Date: Wed, 06 Oct 1999 14:37:48 PDT From: Jason Clarke Subject: Loving Nick - Part 16 This story involves members of the bands Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC. I am in no way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members. This is purely a fictional story. Enjoy! This is my first attempt at writing a story like this so please bear with me. Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029) * * * * * * * * * * * * Loving Nick - Part 16 "So what's for breakfast this morning?" Justin asked cheerfully. "Where is my cereal???" "It's coming, Just," Chris laughed. "Just relax for a bit." Lance walked into the room, his eyes half shut. He walked over to the couch and plopped down, looking ready to fall asleep again. "Whoa, what happened to you, Scoop?" Justin asked wide-eyed. "You look even sleepier than me!!" "Ha ha, very funny," Lance muttered. "Where's Nick?" JC asked as he cleaned up his bed a bit. "He's still sleeping. He didn't sleep very well last night." "Who's talking about me?" Nick walked into the room groggily, his hair a total mess. "Okay, this is so freaky, but you and Lance look like two zombies," Joey observed. "Aw, I think they look kinda cute like this," Brian laughed before a pillow was throw at him. Finally, breakfast arrived and everyone attacked the food mercilessly. Lance finally managed to get off the couch and was piling some fruit onto his plate when he noticed that Nick was still sitting on the couch, his eyes staring into nothing. "Nick?" Nick continued to sit there without reacting. "Nick!!" Lance called out again, this time in a louder voice. "Yeah?" Nick answered, snapping out of his thoughts. "Aren't you gonna eat?" "Nah, I'm not hungry." Lance quickly walked over and sat down beside Nick. "You okay?" Nick smiled weakly and nodded. "I'm fine, just tired I guess." Lance smiled back, although he was still concerned about his boyfriend. "Maybe I'll just have some juice," Nick finally said, trying to ease Lance's worry. * * * * * * * * * * * * Several weeks passed as both groups continued their Canadian tour. By now, they were half way through the tour and were staying in Vancouver. The schedule has been very hectic and both groups were relieved that they finally had a week's break to reenergize and relax. * * * * * * * * * * * * Lance was lying on the bed beside Nick. None of them said much, but were enjoying each other's presence. Lance looked over at Nick, who seemed preoccupied with something. "Nick?" Nick turned over and gave Lance a quick kiss. "What is it, Lansten?" "What are you thinking about?" "Oh nothing in particular. Mind just wandering I guess." "I was thinking..." Lance trailed off as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. "What is it?" "Nick, we've been going out for a while now and I've never been happier. But you've been kinda preoccupied lately and I wasn't sure if it was because of me..." Nick pulled Lance closer and kissed him passionately. "Of course not, Lansten. You've made me so happy ever since we began going out. I love you, baby." "Is it because we haven't had..." Lance looked away sadly. "What? You mean sex??" Lance nodded gently. "It's me, it's my fault. Why can't I just take this step forward?" Lance asked himself. "Don't be silly, Lansten. You've been amazing. Just being with you is paradise. Anything else is just icing on a cake. I don't want to rush you. Only when you're ready." "But I don't know when I'll be ready...I know it's unfair to you...I'm just scared..." "I know, Lansten, and I understand that," Nick reassured his lover. "Like I said, I don't want you to do anything that you're not ready for, okay?" Lance nodded again. Nick was so understanding and yet Lance still felt that he was being unfair to Nick. As Nick softly caressed him, Lance began to drift off to sleep, content to be held by the man he loved. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Nick felt cold. It was like a winter breeze was blowing in the room. He began to find it difficult to breathe...like he was being choked. "No...No...Stop!!!! NO!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!" Nick jumped out in a cold sweat. He buried his face in his hands. Lance woke up from his sleep to see Nick still recovering from his nightmare. He gently put his arm around Nick's shoulder. "Nightmare again?" he whispered. Nick merely nodded but did not say a word. After a few seconds, Nick turned to Lance, "I'm fine, let's just get back to sleep." Lance sighed, and slowly got back in bed. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Well, today's the big day!!" Nick cheerfully announced to Lance, who was still half asleep in bed. "Huh," he groaned, "what are you talking about?" "I said, today is the big day. You guys are rehearsing your new dance routine for 'Don't Want You Back' remember?" Lance shot up from his bed and his eyes were wide open. "What??? You mean...you mean..." "Yep," Nick laughed as he saw Lance's reaction. "Today's the day that Lansten Bass is going to show the guys how to dance." "You're kidding, right?" Lance asked weakly. "Do I look like I'm joking?" Nick replied. "Don't worry, you've got all the moves. Just relax and pretend you're dancing for me." "This better be good," Lance muttered, not looking forward to the rehearsal at all. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Ok, take your places, guys," Fatima ordered. "We'll take it easy the first time through, but you guys better concentrate." She paused and then looked at Lance. "Just take it slowly, okay?" Lance smiled weakly and nodded. The music started and everyone began their routine. Half way through the song, Lance looked up and saw the thumbs-up signal from Nick, meaning that he was to start his new moves. Lance took a deep breath and began to do what he had been doing with Nick the last couple of weeks. "Hey, hey, hey," Fatima barked, "that's not part of the rou..." She stopped as she saw what Lance was doing. Her mouth remained wide open but no words came out. Justin began to laugh after seeing Fatima's expression and looked over to see what she was staring at. When he saw Lance dancing, he almost tripped over and fell on the ground. He managed to keep on his feet but bumped in JC, who was also busying staring at Lance. Finally, the music ended and the dancing stopped. By the last part of the song, only Lance was dancing and everyone else was watching in amazement. Lance, concentrating on his moves, had no idea that everyone in the room was staring at him. When he finally stopped dancing, Lance began to realize that the whole room was dead silent. He slowly looked over and saw everyone's expressions. "What? Something wrong?" "Yes, something is definitely wrong," Justin began. "Who are you???" "What???" Lance asked, puzzled at Justin's question. "I said, who are you? You're not Lance. You can't be Lance. You were actually dancing!!!" "Very funny, Just. Your sense of humour continues to amaze me," Lance responded. "No, no. I mean, you were actually...very good!!" A smile formed on Lance's face. "Really?" "What did you think you were doing there?" Fatima interrupted. "That was totally not part of the routine!!" After a moment of shock, Lance finally said, "Sorry." "But I must admit, those were some moves!!" Fatima added with a big smile. "Where on earth did you learn those moves??? The last time, you couldn't even stay on your feet?" Lance began to blush from all the attention. "Let's just say that I had some intensive training the last little while." Lance smiled at Nick who responded with a big thumbs-up sign. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * That afternoon, many of the guys returned to the hotel to rest while AJ and Howie went shopping with Chris and Joey. Nick and Lance returned to their room to catch a quick nap since neither of them slept well the night before. "No!! Stop!!! No!!! NO!!! STOP!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!" Nick screamed. He sat up in his bed, his hair and face damp with sweat. His heart was pounding non-stop. Lance ran out of the washroom where he was taking a quick shower. Nick looked up at Lance who was still dripping wet. "I'm okay, Lance. Sorry for cutting short your shower." "Are you alright, Nick?" Lance asked, concerned for his lover. "I'm fine." "No, you're not, Nick. This has been going on for a few weeks now. Something's wrong, what is it??" "It's nothing, Lance. It's just nightmares. I'll be fine." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * That night, after dinner, Nick went back to his room to catch up on some reading. Lance stayed in the lounge talking with Darren for a while. Nick was glad that Lance and Darren were back on good terms and both of them realized how much they missed each other's friendship. As Lance walked back towards the room that he shared with Nick, he stopped when he reached Justin's door. After hesitating for a few seconds, Lance knocked lightly on the door. "Hey, Scoop...what's up?" "Can I come in for a bit?" "Of course!!" Lance walked in on a huge mess in the room. Justin was in the process of practicing some of his vocals and sheet music was all over the place. "Oh, I didn't know you were busy," Lance said softly. "I'll just let you continue. I just wanted to see how you were doing." As Lance turned to leave the room, Justin called out to his friend. "Wait, Scoop. What is it?" "It's nothing. Get back to your vocals," Lance said, trying to smile. "No, something's up, Lance. I've known you for a long time and I can tell when something's bothering you." Lance sighed deeply. "I'm scared, Justin." "About what?" "It's about Nick." ...to be continued.... Hope you liked this segment. The next one should be out in a week or so. As always, any comments/ideas/questions are welcome. E-mail me at jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)