Choices

Usual vault rules apply...touch not lest ye be touched. I mean usual disclaimer rules apply. Author's comments are at the end. Well besides this one. In chapter 28, Lance and Jim are the same person. So whenever you see Jim, it's Lance.

Chapter 26

Justin yawned as he pushed the cart through the grocery store. Daniel dropped a box of cereal in the cart. Justin looked down at it with a grimace.

"Hey, get something other then Special K Daniel. I hate that stuff. Grab a box of Honeycomb or something."

Daniel rolled his eyes, but dropped a box of Honeycomb in the cart for Justin. He headed down the aisle to grab some Pop tarts.

"Justin?" Daniel looked back at him where he had stopped. He retreated to see what it was.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Daniel said, following Justin's gaze. He was staring at a cereal box.

"I can't find Waldo." Justin said, not even looking at him. His eyes searched the box for the ever-elusive Waldo.

"He's right there." Daniel pointed to Waldo and walked away. Justin's jaw dropped.

"Hey no fair! How'd you find him so quick?" Justin pushed the cart, chasing Daniel down the aisle.

Daniel began to grab boxes of Pop tarts and drop them in the cart. He and Justin had quickly discovered that they never had enough Pop tarts. They both ate them all day long.

"I don't know. I just looked and he was there."

"Grab another box of strawberry frosted." Justin said as he looked through the boxes Daniel had already gotten.

"I'm gonna' go grab the milk and stuff from over there. You wanna' do the deli wait this time?" Daniel asked.

Justin shrugged. "I guess so. You want the usual?"

"Yeah. Grab me an extra half pound of pastrami though. You ate it all last time."

"Sorry. I was hungry." Justin said sheepishly. "It's cool. I drank all your ginger ale."

Justin wandered to the back of the store. Grocery shopping was one of his least favorite things to do. It was just quicker if he and Daniel did it together.

It was the last week of August and Justin was getting antsy to do something. The MTV Video Music Awards were in a week and a half. He was actually looking forward to them this year. He was so bored.

Daniel had moved in the night of the final concert. The restraining order against Darren had been filed earlier that day. Jean-Michel had given it to him as soon as Daniel had everything. Instead of reacting badly, Darren just got on a plane and went home to Australia. Jean wouldn't tell anyone what he had done to Darren to make him have that response, but they were all pretty sure it was bad.

Daniel had his house in Australia packed up and put on the market. At the moment, the last place he ever wanted to go back to was home. Florida was suiting him just fine.

Justin was enjoying having Daniel around the house. Each day that passed without Darren just made Daniel more and more relaxed. He had turned into a real joker. The other guys had been shocked at how much he actually talked.

Justin just sat back and watched the transformation as Daniel grew to trust him and to allow himself to have friends again.

Justin reached up and grabbed one of the little tickets. 63. He looked up at the little board with the number on it. 46. Justin groaned out loud.

"What number are you?" The woman next to him asked. Justin turned to look at her.

"I'm 63. What are you?"

"62. Looks like we are here for awhile." She smiled at him. Justin smiled back politely.

He took a moment to look at her. He couldn't tell how old she was, probably no more then 25 if that. She had these incredible hazel eyes that had flecks of green and gold in them.

"I'm Sarah." She held her hand out to him. Justin took her slim hand in his own, shaking it gently.

"I'm Justin. So I guess this makes us deli line buddies?" Sarah let out a peal of laughter. Justin grinned at her laugh. It was really cute.

Sarah leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I would rather talk to you then the other people here. Have you ever really taken a look at them?"

Justin looked around at the other customers. He shrugged. "I don't see anything strange."

Sarah shrugged. "I guess it's just me then. You're the first person to actually talk to me when I said hello. Where I used to live, everyone said hello, even if they didn't know you."

"Where you from?" Justin asked. Something about Sarah intrigued him.

"California, but I went to college in Oregon."

"California? I never really thought people were all that polite in California. At least in LA."

Sarah shook her head. "Of course not in LA. All the famous people make it tough. I'm from outside San Francisco."

Justin pretty much knew that she had no clue who he was. That was just fine by him.

"So how did you end up in Orlando after spending your whole life on the West coast?"

Sarah ran her hand through her long brown hair. "My best friend from college got a job down here. She needed a roommate. So I came with her after we graduated in May."

"Let me guess, spur of the moment decision that you couldn't go back on after you said yes."

Sarah tapped her nose grinning at him. "Very astute Justin. Most people think I actually wanted to come to Florida. I'd really prefer to be closer to my family."

Justin nodded. "My friend Allison is having the same problem actually. She's from California, but her husband is from Orlando. They live here now and she's missing her parents a lot."

"It's really not easy to up and move to a strange place not knowing a single person. It sounds like Allison at least knew you."

"Well she has a lot of people she knows, but not many that she's really close too. Actually she and Nick, that's her husband, just moved, sort of, to Philadelphia because she goes to college there."

Sarah nodded. "What does her husband do that allows him to just pick up and move? Lucky guy."

"He's a musician. They kept their house down here, so he's just going to fly back and forth when they're recording."

"Really? What band?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, no one really big." Justin tried to brush it off. Sarah decided to let that one drop. It seemed to make Justin uncomfortable.

"What do you do Justin?"

"I'm a singer." Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Oh really. Are you any good?"

Justin shrugged. "It pays the bills. What about you?"

Sarah lowered her eyes. "Well my degree is in Political Science. I always wanted to go into entertainment law. Someday I'll go to law school. I'm working as a bartender right now."

"A beautiful girl like you must be raking in the money as a bartender."

Sarah shrugged. "I don't care about the money. I just wish I was back in school."

"Yo Justin. Aren't you done yet?" Daniel came up behind him, pushing the cart.

"Nope. I'm number 63 Daniel. And they're only on 58."

"Okay. I'm gonna' go get some other stuff. I'll catch you in a bit when you're done here."

"I'll find you in a bit Daniel." Daniel started to walk away. "Daniel wait a sec!" Justin called after him.

"What Curly?" Daniel asked, sounding slightly annoyed. "I need razor blades. You know what kind I use."

"Okay. Anything else?"

Justin shook his head. "Nah, I'll grab it if I think of anything else."

Justin turned back to Sarah with a smile. "That was Daniel. We live together."

Sarah got a mortified look on her face. "Oh god I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I never would have started flirting with you if I had known."

Justin was confused. "Known what?"

"That you're gay."

Justin turned bright red as other people turned to look at him. Sarah looked so upset. Justin lowered his voice to talk to her.

"I'm not gay Sarah. Daniel's just my friend. He was having some problems so I offered him one of the spare rooms in my house. That's all."

"Okay now I'm even more embarrassed. I think I'm going to crawl into a hole and die now." Sarah was turning red as they spoke.

"Don't worry about it. A lot of people think I am. It's been highly debated in the past." Justin joked, trying to make her feel at ease.

Sarah giggled softly, looking up at him.

"So you were flirting with me?" Justin asked, getting a little sideways grin on his face.

"I know it's been a while since I've done it, but I'm not that bad at it. You didn't even notice?"

"Did you notice I was flirting with you?"

"Well that beautiful girl comment kind of made it obvious." Sarah grinned devilishly at him.

"I haven't exactly had much practice lately either. And I was never very good at it to begin with." Justin grinned back at her.

"Well I would say you succeeded this time." Sarah grabbed his hand and wrote her phone number on it.

"62!"

Sarah grinned at him before moving forward and giving the lady her order.

"Wait a sec. Let me see that pen." Justin took it from her and wrote his number on her hand.

"Talk to you soon Sarah." Justin called to her as she walked away, looking back at him with a smile.

Daniel watched her walk away before pushing the cart towards Justin, who was still grinning like an idiot. Justin was telling the lady behind the counter their order. She looked a little shell-shocked as Justin went down the list.

"So did you get her digits?" Daniel asked. Justin turned to look at him with a grin. He held up his hand.

"Sarah. Pretty name for a pretty girl. You actually gonna' call her?"

Justin nodded. "Yeah. She was pretty neat Daniel."

"Cool. Grab the meat. We gotta' go raid the frozen foods section. I want waffles."

Joey lowered his eyes, looking at the ball. He lifted them again, looking out at the green. Concentrating, he returned his gaze to the ball and swung.

Thwack! The ball bounced off the wall. "Aw crap."

JC burst out laughing, bending over as he laughed.

"Ah shut up Josh. I don't see you doing much better." Joey said grinning at him.

"Yeah but I've never golfed before. You do it all the time and you're still this bad."

Joey shook his head, putting his three-iron back in his bag and reaching for his driver.

"Now I remember why I golf with Brian or Lance and not you. They don't tease me."

"I only tease 'cause I care." JC grinned, reaching into Joey's bag and pulling a golf club out. "What's this one?"

"A five iron." Joey said, lining his shot up. "I'm gonna' try this one." JC said.

JC stuck his tongue out between his lips, concentrating. Joey looked up to watch him. JC brought the club back and quickly swung down, spinning around like he had been swinging a baseball bat. The ball flew about 25ft before it dropped.

"Look! I hit it." JC said grinning. Joey tried to hide his smile. It was so cute when JC hit the ball. He got so excited.

"Good job honey. Come here and give me a kiss." Joey said, leaning over the wall towards JC.

JC walked over and gave Joey a peck on the lips. "Your turn. If you hit it, I'll give ya' another kiss." JC grinned at him.

"Sweet." Joey walked back over to the golf ball and knelt next to it. "Mr. Golf ball sir. If you could just fly really far for me, I'll get a kiss. So please, help me out. Thanks."

JC laughed as he watched and listened to Joey talk to the golf ball.

They had been taking things slowly since that final concert in Orlando. They were both living in their own homes. They hadn't spent the night with each other and sex hadn't even entered the equation. Mainly they had been working on re-establishing the trust and friendship between the two of them.

JC had agreed to enter therapy as long as Joey agreed to as well. At first Joey had been a little reluctant to do that saying he didn't need therapy. JC convinced him it was a good idea to talk to a therapist about being in a gay relationship and what that was doing to him.

Joey was really liking therapy actually. It was a great way for him to deal with his emotions and ideas. This was something he had never experienced on the therapist end of the relationship.

JC on the other hand was not very happy. He wasn't thrilled about talking to someone, but he did it anyway. He had been prescribed an anti-depressant which was helping immensely with the guilt he still felt.

Joey swung the club carefully and connected with the ball. It was a solid hit that flew about 150ft before falling to the ground.

"Okay gimme my kiss." Joey pulled JC to him and kissed him softly. "Mmmm. You taste like coffee Josh." Joey grinned as he pulled away.

"Hmm...wonder why?" JC said sarcastically as he held up his iced coffee. "Oh gee that explains it. I'm drinking coffee."

"Just golf wise ass." Joey said with a grin on his face a mile wide. JC stuck his tongue out at him and swung the club again. He missed the ball by a mile, trying to seem like he meant to do that.

Joey snickered at him as he lined up his own shot. "Hey what time is it Joey?" JC asked as Joey swung.

Joey missed the ball. "Never talk during a back swing Josh."

"Sorry Tiger." Joey rolled his eyes at him. "What time is it?"

Joey looked at his watch. "4:30. What time are we going out to dinner with Chris and Danielle?" Lance and Jean-Michel were spending a few days in Mississippi with Lance's family.

"7pm." JC lined up another shot. "Do you think we should have invited Justin?"

"I don't know. I would hate to make him sit through dinner with two couples when he's alone."

"I'm sure he could bring Britney." JC said with a trace of disgust in his voice.

Joey shuddered. "I don't want to sit through a meal with her, even if she is nice now."

"I still think we should call him. At least give him the option to say no."

Joey sighed. "All right. Give him a call."

Justin rolled over in his bed, reaching for the phone as it rang.

"'Lo?"

"Hey Curly!" JC said, giving Joey a thumbs up. Joey nodded and continued to golf.

"Hi JC. What's up?" Justin sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"You busy tonight around 7?"

"No. Why?"

"You wanna' come to dinner with me, Joey, Chris, and Dani?"

Justin sighed. "So me, and the two couples."

"If you want to look at it that way I guess so. You can always bring someone. Bring Daniel along if you want."

Justin scratched his knee. He saw Sarah's name and phone number on the back of his hand. Maybe he could bring someone.

"You know what. I'll give you a call back. Let me call someone."

"Okay. I'm out golfing with Joey so I'm on my cell."

"I'll give you a buzz." Justin was about to hang up. "Oh is it someplace nice?"

"Nah Chris said it's a jeans and t-shirt kinda place. We're going comfortable. Oh and we're meeting at Chris and Danielle's."

"Cool. Call you back in a few." Justin hung up with JC and dialed Sarah's number.

"Hello?" A soft voice answered. "Um hi. Can I speak to Sarah please?" Justin realized he had no clue what her last name was.

"Hold on. I'll go get her. Who may I ask is calling?"

"My name's Justin." His heart was beating fast and he felt like he was 15 again, calling the girl he liked.

"Hello, Justin?"

"Sarah?"

"Yeah this is me."

"It's Justin. We met in the supermarket today."

"I know who you are. I didn't expect you to call so quickly though."

Justin flinched slightly. Duh idiot. They only met a few hours ago.

"Well something kind of just came up. Are you busy tonight?"

"No. I'm off tonight. Why?"

"Some friends of mine just called to invite me out to dinner. I was wondering if you wanted to join us for the evening." He held his breath.

"Why not. It wouldn't hurt to meet new people. What time?"

"7. I'll pick up around 6:30."

"All right. Let me give you directions. Oh what do I have to wear?"

"JC said that Chris was taking us to a jeans and T-shirt type of place."

"Am I going to be the only girl?" Sarah asked.

"No, Chris' girlfriend Danielle is coming."

"Ok." Sarah gave Justin directions to her apartment. Justin wrote them down quickly, hoping he would be able to find the place.

"I'll see you later then Justin."

"Bye Sarah." Justin was grinning like an idiot, glad that she couldn't see it.

"Woohoo!" Justin began to jump up and down on the bed happily. He quickly called JC back and told him he was coming and he was bringing a date.

Justin ran downstairs to find Daniel.

Daniel was sitting in the living room with Britney playing video games. The two of them had grown to be friends the past few weeks.

"Guess what guys! I got a date!" Justin shouted happily.

Britney flinched slightly but put on a happy face. "That's great Justin. What's her name?"

"Sarah."

"That girl you met at the supermarket earlier?" Daniel asked. Justin nodded. "Damn you called early Justin."

"I just got a call from JC inviting me out tonight with him, Joey, Chris, and Dani. I didn't want to be the only one without a date so I decided to give her a call."

Britney nodded, aware that Justin hadn't even thought about her. She understood why. The other guys were still very wary about her. It was okay.

"That's great. Brit and I are going to catch a movie later actually. I'm glad you have plans too." Daniel said to him.

"Oh what are you guys going to see?" Justin asked, sitting on the ground next to them.

"The new Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and Natalie Portman movie." Britney grinned. "Something for both of us in that movie."

"Seems like Brit's getting more out of it then you Daniel." Justin joked.

"Nah. I think Ben Affleck's kinda cute. He makes me all warm and fuzzy inside." Daniel joked back at him, lisping as he spoke.

"Oh so he gets the homosexual in you goin'?"

"You know it sexy boy. Care to go see what he does to me?" Daniel ran his hand up Justin's leg.

"Maybe later. I'm feelin' a little straight right now. Sorry."

"Ah that's okay. I'd much prefer making out with Britney over you anyway." Daniel grinned, leaning over to kiss Britney.

Justin's jaw dropped. "Huh?" He was dumbfounded. Britney and Daniel began to laugh at him.

"You're so easy Justin." Britney said to him, shaking her head.

"You both are assholes." Justin said standing up slowly. He gave a big fake yawn as he reached for a pillow. Grabbing it, he began to hit both Daniel and Britney with it. Moments later, a full-out pillow fight was underway, Daniel and Britney's 'joke' forgotten.

"Oh God James! Yes!" Jean-Michel groaned loudly. Lance leaned over and kissed him to keep him quiet.

"Keep it down. We don't want to wake my parents." Lance said as he thrust into Jean's ass again.

They had been in Mississippi for a week now. The relative calm that was surrounding them at the moment was pure bliss for both of them. Lance was so happy that he could just spend time with Jean- Michel and not have to worry about work.

Unfortunately actually staying at his parents' home had kind of constricted their actions a little. Lance's parents didn't hate him or Jean-Michel. Actually they really liked Jean and were generally very supportive of their relationship.

But that was only when they were together. As soon as they were alone with Lance, they would 'discuss' with him how he was sinning. A favorite question of his mother's was 'Are you really happy knowing that you are disappointing God with your actions?'

They never said anything to Jean-Michel thankfully. Lance had laid down that rule the first time he had brought Jean home. His parents had respected that request much to his surprise.

Lance ran his hands down Jean-Michel's body as he thrust in and out of him. He loved to touch him all the time. The feel of Jean's body against his own set his nerves on fire. Everything seemed much more intense.

Jean reached up and pulled Lance to him, thrusting his hips to meet Lance's movements. The two of them made love on Lance's bed.

"I'm gonna' cum Jean." Lance whispered, his voice strained as he thrust again. Jean kissed him passionately, biting Lance's bottom lip gently. Lance moaned and came. Jean followed a moment later, sending his cum all over their chests.

Breathing heavily, Lance fell onto Jean's chest. Jean kissed Lance's forehead and ran his hands down his back, resting them on Lance's perfect ass.

"I love you Jean." Lance whispered. "I love you too James." Lance slid his cock out of Jean's ass. He tied the condom up and dropped it in the trashcan before returning to bed.

"James?" Jean whispered. "Yes sweetie."

"I want to go home." Lance nodded. "So do I. We're leaving in a few days."

Jean shook his head. "No. I want to go my home. I want to go to France."

"Why don't we go for a bit after the MTV awards?" Lance suggested as he cuddled closer to him.

"James. I want to go alone." Jean's voice was firm. Lance sat up. "What?"

"I need to go alone." Tears pricked at Lance's eyes. "Why?"

"This last tour did something to me. I do not like what I became. I need to get away from everyone that somehow contributed to that change."

"You need to get away from me?" Lance's voice was shaking.

Jean nodded, wishing that he didn't have to do this. Lance took in a gulp of air, biting his lip to keep from crying.

"What are you telling me? Are you breaking up with me?"

"No. I never want to do that. I just need some time alone to get myself back to normal. And I need to do that alone."

Lance snuggled up to him. "I need you with me. I don't want to live without you."

"James if you want to live with me you need to let me go." His voice was firm in its statement.

Lance buried his face further in Jean's chest, wrapping his arms tighter around him. Jean hugged him back, holding him tight against his own body.

"How long are you leaving me?" Lance asked quietly. "I do not know. I cannot give you a time."

Lance nodded, letting himself get lost in the feeling of Jean- Michel. "When are you leaving me?"

"Would you please stop saying that I am leaving you? I am not leaving you. I am just leaving the country for a little while."

Lance shook his head. "You are leaving me. Maybe not forever, but at least for a little while."

Jean-Michel sighed. He didn't want to argue about this. It hurt him to have to do this, but it needed to be done. He needed this.

"I am going to leave from Orlando a few days after we get back. My flight is on Friday."

"The day we are leaving for New York." Lance said quietly. Jean nodded. "I thought it would be for the best if I left at the same time."

"What about the dogs?" Lance asked. "They can come with me to France or we can put them in a kennel while you are away."

"I want them home with me. They're my dogs." Jean stiffened at that. They had always been their dogs, especially Adam. They had gotten him together.

"Fine. We will find a good kennel for them before we both leave again."

"No. They're coming to New York with me." Jean sighed. "Have Christopher and Danielle watch them. Do not drag them to New York James. It is not fair to them."

"Chris and Dani are coming to New York. Chris is going to perform with us on the awards for one last time."

"I do not think it is a good idea for the dogs to go with you to New York." Jean said softly.

"I don't want to talk about it." Lance turned his head to look up at Jean. "Can we just go to sleep?"

"Sure James." Jean stroked Lance's back lightly. "I love you James."

"I know." Lance closed his eyes, ending the conversation.

Chapter 27

"You're joking right?" Justin asked Sarah in disbelief. She laughed at him. "No I'm not joking."

"So you've really never had grits?"

"I have never eaten grits Justin. I am from California."

Justin grabbed Sarah's hand, pulling her off the couch. "Come on. We're going to get some now."

Sarah laughed as she was pulled along behind him. "Justin. It's late. We'll just go tomorrow."

Justin shook his head. "No way missy. We're gettin' some grits in ya' right away."

Sarah shook her head, just letting him go. She had learned that it was easier to agree with Justin then argue most of the time. Justin grabbed his car keys from the table.

"Daniel! Britney! Sarah and I are going to go get some grits!"

Daniel looked over at Britney. "Grits?" Britney shrugged. "No one ever said Justin was normal." Daniel nodded.

"Will you hand me my underwear?" She asked, pointing to them next to Daniel. "Oh sure." Daniel handed Britney her's and grabbed his own from the ground where they had been thrown.

Britney sat on the bed next to him as she fastened her bra. "You know we are going to have to tell Justin the truth."

Daniel nodded. "Just not now okay. When he gets back from New York."

"Where are you taking me Justin?" Sarah asked, laughing as Justin drove through the streets of Orlando making faces at her the whole time.

"My friend Lance's. He makes the best grits ever."

"Don't you think we should call him? It is kind of late."

Justin shook his head. "Lance never has a problem if we just drop by. Besides he'll love to meet you."

"How come he wasn't there with your other friends when we all went to dinner the other night? Or is he not friends with those guys?" Sarah asked coyly.

"Oh Lance is one of the gang. He was visiting his parents for a few days."

Sarah shook her head. It was time to let Justin know that she knew. "Justin, shouldn't you say that Lance is one of the group?"

Justin looked over at her in surprise. "I know who you are Justin. I don't really care though."

"How long have you known?" Justin asked, his voice losing some of the enthusiasm it had before.

"I only figured it out after Kathy told me who you were. She saw you when you dropped me off the other night."

"So I guess she filled you in on who my friends were too?"

Sarah nodded, picking up on the somber note in Justin's voice. "Hey Justin?"

"Yeah Sarah?"

"I don't give a crap that you're that Justin of 'Nsync. To me you're Justin, my friend."

"Really?"

"Really. Now will you perk up for me? You need to give me the scoop on Lance." Justin began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Do you know what Lance's nickname is?" Sarah shook her head. "It's Scoop. At least that's one of 'em."

Sarah grinned. "What are his other one's?"

"Well Scoopy and Poofoo mainly. We used to call him Lansten but not much lately."

"What are you're nicknames Justin?" Justin blushed. "They call me Curly."

Sarah ran her hand through his hair. "Gee I wonder why." She said sarcastically.

"Ah shut up."

"Rainbow Brite."

"What?"

"That's my nickname. Or just Rainbow for short."

"Why Rainbow Brite?"

Sarah blushed. "When I was about 15 I went through a phase where I dyed my hair every color of the rainbow. So my friend Michelle thought it would be funny to call me Rainbow Brite."

"So you went through an 'AJ phase' as we like to call it. Joey went through one too."

"I got over it a few years ago."

"I think it's cute. Rainbow. I like it. I dub thee Rainbow." Sarah laughed happily as Justin pulled into a driveway.

"Well I dub you Ranger Rick."

"Ranger Rick? Why Ranger Rick?" Justin asked in confusion. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. Sarah opened her's and stepped out before answering.

"Because everyone else calls you Curly. I want to call you something different and Ranger Rick was the first thing to pop into my head."

Justin shrugged. "Works for me Rainbow." He reached out and took her hand, leading her up the porch in the dark.

"Now the only thing we have to worry about is whether or not Lance and Jean are having sex. They tend to do that a lot."

"Is Lance's girlfriend nice?" Justin burst out laughing again. "What did I say?" Sarah was confused.

"Lance is gay. His boyfriend's name is Jean-Michel. He's French."

Sarah blushed. "Well how was I supposed to know that? How many of your friends are gay anyway?"

"Besides these guys just Kevin and AJ. I think that's everyone. I have my suspicions about Drew though."

"Drew?" Sarah's head was spinning. Too many people.

"You'll meet him eventually. He's one of the members of 98_."

"Let's just knock on the door Justin. There are too many people for me to try to remember right now"

"We're not knocking. I know the alarm code and where Lance hides the spare key. He tends to forget his a lot."

Justin dug under one of the rose bushes by the door. He pulled out a little Ziploc bag with a key in it. "Got it." He punched in the alarm code and unlocked the door.

"Coming Rainbow?"

JC reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair away from his face. He had let his hair go the past few weeks. Joey grinned at him and brushed it back for JC.

"You need a haircut before we leave." Joey said. JC shrugged. "I guess so. If I don't I'll get it done in New York. We're going to be there almost a week before the awards anyway."

"Why are we leaving so early?"

Chris sat down on the couch. "Because you guys have nothing better to do. That's why I'm flying in on Wednesday instead."

"No you're not. I have your ticket too and it says Friday just like ours."

"D'oh." Chris said softly. "I thought I had gotten out of the rehearsals. All right. I guess I'll fly out with you guys in three days instead."

Chris grinned at them. He had known his flight was on Friday, but he was hoping they didn't.

Danielle wandered downstairs wearing a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. Her stomach was slightly rounded already. She looked exhausted. The pregnancy hadn't really gotten any better. She was constantly exhausted still and occasionally got sick still.

She sat on the couch next to Chris, laying down and resting her head in his lap.

"Hey sweetie. How ya' feelin'?"

"Ugghh. Kira just decided she was going to run around the bathroom naked while she was soaking wet. Haley thought it was funny."

"Why didn't you call me? I would've gotten her."

Danielle shrugged. "I guess I forgot. I'm still not used to you being here all the time."

"Do you want anything to eat? Joey brought over Chinese food." Danielle shook her head, closing her eyes.

JC exchanged glances with Joey. "Why don't we leave the two of you alone? You look like you're ready for bed Danielle."

Danielle yawned and opened her eyes to look at them. "You guys can stay."

JC leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Go to bed Dani. You too Chris. Take advantage of the fact the girls are asleep. We'll see you tomorrow."

Chris grinned at JC. "I'll give you a buzz. Maybe we can go golfing. JC was telling me that you're golf game is ever-improving Joey."

Joey stuck his tongue out at Chris and poked JC in the side. "You promised not to tell Chris."

JC shrugged. "Sorry." Joey just shook his head. "Come on you." He grabbed JC's arm and pulled him out of the living room.

Chris kissed Danielle's forehead softly. Her eyes opened and she grinned at him.

"I can't believe that worked." She said to him.

"I told you. When we can't get them to leave, just put on the sick pregnant woman act. It'll work every time."

Danielle kissed him softly. "Hey cowboy. The buckaroos are asleep and the annoying neighbors have left. What ever are we to do?" She asked him innocently.

Chris kissed her again. "I have a pretty good idea. Wanna' hear it?"

Danielle nodded. Chris leaned over and whispered in her ear. She began to laugh and shook her head. "That's a negatory good buddy. I am not streaking."

"Okay then. What about some hot, passionate sex? Can you get into that?"

Danielle nodded. "You have no idea." She said, pulling Chris down into a kiss.

JC sat behind the wheel of the car, not starting it, just thinking. Joey looked at him curiously.

"Everything okay Josh?"

JC turned to look at him. "Will you sleep over tonight Joey?" He blurted out quickly.

Joey nodded. "I'd love to." JC's face broke out into a wide smile. "Great. I was hoping you would say yes."

Joey leaned over and kissed him softly. "Why would I say no to the greatest boyfriend on Earth?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure glad you didn't."

Lance looked over at Jean-Michel momentarily. Jean was reading a book and paying no attention to him. They had gotten back from Mississippi on Saturday. They had been very short with each other since then.

Lance didn't want him to leave and no matter how much he begged, Jean refused to change his mind. So finally Lance had stopped begging and had started acting like a complete asshole. Today had just been the worst. Neither of them would bend at all, not even over who had to do the laundry. Lance almost wished it was Friday.

"Hey Scoop!" Lance heard Justin shout from downstairs. He groaned and threw the covers off the bed. Flipping off the TV, he turned to look at Jean-Michel who hadn't moved.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Not. Tell Justin I am sleeping." He answered curtly, not even looking up from his book.

"Fine." Lance grabbed a T-shirt and threw it on. He slammed the door behind him and walked to the top of the stairs.

"Where are you Justin?"

"Kitchen." Justin called back. Great Lance though. He was here for food. Sighing, Lance walked down the steps to join him.

Passing the den, Lance took a quick look in. Adam began to whine to be let out so he opened the gate for him. Adam rushed past him and headed for the doggie door to go outside. Eve walked out of the den as well, but waited next to Lance.

"So I guess you're coming with me then." He smiled at her. She padded next to him as he walked into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here Justin?" Lance asked with a trace of annoyance in his voice.

"Well Sarah has never had grits before and I knew that I had to take her to meet the best grits maker on Earth, so we're here."

Lance turned to look at Sarah. She smiled at him warmly. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you're Sarah."

"Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you Lance."

"Now give me the dirt. Why on Earth are you choosing to hang out with this loser? I mean the rest of us have no choice. We're in a band with him, but you're choosing to subject yourself to him."

Justin smacked Lance lightly with a grin on his face. Sarah just laughed.

"Believe it or not, Justin can be a lot of fun. In a goofy way of course."

Lance laughed. "If Justin were anything but goofy, I would be worried. If you can handle the nut job, he's all yours."

"Thanks I guess." Sarah shot Justin a strange look, wondering what was going on. Justin was wondering the same thing. Lance was acting a little strange.

Lance saw them looking and decided to change the subject. "You guys came over for some grits right?"

"You betcha. Can you whip some up for us?" Justin asked. "Don't need to. I have some left over in the fridge. I made some for breakfast this morning for Jean-Michel."

Justin opened the fridge and began to rummage around. "Where is Jean-Michel anyway?"

"It's the red bowl." Lance said. "He's sleeping. I'm sure he'll be disappointed to have missed the two of you."

"Oh too bad. I wanted to introduce Sarah to him. Oh well. Next time I guess." Justin said as he pulled the bowl out.

"Yes next time." Lance said softly, his eyes glazing over slightly. He seemed to disappear from where they were for the moment. Sarah watched him closely as Justin warmed up the grits. She didn't have any clue what was going on, but she was pretty sure this wasn't how he normally was.

"Lance Justin was telling me that you were visiting your parents. How was that?" She asked, trying to break him out of the daydream he was in.

Justin turned to her, making a cutting motion. Lance's parents were not good subjects.

"It went pretty well. It was great to see my family especially my sister and her husband. Jean and I had a lot of fun. That reminds me, Mom and Dad told me to tell you hi Justin."

"Well next time you talk to Momma and Poppa Bass tell them I say hi too and hope they are doing well."

"I will." Lance stood up. "I hate to be rude, but I'm exhausted. The two of you are welcome to stay as long as you want but I need to head to bed."

"Well thanks for the grits Lance. Oh did JC give you the tickets for you and Jean for Friday's flight to New York?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah he dropped them off on Saturday when we got home."

"Great." Justin put a plate of grits in front of Sarah.

"Well the two of you enjoy the grits. Make sure to lock up and set the alarm when you leave Justin. It was a pleasure to meet you Sarah. I hope to see you again when I'm more awake."

"Thank you so much Lance. I'm so sorry we bothered you." Sarah smiled at him as she apologized to him.

"Don't worry about it. My friends are allowed over whenever they want. My home is always open, even for late night grit cravings." He smiled and left the kitchen.

"Well that was strange." Justin said as he ate his grits. "Is he usually like that?" Sarah asked.

"Not at all. Something's wrong."

Lance shut the bedroom door and pressed himself against the door, looking into the bedroom. Jean-Michel looked at him, his heart softening as he watched Lance look at him.

"Are you okay James?" He asked, wondering why Lance was just standing there.

"You're definitely coming back right?"

"Yes. I told you I was going to return."

"But you can't tell me when right?"

"I do not know when I am coming back."

Lance nodded. "Good enough. Can you please hold me?"

Jean-Michel put his book aside and opened his arms to Lance. With a content sigh, Lance slid into Jean's arms, resting his head against his chest.

"I'm so sorry about the last few days." Lance whispered, holding Jean close.

"I am sorry too."

"Justin brought his girlfriend over." Lance said softly. "Is that why you suddenly needed affection?" Jean asked.

"I realized that they were trying to build something. Something we've worked so hard for. I didn't want to lose that because I acted like an idiot."

"You will not lose me. I am not going to ever let you go."

"Good." Lance said, closing his eyes. Jean reached over and turned off the light, leaving the room filled with dark silence.

"Sarah! Glad to see you're joining us." JC said, leaning over to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Glad I could join you too JC. I'm a little surprised my boss gave me the time off."

He sat down next to her. "So how are things between the two of you? Has Mr. Timberlake been a gentleman?"

"Yes he has JC. Everything is really good. I'm having a lot of fun with him."

JC smiled. "Good. I would hate to see Justin upsetting a nice girl like you. There's something very good about the two of you when you're together."

Sarah blushed. "He makes me feel very special. I feel like I've known him forever."

"Have you talked to Scoop recently?" Joey asked Justin quietly as JC and Sarah talked.

"Sarah and I stopped by Tuesday night, but I haven't heard anything since then."

Joey nodded. "Josh and I stopped by Wednesday after he wouldn't answer the phone. The cars were there, but the key was gone and the access codes were changed."

"He seemed really preoccupied when we saw him Tuesday, like he wasn't even acting like Lance."

Joey nodded slowly. "I guess we'll have to see how he is today. Did you talk to Jean-Michel at all?"

Justin shook his head. "Didn't even see him. Lance said he was sleeping."

"You don't think anything happened between them do you?"

Justin shook his head emphatically. "He would have said something."

"See I told you we wouldn't be the last here. Lance and Jean- Michel aren't here yet." Chris said as he, Dani, and the kids arrived in the lounge.

"Okay so I owe you five bucks. I can be wrong." Danielle grinned as she shifted Haley to her other hip.

"You all heard her admit she can be wrong right?" JC nodded. "Now I have witnesses. Sarah! You made it." Chris said happily as he handed Kira over to JC. He took Haley from Danielle so she could sit.

"My boss actually gave me the week off. I have to pull a double on Saturday and Sunday though."

Chris frowned. "That sucks, but it's worth it. MTV's fun."

"So Justin told me." She smiled at Justin, who smiled back as he and Joey talked.

"How are you feeling today Dani?" JC asked worriedly.

"Much, much better. Though I feel huge. And it's only five months. I'm going to be a house again by the time I have this baby."

"Where baby?" Kira asked JC. The twins had begun talking up a storm a few weeks ago, picking up words very quickly. Kira was better at stringing them together into sentences then Haley was though.

"In Mommy's belly." JC said, pointing to Dani's stomach. "Baby! Baby!" Haley shouted, clapping her hands together.

"Do you two want to go for a walk? Uncle JC will take you." Chris asked them.

"No walk." Kira made a face at the suggestion. "Okay. Do you want Uncle JC to go get you ice cream?"

"Ice cream!" Haley shouted. "Want ice cream." Kira said to JC. "Well then let's get ice cream. Who's phone is ringing?" JC asked, looking around.

"Mine." Justin said, pulling it out of his bag.

"Who'm I talkin' to?"

"It's me Justin."

"Lance we were just wondering where you were."

"Justin I need to talk to you."

"What is it Lance?"

"I'm not getting on the plane with you guys." Lance said softly, watching Justin's reaction from across the way.

"What do you mean you're not getting on the plane? You have to get on the plane." Justin said loudly. Everyone stopped talking, including Haley and Kira. They all turned their attention to Justin.

"I'm not getting on the plane with you. I'm not going to New York with you guys. At least not today."

"What's wrong? What happened?" Justin asked, suddenly very worried. This wasn't like Lance at all. He never skipped out on anything.

"I just need some time. I don't want to be in that situation right now. The press and MTV and the rehearsals. I can't do it right now."

"Where's Jean-Michel? Let me talk to him."

"I put Jean-Michel on a plane for France about two hours ago. I've been wandering the airport ever since trying to figure out what I need to do."

"Did he leave you?" Justin asked angrily. JC gasped, reaching for Joey's hand.

"No not really. He had to get away from all of this. The whole thing with Darren really fucked him up big time. He decided he had to leave for a while to figure out what happened to him."

"When is he coming back?"

"I don't know. He doesn't know." Lance's voice was bitter, an emotion Justin rarely associated with Lance.

"Are you okay Lance?"

"No." Lance answered bluntly. Justin closed his eyes tightly, sending a quick prayer out to get Lance to act reasonably.

"Please come with us Lance. You need to be around friends."

"Justin I need to think. I promise I will be in New York by Wednesday."

"Are you still in the airport?" Justin asked, standing up and looking around frantically. Lance watched him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see him.

"Don't try to find me Justin. Please." Justin sighed, sitting back down.

"Wednesday?"

"Wednesday. I promise."

"I don't like this Lance. I don't like it at all." Justin said bluntly. "I know you don't."

"I have to accept it. Can you do me one thing though? Can you call me every day to at least let me know you're alive?"

Lance sighed. "I'll try to Justin."

"Promise me James."

"Okay I promise but I'm only going to call you. No one else."

"That's fine."

"Tell everyone I love them." Justin sighed. "I will. I love you James."

Lance watched as Justin hung up his phone and slumped against his chair before getting up and walking out of the terminal.

Chapter 28

Lance blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the contacts in his eyes. He looked in the mirror. Perfect. His pale green eyes were now a deep blue color. They set off his jet-black hair perfectly.

He'd gotten used to the hair by now. He had done that on Friday when he had left Orlando. The contacts were only a recent decision but as Lance looked at his reflection, he knew it was a good decision.

The effect was interesting to say the least. The Lance staring back at him was not the Lance he had known his whole life. The hair and eye color were a mask that didn't hide, but rather accentuated the difference in his mindset. Since Friday, Lance had been gone. In his place was Jim.

Lance smiled at his reflection. He reached for the black eyeliner and began to heavily line his now blue eyes. He extended the line past his eyes, bringing them out to a point. Finishing with the eyeliner, he reached for the silver cream eye shadow he had bought. Dabbing it carefully around his eyes, he made the lids completely silver.

Lance almost wished his friends could see him now. 'Jim Bass' had been living it up the last few days on South Beach. He carefully applied some glitter lip gloss. He had already finished his hair before putting in the contacts. It was messily spiked in his usual style actually.

Taking another look at the strange reflection peering back at him, Lance smiled and left the bathroom. It was time to get dressed.

Nine Inch Nails was blasting through the hotel room. Lance wandered through the hotel room completely naked, taking pleasure in the freedom he had.

When Lance had driven out of Orlando bound for Miami, he had purposely left the old Lance behind. 'Jim' had been born somewhere on the road between the two cities. He could finally let himself listen to music like Nine Inch Nails without being harassed by his friends as to why he was doing it.

And 'Jim' could drink and dance all night, wearing makeup and bizarre outfits. Unfortunately, Lance thought as he reached for the leather collar on the dresser, he could only be 'Jim' for one more night. He was going to keep his promise to Justin and fly to New York tomorrow afternoon.

Lance had also called Justin once a day to let Justin know he was alive. Justin had kept up his end of the deal, not asking where he was, only that he was okay. Lance loved him for that.

As for Jean-Michel, he hadn't tried to call him and Jean hadn't tried to call him either. Lance had his phone on at all time only with the ringer off. There were a ton of messages from all the guys, their managers, even a couple from Kevin. But not a single message from Jean.

Lance pulled a silver shirt over his head being extra careful not to mess up his makeup. He looked in the mirror, smoothing the tight shirt over his body. He adjusting the short sleeves, admiring the way it showed off his chest and arms.

He reached for the leather pants, carefully pulling them up, letting the smooth leather slid over his skin. Lance looked over at the clock for a moment. He really should call Justin. He hadn't yet today and it was already 10:30 at night.

Reaching for his cell phone, Lance dialed Justin's number, slipping the headset on. Listening to the phone ring, he walked over to the MD player and turned it down. He wandered around the room, looking at himself in the mirror occasionally.

"Hello? Lance?" Justin's voice was almost panicked.

"Yeah its me Justin."

"Oh thank God." Justin let out a sigh of relief. "I was scared to death. Do you know its past 10:30 where I am?"

"I do. I'm really sorry. I lost track of time." Lance apologized as he looked at the shoes in the closet.

"I'm just glad you called Lance. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine. You can do something for me though." Lance said as he held up two pairs of shoes. "Anything." Justin replied.

"Black or silver?"

"What?" Justin's voice was filled with confusion.

"It's not a tough question. Just pick black or silver."

"Okay black. Did that help?"

"Yup." Lance tossed the silver boots on the bed. "I'm wearing the silver shoes instead."

Justin chuckled. "Glad I could help. What time are you flying in?"

"I'll call you when I'm flying over Philadelphia."

Justin sighed heavily. "Look Scoop. I love you and I have no problem doing this for you. I just wish you would tell me a little more information."

Lance picked through the jewelry on the dresser. "Justin please."

Justin gritted his teeth, looking over at Sarah helplessly. She shrugged.

"Okay call me when you're flying over Philly. Will you tell me what flight you're coming in on then?"

"I'll tell you the flight then."

"Thank you Lance."

Justin was quiet and he listened to Lance breath on the other end. "Have you talked to Jean-Michel?"

Lance stiffened at the question. "I have to go Justin. I'll see you tomorrow." Lance did not want to talk about this.

"Lance please don't hang up. Talk with me longer." Justin wanted to keep him on the phone and gauge how he was.

"Justin I'm going out. Please don't do this."

Justin let out a sigh of frustration. "Okay. I love you. Be careful and don't do anything stupid."

Lance chuckled. "I'll be good Mommy Justin."

Justin laughed as well. "Seriously I love you. I want to see my Scoopy tomorrow all happy and okay."

Lance sat on the bed. "Don't expect too much Justin."

"I know. Just let me live in denial for now."

Lance let out a laugh. "I'm the one who should be living in denial not you."

"You know what they say Scoop. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt."

Lance laughed. "Well on that horribly tactless note I'm hanging up now. See you tomorrow Justin."

"Okay I'll see you Scoop."

Lance clicked the button on the phone. He began to lace up his boots, rolling the leather pants back down over them. He had just finished when there was a knock on the door. Lance grinned at his reflection once more. He opened the door up, knowing who was on the other side.

"Jim! Give me a kiss." A petite woman threw her arms around Jim's neck, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey Summer. You're looking fabulous tonight."

"As well I should be. You're not so bad yourself for a guy."

She grinned at him from her total height of 5'0. The heels she wore added very little. Summer was holding her own though with the outfits she wore.

Tonight she was wearing a small silver bra and short black leather shorts. The boots she had on clung to her perfectly shaped legs. Around her wrists and neck were spikes of all sizes.

"Going with blue tonight I see." Jim said as she made a beeline for the small bar in his room. Summer paused long enough to twirl around and take a bow. Her mohawk was a brilliant aqua blue color. The dragon tattoo that circled her head had eyes the same color.

"So where are we going tonight?" Jim asked as he sat on the bed.

"I figured we could check out the pussy and dick at Liquid. And from there we'll just see where the night takes us." She took a long drink from the glass of wine she had poured.

"I gotta be in kinda early tonight. I have to leave tomorrow."

Summer pouted. "What times the flight?"

"2:30. So I need to get to the airport by 1:30 at the latest."

Summer grinned at him. "So we need to be back here by 10 instead noon."

Jim laughed. "Works for me. You ready?" Summer shook her head. "I want to finish my wine first."

Jim nodded. "Bring me over a glass." Summer poured him one and topped hers off. She sat down next to him.

"So you're really leaving me Jim?"

Jim sipped the wine. "I promised I would be back. Randy, Scott, Tony, and Alan will kill me if I'm not in New York tomorrow."

Summer pouted again. "Promise you'll come play again."

Jim took her chin in his hand. "You couldn't keep me away if you tried. I'll be here whenever I can be."

Summer smiled. "Good." She leaned in and gave Jim a kiss on the lips. "Let's go have some fun!"

"I wish I knew what was going on with him." Justin watched the expressionless look on Jean-Michel's face stay put. Justin sighed.

"Do you even care what's happening to your boyfriend Jean?"

Justin wasn't even sure what had possessed him to call Jean in France. Part of him wanted to understand why this was happening. The rest of him wanted to make Jean feel guilty.

"Justin, I love James with all my heart and I care very much what is happening to him. I just do not want to deal with it right now."

"Well you should deal with it. You're the reason he disappeared. You're the reason he's so vague and distrustful."

Finally Jean's expression changed. Anger flashed across his normally friendly face. Justin almost wished he was on a regular phone and not a vid phone.

"I am not the reason he has done that. James is making those choices not me. I made my choice to leave for a bit to try and save the relationship."

Justin flinched at that. "You wanted to end it?"

"Sometimes I saw it as the only way out of the situation. If I ended my relationship with James I would not have to deal with any of you.

Justin's jaw dropped. Now it was Jean's turn to flinch.

"I did not mean it that way. The five of you are easily my best friends. It is just when we are on tour I get tired of taking care of everything. This past tour was extremely trying."

"And it was just a walk in the park for the rest of us?"

"Justin do you want to know why I left or not?" Jean-Michel asked him angrily.

"Yes I do want to know. Make me understand why you would desert the man you love when the two of you actually have the chance to spend time with each other."

"I did not desert him!" Jean-Michel shouted. "I left because I do not know who I have become. I am lost right now. The way I acted disgusts me. I have to find me again. I have to find the Jean-Michel I know, not the one who surfaced this summer. I do not like him."

Justin was quiet as he thought about Jean's words. "Why didn't you tell any of us how you were feeling?"

"And what would have changed Justin? I still would have ended up protecting Daniel, threatening Darren, consoling Joshua, cheering up Christopher, reasoning with Joseph, and sneaking Britney into hotels for you."

"You didn't have to do any of that."

"Yes I did. No one else was stepping in and doing anything."

"We should have." Justin said softly. "We all acted like idiots. Please don't take our idiocy out on Lance."

"Justin I do not want to live without him in my life. I am coming back eventually."

"How long is eventually?" Jean-Michel shrugged. "I do not know." Justin shook his head. "That's bullshit. I want a time frame. Tomorrow, next week, before Kevin and AJ's wedding, before Christmas? When Jean?"

"Christ Justin. Can you not just drop it?"

"Are you going to go to the wedding?"

Jean nodded. "I will be there for the wedding."

Justin smiled. "At least you can tell me that. I'm going to call you once in a while to check on you."

"Justin..." He was cut off. "No Jean. You're my friend and I want to make sure everything is okay. Trust me it's no use trying to argue."

Jean shook his head. Part of him was glad Justin cared so much. However he just really wanted to be left alone.

"That is fine. I need to go now Justin."

Justin smiled at him warmly. "Okay. I love you Jean." Jean smiled back. "Bye Justin."

"Wait Justin." Jean stopped before he hung up. "Yes Jean?"

"When you talk to James, tell him I love him. And tell him my mother is still talking for now. He will understand."

"Okay. I'll tell him. Bye Jean."

"Bye Justin."

Justin's screen went blank when Jean hung up. Justin clicked the phone off and sat back. He shut his eyes, thinking back over the past week. Lance had asked him to be as vague as possible with the guys. It hadn't been easy fielding their constant questions about Lance. And it had only gotten worse when the Backstreet Boys had arrived on Sunday. Justin had called Kevin to have him check if Lance was at home. Ever since then Kevin had been calling him too.

Justin felt a pair of warm hands slip inside the front of his shirt. Sarah leaned in close. "Are you coming to bed Ranger Rick?"

Justin opened his eyes and leaned back to look at her. "Yeah. I'm done trying to save the world tonight."

Sarah kissed his lips softly. "How did the talk with Jean-Michel go?"

Justin sighed. "It could have gone worse. It could have gone better. I managed to get more of the story out of him then I did Lance. And I managed to get him to tell me that he will at least be back for the wedding."

Sarah took Justin's hand and pulled him up. "At least that's something. Do you think Lance will be happy to hear that?"

Justin shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Each time I talk to him, he sounds less and less like the Lance I know. We'll have to see tomorrow."

Sarah pulled Justin towards the bedroom, walking backwards. "Sleep now. We'll worry about it tomorrow."

Justin grabbed Sarah and tossed her over his shoulder. "Okay time for bed." Sarah laughed as he carried her into the bedroom.

"Let's have another round!" Jim shouted pointing to the waitress at the same time. She nodded and headed through the crowded club to the bar.

Summer jumped into Jim's lap. "Jim baby you gotta' get with him. He's so fine and that's a high compliment coming from a lesbian like me."

Jim shook his head. "I'm not getting' with anyone. We talked about this Summer."

"Fine don't fuck him but at least dance with him. He's staring at you like you're candy."

Jim smiled at the dark man eyeing him from across the dance floor.

"Maybe I will go have some fun. Don't let them touch my drink." Summer grinned as she slid off his lap. Jim could hear her talking to their friends as he walked away from the table.

"Look bitches. Don't touch Jim's drink while he's gone. I'm gonna' go in search of some pussy."

Jim began to dance his way over to the man who had been staring at him. He noticed the other man was doing the same. They finally reached each other and danced slightly apart while staring, eyes locked together. Jim moved in closer, letting his hand brush the other man's hip.

The music changed to a slower song. The other man reached out his hand to Jim. Smiling Jim took it and pulled the other man to him.

"What's your name?" Jim asked loudly. "Manuel. What's yours?"

"Jim." Manuel smiled at him. He leaned closer to Jim, brushing his lips against his ear. "Pleasure to meet you Jim. A real pleasure." He ran his hands down to Jim's ass, cupping it gently.

Lance knew he should stop. But his mind was a haze and Jim was taking control of him. Jim was having fun. So Lance buried himself deep under the alcohol and under Jim, not letting Lance escape to interfere with his time with Manuel.

They pressed their bodies together, feeling the hard muscles not so hidden under the tight clothes they both had on. Summer watched from across the floor. She was sitting on a cage talking to one of the dancers. Her conscious was getting the best of her as she watched Jim grinding and groping the other man. In just the few days she had known Jim she had learned a lot about him. And Summer knew he wanted to stay faithful to his boyfriend.

"Excuse me for a moment sexy. I gotta go help a friend out." She blew a kiss at the woman in the cage and hopped to the ground. Summer weaved her way through the crowd, hoping she was heading in the right direction. She paused to make out with an old friend of hers before continuing on her quest to find Jim.

Finally spotting him, she was dismayed to find they had moved from touching to checking each other's tonsils.

"Jim! Come quickly."

Summer tugged at Jim's arm, trying to get his attention. Jim shook his head. Summer tugged harder. He pulled himself away from Manuel and gave her an evil look. Summer glared right back at him. She reached up and grabbed his ear tugging him down so she could whisper to him.

"Come with me know or I will cut your balls off and feed them to my cat."

Jim shuddered. He hadn't known Summer that long, but he suspected that she would make good on her threat.

"I have to go." He whispered into Manuel's ear. Manuel nodded and turned to go on dancing.

Summer dragged him through the crowd back to their table. No one else was there, but two rum and cokes were sitting untouched.

Grabbing one, Summer sat down and looked expectantly at Jim. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"Thank you Summer." He drank some of his drink. Summer just smiled as she drained hers.

"How about wiping the grin off your face and buying me another drink?" Jim said jokingly.

"No way Jimmy boy. I bought last night. Tonight is your night to shell out the cash."

"Okay fine by me. You ready to blow this Popsicle stand and head elsewhere?"

Summer looked around at the packed club, the hot men and women all around, the loud music, and bright lights.

"Yeah this place is dead anyway."

Joey ran his hand down JC's cheek gently. JC's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at him sleepily.

"Hi sweetie." JC mumbled, smiling at Joey's face.

"I love you." Joey said to him. "I know you do." JC said his voice sounding slightly more awake.

"I needed to tell you that."

JC lifted his head from the pillow and kissed Joey on the lips. He lay back and smiled at him.

"I love you too Joey."

Joey kissed his softly, running the tip of his tongue over JC's lips. "Thank you." He whispered.

"You're welcome." JC was awake now, wondering what was wrong with his boyfriend.

"Are you okay?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. Why?"

"It's not everyday my boyfriend wakes me up from a deep sleep to tell me that he loves me. Not that I'm complaining of course."

Joey shrugged. "I woke up from a dream. I can't remember what it was about, but I knew I had to tell you that I loved you."

JC stroked Joey's neck. "Well I love you." Joey rested his head on JC's shoulder and closed his eyes.

Joey quickly fell back asleep, having done what he needed to do. JC stared at the ceiling for some time, gently stroking Joey's neck as he slept.

"Give me your hand Jim." Summer reached out to him. Jim shook his head, pressing his body against the back of the cave. "Don't be such a baby. It's so worth it."

Jim closed his eyes and reached his trembling hand out towards Summer. She gently pulled him forward.

"Okay sit down." Jim trembled as she helped him sit. "Open your eyes Jim." He shook his head. "Just trust me."

Jim squeezed Summer's hand tightly and opened her eyes. Jim gasped when he saw what was in front of him.

"It's beautiful isn't it." Summer said softly resting her head on Jim's shoulder.

"It's incredible. I've never seen anything like it before."

Summer glanced at the spiked bracelet watch on her wrist. "It's going to get even more incredible in a few minutes when the sun rises."

They sat in silence watching as the sun rose over the Atlantic Ocean. Jim watched the colors change. The last morning they had been in Spain while touring with the Boys, he and Jean-Michel had stayed up all night. They had watched the sun rise from the roof of the hotel. Jim's eyes filled with tears. He began to cry, shaking. Summer lifted his head and wiped the tears off with her fingers.

"Jim what's wrong?" Jim shook his head. Blinking he looked into the warm brown eyes of the woman sitting next to him. He wanted to tell her the truth.

"Summer I need to tell you something." She nodded. "I'm listening."

"I've been pretending to be someone I'm not."

"Jim honey. Everyone pretends down here. It's the only way we can stand the life we live."

"My name isn't Jim." Summer shrugged. "That's fine. My name isn't Summer. I just like it better then Gwen. We can all choose who we are."

"My real name is Lance. I have blond hair and green eyes. I'm a singer in a popular band. I have to leave tomorrow because I promised the rest of my band I would be back in time for the MTV Video Music Awards tomorrow."

Summer shrugged. "Like I said, I don't care. You're always going to be Jim to me Lance." She hugged him tightly.

"So what band are you in? Have I heard of you?"

Lance let out a bitter laugh. "Most people have. It's not exactly the music you seem to like."

Summer sighed. "You should know by now that I'm very open- minded. What band are you in?"

Lance looked away from her. "'Nsync." He said softly. Summer grabbed his head, turning him back to her. She studied his face carefully. A moment later Summer's face lit up with a smile.

"So my Jim is really Lance Bass of 'Nsync. I can see it now that you've said something. I've had this itch since I met you that I knew who you were. I just couldn't place the face." She kissed his cheek. "Nice disguise by the way."

Lance was dumbfounded. "So you're okay with the lying?"

"All you lied about was your name. I know everything else you told me was the truth. You couldn't hide the fact that you are a good person. That showed right through your little leather party boy exterior."

Lance smiled gratefully at her. "You don't know how great it is to be able to be truthful with you." Summer smiled. "It's cool Jim. You're one of the most interesting fleeting friends I've had since getting to Miami."

Lance shook his head. "Not fleeting. I promise." Summer shrugged again, letting her gaze drift to the ocean. "I would love if that could come true, but I'm not going to hold my breath."

Lance grabbed her hand, pulling her up. "I'll prove it to you. Come on Gwen." He grinned as she smacked him lightly in the arm.

"Don't ever call me that Lance." He wrinkled his nose. "Let's make a deal. You're Summer and I'm Jim, at least for each other. Lance and Gwen don't exist."

Summer nodded. "Deal Jim."

"Then let's roll Summer."

Chris kissed Danielle's forehead before slipping out from under the covers. She turned over in her sleep, nuzzling her face into the pillow.

Walking over to the cribs, Chris stretched. He could see that Kira was standing up and watching him. He had woken up to soft calls of 'Dada.'

"Hey Kira." Chris whispered, picking his daughter up. She put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Chris stroked her back softly, carrying her into the main room.

One of the strange requests that management had to fill was the rocking chair in the main room. Chris sat down, slowly rocking Kira in his arms.

"Where Buthta?" Kira asked looking around the dark room for Busta.

"Busta's sleeping honey. It's really late. You and I should be sleeping too."

"Haley?" She looked around for her sister. "In the bedroom. She and Mommy are asleep too. We're the only people awake."

"Not tired. Go ouside?" Kira pointed to the balcony. Chris yawned.

"Only if you promise to just sit there with me. No running around or playing. Daddy's tired."

"Just sit. Pomise." Kira looked up at her father with a innocent expression on her face.

"Okay." Chris carried his daughter over to the balcony and opened the door.

They sat in the night air, looking out at New York City. Kira sat quietly in her father's lap. Chris stroked her soft curls back as a gentle breeze blew them around.

"Dada?"

"Yeah Kira?"

"Stars are pretty." She pointed to the twinkling lights of the city.

"Those aren't stars sweetie. Those are lights. If you look up at the sky really hard, you might be able to see some real stars."

Chris squinted his eyes, trying to see if he could see some stars in the artificially light sky of New York. Seeing a small patch, he pointed them out to Kira.

"Where Luna?" Chris smiled. "Luna's in her room with her Mommy and Daddy. You can play with her tomorrow."

"Okay." Kira was satisfied with that answer. She looked back up at the small patch of stars and yawned.

"Sleepy Daddy." She said softly. "Do you want to go back inside?"

Kira shook her head, curling up in Chris' lap. "Stay with you." Chris smiled at her and smoothed her hair again. "Okay. We'll stay out here."

He closed his eyes and leaned against the door. She closed her eyes as well and was quickly asleep. Chris picked Kira up and carried her back to the crib in the bedroom. He looked over at Haley who was still fast asleep before heading back to his own bed.

Slipping back under the covers, he kissed Danielle's forehead softly. She turned and snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest in her sleep. Chris fell back to sleep with a smile on his face. This was the best part of his life.

"Jim, where are you taking me?" Summer asked again. Lance shook his head. "It's a surprise. You'll like it. Trust me."

Summer sighed and looked at her watch again. "Don't you have a flight to catch?"

Lance grinned. "Yes we have a flight to catch, but we have plenty of time."

"We?" Summer looked at him strangely.

"Yup. You coming with or not?"

Summer's jaw dropped. "You want me to come with you to New York?"

Lance nodded. "So are you hoping on the plane with me or not?"

"Hell yeah! I gotta' go pack though." Lance laughed. "We're almost there. Then you can go pack. They'll hold a flight for me if need be."

Summer bounced up and down in her seat excitedly. "This is so cool. I've never been to New York. Is it fun?"

"You bet. Plus after the awards, the parties are fantastic. You'll have lots of fun."

Lance pulled into a driveway. Summer gave him a confused look when he pulled up to the door.

"Where are we?"

Lance leaned over her and opened the glove compartment. "My house. Come on. I'll show you around." He grabbed a key and hopped out of the car. He slammed the door and headed up to the door. Summer scrambled out of the car.

"Your house? When did you get a house?"

"Yesterday? Do you like it?" Summer looked at the sprawling house in front of her.

"It's beautiful but why did you buy a house in Miami?"

Lance unlocked the front door before answering. "I like it down here. I want to be able to come down whenever I want to."

They wandered into the house, looking around. "A house takes a lot of work. What are you going to do when you aren't here?"

Lance pulled her into the living room. "That's what I need to talk to you about. I was going to hire someone to come in and clean the place a few times a week. I would much rather have someone I trust live here. I trust you."

Summer looked at his with a shocked expression. "Are you asking me to live here and take care of your house?"

Lance nodded. Summer looked around. "Well it beats the one room dump I live in now. What do I have to do?"

"Just live here. Treat it like it was your own place. I've seen your one room dump. It's spotless."

Summer smiled. "Did I ever tell you what I do for a living Jim?" Lance shook his head. "I work for a cleaning service. I clean all the time. I generally keep things neat so I don't have to do much cleaning."

"Perfect. We've got a gorgeous pool and a huge yard out back."

Summer sat on the steps. "Wow. You're just full of surprises today Jim. Got anything else to tell me while I'm still sitting down?"

"Nope. I think that's everything. I'll fill you in on all the details during our flight. Let's swing by the hotel to get my stuff. Then off to your place."

Justin stood by the window, watching as Lance's plane landed. He had done what Lance had asked of him. Justin was alone and no one else besides Sarah knew when the plane was coming in.

He looked at his watch and sat back down to wait. People were starting to exit the plane but Justin knew that Lance would be one of the last off to draw the least attention to himself.

Justin watched a man with dark hair dressed in leather walk off the plane accompanied by a tiny woman with a blue mohawk. Justin watched them for a moment as they looked around for someone. Justin turned away and looked out the window again.

"Justin." He heard Lance's voice behind him. Justin turned around and his jaw dropped. Lance was the guy with dark hair and leather. And the woman with the mohawk was standing next to him.

"La...Lance?" Justin stuttered as he took in the strange sight in front of him. "Yeah it's me. I know. It's a little different." He gestured to his body. Justin nodded. "Yeah it is. Wow." Justin shook his head.

"Okay whatever you want. Give me a hug so we can get going. We have a six 'o clock rehearsal tonight." Lance hugged Justin tightly.

"I was so worried about you. I'm glad you're here." Justin whispered. "I missed y'all. I had to come back."

They broke apart.

"Hi. I'm Justin." He held his hand out to Summer. "I'm Summer. Jim has told me a lot about you."

Justin looked over at Lance in surprise. Lance never used the name Jim. He had always vehemently objected to being called Jim or Jimmy.

"Summer's a friend I met recently. She's going to be taking care of my house in Miami."

Justin's head whipped around again. "House in Miami!?" Lance nodded.

"I did a little shopping. Got myself some clothes, some music, and a house."

Justin sat back down. "Jesus Lance. Is there anything else? Are you straight now too?" That came out a lot harsher then he meant it to and Justin immediately felt bad.

"I'm still the same person I was before I left. I just had some fun this week. Don't be mad."

Summer watched in amazement as Lance apologized to Justin for his actions. This was sick.

"I'm not mad. Just surprised. This is so not like you at all." Justin looked at him smiling weakly. "Are your eyes blue?" Lance nodded. "Contacts."

"Oh okay. That makes sense."

Lance stood back up and reached for Justin's hand. "Come on. Summer and I have a ton of bags."

They all started to walk towards the baggage claim. Justin stopped dead in his tracks. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't know Summer was coming. I only have one room for you. The hotel's completely booked."

Lance shrugged. "No biggie. She'll stay in my room."

"You only have one bed."

"So?"

Justin looked at him. "Why didn't I think of that? So." He started to walk again. Justin was pissed. He didn't want to take care of Lance anymore.

"Oh Christ." JC said when Lance walked into Justin's room. Joey and Chris didn't say a word. Justin just looked away.

Lance was dressed for rehearsal in track pants and a white T- shirt, but the black hair and different eye color was enough to shock everyone.

"What the hell did you do Lance?" JC demanded angrily. Lance immediately got defensive. "What does it look like Josh? I dyed my hair."

"You can't go on MTV like that. You have to be blond by tomorrow." JC ordered.

"No. You bleached your hair. Joey dyed his hair red all the time. I'm keeping my hair black."

"But you're Lance. You have blond hair and green eyes." JC protested.

"Is that all Lance is to you? To everyone? Blond hair and green eyes?" He tossed back angrily.

"No, but that's what you look like. People expect that."

Lance turned away. "Well maybe I'm tired of doing what's expected of me." He turned to face JC. "I've never done anything strange or bizarre. I've always been the sweet Southern gentleman while the rest of you get to do whatever you want. Well that's finished. I'm doing what I want to do now."

JC sat down on the couch heavily with his mouth wide open. Lance never talked to any of them like that, much less JC. The silence in the room was deafening. Joey rubbed JC's shoulder. Finally Chris couldn't take it anymore.

"I kind of like the new look Lance. Makes you even paler then before." He grinned at Lance, hoping it would work. Lance broke into a smile as well.

"You should see how pale I get when I wear leather."

"I just want to see you wear leather by your own choice. That's gotta be something see considering how much you protest whenever they put us in it." Chris laughed.

Lance sat down next to him. "Do you think Dani can take Summer out shopping tomorrow? She needs something to wear to the show tomorrow."

"Sure." Chris replied. Then a confused expression crossed his face. "Whose Summer?"

Justin closed his eyes, knowing that Lance was going to do the same thing to Joey, JC, and Chris that he had done at the airport to Justin.

"A friend from Miami. I wanted to bring someone tomorrow and since Jean-Michel is cooling his heels in France, I decided to bring Summer."

"Miami? I didn't know you had friends in Miami." Chris had no clue what he was walking into. Justin almost felt sick. He knew Lance was enjoying this.

"That's kind of where I escaped to the last few days. I met Summer at a club. We clicked really well."

Enough of this beating around the bush Justin thought. "Tell them everything Jim." He said bitterly. Lance shot him an evil look. The other three were completely confused. Why had Justin called Lance Jim?

"Don't call me Jim." Lance glared at him. "Fine." Justin turned away again.

"What the hell is going on here Lance?" Joey asked looking back and forth at Justin and Lance.

"Justin is apparently angry about some of the decisions I made during my little excursion in Miami." Justin didn't bite. He just sat there with his eyes closed.

"What decisions?" Chris asked. "I bought myself a little present while I was in Miami." Lance said, folding his hands.

"Little present? You bought a fucking house!" Justin shouted, tired of this game Lance seemed to be playing.

"So what? I bought a house. It's no big deal. It's not like I plan on moving down there permanently. It's just for fun."

Justin gritted his teeth. "What he didn't say is that Summer is his little live-in housekeeper."

"Why is this bothering you so much Justin? I don't tell you how to live your life." Lance asked upset that Justin was having such a problem. He needed Justin more then anyone else for some reason.

"Because I'm worried about you! I've been worried sick since you called on Friday. All I want is to know how you are feeling and you won't talk to me." He paused to wipe his eyes. Tears had started to form without him realizing it. "You're avoiding everything by doing these things. You can't hide forever."

Lance didn't say a word in response. He really didn't realize how much Justin cared. Justin was crying from worry.

"Jean-Michel will be back before Kevin and AJ's wedding. What are you going to do then?"

"You talked to him?" Lance asked Justin quietly. "Last night after I talked to you, I called him. He promised he'll be back before then."

"He didn't tell me that." Lance's voice had lost all fight. He seemed to shrink into the couch. "He hasn't even tried to call me."

Justin watched the change in Lance. He had obviously struck a nerve. "Have you tried to call him?" Lance shook his head. "He asked me not to. He wanted to be left alone."

"Oh Lance." Justin sat next to him, slipping his arms around Lance. Chris got up and sat next to Joey and JC. The three of them just sat back to watch the show. Lance and Justin had purposely kept them in the dark so now they had no clue what was happening.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Justin asked. Lance shrugged. "I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to think about him."

"He told me to tell you that he loved you. And that his mother was still talking. He said you would understand that."

Lance shuddered slightly. Things were obviously not better if she was still around.

"I think we should leave." Joey whispered to JC and Chris. They both nodded in agreement. They all tiptoed out, Lance and Justin didn't even notice.

"So do either of you have any clue what happened in the last 20 minutes?" Chris asked when they were out in the hall.

"Not at all." Joey answered holding JC's hand tightly. "I want to meet Summer." JC said to them.

"I guess we should check Lance's room." Chris looked down the hall. "This is so strange. It's like Justin and Lance have exchanged places except that Lance is even wilder then Justin was during his rebellious phase."

Joey nodded in agreement. "Do you think Lance even wants to be with Jean-Michel anymore? What if he's with Summer?" JC was preoccupied with her.

"Lance is gay not bi like you and Joey. He's never even been remotely attracted to women. As far as being with Jean anymore I would say yes. Just mentioning his name affects him."

"I want to meet her." JC said again. "Fine lets go meet this woman." Joey walked down the hall to Lance's room. He knocked on the door and waited patiently. A moment later the door was opened by a tiny woman wrapped in a towel.

"Hello? Can I help you?" Summer asked as she looked at the three members of 'Nsync standing at the door.

"I'm guessing you're Summer." Joey said looking at her. "Yup. I guess you guys talked to Jim. Come on in." She opened the door all the way so they could walk in.

"Sorry about the towel. I was enjoying the luxury of water pressure. My apartment has the shittiest pressure on earth."

Summer sat on the couch, crossing her legs and grinning at the three shell-shocked men in front of her. Chris shook his head slightly, breaking himself out of the trance he was in. He sat down as well.

"How did you tattoo your head like that?" He studied the intricate dragon wrapped around her scalp. She had braided her mohawk into one long French braid so it wasn't standing up.

"A friend of mine is a tattoo artist and he was entering a contest for unique designs and places to tattoo. So I volunteered my head."

"Did you win?" She shook her head. "Nope. Some guy tattooed leopard spots on his dick." Chris winced, crossing his legs. "Why?" Summer looked at him strangely. "Why not?" Chris didn't know how to answer that.

"You know when Jim told me that he was really Lance Bass of 'Nsync, I had no clue I was going to meet all of you. My niece is going to be so jealous."

Joey sat down, pulling the still shocked JC down with him. "Why do you call him Jim?"

"Because that's who he was when I met him. We bumped into each other dancing. He spilled his drink on me. I bought him another. And he told me he was Jim. I only found out he was Lance last night."

"Did he tell you why he used Jim?" Summer shook her head. "He didn't have to. He was hiding. We all pretend to be something we aren't when we want to hide. Jim couldn't be Lance. He needed to separate himself from it all so he invented Jim."

"Summer can I ask you something personal?" JC finally spoke up. "Well JC I'm a lesbian so no, I'm not sleeping with him." She grinned at him, watching as he blushed deeply. "I guess I answered your personal question right."

JC nodded. "Do you feel better about me knowing that I'm not sleeping with him?"

"Actually it does. I really want Lance and Jean-Michel to work everything out. I don't think Jean would take him back if he cheated him again."

"Well JC I hate to burst your little fantasy bubble but what you want really has no bearing on the situation between Lance and Jean- Michel. What happens between them is between them." Summer said matter-of-factly.

JC sat back properly chastised by the strange woman. Chris tried to stifle a laugh but it escaped anyway. Joey was shaking slightly with laughter. It was rare to see JC so put in his place like that.

"Hey stop laughing." JC said trying to hide his own smile. Despite being chastised by her, he really liked Summer. She cared a whole hell of a lot about Lance. JC poked Joey in the side.

"You're my boyfriend. Are you going to let the scary lesbian talk to me like that?"

Joey finally let the laughter out. "Yup." He said between giggles. "I like her. She can talk to you like that."

"Well I hate to break up this little laugh fest but I'm still just a tiny bit naked under this towel. So unless the little gay boys want a show that'll freak 'em out the three of you gotta' scat."

"Hey we're bi. And Chris is as straight as they come so show all you want." Joey shot back, certain that she was just bluffing.

Summer shrugged. She stood up, dropped the towel and walked into the bedroom to get dressed.

Chapter 29

"You've got to be joking?" Daniel whispered to Justin. "Nope. She's Lance's date for the evening."

"Okay. I guess I'll just go with it."

Daniel and Justin were standing around the lobby of the Met. The other guys were scattered around the room, chatting with other people who were mingling around outside either waiting to be shown to their seats or to be called to their interview.

"Do we want to get another drink or do we want to be sober for this fun event tonight?"

"I could go for another drink." Justin smiled at Daniel. "When are you guys performing?" Daniel asked as he and Justin walked over to the bar.

"Not soon enough. I'm really not in the mood to stick around." Daniel grabbed two glasses of champagne and handed one to Justin.

"Where's Sarah at?" Daniel asked. Justin gestured over towards the corner. "Over there talking to Britney." He said without thinking.

Both Daniel and Justin's heads spun around to look at them. They were laughing and talking like old friends. Daniel and Justin exchanged looks.

"What do you think she's telling her?" Justin asked Daniel nervously.

"Hopefully nothing personal." Daniel said just as nervously. Justin gulped down his champagne.

"I'm really glad you and Brit have grown to be such good friends. She needs friends these days."

"Justin I'm sleeping with Britney." Daniel said. He gulped down his champagne waiting for Justin's response.

Justin began to laugh. "God that's a good one Daniel. You sleeping with Britney."

Daniel looked at him. "I'm serious Justin. Britney and I are not just sleeping together, we're dating each other."

"Oh God. You are serious aren't you." Daniel nodded. "I need another drink."

Justin walked back over to the bar, passing people along the way. He barely acknowledged anyone. Justin grabbed another glass of champagne, gulping it down. He reached for another when AJ stepped up to him.

"Careful there Justin. You don't want to get drunk before the show." AJ said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks AJ, but I think getting drunk right now would be a very good thing."

AJ put his arm around Justin's shoulder and pulled him away from the bar.

"I know we aren't really close, but you need someone to talk to. Let's go walk outside for a few minutes."

Justin just nodded mutely. AJ was a good listener and he wanted to talk to someone. Daniel was definitely not that person. Neither was Sarah.

"So what happened Justin? You look like someone just walked on your grave."

Justin put his arms around his shoulders, shivering slightly in his sleeveless top. AJ rubbed his back while Justin looked around at the crowd of people they were walking through.

"This has been a really strange week AJ." Justin said, pausing to look around for a place to sit. Seeing an open bench, he gestured for AJ to follow him.

"I don't know how I suddenly took Lance's place, but it's happened."

"Why are you taking Lance's place? What happened?"

"I know that you know he disappeared this past week, only coming back yesterday." AJ nodded. "Well I played Lance to his Justin. I took care of things for him, hid stuff from the guys, and just checked up on him constantly. I was so scared AJ."

"But he's back. Everything is fine now right?"

Justin shook his head, trying to fight back tears. AJ grabbed his arm and began to laugh. Justin looked at him like he was insane. "Smile." AJ said through his teeth.

Justin immediately broke into a huge smile and laughed at AJ's non-existent joke. He knew how to perform.

"Let's go inside. There's gotta' be a bathroom around here somewhere." AJ suggested. Justin nodded and they headed back inside.

Daniel appeared from no where. "Can we talk Justin?"

"Not right now." Justin hissed at him, pulling AJ through the crowd.

"What was that about? I thought you and Daniel were friends." AJ asked, confused.

"We were until he informed me that he's dating Britney of all people." Justin pushed open the bathroom door. AJ followed him inside.

It was far from empty, but luckily there were no cameras or reporters in here. AJ waved to Eddie Vedder, who nodded slightly as he walked out.

"What's the big deal if Daniel dates Britney or not?"

"He can't date Britney. He just can't."

AJ sighed. He hopped up on the sink carefully, trying not to put too much weight on his healing knee.

"Justin she's not yours to control. Britney as we all very well know, has a mind of her own. She can date whoever she wants to date. The same goes for Daniel."

"It's just not right for one of my best friends to date my former fianc‚."

"Why not?" AJ asked, swinging his legs.

Justin didn't know how to answer him. "It's just not right AJ."

"Do you want Britney back?"

"No."

"Then why does it matter to you that she and Daniel date? You seem like you're very happy with Sarah." AJ waved to Trent Reznor as he walked into the bathroom. Trent waved back and stepped over to the urinal.

"I am really happy with Sarah. She's incredibly great. I don't want Britney back."

"Isn't jealously a bitch Justin?"

"Whose jealous?" Trent asked as he stepped over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Justin's ex-girlfriend and one of his best friends have started dating. He's a little upset about it."

Trent nodded. "Oh that sucks." He hopped up on the sink next to AJ. "Can I tell you a story Justin?"

Now this was getting just a little bit strange here. Justin had talked to Trent once at Nick's wedding. He was just as scary as Marilyn was. Now he wanted to give Justin advice.

"Go ahead Trent. AJ's trying his best. You might as well try too." Justin said glumly.

"After Kevin and Marilyn broke up, I tried everything I could to get him to notice me as more then his friend. It never worked. I followed him around like a lost puppy dog through all of his relationships until he met Mikel. I knew he was in love with Mikel almost before he did. And I hated Mikel for it."

The bathroom door opened and Trent stopped. Someone that none of them recognized walked in, took one look at the strange assembly before him and walked back out.

"So to continue, I hated him for taking Marilyn's heart. So I tried to break them up more then once. I was so jealous of their happiness that I wanted to see both of them hurt."

Justin wrinkled his brow. "You guys are all friends though. What happened?"

"I was informed by Marilyn that if I still wanted to count him as a friend I better get my act together and quit fucking with him. He told me I had no say in his life and I had to stop acting like I did."

"You should realize that before Britney and Daniel have to tell you that Justin." AJ said softly. He had heard this story before. One night, Marilyn and Kevin had gone out alone. Mikel was in Texas at his sister's. AJ and Trent had gotten drunk and spilled their guts to each other.

Justin nodded. "It hurts though." He said softly.

"It will hurt." Trent said. "You just have to get past the hurt to save the friendships."

No one else said anything for a moment. "Besides, didn't I see you with a beautiful young woman on your arm earlier?" Trent asked.

"Yeah." Justin blushed deeply. "Her name is Sarah." Trent began to laugh.

"Sorry Justin. I don't know you very well, but you've got it bad in my opinion." Trent said, looking at AJ for confirmation. AJ nodded. "So go with that instead Justin. You're happy. Let them be happy too."

"Thanks Trent." Justin said softly. "No problem man. I gotta' jet. My date is probably looking all over for me. She gets antsy like that when she's done coke."

Trent hopped off the counter and left the bathroom, leaving Justin and AJ alone.

"That was the last thing I expected tonight." Justin said smiling at AJ.

"It's been a strange evening in general and the show hasn't even begun. I'm almost afraid to see what happens during the show."

"How did the interview go earlier?" Justin asked, putting his arm around AJ.

AJ shrugged. "I really wish Ben hadn't come with us tonight. I didn't want to draw attention to him."

"I guess the question was brought up then."

AJ nodded. "The world knows that he is our son. Kurt handled it well though."

Justin nodded. "Kurt's good. He will treat sensitive subjects very delicately."

AJ shrugged again. "I guess. That just made things more tense. Kevin is scared to death that someone will realize that he's the mysterious piano player during Marilyn's performance tonight."

"So what? People know that you guys are friends. Hell you guys holed out in his house during your coming out scandal."

"I know that. And part of Kevin knows that. He's just scared to death that people are going to find out that they were together at some point. It'll raise a lot of questions about drug use and stuff like that which Kev doesn't want to deal with."

Justin sighed and reached for AJ's hand. "Come on. We should get back. Both our problems will be okay after tonight. So let's go smile like we give a damn."

AJ slid off the counter and they left the bathroom. Right before they left, Justin stopped.

"I gotta' pee." He grinned at AJ who laughed at him. "See you back out in the lion's den Curly."

"Okay."

"You are so silly sometimes Joey." JC said, trying not to laugh at him.

"Why am I silly?" He asked, casually running his hand up and down JC's side. They were standing in the corner of the room talking to Chris and Danielle so it was relatively safe for them to touch each other.

"Because you are and you're tickling me." JC said, squirming to get away from him.

Chris felt someone tap his shoulder. "Mr. Kirkpatrick?"

"Yes?"

"It's time for your band to come upstairs for the interview."

"Oh okay. We'll be there in a few minutes." The guy nodded and Chris turned back to Joey and JC who were tickling each other.

"Come on kids. We gotta' find the other two. Time to be all sweet and fun for the cameras."

Groans were heard from both Joey and JC. Danielle laughed at them and wandered away to go join Sarah. She shuddered when she saw that Sarah was talking to Britney and Summer.

Danielle really had no problem with Summer. Actually she thought Summer was a really nice girl. A little messed-up, but a genuinely nice person. However Danielle still hated Britney with a passion. Talking to her right now was not at the top of her list. Where were Howie and Ameena at?

"Okay I see Justin. I'll go grab him." Joey said quickly disappearing in the ever-increasing crowd of people. "And I see Lance. Wait right here Josh." Chris said, disappearing in the other direction.

JC stood in the middle of the crowd of people, trying to look comfortable. All around him were other famous people, trying to appear comfortable as well. Smiling, JC knew their secret. It was the same as his. There is no such thing as comfort when in a room this crowded.

"Got 'em." Joey said, dragging Justin forward. "Good job Scruffy. Now when Chris returns with the dark one we'll go upstairs and chat with our good friend Kurt Loder."

"I was talkin' to AJ a few minutes ago. Their interview went okay, but Ben is now out in the open." Justin said, looking around for Sarah.

"Well they did bring him along. Someone was bound to ask. They should be glad that it was Kurt and not someone else." Joey said, his gaze traveling around the room.

JC watched as Joey's eyes followed a gorgeous young woman around the room. Jealousy flared up, but he pushed it back down and turned to Justin, ignoring Joey's wandering eye.

"Is Sarah having a good time?"

"Yeah, she's talking to Summer and...Britney right now." JC opened his eyes wide at that.

"She and Brit are talking? Is that okay?"

"I don't control either of them. They can do what they want to do."

"That's mature Justin. Wow."

Justin sighed. "Don't be too impressed. It took both AJ and Trent Reznor to convince me that I had to let it go and be happy for Britney and Daniel."

Joey's head whipped around. "Britney and Daniel?"

"What about Britney and Daniel?" Lance asked as he and Chris joined the other three.

"They're together now." Justin said somewhat glumly. "Oh boy. That's interesting news." Chris said stiffly, trying not to appear upset at that.

"Come on. Let's get upstairs. Everyone put on happy faces." Chris said, taking control of their rag-tag group.

The five of them headed upstairs where they were quickly attached to microphones and quickly powdered to cut down on any shine.

"Guys. Good to see you again." Kurt held his hand out to JC who shook it firmly.

"Good to see you too Kurt."

"Usual rules apply right? No mention of JC and Joey as a couple. No mention of Britney. Can I ask about Lance's hair?"

"You can ask about the hair. Everything else that usually applies applies tonight." Lance said smiling at Kurt.

"Great. Get over there and lets get this done. I need a drink." Kurt said smiling warmly at them.

"Thank you Scott. I'm joined live with all five members of 'Nsync. It's great to see you guys."

"It's great to be here again." Justin said happily.

"Chris some of us weren't sure if you would be here this year since your announcement last month that you were leaving the band."

Chris nodded. "I came back for a final performance tonight with the guys. We're performing with the Backstreet Boys tonight as well."

"After this past tour, all question of a rivalry between the two of you has been put to rest. Has that helped the friendship between the two bands grow?"

"There really was never a real rivalry between the two bands. It was mainly a press-induced idea. However, touring with the Boys and spending time with them outside a work situation has brought all 10 of us close together. They are definitely five of my closest friends besides these jokers here." Joey said, ruffling JC's hair in a friendly way.

"Now before I let you go, there is something very different about Lance right now. When did this little change occur?"

Lance managed a nice fake laugh at that. He took the microphone from Joey leaning forward slightly.

"I decided to try out the new color last week actually. I'm growing very attached to it. I also changed my eye color too."

The camera zoomed in on Lance's eyes, capturing the deep blue of the contacts.

Jean-Michel sighed as he watched Lance on TV. He flipped off the TV and rolled over onto his stomach. Adam barked softly.

"I do not know what to do now." Jean whispered to him. "That is not my James."

Eve snuggled up to him. He put his arm around her, scratching her absent-mindedly.

"Maybe I should have told him I was coming home. Maybe that would have changed something."

"Why did you come home Jean?" A familiar voice asked him.

"I do not know."

"Are you better yet?" It kept talking. The voice never stopped.

"You are still here talking to me, so I would say no. I am not better yet."

Jean looked up at the apparition in front of him. Whenever he was tormented mentally, a vision of his mother always appeared to him. She followed him around, torturing him further, pushing him to the brink of insanity.

"Go away." Jean whispered, burying his head in Eve's fur. Closing his eyes, he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Lance handed Summer another rum and coke. The night had ended about an hour ago, but the two of them were still going strong. It was about five am and Joey and JC had promised to be back in a few minutes. That was 45 minutes ago.

"I don't think they're coming back." Summer slurred drunkenly.

"Too bad. I wannda spend time with them." Lance laughed happily, falling backwards on his bed. "I want drugs Gwennie."

"Don't got any drugs Lancey." She said, reaching for the bottle of rum again.

"AJ. AJ always has stuff. We shoulda called AJ earlier before he went to bed." Lance moaned.

"Call him now." Summer whined. "I wanna smoke if nothing else."

Lance shook his head. "Uh uh. Not gonna' wake the AJ monster. Bad, bad idea."

"Okay." Summer said, her eyes closing. "'M tired Jim." Lance rolled over and pulled her down to a laying position.

"Sleep then." He stroked her head, singing a lullaby without even thinking about it. She cuddled up to him, both of them still in their clothes from the awards.

"Last night was so much fun Justin. Thanks for bringing me." Sarah said. She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for coming with me. Having you there made it so much better. I love you." It just slipped out.

Sarah sat up quickly. She looked at him in shock. "What did you say?"

Justin felt his face grow red. "I love you." He mumbled. She didn't feel the same way.

A smile broke across Sarah's face. "Oh Justin." She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his bare chest. "I love you too."

They laid there for what seemed like an eternity. A soft knock on the door broke them out of their silence.

"That's probably the other guys." Justin said softly. Sarah lifted her head and kissed him softly.

"We should let them in."

Justin took her hand and they climbed out of bed.

"Isn't it just so cute? It looks just like me." Chris said happily, holding up the little moon man statue next to his face.

"Did you sleep with that thing Chris?" Justin asked as he led Chris, Joey and JC into the living room.

"Yup. Dani protested at first, but once she was asleep I brought it into bed with me."

"It doesn't look like you Chris." Joey said, taking it from him. Chris' face fell and he reached for his statue.

"It does so look like me."

"No it doesn't."

"Then who does it look like Mr. Smarty-pants?" Chris reached for it again, but Joey held it above his head.

"Oh give it back to him Joey." JC said slapping his arm lightly. Joey pouted. "You're no fun. And it looks like Raymond Burr."

Chris grabbed the statue and looked at it again. "It does not look like Raymond Burr." He sat down on the couch, studying it carefully. JC sat next to him comforting him.

"Where's Lance at?" Justin asked Joey. "Haven't seen him since JC and I left his hotel room at about 4:30 last night. He and Summer were having quite a little party in there."

"So he's completely trashed, slept through the wake-up call, hasn't packed, and is going to be a total bitch on the flight home?"

"That's probably it. You wanna' wake him or do you want me to?"

"I really don't want to wake him, but I'll do it. Just order some breakfast and stuff."

Justin went over to Sarah and pulled her into a hug. "I'm going to go wake Lance. I love you." He kissed her softly. "I love you too." She whispered to him.

Justin walked down the hall to the room Lance was in. Slipping the key card in the door, he opened it, steeling himself for what he was going to find on the other side.

Lance and Summer were asleep in their clothes, neither of them moving at all. The phone had been knocked off the hook. Justin assumed that one of them had gotten fed up with the ringing and just pushed it. Lance's hand was in the general direction of it.

There were two bottles of rum on the ground, one of them spilling onto the carpet. Justin sighed. He put the phone back on the bedside table and picked up the bottles.

Sitting on the bed next to Lance, he began to shake him gently.

"Lance. Lance." He said softly. No response. Justin shook him a little harder. He didn't want to do anything that would make Lance throw up though, so he was being gentle.

Lance could feel a hand on his shoulder and the boat in his dream was rocking. He forced his eyes to open and he saw Justin sitting on the bed, shaking him gently.

"Please stop." Lance croaked out, his throat dry. "Morning Lance. It's time for you to get up."

"No." Lance muttered, trying to turn over but Summer was in his way.

"Sorry that's not an acceptable answer. Let's get you out of these clothes. You'll feel a little better then."

Lance blinked and looked down at himself. His vision swam in and out of focus as he tried to figure out what he was wearing.

"I still have my contacts in." He said stupidly to Justin. "Well then we'll take them out."

"My eyes hurt Justin."

"More then your eyes are going to hurt once we get you moving."

"Then don't make me move." Lance groaned. Justin sat him up, moving Summer out of the way.

Lance felt his whole body clench at the movement. His stomach lurched and he instinctively knew he had to get to the bathroom immediately.

"Justin." He moaned softly. Justin took one look at him and picked him up, running to the bathroom.

He had barely gotten him to the toilet when Lance started throwing up everything in his stomach. Justin sighed and rubbed his back as Lance emptied his stomach.

Summer wandered into the bathroom rubbing her eyes. "Is Jim okay?"

"He'll be fine. Are you okay?" Justin asked wondering how she was standing much less coherent considering how sick Lance was.

"Oh yeah. I don't get hangovers anymore. I'm gonna go start packing our stuff up." She wandered out of the bathroom, leaving Lance with Justin.

"Breakfast is in my room if you want something Summer." He called after her.

"Okay. Coffee would be good." He heard her rummaging through the bags. Justin assumed she was changing out of her clothes from the night before. A moment later she popped her head in wearing a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

"Want me to grab you something? He might be a while."

Justin looked down at Lance who was resting his head against the toilet, enjoying the cold porcelain against his skin.

"Just get me a cup of coffee for now. Thanks Summer."

"It does kind of look like Raymond Burr Chris." Sarah said. She leaned her head on his shoulder, studying the statue closely.

"Dani make her stop." Chris whined. Danielle and the girls had joined them a few minutes after the food had gotten there.

"Chris I'm busy. Besides she's right." Danielle said as she wiped egg off Haley's face. Kira was mashing up her French toast happily.

Summer walked into Justin's room and headed over to the food.

"Morning Summer." Sarah called from the couch. "Hey Sarah. Morning everyone." She smiled at them, filling two cups of coffee.

"How does Justin like his coffee?" She asked.

"Lots of cream, lots of sugar." JC answered from where he was feeding eggs to Joey who was enjoying it way too much.

"How's Lance doing?" Joey asked, chewing the eggs.

"He is currently praying to the porcelain god right now. Justin's hearing his confessions."

"Ouch." Joey winced. "Lance never could hold his liquor very well. Never drank enough over the years."

"Well he was up to about a bottle of rum a night in Miami. Plus other stuff. Last night was just too much mixing I think."

"A bottle of rum? Lance?" Joey asked her in disbelief. "Lance Bass?"

"Yeah. He even outdrank me one night and no one's done that in ages."

"Interesting." Joey said dully.

"It does look like Raymond Burr." Chris said sadly, putting the statue down on the end table.

Lance held his head as Justin helped him out of the limo. "I'm sorry." He whispered. Justin nodded. "I know you are."

Summer had taken a connecting flight back to Miami with the house keys. She couldn't wait to start working on the house. The limo had dropped Joey and JC off already. Chris, Dani, and the girls were in another limo. Justin and Sarah had offered to take Lance home. He was very greatful.

Lance handed Justin the keys and told him the combination. The driver and Sarah were behind him with his bags. Justin unlocked the door and helped Lance inside.

"Why are so many lights on?" Lance asked, looking around. A moment later the dogs came barking towards him.

"Why are you guys here? Lynn was watching you."

"I picked them up from Lynn when I got back yesterday." Lance spun around, all traces of his pain gone when he heard Jean-Michel's voice.

Lance ran to him, hugging him tightly. "Oh baby. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too James." Jean whispered. He kissed his forehead softly.

Justin, Sarah and the driver set the bags down and slipped out of the house, leaving the two of them alone.

"Now tell me something James. What is with your hair?" Jean- Michel asked, leading Lance into the living room.

Dear Readers,

Well first off let me say sorry. This took way too long for me to write. I've discovered something kind of upsetting to me. I'm having a terrible time trying to finish these stories now that I said I would. I sit down to write and nothing comes out the way I want it to. I know how I want to end them both. It's just a matter of getting there. You don't want to hear me bitch about writer's block though.

Life's been fun lately. Miami was great. Work is a blast. If you've emailed me lately and I haven't responded, I apologize for that too. My ethernet card decided to stop working for some unknown reason and I haven't been very good about checking email since then. It's back now and it's all good.

Yes this is the second to last posting. The last posting, Chapter 30 will be up eventually.

I want to thank Sarah, my inspiration for the character of Sarah. She got what she wanted, Justin Timberlake. Thanks sweetie!

Okay toodles. Check out some other stories. Studio in the Country, Forever, the new one by Scotty T I can't remember the name right now...but it's pretty strange so far. I like it.

By for now!

Rachel

PS. Email me...or IM me (zillah37)...or ICQ me (64317074)