Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 23:49:08 -0400
From: Jessica Taylor <midnight_violet18@hotmail.com>
Subject: Short Story- Letters to My Garbage Can

Hi all.  This is Jess, with something a little different, a purely 'N Sync
story.  And it focuses on James and Josh... More commonly known as Lance
and JC.  (I just have this thing where I like calling them by their given
names and not their psudeo-names... but that's just me.)  Right now, for
those of you that are wondering what in the world happened to Picking Up
the Pieces, well twelve is coming along, and hopefully I'll get it out
before the end of June... hehe... and at the end is a *small* preview of
Pieces 12... just for your enjoyment.

... Oh yeah before I forget, NOOOOO this isn't the actual portrayal of
Lance and JC from 'N Sync.  And as much as I wish they were lovers and I
had them locked away in my basement..... it's ain't happening!

And who here loved the 'Making the Video' 'N Sync did today, but could do
without the video? *raises hand sheepishly*

Letters to My Garbage Can
Lance/Josh

	Sailing through the air, the crumpled ball of paper landed well
short of it's intended target, the lone tin garbage can in the room, but it
still landed among the other dozens of similar yellow crumpled balls that
were on the floor.
	At first he thought it would have been an easy thing to do, hell he
could write songs that made it onto their albums, so how tough could it be
to write one simple letter?  But that assurance was slipping little by
little as one letter after another sailed in a crumpled heap to the garbage
can.
	As to the reason he was writing the letter?  He was too chickenshit
to say it outright.  The person he was writing the letter to?  Lance.  Yup,
JC Chasez was too chicken shit to say what he wanted to Lance, simple as
that.  Too chicken shit to say three simple words, `I love you.' Well four
if you if you add his name.  So he had figured the best way to tell him was
to write a letter.
	It had actually taken him a long time to realize what he felt for
his friend was more than just brotherly affection.  Hell, they were all
affectionate to each other in one form or another, so hugs or kisses of
comfort were not unusual to them.  On any night you could probably find at
least two of them up at some ungodly hour providing some form of comfort
for each other.  But as to when it started being more than just brotherly
affection for *Lance* JC would have to guess it had started when Lance had
been in the hospital after that cursed Disney special they had done while
Lou still had them under his pudgy little thumb.
	  All of the guys had been worried when Lance had collapsed
backstage and was rushed to the hospital.  They had known that Lance
shouldn't have performed, his skin was a paler shade than his normally
pallor tone, making him look almost ghost-like in appearance; and when they
had been practicing for the show, he was always tripping up, and exhausted
after every song.  They went to Johnny and told him to go tell Lou the gig
was off, Lance was too sick to do it.  Johnny had been watching the guys
and agreed that Lance couldn't perform, so he went to go plead their case.
Of course, Lou being the money grubbing ass that he was, refused, and the
guys had to go on.  Then Lance had collapsed and their world had been
hectic for the three days he had been in the hospital.  For those three
days Josh didn't remember much except staying by Lance's bedside and being
forced to go back to the hotel to change and shower, because as Joey and
Justin had put it so eloquently, "You stink C!"
	But when Lance had finally been released from the hospital and was
healthy again... relief was the only word JC could use to describe how he
felt.  Immense relief.  Then the doting mother syndrome took over and Josh
was making sure Lance was feeling okay at every turn.  Finally Lance told
JC to "Back the fuck off," and JC did.  Josh and everyone else *knew* that
if a curse passed that southerner's lips, then that boy meant business.
	But that didn't mean that Josh didn't watch Lance, oh no.  JC just
did it more secretively than he had been.  That's when he started to
realize that he was fantasizing, and down right *staring* at Lance at any
particular time.  He would imagine himself being held by the strong arms
that lay hidden just beneath Lance's shirts, or kissing those soft pink
lips, or kissing the hollow of Lance's neck and hearing him purr like the
cat that JC knew was hiding there.
	So here he was, Joshua Scott Chasez, at a crossroads.  Does he
ignore his feelings for Lance, bottle them up and pretend they never exist,
or does he act on those feelings and possibly get hurt?  He still wasn't
too sure he wanted to give it to Lance, but he at least wanted to write his
feelings down and see what he did from there.
	That's where he was now.  Writing down his feelings... rather
unsuccessfully.
  It seemed that every time he tried to write them down, they either
sounded way too sappy, or they just plain didn't sound right.
	"God damn it!" He cursed to himself.  "Why is this so tough?"
	Josh was brought out of his revere by the squeak of a door.  "Hey
C, wanna go to lunch?  Hey what're these?" Lance said as he quickly bent
down and took one of the crumpled balls on the floor.
	"Shit, Lance no..." Josh trailed off as he saw Lance read one of
the notes.  "Crap."
	"What's this C?  A love note?  To me?" Lance said bewildered as he
bent down and looked at some of the other notes.  "Josh do you care to
explain yourself?"
	"Yeah, um funny story... ya see I've got this friend, and she has
a friend named Lance too... and she's in love with him... and she wanted
me to help her write him a love note.  So here I am."  Josh rambled, trying
to cover his embarrassment.
	Lance collapsed onto JC's bed in a fit of laughter.  "Okay C.
First of all, you have no girl friends that have another friend named
Lance.  I'm the only one you got." Lance said as he pointed to himself.
"Second of all, you're a terrible liar.  Don't quit your day job." He said
as he smiled.  "And if they're for me, why didn't you just tell me?" he
whispered as he stared straight into Josh's bright blue eyes, eyes that
were right now trying desperately look anywhere else except for right back
at his green eyed friend.
	"What..." Josh said as he gulped down the sudden frog in his
throat.  "What was that?"
	"I said," Lance said as he moved closer to JC on his bed, "If they
were for me, you could have just told me."
	"So you mean I could just say I..."
	"I love you." Lance whispered as he kissed Josh.  Their first kiss
was tentative, slow, and everything Josh thought it would be.
	"Wow." Josh whispered.
	"Yeah, wow." Lance smiled as he sat back onto the bed.
	"So, I didn't have to go through all that notebook paper?" Josh
wondered.
	"Nope." Lance smiled.
	"And I could have just come and told you?" Josh looked at Lance.
	"Yup."
	"Well there goes my shot at being a romantic." JC laughed.
	"Like I said pretty boy." Lance said as he took JC's hand and
started leading him away from his desk.  "Don't quit your day job."
	Josh pulled Lance back and kissed him one more time.  "Sounds like
a deal."  He smiled.  "Now what was this you said about lunch?  You
treating me?"
	"If that's what it'll take to get you out of this room then yes.
Joshua Chasez, will you go on a lunch date with me?"
	"All ya had to do was say it cowboy." Josh smiled as he closed the
door to his hotel room, leaving his letters on the floor to be picked up
later for the trash.

Email is still Midnight_Violet18@hotmail.com and the website is
http://insidebubble.cjb.net.  Go there for stuff NOT featured on Nifty.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~

...PREVIEW of Picking Up The Pieces Chapter 12...The Story of Kyle:

	To say that the other four members of the Backstreet Boys were
floored would have been an understatement at that moment.  Too shocked to
form actual sentences, the four were completely silent, which made Kevin
even more uncomfortable than he was at that moment.
	His cousin was the first one to try and form actual sentences,
"Kevin... wow... um... what happened?"
	Kevin looked to his cousin.  "You don't remember Kyle do you?"
	"Nope." Brian said, as his eyes were still locked with his
cousin's.
	Kevin sighed.  "Kyle was my best friend, hell he was practically
the only friend I had in elementary school.  He used to come over everyday
to play with me, and sometimes him, Tim, Jerald and I would play touch
football while you were banging pots and pans outside with our moms."
	Brian couldn't help but blush slightly when Kevin mentioned what he
used to do as a child.  And if anyone was of their right mind right now,
especially a certain tattooed bandmate, Brian knew that he would be teased
mercilessly for it.  He just hoped no one really remembered it when this
whole story was over.  "Wait a second... Did he kinda look like Nicky?"
Brian said, remembering faded images of a kid about Kevin's height at the
time, with short, spiky dark blonde hair and deep brown eyes.
	Kevin shook his head in the affirmative.  "Yeah."
	"I had wondered what happened to him.  But I kinda forgot him."
	"I wish I could." Kevin sighed as his head was still in his hands.
	"Okay... for those of us *not* of the Littrell-Richardson
bloodline, can someone please tell us who this Kyle was?" AJ asked.
	"Like I just said, Kyle was my best friend.  We lived practically
down the street from each other and did everything together.  We were in
the same kindergarten class, same gym classes, practically the same
everything.  But when we got to the summer of sixth grade, things started
to change..."