The Graduation Present
GRADUATION PRESENT
© 2003-2005 Josh Brandon
All Rights Reserved
THIS STORY IS COPYRIGHT © 2003-2005 BY JOSH BRANDON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTION FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, POSTING ON SITES WHICH REQUIRE PAYMENT TO ACCESS THE SITE, DISTRIBUTION IN BOOK FORM (EITHER AS A WHOLE OR PART OF A COMPILATION) FOR A FEE, OR DISTRIBUTION ON CD, DVD, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA FOR A FEE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT.
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The sexuality of all characters is entirely a figment of the author's imagination, and does not reflect on any celebrities used in this story. For those of you that are NOT of legal age, please find other material to read. If you are offended by male/male material, or it is illegal to view such materials in your area, you should be leaving at this time.
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This is a story of friendship and love. I have read some other stories on the Nifty Archives and I wanted to try my hand at writing, so here I am. Any questions or comments can be emailed to me at spacecowboy_josh@yahoo.com I would like to hear what you the readers have to say about my story. But please, don't send me flames. I would never do that to other people.
Thank you.
CHAPTER 8
Kellen couldn’t believe how lucky his life was. His dream of playing with famous musical artists had come true. He had a wonderful family, and he had JC. As Kellen sat in his hotel room, he thought about that last though. ‘JC’. He had known that he liked JC the very first moment he laid eyes in the man. But coming to terms with his sexuality was a harder thing to do. Kellen told himself over and over that he could have just been a friend to JC if it were necessary. But, now that he was going out with him, those thoughts of remaining friends seemed small and insignificant. As he watched JC’s chest move up and down to a steady rhythm, he couldn’t help but think on the last three days in New York City…
The last three concerts at Madison Square Gardens had been huge. They aired it on television, and they even sold it to major T.V. networks. The fans were devoted and loud and the guys all adored them. Justin and Joey spent a long time after each show flirting with the female fans that waited for the vans to take the group back to the hotel, then they would go to clubs and hang out. Chris and Lance just sort of hung out talking about the businesses they were starting. Chris already had a female clothing line started and was wanting it to take of, and Lance was starting a managing company hoping to further young musicians to new heights, and JC and Kellen spent their evenings getting to know one another. The first night they had found a Chinese restaurant after the concert. Each night a take out dinner from a restaurant and a movie in Kellen’s room filled their evening. At the beginning of the movie, they would hold each other. By the end, they would be asleep in each other’s arms. Each morning Kellen would wake up by himself and pick up a note from JC. He always wrote something different, but always said something like…
Kellen,
You looked so peaceful, I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I went back to my room, but I’ll see you in the morning. Dream sweet dreams of me. Good night Baby. With ALL of my heart,
-Josh
Even though they were going out, both knew that they weren’t ready to take that final step in their relationship. Having sex wasn’t a concern for them this early, so they agreed not to share a room until they knew that their relationship would be more permanent…
Kellen sat in the chair looking at JC. His chest was moving up and down in such a sweet rhythm. He continued to watch as JC stirred and opened his eyes. “What are you doing up Baby?” he asked as he yawned.
“I was just watching a angel sleep.” Kellen replied. “You’ve been so good to me by leaving me notes, I wanted to be awake before you left tonight.” He finished as he moved from the chair to the bed. He let his knees rest on the floor and arched his head over to JC’s face. Their faces closed in on one another and they shared a passionate kiss. Both were maneuvering their tongues to gain control of the other. Time started to slip away from them, and JC broke the kiss. Kellen looked down at him, “Babe, I think it’s midnight. Does the prince have to get home before he turn into a pauper?” He asked as he rubbed JC’s cheek.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want my fairy god-mother to get angry with me.” JC said playing along. “But yeah Babe, I need to get back to my room now.” JC stood up from the bed and walked over to the mirror to make himself more presentable. “Do you want to have breakfast with me and the guys tomorrow morning? We have interviews tomorrow, but you can come by before we leave.” JC said as he played with his hair.
“I would, but I have already committed myself to other things tomorrow morning.” Kellen said as he picked up the remains of dinner.
“Really? Have you been to New York before? If not, I could have someone go with you to show you some of the sights.” JC offered looking into the mirror at Kellen.
“Oh that’s okay. I’ve been here a time or two. I’m just going to walk around and tour some. I might go to the World Trade Centers or the Empire State Building.” Kellen said shrugging as he picked up a brush.
“Don’t forget that we have a sound check tomorrow at 5:00 evening.”
“I won’t.” Kellen said brushing his hair.
“God, you are so handsome.” JC said turning around to face Kellen.
“I know. It’s not like it’s recent news.” Chuckling in his own vanity.
“You’re as bad as Justin when it comes to being vain Kellen.”
“It’s not vanity, it…me telling the truth. Yeah, that’s it, truth telling.” Kellen attempted to say with a serious expression that faded when JC burst out laughing. Both just fell into each other’s arms laughing. Kellen broke contact with JC when his phone rang. “Hello?” he said into the phone.
“Kellen, is JC there? He left his phone in his room.”
“Sure, he’s right here Justin. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
“He wants to talk to you.” Kellen said looking at JC. JC nodded and Kellen put the phone back to his mouth. “Here he is Justin.” Kellen said handing the phone to JC.
“Hey Curly, what’s up?” JC inquired into the phone.
“Well, Chris wants us to have a group meeting before we go to bed and we need you here.” Justin answered.
“Good or Bad?” JC asked.
“Good. I think.”
“Okay, I’ll be up in a few. Bye.” JC hung up the phone then leaned over and gave Kellen a kiss. “I need to go. Chris called a group meeting. Probably just to discuss what we’ll do on break. See you tomorrow.” JC said getting up and walking to the door. Kellen stood up and walked behind him.
“I’ll miss you when you leave.” Kellen said.
“I’ll miss you also.” JC turned around and gave Kellen another Kiss. Then, he opened the door and walked out slowly. Kellen shut it behind him.
JC stepped off of the elevator and walked to the suite reserved for Nsync. He opened the door and was greeted by the other guys.
“Hey Jace, I really love the new beauty mark on your neck.” Justin said snickering. JC quickly ran into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Sure enough, Kellen had given him a hickey. But When? It had to have been while he was sound asleep. Walking back out into the suite, he grabbed a towel and rolled it up to snap Justin with it.
“Owww!” Justin yelled as the towel snapped his leg. “Jeez, someone’s cranky.” He continued while rubbing his leg.
**"It's not my fault you ran at the mouth," JC said putting the towel back. "Hey Chris. What is the meeting about?"
"Well, we need to talk about whether we want to separate over the two month break or do things as a group." Chris said setting a notebook down. "I've made a list of places we can go. If we decide to stay together that is."
JC picked up the list and started reading the places. "Acapulco, San Juan, Bahamas, Argentina, London, Paris, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. Are we going to all these places?"
"Chris, you forgot to add the other place." Lance scolded setting his laptop down and grabbing the list from JC.
"Oops. Sorry Scoop. I don't remember everything like you do." Chris apologized sarcastically.
"What other place are you talking about Lance?" JC asked.
"Well, I want us to drop in on Kellen at his house while we're on break. We can surprise him." Lance said picking up his laptop as the message icon buzzed.
"You mean we're going to go surprise Kellen? That will be so much fun." JC said excitedly.
"Well why don't we surprise Kellen first. Then we can go to some of these other places." Justin suggested, noticing Lance’s preoccupation with his laptop. "By the way, Scoop, who you talkin’ to?"
"Oh no one in particular. Just saying 'hi' to Kellen. I know who he is, but he doesn't know who I am yet. I need to tell him, I just haven't found the right way yet." Lance responded as he hit the keys on his laptop. Everyone moved over next to Lance telling him funny things to type. JC just set watching them trying not to laugh at Lance's ignorance. He knew that Kellen was about to pay Lance back for not telling him who he was.
"Lance tell him that you think Nsync is the hottest band in the world!" Joey said.
Fishin4bass: Hey man, I heard a really good group on the radio today.
Kis4kool: Really? You heard the Backstreet Boys today?"
There was a sudden gasp then yells from the guys.
"I can't believe he said that!" Chris huffed.
"He's a traitor!" Justin shouted.
"Oh he's going to get a prank pulled on him for that one." Joey vowed.
"Come on guys. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion." Lance voiced calming them down. He started typing something else.
Fishin4bass: Actually, I was talking about Nsync. I heard It's gonna be Me. It was really good.**
They are the ones I was talking about, not Backstreet.
Kis4kool: Hold on. Are you trying to tell me that Nsync is better than Backstreet? No way!
**Believe me dude. I know their music. It is so...I don't know...Boring.
"Oh no, he did not just go there!" Justin said. His face was getting redder by the second.
"I thought we knew him. Why would he say that about our music?" Joey said.
Lance just stared at the screen and with his head hung low.
"JC, Dude your boyfriend is quickly losing popularity with us." Chris said through clinched teeth. JC just sat there trying to hold in the fits of laughter that were wanting to overcome him. "Jace, are you paying attention? He's really dissin’ on us bad."
"Joey, everyone has the right to have their own opinion with music." JC said trying to suppress a grin. Lance just sat there looking at the laptop.
Kis4kool: Believe me I know what I'm talking about. You know I work for them. And we don't**
even need to go into how much of a pain they are to work for. They can be real jack-asses sometimes.
**Justin noticed the hurt expression on Lance's face and he took the laptop from him. He sat it on his lap and started typing.
Fishin4bass: You know, I really like Nsync. And since you work for them you should at least**
_respect them.._Kis4kool: Respect them? LMAO! Ha, that's funny. How can I do that? They are a joke.
Especially JC. He's nothing but a candy-ass wanna be popular pretty boy.
**
"JC? You should see what he just said about you." Justin said in a serious tone. JC got up off the couch and walked over to Justin. He bent down to read then after he finished, walked over to the window with his back facing the other four. They saw his body start to shake. Thinking
that JC was crying, Justin was filled with rage and didn't even think when he started typing.
Fishin4bass: WHY DON'T YOU SAY THAT TO MY FACE THEN YOU SON OF A BITCH! Great**
**and if you can't see that, then you shouldn't be working for them.
Lance read what Justin typed and quickly grabbed the laptop from Justin and scolded him for such an outrage.
Kis4kool: I'll be right back.
"Justin why did you do that?" Lance shouted.
"Did you read the things he said?" Justin defended
"Everyone has an opinion. We've read worse in newspapers and heard worse from other people."
"Look scoop, I'm sorry I just lost it. I shouldn't have typed that but he made JC cry."
The room was silent for about a minute before the guys were shaken by a knock at the door. JC walked over to it and opened it to see a grinning Kellen. "Are they pissed at me?" He asked in a hushed tone.
"I think we may have went just a little over board. They took it to heart more than I thought." JC said. Kellen grabbed him and pushed him into the suite and lip-locked himself with JC. They did that until Justin cleared his throat.
"Is there something we can do for you, Kellen?" He said forcing the words out.
"Actually there is." Kellen said as he walked over to Lance. He grabbed Lance in a hug. Lance didn't return it. "Lance, there is something I need to tell you."
"I think there is something you need to tell all of us." Chris said grinding his teeth together..
"Your right, of course, Papa." Kellen said. Chris rolled his eyes at the comment. "You guys fell victim to my revenge plot."
"Your what?" Joey asked.
"My revenge plot. I plotted everything I said to you guys on Lance's laptop just now. It was my way of getting back at Lance for not telling me who he really was. Even after I got the job. But don't worry, I didn't mean a word of the things I said. In fact, the only reason I listen to Backstreet is because my cousin likes a few of their songs." Kellen said in one breath. Everyone's eyes got big and their mouths hung in the air.
"You mean you didn't mean what you said about us?" Lance asked in a hope filled voice.
"Of course I didn't. You guys are my heroes. If I didn't think you were good, I would have never applied for the job. I think you guys truly are the best group in the world." Kellen said speaking from his heart.
"But you made JC cry." Justin said.
"Curly, I wasn't crying. I was laughing. I couldn't control it anymore."
"You knew about this?" Lance asked.
"I knew Kellen was going to do it." JC said. He noticed the Lance's eyes forming a glare, "Don't worry Scoop, I didn't tell him. He figured out who you were when we were in Denver."
"You had me Kellen. I thought I was going to have to kill you after that Backstreet comment." Chris said.
"It was a total joke. I like you guys, not Backstreet. And I love JC. He means world to me. And you guys are all my friends."
"Just remind me to never get on your vengeance list ever again." Lance said chuckling.
Things settled down after that. Kellen said more apologies to make sure the guys weren't mad at him anymore. Then everyone went to bed after
watching a touching goodnight between Kellen and JC.**
Kellen woke up when his cell phone rang. He groggily picked it up and flipped it opened. “Uh, hello?”
**"Good morning Kellen." came a reply from the other end.
"Dad? Is that you?"
"Yeah Son, It's me. I'm getting ready to leave the house. I called to tell you that your mom and I went to the bank yesterday. We transferred all of your accounts to your name. You now have control of about $60,000,000.00 plus 10% of Bradley's stock." Anthony said.
"You mean I'm a share holder now?"
"Yep. Call it your birthday present. After all, you'll be 19 in a few days."
"Thank you Dad! So, what's new at home?" Kellen asked sitting down on the bed.
"Not much, just the same old stuff. Aisha misses you. Your dog misses you. Your mom is going crazy with you not here. Jordan and Nicole are Jordan and Nicole. Except for the fact that Jordan found a boyfriend. Do you know a boy named Dylan Jameson?"
"Of course I do. I played football with him. He replaced the team quarterback the year before I graduated. He's okay. I don't think he would be stupid enough to intentionally hurt Jordan. He knows I'd hire a hit on him if he did." Kellen said laughing at the last sentence.
"Then I'd get to take a whack at him. Hey Listen Kellen I have go to work now. Call your mom sometime. She wanted to know what to get you for your birthday, you know how she like to go all out for your birthday."
"Okay Dad. I will. It was nice talking to you."
"You too, Son. Love ya."
"Love ya, Pops. Bye."
"Bye."
Kellen put the phone down and went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. When he came out of the bathroom, the phone started ringing. He walked over and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Good morning Babe." A sexy voice said.
"Morning." Kellen replied.
"I just wanted to hear your voice before I left."
"Ah, that's so sweet. Are you guys leaving for the interviews now?"
"Well, if Curly can ever finish with his hair. They'll just re fix it when we get there anyway." JC said with an exasperating tone.
"Don't be too hard on him, babe. I'm sure you spent a fair amount of time on your hair this morning also." Kellen said. He waited for a smart comment from JC but didn't receive one.
"Guilty. But I can, because I'm gorgeous." JC said defensively.
"That is so true." Kellen agreed.
"Thanks babe." JC said. Kellen could see JC's smile through the phone. "Kellen? I have to go. Lance wants to talk to us before we leave. I'll call you when we break for lunch okay."
"Okay. I can't wait until lunch."
"Neither can I. I'll talk to you later."
"Until then. Bye."
"Bye." JC said hanging up his phone. He left his room and walked into the suite living room to see what Lance wanted.
Kellen finished his own hair and walked out of his room. When the elevator doors opened, he moved into the car, pushed the lobby button and watched the doors close. When the elevator made a dinging sound, Kellen prepared himself. He knew who was waiting for him on the other side of the door." Camden! It's so good to see you again! I missed you so much Bro." He shouted as he ran into the arms of his big brother.
"Hey, It's good to see you too buddy! How have you been?" Camden inquired.
"Not bad. Just staying busy with work." Kellen replied.
"Speaking of work, guess who I saw on TV last night."
"Who?"
"You. I turned on the news and they were doing a report on the Nsync concert and there you were in the background on the keyboards. I called Mom and Dad and told them you were on the news. They were proud. Mom even started crying."
The two moved together with their arms around each other's shoulders into hotel cafe. They found a table and sat down to eat breakfast. They were greeted by a hostess who brought them each a coffee after taking their breakfast orders.
"So, how are things at the store?" Kellen asked.
"Great! Sales are up so much. We just finished an order for the American soccer team. I think the word got out about us, because I received a call from the French, British, and German Soccer teams wanting equipment from us and tam sponsorship. Oh, did Dad tell you yet?"
"Tell me what?" Kellen asked with sudden curiosity.
"We hired Michael Jordan, Sammy Sosa, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Dennis Rodman, and Shaq to do the Bradley's commercials for the next two years." Camden said excitedly
"You're kidding! Oh man! That is so cool!" Kellen said.
”things are going well at the store.” Camden said. “What about you? Other than the band, how is your life?” he asked.
"Not bad. Things are just there." Kellen said. He knew he had to tell Camden about being gay, but he wasn't sure how to do it. He was starting to get scared about the conversation. He started to bite on his nails and bite his lower lip. He had to shift the conversation a little, "So, how are you and Chelsea?"
"We're doing better. It's been hard, but we truly are feeling better." Camden said lowering his head. "I just wish things with the baby hadn't ended the way they did."**
"I'm sorry Cam." Kellen said reaching across the table gently laying his hand on top of his brother's. "I can't imagine what losing the baby felt like. I was looking forward to being an uncle." Kellen said trying to comfort his brother. Neither brother noticed the person watching them from the entrance.
**JC turned around and walked away from the cafe entrance. He felt miserable. He had just seen Kellen with another man. It felt like someone had just ripped his heart out. As he moved over to the guys, tears formed in the deep recesses of his eyes. He fought with everything he had to not
break down in the hotel lobby. He had to be strong at least until the interviews were over. Then he could come back and talk to Kellen about it. Perhaps he was just making something out of nothing. Before he could catch it though, a tear ran down his cheek.
"Hey Jace, is something wrong. Why are ya crying man?" Joey asked as the other guys looked at JC.
"What? I wasn't crying. I just finished yawning. You know how a like sleep." He lied. JC didn't even think he could sleep right now. He wanted to know what was going on with Kellen and this other guy he saw Kellen with. But, it would have to wait until later.
"Guys, your limo is here." Melinda said walking over to them from the front desk.
The guys all walked outside and one by one, they sat in the vehicle. The ride to the interview seemed to last a lifetime for JC. While the others
made jokes about passing pedestrians, he just sat and thought about what he'd witnessed. It only served to make him think bad things about both Kellen and the guy he was with. The limo stopped outside a studio and the guys all but jumped out to greet fans. JC was normally very friendly to the fans. This time, he moved past them and walked right inside. The remaining members just looked at each other knowing that something wasn't right. The group's chemistry was off balance. The look on Chris's face told them that they would definitely be having a group meeting later.**
"So, how have the record sales been so far for No Strings Attached?" Carson Daly asked looking at the guys.
"Phenomenal! So far, the album has gone platinum already. We're glad that so many people like it." Lance answered.
**"Does it ever bother any of you that your target audience are little girls?" Carson asked in an almost smug manner.
"Actually, Carson, there are songs on the album that target everyone. It isn't just centered for little children. We have a lot of older fans also." JC said for the first time during the interview. The other guys just looked at him, surprised at how brash he was with his answer.**
**"I didn't mean anything by it." Carson said
"You never do," JC stated.
"Let's move on. Shall we?" Carson replied. He looked at the cameraman telling him to make sure that last part was cut out.
"Being on the road all the time is hard work. Do any of you have serious relationships?"
"There is a certain amount of stress on the road, but we try to balance it out. In the relationships category, as you know Carson, we like to keep that personal." Chris said suddenly looking at the panicked look on JC's face. The exchanged did not go unnoticed by Carson. He got an idea, but he would have to give it some time.**
"Well, that's all the time we have. Thank you all for coming. I know TRL will enjoy this." Carson said ending the interview.
**Kellen looked at his brother from across the table. They had just finished their meal, but Kellen hadn’t eaten much of his. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Even though he might be thrashed for it, he had to tell Camden about him and JC. "Um Camden? There is something that I have to tell you."
"Sure Bro. You can tell me anything. You know that."
"I'm not sure how to tell you though. I'm afraid of what your response will be." Kellen said biting his bottom lip. He was starting to shake.
"Now I know it's serious. The only time you bite your lip is when your nervous. And your even shaking. Come on Bro. You know I love you.
Just tell me." Camden said in a soft voice.
"Camden. I...I...uh...shit... Camden I'm...I'm gay."**
TO BE CONTINUED…