Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 22:21:11 -0800 (PST) From: AJ Shukla Subject: Josh and Just/14 Josh and Just 14 "Okay Sweety! What is it?" JC's mother, Karen, asked in return. "Well I kind of wanted to tell both you and Dad at the same time. Do you think you could turn on the speaker phone or tell dad to get the phone on the kitchen." JC replied, softly. "Okay you're on speaker phone. Are you okay sweety? Did you get hurt? Did Tyler get hurt? Are you in trouble?" Karen asked, worriedly. "Son are you alright?" Roy made his presence known. "Yeah I'm fine. Tyler is fine. We're not in any trouble. But I have something to tell you that Tyler and Heather know and I didn't want to keep it from you any longer." JC talked into the phone. "Okay Honey. You can tell us anything. We're here for you." Karen comforted. "I'm glad you said that Mom. Because... ... ... well ... ... ... Mom, Dad... ... ... I'm gay." JC finally spit out, closing his eyes, not wanting to know what the outcome will be. He cautiously opened his eyes when he heard total silence. "Mom? Dad? You there?" JC asked. "Um. We're here honey. We're just a little... ... ...confused." Karen said. "Confused?" JC asked. "Yeah well. You used to have girlfriends. What caused the change?" Roy asked. JC let out a sigh and fell back onto the back while holding the phone to his ear. "I know Dad. I know that I used to like girls and that I used to date them. But I don't know. It never felt right then. I always felt empty. At first I thought it was because of the girl but then I finally found out the it was me. I finally found that someone that made me feel complete." JC sighed as if he were in a utopian love. "Who dear?" Karen asked. "Justin." JC replied. "Justin? Justin Timberlake?" Roy asked. "Yes." JC responded. "Does Lynn know about this? How about Randall?" Karen asked. "They all know. Hell Jonathan and Steven know." JC responded getting a little agitated. "Honey it's no need to get frustrated over." Karen replied. "Mom I wouldn't have to if you two would just support me on this. It took all the courage I had to call you and tell you this. And all you guys can do ask stupid questions. You know you said I can come to you about anything and when I do you turn your backs." JC talked into the phone in a calm tone. "No Son. We are here for you. And we will always be here for you. We both love you very much and we're sorry for the inquisition, but you have to see this from our point of view. It's a bit of a surprise." Roy responded. "Honey we love you and nothing is going to change that. No matter who you love. And I'm glad that it's Justin because he is such a dear." Karen replied. JC smiled softly, hearing his mother talk about Justin so fondly. "Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad. I love you too. And I would give it to Tyler but he's out right now. Oh and I'm sorry for calling you so late. It's not even ten o'clock here yet." JC apologized. "It's okay Joshua. We're glad you told us now. Oh and the next time you come home bring Justin with you." Roy said. JC smiled greatly hearing his father say that. If Justin had been acknowledged as his boyfriend by both Tyler and his father, he knew that there was something about Justin that made him special. "Okay well I guess I'll let you two get to sleep. Goodnight you two." JC said softly. "Okay. Bye son. Give our regards to Justin and the rest of those knuckle brains. Oh and make sure Tyler doesn't stay out too long." Roy said. "Will do Dad. Bye Mom." JC said into the phone. "Bye Josh." With that said JC hung up the phones and stared up at the ceiling. He smiled to himself knowing that everything was going to be alright. "Come on Chris. You have practice tomorrow." Tyler said dragging Chris out of the club. At the exit he bumped into someone, causing him to stumble backwards. He caught the girl before she fell. He looked down and started laughing. "What So funny?" Sarah replied bitterly. "Are you just coming into the club?" Chris asked. "Yeah so? What's it to you?" Sarah asked, smoothing out a wrinkle in her dress. "Nothing but just to let you know. We have practice tomorrow at seven o'clock." Chris replied. "Well unlike you pop-stars, us regular humans can function on two or three hours of sleep if we have to." Sarah replied, pushing by Chris to the dance floor. Chris laughed to himself as he walked out with Tyler. "Who was that?" Tyler asked, looking back into the club to watch her walk away. "Some girl that works on the tour. We keep bumping into each other. And then she always blames me. . ." Chris started explaining. Tyler walked drowsily into the room and threw his jacket onto the chair and fell onto the bed. He closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. "Hey Brat. Where have you been?" JC asked. "Shooting up and getting high." Tyler responded, too tired to open his eyes. "No really where were you. It's almost like two in the morning." Justin said tiredly. Tyler opened his eyes and saw that the lights had been turned on. He saw JC looking at him as well as Justin, who had his chin propped up on JC's chest. He looked at both pairs of eyes, seeing that they both wanted to get to sleep. "Oh don't worry. We left the club at about twelve cause it was pretty lame and you guys have practice early tomorrow. Then we bumped into this girl that Chris knows and he continues to talk about how much he despises this girl and how she keeps ruining his life. Do you know that he made me drink two coffees just so I can stay awake while he spoke about that `wretched girl' and how much he hates her?" Tyler said. Justin and JC began to laugh at how cranky Tyler was. "You know Tyler he did the same thing to me. It's annoying isn't it. It kind of got repetitive after awhile huh?" JC asked. Justin started to snicker. JC looked down at Justin with curiosity. Justin pointed over to Tyler. JC turned his head to Tyler to see the eighteen year old fast asleep. JC laughed to himself before getting up. "Don't wake him up." Justin whispered. "I'm not. I'm getting him a blanket." JC replied. He pulled out a blanket and gently placed it around his brother. He leaned down and began to whisper into Tyler's ear. "Goodnight Baby Bro. Sweet dreams." JC whispered. He leaned down and kissed Tyler's forehead before turning off the lights. He scratched his bare chest before slipping into bed next to Justin. "You're so adorable. You treated your brother as if he was a little kid or something." Justin cooed. "He is a little kid. He will always be my baby brother." JC replied. "JC. I'm the same age as Tyler. Does that make me your baby boyfriend?" Justin laughed, nuzzling to JC's body, placing his head down on JC' chest. Justin wrapped his arms around JC's waist as JC' wrapped his arms around Justin. "No. It's just. It's like you and Jonathan. In thirteen years when Jonathan is your age you will see him as a little kid because you will always remember taking care of him when he was a kid." JC said, kissing the top of Justin's head. "You're adorable." Justin said before closing his eyes. The sun slowly started to creep over the horizon as Lance heard the phone ring. He tiredly picked up his phone and exhaustedly replied. "Hello?" Lance verbalized. "Hello Mr. Bass. This is your six o'clock wake up call." The friendly voice replied. "Thank you." Lance said, before hanging up the phone. "That girl has to be crazy to be able to be happy at this time of the morning." Lance said to himself. "Lance! Stop talking to yourself. It's too loud." Joey said, crankily, throwing a pillow over his head. Lance sat on the bed and picked up the phone and dialed slowly. "Hello?" a tired voice answered. "Get your ass out of bed we have to get downstairs in forty minutes." Lance spoke. "Bye." JC said hanging up on Lance. JC let out a yawn and opened his eyes fully. "Hey. Justin. Wake up." JC said, nudging Justin. Justin groaned and turned away. "Come on Just. Wake up." JC said shaking Justin more. Justin let out another groan and covered his head with a pillow. "Wake up Justin." JC said pulling back the covers, exposing Justin's half naked body to the cold air. Justin groaned again and pulled the covers back. "Justin! Up! Now!" JC said, pulling the covers back so far that they fell to the floor. JC watched as Justin groaned once again and reached down for the blanket. When his hand never made contact with a blanket, Justin curled up into a ball and continued to sleep. JC sighed and walked into the bathroom. He soon came back out with a bucket of water. "Sorry Justin. This is for your own good." JC said softly before throwing the water onto Justin. "AHHHHH!" Justin screamed as he popped out of bed. JC smiled deviously back at him. Justin stood on the bed and walked toward JC quickly. He pounced on top of JC only to be caught in JC's arms and brought to the floor by JC's powerful arms. "I'm hate you. I hate you. Justin repeated, hitting JC's shoulder with his fist, sending JC into laughter. JC reached down and pulled a blanket around Justin. He placed a small kiss on Justin's lips. "Good morning Mr. Timberlake." JC said softly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't see what so good about it. The person I love just poured freezing cold water onto me. And it's six o'clock in the morning." Justin huffed. JC kissed him once more before resting his forehead against Justin's. "I love you." JC said, quietly. "I love you too. You big asshole." Justin laughed as he placed a kiss at the corner of JC's mouth before walking into the bathroom. JC picked up the blankets and threw them onto the bed. He made his way to his brother's bed and sat at the edge. "Tyler. Wake up!" JC said softly, slightly shaking his younger brother. "Wuh?" Tyler groaned as he moved in bed to make eye contact with his brother. He rubbed his face quickly and looked back at JC. "Do you want to come with us to practice or do you just want to meet us there?" JC asked. "Mmmmm. I'll stay here and meet you there." Tyler replied. JC nodded and ruffled Tyler's hair before standing and start his morning routine. "Good Morning Everyone!!!" Tina announced as she saw Britney and the five guys walk in from the back with a entourage of back-up dancers following tiredly. The whole group made their way slowly to the stage, not in a rush to start the long day of practice which will end with a performance. JC had Justin's hand within his as the two made their way to the stage. Justin leaned against JC drowsily trying desperately to rest his head on JC's shoulder as the two walked down the slightly sloped aisle to the stage. "You okay Justin" JC asked, looking at Justin worriedly. "Yeah just not feeling to good. It'll pass. It's just because it's early." Justin replied, releasing a small cough. "Okay." JC said, pulling back Justin's curls from in front of his eyes. "Hey who's that person?" Lance asked, looking at the stage through squinted eyes. "That girl next to Darren?" Joey asked. "Yeah that one." Lance said. Joey squinted as he approached the middle of the aisle. "I dunno but she looks fine!" Joey smiled. "Yeah I know." Lance mumbled. "What? What was that? Is Lance checking out other women while his girlfriend is somewhere in Hollywood waiting for him to come home." Chris joked. Lance didn't reply as he hopped up on the stage and placed down his bag on the side of the stage. Justin dropped his stuff right next to Lance's and sniffled quickly. He looked over at Lance who was looking back at him. "What?" Justin asked, giving Lance a perplexed look. "Your sick." Lance said, placing his hand against Justin's forehead. "I am not. It's just a little sniffle in the morning." Justin said taking a seat on the stage to begin his stretching. Lance shrugged and walked to the front of the stage where he began to practice the spin he had trouble on. "Hey Curly." Joey said ruffling Justin's hair as he walked by. Justin let out a sneeze causing his curls to bounce forward. He tossed his head back to get the curls out of his face and looked up at Joey. He gave Joey a small smile and continued to stretch. "Hey Justin. Are you coming down with something?" Joey asked, checking the glands in Justin's neck. Justin jerked away and laughed. "I'm fine." It's just too early." Justin repeated for the third time. He finished his stretching and stood up. Chris stood in his spot while Tina paced the stage with a slight bit of anger in her voice. He smiled to himself as he saw Sarah rush through the back doors and toward the stage. "I'm so sorry Tina. I woke up late." Sarah apologized as she ran up the steps to the stage. She placed her stuff down and ran over to Tina. "I'm so sorry. I was so tired that I slept through my wake up call." Sarah apologized. Chris smiled to himself knowing that it was Sarah's own fault that she was late. She had chosen to enter a club at midnight and leave at god knows what hour. "It's okay. But don't let it happen again. Now go check the date of the Anaheim performance for me. If I need to create two routines for that venue than I need to know how much time I have." Tina bellowed. Sarah flinched at the loud voice and ran back stage. She ran past Chris who was smirking widely. She flipped him off as she ran by. " In your dreams!" Chris yelled as she ran backstage. JC walked into the dressing room with Chris as both carried bags of food. Lance walked in with the drinks in his arms. "Chow's on." Lance announced as he walked into the dressing room. "Shhhh!!" Joey silently hushed. He pointed a finger over to Justin who was sleeping, curled up on a little couch. Lance looked over to the and saw his friend sleeping peacefully. He crept over to the table where he placed the food down. JC tip-toed over to his boyfriend. JC lightly kneeled next to the couch and gazed down in a love-struck gaze. He leaned down and kissed Justin's forehead softly. Justin continued to sleep peacefully. "Should I wake him?" JC asked the guys softy. "I don't know. He has been sick the whole day." Lance proposed. "But he should eat something. He can't perform on an empty stomach." Joey said placing his palm on Justin's forehead. "He shouldn't perform at all if he's sick." Britney said softly as she tossed JC a bottle of aspirin. "I think I'll wake him up and have him eat something then go back to sleep." JC said placing his hand on Justin's cheek. JC leaned down and kissed the tip of Justin's nose. "Justin?" JC whispered. Justin stirred and looked up at JC with wary eyes. "Do you want to eat something and see if you are okay to perform on stage tonight." JC asked softly, slightly rubbing Justin's shoulders. "Okay." Justin silently complied. "Good luck you guys!" Britney said running off the stage, sweat pouring off her forehead. She wiped it off and threw the towel to the side. "Thanks Brit. You were great." Justin said leaving Tyler's side to run out onto stage. Britney walked to Tyler's side and watched as the guys performed. She watched as Justin took his place and began to dance to the choreographed routine. Britney could tell he was having trouble keeping up with the dance moves as well as the lyrics. Britney watched Justin look at her with desperation and pain. "Something isn't right." Britney whispered. Tyler nodded, seeing exactly what she was seeing. The guys came running off the stage at the end of the song for a costume stage. JC ran into the dressing room first knowing he had to get out on stage for his introduction. Justin was the last to run backstage and instantly began to feel his knees give way underneath him. He began to collapse into Britney's arms. Britney caught him and held him up with the help of Tyler by her side. The rest of the guys began to run out of their dressing rooms and saw that Justin had collapsed. "Go on with the show!" Tina yelled. As she directed the guys to the stage. "No! Justin!" JC said, making his way to Justin who was being laid down onto a couch. "He's okay. He just fainted." Tyler said, pushing JC back toward the stage. "Come on JC. You are on!" Chris yelled. "No I have to see if Justin's alright!" JC shot back. He felt three pairs of hands start to pull him back toward the stage. Joey stepped in front of him and stopped him. "JC I want to see if he's okay too. But we can't do anything. We have to keep performing. Chris will take his verses and we can easily do the routine without him. We only have a couple more songs to do." Joey said, trying to relax JC. JC gave a small nod and sadly walked to the stage. "Let's get him into the dressing room." Jennie suggested. JC ran off the stage and bolted around backstage, looking for any sign of Justin. Chris, Joey and Lance followed closely behind trying to find any site of the teen. JC ran into the dressing room and saw Justin sleeping with his head in Tyler's as he laid down on the couch. Tyler looked at the label of a bottle of aspirin while Justin was sleeping peacefully in his lap. "Is he okay? What's wrong? What happened?" JC asked as he fell to his knees next to the couch. "He's fine Josh. He's been sick the whole day and he's been under stress and all. So I think it all got to him and he passed out. He woke up while you were on stage and wanted to head out there and perform but we pretty much wouldn't let him. He's been sleeping for the last half hour." Tyler replied. JC placed a small kiss on Justin's cheek and gave a frown when his lips felt the heat of Justin's face. Tyler lifted Justin's head and slid out. He held it up and allowed JC to slide in. "Hey you guys. We have backstage pass people coming in now." Britney said, gazing out the door to see a small group of people walk towards them. Lance took a blanket and covered Justin. He took a seat on the floor and propped up his back against the front of the couch. Britney fell into the other sofa and curled into a ball. She rested her head on Joey's shoulder while Chris looked through a magazine. Tyler sat in a chair between the two sofas and continued to check the medication they had given Justin. "How long is the meet and greet?" JC asked, still worrying about Justin. "I guess about fifteen minutes. Just enough time to sign their stuff and let them ask a couple of questions." Britney replied, softly, not wanting to wake Justin. Just as she finished speaking a small group of fans came walking through the door escorted by William. "Hello Fellows. There are some of the backstage pass holders." William announced. "Hello." They all said in unison. All of them spoke softly, not wanting to disturb Justin. "What's wrong with Justin?" a girl finally asked. The group of fans had wanted to ask that question since they had seen the rest of the concert with only four members instead of five. This one particular girl was the only one that was brave enough to ask the rest of the guys. "Well he hasn't been feeling well. And after singing for so long you get kind of tired and light headed. So he had to duck out." Chris answered. "Will he be okay?" another fan asked. "Yeah he should be fine." Joey stated. JC gazed over at Tyler who was sketching in his sketch pad away from the group. He understood how his brother must have felt. He probably feels that all the fame brought them attention and he shouldn't bask in JC's glory. JC looked down as Justin shifted on the couch. "Could you sign this for me?" a shy girl asked softly. She held out a concert shirt for them. That one request brought about a series of requests. The guys and Britney sat there for about half an hour signing all the merchandise that the small group of fans had with them. After the autographing died down the guys said goodbye and began to change into their clothes once again. Britney walked back to her dressing room while the guys finished changing. "What about Justin? Should we change him?" Lance asked, casting his gaze at Justin who was sleeping peacefully . "I could change him. It's not like I haven't done it before." JC stated. He made his way to his sleeping boyfriend. "But you were never going out with him those times." Joey laughed. JC shrugged and lifted Justin up cautiously. He pulled off the shiny red shirt and placed it on the hanger. "Tyler. Could you go into my gym bag. I have my pajama pants and a sweatshirt in there." JC said, pointing out the direction. Tyler brought back the clothes and watched as JC placed the sweatshirt gently over Justin head. "What drugs did you give him? He's still out!" Chris asked. "This night time stuff. It has stuff in it to help you sleep." Tyler replied. JC pulled down Justin's jeans and replaced it with pajama pants. Never once did JC's mind travel from his worry for Justin. He picked up Justin's clothes and hung them onto the rack. JC took his leather jacket and covered Justin's upper body. Once everything was set in the dressing rooms JC scooped Justin into his arms and walked to the exit. "There's fans outside. What will they think if they see you carrying Justin?" Lance asked. "I don't know. Should we wake Justin?" Joey asked. "There's no choice unless you guys stay here until the fans leave but that won't be for another hour or so." Chris followed. JC let out a sigh and placed Justin in a small chair nearby. He gently shook Justin. Justin's eye fluttered open and looked back at JC tiredly. "Justin. We are going to walk t the bus and you have to walk. I'm sorry to have to do this but they can't think hat you are deathly ill or something. So do you think you could walk to the bus and then you could go to sleep okay?" JC said apologetically. Justin nodded and stood to his feet. JC took his leather jacket and placed it on Justin carefully. "Thanks sweety." JC whispered. The guys walk outside into the flashing lights and roars of screaming. They placed a smile on and made their way to the bus that was nearby. Justin climbed the stairs of the bus and made his way to his bunk. He climbed in and laid down. JC soon peeked in and gazed at Justin who was trying not to drift to sleep. "I love you Just." Josh said, placing a kiss on Justin's nose. "I love you too JC." Justin mumbled as he drifted to sleep again. JC smiled and closed the curtain of the bunk. "You know that was okay for the first concert." Lance said, taking a seat on the couch next to JC. Britney nodded while using Chris's knee as a pillow on the other couch. Joey sat on the floor reading his book quietly. Tyler sat next to his brother while watching the TV. "Yeah it did. Do we have a concert tomorrow?" JC asked. "Nope. We have the movie premier tomorrow. Then we have a concert the next night. Oh and next week is Christmas so we should probably decide what we are doing. "Well Justin and I are meeting his family at my parents house. I think it'll be a little awkward but it's like a tradition. Anyone want to tag along?" JC asked. "Nope. I have a family to visit." Joey gladly stated. "My Mom has a big feast planned." Lance claimed. "I'm heading home too." Chris replied. "Me too." Britney replied. "Okay well at least we'll all be with family this year. That's a good thing." JC said. "Amen." Joey followed. "Josh?" A soft voice broke through the room. Everyone's eyes shifted to the door where Justin stood in JC's clothes at the doorway. "Hey baby. How are you doing? Are you feeling better?" JC asked, placing a small kiss on Justin's forehead. JC felt Justin's forehead and noticed a decrease in his fever. Justin was still feverish but not as much. "I'm fine. I just was lonely and cramped in that bunk." Justin replied softly. He rubbed his eyes as if he was a child still awake after his bedtime. JC placed a small kiss on Justin's cheek and guided him toward the couch. JC took a seat and invited Justin to sit on his lap. Justin took a seat on JC's lap and rested his head on JC's shoulder. "How you feeling Curly?" Joey asked. "So so" Justin replied. "You look like crap." Chris said jokingly. Justin gave a small laugh and looked back at Chris. "Good. I achieved my goal of trying to look like you." Justin shot back. JC chuckled along with everyone else while he wrapped both arms around Justin. "I can't wait until tomorrow! I get to see Freddie!!" Britney cooed as she smiled brightly. "Oh no. Now she's going to be talking about how she misses every little part of him. You know this is why I wanted a guy to tour with us. But no. Nobody listens to Lance." Lance followed. Britney snickered and to herself while she thought about Freddie in peace. "Do you think he'll mind if I call him Fred. I've always wanted to call someone Fred." Justin threw in. JC looked at Justin's face and saw pure goofiness. JC started to tickle Justin slightly and increased as Justin squirmed more. Justin burst into laughter and hopped off of JC's lap and over to Lance's. Justin took a seat on Chris's lap and stuck his tongue out at JC. "Sure. Use Chris as a chair. He doesn't mind." Chris said sarcastically. "Thanks Chris." Justin said squeezing onto the couch next to him. JC pouted like a child when Justin looked at him. "Josh! Don't you dare put on that puppy dog face." Justin warned. JC continued to pout while Justin tried to look away. He let out a sigh and stood. He made his way to JC's lap again and placed a small kiss on JC's lips before resting his head on JC's shoulder once again. "Get a room." Joey verbalized as he looked up from his book. Justin laughed and looked back at Joey. "I'm kind of tired. I'm taking your bunk okay Josh?" Tyler asked "Yeah sure. I think I'm heading to bed too." JC replied. Britney walked out with Tyler, JC, and Justin toward the bunks. She stepped into her own bunk while Tyler laid down in his. Justin crawled into his bunk and waited for JC. JC slid in and laid on his side while he gazed at Justin who was looking back at him. "You know you look good in my clothes." JC smiled as he ran a hand over Justin's hip. "Well I like wearing your clothes. Especially this jacket. But I should probably take it off now." Justin said, maneuvering the jacket off his shoulders. "Why do you like that jacket so much?" JC questioned. "Because it reminds me of you." Justin replied. JC smirked and moved in to kiss Justin. Justin pulled back and looked into JC's eyes. "Oh. Hey! I almost forgot. I told my parents about you." JC said running a finger through Justin's curls. "Really? What did they say?" Justin asked worriedly. "Not much. Just that they support me and that they love it that you are the one." JC replied. "I'm glad they took it well." Justin smiled. JC let out a small yawn and laid down on his back. Justin placed his head on JC's chest and let his arm circle JC's waist. The two silently fell asleep. Not a word was spoken but they love that they shared was more than expressed. It was the way they held each other and the way that JC protected Justin the same way that Justin protected JC. The two held each other in the night. JC woke up with a startle as he heard someone whimpering outside his bunk. He poked his head out of the curtain and listened closely. It was coming from Lance's bunk. He heard thrashing inside as if Lance was having a bad dream. JC carefully pulled Justin's arm off from around his waist and carefully stepped out of his bunk. He felt the movement of the bus under his feet. He arrived at Lance's bunk and pulled open the curtains. He saw Lance thrashing in his bed slowly while sweat ran down his forehead and face. "Lance! Lance wake up!" JC said, shaking him briskly. Lance popped up and looked at JC in surprise. Before JC knew it Lance had his arms around his neck and was sobbing into his shoulder. "It's alright Lance. I'm here. Don't worry Lance. It's okay." JC comforted. Lance slowed his sobbing to a calm hyperventilation. He looked at JC with pain in his eyes. "What's wrong Lance?" JC asked. "I don't love Danielle anymore." Lance whispered. To Be Continued... ****Hello Everyone. Hope you all liked it. I had fun writing it. It was my escape from everything that happened this week. It was stressful and all but I made it through. And it was with the help of all your friendly e-mails. Thanks to all who replied to the story. It makes the world of difference. Some other Thank you's and Shout outs. To Jess. We kicked ass on Thursday. Can't wait til next year! We'll do even better. To Kevin, Thanks for all your help. With the thought of you behind me on Thursday I lost all nervousness. Plus I was just waiting for that Police Academy stunt! Umm who else. My friend Larry and Steph for keeping me sane with the whole DVF thing. DVF is my crush by the way. Anyways. Other than that. I have nothing to say. So until next time. CYA