Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 00:25:13 EST
From: THRAWN5678@aol.com
Subject: You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today- Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't know anybody from N Sync, though I'd sure like to, and
thus this story is fiction and is not intended to imply anything about the
true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or any personal knowledge about
their private lives. This story should not be read by anybody who is not
legally allowed to read it.. So if you're underage, leave right now!!

Author's Notes: Well, the story continues!! From the feedback I received,
It seems that most of you prefer the shorter, more frequent chapters.
They'll probably be around the size of the first four chapters. I'm still
amazed at the size that Chapter 5 ended up in the time that I wrote it.

I want to thank all of you who have written in to tell me what you think of
the story. I want to thank Charlie, Ryan, Ray, ND, and rest for all your
support!!

Here are some good stories:
Jamie's Romance (a great Justin story)
Millenium Love (a Brian Littrell story)
My Surprise Romance (a Lance story)
Lance in Shining Armour (umm, a Lance story?)
Lance's Story (a Lance/JC story and a spinoff of Jamie's Romance)
Twist of Fate (a Lance story)
Nick and Ashley (a Nick Carter/Ashley from O-Town story by ND)
and many more!! But I can't remember the names of them...I'll put them down
as I remember them...

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You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today
by Squall Thrawn

Previously on Never Guess...

Lance got back to his room. Ryan was softly snoring. Being careful not to
wake him, Lance got ready for bed, taking off everything but his boxers and
a wifebeater. He got into the other side of the bed, being careful not to
wake Ryan up. He laid there for a while, trying to figure things out in his
mind.  Lance now had serious doubts about whether he was straight or not.
The way Ryan had described it was exactly what Lance had felt for years,
now. Lance had never been attracted to girls. But he had always noticed the
cute guys. Just then, he heard Ryan mumble in his sleep.

"Please, don't hate me. No!! Greg! Please don't hate me!!" Ryan started
tossing and turning in bed. And then he started yelling in his sleep.
"Please!! Don't hurt me!! Somebody, please help me.. Anybody..  Please..
Why doesn't somebody help me? Mom? Dad? Why don't you love me anymore?"

Lance immediately rolled over and put his arms around Ryan. "It's ok. I'll
protect you. Nobody will hurt you. It's ok."

Ryan immediately stopped struggling. His screams stopped, and he relaxed in
Lance's arms. And they laid there the rest of the night, with Lance's arms
around Ryan, protecting him against the night.

*****************************************************************************

Chapter 6

The sound of the phone ringing woke Ryan up from his peaceful slumber. He
tried to move to answer it, but was unsuccessful because of the strong arms
around him, holding him. Ryan tensed for a second, before remembering what
had happened the night before. He managed to turn onto his back, and looked
down at the sleeping form of Lance Bass, still holding him protectively.
'It wasn't just a dream,' Ryan thought to himself. 'I really did meet Lance
Bass last night.' To Ryan, Lance looked to be the most perfect-looking
person on the whole planet.  His brow, furrowed last night out of concern
for Ryan, was relaxed. It was all Ryan could do to stop from kissing
him. 'But he'd hate me then. It's one thing to accept gays. It's another
thing entirely to have one kiss you.' With that statement, his thoughts
turned to Greg, and the situation he had placed himself in. 'What am I
gonna do? Even if I transfered from one Wal-mart to another, I don't have
any place to live. Lance said I could stay here, but what happens when he
leaves for another city? I'll be living on the streets!'

"A penny for your thoughts," said Lance quietly.

Ryan looked over to see Lance's beautiful green eyes looking at him, almost
seeing past him and peering into his soul. Once again, Ryan had to prevent
himself from giving Lance a big kiss on the lips. Those nice, luscious
lips.  'Ryan!' He mentally berated himself. 'Stop thinking that way!! He's
not gay, and all that you could end up doing is ruining our newfound
friendship. "Oh, everything...and nothing," said Ryan, finally answering
Lance's inquiry.

"Are you worrying about what's going to happen now?" asked Lance.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't have any place to stay. Once you move on to the next
city, its 'adios Tonto, and the horse you rode in on.' None of my relatives
will want to let me stay at their houses. They're just as bad as my
parents. I suppose I could get an apartment, but they're rather expensive,
and my job doesn't pay enough."

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure out something. Trust me."

"You know I trust you, Lance."

Just then, the phone rang.

"I'll get it," said Lance. He reluctantly let go of Ryan, and got up. He
walked over to the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Scoop," said Chris over the phone. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept pretty good," said Lance, looking down at Ryan. "So, what's
on your mind?"

"Oh, I was just making sure you were ok, and to tell you that we're eating
breakfast soon in Joey's room."

"Alright, Chris. We'll be there. Seeya. Bye." Lance hung up the phone.

"Ok, Ryan, we're having breakfast soon in Joey's room. They're all eager to
meetcha. Breakfast on a day like today, where we're free all day, is pretty
informal. As long as you're wearing clothes, you're presentable." Lance
went over to his dresser, took out a pair of shorts, and put them on.

"Alright, Lance. Did you.. tell them about me?"

"You mean, did I tell them your story? No. They were curious, but they
won't pry. Do you mind telling them the story?"

"I guess not. But I'd prefer it if you told them, rather than me. I don't
know if I could summon up the courage to do it myself."

"If you want me to, I'll do it. So, are ya about ready?"

"I suppose so. I am pretty hungry."

"Alright." Lance went over to the bed and helped Ryan up. Then the two
headed to Chris's room, which was next door. Lance knocked on the door, and
JC opened it.

"Morning, Scoop, morning, Ryan." JC let them through. Joey and Chris were
sitting on a couch, with plates piled high with food. Justin was sitting in
a chair with a bowl of cereal and a blank look on his face.

"Hey, guys," said Lance. "I want to introduce to you, Ryan Holden. Ryan,
this is Joey, Chris, JC, and the sleepy one over there is Justin."

"Umm..Hi, guys," said Ryan, feeling uncomfortable in the midst of five pop
stars. "I love your music."

"Hey, Ryan, glad to meet ya," said Joey. Chris mumbled something with his
mouth full. Joey jabbed Chris with his elbow. "Chris is saying hey too, but
he forgot what his mother said about talking with your mouth full.

JC came over to Ryan and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure meeting you
again.  Any friend of Scoop is a friend of ours." JC briefly looked him
over, and then glanced over at Lance.

Justin grunted something.

"Don't mind Justin," said JC. "Until he's had his cereal, he's basically a
poster child for zombies everywhere. He definitely not a morning person."

"That's fine. I'm about the same way in the mornings."

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, I say we eat!" said
Lance. He walked over and got a cup of hot coffee and a bagel. JC gave
Lance one more considering look, and then got some hot food as well.

Finally, Ryan got some food for himself, piling his plate as high as
Chris's and Joey's plates were. He started heading towards where Lance was
sitting, but Chris grabbed him first. "Come on, Ryan, we wanna get to know
you too!!" Chris sat Ryan right between himself and Joey.

"So, Ryan, how old are you exactly?" asked JC.

"I'm 20 right now, and I'll be 21 next month," answered Ryan.

"Ooo, the big 2-1. We're gonna have to take you out for a night on the
town," said Joey. "Celebrate your birthday with a bang!!"

"But you probably won't be in the area by then, Joey."

Joey waved that one off. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry about
that one."

"So, Ryan, have you been to one of our concerts?" asked Justin.

"It speaks!!" said Ryan, feeling more comfortable around the guys. They
weren't snobby pop stars, but normal guys who sang songs and made bunches
of money on them.

"Haha," said Justin. "But really, have you ever been to one of our
concerts?"

"Unfortunately, no," said Ryan. "One time, the tickets were sold out before
I could buy them, and this time, I was broke. Otherwise, I would have come
to all of your concerts. I did watch the HBO Special."

"That's cool," said Justin. "We could get you a ticket to our concert two
days from now. How would that sound?"

"Great!!! I mean, thanks, Justin." Ryan stood up. "Hey, guys, I gotta go
take a leak. I'll be right back." As he stood up, he nodded at Lance. He
went into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him, locking it.

JC immediately looked at Lance. "So, what happened to him last night? He
seems like a sweet guy. Yet a bit sad. Would he mind if you told us?"

"Actually, JC, he asked me to tell you guys," said Lance. "He wanted you
four to know, but didn't have the courage to tell you himself."

"What happened, Lance? I didn't hear anything about it," said Justin.

"Well, to start matters off, he's gay," said Lance. Chris and Joey merely
nodded. JC gave Lance a sharp look, but didn't say anything. Justin looked
a bit uncomfortable, but nodded as well.

"Yesterday he came out to one of his only friends, Greg. He also had a
crush on Greg, but didn't tell him that. Greg called him some derogatory
names and ended their friendship. He was yelling when he said those words,
and Ryan's mother heard it. She confronted him about it, and when he
admitted it, she disowned him and kicked him out of the house." Joey and
Chris looked angry. JC merely waited for Lance to continue. Justin was
shaking his head in disbelief. His mother had always been there for him,
through thick and thin. He couldn't believe that a mother could do that to
her son.

"Afterwards, he went to work to earn some money for an apartment. Greg
spread around the word that Ryan was gay, and most of the workers there now
hate him.  To Ryan, there was no where to go, and that's why he didn't move
out of the path of my car."

"How could anybody do that to a nice kid like Ryan!?" asked Chris angrily.
"What kind of friend does this Greg guy think he is?!"

"Calm down, Chris," said Lance. "Yelling won't solve anything. We just need
to be supportive of Ryan. He's going through a lot right now."

"You're right, Lance," said Chris. "It's just that..that friends have to
stick to each other through thick and thin!!" Joey, JC, and Justin nodded
at that.

"Well, Lance, Ryan may have lost one friend, but he's picked up five of
them," said Justin.

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Ryan stepped out. He looked at
Lance, and Lance nodded to him. Ryan then looked at the others hesitantly.

"Hey, Ryan, long time no see!" said Joey jokingly. Then the five members of
N Sync came over to Ryan. Ryan looked at them, as if waiting for one of
them to start calling him names, or start hitting him. So he was surprised
when Joey yelled out "Group hug!!"

The five guys of N Sync then surrounded Ryan and gave him a hug. Ryan
started crying again. Not tears of sadness, however. Tears of joy. This
group of five guys had accepted him for who he was.

Finally, they let Ryan breathe and wipe his tears off. Then they went back
to the couches and resumed eating. Ryan was now sitting next to Justin, and
the two of them were joking around. JC motioned for Lance to come
over. Lance walked over to JC.

"What's up, Josh?" asked Lance.

"I have to ask you something, Scoop," said JC, seriously.

"What is it?"

"What are your feelings towards Ryan? How do you feel about him?"

"He's a nice guy. I feel sorry for him for everything that's happened,"
said Lance, confused. 'What was JC trying to get at?'

"Do you like him?"

"Of course I do. He's a good friend, and a nice guy."

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean, Josh?"

"You say you like him. Do you love him?"

****************************************************************************

That's all for now!! Tell me what you think!!

Squall Thrawn
THRAWN5678@aol.com