Jason and Jc

"Jason and JC - 10"

Hello again everyone. The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. ALthough this chapter is long, it is a very good one. I hope that you enjoy it. It took me a while to write it and get everything just right so I apologize for the delays and everything. I really appreciate all of you who have written me and let me know how much you liked the story. If there are some of you out there who haven't written, but are still enjoying the story, please let me know. It only takes a second to write out a letter and email it. Email me at a41a14a@yahoo.com or contact me via ICQ at 76118280. I am also now on AOL Messenger. (I'm just so well connected aren't I :-) My AOL screen name is a41a14a2000, so you can catch me there too.

Now without further adue, I bring you the continuing saga of Jason and JC.

Jason groaned as the light flooded in from the open window and fell across his eyes. 'Why do my dreams have to be disturbed by this pesky day?' he thought to himself. He rolled over and took a look at the clock sitting on the nearby nightstand. 7:00 AM. 'No rest for the weary.' he told himself.

Jason rolled out of bed and strolled to the large, open window. He looked out into the open courtyard below and took note of its emptiness. The large pool in the center of the grounds was completely empty. Normally, by the time he returned from work, the pool had already gathered several sunbathers and even some swimmers. 'God, I'm glad to be on vacation.'

Looking out over the large pool, he was suddenly struck with the desire to swim. Swimming had always helped clear his mind. Something he desperately needed right now. Ever since JC had boarded his bus and left yesterday, Jason had been missing him. Jason had been upset at himself for being so attatched, even though he couldn't figure out why. It would be a long time until he saw JC again, if ever. So he had best just get over it. Yes, a few laps is exactly what he needed.

Jason slipped into his swim suit and grabbed a towel before heading out to the pool. He tossed the towel onto a nearby chair and dipped his toes into the water. The cool water was a stark contrast to the warm sun against his skin. Jason took a deep breath and dived into the pool.

His body got used to the temperature of the water as he swam back and forth along the pool's edge. As he swam and swam, all he could think about was JC and the great time they had had. Although he tried and tried, he couldn't stop thinking of him. He just continued to swim. And swim, and swim, and swim.

Before Jason knew it, he was shrivled as a prune and slightly reddened from the sun. He stopped his laps and looked down at his watch. The hands read 11:05. 'I've been swimming for almost four hours!' his mind exclaimed.

He hopped out of the pool and grabbed his towel. Quickly drying himself, he headed back to his apartment with his towel around his neck. As he approached the door, he could hear the phone ringing inside. He fumbled with the keys and finally managed to get the door unlocked and open.

Jason raced over to the phone with as much care as possible, trying not to slip on the now wet floor. He picked up the phone and placed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Jason? It's JC."

"Josh!" Jason exclaimed enthusiastically. 'Did I call him Josh?' "How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was alright. I slept most of the way."

"That sounds like you alright." Jason teased. He was so happy to be talking with JC again.

"Listen, Jason. There was something I wanted to ask you."

"Yeah?" Jason answered, unsure of what was coming.

"You said that you were on vacation starting this week right?"

"Yeah?" Jason repeated, still uncertain.

"Well, how would you like to come and spend it with me? Uh, and the guys?"

Jason's heart almost leapted for joy. This is what he wanted all along. "That would be cool." he answered, trying to contain his enthusiasm.

"Great! I've got plane tickets waiting for you at Altanta International."

"You were mighty sure of yourself. You think I don't have other things I could be doing?" Jason teased.

There was a silent pause on the other end of the line.

"JC, I was just kiding. I'd love to come." Jason assured.

"Alright," JC said, letting out a relieved sigh. "This will be cool. Just give me a call when you get here and I'll be there in like five minutes OK?"

"Yeah, I'll do that. I'll see you soon." Jason answered.

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye." Jason hang up the phone and just stood there smiling. He was so glad that JC had called It was strange how Jason missed him. It was like they had known each other forever. But now, Jason would get to see him a little more at least.

Jason walked up the stairs, and changed out of his still damp bathing suit. He rumaged through his drawers and piled about five sets of clothing into his bright red duffle bag. After he finished packing, he toted his bag down into the living room and dropped it onto the sofa. He picked up the phone and called for a taxi. He wasn't about to leave his precious car in the airport parking garage for the week. At least here, there were plenty of people to keep an eye out in case anything were to happen. Within minutes, the taxi had arrived.

Before heading out the door, Jason made sure that everything was off and locked tight. He changed the message on his answering machine to let people know he had gone out of town on vacation and turned on the alarm before locking the door tight.

With his pager on his belt and his cell phone in hand, Jason walked toward the taxi. He tossed his duffle bag into the back seat and climbed in. He instructed the man to take him to the airport and the car sped off.

Being shortly before eleven, Jason missed the lunch hour traffic and made it across town rather quickly and arrived at the airport not long after. He got out of the car and made his way through check-in, baggage, and all of those other hassles you always go through at the airport and he quickly made his way to the Orlando terminal.

A short walk later, he arrived at the Orlando departure gate. He walked up to the woman behind the counter and patiently waited for her to finish her phone conversation.

"Hello, I believe that I have a ticket waiting for me." Jason announced when the attendant had hung up the reciever. He reached into his wallet and withdrew his driver's license and handed it to the clerk.

"Yes, sir." She paused for a moment as she searched behind her counter. "Here it is." She handed Jason a plastic boarding pass and instructed him to wait over in the seating area. They would be starting the boarding procedure in about five minutes.

He sat quietly thinking of the time ahead of him. JC actually wanted him to came to Orlando to see him. Jason was almost giddy at the thought. He was so happy. 'Stop it!' he scolded himself. 'There are plenty of reasons JC could have asked him to come to Orlando.' He just gazed out the window as the attendant started calling for the boarding of the passengers.

First class passengers were called first and a few minutes later, they called for bussiness class and coach to board. Jason got up and walked toward the gate with the multitude of other people. He slowly moved forward until he was through the gate and eventually to the plane.

When he stepped into the plane, he stopped one of the flight attendants and asked her where his seat was located. "That seat is in first-class, sir. You should have boarded earlier with the others." She informed.

Jason was a slight bit shocked. He had not even looked at the ticket, he was just used to flying coach. Not only did JC send him a ticket, but a first class ticket at that. 'Cool!' he thought to himself as the attendant led him up to the front of the plane to the less crowded first-class area. He thanked the woman as she left and took his seat.

The flight attendants moved to the front of the cabin and began giving their standard speeches about airplane safety and the like. "In case of cabin decompression..." 'Yeah right, that's what you want to tell people. In case we crash...' Jason thought to himself sarcasticly as he tuned out the woman. Eventually she finished and moved across to her seat.

Jason pulled a magazine out of the pocket in front of him and began flipping through it as the plane was taxied out onto the runway. In a matter of minutes, the plane was off and up into the air. Jason sat back and relaxed as the planes motion smooted out and the tension of the assengers eased up.

The flight from Atlanta to Orlando was relatively short. Not even a couple of hours. So before Jason knew it, the captain was announcing there descent into the Orlando area. The seatbelt light came on and the passengers prepared for landing.

The plane made its way down for a smooth landing. Jason got out of his seat and made his way out of the plane and into the terminal. Jason noticed how busy the terminal was busy for a week day. People were bustling about all around the airport. Jason made his way to the nearest pay phone and dialed the number JC had given him.

"Hello?"

"JC?" Jason asked. "It's Jason."

"Jason! Are you at the airport?"

"Yep, just got in." Jason answered.

"Great! I'll be there in about fifteen minutes OK?"

"OK, I'm about to go and get my luggage now. I'll see you then." Jason responded.

"Alright, Bye."

"Bye." Jason hung up the reciever and began to search for the baggage terminal. It took him forever to find it and even longer for the baggage from the plane to make its way out onto the conveyor belt. Jason watched as his bag came out onto the belt and began to make its way toward him. As he reached down and grabbed his suitcase, he felt a warm hand land between his shoulders and slide down the small of his back. A shock of electricity shot through his body as he dropped his bag and spun around to face his approacher

Meanwhile...

JC had been idly wasting time ever since he had gotten off the phone with Jason earlier today in the day. He had been anxiously waiting for several hours by now. Lance, Joey, Chris, and Justin had chosen to go out and get some lunch and do a little shopping before they had to report to the arena at 5:00 for their final show before some much needed vacation time. JC hoped that Jason would call before he had to be at the arena for warmup rehearsals.

"Are you alright?" Lynn asked walking into her living room, which JC was steadily pacing the floor of.

JC, slightly startled, turned to face Justin's mother. "Yeah, Lynn. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You've been pacing all morning." she asked concerned.

"I'm fine, really. I have a friend flying in from Atlanta today." Jason responded.

"Oh really." she responded curiously.

"I'm going to go and pick him up when he gets in and find him a hotel, get him settled in before the show." JC informed taking a seat on the sofa.

"Nonsense!" Lynn exclaimed. "He can stay here with us."

"Lynn, its really no problem." JC responded.

"Any friend of yours is a friend of ours, JC. You know that. Besides, I have five of you boys here already, one more is not going to make a difference." she explained.

"Well, I appreciate that. And I'm sure that he will be grateful for your hospitality too." JC thanked her, grinning to himself. Lynn was always so gracious. She had helped them so much.

Before the conversation could continue, the musical tones of JC's cell phone began announced an incoming call. "Hello?" he asked. "Oh, Hi mom." he followed with a slight drop in the tone of his voice.

Lynn rose from the arm chair she was sitting in and left JC to his conversation. Thirty minutes later, JC finally closed the connection and fell back into the couch. He looked down at his watch and again began to pace. He hoped that Jason had not been trying to call. Moments later, his phone again began to ring.

"Hello?" JC asked.

"JC? It's Jason."

"Jason!" JC exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief. He hadn't missed him. "Are you at the airport?"

"Yep, just got in."

"Great!" JC responded. He felt all tingling inside. He took a second to calm himself before continuing. "I'll be there in about fifteen minutes OK?"

"OK, I'm about to go and get my luggage now. I'll see you then."

"Alright, Bye." JC answered, hanging up his phone. He walked into the kitchen where he found Lynn standing quietly.

"I'll be back in a little while, OK." JC announced. Lynn nodded in response and JC walked out of the kitchen door and onto the carport. He walked past the five Timberlake family cars to his own Jeep which was sitting at the far end of the garage. He had left it at here the last time they were home in Orlando.

He climbed in and sped off for the airport. Being mid-afternoon on a weekday, JC made it quickly to the airport. He pulled up outside of the terminal gate, parked close to the entrance, and raced inside.

After several minutes of searching, JC spotted Jason standing at one of the many baggage claim conveyors. He slowly moved his way through the crowd until he was right behind him. As JC reached out to pat him on the back, Jason leaned forward for his luggage. JC's hand came to rest squarly between Jason's shoulders and slid down to the small of his back. Jason spun on his heels and glared at JC with a look that would have turned JC to ashes had it been humanly possible.

As soon as Jason realised that it was JC behind him, his demeanor softened. "JC!" he anounced in shock. He really hadn't expected JC to arrive as early as he did. Jason grabbed JC's hand and pulled him into a hug. After a few pats on the back, Jason released his friend and took a step back. "Now look at that. You made me miss my bag." Jason joked.

"Aww." JC teased. "It'll be back." Jason turned to face the conveyor once again to watch for his bag. JC stepped up behind him and placed his hand on Jason's shoulder as they waited for his bag. There was a strange silence between the two as they waited for Jason's suitcase. After a few moments, JC realised that he had his hand on Jason's shoulder and decided it best to remove it. 'What am I doing?' he scolded himself.

Jason grabbed his suitcase as it came around again and followed JC out to his Jeep. There were few words exchanged on the ride back to the Timberlake home. Both Jason and JC were in too much thought for much conversation.

Jason's mind was racing as quickly as the car on the interstate. Ever since Jason had come face to face with JC again, all of these new and strange feelings were welling up in his soul. He couldn't really make heads or tails of these new feelings. All he knew is that they were confusing the hell out of him. When JC had touched him, and put his hand on Jason's shoulder, he felt really awkward, but at the same time, he wanted him to keep it there.

This barage of thoughts and feelings were forced aside as the jeep pulled into the garage of one of the largest and most astounding houses Jason had ever seen. JC grabbed Jason's bag and carried it towards the house for him. Jason hopped out of the car and followed him into the beautiful home.

As they entered the kitchen, the found Lynn hard at work on some of her luscious deserts as well as preparing dinner for the ravenous group of boys known as 'N Sync that would be taking over her house for the night. She looked up from the kitchen island where she was working and smiled her big, bright smile as the two walked inside. Now Jason could see where Justin got it from.

"Lynn, this is my friend Jason from Atlanta that I was telling you about." JC informed. Lynn wiped the flour from her hands on the apron she had tied around her waist before extending her hand to Jason in greeting. 'A modern woman, too.' Jason thought to himself as he extended his hand as well. 'Cool.'

"All good things I hope." Jason joked as he shook hands with Justin's mother.

"Of course." Lynn responded. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too. What marvelous dish are you preparing?"

"Well, I thought I'd try a rasberry tart soufle" Lynn answered.

"Wow, that's a challenging dish if I've ever heard of one." Jason responded in astonishment.

"I know. But I love to cook, so I thought I'd give it a shot." she returned.

"Cool! Me too. Would you mind if I gave you a hand?"

"No. I'd really appreciate it actually. Why don't you grab the rasberries out of the fridge and we'll get started."

"I'll take your bag upstairs." JC said as he took the suitcase from Jason's hand. Jason gave him a questioning look as if to say 'I'm staying here?'. JC nodded and flashed him a grin in an affirmative, reassuring response.

As JC left the room, Jason went to the refridgerator and pulled out the strawberries. Lynn and Jason talked and cooked, and cooked and talked, and when JC returned, they all talked and joked while Lynn and Jason prepared the challenging treat. After about an hour, the soufle was ready and Lynn was preparing to make the rest of the meal for the evening.

"I had best head off for the pre-show warm up." JC announced as Lynn set the large thawing roast on the counter. "You want to come and watch the warm-up again, Jason? Or do you just want to come and see the show?"

"I think I'll stay and help get the food ready and then I'll come to see your show. Is that OK?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure Lynn would appreciate that." JC answered. Lynn smiled at JC as he walked out of the door. Jason heard JC's jeep fire up and head down the driveway. After the sound of JC's exit had finally faded, Jason returned his attention to the kitchen.

After a few moments, Lynn again spoke up. "You and Joshua seem to get along really well. It's funny, I don't remember ever meeting you before."

"Well, JC and I didn't meet until relatively recently. We hadn't actually met until the other day." Jason informed her.

"I find that hard to believe. You two act like you've been friends forever." she responded.

"Well, I guess we are two people that just clicked. It is kinda hard to believe."

"I'm happy that JC has found someone that he has connected with. It's been hard on both Justin and him, I think that's why Justin and Josh have stayed so close over the years." Lynn said pulling a roasting pan out from under the counter.

Jason helped her unwrap the roast and put it on the pan. They continued to talk and chat about life and other things as they marinated and seasoned the roast.

Jason was also able to do a great bit of thinking while he helped Lynn cook. He thought of the time JC and he had spent in Atlanta. He thought about how down he had felt when JC left him in Atlanta. All of the things he felt today with JC's surprise call and his flight. But most of all, he thought about JC's touch at the airport. When JC had put his hand on Jason's shoulder, it just felt... right. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to experience JC's touch again.

Jason grabbed a large chopping knife from the block beside the oven. He picked up a handful of carrots out of the sink that he had just finished washing and dropped them on the chopping block. Chop after chop, he placed handfuls of carrot chips into the pan beside the board. As he continued to chop, his eyes slowly closed and his mind began to wander. An image slowly formed in his head.

He could see JC standing behind him as he continue to chop the carrots. He felt JC put a hand onto his shoulder and run his fingers down Jason's arm and softly grasp the hand that was holding the knife. Together, with JC's body pressed against him and JC's head resting on his shoulder, breathing softly against his cheek, they chopped. Jason was in pure heaven. He didn't want it to end. 'Oh my god! I'm gay!'

Jason dropped the large kitchen knife to the floor and gasped loudly. Jason's sudden realization had caused him slip with the knife. His eyes flew open and he grasped the end of his finger. He had barely gotten cut, and the bleeding was minimal, but the shock from his realization had made him drop the knife.

"Jason? Are you okay?" Lynn asked worriedly, rushing over to him.

Jason looked up from his hand with a puzzled look. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, just a little knick. See?" he said holding his finger out to her. It was barely even bleeding. He grabbed a paper towel and wrapped his finger in it. "Can I use your phone?"

"Sure, right through there in the living room." Lynn answered, pointing through the doorway.

Jason walked into the living room and found the phone sitting beside the sofa. He glanced down at his watch as he sat down on the sofa. It was already after seven. JC's show had already started. He dialed JC's cell phone number and waited as it rang.

"Hi. I can't answer my phone right now so leave a message."

"JC, this is Jason. I, uh, just noticed the time. I was working really hard with Lynn on the dinner and completely lost track of time. I'm really sorry. I guess I will just wait for you here. Talk to you when you get back. Bye" Jason pressed the hook and waited for the dial tone again. He dialed once more and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Jessica? This is Jason."

"Hey, Jason! What are you up to?"

"Not much. Um. I have a problem."

"Are you OK? What's the matter?"

"I'm in the middle of a sever conflict and I need someone to talk to."

"You know that I'm always here for you, no matter what."

"Yeah, I know. Um..."

"What is it Jason? It's alright."

"I um... I think I'm gay."

Jessica had been one of Jason's closest friends ever since high school. They had always shared problems with each other and helped each other out whenever neccesary. Jason had never before really needed to call upon his friend, but today he had a major dilema he was struggling with, and he had to have some help.

Meanwhile...

JC had just finished up the group's long pre-show warm up and had already showered and gotten into his stage clothes. The five of them were standing around waiting for the show to begin. The stage hands would be making calls for them at any moment now.

JC had hoped that Jason would show up by now. He wanted to get him settled in the balcony seat he had reserved for him in the concert hall. Since Jason had not yet showed up, JC had given Chad instructions to let him in when he showed up and escort him to the balcony for the show.

The group was summoned out onto the stage and the show began. Every two minutes, JC would glance up at the balcony to see if Jason had sat down yet. Every time he would look up, and every time he would be dissapointed. He continued to look and look. Everytime he would look and find Jason not there, he would get a little more down. So by the end of the show, he was absolutely dragging.

The song ended and JC began to drag himself off of the stage. Before he disappeared off of the side stage, he checked the balcony one more time, which was still empty. As he followed the four of his friends back towards the dressing rooms, he diverted and paced quickly towards the exit to find Chad. After a short walk, he found Chad standing by the stage entrance to the arena.

"Chad, did Jason ever show up?" JC asked.

"No, Mr.Chasez. I was here the entire show and there wasn't any sign of him." Chad answered in his deep booming voice.

JC swung his head low and turned to head back to the dressing rooms. Not paying any attention to where he was going, he ran smack into Lance, who had followed him to the exit. "Oh sorry Scoop." JC droned out.

Lance threw his arm around JC shoulder and dragged him along the hallway. "JC, why don't you come with me." Lance led JC into a conference room right off of the main corridor. After turning on the lights and locking the door, he took a seat directly across from JC.

"Now, what is the matter with you?" Lance demanded, eyeing JC intently.

"What do you mean? I'm fine." JC answered, trying to cover the aching feeling eating him up inside.

"You have never been able to fool me and you know it. We are not leaving this room until you tell me what is the matter and we can talk about it." Lance informed sternly. There was a short pause before Lance began again. "Now tell me what is going on between you and Jason."

Before JC could think his answer through fully, his mouth began to move. "I ... I love him." As soon as the words had left his mouth, he realized the slip he had made. His eyes flew up and met Lance's, which were studying him intently.

Lance's stern expression slowly broke into a smile. "Why don't you tell him?"

"Did you hear what I said? I think I'm gay." JC asked, not really believing Lance's reaction.

"Yeah, I heard you. You're in love with Jason. You're gay. So? Why don't you tell him?" Lance repeated his question.

"I just couldn't. How would he react? I couldn't loose him now. You're alright with this?" JC questioned, trying to get Lance's feelings on all of this.

"Of course I am. So what if it's a guy that you're in love with, It doesn't matter. You are happy when you're with him, and your miserable when you're not. And I have seen the way you two are when you're together. I don't think that you have to worry about rejection. From what I see, He loves you too." Lance answered, trying to comfort and uplift his friend at the same time.

"You think so?" JC asked, his spirits slowly picking up. "I..."

JC was interupted by a knock on the door. Lance rose to his feet and went to unlock the door. It swung open and Joey stuck his head inside. "Here you guys are. We've been looking all over for ya."

"Sorry about that, Scoop just had something he wanted to tell me." JC answered. His eyes shot to Lance and pleaded for him to play along. Lance returned a look assurance and JC let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Keeping secrets now, huh?" Joey asked, moving his glance from Lance to JC and back to Lance Lance.

"It's a surprise, Joey. You'll find out soon enough." JC assured. He really didn't know if he could keep that promise. It all depended on how things played out in the next few days.

"Alright, well let's go. You guys have to change yet and Lynn promised to have us a big dinner waiting for us after the show." Joey informed, making ecstatic hand guestures in the direction of the dressing room.

JC and Lance hopped up out of their seats and followed Joey out into the hall. Down they went to the dressing rooms where they found everone waiting. Few words were exchanged as they changed out of their stage outfits and into their street clothes. JC felt rather awkward as Justin, Chris, and Joey conversed in the background, knowing the secret he was keeping from them.

"So," Chris finally spoke up. "Did you get Jason from the airport?"

"Yeah, I picked him up earlier today and he was helping Lynn with the cooking when I left." JC answered.

"He didn't want to come to the show?" Justin asked.

"Well, I thought he was going to but I guess not." JC answered as he reached into the pocket of his pants pocket, withdrawing his cell phone.

1 New Message

'Maybe this is him.' JC thought to himself. He dialed his voice mailbox and retrieved the message.

"JC, this is Jason. I, uh, just noticed the time. I was working really hard with Lynn on the dinner and completely lost track of time. I'm really sorry. I guess I will just wait for you here. Talk to you when you get back. Bye"

JC hung up the phone after hearing the message. There was something wrong in his voice. He didn't know what, and he didn't know how he could tell. He just knew. "We'd best get going." JC announced to the group as he put his phone back into his pocket.

The five walked out of the arena and into the back parking lot where JC's jeep and the limo Lance, Justin, Chris, and Joey had been cheafeured around in all day were still awaiting. The four elected to return in the limo and JC took the wheel of his jeep.

'This is good.' JC thought. 'It will give me some time alone to run things through my head.' All along the drive back to Justin's house, Jason kept runing over the past few days. All that had happened. Searching for any signs that Jason might return his affection. It seemed like the ride took no time at all, and before he knew it, he was pulling into the Timberlake garage.

Jason saw the lights pull up the drive and into the garage. He quickly told Jessica thank you for lending her ear and supportive shoulder. He told her that he would let her know how things went in a few days. He placed the cradle on the reciever just as the kitchen door opened and he heard a multitude of people enter noisily.

He walked from the living room and back into the kitchen where Lynn was puting the finishing touches on the vegetables. She placed the top back on top of the pot and moved to greet all of the boys with a hug.

"Where did you say your dad was again, Justin?" Joey asked.

"He had to fly out to California for some business something or other. He should be back sometime this week." Justin answered giving his mom a hug. "What's for dinner?"

"And your sibs?" Chris asked, having also forgotten.

"They're at Grams." Justin responded.

"Well," she answered. "You'll just have to wait and see." As she finished her sentence, the timer on the roast went off and Lynn hurried back to the oven to remove it. She found Jason already there with mits on, oven open, removing the roast.

"Looks like we're just about ready for dinner." Jason announced as he set the pan on the counter next to the stove.

"You are so handy to have around, you know that?" Lynn responded. "I wish I could keep you for my very own." She finished the sentence with a funny voice and a pinch on Jason's cheek that sent the whole room into rolls of laughter.

As JC watched from a distance, he couldn't help but think exactly what Lynn had announced aloud. 'I wish I could keep you for my very own, too.'He closed his eyes and smiled at the thought before moving into the dining room to set up the table for dinner.

As Jason and Lynn finished up the dinner in the kitchen, the five boys of 'N Sync set the table. The food was brought out and all took a seat. The large roast, many vegetables, fresh baked bread and rolls, and side of rice made an excellent and filling dinner. After everyone had eaten their full, Lynn stood up to clear the table. Everyone else stood to leave the room but they were stopped before they could go anywhere.

"Where do you think you are all going? You're not leaving until you have had some of my, well, actually our" Lynn said, pointing to Jason, "Rasberry tart soufle."

She walked into the kitchen and returned with the sweet smelling desert on a serving tray. She passed out serving cups to everyone and filled each of them with the delicious treat. "Mmmm's" and "Ahh's" and other sounds of satisfation filled the room.

"Lynn, this is amazing!" JC announced, savoring the sweet tart.

"Don't just look at me, Jason did it too." she answered. JC smiled as he looked at Jason. He was just amazing.

"Yeah, mom. Great work. You too, Jason." Justin called.

The soufle was finished up before anyone would get up from the table. They all helped clear the table, do the dishes, and take out the trash before anyone set foot upstairs. Everyone thanked Lynn graciously and retired to the upstairs. The last to leave the dining room was Jason. He again thanked Lynn for her hospitality and informed her of the long-distance call that he had made from her phone. He tried to pay her for it but she refused, and refused, and refused. Finally, Jason gave up and headed upstairs to join the rest.

"Tell him." Lance urged. He was trying to get JC to realize what he had to do. He couldn't just keep hiding from what he needed. JC still retained a look of hesitance. JC and Lance heard Jason walking up the stairs and Lance informed once more before walking back into Justin's room and closing the door, "Tell Him!"

JC watched as Jason climbed the stairs to the second story. Apparently not watching where he was going, Jason walked right into JC, who was standing at the top of the stairs. "You not feel like watching where you're going tonight?" JC joked.

"Oh. Sorry, JC. I've just been thinking about alot lately." Jason apologized.

"Me too." JC responded. "Me too. Come on, let's go sit and chat." JC led Jason the short distance down the hallway to his bedroom. He had stayed over at Justin's house so often, that they had just given him his own room.

Jason walked into the room after JC, who stood holding the door. Jason slowly eased over to the bed and took a seat on its edge. "So," JC announced, taking a seat beside Jason. "What's on your mind?"

"I've just been thinking alot and the more I think about it..." Jason started. He knew what he was about to say was going to sound ungrateful and hurtful and all those nasty things he never wanted to be. He swallowed hard before continuing. " the more I think about it, the more I think that coming here might not have been such a good idea."

JC was shocked at his statement. The expression on his face went from a smile to a frown instantly. He could feel his eyes welling up and his heart starting to throb. "What do you mean? You don't want to be here?"

"No, I want to be here. More than anything in the world. It's just that I don't know that I should be here." Jason answered, trying very hard not to give away his true problem. His attraction to JC. It was becoming more and more dificult to control it.

"Why would you say that? Why shouldn't you be here?" JC asked, pausing for a response. When Jason said nothing and continued to look towards the ground, JC reached over and turned Jason's head until he was looking straight into his eyes. "Talk to me Jason, It's okay. Whatever it is, you can talk to me."

This last bit of genuine sincerety and caring just put Jason over the edge. Sitting there, looking into those deep blue eyes that you could get lost in forever, Jason felt an uncontrolable magnetism drawimg him towards JC. Caving in to the desires of his heart and soul, Jason closed his eyes and moved towards JC.

Don't you just hate it when an author leaves you hanging in the balance? I just couldn't resist. But look at it this way, the more response I get, the sooner I will be inclined to release the next chapter. At any rate, the next chapter should be up in a few day. Email at a41a14a@yahoo.com, ICQ #76118280, AOL: a41a14a2000. Have a great day everyone. JC.