Title: Chances Are (Part 6)
Author: Red (redfirewitch@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: This is just fiction and there isn't an ounce of truth about the sexuality of the Nsync boys in here. At least not as far as I know. If you're below 18 or if you don't want to read fiction about homosexuality, do not go further than this line.
Dedication: To Diana Martin, author of Shattered, who made me cry with her marvelous writing. And I mean real, big, fat, tears! As always, special thanks to the special Wen for always alerting me about the Mysterious One's latest installment! A fairy godmother's work is never done! ;-P Finally, thank you to all those who remembered this story and asked for it. (Hi Damita!) This part would have taken months (instead of weeks!) if it hadn't been for you guys. ~~~~ Previously on Chances Are:
JC's eyes widened as he saw that as Justin removed his shirt, he had accidentally rubbed off some of the concealer. The red mark stood out vividly now against Justin's skin. Anyone had to just look at Justin and they would see it.
JC mentally prayed that Justin would put on his shirt before anyone looked at him.
'God, please don't let anyone see it. Please don't let anyone..'
"Justin? Why do you have a hickey on your neck?" Joey asked loudly.
There was a sudden silence in the room as all eyes fixed on Justin's neck.
'Damn!'
"Look at the size of that!" "So that's what you were off doing!" "Who was it?" "Michelle!!" "No way! It's that cute wardrobe assistant! Whatsaname? Lucy?" "She was with us all.DAMN! It's Christina!" "Oh my god! It has to be Christina! You disappeared and came back with her!" "Wait till Britney hears about this! Chick fight!" "I want to see that!" "Oh yeah!" "JC, you knew about this didn't you?" JC and Justin looked at each other, lost as to how to answer the onslaught of questions and comments. The truth? A lie? What? But before they could come up with something, Julian stuck his head into the room. "What's taking you so long! Come on, people! Move it! Time doesn't wait for pop stars either!" the flustered manager yelled. With a look of relief, Justin just flashed a secretive grin at his bandmates and quickly pulled on his shirt and hurried out of the room. At least he could make a temporary getaway from the questions. JC was about to follow suit when Joey grabbed his arm. "You're not getting off so easy. Spill it!" "I've got no idea!" JC lied. "Yeah right! It's Christina, isn't it? That's why you're protecting the both of them!" "Joey, I don't know anything." JC repeated, desperate to get away as he was starting to panic. And when he panicked, he said and did moronic stuff. "You were with him the whole time! You must have seen them at it! Come on, man! Share!" By now JC was getting angry. "Fine! So what if it was Chrissy! What's it to you!?" he yelled and hurried out of the room, leaving stunned Joey behind. As JC left the room, he realized that he had just told the guys the very thing that Justin told him not to. This wasn't good. "Ok, what just happened? I thought we were just teasing!" Joey asked Lance and Chris who just shrugged and pulled him out of the room to head for the back exit where the limousine was parked. They didn't quite manage to escape the attention of the resourceful fans. Somehow word had got out that NSync was also at that venue and the girls figured out the groups exit plans. As the guys were steered into the limo, screaming fans tried to catch the attention of their favorite group member. But in a matter of seconds, thanks to Julian's hurried steerage, the guys were seated and the car was moving. Joey, Lance and JC were sitting facing the front while Justin, Chris and Julian sat facing the back. Justin was already preparing himself to answer the questions that he was sure would be coming. Instead what he got was a guilty look from JC and a knowing grins from the rest. "What!?" Justin asked. "So, how are you going to explain this to Brit?" Chris asked. "Explain what? I'm taking the fifth. I'm not admitting anything." Justin stated with a smile. "Oh come on! We know! JC told us! You and Christina! She gave you that hickey!" Joey added. "JC What?!" Justin yelled, looking at JC. "Don't be mad at JC, Justin. Joey wormed it out of him. You know, JC can't keep a secret." Lance said, trying to pacify the blond who was glaring at JC. JC knew that he was in some serious shit. He had gone and done exactly what Justin had told him not to do in the first place. But he didn't have choice and he didn't mean to anyway. Joey just misunderstood his outburst. Or so JC justified to himself. Somehow he doubted that, Justin was going to buy that excuse. "JC told you Chrissy and I made out?" Justin asked, his tone low and dangerous as he stared at his best friend. "Like we wouldn't have figured it out anyway! Just be careful, Curly! Britney's not going to like this if she finds out!" Joey advised. Justin just kept silent. What could he say? If he denied it, he would have to tell the truth. And that wasn't going to happen. Especially now. He was inwardly seething because JC had just ignored his wishes and gone ahead with his stupid suggestion. It was like what he wanted didn't even count! 'Fine if that's the way he wants it, that's what he'll get. If what I say doesn't even matter, then I just won't say anything!' The limousine arrived at the restaurant within minutes as they all got out and hurried into the building before the vehicle drew too much attention. Once they were in, the manager led them to a closed off section where a reporter was waiting. While following Julian as he led the group to the table, JC pulled at Justin's arm. "I can explain," he said "I don't want to hear it," Justin said before walking faster to join the rest already at the table. He sat between Julian and Chris, making it obvious to JC that he didn't want to sit beside him. JC exhaled in frustration and took a seat beside Chris. Lance sat beside him, followed by Joey and then Kate Craven, the reporter. The table was round so everyone was able to see everyone else. "Hi, guys. I'm Kate Craven. How is everyone?" the reporter asked, as she shook hands with everyone. Joey. "Hungry." Lance. "Fine. Thank you." JC. Smile. Justin. Nod. "Any relation to Wes?" The last comment had came from Chris, causing Kate to grin and shake her head. "Too bad! So how does this work? We eat and talk? Just beware projectile food." Chris warned. "Yeah, I know. Sorry about having to do this, this way but you guys are pretty busy people and this is the only chance I've got." Kate explained, smiling apologetically. "It's ok. Anything was a pretty lady." Joey answered with a wink. Kate just smiled, knowing full well Joey's reputation for flirting. She glanced at Lance and for a moment she thought she saw a frown on his face. But the look was gone in an instant and she didn't think much about it. "So, everyone ready to place their orders?" Julian asked, as he gestured to the waiter. As always, his eye was on the clock as he wanted to follow the schedule closely. While everyone was placing their order, JC tried to get Justin's attention but the blond adamantly refused to meet his eyes. Finally giving up, JC just leaned back in his chair and decided to just the interview over and done with. Then he would apologize, grovel, beg and do anything necessary to get Justin to listen to him. He felt someone elbow him and he look up in a daze. "Huh?" "Sorry. 'Huh' isn't on the menu." Chris replied. Realizing that they were waiting for him to place his order, JC just glanced at his menu. "Caesar Salad." He wasn't hungry anymore but he knew he had best order something anyway. At least it would give him something to pick at. Once the waiter was gone, Kate began the interview. "So, since the last time Seventeen talked to Nsync, what's the girlfriend status like? An update please?" "Not much change. Chris is the only one with a girlfriend crazy enough to put up with our schedule. The rest of us are still looking for some as insane as Danielle." Joey answered. "Hey lay off my baby!" Chris protested. "Lance, how about you and Danielle Fisher?" Lance just shook his head. "We dated but not anymore. Like Joey said, we just don't have the time." "Ok, how about the Britney and Justin rumors? Anything to that, Justin?" "No. Britney and I are just friends. We hang out together but nothing is going on with us." "We've been seeing a lot of pictures of the two of you together lately." "Isn't it a coincidence that the pictures seem to appear just around the time of the release of our new album?" Justin asked, wryly. Kate smiled. "Ahhh! So you're saying it's some form of promotional stunt?" "Ahem! We're not trying to do anything like that. We don't circulate lies. The press can show what it wants to show. " Julian added, giving Justin a scolding look. Justin just gave him an innocent look. He knew he shouldn't have implied that Jive was manipulating the fans but he was sick of the Britney question and was only to happy to cast doubts. Besides it was fun seeing Julian sweat! "Fine. Our readers will be glad to hear that there is no truth behind the rumors but come on! Surely, JC, you must be seeing someone." JC briefly glanced at Justin and saw the blond was discreetly looking at him. "I wish I was. I thought I was. But it seems to have ended before it even begun." Justin didn't miss the message. He knew that he was giving JC hell for his mistake. After all, he was his best friend and he knew only too well that when JC panicked he tended to say the wrong things. Always had and Justin guessed he always will. But still if was to just let this go, Justin would never be able to cure this 'bad habit'. Yes, he was evil. But JC deserved it! JC saw Justin get a determined look on his face and his heart sank. He was convinced now that Justin was going to call the whole thing off between them. He just looked down into his glass of water as the food arrived, trying not to start crying and to figure out how to fix things between Justin and him. Justin saw JC's dejected expression and felt guilty for making JC think that he was calling the whole thing off but he was still a little angry and wanted JC to sweat it out a little. "My! You guys make yourself sound like monks!" "It's not by choice!" Joey said, sadly. "I'm sure! Let's move on. How is the new album coming along?" Kate asked. The food arrived and as the interview progressed, JC became more eager to get it over and done with. Usually he was talkative in interviews but this time he remained silent for the general questions and gave answers only when the question was directed at him. And even then only they were only short answers. Finally they concluded the meal and the interview. By now, Joey was flirting intensively with Kate. "Aww, we're done? Why do all the interviews with the cute reporters end so soon!" Joey said with a grin, causing Kate to laugh a little. "Thank you for your time. As for the pictures.." Kate trailed off looking at Julian for confirmation. "We'll send a few shots to Seventeen by tomorrow." Julian replied. "All right. Thanks Julian. Good luck with everything guys." Kate said as she waved goodbye. The guys said their good-byes and were once again steered into the vehicles waiting to take them and their entourage of bodyguards to the television recording studio. The show they were recording for was a Disney Summer special but it was being shot in advance as Nsync's schedule was tight and it had to be coordinated with the schedules of the other performers. The ride was filled with silence for the first few minutes but it wasn't long before Julian spoke. "Justin, that comment about the appearance of the pictures of Britney and you, corresponding with coming release of the new album was uncalled for. Please refrain from such comments in the future." "Why? It's the truth. Most of the pictures that are circulating were taken at Jive functions by Jive's authorized photographers." Justin stated. "You and Britney share the same label and management, so obviously, we see an opportunity for you both to build on each other's popularity." "Even if it is a lie that is making our personal lives difficult?" "We want it to be a lie but as long as there is always the possibility, fans will be interested in both Nsync and Britney." "In other words, you want us to use each other. So we are a couple when you want us to be and not a couple when you don't want us to be. We are just regular whores aren't we?" Justin asked angrily. "I don't make the rules Justin. Show business isn't always pretty. You of all people should know that by now." Julian stated tiredly. Justin was silent for a while. The rest of the group watched uneasily. Everyone knew that Justin bore the brunt of the fan adulation. Especially since 'adulation' was always extreme in the cases of screaming 15 years old. Their older fan base was more restrained in their manners and treatment of the group members and in fact didn't over-react when their favorite members were seen with girlfriends. However, Justin's fans were more likely to freak out when he was romantically linked to any girl. Yet at the same time, the fact that the 'other girl' was a pop star too caused even more sensationalism. The tabloids portrayed it has a fairy-tale match up of two successful teens who had been childhood sweethearts in MMC and grew up to take the teen market by storm. Having been linked to Britney had seemed fine at first. It had been the truth for a while but still it was also frustrating when his name became a synonym of 'Britney's main squeeze'. He hated that everyone began to see him only as an image and not as a musician. It was always about who he was seeing or how his hair looked or how he spoke. How he sang and what music he wrote never seemed to count for anything and was more often than not overshadowed by the image. On his own the pressure was great but being linked with Britney, the pressure was huge as he was hampered by not only Nsync's image but also Britney's and he didn't like that. That was why he was averse to being linked with Christina too. He didn't want the added sensationalism to his image. He just wanted to make music and perform. Why couldn't they understand that? Why couldn't JC understand that? "I know the rules, Julian. That doesn't mean I have to follow it. I'm sick of this whole thing. I just wish people will stop screwing with what little personal life I still have and stop deciding for me who I'm seeing or not! Even if it is a convenient lie!" Justin yelled and leaned back in to the corner of his seat, looking out the window and sulking. JC knew that part of the last statement was directed at him. He understood why Justin was mad at him and felt bad for the teen. He just hoped that it wasn't too late fix things between them. The car came to a stop inside a private car park of the studio and therefore the screaming fans were kept outside the entrance. They were then hurried into the studio to meet the producer of the show. After a quick run through of the sequence of the songs they were performing, they were sent off to get prepared. As they headed for the dressing rooms, Joey walked beside Justin. "Hey Curly. Sorry about giving you a hard time about Chrissy. You know I'm just joking, right?" he said apologetically. Justin looked at Joey's contrite expression and smiled. He knew that Joey didn't mean harm. If the situation with JC hadn't been what it was, Justin knew that he would probably have laughed off Joey's teasing. "That's ok, Joey. I'm not mad at you." JC who had been walking beside Joey didn't miss the emphasis on 'you' and couldn't help but feel vexed. This wasn't unfair! How come Justin talked to Joey, who was to blame for this whole thing anyway. But still refused to talk to him. Justin wasn't the only one who could be stubborn! JC refused to let Justin call of their relationship just because of one mistake. It was time to take action! "That's it!" JC said aloud before he walked around Joey. He strode towards Justin as he was talking to Joey and grabbed his arm. Pulling the startled teen along with him, JC stalked towards the dressing room allotted to the group. "JC! What the hell are you doing?" Justin yelled as he stumbled behind the determined brunet who didn't even slow down. Joey, Chris and Lance watched open-mouthed. "Excuse us for a second, guys! I have to talk to Justin!" JC announced as he opened the door to the room and pushed Justin in. He followed quickly and closed the door and turned to face the surprised teen. Chris, Joey and Lance looked at the closed door and then at each other for an explanation. There was a collective shrug. ** INSIDE Meanwhile back in the room, Justin stared at JC amazed by his actions while JC began pacing the floor. They just ignored the knocks on the door and Chris' yells. "This isn't happening. This morning! Just this morning! We got together just this morning and already it is over? I don't buy that! I refuse to let this end just because of one stupid mistake!" he ranted. Justin fought the urge to tell JC that he didn't intend to end things. Like hell he would! He had wanted to be with JC for too long to let something as small, though significant, as this to stop them before they even got started. He wasn't that petty and was just trying to make JC sweat. However, he was amused by JC's sudden aggressive action and decided to wait and hear him out. So Justin crossed his arms in front of him and just remained silent while JC went on. "It's unfair! Joey made me tell him! You know how persistent and irritating Joey can be! And you just left me there to handle all of them on my own! I panicked!" "You know what! You should make that your motto! I Panicked! It's your excuse for everything, isn't it?" "Justin! I didn't mean to tell them that! It just came out." "It just came out!? I told you not to lie and tell the guys that Chrissy and I were fooling around and you did it anyway! Am I just supposed to forgive everything you do, just because of that? What say do I have in this relationship then, JC?" "Justin. I'm sorry for dictating to you what you should do! I didn't mean to do that! I made a mistake and I just want to fix it now. Tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it!" "This is not short term fix it solution, JC. I can't keep having this fight with you." JC looked at Justin in disbelief. "You don't want to be with me?" "You don't get it! I want to be with you. I made the first move. I try to make thing right. But everything you say and do makes me think that you don't want the same! You panic because you can't handle being with me." "That's not true! I want to be with you! I'm just worried about the consequences." "That's just it! If being with me is going to be so troublesome or embarrassing for you, then maybe we should call this whole thing off before someone find out." Justin said. He didn't mean it but he wanted to see JC's reaction to that statement. JC stared back at Justin in contemplative silence. ** OUTSIDE "Let's us in!" Chris yelled "Is everything all right?" a sweet voice asked. Chris, Joey and Lance turned to see Christina standing there in her performance outfit with her dancers behind her. Seeing that this was a private matter between friends, her dancers left her to head to stage. "Chrissy! Maybe you can stop this. Justin and JC are in there, probably fighting." Lance informed worriedly once they were alone together. "What!?" Christina yelled in disbelief. She wondered how that could happen? Just an hour ago, they couldn't keep their hands of each other. Wait a minute, did these guys know about them? "Why are they fighting?" Joey smirked. "Let's just say that a certain blond's hickey started the whole thing." "But I helped Justin cover that up with." Christina trailed off, realizing what she had just said. "Don't worry about it. We already know! JC told us!" Chris said with a grin. "JC told you about Justin and..he actually told you guys?" Christina asked in surprise. "Yeah, we wormed it out of him. I'm kind of surprised though. I mean what would Britney say?" Joey asked, peering at Christina reprovingly. Christina frowned. He is kind of surprised? Talk about a mild reaction. And why were they worried about Britney and taking this whole Justin/JC thing so easy? "Britney would be shocked but I think she would be ok with it." Christina said, feeling a bit confused. "She'll be ok with her friend making out with her ex-boyfriend?" Lance asked. "Er..I think that isn't going to be as important to her as the larger issue." "Larger issue? You made out with Justin! What larger issue?" Joey asked. It took a while for what Joey said to make a full impact on Christina. ** INSIDE Justin and JC were staring at each other when they heard a loud yell. "JC SAID WHAT!?!" JC winced as he recognized Christina's voice. He had been hoping that she wouldn't find out so soon but it looked like he was going to get things his way. "JOSHUA SCOTT CHASEZ! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW OR WHEN YOU DO COME OUT, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS SO HARD THAT YOU'RE GOING TO WALK FUNNY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" Justin couldn't help but grin. He didn't call Chrissy, Scream for nothing. "I think Scream means business. You better open the door." JC hesitated for a while before turning to open the door. Chris, Lance, Joey and Christina entered the room and closed the door nheind them. Christina glared at JC. "Chasez! Tell me you didn't tell them that lie after both Justin and I told you not to!" the girl ordered, looking hard at JC. JC gulped. "I er.." "I'm waiting." Christina said. "Quick! Use you motto, JC." Justin said JC, trying to hide his smile. He knew he was supposed to be angry but JC just looked so damn cute when he was on a spot. JC ignored Justin's quip. He was getting tired of being put on a spot. The whole day had been a roller coaster and he was getting sick of it. The hell with everyone and everything. As far as he was concerned there was only one person in the room whose opinion really mattered to him. "What's going on?" Joey asked, mirroring the look on Lance's and Chris' faces. JC knew it was time for a decision. He was done with the doubts. He saw the arrogant smirk on Justin's face and wanted to wipe it off. And he knew just how. JC smiled. Justin had asked him if he wanted to call the whole thing off. He was going to give Justin his answer. Right now! "You want to know what's going on, Joey?!! This is what's going !!!" JC yelled and with that he grabbed Justin and kissed him right on lips. Caught by surprise, Justin gasped, thus allowing JC access inside his mouth. JC plunged his tongue into the soft, wet and hot cavern and tangled with Justin's as he buried his hands in the teens curly blond hair. Justin's hands automatically came to rest on JC's hips as he responded passionately. All logical thought flew out of their minds, including their awareness of an audience. There was a collective intake of breath followed by a loud, "OH. MY. GOD!" from Joey.