Just Together

Disclaimer: This story is fiction. It makes no claims to the true personality and sexuality of anyone involved. You already know if you shouldn't be reading this.

------------------ Just Together by jm_stories@yahoo.com ------------------

Chapter II Original post 17 Jul 2000 Revised 7 Feb 2002

I woke up to the feeling of Michael's hand softly rubbing along my chest, and slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on my back and Michael had his head propped on his hand and was watching me.

"Mornin'," I said.

"Mornin'," he said and leaned in for a quick kiss.

"This is much better than an alarm clock," I smiled.

"Yea, but you know how I like to sleep in, so I wouldn't throw it away just yet."

"What time is it?"

"Ten."

"Let's stay in bed all day."

"Sounds good, but I need to brush my teeth. You should too. I'd also like to eat breakfast sometime soon. And...maybe we could also do...stuff."

"Stuff, huh? Like what stuff?" I coaxed.

"I don't know. We'll just have to see what happens. But right now I have to go to the bathroom," he said and rolled out of bed. "Come on," he added, pulling me out of bed.

We did our business in the bathroom, and then put on some clothes. I made a pot of coffee and we had leftover pie for breakfast.

After breakfast I put on some music and we sat on the sofa with our coffee. Michael sat between my legs and laid back against my chest. I put my arms around him.

"And to think we could have been doing this much sooner if we both weren't such chicken shits," Michael said.

"Maybe it wasn't meant to happen sooner," I offered.

"Maybe."

We sat there for a while just holding each other.

"So why did you disappear that time before Thanksgiving?" I asked.

"What brings that up?"

"I don't know. I'm just thinking about everything."

"It seems stupid now."

"So."

"Well... When I woke up with you the morning before, I started thinking that maybe there was a chance. Then when I woke up the next morning you left me there on the sofa. I guess I just thought that the first night was an accident and that you really didn't want to sleep next to me. It was like the chance had be ripped away. And then I felt guilty about having these feelings for you and I knew I couldn't face you then, so I had to get away. That's also kinda why I didn't talk to you at all the month before that. I thought that if I just tried to forget you...but that didn't work. Stupid, huh?"

"Yea."

"Hey. You're supposed to say, 'No, I would have done the same thing.'"

"I wouldn't ignore you, but I did pull back -- except I just went to my bed and left you on the sofa. I didn't feel right sleeping with you given the way I felt."

"How do you feel now?"

"Very good, but you'll have to check for yourself," I smiled.

Michael leaned up and turned around so he was facing me. He reached his hands out and slowly moved them up my thighs and sides. He then leaned in and we kissed. It was the kiss of all kisses. Really. Check the news. It's documented history. I don't know how long it lasted, but when we finally parted Michael was on his back and I was leaning over him.

"Wow," Michael whispered.

"Yea," I whispered back.

"Why are we whispering?"

"I don't know," I said and started another kiss. His lips...were heaven...the soft, pouty, heavenly lips of my boyfriend... I pulled back and just looked at him with a smile on my face -- and his face as well. He opened his eyes to see why I wasn't kissing him.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Nothing," I smiled and we started kissing again. The kisses became more passionate and heated and I felt Michael trying to pull my shirt off. I pulled back and pulled him up. "Let's go to the bedroom."

We practically ran to my bedroom, and then stopped in front of the bed at looked at each other. I suddenly became nervous, and by Michael's hesitation, I think he was too.

"We don't have to..." Michael said.

"No, but I want to...but maybe not everything..."

"Me too. If you want to stop, just say so and I will."

"You too."

"Um...do you wanna get nekkid?" Michael said with a goofy grin.

I answered him by putting my hands on his hips and giving him a kiss as I raised his shirt over his head. Once his shirt was off, we started kissing again until we had to part so Michael could pull my shirt off, and then resumed. My hands drifted down to his butt and I pulled him closer. Michael's hands slid along my sides and I pulled back giggling.

"Ticklish, huh?" Michael grinned.

"Right there I am."

"Where? Right here?" Michael said as he started tickling me.

"Stop," I laughed as I tried to push him away, to no avail. When he didn't stop I reached for his pants and pulled them down as I flopped down on the bed. There he stood -- naked and sporting a not quite full erection. I laughed at the somewhat startled expression on his face.

"Think that's funny, eh?"

"Yep!"

"How about this?" Michael said and dove to pull my pants off. After a short struggle, he held them up in victory.

I just looked at him. God, he's so beautiful. I reached out my hand and touched his belly. He slowly put down my pants and sat down beside me. I was lying on my back and Michael was sitting beside me. I was taking in the sight of this beautiful man, my boyfriend, naked in front of me.

"You're so beautiful," Michael said softly as he ran his hand along my leg.

"You're pretty cute, yourself," I said just as softly and ran my hand along his back.

Michael turned so he was facing me and used both hands to rub up my legs to my chest, and then back down slowly. He seemed fascinated. It felt great.

"I'm memorizing you," He said with soft smile.

He'd bypassed my erection each time his hands went by that area, but kept getting closer and closer with each pass. When he finally touched me it felt like electricity and I shuddered as he gently examined my balls and cock. He started jacking me a little, and I knew I was getting a little too excited. I reached up and pulled him back so he was lying beside me. Before he could speak, I kissed him and held him down as I moved into a kneeling position so I could 'examine' him. I knelt over his lower legs and ran my hands up his legs. When I got to his hips, he giggled and twisted under me.

"Ah, seems like I've found your ticklish spot," I said and continued up to his chest. I could have taken advantage and tickled him as he had done me, but I was concentrating too much on his body. His skin was so soft and felt so good and hot under my hands. When I finally got to his balls, he was breathing heavy and the tip of his erection was wet with precum. I slowly jacked him a few times with one hand, while massaging his balls with the other.

I let go and leaned down over him so our erections were touching. Michael pulled me down the rest of the way and we started kissing again as we ground into each other. His lips were so delicious and his body was so hot. I tried to get closer to him and he was holding me tight against him as we kissed. If we could have become one, then that may have been close enough. I hooked my legs under his for more leverage and we pressed a little tighter. Precum and sweat were lubricating our desperate movements and I felt myself getting very close. I went with the feeling and ground more vigorously. We were less kissing now and mostly rubbing our faces against each other. Suddenly, Michael stopped kissing and held me like a vice as his body shivered and I felt his cum shoot between our stomachs. This totally set me off and I was only a few seconds behind him.

When we finally came down, I pulled my head back to look into Michael's eyes. He was smiling from ear to ear.

"What are you smiling at?" Michael joked.

"Same thing you are," I teased back and gave him a sloppy kiss.

We lay in bed on top of each other for about a half-hour, kissing, caressing and talking about nothing in particular. Eventually we got out of bed and took a shower. We washed all of each other this time. The hesitations and uncertainties of our previous shower were almost gone. It was great. Why would anyone ever choose to shower alone?

We got dressed and decided to go out for lunch. We walked to a cafŽ on Fulton, hand in hand. I don't know if we got any stares or not -- I wasn't paying attention. All I could think about was Michael and every moment we had ever spent together. After lunch we walked down through Prospect Park and then headed back.

"We should move my stuff sometime soon, but I need to get my clothes today," Michael said as we were walking back.

"You don't have that much stuff. Let's just do it all now. We'll load up my car and have it done in one trip."

"Great," he said and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I felt so warm and fuzzy that I couldn't stop smiling and gave him a quick kiss back.

It was early afternoon, so we were able to get a parking spot right in front of his apartment. It took us about 45 minutes to get everything loaded. He decided to just leave the bed and Goodwill dresser there. An hour later we had everything in my apartment. Our apartment. We packed our clothes together -- no reason not to since we wore the same size. Michael left for the theater and I worked on clearing out space on my bookcases for his books. I got everything put away and sat down with a cup of coffee.

Then it hit me. We are moving way fast. Only a few days ago we were just good friends, and now we are together and he's moved in and totally become part of my life. We're totally entwined now. Clothes. Living space. Books. Bodies. After waiting so long to be with someone like that, it now happened almost instantly. It feels like I should be afraid of how quickly we're moving, but I can't imagine doing it any other way. It felt weird, but not wrong. I mean, we have known each other for seven months, so it's not like we just met.

I was analyzing myself into a hole, as usual, when Matt walked in the door.

"Hey, man," Matt said.

"Hey. You're back early."

"No. I said I'd be back on the 27th. That's today."

"Oh. Guess I just lost track of the date. So how was Xmas with the 'rents?"

"Per usual. Per usual. Bored out of my mind. What about you? How was the shelter?"

"The shelter was depressing. I'm kinda still helping some kids there learn how to play piano. Well, I taught them some while I was there and then got them a bunch of books so they could learn on their own since I won't have time to get there once classes start."

"That's cool. Nothing else? Just sit around here? That's a great snow we got, though. I wish I was here before the plows got to it."

"Sit around here? Not exactly. You remember Michael?"

"Yea."

"We're together now," I said with a grin.

"Really? He's gay too, huh. Congratulations."

"Thanks," I smirked.

"It's about time you got some," Matt joked.

"Like you can talk," I shot back.

"Compared to you I can. This is the first boyfriend you've had since I've known you."

"Just waiting for the right one."

"Oo. He's the right one, now, is he? Are you in looovvee?" He teased.

"I'm pretty sure. Yes."

"So what took you so long. You've known him since, like, last summer. Right?"

"We're both a little slow. I've also been informed I'm dense when it comes to this kinda stuff."

Matt laughed. "Yea. I'd believe that. Am I going to regret coming back so soon?"

"Huh?"

"Are you doin' it like rabbits all over the apartment?"

"Noooo. But he has moved in...to my room."

"That's fast. Man. I go home for a week and the world changes."

"Not the world. Just my world. So how's the job hunt going?"

"Right now, horrible. No one is interviewing until after New Year's. I do have one with id on the 2nd, though."

"You didn't expect to have a job the day after you graduated, did you?"

"Yea. Why else would I have majored in computer programming? I expected headhunters to be calling me right and left."

"It may have something to do with graduating at an odd time, not to mention you didn't pay the headhunters any attention when they were calling you last year."

"Yea. Rub it in. I know. I know," Matt sighed. "So where's your man?"

"He had a performance."

"Oh, that's right. He's an actor. Is he out? I mean, do you have to be careful about being in public?"

"I don't know. We've only been together a couple of days. I guess he's out to some people and his parents. I don't see why it should be an issue, though. He's straight acting, so he shouldn't get typecast in gay roles. He's not that famous yet, so he doesn't get recognized on the street. Besides, it's become so boring to out celebrities. It's hardly even news anymore since those two guys in Backstreet Boys came out."

"If he does come out publicly, please don't let him do it like that. That story dragged on forever. All summer long, every time you turned on MTV, there they were with their boyfriends or that guy's kids. They were bad enough when they were straight."

"Try not to watch TV so often and you won't get burned out on MTV. You know they show everything a thousand times just to make sure every person on the planet has seen it," I smirked.

"At least ten times."

"Well, time for me to go pick up my man," I said and grabbed my jacket.

"Hey, Jonah."

"Yea?"

"Try to stop smiling. It's eerie," Matt joked.

"Whatever," I smirked as I walked out the door.

I picked Michael up as before. He was a little more coherent than last night, but not much. We took a shower when we got home and went straight to bed.

I woke up first. We were wrapped around each other and intertwined. I gently separated myself so I could go to the bathroom. I let Michael sleep and went to make some coffee. Matt was up and sitting in front of the TV with his laptop.

"Mornin'" I said as I walked to the kitchen. I put on the coffee and stood there watching it brew. When it was done I poured two cups and went back to my room. Michael was stretching on the bed. He sat up when he saw me and I handed him his cup.

"Mornin'. Thanks," he said taking the cup from me.

"Mornin'," I said as I sat down beside him and gave him a quick kiss. "So what do you want to do today?"

"I need to read through some scripts. After that it doesn't really matter as long as we're together," he smiled.

I gave him a quick kiss for that. "What are the scripts for? You have a movie offer?"

"A couple, actually. I need to read through the scripts to see which one I want to do."

"That's great. Any lead roles?"

"Yea, but I don't think I'll take it. It's one of those horrible teen movies like James has been making," he laughed.

"I saw the trailer for 'Varsity Blues,' but I never went to see it. Was it that bad?"

"I think so. I didn't tell James that, though. The lead roles for younger guys are usually pretty shallow. It's not very often that a good male lead role comes along even for older guys. I'm fine with the better characters in smaller parts, I guess."

"DiCaprio had some good ones before he started doing shit like 'Titanic' and 'The Beach.' Since he's doing crap now, just get him to send you the scripts he's passing up," I offered.

"I'd have to meet him first. Katie has met him and said he's a bit of a prick, so I don't know if I even want to go there. He did have some great roles, though. I would have loved to do 'Total Eclipse.'"

"Have you given any more thought on joining the regular cast on DC?"

"Yea, but I haven't decided yet. They want a two season contract, so I'm stuck with the decision for two years."

"It wouldn't be all that bad. You could go to school during the year and work DC during the summer like Michelle does. If a good film role comes along, you could just take a semester off," I offered.

"Maybe."

"Think about it. If you got into NYU, then you'd still be here. If you start next year and I get into grad school here, then our time in school will be the same. If you become a big famous movie star and move to Hollywood before I graduate, you'll be on your own for a while."

"You'd break up with me if I moved out there?"

"No, but I wouldn't move out there until after I graduated."

"It's not going to happen, then. I don't want to live in LA: too plastic. NYC is fine for me."

"Oh, Matt brought something up yesterday that I hadn't thought about. Do we need to be careful about being in public?"

"Just to avoid gay bashers, but not because of my career. I'm not going to lead a gay pride parade, but I'm not going to hide it either. The only Hollywood films that would discriminate against me for being gay are the ones I wouldn't want to be part of anyway. I want to make a good living doing something I love, not be famous. If I can ride that fine line between being a well known and respected actor and being famous, then I'll be happy. I can't really control that, though. Are you okay with dealing with the fame game, should it happen?"

"I guess. Let's try to avoid it, though. I'd hate it if we had cameras in our face every time we went somewhere."

"I would too. That's enough serious talk for this morning," Michael smiled. "Let's get something to eat," he said and got out of bed.

"Hey, new roomie," Matt said as we walked through the living room.

"Hey," Michael said a little sheepishly.

"The last time I saw you you slammed the door and left."

"I was having a bad day. I don't normally do that," Michael said and retreated to the kitchen.

"Don't feel special. He is a pain in the ass to everyone," I told Michael as I pulled some english muffins out of the 'fridge.

"Great. How much longer is he going to be here?" Michael smirked.

"From the looks of it, quite a while. He hasn't been job hunting as hard as he should."

"What does he do?"

"Play games on his computer."

"Computer programming," Matt corrected as he walked into the kitchen. "Games are just an obsession."

"Then get a job as a game programmer," Michael said.

"Workin' on it," Matt said, grabbed a soda from the 'fridge and went back to the living room.

"Now that you're living here, I guess you need to know some of the quirks. The Mountain Dew in the 'fridge is Matt's. He freaks if one is missing. The Diet Pepsi is Nicole's -- same thing. Everything else is shared, but replace what you use. You and I are the only ones who drink coffee, though. If you have something special, just put a note on it," I explained.

"I think I'll make everyone dinner when Nicole gets back in town. When is she getting back?"

"The 30th."

"Then let's plan on me making dinner for everyone on the 30th."

"Are you sure? Michelle will be here for New Years, as well as Nicole's brother and his friend. Besides, don't you have a show that night?"

"Oh yea. Man, we'll be packed in here. Is there enough room?"

"More room than in your old place," I smirked. "Anyway, Rick will have the sofa. His friend the floor. Michelle will probably sleep with us."

"I guess we'll have to behave if there's a girl in the bed."

"Maybe, or maybe we'll just wait for her to go to sleep," I smiled.

"No way. I'd freak out if she woke up and started commenting," Michael laughed.

"Yea, okay."

We finished breakfast and then went back to the quiet of our bedroom to read through scripts. Michael pulled ten scripts out of his pack and threw them on the bed.

"You want to read some?" Michael asked.

"Of course. How do you want me to comment?"

"Um, if you think it totally sucks, put an 'X' on the cover and throw it on the floor. If you think it has possibility, write what you like and what you hate on the cover. If you love it, stop and tell me. The part they want me to play is highlighted."

"Can do," I said, picked up the top script and sat back against the headboard. Michael grabbed the second script and sat next to me, grabbing my right hand with his left and holding it. I gave him a quick kiss and we started reading.

A half-hour later I put an "X" on the cover and threw the script on the floor. I picked up the next script and Michael smiled as he did the same. We read until we were done at four. There were three scripts in the "possible" pile, and then rest were in the "trash" pile.

We had a late lunch/early dinner and then Michael headed off for the theater. While Michael was away I did laundry and played around on the 'net. I picked him up and we came home, showered, and went straight to bed, as was our new routine.

The alarm went off at eight and we crawled out of bed to the shower. What the shower didn't do to wake us up, my coffee did as we had a quick breakfast and ran out the door to catch the train to LaGuardia to meet Michelle.

When we arrived, Michael walked up to the first information booth, pulled an envelope out of his pack with Michelle's name on it and asked the attendant to page her and give her the envelope.

"What's that about?" I asked as Michael pulled me down the hall.

"Just having some fun."

We hurried to another information booth half-way across the airport and did the same thing. And then to the one at the end and the same thing. In all there were three information booths paging Michelle.

"What's in the envelope?"

"It just says, 'Nope. We're not at this one. Try again.'" Michael laughed.

"She's gonna kill us for making her walk all over the airport."

"We'll just remind her that if she does, she won't have a place to stay."

"Good thinking, but you're sleeping in the middle."

"Excuse me. Are you Michael Pitt?" A security guard asked and walked up to us.

"Yea," Michael said and turned around.

"Please turn around and place your hands on your head," the guard said.

"Why? What have I done?"

"Now!" The guard said and physically turned him. The guard pulled his hands down and handcuffed him.

I just stood there shocked. "Uh, what are you arresting him for?" I asked.

The guard ignored me. "Come with me," he said guiding Michael by the arm. I followed and we went into the security headquarters. We walked in the door and there was Michelle with a big grin on her face.

"Thanks, Jack," she said to the security officer.

"You're welcome," Jack said as he uncuffed Michael.

"You bitch," was all Michael got out as soon as he could talk again.

All I could do was laugh.

"And you'd have me run all over the airport for you. I think not. This was much easier," Michelle smirked.

"You're sleeping on the floor," Michael said.

"We'll see about that," Michelle shot back as she grabbed her bag. "A little help," she prompted for her other bag.

Michael turned and walked out. I grabbed the other bag and we followed him.

"That's wasn't all that funny," I said to Michelle as Michael walked ahead of us. "The guard was a bit rough."

"I just asked him to find you guys. Cuffing him was totally Jack's doing."

"It's a good thing you didn't ask him to cuff us then, or he'd have probably beat us with his night stick." I said and grabbed the back of Michael's shirt, pulling him back to us.

He gave Michelle a dirty look and then a grin. He fell into step next to me.

We caught the shuttle to the station and then the train and went back to my place as Michelle talked on and on about her finals. When we walked into my apartment, Michelle walked straight to my bedroom and dropped her bags.

"You're being awfully presumptuous, don't you think?" I asked.

"Well I'm not sleeping on the sofa with that freaky roommate of yours leering at me all the time."

"He wouldn't do anything."

"Probably. But he still makes me uncomfortable. What could be safer than sleeping with two gay guys?"

"Just don't get between us," Michael said.

"Thanks for the warning. So did you guys do it yet?" Michelle asked with a grin.

"Could you be more blunt?" I laughed.

"Okay. Have you two got naked and sucked each..." Michelle started.

"Stop right there!" Michael said. "You don't need to know what we've done."

Michelle eyed us a second and then said, "I guess you haven't. Just don't start while I'm in bed with you."

"What happened to nothing safer than being in a bed with two gay guys?" I joked.

"Safe, yes, but that doesn't mean I want to watch."

"Oh, come on. It's really hot. Our writhing, naked bodies..."

"That's enough! I can't hear you!" Michelle said covering her ears and making noise as she left the room.

"That shut her up," Michael smirked and put his arm around me as we went into the living room.

Michelle was on the sofa flipping through channels and Matt was gone. As soon as we sat down she turned it off and turned to us.

"So what's the plan?" She asked.

"What plan?" I asked.

"To entertain me."

"You're the entertainer," I shot back.

"I have New Year's taken care of," Michelle said, hopped off the sofa and ran into the bedroom. A minute later she reappeared with some tickets in her hand. "Tickets to get into the MTV studio," she waved them triumphantly.

"How'd you snag those?" Michael asked.

"Connections," she smiled.

"Why'd you snag those?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the music in there will probably suck and we'll be on camera most of the time. If I have to listen to Brittany Spears live I'm sure I'll get sick."

"She's not gonna be there, so you're safe. 'NSYNC will be there, though."

Michael made a vomiting noise.

"Hey, aren't you two gay?"

"Yea, and that means we have taste," I shot back.

"So their music sucks if you're not a twelve year old girl, they are cute," Michelle said.

"Which one do you want? Not that it matters, though, since they're all probably gay," Michael smirked.

"I think JC's cute. Why do you think they're all gay? My gaydar is better than yours and I don't think they're gay. Well, except Lance."

"Think about it. Guys start bands to make money and get laid. Since their only fans are prepubescent girls and gay men, they're either pedophiles or gay," Michael said.

"Or both," I added.

"I wouldn't date him anyway. I just think he's cute. Either way, we're going," Michelle stated.

"Okay," I sighed. "How about lunch?"

"Sounds good. Let's go out," Michael said.

We went out to have lunch, bummed around a bit in town and had dinner before dropping Michael off at the theater. Michelle and I stopped in an art house theater and watched some bizarre film. After it was over we sat in a coffee house until it was time to pick Michael up. Michelle didn't try to shower with us, but she did sleep with us. I was in the middle.

"Hurry up!" Michelle yelled as she beat on the bathroom door.

"I don't know what your hurry is. It's only six," I said walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me. Michael was still at the sink brushing his teeth.

"Yea, but at the rate you're going it's gonna be eight before we get there and the crowds will be horrible."

"They're horrible now. Didn't you get us a limo?"

"Right," Michelle said rolling her eyes. "We're taking a taxi."

"Hey. You look like you're wanting to score tonight," I teased.

"Whatever."

"No. You look really good. You never warned us that we'd have to be your body guards."

"I think she should be our body guards," Michael said as he walked out of the bathroom.

"We'll all body guard each other. Now get ready. I'm calling a taxi right now. You have until they get here or I'm leaving your asses behind," Michelle said and left us to get dressed.

"This is a side of Michelle I haven't seen," I said.

"The demanding super-bitch?"

"Something like that."

"Usually when she's late or nervous."

"We're not late, so she must be nervous. Maybe she's hoping to hook up with JC tonight."

"We'll just have to help her out," Michael smiled.

"I'm game, though I don't know if I'll be able to talk to them without making fun of them," I joked.

"If I can do it, so can you."

"So how do I look?" I asked turning around to Michael.

"Good enough to kiss," Michael said and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "And me?"

I answered him with a smile and another quick kiss.

Michelle walked into the room. "Taxi's here. Let's go."

Michael and I snapped to attention and yelled, "Ma'am. Yes, ma'am."

She flipped us the bird before dragging us out. We got in the taxi and got as close to the studio as we could. Times Square was already packed with people. We then pushed our way though the crowds on foot. When we finally made it to the entrance, Michelle showed our tickets to the security guard. After inspecting them carefully, he let us past the first check point. When we got to the second check point, we exchanged our tickets for a rubber stamp on the back of our hands. We passed another security check point and finally made it into the studio.

We walked into the packed studio...well, actually Michelle got between us, hooked an arm on each side and pulled us in. We stopped in the entrance for Michelle to make her "appearance" -- at least that's what it felt like. She smiled and gently nudged us over to the bar.

"I don't think I like this side of you," I yelled in Michelle's ear over Kid Rock, who was on the stage. She just stuck her tongue out. I tried to grab it with my fingers, but she was too quick and pulled it in.

We stepped up to the bar and Michelle ordered us all hurricanes. After one sip I realized that they weren't watering down the drinks. Damn, it was strong. From the look on Michael's face, he was thinking the same thing.

"If you get him drunk, you have to carry him up the stairs," I yelled to Michelle.

"He's your boyfriend," she smiled and took off through the crowd.

Michael and I wandered over to the edge of the crowd near the big windows and looked out. People as far as the eye could see. Most weren't paying any attention to the MTV studios, but a dedicated collection of fanatics near the studio were waving signs and trying to get a glimpse at anyone they could on the large monitors.

Satisfied with the view for the moment, we wandered around checking the studio out. We found a sofa at the top of some risers in the back and sat down with our drinks. We sat close and held hands down where they couldn't easily be seen by the wandering cameras. I know it sounds lame that we sat down with all the stuff going on, but the music wasn't that great, and I wasn't about to be separated from Michael the whole night. I looked over the crowd from our perch to see how many celebrities I recognized. Truth is, I didn't recognize many. Kid Rock was done and the crew was setting up for the next artist.

Michael turned to me and said, "Try not to laugh. Try to be nice. Try not to laugh," as if a mantra. I looked up to see Lance from 'NSYNC walking up the stairs.

Lance had reached us and said, "Hi. You're Michael Pitt from 'Dawson's Creek,' right?"

"From New Jersey, actually," Michael said, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Of course. I meant, you play Henry on 'Dawson's Creek.'"

"That's me. And you are?"

"Lance. Lance Bass. I'm in 'NSYNC."

"Haven't heard of that show," Michael smirked.

"What happened to being nice," I whispered into his ear.

"Thanks for reminding me," he grinned and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before turning back to Lance.

Lance's eyes were wide open after seeing our quick kiss.

"What can I do for you, Lance, Lance Bass?" Michael said.

"Uh, I just wanted to tell you I really enjoy your show, and your character. You're gay?" Lance said.

"Gay? No way. I'm un-hetero, and this is my un-hetero partner, Jonah," Michael said.

"Nice to meet you," Lance said reaching out to shake my hand.

"You too. Where's your boyfriend, Lance?" I said and Michael buried his head in my shoulder laughing.

"I...uh...I don't have one. What's so funny?"

Michael composed himself and turned to Lance. "I'm sorry. I'm being an ass. I'm sure you're probably a really nice guy...but I really hate your music."

"Oh... You are being an ass. I can understand hating the group's music though. I get sick of it myself sometimes, but it's a job," Lance smiled.

"So's cleaning sewer pipes. Sorry, that was being an ass again," Michael said.

"Yea, it was."

"Hey, Lance. Is JC here?" I asked.

"Yea. Why?" Lance asked suspiciously.

"Oh, man. Yea. We're here with Michelle Williams, who happens to be incredibly hot for JC. We thought we'd try to set her up," Michael said excitedly.

"Honestly, or are you setting me up?"

"Honestly," Michael and I said together.

"Is this the gay corner?" Some guy who looked familiar said walking up to us.

"Appears that way. Jonah," I said and reached out to shake his hand.

"Danny," he said and shook my hand.

"Michael."

"Lance."

I kept looking at Danny. "Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked.

He laughed. "Is that supposed to be a pick-up line?"

"Absolutely not," Michael answered and raised our hands so he could see we were together.

"No it wasn't. You just look familiar, but I can't place where I've seen you before."

"I was part of the 'Real World: New Orleans' cast."

"Of course. Thanks for getting that out of the way."

"No prob," Danny said and flashed a very cute smile.

"I'm going to get us another drink. Anyone else want anything while I'm there?" Michael asked.

"A water with lemon, please," Lance said politely.

"I'm fine," Danny said holding up his full glass.

"So where's your man?" I asked Danny.

"Don't have one."

"You broke up with the guy you were dating on the show?"

"You didn't see all the episodes, did you?"

"Nope."

"Yea, we broke up."

"Sorry. Lance here is single as well."

They both looked at each other and let out a nervous laugh.

"Nah," they both said at the same time.

"Okay. I'm not going to force you together," I laughed.

"So how long have you and Michael been together," Lance asked.

"Since Christmas."

"Nice Christmas gift. I never thought to ask for a man," Danny laughed.

"Yea, I guess more like the day after Christmas, but either way it's only been a few days. We've known each other since June, though."

At that moment Macy Gray started her set and we all turned our attention to the stage. Michael got back a few minutes later and sat back down beside me. Danny was next to me and Lance was next to Michael. We all listened to her set and made small talk between songs. About half-way through her set, Justin joined us and quietly sat next to Lance.

He waited until the song was over before he said, "Let's go, Scoop. Time to get ready." They both stood up and left the studio.

Three songs later, Macy's set ended.

"So how do you know Lance?" Danny asked.

"Don't," I answered.

"Never met him before tonight. He just walked up to us," Michael continued.

"I think he was hoping you were available," I teased Michael.

"Too bad for him," Michael smirked.

"He just came up and told you guys he was gay?"

"No, but I kinda guessed and made a comment. His answer confirmed it," I explained.

"He's kinda cute," Danny said.

"You know he's gay and you know he's available. Go for it," Michael prodded.

Danny made a face. "Not a chance. I don't want to date a closet case."

"Maybe you could get him to come out. After the guys in Backstreet came out, it would hardly even be noticed. Plus, he's not so far in the closet that he won't admit he's gay privately. If you're interested, that is," I offered.

"Probably, but I don't know if I'm that interested. After 'Real World' I just wanna be in the background now. Being in the spotlight brings out the psychos."

"Maybe that's why he's still in the closet. He doesn't have a boyfriend to come out for and doesn't want to deal with the psychos," Michael said.

"Stop trying to set me up. I'm fine," Danny said with a laugh.

"Okay. You just seemed interested, but we'll let it drop," Michael said casually.

"I just want a normal guy. No press coverage. No sneaking around."

"Tell that to Lance. He's staring at you," I said and nodded towards Lance peering around a screen on the side of the stage and watching Danny.

"Oh, god," Danny sighed. "Let's all wave to him." The three of us stood up and waved to Lance. You could see him turn red before he pulled back out of sight. We laughed.

"What a dork," Michael smirked.

'NSYNC's set started a minute later. I went to get more drinks, slowly pushing my way through the crowds. I saw on the video monitor that Michelle was right in front of the stage dancing in front of JC. By the time I made it back to our seats, 'NSYNC's set was just about over. I handed Danny his drink and sat back down between him and Michael.

"You see Michelle?" I yelled into Michael's ear.

He nodded his head. "They'll have to go back to his place, 'cause he's not getting in our bed," he yelled back with a laugh.

Their set finally ended and Michelle made her way up to us.

"Why didn't you just throw yourself on him," Michael teased as Michelle walked up.

"Shut up. I wasn't that bad," she protested.

"Yea, you were," I said.

"Definitely," Danny added.

Michelle blushed -- a pretty rare occurrence.

"Don't worry though. We've got you taken care of," Michael hinted.

"What do you mean?" Michelle said suspiciously.

"Lance came up to hit on me earlier and we had a little talk," Michael smirked.

"You didn't?"

We both nodded.

"I can't believe you two. God, I'm so embarrassed."

"What are you embarrassed about?" JC asked from behind her, with Lance beside him.

She didn't turn around at first. After giving Michael and me a death stare, she smiled and turned around.

"Hi. I'm Michelle," she smiled.

"I know. I'm Josh," he smiled back.

"I know," she smiled back.

The just looked at each other.

"Um, why don't you two go get something to drink?" Lance suggested.

"Uh, yea," Josh said and looked at Michelle.

"Okay," Michelle said. Josh put his hand on her back and guided her ahead of him as they left.

Lance dropped down next to Danny and rolled around giggling. "When I told him, he freaked. Apparently he's had a crush on her for years," he giggled.

"Mission accomplished," Michael smiled to me and we gave each other a quick kiss.

Danny sighed and looked away.

"Depressing. Isn't it?" Lance said.

"Huh?" I asked turning to Lance and Danny.

"Yea," Danny said.

"What?" Michael asked.

"Just watching you two in the sappy clutches of new found love," Danny said.

"Or any love," Lance added.

"Sorry," I said.

"No. Don't apologize for it. I think it's great. It just reminds me of the fact that I don't have anyone and prospects haven't looked good since I did 'Real World.'"

"Why's that?" Lance asked.

"Because everyone thinks they already know me."

"Same here," Lance consoled.

"Uh, we're gonna stretch our legs a bit," Michael said and pulled me up.

"What was that all about?" I asked as he pulled me away quickly.

"Giving them some time to talk alone," Michael smiled and wrapped his arm around me.

"Playing matchmaker, huh?"

"I think we did pretty good with Michelle and JC."

"But they already liked each other."

"So do Lance and Danny. They're just afraid of the public aspects of getting together. You did notice that when Lance came back he sat next to Danny instead of next to me where he was before, and Danny was watching their show pretty closely."

"Maybe Danny's just a fan."

"Yea, right. Like anyone could be a fan of the music," Michael joked.

"Point taken," I laughed.

"Let's try to get on the roof, or outside. I'm burning up in here."

We casually made our way behind the cameras and out an exit door. Once there we found a hallway that lead to the other studios and the office space. We wandered around looking for the stairs to the roof, but stopped and quickly ran into an office when we heard someone coming. We shut the door behind us and collapsed against it laughing. We froze when a light in the office turned on.

"Lost?" The voice asked as Michael and I slowly turned around. There was Brian McFayden in a lounge chair -- apparently he had been taking a nap.

"Uh, yea. We were looking for a way to get to the roof and cool off instead of having to go through all the madness to get outside and then back in," Michael said.

"You're down a few floors too many. They put the roof above the top floor in this building," Brian smirked.

"Then it should be obvious how lost we are," I said.

Brian looked at us a minute, probably deciding whether or not he should call security.

"Hey, you're on 'Dawson's Creek,' right?" Brian asked.

"Yep."

"Thought so. If you really want to freeze your ass off on the roof, you can just take the stairs to the parapet and go out. They are letting people out on that, so you don't have to worry about sneaking around."

"Where're the stairs?"

"Just past the door you had to walk through to get back here."

"Thanks, Brian. Sorry for disturbing you," I said and we left.

"Yea, thanks," Michael said as he closed the door.

We found the stairs and went up the two flights to the parapet. The door was open and a single guard was standing on the inside. He nodded to us as we walked out. The cold air felt refreshing after the hot, stuffy studio. There were only a few other people there, and a camera guy taking crowd shots. We walked over to the edge and looked out over Times Square. It was a writhing mass of flesh. I wrapped my arms around Michael from behind and held him with my chin on his shoulder as we looked out into the crowds. After a few minutes I felt a shiver coming on, but Michael beat me to it.

"Cold?" I said softly into his ear.

"Yea. I think it's time to go back in."

We went back down to the studio, got some new drinks, and rejoined Danny and Lance. They were deep in conversation and it didn't seem like they'd moved since we left, and they didn't notice us return. Eminem was just starting his set.

"We should get everyone to moon this asshole," I yelled in Michael's ear.

"The piece of shit's not worth the effort," Michael dismissed.

"You're right. Shitting on him is a better idea. Know of any scat clubs?"

"Sick! No, I don't. I hope you're not into that."

"Blech! No, I'm not. I was referring to dropping asshole over there off at one. We could bribe his driver."

Michael laughed. "I don't have that much money."

I shrugged. "Oh well," I mouthed.

Lance finally noticed us, and then they both noticed who was on stage.

"Let's go someplace until this jerk is off the stage," Lance said. Danny agreed and they got up to leave. Danny turned around and motioned for us to join them.

We went through the back door into the office area again and Danny lead the way back his office -- well, the office he shared with four other people, he explained.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "I don't think I've seen you on air."

"I'm in the control booth," Danny explained.

Danny and Lance sat on the loveseat in the office and Michael and I hopped up on a desk and sat together.

"I don't understand why they asked that prick to play," Lance said.

"Money and ratings," Danny said simply.

"Are apparently more important than values and morals," Lance continued.

"I was telling Michael that we should bribe his driver to drop him off at a scat club," I said.

Danny burst into laughter and Lance looked confused.

"What's a scat club?" Lance asked.

"Scat is some freakish thing where people like to get shit on or eat shit or anything along those lines," Michael explained.

"People do that? That's gross," Lance said, making a face.

"I agree, but as long as they keep me out of it, whatever floats their boat."

"Or floats in the bowl," I added.

"Gross!" Michael yelled and we all cracked up laughing.

"So did you do it?" Danny asked hopefully as the laughter died down.

"Neither of us know where one is, and frankly, I don't want to know," I said.

"Too bad. Hey, maybe we can make a special out of it. 'Shitting Eminems,'" Danny laughed and we all cracked up.

"I think it's time to stop talking about Eminem...I mean shit...Well, same dif'," Lance laughed.

"How about we sneak into the control booth and change the titles to read 'Enema' instead?" I offered.

"Love to," Danny said. "But I'd get fired and the studio'd probably get sued."

"Oh well, at least he's good for a laugh," I said.

We sat around bullshitting for another half-hour or so before we made our way back to the studio. The shit had been cleaned off the stage and Henry Rollins was going at it. I've seen interviews of him and he seemed like a nice, intelligent guy, and very polite. When he was on stage, however, he looked intimidating as hell. Even if you hated his music, you'd never tell him to his face. Fortunately for me, I think he rocks.

"Let's go dance now that there's some decent music," Michael said dragging me towards the dance floor. Danny didn't seem to want to be left alone with Lance, and went out on the dance floor as well with Lance behind him.

It was fast dancing, but that didn't stop Michael from grinding himself against me when he could. I wasn't totally innocent, either. We tried to make it seem somewhat casual, though, since we knew we were on camera. We stayed on the dance floor until Henry Rollins was done, and then grabbed some drinks and headed back to our perch, only to find Danny sitting there alone.

"Where's Lance?" I asked him.

"Getting us something to drink."

"For two people who don't want anything to do with each other, you two seem to be hitting it off," Michael teased Danny.

Danny gave a grin and looked away. "He's a nice guy. It doesn't hurt to talk."

Michael and I laughed. I looked over the crowd to see if I could see where Michelle and Josh had gotten to.

"You see Michelle?" Michael asked.

"Nope."

Lance arrived and handed Danny his drink.

"Do you know where Michelle and Josh are?" I asked Lance.

"Haven't seen them since they left to get something to drink."

"I guess we aren't being very good body guards," Michael smirked.

"Any idea where they might be?" I asked Lance.

"Dressing rooms?" He offered.

"Can you get us in?"

"Uh, yea, sure."

Lance led the way and waved us past security into the dressing room area. We looked around and asked some people in there, but no one had seen them. We walked back out and Lance grabbed Justin as we were going through the crowd.

"You see where Josh went?" Lance yelled in Justin's ear.

Justin shook his head and danced off. Lance looked at us and shrugged.

As we were walking back to our spot, Lance said, "I wouldn't worry about it. Josh is always a gentleman."

"It's not Josh we're worried about," I said and we all laughed.

"You and Danny seem to be hitting it off," Michael said.

"Yea, but not like you're hinting. Just friends. I don't think he wants to get involved in my kinda life."

"No one said you had to go do what Michelle and Josh seem to be doing."

"Don't even go there," Lance laughed and we rejoined Danny.

"Find 'em?" Danny asked.

We all shook our heads.

It was about twenty 'till midnight and there were no more performers until the new year started. We just sat around talking over the house music. Justin came up to try to drag Lance off to the dance floor, but was rebuffed and sent on his way. A few minutes later they started passing out the noise makers and confetti poppers. We got a good supply and passed the box along.

Five minutes before midnight we stood up and arranged our confetti poppers so we could fire off as many at once as possible by tying the strings together. Michael nudged me and I turned around to see Michelle and Josh had rejoined us. They were both grinning.

"Where have you been? Or don't I want to know?" I yelled. I got slapped on the arm for that.

"Just talking," Michelle said as she slapped me.

"How are we supposed to body guard you if you disappear?" Michael said.

Michelle just shrugged and said, "Your problem," with a grin.

"If you took advantage of our little girl...Ow!" Michael started threatening Josh playfully, but was interrupted when Michelle poked him hard in the ribs.

The countdown was starting, so we let it drop for now.

"Two...One...Happy New Year!!"

Confetti and balloons everywhere. Noise. Noise. Hugs to everyone in reaching distance, and a kiss from one.

When it finally settled down, the lights in the studio changed and Blink 182 started playing.

"Let's go home now," Michael said to me.

"I don't think Michelle's ready."

"Good. I don't want her home anyway...at least not right away," he grinned.

"Gotcha."

"We're gonna go home now. Are you gonna be okay?" Michael asked Michelle.

She looked at Josh and he nodded.

"Yea, I'll be fine. Have fun," she said with a smirk.

"You make sure you get her home by sunrise or we're coming after you," Michael said to Josh as he handed Michelle his key to the apartment.

He crossed his heart and then held up three fingers.

"Good."

We turned to Danny and Lance.

"We're heading out. Nice meeting you," I said and reached out to shake their hands.

"You too. Hey, would you like to get together sometime?" Danny said.

"Sure. You have a pen?" I yelled, as the music got a whole lot louder.

Danny just motioned for us to go back out of the studio.

"Now we can actually hear each other," he smiled as he walked up to someone's desk and grabbed a pen and a post-it note. We all exchanged numbers and then Michael and I made our exit.

"You think Danny's cute?" Michael asked as we were trying, without success, to flag down a taxi.

"Yea, I guess. Don't you?"

"I guess."

"He's not as cute as you, though," I said and gave him a quick kiss.

"You were looking, though."

"So were you. Just 'cause I look, doesn't mean I want to touch. I'm a one man man," I smiled.

"Let's just take a train. We'll freeze to death before we get a taxi," Michael said.

We ran for the station and down into its warmth. We had to wait for a train.

Michael was silently in thought.

"Did it bother you that much?" I asked.

"Yes and no. I mean, I trust you, and I was looking too, but... The last guy I dated always looked, and we broke up when I discovered he was doing more than looking."

"Was it me?"

"No."

"'Nuff said. I told you I'm a one man man." I put my arm around him and gave him a little hug.

"I can't wait 'till we get home," Michael said with a mischievous grin after a few seconds.

"I'm starting to get a little anxious myself."

Our train pulled up a minute later and we were at our station twenty minutes after that. We ran back to my apartment...our apartment. Fortunately, no one else was home yet.

"Let's take a shower," Michael said as we walked in the door.

We went to our bedroom and quickly dropped our clothes before going into the bathroom. Michael turned on the shower and I got in behind him.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind with one hand on his chest and another on his belly. I kissed his shoulder and neck as I held him tight against me. Michael pushed my hand down to his now erect cock and turned a bit so we could kiss. We were soon facing each other and kissing. I was gently rubbing him and he was doing the same to me. After a few minutes of this, I gently pulled back.

"Uh, we'd better wash," I said somewhat breathlessly.

Michael smiled. "I get to wash you first," he said and grabbed the soap. I pulled back out of the water. Michael started at my shoulders and massaged as much as washed. His hands moved across and down my body as if he were trying to memorize it by touch. After he washed my butt, he pressed himself against me and washed my front from the back. After he washed my crotch, he guided me into the water to rinse, but still hadn't touched my legs. After I was rinsed off, he pulled me back out of the water and got down on his knees. So sensually, he rubbed his soapy hands up my leg to just under my balls, and then down to my foot and back. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the feeling, but was brought back to reality by the feeling of Michael's tongue on my dick. I looked down and he smiled back up at me. I smiled and he licked again, this time not stopping. After licking ball to head a few times, he wrapped his lips around me and sucked me in as far as he could. My knees got weak and I put one hand on his shoulder and one on the shower wall to steady myself. He slowly sucked up and down as his one hand jacked the base of my cock and the other squeezed my butt. I felt myself getting close and reached down to stop him.

"Not yet," I said as I looked down into his confused face.

He smiled and finished washing my feet, giving my dick a lick every so often.

I pulled him up when he finished and pressed him against the shower wall as I kissed him and took the soap from his hand. As soon as I had the soap, I pulled back and nudged him to turn around and spread out like a police search position. I lathered him up and ran my hands in broad strokes across the curves of his body. Front to back. Top to bottom. I pressed against him, my erection between his legs and the head against the back of his balls. My hands rubbed from his inner thigh to his hips and back as I kissed and licked at his neck.

"You're driving me crazy," Michael said hoarsely.

"Want me to stop?" I whispered into his ear.

"Better not."

I did stop, though, and pulled him into the water to rinse. After he was rinsed off, I got down on my knees to wash his legs as he had done for me. He was watching in anticipation for me to start sucking him. I laughed at the expectant look.

"Something I can do for you?" I teased.

He wagged his eye brows and smiled. I took the hint, not that I wasn't going to anyway, and started licking at his balls. Precum was dripping down his erection and I licked up to its source and then took him into my mouth. I sucked hard as I slowly pulled off and then used my tongue as I went back down. I'd only been doing this for a few minutes when I felt him pull back.

"I'm really close," he said.

I answered him by going down again as one hand held his dick at the base and the other played with the tight sack of his balls. He started thrusting his hips and his fingers ran through my wet hair as he guided me. Suddenly, he froze. His body started quivering and his orgasm started. I sucked and jacked as he came. When the spasms stopped, I stopped sucking and gently jerked the remaining cum out of him. He sank down and sat on the floor of the tub, his face blissful. I let go of his cock and leaned over to kiss him. His breathing was heavy, but slowly calming down and I felt his hand on my cock. He gently pushed me back with his other hand and I sat back. His hand rubbed my precum around before he went down on me with a sense of purpose. I was almost there before he started sucking and I didn't last more than a minute or two. I truly felt like I was going to pass out from the feeling. When I opened my eyes, he was leaning over me with a big grin and leaned down for a kiss before standing up and pulling me up.

"If Michelle wasn't coming back tonight..." Michael hinted.

"Michelle who?" I teased.

"We'd never hear the end of it if the room smelled like sex when she got back."

"Probably."

We quickly washed up again in the now cool water. After brushing our teeth we went back to our room. No one was home yet. We put on some boxers and t-shirts and crawled into bed, cuddling together and asleep in minutes.

I felt a hand shaking my shoulder and rolled over to see Michelle.

"Sorry to wake you. Do you have a sleeping bag or something?" She whispered.

"In the hall closet," I groaned and rolled back around Michael. I fell back asleep a few minutes later.

I woke up at nine and had to go to the bathroom. Michelle was curled around me and I was curled around Michael. I carefully started to climb out of bed when Michael rolled over and gave me a sleepy questioning look.

"Bathroom. I'll be right back," I whispered and he closed his eyes again. I was still barely awake and stumbled off the bed and started for the door when I stepped on someone and fell flat on my face across them. I groaned, as did the person I fell on. I pulled myself up and saw it was Josh.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were here," I said softly.

He just groaned and rolled over, probably going back to sleep.

I went to the bathroom and then crawled back into bed and wrapped myself around Michael. He pulled my arm tighter around him and we went back to sleep.

I woke up again at eleven when I felt Michael sit up.

"Mornin'," he said softly as his hand rubbed my thigh.

"Mornin'," I said and stretched.

Michael got up to go to the bathroom.

"Careful not to trip over Josh," I said.

Michael looked confused for a moment in his sleepy morning fog, and then noticed Josh asleep in a sleeping bag at the foot of the bed. He carefully stepped over him and went to the bathroom. I was right behind him.

After brushing our teeth and a good morning kiss, we went to the kitchen to have some breakfast. I put on a pot of coffee while Michael toasted some english muffins.

"Do you know why Josh is on our floor?" Michael asked.

"Nope. At least he didn't crawl into bed with us and Michelle didn't sleep with him."

"When'd they get in?"

"Michelle woke me up to ask where my sleeping bag was, but I didn't look at the clock and didn't think about it. It was still dark."

"We got in at six," Michelle said in a crackly voice as she entered the kitchen.

"Why'd he sleep here?" Michael asked.

"It was late, or early. I didn't want him taking a train back to his hotel by himself, and taxis were on a two hour call, so I told him he could sleep on the floor. I hope that's okay."

"Yea, that's fine. I was just surprised when I tripped over him and fell on him this morning," I said.

"So what were you doing 'till six in the morning?" Michael asked.

"Talking. Dancing. We left the studio at four and then went to a diner for a little while before taking the train back here. Can you two put some clothes on, we have a guest."

"We're covered," Michael said.

"Yea, and it's our apartment. If Josh is embarrassed about seeing guys in their boxers, then maybe he's playing for our team," I joked.

"Dorks. Give me some coffee, please," Michelle sighed.

I handed Michelle a cup and the phone started ringing.

"Jonah's B&B," I answered.

"Jonah?"

"Yea."

"Oh, hey. It's Lance."

"Hey, Lance."

"Hey. Sorry about calling so early on the morning after, but is Josh there? He left a message that he'd be staying there, but hasn't answered his phone."

"Don't worry about it. I was already up. Yea, Josh is here, but he's still sleeping. You want me to wake him?"

"If you would, please. We've got a flight in three hours."

"No prob. Want to wait, or should I just have him call you?"

"Uh, have him call."

"Will do." I heard a voice in the background that sounded like Danny. "Someone with you Lance?" I teased.

He sighed. "I'm at Danny's."

"Say no more."

"No, it's not like that. We didn't do anything and I slept on the sofa. It was just really late..."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Relax. It's none of my business."

"Okay. Well, wake Josh up and have him call me. Okay?"

"Bye, Lance."

"Bye."

"He slept at Danny's. On the sofa, so he says," I announced as I hung up the phone.

Michael laughed and Michelle just nursed her coffee.

"You want to wake your man up and tell him to call Lance?" I asked Michelle.

"He's not my man."

"Whatever. He still needs to get up."

Michelle left the kitchen with her coffee cup and returned a few minutes later as Michael and I were cleaning up. She refilled her cup and got down another one, presumably for Josh, who walked into the kitchen a minute later in his boxers and t-shirt and talking on his cell phone.

"What's the address here?" Josh asked.

I gave him the address and he relayed it to the person on the phone.

"They're just gonna pick me up when they leave for the airport," Josh said as he put down his phone and took the cup of coffee from Michelle.

"You want to use the shower?" I asked.

"Yea, that'd be great. Thanks."

"Clean towels are in the closet in the bathroom."

"Thanks," Josh said, downed his cup of coffee and headed for the bathroom.

"And you wanted us to get dressed because we had a guest," Michael teased Michelle.

Michelle ignored him and looked out the window as she drank her coffee. Michael gave me a questioning look and I shrugged. We left Michelle and went back to our room.

"What's up with Michelle?" Michael asked as we got to our room.

"I don't know. Maybe she's just tired."

"I hope she's not in love with Josh."

"Why not? I think it'd be great if she found herself a boyfriend."

"Yea, but he wouldn't be much of a boyfriend 'cause he'll always be away. You can't have a relationship where you're always apart."

"What about us?"

"What about us?"

"Well, you may be gone for months working on this or that, or I may be gone. Are we gonna fall apart because of that?"

"No, but we knew each other before, and we won't be apart all the time. You remember that Lance was saying they were on the road almost 40 weeks a year. I just don't want to see her hurt."

"I don't want to see that either," Josh said as he walked into the room. "We talked about it and we're just gonna be friends for now."

"Good," Michael stated. "It's nothing personal, Josh," he added.

"I understand. You're just watching out for her."

"They're being as bad as my real brother," Michelle smirked from the doorway.

"Can't be mad at them for caring," Josh said to Michelle.

"I suppose not. You've got a phone call," Michelle said to me as she held out the portable phone.

"Thanks. Who is it?"

"I didn't ask."

"This is Jonah," I said into the phone.

"Hey, Jonah. This is Danny. What are you and Michael doing today?"

"I don't know. Nothing planned, but Michael has a performance tonight. Just a sec. Let me ask," I said and put my hand over the mouthpiece. "Danny wants to get together and do something," I told Michael.

"Sure. What and when?"

"I don't think he has a plan, yet."

"Okay. Just tell him to come over."

"Danny? Yea, just come on over and we'll figure out something to do...Yea, sure. That'd be cool...Okay. See ya then. Later." I turned off the phone. "He said he'll just ride over with Lance and suggested movies all day."

"He's with Lance?" Josh asked.

"Lance is with him, actually," I said.

"Good for Lance. It's about time."

"Huh?"

"Lance just came out to us this past March right after Kevin and Brian from BSB did. He hasn't had a boyfriend yet in his life. It's good he's finally gotten the cajones to try."

"I don't think they're together -- just friends. And even if they were it would be the same situation you and Michelle are in."

"Yea, but at least he's got another person he can be out and comfortable with."

"When were they coming?" Michael asked.

"They were gonna leave in ten minutes."

"We'd better get our shower now before we suddenly have an apartment full."

"Come on, then," I said, grabbing Michael's hand and pulling him to the bathroom. We took a quick shower and didn't do anything else because we had an apartment full of people. We got dressed and headed out to the living room. Everyone had arrived and was standing there. Rick and his friend, Marc, we're awake and staring in awe at the group of celebrities around them. They had their sleeping bags wrapped around them where they slept and weren't about to move. I almost started to laugh. Michael did.

"Hey, guys. I see the gang's all here," Michael said as we walked over to the group.

We were introduced to the other guys in 'NSYNC and then they left, leaving Danny behind. Michelle went back to bed and we went to the kitchen to give Rick and Marc a chance to get dressed.

We decided to get some movies and watch them at home rather than go to a theater, so we bundled up and went to the video store, talking along the way. We learned that Danny had recently taken the job at MTV and would be finishing his last year of school at NYU starting next fall. He needed to get away from the celebrity status and NYC was a good place to blend in. He had an apartment in Queens that he shared with four other MTV interns. He wasn't too fond of his apartment or his roommates, but admitted it was fine for now and could be worse. He didn't know many people outside of MTV yet.

We got back to the apartment as Rick and Marc were leaving to go home. They were decent house guests. It kinda bothered me, though, that I would have to be concerned with bringing people back to my apartment. I mean, it's not like I have celebrities running through my apartment all the time, but it did seem to be happening a bit more. After Matt finally moved out and Nicole graduated in May, I'd have to find roommates who could care less and never brought anyone home. Yea, I know: unlikely. Since Gpa's death, I now owned the apartment, so I could just not have any roommates, but I still had to pay property taxes, utilities and the building fee. It was also nice to have people around.

We watched the first movie and then had a late lunch. Michelle was finally up and joined us for lunch, as well as watching the second movie. When the second movie ended it was time for Michael to go to the theater. We all went with him to drop him off. Well, Danny hadn't see the play yet and Michael comp'ed him in. Michelle and I went back home. We picked Michael up after the show and Danny went back to his place. Michael and I went right to bed and Michelle stayed up watching TV for a while.

Michael got up at seven because he had an audition. I wished him luck and went back to sleep until nine. Michelle and I had breakfast, took the movies back and did some grocery shopping before I went with her to the airport. Michael didn't get back until three-thirty.

"How'd it go?" I asked as he walked in the door and hopped down on the sofa beside me.

"Got it," he smiled.

I gave him a kiss. "Congrats. When's production?"

"Perfectly timed. I start the first of March and should be done by the end of the month, unless they need to redo or change anything. I'll be done and back before we go to Europe, and back in time for DC."

"Back from where?"

"Montana, of all places," Michael said, rolling his eyes.

"Where the men are men and the sheep are scared," I joked.

"It's only a month, and you'll be in classes."

"I'm not worried, unless you starting fanaticizing about sheep," I smirked.

"Okay. I mean, after our conversation about Michelle and Josh..."

"It's a month. Yea, I'll miss you crazy, but I'm sure they have telephones in Montana."

Michael smiled and gave me a kiss.

"So you've decided on DC?"

"Yea, and I'm going to apply to NYU for the fall."

"That's great. I'm glad you decided to go to school first."

"Good. I'm starved and I have to head to the theater soon. Let's make dinner."

We made dinner and ate in the kitchen.

"When Matt moves out..." Michael said as he took a bite of food.

"Yea..."

"We should ask Danny if he wants to move in."

I smiled. "What happened to 'don't ask him to move in'?"

"I changed my mind. He seems like a good guy. He knows we're together and I don't think he'd try anything. He also doesn't care about celebs, which will be good when we have people over."

"Man, you're just full of decisions today."

"It doesn't happen often, so enjoy it while it lasts."

"Hey, guys. Good news," Matt said as he walked into the kitchen.

"You got a job?" I asked.

"Not just any job, a job with id," Matt said grinning from ear to ear.

"That's great. When do you start?"

"As soon as I can get moved down to Texas."

"Texas?"

"Hey, to work for id I'd move to Antarctica."

"So when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. I hope my car will survive the drive."

"That's a good question. Is your AAA membership paid up?"

"Absolutely. Well, just wanted to let you know. I've gotta pack," Matt said and left after grabbing a Mountain Dew.

"Sometimes things just work out," Michael smirked.

"Yea. I'm surprised he got the job with id. They must be really hurting for people," I joked.

"No, I mean with asking Danny to move in."

"Oh, yea. That too. When do you want to ask him?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can have him over this weekend and ask him."

"That'll work. Remember that classes start tomorrow."

"Yea. When do the productions start?"

"Next week."

"Well, at least we'll still be sleeping together," Michael sighed.

"Yea, we will. Now we need to get going or you're gonna be late."

"You don't need to drop me off, but you'd better be there to pick me up."

"You sure?"

"Yea. I hate you going all the way uptown and back here and then back to pick me up. Just picking me up is good."

"Okay. Have a good show," I said and gave him a hug and kiss goodbye.

I got my bag ready for the morning and mindlessly watched TV until I went to pick Michael up. We got home, took a shower, and went to bed.

Classes. The same routine, new locations. Directing II. Lighting Design II. 20th Century American Lit. Scenic Design II. Physics. T'ai Chi. Physics was going to be hard because my algebra skills are horrible. It's really weird how my math skills, or lack thereof, work. I learned geometry, trig and calculus without any difficulty, but algebra, and the algebra part of calc just killed me. It just doesn't make any sense. Thank god for calculators and computers. Unfortunately, Physics was also my 10AM class.

Classes went okay and I was done by five -- with lots of homework. How I longed for the days when the first day of class was a waste. Oh well. Michael had already left by the time I got home, but I picked him up after his performance and we did our usual routine.

Michael made an attempt to get up in the morning with me and talk, but he was there in body only. I kissed him goodbye and went back to campus. It felt like this would also be our routine. I'm not sure I liked being in a routine, but it did make it easier when one or both of us were exhausted. Creativity and fun could wait for vacations -- for now.

Michael had invited Danny to come over Saturday for lunch around noon. We slept in 'till 10:30, and then had to scramble around to get ready and get some groceries so we'd actually have something to have for lunch. Danny arrived at ten 'till noon.

"Hey, man. How's it goin'?" Danny asked as he stiffly walked into the apartment.

"Hey. What happened to you?" I asked.

"Got mugged last night."

"Where? Are you okay?"

"Outside my apartment, of all places. Yea, I'm fine, just a few bruises from being kicked. At least I wasn't shot or stabbed," he chuckled.

"Yea, it could be worse. At least you can laugh about it."

"Pain pills," he smiled.

Michael came out of the bathroom. "Hey, Danny. How are you?" He asked and slapped Danny on the back. Danny fell to his knees in pain. "Oh shit, I'm sorry," Michael said in a panic as he knelt down to see if Danny was okay.

"That's okay. You didn't know," Danny said between heavy breaths as he was trying to fight back the pain. Tears were rolling down his face.

"What?" Michael asked and then looked at me.

"He got mugged last night in front of his apartment."

"Damn. Are you okay? I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. I'll be fine. Just give me a minute."

After a minute or two, Danny's breathing slowed and Michael helped him stand up and said, a la Bullwinkle, "Don't know my own strength." Danny laughed and then winced. "Sorry. No more jokes," Michael said.

"Stop saying 'sorry' already," Danny said.

"Sorry," Michael smirked.

"You should be at home in bed, Danny," I said.

"I didn't want to cancel."

"I think we'd understand why."

"I thought about it, but it sounded like such a bad excuse. 'Uh, I can't make it 'cause I got mugged.' I'd have to eat lunch anyway, so...here I am. What's for lunch," Danny said and gave a grin.

"Grilled cheese sandwiches. Come on into the kitchen and have a seat," Michael said.

We went into the kitchen and Danny gently lowered himself into a chair.

"Can I see?" Michael asked.

"What?"

Michael pointed to Danny's chest.

"Oh. Yea," Danny said, unbuttoned his shirt and let it drop down. His stomach and sides were masses of black and blue.

"Man, they got you good. How much did they get away with?" Michael asked.

"The dumbasses got nothing. I was taking the trash out and didn't have anything on me. Of course that pissed them off so they decided to kick me a few times."

"You need to move to a better place," Michael said and looked at me with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Don't I know it," Danny sighed.

"How long is your lease for?" I asked him.

"Don't have one. Officially, I don't live there," Danny smiled.

"So you could leave anytime you want?" Michael asked.

"Yea, but you know how hard it is to find anything affordable in this city. Contrary to popular belief, you don't make a lot of money as an intern for MTV."

"Well, what do you consider affordable? I know it's a bit nosey, but I might know of a place," I said.

"Really? Well, I'm paying $480 a month plus 1/5 utilities now, but I could probably go as high as $600."

"Oh, well this place isn't that expensive. It's only $400 a month plus 1/4 utilities."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing's wrong with it," I said.

"Unless you have a problem with living with a gay couple and a straight girl who is never home," Michael smirked.

"Not unless they're all freaky. Where's it at?"

I looked at Michael and he looked at me. We both looked at Danny. "Here."

"Are you serious?"

"Nope. Just kidding," Michael smirked.

"Yea, of course we're serious. One of my roommates moved out Wednesday morning and I need to find someone else. You need a better place. Why go through the hassle of trying to find a stranger to move in. We've gotten along alright so far. Why not?" I said.

"So I could move in here? And $400 a month?"

I nodded.

"I'd be a fool to say no..."

"Yes, you would," Michael interrupted.

"I'll take it. When can I move in and where's my room?"

"Oh, you wanted a room. Well, a room of your own is extra... Just kidding," I smiled. "You can move in whenever you want, but it'll have to be on a weekend day if you want any help moving."

"How about today? I don't have any furniture so it should take only one trip," Danny said excitedly.

"You don't have a bed?" I asked.

"No, I mean, yea, but it's not mine. It was in the apartment."

"You're gonna have to get one, then."

"That's fine. I can get one tomorrow or something. A night or three on the sofa isn't going to kill me."

"Okay. We'll drive over after lunch," I said and started preparing the food. Michael joined me at the counter and started cutting vegetables.

"What can I do to help?" Danny asked.

"You can sit there and not bust your gut," Michael said.

"I'm not an invalid. I can help out."

"Why don't you go check out your room? It's the door directly across from the bathroom," I offered.

"Okay."

"See? Things just worked out perfectly," Michael said after Danny had left the kitchen.

"Yea, it was fate, dork-boy," I smirked and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Not fate. We made it happen. Things just work out well sometimes, and it happens so rarely that I notice it. We're on a roll."

"Oh, now you jinxed us," I joked.

"It is okay to paint the walls, right?" Danny said as he walked back into the kitchen.

"What's the matter? Don't you like black walls?" I laughed.

"Not in my bedroom."

"Yea, you can paint the walls whatever you like."

"Great. As soon as my gut heals."

We ate lunch and then got in my car and drove over to Danny's old apartment. His possessions consisted of two suitcases of clothing, two boxes of books and miscellaneous stuff, and a PowerBook. It took longer to drive to his place and back than it did to load and unload his stuff.

We dropped his stuff in the living room and Danny went to work scrubbing the room clean while I did homework and Michael read. I made dinner in time for Michael to eat and get to the theater on time. Danny had dragged all his stuff into his room and hung up his clothes while everything else was spread on the floor.

"I'm gonna have to get some shelves, too," Danny said as we were eating.

"There's a great Goodwill furniture store on 39th Street," Michael offered.

"Do they deliver?"

"For a charge."

"Of course. Do you know if they're open on Sunday?"

"I don't know. You'll have to call."

We finished dinner and Michael left. I continued my reading and Danny pulled out his PowerBook and got online.

"Do you know if they have DSL here yet?" Danny asked after a half-hour or so.

"I don't know. I'm on campus so much that I usually do my 'net stuff there. The wireless rooms are great."

"You've got an AirPort in yours, too? Cool. We should get DSL, if it's available here, and put in a base station. Does Michael have a PowerBook as well?"

"No, he's got an iBook. The only thing he ever does online is email."

"Yea, that's all I'd do if I had to do it by modem all the time," he said and then paused. "I want to thank you again for asking me to move in here."

"Don't mention it," I dismissed as I continued reading.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yea, sure," I said, put down my book and looked at him.

"Why? I mean, we just met a few days go and..." He trailed off.

"And why do we trust you or should you trust us?"

"Yea, I guess that's part of it."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's from seeing you on 'Real World.' I remember thinking when I watched that show that you seemed like a good guy, and the time that we've hung out hasn't changed that view. I tend to trust people until they prove that I shouldn't. I needed to find a new roommate, anyway."

"You do realize they edited out a whole lot of stuff?"

"You mean three months don't actually fit into twenty or so half-hour TV shows?" I smirked. "Yea, I realize that, and I realize that they also probably told the stories that they thought would get the best ratings. If you turn out to be an asshole, then I'll just kick you out."

"Great," he smirked.

"Now let me ask you a question," I said.

"Go ahead."

"What made you walk up to us and ask if it was the gay corner on New Year's Eve?"

Danny smiled and looked away. "There were three cute guys sitting together, and one of them was Lance. I just took a chance and made the comment so I'd know one way or another."

"So have you talked with Lance since then?"

"A few times, yea."

"Hey, guys," Nicole said as she walked in the door and headed for her room.

"Hey, Nicole," I yelled. "Come meet our new roommate."

"Another one?" She said with an exaggerated sigh as she walked back into the living room.

"Yes, another one. This is Danny. Danny, Nicole."

"Nice to meet you," Danny said politely.

"I know you. You're on some TV show, right?"

"Not any more," Danny said, a bit uncomfortable.

"Don't get all weirded out. I'm not gonna get freaky on you. Which show was it?"

"'Real World.'"

"Oh, that's right. You're the gay guy from the New Orleans season. It appears that I'm the only hetero left," she laughed.

"Don't worry. It's just a phase you're going through," I teased.

"I'll have sex with a girl when you do," she teased back.

"You'll be waiting a long time."

"I think I can handle it. Anyway. Nice to meet you and all, Danny, but I'm running late," she said and went to her room.

"Yes, she is a bit...scattered," I laughed.

"Another good reason not to date girls," Danny laughed.

"Oh yea, 'cause there're no flaky or scattered guys."

We both chuckled and I went back to my reading while Danny got back online. A few minutes later, Nicole flew through in a new outfit and was out the door.

I left to pick Michael up at eleven and Danny took a pain pill and said he was going to go to bed. Michael and I talked about what Danny had asked me on the way home.

"Do you think we're moving too fast?" I asked Michael.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean us and everything. It's just like... We've been together for only a few weeks and we're already living with each other. We have routines together. We make decisions together. We ask Danny to move in after only knowing him a week..."

"It does seem kinda unreal, doesn't it?"

"Yea."

"If we could take back the past three weeks, what would you do different?"

"That just it. I don't think I'd do anything different."

"Was it too soon for me to move in?"

"No! I mean, no, that's not what I'm talking about. I love that you're in my arms every night. I don't know what I'm trying to say," I sighed.

"I think I understand. I look at it like this: We've know each other for almost eight months and have been pretty good friends for most of them. Now we've just taken our friendship to a new level. I've thought about it too, but like you said, I don't think I'd do anything differently."

We were careful to be quiet when we got in and took our shower. Michael went to get a glass of water before we went to bed, and noticed Danny was on the floor.

"Danny?" Michael whispered.

"Yea?" Danny said, obviously still awake.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor instead of the sofa?"

"It's too soft and not long enough -- hard on my stomach."

"Okay," Michael said and came back into the bedroom. "Danny's sleeping on the floor 'cause the sofa's too soft and it hurt his gut," he said to me.

"Oh the floor? It's the middle of winter and this apartment is too drafty to sleep on the floor. He's gonna get sick," I said.

"We could give him our bed..."

"Or share it. There's not enough room on the sofa for both of us to sleep comfortably, and I'm not sleeping by myself. We've had three comfortably in our bed before."

"I don't know. I mean, we hardly know him."

"There's not going to be any sex," I stated.

"I know. I guess if he tries anything we'll just put him back on the floor."

"Or poke him in the ribs," I smirked.

Michael chuckled. "I'll get him," he said and went out to the living room. "Danny. You still awake?"

"Yea."

"Come on. You can sleep in our bed until you get one -- which better be soon, by the way."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm fine."

"No you're not. It's the middle of winter and this apartment is too drafty for you to sleep on the floor. You're gonna get sick. Really. It's no big deal for us. Michelle sleeps with us when she's here," Michael coaxed.

"Nah, that's alright. It'd be too weird."

"There's not going to be any sex, and if you try anything we're going to start poking you in the ribs."

"I..."

"Stop arguing. You're not gonna win, so get your ass off the floor."

"Fine," Danny said with a chuckle and a sigh.

They came back into the bedroom. Danny slowly laid down on one side of the bed, and Michael got in on the other side. I was in the middle. Michael turned off the light and we cuddled up and went to sleep. The last thing I remember is Danny saying, "Thanks again, guys."

Comments welcome and encouraged. jm_stories@yahoo.com