Chapter One

It was abnormally cold in Memphis that Christmas.

Randy wasn�t a novelist, but having been so exposed to any and all kinds of writing because of her job, she should have guessed it was sign. Sure, things didn�t really happen in real life the way they did in Danielle Steele�s novels, but those stories were concentrated life in a frozen can. Some of it had to be true in reality, even if Dani wrote the metaphors subconciously.

Most people appreciate a white Christmas. But for all the twenty-six Christmases she�d ever experienced, Randy knew that snow on Christmas meant trouble.

She had been traveling to Memphis every Christmas since she left Florida for New York at age eighteen and five months. The quiet yet continuous arguements between Justin and his dad had finally died down and as an official closure movement, the Christmas trips were put into commission. They became tradition. And so it was, that every Christmas would be spent at Randy Timberlake�s home and the day after, Randy, Shelly, Jack, and Justin would continue down the county to Florida to finish up the holidays.

Randy was almost twenty and a half when it snowed in Memphis. She was never up for reminiscing, especially when it had to do with Christmas or Justin, but her brain was just programmed to do it all the time. She wasn�t exactly in a right state of mind that Christmas, but all that mattered was that by New Year�s, she had been thrown into a trash can four and half times and her parents were centimeters away from disowning her.

It snowed again when she was twenty-three. And again when she was twenty-four. Randy wasn�t superstitious, but this one had to be true.

Snow in Memphis was evil.

It wasn�t quite snowing yet when she arrived on Randy (her namesake) and Lisa Timberlake�s sidewalk on that freezing night, the twenty-third of December. It was raining, and that was for sure.

Randy was freezing inside the cab, and it had a heater. She wasn�t sure if the rumbling she felt was her teeth chattering or from the tuttering of the taxi engine. She hesitated for as long as possible when the driver told her the fee. She had been staring out the window. The rain was beginning to get chunky. He barked at her once more and she finally dug out a wrinkled and damp twenty from her pocket.

The second she slammed the trunk shut, the taxi sped away. Randy tried to hold her flimsy windbreaker tighter around her, but to no avail. Thoughts of suing Adidas shot through her mind- the thin black thing she was wearing sure as hell didn�t break the wind. She shook her head. How the hell do you break wind anyway? Randy laughed and coughed at the same time, thinking of how Justin would answer that question.

�Straight out of your ass,� she mumbled to herself, and bent over to pick up her already wet duffel bag.

She was shocked at what she saw sprinkled on her bag.

White powdery stuff.

Randy shook her head, refusing to even consider the truth. No, she was just hallucinating or something, because it was NOT snowing.

Randy nearly passed out when she looked up at the Timberlake home.

When it had snowed during past winters, the snow was slushy and gray from being run over too many times. And those times there wasn�t even enough snow to make a couple snowballs. Maybe enough to have a snowball fight. Well, except for that first time when she was thrown into the garbage. There was enough to make a snowman that year.

When Randy looked up, the whole house was covered in snow. Snow that was pristine white and piling quickly. It was like a scene out of It�s a Wonderful Life.
This was much more snow than just adequate for a snowball fight. There was enough snow for a snowball war, with a surplus enough to make an igloo village.

Okay, not quite that<italics> much snow, but close enough.

It was gorgeous, yet steaming with wickedness all at the same time.

It was like hell had frozen over. And to Randy, it was only hell when it was frozen.

* * *

Everyone was exhausted.

Randy was right; there was enough snow for a snowball war.

The whole Motley Crew reassembled in the living room and took a load off life. From her spot in Randy Timberlake�s leather recliner, Randy felt like she was in Pleasantville.

She took a sip of the traditional �eggnog special� that her and Jack McClatchy made by emptying a big bottle of Kahula into the homemade eggnog that Lisa made. This mischeif wasn�t a secret to the rest of the gang, but Lisa left the spiking to those two for cautionary reasons that if her fourteen year old son might get wasted off of holiday beverages, she could just (half jokingly) blame it on them.

Her eyes drifted towards the fireplace where the adults were mingling and laughing like the middle aged idiots that they are. Then to Jonathan, Justin�s half bro, and Eric, Randy�s step bro, who were messing around, making fire hazards of themselves. Jack and Shelly were messing around in a different sort of way in the corner. Randy immediately tore her eyes away, ready to vomit. Jack and Shelly were just about the most disgustingly perfect couple in the whole universe. No lying. And that was a lot considering Randy was a chronic liar.

Then there was Justin.

He was sitting at the kitchen counter, long legs dangling sadly against the legs of the soft beech wood stool. His hands were folded tightly on the marble counter, his head pressed against them deep in thought. A wine glass full to the brim with eggnog was waiting patiently by his elbow.

This disturbed Randy.

Normally, she and Justin were running around like two year olds with ADD during Christmas time, especially after downing a couple rounds of eggnog.

She stood, bringing her eggnog along, and pulled up a stool next to Justin, the scraping of wood against wood rousing the soft seasonal atmosphere.

No one paid attention though as she plopped herself on the stool and folded her arms, resting her head in the middle. She stared widely at Justin�s elbow, which was directly in front of her nose.

Justin lifted his head and looked shocked when he noticed Randy staring at him.

�I didn�t realize you were there,� he mumbled.

�I figured,� she said, gulping down his eggnog.

He snatched the wine glass away, only to set it down gingerly back on the counter.

�I was thinking,� Justin said after moments of silence.

�That�s a first,� Randy snorted.

Justin clunked her elbow with his. They were both sitting at the counter with their arms folded and heads nestled in the center, staring at the other.

�What if�� Justin began, cautiously.

�Yeah?� Randy prodded.

�Now this is just hypothetical,� Justin clarified.

�Yeah, yeah, just hypothetical. Go on.�

�What if there was someone that I cared a lot about��

Randy�s heart began to thump at a dangerously fast pace. They were both twenty six now and he would be twenty seven in a little over a month. Twenty seven was a very important age, though Randy wasn�t sure if Justin still remembered. They didn�t bring up the subject very often anymore. Well, they were never around each other to have time to bring up the subject anymore. But she remembered their promise well enough and she prayed with all her heart that he was finally fulfilling it.

�Yeah?�

�And this person that I care a lot about and have known for a pretty good amount of time��

Now Randy was just straight up frustrated. �Damn it, Justin,� she snapped, �Just say it already.�

He chuckled, obviously not taking her seriously. �Alright.� He paused, sitting up straight. �Now we know this is still in hypothetical terms, right?�

Randy groaned and dug her face into her arms. �Yes, Justin,� she grumbled,
�We know.�

�Now what if� Randy, look at me.�

Her head shot up. Probably too quickly. Now he probably knew that she knew what he was going to say. Crap. She wanted it to be a surprise. For both of them.

She watched anxiously as Justin�s hand slid down the side of his torso and into the front pocket of his khaki slacks. A tiny velvet box appeared as he slowly reached his hands out.

Randy stayed cool and shrugged, collecting all the awesomely clever wit she possessed to fight off any of those other gross, mushy emotions.

�It�s a box,� she said, dully, �Is this your big, bad, �hypothetical� secret?�

Justin sighed and slowly opened the box for her.

Her eyes grew wide and she grabbed for the box. He pulled it away from her reach, but made sure no one else saw it.

�Holy-� He cut her off, clasping a firm hand over her open mouth. She sighed, calming down, and he pulled his hand away to protect his precious box.

�Crap and a half, Justin,� Randy said under her breath. She moved her stool closer to his so that absolutely no one could hear them converse. �That is one exceptionally large ice skating rink you�ve got on that itty, bitty slice of gold.�

�Yeah, and it made one exceptionally large hole through my wallet.�

Randy snorted. �Not that you couldn�t afford or anything.�

�Shut up,� and he smiled, knowingly. He paused, waiting for her to comment cynically, like she always did. But she didn�t, so he continued.

�Well?� he prompted, �What do you think?�

Randy bit her bottom lip, thoughtfully. �No offense, J,� she said, gently, �But don�t you think it�s a little feminine for you hands?�

He groaned and his shoulders sank at her sarcasm. �Not funny,� he pouted, �I�m trying to be serious here.�

�Seriously serious, man?� she teased in a surfer voice.

�Yes, SERIOUSLY,� he said, firmly.

Randy had to tighten her grip on the counter from the strength of his voice. They both took it as their God-given task to tease, annoy, and all around bother anyone and everyone in a rather adorable way. Rarely were either of them serious, and though that in itself was another annoyance to the world, Randy especially knew that when Justin was mad, he was serious, and vice versa.

He sighed. �I�m proposing to someone tonight,� he finally said.

That was all she needed to hear.

There was no getting her hopes up, but who else could it be? It was the right time, after all. But she wasn�t about to let him know she knew! As always, Randy played the �sarcastic� card.

�Well, it better not be to yourself,� she replied, matter-of-factly, �because that is terribly selfish of you, Justin.�

He sighed again. She knew her remarks were bugging him, but it was the only way she knew how to deal with a situation like this, a serious situation like this. A seriously important situation like this.

�No,� he said, �I�m not proposing to me.�

�Well?� she egged. �Who is she?� She paused. �I�m sorry, is it a he? I mean, I always had this hunch that you were� ya know� I mean, with that whole boy band thing� I just wasn�t sure, but��

�No, it�s a she,� he interrupted, curtly. He shook his head. �Ugh, I mean I am proposing to a female human being.�

�Oh really?� she said, arching an eyebrow. �Well, what�s this female human being�s name?�

�Mm-�

Please say Miranda. Please say Miranda, she shouted inside her head. Say it, Justin. Say Miranda.

�-egan.�

Randy heaved out a tired sigh. Or at least that what she wanted Justin to believe. �Megan, huh?�

Justin smiled at her curiously. �Suddenly really quiet, aren�t we?�

Randy shrugged. �I�m just not a big fan of the name Megan, is all.�

Justin tipped Randy�s chin up so she was looking at him. He grabbed her folded hands and held them tightly in his, bringing them up to his mouth.

�I love her so much,� he told Randy. A shiver went down her back, feeling his lips on her knuckles.

�Well, we all have to love someone, don�t we?� Randy replied, sardonically.

Justin kissed her hands, keeping them tight in his own. His eyes closed softly.

She hated it when he did this. Justin liked to keep the �player� reputation snug in his back pocket. It cracked Randy up every time she saw his Little Black Book with �J-Dawg� etched in gold in the corner. But when he fell in love, he fell hard. And he always managed to pull the hopelessly-devoted-puppy-dog act.

�Megan Hayward,� he suddenly said. �Her middle name�s Janine. I met her March of last year.� He chuckled as if replaying an invisible scene in his mind. Randy couldn�t watch; his eyes were still closed. �Mm, Evan took me to a Lakers game and I dropped a hotdog on her.� He sighed and Randy adjusted the position of her elbows on the counter and watched him tell his story. This Megan girl may have stolen the one man she had truly loved, but hell she loved clich�s. If Megan made his life complete bliss� well, better him than her, right?

�She used to play ball for North Carolina. Just graduated from law school� Yale. Works for a firm in LA. She has a younger sister. Kelly. She goes to USC. Her parents are still together; they live in Santa Barbara. I met them. Steve and Cheryl. He�s a lawyer, she�s a doctor.� He sighed and looked at her for approval.

Randy stretched her thumbs out of Justin�s grasp and rubbed his fingers.

�I know her, Randy,� he concluded, �It�s different this time. I know her middle name and I�ve met her parents. I met her legitimately and I wasn�t drunk. I�ve known her for almost two years. I�ve loved her for almost two years.� Justin lifted Randy�s chin and their eyes met. �I love her.�

Randy wished so badly that he had said �you� instead of �her� in that last sentence.

�I don�t know what you want me to say, Justin,� Randy sighed. �I can�t give you a blessing or anything. I�m not a damn priest. But I guess all I can say is that-� she choked on her own words, but managed to let them out. �-she�s a lucky, lucky girl.�

�This is so boring.�

�This is lunch.�

�I�m never coming back.�

�You have to.�

�I hate you.�

Justin shrugged and took an exceptionally large bite of his turkey sandwich. �Your loss,� he said, his mouth becoming a rather large pit of masticated meat and mustard.

�I kissed Britney.�

Randy slammed her hands down on the table. �Don�t shit with me, Justin. When?� she practically yelled into his face.

�Kevin Lawrence�s party.�

�What the hell!� Randy groaned and slid back her fold up chair angrily. �I missed it all! Crap and a half, Justin. Don�t tell me� Stacey Moore made out with�� A dreamy look glazed her eyes. �Alex Crenshaw.�

�How�d you guess?�

�Shut the hell up, Justin,� she barked, scooting up to the table rather suddenly. �I don�t want to hear your shit.� She frowned and her voice softened remarkably. �Did he really?�

Justin rolled his eyes.

�I hate you.�

�Like I said earlier,� Justin laughed, �It�s your loss.� He took another bite of his sandwich. �Anyway, I told you that because I had a point.�

�You wouldn�t have told me if you didn�t have a point?!� Randy faked a sniffle. �So much for best friends, J.�

Justin rolled his eyes. �Okay, so yeah, getting to my point.� He looked at her curiously for a second. �I don�t think I�ve ever seen you serious. You are just like not into being serious, are you, D?�

�R� U� D! Dude, am I, like, a rud? What the hell is a rud?�

�I�ll consider that as a no.�

Randy shrugged and dipped a sloppy finger into a dab of mustard that had fallen from Justin�s sandwich to his flimsy paper plate. She stuck her mustardy finger in her mouth in a mock-childish way.

�What about getting married?�

Randy almost choked on her finger. �What?�

�I�m getting married,� Justin told her, matter-of-factly.

�You kissed the chick once and you�re gonna marry her?� she asked, incredulously. �Shit, shouldn�t you have sex with a person a couple times before you marry them?�

�Well, D, I didn�t quite tell you the whole story �bout Kev�s party. You see, me and Brit were in his brother�s bedroom and-�

�Shut up, Justin,� Randy scolded, �Don�t joke like that.�

�I�m not joking!�

Randy leaned forward and smacked him upside the head. �Finish your story already.�

�Okay, well now that we�re seriously discussing the situation like mature teenagers��

�I thought you said I couldn�t be serious.�

�But I am being serious, so you are just going to have to shut your trap and listen to me being serious.�

�Whatever.� Randy leaned back in her seat. �This should be good.�

Justin rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat as well. They folded their arms across their chests simultaneously, waiting for the other to speak first.

�I figure one day I�m going to get married,� Justin stated, simply.

�The game-player finally settling down?� Randy laughed. She set her hands on the table, elbows bent, leaning forward into his face. �You are thirteen years old.�

�My birthday is in a month and a half. I�m gonna be fourteen. I�m getting pretty old.�

Randy returned to her slouching position in her chair and smirked. �Oh Lordy, do you want the cane or the false teeth for your present?�

�Anyway, getting older and before we know it,� Justin continued, ignoring her, �We�ll be in high school. And then in college. I mean, this whole show thang isn�t gonna last forever. And then after college, we�ll be getting jobs and getting married. And�� he voice dropped. �What if we never get married?� he whispered. �What if I�m stuck as a lonely loser for the rest of my whole damn life?�

�Well, at least you�re finally getting the picture,� Randy snorted.

�But I want to. You know, get married.� Justin sighed. �Shit, I sound so girly and emotional.�

�Another truth told.�

�Will you marry me, Miranda?�

Randy shot up from her chair and stuck a reproachful index finger in his face. �You are thirteen years old, Justin Timberlake. I am your best friend,� she told him furiously. �Married people have sex. And I sure as hell<S> am not having sex with you! Not now. Not ever. Your body parts are not entering mine, thank you very much.�

People began staring questioningly at them. Randy remained standing and
Justin crouched lower behind the table, praying that her standing figure might block him from everyone else.

�Sit,� he whispered. And she did.

�I don�t mean marry me now,� he clarified. �I mean when I�m really old. Like twenty seven or something like that. Don�t you think? I mean, it�s a good idea. I figure married couples are supposed to be best friends, or some mushy shit like that, and well, hey, I�m not marrying Evan.�

Randy shrugged. �Sure why not.�

�Well, at least we�ll never be alone.�

�Yeah,� Randy replied, awkwardly.

Suddenly hands appeared over Justin�s eyes. Randy�s eyes travled above his head to lock eyes with the owner of the two neatly manicured hands.

Britney Spears grinned at her, perky as ever.

�Guess who?� Britney squeaked.

�Britney?� he guessed, pulling her hands down from his eyes. He pulled her arms down his chest and around his neck and she hugged him softly.

Britney kissed Justin on the cheek, completely oblivious of Randy�s passionate hatred towards her. Randy didn�t quite love Justin in that �mushy shit� kind of way, as he so eloquently put it. But he was, after all, her best friend, and she cared a lot for him. If he liked Britney, Randy wished she could just say �to hell with him�, but she had this annoying growing concern for him. And she knew somehow she�d need to respect what he liked, or loved.

Randy glowered disapprovingly at Britney. �I�ll be going now.�

And she did.

How Megan got to the Timberlake home so quickly, Randy couldn�t comprehend.

But she did know that every single person in that entire house was just about drooling over Justin�s soon-to-be-fianc�e.

All the adults loved her just because she was just oh so sweet and intelligent and beautiful and basically angelic. All the guys loved her because she was straight up drop dead gorgeous. Even Shelly loved her. It was like she had finally met her twin separated at birth, except Megan was a blonde.

She hugged Megan. Well, it was more like Megan hugged her. Randy sort of patted Megan on the back as Megan squeezed the living daylights out of her. Everyone else squeezed the living daylights out of Megan.

�This freak of nature right here-�

�No, I�m sorry Megan, but you are the one who is marr<I>-�

�-Shut your hole, D. Meggers, this is, sadly, my best friend, Miranda Mall-�

�That�s Randy,� she said, firmly, and thrust her hand out. �And I�m probably his only<I> friend.�

�Whatever, Randy. I have a social life, thank you very much. I�ve got Evan.�

�Oh, dear God, don�t even get me started on Evan, Justin.�

�I�ve got Chris.�

�Views on Evan equal views on Chris. You have absolutely no normal friends, Justin.�

�Including you.�

Randy shoved a hand on Justin�s face to block him out and smiled fakely at Megan. �Do you like Meggers or Megan better?�

Megan shook her head. �It doesn�t really matter. But Justin was really the one who started the whole �Meggers� thing.� She poked him in the stomach and he kissed the top of her head.

It was pretty disgusting.

�Well, that�s good. Because I don�t think I would have called you Meggers, anyhow.� It wasn�t supposed to come out so rudely, but Randy couldn�t help it.

The Megan hype died down and while she was in the bathroom, Justin drifted his way towards Randy who had reacquainted herself to the recliner.

�Meggers Hayward Timberlake,� she grumbled when Justin squatted down on the floor next to her. �It sounds like a brand of log cabins.�

�Why do you hate her so much?� he demanded, hurtfully.

�I don�t hate her,� she lied.

�Yes, you do,� Justin stated, firmly. He pointed an accusing finger in her face. �I know you, Miranda Malloy, like the back of my hand. And I know when you hate someone, and this is one of those times.�

�I didn�t know the back of your hand could hate anyone,� Randy mused, sarcastically.

He sighed and she did, too.

�I don�t love her, Justin,� Randy relinquished, �And I highly doubt I ever will. She�s just not very much like me. But Shelly�s been my sister for the past twenty four years and she�s basically me in a different dimension. So I guess I�m going to have to deal with it if Megan�s going to be part of the family, won�t I?�

His eyes brightened.

�So you think she�ll say yes?� he asked, eagerly.

As much as she wanted to tell him no and advise him not to propose, she knew she needed to tell the truth. And the truth, plain and simple, was obvious in the way he talked about Megan and the way she looked at him.

Randy pinched his cheeks. �Aw, who wouldn�t say yes to a face like this?�

Justin smiled. �That�s exactly<I> what I thought!�

She smacked his head and he patted his pocket to double check on his treasure. �Keep it on the DL, though,� he whispered, noticing Megan returning from her potty break.

�True 'dat,� she laughed.

He rolled his eyes and kissed her on the cheek. �I love you, D. I don�t know what I would do without you.�

He walked away and held Megan tightly in his arms, kissing her softly for the whole world to watch.

Randy sighed. �I don�t know what I�m going to do without you.�