This story involves members of the bands NSYNC. I am in no way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members. This is purely a fictional story. Enjoy!
Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)
Ryan and Lance - Part 6
Lance woke up the next morning with a massive headache. He was sore all over and he felt dizzy whenever he moved. He glanced at the clock...8:30. "Ughh...this really sucks," he groaned as he struggled to get out of bed. Lance had a hard time walking, and his head hurt like crazy. He stumbled his way into the hallway and down the stairs into the kitchen. Ryan was already sitting there reading the morning paper.
"Morning, Lance."
"Morning, Ryan," Lance mumbled as he poured himself a strong cup of coffee. "You sleep okay last night?"
"Yeah, it was dead tired," Ryan replied. Then glancing up at Lance, he noticed the bags around his eyes. "Lance, you feeling alright? You don't look too good."
"Just tired I guess."
"I should think so...you were up till three last night. What the hell were you doing up so late."
"Finishing up the stuff for the tour and editing a few things for Justin."
"You're unbelievable, Lance. Doesn't anyone else in the group do anything besides singing?"
Lance chuckled began groaning again. "Ugh...I feel like crap," Lance mumbled. "My head is killing and the room is spinning..."
Ryan walked over to where Lance was sitting and placed his hands on his forehead. "You've got a fever, Lance. Go back to bed."
"I'd love to," Lance answered with a weak smile. "But, I have to go to a meeting at 9:30."
"Lance, forget the meeting. You're not feeling well, call in and let someone else take over the meeting."
"I can't. I have to give them the itinerary for the next few weeks and I have to discuss a few contract things with management. Plus I have to get a few things for Justin on the way."
"What? Now you're their office boy too?" Ryan said jokingly.
"Yeah, I guess so," Lance whispered softly, his eyes on the floor.
"Shit, nice going!" Ryan scolded himself. "Well, let JC take over for once. You need rest, Lance."
"I know, but I guess it comes with the job," Lance said wearily. "Anyways, I should go get ready."
"Wait, I'm coming with you..."
"What? Why?" Lance said, surprised at Ryan's suggestion. "I don't want to put you through that ordeal again."
"I'll be fine. Frankly, I think it's going to be harder on you than on me. I want to be there for you. Plus, I don't want you to drive alone in your condition."
"Yes, mom," Lance joked.
Ryan laughed at Lance's response and playfully punched him on his shoulders.
"Listen, this time I'm doing the talking," JC warned Chris. "You just sit here and listen."
"Alright, alright!!" Chris whined. He had been reminded to keep his mouth shut by JC at least a hundred times today already.
"You think he'll be alright today?" Joey asked nervously.
"I don't know," JC answered. "I'd never seen him as angry as he was yesterday."
Lance walked into the room holding a pile of papers. His green eyes were cold as ice and his stare sent shivers up Justin's spine. Joey and JC looked nervously at each other as Lance took his seat.
"Scoop..." JC began.
"Sorry I was late. But let's get down to business," Lance said, cutting JC off.
JC looked to Joey for help, but all he got was the same helpless look.
"Here's the itinerary for the next few weeks, including the first week of the tour. Look through it and if you need any changes, you can let Mike know. Oh, and here are the lyrics that you wanted me to look over for you, Justin." Lance was emotionless as he spoke, and this scared Justin.
"But...you always make the changes for us, Scoop."
"No, I always MADE the changes for you, but Mike's taking over starting next week."
"Why?" Justin asked softly.
"Huh??" Joey exclaimed. "How come all of these appearances have only the four of us involved. What about you, Scoop?"
Lance could feel his eyes blurring from forming tears and his head was pounding like crazy. "Well, I won't be joining you guys for the next tour."
"What??" Justin exclaimed in shock.
"I'm handing in my letter of resignation. Mike will go over all the legal matters with you guys in a few days."
JC dropped the glass of water he was drinking on the floor, shattering the glass all over. "No, Lance...don't..."
"I can't believe that you're fucking with us just because of that kid," Chris yelled, not able to hold his anger any longer.
"SHUT UP!!" Justin and JC both yelled at the same time.
Lance got up from his seat and his face grew red with fury. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO??? You're afraid that I'd drag you down with me because I'm Ryan's friend. But you won't let me leave because you think I'm fucking with you. What do you want from me???" Lance screamed at Chris, but was actually directing the assault at everyone.
"Just get rid of that goddamn Ryan and we'll be like we were before he appeared!!" Chris threw back at Lance.
"Listen, I'm not your puppet. You were right, Chris. You did say that it would never work with me in the group anyways. Well, you were right, okay???" Lance stormed out of the room, again in tears. One look at his face and Ryan knew the meeting went badly. Lance stormed past Ryan and headed for the management offices, with JC giving chase. Lance was already in the elevator and the doors closed by the time JC caught up. He slammed his fists into the door in frustration. He turned to face Ryan and he expected JC to unleash his anger. Instead, Ryan was surprised to find JC on the verge of tears.
"Ryan, I know we have treated you like shit," JC said, his voice cracking. "But please, I beg you...please ask Lance to stay. We don't want to lose him."
Ryan could tell that JC was sincere and his heart went out to him. "Why did you guys treat him the way you did?"
"I don't know," JC admitted. "What we did was stupid and there's no excuse for it. But please, we really need Lance."
Ryan was almost brought to tears again by the whole situation. "You guys really hurt him, you know that? He's worked so hard to make the group work..." Ryan began to choke up, though he didn't understand why he was getting so emotional. "He had a fever today...this morning he could barely walk. But he insisted on coming in because he knew he had to do what he needed to do. He stayed up till three last night just to finish the itineraries...and then he had to work on Justin's thing. He really tried hard, you know, JC...all he wanted was for everything to go right...it's all my fault...I should never have shown up..." Ryan began to sob, totally not able to control himself. JC was left speechless by Ryan's revelations. He was now more desperate than ever to keep Lance from leaving.
All this time, Justin had been listening to the conversation between JC and Ryan. "What are you waiting for, JC? Find Lance!!!" Justin was in near hysterics. He didn't wait for the elevator and headed for the stairs. Running up five floors was tiring, but Justin didn't care. He entered the hallway and found Lance walking towards the offices, his legs seemingly wobbly.
As Justin ran towards Lance, the older blond's legs gave way and he fell to the floor. "Lance!!" Justin ran up to Lance, his voice filled with fear for what was happening.
Lance looked up weakly to see Justin kneeling in front of him. "Thanks, Just. I'm fine."
"I'm sorry, Scoop. I'm so sorry. Please don't leave..."
"It's for the best, Justin. I'll miss you but it's the way it's gotta be."
"NO!! It doesn't have to be this way. Chris is a jerk, who cares about what he thinks. You are a good person, with a good heart. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did. And I trust you when you say that Ryan is a good person. Please, don't go, Lance, please!!"
Lance looked away from Justin, his mind confused as ever.
"He's right, Lance."
Lance looked up to see Ryan and JC standing there. "We messed up, Lance, and we're so sorry. Don't worry about Chris, we'll knock some sense into him."
Ryan knelt beside Lance. "They really do care about you, Lance. Don't throw what you've worked so hard for away. Please..."
Lance threw his arms around Justin and hugged him tightly. "I honestly don't know what I would do if I left you guys," Lance said as he sobbed uncontrollably. They held each other for a long time, each crying into the other's shoulders. Finally, they got up and hugged JC. JC looked over to Ryan and mouthed the words "thank you." Ryan only smiled and mouthed back "you're welcome."
"I'm sorry for being an ass the last little while. I know you guys meant well for me. I just hope that you'd understand where I was coming from." JC and Justin both nodded. "And I promise to lighten up from now on...not be on your backs all the time."
"Nah, Scoop. If you don't nag us all the time, who's gonna keep us in line?" Justin remarked.
As all of them laughed at Justin's remark, Lance felt the room spinning like crazy. His legs felt weak and everything began to turn dark.
"Lance, what's wrong?" Justin began to panic as Lance fell to the ground.
JC rushed over and placed his hand on Lance's forehead. "He's got a really high fever. Quick, get him in the car." Justin and Ryan carried Lance downstairs to JC's car. Justin called Joey and Chris and they both rushed downstairs. JC drove as quickly as he could to the hospital, with Joey's car following close behind.
Ryan sat on the bench outside Lance's room. The nurses would only let one person in at a time and Justin was spending time with Lance. Ryan could only think of how close he felt to Lance after only a few days' time. "I think I'm really falling in love with him..." he thought. He sighed sadly, knowing that he would never have a chance with Lance. "He probably already has a girlfriend...or at least thousands of girls chasing after him..." Ryan was so immersed in thought that he didn't notice JC sitting down next to him.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Oh, JC, I didn't see you."
"We really haven't had a chance to get to know each other."
Ryan smiled. "Well, I guess too many things have been going on."
"Yeah...thank you, Ryan, for everything you've done."
Ryan blushed at JC's comment. "I didn't really do anything."
"You did a lot for us, Ryan. I can see that Lance really cares about you."
"I know, I can feel it. Lance is such an amazing guy...I've never seen someone with a bigger heart."
JC smiled at Ryan's comment. "I know what you mean...he's always been like that. But I have to say that you must be very special to him."
"Why do you say that?"
"'Cause in all the years that I've known Lance, he had never been so angry about anything or anyone before. Yesterday and this morning, we saw a side of Lance that we had never seen before. That's how much you mean to him..."
JC's words sent Ryan reeling in shock. "How could this be?? Lance and I are in two different worlds. He's a celeb and I'm a nobody...how could he care so much about someone like me?" Ryan was confused as he tried to absorb JC's comment.
"Well, no matter what, I hope that we can forget the past and start all over."
"That would be great, JC."
The two shook hands and hugged each other. "JC's not a bad person at all," Ryan thought. "He really does care about Lance."
Justin came out of Lance's room and sat down next to the two guys. "I hope you'll forgive me for the way I acted before, Ryan."
"All's forgiven, Justin."
"Thanks."
"How's Lance?" JC asked.
"Nurse says that he'll be fine...physically."
JC's smile faded. "What do you mean physically?"
"I don't know," Justin said softly. "This isn't the same Lance that we knew. I mean, he's okay with us now, but he doesn't seem happy. He looks so sad and lonely...so distant. I used to be able to read what he's thinking about but right now, I have no idea..."
"So we still haven't solved the problem yet..."
"How long has Lance been like this?" Ryan asked.
"A little while now, ever since the beginning of the tour. But towards the end of the tour, he steadily got worse..."
"And he won't talk about it. He seems so distant from us. Something's slowly eating away at him," Justin said sadly. "I just want the old Lance back..."
"Get off of me, Eric...let me go...no...I'm not your toy...no...I loved you...why? Why? Why???" Lance opened his eyes and realized that it was another nightmare. He was sweating and his hands were shaking. "Why?" he whispered to himself as tears formed once again in his eyes. "Why, Eric?"
...to be continued....
Hope you enjoyed this segment. Let me know what you think!!
As always, I'd love to hear any comments/ideas/questions. Please e-mail me at jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)