Calypso opened the door to the insistent pounding on it. "What do you want?"
"How dare you, Calypso?" Richard Galbraith asked, grabbing her arm in a tight grip. "You little bitch. You are not leaving me."
"Yes I am," Calypso told him.
He shook her. "You didn't understand me, Calypso. I said you're not leaving me." His eyes were hard and cold, and his voice threatening. "Don't mess with me. You'll regret it."
"I regret ever having anything to do with you." Calypso stared at him, a look of distaste gracing her features. "You're a bastard, an abusive asshole, and I don't know what possessed me to ever agree to have anything to do with you."
He dragged her out of the room and threw her against the wall. He slapped her across the face. "Don't insult me, bitch."
"Why, Richard?" Calypso goaded. "Afraid I might be right?"
He lunged for her, his hands wrapping around her slender throat in a death grip.
At the end of the hall, the elevators dinged, opening to reveal Justin. He glanced up, looking right at Richard choking Calypso. "What the fuck?" he exclaimed, sprinting up the hall to them. He tore Richard from Calypso, and she collapsed at their feet.
Justin's fist found Richard's face. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, you bastard? Are you that much of a coward that you have to beat up women?" He punched him again.
"Stay out of this, asshole," Richard spat. "I'm teaching the bitch a lesson."
"She's not the one who needs a lesson. You are."
"You don't know shit about what's going on, so stay out of this."
"I'm trying to leave him," Calypso said from the floor. "And he won't let me."
Justin smiled mockingly at Richard. "Are you that much of a dickless spineless bastard that you have to beat up women who want to dump you? Afraid that you'll look like coward, or worse yet, like an idiot?"
Richard's eyes narrowed. "I know who you are. You're Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC. The one Calypso here was dating last year. The press doesn't know about that. Maybe I should go spill everything I know to some tabloid."
"Go ahead. And it'll make you the laughingstock of America."
"We'll see about that," Richard murmured, glancing down at Calypso then back to Justin with a look of disgust in his eyes. He walked down the hall.
"He seriously will tell the press about our past relationship," Calypso told Justin, as he kneeled down beside her.
"Who cares about that? The only thing that matters is that you're ok." Justin tilted her chin up so he could look at her neck. Already, faint bruises were forming on her throat. "How long as he been hitting you?"
"Since the day after I accepted his offer."
"Why did you let it go on so long, Calypso?" Justin asked, looking into her eyes.
Her eyes dropped. "I don't know," she murmured softly.
"Calypso, look at me," he demanded, forcing her to look at him. "Why? There has to be a reason."
"Because… because I didn't want to go on anymore without you, knowing you hated me. It was the best thing I could have done, accept someone who was so different from you. And when he started hitting me, I didn't think anything of it. I just accepted it."
"God, Calypso," Justin said, pulling her into his arms. "I never actually hated you. I couldn't have. It would have been easier to hate myself than hate you." He rested his chin on her head. "God, baby, I'm so sorry for everything I did. I reacted to finding out who you are horribly. It was just… the shock of finding out who you are, and knowing that you didn't trust me enough to tell me. And then, once I calmed down enough to realize I would have done the same thing, I was too upset with myself to do anything."
"I was going to break my promise to Circe and Lorelie and tell you. The day you told me you loved me because I was normal, not famous or rich or anything like that."
"I'm sorry." Justin pulled her tighter to her. "For anything I did to hurt you, I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too. For lying, for not telling you who I was. For everything."
"Go out with me again? Your ex is going to go tell the press any ways, so we might as well take advantage of all the publicity we're going to get."
Calypso smiled at him. "Of course. It'll just make him look worse than he will."
Justin kissed her. And they heard a whole bunch of cheering at the end of the hall.
They looked up to see Circe, Joey, Lorelie, and JC standing just outside the elevator, whistling and cheering for them.~*~*~*~
"So we're all happy now," Lorelie said, as she, Circe, and Calypso lounged by the pool in JC and Lorelie's backyard.
"We are, but not all of our friends are," Calypso said. It was a week after the incident with Richard, and her bruises had all healed and so far, he hadn't slipped anything to the tabloids. "Lance is depressed and Chris doesn't seem the same since Dani's wedding."
"I still can't believe she got married only six months after she broke up with Chris," Circe said. "She had to have been cheating on him. Good riddance to her, I say."
"She seemed like such a sweetheart when we met her, but I guess everyone has a façade," Calypso said. "We should know all about things like that."
"Luckily we won't ever have to do that again," Circe said.
"I didn't tell you two my good news yet." Calypso's golden eyes brightened. "I got accepted to UCLA and University of Southern Florida."
"Congratulations," Circe said. "Have you picked one yet?"
"No, I still have to decide."
"Hurry up and pick one, girl," Lorelie said. "And while we're on the subject of good news, I have some, too." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Don't tell JC, but I'm pregnant."
"Oh my god, congratulations," Circe and Calypso said at the same time. "How wonderful!" Circe continued.
"How far along are you?" Calypso asked.
"Two weeks. I found out today."
"That's such wonderful news," Circe said. "We'll have a godchild."
"We'll have someone to spoil."
"No, you two are not spoiling my child," Lorelie warned. "No one is. Spoil your own children."
"Lorelie, you don't have a choice in it," Circe said. "It'll have us, and the other four guys has aunts and uncles, not to mention your family, JC's family, my family, Calypso's family, to spoil it. Our kids are going to be the same- spoiled by everyone. So don't even attempt to argue with us."
Lorelie laughed. "At least I'll have lots of baby-sitters. Don't tell anyone, ok? You two are the only ones to know. I want to tell JC at the right time."
"And what time is that, when you're making love?" Circe joked.
"Circe!" Lorelie blushed. "How did you guess?" she asked, laughing. "No, I'm not sure when I'm going to tell him."~*~*~*~
"Kali, Lance Bass lives right next door to us," Lance heard a little girl say outside his door.
"Who, Caprice?" Kali asked.
"You know, Lance Bass of *NSYNC."
"That's nice, Capri. Hurry up; we've gotta get to the store and get back in an hour."
"I don't want to go, Kali," the little girl said.
"Caprice Marie Vaughn, do not argue with me right now."
"But Kali, I don't want to go!"
"Capri, I can't leave you here without a baby-sitter."
Lance didn't know what moved him, but before he realized what he was doing, he had walked to the door and opened it. "I'll watch her," he offered.
Kali, halfway down the stairs, and Caprice, standing on the landing, turned to look at him. Caprice also had black hair, but lacked the silver blue eyes of her older brother and sister. Her eyes were hazel green.
Kali chewed on her lip, debating on whether or not to leave her sister with this man. She looked from her sister to Lance, then back to her sister.
"I'm Lance Bass," Lance offered by way of introduction. "It will be no problem to watch her."
"Please, Kali?" Caprice begged.
"Fine. Be good, Caprice," she warned. Kali looked at Lance. "Thank you so much for this."
"No problem. That's what neighbors are for." Lance looked at Caprice. "Want to come in?"
"Thank you so much, Kali!" Caprice exclaimed, walking into Lance's house.
Kali watched the door close, then walked down the stairs and to her car. She had just reached her car when she realized where she'd seen him before. He'd been the one watching her and AJ the day their father had died, then three days later, when they were walking down the street, discussing what they were going to do.~*~*~*~
"JC," Lorelie began. "I've got some really important news."
They were on the private beach behind their house, walking hand in hand, their shoes forgotten near the yard.
"What's that, princess?"
"I'm pregnant."
JC stopped in shock. "What? You're what?"
"I'm pregnant," Lorelie repeated. "You're not mad, right?"