Now or Never by Robin Smithson
Disclaimer: If you are underage, please go somewhere else. If you are committing any crimes by reading this piece of fiction, please go somewhere else. Like I just said, this is a piece of fiction. I don't know `N Sync or have any knowledge of their sexual preference.
Hey all! After Monday I will not be able to put out chapters of Now or Never on a regular basis. Don't worry, they will still be posted, just not every other couple of days. Sorry about this, but there's nothing I can do.
Thank you so much to all of you that have emailed me. The emails make my day, y'all have no idea! Keep the comments and suggestions coming! nsajscgirl@yahoo.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previously on Now or Never:
"What's going on?" Lance asked softy as he took in Chris's tear-streaked face and JC's worried profile. JC acknowledge Lance's presence by turning slightly to his right and nodding. Lance returned the nod and continued to stare at Chris. "What happened Chris?" Lance asked, taking a step toward his friend, ready to administer comfort if Chris needed it. Chris's next words stopped Lance in his tracks.
"I...I think...I...I...k...killed Joe!"
And now Chapter 4 of Now or Never
"Wh...what?!" JC shouted at Chris's tearful confession. Lance stood still in shock. `What did Chris just say?" Lance asked himself.
"I...I think...I killed Joe! It...it started off as just a...a joke, b...but it went too far and...and," Chris's rambling became incoherent as he sank to the floor in a heap. Both Lance and JC moved simultaneously towards their sobbing friend. JC's lanky limbs carried him to Chris before Lance and he knelt beside the older man. His laid his hand on Chris's back to find Chris shaking like a leaf in the wind.
"Chris, please calm down. We can't help you or Joe if you don't calm down," JC said softly as he rubbed his hand up and down Chris's back. Lance looked on in concern, giving Chris his space. JC's rhythmic ministrations allowed Chris to gather himself enough to continue his explanation.
"We spent most of last night at a club. Joe and I got pretty plastered...and...we were just hanging out. I was so drunk," Chris managed to say fairly calmly. JC nodded understandingly even though Chris was still on his knees staring at the floor. "I thought it would be funny to slip Joey some roofies, just to see what he would do. I...I had a whole bottle of the stuff and when...when he went to the bathroom, I...I dumped the whole thing into his drink sitting on the table. It took a minute for it to dissolve but it was gone by the time Joey got back. We were both totally wasted! After about twenty minutes, he started acting really funny. I thought it was hysterical, but he...he passed out ten minutes later and I...I couldn't wake...wake him up! I didn't know what to do, so I put him in the car. It...it was just a j...joke!" Chris stuttered hysterically. JC stopped rubbing Chris's back and looked at him with disbelief.
"You did WHAT?" JC shouted, standing up quickly. "Where is Joey now?" he questioned. When Chris didn't reply fast enough, JC bent down and grabbed Chris's shirt, hauling him up. "DAMMIT CHRIS! WHERE IS JOEY NOW?!" Chris started sobbing once more and mumbled something too low for JC to here. "WHAT?!"
"He's in the car," Chris said a moment later after being shaken by JC.
"Dammit Chris! You should have taken him to the hospital! You've gone too damn far this time! All your little pranks and shit! God dammit Chris!" JC said furiously as he searched the living room for his shoes, not bothering to comfort Chris anymore.
Lance had already made his way outside to the fourth car parked in the driveway. Joey's slumped figure took up the passenger seat. More emotions than he had ever experienced at one time rushed through his mind. Fear and worry were at the top of the list as he jerked open the door and knelt there beside Joey's inert form.
"Joe..." Lance said softly, an incredible amount of relief washing over him as he noticed Joey's uneven breathing. It was uneven, but at least he was breathing. Lance reached out to grab Joey's hand and was alarmed at the clamminess of his pale skin. JC had joined Lance beside the car and watched worriedly as he friend checked Joey.
"Should I call an ambulance, Lance?" JC asked, ready to sprint back into the house if needed.
"He really needs to get to the hospital. It would be a lot faster for one of us to drive him there, since he's in a car anyway," Lance pointed out. The rational, calm side of his personality quickly took forefront as he kept the situation in check. "You go back inside, wake up Justin, and calm Chris down. He won't be any good to us if he keeps freaking out, okay?" Lance requested of JC as he slammed the car door and ran around to the driver's side. "I'm taking him to Brent Memorial. You know how to get there right?" At JC's mute nod, Lance pulled open the driver's door and fell into the driver's seat. The keys were still in the ignition, in fact, Chris hadn't even bothered to turn the car off. "I'll see y'all there!" Lance said through the open window as he slammed the car into reverse and stepped on the gas pedal. He ripped out of the driveway, narrowly avoiding his mailbox and coming to a bone-jarring halt only to throw the car into drive and squeal out of the neighborhood. Joey's limp body was flopping around in the seat, his seatbelt the only thing preventing him from flying through the windshield at Lance's erratic driving.
A drive that would have usually taken thirty minutes was cut down to fifteen as Lance sped through the streets of Orlando. It was nothing short of a miracle that he wasn't pulled over, but he would later comment that the Lord had been watching over them. Tires screeched on pavement as Lance came to a sliding halt in front of the local hospital's emergency doors. Lance quickly pulled himself out of the car and rushed to Joey's side only to find a group of nurses and doctors already there. They had evidently witnessed his arrival. It was then that the questions started, "What happened?", "What's this young man's name?" Lance answered most of the questions with short, quick answers, only telling the doctors and nurses what they needed to know.
"His name is Joseph Fatone. He's twenty-three years old. I think he took too much of some sort of drug. Dammit, what was it Chris called them? I should have asked Chris what it was before I left!" Lance mumbled this last statement to himself. He simply didn't think about it at the time, he was in too great a rush. The doctors and nurses bustled around him, pulling Joey out of the car and onto a gurney that had been wheeled outside. He followed the group without thinking and was pushed away by a busy nurse just as Joey was wheeled through a set of swinging doors marked "EMERGENCY, NO ADMITTANCE". Lance's last view of Joey would stand out in the young man's mind for the rest of his life. Joey's face was deathly pale, his goatee and dark hair standing out in sharp contrast. Lance shuddered as Joey was taken away from him and a sympathetic nurse led him towards the waiting room.
Meanwhile, back at Lance's house
JC stalked back towards the house and brushed past Chris who still stood in the doorway. His focus at that point was to wake Justin up and get dressed. He was too angry at that point to deal with Chris rationally. JC marched into the guest bedroom to find it completely empty. He shook himself slightly as he remembered what he had discovered last night. Justin was in Lance's room; they had slept in the same bed. JC turned on his heel and made his way to Lance's room. He pushed open the door and moved quickly to the bed. Justin was still sound asleep. `How in the world?' JC asked himself as he leaned down to shake Justin's shoulder. The young man's response was to simply roll over, snuggling his face deeper into the pillow.
"Justin, Justin, wake up!" JC said loudly. Justin moaned again and mumbled Lance's name. If JC hadn't been worried about Joey he would have grinned, but as it was he shook Justin harder. "JUSTIN! WAKE UP!" he shouted. Justin popped straight up in bed, his face merely inches from JC's. His eyes widened as he stared into JC's eyes. Confusion struck him as he tore his glance from JC's to take in his surroundings. `This is Lance's room,' Justin thought before he remembered the events of last night. He gasped loudly realizing that JC shouldn't be there in Lance's room.
"Wh...how...I mean, um," Justin muttered as he tried to find the right words to explain his presence in Lance's bed.
"Justin, we've got to go. Something happened to Joey. I'll tell you all about it later, but you've gotta get dressed, okay?" JC urged the younger boy, not bothering to let him explain.
"Wh...what do you mean? What happened to Joey?" Justin asked in confusion.
"I said I'd tell you later, just get dressed," JC stated before turning around and leaving the room. Justin stared after him for a minute before jumping out of the bed and running into the guestroom to grab the clothes he had worn last night. He found them where he had left them, folded in a chair, and he dressed in no time flat. He had sensed JC's urgency although he didn't understand the reason behind it. Justin raced down the hallway to find JC pacing in the living room, completely dressed. It took Justin a moment to recognize the slumped figure taking up a small corner of the couch, but once he did, he immediately moved to Chris's side.
"What's happened?" Justin asked almost frantically as Chris moved to grab Justin in a hug. Justin noted that Chris was shaking and his fear started to grow. It started off as a little knot in his stomach and quickly grew into a large lump in his throat.
"I'll explain on the way to the hospital," JC said sharply before heading towards the door, not waiting for his friends to catch up. Justin sat for a moment in shock before letting go of Chris and jumping up to follow JC.
"What do you mean the hospital!? What happened?" Justin shouted after Josh before standing up and moving towards the door as well.
"Why don't you ask Chris!" JC shouted back as he strode out the front door towards his Jeep. Justin didn't understand what was going on, but he made a quick decision to bring Chris with him outside to JC's Jeep. He walked back to the couch and leaned down to pull on Chris's arm. Chris was unresponsive and Justin had to pull with all of his strength to pull his devastated friend to his feet. Justin was becoming real scared, real fast. He pulled Chris along behind him, stopping for a moment to close the front door before continuing to JC's ride. The roar of the Jeep's engine pushed Justin to move Chris along faster and he shoved the older boy into the back of the vehicle just in time as JC reversed and exited the driveway. Josh had left the top down last night and the howl of the wind prevented anymore conversation as JC sped towards the hospital.
Justin recalled JC's cryptic words and a fresh surge of fear washed over him. `What the hell had happened to Joey?!' He glanced at JC's profile to find the older singer's face set in a stern mask. It wasn't until then that Justin remembered Lance. His expression turned frantic as he remembered his lover.
"JOSH!!!!" Justin yelled above the howl of the wind. JC was pulled from his thoughts as Justin hollered his name. He looked quizzically at the younger boy. "WHERE'S LANCE?!" JC recognized Justin's concern and sought to give him one small comfort.
"HE TOOK JOE TO THE HOSPITAL!" he yelled back. Justin nodded in understand and sat back in the passenger seat willing himself to be patient. A few times he looked into the back of the Jeep to check on Chris who was staring at the passing scenery, totally unaware of what was happening around him.
Just as Lance had earlier, JC broke several laws getting to the hospital but his entrance wasn't nearly as extravagant. He quickly pulled into the visitor parking area and turned off the Jeep. Without pausing for his friends, he opened his door and jumped to the pavement. He ran straight to the emergency room doors and disappeared inside the hospital. Justin had barely even managed to get his seatbelt off before JC vanished beyond the emergency room doors. He sighed quickly and pulled himself out of the Jeep, only remembering Chris as he started to walk away. He turned to look back at the Jeep to find Chris sitting there staring off into space.
"Chris.CHRIS!" Justin shouted causing Chris to jump as he heard his name being called. Chris nodded to Justin and wearily pulled himself out of the vehicle. His knees gave out once his feet touched the pavement and Justin moved quickly to catch his friend. Justin groaned under the added burden of his friend's weight and he half-carried, half-pulled Chris towards the hospital doors.
Once inside, the hustle and bustle of the emergency room was enough to make Justin dizzy. He searched with his eyes for Lance or JC in vain. Neither one of them was present near the doorway to the emergency room. A sign reading, "Waiting room", caught his wandering eyes. An arrow pointing to the left was prominent under the words so Justin heaved Chris closer to his body and followed the sign. Justin entered the waiting room and spotted Lance's blonde-tipped spikes before noticing anything else. He immediately dropped Chris in one of the available chairs and moved to Lance's side.
"Lance?" Justin asked as he gently touched the older boy's elbow to indicate his presence. Lance's dull green eyes lit up at the sound of Justin's voice and gentle touch. Without hesitation Lance turned to face Justin and pulled him into a hug. Lance settled his face in the crook of Justin's shoulder just as he had dreamed about last night, but he had never wanted it to happen under these circumstances. Tears began to sting at the back of his eyelids. Justin exhaled loudly as he pulled Lance even closer. He didn't know what was going on with Joey, but somehow all of his worries disappeared the moment Lance's arms closed around his body. JC cleared his throat softly, hoping to gain his friends' attention. Lance reluctantly pulled himself from Justin's embrace. He didn't want JC thinking that something was going on between himself and Justin. That was the last thing the group needed to deal with at the moment. The instant Lance's arms released Justin the young singer remembered why they were there, although he didn't understand why.
"Okay, I think it's about time someone tells me what happened," Justin stated before lowering himself into one of the empty chairs that lined the wall. Lance swiftly glanced at JC, he had thought that JC was going to tell Justin. JC simply shook his head in a silent reply and Lance sighed heavily. He then looked at Chris, but it was obvious that he would be now help. The oldest member of the group sat in the chair Justin had deposited him in, tears streaming silently down his face. Lance moved to take the seat next to Justin, he would be the one to take on on the responsiblity of telling Justin. He quickly filled Justin in, telling him everything Chris had told him and JC earlier. Several different emotions flickered in Justin's blue eyes before settling on anger. Justin whipped his head around to look at the eldest member of `N Sync.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Justin nearly shouted. He stood up and placed himself directly in front of Chris. Reaching down, he grabbed Chris's chin, forcing him to look up at the furious young man. Chris flinched as his eyes met Justin's. There was so much anger there and it was directed at him.
"Ummm, excuse me," a small voice sounded from the doorway to the waiting room. Justin stiffened and immediately let go of Chris as he looked down into the small face of a young child. The little girl sat in an electric wheel chair and she was swathed in blankets. "Are...are you `N Sync?" she asked timidly. Justin suddenly became aware of how public this small room was as he continued to stare at the young girl. Lance was the first person to reply and he answered the girl quickly. "Yes, we are. Do you want an autograph?" Lance asked softly, getting up and walking towards her. Her eyes widened in awe as Lance approached and knelt beside her wheel chair. He knew that whatever they said and did in the room would become public knowledge and he didn't want to push this young fan away. His reaction was based on a calm logic that none of the other guy's possessed at that moment. He pulled a pen and a piece of paper out of his pockets and quickly scribbled his name on a piece of paper before standing up. Without bothering to get the other guys' autographs, he asked her if he could push her to her room and she quickly agreed. It didn't matter to her that she only got Lance's autograph, he was her favorite anyway. After settling her in her room, he returned to the waiting room only to find JC and Justin talking with a young woman dressed in scrubs.
"... not out of the clear. I understand that you would rather keep this matter quiet and I'm going to provide a private waiting room for your group. There is one problem, however. The drug we found in Mr. Fatone's system is illegal in the United States and I will be forced to report this to the police. I will make sure they understand that you don't want this made public, but I'm afraid I still have to contact them." She looked at JC sternly and he nodded his understanding. Lance started to speak to ask her to repeat herself when he caught Justin's eye. Justin shook his head, indicating that Lance should remain quiet. "Okay, then, if you gentlemen will follow me, I'll show you to your waiting room," she said before turning on her heel and walking out the door. JC and Justin followed right behind her leaving Lance and Chris in the room. Lance looked at Chris and sighed. He was still out of it, staring off into space. `Maybe once we're in the waiting room we can get this whole thing cleared up,' Lance thought to himself as he reached down and grabbed Chris's arm gently. He escorted Chris out of the room and caught up to his friends. TBC? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, I don't know about this chapter. Sometimes I felt like I was rambling and sometimes I felt like I had no idea what I was typing. Let me know what y'all think about this chapter, even if it sucked, okay? I had to do a little research on the drug stuff. The drug Chris used is called rohypnol, better know as the "date rape drug." Its symptoms seemed to fit pretty closely to what Joey experienced and it is a common drug found in Florida through illegal smuggling from Columbia. Now the question is, "What was Chris doing with it in the first place?" Please everyone, write me and let me know what you think! nsajscgirl@yahoo.com Robin :)