Chapter One



Justin Timberlake watched as Serenity Hallbrooke hugged her boyfriend. Then he sighed. How she could date the guys she did, he didn't know. They were best friends, and he knew her betterthan anyone, but he still didn't understand her dating habits. He never would. 

Serenity walked away from the car and her boyfriend, heading for the house. She was coming over for dinner. They had dinner once a week, when he was in town, and when they weren't extremely busy. Tonight, everyone else was coming over too. 

"She's changed a lot since I first met her," Brandi Carter commented, walking up to stand next to him. She was a good friend of Serenity's. 

"Yeah, she has," Justin said, thinking back to when he first met Serenity. 

She was 15 at the time, two years and eleven months younger than him. It had been the summer of 1999. Brandi had come down to Florida to visit her cousin, Nick Carter and his friends. Serenity had come with her. 

They'd run into each other on a beach. Justin had been running down the beach, not noticing when he crossed the boundaries that separated his beach from his neighbors'. Serenity had been laying on beach, reading a book in the peace and quiet of the early morning, before everyone was up and about. Justin had tripped over her, bruising her side and his pride. He'd never done anything so clumsy before. 

Serenity had brushed away his fervent apologies with an "It's okay; I shouldn't have been laying on the beach were I couldn't be spotted." 

"No," Justin had said. "I should have been paying attention to where I was going. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Serenity had told him. "I've had worse bruises." 

"Are you sure?" he'd demanded. 

She'd nodded her head, gathering up her things. "I'm fine." She stood up turned toward the house that was a few yards from the beach. "Bye," she'd called, walking towards it. 

Justin had watched her walk away, wondering if he'd ever see her again. 

He'd gotten his answer later that night, when he'd gone to a party being thrown by AJ McLean. Serenity had been there. He'd spotted her the minute he walked in the house. 

Justin had approached her, wanting to make sure she was okay. When he'd placed his hand on her shoulder and cleared his throat, she'd jumped, then turned to face him. 

"Oh, it's you," she'd said. 

"Nice to see you, too," he'd replied. 

Serenity had smiled. "Didn't mean to sound rude. I just wasn't expecting you." 

"That's okay. I wasn't expecting to see you here either." 

"I'm here with my best friend and her cousin." 

"And who are they?" 

Serenity had looked around the room. "My best friend is over there," she'd told him, pointing to a group of people. "She's the one with auburn hair. Her name's Brandi Carter. Nick Carter is her cousin." 

"Oh." Justin had then looked at Brandi. "I've never seen her before." 

"We're from California." 

"I'm Justin Timberlake." 

"Serenity Hallbrooke." 

They'd spent the rest of the night talking. Serenity had at first been shy, not saying much, but Justin was able to get her to talk. He sensed a sadness in her that refused to go away. 

Drawn back to the present by Serenity's voice, Justin shook his head, clearing his mind of the memories. 

Serenity hugged him, and kissed his cheek, like she always did when they saw each other. Justin wrapped his arms around her,and squeezed her back. He noticed her boyfriend watching them. When he noticed Justin watching him, he pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street. 

"Hey Brandi," Serenity said. "I didn't know you were coming." 

"I invited everyone," Justin explained, as the three of them walked into the living room, where everyone was gathered. "Hope you don't ind." 

Serenity laughed. "Of course not." 

Everyone was already there. Everyone included Justin's closest friends, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Joey Fatone. Their girlfriends were with them. All but Justin were dating, so there were four women there. Brandi was dating JC; Brandi's best friend Kari Callahan was dating Lance; Rianne Steele, a good friend of Kari's and Brandi's, was with Chris; and Brianna Weston, Rianne's cousin, was dating Joey. 

Serenity said hi to everyone, then, as conversations started, moved to doors that led to the patio and the beach. She stared at the sea for a few moments, then opened the doors and walked outside. 

Justin watched her. He knew something was bothering her, had been bothering her for days. But when he asked what was wrong, she told him nothing. This was the first time in the three years they'd known each other that she hadn't told him what was wrong. He didn't like it. 

Justin stood up and walked outside. If the others noticed, they didn't comment on it. He followed Serenity to the beach, where she stood, the waves hitting her feet, watching the sky. 

"What's wrong, Serenity?" he asked. 

"Lots of things," Serenity said. "So many things I don't even know here to begin." 

"Tell me," Justin demanded. "Tell me everything that's bothering you. Just start talking." 

"Oh Justin, I wish it was that easy, that simple. But I can't. I need to work a few things out, figure a few things out on my own." Serenity's crystal blue eyes met his, haunted by memories that tore at her heart and soul. Memories that none of them knew about; memories Serenity hadn't told anyone about. 

Justin wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Everything will be okay," he told her. She was his best friend; he wouldn't let anything happen to her. 

Serenity's golden blonde hair fluttered in the breeze, whipping around them. Justin captured a lock between his fingers. Her hair had always fascinated him. It was a pale golden blonde color, yet shimmered with darker blonde and even lighter, nearly silver, streaks. It reminded him of an early morning mist he'd seen while in Scotland, during a tour. He loved her hair, and was glad when she'd decided not to cut it off. A year ago, just after she'd graduated form high school, she'd wanted to cut the knee length mass hair. But Justin had persuaded her otherwise. 



Brandi watched the pair from the glass doors. Serenity had changed so much from when she first met her, in 1994. Serenity had been a shy 11 year old, three years and five months younger than herself. She'd been in eight grade and Serenity in sixth. They'd become good friend despite the difference in their ages. Three years later, Serenity had come to the high school; Brandi had been in eleventh grade when Serenity was a freshman. Their friendship grew. Now, a year after Serenity had graduated, they were still good friends, although she was closer to Kari, and Serenity to Justin. And now she was worried about Serenity. 

She'd become more outgoing and a lot more open about her feelings, but had never really opened up everything to her or even Justin. She sensed that Serenity was once again shutting off herself from them. 

Brandi's eyes narrowed. She wouldn't let that happen. She cared deeply for all of her friends and didn't want to lose any of them. Also, it had been because of Serenity that she'd met JC, the love of her life. The day after the party where Justin and Serenity had first started talking, Serenity had introduced Brandi to Justin and Justin had introduced them to his friends, the rest of N'Sync. They'd become good friends and in September of 2000, almost two years ago, Brandi and JC had started dating. Brandi had introduced Kari, Rianne, and Brianna to the guys, and things had progressed from there. The four of them shared an apartment, and were usually together. Serenity lived in an apartment complex a mile away.
To Chapter 2