Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 00:02:06 EDT
From: Bangoremail@aol.com
Subject: Jamie's Romance - Ch 8

Greetings everyone,

Here's Chapter Eight.

As always a big thanks to anyone who has emailed me about the story.  You
know who you are and I appreciate all your support.  Sounds repetitive, I
know, since I put this before every chapter.  But I really do mean it!!  :
)

I'm really grateful for the comments I've received telling me how real
Jamie feels for everyone and how you've come to care and feel for him.  I
appreciate that since a small part of Jamie is me and vice versa.

Funny this is chapter eight and I haven't even hit the dance yet.
Originally I figured it would be in the second or third chapter but that's
what happens when you let the story write itself.  : )

This story is purely fiction and is not intended to imply anything about
the true sexuality of `N Sync or anyone associated with their organization.
It is meant for those over the age of 18 only and those who wish to read
stories with sexual content.

*****
From Chapter 7:

A menacing chuckle came from all around him in the darkness.  A wail
started growing in his throat and he ran.  The chuckle followed him getting
louder.  His wail grew in until it became a scream.

"Justin!" he called out.

There was no answer except for the chuckle, which seemed to be getting
closer.  "Justin!!" he yelled again as loud as he could.

"JUSTIN!!"  Jamie screamed loudly, waking himself.

*****

Jamie's Romance - Chapter 8


The shout brought Justin fully awake.  He shot up out of bed and ran
through the suite to Jamie's room.  He burst through the door to see Jamie
sitting up in bed covered in sweat, his eyes wide with fear.  Justin sat
down with him and pulled him into his arms.  Jamie fought him for a minute
still caught up in his nightmare before he realized it was Justin.

"Oh man, that felt so real," Jamie panted his heart still racing.

"What happened in it?"

Jamie gulped at the memory of his dream then gave Justin the full story.
"I don't think I've ever been so scared.  I'm sorry I woke you up."

"No, that's ok.  I'm glad that it was only a bad dream.  All kinds of bad
things were going through my head when I heard you yell."  Justin let go of
Jamie and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Jamie asked in an almost child-like voice.

Justin's heart almost broke at the tone of loneliness he heard from Jamie.
"I'll be right back.  I'm gonna go get a towel."  Jamie nodded.

Justin went to the bathroom, wet a wash cloth and grabbed a hand towel.
"I'm not surprised, I would've been having nightmares all along," he said
as he came back and sat down next to Jamie.  "Here," he held out the wet
towel.  Jamie made no move to take it.  Justin paused a second and gently
started to wipe down Jamie's face and neck.  He was suddenly aware of the
body heat Jamie was giving off, the smell of soap from the shower Jamie
took after dinner, another scent that he knew was distinctly Jamie himself.

He cleared his throat and put the hand towel in Jamie's hands.  "I'll go
put this back in the bathroom."  He threw the towel on the counter and
glanced at himself in the mirror.  `What are you thinking right now, Justin
Timberlake?  What do you want?  Do you even know?'  He thought to himself.

Getting no answers he shook his head and went back out to see if Jamie was
ok.  He stood by the bed and noticed Jamie was a little more himself and
had gotten over the effects of the nightmare.

"You should change your shirt, it's soaked too," Justin advised.  Jamie
just nodded and pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
Justin looked at Jamie for a second admiring the slim fit physique he saw.
He then became aware that here he was with Jamie and they both were only
wearing boxer briefs and blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"You going to be ok, Jamie?" he recovered and moved to the door.

Jamie hesitated as he saw Justin move away.  "Justin, would you stay with
me tonight, I don't think I could sleep otherwise."

"Are you sure?"

Jamie nodded and looked at Justin with a pleading expression.  "Would you
hold me, please."

Justin smiled to himself, knowing he would like nothing more.  He nodded
and got into bed with Jamie.  He held out his arms and Jamie cuddled up
against his chest, his head against Justin's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I'm such a baby."

"Jamie, forget about it.  We all have times we need some comfort.  When we
were first starting out in Europe I had stage fright nightmares almost
every night, really bad ones.  All the guys took turns sleeping with me so
I could get some rest.  That's what friends do."

Jamie sighed but didn't say a thing.  He was content and felt safe in
Justin's arms.  They both shifted to get more comfortable.  Justin gently
stroked Jamie's reddish-brown hair, loving the silky feel on his
fingertips.  Jamie sighed again more deeply and started to fall back to
sleep.

Justin lasted only a few more minutes longer before he too dropped off.


------

The morning sun slipped past the blinds and shined on Jamie's face waking
him.  He was lying on his side with Justin spooned tightly behind him.  His
head was on Justin's bicep and Justin had his other arm around his waist.
`If I could only wake up like this most mornings I could die happy,' he
thought to himself.

He shifted a bit to get the sun out of his face.  Justin moved with him not
losing contact.  He pulled both arms protectively around Jamie murmuring
into his neck in his sleep.  Jamie could barely make out what he said and
didn't catch it all.  "... alright...  here... protect you...
nothing... hurt you."  Justin's warm breath tickled against the back of his
neck.

Jamie smiled at Justin's protectiveness.  He felt safe in Justin's arms but
much more.  He also felt somehow more complete and the world seemed more
real.  Justin was still mumbling in his sleep but Jamie couldn't make out
anything.

Justin settled down finally and nuzzled Jamie's neck.  Jamie was just
starting to doze when he felt Justin very lightly kiss his shoulder.  "I
love you," he said sleepily and immediately started very lightly snoring,
his face pressed against the back of Jamie's head.

A single tear fell from Jamie's eyes.  `I love you too,' he whispered back
before falling asleep himself.


------

Justin woke remembering the wonderful dream he had of telling Jamie that
he'd protect him and that he loved him dearly.  Looking over at the clock
on the nightstand he saw it was getting close to 10 o'clock which meant
Zack would be coming soon.  He regretfully started untangling himself from
Jamie.  Jamie clung to him in his sleep not letting go.

Justin sighed and smiled.  "Jamie," he said gently as he stroked the side
of Jamie's face, "we need to get up.  Zack will be here soon."

"Please, just a few more -hours-," Jamie pleaded.

"Hours!?" Justin laughed.  "So you are awake."

"No I'm not," Jamie giggled and pressed himself back into Justin.  "It just
feels so nice to be held," he sighed turning on his back so he could look
at Justin.  "Especially if it's you," he added very softly.

Justin gazed down at him his heart thumping rapidly.  "Did you...  are
you...  do you really mean it?" he stuttered out.

Jamie only nodded.  "Yes, Justin, I do."

Tears started forming in Justin's eyes as he moved forward.  He lightly
placed his lips on Jamie's and sweetly kissed them.  He pulled back to see
Jamie's eyes still shut lost in the moment.

Jamie opened his eyes finally and smiled up at Justin.  He leaned up and
they met for another soft and caring kiss.  Justin held onto Jamie tightly
and started stroking his neck and bare shoulder.

Jamie felt on fire, never before had he experienced the tender love that
Justin was showing him.  He was very aware of the feel of Justin's smooth
skin and the heat coming from it.  When he felt Justin start to rub his
shoulder his heart cried out in pleasure.  However his brain interrupted
those feelings and he stiffened in Justin's arms.

Justin sat up quickly.  "Oh my God, Jamie, I'm so sorry.  I didn't know
what I was doing.  Please don't hate me."  He put his head down and started
quietly crying.

Jamie couldn't move or speak.  He wanted with every bit of himself to tell
Justin he loved him and would never hate him but he was still paralyzed by
his own inner fear.  He clamped his eyes shut breathing heavily for several
minutes.

"Jamie, please forgive me.  I don't know why but I need to hear you say it
or it will tear me apart."

Jamie got himself back in control and looked Justin in the eyes.  He
hesitantly reached out and took Justin's hand in his.  "There is nothing to
apologize for.  I'm sorry Justin.  You tried to do something beautiful for
me and I can't relax enough to appreciate it."

Justin cried more at Jamie's words.  He heard Jamie sniffling and looked up
at him.  "You are so special, Jamie."

"You're special too.  I don't know what I want right now Justin.  I'm
really confused an.. and," he cleared his throat, "and scared."

Justin smiled.  "I'm confused too and I don't know what I'm feeling.  But I
know that I want to be there for you."

Jamie smiled warmly at Justin.  He finally knew that what he felt for
Justin was returned.  Now if only he could let Justin inside and let go of
his fear.  "I don't want to hurt you."

"You couldn't hurt me, Jamie.  Let's just take this one step at a time,
ok?"

Jamie gave Justin a small smile.  "Ok, one step at a time."

The brilliant smile that melted a million hearts beamed on Justin's face
and it melted Jamie's heart once again.  He leaned down slowly and lovingly
and chastely kissed Jamie again on the lips.  "There, the first step.  A
small show of affection.  You ok?"

Jamie nodded happily.  "-Very- ok."

"Jamie, does that mean we can say that we're dating?"

Jamie thought for a long minute trying to see how he felt about that.  He
tried to imagine what it would feel like to be dating someone, anyone, then
turned that anyone into Justin.  It felt right to him but the fear
remained.  "Can I think about it and get used to the idea before I answer
you?"

"Take all the time you need, Jamie," Justin reassured him as he squeezed
his shoulder.  "Now let's get ready and order some breakfast.  Zack will be
here soon then we have to go pick up the guys."

They got off the bed and started to go their separate ways to get showered
and dressed.  In that short time Jamie had made his decision.  Justin's
willingness to let him make the decision sold him.  "Justin," Jamie stopped
him before he could leave the bedroom.

"Ya?  You ok?" he asked concerned.

Jamie nodded.  "More than ok.  I guess the answer is yes."

Justin beamed and Jamie knew that he couldn't ever say no to him.  Justin
left the room and looked like he was floating.

The both went into their bathrooms to get ready.  They would have laughed
and cried if they had known that the exact same thoughts were in both their
minds.  'He's so handsome, caring.'  'I'm so lucky to get to know him.'
'What will I do when we're not together.'


------

Several hours later Jamie, Justin and Zack sat in a large stretch limo
heading to Logan airport.  Justin laughed at the way the other two were
acting like children at Christmas.  They first explored every cubby hole
and door then played with every button they could find.  He remembered when
he had done the the very same thing and had this big smile on his face.

"Hey, what's with the big goofy smile," Zack kidded him.

"Oh, just remembering something."

They all laughed as the limo pulled up to the terminal.  Justin put on his
shades and a large bucket hat and they went to find the gate.  Before long
they saw the other four coming out from the plane.  They each had on some
sort of hat and sunglasses.  To Jamie they looked silly and the 'disguises'
really didn't do much to hide who they were.

Zack was in total awe and could hardly form coherent sentences which Joey
and Chris mercilessly kidded him about making it worse.

Jamie talked with all of them but didn't stray far from Justin's side, a
fact not lost on JC or Lance.  Every so often Jamie thought that he would
catch JC giving him a considering look.  He chalked it up to being a little
self-conscious.  Once he caught Lance's eye and was surprised to see Lance
smiling at him and nodding as if saying he approved.  Jamie smiled back and
nodded.  Lance raised a delicate eybrow, chuckled and went over to JC and
whispered something in his ear.  While they were waiting for the luggage to
arrive Jamie asked Justin about it.

Justin snickered before answering.  "Don't worry about them.  That's just
my adopted parents checking you out.  If Lance is smiling at you then I
know he likes you.  Don't let it bother you.  I'll tell them to stop when I
get a chance to ask them in private."

Before long all seven were back in the limo and headed to the hotel.  Jamie
noticed that Lance and JC were discreetly holding hands and smiled.  When
they were well on the way Justin asked for everyone's attention.

"Hey guys, I know Zack and Jamie want to welcome you to Boston!"  They all
cheered.  "Now, Lance, JC... please stop appraising Jamie like he's on sale
or something, you're making him uncomfortable."  They guys all laughed and
Jamie blushed a deep red.

"I thought you were gonna wait 'til you were in private?"  He giggled and
poked Justin in the side.

"I did, how private can we get?"  Justin smiled and tickled Jamie back.

"Anything else, Justin?" Lance asked innocently.

Justin looked at Jamie silently asking the question.  Jamie nodded but
spoke up before Justin could.

"I guess you could say that Justin and I are dating."

There was wild cheering and high fives all around.  Zack leaned over and
hugged Jamie.

Justin was beaming, mostly at Jaime.  He leaned over and kissed his cheek .
"I'm so happy and proud of you," he whispered in his ear.  "I know that
took alot for you to do."  Jamie blushed and leaned his head against
Justin's while the others cooed to them.


------

The dance was a big hit.  Most of the crowd was on the dance floor for both
the slow ballads and fast swing tunes.  The band was hot and playing well.
Jamie sat on his amp in front of the piano.  He played well but his
concentration was divided.  The last 24 hours were the best in his life but
he looked forward in time with a growing dread knowing that Justin was
leaving for Orlando then next day.

During the short break between sets he chatted with his friends before
finding Justin off to the side backstage warming up his voice.  He stood
watching him from a distance lost in thought.

"You love him very much, don't you?" a voice asked from beside him.

He started then looked over at JC.  "Yes, JC, I do.  What will happen now?"
he asked not expecting an answer.

"That's up to the both of you to decide.  God knows long distance
relationships are hard work and hardly ever work out, believe me, I know."

"Then what will we do?" Jamie sighed.

"Love each other and be strong enough to make the decisions that need to be
made."  JC squeezed his shoulder and walked away.

Jamie went back to the stage, bringing a stool.  He placed it next to him
on the tape marks.  The band started the next set and the dance floor was
packed again.  After a few numbers the lights on the band lowered to half.
A back spot silhouetted a figure sitting on the stool next to Jamie.

The song started and Justin's voice sang out sweet and clear over the
speakers.

	"When all the world is a hopeless jumble
	        And the raindrops tumble all around
		Heaven opens a magic lane.

	When all the clouds darken up the skyway
	        There's a rainbow highway to be found
		Leading from your windowpane.

	To a place behind the sun, just a step beyond the rain."

The band filled delaying the main verse of the song.  Justin stood, briefly
squeezed Jamie's shoulder and walked in front of the band.  The lights went
up to full, a bright spot on Justin as he started the main portion of the
song that everyone knows so well.

	"Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high
		There's a land that I've heard of, once in a lullaby.

	Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue
		And the dreams that you dared to dream really do come
true."

The band repeated the main verse as Justin smiled at the audience and waved
to the back where some of the college students, mostly girls, were calling
his name in surprise.  Justin continued at the bridge.

	"Someday I'll wish upon a star
		And end up where the clouds are far behind me.
		Where troubles melt like lemon drops
		Away above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me..."

Walking back to his original place he sat on the stool to finish the song.

	"Somewhere, over the rainbow, blue birds fly.
		Birds fly over the rainbow, why then, oh why can't I.

	If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,
		Why, oh why, can't I..."

The hall broke out in wild applause.  Jamie smiled at Justin.  He smiled
back before standing and walking to the front of the stage to take a bow.
He flashed the killer grin and set the girls on the bleachers screaming his
name again.

"Hey, y'all.  What up?"  The crowd cheered and applauded.  "My name's
Justin Timberlake.  It's a real pleasure to be here singing with this great
band.  Let's give it up for 'em."

There was another cheer as the spot ran over the band.

"I want to thank everyone for having me here tonight.  Especially the band
and the director, Mr. White.  Also I'd like to 'specially thank Jamie
Campbell for helping me with some arrangements and picking out some songs."
Justin led the applause as the spot rested on Jamie.  Jamie waved, grinning
from ear to ear.

"Now let's get on to the next number.  Get out there and dance, let's have
some fun!"

The dance continued everyone enjoying themselves.  The set finished and
while the band members left the stage Jamie took the mic to address the
audience.

"Thanks everyone.  I hope you're having as much fun as we are.  As you may
be aware, the Campus Idiots will not be here tonight."  There were some
groans of disappointment.  "But I think you'll like who'll be replacing
them.  Put your hands together for..... 'N SYNC!"

The roar was deafening.  Jamie crossed the stage as the guys were ran on,
the intro to Tearin' Up My Heart starting.  They all clapped him on the
shoulder as they went by.  Justin gave him a quick hug and ran to place.
The house went wild.



tbc.......

A good place to end for now.  Wow, three chapters within one week.
Hopefully you won't get used to it.  I don't think I can continue that kind
of pace!  :)

As always any suggestions or comments are more than welcome. Even if it's
only to say Hi!

Take care,

Jim
bangoremail@aol.com