Conflicts of Interest: A Justin Fanfiction Saga

Chapter Six: Crossroads

The next day

Madeline sat alone at her laptop, warmed by the heat coursing through the trailer and happy she didn't need to be outside, where the group was taking more outdoor shots. The snow had built up in the last two days, leaving piles on the sides of the road that resembled the backbone of a sleeping Yeti.

She was restless. She flipped on the radio and listened as she looked out the window and tapped her fingers on the keyboard with the beat.

She stood up and looked in the mirror. "Mirror, mirror," she sighed. "Who am I and what am I turning into?"

She massaged the knot forming at the base of her neck and rubbed her temples as she stared at her reflection. She recalled how the last time she talked to herself in the mirror, Lance had appeared next to her. And that's what got you into this mess, you fool, she scolded.

The assignment looked less exciting every time she thought about it. She would open her laptop, only to stare at it for minutes on end. Detailed conversations were cataloged in her brain, but Madeline couldn't get herself to put them on paper. Guilt, she called it. Second thoughts, writer's remorse. But it wasn't all.

Every time she let her mask drop, he was there; making her laugh, asking personal questions. She was as vague as possible, knowing each nugget of information she gave him would bring them closer. But it was getting harder to be elusive.

She also noticed how her spine tightened when he put a hand on her back to guide her up the stairs. She realized that her eyes traveled from his blue gaze to his lips when he spoke. She also observed that he kept one eye out for her reaction, as if seeking her approval.

In the span of six days, he'd quickly closed the gap she'd initially established. Good for him; bad for her. Madeline felt so disoriented, straying from her original pretenses, that she wasn't sure she'd recognize herself when she emerged from this mess.

This assignment, she reminded herself as the deejay gabbed away on the radio, was given long before she met him. And regardless of how her relationship with Justin ended, she still owed her paper a story. Madeline had to honor her commitment. As terrible as she felt, she didn't see a way out.

Feeling the tension eating away at her, she stood up and paced about the room as the music filled her ears. She turned up the volume louder, hoping to drown out her woes.

The story, the video -- and Justin. She tried not to think about it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I'm not standing around here," Justin proclaimed as he stomped through the snow and pulled on the knit cap he'd stuffed in his overcoat. "It's way too cold; my legs are icicling as we speak."

"That's not a word, Justin," Joey chided, stomping his feet.

"But you got my meaning, didn't you?" Justin asked. "Therefore it has had the desired effect."

"I can't feel my toes," Joey commented, looking down. "I think they're ... they're .. cubing."

Justin stared at him. "They're what?"

"Cubing. You know, like ice cubes. Turning into blocks of ice." Joey grinned sheepishly.

Justin shook his head. "I will be warming up in a room-temperature environment, if anyone's looking for me."

He walked back to his trailer, enjoying the crunch of snow beneath his boots. He looked up at the trees looming above his head. There was about an hour of sunlight left before the sky would change color, Justin predicted.