| Try |
| The day that Lance caught him was the best day of Justin�s life. For the past month, Justin had been drifting further and further away from the group. Chris� jokes didn�t help. Joey�s hugs didn�t work. Josh�s willingness to listen didn�t make Justin feel any better. And neither did Lance�s love. He and Lance had been in a relationship for about a year before Justin started to feel depressed. He never seemed to be in a good mood. No one could cheer him up, and he snapped at everyone. Especially Lance. Finally, the guys just gave up on him. They realized that all their attempts failed, so they just stopped trying. Even Lance. He didn�t know what to do. Being around Justin wasn�t fun for him anymore. He found that when he was with Justin, he started to get depressed too. So then he just started to avoid Justin as much as possible. When Lance stopped going to see how Justin was doing, Justin got worse. He felt like without Lance, he was nothing. He hadn�t meant to push Lance away like he had. And once Lance was gone, he had no one. He cried himself to sleep every night, wishing that Lance was there to hold him. Lance felt the pain of separation too. For the first week away from Justin, he didn�t sleep at all. He got snappy just like Justin had a few weeks before. Joey, Josh, and Chris began to worry about Lance too. They noticed that Lance was acting similar to how Justin had at the beginning of his depression. Finally, Josh decided to take a chance and try to talk to Lance. They had never been very close, but he figured it was worth a try. At first, when Josh asked what was wrong, Lance told him that everything was fine. Josh knew that Lance was lying, so he pressed on, asking Lance again. And again, Lance said that he was fine. Finally, Josh decided to mention Justin, and he was surprised when Lance burst into tears. Once Lance�s sobs had calmed down a little, Lance volunteered some information for Josh. He told him that he�d given up on Justin, and he felt really bad for doing it. He said that he knew that Justin needed him, but being around Justin was too hard for him. Josh wasn�t really sure what to tell Lance. All he could suggest was that Lance go back to Justin, apologize for leaving, and try once more to find out what was wrong. He knew that Lance would do it because his love for Justin was that strong. **** Lance decided to go talk to Justin that night. After having dinner with the other guys, he headed back to the hotel and over to Justin�s room. It took him ten minutes to find the courage to knock on the door. When he finally did, no one answered it. He�d figured that Justin wouldn�t come to the door, so he�d gotten an extra key, just in case. He entered the room and called out Justin�s name. He got no answer, so he headed into the bedroom, but found it empty. He noticed that the bathroom door was shut, so he went over and opened it. He saw Justin kneeling by the toilet, throwing up. Justin�s head shot up as he realized that someone was in the room with him, and his eyes filled with tears when he realized that the someone was Lance. He scooted back so that he was sitting against the wall and looked up at Lance sadly. Lance rushed to his side and wrapped his arms around the younger man. �This isn�t just the stomach flu, is it?� Lance asked, rubbing Justin�s back comfortingly. �No,� Justin whispered in response. �How long?� Lance questioned carefully. �Since you left,� Justin told him, his eyes filling with fresh tears. Lance remained silent, but he was mentally kicking himself for leaving Justin in the first place. But it was already done. All he could do now was try to help Justin. �Can you help me?� Justin asked after a few minutes of silence. Lance smiled softly. It was the first time Justin had asked for help. �I will try my best, baby,� Lance replied. Then he stood up, helping Justin up with him. He led Justin over to the bed and helped him lay down. Then Lance pulled off his shoes and joined Justin, wrapping his lover in his arms. Justin knew that he had a lot of problems to deal with, but now Lance was on his side again. And when he had Lance, he knew he could do anything. THE END |