Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 02:03:08 +1000 (EST)
From: Corey Taylor <lances_leather_pants@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: the more you ignore me 3

Hey Everyone, How are you all?  Sorry this chapter took so bloody long but
I've had heaps of stuff to do.  I have heaps of people to thank so I'm
gonna keep it to a minimum, I love all of you and if I don't put you down
here, it's not intentional I'm just a bit slow, I can only store so much
info in my tiny little mind! First up my boss, my friend and my editor,
Aaron and his lovely fiance Melanie, you are both too ace for words, sorry
I hit you with a bottle of Pepsi, but you deserved it, he he (read his
story, Curly and Josh, even if it isn't about Lance, it's sweet and nice)
Miss Mykeshia, my love you are way too cool, but if you keep sending me
those Lance pics I'll never get anything done, he he. Luis, you're taste in
music is surpassed only by your ability to make me smile! Miss Dawn, you
are ace! Jack, Ian, Toots, Christine, Freakapotamus, Memo, Rob, Siege, Ian,
Dr Pepper, Ariana, Moosic and everyone else who wrote to me, I try to
answer all emails ASAP, but lately that's been a bit hard.

Disclaimer: If you believe anything I write, then more fool you! I'm a
freak and not to be trusted!

#	#	#	#	#

Lance was confused. He had spent all morning rehearsing an explanation to
feed to Justin, so that when he asked him why he wanted to come to stay in
Orlando, he could give him a good excuse. He had picked up the phone and
dialled the first half of Justin's number, before his logical and cynical
side kicked in and he placed the phone back in the receiver.

"Why would Justin and JC want me hanging around with them? They have to
spend time with me on tour, they probably want to just hang together on
their vacation, be away from me until the tour starts again." The voice in
his head convinced him.

Then the thought of seeing JC again had become a powerful motivator and he
had allowed his second dialling attempt to go through.

"Hey Justin" he had said, expecting Justin's response to be less than
enthusiastic, He was prepared to apologise for interrupting his vacation
and to tell the younger boy that he had Freelance business in Orlando, and
would need a place to stay if it wasn't too inconvenient. But Justin had
surprised him.

"Hey Lansten" Justin had greeted him enthusiastically, like a long lost
friend rather than a business acquaintance. "We were beginning to think you
didn't want to talk to us."

Lance was thrown. "Why would you think that?"

"'Cause you went straight back to Mississippi as soon as the tour ended, as
usual, and you showed no interest in coming to see us, as usual, and you're
gonna be missing when the rest of us get together to hang out, as usual."
Justin said dramatically, then laughed.

Now Lance's resolve was shaken. He certainly hadn't expected the rest of
the group to want to see him, let alone be happy about it. To agree now
would be as if he was doing them a favour. He had forgotten all the lies he
had made up for Justin's sake, there would obviously be no need for
them. He would get to see JC again and it would sound like it was Justin's
idea. "Well I was actually at a loose end and I was thinking of flying out
there tomorrow." Lance had replied "But I wanted to make sure it would be
cool to stay with you guys."

"'Course it would." Justin stated matter of factly. "Like you gotta ask!"

"Maybe they do like me." Lance thought to himself. He had finalised the
flight arrangements with Justin before hanging up. The phone conversation
had lasted not 5 minutes, but in just those few minutes Lance's mood had
improved from "near suicidal" to "bouncing off the walls" faster than any
drug could have managed. He had sat in stunned silence for a minute, but
then picked up the phone to book a seat on the flight that he and Justin
had arranged.

The operator answered, took his request then placed his call on hold while
she checked seating availability.  In that time Lance had changed his mind,
he didn't want to wait 24 hours to see JC.

"Mr Bass we have a number of first class seats available on that flight."
The woman told him happily when she returned.

"Ah, actually there's been a change of plan." He informed the way-too-happy
operator.  "Something has come up and I need to be there immediately,
what's the next available seat?" He lied.

He happy woman had booked him on a flight 2 hours later that day, which
left him an hour to pack and sort out business affairs, as it was a
45-minute drive to the airport and he needed to arrive in time to check
in. Even though he hated to rush ordinarily, Lance still managed to stay
ridiculously happy, he even caught himself humming and laughed out loud at
the crazy behaviour his feelings for JC had caused.  On his way to the
airport he had arranged for a rental car to be waiting when he arrived in
Orlando. Although he probably could have caught a cab he wanted to be near
JC as soon as possible, and being mobbed by screaming teenagers at a taxi
rank didn't rate highly on his "to-do" list.

He couldn't sit still the entire plane trip. At first he thought if he
slept the flight would go quicker, but his mind was racing and his legs
couldn't keep from bouncing. He laid the seat back and stuck the headphones
on, listening to whatever was on, but that escape from reality was
short-lived. He didn't want to escape, he was going to see JC and he wanted
to be there immediately. Finally the wait was over, the "fasten seat belts"
light flashed on and the plane descended into Florida. Lance disembarked
quickly, collected his baggage and picked up his car, he was out of the
airport in record time and hadn't been recognised once.

It was now dark and as he manoeuvred the long, sleek BMW through the black
suburban streets (he may have been in a hurry, but he still had the
presence of mind to choose tastefully) he sang, preferring to entertain
himself rather than battle with the complex sound-system.

"I had to escape The city was sticky and cruel Maybe I should have called
you first But I was dying to get to you I was dreaming when I drove The
long straight road ahead

Could taste your sweet kisses Your arms open wide This fever for you is
just burning me up inside

I drove all night to get to you Is that alright?  I drove all night Crept
in your room Woke you from your sleep To make love to you."

Lance giggled to himself, an annoying habit he had picked up since falling
for JC. He would have loved to creep into JC's room, wake him up and make
love to him. But the lack of a key to Justin's house and a complete absence
of any form of consent from JC may have proven a challenge. A smile was
plastered across his lips just the same.

Although he was a safe driver he sat well above the speed limit and arrived
in Justin's driveway just after 10 PM. The lights were all off and everyone
appeared to be asleep. He thought about checking into a motel for the night
because he didn't feel he was close enough to Justin to raise him from a
dead sleep to let him in. Then he thought back to the phone call that
afternoon and decided to try his luck. He rang Justin's mobile and he
answered on the third ring.

"Hey Justin, sorry to wake you."

"You didn't wake me man, I've been at the gym, I just got out of the
shower."

"Oh good, 'cause I'm in your driveway."

"That's too bad, the bathroom is at the side of the house, you pervert!"

Lance laughed at Justin.

"Let me get decent and I'll be there." Justin laughed before hanging up.

"Nice wheels Lansten." Justin stated as he walked onto the driveway in
shorts and an open shirt.

"It's a rental." Lance stated as he placed his bags on the ground and shut
the trunk.

Justin opened the drivers door and climbed in. "So how come you came down
tonight instead of tomorrow?" he asked, while checking out the car.

"Nothing doing in Mississippi, so I thought I'd come early, that's OK
right?"

"Of course it is, man." Justin replied as he climbed out of the car,
grabbed one of Lances bags and threw an arm around his shoulder, leading
him into the house.

"Hungry?" Justin asked as he set Lances bags in the guest bedroom and
walked toward the kitchen.

Lance thought about the last time he ate, and not counting the crap they'd
served on the plane. Breakfast was the last meal he remembered eating.

"Yeah, actually I am." He replied.

"Good, so am I"

"What a surprise!"

"Hey, I'm a growing boy."

"So where's Josh?" Lance asked as he made himself comfortable at the
kitchen table.

"Josh?"

"Yeah, you know him right? About yay tall, big hair, sings in a band."

"Josh?" Justin repeated, smiling.

Realising his slip, Lance blushed. "JC, you knew who I meant!"

"Uh-ha" Justin nodded patronisingly. "Well 'JOSH' is asleep." He laughed "I
wanted him to come to the gym with me, to burn off some of the excess
energy he's had all afternoon, but he wouldn't be in it, he said he
worked-out enough when we went Roller- blading."

Lance was glad Justin hadn't questioned him any further about the slip he'd
made, and he vowed to himself to be more careful in the future. "Do you
still do that?" Lance asked casually.

"What's that? Roller-blading? Not for ages, but JC decided he wanted to."
Justin replied, picking up two bowls of pasta he had just re-heated and
walking to the fridge. He balanced the bowls in one hand and opened the
fridge with the other, taking out a bottle of wine as he did so.

"It's OK, I'll get it, you just sit there!" Justin laughed sarcastically to
Lance, who had reclined in the chair, lost in his own thoughts.

"I'm a guest." Lance replied "you're supposed to wait on me, you know, play
the good host and all!"

"Yeah right, Albino-boy, glasses are in the cabinet by the stove." Justin
laughed.

After they had eaten their meal and finished off the bottle of wine, Justin
gave Lance the grand tour of the house.

"I can't believe you've never been here before." Justin said
incredulously. "I've been to your place in Hicksville and you've never
bothered to come visit me!"

"Just never had time I suppose." Lance returned "some of us have a second
business to run, we've gotta make ends meet somehow, we can't all live off
youth, beauty and the endorsements from shoe companies."

"I had no idea there was such a thing as a poor NSYNC member." Justin
laughed "anyway I earned my money, do you have any idea how hard I had to
work to sell those fake wedding pics to the teeny mags?"

"Speaking of marriage, where is the good lady wife?" Lance continued with
an obvious slur in his speech, laughing at the thought of the rumours about
Justin and Britney marrying in secret in Hawaii.

"She's in Europe on tour." Justin replied "I think we've had too much wine
Mr Bass."

"I think you could be right!"

Justin showed Lance the rest of the house and then finally to the guest
bedroom where he would be staying. He turned to leave the room then stepped
back, smiling at the older boy "Not even I can get away with calling him
Josh." Justin prattled drunkenly "His Mum and his sister are the only ones
allowed to call him that." Justin left Lance alone and headed off to his
room. Lance was happy that he and Justin were getting along well, it was a
lot more than he had expected. He was even more glad when he walked into
the bathroom and realised that it joined the next bedroom. The bedroom
where Justin had said JC was sleeping. He had shared a hotel with JC so
many times, but this was different. This wasn't a tour and they weren't
being forced to share. Granted JC didn't even know Lance was there, but
that minor detail didn't bother him. Just knowing that JC was so close
would make sleeping easy.

#	#	#	#

Lance awoke the next morning with a fright. The bed had been so
comfortable, and JC's presence so soothing, that he had slept as soon as
his head hit the pillow. But now it was light and his bed was shaking
violently. He opened his eyes and the light streaming through the open
curtains blinded him.

'I thought I closed them' he remembered, confused.

"Time to get up Lansten" The voice was familiar, but in his current
situation, foreign. It sounded like Chris.

He opened his eyes again, and as he adjusted to the bright light he saw
Chris, Joey and Justin jumping on his bed.

"Come on James." Joey laughed, causing Lance to scowl at him for using that
name. Joey noticed the reaction and smiled deviously.

"Yeah, they say I'm the sleepy one!" Justin taunted "it's 11:30 and we
wanna go out."

11:30? He hadn't slept that late in....well forever. "So why don't you go?"
Lance asked, confused.

"Because you're coming too, you're part of this group remember?" Chris
joked.

"Yeah, and besides, you've got the keys to that sleek machine in the
driveway" Justin added.

"So you only want me for my car? I feel so used!" Lance laughed.

"Hell ya!" Joey imitated Lances accent, which he had failed to conceal in
his early morning haze.

"Well get out so I can have a shower. Go wake JC up or something." He said
in mock irritation.

"They already did!" Lance looked for the source of the voice and found JC
leaning against the doorframe in a wife-beater and boxers, his wild mane
all mangy from sleep.  "They force-fed me pop-tarts, you were lucky to get
off so lightly." JC laughed.

"We have more pop-tarts if you want some." Joey stated innocently.

Lance looked at them, barely containing a smirk. "OUT!" he said, pointing
toward the door, trying to sound serious but failing.

#	#	#	#

As he showered Lance thought about the guys. He realised how much they
actually valued him as a member of the group. He couldn't believe he had
been self-absorbed enough to think otherwise. His thoughts turned to JC and
his scruffy morning look and he began to sing.

"You're the one who makes me come running
You're the sun who makes me shine
When you're around I'm always laughing
I wanna make you mine

I close my eyes
And see you before me
Think I would die
If you were to ignore me
A fool could see
Just how much I adore you
I get down on my knees
I'd do anything for you

I don't want anybody else
When I think about you
I touch myself."

Lances JC-induced giggle returned as he sang the chorus. Although he had
come to terms with the feelings for JC he had in his head and heart, it was
still strange for him to hear them vocalised, even in a song. He turned off
the water, dried and dressed and headed to the kitchen to have breakfast
with the guys.

#	#	#	#

OK, end chapter 3. Hopefully chapter 4 will be out next week. I know I've
been a bit too lax with my updates and I promise better in the future. Any
feedback, good or bad, is appreciated. Aaron and Mel, like I told you last
night, Ben was always going to win big brother, Blair never stood a chance
and Sarah Marie was irritating! HA!  Tay-Bear!