Justin sat on the plane, very nervous. Chris, Lance, and Joey were in the row behind him, and JC sat beside him asleep. He went over the plan in his head. Justin smiled with satisfaction. It was a good plan.

"We are now landing at our destination," the pilot said. "Fasten your seatbelts. Thanks for flying."

"No problem, Pilot Bob-o!" Chris yelled. Justin sighed and turned around.

Lance and Joey were laughing. "Why can't you just shut up, Chris? Damn," Justin said.

"Sorry," Joey said. "He drank too much wine."

"What's with him and alcohol lately? Jeez," Justin turned back around.

The plane landed and the five guys got a taxi and headed to the hotel. On the way there, Justin passed the street that Eryn and her friend lived on. It was one street south of the street that the hotel was on.

The guys went to their rooms. They got two rooms. JC, Justin and Lance stayed in one, while Chris and Joey stayed in the other.

As they were unpacking, JC turned too Justin. "When are you going to go to her house?" JC asked him.

Justin looked at his watch. "I don't know. It's only 1pm… maybe tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But if you guys hit it off… you may as well have a lot of time together." Lance told him. "I think you should go today."

"Yeah," JC agreed. "I think you should, too."

"Hmm," Justin frowned. "Sure, I think I should, too. But I am really nervous."

"Just do it," Lance said, and JC nodded. The three finished unpacking. "Right now."

Justin smiled nervously and agreed. "Okay," he said. "I'm going. By myself."

***

He sat on the curb across the street, staring at the apartment building.

"It's now, or never," he said to himself. He walked into the building and looked at the sheet of paper.

Room 155, it read.

He went to the elevator, and pressed the first floor. He was wearing a baseball cap so he wouldn't be seen outside. He took it off, and walked to the room.

Justin knew if he didn't do it now, he would chicken out. He reached up and knocked on the door. He heard someone walking to the door, and it opened.

Smiling, Justin recognized the person as Eryn's friend. "Hi, is Eryn here?" Justin asked her politely.

Sasha was speechless. "Um… yeah, but you're Justin from N Sync."

"I am?" Justin asked her. "Get out."

"Um, sorry, but, hold on, um, come in, okay?" Sasha moved out of the way. "Make yourself comfortable, okay?"

"Great, thanks," Justin said. He walked over to the couch and sat down.

Sasha ran to Eryn's bedroom. "Eryn, you will NEVER guess who is at the door?"

Eryn frowned. "Is it James, Sash? Cause I swear, it better not be… stupid asshole… tell him to screw off."

"No, Eryn," Sasha said. "It's Justin Timberlake."

Eryn started to laugh. "Whatever," she said, and turned back to her book.

"No, really, I swear, if I am lying you can have… anything you want, plus all my money." Sasha said. "He asked for you."

"Okay, sure thing, Sasha," Eryn laughed. She walked out into the living room and looked on the couch. Her legs gave out.

Justin turned around, hearing something fall. He smiled when he saw Eryn on the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Eryn said. "Um… what are you doing here?"

"Well, Eryn--" Justin began.

"How do you know my name?" Eryn asked.

"Well," Justin said, smiling. "I did meet you at the concert."

"That was so long ago, what the hell?" Eryn was confused. She knew she was always a little slow to catch on, but this wasn't making ANY sense.

"Eryn, I know you other ways, too," Justin said.

Eryn pinched herself. This HAS to be a dream, she thought. "How?" She asked him.

"You know me, too," Justin said. "As Crunk_Guy."

Eryn stared at him, speechless with disbelief. Suddenly, it was all fitting together. His name was Crunk_Guy… a guy actually liked N Sync… Justin… he lived out of a suitcase. "Oh, my God." Eryn said.

"Yeah, I know," Justin said. Everything was falling into place. Just like he hoped it would.

"Well," Eryn said. "This is one hell of a surprise."

"Yeah, I knew who you were ever since you told me your name. I remembered from the concert." Justin said.

"Wow." Eryn said. "So we know each other pretty well, then. This is cool. I am actually getting over it's you because we have talked for so long. I am no longer star struck."

"Well, that's great," Justin said. "Are you mad?"

"No, because I probably would have flipped out if I knew I was chatting with Justin Timberlake. I think it was great you came all the way here, for me. How long are you here for?" Eryn asked.

"Two weeks," Justin replied. "But there was a reason that I came all the way here."

"What is it?" asked Eryn.

"Eryn!" Sasha called. "Do you believe me, now?" She walked in the room. Justin frowned.

"Sasha, can you leave us alone," Eryn said to her. "Please?"

Sasha looked hurt. "Yeah." She left.

"Wait!" Justin called to her. "Here." He wrote down the hotel and the room that they were staying in. "JC is in the room. I know you like him best. Go get an autograph."

"Thanks, Justin!" Sasha said. "See you all later." She left.

"Okay, this is what I wanted to tell you," Justin said. He stood up and began to sing. It wasn't an N Sync song. It was a song he made for Eryn, telling her how much he cared for her. She sat on the couch in awe as the words filled her brain.

As he sang the song, tears welled up in her eyes.

She stood up beside him, and put a finger to his lips. He stopped singing.

"What?" he asked. Justin looked at the floor. "Oh, damn… you think I'm a freak. Sorry, I should have never come. Eryn, I am so sorry." He grabbed his jacket, and headed to the door.

Eryn ran behind him and grabbed him arm. "No, Justin, that's not it! Not at all!"

Justin turned around. "Why did you stop my song then?"

"Because I wanted to tell you, that, well, it's mutual." Eryn smiled. "From the first day we chatted, I felt different. I really like you, too, Justin."

"Really?" Justin grinned. "That's great!"

"So…" Eryn said. "Are we going to try something long distance?" After asking, she realized that it was a dumb question.

"Of course… if you want to," Justin said. "Do you?"

"Yeah, I really do," Eryn answered. "Um, but what about Madeline? Are you ready to move on?" She knew of Madeline from their emails and phone conversations.

"I never thought I would be, but I do now," Justin took Eryn's hand and kissed it gently. He smiled, and pulled her close for a hug.

End of Chapter Nine