Chapter Fourteen
<><><><><><><><>
 

Justin awoke the next morning thinking that he could hear a crowd of girls in his driveway.  It was obvious spillage from his nightmare because when he hesitantly peeked through the curtains of his bedroom, there was no one in sight.  Still, he breathed a sigh of relief and got ready for the day.

When Justin arrived at Johnny's house, breakfast had been cleared off and Melinda was calling radio stations to start the contest that would go all day.

Justin talked for a few minutes with Johnny about having Dr. Gallagher sit in with them when they shot the special video they were doing.  He thought she'd enjoy seeing a video shoot and Johnny agreed.  It would also give her another glimpse into this surreal existence.  As soon as he thought Breana would be in her office, Justin called her.

The receptionist put him right through to Breana's line and after she answered, he said, "Good morning, Doc.  I hope you can clear your schedule this afternoon."

Breana said, "Well, actually, I did have a couple cancellations.  Why?"

"Wanna watch us make a video?" he said.

"I'd love that!  I thought you weren't doing your video for another month or two," she said.

Justin chuckled, "See?  I knew you paid attention!  Naw, we are doing a special tribute thing for Janet Jackson.  We're recording the song this morning and doing the video this afternoon.  It's not real long..."

"Well, count me in.  What time is it and where do I go?" she said, looking forward to it already.

Justin said, "How 'bout I just swing by and pick you up at around 12:30 at the backdoor?"

Breana agreed and immediately went to talk to the receptionist about rescheduling a few appointments.  She spent the rest of her morning on a conference call with a reclusive patient.  She would really need a change of pace when the call finished so she was glad Justin had invited her.

Justin and the guys spent most of the morning recording the song and working with wardrobe and the video producer to line out the look and feel of the video.  By noon, they all parted ways and Justin left to pick up Breana.

As he pulled up to the backdoor, Breana walked out and dazzled him with a smile as she got in his car.  Breana always looked like a million bucks.  Justin pushed the button to put the top of the convertible up, thinking that driving with the top down would be too windy.  Breana looked at him with surprise and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Putting the top up.  Why?" he said as he looked at her over the tops of light blue sunglasses, which he had pushed down to look at her.

"Don't do it on my account, Justin.  I refuse to ride with you if you are going to put the top up.  It kinda defeats the purpose of riding in a convertible, don't you think?" she said with determination.

Justin looked at her and frowned.  "You actually want to have the top down?  It'll mess up your hair, Doc," he said as he pushed the button again.  The top folded back down and he looked at her.  "You just don't seem like the wind-blown type."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," she said with a smile.  "I haven't had a chance to eat yet.  Can you swing through a drive-thru or something?"

Justin just nodded at her.  Breana never ceased to amaze him.  She seemed to break every stereotype and it always surprised him when she did.  "Sure, whatever you want," he said as drove to a McDonalds close by.

"What do you want?" he said as he watched her from behind the tint of his sunglasses.  The lipstick she was wearing made her lips look moist, plump and shiny and Justin found himself staring at them, silently berating himself for not being able to rip his eyes away.  She had leaned forward a little to check the menu on his side of the car and as she did, her blouse opened a little revealing a creamy sliver of skin.  Breana, almost ready to answer his question, noticed Justin's lips part in reaction.  Justin looked away and seemed to sink into the seat a little as if recoiling.

"I'll have a chicken sandwich and a Diet Coke," she said as she clutched her blouse closed.  "Maybe I should go home and change too."

Justin ordered for her and for himself and then turned to look at her as they waited.  "I can take you home, if you'd rather change into something comfortable.  You look too refined.  I'm afraid you're going to get messed up or something.  Video shoots aren't usually very clean. There's lots of dust and stuff," he said, smirking at the thought of her in that environment, dressed in her 'doctor uniform'.

As they pulled up to the window, and waited, Breana could see some kind of commotion inside and then the window opened.  "Oh my God.  Hi Justin!" the young girl said, obviously shaking and close to tears.

Justin smiled at her and said, "Hi!"

"Oh my God!  I can't believe this.  Justin Timberlake comes through my drive-thru on my shift and I can't even ask him for an autograph or I'll get fired!" the girl said, obviously wanting desperately to climb through the little window to get closer to Justin.

"Why will you get fired?" Justin asked.  He looked at Breana for a moment and then bent forward to open the glove box.  He pulled out a large laminated tag and wrote something on it with a marker he'd found in the glove box too.

The girl, looked at him sadly, and said, "My manager told us that if anyone famous ever came in here, we had to stay professional.  But I love you so much!"

Breana watched the drama unfold as the cars stacked up behind them.  She heard Justin ask the girl what her name was and then he said, "I don't want you to get fired, Kara.  Here's my money.  Keep the change.  Here's a pass for a Meet & Greet we're having tomorrow.  OK?  Put it in your pocket.  Good girl!"

The girl was doing everything Justin told her to.  As she handed him their bags of food, he smiled his million dollar smile at her again and said, "Now get back to work cuz all these people are starving!  I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

As they drove away slowly, Justin blew her a kiss and then hit the gas.  "Did you see those girls who were congregating on the lawn there?" he asked, sounding a little nervous.  "They must have heard Kara and were planning their attack."

Breana snickered at his comment.  He was certainly correct about those girls' intentions.  He was obviously hypersensitive to all young females in his vicinity.  The radio station Justin had tuned in was at that moment qualifying fans for the drawing and from what she could hear, those girls were slightly hysterical too.  Justin asked her for directions to her apartment and went up with her because he said he wanted to see where she lived.  While she changed, Justin poked around her CD collection and watched the fish in her fish tank.  When she returned from her bedroom, Justin was crouching down, gazing into the tank dreamily.

"Justin?  What's so interesting in that fish tank?" Breana said as he stood up and whirled around in surprise.

"I've always loved to watch fish.  It's just so peaceful.  You saw my fish tank, right?" he said as he sat down at her dining room table and began to take things out of the McDonald's bag.

Breana nodded and sat down too.  They began to eat as Justin said, between bites, "We gotta snarf this down because I told them I'd be there by 1 PM."  When they finished eating, she said, "Ready, sir."

Breana followed him out the door, casually ogling his broad shoulders. It was a trippy thing to think that this soft-spoken guy walking with her, dressed in holey jeans and an old Michael Jordan t-shirt, was a sex symbol and teen idol to millions.  Justin couldn't be any more down to earth if he tried and he cared about the normal people who idolized him, proof being his treatment of the McDonalds girl.

"Do you want to hear the song we did for Janet?" he asked as he slid into his seat and grabbed a CD from the back seat.  Breana nodded and watched him pop the CD in and start the car.  "It's Janet's song called 'That's The Way Love Goes' but we did our own vocal thing for her."

As the song began, she recalled hearing the song before.  "So that's you guys, huh?  Isn't it strange to listen to yourself sing on a CD in your own car?" she asked.  "It sounds good, by the way."

"It's just another of those "whoa!" moments that goes zipping by so fast, I barely have time to react.  It's always cool to hear one of our songs on the radio, but we're always driving around with our arrangements playing in our cars.  It helps to learn the songs and our parts and we can make notes for changes and stuff like that.  So it's become kinda commonplace now, but I definitely realize it's not normal!" he said, chuckling.

Justin pointed to a warehouse on the side of the road and as he turned into the parking lot, Breana said, "Is this it?  I somehow thought it'd be a bit more glamorous!"

"I told you, Doc.  It's a dirty job!" he said as they both climbed out.

Breana followed Justin onto the lot and scanned the area, taking it all in.  Justin was right about the area being a dirty, dusty mess, but what they'd created was remarkable in detail when compared to the original set, or so he said.  He introduced her to the rest of the *NSYNC guys.  She'd already met JC but he seemed surprisingly more aloof than he had been the first time.  In fact, he wasn't even there when Justin showed her the original Janet video and then checked out the painstaking detail of the new set and props.

Justin showed her to an area where she could hang out that wasn't too dark and musty.  He also made sure she had a blanket to wrap in because it tended to get chilly as the sun went down.  Before he left, he said, "If you need anything, ask Melinda over there in the green shirt.   She'll fix you right up, ok?  We're gonna block it out now and set what we'll be doing, so I probably can't come back for awhile.  But there will be breaks, so, eventually, I can come back."

"I'll be fine, Justin.  You don't need to try to keep me entertained.  Believe me, I'm going to be busy watching everything, so just go do your thing, ok?" Breana said, smiling at his attempts to make her feel at home.

Justin motioned to Melinda who came over to stand beside him.  "What?" was all she said as she looked from Justin to Breana.

He just grinned at her and put her arm around her shoulders.  "Melinda, this is Dr. Breana Gallagher.  She's my guest and she's going to sit right here.  Dr. Gallagher, this is Melinda.  She's a God-send and can help you if you need anything," Justin said, smiling at the women.  He left them talking about the dampness of the area and he joined the rest of the guys on the set.

The video had the same laid-back vibe the song did and was relatively easy to set up.  A few run-throughs of what they were doing and where they were sitting and what the cameras would be shooting and they were ready to do some taped rehearsals.  They went through it a few times, which Breana welcomed breathlessly.  She realized, as she watched Justin, singing and grooving, completely at ease with all the eyes watching him, that she'd never seen *NSYNC perform.  She'd heard of them, certainly, and her niece had shown her pictures, but she'd never taken the time for anything more.  She smiled as she realized that she was beginning to understand what all the excitement was about.  If Justin always performed with this kind of poise and sensuality, it was inevitable that the girls swooned.

She noticed the five guys leave and then they returned about a half hour later, dressed in the clothes they'd wear for the video.  Gone were the baggy jeans and t-shirts, replaced with more trendy ensembles. Justin's green and black animal print shirt, in particular, clung to him in all the right places and he wasn't wearing shoes.

Each of the guys had a hair and makeup person buzzing around them as the lights were turned on to illuminate the set so they could shoot the video.  One of the lights blew out and had to be replaced, so Justin took advantage of a few free minutes to jog over to wear Breana was standing.

"Doc, are you having fun yet?" he said as he ran up to her.

Breana smiled at him and said, "It's very interesting.  Yes, I'm having a great time.  Is that real?"

Justin followed where she was pointing and smirked.  She already had it in her hands and was marveling at the bling bling of the diamond studded JRT necklace he wore around his neck.  "Yes, it's one of the first things I got after we sold a few albums."

Someone called his name so he said goodbye and scampered off to do the filming.  As he sat in the chair, waiting for the cameramen to get ready, his eyes met Breana's and he held her gaze until the music started.

They had to do a few takes of each part, but Breana barely noticed.  Each time, when the music began, Justin would return her stare with a heated one of his own.  While he sang and grooved to the music, her total attention was focused on him, the way he moved, the way the shirt moved with him.  Before she knew it, they were done and the guys all disappeared to go over things with the producer.

It was after 1 AM when the video wrapped.  Breana, having watched intensely for 12 hours, was exhausted and sat in a dark corner, resting her eyes, while she waited for Justin to take her home.  She must have dozed off because she became conscious of Justin touching her shoulder and leaning close to say, "Doc, wake up."

Breana blinked a few times and sat up, yawning.  Justin just watched her with a small smile on his face.  "Did we wear you out?" he said.  He was still wearing the slinky green shirt, but now he had put on his shoes, and was carrying a bag with his own clothes in it.

"I'm so tired.  How do you do this, Justin?  I've normally been asleep for 2 or 3 hours by now," she said as she slowly stood up.  She figured she must have looked unsteady because Justin grabbed her elbow and stepped closer.

"Come on, let me get you home before you collapse and I have to carry you!" he said as he laughed.

By the time they got to the car, she had woken up sufficiently to say, "What an amazing experience!  Thanks for inviting me, Justin."

"When we get the video, if there is time, I'll let you see it," he said, as he pushed the button to raise the top up.  "I'm putting the top up this time."

They drove in easy silence, both worn out by the day's activities.  Justin would glance at Breana every once in awhile.  It wasn't long before she was asleep again and as he pulled up in front of her building, Justin said, "Doc, we're here.  Wake up, please, cuz I'm still too tired to carry you."

She squinted at him and said, "I fell asleep again?"

Justin nodded at her and laughed.  "Yes, here..." he said and jumped out of the car.  He opened her door a few seconds later and reached his hand in.  "Come on, I'll walk you to your door."

"You don't have to do that.  I'm completely capable of getting to my door myself," she said, smiling at him and taking his hand as she got out of the car.  "But if you want to, I won't stop you."

Her hand lingered in his and he closed the door with his leg.  He dropped his hand, still holding hers, and walked with her toward the door to the building.  He let go of her so she could unlock the door and as she opened the door, she said, nervously, "Well, thank you again, Justin.  You don't have to go any further.  I think I can manage from here."

"Ok, do you want to go to the Meet & Greet tomorrow?  I think it's in the afternoon but I'm not sure where," he said.

"Oh, yes, I think I should go with you.  Just let me know where and when and I can meet you there, Ok?" Breana said.

He nodded, waved and turned to walk away.  Breana watched him walk away for a few moments before she became aware that she was ogling again and slammed the door.  As she got ready for bed, she thought about the video and what she'd felt as she watched NSYNC do what they did so well.  She was finally aware of what all the excitement was about.

* * * * * *

Justin worked in the studio most of the next morning with JC and Chris, mixing and editing the new songs.  Joey and Lance had some promotion to do for their movie.  They showed up at Johnny's about 20 minutes before departure time, as they'd promised, which made JC a little less stressed.  Justin often wondered why JC didn't have more problems with crowds, given his penchant for high anxiety.

Right before loading up, Justin called Breana's number on his cell phone.  When she answered, he told her where to meet them and that the Meet & Greet started at 2 PM.  They loaded up the vans and Justin started to get the butterflies in his stomach, making him glad he hadn't ate lunch with Joey and Chris.

They arrived at the auditorium and as they climbed out of the van, all eyes were on Justin.  He seemed oblivious to their stares.  He was doing shoulder crunches and neckrolls, trying to loosen up.  Justin looked at Johnny then and said, with a grin, "Can I carry a cattle prod or something?"

Chris laughed at him and gave him a little punch to the shoulder.  "Man, it's not that bad!  You are bigger than every single one of them.  Melinda said they were all fine, when I talked to her earlier.  None of them are maniacs, ok Curly, so lighten up," Chris said.

"I'm so lightened up, I'm floating, ok Chris?" Justin said as he fell in line behind Lonnie.

"I'm gonna stick close to you, ok Lonnie?" Justin said to the biggest bodyguard.  Lonnie just smiled and patted Justin's shoulder with his huge hand.

They were all herded into the auditorium and Justin could see a small group of girls seated in the 1st row in front of the stage.  In front of the girls was a long table and five chairs for the guys to use.  The girls clapped and screamed a little as each of the guys sat on the sturdy table.  As Justin looked out over their faces, they all seemed normal enough but just in case, he took notice of the fact that Lonnie was standing to his right, within reach, and Mike was behind him.  He also saw Breana arrive and come to stand with Johnny over to the side.  She gave him a thumbs up sign and he nodded back at her.

The questions started and while JC answered the first one, Justin turned to Mike and said, "Did you bring anything to drink, Mike?  I'm parched."

Next thing he knew, Lance was nudging him and saying, "Justin, question for you."

Justin's eyes rested on a 12 year old redhead who was nervously biting her bottom lip.  "Oh, sorry, what's your name?" he said.

She said her name was Kendra and then asked, "Are you going to be beatboxing on the new album?"

"Do you think I should?  I'd love to add it in and we still may but we really aren't that far yet.  It'd be something added at the end.  I think there might be some in the first video though," he said, smiling as the girl nodded at him and blew him a kiss.

The girl from McDonalds waved at him and held up the personal pass that Justin had given her.  The microphone was given to her next and she said, "Hi *NSYNC!  Hi Justin.  Remember me?  Kara from McDonalds?  I wanted to thank you for inviting me and just so you know, I didn't get fired!"

Justin laughed with her and since she was in the front row, he hopped off the table and walked over to give her a hug.  Breana again observed the way the girl became a trembling, sobbing mess, so much so that Justin gave her another hug.  Breana doubted that helped one little bit!

They answered questions for about 20 minutes and then started signing autographs.  Instead of sitting behind the table, which would have made the bodyguards happy, they stayed where they were and let the girls file past them.  It was closer that way and they could oblige the ones who asked for hugs and kisses.

Justin was actually beginning to relax a bit as the line went passed him.  He gave out the hugs and kisses, with only a small amount of apprehension.  They all seemed like normal girls and their requests were easily met.  One girl even asked to rub the top of his head, as she said, "for good luck" which made him laugh.  He smiled at her as she did so, watching her shaking hand extend toward him and feeling her petting his shaved head.  Lonnie was standing closer than normal and Justin loved him for it, but sensed that he didn't need to worry.

After the autographs were signed, they broke up into 5 groups and did more one on one visiting.  Justin signed some more autographs, these being on various body parts and articles of clothing, with permanent markers he'd been given by Melinda.  More hugs and kisses were given out and pictures were taken and then the guys sang "I Thought She Knew" to end the day.  It'd been so enjoyable and problem free that Justin found himself not wanting to return to the real world but Joey dragged him out as he continued to wave at the girls.

"Curly, you are such a faker.  I've never seen so much flirting and smiling and laughing and hugging and kissing from anyone, than I did today.  It was nauseating!  It's all been a ploy to get sympathy, right?" Lance said as he slapped the back of Justin's head.  Justin laughed and shrugged.

"Yes, you have seen all that before because it was my Joey impression," Justin said as he collapsed in a fit of laughter.

Breana joined them by the van and gave Chris a big smile.  "That went well, don't you think?" she said to Chris.

Chris nodded and said, "I think Justin's been faking it, just for attention.  He had no hesitation in there.  He gave Joey a run for his money in the flirting category."

Justin sighed and said, "I just went with what felt right but I'm glad it's over."

The guys filed back into the van and Justin turned to Breana, saying, "So, do you want to talk about this tonight?  My place?"

Breana nodded and said goodbye, watching him climb in the van and smile back at her.