"What the hell happened?!" Josh exclaimed, rushing over to Justin and taking the bloodied hand in his own, inspecting it.
"I went to pay Lance a visit," Justin happily responded, a little confused when his boyfriend didn't share the smile.
"Are you insane?" He lowly asked, grateful when Chris returned with a damp towel. He instantly brought the cloth to Justin's hand, cleaning the crusty, dark red blood off of it.
"What? I thought you'd be happy I stood up for myself," The younger pouted, grateful that the red liquid was gone from his skin. JC sighed, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his temple.
"I am proud of you, baby. I'm not proud you went without me or any bodyguards. You know what Lance is capable of," He spoke with a frown, but Justin just chuckled.
"No. I know what Lance is capable of paying for. He can't and he won't do shit to me on his own. I proved it to him," Justin confidently announced, and Josh licked his lips. He'd rarely seen the confident, sure of himself side of Justin, and he quickly decided that it was a serious turn on.
"You proved it to him?" Chris questioned with a smirk, breaking the intense glare the two lovers shared.
"I sure did. I basically begged him to try and take me out himself," Justin exclaimed, a bright smile on his face when he turned to his best friend.
"Hey, don't brag about that," JC softly said with a frown, his hand on the small of Justin's back.
"Sorry," Justin quickly responded, but Josh didn't miss the wink and smirk he sent Chris. The eldest of the three chuckled, before shaking his head when he turned to look at JC, who didn't look all that happy.
"I'll take this as my sign to leave. Sounds like you two have quite a bit to talk about," He announced, seeing the look in JC's eyes. Justin looked up at his boyfriend, seeing him fake a smile before turning back to Chris with a sigh.
"I guess we do. I'll see you tomorrow," The 23 year old spoke.
"See ya, J. Bye JC," Chris said, turning to the door and walking out. JC closed it behind him, before rubbing a hand down his face and turning to Justin.
"Sit," He said, walking towards the couch and watching as his boyfriend followed.
"Look, I know what you're going to say," The 23 year old started, seeing Josh trying to form his thoughts.
"You do?" The elder asked, somewhat skeptical.
"Of course I do. Do you really think I thought you'd be thrilled that I went to go visit Lance? Hell, do you really think I thought it was a brilliant idea?"
"Then why'd you do it?" Josh questioned, turning to tuck a curl behind Justin's ear, who sighed.
"I needed to do it for me. I needed to prove to myself that I'm not as weak as Lance has made me feel. I've never backed down, Josh. And since the attack, I felt like I have and I was missing part of me," The Memphis native explained, looking down to stare at the hand that his boyfriend placed on his knee, almost if he was afraid that it was an illusion.
"I get it," He whispered, causing Justin's head to snap up, his blue eyes filled with confusion.
"You do?"
"Yeah. When Lance and I broke up and he took all my time, my parents begged me to stay away from him. They basically told their entire security team to be near me at all times, but I couldn't stand how vulnerable it made me feel so I did what you did," He said, chuckling when he saw Justin's eyebrows raise. "I mean, not exactly what you did. I didn't beg him to hit me. But I needed to prove to myself that I was strong. But the difference between you and I is that at that time, I didn't have anyone to tell me that I was strong. You do. Justin, you're the strongest person I've ever met. If you ever need someone to remind you of that, please just ask me to tell you because I'll be more than happy to," Josh finished, and Justin brightly smiled.
"So… you're not mad?" The younger questioned, and JC chuckled.
"Did you really think I could stay mad at you even if I tried?"
"No," Justin smiled with a wink, leaning forward and pressing his lips to his boyfriend's. "But it's nice to hear you say it," Josh playfully rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around Justin's shoulder, enjoying a few moments of comfortable silence before he sighed, thinking of his plans the next day.
"I completely forgot to tell you. I called one of my lawyers for you, we have a meeting with him tomorrow," He spoke, feeling Justin tense. "What's wrong?"
"I… I can't take him to court," Justin announced, the frown evident on his face. JC almost chuckled, pulling away from him and bringing them so they were face to face.
"What? Of course you can. He can't just get away with this, Justin. Especially not now," The elder responded, secretly knowing that Justin visiting the blonde was sure to do nothing but fuel his fire.
"It's not like I don't want to," Justin sighed, and Josh could sense the defeat in his voice.
"Then why can't you?" He questioned, only to hear Justin sigh once again.
"Nobody's going to believe me when they find out I was having memory problems when I first woke up…," He said, looking down. Josh felt his heart slightly flutter, as he himself hadn't thought of that, but he knew he had to be strong and find a solution. Lance couldn't get away with what he'd done.
"There could be witnesses, surveillance footage, somebody else that saw what happened. You not remembering what happened only proves that you were hurt," He spoke, satisfied with his answer. He saw Justin's face slightly relax, and felt some of the previous tension in his shoulder his hand was resting on disappear.
"I guess you're right."
"Of course I am," Josh teased, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Justin's lips when he playfully rolled his eyes.
"You know I love you, right?"
"I know," Josh whispered, bringing his thumb to the small amount of stubble on his boyfriend's chin. "But I like hearing you say it… I love you too."
Josh sat in front of his large vanity early the next morning, frowning as he attempted to style his chocolate brown hair into a style he deemed acceptable. He groaned as he picked up a can of hairspray, hating how his hair felt after it was drenched in the sticky liquid, but he wanted to look good for his lawyer. He wanted to make the best possible impression for Justin. He didn't notice Justin walk in, and stand behind him with a smirk, crossing his arms.
"Remember not to stand near any open flames today," He teased, walking over to his boyfriend and draping his arms over his chest.
"Very funny," Josh replied with a chuckle, kissing Justin's cheek before standing up and taking in Justin's outfit. The younger male wore a sky blue dress shirt, paired with dark black jeans, and JC smiled, offering his approval. Justin had come to him early that morning, expressing his fear that he had no idea how people dressed when meeting a lawyer. Did they go full casual, or full formal? Or somewhere in-between? "You look good."
"Really?" Justin questioned, almost as if he was afraid Josh was making fun of him. However, the elder stepped closer to him, gently placing his hands on his waist.
"Of course…," He responded, smiling when Justin slightly blushed. "You ready for today?"
"I think so… I mean, I don't really know what to expect," The 23 year old honestly replied.
"I know. But don't worry, I'll be there. I'll handle all the legal talk. You okay to talk about what happened if he asks?"
"If it helps get Lance thrown in prison, then yeah, I'll be okay," Justin responded, and Josh smiled, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his temple. His boyfriend would be just fine.
"So, there should be no issues then, right?" Joshua questioned, sitting across from his lawyer, Mark Smidt.
"I don't presume there will be, Mr. Chasez. I plan on contacting the Old Town Bar right after this meeting and requesting access to the video surveillance from the night of the attack. Once we have that piece of evidence, we may need Mr. Timberlake to come in and correctly identify the suspects before we start planning our trial. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think the suspects would be willing to throw Mr. Bass under the bus if it meant less jail time for them," The young, dark haired lawyer explained. Justin inhaled deeply as he turned to sneak a look at JC, grateful that he was there. Like he promised, he dealt with all the legalities of the conversation while Justin focused on telling his story. The Memphis native knew that if Josh wasn't there, he wouldn't have survived the meeting.
"That's wonderful, Mark," The elder said with a smile, shifting his gaze to his boyfriend with a smile before standing up. Justin followed suite, instantly reaching for JC's hand. "When should we expect to hear from you again?"
"It might take a little while for the bar to get back to me or search for the footage, but Mr. Timberlake, your precision with the date and time will greatly help the search. I'll call you within 48 hours to at least give you and update," The middle-aged male spoke, smiling as he shifted his gaze between the two.
"Thank you, Mark," JC said, smiling as he shook his lawyer's hand, grateful they were at least able to get some answers during their meeting. Justin offered his own smile, waiting for JC to release Mark's hand before shaking it within his own.
"Yeah, I really appreciate this."
"It was my pleasure, Mr. Timberlake. That being said, this isn't going to be an easy journey, but we just have to believe that justice will be served. At times, it may be hard, but it's important to stay strong," The elder male explained, only to receive a nod from the Memphis native.
"I'll try," He offered a small smile, feeling JC squeeze his hand gently, offering a silent promise that no matter what happened, he'd be there for Justin.
Justin picked slowly at his fries as he sat at lunch with Josh. He had roughly an hour before he needed to be at the GQ offices, as he explained to his boss, Johnny Wright that he needed half a day off. Josh decided that Justin needed to eat something before his shift, and wanted to see how his younger boyfriend was processing all the new information he'd received. Slowly, Josh reached forward, taking Justin's hand in his own and gently running his thumb across it.
"Hey," He smiled when Justin's beautiful blue eyes met his. "How you holding up?"
"I'm okay," Justin shrugged, offering a smile in return. "It's just a lot to take in, you know?" He said, and Josh thoughtfully nodded.
"I know. I don't expect this to be easy for you, Justin. Going through a lawsuit and a trial is nerve-wracking, and it's a lot of work, but it's the only way to make sure that people like Lance don't just get away with hurting you."
"I know, Josh. It's just… you seem so calm about the whole idea of going to trial… what if people don't believe me? What if, Lance is clearly guilty but the jury is oblivious?" The 23 year old questioned with a sigh.
"Baby, the only reason I'm so calm about it is because I've done it. Many times. I was just as nervous as you are when I went to my first trial, but you just have to trust yourself and what you know the truth is. I've learned that if you can't believe yourself, how can you expect anyone else to believe you?" The 28 year old explained, feeling his heart swell when he saw Justin smile.
"You're right… It's just… I would have never, ever expected that I would be going to trial against my boyfriend's ex for organizing an attack on me. This is all just so crazy," Justin expressed with a slight chuckle.
"It is crazy," Josh responded, and then heavily sighed.
"What?"
"I know I've mentioned this to you before… but Justin, things like this… they unfortunately happen in my life a lot. People see the time that my family and the company has, and they think that it would be so much easier to just take us out than earning their own time. I want you to know that I'll always protect you, but if you want to be with me, you need to watch your back," The elder of the two explained, looking down at the table. He wasn't expecting it, but he felt Justin squeeze his hand and bring it to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on it.
"I wouldn't be going to court if I didn't want to be with you. I love you, Josh… and I think, as much as I try to pretend like I can just live my normal life and run free, I think I'm finally starting to understand that I need to adjust to this new life, because I want it to be my only life."
"So… what are you saying?" JC questioned, raising his eyes to look at his boyfriend.
"I'm saying I want a bodyguard."