To Hi everyone...
In order to accommodate people who are asking me about notification lists, I've finally created an YahooGroup (Gods, Yahoo is like the Borg!) to do so: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dale_writings
As always, Gabriella is my main cheerleader. Mark has also been great. I've even inspired him! Check out his story "Blind Date", it's also here in the Boyband section.
I'm a bit nervous--so if people could please e-mail me at bwicub@hotmail.com--I'd really appreciate it. I love e-mail!!
My story is hosted on another website. Here's it is: http://railwayshoes.net/hosted
It's partway down the site, just look for "Lottery Winner". There's lots of other great stories there so check them out.
DISCLAIMER: The names of the people are fictional (well, except for the members of the group). This is a fictional story that came right out of my own mind. I have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or whatever. That being said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write me!!! (Especially write me if you're a member of the group! GRIN)
Thanks guys and gals, Hope you like it.
Dale
--THE LOTTERY WINNER...Ch 48--
"Hey, your friend looks familiar, who is he?"
Dale turns to look at who the girl behind the girl is talking about...
"Um, okay guys. How hard would it be to get 3 people cleared for backstage?" Justin smiled at his question.
"Well, as luck would have it we have some pull with the band. Should be no problem. Chris, do you want to make the call or shall I?" Chris demurred to Justin, but told him that they could just do it the easy way and tell Lance once they got upstairs.
"Oh my god Dale. She walked away."
Dale just held him close, taking a brief instant to close the door so the light went off. Fortunately there isn't a whole lot of traffic on this road, but we still have to be careful.
He hung up the phone and dialed another number. "Johnny Wright please. My name is Dale Wright. Yes, I'll hold."
Dale walked up to the group. He had made an effort to clean himself up a bit. But he was still wearing the clothes he'd left the motel in. The guys saw the burns on his face and heck. His right hand looked odd, like it'd been in a clamp
Another bloodcurdling scream, then Dale's body flew forward like he was sitting up. He overshot and threw his arm out to stop himself from hitting the seatback. He hissed as his broken fingers got hurt all over again.
Dale's head snapped around, looking at everyone. "um. What happened?"
"I just wanna go home. Can I go now?" He had been poked and prodded by this lady for the past four hours. She had taken photos of his entire body, and treated the burns and cuts that were everywhere. His hand was all taped up. They couldn't put it in a cast, so they just had to put a bunch of splints on and then tape the hell out of it.
It itches.
"Oh god...no."
"Hey Dale. Come on Dale. Wakeup."
Dale woke up slowly, disoriented because he wasn't sure where he was. "Where am I?" He sat up too far and hit his head on the top of the bunk.
"Fuck. Okay, that hurt." Dale realized that someone was sitting on the end of the bunk facing him. It took him a second to register that it was Joey.
"Hi Joey. Where are we?"
"You're on the bus, remember?"
Dale cracked a smile. "Yes, I remember getting on the tour bus. I meant where are we?"
Joey smiled back at him. "We're in El Paso. It's just about breakfast time. You were out like a light. You want some food?"
Dale pulled himself into a sitting position. Then realized that wasn't too comfortable. He began getting out of the bunk and realized that he was in his underwear.
"Where's my pants???" He pulled the sheet around him.
Joey had the good grace to look embarrassed. "You looked so uncomfortable... I took them off of you. Don't worry, they're right over there." He pointed to the bunk on the other side of the bus. Dale blushed and reached for his Wranglers. Sliding them over his hips and zipping the front, he smiled softly at Joey.
"So what's on the menu?" He caught Joey staring at him. He repeated the question.
"Menu?" Joey shook his head before answering. "Oh yeah, um. Food. Yeah. We're sending someone in to get some breakfast. What do you want to order?"
"What? We don't get to sit down at a real table and have a real waitress? God I look like hell don't I?"
Joey laughed. "Why on earth would you think like that? You always look good." The way Joey said it made Dale look at him. He was going to ask Joey about it when they abruptly were joined by Lance and Chris.
"Come on you two... what're we gonna order?" Chris sounded a little whiny as he said it. Dale decided he needed to stretch his legs.
"You guys can eat in the bus if you want. I'm going to eat in the restaurant."
"Um, Dale." He looked over at Lance. "That may not be a good idea. The place has kids in it, they'll probably get excited if they see us."
"Bullshit. Give me five minutes." Dale held his head up and went to the front of the bus. He exited and went inside the restaurant. A few minutes later he came back and said something to the driver. Dale headed back inside the restaurant, and the driver started the bus up.
"What's going on?"
"Your friend wants me to pull around in back." They saw Dale standing by a rear entrance with an older lady.
Joey got off the bus and walked up to Dale. Before he could say anything Dale told the driver to shut off the bus. "They have a whole back dining area they'll let us use."
"If y'all just follow me, I'll show you where to sit." The lady led the rest of the group and the driver into the building. Joey was smiling at Dale.
"Damn Dale, how'd you pull it off?"
Dale grinned. "Gave the manager a thousand dollars for each person working to keep quiet and let us eat."
"WHAT?" Joey swung around and looked into Dale's eyes. "You can't be serious."
"Of course I am Joey. It's nothing more than what I did when I flew us up to Baltimore." Dale turned and walked inside.
Joey did a doubletake, and ran after Dale. "You remember that?"
"Remember what? Oh look. They have a breakfast buffet!" Dale went directly to the buffet and began piling on scrambled eggs and other foods. Joey was staring at him when Chris came up to see what was going on.
"Joey. It's food. Hello? Don't you normally attack about now?"
"Dale remembered the trip to Baltimore. At least, he mentioned it."
"No way! That's great to hear." Seeing the lack of a smile on Joey's face he held up his glass. "I have orange juice. Will that get you to smile?" Joey snorted and took the juice. He took a sip of it and spit it back out.
"Jesus, what the hell is that?"
"It's orange juice. With milk in it." Chris took a drink of it, fighting a grimace. "I figure it saves time if I just drink them both at once instead of drinking out of each glass." He took another drink, grimacing as he swallowed.
"God Chris could you be any more weird?" Joey was smiling as he said it. He decided to not worry about things for the moment, and went off to eat.
Two hours later the bus was pulling out, a bunch of waitresses and cooks waving at them as they went. The manager of the restaurant came running out and yelled at his workers to get back to work. Lance and Chris laughed as they watched everyone scurry back inside. Dale walked to the back of the bus just as Chris stood behind Lance, pulling him into a bear hug. Chris began nuzzling Lance's neck, running his hands down Lance's body. Lance turned around and was going to kiss Chris, and saw Dale standing there.
"Oh, hi Dale." Lance kissed Chris, and noticed that Dale was still standing there. "What is it Dale?"
"You're gay?"
Before Lance could answer Chris chimed in. "Yeah, we are." He took Lance's hand and gently kissed the back of it. Lance smiled at him.
"You said 'we'." Lance cupped the side of Chris' face in his hand and softly kissed him. After they stood there for a few seconds holding each other, Lance looked back at Dale.
"Yes Dale. I'm gay. You sound surprised."
"You're gay and you're blonde!"
Lance looked in confusion at Chris. When Chris shrugged that he had no clue what Dale was talking about Lance looked back at Dale.
"Okay... survey says 'huh'?"
Dale turned and headed back to the front of the bus. Chris and Lance stood there staring after him... Lance would have stayed looking if Chris hadn't started nuzzling his ear and then asked if he wanted to go take a nap.
"Joey!"
Joey was right in the middle of a video game, and the yell made him drop the controller. "Hey, Dale. What's up?"
"I have to ask you something. Something important."
"Um, okay."
"I think I remember who my boyfriend is."
"REALLY? Oh god, that's great!"
Joey was going to hug Dale, but the next words deflated him.
"I think he's cheating on me, though."
"Huh? Okay Dale. Start over. Who do you think it is?"
"It's Lance."
Joey couldn't help it. He laughed. He had to. It was either that or scream.
"Trust me Dale... Lance is NOT your boyfriend. Near as I can tell his heart now belongs to Chris."
"Oh." Dale sat there staring at him for a second. "I don't understand how come you can't just tell me. I'm starting to remember more and more... so I hope it's just a matter of time."
Trying to sound nonchalant about it, Joey asked a question. "More and more?
You remembered more last night?"
"Bits and pieces. It was all jumbled up. This is so fucking frustrating! It's like having something on the tip of your tongue and it's not quite coming out."
Joey gave Dale's leg a quick squeeze. "Don't push it. It'll come when it's ready. Now, you wanna play a game with me?"
Joey put DOOM in the machine, and as the start menu came up I had a curious sense of déjà vu. "Hey Joey, have we played this game before?"
"Um." Joey blushed. "Yeah, I think we have. Why?"
"Just feel like I've done this with you before."
They spent a few hours playing games... after which Dale felt a bit tired so he went back to nap. When the group was going to stop and get some dinner Lance went back to wake up Dale.
He opened the curtain at the bunk Dale had used the night before... and Dale wasn't there. He headed back up to the front of the bus.
"Where's Dale?"
"What? What do you mean?" Joey took off at a run to the back of the bus, Lance and Chris right behind him. They found Dale curled up asleep in Joey's bunk. He was curled up on his side, and his glasses had fallen down onto the pillow. Joey smiled as he saw it, and reached out to gently stroke Dale's cheek. Lance and Chris began heading back to the front of the bus when they realized that Joey was still at the bunk.
"Joey, what're you doing?"
"I don't care what his mom said. I'm gonna curl up with Dale." Dale had turned so he was facing away from Joey, and was breathing deeply as he slept on. Joey kicked his shoes off, and gently slid in behind Dale. He held his breath as he slid the rest of the way into the bunk, and softly put his arm over Dale. He let his breath out, and was surprised when Dale softly murmured and dug back into him. Dale let out a contented sigh as his hand slid along Joey's arm.
Joey fell asleep listening to his lover's breathing...
"Um. Joey?"
Nothing.
"Joey? You awake."
He snorted and turned back on his side, cuddling up against the person next to him.
"Hey. Fatone. Wake up."
Joey cracked an eye open. "Justin leave me alone."
"I just thought you'd want to move before Dale wakes up."
"He's already awake."
Joey's head snapped around to look into Dale's eyes. He looked back, but Justin was gone.
"Hi Dale. Did you sleep okay?"
Dale stretched languidly. "Yeah I did. Best sleep I've had in awhile. How about you?"
"Eh, okay I guess. Wanted to get some more sleep though."
"That sounds nice Joey. Let's get some more sleep." Dale had been lying on his back, but turned to face Joey. Joey spent a few minutes tossing and turning, and finally turned and faced away from Dale. He was just nodding off when he felt arms encircle him, pulling him into an embrace.
When Justin came to the back of the bus awhile later, that's how he found them. He smiled to himself, then closed the curtain on the bunk.
"Hey. You awake?"
"God no. Go away."
"I can't. It's time for dinner and we're starved!"
Joey opened his eyes and saw all four of his friends standing there staring at him. "You look so cute when you sleep Joey." They broke into a chorus of 'aw' sounds that that. Joey threw a pillow at them, which managed to connect with Chris' head.
"HEY!"
Joey slowly sat up, glaring at the rest of the group. "What'd you wake me up for?"
Lance smiled sweetly at him. "Thought you two'd want some dinner. We're getting ready to go into the restaurant... you coming?"
"Yeah, give us a minute or two and we'll see you inside." The four of them headed back up front, leaving Joey and a still sleeping Dale.
"Dale. Hey Dale." Joey lightly shook Dale's shoulder. Dale blearily opened one eye.
"huh?"
"Come on Dale, wake up. Food?"
"God..." Dale yawned. "Where are we?"
"I don't know do you see Rand McNally tattooed on my forehead? We're at a restaurant somewhere. Let's head inside and eat that way we can figure out where we are."
Joey got out of the bunk, readjusting his clothes. "Hey Joey?"
"Yeah hon...DALE. What's up?"
"I'm sorry I cuddled up with you. Hope you didn't mind."
Joey smiled. "No, I didn't mind. I like cuddling."
"Joey..." Dale blushed. "Can we do it again tonight? That was the best I've slept in awhile." Dale looked away as he made himself presentable. "If you don't want to I understand."
"No, that's okay!" Joey grinned at Dale. "I mean, that's fine if you want.
Hopefully I won't snore." He grabbed Dale's hand and pulled him off the bus.
The next two days passed uneventfully. Dale was sleeping a lot, but the guys didn't worry too badly about it because they figured it was normal for someone who was recovering from a major surgery like Dale had. Joey made sure that Dale took his medication, and whenever he was bored he tried entertaining him. They spent a lot of time talking and playing video games.
The nights were the hardest for Joey. Dale was sleeping in Joey's bunk, curled up against him... and he couldn't touch him. Dale still hadn't remembered their relationship. Joey didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so he never initiated the hugs... Dale always did.
It was about eleven at night when they pulled into the Orlando compound. The members of the group rapidly dispersed to head their own ways for the break. Soon, it was just Joey and Dale there.
"Dale, do you want a ride home?"
"Yeah Joe, that'd be great." Dale got into Joey's Acura, and they tore out of the compound. Dale was staring at the houses going by when Joey broke in.
"So, where are we going?"
Dale didn't even think about it, he rattled off an address. Joey knew kind of where it was, so they took off in a new direction. About fifteen minutes later they pulled up in front of the house.
"Wow Dale. Very nice."
It took Dale a few minutes to figure out which key on his keychain fit the door, but once he got the door open he just stood there looking around.
"Holy shit."
The house was like a showpiece. Each room was more incredible than the last. After the tour was done, Joey and Dale were standing at the base of the stairs.
"Damn Dale, this is a great place." Dale looked preoccupied. "What is it?"
"I dunno... this just doesn't feel like home." Loki came running down the stairs, meowing. Laughing, Dale picked him up and held him. "Okay, he helps a bit. But something seems missing." Suddenly Dale let out a yawn.
"Shit. Sorry Joey."
"I should get going anyway. We have a group meeting tomorrow afternoon with Johnny." Joey stood there for a second, then started turning away to go.
"Don't go!"
He stopped, and turned back to look at Dale.
"I know we're no longer on the bus... but I was wondering." Dale blushed. "Would you stay here tonight... with me."
Joey smiled. "You need to cuddle?"
Dale grinned, and headed upstairs. After changing into sweat pants and brushing his teeth he crawled into bed. As he was falling asleep, he felt arms softly encircle him.
He knew he was safe in those arms.