This story involves members of the bands Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. I am in no way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members. This is purely a fictional story. Enjoy!
This is my first attempt at writing a story like this so please bear with me. Please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)
Loving Nick - Part 21
Justin sat on his bed staring out the window of his hotel room. His mind was drifting. He thought about how happy he was now that he and Darren were a couple. Just thinking of Darren brought a smile to his face. But these images were quickly replaced by images of Lance. No matter how hard Lance tried to convince Justin that everything was fine, Justin felt that something was wrong. Perhaps it was something that best friends shared - knowing how the other person felt even without words. "If only I knew what is bothering Lance..." Justin thought to himself.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Darren come into the room. Only when Darren's arms wrapped around his chest did he notice his lover's presence. "Hey, so how was dinner?"
"It was good...would've been better if you were there with me," Darren answered.
Justin smiled at Darren's response.
"So is everything okay with Lance?" Darren asked with obvious concern.
Justin let out a sigh. "I don't know. I mean, I've known Lance for a long time, but this time, I just can't read what he's thinking. He won't let me in on anything and I can't break through his resistance."
"Maybe it's something that's already under control and he doesn't want to worry you," Darren tried to explain.
"No," Justin said, shaking his head, "it's not that. It must be something serious. Lance always like to think things through, and the way he's acting now, it must be something that he can't resolve."
Darren looked at Justin with understanding. He gently kissed the younger blond on the forehead. "You worried about him, huh?"
Justin nodded. "I've never seen him like this. Lance has always been there for me, but now, I know something is bothering him but I can't help him."
Lance laid on his bed, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. "What am I going to do?" he thought to himself. "I can't betray Justin. But how am I going to deal with Spates?"
"You okay?" a voice suddenly called out.
Lance turned his head and saw Nick looking at him with concern. He smiled and sat up straight. "So how was dinner?"
"Honestly, I was worried about you," Nick replied. "What's going on?"
"It's just some things that I have to work out. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
"I do worry about you, Lance. But I'll give you the space that you need to work things out. If you need me, you know I'll be there for you."
Lance smiled and nodded as Nick headed to the shower.
"Either you take the money and do as I say or else I'll do this myself. And don't blame me if it turns ugly..." Spate's threat echoed in Lance's mind over and over again as he tried to think the situation through. Lance was beginning to get worried. "What did Spates mean by things turning ugly?" he thought to himself. "Is he going to hurt Justin?"
Lance was brought back from his thoughts by his cell phone ringing. "Lance here..."
"Ah, I'm glad I was able to find you," Spates voice rumbled.
"What do you want?" Lance replied coldly. "I thought we were finished our conversation."
"Well, I just have a few things here that may change your mind about our little discussion earlier."
"Don't fuck with me, Spates," Lance warned. He surprised himself at how rude he was to Spates. "Oh well, he deserves it," he thought.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that to you, Lance. But I really think you should come over again to see what I have to show you. It's really quite important," Spates said as he chuckled.
"Why the hell am I doing this?" Lance asked himself. "He's probably just playing games, trying to get me to take his stupid deal." As he approached Spate's office, the door opened and he could see Spates sitting at his desk. Lance walked in, trying to look as defiant as possible. "What do you want now? You don't have to waste your time, I'm not going to change my mind."
"Ah, such a stubborn young man," Spates smiled as he opened his desk drawer. He took out a brown envelope and placed in on the desk in front of Lance. Take a look at what I've got.
Lance grabbed the envelope and opened it. As he took the contents out, he turned ghostly white and he collapsed onto the chair. He was speechless and for a moment, he found it hard to breathe. After a moment of silence, Lance finally muttered, "where did you get these??" In his hand was a pile of photos of Justin, naked with Darren in bed in very compromising positions.
"I told you, I have my sources. This just confirms my greatest fear. If these ever got out..."
Lance glared at Spates. "You wouldn't dare...you'd ruin everything for yourself too..."
"Watch me, Lance. If Justin continues with this, I'll be ruined eventually anyways, so why not just sell these photos and at least make some money from this."
Lance got up and tried to lunge for Spates, but two bodyguards grabbed Lance and held him back, while one of them landed a fist in Lance's stomach. Lance crouched in pain, tears streaming down his face. "YOU BASTARD!!!" he screamed.
Spates got up and walked towards Lance. "No, Lance, you're the bastard. I gave you a chance but your stupidity and arrogance got in the way. I warned you this would get ugly but did you listen? If these photos do get out in public, YOU will be the cause of this whole disaster. So much for being a good friend, Lance!!"
Spate's words stung Lance as he continued to sob. Desperate, Lance got on his knees and pleaded, "Please, let Justin go. He's so happy now...please!!"
"You guys are my property and I'll do as I please!!!"
"Please, Mr. Spates," Lance continued to beg. "I'm sorry for the way I acted, please leave Justin out of this..."
"Well, there is a way you can prevent these photos from becoming public..."
"Victorious again!!" Nick exclaimed as he beat Justin at Mortal Kombat for the third time in a roll.
"Just lucky, Nick," Justin answered. "Let's try again..."
"Guys, take it easy," AJ called out, "it's only a game!!"
JC walked in with a puzzled look on his face and sat down beside Darren, Joey, and Chris.
"What's wrong JC?" Chris asked.
The confused look on JC's face remained. He was holding a slip of paper in his hand. "Lance...owed me a hundred bucks."
"So??" Joey asked, confused at JC's reactions. "What's the big deal? Tell him to pay you back!! Scoop's not gonna kill you if you ask, you know."
"He...he did," JC muttered. "He gave me a cheque."
"So what's the problem then?" Darren continued, not knowing what JC was trying to say.
"The cheque...it bounced."
"WHAT???" Joey, Chris, and Darren exclaimed together.
Joey and Chris' yelling caught Justin's attention and he abandoned his game. Nick, hearing the commotion, also left the game and joined Joey and Chris.
"Did I hear correctly?" Justin asked.
"The cheque bounced," JC repeated again.
"What's going on with Lance???" Chris finally questioned. "He's been acting really odd lately. He seems...distant."
"I know what you mean," Joey agreed. "What's going on, Nick?"
Nick looked just as confused as the rest of the guys. "I don't know...Lance won't tell me anything. He keeps telling that everything is alright." Nick abruptly got up from the floor and headed into the hall. "I'll be right back," he called out.
"What the hell is going on with Scoop?" JC said aloud, obviously frustrated at the whole situation. "He's usually so on top of things. I mean, he's the only sane guy in the group most of the time. I just can't see Lance not having enough money in the bank to cover a hundred-dollar cheque. It's totally not like him."
Nick came running back into the room with something in his hand. He had a look of shock on his face.
"What?" the guys all said in unison. They didn't like Nick's facial expression.
"This is Lance's bank passbook," Nick almost whispered as he handed it to the guys. They took a look and gasped:
October 1 Withdraw $500 Balance: $249,076.98 October 5 Deposit $2,000 Balance: $251,076.98 October 15 Deposit $2,000 Balance: $253,076.98 November 2 Withdraw $50,000 Balance: $203,076.98 November 5 Withdraw $50,000 Balance: $153,076.98 November 7 Withdraw $100,000 Balance: $53,076.98 November 9 Withdraw $50,000 Balance: $3,076.98 November 10 Withdraw $3,200 Balance: -$124.02
"What happened???" Justin exclaimed. This was not Lance. Lance had always been the one who liked saving money while the other guys practically spent everything they earned. Lance would never spend $200,000 in a few days.
"I don't know..." JC muttered. "This can't be..."
"We've got to find out what's going on!" Nick said, obviously very upset with the latest findings.
"But we have to be careful. We don't want to hurt Lance...I mean, he could be taking this money for something very important."
"Focus, Lance, focus!!" Fatima yelled over the blaring music. It was the tenth time they were rehearsing this song and it wasn't getting any better.
Lance's cell phone began ringing. Lance ran off the stage and grabbed his phone.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Lance, who was oblivious to everything going on around him.
"What more do you want???" Lance said. "I've done everything you wanted...DON'T YOU FUCK WITH ME!!!!!" Lance shut his phone and turned around, only to find everyone staring at him.
"Sorry guys, didn't mean to run off like that," Lance quickly said, trying to deflect the attention.
"What's going on, Lance?" JC demanded in an authoritative tone.
"Nothing. Everything's fine," Lance replied.
"Your cheque bounced," JC continued.
"Oh yeah, sorry," Lance answered, trying to stay as composed as possible. "I'll pay you back after rehearsal, okay?"
JC slammed his fist against the wall, startling everyone in the room. "Damn it, Lance, when are you going to come clean with us??"
Lance was shocked by JC's outburst. "What are you talking about?"
JC threw Lance's bank passbook on the floor. Lance looked at it in shock. "How..how did you get this??" He looked over at Nick, who guiltily looked to the floor.
Nick felt horrible. It was almost as if he betrayed Lance. He couldn't look at his lover in his eyes.
"What the hell is going on, Lance?" JC was almost screaming by now.
Lance's eyes began to tear up. He was at his limit. The past few days had taken its toll on him. He had been through a lot in his young career but this was too much for a twenty-year-old to handle. He was quickly approaching his breaking point.
Justin ran over to Lance and held him in his arms, trying to support his friend. "Take it easy, JC!" Justin shot at JC. He didn't like the way JC was interrogating Lance as if he was a criminal or something. He knew JC means well but sometimes he comes across as being insensitive and intimidating.
JC felt a little guilty after Justin's rebuke. "Don't shut us out, Lance," he continued, most softly. "Tell us what's going on..."
Lance broke away from Justin's arms. "Just leave me alone, okay?" he screamed. He had reached the breaking point and all hell was breaking loose. He couldn't take it anymore...it was too much. "There's nothing you guys can do, so just drop it, okay??? I'm not some criminal, I don't need you to go searching through my things and interrogating me!!" With that, Lance turned and ran out of the room in tears with everyone in shock.
Justin immediately ran after Lance, followed by everyone else in the room. They found Lance curled up on the floor sobbing. Justin knelt beside Lance and tried to pull him close. "Leave me alone, Justin!! I don't need you to feel sorry for me!!"
"Lance, we are worried about you. We're your friends...let us help you!" Justin pleaded.
"You can't help me! I've already told you that..." Lance pushed Justin aside, got up off the floor and began to walk away.
"It's about me, isn't it?" Justin suddenly blurted out. "This isn't about you, Lance, this whole thing has to do with me, doesn't it??"
Lance froze in his tracks. "I can't let Justin know...I just can't" he thought to himself.