Author's Note: Ok, the guys in the chat are making me post this... if you think it sucks, go yell at them... if you think it's good... e-mail me @ way2sarcastic@hotmail.com

By the way: Hi, I'm Willow.

 Chris was livid that somehow his former backer had managed to sneak into the party. `As if today was going bad enough,' he thought bitterly.

 Lou smiled, his grin looking evil in the dim light. Actually, his grin looked evil regardless. "I came to help you," he replied.

 Chris shook his head. "What- no HOW the hell did you get in here?" he thundered.

 Lou laughed slightly. "Have you seen this crowd?" he asked. "Charles Manson could walk in here unnoticed."

 Chris sneered. "Looks like Fat Bastard was welcome." As Lou's face darkened, Chris felt a small sense of gratification. This man had taken so much from the entire group and Chris knew he would probably harbor a grudge for the rest of his life. "What?" he continued snidely. "As if you didn't know that's what all our fans call you. How does it feel to know that every female on the planet between the ages of 7 and 25 thinks you're Satan himself?"

 Enough!" Lou snapped. "I came to help you and this in the thanks I get?"

 "Why the hell should I trust you?" Chris responded furiously. "Why the hell would you want to help me?"

 Lou snorted. Chris couldn't help but think that the sound fit him perfectly. "You forget," the older man said. "I still own one-sixth of *Nsync... you could say I'm the asterisk..."

 "Could but won't." Chris muttered softly.

 Lou continued as if he hadn't heard. "Regardless, it's in my best financial interest that the group continues. I never thought you'd last a year..." Lou shrugged. "Hindsight's 20/20..."

 "Who'd wanna look at your hind?" Chris said, looking away from Lou and back at his drink. It made him physically sick that this lying, cheating bastard owned one-sixth of everything he made. `Still,' he thought, as he accidently caught a glimpse of Justin cutting up the dance floor with Britany, `He's a SMART- lying, cheating bastard.'

 "Cute couple aren't they?" Lou's voice came,  cutting into Chris's thoughts. Chris's gaze snapped away from the younger man when he realized he'd been staring. "You know," Lou continued thoughtfully, "It's hard to believe I forbid them to date, seeing as they look *so* good together."

 "Just shut up and tell me your big idea," Chris cut in darkly.

 Lou smiled, his teeth a pearly white, contrasting with his black heart and only making him appear even more evil. "Well, I know that it would be such a shame to take you away from your little Justin-" Lou cut off as Chris's face snapped to his direction, and he smiled wider. "Oh come on," he continued. "Of course I know. How could anyone *not* become just a little bit `hot and bothered' by the boy? Just look at him! I know that if he hadn't been jailbait at the time I certainly would have-"

 "If you finish that sentence," Chris said gravely, "Nsync will be over because I will be in jail for first degree murder."

 Lou shut up, realizing that he had crossed a boundry while at the same time finding out exactly how much control he had over Chris. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've been watching you lately, seeing how you would take this new milestone. You look tired, weaker... old really." Lou cocked his head. "Has your knee been bothering you? You've been limping some too. I mean it's to be expected really, you *are* thirty after all... "

 "Just stop shitting me and tell me why the fuck you are here so that way you can leave!" Chris growled. Lou smiled, knowing he had hit a nerve of insecurity.

 Lou reached into his pocket and pulled out a small yellow  bottle. "This," he explained, "Is the answer to all of your worries." He popped the bottle open and dumped one small white pill into his fat palm.

 Chris stared at it, disgusted. "What the hell is that?" he asked, though he thought he knew.

 "Basically," Lou said, "it's a high-tech advil."

 "Bull shit." Chris snapped. "Get that crap away from me, then get YOURSELF away from me!"

 Lou shook his head. "Thirty, and yet still so naïve," he sighed. "Oh come on, how do you think AJ McLean gets through a show? He smokes like a chimney, and yet he still has all of that energy?"

 "I. Don't. Care." Chris said forcefully.

 Lou shrugged and replaced the pill into the bottle and then put the cap back on "I'll just leave these with you... you know in case you change your mind," he said, smiling sweetly and dropping the bottle into the bag that contained Chris's gag gifts.  "Oh hi Justin," he said, turning to smile at the younger man.

 Justin wasn't having any of Lou's pleasentries. "What the fuck are you doing here," he snapped. It wasn't a question.

 Lou smiled innocently. "Just wishing one of my old proteges a happy birthday."

 "Get the hell away from him. Get the hell away from US!" Justin snarled.

 Lou held up his hands. "All right," he said, turning to go. "Oh," he added, turning back. "Chris, I hope you like the present."

 As soon as Lou was gone, Justin pulled up the chair next to Chris. He was flushed and sweaty from dancing, but to Chris he only seemed even more enticing.

 "What was that all about?" Justin asked. "Are you okay?"

 Conflicting sides of Chris pulled on him at once. `Tell Justin!' part of him screamed, while another side protested. `If you tell him, he will know you're upset. And then he will try to make you feel better. And then he will pry. And then he will find out. And then Nsync will be over because he will feel weird around you. So keep your big mouth shut.'

 "I'm Fine," Chris said, the cautious side of him winning out. "He was just being a pain."

 Justin looked seriously at Chris. "You'd tell me if there was something important right?" he asked.

 "Of course!" Chris insisted. `The pills are not important since you are flushing them as soon as you get upstairs.' "There's nothing!"

*~*~*

 Several hours later, Justin was just finishing carrying boxes and bags upstairs with Chris. "That's the last of it," He said, dropping Chris's bag of gag gifts onto the bed.

 "Great," Chris smiled. "See ya tomorrow Justin."

 Justin grinned. "It's 3:30... See ya in four hours old man." Chris smiled and hugged Justin quickly before the younger man headed off to his own room to sleep.

 As soon as the door shut behind Justin, Chris crumpled to the floor. "Oh my god," he gasped as a fresh stab of pain hit his leg. He'd been fine until they started carrying things upstairs, but the added weight was killing him. Chris gingerly stripped to his boxers and limped over to the bed. He started to swipe the bag of gag gifts off of the bed but froze at the sight of the yellow bottle which had slipped out onto the tacky hotel bedspread. Chris yawned and swiped all of the gifts off of the bedspread.

 `I thought you were going to flush those?' a little voice asked him.

 `He'll get to it,' his other voice replied.

 "Yeah," Chris yawned. "I'll get to it." Chris winced once more as he stretched out on the bed but he was asleep before he got the chance to argue with himself further.

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