AN: Cause there's always a bit of angst with a lot of love. inspiredthoughts@hotmail.com *************************** Blindsided: Chapter Eleven ************************ JC woke to Chris on his bed. Or, more specifically to Chris sprawled across the bed, and him as well. Chris was watching him with curious brown eyes and had what was affectionately known as Chris’s ‘crazy’ grin on. Jayce groaned. “You promised Chris. No prying…” The older man had the gall to look affronted as he rested his chin on JC’s blanketed knee. “I? Prying? I thought you knew me better… I’m not saying anything. Anything at all. So you went to dinner with one of the only of my close women friends who I myself am not romantically interested in. So you came back late. So you were grinning from ear to ear. “Nope, not prying at all. I’m just sitting.” “In my bed,” JC replied dryly. “Well, yes,” Chris admitted deadpan. “But, that’s hardly the point. I’m patiently sitting here, saying nothing, and if you should just happen to spill a few details like your declaration of eternal love…” “You’re giving me a headache.” “Justin knows too.” “Knows what?” JC asked wearily and somewhat suspiciously. “I didn’t say anything, I swear! He asked me when you were going to make an honest woman out of Laura last night, surprised the hell out of me.” Jayce sighed. “I bet. Well, was he okay with it? He has sort of fascination with Laura that switches between mothering her and being mothered by her.” Chris shrugged. “He told her you were a good man, flustered her, oh, and he kissed her.” JC sat up abruptly, blue eyes blazing. “I’m going to hit him again!” Chris tried to restrain the temperamental singer. “Calm down C, it wasn’t a real kiss it was just sorta one of Justin’s friendly kisses, the ones he gives when he’s trying to provide encouragement but doesn’t quite know how…” “Oh yeah?!” JC snapped. “Yeah,” Chris replied, getting annoyed by his band mate’s jealousy as he thumped him on the head. “Remember that time in the Bahamas when he kissed you on the lips after that psycho fan cut off a huge hunk of your hair with scissors?” JC winced. “Only when I’m not blocking the memory. Okay…” he let out a deep breath, “point taken. Justin is an idiot. I should cut him some slack.” “Yup,” Chris chimed, “he was just trying to help.” “Okay.” “So… I’m being remarkably well behaved considering my nature…” JC groaned, loudly. “It’s slightly early for declarations of undying love. We had a wonderful time, as friends, and hopefully we’ll do it again very soon.” Chris stared at him. “Just friends?” he asked in a small disappointed voice. “Just friends,” Jayce affirmed. Chris thumped his band mate on the head again as he rolled off the bed. “You,” he stated with great dignity, “are an idiot.” JC watched, bemused despite himself, as Chris stalked out. ************************************************************************************ Laura woke up lost. She had gone to bed very firmly in charge of the emotions of her heart and had woken up as someone hopelessly and deeply in love with Joshua Chasez. He was just so, so, so HIM. She couldn’t describe it, wasn’t quite sure she wanted to try to put it into words. Try to put him into words. He was so beautiful. Maybe that why he was obsessed with beauty, true beauty, because he was such a beautiful person, in the best sense of the term, himself. He cared and gave and he created music that made her want to cry. She would kill to be able to do anything half as well as JC lived. He loved his family, cared for his friends, thought of his band mates as brothers, adored his fans, and treasured his music. He worshipped truth and compassion and no one had ever treated her with the attentive dignity and affection that he did. Even if they were only friends. Only friends. And that was why he was going to break her heart. Because she kept expecting something to come up, some flaw, some fatal defect, but JC was perfect in a sense that Laura hadn’t thought possible for a mere man. She might have saved her heart then, if he’d been rude or a million other less attractive qualities. She felt helpless because, as much as she had once initially been attracted to Justin, it paled in comparison to the emotions her dearest friend could stir. Just friends. Only friends. Laura groaned and buried her face into her pillow, unwilling to face reality. The reality of loving a man she could never dream of loving her back. The reality of *NSYNC and professionalism and of the eventuality of a broken heart. She was proud of the woman she had worked so very hard to become. Sometimes she just wished she had been given a little more to work with. She sighed and rolled out of bed. She had work to do. Work was life. That’s how it should, had, to be. JC was a lovely vacation but, not matter what her heart told her, that was all he was. All he could ever be. She was thoroughly depressed despite the futility of it by the time she made it downstairs. She was spending the day on the bus with Chris and Justin. Justin gave her an affectionate hug before they got on and disappeared into the back to talk to on his cell phone. Leaving her alone with a too perceptive Chris. Laura made coffee for herself in the small kitchenette as the bus lurched into movement. Chris sat at the kitchen booth, watching her with dark, dark eyes. “He was glowing when he got back last night.” She ignored her friend and fiddled with the coffee maker. “Laura, darling, talk to me we’re friends, amigos, comrades in arms… Did you have fun last night?” “Yes,” the one word was small and tight, forced out despite herself as she poured coffee grounds into a filter. Chris, frowning, stood and made his way behind her, reaching out with a tentative hand to stroke her down hair. “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Come on Laura Danon, you can shut yourself off from the rest of the world but not me. Okay? What’s up?” She surprised, shocked him, by turning around and nearly throwing herself into his arms. Chris swallowed but held her, rocking, soothing her as she cried silent tears. “Shh baby, doll, let me make it better sweetie. Let me try…” Laura looked up with bloodshot eyes that made Chris’s stomach clench. “I didn’t want to love him Chris, I tried so hard not to but he’s so damn wonderful and perfect and I can’t help myself and it hurts, it hurts so much and last night was so wonderful and, it was a dream, a fairy tale and I’ve, I’ve never gotten one of those before. I just sort of got blindsided when I was least expecting it, you know?” He cupped her face with his hands, and smoothed falling tears away. “Laura, why are you crying? Is it that frightening to be in love with JC?” She smiled and started to cry again. “Isn’t it always frightening to be in love with someone who can never love you back?” “Oh baby,” he whispered and held her to his chest. ************************************************************************************ When she had calmed down enough so that he tucked her into a bunk to sleep, Chris, fuming, flipped open his cell phone and hit speed dial. JC’s number rang three times before his picked up. “You damn well better make a move on Laura soon before she starts to hate you as much as she loves you now.” He hung up before Jayce could splutter an answer , turned off his phone in a huff, and sat down to watch Laura sleep.