*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members of 'N Sync (nor would I ever really want to) they belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own all fictional characters such as Carli, Ashley, Mike, Devon and Rachel. Plagiarism is against the law. Thank you.

Justin stood at the counter, talking with a florist, hoping that the flowers he wanted were in stock. Late the night before, he had gotten a brilliant idea of how to spoil Carli just a little bit and now it was all up to the flower shop. JC and Chris were waiting for him outside, sun glasses masquerading their faces as they perused the window next door. Justin tapped the credit card he was holding on the counter in beat with the song playing softly on the radio in the background. He didn't exactly know why he was this happy, but he wasn't quite sure he wanted to analyze his jumbled up emotions quite yet. It was too new to him, and all he really wanted to do was savor just the little bit of sanity Carli brought into his life. The kiss they had shared the night before had both confused him and delighted him. He felt like Carli could heal old wounds, and he hoped he could heal hers in time.

"We do have the flowers you're looking for, Mr. Timberlake." the florist smiled as she walked back over to the counter.

"Great. I'd like a bouquet of them please. If you could have them delivered to this address, it would be wonderful." Justin returned the smile, happy that he was able to do something special for the girl who had caught his attention so deftly.

"That's no problem." she shook her head. Soon Justin headed out of the store, a smile on his face and an extra bounce in his step.

"We were beginning to think you were buying out the whole store." Chris sighed as he glanced around for a restaurant to stop to get something to eat for lunch.

"As much as the idea appeals, I couldn't do it. I want Carli to smile, not have cardiac arrest." Justin laughed softly with a shake of his head.

"What were you looking for anyway?" JC questioned flatly as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Daisies." Justin answered succinctly with a nod.

"Why daisies?" Chris shook his head.

"I don't know. It's the first flower that popped into my mind when I thought about it." Justin shrugged as they made their way back to the hotel.

"I see. Carli, daisies. Now I see the resemblance." Chris nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh and Devon and chrysanthemums match up perfectly?" Justin grinned giving the older man a playful shove.

"Not exactly, but..." Chris shrugged pulling the younger man into a headlock. JC eyed the squabbling pair with a raised eyebrow.

"You're attracting attention." he commented with a slight smile.

"Oh, so sorry." Chris snorted, whirling around to face the disapproving JC.

"So, you really like Carli?" JC inquired as they resumed walking.

"Yeah. She's great." Justin replied, a secret smile stealing across his lips before disappearing from view.

"Joe gives Ashley roses, Lance gives Rachel tiger lilies, I give Devon chrysanthemums and Justin gives Carli daisies. What flower do you give Mike again?" Chris raised an eyebrow, knowing he would strike a vein.

"Lilacs or Jasmine." JC sighed with a shake of his head.

"You know, I saw some really nice looking lilacs at the flower shop." Justin stated as they turned the corner.

"Back off, guys. This is one battle I have to fight on my own." JC warned, his eyes shooting sparks.

"Like the time when Lance and I had it out and you threw us in the same room together to either kill each other or kiss and make up?" Justin laughed pushing the crosswalk button.

"The two of you were driving everyone else insane with the constant barbs and verbal jabbing. Someone had to do something." JC admonished loudly, tossing his hands into the air.

"Well, how's this for throwing your words back in your face. The two of you are driving everyone else insane with the constant barbs and verbal jabbing. Someone has to do something." Justin smiled triumphantly as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You know, Justin has a point." Chris commented with a nod as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his overalls.

"What is this? Gang up on JC day?" JC snorted as they walked into the lobby of their hotel.

"No, but you didn't even wait to listen to her side of the story. That's all we're saying and now the subject is dropped." Justin shrugged as he pressed the up button. They waited silently for the elevator, not really wanting anyone to overhear their conversation. As soon as the door closed them off from the world, JC turned to his friends with a sigh.

"Subject is resumed for a moment. She cheated on me. There's no forgiving that." JC shook his head. "And now the subject is dropped."

"If you honestly think that's true, then you're a moron." Chris muttered under his breath as the doors opened to their floor.

"Anyway," JC glared momentarily at Chris before turning to Justin. "What time's dinner tonight?"

"Seven sharp." Justin answered with a distracted smile as he let himself into his room. JC and Chris gave each other rueful smiles as the younger man disappeared behind the closed door.

Carli drifted around the kitchen, humming while she prepared dinner for about twelve people. She had decided to grill stakes on the mini-grill in the kitchen, which would be served with green beans, corn on the cob and baked potatoes. For drinks there would be iced tea, soda and water. She couldn't believe she was this happy working in the kitchen, a chore she normally hated with a vengeance, but then, she would be seeing Justin tonight so that made this a much more bearable experience. Nell was in the back yard, playing on the swing set while Daniel paced around the living room, trying to get off of work for the evening. Her father was upstairs sleeping off a headache, something natural for him to be doing. His headaches seemed to be getting worse as the days passed.

The phone rang shrilly, causing her to skip a beat in the song she hummed to herself. She shook her head with an exasperated smile as she reached for the house's second phone, which had an entirely different line.

"Hello?"

"Don't you sound chipper this afternoon."

"Hi Justin."

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I'm cooking dinner, what did you think I could possibly be doing at four in the afternoon?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a party that I wasn't invited to?"

"Damn, you found me out."

"Don't you hate it when that happens?"

"Yeah. So, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how you were doing and all."

"And this couldn't wait until tonight?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Cause I missed the sound of your voice."

"You did?"

"I did."

"Wow."

"No kidding. I already miss you."

"But you're seeing me tonight."

"I know that."

"Justin, what's going to happen when you leave?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yes, but things have changed somewhat since the answer to that question."

"I suppose things have. My cell phone bill we be a bit higher, and I'll talk to you whenever I can. Other than that, I can't make any promises."

"That's all I wanted to know."

"You don't sound too happy."

"You're perceptive."

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Be flippant."

"I hadn't realized I was."

"You are, now tell me why."

"Gee, Justin, I don't know. Could it be that the first guy I've fallen for in a very long time just happens to be one of the hottest teen heart-throbs this country has seen since the New Kids? Or could it be that you just may walk out of my life and never return? You tell me. You're the expert in situations like these."

"Carli, listen to me for a minute. I don't want to make any promises to you because I don't want to end up breaking any promises to you. All I can promise, all I'm willing to promise is that I'll do my best to stay in touch and to keep this thing going. That's it."

"I know, and that's what drives me nuts."

"Why don't we just forget about it and just see what happens next. You just might be pleasantly surprised."

"All right. Someone's at the door, so I gotta get going."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah."

"Bye."

"Bye." Carli smiled sadly then hung up the phone before she headed to the door. She pulled the door open and saw a uniformed delivery man, holding a bouquet of flowers from one of the local flower shops.

"Hi, I'm looking for Carli." he sated with a smile.

"That's me." Carli returned, wiping her hands on the dish towel that was tucked into the waist band of her jeans.

"Sign here please." the young man said, holding out an electronic clipboard. Carli took the faux pen and quickly signed her name. The delivery man handed her the bouquet then turned to walk back to his van. Carli shut the door with a strange smile on her face then walked to the kitchen to see what she had gotten and who they were from. She unwrapped the flowers and saw a beautiful arrangement of daisies in an equally beautiful crystal vase. She sat down heavily in one of the chairs and sat there, too stunned to look at the card just yet. This was the first time she had ever received flowers from anyone in her entire life.

"Aren't you going to see who they're from?" Dan inquired from the kitchen doorway, a teasing smile on his face. Carli reached over a plucked the card from it's plastic stand, then pulled it from the envelope.

You've won the most original friendship award. You can pick up your tickets to Disney World anytime you need a vacation, bring the whole family. (I'd like to be around for this, so please keep that in mind.) See you tonight, Justin.

"He's got to be kidding." she shook her head in awe.

"Who's got to be kidding?" Dan questioned folding his arms across his chest as he walked into the room.

"Justin." she shook her head, not knowing whether she should laugh, throw a fit, or cry.

"Why? What'd he do?" Dan raised an eyebrow, a look of amusement altering his handsome face.

"He's invited all of us to go to Disney World." Carli answered softly, a secret smile on her face.

"Why Disney World?" her brother inquired with bafflement.

"It's just something that we talked about. That's all." she shrugged, closing her eyes as she held a daisy to her nose.

"The two of you talked about Disney World?" Dan guffawed leaning back against the kitchen wall.

"Yeah." Carli sighed with a laugh of her own. Dan shook his head, wandering from the room, a bemused expression on his face. This was the first time he had ever seen that particular look on his little sister's face. He just hoped Justin knew what he was getting into with his hellion of a sister. He shook his head ruefully at the thought of Carli having a famous boyfriend. Those teenage girls better watch out, because if I know my sister, she's gonna fight hard for this one.

"Are you sure this is it, Justin?" Mike inquired leaning to see the younger man sitting in the passenger's seat from her seat in the rear.

"For the tenth time, yes, I'm sure." Justin sighed shaking his head ruefully. "Why must you always doubt me?"

"A time in Jersey comes to mind when we got lost on the way to the store, and stayed lost for nearly three hours." Mike teased with a grin as she settled back into her seat.

"That was a fluke. We were given wrong directions." Justin muttered, folding his arms across his chest with a vague gesture of his shoulder.

"What directions?" Mike cried out with laughter. "You refused to stop to get any!"

Justin tossed her a mock glare through the rearview mirror with a slight shake of his head. "Don't you know that it's a trait all men have? When lost, never ask for directions. You should know that by now." he admonished loudly.

"Oh, right. My mistake to think men were actually of the human species." Mike slapped her forehead lightly, her eyes dancing mischievously.

"Well, you know what they say." Chris commented with a shrug from his seat behind Mike.

"No, what do they say?" Justin inquired after a few long minutes of silence.

"Men are from Mars, women are from Venus." Chris laughed resting his knees on the van seat in front of him.

"Oh for crying out loud, Chris." Mike sputtered turning to face the older man. "Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it."

Justin burst into laughter at the look of utter shock on Chris's face, as if his whole world had been yanked from underneath him and he had nothing to grab a hold of for safety. Mike shook her head with amusement as she shifted in her seat to face the front again.

"You just had to ruin my ideals for all of human kind, didn't you?" Chris cried out suddenly.

"Chris," JC warned with exasperation. "Knock it off. We're guests here, try to act like an adult for once."

"Ooh, did someone wake up on the wrong side of perfection this morning?" Chris raised an eyebrow, giving JC a light glare.

"Chris." Mike shook her head, her eyes pleading with him to stop with the barbs. Chris sighed and gazed out the window as Joe parked the van in the driveway. Everyone piled out, all feeling as if they were walking on eggshells because of the tension. Justin led the pack to the front door, then pressed the doorbell with a silent sigh and a prayer that nothing would ruin tonight. This would be the last time he would be able to spend any kind of time with Carli before he had to leave and he didn't want anything to strain it. After a moment, the door pulled open and Carli smiled at the six people standing on the front porch.

"Welcome to our humble abode." she grinned as everyone stepped inside, one by one.

"How're you doing?" Justin inquired as he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

"I'm good. How about you?" Carli returned as she directed everyone to the livingroom to sit. Dinner wasn't quite ready yet.

"I've been better, but then I've been worse." Justin shrugged with a sigh. Carli quirked her head to the side, a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she pressed softly. Justin shrugged evasively and gave her a brilliant smile.

"Is there anything I can help with?" he changed the subject deftly, like he had been doing this for years.

"Yeah, you can make the salad if you want." Carli shrugged with a silent sigh. She wished she knew what was going on. Obviously there was dissension in the ranks, but she had no idea because of what. Justin followed her into the kitchen with a forced smile. This wasn't turning out how he had wanted it to. He had wanted tonight to be special, something that she would remember until he could see her again. He shook his head ruefully. Nothing seemed to go as planned anymore, except their shows, and even those went awry sometimes.

"Thank you for the flowers." Carli stated softly as she pulled out the makings for the salad and set them on the counter.

"It's no problem. I thought you'd like them." Justin shrugged modestly.

"How did you know daisies were my favorite?" she inquired suddenly as she kicked the refrigerator door shut with the heel of her foot.

"Actually, I didn't. It was just a lucky guess." he laughed as he shredded the lettuce into a huge mixing bowl.

"Idle hands are the devil's work and all. What can I do to help?" Mike inquired from the doorway.

"Since when were you worried about playing the devil's advocate?" Justin raised a teasing eyebrow.

"Even though you're right, I'm not really in the mood to screw around. I love ya Justin, but not today." she sighed with a shake of her head. Justin nodded handing her a cucumber to slice. Mike took the vegetable and a knife to start the process of slicing and dicing.

"Why is everyone acting like the world is ending?" Carli questioned as she propped herself up on the counter to munch on a carrot stick.

"Chris said it best." Mike muttered under her breath.

"What?" Carli made a face.

"Nothing. The road less traveled by has had boulders appear that seem to be blocking the road to happiness." Mike shook her head distractedly.

"Quoting Frost again. Is it really is that bad?" Justin glanced over at his friend who only shrugged.

"Frost?" Carli inquired, entirely too confused for her liking.

"Robert Frost," Mike laughed softly. "A great American poet."

"So what does that have to do with the tension around here?" Carli groaned covering her face.

"My dear Carli, I'm going to give you some words to live and love by, given to me by the late, great Robert Frost. Now, pay attention because I'm not going to recite this poem again." Mike grinned as she leaned back against the island counter.

"I'm all ears." Carli smiled as Justin walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and waited patiently.

Carli sat in silence until Mike gave her a smile. "That was amazing. How did you memorized all that?"

"I had to for a class. But take the words to heart. Both of you, because as surely as I stand before you tonight, the road ahead of both of you is the road less traveled by. It'll be rough, but you'll make it alright if you work at it." Mike replied with a sad smile.

"Okay Mike, enough with the prophetic speeches. Give us another poem, but this one on a happier note." Justin grumbled with a good natured smile.

"Okay," Mike shrugged as she resumed the slicing of the cucumber. "There once was a man from Nantucket....."

"Stop!" Justin shouted suddenly with laughter.

"Hey, you wanted happier." Mike countered with an impish smile.

"You two are too much." Carli shook her head with amazement.

"Blame it all on her." Justin gestured toward his friend. "She's the smart ass in this outfit."

"I am not, you little twerp!" Mike wagged a finger in his face.

"Twerp? Must I remind you that I'm bigger than you?" Justin countered, lips twitching with humor.

"Hey now, I can't help that the stork got your genetics confused with that of a giraffe." Mike held up her hands with a laugh.

"Where'd you get a giraffe?" Chris inquired walking into the room.

"Justin has one for a pet." Mike shrugged.

"Yeah? I've never seen it." Chris shook his head.

"He keeps it in his back pocket." Carli giggled as she slid down from her perch on the counter.

"How do you know?" Chris turned toward the girl with a raised eyebrow.

"I've seen it." she shrugged with a grin.

"Wait a minute here." Chris shook his head, holding his hands up in the air as he turned to Justin. "You barely know this girl for a week and she's already seen your giraffe and I've been one of your best friends for the past four years and I never even knew you had one?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Justin nodded glancing towards the heavens. Conversations were never dull with Mike and Chris around.

"Okay, I was just checking." Chris shrugged and walked over to peer over Mike's shoulder.

"Okay, that was the strangest conversation I've even partaken in." Carli laughed shaking her head as she pulled out a couple of bottles of dressing for the salad.

"At least Chris wasn't talking about the turtle he saw in Amsterdam." Justin countered shaking his head as the others trickled into the kitchen. Lance had a smiling Nell in his arms.

"Oh, God. Don't get him started on that, Justin." Joe groaned as he plopped down in a chair at the table.

"I didn't get him started. I was just saying that.....never mind. It's over and done with now." Justin sighed with exasperation.

Soon dinner was ready, and everyone sat down at the table to eat. While they ate, Justin and Chris regaled Carli and Mike with tales from the road and foreign places and their customs. In general, a good time was had by all, even through the tortured tension in the air. Chris even got JC to crack a smile after one of the more humorous stories that involved JC and a very excited and impressed fan somewhere in the nether regions of South Africa. After dinner was finished, Mike shooed everyone out of the kitchen, exclaiming she was going to do the dishes.

"Are you sure?" Carli inquired.

"I'm sure. Go and have fun with Justin. Remember? The road less traveled by." Mike reminded with a gentle smile.

"Okay. Thanks." Carli smiled then walked from the room in search for Justin. The others had retired to the livingroom once again with Dan while Justin and Carli disappeared outside onto the porch.

"You know, that whole Disney thing in the card, you didn't have to do that." Carli stated as she leaned back against the railing of the porch.

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to. Besides, I promised you I'd send you a little something from each place I visit. So, I decided to start with my hometown." Justin shrugged with a smile.

"A family trip to Disney World is a 'little something'?" she demanded incredulously.

"That's not the point." he shook his head.

"Then what is the point, Justin?" Carli inquired softly as she folded her arms across her chest, turning to face him.

"You've always wanted to go." he answered simply with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

"But it's just too much." she shook her head with a sigh. He reached out and took her hand in his.

"You know, one of the first things I noticed about you was your absolutely exquisite smile. The second thing I noticed is how very rare those smiles are. After noticing those two things, I realized that I wanted to be one of the people to help make you smile. Anyway, I wanted to do something nice for you. You deserve it after all that you do. So, just smile and say 'thank you, Justin'." he countered softly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you, Justin." she parroted just as softly.

"You're welcome." Justin smiled as he leaned back against the railing of the front porch.

"Why did you want to be in town when we decide to go?" Carli inquired suddenly.

"Because I wanted to see your radiant smile all day long." he answered with a lopsided grin. She shook her head, blushing a deep crimson.

"What? It's the truth." he laughed softly, finding her embarrassment both endearing and charming.

"You're amazing, you know that?" she smiled up at him, the blush slowly fading from her cheeks.

"No, I'm not." Justin shook his head.

"Yes, you are." she countered with a firm nod of her head.

"Care to tell me why?" he questioned raising an eyebrow.

"You've known me less than a week and have given me a total of one dozen daisies, a family trip to Disney World and one amazing, breath taking kiss. All that and you barely know me." Carli pointed out with a shrug.

"What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment, and a pretty face." he teased bringing her into a hug. He closed his eyes briefly as he rested his chin lightly atop her head and took a deep breath. The air smelled of her perfume and shampoo, with wild flowers and various other outdoor scents. She rested her head on his shoulder, treasuring this stolen moment, fore they would end all too soon.

"Hey you to, it's getting late." Dan startled them and they pulled apart reluctantly. Justin glanced down at his watch after her older brother disappeared from sight.

"He's right. It's nearly midnight." he sighed, his heart constricting unexplainably at the thought of leaving her behind. It had never been like this before. Sure, he dated on a somewhat regular basis while on tour and he had fun with those girls, but he was always somewhat relieved when they had to leave for another town. Now, all he wanted to do was pretend he wasn't who he was and stay here for as long as he possibly could.

"Where does the time go?" Carli muttered the rhetorical question as she took another step away from him, trying to distance the ultimate hurt saying goodbye to him would cause. Joe, JC, Chris, Lance and Mike all walked from the house calling out their goodbyes in a jovial manner as they headed for the van parked in the driveway.

"Well, I guess this is it." Carli stated turning her face from Justin.

"Yeah, I guess so." Justin sighed, nodding. "I'll call you as soon as I can."

"I know you will." she smiles tremulously, reigning in her emotions so he wouldn't see how upset she really was. In just a few days she had become entirely too attached to him. Suddenly she was in his arms, being kissed for the last time by this man who had so deftly captured her heart. Her arms slipped up around his shoulders and she shifted so she was on tiptoe. With reluctance, they pulled away from one another and gazed at each other for a moment.

"Take care, and remember our deal." he stated, his voice a bit too hoarse for his liking, then he was gone. Carli watched as Justin climbed into the van, rooted to her spot until they were no longer in sight. He glanced over her shoulder when she heard her brother walk up behind her and gave him a weak smile.

"Janelle's asleep. Lance wore the poor kid out." he laughed ruefully, shaking his head as he draped an arm along his sister's shoulders. "You okay?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Carli glanced over at him, trying to blink back the inevitable tears.

"I'm taking a wild guess here, but is it because the guy you're seriously falling for is now leaving?" Dan inquired giving her shoulders a light squeeze.

"Man, you're so perceptive. Nothing gets by you." she commented dryly.

"Maybe you should go see him tomorrow morning before he leaves. That will impress him and make him feel a little better about leaving." her older brother suggested as they turned to walk into the house.

"Why would he feel bad about leaving?" Carli retorted sounding more than a little confused.

"You didn't see his eyes. He doesn't want to leave just as much as you don't want him to leave. I think he's falling for you too." Dan shrugged as he flopped down on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"Maybe." Carli murmured with a slight nod. "I'm heading up to bed. Night, Dan."

"Night Carli." Dan smiled as he watched his sister disappear up the stairs.

Justin tossed and turned most of the night, his mind working overtime and his heart thudding so loudly he thought he'd wake up his roommate, Lance, from his dead sleep. Part of him was really glad to be heading out, going to another gig because he hated to stay in one place for too long. He even got restless when he was on vacation in Orlando. The other part of him wanted to stay to get to know Carli a little better. The chances of a relationship surviving the constant torture that was sure to come were low enough, all he had to do was look at the disaster that happened to Mike and JC, and they had known each other for years. What was the chance of him and Carli surviving when they had only known each other for five days. He sighed heavily and punching his pillow into a different mold before falling back onto the mattress again. It was nearly four in the morning and he had to be up in an hour and a half so they could leave by six. He closed his eyes and concentrated on nothing but the next show.

Joe's a little weak on that back flip, he'll need to work on that before we take the stage again. JC needs to stop letting his personal life show while we're out in public. Lance, well, Lance has to lighten up just a bit. Chris needs to act a little more mature. And I need to get a brain, because you knew from the get go that this would never work out. So, dumbass, why'd you kiss her? His mind berated him to the point where he almost yelled at himself. He buried his head under his pillow and soon fell into an exhausted sleep.

"Hey, Justin. It's time to get up." Lance's sleepy voice woke him, almost an hour later. Justin groaned loudly as the blinds were flipped open.

"Come on, J. I let you sleep an extra ten minutes, but you gotta get up and get going now." Lance prodded as he packed up the rest of his things.

"I'm up, I'm up." Justin mumbled as he slowly sat up, wincing at the headache he had acquired during the night. He rested his elbows on his knees then proceeded to rest his head in his hands.

"Rough night?" Chris inquired as he walked into the room to grab something he had left the night before.

"Something like that." Justin confirmed as he pushed himself to his feet out of sheer will power.

"Take a cold shower, if nothing else, it'll wake you up." Lance suggested. "But whatever you decide, you better make it quick. You have fifteen minutes before we're scheduled to leave."

Justin nodded waving his hands at Lance then grabbed the clothes he had set out the night before and disappeared into the bathroom. Lance was right, like he was most times. The cold shower he took did help him wake up a little bit, though it wasn't much. He quickly got dressed and ran a hand through his hair as he stepped out of the bathroom. The rest of the guys were waiting for him. He was five minutes late.

"Sorry." Justin mumbled as he slung a backpack over his shoulder and followed everyone out into the hallway. His eyes were bloodshot and felt as if they were sandpaper. No girl had ever made him think this much about her before, and certainly had never kept him up all night.

"You look like death warmed over." JC commented, glancing over at his younger friend.

"JC, you have a way with words." Justin countered sarcastically. "Where's Mike?"

"Downstairs already. She said she needed caffeine because this was just way too early for her. She said she didn't even know there was a world at this hour." Joe replied with a shrug and a smile.

"Yeah right." Justin laughed shaking his head. Mike was a night owl and tended to stay up all night just talking or working on numerous projects for school or work. The elevator doors opened and they all filed inside, their body guards taking the front to block off any overzealous fans from mobbing them first thing in the morning. The rode down to the lobby in silence, each to tired to make small talk. When the doors opened they all let out a collective groan when they saw at least forty young girls waiting to catch a glimpse of them. They all loved their fans and all the attention that they got, but this early in the morning was definitely not cool. Justin slipped on his shades to hide his fatigued eyes then turned on a charming smile as they made their way to the street where the bus was waiting. The girls immediately started screaming things like 'I love you Joey, will you be my Superman?' and 'Will you marry me, Justin?' and numerous other things as soon as they saw the group step into the lobby.

They greeted and said hello to as many of the fans as they could on their way out the door. By the time they boarded the bus, they were almost an hour behind schedule. The driver would have to drive like a bat out of hell to make up the lost time. Justin slipped off the sunglasses he wore as he flopped down onto one of the chairs in font of the table. Mike was sitting on the other side of him and gave him a sympathetic smile. It looked as if she, too, had a rough night.

"Hey Justin, someone's here to see you, man." Chris called from the front of the bus.

"Oh, Lord. Please not a fan." Justin mumbled as he peered down the hallway. He almost laughed when he saw a very tired looking Carli walking down the narrow isle, grumbling about it being too small for her liking.

"What are you doing here?" Justin inquired when she stepped into the small room.

"Well, normally I don't like goodbyes, but I just couldn't see myself not showing up to see you off so to speak." Carli answered with a shrug. "And at the moment, I'm the most hated girl in the world."

"Why's that?" he raised a curious eyebrow as Mike watched the verbal exchange with amusement.

"Because, Justin dear, all those girl who came here this morning just to see you saw me climb onto this bus with no hassles." Carli replied with exasperation then blew a lock of hair out of her face.

"Ah, I see." Justin nodded with a half smile.

"Well, it looks as if we all have matching luggage." Mike stated as she climbed to her feet with a groan.

"Dare I ask what that means?" Carli shuddered subtly with a teasing smile.

"The bags under our eyes." Mike replied simply. "I'm gonna go say hasta to the rest of the guys. J, call me if you want to talk."

"Wait, I thought you were hitting the next town with us." Justin shook his head.

"Can't old man. I have things to do and Ashley's waiting for me. Besides, I can't be this close to JC and not kill him." Mike shrugged then left the room. Carli turned to Justin with a sigh.

"Well, thank you Justin Timberlake for the almost week of fun." Carli grinned impishly.

"And thank you Carli for showing me that I can actually fall for an almost fan." Justin returned the smile.

"No obligations or anything, but when are you going to grace me with your voice on the phone?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"Most likely tonight after rehearsal." he laughed and reached out for her hand. She took it without hesitation and he pulled her into a bear hug.

"I don't like goodbyes, so I'm just going to say I'll see you soon." he stated softly to her.

"Sounds good to me." she nodded with a sad smile.

"Justin, the driver is gonna leave in two minutes, with Carli or without her!" Chris yelled from the front of the bus. Justin groaned with a sigh.

"I'll call you tonight." he repeated again, more for his comfort than hers.

"Okay. I'll most definitely be in the house." she giggled. Justin leaned over and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss then reluctantly pulled away after a moment.

"Now go on and get outta here." Justin swatted her rear playfully to get her moving toward the door.

"I'm going. Yeesh, the way you treat me people'd think you don't like me." Carli laughed as she headed for the front of the bus.

"But I'll know the truth." he countered with a shake of his head as he followed her. Mike was saying her goodbyes still and was currently in one of the biggest hugs known to man with Chris. When the hug ended, everyone seemed to hold their breath collectively when she turned to JC.

"I'll, uh, call you later." JC mumbled softly to her. She nodded and swiped at tears that had begun to sting her eyes.

"You know how to reach me." she replied and turned toward the door.

"JC, relent man, give your woman a hug." Justin called out as followed Carli down the steps and outside.

"I don't think...she's not my woman anymore." JC shook his head as Justin walked over to his older friend. Justin reached out and gave the back of JC's head a sound smack, causing everyone in the room to wince.

"Carli! Halt! I want one more hug!" Justin called out. Carli jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around.

"She is your woman, JC, because she loves you still." Justin snapped irritably as he stepped from the tour bus. He held out his arms with a devilish smile and Carli laughed walking into them.

"You're nuts! You wanna get me killed?" she demanded playfully as JC stepped out of the bus.

"No, I just couldn't resist getting one more hug from you." Justin countered then turned to see what was going on with his friends. Mike was slowly walking back to the hotel to get Ashley when JC grabbed her arm. She turned with shocked eyes to see him. He pulled her into a tentative hug, and she wrapped her arms around him, her face hidden in his shoulder.

"Well, that looks hopeful." Justin turned to Carli again. "I'll call you tonight and regale you of how well I slept."

"Okay. I'll be waiting." Carli smiled, her heart finally slowing to it's normal pace.

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