Disclaimer: I would just like to say that I have no affiliation with anybody in these stories and anybody resemblance is completely coincidental. Oh, and if you are under age go play Pokemon or something hehe
Authors Note: Hey everybody, I would just like to thank all of you who responded to the first story. I am glad that you all read it, and I hope that you continue to do so. As always, any ideas or questions or comments are always welcome at C5552CQ1@yahoo.com . Just drop me a line and I'll be sure to respond. Ok...enough of my babbling and on with the story...
JC sit in silence at the rear of the tour bus simply staring in amazement at his best friend. Here was Justin Randall Timberlake, a man who could have literally any woman that he wanted at the wave of a hand, and he just admitted he was gay. JC was at a complete loss of words. He didn't know whether to console his friend or to stay sitting in quiet or what would be best.
"You hate me, don't you?" Whimpered Justin, his hands still covering his face.
"No Just, I don't. It's just...well, this is sort of a big surprise for me. I mean always thought of you as being...well...straight. This is just sort of...I don't know." JC replied.
The two sit in silence as the bus sped down the highway. Eventually Justin's sobs became less frequent and he began to calm down a bit.
"Say something!" Justin demanded.
"Well...like what?" asked JC?
"I don't know, anything." Responded Justin.
"Justin, do you remember back on the Mickey Mouse Club? When you were upset because you didn't think anybody else liked you? Well, I remember seeing that shy little kid who only talked to me back then. Now look at him. He's sitting right next to me, he's attractive, has a great voice, and is one of the most popular guys in the world. But no matter how I look at it, I still always see you as that little kid. And no matter what happens, I am still going to be here and take care of you like I did back then. You got that?" Josh explained.
Justin smiled at Josh's comments before asking, "Do you mean it?"
Josh required no words for his response. Instead, he simply reached over and pulled Justin into a tight embrace. He smiled to himself knowing that his friend would finally be able to rest easy at night, or at least be comforted by the fact that he had now had somebody to talk to.
"You should probably try and get a little sleep. I think you've had a really long morning." JC said.
Justin nodded in agreement and stood up slowly. He lifted his arms, stretching upwards and unintentionally hitting the ceiling with his fingers. He walked back towards the direction of his bunk and before getting in looked up at JC.
"Oh, and thank you for listening." Justin said with a smile on his face.
"That's what friends are for." JC responded.
Soon, four of the five members of the band were napping in their respective bunks. JC, however remained in the back of the bus thinking about what had just happened. "I really hope he's alright," Josh thought to himself. The young singer sighed and also decided to retire to his bunk.
The rest of the journey was rather uneventful. For the most part they all stayed asleep as they journeyed town to Cleveland, Ohio. Tonight would be a night off, and tomorrow they had a show at the venue, which they had happened to sell out. Once the bus arrived at the hotel they were immediately escorted into the lobby. The five men gathered in a circle to decide on what to do on their night off.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think I am going to be hitting up a club or two tonight," declared Chris, the oldest member of the group.
"Yeah, me too, I feel like getting down tonight," said Joey in agreement.
"Well...I guess I'll go out with you guys too, nothing better to do," said Lance.
The attention was then focused on Justin, the youngest of the five. He shuffled his feet and then looked down at the ground for a few moments before finally looking up at his band mates.
"Well?" Chris asked.
"I.I um..." Justin muttered in a weak voice.
"He's staying in with me. We already decided we are just going to stay in and watch movies or something," said JC authoritatively.
"Alright cool. So about 10, guys?" asked Joey.
The three of them nodded in agreement and then went off to go to their rooms. Only Justin and Josh remain in the lobby of the hotel. Justin looked up at Josh as though trying to find a way to thank him for covering up.
"Don't worry about it, we can just stay and talk or something," Josh said as he put his arm around Justin and they walked in the direction of the elevator. Soon they were on their floor and looking for the rooms.
"I'll call you at about 8 or so to see what you want to do, okay?" asked Josh.
Justin nodded and went into his hotel room after finding it. He threw is luggage on the rack and threw himself on the soft bed. The hotel wasn't as luxurious as some of the one's that the band had stayed at, but it still wasn't anything to complain about either. Justin stood up and went over to a small black bag and pulled out a portable CD player. He walked into the bathroom and began to fill the bathtub with hot water. He removed his clothes and looked into the mirror. After thoroughly inspecting his defined body Justin smiled in approval. He got into the now filled bathtub, and put on his headphones, which happened to be featuring Alicia Keyes at the moment. Soon he drifted off to sleep in the warm water.
Meanwhile, JC was also getting settled into his room. He threw his bags in a corner of the room and then turned on the television. Soon, he began to wonder what he could do to try and cheer up his friend. `I always used to be able to get a smile on his face...maybe I should get him something funny?' Josh thought to himself. He grabbed his wallet and took the elevator to the first floor of the hotel.
Justin awoke about an hour later and realized that he was now sitting in a tub of entirely too cold water. He sat up quickly and looked at his hands, which had now grown pale and were rather wrinkly. He stood up in the bathtub and reached for a towel just outside of the tub. He stepped out and began to dry himself. Usually this process took several minutes, seeing as Justin enjoyed bathing and showering, but this time he was just too cold. He ran the towel quickly over his body and then threw on a pair of pajamas.
JC searched the hotel lobby for a gift shop and as he looked towards the front desk he spotted it. He jogged at a moderate pace until he arrived at the entrance to the store. He looked around quickly looking for some sort of funny card or book or anything that may work at cheering up his friend. After finding nothing, he decided to ask the cashier. Josh walked up to the young girl and propped his hands up on the counter.
"Oh my god! Aren't you...?" The girl asked in a highly ecstatic tone.
"Yeah, yeah...but please don't make a big scene out of this." JC responded. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and slid it over the counter to the girl. "Now, I need a little help with something, okay?" He continued.
"Sure, I'll try and help you as best as I can." The girl responded with a large grin on her face.
"Okay. I have a friend who is a bit sad and I am trying to find something funny to try and cheer this person up, ya know? Do you guys have anything funny or something like that?" He asked.
"Well, it depends on what you want. We have a few gag gifts over here." The girl said as she pointed over to a small section of the store. "But as far as something that might cheer this person up, I would probably give you my best advice, and that's just to give `em something from the heart." She continued.
"Like what?" JC asked with a curious look on his face.
"Well, honestly I think that the best thing anybody can get that sort of tells it like it is, is a card. I mean, I know that when I am feeling down, something that just sort of touches me is the best cure." The girl stated with a calm smile.
"Yeah, I guess you have a point. Well in that case...let me take one your nicest card." JC said in a cheerful tone.
"Sure thing. I would recommend you take this one." She said as she reached for a plain card with a picture on it. Josh leaned in to see what it was and realized that it was picture of two children, one with his arms around the other's shoulder.
"That is perfect. Just pay for it with the fifty, and go ahead and keep the change." He said as he took the card and ran back towards the elevator. JC knew that this would be the greatest gift for Justin at the moment. If anything, the picture on the cover would symbolize all that they had been through, and how JC would always be there for Justin to lean on, if the need arose.
Soon the hour of 8 rolled around. Justin waited in his room, having just placed an order to room service for two dinner meals. Eventually, he heard the phone ring and he reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?" Justin asked shyly.
"You ready yet, Curly?" Asked his friend.
"Yup, come on over. I already ordered us some dinner too." Informed the younger.
"Cool. I'll be right over then." Josh said as he hung up the phone. He walked down the hallway in his plaid pajama pants and green tank top towards Justin's room. The door was cracked open so he walked in, knowing his friend would be expecting him.
"Whats up?" Justin asked, still lying down on the large king sized bed with his head pointing up towards the ceiling.
"Nothin mofo, wurd?" JC said in his best `ghetto' voice, trying not to laugh.
"Yo...word to your mother!" Justin responded making a gangster hand gesture in the process. They both laughed at the comment and Josh moved over to the bed to sit down with Justin.
"So what's on TV tonight?" Asked JC, trying to spark a conversation.
"Well, we have Ally McBeal...I think not. We have some documentary on the Arctic Polar Bears...maybe... No...and we have pay per view. You can pick what you want." Justin responded.
"Um...how bout we just talk tonight. Catch up and stuff. I mean, we haven't had any serious conversation for over a year. I feel like I'm loosing you kid." Josh said as he ruffled Justin's curly blonde hair.
"Um...okay, that's cool with me." Justin said.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door that soon followed with a man muttering, "Room Service." JC walked over to the door and opened for the young man with the trays of food. The man lifted the food off of the cart and placed it on the table in the room.
"The will be...$21.95." The boy declared.
JC pulled out his wallet once again and pulled out another fifty-dollar bill. He handed it to the boy and told him to keep the change. Josh grabbed one tray of food and walked back to bed and sat down.
"Um...why didn't you bring mine?" Asked Justin.
"Because I'm not your mother, idiot." JC laughed at his friend's comment before standing back up to go and get the second tray of food. He brought it back and handed it to Justin who met him with a smile.
"You always were like my mom when we went on tour." Justin said with a smile still stretched across his face.
JC turned two shades of red at that last comment and simply smiled. He didn't really know how to respond to it. For as long as he can remember, he always was Justin's mom when she wasn't actually there. When she stopped going on tour with the boys, she made JC promise that he would look over Justin and take care of him. He always kept that promise as best as he could.
"So what did you wanna talk about?" Asked Justin in a child-like voice as he stuffed a noodle into his mouth.
"Well...I...um...I got you this." JC said as he pulled the card out of his back pocket.
"Aww... you shouldn't have, Joshie-poo." Justin said, mocking his friend.
"Well I think it will explain what I am trying to say...so I guess I should just let you read it." JC said as he handed the card over.
Justin slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the card. He looked at the picture on the cover and a smile once again crept upon his face. It was something that JC had been waiting for, some sign of happiness. Justin read the card to himself:
Dear Justin,
I know that things have been a little rough for you lately, and I apologize for not helping you earlier. But I want you to know that I am always here for you if you need to talk or if you need a shoulder to cry on or if you want anything else from me. See that picture on the cover? That reminds me of us. I remember when I first met you; you were just a little scrawny kid who couldn't stand up for himself. But after all these years you have grown into something amazingly successful. I see us as friends, but on top of everything, I also see us as brothers. I just want you to know I am here for you, bro.
Justin closed the card as a single tear fell from his eye and down his face. He looked up and JC and then back at the card. For once, he was caught off his guard and didn't know how to respond. He wiped his eyes and smiled as he reread the message. Justin tried to fight the tears, but they were inevitable. He leaned in and pulled JC into a tight embrace and just sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. JC put his arm around his crying friend and held him close.
"Josh...I..." Justin whimpered into JC's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I know what you mean." JC responded as he looked down at his friend and hugged him even tighter.
Justin pulled away from the embrace and looked JC in the eyes. He smiled at JC's kind action and the card that he had just received. Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed his best friend on the mouth. A kiss that seemed to last an eternity.
**Ok...that's it for chapter number 2. Like, I said...thanks for all the support and I hope to hear more from you. Hopefully this story will get a lil' better and I will pick up some more readers. But as for now, I'm doing my best. Well...thanks for everything and e-mail me if you have any gripes or ideas. Latez, CAT.