DISCLAIMER: Hello everybody! You know all this stuff, right? Well, I'll repeat it just to be sure. I do not know the sexuality of any celebrities in REALITY, however, in this little fiction world of mine, they are what I choose them to be. =0) Once again, what I come to call it, the Duh Factor: If you are not old enough to view this material, go away. If you are offended by homosexual material, why are you here?
Reminder: Lance's thoughts are in greater than, less than arrows <> and Joey's are in regular brackets []. Charlie's thoughts are in parentheses (,). =0)
In the previous chapter:
Chris finds out about Joey's bisexuality. Justin finds out that Joey has the hots for Lance. Lance talks to Charlie. Lance and Joey come to the decision to give each other time before they try to further their relationship. AJ gets up to date of what is going on with Nsync and Chris gets informed with what is going on with BSB. Now, on with the show!
Chapter Ten
A few days have passed and Charlie is on his way home from the hospital. He was released and Cooper is driving.
(Why oh why? You know why. He is extremely cute, that isn't debatable. He is really nice...and caring.... Why did you have to fall for him? Quit asking yourself these questions. You probably don't have the slightest chance with him. He's probably the straightest guy you know. I just wish...)
Charlie's thoughts were cut off as Cooper pulled up into his driveway. Cooper walked around and opened the door for Charlie.
"You know I could probably do this by myself, right?"
"Of course I do, but what kind of friend would I be then?"
"Smart ass," Charlie commented as he slipped out of the Jeep. He immediately felt the pain in his ribs and it showed on his face. Cooper was ready to catch him if he fell. But he didn't, he just braced himself and started toward the door. Charlie stopped in front of it and looked back at Cooper.
Cooper noticed the look, "Don't worry, you think I'd let you come back to a wrecked house? I don't think so."
"You mean? You cleaned? Oh man, I think hell just froze over." Charlie grinned.
"Now who's the smart ass?"
Charlie just gripped the handle and opened his door. The lights were off and the blinds were pulled to, so the living room was entirely dark. He reached over and flipped the lights switch and was rewarded with a resounding "SURPRISE!!!"
Charlie just about had a heart attack. He jumped, which caused pain in his ribs, but he was more surprised by who was there. He looked around at the familiar faces. Joey, Lance, Justin, Chris, JC...all the member of Nsync. It took him a second to recognize who the sixth man was; it was AJ from the Backstreet Boys. He just stood there and stared at them. There was a banner stretching across the length of the living room; it read "Welcome Home!"
"Ummm...are you going to stand there and gawk? Or are you going to go in and enjoy your party?"
Charlie just turned around and grinned at Cooper, "You son-of-a-bitch, you know I hate surprises."
"Yeah, well, I figured you wouldn't mind this one considering you have all the members of Nsync here as well as one of the Backstreet Boys," Cooper replied, grinning from ear to ear.
Charlie just shook his head and walked in. All the guys were smiling as he plopped himself down on the sofa. "Okay, now explain to me why you guys are here?" Charlie didn't mean for it to make himself sound like an asshole, but he had a knack for these things.
"Gee, I'm glad to see you too," Joey stated.
"I'm sorry, gosh, I always manage to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It's a talent...I think...in a weird sort of way. I'm glad that ya'll are here, its just...why?"
"You're a friend Charlie," it was Lance's turn to speak up.
"Since when?"
Justin spoke up this time, "Since you took care of the Fat-One." Justin giggled to himself, but was immediately silenced when he was smacked in the head with a pillow. "Hey, no fair!" Justin whined and completed the whining by sticking his lower lip out as far as he possibly could. This got a laugh out of JC and AJ, along with a few pairs of eyes rolling.
"I just did what I would've wanted done for me," Charlie responded.
Chris started speaking now, "Yeah, that is what makes you a friend now. You didn't treat Joey like a member of Nsync. You treated him like a normal guy, that kind of treatment is very hard to find."
"Thanks, I mean it...I can't believe you guys went through all this trouble," Charlie said as he looked around the room at all the decorations.
"Cooper took care of most of it, we just had to show up," JC finally spoke.
"Well...you guys...this means so much to me...but...I still can't believe that you guys are okay..."Charlie left the statement open, but was immediately finished by Lance.
"...With you being gay? Gosh, do you think we would be that superficial?" Lance smiled so that Charlie would know he was joking. "Besides, you aren't the only one."
"True...well...its just that I've never had this many people being okay with it at once."
"What do you mean?" Joey asked, but immediately regretted it when he saw Charlie's face grow grim. Cooper walked up and placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder. Joey continued, "I'm sorry, I didn't..."
Charlie cut in, "Don't be sorry" Charlie took a deep breath, "I came out to my parents about a year before I moved down here. That's another reason for me moving down here. They weren't supportive at all. The only person in my family that was supportive was my sister. My mom and dad were just...too old and stuck in their ways. My sister and I had always been close and she had always thought that I was gay. My parents weren't mean about it, they didn't do all the yelling and screaming like you would think. They just got really quiet and closed up on me. Half the time they wouldn't talk to me, the other half the time, they would but it would be completely void of emotion. I had some old college buddies that lived down here and they found me a job. I moved down here and I haven't really talked to my parents since."
The entire room was quiet. All the Nsync members were thinking the same thing. What were Joey's parents going to say about him being Bi?
Charlie noticed the grim look on everybody's faces and decided he needed to do something about it. "So did you guys bring food or did ya'll think I'd be satisfied with having six of the sexiest guys in the world in my house?"
All of the guys looked at Charlie. Lance and Joey were blushing; Joey was a really dark red color. The rest of the guys started laughing.
Cooper decided it was time for him to enter the conversation. "What do you mean six?"
Charlie proceeded to count each of the guys off, starting with Joey, then Lance, AJ, Chris, Justin and finally JC. He was purposely teasing Cooper because he knew he would make a big deal about it. "That's six...sorry Coop, babe, but you don't make the list."
"You better be lucky that you already have some cracked ribs, otherwise I'd have to crack them for ya." Cooper teased back. This resulted in more laughter from the guys. It was quieted whenever they heard Joey's stomach grumble loudly. They all stared at Joey when he started talking. "What? You expect me not to be hungry, it is like a sin or something." Everybody rolled their eyes except for Charlie. He was grinning widely. The guys went into the kitchen and grabbed some pizza while Charlie settled down on the floor. Beers were being passed around; the only people that weren't drinking were AJ, Chris, and Charlie. The basic questions were asked and conversation was flowing pretty freely. Everybody was having a great time and then Charlie suggested that they play a game of Truth or Dare. Lance was totally against the idea, but after some goading from the other guys, he was in.
Charlie decided to lay the ground rules. "Okay, first things first. Whatever is heard or happens here stays here. Got it?" Everybody nodded in agreement. "Good, I'll go first. Lance, truth or dare?"
"Truth" This resulted in a lot of groans from the other guys and some sly remarks about being a sissy.
"Okay...do you have a crush on anybody right now?"
"Yes." A lot of 'oooohs' went around this time.
Lance just shrugged those off and continued the game, "AJ, truth or dare."
"Dare"
"I dare you to kiss Chris!"
Chris was about to get up and leave the game, but AJ was too fast for him. AJ placed his hand behind Chris' head and moved in for the kill, their lips met and Chris' eyes widened in shock as he felt AJ's tongue massage his lower lip. AJ wanted to continue, but he pulled away. Nobody was saying anything, until Chris goes "Ughhhhhhh, I just kissed AJ!" Massive laughter erupted from the group; it intensified as Chris started wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
AJ stated, "Hey, I'm not that bad of a kisser. Okay, my turn. Justin, truth or dare?"
"What do you think?"
"Okay, I dare you to..." It was obvious AJ was trying to think of something for Justin to do until a grin spread across his face, "...Imitate one of Brit's orgasms."
Justin just laughed and started, trying his best to imitate Brit's voice, "Oooohh, Justin...baby...its....so...big....oh...my God! Justin...I'm so close...I'm...aghhhh!!!" Laughter once again filled the house.
Chris felt it relevant to say something "Yeah right Justin, you're just saying that." Justin just ignored that statement, "Chris, truth or dare?"
Chris groaned because he feared what was coming, "Dare..." Chris already felt defeated.
"I dare you to moon everybody!"
Lance started yelling sarcastically, "No, God no, please don't make him show off his hairy ass!"
"You want hairy ass?" Chris asked as he got up and started unbuckling his pants, "You got hairy ass." Chris turned around and grabbed his pants and boxers, pulling them down to reveal his ass. Just for added effect, he wiggled his butt several times before pulling his pants back up. It was a unified scream of terror, "Ewwwwwwwwwwww!"
Chris just laughed it off, "Hey, a dare is a dare. JC, truth or dare?"
"Truth." Only a few mumbled groans this time. It was totally expected out of JC to ruin a good dare streak.
"Okay, where have you been disappearing off to lately?"
JC's eyes widened as if he didn't expect that question, "I've been spending time with another friend."
"Oooooooh, a friend, ehh?" Justin remarked giggling.
JC just ignored that, "Charlie, truth or dare?"
"Well, since you've ruined the dare streak, Truth."
"Is there any one of us that you have the hots for?"
Charlie just grumbled something under his breath. Cooper found it hilarious, "What was that Charlie?"
"Yes, the answer is yes, gosh." The guys all raised an eyebrow at the answer.
"Cooper, truth or dare?"
"I'm like Justin, do you have to ask?"
Charlie grinned, he expected that from his best friend. "I dare you to lick both of JCs nipples." JCs eyes widened as Cooper got up and moved closer, "Shirt up hombre, a dare is a dare."
JC thought about arguing, but he didn't want to ruin the mood for everybody else, so he lifted his shirt up and exposed his chest, which was accompanied by a whistle from Cooper and Charlie.
"Nice abs," Cooper commented as he dove onto one of JCs nipples, which was accompanied by a jump of surprise. Despite the fact that he was dared to just lick; Cooper had always been extremely attracted to JC, Charlie knew this, hence the reason he picked 'dare.'; so Cooper decided to take each one between his teeth for a few seconds before releasing them. After Cooper was finished, he gave JC a discrete little wink and went to sit down. JC pulled his shirt back down and adjusted himself just as discretely. All the guys laughed again.
"Lance, truth or dare?"
"Dare." Everybody raised an eyebrow and stared at Lance, this wasn't like him. Cooper did his deviously evil grin.
(Uh-oh, this can't be good. When Cooper gets that look he's got something serious planed.)
"I dare you to..." he paused, just for added effect as all the guys were on the end of their seats," sing the chorus from 'God Must Have Spent A Little More Time on You' solo." (Aww man, I thought he was going to do something really bad.) The guys just laughed. They knew that Lance could sing great, but he was really self-conscious about it. Lance just groaned, cleared his throat, closed his eyes, and started singing.
"Your love is like a river Peaceful and deep, Your soul is like a secret That I never could keep When I look into your eyes I know that it's true God must have spent A little more time on you."
I was the first to respond, "Wow, I've never heard you sing solo before." I was in total shock.
Lance just shrugged, "Well, now you have."
"Don't take it personal Charlie," Justin chimed in, "Lance is just a little self-conscious about his voice."
"I am not," Lance said, lying through his teeth. All the guys stared at him, "Well, maybe..." "Why would you be self-conscious of your voice? I think it's beautiful," AJ responded.
(Did I detect something there? Hmmm...there seemed to be something more behind that statement. 'beautiful'? That's a pretty strong word. Is AJ even into guys?)
"Thanks," Lance responded, trying not to blush. "Why don't we watch a movie or something?"
"Sure, sounds kewl to me," Charlie responded. Everybody got up and Charlie was in the process of getting up when his ribs started hurting again. He was about to fall down when he felt a strong pair of hands grab him around his waist. He looked up and saw Joey smiling down at him. "Thanks, I almost fell..."
"No problem," Joey said as he helped Charlie stand up, even though he was standing up straight, Joey kept his hands on Charlie's waist a little longer than would've been necessary. Charlie just smiled back as he grabbed one of Joey's arms, "Would you be so kind as to escort me to the sofa?"
Joey smiled, "Of course, it would be my pleasure." Joey took him over to the sofa and sat him down, he was going to go sit somewhere else when Charlie pulled him down next to him. He just kind of grinned.
Cooper looked up and realized that Charlie wasn't going to get up, especially since it seemed he was now attached to Joey. He just shook his head and looked at Chris, speaking softly, "Can you believe those two?"
Chris looked up and shook his head as well, "Joey is Joey, that's all there is to that. How'd you know about Joey?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?"
"Good point." They both laughed at this until they noticed everybody staring at them.
Cooper got up, "Chris, you look for a suitable movie while me and JC go fix some popcorn and grab some more refreshments for everybody."
JC was just about to sit down on the couch when Cooper grabbed a hold of him and pulled him towards the kitchen. They came after a few minutes and the guys had agreed to watch "The X-Files" movie. Which was perfectly fine by Charlie, it was one of his favorites. The layout was as follows: Joey and Charlie were on the couch with Joey sitting at one end and Charlie in the middle. AJ was sitting on the other side of the couch with Lance in front, leaning back against the couch. JC was sitting in the recliner with Cooper close by on the floor. Chris splayed himself out next to Lance. Justin splayed out in front of the TV on the floor.
The movie was about halfway through when Charlie noticed Joey shifting. At first he thought that he might be trying to get some space between them, but then he saw that he was shifting towards him.
(Oh my God! He is trying to get closer to me! How can I do this without being obvious.)
Charlie thought about it for a minute and then proceeded to stretch himself across Joey, sitting his drink down on the end table. When he sat back down, he managed to keep himself closer to Joey. Joey's next move wasn't that discrete, he just picked up his arm and put it behind Charlie on the couch.
[God, I hope that wasn't that obvious. Please don't freak out...please don't freak out.]
Charlie looked up at Joey and saw the worried look on his face. Charlie just smiled at him and shifted himself closer to Joey. Finally he was basically shoulder-to-chest with Joey. Charlie took the opportunity to look around the room. He looked next to him and saw that Lance was leaning against one of AJ's legs and that he AJ was absently running his hand through Lance's hair.
Charlie just smiled to himself. (Those two look so cute together.) He then proceeded to look over towards JC and Cooper and was shocked. Somehow, Cooper had managed to switch places with JC and was giving JC a shoulder massage. Cooper looked up, saw Charlie, and a smile spread across his face.
(What is it with Cooper always managing to get the straight guys right where he wants them? I guess it was a talent, unless JC isn't straight. Hmm...yet something else to ponder over.)
Before long the movie was over. Despite not wanting to leave Joey's side, Charlie got up and turned on the lights, getting many moans from everybody.
"Aghhh, the light! It burns!" Chris screamed.
"Alright peoples, its..." Charlie checked his watch. "...whoa...almost two in the morning."
"What?!" Lance asked.
"Yep...ya'll are definitely too tired to drive out of here. I have a few other guest rooms, so ya'll are all welcome to crash here for the night."
It was JC's turn to interject, "We don't want to be any trouble, and you just got back from the hospital."
Charlie just shook his head and held his hand up, "I won't have it. You guys are crashing here, end of story. Now, two people can crash here. There's the sofa and the recliner. Both are pretty comfortable." Charlie stopped when he noticed that Justin was sound asleep. "Looks like Curly has claimed one of those because I know nobody wants to carry his ass upstairs."
Everybody looked at Justin and laughed lightly. Chris spoke up, "I'll crash down here with Curly. You guys go split up the guest rooms." Joey helped Chris put Justin on the couch.
Everybody lazily got up and started up the stairs. Joey was staying especially close to Charlie, and he didn't mind one bit. Charlie looked back and saw Lance and AJ staying pretty close too. They came up to the first guest room that was quickly occupied by Lance and AJ. They said their goodnights and went onward. Cooper offered to share his room with JC and JC gratefully accepted, almost a little too gratefully.
Charlie came to his room and realized that Joey was still with him. It was now or never. "Looks like me and you are rooming for the night. I could pull a cot out for you, but those things are terribly uncomfortable and I know that you probably don't..." Joey had already sat down on the bed and was in the process of taking his shoes off. "I was rambling again, wasn't I? Gosh, I hate it when I do that!"
"Nah, don't worry about it, besides I think it is cute."
"Cute?" Charlie asked, almost not believing his luck. "Joey...I know this might sound like a total dumb and bogus question, but I have to ask so I don't screw anything up. Are you gay?"
Joey giggled for a second. "Nope."
"Ohhhh..." Charlie didn't even try to hide the disappointment in his voice.
"I'm Bi." Joey finished.
"What?"
"I'm bi, you know, I like guys and girls, why does everybody always ask that question?"
"I was just a little bit stunned for a second, I mean, the way you were acting earlier when we were watching the movie and all..."
"Was I that obvious? Good, I intended it to be." Joey lied.
"Liar, I could tell the entire time that you were worried that I would overreact or something"
"Well, maybe just a little bit. So...do you like me?"
"Straight to the point, huh?"
"What can I say? I'm a blunt kind of guy."
"Remember the truth or dare game?"
"Yes, and JC asked you if you had a crush on one of us?"
"What did I say?"
"You said yes."
"Does that answer your question?"
Joey grinned from ear to ear. "Good."
"Why?"
"Because I think I like you too."
"You think? Do you need some convincing?" Charlie stepped a little closer to Joey. Joey had been sitting on the end of the bed with his legs hanging off. Now Charlie was standing between them looking down at Joey.
"Possibly..."Joey said, grinning.
Charlie leaned down and pulled Joey towards him. He let their lips touch for a brief moment before he pulled away leaving Joey almost begging for more.
"Too bad, we haven't even been on a first date yet, so no kiss for you." Charlie said as he slipped down to his boxers in record time and under the covers. "However, I would like a little cuddling time with this certain Italian stud that just happens to be sitting on the edge of my bed."
Joey looked around and stared at Charlie. "You little tease!" He quickly stripped down to his boxers and slid into the bed next to Charlie. Soon, Joey had his arms lightly wrapped around Charlie. Joey just took a deep breath and sighed, "Good night Charlie."
Charlie responded by snuggling closer to Joey's bare chest. "Good night Joey."
Meanwhile in Lance/AJ's room
"So..." Lance said, a little nervously, while fidgeting with his hands.
Lance was sitting on one side of the bed facing the wall. AJ was on the other side, but he was facing Lance. AJ really didn't know what was going on between the two of them, he was a tad-bit confused himself.
"So...what are you thinking about right now?" AJ asked.
"You...me...what's going on between us?"
"I think the technical term would be attraction," AJ stated.
Lance turned around and just looked at the goofy grin AJ had plastered on his face. "Thank you for the enlightenment smart ass."
"Well, it's the truth, isn't it?" AJ asked curiously.
"Yeah, but I must say that this is really weird," Lance said as he stretched out on the bed.
AJ lay down next to Lance and propped himself up on an elbow. "What do you mean weird?"
"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm just really confused right now."
"About?"
"Everything...Joey mainly...I mean...I'm attracted to him, but..."
"But what?" AJ was starting to get really bummed out.
"I'm also really attracted to the tattooed freak laying down next to me." Lance turned his head and grinned.
"Oh really?" AJ grinned. "You know you have the prettiest eyes...the green is just...I could get lost in them."
Lance blushed a little to AJ's comment. Lance decided he was going to prop himself up also, now they were both staring into each other's eyes.
<Wow, he is really cute. Plus he's got this aura about him that is just...wow.>
Lance's thoughts were interrupted when AJ started tracing the outline of Lance's face. Lance just closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of his touch. "That feels good AJ."
"My friends call me AJ, but you can call me Alex."
"Alexander?" Lance asked, knowing this would get a reaction.
"No, Alex." AJ said as he poked Lance in the stomach, which resulted in a yelp. AJ now knew that Lance was ticklish. AJ just grinned and before Lance could get away, AJ had straddled him and was tickling him furiously. Lance tried to tickle back, but AJ just grabbed both his arms and placed them above his head. They stared at each other again. Lance was getting lost in AJ's eyes. "Lance..."
"James..." Lance corrected.
"James...can I kiss you?"
"What would you do if I said 'no'?"
AJ was a little shocked at this comment and loosened his grip, which gave Lance the opportunity he was looking for. Before AJ knew what was happening, he was on his back and Lance was on top of him staring down. Lance leaned forward and their lips met. Lance was testing new ground, considering this was his first real kiss. He just playfully kissed AJ a few times, until he felt AJ's tongue trying to enter his mouth. Then he opened up more and slipped his tongue into AJ's mouth. Lance pulled back and smiled down, "That was nice..."
"Yes...it was...I don't get seconds?" AJ asked playfully, pretending he was hurt.
"Alex, of course you get seconds..."Lance completed his comment by locking lips with AJ yet again. They kissed each other for a few minutes, then Lance broke free and laid down next to AJ. He placed his head on AJ's chest and smiled contentedly. "Good night Alex..."
"Good night James..."
Meanwhile in Cooper's Room
Cooper was laying down on his bed staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out a way to start a decent conversation between him and JC. JC was laying next to him wondering the exact same thing. This resulted in an instantaneous "So..." from each of them. They looked at each other and laughed.
"You first," JC said, thankful for the opening.
"So you aren't going to have any problems sleeping with a gay man?" Cooper knew his question was a little blunt, but he wanted to get to the bottom of this quickly.
"Why would I have problems with it?"
"You know, you being straight and all."
"Appearances can be deceiving..." JC grinned and looked over at Cooper.
Cooper turned his head and stared into the most amazing eyes he's ever seen. "So you're not straight?"
"No...I'm not...I'm gay..." JC said solemnly, almost like he was ashamed to admit it.
Cooper realized this, "What's wrong? Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?"
"It's just that...the guys don't know..."
"Why didn't you tell them?" Cooper asked as he sat up and looked down at JC.
"I really don't know..."
"That's not a good answer."
JC just grinned and continued, "I didn't want to seem like I was jumping the bandwagon or anything."
"What do you mean?" Cooper knew the answer, but he wanted JC to talk this out.
"Well, Lance admitted to us that he was gay...and we all kind of found out about Joey accidentally...I'm kind of scared that Chris and Justin might just freak, them being the only two straight guys left."
"Fuck them," Cooper said bluntly.
"What?!" JC jumped up.
"Not literally! You little pervert! I mean, who gives a shit about them anyways?"
"They're like brothers Cooper, you just can't forget about them and their feelings."
"Their feelings? What about yours? Do you want to keep any possible chance of a relationship you could have locked up behind closed doors?"
"Well, that is sort of a given."
"I'm not talking about the public, that is hard enough as it is...but from your friends? Your family?"
JC just kind of slumped, defeated. He knew that Cooper was right...it was stupid to keep this from the guys.
Cooper had made his point and decided to move on to his next idea. "So who is this so called 'friend' you've been sneaking off to see?"
"Just a friend."
"Then why does it have to be a secret?"
"Because, he wants it to be."
"He? Is this certain person your boyfriend?"
JC knew this question was coming up and he really didn't know how to answer it. Was he his boyfriend? They didn't spend time together like they used to. All they ever got together for now was to...JC got the 'realization' look on his face and silent tears fell down his face.
"No..." JC said sniffling.
"Hey hey, don't go crying on me now. What's wrong?"
"I thought he was my boyfriend, we used to spend all the time in the world together...but... I just realized that there isn't anything there anymore, we just..."
"Just what?" Cooper asked, fearing the answer.
"Just get together to fuck, God, how could I have been so damn stupid?" JC threw his hands up to his face and cried silently into them. He didn't even feel Cooper move until he felt arms being placed around him.
"Shhhh..." Cooper repeated over and over again. "Let it all out."
And so JC did, crying until he was almost completely exhausted, he looked up into Cooper's eyes and saw the concern and caring that he had missed so much. He reached up and pulled Cooper's face down to his. Their lips touched and that spark that had been missing, was finally found. It wasn't a very emotional kiss, but it was a soft and tender kiss. So tender in fact, that JC put his head against Cooper's chest and fell asleep...
*** Sooooooooo?! What did ya'll think? Its obvious that something is happening between Joey and Charlie, if it isn't, then you need to get your brain checked =0) Everybody if finally getting the hook up! Lol. Let me know what ya'll thought of the latest installment. I love you guys! Keep in touch, keep reading and I'll keep writing. Luv ya'll....Charlie...grandbaykracker@hotmail.com