I've really been overwhelmed
by the outpouring of support from people reading my stories. Thank
you all form the bottom of my heart. I love getting e-mail so please
drop me a line at zack02cool@hotmail.com. Now on with part three.
Disclaimer
This story is not meant to imply anything
about the sexuality of any of the characters portrayed in it. It
is a work of fiction.
The Darker Path- Part Three
I sat at the stoplight, which was taking an interminably
long amount of time to turn green. It was nearly six o'clock and
the concert would be starting soon. I really had no one to blame
for being late but myself, but when an opportunity presents itself to relieve
a little stress and take out some aggression, you have to take it.
So when the teenagers pulled up next to me in a heavily modified Honda
Civic and gunned their engine, I looked over and smiled. The light
turned green and as their tires squealed, leaving black rubber stains on
the road, I calmly dropped the clutch and pulled away in first gear.
They gained ground for about five seconds and then I pressed the accelerator.
The Honda was quick. The dumb kid had probably spent a lot of time
and money modifying it. Perhaps even racing it. Unfortunately
there has never been nor will there ever be a Japanese sub-compact that
could stand up to Germany's finest. In the blink of an eye I was
rocketing past the Civc, too fast to even see the slack jawed expressions
on the faces of the kids. But I wasn't quite finished with them.
As soon as I passed them I swerved into their lane and slammed on my brakes.
They tried to pass me on the left, but I slammed the accelerator down and
got in front of them again. They moved back into the right lane and
I allowed them to pass me. Up ahead the road narrowed into a single
lane. I road their bumper for a couple hundred yards and then crossed
the double yellow line and passed them again. I got in front of them,
and slowed down, taunting them. When they got up close enough I slammed
on my brakes forcing them to swerve into oncoming traffic in an attempt
to pass me. I matched their speed, trapping them on the wrong side
of the road. They tried to slow down and I slowed down, they tried
to speed up and I sped up. At last I saw what I was waiting for:
an oncoming car. The other driver must have seen it too because he
slammed on his brakes and swerved back into my lane. Unfortunately
he lost control of his car and skidded out of control. I hit the
gas and sped off. In my review mirror I saw his nice little Honda
smash into the guardrail and roll down a hill. The driver of the
oncoming car stopped to see if he was ok. Then I lost sight of them
around the bend and pushed my 911 Turbo into triple digits. I was
late for a concert after all.
By the time I arrived at the stadium, the concert
had already started. I brushed past the security guards who barely
even checked my pass. I went up to the club level to watch the concert.
There were various other VIP's scattered about. Mostly old people
who probably didn't even like NSYNC. They were here for the prestige
and the business end of things. I saw a couple of people from the
local radio stations and a handful of contest winners. The last were
all wide-eyed girls the oldest of whom might have been seventeen.
I walked over to the oldest looking ones to strike up a conversation.
They seemed absolutely enthralled with the performance going on below,
but they quickly turned their attention to me. I grew weary of their
idle prattle after a while though and took a seat by myself to watch the
concert. NSYNC was putting on a great show, with pyrotechnics and
all. I was much more interested with one person in particular than
with the concert itself.
Even from a distance Justin made my heart beat faster.
In the last couple of weeks I'd become rather cold and emotionally detached,
but when I saw Justin I felt something strange. I hadn't known what
to expect or how I would feel when I came to the concert. I knew
one part of me was simply here for lust. Looking for another conquest,
another meal. But now there was this other part of me. A part
that seemed to have been pushed further and further away since I met Regan.
Your humanity. That's what it is. Have you forgotten so
much already? That thought was disturbing and I tried to ignore
it and focus on the concert. On Justin. I tried to work out
what I would say to him, where I would take him. Is that it?
You gave up so much to have him and now your just going to settle for a
one night fling and be done with it? Perhaps I'd just have to
wait and see how things worked out. Thinking was giving me a headache.
When the concert was over the guys of NSYNC came
up to the VIP lounge. I stayed in the corner and watched the media
circus surrounding them. The girls who had won the contest were introduced
and they started crying. Meanwhile one of the business types was
trying to offer them some sort of promotional deal. And the whole
time cameras were flashing and reporters were shouting questions.
It was obvious that the guys were worn out, but nobody cut them a break.
One of the managers said something to the security guards and the reporters
were escorted firmly out the door, shouting about the first amendment all
the way. It was a little less hectic then, but not much. Lance
was trying to calm down the girls who were still sobbing, JC was shaking
his head and trying to get away from the businessman, Chris and Joey were
making small talk with a few guests and glancing at the bar, and Justin
was cornered by a couple of radio people who were trying to get him to
do a sound byte. He turned, looking for an excuse to get away and
then he saw me lounging quietly in the corner sipping a drink. He
caught my eye and I inclined my head indicating the empty seat next to
me. He quickly excused himself from the people who were still trying
to talk to him and came over. For a moment it looked like a few of
them were going to follow him but I gave them a cold stare and they backed
off. I stood up as Justin approached.
"You looked kinda lonely over here in the corner.
I'm Justin." He smiled sweetly, flashing those pearly white teeth
and extending his hand. I returned the smile, but I was careful to
keep my overgrown canines hidden. I grasped his hand and shook it
firmly.
"Lonely just means you're waiting for the right
person to come along. I'm Zack. Please," I said gesturing to
the chair "have a seat." I hadn't realized I used my real name until
that moment. It wasn't really important, but I hadn't used it for
a while.
"Thanks. So why are you over here by yourself?
You're the first person I've met in months who isn't all up in my face.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining."
"I'm not really a fan of crowds. I think people
are entitled to their own space."
"Yeah, well I wish more people thought that."
"It must be hard for you, always being watched.
Especially since your naturally so shy."
"Wha...How did you know that?"
"Let's just say I see people as they are, not as
they pretend to be. Or as others try to make them," I said with a
significant look at the publicists outside talking to the reporters.
"That must come in handy. So what else can
you tell about me?"
"I bet you'd like to sneak out of here and not deal
with those reporters."
"That'd be great, but there's no way to pull that
off."
"Yee of little faith," I said with a smirk.
"Follow me."
"Wait a second. I can't just leave.
Even if we could get past the security and the media, I have to be on the
bus in a few hours."
"Relax. You'll be back in time to get on the
bus." I looked right into his eyes and smiled. "Come on.
Live a little."
"I shouldn't...but ok, just for a little while."
I lead him to the back door of the lounge and told
the guard there that we were going to the bathroom. I also whispered
in his ear that he wouldn't remember seeing us. I had planned our
escape route out earlier so I knew exactly where I was going. We
went down a flight of stairs and out through the service exit. We
made it to the parking lot. There were a ton of news crews and screaming
fans waiting for NSYNC to come out, but they were all on the other side
of the lot where the tour bus was parked. My car stuck out like,
well like a $150,000 Porsche parked in the service lot with a bunch of
catering vans and pickup trucks. Justin's jaw dropped when he saw
my car.
"That's yours?"
"Yup. You like it?"
"Hell yes! I love it."
"If your good maybe I'll let you drive it."
"Can I?"
"I said maybe. Come on let's get out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"To get something to eat. You like Italian?"
"You read my mind."
We jumped in the car and sped away from the stadium,
leaving behind all the fans and reporters who had no idea they're main
quarry had escaped.
I took Justin to a quiet little Italian place in
the city. The lighting was dim enough to keep anyone from recognizing
him. It was also somewhat romantic. I found myself talking
to Justin about a lot of things. We talked about how much of a pain
it was to always be under public scrutiny and about how little time he
had for his personal life. We talked about music and all the problems
with the industry, we talked about movies and cars and sports. He
told me about his family, his mother Lynn and little brother Jonathan.
I found myself telling him about my family and my life as it had been until
two weeks ago. It was strange to talk about my old life, I hadn't
really thought about it at all in the last few weeks. By the time
our appetizer came it was apparent that things weren't going exactly as
I had planned. It was pretty clear that Justin was attracted to me.
That was no suprise. But I was having second thoughts about my intentions.
I reached into the pocket of my suit jacket, pulled out a cigarette and
lit it without even thinking.
"You smoke," Justin asked. There was no mistaking
the disappointment in his voice.
"Reformed smoker until just recently. Sorry
I should have known it would bother you."
"Oh...it's no big deal."
"No, I'll put it out."
I extinguished the cigarette. I knew full
well that I could have smoked an entire pack and Justin would not have
complained, but for some reason I didn't want to do anything to disappoint
him. I was starting to realize that I wouldn't be able to take advantage
of Justin. He was innocent and so sweet. Not in the little
boy kind of way, but he had no idea what I was, and what I had planned.
We continued talking over dinner. It was really nice to just sit
and talk to someone simply for the pleasure of their company. Time
passed quickly and suddenly Justin looked at his watch and jumped up.
"Oh shit, I gotta go! I'm supposed to be on
the bus in twenty minutes!"
"Don't worry I said I get you back, and I will."
I tossed down a fifty on the table and told the
waiter to keep the change. I followed Justin out to my car.
He was in it almost before I could unlock the door.
"I hope this thing is as fast as it looks."
"It is," I said with a smile. I slammed the
petal to the floor and the Porsche rocketed away into the night.
We made it back to the stadium with five minutes
to spare. I pulled up as close to the bus as I could and got out.
As soon as Justin got out of the car security was all over him. They
made a wall between him and the fans. Two of the bigger guys got
between him and me. JC came running out of the bus and over to us.
"Justin where the hell have you been? We've
been looking everywhere for you. They're are already stories running
that you've been kidnapped!" He looked over at me and glared.
"Who the hell is this?"
"JC calm down. This is Zack. I met him
after the show. He saw that I wasn't in the mood to deal with the
reporters and snuck me outside. We just had dinner. Everything
is fine."
"Fine? Fine! Justin you ran off without
telling anybody! You just went off with some random guy who you'd
never met before. He could have been some kind of deranged psycho!"
"Excuse me," I put in, "but I'm not a psycho if
that's any consolation." Are you sure? I moved towards
JC, intending on offering him my hand but the security guards got in the
way. I resisted the urge to break their arms off and forced a smile.
"I'm Zack. I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble."
"Trouble? Who the hell do you think you are
anyway. You..."
"JC stop it," Justin said roughly. "He's my
friend so back off."
"Alright fine Justin. Let's just get the hell
out of here before anything else goes wrong."
"I'll be there in a minute." He turned to
me, his eyes shinning. and I knew I could ask him to stay and he would.
He'd probably quit NSYNC right here on the spot. You can't do that to
him. And you wont. But I still wanted him. I couldn't
just let him go. You don't have to. I had to do something,
he was getting ready to say good-bye. I took a deep breath and prepared
to summon every bit of seductiveness I had in my body. I looked right
into his eyes and I knew he'd do whatever I asked. I could spirit
him away to some private tropical island and we could be together.
And
it would destroy his career. Is that what you want? To destroy
him?
"Zack, I...I've gotta go."
It was now or never. Don't do it.
Why shouldn't I just use him and get it over with? He was only a
human after all. Your still human too. I didn't need
things like love and companionship. I had money and power.
That was what life was about. Power. Love was just...what was
love?
You can't remember? You used to want to be loved.
You wanted him to love you. And he will. Not like that.
Not if you force him.
"Justin I've really enjoyed this. I wish it
didn't have to end."
"Me too. I guess you couldn't...no nevermind."
"What?"
"You...could come with us."
I was shocked. This is your chance.
Let it go. You don't have to be Nosferatu. But I did need it.
It wasn't so easy to just stop. But I could go with Justin.
There would still be plenty of time to seduce him. And it opened
up whole new realms of possibility. Lance was pretty cute too.
And there would be other people to meet. Nick Carter would be a nice
trophy to add to my wall.
"Alright Justin. I'll do it. I was planning
on taking a trip anyway."
His eyes lit up with excitement. I almost
felt that thing again. Guilt. It didn't matter though.
I would use Justin and when I was done with him I'd use all his friends
too. No you wont.
"That's so great! I can't wait to tell the
guys."
"Yeah I'm sure JC will be thrilled. I think
I'd better give them a day to get used to the idea. Besides
I have some things to take care of before I leave, but I'll catch up with
you tomorrow. Just let me know where you'll be."
"But we're on a plane to Albany tonight."
"I'll find you don't worry. I'd never let
you get away. Here's my cell phone number in case you want to call
me."
Justin gave me a hug and whispered "I'll miss you"
in my ear. Then he ran onto the bus and I was alone. Well except
for the rapidly dissipating crowd of fans and the security guards.
I got in my car and drove away. It was still early and I needed to
pick up a snack before I went home.
"Two teenagers were seriously wounded today when
their car was run off the road by an unidentified driver in a black sports
car. Both boys are in critical condition tonight and the police have
no leads at this time."
I laughed at the report on the radio. Humans
were such easy targets. Looking back on the evening I decided that
I hadn't really made any errors. Justin would be a dish much better
savored. And besides, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
And I certainly had ever intention of exploring that world. In the
meantime though, I needed to find something to hold me over. I didn't
feel like wasting a great deal of time so I simply parked my car in the
garage under my building and walked out into the streets. I picked
out and attractive looking man walking out of a nearby bar. His brisk
stride said he was in a hurry to get where he was going. He was probably
in his early twenties and had short blonde hair and green eyes. He
had a good build on him, probably went to the gym regularly. He was
dressed nicely but he looked depressed. That was perfect.
"Excuse me."
"Yes? Can I help you with something?"
"Actually I was just going to ask you that.
You look like you need someone to talk to."
"Oh it's nothing. I just had a fight with
my...my boyfriend."
"Ah. So you are a fag. I thought so."
"Yeah why? You got a problem with that?"
"Settle down, I didn't mean anything by it.
Look my apartment is right here. Why don't you come upstairs for
some coffee and tell me what's on your mind. I'm Adrian by the way."
"Brian, and no thanks. I think I'll just head
home."
He was displaying an unusual amount of resistance,
especially considering he was already gay. I caught his arm as he
was turning to go and stared into his eyes.
"I insist. Please."
"N...no thank you, really."
He was wavering, that was good.
"Come on. Just for a few minutes. I
wont bite."
"Uh...maybe just for a minute. But I can't
stay long."
"Of course. Follow me."
I brought Brian up to my apartment and made some
coffee. I handed him a cup and sat next to him on the couch.
"So Brian tell me. What did you fight with
your boyfriend about?"
"Well I just...I don't know how it started but..."
I tuned out his irritating prattle. Every
now and then I nodded sympathetically, but I wasn't listening. After
a while he got teary-eyed and I handed him a tissue. Normally I wouldn't
put up with this, but he was not showing very much interest in me.
I figured it would just take a little longer for him to come around.
Finally it seemed as though he was finishing up.
"S...so I t...told him that I couldn't believe he
thought I was ch...cheating on him and I...I left."
"Hmmm, that's too bad Brian. Well I guess
he wasn't the one for you then."
"Wh...what do you mean? I love him.
We just had a little fight. He's probably waiting for me right now.
I should get going."
"No Brian, he's probably out fucking some other
guy. Obviously he doesn't love you or he wouldn't treat you like
this. No just forget about him. Love is nothing more than an
illusion anyway."
"How can you s...say that. H...he wouldn't.
WE do love each other..." He started crying in earnest.
"Stop being such a baby. And what makes you
think you're so special. To him you were probably some cheap whore.
He'd have done anything to get in your pants. Brian? Brian!
Stop crying. Look at me."
I took his head in my hands and brought his eyes
up to mine.
"People are by their very nature selfish and cruel
Brian. The best thing you can do is move on. Let yourself enjoy
life and sample its fruits."
I pressed my lips against his. To my complete
suprise he started struggling. In fact I was caught so off balance
that he managed to shove me to the ground and stand up. His eyes
burned with anger.
"How dare you! I can't believe you would try
to take advantage of me like that! And how could you say things like
that? None of that was true! You are some kind of monster."
"Well you got the last part right anyway," I hissed
as I got to my feet. I stood between him and the door. I could
feel the anger surging through me. Rage was overpowering me.
It seemed as though my vision was clouding over red. Blood red.
"L...let me go. Get out of my way."
Brian looked towards the door, but he took a step
back. I simply stood there trying to figure out how he could possibly
resist me. Brian took another step backward and I still made no move.
"J...just let me out of here. This will be
between us, ok? I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to
call you a monster. I'm sorry. Really."
"No," I said quietly, "don't take it back.
You were right." I glided towards him, my eyes locked on his.
He started trembling.
"Please Adrian. Please just let me go.
I'm so sorry. I wont tell anyone."
"That's right. You wont."
Brian tried to bolt around me and I casually sidestepped,
grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back. He scream almost
muffled the wet-snapping noise his bones made as they broke. He crumpled
to his knees in pain and I released his arm. His eyes grew wide as
and he started crying and pleading for his life. He looked so pathetic
lying there clutching his broken arm. I smiled widely, revealing
my gleaming white teeth and especially my long, sharp canines. I
wasn't going to settle for a little bite this time. He was going
to die for resisting me. As I bent down and grabbed him by the hair,
my cell phone rang.
"If you make a sound Brian, I'll kill you before
you can blink." I grabbed the phone and and practically yelled into
it.
"What?!"
"Z...Zack? It's Justin. Is everything
ok?"
"Justin? Oh, god Justin! I'm sorry,
everything is fine." I looked at Brian lying on the floor and realized
what I had been about to do. Oh god what is happening to me?
"Justin can I call you back in about five minutes?"
"Oh. Yeah that's fine. Did I catch you
at a bad time."
"No, I was just cleaning up a little mess I made.
I'll call you right back."
"Ok, don't you need the number."
"I'll get it off caller ID. Bye."
"Ok b..."
I didn't here the rest of it as I hung up the phone.
I looked at Brian laying on the floor and sobbing. How could I
do that? I felt dizzy.
"God Brian, I'm so very sorry. I'm not sure
what came over me. I think you'd better go quickly. I haven't
been myself lately." I helped him up and shoved a handful of cash
into his hand as he walked unsteadily out the door. He turned, his
face pale and tears staining his cheeks.
"Th...thank you. I wont tell anybody.
Thank you for letting me go."
It occurred to me that I could still kill him and
hide the body. I quickly shut the door before I could act on the
idea. I lurched over to the couch and sat down heavily. What
the hell is happening to me? I almost killed a man! Of
course it was just a human. How could I act like that.
He probably would have made a good meal but there were plenty more.
Thank god Justin called. I realized I needed to call Justin
back. I picked up my cell phone and dialed the last number that had
called me.
"Hello?"
"Justin, it's Zack."
"Oh hey. Get your mess cleaned up?"
"Yeah I took care of it. So where are you?"
"In a limo going to the hotel in Albany."
"That's cool. You must be tired after the
concert. Bet you can't wait to get to bed."
"Yeah you know it. That's what I like about
the bus. We all have our own bunks. It sucks when we have to
fly cause I can never sleep on the plane. They make me too nervous."
"Actually I like flying, but I can't sleep on planes
either. Too noisy."
We talked for the remainder of Justin's limo ride
and while he was getting his room. It must have been over an hour
when he finally had to go.
"Hey, it's been great talking to you Zack, but I
gotta me with the guys before I go to bed and they'll bitch if I'm late."
"Ok, get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
"I can't wait. Bye."
As I hung up the phone it occurred to me that I
hadn't even noticed the time go by while I was talking to him. Normally
I found talking to humans incredibly boring, but for some reason Justin
was different. And he made me feel different. I wasn't really
sure how, but he did. He makes you feel more human.
I lit a cigarette and stalked into the bedroom.
I was going to have to go to bed hungry tonight. I couldn't find
the energy or the will to go out again. It bothered me that Brian
had caused so much trouble. I didn't know how or why, but he hadn't
been attracted to me at all. I had never had anyone that I was trying
to influence resist me like that. There had to be something about
him. The closest thing like it had been David. David had resisted
a little at first. But what did Brian and David have in common?
They were both guys, but I'd had other guys and they hadn't resisted.
They were both in relationships. But I'd seduced several people who
were in relationships. Of course they hadn't been as committed to
those relationships. Not like they had been in love. Love?
Perhaps that was it. Maybe love somehow negated my influence.
It was a disturbing thought. Especially since love was not something
I really understood. It was a human emotion and even when I had been
human I hadn't really understood love. But you still wanted it.
Don't you still want it now? I had a lot of trouble falling asleep.
When I did finally drift off my dreams were most unpleasant.
"Who was on the phone Justin?"
"Oh nobody."
"It was Zack wasn't it?"
"Yeah so?"
"Well it just seems kind of weird. You only
met the guy tonight and you just spent an hour talking to him on the phone."
"I like him JC, isn't that enough for you?"
"Fine. Well I guess he can't do any harm as
long as he's a couple hundred miles away."
"Um, well that's probably gonna change."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...I sort of invited him to come with us, for
the rest of the tour."
"WHAT! Are you crazy! Justin you've
really gone too far this time! Ok, so I can see you wanting to get
away from the media at the concert. I can even see you spending an
hour on the phone with him. But inviting him to come on tour with
us! That's plain nuts. If it was a cute girl then maybe, MAYBE
I could understand. But this is just stupid. You know nothing
about him."
JC's ranting was interrupted by a thump coming from
the hallway. I wrenched open the door and found Lance, Chris and
Joey in a pile in front of him.
"How long were you guys listening?"
"What are you talking about JC," Chris asked in
his most innocent voice.
"We were just all running to be on time for the
meeting, and we bumped into each other," Joey added.
"Uh huh. Lance how long were you guys listening
at the door?"
"Um, we weren't..." he broke off as JC stared at
him. Lance tried to return the gaze but he dropped his eyes quickly
and started laughing. Chris sighed.
"Nice going Scoop. For someone who's always
so serious you do a lousy job of keeping a straight face."
"Well now that you guys are here you may as well
come in so we can all discuss Justin's guest."
"I'll say right now, I agree with you JC.
I think it's nuts."
"Oh thanks Joey. I really appreciate that."
"Sorry Justin, but it's the truth."
"Fine. Chris, what about you?"
"Damn Curly, you really know how to put a guy on
the spot. I was gonna stay out of it, but since you asked I'll tell
ya. You just met this guy and I understand you think he's cool, but
there are a lot of freaks out there who do a good job of hiding it.
And you've gotta remember that even people who aren't nuts will still try
to take advantage of you. I don't think it's a good idea."
"Great. Lance would you like to tell me I'm
crazy too?"
"I don't think you're crazy Justin. I can't
say I think it's a good idea, but I saw the expression on your face when
you were talking on the phone with him. You looked really happy."
"Thanks Lance. Nice to see somebody here still
respects my decisions. Now listen. Zack's coming tomorrow.
I'm not asking you guys to like him or to hang out with him or anything.
Just let me live my life, ok?"
"Fine Justin if that's what you want." JC's
voice was carefully controlled. Justin could tell he was trying not
to yell.
"I think I'll go to bed. If you guys have
anything else to work out you can tell me about it in the morning."
He walked out before anyone could say anything. It was hard to face
them. He knew how it must look, inviting Zack to come on the tour.
Those guys in there had been like older brothers to him for years, but
now they looked at him funny. To be honest he felt funny. He
wasn't sure what he was feeling for Zack. He'd never really felt
this way about anybody before. It was strange though. It was
almost like he was attracted to Zack in two ways. First was the obvious
magnetism he felt whenever he looked at Zack. He could feel that
in his pants. It was overpowering and irresistible. But there
was something deeper than that. When he looked into Zack's eyes he
could see something beyond the sexual attraction. It was more elusive,
but at the same time even more powerful. And that feeling was in
his heart, not in his pants.
If he was perfectly honest with himself he had to
admit that he was probably gay. It was something he tried not to
think about. He'd never been with a guy before, but then he'd only
had a few flings with girls too, and those had never lasted. He'd
really never been attracted to girls, but he had tried to force himself
for a while. Now he was so busy it didn't really matter anyway, but
sometimes he caught himself fantasizing about guys he knew and it bothered
him. He'd been raised to believe that being gay was wrong, but he
couldn't deny what he felt in his heart. And what he felt in his
heart was that he needed Zack. He got ready for bed and was trying
to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
It was Lance. Justin was almost suprised.
He'd half expected JC to come storming in and start yelling at him, but
Lance usually respected other people's business. He was quiet and
even more shy than Justin. He came over slowly, even reluctantly,
and sat down on the bed.
"Hey."
"Hey Lance. They send you to come lecture
me?"
"What? No. I just thought you might
want someone to talk to."
"Oh, what makes you think that?"
"Well I mean it's not really like you to just meet
a stranger out of the blue and invite him to follow you around on tour."
"Yeah, maybe not," Justin said defensively.
"So what happened then?"
"What d'you mean?"
"Honestly? I think he's more than a friend
to you."
Justin was shocked. Lance was almost never
so blunt.
"What...what are you saying man?"
"I think you know."
"Wha...you think...no way, I'm not...like that."
"Justin it's ok. Listen I know how hard it
can be, but it'll get easier with time."
"You mean you're..."
"Gay. Yeah."
"Wow, I uh, wow. Do the other guys know?"
"No. You're only the second person I've told."
"Wow. So I guess I can't fool you then can
I?"
"Look Justin, what you want to do is your business.
But whatever you decide, just be true to yourself. I'm not trying
to tell you who you should be. I just thought it might be easier
if you knew that I'm here for you."
Justin felt tears forming in his eyes. I sat
up and pulled Lance into a hug.
"Thanks Lance. That really means a lot.
I guess I am...like that. I'm just glad I'm not the only one."
"Yeah me too. So have you talked to Zack about
this?"
"No. Actually it never even occurred to me
that he might be straight. I guess I just assumed...I mean we got
along so well and everything."
"Well considering he's coming all the way to Albany
tomorrow I think you've got nothing to worry about. But Justin, do
me a favor."
"Yeah?"
"Just be careful. I don't want to see you
get hurt."
"I wont Lance. And Thanks. Now you better
get some sleep. We got another big day tomorrow."
"Alright. G'night Justin."
So there's part three. I know it's kind of
evil, but then again so is life. At least it ended on a good note...well
sort of anyway. E-mail me and let me know what you think.