| Chapter 1 |
| Justin tapped his pencil on his desk, impatient for class to end. He�d never really like history class too much. Plus, it was the day before summer vacation. And it was the end of the day. Only ten minutes left of school. He liked school and did well in it, but he liked vacation much better, as most other students did. He snapped his gum and listened as the pop echoed through the room. He rolled his eyes and his teacher rambled on about some war, refusing to finish even a second before the bell rang. He looked around the classroom at all the other people who looked just as bored as he felt. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bell rang. Justin jumped up out of his seat and bolted towards the door, followed by everyone else in his class. He chuckled as he remembered a video he�d seen on MTV the day before. Some girl, what was her name? Britney something? Oh well, he couldn�t remember. All he knew was that all the guys in his classes thought she was hot. Sure, she was cute, but he just wasn�t interested in her. He actually wasn�t interested in girls. But no one knew, so he just agreed when the guys started talking about how hot she was. Anyway, the video illustrated exactly what he�d just been going through. Britney was sitting in class, tapping her pencil, looking bored out of her mind. Then the bell rang and the song started. Justin smiled to himself as he came out of his thoughts and remembered that he wasn�t going to have to go back to school for months. He couldn�t help but be excited. Summer was his favorite time of year. Summer was when everything happened. **** Justin sprinted up his driveway, glad to be home, and unable to contain his excitement that school was over for the year. Next year, he�d be a junior. Finally an upper-classman. But right then, he didn�t really care. He entered his house, kissing his mother in the cheek as he passed her, and went into the kitchen, dumping his backpack in the trash. �Justin!� his mother, Lynn, scolded. �Take that out of the trash. I just bought that for you a few months ago.� �But I was just-� Justin started to protest. �You were just nothing,� Lynn finished for him. �Throw everything away in it if you want, but keep the bag.� Justin just grinned at her, grabbing his bag, an apple, and kissing her cheek again, he went upstairs to his room. �Boys,� he heard his mom mutter as he left the kitchen. Life was good. **** Justin jumped onto his bed and laid down, sighing. He would not be bored. He couldn�t be bored. He was about to call one of his friends when the phone rang. �Hello?� �Hey man, we�re on summer vacation, finally!� �I know. How great is that? We�re going to have an awesome summer,� Justin said to his best friend, Josh. �Of course we are. Starting with tonight. There�s a party at Fatone�s, you coming?� Josh asked. �I�ll be there. What time?� �Nine.� �Ok, see you then,� Justin said, hanging up the phone. The first night of summer and he was already partying. But he wasn�t about to complain. **** Justin didn�t really consider himself popular. He was the captain of the basketball team, but the other players weren�t really the people he hung out with most of the time. Josh, his best friend, was really into music. He had a beautiful voice and loved to sing, but only around his friends. He had a hard time trusting people, but he�d let Justin in almost right away when they�d met. He was a great guy, and Justin didn�t really understand why he didn�t have more friends. But Josh seemed content with his life, so Justin wasn�t going to butt in. Chris, another one of Justin�s friends, was the complete opposite of Josh. He was wild, outgoing, and loud. He loved to have attention and he was always telling jokes. He played football and basketball � he was a great player, almost as good as Justin � and any other sport he wanted to on his free time. He was really sarcastic, but could be completely serious if he needed to be. Then there was Joey. Otherwise known as Fatone. He was really cool. He was into theater and plays, but he also hung around with the jocks. He absolutely loved the cheerleaders, and was never seen without at least one of them on his arm. He was a wonderful actor, and he was always the lead character in the plays at school. He was outgoing, but he was always there for his friends. Justin loved having friends from all different cliques. It was fun, and it was interesting. When he arrived at the party, it was a little after nine. He spotted Joey immediately, in the middle of the dance floor, a few girls dancing with him. Justin grinned, before trying to find his other friends. He found Chris standing over near the drinks with a few of his basketball teammates. He waved when Chris looked over, but moved on. He smiled when he saw Josh, and he moved over to where he was standing with an unfamiliar girl. �Hey Josh.� �Hey Justin, this is Brandi. Brandi, this is Justin. She just moved here, so she�ll be going to school with us next year,� Josh explained, introducing Justin to the girl next to him. �Nice to meet you,� Justin said, shaking Brandi�s hand with a smile. If he liked girls, she would be his type. She was pretty, but didn�t look like she was trying to be. Her make-up was simple and her outfit consisted of a tee shirt and jeans. But she looked great. �You too,� Brandi replied, smiling back. �Brandi was just telling me that she moved from Indiana and her parents have a camp on a lake there. She suggested that we go up there for a little while, bring some friends,� Josh told Justin. �You want to come?� �Sure, why not,� Justin responded, knowing that a cabin on the lake with lots of friends could be a lot of fun. �Cool,� Brandi said, grinning, �I�ll let you guys know the details later, ok?� They both nodded, and she slipped away, obviously wanting to meet more people. �I think she likes you,� Josh whispered as she walked away. �So?� Justin replied, grinning. �Yeah, yeah, you don�t like girls. But she�s cute, isn�t she?� Josh questioned. �She�s beautiful. If I liked girls, I�d definitely want her,� Justin assured him. �She�s really cool. I hope this camp things works out,� Josh said. �Yeah,� Justin responded. Their conversation ended there as they headed to the dance floor. **** A few hours later, Justin was sitting on the couch in one of the many rooms Joey�s large house, when he felt someone sit down beside him. He looked over, and his breath caught in his throat. Sitting next to him was the most beautiful man he�d even laid eyes on. And when the guy looked at him, Justin couldn�t help but gasp as he noticed the unique color of his eyes. The guy smiled at Justin, and Justin blushed slightly. �Hey,� the guy said softly, his bass voice shocking Justin. �H - hey,� Justin echoed, blushing again when he realized he was still staring. But this guy�s voice was so low, so mesmerizing. Kind of like his eyes. �I�m Lance,� he offered, reaching his hand out for Justin to shake. Justin accepted Lance�s hand and shook it, trying to ignore the tingling he felt in his fingers as they touched. �Justin,� was all he could say. �Nice to meet you Justin,� Lance responded, pulling his hand away after their handshake lingered for longer than necessary. �You too,� Justin replied, wondering how he was going to make it through the rest of this conversation without embarrassing himself completely. �Do you go to school here?� Justin asked, finding his voice and regaining a little confidence. �I will next year, I just moved here,� Lance explained. �Where from?� �Well, I moved from Indiana, but I�m originally from Mississippi,� Lance explained. �Oh, really? I just met a girl from Indiana that just moved here. Maybe you know her,� Justin told Lance. �Brandi?� Lance asked. �Yeah, how did you know?� �She�s my sister,� Lance said. �Really?� �Well, step-sister.� �Oh, cool,� Justin responded. �She seems really nice.� �Oh, yeah, she�s great,� Lance agreed. Their conversation kind of paused there, as each of them wondered how they were so lucky to meet such a wonderful person. |