Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 10:23:10 -0800 (PST)
From: aj says youre fired <ajsaysyourefired@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Sixth Backstreet Boy...is it like 13 now?

Wanta know why this is taking so long?? I hate school!
No, really. Too many exams and finals and yak yak yak.
And then i have absolutely no time for anything else.
Don't you just hate that? Anyway, here's the story you
all love so very very much. As always, I'm not
implying anything about the lives or sexualities of
any of the persons included in this story. Y'all can
write me at the address above, I don't mind and love
feedback. Also email me if you want the URL to my
lovely website. (hehe!). Well...onwards!!


~*~

"Wake up!" someone yelled at me and dumped ice water
on me.

I sat up fast and shook my hair out. I looked up
warily. JC and Joey were there. Joey held a glass in
his hand.

"Get up." He repeated. "We have to leave in ten
minutes."

I nodded wearily and tried to drag myself up. I looked
around for my suitcase and backpack and stuff, and saw
them packed neatly on my bed. I looked around. When I
saw JC, my heart sank, and I remembered how he'd hit
me (and it'd broke my heart.)

He glanced at me quizzically. I pointed to my stuff,
puzzled. He nodded.

"Thank you." I said very quietly, not looking at him.

"Welcome." He said quietly also. I sensed that
something was bothering him. But I didn't want to look
at him or say anything to him so I wouldn't make him
more angry at me. What had I do to make him hit me?
Was it the 'go to hell' remark? I told him I was
sorry, and I really truly was. Was it telling Lance
'go fuck yourself'? I'd smarted off to JC before and
he'd never hit me. I honestly couldn't think of
anything that I'd done to make him hate me and want to
hit me. And I hurt me, it really did. Just thinking
about it made me want to cry again. I loved him (as a
friend, mind you) and it hurt me do much that he'd hit
me. I didn't hate him (I actually didn't hate him-or
any of the guys-I wasn't exactly happy with Lance or
Chris or Joey, but I didn't *hate* them) and I never
would. He and I used to be so close, he always acted
like I was his little brother and he wanted to protect
(and care for) me. What had I done to ruin that? I
felt like crying, I really did.

I sat on the edge of my bed, my elbows on my knees and
my head in my hands, miserable. I haven't felt this
lonely, heartbroken and desolated since they first
started hitting me and hating me (but even then JC
didn't) but I'm used to that now. It's just the hope.
Ever since I realized JC didn't hate me and didn't
want to hit me and treated me halfway normal, I had
hope, hope that he'd want to be my friend again, and I
hoped he'd help me, stick up for me, convince the
others I wasn't bad. But now that he'd hit me, the
hope was gone. I didn't believe now that he would ever
be nice to me, ever again. And that made me so
sad...it really did. Like now it was completely
hopeless.

It was pretty quiet. JC was sitting on his bed,
staring out the window, and Joey was looking at him
worriedly. Maybe he was concerned that something was
wrong with him, too.

The door opened. "Let's go." Chris said. JC and Joey
got up quickly and grabbed their stuff. I slowly
(cause my body and heart ached) stood and gathered my
things. I followed the others out and got on the bus,
while JC and Lance took care of our hotel stuff (like
the bills and stuff). I put my stuff under my bunk and
got in the bunk with my cd player and my Backstreet
boys "Black and Blue" cd and headphones. I drew the
curtain across and curled up into a ball in the fetal
position, not ever wanting to come out.

I wished I could see Brian. I sure needed someone to
put an arm around me and tell me I wasn't a loser,
that it wasn't completely hopeless, and that I still
had at least one person. I wished so badly that I had
someone. Someone to hold me and wipe away my tears and
let me know they loved me. I felt tears prick at my
eyes when I thought of how many people loved (actually
*loved*) me and cared for me (not my face or body or
voice-fans). No one. My mom and dad hated me, the guys
(all of them now) hated me, and the BSB (well, Brian
and Nick anyway-I didn't think I could count the
others as friends) were just friends. And even Brian
had said we didn't know each other that well. I sighed
and gripped my pillow tightly, turning up the volume a
bit. Eventually I fell asleep.

~

"Yo! Wake up!" someone yelled. I opened my eyes and
took off my headphones. "Get up, we're in New Orleans.
Get up and get your stuff together, we're at the
hotel." Chris said.

I nodded wearily and gathered my things. We went up to
our rooms and got situated.

"What are we doing today?" Joey asked Chris.

"Um...let's see...it's eight o'clock now...our show is
at 7pm. We have to be there at 5 o'clock. Other than
that, we're on our own. Our flight back to Orlando is
at 11:45pm. Show's over at 10pm, we go straight from
there to the hotel, grab our stuff, and run to the
airport. Then go home.

"Should we all go somewhere or chill separately?" Joey
asked.

"Separately." JC piped up. "I don't feel like being
around a bunch of people. No offence, but..."

"Sure." Lance said. "That sounds good."

The others emptied out, and JC picked up the phone.
"I'm ordering breakfast." He announced to me. "What do
you want?"

"I'm not hungry." I mumbled very quietly, not looking
at him. I set my stuff down and sat on my bed, staring
at my hands.

"You sure?" he asked, surprised.

I nodded sadly. He shrugged and ordered some for
himself.

At about ten-thirty, I decided I wanted to go out. I
put on my shoes and got a jacket.

"Where are you going?" JC asked.

"Out." I said quietly.

"Where?"

"Around."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "Look around. Maybe buy a cellphone."

"Oh. Well, I gotta go with you." He said, and got up.
I sat down in a chair and waited for him to get his
shoes, money and jacket. He looked at me after he did.
"Makeup." He reminded.

I reached for my backpack and got out the tube. For
some reason, even though they have been doing this to
me for more than a year, I always forget the makeup
crap.

In a minute I finished it and put it away. JC opened
the door and I walked out. I lingered in the hallway,
waiting for him to lock the door and join me. He
started walking and I followed him.

We walked downtown, and he led me to a RadioShak. I
went to the counter while he browsed through the
electronics. I found a saleslady and she helped me set
up a cellphone. She also recognized me. I signed her
t-shirt and hand, and took a picture with her. She
said since I was so nice and cute (hehe!) she could
get my cellphone plan active right away.

"Sweet!" I said. "Thanks...hey, what's your name
again?"

"Saelir. You're so welcome Justin." She smiled. (She
pronounced her name 'sailor')

"See ya. Hey, are you coming to the concert tonight?"

Her face fell. "No. It was sold out before I could get
through." She grinned. "But getting to meet you now
was worth, like, five concerts."

I grinned. Compliments like that are so moving. "Well,
thank you so much. Here." I pulled an *Nsync ticket
out of my pocket (I just so happened to have an extra
few for the tour for friends or something) and handed
it to her. "Here. Come. And have a great time."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh my god!" she said. "Thank you!
Thank you so much!"

I smiled. "You're welcome. Hey, want another one? To
bring a friend?"

"Oh, yes! My best friend Dandy! She'll want to come!"

I paused. "Dandy?"

"Yeah. It's actually Daniale, but we call her Dandy.
She went to your concert in Montgomery...yesterday, I
think it was."

"Lemme guess." I sighed. "Blue hair, tie dyed clothes,
no shoes, totes 21 Backstreet boys cds around in her
backpack."

Saelir nodded. "Yeah. Did you see her?"

"Yeah. But that's a totally different story." I rolled
my eyes, smiling. "Is she around?"

"Um...probably. She's probably...knowing her, hoppin'
around town, freaking people out and being In Your
Face. That's Dandy, she's really funny."

"Does she live here in New Orleans?"

"Naw. She lives wherever she wants to. Her parents are
dead, and she doesn't live anywhere." Saelir said
sadly.

"She's homeless?" I said, shocked.

"Yeah, but she hates that term. She calls herself
free. Free Girly. We also call her Girly. No one knows
her last name."

"How does she eat?"

"Friends. She comes to dinner with me all the time.
Some other friends give her money and food and clothes
all the time. She has friends like us all over the
whole damned country. She's a tough little chick, let
me tell you."

"Hey!" a female voice yelled. "Watch it, Block Face!"

"Dandy." I said to myself, then turned. Sure enough,
there she was. Blue hair and all. Her backpack was on
the ground, and JC was apologizing for knocking her
down, picking it up.

"Watch it next time, and learn how to shave." She
said, pointing to his face. JC decided he had wanted
to grow a little facial hair for the rugged look. He
turned red at her remark.

"Howdy Dandy wassup?" Saelir called.

"WAZZZZUPP!" Dandy called, like the dude on Scary
Movie (which was anything BUT scary, for those of you
who haven't seen it-My advice, don't eat while
watching it). I laughed. "Hey, howdy Bush Head!" she
called.

I grinned. "Ah ha, so we meet again," I said in a
funky French accent.

"Yeah, I guesso. Whatcha buyin' a cellphone for?"

"To call my friends and stuff."

"Can I use it a sec?"

"Um..."

"Oh, let her." Saelir said.

I reluctantly handed it over. "Who do you want to
call?"

"Santa Claus." She said. She dialed. "Yello, is bleach
blonde around? Hiya Tallso! Where's Bleach Blonde? Ah,
okay...thought you'd get away from me, eh?...Hiya. yep
it's me, 'the blue haired weird girl'."

"Who are you talking to?" I said, confused.

"Bleach Blonde." She said matter of factly.

"That's what she calls Brian Littrell of BSB." Saelir
explained. "She has weird nicknames for all of BSB and
*NSYNC."

"I know." I said.

Jc finally got his bearings and came over. "And I do
not have a Block Face." He said.

"Sure you do. And girlyman over there has a Bush
Head."

"I am not girly." I rolled my eyes.

"Huh?" she said into the phone. "Oh...Bush Head who
else? This is his phone...no, he just bought it two
minutes ago. Here." She handed me my phone. "Brok
wantsa talk to ya."

"Yello, Bush Head here." I said, smiling.

"Justin?"

"Bleach Blonde?"

He snorted. "Oh can it. Weird girl, huh? Wanted me to
sign all of your cds."

"I know. She made me sign 21 BSB cds." I said. "I've
been wanting to talk to you. Are you busy later so I
can't call you? I'm in a RadioShak now, and I need to
speak with you privately."

"Uh, sure. You're not flyin' out on me, are you?
You're still coming?"

"As far as I know, yes."

"Okay." He sounded relieved. "No, I'm not busy. I'll
be in my hotel room in Tallahassee. We're leaving
first thing tomorrow for home. Concert in 45 minutes."

"Ah. Cool. Well, I have to let you go now, but talk
later." I said.

"Sure Justin. Is what you need me for very important?
About the others or something?"

"It's exactly that." I said. "Bye."

"Bye Justin. Stay strong."

"If only I could." I sighed, and pressed the end
button. I put my phone in my pocket, and looked up. Jc
was signing an autograph for Saelir and Dandy was
mocking him and making fun of his facial hair.

"...you look like a bunch of gnats are mating on your
upper lip." She mused.

"ALL RIGHT!" he said. "I'll go back to my hotel *right
now* and shave it off. For you, okay?"

"Oh, for me? You're too sweet. Now get hopping before
I see a resemblance to pubic hair on your chin."

"I'm going." JC said, pale. I stifled laughter. JC
marched outside and put his hands on his hips, waiting
for me.

"Bye Saelir." I said. "See you around Dandy. Hope I
see you at our concert."

"We'll be there." Saelir said, grinning. "Although if
there's no seats left I'll be leaving Dandy at home."

"I'll sit in the aisle." Dandy retorted.

"That's a fire hazard." I said.

"So I'll sit on the blinking *stage*." Dandy rolled
her eyes. Saelir laughed. I started to walk out. "No!"
Dandy yelled. "Don't leave! For if you shall leave
moi, I would forever die inside, and whenever the wind
doth echo through the ages, it shall internally
whisper...Bush Head...Bush Head..." she whispered.

I cracked up. "Bye Dandy." I walked out.

"What a strange girl." JC shook his head while we
walked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"She seems to have cheered you up." He said,
sideglancing at me. "You didn't say barely a word
today. You seemed really depressed."

I didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" he looked at me.

I kept my eyes on the ground and shrugged. I started
feeling sad again that he'd hit me. I looked up and
saw something bad. "Uh-oh." I said. "Uh, Josh, I'll
race you back to the hotel." I offered.

He glanced up, and saw what looked like (to us)
several hundred girls staring at us, looking like they
were going to run.

"You're on." He uttered. The girls started for us, and
we took off like bullets.

I won the race. I bolted across town to the hotel and
darted into the hotel. JC was a block behind and
coming, and the girls were catching up. I was holding
the door open and calling to him. He jumped up the
steps and in the safety of the building while I shut
the door.

Well, no such luck. They yanked on the doors and
almost pulled me outside! JC caught his breath and
pulled with me.

"Will someone get security!" JC yelled. They came
running up and took care of that. Humph.

"Whew!" JC said. "What a run!"

"I...win..." I panted. He laughed.

"What's going on?" Lance came downstairs.

"Fans." JC said simply.

"And lots of them." A security guard remarked.

"What time is it?" JC asked me.

"12:47." I said.

"Let's gets some lunch." Joey suggested.

"Um...we'll have to order in." Chris said, eyeing the
mobbed door. "How about the restaurant?"

"Sure." JC and Lance said.

We went and changed our clothes (me in the bathroom)
and went to lunch. Then we went to the concert hall
and signed autographs until the show, which was one of
our best so far this year. We went back to our hotel
rooms, to grab our stuff.

"Uh oh." Lance said. "Our plane's delayed." He was
talking on the hotel phone. "It's not until 12:30
now."

We groaned and put our stuff back. It was about
ten-thirty. The others got out a bored game and
started playing in one corner of the room, ignoring
me. I remembered I'd wanted to call Brian.

I pulled out my cellphone and dialed his number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Brian." I sighed.

"Justin, what's up? You sound major depressed, dude."
He sounded concerned.

"Are you busy?"

"Oh no, I can talk. Just chillin' in my room. What
happened?"

I started to whimper, not being able to help it.
Luckily, the others were fully ignoring me, and
weren't listening. "JC hit me last night." I said.
"He's *never* hit me before."

"Oh...damn." he sounded awed. "Well...okay, tell me
all of what happened."

I took a deep breath. "It started with a joke. JC had
heard the joke where you put girls in your hand and
shake them up, and he showed me so we could show the
others. Lance made some smart-ass remark to me about
the hand motion, and I told him he had a dickfor on
his face. So he started hitting me right after he got
it, and I told him to fuck off or something. Then JC
said, like, that was uncalled for, so I told him to go
to hell. But I really didn't mean that, I was just
hurting and frustrated. I told him 'I'm sorry' and he
really didn't say 'forgive you' or 'still mad' one way
or the other. Lance kept hitting me, then Chris did,
then Joey, then Lance told JC to hit me. And I didn't
think he would, but..."

"He did." Brian said flatly.

I swallowed. "Yeah."

He sighed. "You need to turn them in."

"I cant Brian I just cant." I said.

"Well, what do you expect me to do about it? Do you
think it's just going to go away? Think again Justin,
cause it wont. It's just going to get worst instead of
better. And it probably will stay that way." He said.
"That's the best advice I can come up with. Turn them
in. *You* take charge, *you* make them stop. Threaten
them. Get the law on your side."

"That will just cause more problems. " I whined.

"Well for crying out loud! " he exploded. "I don't
know what you want from me! Talk to me Justin, what do
you want me to tell you, what do you want to hear?
Cause I'm completely clueless. You're the deepest and
tormented person I have ever met. I don't know what to
do. And I don't know what to tell you to do. If it was
me, I would threaten to turn them in. And if they were
smart, they'd stop, cause not only do they get busted,
they'll be humiliated. And they'll be arrested. Then
it's up to you to press charges. Maybe you could have
them arrested once as a warning and not press charges,
then they'll know you're serious. If they do it again,
it'll be the second offence, and you'd press charges.
If you're truly unhappy and want so badly for it to
stop, make it stop. It's legally and morally wrong,
and it should never take place in the first place."

I sighed. "Thanks Brian, but I just can't. And I'm
truly sorry for causing you so much frustration. You
don't have to worry about me anyway. I don't mean to
worry you. It's just that I need someone to talk to
and comfort me. I'm not a very secure person, and I
desperately wish to have the comfort and security of
being loved. Cause I'm not. ""

"Oh Justin, sure you are, " he said desperately. "Your
parents."

"My dad hates me because I'm gay and my mom couldn't
care less if I lived or died."

"Siblings?"

"My dad's sons. He's probably given them a mouthful
about me. And they'll believe whatever he says."

"Aunts, uncles, cousins?"

"They don't really know me."

"Close friends?"

"Don't have any. Well... the guys, but they hate me.
And you guys... I probably shouldn't count AJ, Howie,
or Kevin as friends... but you and Nick I do..."

"Yeah." he said. "We're your friends."

"Well, you don't love me. " I pointed out.

Brian sighed. "There are many different kinds of love,
Justin. You're right, we don't love you as a... well,
lover, or a family member. Probably not even as a
friend yet. Caring... I *care* about you. Nick cares
about you. I care about you and don't want you to get
hurt, physically or emotionally. Caring is different
than love. And so is affection. They're all different
from each other. Each person feels one or two or all
three or none for different people. Take me and you. I
care about you. But I don't feel affection towards
you. Me and Nick. I care for him and love him. I have
affection for him. We're much closer and know each
other better than you and me. Me and my cousin Kevin.
I care about him and love him, but no affection. And
the way I love him is different than the way I love
Nick. Kevin is a cousin and a friend. Nick is a
friend, a brother, a best friend... there are even
periods of intimacy between him and I because we're so
close and have the 3 factors; love, caring, and
affection for each other."

"I get what you mean." I said.

"Well, I... you know, as we get closer as friends and
everything, I probably will develop that kind of love
for you. I always do. And you know that I honestly
care about you and *want* to get closer and know each
other better and I want to develop that kind of
closeness and friendship. I love having friends that
I'm extra close to. It makes me feel secure and
loved."

"Yeah." I said. "And that's what I want."

He sighed. "Don't worry Justin, you'll find someone
eventually. Who would not want you. You're
good-looking, honest, kind, *very*
sweet...just...who'd not want you?"

"You."

Pause. "What do you mean by that?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I said sadly.

"JUSTIN!"

"What?" I looked up as the others yelled at me.

"Uh-oh, should I go?" Brian asked.

"Uh, yeah Bri, I better let you go." I said.

"Okay." He said reluctantly. "Bye Justin. Stay
strong."

"Bye." I said, and pressed end. I looked up to the
other guys. "What's up?"

"Who were you talking to?" Lance demanded.

"Brian Littrell."

"Why? So you can seduce him and molest him?" Chris
said.

"no."

Lance hit me. "Don't you lie about it."

I stood up and shoved him down hard. I guess that
burst of adrenaline made me. "Don't you hit me!" I
yelled. "I didn't do anything, don't you hit me!"

"What the hell!" Chris said. He pulled Lance up.

"Get him!" Lance said. All four of them ran towards
me. JC pulled my arms back and for the first (and
only) time, I fought it. Joey had to help JC; both of
them grabbed one of my arms to hold me down so Chris
and Lance could hit me.

Which they did. A lot. They kept hitting me and I quit
fighting it. But Lance was plenty mad and he kept
hitting me. I felt like I was going to either pass out
or puke.

"And...don't...you...shove...me!" he said, hitting me
harder with each word. After what seemed like hours of
pain (all four of them hit me) they dropped me on the
floor.

"Is he unconscious?" Joey asked.

"I think so." JC said.

"Damn man, what's his problem?" Lance said. "He's been
real fresh lately, and talking back a whole lot. And
where's he get the balls to shove me? How long has he
been doing this? Cause it's got to stop."

"Um...about a week and a half ago." Joey said.

"What happened to him a week and a half ago?" Chris
said thoughtfully.

Pause. "He met Brian Littrell." JC said dryly.

Silence. "He's becoming awful close to him." Lance
said. "Went to his concert, brought him to
ours...swimming and out to dinner...I'll just bet what
that 'dinner' was...and he keeps calling him.
Hmm...Josh, what's Brian Littrell like?"

JC was quiet a moment. "He's...he's the kind of guy
who won't let you push him around. He's pretty tough.
If you were to give him crap cause he's gay he'd give
you a mouthful back without any hesitation." He said
slowly. "He's full of energy. He's really funny, and
*very* nice and pretty cool. Why, do you think he's
the reason Justin's so snappy lately?"

"I think exactly that." Lance said.

JC paused. "Justin threatened me the other day."

"What!" Lance exploded.

"What'd the little bastard say?" Chris demanded.

"He told me he could turn us in. for assault and
battery, and discrimination." JC said. He paused.
"He's right though, and that's the scary part. There
was a law passed a few years ago, the gay rights
thing. We're not allowed to prejudge him. Just like
when it was women's rights, and black people. Now it's
the gays. And he's right, he could definitely turn us
in. There's plenty of proof-marks and scars on
him-that *we* did. We could get arrested-and that
would be public. Talk about no one liking *NSync then.
And if he pressed charges...we would have no defense.
Especially if he sued us. He'd win. For assault and
battery and discrimination. And we all know Justin
told Brian he's gay. I have a feeling he told Brian we
hit him, too. You never know what that Brian will do.
I think he's told Justin he could turn us in. and
since Justin won't, Brian might."

Silence. "He's going to? Justin's going to turn us
in?" Lance said weakly.

JC sighed. (They'd thought they'd beaten me
unconscious, but I was only on the verge of it. I had
my eyes closed and was listening...hehe, sneaky me...)
"No. See, he was saying it after I went out once...it
was a couple of days ago. When I came back he was
staring into the mirror at all the bruises and marks
we'd down to him. Then he started tellin' me about
what he could do. And I said 'And you would, wouldn't
you?' And he started to cry, saying how he didn't hate
us and it hurt him so much what we were doing...I
didn't say anything cause he was crying-and hard-and I
aint never seen him cry before... He's so tough. I
don't think any of us have seen him cry. Then I asked
him if he was really going to turn us in, and he said
'no, of course not.' Like he was never really
considering in the first place. It was all just
talk...But I'm telling you guys, when I saw him cry, I
realized we're hurting him pretty badly. I mean, I'm
telling you, he's all shook up and hurting inside like
hell."

"Who gives a damn?" Lance said dryly.

Josh ignored him. "I mean...I just felt terrible. "To
tell the honest truth...he doesn't do anything wrong.
He doesn't act gay. He acts like a normal guy."

"Yeah, cause we're all around to crack him when he
doesn't." Chris snorted.

"No." it sounded like JC was shaking his head. "He
acts like a nice normal guy when we're all not. Like
when it's just me and him. Or when we went with the
Backstreet Boys swimming."

"Well, you were with him." Joey pointed out.

"True, but I know Justin. I know what he's like when
you guys aren't around. He's like the old Justin.
He'll talk to me, we'll have half-assed normal
conversations. He hasn't talked to me since yesterday
though, don't know why. But...he'd be normal if we
just gave him a chance."

A pause. "You're talkin' like you want us all to stop
hitting him." Lance said.

"Well...I kinda sorta do."

"Well, that'll 'kinda sorta' do no good." Lance
mimicked him. "Cause then he'll *really* act like a
fag."

"You don't know that." JC said quietly.

"Yes I do." Lance argued. JC sighed.

"It's time to leave for our flight home." Joey
announced.

"Well, wake the Bastard up and let's go." Lance
sighed.

"I'll get some water." Chris's footsteps headed for
the bathroom.

Pause. "So are we still hitting him then?" Joey asked.

"Yes." Lance said loudly. JC didn't say anything.

Someone threw cold water on me. "Wake up." Chris said,
and poked me in my sore ribs with his shoe.

I opened my sore eyes and looked at them and sighed. I
(with difficulty) got up and got my stuff. We all went
wordlessly to the limo and to the airport. I put my
makeup on in the limo before any of them yelled at me
to. I didn't say anything and I didn't look at them.
Neither of them said anything either. They all looked
like they were thinking.

We got on the plane. It was 12.17 am. Lance was
sitting to my left and JC to my right. Lance must have
still been pretty pissed that I pushed him, cause he
kept saying really mean things to me in a low voice,
and every time I would doze off, intentionally or
because I was just so damned tired, he would kick me
to keep me awake.

In a few hours, we were in Orlando. Ah, home sweet
home. I wearily got my stuff, and JC, Lance and I got
a taxi to our house. (We were still sharing a place to
live, need I remind you?) they jumped out so I paid
the taxidriver and went in. I started climbing stairs
to go to my room. I was almost asleep while walking. I
trudged to my room, dropped my stuff on my floor,
thinking, I'll unpack tomorrow. I plopped down on my
bed and fell dead asleep.

~

I woke up at noon the next day. Hooray, a whole week
of vacation and a week with Brian! I yawned, threw on
some clothes after a shower and grabbed the telephone
in my room (I had my own line). I dialed Brian's home
number. No answer. I dialed his cellphone.

"Hello?" he chirped.

"Hi B-Rok."

"Oh hey Justin. How's it going?"

"Not so good. Where are you?"

"Airport. We're almost home. Will be in about...oh,
half an hour at least. Maybe an hour. Where are you?"

"Home."

"Your pals acting up?"

"Like hell." I sighed.

"Well...Like I said, I'm not home yet. But if you want
to, you can go over there. There's a security thingy
on the fence, and the code is-now write this down-red,
blue, two, three, green, four, red, one, red, red,
six. Okay?"

"Okay." I said, writing it down.

"And the spare housekey is on top of the doorframe."

"Alright." I said. "If I'm not there when you come
home, I'm probably just held up. But I'll be there,
count on it. Am I staying over as in sleeping in a
guest room?"

"Yep."

"Okay, so what should I bring?"

"Um...like, six or seven day's change of clothing, for
sure. Maybe some cds that you like. A favorite
movie...video game. I dunno, what do you usually bring
to a sleep-over."

"I dunno, I never been to one."

"Huh. Well, anyway, bring clothes and whatever. Okay?"

"Sure. I'm going to unpack, then pack a backpack or
whatever. You know, directions to your house might
help a whole lot, bud."

He gave them to me. "See you then." He said.

"Okay. Bye Bri. Hey, is Nick coming over with you?"

"Not as now, but would you like to see him? I can
invite him over for awhile."

"No, actually. I'd like some time with just you so I
can talk to you about what the others said after they
beat me, and thought I was unconscious. But I wasn't.'

"Ah, sounds interesting. One inquiring mind
desperately wants to know?"

I laughed. "Not now bud. Tell ya later."

"Okay. See you then, Bush Head."

"Bye bye bye, Bleach Blonde." I hung up. I pulled my
extra backpack and duffelbag out of my closet and
looked at my wardrobe. I put 7 shirts, 7 pants
(jeans), and seven changes of boxers and socks into my
duffelbag. I put an extra pair of sneakers in my
backpack along with a couple videogames and got a hat
and sunglasses. There. I should be set. I put my car
keys and my cellphone in my pocket. I also threw 'my'
tube of foundation in my backpack, in case we went out
in public. There. *Now* I'm ready.

I went downstairs. "Where do you think you're going?"
Lance's voice snarled.

"Out. Obviously." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you get snappy with me." He said angrily. I
didn't say anything. "So where the hell are you
going?" he demanded again.

"To Brian's house."

"Brian Littrell?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes." I looked at him.

"No." he narrowed his eyes. "You're not seeing him
anymore. He's putting idiotic ideas in your head.
You're not going. You're going to stay away from him."

"No, I'm not." I said, a hint of anger in my voice.
"He's my friend and I'm going to visit him."

"He's putting dumb and ridiculous ideas in your head,
and you're going to get in trouble."

"What do you care?"

"Don't get fresh." He said, unusually calm. Maybe the
guys had all talked about it and none of them were
going to allow me to see Brian anymore. "Put your
stuff back and stay in the house. We'll be checking on
you." He turned on his heels and went into the den.

I just stood there at the front door, pondering my
next move. I finally decided. I gathered all my
possessions around the house, and put them in my
bedroom. I locked and padlocked my room. There. Now
they can't do anything to any of my stuff. I grabbed
my duffelbag and backpack and went out the door. I
jumped in my car, and drove to Brian's house. Ha ha
ha, I did it anyway.

And I felt *so* good to disobey them! (Lance anyway.)

I pulled into Brian's driveway, and saw his BMW
already in the driveway. I leisurely hopped out and
went to his door, and rang the doorbell.

~*~
dun dun dun...
email me! ajsaysyourefired@yahoo.com for feedback and
a neaty URL for my one and only website. It's pretty
groovey if I do say so myself.

=====
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*laugh and the world laughs with you. fart and you stand alone.*
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