Date: 23 Jul 00 03:13:54 MDT From: Starfire Subject: me and joey chapter 2 This story is completely fictional, and in no way is meant to say anything about the sexuality of the members of Nsync. All characters in this story are fictional, except for the members of Nsync. If you are not at least 18 years old, or are offended by homosexuality, then DO NOT read this story. Thank you. Me and Joey Chapter 2 Somewhere around 2 in the morning, I awoke in a cold sweat, screaming. Joey came running into my room and grabbed me, however, at first I was unaware that he was even in the room. He began to shake me and call my name, finally getting my attention. "Billy, man, it's Joey, it's ok, I've got you, it's ok." he said, doing his best to calm me down. "Joey?" I questioned, not knowing if he was really there or just an illusion. "Yeah Billy, it's me, I'm here, it's going to be ok," He said, sitting on the bed next to me. Joey put his arm around me to comfort me, and I grabbed onto it with both hands as if it were a lifeline. Joey looked down at me, noticing for the first time that I was naked. I must have kicked my covers off during the nightmare. Being the gentleman that he is, Joey never said a word he just reached down with his free hand and pulled the covers up tight around my chest, and just held me for a few minutes letting me regain my composure a bit. "Billy?" Joey half spoke, half asked. "Are you ok?" I didn't know exactly how to respond to that question. I was in a daze. It was like I was there, but I wasn't there. I kept flashing back to my nightmare. I finally found my wits and turned to look at Joey, who was still holding me tight, not willing to let me suffer alone. "Joey, I think I'm ok now, it was just so real," I said looking into Joey's soft brown eyes, and seeing such concern there. I found myself getting lost in them. Joey's voice brought me back to reality. "You scared me to death man," He said, looking at me as if he were trying to read my thoughts. "Do you want to talk about it? It might make you feel better." He said trying his best to be a friend in time of need. I looked back at Joey, and then, something clicked in my mind. I looked at him as if I'd seen a ghost. "You were there," I said, in a not so sure voice. Looking back, I could see Joey's confused expression. "In my nightmare, you were there." I started again, still not sure what was happening. I went on to tell Joey what I could remember of my nightmare. "I was driving down a street, and as I came up to the traffic light, the car in front of me pulled away, because the light had changed. I eased off my brake and continued through the light. Then, out of nowhere a truck came, barreling through the red light, and hit the car in front of me. Then everything went black for a minute. I heard someone say 'sir are you ok?' It was a police officer, but I couldn't answer him. I was still stunned from the accident. I looked over to the passenger side of my car and,..... and you were leaning in the window, looking at me. Then I heard the officer ask me again if I was ok. This time, I was able to speak. I told him I wasn't sure, I felt kind of strange. I looked towards my left arm and saw that it was covered in blood. I thought I was dying, that's when I woke up. "Sounds like your memory is starting to come back," Joey said, still holding me tight against him. "What?" I asked, not understanding what he meant. "The accident," He said, turning me around to face him. "You were describing the accident, that put you in the hospital. You're starting to remember." He said examining my worried face. "Everything that you described, really happened. I was driving the car in front of you when the accident happened." He started to explain. "When I realized that I wasn't hurt, I went to your car, to make sure you were ok. When I got there, the officer was trying to talk to you, but you weren't responding. I leaned into your car window to see if you were ok." Joey continued with his story. "That's when you passed out on us." "I remember being in an ambulance. You were 'there' too, I remember you looking at me." I said to Joey, in a questioning tone, hoping he would clear my confusion. "Yes?" He questioned, looking at me and smiling. . "That's all I can remember," I said, looking to Joey for more answers. "Well," he said, "That's all true, I was in the ambulance with you, and you did wake up for a minute while I was there. You seemed so shook up and out of it, that I didn't want to leave you by yourself." Joey finished his explanation. I sat there in silence, just thinking for a minute. I didn't know why or how Joey Fatone was in my life, but I was thanking my lucky stars, and the God of good fortune that I had him by my side. Still I wished I could remember more about him. He was so kind, funny, caring, and affectionate. It was like having your very own Joey bear to hold for comfort. "Billy?" Joey said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, Joey," I said, looking up at him. "Can you remember anything, before the accident?" He asked, looking down at me. I tried to remember, but I just couldn't, It was so frustrating, but at least things were starting to come together. I looked at Joey and shook my head. "No, I still can't remember anything else right now. At least it's a start though." I said faking a smile for Joey. "Yeah, at least it's a start. You'll have your memory back before you know it." Joey said trying to lighten the mood. "Listen, I'm going to go call Dr. Randall and tell him what happened, you try and get some more rest." He said, as he got up and started for the door. "Joey," I said, causing him to stop and turn towards me. "Yeah?" He said, facing me and waiting for me to tell him what I wanted. "This is kind of embarrassing," I said, my face reddening a bit. "Would you lie here with me until I go back to sleep?" I asked him, feeling like a small child asking his parents if he could sleep with them. Joey smiled, came back to bed, and laid beside me, draping his arm over my midsection. He pulled me to him so that my back was against his chest. "You get some rest Billy, don't you worry, I'll be right here. I can call Dr. Randall later." He said, softly in my ear. I laid there under a sheet and a blanket, while Joey laid on top of them with a comforter pulled up over him. 'He's such a great guy.' I thought to myself. Having him close to me like that made me feel so safe, so good. Wow, why was I feeling like that? Am I gay? I questioned myself, as sleep began to over take me. The last thing I remember before I went to sleep was Joey saying something to himself, yet out loud. "Damn it Joey!" "Why are you doing this to yourself?" He whispered, unaware that I had heard him. Fortunately, the rest of the night went well, no more nightmares, of which, I was thankful, to say the least. The next morning I woke up about 9. Joey was no longer beside me, so I decided to get up and go downstairs. When I got to the top of the stairs I could hear Joey talking to another guy. "Do you remember that talk we had when we were in New York?" Joey asked the gentleman. "You mean, THE talk?" The other man asked. "Yeah, that one," Joey said. "I remember, what about it?" the other man asked. "Well, I know the answer now," Joey said quietly. I had finally figured out that he was talking to JC, the man I had met at the hospital. "And?" JC asked. "Josh, I am," Joey said. I could hear him crying. "Aw, Joe, it's ok man," JC said to Joey, trying to ease his troubled mind. "When did you know?" JC asked him. "Last night," Joey said, pulling him self, together. "Billy had a nightmare about the accident, and asked me to sleep with him." "What?" JC asked, interrupting Joey's train of thought, and a little louder than he meant to I'm sure. "Not like that," Joey said, trying to calm JC down a bit. "Just until he was able to go back to sleep." "Josh, I held him until he went to sleep, and it felt so good, so right, to have him next to me." "Oh my God," JC said, "You're starting to fall for him aren't you?" "No!" Joey exclaimed, "of course not, I mean, I don't think so, am I?" He asked JC. I stood there listening to their conversation, knowing I shouldn't be, but I couldn't tear myself away. "I think you are," JC said, with concern in his voice. "Damn it Joey! How could you do this?" JC said, getting a little angry with Joey. "I don't know, it just happened," Joey said, defending himself. "Josh what am I going to do?" Joey asked, causing tears to come to his eyes again. No matter how angry JC was with Joey, he couldn't bear to see his friend upset. "Joey, I'm not upset that you're gay, you know that. It's just that Billy's memory is going to come back eventually and he's going to know who you are." JC starting explaining. "I just don't want you to get hurt, and I don't want to put the group in a situation like this." "I know Josh, I know," Joey said. "Hell I don't even know if he's gay, what am I doing?" Joey said more to him self than to JC. "I really like him Josh," Joey said, finishing his thoughts. "I know you do Joe," JC said. "I can tell by the look on your face when you talk about him." JC said, smiling at his friend. "Who knows it might all work out, after all, stranger things have happened." "Josh, I know it's not a perfect situation, and I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did." Joey started. "I just want what you and Justin have. Is that too much to ask?" "No Joey, it's not," JC said, thinking about the love he shared with his best friend, his lover, and soul mate, Justin Timberlake. How could he deny his friend the same happiness, with which he himself had been blessed. "Joey," JC started, "Let's just take this one step at a time, ok?" "Ok Josh," Joey said, "Just promise me you'll stand beside me on this." "Hey, Phat-one, have I ever let you down?" JC asked. Joey looked at him and raised his eyebrows. "I mean when it's important," JC said catching Joey's meaning, and punching him in the arm. "Joey?" JC asked, catching Joey of guard with his seriousness. "Yeah," Joey said waiting for JC to continue. "Does Billy know how you feel?" JC asked. "He does now," I said making my presence known to both of them. "Oh God, Billy, how long have you been there?" Joey asked, with fear on his face. "Long enough," I answered, not really sure what I should do. Joey sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. I could see that he was upset, so I started over to him. "I'm sorry Billy," he said, without even looking up. "Please don't hate me, I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear." Joey finished, as the tears started again. "Joey, I don't hate you, I could never hate you." I said sitting down next to him. "You've taken me in, cared for me, held me, you've been there for me when I didn't have anyone. How could I ever hate you?" I asked, putting my hand on his back in an effort to comfort him. Joey looked at me with tears running down his face. "You...you really don't hate me?" He asked, looking at me for assurance. "No, I don't," I said smiling at him. "I like you Joey. I like you a great deal. I don't know if I like you in that way, at least not yet." I said, trying to put my thoughts into words. "Joey this week has been really hard on me, and I don't know a lot of things about 'myself' right now. Give me some time, and let's see what happens with my memory, let's just be friends right now, and if something else happens, then so be it." I said, trying to make Joey understand how I was feeling. I couldn't remember very important things about my life; I knew I wasn't ready for the bombshell that had just been dropped in my lap. "Billy, are you sure you're ok with this?" JC said, reminding both Joey and I that he was still there. "Yeah JC, I'm fine." I said, smiling at him. "I do have a question for you, if it's ok?" I asked. "Sure, what do you want to know?" JC asked. "Well, I heard you say that I would find out who Joey is," I started. "Is there something else I need to know?" I asked, looking from JC to Joey. They looked at each other for a minute and JC nodded his head to Joey, as a signal for Joey to go ahead. "Billy, there is something we haven't told you, and I think you should know." Joey started. "JC and I are part of a very popular group of singers, in fact, we're pretty famous singers." He said, looking at me as if he expected me to be shocked. I some how knew from the way Joey had talked so passionately about his singing at the hospital, that he was more involved in it than he had originally led me to believe. I wasn't shocked by the news, but really happy for him and proud at the same time. "Guys, I'm glad that you're successful in your careers, it's something that you love. The fact that you're famous doesn't change my feelings for you. You're just Joey and JC to me." I said, smiling at both of them. JC looked at me as if he were trying to decide if I was being honest with them or not. I guess he came to the conclusion, that someone, who had no memory, really had no reason to be dishonest, so he decided to let me in on a few other things. "There's more," JC said. "First, we are in a group with three other guys." He said, sitting in a chair across from us. "Second, I'm in a relationship with one of those guys." He continued, checking my expression from time to time. "The groups name is Nsync, and we travel all over the world performing, doing interviews, recording, making videos, and making personal appearances." He finished, surprised that I was taking things as well as I was. I don't know if it was because of the amnesia, or the trust that I had for Joey, but it wasn't a big deal for me. "Ok, there are five of you in this group, Joey's gay, you're gay, and at least one other member is gay," I said, trying to process all the information that I had just been given. "Are the other two gay too?" I asked, making sure I was up to speed. "No, Lance and Chris aren't gay," JC answered. "Justin, is the other member, he's my boyfriend." "We have to keep all of this a secret Billy," Joey began. "If anyone ever finds out that me, Justin, or JC are gay, it could be the end of Nsync." He said, in a concerned voice. "Guys, look," I said, "I don't know Joey or JC from Nsync. I know Joey and JC, my friends. I don't want any thing to happen to either of you. If I'm gay or not, your secret is safe with me." I finished, hoping they could sense how sincere I was being. "You know, I can't explain it, but I trust you." Joey said, looking me in the eye. "We're putting our lives and our careers in your hands Billy." JC stated. "Please, don't let us down." I looked up at JC, who was looking at me with a serious expression on his face. I spent most of the rest of the day sorting out everything I had learned about the guys, and trying to learn more about myself. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't remember anything beyond the accident. Joey decided to go to the grocery store and pick some things up for dinner, but I opted to stay behind. Since he knew he wouldn't be gone that long, he thought it would be ok for me to be alone. I had grown weary in trying to remember, so I did just the opposite, and decided to forget for a while. I turned on the TV and began to flip through the channels, when I came to a music station. I liked the music they were playing, so I left it on. I had watched a few videos, when one in particular caught my eye. JC was on the screen, singing, I didn't catch all of the lyrics, but it was something about bye, bye, bye. I looked at each of the guys in the video, when I saw Joey and began to smile. He didn't look like the Joey I knew. He was dressed totally different than I'd seen him, and his hair was splashed in red, I laughed to myself when I saw it. 'What had he done to himself?' I thought. I listened to the song, watching each of the guys, doing their thing. I found myself wondering which ones were Justin, Lance, and Chris. I was amazed at how these guys sounded. Their harmony was so smooth, and the boys could dance. It suddenly became very real to me why JC and Joey were so concerned with my finding out their little secrets. I watched some more videos, becoming bored with the same old stuff, so I started flipping through the channels again. This time I came to a stop on a different kind of music station. I sat, watching different gospel music artist sing. They were good for the most part. It was still a video channel but evidently only for gospel singers. The group I was watching sounded good, but I couldn't help but think I knew them from somewhere. When the camera panned towards the back of the group, I got my answer. I thought my heart would stop beating within my chest. I saw my own face staring back at me from a set of drums on the screen. Fear gripped me as my mind began to flash back to different times that I had played with this group. I could remember names and faces. Then my mind wondered to a more painful experience. I was being fired from the group, because I was gay. I sat there completely stunned, just staring at the screen. I don't know how long I had been sitting there. The next thing I knew Joey was on his knees in front of me trying to get my attention. Joey looked at my face, and immediately saw that I had been crying. He touched my arm and called my name softly, but I didn't answer. I kept staring at the screen, which was still playing different gospel artist. "Billy," Joey said, looking from me to the TV screen. "Billy," he said again, using a louder voice causing me to turn towards him. I looked at him as the tears started again. I just wanted him to hold me as if he would never let me go. I didn't have to wait long, as he wrapped his arms around me. "Billy, what's wrong?" He said, his voice deep with concern. "I know why I'm here," I said, against his shoulder, causing Joey to become confused. "You're here because you have amnesia Billy," Joey spoke, as if I was a child. "No Joey," I said, trying to get him to listen to me. "I know why I'm in Orlando." Joey pulled back and held me at arm's length. "You do?" Joey asked, getting excited. "That's great Billy, that's really great." "No it's not Joey," I said, becoming upset again. He pulled me into another hug, trying to figure out how to help me. "Hey, hey," he said, trying to calm me down. "Let's do this one step at a time ok?" He asked, forcing me to regain my composure. I began to tell him the story of how I had seen my former group on television, and how it brought back the memory of being fired, and the pain it caused. I told him why I had been fired, causing an angry expression to cross his face. I also told him about seeing the Nsync video, and how I understood what he and JC were trying to tell me earlier. "Wow, it sounds like you've had a rough couple of hours," he said, holding my head in his hands, and wiping the remainder of tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. "Well, it definitely could have been better," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. Joey and I both laughed slightly at my comment. On a good note, I had gotten more of my memory back. I could remember family and friends, and even where I had left my clothes. I was happy to be regaining my memory, but the pain it brought with it, was almost too much for me to handle. "Tell ya what," Joey said, "Why don't you lie down here on the couch, and rest. I'll go order us a pizza, and call that hotel to see if they still have your stuff. If they do I'll have them send it over here." He finished, looking to me for approval. "That sounds good to me, I think I've had enough for one day." I stated, lying back on the couch. Joey gave a slight laugh, as he stood and headed for the kitchen to put up the groceries he'd brought back. I lay on the couch wondering what tomorrow would hold for me. In a matter of hours I had regained a lot of my memory, dealt with the pain, seen Nsync, and came to the realization that I was indeed, gay. TO BE CONTINUED......... Well, that's it for now. This is my first time writing so let me know what you guys/gals think so far. Please keep in mind, I am not the best with grammar and punctuation, so, be kind in that area. Send mail to starstories34@yahoo.com Special thanks to DLS author of Brian and Me for inspiring me to do this, thanks for all your help D I appreciate it. To Matt author of Search and Rescue just for being you my friend. To my (((Angel))) you know who you are, thanks for the encouragement. To RandyM,author of Maverick, your kind words mean a lot..thanks. To all my friends in the chat room. MUCH LUV TO YA! GOODNIGHT!