Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 21:31:23 PDT From: Jason Clarke Subject: Loving Nick - Part 14 This story involves members of the bands Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC. I am in no way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members. This is purely a fictional story. Enjoy! This is my first attempt at writing a story like this so please bear with me. Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029) * * * * * * * * * * * * Loving Nick - Part 14 Robert Carter turned around slowly. "Why hello, Justin. It's been a while." "Yes it has, Mr. Carter," Justin said, still wondering what brought Nick's father here. "How have you been doing?" "Never better," Robert Carter said with a small smile. "Well, I should get going now. We'll talk another time." "Take care, Mr. Carter," Justin said as Nick's father walked out of the room. When Justin and Lance were alone in the room with Nick again, both of them noticed that Nick had not said a word since they returned. Furthermore, Nick didn't even acknowledge them when they walked in. It was as if Nick was lost in another world. "Nick?" Justin finally asked. Nick seemed startled for a moment. "Oh hi," he said softly, "I was just thinking about something." "We can see that," Lance said half-jokingly. Then becoming more serious, "Is something bothering you, Nick?" "No, nothing at all," Nick said quickly. "So...I see you two are not killing each other anymore," Nick said with a smirk. Lance glanced at Justin and smiled. Then, without a word, both of them walked towards Nick and started tickling him. Nick tried his best to defend himself but he was no match for Lance and Justin. "Okay, okay, I give up!!" Lance and Justin started to laugh uncontrollably. They stared at Nick's puzzled look and continued laughing. "So I send you two to mend differences and the next thing I know, you two start ganging up on me," Nick pouted. "You know, you look so cute when you pout," Lance observed. "I agree," Justin nodded in agreement. "So seriously, is everything okay between you two?" Nick finally asked. "Yes, Nick," Lance answered. "And thanks for pointing out how stupid I was acting." "No problem, always glad to help," Nick said with a mischievous grin. "You are asking for it again," Lance threatened. "Okay, okay...you win," Nick conceded. Lance and Justin looked at each other and smiled. It had been so long since they had felt this happy. Both of them had missed each other's company and it felt great to rekindle this friendship again. They both noticed that Nick had suddenly become very quiet his smile had faded. "What's wrong, Nick?" Lance asked, obviously concerned about Nick. "Lance, Justin, you two are probably my closest friends," Nick began, "and I just want you to know that no matter what I'm going to say or what I'm going to do in the next little while, nothing will change how I feel about you two." Justin looked puzzled. "What are you trying to say, Nick?" "What I'm saying is that I'm scared...scared about what will happen once I leave this hospital." Nick stopped, trying to find the right words to say. "I don't know how I'm going to hold up emotionally. Knowing myself, I'm probably going to say or do something that I'll regret and I want to let you guys know now. I hope you'll bear with me 'cause I don't want to lose you guys." Both Lance and Justin moved closer to Nick and sat on the bed. "We can't even imagine how you're feeling now," Justin began. "But what we do know is that we're going to get through this together. Right, Scoop?" "You bet," Lance answered. "No matter what happens, we're gonna stick together." "Thanks, guys," Nick replied, touched by Lance and Justin's words. "This means a lot to me." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A WEEK LATER: "Will you guys hurry up?" Lance said as the others walked behind him. "We're 10 minutes late already." "Calm down, Lance," Joey answered, "Nick isn't gonna disappear even if we're a bit late, you know." "That's besides the point, Joey," Lance replied as he continued to half walk, half run, across the parking lot. "Hey, leave Lance alone, he misses his love..." Justin said, barely able to contain his laughter. "Oh, puh-lease...not now," AJ groaned. "Save his for Nick, I don't need to hear this." "I'm just gonna run on ahead guys," Lance shouted as he picked up his pace. "I'll meet you guys in Nick's room, okay?" "Wow, I've never seen him like this before," JC commented. "I know what you mean," Chris agreed. "I guess Nick really means the world to him." "You're right about that," Justin smiled as he answered. "It's amazing to see Lance finally find his true love." JC looked at Justin strangely, not knowing what to make of Justin's comment. "Are you totally okay with Nick and Lance? I mean..." "Yeah, I've thought it all through," Justin said. "I'm not a little kid anymore, you know." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lance rushed into Nick's room, only to find the bed empty and all made up. "Where could Nick have gone?" he thought to himself. At that moment, a nurse walked into room. "Excuse me," Lance asked, "but do you know where the patient in this room went?" "Oh, you mean the blond-haired boy?" the nurse asked. "Yeah, that's him." "Are you his family?" "No, I'm his friend." "A complication arose last night," the nurse began, "the doctors tried everything but they arrived too late and they couldn't save him. I'm sorry." Lance felt his head began to spin. "This can't be happening..." he thought, "this can't be true." He ran out of the room and down the corridor, not knowing where he was heading. Tears were streaming down his face as he ran. "Lansten," a voice suddenly called out. Lance turned around and saw Nick standing there, his hair a little messed up. "NICK!!!" Lance shouted as he ran towards him. He started to touch Nick's face and hands to make sure that he was not dreaming. He began to cry on Nick's shoulder. "The nurse said that..." Lance could not finish the sentence. Nick gently brushed Lance's hair. "I know..." he whispered. "I'm sorry, Lance...it's my fault." "You mean..." "I kinda got the nurse to play along with me..." Lance lightly punched Nick in the arm. "Don't you dare ever do that to me again," Lance said, half-commanding and half-pleading. "You scared me to death!!!" "I'm so sorry, I promise I'll never do that again." It was at this moment that Lance realized that Nick was standing in the hallway, and not in his wheelchair. "You...you...you..." he said, pointing to his feet. Nick smiled at Lance. "I...I...I...can walk again," Nick said, trying to mimic Lance. "Ha-ha, very funny," Lance said sarcastically. "This is amazing, Nick. I knew you could do it!!!!" "You and Justin get all the credit," Nick replied. "Couldn't have done it without you guys." As they returned to Nick's room, Nick reached his hands into his pockets and handed a small box to Lance. "I had wanted to give this to you while we were in Ottawa, but so many things happened after that and I never had the chance to give this to you." Lance took the box from Nick's hand and slowly opened it. He took out a gold bracelet and gasped. "It's beautiful!!!" Lance hugged Nick and kissed him. "Thank you, Nick, thank you!!!" "I hope you like it," Nick said. "It's my first time buying a gift for my boyfriend." "I love...did you say boyfriend???" Lance could not believe his ears. He had wanted to hear Nick say that word for so long. "Well, you are my boyfriend, right?" Nick asked, a little uncertain at Lance's reaction. "I love you so much, Nick!!" "And I love you, Lansten." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SEVERAL WEEKS LATER: "Alright, we're going through the song again," Fatima shouted. "And Lance, try not to fall this time!!!" Lance smiled sheepishly but he felt bad. They had gone through the song 10 times already and each time, Lance could not get through the dancing without making a mistake. As the music started, the guys began to dance. Halfway through the song, Lance misses a step and he falls awkwardly to the floor. The music stops. Lance slowly gets up, "I'm sorry, guys," he apologized quietly. "It's okay," Justin replied sincerely. "We all have our bad days." "Okay, let's call it a day," Fatima announced. "We'll continue tomorrow." As the guys began packing their things, Nick walked over to Lance and handed him a bottle of water. Lance took the water and smiled. "Thanks, Nick." "No problem, Lansten," Nick answered as he pulled Lance into a kiss. "You two lovebirds," JC groaned, "must you show your loving ways in front of all of us?" "Sorry," Nick answered, "we'll try to stick to one kiss every five minutes, okay?" "Always the comedian," Justin joked. Once arriving at the hotel, everyone decided to go to their room to rest for a while before having dinner together. Lance opened the door their room and Nick followed close behind. Once the door was closed, Lance plopped onto his bed. "You okay?" Nick asked. "I don't get it," Lance began, "why can't I at least dance half-decently? I'm not hoping to be like Justin, but at least if I could get through the songs without making a fool of myself." Nick laid down beside Lance and kissed him. "You didn't make a fool of yourself, Lance. You weren't that bad, you know..." "Thanks," Lance replied, "I know you're just trying to make me feel better, but we both know that I can't dance." "No, I really mean it," Nick defended. "Okay, you made a few mistakes but as I was watching you, I noticed that all your mistakes were basically the result of a few basic moves. Other than that, your other moves were quite good." "Wow, how do you notice these things?" "Hey, I kept my eyes fixed on you for a whole hour," Nick answered, "and you think I'll miss something like this?" "You continue to amaze me, Nick," Lance said as he snuggled up to Nick. "Likewise," Nick said as he kissed Lance again. "Just take it easy, Lansten. Don't put so much pressure on yourself, it'll work better that way." "Okay, if you say so," Lance said. "I trust you." Lance began to get worried when Nick did not say a word. Lance turned to see a mischievous grin on Nick's face. "Uh oh, I don't like it when you get that look..." Lance groaned. "I've got an idea..." "Dare I ask?" Lance replied. "How would you like to see the look of surprise on all the guys' faces when you show them your new dance moves?" "You're joking, right?" Lance laughed. "Me? Show them dancing?" "Hey, you have a pretty good instructor here, you know," Nick pointed out. "You're gonna teach me dance moves?" "Well, I only do it for people with potential," Nick joked. "I am putting my reputation on the line you know." "Are you serious about this?" "You bet I am," Nick continued. "When I'm done, no one will ever say that Lance Bass cannot dance ever again." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Where are they? I'm starving!!" Howie and AJ complained. "Have some patience," JC teased, "people who are in love tend to become less punctual." As JC said those words, Nick and Lance walked into the room, smiling from ear to ear. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting," Lance apologized. "Well, who would've guessed that Lance Bass could ever be late for anything!!" Chris joked. "Nick, you're corrupting our Lance!!" Everyone in the room laughed. "Hey, we aren't even the last ones here," Nick said, pointing to the empty chair beside him. "Who else is missing?" Lance asked. "Actually, we have a new PR assistant who's gonna be joining the tour and so I invited him to dinner so that we can get acquainted," Kevin explained. "Cool," Justin replied. "And here he is now," Kevin said as he stood up to meet the guest. "Guys, this is Darren, our new PR assistant and Darren, here are N'SYNC and the Backstreet Boys." "Nice to meet you all," Darren said with a smile. Everyone took turns greeting Darren, everyone except for Lance. He just sat in his chair staring at Darren. "Hi Lance," Darren said cheerfully. "Long time no see." "Yeah," Lance replied softly without expression, "it's been some time..." ...to be continued.... Who is this Darren? Why is Lance reacting so strangely? Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)