Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 05:36:36 +0000
From: Angel1313@att.net
Subject: Devotion ch.27

Devotion
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Hurricane Bobbie

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with *NSYNC, and I'm not implying anything
about them in this story. That said, I hope you like this chapter. It came
pretty quickly, and hopefully I can keep up this pace. Feel free to write
to me and tell me what you think, and thanks once again to all those who
do, you know I love you! -Angel1313 ^_^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Hurricane Bobbie

	"What do you think that was about?" Joey asked the other three
people who were standing with him. "I mean, it's sort of rude for them to
just leave us in here."
	"Joey, c'mon," Lance argued. "We've known them for how long? I
don't think that this really qualifies as being `rude.'"
	"Yeah?" Joey retorted. "Well, *I* think that you-"
	The New Yorker stopped short as the door to the bathroom burst
open, and JC came running out. As the brunette began to frantically move
about the room, grabbing his keys and then looking for his wallet, Justin
stepped into view.
	Tears were streaming down the young man's face as he began pleading
with his best friend. "Josh," he lamented. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I
didn't mean to, please don't leave me, Josh."
	"Um, what the hell?" Chris muttered, looking bewildered.
	"Justin, sweetie, are you all right?" Lynn asked, rushing over to
her son. "What happened?"
	Pushing past the older woman, Justin moved over to the kitchen
table, where JC had momentarily paused to gather his things. "Josh," he
begged, gently placing a hand on the brunette's arm. "Please. Please just
stay with me. I don't want you to run off again. I-I need you here so I
know that you don't hate me for what I did."
	Turning to face the blonde, JC took a deep breath before pulling
the nineteen year-old into an embrace. "Just," he whispered, holding the
younger man tightly to his chest. "I don't hate you. I hate *me.* And I'm
sorry."
	"Josh," Justin murmured back, resting his head against the
brunette's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. Please don't hate
yourself. There's so much to love, please don't hate yourself. Please..."
The young man's voice trailed off as he began to sob again.
	"Justin," JC soothed, rubbing the blonde's back gently. "It's all
right. I'll stay, Justin."
	As the two best friends stood in each other's arms, gently rocking
back and forth to the rhythm of the radio, which was still playing, the
remaining members of *NSYNC looked at each other quizzically. Lynn somberly
watched her son.
	"What's going on? What happened?" Joey questioned his bandmates,
his eyes locked on the two would-be lovers.
	"How am I supposed to know?" Lance shot back. "You've been here for
as long as I have."
	"But you're so much smarter then me," Joey claimed, pouting.
	His scowl replaced by a grin, Lance chuckled, "Well, not that I
doubt your reasoning..."
	Ignoring them, Chris mused, "Justin did something, but JC blames
himself. Huh! There are so many possible scenarios that could have caused
that result, that there's no way we can determine what happened with out
more information."
	As always, Joey pointed the out the obvious. "Couldn't we just ask
them?"
	"Yeah..." Chris began uneasily. "But sometimes when two of your
good friends are fighting, you should just let them deal with it. I mean,
if you pick a side, you risk losing one of them, so it's best to just not
get involved."
	Realizing that the twenty-eight year-old wasn't just talking about
JC and Justin, Lance smiled and placed a hand on the older man's
shoulder. "Thanks, Chris," he said quietly.
	"No problem, Scoop," the brunette responded.
	Joey, who hadn't picked up on what Chris was saying, just looked at
the two strangely. He was about to ask them what was going on, when there
was a knock at the door.
	"Oh my," Lance exclaimed. "Is it after three already?"
	As Chris went to answer the door, Justin released JC and headed off
to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Sighing sadly, the twenty-four year-old
watched him go. JC shook his head. He had really messed things up this
time.
	"We finished altering your pants, and we brought a different shirt,
in the color we talked about," Sheri, one of their stylists, was informing
Lance as JC turned back to the conversation. "Oh, and Joey, we brought the
shoes that you liked in black, so you can still use them."
	"Great!" Joey smiled.
	"Where's Justin?" Nancy, the other stylist, asked, running a hand
through her short, black hair. "We have time, but he said that he wanted us
to bring a couple extra options for him in case JC didn't like his first
choice."
	"He did?" the brunette mentioned asked in surprise.
	"Yep, so he needs to be here pronto," Sheri responded. "As do you,"
the blonde added, turning back to JC.
	"I'll go tell him to hurry up then," Lynn offered, heading back to
the bathroom.
	"All right, then, let's get everyone outfitted!" Nancy exclaimed,
handing out clothing to the members of *NSYNC.

	"You're beautiful, Just. You have nothing to worry about," JC
insisted, watching as his best friend modeled his fifth outfit.
	"But do you like this one better then the second one?" the teen
asked.
	"Well," JC began, studying the black and gray outfit on the younger
man. "I think that you look amazing, but I liked that the other outfit was
more colorful."
	"Okay, then this one's out. I have one last one to try on, then you
have to decide," Justin informed the brunette, heading over to his bed,
where all of his clothing was laid out.
	"Justin, oh my god, can't you just pick one and have it done with?
Isn't this why we met with the stylists yesterday?" Chris complained from
his seat on the other bed. He had already finished getting ready, as had
Joey. Lance was getting his hair done, and Lynn was in a different room
with the make-up artist, and Lance's date, Meredith, who had already
arrived.
	Ignoring him, Justin began to get into the last outfit. It
consisted of a pair of pinstripe black pants, and a silver shirt. Once he
had it on, he walked back over to JC and did a spin, showing off the
clothing.
	Stopping directly in front of the twenty-four year-old, Justin
smiled. "Well?" he asked expectantly.
	"Justin," JC replied softly, reaching out and pulling the younger
man on to his lap.
	Justin smiled happily and threw his arms around the brunette's
neck. "Yes?"
	"I think you look great, but I really think that you should pick
the final outfit," JC explained.
	"Jace," Joey called from across the room, watching the interaction
between his two bandmates. "Listen. He's spent the last hour and a half
trying on clothing, hoping to please *you.* Do you really think he's gonna
drop it now?"
	"Stay out of their business, Joey," Lance growled, his hair now
finished.
	"Justin, with all due respect," Tearsa, their hair stylist, cut
in. "I really have to get over to the other room to help with your dates'
hair. JC's finished, but I still need to fix yours."
	"All right, I'll get changed," Justin sighed, reluctant to get off
of his friend's lap. "Josh...?" He asked, his eyes pleading.
	Smiling, JC replied, "Go with the second outfit, Just. It was
perfect."
	"Thanks, Josh," Justin exclaimed, throwing his arms around the
older man. Placing a gentle kiss on JC's lips, he added, "And thank you for
staying here when I needed you to."
	His hands resting on the nineteen year-old's hips, JC murmured, "It
was no trouble. I'm sorry I freaked out."
	"Don't be," Justin quickly replied. "I shouldn't have-"
	"Justin," the twenty-four year-old interrupted the blonde. "It's
all right. Let's just get you dressed, okay?"
	Smiling, Justin nodded and agreed, "Okay." The nineteen year-old
then returned to his bed to get the outfit his friend had selected. It
consisted of a white turtle-necked sweater and a pair of hip-hugging brown
leather pants that appeared to be sewn together in patches.
	Justin was pulling the sweater over his head when there was a knock
at the door. JC went to answer it, and Justin headed over to the mirror,
Tearsa close behind.
	"I see you remembered to condition your hair," the young woman said
with a smile. "Good, that'll make things much easier."
	"Well, Josh remembered, so thank him," Justin replied.
	After Justin had spoken, he heard JC exclaim, "Hey! You made it!"
before the brunette pulled someone into a hug.
	Eyes narrowing with jealousy, Justin glared at the person in his
best friend's arms. As JC pulled back, the nineteen year-old saw that the
woman with the brunette was Bobbie, JC's date for the night. The blonde
huffed and turned away.
	"The girls are all over in 702, Joey and Lance's, room getting
their make-up done. Once Justin's finished, the hair stylist is going to
join them. Why don't you head over?" JC suggested to his date.
	"Sure, and you look great already. But aren't you going to be
cold?" Bobbie replied, her voice full of concern for her friend.
	"Naw, I'm wearing a coat with it," JC explained.
	"Yeah," Chris put in, coming over to say hello. "And you should see
it! It's straight out of `One Hundred and One Dalmatians.'"
	"It's black and white?" Bobbie asked, clearly confused. "You know,
Josh, that won't really match your outfit."
	Laughing, Chris clarified, "Think more along the lines of Cruella
Devil."
	As Bobbie laughed, Justin turned back to her, death in his
eyes. /Who does she think she is?/ He thought angrily to himself. /She's
been here for two minutes and she's already calling him `Josh'? It's not
like she's his *girlfriend* or anything./
	"Okay, I'm heading next door then," Bobbie informed her date, who
leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek.
	"All right then, I'll see you in a little bit," JC replied as
Bobbie went across the hall.
	Justin was now visibly fuming. /JC kissed her?! JC KISSED HER!/ his
mind was screaming.
	"Sure she means nothing to him," the nineteen year-old muttered to
himself, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Yeah *right.*"
	"Excuse me?" Tearsa asked politely, still working on the teen's
unruly curls.
	"Nothing," Justin snapped. Taken aback, Tearsa finished his hair in
silence and then quickly left to go help the girls. Sighing, Justin walked
over to his bed, which had been cleared, and sat down. He hadn't meant to
snap at the hair stylist, but he was just so frustrated with JC and their
relationship. He had no claim over his best friend; JC could date Bobbie if
he wanted to.
	As if hearing his thoughts, JC walked over to the blonde and took a
seat next to him. "Just," he whispered, taking the younger man's hand. "I'm
gay. Bobbie and I are just friends, okay?"
	Sighing, Justin replied, "I know. I'm sorry Josh. I just- I don't
like seeing other people, you know. I," Justin blushed as he finished, "I
want you for myself."
	It was JC's turn to sigh. "Just, I know that you say that, but-"
	"But what?" Justin interrupted. "Why won't you give this a chance,
Josh? If you don't want to be with me, tell me. As it is, I don't
understand what the problem is."
	"Justin, we talked about this-" the twenty-four year-old began, but
he stopped himself. Taking a deep breath, JC finally said, "Justin, I don't
want to be with you."
	"What?" the blonde whispered in disbelief, searching JC's face for
some sign that the older man was kidding. He found none.
	JC, who wouldn't lift his gaze from the floor, was fighting back
tears. "I'm sorry for leading you on, Justin, but I think this is for the
best," he mumbled.
	"No," Justin whispered, abruptly standing up. "No, Josh, you don't
mean that."
	/I don't,/ JC admitted to himself sadly. /But this *is* for the
best. I can't keep hurting you, Justin. You have to let go. There's no way
you'd be happy with someone like me. You deserve better./
	However, out loud, the brunette only said, "I'm sorry, Justin. But
this is the way it has to be."
	Justin stood in front of the brunette mutely, watching as his world
came crashing down around him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, what did you think? Even though I called the chapter "Hurricane
Bobbie" I don't think she was *that* bad. Shouldn't have called him "Josh,"
though! =P Anyway, I'll try to get 28 done asap, I hope you're willing to
wait for it!