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 17
Lance froze in his tracks upon hearing Justin's words. Struggling to control himself, he regained his composure as best as he could before continuing. "We better let the guys know that you're alright," he said quietly. "Come on, I'll take you over to the front." Lance kneeled down so that Justin could climb on his back again.
"Lance..." Justin continued as tears streamed down his face.
"We'll talk about this later, okay?" Lance replied gently. "Right now, we've gotta get you to the guys and have your leg checked out." With that, Lance carried Justin towards the front of the building where everyone else was congregating. As Lance and Justin turned the corner, they could see a huge mass of people standing on the huge lawn in front of the buidling, with numerous fire trucks parked all over. Lance's eyes scanned the crowd and immediately focused on three obviously distraught young men. He slowly walked over, careful not to hurt Justin, towards the group.
Joey was the first to notice someone walking towards them. His eyes immediately lit up and he ran towards the two approaching people. "Lance! Justin!" he exclaimed, "thank God you're alright!!" With that outburst of joy, Chris and JC looked up from their sorrow and saw their two friends standing steps away from them.
Joey was about to hug Lance when he noticed that the older blond was carrying Justin. "What happened?"
"Justin hurt his leg in there," Lance explained. "It could be broken, so we better take him to see a doctor."
Joey nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, JC and Chris had made their way over, their eyes still red from crying. "James Lance Bass," JC chastised, "don't you EVER do that to me again!!"
Lance's head shot up and stared right into JC. "I'm not your kid, JC. Don't you EVER talk to me that way again!" Lance shot back. "I'll drive the car over, wait by the road," he muttered before carrying Justin towards the parking lot.
"Lance, I..." JC tried to explain before he choked on his tears again. Chris and Joey pulled JC into a hug. "I...I didn't mean it that way..."
"We know," Chris answered. "You just need to give him some time...both of you need some time to work this out."
As Lance was carrying Justin to the car, the younger blond could hear Lance's uneven breathing. Right away, he knew that Lance was crying. "What's wrong, Lance?" Justin asked softly.
"I'm sorry, Justin..." Lance replied. "I...I didn't mean to yell at JC. I don't know what's wrong with me..."
Justin's heart broke as he saw Lance sob. "Lance, it's okay. I know you didn't mean it. He'll understand."
Meanwhile, back in Orlando...
"We interrupt our programming with breaking news. A huge fire broke out at the site of the Canadian Music Awards earlier tonight, sending thousands of guests and celebrities in attendance running into the street for safety..." Ryan sat where he had been all evening, his eyes frozen to the screen, his breathing uneven, his hands shaking. Time stopped, and Ryan could feel his heart pounding.
RRRRIIIIIINGGGG!! RRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGG!
Ryan robotically walked to the phone, his mind blank. "Hello..."
"Ryan, you okay?"
Silence.
"Ryan?"
Realizing who was at the other end of the call, Ryan snapped out of his trance. "Lance? Thank God you're okay. What happened??"
"Long story, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay. I'll be home tomorrow."
"Okay. Thanks for calling," Ryan replied. "By the way, you looked really hot there on stage tonight!"
Lance blushed at the comment. "Thanks, Ryan. Well, you take care of yourself, okay? And give Scottie a hug for me."
"Will do. See you soon."
A couple of hours of waiting finally saw the doctors emerge from Justin's room.
"Well?" Chris asked tentatively.
"Everything looks good. It wasn't a serious injury," the doctor explained. "It'll take a while to heal but there won't be any lasting damage. We'll keep him here overnight and he can be released tomorrow morning."
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. They all headed into Justin's room, with the exception of Lance, who remained where he was. As JC followed Joey into the room, he noticed that Lance was not coming with him. He stopped and turned to face his former bandmate. "You coming, Lance?"
"Nah, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Give Justin my regards," Lance answered before turning towards the elevator.
"Lance, please..." JC pleaded. "Do you really despise us that much? Justin needs you..."
Lance could feel tears well up in his eyes, but he struggled to maintain his composure. He turned to face JC. "And where were you when I needed you, JC? Where were you?" Lance choked on those last words, as his attempt to hold back his tears failed him. JC's sense of guilt overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees in tears.
"I'm sorry, Lance. I messed up, I messed up so bad. Please...I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, and I'm not asking you to forgive me...but please, stay for a bit...for Justin...I beg you," JC pleaded through his sobs.
Lance's heart broke as he saw JC on the floor, oblivious to anyone who might walk through this area of the hospital. But a voice told him not to succumb to JC's pleading...he didn't want to be hurt again.
When Lance didn't respond, JC crawled over to Lance's feet. "I beg you, Lance...just do this one favour for me...I beg you...I'll do anything...anything!!!"
"Alright, JC. I want you to smash you fucking face against that wall so I never ever have to see you again," Lance answered coldly.
Without hesitation, JC got up from the floor and ran towards the wall. Lance gasped and grabbed JC before he could go any further. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Ramming my face against the wall," JC replied.
Seeing that JC really meant it, Lance's last wall of defence crumbled. "I...I...I'm sorry, JC. I didn't..." Lance searched for words to say, but he found none.
JC looked at the blond singer with pleading eyes. "Please...just go in and see Justin...even for a few minutes...please?"
Lance nodded and followed JC into the room. Once inside, they saw Joey and Chris by Justin's bedside, and the younger blond singer was sobbing. "Guys, can we have a couple of minutes alone?" Lance asked.
The rest of the guys responded by quietly leaving the room. Lance walked over to Justin's bed and sat on the chair by the bed. "You feeling better, Just?"
Justin controlled his sobs and looked at Lance. "Lance...I...I'm so sorry about everything that I've put you through. You have every reason to hate me, to despise me...I've been nothing short of a despicable assho..." Before he could finish, Lance interrupted.
"Justin, you've got to stop beating up on yourself. What's happened is already in the past. You've got to look forward now."
"But I don't have anything to look forward to anymore..." Justin whispered.
"Don't be silly, Justin," Lance reasoned. "You've got NSYNC, your family, your music. You've got a lot ahead of you to look forward to."
Justin looked at Lance in the eye and summoned up his courage. "I don't care about my music or my career, Lance. Because of them, because of me trying to hold on to them, I lost my best friend. That was too high a price to pay, Lance."
Lance sat there speechless, trying to digest Justin's words. "Justin...when I came out to you...I really didn't expect you to react that way. Maybe I was being naive...but I...Justin, what you did really hurt me...and...I know that I shouldn't have expected you to just accept me right on the spot...I was unfair to you in a way..." Lance paused before continuing, searching for the right words to say. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm asking you to forgive me for the way I've treated you."
Now it was Justin's turn to be shocked. He could never understand Lance. Here he was trying his hardest to apologize, and Lance somehow managed to turn the whole thing around, asking for his forgiveness instead. "Why don't we just forgive each other, Lance. I think that'll make this whole situation a lot easier," Justin finally suggested.
A grin broke out on Lance's face and they moved to hug each other. It felt like a huge burden was lifted off of both of them. When they finally broke the embrace, Justin looked into Lance's eyes again. "Does this mean that you're going to come back to NSYNC?"
...to be continued....
Hope you enjoyed this segment. Let me know what you think!!
As always, I'd love to hear any comments/ideas/questions. Please e-mail me at jaclarke@hotmail.com (ICQ #7964029)