Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 12:08:59 EDT
From: Brwy Milo <brwymilo@hotmail.com>
Subject: "Nick and Justin" part 27
Welcome to part 27 of "Nick and Justin". Sorry this took so long! But it
is a longer one, so i hope that makes up for it. The story itself is going
to be in for a lot of twists and turns, so keep reading! If you've got any
comments, suggestions, criticisms, or jsut want to say hi, send an e-mail to
Mike at BrwyMilo@aol.com. I love mail!
If you get a chance, take a look at the other series I work on. It's
called Lost and Found and it is co-written by RJ, author of N'Sync and RJ.
Both great stories, so give them a look. Oh, and go see American Beauty if
you get a chance. It's an amazing movie! You'll be left speechless at the
end. Honestly, it's one of the best I've seen. That is just my opinion, so
feel free to disagree, but I thought it was a masterpiece.
Now, this story is jsut a work of fiction and is not meant to imply
ANYTHING about the sexuality or beliefs of anyone involved with this story.
That said...enjoy the story!
*****
Kevin sat on the floor in his room, looking at the duffel bag that Howie
and Joey had brought into his room while everyone else was still in
hospital. He remained where he was, regarding the bag as though it were
full of vipers, each one ready to attack. He had yet to look through it at
all. Even when the curiosity seemed overwhelming, something had held him
back. Perhaps he didn't want to know what Robert had had on them. Every
time he though about looking inside, his body would start to shake and his
heart rate rise. But he knew he had to look. He took a step toward it.
'Robert's dead,' he told himself. 'There's nothing in that bag that can
hurt anyone anymore.'
He sat down on the floor in front of the duffel bag and looked at the hole
that had been ripped in it. He took a deep breath and grabbed the bag with
both hands, violently tearing at the hole to make it bigger. It was ripped
from seam to seam. Pictures and tapes flowed out of it. He breathed deep
as he reached for the first picture. He held it in his hands for a moment,
examining the subject of it carefully. Justin. Crying. His head was
turned towards slightly to the side, and he was trying to smile, but you
could definitely see a tear running down the cheek. Kevin peered closer and
saw Nick was in the shot as well, apparently walking over to him. With a
sigh, Kevin placed the picture in a pile, and began to sort them into piles
of who they were of. Whenever he saw one of himself, he threw it onto his
bed. The bag got lighter and lighter as more and more pictures were thrown
into piles. About half way through the sorting Kevin paused.
"Why are their so many pictures of Justin here," Kevin asked himself as he
noticed that there were easily more pictures of Justin than all the others
combined. He took a few of the shots of Justin in his hand. He noticed a
tear along one side of several of them. Like a person searching for the
last piece of a puzzle, Kevin searched through the photos. After several
minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for. He held up the two
pieces and placed them side by side. Their tear marks were a perfect fit.
Apparently, many of the pictures of Nick and Justin together had been torn
in half, as if to separate the two. Kevin shuddered involuntarily for a
moment and then went back to his work. He found a piece of paper and
stopped.
It was a sheet of loose leaf which had been folded and refolded several
times over. Kevin held it close to his face and caught his breath in his
throat. Written over and over on the page was Justin's name. He turned the
paper over and saw the same thing on the other side. He stuck his hand back
into the duffel bag and pulled put several more pages like the first. He
examined each of them carefully before finally setting them down on the
floor. 'Robert was obsessed,' he said to himself. He froze for a moment.
He understood and knew even less than he had while Robert was still alive
and tormenting them. His thoughts ran around in his head. 'If Robert had
lived, this could have been really bad,' he told himself. He shook his head
a moment and continued in his task. Finally he was finished. He looked
through the duffel bag and then stuck his hand in, making sure he had not
left anything inside.
"Finished," he said aloud to himself as he looked at everything he had
done. He slowly walked over to his bed and sat down on it. Picking up the
phone, he swiftly dialed Nick's number.
"Hello," Nick said in a sleepy voice.
"Hi Nick. It's Kevin."
"Isn't it a little early? It's barely even seven," Nick replied groggily.
"Well, I kind of wanted to get everyone up a little early today," Kevin
said slowly.
"Well, you got me up, that's for sure," Nick said as he yawned. "What do
you want anyway?"
Kevin paused a second. "I went through everything that Robert had on us.
Every picture, every tape, every piece of paper. I wanted to get everyone
together so they could see everything and then decide what we wanted to do
with it.
There was silence on the other end of the phone. After a moment, Kevin
heard a hoarse breathing. "Is it bad," Nick asked slowly.
"It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but in some ways, what I found
was worse."
"I'm not going to like this, am I Kevin," Nick asked in a worried voice.
Kevin paused and swallowed hard. "I'm not as worried about you as I am
about Justin."
At the sound of Justin's name, Nick woke up fully. "What do you mean?
What's wrong?"
"It's nothing like that. It's just...look, just get Justin up and be here
in like fifteen minutes. I ordered everyone some breakfast. I'm gonna get
the rest of the guys too.
"Kevin, this is going to finally be over now, isn't it," Nick asked,
pleadingly.
"I think so Nick," Kevin said as he heard Nick hang up the phone. He looked
over at the piled of pictures and papers on the floor and paused. "I hope
so."
*****
The smell of coffee and sausages filled the air of Kevin's room as everyone
sat around. Britney and AJ sat close together on the bed, as did Devon,
with Lance just a little ways off. Nick and Justin sat on the floor, along
with JC and Brian, Joey, Chris and Howie. The trays of food were as yet
untouched as everyone stared at the large masses on the floor.
"He did all of this," Brian asked slowly as he examined one of the piles.
He saw a picture of himself on top and shuddered.
Kevin nodded and walked over to where the papers where. "You guys are free
to eat too you know. I ordered enough for an army."
"I don't think many of us are in the mood right now," Nick said as he
stared at the floor. He sat Indian style, with Justin between his legs. His
arms were wrapped securely around his lovers' waist, trying to hold him
close enough to protect him from whatever Kevin had started to tell him on
the phone.
"Well then, I guess I'll let you know what I found." Kevin took the
smaller piles of pictures and gave them to the people they were of. Lance
started to glance through his, Devon peaking over his shoulder.
"That's a nice one of you," he said quietly. Lance gave him a shocked look
for a moment, then smiled. Robert was not here...and after all, these were
only pictures now.
Kevin finished handing out the smaller groupings and then walked over to
Nick. He indicated a pile close by, which Justin reached forward and pulled
towards them. Brian and JC received similar groups.
"What are all those," Justin asked as he saw the huge pile that still
remained untouched.
"Those are of you," Kevin said slowly as he turned away from Justin and
towards the tray with coffee on it.
"What do you mean those are of me," Justin said, a bit shocked as he
glanced up from the picture of Nick he had been gazing at.
"Those are all of you. All of them. Take a look." Kevin walked over and
handed a few to Justin. Justin began to look through them with an odd
expression on his face.
"These can't all be of me." He leaned forward a bit and began to look
through the pile. As he saw more and more pictures of himself, he moved
faster, searching for something. "Why would he take all these of me," he
asked in a terrified voice. Nick's face looked anguished as he watched
Justin. He gently pulled Justin closer to him and hugged him tightly.
"It's ok Justin. It's alright," he said as he lightly rubbed Justin's back
rhythmically up and down.
Kevin stood where he was and watched the two of them. Justin looked up at
him, pleading with his eyes. Kevin breathed deep and reached onto the table
and picked up the pages, "I found these in the bag as well," he said as he
surrendered them to Justin.
Justin took the folded pages with a shaky hand. He unfolded the first page
and began to read. Over and over again, he saw his name repeated. "What
the hell is this Kevin," Justin asked quickly. He turned the page over
violently, only to see is name repeated again and again.
"I don't know what it is Justin. I found those in the bag with the
pictures." He paused and glanced at Nick. Nick had his face over Justin's
shoulder as he read the pages with Justin. His face was contorted with pain
and anger.
"So, what? Robert's obsessed with Justin," Nick said suddenly. He looked
at the pile of pictures again and felt his anger rise further. He could
feel Justin trembling a bit as he struggled to hold him closer.
"Was obsessed with Justin," Kevin said slowly. Justin looked up form the
page and studied his face.
"What are you talking about?"
Kevin sat down on the edge of the bed close to Britney. "I got a call from
my friend Mindy last night. She was in contact with the hospital we were
at. When she called to check up on Robert's condition, the nurse told her
that he had passed away."
There was a stunned silence across the room. Kevin glanced from person to
person, trying to read their responses. After a moments pause, the
seemingly dead, expressionless faces began to change. He watched as smiles
began to appear on Howie and Joey. Britney seemed to shocked to speak,as
did AJ. Glancing down, he saw Nick. It was an odd combination of anger and
pain written all over it. Justin looked positively terrified.
"If he wasn't dead already I think I'd kill him myself," Nick said slowly
through gritted teeth. He looked over at all the pictures of Justin and
could almost feel his body go numb with anger.
"You're sure of this, right Kevin," Brian said suddenly. "He really is
dead?"
"I can check the hospital myself if you want," Kevin replied. "But Mindy's
never been wrong about anything before." He saw Brian nodd his head slowly
and turn back to the pictures of himself.
"So, what is everyone going to do with this stuff," JC asked as he glanced
around.
"Burn it," Justin said flatly as he stared out into space.
"What," Kevin said, a bit shocked.
Justin's head moved slowly and looked up at Kevin. His face was still.
Their seemed to be a touch of fear in his eyes, but it was being hidden with
a strong conviction. "Burn it."
"You really want to burn all of this stuff," Nick said, indicating the
pictures and papers all around them.
Justin put his head down, staring at the floor. "I never want to be
reminded of any of this again. I want all of this stuff burned and after
this, no one speaks of Robert ever again."
Everyone looked at him, a bit shocked at his sudden controlling manner.
"Justin do you really think that's for the best," Britney asked.
Justin looked over at her, his lip trembling as he spoke. "Robert was a
monster. And now, we find all these pictures, and these," he said as he
grabbed at one of the pages with his name written all over it. "What do you
think would've happened if he was alive. He was a psychopath! Look at this
Britney," he said as he crumpled up the paper a bit and tossed it over at
her. She picked it up and looked it over, trembling a bit as she read
the name over and over again.
"Burn it," she said quietly. She looked over at Justin and nodded her head
slowly. Justin turned around again and went back to staring at the floor.
"Um, I'm gonna go take a shower I think," he said suddenly as he took
Nick's hands from around his waist. He stood quickly, Nick starting to rise
as well. "No, you stay here and get some breakfast with the guys. I'll be
fine." He tried to manage a smile but couldn't, finally walking swiftly out
of the room.
"Is he going to be alright," Devon asked as he watched Justin go.
"He'll be ok," Nick replied as he looked at the closed door. A heavy
silence hung in the air as everyone looked at all the pictures they had in
their hands. This was everything Robert was going to use to hurt them. And
now Robert was dead. JC looked through the pictures of he and Brian one
last time, finally tossing them into the center of the floor.
"You can burn those too," he said flatly. Brian looked at him for a second
before throwing what he had in his hands down as well.
"And these," he said as he leaned closer to JC.
Slowly, everyone began tossing down everything that had ever been a part of
Robert's plan. Kevin watched them carefully, finally sitting down on the
foot of his bed.
"Justin said one very important thing," he said clearly. "It's time to
forget about what happened. Not only for Justin's sake, because God knows
he's going to have a hard time coming to terms with this, but for our own as
well. Whatever demons you have about what happened are going to be burned
along with all of this stuff. We have lives to live and a job to do, and
we're going to do it."
"Let me stress the job to do part," Devon said, trying to add some humor.
He got a couple of giggles, and then remained silent. Kevin smiled at him
and shook his head.
"Devon's right. No more of what happened yesterday either. We have got to
be a little more responsible. If you know there's an early rehearsal the
next day, don't stay out all night."
"As I recall Kevin, we were the ones who were home early the other night,"
AJ said with a grin. Kevin shot him a look which quickly shut him up.
"I know. From now on, I won’t be going out so late either," Kevin said.
He nodded at Devon who slowly stood.
"Look, bottom line is this," he began. "If you know you're going to be
tired, don't go out. If you think you can handle it, go out. But you
better be wide awake the next morning. I don't care if you drink a gallon
of coffee, or if I have to pour it down your throats. You’ve gotta be
awake." Everyone nodded at him. He glanced around, finally spotting the
trays. "Now, let's get some breakfast and head over to the rehearsal hall."
"Why didn’t Fatima come," Howie asked as he got up form the floor and
approached the trays.
"Her back was bothering her," Devon replied. "She wanted to get some rest
and see if it would feel better after a hot bath."
"Sounds good," Howie said as he picked up a plate.
Kevin looked over and saw that Nick was still sitting on the floor, exactly
as he had been when Justin left. He walked over to him and sat down beside
him. "Wanna talk," Kevin said as he tried to look at Nick's face,
"Not right now Kevin," Nick replied sadly.
"Come on...you know you'll feel better," Kevin said. Nick turned his head
towards Kevin and sighed loudly.
"I'm just really confused right now. This whole thing has affected Justin
really badly. I don't even know if I can help him with it. I don't know if
anyone can. And I don't want him to have to go through this himself. You
saw how he got as soon as he saw the papers."
"So why don't you go see him now," Kevin suggested. Nick looked up for a
second and then back down at the rug.
"You don't think he'd get upset with me? I think he wanted to be alone."
"If I know Justin at all, I don't think he’ll be upset with you in the
least," Kevin replied. "Go check on him."
Nick perked up a bit, even managing a weak smile as he stood up and walked
from the room. Kevin watched him intently. "Please let everything be
alright," he whispered.
*****
Justin sat on the bed and stared at the blank wall in front of him. He
slowly removed the pages from his pocket and stared at them. He had wanted
to look at them alone for a while, away from the scrutiny of everyone else.
As he glanced at them, he could clearly see his name written over and
over...more times than he had ever seen his name written in one place. He
turned the sheet over and saw the words "Sooner or later...mine." He
shuddered uncontrollably as he fell back onto his bed. He began to breath
heavier. "Calm down," he told himself.
His thoughts flew back to the scene on the bus. Robert watching him as he
cried. He shook more violently and lay down on his stomach, his arms
clutching his body tightly. 'Please calm down,' he begged himself over and
over as he lay there. Tears began to fall from his eyes as if by their own
accord. "Why am I crying,' he asked himself aloud.
The door began to open slowly. Justin grabbed the pages and shoved them
into his pocket. He lay back down and shut his eyes, hoping whoever it was
would go away. He heard the approaching footsteps and knew he would not get
his wish. He felt the bed bend as someone else sat down. There was a hand
on his back, rubbing slowly. Justin flinched involuntarily and turned over
quickly, forgetting his tear stained face.
"Baby, what's wrong," Nick asked as he tried to pull Justin towards him.
Justin stayed where he was.
"I'm fine Nick. Really, I'm fine." He wiped his eyes with the back of his
ahnd and sniffled a bit.
"Justin, you've been crying here. Now come on, let's talk about it. Maybe
you'll feel better," Nick said as he pulled his feet onto the bed.
"Nick, I don't want to talk about it," Justin said as he scooted away from
Nick. Nick looked a bit surprised for a moment and then looked down at the
blanket.
"What do you want to do then," he asked sadly.
"I just want to be alone," Justin replied.
Nick look up for an instant and then back down again. He swallowed hard as
he tried to clear his throat. "But we always talk about things when one of
us is upset."
"I can't right now Nick. I need to be by myself."
"But-"
"No buts," Justin yelled suddenly. Nick jumped a bit, but didn't look up.
"I just want to be by myself for a little while." Nick sniffled and looked
up at Justin.
"I...uh..." He paused and looked back down. He stood slowly and walked
voer to the door. "Just wanted to try to help...or show I care...or..." He
opened the door slowly and stepped into the cold hallway, closing the door
tightly behind him.
Justin sat where he was...images swirling through his head. "How could I
have done that to Nick." He asked himself aloud. He pulled out the paper
again and stared at it. 'Robert was a monster...how could he have felt this
way? I hated him. From the start I hated him.' His mind flew back to the
pile of pictures that had been devoted to Justin. 'He was obsessed,' Justin
said slowly, the word echoing through his head until it became a deafening
roar. He brought his hands to his head and covered them tightly. He threw
himself back on the bed and allowed tears to stream down his face. His
thoughts flew back to Nick. "I need you."
*****
"I eat plenty," Devon yelled into the room as he shut the door, escaping
the jokes he was receiving about eating too little. He laughed quietly to
himself as he began to walk down the hall towards his room. Out of the
corner of his eyes, he saw the door to Nick and Justin's room open. He
turned his body and saw Nick leaving the room quickly, his head down to the
floor. "Hey Nick, what's up," Devon said as he approached. Nick ignored
him and began to walk faster. 'Uh-oh...looks like a lover's quarrel," Devon
said to himself. He mulled over whether or not he should get involved. He
glanced over at Nick once again, and with an audible groan was soon running
after him.
"Will you please wait up," Devon said as he caught up. "People aren't
allowed to run in the hallways. Are you trying to get me in trouble or
something?"
Nick's face remained emotionless as he continued to walk down the hall.
Devon tried to get a look at his face, but whenever he did, Nick turned his
head. "It's alright to cry you know," he said suddenly. "People do it all
the time." Nick paused a moment, keeping his face towards the floor. "Well
at least I got you to stop moving so fast. Why can't I get this at
rehearsal," Devon asked as he tried to make Nick smile.
"He didn't want to talk to me," Nick said quietly. "I went in there to see
how he was and he threw me out."
Devon listened carefully to what was being said, nodding his head slowly.
"So, you went in there trying to help and he pushed you away?" Nick nodded
his head slowly and kept his head on the ugly colored carpet. "So what?"
Nick looked up quickly for the first time. He had a shocked look on his
face as he heard what Devon had said. "How could you say that?"
Devon sighed and put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Walk with me a minute.
Don't run...walk." They began to walk slowly down the hall, towards a
lounge that overlooked the parking lot. "You know what I saw in Kevin's
bedroom before?"
"No, but enlighten me," Nick replied bitterly, the pangs of what Devon had
just said still evident.
"Gee, you're funny when you angry aren't you," Devon replied sarcastically.
"What I saw in Kevin's room was a terrified boy. I didn't see Justin the
superstar. Justin the amazing talent. I didn't see the golden boy who
could do no wrong. I saw someone who was terrified, maybe for the first
time in his life. Truly terrified. Now look, I know I wasn't there to
experience this Robert thing with you guys, but I do know this. Apparently
Robert was obsessed with Justin. That is not an easy thing for anyone to
deal with. Trust me, I know." Nick raised his eyebrow. Devon shook his
head. "That's a story for a later time. What I'm trying to say is, as hard
as it is for you to hear that someone else was obsessed with you lover, it's
even harder for him to deal with. Robert was some kind of monster, and
apparently a psychopath to boot. Justin has had to learn to deal with a lot
of things recently. He has had no time to think and try to sort things out
and right now that's probably the thing he needs most. Now, instead of
acting like poor hurt Nick who got pushed away, why don't you think of poor
Justin, who has no idea what's going on right now."
Nick stood where he was and looked at Devon for a moment. "How'd you get
so smart," Nick asked slowly.
"Experience," Devon replied.
"So what should I do," Nick asked desperately.
"Give him a little time alone," Devon replied. "That's all he needs right
now. You know he's not going anywhere. The boy is madly in love with you.
Right now, he just needs to get his head clear."
"OK, Nick replied with a sigh as he brought his hands behind his head.
"Guess I'll go hang out with Brian then."
"Good idea. But...um...I hate to say this...but..."
"I'll be on time for the rehearsal," Nick said with a light laugh.
"You're the best," Devon replied as he ran off down the hall to his own
room.
'Ok Nick,' Nick said to himself. 'Let's go see what Brian's up to.' He
began to walk back down the hall. He passed his own room and fought the
desperate urge he had to rush inside and pull Justin into his arms. Instead,
he walked two doors down to Brian's room. He knocked once. No answer. He
glanced down at his watch. 8 am. 'They can't be doing it this early,' Nick
said to himself as he knocked again, a bit louder. He heard footsteps
approaching the door opened quickly and there stood Brian.
"Hey Nick, what's up," Brian said with a grin.
"Think I can hang out in here for a bit," Nick asked.
"Sure, no problem Brian said as he pulled Nick into a head-lock. "You know
you don't have to ask me dumb questions like that!"
"I guess," Nick replied. "It's just we haven't gotten a chance to hang out
like we used to recently. We're both always so busy with..."
"I know," Brian replied sadly. "High maintenance huh," he laughed.
"Yea, but we love it," Nick grinned. "But I do miss you sometimes."
"Aw Nick, you're gonna make me cry," Brian said as he pretended to cry.
"Will you shut up," Nick laughed as he hopped down on the bed. "So, what's
on tv?"
Brian laughed and tossed Nick the remote control. "Anything you want."
Nick grinned and began channel surfing. After a couple of minutes, he
heard the bathroom door open and JC stepped out.
"Hey Nick," he said as he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a
clean shirt. "How's Justin doing?"
"He'll be alright I think. He wanted to be alone for a bit."
"J can be like that sometimes," JC said. "Don't let it get to you. Every
now and again, he'll just zone out for a bit. He just needs some time to
think."
"I guess," Nick replied sadly as he put on a Scooby Doo cartoon.
"You're joking right," Brian said as he sat down.
"What," Nick yelled offensively. "This show is the best!"
"For a five year old maybe," Brian said as he grabbed for the remote.
"You said anything," Nick reminded him.
"Anything but this!"
"Ok kids, no fighting, or there will be no tv in this house at all," JC
said in a motherly tone. "I'm gonna go have a chat with Lance, so I'll talk
to you guys later, ok?"
Brian nodded gravely as Nick waved goodbye, his eyes fixated on the
television. JC laughed a bit and headed out the door. He took a deep
breath as he walked across the hall to Lance's room. He paused a bit,
finally raising his hand and knocking lightly.
Devon opened it. "Hey JC," Devon said with a grin. "Getting all ready to
rehearse?"
"Yep, I got my dancing shoes on," JC laughed. "But, can I talk to Lance
for a few minutes please. It's kind of important."
"Oh, ok," Devon said. "Everytime someone knocks on the door, I always end
up having to leave," he grinned.
"You can go watch scooby doo with Brian and Nick if you want," JC smiled.
Devon raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Actually, that's my favorite
cartoon, so I will take you up on that. Lance is getting ready." Devon
walked out of the room, holding the door open for JC to go through.
JC stepped inside and looked around. 'How do they keep this so neat,' he
asked himself with a grin. He walked in further and stepped into the
bedroom area, catching Lance as he pulled his shirt on over his head, his
back to JC.
"Who was at the door," Lance asked as he heard footsteps.
"Me," JC replied slowly.
Lance turned around quickly and saw JC standing there. He smiled, but soon
the smile faded. "I thought you were Devon," he said quickly as he bent
down to tie his shoes.
"Surprise," JC said with a grin.
Lance smiled weakly. "So, um, did you want to talk about something?"
"Well, I think we should, don't you?"
Lance looked up quickly and stared at JC, trying to read his face. He
looked back down and fiddled with his shoe laces. "I didn't think you'd
want to talk to me at all."
"Oh, I didn't at first, don't get me wrong," JC said with a light-hearted
laugh. "But, um, I guess I didn't want to ruin our friendship over a
mistake."
Lance glanced up at him again and nodded. He looked back down and paused.
"I'm so sorry JC," he said slowly. "I know it was wrong for me to do what I
did. I don't know what I was thinking, what we were thinking. It just
happened so fast."
"Look, I'm not going to tell you it's alright, because it isn't," JC said
as he sat on the bed next to Lance. "It isn't alright at all. But it is
forgivable."
"Do you mean it? I mean, we've hardly said hi to each other the past
couple of weeks."
"I know," JC replied as he put his arm lightly around Lance's shoulder. "I
shouldn't have let this go on like this for so long. So how about this? No
more sex with someone else's boyfriends?"
Lance laughed a bit. "Only if you'll keep your hands off mine." He
covered his mouth quickly as he realized what he said. JC paused and looked
at him.
"You and Devon..."
Lance nodded slowly. JC hugged him tightly. "That's so great! Why didn't
you tell the guys yet?"
"We kind of wanted to wait for things to calm down. See if everything
works out and all."
"So, does anyone know," JC asked, feeling like a little kid who had just
been let in on a big secret.
"Well, Brian's the only one that knows officially. He kind of walked in
without knocking," Lance said. JC laughed loudly. "Kevin probably knows
too." He paused and looked at JC. "Now come on, you honestly had no idea?"
JC looked down and laughed a bit. "Actually, it's kind of a little joke
with the guys. I think everyone kind of knows...they're just waiting for
the two of you to tell them yourselves. You guys don't exactly go to great
extents to hide it, do you?"
Lance laughed a bit. "No, I guess not." He looked over at the clock and
saw it was getting late. "Hey, we should get the other guys and get ready
to go," Lance said as he pointed at the clock.
"Yea, I guess you're right," JC replied. "So, we're alright?"
"Yes, we're definitely alright," Lance replied. So, let's get going."
*****
Nick stood outside his room and waited. He had to go inside to get dressed
and to make sure Justin was ready for rehearsal. Slowly, he put in his key
and opened the door. When he stepped inside, he saw that the room was in
total darkness. The lights were all turned off and the curtains pulled shut
tight. With a sigh, he entered the room and walked over to a small lamp on
the table. He looked at the bed and saw that Justin had fallen asleep. He
smiled as he looked down at him sleeping. Slowly walking over to the bed,
he gently sat down and began to rub his back. Justin cooed a bit in his
sleep and curled up towards where Nick was sitting. Nick placed one hand on
Justin's head and began to massage his scalp. Justin's eyes opened slowly
as he glanced up at Nick. A smile began to creep onto his face. He sat up
slowly and put his arms around Nick.
"I'm sorry about before," he whispered. "I was being an asshole. I
shouldn't have asked you to leave."
"It's alright Justin," Nick replied as he ran his hand up and down his
lover's back. "You needed some time alone. It's understandable."
"But I shouldn't have pushed you away like that."
"I wouldn't have left otherwise," Nick said with a small grin. "I don't
like to see you upset," he said as he lifted Justin's chin with his hand.
"Only smiles."
Justin giggled a bit and gave a weak smile. "I'll try."
Nick paused and looked at Justin carefully. "Are you feeling any better?"
Justin nodded slowly. "I'll be fine, really. It's just kind of a lot to
absorb, you know?" Nick nodded and gave Justin a tight hug.
"I know what will get your mind clear," Nick said with a grin.
"And what would that be," Justin asked, a smile spreading across his lips.
Nick suddenly leaned in close and let his lips brush against Justin's. He
slowly got closer and closer as Justin tilted his head back and parted his
lips slightly.
"Eight straight hours of rehearsal," Nick said as he quickly jumped away.
Justin playfully went to slap him, but instead fell over onto his side. He
laughed loudly and hopped up quickly. "Ok, let's get to rehearsal then,"
Justin said with a smile. He looked up at Nick and laughed a bit. "I love
you more than anything, you know that don't you?"
Nick nodded slowly. "And I you." Justin smiled warmly and sat back down
on the bed, waiting for Nick to get dressed so they could head off to
rehearsal.
*****
"AJ, get a little looser," Devon yelled from the foot of the stage as he
watched the guys do their carefully choreographed routine. "More hips
Brian. Come on, give the eight year old girls something to yell about."
Fatima walked over to where Devon was sitting and smiled. "OK, so maybe a
day off does help," she said with a laugh. "By the way, I really like a few
of the changes you made. Very original."
"Thanks," Devon said as he smiled genuinely. No matter how much praise for
his skills he received from other people, it was always Fatima's that seemed
to mean the most to him. "Howie, don't look down at your feet." Howie's
head popped up and smiled warmly. The music finally came to a close as the
boys held their final pose.
"That was a great job guys," Devon said.
"It was ok," Fatima said. Everyone looked at her with a blank expression.
"Alright, it was great! You guys are definitely ready for this tour.” She
threw a glance over at the guys of N'Sync. "You guys were wonderful too,"
she said warmly.
"Aw shucks," Joey said with a grin.
"Does this mean we're done," Justin asked.
"Well, not really," Fatima replied. "Britney, we're ready for you guys."
She watched as Britney walked out onto the stage with her dancers.
"Hey everybody," Britney said. She quickly ran over to AJ and gave him a
quick kiss.
"Well, the organizers kind of wanted something special here," Devon said
with a smile. "So, guess what," he said excitedly.
"What," Brian asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.
"You guys get to learn a whole new routine!"
"You're not serious," Joey said with a slight laugh. "He's not serious is
he Fatima?" He got no repsonse. "Britney?" Again, no response. He began
to put and looked down at the floor. "My feet hurt."
"Don't worry, it's not too hard," Devon said. "And actually I only need
like three or four of you at a time. We're choreographing this in
sections." He looked around over the guys. "OK, I want to see Nick,
Justin, Kevin, and Lance up here first."
Justin groaned as he stood up. Nick, who was already sweaty from the last
dance made little complaint as he ran over to where Justin stood. He stood
behind him and lifted his hand up very slowly. He traced the words 'I love
you' over the small of Justin's back over and over again. Justin giggled
slightly. "I'm ticklish remember," he said as he laughed.
"I remember," Nick said as he continued. He glanced over at Kevin and saw
Kevin shaking his head slowly. He sighed loudly and dropped his hand.
"Can't a guy have any fun?"
"Sure you can," Devon said with a grin. "And we're gonna have a whole LOT
of fun learning this routine." He looked over at everyone that was still
present. "You guys, get out of here. We'll call you in as soon as we're
ready. It won't take too long, I promise."
JC walked over to Brian and slipped one arm around his waist. "I found the
greatest place. Come on."
Brian grinned and waved to Nick. "See you later!"
Nick smiled sarcastically and looked back at Devon. "So, now what kind of
torture have you guys thought up?"
*****
"Where are we going," Brian asked as JC led him down the long twisting
hallway.
"Right through here," JC said as he took Brian into a room and shut the
door. There was no light at all, save for the light coming in from under
the door.
"Alright, I'm not a huge fan of the dark, so if we can get some lights on
that would be great."
"The switch is on the wall to your right," JC's voice said. Brian groped
around the dark and finally found it. He sighed heavily and flipped the
switch.
"Wow," Brian said as he looked around the room. There was a long oak desk,
polished so that it shone brightly. Leather couches and easy chairs were
everywhere. And sitting on one of them was JC, his shirt removed.
"You like," JC said with a smile.
"I like a lot," Brian said as he reached back and locked the door.
JC smiled warmly and stood. He walked over to Brian and brought his arms
around his waist. "Aren't you a little hot in this," he asked as he pulled
lightly on Brian's sweater.
"Boiling," Brian said with a grin as he carefully slipped it over his head.
JC lightly ran his hands up and down Brian's chest and torso. Brian
smiled and brought his hands to JC's arms.
"Why don't we go over to this lovely couch," JC said with a smile as he
grabbed Brian's hand and pulled him onto the couch. He lay down on top of
Brian and slowly brought his lips to Brian's. He ran his tongue over them,
finally, slipping it inside as Brian parted his lips. He brought his hand
down to the front of Brian's pants as the kiss continued.
"Are you sure this is a good idea," Brian panted as he felt JC slip his
hand inside. He moaned loudly and threw his head back as JC slowly began to
stroke him. He looked down and saw JC with a devilish grin across his face.
"This is a wonderful idea," JC replied. He slid down Brian's body, licking
from his chest down to his abs. Brian began to breathe heavier.
"God this is amazing," he said in a pant.
JC smiled up at him and sat across Brian's legs. He slowly undid Brian's
fly and pulled them down. He lifted himself up a bit and brought them down
below Brian's knees. He lifted his hand and slowly reached up to the bulge
in the front of Brian's boxer briefs. Brian moaned loudly. JC slipped his
hand inside and slowly began to strokehim off. He brought his head down and
began to lick the outside. After a minute, he pulled down the front and
pulled out Brian's erect member. He smiled as Brian breathed heavily and
watched JC carefully. JC stared at Brian from the top of his eyelids as he
slowly dropped his head to Brian's crotch. Brian exhaled hard as he felt JC
lips close around him. JC slid his head all the way down the shaft and
brought it back up, licking around as he went. Brian panted heavily,
breathing hard. He watched as JC's movements got faster and harder. With a
yell he exploded inside JC's mouth. He collapsed back on the couch as JC
swallowed hard. He smiled and lifted his head. He could feel JC slide back
up his body and lay his head on his chest.
"Your heart is racing," JC said with a grin.
"It better be after that," Brian laughed. "Otherwise we might have to
check me into the hospital."
JC kissed Brian lightly on the lips. "Well, come on, we probably have to
rehearse soon."
"What about you," Brian asked as he noticed the bulge in JC's pants.
JC looked down and smiled. "There's always later."
Brian grinned and jumped up. "Always."
*****
"God I hate this place," Leigh Anne said as she walked swiftly around her
apartment. She carried a towel in her hand and was randomly wiping off
whatever caught her eye, cleaning as she called it. "I should hire someone
to do this," she said bitterly as she wiped off a china plate. "Ugly piece
of shit."
She replaced the china on its stand and plopped down on her couch. With a
sigh, she picked up one of the movie scripts her agent had sent over. She
looked at the role that they wanted her to read for. "Mental patient," she
said to herself. It was a horror story. She rolled her eyes and tossed it
to the floor. She picked up another. "Victorian lady." She looked up and
shrugged. "Definite possibility." She looked at the last one. "Romantic
comedy." She read the brief summary attached. "Girl finds out her
boyfriend is gay." She laughed loudly and tossed the script onto the couch
next to her. "Gee, I guess this is the one," she said as she wiped a tear
from her eye. She turned to the first page of dialogue and began to read,
making notes and highlighting as she went along. She got up after a half
hour and walked over to the liquor cabinet. She poured herself a glass of
wine and lit a candle behind her. She walked over and sat back down on the
couch. "Back to the story of my life," she laughed.
The phone rang. "Hello," she said as she picked up the chordless.
"Hey Leigh Anne. It's Bill," her agent said.
"Oh hey. Listen, I'm reading one of the scripts now. The romantic
comedy."
"I thought you might like that one," Bill laughed. "Seemed right up your
alley."
"More than you know," Leigh Anne said with a sigh.
"Well, I just wanted to see if you had started looking them over. I'll
give you a call tomorrow."
"Thanks Bill," Leigh Anne said as she hung up the phone. She picked up the
script again and sighed. "Oh, I get to walk in on them!" She looked up.
"Grand!"
The phone rang again. Leigh Anne groaned and picked it up. "Hello?"
"It's me again," Bill said.
"What is it Bill," Leigh Anne asked, sounding a bit annoyed.
"If you want that role, I'm gonna have to know tomorrow. They want to
start right away."
"I'll let you know as soon as you let me finish reading the script," Leigh
Anne said.
"OK, I'm going now," Bill said as he hung up.
"Bye," Leigh Anne said as she hung up her end of the phone. She looked
back down at the script and took another sip of her wine.
The phone rang again. Leigh Anne let out a little scream. She picked the
phone up quickly. "Bill, stop calling me!" She listened and heard a low
breathing before the phone hung up. "Hello?" She hung up her phone and
then dialed *69, to get the last incoming number. She listened carefully
and heard a recorded voice say that her call could not be completed. She
groaned and dialed Bill's number.
"Hello," Bill said.
"Did you just call me and hang up," Leigh Anne asked, a bit angrily.
"What? No, what are you talking about?"
"You didn't just call here," Leigh Anne asked.
"No, I called you twice and spoke to you both times," Bill said.
Leigh Anne sat where she was and sighed. "OK, sorry to bother you." She
hung up her phone and shivered slightly as a chill ran down her back. She
took another sip of her wine and picked the script back up. She glanced
down at the floor and saw the script to the horror story. She picked it up
and then shook her head, putting it back down on the floor. "Not this time
Leigh Anne." She downed the last of the wine in her glass and sighed. "Not
this time."
*****
Well, I hope everyone found this section enjoyable. Again, I apologize for
taking so long, but I hope everyone liked it none the less. E-mail Mike at
BrwyMilo@aol.com if you have anything to say. I'll be glad to answer! See
you next time!
Will Justin be able to get over everything? Will Lance and Devon
finally tell everyone about their relationship? Is Leigh Anne going
bonkers? Is everything as it seems?