Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 23:28:44 EST From: MrClean290@aol.com Subject: Love Me 4-5 Disclaimer: this is a story!!! as in fiction!!!! Enjoy, as always i love feedback! MrClean290@aol.com Chapter 4 Justin sat in bed, waiting for the doctors to come in and tell him he was ok. Joey had freaked out and insisted that both he and Lance get checked out, but he said that it was Lance who was hurt. Justin was wrong. Glass shards got in his body, by way of his mouth, nose, and eyes. After long hours of surgery, the doctors were able to remove all of the glass from his system. However, the scars would be there for a long time. Lance lay in his bed, barely breathing. He was lucky that Justin had heard him. The doctors pumped his stomach; the amount of alcohol that was in his body surely would have killed him if it had not been for his friends. As for the glass, same as Justin, surgery took away all the pieces, but he too had many gruesome scars. The two friends were put in rooms across from each other. JC stood in the hall between those rooms and cried. " JC? Are you alright?" " No, Eric, I'm not. It's my fault my two best friends are laying hospital beds, fighting for their lives." " The injuries are not fatal." " But the scars are. Emotional and physical, those scars are never gonna go away." " I'm sorry." " Why?" " Because I sense that I had something to do with it." " No, you didn't. This would have happened regardless." " But still, I'm sorry that everyone is in pain now." Ruby sat with Justin as he continued to stare out the widow. He was so sad inside. " Justin, I have already told the others, and you need to know this too." " What?" " The tour will go on." " I know." " If you want to have some sort of surgery, for the scars, that is fine." " Maybe." " Alright. Well I came to tell you that you will be co-headlining this tour." " With who?" " Aaron Carter will open for you and Britney Spears." " Brit's coming?" " Yes. Is that a bad thing?" " No! Is she here? Where is she? I need to see her!" " Calm down. She is back at the hotel." " Thanks for telling me Rubes." " You're welcome." Britney sat nervously in the Con room, waiting for the return of her best friends. As much as she missed Lance, JC, Joey, and Chris, her main concern was Justin. The two of them loved each other beyond all the love in the world. He was her rock, and she, his. She was the only one who knew the real Justin Timberlake. " Ready to go back boys?" " Yes!" Joey yelled as he jumped up and down. " They weren't asking you dumb ass!" Chris said as he swatted the back of his head. " I am." " As am I." " Good, lets get going. Aaron and Britney are waiting for us back at the hotel." Joey and Chris ran to Con room while JC took his time. Ruby walked beside Eric as he wheeled Lance upstairs. Justin didn't want to wait for the elevator so he ran to the stairs. " Curly, where the hell are you going?" " I need to see Britney!" " Jesus, the two of them have the most fucked up relationship." " Justin and Britney Spears are actually a couple?" Eric asked confused." " They still deny it, but whenever they have the chance to spend time with each other, they jump at the chance, its just weird." Joey stated. Justin reached the fifth floor and sprinted to the Con room. When he got to the door, he was ready to pass out from running so fast. He fell against the door, causing Britney to look up. " Juju! You're here! Come here and sit. Why the fuck did you run? Sorry Aaron." " I swear too, just not when my mom is here." Aaron smiled back at her. " Hi- Brit- Brit." " I should punish you for doing this. You could have taken the elevator." " Had-to-see-you." Justin tried to get his breathing under control. " In 2, 3, 4, out 2, 3, 4. Come on Jus, breath." Justin sat back, against Britney as she helped him regain his breath. They sat on the couch, his head on her lap. " I'm glad you're coming. I don't know what I'd do with out you." " Shush sweetie, I'm here." " Well here we are, and surprise surprise we have the two lovebirds in the corner." " Hello Joey, and how many times do we have to you that we are not together." " Sure sure. Let's sit, eat and talk now." " I give up Justy. I can't do this anymore." Britney whispered in Justin's ear. " You have to! You promised!" Justin jumped up and ran out of the room. " Lovers quarrel?" " Fuck off Joseph!" Britney yelled as she ran out of the room. Britney ran down the hall, seeing Justin at the end of it. " Wanna talk about it?" " No," Justin didn't turn his back, back towards her. " Please, honey, tell me what it is." Britney placed a hand on his shoulder. At her touch his knees gave up on him. She caught him and they slid to the floor. " You have to tell them." " I cant. They will hate me." " Hate you? Why would they hate you?" " I don't know. But I would seem to be a hypocrite in their eyes." " You have been scared and confused and you are young. Don't give that bullshit about them hating you." " I'm sorry." " I know." " It's just that. I think I love someone." " Someone?" " But that person hates me and wants to be with someone else." " How do you know that if you haven't told them." " How can I just go up to this person and tell them I think I'm falling in love with them? Especially of all the shit I've done to them." " Justin, from what you've told me, it's been mutual." " Yes." Eric walked down the hall, trying to find Justin and Britney; Ruby needed to talk to both of them about the tour. He heard two people talking, one female, and one male. He also heard crying. As he got closer he heard more and more of their conversation. " But I cant just go, Hey Eric, I'm gay and I think I love you please don't go with JC, give me a chance." " Well you might not want to phrase it like that. But if not him, tell JC and Lance, and Joey and Chris, and Ruby." " No, this has to be our secret." " But Just-." " Go and find yourself a boyfriend, we never admit to seeing each other." " I know. But the pictures." " Brit, I know you hate it when fans hate you for loving me, but if they believe all the shit written about us then they are fools." " I do love you, I always have." " And I you." Britney gently grazed her lips over Justin's and smiled at him. " Just not like that!" They both said loudly while laughing. Eric rounded the corner to actually see them as Britney kissed Justin. He was so confused. " So, are you going to tell them?" " I'm so scared." " Justin. I have always supported you in your dreams and your choices. I wont leave you and I know you're friends wont either." " But he doesn't want me." " Give it time. Maybe in the long run, you wont end up with him, maybe you will, but you have to let nature run its course." " Yeah, I know. Speaking of nature and it's course, I gotta pee." " Justin! Ew, I don't need to hear about that!" " Come on pretty lady, lets get back." Justin pulled Britney up off the ground and rounded the corner. Eric couldn't move. He tried to get away but as he saw them come closer he froze. Justin and Britney were so engrossed in each other they didn't notice Eric until they crashed into him. Eric was knocked back onto the floor. Justin falling on top of him, Britney to the side. Justin opened his eyes and saw Eric lying under him. " Eric?" " Justin?" Britney watched as the two men looked at each other. " I have to go, I'm so sorry, I, -." Justin began to get off the older man. " No!" Eric caught Justin's arm and pulled him down so that their noses were touching. " What the-?" " I don't hate you." Eric said simply as he raised his lips to Justin's. Justin was scared to respond at first, but when Eric probed his tongue into Justin's mouth, he opened his mouth and kissed him back. Both of them and Britney were so engrossed in the kiss that they didn't notice JC walk up behind them. " What the fuck is this?" JC yelled at the two men. Both stopped kissing and stared at JC, their faces ghostly white. Chapter 5 " I thought we had something." JC looked down on Eric. " Don't be mad JC, please, it was my fault I kissed him." " What? Justin don't." " No, really, it was all my fault, he fought it, but I went with it anyway." " Wait, what, why were kissing my boyfriend." " Boyfriend?" " Well I had hoped, but now-." " No, it's okay. Boyfriends are fine." Eric took JC's hand in his. " I'm gay." Justin felt the tears as he looked at Eric and JC's hands, intertwined. " You're kidding right? Britney, what the fuck is up with your boyfriend?" " He's not my boyfriend. My best friend yes, boyfriend no. He's gay JC, believe him." Britney went over to Justin and pulled him into her arms. In them he began to cry. " Okay, I am now royally confused. But Curly, we accept you, Lance, and me especially. And the guys will too." " And Ruby?" " She's my best friend, what do you think?" " Okay." " Lets get back." JC and Eric walked back to the room, hand in hand. " What happened?" Justin whispered to Britney. " I don't know." " We kissed. I felt him, I felt him wanting me. Why did he agree to being Josh's boyfriend?" " I don't know sweetie. But only the future will tell us. Come on, we've got some 'splanin to do." Justin lay in his bed after about three hours of talking, explaining and crying. In the end, everyone supported him, and apologized to Britney. JC and Eric had gone back to JC's room. Joey, Chris, Lance, and Aaron went out to a mall. Ruby went to her room to make calls and Britney lay beside Justin watching him as he dozed off. " Why are you looking at me?" Justin said not opening his eyes. " I'm just so proud of you." " Thank you for everything you have done for me over the past six year." " You're welcome." " If you ever need anything from me, and I mean anything tell me and I will do it!" " I'll count on that." " Anything. I promise." Justin said as sleep finally took over. " I wish you could get me anything darling, but my greatest wish is going to be difficult. I want love." Britney looked down and saw that Justin had fallen asleep. " I want someone to love me." Eric and JC sat on the bed watching TRL. Their hands clasped together. JC was content on watching Eric as he watched the TV. " Why are staring at me like that?" Eric asked not removing his eyes from the screen. " I don't know. There's just something about you." " Which is?" " You're amazing." " I see." Eric laughed. " You know, this Carson Daly is a real prick. And I hate the music they play on here. It's all of this Pop shit." " Hey! I'm in a pop group." " I know this." " So you're saying you hate me?" " Don't go putting words in my mouth! I said I hate the music, not the people who sing it." " Same thing." JC said as he walked away from Eric. " What the fuck is wrong with you?" " Nothing." " Bull. Tell me. If we are going to try to make this work, we have to be honest." " Then be honest!" " About what?" " Justin!" " What?" " Do you want him? Did you enjoy his kiss?" Eric looked down. He knew that he should tell JC that it was he who kissed Justin, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. " No, JC it's you I want, I want to be with you, and kiss you, and make love to you." " You do?" " Yes." Lance sat in his chair and stared out of the window. His world just turned up side down. When he and JC were together, it was wonderful. They were each other's first loves. When JC broke things off, Lance began is blame himself. JC had said that he didn't want the group to fall apart in the case that they had a fight or broke up, so JC broke things off before things got heavy. Everyday Lance asked God if he could make the pain go away. For three years, he worked side by side with a man that he still loved. Until that afternoon, they never openly admitted to it. Now everyone knew. Now JC knew how much he had hurt Lance. Now Lance realized that JC didn't care. " Why can't I have someone to love me? WHY!" Lance screamed out in pain. He yelled to the walls of his empty room. He pushed himself out of his chair and slumped to the floor. " Why, why, why?" Lance cried through his tears. Soon the pain began to numb in his legs. He closed his eyes and waited for whatever was to happen to him next. Britney sat on the balcony and watched as her best friend slept ever so peacefully. He was torn up inside, and this time, she had no power to change it. She looked out onto the city of Los Angeles. The city was illuminated in lights. Even when the sun had not yet set, the city glowed. She was so captivated by the lights that she didn't hear the first three rings of her phone. " Hello?" " Britney?" " Yes?" " Hey. It's Joey. I was wondering if, -" " Yes?" " If Curly was up?" Britney frowned at his request. " No, he's sleeping. Do you want to give him a message?" " No, it's alright." " Anything else Joe?" " Well, I'm just kinda bored and wanted to go out and do something." " And?" " And, well I thought that if you were bored too, than you might, well-." " Are you trying to ask me out Mr. Fatone?" " Uh, yeah." " Pick me up in ten minutes." " Really?" " Really." Britney got her purse and changed her shirt. As she heard Joey knock she turned back to Justin. She went over to him and kissed his cheek. " Thank you." Ruby lay on her bed amidst piles of paper. The people at Jive had put her in charge of the tour. Everything was now her responsibility. She was glad for the extra money, but the stress was not something she welcomed. She had been working for five days straight, no breaks. Unlike her friends, she couldn't just go out and party. She too wanted love, but she was going to just sit back and let it find her. " Yes, wake up calls for our rooms at 8:30am. Thanks." " Tima? Yes, we need to get in extra practice tomorrow. At 9:30? No problem." " What? More acts? How many are we talking? No more big acts. This isn't just a Jive tour? No. We already have three hot ones, who more do we need? A newbie? Alright, goodbye." " Great! Just what we need. Another male with raging hormones." Ruby gave up on the paper work and went to the bathroom to run a bath. Just as she was about to get in her phone rang. " Does it ever stop?" " Hello?" " Hey Rubes." " What now." " Scratch the extra guy, he's got contract problems." " Alright. Goodbye." " Why me?" Ruby sighed as she finally stepped into the hot water. As soon as she immersed her phone rang again. " WHAT?" " I'm sorry." " Who is this?" " Chris." " Oh. I'm sorry, my phone has been ringing non-stop for three hours. I'm sorry I yelled." " No, don't be, I would have screamed too. So am I disturbing you?" " Depends on what you want." " Just wanted to talk." " Well then, that's fine, lets talk." " So Rubes, how are you?" Ruby busted out laughing, then sighed. For the first time, in along time, she was completely relaxed. Eric lay in bed, JC's arms around him. They hadn't made love. Eric wasn't ready. He began to ask himself he would ever be able to share something so intimate with anyone else. He shook off the worry and fell asleep, the face of his future love imprinted in his mind. ~ Dream ~ Eric walked down the aisles. Each one filled with gravestones. He stopped in front of one that had a daisy on it. Jason Carter Jones 1974-1999 Beloved brother, son, and lover. " Hello Eric." " Who's there?" " You don't recognize me?" " Jase?" " Hey sweetie." " But you're dead." " And you're dreaming." " Oh yeah." " Darling, what's wrong?" " I don't love him." " I know babe." " I still love you." " And you always will. But I don't think that JC is the one you are confused about." " Who then." " Justin." " Justin? No, we kissed. That's all. Oh, but Jase, it was so wonderful. His lips on mine. I felt so happy in thos4e moments. I haven't felt that since." " Since we kissed. I know. I do watch over you dear." " Why did you have to leave me?" " Wasn't my choice, you know that right?" " I know. I just miss you so much." " I miss you too. But you can't let my memory lead you life. What do you from life?" " I want love and happiness." " Can JC give that to you?" " Yes." " Do you want him to?" " I dont know, maybe, no." " Then fix this before it's too late." " Too late for what?" " Before you lose that person who you know can make you happy." " Oh." " Eric, this dream, if for you to realize that, yes, your life is full of fucked up shit. But with Justin by your side, you can over come all the heartache. From your past, from me from the parents, from everything. Give him the chance to love you." " Why are so set on this. How do you know he will be my everything?" " I sent him to you." " What?" " I'm your guardian angel am I not? I knew that you would go crazy if you didn't find happiness. This is my final gift to you. I will always be watching over you. But you need to go and find love now. I've helped you all I can." " I cant live without you!" " Eric! Listen to me. You need to be strong. You've had all these months to sit and mourn. But Ruby is so close to breaking down. Watch over my sister. She was my everything. I will die a second time if this sadness tears her up inside." " You are my soul-mate." " I love you Eric, I always will. But we need to go on with our lives. I will be here, for you always. You know where to find me. Good-bye." Jason kissed Eric lightly on the lips and walked away and into a fog, disappearing. Eric sprawled out over Jason's grave and cried. When he looked up, he saw the face of Justin Timberlake floating above him. " Let me love you." The face whispered to him softly, before disappearing into the fog. Hmmm, what do you think. i contemplated putting the dream in the chapter. but I thought it would work. tell me if u think it does or not. and send any other comments my way!