"What time is it?" Chasity asked, yawning, as she came into the kitchen. Linzi, who was also still in her pajamas, was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal.

"It's about noon," Linzi replied. "The guys just left for their autograph signing. They said they wouldn't be done for about four hours, so we'll have the house to ourselves for awhile."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about the signing today. I can't believe you let JC go without you. He's gonna be surrounded by tons of girls, all vying for his attention," Chasity teased with an evil grin.

"Well, I totally trust JC. I know he has eyes only for me......But how do you feel about Justin being surrounded by all those adoring girls?" Linzi asked slyly.

"I think that's it's hilarious!" Chasity replied with a laugh. "I can just see Justin disappearing underneath a sea of obsessed teenyboppers.......I know that's not what you were trying to get at, though," Chasity added, a knowing expression on her face. "You want me to be jealous....but I'm not. Justin and I are only friends."

"That's too bad. You two would make a cute couple."

"Whatever....." Chasity replied distractedly. This really great idea was coming to her......

"I've got it!" she suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Let's go to the autograph signing and pretend to be obsessed teenyboppers. I'm sure the guys could use a good laugh after all that boring signing......Are you in?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Linzi replied as Chasity dragged her upstairs. They had a lot to do....starting with finding the right clothes.

"Dude, my hand is totally killing me," Chris told Joey, a pained expression on his face. They'd been signing autographs for nearly four hours now and the line was finally starting to get shorter. He looked up to see who was next and his eyes widened in surprise.

"I can't believe it...." he said, trying not to laugh. Right at the front of the line was Chasity and Linzi, their hair in pigtails, with "I love N'Sync" and other such saying scrawled all over them. They fit in perfectly with the rest of the crowd, from their short skirts to their slinky tank tops. He had to admit, though, that they still looked pretty good.....even with the pigtails. They were the type of girls who could carry anything off.

"Oh, my god! It's N'Sync! I'm like gonna die!" Chasity squealed in a high pitched voice as she threw herself on Lance, who was closest to her. Linzi, who was in front of Chasity, sauntered over to JC and winked. She wasn't going to get as carried away as Chasity, but she was still going to have some fun.

"You are just so gorgeous!" Chasity continued, still talking to Lance. "WIll you give me a hug and a kiss? It would really make my day," she added, trying not to giggle.

"Sure," Lance replied, blushing slightly, as he leaned over to hug her.

"Kiss me on the lips," Chasity softly ordered in his ear, as they were hugging. "That would really shock your ardent admirers."

"Okay," he whispered back, grinning broadly at Chasity's unbelievable behavior. He kissed her full on the lips for several seconds, while the girls waiting in line gasped. Publicity will sure have some explaining to do, he thought to himself.

"Thanks! I'll see ya later," Chasity said happily when she finally pulled away from Lance, satisfied that the crowd had seen enough. "I have to meet the rest of the guys...Oh, wait! Is this your gum?" she asked, turning back towards Lance. She knew it wasn't but she wanted to further shock the teenyboppers.

"You can keep it," he answered with a wink, playing along.

JC, who was sitting beside Lance, could barely control his laughter. "Do I get a kiss too?" he asked, amused.

"Of course you do," Chasity replied as she kissed his cheek. "I would've given you a better kiss, but Linzi would kill me," she whispered, teasingly, before turning to the next guy.

"Joey Fatone! I can't believe you're sitting there, like right in front of me! This is like so cool. I love you so much." Chasity exclaimed as she jumped up and down excitedly.

"Thanks, I love you too," Joey replied with a flirty smile. "You're gonna give me a kiss too, right? And it better be better than JC's," he teased.

"Your wish is my command," Chasity said as she leaned down to kiss Joey. "How was that?" she asked after the kiss ended, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Delicious!" Joey exclaimed, laughing.

"Hey! It's my turn now!" Chris whined, joining in on the game.

"Okay, cutie, hold your horses," Chasity replied, laughing. She quickly bent down and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. Then she turned to the next, and last, guy- Justin Timberlake.

"Oh, my god! It's the Justin Timberlake! I am like so gonna die!" she exclaimed shrilly. "You are SO unbelievably sexy! And we have a lot in common, too. We should get together sometime. It would be so much fun!"

"Yeah, it would be," Justin agreed, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Well, you should come over tonight," Chasity suggested. "I'm sure you already know where I'm staying," she added in a whisper. As she turned away to leave Justin suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She looked up at him in surprise, her heart pounding wildly. The oh-so-familiar emotions returned, coming at her full force.

"Don't I get a kiss?" Justin asked softly as he stared deep into her clear blue eyes. She looked so beautiful, and how much harm could one kiss do? She had kissed the rest of the guys.

"I don't know...."she whispered as she looked down and nervously licked her lips. Once she allowed herself to kiss Justin, there'd be no turning back. She'd have to admit to herself that she was falling in love with him, and that would just bring her tremendous pain. She'd fallen in love before, with somene she thought felt the same way, and all she had gotten from it was a broken heart. She wouldn't make the same mistake again. Justin is off-limits!

As Justin watched the conflicting emotions flicker across Chasity's face, he smiled to himself. She's so perfect..... Unable to resist her any longer, he slowly stood up and cupped her face with his hands, lifting her face up towards his.

"Just one little kiss," he whispered as he lowered his head to hers. His lips brushed against hers softly before he slowly pulled away, his eyes full of love. He knew that Chasity had felt the same intense stirring that he had, when their lips had briefly touched.

"I...I've got to go," Chasity said breathlessly as she turned around and practically ran off, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and Justin. How could she let herself kiss him? What was wrong with her? Hadn't she already had enough to do with love to last a life time?! Her emotions were in a turmoil and she just kept running, not even knowing where she was going. When she finally couldn't run any longer, she collapsed onto the gound sobbing. Linzi, who hadn't let Chasity out of her sight, silently sat down beside her and hugged her tightly.

"Where's Chasity?" Justin asked as he and the rest of the guys walked into the living room. Linzi was sitting on the couch watching MTV but Chasity wasn't with her. Usually the two girls were inseparable.

"She's in your room sleeping. She's had an exhausting day," Linzi explained, hoping they wouldn't ask any questions. Chasity had spent most of the afternoon and evening in bed, crying, and she didn't want anyone to know about it. She had finally drifted off to sleep about an hour ago.

"Oh...okay," Justin replied, disappointed.

"You can wake her up if you want. She should probably get up now, anyway," Linzi said, praying that Chasity would forgive her for sending Justin in there. But Chasity just had to talk to him. They needed to sort out their feelings and work things out....and the sooner the better.

"Do you think she'll mind?" Justin asked,concerned.

"No, I don't think so," Linzi replied uneasily.

"Oh, good," he said, letting out a relieved breath. He had something very important to tell Chasity. He'd never been in love before and wasn't totally sure what he felt for her was true love. He'd could've been falling in love with her, but it could've just as easily been infatuation. After the kiss they'd shared today he realized that he was, indeed, in love with her. True, geniune, love. The kind every person dreams for. And he had to tell Chasity how much she meant to him! He quickly dashed up the stairs and silently opened his bedroom door.

"Chasity...." he called softly as he walked towards her. She looked so peaceful, sleeping, and he couldn't stop himself from touching her. He gently stroked her smooth cheek and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Justin!?" she exclaimed as she practically leapt out of the bed. She was NOT ready to face him yet. She had made such a fool out of herself at the autograph signing, reacting that way to the kiss. She was so confused, though. For a moment she had actually believed that maybe, just maybe, Justin was in love with her. Then, cold, hard reality set back it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Justin said apologetically.

"Uh....it's okay," Chasity replied, unable to meet his eyes.

"You don't mind that I woke you up, do you?"

"No, I don't mind."

"Good!" he replied, grinning broadly. "Cuz there's something that I have to tell you......I'm not really sure how to say this........I guess I should just come right out with it......Chasity, I-"

"Wait!" she cried out frantically. She had a feeling she knew where this was heading, and she wasn't ready for it. "Don't say it, please don't say it," she begged, unaware that she was speaking aloud.

"Why not, Chas?" Justin asked, clearly frustrated. "It's the truth. I LOVE YOU.......And I think that you love me, too."

"No...." Chasity whispered in anguish. "Why are you doing this to me?" How dare he bring this up when she was so vulnerable and scared.

"What?.....What am I doing to you?.....I can't help it if I love you."

"You don't love me," Chasity replied sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You might think that you do, but you don't. Nobody will ever love me." She said it so certainly that it broke Justin's heart.

"Oh, baby. That's not true....Who told you that?" he asked, his voice full of sorrow, as he sat down beside her and wrapped her in his arms. She seemed so strong on the outside, but was actually as fragile as a butterfly. He wanted to kill whoever had told her such a thing. No wonder she tried to hide from love.

"Da...Daniel did." All the past pain surfaced again and she sobbed, brokenheartedly, into Justin's arms.

"Okay, darlin," Justin said softly as he gently ran his fingers through her silky hair. "I'll tell you what. I'll try to stay content just being you friend for right now. But I do love you," he continued as he lifted her face up and stared deep into her eyes, silently willing her to see the love for her in his eyes. "And as soon as you realize that you love me too, I'll be right beside you, holding out my hand. Together forever....that's our motto, okay? I'll never leave you and you'll never leave me. Deal?"

"Deal," Chasity whispered, smiling up at him gratefully. He gently wiped away her her remaining tears then brushed his lips against her forehead.

"Now, how 'bout we go downstairs and see what everyone else is doing," he suggested. "Maybe they'll have something to eat. I'm starving!"

"Okay," Chasity agreed. "I'll meet you down there in a few minutes. I'm gonna go wash my face first."

"Alright," he said as he headed towards the door. He was stopped short, though, by her soft voice.

"Justin..." she whispered, looking down shyly, and then back at him. "Thanks......for everything."

"You're welcome," he replied with a bittersweet smile.

"Uh....sure," Justin replied, unable to hide the confusion in his eyes. He quickly got up from the sofa and followed Linzi to the kitchen, wondering all the time what it was she wanted to talk to him about.

"Okay, I'm going to get straight to the point," she said, very businesslike. "What happened upstairs when you were with Chasity?"

So that's what this is all about, Justin thought to himself. Mother bear wants to make sure that baby bear is okay

Well, I'll make it short and simple for you," he replied, somewhat bitterly. "I confessed my love for her and she started crying, which totally shocked me. I knew that she had strong feelings for me, I could tell that she did, and I just assumed that....I don't know....that she'd tell me how much she loved me, too? Anyway, I managed to piece together the fact that she'd been hurt very deeply.....by someone named Daniel, I think. She didn't really tell me what he did but I figure he's the reason she won't let herself fall in love. I didn't want to rush her....she means the world to me.....so I told her that I'd be her friend, and nothing more, until she was ready to love me."

"Oh, Justin," Linzi said as she hugged him tightly, overwhelmed by his geniune love for her best friend. She couldn't believe that he was willing to wait for Chasity until she realized her love for him. "You are such a wonderful person and I'm so glad that Chasity has you! Daniel put her through pure hell and I was afraid that she'd never let herself love another guy again. She dated a lot but always kept herself aloof. But with you it's different. She's really opened up to you."

"Linz?" Justin asked softly, a little hesitantly. "What did Daniel do to hurt her? It was deeper then him just breaking up with her, wasn't it?" By the expression on Linzi's face, he knew that he was right.

"That's something that Chasity will have to tell you. She's still trying to heal from it and I think that when she finally does tell you what happened, she'll also be able to tell you that she loves you."

"Okay," Justin said, nodding in understanding, as they walked back to the living room. They were so caught up in their own thoughts that they didn't even notice Chasity watching them curiously. Linzi probably told Justin that she'd kill him if he ever hurt me, Chasity thought to herself with a smile. Linzi was so protective of her and she knew that she was lucky to have such a loyal friend. But Linzi didn't have anything to worry about because she, Chasity, was NOT going to get hurt again. Justin would continue being a great friend, and she'd do anything in her power to make sure that they didn't become anything more.