Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 15:43:44 PDT
From: Brain King <brainking@hotmail.com>
Subject: Loving Lance

Loving Lance
Chapter 1
By: Jeremy W.

	All the usual stuff applies, this story isn't meant to imply
anything about the sexuality of any member of 'N Sync.  If you aren't 18 or
whatever the legal age is in your area, you shouldn't be reading this.  And
if you are offended by homosexual material you might oughta leave.  And why
are you on Nifty?
	
 	I would also like to mention a few of my favorite stories on Nifty,
"Brian and Me" by DLS, "Lance in Shining Armour" by Scotty T., and of
course "Brian and Justin' and "Just Beginning" by JM.  These are all great
stories and if you haven't checked them out yet, by all means do.

	This is my first time writing a story of this kind so please bear
with me.  I have no idea how often I will be able to get them out because
college tends to keep me pretty busy. I'd love to get some feedback on this
story, positive or negative.  Drop me a line at brainking@hotmail.com.  On
with the story!

	'Three down, two to go,' I thought to myself as I walked back to my
dorm after the last of my Wednesday classes.  In the past week since my
roommate moved out, my life seemed to have gotten more boring.  It's not
that I didn't have other friends, I was just used to the late night debates
that John and I used to have over Jay Leno vs. David Letterman and the
friendly name-calling sessions that could last for over two hours as we got
more and more creative.
	He had moved in with a friend of his that lived in an apartment off
campus when his friend's roommate had withdrawn from the university.  I
didn't blame him, the first chance I had get to move out of this stinking
hell-hole that they called a dorm, I would take.  I don't why I'd even
moved back in for my sophomore year.
	When I got to my room, examined my 5'8", 155 lb. frame in the
mirror.  For what must have been the thousandth time, I cursed my luck at
having been born with dark brown hair and eyes.  "Damn dominant genes," I
muttered to myself.  As I turned to drop my backpack on the bed, I noticed
that the light on the answering machine was blinking.  When I pushed the
button, my best friend Jed's voice emanated from the speaker.
	"Hey Jeremy, I was just wondering if you wanted to go and get a
bite to eat at about six this evening," the machine played.  "Give me a
call when you get a chance."
	Jed had been my best friend since about halfway through my first
semester at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.  I've always been a
shy person and I never made friends very quickly, but it was different with
Jed.  We had a class together and one day as he was turning to speak with
someone, his backpack swung around and clocked me right in the jaw.  He
immediately began apologizing profusely as I attempted to tell him that I
was fine, even though I was surprised that I wasn't spitting out teeth.
	After that, Jed made it a point to talk to me every day in class
and soon I actually started to talk back.  We found out that we had a lot
of similar interests and in a short time, we became very close friends.  We
decided not to room together our sophomore year because we had heard horror
stories of friends who had become roommates and began to hate each other.
	'I'd better call him now before I forget and he ends up going to
supper without me.' I thought.  I dialed his number and he picked up on the
second ring.  "Hey Jed, how's it going," I asked.  "Pretty good," he
replied.  "But I'm getting pretty hungry now.  Mind if we go to eat a
little bit early?"  I thought for a moment and answered, "Not a problem.
Meet you downstairs in a couple of minutes."
	He was late, as usual, but we finally got into my '90 Ford Ranger
and pulled out of the parking lot.  "Where to?" I asked.  "I'm in the mood
for Chinese tonight," Jed proclaimed.  Let's go to the Panda."  On the way
we discussed our day and he complained about how difficult his business
management class was.  "You wuss," I joked.  "Business majors don't have
any hard classes compared to us Biology people.  Have you ever had to name
all the muscles in a dead cat?" I asked.
	"OK, maybe my class isn't as hard as I thought," he replied.  When
we arrived ate the restaurant were promptly seating.  We then proceeded to
gorge ourselves at the buffet.  After my third plate of shrimp chow mein, I
pushed away from the table with a sigh.  "Well, we'd better be getting back
so I can finish up my reading for tomorrow," I announced.
	After bidding Jed goodbye at the door to his room, I trudged up to
my floor.  Thinking back to the previous year, I remembered the huge crush
I had on Jed after we first met.  He's very good looking and athletic, as a
matter of fact, he plays baseball for the university team.  He also has
brown hair and eyes, but somehow, he makes it look good.  But,
unfortunately, he's as straight as straight can be.  He even dated my
cousin for a while after I introduced them.  And I eventually got over my
crush, mostly.
	As I flopped don onto my bed, as noticed that the light on the
answering machine was flashing again.  'Two messages in less than two
hours, this must be my lucky day,' I thought.  When I pushed the play
button, an unfamiliar male voice began.
	"Congratulations, you've won the 'Spend a Day with 'N Sync'
contest."  I gasped in surprise.  I had totally forgotten about entering
that contest on the Internet months ago.  I had done it on a whim, never
once thinking that I might actually win.  The man went on to explain the
details of the prize and said that I would get the rest of the information
in the mail in a few days.
	Still in disbelief, I played the message again to make sure that I
wasn't imagining things.  Then I called Jed and told him about it.  He knew
that I was an 'N Sync fan and he was constantly teasing me about in a
friendly way.  I think that over the past year of our friendship, he may
have begun to suspect that I was gay, but he never mentioned anything about
it.
	The weeks until I was to meet 'N Sync flew by.  I threw myself into
studying for my classes to make the time go by faster.  My grades even got
a little better.  Finally, the day arrived.  I was supposed to from Little
Rock to Orlando, arriving at about 9:00 AM.  Jed called my hotel room at
5:00 AM to make sure I was up and getting ready.  I couldn't really sleep
the night before, so I had been up since about 3:30 anyway.
	"Have fun," Jed told me.  "And don't stare too hard when you first
meet them."  I could just picture the smile on his face as he made that
remark.  "I'll bring you back a good souvenir," I promised him.  After
saying goodbye and hanging up the phone, I went through my things again to
make sure I brought everything I needed.  I'm horrible when it comes to
remembering things I'll need on a trip.  I always end up without a comb,
toothbrush, or something else I desperately need.
	I made it to the airport about an hour early, just to be safe.  I'd
only flown once before in my life, so I was fairly nervous.  I got my bag
safely checked and boarded the plane.  Surprisingly enough, I fell asleep
soon after we were airborne.  Probably as a result of not getting any sleep
the night before.
	A stewardess woke me up as we approached the airport in Orlando.  I
sat up with a yawn, just in time to look out the window and see the first
glimpse of the city as we began to make our landing.  I was getting
progressively more nervous by the minute and if something didn't give soon,
I was gonna pop like a balloon.  I knew from the information that I had
gotten that there would be someone waiting at the airport to pick me up and
take me to my hotel, where I would meet 'N Sync at 11:00.
	I found the man holding the sign with my name on it and was
surprised to find that he was standing next to a limo.  That was a little
more than I had expected.  Once I was inside, I forgot my nervousness for a
while because I was fascinated with riding around in a limo.  I tried to
imagine what the people around me must think I we went glided past.
	The limo pulled up to the entrance of the hotel and the driver
insisted on helping me take my bags in, even though I told me I could do it
myself.  The front desk was expecting me and I was promptly shown to my
room.  The first thing I did was to call Jed and my mother and tell them
that I had safely made it to Orlando.  Then I took a nice, long bath to
help ease out some of the tension that I was feeling.
	I got out of the tub and put on the outfit that I had bought
especially for this occasion.  Then I spent about 30 minutes getting my
hair just right.  After fixing my hair, I looked at my watched and noticed
that it was already 11:00.  Just then, I heard a knock at the door to my
hotel room.  When I opened the door, there stood a very large and
frightening looking man.  "Are you Jeremy?" he asked in a loud and harsh
voice.  I slowly nodded my head, afraid to make any sudden moves around
him.  He then stepped aside to reveal the hottest band on the planet.
	I've had a thing for 'N Sync ever since I saw them for the first
time.  Not only did I like the way they looked, but I genuinely enjoyed
listening to their music too.  Lance, Justin and JC are three of the best
looking men that you could ever hope to meet.  Joey and Chris are all right
too, just not really my type.  My first reaction, when faced with the
sudden onslaught of cuteness, was to stand there in shock with my mouth
gaping open.
	Then I suddenly remembered what Jed had jokingly told me and my
jaws snapped shut with an audible click.  Seething with embarrassment, I
blindly stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Jeremy."  All five of them
attempted to shake my hand at the same time and we ended up in a large
tangle of fingers.  "Sorry," JC said.  "Were just used to our contest
winners being screaming, frothing at the mouth, 14 year old girls."
	"Well, it looks like your stuck with me for today," I answered.
"And we're happy about it," said Justin.  "It'll be nice to do this with a
guy that's close to our own age for a change."  "Yeah," Lance spoke up.
"At least we won't have to answer any questions about what kind of
underwear we have on."  If only he knew what going through my head at that
moment.
	"Let's get this show on the road," exclaimed Chris.  "I'm ready to
hit the town."  "What did you have in mind for today?" Joey questioned me.
"I really haven't come up with a plan or anything," I replied.  "Ya'll are
the ones who live here, what is there to do?"
	"If I'm not mistaken," Justin said, "The contest also gave you
$1,000 to spend while you are down here, so why don't we hit the mall?"  "I
knew that's what you were gonna suggest Just," giggled JC.  "Sounds good to
me," I said.  "Let's go."  I quickly grabbed my wallet and headed out the
door.  When we got to the elevator, Justin and Chris had an argument over
who got to push the button for the lobby.  As they were wrestling, I
reached around them and push the button myself.
	"They'll get you for that," Lance whispered with a grin.  We were
nearly to the ground floor before Chris broke free of Justin's headlock and
noticed that the elevator was moving.  JC, Lance and I burst into laughter
at the look on his face.  We exited the hotel and climbed into yet another
long, black limo.  'I could get used to this,' I thought to myself.
	Joey told the driver to head for the mall and we were under way.
JC turned to me and asked, "So what kind of things do you like to do?"
"Well, I replied.  "I like hiking and swimming, just being outside really.
I also enjoy reading, but only stuff that I like to read, not assignments
for class."  "Do you like basketball?" Justin questioned.  "I like to play,
but I'm not very good," I replied.
	We pulled up the mall and the guys donned their disguises, which
consisted of a baseball cap and a pair of mirrored sunglasses.  "It's not
much," Lance explained.  "But it's definitely better than nothing."  Before
going in, we decided that I would spend the first hour shopping with Lance,
JC, and Justin and after lunch I would join Chris and Joey for a while.
	We opened the limo doors and practically sprinted to the mall
entrance.  After stopping to catch our breath inside, we split up.  "What
kind of things do you want to shop for," JC asked.  "Well, I promised some
people back home that I would bring them something, so I guess I wanna do
that first," I replied.  We proceeded to find a jewelry store where I
bought a pearl bracelet for my mom and then I bought a new cap for Jed
because I was constantly telling him how ratty the one that he always wore
looked.
	"OK, now that we've shopped for other people, what do YOU want?"
Lance questioned me.  "Well, I think I want some new CD's," I told him.
"Cool," Justin answered.  "There's a great music store just down this way."
Justin led the way to the store as JC, Lance and I made small talk.  "So,
do you go to school somewhere?" JC asked.  "I'm a sophomore Biology major
at the University of Arkansas," I told him.  "Is there much to do around
there?" questioned Lance.  "Well, most weekends there's a ballgame or some
other special event." I replied.  "And we have a couple of movie theaters
and a nice bowling alley. There are about three different state parks
within an hour's drive too.  I like to go to them of them on the weekends
and hike."
	"Ever do much horseback riding?" Lance asked.  "No, I've never
really had the chance," I said.  "Hey guys, we're here," Justin shouted
from up ahead of us.  As I browsed through the store, the guys tried to
remain inconspicuous.  When I walked to the counter to pay for my CD's,
they rejoined me.  Examining my sack containing the new Dixie Chicks CD,
the latest album from Smashmouth, and an old one from CCR, Justin gave me
an odd look.  "You sure have a wide range of musical tastes," he stated.
"Yeah, I pretty much like everything," I replied.  "As long as I'm not
being continually screamed at, I enjoy listening to it.  And I'm not all
that fond of rap either."
	By then it was nearly time for lunch so we headed for the El Chico
in the corner of the mall.  Chris and Joey met us by the door and we went
in.  After we were seated, Joey and Chris described their narrow escape
from a mob of howling girls.  "We ditched 'em by crawling inside a giant
pyramid of shoe boxes that was set up in front of Foot Locker," Joey
explained.  The rest of us burst into to laughter, causing the people at
the surrounding tables to look our way.  "Keep it down," whispered Chris.
'We don't want a repeat!"
	The food came about then and we spent the next ten minutes in
relative silence as everyone chowed down.  For dessert, I suggested the
caramel pecan cheesecake.  When the last of the cheesecake had been
devoured, JC insisted that they pay for the meal.  "But they gave me $1,000
bucks!" I exclaimed.  "There's no need for you to pay."  "We insist," said
Lance.  "Management also gave US money to spend today and I intend to put
it to good use."  I grudgingly agreed.
	"Now it's our turn to show you what the mall is all about," crowed
Chris.  "Meet us back at the fountain at 2:00," JC said.  "OK, see you
then," I replied.  Joey and Chris each grabbed one of my arms and dragged
me back out into the mall.  "How about we take you to get your ears
pierced?" Joey asked.  "Great idea," cheered Chris.  Then he realized how
loud he had shouted and he looked nervously over his shoulder.
	"Umm, I don't think so guys," I said hesitantly.  "I'm not really
into getting things pierced."  "Well, if that's how you feel," Chris
replied dejectedly.  "But, to make it up to you, we can go anywhere you
want for the next hour," I proclaimed.  They both instantly perked up and
grabbed me by the arms again.  I spent the next hour in and out of toy
stores, gag shops, and even a condom boutique.
	After that slightly unnerving experience I announced, "Well, it's
1:55, we'd better head to the fountain so we won't be late."  Chris and
Joey were both beginning to lose their enthusiasm at that point anyway, so
they agreed and we began the walk to the fountain.
	"Did ya'll have fun?" Lance asked as we approached the fountain.
"Oh yeah," I replied.  "These two are crazy.  I think it may be impossible
not to have fun when you're with them."  "Believe me, it's possible," Lance
snickered.  "Hey!" Chris exclaimed.  The rest of us couldn't help but laugh
as we started for the door. "I called the limo driver just before you
walked up," JC said.  "He should be waiting just outside."
	As we climbed into the limo, they all began to suggest more things
to do.  "How about we catch a movie?" Justin asked.  "The beach is nice,"
Lance said.  "I wanna go get something to eat," Joey stated.  "We just ate
an hour ago Joey," Chris cried.  "I know, but I'm still hungry," Joey
whined.  "You're always hungry!" Justin exclaimed.  "Why don't we go try
out that new go-cart place that we heard about?" JC suggested.  "That
sounds like a good idea to me," I replied.  Justin tapped on the divider
and told the driver where to go.
	On the way to the go-cart track, I told them about the go-cart that
I had when I was little and how my brother and I used to try to throw each
other out of the passenger seat.  "And how many times did you have to go to
the hospital?" Joey questioned.  "I've never been in the hospital in my
life," I proudly reported.  "We Southern boys are tough, right Lance."
"Lance? Tough?!" Chris exclaimed.  "I don't think so."  Lance proceeded to
prove it by putting Chris in a headlock and not releasing him until he had
taken it back.
	We pulled into the parking lot of the go-cart track and climbed out
of the limo.  The place appeared to be deserted.  "Man, I expected at least
some people to be here," I said.  JC replied, "That's one of the perks of
being famous.  We had the driver call ahead and tell them that we would pay
enough so that they could close down for the day and we would be the only
ones here."
	I was surprised to find that they didn't even make us listen to the
normal "be careful and don't ram each other" speech.  Another one of the
benefits of fame I guess.  After a few laps, everyone was started to get
warmed up and have fun.  I noticed that Justin and Chris had managed to box
me in between their carts and I saw that they were both wearing evil grins.
"This is for pushing the button on the elevator!" Justin yelled over the
roar of the engine.  They began to slam into me from the front and side
until my go-cart spun a complete circle in the center of the track.  "You
won't get away with this!" I warned as the sped away with laughter.
	Pretty soon, my years of go-cart driving experience paid off and I
was able to catch both of them alone and force them to slam into the curb.
We stayed at the track until 4:00, when Lance began signaling us to pull
into the pit area.  After we unbuckled ourselves and climbed out of the
carts, he announced that he had a brilliant idea.  "Since Jeremy likes the
outdoors but he's never been horseback riding, I think that's what we
should do for the rest of the day."  I love the idea as long as it's OK
with everyone else," I replied.  "Hey, this is your day," Justin said.
"We're game for whatever you want."
	Lance gave the limo driver instructions to a little ranch he knew
of just outside Orlando.  We passed the time by asking each other about our
lives and our likes and dislikes.  I was really having a good time.  I had
figured that I would be too uptight to enjoy myself, but the guys were so
easy to talk to that I didn't have any trouble at all.  I had told them
more about myself in the past few hours that many people had learned about
me over the course of several years.
	Upon arriving at the ranch, Lance was greeted like an old friend.
"Whenever I get time off, I like to come out here and just relax," he
explained.  The owner, a pleasant couple in there late 50's, introduced
themselves as Randy and Lurleen Johnson.  They told us an embarrassing (to
Lance) story of his first ride on their wildest horse, Tequila.  It turns
out that the horse was pretty smart and he had figured out that if he
walked under a low limb, he could scrape the rider off his back.  They had
Lance show us the scar he had gotten when he hit the ground.  It was on his
side, so he had to pull up his shirt to show us.  It was the high point of
my day so far.
	Soon we were all saddled up and ready to go.  Lance had once again
opted to ride Tequila while the other guys and I were given much more tame
mounts.  Lance was familiar with all the trails in the area so Randy and
Lance excused themselves to begin cooking dinner.  It turns out that part
of the experience of the ranch is eating with them when the ride is over.
	"I love just riding around in the woods, hearing all the birds and
the wind in the trees," Lance said wistfully.  "My butt hurts," Chris
whined.  I couldn't help but giggle.  "We've only been riding for ten
minutes," I said.  "If you're already in uncomfortable, I can't imagine how
much you'll be complaining by the time we get back.  We're gonna be out
here for an hour at least," Lance added.  Chris' moan of pain was his only
response.
	We rode on for another 45 minutes or so, continually plagued by
Chris' groans of protest.  When we returned to the ranch, Lurleen came out
and announced that we could eat as soon as we'd washed up.  Upon entering
the dining room, I had to suppress a laugh at the sight of Chris sitting on
a pillow.  Justin and Joey weren't so considerate and Chris glared at them
through most of dinner.  Much to Lance's chagrin, Randy kept on telling us
anecdotes about Lance's visits until the meal was finished.
	Joey pushed away from the table and said, "I don't think I could
eat another bite."  JC stood up and gravely announced, "Hell has officially
frozen over."  Everyone burst into laughter, including Joey.  We thanked
the Johnson's for their hospitality and I told them, "I had a great time.
If I'm ever down in this area again, I'll definitely stop by."  Lance
hugged them goodbye and we climbed back into the limo.
	As we pulled back out onto the highway, Justin looked at his watch
and exclaimed, "Hey, it's only 6:30 now, we'll be back in town by 7:00.
How about we check out a few clubs?"  "Well, I'm not really into the club
scene," I replied.  "And I'm not a very good dancer either."  "You'll fit
right in with Lance then," Chris smirked.  "Don't make me teach you another
lesson today, old man," Lance said menacingly.  Chris cowered in mock fear.
"I don't think my poor butt is up for much dancing tonight either," he
reported.
	"OK then," Justin sighed.  "I guess we don't have to go to a club."
"No, I don't wanna ruin your fun!" I exclaimed.  "You can just drop me off
now and I'll go catch a movie or something."  I'm not in a clubbing mood
either," Lance quickly spoke up.  "Would you mind if I joined you?"  "Not
at all," I replied.  "JC? Joey?  You guys still in?" Justin questioned.
"Sure," they said in unison.  We finalized our plans until we arrived at
Justin's house.  Lance had left his 4-Runner there and he was going to be
my transportation for the rest of the evening.
	I kept thanking all of them for the great time I had until they
yelled "You're welcome!" at the top of their lungs.  This startled me out
of the trance of gratitude I was in long enough for them to tell me that it
wasn't necessary.  "I think we all had a really good time today too," JC
said.  "Yeah, I wish we had more fans like you," Joey added.  They all told
Lance and I goodbye and we went our separate ways.
	"So, what movie do you want to see?" Lance asked.  "I don't know
what's out down here," I replied.  "Me neither.  I guess we'll just have to
pick one when we get to the theater," said Lance.  During the drive, we
discovered that we had both been raised as Southern Baptists.  This got us
both starting talking about our families and how are lives were growing up.
The theater came into view all to quickly and we were forced to pick a
movie.  I wasn't really paying attention and I let Lance make the
selection.  We ended up watching a terribly unfunny comedy with a bunch of
no-name stars.
	After leaving the theater, I thought Lance would never stop
apologizing.  "Don't worry about it that much, I've seen a lot worse," I
lied.  That seemed to convince him for the moment and I quickly steered the
conversation away.  As we pulled into the parking lot of my hotel, Lance
turned to me and said, "Let me make up for the bad movie.  I know that the
contest has paid for you to stay here in Orlando for another three days.
JC, Justin, and I are planning on going to the beach tomorrow.  Would you
like to join us?"  I couldn't believe my luck.  "Of course, I'd love to
come," I said, while trying to keep the excitement from my voice.  "But are
you sure JC and Justin won't mind?"  "No, they really enjoyed hanging out
with you today," he assured me.
	"Give me your phone number and I'll call in the morning and fill
you in on the details.  "Well, I don't really know the number," I said.  "I
didn't bother to notice earlier."  "That's OK," Lance replied.  "I'll just
follow you up to your room and we can get it from the phone."  My eyes
widened as my brain started churning out all kinds of scenarios for what
might follow.  Then I mentally threw a bucket of cold water on myself and
thought, 'There's no way that Lance is gay, you're blowing this all out of
proportion.  He's just trying to be friendly.'  I realized that Lance was
still waiting for my response and I quickly blurted out, "OK, let's go get
it."
	Lance followed me up to my room and we talked in the doorway for a
while after he copied down the number from the phone.  Finally, he let out
a huge yawn and said, "Well, I better be going.  Don't wanna be too tired
to enjoy myself tomorrow."  "OK, talk to you in the morning," I replied,
adding a yawn of my own.  I watched Lance walk away down the hall and a
thought suddenly occurred to me.  'Couldn't Lance have just called the
front desk and asked to be connected to my room?'  A small spark of hope
crept back into my mind before I extinguished it.  'He probably just didn't
think about it,' I told myself.  Another yawn reminded me just how tired I
was and I slowly climbed into to bed and began dreaming of what tomorrow
might bring.


Thanks for reading my first effort.  If you enjoyed it, or even if you
didn't, write me and tell me what I could do to improve it.  The address
is: brainking@hotmail.com