JC waited all night for Justin. Like the night before, he slept uncomfortably in a chair located in Justin's room. He wanted to make sure he was there when Justin returned to continue their talk. However, Justin did not return. By sunrise, JC began to worry about Justin's safety. He had gone out before, but would always return or call. This time, no one heard from Justin all night. JC started to make frantic phone calls to every hotel and motel in New York City when Justin walked in. A smile on his face so wide it brightened up the whole room. Chris and Joey walked up to hug their friend, seeing that he was okay. Lance did the same as well. Only JC kept his cold distance. Justin walked past JC to get to his room when JC pulled Justin inside his room.

"Where the hell have you been all night?!" JC yelled.

"I don't think it's none of your business." Justin hollered back. "I told you last night before I left. You're not my father, I don't have to tell you everything."

"You slept with her, again, haven't you?" JC asked.

Soon Chris, Joey, and Lance entered the room. They all tried to calm JC down, but it was useless. JC was furious. He was angry that Justin did not love himself to take care of himself like he should.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Just? Why do you go sleep with every woman in this country? Don't you know that they don't really love? Why are you selling yourself short? Why are you being such a whore? You're not Joey now." JC continued on for several more minutes while Joey defended himself against JC's attacks.

Justin just stood in front of JC as JC hollered obscenities toward him, degrading him in every way JC could. JC was angry and Justin knew that half of what he was saying he didn't mean. However, it did not ease the pain. When JC finally finished, it was Justin's turn to speak. He was very brief and to the point.

"Not that it's any of your business. But I have not slept with her or any other woman in this country." Justin said, storming out the room.

Everyone turned from the closing door to face JC. They couldn't believe what had just happened. They had never witnessed JC this angry. They couldn't believe that JC would just let Justin walk out like that. JC was not himself.

"Are you going to just stand there?!" Chris yelled.

"Yeah, JC, Justin's going out by himself. We can't let him go out by himself." Joey added.

"I'll go with him." Lance offered.

"Good idea." Chris said.

They were on their way out when both were stopped by JC. JC looked them in the eyes and without flinching, he said, "Let him go."

Justin ran to the elevator, which would deliver him to the lobby. He was surprised that no one had followed him, which further intensified his outpour of tears. He couldn't believe how cruel JC had been to him. He had heard of rumors about him being with woman after woman. He knew that most of American probably thought he was a whore. But it didn't matter what others think. Their opinions of him had no relevance. However, what JC thought of him meant everything to him.

The elevator door opened. Justin quickly wiped away his tears. He didn't want anyone to see his weakness. He put on his million dollar smile and walked past the lobby outside. Immediately, a limo arrived at his footstep. Justin took one last look inside. Still no JC. Not even a single person had followed him outside. Justin began walking away. The limo followed him closely, which tensed Justin further. He didn't know why a limo was following him. Then he rememberd his little date with JC that they had made before they got into their fight. When he round the corner, he stopped. Instantly, the limo stopped. The front window rolled down and the driver poke his head out.

"Hello, Mr. Timberlake." The driver greeted him. "Mr. Chasez has sent me to take to you shopping. Come in."

Soon the driver disappeard as the window rolled back up. The door popped opened. Justin looked around first before hopping in. He was being trustworthy and naïve. He was immediately greeted by three men in ski masks with enough guns to arm the entire New York Police Department. One man dove his hand into Justin's jeans and dragged him inside, almost pulling off his jeans in the process while the second man pushed him inside. They pushed him onto the seat and jumped on top of him. The man that pulled him inside pinned him down and the other went straight for the kill, yanking his belt off, when suddenly the third man stopped both of them. He didn't say anything. He grabbed the man's hand and pushed the second man off of Justin. He looked them in the eye and shook his head as if to say, "No." He turned to Justin, avoiding eye contact with him. He placed his hand on top of Justin’s, assuring him that as long as he was there, Justin would be safe.

The men grabbed their guns and sat back down while Justin moved as far away as humanly possible in the limo. Tears streamed down his face. He was shaking so violently hard, obviously traumatized by what had just occurred. He buried himself in the seats, afraid of what might happen to him next.

They drove for several more blocks before the limo stopped. Justin sat up straight and didn't move. He didn't want to leave the limo. He was afraid of leaving. The two men dragged Justin out, dropping his cellular phone in the process, and tossed him onto the cement ground before picking him up and depositing him inside a waiting limo. As soon as Justin was in, the limo sped away. Justin looked up and found himself surrounded by two more men in ski masks. Their face completely covered. Their voices disguised.

"What, what do you guys want?" Justin asked, almost whispering.

One man grabbed Justin's by his shirt collar and pulled Justin towards him. Justin looked him eye to eye and swore he had seen those dark eyes before. He knew them.

"I want you to fucking disappear off the face of this earth." The man hissed, almost sounding like a cold-hearted snake.

It took JC nearly an hour to calm down. He was so angry at Justin that he forgot why he was so angry in the first place. After all, Justin was right. JC wasn't his father. He owed him no explanation. JC was lucky to just have him tell him where he was going. At the suggestions of the others, JC picked up his phone and called Justin's cellular phone. There was no answer. JC turned off the phone and tossed it on the bed, dismissing Justin being in trouble when he was caught off guard by a visit from a Backstreet Boy.

Apparently from look on the Backstreet Boy's face, he, too was surprised to see JC.

Chris was ecstatic to see his friend from his college years. He leaped forward to embrace Howie when Howie stepped away.

"Where's Justin?" Howie asked.

"What's up with everyone and Justin?" Chris shouted, sounding a bit frustrated. "Hello? There are four other members of 'N Sync."

"Hello? They don't care." Joey told Chris.

Joey and Chris then engaged in a shouting matching mixed with laughter in between. They could never be seriously fighting. Howie remained quiet until all the laughter died down. Once everyone had finished their business, Howie began his.

"Don't ask me how I know this, but Justin's in danger." Howie said and then walked out, leaving everyone in shock.

After the shock had died down, JC hopped back into bed, flipping through his journal of lyrics he had written down. Everyone looked at JC, dumfounded by his reaction. Normally, JC would call the police squad to search for Justin if he had been missing for more than two hours. Now, he was just informed that Justin was in danger, yet, he didn't seem to care.

Lance was the first to speak, tears already forming in his eyes.

"I can't believe you!" Lance screamed at JC. "Howie just said that Justin's in danger! Did you not hear that?"

"I heard it loud and clear, Lance." JC shouted back. "Justin's a big boy now, remember. He sure as hell doesn't need us to baby-sit him 24/7. I'm not his father."

Lance stared coldly at JC and walked away just in time before the tears started streaming down his face. He ran to his room and slammed the door. He couldn't believe what was happening in this group that he grew to love. He was appalled at JC's reaction even after hearing that Justin was in danger. How could he just sit there? If JC wasn't going to do anything, Lance was not going to sit around and wait to read tomorrow's headlines of "Justin Timberlake, singing superstar, found dead at 19." Lance grabbed his coat and keys. He opened the door to leave when he was stopped by Joey and Chris. They parted way to reveal JC. JC stepped forward and hugged his friend.

"I'm sorry." JC said.

"I just didn't understand why you were so mean and indifferent. Especially after what had happened to me last year." Lance was referring to an incident during which he was attacked by some psychotic fan. Sure, Lance fled, harmless, but the event still traumatized him today.

"I promise to be more human." JC promised.

The four members of 'N Sync divided themselves into two groups. JC and Lance in one group and Chris and Joey in another. They were followed by an entourage of bodyguards all filing into limos waiting just outside the hotel. They were going to find Justin before it gets too late.

Meanwhile, Justin was held against his will in another limo. A gun pressed against his abdomen as the two masked men laughed themselves silly. The laughter abruptly ended with the blaring sound of "Bye, bye, bye" from the speakers. One of men immediately switched the station, landing on the more solemn sounds of "Show me the meaning of love". The men dropped their guns and started swaying together with the music playing loud and singing along. Justin just stared back at them, shaking his head. These guys couldn't be serious. Here, they were holding him hostage with guns and as soon as a Backstreet Boys' song came on the radio, they dropped everything and grooved to the music. They must be some stupid Backstreet Boys fans trying to take revenge on 'N Sync. Justin diverted his attention from the singing fools to look outside the window when he saw JC inside a limo. Justin spontaneously, without thinking, rolled down his window and hollered at for JC. Immediately, he was pulled backward by the two men and their limo sped away.

JC shouted at the driver to follow the speeding limo. As he did so, everyone fell out of their seats. Poor Lance was buried underneath nearly 600 pounds of packed muscle from their bodyguards. Despite the speed at which the driver drove, they lost the limo. They were immediately surrounded by cars, preventing them to driver further. JC walked out of the limo and hearing how congested traffic was, screamed out Justin's name. It was all his fault.

JC returned to the hotel to meet with the rest of 'N Sync and their management team. They had an autograph signing session that night and a performance they promised. They had approximately ten hours to find Justin and get ready. They had to prepare in case Justin wasn't found. They had to fabricate a lie to keep the hysteria from blowing out of proportion. Justin was stricken with food poisoning and was resting at his home. He would soon rejoin them for the Jay Leno show. They were forced by management to practice despite Justin still being out there somewhere. They were assured that there was a search team looking for Justin. They had to concentrate on the task ahead. Management would take care of Justin. JC tried to focus on the task ahead, but focusing on what always seemed so easy to him was impossible, not knowing if Justin was still alive or dead. Just the thought of Justin somewhere other than in his arms brought chills throughout JC's body.

Justin, too, was scared. Like JC, he had no idea if he was going to live the next minute. These fans were psychotic enough to do anything. After nearly an hour of driving, the limo finally stopped. Justin looked up at the two men. Although covered, he could see the smile on their faces.

"No!" Justin shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Get out!" One of the men yelled.

"This is it!" Justin yelled. "You're not going to get away with this."

Justin was instantly silenced with a gun up his chin. The other man threatened he would shoot him if he didn't cooperate. Justin didn’t help the situation either. He began crying profusely, scared of his own destiny. The man walked out of the limo, followed by the other man.

Minutes later, another man, a different man, came in. He was much nicer and concerning to his hostage than the previous two. He held Justin's hand and whispered in his ear, "Hey, buddy. Everything's going to be alright. Do what they tell you to do and don't piss them off. I don't want to have to come and retrieve your dead body. You hear?"

Justin nodded his head and wiped away his tears. The man held out his hand and Justin took it. The man helped Justin up to his feet and led him to a car. The door slammed shut as soon as Justin was in. He leaned against the seat and tried hard not to think too much. It would be over soon. Whether or not he would live, that was a question yet to be answered.

The car stopped in the middle of nowhere. Justin had no idea where they were taking him. He was completely shut out from the world, a thick blindfold over his eyes and his hands tied at the back. He felt weeds scratching his legs and touched the dying trees. The ground was filthy with trash as evident in the foul odor emitting from the ground. Justin followed the lead of the man who had comforted him earlier. He sensed that he was not alone as other bodies emerged from the bushes. It was getting dark. It was just hours away from the signing session. He was going to hear it from management. Furthermore, he would not hear the end of it from JC. He had already infuriated him earlier. Now, the distance had been driven farther apart between the two of them. The door swung open and Justin was pushed inside. He heard the crackling sounds of chains and knew he was trapped, but at least he was alone. No one was going to hurt him.

***There you have it...the another installment of "A Tale of Two Boy Bands". As many of you might know, this is the same story as "Entwined" only under a different name. I embrace the readers of "Entwined" and welcome the new readers. I'd love to hear comments and feedbacks and please no hate mail. This is not a teenybopper site and I don't expect to read them either. ThanksJ