Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 03:32:55 +0800
From: Dane Javier <blue_gray_sky@hotmail.com>
Subject: The remains of being human Prologue-Chapter2

Author's Notes: FYI, Nsync isn't really Nsync in this world because this
story is an AU.

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any form of slander that maybe come upon
any of those mentioned in the story because its all fiction. None of this is
true.

The Remains of Being Human
By Dane


Prologue:

	Vampire. An archaic monster that scared superstitious fools for centuries.
Nowadays, the modern human being doesn't believe in these beings of the
night and their animalistic need to survive on the living blood of people.
Ironic, really, that despite all this disbelief in their existence there is
a wide fascination with them. In most Gotham-like cities, there are
minorities in society that dedicate themselves to living as much like the
fabled bloodsuckers. To a degree, they inspire men and women to unbridle
their sexuality and to smash their repression through various fetishes and
kinks. It's really funny to think that some people are more 'vampire' than
the myth itself.

	Any vampire would have to give thanks to writers like the Irish master of
Victorian Horror, Bram Stoker, and the Philosophical Gothic Queen, Anne
Rice. They gave the monster a soul, thus making them look more like what
they once were, human. They also gave personality to them. As a result,
vampires, at least in the pass 150 years of literature, were conceived as
beings that are not necessarily villainous, but also searchers of
unattainable redemption. Modern man doesn't see them as the dirty and
malevolent devils haunt the wilderness, but entities that try to live among
side their prey, living in human society as beautiful ingenues. A total far
cry from the old stereotypes of old Europe.

	And forget about those notions about holy water, garlic, and other
so-called defenses against the undead. Please, who thought of those things
must have been brought up in some asylum. Vampires have no weaknesses, well,
except maybe the heat of the sun and that of fire. Only the most basic of
nature's wrath can kill a creature of the night. At least, that part of the
myth is true.

	The reputation of the vampire is both envied and feared. It's like being a
dictator who rules with an iron fist, or an emperor who slaughters his
enemies. It's a terrifying analogy, but it true.

Another thing is that is true, at least to most people in the world, is that
vampires don't exist. A figment of literary imagination. A Boogie Man used
to scare little kids at bedtime. A folk legend of the Slavic race.

I laugh at this because I know for a fact that vampires are real. Why do I
know that, you ask. It's because I, Justin Randall Timberlake, am a real
vampire. I'm glad for these paradigm shifts of recent history. It makes
living as a vampire more bearable and safe.

I'm giddy at the mere thought of it. Now I don't worry about the weaknesses
and disease that comes with growing old and weary. I fly over vast
distances, bend metal bars with my bare hands, run faster than the fastest
thing on earth, see with unique vision, and read minds. If I only have the
power to freeze things with my breath then I can say that I'm Superman.

Want to hear my story? Want to know how I became a vampire? Well, listen
carefully, young mortal, because you will have quite night ahead of you.

Chapter 1:

	I guess I had what you mortal's called a very charmed life when I was among
the living. I had a typical American upbringing for one who was born in the
last quarter of the 20th century. I have wonderful parents, who divorced
when I was 11 and remarried to different spouses when I was 13. Like every
teenager at that age range, I was undergoing changes, that I was going
through puberty like everyone else at the time. A cookie cutter life in a
dysfunctional 90's fashion

	Oh wait a minute, silly me! I bet some of you are wondering what the hell
do I look like, huh? Well, to say the very words that my Sire, that's
Joshua, or JC to me, said 'you look like one of God's angels'. I was
honestly touched when I heard that compliment, any other time I would have
smacked anyone down for saying that. It became such a cliche growing up. As
you might guess, yes, I do fit the description of an angel. The blond curly
hair. The expressive sapphire eyes. The tall, slim, and muscular built. The
graceful movements. The talented voice. The body of a brickhouse. Yadda
yadda yadda... There goes my ego, but then you can't really blame me for
vampires are vain and inherently beautiful beings. It's part of our dual
nature of being human and monster. It's rare to find someone like us who
isn't beautiful in his own way.

	Anyway, back to my teen years. In junior high, I was hated by most of my
classmates for my good looks. Sounds like a backlash of Lisa 'Left-Eye'
Lopes. Never a day would pass when not one guy would insult me, degrade me
in some way. I got into my fair amount of fights because of what I look
like. I never really suffered through the usual acne breakouts, sudden
growth spurts, and awkward stages. I grew gradually into the steady
metamorphosis, and for that reason alone I was despised and wanted at the
same time. My situation at home wasn't even the picture perfect thing that
most people would think I have. After endless arguments of my parents over
me, my mom decided to leave my home state of Tennessee to live in sunny
Florida and bring me along, after a long custody battle, for the ride.
Needless to say, I loved the change of environment.

	Orlando suited me. The friendly people with their joie de vivre practically
fueled the wonderful weather of the city. It hardly ever sleeps, and, yes,
Disneyland was right around the corner. It's here that my luck happened to
change from the pre-adolescent traumatic to the stuff that every teen dreams
of. Midway the fourth year of high school, I was discovered. There's a story
there too. It also happens to be the first time I met my Sire.

	My mom decided to open a nice cozy cafe along the Boardwalk, and was almost
instantly embraced by the local community. It was named 'Blue Eyes Cafe'
after her favorite fruit-blend tea that she buys from a specialty store back
in Memphis. It became a hit with the locals, and business has been booming
ever since.

	Sometime around late January, in my senior year, the first of a series of
events that affected my life, and now my un-life, happened. I have to admit
though that being an only son can suck a lot of the time. There are times
when I would be forced by my mother to close up shop for her when she was
invited to some party or something along with Paul, my step-dad. That was
one of the reasons why my parents divorced. My dad, Randall, couldn't take
the social lifestyle of my mom, Lynn. Anyway, it was on one of those nights
when I was closing up the cafe that it started.

	I have an amazing voice. People would say that is where my real talent
lies; I believe them. I was singing to my heart's content, sweeping the
floor and wiping the tables as I did this. A few passers-by would curiously
look through the windows to see who was singing and would clap in
appreciation when I finished a song. As it was late, I took my time so I
sang as if there was nothing else left for me to do in this world.

	I was sipping on my cup full of Lemon Honey tea over the nearly wiped
counter when I felt something different. Looking around in the dark sitting
area and in the well-lit back kitchen, I saw nothing was wrong. Shrugging my
shoulders, I began to sing a little classic song that my parents used to
dance to when we used to have parties in our old house. With lithe
movements, I grab a Fedora, that happened to be used in display on a hat
rack that my mom bought at a flea market for decor, and did my imitation
dance of Fred Astaire. I skipped out to the middle of the floor and started
to dance and sang in sync with that old, familiar George and Ira Gershwin
song, using the broom as my partner. I knew that people could see me but I
didn't really care all that much.


Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note,
Though by tomorrow you're gone;
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,
"The melody lingers on"
They may take you from me,
I'll miss your fond caress.
But though they take you from me,
I'll still possess:

The way you wear your hat,
The way you sip your tea,
The mem'ry of all that--
No, no!  They can't take that away from me!

The way you smile just beams,
The way you sing off key,
The way you haunt my dreams --
No, no!  They can't take that away from me!

We may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love,
Still I'll always, always keep
The mem'ry of --

The way you hold your knife,
The way we danced till three,
The way you've changed my life --
No, no!  They can't take that away from me!
No! They can't take that away from me!

	I know it sounds campy but I grew up on musicals, okay. I used to love it
when Gene Kelly would dance and parlay with Cyd Charisse in 'Sing in the
Rain'. That barn-raising dance in 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' was a
masterpiece, and that clever scene of Fred Astaire in 'The Barkleys of
Broadway' with all those props he freestyle with. It was because of these
old musicals that I begged my parents to send me to dance lessons when I was
7 years old. Just give me an opportunity and I would probably out-dance all
those popstars out there. Now there's irony if I ever thought of it. I'll
tell you why later.

	As I was doing all these elaborate movements, I noticed a man outside the
cafe. He was tall and looked a little lanky. He had dark wavy hair and
intense blue eyes that seem too radiant in the dark. The man looked about 20
at least, 25 at most. The dark, shimmering suit that he wore made his
appearance mysterious and monumental. The high cheekbones and the perfect
nose made him seem so impossibly, unrealistically handsome. Such beauty
stunned me. All I did was blink and the man was gone.

	'What the fuck was that?' I thought. Shrugging, taking the dark-haired man
outside as a hallucination. I went back to my business of cleaning-up and
continued to sweep up the floor. After placing all the cleaning tools into a
closet in the kitchen and checking if the backdoor was locked, I switched
off the lights. 'At least I'll be home in time to see 'Party of Five' when
it starts,' I thought to myself.

	Crossing the sitting area, I felt a draft. 'Funny, I locked up the
backdoor.' Turning back into the kitchen and saw that padlock on the door
firmly set. Dismissing it as part of that weird vision at the window, I
turned around, but was suddenly faced with that same man from outside, who
stood now, impossibly, right in front of me. 'What the?!?!'

	Oh, those amazing eyes. There were blue, almost gray, under my scrutiny,
and seemed to pierce my very soul. What seemed like an eternity drove me
insane with anticipation; how can he be here when I locked up all the doors?
Without a word of question, he leaned in with those perfect lips of his and
kissed me, with me suddenly tensing as if the wrongness of the situation.
Again, my mind just had to think 'What the?!?!'.

	Abruptly, to my surprise at the time, my inhibitions were let loose and I
was sinking into the kiss. It was almost as if a switch was turned in myself
and I instinctively responded to the kiss back with passion. That same
passion only increased as he moved away from my lips and locked into my
cerulean eyes. It was mesmerizing, that smile he gave then he moved down to
taste me. My limbs were weak and held on to him like he was a life
preserver, all because he nibbled on my earlobe. My breathing hitched with
every new wonder that this beautiful man had in store for me. He licked on
my collarbone. One pinch on my nipple as he removed my shirt. That tasting
of my chin as he moved towards my left ear. 'Mine', he whispered, and I
could have done virtually anything he would have asked if he could make me
feel this way forever. Down he moved to my neck with his sensual tongue,
then a sudden sharp pain before in passed out from ecstasy.

	Somehow, hours later, I found myself in my bedroom with my mother sitting
right beside me and my step-dad hovering above her, looking down on me with
concerned eyes. She said that when she tried to wake me up for breakfast,
she found me with a 101.3 degrees fever and very pale skin. One neighborhood
doctor came and said that I would be fine in a week's time. She recommended
plenty of rest and liquids.

	I tried to recall over what happened to me last night, but mostly a blank
came to mind.

Chapter 2:

	The next chapter of my life can only be described as very 'Dickens', very
much like 'Great Expectations' except without the unpleasant sister and the
spiteful spinster. Throughout high school, I've gained, sometimes I wonder
about that, the popularity that was out of reach to me before. I became the
ideal student (Most popular student, Class President, MVP in basketball
etc.) Boring stuff. What really made me proud is the music I make.

	Say what? First, he's a dancer, a basketball player, a singer, and now he's
a musician. Is there anything that I can't do? Sue me. I have talent.
Anyway, I sing lead for this band that everyone said was good but,
basically, go nowhere.  We named the band 'Fifth Wheel', sort of an insight
to feeling like you're disposable and useless, very Grunge.

	So here we are in my basement, members of my band, various friends and
other people that I hardly know aside from bumping into them in the hallways
of Dr. Phillips High. Now, I want to focus on four people here in this room
for a while. With me included, we were the 'Fab Five' of Dr. Phillips High.
Me, Lance, Christina, Joey and Britney. Let me back down some history.

	I met Lance first. He was my neighbor who, like me when I was in Tennessee,
was an outcast. He looked girly and soft. It was no wonder that everyone
wanted to be mean to him. That summer before the school year started, we
made a vow to re-invent ourselves since there was no one to help us. Neither
of us wanted to return to what we were once were. Now, if you were to see
Lance Bass, he still had that effeminate look about him underneath that
rough goatee and blonde streaked spikes. If he was soft looking before, now
he's toned and very appealing to the eye.

	Christina Aguilera, or 'Chrissy' as what we like to call her, decided to
join us in our little project ever since she overheard our game-planning in
the mall one time. Now, let me mention first that she's my 'twin'. We have
similar backgrounds so we both know what it's like to suffer because of our
looks. She had her long golden hair while I had my corkscrew curls. Needless
to say, without her help we would have failed miserable. She's short and
loud, but she's one smart cookie. Both her and Lance are my Joe to my Pip
character.

	Our plan was simple. A little change of appearance, some do's and don'ts in
our wardrobe, and a bit of change in the way we lived our every days. It
worked, just a little too much as I could say. We quickly became an 'A-list'
crowd with the addition of Britney and Joey.

	After an amazing first week, in which we managed to wow our new classmates
with ease, we met Britney Spears, a vivacious girl from Louisiana with honey
locks and hips that could move. Being new to town like me, we quickly
assimilated her into our little circle. She's an Estella with more
personality, and less likely to frost you over.

	Our group wouldn't be complete if it weren't for the dramatic way of how we
meet Joey Fatone. First, he bumped my car and bent my fender. Next, he tried
to hit on Chrissy and got slapped in the process. Later that day, Joey
sideswiped Lance as he was running late for his class. Britney was
introduced to him in Basic Theater and managed to 'chew the fat'. After a
more sedated introduction, he was welcomed into the fold with open arms,
even if he did still had to pay for my bent fender. Everyone would notice
that he is the 'joker card' of the group mainly because he's not blonde and
slim like the rest of us. He has a good beard that never grew wild and
chocolate eyes. The glint of perpetual mischief matched well with his
ever-changing hair color, which only served to attract people from miles
around. One Artful Dodger whose everyone's best friend.

	As the years passed, we became to envy of the entire school. How is that
for a little 'change'? In our senior year, each of us carved a niche so we
basically controlled the school. We were school royalty. I was captain of
the basketball team, and its MVP. Britney became head cheerleader. Chrissy
ended up as class valedictorian. Joey became the school 'player' and
all-around best actor in the drama club. And Lance was the head of Yearbook
and Honors Society.

	Now here in my basement, I'm playing with my band, 'The Fifth Wheel', with
Lance at Bass (How funny is that) Chrissy at vocals, and me in lead guitar.
I also sing vocals. Britney and Joey were on the run down couch staring.
Britney was looking at me because I was her beau at the time, and Joey at
Lance. (He's Bi and has been pining for Lance since he first met him. Lance
is oblivious to the whole thing) Other non-mentionables were seated and
sprawled all around the place, listening to what has to be the last practice
session we have before Spring Break before the boys will split and head out
for Key West while the girls went to New York with Britney's family. As
Chrissy and I sang our duet, I studied my friends and made a mental note to
find some to level some down time with them before the division of the
sexes.

	One thing as I looked upon my own little clique of friends is that I really
don't know how we got dubbed as the 'beautiful ones'. Sure I'm angelic to
look at but if you look closely I don't really have that clear of skin and
I'm blind as a bat unless I wear contacts or my high-grade glasses. Britney
is a 'heather' and she admits it, she just tends to wear loose jeans and
men's shirts alot. Lance is still growing into his looks, as days pass he's
starting to look hotter and hotter. (In the corner of my eyes sometimes, I
would see Joey drool whenever we would go swimming or sunbathe on my roof.)
Chrissy was waifish and looked like she doesn't eat. Contrary to that idea,
she could give you a run for your money in a pie-eating contest. Yep! We are
just regular freaks of nature, but then that's just normal for being a
teenager.

	Chrissy snaps me out of my musings and asks for what the last song that
they were going to practice before parting ways. I said 'Kryptonite' by 3
Doors Down. We did that song down and were asked for an encore by some of
the Peanut Gallery in the place. We complied with 'Lump' by the Presidents
of the U.S.A.

	'So are we set for leaving later?' asked Joey as he helped in cleaning up
the basement after most of the 'Klingons' left. It was still early but I
knew that us guys plan to leave almost the same time as the girls' early
morning flight, as in 5 in the morning.

	'Not really. My stuff is set out but I still have to pack them,' replied
Lance as he helped me place the drum set into a storage cabinet. 'Just
remember that we will pass by your place at 3:30 and then head out to
Britney's house before we hit the road. Just be packed and awake by that
time or I will personally have your ass.' Oh Lance! If you only knew how
much Joey would want that. 'How about you, Juju?' I really hate that name!

	'I'm set and packed. I just have to spend some quality time with my
maternal unit at the cafe and do a set before hitting the hay early. Hey
baby!' I said as I leaned in and kissed Britney on the cheek while she
perused the latest fashions of some 'Vogue' wanna-be magazine. She looked up
and smiled then continued on her focused task. 'So Chrissy, what are you
going to bring over later for our last hootenanny before we part of a week?"

	Christina, sweet Christina, all smiling amiably and innocent-like even if I
knew that she was far from it, tilted her head in thought from the
overstuffed chair she was sitting on. 'I'll see if I can bake a quick batch
of brownies tonight. My cousin Jason gave me some weed the other day as an
advance birthday gift since he's leaving next week for England.' Who would
believe that the class valedictorian happens to be also one of the school's
biggest potheads?

	'Sweet', exclaimed Joey and me as I shoved the last of the instruments into
the closet.

	Soon, all of us were out of that musky basement and filing ourselves out of
my house. Lance went to his house next door, with a forlorned Joey looking
on. Chrissy and Britney went across the street to Chrissy's house, leaving
me with Joey. He didn't really make a move to leave as he continued to look
at Lance's house. 'Say, you want to join me at the cafe? I'm making it into
an early night, after all.' I offered.

	Joey sighed and nodded nonchalantly. My concern gave way to my first
priority of getting to the cafe; where I'm due to perform in one hour.
Rushing Joey into the passenger side of my banged-up SUV, I revved up the
car and left our quiet suburban 'hamlet'. All throughout the 20-minute ride
to the Boardwalk, Joey remained silent and a little sulky. I parked and
tried to strike up a good conversation as we walked to the cafe. Tired of
being blatantly ignored, I took direct action and tripped him, sending him
into the wooden walkway with a loud thud. How he managed to look embarrassed
and annoyed at the same time, I don't know.

	'What the hell was that for?' he snapped at me, blushing, while wishing the
people who saw what happened to just disappear.

	I grinned and helped him on his feet. 'Now that I got your undivided
attention, will you tell me what is wrong with you? Is there something on
your mind? I don't really appreciate it when my friends ignore me so they
could wallow in their own self-imposed misery. Now tell me what's going on
or I will have to beat it out of you with that Drag Queen's platform shoes,'
I candidly threatened as I pointed to a particularly flamboyant
cross-dresser who can give RuPaul a run for her money. Joey winced at the
sight of those 6-inch platforms.

	'Okay,' he said with resignation.

	'So what's bothering that bowl of spaghetti that you call your brain?' I
asked with as much humor that I could muster to lighten up Joey's
disposition.

	'It's the usual, and then some,' he answered. The 'usual' meaning Lance. I
guess it was Lance's fault to begin with as why Joey is like this. During
our sophomore year, the three of us went on a road trip to Lance's aunt back
in his old hometown of Clinton, Mississippi. We were to spend a week there
before classes began. During our stay there, we decided to camp out in a
nearby watering hole. To cut a long story short, Joey woke up and went out
to take a piss in the early morning. Lance was already out and decided to
skinny-dip in the watering hole. Joey saw him and has been dreaming and
scheming to get Lance to notice him ever since. What he saw in the pasty
white ass of Lance, I don't want to know. Ever since the day that Joey told
me about his new quest, I wished him all the luck in the world to get into
Lance's pant.

	Frankly, at the time, I didn't even know if Lance was gay or straight. I
guess that's what you get for being one of those people who prayed a lot and
acted like an old priest some of the times. I thought about Lance as a
person who never really showed his sexuality at all. I guess that's one of
the allure that Lance has other than his bright, expressive green eyes and
his sensual low voice. I guess also that Joey was attracted to Lance because
of his calming nature, he could quell out a storm with his presence alone.

	Then I've done something that I usually never would take seriously. I
thought of Joey and Lance as a couple, and amazingly, the thought wasn't
repulsive. If Lance was water, then Joey was fire. Polar opposites that
surprisingly match, if Lance would only give Joey more than the time of day.

	'What do you mean by 'and then some'? Don't tell me you are contemplating
something like suicide, are you?'

	'Jesus No! It's just that I've been thinking about a lot of things. Lance
happens to be one of the main components. These past few months have really
opened my eyes, so now I'm really confused.'

	'Anything specific you want to talk about?'

	'No, just give me some breathing space so I can think about all this and
then I'll tell you about it.'

	I simply shrugged my shoulders and gave a reassuring smile to Joey. We
stopped in front of the Blue Eyes Cafe and entered to the animated banter of
the Sunday crowd. All around were young people in casual and relaxed
fashion. There were none of the usual high-on-caffeine customers that I see
on the weekdays nor the Avant Garde Fashionistas that dwell on the special
concoctions during the few hours before closing time. Just everyday people
that need to relax and unwind. And I'm the one to help along with that train
of thought.

	I greeted my mom and grabbed my special in-house guitar from the back. Joey
placed himself at the bar and started to hit on this college girl from out
of town. I smiled at Joey's ability to get easily distracted. Weaving
through the seated patrons, I got up on the slightly elevated stage and
tuned my guitar. I gave my mom the cue and she turned on the small halogen
lights above my head. A few clapped at their recognition of me, and I waited
for them to silence themselves.

	'Hello,' I greeted. 'Welcome to the Blue Eyes Cafe. I'm Justin and I'll be
playing for you tonight as per requested by my mother over there.' I pointed
to my mom and made her blush. 'If there is anything that you want to hear,
please, don't hesitate to write it down and send it over. If I can play it,
fine. If I can't, well, sorry.' A few people chuckled and I began on the
first song.


We rode all night across an endless desert
We had no moon to light our way
And though a billion stars were slowly turning
We lacked the consciences to pray

Our horses running like devil chasers
Those feet they hardly touched the ground
Yes, I'm familiar with the gray wolves howling
But I'm certain I never heard this sound

Devil to pay
On judgment day
Would Jesus strike me down
If I should pray

This cowboy song
Is all I know
To bring me back into your arms
Your distant sun
Your shining light
You'll be my dark star shining tonight

I've been the lowest of the low on the planet
I've been a sinner all my days
And I was living with my hand on the trigger
I had no sense to change my ways

The priest asked if I'd embrace the resurrection
To suck the poison from my life
Just like an existential cowboy villain
His words were balanced on my knife

Devil to pay
On judgment day
Would Jesus strike me down
If I should pray

This cowboy song
Is all I know
To bring me back into your arms
Your distant sun
Your shining light
You'll be my dark star shining
Tonight

Every night
Every night
All my distances afar

This cowboy song
Is all I know
To bring me back into your arms
This cowboy song
This cowboy life
I'll be your dark star shining
Tonight

(Words and music by Sting)

	The people gave me a huge appreciative round of applauds. I grinned and let
the euphoria wash over me like a drug. I peered into the bay window and saw
that the night was getting closer by the minute and I still had at least a
dozen more songs to sing.

	By around the tenth song that I've sung, only the low fading orange light
of dusk settled on the horizon and the new moon glimpsed itself to start
another cycle. The music I provided helped to allay some of the stress that
these people felt. Not all of them could take a vacation like what I was
doing to do. I searched for familiar faces and found a few. Some sophomores
that dote on my every movement in school. Some batch mates that come here to
meet up. And a few teachers I knew from the faculty. These were the people
that greet him in the morning and would eventually get their faces here,
whether to work in a quiet corner or to simply sip on the delights of a good
cup of coffee. It makes me happy knowing that someone out there loves seeing
me perform.

	I faced the door and my breathing suddenly stopped. Luckily, I just ended a
song. The Man came inside. The Man that I forgot had existed. The one came
into my life all those months ago when I thought that he was just a mere
hallucination. This must be a dream because the Man is here.

	Shaking myself into reality, I forced myself to calm down and tried to
avoid the man's piercing gaze as he placed himself at a table directly in
front of me. He wore a simple gray turtleneck sweater with black jeans. His
eyes, still as powerful as I all of a sudden remembered, held steady as I
tried to compose myself. His face was neutral and expressionless, though I
could see the slight worry lines on his forehead that I recognized as signs
of brooding. Suddenly, my mind started to race, as if it was trying to find
something to show, something to give that man. It hit me quite suddenly, I
could just sing something to him, sappy as that idea could be. Time for some
subliminal suggesting.


Take me now, baby, here as I am
Hold me close, try and understand
Desire is hunger is the fire I breathe
Love is a banquet on which we feed
Come on now, try and understand
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand, come under cover
They can't hurt you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Have I doubt, baby, when I'm alone
Love is a ring on the telephone
Love is an angel, disguised as lust
Here in our bed 'til the morning comes
Come on now, try and understand
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand, come under cover
They can't hurt you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
With love we sleep, with doubt the vicious circle turns, and burns
Without you, I cannot live, forgive the yearning burning
I believe in love too real to feel, take me now, take me now,
Take me now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us

(Song by Patti Smith; cover version by the 10,000 Maniacs)

	I closed my eyes during the last couple of notes of the song and let the
world pass as I tried to remember my memory lapse. Looking up in front of
me, I noticed the man was gone. Twice this guy left me in the dust and it
both unnerved me and excited me.

	I finished with one last song and approached Joey who somehow convinced the
girl with the revealing top that he was some guy who owns the Virgin
Megastore in the mall. Rolling my eyes, I dragged him out of there and said
goodbye to my mom.

On the ride back, Joey forgot, for the moment, his woes with the 'Lance
Situation' and cracked a few jokes. I, on the other hand, half-listened and
thought about my second encounter with the man with the sad face. Since
Joey's house was two houses down from Christina's, I dropped him first so I
could get to bed early. After pastrami sandwich and a dose of Benadryl to
sedate me, I was out like a light.  (Don't follow this, kiddies. My dad was
a General Practitioner of medicine and would do this if just to get me to
sleep at night.)

TBC...