Love Hurts
Author's Note- another morals story for ya, only what you'd expect. That's I'm bringing it your attention.
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"So Justin, wanna go clubbin' with us tonight?"
"No man, I can't. I gotta a date," Justin replied, smiling.
"Are you still going out with that Megan girl?" Joey asked, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, so?"
"Nothing. I just don’t like her," Joey lied. He really hated.
"How come nobody likes her expect me?" Justin asked, getting annoyed. "It doesn't even matter what you think, I like her."
"Justin, calm down," Chris said. "We're just stating our opinion."
"Well don’t, okay? I don't want it," Justin said, looking away.
The bus grew silent as the others thought up an apology. They were beginning the 2000 tour, starting and ending home in Orlando. Justin met Megan at a theme park, and they had been dating her for about two weeks.
She had seemed nice, but she didn't act like any of the guys were in the number one pop group. It was refreshing at first, but quickly grew annoying when she would playfully hit whoever was closest to her. But for some reason, Justin stayed with her.
"Justin, I'm sorry man," Chris apologized, putting a hand on Justin's arm.
"Ow!" Justin yelped as he pulled his arm away.
"What? I barely touched you!" Chris said, confused.
"I just got a bruise there, that's all," Justin replied, pulling up the sleeve of his T-shirt to prove it. He revealed a bluish- purplish bruise about the size of a fist one his bicep.
"What happened?" Lance asked.
"Nothing. I just wasn't paying attention," Justin replied, covering the bruise again.
"Well be more careful next time, okay?" J.C. asked, sincerely.
"Yeah, I will," Justin smiled.
"Well come on, let's go play some basketball," Chris said, jumping up.
"You are just dying for me to beat you, aren't ya?" Joey teased.
"We'll see," Chris smiled, grabbing the ball and heading outside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Have fun!" Joey yelled, after Justin. Justin was on his way to Megan's place, and in an hour or so, the others were going to leave also, to check out the nightlife.
"Bye," Justin called back before he got in his car.
It was dark out already at eight o'clock. Justin drove the fifteen minutes to Megan's apartment, and parked the car. As he climbed the three stories to her apartment, he thought of some places they could go tonight.
He knocked on her door and didn't have to wait long for her to appear. His smile faded as he was met with a slap on the face. "You're late," she scolded.
Justin shrugged off the slight stinging and replied, "Sorry, there was traffic. So where are we going tonight?"
"I don't know, dinner and a movie?" Megan asked, flashing her sweet smile. Her pretty golden face was outlined by copper color, shoulder length hair.
Justin was taken in by her beautiful face and figure and agreed. "Sure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe you made me sit through a chick movie," Justin grumbled as they drove home through the dark.
"You know you like it," she teased, punching his arm.
He winced, but kept smiling. "So will I see you tomorrow?"
"Maybe," she smiled. "I did have fun tonight. Thanks," she said, leaning close to his ear. She placed a hand on his thigh and began nibbling his ear.
"Baby, we shouldn't," Justin whispered, leaning towards her nonetheless.
"Why not?" she asked playfully, moving her hand up the inside of his warm thigh.
"Because it's too soon in our relationship," Justin stated, turning into the apartment parking lot.
"Are you gay?"
"What? No, believe it or not, there are still men who care about their girlfriends," Justin said truthfully.
"I get it," Megan said coldly as she sat up. "There's someone else, isn't there?"
"Meg- No!" Justin started, caught off guard by her blunt question.
"Yes there is you lying asshole!" Megan yelled, punching Justin in the side.
The car swerved slightly as Justin pulled up to the door. "I'm telling you the truth," he defended.
"I can't believe you!" she cried, tears of anger and jealousy falling from. "I hate you!" she emphasized with a slap on his face.
He cringed, but tried to call her back. "I'm sorry!" he called after her. Without looking back, she went into the building and slammed the door.
Justin sighed as he rubbed his face, then his aching side. Disappointed, he drove off towards the bus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Justin! How was your date with the girl from hell?" Joey teased as Justin walked on the bus.
"We broke up," Justin mumbled, flopping down on the couch beside Chris.
"What happened?" J.C. asked, seeing the tears that were about to fall from Justin's eyes.
"She thinks I'm cheating on her because I think it's too early for sex."
"You turned down sex?" Joey asked.
"I think you did the right thing," Chris supported, rolling his eyes at Joey.
"Me too," J.C. agreed.
"She was a bitch anyway," Lance added.
Justin sighed as Chris offered, "So you coming clubbing then?"
"I guess," Justin mumbled.
"Great! Then let's get going," Joey exclaimed, getting up.
"Maybe you'll find a better girl," Lance said to Justin as they walked to the door.
"That won't be hard," J.C. muttered, making Justin smile in spite of himself.
"By God, he can smile!" Chris teased.
"I can beat your ass too," Justin smiled.
Chris cracked up as the five friends got into the rental convertible and took off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wake up," Chris whispered in Justin's ear. Justin didn't move, so Chris yelled, "Wake up!"
Justin jumped, hitting his head on the bunk. "What the hell do you want?" he asked, rubbing his head.
"Time for photo shoot number one," Chris smiled, handing Justin his box of AppleJacks.
"God, I hate you," Justin grumbled, munching on a handful of the cereal.
"I hate you too, sugar," Chris teased, walking to the couch. He joined Joey in his religious 'watching of the Adventures of Superman,' during which, no one was allowed to talk.
The others got dressed while Joey sat glued to the TV until the end of the show. When it was over, Joey turned off the TV and got up, already dressed. "Let's go," he announced.
"OK, let's go then," J.C. said, grabbing his jacket.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The guys were looking forward to this beach-side photo shoot. The weather was the best it could possibly be; sunny warm, but not too hot. There was a slight breeze and the waves gently threw themselves on the warm sand.
Before the guys even got off the bus, they couldn't wait for a lunch break. The ocean was calling them, and they couldn't ignore.
"Okay, guys, it's beautiful day, and we're gonna take advantage of it!" the photographer smiled. "Now go get wet!"
The five guys happily ran into the water, playfully wrestling as they went. The photographer took some rare pictures of their unforced smile, getting their best pictures in a long time.
Once the photographer had enough sexy pictures of the guys all wet, he instructed them to take their shirts off. They all stripped, and the photographer took their individual pictures. Then when he got Justin, he stopped. "What happened to you?" he asked, causing the others to turn their attention to Justin.
Justin looked at himself, and he saw he was covered in bruises. The water churned around him, making the only movement as he responded, "Me and Megan were just playing around."
"She hit you?" Lance asked.
"We were playin'," Justin repeated, not getting anyone's belief.
"Justin, if she hit you that hard, she wasn't playing," Chris said, coming towards Justin.
Justin remained where he was, not sure what to say. He didn't like it when Megan hit, but she was a girl, and he would never hit a girl, especially one he loved.
"Okay, we can fix," the photographer interrupted. "I'll just get a couple of head shots. No big deal."
The others remained silent and Justin blushed silently, embarrassed at being beat up by a girl. "Now give me that sexy Justin look," the photographer instructed, smiling.
For a brief moment, Justin wondered if the photographer was gay or not. Then he put on his 'I'm hot,' face, and things went somewhat back to normal. The only thing different was how Chris remained quiet, and Justin could see the wheels turning in his friend's head.
The others could see the preoccupied look behind Chris's otherwise carefree eyes, but said nothing.
Before they knew it, the photo shoot was over and lunch break had begun. The best caterers had prepared a buffet for them, and crew dug in hungrily.
No one said anything about Justin or Megan, but it was in the back of their minds the whole time. The guys ate a fast lunch and hurried back into the water. After lunch, the Winterland crew repositioned the cameras on the sand, and the guys put their shirts back on.
Finally, after another successful session, the guys were free to go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris's rage boiled inside him as he drove to Megan's apartment. He would not let anyone get away with hurting his friend, and just because she was a girl, that gave her no right to abuse him. His intent was to tell her off, and scare her a bit. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, but he was betting they could figure it out.
It had started getting dark out, although Chris didn't know exactly what time it was. He turned off the headlights as he pulled into a parking space, then turned the car off. 'She better be home,' he thought as he waked towards the big apartment building.
As he jogged up the stairs, memories of his last visit, replayed in his mind. It was his first and only time there, but he remembered it clearly. He remembered how he and her were exact opposites. But he had kept his head for Justin's sake. Now he wished he hadn't.
He knocked on the door of apartment 53. She opened the door, then got a disgusted look on her face. "What do you want?" she asked.
"I want to talk about what you're doing to Justin," Chris replied.
"What I'm doing to him?! That's just like you guys to stick together," she huffed. "Well I don't want to talk about it."
She started to close the door, but he stopped her. "Well I do," Chris glared at her.
"Get away from me," she snarled. She reached beside her, behind the door frame, and picked up an iron baseball bat. She put it behind her back and kept it out of Chris's view.
"You talk to me or the police," Chris threatened, pushing on the door.
"Okay, fine, I'll talk," she smiled, stepping behind the open door and out of Chris's view.
"Thank you," Chris replied, taking a step inside her apartment.
The last thing he saw was a silver baseball bat flying towards his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lance pulled into the parking space beside Chris's car. They all knew what Chris was planning, and Lance was the one that went to check on things. He sighed as he stepped out of his cool car and into the hot summer night. He trudged up the stairs and found the door to apartment number 53. He knocked on the door, and was soon greeted by Megan's evil smile.
"Why Lance, how nice of you to come," she lied.
"Whatever. I just came for Chris, then I'll leave," Lance replied, Megan's amber eyes watching him closely.
"Well, good luck moving him," she smiled, stepping aside.
Lance got a questioning look, then looked in her apartment and saw Chris lying on the floor. "What the-?" he started, going to Chris. "What the hell do did you do to him?" he asked, kneeling next to Chris.
"Nothing," she lied. "Stupid asshole ran into the wall."
"And knocked himself out?" Lance asked skeptically.
"Yeah," she said forcefully, making Lance cringe.
He turned his attention back to Chris, noticing a large bruise forming on his forehead. He tried to wake Chris up, but got no response. "Okay, just give me a minute, we'll be gone," Lance said as he started pulling Chris towards the door.
"Goodbye," she grinned, holding the door open. She resisted the urge to kick his bent over body as he pulled Chris's limp form out in the hall.
Lance was grateful he made it out alive. Secretly, he was scared of her. She was loud, rude and controlling, and he was quiet and laid back.
Lance was breathing heavily as he strained to get Chris down the stairs as gently as possible. Finally, he reached his car, then pulled and tugged Chris into the passenger seat. "How can someone so little weigh so much?" Lance asked himself.
Once he had Chris in, he went around and got in the driver's side. He glanced at the apartments as he started the car, but saw no one. 'Bitch," he muttered as he pulled into the highway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris woke with a start, inhaling sharply as he tried to duck. Then slowly realized he was in a car, and not a target for a baseball bat. He looked next to him and saw Lance looking at him with concern. Chris touched his aching forehead and felt a large, sore lump.
"You okay?" Lance asked, looking between Chris and the road.
"She hit me didn't she? The bitch hit me with a fucking baseball bat!"
"Yeah," Lance laughed. "She got ya good."
"How long have I been out?" Chris asked, closing his eyes in an attempt to calm his nerves.
"About thirty minutes," Lance replied, pulling up to the bus. "I guess you showed her," he teased.
Chris playfully smacked Lance on the back of the head as Lance turned the car off. "Not funny. I have a headache from hell, and I can't see straight."
"Wait a minute, she did hit you? She told me you walked into a wall."
"And knocked myself out?" Chris questioned as they headed to the bus.
"That's what I said," Lance replied. He watched as Chris walked straight into the bus. Laughing, he pointed out, "There's a bus there."
"I told you I can't see straight," Chris said, following Lance on the bus. "I got double vision."
The others looked as Lance and Chris came on the bus. "What happened?" J.C. asked.
Chris looked at Justin and replied, "Nothing. I talked to Megan."
"Yeah, that looks like nothing," Joey said, motioning to Chris's head.
Chris ignored the comment and went to the freezer. He pulled out a bag of frozen waffles then laid down on his bunk, putting the bag on his forehead.
Chris closed his eyes, but listened as Lance explained, "She nailed him with a baseball bat."
"Jesus," J.C. said. "Is he okay?"
"He says he's got a headache and double vision, but otherwise, he's right as rain."
"I always wondered what that meant," Chris mumbled, then fell asleep.
"We'll see how he is later," J.C. said. "Right now we gotta talk to Megan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Megan, open the door now! And leave the bat where we can see it!" J.C. yelled through Megan's closed door.
Megan smiled to herself before she opened the door. "What do you want?" she asked, tossing the bat away from her.
The guys stepped aside and let a policeman through. "Megan Pent, you're under arrest," the officer stated, placing handcuffs on her unsuspecting wrists.
"What? Why?" she questioned, confused.
The others smiled with triumph as the officer continued, "For the physical assault of Justin Timberlake and Chris Kirkpatrick."
The officer continued to read the rights, and Megan's cold eyes locked with Justin's azure ones. All the hatred and firmness had left, and was replaced by confusion and hurt.
Against his will, Justin felt a flicker of sympathy for her, but he quickly corrected himself. He couldn't forgive what she had put him through for so long. He had hidden it from the others because he was embarrassed; he couldn't tell anyone a girl hit him. But now he was glad he did, and the police informed them that these relationships occur a lot, and guys aren't the only ones that can abuse. The girls are to blame too, and guys shouldn't let their pride get in the way.
Justin had no regret as they followed the police and Megan outside, then watched as he put Megan in the squad car. As the car drove away, Megan wore a forced look of confusion, not apology.
As they drove out of view, the four members of Nsync watched with happiness. They drove back to the bus knowing they had prevented her from hurting someone else, maybe even her future child.
They never made Justin feel stupid, but treated him with dignity. They all volunteered to put on a charity concert for teens of both sexes in abusive relationships. From then on, Nsync helped give those people strength.
Finnis!
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