*Chapter 7: The Agonizing Wait*
Well, he had done it. The mail had been sent. They would now know within a few days, and so would the rest of the world. He still wasn't totally ok with the whole situation. The one he chose had to love him back in order for this to be a done deal. If not, it would be total devastation. He tossed and turned that night, like so many nights before. Thoughts never once leaving his mind.
~*!*~With Jordan~*!*~
She stayed up late on AOL. She was determined to know the answer. He was being far too slow. How could he keep avoiding the issue? He has to decide sometime. So, she wrote him a lengthy email. Letting him know her feelings, but also letting him know it is ok if he chooses to not be with her. They could still be friends.
She also couldn't get Britney out of her mind. Was she serious about wanting to sing with her and her group? Or was this another publicity stunt to make her look good? That was one thing about Britney, you never know how she really felt. Jordan was determined on giving her a chance.
*~*~With Britney~*~*
Britney was now on her way home to see and be with her family. As much as she wanted to be with them, she also wanted desperately to know how Justin felt. She glanced at her watch: 3:30 AM. Well, she'd have to wait until tomorrow or something. Justin was not one to be reckoned with when he hadn't slept much, and if anyone knew that, she definitely did.
She got settled into her bunk, got out her diary, and started writing. She did this often to put down all her thoughts, dreams, and problems on paper, so she wouldn't have to keep it all totally inside. She definitely had enough to write about now. The only question was, would she have enough paper?
*~*~With Jordan~*~*
After Jordan got finished sending her email, she walked over to her bed and slipped off her blue and pink butterfly slippers that perfectly matched her pajamas. She read the clock and as if on cue, she yawned. She layed down and pulled out a book that she had been reading from the bedside stand. She was almost to the last chapter and just HAD to read on. It was one of her favorite hobbies. She started reading and reading...
Then, her mind began to ponder about Justin again. She questioned herself, 'Is it healthy to think about a person so much?' Probably not. Then, she began to think about the MTV awards show with Britney and how that would go over. She was sure there would be huge headlines about it, no matter how it turned out. She only hoped it was for the better, but who knew?...before she knew it, she was asleep.
~*~With Justin~*~
Justin awoke by the sound of Lance getting up. He shared a room with him. As if that wasn't bad enough, he actually had to see his ugly mug every morning...(j/k to all u lance fans out there!! I luv him too!!) Lance walked back out of the bathroom and stumbled back to his bed. Apparently it wasn't time for them to get up yet.
"What time is it?"-Justin mumbled.
Lance jumped, sky high. (lol)-"Geez Justin, You scared me. I didn't know you were awake."-Lance regained his breath as Justin quickly apologized.-"It's ok...and it's 6 in the morning. We don't have to be up for another hour. I'm hittin' it."-Lance said as he gestured toward his bed and got in.
"I don't know if I can sleep. I can't seem to get Jordan or Britney out of my mind. It's driving me crazy."-Justin said, turning on the bedside lamp, and looking at Lance.
Lance slowly lifted his head off the pillow.-"Well Justin, I can't help that. You've told me about this and I told you to just make up your mind."-Lance said as he reached over and shut the lamp off.
Justin reached over, almost immediately and turned it back on.-"I can't NOT think about it. I don't want one of them to hate me. And, I already did make my choice. I sent a letter this afternoon. But, now I'm going to be paranoid about whether they want to get that response from me. What if they've moved on? What if they just don't love me anymore and this whole time of me worrying and making my decision has been over nothing?"-Justin asked, raising his tone every time Lance's eyes would close.
"Geez Justin, you need some sleep. And, you need to let me sleep. I can't help you. You made your decision. Be happy with it and just go on. If the person doesn't feel the same, I'm sure you'll move on. you always have before."-Lance said before turning the lamp off once more.
Justin reached his hand out to turn the light back on...-"If you touch that lamp and turn it on one more time, I'm going to seriously hurt you...I'm going to sleep now. You should do the same."-Lance.
Justin lowered his hand and his head to the bed. He layed on his back and thought about his decision and he knew Lance was right. He knew that all along though. He just couldn't wait for a response. Staring at the ceiling, his normally beautiful, babyblue eyes were now saddened and filled to the brim with tears. His lip trembled, he couldn't help it. This just frustrated him so much. He would be glad when this was over in a few days and everything would go back to normal...or at least better than this...
Justin awoke by the sound of Lance turning the shower on. He was actually able to sleep for the past hour. He still didn't feel up to par. His head felt like it was going to burst. He rolled over and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He was still incredibly tired. Thank God Lance hadn't woken him up. That was the last thought he had before he drifted off for a little nap.
Two minutes into his sleep, the door was slammed open and in came Joey. He was pretty chipper, as usual.
"Wakey, wakey Justy Wusty...."-Joey said as he sat on Lance's bed and looked at Justin, waiting for a response.
"Why couldn't you just let me be? I was trying to get more sleep. I didn't sleep much last night. And, some of us aren't always looking forward to the morning!"-Justin growled as he looked over at Joey.
"Well, ouch....Someone hasn't had their beauty sleep. You look like sh*t run over twice"-Joey chuckled.
"Thanks for the bluntness, now let me sleep."-Justin said, as he let his eyelids drop once more.
"Sorry Justin, but it is 7:25 now and it's the time when everyone has to be up. Plus, Lance just shut off the shower. It's your turn and it may help wake you up."-Joey said as he exited the room and went to harass JC in the next room. He knew he wouldn't be awake.
Lance opened the bathroom door and entered the room, wearing only a towel around his waist.-"Sorry, I forgot my pants," he said, as he crossed the room and got everything he needed.
"Went a little far with the cologne, didn't we?"-Justin mumbled, loud enough for Lance to hear.
"Hey, you aren't a person to preach about that topic. You are a lot worse."-Lance said as he entered the bathroom again, but popped his head back out-"You should get your stuff ready, because it's your turn for the shower next."
"No duh. What do you think, I'm a dumb-ass?"-Justin asked, but there was no response. Justin sat up and picked his clothes out from the duffel bag he had brought to the room with him. When Lance was finished, Justin went and got ready, hoping the shower actually would wake him up.
*~(With Jordan)~*
Bliss was asked to go to their dance studio early this morning. Jordan was woken up by the call from Johnny at 8 AM. He let her call the Kait and Sky to let them know. She did as was told and then got up to get showered and dressed. She was completely showered and ready about 45 minutes later. She had 15 minutes to get to the studio. She walked picked up her keys off the table on her way out, locked her door, and walked down to her car. Due to the rain the night before, everything was really wet, including her seat since she brilliantly had left her window down. She placed a towel, which was in the back seat (in case of emergencies), on the seat, got in her cherry red '76 Mustang, and was on her way.
When she got there, she noticed Skylar, Kait, Darren, and Johnny's vehicles were there. And, there also was a limo. This made her wonder. She got out and as soon as she entered the studio, she heard Johnny's voice.
"Well, it's about time you're here. You're going to learn some new dance steps for the MTV music awards show, with Britney today."-Johnny said, looking at Jordan as she entered.
The other girls looked at themselves, then to Jordan. But, she was being engulfed by a hug, from Britney. Britney was wearing a baby-pink sports bra and a pair of matching pink fitted Adidas shorts with white stripes up the side.
"Oh I know we’re going to have so much fun! This is going to be great! So, are you ready?"-Britney asked Jordan excitedly, not able to stand in one position for very long.
"Someone have their crack this morning?"-Kait whispered to Sky. Both girls cracked up. Their giggles filling the room.
Jordan just ignored their giggles and said, "Yeah sure, let’s get started. I’m ready." She was totally prepared to work her butt off and hoped the girls were ready too.
~)(~With Justin~)(~
Justin got out of the shower and dried himself off (after the shake-it dance…lol w/those of you who know about this). He put his white wifebeater on and his navy Adidas breakaway pants. He looked at himself in the mirror. Joey was right, he did look like h*ll-or worse. His eyes were sunken in and he looked half-dead, he was so pale. There were dark circles around his eyes, but he knew they’d be there. He brushed his teeth and applied his own cologne, not too much though, for his head would not be able to stand it. He had a killer migraine.
"Lance, do you have any Tylenol, Excedrin, Advil, etc?"-Justin asked as he sat on his bed and put on his socks and Adidas sneakers as looked toward Lance, who was busy watching some toons on TV.
"Yeah sure, it’s in my bag. Hold on." Lance said as he leafed through his bag and found the Advil Justin so direly needed.
"Thanks dude."-Justin said as he went to the bathroom once more, got a hotel cup and took the Advil, hoping they’d kick in pretty soon.
He walked back out to the room and saw Lance gathering his stuff to take to the bus. He started to do the same. "So, what are we doing today. I wasn’t really listening to Johnny the other day." He asked as he continued to pack his stuff. ‘Please, no dancing.’
"Well, we’re going to be dancing this morning until lunchtime and then we’re going to look at some new stuff this afternoon that we’re going to record later on."-Lance answered. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah sure."-Justin. ‘My life just can’t get any better…’
All the guys got on the bus and were on their way toward the dance studio. The other guys kept looking at him. "Okay guys, I know I look like sh*t, just let me be. I’ll be alright once we start doing something."
"I think you’ll be dead once we start doing something. You already look like you’re halfway there."-JC said.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Chris and Joey were in the back playing with the Playstation. JC was catching a few more winks of sleep. Lance was looking at some business papers. And, Justin was looking out the window as the bus stopped. ‘Hey, isn’t that Jordan’s car?’ He pushed that thought from his mind, because with the way things had been going it could be the farthest thing from the truth. He was so tired, his mind must be doing tricks on him.
All the guys piled out of the bus and went into the side entrance of the building. They could hear music playing and Darren instructing some people. Then, they heard Britney’s voice.
‘Oh shit’-"Someone hide me"-Justin said to his group-mates.
They walked into the room and everyone was silent as the girls kept dancing and Darren walked away for a second.-"Okay girls, keep going. You’re doing well. Work on the spins again though."
Darren walked over to the guys, who couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Didn’t they hate each other? Was that THE Jordan and Britney who were about to kill each other every time they saw each other, actually looking like they were having fun? What the fuck was going on here? No one could believe their eyes, especially Justin.
(!)*~Next day~*(!)
Jordan awoke by the sound of a horn beeping outside her apartment. It took a minute to dawn on her, but she finally realized what was going on. "Oh shit, I forgot about Britney! Ugh."-She said to herself, speaking as though someone were there with her. She jumped up and ran over to her dresser and picked up her clothes she had set out from the day before and quickly put them on after shedding her pajamas. She quickly slid her feet into her sandals as she rushed into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She threw her toothbrush down on the counter and picked up her hairbrush and started viciously attacking her hair, or so it looked, as she walked out into her room and picked up her duffel bag and walked out her door.
She opened the door to Britney's Jaguar, threw her bag in the backseat, and sat down as Britney pulled out of the parking place.
"I'm sorry for being a little late. I overslept."-Jordan apologized, as she finished her hair by putting it into a high pony-tail.
"That's perfectly fine."-Britney smiled at her. Britney had her light blue shades on. She was dressed in some blue drawstring pants and a white tank top. Jordan had just put on some flared jeans and a navy spaghetti-strapped top. Britney was flipping through radio stations and for one brief second there was NSYNC singing an oldie, but goodie: "I Want You Back". Britney quickly flipped the station--hoping Jordan wouldn't have heard it, so she wouldn't bring up anything.
"How ironic is that? That song is ancient anyway..."-Jordan said, as she gazed out the window at people in the next car. This little boy was making faces at her, which made her laugh. Then, she began to make faces back.
"Well, I'm glad there are no hard feelings between us. I'm glad we get to be friends."-Britney said, then she realized what Jordan was doing and cracked up laughing herself.-"You're crazy."
"There ain't nothing wrong with a little craziness in this world. Someone has to do it."-Jordan replied, sticking her finger up her nose and crossing her eyes, while sticking her tongue out at the kid. The kid saw her tongue-ring and immediately stopped laughing and started to cry.
"Oh No, I made the boy cry. I guess my tongue-ring grossed him out."-Jordan said, sticking her tongue out at Britney.
"Hey, put that thing away before someone gets hurt."-Britney said as they pulled into the parking lot of the mall. Bodyguards had met them there in the limo and one was to stay with her car.-"Did the piercing hurt?"
"No, the piercing didn't hurt. It hurt a little bit afterwards, but after the swelling went down I was ok. And, I could eat again."-Jordan replied, as she got out of the car and walked beside Britney into the mall. Two bodyguards were in front of and behind them. All of a sudden, there was a scream...and the girls were bombarded by tons of screaming fans, especially Britney. They ended up autographing several things for the fans. If they didn't have paper, they'd sign their hand...or something....
All of that was over about an hour and 45 minutes later. Jordan was still shocked that people actually recognized her. It was a bit surreal to her.
"Well, where do you want to go?"-Britney asked, breaking Jordan away from her dreamworld.
"Um, how about American Outfitters, Bon Ton, JCPenney, Old Navy, Gap, and wherever else we feel like next."-Jordan answered, while walking beside Britney. People kept looking from everywhere, but were actually keeping their distance. The bodyguards helped with the situation.
The girls shopped all afternoon and actually had a great time. They were even checking out some hotties in the mall. By the end of the day, they walked out of the mall with 4 or more bags on each arm. They had their bodyguards take their bags to the limo, instead of shoving it all in Britney's car.
"I had a great time today. Thanks for inviting me."-Jordan said as she got out of Britney's car and got her bags from the limo.
"That's quite alright. I had a great time too. I knew we'd become great friends. You have that charisma about you."-Britney complimented, looking out the window toward Jordan.
"Thanks. Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow at the studio."-Jordan said, waving to Britney.
"Bye."-Britney said before leaving.
Jordan walked up to her door and opened it. She walked across the plush, lavender carpet and on into her room. She dropped her bags on her bed and noticed a letter there. She recognized the handwriting as Lance's. 'Why is he writing me?' She wondered as she opened the envelope, while walking out toward the kitchen. She put it down on the table and noticed that Kait had been there to get her mail for her while she was gone-She had left a note. (Dear J., get back to me. We need to talk...Luvs, Kait)...Lance must have snuck in when Kait was there. She opened her fridge and got a bottle of Yoo-hoo out and began to drink it. She grabbed her mail and walked into the living room. She sat down and turned on the lamp before turning on the TV. She flipped to MTV and watched the episode of MTV's Becoming: Britney. That was interesting to say the least. The girl didn't look like Britney very much and you could really tell she was over-exaggerating the lip-synching. At least that's what Jordan thought. She looked down at the pile of mail beside her. There was 2 bills and a letter that didn't have a return address. She was curious about that, but decided to read Lance's letter first. She pulled the letter from the envelope and began to read:
"Hey Spazz (it was her nickname from the guys...), What's up? We've really missed you here. You were a constant part of our life for a while and then *poof*, you're gone. I miss talking to you--You were one of my best friends. We need you back pLeAsE!! At least talk to me....You know my cell and pager numbers. Use 'em....Oh yeah, the guys all wanted to write some stuff to ya also...I hope you respond to this....Bye, Poofoo."
She giggled at his use of nicknames. She really missed them too. She just couldn't go around them if that meant seeing Justin. That would just be too awkward of a situation, or so she thought. She kept reading down the page. Joey's message was really cute:
"Hey Sexy, Yes, I mean you. I miss our long, hot nights together. We need to hook up again sometime. Until then, I'll still be your phat Superman...ttyl..."
Everyone else was just begging her to come back. They all missed her-Well, except Justin it seemed b/c he hadn't left a message. She really missed the guys too, but when would she have the time to see them? Her life was hectic right now.
She picked up the other envelope and opened it, recognizing the writing as Justin's. It was about time...She smiled to herself and then read the letter...well, note:
"Hey, Meet me here: 623 Black Street, Los Angeles....at 12 PM on July 21st....Justin..."
Well, that was really detailed. She recognized that address as a little cafe. He had waited for more than a month. This had better be good.
She yawned once more that night and finally just laid back on the couch, after setting her mail on the stand in front of her. She was now watching MTV's Undressed. She never watched this show before. It didn't interest her, so she just laid there staring at the screen.
She didn't know how much of the show she had been watching, but she began to think about "The Justin Situation" again. She began to think of what she would wear on the 21st. It was only 2 days away. She thought of herself wearing a black skirt, some black platforms, and a green silk shirt...hmm, maybe that was too uh, not right. So, she changed her look to comfortable black flares with a gray Nike shirt. That seemed right. She liked comfort anyway.
She envisioned herself going to the cafe, walking in. She looked over the counter and saw an older woman, with years of stress apparent on her worn-out face. Next to her was a younger girl who was pregnant, but looked like she had as much stress in her life as the older woman. She kept looking around the room, scrutinizing all the people, but none of them being Justin. Until, she looked at one booth. There was a young boy sitting there and he was sitting there beside a young girl. She recognized this exact situation. She was picturing this Cafe as the one that she had met Justin at in Memphis when they were little. The girl had been Britney, for they were going together back then. She remembered that, but then Justin looked over at Jordan, who was still standing there. And this is where the memories ended...and both individuals she was looking at seemed to age to the age they would be now..."What are you looking at Jordan? I love this girl-as I always did...We'll be together forever."-Justin said, as he leaned over and kissed Britney....
Jordan gasped, and was awoken from her sleep.-"Phew...thank God that was just a dream....well, nightmare is more like it." Now, she would be paranoid when she went to the Cafe in just 2 days. 'What if he still loved Britney like he always said he would?? What if he was just meeting me to let me go??...Ugh....men...'--Jordan thought as she walked into her room and collapsed on her bed. She knew she'd be exhausted tomorrow, and little did she know what tomorrow would unveil......
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