Justin Timberlake FanFiction

~*A Fan's Dream Come True*~
A Justin Timberlake Story
Original Fanfic by Meg
TheCurly3@yahoo.com

Michelle felt completely awkward riding alone in the limo with Justin, while Samantha drove her car behind them, since she couldn't leave her car at the venue. It wasn't really a sense of physical discomfort. In fact, this was the most comfortable vehicle she had ever ridden in. It was more the fact that she felt she didn't deserve to be riding in it. She took the thought one step further, realizing she didn't deserve to be sitting next to Justin Timberlake either.. He was famous, a superstar even, and she was.. well.. nobody.

The longer Michelle thought about it, the worse she felt. She should've politely refused Justin's invitation to the party and gone back to Samantha's. What would she say to these people at the party? It was obvious she wouldn't fit in with the people there.. And what about when she met the other guys? They would look down at her and think she was just some little teenybopper who tagged along. Then she had a horrible premonition.. What if they laughed at her? She wasn't sure if she could take the embarassment and brush it off lightly.

Justin looked over at Michelle and noticed the look of discomfort on her face. She hadn't said a word since they got in the car.. but he hadn't really said much either. Maybe it was because he was afraid.. 'Afraid of what?' his mind asked. He couldn't decide what his problem was, but every time he felt the need to speak, the words that came to his mind never felt like the right thing to say. And once he thought he had found the right words to say to her, he looked at Michelle and tried to force himself to say them and they wouldn't come out.

So the tension in the back of the limo continued to rise and became more and more uncomfortable until both parties couldn't stand it any longer.

They both said at once, and Michelle blushed. "I've just been thinking this entire time.." Michelle continued. "I'm not going to fit in at this party at all. The other guys will take one look at me and laugh." She kept her head down, and her fingers toyed nervously with the ends of her shirt.

"They won't laugh at you Michelle, I promise. And I'll make sure you fit in." She still looked unconvinced. He took her hand and realized it was shaking a little, "Trust me." With each moment he was seeing a completely different side of Michelle.. at the restaurant she was full of defiance and anger, then backstage she was completely gentle and sweet, and now.. now she was afraid and uncertain. And each side of her personality was so different, Justin found it made her so much more attractive.

They arrived at the hotel and of course there was a huge crowd of girls awaiting for their arrival at the front door. "Better go to the back," the driver called back to his passengers and Justin nodded.

The limo pulled around to the back and delivered Justin and Michelle safetly into the hotel, with one of the guys' bodyguards following behind. Samantha pulled in behind the limo and handed her keys to a hotel worker, "Find somewhere to park it, please." She smiled sweetly, and followed Justin and Michelle inside.

They took a mirrored elevator to the top level of the hotel, where the private party was taking place in the penthouse on top of the hotel. The view over the city was breathtaking as Michelle stepped off the elevator and looked at the walls, which were all large windows looking out into the picturesque city skyline.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Justin asked. Michelle just nodded, and then her attention was pulled from the view by the strange sense that everyone was looking at her.

Of course everyone in the room WAS looking at her. Michelle began to panic. She had to leave. Running away was far better than facing the embarassment of staying. But Justin would not let go, he squeezed her hand, trying to give her some confidence and then started across the room, "Come on, it's ok, let them look if they want to."

He walked over to where Chris was having a light drink at the bar. Justin tapped him lightly on the shoulder and Chris turned around. "Hey J! Nice you could finally make it! We thought we lost you along the way!"

"Yeah, I made it. Chris I'd like you to meet Michelle. Michelle, Chris." Michelle just smiled at the shorter man, "It's nice to meet you." She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Samantha was still there, "And this is my friend Samantha."

"It's nice to meet you both," Chris said, looking back and forth between the both of them. Then he looked up at Justin and lifted an eyebrow, a smirk slowly growing across his face, "So.. is this the one we have to blame for ruining the concert tonight?"

Michelle was extremely confused. Then she realized that Chris was talking about Justin's mistake during "This I Promise You." 'How was I to blame for that?!?' her mind raced.

"Yup, this is the one," Justin said cooly.

"Well, what are we going to do about you, little miss? There's no excuse for what you did tonight," Chris said, laughing inside, while taking a sip of his drink.

Michelle's confusion grew into anger. She did not to be treated like a child, and she was certainly NOT to blame for Justin not knowing his lines. "First of all, I am not a 'little miss,'" she threw back to the dark-haired man. "And second, I don't see how Justin not knowing his part is in any way MY fault!"

Chris nearly choked on his drink. He coughed as he set the glass on the counter and burst out laughing. Justin couldn't help but to laugh as well.

"I don't see anything funny about this," Michelle said, crossing her arms.

Chris's face went completely blank and he looked at Justin who stopped laughing as well. Then he turned to Michelle, "I'm sorry if I was a little condicending. Do you know how many times we've sung that song?"

Michelle thought about it.. it had to be in the hundreds..

"There is no possible way that tonight's 'event' was from Justin 'not knowing his part'." Chris looked at Michelle in complete seriousness, but said nothing more. Then he stood up next to Justin and smacked him light-heartedly on the back, and whispered a question into his ear that Michelle couldn't hear. Justin nodded.

Then Chris walked past the two of them to Samantha and took her by the hand, "Would you like to meet the others?" he asked politely.

"I would love to," Samantha smiled. As Chris led her over to JC, she looked back over her shoulder at Michelle and winked.

Michelle forced a smile for her retreating friend and then turned to Justin, "What did happen during the concert tonight?" She was still extremely confused.

"I forgot the words to the song," Justin said, and Michelle saw his cheeks grow a light shade of red.

"And what does it have to do with me?" she asked curiously, hoping for some sane kind of explanation.

"Because I saw you.. and I couldn't remember the rest of the song," he whispered.

Michelle's eyes widened. That was the most wonderful and sweetest compliment she had ever received. Her heart beat three times as fast as she remembered the moment when Justin had looked down at her in the audience and their eyes met, and now it happened again. He looked at her the same way and her mind went blank.

"You don't know what to say, do you?" Justin said, as a lazy grin grew across his face. Michelle shook her head. "Now you know how I felt up there on stage..."

"Well, I guess you should be relieved that I can't go on tour with you then!" Michelle laughed, "Otherwise you'd be distracted at every show and the guys might get frustrated with your lack of concentration!"

Justin smiled softly, "I would have been willing to take that risk."

Michelle felt her heart soar, but something was still bothering her, nagging at the back of her mind. "Justin, what did Chris whisper to you right before he left? Was it.. about me?"

"He.." Justin couldn't look her straight in the eye, "asked me if you were the girl I met at lunch today. When I got back.. I um.. talked about you quite a bit."

Michelle's smile grew brighter. She thought Justin was a little embarassed about admitting the fact, but Justin wouldn't let her know the real reason he was avoiding her eyes. He couldn't possibly tell her the truth yet: that Chris had leaned in and whispered, 'Never let this one go..' and Justin had nodded in agreement.

He took her hand in his and walked her over to where Samantha was talking to JC. "I just wanted to tell you that I thought you guys did an AMAZING job tonight. I swear, every time I see you guys the show gets better!" Michelle heard Samantha say while she was vigorously shaking JC's hand.

"Thanks, really, I mean that," JC smiled. "It's always good to hear that people still like the show." Samantha saw his beautiful smile and almost melted into a puddle, but the fact that JC had his arm around Bobbie's shoulders prevented that from happening.

"JC," Justin pulled his attention towards the girl next to him. "This is Michelle. She's the girl I met today. Michelle, I'm sure you know this is JC, and that's Bobbie."

"Oh, so you're the one who.." JC smirked and almost started laughing, until he felt a sharp jab in his side from Chris's elbow. His head turned quickly to the side and glared at the shorter man, but Chris just shook his head and said, "Don't go there man.."

JC looked a little confused and Justin and Michelle both laughed. "I guess Chris learned his lesson.." Michelle said between giggles, "but yes JC, I'm the one."

JC was still lost, but he shrugged it off. He looked around the room, "It looks like the party's really dying down. Hey guys, we have to get up pretty early tomorrow, it's gonna be a long bus ride."

Chris bounced around a little, "Aw JC.. do we HAVE to?" pleading like a child no older than 9 or 10.

"You can stay up all night if you like, I just love my sleep, or what I can get of it," JC said. He turned to Bobbie and kissed her on the nose, "Do you want to stay?"

"No, I think I'll go too, I have to catch my plane back home early tomorrow," she frowned.

"Oh that's right," JC frowned as well. "Well, I'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow!" He turned away with Bobbie and walked her to her room.

Samantha's gaze followed JC until she couldn't see him anymore. Michelle was the first one to speak, "They're really cute together."

Samantha nodded, turned back to the group, and made a sad puppy dog face towards Michelle, "I just can't find a way to hate her! She's perfect for him! And that just makes me really.."

Michelle waited for her friend to say 'sad' or 'depressed'.

"..pathetic." Samantha laughed. Then she held up a picture, "He gave me his autograph. I didn't even ask him for it." She smiled, "I guess that's nice... Um, listen Michelle, I think I'm ready to go home. Are you ready to go?"

Michelle looked around the emptying room and then up at Justin. He was smiling. "It's ok. I should get to sleep anyway," he assured her.

Michelle frowned, "Yeah, I guess it's time to go then. It went by so fast.. Samantha will you go get the car and I'll meet you down there in a few minutes?"

Samantha smiled, "Sure." She winked knowingly at her friend and made her way to the elevator.

Chris had made his way back to the bar and set his glass on the counter before retiring to his room as well. Lance and Joey had decided not to make an appearence at the party that night. A few sparce groups chatted around the spacious penthouse, but for the most part Michelle and Justin were alone.

Michelle was afraid to speak, knowing that every word she said would be one word closer to the one she didn't want to say: 'Goodbye.'

"Please don't look so sad.." Justin said, looking down at her.

She brought her gaze up from the floor and looked up at him. "From what I can see, you look just as sad as I probably do," she half-smiled, and fought the tears that were struggling to free the emotions that were building up behind them.

Justin took her hand and turned it palm up. Then Michelle's eyes widened as he reached up around his neck, took off his charm necklace, the one thing that he NEVER took off, placed it in her hand, and closed her fingers around it. She opened her mouth to speak, but he put a finger up to her lips, quieting any chance of a protest. "I want you to have this," he said firmly.

"I can't take this. It's too much," Michelle said holding it back out to him.

"Please take it. So you won't forget me," he said with a note of sadness in his voice.

"I could never forget you Justin," she said as she pulled a ring off her finger. It was a ring one of her closest friends had given her before they died, something Michelle cherished more than anything else she owned. "The person who gave this to me loved me very much.. They're gone now, but I'm sure they would want me to give it to someone I cared about."

She placed the ring in his hand, clasped his fingers around it with her own, and held them there. She looked back up at his eyes and saw tears sparkling around the edges of his baby blues. "So you won't forget me.." her voice barely came out, as her throat was choked with the oncoming of tears.

She broke down as Justin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. She cried on his chest, her tears falling onto his shirt. "I wish you could hold me forever.." she sobbed lightly.

"I wish I didn't have to let you go," he replied, as he held her tightly, running his hand through her soft brown hair.

Michelle looked up at him, "You are coming back right? It seems like forever until December 3rd, but I'll wait forever for you.."

Justin nodded, "Meet me there at 5 o'clock. I don't know how I'll make it until then without seeing you... but here," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to her. "If you ever want to contact me, send a letter there, and I promise you it will get to me, wherever I am.." He walked over to the bar and took a pen off the counter and wrote a number on the paper as well. "That's my cell phone number. You can call me any time, ok?"

Michelle nodded as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks. "I'll miss you.." she whispered, as they walked towards the elevator, Justin pressed the down button, and the mirrored doors opened.

"I'll miss you too.." Justin said softly, as they stepped inside, and the doors closed behind them.

After the doors closed, Justin wrapped his arms around Michelle and kissed her. Michelle closed her eyes as tears slipped along her wetted cheeks. She kissed him with more emotion than ever she herself knew she had, and it suprised her that she had grown to care about him so deeply in such a short amount of time.

Through the kiss, Justin tried to make Michelle and himself forget that in a few moments they would go their separate ways. And for a while it worked. Justin wasn't a member of *NSync, and he no longer had to get on a tour bus the next morning. Michelle wasn't an *NSync fan who had to go back to high school the next day. They were just Michelle and Justin, Justin and Michelle, and in that moment, that's all that mattered.

The spell was broken as the elevator bell rung, signaling that they had reached the lobby floor. And as they both caught their breath, all their despair rushed back as well. The doors opened and Michelle stepped out onto the first floor.

Justin held fast onto her hand, wanting to stay in touch as long as possible, until the words came from her lips:

"Goodbye Justin.." she said, and then he let go, and his hand dropped back to his side. They both looked at each other for a few silent, longing moments, until the mirrored doors started to close between them. "Goodbye Michelle.." he said.

Then the doors shut and he was gone.

As soon as the thick metal doors of the elevator had closed, and Michelle had dissapeared from his view, Justin slumped against the wall of the elevator, feeling weak. He slid down its smooth side as it went back up, floor by floor, taking him closer to his room, and farther from Michelle. He put his face in hands and then raked both of them back through his curly locks.

*Why do I feel this way?* Justin just kept asking himself over and over in his mind. He couldn't understand how he had grown so attached to this unique 16-year-old girl in just a matter of a few hours. It didn't make sense to him, his whole world had been turned upside down in just one day..

After Justin was gone, Michelle was just left staring at her own reflection, it gazing back at her with the same look of despair that she was feeling. Seeing her emotion on her face only made it worse, and she turned away from the elevator doors as the tears continued to run down her cheeks.

Samantha knew Michelle would be upset when she got in the car, but nothing could have prepared her for the look Michelle gave her as she climbed in. Her face was a complete display of utter sadness and heartbreak, and Samantha was sure nothing she could say or do could change it. "Don't worry.." she tried her best to comfort her friend as she pulled away from the hotel, "I'm sure you'll see him again.. someday."

Michelle nodded, as she took a few deep breaths, and her eyes slowly dried. It was the only thing she could hold onto, the hope that Justin would keep his word, come back in December, and she would see him again.

Samantha turned on the radio, only to hear the DJ's annoying voice blaring out of her car speakers: "And for all you kiddies who went to the *NSync concert tonight, here's a song for ya.."

Michelle drew in a sharp breath, and tears immediately flooded to her eyes as she heard Justin's sweet voice singing softly:

"When the visions around you.. bring tears to your eyes.."

Samantha immediately clicked off the radio and silently scolded herself for turning it on in the first place. They rode the rest of the way to Samantha's house in silence.

As Michelle changed into her pijamas, she reached into her pocket and found Justin's charm necklace. She slowly traced her finger over each of the letters, remembering the way he looked, standing up on that stage, looking down at her, the way he held her, and the soft way he had kissed her.

She curled up into a small ball in her sleeping bag on the floor of Samantha's room, clutching Justin's necklace next to her heart, and tried to close her eyes to let sleep overcome all the loneliness she felt.

And soon it did.

Justin slowly unlocked the door to his room, went inside and tossed the key on a table. He threw himself on the bed, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the blank ceiling, trying to think. He was exhausted, but he knew he would never be able to get to sleep, not after all that had happened today. He wasn't even sure what exactly HAD happened today. He pulled Michelle's ring from his pocket and slowly turned it over and over in his hands.

He rolled over on his side and closed his eyes, grasping the ring in his fist, trying to remember exactly how Michelle had looked at him when they had first met, her eyes burning with a fire of anger towards him, glaring up at him.. and then again, when he saw her at the concert.. she had looked like an angel.. and finally, as those elevator doors closed, looking so sad with tears running down her soft cheeks as she said 'Goodbye Justin..'.

Justin thought he would be awake all night, haunted by the images of the girl he was leaving behind, but he didn't realize how much he had underestimated his body's need for rest, because a few moments later he was fast asleep.