Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 11:20:06 PST
From: Jason Clarke <jaclarke@hotmail.com>
Subject: Ryan and Lance - Part 17

This story involves members of the bands NSYNC.  I am in no way implying
anything about the sexuality of any of their members.  This is purely a
fictional story.  Enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who have taken the time to write me.  I really, really
enjoy hearing from you guys, so please send any comments and/or suggestions
to jaclarke@hotmail.com  (ICQ #7964029)

*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Ryan and Lance - Part 17

Lance froze in his tracks upon hearing Justin's words.  Struggling to
control himself, he regained his composure as best as he could before
continuing.  "We better let the guys know that you're alright," he said
quietly.  "Come on, I'll take you over to the front."  Lance kneeled down so
that Justin could climb on his back again.

"Lance..." Justin continued as tears streamed down his face.

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" Lance replied gently.  "Right now,
we've gotta get you to the guys and have your leg checked out."  With that,
Lance carried Justin towards the front of the building where everyone else
was congregating.  As Lance and Justin turned the corner, they could see a
huge mass of people standing on the huge lawn in front of the buidling, with
numerous fire trucks parked all over.  Lance's eyes scanned the crowd and
immediately focused on three obviously distraught young men.  He slowly
walked over, careful not to hurt Justin, towards the group.

Joey was the first to notice someone walking towards them.  His eyes
immediately lit up and he ran towards the two approaching people.  "Lance!
Justin!" he exclaimed, "thank God you're alright!!"  With that outburst of
joy, Chris and JC looked up from their sorrow and saw their two friends
standing steps away from them.

Joey was about to hug Lance when he noticed that the older blond was
carrying Justin.  "What happened?"

"Justin hurt his leg in there," Lance explained.  "It could be broken, so we
better take him to see a doctor."

Joey nodded in understanding.  Meanwhile, JC and Chris had made their way
over, their eyes still red from crying.  "James Lance Bass," JC chastised,
"don't you EVER do that to me again!!"

Lance's head shot up and stared right into JC.  "I'm not your kid, JC.
Don't you EVER talk to me that way again!" Lance shot back.  "I'll drive the
car over, wait by the road," he muttered before carrying Justin towards the
parking lot.

"Lance, I..." JC tried to explain before he choked on his tears again.
Chris and Joey pulled JC into a hug.  "I...I didn't mean it that way..."

"We know," Chris answered.  "You just need to give him some time...both of
you need some time to work this out."

As Lance was carrying Justin to the car, the younger blond could hear
Lance's uneven breathing.  Right away, he knew that Lance was crying.
"What's wrong, Lance?" Justin asked softly.

"I'm sorry, Justin..." Lance replied.  "I...I didn't mean to yell at JC.  I
don't know what's wrong with me..."

Justin's heart broke as he saw Lance sob.  "Lance, it's okay.  I know you
didn't mean it.  He'll understand."

Meanwhile, back in Orlando...

"We interrupt our programming with breaking news.  A huge fire broke out at
the site of the Canadian Music Awards earlier tonight, sending thousands of
guests and celebrities in attendance running into the street for safety..."
Ryan sat where he had been all evening, his eyes frozen to the screen, his
breathing uneven, his hands shaking.  Time stopped, and Ryan could feel his
heart pounding.

RRRRIIIIIINGGGG!!  RRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGG!

Ryan robotically walked to the phone, his mind blank.  "Hello..."

"Ryan, you okay?"

Silence.

"Ryan?"

Realizing who was at the other end of the call, Ryan snapped out of his
trance.  "Lance?  Thank God you're okay.  What happened??"

"Long story, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay.  I'll be home
tomorrow."

"Okay.  Thanks for calling," Ryan replied.  "By the way, you looked really
hot there on stage tonight!"

Lance blushed at the comment.  "Thanks, Ryan.  Well, you take care of
yourself, okay?  And give Scottie a hug for me."

"Will do.  See you soon."

*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

A couple of hours of waiting finally saw the doctors emerge from Justin's
room.

"Well?" Chris asked tentatively.

"Everything looks good.  It wasn't a serious injury," the doctor explained.
"It'll take a while to heal but there won't be any lasting damage.  We'll
keep him here overnight and he can be released tomorrow morning."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.  They all headed into
Justin's room, with the exception of Lance, who remained where he was.  As
JC followed Joey into the room, he noticed that Lance was not coming with
him.  He stopped and turned to face his former bandmate.  "You coming,
Lance?"

"Nah, I just wanted to make sure he was okay.  Give Justin my regards,"
Lance answered before turning towards the elevator.

"Lance, please..." JC pleaded.  "Do you really despise us that much?  Justin
needs you..."

Lance could feel tears well up in his eyes, but he struggled to maintain his
composure.  He turned to face JC.  "And where were you when I needed you,
JC?  Where were you?"  Lance choked on those last words, as his attempt to
hold back his tears failed him.  JC's sense of guilt overwhelmed him and he
fell to his knees in tears.

"I'm sorry, Lance.  I messed up, I messed up so bad.  Please...I know I
don't deserve to be forgiven, and I'm not asking you to forgive me...but
please, stay for a bit...for Justin...I beg you," JC pleaded through his
sobs.

Lance's heart broke as he saw JC on the floor, oblivious to anyone who might
walk through this area of the hospital.  But a voice told him not to succumb
to JC's pleading...he didn't want to be hurt again.

When Lance didn't respond, JC crawled over to Lance's feet.  "I beg you,
Lance...just do this one favour for me...I beg you...I'll do
anything...anything!!!"

"Alright, JC.  I want you to smash you fucking face against that wall so I
never ever have to see you again," Lance answered coldly.

Without hesitation, JC got up from the floor and ran towards the wall.
Lance gasped and grabbed JC before he could go any further.  "What the hell
do you think you're doing?"

"Ramming my face against the wall," JC replied.

Seeing that JC really meant it, Lance's last wall of defence crumbled.
"I...I...I'm sorry, JC.  I didn't..."  Lance searched for words to say, but
he found none.

JC looked at the blond singer with pleading eyes.  "Please...just go in and
see Justin...even for a few minutes...please?"

Lance nodded and followed JC into the room.  Once inside, they saw Joey and
Chris by Justin's bedside, and the younger blond singer was sobbing.  "Guys,
can we have a couple of minutes alone?" Lance asked.

The rest of the guys responded by quietly leaving the room.  Lance walked
over to Justin's bed and sat on the chair by the bed.  "You feeling better,
Just?"

Justin controlled his sobs and looked at Lance.  "Lance...I...I'm so sorry
about everything that I've put you through.  You have every reason to hate
me, to despise me...I've been nothing short of a despicable assho..."
Before he could finish, Lance interrupted.

"Justin, you've got to stop beating up on yourself.  What's happened is
already in the past.  You've got to look forward now."

"But I don't have anything to look forward to anymore..." Justin whispered.

"Don't be silly, Justin," Lance reasoned.  "You've got NSYNC, your family,
your music.  You've got a lot ahead of you to look forward to."

Justin looked at Lance in the eye and summoned up his courage.  "I don't
care about my music or my career, Lance.  Because of them, because of me
trying to hold on to them, I lost my best friend.  That was too high a price
to pay, Lance."

Lance sat there speechless, trying to digest Justin's words.  "Justin...when
I came out to you...I really didn't expect you to react that way.  Maybe I
was being naive...but I...Justin, what you did really hurt me...and...I know
that I shouldn't have expected you to just accept me right on the spot...I
was unfair to you in a way..."  Lance paused before continuing, searching
for the right words to say.  "What I'm trying to say is that I'm asking you
to forgive me for the way I've treated you."

Now it was Justin's turn to be shocked.  He could never understand Lance.
Here he was trying his hardest to apologize, and Lance somehow managed to
turn the whole thing around, asking for his forgiveness instead.  "Why don't
we just forgive each other, Lance.  I think that'll make this whole
situation a lot easier," Justin finally suggested.

A grin broke out on Lance's face and they moved to hug each other.  It felt
like a huge burden was lifted off of both of them.  When they finally broke
the embrace, Justin looked into Lance's eyes again.  "Does this mean that
you're going to come back to NSYNC?"


...to be continued....

Hope you enjoyed this segment.  Let me know what you think!!

As always, I'd love to hear any comments/ideas/questions.  Please e-mail me
at jaclarke@hotmail.com  (ICQ #7964029)