Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 01:10:32 GMT
From: "AdoreJustin :)" <adorejustin@hotmail.com>
Subject: Tearful-Dreamer-1

Hello all!  This is my first story, so I hope you enjoy it.
I'm open to any suggestions you may have.  Please send any
comments, etc to: AdoreJustin@Hotmail.com

Thank you Ad, and I hope you all enjoy the story.  :)

Standard Warning

This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real
life are entirely coincidental. This story is not meant to
imply anything about the true sexuality of Justin
Timberlake, or any other members of *NSYNC. Again, this is
only fan fiction, mixed with a little wishful thinking,
nothing more.

If you are under the age of 18, or your local laws prohibit
you from reading such material, please do not continue. The
same applies to anyone offended or made uncomfortable by
stories involving consensual male-male relationships. If you
continue reading, you are doing so on your own free will,
and I cannot and will not be held responsible for any
consequences.

On to the story:

__________________________________________________



Tearful-Dreamer-1


     Another smooth, yet cold gust of air blew through the
window, and Zach finally began to wake up.  He opened his
eyes slowly to see the snow falling out of his dorm window,
and students walking by.  Zach smiled to himself as he
realized he was heading home to Florida for Christmas Break
today.  He was heading home to family and friends.  This
last semester had taken its toll on him, and he was
completely relieved to have it over with.  He sat up in bed,
and immediately reached for a shirt on his nightstand.  As
was his normal routine, his first stop was his computer to
check his email.  Zach smiled and ran his hands through his
brown hair as he began to read a message from his best
friend, Sarah.  It basically confirmed that she would be
picking him up at the airport, and how excited she was to
see him again.  It finished with:

     Oh!  And don't plan anything for tonight. I've got a
     surprise for you!  ;)

          Love,
          Sarah

     Zach wondered what she had in store for him, and was
anxious to find out.  He gathered his things, and headed out
to shower and change.

     "Hey Zach!  You flying home today?" Ethan laughed at
seeing his half awake, drunken-like state.

     "Morning" Zach replied with an innocent smile.  "Yeah,
I'm leaving as soon as I get cleaned up"

     "Well have a great birthday and Christmas, since I
won't see you till January"

     "Thanks, Ethan. I hope you have a great holiday too"

     With that Zach stepped in to the shower, and began to
relax and think of nothing but being home and sleeping in
his own bed.  He was lucky to get a single in the dorms
since he was a freshman, but he had never gotten over being
away from home.  Once finished, he dressed and drove to the
airport.

     Zach stretched out as he sat on the plane, glad to have
an empty seat next to him.  He realized the stress was
finally gone, and he could relax.  He earned good enough
grades to make his parents happy, so he knew he could enjoy
this trip home.  He enjoyed the rest of the trip by
listening to music and watching the in-flight movie.  He
looked out the window as they landed in Orlando.  It
reminded him of leaving for college, and how depressed he
was that day.  He left his friends and family, and was
completely on his own.  He had grown a lot in the 5 months
he was away, and had gotten fit by running nightly.  He was
anxious to see people reaction to his new look.  As Zach
entered the aisle to walk off the plane, a small boy bumped
into him and spilled his orange juice all along the side of
his pants.

     "Oh my god!  Jonathan!  How could you?!"  The mother
said in a loud, but sweet voice.  "I am so sorry!  He's
never done that before"

     "That's okay, it'll wash out"  Zach smiled at the boy.

     "I'm sorry" The boy managed to get out, while starting
at the floor.

     "Hey, don't worry about it.  Mistakes happen"  Zach
reached down to pull the boys chin up and face him.  They
smiled at each other.

     He then realized he was holding up the flow of people
off the plane.  "Woops. we better get moving"

     "You're a very sweet boy, you must have very proud
parents" She said, grabbing hold of Jonathan at the same
time.

     "Thank you." He replied.

     Zach continued to walk down the gate, and could see
Sarah standing and waiting for him.  He let out a sigh, and
gave a huge smile to her.

     "Hey!! Welcome home sweetie!" She said.

     "Hey yourself!  I'm so happy to be back. what a relief"
He said.

     Sarah and Zach had known each other since they were in
elementary school.  They lived right down the street from
each other.  In all his 19 years, he had only told Sarah
that he was gay. He assumed others might have guessed it,
but he had never told anyone else. especially his parents.

     "You look great!  Did you lose weight"  She snickered,
while punching his stomach lightly.

     "Yeah, that happens when you run two miles a day. feel
these abs!"  He said, laughing at the pose he had taken in
the middle of the terminal.  They both laughed as they
continued to walk.

     "So!  What's this surprise??"

     "You'll see"  Sarah replied in a slow, mocking voice.

     They entered the parking garage and hopped in her car.
Zach stared out the window at the familiar buildings passing
by.  Memories came flooding back, he began to relive some
great times they all had in high school.

     "What are you smiling at?"  Sarah questioned

     "Nothing really, just glad to be home" He said, then
turned to her with a smile.  "Can you tell me now??  I'm
dying in anticipation!"

     "Okay, okay.  You look like you're about to wet
yourself. oh. it seems already did"  She laughed as she
looked at the orange juice stain still wet on his pant leg.

     "Oh, a boy bumped into me and spilled his OJ on me as
we were walking out of the plane.  Cute kid."  He hoped that
would be enough of an explanation.

     "Well, here it is. since you're birthday is tomorrow, I
had an idea and I asked your parents to help out.  So they
pitched in too and we all got you this great present" She
stopped.

     "AND.?"

     "So. you and I are going to see *NSYNC tonight, second
row, backstage passes and all"  She said in the most matter-
of-fact way.

     He just continued to stare with the same blank face.

     "Breath Zach, breath!" She laughed.

     "Are you serious Sarah?  Tonight?  Oh wow!"

     "Yup, we'll drop your stuff off at home and head over
there."

     "Thank you so much!  This is going to be amazing!"  He
leaned over to hug her across the seat.

     They arrived at his home, and Zach swiftly jumped out
of the car and ran in the house.  Not seeing anyone in the
family room, he sprinted to the kitchen; Still no one.  He
reached the base of the stairs.

     "I'm home!!"  He screamed, laughing at himself at the
same time.

     No answer.

     "Well you're the only one I guess."  Sarah said from
behind him.  "I don't know where they are, but. you did get
in rather early"

     "Well I guess I'll see them later tonight, make
yourself at home Sarah"  He said, with a saddened tone.

     Zach wanted to see his parents and Adam, his younger
brother, more than anything at that moment.  `Just wait a
few more hours' he told himself.  He entered his room and
was taken back by the stale, moldy smell.  It needed to be
aired out badly.  He opened both windows, and landed on the
bed.  Zach stayed silent for a moment, taking in the surreal
feeling of being back in his home.  He turned his head
towards the wall to look at his photos and trophies, just as
he had left them.  For a moment, it seemed as though he had
never gone away.  He drifted off to sleep, surrounded by his
childhood stuffed animals.  In his short nap he envisioned
the night ahead of him.  Who would he meet?  What would he
say?  Zach had never even been to a concert before.  His
doze came to a quick end when a heavy object landed on his
stomach.

     "UH!. what."  Zach finally realized what had hit him.
"Adam!"  He shouted in joy, ruffling the hair of the beast
that was currently sitting on his stomach.

     "Zacky!"  Adam said as he wrapped his arms around his
brother.  He had always called his older brother Zacky.

     "Hey bud, how are ya?"

     "Um. okay.  Sarah said if you don't get downstairs in 5
minutes she's leaving without you!"  He giggled.

     "Uh oh! I better get going then.  We'll talk more
later, okay?"

     Adam just smiled in response.  Zach quickly changed,
brushed his teeth and fixed his hair and was down stairs.
He ran up to his parents and kissed his mom on the cheek
quickly.

     "Hi Mom, Hi Dad! Gotta go, but I'll see you guys
tonight" He managed to get out before heading out the door.
A moment later he reappeared.  "Oh, and thank you for the
tickets!"

     "You're welcome honey, have fun!  Don't forget we'll be
gone tomorrow.  We'll be at your Uncles.  We love you."  His
mother said.

     With that they were back in the car on the way to the
venue.  They arrived and parked reasonably close, and walked
the remainder of the way.  Sarah led the way to the
backstage entrance and flashed their passes to the security
guards.  They padded them down and checked Sarah's backpack,
and finally let them pass.  They soon were directed to a
designated area for fans to wait.

     "Are you nervous?"  Sarah questioned.

     "Is it that obvious?"

     "Well, you legs are shaking, and you're staring at the
door like it's the gateway to heaven."

     "Maybe it is" He smiled, which also calmed him.

     The door then opened as if by queue, and JC, Lance,
Chris and Joey walked in to the room.  They seemed to look
very comfortable, which allowed everyone in the room to
soften and talk easily.

     "Hey there"  JC said, in mid stride towards the two.

     "Hi" Zach said, with a smile and a surprising amount of
composure.  He looked to Sarah who remained silent, and
fixated on JC.

     "I'm JC, and you're Zach"  He extended his hand towards
Zach, and then to Sarah.

     "Yeah, I'm Zach and this is Sarah.  We really like your
music.  Hey. how did you know my name?"  Zach questioned
playfully.

     "Thanks a lot" Lance and JC spoke in unison, Lance was
not standing next to JC.  "You must be pretty big fans to
get tickets this good"  They had completely ignored Zach's
question.

     "Well that's all Sarah's work.  She surprised me with
all of this today when I got home."

     "What a cool thing to do!  But. the surprise isn't
over."  Now Justin was standing behind Zach, with his hands
squarely on his shoulders.  "We also know its your birthday
tomorrow, and we're taking you out to dinner after the show"

     Zach turned bright red from all the attention.  He was
now surrounded by all five members of *NSYNC with smiles on
their faces.  His happiness became somewhat overwhelming as
tears began to well up in his eyes.  They all gave him a
hug, and smiled to lighten the mood.  Justin was the last to
let go, and began tickling Zach around his waist. Zach began
laughing hysterically and begging for mercy.  They all began
laughing at Zach's reaction.

     "Wow. you guys are so amazing"  Zach said, looking over
to Sarah who had a large grin on her face.  "You're good" He
whispered to her.

     He turned around to see Justin completely, he was
smiling back at him.  Zach was instantly taken back by the
Justin's beauty, since he had never seen him in person
before. The most incredible blue eyes were starting back at
him.  They stood there for a moment, frozen.  It seemed as
if time has stood still for those brief seconds.

     "We better get ready, we'll see you right after the
show then?" Chris asked.

     "Yeah . can't wait!"  Zach turned to face him, being
the first to break the look with Justin.

     They all began to shuffle out, waving to the other
fans.  The moment Justin stepped out, Zach fell back to
earth.  He landed in the same chair, and continued to stare
off into space.

     `What just happened here?'  He thought to himself.  He
turned to Sarah.

     "How did you manage all of this??"

     "If you only knew!  That was pretty cool."  She
giggled.  He really didn't care to know anyway.  They got up
and proceeded to their seats.  They sat amazed watching the
show.  Zach noticed he spent most of his time watching
Justin perform.  Justin had also looked to Zach during the
show, but he passed it off as normal.

     `Am I attracted to him?  I can't take my eyes off him'
He considered.  Zach had never been in any kind relationship
before, and certainly wasn't experienced with these types of
feelings.  They enjoyed the rest of the concert, and began
to head backstage again.

     "Was the great or what?  They must be exhausted!"
Sarah screamed over the group they were pushing through.

     "Totally"  He smiled as looked towards her.  Just then
Chris and Joey had exited their dressing room.

     "There he is!  You ready to go guys??"   Joey cheered.

     "Absolutely, if you guys are still up to it.  We know
you must be tired"  Zach said.

     Chris smiled at Zach's comment.  He wrapped one arm
around Zach's shoulder. "Hey, this is your night. we'll be
fine.  Now if we can just find the rest of the guys."  The
continued down the hallway.  They entered JC's dressing
room, and found it empty.

     "Looking for us?" Lance and JC said in unison walking
up behind Sarah.  Sarah screamed from the surprise, causing
all the guys to laugh.  She slapped JC on the arm.

     "I'll get you for that!"  She was now laughing as well.

     "I'll look forward to it."  He said, with a wink.
Sarah blushed, and turned quickly to hide it from JC.  Chris
and Joey couldn't help but laugh.

     "We're still one short." Lance said.

     "Zach, would you check Justin's dressing room?  It's
the last door in the right." JC motioned the directions
while talking.

     "Sure thing."

     Zach hurriedly walked down the hallway in hopes of
finding Justin. He knocked on the door to his dressing room.
no response.  He slowly opened the door, and heard the
shower shut off in the attached room.

     "Justin?"

     "That you Zach?" He responded louder.

     `Wow, he could tell who I was just by the sound of my
voice.' Zach thought to himself.  "They guys just asked me
to find you, so whenever you're ready. we'll all be by JC's
dressing room."

     "I'll be right out, you can wait if you want"

     That's exactly what Zach wanted to hear.  He sat down,
and could feel the warmth still lingering in the room from
Justin's shower.  Goosebumps appeared all over his skin as
leaned back and smiled.

     "What are you smiling at?"  Justin appeared wearing
only a towel wrapped around his waist.  Zach captured the
image in his mind.  His skin looked beautiful and silky,
with a few freckles near the top of his back.  They had the
same shade of skin.  He was also noticed the definition to
his stomach and arms.

     `You'  Zach said to himself, then decided he should
change the audible version.  "That was a great show, I don't
know how to thank you guys for all this."  He looked to
Justin.

     "You're a really nice guy.  There's no need to thank
us, we just want you to have a good time."

     The exchanged a look and a beaming smile that told them
both they were in agreement.  Zach softened at his beautiful
smile. Justin finished changing in the next room, then
returned.  He placed a hand on Zach's shoulder, letting him
know he was ready.  They left the room and walked down the
hall to find the others.

     "I guess you found him."  Lance said.  Zach nodded
proudly in response.

     "Sorry, I needed to take a shower before we head out...
for your benefit! But I'm ready to go now."  They all
laughed, and continued to walk towards the limousine.

     The ride to the restaurant was enjoyable as the guys
related some interesting stories, and Zach told them of his
recent college experiences.  They discovered they would both
be in town for almost the same amount of time, since Zach
was on his winter break and the group also had a short
vacation.  Chris led the way into the restaurant, which was
rather interesting.  Part of it was a club, and part of it
was a semi-formal restaurant.  Neither Zach nor Sarah had
ever been there.  They were seated near the far end of the
restaurant, away from most of the other diners.  Justin made
an effort to sit next to Zach in the booth.  As they slid
in, Justin bumped the napkin which held his silverware,
causing it to fall on the floor.  Both he and Zach bent down
to recover it, causing them to bump their heads.  The entire
table began laughing hysterically.

     "I'm so sorry!  Are you okay?" Justin asked, placing a
hand on Zach's forehead.  His pain instantly disappeared as
he felt Justin's soft touch against his skin.  His warm hand
sent shivers down Zach's spine.

     "It was my fault. I'm sorry.  Yeah, I'm okay now" He
smiled at Justin.  They both looked away in fear of drawing
any suspicion.

     "Justin looks so happy tonight."  Lance mentioned to
JC.

     "I know. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time.
Maybe its because we're finally home for a while".  Lance
accepted JC's reasoning, and they both looked on with a
smile.

     Justin sat dazed for a few minutes after the incident.
He himself realized how satisfied he felt, but didn't know
what to attribute it to.  It then clicked that it was Zach.
The first time he placed his hands on Zach's shoulders
earlier that night, he experienced the same sensation.  The
first image he received of Zach's face was still clear in
his mind.  His soft ears, beautiful hair, small nose, and
pink lips.  But what most intrigued him was Zach's beautiful
green eyes.  A shade of green unlike anything he'd ever
seen.

     "Justin!"  Zach repeated waving his hand in front of
his eyes.  Justin turned to stare into the eyes again, still
not responding this his name.  Zach laughed and brushed his
hand against Justin's leg, mentioning he need to step out of
the booth.  Justin yielded, and got up with a smile.

     "I need to use the restroom, I'll be right back."  Zach
explained.

     "Okay."  Zach heard from the table, and noticed Justin
seemed almost upset.

     `This is crazy!  This can't be happing. Justin doesn't
have any feelings for me.'  He reassured himself.  He
continued to walk to the restroom, and noticed the music
from the club downstairs.  Out of curiosity he entered the
club and noticed a men's bathroom in the far corner.  Zach
entered the bathroom, and came across a view he had never
expected.  A man was holding another man up to the sink with
a knife at his throat.  The victim was crying, but didn't
seem to be hurt in any other way.  Zach noticed the
situation, and turned to exit rather quickly.

     "Where do you think you're going"  The man with the
knife spoke.

     Zach turned around to face him, trying to suppress his
fear.  "I figured I should let you carry out your business."
He said.

     "Yeah, I'm sure you little punk.  I'm sure you'd just
walk out of here and pretend nothing was going on."  He
hissed with pure hatred.  Zach began to tremble.

     "I'm sorry." Was all he managed to get out before the
man stepped in front of him to lock the door.  He pulled
Zach by his sweater towards him.  He proceeded to throw Zach
against the counter.  Zach slammed in the mirror hanging
from the wall, and fell to the ground in a heap.  The man
stepped up to him and forced his foot into Zach's stomach.
Zach yelled in pain.  The man immediately dropped to his
level, and placed his hand over his mouth to silence him.
Zach gawked as he felt the harsh skin against him mouth.

     "I knew you wouldn't keep your mouth shut.  You look so
pathetic!"  He laughed a disgusting laugh.

     Zach closed his eyes praying for the man to stop and
leave the room.  He felt his heart race and images of his
parents, Adam, his friends and. Justin raced through his
mind.  The one place he wished he could be was back at the
table next to Justin.  He opened his eyes to see a blade
slide across his right cheek.  He screamed again in pain,
but heard the muffled version in return.  The man released
his grip, and tears began flowing from Zach's eyes.  He
placed his own hands again the cut, but could see blood
dripping on his clothes and flow down the grout of the
tiles.

     JC and Justin sat at the table with the same thought in
mind.  `Where's Zach?'  It had been over 5 minutes since he
had left.  The looked into each others eyes, and started to
exit the booth.

     "We'll be right back, we're going to check on Zach"
Justin said, with some worry in his tone. The guys
acknowledged them, and turned to continue talking with
Sarah.

     They checked the restroom nearest to them with no luck.
They then asked a bus boy for the location of any other
men's room, and they were directed downstairs.  The neared
the door, and Justin got a sinking feeling.  He began to
run, and threw the door open.  He gasped at the sigh of Zach
on the floor, in a tight ball.  Zach was still grasping the
side of his face, so Justin could not tell if the situation
was life-threatening.  Zach looked up towards Justin and
extended one hand towards him while whispering his name
before fainting.  Justin ran to Zach and spread out on the
floor next to him.

     "JC, Zach's hurt!  Get help!"  He screamed.  JC
immediately turned around for help.

     Justin lifted Zach's upper body and rested it across
his lap.  He reached up and grabbed a cloth to press against
Zach's face.  Tears began to fall from Justin's face as
well.

     "Come on Zach. come back to me.  You're going to be
okay.  I'm here now, you'll be okay."  He cried while
stoking the side of Zach's face.  Zach slowly began to
awaken and found himself in Justin's arms.  He tried to
speak, however Justin placed his finger over Zach's mouth.

     "Shhh, don't say anything.  You're gonna be okay, I
promise you."

     Just then JC ran through the door followed by two men.
He stopped in his tracks when he first saw Zach.  Justin
looked up to see the horrific look on JC's face.  Blood was
now on Justin's clothing as well.  The two men took
positions next to him and began to assess Zach's condition.
A minute later paramedics arrived to transport Zach to the
hospital.  They let them know that Zach would be okay, but
they needed to run some test, and check for internal
bleeding.  Justin insisted that he stay with Zach.  JC
agreed to tell the others and meet them at the hospital as
soon as possible.

     JC ran upstairs to get the others.  He explained that
he didn't know exactly what happened, but that Zach was hurt
and was on his way to the hospital.  Sarah became extremely
frightened, but was quickly comforted by JC.  They arrived
at the hospital in what seemed like no time at all.  With a
little help the were directed to Zach's room.  Sarah and
Lance were the first to enter, noticing Justin sitting
adjacent to the bed where Zach was sleeping.

     "Oh my god, is he okay?"  Sarah asked as she headed
into the quiet room.

     "Luckily he will be, but he needs some rest.  We don't
really know what happened yet, but he has a few broken ribs,
and a deep cut on his right cheek."  Justin said, taking
Sarah into a hug.

     "I can't believe this happened!  I feel like its all
our fault."  Lance said in shock.

     "No, you guys have done nothing but make him happy.
You may be what gets him through this."  She replied.

     The rest of the guys added to Justin and Sarah's hug to
comfort her, and themselves.  All they could do was wait for
Zach to wake up.  JC, Chris, and Sarah went to Zach's home
to tell his parents and pick up some things for him.  Joey
and Lance were visiting the cafeteria, finally getting
something to eat when Zach finally woke up.

     He opened his eyes to see Justin holding his hand,
singing:

          And I will take you in my arms
          And hold you right were you belong,
          Till the day my life is through
          This I promise you.

     Zach listened contently to his beautiful voice, and
tightened his hand around Justin's as he finished.

     "Th."  Zach cleared his throat, and attempted to speak
again.  "Thank you" he said with sweetness in his voice.
Justin adjusted his position and looked into Zach's unharmed
green eyes.

     "How are you feeling?"  He asked.

     "Okay I guess, thanks to you" Zach smiled slightly.
"Ouch. but I wont be smiling too much for some time" He
reached to touch his own cheek.

     "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

     "Well I was going to use the restroom, and instead of
using the one in the restaurant, I got curious and walked
into the club."  He paused for a moment.  "When I walked in
I saw this guy with a knife to another mans throat."  Zach's
voice began to waver, and tears started welling near his
eyes.  Justin sensed his fear and pulled him into a hug.

     "You're safe now. No one is going to hurt you. not
anymore."

     Zach returned the hug whole-heartedly.  His tears ran
onto Justin's shirt.  He then slid back and noticed the
blood on Justin's clothing.

     "Oh no!  I'm so sorry."

     "Don't worry about it, I could care less as long as
you're okay."

     Zach pulled Justin back down to him for another hug.
"You're amazing Justin.  I don't know what I'd do if you
weren't here with me."

     Justin smiled sweetly and brushed his hand against the
left side of Zach's face.

     "So when I started to leave the bathroom, he stopped me
and locked the door.  .Then he began to hit me .and cut me."
Zach looked down at the sheets that covered him, and away
from Justin.  "I felt so helpless, like I couldn't do
anything.  He could have done anything to me."

     Justin continued to hold Zach until he fell asleep
again.  He couldn't imagine what Zach must be going through.
He leaned over and gently kissed Zach on his forehead.

     "He'll never hurt you again, no one will.  I'll always
be with you."  It was at that moment that Justin realized
the extent of his feelings for Zach.  As he watched him lay
in bed, he knew he had found something he never had before.
Justin pulled his chair closer to the bed and sat down.  He
closed his eyes and began to fall asleep himself, while
continuing to keep his hand wrapped around Zach's.

_____________________________________________________

There's plenty more to come, but please don't hesitate to
send me any comments or suggestions you may have (even if
its just to let me know you read it).
AdoreJustin@Hotmail.com
Thanks for reading!