Devotion Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hurricane Bobbie
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with *NSYNC, and I'm not implying anything about them in this story. That said, I hope you like this chapter. It came pretty quickly, and hopefully I can keep up this pace. Feel free to write to me and tell me what you think, and thanks once again to all those who do, you know I love you! -Angel1313 ^_^
"What do you think that was about?" Joey asked the other three people who were standing with him. "I mean, it's sort of rude for them to just leave us in here." "Joey, c'mon," Lance argued. "We've known them for how long? I don't think that this really qualifies as being `rude.'" "Yeah?" Joey retorted. "Well, *I* think that you-" The New Yorker stopped short as the door to the bathroom burst open, and JC came running out. As the brunette began to frantically move about the room, grabbing his keys and then looking for his wallet, Justin stepped into view. Tears were streaming down the young man's face as he began pleading with his best friend. "Josh," he lamented. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, please don't leave me, Josh." "Um, what the hell?" Chris muttered, looking bewildered. "Justin, sweetie, are you all right?" Lynn asked, rushing over to her son. "What happened?" Pushing past the older woman, Justin moved over to the kitchen table, where JC had momentarily paused to gather his things. "Josh," he begged, gently placing a hand on the brunette's arm. "Please. Please just stay with me. I don't want you to run off again. I-I need you here so I know that you don't hate me for what I did." Turning to face the blonde, JC took a deep breath before pulling the nineteen year-old into an embrace. "Just," he whispered, holding the younger man tightly to his chest. "I don't hate you. I hate *me.* And I'm sorry." "Josh," Justin murmured back, resting his head against the brunette's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. Please don't hate yourself. There's so much to love, please don't hate yourself. Please..." The young man's voice trailed off as he began to sob again. "Justin," JC soothed, rubbing the blonde's back gently. "It's all right. I'll stay, Justin." As the two best friends stood in each other's arms, gently rocking back and forth to the rhythm of the radio, which was still playing, the remaining members of *NSYNC looked at each other quizzically. Lynn somberly watched her son. "What's going on? What happened?" Joey questioned his bandmates, his eyes locked on the two would-be lovers. "How am I supposed to know?" Lance shot back. "You've been here for as long as I have." "But you're so much smarter then me," Joey claimed, pouting. His scowl replaced by a grin, Lance chuckled, "Well, not that I doubt your reasoning..." Ignoring them, Chris mused, "Justin did something, but JC blames himself. Huh! There are so many possible scenarios that could have caused that result, that there's no way we can determine what happened with out more information." As always, Joey pointed the out the obvious. "Couldn't we just ask them?" "Yeah..." Chris began uneasily. "But sometimes when two of your good friends are fighting, you should just let them deal with it. I mean, if you pick a side, you risk losing one of them, so it's best to just not get involved." Realizing that the twenty-eight year-old wasn't just talking about JC and Justin, Lance smiled and placed a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Thanks, Chris," he said quietly. "No problem, Scoop," the brunette responded. Joey, who hadn't picked up on what Chris was saying, just looked at the two strangely. He was about to ask them what was going on, when there was a knock at the door. "Oh my," Lance exclaimed. "Is it after three already?" As Chris went to answer the door, Justin released JC and headed off to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Sighing sadly, the twenty-four year-old watched him go. JC shook his head. He had really messed things up this time. "We finished altering your pants, and we brought a different shirt, in the color we talked about," Sheri, one of their stylists, was informing Lance as JC turned back to the conversation. "Oh, and Joey, we brought the shoes that you liked in black, so you can still use them." "Great!" Joey smiled. "Where's Justin?" Nancy, the other stylist, asked, running a hand through her short, black hair. "We have time, but he said that he wanted us to bring a couple extra options for him in case JC didn't like his first choice." "He did?" the brunette mentioned asked in surprise. "Yep, so he needs to be here pronto," Sheri responded. "As do you," the blonde added, turning back to JC. "I'll go tell him to hurry up then," Lynn offered, heading back to the bathroom. "All right, then, let's get everyone outfitted!" Nancy exclaimed, handing out clothing to the members of *NSYNC. "You're beautiful, Just. You have nothing to worry about," JC insisted, watching as his best friend modeled his fifth outfit. "But do you like this one better then the second one?" the teen asked. "Well," JC began, studying the black and gray outfit on the younger man. "I think that you look amazing, but I liked that the other outfit was more colorful." "Okay, then this one's out. I have one last one to try on, then you have to decide," Justin informed the brunette, heading over to his bed, where all of his clothing was laid out. "Justin, oh my god, can't you just pick one and have it done with? Isn't this why we met with the stylists yesterday?" Chris complained from his seat on the other bed. He had already finished getting ready, as had Joey. Lance was getting his hair done, and Lynn was in a different room with the make-up artist, and Lance's date, Meredith, who had already arrived. Ignoring him, Justin began to get into the last outfit. It consisted of a pair of pinstripe black pants, and a silver shirt. Once he had it on, he walked back over to JC and did a spin, showing off the clothing. Stopping directly in front of the twenty-four year-old, Justin smiled. "Well?" he asked expectantly. "Justin," JC replied softly, reaching out and pulling the younger man on to his lap. Justin smiled happily and threw his arms around the brunette's neck. "Yes?" "I think you look great, but I really think that you should pick the final outfit," JC explained. "Jace," Joey called from across the room, watching the interaction between his two bandmates. "Listen. He's spent the last hour and a half trying on clothing, hoping to please *you.* Do you really think he's gonna drop it now?" "Stay out of their business, Joey," Lance growled, his hair now finished. "Justin, with all due respect," Tearsa, their hair stylist, cut in. "I really have to get over to the other room to help with your dates' hair. JC's finished, but I still need to fix yours." "All right, I'll get changed," Justin sighed, reluctant to get off of his friend's lap. "Josh...?" He asked, his eyes pleading. Smiling, JC replied, "Go with the second outfit, Just. It was perfect." "Thanks, Josh," Justin exclaimed, throwing his arms around the older man. Placing a gentle kiss on JC's lips, he added, "And thank you for staying here when I needed you to." His hands resting on the nineteen year-old's hips, JC murmured, "It was no trouble. I'm sorry I freaked out." "Don't be," Justin quickly replied. "I shouldn't have-" "Justin," the twenty-four year-old interrupted the blonde. "It's all right. Let's just get you dressed, okay?" Smiling, Justin nodded and agreed, "Okay." The nineteen year-old then returned to his bed to get the outfit his friend had selected. It consisted of a white turtle-necked sweater and a pair of hip-hugging brown leather pants that appeared to be sewn together in patches. Justin was pulling the sweater over his head when there was a knock at the door. JC went to answer it, and Justin headed over to the mirror, Tearsa close behind. "I see you remembered to condition your hair," the young woman said with a smile. "Good, that'll make things much easier." "Well, Josh remembered, so thank him," Justin replied. After Justin had spoken, he heard JC exclaim, "Hey! You made it!" before the brunette pulled someone into a hug. Eyes narrowing with jealousy, Justin glared at the person in his best friend's arms. As JC pulled back, the nineteen year-old saw that the woman with the brunette was Bobbie, JC's date for the night. The blonde huffed and turned away. "The girls are all over in 702, Joey and Lance's, room getting their make-up done. Once Justin's finished, the hair stylist is going to join them. Why don't you head over?" JC suggested to his date. "Sure, and you look great already. But aren't you going to be cold?" Bobbie replied, her voice full of concern for her friend. "Naw, I'm wearing a coat with it," JC explained. "Yeah," Chris put in, coming over to say hello. "And you should see it! It's straight out of `One Hundred and One Dalmatians.'" "It's black and white?" Bobbie asked, clearly confused. "You know, Josh, that won't really match your outfit." Laughing, Chris clarified, "Think more along the lines of Cruella Devil." As Bobbie laughed, Justin turned back to her, death in his eyes. /Who does she think she is?/ He thought angrily to himself. /She's been here for two minutes and she's already calling him `Josh'? It's not like she's his *girlfriend* or anything./ "Okay, I'm heading next door then," Bobbie informed her date, who leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek. "All right then, I'll see you in a little bit," JC replied as Bobbie went across the hall. Justin was now visibly fuming. /JC kissed her?! JC KISSED HER!/ his mind was screaming. "Sure she means nothing to him," the nineteen year-old muttered to himself, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Yeah *right.*" "Excuse me?" Tearsa asked politely, still working on the teen's unruly curls. "Nothing," Justin snapped. Taken aback, Tearsa finished his hair in silence and then quickly left to go help the girls. Sighing, Justin walked over to his bed, which had been cleared, and sat down. He hadn't meant to snap at the hair stylist, but he was just so frustrated with JC and their relationship. He had no claim over his best friend; JC could date Bobbie if he wanted to. As if hearing his thoughts, JC walked over to the blonde and took a seat next to him. "Just," he whispered, taking the younger man's hand. "I'm gay. Bobbie and I are just friends, okay?" Sighing, Justin replied, "I know. I'm sorry Josh. I just- I don't like seeing other people, you know. I," Justin blushed as he finished, "I want you for myself." It was JC's turn to sigh. "Just, I know that you say that, but-" "But what?" Justin interrupted. "Why won't you give this a chance, Josh? If you don't want to be with me, tell me. As it is, I don't understand what the problem is." "Justin, we talked about this-" the twenty-four year-old began, but he stopped himself. Taking a deep breath, JC finally said, "Justin, I don't want to be with you." "What?" the blonde whispered in disbelief, searching JC's face for some sign that the older man was kidding. He found none. JC, who wouldn't lift his gaze from the floor, was fighting back tears. "I'm sorry for leading you on, Justin, but I think this is for the best," he mumbled. "No," Justin whispered, abruptly standing up. "No, Josh, you don't mean that." /I don't,/ JC admitted to himself sadly. /But this *is* for the best. I can't keep hurting you, Justin. You have to let go. There's no way you'd be happy with someone like me. You deserve better./ However, out loud, the brunette only said, "I'm sorry, Justin. But this is the way it has to be." Justin stood in front of the brunette mutely, watching as his world came crashing down around him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, what did you think? Even though I called the chapter "Hurricane Bobbie" I don't think she was *that* bad. Shouldn't have called him "Josh," though! =P Anyway, I'll try to get 28 done asap, I hope you're willing to wait for it!