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Justin had been right when he had told her that she would get used to flying. Dru had taken many flights this past month...flights
to random states that Justin needed to visit for business. Now that she was used to it, she didn't know why she had thought
airplanes were so scary in the first place. The take offs were still a little nerve racking...but nothing like they had been
before. It really was like riding in a car...except people brought you drinks. Dru liked the little piece of celery they stuck
in the tomato juice. Justin yelled at her when she stole his. She didn't care.
She was a woman of the world now. A
vegetable stealing one at that.
They were on their way to New York. She had been a little reluctant to go. There were
so many dark memories there...so much pain. Justin had told her he was there for her. That she didn't need to worry because
he loved her...
His sincerity had convinced her everything would be okay. She had been packed and out the door in less
than an hour. They would remain in the city for the remainder of the week and then leave for the tour. Justin had interviews,
press conferences, and photoshoots. She would go with him. He had told her that he felt like a moron for being too embarrassed
to be seen with her. He had said that sometimes he didn't think about anybody but himself.
She had already known that.
But she had forgiven him anyway.
"I like the celery." He grumbled. "Stop eatin mine D." He reached out to grab his
stolen piece of celery from her.
She took a huge chomp out of the vegetable. "You're too slow." She smiled.
One
week. That's how long she had to prepare for the tour. One week. That's how long she had until she saw Danny again. She was
counting down the days. He had left LA weeks ago. His job forced him to. It had been a tearful goodbye, but he promised to
call her. Dru didn't care about a phonecall. She needed him there with her...he filled the gap in her soul...
She also
feared that if Danny happened to call the cellphone Justin had purchased for her...Justin would definitely find out about
her secret. No, she still hadn't mustered up the strength to talk to him about her long lost companion. Part of her longed
to...but the other part...the forever protective part refused to let her do so.
"I was going to get you ice cream when
we got off the plane." Justin sighed. "But...you just ruined that for yourself."
"Justin!" She whined, shoving the
last of the celery in her mouth. "But why?"
"Vegetable theives don't deserve ice cream." He winked.
She kissed
him. "Silly." She whispered.
He had found her crying the day he had returned from the city. She hadn't meant for that
to happen...but she hadn't been able to help it. She wanted so badly to be perfect for him...to be the only one he wanted
to love. It had nearly pushed her to the edge. She had confessed this all to him...he had cried. She still didn't know why.
Justin
was doing better. He was finally taking her feelings into consideration. Dru found that this was the first time she had seen
Justin acting like...well...a man. Before he had seemed a little childish...spoiled. Now, he asked how she was...instead of
complaining about himself...or things she wasn't comprehending properly. There had been a few more romantic dinners...a few
more slow dances...and a dozen more romantic nights.
He had even given her a few more opportunities to dance with him
at his rehersals. That was the best part. She found herself impressing everybody in the room each time. There was no question
about it...
She was a dancer.
She slightly tightened her grip on the arm of the chair as she felt the plane
begin to descend.
"We gotta book when we land." Justin said, fastening his seatbelt. "Christina is meeting up with
me at the hotel. We have interviews for the next eight hours."
Her eyes widened. "C-Christina?" She stuttered.
He
chuckled. "Yeah, Christina. You alright D? You sick or somethin'?"
She was trying to hide her smile, but it was nearly
impossible. Please let Danny be with her..."I'm fine." She giggled.
"Was that tomato juice spiked" He asked, picking
up her glass and smelling it. "No..." he shook his head. "Couldn't be that."
The plane made contact with the runway.
Dru looked out the window. The morning sun was shining down on the city. She shuddered. The city had once been a cold, and
heartless place. Dru had never experienced it like this...arriving...having a place to go... She felt his hand on her back.
"D."
He whispered. "You scared? This is your first time back since...well...you know."
She met his gaze. He cared...he cared
more than he had in the past. "I have you to get me through Justin."
He kissed her. "Always baby."
**********************
It
was the same hotel she had stayed in the first time she had met her boyfriend. Come to think of it...she was pretty sure it
was the same room. She smiled. Maybe Justin had done it so she would be more comfortable? She would ask him later.
"I
can't read this...Trace honey...what's this word?" Lynn thrust the paper in Trace's face, tapping a spot on the page with
her index finger.
Trace gawked at the paper. "Uh..." he scratched his head. "Hey Mar..."
Marissa stopped powdering
Justin's face for a moment, and looked at him. "Now what?"
"What does this say?" He held the paper in her face.
She
scoffed. "You can't read your own damn writing?"
"What the hell am I paying you for?" Justin chimed in.
Dru
giggled.
The hotel room was huge, but it had been cut into sections, making it seem much smaller. One room was the
"waiting room." The reporters and journalists that had arrived already, had been crammed into it, and were currently waiting
for the interview session to commence. Another room had been deemed "the interview room" and was currently being redecorated
to look good for the cameras. The other room was the "chill and be ill room", Justin had come up with the name. Marissa had
told him he was stupid, and he had told her she had a big a$$. Lynn had stopped the squabble before any sort of ridiculous
banter was given the chance to develop.
Lynn...Trace...Johnny...Marissa...Lonnie...Justin...and herself. They were
all there. But Christina...she still hadn't shown up.
She was late...as always.
"If Christina doesn't get here
soon," Justin muttered. "I'm making 'em change it to the Justified and Justified tour."
"Oh Justin, just be patient."
Lynn said. "She could be stuck in traffic."
"Or she could have broken a nail." Trace snickered.
Dru didn't like
that they talked badly about Christina. She was a good person...didn't they know that?
"Hello, hello!" Christina chirped
as she burst through the doorway.
Dru noticed that Christina's outfit was very revealing. Her skirt barely covered
her behind, and her shirt was more like a bra. She had never seen her dress that way before. Yes, ususally she would wear
short little shirts and things like that...but nothing this extreme. It made her seem...different.
"Don't hello hello
me." Justin pouted.
Christina giggled, and plopped down next to Dru. "Lighten up, I'm here aren't I?" She rolled her
eyes, and focused her attention on Dru. She grinned. "How's my girl!" She hugged her friend.
"Fine," Dru smiled. She
thought about asking Christina why she was dressed the way she was...but figured that right now it was probably a bad idea.
"How're you?"
"Good...tired...you know the deal." She smiled, and stole a quick glance at Justin before leaning in
closer to her. "There's a surprise waiting for you in the other room." She whispered in Dru's ear.
Her eyes widened.
A surprise? "Huh?"
"I wasn't going to bring it...but I was sort of talked into it." She winked. "Go...I'll distract
lover boy over there."
"Chris..."
She gave Dru a shove. "Just go!"
Dru didn't like surprises...but knew
that she didn't have much of a choice in this matter. She reluctantly rose from the sofa.
"Dru?" Justin said, noticing
her get up.
She froze.
"Oh my god...you guys are never gonna believe this!" Christina exclaimed, grabbing everybody's
attention.
"You broke a nail?" Trace shrugged.
"No."
Trace smiled. "You were on time for something?"
Justin began to laugh.
Dru took advantage of the opportunity, and quietly slunk out of the room. A surprise?
What could Christina possibly have that would...
"Hey," he said, nearly bumping into her. "Missed you." He smiled.
She
blushed. Danny. "Hi."
"Come on." He took her by the hand and led her out of the room. "I need to ask you something."
Ask
her something? "What's the matter?"
He smiled, and stopped in front of a random door. "It's nothing bad." He assured
her.
Dru was relieved. "Okay."
He looked into her eyes. "But it's important."
"What is it Danny?"
"Say...let's
say I was supposed to go away right? But...it was far away." He slid his key into the lock and pushed the door open.
She
didn't understand. "Far away?" She questioned, following him inside the room.
"Yeah...like Europe." He nodded.
She
looked around the room. It was nice, but it wasn't as big as Justin's. "Europe?"
He chuckled. "Yes."
"But...why?"
She felt tears stinging her eyes. Was Danny leaving?
"For my work." He told her. "With Christina. After this US tour
ends...we're taking her act overseas."
"Oh."
"Look...I'll just make this simple Dru. I...I need you." He sat
down on the couch. "I need to have you with me...and I talked to Christina about it..." he paused and cleared his throat.
"Dru...I'm asking you to come to Europe with me. I want to travel the world with you...get close to you again."
She
gasped. Was he crazy? She couldn't go...she had Justin. She loved Justin. "Danny...I don't think..."
"Wait," he said,
shooting up from the sofa. "Don't answer yet...just...think about it Dru. Even...talk to Christina about it...Justin...whoever."
He searched her eyes for an answer. "We belong together Dru. I know it."
"But you're gay..."
He laughed. "That's
not the kind of together I mean Dru. I mean together like...companions...best friends."
"But Danny..."
"Shh."
He pressed a finger to his lips. "Just think about it. You have the whole tour to think about it."
She was silent.
What was she supposed to say?
Ring...
Her phone. She let out a relieved sigh, and answered. "Hello?"
"Where
the hell did you go?"
Justin. "Uh...candy bar. I needed one."
He laughed. "You better have gotten me one."
She
smiled. "Yeah. I'll be right there." She hung up.
"You love him?" Danny questioned.
Dru nodded.
"Christina
says he treats you like dirt."
She huffed. "She doesn't know anything about it."
He shrugged. "Fine."
"I
gotta go." She turned toward the door.
"Yeah."
She looked back at him. He looked hurt. She didn't want to hurt
him. "Look...I'll think about it Danny. Okay?"
He smiled. "That's all you have to say."
*******************
The
arena was gigantic. Dru stared at the large stadium that surrouned her, in wonder. She was curious as to how Justin and Christina
were going to fill all the seats in the place. There were so many...
"Dru."
She snapped out of her daze. Trace
had been going over some sort of itinerary with her, but it was nearly impossible to concentrate when the surroundings were
making her mind swim with a thousand questions, and when Justin was goofing off with his band several feet away,
You
gotta pay attention Dru." Trace told her. "Tomorrow is it. You gotta know what you're doin'."
"Sorry," she mumbled.
Vivian had gone over some of the details of her "responsibility", the last time she had seen her. She was the designated "Fan
Guide". Her job entailed giving lucky fan club members a guided tour of the backstage area, and seeing to their needs at Justin's
soundcheck parties. Sure, it sounded it easy...but Dru was terrified. She had never dealt with people on such a personal level
before...and now she was going to be responsible for large groups of them...everday. She couldn't do it, and she knew it...but
she didn't have a choice.
The contract said so...and it was the only job that would let her fufill the contract and
leave her time to study. There was no getting out of this one.
"These fans...they can be hard to handle." Trace smiled.
"You gotta watch em...especially in his dressing room. They'll take stuff."
She cocked her head to the side. "Take
stuff?"
"Yeah," Trace said, raising his eyebrows. "You know...his gum...his watch...his shoe..." he laughed. "If he's
touched it, they'll take it."
She didn't understand. Justin's feet smelled. Why in the world would somebody want his
shoe? The idea was insane. "His shoe?"
Trace laughed. "It smells I know...but that's genuine Timberlake foot sweat
in there." He smiled. "Valuable stuff."
"Is my foot sweat valuable?" She inquired.
"You're crazy." Trace said,
doubling over with laughter. "Keep this attitude up Dru...those fans will get a kick out of it."
Dru smiled. Maybe
she could do this after all.
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