Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 14:14:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Robin Subject: Chapter 7, Now or Never, Boy-bands, Celebrity Now or Never by Robin Smithson Disclaimer: If you are underage, please go somewhere else. If you are committing any crimes by reading this story, please go somewhere else. This is a piece of fiction, I do not know 'N Sync or have any idea of their sexual preferences. Hey everyone! Thanks for writing me about the last few chapters. I know that I kind of went off on this weird Chris think, but I'm going to be getting back to the main focus of the story, Lance and Justin. I promise! Let me know what you think about this one, okay? nsajscgirl@yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Previously on Now or Never: "Okay, here's what we're gonna tell the police. It may seem totally stupid, but it's all I can think of," Lance said. At everyone's nod he continued, "Neither of you were aware that the drug was in Joey's drink. Someone else, we'll let the police worry about who, put the stuff in Joey's drink. Since you threw away the bottle, there's no evidence that it was you. There is one thing though," Lance paused, looking at Chris, "you have to call Jack and tell him to keep his mouth shut. I'm gonna go call Johnny now, before the police get here. I'm sure that if needed, Johnny and Jive will be willing to pay Jack something if he isn't sure he should keep quiet." Chris nodded his understanding, ready to do anything to keep the cops' focus off of him. "I'll do it right now," Chris said as he stood up and walked out of the room. Lance sighed heavily and followed Chris's footsteps to make the dreaded call to Johnny. Now and Never Chapter 7 Within five minutes, Chris returned to the room, a frown on his face. "So?" JC asked promptly. "I couldn't get a hold of him," Chris replied. JC stood up and faced Chris angrily. "You couldn't get a hold of him? Dammit Chris! Everything we tell the police depends on whether or not Jack will keep his mouth shut! I suggest you go out there and find the bastard!" Justin placed a hand on JC's shoulder to placate him. "Calm down, JC. Let's wait until Lance gets back before doing anything, okay?" Justin suggested. JC reluctantly agreed and returned to his seat. Every so often, he would shoot disgruntled glances at Chris. Nearly ten minutes later, Lance returned to the room, exhaustion etched in every corner of his face. "Johnny is on his way here right now," Lance said as he crossed the room, taking a seat. He slumped down in the chair, his head felt like it weighed a ton. Justin watched Lance from across the room. More than anything, he wished that he could go to Lance and comfort him. But he couldn't. His arms ached to feel Lance in them, holding him tight. "What did he say?" JC questioned. "He was furious. I didn't understand everything he said; he was cussin' half the time. All I remember hearing for sure is that we aren't to talk to the police until he gets here with our lawyers." Chris started fidgeting in his seat, Johnny's wrath was not something he was ready to be subjected to. "I...I think I'm gonna go take a walk, okay?" Chris said hesitantly. Lance looked at him suspiciously. "I don't think that's a good idea, Chris," Lance said evenly. "Just wait until Johnny gets here." Chris started to protest, but was cut off by a glare from Justin. "Okay," he said softly in defeat, any thoughts of him slipping out of the hospital and going home vanished from his mind. Of course he was worried about Joe, but he wasn't quite ready to face the consequences of his immature actions from the night before. "Did you talk to Jack?" Lance questioned Chris. "I...um...I never got a hold of him," Chris said, biting his lower lip. "I don't have a clue where he is. Usually he would find me when he had stuff, not the other way around." "I still can't believe that you've been doing drugs since before we got together as a group," Lance said softly, his mind still mulling over that little fact. He was trying to recall anything that would have indicated Chris's habit, but he couldn't think of a single incident. "The only one that knew about it was Joe. Sometimes we would do it together," Chris said. JC glanced up quickly. "Joey, too?" he asked in disbelief. "How? I mean, yeah, I've seen him drunk before, but drugs, too?" "The drunkenness was just a cover up. We could be totally high, but y'all never guessed because we had been drinking all evening," Chris explained how none of the others had ever guessed. "You know we are going to have to tell Joey what you did, right?" Justin asked, hoping to clarify the situation for Chris. A dawning look of horror covered the older man's face. "I mean, he doesn't know what happened and if...when he gets out of here, we are going to have to tell him." Chris nodded in understanding. "I'll tell him. Just let me do it in my own way, my own time, please?" he pleaded. JC didn't agree with Chris, but was outvoted when Lance and Justin nodded sympathetically. "As long as you do it soon," JC said grudgingly. He had serious doubts that Chris would ever tell Joey the truth. "So when he wakes up, are we going to tell him the story we are going to tell the police?" Chris asked. "Yeah, I guess so," JC replied. Chris nodded; he was more than a little relieved. Before Lance could question Chris about Jack any further, a knock sounded at the closed door of the waiting room. "Um, excuse me..." the young doctor that had talked to them before said upon entering the room. JC immediately stood up searching the doctor's face for any sort of information. "Is Joey okay?" he asked, worry more than evident in his voice. The doctor offered a small smile and replied. "We believe so." A chorus of relieved sighs echoed throughout the small room. "We managed to completely clean out his system and he is sleeping right now. I'll let you know as soon as he wakes up and you can visit him for a short while, okay?" Everyone nodded their approval as the doctor backed out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Oh my God! Thank you Lord!" Justin shouted happily as soon as the nurse was gone. He turned and grabbed the person closest to him, which happened to be JC, into a huge hug. JC returned the hug whole-heartedly, slapping Justin on the back. Lance lifted his head in silent thanks to God before a wide smile broke out on his pale face. As soon as JC released Justin, the younger man ran to Lance to pull him into a hug. Lance wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and buried his head in the crook of Justin's neck. They stayed that way for a moment before Justin became aware of the fact that JC was standing right behind him, waiting for his chance to give Lance a hug as well. He quickly released Lance and allowed JC to hug his lover. The only one not participating in the hug fest was Chris. A tremendous sense of relief had rushed through his body at the doctor's words, leaving him too weak to celebrate. He couldn't image what his life would be like without Joe, it was too horrible to even think off. Justin gathered himself enough to remember Chris sitting by himself in the room and he immediately walked towards his friend and took a seat next to him. He placed his right hand on Chris's back and rubbed it up and down. Chris looked at Justin appreciatively before turning in his seat and engulfing the younger boy in a hug. All celebration ceased the moment the door swung wide open and Johnny Wright marched through the door. The black man towered over the group and Chris swallowed loudly. Following closely behind him were two of Jive Records most prominent attorneys. The guys recognized them immediately. "All right, dammit! I want to know what exactly happened last night!" he said, his voice wasn't quite a yell, but it was damn near close. Lance stood up, once again taking control. "Calm down, Johnny. I didn't call you to have you come down here and yell at us," he said firmly. "Calm down?! You want me to calm down after you told me Joey is the hospital of a drug overdose?!" "Yes," Lance replied, taking Johnny by the elbow and leading him to a chair. "If you'll just sit down, Chris will tell you everything." At the mention of his name, Chris's head snapped up to look at Lance. Lance glared sternly at Chris and the older boy sighed. Chris then launched into the retelling of last night's events. With each sentence, the stormy look on Johnny's face grew more intense, while Jive's lawyers stood passively in a corner of the room. A disbelieving gasp escaped his lips when Chris told him what he had done to Joey's drink, causing Lance to shoot him a warning glance to be quiet. Johnny quickly complied and leaned back in his chair, taking in every word Chris uttered. Silence greeted the end of Chris confession as Johnny took in all that he had just heard. "You damn idiot!" Johnny exploded, standing up from his chair quickly. Lance moved to put a placating arm on Johnny's shoulders, but was rebuffed as Johnny shook him loose. He pointed an accusing finger at Chris and continued, "Do you realize what you've done!? I had always thought you had a fairly stable head on your shoulders, but now I can see that I was absolutely wrong! How could you do this, Chris? To Joey? Yourself? Your friends? To 'N Sync? To ME?!" With each question Johnny jabbed his finger in Chris's direction, making his point more than clear. "Johnny, that's enough. He knows what he did was wrong, leave it at that," Lance said forcefully, grabbing Johnny's arm. Johnny shook himself slightly and turned to stare at Lance. "He almost killed one of your best friends, and you're okay with that?" Johnny asked in disbelief. "I never said I was okay with it, but Chris is one of my best friends as well. He knows that he was wrong," Lance replied. "Besides, this is a discussion for some other time. We have to decide what we are going to do now." Johnny paused for a moment and nodded his agreement. "Chris, did you get a hold of Jack?" "Um...no, I didn't. I don't know where he is," Chris replied. Lance groaned at that little piece of information. "Wait, hang on a second. What did you guys decide to do?" Johnny questioned. Lance quickly filled him in on the explanation they were going to provide for the police. "Jack wouldn't talk anyway," Johnny pointed out suddenly. "Huh? Why not?" Lance asked quickly, evidently he had missed something. "He would have to be a total idiot to turn Chris over to the police. They would ask him about his involvement and he would have to tell them that he provided the illegal drugs to Chris. That would get him a couple of years in prison," Johnny provided. The guys had been so wrapped up in worrying about Joey's condition that they had failed to notice that obvious fact. Chris grinned, relief rushing through his body for the second time that day. "Well that simplifies things a bit," Lance said. "I still think that we should find him and talk to him about it, just in case. Let's make it clear to him that if he even thinks about starting a rumor, we'll take him down." Everyone nodded in agreement before Chris interrupted. "I still don't know how to find him though," he pointed out. "I'll put someone on it immediately," Johnny said quickly, standing up from his chair. Lance breathed a silent sigh of relief, glad that someone else had finally taken control. Johnny excused himself from the room, the two lawyers following closely behind 'N Sync's manager. An uncomfortable silence filled the room after Johnny's departure. "I'm going to the bathroom," Justin announced suddenly, causing everyone to jump slightly. He caught Lance's gaze and arched his head towards the door, indicating that he wanted Lance to go with him. Lance nodded quickly and got up to follow the younger man. Their departure went unnoticed for the most part, except for the brief grin JC flashed at their backs. The moment they stepped out of the waiting room, Justin grabbed Lance's upper arm and hauled him down the hall to the bathroom. Once they entered the restroom, they both searched the available stalls for any unwelcome guests. All of the stalls were unoccupied so Justin pulled Lance into the large, handicapped stall at the end of the row. They stood inches apart staring at each other before Lance whispered the joyous fact that was on both their minds. "Joe's gonna make it. He's really gonna make it, Justin." Justin's lips broke into his world-famous grin and he nodded his head enthusiastically. Lance returned the grin, his green eyes shinning brightly with happiness and relief. After a moment, however, Lance's grin melted away and sadness entered his brilliant green eyes, making them darker. Justin watched with confusion as Lance's mood rapidly changed. "What's wrong?" he asked. "It's always gonna be like this," Lance whispered, causing Justin to frown in confusion. "Wh...what do you mean? I don't understand." "Our being together," Lance clarified. "It'll always be like this; stolen hugs in elevators and gardens; private moments hidden away in bathrooms. I hate that; I hate this, having to keep us a secret," he finished heatedly. Justin felt the sadness and frustration pouring off Lance and he sighed. "Lance, I know this will be hard. I understand that, but we have to make the best of it. I'm willing to go through all the hiding and the secrecy until we decide to tell the guys because I love you Lance. I mean, would you rather not even have the stolen moments of touching and hugs? Would you rather have nothing at all?" Justin questioned, watching Lance's expression intently. Lance avoided the younger man's gaze while he mulled over Justin's words. Justin began to worry as the seconds ticked by and Lance didn't respond. Once Lance came to a decision, he raised his sea green eyes to meet Justin's sky blue pair and the young singer sighed in relief at the conviction and love he saw in Lance's eyes. "No, Justin. I wouldn't give you up for anything," Lance said firmly and was rewarded with Justin's beautiful smile. Slowly, they moved close together, some invisible bond drawing them closer and closer. Lance tilted his head slightly and sighed with contentment as his lips brushed Justin's. He reveled in the feel of his lover's lips, firm, but at the same time, petal soft. Justin brought both of his hands to Lance's face and cupped the older man's face. He then gently forced Lance's head back slightly and ran his tongue over the older man's lips, requesting entrance to the warm mouth beneath his. Lance opened his mouth eagerly, wanting more than anything to taste Justin. Tentatively, Lance's hands traveled upwards to rest in Justin's curls. He buried both hands in the honey-colored strands and pulled Justin as close as possible. In response, Justin wrapped his arms around the shorter man's waist, loving the feel of Lance's hard body. It was at that inopportune moment that a knock sounded at the door to the restroom, causing the two lovers to jump apart quickly. "Hey, Justin! Lance! Are y'all still in there!?" JC's voice could be heard clearly through the thin door. Lance placed his right hand over his speeding heart and a nervous giggle escaped his lips. Justin grinned at him and answered their friend. "Yeah, we are. We'll be out in a second, JC" Justin said quickly, hoping to get JC to leave, giving them another couple of minutes of privacy. JC crack the door open slightly and urged the guys out of the restroom. From his spot at the door, he didn't notice that Justin and Lance were sharing a stall. "Just hurry. The police are here." With that little piece of information, Justin's heart dropped a little. A small knot of butterflies appeared in his stomach and he glanced at Lance worriedly. "Okay," Lance called out to JC. Once they heard the door close behind JC, Lance smiled at Justin reassuringly, hoping to provide his young companion with some small amount of comfort. Justin returned the smile weakly before exiting the stall. Lance followed behind him closely, his smile turning into a worried frown as soon as his lover's back was turned, belying his confidence. He was just as nervous as Justin was about facing the police. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, there y'all go. Hopefully everyone liked it. Will the group be able to face the police without cracking under the pressure? You'll find out in the next chapter! :) Everyone please email me and let me know what you thought about it, okay? I really depend on your emails a lot! nsajscgirl@yahoo.com Talk to y'all later, Robin :) Now or Never by Robin Smithson Disclaimer: If you are underage, please go somewhere else. If you are committing any crimes by reading this story, please go somewhere else. This is a piece of fiction, I do not know 'N Sync or have any idea of their sexual preferences. Hey everyone! Thanks for writing me about the last few chapters. I know that I kind of went off on this weird Chris think, but I'm going to be getting back to the main focus of the story, Lance and Justin. I promise! Let me know what you think about this one, okay? nsajscgirl@yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previously on Now or Never: "Okay, here's what we're gonna tell the police. It may seem totally stupid, but it's all I can think of," Lance said. At everyone's nod he continued, "Neither of you were aware that the drug was in Joey's drink. Someone else, we'll let the police worry about who, put the stuff in Joey's drink. Since you threw away the bottle, there's no evidence that it was you. There is one thing though," Lance paused, looking at Chris, "you have to call Jack and tell him to keep his mouth shut. I'm gonna go call Johnny now, before the police get here. I'm sure that if needed, Johnny and Jive will be willing to pay Jack something if he isn't sure he should keep quiet." Chris nodded his understanding, ready to do anything to keep the cops' focus off of him. "I'll do it right now," Chris said as he stood up and walked out of the room. Lance sighed heavily and followed Chris's footsteps to make the dreaded call to Johnny. Now and Never Chapter 7 Within five minutes, Chris returned to the room, a frown on his face. "So?" JC asked promptly. "I couldn't get a hold of him," Chris replied. JC stood up and faced Chris angrily. "You couldn't get a hold of him? Dammit Chris! Everything we tell the police depends on whether or not Jack will keep his mouth shut! I suggest you go out there and find the bastard!" Justin placed a hand on JC's shoulder to placate him. "Calm down, JC. Let's wait until Lance gets back before doing anything, okay?" Justin suggested. JC reluctantly agreed and returned to his seat. Every so often, he would shoot disgruntled glances at Chris. Nearly ten minutes later, Lance returned to the room, exhaustion etched in every corner of his face. "Johnny is on his way here right now," Lance said as he crossed the room, taking a seat. He slumped down in the chair, his head felt like it weighed a ton. Justin watched Lance from across the room. More than anything, he wished that he could go to Lance and comfort him. But he couldn't. His arms ached to feel Lance in them, holding him tight. "What did he say?" JC questioned. "He was furious. I didn't understand everything he said; he was cussin' half the time. All I remember hearing for sure is that we aren't to talk to the police until he gets here with our lawyers." Chris started fidgeting in his seat, Johnny's wrath was not something he was ready to be subjected to. "I...I think I'm gonna go take a walk, okay?" Chris said hesitantly. Lance looked at him suspiciously. "I don't think that's a good idea, Chris," Lance said evenly. "Just wait until Johnny gets here." Chris started to protest, but was cut off by a glare from Justin. "Okay," he said softly in defeat, any thoughts of him slipping out of the hospital and going home vanished from his mind. Of course he was worried about Joe, but he wasn't quite ready to face the consequences of his immature actions from the night before. "Did you talk to Jack?" Lance questioned Chris. "I...um...I never got a hold of him," Chris said, biting his lower lip. "I don't have a clue where he is. Usually he would find me when he had stuff, not the other way around." "I still can't believe that you've been doing drugs since before we got together as a group," Lance said softly, his mind still mulling over that little fact. He was trying to recall anything that would have indicated Chris's habit, but he couldn't think of a single incident. "The only one that knew about it was Joe. Sometimes we would do it together," Chris said. JC glanced up quickly. "Joey, too?" he asked in disbelief. "How? I mean, yeah, I've seen him drunk before, but drugs, too?" "The drunkenness was just a cover up. We could be totally high, but y'all never guessed because we had been drinking all evening," Chris explained how none of the others had ever guessed. "You know we are going to have to tell Joey what you did, right?" Justin asked, hoping to clarify the situation for Chris. A dawning look of horror covered the older man's face. "I mean, he doesn't know what happened and if...when he gets out of here, we are going to have to tell him." Chris nodded in understanding. "I'll tell him. Just let me do it in my own way, my own time, please?" he pleaded. JC didn't agree with Chris, but was outvoted when Lance and Justin nodded sympathetically. "As long as you do it soon," JC said grudgingly. He had serious doubts that Chris would ever tell Joey the truth. "So when he wakes up, are we going to tell him the story we are going to tell the police?" Chris asked. "Yeah, I guess so," JC replied. Chris nodded; he was more than a little relieved. Before Lance could question Chris about Jack any further, a knock sounded at the closed door of the waiting room. "Um, excuse me..." the young doctor that had talked to them before said upon entering the room. JC immediately stood up searching the doctor's face for any sort of information. "Is Joey okay?" he asked, worry more than evident in his voice. The doctor offered a small smile and replied. "We believe so." A chorus of relieved sighs echoed throughout the small room. "We managed to completely clean out his system and he is sleeping right now. I'll let you know as soon as he wakes up and you can visit him for a short while, okay?" Everyone nodded their approval as the doctor backed out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Oh my God! Thank you Lord!" Justin shouted happily as soon as the nurse was gone. He turned and grabbed the person closest to him, which happened to be JC, into a huge hug. JC returned the hug whole-heartedly, slapping Justin on the back. Lance lifted his head in silent thanks to God before a wide smile broke out on his pale face. As soon as JC released Justin, the younger man ran to Lance to pull him into a hug. Lance wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and buried his head in the crook of Justin's neck. They stayed that way for a moment before Justin became aware of the fact that JC was standing right behind him, waiting for his chance to give Lance a hug as well. He quickly released Lance and allowed JC to hug his lover. The only one not participating in the hug fest was Chris. A tremendous sense of relief had rushed through his body at the doctor's words, leaving him too weak to celebrate. He couldn't image what his life would be like without Joe, it was too horrible to even think off. Justin gathered himself enough to remember Chris sitting by himself in the room and he immediately walked towards his friend and took a seat next to him. He placed his right hand on Chris's back and rubbed it up and down. Chris looked at Justin appreciatively before turning in his seat and engulfing the younger boy in a hug. All celebration ceased the moment the door swung wide open and Johnny Wright marched through the door. The black man towered over the group and Chris swallowed loudly. Following closely behind him were two of Jive Records most prominent attorneys. The guys recognized them immediately. "All right, dammit! I want to know what exactly happened last night!" he said, his voice wasn't quite a yell, but it was damn near close. Lance stood up, once again taking control. "Calm down, Johnny. I didn't call you to have you come down here and yell at us," he said firmly. "Calm down?! You want me to calm down after you told me Joey is the hospital of a drug overdose?!" "Yes," Lance replied, taking Johnny by the elbow and leading him to a chair. "If you'll just sit down, Chris will tell you everything." At the mention of his name, Chris's head snapped up to look at Lance. Lance glared sternly at Chris and the older boy sighed. Chris then launched into the retelling of last night's events. With each sentence, the stormy look on Johnny's face grew more intense, while Jive's lawyers stood passively in a corner of the room. A disbelieving gasp escaped his lips when Chris told him what he had done to Joey's drink, causing Lance to shoot him a warning glance to be quiet. Johnny quickly complied and leaned back in his chair, taking in every word Chris uttered. Silence greeted the end of Chris confession as Johnny took in all that he had just heard. "You damn idiot!" Johnny exploded, standing up from his chair quickly. Lance moved to put a placating arm on Johnny's shoulders, but was rebuffed as Johnny shook him loose. He pointed an accusing finger at Chris and continued, "Do you realize what you've done!? I had always thought you had a fairly stable head on your shoulders, but now I can see that I was absolutely wrong! How could you do this, Chris? To Joey? Yourself? Your friends? To 'N Sync? To ME?!" With each question Johnny jabbed his finger in Chris's direction, making his point more than clear. "Johnny, that's enough. He knows what he did was wrong, leave it at that," Lance said forcefully, grabbing Johnny's arm. Johnny shook himself slightly and turned to stare at Lance. "He almost killed one of your best friends, and you're okay with that?" Johnny asked in disbelief. "I never said I was okay with it, but Chris is one of my best friends as well. He knows that he was wrong," Lance replied. "Besides, this is a discussion for some other time. We have to decide what we are going to do now." Johnny paused for a moment and nodded his agreement. "Chris, did you get a hold of Jack?" "Um...no, I didn't. I don't know where he is," Chris replied. Lance groaned at that little piece of information. "Wait, hang on a second. What did you guys decide to do?" Johnny questioned. Lance quickly filled him in on the explanation they were going to provide for the police. "Jack wouldn't talk anyway," Johnny pointed out suddenly. "Huh? Why not?" Lance asked quickly, evidently he had missed something. "He would have to be a total idiot to turn Chris over to the police. They would ask him about his involvement and he would have to tell them that he provided the illegal drugs to Chris. That would get him a couple of years in prison," Johnny provided. The guys had been so wrapped up in worrying about Joey's condition that they had failed to notice that obvious fact. Chris grinned, relief rushing through his body for the second time that day. "Well that simplifies things a bit," Lance said. "I still think that we should find him and talk to him about it, just in case. Let's make it clear to him that if he even thinks about starting a rumor, we'll take him down." Everyone nodded in agreement before Chris interrupted. "I still don't know how to find him though," he pointed out. "I'll put someone on it immediately," Johnny said quickly, standing up from his chair. Lance breathed a silent sigh of relief, glad that someone else had finally taken control. Johnny excused himself from the room, the two lawyers following closely behind 'N Sync's manager. An uncomfortable silence filled the room after Johnny's departure. "I'm going to the bathroom," Justin announced suddenly, causing everyone to jump slightly. He caught Lance's gaze and arched his head towards the door, indicating that he wanted Lance to go with him. Lance nodded quickly and got up to follow the younger man. Their departure went unnoticed for the most part, except for the brief grin JC flashed at their backs. The moment they stepped out of the waiting room, Justin grabbed Lance's upper arm and hauled him down the hall to the bathroom. Once they entered the restroom, they both searched the available stalls for any unwelcome guests. All of the stalls were unoccupied so Justin pulled Lance into the large, handicapped stall at the end of the row. They stood inches apart staring at each other before Lance whispered the joyous fact that was on both their minds. "Joe's gonna make it. He's really gonna make it, Justin." Justin's lips broke into his world-famous grin and he nodded his head enthusiastically. Lance returned the grin, his green eyes shinning brightly with happiness and relief. After a moment, however, Lance's grin melted away and sadness entered his brilliant green eyes, making them darker. Justin watched with confusion as Lance's mood rapidly changed. "What's wrong?" he asked. "It's always gonna be like this," Lance whispered, causing Justin to frown in confusion. "Wh...what do you mean? I don't understand." "Our being together," Lance clarified. "It'll always be like this; stolen hugs in elevators and gardens; private moments hidden away in bathrooms. I hate that; I hate this, having to keep us a secret," he finished heatedly. Justin felt the sadness and frustration pouring off Lance and he sighed. "Lance, I know this will be hard. I understand that, but we have to make the best of it. I'm willing to go through all the hiding and the secrecy until we decide to tell the guys because I love you Lance. I mean, would you rather not even have the stolen moments of touching and hugs? Would you rather have nothing at all?" Justin questioned, watching Lance's expression intently. Lance avoided the younger man's gaze while he mulled over Justin's words. Justin began to worry as the seconds ticked by and Lance didn't respond. Once Lance came to a decision, he raised his sea green eyes to meet Justin's sky blue pair and the young singer sighed in relief at the conviction and love he saw in Lance's eyes. "No, Justin. I wouldn't give you up for anything," Lance said firmly and was rewarded with Justin's beautiful smile. Slowly, they moved close together, some invisible bond drawing them closer and closer. Lance tilted his head slightly and sighed with contentment as his lips brushed Justin's. He reveled in the feel of his lover's lips, firm, but at the same time, petal soft. Justin brought both of his hands to Lance's face and cupped the older man's face. He then gently forced Lance's head back slightly and ran his tongue over the older man's lips, requesting entrance to the warm mouth beneath his. Lance opened his mouth eagerly, wanting more than anything to taste Justin. Tentatively, Lance's hands traveled upwards to rest in Justin's curls. He buried both hands in the honey-colored strands and pulled Justin as close as possible. In response, Justin wrapped his arms around the shorter man's waist, loving the feel of Lance's hard body. It was at that inopportune moment that a knock sounded at the door to the restroom, causing the two lovers to jump apart quickly. "Hey, Justin! Lance! Are y'all still in there!?" JC's voice could be heard clearly through the thin door. Lance placed his right hand over his speeding heart and a nervous giggle escaped his lips. Justin grinned at him and answered their friend. "Yeah, we are. We'll be out in a second, JC" Justin said quickly, hoping to get JC to leave, giving them another couple of minutes of privacy. JC crack the door open slightly and urged the guys out of the restroom. From his spot at the door, he didn't notice that Justin and Lance were sharing a stall. "Just hurry. The police are here." With that little piece of information, Justin's heart dropped a little. A small knot of butterflies appeared in his stomach and he glanced at Lance worriedly. "Okay," Lance called out to JC. Once they heard the door close behind JC, Lance smiled at Justin reassuringly, hoping to provide his young companion with some small amount of comfort. Justin returned the smile weakly before exiting the stall. Lance followed behind him closely, his smile turning into a worried frown as soon as his lover's back was turned, belying his confidence. He was just as nervous as Justin was about facing the police. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Okay, there y'all go. Hopefully everyone liked it. Will the group be able to face the police without cracking under the pressure? You'll find out in the next chapter! :) Everyone please email me and let me know what you thought about it, okay? I really depend on your emails a lot! nsajscgirl@yahoo.com Talk to y'all later, Robin :)