"How could you fuckin' lose a 6' tall kid with curly blonde hair? It's not like he's 4' and could have easily slipped through crowds." Chris shrieked. He was furious. He had spent the last hour lecturing at JC and Lance. "What the hell were you guys doing that you failed to remember he was with you? Did you not remember what happened last time?"

"It was my fault." Lance mumbled, but JC quickly interrupted.

"No, it was my fault." JC said, kneeling down before Lance.

"Shut up!" Joey shrieked.

"Thank you, Joey." Chris said.

"You, too." Joey snapped

"Thank you." Justin said to Joey, walking in and tossing JC his credit card. "I can hear you guys all the way down the hall."

At the mere sound of Justin's voice, JC sprung up from the ground, abandoning Lance to pull Justin's into a tight embrace, while checking him for signs of trauma.

"I'm okay." Justin assured JC. "I waited for JC here," Justin said as he sat down next to Joey on the couch, "and when he didn't come back like he promised, I decided to walk back to the hotel. But then I saw the zoo and I couldn't pass on it and so I stayed at the zoo until sunset."

"Okay, JC, you're forgiven, yet again." Chris said to JC.

Justin waited for everyone to relax and fall into their regular routine. Chris returned to playing video games. Joey plopped down on the couch and mapped out his clubbing schedule for the week. Lance started to make his usual business calls. Lastly, JC pulled out his notebook and began drafting yet another song. It was time to retire to his own room. Justin got up and walked out of the room. Once, he arrived in his room, he lay on his bed for the next couple of hours contemplating whether or not he would join Brian later that night. He enjoyed being with Brian, there was no doubt about it. At the same time, he felt overwhelmed with guilt as if by enjoying Brian's company, he was betraying not only his bandmates, but most importantly JC. If there was any man he could possibly fall in love with, it had to be JC- no option.

Justin's time for himself only lasted for a few minutes. The door peeped open, letting only a small angle of light to enter the darkened room. JC managed to squeeze is slender frame in without emitting too much light into the room. He didn't want to disturb Justin's sleep. JC initially planned to talk to Justin in the morning, but he couldn't wait another day.

"Justin." JC whispered into Justin's ear as he hovered above the sleeping boy. "Are you asleep?" He asked. Justin remained silent and JC proceeded to maneuver the boy's head into his lap. "What's going on between you and I?" JC sighed heavily. "I've been wanting to ask you about the kiss, but you seem to be avoiding me. You don't even let me touch you or hold you like before. Was it that awful to kiss me back?"

Justin felt his stomach turn and his heart sank as soon as he listened to JC's words. It pained him to hear the sorrow in JC's breath. Still, he remained silent.

"Justin, when you were gone those days, I was a complete wreck. I couldn't eat or sleep. I couldn't write at times. You occupied my mind every minute of every day. Every day, I prayed that you would come back. At the suggestion from Lance, I even went to a church to pray for your safety return. When the police discovered your torn clothes in some abandoned building, I thought I'd lost you forever. I prayed for the Lord to take me instead of you. It was then that I realized how much you mean to me. Justin, I love you." JC explained, his eyes began to mist over with tears. He reached for Justin's hand. After wiping away the minute particles on the back of Justin's hand, JC planted a soft and gentle kiss. "I kissed you because I love you so much. I couldn't fight the feelings I have for you. And I know that you feel that love, too. I know because as we kissed, our fingers entwined in one another and our hearts beat as one."

Justin cringed with pain. He could feel his tears coming. He shut his eyes to prevent them from leaving. It was useless as a single teardrop slipped out from under his lid. He squeezed JC's hand. He truthfully missed JC's delicate touch on his skin. For a moment, Justin held on, but JC facilely let go of his hand, returning the boy to his sleeping position on the bed.

"Oh, Justin. You can't let something that happened five years ago dictate how you live your life." JC said, kissing Justin tenderly on his forehead. "I love you."

And the room was dark, again.

The thin second hand of the clock kept monotonously ticking away precious seconds and still Justin could not bring himself to sleep. He got out of bed and glanced down at his clothes. He quickly changed to something more of his liking. It appeared as if Brian's taste of music did not transcend into his taste in clothes. Justin had to peel away Brian's selection of clothes for him to wear something more suitable- JC's denim jacket he stole months earlier and a pair of dark blue jeans. He left his room and walked past JC's room, but much to his surprise JC was missing. He went into Chris's room and found Joey teary-eyed in front of the tv screen. "Romeo and Juliet" was on. Justin walked by Joey and soon his eyes misted over with tears as well. It was eerie how life imitated art. The classic tale of two star-crossed lovers seemed so real to Justin now that he was the star-crossed lover to Brian. He shook away any signs of weakness as he sat down next to Joey.

"Why are you crying, Joey?" Justin asked his usually macho best friend.

"I didn't know they both died." Joey said, crying more intensely.

"Yeah, they both killed themselves. And that's what will end up happening to you if you can't keep your hands off those women. They are only here to make you look bad." Chris said, joining in Joey on the couch. "Hey, Justin, what's up?"

"Nothing." Justin lied, taking a seat across from Joey and Chris on a recliner.

The phone rang abruptly. Chris answered the phone and as soon as he hung up, he switched the station to MTV. It was AJ. Justin watched along with his bandmates as AJ said during an interview that once the Backstreet Boys' double CD comes out in the fall, 'N Sync could kiss their record bye, bye, bye. Chris quickly threw his phone at the tv, turning it off.

"Those bastards!" Chris yelled.

Justin looked alarmed at Chris's sudden anger. Chris was never the kind of person to go off on anyone. He always kept his composure, believing in peaceful resolution rather than violent confrontation. He always thought things through, but this time, Chris was yelling into the phone at someone- perhaps Melinda.

Justin slipped out of the room before things got ugly. In all the years that he had known Chris, he never saw Chris so mad and he didn't want to know what Chris would do when he was. He returned to his room and looked outside. Across the street, parked a BMW car- that belonging to Brian. Brian had waited for Justin to come out of the hotel for nearly an hour now. He looked at his watch. It was now fastly approaching midnight. It was getting late, but he really wanted to relive today- well almost all of today. He continued to wait through the night. Soon, the sun rose and Brian had no choice but to turn around and drive away. His mind told him to do so, but his heart stopped him. He continued to wait for Justin. He had to come out of that hotel eventually. He couldn't possibly remain in that hotel- he'd feel too much like a prisoner. Brian coaxed himself.

Brian waited anxiously for Justin's departure from the hotel premises during which Brian would step in and take Justin away. Unless he had misread all of the signals, Justin had feelings for him. How strong were those feelings? Brian had yet to find out. And he was not going to leave LA until he found his answers and Justin gave him a chance.

It was now noon. Boy, Brian was persistent in his quest. Never before had Brian ever been this determined at doing anything before. He had always given up easily, surrendering his feelings to his weak heart. Now, he was more determined than ever to win Justin's heart. It was just a matter of time, but time was plenty to spare. Heck, for the past several years, he was just a singing voice in the Backstreet Boys. Nothing special to do other than selling millions of records and breaking even more little teenyboppers' hearts.

Sleep deprivation was slowly affecting Brian. It had almost been 36 hours since he last slept. He found himself slipping into slumber as the sun wore down. His head hit the steering wheeling, trumpeting sounds from the car. Cars drove by and honked at him in retaliation. Brian could only muster a smile and hid his face behind his hands. Was Justin worth all this pain and suffering Brian had been forced to endure for the past several years- not to mention humiliation? Reminiscing over fond memories of Justin's presence, Brian murmured to himself, Of course he is. A limo drove away from the hotel entrance. Immediately, without any hesitation, Brian followed the limo. Trying hard not to draw attention to himself, Brian kept enough driving distance between the two vehicles to elude his presence. At last, the chase ended in front of Le Bistro, a trendy French restaurant, on the strip. To his disappointment, exited the limo were JC and Lance. They were smiling and laughing. They looked like they were enjoying each other's company very much, too much in fact. They were on a date. That was not mistakable. Justin would be crushed if he knew that JC and Lance had hooked up somehow. On the same token, this meant that Brian now had a chance he never had when JC was in the way.

Brian quickly left the clandestine restauarant scene. He had waisted too much time already pursuing the limo. As for as he knew, Justin might had alreadly left the hotel. This whole charade might be masterminded by none other than JC Chasez himself to tear them apart. Brian had not the time to waste. He sped back to the hotel when suddenly the phone in his car rang. Brian jumped out of his seat, almost hitting a pedestrian.

"Hello." Brian answered the call.

"Brian. Come to NightFall." Howie said. "This is a rare occurance. Justin without JC and it appears as if only Lonnie is with him."

"Justin?"

"Yes, Justin as in Justin Timberlake. The guy you've been madly infatuated for the past four years is here at NightFall two tables away from me."

"Where's JC?" Brian asked.

"Nevermind JC. If you don't get here quick, I'm sure someone else will step in." Howie told him. "Brian you have to be a man and step up to the plate. You have to tell him exactly how you feel. Otherwise, someone else will and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Howie."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?" Brian asked. "Everyone else seems to be against it."

"Because I love you. Because I know that he is what makes you happiest. Now get over here. I'm going to fend off potential suitors until you get here." Howie said, ending their phone conversation.

Brian returned his phone to his glove compartment. Howie was right. He had to be the man in this relationship. JC was already manly enough to kiss him. Now, Brian had to be just as bold and win Justin over. Shifting his gear to overdrive, Brian sped across town to the happening night club, NightFall.

Like every other night, NightFall was packed. Every night, there would be band that played music for the clubbers. This night the stage belonged to Vertical Horizon. It was the place where all young people meet to enjoy each other's company. Minors with connections could even get alcoholic beverages. Of course, this wasn't the reason why Justin often frequented this club. NightFall was among the few night clubs he was allowed to visit without requiring to have his entourage of bodyguards. Everyone knew him at the club from the bus boys to the owner himself. Justin was just an ordinary wild club kid while he was in NightFall. He was not treated any differently.

Brian scanned the two-floored night club for signs of Justin's presence. He was not present. Brian made his way through the dense crowd, pushing his way in between diaphoretic bodies. He stopped a few feet away from a table guarded by Lonnie. Justin had to be near. Brian followed Lonnie's gaze out into the dance floor and located Justin in the middle of a group of young women. He was wearing a sheer blue shirt over his white wifebeater. He danced freely with his arms in the air as the women rubbed against every inch of his body, placing their hands in places that would get them ousted from their Catholic schools. A woman tip-toed on her heels to steal a kiss from his lips. And he kissed her back, wrapping his body around her tiny waist, almost straddling her. Brian had enough. He was going to vomit. He could no longer watch Justin and his provocative moves on the dance floor. He found Howie momentarily and joined Howie for a drink.

What was supposed to be one drink turned out to be a continuous series of drinks. Brian had underestimated his ability to remain sober. He dropped to the floor under the table and scurried away from the public scene. Howie flashed his smiles to a few curious patrons and followed Brian to the men's restroom.

"Brian. Brian." Howie hollered out loud as he entered the men's restroom. "Which stall are you in?"

"Over here!" Brian hollered back, poking his head out.

Howie located Brian in the stall farthest to the right of the restroom. He rushed to his friend's aid, pulling him off the filthy floor. Howie helped Brian to the bench in the bathroom. He set his friend on the bench and proceeded to brush away his fair from his face. Their eyes met briefly before Brian turned his head away, vomitting into a nearby trash bin.

"Let's get you cleaned up before you get back out there. There's no way you can win him over looking the way you look now." Howie said, walking toward the sink to gather some wet towel.

"You fuckin' whore!" Brian hollered as another patron entered.

The man standing several inches above 6' rapidly approached Brian. He grabbed Brian by his shirt collar and was ready to pratice his boxing skills on Brian's skull when Howie interrupted the confrontation.

"Don't mind him. My friend's drunk." Howie said, slipping a $100 bill into his pocket. "You didn't hear anything."

"But I did hear something. What is this?" The man abandoned Brian to deal with Howie. "Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys has a fuckin' whore on his leash."

"You didn't hear anything." Howie repeated, increasing the bribe to $500.

"I didn't hear anything." The man said and then walked out.

"Fuck you, too!" Brian hollered back, but the man had already left the restroom.

Howie returned to tend his friend. With a wet towel in hand, Howie proceeded to clean Brian of his filth. Howie slowly caressed Brian's sour face, wiping away the vomit that plagued his face. Their eyes met, again. Brian grabbed the towel from Howie and wiped his face clean of his vomit. Shortly thereafter, Brian lay down on the bench, sobbing to himself.

"You love him this much?" Howie asked.

"I love him so much that sometimes it hurts just to love him." Brian wept. "Why can't I get over him?"

"If he's that special you can never get over him." Howie responded.

"What am I going to do now?" Brian sighed, wiping his face with the wet towel.

"Well, you can go back outside and do what you intended on doing tonight when you first arrived." Howie suggested. "Tell him exactly how he feels. If he still doesn't want you, then screw Justin Timberlake. There are plenty of good looking lads out there. How about Mark Feehily? I heard he and his fiction writer boyfriend are currently on a break."

"True, there are plenty of good looking lads out there. I can give you a two page list of boyband members I wouldn't mind fucking, but there's only one Justin Timberlake." Brian explained. "I think I'm ready to get my heart officially broken."

Meanwhile back out at the dancefloor:

"Ready to go now?" Lonnie asked Justin, getting up.

"But, I just got here." Justin whined.

"Justin, you are aware that you can't leave the hotel past 10pm?"

"Very well. If I didn't like you so damn much I'd run away and then you'd get in trouble." Justin said, walking ahead as Lonnie breathed on his neck.

Lonnie helped Justin put on his jacket. He walked toward the exit of the club with Justin following close behind. Justin was about to exit the nightclub when he heard the familiar angelic voice singing. It wasn't JC. It was Brian. Brian had somehow managed to convince Keith Kane to sing his band's "Everything You Want".

"This is for a certain someone special in this room. Everything I feel in my heart right now is all in this song." Brian said, taking the microphone away from....

Justin stopped in his tracks and ran back toward the dance floor, leaving Lonnie behind to fend against the oncoming stampede of clubbers. Lonnie turned around quickly enough to grab Justin, slamming him against the wall to keep him from escaping further into the nightclub as the gregarious young people rushed past them.

"We had a deal, Justin. I take you here and I take you back before anyone knows you're gone." Lonnie planted his feet firmly on the ground, trapping Justin behind his huge body.

"Let me go, Lonnie!"

"You know I can't. We must leave now. It's getting late."

"What's wrong with everyone? I can't even make my own decisions." Justin was now on his feet, yelling at Lonnie. "I am not leaving this place. If you're afraid of breaking one of JC or mom's rules, you can go on home without me."

"Without you, JC is gonna throw a fit." Lonnie explained, "Both he and your mother can get me fired. Is that what you want?"

"Fuck JC. I went to see him this morning and he wasn't even there. He can go out and I can't. What's the fuckin' deal with that?"

"Justin, don't me make this any harder. People are staring at your lack of maturity."

"Fuck everyone. If you don't leave right now, I'm going to jump out of that window. And you know I will. See if you'll get fired now if I hit the concrete pavement face first." Justin said, nudging past Lonnie to return to the dancefloor.

Justin returned to the dance floor in time to catch a glimpse of Brian waving to his audience. As he hopped off the stage, some of the audience bolted past Justin, knocking him to the floor, to surround Brian for his autographs. Justin remained on the floor, gazing at the gang of star-struck fans around Brian. It was pointless to even try. There was no way he could get past the fans to reach Brian. Justin turned around to see more incoming patrons marching inside. Although numerous in number, he had a better chance in escaping past incoming patrons than getting past the fans surrounding Brian. Justin turned his body over, preparing to pick himself, when a hand reached down before him. Justin gazed deeply into the set of deep blue eyes that stared down at him.

For the very first time, Justin allowed Brian to entwine his fingers in his. Brian locked his fingers with Justin's and helped him off the floor. Tightening his grip, Brian whisked Justin past the stampede of patrons rushing to witness their intimate moment. They darted through the flashing lights from paparazzi into the empty streets before them. The rain suddenly sprayed along the streets as they ran away from their fame-ridden lives.

Justin continued running despite feeling his legs cramping under him. Brian wasn't stopping and neither would he. He picked up his pace, running into a dark alley after Brian. He wanted to run more, but he couldn't. He slipped further into the alley. He stopped himself before crashing onto the hard graveled ground. He quickly turned around. Brian was not there. Was it all just a dream? Justin thought to himself. He slumped forward, disappointment weighed him down heavily.

Justin turned his head around, maneuvering his body toward the open end of the alley. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind. Brian had reappeared in the alley. He clutched Justin by his arm and swung the boy around. As soon as Justin stood in front of him, Brian leaned in for a kiss before Justin could object. This was their moment. Rain dawned on their shoulders. Brian pushed Justin against the building, ripping open his wet shirt. There was no use for a wet shirt anyway. Brian pushed himself further against Justin, rubbing his hard member over Justin's until he, too, became hard. Brian finally released Justin when he heard a moan slipped past Justin's lips. Brian backed off. Brian stripped himself of his shirt, pulling the shirt seductively over his head. Justin smiled delightedly as he gawked at the amazing sight before him. Never before had he seen Brian's bare chest. It was worth the wait. Brian detected Justin's desire in his eyes. He could tell Justin wanted him and that he was emotionally torn apart inside. He was expecting Justin to kiss him. Instead he was thrown off guard when Justin began walking away. Brian took a minute to ponder over what had just transpired between them. When Brian returned to reality before him, he ran after Justin. Brian grabbed him by the arm when he noticed the tears in his eyes. Brian reached for Justin's face, tilting it forward for another kiss. This time, Justin was not as willing. He turned his face as Brian's lips landed on the side of his face.

"I'm sorry." Justin said, not moving closer either. "Both you and I know that we can't be together."

"I don't believe that and I don't believe that you believe that one bit either." Brian was starting to break down and cry.

"I'm sorry." Was all Justin could say.

"No!" Brian shrieked. "I can't play this cat and mouse game anymore. Why can't we be together?"

"Brian, please, not now. Not here." Justin said, softly.

"Then when, Justin?" Brian yelled into Justin's ears. "When? Tell me?"

"Brian, I can't now." Justin responded.

"Why?"

"You know why." Justin hid his face in his hands- apparently ashamed of his feelings.

"Justin." Brian slowly turned Justin's face toward him. "I love you."

"I know." Justin said in a whispering tone.

"I know I'm not perfect. I have flaws. But for you, I'll try my best to the perfect boyfriend."

"I know."

"I know he's everything you want. He's everything you need. I can be that person for you, too. Whatever he offers you, I can offer you as well. Justin, I've been in love with you since the day I met you. It's up to you to give me a chance." Brian explained. "How about we give it a chance?"

Justin gazed deeply into Brian's eyes. He closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly as if he were to shake long enough Brian would finally disappear. Justin's eyes slowly fluttered open. Brian was still there.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that to Josh." Justin responded and proceeded to walk away.

"What is wrong with you?!" Brian hollered back at Justin. "What is so special about him anyway? What is it that he has that I don't have? Why can't you give me a chance?"

"I don't know." Justin replied, tears still flowed down his cheeks.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that you feel nothing for me." Brian said, standing tall against Justin's tall frame.

Justin gazed down at Brian. He lifted Brian's face to look into his eyes. As soon as their eyes met, Justin began to cry more profusely. He couldn't look Brian in the eyes. He turned away from Brian and began walking away. He was too weak emotionally.

"Justin, while you're here crying your tears out because you feel guilty for being with me, he's out there with Lance. What kind of boyfriend is?"

"Brian, don't lie." Justin walked up to Brian, grabbing Brian's wrist and dragging him out of the alley. "Where are they?"

"At some trendy restaurant on the strip. Le Bistro." Brian answered. "Go see for yourself if you don't believe me."

And Justin was gone leaving Brian deep in his thoughts in an empty alley without his shirt on. Brian glanced down at his bare chest with his six-pack abs. Boy, the paparazzi would love this, Brian thought to himself.

***Important! Since I've started this story, I've received countless emails rooting for JC/Justin, Brian/Justin...so out of curiosity, I have poll. Cast in your votes now: Brian or JC? And should JC and Kevin get together, again? I don't want anything from you. I just want your votes. Email me and just cast in your votes if nothing else and give your two cents. Of course, other discussions are welcome via email otherwise tune in to another installment of "A Tale of Two Boybands" in the next few days. ThanksJ