Dreams (2/5)
By Rin
©Rin May 2001
Feedback: Love it! Live for it! Flames will be quenched with my handy-dandy fire extinguisher (kept close at hand by the computer). Besides, feedback is what keeps me writing.
For those of you who know my writing, sorry that it has been so long since I have submitted anything, anywhere. For those of you who don’t know it, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don’t know any of the members of 98°, or their sexual preferences but I sure wish I did!! Same with *Nsync. I am making no money off of this. I am doing this for my sick and twisted entertainment as well as for those who read it. <Grin>
Archive: Only with my permission, thanks.
Special thanks to Pen for her wonderful beta and encouragement on this story.
Part 2
Drew quietly closed the door to the suite and stepped out into the hall. He turned and found Justin and Nick waiting patiently outside of their door. He walked over to them and started off for the other end of the floor.
“Where’s Jeff,” Nick asked. He looked at his younger brother and smiled. “I thought he was coming down to say ‘Hi.’ to the guys.”
“He told me that he was tired,” Drew told them. He knew that he did not sound like he believed it. “Is he feeling all right? He was rather quiet the from the time we got off of the bus.”
“I think he is just wore out from the trip,” Justin said. “So, how long do you guys think we are going to tour with Nsync?” Justin rapidly changed the subject. He had told Jeff that he would not bring up what he had heard on the bus and did not want to possibility for it to arise.
“I don’t know,” Nick said. He noticed the rapid change in Justin. Nick didn't think that Drew caught it but he certainly had. Before he could even ask Justin what was going on, one of the doors flew open to reveal a rapidly approaching Chris.
Justin and Drew jumped aside while Nick just kind of stood there. He could not move. He watched as Chris began to turn his head and see him in the way. The look of shock on Chris’s face would have been comical under other circumstances.
*BAM!*
Chris ran right into Nick and the both fell to the hallway floor in a heap. Nick was trying to push Chris off of him when he felt the intense cold hit him. He was now soaked.
“Oh shit...”
He heard the phrase uttered and locked eyes with a rather terrified looking Justin Timberlake. “Nick! Man, I am so sorry! I didn’t see you! I swear,” Justin helped as he threw the ice bucket, now empty of its contents, to Drew. Justin was laughing uproariously on the floor with Drew close behind him, holding the bucket.
Nick, soaking and cold, shoved a still shocked Chris off of his lap and roared to his feet. “TIMBERLAKE! YOU ARE DEAD WHEN I CATCH YOU!”
It was in that moment that he saw Justin heading the other way. Toward their end of the floor. Nick grinned, he had the smaller man now. He started toward him as he saw the door to Jeff and Drew’s suite open.
Jeff was standing there in a pair of boxers, blinking and looking somewhat annoyed. “What is going on..” He never finished the sentence. Justin heard his voice and turned, shoving him inside as he closed and bolted the door behind him.
“Jeff! Help! I didn’t mean it! You gotta believe me!”
“Whoa, Justin, slow down. Didn’t mean what?” Jeff was trying t make sense of what Justin was blabbering on about when the pounding in the door commenced.
“Jeff! Open this door! I’m going to kill him! I’m soaked!” He could hear the anger in Nick’s voice. He grinned and turned to the younger man, who was now peeking out from behind Jeff’s bedroom door.
“Now you’ve done it,” Jeff grinned as he walked over to the door. He grinned evilly as he opened the door to admit Nick. “He is in my room,” he told a dripping Nick, as he came into the room. “Just don’t get my bed wet!”
Nick waved vaguely over his shoulder as he stalked to the bedroom. Jeff heard the others join him in the room. He felt a hand in the small of his back and almost jumped out of his skin hen he glanced back and saw that it was Drew.
Before he could say anything, he heard a voice in his ear. “Jeff, can I talk to you? Privately?”
He turned to see Lance and Joey looking at him. Joey motioned with his head to the hallway. Turning away from the hilarious scene of Nick carrying a now soaked Justin Timberlake into the other room, Jeff followed them out of the room.
When he reached the hallway, he saw the other two men heading for their suite and followed. He closed the door behind him and stared in shock as Joey sat down and Lance perched on one of Joey’s legs. Lance patted the chair in front of them and simply said, “I think we need to talk.”
“What’s wrong Jeff,” Lance asked, rising up looking a bit alarmed. “You look like you want to run.”
“Sorry, Lance,” Jeff said, walking over and sitting down in the chair offered to him. “I guess that I am just not used to the fact that you and Joey are together.”
Joey laughed while Lance grinned. “It’s okay Jeff. We are used to it from the rest of the guys,” Joey told him with a quick grin. Jeff was instantly more comfortable. Joey had that effect of people. He could say something or even smile and they would relax visibly. This was one of the reasons that the members of Nsync were so popular.
“Ahem,” Lance cleared his throat. “Jeff, is everything all right?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well,” Lance paused, not quite knowing where to take the conversation. After a moment of Joey prodding him gently in the back and Jeff looking, completely, confused, he trod on in a rush. “I saw Drew with his arms around you in the elevator and when he pulled his hands away and you looked somewhat disappointed, so anyway, do you have feelings for him?” Lance said this last part in a complete rush and one breath. He finished in a rush and watched Jeff cautiously.
“Um...well...you see...,” Jeff stammered. He hated being put on the spot like this. He wondered briefly that if he were that obvious to Lance, as well as Justin, if Drew suspected something. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Are you going to say anything to Drew,” Joey asked. He looked at Jeff with complete understanding in his eyes. “We will give you moral support if you need it.”
“I’m not sure if I am ready to tell him yet,” Jeff said, looking at the floor. He said this last part in a small, quiet voice. He did not want the other two men to see the tears in his eyes. He was reaching up to brush the unshed tears aside when he felt a hand under his chin, lift his head up slowly.
His head stopped with him staring into Lance’s green eyes. “Jeff, don’t be ashamed of it. It is perfectly natural. To be honest, I think Drew feels something for you also.”
“How do you know that? Have you said anything to him,” Jeff asked, panic evident in his voice.
“No, but I noticed that he left his hands to linger on your waist in the elevator earlier. Plus, he placed his hand in the small of your back, just a minute ago, in your room. It seemed like he wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was doing it. It just seemed natural.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Jeff admitted.
“You want us to say something for you,” Lance asked.
“No! I mean, no, thanks,” Jeff said. “I am honestly not sure if I am ready for this.”
“All right,” Joey said. He gently pushed Lance off of his knee and stood. As he walked toward the door he grinned over his should at the other two. “Should we go and see if Nick has killed Justin yet?”
They walked out into the hallway to see almost the entire group laughing hysterically. As they approached, Chris saw them and turned pointing to the open door. Jeff grinned and walked toward the doorway just in time to see a shaving creme covered Justin come Running through the door.
“Make way! Comin’ through!”
“Timberlake! I’m not done with you,” Nick shouted as he came out of Jeff’s bedroom, razor in hand. “Hey Jeff, sorry about the bed.” Nick walked past him and out into the hallway. Jeff laughed and shook his head. It was then that he realized what Nick had just said.
“My bed? What about my...” The sentence died off without a word as he saw the remains of what was, at one time, a warm, dry, and comfortable bed. It was now a sodden, shaving crème covered mess. “What did they do, wrestle in here?”
“Kind of looks that way.”
Jeff turned to see JC standing in the outer room grinning. “I warned Justin that his tricks would get him into hot water eventually.”
“C’mon,” Jeff said, clapping JC on the shoulder. “Shall we go save your bandmate?”
The two men walked toward the other end of the hall. They arrived to see Nick sitting on Justin, who was now shirtless, and covered in even more shaving creme. Nick was holding both of Justin’s arms above his head with his left hand and shaving the smaller man’s armpits with his right. “A little swipe here. A little swipe there. Ah, perfect, smooth as a baby’s bottom.”
Nick stood up and grinned at the others around him. He was standing there taking a bow when he was tackled by Justin, now enraged. “You shaved me! You son-of-a-bitch! You shaved my pits!”
The force that Justin hit Nick with sent the two men into Jeff. He felt himself land on someone and heard the smothered “Oof!” as they hit the floor in a heap. Nick and Justin rolled across the floor. Jeff turned to see who he had landed on and came face to face with Drew.
“Hey there Sugar,” Drew said. “Is that a mic in you pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
“Huh?” Jeff stood up and quickly turned away from the other man. He glanced down and saw Drew looking at him oddly.
“Jeff, what is it?”
“Nothing. I just...well...oh, nevermind,” Jeff said quietly. He turned and walked out of the room with his head down. He could here the others laughing but did not see the look that Drew gave him.