Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 17:31:45 -0800 From: Druid MJ Subject: Losing Control Chapter 1 (MJ) Hey hey hey, peeps! Glad to see you're reading this! This is, in case you don't know, a collaboration between me and Druid (D-Evolution). Erm. Well, there's really nothing much to say, except: Enjoy! Oh, nearly forgot this. Disclaimer: Yeah, they're mine. *Please note that this was said in a sarcastic tone of voice* And now, let the show begin! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Losing Control: Chapter 1 (MJ) "Hey I don't want to do this either okay?" said the dark haired man calmly, but his green eyes belied his frustration as he faced the other three men. "Oh, yeah? Then why won't you call management and tell them that?" challenged the gangly blonde youth. "Well, Nick, we're having a meeting tomorrow with *them*, so I don't see the necessity in calling management now. We can settle that then." "I'm not going." "Neither am I." "Nor I." "Kevin, this isn't going to work out. You know it won't," said the pony-tailed Puerto Rican, with a calm, forced voice that matched his calm, forced exterior. The other blonde sitting next to him nodded. He didn't really *hate* them; it was against the Bible, but he certainly could see reasons for disliking them. "Where's AJ?" asked Kevin tiredly. This was getting out of hand. "He decided to split after hearing we would be touring with *them* and says he'll come back after management has come back to their senses." "Ah shoot!" Kevin sat down and thought for a while. "That's all. Go to sleep y'all." "Like we will. The hell we will. I just hope that 'Nstink burns in hell." grumbled Nick as they walked out of the room, leaving Kevin to his own thoughts. He sighed, then turned out the lights and went to bed. *********************************************************************** Meanwhile, in the 'Nsync camp, a similar scene was happening, only this time, there was a lot more shouting, with only JC electing to keep quiet, and Lance trying to keep the quiet. Finally, when Lance could take it no more, he screamed "Shut up!" And everybody did, for Lance rarely screamed. And where he did, he meant business, even though his voice went from a nice mellow bass to a high pitched scream. Then JC smothered a giggle as Lance glared at him. Justin sulked in a corner and Chris and Joey sat down in the plush sofa chairs. "Just be thankful that we still have the remainder of this vacation before we have to see Fatima again." Lance said in his normal voice. He *was* glad. He was the worst dancer of the group and was most often picked upon by Fatima. "I'd rather give up my damned vacation then have to tour with those Backdoor skanks!" muttered Justin. "Can't be helped. We'll be discussing the details of the tour tomorrow with management." "You can tell management to go to hell!" snapped Justin. "And if you think I'm going, you can forget it!" A look at the rest of his bandmates' faces told him the same thing, as Lance heard Justin stomping out. Chris shrugged his shoulders and walked out, followed by Joey. Lance turned to JC who was half-asleep and nudged him. "Go on, old man, you need your sleep." JC smiled wearily at him and said, "Oh, you just wait. You'll have more wrinkles than me by the end of this month." Somehow Lance didn't doubt that. "You'd better talk with management. When Curly isn't happy, we ain't happy, ya know." "I'll try. It's not like I want to tour with *them* anyway." "Alright then, go catch some shuteye Scoop. You'll need all your energy tomorrow. Nobody's comin' with ya." "Did you have to remind me?" JC stuck his tongue out at Lance and quickly scrambled as the younger man made a feint for it. *********************************************************************** Two men sat stiffly in a conference room, not looking directly at each other, just stealing glances at the other, until a woman walked in. "Alright," she started to say, but then stopped as she saw the conference room that was devoid of anyone but herself and the two men. "Where are they?" Both men attempted to answer at the same time, upon which Kevin said, "You go first." Lance stared at him warily and said, "No, you go." And they kept on like that while the woman went out to get a cup of coffee. She could see that it would be a long day. After a while, they fell silent, and the woman said, "Kevin, you go first." "The guys didn't want to come when they heard that 'Nstink would be here." Kevin was surprised to hear the word coming out of his mouth, and he saw the angry expression on Lance's face and the thin hard lips. He had to stop being influenced by AJ. But AJ was an influence few could escape. The woman sighed, turned to Lance, but before she could speak, he quickly replied, "The same." "Okay. So I take it that you are representing your groups?" Kevin sighed and nodded. Lance shrugged. "My name is Mathilda, and if you want to die, you can try calling me twice by that name. I prefer Mat," she said, trying to defuse the tension, but it wasn't working. Oh well, what the hell, she thought to herself. "Now, are there any questions?" *********************************************************************** Two hours later, she said, "We don't care how you want the arrangements to be offstage. You can do everything separately if you want. But you gotta be onstage together! It's for your fans." "You mean it's for you!" shot back Lance. "You just want the money, don't you?" "Mr. Bass, you have it all wrong. It's for the good of your fans." "No, I haven't!" yelled Lance. "Sit down, please, Mr. Bass." said Mat calmly. Lance sat down, still fuming. Everything was not going according to plan. This woman was not going to budge. Management was not going to budge. She had agreed to everything except the thing they wanted the most on this tour. Not that they wanted to *be* on this tour at all. But if they were going to be on this tour, he wanted to not to have onstage time with the Boys. Kevin ran his fingers through his hair, feeling frustrated, and was just about to lose his cool and start yelling when the next thing Mat said took them by surprise. "Two groups of girls were fighting yesterday, in California, and three of them had to be hospitalised for severe injuries. Apparently they were two opposing groups of fans of the Backstreet Boys and 'Nsync. It seems that one of *your* fans" she said pointedly to Lance "insulted the Backstreet Boys and the other group was so angry that they set themselves upon her. Her fellow schoolmate helped her and fought with *your* fans." this time looking at Kevin. "Luckily, one of the staff's niece happened to witness the fight, and she told her mother, who called our staff. We were able to avoid media coverage, and paid for the girls' medical fees. And all this is because of the *supposed* animosity between your groups! Imagine how bad it would be if the truth got out! So we're having this tour to quash rumors that you hate each other, even if it's the truth!" Kevin and Lance sat dumbfounded. Then Kevin slowly nodded. "I see the reason behind this. But I'll have to tell this to the guys first, and then we'll see." Lance nodded too. Then, after a pause, he said, "Er, would it be possible to tell me where the girls are? I mean those who were hospitalised?" "I'll have to check that up. Why don't I email you?" "Could you email me that too?" asked Kevin quietly. She nodded, then rolled her neck around. One could hear the crack made by her joints. "Any more questions?" Kevin and Lance shook their heads. "Good." she smiled at them, and walked out. They sure make a cute couple, for two people who hate each other, she thought to herself. Wait a minute, why did I just think that? And her shoes tap-tapped down the corridor. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, so it's kinda short for the first chapter. So sue me. :) Gimme (and Druid) feedback!!! Did you love it? Was it weird? What? Okay, I'll end here. Emails, questions and comments can be sent to druid_mj@hotmail.com. Flames will be used for barbeques. The next chapter: To be written by the highly talented Druid. :)