Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 14:40:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Robin <nsajscgirl@yahoo.com>
Subject: Chapter 13, Now or Never, Boybands, Celebrity, Gay

Disclaimer: This is a fictional story about *N Sync.  I do not know *N Sync
personally, nor do I know anything about their sexual preferences.  This
story contains m/m relationships.  If you are uncomfortable with that or it
illegal to read where you live, please leave.

Hi all!  I know it's been a while, like I said before school's a real bitch
and with midterms coming...*shrug*.  :) I hope y'all enjoy this chapter
though and please let me know what you think about it by emailing me...I
live for feedback!  Email me at nsajscgirl@yahoo.com.  I wanna say a big
thanks to Cele for reading this over before I put it out and thanks for
stroking my ego.  :) And thanks to Mikko and Damita for reading and giving
their feedback!  Thanks!  :) Oh and I was so excited watching TRL today...
they are going to premiere "This I Promise You" Thursday!  Woohoo!  Thank
God, I was going through 'N Sync video withdrawals!  Now, I'll quit
rambling...

**

Previously on Now or Never...
(Later that night...Lance Bass's residence)

	Lance was nervous.  Throughout the drive home from the hospital,
Justin had been silent.  Lance had tried his hardest to get Justin to open
up and talk to him.  After their little conference with Johnny, he was
feeling a little hopeless and unsure of what was to come and he knew that
Justin must have been feeling the same things.  Without a word, Justin had
dropped Lance off at his house and sped away.  Lance would have been really
worried if Justin hadn't called ten minutes later, asking him to be dressed
and ready to go at eight o'clock sharp.
	Lance took another look at his wristwatch before sighing and
picking at the hem of his suit jacket.  It was seven fifty-five according
to Lance watch, whereas the clock on his mantel said seven fifty-eight.
Lance fervently hoped that the later was the one Justin was running by
because he was dying with curiosity to know what this was all about.  He
slowly walked back to his bathroom and studied his appearance for what
seemed the millionth time that night.  His blonde-tipped spikes, frozen in
their haphazard positions, complemented his pale skin and he thought to
himself that he didn't look too bad.  He looked down at his watch again,
noting with interest that it was now seven fifty-eight.  He slowly walked
back towards the living room until he heard the doorbell ring, the pleasant
sound echoing throughout the house.
	Lance raced to the door, stopping just in time to keep from running
into the wood.  He smoothed down the front of his suit nervously and paused
a minute.  He laughed at himself silently for his nervousness.  `This is
Justin, you idiot!'  he chided himself.  He had never been this nervous
about Justin coming to get him.  But he knew the difference between then
and now, this was his Justin.  He grinned stupidly for a minute before the
doorbell sounded once again and a loud knock followed the chiming.
	Slowly, he opened the front door and he felt his heart melt all
over again.  In front of him stood Justin, hair perfectly placed, in a dark
blue suit and tie.  Once Justin caught sight of Lance, his full lips
transformed into the gorgeous smile that he was known for and along with
his smile, he offered up to Lance the single blood-red rose he held in his
hand.
	"Hey..." Justin drawled out as he stared at his lover.
	"Hey..." Lance replied, a grin spreading across his face.

**

Now or Never
Chapter 13

	Justin was ready for a change.  The past few days, despite his time
with Lance, had been amazingly tough to deal with.  All he wanted now was a
nice, relaxing night with his newfound love and he had it all planned out
perfectly.  Lance's appearance met all of his expectations when he opened
the door and Justin felt his heart constrict with love.  The older man's
frame was clothed in a dark, formfitting sweater, which showed off Lance's
torso.  Once Lance caught sight of the red rose, his eyes filled with tears
of happiness and Justin was quick to pull Lance into a hug.
	"God, I love you," Lance whispered in Justin's ear as squeezed him
tight.  Justin smiled over Lance's shoulder.  This was exactly the type of
reaction he was hoping to get out of Lance when he started planning this
evening.  The slamming of a door across the street brought them both to
awareness and Lance pulled Justin inside the house, closing the door softly
behind them.
	"We are actually suppose to go the other direction," Justin said
with a smile as Lance led him into the living room.
	"Oh really?  Where are we going exactly?"
	You know I can't answer that.  It's going to be a surprise," Justin
said softly.  Lance sat down on the leather couch and stared up at Justin.
	"You know what?" Lance questioned and waited patiently for Justin's
response.
	"What?"
	"I don't think I'm that hungry...for food anyway."  A seductive
smile lit Lance's face as he ran his hands up Justin's chest.  His sharp
intake of breath proved that he understood what Lance was getting to.
	"But, Lance...I made reservations and...and..." Justin trailed off
as Lance started unbuttoning his shirt.  He stared down at the top of
Lance's head for a moment in silence before slowly reaching up and pulling
Lance's hands away from him.  He let go of Lance's hands and moved to sit
down beside the older man.  "Lance, I want this night to last.  I don't
want to start going at it right now.  I had this whole evening planned out
and I wanted to make it romantic," Justin explained as he watched Lance's
face closely, hoping that he didn't disappoint Lance too much.  Lance's
confused expression changed into one of embarrassment before melting into a
soft look full of love.
	"I'm sorry, Justin," Lance apologized softly and Justin reached out
to squeeze his hand.
	"Don't apologize.  Believe me, I know where you are coming from,
but I just want to make it special, okay?  We will definitely get to the
good stuff, I promise," Justin said with a grin, which Lance returned.  He
stood up and offered his hand to Lance, pulling him up to stand next to
him.  "You have to fix me back up."  Lance smiled a blush tingeing his
cheeks as he reached up to re-button the first two buttons of Justin's
shirt.  "Come on, we're gonna be late!"  Justin said with a smile as he
tugged on Lance's hand and headed for the front door.  Lance followed,
grinning from ear to ear.  He was looking forward to this night...a
romantic evening alone with Justin.

**

	"Um, where are we going, Justin?" Lance asked his lover nearly an
hour later. They had talked about everything and nothing for a while before
Lance began to notice that Justin was paying less and less attention to
him.  From what Lance could tell, they had been driving in circles.  After
seeing the same billboard four times, he was really beginning to worry.
The frown on Justin's face had grown tighter with each passing minute until
he was scowling fiercely at the road.
	"Dammit, Lance.  I think I'm lost!" Justin moaned in frustration
and Lance had to bite his lips to keep from laughing.
	"Really?"
	"Yes, really, and if you laugh, I'm gonna have to hurt you!" Justin
exclaimed.  "Goddammit!  Our reservations were for eight o'clock."  A
glance at the dashboard clock told Lance that they were thirty minutes
late.
	"It's okay, Justin," Lance said softly, a small smile playing
across his mouth.  At least that meant that he and Justin could go back to
his house and finish what he started.  "Do you know how to get back to my
house?"
	"I think so..." Justin trailed off as he looked at their darkened
surroundings.  He had wanted to take Lance out to eat at a place no one
would recognize them and he'd heard a few people mention this out of the
way Italian restaurant.  In his eagerness to make this evening perfect, he
had forgotten one simple thing...directions.  `Stupid, stupid, stupid!' he
berated himself silently as he pulled back onto the road.
	Twenty minutes later, Justin pulled into Lance's driveway safely.
He turned in his seat to apologize to Lance but was silenced immediately by
Lance's palm against his lips.
	"Don't apologize.  I know you wanted to do something special for me
tonight, but just to know that is special enough for me."  A nearby street
lamp illuminated Lance's features and Justin stared into his sincere green
eyes.  He smiled at Lance's words and sighed softly as Lance moved his palm
to cup Justin's cheek.  Lance leaned forward and kissed Justin briefly,
gently.  He pulled away and rested his hand on the door handle.  "So how
about this?  You and I go inside, I warm up some leftover spaghetti and we
eat on the floor of my living room?"
	"Okay," Justin said with a smile before he opened the car door.  It
wasn't what he had planned, but as long as he was with Lance, it suddenly
didn't matter anymore.  He followed Lance into the house and intended on
following Lance all the way to the kitchen, but was stopped by Lance's
voice.
	"Why don't you go wait in the living room and I'll be there in a
minute, okay?" Lance suggested.  Justin nodded in reply, although he knew
Lance couldn't see him.  He turned into the living room and flipped on a
nearby lamp.  Justin surveyed his surroundings, looking for anything he
could use to make the evening a little more romantic than them just sitting
on a hardwood floor eating leftovers.  He smiled in satisfaction when his
eyes lighted on what he was looking for.  Lance pulled the steaming pot of
spaghetti out of the microwave seconds before the timer on the oven started
beeping.  He turned off the oven and pulled out the garlic bread he had put
there moments earlier.  He dumped the spaghetti into a bowl and placed it
on a tray along with plates and utensils.  The first thing that Lance
noticed was that all the lights he turned on during his journey to the
kitchen had been turned off.  As he entered the darkened hallway, a soft
glow poured out of the door to the living room, beckoning him.  The moment
he saw the transformed room, Lance gasped softly, sure he was going to drop
the tray he held.
	Candles, hundreds of candles, littered the room, throwing the room
into a soft glow.  The beginnings of a small fire in the fireplace added to
the light.  A blanket was laid out in front of the fireplace, luxurious
pillows littering its surface.  Justin stretched out on the blanket on his
back, hands underneath his head, waiting for his food...waiting for Lance.
He had taken nearly all of his clothes off, except for his dress pants and
the wifebeater he had worn underneath his shirt.  His toned skin glowed
sexily in the firelight.
	Lance moved quietly into the room and came to a stop near Justin's
head.  Lance's sudden appearance by his side pulled Justin out of his
thoughts.  He grinned up at his lover and moved to sit up to make room for
Lance on the rug.  As Lance knelt to place the tray on the ground, Justin
reached over to run his hand up Lance's thigh.  Lance returned the grin and
settled himself onto the makeshift bed.  He leaned over and gently kissed
Justin, his lips leaving a whisper of warmth on Justin's lips.
	"Where did you find all of these candles?" Lance questioned.
	"Here and there," Justin replied with a smile as he took the plate
that Lance offered him.  Lance shrugged and smiled; it didn't really matter
where Justin got all the candles.  They settled into a comfortable silence
as Lance spooned out even helpings of the spaghetti.  Both where hungry and
they ate quickly.  Once he was finished, Justin placed his plate back on
the tray and moved to lay back down on the makeshift bed.  He shifted so
that he was lying on his side, facing Lance.  With his palm holding his
head up, he watched Lance eat.  The way his lips puckered as he sucked
noodles into his mouth, the way his jaw moved slowly from side to side as
Lance chewed--Justin realized that he could sit there forever, just
watching Lance eat.  After a moment, Lance looked up at him with a smile.
	"Why are you watching me?"
	"Why not?" Justin replied glibly.  Lance shrugged and finished
quickly, setting aside his plate.  "Take off your shirt, Lance," Justin
requested as Lance moved to lie down beside him.  Lance quickly complied,
pulling the dark sweater above his head. The thin T-shirt Lance had worn
beneath the shirt hid very little and Justin could see the dark outline of
Lance's nipples.  Lance moved to lie next to Justin once more only to be
stopped by Justin's husky voice.  "That shirt too."  Lance raised an
eyebrow at Justin, but did as he was told.
	Justin watched as Lance's toned chest was revealed slowly, inch by
inch.  His dress pants felt too tight all of a sudden and he shifted so
that his bulge had a little more room.  Once Lance had pulled off his
shirt, he looked at Justin and felt his throat dry up.  There was this look
in Justin's dark eyes, a look that took Lance's breath away.  It was filled
with lust and desire, but more importantly it contained love.  Lance smiled
at his lover and leaned forward, intent on touching Justin.  When his palm
made contact with the younger man's cheek, Justin sighed and moved into the
caress, closing his eyes at the warmth that radiated from Lance's palm.
Slowly, Lance trailed his index finger down Justin's cheek, moving lower to
tickle his throat, feeling the silky skin beneath his fingertip.  Justin's
eyes remained closed as Lance's finger continued to move downward, across
his collarbone and tracing the outline of muscle on Justin's shoulder and
upper arm.  The fire added warmth to Justin's skin, making him glow with a
fine sheen of sweat.  With Justin's eyes closed he didn't see Lance moving
closer, rather he felt the presence of the older man's body close to his.
He was unsurprised when Lance pressed his lips to the spot his finger had
just touched.  Justin could feel his heart picking up speed as Lance's lips
followed the path his finger had just taken moments earlier only backwards.
Justin gasped once he felt Lance's tongue flick out, tasting his skin.  As
Lance moved slowly up Justin's body, licking and tasting, Justin laid back
on the rug, offering himself to Lance.
	When Justin reached up to caress Lance's shoulders, Lance quickly
grabbed Justin's hands, entwining them with his own and moving them above
their heads.  Justin moaned in protest, but it was cut off when Lance's
lips captured his.  The kiss was soft at first, tentative, but quickly
became something more.  Passion increased and Justin opened his mouth under
Lance's, inviting the older man's tongue into his mouth.  Lance swiped his
tongue into Justin's mouth once, quickly, before pulling away slightly.  He
slowed things down by kissing Justin softly once more, then leaving the
younger man's mouth and trailing his lips back down Justin's chin and
throat.  He spent a few moments at Justin's throat, nuzzling the soft flesh
there.  Lance released Justin's hands and dragged his own down Justin's
chest to toy with the hem of Justin's thin wifebeater.  His hands slid
underneath the shirt, caressing the ridges of Justin's abdomen.  Justin's
own hands moved to the back of Lance's head, holding the older man close.
He hissed when he felt Lance flick at his right nipple through the shirt,
the cloth adhering to the taunt peak.
	"Lance," Justin whispered breathlessly.  Justin opened his eyes to
watch Lance move further down the length of his body.  The light from the
fire and the lit candles added a flickering glow to the room, providing
Justin with more than enough light to take in all of Lance's features.  The
older man's spiky hair was dark in the room; his skin glowed a warm golden
hue.  The muscles of Lance's shoulders bunched and flexed as he moved
delicate hands across Justin's covered stomach.  Lance paused momentarily,
eager to get rid of the thin barrier that prevented him from touching
Justin as he wanted to.  Justin lifted his arms as Lance tugged the
wifebeater above his head, leaving his chest exposed.  The kisses resumed,
Lance's warm lips leaving a trail of wetness along Justin's torso.  Lance's
slim fingers traced the top of Justin's dress pants, teasing the younger
man.  "Yes, Lance."
	At Justin's request, Lance deftly unbuttoned the pants and slowly
slid the zipper down, the sound loud in the room.  He pushed the flaps
aside and pulled down slightly on the elastic band of Justin's cotton
boxers.  Lance gently kissed the skin that he revealed, his hands lightly
playing over the bulge in Justin's underwear.  Lance nipped at the flesh of
Justin's lower belly and pelvis as he continued to expose Justin to the
warm firelight.  Justin's silky treasure trail tickled Lance's face and he
rubbed his nose against the hairs.  Lance continued to push Justin's pants
and underwear down and with a playful glance up at his young lover, Lance
sucked a small patch of flesh into his mouth.  He continued to lave at that
one spot until Justin's skin became incredibly sensitive.  All of Justin's
senses seemed to converge on that one spot and he groaned with pleasure.
	Lance pulled away briefly and Justin watched him with hooded eyes
as he urged Justin's hips up so that he could remove the rest of Justin's
clothes.  Lance quickly returned to Justin's side once he threw the
clothing across the room.  He took a moment to look at Justin and only in
his dreams could he remember seeing Justin this way.  Reality was much
better than dreams, Lance decided.  Justin's golden curls glowed in the
light, framing his adorable face like a halo.  Justin's smooth skin begged
to be touched, caressed.  Lance's eyes traveled down the length of Justin's
body taking in the firm muscles and slim waist, which led to Justin's
jutting cock and curly pubic hair.  The head of Justin's slender cock
glowed with precum and Lance wanted to reach out and caress the rod in
front of him, but he held back, wanting to prolong the moment.  His eyes
continued their path down Justin's body, studying Justin's lean thighs and
long legs, which were covered in a fine smattering of silky hair.  Lance's
green eyes retraced their path back up Justin's body until he was staring
into the younger man's face.
	"You're perfect, ya know?" Lance asked softly as he moved closer,
his face merely inches from Justin's.  He watching in delight as a slight
blush crept up Justin's cheeks.  Lance nodded once Justin moved to shake
his head.  "Yes, you are.  Your body is beautiful, your voice is beautiful,
and your mind is beautiful.  You're perfect."  Justin just smiled at his
lover and pulled Lance close, pressing his full lips against Lance's.
Lance enjoyed the kiss for a moment before pulling back.  "And I can't
believe that you love me," he finished what he had originally planned to
say.  Justin leaned back and frowned at the older man, his deep blue eyes
clouding over.
	"Lance, I do love you.  It had never occurred to me before, that I
could love you, but there's nothing about you that I don't love," Justin
whispered.  He knew that Lance still had some insecurities about their
relationship.  After all, it was completely new to both of them.  Lance had
spent six years hiding a large part of himself from the group and to
suddenly discover that being himself was completely okay, Lance was
obviously anxious about exploring this with someone else.  Justin would've
had to be blind to the fact that Lance often envied him.  Lance saw Justin
as someone who was better than him, but Justin vowed then and there to
change that, to build Lance's confidence in himself.  "You're beautiful
too, Lance.  You just don't see that in yourself, even though it's there.
How can I not help but fall in love with you?"  Lance stared at Justin,
unsure if he'd actually heard those words coming out of Justin's mouth.
Justin frowned at Lance's obvious disbelief.  "You don't believe me, do
you?  Lance, how can I make you see what I see?  I see a gorgeous young
man.  Green eyes that I could lose myself in, eyes that seem to look right
into my soul.  Perfect lips that I wouldn't mind kissing all day," Justin
punctuated each of his sentences by caressing each feature that he talked
about.  His fingertips gently ran along Lance's eyebrows before smoothing
down Lance's eyelids.  Lance's eyes fluttered shut at the touch and
remained closed as Justin's fingers touched his lips.  His tongue flickered
out, tasting Justin's salty flesh.  "I love your smile.  When you grin, I
can't help but grin with you; it's infectious."  Justin's palm moved to
caress Lance's throat, eliciting a moan from the older man once he rubbed
the prominent Adam's apple.  "I absolutely adore your Adam's apple.  I know
it's one of your sensitive spots and I love the noises you make when I
touch your throat."
	Justin pulled his hand away from Lance's body and waited for Lance
to open his eyes.  It took Lance a couple of moments to realize that Justin
had stopped and he slowly allowed his eyes to open.  "It's not just your
body though, Lance.  It's not just about the sounds you make or the way
your skin feels to me.  It's about your mind, too.  You are honestly the
sweetest man I know.  You open doors for people, you apologize when you
interrupt someone, and you put others above yourself.  And you're smart as
hell, Lance.  You are quick to catch on when you don't understand
something.  With the lawsuit this past year, you made it your priority to
understand everything you could about what was happening to us.  I know a
part of it was because you were uncomfortable not having that control in
your life, but I also know that the rest of it was for us, for the guys.
You didn't want anything to hurt any of us.  I do love you, Lance.  I love
everything about you."  Lance swallowed rhythmically, hoping to prevent the
tears he could feel building up in his eyes.  "Every decision you have made
within the last couple of days has been to protect us, Lance.  I admire you
for that because I know that without you there, we would have struggled to
even keep this from the press."
	"Thank you," Lance managed to whisper against the lump in his
throat.  Justin smiled at him and reached out to pull Lance close.
	"Now, where were we?"  Lance grinned before kissing Justin lightly
and moving down to nip at Justin's throat.
	"I believe that I was going to kiss you here...and here...and
here," Lance said quietly as he brushed his lips along Justin's body,
moving down further with each kiss.  "And I was going to repay you for the
other night..." Lance's voice trailed off as he reached Justin's nipples.
He toyed with one of the buds playfully as he took the other into his
mouth.  Justin arched up off the floor at the sensations and buried his
hands in Lance's short hair.  His erection had died during their
conversation, but quickly renewed itself as Lance continued his assault.
Justin groaned when Lance allowed his fingers to trail down Justin's body,
stopping just before his hand could graze the younger man's cock.  Lance
kept teasing Justin's nipples with his mouth as he allowed his slim fingers
to slide into the curly hair surrounding Justin's penis before finally
wrapping his fist around the rod.  Justin moaned loudly when Lance's fist
began moving up and down his hard cock.  He kept on hand on the back of
Lance's head while the other moved down Lance's back, caressing the solid
muscle he felt there.
	Lance slowly moved his body down Justin's.  He came to rest between
Justin's splayed legs.  Lance's cloth- covered legs scraped roughly against
Justin's bare flesh.  The contrast in sensation caused Justin to moan
again.  While Lance's touches were soft and silky, the cloth rubbed harshly
against him.  He wanted to rid Lance of the dress pants, but the moment he
leaned up to do just that, he fell back against the makeshift rug.  Lance
had just kissed the tip of his leaking cock and Justin's entire body went
limp.  He rolled his head back as he felt Lance's mouth close around the
head, his tongue licking away the precum that had formed there.
	"Oh, my God!" Justin managed to moan.  His hands found Lance's head
and he ran his slim fingers through Lance's short hair desperately.  Lance
watched Justin's face, pleasure evident in the younger man's expression as
Lance closed a fist around the base of Justin's cock.  He moved the fist up
and down slowly at first, gaining a good rhythm, before picking up speed.
His tongue swirled around the head slowly, the taste of Justin filling his
senses.  `Beautiful, absolutely beautiful,' Lance thought to himself as he
removed his fist and slowly slid as much of Justin into his mouth as he
could manage.  Justin's grip on his hair became almost painful, but he
didn't notice.  All Lance focused on was the texture and taste of Justin's
penis.  Lance's hands gripped Justin's waist, squeezing the flesh there
before moving beneath Justin to cup the younger man's ass.  Justin muttered
broken words above Lance's head along with moans of pleasure.
	"Yes, Jesus, Lance!  So warm...uhhhh...yes."  Lance's mouth moved
up and down on Justin's length.  He quickly brought one of his hands from
beneath Justin and moved it to Justin's throat.  His young lover grabbed
the traveling hand and brought it to his mouth, sucking in Lance's index
finger.  Justin's teeth grazed the flesh of Lance's finger and Lance hummed
in his throat.  The added vibration against Justin's cock made him tense;
he bit down lightly on the finger in his mouth and moaned.  He mimicked
Lance's actions on his cock on Lance's finger, swirling his tongue around
the tip.  Their eyes met and Justin mumbled around the finger in his mouth.
"Oh, fuck Lance, yes, suck me...please...I'm so close."  Justin threw his
head back and he writhed at the pleasure he was receiving.  Lance pulled
his hand back down and slid it back under Justin's ass, this time using the
wet finger to tease Justin's opening.  The younger man tensed at first,
unsure if this was something that he wanted or not.  One look at Lance's
concerned, loving eyes though forced him to relax and he moaned as Lance's
fingertip eased into his asshole.  Lance continued to work up and down
Justin's cock as he moved his index finger in and out of Justin's hole.
Motions became quick and almost frantic as Justin moved sensuously beneath
Lance.  Lance's head bobbed up and down, his cheeks sucking in and
ballooning out as he worked Justin's cock.  His finger pistoned in and out
of Justin's tight ass before he added another finger.  The second finger
managed to graze Justin's prostate and the young man's ass lifted off the
floor, a hoarse shout of warning announcing Justin's orgasm.
	"AHHH...YES!!!  Lance!  I'm cumming...fuck yes!" Justin screamed,
his hands holding Lance steady as his cock spewed forth several volleys of
milky cum.  His tense body went limp and Lance swallowed the last drops of
salty liquid before moving up his lover's body.  "God, I love you," Justin
managed to murmur as Lance snuggled up to his side.
	"I love you too.  But Justin?" Lance questioned.  Justin turned his
head to find Lance's eyes staring at him, ablaze with lust.
	"Yes?"
	"We're not done yet..." Lance trailed off as he kissed Justin, his
tongue licking at the younger man's lips, requesting entrance.

**

(Back at the hospital...)

	A small figure crept slowly down the hospital corridor, seeking
Joey's room.  He didn't want to attract the attention of the nurses so he
stepped lightly through the hallway.  A large man sat in front of the
hospital room he searched for.  The guard's head was bent and he was dozing
in the late night hour.  A small surge of anger raced through Chris.  The
bodyguard was there for a reason, to protect Joey, and he couldn't very
well do that if he was asleep.  Chris reminded himself to talk to Johnny
about that tomorrow, but left the hulking figure of the guard alone for the
moment.  He slowly turned the handle on the large door, stepping into the
darkness that filled the room.  A full moon shined through the window,
adding some light to the room, enough light to show Chris that he wasn't
the only one that decided to check in on Joey.
	JC's slim form sat slumped over in a chair close to Joey's bed.  A
soft snort escaped JC's lips as he shifted in the uncomfortable chair and
Chris stilled, waiting to see if JC had woken up.  He felt a bolt of
jealousy tear through him, jealousy he knew he had no right to feel.  If he
hadn't been the one to play the joke on Joey, he'd be were JC was right
now.  But he had given up that privilege when he did what he did.  Chris
could beat himself up a thousand times over and still never forgive himself
for what he did to Joey.
	A small tear escaped Chris's eyes as he thought about the future.
Whether or not Joey would forgive him was going to be the deciding factor
in his life.  Either Joey would forgive him and they would move on as *N
Sync or Joey would push him away and refuse to have anything to do with
him.  Chris couldn't imagine life if Joey decided the latter was the better
option.  He watched Joey's chest rise and fall evenly; assuring him that
everything was okay.  With one last glance at his friends, Chris turned
around and headed back towards the door.  He quietly slipped out of the
room, unaware that Joey's eyes had followed him out of the room.

**

Okay, guys...that's it for now.  Please send me feedback, it never hurts
and I always want to know what y'all think.
nsajscgirl@yahoo.com
Later!
Robin  :)