Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 19:10:23 -0800 (PST)
From: tumbler99@yahoo.com
Subject: "'N Sync Savior - Part 17"

Note: This is a complete work of fiction.  I am not implying that any
character within this story is gay or bisexual.  This is just my fantasy,
so let me have it!!!  I'm planning on making this a continuing plot, with
twists and turns and everything else thrown in.  So please, don't be afraid
to send any comments my way.  Since I've never been to New York I may need
a little help with some scenery and stuff.  Please e-mail me at
tumbler99@yahoo.com


No apologies.  I got busy with schoolwork; I got fed up with some petty
arguing going about on the Archives; I got annoyed at the lack of maturity
I was seeing.  But I received many e-mail in the past few months that
really opened my eyes and showed me, once more, that I'm writing this story
because it means something to me.  This is my little baby and I'm doing the
best I can do.  I'm not saying it's wonderful; I'm not saying it should win
any contests.  I'm just saying that we authors are writing these stories
because we love expressing our emotions and our dreams in whatever way we
can.  For me, that's writing a story like this.  For you, it may just be
reading the story and imagining it's you in the middle of it all.  But
whatever it is that makes you happy, that allows you to express yourself in
the best possible way, I want you to do that.  And never stop doing that.
Because we have to be happy while we're here, or else what's the point?
I'm extremely happy right now and I'm not letting anything get me down for
awhile.  So, enjoy the next chapter, because I'm not even close to bowing
out of the race.


'N SYNC Savior

Chapter Seventeen

	JC and I had turned back to join with the others when I saw him.
He was walking towards us, holding hands with a pretty young girl.  She was
positively glowing with excitement and his smile could melt anyone's heart.
He leaned into her and whispered in her ear.  Her laughter floated through
the air and landed in our ears.  JC finally looked up at the couple and
smiled.  He reached over and tapped my shoulder, ready to point them out to
me.  But when he saw my face he froze.  My eyes were huge, filled with
fear.  My face was pure white as my lips started to tremble.

	"Mom," Adam started.  "Why is it that you never talked about it
with me."  He paused for a second.  "I mean, if you've always known, why
didn't you bring it up before?"
	"You weren't ready yet.  If I would have approached you then you
would have felt uncomfortable and I...."
	"No," he interrupted.  "I was ready to come out to you for years
but I never thought you would take it well.  I figured if I came out to you
I would become the outcast of the family and never have your love again."
	She reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it for good
measure.  "Adam.  You will never lose my love.  I never pushed the issue
because I didn't think you were ready.  You were always so strong and
independent, I figured you just never wanted to tell me."  She took a
breath as she continued.  "So I was going to wait until you were ready.  I
thought I was being there for you in the process, but I guess I wasn't.  I
just made it worse."
	"No," he whispered.  "This is perfect.  Exactly how it was supposed
to happen.  I'm just sorry I couldn't gather the courage to do it earlier."

	Justin had fallen into a stupor while reading his book while Chris
and Joey had tried to continue the game.  Lance suddenly felt a string
tighten inside his body.  He lifted his head up and quickly scanned the
park.  He didn't know what he was looking for.  Something just felt wrong.

	JC's hand was floating in midair, not making contact with me.  His
pace had slowed to a stop and his eyes were filled with fear.  He opened
his mouth, trying to make something come out, but it was no use.  His
tongue couldn't seem to move as he stared at my face.  The whiteness of my
own face had brightened as even more blood flowed from my head.  I was
beginning to see black spots before my eyes and although I don't remember
it, I'm sure I was glad that they covered up the man's face.  I felt my
body sway slightly as the oxygen was cut from my lungs.  My mouth, although
it was wide open, wasn't bringing any air in.  Within seconds the dizziness
came and I felt the blackness take over.

	Adam walked down the hallway into the small bedroom he's used for
years.  He saw the familiar posters and plaques hanging on the walls, all
memories of his childhood and high school years.  "God," he thought.  "I
did so much, but what do I have to show for it now?  I just quit the best
job I may ever have....no," he argued with himself, "don't think that.  It
wasn't what you were supposed to do and you know it.  Remember what you've
learned from Matt."
	He laid his bags on the bed and started unpacking, placing
everything in their exact spot.  As he opened the bottom drawer he saw the
familiar magazine, wrinkled and used.  He lifted it up slowly as he sat on
the bed.  Flipping through the pages he felt the familiar tightening in his
groin.  He couldn't believe he'd kept it all these years.  His first ever
"Playgirl," bought off of some asshole friend that he didn't even talk to
anymore.  They'd bought it to see exactly what was in it, but Adam had kept
it all these years, constantly going back to it for some pleasure.
	He put the magazine in the trash as a laugh escaped him.  "Well, I
won't need that magazine now.  Not when I'm going to be around thousands of
hot college students."  Another laugh escaped as he realized the chances of
actually catching one of those college men were slim to none.  "But hey,
the chase is half the fun."

	Lance rose to his feet as he felt the despair sink in.  Something
was happening but he didn't know what.  He felt the string inside his
stomach tighten even more as he looked over by the path.  He could see JC
and me, but we weren't moving.  "What the hell," he whispered.  As he
looked closer he saw the fear and new something was definitely wrong.
Breaking into a spring he raced to meet us.
	Justin was pulled from his book as the blanket was twisted up.
Joey and Chris both looked up with surprise in their eyes, but Chris soon
saw what was wrong.  In a flash all three were up and making their way over
to us.  Justin noticed the couple that was walking towards us and thought
of yelling for help, but decided against it until he knew what was wrong.
They definitely didn't need to attract too much attention.
	But as he continued running, still over a 100 yards from us, he saw
me fall.  Attention was not something we would be escaping today.

	JC stood, frozen, as my legs gave out from under me.  The blackness
had taken over and my eyes had rolled up as the lids closed over them.  He
reached out to steady me, grabbing me around the shoulders....but nothing
happened.  Looking down, he saw his arms were still at his sides.  He tried
to cry out, tried to scream, tried to move - nothing seemed to be working.
I didn't make a sound as my body went limp.

	After unloading his stuff and rearranging the room to feel a little
more at home, Adam walked out into the living room and turned on the
television.
	"....and members of the pop sensation singing group, 'N Sync, were
seen today in Central Park.  In what appeared to be a picnic setting, the
group was seen playing frisbee and talking with a young friend.  Our
sources tell us the group was acting very serious and frightened as that
same young friend fainted on the walking path.  But don't worry all you
fans, the 5 musicians are fine and will be back on tour within a week.  The
dates and locations are scrolling along the bottom of your screen right
now.  And as always, we'll keep you updated as we know more.  I'm Kurt
Loder and there is more news 10 to the hour, every hour."  The screen faded
to black as another rap song took over.
	"Fainted?  What in God's name is going on up there?"  Adam's mind
was running at full speed as he tried to figure out what was going on.
Reaching for the phone, he felt a sweat break out along the back of his
neck.  Something bad was happening and he was going to find out exactly
what it was.

	Justin felt a scream leave his throat as he continued to spring.
He saw Chris and Joey at his side as he started running faster.  He could
tell JC was still frozen as I fell to the ground but his yells weren't
doing anything.  JC was the closest to me and if he didn't move soon I
would hit my head on the concrete.

	My knees buckled and I started falling backwards as the couple
looked around at Justin's screams.  My body was limp as the hard ground
quickly approached.  I felt the rush of wind against my back as I prepared
myself for the shock of impact.  But when it finally happened my mind had
left my body and I was out.

	Lance sprinted forward as he saw me fall.  While dropping his body,
he bent his legs and skidded on his knees, coming between me and the
concrete.  He lifted his arms to catch my body and felt my head hit his
bicep.  Pain shot through his body as he felt his jeans tear.  His right
arm was throbbing as he felt blood ooze onto the ground.  He gently lowered
my body so I was lying across his legs as he screamed for JC's attention.

	His voice must have been what was needed because the spell was
finally broken.  Dropping to his own knees JC felt around my chest and
head, making sure I was all right.  Tears were streaming down his face as
he yelled my name.
	"Matt!  Matt, what the hell happened?  Matt?  Wake up Matt!  Oh
God, please, don't do this to me.  Get up Matt.  Just wake up."  He began
sobbing uncontrollably as he shook my body.  Lance was slowly checking my
vital signs, making sure I was not in serious need of medical attention,
but finally looked up at his friend.
	"Josh!  Just shut up.  He's all right.  He just passed out.  I need
you to calm down and help me out, okay?"  He could see the fear in his
friend's eyes and he felt the love swell up again.  Two of his brothers
were in front of him, one unconscious and the other hysterical.  He needed
help.

	That help arrived as Justin skidded to a halt next to JC.  His
first instinct was to come to me, to make sure I was all right.  But as he
looked at Lance he knew I would be all right.  The pleading in Lance's eyes
was enough to make him realize his job.  Grabbing JC's shoulder he twisted
him around to face him.
	"JC, I need you calm down.  Lance has it taken care of.  He didn't
hit the ground because Lance grabbed him in time.  JC?  JC?  Are you
listening to me?"  The young boy was shaking the older boy as tears
streamed down his face.  Justin was beginning to tear up as well.
	"JC?  Please, listen to me.  You have to calm down."  Reaching up,
he grabbed JC's face in both hands and pulled him in close.  A single inch
separated their lips as Justin stared into JC's eyes.  "Now concentrate,"
he whispered.  "If you love him, you need to help him.  You need to calm
down and help us get him out of here.  We're going to draw attention if we
don't leave NOW."  He forced the last word out and he pulled away slowly.
The anger in his eyes and stopped JC's tears.  He slowly turned his head to
look at me lying in Lance's arms.
	"Okay," he whispered, "lets go."

	Chris and Joey were standing next to Lance as the couple walked up.
	"Excuse me, but is everything all right?  We saw your friend faint
and I wanted to make sure he was all right."  The man's brown eyes twinkled
in the sunlight as a serious expression covered his face.  As Lance stared
at him, he saw a picture of him sitting at an outdoor cafe, stirring his
mixed drink and eyeing a young boy who was lost.  He didn't know how he
knew, but he did.  This was Mark.

	JC was still staring at me and stroking my face, so he didn't look
up.  "No, everything's fine.  He just....he just fainted and we're going to
take him home now.  But thank you for your concern."  Grabbing one of my
arms he looked at Lance to help with the other.  He could see the hate
dripping from the other boy's eyes and he was taken aback.  "Lan....Lance?"

	He dialed the number by heart.  His palms started sweating as he
waited for the phone to start ringing.  "Goddamnit, why does it take so
long for long-distance calls to pick up?"  He was pacing the living room
and his mother was standing against the wall, fidgeting with her spatula.
She could see the fear overwhelming her son's body and she knew he was
doing the right thing.  This was his calling in life and she wasn't going
to stand in his way.  Slowly stepping back, she exited into the kitchen and
continued with dinner.  His friends were in trouble and it was not her
business to listen in on their conversation.
	The ringing finally stopped as he heard the familiar voice in his
ear.  "Justin?  My god, it's really you.  What's going on?  I turned on
the....he what?....but why did....oh my god."  The conversation was
one-sided for quite some time until he finally butted in.  "Justin, I need
to speak to him.  I need to hear his voice."

	"Get away from him you asshole."  Joey had never heard Lance speak
so cruelly to anyone and he was shocked.  "He doesn't need help from you.
He doesn't need anything from you.  Now leave us the fuck alone."
	"What are you talking about sir?  I was just checking to...."
	"You were just checking to see if he'd died.  Because you didn't do
a good enough job of that yourself, did you?  You left him for dead in the
alley and it turns out you might not have gotten off as easy as you
thought."  He could hear the gasps from the other singers as he continued.
"Now get away from him before I have to hurt you.  You wouldn't stand a
chance against me the way I'm feeling right now."  He tried to burn a whole
into Mark as the words sank into the air.  He could tell that Mark was
getting nervous now as he slowly backed away.
	"Whatever you say, asshole.  I was just trying to help."  He pulled
his girlfriend along with him and quickly left the group.
	"What was all that about, Mark," she asked.
	"Shut up.  Just shut up," he growled at her.

	Justin followed Mark with his eyes until he was around the curve
and finally brought himself back to me.  Bending down he felt my head and
pulled away quickly.
	"He's burning up.  We've got to get him to the hotel soon."  He
grabbed the arm that JC had laid on my stomach and helped Lance pull me up.
JC cut in quickly and cradled me in his arms.  Justin lightly laid my arms
across my chest as Lance pushed my head into JC's shoulder.  Chris was
moving in to help, but there was nothing else to do.  Joey grabbed Justin's
arm and they started running back to the blanket as Lance pulled out his
cell to call the limo.  After hanging up he looked over at me and heard JC
whisper, "please, don't do this again Matt.  I need you here with me.
Please.  Please.  Please."  He reached out his arm and stroked JC's
shoulder as more tears streamed down his face.
	"I can't lose him, Lance.  I just can't."
	"I know buddy, I know.  And you won't.  All he did was faint; he'll
be okay in an hour or so."
	"But I couldn't move.  I couldn't move."  His voice dropped into a
whisper as they continued walking, each thinking their own thoughts,
wondering what was going to happen next.


To be continued....