Megan pulled her long black hair back into a ponytail and impatiently brushed a few stubborn loose curls out of her face before grabbing the baby blue duffel bag at her feet and running out the door. Once outside the truck stop, she looked around at all the people bustling around her. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but she knew she was somewhere in Arkansas. The attendant inside had told her to find Matthew, and she was frantically searching for a truck like the one that had been described to her. Finally finding it still in the lot, Megan breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her bag, and made her way to the dark green semi. She cautiously approached the man standing beside the truck drinking coffee.
"Mr. Matthew?" she asked shyly.
He looked up at her curiously. "Yes, ma'am? What can I do for you?"
"Well, the woman at the counter inside said that you were the man to see about possibly getting a ride?"
Mr. Matthew smiled. "Yes, ma'am. Where was it you were heading?"
Megan shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, so long as it's not Memphis."
"Well, miss..."
"Atkins. Megan Atkins."
"Well, Miss Atkins, you happen to be in luck. I'm headed to Arizona, and you're welcome to ride with me as long as you wish." Matthew smiled again.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Matthew."
"Just Matthew, please, Miss Atkins."
"Deal." Megan smiled. "And please, call me Megan."
Fifteen minutes later, Matthew was ready to go. Megan bought some coffee for Matthew and a Cherry Coke for herself, then joined him in the cab of the truck.
"So, Matthew, how long have you been a truck driver?"
He glanced at her before answering. "Oh, about twenty-five years now."
"Do you like it?" Megan questioned.
"Yeah," he replied. "But I really miss my family sometimes; especially my kids." They continued talking as they drove, passing time discussing anything and everything under the sun.
After a few hours, Matthew's curiosity got the better of him. He wondered why such a beautiful girl would be running away from home. He studied her out of the corner of his eye. She reminded him of his daughter Gretchen, but Gretchen had brown eyes, and this girl's eyes were a pale ice blue and contrasted sharply with her jet black curls. Megan was also more slender than his daughter, and, at 5'8", slightly taller as well.
"So, Megan, why are you leaving Memphis, if you don't mind my asking?"
Megan's tan face turned pale. "Oh, um... I'd really rather not talk about Memphis, if you don't mind."
Matthew glanced at her again, startled by the abrupt change in her demeanor. He saw the tears filling her eyes. He decided not to push her just yet but resolved to find out her situation before leaving her alone in a strange city.
Megan regained control over her emotions and stared out the window in silence. His question hadn't surprised her, but the rush of memories and emotions that came with it did. Megan had thought that she'd come to grips with what had happened. Maybe not understood it entirely, but at least accepted it. Now, visions of him filled her mind without her consent.
**Flashback**
"Megan!" he cried, laughing. "Where'd you go?" Megan waited until he was directly in front of her and the tree she was hiding behind before she attacked.
"BOO!" she yelled as loud as she could, jumping out at him.
"Ahhhhhh!!" he screamed. "Megan Atkins! Don't do that!" She fell to the ground, laughing at him hysterically.
"Oh my gosh, Justin! That was too funny!"
Justin just scowled at her. "No, it wasn't either."
Megan giggled. "I thought it was!"
"Oh, you did, did you?" he said, looking mischievous. "Well, then..."
With that, he lunged for her, grabbing her around the waist. He lifted her up and began spinning her around, trying to make her dizzy. He succeeded only in making himself dizzy though, and lost his balance, falling into the soft grass, and bringing her with him. They laughed for a while, then he propped himself up on one elbow and she sat up.
"I've missed you, Justin." she said quietly, looking at her hands.
Justin looked up at her. "I've missed you too, Meg. Florida is nothing like I thought it would be." Justin had left two years before to join the Mickey Mouse Club.
"When do you have to leave again?"
Justin sighed. "Sunday."
She glanced at his face for a moment, then let her gaze rest back on her hands once again. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hide her disappointment from her best friend, but she also knew that there was nothing her could do. He had to meet two of his friends on Monday. They had been discussing forming a singing group--something Megan knew Justin wanted to do desperately.
"Don't be sad, Meg. We still have two whole days together."
She held her head up higher and smiled for him.
**End Flashback**
Megan smiled sadly, thinking of that weekend. It was that weekend that he had told her he loved her; really loved her. Megan shook her head gently, struggling to rid the memories from her mind. That had been three long years ago, and things were different now. They only thing she had now were the memories, her last one being of him waving as she left his house. She still remembered his once-blond-now-brown curls shining in the sun and his amazing blue eyes twinkling as she walked out the door. He'd had no idea she was leaving that day.
Matthew's voice broke her train of thought. "Is there any coffee left, Megan?"
"Yeah, pass me your cup, and I'll pour it."
He smiled at her. "We're almost to Ft. Smith now. We should be in Texas by nightfall."
She smiled back at him, but Matthew saw that it wasn't genuine. Again, he wondered what had happened to make Megan run away from her home, and why the city of Memphis meant so much to her. They stopped for the night just inside the Texas boarder. Matthew had decided it was time to talk with his passenger. This time, he was not going to let her change the subject as she had every other time he'd approached it that day.
"Megan, I need to talk to you." Matthew said seriously.
"Yeah?" she replied, fear evident in her eyes.
Matthew looked at her carefully. "Megan, how old are you?"
"Seventeen." she whispered.
Matthew sighed. "You should have told me that earlier, Megan. I could get into some serious trouble here for taking a minor across state lines."
"Please, Matthew. Please don't turn me in. Please don't make me go back." Megan begged.
"I need to know why you left, Megan. If you had a good reason--and I mean a really good reason--then I'll overlook it and let you stay."
Megan looked to the ground. "Things... Things just weren't working out the way I'd thought they would. I was... I was just in the way."
"Parents?"
She shook her head. "No, they both died when I was five. I've lived with my godparents ever since. It wasn't them either, though."
Matthew was confused. "Then who?"
"My best friend and I started dating about three years ago. He's... Well, he's a singer. A rather famous singer, actually. He's on tour a lot, and we missed each other tremendously. So, he decided that I should go on tour with him and his group. I'm friends with all the guys, so they all agreed to his plan. Their management, however, threw a fit, and when Justin and the others tried to talk to them, they all got into trouble." Megan paused, trying to remain in control.
"During their rehearsal the next day, Lou came to the green room to talk to me. He told me that if I really loved Justin, I'd let him go. That if the fans ever got wind of Justin's girlfriend on tour with all the guys, Justin's career--and the whole group--would be over. I love Justin, Matthew, I do. I've loved him since I was four years old. I don't want to be responsible for destroying his dreams. I left the next day. I didn't even say goodbye, because I knew that if he knew what I was planning on doing, he'd try to stop me, and then he'd get into more trouble with Lou." she was quiet for a moment, then she looked into Matthew's kind eyes. "They were my only friends, Matthew. I miss them so much." Megan finally broke down, and Matthew held the sobbing girl in his arms for a few minutes, then had to ask her another question.
"What does Memphis have to do with all of this?"
"That's our hometown." she explained. "That's the first place they'd look for me."
Once again, her last images of Justin filled her head. The love in his smiling eyes. The curve of his lips as he smiled and waved goodbye to her. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to overflow once again.
"How long have you been gone?" Matthew asked gently.
"Almost three weeks." she sighed.
"And have you called anyone to let them know where you are, or at least that you're all right?" Guiltily, she shook her head. He immediately picked up the cell phone next to him and held it out to her. Reluctantly, she accepted it. Megan stared at it for a moment, then looked back up at Matthew.
"I can't." she said simply.
"Why not?" Matthew pressed. "He at least deserves to know you're all right. If he loved you half as much as I can tell you loved him, he's probably been worried sick. If you really loved him, you'd put his mind at ease."
"I know!" Megan cried out, frustrated. "The hardest thing I've ever done was leave him standing there, knowing that I would never see him again! But I did it for him. I left for him."
"Don't you think he deserved a say in that decision too?" Matthew question softly. Megan knew she'd been beaten. Sighing, she picked up the phone back up and dialed.
A male voice answered on the other end. "Hello?"
"Justin?" Megan whispered, knowing it wasn't him.
"No, this is Chris."
"May I speak to Justin, please?" she asked quietly, trying to keep the tears out of her voice. She did not succeed, and Chris heard.
He paused for a moment, thinking. "Um... Sure. Hold on a second, let me find him for you." Megan could hear muffled shouts on the other end, then heard the phone transfer hands.
"This is Justin."
Megan cringed. She had never heard Justin sound so worn out, not even immediately after a three hour concert. She prayed that she wasn't the cause of his exhaustion, but knew in her heart that she was.
"Hello?" Justin said, sounding irritated. "Is anyone there?"
"Justin?" Megan whispered again. Shocked silence greeted her, followed by the equally shocked voice of Justin Timberlake.
"Meg?" he breathed. "Is that you?"
"It's me, Justin."
Justin's voice broke and he began to cry. "My God, Megan! What happened? Where have you been? We've looked everywhere for you! We thought something had happened!"
Megan gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles went white. "Justin, I am so sorry! I never meant to hurt you. I love you so much..."
Justin got very quiet. "If you love me, why did you leave me? You didn't even say goodbye, Megan."
"I had to, Justin." she tried to explain. "I was in the way. I didn't want to cause problems for you or the guys with Lou. I know how much you love what you do, and how you've dreamed of it for so long, and I don't want to be responsible for ruining your career, Justin, not when you've all worked so hard. I couldn't live with myself if I did."
"Ruin my career?" Justin repeated. "What on earth are you talking about, Megan? What--or should I say, who--put that idea into your head?"
"It doesn't matter, Justin, I..." Megan stopped as Matthew tapped her arm. "Just a second, Justin."
"Tell him everything, Megan. He has the right to know."
"Who is that?" Justin asked, confused at hearing a male voice he didn't recognize.
"Matthew."
Justin was silent for a moment. "Who's Matthew?"
"He gave me a lift today."
"You were hitchhiking?!" he yelled. "Megan, have you lost your mind? Anything could have happened! This guy could be a psycho or something!" Megan sighed, then explained how she had come to meet Matthew, and how he had been the one to talk her into calling. When Justin spoke next, he was calmer, and his voice was filled with relief and gratitude. "Well, then, thank him for me will you? For keeping my girl safe."
Megan broke down again. "Justin, you don't understand. My feelings haven't changed. I just didn't want you to worry yourself sick about me. I felt that you deserved to know I'm alright, so you can get on with your life."
"NO!" he yelled. "Megan Atkins, I love you, and I'm not going to let you roam around the country hitchhiking just because somebody said something to you without thinking about how it would sound first. Now, you tell me who told you that you'd ruin my career."
Megan sighed. "He thought about it, Justin. And he knew how it would sound. He told me that if I stayed with you on tour and the fans found out, *N Sync would be through. He was very specific about my leaving."
Justin was very angry. "It was Lou, wasn't it? He threw a fit when we first discussed it with him, but agreed when we told him you were coming anyway. Damn it! I knew he'd given up too easily. I knew he was up to something!"
"Justin, please..."
"No, Megan. He is not going to get away with this. All of us have been worried sick about where you were and why you left, and to find out that Lou was the cause of it makes me so mad..." He sighed. "Megan, where are you now?"
"Texas, I think. Why?"
"Do you think you can be in Phoenix by tomorrow night?"
"Um...actually, yeah. That's where Matthew is headed. Why?" she asked.
"Because we're doing a concert there tomorrow night, and I think you should join us like we originally planned. We still have all your stuff on the bus from the day you left. We never moved it." he said quietly.
"Why not?"
Justin began to cry softly again. "Because we were all so sure you'd be back. Then, as the time got longer and longer, we started thinking that maybe something had happened to you. Chris's mom told us that we needed to get rid of it, that looking at your bunk every day was only depressing us, but we didn't. It kept us going, Meg, it was the only thing that did. We looked at it everyday, praying that that day would be the day we found you. Eventually, it became sort of like an alter. I think all of us have gone and sat on your bunk, pulled the curtain, and just prayed you'd return. We've missed you so much."
Megan was stunned that her departure had had such an effect on her friends. She'd known that they cared for her, but not that they cared enough to erect a memorial of sorts for her and pray everyday for her return. She looked at Matthew.
"Will we be in Phoenix by tomorrow night?" she whispered.
Matthew gave her a gentle hug. "Yeah, sweetie, we will. Where should I drop you off?"
She smiled. "The Phoenix Arena."
He smiled at her and nodded, then left the room so she could be alone. She spoke with each of the guys, getting lectures from both Lance and JC about the dangers of hitchhiking. By the time she hung up, arrangements had been made for her to meet them and join the tour, and goodbyes were said. Then, Megan prepared for bed as the guys prepared a celebration for getting their friend back.