Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 19:44:03 EDT
From: KandLStories@aol.com
Subject: Maze of Moments 18 - celebrity/boyband

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! Yes indeed friends and neighbors, your DISCLAIMER
here: I don't know Lance Bass or any of the other members of N'Sync, and
what follows is fiction. So don't think I'm telling the truth here, okay?
Okay.

Well here we are, back once again with another installment of The Maze of
Moments! It's hard to believe that Ye Writer has been at it now for a year!
Time flies while you're having fun, that's for sure. I'd like to thank
everyone who has written, commented and helped out in some way with the
writing of this story in the last twelve months. Your input, feedback, and
support mean a great deal to me, and I appreciate it. From the bottom of my
heart, thank you very much.

I encourage you to visit my little home on the web, where you can read all
of Maze AND the first of some exclusive Kevin and Lance stories! Go to
www.railwayshoes.net and follow the links!  While you're there, make sure
to check out the other great fiction and say hi to the wonderful Gabriella
Morrison, my hostess with the mostess!

Any feedback, good, bad, or in-between, is always appreciated! Drop me a
line at KandLStories@aol.com and tell me what you think!

The Maze of Moments copyright 2002.

Thanks for waiting! Now on with the show!

               --Tony


The Maze of Moments - A Kevin and Lance Story


Chapter 18 - All Roads Lead to the Same Place

               "Looking up and down this road, I've been here before..."
                      from "I'm Alive" by Jackson Browne


The plane was only half full this Tuesday morning, which was only to be
expected. Not many would choose to take an early morning flight from
Orlando, Florida to Jackson, Mississippi at seven a.m. Still, when he or
his bandmates traveled alone, it was the only way they could go from place
to place in relative safety and without too much hassle. Any flight later
in the day, say after noon, would mean significantly more people, and the
risk of being recognized. It wasn't all that bad, being recognized, and
they liked interacting with their fans. But when going solo, so to speak,
it usually created a variety of problems.

So here he was, just after seven, making the final approach to Jackson.

With a sigh, he looked out the window and wondered what the weather would
be like. He didn't mind coming to see Lance in his home state, but the
weather here was not like in Florida. Back in Orlando, it was hot, true,
but it was more of a comfortable hot. In Mississippi, it was hot, and
almost always unbearably humid. It was the kind of humidity that slapped
you in the face when you walked outside, surrounding you, making it hard to
breathe. Why Lance didn't spend time at his house in Florida as opposed to
here, he'd never know. Probably had to do with wanting to see his
family. And that other house of his.

Chuckling, he remembered the first time Lance showed off his house in
Jackson, how proud he was of it, and all the work that had gone into
decorating it just the way he wanted. He bounced back and forth from room
to room, talking a mile a minute about where they got the tile from, or why
he chose that particular design of wallpaper, or why he felt the need to
create a whole room dedicated to Dr. Suess. He was like a little kid on
Christmas morning, eyes all lit up (and more green than usual), and a smile
that couldn't be removed from his face no matter what. What a character!

And the passenger wouldn't have it any other way. A lot of people said that
he was the glue that kept N'Sync together, but he knew different. It was
Lance. And for several reasons. His business sense, his dedication, his
willingness to be there for everybody else. The fact that he sang bass was
only secondary as far as he was concerned, it was more than just
vocalization. It was because Lance was....well....Lance.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're
about to begin our final approach to Jackson, Mississippi now, so I'll ask
you to fasten your seat belts and return your seat to an upright
position. I hope you've enjoyed your flight with us, and that you have a
pleasant stay in Jackson. The weather is sunny and a warm eighty degrees
this morning. Thank you for flying with us again. Flight crew, prepare for
landing procedures."

The passenger sat up straight and fastened his seat belt. He yawned, and
looked back out the window, seeing the airport coming into view.

He hated landings. And takeoffs. Once he got in the air it was no big deal,
flying was a piece of cake. But there was something about that belly
tickling that you got when a plane took off into the air that always made
him a little upset. And landings generally were a bit bumpy, which made him
kind of nervous. Thankfully, though, this particular captain seemed to know
what he was doing, as the plane came down with only a slight jolt and then
slowed down as it taxied over to the gate.

Once stopped, he and the other few passengers gathered their carry on bags
and other possessions and made their way to the door. He paused only to put
on a pair of sunglasses, just in case, and smiled and nodded to the flight
attendants as he made his way off the plane and walked down the long ramp.

'I hope this guy can recognize me with these glasses on,' he thought to
himself.

Stepping out among other passengers being greeted by friends or loved ones,
he walked past the seating area and looked around at the shops and
restaurants.

"Excuse me? Mr. Chasez?"

JC turn to his right and saw a young blond haired man, who appeared to be a
little nervous.

"Yes? I take it you're Terry?"

"Yes sir, Terry Reid. Did you have a good flight, sir?"

"Wasn't too bad. And call me JC, please," he said with a smile.

                         **********

"...so then after breakfast I'll be taking you to the Auditorium where the
practice sessions are being held. Your hotel room is ready for you, and we
can stop there if you'd like as well."

JC and Terry stood at the luggage carousel waiting for his bags, as Lance's
young assistant went over the itinerary for the morning.

"Nah, I'll go there later. Am I rooming with Justin?" JC asked as he
watched and waited for his suitcases.

"Mr. Timberlake? Oh, he's staying with Mr. Hagen."

"Who's Mr. Hagen?"

"Eric Hagen? Mr. Doug...um...Kevin's roommate?"

"Ah. Why isn't Kevin staying with Eric?"

"Well, he's...uh...you see, he's sort of....that is..."

"Oh, I think I get it," JC said with a chuckle as he reached out and took
his bag from the moving belt. "He's shacked up with Lance. I wonder what
his mother would say?"

"Uh....um..."

"Terry," JC laughed. "I'm only kidding! Dude, relax. I don't bite, okay?"

"Um...okay, Mr. Cha...um, JC. Here, let me carry that for you."

They walked out of the terminal, JC getting his first taste of that
humidity he was thinking about earlier. "So, why didn't Lance come pick me
up anyway? When you called me this morning it kind of surprised me."

"Well, all he told me was that he was...uh...a little busy this morning. He
sounded out of breath, like he had been running around or something."

"Or something. Uh-huh. Well, well. Little Lance, all grown up," JC said,
laughing again.

                         **********

"You sure you don't want me to drive this morning?"

Eric and Justin sat in the lobby of the hotel, eating from the continental
breakfast provided. As Eric turned the pages of the USA Today, he looked up
and saw that his temporary roommate was now on his third bowl of cereal so
far.

"Nah, it's okay," Justin said as he wiped some milk from his chin. "I don't
mind. Damn, why do they make these bowls so small?"

"Because they knew you were coming, that's why," Eric grinned before
finishing off his juice.  "Besides, it's a free breakfast. Key word being
free. What do you expect?"

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe I'll stop at the drive through or something before we
get there."

Eric was about to make another witty comment about Justin Timberlake's
eating habits, when his new friend's cell phone began to ring. Putting down
his plastic spoon, he picked up the phone and pushed 'talk.'

"Yo, J.T. here."

"Good morning, Curly. How many bowls of cereal have you had so far?"

"JC! Hey! Are you here?"

"Yeah, I'm in town, just got in a few minutes ago. We're going to stop at
an IHOP or something and grab some food before heading over to the
auditorium."

"And how is Lance this morning?"

"Well, I wouldn't know. He sent his understudy to pick me up instead."

"His what?"

"You know, Terry? His assistant?"

"What happened to Lance?"

"Justin, he's got his boyfriend with him. Use your imagination."

"Oh. Oh! Uh...okay, yeah. Well, we're just getting ready to leave here in a
couple of minutes. See you there?"

"You know it....see you in a little while."

"Bye, dude!"

Hanging up, Justin looked at Eric. "That was JC!"

"So I gathered. Well, well. Three out of the five of you are here. I wonder
where the other two are."

                         **********

"I told you we never should have driven! We're lost!"

"We are not lost."

"Chris, we haven't seen a sign for Jackson for over an hour! We're lost!"

"Joseph, Joseph, Joseph. You have such little faith, my friend. I'll have
you know that I have an impeccable sense of direction. I know the highways
and byways of our great land like the back of my hand."

Emphasizing his point, Chris Kirkpatrick held up his hand, palm facing Joey
Fatone.

"Are you telling me to talk to the hand, or are you confused?"

"Hmm? Oh." Chris turned his hand around and showed the back to Joey.

It was all Chris' idea. Why fly to Mississippi, he said, when we can rent a
car and drive there! He met up with Joey in Nashville, and rather than take
another flight, he persuaded his friend to drive.

"I knew I should've taken that right turn back there at Memphis...." Chris
muttered under his breath.

"You really have no idea where you're going, do you? Do we even have an
atlas in this car?"

"Uh...I think it's in the back seat. Someplace. Maybe. Hey, look, there's a
sign."

As the sign got closer, they could make out the words:

Welcome to Arkansas, Home of President Bill Clinton

"Arkansas? Arkansas!? Chris!!"

"Okay, okay! So we've taken a slight detour. No problem! I'll
just...uh...here, gimmie the phone."

Joey handed over the cell in frustration, and watched as Chris punched in a
series of numbers.

"One ringy-dingy.....two ringy-dingy....three ringy....hello, Lance? Hi,
it's Chris! How are ya....Lance, why do you sound out of breath? Are you
doing things you shouldn't be doing?  Hmm? Oh, never mind you can tell me
later. Listen, Lance ole buddy, we have a slight problem.  What? Oh,
nothing major, just a little delay, a teeny tiny glitch, that's all..."

"WE'RE LOST!" Joey shouted.

"Ignore Joey, he's overreacting as usual. So Lance, tell me. Let's say I
was driving to Mississippi and wasn't paying too much attention, and the
next thing you know, boy howdy, I wound up in Arkansas. Um. So, assuming
this might happen....how would I get back to where I need to be?"

                         **********

Lance hung up the phone and tossed it aside.

"Now who was it?" said Kevin as he removed his mouth from Lance's erection.

"That was Chris. He's with Joey and they're in Arkansas."

Kevin was about to go back down on Lance, but stopped, his open mouth only
inches from the slick head. He looked back up with confusion. "Arkansas? Is
that why you were giving them directions?"

"Uh-huh."

"What are they doing in Arkansas?"

"Hell, it's Chris. Who knows why he does what he does. Now, why don't we
get back to..."

Lance was once again interrupted by the cordless phone ringing.

"Man, what's a guy gotta do to get a little snugglebunny time in these
days. Hello?"

"Mr. Ba...um, Lance? This is Terry. I've picked up Mr. Chasez and we're
going to get something to eat."

"That's good Terry. Here, let me talk to him."

Kevin, meanwhile, was flicking his tongue at Lance's balls, causing him to
quiver and giggle.

"Hello, Josh?"

"Hey Lance, good morning!"

"Yeah, good....oh yeah....um....good morning to you, too. Say, I'm sorry
I...mmmm...missed you this morning....but uh...you know..."

"Something came up?"

"Yeah....yeah, that's one way of putting it. Listen, I'll see....oh
God....you in about an hour, okay?"

JC could be heard laughing from the other end. "Yeah, sure. See ya in a
little while!"

Lance hung up and tossed the phone aside again. Sitting up, he looked down
at Kevin who had a huge grin on my face. "You know, Mr. Douglas, trying to
distract me while I'm on the phone is so not nice!"

Kevin's face turned to the picture of innocence. "Who? Me? Would I do such
a thing?"

"Yes, you! C'mere!"

                         **********

Eric and Justin stepped out into the parking lot towards Justin's car,
adjusting their sunglasses to shield from the bright glare of the morning.
"Hey, I need to ask you something," Justin said as they walked on.

"Sure, what?"

"Um....you're not gonna...like...tell anyone about what we talked about
last night, are you?"

"What, that you named your dick Herman?" Eric said with a smirk.

"No, not that! Well, I guess that too, yeah. But I kinda meant that
I....you know....with Joey?"

"Justin, stop and think a minute here. First of all, why would I possibly
tell anyone about anything you told me last night. Second of all, who would
I tell? Come on, my roommate is dating your bandmate, remember?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I just wanted to be sure. Sorry I doubted you."

"No problem," Eric said as he waited for the passenger side door to be
unlocked. "I can understand your being a little nervous about that...not
something you tell people everyday. But don't worry, your secret is safe
with me. I tend to know where all the bodies are buried anyway."

"Cool." Justin got in and unlocked the doors, allowing Eric to get in as
well. Starting up the car, he rolled down the windows a bit so that the air
conditioning would have a chance to work.  Putting the car in reverse, he
carefully backed out of his space and drove towards the exit.

"So, you gonna be okay this summer?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Eric answered.

"Well, you know, with Kevin wanting to go with us and all."

"With Kevin wanting to.....what?"

"Yeah, you know, come along with us so he can be with Lance."

"Uh.....huh. He is, is he?"

"Um. You mean....you don't know about this?"

"That would be no."

"Oh man....Eric, I'm sorry, I thought you knew, that he told you.....oh,
shit."

"Well, looks like Kev and I have a little talking to do this morning."

                         **********

Joey pumped the gas while Chris went inside to pay and, in his words, "Take
care of business and buy goodies." When he was finished, and he put the
nozzle back, he stood next to the rental and took in his surroundings.

It wasn't the best place they could have stopped, true, but it was getting
to be a matter of necessity. They were, quite literally, running on empty,
and Chris had done nothing but complain about how badly he needed to go to
the bathroom. That, and the fact that he was hungry.

'What can he possibly get here,' Joey thought to himself, 'a Moon Pie and
pork rinds?'

Turning around, he watched some of the trucks and cars passing along the
two lane road that came from the interstate exit. For a small place, it
sure did pick up a lot of traffic. Then again, this was the first exit they
had seen in awhile, so it made a little sense, more or less.

Suddenly, Chris' panicked voice could be heard from behind him.

"Start the car!!!"

Turning around, Joey saw Chris running towards him, a brown paper bag
cradled in one arm, his free hand waving at Joey to get in.

"Chris? What happened?"

"Get in and start the damn car!!" Chris yelled again as he got closer.

Quickly complying with this urgent request, he got in and turned the key,
starting up the vehicle.  Chris jumped into the passenger side, slamming
the door.

"Go! Come on, move it!"

"Alright, alright, just let me put on my seat be..."

"GO!!"

Peeling out of the lot, they drove to the exit and then back onto the
interstate. Chris was looking behind them out of the rear window, and
satisfied they weren't being followed, turned back around with a relieved
sigh.

"Okay, we're safe now...."

"What in the hell was that all about?!" Joey demanded as he managed to put
on his seat belt while driving.

"I broke the toilet in there."

"You did.....what?"

"Well, I had to go, remember?"

"Yeah?"

"So I went, and I flushed...and the water started to rise up in the
bowl....and it was kinda overflowing the last time I looked."

"Chris!"

"Hey, I'm just glad all I had to do was pee! Could you imagine if I had to
take a.."

"CHRIS!"

"Okay, okay. I know, too much info. Oh! But I bought us all kinds of
goodies! Let's see, we got candy bars, chips, two bottles of pop.....hey!
That guy forgot to give me my Goo-Goo Cluster!"

Joey just rolled his eyes and hoped that Chris didn't want to turn around
and go back.

                         **********

"Order whatever you'd like, Terry, I'm buying."

JC and Terry sat in the booth at International House of Pancakes, having
stopped there before arriving at their final destination that morning.

"Oh, no, Mr. Chas...um...JC. I have enough to cover it."

"Terry. I'm buying. Now, pick out something, or I'll tell your boss on
you," JC finished with a grin.

"Oh. Well, since you put it that way," Terry replied with a shy grin of his
own.

"So," JC said as he looked over the menu. "What's your impression of
Kevin?"

"He's....okay."

JC frowned and looked up over his menu.

"That doesn't sound like a great endorsement. Just okay?"

Terry took a deep breath and sighed, then went back to reading his own
menu. "Yeah. He's okay.  Seems like a nice guy and all. Kinda funny."

JC, having learned a little about people and a lot about life from being on
the road for a few years now, put down his menu and folded his hands on the
table. Something was up.

"Did....Kevin do something to make you mad?"

"Um....no. No, not really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure....hey, here comes the waitress. Are you ready to order?"

Something was definitely up.

                         **********

"...and an Egg McMuffin. I think that's....oh, hang on a minute." Justin
turned to Eric. "You want anything?"

"No."

"You sure? They have.."

"Justin, I said no, okay? Thanks anyway."

"Um. Yeah, sure. Okay then, I guess that's all."

Getting his total and driving up to the second window, Justin fished out
his wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill. As they waited, he couldn't
help but notice that Eric had been silent and simply looked out the window
ever since he inadvertently revealed some information a few minutes ago.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine," Eric answered back without turning away from the window.

Justin held out the money for his food, and took the bag and his
change. Rolling up the window and stuffing the change into a pocket, he
pulled away and back to the street.

"Eric, listen dude. Don't be too mad at Kev, okay? This kinda just....came
up I think. Like, sort of suddenly."

"Well, he could've told me about it yesterday you know."

"I know, but it was so busy yesterday and all, and we had to figure out
where to stay and....oh, hell. Look, I'm sure it just slipped his
mind. Man, I never should have said anything."

Sighing, Eric finally looked back at Justin. "No, no. I'm not mad at you
Fernando. And I'm not really all that mad at Kevin when it comes right down
to it. It's just...I wish he would have told me that he was thinking about
this, that's all. He's a big boy, he has his own life, I know that. It just
kind of sucked hearing it from another person."

"I'm sorry dude."

"Not your fault."

They drove on for a minute or two in silence. Then, Justin held out the bag
of food to Eric.

"I got some extra hash browns. Want 'em?"

Laughing, Eric took the bad and dug inside.

                         **********

"Kevin, come on, we're late as it is!"

Lance insisted on making a quick breakfast, rather than getting something
on the road. As he walked away from the foot of the stairs and back into
the kitchen, he wondered to himself if Kevin took this long to get ready
every morning.

Picking up a skillet, he divided up the scrambled eggs between two
plates. Then, just as he was about to turn around, he felt Kevin wrapping
his arms around his waist and planting a kiss on the back of his neck.

"Good morning," Kevin said softly.

"Good morning to you too, sexy. Or is that, 'Great morning'? Come on, let's
eat so we can get going," Lance said with a smile.

"Mmmm....we have a few more minutes," Kevin said as he darted out his
tongue and licked Lance's earlobe.

"Kev...Kev, come on...the eggs will get cold..." Lance said as he closed
his eyes and moaned a little.

"So? We can warm them up or something. Besides, I have a better idea of
what to have for breakfast..."

Ten minutes later, Lance clenched his eyes shut and let out a loud groan,
thrusting all the way into Kevin, who lay flat on his back on the
table. For a minute there, they were afraid the rocking back and forth
would cause some kind of damage to it, but it help up under his weight
quite well.

Lance pulled out of Kevin with another moan, his softening cock flopping
down wetly between his legs.

"God," he said out of breath, "I think that's the most I've shot in that
short amount of time. Ever!"

Kevin raised up a little and lazily stroked his own erection. "Even when
you were a teenager?"

"I think so....I don't remember playing with myself that many times in a
row. Man." Lance pulled off a few sheets of paper towel and wiped himself
off. Then, after throwing it away and pulling up his pants, walked back
over to the table and watched Kevin slowly playing with himself.

"Do you wanna....you know?"

"But Lance, we're late as it is," Kevin grinned.

"Oh, what's a few more minutes," Lance said as he pulled up a chair, knelt
on it, and bent forward, opening his mouth in the process.

                         **********

"Alaska! Look! Alaska! Ha ha! I win, I win!!"

Joey shook his head and sighed as he drove. Chris had indeed won the 'Count
the Licence Plates' game.

For about the third time that day already.

"Oh, I know, I know! We can play twenty questions! You wanna go first or
should I??"

"Chris," Joey said as he kept his eyes on the road, "I know you're supposed
to be the hyper one in our little group, but what in the hell has gotten
into you dude? If we were in a hotel right now, I'd swear you'd be bouncing
off the walls!"

"Aha! And well you should ask! See, I figured we would be on the road for
awhile longer 'cause I...well, you know....anyway, I got a secret weapon to
help keep me going!"

With that, he held a plastic soda bottle out to Joey, who took it and
glanced down at the label.

"Jolt. Jolt? You bought Jolt cola! No wonder!"

"It's great, try some!"

"Uh...I'll pass, thanks anywa..."

"Oh, come on, you'll like it! Try it try it try it!!"

Sighing in resignation, Joey brought the bottle up to his mouth and took a
sip.

And then he nearly gagged.

"GAH!! Sw-sw-sweet!!"

"Yeah, isn't it great? Oh look, another Alaska! Woo hoo! Go me!"

Chris proceeded to do a very bad 'cabbage patch' in his seat as Joey shook
his head and silently prayed they were getting close to Jackson.

                         **********

Justin and Eric arrived first.

"The others should be here anytime now. Wanna stay out here, or go inside?"

"We might as well sat out here and wait for them," Eric said as he walked
to the rear of the car to join Justin.

"Cool. You're...not gonna jump all over Kev about this, are you?"

"Well, I figure I'd wait until he and Lance get here. Then, when they get
out of the car, I'll walk up to him and smile, maybe give him a quick
hug. Then, I'll punch him dead in the mouth."

Justin's jaw dropped, causing Eric to laugh out loud.

"I'm kidding! Geez! I told you I'm not mad at him, just a little
disappointed, that's all."

"You little shit, you had me going there!"

"I know. I'm good like that."

A trade off of good natured insults probably would have been next, were it
not for the appearance of Terry and JC's car. As they parked and JC got
out, Justin ran over.

"There's my buddy!!" he shouted as he ran. Reaching JC, he grabbed him in a
bear hug and bounced him up and down a couple of times, causing his old
friend from the Mickey Mouse Club to laugh.

"Down, boy, down! Back! Sit!" he managed to get out. Justin finally
released him and walked him over to Eric, who had been joined by Terry.

"Eric, this is JC Chasez, also known as our Fearless Leader. JC, Eric
Hagen, my new buddy."

JC shook Eric's hand. "Nice to meet you. How much did he win from you in
cards?"

"Too much....nice to meet you, too. I've heard a lot about you the past few
days."

"So, where are the lovebirds and the Terror Twins?"

Terry flinched a little at the mention of 'lovebirds,' which did not go
unnoticed by JC.

"Well, I guess that Kev and Lance are still running late...or are doing
whatever it is they're doing.  Joey and Chris...I have no idea."

"Hold on, did you just call them the terror twins?" Eric asked.

"Trust me, if you live on the road with them, you'd know why," JC
replied. "Well, should we call Lance again and see if he's going to grace
us with his presence today or what?"

"Here comes a car now," Terry said as he pointed. However, they soon found
out that it wasn't Lance and Kevin, nor was it Joey and Chris. Instead, it
was the other members of the band Kevin had put together, Nick, Brandon,
and Derrick. Introductions were made again, and they made small talk for
about ten minutes or so. Terry led the newest arrivals inside, leaving JC,
Justin, and Eric to wait.

"What's the deal with this kid, Terry?" JC asked.

"Why, was he being overly nice to you? He does that to everybody," Justin
answered.

"No, it's not that....but he was doing that, yeah....no, I was just
wondering...does he not like Kevin?"

Justin and Eric exchanged glances.

"You wanna tell him?" Eric said.

"Nah, you go ahead."

"Well, it's like this. Apparently, Terry had a bad case
of...uh...unrequited love that just got shattered here in the last couple
of days."

JC frowned. "He has a thing for Kevin?"

"No, Josh," Justin said. "He has...or had...a thing for Lance."

"Oh boy. No wonder he clammed up when I asked him what Kevin was like. I
think there's still some issues there. Didn't Lance handle this?"

"Ask him yourself, I think that's them now."

But it was actually Joey and Chris, who in spite of being lost earlier that
morning, somehow managed to arrive pretty much on time.

"We're here!!!'

Chris leapt out of the car and sprinted towards JC and Justin, who, seeing
their friend coming towards them, took off running in the other direction,
laughing all the while.

Joey watched them run off as he walked over to Eric. "They'll be gone for a
little while, I'm afraid.  Chris has far too much sugar in his system. Joey
Fatone," he said, extending a hand to Eric.

"Eric Hagen, I'm the boyfriends roommate. Nice to meet you."

"Boyfriends roommate? Is that how you usually introduce yourself?" Joey
laughed.

"No, but I figure it'd make things a little simpler for the time being. Did
you have a good drive down?"

"Oh yeah, wonderful," Joey said dryly. "Arkansas is lovely this time of
year, you really should go."

"Arkansas? What the hell were you doing in Arkansas?"

"Don't ask."

The other three made their way back. Actually, JC and Justin made their way
back, they were more or less carrying Chris.

"Down! Put me down I say! Unhand me you...you..."

"Varlets?" JC offered.

"Scoundrels?" Justin said.

"Yes! Both!"

They came back to Eric and Joey and unceremoniously dropped Chris onto his
feet. Standing up straight, he smoothed his clothes and dusted himself off.

"Man, you'd think these two never played tag before. Chris Kirkpatrick,
glad to meet you!"

"Uh...Eric Hagen, glad to meet you, too."

"Good man, good man. Nice, firm handshake there. Now then!" Chris clapped
his hands and rubbed them together. "Where's our Lance at? I wanna see his
man for myself!"

"What, you don't believe him? Chris, his roommate is standing right next to
you," Joey said.

"I know, I know. Still, after all my attempts to match Lance with the love
of his life failed, I want to see with my own eyes. Proof, I say, I need
proof!"

This all explains why Lance is the quiet one, Eric thought to himself as he
grinned.

And then finally, at long last, the 4 Runner pulled up and parked. Lance
and Kevin had arrived.

Lance stepped out of the truck and looked at the small crowd of friends
waiting for them.

"There he is! LANCE!" Chris shouted as he took off once more, this time
followed by the others.

"Oh, shit!" Lance exclaimed as he took off running and laughing.

"What the hell..." was all Kevin could say as a cloud of dust and four
young men dashed off after Lance. As he ran past, Chris stopped for a
moment and jogged over to Kevin. He walked around him, looking up and down,
scratching his chin as he did so.

"Um....hi," Kevin said.

Chris nodded in what Kevin could only surmise as approval, and then took
off running again in the direction the others had gone.

"What the hell was that?" Kevin asked Eric as he walked over.

"I think that's the N'Sync way of greeting people."

"Huh. Weird."

"Hey, you're dating one of them!"

"Yeah, true," Kevin laughed. "Morning, E. How are ya buddy?"

"Loo-see...you got some 'splaining to do" Eric said in a fake accent as he
shook his finger.

"What? What did I do?"

"Didn't tell me you were going on tour this summer, that's all."

"Oh, shit. Um. Eric, listen..."

"And I think you had better have a talk with Terry."

"With Terry? Why?"

"Because I think he's insanely jealous of you, that's why. But you can do
that later. Right now, I wanna hear all about your big plans. Going to put
out an album, too? A video, perhaps? Oh, and then, of course, you have to
be grilled by the other three guys at some point today I would
imagine. Isn't this going to be a fun day!" Eric finished by spreading his
arms out wide and grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah. Wonderful."

"Come on, let's get inside," Eric laughed as he patted Kevin's back.

"Shouldn't we wait for them?"

"Nah, they'll make it in eventually. Oh, and Kev?"

"Yeah?"

"Dare I ask why you're walking kind of funny?"

"Um....well, we went horseback riding the other day. Yeah."

"Oh. Huh. That's odd, you were walking just fine yesterday," Eric said with
a smirk.

"Um. Delayed reaction?"

"Uh-huh. Right. And what was it, exactly, that made you two run so late
today?"

Now it was Kevin's turn to smirk. "Do you really want to know?"

"That's what I figured. Listen, Kev. About this summer, it's cool with me,
you know? I didn't like having to hear it from Justin, but it's cool."

"Thanks man. I'm sorry, it all just kinda happened at the last minute, you
know? I'm still not too sure if it's a go or not, Lance still needs to
check with management."

As they reached the door, they looked back in the parking lot just in time
to see Lance go running past.

"You could help you know!" he screamed as he went by.

Joey and Justin were right behind, laughing as they ran. Then came Chris,
who was saying something that sounded like 'noggie time.' JC was last, and
he stopped in front of the entrance, stooping over and putting his hands on
his knees, catching his breath.

"I'm getting too old for this," he panted. Then, shaking his head, he
walked up to the door. "You must be Kevin. I think I've met everyone else,
so by process of elimination...."

"Yeah, that's me. Nice to finally meet you JC," Kevin said as he shook his
hand. "Do you guys always do this?"

"What, run after each other? Yeah, sort of. It's a bonding thing, I
think. Dunno how it got started, but we sort of seem to wind up doing it."

The others came back, and this time it was Lance's turn to be carried. The
trio put him down and playfully mussed up his hair, Chris throwing in a few
last noogies for good measure.

"Geez, you guys, you act like you haven't seen me in forever!"

"Well, it's been a couple weeks Lance! We missed you!" Joey said.

"What's your excuse?" Lance said as he pointed an accusing finger at
Justin.

"Um. Peer pressure?"

Joey and Lance laughed, while Chris went up to Kevin and once again walked
around him, sizing him up. Eric and JC looked on in amusement as he did
so. Then, he stood in front of Kevin and again scratched his chin.

Lance came up to them and stood next to Chris. "Kevin, this is Chris. Oh,
and that's Joey over there by Justin."

"Heya Joey," Kevin said with a little wave.

Chris sniffed and turned to Lance.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, really, what was wrong with all
the guys I set you up with?"

Eric's eyes went wide in shock, as did Lance's. JC just shook his head,
while Joey and Justin tried very hard not to laugh.

"Chris....how could you....I mean....that's so rude!" Lance stuttered.

"No, no, it's okay Lance," Kevin said as he walked closer to
Chris. Standing up straight to his just over six feet in height, he looked
down at the shorter Chris. Narrowing his eyes, he engaged in a stare down
with him for a few uneasy seconds.

But he had caught on, and knew Chris was only playing around.

"Peanut," he said as he flicked Chris' nose with a finger and grinned.

"You," Chris answered as he poked Kevin's chest, "are cool! Now then! Let's
go sing some songs!  Upwards and onwards!" Moving around Kevin, he walked
in between JC and Eric and put his hand on the door handle. Before opening
it though, he turned around and looked back. "And I am not that short!"

The other members of N'Sync, save Lance, laughed and followed Chris
inside. Eric shook his head and grinned. "You guys are something else," he
muttered as he also went in. Lance walked up next to his boyfriend and
watched as they entered the auditorium.

"I think I passed some kind of test," Kevin said as he wrapped an arm
around Lance's shoulders.

"I think you did too.....wow, for a minute there I was worried."

"Well, nice to see that I fit in with you guys pretty well so far. But come
on, Chris was right. Let's get to work!"


End of Chapter 18
But Kevin and Lance will return in Chapter 19, coming soon! Stay tuned and
thanks for reading!