A little Justin Timberlake came running up to her all excited. �Katie! Katie! Guess what?� Katie turned to face her cousin. �What?�
�I get to do my 1st solo today and you�ll get to watch!� He beamed proudly. Katie smiled at her enthusiastic cousin. �Yay! I got here just in time!� JC ran up, as well. �Hey, Justin, it�s almost time. Heya, Katie.� He smiled boyishly. Katie waved. �Hiya, where�s Nikki?� He gestured behind him. �Finishing her skit.� Katie looked over and saw Tony and Keri walking down the hall laughing and holding hands. She looked down at the ground as Tony came up and slapped JC five. �Hey man, Justin. Katie, right?� She nodded. �Right. Hi.�
�Oh my gosh. He actually talked to me��
�Justin, man, time to go do your thing�good luck, man!� Tony said smiling. JC nodded. �Yeah, dude, good luck.� Nikki came running up all cheerful. �Hi guys! Hi Tony!� Tony smiled. �Hey Nikki.� Katie felt out of place among the 2 couples, and excused herself. �I�m gonna go watch Justin.� She ran off tears stinging in her eyes. She wiped away the tears and sat in the audience and watched her cousin.
(limo)
She came out of her trance, as she felt Justin shaking her. �Huh? What?� JC looked at her. �Dude, you just zoned out!� Chris nodded. �For real! We�ve been talking to you for at least 5 minutes!� Katie blushed. �I�m sorry, I didn�t realize� gosh, I feel stupid�� Justin laughed. �What were ya thinking about?�
�Uh, nothing, just friends, how they�d be so jealous right now, especially Ali�� she trailed off. Joey raised his eyebrows. �Ali?� Katie nodded. �Yeah, a friend. She thinks you guys are great and loves the music for some bizarre reason.�
(car stops)
The driver turned around. �We�re here. And no fans, guess they picked a pretty secret location. Alright have fun.� Lance smiled. �Thanks man.� He got out and Katie followed. �This should be most interesting.� Chris grinned. �No, this should be most fun!� They walk in greeted by an excited Mandy Moore. �Hi guys!� JC smiled. �Hey.� Mandy spotted Katie, and grinned. �Hi! I�m Mandy!� Katie smiled. �I�m Katie.�
�So, how do you know these guys?�
�I�m Justin�s cousin.� Katie said. Mandy nodded. �Well, cool, c�mon in.� She whispered to Katie. �Careful of Britney, she thinks she owns them, and she�ll attack fast.� Katie groaned. �Britney as in Britney Spears? She�s here?! Ugh, I can�t stand her!� Mandy smiled. �It�s best to just dodge her if you can.� Katie nodded. �Thanks for the tip.� Mandy smiled. �Sure! Have fun!� Katie spotted Seth Green, and she ran over to Justin, rambling.
�I don�t know what I�m gonna do, I, I�m not ready for this- Mandy Moore- sure she�s cool, but Seth Green??! I�m gonna go crazy! I love him!� Justin chuckled. �Chill, girl, it�ll be ok.�
JC and Lance came running over. �Oh, no, Britney�s here.� Lance said. �What?! Oh, god�� Justin said groaning. Katie saw her wearing a red leathery skirt, short enough to see that nasty ass and a white see through top thingy. �Oh my god, I would kill myself before I wore something like that. Ok, guys, I�m gonna go, cuz a confrontation between her and I would not be good, trust me.� JC looked at her. �You don�t like her?� She snickered. �Understatement! Who does?! No one could be more of a ditz!� Justin covered his face. �Oh, shit, no! She saw us!� he said, as an annoying voice rang out. �JuJu Bear?! Joshy?! Lancey?!� Katie grinned. �Bye!�
She turned around and started to leave until JC grabbed her arm. �Hey, we have to face her, so do you!� She shook her head to try to get away. �Uh-uh! Want me to say something really evil? No, you don�t, so let me go.�
�Ooh! Joshy who�s this?!� Britney asked. JC smiled. �You don�t remember Katie? Justin�s cousin?� Britney covered her mouth. �OMG! It was sooo long ago! How old are you? 16? 17?� Katie gave her a wry smile. �Try 19.�
�Wow, you look so young�� Katie fake laughed. �Yeah, well, what can I say? I don�t need implants to get attention like you do.� Britney did a ditzy laugh. �I see you believe the rumors.� Katie shrugged. �Guess so. Well, I�m gonna go throw up now, I�ll let you guys catch up.�
She pulled away and walked behind her and started making faces, imitating her by tossing her hair and acting ditzy. Chris covered his mouth to keep from laughing. Katie made gagging motions and pretended to hang herself and made a gun with her hands, shoots, and staggered back. By now, all the guys are cracking up and Britney looked confused. �What? What�s so funny?� Katie winked and walked off to the bar to get a drink. She sat down as Joshua Jackson walked up and sat down. �Hi. I�m Josh.� He extended his hand. She took it, shaking it. �I�m Katie.� He smiled. �Nice to meet you.� She nodded. �You too.�
�Having fun?� She smiled and nodded. �Yeah, I am.� He grinned �Who are you here with?� he asked. Katie looked around for Justin and motioned to him.
�Oh, my cousin Justin- from Nsync.� He nodded. �Ooh, well, hey that�s cool.� Katie smiled. �Well, not to sound like some crazy teenager, but heck I luv your movies� and Dawson- it rocks this season!� He laughed. �Thanks. That means a lot.� She smiled and took a sip of her drink. �Ok, so� if I asked you if you wanted to dance, what would you say?� he asked grinning. She stood up. �I�d say, let�s go.� He smiled. �Well, alright.� They head over to the dance floor to dance. The song finished and they resumed their seats talking and laughing. Katie heard her cell. �Oh, scuse me a sec.� She walked outside. �Hello?� She felt a cool breeze and shivered. �Hi, mom. Yeah, I�m here. Yeah, they were there. Justin�s not that irresponsible.� She laughed. �Yeah, everything�s fine. Mom, I�m fine. I�m kinda thinkin� bout checkin� out UCLA�s campus since we�re gonna be here a few more days� Mom, you�re in Tennessee, how can you stop me? I wanna go to school! Lookit Claire Danes and Natalie Portman- they go to Yale and still have their careers� Look, I don�t want to talk about this now, I�ve gotta go. Yeah, bye mom.� She hung up and sighed.
She looked over at JC, who was sitting on the ground staring off into space. She walked over to him. �Mind if I sit?� He looked up at her. �Go ahead.� She sat and looked at him. �Why are you out here all alone?�
�I needed time to think�� She shook her head. �Still ever so serious, I see. Want me to go?� He shook his head no. �No. Actually, I could use someone to talk to.� She nodded. �Ok, what�s up?� He sighed. �Well, ok, I should start from the beginning?� She nodded. �That would help.� He narrated the story as, the memories came flooding back.
Chapter Five