Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:38:28 -0500
From: aCi 2785 <aci_85@hotmail.com>
Subject: Love Interest - Chapter 23


Last time on Chapter 22 of Love Interest -

"Um, why don't you go take a nap honey. I'll start dinner, and we'll have
a nice dinner outside on the back patio. Your father will be home soon,
and I think Randall and Lisa are coming over with Steven and Jonathon
later too." Justin perked up a little at the mention of his family.
Nodding, he stood and started to walk towards the steps. Stopping, he
turned and looked back at Josh. Josh smiled and walked over with him.

____________________________________________________________________________

"You two can help me in the kitchen if you'd like." Lynn offered, but
also was asking for help from Brittney and Joey. Shaking their heads in
agreement, they followed. After all what else were they going to do.

"Do Randall and Lisa know about Justin and Josh, Lynn?" Brittney asked,
as she started to make her assigned job, the salad.

"Um, I'm not sure. Has Justin or Josh told them about it?" She asked, and
Brittney shook her head no. "Well, I'm sure it's no problem then that I
told them. I figured Justin would forgot to tell them, so I called up
Lisa and told her shortly after I got off the phone with Justin when he
told me. They were both fine with it, especially since he was dating
Josh. I don't think they would have liked it if it was some guy off the
streets, but Josh, we can't be upset about that. They are so perfect
together, and Justin needs Josh so much. I don't think he'd know what to
do with out him, and I don't know if I would either. He's been such a
help with Justin, watching him when I couldn't, it made it so much easier
on me." Lynn smiled, and went back to searching for some spices to add to
the steak she was preparing.

"I don't think any of us would know what to do without Josh. I'm the
secondest closest to him as a friend, and I can't even compare to Josh in
the slightest way. But I don't think we have to worry about being without
Josh. The way he is with Justin, I don't think he'll ever leave his
side." Britney giggled, and tossed the tomatoes she had finished cutting
into the salad bowl. Joey just smiled at her, and went back to peeling
potatoes.

"Um, when do you think everyone will be over here? I mean, Randall and
them?" Joey asked, having thought he heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Oh, if anyones here, it's going to be Paul." Lynn went back to work, as
the front door opened. And sure enough in walked Paul. Setting down his
things, he looked around and noticed the suitcases. Taking a minute to
think, he then remembered that Lynn had told him before he went to work
that she had to pick them up.

"I'm home!" He yelled, and noticing commotion in the kitchen, he went
straight for it. Walking in, he noticed that absence of a lot of people.
"Where's the gang?"

"Um, Justin and Josh are sleeping upstairs. Chris and Lance were not
invited to stay with us, and Christina is working on music in the
studios. Other then that, it's just us." Joey replied, not taking his
eyes off of the potatoes.

"Oh, should I ask why Lance and Chris weren't invited?" He asked, taking
a piece of the tomatoe out of the bowl and eating it. That warranted a
slap from Brittney on the wrist. "ouch" He mumbled waiting for an answer.

"Long story, and don't bring it up at dinner. I don't think Justin wants
to talk about it." Brittney replied after the slap, as she set about to
cut another tomatoe to add.

"Alright, I'll leave it at that. But if it's something that hurt my son I
want to know eventually." His eyes turned to Lynn who shook her head in
agreement.

"I'll tell you later tonight." She smiled and Paul smiled back at her.
"Now, if you don't mind us, we are trying to prepare dinner. Why don't
you go get ready, Randall and Lisa will be over with Steven and Jonathon
in a little while." Paul faked dying from that news bit, and took off up
the steps to do what he was asked of. "He can be just like a kid some
times." She giggled and went back to work.

"Any one home?" Startled out of her laughter, Lynn peaked through the
hallway, and noticed that her ex-husband and family were standing in the
doorway. They smiled at her, and came inside. Randall came straight for
the kitchen, giving everyone in the room a hug. Lisa was a little slower
in arriving in the kitchen, she was carrying Steven, and Jonathon was
clutching to her leg.

"Now, where's my stepson? I haven't seen him in so long, and I think his
brother wants to see him too." Lisa questioned, peeking around the rooms
and not seeing anyone she walked back to the kitchen waiting for an
answer.

"Aren't we good enough for now?" Joey asked frowning.

"You know you are Joseph, but I want to see my son." She giggled at Joey,
and turned back to Lynn. Before she could ask the question again though
she felt a hug from behind her, and turned to find Paul Harless smuggling
her in the hug. "Hi to you too Paul."

"It's been a while hasn't it." He laughed, and released her.

"So, back to my question. Where's Justin?" 

"Him and Josh are upstairs sleeping." Paul replied, and got a shocked
look from Lisa.

"You're letting them sleep together?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, they slept together before they were dating. And we trust Justin,
I know my son, and I know he wouldn't be doing anything before marriage,
especially not in this house." Lynn giggled at her own words, were
Brittney and Joey just laughed along with her. Paul took Randall out back
where they took up talking. Lisa let Randall take Steven, and she set
about helping those in the kitchen with dinner. Joey smiled, taking it as
a sign that his help wasn't needed any more, and he too went out with the
men to talk.

Jonathon sat at the kitchen table, playing with his coat sleeves. "Hey
their little guy. What ya doing?" Brittney asked taking a seat next to
him.

"Nuttin'." He replied and looked up.

"You bored? Don't worry I bet when Josh gets up he'll play with you. He
loves kids, especially when their related to Justin. He takes special
care of things Justin loves." Brittney smiled, and her smile grew when
she watched the small child smile back.

"When's he getting up?"

"I don't know, but I can go find out." Brittney smiled, "you stay here,
I'll be back." Turning, she walked from the room and up the steps.
Heading straight for Josh's room, she pushed the door open lightly. A
large smile graced her face at the sight in front of her, Justin was
draped in Josh's arms, spooned into Josh's chest. Josh had his head
resting on Justin's shoulder, and they were both only clothes in their
boxers and wife beaters. The sight was something she didn't want to
disturb, but she had to wake them up, the guests were already their.
"Josh, josh...." Josh slowly began to stir, and looked up to see
Brittney's face.

"Time to get up?" He asked with a slight frown on his face.

"Yeah, they are all here, and Jonathon's waiting for you. He wants you to
play with him." Josh smiled at that comment, and slowly stood from bed.

"I guess we have to wake Justin too?" He asked with sarcasm in his voice.
Bending down, he shook Justin gently. "Wake up baby." Justin looked up at
him, and didn't even blink. He just nodded, and sat up. Stepping out of
bed, Josh looked at him and smiled. "Some one else is in the room Just,
you might want to put some more clothes on." Justin looked down, and then
up at Brittney, and then back at Josh.

"You might consider that too." Justin laughed, noticing that they were
both in boxers.

"I'll leave you two to get dressed, and then meet me downstairs." She
laughed at the both of them, and left them to it.

"Alright, Jonny, they're gonna be down in a minute." Brittney smiled as
she walked back into the kitchen. Jon smiled back at her, and she walked
back to doing the salad.

"So, I guess you were able to wake the two of them up? And I'm judging
since you returned to us, that they aren't to upset about being woken."
Lynn asked laughing, and Lisa smiled at the joke.

"No, they didn't seem to upset about it. But I took the easy way out and
woke up Josh, and then I left him to wake up Justin. I wasn't going to be
the way going into that trap." Brittney joked back, and Lynn and Lisa
smiled at her, but contained their laughter. Brittney thought it was
funny, and just shrugged it off, but was caught off guard after the
shrug.

"I'm not that hard to wake up." Justin tapped her on the shoulder, and
she turned to see him frowning at her. Josh just laughed at her, and so
did everyone else in the room. "Come and give your big bro a hug Jon!"
Justin scooped up his little brother, and hugged him tightly, Josh smiled
at the scene, and hugged Lisa. "Okay, go say hi to Joshy." Justin set his
brother down, and he quickly ran to Josh.

"Now it's your turn to give me a hug." Lisa smiled, and walked over to
Justin. Justin wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her just as tight
as he had hugged Jon. "Alright, alright, let me go."

"Where's my baby bro Stevie?" Justin asked quizically, looking around for
him and his father Randall. He also noticed the absence of his step
father Paul too.

"Their all out on the patio talking. But don't think you're getting away
from us. You too Joshua, I have a serious problem with you two." Lisa
scowled her face, and pointed a finger at the two of them.  Justin froze,
it was at that time that he realized that he hadn't told her about him
and Josh's relationship, but it was obvious she knew about it now. And he
was expecting to be lectured about it. "I was very upset you two didn't
tell me that you were dating." Justin sighed at what he was hearing, it
didn't seem like a lecture. "And then I think you two should consider
thinking about who you do tell that you're dating. Lynn over their told
me and your father, she may not be as trusth worthy as you think." Justin
sighed again, this time because he was sure that she was not going to
lecture to him. The room enjoyed a laugh, except for Jon who didn't
really understand the topic just giggled along with them.

"Now, I guess if you two really want to go out with the fellas you can.
Us ladies can manage with out you." Lynn teased, and watched as the two
silently communicated with their faces. Justin turned back to her.

"Actually, Josh and Jon are gonna go play in the living room. I'm gonna
go watch and take a nap on the couch." Justin smiled, and walked out of
the kitchen following the already departed.

"What do you want to play Jonny?" Josh asked, as he leaned against the
couch. Justin smiled at him, and took a seat on the couch. Stretching
himself out, he rested his head on the arm rest, and watched Jonathon
pick out some toys he had brought. Josh watched as Jonathon took out some
G.I. Joes, and then smiled, when he looked up to see that Justin had
already fallen asleep. " It looks like Justin's a party pooper." He
laughed at Jon's giggled to the joke, and stood. Grabbing a blanket, he
threw it over Justin and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled when he heard
a childish ew coming from Jonathon.

"Mom says you and Justin are like her and daddy." Jonathon spoke in a
child like voice, his eyes staring at Justin and Josh.

"Yep, we love each other, just like your mommy and daddy." Josh replied
back, a bright smile crossing his face.

"Are you gonna be my real big brother?" Jon's question hit Josh. The
little boy he was looking at was only 7, and he was asking a question
Josh wasn't prepared to answer to an adult, and he had to answer it for a
child. The question was more serious then Jonathon was probably thinking
when he asked it.

"Um, yeah, eventually." Josh replied, taking a seat back on the floor
next to the child.

"Cool!" Josh laughed at the hyperness of the child, and set about playing
with him.

____________________________________________________________________________

"So, Joseph, maybe you want to tell us about the tour? Ya know, why it
got cancelled?" Paul Harless asked as he took a sip of a beer.

"Well, we had a lot of problems this tour. Brittney and Lance broke up,
Chris kissed Josh, Josh hit Chris, Chris beat up Justin. And we cancelled
the tour, and maybe even the group." Joey gave a very short synopsis,
compared to what he had told Lynn earlier. He caught eyes of anger from
both Paul and Randall. And he knew why.

"Chris hit my son?" Randall was the first to speak out his anger, and
Paul shook his head in agreement, as they waited for an answer.

"Yes." Joey responded with a simple answer, knowing their was nothing he
could do to defend Chris. And after thinking about it, he didn't even
want to defend Chris, what he had done was wrong, and only now was Joey
really believing it.

"And Josh didn't do anything about it?" Now, that question caught Joey
off guard.

"He wasn't in the area. He was pissed, Justin was with Brittney, and he
went for a walk to calm down after hitting Chris. Justin woke up, and
walked off the bus, and Chris was their. They got into an arguement,
Justin threw a punch, and Chris blocked it. Chris threw a punch, and
Justin went down, and from their Chris hit him again, and then kneed
him." Joey responded, that time he was defending some one, he was
defending Josh. "When Josh got back he wanted to hit Chris, but his
instincts were to stay with Justin and make sure he was okay."

"He should have been their." Randall responded to Joey's story, and shook
his head in frustration.

"It's not his fault Randall. At least Justin is okay." Joey smiled with
relief after hearing Paul join his side. "Josh loves Justin, after all
Joe said his first instinct was to stay with Justin, that shows love."

"Fine, but that Chris isn't going to come back to this house. And will
see about you still being a band, I don't know if I want Justin to be
near him." Randall agreed with the fact that Josh wasn't to blame, but he
was firm in his opinion that Justin would not be in a band with some one
that hit him.

"I agree with that." Paul agreed, and Joey just sat on, not knowing what
to say.

"Dinner fellas!" Brittney poked her head and screamed at them, although
they were right in front of her. "Sorry." She whispered seeing them
cringe from the yell.  "It's dinner time." She reiterated, and went back
inside.

"Joshua, it's time for dinner." Lynn smiled, as she walked into the room.
Josh and Jon were on the floor playing with Jon's toys, while Justin was
peacefully sleeping on the couch about Josh.  Jonathon jumped at the
mention of dinner, and rushed out of the room towards the kitchen. Josh
smiled up at her.

"I'll be their in a minute, let me wake up Justin." Lynn smiled again and
walked from the room.

"Baby." Josh stirred Justin, and Justin opened his eyes. Without saying
another word, Josh was surprised that Justin got up quickly, and into a
standing position. Stretching upwards, Josh smiled at the sight of
Justin's stomach that was showing, and giggled. "It's dinner time."

"I figured." Justin teased as he walked towards the kitchen. Josh
followed, and was surprised that the table was big enough for both of
Justin's families, and his friends to sit at. Both of them sat down in
the only two open seats left, which just happened to be two seast next to
each other.

"Have a nice nap dear?" Justin giggled at the joint question shared by
both his mother Lynn and his step-mother Lisa.

"Yeah, it was nice." Justin responded to both of them.

"I think we should change the roles of the people in this group. You
sleep way more then me, but they call me Mr. Sleepy." Josh smiled at
Justin, and took a steak.

"Trying having people think you have implants. Then I'll let you complain
about what the people say." Brittney laughed, and took a bite of her
salad.

"So, what's the plan while you guys are here?"  Paul asked, looking at
Justin first, and noticing that he wasn't paying attention he set his
eyes on Josh for an answer.

"Um nothing. Just some relaxation away from the entertainment." Josh
replied.

"When are you heading back out to work on the next cd? Or aren't you
doing another cd?" Randall asked, which caused a little silence to fill
the table.

"We aren't sure yet, whenever Lance and Chris come down here and we work
out our differences." Joey answered that question, and smiled at Randall,
giving him a slight warning not to say anything more about the situation.

"Oh, well I'm sure you boys can work things out. It's not like you all to
be on non-speaking terms." Lynn spoke with wisdom gained through
experience. She used to tour with the group, insisting on it when Justin
was still young, and in that time she got to know the group better then
any of the other mothers. And during the time, she also realized that
they were all close, and fights never lasted long.

"You're probably right." This came from Josh, although he really didn't
feel that way, he had to agree to drop the subject.

"I know I am, give them a few days and they will apologize." Lynn shook
her head for double assurance, and went back to eating.

____________________________________________________________________________

TBC.....

____________________________________________________________________________

I've got some good e-mails from people about the past few chapters, I'm
glad. I thought that my fans had stopped reading after the late teen
chapters because of the storylines I was writing. But I see that a lot of
you like the way I am taking the story now, and I'm glad.

If you want to write any suggestions for the current storylines, or
something you'd like to see happen in the future, drop me a line at
aci_85@hotmail.com