Hi. I havent posted since back in June or July of 99'. I hope you don't mind, but could you delete "my-perfect-life-2" and replace "my-perfect-life-1" with the attached file? I would really appreciate it, and I promise to keep up with the story this time. Thank you so much!
~~~~~~ By writing this story, I am not suggesting anything about the members of N'sync, this is a work of fiction. ~~~~~~ All the legal stuff applies. Do not read this story if you are under 18, if this type of material is prohibited in your area, or if you are offended by homosexual material. ***** I was running as fast as I could down a long hallway. Behind me, a man in a black trench coat was running after me. He was slowly gaining on me, and as hard as I tried to lose him, he always seemed to be right behind me. After a minute or two, he caught up to me, and dragged me to the floor. He was on top of me, pinning me down. He turned me over so I was able to look into the man's eyes. I realized immediately who it was. He was Bill, my lover of four years. "Let me go damn it!" I screamed. I tried to push him off with all my might, but he had me pinned down pretty well. "I've got you now Neal," he said, "I'll have you forever." "Yeah right asshole!" I yelled as I pushed him off me with all my strength. I tried to get up, but I was strapped down to a bed. Bill was laughing maliciously, and as I looked around, I realized where I was. I was in my room in my parent's house. My parents and friends were standing over me crying. He took a match, lit it, and tossed it onto the bed where I was lying. I caught on fire quickly, and was slowly burning to death, until... I woke up harshly, in a pool of sweat. Bill was asleep next to me, and I got out of bed quietly as not to wake him up. I opened my closet, and picked out my most comfortable outfit. A pair of black jeans, and a white tee shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror, noticing the deep, blue circles under my eyes. I haven't slept through the night without having a nightmare for months. Other than the circles, I wasn't too bad looking. Short blonde hair parted in the middle, blue-green eyes, two nice, well-defined pecs, a nice looking six pack, and a golden brown tan. Not too bad for a nineteen year old. I needed out of the house for a while. At least a week, to think about where my life was going. I abandoned everything for Bill. I had a full academic scholarship at Harvard, a great family, and the best friends anyone could ever ask for. I loved Bill so much that I would have died for him, but I don't feel that way anymore. All we seem to do anymore is have sex, sex, sex. I've known he's only been using me, but I stayed with him anyway. I met him online when I was sixteen, and within a week, I was lying in his bed letting him do things to me that I thought I wouldn't let anyone do. I've wasted three years of my life with someone who only wanted me for sex. 'Christ,' I thought, 'I've got to get out of here before I go insane.' Very quietly, I packed some clothes, and the most important things that I had with me. I was almost out of the bedroom door when he woke up. "Where the hell are you going?" he asked angrily. "I need some space for a while Bill," I said, "I need to sort out the pieces of my life." I quickly walked out of the room before he could respond. He grabbed me by the shoulder right before I got to the stairs. "Look Bill, let me go. I'm not going forever, I just need some time to think," I said, ready to slug him. "No one leaves me until I say so," he replied. I was going to push him off me, but he beat me to it. He pushed me so hard that I lost my balance and fell backward, and then down the steps. "Oh God!" he screamed, "Neal are you all right? I'm so sorry." "Yeah," I said, trying to keep my composure, "I'm fine." "Can we talk about this?" "Yeah," I replied, "But can you take a walk for a little while? I need a few minutes to think first." "Sure. Promise you won't leave?" "Yeah," I said, mustering a fake smile. "Ok." When I was sure he was gone, I ran up to our room, and packed everything that I owned. I ran downstairs to my car and threw the bags in the back. I realized that I forgot my keys, and ran back inside to get them. They weren't where I left them last night. The motherfucker had taken them with him when he went out. 'Good thing he doesn't know about my spare set,' I thought to myself. I went and got them, but before I left, I decided that he needed to be taught a lesson. I have a very short fuse, and I don't take being hit very well. I went to the cabinet where he kept all the video tapes he took of us. As I piled them onto the bed, I noticed the date on one of them. August 15, 1997. 'Oh my God,' I thought, 'He even taped us back then ' I put the tape in my pocket, and walked to the bathroom. In the cabinet I found a bottle of rubbing alcohol. I dumped the bottle onto the tapes, and the bed and set them on fire. As I was pulling out of the driveway, he jumped out behind the car. "STOP!" he yelled. I kept going. If I mowed this bastard down, all the better. He got out of the way, and walked to the window. "You'll pay for this!" he said. "Yeah, see I don't see it that way. Remember this?" I showed him the tape, and all the color rushed out of his face. "The rest of your tapes are on your bed. Don't ever try to find me. Oh and one more thing." "What?" "Your house, your house, your house is on fire!!" His head snapped around and he screamed in terror at what he saw. The little fire I started had spread quickly. I could only laugh at his misfortune. I sped away, pleased with what I had done. Now came the hard part. What was I going to do now? I was in the middle of Nowheresville Missouri, and I had a choice to make. I could go to Florida, to my sisters, to chill for a while, or I could go straight home and clean up the mess I made. I chose the first one. I figured that if I was going to set things straight, I needed some advice. Plus, I hadn't seen my sisters or nephew for two years. Little did I know that that choice would change my life forever. ***** I arrived at my sister's house at three o'clock in the afternoon a few days later. No cars were in the driveway, and no one answered the door, so I figured I'd find a grocery store in the area and pick up some things for my sister. I drove around for a while and found a huge Giant. I went in and got a cart, and started browsing around. I figured I'd make her dinner, so she wouldn't have to worry about it. I got everything I needed to make Fettucini Alfredo, except for the pasta. I walked to the pasta aisle, and noticed a young man, about 16, holding an older man's hand. I thought at first they were father and son, but I could tell by the way that they were looking at each other that there was more to the story. I started to remember all the times Bill and I had, and how much I had loved him. What hurt the most was that I thought he loved me too. I felt like I was about to throw up, so I ran for the bathroom. After I was done puking, I sat down outside the bathroom on a stool, and cried. I was crying for about three minutes when I realized that people were staring at me. I quickly ran and grabbed the pasta, and got in line at the cashier. I hurried out of there, and got into my car. When I pulled into the driveway, I noticed a car in the driveway. 'Good,' I thought, 'I won't have to wait on the front porch. I walked up to the door, and knocked loudly. The door opened, and I could not believe who I was looking at. "Can I help you?" the young blonde asked. What the hell was going on here? I figured that I was in the twilight zone or something. This really didn't seem possible. I was staring into the eyes of Justin Timberlake. "I... I'm sorry, I must have the wrong house. Does a woman named Kerrie live here?" I managed to stutter out. "Yeah, but she's not here right now." "Oh, well what about her husband?" "No, he's not here either. In fact he... well I'll let her tell you." "Do you know what time she'll be getting back?" I asked. "Yeah, she should be getting off work soon. Can I ask who you are?" "Yeah, my name's Neal. I'm Kerrie's..." "Brother!" he cut me off. "Yeah, what does she still talk about me?" I asked sort of amazed. "Yeah she does!" he screamed, pulling me into a hug. I almost fainted. "I've heard so much about you! Come in please!" he said, ushering me in. "My name's Justin." "I know," I replied, "It's not like I live in a hut without TV or a radio. How did you meet my sister?" "Well, it happened..." "Justin? Who's car is parked in the driveway?" a young woman called out. "Just mine," I replied loudly. "Who are... NEAL!" she screamed as she walked into the room. "Oh God where the fuck have you been? I've been worried sick. You little bastard where the hell have you been?" she asked. She hugged me, and I could feel her tears. She was soaking my shirt. "We'll get to all that later. Right now I need help," I said. "Oh God you're not in some kind of trouble are you?" she asked. "Well, kind of. I really can't get all the groceries out of my car by myself. I'm not strong enough." I said grinning. "You little asshole. I've missed you," she said hugging me again. "Justin could you help me get the stuff out of my car?" I asked. "Sure thing, bro." he replied. "What are you two married already or something?" I said laughing. Justin started laughing too, but I saw something in Kerrie that I hadn't seen before. Something hurt when I said married. Justin and I walked outside to the car to get the groceries. Before Justin took the bags in, I stopped him. "Hold up a sec Just, I need to talk to you." "What about?" he asked, sounding puzzled. "What exactly are your intentions with my sister? She is... or maybe was married there for at least 4 years. I'm not sure what's going on here, but I just wanna make sure that whatever you are doing here, you're not gonna hurt her." "Of course not," he said, sounding a little hurt. "I would never hurt her. She's a great person." "Good, then I'm cool. Let's get these bags in." When we got back into the house, Kerrie had a devilish grin on her face. "What's up now?" I asked. "We're going to pick up Ann. She doesn't know that you're back. We're going to surprise her." "Great. This'll give me a chance to talk to you." "I need to be going too." Justin said, "Are we still on for tonight Kerrie?" "Yeah, if you wanna go Neal." "Where are you two going?" "Our concert. You want a ticket?" "Sure," I replied. I had always wanted to go to a N'sync concert, but I never got the guts up to go alone. This gave me an excuse. "Is Ann going too?" "Yeah that's why I'm picking her up. Or so she thinks." She flashed me another evil grin. "Lets get going." ***** During the first five minutes of the car ride, we talked about the weather, and how her job was going. I figured she wanted to ask me where I had been, but knew that I didn't wanna tell it twice. So I asked the big question on my mind. "What happened to Johnny?" "He left me for Kira." Kira was a friend of Ann's, a major slut. I knew something that Kerrie didn't know about Johnny and Kira, but I figured it wasn't going to do any good now, though it may have when it happened. It could have spared her from four years of pain. The night before Kerrie and Johnny got married, he slept with Kira. Oh well, she's better off without him. "God Kerbear, I'm so sorry. How are you handling it?" "Oh God, perfectly fine. I don't need him. I can raise my child just fine without him. He's an asshole." "I'm glad to hear you're not upset," I said, genuinely relieved, "So is Blondie a new love interest? What's that all about?" "Oh no, we're just friends. He's just too young for me." "That's insane. You're only 5 years older. I still know you, even though I haven't seen you for a while. You really like him but are afraid of what will happen. Especially since he's a big ass star. You two would be so cute together and if you don't nab him soon, you know I will!" I said smiling and trying to keep a straight face. "Yeah yeah, I know. I'll hurry up then." she replied half-heatedly. "Where's Bailey, by the way?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I hadn't seen Bailey yet. "Oh, he's with a friend for a few days. I'm picking him up in two days." she replied absentmindedly. I could tell that she was thinking about something else. "Oh, ok I just wanna see my little nephew." When we arrived at Ann's house, I waited in the car. I wanted to surprise her, so I sunk myself down in the back seat and put a cover over me. After Kerrie got on the freeway, I popped up from behind the seat. "Hey, hope you don't mind. I needed a ride." "AHHHH!!! WHO THE FUCK... Neal? Holy shit, Neal! Where the fuck did you come from? Oh I was so worried you little shithead!" Ann screamed at me. "You know me, I pop in and out of everyone's life." "Well, why don't you fill us in on why you popped out of school, home, and family? I'm dying to know." Ann said sarcastically. "Well sis, it goes like this..." I told them both the whole story. "Are you a fucking idiot? A fucking forty-year-old man. Are you stupid or something? Take the son of a bitch to court. Press charges. You have proof. You can send him away." Kerrie said, not hiding her irritation and rage. "No, I wanna use this as a fallback in case he presses charges against me for burning his FUCKING HOUSE DOWN!" I screamed laughing. Kerrie and Ann started laughing too. "You've got an interesting sense of revenge, kiddo. The best I could have thought of would have been to mow him over." Ann said laughing. "Well, I almost did!" We all started laughing again. I was so relieved that they weren't too overly judgmental of me. It felt good to be back around people who cared about me. The ride back lasted a lot shorter than the ride up. I think it was because we were laughing at everything wrong in our lives, and we were pushing 90 mph. I was finally happy. ***** Right around the corner from the house was a liquor store. We decided to drop in and get some provisions for tonight. "I am psyched to go to the concert." I said, looking at the hundreds bottles of alcohol. "Me too. Hey what about margaritas, daiquiris, and lots of Jack Daniels and some beer?" Kerrie asked. "Doesn't go too well together, but sounds good to me." I said. "Like you'll be drinking any of it kiddo," Ann said, "Two more years." "Yeah whatever." We got back to the house at about 5:30. The concert started at 7:30, and we had to leave at 7. We had front row tickets waiting at the concert hall. We had an hour and a half, so I decided that I would take an hour nap. I was tired as hell. Unfortunately, I really didn't sleep that well. I was running down the hall again, and the man in black was chasing me. This time I decided not to run away. I turned around to face him. "Fuck you." I said as he got close. He stopped running and removed the hood of the trench coat. It was Bill again. I closed my eyes, trying to wake up, and when I opened them again, he had a knife to a man's throat. I couldn't see the man's face, but Bill was smiling evilly, and not even looking at me. Then I realized whom he was holding. It was me. He sliced my throat from ear to ear, laughing maliciously all the while. And again I was lying in a pool of sweat. 'Jesus, will I ever get any real sleep?' I thought. I looked at the clock. It was 6:15. I decided to get ready now, so we can be sure to get there on time. I hopped in the shower, and put on my best looking clothes. I galloped downstairs, and could hear my sister's shower going. Ann was sitting on the couch, watching MTV. "How you doing Annie?" "I'm doin' pretty good, much better now that I know you're all right." "Well, I'm not going to be stupid again. Don't worry. I'm here to stay." "What are you going to do about college? You're too smart to just waste away here." "No, I'm not. I can go to college down here, get a job, and settle in. I can never go back home. You know that. They all hate me for what I am, and you know that I won't get any financial support. Can we not talk about this now? I really just wanna relax before the concert." "Yeah sure. Lay down, you look terribly tense." One thing I missed a whole lot was back-rubs. My sister was so good at it. I just relaxed, and let her try to rub my worries away. I must have fallen asleep, because before I knew it, I was getting woken up to go. "Let's get a move on here sleepy. We don't wanna be late, do we?" "Nope," I said rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "Can I get a drink for the road?" "Sure, we've got water and Pepsi." my sister said with a smile, knowing what I was really asking for. I went into the kitchen and checked to make sure my sister's weren't watching. I got the bottle of Jack Daniels, poured myself a shot, and downed it just as quickly. I grabbed a cup, dumped a beer into it, and ran out the door. Ann and Kerrie already had the car started, and were looking at me as if I made them late for the most important event of their lives. For all I knew, it could be true. ***** Thanks to my speed demon sister, we got to the concert 30 minutes early. We went to the booth and got our tickets, and found our seats. When we got into the concert hall, it was like we were the last ones there. It seemed like all of Florida came to this concert. Our chairs were the only ones not occupied. We were right in the front row. It was perfect. After about five minutes, the lights dimmed, and the music started. About halfway into the concert, the guys took a short intermission. "We can go back there if we want, Justin said that he would let the bodyguard know." Kerrie said. "Yeah! Let's go!" Ann and I replied simultaneously. "Wow, the super twins strike again. Let's go." Kerrie said with a sigh. "What's wrong? Not in the mood to see lover boy?" I asked. "I guess. It's just every time I see him I wanna..." "Rip his clothes off and mount him?" I interrupted. "Yeah, exactly!" she said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll restrain you." I said, putting my arm around her. "Yeah, but who's gonna restrain you?" Annie said, punching me in the arm. "Funny!" We walked back, and got passed the guard with little trouble. We walked up to the dressing room door, and I started to get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Ohhh, I'm nervous." I said. "No reason to be, they are all really nice guys. There shouldn't be anything to worry about." "I hope so." I opened the door very slowly. I almost passed out as we walked in. I think Ann and Kerrie almost did too. Justin had his shirt off, changing clothes. He had the body of a god. If the bottom half of him looked as good... No, I can't think about that, Kerrie's in love with him. "Hey, guys what's up?" Kerrie asked, once she recovered from seeing Justin. "Hey Kerbear, what's up? Who's your friend? A new love interest?" Joey asked. "Not quite," I said, "I think that's illegal in a whole lot of states. I'm Kerrie's brother..." I got cut off again, this time by Chris. "Neal!" "Yep, that's my name. Does everyone know it?" I asked smiling, "How u guys doing? Having fun?" "Yeah right," Lance said tiredly, "I could use about six hours of sleep right now." "Well..." Again, cut off. The door behind me opened, knocking me to the floor. Everyone was laughing their ass off. "Oh god, I'm sorry," the person who knocked me over said. "Are you ok?" "Yeah," I said getting up. When I turned around, I was very pleased at what I saw. I was looking into the eyes of the person I've had a huge crush on for the past year. "Sorry about that." JC said. "I'll recover." I managed to choke out. Again I was hit by the door, but this time I had enough sense to grab onto something. "Five minutes until you guys are back on, ok?" The guys all groaned loudly. "Good," the man at the door said as he was leaving. "I guess we should let you finish, see you all later," Kerrie said, as she pulled me out of the dressing room. "What was that all about?" Kerrie asked me after we left the dressing room. "Could you drool any more?" "Huh?" I asked, kind of disoriented. I was still recovering. "Well, be careful, he's taken." My heart sank. "By who?" "I'll tell you later, it's starting again." After the concert, Kerrie and Annie went backstage to say bye to the guys, and I went out to the car. I didn't feel much like talking. I always knew that I never had a chance with JC, but I thought that since everything had been going so good in my life that I was on a roll. Fate gets its way, though. I knew I had to accept it. Though I didn't see any harm in trying. We went home, and didn't say too much to each other, we were pretty tired. We dropped Annie off at her apartment, and started back for home. Maybe if I hadn't been dosing off I would have seen the headlights in time to warn Annie.