| Chapter Three |
| Justin licked his lips nervously as he waited to be let into the room where Crystal was. The girls were taking this a million times better than he was. They were just relieved. He was relieved, happy, and angry at the same time. All the work he had done to push her out, to get on with his life and now what? Now she was back, now she was back and he didn?t know what the hell he was supposed to think. He had pushed out all the memories, all the happy times they had shared together growing up. Before she was found it was like she never even existed. And it was ok. Just as long as he wasn?t pulling the group down everything was ok. He had Trace to keep him sane. One true friend was all he really needed anyway, right? He could be sad on his own time. He had learned to cover up his emotions and be the happy little pop icon that everyone wanted him to be and he liked it. He liked being adored and if all he thought about was Crystal it would have dragged him down and NSYNC down with him. He couldn?t have done that, not after all the hard work they did. And he couldn?t do it now, that they were on the brink of international success. Could he even be her friend? He just didn?t have an answer. "Justin?JUSTIN?" Jessica said snapping Justin out of his thoughts telling him it was time to go in. He nodded and got up. Jessica glared at him. She couldn?t understand what had gotten into Justin. He hadn?t said a word since they had met at the airport. His replies to things he was asked consisted of a bunch of nods and grunts. It was like he didn?t even want to be there. She couldn?t believe he was being this way. She remembered a time where Crystal was all he could talk about. She remembered how he used to confide in her about how to make Crystal happy and she remembered how hard it was for him to leave her and go to Germany. Now it just seemed like it was no big deal to him. No big deal that his best friend, lover, whatever you wanted to call her, had been presumed dead and now she was found alive. It was like she didn?t even know who Justin was anymore. He wasn?t the same happy go lucky kid she used to play spin the bottle with when she was seven. He was JUSTIN from NSYNC and everyone could kiss his ass. She was disgusted. Tina took a couple of deep breaths. She couldn?t believe all this was happening at once. It was hard enough getting over Brad and now she would have to face the past again. The past that she tried so hard everyday to put behind her. She was scared to death. Was Crystal even the same Crystal that she knew? She doubted it. How could she possibly be after a year of hell? She hoped the other two were prepared for the worst, she sure as hell was. ******* Crystal looked at the three people that carefully entered the room she was sitting in. Jessica was first. She smiled weakly and took a seat followed quickly by Tina who did the same. It took about ten seconds longer for Justin to actually enter the room. Crystal?s attention immediately went towards him, but he said nothing to her. He simply sat down one chair over from Tina and looked at the floor. He wouldn?t even look at her. Crystal cringed inside. She didn?t want to be there at that moment. She didn?t want to be with these people. She didn?t even know them. They seemed like total strangers. Several minutes passed with nothing but complete silence filling the room. Crystal noticed several nurses passing by who looked very confused as they passed by the room. She knew why. It didn?t exactly look like a happy reunion. It looked like everybody in the room had just been told that Crystal was going to die tomorrow. After about ten more minutes of gut wrenching silence, Jessica finally broke the ice. "We?re all really glad that you?re ok Crys?" she spoke softly. "Thank you." Crystal replied quickly hardly looking Jessica in the face. She glanced back over at Justin who was chewing on one of his fingernails and gazing out the window, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. She didn?t know why she cared so much that he was completely ignoring her. It just bugged her. There was just something she had with him, something that she had always had with him, that she just couldn?t let go. Justin gazed out he window still biting his fingernail. He could feel her eyes on him. What happened J? He could hear them asking. Why aren?t you talking to me? He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind. Every so often he would ever so slightly glance at her. God she looked like complete hell. Bruises were covering her face, some fresh and some old. Her hair, that beautiful golden brown hair that he had always loved to touch was now nothing but a rat?s nest. When he first laid eyes on her he could hardly recognize her. He wasn?t even sure they were in the right room for a minute. But when she spoke he knew it was her. She had the same sweet sexy voice she had always had, a little hoarse of course, but it was her. That was one voice he could never forget. "So when are they going to let you go home?" Jessica said raising her voice a little bit making Justin look her way. She glared at him coldly. How could he be so selfish right now? She just didn?t understand. Out of all of them, he was supposed to be her best friend, and right now he was acting like a complete asshole. "I?m not sure." Crystal replied quietly. "Maybe tomorrow or the next day." "Tina and I are here for you Crys?," Jessica pulled her chair closer to her friend and held her hand. "We?re gonna beat this thing together, we promise, right T?" Jessica said turning to Tina for approval. "Yes," Tina said solemnly. "Don?t worry about anything Crys?. We?ll handle it." Crystal smiled. She smiled for what seemed like the first time in a million years. She realized that Jess and Tina were still just that, Jess and Tina. The two girls that had Barbie slumber parties with her when they were five and the two girls who did girl scouts with her when they were nine. They hadn?t changed, and they were making that clear. "Thank you so much." She let the tears flow freely now and her two "soul sisters" wrapped her up in a loving group hug. It might take a little time, but she would get to know them again, and they would get to know her. They wanted to. Unlike some people. Justin stared ahead coldly. He couldn?t do this. It was too much for him; if Jessica and Tina wanted to kiss Crystal?s ass then they could go right ahead. It was so hysterical how they acted like everything was so perfectly normal. How they acted like Crystal had only been gone for a like a week. It was such an act, and if Crystal was smart she had better figure it out quick. He had had enough of the bullshit. He rose out of his seat and headed towards the door. All eyes were fixed on him. Jessica rose out of her chair angrily. "Where the hell do you think you?re going Justin?" she said angrily. "Away." Justin sneered. "You?ll have to excuse him Crys?. He?s JUSTIN from NSYNC." Jessica shot back. "You don?t know the first thing about me so just shut your self righteous good Samaritan mouth ok bitch?" he walked out before Jessica could reply, slamming the door behind him. Crystal?s mouth gaped open. Was that Justin? Her Justin? In her whole life she had never heard him talk like that to Jessica. They had always been so close. What had happened to her friends? Then reality smacked her in the face. It had been a year, Jess and Tina had been acting so normal she felt like she had only been gone a few days, Justin had been gone for a year touring in Germany. This was probably the first time he had been around Jessica and Tina since everything had happened. She knew what was wrong. His best friend practically came back from the dead, and he was scared to death. |