TheFavor3

Justin and Joey spent the entire day hanging out in Joey�s hotel room. They got room service, watched TV and some movies they�d rented from the hotel, and played Playstation. They�d also spent a good amount of time talking. Joey loved their talks because they always just said whatever they were feeling at the moment. Joey didn�t want to, but he ended up bringing Britney into the conversation.

�Justin?� Joey asked.

�Yeah?� Justin replied, looking into Joey�s chocolate-brown eyes.

�Will you break up with Britney?� Joey asked carefully.

�You know I can�t, baby,� Justin responded simply.

�No, I don�t know, Justin. I don�t understand why she even has to be here!� Joey exclaimed, exasperated.

�She has to be here because she thinks we�re a couple. And if I break up to her and tell her why, she may go to the press about us,� Justin explained.

�You really think she�d do that?� Joey questioned, surprised. He didn�t think Britney would do something like that to Justin; she loved him.

�Well, if she was angry and upset with me, it could just slip out to someone that it shouldn�t get to. And you know that if the press got word of us the group would be destroyed,� Justin said, taking Joey�s hand in his own.

�Yeah,� Joey replied sadly, �but that doesn�t mean I have to like hiding our relationship from everyone but the guys. I love you so much, Justin, and it hurts to have to hide. It hurts that I can�t just go around and hold your hand. And it hurts to see you with her.�

�I know, it hurts me too, baby. And you have to know that I don�t want to be with her. I don�t want to hurt her by breaking up with her,� Justin told Joey, squeezing Joey�s hand.

�You know what? I can�t deal with this right now, J. You seem to care more about how she feels than how I feel. Maybe you should leave. Go see how she�s doing,� Joey snapped suddenly.

�Woah, Joey, calm down. I don�t care more about her feelings, but she�s my friend. I never want to hurt my friends. And I love you Joey, I love you so much,� Justin told him.

�Yeah, well, maybe you should start acting like you do,� Joey yelled, jumping up and rushing out of the room.

�Well that didn�t go well,� Justin mumbled to himself. And then he got an idea. He figured out who would help him with his plan. Britney wouldn�t be hurt, Joey wouldn�t be hurt, and Justin would have everything he wanted.

****

Joey knocked on Lance�s hotel room door with tears collecting in his eyes. When Lance opened the door and noticed the tears, he pulled Joey gently inside and wrapped his arms around the older man.

�Joe, what�s wrong?� he asked after a minute of silence.

�I just, I can�t believe, I just yelled at Justin, Lance,� Joey said shakily, the tears making their way down his face.

�What did you say? Did you guys get in an argument?� Lance questioned, wanting to understand why Joey was so upset so he could help him.

�I asked him to break up with Britney, and he said that he couldn�t. he said he didn�t want to hurt her. But I told him that it hurts me to see him with her. Lance, he cares more about her than he does about me,� Joey told Lance, hardly able to talk at this point. Lance pulled Joey into his arms as he started to sob, his body shaking.

�Shhh, Joey, it�s going to be ok, everything will be fine,� Lance whispered, rubbing Joey�s back. �At least I hope it will,� he thought to himself.

****

Justin walked excitedly to the elevator. He had to pay someone a visit. He got off two floor above where he was staying. He walked about halfway down the hall and then stopped, knocking on one of the doors. He smiled at the man who opened the door.

�Hey man, what�s up?� Justin asked.

�Not much,� the man replied, ushering Justin into his room.

�I need to ask you a favor,� Justin said, getting right to the reason he came.

�Ask away. I�m not sure if I can do it until you tell me what it is,� the man responded, grinning at Justin.

�Ok, well, you know about me and Joey, right?� Justin asked. The man nodded and Justin continued by saying, �well he wants me to break up with Britney. Actually, I want to break up with her. But I don�t want to hurt her. So I asked him to hit on her, so she�d forget about me. You see, she�s pressuring me to have sex with her. It�s not like I don�t want to have sex, I do, but just not with her.�

�So what does this have to do with me?� the man questioned, not quiet sure where he came in.

�Well, Joey doesn�t want to sleep with her, he only wants me. So I was thinking that maybe you could flirt with Britney, get her to sleep with you. Then maybe she�d even fall in love with you. I�m sure you wouldn�t mind that, right?�

�Hell no. Of course I�ll do it. You know I�ve wanted her ever since I met her. You don�t know what you�re giving up, man,� the man replied with a huge grin on his face. He�d finally have to opportunity to get what he wanted for so long.

�Just don�t hurt her,� Justin warned.

�I won�t, I promise,� was the man�s reply.

�Good. Feel free to start as soon as you can. The sooner she stops bugging me, the better. Thanks Wade, I owe you a million,� Justin said as he walked out of the room.

He couldn�t wait to tell Joey that Wade had agreed. But then he remembered that Joey was mad at him. �Shit,� he thought, �well, maybe now we�ll be ok. Once I tell Joey that Wade will do it, and that he doesn�t have to, everything will be fine.�

****

Joey had fallen asleep in Lance�s room about half and hour before. Lance couldn�t find anything to do. He�d finished all his work for FreeLance and he was bored. He didn�t want to leave Joey because he�d still been really upset when he�d fallen asleep.

�Damn Justin,� he muttered, �why can�t he see how much Joey loves him?�

Lance decided to call Josh to see if he wanted to come over and hang out. He picked up the phone and spoke softly to Josh, explaining what had happened. Josh agreed to come over, and five minutes later he appeared at the door, notebook in hand.

�Hey,� Lance whispered.

�Hey,� Josh responded, following Lance in the room and shutting the door quietly. �How is he?�

�Well, he�s asleep right now. He was sobbing and shaking before that. I gave him some medicine to calm him down and them he feel asleep,� Lance explained, looking over where Joey laid on the bed.

�Poor guy,� Josh thought aloud, �we really need to talk to Justin about their relationship. He doesn�t treat Joey right.�

�Yeah, I agree,� Lance replied, �no one deserves to be treated the way Joey is. I�m sure Justin means well, but if we told him what he�s doing to Joey, maybe he�d try to stop hurting him.�

�Yeah,� Josh agreed, sighing as he sat down on the couch. Lance followed suit, sitting next to Josh.

�So were you writing something when I called?� Lance asked curiously.

�Kind of. Well, I was just fooling around,� Josh replied.

�Oh, cool. Can I read it? Or will you sing it to me?� Lance questioned, his eyes pleading. �Please say yes, Josh,� he thought, �I love your voice.�

�Uh, yeah, sure. But it�s just a draft and I�m not sure that I like it yet,� Josh answered, opening up his notebook hesitantly. He was always just a bit nervous to share his music with people at first, even his best friends. He wanted their approval so badly. Especially Lance�s.

As he started singing a few verses, Lance listened to not only the lyrics, but also the passion in Josh�s voice when he sang them. He sat there in awe, just staring at Josh. When Josh was done, he blushed a little and smiled over at Lance.

�What�d you think?� he asked nervously.

�I loved it!� Lance exclaimed. He cupped his hand over his mouth as he realized how loud he�d spoken. He looked over to see Joey still asleep, and he sighed with relief.

�You really liked it?� Josh asked, hope evident in his voice.

�Yes, Josh, I really did. Did you write it for someone? It�s a love song, right?� Lance questioned.

�Yeah, it�s a love song and I wrote it for someone,� Josh replied, but he didn�t say more.

Lance looked at him curiously, but since Josh wasn�t volunteering any more information, he decided not to press. Until later.