Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 19:04:10 +0000
From: Angel1313@att.net
Subject: Devotion ch.19

Devotion
Chapter Nineteen:
Are You Gonna Be There

Disclaimer: Oh, I've been meaning to mention Howie's hair on TRL. Okay, I
know *girls* who don't have hair that perfect. It was traumatizing to say
the least =P Anyway, back to *NSYNC, I don't know or own them, and I don't
know if they're all gay and having a big ol' party on that tour bus of
theirs or not, but we can all pretend ^_~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Nineteen:
Are You Gonna Be There

	Justin awoke to an empty room. Sitting up, the nineteen year-old
rubbed his eyes sleepily before calling out softy, "Josh?"
	Immediately the door to the bathroom, which had been partially
closed, was pushed open. "Jus? You finally up?" came JC's soothing voice.
	Yawning, the blonde replied, "Yeah, I guess."
	JC walked into the room. He was wearing loose khaki cargo pants and
a tight white wife beater. He was in the process of buttoning up a fitted,
red, collared shirt as he made his way towards the bed. As he sat down next
to his best friend, the twenty-four year-old stopped fiddling with his
shirt, his hands coming to rest on the younger man's legs.
	"Just, you okay? I know you had a rough night," JC began, gazing
tenderly into the younger man's clear blue eyes.
	Justin reached foreword and began to button up the rest of the
brunette's shirt; he left the top two undone. "I'm fine, Josh," he replied
softly. "And thanks," looking up to meet the older man's caring gaze, he
added, "for staying with me last night."
	Smiling, JC replied, "It was my pleasure, Curly," before leaning
down to kiss the nineteen year-old gently on the cheek. Taking Justin's
hands in his own, JC gently laced their fingers together. "Are you sure you
don't want to talk about it? I may not have *all* that much experience with
girls, but I was in a few relationships, before I came out, that is," the
twenty-four year-old began to babble, staring intently at their interlocked
fingers.
	/What?!/ Justin's mind screamed, as the blonde stared numbly at his
best friend. /He thinks I'm having girl trouble?! Is that why he thought I
was out on a "date" with Britney? Does he think that's what made me cry?/
	"Josh," Justin whispered, causing the twenty-four year-old to look
up at the younger man. "This has nothing to do with Britney."
	Justin watched in surprise as his best friend's eyes became shiny
with unshed tears. "Wrong again," JC mumbled, his voice heavy from his
efforts to hold back the tears. "And I used to think that I knew you."
	Justin could feel his heart breaking. Somehow he had managed to
hurt JC again, the person he had vowed to always make happy. He knew that
he would never be able to live with himself if he continued to make the
person he loved more then his own life suffer.
	Doing what came to him most naturally, the nineteen year-old
reached foreword and placed his arms around JC's neck. Resting his head
against the older man's chest, Justin whispered, "I'm sorry, Josh. I know
I've been acting a bit strange lately, but please, don't feel bad. You've
been here for me, and that's all that matters. I'm so sorry Josh, I just
don't know what I'd do without you, and I don't want you to leave me."
	"Ssh," the twenty-four year-old soothed, gently rocking the blonde
back and fourth. "Just, you're babbling. It's okay, I'll be here for
you. I'd never leave you, Justin. I'll always be by your side."
	"Promise?" the younger man whispered back, his quiet voice
conveying his hope better then a stronger tone could have.
	Holding the nineteen year-old more tightly, JC replied, "I
promise."
	The two members of *NSYNC sat in silence, one comforting, the other
taking in the feel of the other man's arms around him, until they were
interrupted by a knock on the door.
	"Guys? You up?" Came Lance's bass voice, muffled though the
door. "Don't make me use my key!"
	Getting up, JC muttered, "What were we thinking when we let him
keep that?"
	Justin simply smiled at the older man adoringly. JC was beautiful,
and the nineteen year-old felt as though he was seeing the brunette for the
first time. /He promised to always be by my side,/ the blonde thought
happily, not noticing anything else as the three other members of *NSYNC
entered his room.
	"Aw, Curly's not even out of bed yet!" Chris whined. "We're never
going to get out of here!"
	Justin, still watching his best friend, took no notice of the
twenty-eight year-old. JC glanced at the blonde, expecting him to respond
to Chris' comment. He found the younger man gazing at him intently, a
loving, devoted look on his face. Feeling his heart flutter with hope, the
twenty-four year-old smiled sweetly at his best friend. He opened his mouth
to say something, but Lance cut him off.
	"Don't worry, Justin. You can take all the time you want. Britney's
going to be working with Darren until five, so we don't have to get ready
until then-"
	"Yay!" Joey exclaimed. "Let's go shopping or something."
	"Yeah," Justin agreed. "Shopping would be cool. I can be ready in-"
	"This meeting's not over yet," Lance firmly interjected. "Everyone
sit down."
	Justin sighed and dropped his gaze to his lap. Feeling the bed
move, he looked back up to see JC beside him. Scooting over so he was right
up against the older man, Justin laid his head on the brunette's shoulder.
	Gently sliding his arm around the blonde's lithe waist, JC
whispered, "Don't worry Just. This should be quick."
	Justin smiled up at his best friend and replied quietly, "I don't
mind. I'm much happier now that you're here."
	Laughing softly, JC ruffled the younger man's curls before saying,
"I'll always be by your side, remember?"
	Snuggling closer, Justin murmured, "You don't have a choice because
I'm not leaving your side either. That's a promise."
	Gently kissing the top of the nineteen year-old's head, JC
whispered, "It better be."
	"Okay," Lance began and everyone turned their attention to the
second youngest member of *NSYNC. "We don't have to be at the dance studio
until five. However, we will be having stylists arrive here around
twelve-thirty to-"
	"What time is it now, Scoop?" Justin interrupted.
	Lance glanced around for a clock. "Eleven," Joey supplied for him.
	"Thanks," Justin replied.
	"Anyway," Lance continued, irritated that he had been
interrupted. "They'll be here around twelve-thirty with clothing that-"
	"Really?" It was Chris who interrupted the Mississippian this
time. "I thought they were going to have magic unicorns and fairy dust."
	Glaring at the twenty-eight year-old, Lance growled, "ANYway, we're
going to be picking out our outfits for both our performance at the VMAs
and the outfits that we're planning on wearing to the function."
	"Cool," JC said, watching as Justin absently toyed with his
fingers.
	"Josh," Justin asked. "How come you don't wear any rings?"
	"I don't know, I'm sort of low-key. Besides my Leo pendant, I don't
really wear much jewelry," the twenty-four year-old replied.
	"I guess you're right," Justin agreed, still playing with his best
friend's hand. "I think that you look very good just the way you are, but
if I gave you a ring, would you wear it?"
	"Justin Randall Timberlake, are you proposing to me?" JC teased.
	Immediately dropping the brunette's hand, Justin shouted, "NO!"
	The four other members of *NSYNC watched in surprise as the
nineteen year-old turned a deep shade of crimson. The blonde scooted away
from his best friend as he muttered, "Is that all? I think I'm gonna head
into the shower." With that, Justin hopped out of his bed and headed
quickly to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
	JC sat frozen where he was, staring at the closed bathroom door. "I
was just kidding," he whispered, mostly to himself. "Why do I keep messing
things up between us?"
	"Maybe his date with Britney didn't go well," Joey offered,
prompting Lance to elbow him in the stomach.
	"No, I tried that," JC informed the other three members of *NSYNC,
his eyes still locked on the bathroom door.
	"Maybe it's you," Chris joked, also prompting an elbow to the
stomach from Lance.
	"I guess it has to be," JC whispered, his pain clearly displayed
across his face, despite the fact he had managed to basically keep his
voice in control.
	"He's probably just stressed out, I'm sure it's nothing to worry
about," Lance offered hastily, trying to undo the damage caused by Joey's
and especially Chris' comments.
	"Somehow I doubt that," JC replied solemnly, still watching the
door.
	Lance sighed. /Too late./

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi, I hope you liked it! I just wanted to mention that I got the title from
an *NSYNC song of the same name that I really like. I was listening to it,
and it was right after the "promise you'll always be by my side" thing, and
there's this part in the song where Justin goes, "Will you stay by my
side?" and JC comes in singing, "Stay by my side," and it just seemed to
fit. There's also this part where they say "Are you gonna be there with the
water," and they sing "water" like they have British accents. Well worth
the downloading time, if I may say so myself! Anyway, go download the song
and then write to me ^_^ Please? Thanks!! -Angel1313 ^_^