The Obligatory Stuff...

If you are under 18 or not of legal age in your country, please don't read on. This is a story concerning gay males having an intimate relationship and is FOR ADULTS ONLY. If you really like this stuff, please don't tell others.

Everything in this story is purely FICTIONAL. Or it's not true!!! Even if this story involved the Backstreet Boys and N SYNC, all that happens here is fictional... it's not true. I don't know anything about their sexuality, if they're gay (but I do have my speculations) or not but I wrote this out of freedom of speech and my love for these guys. AGAIN, it's NOT TRUE!!! but I hope it's true... hehehehe...

Words from the AUTHOR...

Hey guys.. and gals too!

This is my first ever celebrity story. I still write fiction but in another genre [--> plug: The New Things, Exchange of Hearts (Nifty-highschool)]. This is my first attempt to construct a story out of real people so bear with me. Sorry for the grammar errors and/or spelling errors because English is not my first tongue and I'm doing this very late at night.

It was an amazing new year for me and hopefully for everyone else. Let's hope that this year could bring more joy and fewer tears to us all.

Well, this is Chapter 4 of my Crossed Paths series, wherein you'll find more interesting things about our characters. Well, a part of the hidden secrets stashed in my mind will come out here (no pun intended). It will be a shock... nah, I don't think so... but anyway, I'm sure it will be interesting... wait, I'm still hoping for that.

I am sorry for the lateness of this chapter but my life is really busy this days. I'm making the yearbook for our school, I have grades to maintain and the college pressure. Hope y'all understand.

A massive thank you to all those who have send their feedbacks in regards to this. Whether it was positive or negative, it was appreciated because I'll know that there are really people reading my stuff. Keep the feedbacks coming and do give your suggestions for this 'coz my mind is not that broad, so I wanna hear what you think.

EMAIL ME!!! pseud0nym@edsamail.com.ph

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION RULES!!!

Crossed Paths
Chapter 4
As the Ends Meet

The phone rang continuously in the room of Justin Timberlake while two intertwined bodies lay down on the bed still in deep slumber. The tiresome events that transpired that night really took all the energy from the two. It's nothing serious but getting to know each other again was quite a tedious thing.

"Justin, I think you should answer the phone." A voice broke the silence in the room. There was no response from the sleeping figure of Justin. The origin of the voice broke the bond that they were sharing and answered the phone hesitantly.

"Hello?" he answered sleepily.

"Who are you? Where's Justin?" A deep bass voice said in the phone. Brian jumped with the fire in the voice.

"Um... I'm Brian. Justin's still asleep at the moment. Do you have any message for him?" Brian said. Lance was confused with a Brian in Justin's room but just shrugged it off at the moment.

"Just tell him Merry Christmas and to call me." Lance said and then hanged up the phone. Lance picked up the phone again and dialed JC's number next.

"JC here!" JC said cheerfully from the other line.

"It's Lance. Okay, I called because I wanna say Merry Christmas and who on earth is Brian and what is he doing in Justin's room?" Lance said in one breath. JC couldn't hold off the laughter that was boiling inside and just laughed out loud. "What!?" Lance snapped.

"Nothin'. Merry Christmas to you too, and the Brian you're talkin' about is Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys." It was evident that voice of JC slumped down from its original cheerfulness to a gloomy state.

"Brian of Backstreet Boys? What is he doing in Justin's room?" Lance said shocked, similar to the reaction of Chris and Joey from earlier especially witnessing the two sharing a deep passionate kiss.

"It's not my place to tell you that Brian and Justin is an item as of now but Chris and Joey did see them kissing yesterday night so I guess it's okay to tell you." JC said devoided of emotions. "I guess that explains everything and I have to run some errands here. Merry Christmas again and tell the family 'Merry Christmas' from me." JC said and hang up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Lance said out loud.

"Babe, wake up?" Brian nudged Justin again. Justin just gave a moan and grabbed a pillow to snuggle back. Brian was amazed with the spectacle that he was seeing and just laughed at it.

Brian lay beside Justin and lick Justin's nape. Justin again gave out a moan, a moan of satisfaction different from what he gave earlier. Justin shifted and faced the 'licker'. Justin's eyes fluttered and gazed at the vision of beauty in front of him. Justin just smiled and gave Brian a kiss.

"Eew! Morning breath!" Brian said with a laugh. Justin laughed as well realizing that he has morning breath. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom to have a bath, okay?" Brian said as he stood up.

"Do you want me to be there?" Justin said seductively. Brian grinned at him for a moment.

"Justin, I thought we talked about doing this slow and easy?" Brian said as he walked out of Justin's room.

"Yeah I know. Hurry up!" Justin said as his eyes began to be heavy again. After a short moment, Brian's phone began to ring. Justin's eyes shot open and looked for the source of the irritating sound. Justin grabbed the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" Justin said with hoarseness in his voice.

"Who are you? Where's Brian?" a voice said from the other line.

"Um... I'm Justin. Brian's in the bathroom. Do you have any message for him?" Justin said with hesitation.

"Tell him Nick called and wants to talk to him at once about this." Nick said as he hangs up the phone. Justin was dumbfounded.

"I heard my phone rang, who was it?" Brian asked as he entered Justin's room. Justin just stared at Brian who was just wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. "Justin? You're scaring me?" Brian said finally.

"Wh-what? Nick called." Justin said as he walked towards Brian. Brian's body tensed upon hearing the name of Nick. Well, the others didn't know that Brian was away for the holidays and with a certain Justin answering his phone. "Brian? What's wrong?" Justin asked worriedly seeing Brian tensed.

"Nothin' babe. You, have your bath and call 'Lance'? Yeah, Lance. He says Merry Christmas." Brian said as he continued drying his hair with a towel. It was Justin's turn to tense up. Justin knew that it would be very difficult to keep the relationship they were sharing knowing that they are both celebrities and from rival groups that are near killing each other.

Justin shrugged the thought at the moment and hopped in the bathroom to bathe.

"Can someone explain to me what I saw last night?" Chris said while he walked in the den. JC and Joey were already there talking about the events that transpired.

"It means that our Justin is now a man!" Joey said with a laugh. Joey immediately seized when he sensed the evil stares that he was getting.

"We just have to talk to the person himself." JC said dejectedly. Everyone else sighed because they couldn't do a thing with this. They just slumped down on the sofa and watched the television to wait for Justin.

The steps coming down the stairs were evident and the three of them waited for the person to come down, it's just either Justin or his 'visitor' Brian. The wait for the person was short-lived as a brunet peaked at them and gave them a warm smile.

"Mornin' y'all!" Brian greeted the three happily. The three likewise didn't know what to say and just remained silent. The silence made Brian uncomfortable and just retained the smile even if it was forced. "Um, can I use the kitchen to fix breakfast?" Brian's voice was reduced from its happy state to a timid one not knowing how to relate with the other N SYNCers.

"Sure." JC said. The tone that JC was giving was totally cold and emotionless. The high that he got earlier was slumped again to a depressed state knowing that Justin's heart belongs to this Backstreet Boy.

Brian walked to the kitchen briskly to get away from the tension that was building in the room. Knowing nothing about the kitchen, Brian practically opened everything just to find certain things he needed to make breakfast for himself, Justin and probably the other guys in the house.

While cooking breakfast and seeing the phone by the counter, he picked up the phone and dialed Nick's number to explain everything that has happened. Brian was nervous as hell 'coz he didn't know how to explain it to Nick.

"Hello?" Nick answered the phone.

"Hey Nicky! Merry Christmas to you." Brian said while flipping the eggs he was frying.

"Merry Christmas and let's get to the point. Why is there a certain 'Justin' answering your phone?" Nick asked bluntly. Brian gave a weak laugh and knew that he couldn't get away from this.

"Justin is a friend of mine and I'll be spending my Christmas morning with him and then I'll fly back to Lexington to spend the rest with the family." Brian explained.

"Do I know this Justin? Is Leighanne with you?" Nick asked. Brian sported a frown upon hearing the name 'Leighanne'. He didn't tell the other guys yet about the separation. Brian thought that it would be the best time for him to tell it to his best friend but knowing Nick, the Justin info was big already.

"Justin is Justin from N SYNC. And Leighanne isn't with me but with the rest of..."

"What on earth are you doing with him?" Nick demanded from Brian. Brian made a sigh knowing that this will come around in his relationship with Justin.

"I'm his friend for your information, and for the details... I'll give it to y'all when we talked about it already. Not now." Brian said. "I have to go now. I'll see you soon with the other guys, okay?" Brian said as he bid goodbye to Nick.

"Lance?" Justin said shyly to the phone.

"When did you plan to tell me that you're with Brian of BSB of all the people?" Lance was hysterical in the phone. It's like it was the end of the world for him.

"Um... now?" Justin said weakly.

"We have to talk about this. This is very important for N SYNC and for our career." Lance said in his business tone.

"I know. We'll talk first about this and then we'll talk to you guys and the guys of Backstreet." Justin said with a sigh. "We will settle this once and for all, okay?" Justin said as he bid goodbye to Lance. Justin's head hung low as he ended his conversation with Lance knowing the difficult struggle he would face with his friends and with the Backstreet Boys as well.

"Justin? Are you okay?" A soft caring voice said by the door. Justin looked at the person and just gave him a smile and a nod. "Breakfast is ready downstairs. I cooked." Brian said proudly as he pulled Justin away from the bed. The two walked to the kitchen with hands intertwined symbolizing the love that they shared.

The tension was felt once the two reached the den where three pairs of peering eyes met them. Brian being the polite one invited all three of them to breakfast, which they accepted. The five of them went to the dining room and gazed at the breakfast surprise Brian did.

Everything was prepared. From the plates, utensils up to the napkins. It was an amazing set-up. All the food that Brian prepared was in the center of the table, nicely garnished and prepared to perfection. Justin couldn't do anything but smile and gave Brian's hand a loving squeeze.

"You did all of these?" Joey asked not believing that Brian was able to do such a chore.

"Um, yes. I hope it's okay for y'all." Brian said shyly. Brian was still uncomfortable being surrounded by all these guys from N SYNC, but he was adjusting slowly.

"Okay? It's more than okay! This is unbelievable." Chris said as he motioned to one of the chairs. The five sat down and were ready to eat, except Brian. Brian just closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"Father in heaven, thank you for this wonderful meal that you have given us. Give us the strength we need to go through this day unharmed and happy. Thank you for these wonderful people with me today, especially Justin who means the world to me. Guide them in every undertakings they'll have today 'til the end of our days. Amen" Brian recited his prayer with solemnity and reverence. Chris, Joey and JC couldn't believe the scene that they have witnessed. Brian just surprised them moment after moment. On the other hand, Justin joined Brian in his prayers and shed a few tears upon hearing Brian's words for him.

"You arereally filled with lots of good stuff... I like it." Chris said as he served his plate with the food on the center. Brian just blushed with the compliment and smiled. Justin was happy with what was happening... his friends have already accepted Brian.

"Bri, we need to talk?" Justin said as he snuggled closer to Brian in his room.

"I know. This is really gonna kill 'em." Brian said. Brian has already sensed the upcoming turmoil with the situation they were in. They belong to rival groups who have shown explicit disliking each other. It's was like a 'Romeo and Juliet' flick.

"We just have to show them that this will be good for all of us." Justin said saying his inner desire for the two groups to establish again the lost friendship.

"So, Curly when?" Brian asked.

"When is your break over?" Justin asked back.

"We're on break 'til 8th of January then we'll just go to the American Music Awards and go on tour again for 'Black and Blue'." Brian's high slumped down knowing that there were only a few days left before they part their ways.

"Okay. We'll attend the party of Lance on the 1st and then we'll all be available by then. So how about we all meet on the 5th." Justin said.

"That's cool. I'll just call them and do it... um, where?" Brian asked.

"Somewhere neutral and secluded enough." Justin pondered for the most appropriate place for their meeting but nothing comes into mind.

"How about one of those conference rooms in Jive? That's neutral enough and pretty much inconspicuous because we're all Jive artists." Brian said. Justin just smiled at him and gave him a nod approving the idea. They know that the next few days will be hard for them especially that they have to leave each other shortly to fix everything up.

The days went on uneventful for the two groups. All of them were still enjoying the life of being 'at home' and not in just old tour. The holidays were over, but the love that transpired within these days still continued. Even though, Justin and Brian didn't see each other for most of the time, they could afford to stop all of the things they were doing and give each other a call to reassure their love for each other.

All of them were ready for the big meeting, but still oblivious to who they were gonna meet in Jive. Most of the guys thought that they'll meet big Jive execs about their flowering careers. Some thought of great composers who they can work with in the future. But only two knew that two rival groups will meet in a close door meeting.

The N SYNC limo parked outside of the Jive office and five guys walked out of the car. All were chatting about the things they expected in this meeting even Justin who was thinking about the outcome of this meeting of two ends. The five walked inside the building to meet their surprise guests inside the conference room.

'Inside that room, the BSB are there and so is Brian.' Justin thought as he hastened his walk. Justin reached the door first and gave it a soft knock. A few moments, the door was opened by a short brunet. Upon laying his eyes on Justin, the brunet just gave him his patented grin. Justin was also smiling like crazy and gave the person a kiss and went inside not knowing that his friends were all watching him.

Shock traced the face of the other eight members of the two singing groups upon seeing each other. Joey's face paled upon seeing AJ sitted on one of the chairs. Nick scowled upon seeing Justin. And the others, still shocked.

"Guys, sorry for this but we know that it's the only way we could get y'all in one room to settle everything once and for all." Brian broke the silence in the room. Justin squeezed Brian's hand giving him a sign of his support. "I guess y'all know now that Justin and I are going out and hoping to have something permanent in the near future." It was Brian's turn to squeeze Justin's hand upon seeing the surprise in Justin's face. Justin never anticipated that Brian was interested with a more permanent situation, but he loved the idea.

"In behalf of N SYNC, we fully support you and Curly's relationship. It's not a problem." Chris said as he sat down on one of the chairs in the conference room. The others soon followed and took their seats snapping out of the shock earlier.

"I dunno with my other boys, but I'm okay." Howie said. "I'm just not okay with OUR situation now. Brian, you should have told us." Howie said glaring at Brian. Brian just looked away from his bandmates fearing that they might see the watering tears in his eyes.

"Howie, it's not Bri's fault. We thought that it was for the best if we would tell y'all at the same time and resolve some other issues too. Please don't blame Brian for this, he just want you to enjoy your break fully without making you worry with this situation." Justin handled the situation maturely. It was another side of Justin that everyone discovered. Everyone expected him to be the most immature being the youngest, but looks could really deceive.

Silence again fell inside the room. No one wants to speak first. They're just waiting for each other to break the silence, but fear was clouding over them.

"Brian and Justin is right with all of this. We have to settle everything, so it won't be more difficult than it is." Lance switched to his business mode as he layed in the facts of the situation. "Brian and Justin are together. We all know that Brian is from BSB and Justin is from N SYNC. We all know that our groups have been the newsmaker because of the so-called rivalry we're having. Let's start with, do you have a problem with us?" Lance said.

"Lance, no offense but we just felt a pang of anger with everything. It was so sick of Pearlman to just deceive us like that. If I offended y'all in the interviews, I'm very sorry, but I can only speak for myself." Kevin looked at his other bandmates. AJ was just interested in the white walls that surrounded the room. Howie sat their silent weighing all the pro's and con's of the situation. Nick was frowning all the time not liking all that's happening.

"I think that this would be inevitable. I think I can live with N SYNC as pals of mine." Howie said with a smile.

Brian and Justin were holding hands all the time waiting for each reply from their friends. It was a wonderful thing to hear the words of acceptance that came from the mouth of their friends. There could be a bright future for them.

"It's okay with me." AJ said plainly. Joey shot him a look that Lance saw. It seemed that Joey and AJ has a certain past that maybe rooted all of this.

"Joey, do you have anything to share to all of us?" Lance said while staring directly at Joey.

"Wh-what made you say that? Got nothin' to say." Joey stuttered.

"Joey, I know there is something. You've been very pale since we entered this room and your unusually silent. Spill it or I swear, I'll make you spill it one way or another." Lance said. Joey knew that Lance was dead serious about this. He again looked at AJ who was staring intently on him.

"Well, I guess I don't have a choice. You all know that I was a friend of AJ before, right?" Joey asked. Affirmative nods answered his question and continued with his revelation. "Let's just say that there's something that I accidentally knew that I shouldn't have." Joey said softly. AJ looked at him intently trying to figure out what he's saying.

"What is it? I guess this concerns AJ, so it could affect the whole BSB and we have to supress it before it gets bigger." Kevin said.

Joey gave a defeated sigh. There was no more reason for him to hide it, he was cornered by the best interrogators in the music industry. "I caught AJ doing drugs." Joey said. All eyes went to AJ, but AJ was just staring at Joey. He didn't flinch with the stares he was getting, it was like only Joey and him were in the room.

"Bone, is this true?" Brian asked.

Silence covered the room. There was no reply from AJ. There were no objections from AJ.

"I guess his silence means it's true. What are we gonna do about it." Lance asked. "We can't just place him in rehab 'coz we really want this out of the press. We just have to do this on our own. Chris?" Lance stated. All eyes turned to Chris waiting for the solution because of his history with psychology.

"We'll just have to talk some sense to him. If he really wants to change, the whole process will be very gruesome and painful for him and for all of us as well." Chris said. Now, all eyes were locked on AJ not knowing how they could put sense in him.

"No offense but I guess this concerns us mostly and we would appreciate if we could have time alone to talk to AJ alone." Kevin said implying that the NSYNCers to get out of the room. They got the message and the five guys went out of the room to give them privacy and to talk amongst themselves with the future.

When the door finally closed, Nick sighed comfortably. "Thank God the NStink are out of this room." Nick said as he stretched on his chair. Brian gave him a look filled with hurt and anger.

"Nick, we will have a talk later." Brian said coldly. Nick just rolled his eyes and walked towards AJ who will surely get a scolding from the four.

"Joey, why did you never told anyone?" Lance asked Joey. Lance was a little bit hurt knowing that there were still secrets lurking in each and everyone of them. They were supposed to be brothers who could tell each other anything.

"At that time, I thought that it didn't matter at all. I thought that they were the BSB, it's their problem not mine. I know that it was very stupid of me to ever think of that, and I'm sorry about it." Joey said in the verge of tears flowing from his eyes.

"The good thing is that it's out and we... they are solving the problem." Lance said. "So, anyone wanna share more of your secrets before you hide it again?" Lance said with sarcasm.

"Lance, I know it hurts knowing that we still have things that we didn't tell each other. I think it's a good idea to just open up and spill." Justin said as he patted Lance by the shoulder. "Y'all know that I'm gay and very much in loved with an amazing guy named Brian Littrell." Justin said with pride.

"Yeah we all know that, but you could just said it and not show it to us." JC joked. Justin just blushed and the others laughed except Lance who didn't get to see the spectacle.

"Next?" Justin said trying to change the subject.

"AJ, are you really a user?" Kevin sat beside AJ. AJ looked at him intently trying to find something in Kevin's face. AJ looked away from the guys and just nodded slowly. "Since when?" Kevin asked.

"Europe." AJ said softly. Everyone was surprised that AJ was a user for so long and they were so oblivious of it.

"I think you know that you have to stop taking drugs." Howie said as calm as possible. He was fighting the guilt inside him. Howie was with AJ most of the time and he didn't know it. They wouldn't have known it if Joey confessed it.

"I tried, but I can't." AJ said. Tears were cascading down his face. "The pain was too unbearable. It was like something was burning inside me but whatever I did, it was always there." AJ said.

"AJ, I know we can do this. You are not alone in this battle. You have all four of us and N SYNC will surely be there to help you out." Brian said as he embraced AJ. "You're not alone, AJ." Brian repeated himself.

Again, the silence covered the area. Everyone was trying to read each other but it seemed that everyone was still not that comfortable with sharing.

"I'm gay. I'm sorry if I hid to all of you, but I was afraid that you'll treat me differently or something." JC said. Justin gave him a comforting smile implying his support of his revelation. Joey cursed under his breath and brought out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to Lance. Lance on the other hand was grinning like a cat placing the money in his pocket. "You made a bet?" JC asked the two.

"Hey, I'm Scoop remember? I should know everything!" Lance said proudly. "In a different note, I guess I'm not hiding anything from y'all except maybe that I'm bisexual and please not gay." Lance said with a smile. JC then handed a hundred dollar bill to Justin who seemed to be satisfied from Lance's answer. "You made a bet?" Lance asked the two.

"Hey, I'm Justin Timberlake." Justin said showing off his ego. "It's his fault actually. He betted that you're gay, but I said you're just bisexual. His gaydar must be out of order." Justin said with a grin.

"You made a bet?" Lance repeated himself.

"Lance, I think the whole world thinks you're gay." JC said jokingly. That caused a fit of laughter among all of them. "So who's next?" JC asked.

"I'm not gay and I'm straight as an arrow." Chris said. "I HAD a girlfriend remember?" Chris said sarcastically emphasizing on the word 'had'.

"Had? What happened to Dani?" Joey asked. Chris remained silent and hung his head low. "I'm sorry Chris. She's no good for you anyway." Joey tried to console him but it was impossible. All the love Chris and Dani shared just gone.

"The question now is will you let us in?" Kevin asked AJ. AJ didn't answer him thinking of what is right in his mind. "Okay, think about this. You're a drug user, if that goes out you'll be in more serious trouble with the police and you will really cause pain with your family. If you're willing to stop, we will be with you all the way." Kevin explained to him.

"Promise you'll be there always?" AJ asked meekly.

"Bone, we will be there. Always." Nick reassured AJ. "Promise."

"And the Best Group for the American Music Awards are..." The presentor opened the envelope containing the winner. "BACKSTREET BOYS!!!!!" The presentor shouted. Applause exploded inside the area as the guys from Backstreet Boys walked towards the stage to receive their award.

"Wow! This is a shock for us. We really had tough competition out there." Howie said. "We wanna give our thanks to our record company, Jive and all of y'all in the Firm." Howie said.

"We are really happy for this award. Kristin, this is for you baby! Thanks y'all!" Kevin shouted.

"We couldn't be here without you fans out there!" Nick shouted as louder screams from audience filled the room.

"We also want to thank God for giving us all of this blessings. And, baby this is also for you!" Brian said as he looked straight at Justin. Justin who sat in the audience just blushed with his lover's remark.

"Well, y'all know who's the best!" AJ said jokingly. Screams cheering the Backstreet Boys followed AJ's remark. "But seriously, we want to share this also to our friends from N SYNC." AJ said. Screams echoed inside the auditorium. "I guess that killed all the rivalry rumors? What will the tabloids say? Sorry..." Laughter from all followed that remark.

Guys and gals, what do you think? Should I continue this or just end it here. Give me an email about what you think, okay?

AND Please do send your comments and suggestions regarding Crossed Paths or about anything! It's very much appreciated! Email me to this address: pseud0nym@edsamail.com.ph