Disclaimer: I don't know anybody from N Sync, though I'd sure like to, and thus this story is fiction and is not intended to imply anything about the true sexuality of the celebrities mentioned or any personal knowledge about their private lives. This story should not be read by anybody who is not legally allowed to read it.. So if you're underage, leave right now!!
Author's Notes: Well, another chapter of Never Guess is in. I don't have much to say this time. I'm slowing down a bit, as you might have guessed. I'll probably get out a chapter every other day, but that's not a guarantee. Cause 1 chapter a day pretty much takes up a goodly portion of the day, and I have other things i need to do. And if I continue rushing it out, the quality of my work will go downhill. The chapters may be slightly longer, but I'm not making any promises. If you have any comments or suggestions, e-mail at THRAWN5678@aol.com. If you want to be notified of when each new chapter is sent in, just tell me and I'll add you to the Never Guess Mailing List. If you want to chat, I'm around. Just ask me, and I'll give you my MSN name, or my ICQ numbers. I think my AIM name is pretty darn obvious.
I want to thank everybody for their support. My fellow authors, who have offered their thoughts about my story, and about being a Nifty author in general. My loyal readers who have sent me e-mail telling me how they felt about my story. A special thanks to a few readers/authors who have sent me encouraging e-mail and instant messages each chapter. Jeremy, Ryan, Charlie, and others. Thank you all!!
The selections for the Squall Thrawn Book Club (much better than Oprah's) Jamie's Romance (a great Justin story) Millenium Love (a Brian Littrell story) My Surprise Romance (a Lance story) My New Life (a Lance story) Lance in Shining Armour (umm, a Lance story?) Lance's Story (a Lance/JC story and a spinoff of Jamie's Romance) Twist of Fate (a Lance story) Nick and Ashley (a Nick Carter/Ashley from O-Town story by ND) and many more!! But I can't remember the names of them...I'll put them down as I remember them...
You'll Never Guess Who Ran Into Me Today by Squall Thrawn
Previously on Never Guess...
"OH, SHIT!!!" yelled Ryan. He covered his face with his hands.
"What, Ryan? What is it?" asked Lance, concerned.
"My car!!!"
"What about it?! Calm down, Ryan!! Take a deep breath, and tell us," said Lance.
Ryan took a deep breath. "Ok. When I walked off my job at Wal-mart, I drove around until I ran about out of gas. I parked in a Metrolink lot, and hopped on the Metrolink. I have no idea where my car is, and it has all of my stuff that I took from home!! Not to mention the fact that its all I really have left."
"Ok, don't panic. Do you remember which Metrolink stop you left your car at?" asked JC.
"I was in a daze! I just remember walking and walking..." said Ryan.
"Check your wallet, Ryan," said Lance. "When I buy a ticket and then use it, I usually put the stub in my wallet. It's almost a habit for me to do so. If you did that too, maybe the ticket will say where your bought it from, and thus which stop your car is at."
Ryan fished his wallet out of his pocket, and opened it.
"Yes!! Here it is!!" Ryan handed the ticket to Lance. Lance glanced at the ticket.
"It says here that you left the Wellston Metrolink stop."
By then, the guys had reached the Metrolink station.
"Let's see here," said Lance, consulting a map of the Metrolink system. "According to this map, we go Westbound, and get off at the seventh stop. That should be where Ryan's car is. The Adam's Mark is East one stop, so you can either walk back, or ride there."
"Don't you mean 'we', Scoop?" questioned Justin.
"No, I'm going with Ryan," said Lance.
"You don't have to, Lance," said Ryan, still believing that Lance hated him.
"I insist. Besides, you don't know how to get to the Adam's Mark from the Metrolink stop, and you won't be able to get past security without one of us along or something like that. Hey, guys, we'll meet you back here. I'll call you on my cell phone when we get to Ryan's car."
"Alright," said JC. "You'd better make sure that you watch Scoop, Ryan. Cause we can't afford to lose our bass singer."
"Well, I sing bass," said Ryan. "And I know all of your songs."
"Hey!!" said Lance. "Anyway, we need to go now, Ryan, before we miss the Metrolink. See you all later!!"
He and Lance bought tickets, and then boarded the westbound Metro.
Chapter 10
Lance and Ryan sat in silence as the Metrolink rumbled along towards its stops. Ryan's mind was a blur of thoughts, worrying about his car, worrying about his 'ruined' friendship with Lance, his current situation in general. Lance, on the other hand, was thinking solely of Ryan. And how to prove that he didn't hate Ryan.
"Next stop, Wellston Station," said the loudspeaker in the Metrolink.
"This is our stop, Ryan," said Lance, standing up. Ryan didn't react, still staring out the window lost in thought. "Ryan," said Lance. He shook Ryan's shoulder.
"Wha?" said Ryan, startled.
"We're there," said Lance. "We need to get ready."
"Alright," said Ryan. "Umm, Lance?"
"Yes, Ryan?"
"Umm.. Thanks for coming with me..."
"It's no problem, Ryan," said Lance reassuringly.
The Metro stopped, and the doors opened. "Attention, we have stopped at the Wellston stop." Along with a few other passengers, Lance and Ryan got out of the Metro. They headed out of the Metrolink station, and went to the parking lot.
"What color's your car, Ryan?" asked Lance. "And what make is it?"
"It's a satin black '97 Ford Escort," said Ryan, scanning the parking lot.
"Do you have an idea of where you parked it?" asked Lance, looking around as well.
"Not a clue. I'm surprised I even had the presence of mind to use the Metrolink. But I was running low on fuel, and I pulled into this parking lot. I hopped on the Metrolink, and rode for a while." Ryan continued looking around. Suddenly, Ryan shouted. "Oh, fuck!!" He ran over to his car. A St. Louis County police car was parked next to it. The officer was standing to the side, writing something.
"Officer!!" yelled Ryan. The police officer turned to Ryan. The cop looked very stern. "Officer, that's my car!!"
"Sir, you are aware that there is a time limit as to how long you can park here?"
"Yes, officer, I know. When I parked here, I wasn't even thinking about that. I was... dealing with some personal problems, and was lost in thought. My friend James here helped me out, and I came back here as soon as I realized that I had left my car here."
"Well, son, I'm supposed to have this vehicle towed. That's the law, you know. You'll have to call your parents or something if you can't afford the impoundment fee."
The stress of it all was too much. His last worldly possession was being towed away, and he didn't have the money to get it back. Ryan burst out sobbing.
Lance immediately ran over to Ryan, and put his arms around Ryan. "It's ok, Ryan. I'll try to figure this out." Then Lance looked the officer in the eye. "Officer, could you be lenient just this once? If you were in the same situation he's in right now, you probably would have done something like this too. In the past 24 hours, Ryan has been through hell. His best friend in the world declared his undying hatred for Ryan, Ryan's parents kicked him out of the house, he was driven out of work by some redneck bigots. He even almost got hit by a car last night. And then you want to tow away his car, which is all he has left? Please, let him go just once."
"Well, I am supposed to uphold the law," said the officer. "However, I haven't called it in yet. So I suppose I could let you leave with it, and say that you moved it just before I was going to give you a ticket."
"Oh, thank you so much, officer!!" said Lance. "We really appreciate it."
"Yes, thank you very much," said Ryan, wiping his eyes.
"On one condition, however," said the officer. "You'll have to sign two autographs for me, Mr. Bass."
"Alright," said Lance. "I had thought that you hadn't recognized me."
"I've taken my daughters to one of your concerts, Mr. Bass. I would be in big trouble if I didn't recognize you," said the officer with a slight smile. "Here's a notepad. My daughters' names are Alyssa and Becky."
Lance took the notepad, and wrote "To Alyssa, Thanx for supporting us, Love, Lance." He then turned the page. "To Becky, You're our greatest fan! Love, Lance."
"Thank you, Mr. Bass," said the officer. "And might I add that I'm surprised that you weren't trying to capitalize on your popularity to let you off. Too many celebrities do that. I probably would have had this car towed if you'd tried to pull that one."
The officer walked towards his car, and then turned around. "Good luck, Ryan. You've got quite a friend here. Don't worry though. Not everybody feels the same way as your friend and parents do."
Ryan's jaw dropped. "You mean, you know?"
"My kid brother is gay too," said the officer. "He came out to our parents a few years ago. They kicked him out of the house, and I let him stay with me and my wife. Eventually, my parents got over it. It'll work out alright in the end, trust me. Good luck, Ryan." The officer got in his cruiser and drove away.
"Wow," said Ryan. "I can't believe he let us go."
"Yeah," said Lance. "Who would have thought? He looked pretty grumpy to me."
"Well, let's go, Lance," said Ryan. He got out his keys, and opened the door. He got in the car, and hit the door unlock button, letting Lance in. "Next stop, the Adam's Mark hotel," said Ryan starting to put the key in the ignition.
"Wait, Ryan," said Lance, putting his hand on Ryan's hand, the one with the key in it. "We need to straighten something out first."
"What do you mean, Lance?"
"What happened at the Arch," said Lance. Ryan looked down. Lance took his hand and used it to raise up Ryan's chin. Suddenly, the same feeling took hold of him that had prompted him at the Arch. Leaning forward, Lance kissed Ryan on the lips.
What's going to happen now? RAFO!! Tell me what you think!!
Squall Thrawn THRAWN5678@aol.com