Author: Elizabeth
Category: JC/Lance, Joey/Justin but totally later in the story.
Summary: This is AU but they become a band later. Lance�s home caught on fire when he was 12 and his family died. He packed up what little he had left and ran away before social services could get him. On the streets, he meets 10 year old Justin, then 20 year old Chris, 14 year old Joey and 15 year old JC. Soon, these five guys depend on each other and later discover love and a bond that will last forever.
AN: For the person who askedJ Yes, Lance and Justin are Preteens. Justin is 10 and Lance is 12. Joey and JC are teens and Chris is an adult. And it�ll be slash when Lance is 19 and Justin is 17 because they�ll be wondering about their sexuality.
~*~
One year later�
Justin looked both ways on the busy street and as soon as it was clear, he crossed quickly, the bags of groceries in his hands. He walked on the sidewalk and went into the alley way. He looked behind him before walking further. He opened the door to the warehouse and shut it tightly. He went up the stairs and into a small room. He put the bags on the little table and looked at Lance.
�Happy birthday, here�s your present.� Justin threw a stuffed squirrel wearing a space suit at Lance.
Lance smirked. �You are going to get it buddy. Thanks by the way.�
�So, before the guys get back from the radio store, want to surprise them with dinner?�
�Justin, we can�t cook.�
�Hey, who said cooking was involved?� He pulled out the roasted chicken. Lance rolled his eyes.
�You stole from Chris again, didn�t you?�
�I borrowed! He just doesn�t know it yet.�
Lance sighed. �Justin, it�s been two years.�
�Yeah. Man, where does time go?�
Lance shrugged. �Maybe it�s from the excitement of Florida.�
�Hey, want to go swimming later in the water?�
�Love to.�
Justin smiled. A week after JC�s sixteenth birthday, they all decided to leave New York, but not before one last visit to the WTC until years later. They took pictures of each other and there was an adorable one of Justin and Lance sitting on the edge and Joey and JC holding on to them while Chris rolled his eyes. While in Florida, Lance and Justin�s hair had grown lighter but they kept it that way. They didn�t want to deal with anymore hair dye. JC still wasn�t fully better even when they thought he was. The only time he seemed to smile was when music was involved or one of the guys did something funny.
Lately, Lance felt an appreciation for the older boy and he always seemed to look for JC�s comfort.
A few minutes later, Justin heard the door downstairs and footsteps.
�Justin? Lance?�
�In here, Chris.�
The guys burst in the door with grins.
�Tell me we have food! Good food.�
�Yes, we do, you hungry animal.� Justin said.
Joey chomped down. Justin hissed. Lance rolled his eyes.
�Uh, Justin, you forgot the fruit.�
�Oh no!�
�Relax guys, I�ll get it.� Lance got up. �Okay, fruit and anything else. Money?� He held out his hand expectantly.
Joey slapped some bills into his hand. Lance raced downstairs.
Twenty minutes later, Lance finally came back. He put the bag down.
�All right. We got your fruit, your pudding, and your scissors for cutting our hair. Seriously guys, this was hard. Now, wait till you hear this. Someone actually recognized me. I had to deny it so fast it wasn�t even funny.� As Lance was talking, his voice became squeaky then moments later it became rich and deep. The guys looked him and smiled.
Then, Justin gasped and ran up to Lance. �Lance! Are you all right? Are you feeling okay?� He put a hand to Lance�s head.
Chris rolled his eyes. �Relax, Justin, he�s just growing up. His voice changed, yours will too.�
�Yeah, but you�re still high pitched.�
Lance, Joey and JC looked at each other. Justin so was getting his butt kicked.
�Oh, that�s it. Come here infant.�
Before Justin could run, Chris picked him up, tossed him over his shoulder and ran out of the warehouse with him.
�AH! CHRIS, PUT ME DOWN!�
Lance ran down followed by JC and Joey. They fell into the opening of the door and watched as Chris ran around with Justin�s body flopping against his back. Lance laughed.
�Guess you won�t insult Chris again, will you Justin?�
�SHUT UP!� Justin yelled.
JC laughed. �No swearing Justin!�
�Yeah, yeah!�
Lance just smiled.
~*~
�You want to try singing?� Joey asked.
Lance nodded. �Yep! My voice is different, I want to see how we sound.�
�All right. Come on, let�s get the others.�
They walked into the warehouse and saw Justin bouncing a basketball while JC wrote in his notebook and Chris was pacing.
�Hey guys. What�s going on?�
�I got a thought stuck in my head.� Chris looked at JC. �You�ll be eighteen in a year, right?�
JC nodded. �Yeah.�
�Maybe, maybe you can get a job. I mean, you won�t be in danger of getting sent to a home.�
�Yeah, but they�ll also find Justin and Lance.�
�Maybe, maybe not. Actually, you can get a job when the guys are 13 and 15. That way, they�ll be a lot older and no one will be able to tell who they are.�
�You sure?�
�Yes, and if someone thinks they are who they think they are, we can tell them that they just probably look alike.�
Lance and Justin stared at each other.
�So, what did you and Joey want?� Justin asked a moment later.
�Oh, we wanted to sing.� Lance said.
�Okay.� Chris said. JC and Justin laughed and they all sang the national anthem. They were shocked at how good Lance�s voice was with theirs. Now they just needed to see how Justin�s voice changed.
Five months later.
Lance and Justin were walking down the street, heading for the warehouse. Joey was off seeing if he could find a small job and JC was at the record store. Chris was getting them all lunch.
�Okay, so basically if you go up high enough, it would be Chris�s range. Get it?�
�I think so. This music stuff is hard!�
Lance smiled. �I know but don�t worry, you�ll get it.�
They looked both ways on the street then crossed. Justin stepped on the curb then heard screeching.
�Justin look out!�
Justin looked over and his eyes widened as a car came barreling towards him. He felt Lance grab him and pull him over. They landed into the wall and watched in horror as the car smashed into another car, sending it veering into another car and another. Then, a fire started in the cars. Justin gasped.
�Oh no!� Lance yelled.
Suddenly, an explosion was heard and the last thing Justin remembered was Lance blocking him.
~*~*~*
Justin opened his eyes and flinched. He opened them again and saw Joey leaning over him, tears streaming down his face.
�Oh thank God.� Joey hugged his friend. �You�re all right. Chris came and got me and�Justin, you�you.� Joey just hugged him.
�Where�s Lance?�
�JC and Chris are in the other room with him. He broke his ankle so they are bandaging him up.�
�What happened, Joey? There was a huge explosion and��
Joey sighed. �Lance saw that the car was about to explode so he covered you. As he did, a piece of mettle skidded across his ankle and you went down and hit your head. Chris heard the explosion and when he came to see what happened, he saw you two. He grabbed both of you and took you back then he came and got JC to watch Lance.�
�Is he okay?�
�He�ll be fine. He�s a bit scared but he�ll be fine.�
�I�m sorry.�
�For what?�
�Almost getting us caught.�
�No, it�s okay, Justin. Just as long as you guys are safe.�
Justin smiled and hugged Joey tightly.
~*~*~*~*
�It�s okay, JC, it doesn�t hurt so much anymore.� Lance winced.
�Oh really? Lance, your ankle was bleeding. Do you know how hard it is for two people with no medical experience to stop the bleeding and bandage you up?�
Lance didn�t say anything. �Justin�s okay?�
�Yeah, he woke up a few minutes ago.� Chris said.
Lance nodded and looked at JC. He seemed to be deep in thought. �JC?�
JC looked at him. �Yeah?�
�I�nothing.�
JC hugged him tightly. �Lance, you�re my best friend, if I lost you, I wouldn�t know what to do.� He said crying softly.
�Sh, it�s okay, I�m all right.� He pulled away and smiled at JC. �Hey, at least we can have some proof we�re still alive!�
JC smiled. Lance�s heart sped up. He had no clue why.