Devotion Chapter Twenty: Roller Coaster of Love
Disclaimer: *NSYNC may or may not be gay. Hmm, what else? I don't know them, I'm just writing about them. Oh, yeah, and I was waaaay off with the lyrics for "Are you gonna be there!" Thank you, Jon and Ann!! It's "warm touch," not "water." It's still a cool song, even if it was funnier with the British accents! ^_~ I hope you like this chapter, it's one of my favorites. Feel free to send me feedback at Angel1313@att.net I'd appreciate it! Enjoy!
Justin sighed as he leaned heavily against the bathroom door. He hadn't meant to yell like that, or to run away so quickly, but he just couldn't face JC. Not after he had said *that.* How had the twenty-four year-old seen through him like that? Justin wasn't trying to propose to the older man, but marriage had been on his mind when he brought up the subject. Sighing again, the nineteen year-old pushed himself to his feet. He might as well take a shower, now that he was in there and everyone thought that he was going to. Slowly, the blonde walked over to the shower and turned on the water. After he undressed, Justin headed into the warm water that fell gently from the shower head. Several minutes passed before Justin became aware of someone singing. Immediately he knew that it was JC; Justin could recognize the voice of his angel anywhere. "When winter comes in summer When there's no more forever That's when I'll stop loving you I'm sure you've heard these words before and I know it's hard for you to trust them once more You're afraid it all might end and a broken heart is scared of breaking again But you've got to believe me I'll never leave you you'll never cry unless I am there And I will always be there You will never be without love." As the twenty-four year-old sang the last notes through the closed bathroom door, Justin rushed to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. The blonde then quickly got out of the shower and dried off, not even bothering to condition his unruly curls. Wrapping a towel around his waist, the nineteen year-old headed out of the bathroom. "What was that all about?" Chris muttered to Lance and Joey as they watched as JC sang to the youngest member of the group. Snickering a little, Joey added, "Yeah, I bet Justin can't even hear him." "Shut-up, both of you," Lance growled. The two he was directing the comment at immediately became quiet, surprised by the behavior from the Mississippian, who was usually the most collected of the group. Lance was about to apologize to Chris and Joey when the door to the bathroom abruptly opened. JC immediately spun around to face the young man who stood in the doorway, a towel draped loosely around his waist the only attire the nineteen year-old had on. As JC waited in silence, staring at the blonde that stood facing him, Justin took a single step foreword and wrapped his arms around the older man's neck. Taking a deep breath, JC pulled the younger man to him, gently caressing the smooth skin of the nineteen year-old's back. The other three people in the room looked on in wonder as Justin began to gently nuzzle his best friend's neck. "Justin," JC whispered, leaning foreword so his cheek rested against the nineteen year-old's head. "I'm sorry." Gently placing a line of kisses along the brunette's neck, Justin whispered back, "Don't be; I shouldn't have overreacted like that." Tilting his head down to kiss the younger man's cheek gently, JC murmured, "I shouldn't have teased you, Just. There's no excuse for that." Looking up, his face nearly close enough to the brunette's for their lips to be brushing against each other, Justin breathed, "It's fine." The two gazed deeply into each other's eyes, still less then inches apart. Without being conscious of it, they began to drift closer still, until their lips gently grazed across each other. As both men began to close their eyes and succumb to their inner most desires, there was a loud cough. "A-HEM!" As Justin and JC broke apart, everyone turned to glare at Joey. "Joey," Lance hissed through gritted teeth, death in his eyes. "Are you okay? Maybe you need to get a drink of water." Joey swallowed nervously. "U-uh, y-yeah. I think water'd be good right about now." "You'd better hope I don't try to drown you in it," Lance muttered, dragging the New Yorker to the door. "We'll call you when the stylists get here. Until then, lye low, okay?" He called to the two members of *NSYNC standing in front of the bathroom door. "Later," Chris called, following Lance and Joey out into the hall. "Bye," JC mumbled. Justin didn't say anything at all as he stared pointedly at the carpeting beneath him. As soon as the door closed behind the twenty-eight year old, JC turned back to his best friend, who was still staring at the ground. "Well," he said, trying to sound casual. "We've still got over an hour before the stylists are supposed to be here. So, um, anything you feel like doing?" /Don't ask if you don't want to know the answer,/ Justin thought to himself ruefully as he began to pick clothing out of their dresser. "Um, not really," the nineteen year-old answered aloud. "Well, we can just..." JC trailed off as he tried to think of something. "We could go back to bed," the brunette finally suggested. Justin smiled at the older man. "Yeah right! I'll never get you up again!" JC smiled back. "True. Got any other ideas?" "How about we get breakfast? I'm starving!" the blonde replied immediately, throwing on a tee-shirt. JC laughed and casually turned away as he heard Justin's towel drop to the floor. "Oh, that's right! You haven't had anything yet. Room service okay, though? I don't think Scoop wanted us to leave the hotel." "No problem," Justin replied, zipping up his jeans. "As long as it gets here quickly. I'm so hungry I could even eat *your* cooking!" the nineteen year-old teased. JC pouted, turning back around to face the other man. "What's wrong with my cooking?" Taking the older man's hands in his own, Justin gave them each a kiss. "Nothing, babe, you're a great chef," he reassured the brunette. /I can't believe I just called him "babe"!/ Justin thought frantically. /What was I thinking?!/ "Well, I don't think you're being sincere, but you called me a babe, so you're off the hook," JC informed the blonde who was still holding his hands. Justin began to blush deeply. Watching him, JC began to get worried again. /Maybe I went too far, as usual./ "Well," the youngest member of *NSYNC said, looking up at the man in front of him. "It's just the truth. And your cooking really isn't that bad." "Oh, gee, thanks," JC responded sarcastically. "Well, if I offered you some of my not good, but not bad, cooking to you instead of ordering in, would you accept it?" "Josh," Justin replied with a shy little smile. "If you took the time to cook something for me, I would eat it, even if it was made with the ingredients we have here." "You mean the contents of the mini-bar?" JC asked with a laugh. "Yep, for you I'd do anything; even eat a bunch of over-priced crap all mixed together!" "Aw, Just, that's so sweet, um sort of," JC laughed, leaning down to plant a kiss on the younger man's cheek. "The first part was sweet anyway." Justin giggled a little. "Thanks. So, um...Can we order now? I really *am* hungry, you know." JC smiled and left the nineteen year-old at the table to retrieve the menu. "Now, Just," he said, handing the menu to the blonde. "Remember that it's already quarter to twelve, so breakfast is over." "Aw, I was really looking foreword to cereal," the youngest member of *NSYNC pouted. "Tell you what," JC said to the younger man, getting up and slipping on his shoes. "Don't order anything. Wait right here, and I'll be back in a few moments." "Does one of the other guys have cereal?" Justin asked as he walked his best friend to the door. "Something like that," the twenty-four year-old replied with a secretive little smile. "You'll be here to let me in, right?" "Of course," Justin assured him immediately. "All right then, I'll be back in a few," JC told the younger man, before leaning in to give him a light kiss on the cheek. "Bye," the blonde whispered as he watched the older man leave. After he quietly closed the door, Justin slid down to sit against it. "If I hadn't messed things up before, that would've been a good-bye kiss on the lips," he lamented. Sighing, the nineteen year-old pushed himself off of the ground and headed back over to the kitchen table. Hearing his stomach growl, Justin glanced at the clock in irritation. "Why won't he let me order?" the blonde complained to the empty room. "I'm starving!" Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Josh?" Justin asked hopefully, opening it up. "Nope, just us," Joey informed the blonde. Behind him were Lance and Chris. "Say, where *is* JC?" the eldest member of *NSYNC wondered aloud. "I don't know; he just up and left," Justin told the three. "Right when I was going to order lunch, too." "What?" Lance exclaimed. "Even after I told you guys to hang around here?" "Ha-ha," Chris sing-songed. "No one listens to Lance!" "Shut-up," Lance mock-growled. Sighing, he took a seat on one of the beds. "You don't mind if we hang out in here, do you Curly?" "No, not at all," Justin replied, smiling. "But how come you picked our room?" "It's the cleanest," Chris laughed. "I mean, we know *you're* a slob, but JC keeps this place all nice and tidy." "Well, what do you expect?" Joey retorted. "He *is*-" "Make a derogatory reference to his sexuality, and I'll see to it that you're found piece by-" "Justin!" Lance interjected. "That's quite enough!" Justin's anger was boiling at the surface, but he managed to keep it in check enough to answer the phone, which had begun ringing. "Yes?" he hissed; his grip on the receiver was so tight his knuckles were turning white. Suddenly, his grasp on the handle loosened. The anger drained from his face, and he smiled. The other three members of *NSYNC looked at each other in relief, but also in question of what was going on. As soon as Justin spoke again, however, it became clear. "Josh? Where are you?" the nineteen year-old asked in amusement. "The cereal isle at the store," came the reply from his best friend. "I can't decide which one to get you." Justin laughed giddily. "Joshua Scott Chasez, you are the sweetest person in the whole wide world. Anything you bring back will be fine." Chris, Lance, and Joey all looked at each other in confusion. "What do you think they're talking about?" Joey whispered. Chris shrugged. "Condoms?" he guessed. Lance slapped him playfully, and the three chuckled quietly. This time it was JC who laughed. "Curly, I called you up because I wanted to get you the right cereal. Now don't go telling me that any of them is fine, `cause I want you to be happy." "Josh, I'll be happy as soon as you come home," Justin informed the man on the other end of the line. "The cereal is just an added bonus." "Cereal?" Joey repeated. "This is about cereal?" "My bad," Chris laughed. "You have a dirty mind, Christopher," Lance joked. Turning serious, he added, "Besides, I get the feeling that they're not at that level yet." "Really?" Chris wondered. "Because I get the feeling that they're engaged or something. Seriously, I've never met two people so into each other." "Or so right for each other," Joey commented. "Or so clueless," Lance added. Seeing the strange looks he was getting from the other two, the Mississippian elaborated. "Seriously, I've been thinking about it since they got back from lunch yesterday. Something happened; they don't seem to be communicating. I don't know why, but they're definitely having some problems. Why else would Justin have gone out with Britney?" "They're just friends, Scoop," Chris sighed, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, even *Joey* knows *that.*" "Hey!" Joey protested, shoving at the twenty-eight year-old playfully. Lance was going to respond when their attention was brought back to the nineteen year-old on the phone, who laughed again. "Josh, you don't need to tell me every cereal that there is! You'll be late if you don't just pick one." "How about *you* pick one, to put my mind at ease about getting it right," the twenty-four year-old suggested. Smiling happily, Justin complied with the request, "Oh, all right. Would you get me a box of Lucky Charms?" "Lucky Charms for my lucky charm, got it," came the reply. Justin blushed. "Now just hurry back, Josh," he mumbled, trying his best not to giggle. "All right, I'll see you in a few. Bye, Just." "Later, Josh." With that, Justin hung up and turned to see the other three people in the room staring at him intently. "What?" he asked, turning away from their probing gazes. "What did JC want?" Chris asked, even though they all had heard. "Oh, he went and got me some cereal because they're not serving breakfast here any more. Isn't that sweet?" the nineteen year-old gushed excitedly. "Aww," Lance cooed. "How cute! JC is such a great guy." "I know," Justin replied smugly. Lance looked over at the two other members of *NSYNC in the room. "Maybe I was wrong about them not having a relationship," he muttered. "Hmm?" Justin asked, but Lance just shook his head. "Lance here is just jealous," Joey laughed. "Well, I think I have every right to be," Lance laughed back. "I mean, not everyone has a gorgeous roommate-slash-best friend who's willing to go out and get you whatever you want at the drop of a hat. You're one lucky guy, Curly." Joey raised an eyebrow at the "gorgeous" comment, but no one else seemed to notice. Justin smiled. "Are you kidding me? I think I'm the luckiest guy on the planet! Josh is just so wonderful, and I don't even deserve him." Justin's smile began to waver as he added, "He means the world to me; I just hope he knows it." "Don't worry, Just," Chris soothed, walking over to the younger man and patting him on the back. "I'm sure JC knows how you feel, and even if he doesn't, *you* can rest assure that he feels that way about you." The blonde's smile returned to its original brilliance. "You think?" he asked hopefully. "Hey," Chris responded with a laugh. "Can you picture him going out at a moment's notice to get *cereal* for anyone else in the group?" Laughing a little, Justin shook his head. "Exactly. Face it, Curly. You're special." Justin folded his arms across his chest. "And don't you forget it!" "Guys," Lance began, hoping to gently pry further into Justin's take on his relationship with JC. However, before he had a chance, there was a light knocking at the door. "Just?" JC's voice was muffled through the door, but still recognizable. "It's me." Justin practically ran to the door. "Josh!" he exclaimed, throwing it open. "Wow, you must be really hungry!" the twenty-four year-old commented as he stepped inside. "Aw, I'm just glad to see *you,* not the cereal," Justin replied, hugging the older man. "Geeze, you'd think he just had a near-death experience or something. He just went to the store, Justin," Chris teased. "Actually, I was almost hit by a car when I was crossing the street on the way back, but-" JC began, but the blonde in his arms cut him off. "What?!" the nineteen year-old exclaimed. "Oh my god, Josh, are you okay?" JC laughed. "I'm fine. I said `almost,' remember?" Justin remained serious. "But still, oh my god! Oh my *god*!" he repeated, pulling the older man close. Gently stroaking the younger man's back, JC soothed, "Just, it's okay, I'm here. That's all that matters. Now," he said, pulling back from the blonde. "Why don't you have some of this cereal that I risked my life for?" Justin still looked shaken up, but he smiled slightly at the comment. "Thanks," he whispered. "Hey, I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to make you happy. That's why I came home in one piece," JC joked. "So what happened?" the question came from Lance, who had previously kept quiet as he tried to figure out what was going on with JC and Justin's relationship. "Some idiot in an SUV ran a red light. Nothing special," the brunette responded nonchalantly. "They're lucky they didn't hit you," Joey commented. "Because if they did, they'd have Justin here after them. You can't even make a joke with out him-" "Joey," Lance growled, keeping his voice low enough for only the New Yorker to hear. "Shut-up!" "Joey, making rude comments that are closed-minded and simply mean-spirited is not `joking,' okay?" Justin retorted hotly. JC gently took the bowl that the blonde was gripping tightly enough to shatter out of the younger man's hands and placed it on the table. He then lead the nineteen year-old to one of the chairs and waited for him to sit down. Justin silently poured some cereal into his bowl. When he was done, JC, who was still standing next to him, handed him some milk. Lance, Joey, and Chris watched as JC then put away the milk and cereal for his best friend. "Why can't you be like that?" Lance asked Joey. "You mean be your roommate and double as your mother?" Joey teased. "Shut-up, Josh is not my mother," Justin argued around a mouthful of Lucky Charms. "So what is he then, your waiter?" Chris joked. "He's a hell of a lot more then that, you imbeciles," Justin replied, still not really paying attention to the conversation. /This is the perfect opportunity to get them to talk about what actually *is* going on with their relationship,/ Lance thought excitedly as he watched as JC and Justin sat across from each other, reading different sections of a newspaper JC had picked up. "So," the Mississippian entered the conversation. "If JC isn't your mother or your waiter, what is he?" "My best friend," Justin answered, flipping to a different page of the section he was reading. "That all?" Lance prodded. Justin froze. He glanced across from him at JC and saw that the twenty-four year-old was focused on the article he was reading. Justin knew that the older man was listening; it was impossible for him not to be in the small quarters of their hotel room. "No," the nineteen year-old finally answered. "He's more then a best friend. He's my everything, so there. Stop asking me questions about Josh right in front of him. It's rude!" "Your everything?" Lance repeated. "Ask me to define `everything,' and you will quickly find my foot up your ass, Scoop," Justin growled, back to reading the sports page. Chris laughed. "I'm surprised JC's not more interested in this conversation, but what's it to you, Lance?" "Just curious," the Mississippian replied casually. However, he turned to glare at the twenty-eight year-old when no one else was looking. "Why *aren't* you more interested in this, Jace?" Joey asked suddenly. "You mean pressuring Justin into talking about something that concerns none of you and is absolutely private anyway? Oh, gee, I don't know, I just didn't really feel like it," the twenty-four year-old shot back. Justin smiled and looked up from the story he was reading. "Thanks, Josh." JC's scowl turned to a smile as he reached across the table to squeeze one of the younger man's hands. "No problem, Just." As the two went back to their newspapers, the other three members of *NSYNC glanced at each other nervously. Now they were even more confused about their bandmates' relationship then they had been before. Things were *not* working out the way they were supposed to, to say the least. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wow! That's the longest chapter I've written yet! I hope you liked it because I really did! Not sure as to *why,* though =P Oh! And the song JC sings in the beginning is "That's When I'll Stop Loving You" from No Strings Attatched, if you were wondering. Anyway, until next time, feel free to write me, and bug all the other authors to write more in their stories! Thanks! -Angel1313 ^_^