Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 17:03:05 CDT From: Alex Moore Subject: What Price, Beauty? (Chapter 2) okay, this is the second pat of what price, beauty? all disclaimers and adul restrictions apply, but as shakespears said, the play's the thing, so on with the story! email me at tzimvamp@hotmail.com with comments Chapter 2: Strange Revelations Lance stood in the hallway outside his room. His green eyes shifted warily for the confrontation that was sure to come. He could feel his hands shaking from fear, just as Josh and Chris stormed out of their room and over to his, their eyes cold and angry. However, lance managed a slight chuckle, looking at the two of them in their current state. Everyone on the staff knew about Chris and Josh, but it took a little getting used to, especially when you saw them charge down a hallway, in matching terrycloth robes. It was Chris who spoke first, always holding the torch of seniority over the group, even though they were equal in every respect. Lance stopped giggling immediately, seeing the situation for what it was. "Scoop, buddy, can we talk?" Lance looked down, feeling waves of guilt over what he had done...his voice wavered, "umm....sure. where?" "My room's fine. we wouldn't want to insult your guest...especially while he's recovering" A cruel smile lit Josh's features. Lance sighed softly, knowing full well what that smile meant. Josh was never like this, except when he brought someone new into the fold, and disrupted the group's stable balance. However, this was different. He wished, beyond all hope, that his friends could see that. Chris led the both of them back to a room down the hall. He caught himself looking from left to right for reporters or fans before stepping in after Josh and Lance, and closing the door behind him. Josh was the first to speak, his face tight and angry. "Lance, how could you do something so stupid? I know he's probably cute and everything, but damn....I never knew you to go into rough trade like that." Chris gave his own nod. "Lance, let's face it. You went over the top. Way over the top I mean, what if he talks? Shit, it looks like you got four or five guys to rough him up and then rape the shit out of him. What's next, branding?" The accusations went on for almost five more minutes, before Lance started trembling, looking down at the coffee table, and finally, breaking out into tears. Both boys looked at each other, feeling equally guilty for what they had said and done, but unable to take it back. It was Lance's voice that finally silenced them. "Have either of you ever known me to do something that bad, to anyone? I mean, shit, I go pale at the sight of blood. Why on earth would I do something that bad to someone else? Maybe you two should get your stories straight, then talk it over with me." He sighed, looking sadly at both of them, before standing to leave. They mumbled, talking among themselves for a moment before looking up at him. Josh spoke, haltingly, his face flushed with shame. "Lance, I'm sorry. It's just-" A warm smile from the one he had hurt so much with his words and a strong, tight hug around the shoulders stopped him from speaking further. They whispered into each other's ears for a moment, Josh's smile growing softer and less grim with each word Lance spoke. At the crucial moment of the conversation, as if Chris didn't exist at all, Josh pulled Lance in closer, sealing his whispered words with a deep kiss. The blond beauty in Josh's arms gasped, his lips parting so slightly to let in Josh's questing tongue. Lance carefully slid his own tongue down into the soft, wet warmth of his friend's mouth, twining his tongue around Josh's. For both parties, it was heaven incarnate, the ultimate expression of love. The kiss felt like it lasted an eternity, but, like all good things, it was far more short-lived. After only five minutes of intimacy, Lance drew his tongue out of Josh's mouth, turning is head and giving his closest friend and once-lover a soft kiss on the cheek. His voice was hot and soft, a husky whisper. "It's been a long time" Josh nodded slowly, his head dipping just a bit before he replied, in the same husky bedside tone. "But it was nice" "We can't go on doing this forever, you know that" "I know" "Hey, YOU were the one who kissed me, or was five minutes to long to remember?" "Yeah, but you were the one who crawled into my bed every night until we finally ended up sleeping together" "speaking of which....." "yeah?" "Chris looks like he wants to punish me for tempting you" And so Chris did. He had been licking his lips for the past hour, watching his bandmate and buddy sit there, squirming. He knew full well that lance's ass was virginal, that he had never been used at all, and he wanted to change that, right now. Lance winked at josh, helping him move sideways on the sofa until he could put his head in josh's lap, and his crotch in Chris'. It was amazing to him, sometimes, how he could just give himself over to his friends like this. However, it was his way, and he didn't object when he felt cold fingers slide up along his thighs, under his long bathrobe. ************* I woke up alone, in a strange room I couldn't place. My eyes opened onto a gauzy haze, a creamy whiteness that shifted and folded all around me. My hands reached out, touching the haze, and feeling it in between my fingertips. Then, it hit me. This was no mist, but curtains. I looked around slowly, at the bed I was lying in. It was grand and gilded, with a thick mattress of eiderdown feathers and soft satin sheets. Surrounding this bed, there were curtains made of feather light damask and edged in lace. Taking a closer look, I felt that this lace was the kind that you don't see in the stores anymore. It must have been Valenciennes or Bruxelles, or some other old kind of cloth that only one old grandmother in all of Louisiana remembers how to make. Smiling a little at my own indulgence, I finally pulled the damned curtains aside and looked out onto my surroundings. The room I was lying in was grand, but there was this blinding light all around me! Dear gods, the light burned from everywhere and seemed to illuminate the entire room, until my eyes blinked, bringing it into focus. The enormous ethereal light I saw must have been a figment of my own imagination. The room itself was unlit, though there were candles everywhere. The only light came from the sun, blinding and white the way it always was at nine in the morning, here in my city. I smiled, offering my own small greeting to the morning. It was about half of the song I would've sung, if I wasn't so curious as to where I am, and just what happened to me. I tried to sit up in bed, and got a raw throbbing sensation in my hips for my pains. Wincing, I sat back down, muttering to myself about picking up people in bars. With a small sigh, and a great deal of held breath and grunting, I managed to sit myself up in bed, sliding away the curtains and looking down at myself. I was naked in the bed, for one thing. Not exactly a good sign, though it helped me understand a few things. I felt really sore in a certain area, which cleared away a few more doubts. But there were scratches all over my body and a dull twitching ache in my left eye. I couldn't remember how I got them, though. That was the thing that frightened me the most. I couldn't deal with that now. Now was the time for thinking, and maybe a little vocal practice. I shrugged it away and looked down at my hands, out of habit. It's an eccentricity of mine that tends to irritate me. I tend to play with my hands whenever I'm bored or lonely, or trying to think. I look at them, maybe drum my fingers across a hard surface, or file my nails with an emery board. However, this was different. What I saw in my hands caused me to almost jump back in shock, and I guess I did, or why else did my skull hit the headboard? My fingernails were amazing, perfectly manicured when I knew it had been months since my last appointment. They seemed to give off an iridescent light of their own, shining like opals. The rest of my hands were no better. They still felt warm, but they looked strong, and my skin seemed smooth and flawless, rich with a natural, softly tanned color. I didn't know what to think, just looking down at my hands, until the door opened, and in walked a person I vaguely remembered. He had a tray in his hands, and a soft smile on his face. The things that struck me most about him were those eyes of his, that shone like two emeralds in the morning light. I felt that I could fall in love with a man with such eyes. He waited for a minute, blushing furiously from the intensity of my gaze. Realizing what I was doing, I felt my face redden as I looked up to him, a sheepish smile on my face. "I-sorry for the look" He shrugged, shaking his head quietly. Then, he spoke, and I knew he had access to inspiration that few could touch. His voice was like an angel's voice, but low and soft, pitched deep. "hmm, and what look was that?" He flashed me a devilish grin, and a pseudo-angelic look colored his whole attitude. Stepping to the side, near to where I had opened the curtains, he approached me slowly, still holding the tray of fruit, cheese and bread. "want something to eat?" I felt as if that wasn't a question, but also, by the chatter in his teeth, and the odd way he was shifting his feet, that this wasn't him. I smiled though, taking the tray and inviting him to sit on the bed. He took a seat across from me, and smiled sheepishly. It was one of the most beautiful smiles that I could have ever experienced. "This looks delicious" "thanks....I picked it out myself" He gave me a sly grin and a wink, but seemed to tremble further. I sighed, and looked directly into his green eyes. "You know, you don't have to play the seducer to get someone to like you" "I, uh, I mean, I-I'm sorry. Look, I can go now, if you want" He moved to get off the bed, crestfallen, but it was a great deal better than the Rico suave look he possessed a minute ago. I extended my hand, caressing his leg slightly, enjoying the feeling of the warm skin and soft hair on his exposed limb. `This is dangerous,' my mind tried to tell me in the back of my soul. `What if he falls in love with you, Adrian? what then?' Ignoring sound advice, I looked back up into my visitor's cool green eyes, just smiling softly. "Please, stay"