"Everything I Own" By Oberon christopher_bass@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER:
This is a work of fiction. Nothing that is mentioned in this story really happened, except in my own dreams. This story is not saying that Lance Bass or any other member of 'N Sync or any other celebrity that might appear in this story is gay or bisexual. If you don't like reading any story that has gay sex or romance in it, WHY ARE YOU HERE? Also, if you are underage wherever you live, please leave now.
First of all, I want to thank Nifty Archives for being such a spectacular site and being a place where authors can send in their stories and have many people read them. I am especially thankful for the Boy Band section of stories.
I also want to thank all of the authors of Boy Band stories, especially DCKevin's "N Sync: Lance -n- JC", Phil's "After N Sync", Hanhm16's "Lance's Love", and Matt's "N Sync Savior". If you haven't read those stories yet, why haven't you? After you read mine, please read theirs. If you have read them, read them again.
This is the first story I have written that I have posted to the net. Feel free to e-mail me with any positive comments and criticism and suggestions for future story lines. Please e-mail me at christopher_bass@yahoo.com. This story is copyright 1999 by me, Christopher. Please do not copy any part of my story and call it yours.
CHAPTER ONE
I could not believe I am here in L.A., in the audience of Rosie O'Donnell's show. I had won a contest from the station in the city I live in to go to L.A. and have a lot of fun, including seeing Rosie tape her show live. First, I should probably describe myself. I'm about 5' 9", blonde hair, and blue eyes. I really want to do something different with my hair, probably dying it a little darker. I'm in decent shape, but nowhere near what I want to look like. I am working on that, however. I'm thin, but I have a lot of work to do on my abdominals. I am 32 years old, which still sounds strange saying. I feel so much younger, often I feel like a teenager. That can be good, but can also be not good.
I was waiting in line to go inside when one of Rosie's people came up to me and spoke to me a little bit. When I told him about my winning the contest, he asked me if I wanted to do the introduction today. I freaked out! Could I gather the courage to actually do that? I do love being the center of attention, but I am so totally shy. The last time I spoke in front of an audience was back home at a theater. I was subbing for the house manager for a couple of nights and the house manager always made some announcements about the rest of the season and the next season, among other things. It was hard! It was even harder because the show that the theater was presenting was a one-man show with this guy I have had very strong feelings about for almost two years. He loves someone else, but we still did become friends. Him being there should have calmed me down some, but instead it did the reverse. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of him.
However scared as I was, I decided to do it. How often are you asked to be on camera on national TV? I didn't know who was going to be on the show, of course. "Who are the guests anyway?" I asked him. The guy was shocked for some reason that I didn't know who the guests were. "You don't know? Sean Hayes from 'Will & Grace', Justin Kirk from the new show 'Jack & Jill', and N Sync." I told the guy I would do it, then he left to go back into the studio.
I tried to act cool when I heard that N Sync was going to be on the show. I love "Will & Grace", especially because of Sean Hayes, and I loved Justin Kirk in "Love! Valour! Compassion!" a couple of years ago. However, N Sync was a different story. I have loved that group a lot ever since the first time I heard "I Want You Back". I've never been lucky enough to see them in concert, however. The one time they came to my town, tickets sold out very quickly. Now, I would finally get the chance to hear them! Because I won that contest, I was promised a front row seat, so I would be closer to the guys. I was getting excited about finally seeing them, especially my favorite, Lance. That guy is one of the most gorgeous guys that God ever created. I only wish I could hear him sing more often. I really had heard him only occasionally singing backup and by himself only on four words on their song "Giddy Up". I was thrilled naturally when VH-1 included a segment on them during an episode of "Before They Were Rock Stars". I was so totally crazy about Lance, just like a lot of girls who are half my age (and younger) and a lot of gay men.
Thinking about how much I liked Lance started to make me nervous about doing the intro to the show. I started to pace in line and my mouth got dry. It was just like how I felt before the announcements at the theater. I know it was nothing major to do the intro and talk to Rosie for a few seconds. She seems like such a cool woman. I guess I freak out over things I really shouldn't. It's not like I would ever meet Lance, let alone talk with him. I read all of those Boy Band stories in the Nifty archive and loved them all, especially ones with Lance. In many of those stories, the guy who was such a huge fan of one of the guys in a boy band would end up romantically involved with their favorite. I knew that would never and could never happen with me.
After realizing all of that, I calmed down a lot and actually was starting to look forward to being on camera and talking to Rosie. After waiting about 15 more minutes, we went inside and sat down and waited for the show to start. After what seemed like only a few seconds but in reality was about 10 minutes, the director came up to me and asked if I was ready. I definitely was, although my mouth was drying up again. I just hope I don't act like a fool when the camera rolls and say something like, "I love you, James Lance Bass!"
The intro music started and the director gave me my cue. I looked right at the camera and said, "I'm Christopher Johnson from Portland, Oregon, and this is the Rosie O'Donnell Show! Today's guests are Sean Hayes from 'Will & Grace', Justin Kirk from the new show 'Jack & Jill' and musical guests N Sync! Hit it, John!" Bandleader John McDaniel started Rosie's theme music. At the end of the theme, Rosie came out from behind the curtain, to thunderous applause. Watching the show on TV, I never realized how loud the audience was when they cheered and applauded.
When Rosie came out to her mark for her monologue, she told a few jokes, then came the moment of truth. The director hadn't given me the signal to sit down yet, so I was still standing. Rosie came up to me and we started to chit chat. "Great job, Christopher! I heard you were very nervous about doing this before." she said to me. I replied, "I was really nervous initially until I realized the circumstances that would have made me nervous weren't going to happen, so I calmed down right away."
Of course she had to ask what would make me nervous. Would I be able to tell her? If I did, I would basically out myself on national television. I am openly gay, and I never say I am not gay. However, saying that on national T.V. is pretty huge. I decided to tell her. "Well, Rosie, I am a huge fan of N Sync." The audience cheered even louder than before after I said that. I continued, "Like I said, I love N Sync and have since their first single was released in the States. I have their CDs, videos, and even a couple of posters. I even sing along with their CDs."
I immediately regretted saying I sing to their songs. I knew right away that, because she loves to sing, she would ask me to sing some N Sync song. I was right. Rosie beamed, "You sing, too? I love to sing! What's your favorite N Sync song?" I knew I was trapped, so I went along with the flow. "I love all of their songs, but my favorite by far has to be 'Everything I Own'. I grew up listening to the original version by Bread because my mom loved that group. It was a wonderful song. N Sync's version is so much better to me because I can feel the emotions of the guys. Also, the guys are incredible singers."
Backstage, the guys were in their dressing room, relaxing and getting ready to perform. Unfortunately, they had a big problem. There was a pretty hard type of influenza going around. It seemed as if everyone was getting it, including one Justin Randall Timberlake. The rest of the guys didn't know what to do. Would they perform without him? Would they just cancel this appearance at such a late date? Would they appear, but just not sing? They did perform without Lance for several concerts when he was sick earlier in the year. But this was different. Justin sang lead on most of their songs. What would they do?
Justin was lying down on a couch while JC, Joey, and Chris were discussing what they would do. Lance, however, was glued to the television, watching the show. The rest of the guys knew he was gay and supported him completely. He did try having a relationship with JC, but then both people realized that it would be better to stay friends. They were very close friends and didn't want to jeopardize that friendship if things did not work out romantically. Now, while Justin, Joey, and Chris talked about their girlfriends when they were dating and gorgeous actresses and women singers when they were single, Lance and JC talked about the sexy actors and male singers.
JC gave his opinion on what they should do. "We definitely cannot cancel on such short notice, especially with us already being here. So, in my opinion, we have only two options. We can either perform without Justin or all five of us go out for the interview only and Justin stays quiet for the most part. What do the rest of you think?"
Chris replied first. "I say we go on without him. The audience came to hear us sing and not just talk. We did do those concerts without Lance, so we can do two songs without Justin."
Joey agreed with Chris. "We have to perform without Justin. If we don't sing, we will disappoint the fans and show disrespect to Lance. Anyway, we already have Lance be a shy guy during interviews and rarely speaking, do we really need two people like him?"
Lance had been engrossed watching Rosie talk with Christopher until he heard what Joey said. He threw a pillow at Joey, missing him, but hitting an unsuspecting JC in the face. He quickly moved his head back to watching the TV, his face redder than it usually is when he gets embarrassed. "I'm sorry, JC! I guess my aim is off today."
JC replied, "Lance, man, your aim is always off! You have got to be the worst basketball player who has ever lived! You cannot throw at all!" He laughed at that comment, as did the rest of the guys. Lance, however, did not laugh. He was tired of everyone making fun of his lack of skills in sports. "Hey, JC! At least I try!"
Joey knew how sensitive Lance could be and felt guilty about what he said and also because if he hadn't said that, Lance wouldn't have thrown the pillow and hit JC by mistake, leading JC to make that joke back. "Lance, he was just kidding! You can be so sensitive at times! I was just trying to get your attention away from that television! What's up with that anyways? You hardly ever watch the show before we go out."
Lance blushed even deeper, if that was possible, as he told Joey why he was watching Rosie. "I was just watching Rosie talk with this Christopher guy. He's a big fan of ours and even sings to our music." He was impressed that I sang to their music, but the rest of the guys weren't. Chris spoke. "Come on, Lance! A lot of our fans sing to our music. He probably can't carry a tune, even if it was in a bucket!"
Lance was a little hurt at that comment for some reason. "We'll find out shortly if he is any good or not. If I know Rosie like I think I do, she is going to ask this guy to sing a little bit from 'Everything I Own', which is his favorite song of ours."
Back onstage, Rosie was wrapping up her conversation with me. I was breathing easier because she hadn't asked me to sing. I thought I was saved by the bell. Like so many other times, I was wrong. She said the words I would dread. "Christopher, why don't you sing a little bit from that song." The audience cheered and applauded very loudly yet again. God, where do they get their energy?
I blushed very deeply. In fact, if truth be told, if there was a blushing contest between me and Lance, I would win, hands down. It's not that I had a bad voice. I think I have a great voice. OK, I am not pursuing a professional singing career, but I did spend many years in school in several choirs. I also sang in the church choir and briefly made a living after high school playing piano at weddings.
I realized that God was giving me an opportunity that might never come again. I have spent the last two years volunteering at various local theaters in Portland. I loved doing it, partly because I was able to see some great shows for free and partly because I was able to make some good friends of some actors. The last few months or so, my desire to perform increased drastically. I almost got to the point where I wanted to audition for parts, even if it was in a non-musical show. I decided I would sing, even if I would make a fool out of myself. "OK, Rosie. I will do it. I will sing 'Everything I Own' a cappella.
Back in N Sync's dressing room, Lance heard that Christopher would be singing. The rest of the guys were still discussing what to do about Justin's illness. He wanted to hear Christopher sing, so he asked the guys to keep quiet for a minute. None of the other guys heard Lance, so they kept talking. He tried again twice more, but with no success. Finally, he yelled at them loudly. "Guys, Christopher is about to sing that song and I want to hear it!"
The rest of the guys were shocked that Lance, usually the most quiet member of the band, would yell that loudly. However they did stop talking. "Scoop, did you have to yell so loudly," Chris asked. "You could have just quietly asked us to keep it down so you can listen to the man you love."
Lance was embarrassed yet again at Chris's comment. Lance didn't believe in love at first sight, but he felt some sort of strange connection with Christopher, something he had never felt with another person before, let alone this fast. He shut up immediately and looked back at the television.
Christopher was scared to sing. He didn't know if he could do it with millions of people watching and listening. He looked at Rosie who gave him a wonderfully beautiful smile, which gave him the courage to start.
You sheltered me from harm. Kept me warm, kept me warm You gave my life to me Set me free, Set me free The finest years I ever knew were all the years I had with you I would give anything I own, Give up me life, my heart, my home. I would give everything I own, just to have you back again. You taught me how to love, What its of, what its of. You never said too much, but still you showed the way, and I knew from watching you. Nobody else could ever know the part of me that can't let go.
I would give anything I own, Give up me life, my heart, my home. I would give everything I own Just to have you back again.
Is there someone you know, you're loving them so, but taking them all for granted. You may lose them one day, someone takes them away, and they don't hear the words you long to say
I would give anything I own, Give up me life, my heart, my home. I would give everything I own Just to have you back again. _______________________________
The audience could not believe how great Christopher sounded. They applauded and cheered louder than Rosie's audience usually does. They were shocked. However, they were not as shocked as Christopher was. He could not believe he made it through the whole song and not throw up. He was floored that he sounded so good.
He was not the only person who was shocked. Joey, JC, and Chris sat down, looking at the television with their mouths open widely. Justin smiled broadly. Lance's business side came through immediately. Guys, I know what to do about Justin's illness.
TO BE CONTINUED
Well, there was the first part of my story. I am sorry that there was no sex right away. I wanted to develop the stories and characters before I introduce sex into the picture. Please send any good comments and any story ideas to christopher_bass@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading my story.