Just Together

Disclaimer: This story is fiction. It makes no claims to the true personality and sexuality of anyone involved. You already know if you shouldn't be reading this.

------------------ Just Together by jm_stories@yahoo.com ------------------

Chapter VIII Original post 19 Nov 2000 Revised 7 Feb 2002

Michael and I would have happily slept through our 9AM alarm were it not for Lance coming in and making sure we got up. Damn him.

"Go away, Lance," I groaned.

"Nope. You guys need to get up. Dress rehearsals start today," he said and pulled the sheet off us.

Michael and I just snuggled closer.

"Get up," Lance said and started shaking us.

"Fine," I snarled and pushed him away as I sat up.

"I meant awake, not THAT up," Lance joked and motioned to my morning piss hard-on.

"Ha, ha," I deadpanned. I shook Michael's shoulder and pulled him into a sitting position, but his eyes were still closed.

"Mornings suck," Michael yawned and stretched before opening his eyes. "Is there anything else, Lance? Enjoying the view?"

"Just making sure you get up and don't go back to sleep as soon as I walk out."

"Let's go," I said and got off the bed, pulling Michael with me.

We stumbled to the bathroom and Lance went to work on Charlie and Justin. We were in the shower when Charlie and Justin came in to piss. Justin saw fit to flush the toilet and the water got very hot.

"Asshole!" Michael yelled as he pulled out of the water.

"Sorry. I forgot," Justin yelled back as they left.

"Awake now?" I smiled.

"And burned."

"We'll get him back."

"He'll be expecting me to come in and flush the toilet."

"I know. We're not going to do that."

"Just what do you have in mind?" Michael asked with a grin.

"I'm thinking we wait until he gets in, and then shut the hot water off at the main."

"I love it. You are the master prankster," he smiled and gave me a quick kiss.

"Thank you."

We finished our shower and went back out our room to get dressed. Charlie and Justin went into the bathroom. A minute or so later we heard the shower starting.

"Time to fix the water," Michael said.

"Yep."

We went to the utility closet and I shut the hot water off. As we were running back to our room, we heard a scream and some cursing. We fell on our bed laughing.

"That'll learn him," Michael laughed.

"Yep. He'll be back to peewee."

"Charlie will be so pissed."

We finished getting dressed and went to the kitchen. The shower was off and I turned the hot water back on.

"I was in the shower too and I didn't do anything to you guys," Charlie said as he came into the kitchen, fully dressed.

"Guilt by association, but what are you talking about?" I said.

"Taking the hot water away."

"There's plenty of hot water," Lance smiled and turned on the kitchen faucet to hot and felt that it was hot.

I shrugged and smiled. Michael had his head buried in his arms on the table trying not to laugh out loud.

"Uh huh. I will have revenge," Charlie smiled and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"If I get pneumonia from taking a cold shower, I'm gonna sue your ass," Justin said as he walked into the kitchen.

"You can't get pneumonia from taking a cold shower, dick weed," Michael said.

"And we'd have a better case with the burns on Michael's back," I added.

"I said I was sorry. I wasn't awake."

"Bet you are now," Lance laughed.

"Wait 'till you take your shower tonight, Scoop," Justin smiled.

"Don't make me open a can of wup-ass on you," Lance warned.

"What!?" Justin laughed. "I think Danny is a bad influence on you."

"Just remember that before you try to include me in on your pranks," Lance said with a confident smirk.

"Oh my god! Lance has grown a pair! Hey everybody! Lance finally has a pair!" Justin laughed.

"Absolutely. When are you going to grow some, peewee?" Lance smirked.

"Ouch. That's hittin' below the belt," Justin said.

"I thought that's what you were talking about," Charlie smiled.

"Okay. Enough of this. Have your breakfast so we can get to the theater," I said.

"Yes, boss," Charlie smirked.

"And don't you forget it," I shot back as I left to get my stuff together.

Everyone was ready within a half-hour and we headed to the theater. E was back in town and was showing off his new watch.

"It's a Jaeger le Coultre Reverso," E said proudly.

"It's a Timex Indiglo," I said and showed him my watch.

"Please," E huffed. "You can't even compare that with my Jaeger le Coultre."

"Does the same thing and only cost me $20 at Wal-Mart."

"How much was that, if you don't mind me asking?" Justin asked E.

"Oh, I got a really good deal on it," he said excitedly. "It was on sale for $2500. It was a steal."

"I think more like you got robbed. Why on earth would you want a $2500 watch?" Michael said.

"Because I can, of course," E smiled.

"You got me there," Michael said.

Lisa was in charge from now on, so I let her take care of everything. We did a Q2Q and adjusted everything for the dress rehearsal. This took forever because we ran each of the three songs completely. We broke for dinner, and then came back for the dress rehearsal. I tried to go around checking up on things, but Lisa sent be back to my seat. Good Stage Manager.

A short while later the show started and I made note of every problem I saw. I moved around the theater a couple times to see the different angles. It wasn't bad for a first dress rehearsal, but not ready to open by any stretch of the imagination.

The show ended and I gave the designers notes while the actors changed. TJ, the lighting designer, pulled out the Genie to make some light changes after notes and I waited for the actors. Once everyone was changed, I gave notes -- for the next two hours. I was being extremely picky. Lance and Justin also gave their notes, so it wasn't all me. We scheduled what time certain people needed to be in tomorrow to work on certain scenes and then I let them go. Lance left to pick Danny up.

"So are you worried at all?" Justin asked as we rode the train home.

"Not yet."

"You open Friday and you're not ready."

"I know."

"I'd be wetting myself."

"I guess it's good you aren't directing."

"It's a different world."

"From what?"

"From the music world. If we didn't have everything perfect by a week before the first performance, we'd be panicking."

"Yea, I guess. I expect the show to change as it runs. It always happens. They don't seem any worse off than other productions I've been part of, so I'm not worried yet."

"Are you going to have a preview or something?"

"Yea, of course. Thursday night is the preview. There's going to be an audience for the rest of the dress rehearsals as well."

"There is?" Charlie asked.

"Yea. Not a full audience, but some people from Tisch and the SPA. Mostly students."

"Nice of you to tell us," Charlie said with a bit of tension in his voice.

"You knew you were going to have an audience sometime."

"Yea, I know."

"Nervous about your first live audience?" Michael asked him.

"A bit."

"You'll be great," Justin said and mussed up Charlie's hair.

"It's really not that different from filming. I think it's easier, actually. With the lights you can hardly even see the audience," Michael said.

"I'll get over it. I'm just nervous, not terrified. Being nervous is good."

We got to our stop and walked home. Michael and I took a shower and went straight to bed.

I woke up a few minutes before the alarm and was ready to start the day. I let Michael sleep in since he didn't have to be at the theater until three. After a quick shower and breakfast, I headed off to the theater with Lance, Justin and Charlie.

I talked with Lance as Justin cleaned up the dances.

"So you anxious to get started on rehearsals of your own?" I asked.

"A little. For all my whining about it, it is kinda fun. If only it didn't stretch on for months."

"Danny is gonna be moping," I stated.

"So will I, but I've got a surprise for him," Lance smiled.

"Really? Taking him on tour with you as your 'personal' assistant?"

"I wish. No, not as good as that. I got our rehearsals for it moved from LA to here, so we'll have two more weeks together. It's okay that we stay two more weeks, right?"

"Of course, goof. You don't even need to ask," I said and gave him a shove. "You only rehearse two weeks for the tour?"

"No. We have four weeks of rehearsal. The studio in Orlando is in use for two of them so we were supposed to do two weeks in LA and then two in Orlando. I got the LA one moved here."

"Have you told Justin yet?"

"Not yet. Maybe after he packs his bags to leave," Lance grinned.

"You're getting evil in your old age."

Lance just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

Lance worked on the vocals after Justin finished, and then they ran the full numbers a few times. Michael showed up at three and we worked on cleaning up the scenes that needed it. We took a break at four so everyone could eat before the dress rehearsal started.

Larry showed up at 5:30 with a few members of his Directing I class.

"Hey, Larry. Thanks for coming," I said and shook his hand.

"No problem. How's it going?"

"On schedule. We'll see tonight. Last night was a bit rough."

"You'll be surprised what an audience does," he smiled.

"Scare them into being perfect?"

"Something like that. Feedback is more accurate, though. After four weeks of the same thing with only your sorry face watching, they get sleepy. A real audience wakes them up."

We talked a bit more about things until the show started at six. There were about twenty people in the audience. The house only held 105 and I asked the people to spread out to all areas instead of all sitting together. Right from the opening number, it was apparent that an audience did wake them up.

After the rehearsal was over I talked with Larry and some of the students while the actors got changed. Per usual, I gave notes once everyone was ready and we went home. My notes were shorter and we got home fairly early.

"I talked with my dad today," Michael said as we lay in bed.

"How's he doing? Hating his diet?"

"Of course. He says he's tired all the time and tired of being tired."

"Are they going to come to the opening?"

"He wanted to, but I told him to wait until he's feeling better. The show runs for two months, so he'll have plenty of time to see it."

"That's probably best. We don't want him to have another heart attack when he sees you naked on stage making out with Charlie," I smiled.

Michael snickered. "That's not even funny. I'm not sure if I want to know what night they're coming or not. Just knowing they're out there...would be weird."

I laughed. "Oh yea. I can see your dad now, all proud and sayin' 'that's my boy' to people sitting near him."

"I wouldn't go that far. I think I'm gonna have to tell them what the show is about before they come so they can decide if they want to come or not. Maybe I'll do that on the fourth. You remember we're going over there, right?"

"Yep. What time are they expecting us?"

"Noon."

We talked a little longer, and soon fell asleep.

The next two dress rehearsals went okay. Wednesday's was better than Thursday's, though. I was kinda nervous about that. Fortunately there were no reviewers at the preview show.

Opening night. Opening night. Opening night. It's finally happening. I felt like I was sending my child out into the world. It felt good, but bad. I hoped my child would thrive in the world -- or at least survive.

I was a bundle of nerves. I couldn't say anything to the cast. I just gave each person a hug, and then let them get ready. I dragged E out of the dressing room to give everyone some peace.

"You should have worn a tux," E said as we were watching the crew get ready.

"I dressed up," I said somewhat defensively. "Besides, if they hate it I don't have to try to get egg out of the tux."

"You don't have to worry about that. They only egg the playwright. They hang the director," E smirked.

"How're you guys holding up?" Alex said as he slapped us on the back. We both jumped and Alex chuckled. "We're about to open the house, so make yourselves scarce."

"Let's go across the street and get some coffee," I said.

We both had an Irish coffee and silently watched people file into the theater. At ten 'till curtain we went back over.

"There you are," Lance said as we walked in.

"Is something wrong?" I said a bit panicky.

"No. Everything's fine. It's just getting close to curtain and I was wondering where the director and playwright were."

"Just staying out of the way," I replied.

E was looking in the house to see how many people were there.

"How's it look?" I asked.

"Pretty full," He said somewhat distracted.

"The rest of the guys here?" I asked Lance.

"Yea. They're in the top-back row."

"I don't hear any screaming so I assume there weren't any problems."

"Nope. Are you going to sit down and watch?"

"No. I'm gonna watch from the light booth."

"Lisa just called places," Alex said from the box office window.

"See you at intermission," I told Lance and gave him a quick hug before running up the back steps to the light booth. E was right behind me.

The show started a minute after we sat down in the second light booth so we wouldn't disturb the crew. The opening scene is a boy-band number. Charlie's voice quavered as his solo started and I cringed. It smoothed out, though. The audience applauded after the number and I relaxed. Sometime during the act I stopped watching the show and watched the audience for their reactions to things. They laughed at some places that I never expected, 'though I suspect some of it was nervous laughter. The act ended and the house lights came up.

"I think it's..." E started to say.

"Don't say anything until it's over. You'll jinx it," I interrupted.

"You don't believe all the theatre superstitions, do you?"

"I'm not taking any chances."

"You gonna come downstairs?"

"Yea. Can I bum a smoke?"

"Sure. I didn't know you smoked."

"I don't. I just feel like having one right now. It'll also look less conspicuous than me just hanging around outside listening to people's comments."

We quietly went outside and stood off to the side while smoking. The conversations ranged from how hot the actors were, to wondering what foreshadowed horror would happen, to what club to go to afterward. I really didn't expect anyone to give a detailed analysis and I wasn't disappointed. The lights eventually flashed and they all went back inside. At least no one left after intermission.

We went back upstairs and watched the second act. I was happy with how it went. The show ended and the audience applauded. They didn't get a standing-O -- unless you count the 'NSYNC guys and a group of queens in the back row -- but they seemed to have enjoyed it. E and I gave each other a quick, happy hug and ran down to the lobby. We stood there as proud parents while the audience exited.

"Jonah!" I heard Alex yell and looked around for him. As soon as a crowd separated, I saw him and almost wet myself when I saw the person next to him.

"I think it went well. What do you think?" Alex said with a smile.

"Yea. I'm very happy."

"Very nice job," the guy next to Alex said.

"Thank you, Mr. DeNiro," I said.

Alex almost laughed. "Sorry. I forgot to introduce you. Bob, this is Jonah Mars, the director, and Edward Furlong, the playwright. I guess you already know who Bob is."

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said and shook his hand.

"Relax, kid. I'm just an actor. Keep doing good work and maybe I'll be working for you someday."

"I hope not. I don't want to be a stage manager," I smiled. The stage manager is really the one in charge in a professional production.

"Of course. Then working with you," he corrected.

"That would be cool."

"Not to be rude, but I've gotta catch a flight," DeNiro said.

"Not at all. Thanks for coming, Bob," Alex said.

We said our good-byes and he left. The house was empty and only a few people were still in the lobby.

"How and why did you get Robert DeNiro to come to the show?" I asked Alex.

"I didn't do anything. He's on the Board of Directors and comes to all opening performances," Alex laughed.

"That's so cool that he liked it. I'm gonna go congratulate the cast," I said and ran back to the dressing room.

"Great show, guys. Great," I said happily and gave people hugs where ever they were. I pulled Michael into a more intimate hug and whispered into his ear. "I just met Robert DeNiro. I'll tell you about it later." I pulled back and gave him a kiss. "Where's Charlie?"

"In the shower."

I ran into the shower area, pulled Charlie out and gave him a hug and a sloppy kiss. "Great show," I said and then pushed him back into the shower and closed the curtain before he knew what hit him.

I went back into the dressing room. I was bouncing off the walls. The cast was laughing at me being so giddy, but I didn't care. Eventually everyone was dressed and we decided to go to a diner for something to eat before hitting a club. 'NSYNC was waiting in the lobby for us.

"Great show, everyone," Joey said. His sentiment was echoed by the other members.

Justin gave Charlie a pat on the back and a grin, while Lance gave everyone a hug.

"So you guys ready to go?" Josh asked.

"Yep. We're just heading out to get something to eat."

"We've got the ride taken care of," Justin grinned like a lunatic as he opened the front door.

In front of the theater were two very long limos.

"You're kidding," I said and looked at Justin.

"Nope, but you can walk if you want."

We decided where to go and then split between the two limos. It was the first time I'd been in a limo. I could get used to it. We drove the six blocks to the diner and went inside. We ended up staying there until 5AM talking about the performance and nothing in particular. Josh called back the limos and we split by location with the limo dropping us off in front of our apartments. Michael, Charlie, Lance, Justin and I were dropped off last.

I was dead by this point. Michael and I cleaned up and went straight to bed. It was 6:30AM.

I woke up at 12:30 when the phone rang. I assumed Lance answered it and my suspicions were confirmed when he knocked on the door.

"You awake, Jonah?" He called softly as he poked his head in.

"Yea, I'm up. Who is it?"

"Joey."

"Joey?"

"Not 'NSYNC Joey."

"Oh, okay. My cousin. Thanks," I took the phone from him and sat back down on the bed. "Hey man."

"Hey. Don't tell me I woke you up. It's after noon!" Joey laughed.

"I have a good excuse. I didn't get to bed until 6:30 this morning. And don't even try to tell me that you've become a morning person. I know better."

"No chance, man. I've only been up an hour, myself. Anyway, the reason I'm calling is that a friend and I are coming to New York for a week or two."

"And you're looking for a cheap place to stay?"

"Yep. You've got room, right?"

"If you don't mind sleeping on the sofa or the floor. When are you planning on being here?"

"Next week sometime. Kinda a spur of the moment get away from Chicago trip. Don't know yet exactly."

"Okay. Who's coming with you? Are they gonna have any problem with being around a bunch of gay guys? I've also got two members of 'NSYNC staying here. Are they going to have a problem with that?"

"You've got 'N STINK staying at your place?!" Joey laughed.

"Just two of them. They're nice guys. I just don't let them sing in the house or play their music," I smiled.

"Okay. I was fearin' you'd gone total fag on me. Anyway, you remember Tommy Mathias, right?"

"Yea, of course I remember Tommy. We were the Three Musketeers until I came out and you two couldn't deal with it."

"Don't bring that up again. I said I'm sorry and I'm past that. It was years ago."

"I know, but I still remember it and the way you two wouldn't even talk to me for the longest time."

"I don't know what else to say, Jonah. I was young and stupid and I'm still learning."

"I know. I'm still learning, too. Maybe we can use your visit here to get past the bad blood of our youth. How do you think Tommy will react?"

Joey chuckled.

"Don't even tell me that Tommy came out of the closet?" I said.

"No. I'm pretty sure he's straight. His little brother isn't, though."

"Jonny is gay? Is he that old already?"

"He's fifteen. How old do you have to be? Oh man, you should hear him. He's a total queen. Hopefully he'll grow out of that."

"You can't grow out of being gay."

"That's not what I meant. He needs to grow out of being a queen. He was normal until he decided to come out. Now he's all 'fabulous' and 'darling' and super queen. He needs to relax and just be himself."

"So kinda like you and your 'I am an oppressed black man' phase?"

I could practically hear Joey rolling his eyes. "Yea. Don't remind me. I'm back to being a half-breed."

"I guess it was too hard being a gangsta and shopping at A&F, huh?" I smirked.

"Fuck you too. So is it cool if we stay there?"

"Sure. My show opened last night so I'll have time to hang out and show you around. It has to be understood that what you see here doesn't leave here, though."

"You're not gonna make me sign a NDA, are you?"

"Mmmm. Nah, I'll take your woooorrrrd." I slurred the last word as I felt Michael's mouth around my cock.

"Please tell me you're not having sex while you're talking to me."

"I'll talk to you later. Call me when you know when you'll be in. Bye," I said and hung up before he could say anything.

Michael looked up and grinned.

"You're so bad. I was talking to my cousin."

"He coming to visit?"

"Yea. Sometime in the next week. He doesn't know yet."

"So I finally get to meet some of your family."

"Maybe. You're gonna be busy as hell, though. Classes start Monday."

"I know," Michael sighed. "I need to go buy books today or tomorrow."

"It's only five weeks of hell. You'll survive."

"I know, but will you? I'm probably going to be too tired for sex," he grinned.

"I guess I'll just have to get a bit closer to Charlie," I said casually.

"Not unless I get to watch," Michael shot back.

"Perv."

"Probably. You've never thought about it?"

"Watching you and Charlie having sex? Nope. I see close enough to it in the show."

"No. Having sex with more than one person at a time."

"Yea, I've thought about it. I don't know if I'd ever do it, though. I'd have to really trust the other people and I don't know how that would work if I was dating someone."

"You wouldn't be having group sex, or any sex for that matter, without me there."

"Of course. Have you been thinking about this a lot?"

"Not a lot. I guess the first time I thought about it with us is when you, Danny and Lance had your masturbation session after we had phone sex. With the weird stuff that's been happening with Justin, and being all fake hot and heavy with Charlie on stage..."

"You want us to have sex with Charlie and Justin?"

"It wouldn't be that big of a stretch. I mean Charlie and I make out every night, and Justin has had his hands on both of us, and sucked you already."

"No, I understand where you're coming from, and it has crossed my mind, but how would we even ask them? I mean, we'd have to make it clear that it was just sex as well. I'm also concerned how it may affect us."

"As long as we're both there and both agree to it and what the ground rules are, I don't think it should make a difference."

"Okay, but how would we bring it up?"

"I'll talk with Charlie about it after the show tonight. We're both always horny afterwards."

"Where would we do it? I don't want it to be on our bed. Charlie and Justin have a twin bed, so that won't work. The living room is out of the question for obvious reasons."

"I don't know. We'll worry about that when we get there."

"Alright. Let's go take a shower," I said and got up.

"What about...?" Michael said and pointed to my half-hard cock.

"We can do that in the shower. I have to piss first."

We took our shower, got dressed and went to get something to eat. Danny and Lance were cuddled up on the sofa watching TV. Charlie and Justin were still in bed.

After lunch we sat on the sofa with Danny and Lance.

"So you think the show went well last night?" Danny asked me.

"Yea. I think it went great."

"Good. I can't wait to see it tonight. Are you coming?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided. I may just bum around here and relax or clean up."

"Okay. We're going out afterwards if you guys want to join us."

"I don't know what we're doing yet. Oh, Joey is coming for a visit in the next week or so."

"Your cousin?" Danny asked.

"Yea."

"Do we need to be careful?" Lance asked.

"Not with Joey. I don't know yet with Tommy, who's also coming."

"Who's Tommy?"

"A friend of Joey's from the neighborhood who also used to be a friend of mine. The three of us used to be inseparable."

"What happened?"

"I came out."

"I thought you said it wasn't a big deal when you came out?" Michael asked.

"It wasn't with my grandparents. It was with Joey and Tommy, though. Joey and I were like brothers until that moment. Tommy was our best pal and almost a brother. After I came out, Tommy refused to talk to me and Joey would only talk to me when he had to."

"This is the same Joey we hung out with in Chicago?" Danny asked.

"Yep."

"I didn't get that from him at all. He seemed cool with us."

"Now he is. Six years ago he wasn't. He'd call me 'fagot' and I'd call him 'half-breed.' That was about the extent of our conversation for a few years. We also lost anything in common. I was in the arts and totally punk rock. He was on the football team and exploring his blackness. I guess we both came back from the fringe and started talking again when Gma had her stroke."

"What about Tommy?"

"I haven't talked with him since I was sixteen."

"And you're offering him a place to stay? Aren't you a little concerned about that?"

"Yea, but Joey says he's over it. We won't ever have a close friendship again, but I'd like to resolve it and be done with it. If it becomes a problem, I'll just ask him to leave. I'm sure I can still kick his ass."

"Who's ass are you going to kick?" Justin asked as he walked out of his room in a pair of shorts.

We all looked at him and laughed. He looked like he and Charlie had been going at it for hours.

"What? I'm only here one more day," I smirked.

"Just where are you going?" I asked and shot Lance a grin.

"We've got rehearsals for the tour in LA, of course. I can't hang out with you fags all the time."

"You're calling us fags, but you're the one with cum dripping down your chin," Michael smirked.

Justin quickly wiped his face to find nothing there. Everyone laughed.

"Anyway, Justin, you owe me big time," Lance said.

"Why do I owe you."

"We're in town to more weeks. I got our rehearsals move here from LA."

"Serious?"

Lance nodded.

"You're the greatest, Scoop. Don't let anyone tell ya different," Justin said with a huge grin and went to the kitchen.

"I'm glad you told him before he killed Charlie," I said.

"Wouldn't be a bad way to go, though," Lance smiled.

Justin walked back through with two large glasses of water.

"Charlie's got a show tonight, Justin. Don't kill him," I said.

"Oops. Too late," he grinned before disappearing back into their room.

"Oh, you'll never guess who saw the show last night," I said.

"Lance already told me. Robert DeNiro," Danny said.

"Thanks, Lance," I said sarcastically.

"I think it's cute that you're so excited about it," Michael smiled and gave me a kiss.

"I'm offended by it. You weren't that way with me," Lance teased.

"Well, when you've had the career that he's had and worked with the people he's worked with and then come to see my first directing effort and tell me you enjoyed it and hope to work with me in the future, I'll be excited about you too," I said and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh, is that all," Lance laughed.

"Thanks, Lance. I owe you my life," Charlie said as he and Justin went to the bathroom. It got a round of laughter.

I decided to stay home and clean up instead of watching the show again. It needed it. I went to pick Michael up after the show.

"How'd it go tonight?" I asked as we were walking back to the train station.

"Same as last night. Maybe a little better."

"Good. I got most of the laundry done and our room cleaned up. It no longer looks like we're slobs," I smiled.

"I talked with Charlie."

"What about?"

"You know... The group thing."

"Oh, that. And?"

"He seemed shocked at first, but had to adjust himself, if you know what I mean. He said he'd talk with Justin about it."

"Oh man. What if he says yes? Talking about it is one thing, but actually doing it..."

"Is kinda weird?"

"Definitely. What would the ground rules be? I say no anal penetration by anyone other than your boyfriend."

"I agree. And no swallowing anyone other than your boyfriend."

"That's a good one. What else?"

"I don't know. I think I'm pretty comfortable with everything else. I mean, that just reduces it to kissing, touching, jacking and sucking, but not cumming."

"Yea, those sound like good rules. What do you think Justin will say?"

"I don't know. He'll probably say no, and then climb into bed with us," Michael laughed.

"He'd better not. Our bed is our bed only."

"We probably won't even have a time or place to do it."

"Probably. Not with Joey and Tommy coming sometime soon and Danny and Lance home all the time."

"You know, there's no one home now," Michael hinted.

"I like the way you think," I said and pulled him up as we got to our stop.

We ran home and made love before anyone else got home. We took a shower afterwards and went to bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked Michael as he was setting the alarm clock.

"I need to get up early enough that I can go buy books."

"How many do you need to buy?"

"I think it's like 15 or so."

"15? How many classes did you decide to take?"

"Just two. The core English and Math classes to get them out of the way. The Math class only has one book, but the English class has a bunch of novels and stuff."

"I hope you have enough time for all the reading."

"I should. I'm only in class for four hours a day, and then I have a few hours before I have to be at the theater. I can read before the show as well."

"Now I wish I hadn't sold back all my books. You could have used them."

"Too late now."

"Yep. Well, we'd better get to sleep if we're gonna get up early. Love you," I said and kissed the back of his neck.

"Love you. Night."

I woke up sometime later to the feeling of someone shaking me, and it wasn't Michael because I was holding him.

"Wake up, guys," Justin prodded.

I cracked my eyes open to see him leaning over us with Charlie behind him. They were both in their boxers.

"Turn off the light. What do you want?" I groaned.

"Come on. Wake up. We need to talk," Justin continued while Charlie turned off the light and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Can't it wait?" Michael groaned.

"Is it true? You guys wanna have, like, group sex and stuff with us?" Justin asked.

"Not now. Sleep," Michael mumbled.

"I don't mean now. Come on. Wake up."

"Charlie. Can you come here?" I asked and motioned for him.

"Sorry," he said as he crawled up the bed.

I pulled back the covers. "Lay down," I said and pulled him down. "Justin. Lay down beside Charlie and go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning." I pulled Charlie's arm around me, snuggled back against Michael and went back to sleep. I heard Justin sigh and felt the bed shift before I was out.

The alarm clock went off at ten and Michael slapped it until it shut up.

"I'm gonna have to start going to bed earlier if I'm gonna be able to get up and get to class on time," Michael mumbled as he rubbed my leg. He stopped when he felt Charlie's hand and sat up. "What are Charlie and Justin doing in our bed?"

"Huh?" I said sleepily.

"There are two more people in our bed than should be," Michael said and pointed behind me.

I leaned up to look and flopped back down. "I don't know. I remember them waking us up, but I don't remember why or why they're in bed with us."

Michael reached under the covers behind me and then pulled his hand back.

"At least they have their boxers on," he said.

I sleepily chuckled at him.

"What?" Michael asked.

"You."

"Huh?"

"You bring up wanting to try group sex with them, but get worried about them in bed with us," I smiled.

"That's 'cause I don't remember what happened. I don't want three boyfriends. I just wanted to try group sex once."

"Jonah made us lay down and go to sleep to shut J up," Charlie mumbled.

"Why was he in here and what did he want?"

"I told him about you wanting to do the group thing as we were going to bed. He wanted to talk about it right away."

"Oh. Good talk or bad talk?" Michael asked.

"Don't know. Didn't say no. Didn't say yes."

"Okay. Go back to sleep. We'll talk about it when everyone is awake," I said. "Let's go take a shower."

We took a shower and ate something for breakfast. Danny and Lance had left a note saying they went out and wouldn't be back until late afternoon. We drove to the bookstore, got his books, and were back by 12:30. Charlie and Justin were curled up on the sofa watching TV.

"There you are. Can we finally talk about this group sex you wanna do with me?" Justin said as we walked in the door.

"Climb down off your ego and we'll talk," Michael said and sat down to unpack his books.

"Why the ego comment? Charlie told me you guys wanted to have sex with us."

"Both of you, not just you. But it's not exactly like that," Michael said.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"

Michael sighed. "Maybe this was just a bad idea."

"Maybe it was. At least I know now that you want to have sex with me," Justin said.

"To happily burst your bubble, that wasn't what I was thinking at all. Jonah and I were talking and we both admitted we'd like to try group sex once, but we'd have to really trust the other people, and have some ground rules about what can be done beforehand," Michael explained.

"So why me...us? You don't even like me as much as you tolerate me."

"That's true," Michael smirked. "No, it's not. I do like you, Justin -- as a friend. Our relationship is just one of constant jabs."

"So you want to add sexual 'jabs' to that?" Justin smirked.

"Very punny. Anyway, the reason we thought of you and Charlie is because of how close we've already been. You've already blown Jonah and humped my leg, and Charlie and I make out every night on stage."

"And we also had sex near each other out on the lake when we were camping," Justin added.

"Yea, I guess we did."

"The rules that we came up with so that we'd feel comfortable are no anal penetration or swallowing except for with your boyfriend. That leaves kissing, touching and sucking without ejaculation that we're comfortable with," I explained.

"I guess those sound okay. Charlie?" Justin said.

"I think they sound good."

"I have fantasized about it -- group sex, I mean. Not sex with you two," Justin thought out loud.

"I have, too. I think this is a good chance to try it. I trust Jonah and Michael, and they obviously trust us enough to ask. I say yes."

"I guess it would be cool. When would we do it?" Justin asked.

"I don't know. It would have to be when Danny and Lance are gone," I said.

"Without a doubt!" Justin exclaimed.

"Why didn't you ask them as well?" Charlie asked.

"There haven't been the same sexual closeness things that have happened with them," Michael answered.

"And I don't think Danny would be up for it, not to mention Lance," I added.

Justin smiled. "Yea. I think Scoop would have a heart attack if you asked him."

"Probably. We don't want to kill off the nicest member of 'NSYNC," I smirked.

"Hey! No one can be as nice a guy as Scoop. It's like against the laws of nature or something."

"So it gets back to we don't know when or where," Michael said.

"I'm only here for two more weeks."

"And we'll have company for most of that," I said.

"We could do it now," Justin offered.

"We don't know when Danny and Lance will be back," Michael said.

"I really don't want them walking in on it," I added.

Charlie started chuckling and we all looked at him. "This is hilarious. Here we are negotiating group sex like a business contract and trying to schedule it. Shouldn't it be spontaneous? Now that we have the understanding that we'd all like to try it together, let's just let it happen when it happens."

"But we can't do it unless everyone is there and agrees at the time," Justin stated.

"Absolutely," Michael and I said at the same time.

"We won't leave you out, J," Charlie teased.

"Better not."

The phone rang and I grabbed it.

"Sexaholics Anonymous," I said.

"Uh... Is Jonah there?" Joey asked.

"Um, let me check... Nope, I'm not here. God, Joey. You're getting slow in your old age," I laughed.

"Yea, fuck you. I just wanted to let you know that we're heading out in a couple hours. How long does it usually take to get there?"

"About ten hours if you drive straight through and drive above the speed limit. Be careful going through Pennsylvania, though. They're psycho about speeding there. What time are you planning on leaving?"

"We were planning on leaving around six."

"Can you leave earlier or later? There's no way I'm going to be able to get up that early to meet you and let you in. If you leave in the next hour, or after midnight, it would be a much better time."

"I'll check with Tommy. Hey, there's something else I have to tell you."

"Yea?"

"Uh, well, Jonny is coming with us."

"Um, if Jonny comes there isn't going to be much room. I'm also concerned about having a 15 year old flaming queen around my roommates and the 'NSYNC guys. Is he a fan of 'NSYNC?"

"Annoyingly so."

"Then that could be a problem. If he comes, you guys can't stay here."

"Oh, come on, man. He'll be fine."

"Maybe or maybe not. I don't want my friends to feel uncomfortable or harassed. They're only here for two more weeks if you want to come after that."

"Can't. How about we show up and see how it goes? If it ends up being a problem we'll stay in a hotel."

"I guess that'll work. Call me back and let me know when you'll be in."

"Alright. Later, man."

"Later," I said and hung up.

"What's up?" Michael asked.

"Joey and Tommy will be here either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Tommy's little brother is coming as well. Joey said he's a big queen since he came out and an 'NSYNC fan."

"Do we need to stay at the hotel?" Justin asked.

"No. I'm sure you heard what I told him. If it becomes an issue, they will stay at a hotel, not you and Lance. There are bunk beds in your room, so it won't look that incriminating, but you should probably lock your door when you're in bed together. I don't know. I don't want to be a dick about it, but I'm not going to inconvenience four people for one person."

"We'll be in rehearsal most of the time, anyway," Justin said.

"And I'll be in classes or at the theater," Michael said.

"I guess that leaves me," Charlie sighed.

"We'll see how it works out. I'll do my best to keep them occupied."

"What are we doing on the fourth?" Justin asked.

"We're going to my folks house."

"What's on the fourth?" Charlie asked.

"Fourth of July. Independence day."

"Oh yea, American holiday," Charlie said. "So what are we going to do at your parent's house?"

"Um, when I said 'we' I meant Jonah and me. We should be back by seven or so, so we can all go out after that."

"Okay. What does the holiday entail -- other than drinking and fireworks?"

"That pretty much covers it. Picnics followed by lots of drinking followed by fireworks," I said.

"Sounds like a good holiday."

"Hey, guys," Danny said as he and Lance came through the door with a couple shopping bags each.

"You went shopping and didn't invite me?" Justin asked.

"Yep. We spent most of our time in bookstores, so you wouldn't have liked it anyway," Lance said.

"I can read, you know."

"I never said you couldn't, but when was the last time you read a book?"

"Two weeks ago, actually. I read that book Jonah suggested."

"And the one before that?"

"Uh..."

"Exactly. You always whine when I go into a bookstore anyway, so I don't know what you're complaining about."

"You make me sound like an idiot, Scoop."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. You just don't read much except for magazines and crap online."

"Just 'cause I don't have the patience to go through and look for good books. It's not like the Stephen King you read is fine literature."

"I never said it was, and I do read more than Stephen King."

"I've got another book you can read, Justin," I said and went over to my bookcase.

"What is it?"

"'On the Road,'" I said and handed him the book.

"'Hey Jack Kerouac,'" Lance sang.

"You've read this, Scoop?"

"Of course."

"Is it any good?"

"Yea. It's a great book."

"It really is," Michael agreed.

"If you need my opinion as well, I also think it's a great book," Danny said.

"Hey, I remember that you met Anne Rice and her family. Did you ever read her son's book? Was it any good?" Justin asked.

"Chris gave each of us a signed copy. I read it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else."

"Bad?" I asked.

"I don't think it ever would have been published if Anne Rice wasn't his mom. It's not that it's horrible as much as it's full of holes. None of the characters are developed and things hop all over the place and the quick action scenes are impossible to follow... I guess it is horrible. I'm glad he never asked me how I liked it."

"So it's not just bad 'cause you're comparing it to his mom's work?"

"No. It's just bad on it's own. I really wanted to like it, but...it sucked."

"I guess I won't be reading it, then," I said.

"Good idea. I read that he's supposed to have a new one out soon. I hope he's learned from his mistakes."

"Hey, Scoop. What are we doing on the fourth?"

"TRL."

"We are?"

"Yea."

"What are we doing?"

"Just an appearance. Maybe sing a song from the new album. We're supposed to decide that at the meeting later."

"We have a meeting later?"

"Yea. You should know that. I heard Josh telling you Friday night during intermission."

"I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"I guess not."

"What time is the meeting?"

"Four. At the hotel."

"I need to warn you that we'll have company late tonight or early tomorrow morning," I said.

"Joey and his friend?" Danny asked.

"Yea, and Tommy's little brother -- who is an 'NSYNC fan."

"Do we need to stay at the hotel?" Lance asked.

"Nope. I already told them that if it becomes an issue they would have to stay at a hotel."

"It's not that big a deal. We have the rooms already," Lance said.

"I appreciate that, but I'm not going to kick you guys out for an uninvited guest. You should probably lock your door at night, though."

"How long are they going to be here?" Danny asked.

"Probably a week."

"I can stand a fancy hotel for a week if it means I don't have to be as careful," Danny said to Lance.

"I think so too."

"Really guys..." I started.

"Don't worry about it. It's not an inconvenience," Lance interrupted.

"But..."

"It's settled. We're gonna stay at the hotel and you won't have to worry about having any problems."

"Fine."

The phone rang and I grabbed it.

"Bridge Street Halfway House," I said.

"Yea. This is Joey Mars. I'm confirming a reservation for three at midnight."

"Ah yes, Mr. Mars. Your floor space is all ready for your arrival. Midnight, then?"

"Around then. We're taking 80 over. Where do I go after that?"

"Do you want to drive through Manhattan or not?"

"Whatever's fastest."

"Okay. Ready to write it down?"

"Yea."

"Take 80 until it turns into 95. That should take you across the George Washington bridge. About a mile after you cross the bridge, take Harlem River Drive south. If you end up in the Bronx you've gone too far. Harlem River Drive becomes FDR. Follow that until you get to the Brooklyn Bridge..."

Joey read back the directions after I'd given them and said he'd call when they got close, and if he got lost.

"So they'll be in tonight?" Michael said.

"Yep."

"So I know who I'm dealing with, who all is coming?" Justin asked.

"My cousin, Joey..."

"Who is sexy as hell," Danny interrupted.

"Gross. That's my cousin you're lusting after."

"What? He's not my cousin. Anyway, I'm just saying that he's hot, not that I'd ever do anything with him."

"That's right," Lance said and wrapped his arms around Danny.

"Anyway. My cousin, Joey. His friend, Tommy, who also used to be a friend of mine. And Jonny, Tommy's little brother, who, so I've been warned, is a big flaming queen."

"How old is Tommy?"

"15."

"And why is he coming?"

"That's what happens when you rub it long enough," Michael smirked.

"I'm not sure yet," I said and gave Michael a shove for his comment.

Charlie, Michael and I were sitting on the fire escape drinking cognac and waiting for them to arrive when the phone rang.

"You lost?" I asked as I answered it, figuring it was probably Joey calling at midnight on a Sunday night.

"How'd you know it was me?" Joey asked.

"Who else would be calling at this time?"

"Okay. I'm not lost. I think I've passed your place a few times, but where the hell do I park? I can't find a parking space anywhere close."

"You probably won't. Just park where you can and walk. You'll be lucky if you're closer than four blocks."

"Okay. We'll be there sometime."

"I'll be here," I said and hung up. "They're looking for a place to park."

"I'm so excited about finally meeting some of your family," Michael said.

I made a face at him.

We continued sitting on the fire escape and watching out for them. I climbed in and went down to open the door when I saw them walking up the street. I opened the front door as they were walking up the steps.

"Hey, guys," I said.

"Hey, man," Joey said and gave me a quick hug. "I'm dead."

"Head on up. Hey, Tommy. Jonny."

"Hey, Jonah. Thanks for letting us stay here," Tommy said.

"Don't mention it," I said somewhat coldly.

"Oh my god, Jonah. You're even more of a hottie than I remember," Jonny squealed and gave me a hug.

I push him back and gave him an odd look. What the hell?

"Just go upstairs," I said.

He gave me a hurt look and started up the stairs behind Tommy. I was regretting allowing them to bring Jonny already. I shut the entrance door and headed up, only to hear a squeal from Jonny.

"This place is fabulous! Oh my god, it's the guy from 'Dawson's Creek'!"

I walked in and shut the door.

"Joey and Tommy, can you go into the kitchen. There's some cognac on the counter. Have some and we'll join you on the fire escape in a few minutes," I said.

"Okay," Joey said a bit confused and went where Michael indicated. Tommy was right behind him.

As soon as they were gone, I started in on Jonny.

"Okay, Jonny. Now it's just us fags. What the hell is up with the queen act?"

"What do you mean? I'm gay."

"Yea, I know. So am I. That doesn't mean you have to act like such a twat." I got that expression from Charlie.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. If you expect to stay here and have any interaction with anyone, you had better cut the attitude."

"You don't know anything."

"You're right, I probably don't. Why the act, though. Joey tells me you were normal -- whatever the hell that is -- before you came out. Now you're a stereotypical obnoxious queen."

"You know what my brother is like."

"I used to. If this is just to annoy him, then that's fine, but also realize you're annoying the fuck out of everyone else. And this is Michael, my boyfriend, not 'the guy from "Dawson's Creek."'"

"God. What crawled up your ass?" Jonny muttered softly and looked hurt.

"Just turn it down a couple notches while you're here. Okay?"

"Yea, whatever. Where am I sleeping?"

"Sofa, flip-n-fuck or floor. Take your pick," I said and went to the kitchen, pulling Michael with me.

"You were kinda harsh, don't you think," Michael said.

"Yea. I'll talk with him nicer tomorrow. I don't want to deal with any of it tonight. I hope he's asleep before Justin gets home," I sighed.

"We'll know if he's not," Michael said and gave a soft scream.

"Please don't do that," I said wearily and downed the remainder of my drink. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now."

"Are you okay?"

"Yea. Can we talk about it in the morning?"

"Okay. I guess I should be going to bed, too. I start classes tomorrow."

"Yea. You don't want to be late on your first day. Let me say goodnight to Joey."

"And Tommy."

"Yea, and Tommy." I stuck my head out the window. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna head to bed. You can fight over who gets the sofa and the flip-n-fuck. See you in the morning," I said and pulled back before anyone got a word out.

We went to bed and I snuggled back into Michael, holding him around me.

Believe it or not, Michael was awake before me. He rubbed my belly and kissed my neck until I woke up.

"Mornin'. Ready for your first day of university," I said with a smile as I rolled over to face him.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Kinda nervous about going back to school, though. High school sucked."

"This isn't high school, and nothing remotely like it. Thankfully."

"So what was up last night?"

I sighed. "I guess I wasn't as ready to face Tommy as I thought I was. Seeing him again just brought back all the memories and the hurt and anger."

"And you took it out on Jonny."

"Yea. I'll talk with him today about that. It's just that he was acting exactly like everything I dislike about the gay community, and then with Tommy... I don't know."

"I understand, but it's also not Jonny's fault. He looked like you killed his dog after you finished."

"I know. I've got a lot of talking to do today. Let's take a shower."

We took a shower and got dressed before going to the kitchen for breakfast. Joey and Tommy were still asleep and Jonny was no where to be seen. As we walked into the kitchen I noticed the window to the fire escape was open. I looked out to see Jonny sitting there. He didn't see me and I didn't say anything.

"Jonny?" Michael asked.

"Yea," I said and started a pot of coffee.

"Morning, Jonny," Michael said as he stuck his head out the window. I didn't hear any response and Michael sat down at the table. "I think you need to talk with him now. I'll bring your coffee out when it's done."

"I'd rather wait for coffee, or I'll still be irritable."

"Okay. Just talk to him, okay?"

"I will."

"I'm gonna pack my bag."

I waited for the coffee, and then poured a cup. I suck my head out the window and asked Jonny if he wanted any coffee. He nodded. I poured him a cup and crawled out on the fire escape.

"Thanks," Jonny said as I handed him his coffee -- in a non-camp voice.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, looking out at the city.

"I'm sorry about going off on you last night," I said.

"Okay."

"I mean it."

"Fine."

"I guess I'm not over what happened between your brother and me. Seeing him again, and then you acting all super-queen..."

"'S alright. I live with him. Remember?"

"So is that why you've gone camping?"

"Gone camping?" He smiled. "I like that saying. I guess so. It really freaks him out -- especially when we're in public."

"Is that how you feel like being, though?"

He shrugged. "It's as fake or real as anything else. I mean, no one is really who they seem."

"That's because they're trying to impress other people."

"I'm not trying to impress anyone."

"Really? You can impress people positively or negatively."

"I know."

"Being camp usually impresses people negatively. It gets annoying real quick."

"I know," he smiled.

"How's your dad about this? I remember he was pretty shitty to me once he found out."

"Well, he's consistent, that's for sure. If it weren't for mom, and Tommy being so overprotective, I'm sure he probably would have beat the shit outta me by now."

"Tommy's overprotective?"

"Yea. Weird, huh? Still overprotective about anyone saying or doing anything against me, but him."

"I guess he hasn't changed much."

"Nope. He didn't want to come here, you know."

"No, I didn't know that."

"He wanted to visit New York, but seemed upset when Joey told him we'd be staying here. He's not over the gay thing yet."

"I'm still gay."

"You know, I used to have the biggest crush on you," he grinned shyly.

"You did?"

"Uh, huh."

"The last time I was around you were only nine."

"So. I didn't understand what it meant then, but I knew I liked being around you."

"You were thrilled whenever we let you hang around us at all."

"You mean when Mom forced you guys to include me in."

"That too."

"I think Michael's really cute. Are you in love with him?"

"Totally. Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No. There aren't many guys my age who are comfortable being out, and the ones who are are totally girly. God, if I wanted a girl I'd just go with a girl."

"That's funny you'd say that. Do you only go camping when you're around Tommy?"

"And Dad. I tone it down when I'm with my friends...well, the few friends I still have."

"How long ago did you come out?"

"New Year's."

"Quite a resolution."

"I thought so. I regret it sometimes."

"It does get a lot easier when you're out on your own and not in high school."

"I hope so."

"You'd make it easier on yourself now if you were just yourself around your family instead of putting on an act."

"I know. They just piss me off so much sometimes. It's the best way to throw it in their faces."

"If that's important to you; but maybe a better way is to break all their stereotypes. Diffuse their comments by agreeing when you can. Like when someone calls you a cock sucker: agree."

"Yea, I've done that before. Sometimes it works. Not always."

"Then just ignore them."

"You know it's not that easy."

"Never said it was."

"Hey. I'm heading off to class," Michael said from the window.

"Have a good day," I said and gave him a kiss goodbye. "Are you coming back for dinner, or going straight to the theater?"

"I don't know yet. I'll call. Maybe you can meet me and we'll have dinner in town."

"Just let me know. If I'm not here I'll have my cell with me. Love you," I said and gave him another kiss before he pulled back in and left.

Jonny was sitting there with a sappy grin on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"That's just so cool."

"Huh?"

"Just that you can be so open and loving. I really wish I had a boyfriend."

"It took a long time to find Michael. There's no one you have your eye on?"

"Not who would be interested in me. How'd you meet Michael?"

"I worked as a gaffer for 'Dawson's Creek' one summer and we were roommates."

"And you both fell madly in love at first sight?"

"Not exactly. That's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you later."

"Okay. You almost killed me this morning, you know."

"How's that?"

"I was looking for a glass to get some water this morning after I got up. I was still in just my underwear. Justin Timberlake walked into the kitchen. I think I startled him, but he scared the shit out of me. Here I was finally getting to meet him and there I stood like a dork with bed head and in my underwear. I could have died from embarrassment."

I had laugh at that.

"It's not funny. A little warning would have been nice."

"It's just Justin. You shouldn't be intimidated by him at all. He's just a guy."

"Just a really cute guy with a great voice who is part of my favorite band."

"They're a singing group, not a band."

"Whatever."

"You understand that you can't tell anyone where he's staying, right? I know you'll want to say you met him, and that's okay, but I don't want anyone to know he's staying here."

"Afraid of groupies?"

"Absolutely. They're gonna be on TRL on the fourth. You guys can go down to Times Square and see how absolutely psycho it gets."

"Yea, like Tommy and Joey will agree to go."

"Don't give them a choice. Michael and I are going to be at his parent's house. Maybe Justin will get you a seat inside. You weren't a total freak to him this morning, were you?"

"If you don't count standing in my underwear and shaking like a freak as I babbled, no."

"Was he dressed?"

"Yea. You mean he walks around here naked? You've seen him naked?" Jonny said excitedly.

"No, he doesn't walk around naked, just in his boxers when he first gets up like anyone else."

"Have you seen him naked?"

"Yea. No big deal."

"No big deal? You are a total freak! I wouldn't be able to hold myself back if I saw him naked. No, I'd probably have a heart attack."

"I've got a boyfriend, and he's much cooler than Justin."

"Yea right," Jonny said sarcastically. "So what's he look like? Is he big? Small? A natural blonde? I want details."

"You're not going to get them. All I'm going to tell you is that he is a man and does have a penis."

"Oh, come on. Please?"

I shook my head.

"Is he, you know, gay?"

"It's none of my business."

"You aren't curious? I mean, you guys are friends and all, right?"

"Yea, we're friends, but I'm not going to have sex with him, so I don't care what his sexuality is. I wouldn't tell you even if I did know. If you want to know, ask him yourself."

"God, I could never ask him that. I could barely even talk to him this morning."

"Mornin'," Charlie said as he crawled out with a cup of coffee. He was only wearing a pair of shorts and I noticed Jonny's eyes got huge.

"Morning," I said.

"I'm Charlie," Charlie said and reached out to shake Jonny's hand.

"Jonny." Jonny was obviously shaking as he shook his hand, and then pulled back and pulled his knees up -- obviously to hide something. Charlie laughed and gave him pat on the back.

"So what's up today?" Charlie asked me.

"Jonny, apparently," I laughed.

"Jonah!" Jonny protested and turned red.

"Sorry. It was too easy to pass up. I don't know what's going on yet. You have any plans?"

"Nothing in particular. I wanna check out taking some workshops, but that's about it."

"Yea. I need to find something to do the rest of the summer, myself."

"It's a weird feeling now that the show is open."

"How's that?"

"It's like I'm not working, but I am working. Being free all day, but having to work a few hours at night."

"That's the beauty of live theatre, my friend," I smiled.

"Are you really English?" Jonny asked.

"Nope. Just born and raised there," Charlie smirked.

"I wanna go there someday."

"Why would anyone want to go there? It's cold, rainy and gray all the time."

"Can't be much colder than Chicago in the winter."

"That's in the summer. In the winter it's even worse."

"You don't like it there?"

"It's alright, I suppose. Nothing special. Quite different from the States. It all depends on where you live."

"It's like that here too."

"True, but you have much more 'here' here. Everything from tropics to arctic to dessert."

"Yea, but people are pretty much the same anywhere here."

"There are constants, but people aren't all the same. Just in the few places in the States I've been to, I've noticed differences. New York people are very different from Los Angeles people."

"People in LA are different from everyone," I laughed.

"And everywhere else too. I could tell you weren't from New York before I knew you were from Chicago," Charlie explained.

"Accent."

"And other things. The way you carry yourself. Accent. The speed and punctuation of your speech. The way you look."

"Please don't tell me I look like the typical Chicagoian."

"How's that?"

"George Wendt."

"Who?"

"The guy who played Norm on 'Cheers.'"

"Oh yea. Is that how everyone looks there?"

"Not everyone, but quite a few."

"And you see them all whenever the Bears play in town," Jonny added.

"Well, the same could be said about Brits. You know, we all have jug ears, no chin and bad teeth."

"So none of us are stereotypes," I said and shot Jonny a look. "Sorry about leaving you with Joey and Tommy last night, Charlie."

"No problem. We had a nice talk. I got all sorts of dirt on you," Charlie grinned.

"Great. I'll have to thank my cousin later with a boot to the head," I said.

"Why am I getting a boot to the head?" Joey asked from the window.

"Just because."

"Okay. As long as it's for a good reason," he said and pulled back inside.

"So are we going to see Jonny today, or camp-Jonny?" I asked.

"I don't know. Depends of whether Tommy pisses me off or not, I guess."

"Okay. Well remember that I can only take about five minutes of it, at most. After that I'll ditch you."

"Well, I'm gonna go for a run," Charlie said and started to climb inside.

"By yourself?" I asked.

"Yea. It's not like you'd go running with me."

"You're right. I could ride my bicycle along side you, though."

"Sure, if you think you can keep up," he smirked.

"Just because I don't work out all the time doesn't mean I'm totally out of shape."

"Yea. I think you and Michael get a lot of exercise for never working out," he grinned.

"Can I go with you?" Jonny asked.

"I only have one bicycle."

"I can run. I'm on the track team."

"Sure. Be ready in five minutes," Charlie said.

We all climbed inside and I went down to get my bicycle out of the storage bin in the basement. A few minutes to wipe the dust and cobwebs off, fill the tires, and it was good to go. Joey was eating breakfast and Tommy was still asleep.

Charlie and Jonny came down and handed me a couple water bottles to carry since I was the one riding. I had to run up and get a bag to put them in and tie it to the frame. It was a warm 85¡F by now and the sky was clear.

Charlie set the pace. Jonny didn't have any trouble keeping up. In fact, he kept teasing Charlie to stop walking and start running. They ran down through Prospect Park and stopped at the lake to get some water. I was having a leisurely ride, but they were both covered in sweat and breathing heavy. It was obvious that Jonny was quite taken with Charlie.

Jonny set the pace on the way back and it was a bit quicker than Charlie was used to, but he kept up. Charlie was about dead when we got back.

"I gotta quit smoking," Charlie huffed and puffed as he walked around trying to cool down.

"You're just getting old," I teased.

"Blow me," he shot back.

"You still look good for being old," Jonny said.

"Thanks," Charlie said sarcastically and rolled his eyes at the mixed compliment.

"I mean it. You look really good. How old are you?"

"Same age as the twat who just called me old," Charlie shot at me.

"Gettin' a bit cranky aren't you? Time for your afternoon nap?" I teased.

Charlie looked at his watch. "Not yet," he grinned. "I do need to take a shower, though," he added and started up the steps.

Jonny followed him. I put my bicycle away and then went upstairs as well. Charlie was in the shower. Joey and Tommy were gone and had left a note saying they'd be back sometime tonight. Great. They stuck me with Jonny. Not that he's a bad kid -- especially when Tommy's not around -- but I'd have liked to have had a choice.

"I guess they ditched me," Jonny said.

"Lucky you."

"I think so," he smiled. "So...is Charlie gay? Is he seeing someone?"

I just looked at him.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope. If you want to know, you'll have to ask him. Either way, don't you think he's a little old for you?"

"It's only six years."

"Would you date a nine year old?"

"No, but that's different. The older you get the less age matters."

"What about it being illegal?"

"So? I won't tell," he grinned.

"Well save yourself the heartache and find someone your own age who lives close to you."

"I'd never actually do anything with him. He is really hot. How did you meet him?"

"He auditioned for a show I directed."

"Is that where he's working at night?"

"Yep. It opened Friday. Michael's in it too."

"And Justin?"

"No. Justin's not in it. He just did the choreography."

"So that's how you know him?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"I know him through Lance."

"You know Lance too? Do you know all of them?"

"I've met all of them, but I only really know Lance and Justin."

"Wow. How did you meet them? Did you go to one of their shows and just go up to them, or meet them at a club or something?"

"It's not all that interesting."

"Maybe not for you. It is for me."

"Alright. We met at MTV on New Year's. Lance came up to Michael because he was a fan of him when he was on DC. We also met Danny, our other roommate, that night. Danny and Lance are good friends, so we saw more of Lance. See? Nothing exciting."

"Except that you know two of the guys from 'NSYNC and have them staying at your apartment and have seen them naked. Have you seen Lance naked too?"

"Yea, and I've seen you naked as well," I shot back.

"Yea, well, I've grown a bit since I was nine."

"I would hope so, for your sake," I smirked.

"This is all just so cool."

"What?"

"Everything. 'NSYNC. Charlie. You and Michael. I feel like I'm in gay heaven."

"You get excited too easily."

"So. I'm 15. You live this every day and don't appreciate it like I can."

"Probably not. I see the real people instead of the celebrities."

"So is your other roommate a celebrity too? Where is he? I haven't seen him. What about Lance?"

"Down boy," I laughed. "Danny and Lance are staying in town while you guys are here so there is a bit more room."

"Am I going to get to meet Lance?"

"I thought Justin was your favorite?"

"Well, duh! That doesn't mean I don't want to meet Lance too. Maybe I'll even make a better first impression than I did with Justin."

"Or at least a clothed one."

"God, don't remind me. I don't know how I'm going to face him when he gets back here."

"Did he say when he was going to be back?"

"Oh yea. He said to tell you he'd be back by midnight."

"Okay."

"So what's the play you directed about? Can I go see it?"

"It gets kinda sexy at times. It'll give you wet dreams for months, and I don't know if I want that while you're sleeping on my sofa."

"I jack off too much to have wet dreams," Jonny grinned.

"Okay. Too much information. I guess you can go see it tonight."

"Cool. So what's it about?"

"I can't tell you or it would spoil it."

"Fine," he sighed.

"Next!" Charlie yelled as he went into his room.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Jonny said.

"Don't tire yourself out too much," I shot as he walked into the bathroom. I flipped open my PowerBook and checked email. I was replying to a message from Michelle when Charlie flopped down on the sofa beside me.

"Little buggar can run."

"He did show you up pretty bad."

"In my own defense, he said he is on the track team."

"You could have just let him run ahead instead of trying to keep up with him."

"I did keep up with him."

"Yea, but you're feeling it now."

"Without a doubt. J's gonna have to give me a massage tonight."

"Jonny's quite smitten with you."

"I noticed. It's cute. I'll bet you he's wanking right now."

"I'm not gonna take that bet. I'm gonna take him to see the show tonight."

"Oh god. After that we'll never get him out of the bathroom."

"Probably," I said and opened my web browser.

"Anything interesting happening in the world?" Charlie asked as my MyYahoo page came up.

"G-DumbYa put his foot in his mouth again. House and Senate gridlocked over partisan bickering. People killing each other in the Middle East. Nope. Pretty typical day...except weather. Cool. It looks like we may get a hurricane by the end of the week."

"A hurricane? Really? I didn't know New York had hurricanes."

"They're pretty rare. I hope it hits. My first hurricane."

"As long as we don't die."

"We're on the third floor. It'd have to flood pretty bad to drown us."

"When's it supposed to hit?"

"Thursday."

"Shouldn't we go get supplies or something? Like food and water and candles?"

"Yea. That'd probably be a good idea. We'll go after Jonny gets out of the shower."

"Don't you mean gets off in the shower?" Charlie smirked.

"That too. So what did my cousin tell you about me last night?"

"Nothing all that exciting, really. Just stories of you guys getting in trouble when you were younger. Joey seemed kinda cool, but I'm not sure about Tommy yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Not sure yet. He's got a definite case of Short Man's Disease."

"I wouldn't doubt it. He's bulked out since I last saw him, but hasn't grown any. He's starting to look a lot like his dad."

"Do they have the same father?"

"As far as I know. Why?"

"They don't look anything alike. Jonny is tall and thinner with dirty blonde hair. Tommy is short and chubby with almost black hair."

"Tommy looks like his dad. Jonny looks like his mom."

"I assume you haven't talked with them yet."

"Nope. I know I need to talk with Tommy, but I'm not really looking forward to it."

"I don't think he is either. He's a bit of a phobe. Listening to him talk last night I'm surprised he even came."

"Yea, I don't know what is up with that yet. Another question is why they brought Jonny."

"To talk some sense into him and let him see a normal gay guy, according to Joey."

"Great. Now I'm a role model," I sighed.

"That's not a bad thing."

"Except when he realizes I'm not perfect."

"Part of growing up. Emulate your heroes and then become disillusioned by them."

"Thanks. I feel so much better," I said sarcastically.

"No problem," Charlie smiled.

I went back to reading the news and Charlie read over my shoulder. Jonny finished his shower a few minutes later.

"So what are we doing now? Can we go to Manhattan and all those places?"

"We're going grocery shopping right now. There's a hurricane coming."

"Really? Cool. Is it a big one? When's it going to hit? Are we gonna have to evacuate the area?"

"It's not supposed to be here until Thursday, so everything else can change until then. It may not even hit us, or just make it rain for a few days."

We took my car to the grocery to make it easier to carry everything back. We bought a bunch of water and canned goods, as well as regular groceries, and hauled it all up to the apartment.

Michael called at 4:30, just as I was finishing putting things away.

"Hey babe. How was your first day of classes?"

"I am so buried. Haven't these people ever heard that the first day is supposed to be a waste?"

I laughed. "Those days are over. So are you coming back here for dinner, or should we meet you?"

"Let's meet at the diner just down from the theater. Half-hour?"

"Better make it forty-five minutes. I've got Jonny with me."

"Good. I wanna know how it went, but we'll talk later."

"Okay. See you in a few. Love you."

"Love you."

I hung up and went to the living room.

"Okay. We're going into town for dinner and we won't be back before the show. Change into whatever you want to wear all night and make it quick," I told Jonny. "You want to come have dinner with us, or are you meeting Justin somewhere?" I asked Charlie.

"I'll go with you. J won't be back 'till midnight."

I quickly changed and we were out the door. We took the train into town and met Michael at the diner. He looked tired. We had a quick dinner and got to the theater by six. Call is at 6:30.

Michael dropped down on the sofa in the dressing room.

"I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me in a half-hour?"

I pulled him up, sat down and laid him back down on my lap. "Sure thing," I said and gave him a quick kiss.

"Thanks," he smiled and closed his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jonny asked.

"Go wander the theater for a half-hour."

He sighed and walked away. I enjoyed holding Michael while he slept and Charlie took the time to call Justin while he was on his dinner break.

The rest of the actors started showing up around twenty after. I started rubbing Michael's back to wake him up as Lisa came through to make sure everyone was there.

"Mornin'," Michael yawned and stretched in my lap.

"Something like that," I said and gave him kiss on the forehead. "Time for you to shake your money maker," I grinned.

"That's bad," Michael laughed as he sat up. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Alright. I'm gonna head out. We'll be back for the performance."

"Okay. Love you," he said and we shared a quick kiss.

"Love you."

I left the dressing room and wandered around looking for Jonny. He was exploring the cat walks in the black box. I couldn't see him, but I could hear him.

"This is really cool," Jonny said from the darkness as I walked through the theater.

"There you are. Ready to go?"

"Sure. Just give me a minute to find my way down. Where are we going?"

"Out and around until the show starts, unless you'd rather sit around here for an hour-and-a-half."

"No. We can go out."

We headed out and ended up in a bookstore. We left 45 minutes later and I was a couple books heavier. I decided my current author was going to be Samuel Beckett. I let Alex know we wanted to watch the show and then we went across the street to drink coffee until just before curtain. Being a Monday night, there were seats available and we sat down just as the house lights were going down.

The show went well, but I was watching the audience instead of the performers.

"Wow. I AM gonna have wet dreams for months. I can't believe you let Michael and Charlie do that. I'd never let my boyfriend have sex on stage with someone else," Jonny said as the house was emptying after the show.

"They're acting, not really having sex."

"Looked real enough to me."

"That's the point. We worked to make it seem that way. You'll notice, though, that you never actually saw any frontal nudity, except Charlie at the end and he was in shadow. And you never actually saw them having sex, just making out and afterglow."

He thought for a minute. "I guess my mind filled in the blanks."

"Good. That was the intent."

"Michael has a cute butt."

"Thanks. I think so too."

"Charlie is hotter, though."

"Maybe, but Michael is the one I love, and I don't just love him for his body."

"Of course, but I'm lusting right now so let me lust."

"Just so you look but don't touch."

"I'd never do that. I want my first time to be with someone I love. It would be cool if he looked like Charlie, though."

"What about Justin? He'll be so hurt that you've replaced him," I teased.

"Maybe after I see Justin naked. Justin's just a image right now, but I've actually seen Charlie in the flesh and hung out with him."

"You're so fickle," I laughed.

"Am not. It's all fantasy anyway."

"I suppose you'll want to be alone in the bathroom when we get home."

"No. I can be more discrete than that."

"Uh huh. Like untucking your t-shirt during the show and leaning forward for most of it?" I teased.

"God. You just love to tease me, don't you?" Jonny blushed.

"Sure."

"So do we sit here all night or what? Should we go to the dressing room to get them?"

"They'll be up in a few minutes when they've changed."

Jonny got up and walked around the theater as we waited. Michael and Charlie came up a few minutes later.

When we got home, Justin was sleeping in front of the TV. He woke as Charlie was trying to lift him to carry him to their room.

"Hey man," Justin mumbled sleepily and leaned forward to give him a kiss. Charlie pulled back and looked towards Jonny. Justin noticed and somewhat covered by standing up. "Hey guys. What did you do tonight?"

"I took Jonny to see the show."

"How'd you like it?" Justin asked Jonny.

"It was cool," Jonny said shyly.

"The dancing was the best part, right?" Justin prodded with a grin.

"Yea, it was cool, but not the best part."

"What was the best part?"

Jonny blushed and looked away.

"The sex scenes," Charlie laughed.

"Ah. Yea, those are okay," Justin smiled.

"So you ready for your performance tomorrow?" I asked Justin as I dropped down onto the sofa.

"Yea, we're ready. We decided just to sing and not do any dancing."

"What song are you going to sing?" Jonny asked.

"It's new."

"Cool. I can't wait until your new album comes out."

"Three more weeks."

"I know."

"Have you been to one of our concerts?"

"No. I couldn't get tickets the last time you were in Chicago."

"Yea, I remember hearing that was a problem. We're probably going to have a couple shows there next time. Why don't you come see us tomorrow?"

"You mean it? Like in the studio and everything?"

Justin laughed. "Unless you'd rather stand outside."

"No, the studio would be cool. Thanks."

"No prob. Not to be a party pooper, but I'm dead. See ya in the morning," Justin said and went to the bathroom.

The door buzzer went off and I hopped up to answer it.

"Who goes there?"

"Freak. It's Joey."

"Assholes may enter," I said and buzzed him in. "I thought so," I said as he walked in a minute later.

"Like I had a choice."

"Where's Tommy?" I asked.

"With some girl."

"All night?"

"Hopefully."

"Okay."

"Can we talk?"

"Yea, of course."

"In private."

"Uh, sure. Let's go out on the fire escape."

We went to the kitchen and climbed out onto the fire escape.

"So what's up?" I asked.

"How's Jonny been?"

"He seems like a good kid once he dropped the campy queen bit. We talked a lot today. Why?"

"That's good. Dad said you'd be able to draw him out."

"Okay, I'm confused here. What's going on?"

"I intended to bring him from the start. He's not had it easy since he came out. Tony has been a total prick and Tommy hasn't been much better."

"Explain."

"Tommy is still as overprotective of him as ever and has saved him from being beaten a few times."

"Tony has beat him since he came out?"

"Yea. Tommy's stopped him, though."

"So what's Tommy's deal then?"

"He won't leave Jonny alone at all. He's scared away all his male friends and has taken it upon himself to convert him back to being straight."

"He can't convert him back to something he wasn't to begin with."

"I know, and I've told Tommy that a thousand times. I've been concerned about Jonny for a while."

"Why?"

"Well, he started the queen thing in hopes that it would embarrass Tommy into leaving him alone, I think. It's worked just the opposite. All summer Jonny has been really depressed. Not really talking to anyone and disappearing for a day or two at a time. I don't think it's drugs or anything, but he won't say where he's been."

"That totally sucks. He hasn't really mentioned any of it, other than to say that he's not very fond of Tommy and his dad. Why bring him here, though?"

"Dad and Mom have talked with Ann. He's gonna move in with us."

"I think that would be good for him. What do Tommy and Tony think about it?"

"Tommy is good with him not being around Tony. Ann hasn't given Tony a choice in the matter. Anyway, Dad suggested I bring Jonny here and let him hang out with you for a while until things cool down with Tony."

"Okay. Why didn't you just tell me this from the beginning?"

"I didn't know how you'd react to it. I wanted to give you a chance to get to know Jonny now before I unloaded the sordid details on you. Tommy insisted on coming to make sure Jonny was safe, but doesn't want to be around you at all. I think I finally got it through his skull that he can't change Jonny and is doing more harm than good. Anyway, if it's okay, We'd like to leave Jonny here for the rest of the summer."

"For the rest of the summer? This was all carefully planned so I couldn't say no, wasn't it?"

"Yep."

"Bastard. So what are you keeping him away from?"

"Tommy. Tony. It will be good for his self-esteem and mental health to be around some normal gay people as well."

"Does Jonny know he's going to be staying here all summer?"

"No. He doesn't know anything about it, just in case you couldn't do it. You can, right? I mean, your show already opened so you don't have that to worry about, and Michael's in it so you're not going on vacation."

"No, I can do it. I need to talk with Michael about it, though. What about guardianship? Who do I contact if he has to go to the hospital or anything like that?"

"I have a letter from Ann giving you guardianship of him for the summer."

"She doesn't even know me anymore."

"Yea, but she knows and trusts Mom and Dad's judgement."

"Wow. This is weird."

"Feeling all adult like?"

"Yep."

"I know. Who'd have thought it. Life just keeps getting more complicated."

"Definitely. When are we going to tell Jonny?"

"After you talk with Michael, but I was thinking at the end of the week just before we head back."

"What about all his clothes and stuff?"

"In my trunk."

"God, this sounds like a kidnapping."

We sat and talked for half the night. When we finally went back in, everyone was already in bed. I found Michael asleep with a book on his chest. I put the book away, turned off the light and snuggled up to him to sleep.

The alarm went off at ten and I pulled a pillow over my head while Michael shut it off.

"Time to get up," Michael yawned and rubbed my chest.

"Sleep time," I mumbled.

"What time did you come to bed?"

"Four."

"Good talk?"

"Hmmf."

"Come on. Wake up," Michael said and pulled the pillow away from me.

"I'm up," I said sleepily and stretched.

"Let's go take a shower. We need to be at my folks by noon," Michael said and climbed out of bed, pulling me with him.

"Okay."

After the shower woke me up some, I told Michael what Joey and I had talked about concerning Jonny.

"That totally sucks. We're gonna let him stay here, aren't we?"

"I wanted to talk with you about it first."

"Then I say he's gonna stay here, if he wants to."

"Good. I'm happy you feel that way. I think he's a good kid."

We finished up and had a small breakfast. Joey was still asleep. Jonny and Charlie were getting ready to go out for a run. We told them we'd see them tonight. We were a little late getting to Michael's folks.

I had a nice afternoon with his family. Michael's dad, though he looked better, was exhausted by 4:30. Everyone made up excuses and left so he could rest.

Traffic was horrible and it started to rain on the way back. We didn't get home until six. Lonny and another guy who was obviously a body guard were standing just inside the entry door.

"Hey, Lonny. What's up?" I asked.

"I think you'd better ask Lance," he said cryptically.

"Uh, okay."

Michael and I exchanged confused looks and climbed the steps to our apartment. I opened the door to find all of 'NSYNC there, minus Lance, as well as Charlie and Jonny. They all looked at us as we walked in.

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

"Lance came out on TRL today," Josh said.

"He did more than come out. He ripped the door off its hinges and then burned it down," Chris laughed.

"Did you guys know he was going to do it?" I asked.

"Nope. It was a surprise to us. I think it was a surprise to him as well," Joey said.

"The hotel was crawling with press, so everyone came here. I hope that's okay," Justin said.

"Yea, that's fine as long as no one knows you're here. Where're Lance and Danny?"

"In their room."

I started for the door and Justin stopped me.

"Danny just got him calmed down. I think you should wait."

"Is he okay?"

"Yea, just really emotional right now."

"So what exactly happened?" Michael asked.

"We'll just turn on MTV. They're replaying it every half-hour and you can see for yourself," Josh said and turned on the TV.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, Brian McFayden came on.

"This is Brian McFayden with a MTV News Brief. If you haven't heard already, 'NSYNC member, Lance Bass, publicly admitted he was homosexual on TRL today. The announcement was apparently a surprise to everyone. Here's what happened."

There was a quick shot of them singing a song, and then a cut to them sitting around talking with the audience. In both shots, it was obvious something was bothering Lance. A girl in the audience noticed this and asked him about it.

He took the mic and said, "Yes. Something is bothering me."

You could see the smiles drop from the other members' faces.

"I can't figure out why people would hate someone for who they fall in love with," Lance continued. "I talked to my mother for the first time in over a month just before the show started. And why haven't we spoken? Because I told my parents I was gay. Just that. I am gay. For that reason they disowned me. Unless, of course, I would just forget about being gay and find a girl. You don't choose to be gay and you can't just forget about it. I didn't choose to be gay, but I am. I'm not going to be ashamed of that. It is part of who I am and have always been, whether anyone knew it or not. So the reason she called is to ask me if I've reconsidered my 'sinful' life yet. Mom, the answer is not one you are willing to understand. I'm not living a sinful life. God made me this way. I am in love with a wonderful man. In love. If you and Dad want to hate me for who I love, there's nothing I can do about that. I don't even understand it. I still love you, whether you accept me or not."

The audience, crew and talent were all stunned. Lance put down the mic and calmly walked from the studio.

"There you have it. As of yet we have been unable to reach 'NSYNC for further comment. Their management has called a press conference for tomorrow afternoon. MTV will be there. That's all for now. Stay tuned..." Brian continued and it went to a 'NSYNC video.

Josh shut the TV off.

"Wow," I said.

"That was incredible," Michael said softly.

"They cut to a commercial after that and we got out of there quick," Joey explained.

"We were half-way back to the hotel before Scoop realized what he had done and started freaking out," Justin said.

"The hotel was already a circus, so we drove right by and came here," Joey said.

"I am...I don't know. Impressed as hell," I said.

"We are too," Josh said. "While it would have been nice to know he was going to do it, now that it's happened I can't think of a more eloquent way he could have put it."

"So what are you going to do now?" Michael asked.

"I think we're going to head back to the hotel. We'll talk with management until Lance is ready," Chris said.

Danny's door opened slowly. Danny stepped out and softly closed it behind him.

"How are you guys doing?" Michael asked right away.

"My man has bigger balls than I knew," Danny smiled.

Everyone laughed.

"Can you guys go to the liquor store for me?" Danny asked Michael.

"Sure. What do you want?"

"A big bottle of Mezcal. Jonah knows the brand."

"Gotcha," I said and waved away the money Danny held out.

"Are you guys staying or going?" Danny asked Josh.

"We're gonna head back to the hotel."

"You're welcome to stay."

"I know, but we should get back and deal with the press."

Danny went back to his room. Chris, Joey and Josh left, taking the body guards with them. Michael and I went to the liquor store and got two bottles of Mezcal and a couple limes.

"We ordered pizza," Justin announced as we walked in the door.

Lance and Danny were sitting on the sofa. I walked right up to Lance and pulled him up into a hug.

"I am so impressed with you," I said softly into his ear as I hugged him.

Michael hugged him after me. "I don't know how you get your pants on with balls as big as that."

Lance laughed. "I didn't realize they were that big, myself. What did you guys get?"

"Drinks for your coming out party," Danny said and pulled out a bottle.

Lance grinned and gave him a kiss. "You two are all wet. Why don't you change and we'll have a shot before the pizza gets here."

Michael and I went to change clothes while Danny prepared the booze. We walked back in and sat down on the floor. I remembered that Jonny was there and looked to see him sitting in the chair looking wide eyed and trying to stay out of the way.

Danny set a plate with a sliced lime down on the coffee table and seven glasses.

"Come on, kid. You too," Danny said and shot Jonny a grin.

"You're gonna let me drink?" Jonny said excitedly and moved down on the floor in front of the coffee table.

"Just a little. You can't tell anyone, though."

"I won't."

Danny poured the shots -- a half-shot for Jonny -- and sat down. Jonny grabbed his glass and looked at the small amount of amber liquid in it.

"Okay, kid. These are called Snake Bites, minus the salt. Take a slice of lime in one hand, and your drink in the other. Drink down the whole shot and then bite into the lime. Got it?" Danny explained.

Jonny nodded.

"Okay. Since this is my coming out party, I'm gonna make a toast," Lance said and waited until everyone was ready. "To great friends and my second family."

We drank to that.

Jonny drank his and his face turned red and all sorts of contortions as he coughed while biting into the lime. We all laughed and gave him a pat on the back.

"That's strong," Jonny said as he got his voice back.

"Good stuff," Lance smiled.

There was a bright flash that lit up the living room, followed quickly by a very loud clap of thunder.

"Kyle's here," Michael said.

"You know, not everyone gets a hurricane for their coming out party, Lance."

"I know. I'd feel even more special if they'd named it Lance or James."

The door buzzer went off and I hopped up to buzz whoever it was in. With the rain pouring like it was, it didn't really matter. A minute or so later there was a knock at the door. Justin handed me a $100 bill.

"Tell him to keep the change for going out in a storm like this."

I looked out to see the pizza delivery guy before opening the door enough to get into the hallway and closing it behind me so he couldn't see who was inside.

"Man, it's getting bad out there," the delivery guy, who was probably my age, said.

"Sure is. Have a lot of deliveries tonight?"

"Right now, but if it gets much worse we're gonna close. The total is $38.50."

"Here you go," I said and handed him the hundred.

"Sorry man, I can't break that."

"I didn't ask for any change."

"Serious?"

"Yep. You deserve a huge tip for even being able to get here in the storm. Can I have our food now?"

"Uh, yea. Thanks a lot," he said and handed me the three pizzas, two bags of breadsticks and 2 liter of Coke.

"Have a good night," I said and waited for him to start down the stairs before pushing the door open and walking in with the food. I kicked the door shut and Michael grabbed the 2 liter off the top as it started to fall.

"I think you just made someone's night, Justin."

"No big deal. The rest of his night is gonna suck if he has to deliver in this storm," he said and pulled the top pizza and breadsticks off the pile.

I set the other two pizzas down on the table. Danny came back from the kitchen with plates and napkins. We all dug in and I turned on the TV to see the weather report. Kyle was heading inland just south of us, but we'd still be hit pretty hard. Everyone was advised to take shelter and all that jazz. They had video of the storm surge at Atlantic City. I was impressed. Kyle was expected to hit us full force by 4AM, though they weren't sure because he had changed directions a couple times already and was picking up speed.

"Have you ever been in a hurricane?" I asked Justin.

"Nope. I remember we prepared for Andrew, or what we thought was preparing, but it never got up to Orlando. It was kinda eerie calm the day it was supposed to hit, though. It was like all the wind had been called away to work the hurricane."

"What do you mean by 'thought' you prepared?"

"Well, after we saw what it did in Dade County, we realized we didn't do nearly enough. We just picked up everything from the yard and blockaded the patio door with the patio furniture. It was pretty pathetic. If Andrew had hit it would have thrown it all through the door."

"If it gets that bad here we're gonna have to go into the hallway or bathroom. All the other rooms have windows."

"Good thing we bought some candles the other day," Charlie said.

"Yep. Let's have another shot," I said, now that everyone was done eating.

"You up for another one?" Danny asked Jonny.

"Yea, but just a small one."

Danny poured out the shots and we all drank them down. We cleaned up the boxes and dishes before sitting down and finding a "South Park" marathon on TV. All sorts of cancellations were rolling across the bottom of the screen, including Michael's classes for tomorrow. Jonny had one more half-shot, but the rest of us continued drinking and laughing our asses off. The wind was howling and the rain was pounding against the windows. Storm sirens would go off every once in a while, but thankfully didn't blare all night. The power flickered a few times, and then finally went out around 2AM.

"I guess that means it's time for bed," Danny said.

"We should probably unplug things," Michael said.

"Just a sec and I'll have the candle lit...as soon as I find it," Charlie said and felt round the table. It was pitch black in the room.

"That's not a candle, Charlie," Justin teased.

"I know. The candle is bigger," Charlie shot back and everyone laughed. "Ow!" He yelled as Justin punched him in the arm.

"You deserved that," Justin slurred.

"Here we go," Charlie said and lit his lighter, and then the candle.

"To be the responsible one, I think we should pick a room, block the window, and all sleep in there," Lance said.

"Probably our room. We can put the box spring against the window and push the dresser against it. If we put the mattress on the floor and add the twin mattresses from the bunk bed, it should be enough room for everyone," I said.

"Let's do it," Danny agreed.

I lit another candle and Michael and I went to our room. We flipped the mattress off to the side, and then put the box spring in front of the window. Danny and Lance carried the metal frame out to the living room. Michael and I lay the mattress down and positioned it so we could put down the two twin mattresses that Charlie, Justin and Jonny had brought in. We made the bed as best we could.

"Our own cave," Michael laughed and took off his shirt.

"I feel like I'm five years old," Danny laughed and threw down a couple pillows.

"I'm this many," Lance said in a baby voice and held up three fingers.

Justin let out a yell and dove onto the center the bed with a thud.

"Note to self. Don't jump on a mattress when it's lying flat on the floor," Justin giggled and groaned as he took off his shirt.

Charlie came back from the bathroom. "I left the candle burning in there for the next person," he said and stripped to his boxers.

"That's us," I said and pushed Michael towards the door. We did our business.

Jonny went next, and then Lance and Danny. Jonny was standing in all of his clothes and looking a bit scared.

"Are you going to stand there all night, or are you waiting for an invitation?" I teased.

"I've never slept with a bunch of guys before," he said shyly.

"Well if you think you're getting lucky tonight you've been drinking as much as we have," Justin smiled sleepily.

"It's just sleeping. Don't let it stress you," Danny said from behind Jonny and put his hand on his shoulder. Jonny jumped a bit.

Jonny slowly started taking off his shirt.

"Don't worry about it. We've all been there," Lance said to him in a comforting tone, and then dropped his pants and crawled into bed behind Danny.

Jonny sighed and let his pants drop. He was wearing 'NSYNC boxers. Everyone started rolling in laughter.

"God. I am so embarrassed," Jonny mumbled.

"But it's so appropriate for Justin's face to be on your ass," Michael laughed.

"Fuck you," Justin droned like it was an automatic response.

"Come on and get in bed so I can blow out the candle," I said.

"Um, where?"

"Where ever you want -- within reason."

He stepped over the bed and settled down between me and Charlie. I blew out the candle and laid down.

"Sorry," Jonny said. He was lying there terrified to touch anyone.

Charlie rolled over to face him. "You don't have to apologize for touching me. It's alright. Okay? We're all sleeping in the same bed, so we're all gonna touch at one time or another. Probably even have erections -- just don't relieve yourself," he added with a chuckle.

"Okay," Jonny said with a tense voice.

"Roll over on your side facing me," Charlie ordered and Jonny complied. Charlie reached over and gave me a pull so I would snuggle up behind Jonny. I did and Michael snuggled up to me. Charlie laid down and snuggled back against Jonny, pulled Justin back against him, and pulled Jonny's arm around him. "Now sleep."

I could feel Jonny shaking. I knew he would probably use this night for masturbation fantasies for the rest of his life. Eventually he stopped shaking and I fell asleep.

I awoke with a start and sat up. The room was still pitch black. I could hear the remaining rumble of thunder and figured that was what woke me. I reached around to figure out where everyone was. Michael was curled up facing Lance. I reached to the other side and put my hand right on Charlie's crotch. I quickly moved my hand. Charlie was on his back. Justin was half-draped over him and Jonny was taking what space Justin didn't have on the other side. I smiled and lay back down against Michael and went back to sleep.

I awoke again as someone was shaking me.

"Jonah. Jonah, wake up," Jonny said in a loud whisper.

I rolled over and looked where he should be, though I couldn't see anything.

"What?"

"It's getting really bad. Are we gonna be okay here?"

I sat up and tried to wake up. It sounded like the end of the world outside. The box spring was still over the window and it hadn't broke, though. I stood up and carefully walked over to the door. Jonny was right behind me, holding on to my shoulder. We went into the living room. The morning light was showing through, but that only served to illuminate the storm. I couldn't even see out the windows with the amount of water running down them. I could see, though, that the wind wasn't blowing straight against them, which made me feel better.

I grabbed Charlie's lighter and used it to find our shorts in the bedroom.

"Let's see if we can see out the front door," I said and handed Jonny his pants.

We went downstairs to look out the front door. Some of my neighbors had the same idea and there were three other people there. The door was inset about five feet and the rain was coming from a different direction, so we could see out pretty clearly.

"How's it look?" I asked as we walked up.

"Incredible," a guy who lives on the top floor said.

"The radio said it went back out to sea and is heading up the coast. The eye was about forty miles off the tip of Long Island about a half-hour ago," another person said.

I looked out the door window. It was incredible. The rain was coming down in almost horizontal sheets. There was at least a foot of water in the street and water was shooting out of the downspouts.

"So it's already mostly passed us?" I asked.

"The eye has. There have been a lot of tornadoes reported in its wake."

"Great," I said sarcastically. "Has anyone seen the basement if we have to go down there?"

"I already checked. Flooded with a couple feet of water."

"Okay. We're gonna go back to bed. Scream if a tornado comes," I smirked.

"You'd never even hear it."

I headed up the stairs with Jonny.

"What are we going to do?" Jonny asked.

"I'm thinking we go to bed and let it rain."

"That's it?"

"What else can we do? Nothing. We just have to wait it out."

"What about tornadoes?"

"You've been through them, right?"

"Yea, of course."

"So if it suddenly gets real quiet and your hear what sounds like a train, wake everyone up and we'll go to the hallway."

"And if I don't wake up we'll all die in our sleep."

"No we won't. Besides, you'd die in your sleep while sleeping with two guys from 'NSYNC," I said and gave him a nudge.

"I guess it could be worse."

"That's the spirit. Come on, let's go back to sleep."

We quietly went back to the bedroom, dropped our shorts and got back in bed.

"Where'd you go?" Michael asked.

"To see how bad it was."

"And?"

"Lots of water and possible tornadoes, but the eye has already passed us."

"Okay," Michael said and was asleep again.

I snuggled behind him and Jonny snuggled behind me and held me tight. I was asleep moments later.

It was quiet when I woke again. It sounded like the storm was over. I was lying on my back. Michael was draped across one side and Jonny was curled up on my other side with Charlie against him, and finally Justin against Charlie. Jonny's erection was pressed against my leg.

I disentangled myself and sat up. Danny and Lance were gone and I could see that the power was back on because Michael's alarm clock was flashing. I went to the bathroom and then checked my watch to see what time it was on the way to the kitchen. Just after noon. There was coffee already made and Danny and Lance were out on the fire escape. I poured a cup and joined them.

"Mornin'. Damn," I said as I saw the aftermath. It had stopped raining and was overcast sunny. There was still water in the street and all kinds of debris everywhere. The trees along the street were all damaged in some way and their branches and leaves littered the streets.

"Look down there," Danny said and pointed up the street. There was half a building there and lots of rubble.

"You think it was a tornado?" I asked.

"Had to be. It's too selective and too destroyed to just be the storm."

"Have you listened to the news yet?" I asked.

"Not yet."

We all sat there quietly drinking our coffee and looking at the chaos around us.

The phone started ringing and I stumbled in to get it.

"Bridge Street Marina," I said as I answered it.

"Jonah?"

"Hey Uncle Joe. What's up?"

"What do you mean, 'what's up?' There was a damn hurricane there. Is everyone okay?"

"Yea, everyone's fine. It's a mess outside, and a tornado took out a building down the street, but we're all okay."

"Thank god."

"I don't know where Joey is, though. He was out with Tommy last night."

"He didn't call?"

"Not yet."

"Ask him to call me as soon as you hear from him."

"Will do. It was the fourth of July. I'm sure they were drinking all night in a club and never even knew the storm passed."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. How's Jonny?"

"Good. Joey filled me in on what's been going on."

"It's a bad situation. Thanks for letting him stay with you this summer. Hopefully it'll make a world of difference being away from Tommy and his father."

"How do you know I'm letting him stay here? I just decided yesterday morning."

"Really? Joey told me he had already talked with you before they left and you had agreed. I'm gonna have to have a talk with that boy."

"Yea you are. It all worked out, though."

"Fortunately. I've gotta go. I'm glad everyone is okay. Tell Joey to call me."

"I will. Thanks for calling. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and thought I should probably check on Michael's parents. I dialed their number and it rang and rang. The lines could be down there. No sooner had I hung up when it rang again. It was Danny's mom. I passed the phone out to him and went to turn on the TV to check the news. There was lots of damage, but not total destruction. Downed power and phone lines. Flooded areas. Homes near the shore were all pretty damaged. Inland, the majority of the destruction was caused by tornadoes. Quite a few of them touched down in New Jersey. Total casualties were unknown yet, but there were already at least ten.

Danny and Lance came in to the living room. Lance was on the phone and it sounded like he was talking to Josh.

"How bad is it?" Danny asked.

"Pretty bad, but could have been much worse, I guess."

"Yea, I told you. We're all fine...Are we still having it?...We really should postpone it...Who cares?! There was just a hurricane here. I think that's a bit more important than my sexuality...Fine. I'll talk to them...Yea, I'll let you know...Later," Lance said and hung up.

"Everyone okay?" I asked.

"Yea, they're fine. We're still supposed to have a press conference this afternoon."

"They should cancel it," Danny said.

"I agree. I need to make some calls," Lance said and started dialing as he walked to their room for some privacy.

Michael came out of the bathroom and sat down beside me to watch the news.

"I should call my folks," Michael said after a few minutes.

"I already tried. I think the lines are down."

"Have they said anything about West Orange?"

"Not yet."

"That's good, I guess."

The door buzzer when off and Charlie, who was walking into the room, answered it.

"Speak."

"It's Joey. Buzz me in."

He did and unlocked the door on his way to the kitchen. Joey and Tommy came running in a minute later.

"Where's Jonny?" Tommy asked.

"Right here," Jonny said sleepily as he walked out of the bedroom. Tommy ran over to him and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're safe."

"Yea, I'm fine," Jonny dismissed and pushed Tommy away.

"Where'd you guys spend the storm?" I asked.

"In a club on 96th. It was a big storm party," Joey answered.

"That's what I figured. You'd better call your dad."

"He already call?"

"Of course. Lance is using the phone, so you'll have to wait or use your cell."

"I'll have to wait. My battery is dead from trying to call here all morning."

"There've only been phone calls the past hour or so."

"I kept getting 'all circuits are busy.'"

"Where are your clothes?" Tommy asked Jonny.

"In the bedroom. I just woke up. God, would you relax."

"You shouldn't be walking around like that around these guys."

I was instantly furious. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Joey stepped in. "Tommy, man, that was an asshole thing to say. You know Jonah wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"I don't think I should leave him here," Tommy said.

"You were gonna leave me here?" Jonny asked.

"Yes you should," Joey stated. "We've already discussed it."

"I've changed my mind."

"You were gonna leave me here?!" Jonny asked again.

"It's not your choice to make. Your mom already said he could and should. You're not helping him by doing this."

"He's my brother."

"Then you should care enough to step back."

"That's not the way you care about someone."

"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" Jonny screamed and locked himself in the bathroom, while Justin was in the shower.

"See what you've done now?" Tommy said.

"What's going on?" Lance asked as he walked back into the room.

"Can I have the phone?" Joey asked.

"Sure," Lance said and handed it over.

Joey dialed a number, hung up, and tried again until the call went through. "Hi Ann. This is Joey...Yea, we made it through the storm without a scratch...He was okay...Yea, he says he's changed his mind...Okay. Just a sec," Joey said and handed the phone to Tommy.

"Yea, Mom...Yea, we're fine. Joey told you that already...Sorry...But...I know, but...Mom...When I came in he...I guess...No...No...But...Fine...Sorry...Bye," he said and hung up. "That's playing dirty by bringing my mom into this."

"So what? This is about Jonny and what's best for him."

"I think we should ask him what he wants."

"Good idea. Sit down. Can you see if you can get him out of the bathroom, Jonah?"

"Yea," I said through clenched teeth. I walked a wide path around Tommy and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Come in," Justin said.

I slowly opened the door. Justin was sitting on the side of the bathtub with a towel wrapped around him and his arm around Jonny, who was sitting beside him crying. He looked up when I walked in.

"You okay?" I asked softly.

"Fuckin' wonderful for knowing my family can't even stand the sight of me anymore."

"That's not what this is about. From what Joey's told me, you weren't living in paradise anyway. You're only going to be here for the rest of the summer."

"Don't I have any choice in the matter?"

"Yea, you do. If you don't want to stay here then no one is going to make you. You should understand why before you make your decision, though."

"I already know it's to keep Dad from kickin' my ass. That's why I was going to move in with Joey's family."

"True. It's also about giving you some time away from all of that, and away from Tommy. I understand he's being a bit smothering."

"That's an understatement."

"So you being here is a chance to give you some breathing room, and maybe some perspective to Tommy."

"I guess. It still feels like I'm being thrown away."

"Not at all. Think of it as a gay summer camp."

He smiled. "I thought you didn't like camp."

"This one seems okay, but it's your decision. If you want to stay, you have to tell Tommy, otherwise you can go back with them when they leave tonight."

"Okay. Sorry about busting in on your shower, Justin."

"No prob. I understand," Justin smiled.

"Tommy waiting for me?"

"Yep."

Jonny sighed and walked out.

"You're good," Justin said to me as I turned to follow Jonny.

"What do you mean?" I asked and turned back.

"Just that you should be a therapist or something," Justin smiled.

"Whatever," I said and shut the door.

"Are you sure?" I heard Tommy ask as I returned to the living room.

"Yea, I'm sure. It's just until school starts and I like it here."

"Okay. But if you ever want to come home, just call me and I'll be here to get you. Okay?"

"Yea, I know."

"Why don't you put some clothes on and we'll get your stuff out of my trunk," Joey said.

"Yea, okay," Jonny said and went to the bedroom.

"I think we'll leave after he gets his stuff," Joey said.

"If I find out..." Tommy started saying to me.

"Shut up Tommy before I shut you up," Joey said.

Tommy gave us all a hateful look and stormed out of the apartment. "I'll be waiting by the car," he yelled back.

"Thanks for not losing it, Jonah," Joey said.

"It's not going to last much longer, so it's good you're leaving now."

"Let's go get my stuff," Jonny said as he walked back into the room.

"Yea. Come on," Joey said and they walked out.

"Okay. Now what is going on?" Danny asked after they'd left.

I quickly filled everyone in and Danny agreed that Jonny should stay here.

Jonny and Joey came back about fifteen minutes later. Joey called home to let them know he was okay, and then said good bye and left.

"So where do I put my stuff?" Jonny asked.

"You've got the living room for now. After Justin leaves next week you can move into there," I said.

Jonny started giggling.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"I just realized I saw Justin Timberlake naked."

"See? You're becoming one of the guys already. You care as little about seeing Justin naked as the rest of us," I laughed.

"I heard that," Justin yelled from his bedroom.

Comments welcome and encouraged. jm_stories@yahoo.com