Natalie scrunched her hair up one more time before answering the door for her to do Justin's hair and make-up. She walked to the door and opened it for Justin to enter. He was her last duty for the day before the show. "Well, last but not least."
Justin grinned and walked right in to sit down in the chair. He looked at the counter which was covered with more than the usual hair products. There was now a smaller section with the little bit of make-up that the guys had on just for extra effect. "The best for the last."
"Or so they say..."
Justin sighed and let Natalie work her fingers through his hair. "You love doing my hair, don't you?"
"No, not really. I think you should shave your head. That would be nice."
"I don't have the fro anymore, so be thankful."
"I am."
Justin relaxed into the chair as Natalie worked his curls into the positions she wanted them in. "Natalie... we really never talked a lot about the few kisses we've shared."
Natalie kept silent and just kept working on his hair, so he continued. "I don't know about you, but well, ok, Natalie, I'm practically pouring my heart out to you right now, so please listen."
She nodded her head to let him know that she was listening. Satisfied, Justin continued. "Well, I've never felt anything like this before in a kiss with girl's. Sure, I've always liked them, but the few kisses we've had were different. I dont' know how to explain them, but they just give me a weird feeling. I don't usually get the feeling of butterflies, but that's what it resembles. It's not that I'm scare or embarassed, but that is just what it feels like, and I don't know how to deal with it."
Justin paused, sighing deeply. Natalie looked at him through the mirror and smiled. "Go ahead, continue."
"I understand that we work together in a sense and you aren't supposed to date the people you work with, but Natalie, as cheesy as this is, I really do like you. I don't know you all that well, well not as well as I would like to get to know other people before starting a relationship, but you're different. I don't know how, but that's the way it is. I like being with you. Talking to you is so easy. Just walking around with you, doing practically nothing is something I would rather do than almost anything else."
"Besides the fact that you're married to your job."
Justin chuckled at that breathed in deeply. "True, but still. I don't know what to say now."
Natalie smiled and pulled her hands away from his head. "That looks good, I think. What do you think?"
"It's good, like usual."
"You should still try using conditioner to be nice to me."
"Why would I do that?"
Natalie punched his shoulder and put a little more gel in his hair. "Because it would be the nice thing to do."
Justin sighed. "So where are we now?"
Natalie shrugged and looked into the mirror at Justin's confused face. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I just told you how I feel and you aren't talking to me."
Natalie closed her eyes and thought for a second. Building up this courage wasn't easy for her, but she was going to do it. "All right. Justin, I'll be honest with you, I don't trust men easily, but it's been different with you. I was a little unsure of you at first, but now I'm not. I'm confused Justin, but in that kiss that I shared with you, I felt something different than with the other few boyfriends I've had. I don't know if I can do this though."
Justin smiled at her. "Well, thank you for talking."
"There's so much more to say, but I don't know how to say it, you know what I mean?"
Justin nodded his head. "Yes, I do."
"So, just like you just asked... Where are we now?"
Justin shrugged. "Do YOU want to see where this all goes?"
Natalie nodded her head and then shook it, but then nodded. "Yes, no.. yes... I don't know. I don't want to hurt anything. I don't want anything to be hurt by the fact that I am your hair dresser and new make-up artist, you know what I mean?"
"Natalie, here's the thing... if something would happen, would you be able to act normal around me afterwards? If we got together, could you handle possible press? I don't want to put you through that, but I know what I want Natalie. I still don't even know that much about you. I don't know where you grew up, how you grew up, what you were like when you were younger, but I just want to see where this would go."
"I agree. I think the press wouldn't be a problem. I'm a strong person at heart Justin, you know that. I could handle a possible break-up. If we're just seeing what would happen, than a break-up wouldn't even be that bad, right? I mean come on, how bad could it be?"
Justin sighed and stood up, grabbing her hands. "Well... I don't think we should call us a couple... we're just..."
"Friends with somewhat benefits?"
"Yea.. I guess."
"I don't really like that idea, but oh well. We'll see where it takes us."
Justin leaned down and grinned against her lips. He kissed them briefly and then covered them with his own quickly. He placed his hands on her back and Natalie's hands roamed up to his chest. She didn't even know if it was right to be with him, but it felt right.
This was now the start of something she didn't even know if she was ready for. Experimenting could be dangerous and she knew it. When Justin left to go get his wardrobe together, Natalie took a deep breath. So they weren't officially a couple, but they both got out that they had feelings for each other and they were going to play around with it. Natalie still wasn't up for just playing around, but she was going to take what was offered.
The next morning, Laura woke up around seven in the morning. They didn't have to leave until ten, so she decided to go downstairs and get something eat for breakfast. Thoughts flooded her head as she walked downstairs. How come when she had kissed Wade, she felt something different? Was it because he's her bestfriend, not a boyfriend? She couldn't explain it. The kiss had happened so long ago to her, but she was still thinking about it constantly. It never left her thoughts.
It was haunting.
She put some of her things in her bags before leaving the room. She looked back over at Wade, who was still sleeping, and smiled warmly. At that, she walked over and bent down to kiss his cheek quickly. In conclusion, she quickly walked to the door and opened and closed it silently.
Wade's eyes peeked open to see if she was gone. He still wanted to talk to her himself. Sure he had tried already a few times, but he knew that she still wasn't opening up to him at all, but he would let her have her space. There was no way he wanted to ruin anything himself and he knew that if he kept trying to talk to her about it, then the possibility of them being together would decrease.
Laura walked down to the elevator, entering it when the doors opened. She sighed as the doors closed. Sure there would be fans outside most likely, but no one inside would be up and around which would be perfect for her to just go and relax, and collect her thoughts some more.
When she got to the bottom floor, she slowly made her way to the dining area. She opened the door and smiled when she saw the sun shine in gently. Walking over to the table with food, Laura sighed before grabbing some orange juice and a bagel. With a turn, she saw two other people in the room, one being Jc. In her thoughts, she figured she mine as well go over and bug him, screw the thinking and relaxing.
Slowly she walked over and pulled a chair out right across from him. He had a newspaper in his hands, therefore he couldn't see that she was there. Laura rested her head on her hands, staring at the newspaper almost as if she could see through it and see Jc's face. The paper rustled a bit as the pages turned and one hand came lurking from the paper to grab the coffee cup on the table to take it to his mouth. When the coffee cup was put back down on the table, Laura slowly slid a hand over and silently moved the cup over to hers and put her orange juice in the place of the coffee.
With that, she rested her head back on her hands. "Laura, put my coffee back."
Laura growled at Jc's calm and soft voice. She put it back quickly and silently, taking her orange juice. "You're no fun."
Jc put the newspaper down and looked at Laura before taking his coffee again to take a sip. "You aren't that good."
Laura shrugged. "It would have been funny if you would have taken a sip of my orange juice."
"No, I dont' think it would have been."
A sigh escaped Laura's lips and she picked her bagel up, toying around with it, and then taking a bite before setting it back down. "So, do you always come down here this early? I never knew you did this."
Jc shrugged, folding the newspaper back up and setting it back down on the table. His hair was a mess, but he was wearing baggy jeans and a plain white t-shirt, ready to be getting on the road. "It's practically a daily routine."
"Sounds entertaining."
"It is... So, how are Natalie and Justin doing? Good? Bad.. horrible...hopefully... Is Lance moving in at all? Hmm, I think I should work on that. Hmm the things you would have to do if you lost. Would you want to be my slave for oh about a year? I think that would be nice. I'm already served on enough as it is, but when we're on breaks, I'm on my own and you know it wouldn't be so bad having someone around to do everything for me... You should come to my parents house with me the next time I visit them so you can do any chores they want me to do. Doesn't that sound like a bunch of fun Laura?"
Laura shook her head and took the newspaper Jc had been reading and flipped it to the obituaries. She looked through them all and slammed the paper down after grabbing the comics and tearing the page up that had the obituaries listed. She shot a glare at Jc and snapped her fingers before looking at the comics. "Darn."
"What were you looking at the obituaries for?"
The paper with the comics on it descended and Laura smiled at Jc. "Just seeing if your name was in there and hoping that it was just your ghost haunting me."
Jc grinned and shook his head confidently before taking the comics away from her. He chuckled at the look on her face that completely said that she wanted to shoot him right about then. "You realize babe, if I were dead, it would make front page baby. Also, think about it if you were to hurt me right now. I have fans that would love to tear you apart if that would ever happen. Plus, you'd be put in jail, and that isn't worth it, is it? You wouldn't see your family, unless they visited and aw, no Wade around."
"What makes you think that I would do that? Besides the fact that you can be a complete bastard when you want to be. I don't care HOW nice you can be, you have your moments.. Plus, why would I waste time to even hurt you? This conversation is getting pointless, Jc." She paused to see Jc's satisfied grin. "Oh stop that. Even if I were to go into jail, my family would visit me. They don't hate me THAT much."
Jc cracked his neck and proceded to take a sip of coffee again. He put it back down on the table and fumbled with the cup with his hands, eyeing Laura. "What about Wade? Do you think he'd come to visit you? I doubt it... I wouldn't if I were him."
Laura shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You really can be terrible..."
With a nod, Jc finished the last of his coffee. "Sure I can. Everyone can. It's human nature Laura. Is he single?"
Jc heard Laura growl as she put her head down on the table. Slowly her head rose again with her hands gripping her hair. "You know Jc, you can be a swell guy, but are you always like this in the morning?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Why don't you ask him?"
Jc shrugged his shoulders and looked at the clock. "If he's normal, he's sleeping right now, and I'm too tired to walk all the way up there and ask him anyway. Plus, his bestfriend is sitting here, so I thought, why not ask her."
"What, do you want a piece of him or something?"
Jc's eyes rolled at the comment and he took the other half of Laura's bagel. "Thanks. I've been kind of hungry."
"Now who is avoiding questions? Hmm? Hmm?"
Jc scooted the chair out a little bit and leaned back, relaxing. He took a different newspaper and opened it to a small section that was dedicated to the entertainment world. He read through part of it and then looked back at Laura. "There's a difference there... That one doesn't deserve an answer because I think it's a little obvious."
Laura just sat there and watched him read the newspaper. She smiled as his forehead scrunched up along with his nose. "What's wrong?"
"Jennifer Lopez. I don't understand her. She's cool and all, but oh well. I think she needs to find a guy that's good for her, not just any 'ol person."
Laura just sat there and fumbled with her thumbs, silently. Jc continued to read the newspaper and Laura smiled at all the times he got an either confused face or a frustrated look on his face. He really was a nice guy, he just liked getting to people at times. Laura sighed and continued to think and get lost in more daydreams.
Ten minutes later, Jc had now been watching her think for about five minutes. He knew this would be good if he asked what was wrong ,but he was just waiting for the right time to ask then. When she put her head down, Jc grinned. "What's troubling you now, kid?"
"Nothing."
"Laura..."
"Jc..."
Jc set down the newer newspaper and folded his arms. "Well...?"
"What?"
Jc pulled his chair in and leaned his head on his hands with his elbows propped on the table. "There has to be something wrong, you don't usually sit there and think for that long without it being important."
Laura sighed deeply and took a deep breath before talking again. "Has Wade been acting different lately to you?"
"Um, no, why?"
Laura shook her head and stood up, smiling at Jc. "I'm sorry, nevermind.. I think I'm going to go back upstairs and see if Natalie is up or something."
Jc smiled and stood up with her. "I should probably go upstairs too."
"I'm not going to throw her and Justin together right now, I'm not in the mood for that this morning."
"Aww, too deep in your daydreams about Wade.. Aww, how cute."
"They aren't daydreams Jc."
Jc started to walk away with Laura. They were silent on the way up to their floor. When they did get to their floor, Jc took Laura's hand and smiled. "Well, thanks for keeping me some form of company.. It was interesting. Short, but interesting."
Laura shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well. I try."
Jc leaned down and kissed her cheek quickly and then let go of her hand. "We'll be seeing you later."
Laura walked away down to her room with Wade as Jc continued to stare into space. Lonnie tapped Jc's shoulder, causing Jc to jump about a foot. "What was that?"
Lonnie shrugged. "Nothing at all. Just go get read with your stuff, that's all."
As Jc started to walk away, Lonnie grinned and started to whistle with a few words spoken in between. "There's love blossoming in the air. How sweet. But these body guard sees a lot of confliccccct."
Jc turned around to see Lonnie rocking back and forth, whistling. "What were you sayin?"
Lonnie shrugged his big shoulders and pointed to Jc's room. "Nothing at all, now go to your room."
Jc sighed in defeat and walked down to his room.
(on the bus)
Natalie growled as the bus hit a bump, causing her to bounce up. She took a pillow and blanket to the backroom and layed down on a couch, watching t.v. When she didn't find anything interesting on t.v, she threw the remote control on the floor and curled up in the blanket. She couldn't wait for some reason to get to the next city of the tour. It was either that or a stop so they could all get out.
Of course she wanted to see Justin. What had happened not all that long ago in that hair room was something she would cherish. There was no better feeling than having someone return the same feelings that they feel for you. Natalie was happy that Justin had talked to her. She didn't think he would, but he was always surprising her in any way he could.
Natalie turned on her side when she heard the phone ring. She turned back and looked around the room. Her eyes then focused on the phone that was right on the wall beside her. She reached up and grabbed it with a groggy voice. "Hello?"
Justin grinned when he heard Natalie's voice. Her voice was comforting to him. "Hey. What have you been doing?"
Natalie sighed into the phone. She just listened to his breathing for a second before answering his question. "Um, nothing really. I was going to try to go to sleep or even just watch t.v, but there was nothing on."
"Yea, I turned the t.v. on too and I didn't find anything."
"When's the next stop? I didn't get to see you this morning."
Justin's rhythmic breathing was heard throughout the phone. Natalie heard what sounded like moving around and then his calm voice once again. "I don't know when we're stopping again. I could stop right now if you want."
Natalie shook her head and pulled the blanket over her. "Nah, it's ok. I think I should just get some sleep maybe anyway."
Justin shook his head violently. "No, we'll stop now. I have to pee."
Natalie giggled into the phone and stared out the window. "Justin, there's a bathroom on the bus... We don't need to stop."
"Then I'll tell them that I'm hungry and I want some-"
"Justin, we don't need to stop."
A chuckle escaped his mouth with a grin. "Natalie, I really am hungry. I want to stop now."
"All right. I'll talk to you in a bit then."
They hung up the phones and Natalie looked out the window, staring at the landscape off the road. She turned around when she felt someone else sit on the couch. She smiled when she saw Laura sitting there with a tired look on her face. "Hello there. What are you up to?"
Laura shrugged and yawned, stretching her arms above her head. They fell down quickly, and she turned towards Natalie. "Nothingggggg."
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I don't know. Why aren't YOU sleeping?"
Natalie turned away and picked at the fabric of the comforter. "Just thinking."
"About...?"
For a second, Natalie was silent, but she decided to whip around and look at Laura. "How long do you think you should take to get to know someone before becoming a what you could call and 'item' ?"
Laura grinned. She knew she could be completely wrong, but she was sure that she was talking about Justin. "Well, I don't know. It depends on the person. Why? Is there a certain SOMEONE? Cough. Cough."
Natalie shook her head at Laura and sighed. Natalie knew that Laura knew that she was talking about Justin. It wasn't hard to hide. "I'm not going to say a word."
Laura sat on the floor right in front of Natalie by jumping to her feet. "Are you and Justin an item?"
"What would make you think that?"
Laura shrugged and played with her hair. "Do you like him?"
Natalie watched as Laura put her hair in a pony tail. Another sigh escaped Natalie's lips. She knew that Laura would somehow find out eventually. "Define 'like'. I like him as in a person, he's a great person to be around. He's funny, cute, charming and nice."
"Fine.. Do you want to get down his pants?"
"No!"
"Come on, you do."
"Laura, where are you gtting with this?"
Laura sighed and sat on the other side of the bus. "You like him. He likes you. You guys are together and you're not saying a word. I know it. I know it all, because I'm that cool, Natalie. I'm THAT cool."
Natalie's smile went along with her shaking her head in disbelief of Laura. "Right."
Laura looked out the window to see that they were stopping. "Why are we stopping?"
Natalie immediately looked out the window to see if she could see Justin at all. "I'm not sure."
Laura stood up and grabbed Natalie's hand. "Well, let's go see."
Natalie reluctantly stood up and walked in front of Laura. She left the bus when allowed and she found Justin waiting for her at the side and they smiled at each other. "Hello."
Natalie grinned and let Justin grab her hand to walk with her. "Have fun on the bus?"
Justin nodded his head sarcastically. "Tons, you know it, babe."
Natalie looked up at Justin, with her smile growing wider. She turned away as they stopped to just stand there and look around at their surroundings. Justin wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Finally he had her. It wasn't so bad talking to her about it, but now she was his and he was hers, at least that's how he felt and he liked it that way. Sure, the relationship thing they had going on just started, and it wasn't really official, but it sure felt like it. He didn't know her well enough to love her, but he knew her enough to know that he liked being around her and wanted to be with her.
He prayed so much the night before that this relationship wouldn't be like the other ones. All of his other relationships had been nasty. They never ended without something horrible happening. True they still weren't official, but they were more than friends, and they both knew it without a doubt. Natalie didn't seem like the type of girl to cause a problem. She seemed to sweet to even try to make his life miserable if he were to break up with her.
Natalie turned towards Justin and stood up straight on her tiptoes to kiss Justin's cheek. Justin's hand came around and he placed it on her cheek. His thumb gently rubbed the soft skin before dropping back to her hand. Natalie looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching them. She saw Lonnie standing somewhat close, but with his back turned. He had been in this business enough that he knew when to give privacy and when he ws needed.
Natalie sighed and raised an eyebrow at Justin with a playful glare. "I thought you were getting food."
Justin shrugged his shoulders and smiled, shaking his head. He put his hands up in the hair and pretended to act like he was clueless. "I don't know."
"You were going to get food, remember?"
"Oh yea.. Um, I'm not hungry anymore... Are you mad?"
Natalie shook her head and leaned against the bus. "No, but you said you were going to get food and that's the reason that we were stopping, not just so you could bull-shit around."
"True, but oh well.They'll get over it. They're used to me stopping us so many times already, so it's not like it's a big deal. I wasn't really hungry at all really."
Natalie slapped his shoulder and turned away. "SO you DID stop everyone just so you could see me. Justin, that's a waste of time that we could be spending on the bus getting ready to arrive wherever we're going next, but instead, you decided to stop the bus so you could see me? Ok there Justin."
"What's wrong with wanting to come see you?"
Natalie shook her head and covered Justin's mouth with her own hand. "I don't want to here your smooth talking voice or hear any of your charm. I'm not in the mood, so don't start."
Justin grinned and leaned down to kiss Natalie's lips. She felt a slightly tingling sensation throughout her body and it went up and down her back, causing her to shiver. Justin put his arms around her, trying to keep her from trembling. When she started to move her hands to his curls, he grabbed her hands and held them as he kissed her. He didn't want his already messy curls any worse.
Natalie started to push against him since she wasn't allowed to dig her hands in his curls or lay them on his chest. Soon enough Justin's back was against the bus, creating a little thump. Lonnie turned around to see what it was and he covered his eyes when he saw Natalie there with Justin against the bus. He didn't want to know anymore. Justin grinned against her lips. "You're a tough one. Do you think you can take me on?"
Natalie shook her head against his lips. "No."
Justin pulled away quickly and turned to look at Lonnie who had turned back around to see what was going on once again. Lonnie pointed to the bus, pointing out that they needed to get going if they were to get to the next city on time. Justin grabbed Natalie's hand and pulled her to her bus. He smiled up at her and let her go. "See you later."
Justin left and Natalie touched her lips. He sure knew how to make a girl feel like they were up on a pedistal.
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