Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 15:50:22 EDT
From: Sweetangel482124@aol.com
Subject: 'No Way Out'    Chapter 7

`No Way Out'
Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not know anyone from NSYNC or anything about their
sexualities. This story is a figment of my imagination. If you are underage
or homophobic, please leave.

Hi all. Lately I don't get any chances to work on this story. I'm so
sorry. Well, I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Enjoy!


	It was already late afternoon when Justin made his way back to his
room down the white, sterile corridor. He opened the door, stepped inside,
and stopped dead in his tracks.

	"Josh.... what are you doing here?" He stammered at first, but by
the end of the sentence his voice had assumed that cold, hostile tone that
he used all too often now.
	"I came to apologize. We've always been best friends and I don't
want to let anything come between us. Will you forgive me? It really was me
who was being selfish." JC's voice had a hint of pleading to it and Justin
tried very hard to stay calm.

His feelings for JC were still there, but so was his anger towards him. The
fight they had had this morning was not the only thing Justin needed to
forgive JC for. It was also the fact that he never told him about his
relationship with Joey. He couldn't just forget about that.

"I don't know, Josh. I realize that we shouldn't throw away our friendship,
but I'm not ready to forgive you yet." It took a lot of self-control for
Justin to not just break down and cry. I am stronger than that, he kept on
telling himself.

	JC nodded. He knew that he needed to give Justin more time. He got
up and crossed the room. Then, on impulse, he grabbed Justin by his
shoulders, pulled him close, and pressed a kiss on his lips. The embrace
seemed to last forever. Finally, JC let go and walked out the door, leaving
a stunned Justin behind.

	It was almost midnight. The room was pitch black, except for the
eerie glow of light that was shining in from under the door. Justin was
sitting on his bed, a huddled figure in the dark.  He was shaking and
sobbing quietly.

	"Please, no, please don't let me go back to that." He was
whispering, staring blankly at the plastic knife in his hand. He was
referring to an old habit that he had given up on a few years ago. But now,
with his head spinning out of control from all the emotions and the things
that had happened the past couple of days, the pain and blood seemed
comforting.

	"If you can't kill yourself, you can at least kill the pain."
Another voice inside of him whispered.

	"No." he replied, and then louder "NO!" He threw the knife across
the room and curled up like a snail on the cold bed sheet. His tears left a
salty wet trail as they trickled down his cheeks and onto his hands.

	Just as he was beginning to calm down a little, the door was flung
open and a stream of light spilled upon him. Jack, the nurse, entered.

	"Justin...Mr. Timberlake, are you alright? I heard noises."
	"I'm alright. Please leave me alone." Justin whispered, his voice
heavy with the tears.
	"Ok. See you in the morning." Jack was not satisfied with Justin's
answer, but she knew better than to pry. He would talk eventually.


** Transcript Session #2 **


	"Good Morning, Mr. Timberlake."
	"Mornin'."
	"How are you today?"
	"Pretty shitty. I mean, not so good. I didn't sleep very well."
"Yes, I heard from my nurse that you were up pretty late. Do you want to
tell me why you couldn't sleep?"
	"No, I don't."
	"Justin, I know that some of these things may be hard to talk
about, but if you don't tell someone what's going on, you'll never get
better. Of course it seems so much easier right now to just run away and
avoid facing your problems. But you can't run forever. Someday whatever it
is that's chasing you will catch up. And the longer you wait, the harder it
will be to win the battle."
	"That sounds like you memorized it from some psychology book."
	"I did actually. But you know what, it's true. My life wasn't
always easy. In fact, it still isn't easy. But I always faced everything
and that's why I'm still standing."
	"How touching."
	"I'd hate to burst your bubble, but I know that you're just acting
here. I know that you're not that tough. Now will you please tell me why
you drove that car off the damn bridge that night?"
	"No." ::Pause:: "Ok, there's this...person, that I really like,
right? But that person didn't know. So that night, I went to tell that
person, but when I got there, I realized that h...that person already has a
boyfriend. So I got into my car, and you know the rest."
	"It's a guy."
	"What?"
	"That person you like, it's a guy. If it were a girl you would've
just said so, rather than saying `that person'."
	"Can I go now?"
	"If you don't want to stay."
	"I don't."

** End transcript**


Will Justin come out to Jake? Who will he get together with, JC or Jake?
Will JC break up with Joey? Why do all the characters names begin with `J'?
Answers to all the questions (except maybe the last one, cuz I'm not quite
sure bout that myself) in the next chapter.

Take care,
j