Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 03:39:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Red <redfirewitch@yahoo.com>
Subject: Hide In Plain Sight [Part 6: The Confrontation]

Title: Hide In Plain Sight

Author: Red [redfirewitch@yahoo.com]

Disclaimer: This is just fiction and there isn't an
ounce of truth about the sexuality of the Nsync boys
in here. At least not as far as I know.

**

Part 6: The Confrontation

Justin fixed the final blond curl and looked at the
mirror with satisfaction. Even though the guys always
teased him about his obsession with his hair, he
didn't care. He had hated his hair for half his life
but not anymore. He'll be damned if he felt bad about
something he couldn't change. In fact it made him
stand out for good reasons this time as everyone liked
it. Of course the first person to convince him that
his hair was not a curse was JC. He still remembered
the MMC days when TJ and Dale would tease him and call
him 'Gollywog'. JC would insist they were just jealous
as their own hair was as limp and lifeless as their...
well. The word he had used was of course taboo for the
12 year old but JC had said it just to get him to
smile.

Justin smiled at the thought of his friend but that
same smile faltered as he thought of JC's problem. It
frustrated him to no ends that this was hurting JC.
But the fact that he didn't even know what was going
on, wasn't helping the fact. Justin knew he had to be
patient if he wanted to get JC to talk to him but at
the same time he couldn't help but worry that between
then and now, something might happen. Call it instinct
or just plain idiocy but Justin couldn't help but
worry. He had always been close to JC so much so they
often thought alike and at times even completed each
other's sentences. Justin frowned at that last
thought. The person who had pointed that out to him
was Matt.

Justin sighed as he sat down on the bed. He didn't
understand why Matt disliked JC so much. Actually he *
disliked * Joey, Chris and Lance. He seemed to loathe
JC. Even though JC was always helping Justin find time
within their schedule just so he could meet Matt
somewhere or other, Matt just took it as yet another
of JC's attempt to butt into their relationship. Come
to think of it, most of their arguments always somehow
had a mention of JC somewhere. But why? Why did Matt
hate JC so much?

Justin remember that first fight. He had just told
Matt that he had come out to JC and confided in him
about Matt. Matt was livid and taken him to task.
Justin asked Matt why. Being still a little insecure
about their new relationship, Justin had
misinterpreted it as a sign that Matt didn't want
anyone to know about them. Realizing he had
over-reacted, Matt had calmed down and reassured him
that it was nothing of that sort and that he just
wished that Justin had told him before he made the
decision to tell JC. Relieved, Justin had apologized
and forgotten about it.

But hindsight was 20/20. Further arguments had also
been about JC. Matt would say that JC acted like an
idiot during interviews and Justin would go to the
defense of his best friend. Matt would then accuse him
of picking a fight just because he had said something
about 'JC the God'! It was almost always about JC.
Why? What did JC have to do with them?

It suddenly dawned on Justin why. It was so simple but
he hadn't realized it. All those veiled questions and
comments about JC meaning too much to Justin were
really Matt voicing his discontent. Matt was jealous
of JC. Justin wanted to laugh.

/Damn! So that's what bugs Matt about JC!/

Justin shook his head. He realized that maybe he had
given Matt cause to think that he was closer to JC
than to even his own boyfriend. But then again, JC was
his best friend. They had known each other for so
long. He loved JC but of course he wasn't in love with
JC. They were as good as brothers and Justin doubted
that anything could come between them. But did that
include Matt?

/This is stupid! I just have to get it through Matt's
head that JC and I are like brothers and that JC is
straight as an arrow! At least I've got the vacation
to convince him./

Satisfied with his plan, Justin headed out the door.
He decided to check on JC and ask if he wanted to have
breakfast with him. He knew that Lance, Joey and Chris
were wasted because they could barely walk straight
the night before. He, had danced more often than
drank, so his head was spared the morning hangover.

He knocked on JC's door and waited. There was no
answer.
"He can't still be sleeping! He turned in hours before
the rest of us did!" Justin said to himself.

Looking down the corridor, he saw the chambermaid
making her rounds. Deciding to give JC a loud wakeup
call, Justin walked towards her.
"Hi. Can you let me into that room? My friend should
wake up or he'll be late." Justin lied.

"You from that singing group all the girls scream
about huh?" the Hispanic woman asked in halting
English.

Justin smiled and nodded. The woman shook her head and
took out her access card to let Justin into JC's room.
"Very loud those girls. Always outside. Always
screaming," she complained as she opened the door.

Justin couldn't help but laugh. He stepped into the
room.
"Thank yo--" he trailed off as he saw the mess that
JC's room was in.

The woman looked in and sighed, noting the mess she
would have to clean up later. She then walked back to
her trolley filled with her equipment, muttering
something in Spanish, and went about her job.

Justin stepped in and closed the door. He couldn't
believe the mess JC had made in his room. The bed
sheets were pulled clean off the bed. The phone lay in
pieces on the floor. JC's luggage was open and clothes
were scattered abut the room as if he had been trying
to dig out something at the bottom of his luggage. JC
had always been very neat and never was the sort to
make a mess in the hotel rooms. In fact, they had all
often teased him by predicting a second career in
housekeeping. But now...why would he do this? Justin
checked the bathroom too but JC wasn't there either.
As he slowly walked out of the bathroom, Justin saw a
crumbled piece of paper on the floor in the corner of
the room and went over to pick it up. He straightened
it out as much as he could and tried to make out the
words.

"You think you have everything now don't you? You
think everyone wants you and you think you can you can
have everything! Well, not anymore, you smug son of a
bitch! You've got to learn how to respect other
people. I'm going to teach you that respect. I'll be
watching you every second of the way and when you
least expect it...BANG! You're dead! And maybe., just
maybe, those other dickheads in your crappy group will
live to be your pallbearers. Soon, you bastard! Very
soon!"

Justin felt like he was gong to puke. He read and
re-read the hateful words. Abruptly his head shot up
and he took in the state of the room again.
"What if...if someone got him..."

Justin felt pure panic attack him. He couldn't breathe
when he considered the possibility that JC could be
dead!
"No he can't be. This is probably a joke!"

Still Justin wasn't prepared to take the chance. He
would rather risk being made an ass of , than to risk
JC's life. He was about to run to the room the group's
bodyguards were staying in when he heard the sound of
the door opening and froze. The room was relatively
dark as Justin had not bothered to turn on the lights,
but he immediately recognized the figure and felt an
immense sense of relief...and anger.

JC closed the door behind him and walked into the
room. He stepped back in shock as he saw someone
standing by his bed. Immediately he reached inside his
jacket. Then the curly blonde hair caught his eyes. He
calmed down when he saw it was Justin.

"Justin? How did you get in here?" JC asked, his eyes
darting to the mess his room was in. He hoped that he
could just play it off as post-tour craziness.

"Chambermaid let me in. Where did you go?" Justin
asked, his voice even.

"Out." JC replied tersely as he walked further into
the room, avoiding Justin's gaze.

"Out? This early? Alone?" Justin asked. He took note
of the hooded jacket JC was wearing and how his
shoulders were hunched, like he was bearing the weight
of the world. JC's unshaven face and shadowed eyes
told him all he needed to know about his best friend's
state of mind. But the coldness in JC's blue eyes
scared Justin.

"I don't need a babysitter, Justin." JC said, as he
removed his jacket carefully and placed it on the bed.

"Fine. Then do you want to explain this?" Justin
asked, gesturing to the broken phone.

"Accident."

"What. It accidentally flew across the room and
crashed?" Justin asked incredulously.

"Yes!" JC answered, challenging Justin to push it.

"Fine! How about this then?" Justin asked, giving JC
one more chance to come clean with the truth as he
waved the crumbled paper in his hand.

Justin saw JC's eye widen in fear.

"You have no right to go through my things!" JC yelled
as he tried to grab the paper from Justin's hand. But
Justin was too fast and he brought it out of JC's
reach.

"I didn't. I saw it on the floor. What's the hell is
going on, JC? When did you get this? Who is
threatening you?" Justin asked.

"Enough with the twenty questions, Justin. I don't
want to talk about this. Just leave me alone!" JC
yelled.

"Not going to happen! Fuck this, JC! Ever since that
night you've been acting like a stranger! I don't know
what the hell is going on! You told me you killed
someone but I trusted you, gave you the benefit of the
doubt decided to let you take your time and tell me!
But now, someone is threatening to kill you and maybe
even all of us and you just announce that you don't
want to talk about it! You just presume this is your
choice to make! WAKE UP, JC! This is real! This
doesn't just affect you, you asshole!" Justin yelled.

JC looked at his friend in shock. He knew he was
right. Phillip was not just threatening him but all of
them. He didn't understand why but he didn't put it
past the mad man either. That is why he had taken the
necessary steps to protect all of them.

"Justin, please. I don't want to talk about this now.
I've got to deal with this my own way. You've got to
trust me." JC pleaded.

Justin exhaled in frustration.
"I don't know, JC. Would you have shown any of us the
note if I hadn't found it?"

JC remained silent.

"I thought so. The secrecy ends here, JC. We've got to
tell at least management about the threat. I don't
want you to get hurt, do you understand? Whoever sent
this hates you! The rest of us are just an
afterthought but he's really after you. And after what
you told me, I don't want to take the risk that this
is just a prank. Please understand!"

JC fought back his tears. He was so scared and he
wanted to tell Justin everything but the fear
paralyzed the words.
"I want to tell you everything Justin, but I'm
scared,"

"Why?"

"You will hate me."

Justin was taken aback by those whispered words.
"No, no I won't. I know you said you killed someone,
Josh but I know you are incapable of that. You can't
hurt anyone intentionally."

JC laughed harshly and humorlessly.
"If you believe that, then you don't know me at all,
Justin."

Justin frowned.
"What do you mean?"

"Everyone has their breaking point, Justin. I've just
reached mine." JC said as he pointed at the jacket he
had laid on his bed.

Justin looked at him questioningly then picked up the
jacket. It felt strangely heavy so he checked the deep
pocket. As his hands touched cold metal, Justin eyes
widened in realization. He reached in and pulled out a
gun. Disbelief and anger colored his face as he met
JC's shimmering blue eyes. JC's shoulder slumped as he
saw Justin standing there, with the gun in his hand.
What really hit him hard was the disillusionment in
Justin's eyes. Justin no longer trusted JC and that
scared him more than anything else.

JC walked over to Justin and took the gun from his
hand. Justin didn't resist. He then put the gun on the
side-table and sat down on the bed. Drawing his knees
to his chest, JC began to speak.

"All right, Justin. I'll tell you everything. But
there's something I have to tell you first. I--I know
I should have told you this before but I wasn't ready
then."

Justin sat down beside JC but remained silent.

"Please don't be angry that I didn't tell you about
this when you were going through the same thing."

Justin frowned, wondering what JC was talking about.

JC took a deep breath. What he was about to reveal was
momentous but seen in the light of what he was going
to tell Justin about his past, it didn't seem like
that big a deal. For a moment, JC wondered about the
irony of life. JC met Justin's questioning gaze.
"Justin. I'm--I'm gay too."

Justin stared at his friend unblinkingly for few long
minutes, processing what JC had said. JC was gay? And
he knew this when he himself had come out to him? And
JC hadn't said anything then? All this while and he
hadn't said anything? Why? Did this have to do with
the man who he saw at the concert? Did this have to
with Liam, the name he mentioned during his nightmare?
And more importantly, just who the hell was this guy
he was sitting beside? Was this really his best
friend? Justin knew he was feeling a swirl of emotions
just then but he couldn't pinpoint an exact one.
Suddenly everything that made sense in his life became
a mystery.
"Just tell me, JC." Justin whispered softly.

JC took a deep breath and began.
"It was six years ago..."

tbc.