It was really part of a napkin, from one of the clubs they had been to over the weekend. It still smelled of vodka and had been crumpled a few times, based on the amount of wrinkles it had.

But the truly odd thing about this napkin was what was written on it.

It just said, �You�re my best friend.�

Lance had quickly dismissed it as being a stupid prank/drunken idea, thought up at 3 in the morning, by one of his band mates. He believed this still when he received the second note on Tuesday.

This note was actually comprised of paper. Torn, jagged paper from a yellow notepad. Lance kept touching the edges of it, while he tried to figure out who had sent it.

�You make me live.�

This was more personal than the last quote and Lance wondered if any of the guys had really sent it, as a result. It was also bugging him, because he seemed to remember hearing that line before, like in a song. Either way, Lance decided not to worry about it.

*----------------

Wednesday morning found another note, placed on his bunk pillow. It was pink and scented and Lance couldn�t help but smell it. It smelled like baby powder.

�I've been with you such a long time. You're my sunshine.�

Suddenly it hit Lance. Running towards Joey�s area on the bus, Lance found his bag of CDs. Rifling through them, he found Queen�s Greatest Hits. Looking at the track list, he found the song he was looking for. He headed back to his bunk and found his Discman. He started to play the CD and skipped ahead to the track.

�I knew it!� he yelled.

Joey stuck his head out of the bathroom.

�Is everything okay, Lance?�

Lance paused the CD and looked up. He coughed and managed to look a bit sheepish.

�Yah, everything�s fine. Sorry about the yelling Joe.�

Joey just looked at him weird, nodded, and then proceeded back into the bathroom.

Lance let out a sigh and pressed play again. After he finished listening to the song, he picked up the note again. Who had sent this to him? And why him? What were they trying to say?

Lance picked up the CD case and ran his fingers over the cover. He was glad that Joey just happened to have this CD on hand or it would have driven him crazy trying to figure out what song it was.

He paused at that thought.

Was Joey the one sending the notes?

He had plenty of opportunities to do so and he did have the CD.

Lance wondered what this meant. Was Joey trying to send him a message? Did Joey have feelings for him?

He had been sitting for so long, contemplating this whole situation that he didn�t notice Joey had finished with his shower.

Joey walked by his bunk, smelling of soap and�

Baby powder.

Lance looked up and called after Joey.

�Yah, Lance? Need something?� Joey replied, grinning the entire time.

Lance just melted. Of course it was Joey. It wouldn�t be anyone else.

�Um, nothing Joe. I was just wondering what you were doing for the rest of the day, that�s all.�

As Joey chattered on about going shopping for Brianna with JC, Lance just watched his mouth, eyes and the way his hands moved.

Yah, it had to be Joey.

Lance was happy.

And he pushed down the thought that maybe he just felt attracted to Joey because of the notes and not because of who he was.

No, it couldn�t be that.

*----------------------

Thursday. Another note. This one was on blue paper with sparkly star stickers adorning it.

�Whenever this world is cruel to me. I got you, to help me forgive.�

Lance smiled all morning and kept pulling out the note to look at it. Joey was in love with him. There could be no other explanation.

Lance just had to figure out how to let Joey know that he knew.

The opportunity came at the band meeting that afternoon. Lance was sitting in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table in front of him. He started tapping out the rhythm of the song.

Then, he started humming it. Glancing around at the other guys, who were engrossed in various activities, he waited to see if anyone noticed what he was humming. When no one looked up at him, he sang the first few lines of the song.

Again, no one seemed to notice.

He launched into the song full blast, emphasizing those lines that were on the notes.

Joey, JC and Chris finally looked up to see what in the hell Lance was doing.

�Bored much, Lance? I mean, really, AM radio Queen?� Chris asked sarcastically.

Joey just smirked and said, �It�s a cool song Lance, don�t listen to Chris.�

JC just smiled and went back to his song notebook.

Lance took it as a good sign that Joey had mentioned the song itself. He just hoped that meant Joey got his message about everything else too.

Deciding he needed to go work on a plan of action in regards to Joey, he got up to return to his room.

On his way out, he overheard Justin saying to Chris, in a mocking tone, �I don�t know why you said that Chris. That is your favorite song.�

The last thing Lance heard as he headed into the hallway was Chris responding, �Fuck off J. You don�t know what you�re talking about.�

Lance wondered later what that whole exchange had been about.

*----------------

Lance woke up Friday morning with a blinding headache. He had stayed up half the night coming up with a plan to seduce and/or tell Joey he loved him. Because he did love him.

Just because he didn�t feel any sparks when he was around Joey, didn�t mean there was no love there.

Passion was overrated, Lance thought.

It always ended up destroying whatever good thing two people had. No, those notes were all about love.

Who knew Joey was such a romantic?

Certainly not Lance, but he was glad of that fact now.

Lance hadn�t really loved someone or been loved in any way other than with his family or friends, in a long time.

He missed it.

He had a feeling that was why he had latched onto the notes so strongly. He felt a little pathetic, but he didn�t care. His best friend was in love with him.

Life was good.

Heading towards the bathroom in his hotel room, Lance noticed a note on the writing desk, near the window.

It was a plain white sheet of paper, folded in half, on top of the TV listings on the table. Lance picked it up and opened it. It only had three lines.

�You're my only one. And I love the thing. I really love the things that you do.�

It was simple.

It was direct.

It was perfect.

He would have to tell Joey he felt the same, as soon as possible.

Willing his headache away, he headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

*-------------------

He was unable to find Joey all day. He kept running into Chris though. Chris seemed distracted and just a little put off that Lance wanted to find Joey. Lance didn�t know what his problem was, but decided he would talk to Chris about it later.

He eventually found out Joey had gone out shopping with JC again. Frustrated and more than a little curious as to why Joey and JC were shopping for the third time this week, Lance headed back to his room. Only to be stopped by Chris standing outside his door.

�What�s up Chris? Anything wrong?� Lance asked.

Chris just shrugged and shuffled his feet.

�No, I just wanted to talk to you about something. If that�s okay.�

Lance was a little surprised. Chris hadn�t come to him for advice in regards to anything for a long time. He was kind of pleased that Chris felt he could come talk to him about whatever was bothering him.

�Yah, no problem. Why don�t we talk in my room?� he responded.

Chris just nodded and followed Lance into the hotel room. As soon as the door was shut, Chris asked, �So, what�s been your deal lately? You�ve been acting weird this past week. We�re all a little concerned.�

Lance was shocked that Chris didn�t really want to talk about his problems but what he perceived to be Lance�s. Well, Lance figured he could trust Chris with what had been going on.

�Sit down. I�ll tell you about it. It�s not bad, I promise.� Lance said.

Chris sat on the bed with legs crossed in front of him. He started to pick at the loose thread on the comforter while Lance got comfortable in the chair opposite the bed.

�Well, the thing is I�ve been getting these notes. They have song lyrics on them from that Queen song, �You�re my Best Friend�. I was kind of confused at first. I thought one of you guys was playing a practical joke or something. So, I dismissed the first two notes I got. But then on Wednesday, I figured out what song it was because of Joey�s Greatest Hits CD. I started to put two and two together and I figured it out.�

�What?� Chris asked.

�That Joey is in love with me. And I think I�m in love with him.� Lance answered excitedly.

Lance looked to see what Chris�s reaction was and suddenly got very still. Chris looked pale and very fragile all of a sudden. His brown eyes were huge in his face and he looked like he was about to cry. He turned his face away, blinked a few times and then faced Lance once more.

Lance decided that that was the saddest smile he had ever seen.

He couldn�t figure out what had made Chris so sad. Did he have feelings for Joey? He thought about it and decided that that wasn�t it. The two of them were friends and had never given any indication otherwise. So, that still didn�t explain why Chris was so upset. Finally, Chris spoke, �Are you sure about that? That he�s in love with you, I mean?�

Lance thought about it for a few seconds and nodded finally.

�Yeah, I'm sure.�

Chris just sighed and picked at the thread until it was spooling in his hand, because it had gotten too long.

�Okay then. I was just checking to see if it was anything serious. Not that falling in love with your best friend isn�t serious, but you know what I mean.� Chris joked feebly.

Lance smiled.

�Yah, I know what you mean. And no, there isn�t anything else wrong. I promise.�

Chris smiled weakly and said, �That�s good. Okay. Well, I need to get going. I have some things to do before rehearsal tonight. I�ll see you later then.�

He stood up to leave, but before he got to the door, he turned and said one last thing.

�You know I won�t say anything, right Lance? It�s up to you. Just let me know what you want to do about this. I��

He paused, as if collecting his thoughts.

�I just wanted to let you know that you�re my best friend Lance. You�re my best friend, no matter what.�

Chris smiled that sad smile once more and then he was gone.

Lance was glued to his chair. Thoughts tumbled around inside his head. He reflected on Chris�s last statement. He thought about all the little things Chris had done for him over the years. He thought about the way his skin was always warmed by Chris�s touch. He thought about the dream he had a year ago, where Chris had kissed him and in the morning, he could still feel it on his lips. He thought about Joey and the kindness he possessed. He thought about how he only really felt friendship for Joey, in the end.

He couldn�t believe he had been that stupid.

Because, well�fuck.

Chris had written the notes.

Queen-You�re my Best Friend

Ooh, you make me live
Whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooh, you make me live now honey
Ooh, you make me live

Oh, you're the best friend
That I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
(ooh) oh, you're my best friend

Ooh, you make me live

Ooh, I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you (still come back to you)
In rain or shine
You've stood by me girl
I'm happy at home (happy at home)
You're my best friend

Ooh, you make me live
Whenever this world is cruel to me
I got you, to help me forgive - oo oo ooh
Ooh, you make me live now honey
Ooh, you make me live

Oh, you're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love the thing
I really love the things that you do
Oh, you're my best friend

Oh, ooh, you make me live

I'm happy (happy at home)
You're my best friend
Oh, oh, you're my best friend
Ooh, you make me live
Oo oo ooh
You, you're my best friend