Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 13:28:49 EDT From: Papito6187@aol.com Subject: Rob & Lance 22 So, did I have you on the edge of your seats waiting? Well, good! Hee.. Anyways, I would just like to say, sorry for the delay, I know I said that since I was out of school, I would be writing more often, but come on, this IS my summer vacation and I DO have other things to do other than writing. For example, I went to an N Sync concert on Thurs night! It kicked ASS!! If you ever get the chance to go, GO!! You'll have a lot of fun! I got to see my man live! I was in heaven! And hey, if you are reading this by chance, feel free to email me! ... NAH! Let me stop. Anyways, the words you've been waiting for, ON WITH THE SHOW!!! XXIII We got to the porch and Lance walked in the house. I followed behind, but thought it weird that he just walked in. "What?" He asked noticing my face. "Nothing." "Oh! Since they were expecting me, it was ok. Don't worry, I'll explain later." "Explain what?" Justin said coming down the stairs. "Nothin, anyway, y'all ready?" "Yeah!" they all said. "Hey, where's you mom?" I asked. "She stepped out, why?" Justin said. "Cause I wanted to say hi." "Oh, well, she'll be back later, but we won't be here." "Oh, ok." "Well, let's go!" Lance said as the rest of the guys got up and made their way to the door. "Who's car are we taking?" Chris asked. "Well, we can try and squeeze everybody into Rob's car, or just take two cars with 3 in each." "I like that second one better!" JC said. "Ok then, who's going with who?" "How bout, JC, me, and Rob in Rob's car and the rest of you with Justin." "Sounds good to me!" Chris said. "Ok then, let's go!" We left and were on our way to the radio station. "So, is this just a regular interview, like the one back home?" I asked. "Yup! Pretty standard. Same thing as back in New York." JC said. "Yeah, and that's why we're bringing you along. The execs want to get your name out into the public so they can expect your album. We did it in your home town, now it's time for ours." Lance said. "Ok, whatever, I gotta do what I gotta do!" I said. "Well, after that, it's off to dinner." Lance said. "Yeah, I meant to ask you about that." "What?" "Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't your family live in Mississippi? I mean, that's what I read on the Internet." "Damn! Caught me!" "What?" "Well, would you believe me if I said I was just screwing with you and my family isn't here?" "Yes, but then I would have to kick your ass for making me get so nervous!" "Well, they aren't here." "What?!" "They." "I heard what you said! But, why did you do that?" "I dunno." "Some stupid joke?" "I.. I guess." "Well, it wasn't funny!" "I know, I'm sorry!" "Yeah, well, let's not discuss this now!" "But wait!" "No!" "But I had something else in store!" "And that would be?" "Well, I was planning a dinner for all of us and I was gonna cook! I mean, we don't have that many days left, and I just wanted to.." "Well, as romantic as that may sound, and since it is the thought that counts, I will forgive you. BUT, if you ever pull that with me again, I will be pissed! I mean, here I was getting all worked up and nervous for nothing!" "Well, just wait till you really meet them!" "And that would be when?" "I...I don't know." "Why don't you guys just go there for a couple of days before we have to leave?" JC suggested. "That sounds like a good idea." "Ok, but what if you guys get called in for another emergency meeting?" I asked. "The guys will fill me in. JC can handle taking charge." "Ok, but when do we leave?" "I don't know." "Yeah, but remember, I only have 2 days off till I begin recording and stuff." "Oh yeah! Damn! I forgot!" "Well, there goes that plan!" "I'll think of something!" "I'm sure you will!" "Well, in due time, you will meet all of our families, so don't worry!" JC said. "That's cool. I'm not worried. Oh!" "What?" they both asked. "I just thought of something!" "What?" they both asked again. "Well, you can't tell Justin this, cause it would just freak him out." "OK, what?" Lance said. "Well, since Jay hasn't come out yet, it's gonna be weird when Justin meets his parents and stuff!" "Oh yeah!" "Do you think they'll accept him?" JC asked. "I don't know. I mean, I hope they will." "Well, let's just pray that they do!" "I gotta ask him about that." "Yeah!" Lance said. "So, Josh." "Yes??" JC said. "I bet you can't wait for Melissa to move down here." "I can't, but, we're gonna be on tour, so it's not like I'm gonna get to see her any more." "Yeah, but at least when you guys do come home, it's good to know that she's here." "True." "Well, I can't wait! We're gonna have a lot of fun!" "Don't let that get you into trouble!" Lance said. "I won't!" "Good... Well, we're here!" "Finally!" JC said. We got out of the car and waited for Justin to arrive with the rest of the guys. We waited there only for about five minutes. They pulled up, got out of the car and we made our way into the building. We got up there and it was the same thing as the interview in NY. The DJ said hi, asked who I was, we sat down, answered questions, and took some calls. It was going pretty smoothly. The guys did an a capela version of "A little more time on you", and I was asked to sing one of my songs, but since I didn't have any, I just sang another song. I sang "Long ago" by Mariah Carey. The guys were impressed and so was the DJ, I even got a few calls saying that I sounded good and they couldn't wait till my album came out. After all that was done, the guys did some promo's and then we were out of there. It was around 6, and we were all hungry. "So, time for you to cook for us there, Lansten!" I said. "I got a better idea!" He said. "And that would be?" "How bout we go to your house, and I cook for y'all there!?" "Sounds good to me!" "Then let's go, cause I'm hungry!" Joey said. "When are you not hungry?" I asked. "When he's sleeping!" Chris said. We got into our cars and drove back to my place. There wasn't any traffic so we got there pretty quickly. Once we all got into my place Lance said, "I gotta go pick up the stuff." "I'll go with you!" I said. "Nah, you stay here, you have guests!" "I'll go!" JC said. "Ok, come on Josh." "Ok, what just happened here?" I asked as they left and took my car. "I think they just played you!" Justin said. "Shut up!" "Whoa! Nice place!" Joey said. "I know right! I was like WHOA!" "Show us around!" Chris said. "Ok, come on!" I said as we started to take the tour. In my car. "What are you up to?" JC asked. "What do you mean?" Lance asked. "Come on Lance, you know what I mean!" "Um.. no.." "I thought your mom was coming!" "She is." "Ooooo! You're mean!" "I know!" "But, I thought she was gonna be here when we got back." "She was supposed to, but remember, our schedule was changed. We were supposed to come in tomorrow. So I was gonna meet her at my house." "So, she's coming tomorrow?" "Yeah." "What about your dad and Sister?" "Nah, they couldn't make it this time." "Oh... Rob is gonna kick your ass!" "I know!" "Why you people do this I will never know!" "DO what?" "Play these jokes on each other." "It's all in good fun!" "Whatever!" "So, you and Melissa seem to be hitting it off quite well!" "Yeah, I just wish we didn't have to leave, then we could've spent more time together!" "But at least she's moving down here." "Yeah, but we'll be on tour." "It's still better than her living in New York." "I know, but I just wish that for once, I could have a normal relationship." "Now you know that can never happen as long as we're in this band." "I know, but sometimes I just wish that for just a little while, I could just be who I really am and not who they think I am." "We all do dude! I mean, come on! You know how hard it is to not hold the hand of the person you love, or keep from kissing the person you love in public? All just to satisfy some image that was created for you by the public eye?" "OK, calm down man. I'm sorry!" "It's.. It's not your fault, it's just that. We all wish that we could be ourselves for once without having to worry about the consequences." "Well, like you said, it won't happen as long as we're in a band." "Not that I would give up being in a band!" "Oh, no! Me either, I just mean." "I know." "Yeah!" "Well, we're here." "Cool, let's hope we don't get killed!" "I know, come on, camouflage ON!" Lance said as they got out of the car. Back at my place. "So, there you go! That's the five cent tour." I said. "Cool, what's in there?" Justin asked pointing to a chest by the piano. "I don't know. I didn't notice that before." "Well, let's find out, shall we?" Joey asked. We walked over to the chest and opened it. It had a key that was in the lock so I turned it and opened it up. "Whoa!!" Chris said. "We're gonna have some fun tonight!!" Joey said. "Oh hell yeah!!" Justin said. "Oh no! I'm locking this thing up now! That's all I need, you people getting drunk and me having to be the sober nanny!" I said closing the liquor cabinet up, locking it and putting the key in my pocket. "What, you don't drink?" Joey asked. "No." "That's bullshit and you know it!" Chris said, "I saw you drinking some at your party!" "I only had a couple of drinks. And I don't drink regularly." "But you do though!" Joey said. "Only on special occasions!" "Well this is a special occasion!" Justin said. "And that would be?" "Housewarming!!" "Oh please!!" "Come on! It's been a really long time since we've gotten drunk!" "I don't know why you're askin me, cause the only one's old enough to drink are Josh, "Joey and Chris. So even if they DO drink, you ain't gettin none!" "As always!" Joey said. "Shut up! You know you guys let me drink!" Justin said. "Who says I was talking about alcohol? He said you ain't gettin none!" "Shut up!" Justin yelled as we all laughed. "Whatever, end of discussion, nobody's drinking tonight!" "That's what you think!" Chris said. "What was that?" "Nothing!" "That's what I thought." "Damn it man! I'm hungry!! When the hell are they gonna get back!!" Joey yelled. "We're back!!" Lance yelled as he and JC walked through the door. "How was fan patrol?" Justin asked. "Not that bad, we didn't get noticed until we were loading the groceries in the trunk." JC said. "Cool." "Yeah, and I got some essentials for you." Lance said. "Aw, how sweet! But I was gonna go shopping tomorrow." I said. "Well, you won't have to now." "Cool." "Ok, I'd hate to break up this kodak moment, but would you PLEASE get in that kitchen and start cookin, cause I'm starving!!" Joey said. We all laughed and Lance went into the kitchen and we all went into the living room area. "What, you're not gonna help him?" Chris asked. "Nope! I learned my lesson not to mess with him while he's in the kitchen cooking!" I said. "Good, you learned early!" JC said. "He nearly bit my head off the other day!" "Which one!" Joey said. "Aaahh!!" We all said. "Shut up!! That's not even funny!!" I said as we started laughing. After the laughter died down, JC got up from the couch and went over to the piano. He sat down and started playing some scales. I got up and sat down beside him. "Play something." I said. "Um... ok..." He said finishing his last scale, "This is something that I've been fooling around with in the studio." "Ok." He started playing this melody. It sounded sad, but sweet. It was like it was about loving someone. "That's beautiful, do you have any lyrics to it?" I asked as he finished. "Nah, not yet." "Hmm." "What?" "I'll be right back!" I said as I got up from the piano bench and ran up to my room. I opened up one of my suitcases and found what I was looking for, my book of poems/lyrics. I got it out and ran back downstairs. "Here, try singing these words to it!" I said handing him the book. "Ok.. Let's see." Although we haven't known each other long, I know that we belong together. You've changed my life just by your touch, your look, your love. You've just came into my life and turned it upside down. I don't know why but I can't stop thinking about you. The way that you smile, the way that you kiss, I know that this is something real. The way that you look, the way that you feel, I know that I can't live without you. Please tell me your real, I want this to be. "It's not finished. That's just one verse and a chorus." I said as he finished singing. "That was awesome!" Justin said as he and the others (minus Lance) came over to the piano. "Yeah, could I use this?" JC asked. "It's all yours!" I said. "Better yet, how bout you help me write more!" "What? Lyrics or music?" "Both!" "Cool!" "How bout we head into the studio on Thursday and we'll work it out then?" "Fine with me!" "Cool!" "When did you write that?" Joey asked. "A few days ago." "Oh, so then it's about." Chris began. "Yup!" I said cutting him off. "Aaww!!" They all said. "What are y'all awing bout?" Lance asked as he came over and joined us. "Nothing!" we all said. "Whatever, dinner's ready so come and get it!" "Aw, he's so cute when he gets his accent!!" I said pinching his cheeks. "AAAAAWWWWW!!!" The rest of the guys said. We all started laughing and I got up and set the dining room table. The guys came over and sat down while Lance brought out the food. "So, what did you make?" I asked while he brought out the food. "Southern fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits." He said putting the bowls of food on the table. "Looks good!" "It is!" Joey said. "Well, enough chattin, LET'S EAT!!" I said. Lance sat down and we all dug in. We were about ten minutes into the meal when Justin said, "So Rob, we're gonna drink after this right?" "I told you no already!" I said after swallowing my food. "What? What did we miss?" JC asked. "Well, yah see that cabinet over there by the piano?" Chris pointed. "Yeah." "Well, it's filled with bottles of liquor." Joey finished. "Ooh! Haven't gotten drunk in a long time!!" JC said. "And it'll stay that way!" I said. "Aw, come on Rob!!" Justin said. "Nope!" "Lance, talk to him!" Chris said. "What's he gonna do? I said no and that's it!" "Rob," Lance began. "NO!" "Well, I tried!" Lance said while giving them a look of, `Don't worry, I'll get him later'. "Fine." Justin said putting on a fake disappointed look after seeing Lance's sign. "This is really good Lance!" Joey said with a mouth full of potatoes. "Thanks!" Lance said not looking at the food coming out of Joey's mouth. "Damn Joe! Swallow before you talk!" JC scolded. "Sorry!" Joey said taking a sip of soda. The rest of the dinner went by pretty quickly. After we all finished, Lance and I gathered up all the dishes and brought them into the kitchen. He emptied them out while I put on the water and began to wash them. "I'll do that, go!" He said. "Nope! It's my house, I let you cook, but I will NOT let you clean. Besides, I have to rearrange the kitchen to my standards." "Then at least let me dry!" "Ok." "So, I heard that song that JC was singing." "You did, did you?" "Yup! It was beautiful!" "Only because you are!" "Aw!" He said cornily. "Shut up!" "So when are you going in to work on it?" "Thursday." "Ok, cool! Hey baby?" "Yes?" "Come on, we haven't gotten drunk in a long time, this one time won't hurt!" "NO I said!" "Why not?" "Because, as I told them over there before, I don't drink and I don't wanna have to be the babysitter of the drunken boy band!" "That's a lie! I saw you drink at the party!" "Yeah, but like I also told them, I only drink on special occasions!" "This is a special occasion!" "What? House warming? Nope! Justin already tried!" "No, not house warming! This is OUR celebration of you getting your record deal and coming out on tour with us. We really haven't gotten a chance to celebrate just the six of us yet, so. this is our chance!" "Nice try, but NO!" "Come on!" "Look, the key is staying in my pocket and it's not going anywhe..." I said as he interrupted me by kissing me. We stood there for about five minutes, he was kissing me for all he was worth. I couldn't resist then, I was his to control. I took the key out of my pocket and gave it to him. He took it from my hand, broke the kiss, and ran over to the guys. I was left standing there dazed, confused, and horny. I finished up with the dishes and went over to the guys. "Alright, who wants what?" Joey said as Lance opened the cabinet. "I'll take a shot of Rum!" Chris said. "Give me a shot of Whiskey!" JC said. "I'll take a Martini, shaken, not stirred!" Justin said. "Dumb ass!" I said. "Nah, seriously, I'll have what Chris is having." "What about you Rob?" Joey asked. "Gimme a shot of Bacardi." "Same here." Lance said. "And I will take a shot of Tequila." "TEQUILA!!" I yelled. "Here we go!" JC said. "One more time!" Chris said. "YES, YES, YES, HERE WE GOOO!" I yelled. We all started laughing as Joey poured the drinks. "Ok, on three!" JC said, "One, two... THREE!!" We downed our drinks and gasped for air. I only had 2 more shots and I was done. Lance on the other hand, finished the rest of the bottle. Joey had more than half and he ate the worm. Between the two of the, Justin and Chris finished the bottle and a third of another. JC downed only half. Since I was only a little tipsy, I was still pretty much all there. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the guys. Joey was hitting on the chair that I was sitting in, trying to convince it sleep with him, Justin was hitting on JC, and JC was touching "stuff" (and not just his). Chris had this look of happiness on his face, a huge smile! He stood up (at least he tried to stand up) and started doing a Michael Jackson impression. Lance was on the floor laughing at everything that moved it didn't matter if it was funny or not. After about an hour, Lance didn't look too good. "You gonna throw up Scoop?" I asked. "Yeah, hee hee hee.. I think so!" he said still laughing. "Come on!" I said standing him up and helping him walk. We stepped over the already passed out Joey (well at least I did, Lance just walked over his back and started cracking up). I brought Lance up to the bathroom and within 2 minutes, he started hurling into the toilet. I went back downstairs and found Justin passed out on the floor next to the piano and JC lying 2 feet away with his hand on his crotch and the other on Justin's thigh. Chris was still going, only he had stopped being Michael. He was now acting like... himself, only really drunk! He was mumbling something, about him being the leader of the pack and all the chicks wanted him and the guys should all bow down to him and kiss his feet. I just stood there looking at him oddly. "And you!" He said pointing to me, "You.. You should.. Bye bye!" He passed out and landed on Joey's ass. I went back upstairs to check on Lance, only to find him passed out with his head leaning on the toilet bowl. I flushed the toilet, picked him up and brought him to my room. I then went into my bathroom and got out a bedpan from under the sink, filled it up with water, took a wash cloth, wet it, and brought it all back to the side where Lance was laying. I stripped him down to his boxers, took the wash cloth and wiped his face and forehead. Luckily, he didn't get any vomit on his cloths, so I just folded them up and put them aside. Within half an hour, he got up 3 times to throw up again. After that, he was dead for the night. I took the bedpan back into the bathroom, washed it out, filled it back up with some water and brought it back to the side of the bed. I waited with him for another half an hour. He was sound asleep, so I went downstairs to check on the rest of the guys. "This is why I didn't want you people to get drunk! I didn't want to have to do this again!" I said softly. I must admit though, it was funny the way they were all acting and how they were all situated on the floor. "If I only had a camera!" I thought, "Wait! I do!" I ran upstairs to my room, looked in one of my suitcases and found my video camera. I put in a new tape and turned it on. "This is Rob, I am here in my new apartment in Orlando and am witnessing a totally shocking experience. Welcome to" I said as I turned the camera towards me, "When boy bands, get drunk!" I put the camera on Lance and said, "Poor baby, he can't hold his liquor. After throwing up a whole lot, he finally passed out and is now sleeping." I turned the camera to me and said, "Ain't he cute when he's sleeping?!" I walked out of my room and got an airial view of the guys downstairs from the banister. I turned the camera on me and said, "This is the aftermath of the drunken episode that I witnessed first hand only moments ago." I walked downstairs and filmed all of them in their embarrassing positions. "Ain't it cute, they even drink together!" I said pointing to the empty bottles. After about 5 minutes of filming, I turned the camera off and put it on top of the piano. I then proceeded to try and stand them up so I could move them to the guestroom. The first one I moved was Justin, cause he was the lightest. I got him upstairs, stripped him down to his boxers and lied him down in the bed. I folded the cloths and put them on top of the dresser. I then went back down and got JC. I did the same thing for him and lied him down next to Justin. The next one was Chris. He was heavy, but I managed to get him up there. I did the same for him and lied him down next to JC. Luckily the bed fit all three of them. I went back downstairs and got Joey. He was the heaviest of them all! I brought him upstairs to my room, stripped him down and lied him next to Lance. After my little workout, I went into my office and sat behind my desk. I booted up the computer, got up, went back to my room, got my laptop and brought it back with me to the office. I was now sober again from all the lifting and nursing I had done. When I got back to the office, I noticed a note next to the mouse pad. It said that there were 2 phone lines, one for the computer and one for regular use. It listed both of the numbers and which one was which. I booted up my laptop and got out the laplink cables to transfer info to the PC. After I set that up I noticed it was only 9:30. I picked up the phone and called Melissa. "Hello?" she answered. "Hey there girly!" I said. "ROB! Oh my god! Hey!! How are you? How's Orlando? Did you get there ok?" "Good, good, yeah!" "Shut up!" "What's up?" "Nothing, I just got home a little while ago. I was at Jay's for most of the day." "Oh really?" "Yup." "Cheating on JC and Justin already? Tisk, tisk, tisk!" "Shut up! You know it wasn't like that!" "I know, I'm just playin!" "Speaking of JC, where is he? I tried calling his house but some lady told me he wasn't there and didn't know where he was." "That lady would be Lynn, Justin's mom. Damn! He didn't tell her he was coming over here? I'd better call her and tell her!" "Ok, then call me back!" "No, that's why I have another phone silly!" "Oh, ok." "Hold on, let me call her and tell her that they're here." "Ok." I picked up my cell phone and dialed Justin's number. It had it stored in the memory, so all I had to do was press mem dial. She picked up the phone thinking I was him. "Hello?" she asked. "Hello Lynn?" I said. "Yes, who is this?" "This is Rob." "Oh, hi Rob! I thought it might be one of the guys." "No, well, don't worry, they're all here." "Oh, ok... good. Justin didn't leave me a note or anything and he didn't check in. Could I talk to him?" "He's actually sleeping. They all are. They're pretty tired from today's events. That's probably why he forgot to call you. We decided to come over here at the last minute." "Oh, well ok. Thank you for calling, now I can stop worrying. Joey's mom will probably call again and I'll relay the message. Could I get you number in case I have to reach them?" "Yeah sure!" I said. I gave her my, cell number and home number. After giving it to her, I said good bye and we both hung up. I put the other phone to my ear and continued with Melissa. "So, are they really sleeping or does he just not want to talk to his mom?" she asked. "No, they're really sleeping. Or should I say, passed out?" I said. "What?" "Well, they wanted to drink, and I tried to stop them, but they suckered me in to letting them. Now they're all passed out and sleeping in both of my rooms." "Both?" "Or should I say, your room and my room." "My room?" "Yeah, I've decided, you are going to move in with me when you get down here!" "Oh really? I don't have a say?" "Nope!" "Ok, good. I had to look for an apartment anyway! The schools down there, most of them don't have dorms, mine doesn't so. this just all works out!" "Yup!" "Did you drink?" "Only a little, you know I seldom drink!" "I know, but what did you have and how much of it?" "I had like 2 or 3 shots of Bacardi." "And you're still sober?" "Yeah, well, since I had to go into nanny mode and take care of these fools, and drag them all upstairs to the bedrooms, the affect kind of wore off!" "Oh, I see!" "Yeah." "So, how's the place?" "Yo! It is PHAT!!!" "For real?" "Yup! You have to see it! I'm not even gonna describe it to you!" "Aw, come on!" "Nope!" "Fine!" "So, you find out when you're coming down?" "Well, the term starts on first, so I'll probably come down the 28th, to give me a few days to unpack and get situated." "Cool, so that would be, next Thursday?" "Yeah." "Cool!" "Uh huh! So, I gotta get packing tomorrow." "Ok, well, I gotta go now. I'm getting pretty tired." "Ok, call Jay! He HAS to speak to you!" "Oh, ok. I'll either call him later, or tomorrow, if you speak to him, tell him I got here fine and that I'll speak to him soon." "Ok." "Oh, here! Take down my number!" "Ok." I gave her the number and we said our good byes. After I hung up, I proceeded with transferring over all the stuff I had on my laptop over to the PC. After about an hour, I stopped, went downstairs, took a bottle of water upstairs with me and continued with my work. I drank the water to avoid getting dehydrated and a hangover. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep at my desk. Lance woke up with a pounding headache. He looked over to the clock and saw what time it was. It was just about 10, his mom was due in around 3. He tried to think of an excuse to say so he could go pick her up and bring her back to his place without me knowing, but all that thinking hurt his already pounding head. He figured to just keep it simple and say that he had to go to a quick meeting discussing their schedule. After figuring out what he was going to do, he turned to his side expecting to see me lying next to him, so you could imagine he was shocked when he saw Joey instead. "AAAH!! What have I done!!" He yelled, "Ow!" This in turn woke me up and I ran into my room. "What happened!!" I asked. "I'm so sorry Rob! It's not what it looks like!" He yelled. "W... what's going on? What's with all the yell... AAHH!!" Joey screamed, "Oooww!!" "Why are you yelling!! Damn it, we're all hung over!!" Justin yelled coming into the room, "OOWW!!!" "Stop yelling!" JC screamed following Justin, "Aaah! My head!" "Would everybody just shut up!!" Chris yelled louder than everyone, "OOW!!" "Ooooowwww!" the rest of the guys yelled, while I was just standing there laughing my head off. "What's so funny?!?" Lance whispered. "Stop yelling Lance!" Justin said. "Ok, ok, ok!" I said attempting to catch my breath, "Everybody just be quiet and I'll explain everything!" TBC... You know the drill, questions, comments, suggestions, all welcome, email me at Papito6187@aol.com.