“Ugh….5 more minutes!” Paris Madison said as she rolled over in her bed. Her alarm clock was beeping and she wasn’t a morning person.She pressed snooze and rolled over and went back to sleep.She had a few minutes of peace until the alarm clock came back on.She groaned again and pressed snooze.She put her covers over her head and then she heard another sound,it wasn’t her alarm clock however.

She sat up and saw her cat,Baby, sitting next to her.Meowing loudly.She was definitely hungry.Paris looked at the clock.7:48 am.She’ll be late to work if she didn’t get up now.

“Alright Im getting up”Paris said as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and sat up.She slowly stood up and she yawned and rubbed her eyes.She walked down the hallway of her apartment towards her kitchen.She got some catfood out of the cabinet and poured it into Baby’s bowl.”You happy now?”she asked the cat as she started to devour the food.

She got into the shower and took a nice warm one.She soon got out and started getting dressed for work.She put on a black lace top with an emerald green skirt with a matching jacket.She did her hair and put on some makeup.She got her heels on and got her briefcase together.She walked back into the kitchen and saw Baby cleaning herself.She bent down and said,”Bye Baby.I’ll be back”she said.She went towards the cabinet and took out two Nutri Grain bars.

She went outside and got in her car.She put the top down on her baby blue Audi convertible.It was 8:30.She was proud of herself,she’ll be on time.She turned on the radio and headed over to Sunset Boulevard.

“It’s a beautiful Wednesday morning here in LA.Which means that we are all halfway through our work week.It’s a cool 75 degrees and the high for today is a scorching 87 degrees.It’s a few minutes past 8:30 and lets get ready for your 9 to 5. Lets get into the groove”the radio dj said.Then “Into The Groove” by Madonna came on

“Oh this is old!”Paris said to herself with a smile.She turned it up and sang along as she drove through the LA traffic.”Get into the groove boy,you got to prove your love to me…yeah”she sang.

Soon she pulled into a parking garage and headed inside a big building.She went towards the packed elevator and pressed floor number 10.She stood there in the packed elevator next to some guy.She could feel his eyes staring at her,and it was burning a hole in her bra,he was staring so hard.She looked straight at him and he looked away.She rolled her eyes.Men,so typical.

She finally reached floor 10,leaving the pervert still staring.Floor 10 was the offices of INQUIRING MINDS. The top tabloid magazine to date.Yes, Paris is a tabloid writer and also one of the top writers.

“Hey Dave…..Morning Shirley”she said as she passed some people on her way to her office.She went straight in her small office and sat down at her desk.Then there was a knock at her door,”Come in”she said as she looked at some papers

“Morning Paris”a voice said.Paris looked up and it was Chelsea Cooper,her secretary.

“Hey Chelsea,whats up?”she asked her with a smile as the girl came up to her desk

“Im ok”she said as she smiled at her.”I have some messages for you”

“Ok cool”she said as she looked through some folders in her desk drawer

“Francine wants you to call her”Chelsea said as she read off of one of her many pink slips

“What?She called here?”

“Yeah,this morning just before you came in.She said it was urgent”

Paris sighed,”Its always urgent”she mumbled

“Your going to call her right?”Chelsea asked her

“Why should I?”

“Because shes your mother”she said softly but matter of factly

“So…”

“Come on Paris..shes blood for God sakes”

“Unfortunately”she said,”Ok….I’ll call her,just not now.I got work to do”

“Ok Bill Dees called….Lemmie Williams called and……um……Sean called”

Paris almost choked on her peppermint,”Sean?What the hell does he want?”

“He left this long message saying how much he misses you-“

“I don’t want to know what he said”Paris said.Sean was now her ex boyfriend

“Well Im passing along the message.I did my job”Chelsea said as she put the pink slips of papers on her desk.Paris smiled at her.Chelsea was a hard worker,which is surprising from a recent college graduate.But that’s exactly what happened to her and in less than 2 years she became a top writer

“Thanks”Paris said as she looked at the slip of papers.She put her mothers message in the back of the little pile and threw Sean’s away

“The editing meeting is at 10 am and I will be bringing your coffee in a few minutes”

“Thanks Chelsea Im gonna need it”Paris said.She called back Bill Dees and Lemmie.She hung up her phone and sat back and sighed.Being a tabloid writer isn’t as easy as it seems.She looked at her clock.it was almost 10.She got her papers together and walked out of her office.

“Hey Chelsea,if I have anyone calls, tell them Im in a meeting”Paris said

“Alright”Chelsea said with a smile.Paris walked toward the conference room and she found a seat and sat down.

A few minutes later,she heard a familiar voice.”Hello Ladies!”it shouted

Paris laughed because it was mostly men in the room.The voice belonged to her best friend, Pierre Monroe.He walked in like he owned the place and he sat next to her.

“Hey girl!”he said as he hugged her and gave her a kiss on each cheek.”Nice outfit huney.I wish I had curves like you”

“But you cant because God blessed you with being a man”Paris said. Yeah, Pierre is gay.Really gay and proud of it too.

“Yeah unfortunately”Pierre said as he rolled his eyes.

“Ok lets get this party started”Lita Washington said as she walked in the conference room at 10 am sharp.She was the head editor and creator of INQUIRING MINDS magazine.”Welcome everyone and good morning”she said as she stood at the end of the long conference table and set up a presentation on a screen in front of them.

She stood before them and looked at all of them and then frowned,”Wait.. wheres Gabrielle?”she asked them.

Paris rolled her eyes.Gabrielle was a writer also and she and Pierre hated her. They called her the “Garden Tool” behind her back

“She was probably out late last night…if you know what I mean”Pierre said

“Hey,we are here to gossip about celebrities,not each other”Lita said.”We’ll just have to start without her then”she said with a shrug

Paris smiled.That meant that Gabrielle’s article probably wont make it into editing and not show up on the cover of the magazine on Monday morning.

“We have some good stories hitting the cover for next week”Lita said with a smile.”Great photography also.We’ll be the top selling tabloid magazine this week again.”she said.She showed the cover of the magazine and Paris smiled.It looked great

“We have up here the story of the Olsen Twins Scandals”she said as she pointed to the top of the cover and it showed the title and a picture of the twins

Paris laughed,”What kind of scandal could they have?”

“Sex scandals,they are almost 18 you know and their child stars?What do you expect?”Ronald,the writer of that article, said to her

“Oh so true”Pierre said,”I think Ashley will get pregnant first”

Everyone laughed at Pierre’s comment.Lita smiled,”And over here on the upper left is Drew’s article on Kathy Lee’s divorce troubles”It showed a closeup on Kathy Lee’s face,she had a very shocked look on her face

“And over here on the lower left is Pierre’s story on Beyonce and Jay Z’s engagement”she pointed to a picture of the two stars at a premiere

“They’re engaged?”Paris asked

“Um…I guess”Pierre said with an evil smile.Paris shook her head

“And in the center will be the top story of the week,or maybe even the month. The infamous rivalry between Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears and the article by Paris here on their recent catfight”she said as she pointed to the biggest picture that showed Britney standing with her arms crossed and Christina being held back by one of her bodyguards

“Congrats girl!You got the lead story!”Pierre said as he clapped his hands together.Soon everyone joined in

“Thanks everyone,but that’s not necessary”she said and blushed

“You better take the spotlight girl!Whats wrong with you?”Pierre said to her, “So who won?”

“Well Christina of course,she kicked her ass”

“Does anyone have any comments and suggestions?Or does this cover suit everyones fancy?”Lita asked

“I think my picture should be bigger.That would really tickle my pickle”Pierre said

“Sorry but Im not going to tickle any pickles.Your picture is fine as is.Anyone else?”Lita asked.”Alright,thank you everyone for the great stories this week.Deadline for next weeks edition is due Monday.Get back to work”she said with a smile.

With that,they all walked out of the conference room.Everyone congratulating Paris on the way.She went back towards her office with a big smile on her face.

“Congrats on the cover story boss”Chelsea said with a smile as she got up and walked in Paris’s office with her

“Thanks Chelsea”Paris said with a smile as she sat down at her small desk,”It feels good you know?”

“I bet it does”Chelsea said,”I cant wait til I have a cover story one day”

Paris smiled at her,”You will.I believe that that will happen to you one day”

“Oh um I don’t mean to break your good mood but your mother called while you were in the meeting”Chelsea said

Paris sighed,”You caught me.I was trying to avoid it”

“Please call her Paris”Chelsea said.”I don’t know how you cant talk to your mother.Me and my mom are so close”

“That’s the difference between you and I”Paris said

“YAY! GIRLFRIEND!”Pierre said as he came in shouting.Then he looked at Chelsea,”Oh hey little one”

Chelsea laughed,”Hey Pierre”she said as she left the room

“Why are you coming in here and shouting like that?”Paris asked him with a laugh

“Because Im happy for you girl.Another cover story,good for you”he said,”You know what we should do?Go out and celebrate”

“Oh no Pierre-“

“Hear me out.Lets go out to the club on Thursday night.Ladies free before 11”

“Which means me Pierre,not you ok?Don’t be starting fights with the bouncers because that’s the rule ok?”

“Alright no fights”Pierre said,”Come on…we haven’t been out in a long time girl”

“I know….”Paris said,”Ok Thursday night,but don’t keep me out late ok?”

“Girl I swear you are the only person who has a bedtime”Pierre said,”Your mom isn’t around to tuck you in at night-“

“Oh my mom!”Paris said as she picked up the phone

“Your going to call her?You never do that”

“I have to”Paris said

“Should I be here?You know shes homophobic”

“Don’t worry,it’ll be short and she wont know you’re here.Just be quiet for a minute.But if I do need you,I’ll give you my cue”she said as she dialed her mothers number and pressed speaker phone.She leaned back in her seat,hoping that her mother wouldn’t answer

“Hello?”came her mothers voice

Paris sighed,”Francine,its me”Her mother didn’t like to be called mother.Shes been calling her mother Francine for as long as she could remember

“Well look who decided to call”Francine said

“I know Fran,Ive been busy”Paris said

“Why don’t you call your mother anymore?Your really that busy?Too busy to pick up the phone”

“Fran…Im sorry alright?Why don’t we get together then?”

“Wow now you want to get together-”she said sarcastically

“Fran!I apologized ok?What about lunch or something?”

“Good today at 12”

“No I have a deadline that I really need to start work on.How about tomorrow?”

“Fine tomorrow…and come at 12.Not 12:15,Not 12:30.I know how you love to be late all the time-“

“Alright!I get it 12 noon tomorrow,lunch”Paris said

“Ok good we have an understanding”Francine said

“For once”Paris mumbled

“Is that mumbling I hear?”Francine asked

Paris couldn’t take it anymore,she gave Pierre the cue and he said,”Paris huney we have a meeting lets go”

“Oh Fran I gotta go-“

“Is that that gay boy?He still works there?”Francine asked

“Fran!”she said shocked.She had to hold Pierre back a little bit,”I have to go now”

“Werent you just in a meeting?Am I on speakerphone?”Francine asked

“Bye Fran!”she said and she hung up

“Im sorry to say this but your mother is such a bitch”Pierre said,”I don’t know how you could have lived with her”

“I survived”Paris said.She lived with her mother for 18 years.Once she turned 18 her mother kicked her out of the house.She said she was an official adult and could have a place for her own.Then she looked up and saw Lita call Gabrielle into her office,”Pierre look.The Garden Tool”she said as she pointed at her

They both got up and stood by her office door.

“Gabrielle,my office now”Lita said,and she wasn’t pleased

“Oooh shes gonna get it.And she so does deserve it too”Pierre said with a smile

____

Paris slammed the door as she walked back into her apartment at around 5:30 later that afternoon.She threw her briefcase on her bed and sighed.Baby looked up at her and meowed.She knew something was wrong with her.

“Im ok”she said to the cat,”I just….I need a nice bubble bath”she said as she went into the bathroom and soaked in the tub for about an hour to calm her nerves. Then she got out and dried off.She put on her silk slip,she wasn’t going to go anywhere today.She cooked herself a plate of spaghetti and fed Baby also.She ate her meal in bed and watched Entertainment Tonight,Xtra and Access Hollywood.

Soon she was sick of that and turned the tv off.She was still pissed off.She got out a notebook from her nightstand.Whenever she was upset,she would always write in her diary.Shes been doing that ever since she learned how to write.Writing was always an escape for her.She turned a few pages and found a blank page and started writing:

May 15th 2004

Sorry its been awhile Diary.Been a little busy.Work’s been fine.Until today.Let me tell you what happened!!I had the best cover story again,it was about Britney and Christina and another catfight of theirs.But then the “Garden Tool” had to ruin it,like everything else in my life.She came to work late,I thought that she would get a good yelling at when she went into Lita’s office,but I was wrong.Gabrielle is good at convincing people to have things go her way.She came late because she found some news that no other tabloid would have.She wrote an article that was so good that she convinced Lita to put it in this week’s paper!And that’s not all Diary.She convinced her to have her article as the cover story!So now my work has been pushed out of the way for that bitch!I had to write in here to vent Diary.This girl always finds a way to take away something that is mine.This article better be good.I know Im acting immature but it all seems so unfair to me.

Paris sighed as she closed the book,she felt better.She cleaned up her dinner mess and made a cup of ice cream for herself.Ice cream was also another stress reliever for her. She opened her entertainment system and took out a tape.She popped it in and soon she was laughing.

“Shut your fucking mouth Cartman!”Kyle,a cartoon character in the movie South Park yelled on the screen.South Park was also a stress reliever.Once the movie was over,she curled up in her bed next to Baby and fell fast asleep.

__

“Paris?”Chelsea asked as she walked in

“Yes Chelsea?”Paris asked her

“Heres the final edit for the cover for Monday’s edition”Chelsea said,”Do you want to see it?”

“Sure,why the hell not?Lets see how small my picture is”she said.She was also curious about what the Garden Tool wrote about.She took the final from Chelsea and gasped.

There was a picture of Jon Benet Ramsey.Then in bold letters it said, JON BENET’S KILLER COMMITS SUICIDE.She couldn’t believe that people were still talking about this poor girl.

“Did you see it?”Pierre asked as he came in

“Yeah”then she looked and saw that her article and picture was moved to the border on the bottom of the page.It was much smaller.

“Its ok huney.You’ll get your chance again.But I have to admit that sounds like a good story”Pierre said

Paris looked at him with disgust,”They shouldn’t be talking about this little girl again”When the news first came out Paris never liked hearing it

“Sorry but you know,even after death,life goes on huh?”Pierre said

“I guess so”Paris said,”I guess it looks good”she said as she put the final on her desk.She looked at her watch and sighed.She was already in a bad mood and now she had to pick up her mother for lunch.”Sorry to cut this party short.But I have a lunch date”

“Good”Chelsea said with a smile

“Oh Im sorry huney.I forgot”Pierre said

“Its ok.Ive been through a million lunches with Francine.Even though their stressful,its nothing I cant handle”she said.She said goodbye to both of them and clocked out.She got in her car and drove for about 10 minutes to her mothers small cottage.She got there at 12 on the dot.She sighed with relief.At least she wouldn’t get yelled at about being there late.She saw her mother come out of her house and got in the car

“Hey Francine”Paris said forcing a smile

“Hi Paris.Good your on time”Francine said as she got in the car.”Lets go to the diner down the street”

Paris looked at her,”The Diner?That’s like eating at McDonalds but more expensive.Lets go to Applebee’s or something,a real lunch”

“I have a craving for a cheeseburger”Francine said sternly

“Fine”Paris said as they started driving.

“Slow down Paris.You don’t own the road you know”

“Fran…please just let me drive my car”she said with a sigh.’This is going to be a long lunch hour’,she thought.She took a few deep breaths and said,”So..hows life?”

“Same shit different day”

“Oh”she said,they drove in silence,”Well life’s been fine for me,if you wanted to know”

“I bet it has”

Soon Paris pulled into The Diner’s parking lot.They found a table and ordered drinks and their food.”So hows Howard?”she asked her

Francine drank a few gulps of her iced tea,then said,”Bastard left me”

“What?When?Why?”Paris asked.She was really disappointed,”I actually liked Howard”.He was the only one out of Fran’s many boyfriends that actually sat down and wanted to get to know her

“Well I did too”Francine said

“Well?What happened?”

“I would not like to discuss it”

“Fine”Paris said.she never really told her anything.But it was funny that all of a sudden her boyfriends would leave her.She sat there.”Well what happened Fran?Im dying to know”

“Why?So you can write about it in your magazine of yours?”

“Fran?That was real low.How could you say such a thing?”Paris asked. Soon their plates arrived.Francine got her burger and fries and Paris had her chicken Caesar salad

“Well it’s the truth.The stuff you write in that magazine is pure nonsense”

“I thought you were proud of me”

“I am.Im proud of that nice car you have,those nice checks that you get every friday and that nice apartment that you never invite me to”

“Correction.I have tried to invite you over many times.You were always busy”

“Now you know how it feels”

Paris stared at Francine.Why was she acting like this?”What is this?Gang up on Paris day?”she said in disbelief,”You know what?Forget I ever asked.I was just trying to have a decent conversation with my mother-“then she stopped.Uh oh,she said the M word

“What did you say?”

“I said mother.I mean that’s what you are”Paris said angrily

“I know that.But I would rather you call me Francine.That is the name on my birth certificate,not mother”

They sat there in silence and ate their meals

“Look Paris”Francine said,breaking the silence.”Lets just forget about it ok?”

“Fine”Paris said.

“Im done”Francine said

“Me too”Paris said.She looked at her watch.It was only 12:30 but she didn’t care.She would rather drive around aimlessly then spend anymore time with this woman

“Would you both like to take a look at our dessert menu?”the waitress said as she came over

“No thank you.Can you bring the check please?”Paris asked.The waitress nodded and walked off

“Thanks for asking.I might have wanted a cheesecake”

“Fran.The only desserts they have here are milkshakes and cookies”

The waitress put the check on the table.Paris picked it up and sighed.They might as well have went to McDonalds and ordered off the dollar menu,it would have been much cheaper.

“I’ll be in the car”Francine said as she took Paris’ keys from off the table and walked out.Leaving her to pay the bill.Paris sighed and paid it and got up and left The Diner.

“Whooo!You look so sexy girl.Work it!”Pierre said excitedly when Paris opened the door

Paris laughed.”Thanks Pierre.You don’t look too bad yourself.Let me just get my purse”she said as she walked back into her room and found a black purse to match her black jump suit that had one sleeve,she had on black heels to complete the outfit. She threw a few things in the purse and kissed her cat goodye.

“You still kiss that cat?”Pierre asked as he looked at himself in the mirror.He had on a silver dress shirt with black pants.

“Why not?Shes all I have”Paris said with a smile

“Oh?So I guess I don’t count anymore huh?”Pierre asked.pretending to be offended

“Oh Pierre stop.Anyways if I kissed you,you wouldn’t like it too much”

“True,but remember that time we were both drunk and we played spin the bottle at that party?”

Paris laughed,”Yeah I was surprised you agreed to kiss me”

“Well I was the only gay guy at that party.I was only allowed to kiss girls.But I must say that that was a nice kiss you slapped on me”

“Why thank you”she said as they both walked out and she locked her door.They both headed to Pierre’s black Mustang

“Well damn look at us.We will be the best looking couple in the whole place”Pierre said.They both got in and drove to the waterside part of town.They pulled up to this place called Flanagan’s

“Flanagan’s?We’re going to Flanagan’s?”Paris asked

“Yeah why not?”Pierre asked as he shut off the car and got out

Paris got out slowly,”Well for one,it’s a straight club-“

“So?”

“Pierre your not going to have any fun-“

“Well I haven’t been here,and you haven’t been here in awhile so…it’s a free country”

Paris sighed,sometimes she hated going to clubs.All she wanted to do was come to dance and it seemed like every guy was looking for a girl to lay,and they all came to her.It was annoying.”Ok but if anyone says anything to me-“

“Ok Paris I know.You should be happy.You should move on from Sean you know”he said as they walked

“I have,Im just not looking for a boyfriend right now.Im too picky anyways”she said.She noticed three guys walking down the street towards them.She didn’t think anything of it until one of them decided to be bold

He leaned over and whispered,”Too tough” in her ear

Paris looked at the guy,”Too tough?Ugh,your giving me too much”she said as she kept walking

“Paris are you crazy?He was hot!”Pierre said

“Then I hope he was talking to you”

“What did he say?”

“Too tough”

“That’s it?What does that mean?Well I know he wasn’t talking to me then”

“I don’t know.I mean,is that a compliment?”she asked as they got to the door.

“Ugh you girls are so lucky”Pierre said after they got their bracelets from the bouncers,”I have to pay ten bucks to get in here? This party better be good”

And it was,surprisingly.Paris had a good time and since she was with Pierre the whole time,no guy came near her.

“Hey I have to go to the water closet”Pierre shouted and then he disappeared. Paris just shrugged.She was a little tired anyways.She leaned against the stage and watched other people dance to some reggae song.She laughed as she watched some drunk girl dance with a tambourine.She left the stage and decided to go to the bar and get something to drink.Then she felt hands around her waist.

“Hey babe”she said without looking back,”Come on lets get something to drink”she said to Pierre.Then she felt the hands go lower,touching her ass.She turned around and it wasn’t Pierre

“Hey girl,come on and dance with me with that sexy ass of yours”the guy said

“Uh uh,what your gonna do is take your hands off of me”Paris said as she snatched his hands away from her body

“Come on,I just want one little dance”

“You better start walking right now”Paris warned him.Then Pierre came over to her

“Is there a problem?”Pierre asked as he pushed the guy away slightly,but then didn’t let go,”Hmmm…you have some nice muscles fella”

“What the fuck man!?”the guy said.then some other guys came to his rescue,”I aint no faget man,you better get the fuck off of me!”he said as he snatched Pierre’s hands off his arm

A few minutes later,Paris and Pierre were outside of the club.”Damn I didn’t think they were going to kick me out”

“It’s a straight club Pierre!”Paris said,even though she was happy to leave but it was embarrassing HOW they left.Paris stopped,”Pierre.You have to understand that you cant just go into a straight club and leave with a guy.God blessed you with a penis Pierre.And some guys are not into that!”

“Unfortunately”Pierre said,”Im thinking about getting it removed”he said with a smile

“Pierre Im serious”

“I know you are Paris and that’s the problem.Your always too serious,you never have any fun.Besides tonight you haven’t had any fun in a long time.Believe it or not,I didn’t go to that straight club to find a date.I go there because I have fun dancing to that kind of music.They don’t play that kind of music in gay clubs.I just wanted something different”Pierre sighed,”Im sorry I hit on that guy.Sometimes I cant help myself”

“You don’t have to apologize,and thanks for saving me….kinda”Paris said

“Your welcome”Pierre said.It was a little past midnight,”You ready to go back home or what?”

Paris smiled.”No not really”

“Would you mind if we went to Club Flash?”Pierre asked,it was a gay club that was a few blocks away

“Am I allowed in there?”she asked as they got in his car

“Yeah as long as you don’t hit on any guys”he said and winked,”You can meet some of my friends”he said as they drove off

__

“Oh God”Paris said as she clocked in the next morning.She went straight into her office,not saying hello to Chelsea and sat down.

“You ok?”Chelsea asked as she walked in

“Yeah,just had a rough night that’s all”Paris said,”Never hang out with Pierre at one of his clubs.You will be there until 4 in the morning”she said with a laugh and then yawned.She was dead tired.

“Well heres the final edition of Mondays magazine”Chelsea said as she put the magazine on her desk.

“Looks good”she said quietly as she stared at the picture of Jon Benet,still wishing that it was her story on the cover.

“Don’t worry Paris,you’ll have your chance”Chelsea said

“Oh Im not upset anymore”she lied,”I mean this new article that Im writing for Monday’s deadline,it will make the cover Im sure.You just gotta brush yourself off after you fall down”

Chelsea smiled,”That’s the spirit.Um here are some messages.Lemmie Williams called and….um Sean called twice”

Paris sighed,”Why does he keep calling here?”

“You blocked him off your caller Id”Chelsea said,”That’s what he said”

“And is he surprised?After what he did?”Paris asked angrily,then she took a deep breath,she wasn’t going to waste any time talking about that jerk.”Im not going to waste any time talking about that jerk”she said as she took the pink slips from Chelsea,”Thanks”she said as she threw Sean’s message away

“If you throw that away,hes going to keep calling”Chelsea said

“I really don’t care,hes nothing but trash anyways”she said

Chelsea laughed,”Ok I will bring your coffee”

“Thanks Chel”she said as she talked to Lemmie on the phone.When she was done,she felt accomplished.Lemmie was her photographer and has been helping her with her latest deadline.She got her faxes from him and kept working on her story.

Then without warning,Pierre came bursting into her office.”Paris come here right now”

“What?Whats going on?”she asked him

“Lita wants us in her office now”Pierre said with a smile

“Is it a good thing?”Paris asked as she saved her work on her computer and got up

“She didn’t seem too upset”Pierre said as he took her hand and walked into her office

Lita smiled as she sat behind her fabulous desk.”Sit down you two,we have some things to discuss”

Paris and Pierre sat down,she sat there nervously,hoping that it wasn’t any bad news,”Whats up Lita?”Pierre asked

“Well whats up is that there is this big party in LA at the club Suite 16?I think you all have heard of it”Lita said

“Of course,that’s where all the celebs and the rich hob nob”Paris said

“Well,just for some more stories for the magazine and to get you two some exposure to the celebrity world,I am sending you two to the party”Lita said with a smile

Paris and Pierre looked at each other and almost screamed at the top of their lungs,they got up and hugged each other.Some of the other workers could hear and kind of stood by the office to see what the commotion was about

“Don’t you guys want to know what to do?”Lita asked

Paris and Pierre calmed down and sat back down,”Thank you Lita.”Paris said excitedly.

“Ok,the party is tonight,the doors open at 7.I suggest you to be there so you can get in before the crowds.There will be a desk,you give them your names and say that you are there for INQUIRING MINDS and they will give you blue tags and you are on your way in.But don’t interview,just watch mostly,maybe listen to people’s conversations.Gossip and good stories are all around you,you just have to listen”

“Wow this is so awesome”Pierre said

“Now it’s a black tie affair,so don’t be going in there with jeans and tube tops”Lita said with a laugh

“Oh I have the perfect outfit!”Pierre said as he clapped his hands

“Well that’s it.If you both need to leave early to get ready.I’ll let you off at 3.But if you don’t have your deadlines done,I suggest you get them done since you wont be back til Monday”Lita said as she stood up.”Any questions?”she asked as they shook her hand and walked them out of her office

“Are we going to be paid extra for this?”Pierre asked

“Pierre!”Paris said

“Yeah,there will be a bonus for you guys”Lita said with a smile,”A nice big one.Now excuse me I have some calls to make,represent well for the magazine ok?”she said to them

“We will”Pierre and Paris said excitedly

“Whats all the commotion about?”Gabrielle asked

“Its none of your concern”Paris said

“We are going to the Suite 16 party tonight.We were picked personally by Lita herself”Pierre bragged

Gabrielle crossed her arms,”Oh”she said simply

“Yeah and we are going to be paid extra”Pierre said,”You know what?Its great when you actually earn a great opportunity like this,you should try that sometime”

“Try what?”Gabrielle asked sarcastically

“Doing some actual work around here”he said and then he put his arm around Paris,”Ohmygod,I know exactly what Im going to wear girl”he said as they walked into Paris’ office

“I cant believe you just said that to her”Paris said

“It’s the truth,it hurts and shall set you free”Pierre said

“Whats going on?”Chelsea asked as she walked in.Then Paris told her about the party,”Wow congratulations.Have fun for me ok?”she said,”Oh and Sean called while you were gone”

“Hes still calling?”Pierre asked

“Ugh….”Paris said,”Isnt this called stalking?”Paris asked as she sat down

“He just calls too much,stalking implies that he actually follows you around” Chelsea said

Paris looked at her clock,it was almost 12.She could get a quick lunch and finish her deadline and then go home and get ready.”You guys want some lunch?”Paris asked,”Im gonna need it if I need to finish this deadline in the next three hours”

__

“Pierre,I really don’t think that this is a good idea”Paris said as she stared in her mirror at her baby blue dress and her baby blue eyes

“Huney,those contacts bring out the color of your dress and your dress brings out the color of your eyes.It’s a perfect match”Pierre said,”Wow Paris,I can honestly say that you look cuter than me”

“Thanks…its just..Im not used to sticking things in my eyes”she said as she blinked a few times,”And anyways I have perfect vision,I don’t need these”

“Oh don’t worry,you’ll barely know their there”Pierre said,”Now we can go,its 6:30 and we’re gonna be late if we don’t leave now”he said as he pulled her out the door.They got into his Mustang and drove towards Suite 16,”Ooh Im so excited.We get to hang out with the rich and famous!”

“I know,its all too surreal huh?And we get paid for it”she said with a laugh

“My father owns Pepsi”

“What?”Paris asked him

“That’s my story,if anyone asks how Im rich and famous,Im going to say that my father owns Pepsi”

“Really?Well then my mother owns Coke”she said sarcastically

“No…lets see what we can do with you….ahhh!Your grandfather inherited the Hilton hotels!”Pierre said

“Pierre hello!Im not Paris or Nikki Hilton”

“Oh yeah I forgot about them.Um…..oh!Your uncle owns the MGM Grand hotel in Vegas”

“I can go with that”Paris said with a smile.Soon they drove up at 7 on the dot.They didn’t have to wait too long.They went up to the table and she said,”Paris Madison”

“Pierre Monroe”Pierre said excitedly.The lady checked and gave them purple tags,”I thought they were blue?”Pierre asked

“We changed our minds.Next!”she said

“This doesn’t go with my outfit at all!”he said as he pointed to his blue sparkly shirt and ivory pants

“It doesn’t go with mine either”Paris said as they walked in

“Here keep mine in your purse too”he said as he stuffed both of theirs into her purse

“Wow,this place is nice”Paris said.There were red carpets everywhere,fountains and rich and famous people.

“Be right back”Pierre said and then he disappeared.

She walked and got a drink.She saw Usher standing by with two women,he was in deep conversation with both of them and had his arms around both of their waists.She took out her phone and took a picture.That looked like a great story.She did as she was told and was a wallflower,she pretended to be on her phone while she listened to other peoples conversations,she stayed in the girls bathroom for a good fifteen minutes to hear some gossip.She walked out the bathroom with a smile on her face,she had more than enough stories.She just hoped that Pierre was doing the same,he totally ditched her.Then she felt her eye twitching,then she took out a small mirror from out of her purse.Her contact was gone!”Oh no”she said as she got on her knees and tried to look for it.

“Um…Miss?Can I help you?”she heard a voice ask

“I lost my contact lense”she said without looking up.She saw someone kneel down in front of her,she looked up and gasped.It was Justin Timberlake!

“Were you standing right here when it fell out?”he asked her

“Um yeah”she said

“What color is it?”he asked

“Blue”she said,not believing that THE Justin Timberlake was on the floor looking for her measly contact lense.They kept looking,she almost got stepped on a few times

“Is that it?”he pointed,she looked and saw it,”I don’t want to pick it up if its going back into your eyeball”he said with a laugh

“Thanks but no its not”she said as she picked it up.He then grabbed her hand and helped her up,”As you can tell these aren’t my real color”she said as she pointed to her eyes

“Why are you wearing them?”he asked

“My friend said that they matched my dress”she said,now feeling stupid

“Well you look nice”Justin said.Then someone came over and whispered in his ear and started to pull him away,”I gotta go”

“Thanks”she said to him,he did a small wave and disappeared into the crowd. Wow she just had small talk with Justin Timberlake!?Then she sighed,she forgot to take a picture of him.She went back into the bathroom and took out her other lense. She was perfectly fine with her dark brown eyes anyway.She walked out and wondered where Pierre was.She got another drink and stood by the staircase.She looked down at the first floor and saw Pierre,he was talking to JC of *NSYNC!Then she looked closely and saw that JC didn’t look too happy.She sighed and headed downstairs

__

“Whats wrong JC?”Justin asked as he came up to JC and some guy with a sparkly shirt.

“This dude is trying to hit on me!”JC said

“I was not.I was having a pleasant conversation with him”the guy said. Justin could tell that this guy was gay,”Hello Justin how are you today?”

“Im fine thanks,but JC lets go and not start anything”Justin whispered into JC’s ear

“Secrets,secrets are no fun unless their shared with everyone!”Pierre said happily

“What?”Justin and JC asked

“Hey do you guys want me to get you guys some drinks?Some caviar?”

“No thanks dude really”JC said

“How about a dance?”Pierre asked

“What!”JC said a little loudly,”Why don’t you go back to your gay club man. I am not like that so leave us alone!”

“JC calm down”

“This guy has been following me around this whole party”JC hissed

Justin sighed,”Hey lets just-“

“Pierre Monroe right?”he heard a familiar voice,he looked and saw the girl who lost her contact lense.She was talking to the gay guy

“Yes”he said

“Your father owns Pepsi right?”she asked him

“Yes he does”he said as he looked at JC up and down.Justin had to hold him back.

“Well my uncle owns…..um…..he directs commercials,and we need to talk about doing some big Pepsi commercial how does that sound?”she asked as she pulled the guy away

“Um sure”he said as he walked away

“Ok JC calm down hes gone”Justin said

“He was following me around,he was staring at me and he kept wanting to buy me a drink man”JC said

“Well lets go get you one so you can calm down a little,you almost caused a scene”Justin said

__

“You almost caused a scene!”Paris said as she pulled Pierre out of the party,they walked into the parking lot

“Paris calm down,I was only trying to get to know the boy”

Paris grabbed Pierre’s face and brought it closer to hers,”Pierre listen to me. God blessed you with balls and I am positive that JC doesn’t want yours”

“Ugh you don’t know that”Pierre said,”Oh and you almost screwed up our story”

“What?”she asked as she let go of him

“Your uncle owns MGM Grand remember?He doesn’t make commercials”

“I don’t care,at least I got you out of there.I cant believe that you hit on JC Chasez!”

“Hes hot!My mother always told me to aim for bigger things”he said,”I wonder how big his thing…is”he said with a laugh

“Ugh I cant believe Im hearing this!”Paris said as she walked to his car,”I have all the stories I need and I hope you do too cuz we’re leaving”

“Good,Im starving and caviar tastes like shit.Lets go get a pizza”Pierre said as they got into the car,”I have some stories too.Maybe I can write a story about JC and I”

“No Pierre,because next thing you know.JC’s people are going to call our offices suing us.Lita told us to behave while we’re here.And I had to drag you out of the place”

“Ok Im sorry geez”Pierre said,”You want some pizza?”

“Yeah,the caviar did taste like shit”she said as they drove off.

__

Paris put on her new Nike’s and laced them up.It was later on Saturday afternoon and she tries to take a run every afternoon to keep herself in shape. Shes been slacking lately because of all the partying the past two days.She got up and adjusted her baby blue sports bra that zipped up the front.She locked the door and went downstairs,she went out the back door of the apartment complex and walked a few minutes until she approached some steps that led down to the beach.The sun had about another half hour before it set,the sky was a nice blue and pink.

She put her hair back in a ponytail and then started jogging.She ran past a few people relaxing on small beach chairs,a few children playing in the water and a guy playing with his golden retriever.As she ran she listened to the sound of the waves and the seagulls and let the wind blow her hair,it was all really relaxing.She loved living by the beach.

As she ran further she heard some voices,she saw a few guys throwing a football around through her peripheral vision and kept running not paying attention. She then looked to her right as she ran and saw the sun start to set,she smiled,she loved seeing the sun rise and set.

Then she heard a shout and turned her head,all of a sudden she saw something fly right at her head,then everything was black.

__

“Im sick of tired of that bus breaking down.I think Johnny needs to call the bus company and demand a new bus”Lance said to Chris as he threw the ball to Joey

“Yeah next thing you know,the bus will be blowing up,with us on it”Chris said

“That could happen,Im serious”Lance said to him as he caught the football and held it

“Hey!Stop chit chatting over there!”they heard Justin call,”Stop being a ball hog Lance!”

“Shut up man!”Lance said as he threw it to JC,”Your just mad that you cant throw”

“Oh I cant throw huh?”Justin called,”Give me the ball right quick JC”he said. JC handed him the ball,”I bet neither of you can catch this”he yelled to Chris and Lance,”GO LONG!”Justin yelled as he ran backwards and threw the ball up and beyond where Lance and Chris were standing,he saw them run for it,”They wont be able to catch it”he said with a laugh

“Uh oh”Joey said

“What?”JC asked and Joey pointed.There was a girl running along the beach and the ball was coming right toward her,”Justin!”JC shouted at him,”Look”

Justin looked and saw the girl,”Oh no”he said,then he shouted,”HEY WATCH OUT!”he yelled.He saw the girl turn and saw the ball fly right at her and in less than a second she fell to the ground.”Oh shit!”he said as he ran to the girl,leaving JC and Joey standing there with their mouths wide open.

Chris laughed in shock,”Your right Justin,we didnt catch that one”

“Great now we’re gonna have a lawsuit”Lance said,”What if she has a concussion and slips into a coma?”

“Lance shut up and calm down”Justin said as he kneeled on the sand next to the girl.She looked familiar but couldn’t think of where she saw her.Then he realized that he didn’t know what to do,”What should I do?”he said

“CPR baby!”Joey said as he and JC ran up,”The girl is hot”

“But shes still breathing”Justin said,he leaned in and whispered in the girls ear,”Can you hear me?Wake up”

“Step back guys,give her some air”Lance said to Chris,Joey and JC

He poked the girls cheeks slightly,”Hey wake up please”he whispered

“Justin don’t poke at her”Lance said.Then they saw the girl move

__

Paris heard voices,then she blinked a few times and opened her eyes. She heard a guys voice whispering and she felt someone touching her face.Then her eyes focused and she saw who it was.Justin Timberlake!?Great,now she was going crazy.

She sat up really fast and rubbed her eyes.She looked at him,yep he was still there.She stared at him and he did the same

“Its you”they both said at the same time.Then they both laughed,”I know you don’t I?”Justin asked her

“Kinda yeah,you helped find my contact lense”she said and blinked her eyes a few times

“Ok,how many fingers am I holding up?”Justin said as he held up two fingers

Paris smiled,”That’s a peace sign,not a number”

Justin laughed,”I think shes ok fellas”he said.She looked and noticed other guys standing around,and to her amazement and surprise,it was the rest of *NSYNC.

“Oh hi”she said as Justin helped her up

“Hi”they all said

“Guys this is….”then he realized he never got her name

“Paris”she said with a smile

“Oh!She was at the party”JC said with a smile

“So…you two met before?”Joey asked

“Yeah at Suite 16,you were off flirting or something”Justin said,”Well Paris,nice to meet you”he said with a smile,”This is Chris.JC.Lance and Joey”

“Nice to meet you guys”she said as she shook their hands

“Are you sure your ok Paris?”he asked her,”You want a drink or something? Or walk you to your hotel room or something?”

“Girl you wanna come to my hotel,baby I’ll give you my room key”Chris started singing

“Shut up Chris”Justin said

“Well um…”she said,as she wiped the sand off of her baby blue spandex shorts

“Lemme get you a water at least”Justin said

“Ok”she said

“I’ll be back guys”Justin said as he picked up the almost fatal football and handed it to Chris

“We’ll be near the hotel”Lance said as they walked off

Paris and Justin made their way to the concession stand,”Damn I am really really sorry about that”

“Its fine,I have a slow reaction anyways”Paris said,”Do I have a big bruise?”she asked him

“No…Im hoping there wont be one.Im so sorry”

“You don’t have to apologize”she said,this was too crazy for her.First he finds her contact lense,then he knocks her out with a football and now was begging for forgiveness and buying her a drink.Justin Timberlake of all people?

“So whats your last name?”he asked her

“Madison”

“Paris Madison”he repeated,”That’s pretty”

“Thanks”she said as she felt herself blushing,she turned her head away so he wouldn’t see.They walked to the concession stand,he ordered her a water and a Coke for himself

“Are you sure that’s all you want?”he asked her

“Yeah Im fine”she said,even though he could probably buy the whole drink stand for her.

“$2.50 for bottled water?That’s ridiculous”he said as he handed her the water bottle

“Thanks,hey this is LA”she said,she was surprised that he didn’t want to pay a measly $2.50.She laughed

“Whats so funny?”he asked

“I just….sorry this is too unreal for me”she said

“What do you mean?”he asked

“You act….you act too normal”she said,”And on top of that Im walking the beach with a celebrity”

“I always act normal”he said,”That’s the misconception of us celebs,we are all normal people…but when you start reading the tabloids and stuff,we seem larger than life….I hate tabloids”he said

Paris froze,uh oh,she hoped he wouldn’t ask her what she did.

“So,wheres your hotel?”he asked her

“Oh I live here”she said,then she pointed to tall brick apartment complex that was down the strip,”That’s where I live”

“Oh,that must be great,to live by the water”he said as they walked towards her apartment

“Yeah,I love the beach”she said,then took a few gulps of her water

“Me too”he said,”When I retire Im going to buy a nice cottage on an exotic island and live by the water until I shrivel up and die”

Paris looked at him,”That’s funny,me too.I want to retire on the beach”she smiled,”Whats your sign?”she asked

“Aquarius”

“Get out,me too”she laughed,”Well that’s why,we are air signs but our symbol is water”

“Yeah”he said with a smile.They continued walking,she couldn’t help but smile.They had some things in common already,this was really scaring her.Soon they arrived at her complex

“This is me”she said as she pointed to the steps that lead to her complex

“Will you be ok walking by yourself the rest of the way?”he asked concerned

“That’s sweet of you but Im fine.Ive regained all of my consciousness”she said with a smile

“Well it was nice running into you”he said,”Maybe the next time I see you,you wont be on the ground”he said with a wink

She laughed,knowing that those two incidents were pure luck and she wouldn’t see him again,”Yeah maybe.Thanks Justin”

“Your welcome Paris,bye”he said as he turned around and walked down the beach

She walked up the steps and stood there and watch his figure get smaller and smaller as he walked further down the beach.She looked and saw the sun setting,it was only a few minutes before it would get dark.She shook her head,not believing her luck,she ran into Justin Timberlake twice and had small talk with him.Now he knew her name.Then she cursed at herself as she walked into her apartment complex,she forgot a picture again

__

“No bruise,good”Paris said to herself as she checked herself out in the mirror again.It was later on that night and she was about to pass out and go to sleep.She just took a shower and went into the kitchen to put some dishes away.Then there was a knock at the door.”Who the hell is coming here so late?”she asked as she went to the door

She didn’t look through the peephole and opened the door.Then she felt the door being pushed open.The person let themselves in and closed and locked the door. It was Sean.

“Sean!What the hell are you doing here!?”she yelled

“Please Paris,don’t yell or throw me out.Just hear me out”he said as he leaned against the door so she couldn’t open it

“Im not hearing you out Sean.When I told you that I never wanted to see you again,I meant it.What part of that did you not understand?”she said

“Please Paris-“

“Get out”she said

“Paris I love you-“

“The hell you don’t Sean.If you loved me,you wouldn’t have broken my heart and hurt me like you did!”

“Im sorry-“

“Sorry doesn’t cut it,not anymore.Now get out”she said

“Paris just understand this ok?I gotta tell you where I was coming from when that happened!”he said as he walked over to her and hugged her

“GET OFF ME!”she yelled as she tried to push him off of her.She started to hit him

“Paris stop!LISTEN TO ME!”he yelled at her.She finally got out of his grasp and ran into her room and went towards the phone,”What are you doing?”

“Im calling the cops.I gave you many opportunities to leave and you didn’t so I will let them escort you out”she said.He grabbed the phone from her,”Isnt this stalking?!”

“Stalking implies me following you around”he said

“Whatever,I am feeling threatened”she said,”Get out Sean and make this easier on yourself.We are over,its done.Why don’t you go and find someone else!”

“Fine”he said angrily as he threw the phone across the room,”But I love you Paris and I did so much for you,I BOUGHT you this goddamn apartment!”

“So?And I bought you that Rolex”she said

“That doesn’t count.I can easily take it from you”he said.Then he left the room and slammed her door

She shook her head,he had some nerve coming over here and saying that he loved her one minute and threatened to take her apartment from her another minute. Sean has really gone crazy.She picked up her phone,she was thankful that her bedroom was carpeted so the phone didn’t break.She put it back on the charger.Then she heard a loud meow.It was Baby.She looked under the bed and saw Baby hiding under it.

“Baby come on out.Hes gone ok?Hes never going to come back”she said,hoping that what she was saying was true.After some more coaxing the cat finally came out from under the bed.

She got in bed and took the cat with her and pet her until they both fell asleep.

__

“He tried to attack you?”Pierre asked her the next day.They both were eating some takeout Chinese food in her apartment

“No,he was trying to get me back.But I wouldn’t hear it.I threatened to call the police and he said all this other bullshit about how much he loves me and how much he has done for me”

“That is bullshit.You need someone to be here with you”he said,”Which reminds me,Im a little behind on my rent and I need to stay here ok?Just for like a day or two”he said,”Thanks”

Paris laughed,”Ok Pierre,sure you can stay here”she said sarcastically

“Oh but guess what happened to me last night?”

“What?”

“Oh I met this guy,and I have a date with him tonight”

“Where did you meet him?”she asked

“At that new club that opened up?The Rainbow.Its really nice”

“So whats the lucky guys name?”she asked

“Rico”he said with a smile,”You know like Rico Suave?”

“Yeah”she said with a laugh

“Oh hes such a hottie too.You should meet him”

“I would love to”she said smiling

__

“Eggs”she said as she looked on her list,she went toward the dairy section and got her eggs,”Check”she said

“Attention Wal-Mart shoppers.Rachel Stevens,your party is waiting for you at register 20.Rachel Stevens,your party is waiting for you at register 20”a voice said over the intercom

Paris shook her head,everytime she came here,some child got lost.Which wasn’t that hard,shes gotten lost a few times also.She put the eggs in her cart and went towards the bread section.She turned the corner quickly and then ran into someone else’s cart,She dropped her purse in the collision and picked it up,”Im so sorry”she said as she kneeled on the floor

She heard the person laugh and they said,”I thought that the next time I would see you,I wouldn’t find you on the ground”

She looked up and it was Justin!She laughed and stood up.”What the hell are you doing in Wal-Mart?”she asked.She looked at his cart and it was pretty full.

“Why cant I be in Wal-Mart?”he asked as he adjusted his sunglasses,”I need to do some shopping too”

“You just don’t find celebs like you in Wal-Marts”she said with a laugh as she put some bread in her cart and checked it off on her list

“Yeah you find their personal shoppers doing it for them.I don’t have one though,I prefer to do my own shopping”he said

“Good for you”she said as they both pushed their carts together and walked down one aisle

“I hope you have cart insurance,that was a real bad crash back there”he said with a laugh

“Oh I do”she said with a smile

“Hows your head?”he asked her as they both went towards the registers

“Huh?”

“You know,yesterday?The football incident?”

“Oh,yeah its fine.No bruises”

“Ok good thank God”he said as he went in register 15,and she was in 16.”Jon Benet’s killer commited suicide?”he said

Paris looked at him,”What?”she asked,then she saw the tabloid.She almost forgot all about it,”Oh….I guess so”

“Wow,I wonder if that is even true.Olsen Twins scandal?”he said as he picked it up.”Britney and Christina catfight!?Now that one is not true,that one is kinda funny”he said as he put it back,the lady behind him in line took one.”I don’t know how people can read that stuff”

Paris stayed quiet as the cashier rang up her stuff,She put the cart back at the front and carried her bags.Soon Justin pushed his cart behind her,”Let me walk you to your car”

“That’s fine you don’t have to”she said,but then she noticed that they were already at her car,she parked in the first spot,”Oh never mind”she said as she looked at her baby blue Audi.”This is me”she said as she opened her trunk and put her bags in

“Oh….nice”he said.She looked at him,for a minute,she noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes.She was gonna ask him what was wrong but he then said,”So we run into each other again huh?”

“Yeah,its kinda funny”she said as she closed her trunk

“Well I guess I’ll see you around Paris.Somewhere”he said with a laugh

“Bye Justin”she said.She shook her head,why was she getting so lucky lately?

__

“There is a car pileup on I-4,so if you are trying to get home that way.Don’t expect to get there anytime soon”the radio dj said as Paris got in her car.

“Shit”she said to herself,she will have to take a couple of shortcuts and she’ll be getting home a little later than usual.She pulled out of her parking spot and drove out of the parking garage and drove home.It was really hot today,the hottest its ever been in awhile.She took off her black and white pinstriped blazer and put the top down.She made a few turns through back roads and neighborhoods.

She cut through a neighborhood that had a lot of gates and brick fences.The most expensive neighborhood in this area.As she was driving,her car started to slow down and it got really hot.Then all of a sudden it turned off.

“What the-?”she said as she took off her seatbelt and got out of the car.She opened the hood but it looked like nothing was wrong.She tried starting her car but it just wheezed,”Come on girl,you can do it.Wake up for me.Mama’s gotta get home” she said to the car as she kept trying to turn on the ignition.It still wouldn’t start. What was wrong with the car?She got out and opened the hood but didn’t know what to do,”Ugh shit”she whined as she hit the car

“Whats wrong?”she heard a voice ask.She turned around and smiled.It was you-know-who.”Where did you come from?”she asked him,”Everytime I see you,you always pop out of somewhere”

“Well I came from my house”Justin smiled as he pointed to the house across the street with a gate,”What happened?”he asked her as he came up to the car

“I don’t know.Theres a big accident on I-4 so I just decided to take a few shortcuts and this street was one of them.Then it just stopped”

“And lemme guess,you don’t know what to do?”he asked with a smile

Paris smiled.”Yeah,Im a damsel in distress once again”

“Well at least I didn’t find you on the ground like the last three incidents”he said,”Tell you what,lemme look at it.Put it in neutral and lemme look at it in my garage”

“Thanks Justin”she said,she got in the car and put it in neutral and he pushed it across his long driveway and into his garage.Paris gasped once she looked inside his garage.There were two Harley’s,a silver SUV,two Mercedes and a moped.There was a big fish tank that covered up the entire back wall and there was a flat screen hanging on the right wall and lots of tools hanging on the left.The garage was bigger than her whole apartment

“So?Just got off from work?”he asked as he looked at her outfit as he opened the hood

“Yeah”she said as she looked around,”Nice place you got here”

“Thanks.My mom did all the decorating I just bought all the cars and bikes and put them in here”he said,”Oh theres the problem”he said

“What?”

“Your battery,it died”

“What?I just got it checked!”

“When did you get it checked?”

“Like two months ago”she said,”And it was at a really good and cheap price too”

“Then that’s a problem,it was a good and cheap price for a cheap battery”he said,”Where did you go?”

“To this place called HP”

“Oh….they have ripped some people off.You should go to West Coast Customs”

“I don’t have the money to go there”she said softly.But he didn’t hear her as he opened the trunk of one of his Mercedes

“Well I can jack it up for you then”he said.About ten minutes later,her car was good and running

Paris smiled,”Thanks Justin”she said as she went in her purse,”You really didn’t have to but you did”she said as she got out her wallet

“No no,don’t”Justin said

“No let me.I gotta repay you somehow”

“Its fine”Justin said as he wiped his hands on some old jeans that he was wearing,”Its not like I pimped your ride or anything”he said with a laugh

“Well you still didn’t have to”she said

“Its hot in here,you want something to drink?You know wait til your car cools off a little”he asked her

“Um…”

“Come on,Im not taking no for an answer”he said as he opened a door that led into the house

“Ok”she said,giving in as she walked into his house.The garage led right into the kitchen.Her mouth hung open as she followed Justin into the room.The kitchen was beautiful.Everything was new and everything was hardwood,even the washing machine and the refrigerator was made out of wood.

“Want a wine cooler?”he asked as he opened his fridge was full

“Sure,thank you”she said as she leaned against the hardwood island that was in the middle of the kitchen.The kitchen was also bigger than her whole apartment

Justin dug into his fridge and then he sighed,”I swear I bought some…they are probably hidden somewhere”he said as he took out two cans of Coke,”Is Coke ok?”

“That’s fine”she said as he handed her one,”Thank you”then she smiled,”So I guess you don’t drink Pepsi huh?”

“Pepsi?Why?”

“Well because the whole Britney thing…she did Pepsi commercials,you used to date her…”she said then took a sip

Justin shook his head,”I drink both actually.I buy Coke cuz they are on sale more”he said with a laugh and then looked at her,”You read that in one of those tabloids didn’t you?I remember seeing that somewhere.I don’t know where those people got those stories from,they are all rumors.I don’t even know how people can do a job like that you know?Writing about lies 24/7”

Paris stopped drinking so she wouldn’t choke on it,she cleared her throat,”Um yeah….”

“Oh speaking of jobs…what do you do?”he asked as he leaned against his counter,”Your dressed all nice in your pinstriped suit”

“Thanks”she said

“So…what do you do?”he asked her

She couldn’t tell him the truth now,obviously.If she did he probably would have her arrested or kill her on the spot.”Um…Im…I write”

“You’re a writer huh?What do you write?”he asked

“Um….romance novels”she lied.Well it wasn’t a total lie.That’s what she wanted to do when she was little.That’s how she learned how to read in the first place.She read her mothers romance novels instead of the childrens books.Sometimes she still wants that.

“Oh you’re a romantic aren’t you?Have you had anything published?”

“No.Im still shopping around,still writing”

Justin nodded his head,”Well…”he frowned,”Sorry to ask this…but…if you have nothing published,how do you get paid and drive that….car”

“Oh,well I work a 9 to 5 during the day,on the side”

“Oh that’s cool.What do you do?”

“Im….a secretary….for a lawyer”

“Cool.If I get into any trouble I should call you then”he said with a smile.Then his phone rang,”Excuse me”he said as he went to answer it

Paris sighed with relief.Saved by the ring.She hated lying but she didn’t want to be hated either.She finished the Coke and looked around the kitchen.It was very nicely decorated,it was beautiful

“Ok…love you…bye”Justin said and hung up

Paris sighed,that was probably Cameron Diaz or someone.”Who was that?”she asked.Then she sighed and covered her mouth,”Ohmygod.I cant believe I said that out loud,that’s so rude”

“It was my mom”he said simply,”Its fine,we all have our nosy moments”he said

“Sorry”

“Don’t be,you don’t have to apologize”he said,”So…where were we?”

“Um,you were asking me about my job”

“Oh yeah um-“

“So what do you do?”she asked interrupting him.She didn’t want to lie anymore

He laughed,”Um well Im a musician.I sing as well”

“Oh really?That’s great,what do you play?”

“I play guitar and piano.I also write,just like you,but its songs,not romance novels”he laughed,”Im in a group called *NSYNC”

“Never heard of them”she said with a smile

“Yeah most people don’t know us”he said and laughed

“So,since you had such a good solo album…whats up now?”she asked

“Well,JC is working on his solo cd.Chris has his own clothing line.Joey is doing some acting and actually writing a book with one of his acting coaches and Lance is directing movies with his production company”

“So what are you going to do?Take a vacation?”

Justin laughed,”No,but that wouldn’t be a bad idea.Actually.I have a deal with McDonald’s.Im doing their ‘Im Lovin’ It’ campaign.Im also shooting a movie”

Paris couldn’t believe it,it was like she was having a private interview with him.The best thing was,she was probably the only person who knew the stuff that he was telling her now,besides people who work with him.”A movie?”

“Yeah its one of those cop movies,Its called Edison”he said

Then her phone rang,she sighed,”Sorry excuse me”she said as she picked it up,”Hello?”

“Huney!Where are you girl?”Pierre practically screamed

“Im not home”

“Well obviously!I have a date tonight and I don’t know what to wear!”

“Just wear black, and do something casual,you cant go wrong with that”she said,”Do you know where your going?”

“No he didn’t tell me”Pierre said sounding panicked

“Just wear something black and casual,ok?But I gotta go,you’ll be fine”

“Ok thank you,You so gotta meet him girl”

“I would love to,but today isn’t a good day-“

“Duh!Hes gonna be with me!”

“Anyways…I’ll see you later ok?Bye”she said and hurried him off the phone. She sighed.

“I would ask you who that was,but I don’t want to be nosy”he said as he winked at her

Paris laughed,she was surprised that he was so down to earth,”Well I should get going”she said

“Oh yeah ok”he said,as he walked her back into the garage,”It was great running into you again”

“Yeah it was”she said and smiled as she walked up to her car,”And thanks for the help with the car and you have a beautiful place”

“Thanks”he said,”Don’t give me all the credit though.My mom did all the decorating”he said and smiled,”Make sure to get that battery checked out you know.Its hell if it stops in the middle of the interstate,I might not be out there to save you”

Paris laughed,”Ok I’ll keep that in mind”she said as she got in her car,”I’ll see you later,who knows where”

“That’s the fun part about it isn’t it?”he said with a smile as he closed her door.She turned it on and it did so successfully,she pulled out of his garage and waved to him as she drove off.Once she left his property and got out the neighborhood she pulled over on the side of the road.She sat there and then squealed.She was just in Justin Timberlake’s house!And she still didn’t get a picture!

__

A few days past since Paris saw Justin and his beautiful house.She kept thinking about where she was going to see him again,but he was nowhere to be found.She soon gave up,it was too good to be true.He probably forgot about her anyway.

She walked into her apartment and put her briefcase on her desk in the small living room.She fed the cat and then the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Paris?”

“Francine…hello”Paris said,a little surprised.She hasn’t seen or spoken to her since their argument at the Diner last week

“How are you huney?”

“Im good Francine,how are you”she said with a smile.Was she calling to apologize?

“Im fine”she said,then her mood and attitude changed,”Um I need a favor”

Paris sighed,she should have known,”A favor?What kind of favor?”

“I have a date tonight.I met a really nice guy this time Paris.His name is Leo and hes taking me to see a play”

“That’s great”Paris said,not sounding excited at all

“But he has a daughter,shes only 6.Shes a sweet little thing,but anyways her babysitter dropped out on him just a few minutes ago and-“

“You want me to babysit?”she asked,she hasn’t done that since high school

“Yeah,I mean its not like your doing anything”

“Fran,I could have had plans”

“But you don’t do you?”

“No-“

“So can you please do this for me?This play has had good reviews and I really like this one-“

“Ok ok ok,you don’t have to beg”she said.Everyone had a date except for her.

“Ok we will bring her over in about 30 minutes ok?Thanks!Bye”she said and hung up

Paris looked at the phone,”Goodbye”she said and hung it up.She couldn’t believe that she was going to spend her Thursday night watching a 6 year old.She was probably a brat too.She cleaned up the house a little and then there was a knock at her door.She opened it and she saw a man and a small little girl,she was adorable.”Hi you must be Leo?”she asked him

“And you must be Francine’s daughter”he said with a smile as she let them in. “Hello Im Leo Simpson and this is my daughter,Shaylyn”he said

“Hi,my name is Shaylyn and Im 6 years old”the girl said sweetly

“Hi Shaylyn.My name is Paris”she said to her,”Its nice to meet you both”she looked around,”Wheres Francine?”

“Oh shes out in the car.We gotta run because we don’t have much time”he said,”This is her backpack”he said as he gave her a pink Barbie backpack.”That’s full of toys,she did her homework already uh….”he said trying to think.”Oh my number um…let me write my numbers down”he said frantically as he looked at his watch

“Sir,if something should happen,I will give Francine a call if that makes things easier for you”she said

“Oh…yes…good idea”he said,”Thanks for doing this at the last minute.I thought that I would have had to cancel-“

“Its fine.Shaylyn and I will have a good time right?”she asked her.Shaylyn was playing with Baby

“Well I should go,thanks again”he said as he gave Shaylyn a kiss on the head,”Thank you Paris.I should be back by 11”he said and then ran out the door

Paris smiled,”You like the cat?Her name is Baby”she said

“Shes nice”Shaylyn said

Paris stood there,she had to figure out what to do with this child,”You want to watch a movie?”

Shaylyn smiled,”Yes please”

“Ok you stay right here”she said.She ran into her room and searched through her movies.But none of them were appropriate for a six year old.Nothing in her apartment was very kid friendly.Then she got an idea,”Shaylyn I couldn’t find my Little Mermaid movie”

“Oh”she said as she still pet the cat

“You want to take a field trip?”she asked her

Shaylyn stood up,”Ok!I took a field trip to the museum last week with my class”she said

“Well this will be different”Paris said as she got her keys and took Shaylyn’s hand and they left

__

“Yay!I love Chuckie Cheese!”Shaylyn said as they both walked in

“That’s good”Paris said relieved.”So what do you want to do first?”

“I wanna play a game”she said

“Ok”Paris said as she led her to the games section.They walked past some kids rolling brown balls up a ramp and throwing them into holes.

“I wanna do that”Shaylyn said

“Ok”she said as she put some tokens in and 9 balls came out,”Ok,now we have to roll these down there and try to get them in one of the holes.If you want a lot of points,you got to get them in the hole in the middle ok?”she said as she handed her a ball,”Go ahead and try”

Shaylyn took the ball and threw it,but it didn’t go anywhere near the end of the ramp and it rolled back.”Its not working”she said

Paris smiled.She picked up Shaylyn so she was standing on the ramp,”Ok now throw it in”she did and it went in the middle

“Yay!Im winning”Shaylyn said as she picked up another ball

“That’s cheating you know?”a voice said.Paris turned around and smiled,”What are you doing here?”she said.Sure enough,there was Justin in all his glory and he had a little boy by his side

“Hello to you too”Justin said,”Im spending the day with my little bro”he said,”Hey Johnathan?This is my friend Paris”

“Hi”Johnathan said as he went to the lane next to Shaylyn’s and started playing his own game

“Im winning!”Shaylyn said as she put the balls into the holes

“Did you teach her how to cheat?”

Paris laughed,”It was easier for her,I hate to lose”she smiled,”So how are you?Long time no see”

“Yeah,its weird,I thought I wasn’t going to see you again.I thought I saw you somewhere”

“Really?”

“But it wasn’t you,so I went up to the girl and she turned around and totally did a teenybopper attack”he said.He watched Shaylyn,”Is that your daughter?”

“Oh no no no.Im babysitting”she said

“Me too”he said,”Its funny that we keep running into each other”

“I know”she said

“Maybe it’s a sign”he said

Before she could say anything,a big alarm went off.It said that Shaylyn had a very high score,”You won Shaylyn!”she said as some blue tickets came out of the machine.

“I wanna play again!”Shaylyn said.Paris smiled and put some more tokens in and soon nine brown balls came out for her.Shaylyn got out a ball and got back on the ramp

“Be careful Shaylyn”Paris said to her.Just then another alarm went off

“Justin I won!”Johnathan said

“You really cheated”Justin said with a laugh as he put some more tokens in for him

“How old is he?”Paris asked

“Nine”

“Wow that’s a big difference in age isn’t it?”

“Yeah well when my mom remarried,she also got another child as well as a husband”he said with a laugh

“Oh really?”Paris said with a laugh.They talked and caught up with each other while Shaylyn and Johnathan played the game.

Soon Shaylyn grew tired of the game,”My arms are tired of throwing”she said

“Shaylyn you got a lot of tickets here”Paris said as she counted all the little blue tickets,”You want to get a prize?”

“Yay!Ok”Shaylyn said.She picked a teddy bear with a pink bow on it

“I wanna go in the jungle gym”Johnathan said to Justin as he pointed at the big Playland

“Sure,go ahead but you know that all those balls are full of feces?”he said to him

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell him that!That will scar him for life!”Paris said

Justin laughed,”Just kidding,go ahead”

“Me too!”Shaylyn said

“Ok but be careful and stay close by ok?”she said to Shaylyn as she watched her jump in a little area full of balls,”Are those really full of feces?”

“I don’t know,but Ive heard rumors,but it doesn’t exactly mean that its true” Justin said,”Shes cute”

“Shes adorable isn’t she?She makes me want to keep her for myself”Paris said. For a second there she almost wanted a family,but she shook herself out of it.She needed a man first.

They both sat down at a table near the big jungle gym.They saw Johnathan go down a slide into a pile of balls and saw Shaylyn come down after him.Then Justin laughed

“Whats so funny?”she asked him

“Its just.....we keep running into each other.I mean I barely know you and I see you more than my mom”he said with a laugh,”I really believe that this is a sign or something”

“A sign?”she asked,”A sign of what?”

“I don’t know…”he said,then he shifted in his seat,”Hey…um..what are you doing Saturday?”

Paris froze,he did not just ask that question!Was he asking her out?,”Um nothing that I know of…why?”

“I was wondering,maybe we can do something-“

“No Justin..I cant”she said

“Why?”

“Well I barely know you and…I just got out of a bad relationship and Im just…not really looking for someone right now”she said

“Ok that’s fine”he said,he sat back in silence and they sat in a long awkward silence.Then Shaylyn ran over

“Im hungry Miss Paris”she said

Paris smiled at her,”Hey you know what?I am too.Lets get some pizza ok?”she asked

Justin smiled,”Sounds good to me”

They all got up and went to the food court and ate their pizza.Then Shaylyn and Johnathan watched the mechanical Chuckie Cheese animals do a small concert. She and Justin laughed at how they were moving

“Hey is that bear doing the robot?”he asked

“I think it is”she said with a laugh.They laughed for awhile and that cleared up the awkwardness that they had before.Soon it was getting late and it was time to go.

Paris put Shaylyn in the backseat with her new teddy bear,buckled her up and closed the door.Coincedentally,Justin parked his Mercedes next to her and Johnathan was being put in the back seat.Paris laughed,this was all just a weird coincidence.

“Well it was good seeing you again Paris”Justin said with a smile

“Yeah we had fun”she said.Then he started mimicking the bear and started doing the robot.She laughed.

“Ohmygod,stop”she said breathlessly,she could barely breathe.She took a deep breath and soon calmed down,”Well who knows where we will run into each other next”

“You got that right,but….if you change your mind about Saturday”he said as he took her hand and wrote his cell number on it,”That’s where you can find me”he said

She looked at him,still not believing that he was asking her out.”Um…ok I’ll give you a call…if I change my mind that is”she said quietly

“Ok…”he said and flashed a sexy smile.”I’ll see you around then”he said and got in his car

She stood there and waved at him,then she got in her car.She couldn’t believe what was happening to her.THE Justin Timberlake gave her his cell phone number. She looked in the backseat and saw that Shaylyn was fast asleep.It was 10:15 and she was a little tired too.She turned her car on and drove home.

__

May 25th,2004

Diary?Remember when I told you that I met Justin Timberlake and how I kept running into him?I saw him again Diary!And guess what he did?He gave me his number! Ohmygod,I wouldn’t lie to you,but that’s what happened!He also asked me out.HE DID!Was I wrong to turn him down? Ever since the whole Sean thing happened,I haven’t really been the same….should I give Justin a chance?But what about Cameron Diaz?Arent they still together?And if they are,why is he asking me out?….Wow,Diary,I really got myself into some mess didn’t I?But all I want to know is why does he want measly old me?Or maybe he doesn’t want me at all…he probably wants a friend….Im confused Diary,but its late.Maybe I should sleep on it.

__

“Well thanks to the scoop that Paris and Pierre got from that Suite 16 party this past weekend,we will have the best tabloid magazine this week”Lita said proudly at the editing meeting.”We have great stories this week and we have a great cover story.It was hard to pick out of all these great stories that were submitted-“

“Ok Lita…geez just get on with it woman”Pierre said with a smile

“Ok,on the upper left hand corner,is Gabrielle’s story about the Laci Peterson trial”Lita said as she pointed to a picture of Laci

“Under that is the story about Anna Nicole Smith and her miracle diet with TrimSpa by Drew”Lita said.As she pointed to a picture of Anna Nicole

“On the bottom corner is Paris’ story on J-Lo and Marc Anthony’s secret wedding”Lita said as she pointed to a picture of J-Lo.”You had great pictures by the way Paris”

Paris smiled,she wasn’t that upset that she didn’t get the cover this time. As long as the Garden Tool didn’t get it.“Thank you Lita”Paris said with a smile.Thanks to her phone conversations with Lemmie,she has always had great pictures.

“So who’s got the cover then?”Gabrielle said with a frown on her face,”I mean what can beat the Laci Peterson trial?Everyone wants to know about that”

“Well the cover story goes to Pierre”Lita said with a smile

Pierre looked at her with a shocked expression,”What?Really?”

“Yeah,Usher is hot right now and your story about him cheating on Chilli is going to have everyone talking”Lita said,”Congratulations Pierre on your first cover story”

Paris squealed and gave Pierre a hug,”Congrats baby!”she said

“Ohmygod!”Pierre said as he hugged Paris and then got up and jumped up and down and clapped his hands,”This is so great!My first cover story!Thank you Lita.I always liked you”

“I always liked you too”Lita said,”And since its your first cover story,it’s a tradition here to give you a bonus and to give you a small get together in the office. I set the get together for Friday evening at 5,if any of you would like to stay at work for about an hour or two then your welcome to”

“A party for me?”

“Yeah in your honor.This will be your first and last first cover so you might as well enjoy it”she said

Paris smiled,she remembered her first cover story.She was so proud of herself,the bonus in her check was good and the party was fun also.

“So does anyone have any questions before I send this to printing?”Lita asked

Just then Gabrielle got up and stormed out of the room.Pierre and Paris rolled their eyes,”Shes just jealous of me that’s all”Pierre said.”I think the cover looks perfect lets print that baby now”

“Ok since there aren’t any questions,then you all are free to go.Remember your deadlines”Lita said

Everyone congratulated Pierre and he took the spotlight just fine.”Come by my office for autographs now.Because after this story is printed I will be famous” Pierre said,”Oh I cant wait for my party.Your gonna be my date right Paris?”he asked her

“Sure I’ll be your date”she said and smiled

“We’ll be the hottest couple there”Pierre said as he sat down at his desk.”I should get started on my new story”

“Me too.I’ll leave you alone then”Paris said

“Oh Paris?”Pierre asked

“Yeah?”

“Im moving out today,this bonus that Im getting will pay my rent for the next few months so I wont be a burden”

“You weren’t a burden,you were barely there.You were always out with your Rico Suave”

“Hes great,you’ll meet him soon,don’t worry”he said

“Ok,looking forward to it”she said as she walked to her office.She was happy for Pierre,he finally found someone.

__

“So how do you feel?”Chelsea asked Pierre at his party Friday.Everyone was mingling,drinking and eating those cute little Subway sandwiches.Lita brought a radio and music was playing also.

“Well it was very hard work.But as Lita said,there are great stories all around you.When I saw Usher with those two women,I knew that would make an interesting story.Its great to finally steal the spotlight from my friend here”Pierre said as he looked at Paris

“What?I haven’t had a cover story in awhile”Paris said as she sipped on her drink

“Still I always had to pretend to be happy for you”Pierre said and winked at her

Just then Gabrielle walked by them,looking upset.”Wonder why shes leaving?” Chelsea said sarcastically

Unfortunately,Gabrielle heard her.She turned around and said,”This party isn’t for me”she said

“Duh its not for you,its for me”Pierre said

“I know that.I mean that this party isn’t…my type of scene”

“Why?Because its not set in a strip club and everyone isn’t paying you any attention or giving you dollar bills?”Pierre said

“Pierre grow up”Gabrielle said

“Practice what you preach sista.You have to understand that things cant always go your way”Paris said,she was sick and tired of this girl,”This party is for Pierre and he deserves it,all the covers that you have done?You had to beg for Lita to put on the cover.Once you actually earn something,maybe you can get some respect. So you should grow up and stop being upset and stomping around in your fake Gucci shoes”

Pierre,Chelsea and Gabrielle looked at her.Shes never really said anything like that before.

Gabrielle stared at her,”Well aren’t you the queen of having things not go your way?I took your cover story and your man”she said and smiled

“You obviously weren’t able to keep him if he keeps calling and running back to me.I mean you cant turn a whore into a housewife”Paris said angrily

“Gabrielle,why don’t you leave.You weren’t really invited here anyways.So keep walkin’”Pierre said

“Gladly”she said and walked away

“Are you ok?”Chelsea and Pierre asked Paris

“Im fine….just…lets just enjoy the party”she said quietly

“Pierre?”they heard someone call.They turned around and saw a guy come toward them

“Rico”Pierre said as he ran up and gave the guy a hug.”Im so glad you could make it”he brought him over to them.”Rico this is my best friend in the whole world.Paris…Rico.Rico…Paris”he said

“Nice to meet you,Ive heard so much about you”Paris said quietly,still a little upset at what Gabrielle said

“Ive heard a lot about you also”Rico said

“Let me introduce you to Lita”he said as he pulled him away.

Paris stood there and sipped on her drink.She saw how happy Pierre was and she wanted to have that happiness back.She wanted the happiness of being loved and cared for by another person.She wanted to be somebody’s somebody.She sighed and then she heard a familiar song on the radio. It was one of Justin’s songs.She remembered all the times they had run into each other and their adventure at Chuckie Cheese.She smiled,then she remembered him asking her out and giving her his number.She still had it.She was still confused about the situation but she could be his friend at least.

__

Paris folded her last piece of laundry and put it in one of drawers.She just got back from the Laundromat and did her weekly routine.She closed the dresser and took her hair out of the ponytail.She looked at the clock.It was a little after 6.She sat down on her bed and put some papers on her desk.Most of them were bills.She saw her address book and saw Justin’s number.Then she remembered.It was Saturday.Should she call him?She sat there for a few minutes and then picked up the phone.

“Hello?”came a voice and she knew it was his

“Justin?Um…its me…Paris”

“Hey Paris whats up?”

“Nothing….um….I changed my mind-“

“I knew you would.Why don’t you come on over ok?”

“Over to your place?”

“Yeah”he said,”Oh wait I gotta go.I’ll see you in a few right?You remember how to get here?”

“Yeah”

“Ok see you later.Bye”he said

“Bye”she said and hung up.She sat there and smiled,then she freaked out,what was she going to wear!She got up and looked through her closet.She was thankful that she did laundry.She decided to go with her rule,black and casual.She looked through her closet and after about a half hour she finally decided on something.She put on a black and lacy bustier shirt and some dark denim jeans with black heels.She brushed her hair so it was straight and put on black eyeliner,mascara and some clear lipgloss. She sprayed some Strawberries and Champagne on herself and got her keys and drove toward his house.

__

She pulled up to his house and was surprised to see lots of other cars.She could hear music coming from the backyard and she could see people walking in and out of the house.She could also smell barbeque.She smiled,this wasn’t a date.Just a get together.She wasn’t all that nervous now.She parked next to a big Escalade and got out of the car.

“Paris!Hey!”Justin said as he came up to her and gave her a hug.Which surprised her,”Im so glad you could make it”he said with a big smile

She smiled,”Well I decided to grace you with my presence and it’s the least I can do with the whole car incident and all”

“So your only here for an IOU,is that it?”he asked

“Oh no…I didn’t mean that-“

“I know you didn’t,just playing with ya”he said.Then Johnathan ran up to them and hugged Paris' leg

“Hi Paris”he said

“Hi Johnathan”she said and smiled.Then he ran off

“Wow,he usually doesn’t do that”Justin said

“What?”

“Hug girls,talk to girls…he hates girls,except for his mother”

“Well I guess I have that affect on the Timberlake men huh?”she said and winked

“I bet you do”he said,”Come on lemme introduce you to some people”

“Ok”she said as she followed him into the backyard.The backyard was huge.It had a nice big patio that had a balcony.There was a big pool and a hot tub,a small garden and a basketball court.There were lots of people too.She saw a blonde near the hot tub and had a feeling that they were going toward her.It was probably Cameron, she thought sadly,it was fun while it lasted.

“Stacey!Lori!”he called.She saw the blonde turn around and it wasn’t Cameron and she saw another girl turn around.They walked up to them.

“Hey Justin,you sure know how to throw a party”the blonde said

“Of course”Justin said and smiled,”Paris,these are my best friends,Stacey Ferguson and Lori Wright”he said.Stacey had dirty blonde hair and she had an eyebrow piercing.Lori looked like the stereotypical California blonde.Blonde hair,blue eyes and tanned skin,”This is Paris Madison”

“Hey Paris”they both said at the same time.They both laughed at each other and they both shook her hand

“Nice to meet you too”Paris said to them.

“So how did you two meet?”Stacey asked her

“Oh I met him at Suite 16”

“Oh that club is nice”Stacey said,”So lemme guess you’re an aspiring singer or actress or something?”

“No she writes”Justin said and smiled

“What do you write?”Lori asked

“Um…romance novels”Paris said

“Oooh I love reading romance novels.That’s my guilty pleasure”Lori said with a smile,”What have you written?Maybe I have read something of yours”

“Well you can say Im an aspiring writer.Im still looking for a publisher”Paris said

“That’s cool.Good luck with that”

“So what have you written.You must have written something”Lori asked

Paris froze,shes never actually written any romance novels.Then she remembered a book that she read that was written a long time ago.Her mother bought it from London.”Oh…Ive written one called Saving Grace”she said remembering the title of the book

“Whats that about?”Justin asked

“Um…well its about a girl who inherits a small bed and breakfast and she meets this guy who works in real estate.His company is trying to convince her to sell the bed and breakfast but she always refused.He does some undercover work and decides to stay at the bed and breakfast for a few days to find out why she doesn’t want to sell it….and well I wont tell you the ending”

“Oooh sounds romantic”Lori said.

“So,what do you two do?”Paris asked Lori and Stacey,quickly changing the subject.Lying to them was making her feel sick to her stomach.

“Im a singer”Stacey said,”Ive known Justin since I was 12.I did Kids Incorporated when he did the Mickey Mouse Club.I was in a girl group called Wild Orchid and went on tour with *NSYNC back in ’98.Now Im in a group called the Black Eyed Peas,we are actually doing a song with Justin on our new album”

“Really?”Paris asked

“Yeah we just recorded it today”Justin said,”It’s called ‘Where Is The Love?’.It’s gonna be a good song”he said.Then he said,”Excuse me,gotta check on the ribs”

“Ribs?My favorite”Paris said as he walked off.”What about you Lori?”

“Im an aspiring lawyer.I used to live next door to Justin way back when we lived in Tennessee.I go to UCLA and I visit him from time to time when I have time off”she said with a smile

“That’s cool”Paris said.She had fun at the party.She bonded with Stacey and Lori and talked to JC,Lance,Joey and Chris and met other friends of Justin’s.The food was great too.They had ribs, macaroni, spaghetti, hamburgers, anything you could want.

“Having fun?”Justin asked her as he came up to her and gave her a strawberry wine cooler

“Oh you finally found them huh?”she said and smiled,remembering when he couldn’t find his wine coolers in his full fridge

“Yeah they were all the way in the back”he said and smiled

At around 10,the party died down and people started to leave.

“We should all totally get together sometime,we can do lunch”Lori said.”Im gonna give you my number Paris”

“Me too,we should keep in touch”Stacey said.They all exchanged numbers and soon they left

“Bye,nice meeting you”Paris said to them as they left.She smiled,they were really nice girls.It was time that she headed home too.She walked back inside and saw Chris putting his dj equipment into his car.She found Justin in the kitchen

“Paris hey”Justin said as he smiled at her.Then his cell phone rang,”Excuse me…hello?”he asked

Paris smiled and then looked outside.She saw Johnathan running around near the pool.She didn’t want him to fall in.She ran outside,”Johnathan?Be careful ok?I don’t want you to fall in”she called

He stopped running and sat down on the ground and put his feet in the water.Paris walked over and sat down next to him,took her shoes off and put her feet in the water too,”Did you have fun today?”she asked

“Kinda”

“Kinda?But this was a fun party for you too”she said.There were also lots of kids running around the party too.They were all Johnathan’s friends,”I mean I saw your room and it’s a kids dream.You have every toy made on the planet”

“Thanks,but I like playing basketball more than all those toys”

“That’s cool”

“I wanted to play with Justin,but he couldn’t play with me”

“Well he was busy cooking and being a host”

“I know,but I would rather play basketball with him then have all those toys and stuff”

“Really?So your not into material things?”

“Whats that mean?”

“Material things are things you can buy,in your case,toys,video games,etc”

“Yeah I don’t like material things as much.I just want to play with my brother”he said

Paris smiled at him.”Hey,stop flirting with my brother”Justin said as he came up to them

Paris laughed,”We were just talking”she said

“About what?”he asked as he kneeled next to Johnathan

“Material things”Johnathan said

“How do you know about material things?”Justin asked

“Material things are things you can buy.I don’t like material things much”

“Really?”Justin said and frowned.”Well you should be getting to bed,big boy”he said.Then his cell phone rang again,”Sorry”he said,”Hello?”he asked

Johnathan got up and yawned.”Can you tuck me in Paris?”he asked her

“Are you sure?”she asked,she turned and saw Justin deep conversation with someone.Before she could object,Johnathan pulled her upstairs into his room.

“Im gonna put on my pajamas”he said as he walked into his closet.A few minutes later,he came out with some shorts on and a SpongeBob shirt.

“SpongeBob huh?”she asked as he climbed into bed,she put the covers over him

“Thanks”he said,”Um can you turn on my nightlight and turn off the lights and leave the door cracked open?”

“Sure”she said as she turned on a Sponge Bob nightlight and turned out the light

“Good night Paris”Johnathan said with a yawn and rolled over

“Good night”she said as she closed the door just enough so the door could be cracked like he wanted.She turned around and bumped right into Justin,”Jesus you scared me”

“You need to stop flirting with my brother”

“Im not,I was tucking him in,it was innocent.Anyways,hes not my type”

“Really?”

“Yeah,he still has a nightlight,doesn’t have a car or a job,and hes shorter than I am”she said

“Oh yeah that would be a problem….you tucked him in?”

“Yeah he asked me”

“Really….wow….so why were you two talking about material things?”he asked her as they walked downstairs

“He said that he doesn’t like material things…he would rather just play basketball with his brother than have all those video games”she said and smiled, ”That’s so sweet isn’t it?”she asked him

“Yeah”he said quietly

“Whats wrong?”she asked

“I just feel bad sometimes…I don’t get to spend as much time with him as I want to”he said as he started throwing paper plates away and cleaning up

“You want me to help?”she asked

“No..its fine”he said,”So you had fun today?”he asked,changing the subject

“Yeah,the food was great,good music.Stacey and Lori are alright too”

“Yeah Ive known them since forever.Christina was supposed to come but she couldn’t make it”

“Oh”she said,not knowing who Christina was

“Aguilera”he said and winked

“Really?Wow,I love her music”Paris said with a smile

“Me too”he said,”Want another cooler?”

“No Im good…I should get going anyways”she said,it was almost 11:30.They were the only two left

“Oh yeah”he said,”Well thanks again for coming and changing your mind”he said with a smile as he walked her to her car.

“Your welcome,you throw a good party and next time I’ll bring my bathing suit”

“Yeah I forgot to tell you about that sorry”he said

“Its fine”she said.Then they stood there awkwardly for a few seconds

“May I have your number?”he blurted out

“You want my number?”she asked

“Yeah I would like to see you again”

“I don’t know Justin”she said,even though Cameron wasn’t there,didn’t mean that they weren’t dating.Why was he asking her out if he was still with her? ”Does Cameron know that your asking me out?”she asked

“Cameron?”he asked and then laughed

“Whats so funny?”she asked,she didn’t want to be the other woman

“Cameron and I broke up a few months ago”he said

“Really?Im sorry,I didn’t know”

“Its fine”he said,”Now that we have that out of the way…can I please have your number?I mean we can hang out as friends,have dinner….”he said

Paris smiled,she was happy that he was single.She wondered why no one knew about the breakup.That would be a good article and that could get her a cover story.Then she stopped,what was she thinking?

“Earth to Paris”he said

“Oh Im sorry,sure you can have my number”she said as she took a pen out of her purse and wrote it on his hand,”There you go”

“Ok…I’ll call you,or you can call me,which ever comes first”he said and then gave her a hug.”Thanks for coming”he said

“Thanks for inviting me”she said.

__

“Pierre!What the hell!?”Paris shouted as she walked inside her apartment. There was Pierre in her bed room and he was holding a small book

“Oh hey girl”he said as he put the book behind his back,”I forgot something and I used the spare you gave me to get in”

“Is that my diary!?”Paris exclaimed as she ran over to him

“No!…Oh you smell nice..where have you been!?You didn’t go to a party without me did you?”Pierre asked trying to change the subject

“Give me my diary!”she said sternly.He finally gave it to her.”Why were you reading this!?”

“Sorry…I was looking for something and…the book was sitting right there..I couldn’t help it.I only read a few sentences-“

“What few sentences did you read?”she asked,all her personal stuff was in this book and Pierre had the biggest mouth in all of California.”Tell me”

“Ok…there was something about Cameron Diaz…and…oh!You met Justin Timberlake!And you like him!When did you meet him!Why didn’t you tell me!?”he asked as he ran over to her

“I didn’t think it was gonna go anywhere.I only ran into him a few times and today….”

“What happened today!?When did you run into him?You have to tell me!”he said as he sat her down on her bed

“Ok,but you have to promise not to tell anyone”she said,”Not Rico Suave,not one of your gay friends”

“Ok I wont tell anyone I promise”he said as they did their I-wont-tell-your-secret handshake,”Ok start from the beginning”

“Ok well remember the Suite 16 party?Well that’s where I first ran into him. One of those blue contact lenses fell out and he helped me find it”

“Wow Justin Timberlake touched your contact lense?Did you put it back in your eye!?”

“No,he didn’t touch it and I didn’t put it back in my eye”she said,”Then I bumped into him a second time.On the beach,I was taking my run and his football hit me in the face”

“What!?What an asshole!”

“It wasn’t his fault,it was an accident”she said,”Then I literally ran into him in Wal-Mart”

“Wal-Mart?What the hell was he doing there?”

“Shopping”she said,”Then the other day I was driving through Mahogany Woods-“

“That rich neighborhood?Why?”

“Cuz there was traffic on the interstate and I took that shortcut…anyways my car happened to break down in front of his house,we talked,he fixed my car-“

“Does his house look nice?”

“Yeah but his mom did all the decorating so…but yeah its big and beautiful”she said,”Then I bumped into him at Chuckie Cheese with that girl I babysat and…he gave me his number…."

“Ahhhh!Did you call him?”

“Yeah….today,he asked me what I was doing today and…well he had this big barbeque at his house and that’s where Ive been all day”

“Ugh you suck!Why didn’t you invite me!?Were there celebrities there?”

“No just close friends of his”she said,”Then we talked and then I left”

“What did you talk about?He must love that you write for a tabloid huh?”

“Actually,he doesn’t know that”

“How do you talk to each other and not know what you do for a living?That’s one of the first questions you ask someone when you meet them”

“Well….I kinda lied”

“Oh God,what did you tell him?”

“That I write romance novels”she said as she stood up and walked away from him

“Oh Paris…huney….you suck…you know that’s not a real job…did he really fall for that?”

“Yeah…he hates tabloids and….well…I didn’t want him to hate me as well”

“Well you cant lie to him forever,I mean you two are dating-“

“We aren’t dating…we just bumped into each other a few times and he invited me over his house”she said as she pressed the button on her answering machine,she saw that she had 3 messages.”Now you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Yes…we already did the handshake”he said

“Hey huney its me…um I was wondering if you would like to go to lunch.I have so much to tell you about Leo,you made a good impression on him and his daughter and…well I love this guy,Call me”

Paris shook her head,it was only a matter of days before Francine fell in “like” with someone.She didn’t really love him.She sure knew how to throw that word around.

“Wow your mom has got a new man?”Pierre asked

“Yeah”she said as she erased it

“Hey girl.Im coming by to get something that I forgot.See you in a few”the next message said

“That’s you”Paris said,”What did you forget?”she asked him

Pierre stood there for a minute,”You know what?I forget”he said and smiled

Paris shook her head and erased the message.Then the next message started to play.

“Paris its me.I don’t appreciate you ignoring me and not answering my calls-“

It was Sean.Paris quickly erased it before the rest of the message played.

“Hey I wanted to hear that!”Pierre said,”Why is he bothering you?”

“Hes just being an asshole”she said,shes been getting messages like that ever since he came to the apartment.Saying he loved her and he would take the apartment away from her if she didn’t talk to him and forgive him.She knew he wouldn’t do that.She didn’t want to listen to his lies.

“Well I love your outfit girl.Damn I wish I could have a body like you”Pierre said

“Isnt that one of your outfits over there?”she asked.She saw Baby laying on a black shirt

“That’s what I forgot!”Pierre said as he pushed the cat away,”Great she got cat fur on my silk shirt!”

“Don’t push her”Paris said as she ran to her cat and picked her up

“Ugh that thing is a spawn of the devil!”Pierre said as he started wiping the hair off his shirt

“No shes not”she said as she put the cat on her bed

“You treat that cat like it’s your child,a human being”he said.Then his phone rang,”Hey….yeah Im on my way…bye…”he said and then hung up,”Ok I gotta go.If you bump into Mr.Timberlake again,you have to tell me ok?”he asked,”Kisses”he said. They kissed each other on each cheek and then on the lips.

“Bye”she said to him

__

Paris pondered whether she should call Justin while she was at church Sunday morning.Well she wasn’t at church exactly,she was still at home.But she loved watching church via  television.You can beat the crowds and don’t have to deal with the hypocrites there.She also wasn’t a morning person.

    

“Do you think it would be too soon to call him?”she asked Baby who was sitting next to her on the bed.The cat meowed,”Yeah maybe I should wait…hes probably busy anyways”

    

Then her phone rang,she picked it up,hoping it wasn’t Sean,”Hello?”

    

“Paris?”

    

“Justin?”she asked.It couldn’t be

    

“Yeah its me.Thank God.I thought maybe it was someone else”

    

“Why would it be?”

    

“I thought maybe you didn’t give me the right number”

    

“Why would I do something like that?”she asked

    

“I dunno,girls these days…anyways I was calling because…um…well what are you doing later on tonight?”he asked her

    

“Nothing…”she said.This was all still a shock to her.Justin Timberlake was actually calling her and asking what she was doing!

    

“Maybe…we could do something?”he asked,”Unless your still uncomfortable about the whole thing-“

    

“No its fine.I would love to do something”she said.She needed to start over. Sean was long gone and she was never going to take him back.And anyways,Justin probably just wanted to be friends.

    

“Really?Ok…um…how about 7ish?I’ll pick you up?”he asked her

    

“Pick me up?That means,you’ll need to know where I live”

    

“Yeah..well I know what your apartment looks like on the outside,and you have seen mine”

    

Paris smiled,”Ok um do you have a pen and paper?”

    

“Yeah”

    

“Ok my apartment is 315 and the apartment complex is on Beachside Avenue. Its called Beachside Apartments”

    

“Ok,I can figure that out.I will see you at 7 then?”

    

“Yeah”

    

“Ok see you later”he said

    

“Bye”she said.Then she heard him hang up.She hung up and then picked up Baby.”Ahhhh!I have a date!”she said as she jumped up and down with Baby in her arms.Baby didn’t really like that and jumped out of her arms,”Sorry,but can you believe it?”

    

“PRAISE GOD!”the preacher said on the tv

    

“Damn right!”she said to the tv,”Ohmygod…what am I gonna wear?”she yelled to herself.”Wait…Im talking to myself…Im going crazy…”she said as she ran to her closet to find an outfit.

 

__

    

Paris paced around her apartment.It was almost 7 and shes been ready…for the past few hours.It took her awhile to finally figure out what she wanted to wear. She decided to keep her casual rule,but not wear black since hes already seen her in black.She decided on her dark blue denim jumper with flared bottoms that had a zip-front and a halter neckline.She had a matching denim jacket and black heels.She had little makeup,just black eyeliner and clear lipgloss and her hair was down.

    

“I hope he gets here alright”she said.Then there was a knock on her door. She squealed and then she covered her mouth,hoping he didn’t hear her.She took a few deep breaths and then opened the door

    

“Hey”Justin said and flashed a killer smile

    

“Hi how are you?”she asked and smiled as she let him in.Baby ran in the room and greeted him also with a meow.

    

“Oh you have a cat?”he said

    

“Yeah,shes my pride and joy.Her name’s Baby”she said

    

“Aww shes nice”he said as the cat rubbed itself against his leg,”So this is your humble abode?”

    

“Yeah,want a tour?”she asked with a smile

    

“Sure”he said

    

Paris laughed,”Well this is my kitchen that we are standing in now”she said as she gestured to the whole room,”And if you take six steps this way-“

    

“One,two,three,four,five,six”Justin said as they walked.

    

“Now your in my living room/den/working space”she said as she pointed to a couch,a small loveseat,a tv,and a desk with a computer and all its essentials that went with it.

    

“Nice”he said

    

“Now if you turn back this way,and retrace those six steps-“

    

“One,two,three,four,five,six”he said as they walked and they both laughed

    

“And you take three extra steps to your right,and now your in my master bathroom”she said

    

“Nice,so this is where you lay your pretty head huh?”he asked

    

“Um…yeah….my head…it lays here”she said and blushed,”And that’s it”

    

“Wow,so you can get all around your apartment in less than 30 steps huh?”

    

“Pretty much…nothing too spectacular”she said

    

“I like it,its more intimate.I cant get this feeling in my house.I mean you need 50 steps to get out of one room”he said

    

Paris smiled,”Yeah its alright for me and my cat.Perfect size”she said.”Um we should get going huh?”she said

    

“Sure”he said

    

“Ok,oh lemme get my purse”she said as she walked to the living room.Then the phone started to ring,”Let it ring”

    

“Ok”he said

    

Then the answering machine came on,”Hey you reached the right person at the wrong time.Leave a message”then there was a beep

    

“Im not surprised that I got your answering machine…Paris I will keep calling you until you get this straight in your head…I mean it”came a mans voice.Justin frowned.Just then Paris ran into the room and erased the message.It was Sean,he couldn’t hear that message

    

“Wow someones mad.Whos that?”

    

“Um…”Paris said as she turned her tv off,”My….cable guy”

    

“Your cable guy?”

    

“Yeah Im kinda behind”

    

“Maybe you need to switch companies”

    
    

“I was thinking the same thing…lets go shall we?”she said really fast.She wanted to get out of there now.”Bye Baby”

    

“Bye Baby”Justin said and they left,”So you’re a cat person?”he asked as she locked her door

    

“Yeah always been.I like dogs,just not big ones”

    
    

“Why?”

    
       

“I had a bad experience with a German Sheppard.I had to get stitches”

    

“Aww poor baby”Justin said as they walked to his Mercedes.”So what dogs do you like then?”

    

“I always wanted a Yorkie…I think they are so cute.But I don’t know if Baby would get along with one”she said.

    

“Oh those little dogs that you dress up?”

    

“Yeah”

    

“My mom has one of those”he said with a smile.Then he opened the door for her

    

“Thanks”she said as she got in the car.It was nice on the inside too,”So no one recognized you on your way here?”

    

“I have what they call tinted windows.And in LA,celebs are always walking around so most people don’t care.I just go on my merry way,pretending I don’t see them”he said as they headed to their destination.On the way they talked about everything from favorite movies and Broadway plays to cartoons.Justin took her to a nice waterside restaurant,one shes never been to because its pretty expensive.

    

“You haven’t been to New York?”he asked her

    

“No,nowhere on the east coast,Ive only been on the West Coast actually”she said

    

“You have to go to New York City once in your life…I mean everyone has to go before they die”

    

“I bet its nice then”

    

“No,its beautiful.Its so much different than here in LA”he said.

    

“Would you like to try the dessert menu?”the waiter asked as he came up to the table

    

“Do you want dessert Paris?”he asked

    

“Im sorry but Im afraid I wont be able to fit anymore”she said.She just had the best shrimp alfredo that shes ever tasted

    

“We’ll pass thank you”he said.The waiter walked away,”I think he was checking you out”

    

“Who the waiter?”Paris asked.He nodded,”Ugh please hes like 80 years old”

    

“Hes got good taste at 80 still”Justin said,”So…whats a pretty girl like you…why are you single?”

    

Paris froze,”Um…well,it ended badly….”she said

    

“Heres your check sir,would you all like anything else?”the waiter asked

    

“No we’re fine thank you”Justin said as he looked at the check and took out his wallet.He put the money in the booklet and then put 10 bucks down for a tip.”Lets take a walk”

    

“Ok”she said.They left the restaurant and they walked along the beach

    

“Sorry about that”he asked

    

“Sorry about what?”she asked as they both walked barefoot in the sand

    

“The whole why are you single thing.I had my nosy moment”he said

    

“No its fine”she said.She looked at him and for some reason,she felt ok telling him,”His name was Sean”

    

“Oh?”he said,”What happened?”

    

“We were dating for about three years,he bought me the apartment that I live in now and we were living together for six months”she said,”Then he cheated on me with some girl at my job….I kicked him out….and its been about a month since that happened”

    

Justin stopped walking and he pulled on her arm gently,”Im sorry.Why would he do such a thing?”

    

“Who knows.He told me that he was sexually frustrated but I think theres more to it than that”she said

    

“Im sorry Paris”

    

“Don’t be…Im over it”she said.Then she felt a raindrop on her head and soon there were more

    

“Its raining”he said,”Come on”he said as they ran off the beach and to the parking lot where his car was parked.They got in and started laughing.

    

“I don’t think Ive ever run so fast”she said with a laugh as the rain poured down on the windshield

    

“I guess I should take you home huh?”he asked

    

She didn’t really want to,but she didn’t want him out late,especially when it was raining like this,”I do have work in the morning”

    
    

“Oh your 9-5”he said and smiled,”I’ll probably be busy all day tomorrow”he said as he turned on the car,”What are you doing tomorrow night?”he asked

    

“Um,nothing….why?”

    

“You wanna do this again tomorrow?Well not the same thing exactly but….”

    

“Sure”she said with a smile,”It’s a date”she said

 

__

    

Paris laid down on her bed and smiled.Tonight was perfect,and she didn’t want it to end.But at least she gets to see him tomorrow.Then the phone rang and it interrupted her thoughts,without thinking,she answered it,”Hello?”

    

“Its about time you answered the fucking phone”came a voice.It was Sean

    

“Sean,I am sick and tired of you calling me 16 times a day”

    

“You had to pick up the phone sometime”he said,”Now,I want to make reservations at-“

    

“What!?Reservations for what?”

    

“For us to go out to eat.Paris,its time that we stop acting like children and start being serious”

    

“Oh and your to talk about being serious!?Who went behind my back and fucked Gabrielle?!”

    

“It was a mistake”he said

    

“No Sean its over,and I want you to stop calling here.Just leave me the hell alone.I am moving on with my life and you need to do the same”

    

“I was afraid you would say that”he sighed,”Well Im afraid that I have no choice”

    

“What are you talking about?”

    

“Your right Paris.We both need to move on…Ive been foolish”he said,”I’ll move all the things out of the apartment-“

    

“Um I threw all of your stuff out remember?”

    

“Not all of it.That whole goddamn apartment is mine,Im taking what is mine”

    

“You’re not serious.I don’t belive you”.she said.He wasn’t going to take the apartment away,not while she was still living in it?

    

“Theres no point in torturing ourselves Paris.You have obviously made your decision.Now I have to do my best to pick up the pieces and move on”.He was acting as though she betrayed him.”What are we going to do about the apartment?”

    

“Nothing Sean.Your crazy.Your talking a whole bunch of bullshit.I still live here,your trying to make me homeless is that it?”

    

“You wouldn’t be if you were still with me”

    

“That’s blackmail and you know it!”she shouted

       

“Its not blackmail.The apartment is mine,its under my name and I bought it with my own money.You just have the luxury of staying there”

       

”Im not listening to this,I don’t have to put up with this”

       

“Don’t you hang up on me!”

    

“Well I am”

    

“Fine”he said angrily,”But don’t say I didn’t warn you”he said and then hung up

    

Paris stared at the phone and then hung it up.She wiped away the tears that almost fell down her face.Sean wouldn’t go through with this.He was just still upset and now he knows what he did was wrong,and he can never have her back.He wouldn’t sell the apartment while she was still in it.She repeated that to herself as she took a shower and went to bed.Even though she tried to convince herself,something inside her was still afraid.

 

__

    

Paris and Justin went out the next night to the movies,and they went bowling the night after that,they spent every night together.Paris couldn’t be any happier.Sean stopped calling her so she figured he actually moved on.Francine was still dating Leo,so she was actually being nice to her.They went out to lunch and actually had a decent conversation without fighting.Pierre also was happy,he and Rico have been very happy together,and he didn’t tell anyone her secret.

    

But everyone started to notice Paris’ good mood.She was more chipper and optimistic.She always had a smile on her face.

    

“Good morning Chelsea”she said happily as she walked into her office

    

“What are you doing here?”Chelsea asked her as she followed her into the office

    

"I work here silly”Paris said happily as she sat down behind her desk

    

“But its 8;30,your early….for once.Are you feeling alright?”

    

“Oh Im fine.I realized that I should come here early.Get to work faster so I wont be rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off”

    

“But Paris,you aren’t a morning person”Chelsea said

    

“I figured since Memorial Day is coming up…and since that’s a holiday.I figured that I should come in early and get started on the deadline for next week”

    

“Next week?Your already done with the one due this week?”

    

“Yeah,the early bird catches the worm correct?”Paris asked,”Cute outfit you got there Chel”

    

“Thanks”she said with a laugh

    

“Any messages?”

    

“No”

    

“Oh,well if anyone calls,send the calls straight to me”

    

“Really?You don’t mind?”

    

“No,I mean I can answer my own calls.Why put you through that?”

    

“Well what am I supposed to do?”

    

“Read”Paris said as she dug through her purse

    

“Read?Read what?”

    

“This”Paris said as she handed her a book

    

“’A Perfect Stranger’,a romance novel?"

    

“Yeah its great.I just finished reading it.Danielle Steele is a genius”Paris said

    

“Ok…so whos the guy?”Chelsea asked

    

Paris froze,”Who told you?”she asked.She hoped that Pierre didn’t open his big mouth

    

“You just did.You just gave it away and I mean you have some glow about you lately.Everyones been noticing it.Your up early,your reading romance novels and Sean hasn’t called at all.Who is he?”

    

“There is no guy”

    

“Come on Paris,you cant lie very well”

    

Paris sighed,actually she was starting to be good at it.Justin still believed that she was a writer.”His name is….Dave”

    

“Dave…original yet…sexy”

    

“Yeah”Paris said

    

“So how did you meet?”

    

“Um…the Laundromat”

    

“Wow”

    

“I mean its nothing serious but…it might be”she said and smiled,thinking of Justin.

    

“Aww,Im so happy for you.You deserve it more than anyone”Chelsea said

    

“Thanks”

    
    

“I’ll go get your coffee”

    

“I don’t need it”Paris said with a smile,”You just go and read that”

    

Chelsea smiled,”He must be really hot if you don’t want your coffee in the morning”she said with a laugh as she left the room

    

Paris smiled,”Yep hes hot alright”she said to herself.

 

__

    

“So,what are you doing for Memorial Day?”Justin asked as he drove

    

“I don’t know,all I know is that I have the whole day off”she said with a smile.She hasn’t had a day off in awhile

    

“Wanna spend the day with me?”he asked

    

“Really?You aren’t sick of me yet?”she asked

    

“No,I can never get sick of you”he said and winked at her,”You ready to go home or do you wanna go back to my place?”

    

“Im not ready to go home,so lets go to your place”she said.He smiled at her and drove back to his house.Soon they were seated on his big,plush leather couch and watching The Chappelle Show and drinking wine.

 

    

“I got popcorn!”Justin said as he jumped over the back of the couch and sat next to her

    

“Ooh goody”she said,he put his arm around her,”I love this”she said

    

“Me too”he said.For the next hour they watched two Chappelle episodes and laughed their asses off,”Chappelle is crazy man.He acts the same way in person too”

    

“Really?You met him?”

    

“Yeah,hes a cool guy”

    

“Wow,you suck.Your so lucky”she said

    

He turned the tv off and turned on the stereo.”Raspberry Beret”by Prince was on

    

“Oh!I love this song!I even have a raspberry beret”she said and laughed

    

“Your such a loser”he said,”Im kidding,but this is one of my favorite Prince songs”

    

“Yeah you probably have a beret in your room and one of those Prince outfits with the assless pants”she said and laughed

    

“Yeah baby”Justin said,”Have you ever noticed that Prince dresses like a black Austin Powers?He be wearing some fly suits!”he said and laughed.They laughed some more and got up and danced.They weren’t drunk but wine just made them a little more giggly.Soon that song went off

    

“That was Prince with ‘Raspberry Beret’,make sure to get tickets to his Musicology tour.He will be performing at the Kodak Theatre on June 15th”the dj said

    

“I wanna see that”Paris said as she drank some of her wine and put her glass down

    

“But lets get back to Flashback Friday and heres an old 80’s love song by St.Paul,here is ‘Every Heart Needs A Home’”he said and then the song started to play

    

“This ones really old”Justin said,”You finished your wine?”

    

“Yeah I love Arbor Mist”she said and smiled

    

“Your not drunk are you?”

    
    

“Oh no huney,I just get a little giggly and hyper”she said and smiled

    

“Yeah you have loosened up too”he said,”I notice that your very serious. You act mature for 23”

    

“I had to grow up fast”she said,remembering back when she was 18 and she came home and found all her stuff packed in bags.

    

“You’re an adult now huney,start acting like it.Let me know when you find a place to stay”Francine had told her

    

“Yeah,I cant believe she did that to you”

    

“Im not surprised.I didn’t call her mother,and she didn’t really act like one either”Paris said,”Hey lets not talk about this…we were having fun”

    

“Sorry”he said

    

“Dance with me”she said to him.Justin smiled and put his arms around her waist.She put her arms around his neck and smiled at him as they swayed to the music.

    

“Im gonna dip you ok?”he said.He turned her around and then dipped her

    

“Whee!”she said and laughed as he brought her back up,but she was much closer to him.So close she can feel his breath on her lips,then a second after,she felt his lips on hers.

    

The kiss started slow at first,but then they both kissed each other with a hungered type of passion,like they hadn’t eaten in months.It was all so passionate and fiery,it scared her.She then pulled away

    

“Im sorry”he said

    

“Its fine…it was fine…”she said and laughed a little and bit on her lip,which was now swollen from the kiss

    

“That was…different”he said

    

“Yeah”she said,she looked at her watch it was after 1.”I should go”

    

“Ok”he said simply.They both put on their shoes and Justin got his keys and they both left the house.They drove to her apartment in awkward silence

    

“Well here I am”she said as he walked her to her door,”I had fun”

    

“Im glad you did”he said,”Good night”

    

“Good night”she said and turned around and unlocked her door

    

“Wait”he said

    

“Yeah?”she asked as she turned to him

    

“I forgot to tell you….that you look beautiful”

    

She smiled at him,”Thank you”she said

 

__

 

Paris and Justin spent Saturday and Sunday together and they planned to go to the beach and just relax for Memorial Day.They never mentioned the kiss,like it never happened.But they both knew that they couldn’t hide how they felt for each other now.

But later on Sunday night,Justin called her after he left her apartment

“Hey,couldn’t stay away from me huh?”she asked

“Paris…I got some bad news”he said

Paris frowned,what was wrong?Did he know?Did Pierre open his mouth?,”Um whats wrong?”

“We gotta cancel plans for tomorrow”

“Get out of here,why?”she asked

“They set up studio time for me tomorrow for the ‘Im Lovin’ It’ Campaign song.It could take all day,who knows…Im sorry.I know that you wanted to go to the beach and everything-“

“Its fine…I mean Im not surprised”she said,even though she was disappointed. They had spent everyday together for the past week.It would be weird being by herself.”You do what you do,make that money and just call me if you have time ok?”

“Ok,and if I don’t?”

“Don’t what?Call me?”

“Yeah”

“Then I figure that you hate me”

“Paris-“

“Im kidding,I would figure that your too tired,your like me,you love your sleep”

Justin laughed,”Thanks for being understanding.I’ll talk to you later ok?”

“Ok..bye”she said.She hung up the phone and sighed,what was she going to do with herself now?

__

Paris decided to go to the beach by herself.She hadn’t been to the beach in awhile and she didn’t want to be stuck in the house.It was a beautiful day after all. She went to Calypso Bay Beach,the most popular beach in LA.It was quite a drive to get there,but it was worth it.She relaxed and got one hell of a tan.She treated herself to a cheeseburger,fries and water and a big chocolate and vanilla cone.

At around 6,she gathered her stuff together and drove home.By the time she got home,it was almost 7:30.She was in a bad mood because of the traffic and that Justin hadn’t called yet.Even though she expected that.

She walked up the steps and went through her bag and looked for her keys. She expected to hear the familiar sound of scratching at the door,but she didn’t hear anything.A weird feeling came over her.She found her keys and unlocked her door and walked in.

She looked around in shock and dropped everything on the floor.Her apartment was totally empty.Everything was gone,the kitchen was empty,except for some tea china and some of it was broken.She opened the refrigerator and saw that it was empty too.There were barely anything in the cabinets.She ran to the living room and everything was gone except for her laptop and her printer that she got from work.She ran to her room and there was only the mattress on the floor and her clothes were thrown inside boxes.Her dressers were gone

“Ive been robbed”she finally said.Then she stopped.It was Sean.He was actually serious,he took everything.She went in the bathroom and found one towel and a washcloth,he even took her toothbrush.She laughed,it was all too absurd.She didn’t know what to do or say at this point.

She walked back into the kitchen,and there was a knock at her door.She rushed and opened it,”Sean what the hell-“she started to say.Then she realized that it was Mrs.Jones from next door,”Oh hello Mrs.Jones”

“Hi Paris.Um….is Baby missing?”she asked

“Huh?No…what are you talking about?”she asked,then she realized that Baby was nowhere in sight when she checked the house.He couldn’t have taken the cat.He hated that cat and Baby was hers.She bought her.”Wait…yes she is”

“Im sorry Paris,to disturb you on a holiday but…I saw a black cat outside and it looked like Baby”

“Its probably some other cat Mrs.Jones.I never let Baby outside unless shes with me”

“I know but…um… I found this”she said as she held up a blue tag.It had Baby’s name and her address

Her breath caught in her throat,she swallowed and whispered,”Where did you find this?”

“Outside in the front-“she said.

Paris didn’t let her finish as she ran down the steps.She ran to the front and sure enough there was a cat.But it wasn’t alive.It was laying on the side of the parking lot.She walked up to it and then saw her collar.It was Baby and she was dead.She fell to her knees and started sobbing

“Paris huney,Im so sorry”Mrs.Jones said as she tried to comfort her.But Paris pushed her away.She sat there in the parking lot and cried for a few minutes and didn’t care who saw.She figured that Baby got scared when Sean came and moved everything out and ran out the door and got hit.She could see tire marks imprinted into her fur.

“Shes gone”she said to herself as she sobbed.The cat was all she had and she treated her like it was her own child.It felt like she had a miscarriage or her child was murdered.She got up and ran inside,she had to find something to bury her cat.She looked through the boxes of clothes for an old t shirt that she could wrap the cat up in.

Then the phone rang,she was surprised to hear it.She thought that Sean had taken that too,even though she bought it.She found it sitting on the floor next to her diary and her mattress.She picked it up,hoping it was Sean so she could cuss his ass out.

“Hello?”she said in a quiet and shaky voice

“Miss Madison?”came a mans voice

“Yes”

“Sean asked me to call you”

“Where is he?And who is this!?”she demanded.Now he had people calling for him!What a fucking coward!

“I don’t know where he is,but Im representing him.Im an attorney.My name is Lawrence Allman”

“Why are you calling me?”she asked,she was confused

“I thought Sean would have told you,but I see that he hasn’t.He wants to sell the apartment”

She wasn’t surprised,”Ok…”

“But hes willing to give you one month’s grace before you put it on the market,unless you would like to buy him out at fair market value”Lawrence said

“What do you want from me!?And why are you calling me on a holiday? You aren’t supposed to be working”she said as she started to cry on the phone,”Im not buying the apartment back from him that’s for sure…I cant afford it”

“Miss Madison”Lawrence said quietly,now realizing how unreasonable his client has been,”Im really sorry.Theres no pleasant way to advise you of all this.I thought that maybe a phone call would help-“

“Its ok…its not your fault”she said as she tried to calm herself down

“Well lemme see,you can file for spousal support.You can at least get some money out of this”he said to her

“In order to get spousal support,you have to be a spouse right?”she asked

“Yeah,wait…you two aren’t-“

“No,we used to date…before he became an asshole”she said

“Um…ok…so you are not going to buy the apartment back from him?”

“No if he wants it so much he can have it”she said,she couldn’t believe that he was taking the apartment just so he can sell it and get some money out of it.

“Well hes giving you a month-“

“You know what?Put it on the market now,I know that’s what he wants”she said

“Are you sure?I think you should take the month so you can get yourself settled-“

“Im fine Mr.Allman just tell me what I need to do”she said,she had no use of the apartment now.

“Well ok,the first thing you need to do is to be sure that you aren’t there when its being shown to potential buyers”

“That’s fine”she said

“They want you to make your key available to the realtors and leave the apartment in good order”

“That wont be difficult.Did he tell you he has taken every piece of furniture with him?”she asked getting even more upset by all of this,”All I have is my mattress,my clothes thrown in boxes,my phone and my laptop.I’ll do my best to keep it neat”she said sarcastically

“Wait its not furnished?”

“No its not,he took everything,its practically empty”

“It might not show well that way.They probably think you refurnished”

“Well Sean should have thought about that before he came in and took every damn thing in here.Im not going to refurnish an apartment that hes taking from me”she said.She didn’t feel like talking about this any longer,”Is there anything else?I have things to do”she said,that was a lie,the only thing she could do is cry.

“No.We’ll proceed with the realtors and advise you who’ll be handling it.How soon do you want to start showing it?”

Paris shook her head,”Um…tomorrow whatever”she said

“Are you sure?”

“YES!”she shouted,then she stopped.She shouldn’t yell at him.It wasn’t his fault that he gets to represent an asshole.”Im sorry,yes I would like it to start showing tomorrow”she said quietly and calmer

“Alright,thank you.We’ll be in touch”he said

“Alright”she said and hung up the phone.She sat there on the floor and looked around,what was happening to her?Everything was going so well and now everything was being taken from her.”I need to take a bath”she said as she got up.She didn’t know what to do with herself and that’s the first thing that came to mind.

She walked into her now empty bathroom and turned on the water,she got undressed and wrapped the one towel she had around her and looked for her soap.But there was none,he even took her soap.She sat on the side of the tub and cried some more.

There was no discussion,argument or any conversation about what belonged to whom,or who wanted what.He had simply taken all of it,because he had paid for most of it and because he felt that it was his and he had a right to.There was nothing else she could do.

She let the water down the drain and found her silk slip that she always wore to bed.She was surprised he didn’t take that.She walked out of the bathroom and back into her room,it was now dark outside and she turned on the light.She was also surprised that he didn’t take the lightbulbs.

She saw the rain pouring down and saw some lightning flash.At least now the weather fit her mood.She sat there and cried as she sat on the floor next to the mattress.She put her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them and rocked back and forth.She sat there for who knows how long and then she realized that she needed someone.She didn’t want to be alone

She picked up her cell phone and saw Justin’s name under her recent calls.She almost forgot about him.She called his cell phone.He was probably still working and had no time for her now.It rang three times and she started crying again.He was still busy

She was about to hang up when she heard his voice,”Hello?”

She couldn’t speak,all she could do was cry and sniffle.Then she finally said,”Justin….”

“Paris?Im on my way”he said and then he hung up.

She stared at the phone,was it that easy?She was surprised that he was rushing to her rescue.The lights blinked a few times and she sighed,they would blow out any minute now.She rested her head on her kneecap and cried and waited for Justin to come.

__

“Sorry”Justin said as he cut another car off on the highway,he heard their horn honking at him.He was scared,he didn’t know what was wrong with Paris.But she didn’t sound too good on the phone.He was finished for the day and didn’t have to go in until Wednesday.He took the exit that would lead to the waterside near her apartment and sped there.

He pulled into the parking lot and ran up the steps and opened the door.He was shocked to see that her apartment was empty.Then he heard someone crying.He turned and saw Paris sitting on the floor next to a mattress,”Paris?You’ve been robbed?”he asked as he ran up to her and sat next to her

She shook her head no as she cried,”Why are you sitting here on the floor?What happened?”he asked her as he pulled her in for a hug.She cried in his arms for a few minutes and then pulled away

“Sean….”she said

“He did this?”Justin asked.She shook her head yes,”That bastard,why would he rob you?”

“No…”she said,”This apartment is his and hes been threatening to take this apartment away but I didn’t believe him and when I went to the beach today he came in here and took everything he even took my toothbrush and my soap and then his attorney called and now Sean wants me to sell the apartment and find a place of my own and Baby is dead and-“

“Whoa wait,slow down…Baby’s dead?”

Paris nodded her head,”She ran outside and got hit”she said as she started sobbing all over again.

Justin didn’t know what to do or what to say.He looked at her,she was just wearing a black silk slip,her hair was a little messy and her face looked red and splotchy from crying.But she still looked beautiful to him,”Ok..you need to get some rest ok?”he said as he laid her down on the mattress

“I cant sleep”she said

“Yes you will,you need it to clear your head.And anyways you love sleep right?”Justin asked as he laid on the mattress next to her.He gave the one pillow that was left to her and put it under her head.”Please stop crying Paris”he said,he couldn’t take it anymore.Hearing her cry made him want to die himself.

Just then there was a big roll of thunder,a big flash of lightning,and then the lights blew out,”Oh perfect…now I have no lights”Paris said through her tears.

Justin held her close to him and let her cry.She soon cried herself to sleep and soon he fell asleep too.

__

A big roll of thunder woke Justin up a few hours later.He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 2 am.He looked and saw Paris laying next to him.She actually looked peaceful,but her face was still wet from all the crying.He still couldn’t believe at all that was happening to her.Sean must be one of the cruelest people he has ever known and he hasn’t even met the guy.

Justin tried to move his arm because it started to cramp up.He tried to do that successfully without waking her up…but he did.”Sorry”he said

“Hi”she said barely over a whisper,”What time is it?”she asked

“Its almost two”he said.Just then another flash of lightning flashed across the sky

“I hate lightning”she said in a shaky voice

“Do you have any flashlights?”he asked

“He probably took them all”she said and then started crying again

“Paris,please don’t cry”he said as he held her again.”Where do you usually keep them?”

“In the cabinet above the refrigerator”she said as she sat up

“No let me”he said,he turned on his cell phone and that was enough light for him to get across the room.Good thing there wasn’t any furniture or he would have broken something

“Did you find it?”she asked him

“Yep,he must have forgot it”Justin said as he turned it on

“I used to have a lot of candles”she said

“Where do you keep those?”he asked

“They might not even be there but I kept them in the bathroom”

Justin went in the bathroom and a few seconds later he said,”Damn you got a lot of candles”

“Its only like 10 in there”she said

“But you don’t have any matches”he said

“Oh”she said sadly

“I can use the stove”he said

A few minutes later,the room was lit up a little and it smelled like Warm Vanilla Sugar,”Smells good in here huh?”she said as she laid there

Justin leaned on his side so he was facing her,”Yeah it smells like one of those lotion shops”He heard her sigh,”What?”

“I miss Baby”she said

“I know you do-“

“God,after today Im not gonna have anyplace to go”she said

“What do you mean?”he asked

“The apartment is gonna be put on the market tomorrow,so I gotta be out of here…well by today actually”

“Does your mother know?”

“No,anyways she loved Sean and she still hates the fact that I broke up with him”

“Did you tell her that he cheated on you?”

“Yeah,but she says hes a man and men do that and I should have given him a second chance”

“Well Sean gives us guys a bad name”

“Anyways,she kicked me out of the house at 18,she certainly wont let me stay there when Im 23”

“But you were forced-“

“Justin,you don’t know Francine”she said,”I can give Chelsea’s mom a call”she thought.She was a manager of a local motel,she could a discount,”I could get a discounted hotel room until I get on my feet-“

“No Paris,you cant stay in a motel”

“Justin I have nowhere else to go!”she said sternly

“Then stay with me”he said

“No Justin I cant-“

“Your not intruding because I invited you.I have plenty of room”

“I don’t wanna be a burden”

“You wont be,Sean is the burden here.None of this is your fault”he said as he put his right arm across her stomach,”Anyways its like we’ve been doing this whole week,its just this time its like a sleepover.Oh!You can even make me breakfast in bed”

“Oh I get it”she said,”You just want me to stay for your own purposes”she said and half smiled

“Did I see a smile?I think I did”he said as he laid his head on her shoulder,”Is that a yes?Please say yes,I wouldn’t forgive myself if you were staying in a nasty motel or out on the streets”

“Ok,but I wont stay for long-“

“Yay!”he said excitedly as he sat up.She laughed a little and smiled up at him.Her dark brown eyes were moist and shining,they seemed to sparkle almost,”Oh…I forgot to tell you…”

“What?”she asked

“You look beautiful”he said

“No I don’t”she said,”I look a mess”

“Cant you accept a compliment?”he asked

Paris smiled,”Thank you…you do too”

“No...Im not beautiful…Im handsome…get it right”he said

She laughed a little,but then her smile soon faded and she sighed.He could tell that she had a lot of things on her mind.She had a lot of pain,disappointment and sadness in her eyes,she also looked so afraid because she didn’t know what she was going to do next.He wanted to kiss all of that away.Then he remembered the kiss that they shared a few nights ago.He loved it and he felt like he was in love with her.

He then leaned down and kissed her,he was afraid that she would pull away,but surprisingly she didn’t.She hesitated and soon her arms went around his neck and pulled him closer to her.He shifted his body so he can lay on top of her.

He let her tongue enter his mouth and returned the favor to her.He felt her fingernails going up and down his back,which sent shivers up and down his spine.He also felt her other hand playing with his hair.

He started kissing her on her neck and started sucking on it,his hands went up her leg and under her silk dress that she was wearing.Then she stopped

“Justin…I cant-“she said breathlessly,that kiss totally took their breath away

“Im sorry”he said as he pulled away from her and took his hand from under her silk dress

“Its just that Im…waiting..Im saving myself”she said

He looked at her,”You’re a virgin?”he asked

She nodded,”That’s why Sean left me.He was sexually frustrated even though he said that he promised to wait for me.I had to be in love with him and he had to be the same with me.He did say he loved me,but I never believed it.I never felt loved by him.But maybe…it doesn’t matter anymore,its just virginity right?”

“No,I mean.Its important to stick with what you believe in Paris.If you feel that you need to be in love with the person.Then good,that’s what making love means”he said,”And I agree with you.I never have sex with someone unless I know that they love me”he said to her.He was tempted to say that he loved her but he didn’t want to scare her.She already had too much on her mind

“Im probably the oldest virgin in LA.Hell,all of California”she said

“No,nuns and priests have to be celebate you know.Well some priests are,but we wont get into that”he said and he got a small laugh out of her,”But whoever you give your virginity to is going to be the luckiest guy in the world”

Paris shook her head,”Justin my virginity isn’t painted gold or anything”

“No,but..well I bet most guys agree with me when I say this.If a girl waits and waits until she is ready and is sure,then its gonna be better.Because virginity to a girl and virginity to a guy is different.To girls,its sacred.Once a girl loses it after waiting, the guy feels like she gave him a gift”

“Really?I thought that guys loved the girls who gave it up in a heartbeat”

“Some do,but deep down they wish they had something different”he said

“I don’t see my virginity as a gift”

“You should,most women would give anything to have theirs back”

“True”she said,”That’s what my mother says”she said and sighed,”I was a mistake”

“Hey shhh”he said as he held her close.”Don’t ever think that you’re a mistake. No one is”he said.He suddenly had this strong urge and he felt like he needed to take care of her,they both laid there and listened to each other breathe.They laid there in silence and soon they fell back to sleep.

__

At around 6,the bright sun woke them up.Since Sean took the curtains also,they had no way of shielding the sun.While Justin packed her things into his car,she gave her job a call.They were expecting her to come in a few hours and she knew she wasn’t up to it.She left Lita a message and hung up.Then she dialed her mothers number.But her mother never answered.Where was she anyway?

“Who doesn’t have an answering machine?Its 2004”she said to herself as she hung up the phone

“Whats wrong?”Justin asked as he walked in

“I tried calling my mother,but as always,shes never there”she said and sighed

“Its fine,maybe shes sleeping”he asked.Then the phone rang,”Maybe that’s her?”he asked

“Hello?”Paris asked

“Paris?Its Lita,I just got your message are you ok?”Lita asked

“Um…no…Im not feeling too good and I wont be coming in”Paris said

“Oh you must have that flu that’s going around”Lita said,”So that means you will be out for a couple of days then?”

“Yeah,that’s it.Yeah I don’t know how long it will take.But I assure you,I’ll be back on my feet as soon as I can”

“Ok kiddo.Just get better first and then come in.But if you can,could you have your deadline ready?Or should I put another story in?”

“No….I think I might have some strength to email and fax Chelsea what I have been working on”Paris said

“Alright,deadline is tomorrow.If you cant let me know as soon as possible alright?”she asked

“Yes I will”

“Feel better now”she said,”Bye Paris”she said

“Bye”she said and hung up

“Your boss?”Justin asked

“Yeah,its great I didn’t even have to lie.She gave me a disease and I went with it”she said and smiled a little

“What disease did she give you?”

“The flu”

“Cool”he said,”Ready to pack up that phone or do you need to make anymore phone calls?”he asked

“One more”she said.She had to call Pierre.If he saw that she didn’t come to work and that she wasn’t in her apartment anymore,he would go ballistic.His phone rang several times,no one picked up.”Pierre its me.Just letting you know that I caught some flu thing.Its very contagious,so don’t try to come over.I’ll let you know when Im better.Bye”she said and hung up

“Ok done”she said as she unplugged the phone and answering machine

“Good”Justin said as he put it in a box.”Did you know that you have a Nutri Grain bar in your cabinet?”

“Ooh breakfast”she said as she picked it up

“That’s it?”he asked

“I don’t usually eat heavy breakfasts this early.Makes my stomach crawl”she said

“Ok,you ready?”he asked her

She sighed,”Yeah I have no choice”she said.She picked up her purse and they both walked out the door.She locked the door for the last time.She held the key in her hand for a few seconds,she then kissed it and put it under the plant next to the door

“What are you doing?”

“The realtors need the key so they can start showing the apartment”she said sadly

“Ok,lets go”he said as he put her arm around her.They walked to the parking lot and she followed him to his house.

“Welcome home”Justin said with a smile once they got there.”Let me show you to your room”he said as they went upstairs,”You have three other choices,unless you want to sleep with me”he said and winked at her

“What are the other choices?”she asked

“Ow….shutdown”he said,”Ok since you don’t want to sleep with me.You have the choice of the Lemon room”he said as he pointed to a pastel yellow room. “The Blueberry room”he said as they passed a navy blue/baby blue room,”And the Berry room”he said as they passed a dark red/pink room

“You don’t have a Champagne room?”she asked

“No”he said

“It was a joke”she said

“Oh I get it”he said and laughed,”Good one”

“I like the Berry room”she said.All the red looked elegant and cozy for some reason.”Whats up with the whole fruit themes?”

“Oh when my mom decorated that’s what she called each room.It stuck with me”he said.”Ok the Berry room is yours”he said,”I’ll start moving your stuff in”

“Is it ok if I take a shower?”she asked.”I didn’t get to take one…or brush my teeth”she said

“Sure,there is some soap and towels and toothbrushes already in there”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Im sure.Those things are just waiting to be used”he said,”Its ok if you use them”

She smiled at him and gave him a hug,”Thank you”she said

He looked at her,”No problem.Now go away and wash up,you stink”he said and winked at her

__

Paris walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed and a little bit better.She walked into the room and saw Justin,”Hey”she said shyly.She was only in a towel.

“I finished unpacking your stuff.Just put the rest where you want”he said. He cleared his throat awkwardly and they stood there on opposite sides of the room

She laughed,”Are you afraid to come near me or something?”she asked him

“No…its just….your naked…kinda”he said

“Oh yeah”she said sarcastically,”Well…um…you should get out.I need to get dressed”she said

“Oh….”he laughed,”I’ll be downstairs”he said and then closed the door.

She smiled and shook her head as she scrambled through some boxes to find things to wear.She would organize everything but she didn’t have the strength.She took out an old midriffed t shirt and put on some old jeans and went downstairs.She found Justin in the kitchen

“Hey,you hungry?”he asked

“No..I don’t feel like eating right now”she said sadly

“Hey let me show you something”he said as he took her hand and led her outside on the patio.There was a shoe box on the ground

“You got new shoes?”she asked

“No…”he said and smiled a little,then the smile soon faded.”Um…Baby’s in there”he said

“She is?”she asked as tears came to her eyes.

“Yeah I thought that you wanted to bury her somewhere”he said.”You know…a last goodbye”he said

“Um….”

“If you don’t want to do anything yet,that’s fine”he said

“No…”she said,”Ok…well call me crazy but….I want her cremated”she said

“Cremated?”he asked

“You know.Ashes to ashes,dust to dust”she said,”And then spread her ashes over the ocean.I mean when I die,I want the same thing,but I want the same for her too”she said

Justin nodded,he knew how much she loved that cat,”Ok…now we can cremate her the old fashioned way or call someone”

“Call someone?”she asked

“They have some pet cremating services”he said

“No…lets do it the old fashioned way”she said

“Ok,we can do it in the outdoor fireplace”he said

“You don’t use that?”she asked

“Oh no….”he said,”I use the grill and the oven,that’s there for decoration but it works”he said,”You sure you wanna do this?”he asked her

“Yeah”she said.Soon Justin got some firewood out of his fireplace and some matches and got a fire going.

”Want me to put her in?”he asked as he brought the box over

“No let me”she said,she took the box and held it for a few minutes then she slowly put it in the fire.Soon she started sobbing and ran into the house.Justin closed up the fireplace and ran in after her.He found her in the living room on the couch.He went over to her and held her in his arms and soon she cried herself to sleep.

__

Later on that day,Paris and Justin were standing on the shore of Horseshoe Bay.A small secluded beach near Justins place.

“Bye Baby”Paris said tearfully as they both stared out at the water,”I wonder where the ashes actually go”

“They dissolve in the water..but Baby's spirit is in cat heaven”he said,trying to cheer her up,”You ok?”he asked her

“No…lets get out of here”she said as she walked away from him and up the beach towards the car

__

“You hungry?”Justin asked once they got back in the house.It was almost 6pm.

“No”she said sadly as she sat on the couch

“You sure?You haven’t eaten all day”he said,”Hey I’ll order some pizzas,I know how much you love pizza”he said with a big smile,trying to get a smile out of her

“Im not hungry”she said

“Paris”he said seriously as he kneeled in front of her,”I know you have been going through a lot this past 24 hours,but we need you to move on.Don’t mope around because that bastard did this to you.Don’t stop eating and everything because hes being an ass”

Paris looked at him,she moved out of his grasp and ran upstairs and slammed her door.

__

Once she heard the slam behind her,she wished that she didn’t.He was only trying to help her.But she felt that she needed to be alone for awhile.She sat on the big King sized bed and looked out the window next to the bed.She looked around the nicely furnished room with the small living room set and tv and saw a desk in the corner of the room.She saw her laptop and her printer hooked up and sitting there

“My deadline!”she said to herself and got up.She turned on her computer and for the next 45 minutes she spent working on her latest deadline.

“Lemmie?Hey its me Paris”she said as she sat back in the chair.”Thanks but Im getting better”she said,”Yes I still want to do the story so tomorrow morning can you send the pictures and the information to my secretary?”she asked him,”Good…..heres the number….555-7327…ok thank you so much on another great story…bye”she said

She hung up and sent her story to Chelsea by email and saved a back up to her disk.She sat back and sighed.She kinda missed being at the office.She wasn’t making any money sitting around here.

“Paris?”she heard Justins voice through the door,”Um…the pizzas here if you want some”he said and then she heard him walk away

She was really hungry and pizza sounded really good right now.She turned off her computer and headed downstairs

“Hey”Justin said quietly,”I ordered three medium pizzas”he said as he opened the Dominos boxes

She went up to him and hugged him,”Im sorry”she said

“For what?”he asked as he looked down at her

“For how I acted earlier…I just needed to be alone but I shouldn’t have run out on you like that.You opened up your house to me and everything and Im acting like an ass”

“Your not acting like an ass.People deal with things differently”he said,”You hungry?”he asked

“Oh yeah”she said as she picked up one of the boxes “Your that hungry?”he asked with a laugh

“I can eat a whole medium pizza by myself”she said and smiled

“Wow my kind of gal”he said as he picked up a box of his own.”I bought a third one just in case”he said

“There are birds flying in the sky and some deer just went running by…”came a cartoon voice from the tv

“Oooh South Park!”they both said

Paris looked at him and laughed,”You like South Park?”

“Yeah Ive seen every episode and I have all four seasons on DVD”he said,”Wanna watch?”he asked as he took some wine coolers out of the fridge

“Yeah!”she said excitedly.They both ran into the room and sat on the couch and happily drank their wine coolers and ate their pizzas

A few hours later the movie ended,”Aww that was great”Justin said as he clapped

Paris laughed,”Yeah…ugh Im full”she said

“I bet you are.A whole medium pizza and what?3 wine coolers?”he asked with a laugh

“Hey I haven’t eaten all day”she said

“Well hey do you need anything?I got some ice cream”he said

“Are you deaf?I said I was full”she said with a laugh.Justin smiled and cleaned up their stuff,”So is this really how you wanna spend your day?”she asked as she followed him into the kitchen

“What?”

“You know,taking care of me.Its your day off”

“Hey…its fun”he said with a smile…then he stopped,”Damn”he said

“Whats wrong?”she asked

“I have to work tomorrow”he said

“So?Make that money boy”she said

“Yeah but you’ll be here by yourself”he said,”I don’t want you being here by yourself”

“Trust me Justin.I’ll be fine.Your tv has over 2000 channels on it.I’ll find a way to amuse myself”

“No I cant have you sitting here watching tv all day,that would make anyone go crazy”he said

“Hey I’ll be fine”she said then she let out a big yawn

“Ooooh someones sleepy”he said

“No….”she said,then she smiled,”Well yeah…I didn’t get that much sleep”she said

“Come on little one…bedtime”he said as he took her up to her bedroom,”Well I guess this is goodnight then”he said and laughed

“Yeah”she said,”Thank you for the pizza and a movie”

“Anytime”he said,he kissed her on her forehead and then he headed to his room right across the hall,”If you need me,Im in here”he said

“Ok”she said sleepily,she went in the bathroom and changed into a white silk slip and got into bed and soon she was fast asleep

__

The next day,Paris decided to take a drive.She was kinda bored watching tv,Justin was right.She got up and found her keys and decided to take a drive.Soon she found herself in front of her old apartment.She was about to keep going but something told her to go in.She parked in the parking lot and walked up to her room. She turned the knob and walked in,the apartment was already refurnished,she turned to the left and heard something in the bedroom

She opened the door and gasped.She saw Gabrielle on top of Sean…in their bed!

“SEAN!WHAT THE HELL!”she said to him

“Paris I can explain”Sean said as he pushed Gabrielle off of him and got up with the sheets wrapped around his waist

“What can you explain!”she said,”AND WITH HER!?YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE HER AND YOU DO THIS!?IN OUR BED!?”she yelled

“Calm down Paris,please”he said as he grabbed her

“NO WE ARE OVER!”she yelled,”YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME!”

“I DO!”he said

“NO YOU DON’T”she said as she picked up Gabrielles clothes and opened the window and threw them out,”GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT YOU STUPID BITCH!HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!”she said as she ran towards her and attempted to attack her

Gabrielle only had a long tuxedo shirt covering her,she got up and ran out of the apartment,”Paris calm down and stop acting like this”

“I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!”she said,”I HATE YOU AND YOU WILL GET OUT OF HERE NOW!”she yelled as she went in the closet and grabbed all his clothes and threw them out the window

“PARIS!STOP IT!”he yelled as he grabbed her and turned her around.She slapped him and pushed him out of the room and pushed him out of the door and locked it,”PARIS LET ME IN NOW!”he said,”SHE DIDN’T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME!”

“SAVE IT!”she said as she went around the house and found the things that he owned and threw them all out the window

“PARIS STOP!”he said as he yelled up to her window

“YOU CAN TAKE THESE DIRTY SHEETS TOO!”she said as she took all the sheets off of the bed and threw them out the window,”THEY SMELL OF TRAILER TRASH AND CHEAP SEX!”she yelled

“PARIS I LOVE YOU!DON’T DO THIS!LETS TALK ABOUT THIS!IM A MAN AND I MADE A MISTAKE,IM ONLY HUMAN!”he yelled

“I HATE YOU”she yelled back and she kept yelling,”I HATE YOU,I HATE YOU,I HATE YOU!”she yelled,soon the room was spinning and everything went black

__

Paris sat up and saw that she was in a dark room.Where was she?It was painted red and she was lying on a king sized bed and all the sheets were somehow thrown on the floor.

Then the door opened and Justin ran in.Now she knew where she was,it was just a dream.

“Paris are you ok?”he asked,”Why are the sheets all over the floor”he said as he sat on the bed,”Man your sweating”he said

Paris sat there and started to cry,why was Sean still haunting her!?

“Don’t cry Paris,its ok.It was a bad dream”he said,”It must have been really bad.I heard you screaming I hate you”he said as he held her close,”It was about Sean wasn’t it?”he asked

She nodded her head

“Do you want something to drink or anything?”he asked

“No…I just want to go back to sleep”she said as she wiped the tears away

“Ok”he said as he picked up the covers off the floor and put them back on the bed,”Are you sure you don’t need anything?”he asked as started to walk to the door

“No…wait….I need you”she said,”I don’t wanna be alone”she said

Justin smiled a little and got in the bed with her,he held her close and let her finish crying,a few minutes later she was sound asleep on his chest and soon he fell asleep by hearing the sound of her breathing

__

The next morning,Paris rolled over and opened her eyes.Justin wasn’t next to her any longer but she heard voices calling her name.She sat up,wondering where the voices were coming from.

Soon she heard footsteps and it was a girls voice.”Wake up Paris!”she heard the girl say.She looked toward the door and saw Lori and Stacey walk in.

“There she is!Shes awake!”Lori said

“How couldn’t she be?With you screaming like that”Stacey said,”Good morning Paris…or almost good afternoon”she said.The clock said 11:46 am

“Good morning”Paris said,”Im sorry but Justin isn’t here right now”she said sleepily

“Oh he is here still,he is downstairs.He called us over”Lori said excitedly

“Sorry that Lori is acting like a cheerleader on crack cocaine.Since hes working today,he doesn’t want you to be here alone,so he hired us to babysit you”Stacey said,”Take you out for a girls day out in the Hills”

“The Hills?Meaning Beverly Hills?”Paris asked

“Your acting like you’ve never been there before”Lori said,then she stopped,”Oh you haven’t?”

“No”Paris said and laughed

“Oh this is so cool!Its like Pretty Woman or something”

“Except that shes not a prostitute”Stacey said,”So what do you say?”she asked

Before Paris could answer,Justin walked in with a tray of food.”Breakfast”he said with a smile

“Breakfast in bed!?How romantic”Lori said excitedly. Stacey elbowed her and gave her a look,”Ow…sorry”she whispered

“Oh Justin,you didn’t have to”Paris said as she looked at the buttered pancakes and orange juice that was laid out in front of her.

“Hey if your gonna hang with these girls.You need energy and breakfast will definitely help you”he said,”So what do you two have planned for Paris today?”

“Shopping,definitely”Lori said

“Oh then I’ll just watch you two shop”Paris said,”I definitely don’t have Beverly Hills money”

“Here”Justin said as he pulled a Visa out of his wallet

“No Justin,I cant”she said

“Please Paris,you’ll upset me if you don’t take it.Shopping in the Hills is a once in a lifetime opportunity.I can afford it”he said,”Believe it or not,girls clothing is less expensive than guys clothing”

“But-“

“No buts,take it”he said,”You girls take care of her now.Bring her back safely”he said

“Yes sir”Stacey and Lori said

Justin kissed Paris on her forehead and that made her blush because now people were in the room.”I gotta go now or I’ll be late.Have fun”he said and then he left.

“Well we’ll leave you here to eat your breakfast and to get ready”Stacey said

“Yeah your gonna have so much fun,you wont have to think about the bastard”Lori said

“Lori!Jesus,you have the biggest mouth”Stacey said

“He told you?”she asked

“No…not everything.We asked why you were staying here and he said,and I quote,’Because of her bastard ex boyfriend’.But he didn’t want to say anymore,he wanted you to tell us if you were comfortable”Stacey said

“Oh”Paris said as she poured some maple syrup on her pancakes

“We’ll leave you with your pancakes now”Stacey said as she pulled Lori out of the room.

Paris smiled,they really were nice.She finished her breakfast,then she went and showered and got dressed.She put on some tight designer jeans and a black midriff tank top that had ‘Coyote Ugly’ on it.She put on some heels and went downstairs.

“Hey your done?”Stacey said,”Wow it didn’t take you that long.But then again your not Lori”

“Hey I need a lot of time when deciding on an outfit”Lori said

Paris laughed as she put the dishes away,”Ok you girls ready?”she asked as she got her purse

“Oh Justin is giving you his spare key,just in case we come back and hes not here”Stacey said as she gave it to her.They all left the house and Paris locked it behind her,”You get shotgun Paris”

“Hey!You cant call shotgun for a person!”Lori said

“So she wont feel left out in the backseat”Stacey said and laughed.They walked toward her red Jeep Wrangler and they got in.”Ready to get our shop on ladies?”she said.They all cheered and drove towards Beverly Hills.

__

“Everything is so expensive”Paris said as she looked at all the price tags in a store called Mademoiselle.

“Hey this is the Hills”Stacey said

“And Justin gave you one of his many credit cards,you can afford this stuff”Lori said

“I feel guilty using it”Paris said

“Well if he didn’t want you to use it,he wouldn’t have given it to you”Stacey said as she picked out a red shirt,a bright blue off the shoulder and yellow tank top.

“Ooh pretty”Lori said as she got some pink shirts

“You must love pink huh?”Paris asked

“Oh yeah well that’s because its my color scheme and its my favorite color”

“Color scheme?”Paris asked

“You don’t know your color scheme?”Lori asked her

“I didn’t know I had one”Paris said

“Oh no girl.Everyone should know their color scheme”Lori said

“Go ahead and let her show you,she has a whole theory on these things”Stacey said with a laugh

“Ok”Paris said

“Ok for example.Lets take Stacey here,she has red,yellow and blue.Her color scheme is Pretty Primary.She looks good in the primary colors and white and black”Lori said,”Im a Prissy Pastel,which means that I look good in all the prissy-esque colors.Like pastel pink,pastel blue,pastel yellow,pastel purple.I cant wear anything to bright or too dark.But every girl needs a black dress so I do have one but that’s the darkest that I can go”

“Ok so what am I?”Paris asked

“You…are a Cool Hue”she said

“Oooh”Stacey said

“Whats that?”Paris asked

“You wear the coolest colors.You should stay away from naturally bright colors.Very earthy tones is what you should go for.Like blues,greens and browns.Now you can wear bright blues but if you wear a bright orange…eew it wont work”Lori said

“Ok”Paris said

“Oh and you look great in black,but stay away from too much white”Lori said

“Ok…I can deal with that”she said,”Blues,greens and browns”she said

“Glad I could help”Lori said,”Oh!That dress is perfect for your color scheme”she said as she pointed to a light blue dress,”Its very Cool Hue”

“Aww it is pretty”Paris said with a smile then she saw the price,”Oh…that’s a lot of money”

“Hey money is no object when you have Justin Timberlake’s credit card.Loosen up”Lori said as she took it down for her,”I will kill you if you don’t try it on”

“Ok fine.I’ll be back”Paris said as she went towards the dressing rooms and tried on the dress.She tried it on and she loved it,it hugged every curve in the right way and it was like it was made for her.

“I got some matching stilettos”Lori said as she walked out of the dressing room,”Wow,that looks sooooo good on you”

“It does,you should get it”Stacey said with a smile.

“Im in love with it”Paris said as she looked at herself in the mirror

“This is great.Now I know why people like helping others,it feels so rewarding”Lori said

“You just helped her pick out a dress”Stacey said with a laugh

“But she didn’t know her color scheme.Once you know your color scheme,your set for life”Lori said

“Whatever you say”Stacey said

__

Later on that day, they were done with the clothes shopping so they stopped by an outdoor café and got a bite to eat.

“So what did your ex do to you anyways?”Lori asked

“Lori!”Stacey said

“No its fine”Paris said.She told them the whole story of how Sean bought the apartment,and on her birthday he asked her to move in with him.How he cheated on her with Gabrielle and how he threatened to take the apartment away if she didn’t take him back and how she ended up at Justins.

“Wow,he is a bastard”Stacey said

“So are you going to live with Justin now?”Lori asked

“Just for a few days and then I’ll get my own apartment.Im sure I can find one”

“You should stay with Justin,I bet he wouldn’t mind”Lori said

“No,Ive learned my lesson.I cant depend on anyone anymore.I mean I depended on Sean and I was almost homeless because of him”

“True”Stacey said

“But Justin wouldn’t do that.Ive known that boy all his life and hes such a humanitarian”Lori said

“Yeah,hes an Aquarius.Aquarians are humanitarians”Paris said with a smile,”I know that he wouldn’t do that but,its time that I had my own place.I mean,Justin and I aren’t even that serious”

“So,you two aren’t dating?”Stacey asked

Paris thought about it,”No..I don’t think so”

“What do you mean?”Lori asked,”It’s a simple question”

“He kissed you didn’t he?”Stacey asked

“Yeah…on more than one occasion…but the whole dating thing hasn’t come up yet”

“Ahh that’s why its confusing”Stacey said,”You two should talk about it.Do you like him?”

“Yeah..hes really nice and hes taken care of me through all of this.I really like him”she said,”Im falling for him actually”

“Awww”Stacey and Lori said

“Well Justin is the perfect guy,if he were my type I would date him”Lori said

“Whats your type?”Paris asked

“Those dirty punk rockers”Stacey said

“Hey,they aren’t dirty,they are grungy,its different”Lori said,”But yeah totally talk about it with him”

“I don’t wanna scare him off”Paris said,”I mean he might not even like me like that”

“I think he does”Lori said,”Justin doesn’t kiss just any girl on her forehead.That’s a very sexual place to kiss a person”

“The forehead?”Stacey asked,”Oh no,the most sexual place to kiss is on the neck or on the shoulders…ooooh…if a guy does that,he has me most definitely”

“Well yeah I agree with you on the whole neck and shoulders thing,but the forehead is actually really sexual,but its also intellectual.Its like the guy is kissing you for two reasons,because he loves how sexy you are and he loves how smart you are”

Paris smiled.”Yeah I like forehead kisses”

“Sorry Im not into being intellectual.The neck and shoulders are my spots”Stacey said

“Me too,and I also like when a guy kisses my knee”Lori said

“Your knee?”Stacey and Paris asked

“I dunno,it gives me that tingly feeling you know?”Lori said,”So whats your spot Paris?”

“I don’t know”Paris said,”I haven’t gone that far in the sex department….Im a virgin”

“You’re a virgin!”Lori said

“Lori shut up!Damn girl,you have the biggest mouth”Stacey said,”Its not like it’s a bad thing Paris.I wish I had my virginity back sometimes.You know,to have that first time feeling”

“I don’t”Lori said

“Im just saving myself for the right person”Paris said.She smiled at Stacey’s comment.Justin was right about some girls wanting their virginity back.”But I do love neck and forhead kisses”she said,”If I find out more spots I’ll let you girls know”

“Yeah so I can try them”Lori said with a laugh

Paris smiled,she was really having fun with these girls.”Aww…shit you guys..I never really had straight friends before”she said with a smile

They both looked at her,”Really?”Stacey asked

“Well yeah,my best friend is gay…a gay guy.I mean spots to us and spots to them are totally different,I cant really talk about that stuff with him”

“I see what you mean”Lori said,”Every girl should have at least one girlfriend. I mean gay guys make great friends,but you cant really relate to them on a girly level”

“They are good shoppers though”Stacey said

“Oh yeah definitely”Paris said

“But hey,if you ever need to talk….you know like girl talk?Give us a call”Stacey said,”Its good for the soul”

__

Paris walked into Justins house and noticed that the door was unlocked.She walked in and found him in the kitchen,”Oh your home”she said

Justin turned around and smiled,”Hey you.So did you have fun?”

“Yeah,it was a blast”Paris said with a smile

“So did you spend all of my life savings?”he asked and winked

“No”she said as she gave him back his credit cards.”They thought I wasn’t spending enough actually”she said.”Here are some receipts.That helps you keep track of everything I spent”she said as she gave him a few receipts.

He looked at them,”That’s all you spent?”he asked

“It was enough for me”she said

He smiled and shrugged,”Ok”he said,”At least you spent something.I would have been upset if you didn’t.So that’s all you did?Went shopping?”

“No we also ate and talked girl talk and then we saw ‘Dodgeball’ cuz Lori is in love with Ben Stiller,and now Im here”she said with a smile

“Well Im glad you had fun”he said as he kissed her on her forehead and put something away.

She remembered their conversation about forehead kisses and wondered if she should talk to Justin about where they stood.Should she tell him how much she liked him?”Um…Justin?”she asked

“Yeah?”he asked as he turned around

“Can I ask you something?”she asked

“Yeah sure”he asked,”Is something wrong?”he asked her

“Oh no…its just-“then she was interrupted by a cell phone

“Damn”he said,”Im sorry I have to take this”he said apologetically

“Its ok”she said

“Hello?”he said,”Hey Johnny….yeah….yeah..”

Paris picked up her shopping bags and put them in her room.Maybe it wasn’t such a good time.Before his phone rang she had some courage to ask him but now she didn’t.She hung up the dress in the closet and put the shoe box next to her box of shoes and put the several shirts that she bought with her other shirts,her new pair of jeans with the pants and so on.

She went back downstairs and saw that he was still on the phone.She went into the living room and sat down in front of the tv.Coincidentally,the Fabulous Life of Justin Timberlake was on.She smiled as they showed his house that she was actually sitting in and the cars that were currently in his garage.But they showed pictures of him and Cameron and the car that he bought her.Was he really over her?

“Hey”he said as he sat next to her,bringing her out of her thoughts.He gave her a wine cooler,”What cha watching?”he asked

“Your fabulous life”she said

“Huh?”he asked,he looked at the tv.”Oh…never saw this”he said,”My life is fabulous?”he asked

“Yes,people will kill to have this place”Paris said

“I can barely enjoy it though.Im barely here.This past week has been the most I have ever spent in this house”he said,”Oh what did you want to ask me?”he asked her

“Huh?Oh nothing,it was nothing”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah..I actually forgot what I was going to ask you”she said,”So its not that important”she said

__

Paris opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Justins baby blue eyes. He slept with her last night again because she was afraid of being alone still.She smiled at him,she could get used to this.

“Morning sleepy head”he said with a smile

“Hi”she said

“Listen,Im sorry but I gotta go in and work…but I called Lori and Stacey,but their both busy-“

“Its fine”she said,”I’ll find something to do”she said,”You do have 2000 channels”

“I don’t want you stuck in the house”he said

“Hey,if I get bored I’ll find something to do.Don’t worry about me”she said

“Well if you need me,just call me and leave me a message-“

“Justin go,I’ll be fine”she said as she gently pushed him away.”Go make some good money”she looked at the clock.It was almost 7 am.It was too early for her

“Well you go back to sleep sleepy”he said as he leaned in and kissed her on her nose.

When he did that,she wanted to ask him about if they had a relationship but it was the wrong time,again.”Bye”she said to him

“Bye”he said to her and left the room.She smiled and rolled back over and went back to sleep.

__

“He must love Apple Jacks”she said as she went through his cabinets.There were several boxes in the cabinets.She already showered and dressed and now she was looking for a late breakfast.It was almost 12. She found a box of Frosted Flakes and took that out.She got out some milk and it took her another ten minutes to find where he kept his bowls and his silverware.Shes never seen so many cabinets in her life!

She ate her cereal and sat in front of the tv and watched a movie on HBO. She went to put her bowl away when she saw dishes piled up in the sink.

“Men”she said and shook her head.She washed all the dishes and pans and dried them.It took her another hour just to figure out where they all went.

She went back and watched another movie.But she was soon bored of watching tv.She went out on the patio and tanned and she sat in the hot tub.She got back in the shower and washed the chlorine and the baby oil off of her.By the time she was done with that,it was only 7 pm.

She was bored.She would leave the house but she didn’t want to risk being seen by someone in the office.She wondered why Pierre hadn’t called her yet.Even though she told him not to,he never usually listens to her.She hadn’t gotten a call from Chelsea either.She hadn’t really heard from anyone.

She picked up her phone and called Francine.But there was no answer.Where was that woman?Probably with Leo.She was upset that she wasn’t even worried about her,but she wasn’t surprised either.She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see Justin come in

“Hey Paris”he said as he walked in the room with McDonalds bags

“Oh”she said,”Your home?”

“They let me off early and they gave me free food.Im loving working for McDonalds”he said,”Did you eat dinner?”he asked her

“No”

“Good,pick something out.I have enough food to feed a whole army”he said

Soon they were seated at the table in the kitchen.She was eating a Big N Tasty and he had a Big Mac.”So what did you do today?”he asked her

“Um…well I ate breakfast.I cleaned up your kitchen-“

“Why?”he asked her

“The dishes were piling up and…so I cleaned it”

“You didn’t have to”he said

“I wanted to…I hate it when dishes pile up…it’s a pet peeve of mine”she said

“That’s not all you did,did you?”he asked as he threw the Big Mac box in the garbage

“Oh no.I watched a few movies that was on the 80’s channel.I watched Purple Rain and Coming To America”she said with a smile,”Then I tanned on the patio and sat in the hot tub…I showered again and….that’s it”

“That’s it?Im sorry”he said

“Its fine,it was good enough for me”

“You didn’t leave the house all day?”

“Well yeah,I didn’t want to be seen by anyone from the office”she said,”Im supposed to have the flu you know.I mean Beverly Hills was fine,I knew I wouldn’t see anyone there.We have all dreamed of going there”she said as she finished up her food

“Ok that’s it”he said as he got up

“Whats wrong?”she asked

“We’re going out”he said,”I know a place that you would love”

“What is it?”she asked

“Cant tell you,it’s a surprise”he said as he went upstairs,then he stopped,”Oh wear something sexy”he said and winked at her

She stood there confused and then she went upstairs.”Something sexy”she said as she walked in her room.Then she saw the blue dress that Lori picked out.She smiled and put that on and the stilettos.She put on matching make up and blue Indian style earrings.

“Wow”she heard someone say.She turned around and it was Justin.He was wearing a black shirt with black dress pants and black shoes.”Damn that’s sexy”he said as he came up to her,”Where did you get that?”

“The Hills”she said with a smile as she spun around,”Im guessing you like it too.I fell in love with it”

“I can see why”he said.He smiled at her,he loved the dress and he loved her. But he couldn’t tell her that,it was too soon.”Ready?”he asked

“Sure”she said as she picked up a small matching purse.He took her hand and they walked out the house.

“So where are we going?”she asked for the millionth time

“Nope cant tell you”he said as they drove towards downtown Beverly Hills

“Are we there yet?”she asked and laughed.The suspense was killing her

“No”he said,”Relax,you’ll love it”he said as he put his hand on her knee.She smiled at him.

Soon they pulled into a parking lot and they went through a back door.Justin talked to a guy and he opened the door for them.”Thanks Reggie”Justin said to the guy

“Thanks”she said to the guy.Once they walked in,she realized that they were at a club. Then she saw a live band and saw couples dancing to salsa music,”A salsa club?”she said

“You like it?”

“Ive never been to one before!”she said excitedly

“Its my favorite club here”he said,”The music is amazing”he said,”And dancing to it is fun”

“Oh…wait I don’t know how to salsa”she said

“I’ll teach you,its all in the hips baby.Come on”he said as he pulled her out on the floor.

“Wait Justin I don’t know”she said as they got on the floor.A couple next to them was doing complicated dance steps and another couple were throwing each other in the air.

“Its fine,pretend no ones watching”Justin said as he put his left arm around her waist and held her right hand in his,”Just follow me and look at me,not anyone else ok?”he said

“Ok”she said as the song ended.”Oh the song is over,lets sit down”she said as the other couples clapped

“Nuh uh”Justin said as he pulled her close to him,”Im not letting you go”he said

“This song is for the lovers out there!”the female singer said.The crowd cheered and then the band started to play.Paris smiled,the music was great.

“Baby,never have I wanted anyone…like I want you babe.Come here and let me show you how I feel inside.Oooh I want so much love”the singer sang

“Follow my lead,its all in the hips”Justin said.At first she was stiff and stepping on his feet but soon she was feeling the beat and was soon dancing like a pro

“Gotta have your love!Need to feel your touch!Never get enough!Carino!Carino”she sang

They danced to other songs and had a blast and then the band slowed it down for them,”Ya’ll having fun tonight!?”the singer asked

“Yeah!”Paris yelled along with the rest of the club

“We’re gonna slow it down.I dedicate this song to my idol,Selena”the singer said,she looked up,”Love you Selena”she said,”This song is called Dreaming Of You”

Soon a slow ballad started to play.Paris looked at Justin and he brought her close,he put his arms around her waist and she put his arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

“Cuz Im dreaming of you tonight.Til tomorrow,I’ll be holding you tight.And theres nowhere in the world,I’d rather be.Then here in my room,dreaming about you and me”the singer sang

Paris smiled as she listened to the lyrics.That’s how she felt right now,like this was a dream and didn’t want to wake up. This was all too perfect.

She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and she saw a man and a pregnant woman come out on the floor and start to dance.She smiled,she hoped that one day she could have that. She watched the couple dance and then she realized that the man looked familiar.She gasped,it was Sean.

The song ended and all the other couples clapped.”We’re gonna take a short ten minute break but we’ll be back!”the singer said.

Paris didn’t listen she let go of Justin and walked over to Sean.She took him by the arm and turned him toward her

“Hey-“he said and then he saw her,”Paris…”

“Yeah its me”she said,”Whats wrong Sean?It looks like you saw a ghost.Well I wasn’t dead but you sure treated me like it”she said as Justin came up to her

“Paris,not here,not right now”Sean said through clenched teeth,”Not in front of-“

“Who is she?”the pregnant woman asked Sean

“No one”he said

“Oh now Im no one!”she said.”For your information lady…Sean is my ex boyfriend.He cheated on me and we broke up a month and a half ago.He threw me out of his apartment and sold it while I was still living in it”

“Baby what is she talking about?”the lady asked Sean

“Paris shut up alright”Sean said,getting upset

“Don’t tell her to shut up”Justin said,”Come on Paris”he said as he tried to pull her away

“No,I have to tell him how I feel”she said as tears filled her eyes.”You don’t realize how you hurt me Sean!?Its no surprise because you care about no one but yourself!”

“Listen”the lady said as she stepped forward,”I don’t know why your harassing Sean here,but hes never seen you in his life.Hes been with me for 2 years and Im pregnant with his child,Im due in 3 months-“

“Marlena shut up,your making it worse”Sean said

“2 years?”Paris said.She and Sean were together for three.

“Yes hes in love with me and we’re engaged”Marlena said

“Marlena!I said Shut Up!”Sean said to her.He looked at Paris and Justin,”I don’t have to take this.You two have your fun,but ruining my life wont be part of it”he said as he took Marlena’s hand and started to walk away

“BUT YOU RUINED MINE!”Paris shouted after him

“Come on,we’re leaving”Sean said

“We just got here”Marlena said

“I said we’re going!”he said sternly as they left the dance floor leaving Paris standing there

“Paris”Justin said

“I wanna go now”she said as she walked out the club.Justin followed her

“Paris-“

“Justin,I want to go”Paris said sternly as she went to the passenger side of his SUV

Justin sighed and unlocked the doors.They drove home in silence.

__

He finally pulled into his garage and before he turned off the car,Paris jumped out and slammed the door behind her.He turned off the car and went inside after her

“Paris-“

“I don’t want to talk about it Justin”she said as she started to go upstairs.He ran up the steps and stood in front of her,”Move”she said

“No”he said,”Seans a jerk”he said

“You think I don’t know that by now!?”Paris shouted at him,without meaning to.”Hes been dating another girl for two years,they’re engaged and shes pregnant!”she said,”How could he do this to me”she said as she tried to get past him.”MOVE”she shouted at him

“Paris,stop.We need to talk about this-“

“Theres nothing left to talk about”she said

“Yes,I know that you feel….shitty right now and Im here for you Paris.Don’t keep your feelings bottled up,let it out”he said

“You wanna know how I feel right now?”she said

“Yes,I feel like your…letting him off so easy and your not telling me everything”

“Alright,how about this”she said,”GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!”she said as she pushed him out of the way.

He was surprised by her strength and followed her to her room.”So you wont tell me anything?”he said

She turned around and she was sobbing,”Theres….nothing….to….tell”she said through her tears.

He looked at her,hes never seen her so upset.She took off her stilettos and threw them to the other side of the room.”You still love him don’t you?”he asked her

She stopped,she turned to face him,”What?”she asked

He walked closer to her,”That’s why your so upset…your still in love with him”

“No…Im not…I was once…but not now….I hate him…I wish he would rot in hell….”she said as she sat on the bed,”He never loved me!He was the first man to say he loved me and he lied….Ive never been loved….I’ll never be loved…”she said

Justin walked up to her,”I love you Paris”he said

She looked at him,”What did you say?”she asked

“You will be loved because I love you”he said

“Your just saying that,stop it”she said

“Paris,you would actually think that I would say I love you to make you feel better?!”he asked.She just looked at him,”This is the truth.Ever since I first saw you,there was something different about you and when we kept seeing each other after…those were signs…Ive been in love with you…I was just afraid to say it”he said

“Its too soon”she said,”We barely know each other”she said

“So?Who said that theres a specific time limit on love?”he said,”You can be in love after knowing someone for one day or one year”Justin said,he touched her face and wiped away her tears,”Paris,I want to take care of you,I wanna be with you,I want to be able to see you everyday and have you beside me every night and every morning….this is how I feel Paris”he said.He kissed her and then left the room.

Paris sat there,she didn’t think that she would ever hear those words come out of anyone's mouth,but they did.Her instinct told her to get up and she got up and walked into Justin's room.He was standing in front of his bed with bare feet and he took off his shirt.He turned and faced her,he looked at her sadly and started to turn away.She stopped him and turned him to her.She pulled him toward her and kissed him

He soon dropped his shirt and put his arms around her waist.He then picked her up and laid her down on his bed and laid on top of her.He kissed her passionately and soon they were so caught up in each other that nothing else could get their attention. Soon her dress was off and she was in underwear and her bra.He kissed her on her stomach and then made a trail of kisses up to her chin.He smiled at her and she smiled back.

She realized that she was ready and she felt that this was now the right moment for her to say it.”I love you Justin”she said

He smiled at her,”I love you too”he said

__

Paris opened her eyes and saw red digital numbers.She blinked and saw that it was almost 3 am.She turned her head and saw that Justin was still laying on top of her.He was asleep and his head was laying above her breasts,near her collarbone.She smiled as she watched him sleep.She liked how he was laying there,he was holding her like he was the one who needed to be cared for.Like she was taking care of him,like a mother would.She smiled and sighed a great sigh of relief.Shes never felt this happy.

Her sigh made him wake up,he mumbled something and she whispered,”Sorry”

“Hey”he said without even looking at her,he still layed there.Then he got off of her,”Im surprised that you can breathe with me laying there”he said as he laid next to her

“I was fine….”she said

“Yes you were”he said as he kissed her.He shook his head and laughed

“What?”she asked

“You gave me a gift…Im just speechless”he said

Paris smiled,”Oh shut up”she said playfully.”You gave me the gift cuz you were the one doing all the work”

“True…but I wanted to…I wanted to show you how I love you”

“Well you certainly succeeded”she said and laughed.”So my virginity is really a gift?”

“Yeah…I feel special”he said as he kissed her again

“Would you like to have it again?”she asked and laughed.She still couldn’t believe that she just had sex for the first time….and with Justin Timberlake of all people

“I cant take your virginity twice…its not possible”he said and laughed

“So…lets pretend..”she said as she rolled over and got on top of him,”And this time…I’ll do the work”

“Ok boss”he said,”Im not complaining….”he said as she leaned down and kissed him,which led to much more

__

Justin sighed as he laid his head on Paris’ stomach.He hasn’t felt this happy in such a long time.As he laid there,he listened to her breathe and thought about the night at Suite 16 when he first met her.Who knew that they would get to this point,being in love.He laughed

“Whats so funny?”Paris whispered to him

“Im just remembering you at the Suite 16 party”he said

“Oh yeah,me and my stupid contact lense”she said and laughed

“So,does your uncle really make commercials?”he asked her

“Huh?”she asked,what was he talking about?

“Remember?This gay guy and JC were about to fight and you came and saved the day.You told the gay guy that your uncle directed a commercial and he or his father own Pepsi”

“Oh”she said.Her lies were starting to catch up with her.She wasn’t liking it,”Um yeah…he does”

“What kind did he do?Maybe I know him?”he asked.”Im doing a McDonalds commercial”

“Oh no…he doesn’t work for McDonalds…he usually…um…does commercials for….”she said and saw a tube of toothpaste,”Crest”

“Oh..so is he going to do the Pepsi commercial?”he asked

“No”she said

“Oh”he said as he sat up.”Wow Im glad you were at the party,then we never would have met”

“Yeah me too”she said,even though she was there to snoop around.She decided to change the subject,she hated lying to him.Maybe she should tell him the truth,if he really loved her he wouldn’t mind that shes a tabloid writer….right?

“What time is it?”he asked

“Um…”she said as she turned her head to see his clock.”Almost 6:30”she laughed,”Why am I up?”she asked

“Well I gotta get ready”he said as he slowly sat up

“Oh”she said,”So early?”she asked

“Well we’re making a music video for ‘Im Lovin It’ now and Im gonna be shooting some small clips for some commercials”he said,”Just a lot of meetings and some filming.I’ll be back later on tonight”he said as he leaned over and kissed her,”If you want me to…I can call Lori or Stacey-“

“Its ok Im fine”

“I don’t want you to be here alone”

“Justin..Im a big girl now…”she said and laughed,”Now in more ways than one”she said,”I’ll be fine.I have things to do anyways”she said

“Ok”he said,he kissed her once again and went in the bathroom to get ready

She laid there and sighed.Her happiness was now dying down,she had to tell Justin the truth…but will he hate her forever?

__

Paris took a shower and looked through the classifieds for affordable apartments.Her conversation with Justin got her thinking.She has been lying to him this whole time and there could be a chance that he could kick her out also.And it was too soon to live with him,if he didn’t kick her out.She needed independence,she didn’t want to be a burden or a dependent.

She highlighted sections of the newspaper with apartments that were in her price range and the rest of the day was spent filling out applications.

“Thank you and we will be getting in contact with you in the next week or so” the receptionist said at Ocean Avenue Apartments

“Thank you”Paris said,she left and sat in her car.She looked at her watch and saw that it was a little past 12.She was hungry and so tired.She stopped by the nearest gas station and filled up her tank.

“PARIS!”she heard someone call.

She turned around and it was Pierre.She smiled,she really missed him.She hadn’t seen him in a week,”Hey babe”she said as she went over and gave him a hug

“I have been missing you girl”he said

“Yeah you haven’t called!”she said

“You told me not to!”he said,”Which was kinda low.You must have had a bad cold”he said

“Yeah…”she said

“Well you look fine to me”he said,”I did stop by your apartment though-“

“Oh God”she said

“You never answer,have you been ignoring me?”he asked

“It’s a long story”she said

“Well theres a Burger King across the street and we will eat Whoppers and talk about this”he said,”I knew you weren’t sick Paris.But I know somethings been up”he said to her

“It’s a long story”she said guiltily

“I don’t care Paris.You have to tell me whats going on”he said as he went back to his Mustang,”Burger King”he said as he pointed to the fast food restaurant across the street,”Follow me”he said

“Ok”she said.She got in her car and followed him.They both ordered their food and found a table in a secluded corner

“Ok,what were you really doing on your week off?”he asked

“This week has been….crazy”she said

“Well duh!I love craziness!That’s my middle name!”he said,”Come on tell me!”he said

She then told him the whole story about Sean and the apartment ordeal,how Justin took her in and has been taking care of her and now shes looking for an apartment.

“Ohmygod!That’s worse than being sick”he said,”Im sorry about Baby,I know how you loved that cat”

“I miss her”she said

“But whats the point of trying to look for a low class apartment when you can live in the Hills?”he asked

“I cant be a burden to Justin.I mean,I cant depend on anyone”she said

“True…”he said,”But still…I would rather stay in that mansion”he said,”So he accepts that you write for a tabloid?”

“He doesn’t know yet”

“He still thinks you’re a romance novel writer?!Hes kinda dumb to think that”Pierre said

“Hes not dumb.I just don’t have the…strength to tell him but I have to tell him soon.After everything else that’s happened the past few days,there could be a chance that he could kick me out of the house-“

“So that’s the real reason why your looking for an apartment?”Pierre asked,”That’s kinda low”he said

“No its not.Im preparing myself…I don’t wanna hurt him”she said

“You really like this guy don’t you?”he asked

“I love this guy Pierre”she said

“Oh no you don’t huney.Its called lust.But it cant be called that cuz you haven’t really had sex with the guy”he said.Paris blushed,she laughed a little.He looked at her and gasped,”Paris….you still have your V card don’t you?You still are the president of the Virgin Islands aren’t you?”

“No…I lost my card last night and I also moved away from the Virgin Islands and now I live in Sin City”she said

“YOUR NOT A VIRGIN!?”he practically shouted

“Pierre shut up!I don’t want all of Burger King knowing!”she hissed

“I hate you so much!You know how lucky you are!?Do you know how many girls all over the world dream of losing their virginity to Justin Timberlake!?Have you thought about that?”

“No”she said simply.”Why should I think of that?”

“Girls are going to be so jealous of you!”he said,then he gasped,”Cameron is gonna hate you!Paris!You are such a whore!”

“Pierre stop it.Justin and Cameron broke up months ago”she said

“Huh really?Why didn’t we know about it?”

“I guess Inquiring Minds wasn’t too smart to pick that up.But Cameron is shooting a movie in Australia,so people still think their together”

“Paris,that would be the perfect cover story!”Pierre said

“No Pierre.I cant do that to him.Their break up tore him apart.I wouldn’t want to see me and Sean's break up all over pages of magazines”she said.She felt bad even admitting that she worked there now.She wondered how celebs that she had written about felt after seeing the stories she wrote about them.It made her sick just thinking about it.

“Speaking of the magazine”he said,”Guess who has the cover for Sundays issue?”he said excitedly

“Pierre!That’s great!Your second one in a row”she said,”Congratulations”

“No not me!Its you!”he said,”Your story about Paris Hilton's bruises is such a hot topic!I think that Nick Carter did hit her.Not all boy band guys are innocent”

“Me?”she asked

“Yeah”he said,”Someone is going to have a big bonus in their next check”he said.”And you should have seen the look on Gabrielle's face.Oh she was mad”he said

Paris smiled,the only good thing about this was getting a bonus and being envied by Gabrielle.But she didn’t really feel like celebrating.

“You don’t seem happy”he said,”Whats wrong?”he asked

“Its…the whole situation”she said

“You need to tell him the truth”Pierre said,”The longer you put this off,the longer hes gonna hate you”

“You think he’ll hate me?”

“That could happen.Unless he has the hots for liars and tabloid writers”he said.Paris sighed,”Ok sorry that was kinda harsh-“

“But its true”she said

“You need to tell him the truth”he said,”If you both really love each other like you say you do.Then he can look past that right?”he asked

“I guess”she said as she threw the burger wrapper on her tray

“You should tell him tonight”he said,”The sooner the better right?”

“Yeah”Paris said.She was scared though.Will he really hate her?

__

“Paris?Paris?Earth to Paris”Justin said as he walked into the kitchen.Her back was turned and she was sitting on the couch,drinking a Mocha Cappuccino.She was staring off into space

She turned around and then smiled,”Oh hey Justin”she said

“Whats wrong?Why are you staring off into space like that?”he asked her

She put the cup of Mocha down and went up and gave him a kiss,”Nothings wrong…Ive been thinking”she said.Which was true.Shes been trying to think of the best way to tell him.If he hated her that much and kicked her out.Pierre offered that she stay with him and Rico.

“What have you been thinking about?”he asked,”Not about Sean I hope”

“Oh no…Im so over him”she said,it was funny that the run in with him only happened last night

“Then what have you been thinking about?”he asked

“Well,do you wanna sit or stand?”she asked

“Hmmm,sounds serious…I’ll stay standing?”he asked confused

“Ok um….”then her cell phone rang.She hesitated but it could be Francine or one of the apartments accepting her,”Hold that thought”she said and answered it,”Hello?”

“Hello?Paris Madison?”someone asked

“This is she”she said

“This is Lawrence Allman…Mr.Horne's attorney”he said,”How are you this evening?”

“I'm fine…how are you?”she asked him.What on earth did Sean's attorney want?

“I'm fine,thanks for asking”he laughed a little,”Your probably wondering why I'm calling”

“Yes”

“Have you talked to Mr.Horne the past few days?”he asked her

“Actually I saw him last night but we didn’t exactly talk…more like argued”

“So I'm guessing he didn’t tell you”he asked and sighed

“No Mr.Allman,in case you haven’t guessed.Sean doesn’t tell me anything.He only thinks of himself”

“Well ok.Um the apartment has been sold.Someone bought it this morning and it fits right into the price range.I have done some talking with Mr.Horne and I have convinced him to give you 20% of the earnings that they paid,since you did pay some of the rent and kept the apartment intact when he wasn’t there”

“Really?”she asked,she was surprised that Sean accepted such an offer,”Did you have to break an arm and a leg to do it?”she asked

“You could say that but he finally convinced himself”

“Really?”she asked

“Yeah he said that you were probably worse off since you weren’t in the apartment and the 20% could help you”

“I'm worse off?”she asked.That totally pissed her off.He still thought that she was still the bad one and was worse off without him!?She turned and saw Justin,she was so much better without him,”You know what Mr.Allman?You can tell Sean the next time you see him that I'm better off without him and he can keep the 20%”

“Ms.Madison…I'm sorry that he said those things but I suggest you take the 20% you can get something good out of this whole situation”

Paris looked at Justin,”I have already gotten something good out of this situation”she said,”Have a good day Mr.Allman”she said and hung up

“What was that about?”Justin asked her

“The apartment has been sold”she said and smiled.She felt like a big weight has been lifted off her shoulders,now she had nothing left for Sean to take away from her.She could finally move on

“Really?”he asked,”Already?”

“Yep”she said with a big smile

“And your happy about it?”

“Yeah,I have nothing left for Sean to take away from me”she said

“So this means that you get to stay with me right?”he asked her

“What do you mean?”she asked him

“Like staying with me…permanently”he said

Paris sighed,she had to tell him the truth now,before he made any commitments.”Well Justin..I have been looking for apartments and I think its best that I….have my own place”

“Why?”

“Because…I mean what if we get into a fight or something…what if…for some reason….you may hate me one day and not want me to be here?”she said

“Paris,I wouldn’t do that to you.You haven’t done anything for me to do that”he said as he came up to her,”Paris when I said that I want to wake up and see you next to me every morning and to make love to you every night…I mean it”he said

“Baby its too soon”she said,”And there's other circumstances involved”she said

“What other circumstances?”he asked

Before she could answer they heard a noise and someone said.”Justin!?”

They both turned around and Justin smiled and said,”Mom?”

Paris froze,she couldn’t tell him now.Not with his mother here.She stood back and saw the two embrace.She smiled,she wished she had heard from her mother and could call her that.

“Mom?”Justin said as he brought her over to Paris,”I would like you to meet Paris”

“So this is Paris?”she asked as she shook her hand,”Its nice to meet you finally.Ive heard so much about you”

“You have?”she asked her

“Yep,this boy just keeps yapping about you-“

“Please Mom,save the explanation”he said to her,”So what brings you to town?”he asked her

“Justin?You don’t remember?I'm in town to get Johnathan from Uncle Steve’s. He's been spending the week there”

“Yeah…I know…I just forgot”Justin said and frowned a little bit

“Its ok”she said to him,”You have been busy”she said,”But I was in town and wanted to stop by”she said,”Im probably gonna go check in at the Hilton-“

“Oh no no no Mom,you can stay here”Justin said,”Why pay to stay somewhere when you have family?That’s out of the question,your staying here”

“Its only for a day.I'm leaving Sunday morning”she said

“Mom,your staying and that’s final”he said.Paris smiled

“Fine,is the Blueberry room open?”she asked and laughed

“Yeah….that ones free and just for you”he said

__

“I think Paris is faking it”Gabrielle said under her breath

“What are you talking about?”Pierre asked her

“I mean,if she was so sick then she wouldn’t have had time to send in that story when she supposedly had the flu.I wouldn’t be able to do it”

“Well for one Gabrielle,she loves her job,she would do anything for this job even if she was sick and B,your just jealous because you didn’t get the cover story again”Pierre said

Gabrielle rolled her eyes,”Its so sweet how you stick up for her”she said sarcastically,”I thought that she lost it for a minute”

“Lost what?”

“She hasn’t had a cover story in awhile and when shes not here,she gets a good one.Maybe she should stay sick and never come to the office and she’ll keep having cover stories.This office has been nice this week without her”

“Gabrielle shut up.Your just mad that Sean left you too and realized the whore that you are”he said angrily

“He didn’t break up with me,it was consensual”she said,a little shaken up.He knew that she was lying

“And for your information,Paris wasn’t really sick.Shes been going through hell this week.She got kicked out of her apartment and shes staying with Justin Timberlake,yeah they’re an item.That’s what shes been doing this week”he said

“I don’t believe you”Gabrielle said and started laughing,”Paris?Dating Justin Timberlake?Pierre,its one thing to stick up for her but its another thing when you lie for her”

Pierre gasped,he told...and he told the Garden Tool.He was going to be in big trouble…but then again,she didn’t believe him.”Well fine,don’t believe me”

“I wont.Paris can not even keep a man,especially if his name is Justin Timberlake”she said.She walked away from Pierre and went to her office.She shook her head,what nonsense.But she had a weird feeling,like she was actually supposed to believe him.She picked up her phone and dialed a number

“Hello?”came a voice

“Chaz?Its me Gabrielle.I think I have a great story for next week but I really need your help”she said

“Well I'm your photographer so who do you want me to find?”

“Justin Timberlake,there's a rumor going around that hes seeing someone new…besides Cameron Diaz”she said,”I need to see if that’s true,see if he's around town with another girl”

“What if its not true?”he asked

“Don’t worry,take pictures anyways.Its my job to turn rumors and make them look like the truth”she said evilly.If Paris was faking sick,she could get fired and catching her with Justin,if it was true,could make that happen

__

“You love this girl?”Lynn asked Justin.They were in the Blueberry room and Justin was helping her bring her bags upstairs

“Yeah….I'm in love with Paris”Justin said with a smile

“But…you and Cameron broke up three months ago”

“So?Why should that matter?”

“It took you months before you said you loved her”

“Mom,Cameron and Paris are both very different”

“But you haven’t known her long”she said to him,”How long have you known her?”

“For a little over three weeks”he said,”And before you say anything,I know that may not sound like a lot of time…but it feels right Mom”

“But you don’t know her”

“Yes I do Mom”he said,”You don’t like her do you?”

“I do,but shes very quiet”

“Shes shy,that’s all.I mean you kinda burst in here and surprised her and shes been going through a lot”

Lynn sighed,”Sorry,I don’t wanna lecture you on your love life…I just don’t know her well and….well I just don’t want you to get hurt”

“Mom,she wont hurt me, I promise.She wouldn’t do that to me.She wouldn’t hurt a fly”he said

__

“So how long has she been staying here?”was what Paris heard when she was walking down the hallway.She didn’t mean to but she stopped and listened,knowing that they were talking about her

“Shes been here since Tuesday…it’s the ex boyfriend situation”he said,”But I would much rather that she tell you.I personally don’t like talking about it”

“So…she has no family?”

“She does,her mother,but they aren’t close…Mom why are you asking me this?”

“Why?You don’t like talking about her?”

“No…I mean…when she can tell you…I don’t see why I should”

“I just want to know what you know about her”

“I know everything about her.We keep no secrets”he said

Paris sighed,if he only knew.This situation was really getting worse by the day

“And I love her Mom”he said.Paris smiled,every time she heard him say that,she felt like she could die happy

“I know that Justin”she said to him,”I'm gonna trust your judgment.You’re a grown man and you live and you learn…hey who's cooking tonight?”

“Um…I get free McDonalds”he said

“No I'm cooking then”she said,”I'm going to cook a nice dinner like when I first met Britney and Cameron”she said

“That would be great…I miss your cooking”he said

“So that means I cook,and you get the ingredients.Let me make a list”she said as she went to her purse and started writing things down.Justin kissed his Mom on her head,”What was that for?”

“I'm happy that you’re here.I really want you to love her.like I love her”

“I'm sure I will Justin”Lynn said with a smile

Paris leaned against the wall,a part of her felt like heaven,but another part of her felt like hell.

__

“Boo!”Justin said as he came from behind her and covered her eyes

She jumped,”Justin!Geez..you scared me”

“My bad…hey we’re going food shopping”he said

“For what?”she asked innocently,even though she heard the conversation about his mother cooking for them

“Mom is going to cook for us.We are going to have a nice home cooked meal”he said

“Aww really?”she asked,acting surprised.”That’s sweet of her”

“So come on”he said as he took her hand

“Shouldn’t I stay?Or one of us stay?You know to keep her company”

“Nah,shes in the shower so…you or I wouldn’t be able to keep her company there”he said with a laugh.She slipped on some sandals and followed him out the door.

“So you don’t mind if she stays for a day or two?”Justin asked once they got to the supermarket

“No…why?”she asked

“Well…I wouldn’t feel comfortable if we were….doing something…and she would be down the hall”he said and laughed

“So then I’ll sleep in the Berry room”she said

“No you don’t have to do that”he said

“It would be hard to have sex with me if I wasn’t in the same bed as you”she said

“So your ok with that?”he asked

“It shouldn’t be that hard.I mean before last night…I was a virgin for 23 years.Not having sex for one night would not bother me as much”she said as she smiled at him

“Fine…be that way”he said and winked at her.The next hour was spent finding everything on Lynn’s list,”Ok I think that’s everything…lets check out”he said as they went towards the register

“PARIS!?HUNEY!”they heard someone shout.Paris turned around and gasped

“Francine?”she asked

“Huney where have you been?You haven’t called?”Francine asked,then she realized that Justin was there.She gasped,”Ohmygod-“

“Fran…before you start screaming…don’t”Paris said,”Justin doesn’t need that right now”

“But-“

“Fran..I’ll explain everything to you later”Paris said

“Why don’t you follow us back to my place?”Justin said,”Join us for dinner”

“Ohmygosh I would love to!”Francine said excitedly.Paris rolled her eyes,she was acting like a crazed teenage fan,”Huney why didn’t you tell me that you knew him?”she asked her

“Ive tried…you haven’t been around…I’ll explain everything to you later”she said

“Well I’ll wait in my car”Francine said

“Ok Fran”Paris said.They watched as she left the supermarket with excitement

“She seems nice”Justin said

“Justin,you shouldn’t have invited her”she said and sighed.Francine could give away her whole secret.She didn’t want him to find out from her, she needed to tell him herself

“Why not?”he asked her,”I was trying to help out”

“Well you didn’t…”she said,”We don’t get along”

“Well I don’t understand how you cant get along with your mother”

“Justin I cant even call her that”Paris said to him as they put the groceries on the conveyer belt,”Do I need to tell you what I have been through with her?”

“No…but that was all in the past,why cant you just…get along?”he asked.”I just don’t understand”

“That’s because your not used to it.Your mother loves you”she said to him

He wanted to say something to her but before he could,the cashier said,”75.40.” He paid her with cash and they took their bags to the car

“Well Im sorry that I caused you more stress.I was only trying to help”he said quietly

She sighed,”Its fine Justin…but…this evening is going to be very interesting”she said.They heard a honk and saw an old baby blue Volkswagen Beetle following them,that was her,”That’s her,lets go”

They drove toward his house in silence.This was driving her crazy.She needed to tell him now.It had to be the right time,she couldn’t wait anymore

“Paris?”Justin asked her,breaking the silence

“Yeah?”she answered

“What was it that you wanted to tell me?What was so important?”he asked her

She looked at him,it was perfect timing.She took a deep breath,”Um..well-“but then she was interrupted.They heard honking.It was coming from Francine’s car.Paris looked out of the rear-view mirror and saw that some expensive looking car cut her off and they were riding way too close behind them.

“What are they doing?”Justin asked.They then saw the car switch to the lane next to them.Paris recognized the car but couldn’t connect where she has seen it before.The car pulled next to them,”DAMN IT”Justin shouted

“Whats wrong?”she asked

“Its some photographer!”he said,”Hes trying to run us off the road to get a fucking picture!”he said angrily,”Ugh..I hate the paparazzi”he said as he sped up

“Justin be careful”she said with fear and disappointment. She was disappointed because,again,she couldn’t tell him the truth and she was scared because they were speeding and the other car kept making them swerve.She saw the guys face and saw that it was one of the photographers from Inquiring Minds.She leaned back in the seat and tried to cover her face.Did Lemmie do the same thing to celebrities that hes taken pictures of?She put her head in her hands,it seemed that everyday there was a new reason for her to hate what she did for a living.

“He is totally riding our ass!”Justin said as he looked at his rearview mirror.”He can cause an accident”

“You cant pull over?”she asked

“No!That will get him better pictures”he said,”I cant believe how paparazzi can do this for a living.This was how Princess Diana was killed you know”he said angrily.He took their exit but,surprisingly the photographer didn’t follow them

"Hes gone,thank God"she said

"Yeah thank God alright…I…cant believe people sometimes.What is so interesting about me driving my car?"he asked

"I don't know"she said quietly.Now she had to find a way to get Fran to shut up.Soon they arrived at the house

"Holy shit this place is big!"Francine as she got out her car,"Jared,you sure hit the jackpot"she said

"Its Justin"Justin said with a laugh.Paris rolled her eyes

"Oh!I'm sorry"she said as she followed them into the house.

"Hey Mom,guess who we found?"Justin said as he came into the kitchen

"You found everything on the list right?"Lynn asked

"Well yeah we did,but the question was who"he said,"Mom,this is Paris' mom.Francine"he said,"Francine this is my mother Lynn"

"Its nice to meet you Lynn"Francine said excitedly

"Same here Francine"Lynn said

Paris couldn't take it anymore,she felt like any minute Francine would slip up and Justin would hate her forever."Fran?Let me show you around the house ok?Follow me"she said in a hurry as she took her mothers hand and led her upstairs.

Justin and Lynn looked at each other and shrugged,"Be a dear and help me unpack these bags"she said to him

"Ok"he said and started taking everything out of the grocery bags

"I thought you said that she and her mother aren't close?"Lynn asked

"I know,but we bumped into her and I invited her.Its not like they hate each other"he said,"Everything will be fine"he said.He didn't like that Paris and Francine didn't get along,he didn't like it when Paris called her mother Francine instead but that was their choice.He was hoping that this dinner would bring them closer together and if they did,he wanted to be apart of it.

*______________________*

"Ow,pull my arm off will ya?"Francine said as she was pulled into a room and Paris shut the door,"Paris,what is wrong with you?"she asked her

"Nothing-"Paris said

"Oh my word"Francine said as she looked around the room."This room is like a dream"she said,"Oooh this is real silk!? Holy shit"she said

"Fran,can you please stop acting like a teenager on crack cocaine!?"Paris said,"The real question is whats wrong with you?You have no manners"

"I have no manners?Who hasn't called me in a week?Have you been staying here?"she asked her

"Ok Fran,first of all I tried"Paris said,"But you are never home when I call!And why the hell don't you have a answering machine!?Its 2004!"

"I do"Francine said,"Its broken"

"Well fix it!"Paris said

"Hey,now you slow down now.You cant be bossing me around"Francine said as she took a cigarette and lit it,"I cant believe Im here Im getting nervous.I need to smoke"

"No Fran,not in here"Paris said,"I have something important to tell you"she said as she took the cigarette out of her hand and threw it out the door onto the balcony

"Paris!What the hell is wrong with you!?"Francine said as she went outside,"You are treating me like a child..have you forgotten who the mother is here!?"

Paris followed her outside and closed the door that led into the bedroom. "None of us are the mother in this relationship"she said

Francine turned to her,"Paris,just because you don't call me mother.Doesn't mean I'm not your mother,do you need to see your birth certificate?"

"No I don't need to see it"Paris said,"Fran I need to talk to you.I have tried to talk to you all week and you haven't been there!Your daughter needs help don't you see that!?"

"Paris,calm down"Francine said,now starting to see that Paris was upset

Paris took a few deep breaths,"I need to tell you what hell Ive been through this past week"

"Hell?How can you be in hell here?"Francine asked

"Just listen"Paris said,"I have been living here the past few days because Sean kicked me out of the apartment on Memorial Day"she said

"What?"Francine asked,"Hes a good guy.Cant you give him another chance?"

"NO!"Paris said,"He felt that since the apartment was his he felt like he could take it from me while I was still living in it.He took everything from the kitchen table to my toothbrush!"she said,"Hes also been dating some girl named Maria or something for the past two years,he got her pregnant and they have been engaged for who knows how long"she said,she took a breath,"Sean is not a good guy…cant you see that now!?Just because hes cute and hes rich and a top lawyer….it doesn't mean shit"she said

"Paris…I didn't know"Francine said,she sounded concerned."But what does that have to do with Justin Timberlake for Gods sakes?"she said as she took out another cigarette and lit it

"I met him at a party that I had to go to for work.Ever since then we have been bumping into each other,its weird"she said,"We hit it off great…we went out on a few dates and then started spending everyday together.Then when Sean took everything from me…he was the only one who was there for me.He offered for me to stay here..and Ive been here since Tuesday"she said

"So you like this guy?"Francine asked her

"I love him Fran"she said sincerely

"Love?No you just met him"

"Fran,you shouldn't talk.After going out on one date with Leo,you were already in love"Paris said

Francine sighed,"That's different"she said as she puffed on the cigarette,"You don't know everything about him and he must not know anything about you"

Paris looked at her,"Your right.There are some things that he doesn't know about me and that's because I choose not to.Which brings me to why I brought you up here"

"What doesn't he know?"

"That I work for a tabloid"

"So?"

"Fran,hes a celebrity who hates tabloids.I cant tell him…yet… he'll hate me"

"Then end it now"Francine said,"You had your fun I can see that…but end it now.Tell him and leave"

Paris took the cigarette from her and smoked it.She hasn't smoked in YEARS but all of a sudden she needed it,"I cant just tell him and leave.He loves me and that will break his heart"

"He loves you?How do you know this?"

"Because he told me"

"So?…doesn't mean a damn thing,especially not this early in the game anyways"she looked at her,"When did you start smoking?"

"Just now"she said,"I cant leave Fran.I have nowhere to go"

"That's your fault"

"HOW IS IT MY FAULT!?"

"No need to shout huney but it's the truth.You shouldn't have lied to him and came to stay here,you have been digging yourself into a deeper hole.And I told you that job is shit anyways"

"You know what, I didn't bring you up here for advice"Paris said,"Fran I need you to not talk about my job"

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't know about it!"she said,"And I don't want him to know about it,not yet.When he finds out,he will be hearing it from me,not you.Understand?"

"Ok"

"You promise not to embarrass me?"

"OK!"Francine said as she snatched the cigarette,"You need to stop smoking huney.Its not good for you,and lying to a guy that you supposedly love is bad too"

"FRAN!I CHOSE NOT TO TELL HIM!"Paris shouted

"I know…ok I'll keep your secret"Francine said

"What secret?"

They both turned around and it was Justin

Paris gulped,"Um…"

"Oh that she used to wet the bed"Francine said nonchalantly,"Wheres the nearest bathroom?"she asked as she put out her cigarette

"Um in the bedroom to your right"Justin said as he laughed a little

"Thanks"she said as she walked away

Paris sighed as she put her head in her hands.That was close.Too close.She looked at him,"Whats so funny?"

"Nothing Im sorry"he said

"I didn't wet the bed.I don't know where that came from"she said

"Well dinner is almost ready"he said,"Your mother is nice though"

"Yeah"Paris said

*______________________*

"Wow this is delicious Mrs.Timberlake"Paris said as they all started eating the meal

"Please call me Lynn"Lynn said,"Im glad that you enjoy it.I always cook this for Justin when I drop by to visit"

"Well Paris cooks nice spaghetti too"Francine said as she chewed

"Oh really?"Lynn asked

"Yeah"Paris said and laughed,"I haven't cooked it in awhile"

"Well no wonder Justin loves you"Lynn said

"Actually I didn't know that she could cook"Justin said as he looked at her

"You didn't ask"Paris said with a laugh

"Don't worry,there are a lot of things that you don't know about her"Francine said

Paris almost choked.She put her fork down and grabbed her glass of sparkling cider and drank it

"What do you mean?"Justin asked

"Nothing"Paris said.She gave Francine an evil look,"She doesn't mean anything"

"No what I meant was that everyday you find something new about your loved one.No matter how long or how short you know them"Francine said

"True"Lynn said

"But we don't keep secrets"Justin said,"Right Paris?"

"Right"she said quietly.'Nice save',she thought as she looked at Francine evilly

"Well shes not saying that Justin"Lynn said,"I mean I have been married to your step father for 10 years and I still learn new things about him.It's a good thing actually,keeps the marriage fresh"

"Oh"Justin said and shrugged,"Well I guess we're both new at the relationship stuff in some ways"he said as he took Paris' hand that was under the table.Paris smiled at him

"So Francine,how do you feel about Paris dating Justin?I mean not to be conceited but my son is not just some normal Joe-Schmo"Lynn asked her

Paris looked at Francine,giving her a `don't-you-mess-up-look'.

"Actually I didn't know about it until today.It was a bit of a shocker"she said

"You didn't know?"Lynn asked her

"Well Paris and I don't…have a close relationship,you could say"Francine said nonchalantly.Paris sighed

"Why is that?"Lynn asked

Justin heard Paris sigh and he looked at his mother,"Mom-"

"What?"Lynn asked him

"Its fine.No biggie really"Francine said with a smile."Its better that way anyway.We catch up with each other every once in awhile and we like it that way"she said,"And with Paris' job at the-"

Paris coughed.Francine looked at her

"With Paris' job and my job we barely have time"Francine said

"Yeah I bet writing romance novels would take up some time"Lynn said as she smiled at Paris

"Romance novels?"Francine asked.Paris almost choked,she forgot to tell her that part.Paris cleared her throat

"Yeah Paris writes romance novels"Justin said,"I have yet to see one"

"Me too"Francine said,she looked at Paris,"But I'm sure Paris means for it to be like that?"When Paris smiled at her she could tell that was a good cover.Why on earth would Paris say that she writes romance novels?

"So what do you do Francine?"Lynn asked her

"Shes a social worker"Paris said.That was the only thing that she thought that was good about her.She actually helped people.

"Oh really?My mother was a social worker also"Lynn said,"Good field"

"Yeah it's a good field…"Francine said quietly.She cleared her throat and said,"So Lynn…tell us about yourself?"she said quickly changing the subject

*________________________*

"I love cheesecake"Paris said as she finished her last piece.Dinner surprisingly went smoothly.She was expecting Fran to mess everything up but she came up with some good saves.

"Justin told me"Lynn said with a smile

Justin smiled,"I at least know that about her"he said and smiled at Paris and kissed her on her cheek

Francine smiled,she was quiet mostly after they started talking about her job as a social worker.When she saw Paris and Justin together,a weird feeling came over her but she couldn't explain why or what it was.Then her cell phone rang.She looked at who it was and sighed.What did he want?

"Hello?….yeah….well Im busy right now.Its important?How is that important-?"she asked,she sighed,"What do they want?……what?….Oh my…ok….ok!….I get your point….I'll be there"she said and then hung up.She looked and saw the three of them looking at her,"I have a sort of a…emergency to take care of..Im sorry to cut this short"she said as she got up.Lynn,Justin and Paris stood up also.

"It was very nice meeting you"Lynn said as she gave Francine a hug.Which kind of surprised her

"Nice to meet you"Francine said quietly.She turned and saw Justin.He also gave her a hug

"It was nice to finally meet you Francine"he said

"Likewise,you have a nice place"Francine said

"Thanks,and thanks for coming"he said

"Thanks for inviting me"she said and went toward the door.Paris followed her but she didn't know until she opened the door

"Where are you going?Whats the emergency?"Paris asked as she closed the front door behind her and followed her to her car

"I just have something to take care of"Francine said quickly as she opened the car door

"So you wont tell me?"Paris asked,"It was Leo wasn't it?Couldn't you have told him that you were actually spending some time with your daughter?"

"Paris stop it"Francine said,"It wasn't Leo"

"Then who?"

"None of your business"she said as she tried to close the door to the car but Paris stopped her

"This is why we aren't close!You never tell me anything!"

"I didn't know that I had to consult with my 22 year old daughter about where I go on Friday nights"Francine said sarcastically

"Im 23"Paris said,"But Im not surprised that you don't know that"

"You know what?I don't have time to argue with you Paris"she said as she closed the door and put the key in the ignition and turned the car on,"You should respect your elders"

Paris rolled her eyes,"Bye MOM"she said intentionally and walked away

Francine sighed and rolled her eyes.She really didn't want to leave.If she had the choice,she would have stayed,but she couldn't…she didn't have a choice

*______________________*

Justin smiled at Paris as she came back in the house.Lynn was on the phone with their Uncle and he was loading dishes into the dishwasher."This evening went nicely huh?"he asked her

"Yeah"she said quietly as she helped him put some dishes in

"Whats wrong?"he asked her

"Nothing"she said and faked a smile,"I'm fine I'm just sleepy I guess"

"Sleepy?How are you sleepy?"he asked

"Well I didn't go back to sleep after you left this morning,all this morning I was looking for apartments"

"Do you really have to live some place else?"

"Yeah"she said,"It will be better for the both of us"she said,in more ways than one."I love you and I think we should take it slow"

He said nothing as he closed the dishwasher and turned it on.He looked at her and hugged her and kissed her forehead."Ok…if you think it will help us…then I'm fine with it"he said,"But you will stay here until that happens right?"

`Not unless you find out the truth and kick me out',she thought,"Yeah I'll be right here"

*_____________________*

Later on that night,Paris tossed and turned in her bed.Even though Justin complained,she thought it was best that she didn't sleep with him tonight.She didn't want to get caught or be paranoid.She looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 1 am.Where did the time go?

She couldn't sleep.She had so much on her mind.She was thinking about Fran.She was thinking about their run in with the paparazzi and how and when she should tell Justin the truth.She was so stressed out and she couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell him when Lynn left,it broke her heart when every minute passed and Justin didn't know who she really was.

Then,instinct told her to get up.She got up and walked down the hall and opened Justin's door.She closed it quietly and tip toed over to his bed.He was sleeping peacefully.She didn't care that she changed her mind.But she just wanted to lay with him.Just feel protected with his strong arms around her.

She lifted up the covers and got under them and slid into bed.She laid there for a second,but then he stirred.He rolled over and opened his eyes."Hey"he said quietly

"Sorry.I didn't want to wake you"she whispered

"Its ok"he said,"I thought you didn't want to stay with me"

"I thought so too…but I changed my mind"she said as she snuggled up next to him

He put his arms around her and kissed her on her head,"Well I'm glad then"he said.He turned her face towards his and started kissing her.

Before she knew it,he was on top of her,"Wait Justin….your mom"she said

"Don't worry…we'll be quiet"he said with a smile

She smiled at him,"Ok we'll be quiet"she said

*_____________________*

Paris woke up the next morning to find that she was by herself.Justin had to work of course and Lynn was out doing some errands of her own.She showered and got dressed.However,after she ate breakfast,she didn't know what to do.She would go out but she didn't want to risk being seen. She was going back on Monday but she wanted to keep her flu epidemic believable.

She was watching The Mannequin on the 80's channel when the doorbell rang.She frowned,who could that be?She went to the door and opened it.She smiled,"Hey guys"

"Hey!"Stacey and Lori said excitedly as they let themselves in

"Alone again?"Lori asked as she went straight to the kitchen and took out a wine cooler

"Yeah Lori,help yourself"Stacey said.She smiled at Paris and gave her a hug,"So how are you on this fine Saturday afternoon?"she asked her

"Im ok"Paris said as she sat down on the couch

"Oooh!The Mannequin!I totally grew up on this movie"Lori said excitedly as she sat next to Paris.Stacey sat on the other side of her

"Its almost over"Stacey said sadly.They watched the ending of it

"Aww that was good.That totally brought me back to my childhood"Lori said as she clapped

Paris laughed,"So what brings you guys here?"

"Well Justin was worried about you"Stacey said

"Oh,so you guys only visit me when Justin tells you to?"Paris asked

"No!Its not like that,we were gonna come by anyways"Lori said,"So how are you love birds anyway?"

"Lori!Geez!"Stacey said

"What?"Lori asked,"You know you wanna know"

Paris laughed,"We're fine"she said

"Ohmygod…"Lori said,"She has the glow"

Stacey rolled her eyes,"No she-"then she stopped and looked at her,"You know what?…your on to something Lori"

"I use Dove"Paris said,not knowing what they were talking about

"No…not that….you know….the GLOW"Lori said.Paris stared at the both of them cluelessly,"I think she doesn't know what we're talking about"she said to Stacey

"Your right"Paris said

"Ok let me explain it to you"Stacey said,"When you have sex with someone,you and your partner have this glow"

"Ohhhh"Paris said slowly and blushed

"Ohmygod"Stacey and Lori said

"You did it didn't you?!"Lori said

"Well…yeah"Paris said

"When did this happen?"Stacey asked

"Well the first time was Thursday night"Paris said,"And then again last night"

"Ugh!You slut!"Lori said,"So how was it!?"

"It was…good"Paris said and laughed

"I bet"Stacey said,"So were you scared…tell us everything"

"I was at first but it didn't last long"Paris said,"It was just…unforgettable.."

"You never forget your first"Stacey said,"You always remember them.Not your second,not your third…always your first"she said,"Which could be a good thing and a bad thing"

"So did he touch all the right spots?"Lori asked

"Yeah…"Paris said,"He always kisses the forehead anyways and he kissed my neck….but now I have few new ones"

"Oooh do tell"Stacey said

"Yeah so I can try them"Lori said

"Well I love stomach kisses,its like your taking care of him"

"Yeah stomach kisses are good too I heard"Lori said,"If a guy kisses or touches a girls stomach,it means that he sees the girl in a motherly way.Which is good in Justin's case since he loves his mother"

"So…what other spots?"Stacey asked

"The shoulder kisses"Paris said,"I agree with you on that"

"See I told you they were good"Stacey said

"And I also agree with the knee thing"Paris said looking at Lori

"I told you!"Lori said excitedly

"But he continued to kiss up my leg and my thighs…"

"Oooh never got that far"Lori said,"So I should try stomach and thighs definitely"

*___________________*

For the next few hours the three of them had girl talk.They talked about everything from sex to tv shows.

"You know what?I feel like I owe him so much you know?"Paris said

"What do you mean?"Stacey asked

"I don't know,I feel like I should do something for him"

"Well a way to a mans heart is his stomach"Lori said

Paris smiled,"Good idea.He should be sick of McDonalds and his mother wont be here to cook.I should"

"That would be nice"Lori said with a smile,"He will love that definitely,especially if it was Italian"

Soon the girls left and Paris started cooking. She made a salad, then whipped up some fettuccine alfredo with some French bread and some wine.She turned out all the lights and set up candles all over the place.She put on a sexy tube topped black dress with black stilettos.She had most of her hair up and had some tendrils down to give her a sexier effect.If the time was right,maybe she could tell him the truth.

She had some nice,mellow jazz music playing and heard a car pull into the driveway.She looked out a small window.It was him.Right on time.She ran upstairs and made sure to check herself out and sprayed Strawberries and Champagne on herself.She took a deep breath and walked down the steps.

Justin walked in,he looked around and said, "Paris?Why are all the lights off…"he said, but once he looked at her and what she was wearing,all he could say was,"Whoa"

She smiled at him,"Hi"she said as she came up to him

"Whats the special occasion?"he asked

"Being with you"she said as she took his hand and led him into the kitchen

"Oh…you cooked"he said and smiled at her

"Yes"she said

"Why?You didn't have to do this"he said

"No I didn't have to,but I wanted to.Then again you didn't have to take me in and take care of me this past week as you have done,and you have. Im also doing it because I love you"she said as she gave him a kiss

"Damn your sexy girl"he said

"I know"she said and smiled,"Sit down,I know your hungry"

"That I am"he said.She sat down across from him,"It smells great.Whats on the menu?"

"Salad,fettucinni alfredo,French bread and wine" she said as she set out a plate of salad,"Cheese?"she asked

"Yes please"he said as she put shredded cheese into his salad

As he picked up his fork,she said,"Uh uh"she said and shook her head.She took the fork from him

"What?You want me to eat with my hands?"he asked with a laugh

"No…."she said as she sat in his lap,"You have been working hard all day and Im gonna pamper you.You are not gonna lift a finger"she said as she put some salad on the fork and held it up to his mouth,"Open up"she said and laughed

He obediently opened his mouth and let her feed him.Through the whole meal,they laughed and talked while she fed him.Then it was time for dessert…

"Ok now for dessert"she said as she got up from his lap

"Why do you have to get up?"he asked

"Um…duh…I gotta get it from out of the freezer"she said and laughed.She came back with two bowls of ice cream and gave him a spoon

"I have to feed myself now?"he asked

"Um…yeah…I didn't have any ice cream"she said and smiled as she sat next to him.Then "No Ordinary Love" by Sade started to play,"Oh wow this song is old"she said and smiled

He put the bowl of ice cream down and took her hand,"Well we gotta dance to this"he said to her.He pulled her out of her chair and they danced close.

She smiled,she loved the scent of him,of him holding her.She put her arms around his neck and laid her neck on his left shoulder.Those heels helped her to almost be as tall as him.They danced and swayed to the music silently,not saying a single word,they just listened to each other breathe.

"Keep trying for you.Keep crying for you.Keep lying for you,keep lying but I'm falling"were the lyrics that caught her attention.Her high spirits faltered a bit.She cant keep lying to him,she loved him too much,but she was scared that little moments like this,him holding her, his scent,that would all stop if he knew.But she had to tell him.It was tearing her apart.

"Keep trying for you.Keep crying for you.Keep lying for you,keep lying but Im falling."

She sighed,that must be a sign,even though she knew that Sade wrote the song that way.She pulled away from him so she can see his face.He looked down at her,but before she could open her mouth to say anything,he leaned down and kissed her.She wanted to pull away but it was like her lips were glued to his and she couldn't let go. After awhile,she gave up and put her arms back around his neck and kissed him just as passionately.

The angel on her shoulder was shouting,"STOP!TELL HIM THE TRUTH!".But the little devil on her other shoulder was shouting,"IT WOULDN'T HURT TO TELL HIM LATER!"

And soon she gave in to the devil and before she knew it,they were both upstairs in Justin's room behind locked doors.

*_________________________*

Paris rolled over and heard the sound of Justin's voice,she opened her eyes and saw that he was sitting up and he was talking on the phone.She rubbed her eyes so she could see clearly.

"I love you too Mom"he said into the phone."Have a safe flight and tell Johnathan that I love him too"he said,a hint of sadness was in his voice."Oh shes sleeping,but if she was awake she would say goodbye too"he said,then he laughed a little,"She likes you too.I'll tell her you said goodbye"he said,"Im thinking about bringing her to Tennessee when I get some time off…you know meet Nana and everyone"he said."Oh your about to board?Ok…love you…call me when you land.Bye"he said and then hung up.

He turned around and saw her looking at him,"Hey,did I wake you?"

"Yeah but its ok"she said sleepily

"How much of that conversation did you hear?"he asked as he laid next to her

"Oh I heard the part about your plan to rob the bank and then your plan to take over the White House and then…take over the world"she said

"Damn you got me"he said and laughed,"If you tell my secret,I'd have to kill ya"

"I wont tell your secret,your secret's safe with me"she said and smiled,"But seriously…your Mom likes me?"

"Oh so you did hear that part"he said,"Yeah she does.Your different from Britney and Cam"he said,"Not because you aren't famous but…she sees something different and she feels that you keep me…grounded,in the real world"he said

"Your welcome"she said,"I like your Mom,no wonder you're a mama's boy.I would be if she was my mom"

"So if she was your mom,you would be a boy?"

"You know what I mean"she said with a laugh

"I wouldn't want her to be your mom then.I love you better as a girl"he said as he stroked her upper thigh and then kissed her,"So what did happen to your Mom anyways?"he asked

"Hell if I know"she said sadly

"Sorry"he said

"No its fine…"she said,"For a moment there,we were getting along…but,she had business to take care of.Business that's more important than me"she said

"Hey,I don't want to hear you talking like that ok?"he asked,"Nothing is more important than you are…maybe she has her priorities mixed up"he said

"She doesn't have priorities"she said sadly. Justin looked at her sadly.Then his phone rang again.He rolled over and picked it up,"Hello?….hey…."he said

She laid there and stared at the ceiling,then she heard a familiar ring.It was her cell phone. She got up and flipped it open and said,"Hello?"

"Yes can I speak to a Miss Paris Madison?"a woman asked

"Yes this is she"she said

"Hello,my name is Rhonda Sampson…Im sorry to call you this early on a Sunday morning-"

"Its ok Mrs.Sampson"she said,"What can I do for you?"

"Actually,you came by a day or two ago looking for an apartment,correct?At Seaside Heights?"

"Yes I did"

"I have an opening for you and we were wondering if you had some time,to come and check out an apartment"

"Really?Already?"Paris asked

"Yes we try to be quick and efficient for people who qualify and you definitely qualify"she said,"When would a good time be for you?"

"Today would be perfect"she said with a smile. Finally,now she had a place of her own.She can really start over now

"Alright,just stop by the office that you came in on Friday and ask for me and I will show you around"she said

"That's great,thank you so much"she said

"Your welcome Miss Madison.We look forward to seeing you"

"Thank you…bye"she said and then hung up.She smiled,she turned around and saw Justin

"What are you smiling about?"he asked

"I got an apartment"she said as she put the phone down and sat up and covered herself with the white silk sheets.

"Already?"he asked

"Yeah,isn't it great?They try to be quick and efficient with customers who qualify…and I qualify!"she said excitedly,"I am gonna go by today to check the place out and then it will be mine if I want it to"she said

"Are you sure that this is what you want?"he asked,"I mean…you are welcome to stay"

"I don't want to be dependent on you"she said,"Im doing this because I love you ok?Its too soon"she said

He sighed,he really didn't like the idea but he was gonna respect her wishes,"Ok I respect that…what time are you going to go by?"

"Soon probably"she said,"You gotta go on set right?"

"No,they decided to change the shooting location to New York City"he said

"The music video?Really?That's great"she said

"So…Im off today"he said,"But I do have to go by the office to sign some papers and wait for them to get a permit and a date"

"New York wow"she said

"I want you to come with me"he said

"Baby,I do start work tomorrow.I cant take anymore days off"she said

"Ok I understand,but…if its on the weekend right?You would come wouldn't you?"

"Yeah..I would love to"she said,"Like you said, everyone should go there once before they die"

He kissed her,"Ok..well I gotta go do that now…so…I'll see you when I get back ok?"he said as he got up

"Ok"she said.He went into his bathroom and closed the door.She went into her bedroom,which she never slept in anymore and took a shower.By the time she was done,Justin was already gone.She got her purse and headed to Seaside Heights.

*______________________*

Paris sighed as she sat through a little traffic.She wished that she would have told him last night and didn't know why she hadn't.But now that she was sure that she had an apartment at least,she had a backup plan if Justin decided to kick her out. Even though she was leaving regardless.

She pulled into the parking lot of Seaside Heights Apartments and got out of the car.She walked inside the office and asked for Mrs. Sampson.

"Nice to see you again Miss Madison"Mrs.Sampson said as she shook her hand. She was a short and stout dark skinned woman,but size didn't matter because she ruled this place.She was also the landlord.

"So if you do decide to move in here"she said as Paris followed her,"Then all the rent,complaints or any other matters come to me"she said as they walked up some steps."Now I am going to show you the one bedroom"she said,"You preferred one or two bedrooms"

"Yes please"she said

"Are you living alone?"

"Yeah,but I wanted an extra bedroom just in case"

Mrs.Sampson unlocked the door and they both walked in,"Alright heres the one bedroom"she said.They stepped into a tiled foyer and walked down a small hallway.That led them into the kitchen,next to the kitchen was the living room/dining room and there was a door to a balcony.

"Would you like to see the balcony?"Mrs.Sampson asked

"Yes please"Paris said,once they stepped outside,she gasped."The view is beautiful"she said

"Hey they don't call it Seaside Heights for nothing"Mrs.Sampson said

It faced the beach but it was so high up that you could see the deep and shallow parts of the blue water.She saw how the sun made the water glitter and she even saw two dolphins."Dolphins"she said

"Yep,that beach is Dolphin Cove"Mrs.Sampson said."Now if you follow me,I would like to show you the bedroom"she said as they walked back into the living room/dining room area.They walked down another small hallway past a small bathroom and a closet and walked into the bedroom.The bedroom had a big dresser,a bed and a nightstand,it had ample room for other things,a walk in closet and a master bathroom.

"Like it so far?"she asked her

"Yes I do"she said

"Alright,let me show you the two bedroom before you make any major decisions here.This is a major decision you know.Is this your first apartment?"

"On my own yes"she said,"Ive had others but I was always living with someone"

"Well for security,there's an intercom installed in every apartment.Press the blue button and it would be directed to the police"she said,"A young girl like you cant be too careful alone in the world"

"Yeah"she said as she followed her into the two bedroom apartment.It was on a lower level but the view wasn't as good as the first one

"So have you made your decision yet?"Mrs.Sampson asked her

"I would like the one bedroom please"Paris said

"Alright well lets sign the appropriate paperwork"Mrs.Sampson said with a smile."Now the one bedroom is $500 a month"she said as they went back to her office

Once she was done with the paperwork,Mrs.Sampson told her the rules of the apartment."Any questions?"she asked

"Oh…um…I used to have a cat,but if I do get another one…are pets allowed?"she asked her

"Oh yes,as long as they are properly trained, there's also a pet rent fee. Neighbors tend to complain about pets,if there are too many complaints we will have to ask the pet to leave or the both of you"she said,"But they are allowed,we usually don't have any problems with pets"she said with a smile,"Anything else?"

"No everything's peachy"she said with a smile as she stood up and shook her hand

"Its been great doing business with you" Mrs.Sampson said,"I'll see you when you move in"she said

"Thank you"she said.

*________________________*

When Paris pulled into Justin's driveway,she was surprised to see that he was home already.She was gone for awhile but she still thought that she would get back before him.She walked in the house and said,"Hello?I'm here!"she said and laughed a little

"Hey baby"he said as he came down the steps and kissed her,"I'm guessing you found a place?"

"Yes…and I can move in within the next 30 days"

"Oh so you have 30 days left with me?"he asked

"Baby your making it so difficult"she said

"Sorry but its gonna be difficult for me not to see you every morning"he said

"It will be just like when we first met"she said

"Yeah but…still"he said as he held her close,"So..when did you want to move in?"he asked her

"I don't know,sometime this week"she said,"Maybe…I don't know"she said.It was now harder for her to go

"Well when you figure it out,tell me"he said,"I'm not forcing you out.If you wanna leave tomorrow that's fine and if its 30 days from now…I'm not complaining either"he said

"Ok"she said.Then she heard something,"Whats that?"

"Whats what?"he asked her

"I heard something"

"What did you hear?"he asked her

"I don't know"she said,"Maybe I'm crazy-"then she heard it again,"Oh!You heard that right?"she asked as she went upstairs

"I didn't hear anything"he said and laughed as he followed her

She walked down the hall and went towards the Berry Room.That's where the sound was coming from.Justin jumped in front of the closed door."I didn't hear anything"

"But I do"she said and laughed and pushed him gently and she opened the door.She gasped.There was a small Yorkie sitting on the bed,he was whimpering because he couldn't get down.He looked up and at them and barked a little,"What is he doing here?"she asked

"It's a she..and shes here for you"he said and smiled

"For me?"she asked,"No Justin…no,you didn't have to do this"

"And you didn't have to do what you did last night but you did"he said,"This whole apartment thing is affecting me and I don't want you living alone.Now that Baby is gone,I didn't want to get you another cat…but since you like Yorkie's I decided that when you start over,you can have a new companion"he said,"I did this because I love you"

"Shes so cute"she said and gave him a hug and a big kiss,"I love you.Thank you so much"she said as they both went over to pet her.They both laid on the bed and played with her,"Oh!Shes so playful"she laughed,"Yes you are"she said

"So…what are you going to name her?"he asked

"You know what?…Im gonna name her Baby"she said and smiled

*_____________________*

“Now for the fun part”Justin said as he got up. He and Paris spent about a half hour playing with Baby.He could tell that she loved her and he was glad.He was afraid that maybe she didn’t like the dog.

“Whats that?”Paris asked as she petted Baby while she lay in her lap.She was so small and playful,she was perfect.

“Now we can shop for our new baby,come on”he said

“Seriously?”Paris asked

“Yeah,I mean she needs food,toys,a leash…all the goodies”he said,”My treat”

“Oh no Justin-“

“Nuh uh,don’t even try to stop me cuz my mind is already made up”he said

“Ok”she said as she picked up Baby and carried her with one arm.She came up to him and wrapped her free arm around his waist and said,”Thank you for everything”

“Your welcome,you don’t even have to thank me”he said as he kissed her nose,”I love you”

“I love you”she said as she held him and Baby close to her

*_________________*

“We get to go shopping Baby”she said in a high pitched voice as she got out the car and carried Baby with her.She adjusted her sunglasses and followed Justin towards the pet store that they were going to.”We cant get anything too big though Justin.The apartment is spacious but not that much”she said.Then she noticed that he stopped and was reading something,”What you looking at?”she asked

Justin shook his head,”Just bullshit”he said.She then saw it.It was the new edition of Inquiring Minds and sure enough,there was her story about Paris Hilton on the cover.”Did Nick beat Paris?”he read.Then he went in his pocket and took out 50 cents and put it in the machine

“Justin,you said that you hate those magazines”she said.

“I just gotta see what they gotta say”he said as he took it out.He laughed a little,”Britney’s getting married…never thought I would see the day”he said quietly

“Justin,just throw it away”she said, starting to get worried as he opened it

“Where do they get this stuff though?”he asked,”I know for a fact that Nick didn’t beat Paris”he said

“Really?”she asked

“Yeah….he wouldn’t do that”

“So you know him know him?”she asked

“Yeah,a lot of people think that since hes a Backstreet Boy that I automatically hate him.I don’t,I respect him,hes a pretty good friend of mine.I respect the fact that he had the same dream as mine and went after it.I don’t hate on him”he said,”And I know that he wouldn’t beat his girlfriend….I wonder who wrote this article”he said as he tried to find the page

Paris panicked,she wrote it!He couldn’t find out this way,not now,not yet!She took it from him quickly and threw it away.”It’s a waste of time and money Justin,come on”she said

He looked at her strangely,but shrugged,”Alright”he said as he followed her into the store.

She sighed a big sigh of relief,that was close…too close.“Oooh this is so cute”she said as she saw a small baby blue leash,”This is perfect for her”.Soon they went up and down each aisle throwing things into a cart.

“This dog is going to be spoiled”Justin said with a laugh as he put a small dog carrier in the cart along with a small black velvet bed. Paris laughed and then out of the corner of her eye,she saw a flash of light.She turned around and saw a guy with a camera.Why was he taking pictures of a pet store?

“Shit”Justin mumbled under his breath

“Whats wrong?”she asked

“Papparazzi,that’s whats wrong”he said,”Come on,we’re out of here”

Paris turned around and knew that she recognized the guy.He was a photographer for Inquiring Minds!She followed Justin to the check out counter and had their stuff rung up.As they stood there,the photographer still kept taking pictures.How many did he need?

They rushed out of the store and the photographer followed.She was getting annoyed of the sound of the camera clicking.”How many pictures does he need?”she said as she adjusted her sunglasses.Good thing she wore those today,”We aren’t even doing anything interesting”she said as they got in the car

“My point exactly”he said as he closed the door.The photographer stood in front of the car and tried to get pictures through the window.She put her head down.Did Lemmie cause this much annoyance when he took pictures for her stories?

Justin backed the car out of the parking space and sped off.She looked at him,he looked very upset,”Justin…you ok?”

“No….yeah…”he said,”I just…I don’t see the point that’s all.Im lucky I have a lot of patience…I was so ready to kick his ass”he said,”He totally ruined our little shopping spree”

“Its ok Justin.I don’t think we need anything else”

“That’s not the point,he practically rushed us out of there”he said,”All I want is privacy…is that too much to ask?”he asked,”I don’t want you to be involved in this”

“Involved in what?”she asked

“The media”he said,”They can really hurt people.I don’t want them spreading rumors about you or me”he said.He looked at Paris,”Now that your with me…that’s gonna happen all the time…I don’t want them bothering you”

“Maybe that’s why its best for me to have my own place…my own dependency,my own privacy”she said

He sighed,”Yeah…that’s the only good reason for it”he said.”I still don’t like the idea but if that keeps you away from those creeps than Im all for it”he said

She sighed,she held Baby as she fell asleep in her arms.She looked out the window and they drove the rest of the way in silence.

*_________________*

Once they got back to Justin’s house,he went straight to his room.He was on the phone most of the time so she didn’t want to disturb him.She knew that he was upset about the photographer incident.She put the pet stuff in her room and put Baby in her new black velvet bed.She put the collar on her and gave her a toy.She watched her play with it and soon Baby wore herself out and fell asleep.She sat there and watched her

“Shes sleeping?”

She turned around and saw Justin standing in the doorway,she smiled,”Yeah…she looks so peaceful”she said

“Yeah”he said as he sat next to her,”Im sorry”

“For what?”she asked

“I was really upset about the photographer-“

“I know,and its understandable…he upset me too”she said truthfully.”I know how you feel about the tabloids and all”she said sadly

“Yeah…but lets not talk about it”he said,”I was gonna take you out…but I don’t wanna get caught in that predicament again-“

“Its fine”she said,”You want me to cook?”

“Nah..Im gonna order Chinese if that’s fine with you.I have a craving for that anyways” he said

“Ok..haven’t had Chinese in awhile”she said

About 45 minutes later,they had their Chinese food delivered and they were eating it while watching Reno 911.They laughed and ate and forgot about what happened earlier.

“So you gotta work tomorrow huh?”he asked her

She looked at him,she almost forgot.She really didn’t feel like going,maybe she should tell Lita that she was still sick…but then decided against it.Now with this new apartment she cant have anymore sick days for awhile.”Yeah my 9 to 5”

“Why don’t you just focus on your writing 24/7?”he asked her,”I can take care of you”

“No Justin..I don’t want to be dependent on you.That’s why I want my own place and I want to work”she said.

“I know”he said,”Just an idea”he said

“It was a sweet one though”she said as she ate some chicken and broccoli

“So when did you want to move?”he asked her

“I don’t know…Tuesday….Wednesday…”she said,”It depends how I feel”she said.She really didn’t want to leave,this was really like home to her,but once he knew the real truth,she knew that it wouldn’t be her home for long.

“Well I leave Friday morning”he said,”I still want you to come”he said

She smiled at him,”I gotta work Friday”she said

“Meet me there”

“I’ll look into it”she said,then she heard a little whimpering.She looked and saw Baby standing at the top of the steps,”Aww shes so tiny”she said as she got up and ran up the steps and picked her up.”Lets try out that leash shall we?”she said as she picked up the leash and attached it to her collar

“Yeah please,I don’t want her shitting on my floors”he said

She looked at him and said,”Charming Justin…really”she said and laughed

About 5 minutes later,she came back inside.It was almost 11 and she was tired. She had to go back to being a tabloid writer and leave this dream world of hers.”Im sleepy”she said to Justin as she picked up Baby and went upstairs

“Already?”he asked

“Yeah”she said and looked at the clock,”I have to get up early”she said

“Sleep with me”he said

She kissed him.”Ok”she said.She changed into her silk slip and brought Baby’s bed into his room,”I don’t wanna leave her alone”she said as she put Baby in her bed and got in with him

He kissed her on her forehead,”Its ok”he said.They laid there for awhile and listened to each other breathing.Then they heard whimpering. She sat up and saw Baby at the side of the bed, jumping up and down.She started laughing

Justin looked and laughed too,”She looks like a retarded bunny thing”he said

“Shes not a retarded bunny,she wants to sleep with us”she said

He looked at her,”So that means that Im not gonna get any?”he asked her

She smiled at him apologetically,”Sorry baby but if we start any of that I know I wont get any sleep”she said

“Ok”he said as he kissed her,”Fair enough”She picked Baby up and she pranced around on the bed a little,they played with her a little bit and soon all three of them were fast asleep.

*_______________*

Paris slipped on her black stiletto heels and looked at her watch.She was running a little bit late,she hoped that traffic wouldn’t be too bad.She picked up her briefcase and went downstairs.She went to one of the cabinets and took out a Nutri Grain bar.She turned around and saw Justin coming down the steps,only wearing his boxers.She smiled,”Did I wake you?”

“Kinda but not really”he said as he rubbed his eyes and looked at her,”Damn…you’re the sexiest secretary Ive ever seen”

She looked at him,she forgot that he still thought that she was a lawyer’s secretary.”Thanks”she said,”But I’ll be back at around 5:30”she said as she picked up her briefcase

“I don’t get a goodbye kiss?”he asked

“Of course,that was next on my list”she said.She only meant to give him a peck on the lips but soon it was a makeout session.He wrapped his arms around her waist and then picked her up and sat her on the kitchen counter,she dropped her briefcase and didn’t care.She didn’t wanna stop.

Soon her legs were wrapped around his waist and he was opening up her blazer which revealed her black lacy Victoria’s Secret bra. Then she stopped

“What?”he asked

“I cant do this now…I already took my shower”she said and laughed,”If we do this now I will never get to work”she said

“Sorry”he said as he helped her down off the counter,”Ive been a bad boy”

She laughed,”Tell you what,I’ll spank you when I get back”she said.She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Drive safely”he said,”Love you”he said

“Love you too”she said

*________________*

She was five minutes late,she realized as she reached the 10th foor.She walked in and saw the usual hustle and bustle around the office.She smiled,a very small part of her missed this place.But she had a weird feeling being here.A part of her wanted to run out of there and go back to Justin and finish what they almost started.But a part of her told her she had to stay,she still had a responsibility here.

As she walked toward her office,she felt weird,but for a different reason.Then she realized that the whole office was staring at her.People stopped what they were doing and looked at her.Did she have something on her face?Her teeth?She picked up the pace and walked past Chelsea,”Hey Chels”she said hurriedly as she walked in.She sat behind her desk and took out a small mirror.Nothing was there

“Welcome back Paris”Chelsea said as she walked in,”Feeling better?”

“Yes much better thanks”she said

“Got a lot of pink slips for ya”Chelsea said

“I bet”Paris said as Chelsea handed them to her,”I’ll get started on these”

“Paris?”she heard a voice.She looked up and saw Lita standing in her doorway,”Good morning Lita”she said cheerfully

“My office now”Lita said to her and then walked away

Paris sat there for a second,confused. What was she upset about?Shes been five minutes late before.”Ok….”she said slowly as she got up,”Chelsea,do you know what this is about?”

“Well Lita is kinda upset”Chelsea said

“About?”Paris asked

“I suggest you let her tell you”she said to her

Paris nodded,”Fair enough”she said.She walked out of her office and walked toward Lita’s office and she was greeted by more stares on the way.She walked into Lita’s office and saw Gabrielle in there as well.What was the Garden Tool doing here?

“Paris,sit down”Lita said.Paris obeyed and sat down,still staring at Gabrielle,”Gabrielle,can you step out please?”

“But Lita-“

“Gabrielle,can you leave us please”Lita said sternly

Gabrielle sighed,”Fine”she said.She walked out of the office and closed the door behind her

They both sat there in silence for a few seconds.This seemed to be serious...she couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up,”Um Lita-“

“No Paris,just listen to what I have to say please”Lita said sternly.Paris quickly shut up.This WAS serious.Lita sighed and then said,”On last Tuesday,you called and told me that you were out sick with the flu…correct?”

“Yes”Paris said quietly

“Well I feel that you were doing something otherwise”she said as she picked up some papers,”Do these look familiar?”Lita asked her as she handed them to her

Paris took the papers and looked at them and realized that they were pictures. She looked closer and gasped,they were pictures of her and Justin.The pictures showed them at the grocery store this past Friday and of course the infamous car chase and the pet store incident the day before,”Where did you get these?”she asked

“The real question is,you really didn’t have the flu did you?”Lita said to her

Paris looked at her,”Lita its not what you think….I wasn’t intentionally missing work to party or anything,let me explain”

Lita sat back in her seat,”Alright….enlighten me”she said

Paris sighed and told Lita the whole story,how she and Justin first met,what Sean did and how Justin took her in and what she really went through.”So,if I came to work anytime last week I wouldn’t have been a good worker at all.I had so much on my mind”

Lita looked at her,”Im sorry Paris…I didn’t know that you were going through all of that”she said to her,”But why did you lie about it?”she asked her

“I don’t know”Paris said,”I honestly cant tell you”

“Well you know that this situation gives you your first written and verbal warning according to company policy”Lita said,”Which cuts your bonus in half from the cover from this weeks edition”she said

Paris sighed,”Alright…fair enough”she said

“But I’ll tell you what though”Lita said as she looked at the pictures,”I have a proposition for you”she said,”Maybe I can waive that whole…cutting half of your bonus rule”

“Really?”she asked,she was all ears.She needed this money now that she had this new apartment

“You live with Justin still don’t you?”

“Yes”she said

“That house is probably full of juicy stories then?”

“Yeah….”she said slowly,she didn’t like where this was going

“Justin probably tells you everything right….even things about Cameron right?”

“What are you getting at?”

“You should know a lot of things about why their relationship ended or what really happened between him and Britney?”

“Not really,we don’t really talk about that stuff”she said

“Alright,well ask him…you know with casual conversation about his relationship with Cameron and Britney”she said

“I don’t know Lita-“

“Paris,do you not realize that you have cover stories right in your hands.They all are just falling into your lap as we speak and every time you step foot into that house”she said,”Paris,this can help your career.You know that newer and bigger office that you always wanted?”

“Yes?”

“If we get juicy stories about Justin you can count on bigger bonuses and a bigger office”Lita said

Paris thought about it.No,you cant do that to him,not after all hes done for you,a part of her said.But the bonuses would really come in handy and a bigger office would make her work here easier…it wouldn’t hurt,just one story right?,another part of herself said to her

“Paris?”Lita said,bringing her back to reality,”Your gonna get some juicy stories right?”

Paris looked at her,”Yes I will”she said,and as soon as she said that,she deeply regretted it

“Alright its settled,I want this by tomorrow so we can put it in the editing meeting on Wednesday”Lita said,”This is great Paris,we certainly turned this problem around for your benefit”

Paris didn’t feel as excited,”Lita?”

“Yes?”

“Where did you get those pictures?”she asked

“Gabrielle’s photographer took them…and they will be on the cover of this coming week’s edition”

“I don’t wanna be on the cover!”Paris exclaimed

“Well if you do get some juice on Justin….these pictures will disappear…how about that?”Lita asked as she opened the door and they walked out

“Ok…”Paris said

Then Lita’s phone rang,”Oh that’s me…” she said and ran back in her office

Paris frowned and then walked over to Gabrielle’s cubicle,”Why the hell are you stalking me?”

Gabrielle looked at her and laughed,”Oh…you.I wasn’t stalking…it was more like catching you in a lie…now you probably got your warnings” she said,”But I really cant figure out how you could get a catch like Justin”she said

“That’s something that I don’t want to share”she said,”But just to let you know,he loves me”she said,”But I want these pictures to disappear,you will ruin him”

“Huney,just like you…I want my bonus”she said

Paris couldn’t hear anymore,this has all become a total nightmare,”There are things more important than bonuses”she said as she started to walk away and for the first time,she realized that she was right

“Anyway I shouldn’t be the one that your mad at”Gabrielle commented

Paris stopped,”What are you cackling about?”she said to her

“I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for your loud mouthed Pierre”she said,”You should be more mad at him”she said

Paris looked at her and just walked away,she walked into her office and there was Pierre.

“Hey huney”he said,”What did Lita say?Chelsea told me that she was upset,she found out”

Paris looked at him and frowned.”Pierre,she knows…everyone knows because of your big mouth!”

Pierre looked at her,”Paris I can explain”

“No I don’t wanna hear it”she said as she walked past him and sat at her desk

“The Garden Tool was saying mean bullshit as usual and I had to set her straight”he said,”It was an accident,it slipped, but shes totally jealous of you!That’s what you want right?You finally have a guy that you know she cant take away!”

“It slipped huh?”she said,”Who else knows!?Pierre I trusted you.You almost got me in trouble!You know how Im struggling with money as it is and this whole incident almost cost me half of my paycheck!”

“Paris Im sorry”he said,”But its over now right?Lita forgave you…so lets move on”he said cheerfully

Paris stared at him,”I cant move on Pierre…”

“What do you mean-“

“Pierre just go…I don’t even know you anymore”she said as she typed in her password and logged into her computer,”I don’t even want to know you anymore”

Pierre stared at her,he looked hurt and confused and angry.He didn’t say a word and left her office and slammed her door behind him.

Paris sat back in her chair as a tear rolled down her cheek.What has she done? Why did she say that to him?But a part of her wanted to say it.Now she probably lost her best friend and in a matter of time Justin would find out too and leave her.She let more tears roll down her face,she felt like she was dying a slow and painful death.She felt that in just a matter of time,her life would be over.

*___________________*

Paris sat there in silence as she ate the steak and mashed potatoes that she made for her and Justin.Even though he didn’t want her to cook since she had a long day at the office,but she insisted.Cooking took her mind off of everything that happened today.

“Whats wrong?”Justin asked her

She looked at him,she heard him speak but didn’t hear what he said exactly.She was so out of it.”What?”she asked

“Whats wrong with you?”he asked her,”You….your too quiet”

“Nothing”

“Are you sure?It isn’t Sean is it?”he asked her

“No I'm over him Justin,you know that”

“You sure that nothing's wrong with you?”he asked

“Yes”she lied.She was fine if she didn’t lose her best friend,didn’t have to do this story and Gabrielle didn’t put her nose into her business.She sighed,Lita wanted a story by tomorrow if not,there goes half her paycheck and those pictures would be on the cover.”Justin can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,anything”he said

“What happened with you and Cameron?”

“Is that why your so quiet?”

“No…”she said,”Never mind,forget I asked”she said.She didn’t care anymore.She would rather get half a paycheck then hurt him

“No its fine”he said,”I mean I know about you and your escapade with Sean”he said,”So you should know about her”

Paris frowned,he actually was going to tell her?Now she had no choice now.

“Well to make a long story short…we just grew apart”he said,”It was mutual really”he said,”She was doing movies in other countries and I was working on the album and promoting and doing the tour with Christina”he said,”We barely had time to see each other and soon everytime we saw each other…it seemed like we were just friends with benefits.We were both feeling stuck.We both loved each other but knew it was best to leave but we both didn’t want to leave and hurt the other persons feelings.But one day we sat down and talked it out and said it would be better to be just friends”

“Oh…that’s understandable”she said. Nothing about that was juicy at all

“Also,she wanted to settle down.I mean Cameron is 31 and Im only 23…I wasn’t ready for that”he said,”But that wasn’t the main thing”he said,”Yeah our breakup wasn’t as juicy as Britney and I”he said,”Does that answer your question?”he asked her

“Yeah”she said quietly

“Why did you want to know?”he asked,”All of a sudden I mean”

“I was scared to ask before”she lied.She never cared before until today

“Oh…”he said,”Well I'm with you now and, Paris, I want you to be able to ask me anything.I don’t want to have any secrets between us”he said as he took her hand and kissed it,”Ok?”

Paris faked a smile,she wished that was true,”Ok”she said

*______________________*

Paris couldn’t sleep all night.She felt guilty every minute but she felt that fate would give her the perfect moment to explain herself to Justin.But she was wondering if she missed that chance.

The next morning she took a long shower and put on a white tank top,light pink tweed pants with a matching jacket,she put on some white heels and got her briefcase.When she walked into the kitchen,she saw Justin eating one of her Nutri Grain bars.She smiled,”Hey those are mine”she whined

“Eeew you can keep them”he said as he gave it to her,”These are nasty”he said

She took it from him and put it in her mouth,”Good more for me”she said as she chewed

“Want a cappuccino?”he asked as he went over to the machine.”I haven’t used this yet but lets see if it works”

“Sure”she said.They both poured some into some coffee mugs.She tasted it and smiled,”Ohmygod…this is good!”she said

“Yeah”he said,”I’ll be drinking this every morning”he said,”I can see why people are addicted to these”

“Yeah this is very addictive”she said as she poured some more

“I'm addicted to you”he said and smiled at her

“Aww stop it”she said and blushed.Its funny that his compliments still made her feel like a school girl.He put his cup down and kissed her and before she knew it she was on the counter again,”Justin stop”she laughed,”I have to work you know”she said

“Sorry…I told you that I'm addicted”he said as he helped her down off the counter,”Alright go to work huney”he said

She kissed him on his cheek,”I love you”she said

“Love you”he said as he slapped her playfully on her butt.She laughed and went to her car and headed to work

*__________________*

“So your flight will leave promptly at 10 am and you will be staying at the Waldorf Astoria in the city”Justin’s manager said,”Any questions?”

“No I think you have answered all my questions”he said

“Alright,good so we will see you on Friday morning then”he said,”I'm expecting another hit video from you”

“Of course man”he said,”When have I ever let you down?”

“Well you know ‘Cry Me A River’ didn’t do so well”he said playfully and winked at him

“I know,its only nominated for 5 awards, that’s too bad huh?”Justin said and laughed.A few minutes later he left the building and walked to his car, looking over his shoulder every few seconds to see if there was some nosy photographer.He drove to a nearby coffee shop and got some coffee.When he left he ran right into someone.”Oh I'm sorry”he said,then he smiled,”Hey Francine”

“Justin?Oh I didn’t recognize you with those huge shades on”Francine said to him

“That’s kinda the point”he said

“Oh gotcha”she said,”So what are you doing,getting yourself a coffee?”she asked as they walked by a floral shop.Justin looked into the window and had an idea.

“Yeah you could say that”he said

“Are you visiting Paris?”she asked him

“No…well actually I was”

“Oh cuz her building is right there” Francine said as she pointed to the huge building across the street.Then she stopped herself,he wasn’t supposed to know!

“Oh really?”he asked,”Thanks Francine…but I gotta get going.You have a good day alright?”he told her as he walked away from her in a hurry.He walked into the floral shop and bought a dozen roses.He was going to surprise Paris,he went across the street and went to the front desk.He didn’t know what floor she was on.

“Hello…does a Paris Madison work here?I don’t know which floor she is on”he said

“Hold on please”the old woman said as she typed into her computer,”Shes on the tenth floor-“

“Ok thanks”he said not wanting to hear anymore,he ran to the elevator.He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when he showed up.

*________________*

Paris was trying to do her best to stay away from Lita.She really didn’t want to talk about Justin and was afraid what she would say when she told her that the story wasn’t as juicy as it seemed.She kept herself busy by making a lot of calls,working on her deadline and she told Chelsea to not let anyone in her office. Maybe if she was lucky Lita forgot or she could go the whole day without seeing her.She couldn’t wait for lunch.

Then her phone rang,”Hello?”

“Hey Paris,your fax is coming in now”Chelsea said,”Would you like it now?”

“Yes please”Paris said.She got up and walked to Chelsea’s desk,”Thanks”she said hurriedly and went back in her office

“PARIS!”she heard someone call.It was Lita,she turned around and saw Lita motioning to her from across the room.She sighed,she was caught.She had no choice now.She walked over to her slowly.She waited for her as she had a conversation with someone else.

Then Lita turned to her,”Paris,finally you have been so busy all day I haven’t been able to reach you”she said,”So…do you have any good news?You got the story about Cameron and Justin?”she asked her

Just then she heard someone scream,”OHMYGOD!”

Paris and Lita turned around and Paris gasped.There was Justin standing before her,he had a dozen roses and a confused and hurt look on his face.”Justin-“she said

“Yeah Paris,did you get the story on me and Cameron?”he asked her

“Justin,let me explain”she said as she went up to him

“You work here?”he asked her

“Yeah but-“

“That’s all I need to know”he said angrily as he walked out of the office.It seemed like the whole office was transfixed on Justin being there.Once he left everyone started talking

“He came!”Lita said as she came up to her,”Someone get security in here!The security cameras caught everything!Congratulations Paris,you have brought our first celebrity into our office!”she said,not knowing what just happened

Paris just stood there,staring at the elevator doors that Justin had just went through.He knows,he knows everything.He wasn’t supposed to find out this way!Tears rolled down her face and she turned around and ran into her office and shut the door.

*___________________*

“Pierre!Get out here!You gotta see this” Dave said to him as he came in and out his cubicle.Pierre got up and saw Justin,he looked upset and he knew why.Justin knows.But everyone was celebrating as if he came to visit all of them.He saw Justin leave and saw how devastated Paris looked.He saw Lita go up to her and then Paris ran into her office.He wanted to go in there and comfort her.He knew how much she loved him,but he couldn’t.She hated his guts,she told him that yesterday.He sat back in his seat sadly.He could feel her pain.

*_________________*

Paris ran inside her office and sat behind her desk and sobbed.He hated her now,she knew that now.By the look on his face she knew that he was upset and disappointed.She cried so much that her whole body was shaking.She looked at her watch,it was almost 12.She was going to take an early lunch,she had to see Justin now, she had to explain everything to him.She got up and got her purse and car keys and walked out the office

“Im going to lunch”she said to Chelsea as she walked past her

“Paris whats wrong?What happened back there?”Chelsea said to her as she walked beside her

“Its none of your concern”she said coldly as she got on the elevator and pressed the lobby floor number

*_______________________*

Paris walked into the house,surprised that the door was unlocked.All of his cars were here so she knew that he was home.The house was so quiet.Then she saw Baby,”Hey Baby”she whispered to her,”Wheres Justin?”she said.Of course Baby couldn’t say anything.She went upstairs and looked in his room,he wasn’t there. She passed the Berry Room and saw that he was in there,out on the balcony, staring at nothing.She walked in past all of her boxes and said,”Justin?”

He turned around and then looked away,”What do you want?”

“I want to explain”she said as she stepped out on the balcony

“I don’t want to hear it Paris”he said,”Let me sum it up for you.Your with me to get a story for that fucking tabloid that you work for and you have been lying to me all this time.Romance writer my ass”he said as he turned and looked at her,”Is that right Paris….your name is Paris isn’t it?”

“That’s not fair Justin and that’s not it at all”she said,”I wasn’t trying to make you into a tabloid story”

“That’s not what I heard”he said

“Your misinterpreting what you heard,you shouldn’t believe everything that you hear”she said,”But let me explain everything to you-“

“Your right Paris…I shouldn’t believe everything I hear”he said,”Because believing that you love me and all that..everything you said has been a lie”

“No Justin”she said,trying to hold back the tears,”I love you,I was never lying about that.I would never do that”

“Could have fooled me”he said,he looked at his watch,”What are you doing here anyways?Shouldn’t you be writing about me and Cameron?”

“Im on my lunch break and Im using it to explain everything to you”she said as she came up to him,”Im not leaving until you know the truth”

“How sweet of you”he said sarcastically,”Your using your free time to tell me the truth”he said and turned to her,”Paris,I have known you for a month and you had plenty of times to tell me the truth”he said

“I know,but I was waiting for the right time-“

“There's always a right time for the truth”he said,”There was never a bad time”

“I know and I wanna tell you now.You still don’t know the whole story”she said

“No Paris,I don’t wanna hear it”he said as he started to walk back into the room,”I don’t want to hear anything you have to say”he said

“Justin stop!Please”she said as she grabbed his arm

“PARIS GET OFF!”he said loudly as he shook her off of him

Paris jumped back,shes never heard him talk like that,he has never yelled at her before until now.The tears started to fall,”Justin-“

“Just leave Paris,go back to your job and write your fucking stories”he said as he walked away from her and went to his room and slammed the door behind him and locked it

“Justin please!”she said as she cried,”I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way…baby just let me explain”she said as she knocked on his door.He didn’t answer,he totally ignored her.She stood there and cried for who knows how long,then she accepted defeat and walked away. She went downstairs and walked out to her car and sped away.

*__________________*

“So it was mutual?”Lita asked her.After Paris left Justin’s house,she drove to the beach and sat there and cried for an hour.She didn’t use her lunch break to eat because she wasn’t in the mood.She was thinking about not going back to work.This place was ruining her life,but it was putting money in her pocket.

“Yeah”Paris said quietly,”And that’s it,nothing juicy about it at all”she said

“Well its still juicy because no one knows”Lita said,”Everyone thinks that they are still dating,just in different locations”she said,”This hasn’t happened since the whole Janet Jackson story”

“What do you mean?”Paris asked,”The Super Bowl story?”

“No,when Janet admitted to being married for 10 years.No one saw that coming”Lita said.Paris just sat there,she wasn’t herself.”Paris?Whats wrong?”

Paris looked at her,”Lita,he hates me now”

“Who?”

“Justin!Didn’t you see his face when he was in here?”

“He looked a little surprised…but…”

“No he was upset”

“Why would he be upset?”

“Lita,he hates tabloids and tabloid writers”she said

“Well he obviously doesn’t if he loves you”Lita said

“That’s the thing,he didn’t know that I worked here.Celebrities hate tabloids and I was afraid that he would hate me and never get to know the real me.And now that he knows the truth…he hates me”she said as tears rolled down her face

“Aww huney,don’t cry”Lita said as she sat on the edge of her desk and handed her the box of tissues.”Yes it was wrong of you to lie,but you’re a big girl you know that.But he doesn’t hate you.That’s too strong of a word.And he doesn’t hate tabloids”

“Yes he does”

“No,see celebs just get annoyed with us from time to time.But we are just doing our job.We are simply giving information to the world.We are bringing to light and writing about things that people think about.We bring them to reality.But celebs need us to survive.Even though they are annoyed by us,they are also grateful for the exposure.If we didn’t write articles and took pictures about Justin or any other celeb,he wouldn’t be so hot now.Look at Monica Lewinsky,before she was in the tabloids,she was just some intern”

“The tabloids ruined her life”

“No,she said that so she could have someone to blame.But look at her now,she was a host of her own show and makes her own purses”Lita said,”Shes a household name now for people who don’t really pay attention to politics because of us.Celebs need us to survive and we need them to survive.That’s what makes the world go round”she said

“You make it sound so easy”Paris said as she wiped away some tears as more kept falling

“Your really upset aren’t you huney?Your really stuck on this guy”

“I love this guy Lita”she said,”I just wanna make everything right”

Lita looked at her,”Ok tell you what”she said as she looked at her watch,”You turned in your deadline and you told me the scoop on Cameron and Justin and its almost 3 now”she said,”Go on home early,explain what you need to explain to him and kiss and makeup and come back happy tomorrow”

Paris smiled at her,”Thanks Lita…I need the break”

“Your welcome”she said as she gave her a hug,”Go tell Justin the truth,if he really loves you,he will forgive you”Lita said with a smile

*__________________*

Paris parked her car in the driveway and took a deep breath.While she drove,she thought about what she was going to say to him.She wasn’t going to go up to him right away,she was gonna let him cool off and then tell him.This morning he told her that he loved her,his feelings couldn’t have changed in a few hours.

She took out her spare key and opened the door.She didn’t know what to do when she saw what was waiting for her at the front door.All of her boxes,everything that she owned was sitting in the foyer.Even Baby was sound asleep in her bed which was next to all the boxes.

“He actually did it,hes actually doing this”she said to herself.Now she really had to talk to him before he did something this drastic.”JUSTIN!”she yelled,waking up Baby.She ran into the kitchen,she went into every room,every nook and cranny and he was nowhere to be found.She opened the garage door and saw that all of his cars were there,but then she looked and saw one of his Harley’s was gone.Where was he?

She blinked back her tears as she reentered the house and walked back into the kitchen.She then saw something that caught her eye,she walked over to the island in the middle of the kitchen and saw a note on it.She picked it up and read:

Paris,by the time you read this you would have seen that I put all of your things near the door.What was revealed to me today was much of a shock and I know that you being here wont help my situation.I strongly suggest that you move into your apartment because there's too much confusion,tension and hurt on my part.I don’t know what to think or what to do and with you being here,it wont help the situation much.I'm sorry that this isn’t in person but I had to leave to think about this some more.I know this is a cowardly way to go about things but this is all I can come up with.Lastly,I want to let you know that I still love you but since I do,that makes this decision even harder for me.But I strongly believe that if you cant trust the person your with,it wont work.I'm sorry it turned out this way…I wish it would have been different.

-J

Paris set the note down,she wasn’t surprised that he chose this.This is what shes been afraid of all along.But it was also a shock because it was actually happening. She wiped her tears as she threw the letter away.She picked up all her boxes and put everything in her trunk.She put Baby and her bed on the floor in front of the passenger seat.She walked around the house to check to see if she forgot everything,but there was nothing left.

She took out a piece of paper and wrote:

Your spare key is under the plant on the porch.

She left it where Justin’s note was and sadly walked out of the house.She locked the door and left the key under the plant and walked away.

*__________________*

“Hi Mrs.Sampson,sorry to come here on such short notice but…I have all my things and I'm ready to move in”Paris said sadly as she adjusted her black sunglasses. Her eyes were so red from crying,she didn’t want anyone to think that anything was wrong with her.Red eyes could bring up a lot of assumptions

“Oh already?”Mrs.Sampson said,”Um sure huney,do you need any help?”

“No I'm fine”she said

“Ok,just fill out these forms and I will give you your keys”she said to her.

Ten minutes later,Paris had her official keys.She got in her car and drove to where her parking spot was.She got out and got her purse and picked up Baby,”Well Baby,this is our new home”she said disappointingly.She knew that she was going to come here sometime,just not so soon.

*_________________*

For the rest of the day and night Paris cried and tried to get in touch with Justin,but he didn’t answer any of her calls.She also tried to call Francine,but of course,she was nowhere to be found.She wanted so much to call Pierre,to have his shoulder to cry on and to have someone help her eat a whole jug of ice cream.But of course she couldn’t.She felt so alone now.She never thought that things would be this bad and happen so fast.She laid on her new bed with Baby and cried herself to sleep.

*______________________*

The next morning,Paris woke up and decided to throw herself into her work.She was going to try her best to not think about what happened.But she felt that there was a bigger weight on her shoulders.She thought that now since Justin knows the truth that she wouldn’t have any other worries but now she felt worse.

She arrived at the office and went straight to hers,she sat down behind her desk and put her hair into a tight bun.She was also wearing a black pant suit.She looked like she was going to someones funeral,but she pretty much was.She herself felt like she was dead to the world.

“Hey Paris”she heard someone say.It was Chelsea.She merely smiled at her,”Here are your messages”she said as she gave her two slips of paper.

“Thanks”she said quietly as she looked them over and logged into her computer.

Chelsea stood there for a moment,wanting to ask Paris what was wrong.She felt that Paris needed a hug and someone to say that everything was going to be ok.

“Do you need something Chelsea?”Paris asked her as she looked at her

Chelsea instead shook her head,”No….nothing else”she said quietly and walked out the office.

*___________________*

Paris did her work and returned her phone calls like normal.But she didn’t feel normal.She felt like a zombie.And when the 10 am editing meeting rolled around,she felt like she was invisible.She sat down in her chair and sighed,she couldn’t wait til 5. She just wanted to go home and collapse into bed.She didn’t want to be here at all.

She saw Gabrielle walk in and she didn’t even look at her.Pierre walked in next and she couldn’t look him in the face.Instead of him sitting next to her like he always did,he sat across the room.Just then Lita walked in.

“Good morning everyone”she said cheerfully as she walked in and pulled down the screen and turned on the laptop computer.A few seconds later she was ready.”This issue is one of the best.The reason why is because we have more cover stories and more stories overall in the magazine.Our theme now is More Stories,Lower Price”she said,”We are going to shock all of our readers with our new look.And hopefully we will gain some more”she said.Everyone in the room nodded in agreement

“I first want to welcome Roxy Waters to the team”Lita said as she pointed to a girl with blonde hair.”Her story about Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s rocky marriage is sure to get people buying this issue”she said,”Lets all welcome her to the team”she said.Everyone clapped.Pierre patted her on the back

Roxy smiled,”Thanks Lita”

“Your welcome”Lita said as they all looked at the screen.There was a blank presentation and on the bottom right hand corner was a picture of Jessica and Nick. “And theres your first featured story”she said

“Now above that”Lita continued,”Is a veteran’s story”she said as she smiled at Paris,”Here is Paris’ story on another rocky marriage.Of course J-Lo and Marc Antony”she said as a picture of J-Lo appeared above the Jessica and Nick picture.”Is it over?”she asked.

Paris just sat there,wondering how J-Lo was going to feel when her story was featured on the cover.How did Lemmie get the pictures?Did he go to the extremes like Gabrielle’s photographer did?

“Now on the left here is an interesting story.Lindsay Lohan and Wilmer Valderamma”Lita said as a picture showed the two young stars.”This story was written by Pierre here-“

“Wait,its not on the cover?Whats wrong with you people!?”Pierre said.Paris almost smiled.Pierre was still the same.

“Its just not juicy enough”Lita said and smiled,”As you know,Lindsay just turned 18 and has done a lot of partying.But is she moving too fast?Growing up too fast?And there are rumors that Mandy Moore has been talking some smack about her ex boyfriend and his new girl?”she asked Pierre

“Oh yes,total jealousy issues”Pierre said,”Especially since Mandy is now single and not dating that tennis star”

“Now on to bigger news,now I have to say that this almost made the cover story but…. things happen.I cant explain”she said as she showed a picture of Anna Nicole,”Wow David, explain this story to us”she said

“Well of course Anna Nicole has been on a rampage with this TrimSpa stuff”he explained,”Now the TrimSpa has helped her lose weight but it also made her breasts larger,so large that the silicone burst”he said.As soon as he said that,the whole room burst out in laughter.

Paris sat there and shook her head.That was totally ridiculous.Now that wasn’t even true.Just then the cover story came into view and sure enough,there was her and Justin in front of the grocery store this past Friday.She gasped,she was on the cover?!

“And our cover story written by Gabrielle here is about the world’s most sexiest man…cheating?”Lita said

Paris stood up,”No that’s not true”

Gabrielle laughed,”Don’t worry Paris,you can have the cover story next week”she said snottily

“That’s not what I'm talking about,that article isn’t true and you know it!”she exclaimed

“Paris calm down”Lita said,”We’re not saying that Justin is cheating on you,we’re saying that hes cheating on Cameron”

“But hes not cheating on Cameron!”she said,”He never did!Lita I told you that they broke up mutually and he met me months after that!”

“I know that Paris,but that’s not going to make a juicy story”Lita said

“So your going to put lies on the cover!About me!?Someone you work with!?”Paris said

“Its not like we haven’t done it before”Gabrielle said,”Your story about that Britney and Christina cat fight was a lie,but you made it the truth, Paris.Its our job”

“I don’t want to be on the cover!”Paris said,”And that’s final.I don’t want rumors and lies spread about me.Lita,you know people all over the world read this magazine and most of them believe what we’re writing about!”

“But Paris,people all over the world don’t know you”Lita said as she looked at the picture,”Paris,you know…it doesn’t even look like you.You can barely see your face-“

“But its mine!There's no getting around it!”Paris said,”Have Gabrielle write another story or put another story on the cover but I don’t want my laundry out on the streets like that!”

“So you suggest that Anna be on the cover Lita?”Dave asked

“That story is also total bullshit!Boobs don’t blow up!Its not possible!”Paris said getting angry.”Who on this earth would be so stupid to believe that!?”

“Paris calm down”Lita said,”Just sit down please and lets finish this meeting”she said,”If you wanna talk about this we can go in my office later and discuss it-“

“No I wanna discuss it now”Paris said,”I want the cover gone”

"We cant do that Paris,its already in printing”Lita said,”You know that,its too late.We don’t allow late entries anymore.Whatever we say at this meeting goes”

“Ok…”Paris said,”Everything we say at this meeting goes?”

“Yes exactly”Lita said

“Then I go”Paris blurted out.She stopped,did she just say that?Then she realized that she did and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders.

“What do you mean?”Lita said

“Then I go”Paris repeated proudly.”I cant do this anymore Lita.I cant write lies and rumors anymore!When I graduated college I wanted to be a writer,but I wanted to write about stuff that matters…like real love”she said,”Maybe that’s why I am so obsessed with J-Lo and her marriage because I wish that I had love”she said.Everyone looked at her with shock,but she kept talking,she didn’t know why she didn’t do this a long time ago.

“So what are you saying Paris?”

“That I'm leaving!I'm going.I quit”Paris said as tears came to her eyes,”This job,this fucking cover story about me and Justin is just the reason why Justin hates me right now”she said,”This job is totally ruining my life and I lost the best thing that has happened to me because of it!”

“Ok Paris”Lita said angrily,”This has gone way too far.Your serious about this?We can cut the picture if you want.Show just Justin if you want-“

“No..my mind is made up”Paris said

“Fine,but if you leave now.Don’t think about coming back again and don’t think about ever trying to get back into the tabloid writing business”Lita said angrily.She was shocked that Paris was doing this.

“Fine by me”Paris said as she walked out of the room.She went straight into her office and opened her drawers and packed her things and put them into boxes.

“Paris?”Chelsea said as she stood in the doorway,”What….whats…going on?”

“I'm leaving Chelsea…I'm sorry but you can be someone else's secretary”she said

“Why?”Chelsea said,”Paris are you sure?”

Paris looked at her and smiled,for the first time that day.”Yes I'm sure.I cant do this anymore Chelsea.This job…this place…its just bad karma for me”she said,”I lost Justin because of this,he never wants to speak to me again and now I'm on the cover”

“I'm sorry Paris”Chelsea said,”That’s whats been going on”

“Yeah…”Paris said as she packed another box,”I'm better than this Chels”she said to her,”I'm not just going to be some gossip columnist.I didn’t want that when I was in college.When I was little I didn’t say that I wanted to be a gossip writer I said I wanted to be a writer.And that’s what I'm going to do.I'm better than this and I have potential”

“You do Paris”Chelsea said quietly

Paris looked at Chelsea,she reminded her so much of herself when she first started,”You can leave too Chelsea.Your just like me…gossip is far below you”

“No Paris.I like this job…I like the money”

“But sometimes the money isn’t enough for what you really have to go through”Paris said,”I learned that this week”she said as she put the last box on her desk and cleaned it off

“I'm gonna miss you Paris”she said to her

“I'm gonna miss you most of all”Paris said and smiled and hugged her,”Keep your head up kiddo”she said

“You too”Chelsea said,”Everything’s gonna be ok for you alright?”

“I know”Paris said as picked up one of the boxes and put her briefcase on top of it

“Need help?”Chelsea said quietly

“Yeah please”Paris said,”The quicker I get out of here,the quicker I can move on”she said as Chelsea picked up one of the boxes.

*_________________*

Paris shut the car door and turned it on.She sat there and stared at the steering wheel.She actually did it,she quit her job.Now she was unemployed…but she didn’t care.She was happy.She didn’t have to lie anymore.She put the car into drive and drove off.

*____________________*

Paris stood on Justin’s porch and stared at his front door for a few seconds.She never had to ring the doorbell but she should now. Since she really wasn’t welcomed anymore.She could hear Justin playing the piano,the song sounded familiar.It was a slow ballad.She got up the courage and rang the bell.Soon the piano playing stopped,she heard footsteps and the door opened.He looked at her and didn’t say anything. She didn’t either.They stood there staring at each other in awkward silence,not knowing what to say

“I quit”Paris blurted out,breaking the silence

“Quit what?”Justin asked

“I quit my job.I am no longer a tabloid writer for Inquiring Minds”she said and smiled

Justin didn’t seem so pleased,he leaned against the doorway and said,”So…you want a cookie or something?”he asked sarcastically

“Justin,I know what I did was wrong.But being with you made me realize that all this time I have just been doing this for the paycheck,for the bonuses.I cant write lies anymore,I don’t want to hurt people.Celebs are people too and they and their loved ones need their privacy as well.I left…I quit….for you….and for me”she said,”I did it for us”

Justin looked at her and sighed,”Paris…you gotta understand that there is no us anymore.I know you read my note-“

“I did read it”she interrupted,”But I want to try this again Justin.I didn’t mean to lie and hurt you…but I learned my lesson.I quit and I want to do something important with my life….start over”

“I cant just start over Paris”he said,”I cant trust you anymore.You lied about everything!How can I know that you even quit your job!You might just be lying about that!”

“Justin that’s unfair..I didn’t lie about everything.Everything that came out of my mouth wasn’t a lie”she said

“Ok…”he said.”Fine”.They both stood there again,awkwardly,”Ok let me ask you something-“

“Yeah?”

“Ok…when we first met….what were you really doing at that party?”he asked

“I…was doing my job…at the time.Being a tabloid reporter.We were sent to the party to mingle and converse with people and write about the juicy stories that we overheard or were told”

“We?Someone else was with you?”

“Yeah….remember the guy that hit on JC?"

“The fag?”

“Hes not a fag…well he is….but…hes my friend…was my friend.Anyways,his name is Pierre and we were both sent to do that”

“So let me get this straight….you go and strike up conversations with people or you be nosy and eavesdrop and put peoples laundry into a tabloid?Without their permission?”

“Yeah”she said

“My god….”he said,”Ok…is your uncle really a commercial director?”

“No…I don’t have any uncles….I made that up..as a cover”

“So….what have you told me that was the truth Paris?Huh?”Justin asked

“Ive told you a lot of things!I love cats,I love your music,I love romance novels.My mom and I really aren’t close,Sean really is a jerk and….I love you”

“If you loved me Paris…you wouldn’t have lied to me…for so long!”

“I wanted to tell you Justin.Everyday I was racking my brain of when and how to tell you!Everyday I was falling more in love with you and it made it even harder to tell you that I was lying and who I truly was!”she said,”Justin I don’t know…I don’t know why I let it go for so long but I didn’t want you to find out this way.I was planning to tell you”

“Well your plan came a little too late huh?”he said.Just then a limo pulled into the driveway.”I gotta get going”he said

“Ok…but where are you going?I want to talk more about this”

“There's nothing else to discuss”Justin said as the limo driver went inside and started taking suitcases out of the house,”I'm leaving early to go to New York to do the music video. Paris,there's nothing more to discuss,just let it go”he said as tears came to his eyes as he set the alarm and closed the door and locked it,”Its over”he said and walked away.

She stood there on the porch as he walked to the limo.She saw him get in and saw the limo driver close his door and get in the front seat.And a few seconds later they drove off and were out of sight.Tears rolled down her face and she sighed,it was really over.She ruined everything.She just lost the love of her life.”Its truly over”she said to herself.She would never get to love him again.

*______________________*

The last thing that Paris needed was to run into traffic on the way home.She didn’t need this right now and she felt some road rage boil up inside of her.She was tempted to beep her horn until no tomorrow but that wouldn’t help.When she finally reached the next exit,she got off there.This would mean 20 more minutes of driving, but it was better than sitting there.She drove through a rich looking neighborhood and stopped behind another car as a group of kids crossed the street. That gave her enough time to see an old man and a girl in front of a huge house.The girl turned around and went to her car.Paris glanced at her and then took a double take.It was Francine!

She didn’t even recognize her!She pulled over to the side to let other cars go and watched her.She wasn’t dressed like herself.Her hair was in pigtails and she had on jeans and a tank top.Who was the old guy?Did she know him?Why was she dressed like that!?She waited for Francine to get in her car and she decided to follow her.What was she up to?

She followed her to her house and watched her from down the street.She saw her get out of the car and took her hair out of the pigtails and let herself in.Why wasn’t she at work?She sat there for a few minutes and thought.Then she pulled up in Francine’s driveway.She got out and rang the doorbell.

“Paris?”Francine said surprisingly as she opened the door,”What are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same thing”she said as she walked in,”Why aren’t you at work?”

“I should ask you the same thing” Francine said,mocking Paris.

“You really wanna know?”Paris asked as she sat down on a stool in the kitchen.

“Sure,I would like to know why my daughter isn’t at work”she said as she looked at her watch.”Its not even noon yet”

“I quit”Paris said nonchalantly as she took a grape out of the wicker bowl on the table.

“YOU WHAT!?”Francine said as she went over to her,”WHY!?”

“Hey don’t yell.I wanted to.Its my life and I didn’t want to work there anymore so I quit”

“So that means your unemployed!?”

“Yeah”

“Paris!?How can you be so stupid-“

“Francine,why are you freaking out!?You didn’t like that I worked there anyways”

“But it was good money though!You make more than I made”

“I made more than you made”Paris corrected her,”So you only liked me working there cuz I made a lot of money?”

“Yeah.I mean you wrote about nonsense.I never read a single article that you wrote there but you made a lot of money.That would make anyone happy”

“Not me”Paris said,”Its not about the money anymore”

“Paris now your unemployed.Now that you have this new apartment…how are you going to support yourself?!”

“I don’t know!I will find another job”Paris said.

“Well don’t bother right?Just move out and move back in with Justin”

“I cant”Paris said sadly,”Justin knows…he knows everything.Its too late,its over now”

Francine sighed,”I told you so”

“DON’T SAY THAT!”Paris shouted,without meaning to.She hated when people said that,”Your saying that like you know everything,like you know what Ive been through”

“See what you got yourself into!?” Francine said,”You have no job,no boyfriend and if this unemployment keeps up you wont have a place to live!Your gonna be completely alone”

“I shouldn’t be completely alone Francine!Your family!You’re my-“

“Don’t say it”Francine said,”Just stop right there.Yes I am family but I'm certainly not that”

“Your right,you don’t look it”Paris said as she looked at Francine’s outfit.”Why are you wearing that?”

“What?This?”Francine asked quietly

“No the evening gown”Paris said sarcastically,”Yes that…what your wearing now”

“I was cleaning the house”Francine said,”I have the day off”

Paris frowned,she looked at Francine.She was lying to her and she felt disrespected,”Your lying”

“How can you accuse me of such a thing?”

“Cuz I know you weren’t cleaning!I know that you just got home and I know that you were in some rich neighborhood over some old guys house!What about Leo?Why are you lying to me!?”

Francine looked at her,”You have been spying on me?”

“No,I just happened to be at the right place at the right time”

“No you were in the wrong place at the wrong time”

“Whatever….Francine what is going on?”

“Paris just…get out”Francine said,she was getting upset and Paris knew that something was going on.She wanted to understand her,she wanted so much to know what was going on with her mother.

“No Fran.I wanna know whats going on!”

“And I have the right not to tell you!”

“I told you everything.How I don’t have a job,about Justin-“

“That’s why you need to leave now.Go out and find a job because I don’t want you to be like me!”Francine exclaimed

“Fran!?What are you talking about!?You have a job!”

“No…not a real one”Francine said

“Wait…what?”Paris asked,this was too weird and it was going too fast.It was hard to keep up

“I was fired!I'm not a social worker anymore…I don’t have a career!That’s why I was at that man's house today….”Francine said,she was very upset

“Why were you at his house?When did this happen?Fran,I'm sorry”Paris said as she got up and tried to comfort her

“NO,JUST GO”Francine shouted,”Paris just get out!Now!”she said as she pushed her toward the door.

“Fran!?Please just tell me whats wrong!?I wanna help you!”Paris said as tears came to her eyes,shes never seen her this upset.Shes never seen Francine cry or come even close to crying and this was a shock to her

“No just go”Francine said,”Please Paris…don’t end up like me.Broke and alone”she said and then slammed the door in her face

Paris stood there shocked.What was going on?Why was Francine acting this way?What was really going on with her?Tears came to her eyes as she sadly accepted defeat and walked away.She went to the car and sat there.Too much happened today.She just needed to go home before this day got any worse.

*___________________*

After Francine's outburst,Paris found solace in going to the beach and just sitting there.She just sat there and reflected on what happened that day and how she should move on.

After sitting there for awhile, she decided to move on with her day. She went to the grocery store and stocked up on some food since her kitchen was pretty much bare since she just moved in.

Once she got home and put away all of her food,she laid down on a hammock on her small balcony and looked out at the water. She had too much on her mind and she had to let it out,she took out her diary.She hasn't written in it since her first date with Justin,it seemed so long ago now.

"Maybe I will just be broke and alone",she wrote and closed her book.

She sighed,whenever she used to write in her diary,she felt that she could get on with her day.But she didn't feel that way,writing in her diary just brought light to her problems.She sighed,she wished that she never lied to Justin, she wished that he was still here with her and she just wanted to be happy.

"If only I was a real romance writer"she said to herself with a sigh as she petted Baby. Then she sat up, she picked up Baby and ran into her room. She sat Baby on her bed and opened up her laptop and started typing.

When she was with Justin,she felt like she was the leading lady in a romance novel and Justin was her knight in shining armor.She felt that the only way to truly get over this was to write about it. She smiled as she remembered how she and Justin first met.

"Im gonna turn us into a romance novel"she said as she kept typing.

*________________________*

Paris kept typing all the way through the night. She sat at her desk in front of her laptop for days as she typed up her story.When she looked at her first draft, she felt proud. She didn't look it however, her hair wasn't combed,she looked pale and she had bags under her eyes for lack of sleep and eating. She remembered everything, from the first time they met, their first date and their "first time" and wrote what was also going on with her life.

She changed their names of course,she was now Nadia and Justin was now Jared. She changed the name of Inquiring Minds to In The Know and changed everyones names including Pierre,Lita,Chelsea and even Gabrielle and Sean. Everyone in her life became a character and she smiled as she sat there and saved her work. Even though she wasn't fully over what happened, this helped immensely.

She then got up and stretched, her body ached from sitting in the same position for a long time.Then the buzzer rang,who would be visiting her?,she thought.She went towards the door and Baby followed her.She opened the door and gasped,"Francine?"she asked

"Paris!?Thank God,where have you been?"Francine said as she entered her apartment.

"Ive been here"Paris said as she closed the door

"Then why haven't you been answering your calls?Ive been calling you for the past three days and I haven't heard from you"she said

"Three days?"she asked,was she really working on her story that long?

"Yep,it says right here"Francine said as she saw her answering machine blinking,"6 missed calls,which are all mine.What have you been doing?"

"Ive been here"Paris said

"Have you found a job yet?"

"No I haven't left home in three days"Paris said.Just then Baby started barking.

"Ohmygod!Its so cute,where did it come from?"Francine asked as Paris picked Baby up.

"Its not an it,her name is Baby….Justin gave her to me"

"Oh,he let you keep it?"

"Yeah,she is all I have left from him…and memories"she said

"Paris,don't tell me that over the past three days you have been sitting here moping"she said,"You look pale,like you haven't slept…I have never seen you like this"

"Me either,but I have been productive.I know what I wanna do with my life now"

"Oh really so you have found a job?"

"Yeah…Im gonna be a romance writer"

"Paris you cant just be a romance writer,you have to have some writings under your belt,you need a publisher-"

"I know that,but the past three days I worked on my first novel"she said,"Its called Rumors"

"Whats it about?"Francine asked,not sure what to say,hoping her daughter hasn't gone crazy

"Its about a tabloid writer falling in love with a rock star"she said

"That sounds familiar"Francine said,"Paris….writing a silly love story about what happened to you isn't going to help you…or put money in your wallet"

"Yes it will,it has helped me…and its not just about money Fran"she said,"What do you want anyway?Besides to boss me around"she said as she sat down on her couch

"I was worried about you,ever since what happened the other day,my outburst…I have done a lot of thinking and I tried getting in touch with you,but you weren't around, its like you disappeared off the face of the earth"Francine said as she sat next to her

"Well Im fine"Paris said,"Are you ok?"

"Yes….Paris…I have some things to tell you.Things that you deserve to know"

"What is it?"

"Well its more than one thing…I don't even know where to start"she said.She sighed,"Ok…well,you might still be wondering why I am also unemployed and what I was doing over that mans house"

"You don't have to…its your business"

"But I want to tell you"Francine said.She took a deep breath,"I am unemployed because I was fired,they fired me about three weeks ago…social work…it's a great field but its not for me…I started losing all my clients and they let me go"

"So you haven't worked in three weeks?"Paris asked

"Legally no…."

"Huh?"Paris asked

"Just let me explain this"Francine said as she held up her hand to stop her,"I got desperate and I called an escort service and they hired me"

"You are a prostitute?!"

"No!Im not"Francine said quickly,"No I didn't stand on the corner I did none of that.I pretty much did it from my own home.A person who wants an escort calls the service and explains what they need and the service calls the escort.I became very popular…I even had a man call me every other day…."

"Fran-"

"Don't interrupt Paris,please"she said."Im not gonna lie…it was fun at first.My first night on the job,some rich guy needed an escort because his wife was also having an affair on her business trips.He had a fetish with French maids so I went in a French maid outfit.We drank wine and he made love to me"she said and smiled,"Hes the one that called me every other day"she said,"I pretty much fulfilled mens fantasies. If they wanted a French maid,nurse,gypsy,whatever,I just dressed the part and roleplayed for them…but then it wasn't so fun anymore"

"I bet"Paris said

"One guy called me…he didn't want me to dress up,just come as you are.But when we had sex,he was so rough…I didn't like that very much.I left crying. Coincidentally that was the night that we had dinner at Justins,hes the reason why I had to leave…and I didn't want to"she said

"They called you?That's what was so important!?"Paris asked

"At the time?Yes,I wanted the money.I got paid a lot.The person payed me,the company payed me and there was a bonus for all the clients that I had.But I didn't want to leave…I wanted to stay…but they would have fired me"she said,she sighed and then continued,"But the one that put the icing on the cake was the other day…the day you saw me at that mans house"

"So that's why you were dressed like that?That's why you were there?"Paris asked,shocked

"But believe me,it didn't go that far"she said."The escort service called me,they gave me an address and said that the client requested a `young school girl'.I thought someone like your age or still in college.So I went to the mans house and he asked me my name and my age.I made up the name Sally and told him that I was 20.What really freaked me out was that he told me that he wanted me to roleplay a 15 year old.Whats worse is that he teaches English at the catholic high school in Beverly Hills…I couldn't do it…it was unethical to me…..I left and I called the service and told them that I wanted nothing to do with them anymore.I didn't feel like myself."

"So does Leo know?"Paris asked

"Leo and I aren't together anymore"she said

"Im sorry…what happened?"

"He told me he loved me"

"That's why?I thought you loved him too?"

"I thought I did….it was lust,but when he told me he loved me…I felt horrible.He truly meant it and I didn't.I didn't deserve to be with him and left.He called me,asking what was wrong…but I never returned his calls.Then he stopped calling…he moved on"she said

"Im sorry Fran-"

"That's why I need you to let go of this whole romance novel business.Its not practical.I don't want you ever to get so desperate that you turn to sex to make money or something you don't want to do"Francine said,"But its partly my fault.Ive never been there for you…if you feel desperate you should always turn to me….I am your mother"she said

Paris looked at her,did she say the M word?"What did you say?"

"That's right Paris…Im your mother.I have done a lot of growing up the past few days.Im your mother Paris,and I have been for 23 years,even though I hadn't acted like it"

Tears came to her eyes,"Why did you never say that you were my mother?Its like you didn't want to admit that I was your daughter-"

"No Paris….its not like that at all.I didn't want to admit that I was your mother because I wasn't acting like one,I felt I didn't deserve that title.So I had you call me by my first name….all these years"

Paris looked at her,"But why though?Why did you have me call you that?There had to have been a reason"

Francine sighed,"Theres a lot that you don't know about me.All those factors have lead up to the reason why I never allowed you or wanted you to call me mom"

"Oh"

"Paris…your father….wait,no let me start from the beginning"she said,"I was married when I was 18,I was happy,we both were happy.I was married to a man named Napier.He truly loved me and I loved him,but he was ready to grow up and I wasn't.He went to work everyday,did his 9 to 5.But I was 18,I wanted to go to clubs,concerts,hang with the girls.Then I met Gerald,your father,we had an affair.He was young and free spirited just like I was….but then I found out that I was pregnant. Napier and I assumed that it was his,but then he found out about Gerald….he demanded that I take a test.It turned out that Gerald was your father and Napier left me and so did Gerald because he didn't know about Napier.So I lied to you…he left because of me,it wasn't because he was an asshole.I had you believe that cuz I was upset with him and myself.And when you were born.It reminded me of the two of them and all the mistakes that I had made.In the hospital,the nurse asked me how it felt to be a mother and I told her that I wasn't a mother.I wasn't.I was too young and I didn't want any responsibility.I hired babysitter after babysitter because I didn't want to stay home and take care of you….I wanted to have fun.I was around 20 by this time and I still wanted to party with my friends.But they graduated and moved on and then it was you and me…I took care of you.I did the best I could.But from day one,I didn't feel like a mother,never acted like one and didn't want to admit to being one.Until now"she said.After that,she sat there and took a deep breath.She felt a big weight lifted off her shoulders.

"But Fran,even though I never called you mom,you always were my mother.It just hurt me that you never wanted me to say so"Paris said

"Now that's over.Im grown up now.No more late night clubs,no more late nights, I wont have different boyfriends every other month.Im 41 years old and I need to act like one.I need to settle down and get to know my daughter"she said.

Paris smiled at her through her tears,she never saw this side of her and she was shocked at what she said to her.This was a major breakthrough for the both of them,"I love you….Mom"she said

Tears came to Francine's eyes,"Wow…that feels great,to be called Mom.I love you too Paris"she said as she gave her daughter a hug.

*_________________________*

Later that night,the two of them bonded.Paris showed her around her new place and Francine cooked dinner for the both of them.They even cried together as they sat and watched "Steel Magnolias"

"Oh I used to love that movie.Still do"Francine said as she wiped her eyes

"Me too"Paris said

"Well Paris,I want to stay…but its late,I do need to get going"Francine said

"Ok…"she said,"You'll be ok?You can sleep here you know.I have an extra bedroom and a couch here"

"I'll be fine.I have some classifieds that I need to call.I have decided to go back to school and the only way to pay for that is through having a job"she said

"Really Mom?Your going back to school?"

"Yeah…I was a business major after all…but never opened my business"she said,"Paris…I really want you to know what you want to do too"

"Mom,I have made up my mind.Trust me,Im doing the right thing.Let me make my own mistakes"she said

Francine sighed,"Ok"she said as she hugged her."I hate mistakes"she said

"I know you do"she said

"But…Paris,you are talented…and even though I never read a single article that you wrote at that tabloid,and I feel ashamed for that…but I know that you are talented.I believe that you can be a writer,you just need something to fall back on"she said

"I know…thanks Mom"she said as she hugged her and kissed her on her cheek

"Good night huney"she said and left.Paris closed the door and smiled.For the first time in the past few days,she felt that she could move on and get something out of life.She could start over on a new slate.

*__________________________*

"Alright put a fork in it cuz that's a wrap!"the director said.Everyone cheered and Justin smiled as he saw the finished product on the screen.For the past two days,hes been running up and down the streets of New York City for the music video "Im Lovin' It"Now it was all done. Justin hugged the director and everyone that worked on the video.

"Cant wait to see the finished product Darrin"Justin said as he patted his director on the back

"Editing wont take too long,we'll be sure to send it to ya"he said,"This is gonna be another big hit for ya"he said,"Have a safe flight back to California"he said

"Thanks,you too…well back to Atlanta"he said and they both laughed.

After he said his goodbyes,he signed autographs for fans and then headed back to his hotel room. Once he got there though,the high that he felt on the set quickly went away.He had one of the biggest suites in the Waldorf Aastoria,it was beautifully decorated and he could have and had everything that he wanted.But he wasn't happy,for obvious reasons.

He was still very upset with Paris,but the fact that he loved her so much didn't make it easier for him to get over her.He took off his shirt and sat on the couch and relaxed in his jeans and wifebeater.Then his cell phone rang

"Yello?"

"Justin?Hey Ohmygod!"he heard a familiar voice shout through the phone.

He laughed,"Hey Stacy…whats wrong?"he asked,not sure if her outburst was about something good or bad

"Nothings wrong!Guess what I just heard!?"she asked.Before he could ask,she said,"'Where Is The Love?'I just heard it!"

"Seriously?"he asked

"Ohmygod it sounded so good!It sounds so much better when you hear it on the radio than in the studio"she said excitedly,"I cant wait to make the video"

"I bet the video will be great"he said and smiled,"Im sorry that I cant be there though"

"We know, we understand.We know you have better things to do,like making movies"Stacy said.In a few weeks he would start filming for the movie, Edison.He was very excited about that.Especially working with Morgan Freeman.

Justin laughed,"Yeah since Im such the fantastic actor.I don't do music videos anymore"he said

Stacy laughed,"So how is yours coming?"she asked him

"Its good and its done.Im chillin' in the room now"he said

"Hows New York?I haven't been there in awhile.Is Paris there with you?I remember that she told me that shes never been.I bet shes having fun"she said

Justin sighed,he forgot that she didn't know.And if Stacy didn't know then Lori didn't either."Paris isn't here"he said sadly

"Oh,she had to work?"she asked him

"No"he said remembering when Paris told him that she quit.He wondered how she was doing and couldn't help but feel worried for her.She was unemployed and alone in her new apartment

"Whats wrong?"Stacy asked,"I knew she wanted to go…it was something that she was looking forward to if she didn't have to work"

"Stacy…we aren't together anymore"he said quickly

"Your kidding right?"she said

"You know I wouldn't kid about something like that"

"What happened?"she asked him."Im so sorry"

He sighed and told her everything,he hated to repeat it but everyone who was close to him had heard about Paris and how much he loved her.Of course they were going to ask about her."So I left without her"he said,"Its over"

"That doesn't sound like Paris,she wouldn't do something like that"Stacy said,"I cant believe it"

"Believe it"he said harshly.Then he stopped,"Sorry"

"No its fine.Its natural to feel some animosity over this.Why would she make up a lie like that?Why couldn't she just tell you what she really does?"

"Did,she quit.But she was afraid that I wouldn't even give her a second look if she told me…which is understandable but still.You know how I am about liars,they don't deserve to be given a second look or a second chance"he said.They talked for a few more minutes and then he hung up.He looked at the tv and saw a hair commercial. He had to do a double take because the girl looked exactly like Paris.He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.Its like she was all around him,following him.It seemed that wherever he went,he saw a girl who looked like her.Even the girl in the video looked like her.It was so hard for him to focus and not think about her.

He sat there quietly,without even knowing it,a tear ran down his cheek.Even though he hated her,he missed her and its going to be hard to let go.But he had to face it,she was gone.

*___________________________*

*2 years later*

The audience cheered as Oprah came out onstage for her show. She smiled as she saw the women scream, cheer and even cry. This happened to her everyday but it all still seemed new to her.

"Hello!"she said excitedly to the crowd. She hugged some women and shook hands and when they all calmed down, the audience took their seats.

"Welcome to the show!"she said with a smile."Today is Oprah Book Club Day and we have the Book of the Month and the author of the book is here to talk about it herself"she said and the audience clapped."This book has reached the 1 million sales mark this week and the author is only 25 years old.Lets bring her out, the writer of the #1 New York Times Best Selling Novel,"Rumors". Here is Paris Madison!"she said and the audience cheered

*______________________*

"Wow it's good to be home"Justin said happily as he and his mom walked into his house."I haven't been here in more than a year"

"You've been busy baby"Lynn said as she put her purse down on the couch and sat down."It looks clean thank goodness"

"Yeah"he said as he sat down on the big comfy couch.Lynn turned on the tv and she started flipping through some channels.He just came back from overseas.His new movie, "Edison", did really well in the States and they had just premiered it overseas. They were expecting the same success over there also.He had a month off,which was a first in a long time,and then he was going to go back into the studio to work on the new *NSYNC album.He couldn't wait to get back together with the boys again.He sat there in a daydream until he heard his mother gasp.

"What?Whats wrong?"he asked,then he looked at the tv and gasped,"Paris?"he said

*________________________*

"Mom,calm down.My hair is fine"Paris said with a laugh as she waited backstage.She couldn't believe that her book was selected as Oprah's Book Of The Month.Just two years ago,she was going through the hardest times of her life and now she was considered a millionaire.

"I'm just trying to help you"Francine said as she brushed her hair and sprayed it with hairspray. "Its not everyday that you get to be interviewed by Oprah on national television"she said excitedly

"I know Mom"Paris said as she heard Oprah do her introduction,"Oh Mom…shes saying the introduction.That's me!"she said excitedly

"Break a leg baby"Francine said as she kissed Paris on the cheek.She was really proud of her.Paris hugged her back,she was thankful that she had her by her side.She wouldn't be able to do this alone.

"Paris Madison!"Oprah shouted and the audience cheered.Paris took a deep breath and walked onstage.She was shocked to see the audience cheer for her and Oprah standing there smiling.She went up to Oprah and hugged her and sat down. She was smiling from ear to ear and when the audience calmed down Oprah started the interview.

"Paris Madison everybody.Wow you are a very beautiful young woman,lets give her another hand"Oprah said.Paris blushed,Francine had good taste.She helped her pick out her outfit and it was a light olive green silk top with a matching skirt and heels.

"Thank you so much"Paris said

"Well first of all,I want to say congratulations"Oprah said,"This is your first published novel and its now a New York Times Best Seller.How do you feel?"she asked

"Its so surreal.To think that a few years ago I was just another working class citizen in LA"she said with a smile,"I'm still speechless about this really"

"Now I always say this to everyone that comes on my show.Singers,actors,etc…how did you know that you wanted to write romance novels?"

"Well I have to say its always been in me"Paris said,"I mean I wasn't a normal child who read Winnie The Pooh.I was reading romance novels when I was little.That's how I learned how to read and I never really watched cartoons.I always watched Young and the Restless with my mother.It was more interesting for me.I also feel that romance is in my blood due to me being an Aquarius. Aquarian's are hopeless romantics at heart and what better way to write about but romance?"she said

"So why are Aquarian's considered the romantics?"Oprah asked,"I do hear that a lot"

"Well the most important thing is that Valentine's Day is during the period of Aquarius?"Paris said simply

"Well of course,never really thought about that"Oprah said,"So lets talk about the book.You say that its your `baby',explain that"

"Well of course its my baby cuz its my first.And no one knows this until now,but it's a true story"

"Really?"Oprah said

"Well `Rumors' is really about me falling in love with a celebrity.It actually happened and I changed the names around for obvious reasons but Nadia is the character that totally represented me.Every character in the book was someone that I encountered in my life,but just with different names"

"Wow,so you totally put your business out on the street"Oprah said,"So tell us what the book is about for people who haven't read it.I read it and it was very good,very intriguing"

"Thank you"she said with a smile and then took a deep breath to explain,"Well `Rumors' is a true story about a tabloid writer that falls in love with a celebrity.Once the two start to get to know each other,its harder for the tabloid writer to tell the celeb the truth and the secret somehow gets out"

"So how much is the story true?"

"Well in the book,sorry to ruin the ending,but it's a happy ending.In real life, I had no happy ending"she said

The audience "awwed" in sympathy.Oprah grabbed her hand,"Well I'm sorry to hear that Paris.Now beside your troubles with your celeb boyfriend, you were also going through other troubles and they are all expressed in the book.Now that the world knows that its all true, why put it out there?"

"Well a person that I know has said write what you know.And all of this happened when I was writing it.I felt that getting over the hurt and the pain would be better if I write about it. Whenever I had problems I would always turn to my diary and write it down because that's just how I deal"she said,"I'm not ashamed of writing about the truth because I need to start telling the truth.The main reason why I lost him was because I didn't tell him the truth.And even though it hurt me I can understand why he left me.However,to this day,there is not a day that goes by when I don't think of him"she said

"Wow,that sounds like something out of a romance novel.So, many people can relate to this book?"

"Yeah you don't have to date a celebrity to relate to this book.There are many plots and storyline's that I incorporated.I mean a lot of people have lied to their partners and lost them over it, many have been cheated on, many were stuck in a job that they were just doing for the paycheck, many feel alone in the world because they lose contact with people they love, like friends and family and that all happens in my book"

"Now you talk about your mother in the book. That's true that you both didn't have a close relationship?"

"Yes that's true"

"She wouldn't let you call her mother?"

"Yeah that's true because she felt that she wasn't ready to be called that.Her character's name is Maxine and she explains it in the book as well.I don't want to give too much away"she said and laughed

"Does your mother mind that you put her business out there?"

"No,actually we are very close now and shes ok with it.Shes been with me every step of the way and I can call her mother now"she said with a smile

The audience clapped,"That's remarkable"Oprah said,"There's nothing like a reunion between mother and daughter"she said,"But here's a question that is now burning in everyone's brain….who was the celeb that you dated?"Oprah asked her

*_____________________*

"Justin, I'm going crazy right?"Lynn asked as they both stared at the television,"It cant….it cant be her"she said as they watched Paris sit down.

"Its her"Justin said as he watched her. They both listened and was shocked to hear that Paris was now an actual romance novelist. Who would have thought?

"She looks beautiful"Lynn said,"She still looks the same"

Justin looked at the television sadly,he watched as Paris tilted her head to the side as she listened to Oprah talk,she always did the same when he talked to her. He watched as she always tucked a small strand of her hair behind her right ear.He saw her beautiful smile and watched as she crossed her legs, he missed those legs….

"….who was the celeb you dated?"Oprah asked. Justin looked up,she wasn't going to tell was she?

The audience cheered egging her on,all of them wanted to know.Paris smiled and blushed a little,but she shook her head,"No I cant tell you.The only person who knows is my mother and a close friend of mine.But I want to keep that part of me sacred.I don't like to talk about things I don't want to talk about.Due to the fact that he may be upset if I even utter his name but mostly because when I was a tabloid writer,I had to write lies about a celeb about twice a week"

"So you quit?"

"Yeah I couldn't do it anymore.And he showed me that I was just writing for the paycheck and after I quit,my mom and I got closer.We both struggled because we both were unemployed.Two years ago I struggled"

"What kind of struggles did you go through?"Oprah asked.Justin watched as Paris looked up and then down again,that was also something that she did when something upset her.

"Ugh….well I lost my apartment due to the fact that I couldn't pay for it. I had to work at Hooters since no one else would hire me.I didn't have any experience except for writing.So I moved in with my mother,but she was struggling too and soon we were kicked out of her house.We lived in a shelter for a few months…."she said,then she sighed.Justin sighed as her eyes started to get watery,but she continued. "But then a friend of mine who worked at Hooters….she gave me a number to someone who knew a publisher and the rest is history but yeah I struggled.There were days when me and my mom woke up and we both just wanted to die"

Justin sighed,he didn't know that Paris went through that.He felt so guilty.He threw her out in the street,he was just like Sean.Even though she lied….it didn't do what he did any justice at all.He couldn't listen anymore.

"You want me to turn it off baby?"Lynn asked,she could see that he was very uncomfortable

"No"he said as the audience laughed at something Oprah said,he saw that Paris was laughing too,her face was lit up,she looked beautiful.He missed her,he still loved her….he couldn't watch this anymore,this was like torture.He stood up

"Where you going?"Lynn asked,"I can turn it off-"

"No,you can watch it if you want.I just…I need to unpack"

"Honey that's what you pay Jose for"Lynn said with a small smile

"Mom,you never raised me to not do things that I can do on my own.Why pay someone else?That's what you have always said right?"

Lynn smiled,"Right"she said

"I have nothing else to do anyways"he said as he went upstairs.Lynn sighed and changed the channel,she knew that he was upset.He hasn't been in this house since the incident and she knows that this place was still full of Paris' memory. Even though she hated Paris for what she did to Justin,she knows that he still loves her.And she can understand why.

*_______________________*

"Thank you Jose,but I can take it from here"Justin said to him,he gave him a huge tip anyway and he left the room.Its been so long since he slept in this room,he looked at the bed with the silky white sheets and remembered all the nights that Paris had laid with him there.He saw something that caught his eye and walked over to his nightstand.It was a picture of him,Paris and Baby.It was the day that she first got the puppy,it seemed like they were a happy family.He sighed and put it down, he knew he should throw it away, that was all done.Over.Gone.But he still couldn't let go.

He sat on the edge of his bed and opened up one of his suitcases.He picked something out of it when he heard a voice call his name."Yeah?I'm here"he said loudly

"There you are babe"Paris said happily as she ran into the room and jumped onto the bed. Baby followed her.

"Hey baby"he said as she sat behind him and put her arms around his neck.He smiled

"You excited?"she asked him

"I'm always excited when you touch me"he said with a wicked smirk

"No stupido"she said with a laugh,"Are you excited about going to New York?"she asked him

"Of course.I love it there and I'm gonna be doing what I love while I'm at it"he said,he turned to her,"Your coming right?"

Paris' smile faded a little when he asked that,but then she smiled a little,"Well I don't know.I'm working on it"

"Whats there to `work on'?"he asked her,"You ask your boss, she says yes,you pack and leave with me"

"But your leaving Thursday.I know I cant leave Thursday.The earliest is Friday afternoon"she said,"But I would love to come.Ive never been on the East Coast.Ive never been to the Big Apple.It will be exciting"she said and soon her award winning smile was back in effect.

"I'll take you shopping on Fifth Avenue,ride in a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park,take a cruise around the city,see a Broadway show,eat a five star meal-"

"Justin,don't get ahead of yourself.I'll be there with you for two days tops and you'll be working"

"So…there will be time for us.I'll make time"he said and smiled at her

"Ok"she said,she smiled at him,"Ok continue"

"Continue what?"

"You left off at eating a five star meal"

"Oh yeah"he said,"Oh go ice skating in Rockefeller Center-"

"Its July stupido!"she said and laughed

"Ok well you can still skate stupido!"he said and laughed,"Stop interrupting me,what else can we do…."he said,then he smiled at her,"Oh and of course we will stay in a 5 star hotel and….do each other"

"How charming!How romantic!"Paris said and laughed,"We'll `do' each other!Great and romantic choice of words!"she said as she laid down next to him

"You know you wanna"he said as he leaned over her and started tickling her

She started laughing hysterically,"Justin! Stop! Justin! Justin!"she kept saying over and over

"Justin….Justin!JUSTIN"came a voice.Justin shook his head a little and looked around the room. Paris and Baby were gone.Lynn took their place.He had a flashback but it felt so real

"Are you ok?"she asked him,"I called your name like 6 times"

"Sorry,a little out of it"he said

"JC called.He said call him back when your free"

"Ok"he said sadly

"Are you sure your ok?"she asked him

"Yeah…jet lag…"he said,"That's all"he said as he took out one of the shirts and set it on the bed beside him

"Alright,well make sure to get some rest then"she said to him and left the room and closed the door

He shook his head,he swore that she was here.He could have sworn that it was all real.But it wasn't.It was the past.2 years ago.He still thought about her,he still missed her,he still loved her.But why did she have to lie and hurt him?

He didn't want to and he didn't mean to,but a tear fell down his cheek.Soon even more came. There were so many emotions swimming in his head,but it was mostly a mixture of missing Paris and also feeling hurt from her as well.He couldn't help it but he laid down on his bed and broke down.

*______________________*

Lynn walked toward her room and passed Justin's room on the way.She heard a sound from his room and leaned against the door to hear.He was crying.She knew why.He still loved her,she knew it.Now she really knew that this girl was different than the others.Her motherly instinct told her to knock on the door,"Justin?"she asked and walked in.She saw him lying on the bed with his hands over his face."Baby?Whats wrong?"

He sat up and he looked devastated.It took her back to about ten years ago when Justin found out that the MMC was canceled.It also took her back to two years ago when he first found out what Britney had done.She hated seeing him like this.

"Mom?"he said,she walked over to the bed and laid next to him

"Its ok huney,cry it out.Just cry it all out"she said as she held her baby boy close to her as she rocked him

"I miss her"was all he could say

"Shhhh"she said,"Just cry it all out…."she said

*_____________________*

"Well that's a breathtaking story"Oprah said,"I'm so glad that you and your mother have been together through those hard times"

"Me too.I couldn't have done any of this alone"Paris said

"Your mother is backstage right?"Oprah asked her

"Yeah she is,she had to see her baby girl be on Oprah"Paris said with a laugh

"Alright lets bring her out!Come on out Mom!"Oprah said as she stood up.Francine came out excitedly and ran to Oprah and hugged her

"I love you!"Francine said excitedly.Paris laughed,she was acting like a crazed cheerleader on crack cocaine again,just like when she first met Justin."I watch your show everyday!"Francine said to her

"Why thank you"Oprah said as she hugged Francine.Once she was calmed down,she sat next to Paris,"You have a lovely and talented daughter and you are lovely yourself"

"Oh stop!"Francine said with a laugh."But yes I have a beautiful and talented daughter and I am very proud of her"

"So what is mother doing while her child is being a bestseller?"

"I travel with her whenever I can.I am currently taking classes for business,starting my life over really and I am managing a small boutique in LA"she said with a smile

"So I'm guessing that both of you are happy now"

"Yes much happier than two years ago"she said

Soon there was only a few minutes left in the show,"Alright before we go.I have a gift for everyone in the audience.You all have a copy of `Rumors' under your seat and a $50 gift certificate to any Barnes and Noble to keep your reading skills flowing!"Oprah said excitedly.The audience cheered as all of them reached under their seats and picked up a copy of the book and an envelope

"Alright Paris,Francine,I wanna thank you both for coming to the show.Come back anytime,before we go….are you going to try to top `Rumors' with your next project?"

"Oh yes of course"Paris said with a smile,"The next story is called `Heartbeat' and it should be released by the end of this year or January at the latest"she said

"We will be looking forward to that"Oprah said,"Thank you two again for coming and we will see you all tomorrow!"Oprah said as the theme music came on and the audience stood up and cheered as the credits rolled.

*_______________________*

"I cant believe that I was just on Oprah!"Paris said excitedly to her mother as they both sat in the limo.She had a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Times Square and that's where they were going, if the traffic ever let up.She thought that LA traffic was bad but New York's was the worst. She turned on the tv.

"I cant believe it either huney"Francine said as she sat with her and opened a bottle of champagne and poured herself a glass."Want some?"

"I'm fine thanks"Paris said as she flipped through the channels. She then stopped on MTV and gasped, it couldn't be. Then she realized who she was looking at. It was Stacey, and it was her music video with her group the Black Eyed Peas. The last time she saw her was two years ago. She probably heard about the whole ordeal through Justin and she probably hated her now. Tears came to her eyes when she thought of him, she missed him and she still loved him. But she had to fuck up everything.

"Paris? Huney what's wrong?"Francine asked her

"Its Stacey"Paris said

"Who? Who the hell is Stacey?"

Paris looked at her,"Oh..I forgot, you never got to meet her"

"How do you know her?"

"Shes a friend of Justin's and was a friend of mine"Paris said,"I met her, along with her friend Lori, at a party that he threw at his house. Then, during the week that I stayed with him, while he was doing his thing and working and such, she and Lori took me shopping on Rodeo and we had all these girl talks, the girl talks that I never had. I could talk to them about anything....they probably hate me now"

"Why would they hate you?"

"Cuz of what I did-"

"Paris! Huney, I know its easier said then done but you need to get over that. Ok yeah so what if they hate you? It was a mistake you made but you cant go on dragging that shit around you for the rest of your life you hear me?"Francine said to her. She took the remote and changed the channel from the Black Eyed Peas video. "Paris,you got so many good things going for you.'Rumors' is still selling strong and will almost reach the 2 million sales mark by next week, your next book is sure to be a hit and you bought your first house in the Hills"she said as she took Paris' hand,"Huney, you need to move on from that and be happy"

"I know Mom"Paris said,"Its just hard when your stuck on someone. I'm trying but...its gonna be a long recovery"

Soon the limo stopped,"Ok we are here. Your meeting fans ok? Paris you have fans! So wipe your eyes and leave that shit in the past"

"Ok"Paris said as she wiped her eyes

"I demand you to be happy this instant!"Francine said

Paris laughed,"Ok your majesty! I am now happy upon your command"she said as she scooted over and went in through the back door.She met with the owner and the manager of the store and talked to them and then they lead her to the main floor and saw the line of people,"They're waiting to see me?"

"Yes,they are all here for you"the manager said

Paris smiled,this was so surreal. She sat down and the crowd cheered and then the line started to move. She picked up her pen as a girl approached her.

"Paris Madison! Ohmygod! I have to say that I love this book!"the girl said as she handed her the book and Paris opened it to the inside cover page

"Thank you so much"Paris said,"What's your name?"

"Genesis"the girl said

"That's a pretty name"Paris said,"I like it"she said as she wrote a small message and signed her name,she never thought that she would be signing autographs."Here ya go,and thank you so much for reading it"

"Yeah and thank you!"Genesis said excitedly and ran off with a squeal

*_______________________*

An hour later,Paris took many pictures and signed so many books, she lost count. Her hand was tired and she was kinda sick of writing her name over and over again. But this was all worth it. She never thought that her book would touch people in such a way. Without looking up, she said,"Whats your name?"to the person who approached her as she reached to get another pen

"Pierre Monroe"came a familiar voice

Paris looked up and gasped. Pierre? Her Pierre?"Ohmygod"

"I don't want to hold up the line by talking to you too much but you have to promise me that after this signing thing, we need to talk ok?"

"Yeah I promise"Paris said still shocked

Pierre took the book back,"Don't bother signing it.You can sign it later"he said and then walked off

*_________________________*

Another hour past and the book signing was done.She told Francine about Pierre and Francine went ahead and took the limo back to the hotel.She found Pierre outside and gave him a hug,"You were outside all this time?"

"No actually I just got out here"Pierre said,"Well damn look at you huney.You look great"

"You do too"she said

"So where's your limo?"

"Mom took it back to the hotel"

"Damn her! I wanted to ride in it!"he said.He was still the same,then he looked at her,"Mom?"

"Yeah, its a long story"

"I know. I read about it in your book,which is wonderful by the way but....why is my name Adam? Do I look like an Adam?"

Paris laughed,"I couldn't use your name Pierre and that's the one I came up with"

"Its so...boring and innocent"he said and laughed

"Which is certainly not you, I know"Paris said,"So you know where you wanna go?"she asked.They walked across the busy streets of Times Square and sat in the back of a Starbucks,"They have these on every corner!"

"Yeah, oh I forgot that you have never been here. How do you like it so far?"

"Its busy. I thought LA was bad"Paris said,"But I have been so busy that I haven't been able to do any sightseeing. What are you doing here by the way?"

"Oh I took my sick leave as a good way to visit my Aunt Glo"he said and smiled,"Ricco came with me"

"Really? Where is he? Your still with him?"

"Yes and we are very much in love.Aunt Glo is the only one in my family that accepts, so I let him meet her. Hes with her now"

"That's great that you two are still together.I'm sorry about your parents"

"I'm sorry too"Pierre said,"So...its been...so long.That last time I saw you was when....you quit"

"Wow, that was so long ago"she said,then she grabbed his hand,"Oh! I'm so sorry about the things I said that day in my office-"

"Huney, I know you were sorry or we wouldn't be here talking. Don't even think about that,that was soooo two years ago"he said

"Sorry, its hard to let go of stuff like that"she said,"I cant believe the things that I said and what I did, I definitely did some growing up over the past two years-"

"You still miss him don't you?"he said to her

"Miss who?"

"You know who"

"Yeah...and I don't want to talk about it"she said,"God I remember him saying that everyone should come here once before they died and I remember that he wanted me to come with him when he shot the 'I'm Lovin' It' video, but I never made it...I never got to go"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about him"he said

"Yeah...I don't"she said as she caught herself."I cant think about him anymore, but its hard. I still cry about him. I still miss him, I still love him"

"Call him, is he still living in the same place?"

"I don't know, but I cant. The past is in the past. I missed my chance"she said sadly

Pierre sighed and grabbed her hand,"Baby I'm sorry"he said,"I wanna cheer you up"he said

"I'm fine, you don't have to"she said,"So what's going on with you?"

"Well I'm still at Inquiring Minds, with my own big office"

"You were promoted?! Congratulations!"Paris said

"Oh and guess what? Gabrielle was fired!"

"Seriously!? When? How? Why?"

"It happened last month, fraternization"he said,"Big no no and what made it so bad was she and the guy that she was seeing, were caught 'doing the deed' in Lita's office, on a security camera!"

"Ohmygod! I didn't know that she was so stupid!"Paris said,"I'm sorry to say this but I am very happy about that"

"Me too, except for the fact that I get along with everyone. I kinda miss yelling at her"he said,"Oh and Chelsea isn't a secretary anymore"

"Oh? She got promoted too? That's great, she totally deserves it, she's really talented"

"No,she didn't get promoted. She quit"

"Really?"

"Yeah, she said that writing celebrity gossip was below her and she couldn't do it anymore. Shes working at LA Times"

Paris remembered that she said the exact same things to Chelsea when she quit.She didn't think that Chelsea would take her advice but she's glad that she did."That's great, I'm happy for her"

"Yep, that's pretty much it. LA is the same, its the same shit, different day around there"

"Yeah I feel ya"

"That's why this week me and Ricco are living it up"Pierre said,then he smiled wide,"Oh!Oh!Ohmygod!"

"What?"

"You can come out with us tonight! New York City has the best gay clubs and Ricco and I are gonna see his friend in a show. His friend is named Destiny and he....well now she is a drag queen...or is now a real queen....ugh,whatever. You gotta come!We haven't been clubbing in so long!Please!"

Paris laughed,"Ok ok ok. I will come out with you tonight. I wanna see you before I leave tomorrow"

"Your leaving already?"he said,"When will I see you again?"

"Whenever you want. I still live in LA, just in the Hills"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I bought my first house. Its a dream"she said

"Party at Paris' house!"

"No! Not yet, I haven't even finished unpacking everything!"she said and laughed

Pierre finished his coffee and got up and pulled her up with him,"Come on lets go. Ricco wants to see you and so does Aunt Glo"

"Ok ok ok, don't pull my arm off"she said as she ran out with him onto the sidewalk and Pierre hailed a cab. She smiled, he was still the same. She thanked God that he was still in her life.

*_______________________*

*6 months later*

"Happy birthday to you!Happy birthday to you!Happy birthday dear Justin!Happy birthday to you!"came a whole crowd of voices as he and his mother walked into his house later on that night.Justin stood back in surprise as he looked at all the people in his house.There was his stepfather, Johnathan, Nana and Grandpa, Joey, Lance, Chris, JC, Lori, Stacey and the guys in the Black Eyed Peas.He started laughing and turned to his mother and said,"You planned this didn't you?"

"Of course I didn't"she said and winked at him as they both walked in.He went over and gave a hug to every single person that was there.Then Nana brought out her homemade birthday cake that he has loved since he was a child.He smiled at her,"Thanks Nan"

"No problem huney,you deserve it.You have been working so hard and I am so proud of you"Nana said as she hugged him,then she pulled back,"You're too skinny!You need to eat boy!"

Everyone started laughing."Blow out your candles, make a wish"Johnathan said to him

"Ok I will"Justin said,"But first,everyone I have an announcement to make"he said,"I auditioned for this new movie called 'Alpha Dog' and I got the part"he said excitedly

"Ohmygosh!Your gonna be a movie star!"Lori said happily

"Naw I'm far from that but thanks though"he said and laughed as there were a million "That's greats" and "Congratulations"

"Blow out your candles,make a wish"Johnathan said earnestly, he was hungry

"Alright"Justin said as he shuffled the boys curly,blond hair.He was becoming a split image of him and rumor has it that he already had a girlfriend at the middle school he went to back in Tennessee.Justin closed his eyes and made a wish,knowing it probably wouldn't come true,but he had a little hope in him.Then he opened his eyes and took a deep breath and blew out all 26 candles.They all clapped and cheered and soon the cake was devoured by all of them.

"Wow baby your getting so old"Lori said as she gave him another hug

"Thanks a lot Lori"Justin said with a laugh

"That's exactly what he wants to hear on his birthday"Stacey said and laughed,"We're both not too far behind him you know"

"It was a joke!Geez!"Lori said and laughed,"So besides the movie,what else is in store for ya?"

"Well of course we are nominated for 8 Grammy's"Justin said and smiled.*NSYNC's sixth album was a huge hit this past year and being nominated for so many was a blessing. They still had it.All the guys were proud."So we will be performing there and hopefully taking something home"he said.He smiled at Stacey,"Of course,congratulations on your nominations as well"he said to her.The Black Eyed Peas were nominated for 4 Grammy's for their newest album also

"Thanks"Stacey said,she looked around the packed house,"It seems like all of our wishes came true huh?We are all doing so well"

"Oh by the way,what did you wish for?"Lori asked

"Lori,he can't tell or it wont come true"Stacey said

Justin laughed."It wont come true anyways"he said softly

"That's the spirit"Lori said,"Now you can tell me then"

Justin laughed a little. He didn't know why, but he wished that Paris was there, or at least called to wish him a happy birthday. Just a sign of her would be nice, he still missed her. He wondered how her birthday went, knowing that her birthday was a few days before his. He was about to open his mouth to tell them his wish, when the doorbell rang. He froze,it couldn't be.

He watched as his mother went to the door and opened it. She had a very surprised look on her face. Was it her? Then he saw her hug the person and the person stepped inside. It was Christina Aguilera!

"Come in, come in"Lynn said as she brought her in,"We didn't know you were coming,this is such a surprise"she said as Christina stepped in,"JUSTIN!Its Christina"

He was very surprised and happy that Christina could make it,but it would have been better if Paris walked in the door.He,Lori and Stacey ran over to her and gave her hugs

"Hey birthday boy!"Christina said as she gave him a hug

"This is such a surprise"Justin said,"How have you been?"

"I'm on my month off and then I'm gonna go into the studio and write for my next album"she said and smiled,"So this is your place huh?"

"Oh yeah,I forgot that you haven't seen it"Justin said,"Yep this is it.Ive had it for almost three years now"he said,"Let me show you around"he said as he took her hand and walked her upstairs showing her all the bedrooms

"Damn,I'll need to stay here instead of the Hilton"she said and laughed

"Here's the master"Justin said and opened the door into his room

"Wow!Silk sheets!Now you know you made it when you have silk sheets"Christina said,"I need to invest in some"she said as she felt the silk

"Yeah I made it I guess"he said and laughed

"Oh shut up and stop being modest"Christina said,"Boy,you alone are worth like 50 million bucks"

"60 now,after this last album we did.Who knows what will happen with this new movie"

"You got 'Alpha Dog'?"Christina asked.Justin nodded his head,"Yay!I'm so happy for you!I wish I could act but those days are long over"She hasn't really acted in anything since the MMC,but wants to keep it that way,she was more focused on singing.She noticed something and pointed to it,"Who's that?"she asked

Justin looked in the direction that she pointed to,it was the picture of him,Paris and Baby.He always had the urge to throw it away but never had the heart to do it."Oh....no one"he said,"Let me show you the fun room"he said

"Shes beautiful"Christina said as she picked up the picture,"She looks familiar"

"Shes no one"he said

"Oh!That's Paris Madison!"Christina said,"Oh I have her book and her poetry book too.How did you meet her?"

Justin sighed,"We used to date"

"Really?When did this happen?"Christina asked

"About 2 1/2 years ago,it was around the time you were on tour overseas I think"he said,"It lasted about a month then she-"

"Lied?"Christina interrupted,"This is the one?"

"Yeah,shes the one alright." In more ways than one.

"And you still have her picture?"Christina asked him,"You still like her don't you?"

"Um,come on,I didn't show you the rest of the house"

"Justin,answer me"Christina asked

"Yeah,I'm still in love with her"he said and sighed,"But Chris,its over now-"

"Its never over"Christina said

"Its not that simple Chris"he said

"Things aren't as hard as they seem to be.Sometimes people make things so difficult then they really are"she said,"Especially you"

"No I don't"he said

Christina sighed,"Ok I wont bug you anymore.You can show me the fun room,but Justin...."

"What?"he asked as they walked out the room

"Don't give up just yet"she said

*____________________________*

"Ohmygod!Im so sick of unpacking!"Paris said as she sat on her new black leather couch

"Huney,your done.We unpacked the last thing.Your house has been fully furnished"Francine said as she sat down next to her,"Good job" she said as she gave her a high five

Paris laughed,"We're a good team"she said,"Wow I'm so happy that I have my own place,my own house even.Your welcome to stay whenever you want"she said to her.The house was big,but not too big but it was big enough to make her feel lonely all by herself.

"Oh you know I will take advantage of staying in a house in the Hills"Francine said and winked at her.Just then Baby ran into the room and jumped onto the couch,"Ohhh!Shit that thing scared me.She cant be on this couch.Its expensive and real leather"

"Baby is not a thing and she can get on it if she wants to.I paid for it"Paris said as she picked Baby up and gave her a kiss

Francine frowned,"I don't know how you kiss that thing"she said

"Mom!Shes not a thing!"

"I know I heard you the first time"Francine said.Paris put the dog down and got up."Where are you going?"

"Its Saturday,I gotta get my run in before the sun sets"Paris said

"But you have been running around this whole house,doesn't that count?"

"No"Paris said with a laugh

"Well I'm gonna be on my way then"Francine said as she looked at her watch,"Leo and I are going to try to catch a movie or something"Francine and Leo got back together and sorted out all the problems that they had.Francine's boutique was doing well and Leo was proud of her.Paris was happy for her.

Paris gave her a hug,"Well tell Leo and Shaylyn I said hello"she said,"Have fun,but not too much"

Francine laughed,"I can promise you the hello's but not the last part"

"Eeeew Mom"Paris said and laughed,"Get outta here"she said.She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and Francine left.Paris looked around the house and smiled,she still couldn't believe that it was all hers.

*___________________________*

"Gas costs too damn much!"Francine said as she filled up the gas in her car.She stood there as the tank filled up and saw a familiar looking face at the pump next to hers.No,it couldn't be.

"Francine?"she heard someone say.She turned and it was the mystery person.He took off his sunglasses and it was Justin

"Justin?"Francine said as she walked away from her car and walked up to him,"Hello,how are you?"

"I'm fine"he said as he gave her a hug,"Your looking good"

"Why thank you"

"So what have you been doing lately?"he asked her

"Now you know that I'm the last person you wanna know about"she said

Justin laughed,"I do wanna know,about both of you"

"Well I opened up my own boutique on Rodeo.We don't have anything for guys like you,but that will change once I enlarge the place"

"That's great"he said,"Congratulations on your own business"

"Thanks. Paris is doing well"Francine said,"Shes working on her new book and we just finished unpacking her house about 15 minutes ago"

"I'm happy that shes happy"

"Shes doing well,but shes not happy.She misses you,you know"

"She does?"he asks her

Francine sighed and went in her purse and got out a pen and paper,"I don't understand you kids these days"she muttered as she wrote something down,"To make a long story short Justin,she is still in love with you and misses you terribly.I know you feel the same way so here's her address and phone number"she said and handed him the paper

Justin took it and was about to say something

"No,don't thank me.Don't say a word.Do what you want with it,throw it away,whatever.But I suggest very strongly not to give up and just take a chance"Francine said,"Have a good day now"she said and walked back to her car

Justin looked at the paper and looked up,"Fran!?"She turned around,"Is she at home still?"he asked her

Francine smiled,"Its Saturday,she still goes on those runs on the beach.But shes only out there for about an hour tops.You have time to surprise her"she said,"I'm sure the door is unlocked.I need to remind her about that"

"Thanks"he said.Once the gas tank was full,he got in his car and drove off

*_____________________________*

"Whooo"Paris said as she walked in the back door of the house.She went over to the refrigerator and got out some water and laughed,she was so busy furnishing the place that she forgot to put any food in the house.She was too tired to do it now,she just wanted to take a bath.She took a sip of the water and walked toward the steps.She saw that there was a trail of rose petals going up the steps.She sighed,Baby must have gotten to those roses again.

She didn't bother to pick them up as she followed the trail upstairs and down the hall and straight into her bedroom.She walked in and gasped

*_________________________*

Justin smiled as he saw her walk in and gasp.She looked the same,still beautiful.He stood up and held the other dozen roses in his hand."I know, your probably like,how the hell did he get here?"he laughed a little,"I ran into your mother at the gas station and she gave me your information.I'm glad she did.She told me that you miss me and I feel the same way about you"he said as he slowly walked toward her.She stood in the exact same spot,not moving and just staring at him

"Paris,I'm willing to move on.Even through all that we went through two years ago,you were always on my mind.I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.I wanna forget everything and just start where we left off"he said as he stepped closer to her,"I know that I promised to never leave you before and I did....but I feel that I grew up these past two and a half years and I will never leave you Paris.I love you"he said as he got choked up a little.He never would have thought that he had this chance again to talk to her,to see her.

Paris looked at him and laughed a little as tears came to her eyes,"I left the door unlocked didn't I?"she asked and then laughed

He laughed,"Yeah,your mother said that she needs to talk about that with you"he said

"Oh"she said.She couldn't believe that he was standing there and she couldn't move due to shock and she was scared to even touch him. However,her emotions got the best of her,"I missed you too"she said,"I still cry over you,I still love you and all this time it feels like a part of me was missing"she said

Justin came closer to her,"I feel the exact same way"he said.She pulled him toward her and hugged him.They stood there for awhile,crying in each others arms and not wanting to let go.Then Justin pulled her face toward his and kissed her.Two and a half years of pain and love came out into that kiss and it was so strong that it scared the both of them.When they both pulled away,they laughed

"These are for you"he said to her as he gave her the dozen roses

"Thank you"she said as she took them,"I thought it was Baby eating my roses again"she said and laughed

"Baby is still here?"he asked her

"Yeah,she's got her own room,down the hall"Paris said and smiled

Justin sighed,"Your still beautiful"he said as he stroked her face

"You too"she said to him.He pulled her in for another kiss and he picked her up and walked toward the bed,"Your gonna take my virginity?"

He laughed,"I already did,I cant do it again"

"No,I'm a renewed virgin.I haven't had sex in almost three years,that renews my virgin license"she said and laughed

He laughed,"Fine,you can take mine away then too,if that's the case"he said as he laid her down on the bed,"Silk?"he said as he felt the light blue sheets

She smiled,"Yeah,you got me hooked"she said

"I'm hooked on you"he said,"You had me at hello"he said.She laughed and then kissed him,not ever wanting to let go and thanking God for this second chance

*____________________________*

"Wow we're home"Justin said as he held Paris' hand as they walked through the terminal of the Los Angeles Airport.He kissed her hand,"Now we can really begin our life together"

Paris smiled.She was now Paris Timberlake and just two weeks ago,she and Justin tied the knot in a private ceremony on the beach at Horseshoe Bay.There were about 100 guests in attendance, just close family and friends.She remembered that day like it was yesterday.It was lovely and action packed.After the ceremony,they had a reception on a private yacht that sailed around the Pacific.They certainly rocked the boat with a live jazz band and a DJ.After partying all night,they spent a week in Paris.Which seemed appropriate since it was the City of Love and she was named after the city.They spent the next week in New York so that Justin could take care of some work.Now they just arrived in LA and they were ready to set up their new house they just bought.They couldn't choose who should move in with whom so they sold their houses and bought a new one right on the beach.

"I love you Mr.Timberlake"Paris said as she gave him a kiss

"And I love you,Mrs.Timberlake"he said as he kissed her forehead. They walked toward a chauffeur who had a sign that said, "Sexual Chocolate" on it.That was a codename that Justin selected randomly so no fans would bother them.He started laughing,thinking that it was the funniest thing.Then he stopped laughing and stopped to look at something

Paris looked in the direction and saw that he was looking at a magazine.Inquiring Minds."Justin-"

"How did they know?"Justin said as he picked up the cover.There they were on the cover and it said,"BREAKING NEWS!:JUSTIN AND PARIS HAVE TIED THE KNOT! PG.7"

"Well they figured it out"Paris said and shrugged

"But how,we didn't even tell anyone that we were engaged"Justin said.He wanted it kept a secret so no one would bother them.If they just acted like they were just dating and happy,the paparazzi doesn't bother you as much.

Paris lifted up her left hand and flashed her engagement ring,"Well baby,this rock is really big.How could they have missed it"she said

"I only wanted the best for my baby girl"he said as he stroked her face.Justin opened the magazine,"How did they get pictures!?"he looked at her,"It wasn't Pierre was it?"

"No,he promised that he wouldn't tell anyone"she said,she looked at the author and the photographer.They were two people that she didn't know."I don't know them, they must be new or gotten their information from another source"she looked at it closer and started laughing,"Was that shot taken from a tree?"she asked

"I'm gonna buy it"he said

"Why?"

"Just to see what they say about us"he said as he took it to the cashier,"And since my wifey used to work there"he said and winked at her

Paris rolled her eyes,"Your never gonna let go of that.Your never gonna let me live that down are you?"

"Nope"he said simply,he thanked the cashier and they walked toward the chauffeur

"Sexual Chocolate I presume?"he asked them

"Of course"Justin said with a laugh as they walked out to the limo.The chauffeur opened the door for them and they both thanked him as they got in

"There's an accident sir,so...it will take a little longer to get you home"the chauffeur warned him

"That's alright"Justin replied,"Thank you"he said as he opened the magazine

"Your not really gonna read that are you!?"Paris asked

"I just paid $3.99 for this, I'm gonna read it"he said,"Two worlds collide as dance and romance join forces"he said and chuckled a little,"Singer/actor Justin Timberlake and best selling romance writer Paris Madison tied the knot on July 15,2007 at a secluded location on a beach in Los Angeles.The bride wore...."he stopped,"Wow,they knew what you wore and everything.They were really sitting in a tree writing this and taking pictures"he said and laughed

Paris smiled at him.

"You never got in any trees did you?"he asked her

"No that's the photographer's job"she said and laughed,"I don't know if Lemmy ever did tree shots"

"There's a picture of your ring"he said,"Wow that thing is big.And all this time we have been lying saying that it was just a birthday ring"

"Its beautiful"she said as she kissed him on the cheek,"Thank you"

"No need to thank me"he said,"You might be cussing me out later on.This rock is so big that it might just be a little too hard to carry around"he said as he held her left hand

Paris looked at him,she might as well tell him now.It seemed a good time as any.She also learned never to keep anything from him again and not to keep any secrets.She promised him that.No matter how mad he would get or how happy,she always told him the truth and nothing but."Well I just might be carrying two big things around then"she said to him

"Huh?"he asked her as he thumbed through the magazine

"Besides the ring I mean"she said

"Oh,wow now I see how people can get hooked on this magazine.Wow Jennifer Lopez is pretty"he said,"But not as pretty as my baby"he said as he looked at her,then he noticed the look on her face,"Whats wrong?"he asked

"Nothing...hopefully"she said

"Paris...tell me.You've been fidgety the whole ride home on the plane-"

Paris took a deep breath and said,"Well Justin,I need to tell you something"she said as she took her hand in his,"As I was saying,I'm gonna be CARRYING around something BIGGER besides a ring"

"Paris,your talking in code"he said and laughed a little

She smiled at him,"I'm pregnant"

He gasped and then laughed a little,"Really?How long?When did you find this out?"

"Ive been carrying a little one inside of me for six weeks now"she said,"I went to a doctor in New York when you went out to take care of some things.I wanted to make sure,and sure enough...I'm gonna be a mommy and your gonna be a daddy"she said as tears came to her eyes

"So your saying that we will hear the pitter patter of little feet?And that I will have a real baby besides Baby?"he asked and laughed

"Yeah"

Justin pulled her toward him and hugged her,tears coming to his eyes,"Ohmygod.I love you so much Paris.This is so surreal.I'm gonna be a father.We're gonna have a family"he said as he stroked her face and wiped one of her tears,"Baby,you just made one of my dreams come true"

"What?"

"To have a beautiful wife and a child of my own"he said,"I love you"

"I love you"she said as she kissed him.She couldn't remember being so happy.She hugged him as tears of joy ran down her face and sighed happily.Now,just like in her books,she can live happily ever after.

*____________________________*

THE END!