Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 00:37:13 EST
From: KandLStories@aol.com
Subject: The Maze of Moments 1

DISCLAIMER, WARNINGS, ETC:

First and foremost, I do NOT know Lance Bass or any of the other members of
N'Sync. This work is strictly fiction, and it is not meant to imply
anything regarding the sexuality of them.  While the locations in the "Maze
of Moments" Series are real, all characters portrayed (with the exception
of N'Sync) are fictitious - they exist only in my imagination. Any
coincidence is just that.

This work is copyright by me - any post or reproduction without my
expressed consent is strictly prohibited - so don't even think about it! I
know guys who know guys that I can send your way if need be! :)

Lastly, I wish to thank the wonderful Gabriella Morrison, author of the
extraordinary My Secret Romance Series, for all of her support, advice, and
inspiration that went into putting this story, and those that will follow,
together. It is to her that this story is respectfully and lovingly
dedicated.

Comments, feedback, etc may be directed to: KandLStories@aol.com


Thanks for waiting, and now, on with the show!
                         ---Tony


Prologue -


The Watcher stepped through the grove of trees and onto the shore of the
lake. The clear, blue waters were calm, in stark contrast to the events of
the past few days.  He had no control over them, this was true, nor did he
want the outcome to be what it was.  But, they had occurred, the die was
cast, the fate sealed.

And now, the Watcher was here.

He looked across the shore and saw the house next to the lake.  As he
looked carefully, he could see four figures through one of the windows.
Their faces showed a combination of sadness, fear, and concern.  He wanted
to ease their pain, but he knew that this was not his purpose, nor the
reason why he was here.  Once his mission was complete, their fears would
be calmed, the pain delivered, their melancholy eased.  The true focus of
his task sat on the lush lawn that led to the lakeshore.


There he sat, weeping, cradled in the arms of his beloved.  His suffering
permeated the air, and even the Watcher could feel it.  Even more, the
young man clung to that which was now the past, something belonging to
time.  The Watcher stiffened slightly as he picked up on these feelings:
loneliness, despair, sorrow.  They moved through him thickly...he felt
their every wave, as if to mimic those of the lake.

The young man was desolate, and he was not letting go.  So, the Watcher
would have to act.  Everything in his being cried out against this, but
there was little choice.  He had heard the call, and his intervention was
called for.....


And now...  The Maze of Moments - A Kevin and Lance Story


"Some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning,
middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the
moment and making the best of it, without knowing what is going to happen
next."
          --Unknown


Chapter One - Introductions and Beginnings

The town of Oxford, Mississippi, probably would not be on the map were it
not for the university located there - Ole Miss, the University of
Mississippi.  This was the college where James Meredith broke the color
line during the turbulence that embodied the 1960s, where a proud football
tradition stretched back for years and was celebrated on a weekly basis
during the fall.  The sounds of "Dixie" could often be heard during these
times, as the marching band played it repeatedly.

If Ole Miss was not there, however, Oxford would be associated only with
the phrase, "blink and you'll miss it."  Nevertheless, it is a quaint
place, where one can become immersed in the rich tradition of the Old South
and the unique culture of the state, from the stars and bars to Faulkner.
And, for some, it's a place for an education.

Located in the heart of campus is the area known as the Grove.  Here,
tailgating takes place in the fall, as alumni relived old times and told
old stories time and again, where fraternity boys attempt to use their
charm, subtle or otherwise, on sorority girls.  When a football game was
not on the agenda, it is used for a variety of other things: a shortcut to
class, a place to have a social event of some kind, or a place to come and
sit among the lush foliage and study, flirt, or just think.

On this particular day, as the spring semester was swiftly coming to a
close, the Grove was a place to escape texts and notes, research papers and
lab assignments.  It was with this in mind that Kevin Douglas had made his
way into the wooded area, to relax, play some music, and forget school for
awhile.

Kevin carried a guitar with him.  He was not a professional musician by any
means, nor was he studying music in school.  It was, nevertheless, an
important part of his life, more so than the history major he had declared
some two years earlier.  Whenever friends asked him why he intended to
study history, he simply shrugged and grinned, usually replying with "It
seemed like a good idea at the time.'  But music was Kevin's true passion.
Not that he was a songwriter, for that gift he did not have.  He strength
was the passion and skill he put into playing, and in the way he sang.

On this particularly warm spring day, Kevin sat in the shade of a large
oak, whose age and size became the perfect locale to escape the academic
world, if only for a little while.  He strummed the guitar in his hands,
tuning it up, trying to decide which song he wanted to sing.  His thoughts
were interrupted by a familiar voice, asking with mock seriousness, "Now,
shouldn't we be finishing up our term paper?" It was the voice of Eric
Hagan, Kevin's roommate.

Eric was his best friend.  They had known each other since the third grade,
when Kevin moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, their hometown, and
transferred into Eric's school.  The rest, as they say, is history.  From
that point on, they were virtually inseparable, going to the same high
school, playing the same sports, and going to the same college.  They also
shared a love of music.  Eric played the piano and he sang as well.  So,
during their high school years, they often entertained friends with their
talents, and considered forming a band together.  They realized, however,
that they preferred to perform together, and not have to deal with any
competing egos, so that notion quickly went out the window.

It was not uncommon for some to think that the two were involved in a way
more than close friendship, but this was not the case.  Well, not entirely,
as Kevin had long before accepted the fact that he was bisexual, and
although he loved Eric as much as one could love a friend, there was
nothing sexual about their relationship.  Sure, they had done the typical
teenage ritual of masturbating in front of each other, and even did so once
and awhile to this day.  But Kevin thought too much of Eric and valued his
friendship too much to try and push for anything further.  He was like a
brother to him, and besides, Eric had long ago made clear where his
interests lie (the story of Eric losing his virginity in a thirty second
marathon in the backseat of his father's Buick to Christy Rogers at the age
of sixteen was something they still laughed about to this day).

So there they were, Kevin, at just over six feet tall, short brown hair and
blue eyes hidden behind his trademark sunglasses (friends often teased that
he wore them to bed), and Eric, who stood about a head shorter than his
friend, with blond hair and blue eyes ('the perfect Nazi', Kevin would
sometimes joke).

"So, you finish that paper yet?" Eric asked his friend again.

"Just about. Do me a favor...next time I say I want to research William
Jennings Bryan as Secretary of State, save me the trouble and shoot me in
the head. It's gotta be less painful," Kevin replied.

"Well," Eric laughed, "you're the one who wanted to take Diplomatic
History. I said to take the class on the Civil War, but no, you never
listen to me!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Dickhead."

Eric just grinned and sat next to his friend. "Sure, here I am, trying to
get you to take my world famous advice, but no, you mock and laugh. Fine,
see if I care. So what's on our agenda for this afternoon then?"

"Let's see...to think about term papers, final exams, and school in general
as little as humanly possible."

"And here I figured you thought as little as humanly possible to begin
with," Eric replied, grinning even wider.

Kevin looked at his partner in crime with a smile. "Listen dork, if you're
just gonna bug the shit out of me and harp about my paper, go back to the
apartment. Please."

"Okay, okay, I give. But don't come crying to me when you fail. Shithead."

Shaking his head and laughing along with his buddy, Kevin looked back down
at the guitar and continued to tune it. After a minute or so, and satisfied
that it was to his liking, his gaze returned to Eric, who now seemed more
interested in a group of girls, sorority members apparently, who had
converged some distance away from them.

"Hey, Romeo, hasn't it been forever since you've been laid? Why don't you
go over there and try for a phone number or something."

Eric continued to look at the girls, but flicked the bird at Kevin.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Nah," Eric said, "I'm happy jerking off in my room at night, thinking of
you and Big Kevin."

Kevin groaned at the mention of the nickname that Eric had given his
genitals some years ago.  "Shut up, you're just jealous."

"Of what? Having a penis that needs it's own zip code?"

"Hey, I have an idea, why don't we forget about school, and sex, and my
dick, and sing something, huh?"

Eric laughed again and nodded his head. "Sure. And, since I've been picking
on you, I'll even let you choose the song."

"Gee, that's awful sweet of you," Kevin answered.

Pausing for a moment to think, he then began to strum a familiar tune. It
was "Take It Easy" by The Eagles. Kevin appreciated a variety of music, but
oldies and classic rock were by far his favorites. Eric often joked that he
needed to enter the 90s when it came to choice and preference, let alone
the twenty-first century. This, of course, was not totally true, but Kevin
did find himself slightly behind the times when it came to most popular
music. Sure, he watched MTV now and then, but it was not exactly high on
his list of priorities.

So, they sang, Kevin playing his guitar. Their impromptu performance
attracted the attention of the sorority girls, who had moved closer to
watch and listen, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Eric, who smiled at
them. Unknown to them, another figure had moved closer as well, but he had
approached from the opposite direction. He heard the music, and cautiously
followed the sound, moving in the direction from which it came.  Coming
closer, he saw the group of girls, and could barely make out the two guys
sitting underneath the tree. Realizing that coming up on them any further
might create an unwanted disturbance, he stopped a few yards away, and
pulled the baseball cap he was wearing down over his face a bit
more. Usually, when wearing the cap and his dark glasses, he could move
about the campus freely, but there was always the chance that he might be
recognized, and he didn't want that. Not today.

Kevin and Eric finished their song, smiling and nodding their heads at the
girls, who were clapping, some whistling. Eric considered getting up and
going over to introduce himself, but decided against it when he saw them
walking away. He turned back to Kevin who was grinning.

"Should've gone after them man."

"Whatever. Besides, I've got too much to do right now, let alone worry
about dating."

"Yeah, God forbid you might get lucky."

And on it went, the two friends trading jabs and laughing with one
another. The stranger noticed that the crowd of girls had moved on, and
once they were at a safe distance, he decided to approach the two guys who
had serenaded them. He walked slowly to the tree, and interrupted what
appeared to be a light hearted argument over dating, or the lack
thereof. Tentatively, he spoke to them.

"Um....hi. How's it going?"

Eric and Kevin stopped their "discussion" and turned behind them, in the
direction of the voice.  Standing before them was a young man, around five
foot eleven, wearing khaki shorts and a grey Ole Miss t-shirt. Hair and eye
color was hidden, for this stranger was wearing a baseball cap and a pair
of sunglasses. They assumed he was a student, coming over to complement
their singing, which was not all that unusual. Kevin, however, also thought
that this person, a fratboy he assumed, was also kind of cute, in a
mysterious sort of way.  Eric, on the other hand, was trying to figure out
where he had heard that voice before, why it sounded so familiar.

"It's going pretty good dude, how about with you?" Kevin asked.

"Not too bad." The stranger seemed hesitant, almost cautious. He kept
looking around, as if someone might notice him. "You guys are pretty good."

"Thanks," Eric replied. "Sit down man, join us."

Kevin looked at his friend quizzically, but Eric just gave a slight nod of
his head. In the unspoken language that the two had become accustomed to
over the years, he knew that this meant "run with me, I'm on to something."

The stranger sat down on the soft grass next to the two young men, and
appeared grateful that there was no one else around. "Thanks," he said,
"the shade feels good. Pretty warm out here today, huh?"

"Hell man, it's Mississippi. When is it not? Anyway, my name is Eric, and
guitar man here is Kevin."

The three shook hands.

"Nice to meet you both. My name is James, but my friends call me Lance."

Kevin's face returned to the questioning nature that it had been seconds
before with his roommate.  "Lance? As in Lancelot?"

There was silence for a moment, and the stranger and Eric looked at him as
if he had just said the stupidest thing ever recorded in human history.

"What?"

Eric then began to laugh, followed by Lance.

"No," Lance said laughing, "not as in Lancelot, as in it's my middle name."
For the first time all afternoon, he began to relax a little.

"Come on now Kev...who in their right mind would name a kid Lancelot? I
mean, I know you're the history major and all, but geez!"

Kevin grinned, although he felt kind of stupid now. "Okay, okay, ha ha, we
all have a good one at my expense. Happy now?"

"It's okay," Lance said, "I've been called worse. Anyway....you guys are
pretty good. You all play in a band or something? Music majors?"

Eric shook his head, still trying to place the voice. "Nope. Kev here is
into history, and I'm pre- law."

"Yeah," Kevin interjected, "which means my boy here will be sending people
to jail and making more money than he'll know what to do with, and
I'll...well...you know, I haven't really figured that out yet. What about
you dude, what're you studying?"

"Um....well, business. Kinda."

"Kinda?" Kevin asked. "Either you are or you aren't."

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. I take some courses when I can via
correspondence. I'm sort of on the road a lot, so it makes it hard to keep
up with courses and stuff. It gets complicated."

They both looked at Lance with uncertainty, Eric racking his brain to
figure out why it was that this guy sounded so familiar.

"So," Kevin began hesitantly, "you don't go to school here?"

"Uh....no."

"So you're, what, visiting?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I have a bunch of friends that go here, so when I can, I try to come
down and see them."  Lance continued to look around every once and awhile
during their conversation, scanning the area around them, making sure a
crowd wasn't gathering. Thankfully, it was Friday afternoon, and not many
people were on campus. Still, there always was that chance.

"Anyway. So, you guys just play for fun, huh? What else do you know? I'm
kinda into music myself."

"Well," Kevin said, "I can play a bunch of different songs...all kinds of
music. Anything in particular you wanna hear?"

"Nah, surprise me," Lance replied.

Kevin thought for a moment, pondering the choice, and going through the
catalog in his head of the songs he knew. Eric, meanwhile, was slowly
starting to put the pieces together: '...travels quite a bit...into
music....goes by Lance....wait a minute, this isn't who I think it is....is
it?' he thought.

"Okay," Kevin said, interrupting Eric's thoughts. "You like Paul Simon?"

Lance shrugged. "I know some of his work, it's okay. You got one for me?"

"Yeah. Eric...'Graceland' ?"

Eric nodded. "Cool."

Kevin once again began to play, and started to sing the first verse. Eric
joined in on the chorus, and eventually Lance did as well, as soon as he
had a handle on it. His deep, rich voice blended with those of the other
two, and provided perfect harmony. While singing, Eric paid close
attention, and finally it dawned on him. He knew who it was behind the
glasses and the cap. Once the song was finished, Kevin and Eric high-fived
each other. Then, Eric turned to Lance.

"Dude...are you Lance Bass?"

Lance's face went a bright red as he realized that his cover had been
blown. He thought of denying it, but figured that it wouldn't do much good
now that they had heard him sing. "Yeah," he said quietly, "just don't say
it too loud, okay? I'm kinda in disguise here."

"Lance who?" Kevin asked.

Eric and Lance looked at him again.

"What? What now?"

"Man," Eric said, "you have got to watch MTV more. Lance Bass...from
NSYNC?"

"In what?"

Lance couldn't help but laugh at that one, and was greatly relieved at the
same time. 'Cute,' he thought. 'Literally and figuratively.'

"NSYNC." he said, and then spelled it out correctly. "We're a band. You
mean you've honestly never heard of us?"

Kevin thought for a moment. "Wait, don't you guys sing something about
playing games with hearts or something like that?"

Eric groaned.

"That's the Backstreet Boys."

"The who?"

"Never mind," Eric said, laughing and shaking his head. "Forgive my friend
here, he is culturally ignorant."

"Am not! I listen to popular music! Dave Matthews,
Taxiride...um...um...okay, help me out here Eric."

They all laughed, and Kevin noticed that Lance seemed more relaxed now.

"Okay, so maybe I do need to watch MTV more. It's not like I don't listen
to the radio or anything. It's just...well, a lot of music today doesn't
mean anything, you know? It doesn't tell a story...like Paul Simon. I mean,
some of it's okay, but...."

"Well," Lance interrupted, "you should try our stuff sometime. Yeah, our
fan base is teenage girls, for the most part, but we're trying to broaden
that, trying to get it to appeal to everyone, you know?"

"Aren't you guys on tour or something? Your album sold like, what, two
million copies in it's first week, right?" Eric asked.

"We are, but we wound up with three weeks off in the schedule, so I thought
I'd come home for awhile."

"So, you're from here?" Kevin asked.

"Not Oxford, no. Jackson. What about you guys?"

"A little town in Kentucky called Bowling Green. Kevin here lived in
Chicago before that."

"Oh? Why did you move?"

Kevin grew quiet and paused before answering. "I kinda had to. Long story."

"Oh...okay." Lance wondered if he had asked something wrong, and noticed
that Eric had also become uncomfortable. He looked down at his watch to
check the time, and hoped that it didn't look like he was trying to get out
of an odd situation. Damn, he thought, I was supposed to call mom and dad
an hour ago.

"Listen guys, I need to get going. I gotta make a call. It was nice to meet
you."

Lance got up and brushed the grass off of his shorts. He shook hands again
with Eric and Kevin.

"You too man," Eric said. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone you're here."

"Yeah, hell, I'm still not sure who you are!" Kevin added with a laugh.

"Thanks guys. Maybe I'll see you around....later!" With that Lance walked
off.

Kevin played with the guitar pick in his hands, and remained quite for a
minute or two after Lance walked away. Finally, Eric broke the silence.

"Kev, listen, I didn't mean to bring up..."

"Forget about it. No big deal."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he said, looking back up at his friend and smiling. "It's
okay. Hey, I need to run over to the mall before I head back. Mind taking
the guitar with you, meet you at the apartment?"

"No problem. You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it."

They got up and Kevin handed over his guitar, squeezed his roommate's
shoulder, and headed off in the direction of his jeep.

                         *************

Now, the mall in Oxford isn't actually a sprawling, booming center of
shopping. True, it had two anchor stores and the usual array of specialty
shops, but when one considers that one of those anchor stores was a
Wal-Mart, and the food court consisted of a corn dog stand, well, it hardly
fit the typical description of a mall. Pitiful, was perhaps a more
appropriate word. Still, it did have the only Waldenbooks in town, and this
was Kevin's destination. Some weeks before, he had special ordered a book
on Woodrow Wilson, who was President when William Jennings Bryan was
Secretary of State, and that paper was going to have to get done sometime
before the end of the following week.

Once he had picked up his book, he looked around the store some, drawn
first to the small history selection they carried. Here, he noticed the
abundance of works on the Civil War, and the variety of topics they were
about.

'Dammit,' he thought. 'I hate when Eric is right.'

After a while, he moved back to the front of the store, to the magazine
section. He leafed through a couple of issues for a few minutes, and was
about to go back to the checkout stand and pay for his book, when his eyes
caught something.

There was Lance on the cover of several magazines. And not just Lance, but
four other guys as well. They had titles like "Bop" "Teen Beat" and "16"
and contained such stories as "Justin's True Love!" "NSYNC On Top of the
World!" and "Which Member of NSYNC is the Hottest?"

'You've gotta be kidding me,' he thought. 'This is who I talked to today?'

He looked at the covers, and saw Lance and the others in a variety of
poses, most of them silly.

"Well, he is pretty cute without his sunglasses and that cap," he said
under his breath.

Kevin then looked around to make sure no one was looking at him, and picked
up one of the magazines. He flipped through the pages, and saw dozens of
pictures of the young man he had just met.

"Yep, definitely cute," he said to himself.

As he began reading one of the articles, he failed to notice someone walk
quietly behind him.

"Aren't you a little old to be reading those?" he heard a now familiar
voice say....


End of Chapter One

Be looking for the next installment of "The Maze of Moments" soon!