Disclaimer: Don't read this if you're underage, find m/m stuff offensive, or this is illegal where you are. Also, I do not know NSync, this story is complete fiction and not meant to imply anything about anyone mentioned.
Author's Note: Sorry that I didn't send in a story Tuesday to post for Wednesday, but my internet was all fucked up for a couple days.
Also: I'm getting tired of writing since I don't have to time, energy, or patience to keep this up now that college is back in full swing. If I hadn't written so many chapters in advance during the summer I wouldn't have got this far. So, I will take an extended break from writing after Chapter 15 or 16. I'll return to writing the story after I get that spark of creativity again.
Feedback: reallybigdreamer@yahoo.com
Chapter 13:
"Mmm..." I moaned quietly as I woke up the next morning. I rolled over to see Josh curled into a ball on the other side of the bed, completely isolating himself. I figured he was asleep but was proven wrong as he let out a small whimper. He was crying. "Josh?" I asked.
"Yeah?" he gasped out between quiet sobs.
"What's wrong?" a valid question you may think, but I knew it was stupid. I knew perfectly well what was wrong with him. Chris had called him a `sissy fag' before storming out of the restaurant where he came out to his fellow NSyncers.
"I...I can't help b-but feel like..." he stammered for a few seconds before finally spurting it out, "...I can't help but feel like this is the end for NSync..." He broke down again, sobbing uncontrollably. My heart went out to him, I knew how bad he must have been feeling, after all, I had told him that this was his call, secretly hoping he'd come out to more than just Justin. Now look what I had done, and I doubted that Chris knew that Josh and I were dating.
I slid up close next to Josh and wrapped my arms around him, trying to soothe him. I planted small kiss on the back of his neck and noticed that he was shivering. It wasn't cold in the room, but he was so I figured that all the crying had gotten to him. I pulled the blanket over the top of us as I snuggled in closer to him.
"How long have you been crying?" I asked.
"All night," he sobbed some more.
"Well you can hush now, I'm here and...you know what?" I asked playfully, hoping to cheer him up.
"What?"
"I think I'm falling in love you," I answered. He let out a small laugh and I could feel his whole demeanor change.
"I think it's true..." he said as he kissed one of my hands. The feeling about the room was still quiet and solemn, but it had lightened a bit since he had had that giggle. After we had lied there for about twenty minutes I noticed how regular his breathing had become and figured he was sleeping.
I pulled myself from his unconscious grip and turned the bedroom's phone ringer off as I made my way into the kitchen. I grabbed an apple and turned on the TV, keeping the volume low even though the bedroom door was closed. I leaned over to pick up my water bottle and winced in pain as I did so. I noticed that my left wrist hurt terribly, but was sidetracked when the phone began to ring. I quickly dove to the right side of the couch and grabbed the nearby phone.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Um...hi Mike..." said the voice on the other end of the line, after a few minutes he started to talk again. "Um, this is Justin...Timberlake...of NSync...remember me?"
"Yeah..." I trailed off, not sure why there were so many breaks while he was speaking.
"Is JC there because, uh, no one knows where he is..." he gave a small laugh.
"Yeah, he's here, why?" I asked sarcastically as I took a bite of my apple.
"Because I'm his best friend goddamn it, I was worried," saying he was offended is an understatement.
"Sorry," I said halfheartedly.
"It's okay, listen, uh, we cancelled our rehearsal for the Michael Jackson tribute today, so, uh, we could work this out, can I talk to him?"
"No."
"No?"
"He's sleeping," I said bluntly, "he was up all night crying, he's petrified that this is gonna break you guys up you know."
"He was worried about that after Chris left, yeah..." Justin trailed off. "Listen, can we meet for lunch? We really need to talk about Josh, he seemed really upset and I know him the best."
"There's this Chinese place down by pier 17, you won't miss it it's the only Chinese place down there, meet me there at noon," I said quickly as another shock of pain streamed through my wrist.
"Alright," he said before we hung up.
Ugh, why did I have to choose a Chinese place? Were among the thoughts as I walked in the door. Chinese is the best food imaginable, I can never stop, and I always pig out. Then I feel fat, probably look it too, heh.
I spotted Justin and told the waitress who tried to escort me elsewhere that I was with him. She smiled and led me to the table, though I'm quite sure I could find my way there without her.
"What do you want?" I asked bluntly as I sat down.
"I want to talk," he said sincerely, "you're dating my best friend in the world, who was just crushed by one of our closest friends and bandmates. Listen, we cancelled all rehearsals for the Jackson tribute, we aren't performing there anymore, we said there was scheduling conflicts with VMA performance and we could only do one."
"I'm doing the VMAs too," I said as the waitress brought me the drink I had ordered, Diet Coke, I thanked her and she left. The place was set up buffet style, a big buffet since it was very busy so Justin and I grabbed our food before starting the conversation again.
"Listen," he began, "I'm worried, can I come to your place and talk to him. Chris is sorry, but he's afraid to call you, worried about what you may say to him. You don't know JC like I do, I can help him, we both can, in our own ways..."
"Alright," I agreed reluctantly. "But if he doesn't want to talk to you then you are leaving, no arguments."
"Agreed!" he smiled with his small victory. "What spot are you doing in the VMAs?" he asked.
"Opening the show, big production number, the dancers are rehearsing as we speak, I know the choreography already, we'll stage our own rehearsals outside the dress rehearsals starting tomorrow," I answered trying to make small talk.
"I see," he said and I noticed he seemed uneasy about something, "are you worried about winning the Emmy?"
I dropped my head with a sigh and continued eating as if I hadn't heard that dreaded question...
I got lots of feedback from Chapters 10, 11, and 12, keep it up, I like it a lot, RBD :)