"And now, the question every girl wants me to ask," Bob, the radio announcer said. "Are you guys seeing anybody special at the moment?"

"Nope," Lance said, his deep southern drawl prominent. He leaned into the microphone. "I’m still looking for that special girl I know is out there."

"I’m betting the blood pressure of South Carolina just went up by about a hundred," Bob laughed. "Now how about you JC?"

"Yeah," JC said shyly. "I am." The corners of his mouth curled up. His eyes took on a new light.

Bob leaned back in his chair. "Girls if only you could see the look on his face. He is in luuuh-ve."

JC blushed as the rest of the guys laughed.

"He sure is Bob," Chris said laughing. "If you could only see them in private. It’s enough to make you sick."

"How about you Chris," Bob said. "You’ve been attached the longest. Are you still with your girlfriend?"

"Hell yeah," he said. He ran a hand through his short spiky hair. "I don’t think any other woman would put up with me."

"I don’t think that’s true," Bob said. "If you could read some of the letters I’ve gotten in the last week since we announced you’d be here. Seems the girls really dig the short hair."

"So does my girl," Chris said. "It only took her two years to get me to cut it. I’ll be lucky if it gets longer than an inch or two again."

Bob laughed and turned to Joey. "How about you? Has any girl caught your eye yet?"

"Oh yeah," Joey said. "Lots of girls have caught my eye. None of them have caught my heart though. Gotta leave one member of the group open for a good time."

Bob looked puzzled. He turned to Justin. "Does that mean that you’ve been ‘caught?’"

Justin glared at Joey. "Nope, I’m still single and ready to mingle," he said with a fake smile on his face. The guys knew he was lying, Bob knew he was lying, but the listeners couldn’t hear the difference.

"I’m sure there are lots of girls out there who are very happy to hear that," Bob said. "Now we have to cut to commercials for a few minutes, but we’ll be back with more from ‘N SYNC!"

Justin slammed the door closed to his hotel room. He hated doing that so much. He hated lying. It just wasn’t fair. He picked up the phone by the bed, slumping down on the pillows at the same time.

It rang three times.

"Good evening, Alpha Delta Chi!" The voice was way too chipper.

"Hi, is Haley Meyers there?" Justin asked. He prayed she would be. He needed to talk to her.

"Hold on one second!" the girl on the other end, said. "Let me page for her."

Justin tapped his feet together while he waited. He closed his eyes. He really needed to talk to Haley.

"Hello?"

Justin smiled. That was the voice he’d been waiting for all day.

"Haley!"

"Hey," Haley said. Her voice took on a warm tone. "I wasn’t expecting you to call."

"I needed to talk to you," Justin said. His stress had suddenly disappeared. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Haley said. "More than you know."

They were silent for a second.

"How was your day?" Justin asked. He needed to talk to her about the radio interview today.

"You know, same ol’ same ol’." She laughed lightly. "Have I mentioned that C programming is the work of the devil?"

"I think you might have mentioned it at some point," Justin said. "Problems with a program?"

"That would be an understatement." Haley laughed. "It’s done though. How was your day?"

"Same ol’, same ol’" Justin said laughing. "We had an interview today."

"How’d it go?" Haley asked. Her voice was genuinely interested.

"Wonderful," Justin said. "Until the part the guy asked if we were taken."

Haley sighed. They’d been over this a thousand times.

"What did you say?"

"I said that I was still single and ready to mingle." Justin closed his eyes.

"You really want to tell the world don’t you?" Haley asked.

Justin nodded, even though Haley couldn’t see him. "I don’t want to hide us Haley. I want to scream it from the rooftops."

Haley looked at the picture of the guys on her wall. Both JC and Chris had their girlfriends with them.

"I’m not ready yet Justin." Haley felt tears come to her eyes. "It’ll change everything."

"In good ways," Justin said. "You can come with us. I can hold your hand in public."

Haley closed her eyes. "Soon Justin, okay? Soon."

Justin sighed. That had not been the answer he’d been looking for. "Okay sweetie. I understand." He looked at the clock. He had to be up and about in 8 hours. "I’ve got to go to bed," he said. "Early morning tomorrow."

Haley smiled sadly. "I’m glad you called."

"I had to," Justin said. "I had to hear your voice. I’m nearly frantic knowing I’ll see you in a week."

"At least you’re out on the road. I’m stuck here in my house."

"Well, it’s only a week," Justin said. "I love you."

"I love you too." Haley smiled as she said the four words. "I’ll talk to you soon, okay?"

"And I’ll see you soon," Justin said. "Bye."

"Bye."

They hung up the phones at the same time.

"Good god," Justin said, shutting the hotel room door and locking it. "I thought they’d never leave."

Haley laughed as she sat coyly on the edge of the bed. "I don’t know," she said. "It was fun to see them."

"See them? Yes. Have dinner with them? Yes. Have them stay until one a.m.? No."

Justin began walking towards the bed slowly. He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap.

"I missed you so much," Justin said. "It feels so good to hold you."

"I know," Haley said softly. He put her lips to his, gently at first.

"That feels even better," Justin said when they pulled apart a few seconds later.

"I know," Haley said again, just as softly.

Justin lay back, letting Haley rest on top of him.

"I don’t want you to leave tomorrow," she said. "I feel like I never get to see you."

"I know," Justin said. "I feel the exact same way." He leaned up and kissed her, rolling them over at the same time. "I can’t believe we only have one night."

"Then I guess we’d better make the best of it," Haley said, suddenly playful.

Justin nodded, kissing her harder, and turned out the light on the nightstand.

The airport was crowded. People bustled around. No one noticed the five guys with sunglasses and the smaller girl beside them. Four of the guys gave the girl hugs and moved towards the gate. The fifth stayed with the girl wrapping his arms around her.

Haley buried her face in Justin’s chest.

"Don’t leave," she said. "Please?"

"I gotta go baby," Justin said. "I love you. I wish I could kiss you."

"So do it," Haley said. "I think I’m ready Justin."

Justin pulled away, a shocked look on his face. "Really? You’re sure?"

"Yeah," Haley said softly. She licked her lips.

Justin leaned in and kissed her. When they parted Haley pulled away. She had tears in her eyes.

"I love you Justin."

"I’ll see you in a few months okay?" he said, giving her another quick kiss and pulling away.

"Yeah," Haley said. The tears were travelling down her cheeks. "Good luck."

Justin smiled and nodded. He followed the other guys on to the plane, turning around one more time to wave.

And then he was gone.

Haley was curled up in a chair in the TV room. She stared at Carson Daly’s face.

"And now," Carson was saying. "The group you’ve all been waiting for. The group that filled Times Square to overflowing for the third straight time, ‘N SYNC!"

Some of the girls in the room with her yipped excitedly.

"Oh my god," Stacy said. "Justin is so hot! I’m so going to marry him."

Haley felt the tension rise in her muscles. She hated listening to those comments. Kim sat in the couch next to her. She sent Haley a sympathetic smile.

"Forget Justin," Ryan said, tossing her short blond hair, "It’s all about JC! I would make him forget his girlfriend."

The tension in Haley’s muscles continued to rise. She hated how people talked about they guys like they were a commodity, not real people.

"Congratulations on a wonderful album guys," Carson said.

"Thanks," Lance said. "We’re very proud of it."

"Yeah," JC said. "We had so much more creative input, it really made this album worthwhile."

The other guys nodded.

Haley’s eyes were trained on Justin. He was looking a little pensive. Haley didn’t like that.

"So you’re off for a summer tour," Carson said. "Are you looking forward to that?"

"Oh yeah," Chris said. "It’ll be great to get back on the road."

"What do your girls think about the constant touring?" Carson asked.

Haley had a funny feeling she knew where this was going. She was ready, but…

"It’s hard," JC said. "They understand that this is something we gotta do though."

"So, JC and Chris, you guys have girlfriends. Lance, Joey and Justin, are you all still single?"

Lance and Joey nodded. Justin bit his lip.

"Justin?" Carson asked.

"Actually, I, uh, I’ve found someone." Justin’s voice was shaking.

The TV room echoed with shouts of outrage. Haley cringed, her eyes wide. Kim stared at her best friend. She could tell this had been unexpected.

"Really," Carson said. "In the last two weeks?"

"No," Justin said, slowly. "We’ve been together for almost a year, again."

Carson raised an eyebrow, as the rest of the guys stared at Justin.

"Again?"

"Yeah," Justin said. "We were together for seven months and then we broke up for a year and now we’ve been together for another year."

"Wow," Carson said. Justin was only 19 so this was very surprising news. "Why’d you guys break up in the first place?"

Justin looked at the rest of the guys. They all had strained smiles on their faces. "Cause I was stupid," he answered. "Very stupid. I was lucky she was able to forgive me."

"You sound pretty serious," Carson said.

"I love her very much," Justin said. He got a soft look on his face.

Haley felt a tear drip down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, before anyone but Kim saw.

"You think she might be ‘the one?’" Carson asked.

The camera panned back showing the rest of the guys looking like they were deer caught in headlights.

"She’s the one for right now," Justin said.

"Wow," Carson said. He looked off stage for a second. "Well, as much as I would like to continue this conversation, we need to premier your video. It seems appropriate, ‘It Makes Me Ill,’ because I’m sure a lot of girls are feeling ill out there, knowing that their dreams of being the future Mrs. Justin Timberlake are probably trashed."

Justin grimaced, as did the rest of the guys. They managed to keep the smiles on their faces though.

"It Makes Me Ill, by ‘N SYNC," Carson said.

The girls in the TV room raptly watched the TV.

Haley had her eyes closed. Suddenly she wasn’t ready. Not at all.

"He’s had a girlfriend for a year?" Stacy asked, her voice filling the room. "That little bitch. I would be so much better for him."

Haley got up and walked out of the TV room. She didn’t want to see or hear any more. She’d made a big mistake and now she had to live with it.

JC shut the door to Justin’s changing room at the MTV studio.

"Think you might have informed us that you were going to tell the world about you and Haley?" JC was mad.

"I didn’t know I was going to until I was up there," Justin said. "It just sort of happened."

"Did Haley know?" JC asked. "Please tell me you told her you were going to do this."

"At the airport she said it was okay," Justin said. "That was a week ago."

"Exactly," JC said. He sounded exasperated. "It was a week ago. I’m assuming you two were still in the morning after glow period. People say things they don’t mean then. I’m sure it sounded good at the time."

"I wanted to," Justin said.

"Do you have any idea how much stress this is on a girl?" JC asked. "You’ve never gone public with a girl before. The fans don’t always take it well. There are going to be hate messages. Girls will still idolize you and she knows that they do that in spite of her. She will be thrust into the spotlight."

"I didn’t mention her name," Justin said. He felt his heart and his stomach sink.

"How long is it going to be before they find out?" JC asked. "I think you need to call her, now."

Justin nodded. "She said it was okay JC."

"Well, you’d better make sure it’s still okay," JC said.

Justin picked up his cell phone and dialed the number.

"Good afternoon," a voice said. It was slightly shaky. The girl didn’t sound happy. "Alpha Delta Chi."

"Haley?" Justin asked.

"Justin?" Haley asked, sounding surprised. "Aren’t you still on air?"

"So you were watching?" Justin asked. He’d been praying she sounded upset for some other reason.

"Yeah." Haley sounded about ready to cry.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked. What had he done?

"Think you might have warned me first?" Haley asked. He heard the sound of a door shut. He guessed it was the sound of her shutting the phone room door.

"I’m sorry Haley," Justin said. "It just sort of happened."

He heard Haley take a deep breath.

"I think I made a mistake," Haley said. "I wasn’t ready."

"Haley," Justin began.

"I’m sorry Justin," Haley said. "I thought I was ready. I really did. And then when you said that on TV today. And then the girls…"

"What do you want me to do Haley?" Justin asked. His voice was aggravated. "There’s nothing I can do now."

"I know," Haley said, quietly. "I know. I just wish you’d told me."

"It will be okay Haley," Justin said. "They will be supportive."

There was a nervous laugh on the other end of the phone. "I hope the rest of the world is more supportive than my sisters."

Justin frowned. "What did they say?"

"I’ve been called a bitch, a whore and a slut."

"Baby," Justin said. He sat down in a chair. "I’m sorry."

"They don’t know it’s me though. I got out of the room before I lost it."

"You said you were ready."

"I know Justin!" Haley raised her voice. "I know I said I was ready. And now I’m not so sure. It was my fault though. I have to live with it."

"No," Justin said. "We have to live with it. We are in this together Haley. We’ve always been in this together."

Haley was silent for a few seconds. "Did you really mean it Justin?"

Justin was confused. "What?"

"Did you really mean it when you said that I was the one for now?"

"Yeah," Justin said. "I love you Haley."

"I love you too. God Justin, I miss you so much."

"I know baby doll." Justin said. "We’ll get through this together though, okay? You can’t let it bother you. You know I love you and that’s all that matters."

"Okay." Haley sounded slightly happier than she had at the beginning of the phone call. "Okay."

Justin smiled tightly and hung up the phone.

"Okay," he said to the empty room. "Please god, let it be okay."

The lights in the exercise room were off. A blue glow was cast about the room from the TV set. There was a whirring sound as images moved backward across the screen. Suddenly the images stopped and the tape began to play.

Justin was staring through the screen.

"…stupid. I was lucky she was able to forgive me."

"You sound pretty serious," Carson said.

"I love her very much," Justin said. He got a soft look on his face.

 "You think she might be ‘the one?’" Carson asked.

The camera panned back showing the rest of the guys looking like they were deer caught in headlights.

"She’s the one for right now," Justin said.

Haley smiled as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks. She turned the TV off, plunging the room into darkness.

"I love her very much."

"You think she might be the one?"

"She’s the one for right now…"

Haley got up from the beanbag chair and made her way out of the room.

Haley rested her head on her arms. The computer sound was loud in her ears. She didn’t want to look at the screen anymore.

The words were all too familiar. She knew she shouldn’t go looking for them, yet it was a compulsion. She had to know what people thought of her.

She raised her head, willing the words on the screen to have changed. They hadn’t.

"So yeah, Justin has a girlfriend. I’d really like to meet her so I that I can show her the type of girl Justin really wants. All it would be is one look at me and she would be history."

Haley clicked the box at the top of the screen closed. The words disappeared.

Haley pushed away from her desk. Her chair nearly tipped over. She steadied it and made her way down the hall to Kim’s room.

She knocked, hearing a faint "come in."

Haley opened the door and walked in, sagging into the blow-up chair in the corner.

Kim looked at her strangely. "What’s the matter with you?"

"Why do they hate me Kim? They didn’t hate Danielle or Shari."

It took Kim a moment to place the names of Chris and JC’s girlfriends.

"They don’t hate you sweetie," Kim said. She looked at her friend sympathetically.

"Yes Kim, they do." Haley had some life in her eyes for the first time in hours. "Every website I visit it’s all about how these little girls, or guys, could be so much better for Justin than me. It’s not fair."

"They’re just jealous," Kim said. "They want Justin."

"I don’t want them to want him though," Haley said. She finally started to tear up. "I want him for myself. He’s mine Kim and none of these other people understand that."

"He has to be in public though," Kim said. She cocked her head slightly to one side. "You’ve always known that. You didn’t have a problem with it before."

"I didn’t have the right to have a problem with it before. And Justin called every day."

"He’s not calling anymore?" Kim said confused.

"I haven’t really talked to him in three weeks," Haley said. "He’s been so distant. I haven’t talked to him in two days. I’m waiting for him to call me."

"Why do I think this is more the problem than the girls wanting Justin?"

Haley sighed. "I miss him so much Kim and now since he told everyone, even if he didn’t mention my name, everything has been different. It’s just been screwed up. I don’t know whether it’s me or whether it’s him or whether it’s the little voice in the back of my head saying that some other girl would be better for him. How can I be the one Kim? How can I have been the one girl out of this world that Justin Timberlake chose to go out with for almost two years of his life?"

"How can you not be the one Haley?" Kim asked quietly. "You guys are perfect for one another. Everyone who knows you both can see it. So telling the world changed things. It doesn’t change the fact that you love him, or that he loves you."

"I’m not so sure about that," Haley sighed. "My reaction was less than enthusiastic. What if he’s found someone else? What if because of that he’s decided I’m not the one?"

"He wouldn’t do that Haley," Kim said. "You know he wouldn’t. He loves you and only you. I don’t think that he’d even look at another girl."

"I hope so," Haley said, "because I don’t know what I’d do without him."

JC slid into the seat beside Justin. Justin continued to stare out the window.

"Okay, what’s up with you?" JC asked.

Justin jumped slightly before turning and looking at JC.

"Oh, hey." He turned and looked back out the window.

"Justin," JC said. "Look at me."

Justin turned his head toward JC. "What?"

"What’s the matter with you?" JC asked again. "And don’t say nothing because that answer would be worth jack."

Justin was silent. He turned back towards the window. JC thought he wasn’t going to answer and opened his mouth again when Justin began talking.

"You know how Carson asked if Haley was the one?" Justin’s voice was quiet. A person sitting behind them wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

"Yeah," JC said slowly. He didn’t know where this was going.

"I think she is." Justin didn’t turn toward JC.

JC looked at Justin. "That’s great." He paused. This couldn’t have put Justin in the funk. "Why have you been so out of it?"

"I want to marry her Josh," Justin said. He turned toward his friend. "I want to be with her forever."

JC opened his eyes slightly wider than he had in a long time.

"So…" JC trailed off. He didn’t really know what to say.

"I want to ask her to marry me when I see her next."

"You want to what?" JC said causing the other guys in the bus to turn around. He lowered his voice. "Justin, you’re only 19. You’ve got the rest of your life to spend with her. You’ve got the rest of your life to ask her."

"That’s not the point Josh," Justin said. "The point is that I want her to know I want to be with her forever. Something has been wrong since TRL. I need her to know, I need to know, that we’ll be together forever."

"Can’t you just tell her that?" JC asked. Marriage. That was just not… not something he associated with Justin.

"I do, every time I talk to her." Justin paused, closing his eyes. "I don’t think she believes me though. This is the only way I can think of to show her."

JC sighed, staring at the back of the seat in front of him. "There’s nothing I can do to change your mind is there?"

Justin shook his head.

"Good luck Curly," JC said. He ruffled the younger boy’s hair. Suddenly he’d become all grown up.

"And now, finishing out their third straight week at number one," Carson said, "Here’s ‘It Makes Me Ill," by ‘N SYNC."

Haley didn’t even know why she watched the show anymore. Carson’s little joke about making the female population of the United States ill was apparently true. The song just asked to be used in referring to their relationship.

She was sprawled on the floor in a beanbag chair, listening to the girls chatter around her and watching Justin on the screen. This video was the only time she got to see him daily. She tried not to watch the scrolling messages. They all said the same thing. "It makes me ill that Justin has a girlfriend. I could be so much better for him."

Unfortunately the little video clips said the same thing.

"Hi!" a perky blond said. "My name is Candy from Rhode Island and I wanted to request ‘N SYNC’s ‘It Makes Me Ill’ because I would be perfect for Justin and it makes me ill that he has a girlfriend. I would be so much better for him. I love you Justin! Stay ‘N SYNC and stay SINGLE!"

Haley cringed. She didn’t know why she subjected herself to this torture. Torture it was. To see the guy she loved idolized by thousands of women who wanted him was the worst thing she’d ever experienced in her life. She wasn’t sure that she could do it anymore. She loved Justin more than anything, but she obviously wasn’t the best thing for him at the moment. And that scared her more than anything.

Justin pulled the baseball hat over his forehead. He adjusted his sunglasses, even though the store was dark. This was one place he could not afford to be recognized.

"May I help you sir?" a man dressed in khakis and a white button down approached him. He had a small frown while he looked at Justin’s jeans and UNC sweatshirt.

"Yes," Justin said slowly. "I’d like to by a ring."

"Any particular sort of ring?" the man asked.

"An engagement ring," Justin said.

Haley was sprawled in the blow-up chair. "I can’t do this anymore Kim."

Kim was sitting backwards in her chair. "What can’t you do anymore?"

"I can’t do Justin anymore."

Kim was silent. "I take it you mean your relationship with him?"

"Yeah." Haley felt the tears well up in her eyes, as they did every time she thought about Justin now. "I can’t handle the pressure any more. I thought I could. And I can’t. He’s slipping away from me."

"Have you talked to him recently?" Kim asked.

"I talked to him last night. He sounded really nervous. I’m losing him. I’m ruining his career. I don’t want to say I killed ‘N SYNC."

"You aren’t killing ‘N SYNC," Kim said.

Haley was hysterical.

"I am! I am Kim. Every day people say how much it makes them ill that I’m with Justin. There’s a campaign online called ‘It’s Gonna Be Me!’ which is devoted to trashing me, and Justin because of me. I can’t do it anymore."

"You’re going to let public opinion dictate your relationship with him?"

Haley was silent. "Yes. I’m not worth it."

"Justin thinks you are. What does he think of this?"

"I don’t know," Haley said. "I haven’t been able to tell him."

"He doesn’t know?" Kim looked at Haley amazed.

"Things have been so fucked up between us recently, I can hardly talk to him."

"You’ve got to tell him Haley."

Haley nodded.

"Don’t break up with him, sweetie," Kim continued, "unless it’s what you really want."

Haley nodded again. What she wanted and what she had to live with were two entirely different things.

"Haley Meyers please," Justin said into the phone.

"Hold on one second!"

"Hello?" Haley asked.

"Hey," Justin said.

"Hey," Haley said. Things were so awkward now. She hated it.

"I miss you," Justin blurted out. He hadn’t said those words in too long.

Haley felt the tears come to her eyes. They began rolling down her cheeks.

"I miss you too Justin," she said.

Justin picked up on the tears through the phone. "Haley, baby? What’s the matter?"

"I can’t do this anymore Justin," Haley blurted out. "I can’t handle it anymore. I just can’t do it."

Justin was confused. "What can’t you do anymore? What can’t you handle?"

"This!" Haley said.

Justin could almost see her arm move.

"Us," she said more softly.

"Us?" Justin sat straight up on the bed. "What about us?"

"I can’t do us anymore Justin," Haley was sobbing now. "They hate me. There’s a web-ring devoted to breaking us up. There’s a hate campaign on the ‘It Makes Me Ill’ video."

"Wait, hold up," Justin said. "Who hates you?" He thought he already knew.

"The fans," Haley sobbed. "They hate me Justin. And it’s rubbing off on you."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked. His heart was sinking.

"They’re angry Justin. They’re angry with you for having a girlfriend. They’re angry because you can’t be theirs anymore. How the hell am I supposed to compete with that Justin? Your career is the most important thing in your life. I can’t take that away from you."

"You aren’t going to take it away from me," Justin said. "Haley please don’t go where I think you’re going with this."

"I’m so sorry Justin," Haley said. "I’m so sorry."

"No Haley," Justin didn’t even notice the tears running down his face. "Haley please, please don’t do this."

"I’m sorry Justin." Haley felt a moment of extreme calm. It was the rise before the fall. "I love you Justin. I’ll always love you."

"Then don’t do this!" Justin said. "Please Haley, we can make this work."

"No Justin," Haley said slowly. "I don’t think we can." She closed her eyes. They were beginning to hurt. "Goodbye Justin."

She hung up the phone as Justin said, "Haley, wait…"

Justin slowly hung up the phone. He curled up in a little ball on the hotel bed.

"No!" he yelled. He continued softer, whispering, "Haley, Haley."

His heart felt like it was breaking open. His whole body hurt.

There was knock on the door. Justin didn’t answer. He sobbed even louder.

There were voices out in the hall. Then the door opened. JC rushed into the room. He ran over to the bed.

"Justin!" he said loudly. "Justin, what’s the matter? It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay bro."

JC gathered Justin into his arms as the younger man sobbed on the bed.

"Tell me what happened Justin," JC said. "Please?"

"Haley," Justin said softly.

"Is she okay?" JC asked, immediately concerned. "Is she hurt? Do we need to go to her?"

"She’s gone," Justin whispered.

JC didn’t hear him. "What?"

"She’s gone," Justin sobbed. "She fucking broke up with me."

JC was shocked for a second, but then continued rubbing Justin’s back.

"Why?"

"She couldn’t handle the stress," Justin said. "She said she was bringing me down and she couldn’t handle that."

JC nodded.

"I love her so much JC. Why can’t she see that I can’t live without her?"

JC was quiet. "She loves you too much," he said finally.

"Then why did she break up with me?" Justin asked.

"She thought she had to," JC said. "It’s the hardest thing in the world to think that you’re taking someone away from something they love. Chris and Danielle went through the same thing, remember?"

"She’s the most important thing in my life though," Justin said.

"You need to show her that. You need to let her know that."

"You’re sure you want to do this," JC asked for the hundredth time. "You aren’t going to be able to take this back."

"I have to JC. This is the only way I can see." Justin paced the room.

JC brought his legs up onto the couch as Justin stormed by.

"I can’t let what happened to me happen to anyone else."

"Is MTV the place to say this though?" JC asked. "How do you know she’ll watch?"

"It’s TRL. She’ll watch," Justin said. "Plus, this all started on TRL. It’s where it’s going to end."

JC nodded.

"Kim Larson?" A voice came over the intercom. "Kim?"

"Yeah!" Kim called from her room as she opened the door.

"Kim! You have a phone call on line one," the girl said.

"Thanks!" Kim said. She was confused. No guys ever called her.

"Hello?" she asked as she picked up the phone.

"Kim?" a male voice said.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Kim, this is JC from ‘N SYNC, Haley’s friend?"

Kim nodded, her voice suddenly gone. "JC, hi! What can I do for you?"

"I need a favor," he said.

Kim felt herself start sweating. JC was asking her for a favor.

"Okay," she said.

"Haley needs to watch TRL today."

Kim froze. "I’m not sure that’s a good idea JC," she said slowly. "Haley is trying to avoid that show like the plague."

"Justin’s going to be on. He’s trying to get her back. She has to watch."

Kim sighed. "I’ll see what I can do."

"Thanks Kim," JC said. "You don’t know how much this means to all of us."

"If it gets them back together I’m happy," Kim said. "She’s been miserable."

"You should see Justin," JC said. "I’m sure they’re about comparable."

"Yeah," Kim said. "I’m sure they are."

"I’m not going to watch Kim." Haley stared at her friend, her lip quivering. "Please don’t make me watch."

"I want someone to watch with," Kim whined. "Please Haley? You can’t boycott MTV forever. We’ll turn it off before his video okay? I promise."

Kim swallowed. She hated lying to her friend.

Finally Haley nodded.

The TV room was full by the time TRL started. Haley looked at Kim.

"You don’t need me here," she said, beginning to get up.

"Yes I do," Kim said. "You promised Haley."

"Fine," Haley said. She sat back down. She didn’t look at the TV.

Forty-five minutes later Carson appeared on the screen. "And now, get ready to scream girls because we have a surprise guest today! Justin Timberlake!"

As the screams echoed around the studio and the TV room, Haley stared at Kim. Haley stood up quickly, stopped by the feel of Kim’s hand on her arm. Haley shook it off.

"How could you?" she spat.

Kim looked at her. Her eyes were hard.

"Haley sit down," she whispered fiercely.

Haley stared at Kim for a few more seconds before sitting down.

The rest of the girls hadn’t noticed them.

"Now Justin," Carson was saying. "You specifically asked to come on the show today. What did you want to tell us?"

Justin looked at the camera. "I came to ask for help."

The audience in the studio and in the TV room silenced. Kim watched as Haley tried to avoid looking at the screen. She wasn’t successful.

"About a month ago," Justin continued, "the last time I was on this show, I did something stupid."

Kim watched as Haley cringed.

"Since it all began on this show, I feel that I should try to fix it on this show. You all know that I have a girlfriend. Had a girlfriend actually."

There was a collective set of ‘ahs’ from the audience.

"The first stupid thing I did was not talk to my girlfriend before I announced our relationship to the world. She said it was okay, but… I didn’t give her any warning. I’m sorry Haley."

Kim watched as Haley looked up at her name. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.

"The second stupid thing I did was assume the fans would understand and be happy for us. I told her that when I was pushing to tell you all. I see now why she didn’t want to."

A single tear traveled down Haley’s cheek.

"Unfortunately I was wrong in this last assumption. You were all happy for JC and Chris. I don’t know what was so different about Haley and me. Maybe it’s the fact that I said she was the one. I still believe that, but not just for right now, for forever."

"My girlfriend broke up with me last week because of the negative vibe she’d been getting. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about until I looked online and read your video requests. It’s not just a negative vibe. It’s an all out hate campaign. I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did. Haley felt she was bringing us down. That’s why she broke up with me."

"At first I was angry. Just ask JC. I’m not angry anymore though. Maybe this is for the best. Maybe you all made me realize something."

Haley slumped down in her seat. She absentmindedly wiped the tears from her cheeks. It didn’t do any good.

"Maybe I’m not meant to do this any more. Maybe I should just quit. It’s not fun for me anymore. If I can’t be me, if I can’t be with the woman I love just because some girls think that they would make me happier, maybe I shouldn’t do this anymore."

The TV room and the audience at the studio were all silent.

"I want your help. I need to get Haley back. I need Haley to be happy. I need her. Please support me on this."

"Wow," Carson said, as Justin bowed his head, wiping his eyes harshly. "So what do you all think? Should Haley take Justin back?"

The audience began screaming. Times Square began screaming. The girls in the TV room yelled ‘yes!’ at the TV.

Tears were streaming down Haley’s cheeks. Kim watched her nod. She saw a phone in front of her on the table. She picked it up and dialed the number for MTV.

"Put me through to TRL," she said. Haley as well as a few other girls turned to stare at her.

"Trust me," Kim continued. "I’ve got Justin’s girl friend here."

Haley didn’t realize that the TV room had gone silent. She was silently crying as Kim pressed the phone into her hand.

Carson looked away from the camera for a second. "It seems that we have someone on line one. Hello? Who’s this?"

"Haley," Haley said softly. "Hi Justin."

"Haley!" Justin sounded happy and scared.

"Yeah," Haley said. She wiped her eyes as the girls in the room turned between her and the TV, watching both sides of the conversation. "I’m sorry I didn’t return your phone calls."

"That’s okay sweetie," Justin said.

"I’m sorry," Haley sobbed. "I was so stupid."

"No you weren’t baby," Justin said. "You were completely justified." He paused for a few seconds. "Will you please reconsider though?"

Haley was silent. The TV room was silent. The TRL audience was silent. Times Square was silent. Justin was silent. It was obvious on the TV that his breathing had quickened and that he was nervous.

"Yes," Haley whispered. "I love you Justin."

"I love you so much baby," Justin answered. "So much."

Haley could barely hear him from the screams that echoed around the TV room and the audience. Haley felt herself being tackled to the couch with hugs from her sisters.

"I’ll talk to you later sweetie, okay?" Haley said. "Tonight."

"I’ll see you tonight," Justin said. "I love you."

"I love you more," Haley said.

"No," Justin said laughing. "I love you more."

Carson cut in. "You both love each other. We’ve got to cut to commercial. It was nice talking to you Haley. I’d love to have you on the show sometime."

"Thanks Carson," Haley answered.

"Stay on the line for a second and you can talk to Justin," Carson said as they cut to commercial.

"Haley?" Justin asked.

"Yeah?" Haley said.

"I’ll be at the usual place tonight, okay? We need to talk."

"Yes," Haley said. "We do. What time?"

"Nine," Justin said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Haley said. "I’ll see you tonight."

"Bye."

Haley hung up the phone. She was immediately surrounded by screams. Kim pulled her into a hug.

"I told you you had to watch," Kim whispered in her ear.

"Thank you," Haley said.

The hotel room was dim, lit by a single light on the nightstand. Two figures stood by the window looking over the city.

"I’m so glad you’re back," Haley said.

"I am too," Justin said. "I missed you."

"As much as I missed you," Haley said. "Having you plastered all over my wall just isn’t the same."

Justin turned her around so she was facing him. He pressed his lips to hers.

"Nope," Haley said when they pulled apart, "it just doesn’t compare to the real you."

"I’m glad," Justin said.

He took her hand and led her over to the bed. He sat her down, sitting next to her.

"Haley, I want to ask you something."

"Okay," she said slowly.

"I’ve been wanting to ask you this for a year. Since before…" Justin trailed off.

"I’m sorry," Haley said. "I was so—"

"No!" Justin interrupted. "I just realized that then wasn’t the right time. I think now is though."

Justin got up from the bed and opened the drawer to the nightstand. He pulled out a small black velvet box.

Haley gasped as he opened the box to show her the sparkling diamond ring.

"I don’t think this is unexpected," Justin said, "but before you answer let me do the whole little speech."

Haley nodded.

"I met you four years ago. From the moment I saw you I think I knew this moment would come. It was love at first sight. You have always been the one. I’ve done some stupid things in my lifetime. I’ll do some stupid things in the future to I know. The stupidest thing I ever did though was think that I could live without you. Please Haley, say you’ll be with me forever. Say you’ll be my wife."

Haley’s face was entirely wet.

"Yes Justin. Yes."

She leaned forward and their lips met again and again.

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