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.
~*~
Justin and Lance were walking along the winding road, wondering how far it would take them. Justin was hanging onto Lance�s hand and Lance was clutching it with all his might. It was quiet for a while.
�Justin, what happened? How did you end up in an orphanage?�
Justin shrugged. �I�ve heard a lot, but I snuck into the office before I left. My mommy was a kid when I was born and my daddy forced her to have sex with him.�
Lance didn�t think it�d be right to tell Justin what the word was. He�d find out when he was older.
�According to the paper, the lady who runs the place saw me outside in a baby carrier and took me in. I�ve been there for ten years. They won�t try to find us, will they Lance?�
Lance bit his lip. Yes, they would search for Justin. �Not if we are really careful and we keep running they won�t.� They passed by a stack of newspapers so Lance stopped. He took out two quarters, put them in the tin can and took a paper. He put it in his backpack before taking Justin�s hand and walking with him again. Justin stayed close. They went into a warehouse and Lance looked around. He went to the window and brushed off the dust, getting his tiny hand dirty. He wiped his hand on his jeans and got the paper out. Justin sat next to him.
Lance opened the newspaper and saw the story about his parents and him running away. There was a picture of him with his blond hair. Lance patted it down.
�That�s you.�
�Yeah. I need to disguise myself but I don�t know how. So do you, they have your picture on here.� He slapped the newspaper down on the table and grabbed some scissors. Justin jumped. �We need to cut your hair, Justin. It�ll only be for a while, it�ll grow back.�
Justin bit his lip and nodded. Lance got behind him and Justin shut his eyes as Lance started snipping. Justin licked his lips and Lance hummed a song.
�What is that?�
�It�s a country song. You never heard of it?�
�We�re not allowed to play or listen to music.�
�Well that is horrible. Music is wonderful. I have my radio, you want to listen?�
�Okay.� Lance stopped snipping for a few minutes to get out his portable radio and turn it to a radio station where a song played for them to here. Justin giggled and Lance smiled as they danced to the sounds of New Kids. Lance cut more of Justin�s hair until it lay on top of his head. Justin took the scissors hair and cut Lance�s hair best he could while they rocked out.
Justin found an old broken mirror and showed it to Lance. They looked into the mirror and checked out their hair. Lance�s hair was cut very short and in tiny spikes. He ran a hand through his hair. Justin winced at his hair but smiled. It was cool.
Lance sighed. �I need hair dye. Justin, if you get me some hair dye, promise to be careful?�
He nodded. Lance gave him some money and led him to a small boutique.
Lance stood to the side with his head down waiting for Justin to come back out.
Justin went up and down the aisle before seeing a small tube that had the color brown on it. He took it and looked closely at it. He smiled and went up to the counter to pay. He kept his head down as he bought it. The woman did glance at him a few times but he ignored her. When he got his change and Lance�s dye, he ran out.
�I think she recognized me.� He cried softly.
�It�s okay, come on.� He put an arm around Justin and they rushed off to a lake.
Lance took off his clothes so he was only in his underwear and Justin did the same. Lance shivered a bit and took the tube. He looked at the directions and did what it said to Justin. Then Justin did it to Lance. They wrapped their dirty blankets around their heads then put their clothes on. After about 20 minutes, the boys pulled off the blankets and looked at their reflection in the mirror. Lance smiled. They both had brown hair.
�Wow. I never knew I�d look different.� Justin said in awe.
�Yeah. We still might get recognized but we should be all right, Justin. You okay?�
Justin nodded. �I�m just thinking about what we�re doing. Where do you want to go, Lance?�
�I�ve always wanted to go to New York. I don�t know, I just find it so appealing.�
Justin smiled. �I read books about New York! They have cool buildings. But won�t it be hard to run?�
�I hope not. Right now, we�re in Mississippi. It�ll take a while on foot.� He sighed.
Justin smiled. �We just gotta stick together!�
Lance smiled and wrapped an arm around his friend.
~*~
Five days later, Lance peaked his head out of the small train car. He and Justin had seen a train and decided to jump on. Lance jumped in first while Justin ran after him and Lance grabbed him. Justin and Lance were hungry and tired, not to mention dirty so they were hoping they could rest before going to a lake to jump around.
Lance was now free to move around since Justin was sleeping peacefully. He looked out the door and saw a sign. He squinted his eyes.
�Now heading to Tennessee.�
Lance sighed and looked at Justin. The younger boy was tossing and turning. Lance walked over to him and sat with him. Finally, the train stopped so Justin and Lance hid. They heard the door opens and sounds of things being shoved inside. When the train started moving again, they got out and saw packages of meat. Lance grinned and grabbed 10 bags of meat and put it in his backpack. He bent down to Justin and fed him some of the cold meat. Justin chewed quietly.
Finally, they went to the door of the train and looked out. They were in a small, quiet looking town so Justin and Lance held hands as they jumped off. Lance rolled down the embankment a bit and sat up as Justin tumbled into him. Justin started to cry.
�Hey, it�s okay, don�t be a baby. Come on.� They stood up and grabbed their bags before walking again. Lance kept a protective arm around Justin as they walked along the sidewalk. People would glance at them but they didn�t give any notice of the two boys, other than just wondering where their parents were. Lance and Justin found a lake and jumped in, taking their dirty underwear off so they were naked. Lance didn�t have any shampoo but Justin had the bottles he had taken. Lance smiled. They were fugitives. They cleaned themselves and then got out and to dry off. Justin put on a blue shirt and some jeans. Lance put on a green long sleeved shirt and overalls. They let their hair stay wet. They got their stuff and continued to walk.
�What are we going to do when we get to New York?�
�Well we�re going to live there. When the time comes, we�ll get some jobs to make money then we�re going to buy an apartment and we�re going to live there.�
Justin smiled. �How much money do you have?�
Lance sighed. �Not enough. Just enough to keep us eating. Soon we may need to make some sacrifices.�
Justin nodded, not understanding what the older boy was saying. They just continued on their destination.
Later that night, Lance was trying to cook some meat but he wasn�t doing very well. He just sighed and decided to deal with it later.
�I want food, Lance!�
�I know, Justin. Look, stay here. I�ll be right back, okay?�
Lance ran off and Justin backed up into his shelter. After 15 minutes of waiting, Justin was still hungry and cold. He glanced to his left and licked his lips. A man was bending over his bag and was eating a huge sandwich. He had dark hair and his skin looked a bit pale. Justin�s eyes strayed to the sandwich in his hands. He held his stomach and stood up. He walked over to the man.
The guy finished chewing his food and swallowed. He looked down and saw Justin. He looked around then back the small boy.
�Is there something you want?� He asked softly.
�Um, I�m hungry sir and my friend went to get me something but he�s been gone a while and I saw you eating and�can I have some.�
The man smiled. �Sure kid.� He ripped half of the sandwich and gave it to Justin. �Careful. It�s pretty big.�
�Thank you. I�m Justin.�
�Chris. It�s nice to meet you, Justin.�
Justin smiled and ate.
A little bit later, Lance returned and saw Justin eating with a stranger. He saw that Justin was okay but was still a little reserved. He walked over. �Hey Justin, I got you some chips.�
�Thanks Lance. Lance, this is Chris! Chris, this is Lance.�
�Hello Chris. Thanks for giving him some food.�
�Hello.� He looked away for a bit then at Lance. �Hey, you�re the kid who lost his parents.� Lance�s eyes widened.
�Please! Don�t make me go back! I can�t go to a foster home, I can�t!�
�Hey, relax, buddy, I won�t. Come here.� Chris pulled Lance onto his lap. �Look, you�re a good kid. I don�t know what is going on. Where are you heading to?�
�New York.� Lance said softly.
Chris sighed. �So am I. I can�t believe I�m doing this. Look, how about I take you and Justin with me. I�m not doing well on the money market but I can use some company and you came from Mississippi. That�s far!�
�Very far.� Justin agreed, nodding.
Chris smiled slightly. �Okay, kid, don�t start crying on me. Orphanage?� He asked Justin.
Justin nodded. �Don�t take me back.�
�I won�t. I should but, if you guys are this miserable, I�ll help you. I promise.�
Justin smiled and hugged him. Chris was taken by surprise but hugged him back. Lance smiled and did the same. They would make it together.