Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 23:26:56 EST
From: THRAWN5678@aol.com
Subject: You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today- Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't know anybody from N Sync, though I'd sure like to, and
thus this story is fiction and is not intended to imply anything about the
true sexual ity of the celebrities mentioned or any personal knowledge
about their private lives. This story should not be read by anybody who is
not legally allowed to read it.. So if you're underage, leave right now!!

Author's Notes: Well, you get to meet our fave group in this chapter, or at
least one of them. If you have any comments about this chapter, the last
chapter, or the following chapters, do tell. I love e-mail. Just maybe
mention the story title in the subject header so that I don't accidentally
toss it. Not that I do that often, but just to be on the same side. E-mail
me at THRAWN5678@aol.com. I think I gave an alternate e-mail address in the
last chapter, but thats ok. It'll just be easier if you use the AOL
one. Anybody notice that I didn't give a description of Ryan? Well, you'll
get an idea of what he looks like in this chapter.

Thanx to the people who have already sent in letters of encouragement. I
thrive on feedback, as does most of the authors here on Nifty. Thanx to
Charlie, Jimmy, Kenitra, and the others for their kind words.

Here are some of my favorite stories here in the boyband category:
Jamie's Romance (the best, in my humble opinion)
Millenium Love
My Surprise Romance

There are others, but those are the only ones that I can remember the
titles of in exact detail. You may find some parallels between those
stories and mine, but then again, there are parallels between those stories
too. It happens.

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You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today
by Squall Thrawn

Chapter 2

'Being a famous pop star could be tiring,' Lance thought to himself as he
was driving through downtown St. Louis. After a while, all the travelling,
all the hotels, all the concerts, it got to you after a while. After a
while, it was all the same. The same people, doing the same thing every
day. And spending those days alone was what really bothered Lance. He
wanted a little spontaneity in his life. He turned down a side street,
heading back towards the Adam's Mark Hotel where he was staying along with
the rest of the group. Lance enjoyed spending time with the rest of the
group; they were like brothers to him. But sometimes he just had to get out
and be by himself. Besides, sometimes he felt like the odd man out. JC and
Justin were inseparable, almost like real brothers, and Chris and Joey were
usually clubbing together. He just wanted somebody that he could talk to,
about anything and everything.

Lance drove along the side street, suddenly, a young man started crossing
the street, right in front of Lance's rented SUV.

"Shit!" cursed Lance as he stomped on his brakes as hard as he could. And
to Lance's amazement, the young man in the street didn't even move out of
the way, but just calmly stood in the path of the SUV, as if he wanted to
get hit.

"Get out of the way!!" screamed Lance, still trying to bring the big SUV to
a stop before he hit the young man.

With a squeal of brakes, Lance stopped the SUV inches from the young
man. After sitting in the car for a minute trying to get his heartrate back
to normal, Lance jumped out of the car to see if the young man was
alright. He found the young man still standing in front of the SUV, his
heart pounding. Lance put his hand on the young man's shoulder, and the
young man promptly fainted. Lance was barely able to catch him. As Lance
gently laid the young man down on the street, he was finally able to get a
good look at at the person.

The young man looked to be about twenty years old, give or take a year or
two. He was just a bit shorter than Lance, and just a tad thinner. His
complexion was slightly olive, and his hair was spiky and blue-black.  The
only thing marring his face were tears, streaking down his smooth
cheeks. 'He's been crying for quite some time,' thought Lance as he bent
down over him. 'I hope he's alright!' Lance gently shook him, until the
young man showed signs of stirring. His eyes fluttered open. His black eyes
were the most beautiful Lance had ever seen.

"Wha..? Where am I?" said the young man, sitting up.

"Are you ok? I almost hit you with my car!!" said Lance sharply. "Why
didn't you move? Why didn't you try to get out of the way?"

The young man started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Wait, it's ok," said Lance, instantly regretting his words. "I'm
sorry. It's just that you scared me so much."

Sniffing, the young man wiped his eyes dry.

"Do you have a place that I could take you to?" asked Lance. "You look a
little too shaken up to be driving anywhere.."

"N, No... I don't have anywhere to go...not any more..." With that, he got
all choked up and started crying again.

"It's ok...it's alright," said Lance, putting his arm around the young
man. The man flinched at first, and then held on to Lance tightly, sobbing
against Lance's chest. Lance simply held him, feeling the warm body pressed
against him. It felt good. What was these feelings he was experiencing?
"It'll be ok..," said Lance, patting Ryan on the back. "By the way, what's
your name?"

"R, Ryan... Ryan Holden.."

"My name is La.. James Bass.. I'm pleased to meet you, Ryan. Say, I'm
starving.  I'm staying at the Adam's Mark hotel right now.. Why don't I
treat you to room service there? You look like you need somebody to talk
to, and my friends have always said that I was a good listener. Actually, I
don't think I'll take no for an answer."

"Tha..Thanks, James..." stammered Ryan. "I don't want to burden you with my
problems or anything."

"Nonsense. I insist," answered Lance, pleased that Ryan had accepted his
'invitation.' Since Ryan still had his arms around Lance though, neither of
them could stand up. Lance didn't want to let go, but he realized that they
were blocking traffic, and that this was not the best place for a
scene. "Ummm, Ryan, Could you ease up a little for a second so that we can
stand up and get in my SUV?"

"Oh...sorry," said Ryan, blushing. He reluctantly released Lance, and they
both stood up.  Lance took Ryan by the arm, and gently led him to the
passenger side of the SUV. Lance opened the door, and helped Ryan in. He
then went around and jumped in the driver's seat. His car was still
running, since he hadn't though to turn it off in his rush to check on
Ryan. Lance put the SUV into gear, and then started driving. As he was
driving, Lance found himself glancing at Ryan.  Ryan was apparently unaware
of Lance's gaze, looking out the window and watching the 'scenery.' To
cover up his scrutiny of Ryan, Lance tried to make some conversation.

"So, Ryan, are you a student, or do you work somewhere?"

"Umm...I'm going to a community college right now, and until today, I
worked at Wal-mart..." Ryan looked down.

'Damn,' thought Lance to himself. 'Think, Lance, think. Talk about
something that couldn't possibly touch on Ryan's problem.'

"I'm a member of a singing group," said Lance, trying to get the
conversation focused on music.

"Ya know, you look kinda familiar. What group are you part of?"

"Have you ever heard of N Sync? I'm member of N Sync."

Ryan gasped and put his hand over his mouth. " I can't believe it!! It's
you!!  Lance Bass!! I should have recognized you immediately!!"

Lance chuckled. "I take it you're a fan?"

Ryan nodded sheepishly. "Yeah..sort of a closet fan. I liked your music,
but my friend Greg..." Ryan's eyes watered up, and he put his hands over
his face.

'Brilliant move,' Lance berated himself. 'You're definitely not doing very
well in regard to avoiding this touchy subject.'

"It's ok, Ryan. It'll be ok," said Lance, trying to reassure
Ryan. "Ah. Here we are, at the Adam's Mark. We're going through the back
entrance, since the front is currently being assaulted by a small army of
teenaged girls."

"Yeah, I saw them. I didn't know that you.. and your group were in town. If
I did.."

Lance pulled the SUV around the hotel, and to the back entrance. With a
wave to the security guys on duty, he drove through and parked the SUV.

"Well, we're here," said Lance, turning the car off. "Why don't you join me
in my room? We can talk about anything you want."

"That sounds like a good idea," replied Ryan, drying his eyes.

The two men got out of the car, and headed towards the service elevator.

"Hey, James, I really appreciate this. You didn't have to, ya know."

"Nonsense. After all, that's what friends are for!!" With that, Lance put
his arm around Ryan's shoulders in a comradely manner.

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That's all for now!! Tell me what you think about it!!

Squall Thrawn
THRAWN5678@aol.com