MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! So, I was thinking to myself, what better present to give my readers, than an actual chapter of the story. So, here it is! Again, this part of the story, and a few more chapters to come, have been based and written on an idea from a friend of mine. He wrote most of what you're going to read, but of course, I put me personality into it and added stuff. Let me know what you think. And because he would like to remain nameless, let me know and I'll let him know! So, without further ado, ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!!
As we neared Orlando around 1am, as tired as Justin was, he was really excited to be going home. I had been spending most of the time on the guy's bus, making sure that Lance was ok. I felt bad for ignoring my crew, but they told me to stay, they knew that I would just be worrying sick if I were on my bus and not with him. I was surprised at how they took it. I noticed some facial expressions that weren't too approving, but those who had them were, chastised by the rest. For the most part, Lance was just fine. I was just too worried to leave him alone. When we got into Orlando, we all went to our separate homes and agreed to meet up at Justin's the next day.
The next day, we all sat in the Harless' living room trying to decide what to do for the rest of the evening. Since we had gotten into town late the night before we'd slept most of the day away. For the most part, we felt like just relaxing and kicking back for the rest of the night, but were still considering what to do, if anything. "You know I'm surprised that Lynn and Paul don't just kick us out," I said as Lynn walked through the room. "When we are here, we're like a bunch of freeloaders or something!" I laughed.
"Don't think the thought has never crossed my mind!" Lynn said sternly pointing her finger at me and Lance curled up on the loveseat, before she broke into a smile. "Lord, if we did that, then we'd never see you guys!" she said leaning over the back of the couch to kiss Justin on the forehead. "Sorry I have to leave to take care of business on your first night back honey."
"Oh, don't worry about it mom," he said smiling up at her, "I of all people should know how thing are with the business."
"Still, I hate it," she started, but was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. "Oh, what does he want now?" she moaned as she looked at the caller ID on the incoming call. "Jerry, I'm on my way in right now. Could this not have waited until I actually got there?" We all chuckled as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Yes, I'm leaving right now. In fact, this would have been me opening the door and getting into the car, but I'm on the phone with you!" She listened for a few more minutes then said, "Jerry, I'm on my way...." She sighed deeply, and Justin gave her a sympathetic look. Rolling her eyes once more and shaking her head she hit the off button. "And that was me hanging up!"
"You go Lynn!" Chris yelled from where he was stretched out on the floor playing with Busta.
"Man that guy's an idiot," Justin said as he and the rest of us laughed. "Bye mom!"
"Bye honey, y'all be good now!" Lynn said with grin as she walked to the door.
As she opened the door she was surprised by, the young man standing there with his finger posed to ring the bell.
"Well now, that was timing!" he said and they both laughed.
"Hey kiddo!" she said as she smiled and hugged him. "I'm so happy to see you! Just not happy that I have to go into the office," she frowned.
"At this hour? Ouch!" he said with a grimace. "Sorry. Are the guys..." he asked pointing inside.
"Yes they're inside, go on in," she motioned toward the door as she headed for her car. "I'll see you later, Lew!"
Lew walked through the hall and into the living room and said,
"So this is what boy bands do when they aren't dodging screaming ten and twelve year old girls!"
We all jumped, startled by his sudden and unexpected presence. Once the newcomer's identity registered though, Justin and JC both yelled,
"Lew!"
They both got up and ran over to give him a hug. Lance and I suddenly conscious of our seating arrangements quickly moved away from each another, hoping he hadn't noticed us. The slight grin he gave us before turning back to Justin and JC, however, made us both blush.
"What are you doin' here?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, when did you get back into town?" JC asked.
"I just moved back last week," Lew replied, "Well I'm not actually back in Orlando, I've got a place just the other side of Bithlo."
"Why are you so far out there?" Chris asked scrunching his face.
"Halfway between here and the beach?" Lew said with a smile and a shrug.
JC ushered Lew over to the sofa. As he sat beside Joey, Lew shook his hand and gave him a little hug.
"Damn, Joe! Son that's..." Lew stopped as if searching for the missing words. "It's even redder in person!"
Justin laughed from where he was now sitting on the table in front of the sofa and said,
"Yeah, but it kinda grows on yah!"
"I could just imagine you with it that color the time you forgot to get all the wolf-man make up off before you came to the taping!" Lew said stifling a laugh.
"Ah shuddup!" Joey said throwing a pillow at him.
I looked quizzically at Lance, who just grinned. JC noticing our exchange said,
"Oh man, I'm sorry! Rob, this is Lew ... well Ronald Lewis, he was one of our tutors when me and Curly were on MMC."
"Oh! Nice to meet you, Lew?" I said as I got up to shake his hand.
"Yeah," Lew replied as he stood and took my hand, "Rob? Oh, Rob! The new label mate that's opening for them?"
"That be me!"
"I just heard you're latest single man. It's great! And the first one wasn't too shabby either, guess I'm going out to get a new CD huh?"
"Thanks! Bring it by sometime and maybe you can get it signed by the artist and the guys who discovered him," I said, smiling.
"Ok, enough with the admiration! Sit down already!" Chris said with mock disgust from the floor, "You're makin' Busta nervous down here!"
"That dog is always nervous!"
"Finally learn how to take that mutt for a walk so he doesn't have to embarrass himself on national TV anymore?" Lew laughed as he sat back down.
"Oh, ha, ha!" Chris said giving him the finger.
Lew shook his head and said,
"So, are you guys here for a while?"
"Yeah, for a little while anyway," JC said.
"Yeah we're doing the Rosie O'Donnell show and a special at Disney, then we have the show here and a few nearby," Lance said.
"Kewl," Lew said, "regular old vacation for you then?"
"Yup, same old stuff," Joey said.
"So what are you guys up to tonight?"
"That's what we were trying to figure out when you came in," JC said with a smile.
"Well I'm getting kinda hungry," Chris said. "How `bout some dinner?"
"Sounds great to me," Justin said, "come to think of it, I'm starving!"
"Me too!" JC said.
"Yeah, but I don't think we have a menu for what you two are craving!" Chris said laughing.
Justin and JC both turned and glared at him, then JC handed Justin a cushion from the sofa.
"I think I just missed something," Lew whispered, leaning over to Joey's ear, "but I guess I'll just wait and see if I catch back up later." Then both JC and Justin began to pummel Chris, even getting Busta into the act. Lew shook his head and said, "And I just told his mom he was a good kid!"
We all waited until Chris finally yelled,
"Uncle! Uncle already!"
"Well that did nothing to help my appetite!" I said with a chuckle.
First we debated whether to go out or just order some take out. We'd already agreed that none of us felt like cooking. Dining out, and the potential hassle of constant fan interruptions certainly didn't look appealing since we were all tired, so we decided on take out. We all began to yell out different foods, from Chinese to buffalo wings. Then Lance called order.
"Guys, guys! Hell, when we order we always get the same thing! Hey what are you in the mood for?"
"Who me?" Lew asked.
"Yeah, why not?" I said, "Like Lance said, we always get the same stuff, let's try something different, you choose."
Lew shrugged, "Well, I dunno ... oh, is Giuseppe's still around?"
"Ooo yeah!" Justin said.
"Huh?" was all that I could come up with. "What or who is Giuseppe's?"
"It's only like THE best pizza in the world!" Joey told him.
"I doubt it, no pizza is better than New York Pizza! Wait. let me rephrase that, Italian New York pizza!"
"Well, this comes a close second!"
"Yeah, they're like way across town," Chris continued, "but what the Ale House is to wings, Giuseppe's is to pizza!"
"You guys didn't subject the poor guy to the Ale House test did you?" Lew said with mock disgust.
"Yup on like his first night out down here!" Joey said smugly.
"Such cruelty!" Lew laughed. "I thought so much better of you lot!"
"Oh come on you know you love `em too!" JC said with a grin.
"Well yeah," Lew said returning the grin, "but to thrust it onto the unsuspecting!"
"Aw, he held his own," Lance said patting me on the back.
"Yeah, no thanks to you!" I said.
"No comment," Chris chuckled, gaining a death stare from me and Lance.
In a few minutes we settled on what we wanted and Lance called and placed our order.
"Well that's done, who's gonna go pick them up?"
"Well not me," Chris said from the floor, "Busta and I are pretty damn comfortable where we are!"
"Hell, I'll go," Lew said, "I'd just have to go out and move my car for you guys to get out anyway."
"Great, I'll come with ya," JC said heading for the door.
Once JC and Lew walked out the door, Lance and I snuggled back up together on the couch.
"Now, I'm comfortable!" I said.
"Me too!" Lance replied as the phone rang.
"I'll get it!" Justin said getting up from his spot on the floor.
"Ten bucks says it's Jay!" Chris said.
"I ain't gonna argue!" I said as Lance started playing with my hair.
Sure enough, it was Jay. I stole the phone from Justin long enough just to say hi. After he beat me down to get the phone back, he went upstairs to his room with the phone.
"Oh, man! You done gone old fogy on me man!" JC yelled, grabbing his head dramatically, as he stepped out onto the driveway and saw Lew's car.
"What?"
"C'mon man? A minivan? Where're the kids?" JC laughed.
"Oh shuddup! They're in the house there if you must know!" Lew said unlocking the doors and climbing in. "And it's an APV not a minivan!"
"Mm hmm! That's like an SUV on tranquilizers right?" JC said, as he fastened his seat belt.
"No smart ass, it's an `all purpose vehicle', meaning it's got enough passenger space to accommodate you buncha bozos or I can remove some or all the seats and haul equipment packages around."
"You know I'm just teasing."
"Yeah, figured you had to be. I mean, it ain't like your jeep is the best date car!" Lew laughed.
"Wouldn't know, never been near my jeep whenever I had a date!" JC laughed.
They made some more small talk about this and that, nothing very important. Then JC commented on Lew's choice of music as the CD changer shuffled from an `N Sync song to one of Britany's to one off Tony's latest album.
"Yeah, well you guys are all hell on the entertainment budget! I've got pretty much all of your albums, but you can't even imagine the strange looks I get when I bring teeny pop stuff like Britany's, then Buzzfly and a Gary Morris CD to the register!"
"You actually listen to Chasen's stuff?!? Now Matt and his dad ... country ... I can see, but you never struck me as the type to go in for Chasen's music." JC laughed.
"Hey, he's got some good stuff on there. I even caught one of his gigs at a club in LA a while back. Tony sat in and was jammin with them. And Ricky and Dale were there, hell it was like old home week!"
"Oh man, I miss that sometimes," JC said with a touch of lament in his voice. "Hell the last time I even tried that, I couldn't listen to them play cause all the people started asking me for autographs. It just wasn't fair to them." He sighed. "Oh, well.. I still never pictured an old dude like you goin to one of their gigs!" he laughed.
"Hey now! Watch who you're calling old! Hell I'm only about six months older than Chris!"
JC laughed,
"Yeah, well sometimes I forget that Chris is that old, he can be worse than Justin if you catch him in super hyper mode!"
"I think I saw one of those once. Not pretty!," Lew laughed. "So Josh ... how long have Rob and Lance been together?"
JC smiled and shook his head, then looked over at Lew and said,
"You don't miss much do you?"
"Training. Years and years of scientific observation and of course watching to catch you guys passing love notes back and forth in class!"
JC laughed,
"Hey I only got caught once ... unlike Tony and Keri who did it on a daily basis!" They both laughed, "So how did you know?"
"Well they were giving each other these looks, like I want to touch you, but I can't'. Then there was the way that they were obviously sitting together before I came in and then developed a severe case of the cooties' or somethin' afterwards."
"Oh man, that was funny!" JC laughed, "Well they've been pretty much together since mid January."
"That's when you guys first met Rob wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"So how did y'all really meet?"
"Haven't you heard the interviews?"
"Well yeah, but I also know that there's usually a little more to it than the PR department tends to give out."
"No it's pretty much all there the way Rob tells it in interviews."
"They met in a public bathroom and it was love at first sight? I never thought Lance was that kinda guy!"
"OH ILL!!! NO! Man that's sick!" Lew grinned and stuck his tongue out at him. "No, he was ducking some fans and Rob snuck him out. Then they went for coffee and talked for a while. Lance kinda freaked a little though, and bolted when Rob accidentally found out that he was gay -- well bi -- from an old picture he'd had in his wallet. Rob tailed him back to the hotel and explained that it was okay that he was too, and that he'd never tell anyone. Then they talked some more, really hit it off ... Lance introduced him to us, we hit it off ... things just clicked and now we're one big happy family!"
They both laughed.
"You're such a wonderful story teller!"
"Hey, I do songs, not books!"
They both laughed again as they pulled into the parking lot, and the conversation was postponed until after they retrieved the pizzas and were back on their way home.
"So you think you guys are really gonna enjoy it on the road with Rob, huh?" Lew asked as they pulled back into traffic.
"Yeah, it's been great so far! He and I've gotten pretty close over the past few months. I think in some ways I've even gotten closer to him in this short a time than I have the rest of the guys in the years I've known them." JC laughed, "You know what's funny ... I didn't really like him at first."
"Why not? He seems great."
"Oh yeah, he is! It was just ... well the first time we met Rob he was coming down from Lance's room. I had had a bad day, and when I saw Rob with Lance, I immediately assumed the worst. The only thing I could think about was the last asshole that Lance had been with. I just didn't wanna see a repeat of him getting hurt like that."
"Oh yeah, I think Jus told me about him. You didn't really beat him up then throw him off the bus in the middle of the highway, did you?"
"Well ... I did ask James stop first, I just kinda didn't exactly wait for him to do it," JC laughed.
"Josh, remind me never to get on your bad side!"
"Hey Lew!"
"Yeah Josh?"
"Never get on my bad side man!"
"Why thank you for reminding me Josh! Well looks like we've got Lance happily attached, what are we gonna do with the rest of you?"
"Actually Rob's been really good luck."
"Oh yeah? How so?"
"Well a few days after we met him we went to play some ball, and he brought along his best friend Jay."
"Oh?" Lew looked over at JC questioningly as they stopped at a light. "NO! You don't mean Jus?"
JC nodded.
"They are the cutest couple! Don't tell him I said that though, he'd kick my ass." JC laughed.
"Oh man," Lew shook his head as the light changed, "I just can't imagine Jus like that ... I mean sometimes I still see that 13 year old I first met."
"I know I have the same problem sometimes, especially when he pulls shit like he did when he and Jay first met!"
Lew laughed,
"Why? What'd he do?"
"Aw, the little prick! Well, we met that first day when we played ball and all, and I guess they exchanged numbers. Then the next day or so while we were all out shopping and stuff, Curly invites him over to the hotel and they have a fuck fest!"
"Josh! I don't think I've ever heard you refer to sex like that."
"Well that was putting it mildly! Damn, I guess they were both just so horny that they just didn't give a shit. When I finally found out about it, I think that was the most disappointed I've ever been in Justin; it was just about the stupidest thing he'd ever done. It was so much like `wham bam thank you man' kinda thing, he almost ruined the whole thing between them!"
"But they're okay now?"
"Oh yeah, they're great! They finally both came to their senses, and I know Jus is hooked, and from what Rob says Jay is as well."
"That's amazing! Damn, he done went and growed up on me!" They both laughed.
"It's gonna be so awesome this summer! We all set up this surprise for Rob when he comes on the road with us, were gonna let his bro and Jay and Melissa come with us!"
"Whoa, all you `guys' and then this Melissa? That should be interesting! I can just see Joey flirting now!"
"He damn well better know to keep his paws off of her!"
"Oh?" Lew said giving him a sideways glance. "So just who is this Melissa?"
"Oh, she's Rob's other best friend."
"Uh huh, and just why should Joe know to keep his paws off of her?" Lew said noting the broad grin stretched across JC face. "Jooosh? Josh!" he said opening his mouth dramatically. JC's grin got even bigger, if that was possible. "Damn I guess he has been good luck! All three of you?" JC nodded. "Okay, so tell me, what's she like?"
"Oh, man! She is sooo amazing! She's got long dark hair, and the most gorgeous, deep, brown eyes. She's tall, and dark and. she's just beautiful, and incredibly sexy!! She's smart, she's funny, she's ... she's just incredible!" Lew couldn't help smiling as he stole glances at JC, who was positively glowing as he described her. "And she loves me for me," JC said as his eyes got slightly misty, "she's in love with Josh, not JC. It's been so long since anyone ever even cared enough to notice the difference. I just feel so comfortable with her, it's ... I don't know ... it just feels so right when I'm with her."
"Oh, wow! You got it bad don't ya?"
"Oh, yeah! But I tell ya, bad has never felt this good!"
Arriving back at the house, they parked in the driveway and divided the pizza boxes between them to carry in. JC let himself in and said,
"Hey guys! We're back, come and get it!"
A female head then peered around the corner and JC's eyes lit up. Before he could say anything she leapt into his arms and kissed him full on the lips.
Lew quickly grabbed the pizzas that JC had been holding and did a rather awkward looking modern dance number to get them safely to the coffee table in the living room. All of us, minus Justin were sitting there laughing hysterically.
"I take it he knows her. I hope!" Lew said.
We all laughed again as JC and his companion broke their kiss for the first time.
"I've been wanting to do that since we saw you off at the airport.. How long ago? Too long!" Melissa said.
"Me too!" JC said with a broad smile as he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her into the living room.
"I take it this is Melissa?" Lew said with a grin.
"How'd ya guess?" JC laughed. "Melissa this is Lew ... Lew, Melissa."
"Pleasure to meet you Melissa," Lew said kissing her hand, which gained a raised eyebrow from JC, but Lew just grinned. "So where's Jus?"
"Oh, he's on the phone, Jay called," I said.
"So I take it we start eating without him, huh?" Lew said.
"Oh yeah! He could be awhile!" JC laughed.
We started passing around the food and Lew noticed me and Lance again sitting on opposite ends of the love seat.
"Uh ... would you two mind doing me a huge favor?" Lew asked us.
"Sure what do you need Lew?" Lance asked.
Lew grinned and JC said,
"Stop sitting like you guys have cooties or something!"
Lew and JC burst into laughter.
"Actually I was gonna say stop sitting in separate time zones, but that one works too!"
"He's cool guys, he knows."
"Oh! Well in that case..." I said, then swung myself around and laid my head in Lance's lap. "Ahhh ... MUCH better!"
"Definitely!" Lance added.
"Hah," Melissa said, then crawled into JC's lap. JC gave her a rather surprised but still happy look. "Well ... why should they have all the fun!"
"Okay, I think I'm gonna have to take the dog outta the room now before he gets sick!" Chris laughed.
"So who is this Lew guy anyway?" Melissa whispered into JC's ear. "He seems pretty cool."
JC filled her in on who Lew was and how they'd met and then a short while later Justin came walking into the room. Surveying the seating arrangements he said,
"Okay, now this is just no fair!"
"Tell me about it!" Joey laughed. "Depressing as hell ain't it?"
"Yeah and they didn't even save me any damn pizza!"
"Well you coulda just told ... uh ... Jay?" Lew said with a grin, "that you had to go, and just hung up and come and eat."
Justin looked at him with a half grin then appeared to consider the idea.
"Umm ... NAH! Don't think so!"
We all laughed at him.
"Don't worry," Lew said with a wink as he slid one of the boxes aside, "I saved you a whole one."
"Did I ever tell you that you were always my favorite?"
"Yeah! Riiiight! I'm sooo sure of that! By the way, I still have those pair of shoes."
"Huh? What pair of ... ooooh!" Justin began to shake his head and point at JC, "It wasn't me! Honest!"
Lew raised an eyebrow at the two of them.
"Yeah well I just wear them around like when I wash the car or something ... and they still suds up!"
The 3 of them started laughing as the rest of the room just looked at them, seeing as how it was an inside joke.
"Josh! What did you do?" Melissa asked him.
"Oh, now don't look at me! It was the other Josh, I'm the good one remember?"
"HA!" we all said.
"I'm crushed!" JC said with look of mock hurt on his face.
"Well `someone' put shaving cream and like dish soap or something in my shoes once when they were out doing a location shoot at the beach."
"Laundry detergent," Justin sad off handedly as he took a bite of his pizza.
We all turned to look at him and he began to blush as he realized what he'd just said.
"I KNEW IT!" Lew yelled. "It WAS you and Ryan!"
"Um." Justin grabbed his glass, started downing his soda, and we all started to bust out laughing again.
"BUSTED!" JC howled. "And it's only been what five, six years?"
"Yeah, well where'd the shaving cream come from, huh? It's not like Ryan or I shaved back then!" Justin said sticking out his tongue at JC.
"You still don't!" Chris and I said as Justin stuck up his middle finger.
"Wouldn't Jay get jealous?" Chris asked.
"Oh that's it!!" Justin said throwing a pillow at Chris, which missed and hit the dog.
"Uh oh.. he hit the dog!" I said.
That was when the all out pillow war began. If it weren't for the fact that all the cups were plastic and all the soda bottles were empty, we would've definitely caused a huge mess which Lynn would've killed us for. It was Lew who, after about a good 10 minutes, tried to stop us all. As he stood up and tried to get everybody's attention, we all just threw our pillows at him.
"Oh, that's it! It's war now!!!!" He said grabbing every pillow within his reach and chucking it at all of us.
After he was out of ammo, we stopped the war and called a truce. The playful banter kept up most of the evening. Lew told a few more embarrassing stories of JC and Justin's younger days, even a few involving Joey hanging around the set. As the hour grew later we all decided to call it a night.
While Lew and I were walking to the door together I said,
"Jay would so love to meet you Lew!"
"Oh, no!" Justin shook his head. "He's not getting anywhere near Jay!" We all laughed.
We all said our final good byes for the evening and Lew headed off. JC and Melissa lingered on the front step as Lance and I climbed into my car and headed back to my place.
"I wish I were staying, or you weren't," Melissa said as she placed her arms around his neck then kissed him.
"I know, me too, but it just wouldn't feel right in Lynn and Paul's house, and I've got that meeting about the tour first thing in the morning at the head office."
"I know baby."
"Tell ya what though," he said leaning his forehead against hers, "I'll get everything done, and talk to Rob and see if maybe I can crash at his place for a day or two."
"Oh, really now? Well I happen to know that he only has the one guest room and already has someone staying there this weekend."
"Hmm ... is that right?" She nodded. "Well maybe he can talk to this person, and maybe they wouldn't mind sharing or something?"
"I think you may be in luck, I happen to be pretty tight with both of em ... maybe I can talk to em for ya?"
"Oh, if it's not too much trouble?"
"Nah, it'll be hard, but I think I can convince em. I can be VERY persuasive you know!"
They laughed and shared one last embrace and a tender kiss before she got in her car and headed over to my place.
TBC...
As always, you know the deal, let me know what you think! Email me at Papito6187@aol.com. See yah next time!