Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:
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If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't be here.
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I don't know any of the celebrities in this story, and this story in no way is meant to imply anything about their sexualities, personalities, or anything else. This is a work of pure fiction.
Questions and commentary can be sent to "writerboy69@hotmail.com". I enjoy constructive criticism, praise, and rational discussion. I do not enjoy flames, and will not tolerate them.
That said, we now continue.
"We're in the kitchen," JC said, holding down the send button on the panel. This housewide sound system was pretty handy, even for things besides eavesdropping.
The bodyguard at the front knew to let the guys in, so JC and I just kept working while we waited for them to come find us. I now had a huge pile of cut fries next to me, waiting to be thrown into the fryer, and JC reached into the refrigerator and pulled himself out a bottle of Smirnoff Ice. He raised one to me, his eyebrow up, and I took it, neither of us saying anything. The oil wasn't heated yet, so I leaned against my counter, waiting, while JC tossed the salad in a huge bowl. I felt like I still needed to say something, like I couldn't just let the latest bomb explode without comment, but I only had a second before Lance and Joey got to the kitchen.
"JC?" I asked. He glanced at me, his face kind of blankly pleasant. "Thanks for telling me. I don't know if it'll change anything with me and Chris, but thanks for trusting me."
"I told you we're friends," he said, shrugging. "I trust my friends. Maybe if I'd done it more things would have been different. Should we put this in the refrigerator?"
"I'm not sure there's room," I said, listening to Joey and Lance talking as they walked down the hallway toward us. "It's not like it'll go bad just sitting on the counter."
"Yeah, and how often do you get the chance to take down a whole group with food poisoning?" Joey asked loudly, laughing at his own joke. "What do you need us to do?"
"Nothing," JC answered, pointing at the table. "Chris and I have everything under control."
"You sure?" Lance asked. He and Joey, dressed like the rest of us in jeans and t-shirts, stood in the kitchen doorway helplessly. I realized that the kitchen looked kind of like a disaster area: pots stacked in the sink, bowls and platters spread out across the counters, piles of food here and there, crumpled paper towels and scraps piled high in the garbage can, JC's thick cookbook open on the counter to the meat section. Our workshop, to the outside eye, probably looked like a bomb had exploded.
"We have everything under control," I reiterated, standing next to JC. The two of us folded our arms and nodded, daring them to challenge us. "Lunch couldn't be in better hands."
"We require no assistance from the peanut gallery," JC agreed. "The exquisite barbecue lunch of your dreams will be served shortly."
"So you haven't let Justin touch any of the food, then?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're not funny," JC said, rolling his eyes.
"He boils water really well," I said weakly, attempting to defend him. The sad truth was that there was a good reason why Justin was in charge of things like setting the table and getting the studio ready.
"Are you talking about me?" Justin asked, bouncing into the kitchen. He almost knocked me over hugging me from behind, and we both laughed as JC poked his head into the refrigerator to check on the meat. Joey and Lance just stood there, and I wondered if JC was right, and they were all going to spend the day watching us.
"Nothing but the truth," I answered Justin, rubbing his arms. "Everything set in the studio?"
"Yeah," he answered, kissing my cheek. "You guys doing ok in here?"
"Perfect," JC answered from behind the refrigerator door. "Lance, Joey, get you a beer?"
"Sure," they both answered, finally sitting down at the kitchen table. JC held up two bottles of beer, and I took them and passed them to Joey as Justin let go of me and hopped up to sit on the counter.
"Justin, don't sit there," I said absently, walking past him to check the fryer again. Justin smirked at me.
"Why not?" he asked, swinging his feet back and forth. He stopped just short of letting them bang on the cabinets, but he was definitely sliding back into his snarky brat mode. I wondered if it was an automatic response to the rest of the band showing up.
"Because JC and I are working there," I answered, shaking my head.
"Justin, do what Chris tells you, please," JC said, pulling trays out of the refrigerator. "We're trying to finish this."
"Sorry," Justin said, sliding down from the counter. I noticed Joey watching with this strangely perplexed look on his face while Lance flipped idly through some papers JC had left on the counter.
"Is this the stuff for our trip?" Lance asked, holding the sheaf of papers up.
"Yeah," JC answered, setting the trays of marinating meat, the lids still on, in the spot on the counter that Justin slid out of. "Justin and I thought we should all look at that and figure out what we want to do, how long we want to stay, that kind of stuff."
"What trip?" I asked, throwing the first handful of fries into the fryer and closing the lid. I handed Justin a knife and pointed at the loaves of corn bread JC had taken out of the oven. "Slice those up, and don't cut yourself."
"OK," Justin said, taking a basket to put the bread in from JC as he passed him. The three of us were like a well oiled lunch machine.
"To the Bahamas," Lance said, finally making eye contact. He looked a little wary, like he expected me to just blow up at him, and I remembered my resolve to be civil. I also remembered what JC had just told me, and figured I could also try to throw a little friendliness in there, too. "We have a concert broadcast right after Thanksgiving, so they're flying us down to this resort to film it. We get a free vacation."
"Cool," I said, watching JC pull another container full of skewered vegetables out of the refrigerator. "When did you do those?"
"While you guys were at the store," JC answered. He started pulling out small bowls, neatly labeled "chicken", "beef", and "vegetables", and reached into a drawer for a few brushes. "I thought we could grill them while we were doing the meat, and I have all the sauces and the marinades ready, too."
"Good job, Martha Stewart," I said, snickering. JC had planned all of this down to the smallest detail, and I wondered if he slept at all last night, or if he'd just gotten up before dawn today to start on it. We had enough food to feed an army, but there were going to be six of us, so maybe it wasn't quite the overkill it seemed.
"Jealousy is so beneath you," JC said, sticking out his tongue. Justin snickered, but Joey and Lance were watching us with their mouths hanging open. Joey tried to cover it.
"Uh, Johnny says we need to figure out the next single, too," he said.
"But 'Gone' is still picking up," I said, confused.
"Yeah, but we have to pick the song and let the radios start playing it, and figure out the video," Justin said, still slicing. I didn't really think he'd cut himself again, but I still got a bad feeling every time he was in the kitchen with a knife. His stitches were probably going to start dissolving soon, but there was no reason to add more. "Then we have to film it, and we're going to hold it and premier it during the MTV New Year's show."
"I didn't realize there was so much advance work for this stuff," I said. "I never really thought about it before."
"You'll get used to it," JC said, shrugging. "Justin, put a towel over the bread so it doesn't get cold, and then turn the beans down to five, ok?"
Justin nodded, and the door buzzer rang before anyone said anything else.
"Hey, it's me," Chris said from the panel, and Justin and I both stiffened at the same time. JC patted Justin on the shoulder, and then walked over to the panel.
"I'll be right there," he said, letting go of the button. "I want to talk to him for a second."
Probably to tell him to be on good behavior, and not to snap at me or Justin. I had my doubts that Chris would oblige, but you had to love JC for trying, and refusing to give up. He touched the top of my arm on his way out of the kitchen.
"Chris, can you do me a favor?" I nodded. "If I take over the fries can you go out to the garage, get the grill onto the patio, and turn it on? It lights itself. We just need to warm it up so we can start doing the meat and the vegetables."
"Sure, no problem," I said. JC gave my arm a squeeze and walked slowly down the hall, carrying his drink. I kissed Justin on the cheek on my way out of the other side of the kitchen, and heard Joey again behind me, talking about the new single again.
I spotted the grill pretty easily, as the garage was neatly organized (which had to be JC's influence more than Justin's), and rolled it out onto the patio. Maneuvering it was a little difficult, as it was huge, and I wondered if they had bought it intending to roast entire pigs or whole cows or something, but I finally got it close to the door. Turning it on, I pulled one of the patio tables over so that we would have something to set all the trays and plates and utensils on. When I turned, all five guys were in the kitchen, Justin working on the fries, JC neatly piling the marinade brushes, forks, and tongs on platters for the meat to go onto after it was cooked, and Chris, Lance, and Joey sitting at the table. They were all talking at the same time, and when I pulled the door open they all looked at me. Four smiles and Chris's frown of annoyance, a little less hostile than usual but not by much, greeted me.
"Grill's on," I said, setting my empty bottle next to the sink and going to the refrigerator for another.
"Look, Joey," Justin said, picking up their discussion. "You have to make a decision."
"I told you, I don't care either way," Joey said, shrugging. "I like them both."
"Yeah, but we need you to break the tie," Lance said, shaking his head.
"But it's two different sounds," Joey said. "It's not like one's really good and the other's 'Giddy Up'."
I guessed that this was an old joke, because the other four all rolled their eyes.
"Dude, let it go," Justin said, shaking his head.
"We have to make a decision," Lance said. "We don't even have a concept, and we can't start working on one without knowing which song."
"Chris, what do you think?" Justin said, looking at me. I guess JC's fear that no one would know which Chris they were talking about was unfounded, because now all of them were staring at me.
"Me?" I asked. "I'm not even part of the group. I shouldn't even have a say."
Thanks, Justin. Deliberately push me away from any group business for days on end, and now throw me right in the middle of an argument.
"Yeah, it doesn't matter what he thinks," Chris said quickly.
"I'm not trying to make him the tie breaker!" Justin said sharply. "I just wanted to know what he thought."
"It's a good idea," JC said, and Chris's mouth tightened. "Chris, you're a fan, and I'd be kind of interested to hear your perspective, too. It might help us make up our minds. Which song do you think we should go with?"
I squirmed a little uncomfortably, and Justin walked over and took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine.
"Hey, no touching!" Joey said quickly. We all looked at him, even Lance, who probably should agree with the no touching edict, and Joey blushed a little. "I just thought he might, you know, influence Chris's vote or something."
"Jesus," Justin said, rolling his eyes and letting go of my hand.
"If you would just vote, we wouldn't have to worry about it," Chris said, kicking him lightly under the table.
"OK, I've heard the whole album several times now," I said, sipping. "Which two are you arguing over?"
Justin smiled, and JC started to explain.
"Our management feels that the two best options are 'Girlfriend' and 'Up Against the Wall'," JC said. "Chris and I are voting for 'Up Against the Wall', and Justin and Lance are voting for 'Girlfriend'."
"And Joey won't vote," I said, looking to Joey.
"It's two different sounds," he said, shrugging. "I like them both."
"You're right, though," I said, nodding. "They're two completely different sounds, and they're both a departure from what you guys normally do."
"We branched out a little on this album," Lance said, shrugging. "We have to grow, since the music scene is changing again."
"So either one of these songs plays into that," I continued, and he nodded. Justin looked a little surprised, but I wasn't completely ignorant, and, like JC said, I was definitely a fan of the band. I'd become one over the past few weeks, for obvious reasons. "I think 'Up Against the Wall' would play really well in clubs, since it's so dancy. 'Girlfriend', I don't know about. It's kind of slow, and you've already got a slow song out right now."
"It's not slow," Justin said defensively. "It's more R and B, and I think, you know, 'Girlfriend' is more reflective of where some of us are coming from musically."
"Meaning you," Chris said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, yeah," Justin said, crossing his arms. I could understand why Chris thought that Justin was self centered, since he was being a little bit right now. Then again, Chris was probably only voting for the other one because it was what JC wanted. "I think 'Girlfriend' really says a lot about where I am, musically, and that's why I like it."
"It says a lot about where you are?" Joey asked, snickering. "You, Justin? It's about a guy who wants a girl to go out with him. A girl, Justin. A girlfriend. Someone with a vagina."
Even I had to snicker at that, and Justin blushed.
"I meant stylistically," he said, fighting his giggles, and I patted him on the shoulder as he smiled. "Look, Chris, what do you think?"
"If I had to pick, I'd go with 'Up Against the Wall'," I answered, waiting for Justin to throw a tantrum.
"Chris!" he whined, he face dropping into a pout.
"What?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "You asked my opinion. Honestly, I just like it better than the other one."
"That's not a good reason," Justin said, like his reason was any better.
"Doesn't matter," Chris said, obviously happy at getting his way and with Justin's pouting. "He voted."
"I thought it didn't matter what I thought?" I sneered. I know it was petty and childish, but it couldn't be any worse than him saying it to begin with. Chris opened his mouth to say something, his face reddening.
"Yeah, but I'm voting, too," Joey said quickly. "I vote for 'Girlfriend'."
"Joey!" Lance said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"What?" Joey asked, looking innocent. Yeah, right. He was a born instigator, although it did nicely defuse the argument that was about to burst between Chris and I, again.
"You can't just not vote and then decide to," Justin said, trying to explain.
"Babe, he's on your team," I stage whispered. "Shut up."
"Joey," JC said, shaking his head.
"What?" Joey asked again, grinning now. "I'm the fat one, and 'Girlfriend' is slower. I don't wanna have to dance to the other one."
"Oh my God," Chris said, exasperated, rolling his eyes.
"You're not fat," Lance said, even though we could all tell Joey was kidding.
"You know what?" I asked, opening the patio door. "I'm gonna go start grilling, and you guys can figure this out yourselves."
"Quitter," Joey chuckled as I started picking up the trays.
"Hey, I'm not in the band," I said. JC picked up the rest of the trays.
"We'll figure it out after lunch," he said, shaking his head.
We left the door open while we cooked, despite the waste of air conditioning. Joey and Chris ended up out on the patio with us as JC and I cooked, and Justin and Lance stayed in the kitchen by the door, finishing the fries and then carrying the salads and stuff from the refrigerator out to the dining room. I was quiet for most of the cooking as the guys talked about general stuff, when they needed to start rehearsals for the next tour, where they were going to book the space for it, what their schedule was going to be like for the holidays so that they could figure out how long they'd get to spend with their families. They eventually moved on to more general topics, sports, television, other artists, and stuff like that, and I got to contribute, too. Lunch came together seamlessly, orchestrated by JC, and we all ended up at the table. There was a quick pause while everyone bowed their heads and Lance said a short, simple grace, and then conversation picked up right where it had left off outside. I noticed that Chris didn't speak to me at all, but everyone else seemed good, and the guys were all getting along. I caught Joey with that thoughtful look a couple of times, when he thought we weren't looking, but other than that everything seemed ok.
After lunch we carried everything into the kitchen, putting the leftovers in the refrigerator and leaving a mountain of dishes next to the sink. They weren't all going to fit in the dishwasher, but JC said to leave them for later so we could go to the studio to hear what he and Justin had been doing with the remixes.
"Are you sure?" I whispered to Justin as we followed the others down the hall, holding hands.
"Yeah," he answered, kissing me on the cheek. Nobody was looking, so we were ok, not breaking any rules. "I want you to hear what we've been working on. I'm proud of it."
"And I'm proud of you," I said, kissing him softly on the lips.
I understood now why they had all the benches and extra seats in the studio. It had obviously been designed with at least five people in mind, and I squeezed in next to Joey and Justin and JC explained what they'd done so far and what they'd been thinking when they did it. Lance and Chris asked a couple questions about what else they were going to work on and whether or not they were going to remix everything, and JC answered that they wanted to talk that over with everybody before they made any decisions. I really tried to pay attention, but the studio itself was still more or less a mystery to me, a collection of weird lights and buttons and things that I was afraid to touch for fear of accidentally destroying the next Nsync album, and not being a musician I started tuning out even more when they started discussing tone and tempo and reverb and a bunch of other stuff. Justin and Chris, an odd pairing, were inside the recording part, toying with the keyboard and barking out suggestions as JC and Lance kept replaying the same song over and over, and Joey and I still sat on the leather bench in the back when he leaned over.
"So, how are you doing?" he whispered, watching the others instead of looking at me.
"I don't think we're supposed to talk now," I whispered quickly, remembering what Justin said about being a distraction. They couldn't hear us over the music, but they'd be able to see that we were whispering.
"What, are they gonna ground you?" Joey whispered. "I just wanted to know if everything was ok."
"Everything's fine," I answered, shrugging.
"Yeah, disturbingly so," Joey said, and I turned to look at him. He still had his little Joey smirk on, but he also had that thoughtful look he'd had at lunch. "Are you sure everything's ok?"
"Yes," I answered. "Justin and I are fine, him and JC are getting a lot of work done, and JC and I are friends now. Everything's great, actually."
"Yeah, you guys have quite the happy little household going," Joey said, rolling his eyes. "Are you faking it?"
"What?" I asked, my voice rising a little. Oops, the guys were almost able to hear it. Sure, JC and I had talked about how important it was that we present a united front for the rest of them today, so that Chris would leave JC alone and Joey would leave me alone and everything else, but we weren't faking it. We really were getting along. "No, we're not faking it. That's just stupid."
"Not as stupid as this whole arrangement," Joey hissed. "Seriously, Chris, this is like a recipe for disaster."
"I thought we already talked about this, and you agreed not to bring it up again," I snapped, as much as I could snap while I was whispering. This had to be what Justin meant when he said they were always meddling in his life. They couldn't just leave anything alone.
"I know, but I haven't talked to you since you guys moved in here," Joey asked. "I'm still worried about this whole thing, and I just don't want anybody to get hurt, not you, or Justin, or JC, and this really seems like the kind of situation where you all could."
"Joey, I swear to God," I whispered, rolling my eyes. I new he was trying to be a friend, but which part of "let it go" was horribly unclear? "Does it look like anyone's getting hurt?"
"Actually, no," Joey said pensively. "Justin seems totally relaxed, JC looks like he's actually sleeping, and you're just bouncing along between them like the happy little homemaker or something."
"So what's the problem?" I asked. "If nobody's getting hurt, and everyone is happy, what the hell are you worried about?"
"I don't know," Joey answered, shrugging. "I'm just worried."
"Joey, are you even listening to this?" JC asked sharply, breaking in before I could insist to Joey that there was nothing to worry about. I saw that all four of the others were looking at us.
"Um, no?" Joey answered, shrinking down in his chair a little. All four of them expressed their annoyance in some way, rolling their eyes, sighing, throwing up their hands, but I got the feeling that they were used to it. "What did I miss? Justin and JC are going to sing, and I'm gonna stand in the back and wave my hands, or did we change something?"
He snickered, and the others either giggled along or grinned. Joey was pretty good at defusing tension, but it still didn't change the fact that he'd missed whatever they'd been working on.
"JC, cue that up for him again," Justin sighed from the other room. JC nodded, and I stood.
"Look, you guys have a lot to do," I began, shrugging. "I'm gonna go clean up the kitchen and stop distracting Joey, ok?"
"Chris, you don't have to clean everything up yourself," JC said quickly, but I held up my hands.
"No, seriously, I don't mind," I said, not wanting to listen to Chris bitch if I stopped them from working. He was already starting to frown. I smirked at JC. "If it means that much to you I'll let you unload the dishwasher later."
"Deal," JC said, smiling back.
"Love you," Justin called, blowing me a kiss in direct violation of the rules. Wait, maybe a blown kiss was ok because there was no actual contact. Screw it. I blew him one back, and JC and Lance, surprisingly enough, smiled as Chris rolled his eyes.
"Love you, too," I answered. I smacked Joey on the arm as I walked by. "Pay attention, slacker."
"Boy toy!" he called to my back.
"Bite me," I tossed over my shoulder.
It didn't take very long to tidy up the kitchen, as the dishwasher was also enormous, and when I was done I pushed the grill back into the garage, neatly sliding it back into the slot next to Justin's golf club area and a croquet set that we'd never used. There was a riding lawnmower that I couldn't picture either of them on, and an assortment of yard tools neatly racked against the wall. It was all very domestic and very normal, and I smiled as I walked back to the house. It was so nice out, not like it wasn't usually, that I ended up out on a lounger by the pool again, sitting back with my sunglasses on and a cold drink on the short little table next to me, reading a couple magazines from the music room. After a while Joey and Lance stopped through to say goodbye on their way back to the car, both of them having come over in one of Joey's, but Chris left without coming through to see me.
"Hey," Justin called from the kitchen doorway. I looked up, smiling, as he and JC stood smiling at me.
"Hi there," I said, stretching. The sun and the heat were making me a little sleepy. "Everybody gone? Joey and Lance said goodbye."
"And Chris left without insulting anyone," Justin said, nodding. JC tapped him on the shoulder, frowning, and Justin rolled his eyes. "OK, everything was good."
"And that's partly because of you," JC said, looking at me. "We wanted to come thank you. We got a lot done today, a lot of important stuff, so thank you."
"You're welcome," I said. "What are we doing now?"
"Well, you know, we had such a big lunch," Justin began. "I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind if we just had leftovers for dinner, and if JC and I went and did some more work in the studio for a couple of hours."
"No, of course I don't mind," I answered, pulling my shirt off slowly. I watched Justin's eyes slide down my body, and wondered if he was rethinking the suggestion he'd just made. "I'll work on my tan, and you guys go work on your remixes."
"Uh, yeah," Justin said, swallowing as he continued staring at me. I stretched out on the lounge, reaching languidly for my magazine, and watched them head back into the house.
To be continued.