Author's Note:
Hey everyone, this is my first submission to the Nifty Archive. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it. I'm trying to get as much realism as is possible in a story of this type, so the characters will need to get to know each other before there is any sex. It's also not exactly a 'two guys fall in love, and live happily ever after' story, there are going to be a few bumps in the road. Thanks to everyone for the e-mail. I would be great if it would keep coming, it encourages me to continue to write, oh, and it keeps me happy.
If you have any comments, questions or criticisms e-mail me: mystories@btinternet.com
Disclaimer:
This story is a work of fiction. I don't know or own any of the celebrities mentioned in it. I also don't know anything about the personalities or sexual orientations of any of the members of *NSYNC, and the purpose of this story is not to imply anything about them. Secondly, this story contains adult themes and content as well as gay relationships. If you're too young to, or don't want to, read what's contained within, then leave now. Everyone else, enjoy...
Under Management by Tris
Chapter 5
A few seconds later my vision returned. I was confronted by the sight of Chris crouched in the corner of the room. "Oh, God, Oh God, Oh God..." he repeated over and over. I attempted to stand from my position, sprawled out on the couch, but my head began to spin and I had to lay back down to keep from throwing up.
"Chris..." I croaked out. "Chris... it's alright." His head snapped up in my direction, he wiped the tears from his cheeks with his sleeve.
"You're Ok?" he asked uncertainly "I thought I'd knocked you out... I thought... I thought..." he choked up.
"No, I'll recover." I snivelled, as blood began to drip from my chin. I wiped it away, before it fell onto my shirt. I tried to sit up again and this time I succeeded. Chris left the room for a few moments and returned with a damp washcloth. He sat next to me and began to gently clean up my face.
"I'm so sorry Alex." He sniffed back tears "I didn't meant hurt you. I... I'm not just sorry for that though... I'm sorry for everything. I've been a bastard to you, and I can't believe I hit you... I've just been taking out my own problems on you... I'm so sorry." He apologized.
"Chris, I don't know what to say. For the past week you've pissed me off... you've punched me and you expect me to forgive you just like that?" I was stunned at his arrogance.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just... I've got all this shit going on... and I'm angry... angry with myself."
"I think I deserve a better explanation than that!" I said indignantly.
"I don't know where to start."
"The beginning!" I snapped.
"Um... well first of all FuMan Skeeto is going down the pan, and there's nothing I can do about it..." he trailed off.
"Oh... I thought that it was doing well..." I was unsure of how to console him.
"So... did I... until a week ago when I saw this quarter's accounts. So, that put me in a dire mood, I was kinda pissed off last Thursday after I saw them, and I said some things I shouldn't have. My girlfriend, Alana, she dumped me." He explained sadly. Things were falling into place, I could now begin to understand his bad temper, but there was something else. I sat in silence waiting for him to tell me more.
"As well as that..." he continued "...the next day, the Friday, Lance called an emergency meeting. He said we were in trouble, the office work wasn't being done, and he couldn't do it all himself. I wanted to help him... I wanted to, God damn it! But I couldn't... I don't know a thing about that side of this business, I felt so useless." Suddenly it all clicked into place in my head, I was shocked, but as is usual in these cases the simplest answer is the nearest to the truth.
"And then you came." He paused "And you fixed things, you sorted out everything, you overcame the problem with the studio, you sorted out our appearances, you did the paperwork, no problem, and the other guys liked you." I nodded my head; I now understood... he had been jealous of me. Now, how to cheer him up?
"Chris, there are things that you do, which I could never do. You sing, you dance, you perform in front of thousands... millions if you count the TV audiences. And above all you act like a father to four of the most famous people in the world. They trust you Chris. Didn't you notice? Whatever you said about me, they didn't question you... they automatically realized you had your reasons and didn't push you. You've got four great friends and a carrier that most could only dream of... you don't have to be good at everything... just be good at what you do." I tried my best to make him feel better and I think it worked as I began to see a smile creep onto his lips.
"Thanks Alex... I guess we can't all be good at everything, right?" he questioned, I nodded in response. But he soon became downcast again, "I still have to do something about FuMan... if not for me, then for the group, the press coverage would be dreadful, '*NSYNCer's company subject to mismanagement, as thousands of dollars disappear from the books.'"
"Why don't you bring those accounts over to my apartment at some point? I could look over them for you if you want." I offered.
"You'd do that for me?"
"What are friends for?" I grinned.
It might be a strange statement to make, but you know you've made up with a friend, or in this case made a new one, when they take you to the doctor's because of a nose bleed that they caused. I tried to tell Chris that it wasn't necessary, but he insisted. So, now I was sitting in a doctor's surgery with a flashlight being shined up my left nostril. Chris had also maintained that he should come into the examination room with me; he sat in chair to the side of me, looking on worriedly.
"I would normally send you for x-ray to confirm this, but it looks like you've broken it." He paused, removing his flashlight. I looked over at Chris who seemed to have turned very pale. "However, it isn't a bad break; it won't need to be re-set or anything like that." Chris exhaled heavily, if the doctor noticed he didn't mention it. "That must have been one very heavy door that you walked into." I grinned at the story I had concocted, sure it made me look stupid, but it saved the inevitable mountains of PR work that I would incur if the truth ever got out.
"Thanks Doc." I said appreciatively "I'm sorry to waste your time like this."
"Not at all." He smiled warmly.
"Yeah... um thanks" Chris said, standing.
"If the headaches get any worse then you may have a concussion. Bed rest is the best thing that I can recommend." He advised.
"Ok, thanks again." I said on the way out. Once the door had closed behind us and we were walking back down the long empty corridor towards the reception, Chris apologized once more.
"I'm so sorry about all this Alex. I don't know what came over me." He waved his arms expressively.
"It's all sorted out now Chris, it's in the past." I brought my hand to my nose, lightly brushing against it. "What say we keep this between ourselves? How about, I went to your place, we talked it over and now it's all good?" I suggested. He simply grinned and nodded a response in the affirmative.
That evening, after Chris had driven me home in my car and then caught a cab back to his place, I did as the doctor ordered and got to bed early. Thanks to all the painkillers I had taken, I found it easy to float off into a pleasant sleep.
The following day I was woken up by the noise of the intercom on the front door. It was one of those systems where visitors have to be 'buzzed in' before they have access to the building. I struggled out bed and dragged myself to the panel beside the door. I pressed the button and spoke into the microphone. "Who is it, and what do you want?"
"It's me, sorry to wake you, but I thought..." Chris's voice crackled over the speaker.
"Come on up." I said, cutting him off. I pressed another button and a green light came on, signalling that I had opened the front door. I rushed to put some clothes on and straighten out my hair. There was a knock on the door; I grudgingly opened it to see my friend's concerned face looking back at me.
"Hi Alex. You feeling alright this morning? You sounded a bit off on the speaker thing." He had come to check up on me. I smiled at the thought.
"Thanks for coming Chris. I'm feeling fine... I'm just not very good in the mornings."
"Have you had breakfast? I brought bagels!" He exclaimed, holding up a paper bag with the local bakery's logo on it, which caused me to giggle.
"Well... uh... as well as not being a morning person, I also not a breakfast person."
"Oh..." he pouted childishly "... you said that you cooked breakfast for Lance yesterday. Look! You don't even have top turn on the stove. Please?" he whined.
"Chris... I felt queasy all day after that fry up with Lance. Why don't you eat the bagels and I'll make us some coffee?" I tried to placate him.
"I suppose so." He continued to pout as he followed me into the kitchen. I suddenly had a brainwave, I needed something to show Chris that I was feeling better and to stop him from mulling over my refusal to eat breakfast with him - I had the perfect plan.
Chris took a seat at the kitchen table and I placed butter and cream cheese in front of him. I then filled the coffee maker with water and flipped the switch on the side of the contraption. I sat opposite my friend and decided to make my suggestion before he got pissed with me again. "Say Chris, how do you fancy a cookout? This afternoon maybe?" His whole demeanour changed, the smile that had faded when I turned down his bagels returned, along with a strange glint in his eye. I guess my proposal meant more to him than I realised.
"That's a great idea Alex! But...um... this is a third floor apartment... you don't have a garden, much less anywhere to put a grill."
"Sure I do! I have the roof garden... I mean, I share the roof garden with the other residents but there are only eight of us. I'll phone around and make sure that they don't mind us having some privacy up there for the rest of the day. There's already a fancy grill and everything up there." I explained.
"Wow! This is so cool! I've gotta go tell the guys." He stood, rushing towards the door. "Don't worry about the food, we'll sort it out!" He called as the door closed behind him. I giggled at his excited, childlike manner. I then noticed the remnants of a bagel on the table and popped it into my mouth without thinking. When I realized what I had done, and remembered how Chris had made such a fuss over my not doing it a few minutes ago, I laughed to myself.
I opened the door to see the grinning faces of my five new co-workers and friends. Joey was holding an ice box, presumably filled with many meaty treats. Justin and Lance were fooling around in front of the elevator doors. I greeted them warmly and invited them into my apartment. "Hey guys! Come on in... I'm going to need some help getting all the stuff up to the garden."
"Where is this oasis anyway?" Justin stepped up to the window. "All I can see is concrete."
"It's on the roof, isn't that cool?" Chris answered his question.
"I hope you have some beer somewhere in here. I'm thirsty." Joey whined
"Sure thing Joe." I waited for a reaction to my abbreviation of his name, but there was none, so I continued. "You can help me get it upstairs, there's a few more things that'll I need some help with too." I hinted.
"We'll help!" Justin offered his and Lance's services. Joey and I grabbed cases of beer from the fridge, while our helpers carried the rest of the stuff that I had laid out on the counter. Our quartet moved towards the door, I stopped when I saw Chris and JC standing in the middle of my sitting room and was about to suggest that they should help us carry our loads when I noticed the ice box, that Joey had dumped, between them. As Chris and I had so recently patched things up, I chose to go easy on him.
"Chris could you get the door for us?" He smiled. JC groaned. Chris's reaction was to poke his tongue out at his friend. He then skipped over to the door and opened it, holding it for the five of us, after we had passed him he allowed the door to close.
"We can take the elevator right?" he checked. I simply shook my head to inform him that we could. He pressed the call button, nothing was said as we waited for the elevator to arrive. The six of us rode up to the roof together, it was slightly cramped, but there were no complaints. The doors slid open and we stepped out in the bright sunlight. The initial reaction of the guys was as expected - they were stunned. All of the residents had put money together to make our own little paradise.
There was a fountain in the center, to right of which was a large barbeque grill and to the left was a table surrounded by chairs. There were pot plants scattered about with more impressive trees and shrubs around the edge, beside the largest was a swing bench. "Hey! This is amazing!" Chris exclaimed. "It's so private as well. Hey Joe, will you help me with the food?" Joey followed Chris over to the grill, placing the beer he was carrying in the shade. They began to fiddle with it and soon called JC over, who was still holding the ice box.
Justin had instantly been attracted to the water in the fountain, and was already splashing Lance. I went to his rescue. "Justin have you seen the basketball hoop over there." I pointed to the hoop which was attached to the side of the elevator shaft. His eyes became wide and he ran off towards the others who had now lit the barbeque. In just a few seconds he returned, dragging JC behind him.
"You do have a ball, don't you?" he asked worriedly.
"There's one in the storage shed." I pulled out a bunch of keys, selected one, and handed it to him.
He snatched the keys off me and continued to pull JC behind him as he moved towards the shed, shouting a "Thanks!" on the way.
I turned towards Lance, who was slightly damp, but had been saved from the worst of the water. "Hey, how are you holding up?" I asked, his response was a weak smile. Seeing that, I pulled him towards the swinging bench, grabbing two beers on the way. "Sit!" I commanded. He did as he was told; I sat next to him, pushing us back and setting the swing in motion. I handed him one of the cans I was holding, "Talk to me Lance." I said.
He sighed, took a sip of his beer and began to speak softly. "I feel gay... for the first time someone knows about me. You know about me. And its like, from now on, I can't turn back. I'm always going to be different."
"Do you want to turn back?" I asked gently.
"No, No. I don't think I do. It just feels like I'm in limbo. I'm gay, but I can't be gay because the guys don't know about me. I can't comment on a cute guy's ass and I have to pretend to be interested in all the girls that I'm set up with." He explained. I was afraid he was going to cry and so I tried to lighten the moment.
"They set you up?" I giggled. "They send you on blind dates, huh?"
"Oh, shut up." He punched my arm playfully. I became serious once more as I stood.
"Lance, you have taken a major step in talking to me, just take your time with this. It'll sort itself out eventually." He stood behind me, and followed me over to the grill where Joey and Chris were fighting over a spatula.
"Chris, it's my turn to flip the burgers." Joey whined, as Chris reached over to pull it from his hands. "Get your own spatula." He snatched it away.
"Children! Children!" I shouted as I pushed between them, removing the object from Joey and handing it to Lance. "The food'll be fine. Why don't we play some basketball with Justin and JC?"
"Are you sure it word burn?" Chris looked sceptical.
"I'm sure." I answered. We joined JC and Justin in shooting some hoops. We worked up quite a sweat. We messed around for twenty minutes or so, before teaming up - three on three. After several jokes, it seemed appropriate for the oldest three, Chris, JC and Joey to be on the same team. Our game was interrupted by the ringing of my mobile phone. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and walked towards the table, where my phone was resting.
"Hello, Alex Michaels speaking."
"Do you always have to be so business like?" My brother asked.
"Ah, shuddup! What do you want?" I joked with him.
"I wanna know where you are. You never go out on a Sunday... and yet, you're not home." He stated. I turned and looked towards the grill where the guys were piling all of the food onto plates.
"I'm on the roof, having a barbeque with a few friends. How do you know I'm not home?"
"Because I'm here, and the place is empty, and what's this about you having a few friends? You only have one friend, two if you count me." He teased.
"Are you going to come up here, or not?" I wanted to finish the conversation.
"Be there in a sec... don't eat anything without me... I'm starving!" He laughed and then hung up. *NSYNC had now sat down at the table and were busy scooping out salad and squiring various sauces onto their plates. I walked over to the table and leaned against the back of Justin's chair.
"I hope you don't mind, but we have some company." I informed them. They looked apprehensively at me.
"Is this company of the female variety?" Joey questioned.
"That's all it's ever about with you, isn't it Joe? Sex. Sex. Sex." Justin joked.
"I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but it's my brother." I said.
"As long as he doesn't freak out when he sees us..." JC began.
"I don't think there's much chance of that." I assured, walking over to the elevator, as it chimed and the doors opened. My little brother stepped out into the sunlight, although I probably shouldn't call him 'little' any longer. He was now my height, and at 17 was surprisingly well defined. I greeted him with hug.
"Hey Jess." He returned my embrace.
"Hi. Now get off me, you big oaf!" He said as he pushed me away. He moved towards the table, where *NSYNC had stopped eating and were looking towards him. He stopped a few paces short and turned back to face me. "I might have known you would be having lunch with a boy-band." He groaned and crinkled his nose. I stepped up alongside my sibling, placing my arm around his shoulder.
"Everyone, this is Jesse, my brother." I introduced him. He was greeted with various 'Hey's and 'Hello's. He took a seat next to Justin, and began to help himself to the food on table. I took the remaining place, between Jesse and Lance.
"He sure isn't shy, is he?" Lance whispered in my ear, as the seventeen year old next to me devoured a spare rib while at the same time laughing loudly at one of Justin's jokes.
"Nope, timid is not one the words I would use to describe him." I whispered back. Lance giggled and continued to eat. We sat at the table for over an hour, although all of the food had disappeared after twenty minutes. We chatted, laughed and fooled around - it felt great to relax with a group of guys, I hadn't done anything like this for years, although I still felt slightly out of place.
When we were out of beer Joey offered to go down to the grocery store to get some soft drinks, as we had all drunk enough considering it was still mid- afternoon. Justin stood from the table.
"How about some more b-ball? We didn't finish that three-on-three earlier." He asked, there was a resounding yes from the other band members, but I was slightly more reserved.
"I think I'll sit this one out." I said, offering no explanation, the truth was I just didn't feel like jumping around. I never could hold my drink very well, and the hot sun wasn't helping.
"Me too, I've got some catching up to do, with big bro." Jesse stated.
"Suit yourselves." Justin shrugged. My brother and I sat on the swing bench, which was now under the dappled shade of the trees. We said nothing for a few minutes; we simply watched the basketball game, laughing when someone fell over. Joey returned with the drinks and handed them out, he then said that he wanted to clean the barbeque and leave it as he found it - his mother had obviously taught him better than I had given her credit for. We went back to watching the game, until Jesse spoke.
"You like him don't you?" he said softly. He took my by surprise, but he did that often, he was very perceptive for a teenager.
"I'm not sure. He's cute, got a great personality, but there are other issues involved..." I trailed off.
"Like Britney?" He asked, which caused me choke on the cola I was sipping, I coughed and spluttered, the drink squirted out my nose and I spat the reminder onto the floor. I sat back and regained my composure.
"You were talking about him? I thought we were talking about..." I was stopped by Jesse's hand slapping over my mouth. It was then that I realised I had been yelling at the top of my voice, and all of the band were looking in our direction. I removed the hand, and spoke loudly so that they call all hear, "Simple misunderstanding - nothing to see here." I waved for them to continue with their game. I turned towards my brother and said simply, "Thanks."
"So, who did you think I was talking about then?" I looked towards the basketball hoop, where four sweaty members of *NSYNC had removed their shirts. He followed my gaze. "Oh." He said in understanding. "I suppose Lance is more your own age. You know he's not a natural blonde, right?" He asked, which made me giggle. "I hope he's gay; then you could get together. I never thought I'd say this, but you'd make a good couple." He stated warmly. "Now, let's see what I can do about getting you some quality time alone with your 'boyfriend'." He took on a childish tone as he said the last word. He jogged over to the makeshift basketball court and began to talk with Justin, who called a stop to their game. After a few short seconds they resumed. Joey had finished his cleaning and joined them, along with my brother. Both had removed their shirts beforehand. I watched their game, chuckling to myself at their friendly banter. I marvelled at the way my brother could just come into a group and be 'one of them' this quickly. I soon became tired of my musings, and decided that I was now ready to join the game.
As I stood, I saw Lance jump for the hoop, he dunked the ball successfully, but as he landed his ankle buckled and he ended up on the floor. He groaned loudly and rolled around, clutching his foot. I panicked when the accident transpired in front of me, and ran towards the huddle that had now formed around Lance. I pushed my way passed my brother and Justin and knelt down next to my injured comrade.
"Lance!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face to draw his attention. He looked towards me and stopped moaning, "Is it only your ankle that's hurting? Or is there something else?" He shook his head and pointed to his ankle. "Can you move it at all?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders and wiggled his ankle; then he winced in pain. "Ok, it's probably a sprain. Let's put some ice on it." I said gently to him. I then looked over my shoulder at Justin. "Would you help me get him up?" I asked him. Justin and I eased Lance up onto his one good foot.
"Alright, I can take it from here... you have fun." I suggested as I helped Lance hobble to one of the chairs at the table. I took the ice box, and removed a cooler pack; one of those gel filled ones. I took the chair next to Lance and looked at him sympathetically. "How are you feeling now?" I asked him.
"Ok, it's kind of a dull ache. I'm not going to need crutches or anything am I?" he was concerned.
"No, don't worry. You've either sprained it a little or just bruised it, we'll put some ice on it and you can rest it for a while. You should barely be able to feel it by tomorrow. It might hurt a little when I take your shoe off, I'll try to be gentle." I informed him. I pulled his sneaker off his left foot, followed by his sock; each action caused a small yelp from Lance. I then placed the cold object onto his ankle and raised it into the air, resting it on another chair which I had pulled up.
"Thanks Alex. It's usually me that administers the first aid... but since I was the injured one..." his voice faded, he shrugged his shoulders and sat back in his seat. We sat in silence, watching the others play once more, I found it strange that I was no longer bored. I put it down to being with someone, even if we weren't talking. I felt comfortable sitting next to Lance.
"Your brother is quite good looking." Lance said out of the blue. I laughed. Lance turned his nose up and looked the other way in mock-indignation. "Well he is." He defended himself.
"Yeah, I suppose he is." I agreed. "He's also my brother, and he's only seventeen."
"Really? Oh." Lance's face turned a deep shade of red, which only served to make me laugh more.
The seven of us were now lazing around in my lounge; we left the roof after the sun had gone down. Oddly enough we had the TV on a cartoon channel, it was the joint choice of Justin and Joey. I had suggested MTV, and then several other music channels but each was quickly shot down by the band members. I found it surprising that after all the time they had spent in the spotlight they still found it weird to see themselves on the television. My brother was the first to leave. "I'm sure I'll see the lot of you again soon. Bye." He shook several hands, and then came up to me and hugged me. "I'll call you." He said into my ear, when he heard the 'Aww's coming from the members of *NSYNC he broke the embrace, and flipped them the bird. I walked him to the door, and he moved down the hall to the elevator. As the doors were closing he shouted, at the top of his voice, "See you around Tad!". I cringed at the nickname, and silently prayed that none of my friends, who were in the apartment behind me, had heard.
I turned and closed the door behind me. To my dismay the first question that was asked was in relation to the name that my brother had used. "Who, or what, is Tad?" Chris asked.
"I'm glad to know that you're not losing your hearing in your old age, Chris." I joked.
"You'd better spill... or I'll be dishing out some payback in the near future." He threatened.
"Ok..." I gave in "... Tad is sort of an abbreviation for my middle name." This seemed to puzzle Justin, who gained a thoughtful expression.
"What on earth is your middle name to give you a nick name like Tad?" He asked. I looked at my feet, not that I was ashamed; more that I was preparing myself for the onslaught of jokes.
"It's Thaddeus." I winced as the laughing began. They cracked a few jokes, none of which I hadn't heard before. Finally, JC decided to come to my rescue.
"It's getting late, and I think we've offended you enough. Time to go guys." He instructed. They stood in unison, only to hear Joey tell them that he needed the bathroom, causing the others to flop back into their seats.
"I'll help you with these glasses." Lance motioned to the glassware scattered around the room. I grabbed a few, and he did the same. He followed me out to the kitchen. Looking over his shoulder to make sure that we were alone, he moved close to me and spoke softly, "I'm going to tell them tomorrow. Could you... um... call a meeting for me?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Not everyone is going to react as well as I did." I became worried.
"I think they'll be Ok about it. We'll just have to see, won't we?" He grinned, perhaps too widely. It caused me to wonder if he was truly prepared for what could happen.
I was the first into the boardroom the next day. After taking a seat at the table, I opened my briefcase and removed the files that I would need. I was early, but that was the way I liked it. However, just a few seconds after I had laid the files out on the table in front of me, Lance entered. I looked up at him and smiled.
"You're early" he observed.
"Well, so are you."
He took a seat at the head of the table, fairly close to me and for the first time since he had walked in that morning, I really looked at him. He was pale, had dark bags under his eyes and from the way he shifted uneasily in his seat, I could tell he was nervous.
We talked about anything and everything for a few minutes; I thought it would help to take his mind off of the task at hand.
I had him laughing openly by the time the rest of the guys walked in, but as soon they did Lance remembered why he was here - his demeanor changed instantly. I turned my attention to the rest of the group,
"Hi guys, take a seat, this shouldn't take long."
I was greeted warmly by them, and they did as I said.
By about five minutes into the meeting I had sorted out one appearance with them - MTV still wanted their interview - an update on the album and stuff, they were going to do that on Friday. I was ready to start discussing their next appointment, when Lance leaned over and whispered in my ear.
"I'm not feeling too great, I think I'm gonna be sick."
I really felt for him, and so I made a decision. It may not have been the best one I have ever made, but it seemed a good idea at the time.
"So, what's next?" JC enquired.
"Next, I want to talk about the interview for Smash Hits magazine," they groaned, but before anyone could say anything else, I added, "But first I think Lance has something slightly more important to say."
He looked at me, and then turned whiter than I had ever thought possible, his face then took on an interesting shade of green. He somehow managed to keep from heaving. Following a few seconds of silence, Lance began, "G...g...guys," he stuttered,
"What is it Lance?" Chris seemed worried, the others had leaned forward in their seats, he certainly had their attention.
"Well... Um... I guess there's no easy and painless way of saying this..."
"What's wrong, are you sick Lance?" JC interrupted.
"Shhhh... Let him finish." Joey put his arm in front of JC to stop his inquisition.
"Well... I'm gay", and just like that Lance dropped his bombshell.
Instinctively, I looked at the other four and tried to work out what they were thinking, I decided I would know soon enough and turned my attention back to Lance. I noticed he was looking at me; I smiled supportively and nodded my approval. He seemed grateful for my support and smiled back. I think Justin, who was sitting opposite me and just as close to Lance, caught our exchange as he squeezed his shoulder and repeated my actions exactly. He said nothing. I returned my attention to the three remaining guys. We were caught in another silence. JC had developed an interest in his hands; he was busy clicking his knuckles. Joey was sitting back in his chair and had not yet moved since he had heard the news. Chris turned to face Lance and looked as though he was about to speak, but stopped when JC stood and walked behind me to stand next to Lance.
"Stand up Lance." he said calmly, but when Lance didn't move instantly, JC became annoyed. "I said, stand up!" Lance began to stand, but JC grabbed him by his shoulders and yanked him to his feet. "C'mon you fucking faggot, get up!" Chris and I stood; Justin was shocked and glued to his seat.
JC began to shake Lance, screaming expletives at him. When he saw Chris and me closing on him, he let go of Lance. "You can't be a homo, do you know what this will do to us... to *NSYNC. Have you thought about that?"
"N...N...No..." Lance answered him.
"That's right you haven't, have you? You're stupid Lance, you're a stupid queer!" and with that he pulled back his fist and swung at his band mate. I grabbed Lance and pulled him away from the right hook. Chris stepped in between Lance and JC and for the second time in three days he broke a nose with a punch to JC's face. I had to hold Chris to stop him from doing any more damage.
I looked towards Justin for help. He stood and dragged a dazed JC out of the room, but not before he could yell "Burn in hell, fag!" It was at this point that I noticed that Joey had left without saying a word, Lance was now slumped on the floor and Chris was sitting on the table. I walked over to Lance and pulled him up, guiding him to a chair. Once he was seated, Chris began to talk, "You know Lance; that was pretty major thing to drop on us. We need time to deal with it." He paused "He had no right to try to hit you, but to be honest, it didn't surprise me." With that, he made his exit, leaving Lance and I alone.
Throughout all of this, Lance had done nothing; he had just allowed it all to happen. Now that the rest of the group had left, he began to sob. I pulled him up from his chair and embraced him. Lance broke down; he squeezed me tightly and cried into my shoulder.
End of Chapter 5