Chapter 3 It was five o�clock, two hours to the party. Both Ashley and Krystal were getting ready. Krystal sat in the tub, thinking about the day�s events, silently laughing at the image of the four guys with food in their hair and clothes. Somehow, these guys had managed to worm their way into her heart and form a special bond with her, even though she had only known them for a few hours. She was sure Ash felt the same about them. It was sort of funny because she felt closer to these guys, especially JC, than some people she had known for years. There was just something about them that made you like them. She regretted more than anything not getting their numbers or something. Oh well, what was done, was done. There was nothing she could do to change that. After her bath, Krystal changed into her clothes. She had to admit that she looked good in that outfit. Tying her hair in its usual ponytail and putting on her earrings, she went to Ashley�s room. When she entered the room, she found that Ashley had finished dressing, but instead of wearing the black skirt that they picked out, she instead wore a pair of black bellbottoms. She looked fabulous. She could almost say for sure that they would knock the socks out of these guys. The pair of best friends went downstairs, where Jesse was waiting. �Wow. You girls look good. Come on, let�s get going.� The trio jumped into Jesse�s Mercedes convertible and sped away to the party. ��� As they reached the house, Krystal grew nervous. She was going to meet the people whom she was going to spend 4 whole months with. 4 months was a long time and if they were jerks� she�s be dead. It was either that or she would strangle them. There was no way she was going home. She was going to stick to this or she�d have to go home to that empty house. No way was she going to do that when she could travel around the world, jerks or no jerks. Walking inside the large house, Krystal gawked at the interior. It was really nice. It felt warm and cozy, even though it was huge, not like her cold home. In the opposite side of the room, Joey spotted the three lovely ladies. Who wouldn�t? they stood out like sore thumbs because of their beauty and the fact that Joey didn�t recognize any of them. He strolled over to their side before he recognized Jesse, their opening act. So who were these two ladies beside her? Were they the girls who were spending the next 4 months on tour with? If they were, he was going to have a fun time. �Jesse. Aren�t you going to introduce me to these attractive ladies?� Krystal stared, unable to believe her eyes. �Joey!� she said, giving him a hug. Joey stared in confusion. Maybe she was a fan. Nevertheless, he returned the hug. �So, I take it you�re a fan?� �Joey! Don�t tell me you don�t recognize us?� Ashley cried out. �Sad to say, yes. Where have I met the two of you? At a concert of bar or something?� �No, you goon. What did you do today?� Recognition hit Joey and suddenly, he knew who they were. �Ashley! Krystal! I�m so sorry I didn�t recognize you! You girls look so different from this afternoon! This is so cool! The guys have to see this.� Jesse just stared at them, glad that they knew each other from somewhere, although she would have to get the story from Ash later. Joey took the girls� hands and dragged them to the group. �Hey guys! Guess who these girls are? J, you won�t know them cause you were sick when we met them, so just shut up.� He told Justin, whose back was turned to them. He was talking to one of the crew members. JC looked the two girls up and down, unable to believe that these were the same girls he had met that same afternoon. They looked so different, especially Krystal. She had changed from a baggy shirt and pants to a baby blue top and a pair of very fitting pants. JC smiled and hugged the two girls, glad to have met up with them again. For a while, he thought he would never see the two girls again, but he was wrong. �Krystal, Ash. Great to see you again.� JC said. �Now I have a way to get back at you two for the food fight. Better watch your backs cause I�m gonna get you good.� Chris said as he hugged the two girls. �Yeah right Chris. You can only dream.� Ash replied. �Lance! Come here and give me a hug. You�re not supposed to stand there and not do anything!� Ash told him. Lance cracked a smile and gladly gave her a hug. He did the same with Krystal and then Ash and him disappeared to meet some people. By this time, Joey and Chris had gone to greet some other guests, leaving JC and Krystal alone. �So, what are you doing here?� JC asked curiously. �What? You don�t want me here? Cause I can go if you don�t want me here.� Krystal teased. �You know what I mean. I�m curious. � �Well, I came with Jesse.� �Jesse? Oh yeah, our opening act. And how, may I ask, do you know Jesse?� �Jesse is Ash�s cousin and Jesse invited us over, so we came. Is there a problem?� �No, no. Just out of curiosity, you and Ash wouldn�t happen to be the two girls who are going to be on tour with us for the next four months right?� �Wait a minute, back up. I don�t get you. You guys aren�t N Sync are you? That�s not possible. You are ordinary guys. You are going to be the ones we�re going to spend the next 4 months on tour with?� �So I take it you�re going to be on tour huh? Yes, we�re N Sync, the people who you�re gonna spend the next four months with.� �Ohmigosh! This is so cool! You know, I was actually worried that you guys would be jerks or something? It�ll be a living hell if you guys were. Thank goodness! Now I know how much fun we would be having!� �Wow. This IS cool. I can�t wait to tell the guys the news and also introduce you to J. J�s the other member of the band. Lets go find the rest of the group, then introduce Justin to you and Ash. � �Ok, lead the way.� Krystal said as JC took her hand. When the group was together, excluding Ashley and Lance who were too busy doing other things, JC called Justin over. As Krystal looked at Justin, she realized where she had seen him. He was the rude guy on the plane. This was impossible! No way was she going to be on tour with such a jerk. As if Justin heard her thoughts, he stopped dead in his tracks. This was going to be one very long night. It was weird. He felt as if he was drawn to her, yet he hated her. He didn�t know the reason why, but he just did. She was the one who scolded him. No girl had ever done that to him. Usually, they just followed his every wish and command. This girl was different. She was a challenge, and that was what he loved most. But one thing he had to say was that she cleaned up real good. She looked great and definitely more outstanding than on the plane. The group watched as the two people glared at each other, unable to figure out why they were glaring at each other. �It�s you!� the two said at the same time. �Urgh! So I take it you�re the last band member?� �Of course. And what are you doing here? It�s a private party you know?� �That I know. I can�t believe I�m going to be spending the next 4 months with you.� �WHAT?!?! You�re spending the next 4 months on tour with us?!? You have GOT to be kidding!� �My sentiments exactly.� Krystal spoke. �Hold on. This has got to be a joke. Guys? Is this true?� �Yeah. She�s going to be on tour with us.� Joey declared. Justin let out a groan. This was so not happening. He was going to have to survive four months on tour with her. What was he going to do? This was going to be a disaster. He couldn�t stand her. Who was she to put him in his place? Yes, in a way, he did deserve it but she didn�t have to be so fierce about it. What a brat! Krystal fumed inwardly. If there was one thing she hated, it was a guy being a jerk, just like how Justin was behaving. He was the type of guy she hated most. He acted as if he owned the world. That was kind of true, but he didn�t have to act so� idiotically. So what if women fainted at the sight of him and practically bowed down to him? Did it give him the right to be such a moron? No way. Not wanting to make a scene, the two of them walk away from each other. If they were going to spend four months together, they had to learn to avoid each other or try to get along. Man, it was going to be tough. For the rest of the party, Krystal mingled with the different guests, getting to know them. She had to say that everyone she had met were great. They were all easy to talk to and really friendly. Maybe the tour wouldn�t be that bad if I ignore Justin, she thought. She knew she was being unrealistic, but she couldn�t help but hope. That guy was a pain in the ass. She couldn�t do anything about it, so she was going to ignore him� try to, anyway. Justin watched from a distance as Krystal talked to Alex, one of the make-up artists. At that point in time, Krystal was laughing at something Alex said, her eyes twinkling and a huge smile on her face. Justin shook his head. He was not going to gawk at her. She was pretty, but also a rude idiot. He tried so hard to take his mind off her, but it was an impossible task. Everywhere he turned, he couldn�t escape from her. his mind always wondered back to her, no matter what he did. This infuriated him more than anything and his dislike for her grew because of this. It was really torturing to him, not able to escape his own mind. Soon, the party came to an end. It was almost two the next morning when the three girls left, feeling extremely tired. Krystal and Justin had successfully avoided one another throughout the party. The others noticed this, but didn�t say a word, all knowing that the two wouldn�t be able to avoid each other for very much longer. They were going to see each other everyday for the next four months and that was a long time. They could only hope the two would learn how to get along, though it seemed hopeless. For most of the party, Lance and Ashley had been sitting in a corner, talking about anything and everything. They could get along so well, it seemed as if they had known each other their whole lives instead of a few hours. They had talked about their families, hobbies, hopes, aspirations and other things. To Lance, Ashley was amazing. She had a special place in his heart even though they knew little about each other. She was everything he wanted in a best friend, not that the guys weren�t enough, but there were times when he needed someone outside of the group, someone normal to relate to and hold him down. Life sometimes got a little hectic and stressful and there were times when he decided that he needed to be reminded of a normal life, something that he longed for. Lance was just as special to Ashley as she was to Lance. She had felt a bond between them when she had met him at the pizza parlor the other day but chalked it down to feeling tired after the flight the day before. It was only now that she knew it was true. They had a sort of connection. They understood one another perfectly and were extremely similar, both in tastes and character. Lance was level-headed and sensible. His character reminded Ashley of herself, although it was a little scary, it was also cool. Kris and her were very different and sometimes she wished for someone more similar to her, in interests and personality. Looks like I just found that someone, she thought happily. ��� (Early the next morning) At six o�clock the next morning, they had to get up to leave for the tour. Krystal walked down the stairs with her eyes half closed, about to doze off to bed any minute. She was so dead tired after last night. She knew she looked like crap but didn�t really care. She was too tired and sleepy to care. Opening her eyes slightly, she glanced around and realized the two cousins were looking as bad as she was. Oh well, I guess I�m not in this alone so it isn�t so bad. She yawned, hoping that she would be able to find some coffee to wake her up. �Coffee� I need coffee.� She said as she asked Jesse where the coffee was. After getting that delicious cup of coffee, she changed out of her pajamas and into her track pants and shirt, which was what she was most comfortable wearing. Now that she knew the guys, she didn�t care if they saw her in a terrible state. They were going to see her like that eventually anyway, so why not start now? When she was done, the three of them left. Krystal watched as Jesse drove them to the bus. As Jesse was parking, Krystal observed her surroundings. The guys and crew was scattered, many of them had tear streaked faces. Joey was giving his brother a hug while Lance was trying to comfort his mother. JC had his back turned to her so she couldn�t see the expression on his face, but she knew that it was sad. Chris was nowhere to be found and Justin was in a tight embrace with his mom. You could tell she was trying extremely hard to be brave and hold back the tears but wasn�t quite succeeding, a few tears streaming down her face. Wow, it must be hard to say goodbye to your son and not see him for the next few months, she sympathized. Wait, this was Justin she was talking about� why would anyone missed HIM? she knew she was being mean, but she couldn�t help it. He just rubbed her the wrong way. As Justin painfully walked away from his mom, who he was sure he was going to miss a lot, he felt a pair of eyes on him. Something told him it was her. He didn�t know how he knew, he just did. It was like he would know whenever she was around either that, or Chris was right. He was losing his mind, but then again, to think that Chris was right would prove that he was mad in itself. Sure, Chris had a degree in Psychology, but his friend was almost always joking. That head of his was screwed sometimes so Justin wasn�t sure if he could trust Chris on the matter of him losing his mind. Man, that was just so ironic. He walked to his bunk and laid down on the bed. He hadn�t got much sleep the day before so he was kind of tired. Who wouldn�t be, with only 4 hours of sleep? He tried to fall asleep, but with all the noise that the guys were making, sleeping was almost impossible. Instead, he stared at the wooden board on top of him, deep in thought. He was just reflecting on the things that had happened in the past few days when he came across the memory of the plane incident and cringed inwardly. He really had been a jerk, only caring about himself and being extremely rude. He knew he had been in the wrong and that he had behaved badly but there was no way he was going to admit that to HER. She seemed to bring out the worst in him. He found it hard to be himself when she was around, everything he was, everything good about him seemed to disappear and all he felt was weird. He knew it was crazy, but that was what he felt and he didn�t like to lie to himself. That simply wasn�t him� or maybe what he thought he was at least. At that moment, he wasn�t too sure he knew himself well anymore. Krystal watched as Joey and Chris battled it out with the playstation, laughing at their funny antics. They were so funny when they tried to beat each other at the game. �You are going DOWN man. Don�t say I didn�t warn you. You can back out now if you�re scared you know? we already know who�s going to win anyway.� Chris taunted. �That�s right. Everyone knows I�m going to win. It�s a fact. Prepare to die, my friend.� Joey retorted. After watching the two fighting for about half an hour, Krystal grew restless. JC was sleeping while Lance was somewhere talking with Ashley. They two were spending so much time together, Krystal wondered if they were joined to the hip or something. It wasn�t that she didn�t like it. No, she loved the fact that Ash had a new friend. She just felt a tiny bit jealous of Ash. Ash had only spend a few hours on the tour and now she had a new friend while Krystal was sort of alone. She wondered aimlessly to the sleeping area, hoping to find something to do. Walking to her bunk, which was just above Justin�s, she heard a soft breathing sound. As she drew nearer, she saw a peaceful sleeping form. He was like a magnet, drawing her near, leaving her helpless. She watched as he slept, holding back the impulse to brush his hair away from his face. He looked so serene, so pure, so� perfect. Hold on� this was Justin she was talking about! I must be going mad, she thought as she quickly climbed the ladder to her bunk. How could I have thought that? Must have been the lack of sleep acting on her, she thought. Yes, that must be it. She looked through her bag, trying to find something to do, something to keep her sane. As she looked through her bag, she didn�t find anything to take her mind off the freaky experience that happened just minutes ago. This was Justin she was thinking about� yuck! No way was he perfect. In fact, she thought just the opposite of him. Wanting to get as far as she could away from Justin, she hopped off her bunk and walked out of the sleeping area, into the kitchen. She took out some cereal she found in the cupboard and started to eat it after she plonked herself on the chair. There she was happily eating when Justin came and snatched the box out of her hand. �What is your problem?� Krystal demanded. �My problem is that you�re eating MY cereal. If you want cereal, go find your own.� Justin retorted as he ran his hand through his hair, trying to tame it, although all was in vain. He knew it was useless, but he needed something to do besides get angry with HER. His hair looks kinda cute. Krystal caught herself thinking. Immediately, she mentally slapped herself. There is definitely something wrong with me. Whatever. She was mad at herself and decided to take it out on Justin. It wasn�t exactly fair, but she didn�t care. Besides, he deserved it. �You should learn how to be a gentleman. You know, gentleman? Guess not. I mean like you never was one to begin with, how can you know how to be one? Try checking it up in the dictionary or maybe, you can just ask your friends. Ask JC, Lance, Joey or even Chris. They know how to treat a woman right, unlike SOME people. How do women stand you anyway? I cannot believe they actually put up with your crap. What is with the attitude? If you think it turns a woman on, you can keep on living in that frame of mind, but I can tell you, guys like you are the worst types.� �What�s my problem?!? All I did was just ask you to get your own cereal instead of stealing mine and then you go and comment on how ungentlemanly I am and some other shit. I should be the one asking you what YOUR problem is! Besides, what gives you the right to judge me? You aren�t any better than I am! You aren�t even a good person to ask. If I wanted any information, I would have gotten it from other more sophisticated and definitely more lady-like women!� Justin exploded. � Who are you to say how unlady-like I am? I�ll have you know I am lady-like. I just don�t bother to show it to guys like you. I have known you for what? A few hours? Can you say that you know me well? Heck, can you even say that you know me at all?!? Answer? No! I wasn�t scolding you only because of the cereal. I was also scolding you �cause of the other day�s incident on the plane. if you say that I don�t have a right to scold you for being rude, insensitive and egoistic to me, I think you have got a serious mental illness.� �Do you think I care what you think? You mean nothing to me! You aren�t even my friend! Why should I care?� By this time, they two realized that the entire bus was quiet. All the people had stopped to listen to their argument and they were quite embarrassed to be caught acting like a couple of five-year olds. The silence between them was deafening. No one dared to make a sound, not even Chris. As gracefully as she could, which was quite impossible, Krystal turned on her heels and left, trying to salvage whatever pride she had left. Justin watched as she walked away, his blood boiling. He was silently cursing, his eyes narrowing, looking like they could burn a hole in the spot where Krystal last stood. ��� |