Note: This is a complete work of fiction. I am not implying that any character within this story is gay or bisexual. This is just my fantasy, so let me have it!!! I'm planning on making this a continuing plot, with twists and turns and everything else thrown in. So please, don't be afraid to send any comments my way. Since I've never been to New York I may need a little help with some scenery and stuff. Please e-mail me at tumbler99@yahoo.com
No apologies. I got busy with schoolwork; I got fed up with some petty arguing going about on the Archives; I got annoyed at the lack of maturity I was seeing. But I received many e-mail in the past few months that really opened my eyes and showed me, once more, that I'm writing this story because it means something to me. This is my little baby and I'm doing the best I can do. I'm not saying it's wonderful; I'm not saying it should win any contests. I'm just saying that we authors are writing these stories because we love expressing our emotions and our dreams in whatever way we can. For me, that's writing a story like this. For you, it may just be reading the story and imagining it's you in the middle of it all. But whatever it is that makes you happy, that allows you to express yourself in the best possible way, I want you to do that. And never stop doing that. Because we have to be happy while we're here, or else what's the point? I'm extremely happy right now and I'm not letting anything get me down for awhile. So, enjoy the next chapter, because I'm not even close to bowing out of the race.
'N SYNC Savior
Chapter Seventeen
JC and I had turned back to join with the others when I saw him. He was walking towards us, holding hands with a pretty young girl. She was positively glowing with excitement and his smile could melt anyone's heart. He leaned into her and whispered in her ear. Her laughter floated through the air and landed in our ears. JC finally looked up at the couple and smiled. He reached over and tapped my shoulder, ready to point them out to me. But when he saw my face he froze. My eyes were huge, filled with fear. My face was pure white as my lips started to tremble.
"Mom," Adam started. "Why is it that you never talked about it with me." He paused for a second. "I mean, if you've always known, why didn't you bring it up before?"
"You weren't ready yet. If I would have approached you then you would have felt uncomfortable and I...."
"No," he interrupted. "I was ready to come out to you for years but I never thought you would take it well. I figured if I came out to you I would become the outcast of the family and never have your love again."
She reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it for good measure. "Adam. You will never lose my love. I never pushed the issue because I didn't think you were ready. You were always so strong and independent, I figured you just never wanted to tell me." She took a breath as she continued. "So I was going to wait until you were ready. I thought I was being there for you in the process, but I guess I wasn't. I just made it worse."
"No," he whispered. "This is perfect. Exactly how it was supposed to happen. I'm just sorry I couldn't gather the courage to do it earlier."
Justin had fallen into a stupor while reading his book while Chris and Joey had tried to continue the game. Lance suddenly felt a string tighten inside his body. He lifted his head up and quickly scanned the park. He didn't know what he was looking for. Something just felt wrong.
JC's hand was floating in midair, not making contact with me. His pace had slowed to a stop and his eyes were filled with fear. He opened his mouth, trying to make something come out, but it was no use. His tongue couldn't seem to move as he stared at my face. The whiteness of my own face had brightened as even more blood flowed from my head. I was beginning to see black spots before my eyes and although I don't remember it, I'm sure I was glad that they covered up the man's face. I felt my body sway slightly as the oxygen was cut from my lungs. My mouth, although it was wide open, wasn't bringing any air in. Within seconds the dizziness came and I felt the blackness take over.
Adam walked down the hallway into the small bedroom he's used for years. He saw the familiar posters and plaques hanging on the walls, all memories of his childhood and high school years. "God," he thought. "I did so much, but what do I have to show for it now? I just quit the best job I may ever have....no," he argued with himself, "don't think that. It wasn't what you were supposed to do and you know it. Remember what you've learned from Matt."
He laid his bags on the bed and started unpacking, placing everything in their exact spot. As he opened the bottom drawer he saw the familiar magazine, wrinkled and used. He lifted it up slowly as he sat on the bed. Flipping through the pages he felt the familiar tightening in his groin. He couldn't believe he'd kept it all these years. His first ever "Playgirl," bought off of some asshole friend that he didn't even talk to anymore. They'd bought it to see exactly what was in it, but Adam had kept it all these years, constantly going back to it for some pleasure.
He put the magazine in the trash as a laugh escaped him. "Well, I won't need that magazine now. Not when I'm going to be around thousands of hot college students." Another laugh escaped as he realized the chances of actually catching one of those college men were slim to none. "But hey, the chase is half the fun."
Lance rose to his feet as he felt the despair sink in. Something was happening but he didn't know what. He felt the string inside his stomach tighten even more as he looked over by the path. He could see JC and me, but we weren't moving. "What the hell," he whispered. As he looked closer he saw the fear and new something was definitely wrong. Breaking into a spring he raced to meet us.
Justin was pulled from his book as the blanket was twisted up. Joey and Chris both looked up with surprise in their eyes, but Chris soon saw what was wrong. In a flash all three were up and making their way over to us. Justin noticed the couple that was walking towards us and thought of yelling for help, but decided against it until he knew what was wrong. They definitely didn't need to attract too much attention.
But as he continued running, still over a 100 yards from us, he saw me fall. Attention was not something we would be escaping today.
JC stood, frozen, as my legs gave out from under me. The blackness had taken over and my eyes had rolled up as the lids closed over them. He reached out to steady me, grabbing me around the shoulders....but nothing happened. Looking down, he saw his arms were still at his sides. He tried to cry out, tried to scream, tried to move - nothing seemed to be working. I didn't make a sound as my body went limp.
After unloading his stuff and rearranging the room to feel a little more at home, Adam walked out into the living room and turned on the television.
"....and members of the pop sensation singing group, 'N Sync, were seen today in Central Park. In what appeared to be a picnic setting, the group was seen playing frisbee and talking with a young friend. Our sources tell us the group was acting very serious and frightened as that same young friend fainted on the walking path. But don't worry all you fans, the 5 musicians are fine and will be back on tour within a week. The dates and locations are scrolling along the bottom of your screen right now. And as always, we'll keep you updated as we know more. I'm Kurt Loder and there is more news 10 to the hour, every hour." The screen faded to black as another rap song took over.
"Fainted? What in God's name is going on up there?" Adam's mind was running at full speed as he tried to figure out what was going on. Reaching for the phone, he felt a sweat break out along the back of his neck. Something bad was happening and he was going to find out exactly what it was.
Justin felt a scream leave his throat as he continued to spring. He saw Chris and Joey at his side as he started running faster. He could tell JC was still frozen as I fell to the ground but his yells weren't doing anything. JC was the closest to me and if he didn't move soon I would hit my head on the concrete.
My knees buckled and I started falling backwards as the couple looked around at Justin's screams. My body was limp as the hard ground quickly approached. I felt the rush of wind against my back as I prepared myself for the shock of impact. But when it finally happened my mind had left my body and I was out.
Lance sprinted forward as he saw me fall. While dropping his body, he bent his legs and skidded on his knees, coming between me and the concrete. He lifted his arms to catch my body and felt my head hit his bicep. Pain shot through his body as he felt his jeans tear. His right arm was throbbing as he felt blood ooze onto the ground. He gently lowered my body so I was lying across his legs as he screamed for JC's attention.
His voice must have been what was needed because the spell was finally broken. Dropping to his own knees JC felt around my chest and head, making sure I was all right. Tears were streaming down his face as he yelled my name.
"Matt! Matt, what the hell happened? Matt? Wake up Matt! Oh God, please, don't do this to me. Get up Matt. Just wake up." He began sobbing uncontrollably as he shook my body. Lance was slowly checking my vital signs, making sure I was not in serious need of medical attention, but finally looked up at his friend.
"Josh! Just shut up. He's all right. He just passed out. I need you to calm down and help me out, okay?" He could see the fear in his friend's eyes and he felt the love swell up again. Two of his brothers were in front of him, one unconscious and the other hysterical. He needed help.
That help arrived as Justin skidded to a halt next to JC. His first instinct was to come to me, to make sure I was all right. But as he looked at Lance he knew I would be all right. The pleading in Lance's eyes was enough to make him realize his job. Grabbing JC's shoulder he twisted him around to face him.
"JC, I need you calm down. Lance has it taken care of. He didn't hit the ground because Lance grabbed him in time. JC? JC? Are you listening to me?" The young boy was shaking the older boy as tears streamed down his face. Justin was beginning to tear up as well.
"JC? Please, listen to me. You have to calm down." Reaching up, he grabbed JC's face in both hands and pulled him in close. A single inch separated their lips as Justin stared into JC's eyes. "Now concentrate," he whispered. "If you love him, you need to help him. You need to calm down and help us get him out of here. We're going to draw attention if we don't leave NOW." He forced the last word out and he pulled away slowly. The anger in his eyes and stopped JC's tears. He slowly turned his head to look at me lying in Lance's arms.
"Okay," he whispered, "lets go."
Chris and Joey were standing next to Lance as the couple walked up.
"Excuse me, but is everything all right? We saw your friend faint and I wanted to make sure he was all right." The man's brown eyes twinkled in the sunlight as a serious expression covered his face. As Lance stared at him, he saw a picture of him sitting at an outdoor cafe, stirring his mixed drink and eyeing a young boy who was lost. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. This was Mark.
JC was still staring at me and stroking my face, so he didn't look up. "No, everything's fine. He just....he just fainted and we're going to take him home now. But thank you for your concern." Grabbing one of my arms he looked at Lance to help with the other. He could see the hate dripping from the other boy's eyes and he was taken aback. "Lan....Lance?"
He dialed the number by heart. His palms started sweating as he waited for the phone to start ringing. "Goddamnit, why does it take so long for long-distance calls to pick up?" He was pacing the living room and his mother was standing against the wall, fidgeting with her spatula. She could see the fear overwhelming her son's body and she knew he was doing the right thing. This was his calling in life and she wasn't going to stand in his way. Slowly stepping back, she exited into the kitchen and continued with dinner. His friends were in trouble and it was not her business to listen in on their conversation.
The ringing finally stopped as he heard the familiar voice in his ear. "Justin? My god, it's really you. What's going on? I turned on the....he what?....but why did....oh my god." The conversation was one-sided for quite some time until he finally butted in. "Justin, I need to speak to him. I need to hear his voice."
"Get away from him you asshole." Joey had never heard Lance speak so cruelly to anyone and he was shocked. "He doesn't need help from you. He doesn't need anything from you. Now leave us the fuck alone."
"What are you talking about sir? I was just checking to...."
"You were just checking to see if he'd died. Because you didn't do a good enough job of that yourself, did you? You left him for dead in the alley and it turns out you might not have gotten off as easy as you thought." He could hear the gasps from the other singers as he continued. "Now get away from him before I have to hurt you. You wouldn't stand a chance against me the way I'm feeling right now." He tried to burn a whole into Mark as the words sank into the air. He could tell that Mark was getting nervous now as he slowly backed away.
"Whatever you say, asshole. I was just trying to help." He pulled his girlfriend along with him and quickly left the group.
"What was all that about, Mark," she asked.
"Shut up. Just shut up," he growled at her.
Justin followed Mark with his eyes until he was around the curve and finally brought himself back to me. Bending down he felt my head and pulled away quickly.
"He's burning up. We've got to get him to the hotel soon." He grabbed the arm that JC had laid on my stomach and helped Lance pull me up. JC cut in quickly and cradled me in his arms. Justin lightly laid my arms across my chest as Lance pushed my head into JC's shoulder. Chris was moving in to help, but there was nothing else to do. Joey grabbed Justin's arm and they started running back to the blanket as Lance pulled out his cell to call the limo. After hanging up he looked over at me and heard JC whisper, "please, don't do this again Matt. I need you here with me. Please. Please. Please." He reached out his arm and stroked JC's shoulder as more tears streamed down his face.
"I can't lose him, Lance. I just can't."
"I know buddy, I know. And you won't. All he did was faint; he'll be okay in an hour or so."
"But I couldn't move. I couldn't move." His voice dropped into a whisper as they continued walking, each thinking their own thoughts, wondering what was going to happen next.
To be continued....