I'm SOOOO sorry for the long delay, but things have been kinda crazy lately.
I hope you will enjoy this segment though and I do hope to post new segments more regularly in the coming weeks.
This story involves members of the bands NSYNC. I am in no way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members. This is purely a fictional story. Enjoy!
Thanks to everyone who have taken the time to write me. I really, really enjoy hearing from you guys, so please send any comments and/or suggestions to jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)
Ryan and Lance - Part 16
Applause filled the auditorium as the audience cheered NSYNC on. JC got up from his seat first, followed by Justin, Joey, and Chris. On their way to the stage, they were congratulated by the Backstreet Boys. Several thoughts were going through their minds...like how long it had been since they were on stage together with Lance. This, however, was certainly not the way anyone had envisioned it happening...
JC was the first to make to the stage. He approached Lance hesitantly, not knowing what to expect from his former bandmate. As the others walked onto the stage behind JC, there was apprehension on all their faces. Even among the audience, a sense of tension and suspense could be felt.
Holding the award in one hand, Lance smiled at his four former bandmates and pulled them each into a hug, whispering congratulations to each of them. Justin, seeing Lance for the first time since that fateful day, struggled to contain his emotions. They each took turns speaking briefly to the audience before making their way back to their seats. Before JC turned to follow the rest of the guys, he mouthed the words "Can we talk afterwards?" to Lance, who nodded in response. As Lance made his way back to this seat, he could see a layer of smoke at the top of the auditorium. He dismissed it as part of the show until the smoke began to become increasingly thick. Soon, the auditorium was filling with smoke and breathing became difficult.
The audience began to panic, not knowing what was going on. Before long, the fire alarm sounded and people began rushing through any exit that they could find.
Joey and Chris followed JC as he dashed through one of the exits. By now the corridors were filled with smoke and utter chaos was the only worthy description of the situation. Lance was close behind Chris and eventually caught up with him. Screams and shouts could be heard here and there but it appeared that the exit to the street was within sight.
Suddenly, Chris stopped and turned around, causing Lance to nearly collide into him.
"What are you doing?" Lance yelled, trying to be heard amidst the fire alarm and all the screams and shouts. "Keeping running!!"
"Justin!! Where's Justin?" Chris yelled back in near panic.
"I can't hear you!!" Lance replied.
"JUSTIN!! WHERE'S JUSTIN???" Chris yelled again, louder this time.
Lance's face turned white as he realized what Chris was saying. By this time, JC and Joey realized that Chris was still standing in the smoke-filled corridor and had come back to see what was going on.
"What are you guys doing??" JC shouted. "Let's get out of here!!"
"We can't find Justin!" Chris answered.
Before JC or Joey could respond, one of the building's wooden pillars crashed to the floor steps away from where they were all standing.
"Come on," Joey pleaded. "We've got no time!! This building's gonna crash.
Justin's probably waiting outside already."
Chris began to protest but JC and Joey grabbed his arms and started to drag him towards the exit.
"Joey's right," Lance replied, "Justin's probably waiting outside. Let's go guys."
Finally, Chris seemed half-convinced and began to head towards the exit with everyone else. As Chris turned towards the exit, Lance stopped running and stood still for a moment. JC, Joey, and Chris appeared smaller and smaller as they headed to the door. "I've gotta find you, Justin," Lance whispered before turning around and running back into the burning building.
As they reached the door, JC and Chris turned around to take one last glance. As they turned, they could see Lance running back into the building.
"NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" JC shouted. It was too late. Lance had already disappeared into the fiery inferno. Another crashing pillar brought JC back from his daze. Joey and Chris dragged JC into parking lot where everyone else was gathered. By now, a number of fire trucks were on scene.
Tears were streaming down JC's eyes and he began to shake. Joey and Chris looked on helplessly but could not find anything comforting to say. They too were reeling from shock at the latest turn of events.
Meanwhile...
The smoke was stinging Lance's eyes and he was finding it difficult to breathe. He madly dashed from room to room, desperately looking for any signs of Justin. As he was searching, he tripped over a chair and fell to the floor. As he tried to get up, his eyes caught sight of a person lying on the floor several metres in front of him, a long metal pole trapping his legs. Lance quickly got up and ran towards the injured person, hoping that he was still alive.
"Justin!!!" Lance yelled as he realized who it was.
"Lance?" Justin asked weakly.
"Thank God you're okay," Lance answered. He quickly removed the pole off of Justin's legs and helped the blond singer to his feet. Within seconds, however, Justin's knees gave and he crashed to the floor again in pain.
"I think it's broken," Justin finally said. As he said those words, another loud crash could be heard as another pillar crumbled to the floor. "You shouldn't have come back, Lance. Leave, before its too late...I'm not gonna make it..." Justin pleaded.
"Shut up, Justin," Lance chastised, "I'm not going to leave you here."
"Don't be stupid, Lance," Justin countered. "I can't even walk. Better one person die than two. Just go!!"
Lance ignored Justin's pleas. "Okay, you can't walk...then get on my back...I'll carry you out."
"Lance..."
"Just shut up and get moving!!" Lance ordered.
Justin reluctantly obeyed and Lance began walking towards the exit. As he exited the room, he was dismayed to find his original path blocked by several fallen pillars. "Shit," he muttered. He quickly turned the other way and looked desperately for an exit, but with little success.
"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" JC yelled in anguish as the building exploded in flames. It took all of Joey and Chris' strength to hold JC back as he tried to run towards the building. All three of them were in tears but there was nothing that they could do. The best that they could do was to hug each other tightly as they let their tears flow...this wasn't the way that they thought this would end.
The smoke was too much for Justin and he lost consciousness, but Lance was too busy looking for a way out to notice. Finally, Lance could see another exit sign in front of him. He carefully made his way towards the door and opened it. He sighed with relief as he saw the clear night sky. Carrying Justin with him, Lance continued walking towards a deserted field. Apparently, they exited through the back of the building. Just as Lance collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, another loud explosion rocked the building, lighting up the night sky.
The night was cool as Lance sat beside the still-unconscious Justin. After several minutes, the young blond singer began to stir. "Wh..what are we doing here?" an obviously confused Justin asked.
"Waiting for you to wake up, sleepy-head," Lance replied with a small grin.
"We...we're not dead?" Lance reached over and pinched Justin on the cheek. "OWWW!!"
"Well, guess you're alive," Lance smirked.
"Haha," Justin retorted, "always the comedian." After a moment of silence, Justin became very serious. "How can I ever thank you, Lance?"
Lance turned to face Justin. "You know that JC, Joey, Chris would have done the same for you."
"But I didn't hurt them the way I hurt you," Justin answered, his voice shaking. He turned away from Lance, not able to face him any longer.
Lance moved closer to Justin, placing his hands on the younger singer's shoulders and turning Justin to face him. "Look at me, Justin. Yes, you did hurt me. You'll never know how much it hurt..." Lance tried to choke back his tears, but apparently without much success. "But know one thing, no matter what comes between us...I'll...I'll never let anything happen to you." With that, Lance stood up. "I'll let the other guys know that you're here..."
"Wait, Lance," Justin called out. "Don't leave me...please. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Lance. Please...forgive me, please!!" he pleaded.
"Justin...you..."
"I'm sorry, Lance...I never meant what I said. I don't know what came over me. Please, give me another chance. Don't go...I beg you..."
"Justin, I...I..."
"Lance, please!! I..." Justin paused, not knowing whether to continue or not. "I...I love you, Lance!"
...to be continued....
Hope you enjoyed this segment. Let me know what you think!! Will this be the chance for the guys to make up?
As always, I'd love to hear any comments/ideas/questions. Please e-mail me at jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)