Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 18:00:42 PST From: Rachel Lewis <rachelelewis@hotmail.com> Subject: Choices12-13 Hey everybody! How's life going? I'm doing pretty good. A little sleepy, but other then that, everythings cool. Do you guys think I should quit my job? I'm a little unsure on the idea because I would be very, very broke if I did that. But I wouldn't have to spend my weekends not having fun because I have to work early in the morning. I know this is not what you really wanted to read in my intro, but I didn't really have anything else to say. So you can ignore this if you really want. Also, my good friend DJ just began writing a story and I highly recommend that you go check it out. It's really good. It's called 'Forever'. Go check it out! That's an order! Okay not really. I'm just joking anyway. Disclaimer: This story is about people and who they love. If you can't read about people and who they love, leave now. And if you are looking for stories about people and the animals they love, that's another section. Please don't tell me any details about that section. Thank you very much! Enjoy! Choices Chapter 12 "Give me a kiss! Come on, lay one on me man!" Justin chased after Lance with a goofy grin and pudding running down his chin. Lance looked over his shoulder as he ran, making a miserable face at the same time. Lance leapt over the couch and landed on a pillow. He slid a little, but regained his footing and ran into the closet. He slammed the door in Justin's face who just shrugged his shoulders and surveyed the room. "Keeeviiin! Hey baby. How about giving me a little lovin'?" Justin sauntered over to Kevin who just grinned. "Sure thing Justin." Justin was a little surprised, but leaned over to kiss him anyway. Kevin reached up and grabbed Justin's cock through his pants and gave it a gentle tug. "Whoa! Hold off!" Justin jumped back, his face bright red. "That wasn't the kind of lovin' you were looking for? That's the kind of lovin' I give." Kevin grinned as the rest of the guys laughed at Justin. "Umm...no. I like women Kevin. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm straight? Can't you just be satisfied with AJ?" Justin decided to give Kevin a taste of his own medicine. "But baby, I love the little boy look. The innocent thing is a big turn on. Call me daddy Justin. Please baby." "Eww...that's sick Kevin. That's really sick." Justin wiped his face off with a napkin and sat down across the room from Kevin, suceeding to Kevin's greater perversion. "Is it safe to come out now?" Lance asked from the closet. "Yes Scoopy you can come out of the closet!" Chris laughed from his chair. Lance opened the door with a grin. "I've already come out of the closet. When are you going to Chris?" Chris stuck his tongue out at Lance. Chuckling, Lance plopped himself down on Jean-Michel's lap. "Hey sexy." He grinned at him happily. Jean-Michel smiled back and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Aww...how cute." AJ grinned at the two of them. Kevin leaned over to him and gave him a kiss. "Love you." "Love you too." Justin rolled his eyes. Chris just laughed at him. "Don't you just love being in a room full of couples?" Justin nodded. Nick walked into the bedroom, holding his camera with a big smile on his face. "I found Joey and JC and boy did I get some really great pictures." Kevin rolled his eyes. "Nick you really need to stop doing that to them. One of these days Joey is really going to hurt you and none of us are going to stop him." "They didn't see me this time. Besides they were really busy." Nick grinned and stuck his finger in Justin's pudding. "Mmm...butterscotch." Justin smacked his hand. "Nick you can be so gross sometimes." Justin scowled at him. Kevin began to laugh. "Your one to talk Justin. I seem to recall you chasing Lance around asking for a kiss with pudding dripping down your face." Justin blushed. "Well yeah, but I didn't stick my fingers in anyone's food. That's just nasty." Joey softly stroked JC's cheek. "I love you Blondie." He whispered softly. JC's eyes fluttered open. Joey kissed him gently. "That was great Joey." JC smiled at him happily. "I do my best to please my man." Joey's grin was mischievous as he looked down at his boyfriend. "Want to do it again Josh?" JC began to laugh. Joey was insatiable sometimes. They had already had sex three times this morning. He couldn't do it again no matter how much he wanted to. "As much as I would love to, I think it's physically impossible for me to have sex again. Besides, we really should make an appearance at some point today. I think everyone is going to start to get suspicious if we don't show up until we have to be at the arena." Joey sighed as he rolled away. JC was right and as much as he didn't want to admit it, it wouldn't be easy for him to have sex again either. "We should shower again." JC smiled at him. "Separately or else we won't make it to another meal. I think Lance said something about lunch in Kevin and AJ's room today." Joey pouted. "Fine. You can go first since you are the stickiest." "So who wants to take bets on whether the lovebirds join us for lunch?" Howie asked the other guys. "I say they don't make it. I'm willing to part with my bunk for one night if I lose." Everyone else had wandered in except for Joey and JC, who were getting quite a reputation for being really late to anything these days. "Let's have faith that they make it for at least one meal today." Chris poured ketchup on the fries he and Howie were sharing. Brian joined the two of them and put a plate of onion rings in front of the three of them. "Did you guys used to take bets on me and AJ when we first got together?" Kevin asked, amused at the situation. "Of course we did. How do you think Howie got to room alone so much on the tours? He was always the best at it." Nick answered as he swiped more of Justin's fries. AJ looked over at Howie with a grin. Howie began to laugh, which set AJ off. The two of them cracked up, laughing at something no one else knew. Howie wiped his eyes. "I guess I can tell you now since it's been so long, but I kind of told AJ that we were doing it and he helped me win as often as possible." Nick and Brian looked at each other in shock. "Now why didn't I think of that!" Nick said laughingly. "Because little boy, you were only a kid when they started dating and had no clue. You still have no clue." Howie laughed at him, tossing a fry in his direction. "Howard!" Jean-Michel exclaimed as the fry bounced off his head. "Oops. Sorry, bad aim." "No problem." Jean-Michel said, tossing a piece of cantaloupe at Howie, hitting him right in the cheek. Howie picked it up and popped it into his mouth with a grin. "I'm going to take your bet Howie. I think JC and Joey are going to show up for lunch. Besides, your bunk is so much more comfortable and secluded from everyone else's. If I lose, I will...let Nick take embarrassing pictures of me." Justin said to Howie. Nick clapped his hands. Howie scratched his head thinking. "Nah, Nick's already got a lot of embarrassing pictures of you." Nick pouted. "How about you give me your car for a day when we get home?" Justin looked at him in shock. His car was his baby. No way was he going to lose it in a silly bet. "Hell no! How about I promise to baby-sit? Will that do?" "Okay agreed. Let's shake kiddo." Howie grinned, positive that he was going to win this one. He and Justin shook hands and returned to their seats. Not a minute later, the door opened revealing to all that Howie had lost the bet. Joey and JC walked in holding hands. Howie's face fell. "Nuts." He muttered under his breath, thinking about how he was going to tell Ameena that they had to sleep in Justin's bunk tonight. She was not going to be happy about it. Justin grinned happily, thinking about stretching out in Howie's bunk tonight after the concert. It would feel really nice after such a long show. Tonight they were joining the BSB onstage to close the show, so they couldn't leave early. "Hey guys. How was your morning?" Chris asked Joey and JC with a huge grin on his face. They began to blush deeply. "It must have been good. JC's walking funny again." AJ said from across the room. Kevin tried to hold back his laughter, but ended up snorting really loudly instead. JC began to blush even deeper, his face burning with embarrassment. Joey squeezed his shoulder lovingly. "At least he doesn't permanently walk that way like you do AJ." Joey shot back at him. AJ laughed. "What little you know about our sex life Joey my boy. Kevin's the one who walks funny not me." Kevin stopped mid-bite, holding his burger up as all eyes turned to him. He could feel the color rising to his cheeks. He put his burger down and took a deep breath. "Thanks Alex." He mumbled under his breath. "What can I say? He does weird things to me, but it's fun isn't it JC." Kevin said, turning the attention back to JC. "I like it. What about you Lance?" Lance's face turned fire engine red in an instant and Jean-Michel clapped his hand over Lance's mouth before he could say a word. "We are not answering that question Josh. You have to keep on wondering about it." Jean smiled sweetly. JC grinned at him, already knowing the truth even if Jean-Michel didn't know he knew. Jean-Michel was almost exclusively the one walking funny. Turning away, he walked over to the food carts. "So what did you order us?" JC asked, lifting the lids and finding only empty plates. "You and Joey have your own cart." Justin pointed to the one off to the side. JC looked at him curiously for a moment, but went over to it anyway. JC looked at the cart before lifting the lid. He knew everyone was watching him and he didn't want to seem paranoid so he lifted the lid. "Cool pasta! Thanks guys." Joey grabbed a plate and began to happily pile the noodles on it. "No problem. We figured you guys would want the fast burning energy." Justin grinned evilly at them, leaving no one guessing at what he meant by that. JC and Joey returned to what could be considered their now permanent blush color. Lance groaned loudly as he read his email. Jean-Michel looked up from his laptop. "Something wrong?" "Remind me next time I want to change something for one of my clients to at least have the common courtesy to call them. None of this email crap that our management does to us." Jean-Michel walked over to him, putting his arms around Lance's chest. He read the email quickly, sighing when he finished. "I was really looking forward to having the summer off. I know everyone else was too." Jean-Michel kissed his neck softly. "At least it is only for the summer. You have the whole rest of the year off." "I know." Lance leaned his head against Jean-Michel's arm. "What time is it?" Jean turned his arm so Lance could see his watch. "I'm going to call a meeting. There's enough time before we have to leave for the arena." Jean nodded, unwrapping his arms and leaving Lance alone. Lance watched as Jean returned to his work without another thought. Lance wished he could spend more time with Jean when they weren't working. Both of them had so much to do and were really burning the candle on both ends. And their relationship was suffering. They weren't fighting, but they also weren't really concentrating on the other person that much. It was almost as if the relationship and love had taken a backseat to their respective responsibilities. Jean could feel Lance's eyes on him, boring a hole through his back. He looked at his computer screen, trying to decide what to do. This update had to be finished as soon as possible and he was almost done. On the other hand, he hadn't told Lance that he loved him all day. He shouldn't be weighing this decision but he was. The responsibility placed on him by both groups was staggering sometimes. He ran both separate websites and also started a joint tour website which offered behind the scene looks at the life of 'Nsync and the BSB on tour, with only a few edits. Like Joey and JC. That alone kept him busy, but he still had the joy of taking care of Britney, even though that was pretty much as a firefighter. When she tried to do something he was there to stop her or clean up after her if it was too late to stop her. Plus he just did general busy stuff for both bands. When Lance or Kevin didn't feel like sitting on the phone to handle some business matter, they handed it to him and told him to handle it. This wasn't what he had expected when he had first begun dating Lance. The last thing he had wanted was to be working for his boyfriend, but events led him to this and he did enjoy his job. Despite the enjoyment he received, he did feel twinges of guilt every so often when he really thought about it. Jean looked at the computer screen again, at the picture of Lance and Joey playing chicken with Nick and Justin in a hotel pool. Lance had a huge smile on his face, his eyes lit up with happiness. A sad smile passed over Jean-Michel's face as he looked at that picture. He hadn't seen that look on Lance's face directed at him in so long. He turned to face Lance, making his decision to forget about the work and pay attention to the man he loved. Jean's heart fell when he saw that Lance had left the room to go call the others. Sighing, he turned back to the computer screen. Jean stared at the picture for another moment. Tears stinging his eyes, he shut the picture unable to look at Lance being that happy. "Chris we have to have a meeting. Something came up that we need to discuss as a group." "Can I bring Brian? He and I are kind of chilling in my room." "No, this is a private band matter. Leave Brian there. It shouldn't be that long." "Okay Scoopy, don't get snippy. I'll be over in a few minutes." Lance hung up the phone and dialed Justin's room. "Yo, who'm I talkin' to?" Lance rolled his eyes, knowing by Justin's 'great' diction that he was playing a video game and didn't want to be disturbed. "It's Lance. We need to have a group meeting." "Aw come'on. Can't it wait? I'm really busy here." "No Justin get over here asap. This is really important stuff." "Fine. Peace out." Justin dropped the phone not even bothering to hang it up. Lance listened for a moment as Justin cursed at the video game and Nick as well, who was apparently beating him again. Lance hung up the phone, knowing that he was going to have to repeatedly call Joey and JC since they never picked up the phone anymore. He let it ring five times and then hung up, calling back immediately. Again the same thing. Finally the fifth time he did that, Joey picked up somewhat breathless. "Yeah." "Put some clothes on Joey. We're having a group meeting in my room now." "Can we finish something first? It's kind of gonna be tough to concentrate if we don't." "You have five minutes and then I'm sending Jean-Michel over with a key." "Thanks." Joey hung up before Lance could say another word. Lance held the dead receiver in his hands, looking at it. Had he and Jean- Michel ever been that consumed with each other that they couldn't think about anything else? Their relationship had always been very...comfortable. But was the passion still there? He hung up the phone and went back into the other room to rejoin Jean. He was staring at the computer, eyes unblinking as his mind was far away. Lance walked over to him and put his arms around him, leaning in and whispering in his ear. "I love you." Jean-Michel broke out of his trance and kissed Lance's wrist. "I love you too James." "I need you to do me a favor." He whispered into Jean-Michel's ear, his lips barely brushing it. Jean tried to repress a moan as he closed his eyes. "Oui?" "Will you go drag Joey and JC out of their room in a few minutes?" Jean-Michel opened his eyes and abruptly sat forward, causing Lance to lose his grip. He turned to look at him, anger flashing across his face before being quickly replaced by complacency. "Sure. Am I just knocking or do I get the key?" "You get the key. I don't think they will be cooperative enough to open the door." Jean-Michel stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Lance alone. Quickly deciding to follow him, Lance ran after him. "Sweetie, wait. Please." He grabbed Jean's arm, tugging at him slightly. "Please let go of me Lance." Lance felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. Jean had called him Lance. He was really mad at him. Funny, whenever anyone else was mad at him, they called him James. But when Jean was mad, he called him Lance. He let Jean go, his eyes falling to the floor in guilt. "Do not do that Lance. The look will not work. Just leave me alone. I will go do what you need me to do okay." "Please don't call me Lance. It hurts so much when you do it." "I know." Jean-Michel walked away again, trying to hold back his own tears so Lance wouldn't see him cry. "So now you're purposely trying to hurt me? That's so mature Mr. Garvonne." Jean-Michel tensed when Lance called him that. He wiped his eyes before turning to look at him. "Maybe I am tired of being mature. That obviously does not work when I want your attention or affection. So maybe acting like a child will." "You know I'm not the only one who is so wrapped up in his work that he forgets about the person he loves. You do the same thing." "I know and I was about to give up on my work for the day when you left the room to make the phone calls." Lance walked over to him, resting his head on Jean's chest and slipping his hands around his waist. "What do you say that after this meeting we just take the rest of the day off?" Jean kissed the top of Lance's head absentmindedly. As much as he wanted too, he knew he couldn't today. "Tomorrow we will have the day for us only. No interruptions or work." "Agreed." Brian knocked on Chris' door, holding a big bottle of rum in his hand. Chris opened the door with a grin. "You ready man?" Brian asked with a smile. Chris held the door open for Brian gallantly, shutting it when he was inside. "I brought the tissues. Did you make the coffee?" "Have I ever let you down before?" "Not yet." Brian walked over to the fridge in Chris' room and pulled out the cream. Chris brought over two mugs. He poured the coffee into the mugs and handed them over to Brian, who quickly added the cream and some sugar. Their carried their drinks over to the couch and settled themselves down. Brian took a sip, letting the coffee flow through his body. "So we have three hours before we have to be at the arena right?" Chris asked as he sipped his drink. "Yup, plenty of time to have some coffee, watch a movie, and shower before the show." "Did you call Shelley today?" Brian nodded. "Well that's good. How is she?" "I don't know. I got her voicemail again. I'm sick of talking to that. I talk to her machine more then I talk to her." Brian took a sip of his coffee, trying to ignore the pain he was feeling. "How are things with the guys?" Chris shrugged. "Some days are better then others. Joey and JC are always together and any free time is spent in whatever bedroom they can find. Lance and Jean-Michel are always working on something. And Justin is Justin. His attention span is minute. He sees Nick and drops everything to go hang with him. I'm sure it's pretty similar for you." Brian nodded. "It's tough being the odd man out. Especially when the people closest to you don't notice." "I noticed and you noticed I was lonely." Chris laughed. " I feel like we should be crying and hugging with all this sentimentality." "Nah, lets leave the crying for the movie." Chris clinked mugs with him. He got up and walked over to the table. He tossed Brian a box of tissues, grabbing the other one for himself. "You ready for it?" Brian shook his head. "Do you think they noticed that we aren't with them most of the time?" Chris laughed dryly. What a silly question. "They never notice us when we are there. Why would they notice if we're missing?" Brian shrugged. "I guess I was just hoping we weren't as forgotten as we feel." Chris walked back over to Brian, sitting down next to him. He gave him a hug, letting him feel someone next to him. "I haven't forgotten about you Brian." Brian hugged him back. "Thanks Chris. I needed that." Chris pulled away. "Everyone needs a hug sometimes. I had a feeling you might need one. I know I did." "How did we both lose our best friends this tour?" Brian asked him, staring down at his drink in his hands. "Joey started dating JC. He spends all of his time with him, leaving me alone. That's how I lost my best friend. JC spends his time with Joey instead of Justin so now Justin turned to Nick. So now Nick spends less time with you. And that leaves us without our best friends. Viola!" "Lucky us." Brian said sadly. "Hey no sulking. We've got each other. And we've got Steel Magnolias and coffee. What more do we need?" Chris tried to cheer Brian up even though he was just as depressed as him. "Pop that baby in Chris. Let's get crying." Brian and Chris sat in silence as the movie played. They both loved Steel Magnolias, but would never admit it to anyone besides each other. Even Shelley and Danielle didn't know about it. About halfway through the movie, the phone rang. Wiping his eyes, Chris answered it. "Hello?" He answered a little weepy. "Chris we have to have a meeting. Something came up that we need to discuss as a group." Lance answered quickly. "Can I bring Brian? He and I are kind of chilling in my room." "No, this is a private band matter. Leave Brian there. It shouldn't be that long." "Okay Scoopy, don't get snippy. I'll be over in a few minutes." Chris hung up the phone and looked back at the TV. "Lance called a meeting in his room. I'll be back in as soon as possible." Brian nodded, still engrossed in the movie. Chris grabbed a sweater and left the room, padding down the hall in his bare feet. Justin's door flew open and he almost collided with Chris. "Hey man. Lance just interrupted a great game for this meeting. It better be important." "Yeah Brian and I were watching Ste...a movie." Chris said quickly, hoping Justin wouldn't notice the slip. "Steel Magnolias again?" He lowered his voice so no one else who might be around would hear. "Yeah how did you know?" "You and Brian have watched that movie six times in the last four days. I can hear it through the walls on the bus." "Don't tell anyone okay." "Don't worry Chris. Your secret is safe with me." Chris pushed Lance's door open and stuck his head inside. "Hey Scoopy, can we come in?" "Yup!" Chris pushed the door open the rest of the way and the two of them walked into the main room. Justin plopped down on the couch with a sigh. "So what's this meeting about Lance? I want to call my mom before we leave." Justin asked, his voice taking on a slightly whining tone. "No you want finish your game with Nick. Once everyone is here we'll talk about it." Justin and Chris sighed. They were waiting on Joey and JC again, surprise surprise. "I sent Jean to go get them so they would be on time." The door opened again, revealing two very disheveled individuals. Jean-Michel followed them in, heading over to Lance. "I am going to go check on Britney's whereabouts. I have not heard either from or of her in a few days. I will meet you at the arena." "Are you heading over there now?" He nodded. "I want to get some photos of the stage being set up for the site." "Okay, I'll see you later honey." Lance gave him a kiss before turning back to the other four. "Now that everyone is here, will you tell is what this about?" Lance sighed, knowing that what he was about to say wasn't going to go over well. "I got an email today revising our schedule after this tour. Originally we were supposed to be recording this summer, releasing the album in the fall and touring next winter. They decided that we need to tour more on our own. So three days after Nick's wedding, we are heading back out on the road for the summer. Then we'll go into the studio in the fall, release the album in the late winter and tour next spring." Tears filled Chris' eyes before he had a chance to stop them. He buried his face in Justin's shoulder and began to sob. Justin held him tightly, rubbing his back as he cried. No one wanted this tour to end nearly as much as Chris did. Now he was being told he was getting less then a week with his family before being sent back out. "For some unknown reason our record company and management thought it was a good idea. If we really want to fight this, I'll do my best, but this does actually benefit us in the long run. We tour for June and July then we get August off. We regroup in September to start recording. The album gets released in early March. Then we head out on tour again in May. We get a lot more time at home this way." Lance was doing his best to make the idea seem appealing, but truthfully the last thing he wanted to do when this tour was over was to head out on another one. He sat down next to Chris and Justin. He began to stroke Chris' hair, comforting Chris as best he could while he continued to sob on Justin's shoulder. JC put his arms around Justin, resting his head on Justin's free shoulder. Joey got up and sat next to Lance, wrapping his arms around Lance's waist. They all sat, not speaking, thinking about what to do and listening to Chris cry. Finally Chris sniffled loudly, turning his head to rest it on Justin's chest. "Who are we touring with this summer?" He asked Lance, his voice hoarse from crying so much. "Savage Garden." Lance said quietly knowing that more tears were going to follow. If not tears, definitely yells. "Savage Garden? But we've never even met them before! And they haven't had a big album since Affirmation. So not only do we have to tour this summer, but we have to tour with people we don't know who aren't even big names anymore. This is fucking ridiculous!" Joey yelled at Lance, taking his anger out on him since he was the bearer of bad news, "Chill honey. Shouting isn't going to help." JC tried to calm him. "Shut up Josh. Don't tell me what to do." He shot back without realizing what he had said. Immediately after he uttered it though, his expression changed to one of shock and guilt, as he realized he had just yelled at JC for no reason. JC looked down at his hands carefully folded in his lap, studying them intently. He knew that Joey didn't mean to yell at him. He was upset. They all were upset. But it still hurt that he had done it. "Oh god Josh. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just can't believe that they are doing this to us." Joey knelt before JC, taking his hands in his. JC squeezed gently with a small smile, letting Joey know he wasn't really mad. "Maybe we all need to take five minutes and think about this. It may not be that bad." Lance suggested, trying not to let his despair creep into his voice. Chris shook his head. "We'll do it. You know that we will do it. We have no choice. I refuse to like it though." Lance nodded, hugging Chris again. "I think that's agreeable. Let's just get through it as best as we can. It'll be over soon enough." "That's such bullshit Lance. This tour has been going on forever. The rest of you really don't understand since you aren't separated from your loved ones." Chris stood up and walked out of Lance's room, leaving Lance with a shocked look. It wasn't like Chris to walk out of a meeting. "Well that wasn't surprising." Justin said to no one in particular. "Why?" Lance asked him. "I've been holding him down since you said we weren't getting the summer off." Chapter 13 Joey sat in the makeup chair, fidgeting as his goatee was cut. "Are you done yet? I really have to pee." Megan laughed at him and continued with the trim. "You do not have to pee. I've seen that fidgeting before. You want to go see JC. Just sit still for a few more minutes. I'll leave your hair for another day. It's not that long." Joey grinned. "Of course not. I'm bald remember." "Quit talking. You're going to make me mess up. Do you want to lose your facial hair too?" Joey looked in the mirror carefully, trying to imagine what it would look like. It had been years since he had seen himself without some sort of facial hair. "Can you do that Megan? Let's see what it looks like." Megan held his chin and looked him in the eye. "Are you sure Joey? Once I cut it off, I can't put it back if you hate it." Joey nodded. "Okay." Megan grabbed an electric razor and began to take it off. Nick poked his head in, taking a quick look. Grinning, he snapped a quick picture and left. Joey saw the flash out of the corner of his eye. Sighing, he closed his eyes and let Megan go to work. At least he wasn't naked or kissing Josh in that picture. Howie brushed Chris' hair, getting the long strands as soft and manageable as possible. He squirted some gel into his hand and pulled a section of hair away from the rest. JC watched in fascination as Howie quickly twisted Chris' hair up into a tight ball. "Rubber band." AJ handed him one and Howie quickly wrapped it around the hair. "And there you go. It's that easy." JC and AJ clapped as Howie bowed, taking credit for his quick work. Chris reached up and felt his hair. Gulping slightly, he put his hand back down. "You okay Chris?" Howie asked before he started another. "Yeah keep going." "Darling come here." Joey called out to JC from the stage. JC rolled his eyes exaggeratedly causing Howie, Chris, and AJ to laugh. He stood up and skipped over to the stage. "Coming my dear." "They are so retarded sometimes." AJ handed Howie another rubber band. "Ouch. That one hurt." Chris whined as Howie pulled too tight. "Quit whining. If you didn't want it to hurt you should have asked one of the hair people to do it. Now hold still." AJ laughed at the two of them. They were such goofballs. He pushed himself out of the chair he was in. "I'm going to go wander for a bit." Howie looked over at him. "You okay alone AJ?" AJ looked down at his arms and legs. "Yeah I'll be fine Howie." Chris and Howie watched as AJ slowly walked away. Already they could tell the difference in AJ. He'd been on the medicine for a week now and he had gained back about 5 lbs. "He's looking a lot better then he was." "Yeah he was even joking at lunch today." JC ran his hand over Joey's smooth cheek. He leaned in and kissed Joey's chin. "I like this. I like it a lot. It makes you look younger too." He kissed Joey on the lips. "Mmm...glad you like it." Joey pulled JC onto his lap, wrapping his arms around JC's waist. JC cupped Joey's face in his hands, kissing him softly. Joey slid his hand under JC's shirt, feeling Josh's smooth skin against his warm hand. JC continued to kiss Joey as he began to unbutton his shirt, fumbling with the buttons. He pushed the shirt off Joey's shoulders and ran his hands down his chest. "I want you Josh." Joey said quietly into the kiss. "I want you too." JC slid his hands down to Joey's pants, slipping his hands underneath the waistband. Joey moaned loudly as JC's lips went to his neck. Quickly JC covered Joey's mouth with his own. "We have to be quiet." Joey nodded, running his hands up and down JC's back. JC slid back enough to be able to unzip Joey's pants. Still kissing him, he reached into Joey's boxers and pulled out his hard cock. Joey threw his head back and breathed heavily as JC ran his hand up and down his shaft. God how he wanted Josh to go down on him. As if hearing his plea, JC climbed off Joey's lap and knelt before him, taking Joey's cock into his mouth. Joey clapped his hand over his own mouth to prevent the loud moan that he knew he couldn't hold back. He opened his eyes to look down at Josh. Noticing some movement off to the side, he turned his head to see Nick standing there with his camera and a grin. "Say cheese." He snapped the picture and ran out. Anger welled up inside Joey. This was the last time. JC stood up, shocked that Nick had just taken a picture of him going down on his boyfriend. Joey shoved his cock back in his pants and zipped them up. He pulled his shirt on, starting to button it. JC just watched him "I'm going to get him this time. I'm so sick of this shit!" Joey took off after him, with JC following him. "NICK!!" Nick came sprinting across the stage holding his camera and laughing. A moment later, Joey came running after him, buttoning his shirt as he ran. Howie and Chris watched as Joey caught up to Nick and tackled him. "Give me that camera!" "No way!" JC came running across the stage, seeing his boyfriend wrestling with Nick. "Joey let him go." Joey jumped slightly, but he released Nick. Nick quickly rolled away from him. "Nick you've got to stop this okay! It's not funny anymore. It's bordering on harassment. And I want all the pictures you have of me in embarrassing situations, like the one you just took!" JC shouted at him, practically shaking with anger. Nick looked at him and then looked at the camera. He hung his head. Maybe he had gone too far. "I'm sorry JC. I was just trying to amuse myself. I'll stop. I promise." To show he was serious, Nick opened the camera and exposed the film that was in there. "Thank you Nikolas." JC held his hand out to Joey who took it, pulling himself off the ground. "Now we are going to go sit in the back and talk. Do you think you can leave us alone?" Nick nodded and went over to Chris and Howie. "What are you two doing?" "I'm putting Chris' hair up for the fun of it." Howie said, reaching his hand down for another rubber band. Chris handed it to him and Howie quickly twisted it around the hair. "Well as exciting as the seems to watch, I'm going to go see what Justin is up too. Catch you guys later!" "Britney Jean Spears do not talk to me like that! I will hang up this phone!" Jean-Michel shouted into his headset as Lance and Justin looked on. "Fine you little bitch!" Jean-Michel hung up on her. Justin and Lance exchanged glances as Jean-Michel tossed the headset across the room. "I do not want her anymore James. She is hell personified!" "I know honey. I've got someone lined up to take her over in a week. At least she isn't here anymore." "Like that has stopped her any. All she has done since being tossed off the tour is talk to as many reporters as possible. She needs to be arrested or sued or something for violating the gag order." "The gag order was only good while she was on tour." Jean-Michel ran his hands through his hair. "Merde." He muttered under his breath. "Someone had better inform Kevin and AJ what is coming." Jean- Michel looked at Lance pleadingly, not wanting to do that himself. Justin flipped through the tabloid in front of him. "And someone has to talk to Nick too." Lance and Jean-Michel looked at him confused. Britney hadn't said anything about Nick. Justin tossed the paper in front of them. "Look at this." They stared at the headline strewn across the page. "Nick Carter's fiancée's fling with Twiggy Ramierz." Beneath the headline were pictures of Allie and Twiggy walking arm-in-arm and hugging each other. "This has got to be Britney bullshit. Allie and Twiggy are just friends." Justin quickly scanned the article. "It says that he spent a week at her dorm with her in her room." Lance sighed heavily. "You take Nick, Justin. I'll take Kevin and AJ. God how I wish this had never begun." "Let me see it Howie. Come on. Give me the mirror." Chris whined as he tried to grab the mirror from Howie so he could see his hair. Kevin couldn't help himself. He began to laugh the moment he saw Chris' hair. "What are you laughing at old man?" Chris asked him angrily. "Hey isn't that the kettle calling the pot black. You are older then me Mr. Kirkpatrick." "Yeah, but I don't act like an old man. Now what are you laughing at?" "Your hair. What were you thinking?" Chris scowled as he finally managed to grab the mirror away from Howie, who just backed away. "Hey it's perfect Howie. I can't believe you could actually do it. Thanks man." Chris hopped out of the chair and walked away. Kevin just kept laughing as he watched Chris walk away with his hair tied up in little buns all over his head. "Does he know he looks stupid?" Howie shrugged. "He wore those braids for ages even though they were really stupid. I think he likes it." "How's he going to sleep on them?" "Not my problem. I'm just the hairdresser." "Have you seen AJ anywhere?" Kevin asked, toying with one of the extra rubber bands next to Howie. "He said he wanted to wander around. I'm pretty sure he went back to the dressing room for a nap and just didn't want all of us to know that he was tired." Kevin nodded. "You're probably right. I'll check there." "Lance is looking for the two of you too. I think he's trying to find AJ now." "Okay. Oh, Ameena said she is going to be in the meeting for another hour and then she has to change something for 'Nsync's lighting and then you guys can go eat dinner." Howie nodded. "Thanks Kevin. If I see Lance around here, I'll let him know you two are in the dressing room." "Thanks D. Catch you later." Kevin shot the rubber band at Howie as he walked away. Howie ducked in plenty of time and just laughed at him. "We're going to have to work on your aim Kevin!" He shouted after him. "AJ says my aim is fine thank you very much!" Kevin shot back at him as he left the pit area. "Ewww!!! Too much info!!!" Howie chuckled to himself and began to clean up his hair stuff. Chris came back in the room. "Jean-Michel says he wants to see us in the back. He said it was really important." "Should I go get Kevin? He just left." Chris shook his head. "No, Kevin wasn't on the list of people he sent me to find. He only wants you, me, Brian, Joey, and JC." "Well Joey and JC are making out in the back corner over there." "We are not!" A voice shouted from the corner. "Whatever. Just get over here." Joey and JC stood up, straightening their clothes. JC was running his hands through his messed up hair. "Brian's playing basketball out back with one of the bodyguards." Chris nodded. "Yeah, Jean said he already told him to be there in five minutes. Let's get going." "Umm...Chris what did you do to your hair?" JC asked in amazement. "You like it? Howie did it for me." "How are you going to sleep on that?" Chris' expression changed to one of worry. "I never thought about that." The five members of 'Nsync sat in silence, watching the TV intently. The video flickered and Lance looked away, not wanting to watch anymore. He was feeling sick to his stomach, not so much from what he was seeing, but because of what it represented. "I can't watch anymore of this." Justin got up and turned off the video. He flipped on the light and looked at his four best friends. "It's obviously Kevin. She wasn't lying about that." Chris said quietly. "How could he have done that? And to have never told anyone that such a video existed. What was he thinking?" Justin held up his hand, stopping JC from going any further. "We are in no way shape or form going to blame this on Kevin. This isn't his fault at all." "So she really gave copies of this video to all the major TV stations and newspapers in the US. God, Kevin must be dying." Lance stood up shakily. He was still feeling the affects of the video. He turned to face the other guys. "I'm going to go into the bathroom and throw up for a few minutes. Don't worry about me." Lance walked away, leaving the other four guys watching him leave. "I need a drink." Chris walked over to the small bar and began to fix himself a whiskey and water. "Make me one too Chris." Justin called out to him. Chris nodded, tossing back the one he had already made before making one for Justin and another for himself. "What do we do now?" Joey asked quietly. "We wait. There's nothing else we can do." Justin answered him just as quietly. Chris handed him his drink, which Justin took gratefully. The room was quiet now. They had nothing to say to each other. The sound of Lance throwing up could be heard, but no one paid any attention. In the span of one day, one afternoon really, Britney had gained the upper hand. She now held all 10 of them in her hand, poised to strike again. The tour was in jeopardy, their friendships were in jeopardy, and most importantly Kevin's life and sanity were in jeopardy. None of them wanted to admit that it all could be over. Sure 'Nsync would be fine, but for how long? If she could do something like this to someone who wasn't even involved in any way, shape, or form, what was she going to do to them? Justin hadn't even acknowledged the fact that whatever she had planned for him was going to end up destroying him. Unless they figured out how to stop her first. "I think I need another drink." Justin said out loud, breaking the heavy silence. He walked over to the bar and poured a neat shot of whiskey. Lance rejoined them in the living room. He sat down next to Chris, his face even whiter then usual. "Any word from Jean?" JC asked Lance, trying to keep himself from falling deeper into his thoughts. "He hasn't found her yet. He's not going to stop anytime soon though. We're going to find her and we are going to get at least a apology. We can't take back what she did to Kevin or to Nick for that matter." "Nick took care of his problem already. He said that we need to concentrate on Kevin not him." Justin said from by the bar, where he had decided to stay and do a few more shots. "How are we going to go on touring? I mean how can we expect to sell tickets for the US shows with all this going on?" Chris asked, his voice betraying a sense of relief. He wanted to get this tour done, even if it meant having to cancel it. "Britney had good timing. She released the video one day before tickets for all the concerts went on sale in the US. I guess she hoped to kill the ticket sales as well. That part of her plan backfired. The US tour has sold it in one day. I don't know what to expect from the crowds though." "So they aren't going to cancel the tour are they?" Chris said glumly. "No they aren't Chris. Sorry." Lance apologized, feeling like scum for having to keep him away from his family. The room lapsed into silence again, all five of them lost in their own thoughts, wondering what they could even say to Kevin to let him know that they didn't care. They still loved him. A soft knock on the door broke all of them out of their silent musings. Startled, Justin walked from the bar to the door, drifting slightly after drinking 4 shots of whiskey. Howie stood there, his eyes red and his face pale. "Can I come in?" Justin stepped aside and Howie walked into the room. "Hi guys." Howie sat down heavily and shut his eyes. "Is Kevin okay?" Howie shook his head. "Did you watch the video?" "As much as we could. We turned it off before it was done." Joey answered for them. "I'm obviously here as the ambassador from the Boys. We have a concert tonight and despite what has happened, we all have jobs to do. Kevin does not want to make it seem like he cares. He wants us to all go onstage tonight and act like nothing has happened. And he is planning on performing as well." They all exchanged glances, waiting for someone to get up the guts to say what all of them were thinking. Finally Chris spoke up. "What's Kevin going to do when he gets a bad reaction?" Howie shrugged. "We've tried to convince him that nothing good is going to come of him stepping onstage tonight, but he won't listen to anyone. Not even AJ. We even called his mother to try to get her to talk some sense into him. No luck. He insistent on proving that he is okay." Chris was almost crying again, his face quivering as he looked at Howie. "Has he watched the news at all Howie? Does he know what people are saying about him?" "No, he hasn't. There is nothing we can do, but get onstage with Kevin and support him. This is his battle to fight. When it gets to be too much for him, and I guarantee it will, that's when we step in and fight. But not until then." Chris nodded, biting his lip. Lance squeezed his shoulder. "I talked to Jean-Michel about an hour ago. He still hasn't found her, but he will." Howie nodded. "Finding her isn't top on our priority list. There's really nothing she can do to make this all go away." Silence filled the room again as Howie tried to keep himself together. He stood up and gave the guys a wan smile. "I'm going to head back over. We leave in 20 minutes for the arena. One concession we managed to get Kev to make was that we would leave really early so people weren't expecting us." "Tell Kevin that we are all here for him." Howie nodded, leaving the 'Nsync guys alone again. As soon as he shut the door, the room exploded in noise. "This can't be happening! What is Kevin thinking?" "It's not going to work. Kevin's going to get ripped to shreds. We're going to get ripped to shreds." "This is a bad idea." Justin didn't say a word, listening to his bandmates argue. Finally, he had heard enough. No one was saying anything of any importance. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. The room fell silent. "Shut up. We all seem to think we have some say in this decision to perform. We are leaving in 20 minutes when the Backstreet Boys leave, so we had better get ready." Justin glared at them, daring them to challenge him. Chris nodded slowly and stood up. "We're all in this together now." Chris threw his shirt into the crowd, trying to get them going. Taking after his lead, Justin did the same. They got a small roar, but no where near what it usually would be. The crowd was lukewarm at best. 'Nsync was trying their best to work the crowd, but they were falling on their faces. JC held up his hand to catch his breath before talking. The other guys came to the front of the stage with him. Justin absentmindedly scratched his chest, making JC lose him train of thought. Joey watched the two of them with an angry expression on his face. "How's everyone doing out there?" The crowd responded to JC with some enthusiasm. "We're going to do one last song for you and then we are going to leave you with the Backstreet Boys!" The response was anything but enthusiastic to the mention of the Backstreet Boys. Boos could even be heard. The guys exchanged worried glances. If they were booing before the Backstreet Boys even took the stage what was going to happen when they actually appeared. JC shrugged and smiled at the crowd again. The other four guys spread out and the lights went down again. JC tossed the hand mike aside and turned on his head mike again. The music to ByeByeBye began and the lights came up. The guys gave a rousing performance, but barely made any real impression on the crowd. 'Nsync waved to the crowd as they filed off stage. The house lights came on and the workers began to break down 'Nsync's set. Howie stood just offstage waiting to talk to them. It had been obvious from where he was standing that the crowd wasn't being very cooperative. "Kevin's in for a tough night Howie. Did you hear them booing when we said Backstreet Boys?" Chris asked him quietly, still trying to convince Howie to not let Kevin onstage. "I know. And he heard to. He was up here for most of the show. Kevin returned to the dressing room to finish getting ready once you guys started ByeByeBye." "Why is he doing this to himself Howie?" Chris couldn't understand it. Howie shrugged his shoulders. "Until Kevin says he has had enough all we can do is support him. I'm going to go down to get ready with the rest of the guys. You did your best tonight. I'm sorry that you guys had to go through that." Chris pulled him into a hug. "We aren't going to bail on you guys. You're our friends. We're in this together." Lance already had his phone to his ear, calling Jean-Michel trying to get the latest news. "Are you sure?" "She is standing right in front of me James. And she said there is no way she will apologize. Actually she laughed at the very suggestion." "Let me talk to him." Lance could hear Britney in the background, trying to grab the phone from Jean. "Lance baby. How've you been? Life getting a little boring there?" Britney's voice dripped with sarcasm as she talked to him. "Britney what the hell were you thinking doing this to Kevin?" "Hmm...let's see. I was thinking that everyone needed to know about this little incident in Kevin's past. It's not my fault that the world is taking it so badly." "What do I have to do to stop you from doing anymore damage?" "Oh so you finally asked. I want back on the tour and I want an apology from Justin." "No way. Your not getting either." "That's such a shame Jimmy. You know, I was talking to your sister the other day. We were having a very nice discussion about your childhood. So tell me about Rev. Michaels Jimmy?" Lance was shaking in anger. "Put Jean back on Britney." "Okay. We'll talk more later Jimmy." "Are you still there James?" "Never let her talk to me again." "Okay, I promise. I am going to go lock her in a hotel room until I can figure out what to do with her." "Did you get Rodney too?" Jean was quiet. "No and Britney insists she does not know where he is. She swears that she fired him." "She didn't fire him. He's still on the payroll as one of her bodyguards. We need to find him too. Do whatever you have to do. We'll do what we can from here." "I will. I love you James." "I love you too Jean. I can't wait until you are back here with me. Then we can finally take that day off for the two of us." "I will be back as soon as possible." "I know you will. I have to go. I really need a shower and a massage. I'm hurting a lot right now." "Okay, goodnight love." "Goodnight." Lance hung up the phone and headed down to the dressing room. The other four guys had already headed down while he was on the phone. He opened the door only to find all the members of the Backstreet Boys in their dressing room. 'Nsync was standing off to the side. "What did Jean-Michel say?" AJ asked him as soon as he shut the door behind him. "He found Britney, but she refuses to apologize. She insisted on talking to me and she threatened me next." Lance glanced over at Kevin, trying not to appear like he was staring. Lance's mind flashed back to the video. He could see Kevin rolling around in a bed with another man, writhing in pleasure for all to see. He had never seen Kevin naked before. He was gorgeous. Kevin glanced up at Lance, saw he was looking and lowered his head again. Lance saw that and pulled his eyes away, feeling guilty for even thinking that. "It's okay Lance." Kevin said quietly, not even looking up at him. He knew everyone was seeing that video when they looked at him. AJ rubbed his back. Lance turned bright red, wishing he could take back the last few minutes to spare Kevin that embarrassment. He looked around at everyone else. Brian and Nick were talking to Chris and Justin quietly, obviously filling them in. Joey and JC were talking to each other quietly having already been filled in by Brian. Howie was standing next to Kevin and AJ, his eyes still red. "Lance come here. Please." Kevin looked up at him pleadingly. Lance sat next to him, waiting for him to speak. "Promise me that you won't stop the show." Lance was taken aback. That was the last thing he had expected to come out of Kevin's mouth. "I didn't know I could." Kevin looked over at Howie in surprise. "You didn't tell him?" Howie shook his head, biting his lip to keep from crying again. Kevin turned back to Lance. "Management called and told us that you were in charge of determining how the show was going. If it was going badly and we were in danger of making fools of ourselves, you have their permission to stop the show." Lance looked at him shock. He looked over at AJ, who nodded, confirming everything Kevin had said. "Don't stop the show Lance. No matter what happens." Kevin pleaded with him. Lance glanced up at AJ again, looking for confirmation again. Anger flashed across Kevin's face. "You don't need AJ's permission to say yes! This is my decision. Not his." "Okay sorry. I won't stop the show. I promise." Relief passed over Kevin's face. "Thank you James." Kevin hugged him tightly. Lance hugged him back somewhat awkwardly. Kevin had never showed this kind of affection to him. They had never hugged each other before. Brian came back over, finished telling Chris and Justin. Nick was still talking to them quietly. "We need to go get in place. Are you goes coming up?" His eyes pleaded silently with Lance to do what was right. Lance licked his lips and nodded. He knew that Brian was asking him to stop the show, but he promised Kevin. "We're going to change and then we'll be up." "Okay." Brian's voice was dejected having read the stubbornness in Lance's eyes. His okay was an answer to both the spoken answer and the silent one. Brian took Kevin's hand and started to lead him out of the room. Kevin let go of Brian's hand and walked back over to Lance. "No matter what. Remember." Lance nodded. AJ took Kevin's hand and they left together. Nick and Howie followed, both looking very upset and to some degree afraid, afraid for Kevin and for themselves. 'Nsync looked at each other briefly and began to change in silence. Justin pulled on a pair of track pants and looked around at his friends. Settling his gaze on Lance, he watched him change. Lance had just been given ultimate power over the rest of the show. "Are you going to stop it Lance?" Justin asked, wanting to know what was going to happen. "I promised Kevin I wouldn't no matter what. But I don't think I'll be able to watch if things get really bad. And I suspect they will. If that happens, I'm going to leave. I won't go back on my promise. Kevin wants this really bad." Chris looked at him in anger. "Don't walk away Lance. The other four are scared. Don't let Kevin control this. It's not just him up there." "You've got to stop it if it gets too bad. No matter what Kevin said, you have to do what's right." Joey said to him firmly. JC walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "James, none of us envy the choice you are going to have to make. But don't just blindly agree with Kevin letting the other four go down with him. Do what you think is right." Lance sat down heavily, looking up at his four friends surrounding him. "Did the other four tell you what they wanted?" Chris nodded. "They all talked while Kevin was in the shower. If it gets too bad they want you to stop the show. They'll tell Kevin that it was their idea and take whatever anger he dishes out so you don't have to." "Even AJ?" "Even AJ." Chris answered softly. Lance ran his hands through his short hair and looked at them. He nodded slowly. "I'll do what's right." "That's all any of us ask." Chris said to him. Lance squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to watch as the Backstreet Boys performed as best as they could under the circumstances. Justin grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Stop it Lance! They are being drowned out by boos." Lance shook his head and turned away. He couldn't do it. He just didn't want to face Kevin's wrath. The lights went down for a moment as they moved to a new position onstage for the next song. Nick came running over to the side. He grabbed Lance. "Are you going to stop this or not?" His eyes flashed with anger as he looked at Lance. Lance lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. Then Brian and I will. I just hope we don't really hurt each other." Lance grabbed his arm. "Wait! What are you planning to do?" "Brian and I are going to collide with each other during the next number. We can't go on if the two main singers are injured, especially since AJ still isn't allowed to dance. Right after this song is Kevin's solo number and he is going to just get ripped to pieces. We aren't going to let that happen." Lance sighed heavily. He peeked out onstage, looking for Kevin. He spotted him stretching slightly off to the side, waiting to dance. "Don't do it Nick. I'll stop the show before Kevin's number. I promise." Nick looked relieved. "Thank you Lance. This is really the best choice." Lance nodded. Nick gave him another smile and ran back onstage. Chris walked over to Lance and put his arm around his shoulder. "Someday Kevin will understand. Just not now." Lance shook Chris' arm off, not wanting to hear it right now. He'd made his decision under extreme pressure from everyone else and he wasn't happy about it. "I have to go talk to some people about stopping the show after this song. I'll be back." Chris nodded and turned his attention back to the stage. The Boy's were trying vainly to hold it together, but the crowd was turning sour on them, especially on Kevin. Despite the lights, Chris could make out signs with Kevin's name on them with sinner almost always following it. He shook his head and tried to ignore them. Lance came back over as the song was ending. Nick looked over to the side of the stage and Lance nodded to him. Nick nodded back and waved to the other guys. AJ put his arm around Kevin and whispered to him. Lance had made sure that Kevin's microphone was turned off before he was told. Brian stepped forward and addressed the crowd. "We want to thank all of you for being here tonight. That was our last song for the evening. Goodbye." The stage lights went down and the house lights came up. The crowd grumbled loudly, but began to move. Kevin stood onstage with tears running down his face as the curtain closed. Lance had never seen him look so upset and vulnerable. He stared at the curtain like a lost child, being taken away from the only thing he had ever loved. Lance knew he had been the one to cause him that pain. Howie, Nick, and Brian watched as AJ took his hand and tried to lead him offstage. Kevin followed him blindly, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then he spotted Lance. Lance cringed, knowing that he was about to get it. Kevin shook himself free from AJ's grip and turned to Lance, his face twisted with rage. Tears dripped down his face as he held his finger up at Lance. "You promised me....you promised me." Kevin's voice shook with betrayal and pain. Lance nodded, ashamed of what he had done. He knew that there was no use arguing now. He would just take what was coming to him. Kevin grabbed Lance's chin and lifted it up so he would look him in the face. "You bastard." Kevin said to him evenly before letting go. Without warning, he reached up and backhanded Lance with all his strength. Lance went down, shocked at Kevin's blow. Tears involuntarily came to his eyes as he looked up at the other man. "I will never forgive you Lance. Never." Kevin spit the words out at him and stalked away. "God Lance I'm so sorry. I had no idea he would react this way." AJ knelt next to him, sitting Lance up. His eyes were filled with tears and he was fighting the urge to follow Kevin. "Go follow him AJ. I know he's not really himself right now. I'm not mad." Lance looked him in the eye as he talked, so AJ would know he was serious. AJ hugged him tightly and ran after Kevin. Brian knelt down next him. "He didn't mean it. I'm sure he didn't mean it." Lance nodded. He stood up slowly, pressing his hand against his stinging cheek. The other guys' eyes widened as they saw the huge red mark that Kevin had left on Lance's pale skin. "I am going to put some ice on this. Then I am going to go get drunk by myself. Please leave me alone." ---Wow! Look another chapter is done. Let me know what you think because I love to get mail. I am a mail junky. I need my email! I NEED IT!!!