Ali hung up her cell phone and dialed Kevin's cell number. After a few rings, Kevin picked up, sounding half asleep. "Hello?"
"Kev, it's me," Ali said quietly, suddenly not knowing what to say.
"Ali? Is that you?" Kevin asked. A female voice in the background came over the phone, saying, "Kev, come back to bed, I need you."
Ali nearly dropped the phone. "Kevin, where are you? Who is that?"
"No one, I'm, uh, I'm in Kentucky."
"No one? Doesn't sound like no one to me, sounds like Kristin to me," Ali said, getting angry.
Kevin sighed. "Before you hang up the phone, we have to talk."
Ali forced the tears away from her eyes. "I know. Kevin, AJ was right, I'm too young to get married."
Kevin glanced over at Kristin, who was sleeping, curled up in a ball at his side. "I realize that. We shouldn't have moved that fast. But I do love you though."
Ali's eyes enlarged. "Then why in the hell are you in bed with your ex-girlfriend if you still love me?!?!" she shouted, not being able to control herself.
Kevin took the phone away from his ear while Ali yelled. "Why the hell were you with Justin Timberlake at an After-Party?" Kevin shot back.
"Because I wanted to go out and have fun. That's why. And Justin... He's my friend Kevin, he's only a two years younger than I am."
"Why weren't you wearing your engagement ring when I saw you leave, then?"
Ali sighed, causing Justin to put his arm around her shoulders. She glanced at him, took one look into his eyes, and knew what her heart was telling her. "I wasn't wearing my engagement ring because I can't marry you."
All Ali got in return was a dial tone. "Kevin? Hello?" She looked at her phone and hung it up. She leaned into Justin's side, not knowing what to say.
"Ali, I'm always gonna be here for you," Justin whispered into Ali's hair.
"He's cheating on me, with Kristin," Ali said, staring into space, her head spinning.
Justin kissed the top of Ali's head. "Do you wanna stay with us until the tour's over? I'm sure the guys would love to have you, and I know I want you here," Justin suggested, hoping he could spend more time with Ali.
"I think that would be a good idea," Ali said, closing her eyes to try and get some form of sleep, attempting to ignore the bumps in the highway the bus was traveling down. "I wanna be with you," she whispered to Justin before turning toward him and putting her arms around his stomach, not wanting him to leave.
Justin was shocked. Nonetheless, he was ecstatic. "I wanna be with you, too," Justin said, holding Ali close to him.
Ali looked up into his eyes. "No, Justin, I want to be with you. Not Kevin. I want to be with YOU. That's why I'm not marrying Kevin. If he wouldn't have hung up the phone, I would've told him that I'm not marrying him because I fell in love with someone else. You."
Justin had absolutely no idea what to say. He had never been faced with this sort of situation before. Out of the corner of his eye he saw JC standing in the doorway leading to the back living room. He was mouthing the words 'Kiss her.' Justin decided that that was the only thing he could possibly do at that point, leaned over and kissed Ali. She kissed him back, and that was when all time stopped.
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