Chapter 10: Was It A Mistake?

"Wow." Julia said, looking at the crowds of photographers outside of the limousine as it pulled up to the hall.

"Yeah, it's kind of scary isn't it?" Joey said, looking outside too. "But just don't think about it and just get inside as fast as you can."

"Ready? One, two…three." Lance counted off. At the count of three, they all got out of the limo, the members of 'N Sync smiling broadly for the cameras.

"How do you get used to this?" Julia asked, nervously clinging to Justin's arm as he waved at several fans standing to the side. She repeatedly blinked as cameras flashed in her face, left and right.

"Well, when you're around them as much as I am there's not really anything you can do except get used to it," He said. She turned to look at JC, who was looking back at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. When he saw her facing him, he turned away quickly.

I need to thank him for last night, Julia thought, then chuckled at how wrong that sounded. "I'm going go inside with JC while you greet your," She giggled, "adoring fans."

"Alright." Justin answered.

"Shall we?" She asked JC, motioning towards the entrance. He grinned at her and held out his arm.

* * * * * *

"It's gorgeous!" Julia commented, walking inside of the ballroom. People were milling around, talking and laughing. She noticed several other famous people present. She could see Ryan Philippe and Reese Witherspoon standing near the railing on the second floor.

"Oh my God, JC, there's Russell Crowe!" She whispered, pointing towards one of the tables.

"Oh, catch me, I think I'm going to faint!" JC said sarcastically.

"Stop mocking me." She said, slapping his arm playfully.

"I'm not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Whatever." She said, ending the argument. Lance and Eleanor were already on the dance floor and Chris was listening intently to something that Danielle was saying. Joey's probably hitting on some girls, Julia thought with a smirk.

"Let's see, I don’t have a date, and your date's outside, so you want to dance?" JC asked.

"Hmm, I'm warning you, I may step on your toes." She warned.

"That's okay," He said laughing, "I don’t mind if you’re not a very good dancer."

"Oh, I know how to dance," She said, laughing. It had been a fast up-tempo beat when they had walked on, but changed to a slow waltz.

"Thanks for waking me up last night," Julia said, her reflecting her gratefulness. "It's hard to wake up from those dreams."

"You welcome. I couldn't just sit there and watch you have a nightmare, now could I?" He said, trying to lighten up the mood." She laughed and he smiled down at her.

"You know," JC added as they danced, "It's been great having you here, I mean with the things that happened before," He blushed at that part, " I didn't think we'd be able to be friends."

"Well I doubt we could have helped it. We were both drunk." Julia said.

"I know." JC said. God, why does she have to look so beautiful tonight? He thought to himself. Her eyes were full of humor and he found that just being in her presence was comforting.

"JC," She said softly, "was it a mistake, what happened in the past?" Shit! Why did I say that!!! She thought to herself angrily. He appeared startled by her question.

"I - I don't know." He said finally. "Do you think it was?" She looked up at him, then remembered that this was a man who was spoken for.

"Yes." She answered, feeling completely miserable. Saying no would have just made everything complicated. He nodded, not saying anything more about it. I love him, Julia thought miserably as she looked at the dance floor.

"JC!" They both heard a girlish voice call out. They both looked towards the edge of the dance floor, finding Michelle standing there

"Michelle!" JC said, feeling shocked. His hands, which had been around Julia's waist, fell to his sides. "What are you doing here?"

"When I heard about the banquet and I knew you were going to be here." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss.

"Well," Julia said slowly, "I'll just let you two finish this dance." She couldn't look at JC and walked towards the table.

"There you are," Justin said, catching Julia before she made it back to the table. "want to dance?"

"Sure." She said, feeling sick inside. Once again, she stepped onto the dance floor. "Where were you?"

He smiled sheepishly, "well I saw this girl I know and we were talking for a bit."

"Ahh, a 'girl you know'" Julia said knowingly, momentarily forgetting her problems. "What's this girl's name?"

"Olivia." He answered, smiling widely.

"Oh I see," She said. She glanced at JC and Michelle dancing nearby and felt the tears rising in her eyes.

"Jules, what wrong-" Justin started, then he looked down at her knowingly.

"You're in love with JC."

"Yes." She replied softly. The tears started to come out. "I - I don't feel so good, Justin. I'll go back to the hotel, go ahead and stay." She said, holding the tears back long enough. She walked away quickly and left, leaving a bewildered Justin on the dance floor.

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