Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2000 18:28:49 EDT From: NCC1701DS9@aol.com Subject: every-little-thing-i-do-5 Hi! Yes, it's a bit on the shorter side this time. I hit a point where I could end it, but kept writing, and realized that if I posted it the next time I hit one of those points, it would be WAY too long. So in otherwords, part 6 is already underway! Anyway, I'm posting from the great city of SF. Be glad they invented laptops, and AOL access everywhere! I visited the gay mecca of SF the other day, Castro...lots of fun! Anyway, it's been interesting, and fun writing this stuff. Although I'm not writing at 2 AM anymore, so I guess not as many jucies are flowing. I'm sorry if this one seems a little lacking...I'll try to hype up the next one! Anyway, thanks to a few people out there, keeping me on...Jake, the DJ, scott...love you all! OK, and here are the boring, various disclaimers. This is a FICTIONAL story involving the band NSync, specifically member Lance Bass. I do not know NSync in any way, shape, or fashion with the exception of what I can get off of fan pages, their official site, various interviews, and the like. I do not know the sexual orientations of any members, although a guy can dream, can't he? :-) I do not claim to know the personalities of any member of Nsync either, and all reactions are the product of one deranged author. If you're part of Nsync, please e-mail me! If you're not, e-mail me anyway! Iff (test your math/science terminology here!) you are offended by homosexual relationships, or are under 18 or the legal age in your area, or your local laws/customs do not permit the reading of such material, then don't continue, even though this section contains no sex. GASP! Yes, I'm not one for writing porn stories. This is (hopefully!) a real story with emotions beyond passion. If those rules apply to you, then don't get caught reading this if you do decided to go on and read it. Although I have cut out my inspiration's paragraph, I'm still acknowledging ScottyT and Darren LeVanelle for inspiring me to write a non-sex based story. And also a thanks to all my real-life friends who are never going to read this for giving me the driving force behind the writing! I love you guys! Previously in Every Little Thing I Do... Thanks, Lance, I thought. His voice seemed to strengthen me, and I found new energy. I let my performance side kick in, although the butterflys had just called in lady bugs the size of Antarctica. I took another breath, letting myself absorb the energy of the crowd. It was completely and totally spontaneous, contagious, and electrifying. My thoughts were a whirl, wondering what I would say, when the voice said "Showtime." I felt another hand give my a shove, and I stepped into the lights. Every Little Thing I Do Chapter 5 By Mahka The lights came up on full on the stage, blinding me. I heard the roar of the crowd, high pitched screams full of happiness and passion. Wow, I thought. The guys aren't even out here yet and check out the reaction! I couldn't really see into the center, a throbbing mass of excitement and energy, but I could certainly see the two feet in front of me. Sarah and Steve stood, screaming their heads off, laughing, clapping, smiling, for ME. Steve stopped for a moment, giving me a grin and a thumbs up. I hadn't even done anything yet. I took his cue, and drawing in a deep breath and absorbing the energy of the crowd, I kicked off the concert. "WHAT'S UP PHIL-A-DEL-PHIAAAAAAAA...!" I screamed into my microphone. The reaction was immense. The screaming rose to an unheard of level, glow sticks and signs waving chaotically in the air. I felt the nervousness drain away from me as I took control of the concert. I paced the stage a few times, euphoric, hearing the screams. Was this what it would be like on tour with these guys? I could get used to this! I noticed the noise was dying down, and took that as my cue to start my next round. "ARE YOU READY TO ROOOOOOCK...?" Once again, the noise swelled to a tidal force, blowing me back. Sarah and Steve were really getting into it, screaming, laughing. I smiled back at them, and returned to the crowd. My energy level was through the roof. "MAKE SOME NOOO-OOISSSE!" I saw the stage manager on the floor, giving a turning signal with his finger, and in my ear piece, I heard "Wrap it up and intro them." Oh well, it wasn't 15 minutes of fame - it was 15 seconds! Luckily, not much time had passed since my last shout, and I built onto it. "CUZ HERE THEY COME, NNNNNNNNNSYYYYYYNC!" The crowd exploded, going completely berserk. I heard an explosion behind me and saw bright white as the overhead lights suddenly went to black out. Not knowing what to do, since I had been thrown into the spot just minutes before, I took it as my signal to leave the stage via stage right, or left. Either one. Neither happened. Just as I heard someone start to yell out, the floor suddenly opened beneath me. Fear overwhelmed me as I disappeared into the darkness. Oh great, they just USED me! Now I'm going to get thrown into a pit full of pirhanas or spiders or something like that. I screamed out, my own screams drowning in the ocean coming off of the crowd. I landed on my back on something soft yet firm, with a loud "oof!" Something clanged shut above me, and suddenly lights were on, flooding the area. I looked around, dazed and blinded. Tech personnel were scurry about, moving carts, adjusting this and that. I saw Kristin come running toward me, the wire from her headset swinging as she ran. Above me, I heard the boys start into their first song, the bass line thumping along. Kristin reached me and helped me off of the thing I had landed on. I looked back, realizing it was an airbag/foam landing pad. "You all right?" she asked, taking my microphone from me. "Yeah," I responded, still feeling dazed. "I'm guessing I fell through a trap door?" "Yup. Sorry we didn't have enough time to warn you and prep you before hand, but you landed the right way, on your back!" She laughed softly as she led me toward a door in what I was guessing to be upstage. "You did a great job out there!" "Thanks...I think. I dunno, I just, like, absorbed the energy from the crowd, and it happened." "That's exactly what we want," she replied. She opened the door and led me up a set of stairs, bringing us into the backstage area. I recognized it immediately; it was where we had come in earlier in the night. "Anyway, that door will take you out to the security row. Might as well enjoy the concert! Just make sure you come backstage later." She gave me a pat, and started to walk away. I walked toward the door, still wired up and in wardrobe, when my stomach growled. I grinned to myself, and turned around. "Hey, Kristin!" She turned, giving me an inquisitive look. "Can we get some food out there?" "Sure thing! Now go!" I saw her reach for the TALK button on her walkie talkie, speaking into the microphone hanging off of her headset. I walked through the door, down a dark hallway, and out through a curtain. I joined Sarah and Steve at the three chairs that had been set up for us. The five guys were busy performing "I Want You Back." "I got us some food!" I yelled to the two of them. I knew that they were hungry as well, and a dinner show would certainly be extremely exciting. "Ooo, yay!" shouted Sarah. "Good job!" "Yeah man, that was awesome!" added Steve. "Thanks, it was really weird though. I'll explain it later where I don't have to yell!" I turned to look at the crowd behind us, catching a few evil glares from the girls behind us, envious of our special status. A few glances were of recognition, but aside from those of envy and recognition, there was nothing else. I looked back up the stage, watching them dance about. Man he's cute when he dances! I love the way his entire body moves. True, he's not the best dancer, or even the second best...ok, well, he's the worst out of the five, but what he lacked in dance skills he made up in attitude, effort, and cuteness. I caught myself again before I could be drawn into the deadly thought cycle. No, you don't really have a chance Mark! Or do you? I caught a glance from Lance as I stared at him, and he gave me a quick wink before sliding to the back of the group, as always. Poor guy is even shoved into the back of dance formations every time! I remembered the "Bye Bye Bye" and "It's Gonna Be Me" videos, and always seeing Lance in the back. Even the pictures in the album booklet had him in the back! During the free style sections of the videos, he always tried to make himself seen, with big movements, jockeying for a spot in front of JC and Justin. Hell, he didn't even get a special thing in the "Bye Bye Bye" video! He just rode around with JC. Even Chris and Joey each got to run! I felt sorry for him, telling myself that I would make him feel special. In more than one way, added a little voice in my head. Stop it! I could feel the wave of anxiety start to sweep over me, the same one that approached each time I thought of him in any "special" way. I looked over at Sarah, watching her follow JC with a keen eye, and Steve, who was just enjoying the whole thing. That was when a tech rolled out a cart laden with food and drinks, setting it in front of us. There were various hors d'oervues and a sandwich platter, joined by cans of Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Snapple. There were three plates and three napkins as well. I glanced behind me quickly, seeing that this time we had received far more evil, envious glances. I shrugged it off, feeling smug. Ha, I got special privs with the group! We dug in, and for the rest of the show, I just sat back and enjoyed, with plenty of interest, of course, in Lance. An hour and thirty-five minutes later the last bars of "Bye Bye Bye" sounded, and the quintet disappeared from the stage. We were full, the cart empty, with lots of soda cans sitting around. We stood, cheering and screaming. We had sat for a good deal of the concert while those behind us stood. Oh well. The privileges we get! One of the techs came out with a microphone. He said a few words about dismissal, how they would call certain rows to minimize crowding and a stampede. I tuned him out, wondering what to do next. A crackle sounded in my ear, and a voice suddenly came through. "Mark? You guy coming back stage?" I had forgotten that my in-ear monitor was still there! The voice was Lance's. I guess we were supposed to go back instead of them coming out. Figures, for security reasons. "C'mon," I said, grabbing my stuff. Sarah and Steve followed me. My ears were still ringing, as we had a speaker right in front of us. "Wow, that was AWESOME!" exclaimed Steve. "No kidding!" added Sarah. "And that JC...he's SO fine!" Steve and I cracked up as we pulled aside the curtain leading back stage. "What?" she said, an innocent look on her face. We laughed again. "Sarah dear, you sound like one of THEM!" I chuckled, motioning behind us to the half-empty venue. "So? He's cute! And he can dance!" "Well, y'know, I've got an inside connection already! Maybe you have a better chance with him." I poked her in the ribs with an elbow. We entered the back stage area, still lit in blue borders. The five members were standing around, cups in hand, gulping down whatever was in them. Around them, techs were busy removing their mikes. "Great show guys!" shouted Steve, drawing their attention. "Thanks," gasped JC. He continued to drink. Sarah stared, and I gave her a light shove, grinning at her as she looked at me. "So you're the one Lance has been talking about non-stop, eh?" I recognized the speaker to be Joey, even without his red hair. That stopped me in my tracks. Non-stop discussion? Now that was odd. I was sure they had lots of other things to talk about! And I certainly wasn't important to the group or the success of the tour. I didn't get it, and figured that things would pan out as time went on. "I guess," I responded. "I'm Mark, this is Steve, and the one who's star struck is SARAH." She shook herself out of her daze for the third time, giving me a confused look. "Huh?" "Nothing, never mind!" I laughed. "So you guys want to come to dinner with us?" asked Justin. It was true! He was always thinking about food! "Sure, I guess. I can stay out," replied Steve. "How 'bout you?" he asked Sarah. She gave him a nod. "Yeah, we'll join you." He didn't bother asking me, knowing that I would be spending my following weeks with the boys. "Cool, let us get out of costume and make-up, and we'll head to some restaurant," said Justin. "Mark, you should do the same." He laughed at my condition. I looked down at myself. Yup, I was still dressed in 24, 57, and 163 or whatever the combination was. In fact, I was still wired. "C'mon, we'll take you to the dressing rooms." "What, no random curtain booth out here?" I feigned surprise. "No, that's for our quick changes! For wardrobe, we get a real dressing room. Actually, five, y'know, one for each of us. So ya comin'?" The other four were already moving off. "Sure, I guess." "I mean, unless you want to go out like that!" "OK! I'm coming!" I laughed. I felt at home among them already. I followed Justin down the hallway leading to the dressing rooms. "We only have five set up, so you're gonna have to share. I guess it's no surprise that you're sharing with Lance. You have a problem with that?" "No. I'm used to sharing a single room with like 10 other guys, so one isn't going to bother me." "OK, cool. Your PA, Kristin, will meet you there to take your wardrobe and other stuff. Lance's room is second on the right down this hall. See ya later!" He turned and walked in the opposite direction. I walked down to the door second on the right, and knocked. The door had LANCE BASS written in big black letters on a piece of paper that was taped to the door. I guess there are no gold stars when you're on tour! "Come in," came a muffled voice. I turned the knob and opened the door. Lance was standing at the mirror, unbuttoning his shirt. Two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts were stacked in a corner of the mirror table. So it was true! He glanced in the mirror to see who it was. "Oh, hey! How'd you like it?" He continued to unbutton his shirt, taking it off when he was done. "Close the door." "It was great! I never thought that I'd see an Nsync concert!" "C'mon up here and get changed! Your clothes are sitting in that chair over there." I glanced to my left, noting that my clothes were indeed sitting in the chair, shoes on the floor. I kicked off my performance shoes, and joined him at the mirror. He was shirtless, and I let my gaze linger a bit on the mirror image I saw. He was so cute! He slid a t-shirt on, and reached into a box on the table. He withdrew a cloth and started rubbing his face with it. I saw brown splotches appear, with streaks of light brown. Make-up removal cloths. I grabbed one for myself, sitting down at the mirror. I started rubbing it over my own face. I recognized the scent as Pond's. I had used them many times before in our own shows. We made small talk while we removed our make-up. We finished, and he helped me remove all the wires still hanging from me. "So you think you can do this for another two weeks?" he asked while changing his pants. Boxer briefs, gray. Very cute; they showed off his muscular thighs, and I wanted him right there, but I held myself in check. He slid on jeans while I changed out of wardrobe. "Yeah, I think. I mean, I did do a three-week tour of Europe last year...that was hectic too. So much time was spent on the bus that we slept more on the bus than in the hotels!" I failed to add that I had also spent some of the time in the hotels in other people's rooms, just chatting the night away. Mainly about sex, but hey! We're music people! "OK, cool, so I guess you're 'hired'," he said, making little quote signals with his fingers. We both left the mirror area, walking toward the door. He leaned on the wall next to the door, crossing his legs and arms. I did that myself fairly often as well, and I found it amusing. I chuckled softly, stopping mere inches from him. "What?" he asked. "Nothing really, just that I do that all the time too," I said, motioning to his figure. "Oh, ok." He stared at me with his gorgeous eyes, and I wondered what was going through his mind. I was sure I would find out fairly soon. "Uh, shouldn't we be going?" I was confused, and wanted to get out of there before anything too drastic happened. But the way he was positioned made getting to the door rather difficult. "Yeah, in a second," he replied, still staring at me. I decided to play along, and leaned against the door, effectively blocking all ways out. I was about a foot away, his head just slightly higher than mine. After all, he is 5'11", and I'm only 5'9". I never understood why in his interviews he complained he was short. "I just want to say thanks for doing that on such short notice." "Is that it?" I was definitely confused now. What's with the setting? He could've told me all of that before. "No prob! It was such a blast, I'd do it any day!" "Yeah, just thanks." He stood, moving away from the wall, extending his hand to me. I mirrored his actions, and we shook hands. He pulled me into one of those hugs, the type with pats. Or at leastt, that's what I thought he was doing. We hugged, and I patted, but he didn't. We pulled apart, inches apart, still staring into my eyes. My heart started to race, wondering what the hell he was doing. He leaned forward, his eyes closing slowly, lips puckering. Whoa there! I jerked back in surprise, and his eyes flew open. I stumbled back, regained my balance, and was about to ask him what he was doing when there was a knock at the door. "Lance? Mark? You guys ready? We're leaving now!" It sounded like Justin, but I wasn't sure. Lance reached over and jerked the door open. "Yeah, we're done," he replied. He stepped out of the room, and I followed. He looked back at me with a hurt look, although it could have been something else. I was never an expert at reading expressions. It was JC, actually, but I really didn't care. I was still wondering what had happened in the room. I followed a few feet behind them, the two of them talking. It was fairly obvious what he was thinking of doing, kissing me. There was no way it could have been anything else. I mean, it wasn't as if I was an expert in such matters, but that was just BLATANT! This got me really thinking about the orientation of world-wide heartthrob Lance Bass. If anything, at least bi if not gay. Since I was still going through the whole deal of figuring myself out, I couldn't tell. I had no developed gaydar. Hell, everything was such a blur. But the one thought that stuck with me was "What if I hadn't pulled away? Would I have enjoyed it?" For some odd reason, I knew that the answer to the first would never come, but the answer to the second one felt like it would have an answer sometime in the near future.