Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:24:56 -0600 From: Cameron Writer Subject: A Light in the Tunnel chapter 11 Alright everyone! I didn't get this done as quickly as I had hoped, but here is the next chapter of A Light in the Tunnel. I think I'm sufficiently recovered from my Valentine's Day ailment. I hope it was a fantastic day for all of you! I'd like to add a special thank you to Josh, author of Graduation Present. He mentioned this story in one of his chapters. His story has a lot of potential, so I'd like to suggest you go check it out and tell him what you think! As always, I do not know NSYNC, anyone affiliated with them, or any other celebrities in this story. Therefore I have no knowledge of their sexual orientations/habits or personalities. This is a fiction story dealing with relationships between men. If such topics offend you or you are too young to be here, I think the Disney homepage is just for you! I hope you all enjoy! A Light in the Tunnel Chapter 11 Stuck in that fuzzy, awkward space between sleep and wakefulness, Burke's dreams became strange, drawing in elements of reality and blending them with slumbering visions. He was floating in a pool, warmed and relaxed by the unclouded sun and rippling water. Rolling off his raft, he paddled to the edge, climbing out and wrapping a towel around his slim waist. Only taking a few steps toward the house, the ground trembled beneath him, shaking violently. Heaving, Burke's eyes snapped open, and he launched himself from the bed, shrieking about an earthquake. It took only a moment for him to realize that Florida did not suffer from such a blight, and that there was hyena-like cackling from across the room. Gathering his wits, he looked over, scowling as Justin hopped up and down on the mattress. Only barely amused by the wake-up call, Burke charged the older man, tackling him. "You scared the hell out of me, Justin!" Not giving him the chance to get away, Burke drove his fingers into Justin's ribs, hoping that he was even mildly ticklish. Gasping for breath between painful giggles, Justin tried to push the boy away. "Sorry! I'm sorry! Stop before you make me piss my pants!" Burke jumped away, trying to get out of the reach of Justin's long arms. The singer thumped his chest as he struggled to breathe normally. "Good morning, Burkey!" "Watch it, or I'll make sure the whole world knows that Mr. Justin Timberlake, heartthrob extraordinaire, isn't potty trained." Justin snickered at Burke's threat. "What are you doing here so early, and why did you wake me up?" "For one, it's nine. I woke you up so you could tell me all about last night. I asked Chris, but he just laughed, told me to ask you, and to remind you about what happened when you got home." Burke blushed, remembering his interrupted first kiss, his father opening the door right before Josh's lips touched his. "Ooh! This has got to be good! Where did you eat? What movie did you see? Did Josh put the moves on you?" "Ugh! Not so many questions when I just woke up! Let me at least get some coffee poured down my throat." Justin drilled the boy as they made their way downstairs. Chris winked as they passed him, earning a thump on the head from his grumpy son. Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Burke sat at the table. "We had a picnic at this place outside of town. A wildlife refuge or something." "Oh! I've been there. It's really pretty. I guess you all didn't go down to the lake because of the gator thing." Burke shook his head. "Was it a fancy picnic, or just your normal chips and sandwiches thing?" Burke opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off. "Duh! It was Josh, so he tried to impress you. He didn't try to cook for you, did he? I hope not since he's just barely a step above burning water. I guess he had something catered. That sounds more like him anyway." "Justin!" The singer shut his mouth. "Do you want me to tell you what happened or are you just going to figure everything out yourself?" "Sorry, Bro. I'm just a little excited since it was your first date and all. Plus, you went on it with my best friend in the whole world. Go ahead." Burke waited a moment to see if Justin was going to start another barrage of questions. "Alright. Like I said, we had a picnic at this park place. Josh had the food brought in. And he even gave me my first taste of champagne, non-alcoholic of course. It was alright. We just talked, and ate, and talked some more. He told me all about you all, his family, and stuff like that. But we didn't end up going to the movies." "Why not? Did you all get *side tracked*?" Justin asked, bobbing his eyebrows. Burke blushed, which made his friend cackle. "Yes, but not that way, and even if we did, do you really think I'd tell you with Chris sitting in the other room?" "I guess not, but what happened?" "The sun started to set, and we sat there, watched it go down, the waiting for the stars to come out." Justin giggled like a schoolgirl. "That's so romantic." "Uh huh. Especially how we were sitting while we were watching everything. I decided to get comfortable, so I laid down and put my head in his lap. I didn't even think about what it might have looked like. We just sat there for the longest time. After a while, Josh started messing with my hair. But then we realized how late it was, and he brought me home." Throughout his little spiel, Burke's eyes glazed over, remembering how it felt to lay next to Josh, the warmth and security washing over him as the man's finger's stroked his head and neck. "We held hands all the way back. Then he dropped me off." "Did you all kiss or anything?" "I think we were about to, but Chris turned on the front porch light and came outside. Josh got really nervous or something, and he left pretty quickly after that." "That sounds like Chris. But you have to tell me. If he hadn't come along, would you have kissed JC?" Not wanting Chris to hear since he didn't want to be teased ruthlessly, Burke nodded his head. "Sweet! So, are you two going to go out again?" Burke shrugged. "I don't know." "Why not? It sounds like you had a great time, and, by the goofy look on your face, you'd love to go out again." "I don't have a goofy look on my face. And, yes, I'd go on another date with Josh, but we didn't talk about it last night." Justin looked pleased and relieved, sighing happily as he relaxed in his chair. "There's just one thing I'm a little worried about." Justin content smile melted away. "How will all this affect you all? I mean, is it going to be weird if this turns into something more?" "Hell no! As long as both of you are happy, so are we. And as long as Josh doesn't start keeping you all to himself. I'll whoop his ass if he thinks he's taking my shopping buddy away!" They laughed together, Burke wondering if Justin would actually hurt his band mate. "So, are you ready to meet the parents today?" "Umm-" "Don't worry about it. Karen and Roy are really cool, and Tyler is a blast to hang out with. Besides, from what I've heard, they're here to see you as much as they are to see us. Just play it cool. Oh, and don't argue with Karen about things. She's as bad as Phyllis when it comes to some things. You'll never win, so it's easier to let her have her way." "Thanks for the warning, Just." "No prob. Well, I'm outta here. I have to pick up some stuff for mom. We're hosting the get together tonight. You're gonna be there, right?" "I guess so." "Great! See ya later, bro!" With a small hug and a moment to ruffle Burke's wild bed head, Justin was gone, leaving the house suitably quiet for the early hour. Burke poured himself another cup of coffee, and wandered into the living room, sitting on the couch beside Chris. The man wrapped an arm around his son. "Sounds like you had a good time last night." Burke leaned his head onto Chris' shoulder. "It could've been better if someone hadn't interrupted." Chris snickered. "Hey, I was just doing my job. I'm happy everything went well." "It did. Oh, I told Josh that I would cook him dinner sometime. Is that alright?" "Of course. Just give me a little warning so I can run to the grocery store." "I was kinda hoping it could just be the two of us." "I don't think so." Burke pulled away, stunned as he looked at his father. "Why not?" "I'm not leaving my seventeen year old son in a house all alone with a twenty-six year old man. I trust the both of you completely, but I don't want either of you in the position where things can get out of hand quickly. You're both in the prime of your lives, and I know how things work." Burke's cheeks blazed when he realized what was being said. "Dad, I'm talking about dinner, not having sex with him." "I know, but things start happening. Dinner turns to cuddling on the couch, which turns into a kiss, then another, then making out, and, before you know it, you to the point of no return. You are a teenage guy and Josh, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't had any in a long time. People can only resist so much temptation." Burke's eyes lowered, his lip trembling. "Hey, look at me. I'm not saying that I don't trust you, son. It's just that I don't want your feelings to get the best of you. I know Josh won't take advantage of you or anything, but sometimes things get carried away, and then you're in a place you can't, or won't, back down from." "Then why did you let us go out in the first place? Something could have happened at any moment last night." "Because I trust you, Burke. Look at it like this. I can take you to a restaurant that serves alcohol and there's no problem, but if I sit a bottle in front of you, sooner or later you're going to take a drink. You and Josh can go out, but if you go somewhere that has a bedroom a few feet away, sooner or later you'll end up there. Understand?" "Yeah." "If you want to invite him over and make dinner, I'll make myself scarce, but I'm not leaving you alone." Burke nodded. "This is one of those times when I have to be a parent instead of your friend. I hope you understand that." To prove that he did, Burke snuggled close to Chris. "I understand, dad." "Good." They settled down and watched a few cartoons, looking like a true father and son. Every once in a while, Chris would lean down and kiss the top of Burke's head. The boy would smile, and squeeze him tighter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hi sweetheart!" Lynn chirped when Burke walked through the kitchen door, his arms laden with bowls. She came over and took a few, kissing his forehead in the process. "Hi, Lynn. This is the stuff you asked me and dad to bring." "Great! Let's set it in the fridge until it's time to eat." "You have to taste the potato salad, Lynn. It's the most amazing thing you'll ever taste," Chris bragged as he moved a case of soda into the cooler they had brought. Burke rolled his eyes, and Chris smirked. Lynn grabbed a spoon from the counter, and took a small bite. "Oh my God! This is wonderful! Did you make this, Burke?" "Yeah," he blushed. "You'll have to give me the recipe." "I don't think he can, Lynn. From where I was sitting, he made it up as he went along." "Well then, I appoint Burke for being in charge of the potato salad anytime we have a barbecue!" Smiling shyly, the boy finished putting food away. Lynn poked her head out the window and yelled for JC. He dashed through the door, grinning when he saw Burke standing there. "Take him outside and introduce him to everyone, Joshua." "Sure thing. C'mon Burke, let's go meet my parents." Emboldened by the previous night, Josh took Burke's hand and led him outside. They strode across the backyard, and approached a group of people. "Mom, dad, this is Burke. Burke, these are my parents, Roy and Karen. Tyler is over there with Justin and the kids." "It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Chasez," Burke said, sticking his hand out. "Finally, a young man with manners! It's wonderful to finally meet you, Burke. And please, call me Karen." Instead of a handshake, the woman pulled him into a hug. "And don't 'Mr. Chasez' me, son. That's my father. Just call me Roy." "Yes sir." "He hasn't spent enough time around you all yet," a new voice said, "he still talks that a normal human." Josh thumped the young man on the head. "This is my brother, Tyler. Don't worry about him, the doctors dropped him when he was born, repeatedly." Burke shook the guy's hand, realizing there were only slight similarities between the Chasez sons. As he was studying Tyler, he noticed Tyler studying him. "So, you're the young gold-digger that kept Josh up all night and made him late coming to the airport." Burke gulped, not sure of how to respond. No one was jumping to his defense, something he thought Josh or Chris would do. In fact, they looked interested in what he would say in reply. Figuring he had very little to lose, Burke licked his lips and took a deep breath. "So, you're the unpopular, only mildly handsome, untalented, jealous brother." They stared at each other for a moment, neither flinching or backing down. Tyler, his smile bright like Josh's, broke the contest of wills, pulling Burke into a chummy embrace. "I like him!" Everyone laughed as Burke sighed, deciding he had passed this friendly little test. "Good one, Burke," Josh complimented. "That's my boy!" Chris seconded. Burke made the rounds as everyone fell into talking, joining each little group for a few minutes before moving on. He played with Justin's little brothers, getting tired as he pushed them on their swing set. Lance led everyone in prayer before they sat down to eat, thanking God for the food and gathering of family and friends. Burke managed to keep himself composed as they gushed over his potato salad. "I normally hate this stuff," Paul, Lynn's husband mumbled through a full mouth, "but this is fantastic!" "Thanks, it's just a little bit of this, and a little bit of that." More talking followed supper, Burke corralled by Karen. She asked him all about himself, though she had heard most everything from her son and Lynn. Burke, acting on Justin's advice, didn't say a word when she started fussing over how the guys must be treating him, making plans to take him out in the afternoon. "Mom," Josh sighed, coming to Burke's rescue, "you're going to spoil the boy." "That's the plan!" "Yeah, but then you'll go home and we'll have to keep it up. Constant shopping sprees at the mall, trips around the world, a petting zoo. When will it ever end?" Burke giggled at Josh's melodramatic tirade on how Burke would get used to being treated like a king. "Besides, then Chris will have to buy a new house to keep all the stuff in, and we all know how much he loves the one he has now." "My son the ham," Karen groaned, rolling her eyes. "I *am* going to take Burke shopping. I won't have a reason to get him anything until Christmas, so this will have to do. Burke, I'll be by your house at eleven tomorrow. And don't worry about lunch, we'll get a bite to eat along the way." "Yes, ma'am." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "So, what did you think of everyone?" Chris asked as he and Burke relaxed before bed. "Karen and Roy are really wonderful people, and Tyler is just too funny. Did you know he was going to do that to me?" "I had an idea." "I didn't know what to do, so I just opened my mouth and let something come out." "You were hilarious. Tyler likes to tease people, and he loves when someone thinks they can get him right back. Your smart mouth has made you a friend for life. You're lucky though. You were talking to Joey when they were discussing your date." Burke grimaced, happy he hadn't been there. "Tyler was giving Josh a hard time about being a dirty old man." "And, of course, you weren't helping matters any." Chris pretended to be shocked. "Me?" "Yes you." "Josh is a big boy, he can handle himself. Besides, it wouldn't have been so funny if it weren't true." "He isn't a dirty old man!" Chris ached his eyebrow. "Really? Seventeen year old boy, and a twenty-six year old man?" Burke smiled. "True, but think about this. Me and you, a thirty year old. That looks and sounds worse. Sounds like a mid-life crisis thing to me!" "Go to bed, smart ass, before I show you mid-life crisis!" Burke hugged his father. "Watch those hands, old man." Chris guffawed and swatted Burke's butt. "Good night, Burke." "Night dad. See ya in the morning." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After shopping with both Justin and Josh, Burke was surprised that he had a hard time keeping up with Karen. She fluttered in and out of stores, seemingly able to see, within seconds, if there was anything on the racks that Burke would like. Though he wanted to protest, Burke followed dutifully behind, he arms draped in growing numbers of bags. Seeing that he was dragging, they made a trip back to the rental car, stuffing things in the trunk before heading back for another round. Karen made it her personal quest to make sure he had every kind of outfit for school and the weather anyplace they would go while on tour, even going as far as trying to find a winter coat, in the middle of August in Florida, for cold spells in New York and other northern cities. "Have you met your teacher yet, honey?" she asked while poking through a display of corduroy cargo pants. "Yes. Her name is Amelia Rossini. She's not the one I wanted, but Chris and I compromised." She winked at him. "I heard about your discussion about tutors. Joshua found the whole thing quite amusing." "Mr. Spencer would have been a great teacher!" Burke moaned, knowing he would be forever teased about it. "I'm sure, honey, but you are supposed to get an education, not spend all your time ogling the teacher. No, which do you like better? The khaki or the black?" Burke was thankful that the subject was dropped, turning back to the task at hand. All afternoon they shopped, patronizing almost every store in the three level complex. Burke had clothes ranging from jeans and t-shirts to sparkling things he could wear if they went to a club to a few dress shirts and ties. The trunk and back seat crammed full, Burke's face paled. "Uh, Karen. I think you overdid it. Not that I don't appreciate it, but this is a lot of stuff." She glanced over her shoulder, looking into the back of the car. "You may be right. Oh my!" "Maybe we should take some of it back," Burke offered. "No. It's a lot, but we did pretty good getting things that were on sale. It could've been much worse. Let's get going before my husband calls a search party for us." Chris shook his head in disbelief as the all carried bags up to Burke's room, pointing out that the boy's closet would have to be enlarged to accommodate everything. "Nonsense, Christopher. He can just use one of the others for the stuff that isn't in season yet, then rotate them." Burke stuck his tongue out at his father's chastisement. Karen, a little out of breath after carrying a few loads up the stairs, took a look at her watch. "I've got to get going. I think we're having supper at a restaurant in an hour or so. We want everyone to come since everyone will be busy when we leave tomorrow." "Of course we'll come," Chris answered. In the back room of a quiet restaurant, it was anything but quiet, people talking loudly with each other. "Have a fun time playing little rich boy?" Tyler joked as Burke stood next to him. "Yeah. Have fun pretending that you aren't always going to be second best to 99.9 percent of the world?" Tyler patter him on the back, laughing. "Mom? Can we keep him?" Karen looked up from the sheets of paper she was pouring over with Lynn and Phyllis. "Ask your brother, dear." Everyone that heard her, broke into hysterics, tears of laughter streaming down their faces. Burke blushed as he giggled, seeing that Josh was doing the same. "How about it, big brother?" Tyler cackled. Josh wiped his watering eyes. "Trust me, if I keep him, I certainly won't be sharing!" "But Josh," Justin whined playfully, "even someone like Ty has to feel special every now and then. And what about the rest of us?" "Hold on guys! I'm not a plaything to be passed around!" "Really, sweetheart?" Phyllis asked, joining in on the game. "If I remember the news correctly, I thought you were NSYNC's boy toy. Isn't that what they said, Lynn?" "I believe so, Phyllis." Burke shook his head. "Y'all ain't right in the head!" "He says that now, but wait until he meets Heather or Steve," Joey cackled. "Those two will have you wishing you had a catheter!" A second table was loaded with food, and everyone walked down the line, serving themselves buffet style. The humor and good spirits continued as they ate. Burke found it funny that he, Justin, Tyler, and Justin's brothers had their own table. It had been ages since he had had to sit with the other kids. Despite being separated from the adults, the made the most of it, almost having a food fight after Justin snatched something from Tyler's plate. Just before dessert was served, Roy tapped his glass and stood. "As you all know, our boys will be going back into the studio on Tuesday to start on another album. Over the years, we have seen these young men flourish while achieving their greatest dreams. I'd like to take a moment to wish them continues success and greater blessings." Everyone cheered loudly for their friends. "Not only have they been fortunate enough to reach stardom by doing what they love, they have also given so much to the world and us. Thank you." Another volley of applause went up. "This year, we are happy to have a new member to our little family. Welcome Burke." Their cheering was turned to him. "To a happy and bright future," Roy finished, lifting his glass. "To a happy and bright future," everyone echoed, clinking cups in a toast. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Nothing major happened this time around, and for that I'm sorry, but I tried to keep it light and humorous for you. If you like what you read, please let me know. You can reach me at cameronwriter@hotmail.com Everyone who writes will definitely hear back from me! I love hearing your opinions and comments. Always, Cameron P.S. For all of those who wish I posted quicker, you'll be happy to know that I'm already writing chapter 12! Until then, thanks for reading!