WILDFIRE
By Aysia Anderson (a.k.a. Nikki)

Chapter Three: Territorial Violation

Camille lay in the middle of the bed in her bedroom at Nastassia's home swaying her legs back and forth. She was wearing a pair of gray sweat shorts and a tee with her stolen Pony trucker hat over her head. Lazily she pulled the rim down over her eyes and closed them
thinking about that fateful night.

Justin had looked amazing with his crappy hat and all. He was the type of person that could step out into the world wearing a snakeskin poncho and goulashes and still look good. She smiled at the idea of a snakeskin poncho and rolled over onto her side.

The trucker hat still held on to the very scent of him. She wasn't sure what kind of cologne he had been wearing but it was intoxicating. It made her think about his smile and the soft sound of his voice, which contrasted with his strong singing voice. Something
about it oozed sexuality and it was driving her crazy.

A moment later another thought had made its way into her mind. She wondered how David was doing. He had only recently left to do the challenge for MTV but she already missed him. Granted she was thinking about Justin nonstop since she had met him David was always at the back of her mind. What was she doing?

"Hey, Cam! You awake in there?" Nastassia's voice penetrated the closed door and Camille opened her eyes.

"Come in. It's open." she called back and peered at her friend from beneath the rim of the hat once she had stepped inside.

"You still going to your mother's house this morning, right?"

"Yeah. I want her to tell me what she thinks about the new place."

Nastassia nodded her agreement. A few weeks earlier she and her friend had gone house hunting in an exclusive neighborhood and had stumbled upon a gorgeous two-story home. Camille had said that she didn't want anything gigantic but a nice suburban home would do the trick. The house that she had fallen in love with was just a little larger than the suburban home she had described but it was lovely.

"Why are you still wearing that kid's hat? It’s been a week now!"

"I like it." Camille stuck her tongue out at her friend. "You got a problem with it?"

"Yeah, I do." Nastassia crossed her arms over her chest. "You stole an ugly hat from a guy with no fashion sense, called him on it, and then decide to parade around my crib with it. You're a horrid individual."

"Thanks for the compliment.

****

You talk about love and you say what you want
But when you receive you get mad at me
I can tell by your face you need some space
You like what I bring, not the intimacy…

"Whoa," the producer stopped the music and peered into the sound booth where Justin stood in front of the microphone with a pair of stereo headphones over his ears. "JT, what's going on man?"

"I don't know." he moved his hand over his neck. "Maybe I'm coming down with something `cause this isn't sounding right at all."

"You sound kind of scratchy just talking, man. We shouldn't record right now with you sounding like that."

"Yeah," Justin nodded in agreement as he took his headphones off. He had heard a slight difference in his voice earlier that morning but he didn't think that it was going to be that bad later on. Obviously it had progressed.

"You should get that checked out, man." the producer said as Justin exited the booth and entered the soundstage.

"I'll make an appointment for later on this week or something." He sat down in the extra chair in the room. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"Don't worry about it, Timberlake. The first song you recorded today came out hot but maybe it just caught up to you with this one. Take some time off. Stop being a workaholic."

"Working is all I know, man."

"Well, get to know something else. Find you a new girlfriend, get married, have a baby."

Justin shook his head, "Keep dreaming."

****

"You must plan on living in that atrocious hat." Linda Henderson commented as her daughter bounced into the kitchen and came up behind her to hug her. "Where'd you get that thing?"

"From a friend." Camille smiled slyly and hopped up onto the kitchen counter dangling her legs over the side.

"Hey, Mrs. Henderson." Nastassia greeted as she entered the room and hugged the other girl's mother as well. "You like the hat Cam stole from her new boyfriend?"

"New boyfriend?" Linda inquired, turning slightly from the sink full of dishes to see her daughter. "What happened to David?"

"Nothing happened to David." she replied, adjusting the trucker hat over her eyes. "Nastassia doesn't know what she's talking about."

"You know about that party that Cam went to, right?" Nastassia rolled her eyes at her friend and stood at Linda's side ready to spill the beans. "Well when she gets there your daughter runs into none other than Justin Timberlake."

"You stole Justin Timberlake's hat, Camille?"

"No…! I borrowed it," she giggled mischievously.

"Camille?" her mother shook her head disdainfully.

"What? It's not like it looked good on him or anything."

"Well it doesn't look any better on you."

Nastassia grinned evilly. "Ask her why she's still wearing it." She locked eyes with her friend who was giving her the look of death. "She thinks it smells good."

Linda Henderson couldn't help but to laugh at her daughter and her friend. They sparred like siblings all the time and it had started as soon as they had met in high school. After the peaceful introduction the friendly war began but it was decided that no one else could
participate. If either of them were being picked on then the other would come in to save the day. Their friendship was as thick as blood.

"You two need to be evaluated." the older woman commented, finishing up the rest of the dishes. "So you like this boy?"

"What boy?" Camille asked after jumping off of the counter and wrestling with her friend.

"She's talking about Justin, dummy." Nastassia laughed while in a headlock.

"Oh, him?" Camille released her grip on her friend. "I'm not going to lie because he's very attractive but nothing is going to come out of it. I'm in love with my boyfriend."

*****

Justin sat in the driver's seat of his truck a few days later chewing idly on his left index fingernail while at the traffic light. He had just come from an appointment with his doctor about his vocal chords and he felt a bit disenchanted. He had been told that he should take
a rest on the singing for a few weeks and relax. Doing so many shows back to back wasn't pleasant for his voice. He told the doctor that he would heed his advice even though it meant canceling the couple of surprise club shows that he had been planning for months.

Once the light turned green he gently pressed on the gas and sunk lower into his seat directing the steering wheel with one hand casually. A young woman in the car next to his recognized him and waved frantically, barely watching the road. He smiled gently at her
to let her know that she was appreciated before tapping the gas a bit more to make a getaway.

"Talk to me." he said with a raspy voice as he pressed the button on his earpiece to answer his ringing cellular phone.

"Hi," an unfamiliar voice belonging to a young female greeted.

"Hi," he replied, eye brows furrowing in contemplation. "Who is this?"

"It's whoever you want it to be."

"Look, how did you get my number?"

"I got it from one of your friends. You want your Pony hat back?" Camille grinned into her cellular phone as she sat on the chair in front of the mirror while her hairstylist worked his magic.

Justin couldn't help but to smile once he realized just exactly whom it was that he was talking to. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm getting ready for a photo shoot," she answered. "It's for ZINK Magazine."

"Ah," he threw on his blinkers and hooked a sharp right at the corner. "So the prey becomes the hunter?"

"Well, not exactly. My mother is making me be nice to you and return it so where do you want me to send this bad boy?"

"Don't worry about it."

"She's got me worrying about it." Camille replied as the stylist pinned up her hair and headed off to make room for her makeup artist. The entire process was tiring.

"You say you're doing a spread for ZINK right now?"

"Yeah and I can't wait to get out of here because I haven't eaten all day. What are you doing right now if you don't mind my asking?"

"I'm at the drive-thru at Arby's." he replied.

"Oh, well don't let me hold you up. Just give my agent a call and I'll have her send out your little funky head gear."

"That'd be nice, sweetheart. Thanks."

"Later."

Justin waited for her to hang up before scanning the menu and listening for the voice of the Arby's employee sentenced to drive-thru duty for the day. "Hey, yeah," he cleared his throat. "Let me get three of those roast chicken club sandwiches, two orders of curly fries, a medium Coca Cola and…"

*****

Camille rocked out to the music of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's as she stood in front of the cameras for her shoot with ZINK Magazine. They had become one of her favorite bands since she had heard their song `Maps' on MTV and she had immediately purchased the album. Initially the crew was surprised by her music selection but anyone that knew her personally knew that her musical taste was highly eclectic. She'd be listening to hip-hop and R&B one second and the next country, ska, or indie rock. It made for a very different sound on her album because of her many musical influences.

Linda stood off on the sidelines as her daughter let herself get loose in front of the photographer. She was learning to accept that her baby was growing up and coming into her own even though at times she didn't like it. Right now Camille was dressed in little more than plaid pants and chains with dark makeup but it was a lot better than her last photo shoot where she was in her underwear. It was said that sex sold and by the time that her daughter's album dropped they would definitely find out how true or false that actually was.

"Gorgeous, Camille. This is stunning." the photographer commented while snapping shot after shot of the young starlet. The song track switched to `Maps' and he smiled widely as she held the microphone prop into the air and closed her eyes as if she were part of the band and the music was moving her.

"What a clown." Linda laughed at her daughter's quirky personality traits that she knew had trickled down from her own before turning around to grab her coffee from the vanity in the large studio. Catching her daughter's attention she waved goodbye before setting
out on her way. She had to go and run errands but she had promised Camille that she would make an appearance at the shoot. A few moments later she was gone.

Justin stepped into the studio quietly five minutes after Linda had departed with his eyes immediately focusing on the young woman dancing in front of the cameras. Careful not to make a disturbance he made his way over to the vanity where her stylist stood while toting
along a large bag from Arby's. He set the bag down, greeting her crew, before continuing to observe. It only took a few seconds for her to notice his presence and she couldn't hide that it had shocked her.

"There is a fine line, Justin, and by showing up here you've already crossed it." Camille stated as she came to stand in front of him while everyone else began his or her break for lunch. "What are you doing here?"

"You stole my personal property and I showed up on your job site. Even trade off." he shrugged, leaning back against the vanity table to get a better look at her.

"Borrowing without consent, thank you." she corrected and watched his lips curve into a smile. "You're enjoying this so much aren't you?"

"Watching you squirm? Most definitely."

Camille shook her head and reached behind him to retrieve his hat. "Here is your hat from hell. Wear it with pride."

Justin eyeballed his trucker hat as he held it between his fingers before standing up straight and propping it casually on her head, tipping it for a cooler effect. "You keep it. I have a million of `em but I like the way this one looks on you."

"Interesting."

"Oh, I almost forgot! I got you something to eat." He opened the bag from Arby's and handed her one of the sandwiches from within. "It may be a little cold now but…"

"You brought me lunch?" Camille stared at him as if he were from some alien planet. "Seriously?"

"Why would I let you go hungry?" he tried clearing his throat again but this time it caused serious discomfort.

"What's wrong with your throat? I wasn't going to say anything about your voice over the phone but that doesn't sound healthy."

He shook his head, "I'm fine. The doctor just said that there would be no singing for a while. It’s cool. Honestly, don’t worry about it."

"Maybe there shouldn't be any speaking for a while either, J," she said while smoothing her fingers over both his neck and her own for comparison. "Something in there is inflamed."

"You're an M.D. now?"

"Didn't I tell you before that I'm whatever you want me to be?" she smiled gently.

"Yeah, you did say that."

"Stop talking."

Justin stared at her for a moment but did as told as she disappeared from him behind the vanity. A second later she had returned with a bottle of water and handed it to him. It was lukewarm and he made a face but accepted the bottle regardless.

"Warmer water is better for your throat and everything."

"You're just full of facts aren't you?" he twisted open the cap and took a gulp of the spring water.

"Didn't I say no talking? When you can't sing anymore and lose your career from fucking up your vocal chords don't say anything to me because I tried to help you."

"I'll take that into account."

"Justin!"

"Sorry! I'm shutting up!"

////

"Camille talked to David later that night and told him about the party and the photo shoot. She didn't have to give him too many details because he was already a little concerned with the fact that Justin had popped up for a second appearance." Nastassia explained, ready to take a break from her storytelling. "Needless to say, things became really strained between them as time went on because Justin, unable to really do any recording to occupy his time because of his voice, started spending more and more time with Camille."

"So as it's been speculated in the past Justin was the reason for Camille and David going their separate ways?" Gary questioned.

"Yes and no. There were a number of different factors leading up to the end of their relationship. There was the separation, Camille's rising career and in my opinion the jealousy."

"Jealousy?"

"It's very difficult to live in the shadow of someone that you're in a relationship with and to see other people trying to move in on them. Camille was very naïve about the situation and though she knew that Justin kind of had this crush on her she kept telling herself and David that it was nothing. David's not stupid so he could tell that the crush was evolving into something more than that. He just couldn't take it anymore." she lowered her eyes to the floor remembering the last blows that cemented the end of her friend's relationship with her first love…

////

"I can't do this anymore, Camille. I will NOT do this anymore." David stated firmly as he began to pile his bags near the front door of her home angrily. "This is bullshit!"

"David, just listen to me! Please?" Camille pleaded, standing in his path as he tried to make his way back up the stairs to get the rest of his belongings.

"I don't want to hear shit else that you have to say!" he shouted. "If you wanted this to work then you would have told him to get the fuck out of your life a long time ago!"

"He's my friend, David! I don't tell you who you can and cannot socialize with! What is this?"

"What is this? How blind are you, Camille, really? You can't see that he wants to take my place? He fucking dreams about it!"

"That's not true and even if it was why does it matter? You're the one that I want to be with."

"Right now, baby, I find that really hard to believe."

"Why are you doing this?"

"What was I thinking?" David shouted at the top of his lungs up toward the ceiling. "This is what I get for starting a relationship with a child! She's a baby!"

"I am not a child!"

"You're sure as hell acting like one!" he moved passed her and jogged up the stairs. "I ain't doing this shit no more!"

"No, no, no, no!" Camille cried, tears streaming down her face, as she wrapped her fingers around the handle of one of his suitcases and began to drag it toward the back of the house. By the time that he had reappeared down the stairs she had half of his things tucked away in the den.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he stormed into the room recollecting his bags.

"David, please, don't go? Please?" she was sobbing uncontrollably and reaching out for him though he continually pushed her away.

"Get off of me, Camille." David warned as he walked into the hallway dragging his bags and unintentionally her right along behind him.

"Don't do this!"

"Stop!" he shouted and threw her up against the wall irately. "Leave me the fuck alone!"

Camille struggled to breathe as he stared into her eyes with his hands gripping her arms fiercely. Slowly the anger began to disappear from his eyes and his lips parted slightly. What was he doing? Why was his departure turning into something violent? Her tears were falling more now and his heart was breaking.

"I would never hurt you, Camille, but right now you're hurting me," he shook his head slowly, unable to move his eyes from hers. "I love you so much, sweetheart, but I'm not going to sit around and watch this guy come in between us…you're letting him come in between us. You don't even see that.

Camille stared at him painfully through tear-blurred eyes. Her chin quivered as she stood locked in his grip. She couldn't accept this.

"When you told me that you loved me I believed that, Camille. I believed every word you ever said to me."

"I never lied to you." her voice was high pitched and choked as she spoke her words. "I never lied."

David sighed heavily and released her from his grip. Instantly her arms were around his shoulders and her legs wrapped around his middle. She was hanging on to him for dear life. They both heard the horn honking in the driveway and her grip tightened.

"I gotta go." David sniffled, smoothing his hands over her back. "I gotta go."

"Don't do this. Don't do this. Don't do this," she repeated over and over again into his neck refusing to let him go. She could hear the knock on the front door before it's opening and his friend carrying his things outside to the car.

"Don't make this hard," he pleaded as she moved her head to face him.

"Then don't leave."

Carefully he leaned her back against the wall and stared deep into her eyes before taking her lips into his own. He could feel her relaxing as their kiss deepened and moved his hand to the side of her neck that met with her jaw line. He didn't want to leave but he knew that he had to. The moment that she released her legs from around his waist and her feet met with the ground he separated his lips from hers.

Wordlessly she watched him back away from her as if debating if he should go on with his life or stay and live in misery just to be able to hold her in his arms. His friend came to stand behind him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He whispered for him to come on and David nodded, still staring back at Camille. His friend tugged lightly on his arm one last time and as he turned to follow him out of the door her legs began to give way. As the door closed silently she slid down the wall and down to the floor into a crumpled heap. She didn't want to live.

////

"After David left I didn't hear from Camille for a while. It really destroyed her. The label had to put the release of her album on hold because she physically couldn't get out there and promote it. She was just crumbling on the inside." Nastassia took a deep breath, pained to think about the homely state that her friend had been in. "No one could really blame David for leaving her. It was an unhealthy relationship for him to be in. Though it was really sad how things happened it was inevitable. There was no way that he could walk away from her without it being a dramatic ending. Camille's a very emotional person and she wears her heart on her sleeve. She doesn't know how to react to things calmly."

////

"Chamomile?" Justin knocked on the front door of her home nervously. "Baby girl, open the door. It's Justin."

He listened for any type of sound that would signify life from within her home. For a while there was nothing more than silence. When he heard the footsteps his heart rate came back to normal but he still felt uneasy. She opened the door slowly, her hair a disaster and her
clothes wrinkled beyond help.

"Camille?" he barely recognized her broken form standing before him.

"I just wanna die." she brought her hands up to her face as the endless stream of tears erupted all over again.

"Shit, come here." Justin stepped inside the house and drew her into his arms all in one fluid motion. "It's going to be all right. I promise. Everything will work out in the end."

"Oh, God!" Camille cried into his chest weakly.

He moved slightly and took her face into his hands, looking her over worriedly. "You been eating?" Her silence answered his question. "You look like death, Camille, you gotta eat."

"I can't," she whimpered.

"No, I'm not with this shit." he allowed her to wrap her arms around his shoulders before lifting her up into his arms effortlessly. "Where are your keys?"

"Side table." her voice was worn.

Balancing her in one arm he moved to the table, collected her keys into his hand, and opened the door.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to get you better, sweetheart. Just let me take it from here."

////

"I've been talking for a really long time now. Is it okay if we take a break or something? My throat is getting a little dry." Nastassia asked. She barely noticed the sniffling going on around her or the moist eyes. All she knew was that telling Justin and Camille's story, at least at this part of it, was emotionally draining. It hurt her to share it and quite possibly it hurt the VH1 staff to hear how painful it was to get from point A to point B.

"I think this would be the appropriate time for a break. Cut cameras?" Gary rubbed his finger under his nose and waited for the cameraman to assure him that they had paused the feed. Immediately he turned to Nastassia who was standing up to stretch. "I really want to
thank you for feeling comfortable enough to share these things with us."

"I'm only doing it because Camille and Justin asked me to. Otherwise there'd be no way in hell that I'd be here." she made her position clear.

"I thank you all the same. I never knew how intense the situation was between her and David."

"Relationships are hard work. Not all of them can survive, even if both parties think that they're meant to be. Sometimes it's all romanticized in their heads."

Gary nodded, "Do you think that about Justin and Camille's relationship?"

"I think that what will be will be and what won't…it just won't." she shrugged regretfully before heading out and into the lounge to take a break.

////

Tiredly Justin crawled into the bed still wearing his clothes and collapsed. He was going to have to cut some of the time that he spent at the clubs because he knew that tomorrow he would be suffering from a hangover. At least when Camille went out with him he didn't get this drunk. She didn't let him go overboard and though at times he thought that one more drink would be fine he always adhered to her wishes and would thank her in the morning for it.

"Shoes, Justin." she spoke into her pillow, awakened by the weight of his body suddenly appearing on the bed.

He yawned weakly before reaching down to pull off his shoes and throw them both onto the floor. He was already feeling nauseous and closed his eyes when she rolled over in bed to get a look at him. She sighed heavily after placing her hand on his forehead and sat up.

"Get up," she ordered, pushing back the sheets from her body and standing up out of the bed.

"I'm fine. I just want to lay here." Justin wined even though his stomach was threatening to wring itself out.

"If you throw up in this bed I will kill you so just cooperate here with me, okay? I'm looking out for your best interest."

Dejectedly Justin rolled out of bed and stumbled behind her toward the master bathroom. Under normal circumstances he would be commenting on her silk gown and how nicely it hugged her body in all the right places but as drunk as he was he couldn't focus. It was
another warning sign that he had gone too far with the boozing that night.

He leaned against the wall as she turned on the shower, checking the temperature of the water with her fingers before turning to him. He watched her as she stood before him and she unbuttoned his shirt without any complaint on having to take care of him. He shrugged out of the material easily and let her pull his t-shirt over his head and drop it to the floor as well.

Camille took a moment to yawn before continuing to undress her fiancé. She still hadn't married him yet and could walk away at any moment but the thought hadn't crossed her mind. She knew that he was a drinker from the day that she had met him but it didn't make her love him any less. If being married to him meant dragging him home from clubs because he was too intoxicated to walk she would do it. He'd take care of her the same way if their roles were reversed.

"Do you feel like you need to throw up?" she asked as he leaned his head against hers, shaking slightly.

"A little bit." he answered.

"You want to sit next to the toilet for a second or just get into the shower?"

"Shower's going to be hot."

"No," she shook her head, "I made the water cool for you, okay? You're burning up."

"Are you upset with me?" Justin sounded like a small child afraid to get into trouble. "This is stupid but I can't change it now and…"

"Baby, I'm not mad at you, okay?" she assured him, cupping the side of his face in the palm of her hand. "Just get into the shower for me and I'll go make you some coffee. I'll sit up with you until you feel a little better."

"You will?"

"Yeah." Camille kissed the end of his nose gently. "Hurry up now."

"Okay," Justin watched her leave the bathroom before unsteadily working his legs out of his pants and boxer briefs and stepping into the shower. The cool water against his skin seemed to be heaven sent and all at once he awoke from his daydream.

"Yo, what did you order from Chow's?" Trace asked, popping his head into the kitchen to see what his friend was doing. Justin was still sitting at the kitchen counter with the phone book open and the phone in hand but he had a distant look on his face. Trace stepped further into the room. "Hello in there!"

"I didn't order anything yet." he answered, finally breaking out of his trance and continuing to flip through the pages of the phone book.

"You've been in here for ten minutes just staring off into space?"

"Not exactly."

"What's going on?" Trace asked, leaning over the counter across from him with an inquisitive look on his face. "Are you going through a mental breakdown now because of this separation shit?"

"Maybe I am." Justin looked up at him and sighed. "I was just thinking about one of the times when I got really wasted and how Camille just stuck in there with me until I felt better even though she may have been exhausted from working and rehearsing…she just
always took care of me."

"You took care of her a lot too, J."

"Yeah, I know but," he shook his head, "I probably required a lot more assistance than she did and most of the time she could stand on her own two feet without stumbling."

"The both of you got married young. You still had a few years to do your partying. You still do, actually."

"I guess."

"Look, J, if its going to make a difference then why don't you just call her and talk things out?" Trace reasoned, unaware of what had happened before he entered the room.

"I asked her if I could come out there today."

"What did she say?"

"She said that I could come and pick up Nicole and spend some time with her but she's not ready to sit down with me yet."

Trace nodded his head that he understood. "That sounds better than nothing. There are some women out there that would refuse to let you see your child until the courts intervened."

"That's true," Justin began to dial the number for the Chinese restaurant and then handed his friend the phone. "I'm going to go and pack a few things and go see my daughter. I'll see you when I get back."

Trace stared at him with an amused look surfacing on his face. He knew Justin maybe better than anyone else in the world knew him. "You're not coming back, dude." he stated matter-of-factly and brought the phone to his ear as the restaurant picked up.

"I can only hope." Justin replied before exiting the room with only his own insecurities to stop him.

Is he coming back?