chapter22-24

CHAPTER 22

Half an hour later they�d received their sandwiches from room service and were watching Saving Private Ryan.

Joey was sitting in a huge armchair with Justin on his lap. Justin was leaning against his chest and their hands were intertwined and resting in Justin�s lap. JC and Lance were sitting on the couch. At first, they had been a little cautious about touching each other, but soon JC had wrapped his arm around Lance�s waist, and Lance rested his head on JC�s shoulder.

And no one was paying attention to the movie.

Justin was too busy staring at Joey�s hand in his, wondering how it had happened so quickly. It hadn�t even been a few days since they got together. Justin was really surprised when Joey had said he loved him, but then he was even more surprised to find himself returning the love Joey felt for him. Now he was sitting here, trying to concentrate on the movie, but he just couldn�t get over what he was feeling. He�d never felt so happy about a relationship before. He just hoped that this one would last longer than most of his previous ones.

Joey was wondering how he�d gotten so lucky. Over the past few days his heart had been broken more times than ever before. But he got what he really wanted, Justin. He knew that all the pain he�d gone through worrying about telling the guys, then being rejected by Lance, and then thinking Justin loved Lance, was all worth it. Justin was worth it. Joey smiled and leaned forward to kiss Justin tenderly on the forehead, before turning back to pretend to watch the movie while his thoughts stayed in the same place.

Lance was worried. He knew his parents didn�t approve of gay people. They thought gay people were sinners. And their own son was gay. They would disown him. He couldn�t tell them. But what if they saw him with JC? What if this wasn�t even the real thing? Did JC just think it was a fling? He wasn�t sure what to think. So he just concentrated on the feeling of JC body against his, and sighed contentedly.

JC heard Lance sigh and looked down to see his eyes closed. What a messed up few days it had been. JC wasn�t even sure what he was doing. He�d never really thought about being with a guy before. Sure, he noticed attractive guys, and knew that the other four men of the group were all very attractive, but he�d never felt like this. He liked the way Lance�s lips fit against his, and how very soft they were. He liked how Lance would moan in that deep voice of his. He liked everything about Lance. And that scared him just a little bit. He knew that Lance would never purposely hurt him. But what if Lance thought that this was just an experimental thing? He didn�t know if he could stand another heartbreak.

None of them saw the credits rolling down the screen, and only when the TV went blank and started making that really loud annoying noise did any of them even realize it was over.

�Um, how long has the movie been over?� Joey asked, hoping he wasn�t the only oblivious one.

�I have no idea,� Lance answered with a laugh. He looked up at JC who just shrugged.

�I guess it was kinda pointless if none of us were actually watching it, huh?� Justin asked.

�Yeah,� they all agreed.

�We should get ready to go to the venue so we won�t be late for the sound check,� Lance said, reminding them that they had a concert that night.

�Yeah, we probably should. Let�s go,� Justin agreed, leading Joey, who was still attached to the now hyper Justin, out of the room.

�They are so cute together,� JC commented.

�Yeah,� Lance agreed, adding �and so are we� to himself. They both went separate ways to get ready.

*A few months later, the end of the No Strings Attached Tour*

�Oh my God! We have the best seats! We are almost front row! We�ve got to thank your mom for scoring us these awesome seats! Liz, do you realize that we will be seeing *Nsync perform in less than five minutes?!?!� her best friend Nichole said, almost screaming, and jumping up and down in anticipation.

�Yeah, I can�t wait!� Liz responded. �I can�t wait to see Justin and Joey� she thought to herself.

Suddenly the lights went out, and a scream louder than anything Liz had ever heard entered her ears. �This is it,� she thought.

****

Justin couldn�t believe how loud the screams were. Sure they had earplugs so they could hear each other, but they could still hear the screams. They seemed to get louder and louder at each concert. And the tour was almost over. Only one more concert after tonight and they were done until the next album came out. That made him happy and sad at the same time. He stopped thinking about that as he passed by Joey while doing the �No Strings Attached� dance and smiled sweetly, winking at him. Justin knew that he shouldn�t do that in public, but he couldn�t help it. Joey just looked so cute on stage. Justin loved him so much and he couldn�t believe they�d been together for a few months. Everything was going so fast, and he was loving every minute of it. Plus, no one would notice a little smile and a wink, right?

CHAPTER 23

Liz was pleased. All right, she wasn�t just pleased; she was� really pleased. She couldn�t think of any other way to describe it. She had traveled miles from her home just for this concert, but it was definitely worth the money and time that she spent. They were doing a concert in her hometown the next night, but it had been sold out when she tried to get tickets. Not only had she just experienced an awesome *Nsync concert in front row seats thanks to her mother�s connections, but she had been able to almost confirm her suspicions.

Over the past few months, since the second leg of the tour had started, she�d noticed that Justin and Joey were closer. At first, when she noticed, she was surprised. It wasn�t that they were obvious or anything. She was just really good at noticing subtle thinks like that. Little winks, brief eye contact, and small, sweet smiles didn�t go unnoticed. She was sure they were together. Either that or they would be together soon.

She�d come to the concert hoping to witness some more vibes from Justin and Joey. And they didn�t disappoint her. They smiled, they glanced quickly, they winked, and she even caught them staring at one point. During �This I Promise You,� she even noticed Justin turning toward Joey, catching his attention, and then they sang part of the song while staring at each other. It was only for a brief moment, and Liz was sure no one else saw it, but it made her even more convinced that they were together.

****

�Man, that show was awesome!� Justin exclaimed, still high on the crowds energy, bouncing up and down on the bus that would bring them to the last city of the tour.

�Yeah,� Joey agreed, smiling at his overly hyper boyfriend.

�Only one more and then we can go home,� Lance stated.
�Yeah, I can�t wait to go see my family,� Chris said, smiling.

�Yeah,� JC started, yawning, �man, I�m tired.�

�Me too,� Lance agreed, �let�s go to bed Jace.�

�Don�t have to ask me twice,� JC said, following his boyfriend to the bunk that they now shared. JC still wondered whether Lance was serious about them or not, because they still hadn�t talked. Every time he thought about it, they were either around the other guys or he was too tired.

They hadn�t been sleeping together too long. One night about a month ago, while they were on tour, Lance had crawled into JC�s bunk late at night, muttering something about not being able to sleep. JC didn�t remember much about the night, except that when he woke up, he was surrounded by warmth. There was nothing sexual about their sleeping together. It was just nice. JC liked this simple relationship that they seemed to have now. He could definitely get used to sleeping in Lance�s arms.

And he�d had the chance to get used to it because every night Lance would crawl into JC�s bunk, wrapping his limbs tightly around the older man. Sometimes JC would wake up briefly, kiss Lance on the forehead, and fall back asleep. Other nights, he didn�t wake, but snuggled up against Lance unconsciously. He felt so complete in Lance�s arms. He just hoped that Lance felt the same. They needed to talk soon.

****

Liz laid in her bed that night, unable to sleep. She couldn�t help but wonder what Joey and Justin were doing that very moment. She replayed all the smiles and winks in her mind, falling asleep after one last thought, �they are so cute together.�

****

Justin and Joey were the only ones who were still awake. They were playing a Playstation game and Joey was beating Justin badly. He looked over at Justin to brag about winning, but Justin wasn�t even paying attention. He was totally spaced out.

�Hey Justin, you in there?� Joey asked, waving his hand around in front of Justin�s face.

�Hmm?� Justin mumbled, breaking out of his trance and looking at Joey.

�What were you thinking about baby?� Joey asked curiously.

�Just this girl in the audience tonight, it�s nothing,� Justin answered.

�That was quite a trance to be thinking about nothing,� Joey commented, trying to get Justin to explain a little more.

�Well, she was right near the front and she was staring at me the whole concert,� Justin started.

�Justin, at least one half of the girls there were probably staring at you the whole concert,� Joey interrupted.

�Not that many Joe,� Justin responded, blushing a little at the compliment.

�Ok, one third?� Joey joked.

�Whatever,� Justin said with a little smile, �anyway, this girl��

�You�re not going to leave me for some fan are you J?� Joey teased.

�Joey! You know what? Never mind. It wasn�t important anyway,� Justin mumbled, starting to get up.

�Baby, I was just joking, you know that. So what about this girl?� Joey asked.

�Well she had this weird grin on her face. Every time I looked over there I�d see her grinning at me. It was really weird and it wasn�t just any grin. It was like she knew, Joey. It freaked me out,� Justin explained.

�Like she knew what?� Joey asked, confused.

�About us, Joey,� Justin clarified, �what if she saw me winking at you or something?�

�J, I wouldn�t worry about it, she was probably just excited to see us,� Joey said, trying to convince Justin.

�Yeah, I guess so,� Justin agreed aloud, but his mind wouldn�t let it go. �How could she have known?� he wondered, �we�ve been so careful. And what if she tells someone?�

Justin was in a trance again and Joey knew he was still worrying about that girl. He got up, bringing Justin up with him, and led them to his bunk. He hoped that Justin was just imagining that this girl knew about them. Because if she did know, all hell would break loose.

CHAPTER 24

Liz woke up from a deep sleep the next morning. Ever since the concert last night, she�d wanted to call her friend Annette. She�d been trying for a while to convince Annette that Joey and Justin were together. But she didn�t think that Annette would believe her. She�d either say that Liz was making it up, or that she was just imagining it. Plus, if Annette did believe her, then she�d probably tell everyone she knew. Liz didn�t want to destroy the group; she just wanted her friend to believe her, and to prove that she knew what she was talking about.

****

JC woke up to the familiar feeling of Lance�s arms around him. He chuckled, remembering the day a few months ago when Chris found out about Justin and Joey, and he and Lance.

*Flashback � 2 months ago*

Justin and Joey had talked and they had decided that they needed to tell Chris that they were together. When they talked to Lance and JC, they felt the same so they decided to tell Chris the next day, their day off.

They all met at Justin�s house to hang out. Chris was the last to arrive and he found the other guys hanging out in and around the pool. Justin and Joey were splashing around in the pool, trying to dunk each other. JC and Lance were sitting around the table, talking.

Before he�d come, Chris had decided that he needed to confront the group and fix the �love triangle� thing. He still wasn�t sure exactly how to do it even though he�d spent the whole night trying to figure it out. He finally just decided to bring it up and see what happened.

Chris walked over to where JC and Lance were sitting; about to yell at Joey and Justin to come over so they could talk, when he noticed something. They were holding hands.

�What the hell?� he thought to himself.

�Hey Chris,� Lance said, waving his free hand. JC looked up at Chris and smiled his greeting.

�Uh, hey guys, what�s going on?� he asked, confused.

�What do you mean?� Lance asked innocently, glancing over at JC and then looking back to Chris.

�You know what I mean Lansten, why are you holding hands with JC? Aren�t you supposed to love Joey?� Chris wondered aloud.

�Yeah, but I changed my mind. I like JC now,� Lance explained.

�You just randomly changed your mind?� Chris asked, unbelieving.

�Yeah,� Lance said, brushing him off.

�And JC, since when are you gay?� Chris questioned.

�Well, I guess since that night that Lance, you, and I went out,� JC answered, �Lance was lookin� good and I realized that I like him more than a friend.� Lance smiled at JC, blushing slightly.

�But what about Justin? I thought he loved you. What does he think about this?� Chris asked, �does he know?�

�Yeah, he knows. He�s fine with it. He and� well, maybe he should tell you,� JC told him.

�What?� Chris asked, confused yet again. Lance and JC pointed towards the pool. Chris turned to the pool to see what they were pointing at. He looked over right as Justin and Joey began making out, Justin�s legs wrapped around Joey�s waist.

�Oh my God, I didn�t need to see that!� Chris exclaimed, covering his eyes before turning away.

Justin and Joey broke their kissing and laughed at Chris.

They all talked later and Chris told them that he was find with them being together as long as they didn�t fool around in front of him all the time. Of course both couples started kissing as soon as the words left his mouth, but he just got up and left, mumbling to himself.

*End flashback*

JC was relieved that Chris was ok with the couple situation. He didn�t know why, but he�d been a little worried about Chris� reaction. He worried about a lot lately. He mostly worried about his relationship with Lance. The more he thought about it, the more he worried he became. And he thought about Lance a lot.

He was startled from his thoughts when he felt a movement next to him. He looked over to see Lance staring at him.

�Good morning Jace,� Lance said, smiling.

�Mornin� Lance,� JC replied.

�What are you thinking about?� Lance asked, noticing how dazed JC was.

�I might as well tell him now,� JC thought to himself.

�Well, I was thinking about us, actually,� JC informed Lance.

�Oh yeah? What about us?� Lance asked.

�Well, like, how serious are you about this relationship? I don�t even know what to think because this has happened so quickly. I keep worrying that maybe you aren�t feeling the same way about this relationship as I am. I�m so worried that you will find someone better� or something,� JC said, letting Lance know all of his fears and worries. He looked at Lance, waiting for him to say something in return. �Please God, let him say he is serious about this�� he thought to himself.