Chapter SixLance sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he slumped against the door of the inn. He hated traveling in a country where he didn’t know the language. Hell, he didn’t like traveling period. He hated having to sleep in a new bed everyday, eat strange food, be on the go. That was one of the things he hated about NSYNC, but he’d gotten used to it over time. But at least then he had the others, and wasn’t alone.
Lance had been searching France for the past three weeks, trying to find Justin. The only thing he knew about it was that Justin was staying on an estate somewhere in France. It was the only lead Lance had, but it was something. And he couldn’t just let Justin walk out of his life.
Lance pulled a map out of his suitcase and studied it. He’d ruled out the French Riveria from the beginning. Justin wanted to be far away from everyone, not around thousands of people. So he’d started on the coast and worked his way around France, looking for places that had recently become occupied. He’d had no luck so far, and he was already halfway across the country.
Lance tossed the map on the floor and stared at the ceiling, picturing the blue eyes he’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
~~~
Justin grabbed the pan, yelped in pain, let go of it, grabbed a pot holder, and then picked the pan up and moved it from the stove top. He placed the steak he’d just cooked on a plate, next to a baked potato and a small dish of corn. He placed the pan back on the stove and stared at the first true meal he ever made, grinning. Over the past few weeks, he’d practiced cooking small things, never a complete meal. And he’d made lots of cakes and cookies and pies.
He glanced at the kitchen table, where a cake rested under a glass dome on a silver platter. IT was his best on to date, cooked to perfection and decorated beautifully. He only wished he had someone to share it with.
You could have had someone to share it with, a voice in his mind whispered. If you hadn’t left all of your friends and family, you’d be able to share that with them.
"But if I hadn’t left them, I wouldn’t be here cooking," Justin said aloud, shocked, like always, by the sound of his voice. He couldn’t believe his golden voice was gone. His looks, he could deal with. But his voice? The loss of his voice hit him the hardest, but he only realized it here, in this silent house, where he didn’t have to see his face.
Justin carried his plate to the table sat down. He had eaten once in the large dining room, designed for dinner parties of fifty or more people, not one person. After that night, he hadn’t entered the dining room. Nor had he gone into the ballroom since the first day. Or the music room. He spent most of his time in the kitchen, trying to learn to cook, failing many times because he didn’t pay attention or didn’t follow the directions. And when he wasn’t in the kitchen, he was in the library, pouring through all of the books there. Many were in French, along with a few in what he thought was Latin and Greek, but most were English. He has asked the agent about that when she delivered his food, and she’d told him that the chateau had belonged to an English family who would spend summers in France.
He needed something to do, else he would have gone crazy. So he’d started spending time reading. He’d never had time for it when he was younger, he was always busy with something else. But with all of this time on his hands, he could do other things, like read and learn to cook and maybe he could find other talents that he never knew he had.
In a way, the car accident was good. He missed human companionship, but he was too hideous, even with the mask, to look at. And who would want to hear his voice?
~~~
"’Lo?" Joey mumbled, picking up the phone.
"Have you heard from Lance in the past few days?" JC asked.
"Jace, stop worrying," Joey told him through a yawn. "Lance can take care of himself."
"But he promised he’d call one a week," JC said.
"And it’s only Thursday. He can still call tomorrow, or Saturday, or Sunday. He’ll probably call Sunday. That would be a week since he last called."
"I know, but I just want to make sure he’s okay."
"JC, you need to do something to take your mind off everything. Why don’t you go visit your family?"
"That would make me think even more about it."
"Find something to do, Jace, you can’t spend all of your time at home thinking about Lance and Justin. I know you love both of them, but you’ve got to get over their leaving. And stop worrying about Lance. He’s a big boy now."
"I miss them, Joey," JC mumbled. "I miss all of you guys. Although I talk to you and Chris, I miss hanging out with you. I don’t know what to do, because I’ve never actually been by myself for this long."
"You need to get away from Florida, Jace. Why don’t you come to New York with me tomorrow? I’m going to be up their for a few days, visiting Kelly and Brianna."
JC’s face broke into a grin, that was evident in his voice. "I’d love that, Joey. When do you leave?"
Joey laughed and told him he was driving to New York, so he’d come by and pick JC up the next morning. Then he went back to sleep and the wonderful dream JC had interrupted.
JC laid on his bed, thinking about driving to New York with Joey. They’d be stuck in a car for hours. It was perfect!