Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 13:12:14 PST
From: Jason Clarke <jaclarke@hotmail.com>
Subject: Ryan and Lance - Part 2

This story involves members of the bands NSYNC.  I am in no way implying
anything about the sexuality of any of their members.  This is purely a
fictional story.  Enjoy!

Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ
#7964029)

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

Ryan and Lance - Part 2

"So what do you guys wanna do this afternoon?" Joey asked as Justin brought
back some juice from the kitchen.

"How 'bout some basketball?" Chris suggested.

"Cool!" Justin responded enthusiastically.

"Sure, why not?" JC agreed.

There was no response from Lance.  Everyone turned their attention to the
blond singer, who had been pretty much silent throughout the whole morning.
Lance had no idea what was going on, his eyes staring out the window, his
mind drifting far away.

"So how 'bout you, Scoop?" Justin gave JC a puzzled look and only received
a shrug as an answer.

There was another moment of silence.  "Nah, why don't you guys go without
me," Lance said in a barely audible voice.

"Come on, Scoop, it'll be fun," Chris urged.

"I'm really not up for it today," Lance replied.  "Besides, I suck at
basketball."  Lance got up from his chair and walked out to Justin's
backyard.  He stood on the porch and stared into the vast ocean.  Lance has
never felt so lonely...the only person that mattered to him in his life was
gone...and because of Eric, Lance felt his self-dignity and his self-worth
were taken from him.

Back in the dining room...

"What's with Scoop?" Joey asked, turning to JC for an answer.

JC looked out the window where Lance was standing.  "I have no idea."  JC
was worried about Lance.  He hadn't been very happy the last little while,
and it appears that things were getting worse.

"So why didn't he answer the phone this morning?" Chris continued with the
questions.

"I don't know...I got to Lance's place, his door was unlocked, his stuff
was still near the front door.  I walked up to his room, it was a total
mess...and then I saw him sitting on the floor in a corner.  He didn't even
notice me coming into the room."

"I'm worried," Justin said softly.

"Me too," Joey said grimly.  "But we can't seem to get through to him."

"I know what you mean...maybe you or JC can try talking with him.  I mean,
you two are the closest to him," Chris suggested.

"I'll try," JC agreed, "but I'm not sure how much he'll reveal.  When I
tried talking with him this morning, he seemed so distant."  JC sighed as
he glanced out the window again.

As they continued chatting, Lance walked back into the room.  "Guys, I
think I'm gonna go home.  I want to get some rest.  You guys have fun,
okay?"

Justin got up and walked towards Lance.  "Are you sure you're okay, Scoop?"

Lance forced a weak smile.  "I'll be fine, Just."  With that, Lance walked
out the door, closing it softly behind him, leaving Justin standing in the
wall with a very worried look on his face.

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

Lance wandered aimlessly for several hours before heading home.  In a way,
he didn't want to go back into the house.  He didn't want to relive his
encounter with Eric.  Lance opened the front door and slowly walked inside.
As he turned to close the door, someone grabbed him from behind and a hand
covered his mouth.  He struggled but the person was too strong for him.
Then he felt the cold blade of a knife against his throat.  Lance was
sweating with fear, but he dared not move.  After about a minute, the
person released Lance from his hold.  Turning around, Lance expected to
face a thug but was surprised to see a young man around his age.  He was
slightly taller than Lance, with soft blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.
His clothes were all worn but he appeared to be the well-brought-up type.
His face was dirty but behind the filth, Lance could make out a handsome
face...almost angelic in appearance, which was ironic considering the
circumstances.

Before Lance could speak or react, his attacker placed the knife on the
table beside him.  "I'm sorry," he said softly before darting out the door.
Lance stood there dumbfounded.  One minute, he was threatened with a knife,
fearing for his life.  And now, his attacker apologized to him and was out
of his sight.  After quickly digesting the information, Lance called out,
"Wait..." But the guy was already no where to be found.

Lance decided to wander in the streets for a while longer, trying to clear
his mind somewhat.  He walked towards a school in the neighbourhood and
made his way through the deserted playground.  As he was walking, he heard
sounds of several people talking...it was actually more like yelling.  He
could hear the sound of another person groaning in pain.  He heard what
sounded like punching and kicking.  Curious, Lance found himself walking
towards the sound.  He was brought to a narrow alleyway near the school.
As he looked towards the alley, he could see a person lying on the ground
with three other people standing around him.  They were kicking him and
yelling at him.

"You better spit that money back or you're not going to see the light of
day again!" a gruff voice bellowed.

"Please, I don't have anything to give you."

"Well, then, don't blame us."  The kicking resumed.  One of the men grabbed
the guy on the ground and started punching him.  Without thinking, Lance
ran into the alley, pushed the men aside and rushed to help the helpless
victim.

"You guys are gonna kill him if you don't stop," he yelled.  He glared at
the men, not realizing the danger that he was in.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the men bellowed.  "Why don't you mind your
own business?"

"You're about to kill someone and you want me to mind my own business?"

"Look," another man said as he stepped forward.  "Either this guy pays up
or he is ours."

"This is over money?" Lance asked, totally bewildered.  "How much does he
owe you?"

"Five hundred dollars," the man answered.  "Are you going to pay for him,
boy?  'Cause if you're not, then get out of here!"

Lance reached for his wallet, took out 5 hundred dollar bills and handed it
to the man who appeared to be the leader.  "There, he doesn't owe you
anything now.  So just leave him alone!"

"You're lucky this time, kid.  Don't let me ever see you again!"  With
that, the three men turned around and left.

Immediately, Lance turned his attention to the guy lying on the ground.  He
helped him to his feet and only then did he realize who he was.  "It's
you??"  Standing in front of Lance was the same person who attacked him in
his own home earlier.  Recovering from the shock, Lance threw the guy's arm
around his shoulder and helped him back to his house.

Lance sat the boy in the living room and got the first aid kit from the
washroom.  He methodically yet gently cleansed the wounds and applied
bandages to the various cuts.  For some reason, he no longer felt
intimidated by his attacker, yet he felt an unexplainable sense of
compassion for him.  Finally, Lance was satisfied with the job that he had
done and put the bandages away.  All this time, the boy did not say one
word, but his eyes followed Lance's every movement, not out of evil intent,
but more out of admiration and gratitude.

"Do you want some coffee or tea to warm you up?" Lance finally asked his
'guest.'

"Why?" was the answer that Lance got.

"Why what?"

"Why did you save me?" The voice no longer sounded threatening as it did
earlier.  Instead, it sounded vulnerable.

"Because otherwise who knows what they would've done to you," Lance
answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

"But..." the voice was cracking with emotion, "even after...after what I
did to you?"

Lance turned to face the boy, his green eyes evident with concern.  "I
don't know why you did what you did, but I'm sure you had your reason.  I
mean, you never did hurt me, right?  I couldn't pretend not to see
something that I really saw.  Walking away from the alley would've haunted
me for life..."

"Thank you so much...I don't know what else to say..."

"Well, you could start by telling me your name," Lance suggested with a
smile.

"Oh, I'm so sorry.  My name's Ryan."

Lance extended his hand.  "Nice to meet you, Ryan.  I'm Lance."

"Nice to meet..." Ryan suddenly jumped off the couch.  "Oh my god...I'm so
stupid!!!  You're...you're...you're Lance from NSYNC!!!"

"Hey, calm down Ryan, you'll tear your bandages," Lance chuckled at Ryan's
reaction.  "Yes, I'm Lance from NSYNC.  I hope you'll still find it nice to
meet me?"

"Oh of course, stupid me.  Nice to meet you!!" Ryan suddenly tenses up, as
he realized to the fullest extent of his current situation.  "Oh my god,
I'm in Lance Bass' house, standing in front of him.  I can't believe that I
almost killed him!" he thought to himself.

Sensing the change in Ryan's behaviour, Lance tried to reassure Ryan.  "You
don't have to act differently just because of who I am, you know.  I'm just
a regular person like you."

Lance's smile was comforting to Ryan, and he became more relaxed.  "Oh no,
Scottie!!!"

"What happened?" Lance was startled by Ryan's sudden outburst.  He could
see that Ryan was becoming hysterical.

"I left Scottie alone, I told him I'd be back an hour and a half ago!  I'm
sorry, Lance, but I've gotta go.  Thank you for everything, I'll pay you
back as soon as I can."

"Wait!" Lance called out, chasing after Ryan.  "I'll give you a ride."

"No, I can't ask you to do that."

"Just get in!!"

Ryan was hesitant but finally complied with Lance's order.  The drive
didn't take long since Lance was speeding way over the limit, something
that he only does very rarely.  He finally arrived at an intersection near
the city centre.  He parked his car (in an illegal spot - another rarity
for Lance) and both of them quickly got out of the car.  Ryan ran across
the street and Lance followed close behind.

"This is strange," Lance thought to himself as he chased after Ryan.
"There are no residential units in this area..."

Ryan finally stopped in a narrow alley and made his way inside.  Lance was
now very confused but followed cautiously.  After the incident with Ryan
and the thugs, Lance was not very fond of alleys.

He saw Ryan kneel to the ground in front of a huge box that resembled some
sort of shelter and gasped.  Ryan crawled inside his "house" and reemerged
momentarily with an adorable boy who looked about six or seven.

Ryan embraced the boy and hugged him tightly, tears of relief flowing down
his face.  "Thank god you're alright, Scottie.  I'm so sorry for coming
back so late."

"Don't cry, Ryan," the boy said very softly.  "We're okay now, we're
together."

Lance was too shocked to react.  "Oh my god, this is where he lives???"


...to be continued....

Hope you enjoyed this segment.  Let me know what you think!!

As always, I'd love to hear any comments/ideas/questions.  Please e-mail me
at jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)