This is the second time I'm writing a story series for Nifty, though I've gone in a different direction from BSB Nsync Chronicles. This story is a spin-off of the Tales of a Real Dark Knight series, started by James Geckler. Tales of a Young Mutant in the celebrities section is also a spin-off of the Dark Knight series, and is a good read too. Following the tradition, I've also named this series with a starting of "Tales of a..." as a beginning. Cool, huh? ;p
Special thanks to Rune, Aeoros and Mawsy for always being there, and for being the first to read this story and giving it the thumbs up. And a special thanks to James for writing his amazing series, which without it, this story would not exist. Comments, questions and suggestions to be sent to dylan@celticwarrior.com or ensstyenlc@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: This story is fictional, and says nothing about the orientations of any member of the boyband N Sync, or any other character, celebrity or otherwise. If you are under 18 or 21, or live in a country where it's illegal to read something like this, leave, though I seriously doubt you will. If you don't like the idea of two guys in a relationship with each other, or having sex with each other, what are you doing here in the first place?
Though maybe none of the characters will be appearing, ideas taken from these places will show up:
Buffy, Copyright 20th Century Fox, Created by Joss Whedon X-Men, Copyright Marvel Comics, Created by Stan Lee Charmed, Copyright WB, Created by Aaron Spelling
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2
"He hasn't called yet, has he?" I asked. My friends stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
"No, he hasn't," Reuben said, turning back to his computer. He was working on Evil Ken, a character he made for a freeware two-player fighting game called Mugen. It was a lot of work, but he was quite proud of it, and would regularly clear out the bugs and make the character as near-perfect as he could. I was on my usual spot at the edge of his bed with Joy lying next to me. She shook her head and went back to her book. Melvin was on the floor playing with Muffin and Jelly. Muffin was Reuben's collie. She was still young and not very big, and she was very gentle. Jelly was a tabby cat, or rather kitten, and she was my pet. Both Muffin and Jelly got along well with each other, and with Melvin. Joy was a little jumpy around animals, but did not mind Jelly and Muffin too much. We had spent the morning after breakfast in Reuben's room, discussing the appearance of the vampire gang, though the topic had quickly turned to how strange the reactions of the guys from Nsync were. Of course, it led to them asking if I had noticed what seemed like flirting from Justin towards me. Melvin said he didn't know for if Justin was flirting, but he thought it was highly likely. Reuben just said that maybe the three of us were assuming too much. He did add that he might be wrong, but he didn't think Justin was flirting with me at all. Joy said that Justin did ask for my number, and she gave our house number to him. He promised that he would call me today, but there was no news from him at all. We ended the conversation there, until I brought it up again with my question.
"Dylan, if he had called, we'd know because one, we're all here in Reuben's room, and we haven't left at all," Melvin said, withdrawing his hand quickly from Jelly's mouth. She was playing with him, none too gently, and had drawn blood from his index finger. It was not a deep bite, so he just wiped it on a shirt on the floor, and went back to playing with her. I sighed, and went back to daydreaming.
"Why don't you wait in the lounge?" Reuben asked. "So that you'll be the first one to the phone if it rings."
Though there were phones throughout the house, they were for Faith and Jimmy's personal line, so none of us bothered to answer those if they rang. Our phone access was through the phone in the lounge, and was the only line we were allowed to. When I had first moved in with my friends, we wondered how eight people could access the internet at the same time, and how it would work out without us fighting each other to the death. We later found out that Jimmy had somehow managed to get his company, some real estate firm, to set up all the computers on a LAN with internet access, so we would not have to fight with everyone else over the phone line for talking or surfing. None of us made or received a lot of calls, as the people I hang out with happen to be in the same house as me. The three musketeers hang out with each other, so they had no need for calls either. Diane was the only one who used the phone often, when she was around, at least. She regularly stayed with my family, as she and my sister were best friends, and I rarely saw Diane around the house. She would hang out with us when she was around, though.
A clear ringing noise broke our silence, and I quickly jumped up and ran to the door, trying to get to the lounge to answer the phone. I opened Reuben's door, and the first thing I saw was Leon picking up the phone. I clenched my teeth, hoping he would be nice and pass the phone to me. No such luck.
"Dylan? Why would you want to speak with a loser like him anyway?" Leon was saying into the phone. "Only a loser would do that, and I'm sure you're too smart to be a loser."
There was a pause, and Leon hung up the phone. I glared at him as he walked by Reuben's room to get to his. "Why'd you hang up on my friend? That was my call."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you had any friends besides your loser gang," he said, giving me the finger.
"Who was it?" I asked as calmly as possible. Inside, I was seething in anger and calling him an asshole, but I ignored the feelings.
"Some loser called Justin," he replied. "Must be one of your fag friends, his voice is so feminine."
He continued to walk towards his room and I slowly counted to ten, clenching and unclenching my fists. I reached ten and continued counting. I had reached twenty-four when he closed his door, and Joy tapped me on my shoulder. I gave the finger to his closed door, and went back into Reuben's room.
"That was fast," Reuben said, still looking at his computer. "What did he say?"
"I don't know," I grumbled. "Leon got there and hung up on him. He called the bunch of us losers. That seems to be the only word in his vocabulary."
"That's nice," Reuben replied, still not really listening. Melvin looked up at me and gave me a small smile.
"He'll call later, I suppose," Melvin said, standing while a shocked Muffin dropped from his lap. "Come on, I'll wait with you in the lounge."
I appreciated the thought, and smiled at him. Melvin and I rarely spoke to each other, but we communicated on a deeper level very well. Melvin had been my best friend since we were old enough to talk, and after eighteen or so years of friendship, we were inseperable. He was nineteen like me. Reuben was only a year younger than us, but it made a lot of difference in terms of communication. Joy was sixteen, the youngest of us all. We met her when her family joined our church about eight years ago. We did not become friends at first since we all thought she would not be rough enough to play the games we did. We were surprised to learn that she was a tomboy, and could hold her own in our rough and tumble games.
I looked at my watch and frowned. Five thirty. When is Justin going to call? I wondered. It has been three hours since he last did. I slowly stroked Jelly as she slept on my lap. Next to her was Melvin's head near my knee. Muffin was on Melvin's chest, sleeping too. I shook my head and smiled as Melvin gave a little snore, and shifted his head a little before falling back to sleep. My right leg was numb, but I did not want to wake them up by moving, so I just made the most of the situation. I hoped that Leon would not choose to come out of his room at this time. He would have plenty to say about the whole situation. I leaned back on the beanbag and closed my eyes for a while. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, I heard the phone ring. I jumped up to answer it, my heart pounding in anticipation. I heard a loud thud as Melvin's head knocked onto the carpetted floor.
"Ouch," he said, waking up. "That hurt."
"Sorry," I said picking up the receiver. "Hello."
"Err, hi," the voice at the other end said. "May I... err... speak to Dylan, um, please?"
"Speaking," I said cheerfully. I heard a muffled "Eeps, it's him" and held back a chuckle.
"Is that Justin?" I asked, smiling though I knew he couldn't see me.
"Yeah, this is Justin," the voice replied. "I said I'd call."
"Yep, you did," I said. There was an awkward silence. I saw Melvin looking at me, his head cocked slightly to one side, curious about the conversation. I just shrugged, and he chuckled.
"So..." both Justin and I said at the same time. We both paused to let each other speak.
"You first," I said.
"Okay," he said shyly. "I... err, do you... um... would you... eep. Er, who was that guy on the phone earlier?"
I just shook my head and tried to hold back laughter. Melvin noticed it and began to snigger.
"That would be Leon, one of my housemates, and a major asshole," I replied. "He's a pretty nasty person at times."
"Oh, okay," Justin said. I sighed and glanced at Melvin. He smiled and gave me the thumbs up sign, which meant "go ahead". Like I said, the two of us communicate without words.
I nodded nervously, took a deep breath and asked, "Justin, would you like to go out for dinner with me tomorrow night?" Melvin did a silent cheer and raised his fist into the air. I rolled my eyes at him and flipped him off.
"Uh, sure," Justin said, just as nervous as me. He sounded relieved, too, so I suppose that was what he wanted to ask me before he chickened out and asked about Leon. "Tomorrow night at seven? I'll come and pick you up, I've got a car."
"Seven tomorrow night, sure," I said excitedly. "What's the dress code?"
"Erm, I guess something smart casual," Justin replied. I found it so cute the way Justin, a guy used to girls screaming his name and offering him their undying love, was so nervous about asking me for a date. We said our goodbyes, and then it struck me.
"Oh my gosh, I'm going out on a date with Justin Timberlake tomorrow night at seven," I gushed, falling back onto the beanbag. I opened my eyes in shock. "Wait, I don't have anything to wear!"
Melvin groaned. "Oh great, now you sound like Joy."
"No, seriously," I said. "I dropped my clothes off at the laundromat this morning! I really don't have anything good to wear!"
"Now that could be a problem," Melvin said. I looked at my watch and panicked. "Oh no, it's five forty-five. He's coming at seven. What am I gonna do, man? Help me out!"
Melvin cuffed the back of my head.
"Dude, what was that for?" I asked, rubbing the painful spot.
"Two things," he replied. "One, to get you back to your senses. Justin's coming at seven TOMORROW night, so you have plenty of time to get ready. The second is for jumping up suddenly and making me knock my head."
"That's lame," I said, rolling my eyes. "But the laundromat won't be done with my clothes by tomorrow morning."
"Relax, you can borrow some of mine," Melvin said, patting my back. Then he got an evil glint in his eyes. "Besides, he said smart casual, and your clothes may be casual, but they're nowhere near smar -- OWWWWW!"
"You done?" I grinned, twisting the flesh on his arm, causing him to wince.
"Just let go of me, you asshole," he yelled, struggling to break free from my pinch. "Ugh, that's it."
I smiled and looked at Justin. He was dressed smartly, and had the cheesiest smile on his face. He held his hand out to me.
"You ready to go, Dylan?" he asked.
"Dylan!" I heard Melvin. I felt my body being shaken, and I snapped out of the daydream. I saw Melvin's face in front of mine.
"Ass," I laughed. "You daydreamed me!"
"Well, you wouldn't let go," Melvin said, pointing to a dark red patch on his arm. Then we both burst out laughing.
"So how do I look?" I asked, turning one circle to let Melvin see the entire outfit. I was wearing a black, tight t-shirt, and a pair of baggy beige cargoes. I wore a black baseball cap backwards on my head, with a little bit of fringe sticking out the hole. Melvin was impressed.
"Not bad, not bad at all," he said. "But then, they're all my clothes anyway."
"Ass," I said. "Come one, let's go show Reuben and Joy."
I rushed out of Melvin's room, which was directly opposite of mine, and quickly made my way to Reuben's room, which was right next to mine. Melvin and Jelly followed me, and I knew Melvin was thinking about how crazy I was acting right now. I knocked on Reuben's door, and opened it without waiting for a reply.
"How does this look?" I asked happily, spreading my arms out. I did not even bother to look around the room.
"This looks embarrassing," Reuben replied. I looked at him, and my jaw dropped. I heard Melvin snicker from behind me.
"Hey, what's going on?" Joy was coming! I turned sharply. Melvin nodded and turned around.
"What the..." I heard Joy say. I peeked from behind Melvin and saw her standing there, a goofy grin on her face as she was lost in a daydream. I turned back to Reuben, who was blushing, making his already tanned skin even darker. I looked at him for an explanation.
"What?" he said defensively. "So I watched American Pie and got curious, okay?"
I caught Melvin's gaze, and we turned back to the ruined pie. I struggled to contain my laughter, but the sight of Reuben naked from the waist down, with crumbs and apple filling dripping down his privates, was too much to bear. I burst out laughing, and Melvin did too. Reuben shot us a dirty look. Melvin stepped back and closed the door, then burst out laughing, the loudest I have ever heard in my life. I stepped backwards through the door, laughing all the way too. Melvin bent and grabbed his waist from the pain, and he accidently knocked Joy. She woke from her daydream to see us laughing away.
"What's so funny?" She asked, puzzled. Melvin and I looked at each other, then at Reuben's closed door, then started laughing again.
Joy sighed. "Boys."
"That's not a bad outfit," Joy said after I showed her the clothes Melvin chose for me. That guy has great fashion sense. "So why are you wearing it now? It's only eleven in the morning, and Justin's not coming until seven."
"I know, I just wanted to pick it out now, and when the time comes, then I just have to shower and change," I said. "No fuss."
"So they're all Melvin's clothes?" Joy asked.
"Except for the baseball cap," Melvin said. "And his boxers. The cargoes, shirt and scent are all mine."
"Thanks again, man," I said as I hugged Melvin. He smiled and hugged me back. Hey, after eighteen years of friendship, a little hug is pretty much nothing.
"So what are we having for lunch?" Joy asked as Melvin and I broke apart.
"I'm not eating," I declared. "I want to enjoy my dinner and I'm not going to eat a huge lunch and ruin my appetite for dinner."
"Right," Melvin said sarcastically. "Ten bucks says he'll eat something before three."
"No way," Joy said, shaking her head vigorously. "Making a bet on this bottomless pit's eating habits is free money."
"Damn," Melvin said, snapping his fingers. I rolled my eyes at them.
"I'm seriously not going to eat anything," I said. Joy sighed and nodded her head.
"Okay, bet," she said, sighing again. "I'm a sucker."
"Haha, easy cash," Melvin laughed. "Might as well pay me now."
Joy glared and pointed her finger at me. "You had better not eat anything or I will kill you."
"I won't," I promised.
"Okay, pay up," Melvin laughed. Joy growled and handed him a ten, then she turned to me.
"Dylan! You didn't even last forty-five minutes!"
"Sorry," I said. "Couldn't resist the apple jacks and milk."
"Ass," Joy scowled, before laughing. I looked up and saw Reuben enter the kitchen. I snorted, and tried to hold back a laugh. Melvin blushed, and began to giggle. Reuben shot us dirty looks, then ignored us and poured a glass of apple juice.
"More apples?" I asked, sniggering. Reuben gave me the finger.
"Isn't that what the pie got?" Melvin giggled. Reuben gave us a cold glare, then left the kitchen.
"What was all that about?" Joy asked.
"It's a private joke," Melvin said, then we burst out laughing again.
"I can hear you!" Reuben shouted.
"We know!" Melvin shouted back. Joy just sighed and shook her head. I heard the phone in the lounge upstairs ring, and my heart jumped. I ran towards the stairs to answer the phone.
"He thinks it's Justin," I heard Melvin say, as he and Joy raced upstairs with me. The phone stopped just as we reached the top of the stairs. Reuben had answered it. I smiled at Melvin and he grinned back at me.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Melvin?" I asked.
"I think I am, Dylan," he replied.
"It's spying time!" we said in unison.
Joy rolled her eyes. "The only thing that keeps that routine from being ultra-lame is the fact that you guys have never messed up."
"Yeah, we're the best!" I grinned, and high-fived Melvin.
"Why me?" Joy groaned. The three of us crept slowly towards Reuben. His back was facing us, so he did not see us coming. We were directly behind him, ready to scare him when he said, "Okay, bye,", hung up, and turned around.
"Sheesh," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Damn, that was a wasted chance," Joy said. "So who was that?"
"My sister," Reuben replied. He dropped down onto a beanbag. Melvin grabbed a large cushion and sat across from Reuben. Joy took another beanbag and I sat next to Melvin.
"So what did she want?" I asked. "Did you say we said hi, even though we didn't?"
"She wanted to know if we got the part as Nsync's opening band," Reuben said. "I gave her the tour dates, and she said that she might be able to make one of our shows."
"Cool!" I said. "Maybe we could sing some of our 'Sweet Tooth' songs or something if she does."
"I suggested that too, and she said she'd think about it," Reuben nodded. I gave him a strange look.
"There's a 'but' somewhere, right?" I asked. Reuben nodded. "She said that we might have to sing more upbeat songs to get the crowd riled up for Nsync."
"Why's that a problem?" Joy asked. "We have loads of upbeat songs we can sing and play."
"Yeah, but we don't have a drummer," Reuben said.
"What do we need a drummer for?" Melvin asked. "We've done fine so far without one, since Joy and Dylan have all sorts of percussion instruments that we can use easily on stage. Or we could always record a beat on a disk, and put it in your keyboard while you play."
"It doesn't beat having a real drummer, though," Reuben said. I shrugged.
"I don't see the need to have a drummer, but I suppose if you want one, we could get someone," I said.
"Do we know any drummers?" Joy asked.
"Edwin is a drummer," Melvin said. I coughed to hold back a laugh.
"What would likely happen if Edwin joined Ocean Whispers as a drummer?" I asked, smiling slyly.
"He'd want us to change our name and become a heavy metal group," Joy frowned. "Then seeing as Brian and Leon are part of his musketeer trio, they'll insist that we need a guitarist and bassist."
"Then they'd get Diane as a vocalist," Reuben said, linking the situation. "Since none of us like singing metal."
"Right," I said. "Now let's say we have a girl. This girl's best friend has gone away for a few months, so she hangs out with her boyfriend."
"What's that got to do with--" I interrupted Reuben.
"Now if this girl's boyfriend was gone for months, she'd spend more time with her best friend," I continued. Melvin stared at me, confused.
"Now what would happen if both her best friend and boyfriend went away for months, to the same place?" I asked, then pointed at Joy to answer.
"She'd either be really pissed, or she'll want to follow them," Joy replied. "But I still don't get--"
"Wait," I said. "I'm getting there. Now what would happen if her older sibling, let's say brother, was going the same place as her aforementioned boyfriend and best friend?"
"Her parent's are more likely to let her go?" Reuben asked. "Since her best friend, boyfriend and brother are all going away for the same amount of time, to the same places."
"Right," I said, nodding. "Clever boy."
"But what does that have to do with us and Edwin as drummer?" Reuben asked.
"Yeah, I still don't get it," Joy said. I looked at Melvin and raised my eyebrows. He gave me a strange look, then suddenly his eyes widened in understanding.
"No," he said.
Joy and Reuben both looked at him. "What? No what?"
"Who is in my family?" I asked. "My mother, my step-dad and who?"
"Your sister," Melvin said.
"And who is Diane's best friend?" I grinned.
"Your sister," Reuben said, furrowing his brow, then slowly catching on.
"And who is Leon's girlfriend?" I asked.
"Your sister," Joy said sadly.
"Bingo!" I said. "So if we recruited Edwin as a drummer, who will be following us around for four months?"
"Your sister," they said in unison. I smiled. "Do you really want the Evil Bitch Queen around for four months?"
"Oh, please no!" Joy said, her eyes widening. Reuben looked horrified. Melvin was shaking his head as hard as he could. Melvin had come up with that name, and it stuck. Everyone called my sister that, except for Leon and my parents. The reason why it stuck so well was because it was unfortunately very true.
"So you still want Edwin as a drummer?" I asked. Reuben sighed and looked down. "I guess we'll make do without a drummer, since we've done so well for so long without one."
I smirked. "I knew you'd come to your senses."
The doorbell rang and I smiled. I got off the couch in the lounge and rushed downstairs excitedly, my friends close behind. I quickly straightened out my clothes and adjusted my cap before I opened the door. As I expected, Justin was standing there. He looked up at me and smiled.
"Hi, you ready?" he asked, showing his pearly white smile. He was wearing a maroon sweater, and long black jeans. He too wore a baseball cap backwards on his head, but his was white. He was standing at a strange angle, with his right hand behind his back. I noticed it and smiled.
"You've got something for me behind your back?" I asked. Justin got an amazed look on his face.
"How'd you know?" he asked, bringing his hand out from behind him. I grinned so hard my mouth felt tired, but I couldn't stop.
"They're beautiful," I smiled, taking the bouquet from him. It consisted of twenty-four white roses surrounding a single red on in the center, with baby's breath scattered throughout. I handed the flowers to Melvin to put in a vase for me. He knew what I wanted, so he just took them and went to my room.
"Thanks so much," I said as I took Justin's outstretched hand. We held hands until we got to his car (some red sports model. I have no interest in cars) and he, being the gentleman that he is, opened the door for me, before getting in himself.
"So where are we gonna eat?" I asked as he started the car.
"Well, I hope you don't mind a buffet," he said, smiling. "I didn't know what sort of things you'd like to eat."
"Buffets are fine," I smiled. "Just tell me when you want to leave or I'll be there all night."
Justin laughed, and drove off. We did not say much in the car, but mostly listened to the radio. He brought me to some restaurant with a buffet dinner, and we were given a table. We helped ourselves to the salad bar, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner. We mostly joked around, and he asked me about what sort of things I liked, and about the band and so on. And I would ask him things like that too. It was pretty much uneventful in that sense, but I enjoyed myself. At around my fifth round or so, we happened to talk about celebrities that we have met before. I told him about meeting him and the rest of Nsync, and also about how I knew Shimona. He enjoyed her music a lot, and asked if he could have her autograph, which I said should not be a problem at all, considering Reuben is her brother.
"I bet you've met a lot of other celebrities," I said after I was done.
"Yeah," he replied. "Just yesterday, I met the princes of England. Cool, huh?"
"So? What do I care?" I smiled. "After all, I've got my own Prince Charming sitting across from me."
Justin smiled, blushing fiercely. I grinned at him, then continued eating.
"Do you always eat like that?" Justin asked, amazed.
"Pretty much, yeah," I laughed. "How many rounds have I gone so far?"
"Way too many," Justin grinned. "I think I see a couple of worried waiters around."
"Okay, just let me finish the rest of this up, then we can go."
I rushed through my food while Justin paid, then we left. We decided to leave a huge tip to help the restaurant "recover losses" as Justin put it. I swear I could see relief on the face of the head waiter as we left. As soon as we got out, we burst into laughter.
"Okay," Justin said, catching his breath. "How do you eat so much and yet keep your shape?"
"I have no idea," I said. "Maybe from fighting vampires?"
"Speaking of which," Justin said, pointing. I followed his finger and noticed a gang of about fifteen people wearing all black walking towards us. If it were not for the fact that their faces were in demon mode, they could have passed off as normal.
"That's strange," I said. "Vampires aren't usually so common, or so open."
"Great, just great," Justin groaned. "So much for a romantic ending for the evening."
"I knew if we waited long enough, we'd catch some tasty people who have just eaten," the leader of the vampires said, walking towards us. "You've eaten, and now it's our turn."
"Really?" I asked, exaggerating a shocked look. Justin just raised an eyebrow. The vampires were not amused with my sarcasm. I took a step towards them, then another.
"Come on, bite me," I said, tilting my head and exposing my neck. Many of the vampires began to drool, and one of them was about to step forward when the leader held him back. He looked warily at me.
"What kind of trick is this?" he asked.
"Come now," I said. "If it was a trick, I wouldn't be telling you what it was, would I?"
He began to growl as he glared at me. Vampires have notably hot tempers. He put his arm down, letting the other vampire go. The vampire rushed at me, fangs bared, aiming for my neck. He tried to tackle me, but went right through. I smirked.
"Any others want to try their luck?" I taunted. The vampire got up, then rushed at Justin.
"Oh no," Justin said, trembling. He closed his eyes desperately. The vampire ran straight into Justin's shield, and hit the floor. Frustrated, he banged his fists on the invisible force that seperated him from his prey. The vampire leader looked at us, then snarled.
"We're obviously not going to be able to feed on you tonight," he growled. He gave a signal, and all the vampires turned away and left.
"That was close," I said. "I didn't bring a stake with me, we couldn't have fought them."
"Well, at least we didn't need to do some exercising right after we ate, otherwise we'll be in pain," Justin shrugged, opening his eyes. "So what do you want to do now?"
"You wanna come over to my place?" I asked. "We've got a Playstation. Gets rid of the extra adrenaline."
"Sure," Justin smiled, walking over to his car. Once again, he opened the car door for me before getting in, then we were off, back to the place I called home.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To be continued...
How did you like it? Good, bad? Comments to be sent to dylan@celticwarrior.com or ensstyenlc@hotmail.com
Okay, just as a reference for you guys that you can read more about the reception with the Princes in Chronicles of a Real Dark Knight, if you haven't read it already. And check out Tales of a Young Mutant and Tales of the Protectors too! I'll be checking out all the cool stories and putting them at the top of the screen from chapter 3 onwards or so because there are a lot of really nice stories out there that deserve to be read! :) Ciao for now! :)