Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:
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If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't be here.
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I don't know any of the celebrities in this story, and this story in no way is meant to imply anything about their sexualities, personalities, or anything else. This is a work of pure fiction.
Questions and commentary can be sent to "writerboy69@hotmail.com". I enjoy constructive criticism, praise, and rational discussion. I do not enjoy flames, and will not tolerate them.
That said, on with Season 7.
Joey
The clacking of the laptop keys, however softly Justin intended to type, woke Joey from his place on the couch, and he looked up, blinking, as Junior came charging over, sensing movement. Before Joey had a chance to even fully open his eyes, Junior was slobbering all over him, swiping over Joey's face with his tongue and wagging his tail. Joey sat up quickly, trying to escape, and Junior jumped onto his lap. Jack had probably trained the damn dog to be annoyingly persistent. No way was Bri getting one anytime soon.
"Did I wake you?" Justin asked, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. His legs, covered in pajama bottoms, were flung out in front of him, and his blue eyes shone in the light of the computer screen. Joey checked him carefully, but there were no circles under his eyes. He actually looked pretty good.
The same couldn't be said for their suite room, although technically that would just be Chris's problem, if they felt like handing it off to him. Plates sat all around the room, half eaten orders of nachos and processed cheese congealing on some, and pizza stiffening on others. A few cookies were left on one of them, and there was also food strewn across the floor where Junior had gotten into it in the middle of the night. They'd been careful not to get chocolate, since that would poison him, but Joey thought he'd seen the dog lapping at Chris's beer bottle at least once. They'd never be allowed to babysit again at this rate. Junior's belly was bulging, and Joey guessed he'd been eating for most of the night, while they all slept.
Speaking of sleeping, he craned his head around looking for Chris, and saw him still passed out in the bedroom. They'd had a great night, watching movies from the eighties, pigging out, and drinking, although Justin had passed on the alcohol. Chris drank enough for both of them, though, finally collapsing into the bed that he and Justin had shared last night, along with Junior. One of Chris's feet, still in sneakers, peeked out from under the sheets, and he was still fully dressed. Justin was wearing an undershirt and a pair of pajama bottoms, and looked like he'd finally gotten a good night's sleep. Joey, having slept on the couch, couldn't quite say the same, but he wouldn't say a word. The whole night had been about making Justin feel better, and it had apparently worked, at least a little.
"A little," Joey answered, looking around to see what time it was. "Why are you up?"
"I've been looking for some stuff online," Justin said, as if this was a normal part of his morning routine. Normally Justin was comatose before breakfast, and sometimes before lunch as well. "Did you know you can find sheet music on the web?"
"No," Joey answered honestly. "You can find almost everything else, though."
"You think the concierge will print this for me downstairs?" Justin asked, writing down web addresses on a napkin.
"Probably," Joey answered, trying to figure out what was going on. They didn't need sheet music. The band already knew all their songs. He was about to ask what was going on when Justin cut him off again.
"I'm going to go get cleaned up in a minute," Justin said. "And then I'm going downstairs to print this. I'm going to offer the band some money to head over to the arena and work on this with me. Do you and Chris want to come?"
"Work on what, Justin?" Joey asked. "I mean, what the hell are you doing? What are you and the band working on?"
Justin swallowed, looking down, and then smiled at Joey, his eyes bright.
"I was thinking last night, and this morning," Justin said. "About what everyone said, and what I should do, and I think I figured out a way. I can't talk to Lance, Joey. I tried, and when I do, I get all choked up. I get nervous, and tongue tied, and I'll never be able to tell him. I realized something, though. I never choke when I'm onstage, Joey."
"Wait, Justin," Joey said, blinking. Was he still asleep?
"I have to go get dressed," Justin said, standing. He was still smiling. "Wake up Chris if you guys want to go."
"Justin, are you sure this is a good idea?" Joey asked, wondering exactly how Justin intended to serenade Lance in front of a few thousand fans.
"No," Justin answered, shaking his head. "But I'm gonna do it anyway."
"You got some balls on you, kid," Joey said, shaking his head. Maybe their pep talk had worked a little too well.
"Of course I do," Justin said, smiling. Inside, he was nervous as hell, but he knew that if he slowed down long enough to actually think about this he would talk himself out of it. "I'm Justin Timberlake."
The door closed behind him, and Joey ran to the bedroom to rouse Chris. They'd woken the sleeping giant, and Joey didn't intend to miss a minute of the show.
Jack
"I don't care what you say," I began, pulling on the laces. "These pants are just weird."
"They look hot, though," Josh said, running his hand over my shoulder as he walked by. "Let me just find you those boots."
"Josh, these have a lace up crotch," I said, tugging on them again. I didn't want to tighten them to the point of sterilization, but they just felt odd.
"Don't tuck the laces in," Josh said, dropping a pair of cowboy boots in front of me. "Leave them hanging, and they'll, you know, call attention to your crotch."
"Josh!" I said, looking up to see him blushing. "I don't want all the attention focused on my crotch."
"Would it kill you to look sexy every once in a while?" Josh asked. I glared at him, and he backpedaled. "Not that you don't look sexy all the time anyway, but, you know, every once in a while you could dress the part."
Josh was busily dressing me for an interview, which I would be giving from the seats while the guys did their sound checks. I figured I would just wear whatever, but Josh was insistent that I start dressing for the press, and had picked through his closet until he found something "just perfect" for me. He had me decked out in a pair of buckskin pants, with the aforementioned lace up crotch, and a long sleeved extremely tight white t-shirt, with the top opened in a rather deep v-neck. Josh pointed out that it highlighted my necklace, and my chest, but the last time I'd worn an outfit this tight had been when I smacked on a wetsuit at the resort where we got married.
"Josh, what are people going to think when they see this?" I asked. "I mean, I look sexy, but it's kind of trampy."
"You and I aren't really capable of trampy, Jack," Josh sighed, grabbing my hand. "Come on. I want to do your hair."
"Wonderful," I smiled. "Please, no glitter."
"OK," Josh smiled, pulling me into the bathroom. "I'll have you know, my mom bought those pants."
"I'm stunned," I said, grinning, as Josh began to pick through his bottles of product. "I'll have to give her a call later."
"You know she loves to hear from you," Josh said, giggling. He looked seriously at me in the mirror for a minute. "Do you think about your parents a lot?"
"Evelyn and Jack Senior?" I asked, smirking. "Why on earth would I?"
"Not them," Josh said, running his hands through my hair, smearing it with something. "I meant your real parents."
"Where did this come from?" I asked, curious.
"I don't know," Josh answered, shrugging. "It's just, you know, whenever we talk about Kevin, I think about how you guys have the same last name, and it gets me thinking about your family."
"Yeah, but Kevin and I aren't family," I said, grinning. It was random coincidence, which Josh knew, since he'd helped me find the private investigator who'd looked into my background. After we found out about Nancy, I wanted to see if I had any other relatives, but it appeared that I did not. Josh's family was my family.
"Do you think about your dad, though?" Josh asked. "I mean, I wonder who he is. Don't you?"
"Not really," I answered, shrugging. "I wanted to know where I came from, and what we found is enough for me. Besides, you're my family now. You, and your family, and the guys. You're all the family I need."
I reached up to pull his head down as I sat on the edge of the tub, letting him work on my hair, and he leaned down to kiss me. It wasn't quite the upside down Spider-Man kiss, but it was a fairly awkward angle, and I almost fell into the tub.
"Speaking of, we should probably grab Lance before we go over," Josh said, teasing a couple of strands to hang over my forehead. "He's probably feeling like the odd man out today, with everyone else there already and you and me locked in here."
"We probably should," I agreed, checking myself in the mirror. Josh had done a damn good job with the hair. I looked like part of the band. "Josh, what do you think's going to happen tonight?"
We were both a little nervous about Justin's plan, which Chris had told us about over the phone, mainly because Justin had one. Every time someone in this group had a plan, something ended up going horribly awry, and someone ended up in tears and needing therapy. Justin was going to put it all on the line tonight, and none of us knew exactly how. Was Justin planning to out himself and Lance? Would it be something quieter, that only the two of them, and maybe those of us who knew, would get? And how would Lance react? We were all pretty sure Lance felt the same way, but what if he didn't? What if he couldn't? I didn't know where Justin was dredging up the strength for this, and if Lance shot him down, I didn't know if he would ever recover.
I sent Josh into the bedroom to find himself a shirt as someone knocked on the door. Peering through the peephole, I saw Chad standing in the hallway, playing nervously with a piece of paper.
"Just a second," I said, turning to the bedroom to whisper to Josh. "It's Chad!"
"No firing!" Josh hissed, flying out of the bedroom as he tugged his shirt on. He reached past me to pull the door open. "Hey, Chad, what's up?"
"Can I talk to you guys for a minute?" Chad asked. We nodded, stepping aside to let him in, and walked over to the couches with him, wondering what was going on now. I glanced down at the paper in his hands, and saw that it was the letter from Josh and I, about his performance so far.
"Did you borrow those pants from JC?" Chad asked, watching me sit.
"Yeah, why?" I demanded, mentally chastising myself already for not reigning in my hostility. Josh squeezed my forearm gently.
"You wear them pretty well," Chad said quickly. He was looking pretty subdued again today, in black jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. I wanted to ask him who died, but was afraid someone might have. Josh would never forgive me if I said something that cold, even to someone I didn't like. "They're just not you."
"Did you need something, Chad?" Josh asked. "We kind of wanted to get over to the arena soon, because of Jack's interview."
"Yeah, sorry," Chad said, swallowing. "I just wanted to say thank you to you guys. This job has been, well, I never really thought that I would have an opportunity to work with people like you, and to do something like this, and go on tour with you guys, its been kind of like a dream come true for me. I've tried really hard to do my best, and I like to think that, you know, we haven't just been people who work together. You guys have tried really hard to let me into your lives, and I know that must be hard for people in your position, especially someone as private as Jack."
Josh and I glanced at each other. Was this what it sounded like?
"I guess, um, I was so busy meeting people, and enjoying all the perks of my job, that I kind of ignored some important things," Chad said. "This letter brought it home for me, kind of. I've tried really hard, and someday I'll probably be really good at this, but right now, I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not ready. I don't really belong here, and we all know it. We've been trying to ignore it, and keep everything really nice, but you guys don't need me as much as I needed to be here."
"So you're quitting?" I asked, wondering now if I'd driven him out.
"I was kind of hoping maybe you guys could help with that," Chad began.
"What did you have in mind?" Josh asked, sitting up.
"Well, I went through and got everything all set up for Jack's last speech," Chad said, crossing his fingers in his lap. "And there isn't really anything else I can do, except for the mail, but anybody could do that until you find someone new. I guess I was hoping you could get me back into the secretarial pool at Jive, so that I wouldn't have to start all over somewhere else."
"I think we could do that," Josh said, and I nodded. "When did you want to do it?"
"I already packed," Chad said, standing. "I had a short night last night, and I figured, you know, why wait?"
Wow. He really meant this, and had no intention of letting us beg him to stay. That was just as well, since I had no intention of begging. Our next assistant was going to be a nice, older, grandmother type lady, who would bake Josh cookies, not try to get into his or Lance's pants. Josh and I stood, unsure of whether we should shake Chad's hand or just get the door, and he smiled at us.
"It's been a lot of fun, guys," he said, shrugging. "I don't want to drag this out, though, so, um, goodbye, and good luck tonight."
He darted out the door before we could even say goodbye, and Josh looked at me.
"I wonder what brought that on?" he asked, staring at the door as if expecting Chad to pop back through it.
"Who cares?" I blurted, clapping my hands. "He's gone!"
Josh shot me a look of withering scorn.
"Sorry," I said, struggling to suppress my delight. "I wonder what happened with him and Lance? He didn't mention it or anything."
"I don't know," Josh answered, shrugging. "We probably shouldn't mention it, either, but, you know, they had a short night and now he's quitting."
Lance's mood put a damper on my pleasure, something I never would have believed was possible. If you told me weeks ago that I would be less than wildly ecstatic on the day Chad quit, I would have asked you if you were on some sort of heavy drugs, or maybe if your bangs were hiding a lobotomy scar. When we collected Lance, he wasn't exactly sad. He just seemed kind of withdrawn, and out of it. In the taxi on the way over I asked him about it, after Josh and I got tired of staring at him.
"Lance?" I asked, catching his eye finally as he stared out the window of the cab. "You ok?"
"Yeah," he answered, smiling absently. "I'm just, you know, I was thinking about something else, that's all. Have you guys seen Justin today?"
"He stopped by to drop Junior off," Josh answered. "Why?"
"Just wondering," Lance answered, looking away again. I glanced at Josh, wondering if we should say something, but he just shrugged.
When we got to the arena, I kissed Josh goodbye, and watched as he and Lance walked backstage to get fitted up with their microphones and hardware. There was always a small group of fans that got to come to the sound checks, usually people from the fan club who had won a raffle, and they were filing in as we entered. One of the bodyguards, not Andrew, who was off today, kept an eye on me as I sat a little way off from the fan club. I was still close to the stage, but there was enough room for me to meet my interviewer. I wasn't sure what magazine I was talking to, but they tended to all ask the same questions anyway, and I answered while keeping an eye on the stage.
The guys tended to be playful during sound checks, talking to each other and waving to the fan club, but tonight the atmosphere was a little subdued. Justin was already on the stage when the other four came out, standing at the back talking to the band, and he barely nodded a hello to Lance, who looked momentarily stricken. Josh, Joey, and Chris spent the entire sound check watching the two of them expectantly, as did I. I wasn't sure what we were expecting, since Justin was going to wait until the show, but I was kind of hoping we might get a little hint. Instead, Justin acted like this was any other show warm- up, singing a few lines, dancing a couple of steps, and waving to the fans. I answered my interview questions while keeping one eye on the stage, which my interviewer took as my continuing devotion to Josh, and didn't realize was actually a better indicator of my slavish devotion to drama.
I wanted this to work out for Justin and Lance, more than anything. The two of them had been through so much, and had dealt with so much pain, that I just wanted them to be happy. If they were going to be happy together, so be it. I just wanted it to finally happen, damn it. Chad was out of the way, Justin was over Josh, and nobody in the group was mad at anyone else. Things were never going to be more perfect than they were right now, and I wanted this to happen. Everything had been building to this for so long that I couldn't even imagine what it would be like when it was over, when Justin's heart was out on the table and the ball was in Lance's court, and I figured it was the same for the rest of the guys, too. We all needed this, needed something positive to come out of everything we had gone through.
By the time dinner rolled around, the tension was starting to hang over us like a cloud. Justin looked a little shaky, like he was losing his nerve. Lance was staring at Justin like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Joey and Chris hung back, watching them like it was the best show on television, throwing Justin a thumbs up whenever Lance's back was turned, but I could tell that they were worried, too. The whole thing was starting to shift as it got closer to the kickoff time, and Josh's worry was evident as he sat by me, carrying his plate. The little frown line between his eyebrows was creasing into place, and I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
"What's that for?" he asked, smiling. "Not that I mind."
"Because I love you," I answered. "And I want you to stop worrying. There's nothing any of us can do anyway but wait."
"So, Jack, how did your interview go?" Chris asked, trying to distract everyone. Unfortunately, I couldn't really play along well.
"OK, I guess," I answered, shrugging. "I wasn't really paying attention. They asked all the regular questions. What's it like to date a boyband member? Is this where I thought I'd end up when I was in school?"
"Do you always paint your pants on so tight we can read your underwear label?" Joey asked in the same tone of voice, and I gave him the finger as he and Chris snickered.
"Just 'cause you and your evil elf friend there'll never it into them doesn't mean you have to be so jealous," I said, sneering.
"I prefer the term leprechaun," Chris said, giggling.
"Besides," I said smugly, "I'll have you know that Josh's mother picked out these pants herself."
"She did not!" Chris said. I turned to Josh, and he was turning red. "I was with you when you bought those. I believe you said, and I quote, 'These pants would look really hot on Jack, and he'll never wear them.'"
"Josh, did you have something to share with the rest of the class?" I asked. "Lying, Joshua Scott, is a sin, after all."
"OK, I might have told a little white lie," Josh said. "But you look really hot in them, and the only reason you wore them is because you thought my mom thought they were ok."
I leaned over and kissed Josh again.
"Baby, if you wanted me to wear them, all you had to do was ask," I said. I leaned in really close to whisper in his ear. "They're going to look even hotter later, when I'm straddling you in them, and my shirt is gone, and the laces are all undone. Can you imagine that, Josh? All this nice soft leather stretched over my legs, and the front hanging open just enough for you to see how hot and hard I am for you?"
"Jesus, Jack," Josh whispered huskily.
"Consider that your punishment for lying," I said, standing. "I'm going to my seat, and you guys have warm-ups to do. See you after the show."
"Jack!" Josh yelped, unable to stand. I walked away, snickering to myself, certain that I looked enticing in these damn pants.
I barely noticed the opening act, or the other people in the VIP section with me. None of the guys had family members with them on this tour, so I didn't have anyone to sit with, and I didn't know any of the other people there. The crowd was all warmed up, and when the opener was over and the guys came out, I could see that the tone among them had shifted again. I didn't know what they'd said to Lance as part of their preshow ritual, but he looked a lot more relaxed, and the rest of the guys were now bursting with excitement, spending most of the show grinning, something that hardly ever happened. Josh told me afterward that when they were in the quiet room Justin had apologized to Lance for getting his own room so abruptly, and had asked Lance if they could talk about it after the show. I toyed with my backstage pass, and figured that they might have other things to discuss by the time the show was over.
Josh was in rare form tonight as well, maybe feeding off the others, or just genuinely happy to have me here with him. He waved at me or blew me kisses whenever he could, without breaking the choreography or disrupting the show, and I spent most of the concert standing up at the front of the fence, dancing and singing along, close enough to the stage that Josh grabbed my hand several times as he walked by, his grip firm even if his hand was sweaty. When he came up from beneath the stage for his spotlight performance he was completely on, heartbreaking and powerful, but when it was over he looked up at me, his eyes glistening, and his microphone still on.
"I love you, Jack," he said, smiling, as the piano sank below the stage.
The applause from the crowd was thunderous at that, and I blushed furiously when a spotlight danced over me. There was a pause of a few seconds as the guys got ready for the next song, and in it I heard people actually cheering my name. Unsure of what else to do, I turned and waved at the crowd, hearing more cheers, and quickly returned to my seat, breathing a sigh of relief as the music started again. As the show neared its conclusion, Justin still hadn't made his move, and I was getting antsy. Looking onstage, I could see that the guys were, too, and I got up and moved backstage before the end, waiting on the side where I knew they would come out. As the crowd cheered, they burst toward me, Josh wrapping his arms around me.
"What's going on?" I whispered.
"I have no idea," Josh answered. Lance looked around anxiously.
"Where's Justin?" he asked. Justin hadn't left the stage with them, and the house lights were still down. Before any of us could answer, a single spotlight lit the stage, and Justin stood in the middle, wearing his costume from the final number.
"Hi everybody!" he called, waving to the crowd.
"What's he doing?" Lance asked, stepping back toward the stage. Joey put a hand on his arm, and Lance paused, staring at him questioningly.
"Wait and see," Joey said.
"We don't usually do an encore, but tonight I asked the band if they could help me out with something," Justin said. His voice was firm, not shaking, and I realized he was in his full Justin Timberlake stage presence, where he was incapable of being nervous or unsure. "There's somebody out there tonight, somebody I care about, who means more to me than anybody in the world. I've been trying to tell them, and I just can't, so I thought maybe I'd sing this song, and hope they hear me."
"What?" Lance asked again, his mouth hanging open. The music started, and Josh squeezed me tightly.
"Maybe you'll wanna give me kisses sweet," Justin sang, his voice high enough to match Smokey Robinson's. "But only for one night and no repeat. And maybe you'll go away and never call, and a taste of honey's worse than none at all. Oh, little girl in that case I don't want no part. I do believe that that would only break my heart. Oh, but if you feel like lovin' me, if you've got the notion, I second that emotion. So, if you feel like giving me a lifetime of devotion, I second that emotion."
The band was doing a damn good job for only one day of rehearsals, and Justin was on. I hadn't been a big fan of his solo stuff, but when he put his mind to it, he had a hell of a voice. He sang out toward the crowd, his voice filled with emotion, and Lance watched in open mouthed silence, his eyes glistening.
"Maybe you think that love will tie you down, and you don't have the time to hang around. Or maybe you think that love was made for fools, and so it makes you wise to break the rules. Oh, little girl in that case I don't want no part," Justin sang, swaying his hips. I almost choked. It was a genuine, long absent, Justin Timberlake sexy dance move, and I thought Lance would pass out. "I do believe that that would only break my heart. Oh, but if you feel like lovin' me, if you've got the notion, I second that emotion. So, if you feel like giving me a lifetime of devotion, I second that emotion."
Justin repeated the chorus, throwing in a couple more smoldering hip swings, and then the lights went down. The applause was enthusiastic, but we were barely conscious of it as we stared at Lance, watching him watch Justin walk offstage. As Justin got closer, we could see that he was nervous too, his eyes wide as he watched Lance, who still had the same blank, open mouthed look, staring at Justin as if he were some visitor from above, or maybe from the past. Justin was sliding back into his nervousness, but for those couple of minutes onstage just now he had been completely himself, completely the old Justin, the one that Lance had such a crush on. He stood in front of Lance, his hands shaking, and swallowed.
"I love you," Justin said, pulling his microphone off. "I love you, Lance. Do you hear me? Did you hear what I sang? I love you."
Justin was trembling now, his eyes filling up, as he stood in front of Lance, and I felt like all of my guts were about to push out of my mouth. Josh was holding my hand so tightly I thought the bones would snap. Lance grabbed Justin, cradling him, pressing Justin against him, and Justin's arms wrapped around Lance as they leaned on each other, eyes closed.
"I hear you," Lance whispered. "I love you, too, Justin. I love you, too."
To be concluded.