Chapter Nine
<><><><><><>
 

"Where were you going when we walked up?" Justin asked, looking less tense and anxious than Britney had seen in months.

She shrugged her shoulders.  "Well, I was going to go for a walk and look for you.  I wanted to do this," she said and softly kissed him.  "I'm sorry for being in on the conspiracy with Johnny and Mike."

Justin was shaking his head before she finished saying it.  "No, don't be sorry.  I was just a tiny bit paranoid, don't you think?  I know you only want to help and I can't be mad at you for that.  I love you too much," he said softly and wrapped his arms around her.

Britney hugged him back, burying her face in his neck.  He had on just the right amount of cologne and she was lost in it's spell for a few moments.  She left a trail of feathery kisses up to and along his jaw line and then pulled back to see him looking back at her.  His gaze lingered on her lips as he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you too," she whispered.

Joey stole up alongside them quietly and then loudly said, "Get a room!"

Justin and Britney both jumped and as they backed away from each other, Justin swiped an arm out to cuff Joey along the head, but missed.  Joey reached up and tousled Justin's hair, knowing just how to drive him crazy.

"What is up with the hair today?" Justin screamed at Joey who went to stand behind Britney for protection.  "That's it!  Take a good look, Superman, because the hair is going bye bye bye!  Britney, are you coming with me or do you want to stay here?" he yelled.

Joey laughed and said, "Where do you think you're going?"

Justin screamed, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Mike walked up and looked at the three of them, noticing the wild look in Justin's eyes.  Justin spotted Mike right away and walked around Joey to grab Mike's arm.  "I'm going out for a little while and Mike, you are coming with me.  Brit?" he said and started walking toward his car pulling Mike behind him.

Britney shrugged at Joey and said, "We'll be back in a little while with lunch, ok?"

Justin waited for Mike and Britney to climb in and then loudly screeched the tires as he gunned the motor and drove down the driveway. "Where are we going, J?" Mike asked, turning to look at Britney who was sitting in the back seat.

"You'll see.  Just be quiet," Justin said with a determined look on his face.

They drove for a while before Justin parked in front of a small building with large windows in front.  He hopped out and walked over to the passenger side of the car.  Britney noticed how quiet the street was and then gasped as she saw the familiar red & blue spinning barber shop sign.

"I'll be right in there for about 5 minutes.  You will see me sitting in one of those chairs right there.  I won't be long," Justin said to Mike with an evil smile on his face, as he pointed toward the barber shop.  He smiled at Britney as he backed toward the door of the barber shop.

They both watched him walk inside and talk to the barber, who showed him to a barber chair.  Justin stuck his tongue out and waved at Mike and Britney as the barber put the apron around his neck.  Mike was laughing at the melodrama of it all; Britney was just watching with her mouth hanging open.  At one point, she whispered, "Oh my God, I can't believe he's doing it."

Five minutes later, Justin paid the man and sauntered out of the shop. He was smiling his famous smile as he ran his hands over this newly shorn head.  "This should shut people up," he said, obviously pleased with himself for following through with his threat.

He leaned into the back seat and looked at Britney, his face not more than 2 inches from her face.  "Do you wanna touch it?" he said, suggestively, as he laughed at her shocked expression.

She reached up and rubbed the short stubble on his head, while melodramatically whining, "The curls!!  They're all gone!  OH!  But it's really soft."

"Do you still love me?" he said, teasing her, as Mike sighed loudly.

"Would you guys just knock it off!  I'm glad it's all gone.  Now there's less for the girls to grab if they get close enough.  Let's go already," Mike yelled.  "I'm hungry!"

Justin slid into the driver's seat, thoroughly loving the idea of the shock value this would have.  He wheeled through the drive-in Chinese restaurant and they ordered enough food to feed a small army.  Britney loved seeing Justin grinning like he was.  She loved seeing him acting normal again.  She couldn't wait to see the reaction this would get from the guys and Johnny.

Justin parked his car and they all grabbed some of the bags of food.  They found the guys and Johnny sitting in the dining room, laughing at something.  Justin walked in behind Britney and Mike and then stepped out to put his bags on the table, waiting for the chaos to begin.  Chris was the first to react as he gasped loudly and nearly tipped his chair over trying to get out of it and over to Justin.  "What have you done!??!" he screamed.

"You really did it.  Oh my God!" Joey said, laughing at Justin's pleased expression and shaking his head.  "I can't believe you did it."

JC shook his head and smiled, saying, "Oh! Lordy!  The fro is gone?!  You are going to break millions of little girls' hearts, Justin!"

Lance just gawked at Justin as he walked up and stood beside him.  "I hope you don't catch a cold or something," he said to Justin, stifling giggles as he dished up his food.

"I fixed you all, didn't I?  Now what are you going to do?  No more hair to mess with and tease me about.  I think I look more mature, right Brit?" Justin said, as he looked at her.

She nodded but smiled shyly at him.  Joey chimed in, "So what should we call you now?  'GI Justin'??  I can just hear all the comments from Carson now.  Oh, boy!"

They all gathered around and started eating.  Johnny watched Justin and nodded approval when Justin looked at him, grinning.

After lunch, the guys all went back to the studio and Britney met with Johnny about some songs she'd written and ideas she had for her tour in the fall.  After they finished, Britney sat in Johnny's yard and soaked in the sunshine and the cool breeze, thinking about Justin and what she was going to do next time he pressed her for something more, like he had that morning.

She wasn't afraid of him or what being intimate with him would mean.  She'd just been raised to consider sex as something shared by people who were committed to each other for the rest of their lives.  And it wasn't that she and Justin weren't committed to each other.  They both knew they were just a bit young to be making lifetime commitments yet. If that meant holding out for a while, so be it.  Although, that part was the hard part.

As she was sitting on the grass, picking at it absentmindedly, she felt hot breath on her shoulder.  She smiled and looked around to see Justin kneeling behind her.  As she looked at his face, he kept eye contact with her as he lightly kissed her bare shoulder.

"Hey, baby," he said, in a low voice, and laid down beside her, propping himself up on one elbow.  She smiled at him quizzically as he looked at her through sleepy eyes that roamed over her face, and then rested on her lips.  She reached out and ran her hand over the soft stubble of what were once his golden curls.  It was incredibly soft and kind of sexy, she thought as she noticed that he'd closed his eyes.  As he did so, his lips parted a little and Britney couldn't resist leaning forward to brush her lips against his.  He returned her kiss softly as she stroked his head and cheek.

Justin pulled his head away finally and smiled at her saying, "It's time to leave.  Are you going to come hold my hand at the doctor's office?"

Britney nodded.  "If you want me to," she said.

Justin stood up and held his hand out to her, helping her to her feet. She brushed herself off and went in to grab her stuff from Johnny's table.  The other guys had already left.  Once Britney climbed in, Justin started the car and popped in his newest jazz CD.  They drove to Dr. Gallagher's office in an easy silence, listening to the soft sounds and glancing at each other now and then.  The warm breeze that swirled around them was relaxing and exciting all at once.

The sun was almost down for the night, as they pulled into the dark parking lot, and Justin commented, "Whoa, it's sure dark here."

This reminded him of his promise to Mike.  He hit the button to bring the top up and reached for the cell phone, dialing Mike's number quickly.  Britney listened to him as he talked to Mike.

"Hey, it's Justin.  We've safely arrived at Dr. Gallagher's.  I don't see anyone around.  OK?  I'll park the car under a streetlight and lock it.  OK?  No, I'm not being a smart ass, Mike," Britney heard Justin say with a smile on his face.  "I'm taking my phone, in fact, I'm handing it to Britney as soon as I hang up.  OK?  Bye!"

Britney said, "Man, Justin, you were SO being a smart ass."

He smirked and shook his head, glancing at her as he locked the car door and handed her the phone.  "Don't you get sick of people always being around?  I can't get away from that guy for two seconds!" he said with an amazed look on his face.

Britney walked beside him to the door of the building and wrapped her arm tightly around his waist.  "I know what you mean, but he's the only thing that stands between you and certain death at times, babe.  Look what you do when you do get away from him," she said as she giggled and ran her hand over the top of his head again.  She couldn't help herself.

Justin buzzed the button at the front door and the door unlocked.  The door latched behind them when they walked in and they rode the elevator up to Dr. Gallagher's office.  Britney felt him take hold of her hand and squeeze it as they walked into the quiet office.  Britney took note that the colors, furniture and music were soft and soothing.  They were a little early, so they sat down beside each other, still holding hands.

Justin leaned in close to Britney as he searched her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking behind her warm brown eyes.  As he did so, he heard a familiar song, piping into the waiting room.  He grinned as he put his arm around her and pulled her next to him.  He whispered in her ear, "I love this song," and began to sing, just for her.

I can't believe it
you're a dream coming true
I can't believe how
I have fallen for you

And I was not looking
was content to remain
and it's ironic
to be back in the game

You are the one
who's lead me to the sun
how could I know
that I was lost without you
and I want to tell you
you control my brain
and you should know
that you are life in my veins.

You are the one
who's lead me to the sun
how could I know
that I was lost without you
Ooh, I can't believe it
you're a dream coming true
I can't believe how
I have fallen for you

And I was not looking
was content to remain
and it's erotic
to be back in the game

You're a dream coming true
oh my my my
I have fallen for you

You're a dream coming true
oh my my my
I have fallen for you
    "Fallen" by Lauren Wood
    (Pretty Woman soundtrack)

Breana couldn't help but be touched as she stood in the doorway, watching Justin singing softly to Britney.  She could see they were totally wrapped up in each other as she walked over and cleared her throat.  "Excuse me," she said, quietly, so as not to startle them too much.  They both jumped anyway and Justin stood up, still holding Britney's hand.

"Hi Doc, this is Britney Spears.  Do you mind if she comes in with me?" he asked her.

"Sure, I don't mind at all.  Nice to meet you Britney," she said.

Britney nodded and said, "Likewise!"

"But tell me one thing, Justin," Breana said, squinting at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Didn't you have a whole bunch of curly hair last night?" she asked, pointing at his head.

Justin laughed.  "Yeah, well, I did it to prove a point."

Breana smiled at Britney and asked, "What was the point?"

Britney laughed and said, "I have no idea what the point was."

Justin said, "You have no idea, huh?  Well, let's just say that this is the new, improved, mature Justin."

"Well, come in then," Breana said as Justin and Britney followed her into her office.  Once inside, Breana said, "Britney, Justin didn't mention you were coming for a visit."

"Justin didn't know.  I didn't know myself until I was driving to the airport and boarding the plane.  I surprised him last night," Britney said, watching the light in the sky getting fainter and fainter out Dr. Gallagher's picture window.

"How long are you here for, babe?  I didn't even ask," Justin said as he sat down in the chair next to Britney.

Britney said, sadly, "I'm probably going back to LA in a day or two.  I've got a lot to do."

Justin said, pouting a little, "Well, that sucks!  I'm going to have to step up my efforts to get the guys to go to LA to record for a few weeks.  I can't stand these long separations."

Britney smiled at him and whispered, "Me either, J."

They both turned to look at Breana at the same time.  She was just watching them.  "Don't mind me.  Young love is one of my favorite things in the world.  I'm a sappy romantic.  That song you were singing to Britney in the waiting room was beautiful, Justin."

"I was inspired," was all Justin said as he threw an adoring look at Britney again.

Breana got her notepad out and put on her glasses.  "Should we get started?" she asked.

Britney started to get up, saying, "Do you want me to leave?"

Justin grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.  "No.  Don't you dare," he said.

Justin gave Breana a shy look and said, "Sorry.  I just want to hold her hand.  She's not around much."

"That's fine.  I don't mind at all.  Now, Justin, did you have any nightmares last night?" Breana asked.

He nodded and looked at Britney, before saying, "I was back on the bus again, waiting and waiting for someone to get me out of there.  But you know what?  I could smell Britney's shampoo in my dream.  I didn't realize she was there, trying to wake me up.  I smelled honeysuckles."

Breana noticed Justin grinning at Britney again.  She could tell he was totally smitten with her.

"How long have you two been dating?" Breana asked Britney, changing the subject for a moment.  If Britney was such a calming influence on Justin, their relationship was important.

Britney glanced at Justin before saying, "Summer of '99, kinda.  We were pretty exclusive before that though."

"I remember Justin saying that he met you on the Mickey Mouse Club about 8 years ago.  Is that right?" Breana asked as she smiled at Justin, remembering how he'd rattled off the Reader's Digest Condensed Version of his life the night before.

"Yeah, we met there.  He was a scrawny, annoying boy," Britney said, smiling at Justin.

Justin looked at her as if surprised and said, "You are calling ME scrawny?!  Ms. Britney, you weren't exactly a Rockette yourself!"

Justin rolled his eyes at Britney and smiled at Breana.  "She wanted me, even back then.  Didn't you?" he said as he pushed her shoulder lightly.

"JUSTIN!" Britney yelled, embarrassed and blushing.  "Don't be gross.  We were only 12 years old!"

Justin said, "Oh, sorry!  But who kissed who first?"

"Dr. Gallagher, please don't listen to him.  He's forgotten his manners tonight, obviously!" Britney huffed.

"Ok, why did you hook up in the summer of '99, after all those years?" Breana asked.

"I had a hard time dealing with what Lou did.  Even before we filed our lawsuit, I was pretty lost and Britney called me one day, out of the blue.  It just went from there.  She's my age and everyone else was driving me nuts with all the bickering and insults.  So we just hung out a lot and talked on the phone.  I was so glad to have her to talk to," Justin said.

"So this is the real deal, then?" Breana asked.  "After reading some of the stuff on the Internet, I was wondering."

"DO NOT believe what you read on the internet," Justin and Britney said in unison, and then laughed, causing Breana to laugh too.

Breana said, "But seriously, Justin, what does Britney do that makes you less anxious?  How is she able to help when nothing else does?"

Justin was quiet for a moment and looked at Britney, pondering Breana's question.  "She just knows me.  We knew each other and liked each other before all the craziness began.  So I know she doesn't hang with me just because of who I am.  She knew me back when I was scrawny and annoying.  It's just easy to be with her.  There are no games like you have to play when you date someone else in this business.  She calls me on stuff that some other girls would never do, for fear of pissing me off.  Just looking at her calms me down.  We just click, don't we baby?" he said, grabbing Britney's hand and lacing his fingers with hers.  "But I am still kind of annoying, right?"

Britney nodded at him and squeezed his hand.

Breana saw the dreamy look on Britney's face as she looked at Justin.  Justin smiled at her before looking back at Breana.  "I know she can't be around all the time.  I have to do this on my own.  Johnny laid it all out for me, pretty much telling me to suck it up and be a man," Justin said.

"What did he say?" Breana asked.

Justin looked thoughtful for a few moments and then said, "You know, just that if I want to do my music thing, I have to live inside the boundaries.  I have been feeling like a prisoner.  He kind of said that if I don't plot my course and stick to it, I could wind up like all the kids in Hollywood who got famous and then self destructed in one way or another.  Trust is an issue, which I know the security guys have earned.  Growing up is another issue and I realize now that I need to do some more of it.  I know Johnny is concerned about me, he admitted that to me today.  Britney goes through all this too, but she's not wigging out in crowds, so when I look at the difference, the only thing that makes any sense is that I was mobbed in Hawaii, which was my fault.  Period."

Britney jumped to his defense and said, "But your fans are nuts, Justin.  I'm never in those kinds of situations, like Rio, when it's just me.  So, there is a difference there too.  It's not all just a problem with you.  It's the whole situation that is odd."

Breana thought about what Justin said and then replied, "So, if you are seeing some kind of order to things now, what are you going to do between now and the day the tour starts?  How are you going to conquer the anxiety?"

"I think I need to be in the situations again, surrounded by fans, trusting the bodyguards, even though it makes my stomach tie in knots just thinking about it.  I don't know if the panic I feel at times will ever completely go away, but I have to somehow learn to deal with it.  Isn't there something I can do to change how I react?  Johnny seems to have a lot of confidence that I can handle anything that is thrown at me.  I used to believe that, until those girls in Hawaii showed me how wrong I was."

Justin's attention was drawn to the picture window behind Dr. Gallagher.  Lights were flashing strangely from the street below and seemed to be lighting up the area in front of the office building.  He sensed something was wrong and glanced at Britney quickly, a look that Breana didn't miss.  His face said it all as he stood up and walked slowly to the window.