***CELEBRITY***

***Please Note: This story contains scenes depicting sexual acts between members of the same sex. If you are under the age of 18, or if it is illegal for you to read such material in your state, please do not read further. If you are offended by this type of material, again, please do not read further.

This story is completely a work of fiction. The characters and situations in the story exist solely in the author's imagination. Any reference to the sexual identity of real people is completely fiction. If you have questions, comments or suggestions regarding this story, please email me. Flames ignored.

For a list of my other stories, and info about me, go to my Website.

Many celebrities are mentioned in this story, and some of them are even characters in the story. I am in no way trying to say that I know anything about their personal sexualities by putting them in this story. Although this story is mainly about a fictional celebrity, I wanted to say that I do not know any of the actual celebrities mentioned in this story. I am simply borrowing their persona.

"Secrets Of The Morning" is a novel by V.C. Andrews®. It is not a television show. The show is only part of this story. Several liberties will be taken with this story, and although I'll try to stick to the true timeline of events in the careers of *Nsync and Backstreet Boys as well as various other stars, I don't see how I can keep up with that kind of research and continue to work at my day job. The personalities of the celebrities in this story may be quite different than what you're used to. I'm not concerned with their professional images.

I hope that everyone enjoys the story and realizes that this is only a story. I don't know any of the stars mentioned in this story personally, and their sexuality, although sometimes under scrutiny, is never anyone's business than their own. If, on an odd chance, this story reflects actual events at all, that is completely coincidental. I'm not a spy, and I would never stalk a star. :)

Eric Draven®

all lyrics in the story are also under copyright...please remember that

any lyrics borrowed from other artists will be credited at the bottom of the chapter

Last Time:

"Yes," she said. "Because of the movie, you are now a hate crime activist."

"Well, I like to think that the movie just heightened my awareness," he said. "I got involved in activism, because even after Matthew Shepherd and Tobias Clemmons, it just doesn't stop. Every day, you can turn on the news and find hate crimes happening all over America."

"Its so sad," she said, nodding.

"Its more than sad, Rosie," he said, trying desperately not to get agitated. "Its an American tragedy that can and must be stopped. This is America. This is the country that people come to, from all over the world, to live in peace and freedom. Yet, some Americans can't walk down the street without being victims, and that's a tragedy."

"It certainly is," she agreed. "Do you think the movie will make people think?"

"It will make some people think," he replied. "But there are those people out there that it is too late to reach. Those people, Rosie, are the ones that need help."

"I so agree," she said. "Tell us about your hotline."

"Well," he said. "The hotline is a nation wide toll free number that anyone can call when they believe they are about to become the victim of a hate crime, or they already have been, and they can't get the police to help them. Its for people who want to help, and its for people who need help."

"For those of you at home, the number is at the bottom of the screen," she said. "For those of you in the audience, one of Skyler's Help Line cards will be passed out to everyone as you leave."

==IN THE NEWS==

"Pop Music's newest face is Chad Thomas, the seventeen year old brother of Pop Super Start, Skyler Thomas. Chad's first Pop single, Everything She Wants, a remake of the Wham! hit, is moving up the charts. After a live performance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, where Chad had the audience cheering shows us that we can expect a great album."

Randy Reagan: The Rag

"Pop Star, Skyler Thomas introduced his younger brother, Chad Thomas at the American Music Awards, where the younger Thomas gave a great performance, singing Wham!'s Everything She Wants. Chad Thomas's debut album, Ecstaticling, is due out in Mid February. *Nsync's Lance Bass is managing the young Thomas's musical career, and it is under Bass's Freelance Label that Chad Thomas's album will be found."

Sway: MTV News

*Celebrity*

Chapter 14

"That was just awesome!" cried Rosie when Chad finished singing and came to sit with her. "You are such a cutie-patootie!"

"Thanks, Rosie," said Chad, blushing.

"You and your brother," said Rosie. "Wow! Two apples from the same tree. What's it like living with Skyler and JC?"

"Like I'm living with one of my friends most of the time," he said, smiling. "Skyler and JC both love to have fun. They're always acting like a couple of kids, throwing cereal at each other, arguing over who's turn it is to do the dishes. They're a riot."

"You said most of the time," said Rosie. "What about the other times?"

"Well, Skyler can be pretty strict about homework, when to come home," he said. "JC can be really strict. I came home late one night while Sky was in LA doing some appearance thing, and JC went ballistic on me. He grounded me until Sky came home."

"So, even though its like living with a couple of kids, they both know how to crack down when its important?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," said Chad. "We get along really good, though."

"How does your sister feel, being the only girl?" she asked.

"Cassie loves us," laughed Chad. "She doesn't always know it, but she loves us."

"She's modeling now, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, Britney Spears has her new clothing line, and Cassie is her, like, Cover Girl," said Chad.

"Wow," said Rosie. "What's it like living in a house full of celebrities?"

"Its great," he replied. "We live right across the street from Lance Bass, and Joey Fatone lives up the street, and he's like the greatest guy to hang out with."

"So you're really close with *Nsync, too, then?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he said, nodding his head. "We're like one big bunch of brothers. We all love to hang out with each other. And then there are the guys from Utopia."

"That's right," she said. "Those guys live in Orlando, too."

"Yeah, Rusty Kirk lives three houses down from Justin," said Chad. "And he's always either at our house or at Lance's house."

"Lance is managing you, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "My album is on his label."

"So you're a Freelance guy," she said, smiling at him.

"Sure am," he replied.

"Well, Chad," said Rosie. "Why don't we give the audience your gift?"

"That sounds like a great idea," replied Chad as five men started walking up the isles, handing copies of Chad's CD to everyone.

* * *

"You did great, Chad," said Lance as they left. "While we're here, though, I've booked you for a photo shoot."

"Cool," said Chad. "So I'll be on the cover of like Rolling Stone, or something."

"Something like that," laughed Lance. "You sure are as eager as your brother."

"So when do I get to sing again?" he asked.

"Tomorrow," said Lance. "You're doing TRL."

* * *

"Did you guys buy every outfit in the store?" asked JC as Justin and Skyler came into the house carrying more bags than God would need.

"Don't look at me," said Skyler. "These are all Justin's. I have enough clothes."

"What do you need with all of those clothes, Curly?" asked JC.

"They aren't all clothes," replied Justin. "Some of them are shoes and stuff."

JC chuckled at that. Having Justin around was always good for JC, and Skyler was trying to keep him in a good mood. He'd been kind of cranky since Skyler's last Rosie appearance. He wasn't real thrilled about the hot line. He was even more upset when he heard about the foundation that Skyler was planning to start with Madonna and Rupert Everett.

So with both of the twins in New York, Skyler was trying to do as many "JC" things as he could. They hadn't been getting along well lately. JC seemed to be mad at him over being nominated for Best Actor, or something. Skyler was about at his wit's end about it. JC should have been happy for him. He knew that JC didn't like him doing the movie in the first place, but he still should have been happy about the nomination.

Justin didn't like the movie, either, but he was happy about The Oscars. He even wanted to go with Skyler to the show. He'd talked to Lance about it over and over, and Lance just insisted that JC was just crabby, because he was having trouble writing his music. Skyler thought it was more than that.

Still, it was more pleasant around the house to have JC happy, so Skyler was doing as many things as he could to keep him happy. In truth, though, Skyler couldn't wait until either one of them went on tour again. Skyler was just about done with his third album, and the guys hadn't even gotten half way through theirs, so it looked like Skyler was going to go on tour before JC. He'd even told Madonna that he was ready for Europe.

"So what are we doing tonight?" asked Justin when he was finished taking all of the bags upstairs.

"You are going to go home tonight," said JC. "Skyler and I would like to have a night alone. We haven't had one since the twins left, and they've been gone for five nights."

"Hey," said Justin. "You're the one who asked me to hang out this week."

"Yeah, but I meant hang out for a while, and then go home," said JC.

"Well, I'll get my stuff and go home, then," said Justin, walking out of the room.

"Shit!" spat JC.

Skyler sighed and went to the kitchen to start making lunch. He knew he was in for another day of JC's snapping and sulking, and he didn't know if he could deal with it. They were supposed to be happy now. Why couldn't JC just be happy? If he was having trouble with his music, that was one thing. But this was way more than that. Things were different between them. It was as if JC was either losing interest or trying to distance himself from Skyler.

Skyler was going out of his way to try to make things better. One thing he'd done that was probably not the absolute right thing was to refuse to sing Hate Crime at the Grammys. He was going to sing Perpetual Prisoner instead. JC and the rest of *Nsync were going to be at the show, and Skyler didn't want to upset JC on what should be a happy night. Janet was a little more than disappointed, but Skyler really wanted to try and solve whatever the problem was between him and JC. Singing the song would have just been rocking the boat a little too much.

Another thing that bothered Skyler was that JC went to the compound to work on his music. Skyler had put the studio in the house, so that he, JC and Chad could work at home. So far, the only one that was doing that was Skyler. Chad didn't have any new material, yet, so that wasn't a problem. Skyler had recorded half of his album already. The song that he and JC had written together was still waiting for JC to add his voice to it, and Skyler was worried that it would never happen.

"What are you making?" asked JC from behind him, startling him.

"Bacon and tomato sandwiches," replied Skyler. "There are chips in the cabinet, too."

"Sounds good," said JC, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," said Skyler.

"I'm sorry for being so mean all the time," whispered JC.

"You aren't mean," said Skyler. "Just a little tense."

"Well, I'm still sorry," he said. "I'm the one with the problem, so I shouldn't take it out on you."

"What's wrong, Josh?" asked Skyler, hoping that he wouldn't set him off just by asking.

"I'm not sure," sighed Josh, letting go of Skyler and sitting down at the breakfast table. "Part of it is the album, I guess. Everyone is off doing their own thing right now, and I'm just kind of puttering along with it."

"Have you talked to the guys about this?" he asked, turning to face JC.

"How can I?" asked JC. "Lance is always off with either Chad or Meredith, Joey is shooting the movie, Chris is doing whatever Chris does, and Justin is too busy shopping to be bothered by it."

"Lance will be back in three days, baby," said Skyler. "Chris called this morning, but you were at the compound. I thought he'd call you there."

"I haven't heard from Chris in four days," said JC.

"Is something else wrong, Josh?" probed Skyler softly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, rubbing his temples.

"Well, I get the feeling that something is wrong with us," said Skyler sadly. "Its a feeling."

"We're fine, Sky," replied JC, but he still wasn't looking at Skyler. "I'm just in a mood lately."

They ate lunch in silence. JC rubbed Skyler's leg with his foot, but he wouldn't say a word. Skyler hated this. He wanted so bad to reach out to JC, but he was afraid that JC wouldn't respond if he did. So many things had been on JC's terms lately, and Skyler was really getting tired.

After lunch, they sat by the pool, holding hands. JC talked sporadically, but they weren't really discussing important things. He told Skyler how nice it was just to be with him alone like that, but Skyler could tell that his heart wasn't in it. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that if whatever it was didn't stop soon, he was going to lose JC.

As if JC could read his mind, things changed between them. JC leaned over and kissed Skyler, and Skyler could feel the emotion in the kiss. They looked into each other's eyes, and then JC stood up, and leading Skyler by the hand, they went into the house and upstairs.

Wordlessly, they took off their trunks, and before Skyler knew what was happening, they were lying in the bed, holding each other. JC was kissing his shoulder and rubbing his stomach. Skyler reached down and wrapped his hand around JC, eliciting a sigh from him.

"I miss this," whispered JC. "I miss it a lot."

"I've been right here, Josh," said Sky.

Then they were kissing, and it was a kiss like the old kisses. JC put himself into the kiss, and Skyler could feel love and need. Their arms were around each other, and they were holding each other tightly. JC broke the kiss only to start kissing Skyler's neck. He slid down the bed, and taking Skyler completely by surprise, JC engulfed him.

It started fast and urgently, but then JC slowed himself down, and it was tender and soft. His mouth barely touched Skyler's dick. Leaving his dick alone for a while, JC started licking and sucking his balls. Skyler spread his legs to give his lover more access, and JC began to lick Skyler's inner thighs.

He alternated between Skyler's balls and his dick, trying to make it last. He wanted to show Skyler that there was nothing wrong with their relationship. He treated him so gently, and soon Skyler was moaning and sighing regularly. He finally started ignoring Skyler's dick. If he kept up what he was doing to it, the he wasn't going to get what he needed from Skyler.

He let him know what he wanted by simply reaching over into the nightstand drawer and getting the lube. He lubed Skyler's dick thoroughly, and then he lowered himself onto it. He made sure to flex his anal muscles and give Skyler the ride of his life. Skyler's eyes were close, and JC was glad, because if they were open, he would see his tears.

* * *

"And the winner is," said Angelina Jolie, opening the envelope as the crowd grew quiet. "Skyler Thomas for Hate Crime."

Skyler jumped out of his seat and hugged Madonna tightly. He was now one of the youngest men to ever win the Academy Award for Best Actor In A Leading Role. As he made his way to the podium, JC watched from home on the television. He wanted to be proud of Skyler, but he just couldn't get past the movie.

He didn't know what it was about that movie that upset him so much. And he should have been more supportive when Skyler had co-founded the foundation for Hate Crime victims. He didn't understand why he was acting the way he was. He loved Skyler with all of his heart, and he shouldn't have been fighting with him all the time. He was amazed that Skyler still loved him after the way he'd been acting so long.

Everybody noticed it. Lance and Justin both had tried to talk to him about it. Britney had given him Hell when she was there, and Cassie wasn't really talking to him. Chad even stayed away from him as much as he could. He knew that they were all afraid that he would snap at them, and it made him sad. He didn't know what to do to make things better now.

Skyler had been gone for three days. He knew that he'd left early just to get some time away. Yesterday, JC had finally went into the home studio and recorded his vocals for their duet. Lance had helped him. The rest of the time, they were all at the compound, working on their own album.

Skyler had been spending a lot of time away from home since January. He'd released Get Up late that month, and he'd been traveling all over, doing talk shows, radio shows and photo shoots. What got to JC was that almost every time he saw Skyler on television, Rupert Everett was right there with him. He trusted Skyler completely, and he knew that they were friends, but he couldn't help thinking that it should have been him out there with Skyler and not Rupert.

"You've got to stop this, JC," said Lance later that day. "You're making Skyler think that you don't love him anymore."

"I love Skyler more than life itself," said JC defensively.

"Well you don't act like it," replied Lance. "Do you know that Skyler agreed to a world tour so that he wouldn't have to be around for you to snap at all the time?"

"What?" asked JC shocked.

"That's right," said Lance angrily. "He's touring Europe this summer. He said he hates to be away from you, but being gone wouldn't be much different than being around anymore. JC you have that man ready to leave you."

"I don't want him to leave me," said JC sadly.

"Well, you're doing a fabulous job of pushing him away," said Lance. "I don't know what is going on with you. You're mean to Skyler. You're a bear in the studio. Every time one of us makes a tiny mistake, you take our heads off. None of us go out of our way to spend time with you anymore, Josh. You're like a different person."

* * *

"Its Hell without you around, Sky," said Justin when Skyler called. "Josh is unbearable."

"He's unbearable when I'm there, Curly," replied Skyler. "I don't even want to come home right now."

"What do you mean?" asked Justin worried now.

"Exactly what I said," replied Skyler. "Its been so nice with no one yelling at me every time I say something."

"You're leaving him, aren't you?" asked Justin, and Skyler could hear the sadness in his voice.

"No," he replied, surprising himself. "I love him, Justin. Even with everything that's been happening, I still love Josh."

* * *

"I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I'll be alright
Perhaps its just my imagination

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat, shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It's time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation

At least there's pretty lights
And though there's little variation

It nullifies the night
>From overkill

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat, shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I'll be alright
It's just overkill

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat, shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

Ghosts appear and fade away," he sang. The audience cheered, and inside he felt everything get magically better again. God, he couldn't wait to tour.

"A different sound for you," said Rosie when he sat beside her.

"Yeah," he replied. "But its a fun song to sing, and they sure seemed to like it." The audience cheered again, proving him right.

"Well, it is a good song," she said. "Just a different sound."

"Well, the song was originally sang by Men At Work," he said. "When they told me that I'd be singing it, I tried to keep it as close to their style as possible."

"I think you did a great job," she said. "When is the album coming out?"

"Tomorrow," replied Skyler. "The first single is climbing the charts, and I'm eager to get back out on the road."

"So, no more movies?" she asked.

"Oh," said Skyler. "I'm sure there'll be others in the future, but my music is what I want to focus on right now."

"Music does seem to be in your blood," she agreed. "Speaking of blood, your brother, the cutie-patootie, came to see us while he was in New York last week. His album came out a few weeks ago."

"It sure did," replied Skyler. "I'm very proud of Chad. He's working very hard."

"He sang a song for us, and we loved it," she said.

"I'm trying to convince him to tour with me," laughed Skyler.

"As your opening act?" she asked. "That would be great!"

"It sure would," said Skyler. "The Thomas Brothers take on the world."

* * *

"So things are bad at home," said Madonna. "And you want to run off to Europe."

"You've been after me to do a world tour for a while," he said. "I'm ready now. That's all."

"Please," she said. "I've talked to JC."

"Oh?" he asked suddenly very interested.

"He says that things aren't so great between you," she replied. "What's going on, Sky?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," he sighed.

"That bad?" she asked.

"It is that bad," he said. "He's like a completely different person. And that person seems to really dislike me."

"He's jealous of Rupert, for one thing," she said.

"Rupert?" asked Skyler. "Rupert and I are friends, M. Josh knows I wouldn't cheat on him."

"Yes, he knows that," she agreed. "But he says that he feels like you'd rather hang out with Rupert than him, and he doesn't like that."

"Well, if he'd just stop screaming at me all the time, I'd spend a lot more time with him," he said quickly.

"So its all JC's fault," she said sarcastically.

"He's been like this ever since I started shooting Hate Crime," he said; his voice raising with every word. "When the song was finished, he was livid. You should have seen him after the party for the foundation!"

"What's his problem?" she asked in a lighter tone.

"I don't know," he said. "He's like that with everyone. Cassie won't talk to him, the guys try to stay out of his way, Chad would rather be at Joey's than at home. Josh has just about alienated everyone."

"Calm down, Sky," she said.

"I don't understand," he said, ignoring her. "All I did was make a movie with a message, and, oh, but it was the wrong message. He hates me, because I played in that damned movie!"

* * *

"So you're being a bully all the time, huh?" said Karen Chasez. She'd come to find out what was wrong with her son. Justin had called her with an awful story about how Joshua had run Skyler off, and he was afraid that Skyler might not come home again.

"I've been pretty awful, Mom," he said near tears.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Anything that I can help with?"

"I don't know what's wrong," he admitted miserably. "I just get so angry with everyone."

"Even Skyler?" she asked.

Karen hadn't been exactly thrilled when her son had told her he was gay. She'd seen Skyler Thomas on television countless times by then, and when Josh told her that they were in love, she still wasn't thrilled. She'd come to know and love Skyler, and she respected him very much. Through that, she'd become more understanding and accepting of his sexuality, and she'd come to love Skyler as another son. She didn't see enough of the boys, but she called as often as she could. Frankly, she was very worried about their relationship.

"Yes," he said, putting his head in his hands and starting to sob. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Mom."

"Have you talked to anyone about this?" she asked, making his head snap up, a protest on his quivering lips. "Don't. Sometimes its good to take an objective look into what's troubling you. It isn't as bad as you think, Josh."

"I want to talk to Skyler," he said, swapping his tears for more anger. "But every time I do, I see this worried look in his eyes, and it makes me so mad to know that he's worried about what I'm going to say, or do to him."

"Joshua," said his mother. "You have got to talk to someone about this. I get frightening calls from Justin and Cassie, and then I come here, and you break down and sob one minute and take my head off the next. Son, you have to talk this out. If you can't talk to Skyler, have Johnny set you up with a councilor."

* * *

"Its so good to have you staying with me," said Mark as he and Skyler sat down to dinner.

"Mark, it's my apartment," laughed Skyler.

"You know what I mean," he said. "Are you sure this thing with JC won't just go away on its own?"

"Have you not heard a word I've said?" asked Skyler. "He is really going through something, but he won't tell me what it is. Instead he yells at me, slams things around and scares everyone. Mark, if things don't change, I'm going to have to take Cassie and Chad and leave."

"Oh, thank God," sighed Mark, shocking Skyler completely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Sky, this has been going on forever, and I can't help wondering just what's so special about JC Chasez that you would let him treat you like dirt and get away with it," said Mark. "I know I fucked up, and there is no chance that you will ever love me the way you love JC, but I'd rather see you alone and happy than with him and so unhappy all of the time. You've got to leave him."

* * *

"Here is a copy of your tour schedule," said Madonna, handing him a sheet of paper as she shuffled through a stack of paperwork. "Europe is included."

"Thank you," he replied, studying the list of cities and countries.

The two were sitting in Orlando by Skyler's pool. Skyler had been home for exactly two hours, and he had yet to see JC. Chad had picked him up at the airport, and Cassie had left the house only a few minutes ago to go with Sheila, her vocal coach, to practice. She'd be replacing Niki on this tour, because Niki was working on her own career. She'd called Skyler and apologized, and he'd been sorry that she wouldn't be joining him. He'd miss her, but he was thrilled that she was getting back to work on her own music.

"I also have a bunch of other stuff for you," she said. "The copy of the new confidentiality agreement, a list of radio interview dates and photo shoots. Things like that. You really won't worry too much about radio interviews until England, but its all in there anyway."

"This says that I have to be in Japan in two weeks," he said, looking from the sheet of paper in his hands to her.

"Right," she replied. "Problem?"

"No, I guess," he said, turning his attention back to the paper.

"Cassie is ready for this, right?" she asked.

"She's excited," he said absently.

"And Chad is up to a full tour?" she asked. "What does Lance have to say about it?"

"Lance supports Chad's decision to tour, of course," said Skyler. "And you just try and talk Chad out of going on tour. He'll bite your head off."

"Skyler," said JC's voice, and Skyler didn't know if was going to be angry at him or happy to see him.

"Hello, Josh," said Skyler, standing up and turning to face his lover.

"Why didn't you call me?" asked JC, smiling at him. "I'd have picked you up."

"I tried," replied Skyler. "Your cell phone is off, and Chad answered the phone here."

"Oh," said JC still smiling at him. "I was at the compound, working on the album."

"How's that going?" asked Skyler.

"Its almost done," replied JC. The same answer he gave every time Skyler asked that question. "So, you're going over your tour information?"

"Yeah, I leave in two weeks," he said, noting that the stiff smile was still frozen on JC's face.

"Where to?" asked JC.

"Japan," replied Skyler.

to be continued

Overkill is a song by Men At Work

My other stories on Nifty:

Incest:
Christopher's Story
Nicholas And Mark

Adult Youth:
Detahz
Boys Of Summer
Midnight Encounter

For a complete list of all of my stories, go to my website.

Stories That I Really Like On Nifty:

High School:
Matthew Figures It Out
Carrots And Celery

Incest:
Family Album
My Step-Brother, Jacob

College:
Working It Out

Prolific Nifty Authors That I REALLY Recommend:

Pfantazm
Greg Bowden
Eric Case
Justin Case (In Loving Memory)