Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 10:03:27 EDT
From: Lulupower <lulupower@hotmail.com>
Subject: no strings attached 14, the real one!

No strings attached, written by Lulupower

Legal disclaimer: If you're not 18 or if you're offended by homosexual
contents, you should not be here reading this. This story is purely
fictionnal and I don't mean to imply anything about the sexuality of any of
the celebrities mentionned below.

Author's note: Hey y'all! As you probably know, I recently moved to Germany,
and it's pretty hard for me to write as much as I'd want, and also Internet
here costs a hell of a lot more than in Canada, so please be patient if you
think I'm taking too much time to write. Think about the fact that I don't
speak German at all and that I'm here on my own, away from my mummy and
daddy, so it's very hard for me.
Also, I changed my e-mail address. Now, you can reach me at:
klaus.mogge@t-online.de
And please write "lulupower" as subject, cuz my host parents here don't know
what no strings attached is. Thank you! :) Now, enjoy the show!


                           **********CHAPTER FOURTEEN**********


Lance sat still on the couch, staring at nothing. JC was asleep in a weird
postion beside him, snoring lightly. Justin was curled up in a ball on their
bed, also asleep, a single tear running down his cheek. Lance couldn't
believe it. A few hours ago, they had seen on TV that Fatima and AJ were in
the hospital. And now, as the two guys he loved the most on earth were
sleeping peacefully, away from all the pain, he had just recieved a phone
call from Lynn, Justin's mom. Fatima was dead. He sighed. 'How am I going to
tell Justin?' he thought. He got up carefully, not wanting to wake JC up,
and he looked at the clock. 2:37 am. He went to the kitchen and grabbed the
milk. His mom used to give him a glass of milk when he was younger and
wasn't able to sleep. He sighed again, pouring himself a glass of cold white
liquid. He missed his mom terribly. More than ever. "God, give me strenght.
I don't know how I'm going to pull through this." he whispered. Then he
downed his milk, and put the glass in the dishwasher. He pulled out a chair
and sat at the kitchen table, resting his head on the cool wood. He soon
fell asleep too.

The next morning, JC was awakened by the sound of someone crying loudly,
Justin. He opened his eyes and sat up straight. His neck and back hurted. He
got up and looked around, searching for Justin. He found him in the
bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, his face in his hands. "What's
wrong Just?" JC asked softly, sitting beside him. "She's gone! They said it
on the radio." Justin sobbed. "What? Who is gone where?" JC asked, his mind
still sleeping. "Fatima died during the night."Justin said. "Oh my God...I'm
so sorry Just. Come here." JC said, getting up. Justin got up too and JC
hugged him tightly. Justin held JC as if he was his life. "It hurts JC...It
hurts...Take the pain away..." Justin sobbed loudly. "It will go away
Just...Give it some time...Shhhh..." JC said softly, gently rubbing Justin's
back. He remembered the first few days of the first N'sync tour. Justin was
only fifteen at the time, and they were going to be away for about a month,
and Lynn hadn't been able to go. Justin used to come in JC's bed and cry in
his arms for hours. JC always had promised Justin that he'd take the pain
away everytime he'd need it. And now, he couldn't. Justin had to do it
himself. Then JC had an idea. He started to sing softly in Justin's ear.

There's a hero
if you look inside your heart
you don't have to be affraid
of what you are
There's an answer
if you reach into your soul
and the sorrow that you know
will melt away

And then a hero comes along
with the strenght to carry on
and you cast your fears aside
and you know you can survive
and when you feel like hope is gone
look inside you and be strong
and you'll finally see the truth
that a hero lies in you

Justin had stopped crying. He was just sniffling softly, but he was still
holding JC tightly. "Are you going to be okay Just?" JC asked.
"Yeah...Thanks JC." Justin said, releasing him. He wiped his eyes and
splashed some cold water on his face. "You're welcome Just. Anytime you need
anything, I'm here, okay?" JC said sincerely. "Yeah. I love you, you know?"
Justin said. "Yeah, I love ya too bro." JC said with a smile, then he left
the bathroom. He sighed, and came into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight
of his boyfriend asleep on the table. He kneeled beside him and gently
stroke his hair. "Lance...baby, wake up..." JC said softly. Lance moaned and
opened his eyes. "Hey." he said simply. "Hey. Why didn't you come on the
couch to sleep? You'll have a sore neck for the next week." JC said with a
smile, standing. "I know." Lance said, sitting. His neck already hurt a lot.
"Are you okay? Do you want a warm towel to put around your neck?" JC asked.
"No, I'll be fine, thanks." Lance said, standing too. He wrapped his arms
around JC and rested his head on his shoulder. He took a deep breath and
closed his eyes. "Fatima is dead." Lance said. "Yeah, I know. Justin told
me." JC said softly. "Oh. Is he okay?" Lance asked. "I don't know. He cried
a lot this morning, but I think that he's better now." JC said. "Yeah, I'm
fine." they heard from the door. They let go of each other and looked at
Justin. "You sure? If you need anything, just tell us, okay?" Lance said.
"Yeah, thanks." Justin said simply.
The next few days were uneventful. Justin was not too bad, even though he
cried a lot and moped around most of the time. None of the guys showed up at
the funeral, nor the burial. They learned by TV that AJ was going to
survive. Justin, two days before the tour started back, went back to his
home, so Lance and JC were alone.
It was thursday night, and Lance was going back on tour on saturday. JC and
him were having dinner. "JC? I've got something to tell you." Lance said,
looking down at his plate. "Go ahead." JC said, a little worried. "I lied in
an interview. About us. The interviewer knew that we were living together,
and she asked if we were a couple. So I said no. I'm sorry..." Lance said
with guilt. JC sighed. "It's okay, I guess. You couldn't have said that we
were together, management would have killed you. But wasn't there a way for
you to say it without saying it?" JC asked. "Well...I said 'What if we were
a couple? It wouldn't change anything to our music, and that's what we're
about, music.' But then I said 'No, we're not a couple.' I know I souldn't
have said that." Lance said. "It's okay baby. I think I would have done the
same thing." JC said. Lance finished his plate and got up to put it in the
dishwasher. "JC, is there a clause in our contract saying that we can't out
ourselves?" Lance asked suddenly. "I don't know, I have to see. Why, are you
planning on getting out of the closet?" JC asked. "Wouldn't you like that?
Being able to have each other as a date for the award shows? Being able to
hold hands in public? When an interviewer would ask if we are involved with
anyone right now, I'd say 'yes, JC and I are a couple'. Can you imagine what
it would be?" Lance said with hope in his eyes. "Yeah...It would be great.
But think about the fans. What would they say?" JC asked. "I think most of
them would understand. I mean, what if we loose a few fans? We may even gain
some more! Some gay guys would look up to us and come out as well..." Lance
said. "Yeah...Hold on, I'll get the contract." JC said, standing. He went to
the bedroom, took out the copy of the contract that he had and started
reading. After half an hour, he looked at Lance with a smile. "No, there are
no clauses in our contracts saying that we can't come out of the closet. We
just have a clause saying that if we have any announcements to make in
public, we have to talk to management about it first. But they can't do
anything about it." JC said triumphantly. "Oh my God! This is too great!
We'll have to talk to the guys about it though. We can't just do it without
them." Lance said. "You're right. But umm...would you mind if we waited a
bit before? I mean, wait like a few months or something? You could start
dropping hints here and there, but wait for me to get better before we break
the news to the public?" JC asked softly. "Of course! I didn't mean it to
sound like we were going to do it like tomorrow. We'll wait until you are
back to the group." Lance said with a smile. "Okay." JC said, then he smiled
broadly. "I love you baby." he said. "I love you too Joshy." Lance said with
a smile. Then he grabbed the phone and called Chris. "Hello?" Chris said.
"Hey, it's Lance. Could you and Joey come over? We have some stuff to
discuss." Lance said. "What now, you and JC are getting married? Is JC
pregnant?" Chris joked. Lance laughed loudly. "Yeah, JC is pregnant, right.
No, seriously, we really have to talk to you guys. So get Joey and come here
ASAP." Lance said. "Okay, he's in the shower now but I'll drag him out of
there and we'll be there in about half an hour. Alright?" Chris asked. "Yep.
See ya." Lance said, hanging up. Then he dialed Justin's number. "Hello?" a
female voice answered. "Hi Lynn, it's Lance. Can I speak to Justin please?"
Lance asked. "Yeah, sure, hold on. JUSTIN! LANCE'S ON THE PHONE!" she
yelled. There was a long silence, then Justin grabbed the phone. "Hey Lance.
Wassup?" Justin asked. "Nothing. Are you busy right now?" Lance asked. "No,
I was just watchin' tv. Why?" Justin said. "Get your butt over here. The
other guys are coming too. We have some group stuff to discuss." Lance said.
"Okay. I'll be there in fifteen. Bye!" Justin said, hanging up. Lance put
down the phone and smiled. He looked up and saw that JC was smiling too.
The guys all arrived within half an hour. They sat in the living room,
waiting for Lance to come back with some drinks. When Lance finally arrived,
they all settled and waited for Lance or JC to start. "Okay, we re-read the
contract this morning and realised that there were no clauses forbidding us
to come out to the public, and we are planning on doing that, but we didn't
want to do it without asking you first. So what do you think?" JC asked.
Chris was the first to speak. "I think you guys are very courageous, and
I'll support you all the way." he said with a smile. JC nodded, smiling too,
then looked at Joey. "Joe?" he asked. "Like Chris said. You've got my
support. I think it's great if you think you're ready to come out in
public." Joey said. "Okay, Just?" JC asked Justin. Justin sighed. "Are you
sure it's not going to affect the group too much?" he asked. "It IS going to
affect the group, I mean our fans are mostly girls, but I think it would
change things for the better." Lance said. "Okay...I'll support you." Justin
said. "Thanks guys. You're the best." Lance said. "GROUP HUG!" Joey called.
They all got up and gathered up in an embrace. After a few minutes, they all
parted and laughed. "Okay, we'll how about we go clubbing to celebrate?"
Chris suggested. Everyone agreed, except Justin, and they all left. Justin
went back home, and the others took their cars and drove off towards
downtown Orlando.
                         **********TO BE CONTINUED**********

So, there ya go peeps, don't forget to e-mail me (klaus.mogge@t-online.de)
as soon as you've finished reading this. The next chapter SHOULD be out in
about 2 weeks.
'til then, BYE BYE BYE!