Devotion Chapter Fourteen: Miss Communication
Disclaimer: Allow me to start off by apologizing for the title, but I it just came to me and it seemed to fit! +.+ Sorry! Anyway, I don't know/own/have anything to do with *NSYNC. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please feel free to send me feedback. I love it!
"So," Justin began as he and JC made their way through the lobby. "Where do you want to go?" "Somewhere where we can talk in private," the brunette responded, smiling but not looking at the younger man. "We *could* always go back to the room," Justin suggested, winking at his friend. "Justin!" JC chided, turning a slight shade of pink. "That's not what I meant!" "I know," the blonde replied with a laugh. "I was just kidding." JC rolled his eyes. "Sure you were, Curly." Justin was going to defend himself, but the older man began to speak again. "Do you mind if we just go to a cafe or something? Not a real restaurant?" Justin smiled as the two made their way out of the hotel. "As long as I'm with you, I'd be happy eating at McDonald's." JC laughed. "Well," he replied as they entered a taxi. "I'm not *that* cheap." "Yeah right!" Justin shot back. "I bet you're going to make me pay." "I am not," JC snapped. /Uh-oh,/ the blonde thought to himself. /I think I pushed him too far. I was only teasing!/ Seeing that his companion was worried, JC's face quickly broke into a smile. "I can prove it," he said, still smiling. Justin looked at the older man suspiciously. "How?" The brunette's grin widened. "You don't have your wallet." Justin quickly felt around his pockets before looking back up at the older man, his face reddening in a blush. "Oh. Yeah," he mumbled. "Good point." JC laughed and placed a hand on the younger man's thigh. Justin nervously glanced at the driver, who wasn't paying them any attention. "Just," JC whispered to the nineteen year-old. "Don't worry. He couldn't see my hand even if he *was* watching us." Justin looked over at his friend sheepishly. He hadn't known that JC had checked before he did anything. "Sorry Josh," he whispered back. "I just didn't, that is I, um-" "Just," JC interrupted him. "It's okay. Really. You don't want to be careless, I understand. Remember, I've been playing straight a lot longer then you have." Justin's head snapped back to JC from where he had been watching the brunette's hand gently caress his thigh. "What makes you think I'm gay?" The nineteen year-old hissed, not wanting to alert the driver. JC was taken aback. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered, retracting his hand. The twenty-four year-old turned away from the other man. /I didn't think that I was reading his signals wrong,/ he thought to himself. /I thought he wanted this. What did I do wrong? Is he trying to tell me that he doesn't want a relationship? Is that why he's going out to eat with me? To tell me?/ "Josh?" JC became aware of someone calling his name. "What?" He asked, shaking his head slightly, as if to clear it of the thoughts plaguing his mind. "I said, we're here," Justin repeated. "and I don't have any money, so you have to pay the cabby." "Oh, right, sorry," JC mumbled, getting out his wallet. After he paid the driver he stepped out of the taxi onto the curb where Justin was waiting. "Where are we going?" he questioned the young blonde. "Just to this cafe I saw as we were coming up the block. Seemed like a nice place to stop," the nineteen year-old replied. "Okay, cool," JC said, following his friend inside the small cafe. The interior of the cafe was light and bright with the sun. Justin walked over to a table all the way in the back with JC following him closely. Once the two were seated, a young woman came approached them. She had long black hair tied back in a thick braid, and pretty almond shaped eyes. "Hi, I'm Keiko, I'll be your waitress today. Here's the menu. The specials for today are inside. I'll be back in a few moments after you've had some time to look it over," she greeted them, a sweet smile across her delicate features. Justin smiled kindly back at her. "Thank you." "No problem," she replied, still smiling, before making her way over to another table. JC watched Justin through the entire interaction. He decided to test the younger man. "She's pretty," the brunette commented casually. "Are you kidding me?" Justin replied, turning to his companion wide-eyed. "She was gorgeous!" Justin watched in shock as his best friend's eyes clouded over. "Why do you insist in playing with my heart?" the twenty-four year-old whispered, but Justin didn't hear him. "What did you say, Josh?" He asked the older man, but received no response. "Josh, what's wrong?" JC's face took on a mocking smile as he replied sarcastically. "What's wrong? What do you *think,* Justin?" Justin could feel the tears spring forth in his eyes, despite his efforts to remain in control. /Why is Josh acting like this?/ he thought, fearful that he had done something wrong already. /What did I do? Why is he so angry with me?/ "Sometimes I wish we could go back to the way things were before," the blonde whispered. "You never used to act like this." JC's expression changed from one of anger to one of sadness. "What?" he managed to croak, not trusting his voice at this point. Had Justin just said what he thought he had? JC had been right, Justin was here to tell him that he had made a mistake. Closing his eyes tightly shut, the brunette made a decision. A tough decision; one he didn't want to make. Lifting his head, but not looking directly at the blonde across from him, JC decided that he had to try to fix things between himself and his best friend. His voice was soft but firm as he spoke, "Justin, I wanted to tell you that I-" the twenty-four year-old paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "I think that you may have misunderstood earlier. I don't think that we should change our relationship in any way." Justin's mouth dropped open. "What?" he asked, bewildered. As JC's words finally hit him, the wonder turned to hurt. "Why?" "I," JC paused and swallowed, trying to retain his composure. "I, um, just don't think that changing the dynamic of our, um, relationship, would be good for the g-group." "Oh," Justin whispered. "I knew you weren't attracted to me," he muttered dejectedly. Not hearing his younger bandmate, JC continued. "I think this is for the best, Justin. We don't want to put the other guys in an awkward position." Justin turned away. He couldn't bear to look at JC and his beautiful, kind blue eyes and gently sculpted cheeks, his silky chocolate-colored hair, or his soft, full lips. Lips that Justin had felt brush lovingly against his own not an hour earlier. How could they be breaking up when they never had a chance to be together? It was then that Justin made a decision, a decision that hadn't been nearly as tough for him as JC's had been earlier. Standing, Justin turned back to the man that he loved, heart and soul. "Josh, you and I need to talk." "We just did, Curly," JC teased, some of his cheerfulness returning to him. "No," Justin replied, remaining serious. "Not here. Somewhere where we can be alone." JC studied his friend for a moment before sighing in resignation. Justin wasn't going to budge on this one. "Fine, but I'm going to get some coffee first." Justin smiled slightly as he watched JC walk up to the counter and order his mocha latte. He wasn't going to let his "other half" slip away over something that he did without his even knowing it. Justin smirked a little as walked back over to the man whom he considered to be his best friend. The poor guy had no idea what Justin had planned for him.Well, that's it for this round! I know they're fighting again, but don't worry, Justy will fix that right away! laughs evilly Anyway, the next chapter may be a little late, but don't worry! I'm going to do some major writing this weekend, and things should be back on track by then.