*******
Two weeks later...
Lance, Chris and Joey sat quietly in the dining room. None of them knew what to say, each a bit more confused then the next. Chris began drumming his fingers on the table out of pure boredom. None of them wanted to leave the room for fear they�d run into Justin. He was scaring them somewhat lately.
Hearing the rhythm in Chris� drumming, Joey started hitting the table to the beat of Chris� fingers. A while later, after Lance figured something out to do, he started snapping his fingers and making a birdcall. The result was an odd but strangely catchy beat. All three started head-bopping to it and smiles took over their faces, their worry for their friends drifting away slowly. A few minutes later Justin walked down the stairs and heard an up tempo rhythm drifting from the dining room. He entered with caution and his mouth dropped open at the sight before him; Chris was standing on the table, drumming his fingers for all they were worth, Joey was stomping around the room, clapping his hands to the beat, and Lance, Lance was the scariest of them all. His once calm and collected friend from Mississippi was now running back and forth flailing his arms and calling out like a demented bird.
Chris was the first to notice that Justin had entered the room. He immediately ceased all movement and stared wide-eyed at his younger band mate. Joey took note of the now lacking beat he and Lance were making and looked up to find Justin regarding him curiously. His face took on a color not much unlike that of his hair. After realizing he was the only one left making a fool of himself, Lance turned around and saw what the other two had quieted down for. Before coming downstairs, Justin had been angry and confused. Now, he could hardly contain his laughter. The curly-haired singer looked pointedly at Joey.
�I�ll probably regret asking this later on, but�what was that all about?�
Joey gulped and looked to Lance and Chris for help. They just shrugged. He rolled his eyes and struggled to come up with something intelligent to say.
�Um. We were all kind of bored and Chris was drumming his fingers on the table. Then Lance and I joined in and I guess we kinda got outta hand?� Unconsciously, Joey's voice had risen at the end of his sentence from pure nervousness. What he had to be nervous about, he did not know. But the way Justin had been acting lately, he could never be too sure. Joey looked to his partners in crime pleadingly and Chris began stammering.
�Yeah, um, what Joey, um, Joey was telling, I mean, the thing you just, Lance and I, it was kinda, I don�t, we hope you aren�t, we were, um-�
Justin eyes widened at Chris� attempt and he raised his hands in front of him.
�Chris! Man! You�d think I was a ticking time bomb or something. I don�t care what you guys do to keep yourselves occupied. Lord knows we�re going to need some new approaches to the boredom once the tour starts again.�
Lance, Joey and Chris all heaved a sigh of relief. The oldest of them walked over to Justin and patted him on the back.
�Yeah, you�re probably right. I suppose I can�t entertain you all the entire time. That�s just be even more tiring for me.�
Justin scoffed.
�You? Chris Kirkpatrick? Tired? Don�t make me laugh, old man.�
He pointed a finger at the younger man.
�I may be old, but I can still take you down.�
Justin slapped the hand out of his face and sat down at the dining room table.
�Yeah, yeah. All bark and no bite. I know how you old fogies work�
Chris smiled good-naturedly as he sat opposite his friend. Joey and Lance, now fully recovered from any previous embarrassment, sat as well. Justin grabbed a green apple lying in a bowl on the table and bit into it hungrily. All week Margot had been cooking supposedly delicious meals, this new development in the *NSYNC house also meant that Justin was boycotting all Margot-made meals. He�d been surviving on cereal and fruit the past few days and it seemed that he wasn�t doing to well on this new diet.. Chris watched his young friend eat almost starvedly and his expression suddenly turned serious.
�Justin, what�s up with you and Margot?�
He almost choked on his apple.
�W-what do you mean?�
�I mean, why do you hate her? You just met her today and already you�re acting like she killed your best friend.�
Justin looked obviously uncomfortable with the topic of conversation but he tried to cover it with a joke.
�Chris, if she killed my best friend, I would be eternally grateful.�
Chris looked blankly at him for a few minutes while his words floated around in his head. When they finally registered, he glared at the young singer and continued.
�Funny. But seriously, what�d she do to you?�
Justin sighed as he finished his apple. He looked around the table at his friends who were now patiently awaiting his answer. He sighed again and ran a hand through his curls.
�Guys, I just get bad vibes from her. Ya know? Like she planned to get here or something.�
He was surprised at how easily the lie rolled off of his tongue. He hated lying to his friends, but the truth was, he had no idea why he was so callous to Margot. True, she had done nothing to him except be completely cordial. True, she had cooked a meal for him, even after he scowled at her on the beach. And true, she was an incredibly beautiful woman and goodness knows he loved him the women. So why was he acting like such a prick?
Because Britney had turned him into one.
�What!? Are you kidding me man? At lunch, JC told us that she was from France and didn�t even know who we were until he told her. I don�t even think she knows we�re famous. That�s the stupidest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth.� Joey declared. Lance pondered this for a moment before he decided to put his two cents into the conversation.
�No. Crunk was.�
Justin turned to Lance confusedly. �Crunk was what?�
�The stupidest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth.�
Chris and Joey snickered while Justin just rolled his eyes. He stood from the table and walked toward the trashcan. �When y�all are done making fun of me, I will be in the TV room. Come get me when you decide to grow up.�
He looked down and threw his apple core into the metal can. His eyes were immediately drawn to something else inside the can. The smile he had been sporting immediately disappeared as he eyed the spoiled Philly Cheese Steak. He swiftly made his way out of the room and up the stairs. He reached his destination quickly and stared at the door in front of him. He prepared to knock but he heard voices coming from inside. They were faint, but pressing his ear against the door, he almost felt as if he were inside the room.
�JC, I don�t know if I�m ready to go ahead and tell you my entire life story. My ex-boyfriend didn�t even know. And I just met you a couple days ago.�
�Margot, what was my whole speech about before? You trusting me. I want to be your friend. I want you to be able to come to me whenever you need a shoulder to cry on. Please trust me.�
It was a few minutes before he heard a sigh.
�Ok��
Justin pressed his ear even closer to the wood and proceeded to listen to every word spoken, his eyes widening more and more with each syllable uttered.
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