Marie stared after the closed door and shrugged. She ran the towel over her hair a few more times before tossing it on the nearby table and picking up her brush. She stood in front of the mirror hanging over the television and began working the brush through her unruly hair. Just as she set the brush down her phone began to ring.
She hopped onto the bed, bouncing a bit, and picked it up. �Hello?�
�Hey girl!�
�Mia! Dude, what�s up?�
�Not much, I just called to see how you were doing,� answered Mia.
Mia had been one of Marie�s closest friends from the city. They had grown up together. When they first met they both hated each other, but only because they were so similar in attitude. Eventually they got over their differences and formed a strong bond of friendship, which lasted through Marie moving out of the city and into the suburbs.
�I�m doing all right,� replied Marie, but she was more interested in discussing her friends rather than the trip. �Forget about me, how is everyone? Give me the dish about our group.�
Mia giggled, light and airy, and said, �They�re good. Everyone misses you.� She paused a moment before adding, �Especially Dan.�
�Oh god,� groaned Marie, rolling her eyes. �Dan is one reason why I�m glad to be leaving.�
Mia laughed. �Oh come on, he wasn�t that bad.�
�Mia, he followed me around like a little lost puppy and would not leave me alone,� exclaimed Marie, which caused Mia to start laughing again. �Dude, I�m serious. I was so close to filing stalker charges on that boy.�
�Well, you should see him now,� replied Mia. �He�s a complete wreck. Moping about like his cat just died.�
�Is this supposed to make me feel bad? Because it�s really not working,� answered Marie, voice dull.
�No sympathy,� Mia giggled, �no sympathy at all.�
Marie giggled and curled up next to the pillows propped against the headboard. �But dude, give me the scoop. What�s been going on?�
�Well,� said Mia thoughtfully. �Jack�s regiment got shipped out yesterday. Emily got her internship over in New Zealand so she�s about to leave for that. Everyone else is still off at college so I�m left all by myself.�
�Damn, you�re home with no one to play with. Whatever will you do,� asked Marie teasingly.
�Why, come out and visit you, of course,� chirped Mia.
�Hell yeah, man, that�d be awesome!�
�Lance wont mind, will he?� asked Mia.
�Naw, he wont care.�
�How is Mr. Superstar anyways?�
�He�s, uh, he�s all right,� answered Marie, looking over her shoulder at the bathroom.
�Spill it,� demanded Mia. Immediately she knew that something was wrong by the tone of Marie�s voice.
�What? Huh? There�s nothing to spill.�
�There is, too, and you know it. What�s going on?�
Marie flopped back onto the bed, her head hanging off the side, and said, �He�s being weird. He seems off, lately.�
�What do you mean?�
�I don�t know how to explain it,� replied Marie. �Either we argue or joke around and it�s just weird. It�s not like it was before.�
�Before you two weren�t talking in person,� exclaimed Mia.
�I know and that�s probably it,� answered Marie, biting her lip.
�Oh really,� asked Mia, voice intrigued. �Do tell.�
Her head started to pound so Marie sat back up. She pulled a pillow into her lap and set her chin onto her hand. �It�s like�well, it�s like�.� she stammered before blurting, �I can�t stop staring at him, dude, and it�s freaking me out!�
Mia laughed loudly and Marie frowned. �Are you telling me that you find yourself attracted to our dear Mr. Bass?� Marie made a sound and Mia took it as her agreement. �Girl, that�s nothing I already didn�t know. You are a Lance girl, y�know.�
Marie sputtered, trying to find the right words, before saying, �I�m an Nsync fan, yes. But now that I actually know Lance I can�t be a Lance girl.�
�Why not?� demanded Mia.
�Because�because I don�t want him to think that I only befriended him because of who he is.�
Mia sighed. �I think he knows that you�re his friend not because of who he is but because he�s him. Dude, y�all met because you punched him. I think that has to count for something.�
�Yeah, I know, but I don�t want him to think that our friendship has only expanded because I�m some fangirl with a crush on him.�
�Marie, you know what he�s like outside of everything. He�s pretty much shattered the carbon copy image that all those media fuckers make him out to be, right?�
�Yeah.�
�And you two argue when he pisses you off, right?�
�Yeah.�
�You don�t ask him for money, you don�t ask him to introduce you to people, and I�m pretty sure you haven�t asked him for his autograph, right?�
Marie laughed. �You�re right and I totally get that but I don�t know if he does. Like, if I start showing interest for him, I don�t want him to think it�s because he�s Lance Bass of Nsync.�
�Girl, if he doesn�t know by now that you like him for him then he�s got some serious issues,� exclaimed Mia.
~*~
Lance stuffed his dirty clothes into the side pocket of his duffle bag before zipping it up. He looked around the room to make sure he hadn�t forgotten anything before setting it on the floor next to Marie�s. He pulled out a chair from the table and sat down, propping his feet on the tabletop.
He and Marie hadn�t talked since dinner last night. They had gone straight to their room after eating and she had gone in to take a shower. After his portent discovery of his feelings for Marie he had drawn into himself, shutting out Marie for the night, so that he could think.
Developing feelings for Marie had gone against his plan. And he planned everything. He wasn�t as anal as the other guys made him out to be but he liked to have a schedule of what went on, how it happened, and when it was supposed to happen. It was a well known fact that he hated surprises and this was no different.
He didn�t hate the fact that he liked Marie, quite the contrary. He just hadn�t expected it. And because of that he didn�t know how to go about telling her of his feelings or even doing anything about it.
Most of his encounters with woman, other than on a friendship level, revolved around lust. He�d see a girl at a club. He�d approach her, they�d dance for awhile, have a few drinks, maybe talk, and then retreat back to his hotel room. Several hours later she�d leave and he�d go to sleep. That was the extent of his sex slash romantic life.
No girl he�d seen or met ever made him feel anything other than lust. It never evolved into something more and to be honest he didn�t want it to. He was too busy with work and a relationship with someone was an unnecessary hassle that he was glad not to deal with.
Until Marie.
He looked down at his watch. �Marie, did you get all your stuff packed?� When she didn�t answer he yelled louder, �Marie!�
�Fucking hell god damn piece of fucking shit! Ow!� she screeched from the bathroom.
Lance jumped out of his seat, the chair toppling to the floor, and he raced to the bathroom. She was bent over at the waist, one hand on the counter keeping her still standing, and Lance could see that she had a hand over one of her eyes.
�What�s happened? What�s wrong?� he asked, turning her around.
�I was putting my eyeliner on when you yelled and it scared the shit out of me. I jumped and sorta poked myself in the eye,� she said, sniffling a bit.
�Oh shit, I�m sorry,� he said. He touched her wrist lightly. �Let me see.�
Marie let him pull her hand away and tried to open her eyes. She blinked a few times and whimpered before squeezing them shut again. �It hurts,� she whined.
Lance made a soft noise in the back of his throat and stepped forward, causing her to back up against the counter. �Up,� he commanded softly, tapping her waist with his fingers. She hopped up onto the counter and he nudged her legs apart with his knee.
He stepped forward until his hips were snuggled between her legs. Her pushed her hair away from her face, murmuring words of comfort, and cupped her cheeks in his hands, raising her face till they were eye level. His thumbs swept under her eyes, brushing away the tears that had escaped, and he whispered, �I want you to try and open your eye for me.�
�I can�t,� she whined, fisting his sleeves in her hands. �It hurts.�
�I know, sweetie, but I think that maybe a piece is stuck and I need to get it out,� he murmured, thumbs sweeping soothingly under her eyes. Slowly her eyes opened, laced with tears, and he murmured, �Good girl.�
Marie bit her lip and blinked a few times. Her vision was blurry and she gripped his shirt tighter when she felt a sting of pain shoot through her right eye. She whimpered and Lance shushed her.
He pulled her eyelid down with his thumb and saw the piece of black kohl sitting there. Carefully he brushed his pointer finger over it to flick it out and it broke off into a few tiny pieces. �Shit,� he grumbled. Marie blinked and he brought his finger up to hold her eye open. �Honey, try not to blink. I haven�t gotten it yet.�
�Okay,� she whispered, chewing on her bottom lip. She couldn�t see anything but Lance�s hands were warm against her face and his breath fanned over her lips, warm and moist.
Lance saw Marie�s breath hitch and he shushed her softly, humming in the back of his throat, as he began to brush away the pieces of kohl. Carefully he flipped the tiny black pieces away, but one in particular refused to move. He lowered his face closer to Marie�s and blew in hopes the air from his mouth would brush it away.
Marie gasped when she felt the soft rush of air blow against her eye. Her hands loosened against his upper arms her mouth fell open, her breath speeding up a bit.
�There,� he said, voice rumbling deep in the back of his throat, �I think I got it.�
Marie blinked a few times and he swept his thumbs under her eyes, whipping away the wetness and black leftover from the kohl. His breath caught in the back of his throat and he swallowed thickly. His heart hammered in his chest.
Her eyes were a rich dark brown with specks of gold and green. Unshed tears made them shimmer and the light of the bathroom made them sparkle His gaze dropped to her lips. Her mouth was parted slightly, lips swollen and red from chewing on them, and the tip of his tongue flickered out to wet his own.
He looked back up at her eyes and his brain swam, a wave of dizziness washing over him. The green and gold had disappeared leaving her eyes a dark chocolate brown, nearly black. Her warm breath ghosted over his lips, cooling them, and he suppressed a groan.
Marie sat there. She was completely frozen. It was as if her muscles had lost their power to move when her vision had cleared and she had locked gazes with Lance. Given the choice she wouldn�t have moved.
They were so close that his nose nuzzled softly against hers and his skin felt like silk. His eyes darted back and forth slowly and her gaze fell to his lips. They were merely millimeters from hers and parted slightly, hot breath ghosting over her cheek causing her to shiver.
He tried to say something but nothing came out. Instead he ran a hand across her cheek, his hand trembling slightly, until his fingers were buried in her hair, wrapped around curls. His breath hitched and he let out a nervous huff of breath.
As if on autopilot her hands ran slowly up his arms, one running up to cup the back of his neck and the other resting on his shoulder. A leg wrapped around the back of his legs and his body shuffled slightly until it was flush against Marie�s. Her eyes fell shut and she titled her head up and slightly to the side in invitation.
It seemed like hours had passed by in that tiny moment. Lance threw caution to the wind and closed his eyes. Quickly he licked his lips, inadvertently tasting the saltiness of Marie�s bottom lip, and he sighed. He leaned forward, barely moving, and when his lips brushed against hers softly, a shock ran through his body.
Faintly he heard a ringing sound and he froze. When he heard it again his eyes shot open. A few seconds later when it rang again Marie�s eyes fluttered open.
Marie swallowed, unwrapping her leg from around Lance�s, and pushed at his shoulders softly. �You should answer that.�
Lance let his hands fall away from her face, instantly missing the warmth, and stepped back. Marie hopped down off the counter and quickly gathered her things before brushing past him into the room.