Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 09:47:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Red <redfirewitch@yahoo.com>
Subject: Chances Are Part 6 (Boyband slash)

Title: Chances Are (Part 6)

Author: Red (redfirewitch@yahoo.com)

Disclaimer: This is just fiction and there isn't an
ounce of truth about the sexuality of the Nsync boys
in here. At least not as far as I know. If you're
below 18 or if you don't want to read fiction about
homosexuality, do not go further than this line.

Dedication:
To Diana Martin, author of Shattered, who made me cry
with her marvelous writing. And I mean real, big, fat,
tears!
As always, special thanks to the special Wen for
always alerting me about the Mysterious One's latest
installment! A fairy godmother's
work is never done! ;-P
Finally, thank you to all those who remembered this
story and asked for it. (Hi Damita!) This part would
have taken months (instead
of weeks!) if it hadn't been for you guys.
~~~~
Previously on Chances Are:

JC's eyes widened as he saw that as Justin removed his
shirt, he had accidentally rubbed off some of the
concealer. The red mark stood
out vividly now against Justin's skin. Anyone had to
just look at Justin and they would see it.

JC mentally prayed that Justin would put on his shirt
before anyone looked at him.

'God, please don't let anyone see it. Please don't let
anyone..'

"Justin? Why do you have a hickey on your neck?" Joey
asked loudly.

There was a sudden silence in the room as all eyes
fixed on Justin's neck.

'Damn!'

~~~~
Part 6

"Look at the size of that!"
"So that's what you were off doing!"
"Who was it?"
"Michelle!!"
"No way! It's that cute wardrobe assistant!
Whatsaname? Lucy?"
"She was with us all.DAMN! It's Christina!"
"Oh my god! It has to be Christina! You disappeared
and came back with her!"
"Wait till Britney hears about this! Chick fight!"
"I want to see that!"
"Oh yeah!"
"JC, you knew about this didn't you?"

JC and Justin looked at each other, lost as to how to
answer the onslaught of questions and comments. The
truth? A lie? What? But
before they could come up with something, Julian stuck
his head into the room.

"What's taking you so long! Come on, people! Move it!
Time doesn't wait for pop stars either!" the flustered
manager yelled.

With a look of relief, Justin just flashed a secretive
grin at his bandmates and quickly pulled on his shirt
and hurried out of the room.
At least he could make a temporary getaway from the
questions. JC was about to follow suit when Joey
grabbed his arm.

"You're not getting off so easy. Spill it!"

"I've got no idea!" JC lied.

"Yeah right! It's Christina, isn't it? That's why
you're protecting the both of them!"

"Joey, I don't know anything." JC repeated, desperate
to get away as he was starting to panic. And when he
panicked, he said and did
moronic stuff.

"You were with him the whole time! You must have seen
them at it! Come on, man! Share!"

By now JC was getting angry.
"Fine! So what if it was Chrissy! What's it to you!?"
he yelled and hurried out of the room, leaving stunned
Joey behind. As JC left the
room, he realized that he had just told the guys the
very thing that Justin told him not to. This wasn't
good.

"Ok, what just happened? I thought we were just
teasing!" Joey asked Lance and Chris who just shrugged
and pulled him out of the
room to head for the back exit where the limousine was
parked.

They didn't quite manage to escape the attention of
the resourceful fans. Somehow word had got out that
NSync was also at that venue
and the girls figured out the groups exit plans. As
the guys were steered into the limo, screaming fans
tried to catch the attention of
their favorite group member. But in a matter of
seconds, thanks to Julian's hurried steerage, the guys
were seated and the car was
moving.

Joey, Lance and JC were sitting facing the front while
Justin, Chris and Julian sat facing the back. Justin
was already preparing
himself to answer the questions that he was sure would
be coming. Instead what he got was a guilty look from
JC and a knowing grins
from the rest.

"What!?" Justin asked.

"So, how are you going to explain this to Brit?" Chris
asked.

"Explain what? I'm taking the fifth. I'm not admitting
anything." Justin stated with a smile.

"Oh come on! We know! JC told us! You and Christina!
She gave you that hickey!" Joey added.

"JC What?!" Justin yelled, looking at JC.

"Don't be mad at JC, Justin. Joey wormed it out of
him. You know, JC can't keep a secret." Lance said,
trying to pacify the blond who
was glaring at JC.

JC knew that he was in some serious shit. He had gone
and done exactly what Justin had told him not to do in
the first place. But he
didn't have choice and he didn't mean to anyway. Joey
just misunderstood his outburst. Or so JC justified to
himself. Somehow he
doubted that, Justin was going to buy that excuse.

"JC told you Chrissy and I made out?" Justin asked,
his tone low and dangerous as he stared at his best
friend.

"Like we wouldn't have figured it out anyway! Just be
careful, Curly! Britney's not going to like this if
she finds out!" Joey advised.

Justin just kept silent. What could he say? If he
denied it, he would have to tell the truth. And that
wasn't going to happen. Especially
now. He was inwardly seething because JC had just
ignored his wishes and gone ahead with his stupid
suggestion. It was like what he
wanted didn't even count!

'Fine if that's the way he wants it, that's what he'll
get. If what I say doesn't even matter, then I just
won't say anything!'

The limousine arrived at the restaurant within minutes
as they all got out and hurried into the building
before the vehicle drew too
much attention. Once they were in, the manager led
them to a closed off section where a reporter was
waiting. While following Julian
as he led the group to the table, JC pulled at
Justin's arm.

"I can explain," he said

"I don't want to hear it," Justin said before walking
faster to join the rest already at the table. He sat
between Julian and Chris, making
it obvious to JC that he didn't want to sit beside
him.

JC exhaled in frustration and took a seat beside
Chris. Lance sat beside him, followed by Joey and then
Kate Craven, the reporter. The
table was round so everyone was able to see everyone
else.

"Hi, guys. I'm Kate Craven. How is everyone?" the
reporter asked, as she shook hands with everyone.

Joey. "Hungry."
Lance. "Fine. Thank you."
JC. Smile.
Justin. Nod.
"Any relation to Wes?"

The last comment had came from Chris, causing Kate to
grin and shake her head.

"Too bad! So how does this work? We eat and talk? Just
beware projectile food." Chris warned.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about having to do this, this way
but you guys are pretty busy people and this is the
only chance I've got." Kate
explained, smiling apologetically.

"It's ok. Anything was a pretty lady." Joey answered
with a wink.

Kate just smiled, knowing full well Joey's reputation
for flirting. She glanced at Lance and for a moment
she thought she saw a frown
on his face. But the look was gone in an instant and
she didn't think much about it.

"So, everyone ready to place their orders?" Julian
asked, as he gestured to the waiter. As always, his
eye was on the clock as he
wanted to follow the schedule closely.

While everyone was placing their order, JC tried to
get Justin's attention but the blond adamantly refused
to meet his eyes. Finally
giving up, JC just leaned back in his chair and
decided to just the interview over and done with. Then
he would apologize, grovel, beg
and do anything necessary to get Justin to listen to
him.

He felt someone elbow him and he look up in a daze.
"Huh?"

"Sorry. 'Huh' isn't on the menu." Chris replied.

Realizing that they were waiting for him to place his
order, JC just glanced at his menu.
"Caesar Salad."

He wasn't hungry anymore but he knew he had best order
something anyway. At least it would give him something
to pick at.

Once the waiter was gone, Kate began the interview.
"So, since the last time Seventeen talked to Nsync,
what's the girlfriend status like? An update please?"

"Not much change. Chris is the only one with a
girlfriend crazy enough to put up with our schedule.
The rest of us are still looking for
some as insane as Danielle." Joey answered.

"Hey lay off my baby!" Chris protested.

"Lance, how about you and Danielle Fisher?"

Lance just shook his head.
"We dated but not anymore. Like Joey said, we just
don't have the time."

"Ok, how about the Britney and Justin rumors? Anything
to that, Justin?"

"No. Britney and I are just friends. We hang out
together but nothing is going on with us."

"We've been seeing a lot of pictures of the two of you
together lately."

"Isn't it a coincidence that the pictures seem to
appear just around the time of the release of our new
album?" Justin asked, wryly.

Kate smiled.
"Ahhh! So you're saying it's some form of promotional
stunt?"

"Ahem! We're not trying to do anything like that. We
don't circulate lies. The press can show what it wants
to show. " Julian added,
giving Justin a scolding look.

Justin just gave him an innocent look. He knew he
shouldn't have implied that Jive was manipulating the
fans but he was sick of the
Britney question and was only to happy to cast doubts.
Besides it was fun seeing Julian sweat!

"Fine. Our readers will be glad to hear that there is
no truth behind the rumors but come on! Surely, JC,
you must be seeing someone."

JC briefly glanced at Justin and saw the blond was
discreetly looking at him.
"I wish I was. I thought I was. But it seems to have
ended before it even begun."

Justin didn't miss the message. He knew that he was
giving JC hell for his mistake. After all, he was his
best friend and he knew only
too well that when JC panicked he tended to say the
wrong things. Always had and Justin guessed he always
will. But still if was to
just let this go, Justin would never be able to cure
this 'bad habit'. Yes, he was evil. But JC deserved
it!

JC saw Justin get a determined look on his face and
his heart sank. He was convinced now that Justin was
going to call the whole
thing off between them. He just looked down into his
glass of water as the food arrived, trying not to
start crying and to figure out how
to fix things between Justin and him.

Justin saw JC's dejected expression and felt guilty
for making JC think that he was calling the whole
thing off but he was still a little
angry and wanted JC to sweat it out a little.

"My! You guys make yourself sound like monks!"

"It's not by choice!" Joey said, sadly.

"I'm sure! Let's move on. How is the new album coming
along?" Kate asked.

The food arrived and as the interview progressed, JC
became more eager to get it over and done with.
Usually he was talkative in
interviews but this time he remained silent for the
general questions and gave answers only when the
question was directed at him.
And even then only they were only short answers.
Finally they concluded the meal and the interview. By
now, Joey was flirting
intensively with Kate.

"Aww, we're done? Why do all the interviews with the
cute reporters end so soon!" Joey said with a grin,
causing Kate to laugh a
little.

"Thank you for your time. As for the pictures.." Kate
trailed off looking at Julian for confirmation.

"We'll send a few shots to Seventeen by tomorrow."
Julian replied.

"All right. Thanks Julian. Good luck with everything
guys." Kate said as she waved goodbye.

The guys said their good-byes and were once again
steered into the vehicles waiting to take them and
their entourage of bodyguards to
the television recording studio. The show they were
recording for was a Disney Summer special but it was
being shot in advance as
Nsync's schedule was tight and it had to be
coordinated with the schedules of the other
performers.

The ride was filled with silence for the first few
minutes but it wasn't long before Julian spoke.
"Justin, that comment about the appearance of the
pictures of Britney and you, corresponding with coming
release of the new album
was uncalled for. Please refrain from such comments in
the future."

"Why? It's the truth. Most of the pictures that are
circulating were taken at Jive functions by Jive's
authorized photographers." Justin
stated.

"You and Britney share the same label and management,
so obviously, we see an opportunity for you both to
build on each other's
popularity."

"Even if it is a lie that is making our personal lives
difficult?"

"We want it to be a lie but as long as there is always
the possibility, fans will be interested in both Nsync
and Britney."

"In other words, you want us to use each other. So we
are a couple when you want us to be and not a couple
when you don't want us to
be. We are just regular whores aren't we?" Justin
asked angrily.

"I don't make the rules Justin. Show business isn't
always pretty. You of all people should know that by
now." Julian stated tiredly.

Justin was silent for a while. The rest of the group
watched uneasily. Everyone knew that Justin bore the
brunt of the fan adulation.
Especially since 'adulation' was always extreme in the
cases of screaming 15 years old. Their older fan base
was more restrained in
their manners and treatment of the group members and
in fact didn't over-react when their favorite members
were seen with
girlfriends. However, Justin's fans were more likely
to freak out when he was romantically linked to any
girl. Yet at the same time, the
fact that the 'other girl' was a pop star too caused
even more sensationalism. The tabloids portrayed it
has a fairy-tale match up of two
successful teens who had been childhood sweethearts in
MMC and grew up to take the teen market by storm.

Having been linked to Britney had seemed fine at
first. It had been the truth for a while but still it
was also frustrating when his name
became a synonym of 'Britney's main squeeze'. He hated
that everyone began to see him only as an image and
not as a musician. It
was always about who he was seeing or how his hair
looked or how he spoke. How he sang and what music he
wrote never seemed to
count for anything and was more often than not
overshadowed by the image. On his own the pressure was
great but being linked with
Britney, the pressure was huge as he was hampered by
not only Nsync's image but also Britney's and he
didn't like that. That was why
he was averse to being linked with Christina too. He
didn't want the added sensationalism to his image. He
just wanted to make music
and perform. Why couldn't they understand that? Why
couldn't JC understand that?

"I know the rules, Julian. That doesn't mean I have to
follow it. I'm sick of this whole thing. I just wish
people will stop screwing with
what little personal life I still have and stop
deciding for me who I'm seeing or not! Even if it is a
convenient lie!" Justin yelled and
leaned back in to the corner of his seat, looking out
the window and sulking.

JC knew that part of the last statement was directed
at him. He understood why Justin was mad at him and
felt bad for the teen. He just
hoped that it wasn't too late fix things between them.


The car came to a stop inside a private car park of
the studio and therefore the screaming fans were kept
outside the entrance. They
were then hurried into the studio to meet the producer
 of the show. After a quick run through of the
sequence of the songs they were
performing, they were sent off to get prepared.

As they headed for the dressing rooms, Joey walked
beside Justin.
"Hey Curly. Sorry about giving you a hard time about
Chrissy. You know I'm just joking, right?" he said
apologetically.

Justin looked at Joey's contrite expression and
smiled. He knew that Joey didn't mean harm. If the
situation with JC hadn't been what it
was, Justin knew that he would probably have laughed
off Joey's teasing.
"That's ok, Joey. I'm not mad at you."

JC who had been walking beside Joey didn't miss the
emphasis on 'you' and couldn't help but feel vexed.
This wasn't unfair! How
come Justin talked to Joey, who was to blame for this
whole thing anyway. But still refused to talk to him.
Justin wasn't the only one
who could be stubborn! JC refused to let Justin call
of their relationship just because of one mistake. It
was time to take action!

"That's it!" JC said aloud before he walked around
Joey. He strode towards Justin as he was talking to
Joey and grabbed his arm.
Pulling the startled teen along with him, JC stalked
towards the dressing room allotted to the group.

"JC! What the hell are you doing?" Justin yelled as he
stumbled behind the determined brunet who didn't even
slow down. Joey, Chris
and Lance watched open-mouthed.

"Excuse us for a second, guys! I have to talk to
Justin!" JC announced as he opened the door to the
room and pushed Justin in. He
followed quickly and closed the door and turned to
face the surprised teen.

Chris, Joey and Lance looked at the closed door and
then at each other for an explanation. There was a
collective shrug.

**
INSIDE

Meanwhile back in the room, Justin stared at JC amazed
by his actions while JC began pacing the floor. They
just ignored the knocks
on the door and Chris' yells.
"This isn't happening. This morning! Just this
morning! We got together just this morning and already
it is over? I don't buy that! I
refuse to let this end just because of one stupid
mistake!" he ranted.

Justin fought the urge to tell JC that he didn't
intend to end things. Like hell he would! He had
wanted to be with JC for too long to let
something as small, though significant, as this to
stop them before they even got started. He wasn't that
petty and was just trying to
make JC sweat. However, he was amused by JC's sudden
aggressive action and decided to wait and hear him
out. So Justin crossed his
arms in front of him and just remained silent while JC
went on.

"It's unfair! Joey made me tell him! You know how
persistent and irritating Joey can be! And you just
left me there to handle all of
them on my own! I panicked!"

"You know what! You should make that your motto! I
Panicked! It's your excuse for everything, isn't it?"

"Justin! I didn't mean to tell them that! It just came
out."

"It just came out!? I told you not to lie and tell the
guys that Chrissy and I were fooling around and you
did it anyway! Am I just
supposed to forgive everything you do, just because of
that? What say do I have in this relationship then,
JC?"

"Justin. I'm sorry for dictating to you what you
should do! I didn't mean to do that! I made a mistake
and I just want to fix it now. Tell
me what you want me to do and I'll do it!"

"This is not short term fix it solution, JC. I can't
keep having this fight with you."

JC looked at Justin in disbelief.
"You don't want to be with me?"

"You don't get it! I want to be with you. I made the
first move. I try to make thing right. But everything
you say and do makes me
think that you don't want the same! You panic because
you can't handle being with me."

"That's not true! I want to be with you! I'm just
worried about the consequences."

"That's just it! If being with me is going to be so
troublesome or embarrassing for you, then maybe we
should call this whole thing off
before someone find out." Justin said. He didn't mean
it but he wanted to see JC's reaction to that
statement.

JC stared back at Justin in contemplative silence.

**
OUTSIDE

"Let's us in!" Chris yelled

"Is everything all right?" a sweet voice asked.

Chris, Joey and Lance turned to see Christina standing
there in her performance outfit with her dancers
behind her. Seeing that this
was a private matter between friends, her dancers left
her to head to stage.

"Chrissy! Maybe you can stop this. Justin and JC are
in there, probably fighting." Lance informed worriedly
once they were alone
together.

"What!?" Christina yelled in disbelief. She wondered
how that could happen? Just an hour ago, they couldn't
keep their hands of each
other. Wait a minute, did these guys know about them?
"Why are they fighting?"

Joey smirked.
"Let's just say that a certain blond's hickey started
the whole thing."

"But I helped Justin cover that up with." Christina
trailed off, realizing what she had just said.

"Don't worry about it. We already know! JC told us!"
Chris said with a grin.

"JC told you about Justin and..he actually told you
guys?" Christina asked in surprise.

"Yeah, we wormed it out of him. I'm kind of surprised
though. I mean what would Britney say?" Joey asked,
peering at Christina
reprovingly.

Christina frowned. He is kind of surprised? Talk about
a mild reaction. And why were they worried about
Britney and taking this
whole Justin/JC thing so easy?

"Britney would be shocked but I think she would be ok
with it." Christina said, feeling a bit confused.

"She'll be ok with her friend making out with her
ex-boyfriend?" Lance asked.

"Er..I think that isn't going to be as important to
her as the larger issue."

"Larger issue? You made out with Justin! What larger
issue?" Joey asked.

It took a while for what Joey said to make a full
impact on Christina.

**
INSIDE

Justin and JC were staring at each other when they
heard a loud yell.

"JC SAID WHAT!?!"

JC winced as he recognized Christina's voice. He had
been hoping that she wouldn't find out so soon but it
looked like he was going to
get things his way.

"JOSHUA SCOTT CHASEZ! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW OR WHEN
YOU DO COME OUT, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR
ASS SO HARD THAT YOU'RE GOING TO WALK FUNNY FOR THE
REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

Justin couldn't help but grin. He didn't call Chrissy,
Scream for nothing.
"I think Scream means business. You better open the
door."

JC hesitated for a while before turning to open the
door. Chris, Lance, Joey and Christina entered the
room and closed the door nheind
them. Christina glared at JC.

"Chasez! Tell me you didn't tell them that lie after
both Justin and I told you not to!" the girl ordered,
looking hard at JC.

JC gulped.
"I er.."

"I'm waiting." Christina said.

"Quick! Use you motto, JC." Justin said JC, trying to
hide his smile. He knew he was supposed to be angry
but JC just looked so damn
cute when he was on a spot.

JC ignored Justin's quip. He was getting tired of
being put on a spot. The whole day had been a roller
coaster and he was getting sick
of it. The hell with everyone and everything. As far
as he was concerned there was only one person in the
room whose opinion really
mattered to him.

"What's going on?" Joey asked, mirroring the look on
Lance's and Chris' faces.

JC knew it was time for a decision. He was done with
the doubts. He saw the arrogant smirk on Justin's face
and wanted to wipe it off.
And he knew just how. JC smiled. Justin had asked him
if he wanted to call the whole thing off. He was going
to give Justin his
answer. Right now!

"You want to know what's going on, Joey?!! This is
what's going !!!" JC yelled and with that he grabbed
Justin and kissed him right
on lips. Caught by surprise, Justin gasped, thus
allowing JC access inside his mouth. JC plunged his
tongue into the soft, wet and hot
cavern and tangled with Justin's as he buried his
hands in the teens curly blond hair. Justin's hands
automatically came to rest on JC's
hips as he responded passionately. All logical thought
flew out of their minds, including their awareness of
an audience.

There was a collective intake of breath followed by a
loud, "OH. MY. GOD!" from Joey.

~~~~~~~