Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 05:01:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James Subject: Adventures of a Real Dark Knight 49 Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my mind!!! Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox. Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. Star Trek and all related characters created by Gene Roddenberry. Copyright Paramount Studios. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! I have received many emails from people who have enjoyed it and some from those who do not. I would enjoy hearing from you. Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. jmsotc@yahoo.com I also have several online messenger services. If you want to chat with me in real time, email me and tell me the services you use and I will tell you my screen name. Chapter 49 A Day with the Guys Justin came out and Lance got up. "Don't get up on my account. I think it's kind of cute to see you two like that." Lance and I smiled at Justin. "Did you guys have plans for the day?" "No," Lance said. "Or did we?" He looked at me. "No. No plans. Did you have an idea?" I asked. "Why don't we just all go out for awhile and have some fun? We could call Joey, Chris and JC and spend the day together. What do you say?" "Sound fine with me," I answered. "Yeah, me, too," Lance added. "I'll go call the guys." "There's the phone." Lance pointed to the table. Justin picked it up and, fifteen minutes later, the guys pulled up at the house ready to go. "Hey, Lance. Hey, Eric," they greeted. "Hi, guys," I replied. "What do we do first? Go-karts? Miniature golf? Shopping?" Joey asked. "Let's do go-karts, first," Chris said. We piled into the SUV and off we went to the go-kart track. We must have rode around for an hour having fun and being silly. When we finished, Joey suggested we go to the mall shopping and have lunch. Everyone agreed and the next stop was the shopping mall. The mall wasn't too busy, as it was during the week, so it made it convenient for the guys. They didn't have to worry about a bunch of fans seeing and recognizing them. Once there, I suggested we split off into two groups. Lance, Justin and JC went one way while Chris, Joey and I went another. "Meet at the food court in one hour, okay?" Everyone agreed and off we went. "Why did you want to split up?" Joey asked. "Because I want to buy Lance something really nice but I want it to be a surprise. I was hoping you guys could help me." "Did you have something in mind?" "I was thinking something along the lines of jewelry." "Follow me," Chris said. We went down the mall promenade and came to a small jewelry store. Chris nonchalantly walked up to the counter. "Hey, Bob," he greeted the salesman. "Hi, Chris. What can I help you with?" "This is my friend Eric. He's looking for something for his significant other." "Ah, something to please the young lady's eye." "No," I chimed in, "the young man's eye." Bob stopped for just a second. "Ah, I see. Let's come over to this counter where we have a lovely selection of rings. Or would you prefer necklaces?" "I'm not sure. Show me what you have." Bob took me through the rings and necklaces and even the cufflinks. Every piece of jewelry was pretty. I finally decided on a ring with a ruby center. In the center of the ruby was a gold cross. I paid for it and hid it in my pocket when we left. "That wasn't so hard," I said. "Thanks, Chris." "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help." As we walked back down the promenade heading for the food court, I noticed a weird man out of the corner of my eye. He seemed to be lost in his own world, so to speak. He wasn't paying too much attention to anyone else. I shrugged my shoulders and on we went. At the food court, we met Lance, JC, and Justin and everyone decided on their lunch. We sat and ate and talked. "Where did you guys go?" JC asked. "Around," Joey said. "Mostly just looking at stuff." "What about you guys?" Chris asked. "We bought a few things," JC replied. He opened his bag and pulled out some shirts that he had purchased. "So when do you guys go on tour?" I asked. "The end of the month," Joey replied. "Are you coming with us?" "I'd like to. But after what happened to the teen center it may be a good idea if I stay here to make sure things run smoothly." "Couldn't you hire someone to do that?" "I would need a business manager to do that. We don't have the funds for a business manager right now. Besides, even if we did, there still wouldn't be enough time to go through the hiring process to find one qualified before you leave." "Maybe Johnny knows someone," JC suggested. "We could talk to him about it." "If he knows someone we can trust, sure," I replied. We finished eating and dumped our trays, and then we headed back towards the shopping area. I noticed the weird man talking to himself again. He passed us in the promenade. We went to Dillard's to look around a bit. As we picked out silly outfits and suggested which one of the group should buy it, the man walked up to us. "Well if it isn't NSYNC. You guys must think you're so hot! You must think you're the greatest! And who is this other guy? Just some nobody who happened to be near you today. You don't care about him! You don't care about any normal person! Just because you are wealthy and famous you think it's okay to ignore those who don't make enough money. You don't care about those who are not famous." Lance moved in front of me a bit, not knowing what the guy would do. I stretched out my molecules and could tell this man was feeling very tense and frustrated. Whatever the case was, he felt his actions were justified. He was angry. About what I did not know. But I couldn't take the chance that he would hurt anyone, including himself. "Nobody move!" he yelled pulling out his gun. "I am not afraid to use this!" Our hands went up. And employee saw what was going on and attempted to sneak away to get help. The man open fire on her and down she fell. I could not tell if she was dead. I was praying she wasn't. If I didn't do something fast, though, she would be. I inched away slowly, hoping to get behind a clothes rack and sneak away. I managed to get around a rack holding shirts before the man noticed. "Don't move! You people aren't taking me seriously! It looks like I'm going to have to make you take me seriously!" The man turned his gun toward me and fired. I reached out my hand and manipulated the molecules in the air to stop the bullet. I reached out my other hand, manipulated molecules and jerked the gun out of his hand. "I don't know what your problem is," I said, "but you need therapy." The man just looked at me wide-eyed. "Joey, go get security." I walked over to the bullet still hanging in mid-air, and grabbed it, slipping it in my pocket. Not too much later, the police arrived. They placed the man in handcuffs. "He needs some kind of psychological help, officer." "Don't worry. He will be evaluated. Standard procedure." I handed one of the officers the gun and they took statements from us. Paramedics had come and loaded up the salesperson into the ambulance. She was stable and they had high hopes she would be fine. "I think I've had enough shopping for today," Justin said. "I think so, too," Chris said. We went back to the SUV and drove back to the house. Everyone crashed in the living room and I went in the kitchen to get us all something to drink. "Eric." I turned to see Justin. "Yes?" "I want to thank you for...listening to me earlier today, and not laughing at me." "Why would I laugh, Justin?" "Because most people seem to when it comes to bisexuality." "I'm not most people. I think we've established that some time ago." "Yeah," he said with a smile. "The thing is, I don't know where to go from here." "Take one day at a time. Do you remember Robby Lakewind? The dark-haired guy at the teen center when everyone was helping to clean it?" "Yeah." "He's bisexual. I'll have to get you two some time together so you can talk with him. It may be beneficial to both of you." "Thanks." I poured some glasses of iced tea and Justin grabbed three of them. "Thanks for you help," I said. "You're welcome." "And you are welcome to stay here as long as you like." "Thanks. I appreciate that. But I think I'm going to go back to my own place. I think Britney was planning on moving back to her own. I can call and see if she did. It's time I dealt with things and not run from them." "There's nothing wrong with taking time to get away and regroup. Just so long as it isn't trying to run and hide from the problem." Justin smiled at me and we went out to the living room. After everyone drank their tea they declared it was time for them to go. We said our goodbyes and they left. "What a great day," Lance said. "Any time with you is a great day," I replied. "Now let's get some dinner. I'm starved." Lance followed me into the kitchen and talked with me as I made dinner. "It's amazing to see where we've come from, you know? Just this past summer we met. It's been almost a year. It feels like it was only yesterday we met." "I know what you mean, Lance. Time goes by fast when you are busy." "And we met each other's parents." "And became engaged." "Engorged? Let me see!" "Engaged, goofball," I replied hitting him with a towel. "We became engaged." Lance laughed. "And we've gone through many changes in our life." "Is this one of those 'I really think I'm straight' speeches? Because if so, I don't think I can handle it." "No, it's not one of those." Lance smiled again. "How is Justin doing with the whole bisexuality thing?" "The same that any person whose sexual orientation is different from everyone else. He's taking one day at a time." "I wish there was something I could do for him." I slipped a little in cutting up the chicken. My mind went to what Justin asked earlier that day. 'If Lance didn't care, would you have sex with me?' If Lance only knew what Justin proposed... We sat down and had a lovely dinner. Once we cleaned up, I looked over at Lance. "I feel like dancing." "Want to go to a club?" "No. I want to dance here." I loaded the dishwasher and turned it on. We went into the living room and I turned on the radio. Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" played. I took Lance into my arms and we swayed to the music. As we danced, I placed my head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his breath on my neck, hearing his heart beating, melting to his touch. "I love you, Lance." "I love you, Eric." "There is something I want to give you," I said to him. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring I purchased for him. "What's this for?" he asked taking the box. "It's for my love for you." He opened it and looked at it. Then he tried it on. "Fits nicely." "The red ruby is for our love. The cross in the middle stands for God giving us this love. God is love, after all." Lance leaned in and kissed me passionately on the lips. We danced a little more then moved to the couch. Lance sat down and I sat between his legs leaning against his body, his arms around me, holding me close. To Be Continued... Up next, the final installment of "Adventures of a Real Dark Knight". I hope you have enjoyed this series. I received some comments that "Tales" rushed in the end. I hope this one wasn't rushed too horribly so to get to the end. In "Chronicles of a Real Dark Knight" look for more spiritual and supernatural story line with more vampires, demons and so forth. Anne Rice's world as well as Joss Whedon's world will both be in the forefront, plus a brief crossover with "Tales of a Young Mutant". Enjoy!