Legal Stuff: I don't know NSYNC or any other celebrity mentioned. While real people are the basis of characters, they are characters here and do not represent the real lives, thoughts, or feelings of the real people. Again, these are characters based on them, not the real people themselves. If you are too young, or live in a location where it is illegal to read stories that include love between men, read no further! Like that would have ever stopped me...
A Phone Call -- Chapter 10
Consciousness snuck up on me, and for a moment I was lost in a strange, dark room. However, my arms, my entire body, was wrapped around a warm someone, and I knew I was safe, at home. I opened my eyes slowly, staring into a set of green eyes not more than two inches from me. We laid there like that, just staring into each others' eyes, relishing our presence together.
"I feel like I'm dreaming" He whispered, breaking the lovely silence with the lovelier sound of his voice.
"I'm here, babe." I said, moving my hand along his back. Our breathing lightly caressed each other as we stayed locked together.
"All I had to do was pick up the phone and tell you I needed you." He whispered again, tears in his eyes.
"James you are the most important thing in my life." I whispered to him. "If there's something that you need me to do, and I can, I will do it without a second thought."
"But what about your project? Ain't ya under a deadline?" He whispered, and I could tell he was worried since his accent was making an appearance.
"I'm ahead of schedule, and I brought everything I need to work on it out here." I told him, my voice still a whisper. "If I'm not going to be back by Monday, I'll reschedule those meetings to later in the week. Right now a few days isn't going to scrap the project."
"Thank you." He said, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them again and I could see a smile on his face. "We better get up soon, Chris and Danni are here."
"I know. I met him on my way in." I told him, smiling.
"Oh no, I forgot to tell him..."
"Shhh, don't worry. It was funny. I'll let him tell you about it." I whispered.
"Let's take a shower." He said, looking over my shoulder. "It's after 10 already."
"Okay." I said, joining him as we got out of bed. The shower wasn't very long, but it wasn't short either. We washed each other, gently reacquainting ourselves with each other's body. Yeah, we got excited you perv, but it wasn't the time for any fun. We dried each other, and I went towards my bag to get some clothes. That was when I discovered that in my haste to pack, I'd put James' clothes in the bag, not mine. He laughed as I held up a pair of his pants and they were obviously to short. He waved me over to the closet, turning the light on as he did so, and I saw that he'd already stocked up for me.
"I knew you'd be out here eventually, so I got a few things for you." He said with a soft grin. I gave him a kiss and thanked him for his forethought, then proceeded to get dressed. His low whistle as I put on another pair of the bikini briefs he liked made me blush, but it was a good blush.
As we made our way downstairs, noise in the kitchen announced that the guests were awake as well. I was surprised to see another guy in the kitchen in addition to Chris, and with the bouncing girl on his knee, I figured out he was Joey. James introduced us, and he seemed genuinely warm. Two women entered behind us, and I was soon introduced to Danni and Kelly as well. I figured from James' story that one of them must have fixed the food on the table, since it was all edible. As we ate, I learned more about what was going on with JC.
"He should be able to be released today." Joey was saying. He'd been at the hospital overnight and had just returned an hour ago. Kelly had met him here with their daughter.
"The question is, where is he going to stay?" Chris asked next.
"He shouldn't be alone," James said softly, looking at his now empty plate. "But both of you have your lives and Justin is still on his tour."
"James," I interrupted slowly. I was new to these guys and didn't want to step on their toes. "Is there any reason he can't come out to LA and stay in the condo?"
"What?" James asked surprised. That surprise was evident on everyone else's faces as well.
"Well, these days you pretty much operate in and out of LA, so you'll be there more than you will be here. You can't let FreeLance go right now, you're at a critical stage. When you're not in LA, I will be."
"But, he's Lance's ex..." Joey stuttered out.
"That will have to be worked around." I said, realizing it was the biggest flaw with my idea, but not knowing what else to do. "Unless his family would be good for him right now, I think we all know why he's been drinking like he has."
"Lance." Four voices said. The fifth said "Me."
"Yes." I agreed. "I've been there. I was like that after Manuel dumped me years ago. He needs to learn to see Lance, and love him, as a friend. He can't do that with Lance hovering over him alone, and he can't do that if he cuts himself off from Lance totally. It's a tricky balance to achieve."
"How would you feel having JC living with you?" Chris asked seriously.
"Weird." I admitted. "But he was friends with the man I love before they were lovers. He's friends with people I think of as friends, and other people I hope will become friends. I know all of you are close, and frankly, if I love James half as much as I say I do, then I have to do whatever I can to help any of you out. That includes JC."
"You mean that?" Joey asked, his eyes a bit wide.
"Yes, I do. James means everything to me, and I want to be a positive influence on his life, for the rest of his life. That means I don't let myself fly into jealous rages when stuff like this happens. It also means that I help out in any way I can."
"He means it." Chris said, and told everyone in the room about what happened when I first arrived. He was a little too harsh on himself, but I didn't say anything at the time. It was his story to tell right then. James looked over at me with a big smile.
"The biggest factor is going to be JC himself" I said, not feeling comfortable saying his regular name since I didn't really know him.
"How do you mean?" Kelly asked.
"Well, it's going to be hard on him being in the condo with me, or with James and I together. It's going to be a constant reminder of what he's lost. But we have a good chance to see if it will work right now. When the hospital releases him, bring him here. If the three of us can coexist here, we should be able to do it in LA."
"That sounds like a good idea, testing it out." Chris said softly. "He needs to confront his problems, not run from them."
"Exactly. Which means that for at least the next two days, we need uninterrupted time, just the three of us. I know Justin will be here tomorrow night, so maybe all of us of us can get together Saturday afternoon for a barbecue. Heck, my Justin's bringing my best friend Manuel with him so it'll be a good time for us to see how things are working out."
"That sounds like a plan." Joey said, and everyone at the table agreed. We passed a few hours talking, mostly me getting to know Joey, Chris, Danni, Kelly, and little Briana. She was so cute, and reminded me of my nieces and nephews who I had not seen in about four months. The phone rang after a while, and it was the hospital saying JC was out of whatever tests they had run and was ready to be discharged. James, Chris, and Joey all got into the James' vehicle and took off, leaving me with the women.
"Looks like it's just us `wives'" Kelly said with a little laugh.
"Time to dish the dirt!" I said gleefully, rubbing my hands together. They laughed for a little bit.
"I don't know how you're going to handle this." Danni said. She'd decided to give me a tour of the house since James had left and was showing me around. Yes, MTV had it right, this place was beautiful. I wanted to spend a lot of time here.
"It'll be rough, but if it helps James and JC rekindle their friendship, it'll be worth it." I said softly, dipping my finger in the pond out back.
"Aren't you worried they might rekindle something more than that?" she asked.
"No, not really." I answered honestly. "I think there's too much between them for that to happen. It's like Manuel and I. There's too much negative stuff for us to ever be lovers, but that doesn't stop us from loving each other as best friends. I hope James and JC can get to that point. They both will benefit from that type of relationship."
"You're too good." She said, shaking her head. "I don't know if you're feeding me bull or mean what you say, but I pray that you mean every word."
"Time will tell." I told her, knowing that ultimately it would be actions that silenced her doubt.
"Well, James is lucky to have you." She said softly, patting me on the arm. We made our way back in just in time for the return of the guys. Four members of NSYNC walked in the door, and you could tell they knew each other well by the way they walked as a group. JC was slouched, dark circles barely noticeable under his eyes. He had the sallow skin of someone who'd been drinking too much for a while and was just starting to recover. The look in his eyes as he saw me made me wince in sympathy for him. I'd been where he was, and it was not a fun place to exist.
"Josh, this is Dave." James said softly, his eyes darting back and forth between us.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." I said softly, walking up to shake his hands. Every eye was turned on us, even Briana's.
"Sure." He said shortly, shaking my hand perfunctorily, then looking around a bit. Joey and Chris immediately started making themselves, and their ladies ready to go. JC just walked into the living room and turned on the television. Chris and Danni got their stuff out of the spare room as Joey and Kelly packed up Briana's toys. James and I just stared at each other and shrugged. We were saying goodbye to the two couples when JC's voice reverberated from the living room.
"Hey, Lance!" he was shouting. "You're boyfriend's on television dancing with Chad Allen!"
Of course, everyone rushed into the living room and looked at the television. I felt seven pairs of eyes on me. JC had this look of triumph on his face and I realized at that moment that he still harbored hope of getting back with James in a romantic way. My eyes returned to James, who had been seeing the same thing.
"See, I told you he'd cheat on you the first time you turned your back!" JC continued, his eyes alive for the first time since walking into the house. James and I looked at each other, and couldn't help but break out laughing. Everyone looked at us like we were crazy. I let him explain it once we were calmed down. The two couples looked relieved, and JC, well JC looked crushed.
"JC," I began as softly as I could. "James is a wonderful guy, but our relationship is between the two of us. I'm not going to come between the two of you being friends, and I would appreciate you returning the favor."
"Why the fuck do you care?" he snarled at me. It looked like everyone was going to see this conversation. Well everyone but Kelly and Briana I noticed as she took the girl out of the room.
"I care because I love James and this is tearing him apart." I said firmly. I wouldn't shout at him. He didn't need that now. None of us did. "You were his friend, and his lover for years. You hurt him, and your relationship as lovers ended, but he still misses you, still wants you to be a part of his life, if not the same as before. You're killing yourself and he's hurting because of that. That means the man I love is being hurt and if there's anything I can do to stop it, I will."
"FUCK YOU!" JC screamed, leaping towards me, his fist flying. I reacted like I had been trained years ago. I blocked his blow with my arm, jammed my knee into his groin and pulled my arm back for a blow to this throat. I barely stopped myself from hitting him in the throat and crushing his windpipe. My reflexes were rusty and I almost made a very big mistake. As he bent over, and then started to straighten up, rage filling his face, I grabbed his arm, tripped his feet and went down on top of him. We landed with him on the bottom, face first into the carpet, his arm pinned behind his back.
"Calm down." I hissed through clenched teeth. I could hear James yelling something, but I wasn't paying any attention. Everyone seemed frozen in that moment except for the two of us. I raised the volume of my voice so everyone could hear me.
"On the count of three, I'm going to let you go and stand up. Physical violence ends here and now. As far as I'm concerned, this never happened and I'm not going to hold a grudge. James does not need to deal with this, and neither do Chris or Joey. After I get up, I'm going to go in the kitchen and calm down. Please, for their sake, do the same thing. They love you, man. Let us help."
I followed my words immediately with action, standing up and heading into the kitchen before he'd moved a muscle. I could hear muted conversation, then feet stomping upstairs. I sat at the kitchen table, my head in my arms as tears came to my eyes. I was crying for JC. I felt so bad for him, but not near bad enough to give up James. Maybe my idea just wouldn't work at all.
"Hey." A voice said from the doorway. I looked up and saw JC standing there, his face calm.
"Hey." I said softly. If he was reaching out, I wasn't going rebuff him.
"You meant what you said, didn't you?" He asked softly.
"Why does everyone doubt what I say?" I whined into the air.
"Maybe because we aren't use to people who are like that." He said softly.
"Yes, I meant every word, JC." I said softly.
"I'd be honored if you called me Josh." He said softly. "James really does care about you. He said some pretty harsh things before stomping off upstairs."
"I'm sorry." I told him.
"You...you're sorry?" He asked incredulously.
"Yeah, this can't be easy for you, me being here." I answered. "I'm sorry that things didn't go right between you two. I'm sorry if I hurt you back there."
"I'm the one who swung at you." He reminded me.
"And I'm the one who tossed you around like a doll" I reminded him. "I had your arm too high and that had to hurt. It wasn't necessary for me to be that rough."
"I shouldn't have swung in the first place." He said softly. "Call it even?"
"Sure." I agreed.
"Do you really think I can rebuild a friendship with James?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"Yes." I answered immediately. "Justin is bringing my best friend Manuel down tomorrow. I loved him when we were together, probably as much as you love James. I messed up our relationship and did some pretty awful things after he dumped me. We got past that eventually, and now we are best of friends. Honestly, he could ask me to get back together now, and I wouldn't because our friendship is so much better than we were as a couple. I hope that you can build something like that with James."
"What if he decides to get back together with me?" Josh asked quietly, and my heart dropped at the thought of it.
"I'd hate you." I answered honestly. "It would break my heart. I'd be crying on Manuel's shoulders within a few hours. But then I'd pick up my life and continue on. I can't force James to stay with me. He has to want that, and if he doesn't then I will have to just live my life as best I can."
"I don't know if I can do that."
"You can." I assured him. "I could never do the things you have done, gone through the things all of you went through together. I'm not the type of person to handle that type of situation. But I do know that the things you've lived through have been enough to give you the strength to get through this."
"Yeah, typical singer with a broken heart syndrome." He quipped, chuckling a little.
"At least you should be able to write a few good songs from all this." I joked.
"You're funny, you know that?" He said, laughing slightly.
"That's what everyone says." I told him.
"You know, if we had met under different circumstances, we'd have been instant friends." Josh told me after he'd finished laughing.
"Then that means there's hope for us yet."
"Oh man!" he groaned, then laughed a little, wiping tears from his eyes. "I think I'm willing to try this idea of yours now."
"It's going to be rough." I reminded him.
"It will be, but James is worth it." He said softly.
"Yes, he is." I agreed. "Now, if we've settled enough between us, I've got an upset boyfriend upstairs that I'm dying to comfort."
"Why aren't you up there?" He asked, curious suddenly.
"Because I thought it was you stomping upstairs at first, and then we started talking. Us working things out like we did will do more for James than me rushing up there the moment you said he went upstairs, which is what I almost did."
"Go." He said softly. As I passed him though, he got a look on his face and I stopped. I looked him in the eyes and saw a need there, so I wrapped my arms around him for a moment. "We'll get through this."
"Thanks, now go." He said softly after a moment. I noticed that the others had left as I went through the living room, and rushed upstairs. I knocked softly at the door to James' room before opening it. The room was dark with the drapes drawn, and I could hear some sobbing from the bed. I rushed over and immediately folded myself into my lover, wrapping him in my arms.
"Shhhh," I whispered, wiping the tears from his eyes. He just sobbed into me for a few moments.
"I was so scared he was going to hurt you, then I was scared you were going to hurt him." He sobbed out eventually.
"I know, I'm sorry." I told him.
"It was JC's fault"
"He was hurting and lashed out in the first way that came to mind." I reasoned.
"How can you defend him?"
"Because he's your friend, and the man you loved for years." I answered plainly. "And because he and I just got done talking downstairs."
"He talked to you?" James asked, rising up a little.
"Yes, and I think this has a chance of succeeding." I told him honestly. "It's going to be hard as hell, but he's at least willing to try. He misses his friend."
"I miss him too."
"I know. Why don't you go downstairs and see if he needs anything?" I told him.
"What are you going to do?"
"I've got my laptop, and I need to do some writing. I also need to make some phone calls, have Peter reschedule my Monday meetings to Wednesday, and the Wednesday to Thursday. I also need to call Luke and Chad. I'll be good for a few hours. Then maybe we can all go to dinner someplace. It'll probably do JC good to get out. Oh, and I need to call Christina and have her take the alcohol out of the condo."
"Removing temptation?" He commented as well as asked.
"Yes, and I won't be having any drinks while Josh is recovering. He doesn't need to see people around him having a good time with alcohol."
"Agreed. You take care of business, and just yell if you need anything." He said, getting up. He went into the bathroom and washed his face before heading downstairs. Before he left, he crossed over to where I was setting up the laptop and gave me a kiss before heading downstairs.
Afternoon at the Bass house passed quietly. I looked out the window after a few hours and noticed James and Josh sitting beside the pool. They were facing each other and their body language said they were deep in discussion. I was both pleased, and anxious at the sight. They looked, good, together, and even though I said I trusted James, I still felt jealous. Okay, it was irrational, I knew that, but that didn't cause it to cease existing. I'd have to be careful of my reactions to things. I didn't want to let it color my relationship with either man. I also remembered what James had told me about Josh raping him. I was pretty sure the action had happened largely because of the alcohol, but I still would keep my eye on them, and make sure they were not alone together without someone else being in earshot. From my tour earlier, I knew that there was other patio furniture that wasn't in direct view of this room, and I suspected James had chosen where they were sitting on purpose. I'd talk about it with him later.
My attention returned to the laptop's screen and soon I was lost in the imaginary world I was creating. Hours sped by as I worked on my script. The timing of today's events was actually fortuitous, because they fed right into this section of the plot. I poured my anger, my frustration, and my fears into the character. By the time James came upstairs to tell me it was time to get ready for dinner, I was ready for a break. I quickly e-mailed my latest work off to JMS and proceeded to get ready. As the three of us were walking out the door, my cell phone rang.
"This is incredible!" JMS said over the phone. "I heard from Peter, and I just wanted to tell you that as long as you're getting stuff like this done, take your time out there."
"Thanks, J." I said with a laugh. "I'll see you next week."
"Okay, bye! Keep it up!" he said before ending the call. I laughed some more and explained the call to the two of them as we got in my rental car. It was the flashiest car, and Josh's eyes had lit up when he saw it in the driveway. The drive to downtown Orland was spent answering Josh's question about my show. He was fairly knowledgeable of course, and there was an amazing lack of tension in the car as we parked in front of the restaurant and made our way inside. Maybe dinner wouldn't be so bad after all. Dinner was both easy, and difficult. I continued my conversation with Josh about my work, with lots of questions from him and occasionally James. I realized at that point that James and I had never really talked about my ideas, and the script so far, in any details. That was the easy part.
It became more difficult when James started talking about his work, and the recent problems he'd navigated his way through. Josh was interested, but the conversation between them was still strained. It didn't help the situation that the waiter was constantly coming around fawning over the two of them. Even they were getting tired of him.
On the way home, we stopped and rented a movie, with popcorn and some soda. After visiting the bathroom, we all gathered in the entertainment room, and watched the movie. To be honest, I really don't remember the movie, all I know is that at first James and I had about 2 feet of space between us. Halfway through the movie, we were side by side with our arms around each other. That was when I noticed Josh staring at us. He was staring hard. As the movie ended, he got up from the chair he was in and started to head upstairs, but he stopped after a few steps and turned back to us.
"You two really do look together." He said softly, tears in his eyes. James and I walked over to him, and wrapped him in a hug. He cried for a few minutes, then straightened himself and smiled wanly.
"Thank you." He said softly, looking at both of us, then returning to James.
"Thank you for giving me another chance to be your friend." Then he turned to me. "Thank you for being so willing to be my friend."
With that, he went upstairs leaving us alone. I turned off the television, and the lights as James led me back upstairs. There was quiet between us as we both undressed for bed. As soon as we were lying down, he migrated across the bed and wrapped himself around me, sobbing softly. I held him for over an hour before he drifted off to sleep. It was soon after that that I joined him in an exhausted slumber.
It had definitely been a very long day.
To Be Continued.