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5: Strings Britney pulled off her boots and flung them into the corner of her bedroom. They thumped against the wall and clunked to the floor. Flopping backward into her bed, she closed her eyes and sighed. Her lids fluttered open again, her sights drifting to the boxy black alarm clock on the side table to her left. 2:39. The only indication that it meant PM was the lambent sunshine that brightened the baby blue drapes... Baby blue. Clenching her eyes shut, she groaned. Just the reminder of Justin Timberlake wore her out. She rolled over and buried her face into a fluffy, pink pillow. Clutching the sides of the pillow, she bore her impression into it. Then the muscles in her arms eased, her hands slipped from the pillow's underside. And her face relaxed. Still. Everything lay in silence. But, of course, for only a few minutes. RING!!! Not like Britney's world ever took a breather. RING!!! "Mmm!" Britney moaned. Her hand slapped into the bedside table and knocked the phone off the hook with a cacophonous clatter. Her fingers searched out the receiver, wrapped around it, and pulled it to her ear. "Hello?" she murmured into the mouth piece. "Like, no way!" the falsetto voice shrieked. Wincing, Britney held the phone away from her ear several inches. "This isn't, like, REALLY Britney Spears, is it?" Scowling, Britney drew the receiver to her lips. "Joey, what do you want?" "Aw!" Joey Fatone's voice returned to normal. "How'd you know it was me?" "I can recognise your girly shrill anywhere," she droned, turning her head to the side. 2:44. Drawing a hand to her weary brow, she continued. "Joe, why are you calling?" Pause. "Oh! Yeah. Lance and I were wondering if you're done with Stinky and if we can borrow him for a bit. I mean, come on, Britney!" Joey chuckled. "Haven't you slave driven that poor boy enough?" Britney's eyes widened. She propped herself up on one elbow. "Hey, listen boy, I am NOT slave driving here!" Her voice raised and twanged. "Yeah," Joey laughed. "Sorry if I don't believe you. He's only been blowing off everybody else since we all went on break!" "What?!" *** Britney's stockinged feet padded down yet another hallway. Times like now, she cursed having such a huge house. She glanced into rooms as she passed by, all of which lay on a broad spectrum from immaculate to atrocious. As she neared the end of this particular hallway, she stopped. A faint buzzing echoed from her right, and she rounded that corner, toward the sound. As her footsteps approached an open door, where light streamed into the hallway, the buzz materialised into a voice. Or, rather, voices. "Please, baby!" Britney could hear Justin pleading. A feminine voice replied. "Why do you think you deserve another chance?" Britney raised a brow. She tip-toed closer to the room and peered inside. Her lower lip drooped. Justin sat on the floor by a window, his back facing the door. His elbows were bent, his forearms hidden from Britney's view. Strings draped down his left thigh. Light, brown, plastic pieces clacked together and brushed against that leg as the arm above it jiggled. "I know that I don't deserve you," Justin's whisper wavered. "But, but I can't live without you." "You weigh me down," the feminine voice replied as Justin wiggled his right arm. "I wouldn't tell you this if you weren't my friend, but you're weighing down everybody around you." "I know." Justin's voice cracked. He sniffled, and lowered his head. "I wanted to help you. I tried. But all I did was..." He trailed off. He lowered his left arm, and a Barbie-sized doll flopped to the floor. Its plastic arms and legs splayed in four different directions, strings Xing across a painted smile, the flat plastic sticks in a heap over its head. Justin pressed his fingers into the 21 on the baby blue sleeved white shirt, and he shoved the doll. It slid across the room and skid into a gray socked foot. Britney bent over and drew the doll into her arms. Through glossy eyes, she stared into its face, into its tiny blue eyes. She ran a hand across the back of its molded curls, and raised her head. The body before her trembled, and emitted tiny gasps and sighs. "Baby?" Justin jolted, his head whirling around. Hues of pink puffed up around pained, pale blue eyes. His long lashes captured tears, though many slipped through and streamed down his face. Justin turned away. Three great strides, and Britney was behind him. She sank to her knees and threw her arms around the boy. The marionette in her fingers pressed against his chest. Britney's eyes clenched shut as she embraced him. As she opened them, they focused on the doll that Justin clutched in his right hand, a blond doll with a familiar face and a blindingly white evening gown with matching faux fur shawl. Justin sobbed into Britney's forearms. He drew his free hand to cover his eyes. Loosening a hand from his chest, Britney ran it through his miniature curls. Tears slid down her cheeks. Suddenly, Justin pulled himself out of her grasp. He set the Britney doll on a table, then drew himself into a fetal position. "Britney," he coughed through his sobs. "Please leave me alone." Britney sat back on her knees, the Justin marionette dangling at her side. "Justin!" A fresh tear spilled down her cheek. "I can't leave you!" Squeezing his eyes shut, Justin hugged his knees tighter to his chest. He wrapped his hands around his head, crossing his arms across his face. He shuddered and sniffled. Britney's heart ached. "Baby, listen to me," she pleaded. She furrowed her brow. "You do NOT weigh me down! You don't weigh ANYBODY down..." "Yes I do!" The cry sent Justin into a coughing fit. His body wracked with each cough. "All I do," at long last, he gasped the words. "All I do is get in the way. That's all I ever do." "Jus, how can you believe that?" Britney breathed, gazing upon his trembling frame. "You've helped out everyone you've come in contact with! Your friendship and your love has meant everything to me, baby! I don't know where I'd be right now without you!" Justin lowered his arms and drew his hands over his face. He peered at her over his fingertips. "You can say that after I was such a jerk in the studio?" Shaking her head, Britney said, "But you WEREN'T a jerk! I know that you were trying to get me to really connect with my songs, to really feel them before recording them." She flipped her hair out of her eyes and grimaced. "I can't imagine what I would have recorded today without your help." Justin closed his eyes. "You would have been better off without me." "No, I wouldn't!" Britney protested. "Those songs would have been so empty. But you got me to really know them." Britney crept to his side. Leaning toward him, she whispered, "You give me meaning." She embraced him. This time, arms wrapped around her in return. And, as they held one another, Justin rose to a sitting position. When they withdrew from one another, their eyes remained steady. The pink around Justin's was dissipating. Britney drew in a breath. "Now that recording's done, there's some others needing your help." Justin furrowed his brow. "Joey called today," she explained. "They're ready to shoot that scene in On The Line, with you and Chris, and they need you over there." "How soon?" "You'll need to leave here tomorrow." Justin heaved a sigh. "So, so this is the last time we'll see each other for a while." Puppy dog eyes gazed into Britney's. She nodded. He wiped his eyes and got to his feet. "You tired?" he asked. Britney pursed her lips. She'd been so ready to drop before. But now... She shook her head. A smile swept across her boyfriend's lips. "Then let's go out! Let's go have some fun!" Britney's eyes lit up, and she grinned. She stood up, and started to follow him out the door... Before she realised what she still held in her fingers. "Oh, wait!" she exclaimed. She dashed over to the bedside table, where a Barbie-sized doll sat grinning at her. Carefully, she set down the marionette beside the doll. Then jogged over to the bedroom door, where Justin was waiting. --------------------------- ONE more chapter to go! "I'm all disheveled!" |