With Every Beat of
My Heart
SS by Jaymie
Britney
turned the corner in her Mercedes Benz and glanced in her rear view mirror to
see the paparazzi on her tail again. Not today… she thought. Please,
not today… Her manager had ragged on her today for spending too much time
with Justin and not enough time promoting her album. His words echoed in her
head over and over. “You need to spend less time with Justin and more time
promoting! What if you and Justin were to break up? Then your record would be a
failure and you would be left with nothing. I almost think it’d be good for
you two to break-up so that you can focus on your career, Britney.” She
shook her head and blinked back the tears that were fighting for release.
Right after that, as she had walked out of Jive Records, a group of girls
had hollered at her and called her many things before adding that she didn’t
deserve Justin. On top of that, that very morning, a new issue of PEOPLE had
come out, proclaiming that she was possibly the most hated celebrity because of
her relationship with Justin. She was in so much pain right now and it was
almost unbearable.
As she pulled into Justin’s driveway, she tried to compose herself. She
knew that once she got in there, Justin would ask her what was wrong and she
would cry. And he would hold her. The very thought made her feel a little
better.
----
Justin
finished washing the dishes in the new home he had bought. He was making lunch
for his date with Britney. Something had been bothering him all morning but he
couldn’t put a finger on it. He knew that it had something to do with Britney.
It was like their bodies were connected. They could sense what the other was
feeling, even if they were a country apart. He was just about to call her when
the doorbell rang. Setting the dishes aside, his heart pounded as he opened the
door…
I could feel
It coming from a mile away
When I opened up the door
I saw everything that I've been waiting for
His heart broke as he saw the person before him. There was Britney. His
girl. Her hair a mess and her eyes ready to burst into tears… yet she was
still beautiful. He said, “Baby, what’s wrong?” He opened his arms and she
jumped into them, welcoming his embrace.
She sobbed for a few
minutes. He led her to the couch and lifted her eyes to his. “Brit, baby, why
are you crying?”
“J, they- the whole world
is saying that we are not right for each other. Just today Johnny told me that
he wishes we would break up so that I could promote my album instead of spend
all my time on you. And when I left, these girls told me that- that I didn’t
deserve you. And on top of that, PEOPLE magazine took a survey that said that I
am the most hated female celebrity because of my relationship with you. Maybe
they’re right, J…” She looked into his baby blue eyes. “What if
they’re right?”
“Oh, baby, they’re
wrong. They’re completely wrong,” he said, wrapping her in his arms.
Close your eyes
I don't care what other people say
Here underneath the stars
Now Jupiter and Mars don't seem so far away
----
(2
years later)
“Hey, J!” a familiar voice yelled. It was JC.
“Hey man! What’s up with
you now?” Justin asked as he lovingly embraced his best friend.
“Not much. I am getting
ready to do a lot of promotion for my new album. So, what brings you backstage
at the AMA’s?” JC asked.
“Well, I am supposed to be
presenting an award with…” he replied, his voice trailing off.
JC looked at Justin and
caught the hint. “With Britney, aren’t you?”
Justin nodded, his eyes drifting to the floor. JC placed his hand on
Justin’s shoulder and said, “Hey, man. You’ll do fine. You guys are still
friends.”
“We haven’t talked since
we broke up, Jayce.”
“Well, no better time than
now,” JC said, smiling. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Good luck, man!”
----
Britney turned towards the
stage. It was now or never. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Miss Britney
Spears and Justin Timberlake.” Britney forced herself to take a deep breath
and head across the stage. She saw him walking towards the same platform she
was. He caught her eye and she looked at him before breaking their gaze and
waving to the audience.
I want you to know
You take my breath away
And it's been that way right from the start
I didn't know how to tell you
That I want to love you
With every beat of my heart
(With every beat of my heart)
As they reached the
platform, they hesitated for a second before embracing each other. Gosh,
she smells so good, he
thought to himself. He smells just like
the cologne I gave him for his 20th birthday. They
presented the award for Best Dance Album and then exited offstage together.
Britney began to walk away but Justin grabbed her arm.
“Wait, Brit.”
She turned towards him,
feeling all of her anger spewing forward, and said, “What is there to talk
about, Justin? You broke things up without so much as a ‘why’. I was left in
the dark. Weren’t you the one that said the world was completely wrong?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Then we don’t need
to talk about anything,” she said coldly.
“Just at least come over for dinner tonight, Brit.”
She hesitated.
“Please,” he
exclaimed, his eyes pleading.
She sighed. “All
right, J.”
He smiled. “Great.
I’ll drive you over.”
----
Justin opened the door for
Britney and she entered his apartment as she had 2 years ago, only this time she
wasn’t crying. “What would you like?” he asked, looking in his cupboards.
“Can we order something,
J?”
“Sure,” he said,
surprised. “You’re not on a diet, Brit?”
“No,” she replied,
looking down at her abs, “do you think I need to be?”
“Oh, Brit. I never thought
you needed to be on one.”
She blushed as he walked
over to the phone and ordered a cheese pizza for them to share.
He then walked over to her
and motioned for her to sit on the couch with him. She hesitated and then sat
beside him, their knees touching.
He looked down at his hands
and then said, “Listen, Brit. I know that I broke up with you without
explanation. And I know that I was the one who said the world was wrong. And
they were. But I fell into their trap and it tore us apart.” He looked up at
her. “I don’t want that to happen again, baby.”
She looked at him, the pain of the break-up… the break-up he had caused still present in her soft brown eyes. She remained silent
and motionless. He leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips. She sat there in
shock and he grinned. “You weren’t showing any emotion so I had to make sure
you were still alive.” Her face turned red with anger and she stood up.
“Justin! That was the
most conceited thing that you could do! I didn’t want you to kiss me! Do you
know how many nights that I stayed awake trying to forget that kiss? Or the way
you held me? You aren’t making it any easier, J. I want to move on and you are
holding me back.”
Justin was about to
reply, when the doorbell rang. “I’ll be right back, Brit.”
Take my hand
Don't be afraid, don't go
I want you to stay
As he left, Britney
sank back onto the couch and placed her head in her hands. She had wanted that
kiss for so long and he knew it. She didn’t want to act like this towards him.
Deep down, she ached for him. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. Footsteps
neared, but she didn’t care. He had seen her cry on this same couch before.
“Brit…” Justin
whispered, picking her up and setting her on his lap. He wrapped his arms around
her tiny body. “It’s okay. If I had known that I would have made you cry by
kissing you, I wouldn’t have done it. Babe, you’ve gotta believe me.” He
tilted her chin up and said, “You believe me, don’t you?”
Just relax your
mind
I promise that tomorrow will be just like today
She stared at him for a
second and then leaned in to place her lips on his. She felt him tremble in
surprise and relief. As they pulled apart, he looked into her eyes. “Brit, I
love you. I always will. I love you more and more with every beat of my heart,
baby.” He then placed another kiss on her lips and held her in his arms,
whispering promises to her late into the night.
I want you to know
You take my breath away
And it's been that way right from the start
I didn't know how to tell you
That I want to love you
With every beat of heart
(With every beat of my heart)