Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 15:39:40 EST
From: THRAWN5678@aol.com
Subject: You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today- Chapter 8

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, It seems that my loyal readers don't seem to appreciate
the cliffhanger I left at the end of Chapter 6. Can't imagine why not... Just
for that, I think I'm gonna use some more cliffhangers where I deem appropriate.
I can't make this story end like that on each chapter. If anybody has any
comments or suggestions about the story, e-mail me at THRAWN5678@aol.com.

I want to thank all of you for your support. I've got to thank Charlie for all
of his support. And you too, Ryan, but stop surfin' the net in the buff!! Also,
I want to thank Jeremy for all of his kind words. To the rest of you, thanx as
well!! I haven't gotten as much feedback as last time, I hope I'm not boring
any of you, since the story has just begun!!

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...

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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Chapter 8

The six guys headed down the elevator to the lobby. Luckily, none of the fans
recognized the guys as they crossed the lobby.

"Whew! That was luck!" said Chris. "If they had realized who we were, we would
have been torn to raisonet-sized pieces!!"

"Nah, that's not it," said Ryan. "Because of your goofy disguises, they just
think you're a couple of nuts."

"Hey!! I resemble that remark!" said Joey with a grin on his face.

The N Syncers and Ryan made it to the Metrolink stop at 8th and Pine without
incident. As they got up to the ticket booth, Ryan started to dig in his pocket
for his wallet. Lance gave Chris a quick look. Chris immediately ran up to the
ticket window and said," We need six adult tickets."

The worker in the ticket booth said," They're $1.25 each, so that comes to
$7.50." Chris handed over a ten dollar bill, and the ticket seller gave Chris
six tickets along with his 2.50 in change.

"Hey!" protested Ryan. "I was gonna pay for that. This was my idea. I don't want
charity from any of you guys."

"Who said this was charity?" asked JC. "Friends buy things for their friends.
That's what friends are for, right?"

Trapped by JC's logic, Ryan could only reluctantly agree. They boarded the
Metrolink, and rode it to Laclede's Landing. From there, it was a short walk to
the Gateway Arch. They paused in front of it, looking up.

"Look at the size of that thing! It's pretty high, but it looks like a strong
breeze could knock it down," commented Justin nervously.

"It'll be fine, Justin," said Ryan, patting Justin's shoulder in a friendly way.
"It's only fallen down a few times." Justin looked at Ryan in alarm. "I'm
kidding, Justin! Do you think I'd risk the best musical group to a flimsy
structure?! You'd better believe that I'm not taking the Backstreet Boys here!"

Justin slapped Ryan upside the head.

"Hey!" shouted Ryan in mock anger. "What did I say?"

"You know exactly what you said, Mr Holden," said Lance.

"Ooo, what are ya gonna do if I say it again, Mr. Bass? Are ya gonna punish me?"

"I think I will..." said Lance, teasingly.

"I would I get in trouble if I said that I Want It That Way?" This time, it was
JC who hit Ryan upside the head.

"Hey! You guys did it again!! Can't even continue a conversation..."

"Well, stop making reference to them," said JC, "and we'll stop it."

"Fine, fine. After all, you guys are Larger than Life!" With that, Ryan went
sprinting for the entrance to the Arch. The five guys followed in hot pursuit.

"Alright, let's call a truce for now," said Ryan as they reached the entrance.
"We don't want to break anything here."

"Ok," said Joey, "but you'd better watch out when we get back to the hotel."

"Uh oh..But anyway, we need to buy tickets for the tram that will take us up
there," said Ryan. "Hey, where's Lance?"

Lance was already at the ticket window, buying tickets for all of them.
Ryan's shoulders slumped. Justin noticed this.

"What's the matter, Ryan?" asked Justin.

"This was my idea, to thank all of you for your support. And now, you're paying
for all of it yourselves."

"Ryan, this is what friends do for friends. Didn't Josh and Scoop beat that into
your head? The next time we do something like this, you can pay for it. It's
tit for tat, Ryan. We take turns paying. You'd better hope that you don't have
to pay for all of our food at some point in time. Joey and Chris eat like
horses, feedbags and all, and the rest of us aren't much better. You'll have to
take out a loan to feed all of us!"

Justin's jocular comments worked. Ryan started smiling again. "Thanks, Justin.
You're right. You're a really good friend."

"No problem, Ryan. That's what friends are for."

Lance came back to the group and passed out the tickets. He looked at Ryan
hesitantly, expecting him to be disappointed that Lance had tricked him out of
buying the tickets. But Ryan was standing there, joking around with Justin.
Lance sighed in relief. He was glad that the others were getting along with
Ryan so well.

"Come on, guys, let's go!" yelled Chris. The six guys headed for the line for
the Tram. Luckily, it was early in the day, so there wasn't a big line. The six
guys managed to cram themselves in the Tram car when they got up to the front
of the line. The Tram slowly started to ascend up the Arch.

"Boy, Joe, you need to start losing some weight," said Chris.

"Are you calling me fat?" demanded Joey.

"No, I'm calling you Joey, but the point remains the same," said Chris.

Chris, JC, Justin, Lance, and Ryan started laughing and finally Joey started
laughing as well.

The Tram reached the top, and the door opened. The six guys piled out. Chris and
Joey ran to the windows, JC not far behind. Justin slowly inched his way to the
windows. Ryan started towards them, but stopped when he noticed that Lance wasn't
moving.

"What's the matter, Lance?" asked Ryan. "Aren't you gonna look out the windows?
That's why we came here, isn't it?"

"Well...this thing is moving too much. I can actually feel it moving."

"That's just the wind. Here, you come with me." Ryan walked over to Lance and
gently took his arm. He led Lance over to a window. But Lance was still shaking.

"It's one thing to be this high, but another to be this high and the whole thing
is shaking?" said Lance. "There isn't even anything below us except the ground!
I think I'll pass on this."

"Come on, It'll be ok. Trust me, James," said Ryan, taking Lance's hand. He led
Lance right to the window, and they looked out of it, Ryan's hand still in
Lance's.

"Wow! From this point, St. Louis looks so beautiful!!" breathed Lance.

"You should see how it looks from an area in Belleville," said Ryan, still
looking out the window. "You can see the Arch and the rest of the buildings,
and it looks so picture-perfect."

Lance turned to Ryan. The word perfect made Lance automatically think of Ryan.
Ryan just looked right back at him. Lance, almost without thinking, leaned
forward towards Ryan. Ryan leaned towards Lance. Their lips touched...

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Yay!!! Another cliffhanger!!! I'm so mean...

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

Squall Thrawn
THRAWN5678@aol.com