This is yet another story about those hunky boys of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync written by a straight woman. Therefore, please excuse my writings if they appear to be a bit screwed due to my lack of knowledge. This story is a work of FICTION (note the term FICTION- I can't stress this enough) and is purely written for the sole purpose of entertainment and enjoyment. Yes! Entertainment. That's all... think of it like a movie. You watch for entertainment and you read for entertainment. These events did not happen to the best of my knowledge and therefore actions taken in this story do not reflect the true nature of the characters involved. This story does not imply anything about the sexuality of the person(s) involved. And if you're an underage teenie or do not wish to read about male/male sexual relationships, this is now the time to shut your lap-top as there will be sexual explicit scenes throughout. Proceed with your own risk. Enough with the warnings, now on with the story.

Okay, I just read the sequel to Any Path last night. Dara promised a good sequel and she delivered the goods. So, everyone check it out. If you like drama, this is the story to look for. Enjoy.

"Joshua Scott Chasez!"

Chris's ferocious roar echoed throughout the hallways of the second floor of the Hilton Hotel. Upon hearing Chris, Joey and Lance rushed inside Chris's room. He was infuriated. Never before had they seen Chris so angry. He paced back and forth with his hands tucked behind his back.

"What's wrong, Chris?" Lance asked.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong?! Our group is falling apart. That's what's wrong." Chris hollered at Lance, sending Lance crying into Joey's arms.

"Jeez, Chris, was it necessary to make Lance cry like that?" Joey asked.

"He was asking a dumb question." Chris said, bluntly. "Joshua Scott Chasez!"

Finally, when Chris was about ready to give up due to the impending inflammation of his larynx, JC appeared groggily at the doorway. He ignored Chris approaching him, yawning in Chris's face. Chris made one swift move, slapping JC across the face, before dragging him inside his room.

"Sit!" Chris ordered his bandmate.

JC submitted to Chris's orders and sat down across from Joey and Lance.

"What's up?" JC asked Chris.

Chris was going to answer JC's moronic question with another slap across the face when Busta suddenly jumped on him. Grabbing the pug, Chris sat down before JC, composing himself. He smiled at Busta, then setting the dog on the floor underneath his feet.

"Run along now, Busta. Go and comfort Uncle Lance." Chris said.

Chris patted Busta's behind, ushering the dog in the direction of Lance and Joey. After Busta was secured in Lance's lap, Chris focused his attention on the shell of a human being sitting before him. JC was already slipping into slumber when Chris was forced to slap him in the face, again.

"JC."

"Yes, Chris."

"What is your name?" Chris asked JC.

JC looked dumbfounded by the question posed before him. "JC. Why?"

"No. What I meant to ask is, what is your full name?"

"Joshua Scott Chasez." JC answered.

Chris nodded, accepting JC's answer. He reached inside a bag near his leg and retrieved a framed picture of his faltering group. He showed the picture to JC, pointing at Justin's face.

"Now, one more question. What's the name of the boy you have your arms around?" Chris asked.

"Justin."

"And." Chris was waiting for JC's complete answer.

"Justin Randall Timberlake."

Chris launched forward, grabbing JC's shirt, almost strangling the frail young man.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Justin does not share your last name, does he? He is Justin Randall Timberlake. And you are Joshua Scott Chasez. The last time I checked, your sperm did not combine with Lynn's to make Justin. So what the hell made you think you have the right to fuckin' give Justin to some sex-crazed Backstreet Boy?!"

"What?!" Joey and Lance yelled `n synchrony.

"You what?" Lance asked JC. "I can't believe you, JC."

JC responded to the onslaught of questions by hanging his head low. He didn't care what the others think. He knew it was in Justin's best interest for him to not stay with him.

"How did you know?" JC mumbled under his breath.

"None of your business." Chris replied, sitting back down in his chair.

"How did you know, Chris?!" It was JC's turn to charge Chris. "How the hell did you know Justin's with Brian?"

"If you must know, I have some insiders slipping me the news of his stay."

"I did it for Justin." JC sank down in his chair. "Everything I ever did was for him because I love him."

"Have you lost your mind?! JC, do you hear yourself? You're so insane right now that not only did you just fall off a cliff, but you've even managed to climb back to the top just to throw himself off again again (thanks, Monkey, for this terrific analysis of Big Daddy)." Chris barked at his bandmate and best friend. "I'm surprised you didn't deliver Justin in a silver platter with an economy size box of condoms attached to his dick and an instructional guide to `101 ways to Fuck Justin Timberlake' you've concocted because you are aware that Justin's nothing to Brian but a mere sex toy."

"There are 101 ways to fuck?" Joey suddenly found the conversation to be engaging. "I only know 89 ways."

"Shut up!" Chris smacked Joey.

"Are you done now?" JC asked, glaring into Chris dark orbs. Chris remained silent. "Good, now I must catch up with my sleep."

"Good! Then you can think about what you've done!" Chris continued to bark at JC. "I wouldn't be surprised if Brian has him chained to a bed and fuckin' him right now. God, JC, you are a lost cause! I'm getting you booked with a shrink for Thursday. You need major help."

Meanwhile, miles away in the BSB camp…

"Howie, oh, Howie."

Howie heard his name being called several times. He didn't bother getting up. It was still early in the morning. However, now he was forced to get up as he felt a featherlike object grazing underneath his nose. Howie pushed away the lanky-tattooed arm and sprang up in bed.

"What is it, AJ?" Howie asked, getting out of bed.

"Brian." AJ replied, following Howie to his bathroom. "What is he up to lately?"

"I don't know what you mean. He seems normal to me."

"Exactly. Since when did Brian join the human race? Never. He was acting normal the other day, just smiling his way throughout the day. Something is terribly wrong."

"AJ, Brian is happy. Why can't you just leave it as that?" Howie asked, between brushing his teeth. He turned around and found himself talking to no one. AJ had slipped out of the bathroom without his knowledge of him doing so. It was now shower time for Howie.

After taking a quick ten-minute shower, Howie walked out, wearing a towel around his waist to keep himself hidden. He opened the drawers to his dresser and smiled at the picture of he and Nick enjoying a day at the pool. If only Nick knew how much he cared and loved him, Nick would not have to endure such an abusive and degrading relationship with AJ. Several times, both he and Brian had approached the youngest BSB about his relationship with AJ, but every time they would talk, Nick would start accusing them of envy of their long-lasting relationship. He and Brian would then exchange glances and agreed. At least their relationship lasted while everyone's else faltered.

Howie abandoned all hopes of winning Nick's heart. He was not the boy's type. Still, he wished Nick all the best. And in his honest opinions, AJ was a far cry from the best. The same thoughts flooded Brian's mind as he gazed down at the sleeping angel nestled in his chest. He was finally content with his life. He had Justin at last. Justin was now a part of his life and it would take his life to let Justin go. Unlike JC, he would not give Justin away. He was for keeps. His sudden overzealous happiness brought tears to his eyes as he pondered over Nick's relationship with AJ. His relationship with Nick paralleled that of JC with Justin although not to the same degree. Brian still loved and cared for Nick. He wanted Nick to experience the same joy he was feeling, which was impossible so long as he was AJ.

Brian slipped out of bed, without waking up Justin from his sleep. He looked too comfortable sleeping and all bundled up in the comforters that Brian hadn't the heart to wake him up. Leaning to steal a kiss from his beloved Justin, Brian accidentally awoke his angel instead.

"Going to work again?" Justin asked his boyfriend.

"Yes." Brian couldn't look Justin in the eyes at the sound of Justin's disappointing sigh. "But I won't be gone for long. We only booked the studio for a two hour session today so I should be back before lunch."

When Justin did not respond to him, Brian returned to the bed, taking Justin in his arms. He stroked the boy's face and kissed his forehead. "What does JC do to make you happy when this happens?" He didn't want to mention JC's name, but he knew very well that only JC would bring a smile to Justin's face. Furthermore, it was good to know for future reference.

"JC always takes me with him." Justin answered, dislodging himself from Brian's grasp to lay on the bed. "And if not JC, there was always Lance or Chris. Even Joey made time for me."

"Oh." Brian said. That wasn't exactly what Brian had hoped to hear. There was no way he could bring JC, Lance, Chris, or Joey to Kentucky. He had to think of some other compensation. "I'll have someone come over to keep you company."

"Brian, I don't want anyone. I want you." Justin began to pout, again. "I hate it when you're gone and I'm here alone. Why can't I come along with you?"

"Justin, please, I don't have time to discuss this right now." Brian was forced to raise his voice at the boy, sending him straight back to bed.

Brian noticed Justin's reaction and chose to ignore him. There was nothing he could now. He still had to shower and get ready for work. The sooner he got to the studio the earlier he would return to his boyfriend. He stepped out of the bathroom and found Justin sleeping with the covers over his head. Brian walked toward the bed and sat down beside Justin.

"Justin, why can't I be like JC and just make you happy all the time?" Brian sighed heavily to himself before leaving for work unaware that Justin was still awake and heard his words.

Justin pulled the covers off of him. He sat on the bed for a moment, contemplating over what Brian had just said. He was soon consumed with guilt. Here was Brian doing his best to make him feel special and loved all the while he was being his spoiled self. Justin slipped out of bed to make his way to the bathroom. He decided then and now that he was going to make it up to Brian for his behavior this morning as well as for the past few days.

He returned downstairs to an empty house. He was alone, again. He walked past the telephone on the coffee table and was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to call JC. He had never called JC since the day Brian returned home and caught him in the act. Brian had given Justin permission to keep in touch with JC so long as the call was not to exceed your standard 5 minute- long enough to exchange greetings and share the events that took place in the past several 5 minutes. Brian considered 5 minutes to be more than generous since he usually took an average of 5 minutes talking to his friends and families. Justin disagreed, but there was little he could do. It wasn't his home, it was Brian's. He had to respect Brian's house rules.

Justin picked up the phone and quickly dialed up the number for JC's cellular phone as if his time had already started. Pick up the phone, Josh. Justin muttered to himself as he waited anxiously for JC to answer his call. The phone continued to ring for another minute. One minute had passed already. It was pointless to wait a second longer and have only four minutes to talk. Justin was about to hang up when the phone was suddenly answered.

"Hello."

Justin's smile disappeared as soon as it appeared. It wasn't JC who had answered the phone. JC still refused to talk to him despite being in the same room. It was still too painful for JC to be reminded of Justin.

"Justin?" Lance asked when he received no greeting from the caller.

"Hi, Lance." Justin finally said after a moment of silence. "Hey, I have a few minutes to chat right now. Tell the guys that I miss them very much and wish I can be with them."

"Only them. What about me?" Lance asked, giggling into the phone.

"Of course, you're a part of the guys, silly." Justin responded. "Unless you've gone through some drastic change that I am not aware of."

Lance smiled as he laughed. JC's eyes locked on Lance the entire time. His envy of Lance was growing with each passing minute. However, he could not bring himself to talk to Justin. It wasn't Lance's fault. That didn't mean that he couldn't be envious of him. Lance continued to converse with Justin despite feeling the weight of JC's eyes on him. If JC wasn't going to talk to Justin, he would be more than happy to talk to his best friend.

"Oh, Lance, I have to go now. It's been more than five minutes." Justin said.

"I can't believe Brian had set a time limit on your calls to your best friend." Lance said.

"Yeah, but that's because he usually only spends about 5 minutes talking to his friends and families."

"I can never do that."

"Me neither." Justin said. "I really have to go. But before I go, can I say something to JC?"

Lance placed his hand over the phone and asked JC. JC, of course, was his usual stubbon self and rejected Justin. Lance turned to the phone and told Justin JC's answer.

"Very well. Well, it was nice talking to you, Scoop." Justin said.

"Will you come back for my birthday?" Lance asked quickly before Justin could hang up.

"Of course, I will. I wouldn't want to miss the day my best friend finally becomes a full pledge adult." Justin responded. "Well, I have to really go now. I'll fly in to see you for your birthday, but until then, take care of yourself."

"You take care of yourself also." Lance was starting to get emotional as it was time for him to say good-bye to his best friend. "Good-bye, Justin."

"Bye, Lance."

Justin said, not wanting to say good bye at all. He held onto the phone for a moment longer, cherishing his conversation with his best friend. Talking to Lance just made him realize how much he missed his best friends. They were so much a big part of his life. Without them around him 24/7, he felt as if a part of him was missing. After a few minutes of silence, he finally returned the phone to its rightful place.

From the living room to the kitchen, Justin walked. He opened the refrigerator. It was full of food, but nothing he could make from scratch. The only food he knew how to make was crab alfredo and Brian did not have ingredients for that. Justin sighed heavily at the full refrigerator before abandoning it. He had to prepare lunch for Brian to make up for his behavior earlier. He walked past the living room and headed towards the door. He turned the doorknob and to his surprise it was locked from the inside as well as the outside. Frustrated, he kicked the door a few times until the door attacked him in the face, knocking him to the floor. Entered was a burly man with a dark red beard in a plaid shirt and tight jeans and very bad teeth. He walked into the house, stopping in front of Justin.

"Help! Someone help me!" Justin screamed as loud as he could. With enough vocal power, he could summon the entire small town to his rescue. "Help!"

"Shut up!" The man lashed back, silencing Justin against his will by placing his hand over his mouth. The tears now formed under his lids, waiting for Justin's moment of weak desperation to slide down his face. Justin continued to struggle underneath the man, kicking his legs and throwing his arms out in every direction possible. "Shut up! Shut up!" The man yelled, again. He removed his hand from Justin's mouth and raised his hand above his head. Justin turned his head, expecting a slap across his face, when he heard Brian's panicked voice.

"Stop it!" Brian yelled, prying the man off of Justin.

Once the man was tossed aside, Brian tended the traumatized boy. Brian could hear Justin's heart beating rapidly inside his chest cavity. He lifted Justin's face to see through his teary eyes. Brian stroked away Justin's curls that had landed on his forehead and wiped away the tears from Justin's face. He kissed Justin softly on the lips, assuring him that everything would be okay now. Brian led Justin to his room, placing him on the bed to rest. Then, he jumped on his feet to deal with the man who stood silently in the corner of the living room downstairs.

"What the hell did you do to him, Ted?" Brian yelled.

Kevin could hear the trauma from outside the garage. He quickly turned off the car engine and ran inside the house. Upon entering the house, he immediately located the source of the commotion. Ted was on the floor and Brian was standing over him, continuing to yell at him. Kevin rushed to the two men and pulled Brian away from Ted.

"What's going on?" Kevin asked his cousin.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Ted over here?" Brian answered, shifting his glare from Kevin to Ted and then back to Kevin. "I asked you one favor, Kevin, one favor, and you fuckin' hired someone who had the audacity to fuckin' attacked my boyfriend in my house."

"Brian." Kevin said, trying to calm down his cousin. "Maybe you're overreacting. Is that what Justin told you?"

"No." Brian answered sincerely- shame seeping through in his voice as he contemplated his actions earlier. "He was too distraught to tell me anything. But I know what I saw and I saw the man you hired to protect Justin was minutes away from fuckin' him even before me."

"So, he didn't tell you. Then maybe you should ask for the whole story before attacking Ted. Ted is the best man around town for this kind of job. He had a son around Justin's age. He would never hurt him. Trust me." Kevin explained before deserting Brian to tend to the equally traumatized Ted. Kevin helped Ted off the floor and led him to the couch. "Ted, what happened earlier?" Kevin asked when Ted was calmed down.

"Well, Mr. Richardson. I came to the house as soon as you called me. I opened the door and he was on the floor already. He was screaming so loud, it hurt me ears. So, I tried to shut him up, but he didn't stop screaming. And then he was crying and I got scared just like when my son was crying when he died." Ted explained. "I didn't do anything wrong. You told me that no one is supposed to know about my job and I was afraid people would know if he screamed that loud."

"I see. Thanks, Ted." Kevin said. He retrieved his wallet from his pants pocket and handed Ted a $50 bill. "For today."

"No, Mr. Richardson." Ted replied, pushing Kevin's hand away from. "I didn't do anything today. You hired me to watch over him and instead I made him cry and Mr. Littrell mad. I can't accept the money."

"Take it." Brian said, from behind Kevin. "You earn the money. Take it." Brian took the money from Kevin's hand and pried open Ted's clenched fist to place the bill in Ted's hand. "I'm sorry, Ted. I overreacted. It's just that he means the whole world to me. I don't like seeing him get hurt."

"I understand, Mr. Littrell. I understand. He's a beautiful boy." Ted said.

"Much like your son." Kevin said, smiling at Brian and Ted. "Thank you, again, for today."

"No, thank you, Mr. Richarson. And you, too, Mr. Littrell. I give you my word I will never hurt that boy. I'll protect him like he's my own son." Ted said, walking out the door.

"Good-bye, Ted." Kevin waved his hand at Ted and then closed the door.

Kevin returned to the living room to find his cousin sitting on the couch. Brian's head hung down between his legs. Kevin sat down by his cousin, rubbing his back.

"It's okay." Kevin assured his cousin. "I probably would have reacted the same way if I saw some man on top of my boyfriend."

"It's just that Ted is such a nice man." Brian said. "I'm sorry I overreacted."

"Don't be. Like I said, you acted the way you did because you love him so much." Kevin said. "You're starting to be just like JC now."

"Is that a compliment?" Brian asked.

"Trust me. It is." Kevin said. "Now go upstairs and tend your boyfriend. He's probably waiting for you to kiss away his fears."

"Thanks." Brian said, getting up from the couch.

"Of course, it is." Kevin murmured to himself as he stared deeply into the dark television screen before him. "JC is perfect."

*** Last chapter, I received only 4. Was Chapter 23 that bad? I see a correlation between the number of emails and the chapters. Chapter 14 received the most emails followed by Chapter 21 and Chapter22. In Chapter 22, Justin had a confrontation with Kevin. In Chapter 21, JC gave Justin to Brian who wanted to bed him the first night. Lastly in Chapter 14, Justin was raped. See the trend? Must I torture Justin in order to get responses? Please, spare him and email me, okay? Once again, thanksJ .