asked, leaning back in the recliner.

"I'm going to go see some friends of mine that live in Brooklyn...I'll catch up with you guys later!" Joey said as he rushed out the door, grabbing his leather jacket.

"I guess it's just you and me, so what do you want to do, Chris?"

"Hmm...how does visiting the statue of liberty sound to you?"

"Sounds like fun! Let's go," Lance said as he hopped up off the couch, Chris right on his heel.

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"Justin, there's something I need to tell you," Melinda said as soon as the were out of the ear shot of Lonnie. Not knowing that there was a reporter hiding behind the bushes; watching them intently.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I don't know how to say this, but I've noticed something that's brand new for me. It's something I've never experienced before, yet it's the most wonderful sensation in the entire world. I want to go on top of a mountain and shout it out for everyone to hear, but then I can't because I don't know how the person I really want to know will react," Melinda finished her lie, turning away from Justin's eyes for effect.

"Melinda...what's wrong?" Justin turned and caringly placed a hand on her shoulder, spinning her around to meet his gaze.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," Melinda stammered before she pressed her lips to his.

Click...flash....snap!

"Wow, wait till USA Today gets a hold of this little baby!" the reporter whispered as he quickly ran away.

Justin let her kiss him for a brief moment though he knew it didn't feel right. Slowly he pushed her away.

"Oh Mel,, I'm so sorry...I just don't feel the same," Justin said as he walked away from her.

"I'm going to make you feel the same," Melinda whispered to herself as she ran to catch him.

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After 12 hours of pure rehearsing hell, JC had finally gotten a good night's sleep. He went into the kitchenette of his hotel room suite. Under the door he saw the day's copy of the LA Times and USA Today. He placed the USA Today on the counter, and turned to make a cup of coffee. As soon as he had brewed his steamy cup of joe, he walked over to the counter and unfolded the newspaper. There on the cover was the picture of Justin and Melinda kissing in Central Park with the headline reading "Teen Idle Finds Love". The mug fell to the floor.

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"Justin!!! Wake up buddy...it's your birthday." Lance yelled as he ran screaming into his band mate's room!"

"Huh, what time is it?" came the distinctive groggy voice from the bed.

"It's 11:30. We let you skip the interview this morning, since it was your birthday. So you owe us a favor!" Chris threw in.

"Hey man, what's shakin'?" Joey asked as he too stepped into the large suite.

"Not much, I'm just tired. I kind of had a rough night," Justin said as he sat up and rubbed his temple.

"Yeah, Melinda said you weren't feeling well," Chris stammered, obviously worried for his friend.

"Yeah, I wasn't," Justin lied; he really wasn't ready to tell the guys what was really bugging him.

"Well, we have a very special day planned out for you. We're going to take you out to a birthday lunch, and then we're going to come back here so we can all take a nap cause tonight we're going to the hottest club in NYC!!" Joey screamed, bouncing up and down like a child.

"Okay, well let me get dressed. I'll meet you all in Chris's room in about 30 minutes, kapeesh?"

"Kapeesh!" Chris, Lance, and Joey answered in unison.

As soon as everyone had left, Justin started to cry. He didn't want to celebrate his birthday without Josh, and after what had happened yesterday,, he wasn't to keen on spending it with Melinda either. He felt so angry at himself for not loving her back. She would be the perfect girl for him, but she wasn't who he loved.

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Ring

Ring

Ring

"The person in this room is not available at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep."

"Damn!!! Where the hell could he be? It`s only 6:00 in the evening in New York!" JC yelled as he threw the phone back down on it's cradle.

"Something wrong, JC?" Paula, the make-up artist, asked as she walked up behind him.

"No, I just can't reach my bandmates. They haven't returned my phone calls in two days. The show's tonight, and I know I get to see them tomorrow...but I want to know if they're okay," JC said, placing his hands on his hips.

"I'm sure they're fine. Oh by the way, Mr. Phillips wants to see you,"

"What the hell could he want?" JC huffed as he walked to James Phillips' office.

"Come in!" James yelled when he heard JC knock.

"I've got some bad news, they aren't going to be able to have a show tonight. ABC has been cancelled by Warner Cable in Houston, Texas, and the ABC people are taking it off of the air until this matter is resolved."

"So the entire country isn't going to have ABC because of a stupid cable network in Houston, Texas? What the hell is that kind of crap?"

"I don't know why, all I know is I have to follow through with orders."

"So, what did you need me to see you for?"

"Well, you can go home. We've got you a ticket back to New York. The flight's at 6:30 here. You should get back into New York around 10."

"Thanks."

"We'll call you again JC if this problem is ever fixed. We can't disappoint our viewers. They voted for you."

"Well, it sounds like the network is disappointing them enough," JC whispered as he left the room.

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"Justin...you ready man?" Chris asked as he stood outside Justin's door.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec!"

"Hey, we ready?" Joey asked as soon as Justin entered the hallway.

"Yeah!" Justin managed to sound a little enthused. His friends had gone to all of this work for him.

He looked up and saw Melinda walk out of her room. She was dressed in a red tube top and tight leather pants. If he liked girls, he would have been drooling all over everything. Joey and Chris whistled, making cat calls at her like she was a professional stripper.

They left the hotel in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Justin couldn't get the slight feeling that she was trying to impress him out of his mind.

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"Flight 8790 service to New York`s John F. Kennedy Airport is now ready for the pre-boarding of individuals needing special attention, children traveling alone, and our first class and business class passengers." The attendent announced over the loud speaker.

JC went up to the gate, handed in his ticket, and turned to walk down the jet way. He couldn't help getting that same strange feeling that something wasn't right. As soon as he was on the plane, he took his seat and stared out the window. He fell into a dreamless sleep just after the plane left the ground.

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"Wow...look at this place!" Melinda yelled as they all walked into the club centered in uptown New York City.

"It's the newest and hippest club in the Big Apple," Chris answered as he walked up behind her.

"Well, I for one am going to hit the dance floor. There are a lot of nice lookin' ladies out there tonight!" Joey said as he motioned one of the girls towards him.

"I think I'm going to get a drink," Justin said half heartedly, heading out in no particular direction.

"He doesn't look to good. Poor guy, must really miss JC."

"Well, I think I'm going to go join him." Melinda said as she walked away to go look for Justin leaving Chris to do whatever he pleased.

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"I'll have 4 shots please," Justin said to the bartender.

"Comin' right up."

He set the four shot glasses down in front of Justin. Justin picked the first one up and downed it in less than a second. He did the same with the other three, downing them in just the same amount of time.

"I'll take another 6 please!"

"Are you sure man, that's a lot of vodka."

"I didn't ask for your opinion. Now are you going to give me the drinks I've asked for or not?"

The bartender just nodded his head "yes" and set another 6 small glasses down in front of Justin.

Melinda eyed Justin at the bar. As soon as she got close to him, she noticed the 10 empty shot glasses sitting in front of him.

`Good. He's probably drunk; that gives me the advantage,' she thought evilly.

"Justin, what are you doing. You're supposed to be having fun." Melinda said sternly as she walked up behind him.

"I..am...hading...fum...Mel," Justin replied drunk.

"Okay, I think you've had enough," she said grabbing his wrist and pulling him from the stool.

"No I'm fine really. Besides there's someting I've been needing to tell you..."

"And what is that,"

"I lied to you Mel, yesterday. I said I didn't love you the way you love me. The truth is I do, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Melinda Rockney?"

`He's drunk; he doesn't know what he's saying. Say no, say no!' she thought to herself, but then another thought crossed her mind.

`If I marry him, he won't ever get JC!'

"Yes, Justin. I'll marry you. I love you!" Melinda kissed him full on. This time Justin returned the kiss even though something inside of him was saying:

`What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't love her; you love JC!! You don't want to marry Melinda! You want to spend the rest of your life with your angel, Josh!'

"Let's elope, Justin. What more perfect of a day then your birthday," Melinda smiled, thinking about the shock of a lifetime JC was going to get when he got home the next day.

"I can't wait another minute for you, let's go now!" Justin answered even though in his heart he was yelling:

`You fucking bastard...you're making the BIGGEST mistake of your life! Don't marry her; for God's sake don't marry her!'

They ran out of the club, jumped in cab, and drove to the nearest wedding chapel.

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"Flight 8790 is now making it's final decent into JFK Airport. Please make sure all of your belonings are stowed away properly." The overhead speaker announced to the passengers.

Josh buckled his seatbelt and smiled. He was going to get to be there for Justin's birthday...even if he had missed most of the day.

As the plane landed safely on the ground, JC's heart couldn't help jumping for joy.

"I'm going to tell him tonight!" JC silently said to himself.

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"Do you Justin Randall Timberlake take Melinda Elizabeth Rockney to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?" The Priest asked.

"I doo," Justin answered still under the influence.

`No you don't God Damn It!!! Run while you still can!' his heart kept saying.

"And do you Melinda Elizabeth Rockney take Justin Randall Timberlake to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?"

"I do," Melinda answered.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Justin leaned into kiss Melinda , but as soon as his lips met hers his heart sank. But it was too late now.

The "love birds" left the wedding chapel and rode back to the hotel for their wedding night.

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JC stood outside of the room he shared with Justin. He just couldn't take that step to open the door. He knew he had to, but something he couldn't grasp was keeping him from turning the key. Finally he mustered up all of his strength and turned it. His jaw dropped as soon as he stepped into the room.

"Oh, god yes...Justin...yes...fuck me! Oh god I love you so much," Melinda screamed as Justin thrust in and out of her at a fast pace.

"I love you to Mrs. Timberlake."

JC's dropped his bags at the sight, and then the name...Mrs. Timberlake. Oh god, how could he. He ran from the room, not caring to close the door.

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Well??? What do you all think??? I think it's the best chapter yet. Please send all of your feedbackk, criticism, etc. I love to hear from you!

L.D.

SleepyChick101@yahoo.com