Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 22:39:16 +0100 (BST) From: Jezebel Subject: set adrift: second chances 5 Title: Set Adrift - Second Chances 1 Author: Jezebel the Temptress Feedback: eh_oh_po@yahoo.com Disclaimers: This is fiction. Ben and Sully are figments of my imagination and The Backstreet Boys are strangers to me and not gay. This has not truth to it. This is for adults only, that's over 18 or 21, depending on your country. *** Sully wasn't exactly sure what he was doing as he left the bedroom, he had taken time out for himself because he wasn't sure that he could deal with this right now, but one thing seemed certain in his mind. He had let Lou Pearlman drive him away from Alex once and he was not about to do it again. Sully had told Alex that he was going to make a call and he realised that he had to. It was time to ask a favour of the one friend he thought he might have left that wasn't a Backstreet Boy - he needed help from outside if they were going to get this done and there was only one other person he knew that he could trust. Dialling his cell Sully waited three rings before his friend answered. "Hello?" A familiar asked softly. "It's Sully... I need a favour." *** Alex went to the bathroom, rinsing his hands before splashing some water on his face, they may be in a hurry to get out but if he was going to his death he at least wanted to look as if he was ready for it. Running his hands through his wayward hair and trying to sort it out a little he gave up and grabbed a hat on his way out. "Sully?" He called as he made his way down the stairs. "You ready to go?" "Sure." Sully replied, walking in to the lounge room where Alex was waiting. "Just let me grab some clothes." Alex nodded and tried not to jangle his keys as he waited. It wasn't that he was impatient he just wanted to go so that they could get this over with sooner rather than later. It was one thing to worry about what was happening, but it was another thing to actually go through it. Alex hoped that unlike last time his fears were worse than the reality of the situation, otherwise they were screwed. "Ready." Sully said as he entered the lounge room in jeans and a t-shirt, he had a hooded sweatshirt in his hands as well. "Let's go." Alex said blankly, trying to hold his emotions inside. Alex had only taken a few steps before Sully reached out a hand to stop him. He turned expectantly and was surprised when a very vehement Sully kissed him hard. The pair of them kissed for a moment and then Sully pulled away. "It's going to be fine." Sully said, with more conviction than Alex had ever heard him have about anything else. "And no matter what happens, remember that I love you." Alex nodded, trying hard to believe his lover and hoping that his words were more than that and that he could believe them as much as Sully did. Something told him that the adage about things getting worse before they got better would have been a better phrase, but he didn't want to think that. Instead he tried to focus on the fact that Sully loved him. He hoped that this time that would be enough. *** The management building was still relatively empty because it was still early. It was quiet around on the roads and that suited Alex's mood - it would not do to have a lot of other people out, especially ones that were happy and smiling, when his life was falling apart. "Together, remember?" Sully said as they headed into the building. "No matter what, we'll get through this." Alex nodded, but a part of him wondered if he could believe that. Sully had promised him forever once before and then turned his back on him. Could he trust Sully to stay with him if the going got tough? He hoped so. "There you are." A terse Kevin said as the pair of them entered. It was obvious that he had been waiting for them to arrive and that he had been thinking the worst while he had waited. "Jeez, keep your pants on Kev, we got here as soon as we could." Alex replied angrily. Sully reached out to him, squeezing his hand in silent support. "Don't you think that your little PDA's have gotten you in enough trouble already?" Kevin asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Sully paled, dropping Alex's hand almost immediately and Alex glared at Kevin in response. Didn't he know that Sully was already insecure? Alex ignored the pointed look from Kevin and instead reached for Sully's hand again, interlocking their hands with entwined fingers and moving them away from the entrance and towards the meeting room where he assumed they were waiting. "I'm not ashamed of my love for Sully." Alex said loudly as he walked into the meeting room. He knew that both Kevin and everyone in the room would have heard him and he had meant it that way. He knew that this would be a tough encounter and so he knew he had to start it out on a strong point, that way they would know that he could not be swayed so easily. "I'm glad." A voice replied. "I wouldn't want to be going against the devil for anything else." Alex stilled a little, looking across the room and finding himself surprised that it was more than management and his bandmates present. He was even more surprised that it was one of his supposed enemies that was speaking up on his behalf. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to be signing up for a class action suit if we were just doing it for money." Lance agreed. Alex was surprised that his Jive mates had turned up to this supposedly secret meeting and even more surprised that they knew about he and Sully. "Now that you are here, perhaps we can get started." Kevin said, bringing up the rear and shutting the door behind him. He indicated for Sully and Alex to take a pair of seats at the head of the table, Alex didn't argue this time, and then Kevin took a seat himself. "Perhaps you would like to start by explaining to us what Nsync are doing here." He said pointedly. "I called Joey and asked him to come." Sully replied, surprising a few people that obviously thought Alex had instigated this. "I've spent too long running from Lou Pearlman and I think that you have too, but if we try to fight him separately we will not be as strong as if we fight him together." "We think that a joint action will have more impact." Joey added, wanting to take some of the pressure from Sully. "You've thought about this?" Brian asked. "I've spent the last six months preparing a case." Joey responded plainly. "Why?" Brian asked. He had to know why. "Sully is a friend of the family." Joey replied directly. "We look after our friends. Besides, Lou has it coming to him." No one had to question that last point because everyone agreed. They just hoped that this time they would put a stop to Lou Pearlman once and for all. ***