FirstSight3

the session at the studio was incredible. everything clicked. the guys
tried a couple of different songs, each sounding better to the last to
everyone present. johnny, the manager of the new group, was extremely impressed both with lance's voice alone and with how well he blended with the others. he was also impressed by all the laughter coming from the guys between takes. they were all genuinely enjoying themselves. lance fit beautifully.

as the guys wrapped the last song that johnny had planned for them to try out, they all gave each other high fives, but johnny stopped them. "guys?" he called into the mike from the sound room.

justin looked up, "yeah johnny?"

"i have one more song for you to do today."

jc looked puzzled. "i thought this was it...?"

"it was, but you guys have got something here. i wanna see if it's as good as i think it is. this little ditty will challenge you all."

"even me?" justin asked, grinning at jc.

"even you, cream puff," jc threw back.

justin retorted, "we know just keeping your eyes open this long is a
challenge for you, jc," and he ducked away from the older boy as jc made like he would smack justin again. still grinning, justin said, "hey johnny, let's see what you've got for us."

as johnny came into the studio to pass out the music, chris read aloud, "'i thought she knew.' sounds interesting at least." jc immediately started humming his part, getting a feel for the notes. justin's eyes ran up and down the score: five-part harmony, a capella.

"wow," justin muttered under his breath, "this might actually be a challenge."

joey heard him. "even for you, j?"

justin looked up, then smiled. "who me? i got it memorized already."

"can we try this?" lance interrupted quietly, his voice cutting through the others' banter.

"yeah, lets." justin backed up his new friend.

"give us a middle C, johnny?" jc asked. johnny did as bidden, and the boys began to sing.

it was incredible. during the first run through, each of them made a few mistakes, but the general picture of the song that came to life was breathtakingly beautiful. lynn looked over at diane, both of the watching with johnny in the sound room, and diane had tears in her eyes.

"is that really them i hear?" diane asked quietly.

"yeah," lynn breathed back. she didn't want to interrupt the guys. she
didn't want to cover a second of their harmonies.

"wow," was all diane could say till the end of the song.

as justin finished the lead-out of the song, the five of them all looked at each other, music still in hand, headphones still covering one ear each.

then lance spoke for them all. "wow," he said, echoing his mom.

"wow," said jc.

"i think 'wow' about sums it up," chris added.

"i agree with you there, chris," johnny said, grinning from ear to ear. he turned to lance and asked, "so, mr. bass, would you like to be a part of this? we'd be delighted to have you."

"i would be honored, johnny," he said solemnly, but justin could see that his eyes were dancing again.

johnny turned to lance's mom. "mrs. bass, what do you think?"

"wow," she said again, then, "i'm not messing with perfection. lance, you're in if you want to be."

"thanks, mom!" lance cried, and before he even knew what was going on, justin was hugging him tightly.

"i knew you'd be perfect," justin whispered into lance's ear.

"i'll try not to let you down," lance whispered back, unable to keep the grin out of his voice.

"you'd better not," justin finished, but he was all smiles, and lance knew he had nothing to worry about. as justin let him go, lance marveled at how good it had felt to be in the boy's arms. it was almost too good to be true. and now they were all going to be in a group together, singing, dancing -- lance tried not to think about that -- and becoming stars. it almost was too good to be true. lance grinned even wider.

"we need to celebrate!" lynn announced, and joey was right there with her.

"yeah," he called out, "party time!"

the moms led the way out of the studio with the five excited boys trailing close behind. chris was trying to jump on joey's back, lance was asking jc about the studio and what kind of schedule they would have, and justin lagged behind a little, watching his friends. mostly he was watching lance. he couldn't wait till later on that night.

***

lynn and diane treated the boys to dinner at a local steak place, and they all ate until joey said, "that's it, i'm never eating again." there was a general groan of agreement from the other guys, and the moms smiled at each other.

"time to go home, then," lynn said, "because if joey's full, there is no way anyone else is still hungry." joey could only grin in response. they paid and left the restaurant, piling back into the cars they'd taken to the studio. chris, joey, and jc shouted good-bye and goodnight before heading off in one direction, then justin, lance, and their moms headed back home, too.

back in his house, justin yawned as he flipped on the light switch in his bedroom. it was late, and he was tired, but he was also excited. the sound of the five of their voices blending on "i thought she knew" still rang in his ears, and the way lance had felt in his arms as they hugged after the song was still making him tingle from head to tow. his stomach did little flip-flops as he watched lance, who was yawning and rubbing his eyes, enter his room. his actions made him look even younger than his 16 years.

justin sat on his bed and watched his friend move, and he unconsciously bit his lip as he looked the boy over. when lance turned his back to justin to look for something, justin seized the opportunity to really check lance out. still clad in jeans and a green short-sleeve, button-up shirt, lance looked incredible to justin. when lance bent over to rummage around in one of his bags, justin was greeted with a perfect view of lance's ass. justin sucked in a quick breath at the thoughts flying through his young mind. he knew
they were naughty, but he couldn't help it. the thoughts made him tingle everywhere -- it was the same feeling he'd gotten when he'd hugged lance. being near the new boy gave justin wonderful chills.

lance heard justin's quickened breath, and as he turned around, he gave the younger boy a soft smile. justin returned it, then he bravely ventured to speak. justin was never at a loss for words, but lance had him on the verge of speechlessness. he knew it had been love at first sight, and he was still coming to grips with it. he managed to softly say to lance, "your eyes match your shirt," before he lost the capacity to speak.

"really?" lance asked him, almost incredulously. if his mom had said it, lance would have rolled his eyes -- as long as she couldn't see him do it -- but coming from justin, the words had a whole different meaning. they meant justin was paying attention to him, that he saw him, for real. or something like that. what exactly justin's attention entailed, however, lance didn't know. he just know his stomach was all of a sudden full of butterflies. his eye caught justin's again, and he whispered, "thanks."

justin smiled and lance felt the room light up again. he also felt his face flush, so, much to justin's disappointment, he turned away from him again. lance didn't want justin to see him blushing. it was quiet in the room for a few moments, but then justin broke the silence when he announced that he was going to go brush his teeth.

"can i come with you?" lance asked, and justin nodded. the pair tiptoed to the bathroom together and closed the door. foaming at the mouth, justin asked lance, "so are you glad you came down here?"

lance spat out his toothpaste and rinsed his mouth out with water before answering. "yeah," he finally said, "i really am. you guys are great, and johnny's great, and i think our moms really get along and i'm really excited about how we sounded today. yeah, everything has been great."

"wow, i didn't think you had that many words in you!" justin said, sure that his mouth was hanging open at least a little.

lance eyes sparkled. "there's a lot you don't know about me, yet, justin."

justin's eyes widened at the prospects. "like what?" he asked, extremely curious.

"it wouldn't be any fun if i just told you, now, would it?" lance answered, unable to keep the smile out of his deep voice when he saw the disappointment in justin's blue eyes. "you'll learn in time, i'm sure." that was all lance would say.

"you're no fun," justin whined.

"right, i'm no fun at all. and since that's the case, i'm going to bed."
lance turned and walked out of the bathroom. justin remained for a moment, looking himself over in the mirror. his blue eyes had a bit of a sparkle to them. "lance," justin whispered to himself. it was half an explanation for the sparkle and half an experiment. he wanted to see how he reacted to the boy's name. in spite of himself, he grinned into the mirror. then he looked himself over again. he looked tired, and his curly hair was all over the place from the day's crazy amount of activity. he tried to smooth it down with his hands, but the unruly curls bounced right back. he sighed, then turned out the light and headed for his own room with just a hint of a smile on his lips.

when he got back to his room, justin saw lance cuddled under the covers of his bed and his tummy did more flip-flops. he swallowed, thinking "lance is in my bed. and i have to sleep on the floor. there is no justice." justin shook his head and looked down at the deflated air mattress at his feet.

justin's mom had laid out the air mattress, but she hadn't blown it up. she had told justin to do it the day before, when she and he planned where their guest would stay, but justin had, of course, forgotten. now, at this late hour, justin wished he would've done it when she told him to. "rats," he muttered, "too late now."

again justin looked over at lance, who was curled in his warm bed, his eyes closed and his breathing even. "lance?" he whispered. "you asleep already?"

lance didn't answer for a few seconds, and justin about to just grab a
blanket and curl up on the floor to sleep when lance replied, "no, justin, not yet. why?"

justin took a deep breath. "can i sleep with you? in the bed?" he asked softly.

from under the covers, lance grinned. "it's your bed, justin, of course you can sleep here."

"you don't mind sharing?" justin asked, excitement once again growing in his stomach.

"not at all. i've warmed it up for you. come here."

justin didn't need to be told twice. he climbed in next to lance and felt
warm all over as he squirmed around getting comfortable. he was careful not to touch lance at all, but justin could feel the heat of the other boy through the space separating them. justin closed his eyes, thinking over and over [lance and i are in bed together.] he soon fell sound asleep.