Part 4 - Making the Call.
It was two nights later at a stop over in some backwater town that Justin thought about Brandon again. Okay, he had thought about not much else since the night of his birthday, but this was the first night that he had seriously thought about calling him.
Justin held the business card in his hand and was turning it over and over as if he expected the writing or numbers to change. He couldn't decide whether he should call Brandon or not. There was a part of him that desperately wanted to call, even if it was just to talk about how much he had liked the new material or to see how Brandon was doing, but there was another part, that wanted to tear the card up and protect himself from getting hurt again.
Justin didn't know which half of his soul to listen to.
Justin stared at the peeling paint on his motel room wall and decided there was only one way to decide.
Taking a quarter from his pocket he flipped it over, catching it on the back of his hand and placing his other hand over it.
Heads - He'd call Brandon.
Tails - He'd forget about it and move on with his life.
Justin paused for a moment, knowing that this was all down to one coin toss. He lifted his hand and revealed a head.
Justin sighed.
So, it was decided.
He would call Brandon.
Justin reached for his cell phone and pressed *7. Brandon's number already programmed in for when he had first wanted to call. The number had nothing to do with Brandon's place in his life, he didn't think that he was somehow less important than the other people but this was a number he had yet to use that often. The other six numbers were reserved for the boys and his Mom.
Maybe there would be a day when Brandon would be *1 on his phone.
Justin smiled.
It would depend on how well this call went.
"Hello?" A female voice answered.
Justin took a deep breath and wondered if he was doing the right thing. It was too late to back out now.
"Hi, I'm looking for Brandon." Justin said.
"Who's calling please?" The voice asked.
"It's..." Justin wondered if he should give his real name. If this was a fan, or worse, a journalist that had somehow gotten Brandon's phone he could get found out - or maybe he was just being paranoid. "It's Justin." Keep to first names, there were probably a million Justins in the world. No one would link it to him.
"Oh, Hi." The voice said, as if she was surprised to hear from him. "Brandon's in the studio at the moment. I'll just get him..."
"Wait..." Justin said, not wanting to disturb the artist in the studio, he knew that he would not want to be disturbed if it were him, but before he could finish she was gone.
A few moments later there was a slight muffled sound as the phone was moved and he heard a slightly breathless response.
"Hey." Brandon said. "What's up?"
"I..." Justin suddenly realised he hadn't planned out anything to say. It felt really awkward to talk to a practical stranger, which was what Brandon was. "I'm just calling for a chat, really. I didn't mean to disturb you but...the girl who answered your phone had gone to get you before I could stop her."
"Tina's like that." Brandon replied.
Justin found himself jealously wondering who Tina was and what she was doing with Brandon.
"PA's always are." He added and Justin let out a small sigh. This did not escape Brandon's notice and he laughed softly. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Tina is a small perky brunette- completely not my type."
Justin blushed slightly as he realised that he was the opposite to that, obviously meaning that he was Brandon's type. He wasn't sure if he was all that comfortable with flirting just yet so he deflected the conversation to other things.
"You're back in the studio already?" Justin asked. "I thought that you were done with the album."
"I am." Brandon said. "I'm in here working on some personal stuff." He didn't elaborate and Justin realised that it might be better not to ask. If Brandon was anything like Josh was with his music he was being secretive for a reason and would elaborate only when he wanted. As a musician and more recently a songwriter as well Justin respected that.
"So, what else have you been up to?" Justin asked. "I've seen a few things in the press about the new album..."
Brandon spoke about the publicity tour and the few interviews that he had done, exchanging stories with Justin about stupid questions they got asked, and asking about Justin's own promotions. They spoke for a good few hours building an easy rapport and discovering new things about each other.
When he hung up late that night Justin felt a lot more comfortable about seeing Brandon or speaking to him again. He had promised to call again and knew that next time it would not be so hard because he knew what to expect now. He wasn't quite ready to think about a relationship with Brandon beyond the friendship that they were starting to build but it was a definite start and something that Justin looked forward to developing. He had lacked having someone in his life for a while now and he hoped that Brandon would fill that space.
It was nice to have someone to just talk to about how your day had been and to hear about their day.
Maybe he would call Brandon tomorrow night...
Over the next few weeks Justin spent a lot of time talking with Brandon on the phone. They spent more time talking to each other than anyone else and Justin realised that he was telling Brandon things that he had not even shared with the boys. Maybe it was because they had shared something a while ago or maybe it was because Justin finally felt as if there was someone out there that understood him but he felt as if he and Brandon were closer than he had ever been with anyone else. Brandon already knew that he was bisexual which was something Justin had not shared with anyone else and it seemed easier to tell him other things as well.
It was nice to have a friend that was just there for him too. A secret friend. No one asked him who he was disappearing off to call at all hours and Justin didn't tell them. He didn't think that they would believe him even if he did tell the truth.
There was also the added benefit that as Justin got to know Brandon better he also seemed to pick up an easy camaraderie with Maya. Brandon's little sister, who appeared to spend a lot of her time with her brother, had gotten over her teenage obsession with Justin and instead wanted to know him as Brandon's friend. She obviously knew more than she let on about what had occurred between the two of them but did not mention it. Justin found that he was speaking to her less frequently but was still talking to her.
Despite the friendships that he was building with the family he never expected to find one of them turn up on tour.
They were in Boston, not exactly the most glamorous city but one that justified a visit, and they were doing a sound check for that evening's concert when he heard the scuffle. Justin knew that the local security could sometimes be a little overzealous and as such tried to keep an ear out for their fans. It didn't help that there were some girls that would try to get backstage without the relevant passes but he didn't want even those breaking the rules to get hurt.
"You okay Jup?" Josh asked as he saw Justin flinch slightly.
"Yeah." Justin said, already making his way off the stage and towards the back of the theatre where the shouting was coming from. "Lonnie..."
"I'm on it, Justin." The large security man said, already calling for the rest of Sexual Chocolate to find some back up.
Justin, being faster and fitter, made it to the entrance more quickly.
"Look, I have the passes. You didn't even bother to read them." The girl said. "You may not know who I am but that doesn't mean that I don't have access to the stadium."
"You can't go in there." One of the local guards said. "It's a restricted area."
"What seems to be the problem here?" Lonnie said, walking up behind Justin and automatically taking control of the situation. There was something about the large, black man's presence that meant even the large Bostonians deferred to him.
"This girl says that she has access to the arena but it's obvious that she is a fan just trying to get in." One of the two guards posted on the door said.
Lonnie clearly took a moment to look the girl over, he took in the jeans and tee-shirt and could see how they could draw that conclusion but a much closer inspection showed a few other traits that they may not have picked up on. Her clothes were well tailored and obviously, she seemed a little older than the average 14 year old groupie, and she wasn't screaming or hysterical.
"Can I see some ID?" Lonnie asked her.
The girl, barely looking up, handed over her wallet, including some relevant passes to the arena area. Lonnie gave them a cursory glance and realised that they were indeed real but were not relevant to the Nsync visit.
"These get you into the viewing gallery." Lonnie said. "But the arena proper is in use at the moment, you'll have to come back at another time."
"Look... I'm here to see Justin."
"She's okay Lonnie." Justin said from behind his bodyguard. "She's a friend."
Lonnie turned to look at Justin and wondered what the boy was up to. He knew that Justin had a soft spot for some of the fans and that since his split with Britney he had been seeing someone else but he didn't think that it could be this girl. She seemed a little young even for Justin. Still, it was not his job to judge his charges only to protect them.
"Justin, if you can tell me her name then I'll let her by." Lonnie said, wanting proof that she was really a friend of Justin's and not just some young girl that he had seen and then decided that he fancied.
"It's Maya." Justin said. "Maya Mattherson." He said with a small smile at Maya.
Justin had asked her once how she dealt with being known as Brandon Taylor's sister and she had responded that no one put the pair of them together. She had taken their father's name but Brandon refused to do so, just as their father had refused to acknowledge his existence until Maya was already five years old.
Lonnie sighed. He knew that this would probably end in disaster but he was not there to judge and he could only help Justin clear up the mess afterwards.
"I assume that arrangements will have to be made to accommodate her." Lonnie said.
"I'll stay with Justin." Maya replied sweetly.
Lonnie frowned.
"Can you get a room for her?" Justin asked softly.
Lonnie nodded tersely. Well, at least one of them was thinking with their head, even if she ended up staying with Justin she would need a room for appearances sake. He just hoped that no one else found out. If the story broke that Justin was sleeping with a younger woman then whether she was a fan, or whether it was consensual or not, would not count Justin's career would be over and with it Lonnie's own.
This girl could spell trouble and Lonnie knew that was bad for business. He would keep a close eye on her and hope that whatever happened none of this ever got out.
Justin's first reaction was to ask her what the hell she was doing there. His second reaction was to check if Brandon was with her, and when he realised that he was not he reverted to wondering what the heck she was doing there. He was about to ask when he heard footfalls behind him and remembered that they were not alone.
"Yo, Justin, put the girl down and lets get back to work." Chris called from a few feet away. He must be close enough to see that Justin was not alone but not close enough to see Maya herself.
"I've got to go." Justin said. "We've got a sound check, we have to..." He trailed off as Maya held up her hands.
"Justin, I've been on tour before, I know what a soundcheck is." She said bluntly. "Go, check your levels and stuff, I'll stay right here and wait for you." She took a seat, as if to emphasise that she was not going anywhere and Justin took one last look before jogging back towards the stage.
"Who's that?" Lance asked into his mike as Justin took the steps two at a time to rejoin them.
"A friend." Justin said firmly, as if daring them to question him.
No one did.
They continued with the sound check and it was almost as if Maya had not interrupted them. Only Justin was aware of the extra eyes that were watching them that afternoon.
When they were finished only a low applause that was not usually there told them that Justin's friend was still watching. As she made her way towards the stage, bypassing the security as if they were nothing, and straight up to Justin.
"You were great." She said with a smile.
"Thanks." Justin said, wiping the sweat from his brow with the towel that Josh handed him. "We've got a few hours off before the real thing. You want to grab a bite to eat?"
"Sure." Maya said, knowing that it was less of a question and more of a suggestion. Justin wanted to steer her away from his friends and colleagues. She supposed that this was because they didn't know about Brandon and Justin's friendship. She was not about to argue with him.
"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Chris asked with a small smirk, sensing that Justin was a little shy about her.
Maya put on the mask that she was used to adopting around people that thought she was innocent and naive and smiled sweetly.
Justin sighed, realising that he would have to make introductions and that it was best to get it our of the way or else he would face more of a grilling when the five of them were alone later.
"Guys, this is Maya Mattherson. She's a friend of mine." Justin said. "Maya, this is Josh, James, Joey and Chris." Justin said.
"Hi." Maya said, acknowledging them all with a shy flirtatious smile. "I'm sure we'll see a lot more of each other later, but I'd like a little time alone with Justin now."
Justin couldn't hide the blush, despite the fact that there was nothing going on between then, because she was even implying it. He knew that Maya was far too young for him and that Brandon would likely kill any man that laid a hand on his little sister, but it seemed that Maya had forgotten that fact.
The other guys seemed to buy that they wanted some time alone and let them go off together. Perhaps they were just relieved that Justin was finally getting back out on the dating scene after his break up with Britney.
Justin led Maya away from the stage area and continued walking until he found an empty room. She had a lot of explaining to do and he wanted her to start with why she was there. They would need some privacy for this because it could end up being a long conversation and if they were caught he could just say that they were getting the time alone that she had hinted at.
As soon as they were inside the empty dressing room Justin started in on her.
"Do you want to tell me what the hell you are doing here?" Justin asked. "I'm pretty sure that you should be with Brandon and he certainly didn't mention anything about you coming to see me."
"He thinks that I'm working on another modelling assignment." She said.
Maya had done a few jobs more recently as she grew into her looks and became the stunner that her parentage had promised she would be. It was important to both Maya and Brandon that she had her own career and was not just known for being Brandon Taylor's sister so he encouraged her to pursue her interests in modelling despite her young age. To be honest Justin thought that Brandon would do anything if it made Maya happy.
"I came by to see you."
"Why?" Justin asked.
"I wanted to spend some time with the man that has captured my brother's heart." She said plainly. "And I wanted to take this chance to invite you out to Las Vegas next month for Brandon's birthday."
"We're on tour..." Justin said, trying to get out of it because he wasn't sure he was ready to make the next step in his relationship with Brandon.
"I know." Maya replied with a small smile. "You're in Los Angeles that week, and you even have a few days off to spend there."
"You planned this?" Justin asked, although the question was rhetorical. It was obvious that she had planned it that way.
"Brandon is playing eight shows Las Vegas for a fortnight over his birthday." She replied. "The record company think that this will be a good way to ease him back into the touring circuit because they'll be small concerts for a select crowd."
"And you confirmed the booking for him, didn't you?" Justin asked knowingly. "You made sure that he accepted so he would be there for his birthday."
He knew that Maya worked in a similar role to Sharon Osbourne, dealing with some of the more managerial side of her brother's career. Despite her own blossoming career she still took an interest in his. She had been helping out since she was 16 and on the road. Brandon had still been in recovery for his addictions and there was nothing more likely to keep you sober than taking your kid sister on tour. She had dropped out of High School that year too in favour of home schooling and this way Brandon could make sure that she at least did do a few hours of tutoring a day. Then when Brandon had retired she had stayed with him while he worked in the studio and taken over the limited things he had needed a manager for.
"Brandon doesn't normally celebrate his birthday, but this is a big one and I wanted him to celebrate this year. If he knows that you're coming he won't mind so much that I've sprung a surprise party." Maya said.
"You know that most people would hate the idea of setting their brother up with another man." Justin said.
"I'm not most people." Maya replied. It was true. Her unconventional upbringing had lead to Maya being less than normal. "I want B to be happy. If that means that he is with you then so be it."
"Okay." Justin said. "I'll see if I can get some time off to take a side trip to Vegas. Let me know the dates."
Maya smiled widely and reached for her bag. Justin knew that she had known he would say Yes but he didn't mind so much. He wanted Brandon to be happy too and he hoped that by being there he could make Brandon happy.
As she watched the show from the wings later that night Maya could see some of what her brother saw in Justin. Of course there was his looks, she had noticed those immediately, but it would take more than that to capture her brother's fickle heart. What she saw on stage was the presence and charisma that Justin had, almost like an aura that surrounded him, and belied his young age.
There was also someone else that caught her eye. Maya had always had a soft spot for Nsync and watching them live was something she had never experienced. Being this close reminded her of her teenage crush and she wondered if she could talk Justin into letting her stay just a little longer. She would love to be able to get to know the rest of the band a little better. Especially one of them. Maya blushed at the thought and then laughed at her own stupidity. As if he would ever go for someone like her anyway.
When Justin came off stage he was surprised to hear that she had already gone back to the hotel. He had thought that Maya would hang around at least long enough to meet the others.
"Where's your girlfriend, Jup?" Chris asked as they headed to the waiting bus. "Did the show run past her bedtime?"
The others laughed at Chris' joke. Justin frowned. He hadn't said that Maya was his girlfriend but they had jumped to the conclusion anyway.
"At least he has a girlfriend." Josh retorted, wanting to defend his friend.
The others laughed when Chris blushed.
"She's not my girlfriend." Justin said a little too late to be believed.
"Sure thing, Justin." Chris said, rolling his eyes. Like anyone would have a girl that hot staying over and just be her friend.
Justin knew that further protestation was futile. They would only take it as further evidence that he had something to hide. Maybe it was better to just let them think that she was his girlfriend. After all, it was not as if they were likely to believe the truth.
They got back to the hotel at around ten but were all still hyped up from being on stage. It was one of the few nights that they were actually staying in a hotel and rather than making the use of the beds that they had they decided to go out.
"You want to bring Maya?" Joey asked, hoping that he could get to meet the girl that Justin claimed was just a friend. If she was truly not with Justin then that made her fair game.
"I'll ask." Justin said as he slid the key into the lock. "Meet you guys out here in twenty?" He asked.
"Better make it thirty." Joey replied. "Josh has to do his hair."
Justin laughed and entered his room, surprised to find that Maya was there. He had asked Lonnie to get her a room and assumed that she would be in it.
"I hope that you don't mind. I talked your security guy into letting me in." Maya said with a small smile. "I wasn't snooping...well, not much."
Justin rolled his eyes and ignored the comment.
"Me and the guys are going out to a club if you want to join us." He said. "We're still a little wired from the concert and rumour has it that there is a hot party in town."
"You're in a city, Justin." She replied. "There is always a hot party if you know the right people."
"You want to come?" Justin pushed. "We're leaving in about twenty minutes."
"Point me in the direction of my bags and give me ten minutes to get ready." She replied. Justin's eyebrow rose, wondering how any girl needed only ten minutes to get ready. Maya shook her head. "Justin, we're not all divas like Bitchy Spears. I don't need a lot of make-up and it takes next to no time to brush out my hair."
"I'll see you in the corridor in twenty minutes." Justin replied.
She nodded and left, already planning what she was going to wear.
Sure enough twenty minutes later she was out in the corridor with Joey, Chris and Lance waiting for Justin and Josh. When Justin came out of his room his jaw dropped at what she was wearing. Tight black leather pants were topped off with a baby tee under her PVC jacket. The tee sported the words "Jail Bait" and with the high pony tail, loop earrings and a little too much make-up he was inclined to agree.
"You can't go out like that." He gawped, raising a laugh from her when he did so.
"I think she looks great." Joey said.
"See." Justin said, as if this proved his point.
Joey frowned for a moment.
"Hey!"
"Justin, you're not my boyfriend or my father so don't try telling me how to dress. I'm going out with five attractive men and probably half a dozen security guards, it is not as if I am going to get approached, and even if I did I can look after myself." Maya defended. Justin supposed that when he looked at it like that she did have a point but he still felt as if he had some responsibility to protect her.
"If Brit wore something like that you wouldn't have commented." Joey countered. Maya nodded, although she was not sure if that was exactly what she wanted Justin thinking about.
"Okay, but stick close to us." Justin said. Maya sighed. "It's not you that I don't trust, it's all the other guys out there."
"Don't worry Jup, we'll all keep an eye on her." Joey said as he walked ahead, following Maya closely.
Justin hung back for a moment and watched as his friend tried to make a play for Maya.
"That's what I am afraid of."
The six of them, along with the extended entourage of security and their tour manager, ended up at a club opening in the trendier area of the city. There were less students here and more upwardly mobile businessmen and women hoping to catch them. In some ways Maya felt more out of place here than she would have done around students. It didn't help that she had been ID'd on the door and now sported a stamp on her hand that identified her as old enough to dance but not old enough to drink. She wasn't a big fan of alcohol anyway, having seen what it did to her brother, but it would have been nice to have the choice.
It would have helped to have a few drinks inside her as she was forced to watch Joey scmoozing his way around the dancefloor and Justin and Josh fighting off the onslaughts of twenty-something women fawning over them. Maya was pretty sure that most of them were old enough to know better. She was just glad that Brandon was not there to see it. While the relationship between Justin and her brother remained undefined she knew that they were both hopeful for something more than the friendship and camaraderie that they currently shared and seeing all these women throw themselves at Justin would be hard for Brandon.
Maya took a sip of her coke and wondered if she would have been better off staying at the hotel instead of having to see this.
"It's not intentional." A voice said to her as she continued to watch some girl that was rubbing provocatively against Justin. "He doesn't even know that he is doing it."
Maya turned to see Lance at her side. She smiled in response before turning her attention back to Justin.
"Women just see Justin and it's like they have to touch him, as if they are checking he is real." Lance continued, as if he still needed to persuade her that this was innocent.
Maya appreciated the effort but she didn't worry too much that Justin was actually enjoying himself with the girls. She was pretty sure that he was a one woman or one man guy and that once he had committed to someone that was it. Okay there was no real commitment between her brother and Justin but she was almost certain that this was only because neither one had voiced the deep feelings that they shared.
"Yeah, she's just checking if his ass is real." Maya joked as the girl groped Justin and tried to move her hands around the front to check out his package. The hands were met with a laughing smile from Justin who shook his head and lifted her hands away from his body. "And she had to make sure that he was a real man."
Lance smiled, seeing that she was making a joke.
"I'm sorry." Lance apologised. "It used to really bug Britney when other girls came on to him. She thought that Justin was going to cheat on her with every other girl he met."
"That's ironic." Maya replied. "Didn't she cheat on him instead?"
"Yes, and with his best friend." Lance said. "What makes it worse is that Wade was probably the only person that knew exactly what Justin was going through with Britney. I don't think Justin has ever really forgiven either of them."
"Yeah." Maya said, hoping that for Brandon's sake Justin was not as upset about Britney as Lance seemed to indicate. The last thing that Brandon needed was for this to be just a rebound fling.
"Sorry." Lance said, misunderstanding her lacklustre response. "I shouldn't mention the ex in front of the new girlfriend."
"Don't worry about it. Justin and I are just friends." Maya answered honestly.
Lance shook his head.
"I've seen Justin with his friends, he doesn't get that protective about his friends. He certainly doesn't warn Joey to keep his hands off someone that is just a friend." Lance said. "Although the 'just friends' line is always a good one to use if someone you don't trust asks you."
Maya would have laughed at Lance giving her media training but she didn't want to hurt his feelings when he clearly thought that he knew best. She couldn't explain that Justin was more like a brother to her than a boyfriend because it would mean having to explain Justin was seeing her real brother and she couldn't tell Lance that she understood about the media because that would again out her brother and Justin. It was going to be harder than she thought to stay around Nsync without telling a lot more lies and half truths.
"I'll bear that in mind." Maya said standing up from her position leaning over the balcony. "I think that I'm going to get another drink, did you want anything?" She asked, wanting to be polite.
"I'm good." Lance replied. He watched her pause for a moment, as if deciding what to do and realised that maybe she didn't feel particularly comfortable watching these women all over Justin. He silently cursed the younger man for bringing her out and subjecting her to this when they so easily could have stayed back at the hotel. "I was actually thinking about heading back to the hotel in a minute if you want to go." Lance said. "It'd save you having to wait until the boys are done. I don't really see why they dance for hours at places like this when it is their day job as well but they could be here till dawn if Lonnie lets them."
Maya didn't really want to stay but she wondered if it would be any easier to travel back to the hotel either. She would probably face more questions in the car on the way back. After a moment she decided that returning was probably the better of two evils and nodded.
"Thanks." Maya said. "I am a bit tired, and I can just as easily get a coke from the mini bar in the hotel."
Lance smiled. He knew that she wanted to leave and was only too happy to help. Justin really needed to clean up his act a bit if he was going to keep a hold of her. Maya was obviously a nice girl who didn't deserve to be left behind at the club while Justin partied with his friends. Maybe he should have a word with him in the morning.
"I'll just get security and then we can go." Lance responded.
Maya thanked him with a smile and went to wait by the exit. Maybe coming out to see Justin had been a bad idea after all, she could have just called him to talk about Las Vegas. She hoped that she could get a flight out that night because her being there was going to cause problems that Justin didn't need. If she slipped away that night she would probably leave before any real damage was done or any lies got out of hand. She would return to the hotel and collect her things and then get the first flight out. She could call Justin to finalise arrangements and would see him in Vegas soon.
"Ready to go?" Lance asked her when he came to collect her a moment later.
"Yeah." Maya replied. "I think it's about time I left."
TBC