*~*~*~*Angelia*~*~*~* Chapter Eight: A First Taste.... -- Fictional Getdown

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Date Posted: 19:39:08 02/18/03 Tue
Author: Tiffany
Subject: *~*~*~*Angelia*~*~*~* Chapter Eight: A First Taste....

If you give me your hand
I�ll give you my soul
Cuz you don�t look at me
As a means to a goal
Baby, I�ll rock your world
Just give in to me�

Justin sat at his baby grand piano with his hands dormant on the keys as he sang the last line. He knew where he was going with the song and he knew how to get there but there was a certain twang missing from it. He lacked emotion for the song. He could tell that already. So, he abandoned this song that he�d already started writing in a nearby trashcan and started from square one with a new sheet of chart paper.

Hop in the car, go with me
You don�t have to pack everything
Don�t you wanna feel the breeze...

The songwriter kept on his quest as he discovered this song, feeling the words he sang. Ever so often, he would stop to write words and notes on the chart, documenting every cleft. From nowhere, a reserve of words erupting in his soul, fueling his urge to write. He smiled. His writers block was now over.

Walking absently and tiredly down the stairs, Ali sighed in annoyance. She had yet to get used to her brothers writing frenzies. Perhaps it was all of her quiet years in London that made him seem so strange or maybe it was her lack of artistic knowledge, whatever was the case, her singing annoyed him. So she let on.

As she sneaked past him on her way to his office where the only computer with internet was, she smiled. It had been almost two weeks since she�d had a chance to practice her hobby. She�d spent her first week back in the States, in New York with friends, shopping and carousing in the large city, inhaling hot dogs and salad�s drenched with Ranch dressing. The English didn�t make Ranch.

Ali logged onto her AOL account, checking her e-mails before heading over to her website. She looked strained her ears to make sure that Justin was still playing. When she heard him still banging and singing fragments of his song, she turned to look back at the computer. She smiled as the screen flashed in big letters �So Real: An *NSYNC Haven�. She began this website during grade eleven when *NSYNC was at the height of their European celebrity. At first, she started it as a humor site. After all, she had inside information.

Unlike most fans who speculate, Ali actually knew. She knew for a fact that JC enjoyed the attention he got from his fans and before going on stage, he drinks two double espresso to get him going. Ali knew that Lance really couldn�t dance and was the dork that everyone thought him to be. The whole Toby the horse thing really had gotten under his skin. Joey, on the other hand, wasn�t really the whore everyone thought him to be. He did, however like to flirt as a formality. Chris�Ali couldn�t say much about Chris because she�d had a crush on him since she met him. Her whipping boy was always her brother. The wannabe ghetto b-boy playing basketball in his spare time, picking his platinum afro. She got a lot of feedback for her portrayals of her brother. Her site, for graphics and humor, won five awards the first year.

But as time went by and she got older, she became more and more interested in fan fiction. As her anger toward Justin lessened, her site became more and more supportive. Before she knew it, she was an *NSYNC fan fiction author with more than six sagas under her belt. Her stories were usually about Chris and JC as far as adult *NSYNC fiction was concerned. She rarely wrote a story solely based on Justin. When she tried�she would feel too weird about posting it. So, she stuck to JC and Chris.

There were times when she wanted to share her website with Justin. He wouldn�t at all be uncomfortable with the concept of his sister owning an *NSYNC site. After all, Chris� sister Emily owned and hosted several. But just the fact that she claimed to strongly dislike him for so long, would make her the brunt of everyone�s jokes. If Justin were to ever find out she owned a site and wrote fan fiction, she�d never hear the end of it.

Opening Justin�s Front Page program, Ali faded the background to black and uploaded the banner she made for her newest fiction about Chris getting back into the dating saddle after breaking up with a girlfriend that his affiliation made famous, to get together with a girl who was visiting his hometown during one of his breaks. She didn�t know where this story was going or how it would end. As she listened to Justin yell a few obscenities at his piano when he played in the wrong key, she knew that this story would definitely win her a few more awards. Chris was going to fall hard for this girl.

* * * *

�Sonali?� Justin asked sitting back on a lounge chair in front of his pool �I have a date tomorrow. Where should I take her?�

�Well�� Sonali pondered as she adjusted her swimsuit �What kind of a girl is she?�

�Kind of an introvert. Artsy but intelligent. She�s practical, kind of secretive�mysterious�

�Hmm�artsy like how?�

�She�s studying photography at Vanderbilt University�

�Okay�is she the ethereal type? Or the dressed in all black type?�

�Ethereal�

�Well, that�s easy. Take her to the movies and then take her for a picnic back in Harper�s Lagoon. She�ll appreciate the scenery� Sonali furrowed her eyebrows �Is this the same girl that you saw there?�

�Yeah� Justin said with a smile �I had lunch with her yesterday�

�How did that go?�

�It went well. I showed her around the town. Took her to the high school, told her a few stories and stuff. It was nice. Comfortable�

�What about her?�

�I don�t know much about her. I know that she�s twenty-two, in school full time and she works full time back in Nashville where she lives, I know that she�s from Lancaster, New Hampshire and I know that she hates her hometown. There�s some friction between she and her family. She won�t talk about it�

�Hmm�What does she do for a living?�

�I know it�s a job where she has to keep in shape because she pitched a bitch when I ordered her a double bacon cheeseburger with cheese fries� Justin said with a smile

�God, I�d kick your ass if you did that to me� Sonali said shaking her head �She�s a model?�

�Not exactly is what she said but she also said that she works downtown. What does that mean?� Sonali closed her eyes �What?�

�I�m not an expert�but�she could be�� she looked at Justin �A stripper�

�A stripper?� Justin laughed loudly �No, this girl is way too shy to be a stripper. She could be a dancer of some sort. But definitely NOT a stripper. It�s just not possible�

�If she was a dancer, wouldn�t she tell you?�

�Probably not. I�m not worried about it though�

�Maybe you should be. If she�s apart of something shady, then this could damage your career�

�Sonali�� Justin said with warning apparent in his voice �Can we drop it?�

�Whatever�

Sonali was well of Justin�s rule of not talking about his career to people in his personal life. It wasn�t that he didn�t trust Sonali, he just didn�t want people to start to treat him differently. He found that when he let people in his personal life into his professional life, they worried about it often more than he did. Sonali had enough to worry about with her job and all of the things going on in her life, she didn�t need to worry about him and his career. He had two managers and a record company to worry about that.

But he did take her warning to heart even though he didn�t want to. She was in fact, right. If Samantha was apart of something shady then it could be damaging to his career. However, Justin kept an open mind to different people. He liked to experience lives different than his. If Samantha was a stripper or a prostitute which he thought to be absurd, then he�d take her as she was. He hated for people to try and change him so he found it entirely hypocritical for him to try to change other people.

�You know�� Justin said smiling mischievously �Your birthday is next month�

�Yeah�rah, rah, I�ll be a year older�

�What do you want for a birthday present?�

�To stay twenty forever�

�As much as I�d love to tell you that I�m powerful enough to take on the roll of Father Time, there�s no way I can give you that gift. Now, if you�d be kind enough to tell me something that I can make or buy for you, I can do that. I am after all�a millionaire�

�Rub it in my face, why don�t you?� Sonali retorted with a grin �I don�t know. I don�t really need anything. I have a car, a house and a wonderful fianc�. What else do I need?�

�Well�when was the last time you traveled? I mean, really traveled?�

�When I went to Atlantis with you and the guys for the CBS special�

�Okay�what about without me?�

�Hmm�� Sonali murmured sitting back in her lounge chair, arching one leg up �I don�t really know. It�s been a while�

�I know that you�ve always wanted to go to Europe. I could finance a trip there�

�No good. Vincent and I are going to backpack through Europe in July. We�ve decided to start in Southern Ireland and end it in Greece� Justin sighed �What?�

�Nothing� he resigned �I�ve always wanted to travel like that. See the world. But the most of the world that I�ve seen has been through a hotel window or from a fan signing. I think it would be cool to backpack�

�You could do it� Sonali reassured �It�s not like EVERYONE knows who you are Justin. You haven�t reached Michael Jackson status yet. You should take a few months off�maybe take Chris and JC and go backpacking sometime this summer�

�That�s not a bad idea� Justin said nodding her head contemplatively �Joey�s working on Rent, Lance is doing the whole space thing. Besides, Joey really wouldn�t be in to backpacking and Lance�he�s not really the hostel type of guy. Chris and JC, they�d be totally up for it� Justin smiled �You know what? I�m going to look into it more. If I can get most of this album written and get all of my contacts made, I might be able to squeeze in a month of backpacking. Isn�t that about how long it�ll take?�

�Yeah, just about. If you want to really see all of the good stuff. I talked to Ali about when she went backpacking last year and she loved it�

�God, that sounds like such an awesome time. But I think I�d start in Italy and work my way north�� Justin said dreamily but snapped back into reality �But�about your birthday. I want to throw you a party�

�Do what you want. I can�t guarantee that I�ll have a good time, but I�ll try� Sonali said sipping her sweet tea �If you really want to get me a great birthday present, forget it�s my birthday� she got up from her lawn chair and started towards the pool �Now if you�ll excuse me, I�m going to enjoy this pool before I start to look at it as a haven for Aquatic sports�

Justin smiled as Sonali dived headfirst into the pool before slipping on his sunglasses and letting his pale body soak up the ultraviolet sunrays. Lord knows he�d been feeling a bit tan. The last few years had been wonderful to him financially and professionally, but personally, they�d been neglectful. He hadn�t had time to be spontaneous or fly by the seat of his pants as he liked to do often. Everything was strategically planned. From every outfit, every haircut and physically change had been played into being profitable to his career.

A good solid anonymous month of young adult normalcy would do him good, he decided. He could take his mind off the pressures of writing his album and focus on his emotional betterment. Starting in September, the next two or three years of his life were going to be hell on his being. Not that he wouldn�t enjoy them�he�d be releasing his solo debut, embarking on a worldwide solo tour, first in small clubs then in arena�s. THEN, he�d be going back into the studio with *NSYNC and recording, possibly, the best album of their career. He�d gotten offers to do some movies, modeling and collaborate with different artists. Maybe he�d take on a few independent projects. He was dying to try his hand at management and take Chris� lead and start his own clothing line.

At heart, Justin was a tireless entrepreneur. If he had the energy and willpower, he would do it all. But there was only so much that his fragile human body could take before shutting down. Thanks to Lou Pearlman, he�d experienced a physical breakdown and he honestly didn�t like the feeling of being an invalid. So, he�d take everything in stride as it would come his way. But he definitely knew that if he didn�t take the chance to backpack now, he wouldn�t be able to do it for a very long time.

Then there was Samantha. It was completely too early to know how much time he would invest into their relationship. If she opened up to him a little more then he could see himself having a relationship with her. But if she remained to secretive and guarded, then he�d always question if he could trust her or not. Justin knew that he couldn�t deal with that hanging over his head. If he could, he�d still be with Britney.

Britney. How would she react to his having a girlfriend? Justin laughed. He really didn�t care. His wounds were still, after five months, too fresh to say that he was over her. After all, he had invested three years in their relationship. Two of those years were spent hiding their relationship. God, he should have seen it coming. He didn�t know if he was more angry with Wade or Britney. But Justin knew that if it wasn�t Wade it was going to be someone else. At least she cheated with a friend who could be honest with him if she wasn�t going to tell the truth. �That bitch� Justin thought bitterly

* * * *

Applying a generous amount of mascara to her long lashes, Samantha wondered if she was overdressing for her date. After all, what was there to do in a tiny town like Millington? She looked down at her outfit skeptically. She had chosen a loose brown peasant top with trumpet sleeves and a cream ruffled angled him skirt that fell from the middle of her thighs to the bottom of her knees. On her feet were a pair of simply nude mesh mules that were comfortable enough for her to walk a few miles in. Samantha looked at the clock. It was seven thirty. If she had chosen the wrong outfit, there wasn�t enough time to change her mind.

Looking out her window, Samantha watched the wind blow softly into the trees, rustling the new leaves before flying into her room, sweeping her hair lightly across her shoulders. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be carried away by the immense relaxation she felt. There was no nervousness in her body and if there was, the relaxed atmosphere of the hot summer night suppressed it, giving Samantha�s skin a healthy glow. Opening her eyes, she picked up her translucent powder and lightly dusted the shimmering dust across her cheekbones, forehead and chin before applying gloss tinted with a pale brown shade.

After pulling her damp hair from the clip she had in her hair, she pulled a feather comb through her wavy tresses swaying her hips to an imaginary beat, slow and dreamy�acoustic. Bending her knees slightly she digressed further into the rhythm letting it carry her away�somewhere beautifully photogenic. By water. The moonbeam shining down through trees. Samantha opened her eyes and looked out of the window that faced the woods in the back of Nichole�s house. The tune she heard in her head, she realized, was the tune that the man by the lagoon had been playing. It still lingered in her head, softly. She smiled. Never had she been apart of something so�romantic and perfect. She only wished that she could have told him what beautiful music he had played.

The doorbell rang, startling Samantha back into reality. She hadn�t realized how long she had been standing dormant in front of the mirror, but it obviously had been enough time to make her a little late. Misting herself lightly with a floral musk, Samantha gave her hair a final tug before heading downstairs. She didn�t want to keep her date waiting too long.

As she approached the living room, Samantha saw that Nichole was standing in the foyer leaning against the door frame that separated the front door from the dining room, with a soda in her hand and a large grin on her face. She could hear her friend thanking Justin for the cake and giving him her sincerest compliments on his baking. Looking towards the kitchen, where the cake still sat in the cake dish, untouched, Samantha suppressed a giggle and decided to rescue Justin from the debauchery of stage sarcasm Nichole was giving him.

But when she approached the foyer and finally saw Justin, she couldn�t say a word. Her mouth had suddenly become paralyzed and words, she realized weren�t going to be possible for a few moments. With her observant eyes, she drank in every inch of him, not bothering to hide the fact that she was looking him over. He stood confidently yet politely in a pair of well cut khakis and a very casual yet well tailored indigo linen shirt fit snugly around his chest but became loose at his hips. The only jewelry he wore were his two manly small diamond earrings and a very thin platinum herringbone chain around his neck. In his hands were a bouquet of peach marigolds wrapped in white cloth and a silver ribbon.

�I got these for you�� Justin said approaching her �A southern policy. Always give a beautiful lady flowers when you come to her house�

�Well�� Samantha said clearing her throat to find her voice �They�re beautiful, Justin. Thank you� she took one flower from the bunch and broke off the bulk of the stem before sliding it behind her right ear �Does it suit me?�

Justin smiled brightly �I think the flower looks better on you than it does growing�

Nichole coughed loudly before taking the bouquet from Justin �I�ll just put these in some water� she said walking to the kitchen where she could finally let out the giggles she�d been holding in �Where are you all going?� she called over the running water

�To a movie and�� Justin pushed some hair behind Samantha�s ear �dinner is a surprise�

Nichole had to give it to him. If there was any apprehension in Samantha, it was gone as soon as she saw him looking as sexy as he was. Shit, even Nichole had to admit that she was taken aback by his impeccable style. She had been planning to rib him about the cake, making sure that he KNEW that it was the most disgusting thing she�d ever seen before in her life. But as soon as he gave her, in person, that million dollar smile he�s so famous for, her coldness melted and she was practically putty in her own house. Damn those perfect teeth.

Poor Samantha, Nichole thought. The girl had never been out with a guy with even a dime�s worth of southern gentleman in him. Now, she was being hit full force with every technicality in the book. Flowers, accent AND panty melting smile. If Nichole hadn�t grown up around men like Justin, she�d probably be in the same situation as Samantha, confused as to why she can�t find her voice box.

�Well, you all have a good time� Nichole said ushering them out of the door �And you have her home at a decent time�

�Will do Nichole� Justin said giving Samantha a crooked grin �Don�t get in to too much trouble�

�Sure� Nichole said wanting to slap him in the face because she knew very well that she would be spending the whole night watching reruns of the Soprano�s and Queer as Folk on DVD

Leading Samantha by hand to his sisters� Sebring convertible that he�d taken to the car wash a few hours before to be cleaned and waxed thoroughly, he sneaked a few glances at her. He couldn�t believe how good she looked. No girl that he�d ever met before could pull of the whole sixties flower child look as she did right now. If any other girl tried to wear what she had on, she�d look like a complete idiot. But on Samantha, those clothes looked natural�as if they were made especially for her. Like she stepped off the cover of a Joni Mitchell album cover.

When he stood in of front her to open her door for her, a hint of her perfume whiffed into his nose, causing him to close his eyes painfully. Even her choice of perfume was perfect. She didn�t drown in it as most women her age did. She simply wore enough to give her an air of mystery. God, Justin thought, I think I chose the wrong movie.

�You look really beautiful� Justin said sliding into the drivers side �I mean, really beautiful�

�Thank you� Samantha said trying to avoid the blush that was creeping up her body rapidly �So do you�

�Well�� Justin said trying to lighten up the atmosphere �Aren�t men generally handsome?�

�Yes� Samantha said simply �But you�are a sight for sore eyes, Justin Timberlake�

And Justin, for the first time in his life, was completely flattered by a woman acknowledging his appearance. She didn�t tell him that he was hot or that he was fine or that he was zesty or anything indecent. Samantha simply and sophisticatedly told him exactly what she thought without being witty or sharp. Justin appreciated this gesture more than she would ever realize.

�Thank you� he finally said in response

* * *
*

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Part Two...silly board...lol -- Tiff, 19:41:16 02/18/03 Tue