Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 19:47:27 -0700 From: Denzil Cuddy Subject: Love and Longing Part Four boy bands sub directory Hi, welcome to part four! I really like how this story is turning out, and I hope that you all do as well. Thanks goes out to everyone who sent e-mail. I really appreciate the thought. I would also like to extend the invitation to all of you who have read and not written to send an e-mail my way. The address is, D_cuddy@email.msn.com I look forward to all of your suggestions and comments. Thanks. I do not know Nsync, or any other famous characters that my appear in my story. This story is pure fiction, from the dark deranged depths of my own mind. If you should not be reading this for legal reason, then don't. If you do not like homosexual themes, then you probably shouldn't read this. On with the show!! Joey and Chris have arrived. We are all sitting around Lance's living room, drinking iced tea. The ice tinkles against the side of the glass in the most inviting sound. The sweet light brown liquid assails the taste buds with the most perfect taste. There is just something perfect about drinking tea in the south during the summer. It is soothing and calming, and almost ritualistic in it's way. I love it. "So, did ya'll have fun last night?" Lance asks of the three that went clubbing. "Yeah, same old thing." Chris says with a slight snicker. "Joey had too much to drink. Then, of course, he tried to hit on a girl, got slapped. We finally staggered out of the club at around three this morning." Joey is a little red, but everyone just chuckles. Lance had already been told the story of what happened last night. Justin and I had made it back about thirty minutes before Joey and Chris arrived. Lance is just trying to get conversation going, he is so thoughtful. "Oh, man it is a shame I missed that!" I say with maybe just a bit too much sarcasm. "Joey drunk is like a once in a lifetime event. Man I could just kick myself for not going with you guys last night." This statement draws glares from all the other guys. I just can not help it. Lance and I have both talked to Joey about his drinking habits, all to no avail. We have warned him that it is going to wind up in the papers and then management would have to get involved. He just keeps doing it, I am beginning to seriously wonder if he has a problem. "Go to hell JC." Joey says as he flips me off. He then takes a long drink of his tea. There is a moment of strained silence. "So, what did you and Lance do last night?" Justin suddenly asks. I look over and he is smiling his innocent smile. I can see the impish gleam in his eyes though, and know that he wants to get this over with. He is ready for the announcement. I sigh as I lean back on the couch and look over to Lance. He looks at me with questioning eyes and I just nod my head to let him know that it is ok. I am ready for this announcement too. "Well, Josh came over and we watched a couple of horror movies and drink a bottle of wine." Lance says. "What movies?" Chris asks with enthusiasm. He and I both love good cheesy horror flicks. "Night of the Demons parts one and two." I say as I lean forward and we high five one another. We both laugh as we lean back in our seats. "Let me just take a moment to thank Chris for recommending them, they were great. Just the kind of movies I like." "Did our little Lancey poo not get scared after watching those?" Joey chuckles as he says this. We all turn and glare at him. He is always trying to pick on Lance. I think it is because Lance is so responsible and Joey is just the opposite. We all now glare at Joey. "No, Joe, I wasn't scared." Lance says just a little angry. "I had Josh here to protect me. Besides, after we both came out to each other we made out for most of the night. It's hard to be scared when you are making out with someone as hot as Josh." There is a stunned silence. Justin has this goofy grin on his face. I can tell that I am probably a very bright red. Chris's mouth is slightly open, and he is just staring at us. Joey stands up, and then sits back down. Lance just smiles contentedly as he leans back in his seat. He takes a sip of his tea and the sound of the ice brushing against the glass is remarkably loud in the silence of the room. Justin giggles. He puts his hand over his mouth, but doesn't stop. Soon he is laughing outright and holding his sides. Soon Lance is laughing too, and then Chris starts to giggle. It is going better than I had planned. I start to relax and then look over at Joey. He has this odd look on his face and he is staring right at me. I raise an eyebrow and start to ask if he is o.k. but he beats me to the point. "Why the hell are you laughing?" He asks in a very loud and slightly angry voice. "Is it a joke Lance? Huh, is it a joke or are you and JC here really queer?" Joey is standing now and still holding his glass of tea. I think he has forgotten it is even in his hand. As he talks some of the tea sloshes out and onto his hand but he does not seem to notice or care. "It's not a joke Joey." I say as the laughter in the room abruptly dies. "Lance and I are both gay, and we are dating. Sorry to drop it all on you at once, but we thought you should know." "Damn it to fucking hell!" Joey says as he slings the glass of tea against the far wall. The glass shatters with a resounding crash. "This is all I need." I stand and punch Joey in the face. He falls back onto the couch and holds his hand over his nose. He pulls his hand away from his face and looks at the blood. It glistens it's sickening red hue in the bright light of the room. He jumps up as he yells in some roar of anger and shock. I brace myself, ready to fight. but Chris grabs him and holds him back. "You FAGET! I am going to kick your ass!" He yells as he struggles to break out of Chris's grip. "Joey, Chris, JC Sit down, and calm down." Lance says in a booming voice. I look over at him and the look on his face convinces me. I sit down and notice that that Chris and Joey do the same. Joey complies rather reluctantly, and only after Chris makes it clear that he has not much choice in the matter. "Joey, I know this is kind of a shock for you, but why are you acting like this. I mean come on man, you are acting like a complete ass hole." Justin says as he takes a sip of his tea. He seems so calm in the storm of emotion that is swirling around the room. We all stare at him. "Come on guys, it's obvious Joey is upset about something other than you two being gay. Joey has other friends that are gay, and he is cool with them. So what is it Joe? Why are you so upset now?" I look over at Joey. His face is red and he has his jaw tightly clenched. There is a bit of blood above his top lip, and I can not help but notice that he is trembling slightly. Is Justin right? I feel that he is, that somehow he has seen through Joey's anger to the cause. Joey looks down at the rug, and sniffs loudly. I feel bad for punching him, but I was so angry and I just didn't think. "Joey, what is it?" Chris asks. "Is Justin right, are you angry for some other reason. Tell me Joey, we will help you." Joey sobs, and holds his hands to his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about anything! Just leave me the fuck alone! I've gotta get out of here. I can`t take this right now." With that he jumps up before Chris can stop him, and runs from the house. We all protest but he just ignores us. "I don't know what to say guys." Chris says as he sits down and takes a sip of his tea. "He has been acting all moody lately, I don't know what is going on. I will go over and talk to him later. So, you two are really together huh?" He smiles at Lance and me. "Yeah." I say a little too dreamily. I feel a blush creep on to my face. "We are finally together. I have been waiting for quite some time." "Well, so have I!" Lance says as he chuckles. "Just think of all the heartache and solitude we could have saved ourselves if we had just been a little more brave, and trusting just a little earlier. It's kind of sad really." "Well," Justin pipes in, "I tried to get Josh to say something sooner. He is a stubborn person most of the time though. Good luck Lance, if you ever need some good JC advise, or someone to vent steam too, just give me a call." I glower at Justin for a moment. He just smiles his sweet smile, and acts all innocent. I lean over and put my arm around Lance. I give him a little kiss on the cheek. Justin and Chris both chuckle a bit. "Don't worry Lance, I am a much better person when separated from Justin. He just brings out the worst in me." I say with enough humor to take the potential sting out of my words. "You on the other hand, just bring out the best." "Um, JC?" Chris says as we all turn and look at him. "I believe I speak for Justin when I say we do not want to know what, exactly, Lance gets out of you." Everyone laughs as I blush a deep crimson. I will have to get used to this teasing if Lance and I are going to be together around the guys. I just smile and pull Lance a little closer. We all sit around and chat for a little while longer, everyone careful to avoid the topic of Joey. I can not believe he acted that way. He and I will have to have a long chat very soon. "Well, guys, it's been fun, but I've got to run." Justin says as he looks at his watch. It is just a little after ten at night. "I promised mom I would do some charity thing with her early in the morning. You know how she will be if I try to get out of it JC. Chris can you drop me at home, I rode over with JC?" "Sure, I guess I will be going to. Thanks for sharing you two, and I am happy for you." Chris say as he stands with Justin. "I am sure Joey will come around. I don't know what has been eating at him lately, but I will find out." With that Chris pulls me and Lance into a hug, and Justin quickly joins in. "G'night guys, I will call you tomorrow JC. By." Justin says as he and Chris walk out and Lance shuts the door behind them. I walk to the kitchen and grab a broom and dust pan. I start to clean up the glass from Joey's little outburst. I hear Lance click the lock on the door and set the alarm. I quickly finish up and go dump the glass in the waist basket near the door. "Well, that went well." I say as I walk up and pull Lance into an embrace. "Do you really think that went well?" He asks as his arms encircle me. "Well, yeah." I reply as I plant a little kiss on his jaw line. "I mean Justin was, of course cool with it. Chris seemed to take it in stride. Sure Joey freaked out, but like the others said I have a feeling that something more is going on there. I mean he way overreacted, don't ya think?" "Yeah, well I just hope that we can get him to come around." Lance says as he pulls my shirt up over my head and throws it onto the chair. "We don't need any added stress in the group when we go on tour." Lance nuzzles my neck, and I giggle a little bit at the sensations. "I'm sure we will get him to come around. I mean how can anyone be unhappy when we are so happy?" We both chuckle a little as I take Lance's hand and lead him up to the bedroom. IN CHRIS'S CAR "So, Chris, what do you think is wrong with Joey?" Justin asks as they drive down the road toward Justin's house. "I'm not sure, but he has me worried." Chris answers with worry clearly written across his face. "I don't believe he would be that upset about Lance's and JC's little announcement. I mean, he has always suspected JC of being gay. So I'm not sure what that whole little explosion was about." "Well, talk to him and find out man. I am worried about him and about the group. We need to get everything smoothed over by the time we start the tour. Man, I hope he wasn't that pissed about them, cause if he was we are never going to be able to all live in that tin can of a tour bus for all that time." Justin gazes out the window at the trees whizzing by. "So, you took it all in stride. Are you cool with everything?" "Yeah, that does not bother me in the least. If that is what makes them happy then good for them for finding it and holding on to it. I mean, in our profession it is not exactly uncommon." Chris laughs a little. "What's so funny?" Justin asks as they pull up in front of the Timberlake house. "Nothing, just that once in college I had a guy kiss me." Justin turns and looks questioningly at Chris. "Oh it wasn't anything serious, it was just a kiss. It was a good kiss. He is still one of my best friends, I just had to explain to him that just didn't get my engine going." Chris and Justin both laugh at this. "Well, I will talk to you later, man. Take care, and call me if you find out anything about Joe." Justin says as he gets out of the car, and walks into his house. Chris sighs as he pulls away, and disappears down the road. JOEY Joey sits slumped against the wall of his little apartment. His eyes are slightly glazed, and he is flushed and sweating slightly. He quickly and efficiently prepares a hypodermic needle and stares at it for a moment. He finally grimaces and quietly injects himself with the drug. He smiles and takes a long drink of the scotch that was sitting by his side. It is not long before the chemicals take affect and a sloppy smile spreads across his face. He sighs and stands up on slightly wobbly legs. He walks into the living room and drops down onto the couch. He flips on the television and begins to flip through channels, not really seeing any of them. A tear slides down his face. "Man," he says to himself, "I was a real jerk to the guys. I mean, damn it, good for them. They just caught me by surprise that's all. I will have to apologize tomorrow. I just have to stay calm, now that I have more of my little friends," he laughs a little as he looks at the small box containing his newly purchased stash sitting on the table in front of him "I can handle it. Man, I'm sure they will not stay mad at me." Joey jumps as there is a knock on his door. He stands and walks over to look out the peep hole. Chris is standing there, staring patiently at the door. Joey smiles as he opens the door. "Chris, man, how are you?" Joey asks as he motions Chris into his home. "I'm good Joey, how are you?" Chris asks as he looks at his friends blood shot eyes. "I'm cool, man. I feel a lot better than I did earlier." "I bet, well I hope you know you really hurt two of our closest friends. Damn, man, have you been drinking?" Chris asks as the smell of the liquor assails his nostrils. "You smell like a brewery!" "You know how it is, I just had a little something to calm the nerves. Man tell the guys I'm sorry, I just wasn't myself earlier, I will make it up to them. Do you want to sit and stay a while, have a drink?" Joey asks as he drops back down on to the couch. "Nah, man, I'm going to go. You should just sleep it off. I will come by in the morning and check on you. Take it easy man." Chris walks to the door and sees himself out. He sighs sadly as he makes his way to the car, and heads home. Lance holds me gently as we lie in the dark room and cling to one another. The silence and peace of the house and the calm night enfold and embrace us. I feel a contentment and happiness that has evaded me for quite some time. "I love you Lance" I say as I close my eyes. "I love you to Joshua" is the last thing I hear him say as I drift off. Lance stares up at the ceiling as Josh drifts off. The gentle even breathing of his love is a wondrous comfort. Lance says a little prayer of thanks to God, and asks him to watch over Joey, and help him come to accept them. He finally snuggles up to JC, and allows himself to drift off to sleep wrapped in the arms of his love. Well, that is part four, what do ya'll think?? Come on people type those e-mails, and send them to me!! I love feedback. How do you like the characters so far?? Any suggestions or comments on the plot?? Come on write me!! LOL Hope to hear from you soon. DC