Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:
-
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.
-
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.
Wade was still surly on the bus, but everyone more or less ignored it. At the very back of the bus there was a table, with benches on either side, and Mitch sat in one of the benches as Wade and Justin slid into the other across from him. A little further down, Chris and JC settled in on the couch across from the television. Chris started unrolling the controllers for the Playstation 2, and JC opened his book, curling his legs up under himself and making sure his coffee was nearby. Usually he would be on a bunk, like Lance was today, watching the little television in there for about five minutes before he nodded off, but he wanted to keep an eye on things. Joey, making a turkey sandwich on the counter by the tiny stove because he hadn't had breakfast, had the same sort of idea. He didn't like Wade's attitude this morning, and was worried that he might start something with Mitch while Lance was asleep.
Justin reached into one of the side drawers by the table and pulled out a deck of cards, bound with a rubber band.
"Do you want to play Uno?" Justin asked, smiling at Mitch. "I like to play on the bus because we don't have time to anywhere else, and I play this all the time at home with my little brother, so when I play, it makes me think about home, and being at home, and then I don't miss my family so much. Not like these guys aren't my family, because they're all my brothers, too, but my other family, and since we have to be on the bus all day anyway, I thought it would be fun if we just played, unless you wanted to do something else. Did you want to do something else, or did you want to play Uno?"
"I don't really know how to play," Mitch said, shrugging. "I haven't played that since I was little."
"That's ok, I can remind you," Justin said, shuffling the cards. "The rules are really easy, because it's all about the colors, and the numbers on the cards. Some of the cards tell you to do things, too, but those are easy, because you can just read them. I'll deal out the cards, since you don't remember how to play, and then we can warm up for a couple games, and we won't even keep score, and it'll be fun, really fun. You'll like it, Mitch."
It was on the tip of Mitch's tongue to tell Justin that even if he didn't remember the rules, he remembered how to deal, but Justin was just so smiling and happy to be in charge of the cards that Mitch just nodded. Wade, on the other hand, frowned.
"I don't want to play cards, Justin," he said, putting a hand on Justin's arm, fully expecting Justin to put the rubber band back on the deck.
"OK," Justin said, smacking a card down in front of Mitch. "We won't deal you in, then."
Chris, JC, and Joey all looked up from what they were doing, casually glancing over so that it wouldn't look obvious, but all of them curious to see how this played out. Wade, for his part, looked a little surprised, but covered it quickly, leaning over to press his forehead against Justin's temple. Justin smiled, nudging his head over a little to rub it against Wade's, but kept dealing. Mitch took his cards, one by one, remembering that it was best to organize them, and wondered if he'd still be playing in another minute or two.
"Justin, what are you doing?" Wade purred, running his hand up and down Justin's arm. Justin smiled, and picked up his cards, pushing Wade's hand away with his free hand.
"Stop," Justin said, grinning as he put his cards in order. "You're making it hard for me to think."
"Then stop," Wade said playfully, reaching for Justin's cards. His tone was light, but he was anything but playing. If Wade didn't want to do something, Justin didn't do it, either, and the rest of the guys never jumped in. If Justin had been playing with Chris, or Joey, they would already have slid their cards back across the table, but Mitch just sat, waiting for Justin to start as the rules of the game came back to him.
"No," Justin said, shaking his head. Why was Wade acting like this? You'd almost think he was jealous or something, but that was silly. Justin only had eyes for him. "I want to play cards, and Mitch wants to play, too. You said you didn't want to, so I didn't deal you a hand, but we can put you in on the next game, baby, ok?"
Wade blinked at Justin, surprised, but then Joey slid onto the bench next to Mitch, with his sandwich on a plate.
"Could you deal me in on the next hand, too, Justin?" Joey asked, smiling. Justin looked up, his eyes sparkling, and nodded. Joey looked at Wade, leaning against the back of the bus, and smiled at him. "Things here just seem so interesting."
After Justin and Mitch's first hand finished, Wade and Joey joined in, although Joey could tell that Wade's mind wasn't on it. Mitch, for his part, just played quietly, still tired, still thinking about the way Lance had held onto him last night, not wanting anything, just trying to make him feel better. After an hour or so, his stomach grumbled a little, and he ignored it. Between hands, they took a little break so Justin could pee, and Mitch stared out the window, watching the scenery go by. He looked up in surprise as Joey walked back to the table and set a plate down in front of him with a sandwich and some chips on it.
"If you're hungry, you can get something to eat, Mitch," Joey said quietly. "You don't have to ask permission."
"I'm sorry," Mitch said, looking down quickly. They had all been so nice again this morning, JC with the pants, Justin making sure he had something to do and keeping him company, and now Joey, standing over him with a sandwich. Mitch thought again about what he was doing, and how he could do it with these guys being so nice to him.
"Don't be sorry," Joey said, sitting down again. He patted Mitch on the arm. "Just, you know, make yourself a little more at home, ok? Our bus is your bus."
"Thank you," Mitch said, picking up the sandwich. "I didn't want to just, you know, get up and take something."
"That's ok," Joey said, not wanting to drag this out and make Mitch feel worse. He caught Wade glaring at Mitch again and kicked him under the table. "Eat up, ok?"
Wade, for his part, was silently fuming. He felt bad for Mitch, he really did, but this was just all getting out of hand. His whole situation felt like it was sliding away, and he had been too comfortable for too long to have some guy come in and just start upsetting things. He loved Justin, he really did, and before Mitch came along, things for them had just been perfect. Now, though, too much stuff was going on. Justin wasn't listening to Wade like he usually did, even if it had just been a stupid card game. What if it was a sign of things to come? Wade knew what was best for Justin, and his career and Justin's became more and more entwined as they continued to collaborate together, and he guided Justin down paths that the other guys, with their stupid five musketeers band of brothers joyous togetherness, wouldn't point him toward on their own. What if Justin didn't feel like he should listen anymore?
And what the hell had that been last night, that banging on the wall? He didn't think for a second that Lance was really sorry. He'd heard the other guys making jokes about how noisy he and Justin were, behind their backs, when they thought neither was listening. Luckily, Justin had never heard the childish comments and locker room dirty jokes, and Wade wanted to make sure he never did, because he would be deeply hurt hearing his friends talk about him like that. They all treated Justin like they thought he was some kind of a moron, but underneath his chirpy, cheerful exterior, Justin was much deeper than they gave him credit for, and Wade wouldn't see him hurt for any reason, not by anyone. If Mitch being here was hurting Justin, was upsetting the balance of the group and of his relationship with Wade, then Mitch had to go.
Wade might have agreed to keep quiet, to just let Lance keep Mitch around as long as he felt like staying, and the other guys all seemed content to just let it be. Wade understood, as much as any of them, what kind of a danger Mitch presented, even if he claimed not to be, and Wade couldn't believe none of the others had offered up the obvious solution yet. Maybe they were just too content with their lives, too spoiled, to have the balls to do what needed to be done. Whatever the reasons, Wade decided that he would just take care of this himself, regardless of what he'd promised. They might think it was ok if Mitch wanted to stay, but what if Mitch didn't want to stay anymore? What if Mitch decided to leave? Watching Mitch eat his sandwich, and every chip on the plate, while Justin shuffled the cards, Wade began to plan.
They'd been on the road for a few hours when the bus driver quietly announced over the intercom that they would be pulling off in about fifteen minutes for a pit stop. Mitch looked around, confused, wondering why they needed to stop when they seemed to have anything they could ever need or want on a road trip here on the bus, and Joey laughed. Pointing at the little tiny bathroom, Joey explained that there was one rule on the bus, which was never, ever broken, and when Mitch looked at the door he saw a little sign which read "No #2!" Justin giggled, highly amused by bathroom humor, and Chris snickered, too. Joey got up and reached into Lance's bunk, tapping him awake, as Justin put the rubber band around the cards and dropped them back into the side drawer. Lance walked over, stretching and scratching his head, and sat down by Mitch as Joey leaned back on the wall, throwing a look to JC and Chris to make sure they remembered what they'd agreed on earlier.
"Sorry I slept all morning," Lance said, feeling his heart flutter a little when Mitch turned to smile at him.
"It's ok," Mitch said, smiling, and then looking away quickly as he saw the way Lance was looking at him. Lance had looked like that earlier, too, when he had settled Mitch in on the bus before he went to sleep, and it left Mitch feeling so uncertain that he didn't feel like he could look Lance in the eye. "After last night, it, you know, I understand."
"Yeah," Lance said, sighing and looking at his hands, not noticing that all five of the others had stopped dead at Mitch's last statement. "So, is everything ok out here? How are you doing?"
"I played cards all day," Mitch said, nodding toward Justin.
"We played Uno!" Justin said excitedly, clapping his hands and rocking back and forth in his seat. "We played for hours, and I won, and then Mitch won, and then I won again, and Joey won twice, and then I won, and then we stopped keeping score, and Wade never won! Poor Wade lost and lost."
"Yeah, it sucks to be a loser," Joey said from the couch, where he had thrown himself down next to Chris as JC rinsed out his coffee mug in the sink. JC hated being this awake, and needing this much caffeine to fuel himself, when normally he would have slept for most of this trip, but he wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page before he konked out for the night. "Right, Wade?"
Justin giggled, looking at Joey, and not seeing Wade giving Joey the middle finger behind his head. Joey just winked at him.
"I'll be ok," Wade said, sneering. Justin leaned back against him.
"I'll make it up to him later," Justin said, giggling. "Really quietly."
"Justin," Lance said, not wanting him to bring it up again and maybe make Wade even crankier. Justin looked over at Lance, giggling.
"Just playing with you, Lance," Justin said, giggling, as Wade began to massage his shoulders. Whatever else he'd been about to say to Lance dissolved in a sigh as he rolled his head back, closing his eyes. Wade leaned in really close, his mouth right up against Justin's ear, and began whispering to him. It was too soft for the others to hear, but based on the look spreading across Justin's features, it was something intimate.
Before anyone could say anything else the bus pulled off into a large rest area, and everyone stood and began to stretch. Lance went for the closet where they had put Mitch's crutches as Joey, JC, and Chris hurried off the bus, Justin and Wade following a little more slowly, stopping just before the door for one last kiss before they went out in public. A car following them belched out a few bodyguards, but none of the guys bothered putting on their hats and sunglasses, knowing they'd only be here for twenty minutes or so, and the bus driver cautioned them not to linger so they could stick to the travel schedule. Mitch watched Joey, JC, and Chris hurry over to the little restaurant, an odd move since the bus was full of food, but figured he should stick to Lance.
"I'm just going to run into the bathroom, ok?" Lance asked. "Do you have to go?"
"No, I'm ok," Mitch answered. "I'll just stay right here, ok?"
"Sure, be right back," Lance said, hurrying into the bathroom.
Mitch leaned on his crutches near the bathroom door, pretending to look at the big map of the state on the wall. Over on the restaurant side, Joey, JC, and Chris glanced over at him, Joey and JC sipping the milkshakes they'd just ordered. Chris stood between them, against the wall, keeping a lookout for Lance and Mitch. The last thing they wanted was to get caught talking about them.
"So," Chris said. "Lance and Mitch?"
"Lance and Mitch," JC nodded. "I think there might be something going on there."
"No shit," Joey agreed. "What was that on the bus? That 'after last night' thing?"
"Something happened last night," JC said. "I went over this morning to bring Mitch a couple pairs of pants, because I didn't want him to have to keep wearing that pair he borrowed from Lance, and the two of them were acting really weird. They both look like they didn't sleep, and they're both quiet, and they kept throwing each other these really weird looks."
"Yeah, have you seen that?" Chris asked, remembering the looks they'd been throwing each other at breakfast yesterday. "They're almost flirting or something. Like, Lance looks at Mitch, and then as soon as Mitch looks up, Lance looks away. And then Mitch looks at Lance, and when Lance looks back, Mitch looks down again. I mean, what the hell is up with that?"
"I don't know," Joey answered. "Steve said that during the concert Mitch watched Lance the whole time, like none of the rest of us were onstage. Said he didn't hardly know the music, but kept asking why Lance didn't sing more, and why he always stood in the back."
"He stands in the back because Justin's always standing in front of him," Chris said, shaking his head.
"Guys," JC said, not wanting to have this discussion again. The fans saw Justin as the frontman, and that's just the way things were. "Back to Lance and Mitch, what should we do? Should we even do anything?"
"Well, he seems like a nice guy," Chris said. "Do we even know if Lance likes him for sure?"
Chris and JC both looked at Joey, figuring that, as the best friend, he'd know.
"Well, he says he just wants to help him," Joey began.
"That's what he told me, too," JC said, nodding.
"But you've seen the way he looks at him," Joey continued. "And you know how Lance is with, you know, needy things. All those baby birds and stuff. Maybe Mitch is just a bigger one."
"Yeah, but baby birds don't talk back," Chris said. "I don't want Lance to get hurt."
"I think he's thinking about liking him," JC said, and the other two stared at him, eyebrows raised. "Sorry to phrase it like that. I just think it's on his mind. This morning I asked him if he was ok, and he hugged me and thanked me for not caring that he was gay."
"What?" Joey asked. "Where did that come from?"
"I don't know," JC answered, shrugging. "I asked him, and he just said that he'd been thinking about it."
"He was moody the other night, too," Joey said. "He came over to sleep in my room a couple nights ago, and he just seemed really down."
"He's been like that for weeks," Chris said. "Do you think maybe he's lonely?"
"He's got us," Joey said.
"Yeah, but he doesn't sleep with us," Chris said. "Maybe he's lonely enough to, you know, make a pass at Mitch."
"What do you think Mitch would do?" JC asked, sipping his shake again. "I mean, we don't even know if he's gay."
"Mitch?" Justin asked, somehow having snuck up on them. "He's gay."
The three of them jumped, Chris wondering how he'd gotten so deep into conversation that he had missed Justin walking over. Of course, when they all jumped together, it spooked the bodyguards, too, and Joey quickly gave them the "all ok" sign as they began looking around. JC looked across the rest stop and saw that Mitch was still waiting outside the bathrooms for Lance, who apparently really had to go.
"Jeez, Justin, don't sneak up on people like that," Chris said. Justin blinked at him, confused. All he'd done was walk over. Chris shook his head. "Never mind, Juju."
"Where's Wade?" Joey asked, looking behind Justin. All they needed was to get Wade involved in a sensitive discussion of Lance's love life, and give him even more ammunition to provoke them with later.
"He went to the gift shop to get some magazines or something," Justin said. "He said he didn't want to play cards anymore and that he wanted something to read. I told him to buy a book but he said he didn't want to read anything long, he just wanted something for the ride, and then I told him to go get some magazines because they're short and then I can read them, too, when he's all done with them. So why are we talking about Mitch?"
"No reason," Joey said quickly, sipping his milkshake.
"Yeah," Chris agreed. "Just something to talk about."
"Oh, ok," Justin said, shrugging. "I thought it was because he was gay, and Lance likes him, and he likes Lance. Hey, did you get the milkshakes over there, because that sounds like a really good idea all of a sudden. Are they good? Are they the really thick kind? Because I don't like it when you have to suck really really hard to get them up the straw, but I don't want one if they're really watery, either. Are they the ok kind, or the thick kind? Maybe I'll just go buy one anyway."
"Wait, Justin," JC sputtered, grabbing his arm. The three of them had been caught off guard by Justin's matter of fact pronouncement about Mitch and Lance. "Why do you keep saying Mitch is gay?"
"You can't just say that about people, Justin," Chris said, mentally smacking himself as soon as the words fell out of his mouth. "Not that there's anything wrong with it. Just, you know, do you know something we don't about him?"
"I don't know," Justin said, shrugging again. He really wanted a milkshake. "I mean, I guess you guys didn't know he was gay, but he is. You can tell, you know, like the way I told you guys Lance was before he said anything."
None of them had ever told Lance, but Justin had accidentally outed Lance to the rest of them before he did it himself. It hadn't been deliberate, just one of those odd little Justin blurts where whatever was on his mind tumbled out of his mouth, and even Justin had the brains to feel bad about it after he did it, making all the guys promise not to say anything to Lance or treat him any differently. It was one of the few times they remembered him actually being firmly serious about something, and it reminded them all that Justin could be a lot more with it than they gave him credit for most of the time.
"Anyway, I think they're cute," Justin continued. "He's all like Tiny Tim with those crutches, and Lance is all like white knight and stuff, and the two of them are just so cute together when they look at each other and giggle and stuff."
"Look, I'm not saying they're not cute," JC said. "I was just wondering, do we do anything? We don't know him, or anything about him."
"Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt," Joey said. "I mean, Lance trusts him, and he's spent the most time with him, so maybe we should, too."
"Doesn't really matter if we like him or not anyway," Justin said, shrugging. "If they like each other, it's gonna happen either way, so we might as well just be happy for him. Can I go get a milkshake now?"
"Uh, sure," JC said, patting Justin's shoulder. Justin, with his simple outlook, had cut right to the heart of things, in a way that none of them could with their careful overanalysis of everything. He looked up and saw Lance and Mitch crossing the rest stop toward them. "Guys, no more. Here they come."
"You guys look deep in thought," Lance said, smiling. Beside him, Mitch smiled too, a little weaker than Lance's, wondering what they were talking about. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Joey answered.
"Nothing," JC agreed, shaking his head.
"I'm getting a milkshake!" Justin said, grinning and rocking back and forth on his feet.
"Actually, I was just going to buy Justin a shake," Chris said, nodding. "Mitch, you want one?"
"I don't want to put you to any trouble," Mitch said, glancing at the floor again. In his head a voice screamed at them all to stop it, to just stop being so fucking nice.
"Let me put it another way, then," Chris said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to buy two shakes. I'm giving one to Justin. I'm going to give the other one to you, and you can either drink it, or throw it on the ground. Your choice. Either way, come on with me and Justin, because we're going to go get shakes."
"OK," Mitch said, looking down the whole way as he crutched slowly along beside Chris. Justin began speaking, a steady stream of chirpy babble that none of them could make out, his tones carrying across the wide open space. The others watched them walk away.
"Lance, is he ok?" JC asked. "I know I asked you this morning, but Mitch just seems really down."
"We had a rough night," Lance said, glancing away.
"You ok, Lance?" Joey asked, laying a hand on his arm. Lance looked up quickly, forcing a smile.
"Yeah, I'll be ok," He said. "JC, did you make any progress on, um, on what we talked about at the mall?"
"Oh, no, Lance, I'm sorry," JC said, remembering that they had talked about finding Mitch a job with them. "I'll start working on it as soon as we get to the hotel, ok?"
"Yeah, thanks," Lance said, nodding. The three of them began walking toward the bus, Lance looking back to make sure Mitch was ok with Chris and Justin. "JC, can you do me another favor, too? I need to get in touch with someone who can find some people for me. Can you figure out who I should call?"
"Sure," JC answered, wondering who Lance was trying to find.
Wade came out of the gift shop just in time to see all six of them walking toward the bus, in two groups of three. Mitch, hanging back with Justin and Chris, was leaning close to Justin as Justin told him something. Both of them laughed, Justin throwing his head back and laughing with his usual carefree abandon, and Chris and Mitch laughing, too, if a little more subdued. Wade felt a stab of jealousy go through him as he saw Justin and Mitch laughing, smiling, the sun shining down on them, the five guys walking along with this bum that they'd adopted after a day, only a day, treating him better than they'd treated Wade in the months that he'd been dating Justin. Mitch had to go. Period. No discussion, and no arguing.
The second half of the bus ride went differently from the first. JC climbed into his bunk, surrendering to exhaustion finally, unable to remember when the last time was that he stayed awake on the bus. Joey and Chris stayed on the couch, both playing video games, and Lance sat across from Mitch at the table, trying to work out some stuff for Freelance. Mitch sat against the back of the bus, staring out the window, wearing the pants JC gave him and the shirt Lance gave him, sipping the milkshake that Chris bought him, and trying not to think about any of this. After an hour or so, he got tired of feeling Lance's eyes on him every time Lance looked up from his paperwork, and asked if he could go lay down in Lance's bunk.
"Sure," Lance said, walking him over to it. "Let me get you settled in."
Mitch slid into the bunk, wondering who thought up stuff like this. The front had a little cover that zipped closed, like a tent, and there was a television in there with headphones. There was even a cup holder on the side, and the whole setup seemed somehow relaxing but decadent at the same time. Mitch remembered the bus he had taken to New York, so long ago, a lifetime from where he was now. There hadn't been any video games on there, or a kitchen. Nobody had zipped him into his own little bunk then. He'd had to fall asleep in the seat, sitting upright, riding the bus for hours and hours with all sorts of people. His life had changed so much since then, and now it seemed as if there might be a chance for it to change again. When he put his head down on the pillow he realized that it smelled like Lance, hair gel and cologne and everything else, and he almost pushed it away. Instead, he pulled it against his chest and tried to think about what to do.
Mitch slept through the next rest stop, barely waking to tell Lance that he didn't need anything and would stay on the bus, and when they finally arrived at the hotel for the next set of shows it was just starting to get dark. Lance tapped him awake again, waiting until the other guys had gotten off the bus already, and helped him slide out of the bunk. Grabbing his own bag and slinging Mitch's over his other shoulder, Lance escorted him through the lobby of a hotel just as nice as the last one, big, fancy, and with rooms upstairs guarded by security in the hall. Lane unlocked the suite, and surprised Mitch by handing him a keycard of his own. Mitch sat down on the couch, looking around, noticing that there was only one bed in here and wondering if Lance was going to have a portable bed brought up again.
"I have to go have a meeting with the guys for a little bit to go over our schedule for the next couple days, ok?" Lance said, standing by the door. "But after that we're all going to go out to eat together, and I was kind of hoping you might come."
"Lance, I don't have," Mitch began, looking down at himself.
"What you're wearing is fine," Lance said, smiling. "You're with us. You can get into anywhere, wearing anything. Just relax here for a little while, eat something out of the gift basket if you're hungry, and I'll be back soon, ok?"
"Sure," Mitch said, looking over at an overflowing basket of fruit and candy, brands of chocolate that he'd never even heard of spilling down the side to rest against the bottle of champagne on ice. People just gave them this stuff for coming to stay at the hotel?
When Lance left, Mitch settled back onto the couch and watched television, trying not to think about why he was here or what he was supposed to do. He needed to get a message to Keith, but he was unsure of his room number, and didn't know if a call to his cell phone would show up on the room bill. Did these guys get free unlimited calls, in addition to all the other prizes? If he couldn't get hold of Keith today, maybe he'd be able to think of something tomorrow, or Keith would come to find him. Mitch hoped it would be sooner, rather than later, because he had more or less decided on the bus that he couldn't do this after all. He just needed to explain to Keith, and make him see that this was wrong. He couldn't hurt people who had been nothing but kind to him.
A knock at the door shook him out of his thoughts. Answering it, Mitch was even more surprised to find Wade out in the hallway.
"I need to talk to you," Wade said. "Can I come in?"
"Uh, sure," Mitch said, wondering what the hell he was doing here. From the first minute Wade hadn't liked him, and he'd made it more than clear that he didn't want Mitch around. The really sad part, that only Mitch could appreciate, was that Wade was right. Mitch was a threat, and he didn't belong here. "Do you want to sit down? The couch is really soft."
"No, that's ok," Wade said, crossing his arms as if refusing to get comfortable in any way.
"What did you want to talk about?" Mitch asked, trying to read his face. Did Wade know something? Had Mitch slipped somewhere?
"You need to leave," Wade said bluntly. Mitch's eyes widened as Wade continued. "I'm offering you fifty thousand dollars to walk out of here, right now, and never bother any of these guys again."
To be continued.