Disclaimer: Having only recently come to terms with my own sexuality (I'm Bi!), this is a first attempt on my behalf to write a story of this nature. I must however state that I do not know anybody's sexual preferences in REALITY, however, in this little fiction world of mine, they are what I choose them to be. There will be some inconsistencies that will be fixed over time, so bear with me. Okay, here goes.
Duh: I forgot to mention it before, but I will now. If you are not at least 18 (or 21 where needed) and are offended by homosexual situations/actions, why the heck are you here?
Reminder: Lance's thoughts are in greater than, less than arrows <,> and Joey's are in regular brackets []. Thanx and enjoy!
In the previous chapter:
Having just finished a concert, the guys of N'Sync return to their hotel and go to their rooms. Justin gets a surprise visit from Britney. Lance finally comes to terms with his sexuality and is depressed over this. Joey gets him to tell him and that's where it ended.
Chapter Two
Lance felt like an idiot, thinking that Joey would hate him for his sexuality. He should have known his friend better than that. It didn't matter anymore though; Lance was happy just sitting there in Joey's arms. Joey had a million things running through his mind at once, so he decided to get some things figured out. Pushing Lance to a sitting up position he started talking.
"You alright now, Scoop?" Joey asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Lance sniffled out, "Thank you Joey."
"Umm...you're thanking me...because?"
"You took it so well, I was afraid of..."
"Afraid of what?" Joey asked, genuinely curious.
"I honestly don't know," Lance said, cracking a smile, "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"
"Most definitely," Joey replied, "So...when did you know for sure?"
"Probably a month or two ago," Lance stated calmly, "I had been struggling with it for a while, trying to figure out what the deal was."
Joey looked into Lance's eyes at that moment and saw something that had not been there a few moments earlier. It was a look of adoration. [Woah...umm...okay...this is a little weird right now, I think we had better get some sleep.]
"I know you probably want to talk some more, but we really should get some sleep, considering we have to be at the airport in the morning by 10:30 and its almost 3am," Joey said, getting up from the bed.
"Yeah, you're right," Lance agreed, stealing a glance at Joey's superman covered ass before he realized it. "So you are sure that you are absolutely okay with it?"
"Scoop, I am fine with it okay? It might take me a while to get used to it, but I'm fine with it," Joey said, slipping under the covers of his bed. "When are you planning on telling the guys?"
"I....dunno," Lance said, once again realizing that he would have to tell the guys soon.
"Well, I'll keep my trap shut until you want to tell them, okay?" Joey replied sincerely.
"Thanks Joey, I guess I will see you in the morning, G'nite Joey."
"G'nite Scoop."
Meanwhile In Justin's Room
Justin showers quickly. He dries off pretty fast and walks into his room wearing only the towel around his waist. As he walks into his room, he sees Britney laying on his bed...she was asleep. Justin thinks about waking her for a minute, then he decides not to. He slips on a pair of boxers and lies down next to her on the bed. She instinctively starts backs up on Justin's body. He wraps his arms around her and falls asleep.
Next Morning
Chris wakes up, looks at the clock and realizes that he needs to get up. Its almost 7:00 and he knows how long it takes to get the others up. The first person to wake up would be his roommate, JC. That is a job in itself. He looks over and sees JC sleeping peacefully and a wicked grin spreads across his face. He walks over to the foot of JCs bed and jumps on it and continues to do so while screaming "EARTHQUAKE!" at the top of his lungs. JC, hearing "EARTHQUAKE!" just about has a heart attack until he realizes that Chris is just jumping on his bed.
"You asshole!" JC yells, while bashing Chris in the gut with a pillow.
"Oooh, that really hurt JC," Chris replies with mock injury, "It is time to get up sleepy head, its already 7 o'clock and we gotta get breakfast up hear and wake the others."
"Okay ok, fine," JC says, "I'll call room service and get them to send up some breakfast, you call everybody on your cell and get them up, alright?"
"Sounds kewl to me," Chris replies, jumping off the bed and reaching for his cell phone.
JC reaches over to the phone and dials the front desk. "Yeah, umm..can you send up some breakfast...umm...eggs...bacon...French toast...cereal...yeah, thanks. Breakfast is on its way. I'm gonna get a fast shower, since someone insisted on using all the hot water last night."
"Yeah yeah yeah, not my fault." Chris jumps to his own defense as he is dialing. A few rings later and he hears Lance's tired voice "uhh..helloo?"
"Lance, get your but up dude, its 7 am, breakfast in our room in about 15 minutes, alright?" Chris responds.
"Yeah, okay, sure dude, see ya in a few," Lance replies.
Chris hangs up and starts dialing Justin's number. Somebody finally picked up after a few rings and it wasn't Justin that answered, it was a girl's voice.
"Hello?" the voice said.
"Yeah..." Taking Chris a few minutes to realize who it is, "Brit?"
"Yeah, its me, who is this?" Brit asks.
"Its Chris, listen, if you two lovebirds aren't up to anything, we're having breakfast in about 15 minutes in my room, k?"
"Okay, I'll wake Justin, thanks, see you in a few," Brit replies.
Fifteen minutes seem to last forever, Chris starts getting dressed and there is a knock on his door. It was Joey and Lance, both of them looked like hell.
"Geesh, didn't ya'll get any sleep last night?" Chris asked, genuinely concerned.
"A little..." Joey replied as he stretched and yawned rather loudly.
"Yeah, why'd you wake us up so early man? We could've slept for at least another hour or so." Lance states.
"Dude, the way it takes all of ya'll to get packed, if I would have waited any longer, we would've had to take a flight tomorrow!" Chris giggles.
Lance and Joey look at each other and wink. Chris, realizing what is going on tries to get away, but to no avail. Joey and Lance both grab a hold of him and start tickling him. They are going at it for a few minutes when JC walks back in the room, wondering what is going on.
"Umm..hello? Mind telling me what the deal is?" JC asks.
Lance replied, "Nothing much, ding-butt just needed a lesson, that's all." Lance and Joey both get off Chris and high five each other. Chris, a little distraught at the fact he was thoroughly dooped, states, in a matter of fact way, "Well, all I can say is that payback is a Bitch."
There's another knock at the door. JC goes to answer it and Brit and Justin are there, in the middle of a French kiss. "Eww..gross....you do know he will needs his throat back if he is going to sing, right?" JC states in a plain voice.
"I figured that," Britney says as she finally slips her tongue out of Justin's mouth. "I hope ya'll ordered enough for little ole me."
"There should be plenty," JC replies as he steps aside to let the two in.
Idle conversation carries on for about five more minutes when room service arrives. Lance answers the door and the attendant pushes the cart into the room. Everybody attacks the food ravenously except for Lance. He takes a few pieces of French toast and sits off to the side to think. He is seriously thinking about telling the guys right now. Joey, true to his word, kept his mouth shut about last night's conversation.
"Guys...there's something I have to tell all of you," Lance says, looking down at the floor.
Everybody gets quiet real fast and Chris says, "You got our attention Scoop, what's up?"
Lance was about to open his mouth to tell the guys that he was gay when his cell phone went off. <DAMN IT, who the hell could it be at this hour?> "Just a second guys," he states as he gets up and goes toward the door. They guys (and girl) in the room continue idle chat as Lance steps outside to answer his phone.
"Hello?" Lance answers.
"Mr. Bass?" an unknown voice asks.
"Yes, this is he, may I ask who I am speaking to?"
"This is Doctor Johnson at Providence Hospital, in Mobile, Alabama."
"Oh no, what's happened?" Lance asks, terrified.
"There was an accident involving your parents and sister when they were visiting friends in Mobile..."
"How bad is it?"
"When can you come down Mr. Bass?"
"How bad is it?" Lance repeats himself, almost breaking down into tears.
"Mr. Bass, your sister is listed in serious condition, she broke her leg and also a few ribs, along with a concussion..."
"Oh no...what about my parents?"
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to inform you over the phone, but since you insist. Your father and mother, Jim and Diane Bass....they are no longer with us."
That did it, Lance screams at the top of his voice "Noooooooo!" and falls down into a heap in the hallway, breaking down into tears.
The rest of the guys heard Lance scream from within the room. They all ran outside to find Lance in a crumpled heap on the floor, crying his eyes out. They all get down with him and they all start trying to figure out what's wrong.
"Scoop....man...what's wrong?" Joey asks.
Lance, still crying uncontrollably, barely able to speak, musters out the words, "My parents...they're....dead..."
The hallway is dead silent except for the crying of Lance.
"What? What happened?" Chris asked, not being able to believe it.
Lance composes himself temporarily in order to answer the question. "They were killed in an accident while visiting friends in Mobile, Alabama. A Dr. Johnson just called me from Providence Hospital." He once again starts crying. Chris, being the man of action, started, "Guys, get packed, we're headed to Mobile. I'll call the airport and see when's the next flight we can get." They all nod in agreement as Britney and Joey help Lance stand up and enter his room. Lance continues to sob uncontrollably on his bed as Joey packs both his and Lance's things.
[God, what a great beginning to a new week] Joey tells himself sarcastically.
Hey everybody! I know ya'll are all thinking "What the hell?" I know, I know, but believe me, it is necessary for the direction I have this story going right now. Trust me. Once again, let me know what ya'll think and please E-MAIL ME! I LOVE EMAIL! If ya'll have any suggestions or any ideas, let me know and I'll get back to you. I'd like to thank Jessie, who was the first person I got a reply from. Thanks Jessie, hope to hear from you again! NOTE: I decided to combine chapters two and three into one posting because I sorta wanted to hurry things along. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter Three
The plane took off shortly after 8:30 from Atlanta, considering it was the earliest flight Chris and management could arrange. Joey had helped packed Lance's things and everybody was quiet all the way to the airport. Once on board the plain, Lance falls asleep after crying some more. Britney, since she has about a week off anyways, decides to tag along for two reasons. One, to spend time with Justin and two, Lance is one of her friends. Lance was sitting next to a window with his head propped up by a pillow. Joey was sitting next to him on the aisle seat and the other guys were spread throughout the middle rows.
[My God...what the hell is going on? This is just way too much for Lance to handle right now. I mean...first of all, he just about had a breakdown from telling me about him being gay...and now he finds out that his sister is in serious condition and his parents are dead. Man, Diane and Jim were like parents to all of us. Hell, we all have five sets of parents basically. I can't believe it...I just hope that Lance will be okay.]
The flight wasn't that long of one, considering the closeness of Atlanta to Mobile, but it seemed to drag on forever for everybody. They all remained mostly silent during the flight. Once they landed, Joey woke Lance up.
"Scoop, wake up dude, we're here."
"What? Oh man, I thought it was all a dream."
"I wish it were Scoop, I wish it were..."
Management had rented a limo for the group and it wasn't that long of a ride to get to Providence Hospital once they left the airport. Dr. Johnson was waiting for the group at the emergency entrance. Lance, now a tad bit calmer after accepting the death of his parents, just simply asked, "Where's my sister?"
"She's still unconscious at the present moment Mr. Bass, but I'll take you to her room."
The rest of the guys followed the doctor and Lance up a few flight of stairs and down the hall to Stacy's room. Lance looked back at the guys and Britney and they knew he wanted to go in alone. They all waited down the hallway as Dr. Johnson and Lance went in.
Stacy was pretty badly beaten up. She had a full-length leg cast on as well as bandages wrapped around her head. She had cuts and bruises all along her arms and some on her face. Lance sat down next to her and took a hold of her hand. He started crying lightly and asked the doctor, "What the hell happened?"
"From what I've gathered from the police and emergency workers, they were headed back to the interstate to drive home, I'm assuming, when an Armored Bank truck side swiped him. Apparently the driver had passed out from lack of sleep and ran a red light....Your parents...they didn't suffer. They were killed instantly. Your sister was unconscious at the scene and has been ever since."
"Thank you doctor," Lance said, barely able to keep back the tears, "Can you tell everybody outside that I'll need a few minutes?"
"Sure...I'll be back in a little while to check in on Stacy."
The doctor left and told the rest of the guys the news and told them they could wait in his office down the hall so that nobody would recognize them. They didn't want to leave Lance by himself and politely refused.
Lance continued crying as he held onto his sister's hand. He stared at her bruised face and kept asking her to wake up, that he didn't need to lose her now. He stayed at her side for several hours when he finally remembered that the other guys were outside waiting on him. He kissed Stacy's hand and got up to go check on everybody. They were all sitting down outside when Lance came out. They all quickly got up and walked over to where Lance was standing.
"Are you okay Lance?" Britney asked.
"Yeah...I think...I will be," he replied.
"Is there anything we can do?" Chris asked.
"As a matter of fact there is...do you guys think you can take care of all the paper work...I really don't think I can handle that right now."
"Sure thing Scoop, no problem," JC replied, "I'll go take care of that right now. JC turned and walked down the hallway to Dr. Johnson's office.
"If you guys want to, you can come in and see Stacy right now," Lance stated, not really knowing what to do or say.
Justin, Joey, Chris and Britney all filed in quietly behind Lance. They saw Stacy in the bed and their eyes started to water. She looked so fragile now. Britney immediately embraced Lance, realizing he really needed it at that exact moment.
"What the hell am I going to do? I lost both my parents today and I almost lost my sister. I hardly have any family left."
"You're wrong about that," Joey stated.
"Yeah, we're family after all. We've been through a lot together, and we'll make it through this," Justin finished Joey's statement.
"Thanks you guys," Lance said, "Thank you too Britney, you didn't have to come, but you did anyways."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Britney said, finally letting go of Lance's neck. Her eyes severely watered.
"I have a feeling we need to make some arrangements as to where we are going to stay tonight. I'll go see what I can do," Chris said. "I'll see if JC needs any help while I'm at it."
Chris left the room and walked down to Dr. Johnson's office to see JC filling out some paperwork.
"I'm gonna get a hold of a hotel around here and make some arrangements," Chris said.
"Don't worry about it. Dr. Johnson already called and made some reservations at the Adam's Mark Hotel," JC said, not looking up from the forms.
"Woah, really?" Chris replied, not really knowing how to take it, "He's a very thoughtful man."
"Yeah, he is. He said something to me earlier about losing his parents while he was in medical school. He realizes how much pain this type of thing causes and didn't want us to worry about trivial stuff like that."
"You got a point, I'll have to make sure I thank him. Need any help with those?"
"Sure, grab a handful."
Justin and Britney leave the room shortly thereafter to go look for something for Lance to eat, considering he hasn't eaten anything in a day or two now. Joey and Lance sat down next to Stacy and started talking.
"Lance, you sure you are alright?" Joey asked.
"Joey, how can I be alright right now? I mean...I can't believe it happened to them. My parents were the nicest people you could ever meet. My sister was no exception, of course she could be a brat from time to time, but she is still my sister. I still can't believe they died without knowing..." Lance left the sentence open.
"Knowing what?" Joey asked, having a pretty good idea what he was talking about.
"Knowing that I'm gay...I still hadn't told them," Lance said, breaking down into tears.
Joey grabbed a hold of Lance and pulled him into a bear hug and started rocking him gently. Lance eventually calmed down and started drifting off to sleep. Joey helped him up and laid him out in a chair in the room. He grabbed a pillow and blanket from the closet and handed them to Lance.
"Thanks Joey, I think I'm going to stay here tonight, but I want you guys to head to the hotel, okay? I'll be fine by myself," Lance reassured Joey.
"Sure thing Scoop, you got our numbers in case you need 'em," Joey said as he walked out of the room. Britney returned carrying some junk food for Lance, she put it on the desk in the room and followed Joey out.
It didn't take long before Lance fell asleep.
Joey and Britney walked down the hall toward Dr. Johnson's office, they were all sitting around and Britney sat down in Justin's lap. "Lance wants to stay here tonight, but he wants us to head over to the hotel," Joey told them.
"How is he?" Britney asked.
"As good as can be expected right now," Joey replied, "I'm pretty sure he'll be okay, although I'm not sure how long its going to take."
"We have about three weeks off until we have some promotional stuff to do, but if needed, we can always postpone things," Chris chimed in.
"The limo is waiting downstairs to take us to the hotel, I think most of the paperwork is done with for now," JC said as he rose up from the desk, "I'm going to go make a few phone calls and let our parents know what has happened, get a hold of management and make sure to cancel everything for the next few weeks, and then I'm gonna get a hold of somebody that can help Lance deal with all of this."
"We can help Scoop out, I mean, we are like his brothers after all," Justin stated.
"Yeah, but none of us has lost a parent for that matter, I know of somebody that might be able to help."
"Who?"
"Kevin Richardson from BSB, he lost his father to cancer a while back and I think he understands more than any of us what Lance is going through right now."
"You got a point. Do you think he'll want to come down?" Chris asked.
"I'm not completely sure, but its worth a shot."
The other guys all nodded their heads in agreement. At that point, Dr. Johnson came in and asked if they were ready to head to the motel. Dr. Johnson told them that they would be sure to keep an eye on Lance tonight, the nightshift would be briefed and so forth. They guys thanked the doctor for his help and they all went down to the limo. Once they all reached the hotel, JC started making phone calls. One by one, he informed all their parents and they were all shocked of course and all of them wanted to come down. JC told them all that there really wasn't much point in them coming down right now, they had a few weeks off and after Stacy got out, they were going to return to Orlando to rest up. JC convinced management to get a hold of BSB and see what they could pull. Everybody was pretty out of it and they all went to their rooms.
In Justin & Britney's Room
Justin walked in, sat down on the bed and just stared at the floor. Britney walked in and sat down next to him.
"You alright sweetheart?" Brit asked.
"I'm just in shock, I mean, I can't believe this happened to Lance. I just wish there was something else I could do, you know?"
"I know, but there really isn't anything you can do except to be there for him when he needs you. You have to be supportive and be positive. Lance will adjust, although it will take a while."
"You're right. I'm glad you're here right now," Justin said as a sly grin came onto his face. He leaned in and kissed Britney then and they tongue dueled for a few minutes and then they turned on the tube to watch a movie.
In Chris and JC's Room
They guys just lay on their beds and stare at the ceiling for a few minutes before they start talking.
"So, did you manage to get a hold of BSB's management?" Chris asked.
"Our management was gonna try to get a hold of them, I hope they can, Lance really needs somebody that's been through that kind of loss before, you know?"
"Yeah, it just sucks that we can't really do anything about it."
"All we can do is be there for him when he needs it."
"I guess you're right."
In Joey's Room
Joey walks in and sits his luggage and Lance's luggage down and looks at the two beds. Joey can't really think of anything right now, all he can think about is how much pain Lance is going through right now. Then there's that awkwardness.
[What is the deal? I shouldn't feel this way about Lance, I'm straight, I get plenty of girls...but maybe that's the point. I've had so many girls that maybe there's something I'm lacking. I'm lacking a companion, and I guess I just felt really comfortable with Lance like that. I'm going to have to give this some serious thought.]
Back at the hospital
Lance jumped awake. He was in a cold sweat and he didn't know where he was. It took him a few minutes to adjust to the darkness and then he saw his sister lying in the bed in the bandages and casts and he remembered what had happened.
<I thought it was all a dream. If only it could've been. What time is it?>
Lance looked at his watch and saw that it was around 11:30, then remembering the time change, realized that it was actually only 10:30. He got up and walked over to where his sister was. He sat down next to her and placed her hand in his. He felt her warmth and felt like he was going to cry, except this time he didn't.
<What good is crying going to do? I've cried enough for once. I wish she would wake up. Oh, what am I going to tell her? She's already going to be in enough pain as it is, then I'm going to have to tell her that our parents...that our parents are gone.>
At that exact moment, his sister started to wake up and it took her a few minutes to adjust to everything and then she realized that she was holding somebody's hand. She looked over to see her brother's green eyes.
"Lance..."
"Oh Stacy, you finally woke up. Thank God."
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck," Stacy replied in a sleepy tone.
"Well, you did actually. It was one of those armored bank trucks, it side-swiped you," Lance said, remembering their parents.
"Where are mom and dad? Are they okay?"
She looked into Lance's eyes and could see them start to water. Then she saw his lips start to quiver. "They are okay, right?" she continued, starting to fear the worst.
"They...they're in a better place now," Lance said, breaking down into tears again and placing his head against his sister's arm.
Stacy remained quiet for a few moments, still in shock, and she too joined in the crying.
Okay, now that we got most of that out of the way =0) I can start getting on with the good stuff! Nah, I'm just picking. I promise you I will hurry the plot along as fast as I can. I know its going slow, but trust me, it will be worth the wait! =0) Remember, email me with your thoughts and opinions. Peace Out grandbaykracker@hotmail.com