| MGM Studios � 1994 Justin�s POV �Go on� Shoot already Ugulera.� �Shut up, Timber-twerp, I�m finding my sweet spot�� She shot back as she slowly inched her way around the basket, holding the ball above her head aiming at the hoop. We just got done with rehearsals for the day and Christina and I are playing, or trying, to play a game of basketball on the court outside the studios. I grow impatient and grab the ball from behind her and dribbling away the ball, grinning over my shoulder. �Aw, too bad.� I tease, as I stand stationary dribbling the ball. My mouth falls open when the ball is swiped away from my grasp and I see Britney running towards Christina and the basket dribbling the ball. �Hey cheater!� I yell at the back of her dirty blond head. �Boys against Girls!� Britney yells as she aims for the basket. �Great, then Chrissy you�re on my team.� I joke and laugh when she narrows her eyes at me. �That�s it!� Christina yells and charges at me. My smile quickly fades and my eyes grow large. I start to back up, but she�s too quick. She places her foot behind mine and pushes me to the concrete. �Oooooooow!� I howl and hold my elbow. �Ohmygod! Justin! I�m so sorry!� Christina starts to panic and kneels down next to me. I grimace dramatically and cradle my elbow. Britney runs over with the ball under her arm. �J! Are you okay?!� She places the ball on the ground and sits down next to my head, gently rubbing my shoulder. I begin to whine, then quickly jump up and grab the ball off the ground and throw it to JC who�s standing next to the basket. He catches it with a smile on his face and effortlessly tosses it through the hoop. �You little punk!� Christina yells, jumping up when she realizes I had been faking it. �I can�t believe you! I really thought you were hurt!� Britney says in her southern drawl as she stands with her hands on her hips. �That�s cause your gullible, and I�m a terrific actor.� I say charmingly and flash her a cocky grin. She rolls her eyes and tries to hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. JC and I laugh as TJ and Ryan join us on the court. �Okay, boys against girls.� I mock Britney�s tone. I smile because the girls look a little annoyed now that they are so out numbered. �Okay!� Nikki says confidently from behind me before grabbing the basketball out of JC�s hands and walking over the girls. Keri follows behind her and giggles at JC who smiles shyly, watching her walk away. Those two make me sick with their constant flirting. I push JC gently in the chest to snap him out of the lovesick trance he gets every time he sees Keri. �Fine! Lets get this started. Y�all can take it out.� I say to the girl�s team. 20 minutes into the game, the girls are up 16 to 11. JC and I make most of the baskets because JC is older than TJ, Ryan, and I, and therefore much taller. And I�m just an all-star bball player, it�s my game. The girls somehow manage to keep getting baskets past us, usually when JC is preoccupied staring at Keri. TJ tosses me the ball as I make my way down the court. I dodge Christina and Nikki, only Britney is left between the hoop and me. I run up to her and bounce the ball around her left side as I run around her right side and grab the ball from behind her. I make a quick lay-up and the ball swishes through the net. �Boom-shaka-laka!� I say for the fifth time that game. I always say that when I make a basket, I�ve said it for as long as I can remember. It caught on and now the entire cast always says it whenever we all play. Britney groans as the guys cheer. I walk back to my side of the court and sling my arm around her shoulder. �You really gave me a run for my money that time Shorty.� I say and smirk. �That was pure luck Curly Fries!� She says and pokes my in my stomach. �Stop fraternizing with the enemy Britty.� Christina says and pulls her away from my grasp. �Ooh, big words Chrissy. Don�t choke on em!� Ryan fires from behind me, and she glares at him. � Britney�s POV The score is now girls- 17 to boys- 16; the guys are catching up quick but we are still all having a blast. After TJ accidentally throws the ball out of bounds, Christina runs to the sidelines, picks up the ball, and passes it to me. I dribble down the court quickly, when I get within a few feet of the basket and aim Ryan comes out of no where and rips the ball out of my hands knocking me to the floor. I feel my elbow grind against the cement. I move my hand over to it and I can feel the warm, wet, blood. I grimace in pain. �Faker!� Ryan laughs and stands over me. Justin immediately runs over and crouches down beside me. �You okay?� He says softly. I move my hand away from my elbow to show him the blood. Everyone else gathers around us quickly. Justin gently holds on to my un-injured arm and helps me up. �I�m fine� It�s just a little scratch.� I say. �Sorry�� Ryan mumbles a little embarrassed and Justin glares at him. �Just go get the first aid box and some paper towels!� Justin growls at him, protectively holding on to me. I pull him off to the side. �I�m okay J� it was an accident.� I murmur so only he can hear. He walks me over to the bench on the sidelines as Ryan returns with the first aid kit and a roll of paper towels. Ryan stops and stares at us. �Well you can go play, I�ll sit out so the teams are even.� Justin says and takes the box and roll of paper towels out of his hands. Ryan instantly turns and runs onto the court. �C�mon guys let�s play! J will sit out with Britney�� He says to everyone else as they continue with the game. �You don�t have to sit out because of me.� I say and look up at him. �I want to� Besides someone�s gotta clean you up.� His crooked smile somehow makes me forget about the pain in my arm, he�s always had that effect on me, I can�t explain it. He wets a paper towel with hydrogen peroxide and carefully lifts up my elbow. A tiny moan escapes my lips when he first applies the towel to my elbow. The small scrape begins to bubble with the medicine. It starts to burn and I tense up in pain. A tear slides down my cheek and hangs from my chin. Justin leans down and gently blows on my wound. The pain lessens because I forget about it. I stare at him, at his eyelashes, at his nose, at his lips, I memorize every feature of his face. I silently watch him apply Neosporin and a small Goofy, my favorite Disney character, Band-Aid over my cut. �There�� He says as he closes up the first aid kit and puts all the trash in a pile. �Thank you.� I say quietly, and he just smiles. We lean against the back and watch the game for a few moments, but I never take my eyes of Justin. �You�re sweet you know.� I subconsciously say out loud. My eyes grow wide and I feel my cheeks grow hot as I stare at him nervously waiting for his reaction. He slowly turns to me and a warm smile creeps across his face. �So are you.� He says simply and places his arm around my shoulder, resting his hand on the side of my shoulder. I smile to myself as I start to feel butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. I lean against his body and rest my head back against his arm. The game ends shortly after when it starts to grow dark. I don�t know who won and who lost, I wasn�t paying attention. I was absorbed in Justin, and he was all I was thinking about. I find that lately, he occupies my thoughts most of the time. We�ve always been best friends, and he�s always been special to me, but I can�t seem to stop thinking about him, or wanting to spend time with him. � Justin�s POV It�s another day at work. Christina and I are sitting on the carpet playing Nintendo, we�ve been playing some racing game for like an hour and she�s already beaten me 7 times. Everyone is hanging around in the �free room� as we call it, because it�s free from rehearsals, scripts, and school. Normally around this time I�d either be badgering Britney into doing something we weren�t suppose to be doing, or she�d be badgering me into something we were. But she was out having breakfast with her mom and Jamie Lynn. �Go! Go! Go! C�mon, c�mon�YES!� Christina screams as the winner and loser captions pop up on the screen, signaling that she, once again, has won the race. �I won� again!� She says as she punches me in the arm for the umpteenth time. �Ow! I told you to stop hitting me! You know that�s why I always loose, you�ve impaired my motor skills so I push the wrong buttons.� I say seriously but she just laughs at me. �Okay, one more game, this time I�ll let you win and you can punch me.� �That�s what you said last time, and I wouldn�t punch you anyway, you�re a girl.� I say as I start to get up. �J, c�mon. Just one last game.� �No way Chrissy! You�ve already beaten me like 1000 times. My ego and my arm are bruised.� I stand up and walk over to the mini fridge and plop down to the couch next to Ryan with a Pepsi. Christina is still pouting. �Why don�t you ask Ryan to play, his ego is huge and impossible to dent.� I say and everyone laughs. Ryan punches me in my arm. �Gah!� I yell quickly, his punches aren�t as hard as Christina�s but they still hurt. �Quit it! I think I have dead arm!� Ryan gets up and takes a seat next to Christina on the floor as they begin to start the game. A few moments later Britney walks in the door and a smile spreads over my face as soon as I see her. She walks over and sits next to me in the vacant spot Ryan left. �Miss me?� She says to me and smiles. I open my mouth to say something but I�m interrupted. �Yea he did! He looooves� Ow!� Ryan says before Chrissy punches him in the arm. �I win!� She says and smiles. He rubs in arm, looking angry. �So how was breakfast?� I say as I turn my attention back to Britney. �It was fun. JL poured the salt shaker all over the table and then�� We talk for the next 20 minutes while Christina continues to beat Ryan, in the game and physically, and everyone else is at the table eating and playing cards. �Hey guys, time to get started. J.D waiting in the studio.� Dave Cove says as he pops his head into the room. We all swarm out of the room, down the hall, and into the dance studio. Jimmy is there handing out our scripts and telling us about the segments, etc. �After the pie bit we there�s gonna be a duet.� J.D. Lobue, our director says, we�re all listening attentively. �Britney and Justin are going to sing �I�ll take you there�.� I can feel a smile tug at my lips, I try to conceal it, but can�t. She turns to me and smiles brightly. I hope she�s excited as I am. �So here�s the song. We made a few adjustments. Dan will give you the details.� Jimmy says as he hands us each our lines. Jimmy goes on and explains a few more things before we are dismissed. �Oooh, the two love birds get to do a duet!� Ryan teases and T.J. laughs along with him. I keep quiet and let it roll off my back. I continue to walk down the hall, ignoring them. �Britney and Justin sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes marriage, then�� �Shut up!� I yell. �Ooooh! So you do like her.� T.J. says. I just scoff, and roll my eyes. �Justin likes Britney! Justin likes Britney!� Ryan chants before he bursts into laughter. �No I don�t!� �Yes you do, you like her!� �I don�t like her at all!� I yell at them, fuming with anger. They stop laughing and focus their attention behind me. I turn around to see what there looking at. Her eyes are welling up in tears, and her breathing is heavy. My heart sinks as I stand there motionless. �Brit�� I croak out. She turns around and runs off. She must have just heard the end of that conversation. �Justin�� T.J. starts to apologize. �Shut the hell up!� I say without even turning around. I take a deep breath, and head in the direction she ran. I look for her for about 5 minutes, until I finally spot her in wardrobe. My heart breaks at the scene. Her back is facing me, her tiny shoulders are shaking with her quiet sobs. I really screwed up. I take a few steps closer to her, until I�m about an arm�s length away. �Brit.� I say softly. She tenses up when she hears my voice. �Go away Justin.� She says so softly I can barely hear her. �Brit, I didn�t mean it.� �Yes you did. It�s okay Justin. I�m not mad. It was dumb to think that you actually liked me.� She says and sniffles. �No it�s not. Because I do.� �As a friend.� She says a little louder. �Yea� and as more.� She turns around to face me; her face is stained with tears. �You don�t mean that.� She says it more of a question then a statement. I take a few steps closer. �Yea I do Brit. You�re my best friend, but I�ve liked you for a while. I thought you knew�� She just shakes her head. �I�m sorry I said that I didn�t. I was just angry at Ryan and T.J and I thought it would shut them up.� I say and take her hand in mine. She wipes away her tears and stares at my chest, griping on to my hand. �So you forgive me?� I smile hopefully and she nods. I pull her into a hug and she buries her face into my chest. We stay locked in embrace for a few moments before she pulls back. �Um. You should know� I like you too.� She says and focuses her attention on her shoes. My smile widens and my eyes light up. �Well I guess we better get started on our duet.� She says breaking the long silence. She turns to walk out of the room but I grab her arm. �Wait� I um�� I stutter nervously. She turns back around and looks at me curiously. My heart is pounding in my throat as I slowly move closer. My hands are shaking, and my palms are sweating. I know I have to do this. I bend down, inching my face closer to hers so that her lips are just below mine and I can feel her breath. I close my eyes, and I lean over pressing my lips against hers. She squeezes her eyes shut, tilting her head up into the kiss. We break away. She looks up to meet my eyes. The kiss is perfect. She�s perfect. I stare at her awestruck with my mouth open slightly. A huge smile is stamped on her face and her cheeks turn a light shade of red. She opens her mouth to speak and closes it. She looks at me, I open my mouth to say something, then break into shy smile. �Well we should�� I motion to the doorway. She nods her head quickly turning to leave. We went to the studio to practice with Sarah Elgart. We work on the song all week. Things are still pretty much the same between Britney and I, we still spend every waking moment together. Except that now whenever we watch movies I sit closer to her and she rests her head on my shoulder. And she holds my hand when we walk places. The guys still tease me when she�s not around but it doesn�t bother me. I know now that they�re just jealous because she�s my girlfriend. She choose me and I know this is the start of something great. |
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| One Boy, One Girl |
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