Devotion Chapter Forty-Four: "Trials and Triumph"
author: Angel
e-mail: Angel1313@att.net
Disclaimer: All fiction. And the song lyrics aren't mine, either =P They belong to *NSYNC or whoever wrote them! (I know Richard Marx wrote the English version, but...)
Notes: Well, here it is, chapter 44! I'm going to try to write chapter 45 tonight. If I do, it will be out tomorrow for sure. If not, I'm sad to say that you won't be hearing from me until the tenth. I'll be out of town :( But I promise I'll keep "Devotion" in mind and you won't have to wait long for the next chapter. But I have begun writing ch.45 and I'm really going to make an effort to get it out tomorrow. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! -Angel ^_^
Chapter Forty-Four: "Trials and Triumph" "Cuando sientas tristen-za - tristesa - tri-" "Again." "Que no puedas calmer, er, calmar-" "Again." "Cuando heya un vacio. Oh, I meant `haya'..." "Again." "Que no puedas lenar. Wait, that's supposed to be `yenar.' `Jenar'? How do you pronounce double-ls again?" "Again." "Te abraziare. Te-hair olverder lo que te hi-zo surf rear. Wait, that can't be right..." "Again." Justin threw his hands up in frustration. "I've already done it a million times! I'm just not getting it!" Alex looked the teen square in the eyes, her expression unwavering. "Again." Sighing, the blonde grumbled, "Fine." "Wait, wait, wait," JC interrupted, walking over. "Justin's right; he's been trying to get this part right for the last hour and a half. Obviously something's not clicking. Trying to make him sing it again clearly isn't the way to go with this, so why don't we try another approach?" Alex folded her arms across her chest, but at this point she was open to suggestion. "What do you have in mind?" "Just let me work with him for a little bit," JC asked, his expressive blue eyes pleading with the young woman. Sighing, Alex nodded. "Very well. I'll work on fine tuning the song with the other guys. You have ten minutes." JC smiled gratefully before dragging Justin off to a corner of the room. Justin looked at the older man quizzically. "What *do* you have in mind?" "First, give me this," JC said, taking Justin's music from the younger man's hands. "No, wait, I need that!" the blonde protested, reaching for the sheet. JC shook his head. "Close your eyes," he commanded. Justin folded his arms across his chest. "Close them." Sighing, the young man closed his eyes. "Now," JC said, quietly dropping the paper to the floor. "Don't think about the words. Focus on the music. *Feel* the music. Let it flow, Justin. Just relax and let it flow." JC's soothing voice was relaxing Justin a little too much, and he began to sag a little. JC quietly stepped around the blonde and let his arms encircled Justin's waist. Justin automatically placed his hands over JC's. "Now," the brunet whispered, leaning his cheek against Justin's. "try it again. `Cuando sientas tristeza...'" Justin took a deep breath, but he did not sing. "Come on," JC coaxed. "You know the words, Justin. You've been studying them for hours. You know the melody. It's there, deep in your heart. It's `Promise,' Justin. It's the same song. You know this. Work with me, sweetheart. You can do this." Justin shook his head. JC moved to stand before Justin. The younger man frowned a bit, but his expression turned to that of confusion when the brunet knelt before him. "Josh?" Justin asked. "What are you-" "Shhh," JC interrupted him. "Listen." With that, he recited Justin's verse of "Yo te Voy a Amar" as if it were a poem. When he was finished with it once, he recited it again. Slowly, a glowing smile lit Justin's face. Joey glanced at his bandmates from across the room. Watching as knelt before Justin, he leaned over to Chris and muttered, "What's he doing? Proposing?" "Well, Spanish is the language of love, you know," Chris replied. "That's French," Lance pointed out. Chris shrugged. "French, Spanish. Is there really a difference?" Joey scratched his head. "Wait, doesn't JC speak French?" Lance sighed. "He has French roots, but I don't know that he actually speaks the language." "It's too bad," Chris said sadly. "I was hoping he could teach Joey how to woo the ladies." "Someone really should," Lance agreed, hiding a smile. "Hey, I don't think *JC* is the one who should be teaching me to woo the ladies," Joey replied. Looking at Alex, he added, "If you catch my drift." Lance sighed again. "Joey, Joey, Joey... What are we going to do with you?" Chris shook his head. "You've *really* got to stop that." Joey opened his mouth to defend himself, but Alex chose that moment to return to the small group. "Okay," she announced. "Let's practice the chorus one more time." Chris smiled. "Yeah. And this time, Joey, don't look at Alex while you sing. You always seem to lose your train of thought." "That's not his problem, he just gets *on* another one," Lance corrected, rolling his eyes. Joey laughed. "Hey, it happens!" Alex folded her arms across her chest. "The chorus," she reminded them. Sighing collectively, the three members of *NSYNC began the chorus once more. They hadn't gotten very far when Justin's voice could be heard, strong and clear, interrupting them. "Cuando sientas tristeza Que no puedas calmar Cuando haya un vacio Que no puedas llenar Te abrazare Tehare olvidar lo que te hizo sufrir No vas a caer Mientras que estes junto a mi." JC immediately sprang up and wrapped Justin in a hug. "You did it!" he exclaimed, spinning the younger man around. Setting Justin back down, he repeated softly, "You did it." Justin was beaming. "Thanks to you." JC looked away. "Naw, you had it in you the entire time. I just helped get it out." Still smiling, Justin said, "Well, regardless, I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, Josh." He then leaned foreword and gently placed a kiss on the brunet's cheek. Joey's eyes widened. Lance glanced nervously at Alex. Chris decided to be the distraction. "Great job, Curly! I guess you're finally ready to join the rest of us." Alex smiled. "Yes, it's about time. We still need to record the studio version." Lance let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in relief. "Yeah, it's already ten and we've been up since before... well, before four AM, California time. Let's try to wrap this up." "You really did well, Justin," JC whispered as he pulled away from the younger man. Reluctantly, Justin let him go. "Thanks." JC smiled and ruffled the blonde's curls affectionately before heading over to the rest of the group. Justin stood watching him wistfully before he, too, headed over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 45 will be better, honest! At least Justin finally got his part down. (This was inspired by how carefully he sings his part in Spanish on the studio version of "Yo te Voy a Amar." Which, by the way, is great. JC sounds wonderful ^_^) Anyway, I will get to work on chapter 45. I've got some inspiration for it, and some ideas for where I'd like to go with the story. Much of that is thanks to Dara Lynn ^_^ Her feedback really made me think, and... Anyway, you'll just have to see where the story goes. But feel free to send me feedback and try to sway me to write something. As you can see, it actually works sometimes! Thanks, as always, for reading! -Angel ^_^