Hi everybody! Spoon Mike here. This story's going as strong as ever, and I'm glad to have all of you along for the ride. Here's part four, for your viewing (or should that be reading?) pleasure!
I have to take a moment to plug my favorite story on the Nifty Archive, JC's Hitchhiker. If you have read this one, PLEASE do yourself a favor and go read it! You WON'T be disappointed! Writer Boy is SUCH a fantastic writer! Many thanks for the inspiration and comments!
Thanks go to Christopher, Jimmy, Ray, Clarke, Howard, Rdr, Jade, and Kelz and for writing me such nice emails about the story. Thanks to them, I have gotten the second wind that I'm going to need to continue this story.
And, a SPECIAL thanks goes out to Mike (a.k.a. Nick), my trusted (or at least tolerated) proofreader. I have a STAFF! Yay! Ya mule, ya! Just kidding!
DISCLAIMER: All of the following characters are pure, unadulterated fiction. I do not pretend to know any member of N'Sync, Ben Affleck, or any of the other celebrities that appear in this story. I have no idea what their sexual or even food preferences are; so don't look to me for the truth. Mike Russell is a completely fictional character and any resemblance to my wonderful proofreader, who just happens to share the same first name, is strictly coincidental. If you are a minor, scram! If this type of material offends you, why the hell are you here at this site in the first place?
This chapter will work a bit differently than the ones before. Each chapter in this installment will be told from the point of view of a different character. It should be pretty clear who is speaking when. Hope you all enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing this!
Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Playing From the Heart - Chapter 9 By Spoon Mike
I watched them leave, finally putting down my paper. I knew something like this would happen. Why couldn't I just have been more up front about how I felt?
Ever since I shook hands with Mike at the Timberlake wedding, he's all that I can think about. That perfect hair, his clear green eyes; I just can't get him out of my mind. I've spoken to Matt a lot about it. He even agreed with my plan to get to know Mike better by asking for clarinet lessons. However, JC had to move faster than me!
That day, at my lesson, I was prepared to ask Mike out for the next night. Not on a date, per se, but just to hang out and get to know one another better, maybe even find out if he was gay. However, I heard Mike and his friend Jeff talking about JC attending the concert and taking Mike out for coffee afterwards. That almost shattered my hopes of a chance with Mike right then. I decided to do what I always do when I have a situation I'm not sure how to deal with. I talked to Matt about it. He suggested following, not to spy, but to just see what was going on for myself. I agreed, because it was another chance to see Mike, and I wanted to hear his orchestra play.
So, I decided to attend the concert. I spotted right away. He was seated near the center of the stage, next to another clarinet player, and looked VERY handsome in his black tux. When the orchestra began to play, I was very impressed. I don't know a lot about orchestral music, and I'd barely even heard of Richard Wagner, but it sounded really good and flowing. There was a lot or heroic sounding music also, which I'm guessing is because Wagner wrote a lot of operas. I was so amazed; Mike must really be an excellent player if he was in this group.
When the concert ended, I decided to go backstage to see if I could catch Mike alone for a minute before JC came. I was too late; they were about to leave. I heard Mike mention a small coffee shop nearby, which I have been to many times. I decided to go ahead of them, and wait. I picked myself up a powdered doughnut (my favorite), a newspaper, and sat to wait.
A few minutes later, Mike and JC came in, sat down at a table (I'm glad neither of them recognized me), and talked. I couldn't really hear too well what they said to each other, but what I didn't miss was the kiss that Mike and JC shared at the end of their talk.
That's right, the kiss.
The two of them left, looking so happy, and I just sat there in shock. Did I just see Mike, the guy of my dreams kiss that N'Syncer? Did the two of them just leave together practically arm in arm? That should be me with Mike! Eventually, I got up and headed home. I drove along, feeling numb. By the time I got home, I was deep in my grief. I sat in my car for a while and thought. I've never felt this way about anyone before in my life.
Now, however, I'm going into my house. I know that when I go in, Matt will hit me with a barrage of questions. Since Matt is not filming anything for the next year, he decided to move in with me and write.
I was correct. Upon entering my house, I was instantly assailed by questions from Matt. "Well, what happened? How was the concert? Did you speak to Mike? Was did JC do?" He asked all of this in one breath, looking up from his laptop.
I told Matt about all that had happened that evening. ". And then they kissed, Matt! KISSED! What can I do now?" I put my face in my hands and cried. "I can't believe I lost him!"
Matt came over to me and hugged me. "Oh Ben, I'm so sorry. I know how you felt about Mike. Don't worry, it'll be alright."
He continued to hold me for a long time. Would it really be alright? It certainly doesn't feel like that right now. What should I do? What CAN I do? I cried a long time that night.
Playing From the Heart - Chapter 10
There are no words that can truly express how happy I am right now. Mike likes me just as much as like him! When I kissed him back at the coffee shop, everything else just seemed to fade away. Justin's wedding, stress from being with the guys all the time, touring. it all just seemed to vanish.
After we left the coffee shop, I walked Mike back to his car. He gave me his telephone number, and we made plans to meet tomorrow night, I gave him another kiss, and he drove off, deep in thought about something. I, however, felt like dancing. Mike likes me!
All the way back to our rented condo, he was all I could think of. When I got there, I hopped out of the car, and basically waltzed up the steps. Entering, I shouted, "Anybody here?" The management, being nice to us, rented us all a condo to stay in if we wanted to for the 3 weeks we have off here in Boston.
Joey came out of the kitchen, carrying a sandwich and a glass of juice. "It's just us now. Chris and Lance went to their families to spend some time with them, and you know where Justin is". He took a good look at me just then. "C, what's up?" he asked.
I decided to play around a little; I'm feeling giddy. "Whatever do you mean, Joseph?" I asked, as I spun over to the living room couch and sat down.
Joey sat down with his food, eyeing me suspiciously. "Well, for one thing, you just sat down like you're an extra in a Broadway musical. Secondly, you've got this gigantic goofy grin on your face. Third, you always know exactly what I'm talking about, and fourth, you never call me Joseph! So, what's going on?" He asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Joey, do you remember Mike?"
"Mike? I don't think so. From where?"
"He was playing in the quintet at the wedding, the clarinet player."
"Oh, yeah, I saw him. He sounded like a really good player."
"He is, and I fell for him when I first saw him!"
Joey just looked at me. "JC."
"No, Joey, seriously, I went to see him play in the orchestra concert tonight at Canterbury Hall."
"That big music hall outside of town? Okay. How was the concert?"
"It was excellent, but never mind that right now. Anyways, after the concert, Mike and I went to this nearby coffee shop to talk, and I told him I liked him, and I kissed him!"
Joey almost spit out his juice. "KISSED him?" he managed to sputter out.
"Yeah. It was amazing!"
"Right there at the coffee shop? Are you crazy? What if somebody saw?"
"Joey, there were only two other people there, this guy reading a newspaper and the guy who was working the counter there. Neither of them seemed to notice anything," I explained.
"Well, okay then. I'm only looking out for ya, buddy," Joey said, finishing up his sandwich. He then moved on to his juice. "So, C, what's this Mike like? Tell me all about him."
"Joey, he's the perfect guy! Sure, he's an attractive guy, but there's so much more than that. He's funny, sweet, caring, intelligent, and a serious musician. You should see how seriously he takes his playing! Just like me!"
"Sounds good, C. I'm glad that you were able to meet such a great sounding guy. So, when do I get to meet him?"
"You'll get to meet him tomorrow. We're going out tomorrow night, and he's going to meet me here."
"Alright, bro. I've got to be getting to sleep." Joey went to the kitchen to clean up his dishes, and then came back through the living room. "Good night C, I'll see you in the morning. Try to get some sleep, okay?" Joey went to his room.
Sleep? How can I possibly sleep, with a date coming up tomorrow with Mike. A date with Mike! I still can't believe it!
Playing From the Heart - Chapter 11
-----Saturday Morning-----
I love waking up late! I don't like getting out of bed, though. Ah, I can lay here and reflect on the events of last night for a while. I still can't believe my luck. I have a date with Josh tonight! Last night was so wonderful, and Josh's kisses were so soft and passionate.
Unfortunately, I can't stay in bed any longer, where I'm currently hugging my pillow as if it was Josh. Kitty made sure of that. She's very hungry and wanted to be fed now. Time to go to the kitchen to feed Kitty. After that, I started to cook myself up some breakfast I love breakfast foods. Eggs, pancakes, sausage, yum! I'm putting some extra on, because Jeff will probably be up soon to eat with me.
Sure enough, I hear a pounding on the door. I flipped the last pancake, stepped over Kitty, and opened the front door. Jeff bounds into my apartment, full of his usual energy.
"Mikey, my man! How'd it go last night? Oh, wow, you cooked this morning. Thanks!" Jeff started to pile up a plate with food, and I followed right behind him.
We both took seats at the table. "It went so well. Jeff, Josh kissed me!"
"Whoa, really?" He asked around a mouthful of eggs.
"Yeah, and we have a date tonight!"
"Go, Mikey! You da man!"
"Thanks, Jeff. So how'd your evening go with Katie?"
Jeff turned serious for a moment. "It was great, she's such an awesome girl. Luckily, she's not filming right now and it able to stay in the area for a while longer. I think I'm falling for her, Mike."
I clapped Jeff on the shoulder. "That's great, buddy! I'm so happy for you!"
"I think she might even feel the same way about me"
"Wow, buddy!" This time, I got up and gave a Jeff a big hug. Jeff's quite the catch. He's good guy, tall, funny, and cute, but he's had bad luck with women throughout his life. I'm really hopeful that Katie could be the one for my best friend.
"Aw shucks, man, t'weren't nuttin." There's my Jeff, back to normal.
-----Later-----
Jeff left soon after that to practice. I worked on some homework for Music History class, and then started to practice. I love to practice. I can get lost in the works of different composers, and it's such a rush to create good sounding music. As usual, when I practice, I lose track of time. During a break, the phone rang.
I picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey Mike, it's Josh"
It's Josh! "Hey Josh."
"I was thinking that we could go out for dinner and then go see a show. Do you like Italian food? I know of a quiet Italian restaurant that we can go to."
"Sure, I love Italian food. Sounds good to me."
"So, I was thinking we could leave from my condo? I want you to meet one of my friends before we go. Alright, where do you live?"
Josh proceeded to give me directions. I know the condos; I have friends who live over there.
"Okay Josh. When should I come by?"
"I can make reservations for 6pm, so we can make the show at 8. It would be great if you could get here at 5, in about an hour and a half."
An hour and a half, that's it? I really must've lost track of time! "All right, I'll be at your place at 5. Bye!"
"Bye, Mike." We both hung up.
As I went to my bedroom to start getting ready to go, I noticed my answering machine light blinking. The call must've come earlier while I was practicing. I pushed the message button
"You have 1 message, received at 1:03pm," The Answering Machine Lady said. Ah, I was right. Then the message began.
"Hello, this message is for Michael Russell. My name is Nick Desaro, and I'm a saxophone major at Boston University. I heard that you are looking for students to teach the clarinet to. I want to learn clarinet, so that I can play in pit orchestras for musicals." Musicals, such as those performed on Broadway, have pit orchestras. This orchestra sits in a pit below the stage and plays the music for the show. Music for these shows is often written so that a player would have to be able to play up to four instruments. "Please let me know if this is feasible. I am available on Thursdays for lessons anytime after 4pm." He then proceeded to leave his contact info and hung up. Yes, another student! I called him up right away.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Nick Desaro?"
"Yeah, this is Nick," he replied.
"Hi Nick, this is Michael Russell. Can you have a lesson on Thursdays at 6pm? It'll be an hour long lesson, and I have a student at 7, so it'll work out fine for me."
"Cool. I have a clarinet. Some clarinet reeds, also." (Reeds, in case I didn't explain before, are thin pieces of wood attached to the mouthpiece of a clarinet. When you blow air into the instrument, the wood of the reed vibrates, creating the sound.) "Is there any thing else that I should pick up?"
"Can you pick up a Rubank Intermediate level book? Clarinet is similar enough to sax that you can start there, and Rubank makes a very good instructional book for people with a musical background prior to learning an instrument, as you have."
"Can do. So I'll see you at 6 on Thursday. Where are we going to have the lesson at?"
"My apartment." I gave Nick the address.
"See you then, Michael," Nick said.
"Please call me Mike."
"Alright, Mike, then. I'll see you on Thursday."
"You too, Nick." We hung up. I'm so psyched; I just got a new student! I feel like dancing!
There's no time for that now, though. I've got to get ready for my date with Josh! I cleaned up, showered, shaved, and got dressed in plenty of time, and was out the door. Getting into my car, I remembered that Josh said that I on my way to meet Josh and his friend. I wonder who this friend is. I hope the he or she likes me!
Soon, I reached Josh's condo. Parking my car carefully, I got out, and walked up to his door. I rang the doorbell and waited. Hmm, something sounds like a stampeding heard of buffalo. The sound continued to get louder. All of a sudden, the door flew open, and I was enveloped in a hug by a bear of a man.
"Welcome! You mush be Mike," the bear said. "C's expecting you. C'mon in!' He then proceeded to drag me into the house to the living room, where Josh was waiting. He looked so handsome tonight in a turtleneck and nice fitting pants.
"Hello Mike," Josh said.
"Hey Josh. Can you get your friend here to ease off a bit?"
"Joey! Let him go!" The bear relinquished his hold and stepped in front of me
"Hi Mike, I'm Joey," he said, holding his hand out, which I shook. "It's nice to meet you, I guess I just got a little carried away."
"Hi Joey, it's nice to meet you to," I said. Of course, I was standing in front of Joey Fatone, also of N'Sync. It makes sense, come to think of it, that Josh's friend would be a fellow group member.
Josh walked over to me to give me a hello kiss. Let me tell you, it was heaven. Josh's lips are so soft and velvety. I lost track of time, Josh too, I think, but we were brought back by a polite cough from Joey.
"Shouldn't you guys get going to the restaurant soon?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah, bye Joey," Josh exclaimed, rushing out like an excited puppy
I had to shake my head. That was such a "Jeff" thing to do. "It was nice meeting you Joey. I'll see you later, alright?"
"You certainly will, if Josh has anything to say about it." I shook hands with Joey again and left the condo, excited about going out with my Josh.
To Be Continued...
So what'd y'all think? Poor Ben, huh? Whatever will he do? How about Mike and Josh? Mike's gotten another student! Josh is on cloud 9! And what's Joey doing during all of this? Having a snack! Hehehe!
Did I lose anyone with the changes of point of view? Just to clear any confusion up, Chapter 9 was from Ben's point of view, Chapter 10 was from Josh's, and Chapter 11 was from Mike's. I won't be staying in this type of writing mode; I just felt that it fit at this time in the story.
Please email me at col_dot@hotmail.com. Suggestions? Questions? Threats? All are welcome! I have the story kind of mapped out, but you can still influence changes. It's been so great to hear from everyone who's contacted me, and I promise to reply as soon as possible/ Hope to hear from you soon!
Spoon Mike