Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 11:11:11 -0500
From: joey miller <pandora0071@lycos.com>
Subject: 'Learning How to Fly'   Chapter 1

Well, here is the first Chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please send praise,
comments, or criticism to Pandora0071@lycos.com. Also, if I don't hear
anything, I won't bother to continue posting.

Disclaimer: This is fiction. I do not mean to imply anything about the
sexuality of the celebrities mentioned in this story.  If you do not want
to read stories with homosexual contents, please leave.  If you are
underage, or accessing this story is illegal wherever you live, please
leave or try not to get caught.

LEARNING HOW TO FLY

Chapter 1
~Getting packed~

	"I wonder if they know." Colin mused aloud. He was lying on his
bed, staring at the ceiling. Dave, who shared the room with Colin, stopped
stuffing T-shirts into his suitcase and sat down on the side of Colin's
bed.
	"You mean if the Backstreet Boys and their management know that
you're gay, don't you?" He asked. Colin nodded.
	"I think they know. It's not like you ever kept it a secret. And if
they did some sort of research on us, they must've come across it."
	"But what if they don't know?" Colin insisted.
	"I know that you've had a rough time coming out of the closet, but
not everyone is going to hate you for who you are. Have a little faith in
people." Dave tried to reassure his friend. Colin let out a bitter laugh.
	"Having faith in people, huh? Like that has ever paid off. Yeah,
I'm sure my mom was being real good to me when she sent me to half a
million counselors, psychiatrists, and preachers. I'm sure my father was
being good to me when he beat me up after he caught me kissing George." He
shook his head sadly. It was no good bringing up his past. This was the
present and things were looking up, weren't they? He gave Dave a weak
smile.
	"Sorry. I'll try to be a little bit more positive." Dave smiled
back.
	"That's what I wanted to hear."

	Jamie pressed down the lid of his suitcase, trying to pull the
zipper shut. But the lid was about two inches above the bottom of the
suitcase, and the zipper wouldn't budge.
	"Nicky!" Jamie yelled. "You have to sit on my suitcase. It won't
shut." Nicky crossed the room, put the lid of his friend's suitcase back
down, and peered in. Inside, clothing, CD's, and books were cramped in a
disordered mess.
	"You don't know the first thing about packing, do you?" Nicky asked
with a sigh. "I mean, first of all you're not gonna need the entire
contents of your closet. About half of it will do." Nicky started to empty
the suitcase again, but Jamie stopped him.
	"Of course I need all of this!" He exclaimed. "We're meeting the
Backstreet Boys! I can't walk around in the same stuff the entire time."
	"You're just supposed to sing for them, not marry them. They won't
care what you wear." Jamie shook his head sadly.
	"But we need to make a good impression on them! They're famous,
they could open doors for us."
	"Fine, do what you must. But I won't sit on that suitcase for
you. The zipper will break."



	A few states south, the five members of the Backstreet Boys were
getting ready to board their tour bus for the drive from Orlando to Miami,
where the rehearsals for the first concert would take place. It was still
early in the day and Nick was sitting on a pile of spare tires before the
bus, bathing in the weak sunrays. Howie carried his bags up to the bus and
dropped them noisily next to Nick. Nick opened his eyes.
	"What is it?" He asked, pushing his sunglasses up on his head and
stretching his arms.
	"Brian just found out that one of the kids from that band is
gay. You better stay away from him for a while." Howie whispered, then
picked up his bags again and carried them into the bus. Nick
sighed. Usually, he was Brian's best friend. There was just one thing they
didn't agree on, and that was homosexuality. Brian, being as strictly
religious as he was, considered it one of the deathly sins and refused to
have anything to do with gays.
	But lots of celebrities were gay and Brian was always confronted
with it. Nick could still remember when Lance of NSYNC had come out. Brian
had all but yelled at him in front of thousands of news reporters at an MTV
awards show. Everyone in the band had grown used to Brian's temper tantrums
and learned to ignore him when he started preaching about morals. Everyone
but Nick.
	Nick yelled back at Brian and it usually ended in a full on fight
and they would then not speak to each other for a few days.
	`So one of the Dragonflies is gay, huh? I wonder which one.' Nick
mused as he climbed into the bus. He was planning on hiding out in the back
of the bus and playing video games, thereby avoiding Brian who was not
interested in video games.
	"Yo, Kaos, wait up!" AJ yelled, catching up with Nick on the stairs
of the bus. "You might wanna stay away from Bri. He's having a bit of a
problem with the fact that one of the guys in that opening act is gay."
	"Yeah, I heard. Did Kev just find out, or was he keeping it from
Brian?" Nick asked, sitting down on a couch in the living room area of the
bus. AJ joined him.
	"I think Kevin knew all along. Man, I wish Bri would lighten up."
Nick nodded sadly.
	"Yeah, he really needs to get used to this."

	Slowly the bus filled up. Bodyguards packed away the luggage and
stored soft drinks and food in the kitchen of the bus. Nick and AJ moved to
the back of the bus and played Nintendo. Kevin and Brian entered just
minutes later, discussing loudly whether or not playing with an opening act
that had a gay member was bad for their reputation. Howie had already
settled down in his bunk, ready to catch up on some sleep. Finally, the
driver arrived and they started on their drive to Miami.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to make the next one just a bit longer.
Much love
joey