Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
“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!
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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
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“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.
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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.
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