Chapter 1
Being a special part to a teen idol was a task within itself. Always being backstage watching the young girls flock around Justin sure took a lot for her. No one really knew how Justin actually felt either. You could see it in his eyes, but he never said a word about how he felt. Chris, Lance, JC, and Joey were the only ones that really knew him. Even Shannon, the one person who sat up with him through the long, hard nights when he was hurting the most, had a lot to learn about him.
"Why am I the popular one?!" Justin asked through tear stained eyes. "It is so hard to go through a show with young girls screaming out to you, shouting ‘I love you Justin!’", his voice started to trail off. "They don’t even know me!" It seemed like just yesterday that Justin was the bouncy teenager with the golden curls who was always smiling. Lately, you could never even crack a smile with him. He was always hurting one way or another. Rumors were always being spread about him and Britney Spears, he was getting mobbed everywhere he went. The pain never ended for him. Many nights, he would go out into his backyard and just lay in the warm grass, staring up at the stars, collecting his thoughts. He was way too young for all the stress that was being brought upon him. A light groan would escape his lips as he ran his fingers through his hair, the hair admired by many young teenagers. Would his pain ever stop? "Justin!", a voice shouted from the house. He choked down his tears and looked up to see who it was. "Justin! You should come inside, its starting to get chilly!", the voice shouted again. He didn’t even say a word as he just lay there, still in deep thought. Minutes later, another youthful figure came bouncing out towards Justin. "I brought you a jacket since you don’t want to come in, sweetie." Justin sat up, taking the jacket from Shannon’s grip, barely cracking a smile. His face was wet with the tears that were recently shed. She laid out a blanket that she brought out, knowing she would be out there for awhile. Sitting herself upon the blanket, she held on to Justin as his tears flowed at a more even pace.
"Why can’t my pain stop? Why can’t I go back to being the normal teenager I was before?!," Justin asked, trying to speak as his tears came harder and harder. Shannon held onto him tightly, trying to form the words. A light sob escaped her lips as she started to speak. The sob caught Justin off guard as he looked into her eyes. "Why are you crying?", he asked softly. He took her face in his hands, and lightly kissed her lips, bringing a slight smile to both their faces. She brushed the hair from her face as she started to talk. "Seeing you every night out here tears me apart. Coming out and seeing your tear-stained face is enough to break my heart," her voice started to trail off with sobs, "I love you so much that I can’t stand to see you hurting like this."
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