Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 16:21:33 EST
From: THRAWN5678@aol.com
Subject: You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today- Chapter 7

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: Looks like we're gonna find out how Lance feels about
Ryan. Who loves a good cliffhanger? I sure do!! Bwahahahaha!! Sorry, I'll
stop the evil laughter now. Also, we get to find out what JC is made
of. From the e-mails I've received, its seems I've hooked a few of you on
this story. Also, many people mentioned how believable I've made the
character. There's a lot of me in Ryan, so basically it comes down to how I
would react and then I write it as Ryan. However, most of the bad stuff
that happened to Ryan didn't happen to me, though it very well could
have. If you have any comments or suggestions, e-mail me at
THRAWN5678@aol.com.

Once again, I have to thank all of the readers who have e-mailed me and
told me how they liked the story. It's e-mail like that that keeps me
going. So as long as I get some feedback, I'll continue writing. I want to
thank everybody. The list is growing longer. A big hello to Ryan out
there. Also, thanx to Charlie for his support since Chapter 1, and all of
the rest of you, ND, Aaron, Jeremy, and the rest. If I wrote down
absolutely everybody who e-mails me, I think this part would be the longest
part of the story..

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...

"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?"

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Chapter 7

Lance was speechless.

"Wait a second," said JC. "We're going to talk about this in the hallway."
JC turned to the others. "Hey, guys, we'll be right back. I need to show
Lance something in my room right now." JC led Lance out into the hallway.

"Wha.. What did you just ask me, Josh?"

"You heard me. I've seen the way you look at him, I've seen the way he
looks at you. The tone of your voice when you're talking about him. It's
not just a tone you'd use when talking about a friend or a relative."

"I.. I..," Lance was stunned.

"There's more. I've seen it in Ryan's eyes. He's fallen deeply in love with
you.  And the funny thing is, I see the same exact look in your eyes. Look,
Lance.  Whether you're gay or straight or bi, you're still my friend. Do
you think that we accepted Ryan just because he's your friend and he's
hurting? I can't speak for the others, but I didn't accept him for your
sake, and I sure didn't accept him out of pity. I accepted him because of
the person he was. I could see that Ryan is a kind, sweet guy. If he's gay,
he's gay. That's how it is. That makes no difference to me when I'm
determining who's a friend or not. What makes you think that I wouldn't do
the same for you? So be honest with yourself, Lance, and be honest with
me. Answer my question. Do you love him?"

"I don't know, Josh!" Lance was crying. "Before I met Ryan, I never really
questioned my sexuality. I just assumed that I would meet the right girl,
and that was that. And yet, I never was attracted to girls. I just assumed
that when the right one came along, it would be ok. But when Ryan was
spilling out his secrets, I asked him how he knew he was gay."

"Let me guess. The way he described it, fit exactly with how you've felt
for years, but you've never put it together."

"Yes!! That's it exactly!! What am I going to do, Josh?"

"Do? I can't give you that answer. That one, you'll have to figure out on
your own. Trust in your feelings, Lance. Be honest with yourself, and be
honest to Ryan. If you're unsure, don't let him see that. He's hurting
right now, and if you're giving him mixed signals, he's going to equate
that with Greg. Either just be his friend.. or.."

"Thanks, Josh. I'll have to think on this some. Thanks for being such a
good friend," Lance gave JC a big hug.

"It's no problem. That's what true friends are for. Listening to each
other, and being supportive of each other. Something you've no doubt told
Ryan."

"Ya. Well, let's go back in before they send out a search party out to look
for us. Thanks again, Josh."

The two guys went back into the room. And were shocked at what they
saw. Ryan, Chris, Joey, and Justin were having a huge pillow fight. It
seemed to be Chris and Joey vs. Ryan and Justin. JC and Lance watched from
the door, laughing. That is, until Justin threw a pillow that hit JC right
in the face.

"Alright, you're gonna get it for that, Curly!" yelled JC, who promptly
picked up the pillow and started attacking Ryan and Justin with it.

"Come on, Scoop!" yelled Justin. "Me and Ryan need all the help we can
get!"  Lance laughed, and threw himself into the fray. Eventually the six
guys ran out of energy.

"What did I miss that started all this?" asked JC, laughing.

"Well, Ryan and I were busy talking, and Chris and Joey decided to throw
pillows at us. Well...we fought back, and that's what we were doing when
you came back in."

"Hehe..so, what's in store for us today, Scoop?" asked JC.

"Actually, nothing," said Lance, consulting the mental schedule he had
memorized.  "For some reason, management gave us a whole day off today, in
St. Louis of all places."

"Hey!" exclaimed Ryan. "This town isn't that boring. We've got plenty of
cool stuff around here."

"Well, since you're from around here, Ryan, what do you think we should
do?"  asked Joey.

"Have any of you been up in the Gateway Arch?" The five N Syncers shook
their heads. "Well, we could do that, and let me check something else."
Ryan got out his wallet, and pulled out a small card that looked like a
schedule. "Hey, guys, what day's today?"

"It's Thursday, April the 11th," said Justin, consulting his watch. "Oh
yeah, its 2002. Does that help?"

"Well, I remembered the year, but thanks, Justin. Great! Hey, guys, do ya
wanna go watch a Cardinals baseball game?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Ryan, but aren't those places a bit crowded?
We'd prefer to be anonymous," said Chris.

"It'll be fine. During the weekdays, there aren't large crowds in either
place.  So what do you say?"

"Then it's settled. What time's the game, Ryan?" asked Lance.

"The game starts at 12:10. The Gateway Arch opens up at 9:00 am. We can
take the Metrolink to Laclede's Landing, and go to the Arch from
there. Then, we can take the Metrolink from Laclede's Landing to Busch
Stadium. After that, we can come back here, and do whatever. Or Union
Station's around here too. That's a shopping center, along with several
other things."

"Sounds great. Let's see," said Joey, looking at his watch. It's 8:00 right
now.  Why don't we meet in the hallway here at 9:00? That'll leave us
plenty of time to get to the Arch and then to the ballgame." The others
nodded, and they each went to their rooms except for Joey, since he was
already in his room. Ryan followed Lance into his room.

"You can borrow some of my clothes, Ryan," said Lance. "We have to make you
look presentable, ya know."

"Thanks, Lance. Do you mind if I take a shower, or do you want to take one
first?"

"You can go first. After all, you're the guest. I'll find you something to
wear."

"Thanks, Lance. I won't be long," said Ryan. He went into the bathroom,
locking the door behind him. Lance went over to the closet and picked out
some decent clothes for Ryan and himself. He laid Ryan's outfit on the bed,
and draped his own over a chair. He then sat in the other chair, and tried
to formulate his thoughts about Ryan. He liked Ryan, he knew that. What was
not to like? He was very handsome, and had a hot body to match. But beyond
physical attraction, he had a sweet personality and was very
personable. Lance could also see the lurkings of an odd sense of humor, but
then again, Lance was used to Chris's and Joey's antics for quite some
time. But was it more than just a friendly like?  Lance had sensed a
connection between the two of them since they had met. As if he had already
known Ryan, and was renewing an old friendship. He knew that Ryan was
hurting right now, and maybe the feeling that Ryan had for him, and Lance's
own feelings for Ryan, were based on trying to make up for the bad
situation that Ryan had been thrust into. But then again, maybe not. Maybe
two soulmates had finally met.

Lance shook his head. He just didn't know. Maybe a talk with Ryan would
help.  But he didn't want to burden Ryan with all of Lance's own problems,
as well as Ryan's. JC had warned him about that.

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Ryan stepped out clad only in a
towel around his waist. Lance couldn't help but stare. Ryan's body was just
perfect.  His arms and legs were muscled, if not bulging, and his abs
showed clear definition. This boy obviously worked out. His chest was
hairless except for a thin line of hair trailing down from Ryan's navel to
his crotch, and his nipples were dime-sized. Lance quickly closed his
gaping mouth, and forced himself to speak.

"Hey, Ryan. Those clothes right there on the bed are for you to wear. I
guess I'll go take my shower now." With that, Lance zipped off into the
bathroom before Ryan could see a slight tent in Lance's shorts.

Ryan stood there for a second, with a small smile on his face. 'That
expression on his face. Is he interested in me? Nah. I'm pretty sure he's
straight. And yet, he seems to enjoy having his arms around me. Well, I
have to get ready for the day.' Ryan quickly changed his clothes. Knowing
that Lance would be out of the shower soon, and as much as he would like to
see Lance with just a towel on, he knew that as soon as he did, He would
have a major bulge in his pants, and he didn't want Lance to see that. So
Ryan walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Hey, Lance, I'm
gonna go into the hallway now and meet the other guys. Ok?"

Ryan heard a muffled "ok", and then he left the room. Justin was actually
early and was waiting in the hallway. The rest of the guys were still
getting ready.

"Hey, Ryan," said Justin. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, Justin," answered Ryan. "What do you want to talk about?"

Justin was about to answer when a door came flying open and Chris bounded
out.

"Hey, all, how's it shakin'?" said Chris excitedly. "Are you all ready to
hit the mean streets of St. Louis?"

"Mean streets, Chris?" asked Ryan. "I think you're talking about another
city there. So what did you want to talk about, Justin?"

"I'll tell ya later."

"Alright, I'll hold ya to that."

Eventually, all of the guys were in the hallway. They all slipped on a pair
of sunglasses and hats.

"What are you guys trying to do, blend in?" asked Ryan, laughing.

"Well, we've gotta disguise ourselves," said Justin, defensively.

"All you're doing is calling attention to yourselves...But whatever floats
your boat, I guess." Ryan shook his head.

"Probably water," said Lance. "Isn't that how boats usually float?"

The guys all had a good laugh at that one.

"Well, let's go!!" said Joey. "Gateway Arch, here we come!!"

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

Squall Thrawn
THRAWN5678@aol.com