Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 19:53:35 +0000
From: Angel1313@att.net
Subject: Devotion ch.18

Devotion
Chapter Eighteen:
A Friend In Need

Disclaimer: Thanks for lasting through previous chapter, I like this one
much better! Plus it's longer then usual (yay!) Oh, right, I've got to put
the actual *disclaimer* here. I don't know/own/have anything to do with
*NSYNC. But you probably know that by now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Eighteen:
A Friend In Need

	"C'mon, we'd better hurry," Justin said as he exited the taxi,
Britney close behind.
	Immediately the flashing of cameras began. Grabbing Britney's hand,
the youngest member of *NSYNC quickly pushed his way through the throng of
reporters, the pop queen in tow.
	Once they were inside the restaurant the two had chosen, Justin
dropped his friend's hand. "How did they know we were going to be here?" he
wondered aloud.
	"They probably didn't," the matredee, a woman in her twenties with
short red hair, responded. "Hillary Clinton is hosting a fund-raising
dinner in one of the private rooms tonight."
	"Great, so we just had bad timing," Britney sighed.
	"*Really* bad timing," Justin corrected.
	The matredee laughed. "May I have your reservation?"
	"Scott," Justin replied.
	"Scott for two, eight o'clock?" the woman asked, looking at the
sheet of reservations.
	"That's us," Justin answered. With that the red-head lead them to
table in the corner of the restaurant, where the two pop stars wouldn't be
bothered.
	Once they were left alone, Britney looked across the table at
Justin questioningly. "`Scott'?" She asked. "Where did you get that?"
	"First name that came to mind that I'd be able to remember, but
that wasn't too obvious," Justin replied.
	"What do you mean? What's so memorable about `Scott'?" the young
woman persisted.
	"Well, Timberlake or Spears is too obvious," Justin explained. "And
even Randall might give us away. But Scott, well, who'd see the connection?
It's such a common name that even if someone *did* think of it, they'd
dismiss it immediately."
	"Um, wait, *how* exactly does `Scott' rank up there with our
names?" Britney asked as she tried to make sense of Justin's logic.
	"It's JC's middle name," Justin told the eighteen year-old, seeming
surprised that she didn't know that.
	"Oh. Ooooh!" Britney exclaimed as a realization hit her. "Of
course!"
	Justin looked at her as if she had just sprouted horns. "Um, you
okay?"
	The young woman laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you doing?"
	"Fine, thank you," Justin replied politely.
	Britney laughed again. "No, seriously, Just. You were all spacey in
the cab, and you keep picking at your sweater. What's on your mind."
	"Nothing," the blonde lied.
	Britney wasn't about to let it go. "Justin," she said, calm but
demanding. "Listen. I just flew into New York this morning. I then got to
spend several hours with my stylist. Then I got to spend even more time
with Darren. Then I had to hunt down you guys. I haven't had anything to
eat since about ten this morning, and I'm trying *really hard* not to get
cranky, but you're not really helping. So just tell me what the hell is
wrong!"
	Staring at the huffing young woman across from him in surprise,
Justin took a deep breath. "Um, I'm having um, trouble with uh, someone,
um, that I love," he managed to stutter out.
	"Is it your mom?" Britney asked quickly.
	"No," Justin replied just as swiftly. "Everything's fine between me
and my mom."
	"Then it's JC," the eighteen year-old stated. Her tone showed no
trace of doubt. She was sure that it had to be Justin's best friend if it
wasn't his mother.
	Justin stared at her silently for a few moments, an answer that
spoke louder then any words he could have uttered. Finally he spoke. "How
did you know?"
	Britney smiled. "Well, for one, you said `someone you love,' not
`one of the guys,' so that ruled out anyone that you didn't have a more
intimate relationship with. Plus, you said `love,' and you don't tend to
use that with someone like your little brother. You usually say, `someone
in my family' or something like that when you're dealing with anyone except
your mom," the pop star explained to the flustered youth across from her.
	"What about Josh?" he asked, still baffled by how Britney knew that
much from a simple statement. "He doesn't fall into any of those
categories. He's just `one of the guys,' so why didn't you rule him out?"
	Britney grinned at Justin "Just, he's not simply `one of the guys,'
and you and I both know that."
	Justin's mouth dropped open. Trying to keep himself together, he
quickly shut it, but it was too late.
	"I knew it!" the eighteen year-old exclaimed in triumph.
	Noticing several other patrons glancing over in their direction,
Justin quickly tried to quiet his friend, "Brit," he hissed. "Would you
kindly try to keep it down?!"
	"Sorry," she giggled. "I'm just so happy we were right!"
	"`We'?" Justin repeated. "Who's `we'?"
	"Oh, just a few of us, me, Christina, Karen, your mom-"
	"WHAT?!" burst from Justin's mouth before he could stop
himself. This time the other patrons didn't just glance in their direction,
they glared. "What?" Justin asked again, his voice much quieter.
	Britney laughed at her distraught friend good-naturedly. "Aw, Just,
don't get all bent out of shape. It's not a big deal. Remember that
barbecue we did at your place before the last tour?"
	"Yeah," Justin muttered, wondering where the young woman across
from him was going with this.
	"Well, what do you remember most about it?" she asked.
	"Um..." Justin trailed off, as smile coming to his lips as he
recalled the spring day that had occurred a couple of months
before. Looking back at Britney, he answered, "Probably lying in the grass
with Josh, looking at the clouds. It was so nice, just pretending to be
normal, enjoying a nice day."
	Smiling triumphantly, Britney explained, "Well, that's just
it. Remember how you were sitting with JC?" Justin nodded, but Britney told
him anyway. "With your head on his chest. But that's not how we all knew."
	"Then how did you know?" Justin inquired, generally curious.
	"Joey had asked you to play basketball and you turned him down to
stay with JC. And then he took your hand and gave it this little kiss, and
you started blushing like one of his twelve year-old fans," Britney teased.
	Flushing a bit at the memory, and his friend's description of it,
Justin quietly asked, "So they all know, huh? My mom, JC's mom, Christina?"
	"Yep," the eighteen year-old replied cheerily. "I mean, we all knew
that JC was gay, and you just were, well, are, actually," she
corrected. "so obviously in love with him, and-"
	"What do you mean?" Justin interrupted.
	"About you being obvious?" Britney asked. Justin nodded. "Well,"
she began, smiling at the blonde seated across from her. "For one thing,
you two always cuddle when we watch movies. Actually, you two cuddle even
when we aren't watching moves." Britney laughed and Justin blushed again.
	"Well," Justin tried to defend his actions. "Josh, um, is just
comfortable to um, cuddle with!"
	"Ooh," Britney replied sarcastically. "Good reason! Now I can see
that you're just friends."
	"Shut-up," Justin laughed, defeated.
	"Plus, you two kiss a lot," Britney continued.
	"We do not!" Justin claimed, but Britney held up her hand for
silence.
	"I don't mean on the lips, just other places, like on the forehead
or cheek," she clarified.
	"Well," Justin muttered. "I can't really deny that."
	Britney laughed. "Of course you can't, silly! It's the truth! Plus,
you just get that look when you're watching him. And, well, you watch him!
And you get all jealous when you think people are hitting on him. And there
was that time when you moaned his name in your sleep-"
	Justin blanched. "Wh-when I *what*?"
	Grinning, Britney admitted, "I'm only playin', Justin."
	Breathing a *huge* sigh of relief, Justin glared at the eighteen
year-old. "Don't even *joke* about that. Josh and I always room together,
I'd hate to think that I couldn't do that anymore."
	"What do you mean?" for the first time that night, it was Britney
who was confused.
	"Things between me and Josh um, didn't exactly...work out," the
nineteen year-old confessed.
	"Oh no," Britney said, clearly distraught. "What happened?"
	"I don't know," Justin admitted, tears springing forth unbidden to
his eyes. "We went out to lunch today, and I think I did something in the
cab because he closed up on me. Then he told me that one of the waitresses
was pretty, then he said that he didn't want our relationship to change,"
the blonde babbled.
	Pausing a minute to look directly at the young woman across from
him, he breathed, "Oh Brit," his tears finally falling down his young
face. "I don't know what to do. I said that I wanted things to be back like
they used to be, but I didn't mean it. He was just angry, and I didn't want
him to be angry with me. He's been nice to me since, but I can feel his
disappointment. It's like he doesn't want to be around me, but he sticks
around to humor me. I just don't know what to do, I can't lose him,"
Justin's words trailed off as he began to sob quietly, bringing his hands
up to his face.
	"Sweetie," Britney whispered, leaning across the table and placing
her hands over Justin's and gently pulling them back, so she could look
into his eyes. "Does he know how you feel?"
	Silently, Justin nodded. He had regained control of his breathing,
but the tears still slid down his cheeks.
	"Okay, that's good. You just need to give him some time. JC feels
the same way, I *know* he does. Just work on keeping your friendship,
because I know how important that is to both of you. Just give him some
time," Britney advised.
	Again, Justin nodded. "I can't lose him, Brit," the nineteen
year-old repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "Without him I'd be
lost."
	Smiling sympathetically, and with an unsaid understanding, Britney
patted her friend's hands gently. "I know, Just. That's why you can't let
him go. Take it slow; he'll realize what's in front of him one of these
days. And if not," she added with a happier smile. "I'll beat him up."
	Justin smiled back, the tears falling less frequenly now. "You know
I won't let you hurt him."
	Britney immediately turned serious. "Just don't let him hurt you,"
she said sternly.
	/Too late,/ the nineteen year-old thought to himself. However, he
simply nodded at his friend.
	"All right, then," the pop queen said cheerfully, picking up the
menu in front of her. "Now that that's all taken care of, let's eat!"

	JC sat on his bed, mindlessly flipping through a magazine. He
glanced at the clock. Twelve-forty. Justin was late, to say the least.
	/Where *is* he?/ the twenty-four year-old thought frantically,
despite his efforts to remain calm. He had already called Justin's cell
phone several times, but stopped after he saw it vibrating on the
dresser. Wishing that he knew which hotel Britney was staying at, and at
the same time thankful that he didn't, JC continued to flip through the
magazine.
	About a half an hour later, a gentle knocking at the door snapped
JC out of the half-sleep he had fallen into. Getting up and stretching
quickly, the brunette muttered, "I'm coming," before heading over to the
door.
	Undoing the double lock, JC opened the door to see Justin standing
there, a guilty look on his face.
	"Did I wake you?" the nineteen year-old inquired, stepping inside.
	"No," JC replied. "I stayed up."
	"Why?" Justin asked, surprised by the answer.
	"I knew you didn't have a key," JC answered honestly. A silence
fell between the two. Walking over to his bed, JC asked, "So, how was your
date?"
	Justin spun around to face his best friend. "Date?" the blonde
repeated.
	"Yeah," JC replied, his eyes on the magazine so he wouldn't have to
face the younger man. "How's Brit?"
	Justin smiled a little. "She's great. Looks good, seems happy,
everything is fine with her."
	"Good, I'm glad," JC replied politely.
	To Justin, however, his voice seemed cold and he appeared to be
distant; like he wasn't really partaking in the conversation at all. Justin
could feel the tears flooding his eyes again. He didn't want to cry over
this, not now. Turning away, he changed into a pair of pajama pants, and
headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
	When he returned, JC was under his covers with his back facing
Justin's bed. The only light on in the room was the one on the night stand
directly next to Justin's bed.
	As he walked over to where he was going to sleep, Justin could no
longer restrain the tears. They came rolling down his cheeks unchecked as
he climbed under the covers and reached over to turn out the light.
	A few moments passed in utter silence before Justin let out and
involuntary sniffle. Immediately there was a shuffling sound from the area
JC was in.
	"Just?" the older man whispered. "Just, are you crying?"
	"I'm fine," the blonde choked out, but his voice said other wise.
	After a few more shuffling sounds, Justin felt strong arms wrap
around him. "Josh, you don't have to-"
	Justin felt a finger press gently against his lips, silencing
him. "Ssh," JC soothed. "It's all right, Just, I'm here. You don't have to
hide."
	Allowing himself to be pulled up against the older man, Justin
rested his head against his best friend's chest. Feeling JC's long fingers
gently massage his scalp, Justin's crying slowly ceased. Holding tightly to
the older man, Justin whispered timidly, "Josh? Will you stay with me
tonight?"
	"Of course," JC whispered back. "I need you, remember?"
	Snuggling even closer to the brunette, Justin murmured, "I need
you, too. I don't know what I'd do with out you. You're the best thing
that's ever happened to me."
	JC laughed lightly. "What about *NSYNC?"
	"That ranks second," Justin mumbled, quickly drifting off to sleep.
	JC became quiet. Justin's breathing became more rhythmic, and he
knew that the younger man had fallen asleep. Tilting his head down to kiss
the top of Justin's soft curls, JC whispered, "Thank you, Just. I love
you." Gently laying his head against the younger man's, JC, too, finally
drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I know there was a lot of Britney, but at least it had a good ending!
Well, sort of good. I mean, besides the whole Justin sobbing uncontrollably
thing ^_~ Anyway, I hope I entertained you, and if you'd like to, send me
some feedback at Angel1313@att.net Thanks again to those of you who write
to me on a regular basis, I love you all!!