Disclaimer: If you are under the age of 18, don't read any further. If you are offended by stories containing homosexual themes, this probably isn't for you either. I have no personal knowledge of the sexual preferences of the individuals discussed in this story. It's fiction, pure and simple.
See, I told you I'd post more often....Hope you guys enjoy.
CHAPTER 15
It was nearing 6:00 when you decided to wake Justin. The two of you had talked briefly when you had returned to the hotel, but Justin had slept most of the afternoon. Tonight's party was and event you could do without, but Justin was insisting that you go with him. Although you felt very comfortable around the guys, the idea of spending an evening with people you didn't know was not something you were looking forward to, especially when you and Justin could not be together. This was a high profile event and the press would be out in full force. Although they were not allowed inside the facility, they would be anxiously waiting for Justin to arrive with Britney on his arm. It was all part of the game. A game you hated, but knew of its necessity.
You sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Justin's back gently.
"Hey, I hate to do this, but you really need to wake up," you whispered softly. "No way am I letting you be late for this meeting with Johnny."
He rolled over rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked sleepily.
"A little after 6:00, but I figured if you woke up now you could take your time and have a little something to eat," you explained. "And you need to call Britney. She wanted to know what time you guys were planning on leaving."
Justin rolled his eyes. "We'll leave when Johnny is done chewing my ass. If he had just given me a chance to explain, we wouldn't be having this stupid meeting. All he ever does lately is yell. I'm sick of it!"
You knew if Justin went into the meeting in the frame of mind he was in now, all hell would break loose. "Listen, Johnny has your best interest in mind. From what he saw, that was a pretty bold move today."
"He should know me better than that" he argued. "I had it covered."
"Maybe so, but it was still pretty bold and you should be able to understand where he's coming from. There's a lot at stake."
"I'm tired of having my life controlled by other people!" he said loudly. "I don't need his permission for everything I do! Just like tonight, I don't want Britney as my 'date', and I plan on telling him that. After the Academy Awards, I'm on my own!"
You had seen this coming. Justin was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the rumors of him and women that he had no interest in. Although Britney was the most common of the love interests, Justin had also been romantically linked with Christina, Kerri Russell, Tatiana Ali, and with the news of his upcoming video with Madonna, rumors had circled about their relationship as well.
"Justin, you know why those 'dates' are necessary. It's for your protection."
"I don't need protection," he yelled. "What the hell is wrong with me going to all these events alone? Why do I have to have a girl with me?"
You leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Because it's what the public wants Justin."
"Fuck the public, I'm in love with you and I'm tired of pretending I'm not."
You were getting no where with him and you knew when to call it quits. He woke up in a bad mood and it was only getting worse. The two of you could discuss this at another time, when he was more willing to listen to reason.
"Ok, if that's how you feel, then you should tell him, but not tonight. You guys should be celebrating."
"Yeah, you're right. I'll wait until the timing is better. If I piss him off now, it will ruin the night for everyone."
You smiled at him "Hey, your catching on. Now go hit the shower. Lord knows how long it will take you to get dressed."
It was 5 minutes to 8:00 when you knocked on Johnny's door. As he opened the door it was apparent that his demeanor had not improved over the course of the afternoon.
"Find a place to sit down. You two are the last to get here as usual," he snapped.
Justin looked at his watch making sure Johnny realized the time.
"Don't start with me Justin, I didn't say you were late. I said you were the last ones to arrive."
Justin exhaled loudly, but said nothing as you both found a spot to sit.
"I hope you guys are listening, because this is the last time I'm gonna discuss this."
"Geez, I hope so" Justin said under his breath.
His comment infuriated Johnny. "Dammit, Justin what the hell has gotten into you! If you think I'm gonna put up with this attitude while we're on tour you have another thing coming."
"My attitude" Justin yelled "We wouldn't even be having this discussion if you would have taken 5 minutes to listen to me this afternoon! All you ever do is yell at us, and if they want to sit here and listen to it they can, but I'm outta here!"
Justin stood to leave and as he neared the door, Johnny grabbed him by his arm. You and Chris immediately jumped to your feet and placed yourselves between the two of them. Thankfully, you had pushed Justin back far enough that his swing missed Johnny entirely. Lance, JC and Joey had quickly grabbed Johnny and the two were at opposite ends of the room.
You could see the anger in Johnny's eyes. "I want to talk to Justin! Alone!"
"No way!" Chris snapped back. "We're all in this together and we're not leaving this room until it's worked out. Johnny, you had your say this afternoon. You never even gave us a chance to talk, especially Justin. He may be 19, but he is a vital part of this group. You need to hear him out."
"Fair enough" Johnny conceded. "Go ahead Justin, explain to me why you felt it was necessary to wink at your boyfriend in front of millions of TV viewers."
"Johnny, I'm not stupid!" he said bitterly. "I talked to Carson ahead of time and told him what I planned to do. I said that as I walked up the aisle I would stop and sing to some of the fans. Since the camera was behind me, it would capture the look on their faces. It would be perfect for publicity, and with the camera at my back, no one would see my face. No one ever saw me wink at Gary. I made sure of that."
Johnny voice had softened now. "Son, there is more than one camera out there, and at any time they could have switched views. I watched the replay, and you're right. No one saw you, but you took a huge risk. Not just with your career, but with the career of your friends. Not to mention the impact on yours and Gary's personal lives."
He paused briefly and watched Justin's reaction. Justin hung his head as Johnny's words hit home. Johnny walked slowly towards him. "Come here, son." Justin met him halfway and he buried his head in Johnny chest while Johnny's large frame held him close.
"You have no idea what you mean to me, Justin" he said softly as he kissed the top of Justin's head. "I only wants what's best for you and the other guys and I'll work with you any way I can. I know how much Gary means to you, but you can't go on free-lancing things. You have to run them by me first. Do you understand?"
It was barely audible but you could hear Justin say "Yes, sir."
Johnny spoke to the rest of you with Justin still in his arms. "I don't know what has happened over the past few months. Maybe it was the lawsuit and all the pressure of the new CD. Maybe I've pushed you guys harder than I should have, or maybe you guys have just been real butts lately. I don't know what it is, but we need to get back to being the family that we were before. And it needs to start tonight. Right now. So if any of you have something to say, get it off your chest now."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Then Chris spoke up.
"Johnny, you're right. I think it is a combination of everything. We're all to blame. I know we have done some things lately that we haven't run by you and we should have. That won't happen any more."
"Great" Johnny said enthusiastically. "I think communication is the key. You guys tell me what you want and I'll tell you what I expect. Do we have a deal?"
Everyone agreed. Johnny took his hand and raised Justin's head so that they were looking straight into each other's eyes. "You with me?" he asked. Justin nodded in agreement. "Good" he said as he tousled Justin's curls. "Now, let's go to this party and enjoy ourselves. The Academy Awards are Sunday and after that it's back to Orlando and back to work. We have a tour to get ready for."
As the guys filtered out of the room, Justin stayed back to speak to Johnny. "I'm sorry."
"It's behind us Justin" Johnny assured him. "Let's not discuss it again."
Lance burst back into the room. "Johnny, since we promised to run things by you first, what's the rule on the champagne tonight? And of course, I'm not asking for myself. JC wants to know."
Johnny chuckled. "Of course Lance, I'm sure your not interested at all, but please let JC know. It's your night. Use some common sense and enjoy yourselves."
He turned and looked at Justin. "As far as your concerned, it's up to Mark. Just do what he tells you, ok?"
"You got it," he said with a smile. As Justin left the room Johnny flashed back to the first time he had met the boys. Young, innocent and no business savvy whatsoever. What a difference 4 years had made.
You were nervous as the limo neared the facility for the night's event. You remembered looking over the guest list and realizing that the industries biggest and best would be in attendance. Reaching over, you squeezed Justin's hand hoping that somehow his touch would settle your nerves.
"Gary, relax" he said in a comforting tone. "This is supposed to be fun. It's nothing more that a bunch of friends getting together."
"Justin, I don't know any of these people" you tired to explain. "I'm gonna feel out of place."
Britney had over hear your comments "Gary, we're not gonna let that happen. You want to be with Justin and I want to spend some time with Joey, so the four of us can hang out together." She giggled. "No one has to know who we're with. You don't mind, do you Joey?" she asked.
"Hhhmm, let me think about this." "I get to spend the evening with the most beautiful girl in the world and you're asking me if I mind? I think I'll be able to get through it, trust me."
Britney leaned over and kissed Joey quickly on the cheek. "Joey, that was so sweet, thank you."
Joey just smiled and said nothing. This was a totally different Joey than you were used to seeing. He seemed shy, almost reserved. Seems there was a side to him you hadn't seen before and evidently Britney brought it out.
"OK folks, showtime!" Justin said as the limo pulled to a stop. He leaned over to you and whispered. "This will just take a few minutes. I guess we need to let the press have some fun."
You nodded. "Joey and I will meet you inside."
Chris and Danni were the first to exit the limo amid hundreds of flashing lights. It had always struck you as odd how the fans loved Danni. Not that she didn't deserve it, but she had a rapport with them that was very unusual for the girlfriend of a celebrity. Perhaps it was because of the security she had in her relationship with Chris. She never saw any of them as a threat, just as fans of her boyfriend and if they wanted pictures or an autograph from him she was willing to help if she could. They saw her as an ally.
Next, you and Joey stepped out and another round of flashes lit the New York night. They blinded you, but Joey didn't even seem to notice. Evidently, as time goes on you become accustomed to such things, but for tonight you were having a hard time seeing.
Finally, the press had their moment. Justin stepped out of the limo and reached back to take Britney's hand. As she stepped out, she flashed her flawless smile and gazed lovingly into Justin's eyes. Instead of hurrying in to the club, they paused at the entrance waving to their excited fans. No one would ever guess that it was an act as they looked very much like a young couple in love.
"Hey Brit, do you want to have some fun with this?" Justin asked her quietly.
She bit her lower lip not knowing exactly what his devious plot he had concocted. "Sure, what did you have in mind?"
"Just play along, OK?" He never really gave her time to answer, but pulled her close to him, brought his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. The crowd went wild and Justin and Britney did their best to refrain from laughing.
Britney looked at him and giggled. "They are gonna be so upset when we break up."
"I know," he said with at grin. "I sure am gonna miss you sweetie."
They gave the crowd on last wave and headed into the club.
You and Joey had heard the commotion, but Britney and Justin were laughing so hard that it was difficult to understand exactly what had happened.
"He kissed me." Britney said with tears rolling down her cheek "and they thought he meant it."
"Justin kissed you?" you said in a shocked voice. "Oh, I'm sorry I missed that."
"Gary, it was priceless." Justin said through his laughter. "And trust me you won't miss it. I can pretty much guarantee we'll see a picture of it real soon."
Joey wrapped his arm around Britney. "So, is he a good kisser?" he asked jokingly.
"Eeewww, you'd need to ask Gary," she said shaking her head. "It was kinda like kissing my brother. I wasn't really paying attention to technique."
Everyone laughed except for Justin who had a pretend look of hurt on his face. "Gee thanks, Brit."
"Don't worry about it, J" you said in a low voice. "I think you got great technique." The four of you chuckled one last time and decided it was time to mingle.
The evening had turned out far better than you could have imagined. Early on, Justin, Joey and Britney had stayed close by as they promised, but after a few hours you felt very comfortable and had no problem mingling on your own as Justin and the rest of the guys posed for some shots by the Jive photographers.
It was nearly 4:00 am when the party broke up and the long night of activity showed in Justin's eyes. The headache was back and the Motrin Mark had given him had little effect.
The four of you crawled in the limo and Justin immediately rested his head on you shoulder.
"I pity the person that wakes me up in the morning," he said in a sleepy voice.
You ran your fingers across his cheek "No one's gonna wake you up. You guys are off until the Academy Awards on Sunday. You can sleep as late as you want."
A huge grin covered Justin's face. "Sounds great!" Then he asked, "You don't have to get up early for anything do you?"
"Nope, I've done everything I can until I see you guys actually rehearse the show, so it looks like it's just you and me until Sunday. Is that Ok with you?"
His eyes sparkled. "Yeah, I think I can handle that"
"Well, I'm not sleeping in" Joey exclaimed. "There's too much to do"
"I agree" Britney added. "Tomorrow is a major shopping day!" She smiled at Joey. "I sure would like to have some company. Do you have any plans?"
He pulled her closer and she snuggled next to him as he answered her "I do now."
TBC
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