No strings attached, written by lulupower
Legal disclaimer: This story is purely fictionnal and I don't mean to imply anything about the sexuality of any of the celebrities mentionned below. Also, 'No strings attached' deals with homosexual topics so if you're not 18 or if you're offended by that, please leave now.
Author's note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay...I had what you call a huge writer's block. So I took a small break from my computer and after a few days I started to have new ideas, and here I am! I didn't recieve many e-mails for the last chapters...Was it that boring??? If you have ideas on something you'd like to happen in this story, e-mail it to me and I'll try to put it in 'No strings attached'. And by the way, if you'd like to ICQ me, my ICQ number is 54750542. I'd like to thank everyone that has been here since the beginning, especially Neal, who's been the greatest fan you could imagine. Also, if you haven't already, you should go read those:
- Brian and me - Studio in the country - Fixing the backstreet boys - Brian and Justin - My surprise romance - Because I love you - Open arms - ...
Now, on with the story.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The first month of the tour was just like the first day. JC was ready to kill about everyone, including Lance. That night (it was Friday), as always, the guys had a show. JC could not even say where in the world he was. All he knew was that he had to put on a costume and perform. He felt sick. His head was spinning. His heart was pounding in his chest. His legs were weak. All afternoon long, during rehearsals, he had tripped over his feets. Everyone knew something was going on, but since JC wouldn't talk to anyone, nobody knew what was up. The show had started at 8:30. The guys had opened the show with 'Bye bye bye', and Justin was singing 'You just hit me with the truth...' when JC fainted. None of the guys noticed before JC's part began and he didn't sing it. Lance looked in every direction, only to find JC laying on the floor in front of the drums. "Oh my God, somebody help us here!" Joey screamed. Lance kneeled besides JC, not saying a word, an expression of pure horror on his face. Someone ran on stage. The lights went on and the fans were told to go home. "Could somebody please take care of JC?" Chris yelled. Lance stared at JC with tears in his eyes. 'God, let him be okay...' he prayed silently. A tall man came, took JC in his arms and brought him backstage. Lance got up but Justin stopped him from following them. "Stay here Scoop." Justin said softly. "How can you tell me that? He's my fucking boyfriend! I have every damn right on earth to follow him!" Lance said, trying to get rid of Justin's grip. "He's right Lance, you have to stay here. They'll wake him up and then they'll check if everything's alright, then you can see him." Chris said. "Dammit guys! He may be dead by now and I can't even be with him! Get off me..." Lance said, breaking down into tears. Joey wrapped his arms around him. "He's not dead Lance. He fainted. Everyone does that once in a while. He'll be fine." Joey said softly. Lance wiped his tears and nodded. "God, aren't I overreacting...Sorry." He said. "It's okay to react like that Lance. He's your boyfriend. You love him. You care about him. We're all worried. But we have to wait for some..." Chris was interrupted by a small blonde woman walking over to them. "I'm sorry, which one of you is Scoop?" the lady asked. "That's me." Lance said. "Will you please follow me? Joshua has been asking for you." she said with a smile. Lance smiled too and followed her closely. They quiclky walked to the small area where JC was laying on a blanket, on the floor, surrounded by people. "Josh? Are you okay?" Lance asked worriedly, kneeling beside JC. "No, I'm not..." JC said, tears falling freely on his cheeks. "What's wrong?" Lance asked, his own eyes welling up with tears. "The doctor said it was a nervous breakdown..." JC said, closing his eyes. "What?" Lance asked. "Nervous breakdown. Burn-out." JC said. Lance leaned down and hugged him. "You'll be fine Josh. I promise you. You'll be fine." Lance whispered. "I have to take pills and stop everything for at least four months." JC said. "You know what? You're lucky. You can stay at home and watch TV and eat and do whatever you feel like for FOUR MONTHS!!!" Lance tried to cheer him up. "I'll be away from you James..." JC said, looking at Lance with his eyes red from crying. Lance sighed. "You know I'll come home whenever I can. And I'll call you everyday." Lance said, sounding confident. But inside, he wanted to break down and cry like a baby. JC left for Orlando on the first plane he could catch. When he got home, it was 6am. He immediately grabbed the phone and called Lance's cell phone number. After a few seconds, Lance answered. "Hello?" he said into the phone. "Hey baby. What's up?" JC said. "Josh! You just got home?" Lance asked. JC could tell he was smiling. "Yeah." he answered simply. "Okay. I called your mom and she asked to call her as soon as you get home. She's worried sick about you." Lance said. "I will. Where are you?" JC asked, taking off his coat. "I'm in Köln, Germany, just before an interview with a magazine." Lance said. "Oh. I'm not disturbing you, am I?" JC asked. "No, not at all." Lance said. He looked at his watch. He was definetly running late. 'oh well' he thought to himself 'they can wait!' "So, how was your flight?" Lance asked. "Lonely." JC sighed. "Oh, Josh. I'll be home with you for a whole weekend in nine days." Lance said. "I know. But I miss you like crazy already." JC said sadly. "I miss you too you know. But you're better home. You know it...Please, don't make it harder than it already is." Lance pleaded. "I'm sorry. You better get going now. I know you're probably late now." JC said softly. "I know. I'll call you after the interview. I love you, you know..." Lance said, closing the door of his hotel room and walking to the elevator where the others were waiting for him. "I love you too. Have a good afternoon." JC said. "Okay. Bye for now." Lance said, then he made a huge kissing noise. JC smiled. "Bye Lance." He said, then he hung up. Lance flipped shut his cell phone and got in the elevator with the others. "Was that JC? How is he?" Justin asked. "He seems tired, but he's fine I guess." Lance sighed. "He misses you already, doesn't he?" Joey asked softly. Lance nodded. "And you miss him like crazy too don't you?" Chris asked. Lance nodded again. Justin put his arm around Lance's neck. "You'll be fine. In five days, you'll be with him for a whole week!" he said. "Five days? A whole week?" Lance asked, puzzled. "Management didn't call you? They canceled all our belgium dates, so we have four more off days." Joey said. "We do?" Lance asked. "Yup!" Chris said. Lance grinned widely. "GREAT!!!" he said. He started whistling the song 'whistle while you work' from snow white, and Chris and Joey burted out laughing. The elevator doors slid open and the guys got out and were escorted to the limo: the rain was pouring down outside. "Beautiful day isn't it guys?" Lance said happily. "God Lance, stop it already! You're so sappy it's sickening." Justin said with disgust. "Shut up Just, he's just happy." Joey said with a smile. "Yeah, but not everyone is in a cheezy mode." Justin said. "You're just jealous because now your woman is with the Backstreet boys and you won't be able to see her during our break." Joey said. "Whatever..." Justin said with a sigh, staring at the window. "Don't worry Just, you know Nicky won't steal her away from you..." Chris teased him. "Shut up Chris. He misses her." Lance said. The rest of the ride went smoothly and soon, the guys were sitting on a couch with the interviewer, a tall dumb blonde with big...hair. grin "Okay guys, let's get started. My name is Verena by the way." the girl said, taking out a notepad where her questions were. "First question: When is the next album due out?" Verena asked. "Hmmm, well we just released 'No strings attached', so we haven't set any dates yet. But it's almost ready now. We finished laying down the vocals just before our break, so now we have to mix it up and all. So maybe for Christmas." Lance said. The interviewer asked them about twenty questions and they weren't too hard to answer or they were mostly 'already asked' question, so it went pretty smoothly. "Okay guys, this is the last questions. Lance, we heard that you went to live with JC during your break. Why? You didn't want to spend time with your family?" Verena asked. Lance opened his eyes wide. "How did you guys find out about that??? Oh well. Well I had to deal with family ummm...issues. No comments on that." Lance said. "Does it have anything to do with your buying an appartment with JC?" Verena asked. "Yes. I couldn't live with JC's family 'ad vitam aeternam' so I decided to get my own place, but living alone is ummm...very lonely, so JC moved in with me." Lance said. "Okay. So the rumors going on on the Internet about you and JC being a couple are not true?" Verena threw her last question with a smile. "JC and I are best of friends. I love him as much as I love the other guys, period. Anyway, what if he and I were a couple? Would it change anything about our music? I mean that's what we're about: music. But no, we're not a couple." Lance lied openly for the first time in his life. "Thank you for this interview guys." Verena said, standing up.None of the guys answered. She left the room and closed the door. Chris, Joey and Justin stared at Lance. "What? I had to say that. What did you guys want me to say?" Lance said. "You could have outed yourself." Justin said. "Are you crazy or something?" Lance asked. "But you lied openly to the fans..." Chris said. "I know. And I feel really bad for it...But I had to." Lance said, trying to convince himself that what he had done was right. "JC's not going to be happy when he sees that..." Joey spoke for the first time. Lance stared at the floor. "I know." He answered simply. The five days left before the guys' little vacation went by really fast, and on wednesday morning, without warning JC of his arrival, Lance unlocked the door of his appartment. "Josh? You home?" Lance called. He heard the shower running and smiled. He dropped his suitcase and took off his clothes, throwing them on the couch and keeping on only his boxers. He walked to the bathroom and opened the door. "Mom?" JC asked, peeking outside the shower. "Lance? Lance!" JC said happily and ran out of the shower. "You're home! What are you doing here?" JC asked, hugging Lance. "They canceled all our belgium dates so I'm home for a week already." Lance said, nuzzling JC's neck. JC smiled and grabbed Lance's face with both his hands. "I'm so happy to see you!" he said before kissing Lance square on the lips. Their tongues dueled for a while, tasting each other's mouth, before Lance pulled out for air. "God, we've only been apart for five days and I thought I was going to die. I don't wanna imagine what's it's gonna be like when we're apart for a month..." he said softly. "I will die if we ever have to be apart for a month. Ever since N'sync started, we've been together 24/7. I'm used to always be with you." JC said with a sigh. "Well now we've got a whole week together." Lance said with a sly smile. "Yep. And right now I'm wet and naked..." JC said, smiling too. "Ooohhh, I love these thoughts..." Lance said, taking off his boxers and following JC in the shower. The next morning, JC woke up to the smell of freshly baked pancakes, eggs, and bacon. He smiled and got up. He went to the bathroom, shaved, brushed his teeth and peed. Then he reluctantly took his pills and went to the kitchen. Lance was standing in front of the oven with a fork in his right hand and a glass of OJ in the left. JC wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and pressed his lips on Lance's neck. "Hey sexy..." JC said in a low voice. "Hey yourself. Did you sleep well?" Lance asked. "Yeah...You kinda wore me out before..." JC said with a sly smile. Lance smiled too and took a sip of his OJ. "Why are you cooking all this? Are we expecting someone?" JC asked. "Nope. It's for my boyfriend. He's supposed to be very weak and sick, so I want him to get well soon. So I already poured him a glass of orange juice, which is on the counter, and I made some eggs, pancakes, bacon, fruits and coffee for him so he can get healthier soon. And after breakfast, we're going to shop a little. What does the boyfriend think?" Lance asked. "The boyfriend thinks it's a great idea, as long as he gets his nap somewhere in the afternoon. Cuddled against you, of course." JC said, releasing Lance and taking his orange juice on the counter. He took a small sip, then he put it down again and started to dress the table. Just when he finished, Lance arrived with the plates so they sat down and began to eat. "It's great James. Thank you!" JC said with a smile. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Lance said, blushing slightly. They ate in slience for a few minutes, then JC cleared his throat. "I really missed you this week Lance. And I looked at your schedule for the next few weeks and your next break long enough to come home is in two months." JC said softly. "I know. I took a look at that too...But I think I'll ask management if it's possible for me to take a few breaks here and there. I don't think it would be possible for me to live two months without you. It's physically impossible." Lance said, looking down at his plate. "I know. Same here...Lance?" JC called softly. "Yeah?" Lance said, looking up. "I love you." JC said. Lance's heart melted. "I love you too Josh. More than you could ever know." Lance said. JC got up, soon followed by Lance, and they threw themselves in each other's arms. 'How did I manage to live without that?' Lance thought. That afternoon, they went shopping, as planned by Lance. They arrived at the mall with their hats, sunglasses and geek clothes and Lance decided that JC needed a new cologne. "Not that yours smells bad, but I think you've been wearing it for too long, I don't smell it anymore..." Lance said with a smile. JC nodded and followed Lance to the perfume shop. They smelled hundreds of perfumes, not knowing what to choose. The clerk, obviously noticing that, after an hour, they were still looking for the right cologne, decided to help them. "Gentlemen, do you need any help?" he asked with a thick brittish accent. "As a matter of fact, yes...My friend Joshua here is looking for a new cologne and we know nothing about that. Could you help us?" Lance asked with a smile. "Sure, that's what I'm here for. What was your previous cologne?" the man asked. JC told him. "Great. Are you looking for something very different? More masculine?" The man asked. "Well something that suits me well. I'm open to anything you'd suggest me." JC said. "I'd say 'Aqua DiGio for men' by Giorgio Armani." The man suggested, taking out a bottle. He sprayed some on a little paper and JC and Lance both smelled it. "Great! I like it! What do you think James?" JC asked with a smile, obviously relieved that the man had found something that easily. "I think that's the one." Lance said, smiling too. "Okay, then it's settled." JC said. "Are you going to buy only the cologne or the whole kit, which includes the perfume, the soap, the bubble bath, the anti-perspirant and the talc powder?" the man asked. "Hmmm, he'll take the kit." Lance said, taking out his wallet. "Oh no you don't mister. I'm buying this myself." JC said sternly. "Nope." Lance said, then he moved his lips to JC's ears. "It's our three months anniversary today." he whispered. JC's eyes flew open. "It is? God, I totally forgot!" JC said. "It's okay. But this kit is my treat." Lance said. "Well thank you..." Jc was interrupted by the ringing of Lance's cell phone. "Would you answer for me please? I have to pay." Lance asked, handing JC his cell phone. "Hello?" JC said into the phone after pressing the 'talk' button. "Hey Chris, what's up?...She WHAT?...Oh my God, how is he taking it?...He WHAT? Is he okay?...Shit, this is really bad!...They did? For how long?...Oh. Okay. I'll tell Lance... Yeah, he's with me. Tell Justin to call me ANYTIME. Okay. I will. Bye." JC said, hanging up. "What happened?" Lance asked as the clerc handed him his VISA card. "Thank you sir." Lance said with a smile, then returned his attention to JC. "Justin went to surprise Fatima during the break." JC started. "Isn't she on tour with the Backstreet Boys?" Lance asked. "Yeah, Justin went to Germany to see her. He went to her hotelroom and found her in bed with AJ." JC said. "Oh my God. How is Justin taking it?" Lance asked. "He tried to kill himself yesterday." JC said sadly, tears welling up in his eyes. "Oh. My. God. Is he alright?" Lance asked, worried sick about his friend. "Yeah, he's physically fine. He was about to jump off his balcony when Joey found him. He's a wreck now. Chris said he won't talk to anyone. Management stopped the tour until next saturday, which is 10 days from here. The guys are bringing Justin to Orlando tonight." JC said, heading towards the exit. "They stopped the tour for only 3 days more? That's bullshit. Poor Justin. I'm sure Lynn will be glad to tell him how she wasn't the right girl for him and all that stuff. You know how she hated Fatima..." Lance sighed, pushing the door open, leading them outside. "I know. Only because she is black. God, I hope Justin will be okay...One nervous breakdown in a group is more than enough. Damn buisness..." JC sighed as they approached Lance's car. They rode in silence to their appartment and once there, JC jumped on the phone and dialed Justin's cell phone number. "Hello?" a groggy voice answered. "Hey Just, it's JC." JC said into the phone. "Oh JC..." Justin said, breaking down into tears "Why did she do this to me? I loved her, and I trusted her and I thought she loved me too...she kept telling me how important I was to her and that we'd always be together and..." Justin stopped himself, unable to speak anymore. "Calm down Just. Did she try to explain herself?" JC asked. Meanwhile, Lance went to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, sighing. 'Oh God, I hope this shit never happens between me and Josh...' he thought, then he closed his eyes and slowly fell into a peaceful slumber. "Yeah, she did. She told me that she had been sleeping with AJ for about two months, and that I was nothing but a good fuck to her." Justin said with anger and sadness. "Oh poor Justin...Where are you right now?" JC asked. "On my way out of the plane. We just landed. Hmm JC? Could you pick me up? I don't feel like going home right now. I don't wanna see my mom." Justin asked softly, wiping his cheeks. "Yeah, sure. Give me twenty minutes and I'll be there. Usual pick up place?" JC asked. "Yeah. Thanks Josh." Justin said with a half smile. "Okay. I'll be right there. See ya in twenty!" JC said, hanging up. "Lance? James, where are you baby?" JC called. No answer. He went to the bedroom and opened the door. Lance was curled in a foetal position, sleeping peacefully. JC smiled and closed the door. He grabbed a notepad and a pen and started writing:
Hey Lansten,
I went to pick up Justin at the airport. I'll be back at about 3. I didn't want
to wake you up, you looked so cute there...If you have time, try to think of
something we could eat for dinner! Justin will probably stay over...
See you when I'm back,
Josh
He placed the paper on the fridge and grabbed his keys, then he was on his way to the airport. Since there wasn't much traffic, it didn't take him a long time to get there and soon, he was parked and walking to the door where Justin was waiting for him. When he caught sight of his best friend, JC's jaw almost hit the floor. Justin's face was pale. His eyes were swollen red from crying too much and he had huge bags under his eyes. His hair was all messed up and his clothes were wrinkled. He looked awful. When Justin saw JC, he stood up and ran into JC's open arms and cried on his shoulder. "It hurts JC...It hurts so bad..." he whimpered. "I know..." JC said, slowly rocking Justin back and forth. Then he stopped. "Let's get out of here before we get noticed. Come on." JC said to his friend. Justin released his grip on JC and followed him to his car. "Josh? Have you ever cheated on Lance?" Justin asked once they were on their way to JC and Lance's place. JC threw Justin a funny look. "We've only been together for a few months. Why would I cheat on him?" JC asked. "I don't know. I was just wondering. Have you ever thought about it? If you had an offer, would you do it?" Justin asked. "No... I wouldn't do anything to hurt him." JC said softly. Justin sighed. "And how can you know he'll never cheat on you?" Justin asked. "That's what you call trust Just. Lance never did anything wrong, so I've always trusted him." JC said, parking his car. Justin sighed again. "I will never trust anybody again." he said. "Not even me?" JC asked, surprised. Justin didn't answer. He walked slowly to the entrance of the building and towards JC's appartment. Lance was waiting for them, sitten on the couch and watching television. "Hey Just." Lance said when they came in. He got up and wrapped his arms around Justin. "You okay?" he asked softly. "As okay as one can be when he just got dumped by his girlfriend." Justin said sadly. Lance sighed. "I swear to God Lance, if you ever do that to JC I'll kill you. And same goes to you JC. If you ever cheat on Lance, I'll kill you. It hurts too much." Justin said with anger, sitting down on the couch. "Don't worry Justin, you won't have to kill me anytime soon. I'm not planning on cheating on JC." Lance said. "Hmm yeah...same here..." JC said with an unsure voice and a shaky smile. Justin frowned. "I wish AJ was dead." he said softly. "Don't say that Just, it might happen." Lance warned him. Justin turned on the TV and started to flip through the channels. He stopped on 'Global' to watch the news. "... happened in Germany today. Backstreet boy AJ McLean and his choreographer Fatima Robinson were driving back to their hotel after going to a club and they were hit by a ten-wheels truck. The truck driver had had too much to drink. Both victims are currently in intensive care and the doctors say that AJ doesn't have many chances to live more than two days. Our reporter went to Ger..." the lady was interrupted by Justin who flipped off the TV.
TO BE CONTINUED
There ya go folks! What did you think? Don't forget to e-mail me with comments, questions, suggestions, anything!!! 'til next time...Bye bye bye!