Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 15:16:54 EDT
From: Gabriella Morrison <sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com>
Subject: My Surprise Romance 31

Hi again!

Okay, I'm keeping everything short and sweet...and yes, this is a very
short installment.

I want to thank the normal bunch of people who keep my encouragement and
morale up--Matt, Cele, Mykl (read his wonderful story, "We Admitted it",
Clarke (sweetie, I'm sooo glad your back!), John (I LOVE YOU TOO!!!~private
joke~oh and please go read his story, "A Little Bit of Love", it's
fabulous!), Khiem (ahem, slutty bitch? You forgot `Miss' in front of that!
=) And go read his story too, "Umm, Whatever"). And of course,
Justin...what else can I say about you? Besides that you're an awesome
friend to know and you make me smile. Love ya, honey.

DISCLAIMER: This is a story, fictional and what not and is not meant to
imply the sexuality of anyone in `N Sync, especially Lance Bass...you know
the drill, m/m relationship, 18/21 depending on where you live and so on

***more notes on the bottom***


My Surprise Romance

Chapter 31


 It had been only seconds from when Lance and I had entered the hotel, that
we left it. Apparently, Josh had done some detective work and had found out
what flight my cousin was on.

 "I have to go find her," Josh said frantically as he ran out of the hotel
and onto the sidewalk. I followed him, with Lance right next to me. Within
seconds, Josh had flagged down a taxi and barked directions at the
driver. As I climbed into the vehicle, I looked at Lance.

"Lance..it's my cousin..don't worry. Go to bed," I said, suddenly feeling
more tired than I had ever felt in my entire life. But Lance just shook his
head and climbed into the backseat and plopped himself down on the vinyl
seat next to me.

"No way," Lance said, shaking his head. "I'm coming along with you two...I
care about Cynthia just as much as I care about you and Josh." I smiled at
his comment and then looked over at Josh. He could have cared less about
what Lance and I were talking about as he impatiently checked his wrist
watch and let out a sigh of disgust as the taxi was immediately stopped at
a red light.

"Oh fuck this," he muttered under his breath. I was half-expecting Josh to
jump out of the vehicle and run to the airport, but instead he began
impatiently drumming his fingertips on the door. I looked at Lance and
rolled my eyes. He gave me a sympathetic smile in return and while we
rushed off to the airport, I let my mind wander for a few minutes.

How the hell had the evening gone from Lance and I, strolling along a beach
to suddenly being squashed in the back of a cramped taxi en route in search
of Cynthia? I laid all the blame on her for it, mainly because she wasn't
there. It was easy to point fingers--at Josh for making out with that
skanky nightclub girl, or at Cynthia who was too proud to talk to Josh. It
was a mess, I thought as I managed to hold back a disgusted sigh. How did
Cynthia manage to cause trouble even when she wasn't there?  I shook my
head at the absurdity of the situation that I was currently entangled
in...wasn't it usually the `N Sync guys getting chased by girls and not the
other way around? Trust Cynthia to turn the tables like that, I thought
with a smile.

But this wasn't funny to Josh. Although he avoided saying anything to me or
Lance, I could tell that if we did, Josh would most likely snap at us. His
hands were clenched into two fists and the expression on his face was one
of worry and distress.  He kept muttering things under his breath,
"Cynthia...can't believe she'd just leave....what did I do wrong..." over
and over. I glanced at my boyfriend, who was staring at Josh with an
apprehension.  Lance then looked over at me and gave me a shrug, not saying
a word. It seemed best not to say anything because it just seemed that Josh
would punch our lights out if we even breathed the wrong way. I should
know...he had punched me in the face without any hesitation at our first
meeting. To keep my mind off of things, I attempted to read Cynthia's
good-bye note as the taxi passed under the occasional street light. It
read:


To everyone:

I really did enjoy all the time I spent with you. I want you to know that
I'll never forget it But everything has to come to an end sometimes and
this is one of those times. I have to go back home...and Josh, I want you
to know I hold nothing against you. I hope everything goes well in your
life and maybe we'll run into each other again. Lance, thank you so much
for bringing happiness to Stevie's life--and Stevie, I'll see you when the
tour is over. Take care everyone...

 Cynthia


I stared at the feminine handwriting on the crumpled paper for a few
seconds, and tears formed in my eyes at the words she had chosen. Even
through all of her pain and troubles Cynthia had still managed to think of
me, I thought, while quickly brushing the tears from the corners of my
eyes.

As I was lost in my own world, the taxi came to a screeching halt, nearly
throwing Lance and I into the front seat. Josh on the other hand, had leapt
out of the taxi even before it had stopped running into the airport like a
madman. After we had watched Josh do this, Lance and I looked at each
other, astonishment in our eyes.

"Does he know what he's doing?" Lance finally asked, shaking his head at
Josh's actions.  He pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his pants,
pulled out some money and placed it in the waiting palm of the taxi drivers
hand. We then got out of the car and ran into the airport, in search of
Josh.

"Jesus Christ," I yelled to Lance as we ran through the half-empty
building. "I can't believe this is happening to us!"

"Same here," Lance shot back, as we stopped in front of monitors that
listed the various flight destinations and departure times. "I'm supposed
to be a singer--not a detective." As we read the monitor, I realized that
Josh had never told up what flight Cynthia had taken home. We had no idea
what to look for.

"It's hopeless," I muttered under my breath as turned to face Lance. We
stood there, trying to figure out what to do next when Lance's face lit up
as an idea came to his mind. He saw a couple approaching us and he turned
to face them.

"Excuse me," he began politely. "You didn't happen to see a guy run through
here a few seconds ago, did you?" The couple stared at him for quite awhile
and I could tell by the expression in their eyes that they were trying to
think of where they had seen Lance before. And then the woman let out an
excited shriek.

"You're from `N Sync aren't you?! Oh my god!" She turned to the man that
she was with, whom I presumed was her husband. "Honey, I told you that was
JC Chasez that ran past us, but noooo, you said that I was going insane,"
her voice was coming out in a high pitched girly shriek that irritated my
eardrums. She began to jump up and down excitedly, while her husband let
out a disgruntled sigh and just rolled his eyes. His face turning a bright
red, Lance smiled again and touched the woman's arm in an attempt to calm
her down.

"Please--I don't mean to be rude, but which way did JC go?" Lance asked,
his voice beginning to verge on impatience. As I watched him, I marveled at
his patience. I'll tell you this much, he was much nicer to the woman then
I would have ever been.

"He went that way," the man finally interrupted his wife, pointing in the
direction that Josh had disappeared in. Lance and I gave him a grateful
look and sprinted off in search of Josh. Our footsteps pounded through the
empty halls of the airport and like the light at the end of a tunnel, we
finally saw Josh. He was alone. Standing in the middle of all of those
seats where you wait for your plane to take off. He was holding the small
jewelry box that contained the necklace he had purchased for Cynthia in his
hands. And the look on his face was one of complete and utter dejection.

Lance and I slowly approached Josh, not sure what he was capable of. As we
stood next to him, I could hear him gasping for breath. Trying to calm down
after running through the airport. Lance and I kept silent, until Josh felt
comfortable enough to say something. And he finally did.

"She's gone," he said quietly, turning his head to stare out the plate
glass window that over looked the runway. "The flight boarded about five
minutes ago...the woman at the counter said that I just missed it...and
that a Cynthia Peterson was booked on it..." His voice trailed off as he
said this, the realization of his words making sense. Josh walked up to the
window and placed his hands on the cool glass, as though it would bring
Cynthia back to him somehow. He stood there watching the plane that was
ready for take off, knowing that his ex-girlfriend was on it.

I turned to look at Lance and by the expression in his eyes, I could tell
that his heart was breaking in two for his bandmate. I know that mine
was. Unconsciously, I let my hand fall to my side and noticing this, Lance
reached over and grabbed it, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting it
go. Surprise filled my eyes at Lance's affectionate public gesture, but it
didn't make me feel any better inside. I gave Lance a sad smile as we stood
there watching Josh.

You're probably wondering what I was thinking, since Cynthia is my cousin
after all. Well, I'm not sure. Part of me was angry at her for just leaving
Josh like this. But part of me also understood. Sometimes it's just better
to run away from your problems and make a clean break. I wondered if I
could ever do such a thing to Lance...I mean, what could possibly happen
between us that would just make me leave him?

We looked at each other once more, and Lance nodded towards his
bandmate. We walked over to where Josh was standing, and once we reached
him, Lance slung an arm over his friends shoulder.

"It's okay man," Lance said softly, attempting to soothe him. The look on
Josh's face was one of pain and hurt. "There'll be other girls...don't
worry." Josh and Cynthia had some troubles before, but this just seemed
like the wrong ending for them. It should have ended better than this, I
thought bitterly.

Josh looked at Lance in disbelief, like he couldn't believe what his friend
had just said. But then the realization of the words hit him, and Josh's
lips broke out in a *very* shaky smile. "Yeah..I guess," he said
uncertainly. "I hope..." I stared out the glass, watching the plane drive
down the runway. Since I was watching the plane, I could also see the
reflection of what was going on in back of me as well. I blinked my heavy
eyelids, ready to drop dead from exhaustion. I was so tired that I could
have sworn I saw Cynthia walking towards us.

I blinked again. Damnit, the girl in the reflection looked like
Cynthia. The same strawberry blonde hair, girlish swagger in her walk...I
turned around and my mouth dropped open. There, walking towards us, was my
cousin. There was a funny look on her face and as she drew closer to us, I
realized that she was crying. I had never seen her cry before.

As I spun around, Lance looked up from the window, wondering what I was
looking at. His mouth promptly dropped open when he saw Cynthia coming
towards us. Our eyes met and smiles appeared on our faces. I felt a lump
form in my throat.

"Josh," Lance said softly. "Hey, man...turn around." I saw a brief look of
annoyance pass over Josh's face. But by the time Josh turned himself
around, he was face to face with my cousin. The look on his face said it
all--every emotion that he was feeling at the moment. Hurt, sadness,
happiness, love...the range of feelings that I saw flash on that man's face
was incredible.

He stared at her for a few seconds before speaking. "Cynthia?" he finally
breathed, his words shakily leaving his mouth. His blue eyes gazed at my
cousin as though she was an ghost and not there, right in front of him in
the flesh. Cynthia nodded slowly, the tears running down her face and in
the blink of an eye, Josh had reached out and embraced her in a hug. I saw
her arms wrap around his body and the two of them held onto each other for
dear life.

There was something so wonderful about that moment--to see two people in
love. And it finally made sense to me about why she had written that little
blurb about Lance and I on her thank you note. It was beautiful to see two
people who cared so much about each other..it was a little disgusting, but
I thought as a happy grin formed on my face, it was absolutely worth it. As
they remained entwined in each others arms, Lance and I looked at each
other. He rolled his eyes good naturedly at me and motioned me to come over
to him. When I walked over, Lance gave me a happy grin that rivaled my own.

"Think we should leave the kids alone?" he whispered. Personally, I don't
think there was a reason to whisper. I don't think Cynthia and Josh would
have heard Lance and I if we would have started running around the airport,
screaming at the top of our lungs. They were too lost in their own world to
notice any outside interruptions.

"Definitely," I agreed and with one more glance at Cynthia and Josh, Lance
and I left them alone, in search of an exit.


Lance and I made it out of the airport, but not before being ambushed by
that woman whom we had asked directions from. She had been waiting for us
to pass back through. Lance couldn't help but laugh at her persistence and
obligingly gave her an autograph. The man she was with just gave us a
`look' as they finally left the airport.

We hailed a taxi back to the airport, and on the ride back, I fell
asleep. I couldn't help it. The events of the past day had seemed like a
dream to me and my poor brain couldn't keep up with it anymore. My eyelids
retaliated and soon enough, I was out like a light for God only knows how
long.

 Lance's deep voice entered my mind like a ray of light as I felt his hand
gently nudge my shoulder. "Stephen..wake up..we're back." When I opened my
eyes, I found him staring down at me, his green eyes filled with humor. It
took me a few seconds to realize that we were in a taxi and that my head
had fallen right into his lap. I shot up like a rocket to find the cab
driver turned around in his seat, staring at us with a strange expression
on his gruff face. I guess if I was him, I would have thought that we were
a little weird as well. I mean,how many guys do you see falling asleep in
each others laps? Besides the gay ones, of course, and well, that was what
I was. So it made sense to me. And Lance. But not the cab driver.

Lance and I got out of the cab and into the hotel. This time, there was no
frantic Josh waiting for us, and thankfully no other distractions
either. Somehow we made it into the hotel and like so many other times when
Lance and I were alone on an elevator, he backed me up into a corner and
gave me a kiss.

"I'm so sorry," I breathed once we parted. Lance cocked his head at me and
gave me a strange look.

"For what? Falling asleep in my lap? I *really* didn't mind," he grinned
devilishly.

I let out a tired laugh at his remark and then let myself fall back into
seriousness. "No, for all of the trouble I caused. I lied to you and we had
kind of a fight this morning--"

"But we made up," Lance said, his green eyes lighting up at the memory of
that afternoon's romantic encounter. I blushed at the thought of it and
continued on with my rambling.

"I was the one who accepted the date with Justin and Harris--"

"But we had a nice time after that," Lance protested, before kissing me
once more.

"And I'm the one who has the schizo-runaway cousin that caused Josh
heartache, and who we had to chase after."

"You didn't tell her to leave," Lance said persuasively. "And hey, it was
an exciting evening, wasn't it?" He gave me a light peck on the forehead
right before the doors to the elevators opened up. The ride up to the floor
had seemed shorter than usual, thanks to Lance's amorous distractions, and
we headed to our room. The hallway was far from quiet, as we heard the
voices of Joey, Chris and numerous female laughter coming from one room and
some loud, bass heavy music coming from another. I looked over at Lance as
he unlocked our door and flipped on the light.

"We are so boring," I sighed once we were inside and I had locked the door
behind us. Lance turned to me and in a matter of seconds, pinned me against
the door and kissed me. His hands began to run up and down my body,
slipping under my shirt.

"You call this boring?" Lance whispered in my ear once his mouth left
mine. "Then what do you call exciting?" I could barely say anything to his
remark, as my mind was more concentrated on pulling his body close to mine
once more. We remained locked in that comfortable position for a few more
seconds, as our hands frantically ran up and down each others bodies,
underneath clothes. Finally, Lance frantically pulled away from me with a
pained look on his face.

"Stephen," he whispered, running his index finger down my cheek. "I hate to
do this, but I have to take a crippling piss." I blinked in surprise at the
vulgar way he had put it, not expecting those words to have tumbled out of
his mouth.

"Boy you really know how to ruin the moment," I murmured against his
earlobe, feeling more than disappointed when the warmth of his body left
mine. "But I understand." Lance gave me a grin as he rushed off to the
bathroom. Feeling a bit dejected, I flopped on the neatly made bed and laid
down on it. The sturdiness felt comforting against my back. It was as if
something finally was holding me up...it was a strange feeling. I briefly
closed my eyes, the blackness of my eyelids soothing protection from the
bright ceiling lights. As I succumbed to my tired state, my mind began to
sift through the events of the day and I fell into the darkness that
surrounded me. My eyes were closed, but my mind was still on. I could hear
the toilet flush and then the brief sound of running water and then Lance's
footsteps as he exited the bathroom.

"Stephen?" I heard his soft voice come out in a gentle whisper. "Stephen,
are you up?" I wanted to answer so badly, but I was just so exhausted that
I couldn't get the muscles in my mouth to even budge. I could feel Lance's
presence walk to my side of the bed and hover above me. As much as I wanted
to look at my wonderful boyfriend, my eyelids were glued shut with sleep. I
felt Lance move, his hands removing my shoes and throwing them off to the
side. I could feel Lance move himself upwards, and I felt his warm breath
softly caress my cheek. A pause.

"Good night, Stephen," I heard him whisper. I could tell by the way he
whispered my name that a smile had appeared on his lips. I wished I could
open my eyes up to see that smile, but I just couldn't. Sleep had won over
my ability to do what I pleased. I could tell the he flicked the lights off
and then I could feel Lance walk around the bed and then fall next to me. I
could feel his hand move across my chest and then his head gently fall
against it. And that was the last that I remembered.



I woke up the next morning feeling as though I had been run over by a
cement truck. When I opened my eyes, I saw Lance's head on top of my
chest. He looked peaceful. All he needed was a halo and the vision in front
of my eyes would be complete. I contemplated staying that way for the rest
of the morning, but then I remembered that Lance had a band meeting and I
inwardly groaned to myself. Plus, he had a concert tonight, which meant
rehearsals and all of that other crap. Oh well, I thought, at least we had
a great night yesterday--if you counted out Harris and Justin, Cynthia and
Josh...ugh.

Lance must have sensed that I had waken up, because he suddenly looked up
at me then. He gave me a sleepy smile and smacked his lips a couple of
times.

"Morning, sleepy," Lance teased me. "Man, were *you* tired last night. I
guess I wasn't exciting enough for you." He stuck his lower lip out at me.

"No, *you* were exciting--I was boring," I laughed as I gave him a
kiss. "I'm sorry I zonked out on you though, I was really looking forward
to you coming back."

"So was I," Lance said honestly as he rolled off of me. "Man, yesterday
felt like the longest day of my life." I nodded in agreement as I pulled
myself off the bed. Lance reached over and gently rubbed my back. A sigh
escaped my lips at his touch and I grinned at him.

"Thanks. So what's on the agenda today?" I asked lightly, even though I
knew already. I guess I just wanted to hear his voice, I thought as Lance
made a horrible face at me.

"Band meeting, rehearsal for the show, lunch for a magazine interview and
then the concert. Great, huh?" Lance said sarcastically. "Another day of
crap. I guess those two days off spoiled me." He continued massaging my
back in small circles and I didn't want it to end. The silence between us
was a welcome sound.

"How's your arm?" I finally asked Lance, breaking the silence that had
formed between us. He lifted it up at me and grinned.  As my eyes ran up
and down his pale limb, I noticed that the purplish red bruises were still
present.

"Hurts a little, but its much better," Lance said, moving it
around. "Thanks for asking."

"Hey, I'm always worried about you," I said, leaning over so that I fell
against him. "Worrying is in my blood, I guess."

Lance looked at me oddly then. "Yeah, I've never thought about it, but
you're right. You used to work at the nursing home...you've taken care of
Natalie...you've worried about me in the hospital...geez, Stephen, you're a
worrying machine," Lance joked, yet there was a serious undertone to his
voice and I knew that he was right. I was a worrier, no doubt about that. I
just couldn't help but worry about the people that I cared about and
Natalie and Lance were definitely two people that I cared about. More than
cared about, I corrected the voice in my head. I loved them. I loved them
both more than anything else in this world.

I smiled at Lance, and ran my fingers through his soft blonde hair. For
reasons that I couldn't explain, I wanted this moment between us to never
end. There had been something that changed between us from yesterday to
this morning and I couldn't place my finger on it. It had changed for the
better and I couldn't help but feel that our souls had finally
connected. It wasn't just lust anymore (not that it had been all lust, but
it certainly did play a big role in getting our relationship off to a
start). It was something else...something that I couldn't even put into
words and whatever it was I liked it.

Overcome with this new emotion, I leaned over to kiss Lance and just as my
eyes closed and our lips were about to touch, there was a knock on the
door. My eyes flew open at the disruption and I let out a groan.

"Nice..someone up there really hates us," I muttered under my breath,
rolling my eyes towards the ceiling. Lance just gave me a dejected smile as
I turned myself towards the door.

"Yes?" I called out, my voice a bit shaky from the let down I had just
experienced.

"It's Josh! Just wanted to remind you two lovebirds that we have a band
meeting this morning!" he called out happily. "I'll see you then!"

Lance and I exchanged amused glances at Josh's obvious good mood. "Someone
got some last night," he quipped and I leaned over and placed a light kiss
on his cheek. "You know, I could have gotten some too if my boyfriend
wasn't such a *sleeper*." He gave me another look. "Why don't you and Josh
form a club for sleepers, since that's what you do the best? He could be
the president and you could be the vice."

I punched him in the arm. "You act like you never get any, you big slut," I
teased Lance. For a moment, Lance's face remained completely
expressionless. I guess he never expected me to say anything like that. A
slow grin finally spread across his lips as he reached in back of me and
hit me over the head with a pillow. I sat there in shock, since the pillow
had hit me quite hard over the head. I felt a little dizzy and blinked a
couple of times. Lance dropped the pillow and shifted closer to me on the
bed.

"Geez, Stephen..are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you or anything," he
said worriedly, brushing my hair away from my forehead. I let my eyes meet
his as I slowly reached in back of him .  "I'm okay," I said, trying not to
grin as I brought the pillow up closer. "Really, but...I have a feeling you
won't be." I raised my arm and with pillow in hand, I promptly bonked him
over the head with his pillow. "How do you like them apples?" I shot back
as Lance's expression changed from one of shock to anger. Giving me a glare
that sent shivers down my spine, he rubbed the spot on his head where I had
hit him.

"I don't," he said shortly, turning away from me. I felt my skin
crawl...what had I done now? Especially when things were going so well, I
thought with dismay. I reached my hand out to touch Lance's shoulder and he
turned his head backwards to look at me.  I was about to say something,
when he let out a short laugh and before I could even respond, Lance threw
himself on top of me and began to wrestle me.

"Faked you out didn't I?" Lance laughed as we rolled around on the king
sized bed. "Thought I was mad? Didn't you?" He intertwined his hands with
mine as we rolled around a little bit more. In one swift move, Lance pinned
me down, my back against the bed, while he held onto my hands. He gave me a
mischievous grin.

"Now say you're sorry," Lance ordered, his green eyes twinkling. I
stubbornly shook my head, and stuck my lower lip out.

"No way," I managed to pant before Lance leaned his face towards mine. He
stared into my eyes for a few seconds before biting my lower lip, pulling
me into a tender kiss. I felt my lips part allowing his tongue to slip in
between and begin to frantically search my mouth. Letting one of my hands
go, I reached up and pulled his face closer to mine. Seconds passed and
needing to take a breath, our mouths parted slightly and a lazy smile
formed on his handsome face.

"Please?" he whispered against my mouth. My heartbeat began beating faster
and faster as those hypnotic green eyes continued to stare into mine. I
almost felt as though Lance had cast a spell on me...one that I didn't want
broken. At that moment, I would have jumped off a bridge if he would have
asked me to. Allowing my stubborn facade to drop, I caved in to Lance's
request.

"Okay. I'm sorry," I managed to breathe. "But could you please tell me what
I'm so sorry for?" I had forgotten what had caused us to become so
amorous. Everything thought seemed to disappear out of my mind when Lance
and I became like this and then it suddenly hit me. "That's right--now I
know-- it was for hitting you on the head."

"Right! And I accept your apology," Lance said graciously, letting go of my
other hand so that he could stroke my cheek before diving down to place
another one of his passionate kisses onto my lips. I responded my wrapping
my arms around him, pulling his body to close to me. As I felt his warm
lips press against mine, the emotions throughout my body ran the gamut...I
was safe...I was loved...feelings that I had never experienced before until
I met Lance...and as we escaped reality once more, I wondered how long we
could go on before something threatened to tear us apart.


***notes***

*okay, first up, I have been concerned with the steady decline of e-mails
pertaining to the last few chapters of this story...I don't know what I've
been doing wrong (or right) for that matter, but I would like to know.  And
yes, I've been worried if I'm getting too stupid here or what. Or If I'm
losing readers. Yes I know I sound pathetic. I know I sound like an idiot
but...please, please e-mail me with your thoughts, comments and criticisms
about this story. PLEASE. The address is sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com

**okay, number 2: this chapter is the last installment in what I call `Part
1' of MSR. The last three chapters plus this one made up a mini-series
entitled, `The Longest Day'. It was meant to tie up a lot of loose ends as
well as set up new questions for the next part of the story...if you
couldn't notice them pop up throughout this chapter :) So the next
installment will start up Part 2 of MSR...which I will be hoping will be
out by sometime next week. Whew, that was a lot! Okay, I'm going to bed
now...so good night and please e-mail me: sweetheart_stories@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading :) Gabriella.