Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 12:40:45 CST
From: Peter Kamphuis <rh_chan@hotmail.com>
Subject: Kevin and Justin - Chapter 2

All the usual disclaimers apply:  Please stop reading if you are
underage or homophobic.

This is a work of fiction - nothing is being implied about the
sexuality of any of the people portrayed below.

Many thanks to those people who emailed me with their comments and
encouragements.  I truly appreciate it.

So, here we go with another chapter of 'Kevin & Justin'.



Kevin & Justin - Chapter 2

Kevin smiled fondly at the memory of Justin offering to share the
room with him.  It seemed that Justin's generosity knew no bounds.
He was genuinely impressed at Justin's attempts to make him feel
comfortable around the 'N Sync guys.  He was also surprised at
himself.  It had seemed so natural and easy to accept Justin as a
roommate.  He hadn't even blinked twice at the thought, though he
was normally a very private person.

The elevator pinged and stopped on their floor.  He started to
walk to his suite when he heard voices coming from A.J.'s room.
He could make out quite a few voices, so he guessed that the two
groups had already arranged to meet.  Knocking on the door, he
waited patiently for it to be opened.

Howie opened the door and motioned him to come in before heading
back into the lounge room.  Kevin closed the door and followed him
in.

"Hi guys.  Getting to know each other?"

A variety of gestures and voices greeted his question.  Most of
them being of the 'affirmative' nature, and somewhat distracted.
He noticed that no-one actually looked up at him, and felt his
unease return.

While he sat down and took note of the conversations going on
around him, he recalled how he had been 'saved' by Justin in the
limo.  How he wished he could be saved again... especially now
that he could see how much of an outsider the others considered
him to be.  Not a single person was paying him any attention, or
bothering to take the time to engage him in small talk.  Not even
Lance had given him a second look...

There had only been one person who had spent the time or effort to
talk to him...  Justin!

He took some time to look for Justin, but couldn't see him
anywhere in the room.  In fact, Justin seemed to be the only one
missing.  Turning to Joey, who was sitting next to him on the
leather couch, he asked, "Excuse me, Joey, do you know where
Justin is?  I don't see him here."

"He's probably still in his room.  He's either fallen asleep, or
he's on the phone to his mother."

Although Joey appeared to be civil, his full attention was
elsewhere, making Kevin feel even more uncomfortable.  There was
also some quality to Joey's tone which made Kevin think that Joey
was not too thrilled to be talking with him.

He sighed softly.  He had hoped, at least with 'N Sync, that he'd
have a chance to get involved with them socially.  But the dislike
he could sense from Joey and Chris, as well as the indifference
from JC was not a good sign.

"Okay.  Thanks, Joey.  I'll go check on him, and bring him back if
he's still awake."

Joey ignored Kevin's last comment; his attention was fully riveted
on the joke A.J. was concluding.  He didn't want to miss the
punchline!

Kevin left the room, and immediately felt a sense of relief.
Though he wanted to get to know the 'N Sync guys better, they just
didn't seem to want to make the effort.  Justin had been the only
one who had shown any interest in getting to know him and forming
a friendship.  Even Lance, whom he had talked with for several
weeks now, wasn't rushing to become his friend...

He walked the few metres to his suite with a heavy heart.
Automatically reaching for his key, he realised that he couldn't
just barge in, as he was now sharing the room with another person.
He knocked on the door instead, and hoped he wasn't about to wake
Justin up.

"Hey Kev," Justin said, smiling broadly when he saw who was at the
door.  "Why did you knock?  Have you lost your key?"

Kevin walked into the suite, happy to see that Justin had not been
disturbed.  "No Justin, I just wasn't sure about disturbing you."

"Kev!" Justin said in a disappointed tone, as he sat down on the
couch.  "This is your room as well.  I'm not about to have you
feel like a stranger in your own room.  Otherwise I might as well
just move out and bunk in with JC or Lance.  Besides, what could
be the worst thing that could happen?  You might catch me in my
underwear - no big deal."  Justin laughed.

Kevin felt some relief at Justin's reassurance, but he also felt
uncomfortable at the mention of underwear.  He knew that he had to
tell Justin that he slept in the nude, or else it could lead to
problems later on...  but he didn't know how to bring up the
subject.

Well, hopefully he'd be able to think of a way to tell him before
bedtime...

"Umm, why aren't you over at A.J.'s?" Kevin asked, as he joined
Justin on the couch.  "Everyone seems to have gathered over
there."

"I just got off the phone.  I had to call and reassure my mom that
we arrived safely.  Besides, I was waiting for you to get back.
It felt too rude to just dump my stuff and leave the room before
you got back."  He smiled up at Kevin.

"Oh, you didn't need to wait.  I wouldn't have been offended,"
Kevin replied, turning in his seat to face Justin directly.

"Yeah, I did have to wait," insisted Justin.  "I've been brought
up well mannered!"  Though he said it in a joking tone, he was
serious.  Besides, deep down, he had wanted to wait so that he
might have the chance of being alone with Kevin, if even for a
short time.  He didn't know how or why, but he knew that he was
starting to become seriously attracted to Kevin...

Kevin smiled.  "How was your mom?  Was she happy to hear from
you?"

"Yeah, but Mom worries too much.  If she doesn't hear from me
after two days straight, or after each flight she goes into
hysterics!"  Justin's grin reassured Kevin that Justin was
exaggerating.  "I guess she's like anyone else's mother.  Just a
natural born worrier!"

Kevin chuckled in sympathy with Justin.

Then, he abruptly made up his mind: he wouldn't go back to A.J.'s.
If Justin ended up being monopolised by the others, then Kevin
would feel left out again - and he didn't feel up to being
rejected a third time tonight.

All he wanted was to be accepted; at least until they officially
started their tour with rehearsals tomorrow afternoon.  Then when
'Daddy' Kevin came into the fore, the other guys would at least
need to talk to him about work-related matters.  It wouldn't feel
as bad then...  he wouldn't feel like such an outcast.

"Well, you'd better get going, the gang will be dying to meet
you!" Kevin said, with a hint of a sigh in his voice.

"What?  You're not coming?" Justin asked in surprise.

At Kevin's shake of his head, Justin asked, "Why not?"  He had a
sneaking suspicion about why Kevin would not want to attend and
felt his anger grow.  He would personally kill the guys if they
hurt this sensitive, kind and caring soul any more than they had
already done.  It still bothered him to recall the look in Kevin's
eyes during their limo ride to the hotel...

He didn't understand why, but somehow he had almost felt Kevin's
sadness and hurt as if they were a part of himself.  And that
scared him greatly - especially with the feelings he was starting
to have for this sensitive man.

"I don't really feel up to it Justin.  Some other time perhaps.
I'll just either grab a shower and go to bed, or head off for a
workout."  Kevin got up and started walking to their bedroom, but
not before Justin saw the pain that had re-appeared in his eyes.

Once again, Justin could almost *feel* how much Kevin was bothered
about meeting up with the 'N Sync guys again.  He felt so angry
with his colleagues in that instant!  He wanted nothing more than
to march over to A.J.'s and give them a piece of his mind!

But in the meantime, he had to do something to help Kevin.  The
rejection and hurt he could see in Kevin's eyes was starting to
cause him discomfort.

"Wait up Kev, I'll join you," he said, getting up from the couch.
"That's if you're still considering going for a workout?"

His so-called friends could just suffer!  Kevin needed his company
much more than they did.

"Huh?" Kevin said, stopping in his tracks and turning around to
face Justin.  "No Justin.  Thanks for the offer, but you really
need to sit down and get to know the rest of my guys better.
We'll be touring together for several months, so it's best that
you make friends with them before we really start feeling the
stress and pressure of the tour."

"I can do that some other time!" insisted Justin, heading towards
him.  "Right now, I think I'd like to get to know you better, so
I'll keep you company during your workout."

Kevin smiled at Justin's decision, and knew that Justin had
understood the real reason why he didn't want to see the guys
again.  Though it was scary that Justin seemed to know exactly
what he was feeling, Kevin couldn't help but feel happy that he
didn't need to prevaricate in front of Justin.

However, as much as he would've liked to enjoy Justin's exclusive
company tonight, he also knew that Justin would need to interact
with the BSB guys - and soon.  He sighed and changed his mind for
the second time that night.

"Okay, we'll do this: we'll BOTH go to A.J.'s room and hang out
for a while, and if we still feel up to it later, then we can have
a quick workout."  He smiled at Justin's change of expression, and
reached out to squeeze Justin's shoulder.  "But the workout is
optional.  You really don't have to accompany me."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," advised Justin,
happy that he had convinced Kevin to hang out with the others.
Now, if there was only some way he could sort out his friends'
attitudes...

They walked back to A.J.'s room and entered it.  Kevin had made
sure that the door was left unlocked when he had left to collect
Justin.

He walked into the lounge and waited for Justin to catch up with
him.  Turning around to face Justin, he said. "Justin, I'd like
you to meet my fellow bandmates.  This is A.J., Howie, Nick and
Brian."  He pointed to each one as he named them.

As each person was pointed out, they gave Justin a nod and a
smile.  Justin smiled back at each in turn.

When he was introduced to Brian, he found himself caught
completely off-guard.

He tried not to stare at Brian, but it was very hard not to.
Brian was absolutely stunning!  As good looking as Kevin, in a
way, but with a larger dose of innocence and purity in his
features.

Brian returned his gaze in equal measure...

Though he suspected that Brian had that effect on a lot of guys as
well as the girls, Justin felt warning bells going off in his
head.  If he wasn't careful, he'd give away that he was gay!  And
no-one, not even JC, knew that!

Brian's staring was beginning to worry him...  it was as if Brian
was weighing thoughts in his head, and was coming to a
conclusion...  A conclusion that Justin didn't want him to reach,
with every fibre of his being!

Turning his attention to Nick, who was closer to his own age,
Justin engaged him in conversation, hoping to derail Brian's
suspicious.  He sat down in a vacant chair between the two
roommates.

As he suspected, Nick was a big console fan!  They discussed their
favourite games and even discussed some tactics in a game that he
was having trouble with.  On occasion, he made sure that he talked
to the others as well, including Brian, as it would appear odd if
he didn't.

Justin couldn't deny the instant attraction that he had felt for
Brian, but he knew it was purely physical.  In fact, Brian's looks
were the only thing about Brian that attracted him in any way.
>From the few words they had exchanged in the past half hour,
Justin knew that nothing else about Brian held any attraction for
him.

In looks, Kevin almost matched Brian, losing out only by the
smallest of margins.  But in personality and character, Kevin was
streets ahead!  At least in Justin's opinion.

Justin knew that even if he hadn't met Kevin first, he would still
have ended up feeling the same way about him.  He knew that he was
'falling' heavily for Kevin, even though he suspected that Kev was
straight.  His attraction to Kev was more subtle than any he had
experienced in the past, and what he felt for Kevin was more
tender and surprisingly deeper than past infatuations.

But the thought that Kevin might be straight was enough to
bother him greatly...

*-*-*

For his part, Brian tried to make sense of what his brain was
telling him about the signals Justin was giving out.  He could
have sworn initially that Justin was gay.  Now he wasn't as
certain.  Not that he had any problems if Justin turned out to be
gay...  It really wasn't any of his business, in any case.

He laughed inwardly at himself.  He always found it amusing that
his 'gaydar' seemed to be so highly developed.  And the funniest
thing was that he was as straight as an arrow.  Still, it had been
of use in the past... for someone else in the band.

'Speaking of which,' thought Brian, 'he doesn't seem to be really
happy at the moment...  if anything, he looks more hurt than
usual!'

*-*-*

Kevin was starting to feel distressed.  His worst fear had come
true: Justin had turned his attention to the other members of the
group, and Kevin was left sitting there, next to Lance.  None of
the 'N Sync guys seemed to be paying him any attention - any more
than his own bandmates were - except for Lance.  However, Lance
also managed to keep half his attention firmly on A.J. and the
latest story he was recounting.

After almost an hour of this torture, Kevin decided that he had
had enough.  The evening was a total loss, at least for himself.
Justin and the others seemed to be getting along really well, and
the logical part of his brain told him that that was a good thing.
However, the emotional part of his brain was unhappy that he had
decided to come back and subject himself to all this, even if it
was with the best of intentions...

There was only so much rejection you could take before you started
feeling dejected!

He couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer!

"Lance, give my apologies to the guys.  I'm going to head off.
I'm feeling a bit tired, and it's going to be a long day
tomorrow."  That wasn't quite true, and he hated himself for lying
to Lance.

"Sure Kev," replied Lance, transferring his attention back to
Kevin.  He could see that Kevin was having a hard time feeling at
ease amongst the guys and could see the rejection Kevin was
feeling in his eyes.  He could also hear the slight tone of
anguish in Kevin's voice.

He felt terrible about the attitude of his friends.  Like Justin,
he had noticed how shabbily the others had treated Kevin,
especially when compared to how easily they had interacted with
Howie, A.J., Nick and Brian.

Kevin smiled weakly at Lance and walked out, trying not to draw
anyone's attention...  especially Justin's.

However, he wasn't too successful.

Justin saw him leave and could guess what had happened.  His
expression became stony so fast that Brian, who was
surreptitiously studying him, was taken aback at the suddenness of
the change.

Apologising to Nick, who was in mid-sentence, Justin excused
himself and walked over to Lance.

"Scoop, can we talk?"  He glanced around angrily.  Brian was the
only one who caught his angry look, the others were busily
exchanging stories or jokes.  "Privately?"

"Sure Curly."  Lance got up and they walked across to the kitchen.
He had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

"What happened?  Why did Kevin leave?"  Justin rounded on Lance,
his anger apparent in his voice, even though he kept it low.

Lance grimaced and replied, "He said that he was feeling tired and
wanted to get some rest so that he could deal with the long day
we've got planned tomorrow."

"But?" asked Justin, sensing that Lance had a different opinion on
the matter.

"But," sighed Lance, knowing that Justin would not give up, "I
think he just wanted to get out of here."  He didn't try to
elaborate - he knew that Justin was fully aware of what was
happening.  "He was probably just being polite when he said that
he was tired.  I don't know; maybe he really was tired?"  Lance
shrugged his shoulders at that possibility, and looked away from
Justin's darkening gaze.

"But somehow I got the impression that it was just an excuse to
get away from us."  He paused, before looking back up into
Justin's clouded eyes.  "In his place, I'd have been tempted to
vent a bit of steam.  I also would've told everyone to go screw
themselves, rather than just leaving politely."  Lance's
expression showed the disgust he felt at his bandmates' attitudes.

Justin nodded, knowing that Kevin was not the type of person who
would say a mean word to even his worst enemy.  All the same, he
was extremely pissed off with his bandmates!

Chris should have known better, as he was often cast in the role
of the outcast whenever they met new people - it generally took
people a lot of time to get used to him.  He could probably be
excused just this once, as A.J. and he had taken to each other
immediately.  It was a novel experience for Chris to be accepted
so quickly, so he may not have paid full attention to what he was
doing.  Or not doing, in this case...

Even so, Chris had been snubbing Kevin even before he met A.J.

However, Josh and Joey were another matter.

Especially Josh, who was supposedly his best friend!  He could
still recall the anger he felt for JC's attitude at the airport
and in the car.

Lance could see the anger building up in his friend and felt truly
worried.  He briefly considered trying to calm Justin down, but
then thought better of it.  Maybe it was best to let him explode
and deal with the consequences afterwards.  He privately hoped
that one of the outcomes would be a re-focussing of the guys'
attitudes when it came to dealing with people like Kevin.  After
all, Kevin couldn't help it that he had become the patriarch of
the BSB group.  He certainly shouldn't be treated badly for making
that choice.

Justin's anger finally reached boiling point.  He rushed out to
the lounge and shouted with pure venom, "How could you?  You
heartless bastards!"

All activity ceased in the lounge.  Seven stunned faces looked up
at him.

"What has he done to make you dislike him so?  He's tried his
hardest to make sure that we all get along, and you guys snub
him!"  Justin felt tears start to flow down his face.

No-one said anything.  They all knew who Justin was referring to,
though Justin hadn't mentioned Kevin's name at all.

"Why?" he asked, sobbing, as he looked at JC, Joey and Chris.
"Especially you Chris!  You know how hard it is for people to
accept you.  You hypocrite!  Why didn't you make the effort to get
to know him better?"

Chris's mouth had dropped open is surprise.  He couldn't think of
anything to say.  He knew Justin was right.  He felt his face
becoming flushed with his guilt, but couldn't stand to look into
Justin's pain-filled eyes anymore.  He hung his head in shame and
just shook it.

"And Josh," Justin continued, "I expected a lot more from you!  I
thought I knew you fairly well.  Obviously not!"

He took one last blurry look at the faces still staring up at him,
and turned and ran.  He pushed past Lance, who had feebly reached
out his hand in an aborted attempt to console him.

Lance took one last look at the distraught figure of Justin as he
rushed into A.J.'s bedroom and locked the door, and decided that
enough was enough.

Turning back to the guys, most of whom still looked shocked and
amazed, he softly said, "I think we need to talk.  All of us."
His gaze swept over the BSB guys as well.

A.J., still getting over the shock of the outburst, was initially
reluctant to get involved in this discussion, as he felt it was an
internal matter for the 'N Sync guys to sort out.  One stone-cold
look from Brian was all it took for him to subside.

Lance sat down next to Chris and reached over to hug him.  Chris
was still dealing with Justin's accusations.  "Chris, he was just
a bit angry.  He didn't really mean what he said."

"Scoop," mumbled Chris, still with his head bent low, "he meant
every word.  And I can't say that I blame him.  If anything, I
wouldn't have stopped at 'hypocrite' if I was him."

"That's as may be, but he still spoke out of anger.  He knows how
hard it is for people to accept you.  He's been around when people
have snubbed you.  He's just as unhappy as the rest of us when
that happens," Lance continued.  "I guess he just thought that of
all people, you'd be the one who could identify with Kevin's
situation the most."

"It still doesn't excuse my behaviour.  It's precisely because of
the way that others treat me, that I should have made the effort
to treat Kevin better."

"Maybe..." Lance conceded.  "But, it wasn't solely because of you
that Justin blew up."

Lance turned his gaze to the other members of his group, who
had respectfully remained silent.  "All of us," and he stressed
'us' to indicate that he felt responsible as well, "have to carry
the blame."

Joey and JC, with bleak expressions on their faces, conceded to
his point and nodded their heads.  JC particularly felt bad.  He
had no excuses.  He remembered how Justin had tried to get him to
talk to Kevin in the limo.  He looked away from Lance's steely
gaze, and stared at the bedroom door, his mind whirling with guilt
and anger at himself for hurting his friend so much, and for also
causing Kevin to be hurt as well.

Joey, though Justin hadn't singled him out, felt as much guilt as
the rest of his bandmates.  He knew that he hadn't given Kevin the
chance he had deserved.  His expression became determined and
Lance knew that he had resolved to get to know Kevin better, all
prejudices aside.

Lance changed his gaze to cover the four BSB guys.  He could see
A.J. immediately start to get defensive again.  He didn't care.
They needed to hear what he had to say.

"You guys also have to take some of the blame.  Especially for the
way you've treated Kevin."

"Why us?" asked A.J., his voice indicating 'who the hell do you
think you are to lecture us?'

"Can it A.J., and just listen," ordered Brian.  He, more than
anyone else, knew what Kevin had suffered at the hands of his own
bandmates.  He had tried repeatedly in the past to educate them,
but they had fobbed off his concerns as nonsense.  Now that a
third party was about to let them have it, Brian felt that the
point would finally be driven home.

He didn't want to see Kevin in such distress any more - anything
that Lance could say which could get them to readjust their
attitudes would be welcome.

A.J., sensing Brian's anger at themselves and momentarily stunned
at the sharp edge to his voice, dropped his attitude and turned to
face Lance again.

"You don't know what you've done wrong, do you?" Lance asked in
wonder, as he looked from face to face.  He suspected that Brian
knew, but didn't feel like cutting him any slack.

"No.  At least, I don't know.  What have we done wrong?" Nick
asked in concern.  He loved Kevin as dearly as he loved his
parents, and could not believe that either he or the others had
caused him any suffering.  To be told that he was responsible for
hurting Kevin sent shivers of fear and shame down his spine.

"You've ostracised him, that's all!"  Lance shouted at them.
"Kevin feels so much like a third wheel that he thinks it's normal
to let you guys have your fun while he ends up all alone, hurting
inside, and feeling rejected."

He shook his head in anger.  "Normal?  Is that normal?  Would you
guys like to imagine what it feels like to let the others go off
and have fun while you stayed behind, feeling hurt, rejected and
all alone?  You probably wouldn't do it unless your were FORCED to
do it, and even then you would fight it with all your might!
Well, no-one is forcing Kevin to do that, do you understand?  He's
doing it of his own free will, and all because he feels so apart
from the rest of you!"

Lance could feel his composure starting to crack, and could feel
the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

"Can you imagine how lonely he must be feeling?  How hurt he must
be that his friends don't take any notice of him?  How rejected he
must feel whenever you guys do something that doesn't include him?
Did any of you actually notice the hurt and rejection in his eyes
tonight?  Or how upset he was when he left?"  Lance's voice oozed
the disgust he felt with all of them.  A tiny part of the disgust
he felt was directed at himself.  He should have known better,
even if the BSB guys didn't.

Nick stared at Lance for a moment before dissolving into tears and
sobbing.  He hid his head in his hands and slowly rocked back and
forth, taking large gulps of air, which just turned into further
sobs.  He was so upset with himself that he didn't even notice
Brian's hand squeezing his shoulder in comfort and understanding.

A.J. and Howie were speechless.  They could only stare at Nick
while he sobbed, while their minds were working through the
unpleasant truth that Lance had forced them to see.

A.J. in particular had a hard time dealing with this.  He had
taken Kevin for granted for so long, that he was no longer able to
notice when something was bothering his friend.  He had the utmost
respect and love for Kevin; after all Kevin had helped him out so
many times that he had lost count.  He just hadn't realised that
Kevin was deserving of the same sort of attention from him.  Well,
that was about to change...

He glanced over at Brian and noticed that Brian was looking back
at him.  A.J. silently communicated to Brian that he finally
understood what Brian had been trying to tell them all this time.

Howie was also disturbed about Lance's revelation. He felt so
rotten!  He knew, deep down, that Kevin was not happy, but had
chosen to ignore it.  Kevin was just as capable as the rest of
them of being hurt, or having a problem that he couldn't deal
with, but they had just ignored him.  Sure, he was like a father
to the guys, but even dads require support and understanding from
time to time.  They were human beings too.  He wondered to himself
when he had started thinking of Kev as a father, instead of a
brother?

"Lance, I think the guys and I want to have a quick group meeting.
We'll just head off to the kitchen for a short while," Brian said
softly.

Lance nodded his head in understanding, and acknowledged Brian's
silent 'Thank you'.

The guys stood up and followed Brian, who was supporting a
somewhat calmer Nick, into the kitchen.

"Sit down," he ordered them.

A.J. and Howie gave him a strange look before they sat; this was a
side of Brian that they had not seen before.  Nick was too upset
to care about what tone Brian took with them - he just slumped
into a chair and tried to dry his eyes.

"I feel like saying 'I told you so', but it's too late for that,"
Brian said hotly.  He paused, as he got his emotions under
control.  "Why is it always easier for people to believe a total
stranger than one of their own friends?" he enquired rhetorically.

"Brian, I don't know what I, or any of us, can say!" A.J. said.
He received an agreeing nod from both Nick and Howie.

"I know Alex, I know..." replied Brian with a sigh.  "But I've
seen Kevin slowly become more and more resigned to the fact that
he is somehow apart from the rest of us, and it hurts to know that
we aren't doing anything to prevent that.  In fact, it hurts to
just see him in so much pain!"  He couldn't get Kevin's distressed
look out his mind and could feel his eyes getting watery.  He had
to swallow to get his emotions back under control again.

"Frick, I'll do anything to help," Nick responded fiercely.  "You
know I will.  Anything!  Just tell me what I can do to help?"
pleaded Nick, struggling to keep his tears at bay.

"We all would like to help, B, not just Nick," Howie said.

Brian nodded his head in understanding.  "Okay, well first, we
have to reassess our attitudes.  For the next week or so I'd like
us all to be extremely aware of how we treat and interact with
Kevin.  If we find anything negative, then we have to stop doing
it.

"A good example of that is all our arguments Nick," Brian said,
looking over at Nick.  "If we have another argument, then we'll go
to one of the other guys to get the problem sorted out, okay?"
Nick's nod was immediate and resolute.  "And speaking of problems,
don't just automatically run to Kevin at the first sign of a
problem.  Try to resolve it yourself, and if necessary talk to the
others.  I think Kevin would still be happy to help, it's just
part of his nature, but don't drown him with all your worries."

He paused to see how they were taking it so far.  Encouragingly,
they were seriously taking his points to heart.  Nick's forlorn
expression had disappeared, thankfully, as he considered ways to
help his 'big brother'.

"And the most important thing of all," Brian continued, "is that
he has to feel included in all of our activities.  And I'm not
going to budge on this point.  If we want to go out clubbing, he
has to go along too.  If he feels like he'd be a burden to us,
then we won't go.  Simple as that!  Soon enough he'll get the
message that we want him to be involved."  He could see them
mulling it over.  "This is really important guys," he stressed.

A.J. responded, "Yes B, I'd have to agree with you on this one.
We have to get him involved in our activities.  Sure, there'll be
times when he doesn't want to do something with the rest of us,
but he would have to be comfortable enough to make that decision
because he wants to, not because he thinks that we don't want him
along!"  He was hoping he had stressed the distinction well enough
so that Howie and Nick understood what he meant.

Nick and Howie nodded, indicating that they had understood.
Brian, though concurring one hundred percent with A.J.'s
sentiments, still felt shocked at A.J.'s understanding.  He was so
sure that A.J. would need a lot of convincing on this particular
point...

"Anything else?" asked Howie.

They sat and thought for several minutes before Brian cleared his
throat.

"Yeah, I have another idea, but I don't know how he'll react to
it," he stated nervously.

"What is it?" asked Nick.

"I think he needs to have breaks from being the responsible one
all the time.  If you guys agree, I'd like for one of us take
care of all the scheduling and work tomorrow, while Kevin just
enjoys being himself.  This shouldn't be a one-off thing either;
we should do it every time we think he's starting to get
overwhelmed with the burden of looking after everything for us."

The others were a bit surprised at the suggestion, but saw the
merit in it.

"Okay, so who wants to be 'Kevin' tomorrow?" A.J. asked.

"I'll do it, unless one of you wants to give it a shot?" Brian
said after a few moments of silence.  No-one felt quite prepared
to take him up on his offer, so they remained quiet.

"Okay, looks like you're it, B.  But guys, next time we do this,
someone other than Brian should take on the responsibility.  Even
I'll do it when it's my turn," Howie stated.

"Okay, it's decided.  Now all we have to do is convince him," Nick
pointed out.

"I'll take care of it," Brian replied.  "I'll just make it look
like he doesn't have a choice in the matter."

The others grinned at Brian's semi-determined tone.

"Oh, before I forget... one of the reasons I'd like to give Kevin
a rest from working tomorrow is so that he has enough free time to
talk to the 'N Sync guys.  Maybe away from the grind of work,
he'll be able to spend enough time with them so that they can get
to know him better.  On a social level that it."

The others looked at Brian as they assessed his comments.  They
knew it would be a good idea, but it would require both parties to
agree to it.  Even if 'N Sync were okay with the idea, Kevin may
not be willing to give them a second chance.

Brian had the same thoughts and concerns.  "I'll work on that with
Kev as well.  It's just too good an opportunity to pass up.
Provided the 'N Sync guys are willing to go along..."

The others shrugged their shoulders, indicating that they knew it
was the best they could do for the moment.  They couldn't force
either Kevin or the 'N Sync guys to become friends against their
wills.

"Oh yeah," Brian said, "the other reason I want to give him time
off tomorrow is so that WE can spend some time with him as well.
That's just as important as him getting to know the 'N Sync guys
better."

The other three nodded their heads in complete understanding.  It
would take a fair bit of work on their part to get their
relationship with Kevin back to the way it used to be, but they
were all willing to put in the required effort to make it happen.

"Okay, we should get back into the lounge and see if we can
salvage the pieces of our new friendships," Brian advised.
"Unless anyone has anything further to say?"

They each thought for another minute or so before finally deciding
that they had nothing further to add.

They stood up and headed out to the lounge in a moderately better
mood.

*-*-*

The 'N Sync guys had all congregated around Chris, who was still
feeling upset with himself and the way he had treated Kevin and
inadvertently hurt Justin.

After much back rubbing and coaxing they had managed to get him to
smile and feel somewhat better.

"I know Justin was a bit harsh with what he said, but I think we
all know that it's the truth, don't we?" Lance asked his
bandmates.

The other three nodded their heads in confirmation.

"So what are we going to do about it?" he continued.

"We give Curly all of our support for starters," JC said.

"That's a start Josh, but Curly isn't the problem," Lance reminded
them.

"Yeah," Chris agreed.  "It's the way we've treated Kevin that's
the problem.  Justin may be overly sensitive, and he has taken
Kevin to his heart, but I couldn't agree more with him: we've
treated Kevin badly.  In my case, from the time I met him at the
airport right until Curly blew his top."

"Yeah, me too," concurred Joey.

Lance saw the flicker of uncertainty that crossed JC's face when
Chris had mentioned that Justin had taken Kevin to his heart, and
hoped that it wouldn't be the cause of any further problems.  He
also didn't appreciate that the guys seemed to be stuck in a rut,
just rehashing the problem, rather than trying to come to a
resolution.  He knew that he'd have to jump in and direct the
conversation, yet again!

"Okay, so we've all treated Kevin badly, with the exception of
Justin.  Will it be enough to just apologise, or should we
apologise and try our hardest to make sure we treat Kevin better?"

Though he had led them to this decision, he was nonetheless happy
to see them agree to treat Kevin better.  Even JC.

"Okay, so when we next see Kevin, we are going to apologise.  Each
one of us!  I'm not going to do it on behalf of the group or on
behalf of any of you."

Again, he got assurances that they would each apologise.

"So, we've apologised to Kevin... then what?" he continued.

"We'll have to make sure we include him in our conversations,"
responded Chris, knowing how much he had monopolised A.J.'s time
tonight, and how he had neglected to say much to any of the
others.  Of course, even before that, he had deliberately ignored
Kevin...

"That's a good start Chris.  Are you two able to handle that?"
Lance asked, knowing full well that the guys would make an effort
to do so.

"Yeah," replied Joey and JC.

"Anything else?" Lance prompted.

"We could also make sure that he's invited to anything we do with
the other guys.  For example, if we invite them to dinner or to go
out clubbing, the offer should be extended to include Kevin."

"That goes without saying, but I take your point Joey.  We'll have
to make sure we insist he comes along," Lance agreed.

"And we should make sure that we spend some quality time with him.
In fact, we should make sure that at all times in the next few
days, that one of us is close by and talking with him," JC added.

Lance bit his lip and frowned slightly.  He could understand the
value of Josh's suggestion, but he wasn't sure if JC was
suggesting it in all fairness, or because he saw it as a way of
keeping Kevin away from Justin?  He didn't think that either of
his friends were gay...  Which probably meant that JC was just
trying to protect his friendship and was feeling jealous of Kevin,
or maybe threatened by him.  Even so, it could cause problems
later on...

"That's a good idea JC," Joey responded.  "I'm happy to do that.
What about you guys?" he asked, turning to look at Chris and
Lance.

Chris simply nodded.  Lance hastily cleared his expression and
smiled his affirmation.

"Okay, anything else to discuss?" asked Chris.

"Yes there is.  And it's pretty heavy, so I hope none of you take
offence," Lance said.  He was taking a big chance on bringing this
up, but he had to.  For his own sake, as well as Kevin's.

"What is it Scoop?" Chris asked in concern.

"This is not the first time this has happened," Lance began
tentatively. "I can recall several occasions when we've done
something similar to other people, and all because they're either
in management or some sort of authority figure."

He looked at the blank stares of his friends and continued, "I'm
just relieved that I'm part of the group so that I don't get
treated the same way you... we... treat others.  I think that you
guys, and I guess this applies to me as well, I think we should
try to not prejudge anyone, or make snap judgements.  That's
pretty much what happened at the airport this evening.  We all
jumped to the conclusion that Kevin wasn't worthy of our
understanding, attention or friendship, based on the fact that he
was taking charge of things."

He lowered his voice as he added, "I know I'd have been devastated
if you guys had prejudged me that way and hadn't given me your
friendship."

The distressed expressions on his friends' faces were enough to
bring him out of his gloom.  "I think this is important guys.  Not
just because it isn't fair to people like Kevin and I, who are
stuck somewhere between you and management, but also because it
isn't fair to some managers.  I know a lot of them are cold and
heartless, but we treat even the good ones badly!  We should make
sure that we give everyone enough of our time and attention so
that we can discover whether they're worthy of our friendship or
not."

Chris nodded his head in agreement.  Joey and JC took a bit longer
to digest Lance's speech, but in the end, they also nodded their
agreement.

"Sorry Lance.  I didn't know that our attitude was also affecting
you this way.  Please forgive us?" Chris asked.

"It's okay Chris.  There's nothing to forgive.  I know none of you
think of me in that way, and you've all treated me wonderfully -
right from the first day I joined the group."  He felt like a
weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  Even though the guys
had always been friendly with him, knowing that he could have been
treated the same way as Kevin had been, was a worry that had
clouded his relationship with the guys for a long time.

"Still, I think Chris has a point.  Regardless of the way we've
treated you, the way we've treated people like Kevin and
management is bound to have been hurtful," Joey said.  "So, I'd
also like to extend my apologies to you as well Lance.  And I
promise that I'll do all in my power to give everyone a fair go
from now on."

"Me too," JC hurriedly said.  "I also want to say I'm sorry Lance.
Please forgive us?"

"Guys," Lance began smiling broadly, "apology accepted already!
Happy now?"

"Yeah," they chorused, before breaking into fits of laughter.

"Can we join this merry little party?" enquired A.J.

They all looked up at the smiling faces of the Backstreet Boys,
and smiled back.

Lance quickly asked, "Is everything alright with you guys?"

"Yeah, we've sorted some things out," replied Howie.

"Oh?  Can I ask what you came up with?" Lance enquired.  He was
deeply interested in knowing what they had planned.

"Well, several things really.  The most important of which is that
we want to give Kevin a break from acting like 'Daddy'.  So,
instead of Kevin, Brian will be doing all the running around and
organising of things tomorrow," A.J. responded.

"Sounds like a good idea," observed Lance, though he couldn't
immediately see how it would help Kevin.

"Yeah, we certainly think so," Brian replied.  "However, there's
an ulterior motive for us doing this.  We'd like to free up his
time so that he has a chance to spend some time with you guys."
He hoped and prayed that they'd also be willing to do the same.

"Oh man, we must have been thinking on the same level," Joey
stated.  "Our plans were for each of us to spend some quality time
with Kevin over the next few days."

Brian and A.J. smiled in relief, while Nick and Howie let out
silent sighs of thanks.

"It sounds like a really good plan.  I'm rather envious of Kevin,
you know," Lance said. "He's going to have a chance to get to know
all of us better, but I won't have the same chance to get to know
you guys better."

"Of course you can," replied Joey excitedly.  "We'll do the same!"

"What?" asked Lance in astonishment.

"I'll take over the organising for our group, and you can be just
plain Lansten tomorrow.  How's that sound guys?" Joey asked,
looking at JC and Chris.

"Sounds okay I guess.  Provided we don't live to regret it," Chris
said, grinning.

"Yeah, sounds okay to me too," JC added.

"I-" Lance started to say.

"You're out-voted Scoop.  I'm the new 'Daddy' of our little
group!" Joey exclaimed.

"Oh my God!  We've created a monster!" Chris cried out, dissolving
into laughter.  Everyone soon joined him.

After they had a chance to settle, JC started thinking of his
friend again.  "Guys, we should really try to do something about
Justin.  We can't just let him be miserable all night."

"Yeah Josh, I agree.  Let me see if he's willing to come out,"
suggested Lance, getting up and walking towards the bedroom door.

"Justin?" he called, knocking softly on the door.  He waited for a
few seconds in case Justin had to get himself together.  "Justin,
can you please open the door?  We really need to talk to you."

No answer was forthcoming.  He worriedly looked back at the guys.
Their faces were all turned toward him, their expressions
expectant.

"Come on Curly.  We're sorry."  He continued to knock, with
slightly more force.  "We want to make it up to you."  He briefly
paused once more, though he continued to knock.

"Curly, can you hear me?" he asked in growing alarm, as his
knocking was going unanswered.  When he still got no response, he
started banging on the bedroom door.  "Justin?  Justin please open
this door!" he called out in a louder tone.

The 'N Sync guys all got to their feet in an instant and ran
towards Lance.

Chris stopped briefly and sought out A.J.  "A.J., please call down
to Reception and see if they can find a key to the bedroom.
Please hurry."

A.J. nodded and bolted toward the phone.

Meanwhile, Lance was almost in tears as he kept banging on the
door.  "Justin?  Please!"  He instinctively reached for the door
handle to rattle it, and felt it give.  "Wha-?" he gasped in
surprise.

The door was unlocked!

Lance pushed the handle all the way down and opened the door as
quickly as he could.  "Justin?" he called as he raced into the
room.

A.J. saw that the door was open and quickly hung up the phone,
thankfully before he had to explain what he wanted.  He raced over
to the bedroom along with Brian, Nick and Howie.

There, they saw the 'N Sync guys standing around in the deserted
room, looking totally lost.

"He's gone!" whispered JC, falling to his knees on the carpet and
starting to cry.  Lance dropped down in front of him and gathered
him into a hug.

Looking up at Chris and Joey, he asked in a pained voice, "What
are we going to do now?"

End - Chapter 2


I hope you enjoyed this part! :)  Happy holidays to those
celebrating Christmas and the New Year.