Twist of Fate

***Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays to YOU, depending on how you celebrate this month! I'm so glad to finally put out another chapter. I've made sure this was a touch longer than some of the other ones... you can chop it into two sections if you want, or get some eye drops and pound through the whole thing. Up to you. ***Props go out to Ad. and CrazyStar, authors of Tests of Friendship and Crazy. They're great authors, great proofers, and MOST importantly, great friends. You're awesome! ***I've been introduced to a cool 'NSync/Lance site, and I invite you to check it out at http://www.crosswinds.net/~meri/main.html Thanks to Meri for putting up the site and having links to Nifty!

***Keep in mind this IS a work of fiction, and none of the claims made are based in reality. If you are of age and are not offended by a story about two guys falling in love, I invite you to read ahead!

***Okay OKAY, I know this is going to sound terrible because I'm totally beyond this, but... I haven't heard from a bunch of folks that wrote to me when the story first started, and I'd LOVE the opportunity to say a quick HI to ya, and see if you're still reading. This isn't a pathetic attempt to gain emails or anything, just a way to say hi to my long-lost friends. Drop a line if you can! Kaiser_goof@hotmail.com ~Jeff

Previously on Twist of Fate...

I watched as my boyfriend walked towards the ticket agent where both Peter and Justin were standing. The tickets were arranged, and Peter grabbed his stuff, seemingly oblivious to the situation. Lance turned to look at me as he slowly walked backwards down the ramp. Even from a distance, I could see both the love and sadness in his perfect, teary eyes. His head finally dropped and his body turned to walk forward, and I watched as Lance slowly walk away. Justin was right by his side, putting a comforting arm around his shoulder and pulling him close. My last memory of Lance was of him and Justin waking onto the aircraft and disappearing from my sight---and from my life. For now.

• • • • • • CHAPTER 11

It had been two weeks since Lance and the guys had left. Two weeks! I was a mess that whole day they got on the plane. I didn't even go home until late at night. I just couldn't face my family. They'd want to know what was wrong, and why was I depressed, and where'd Lance go, and blah blah blah. I was NOT ready for that. What did I do? I just drove around. I went past the jazz club we had all visited. Man, that was painful. I drove by and got lunch at the Mexican food shop where JC, Lance, and I had eaten before the baseball game. However, I wasn't hungry, and wound up tossing my meal away. Too many memories. I just drove around the beaches, then up to the mountains. The sunset was beautiful-too bad I didn't have anyone with whom I could share it! I mean, I'd NEVER shared this view with anyone before. Why did I desire someone to share the view now? When I got home, I went right to my room. I was just hoping a good night's sleep would make all the bad go away. It helped, but I wasn't my usual wonderful self when I woke up.

I tried to carry on as if life was great. I'm not a good liar, but I sure got some practice when I was around people. I was all happy happy joy joy and smiles to my family and friends at church, when deep down I was sad and lonely. What really sucked was the fact that it was summer break! I almost wished I was in class just to keep me distracted. I also had NO job... No one was really hiring since it was the beginning of the summer, since all the hiring had already been done. What did I do? I just moped around the house, bored out of my keyster. I did, however, try to spend time with my friends, but there was still that missing link. There was still something missing... I didn't think love was supposed to feel like this!

The first day, I reached for the phone a BUNCH of times to call that long distance number he gave me. I even picked up the phone and got six digits pressed before I hung up. 'He's probably totally busy, or not home, or something,' I tried to convince myself. The first time he actually called ME was the second day after they left. I was in the kitchen, and when I heard the phone ring, I broke the sound barrier getting to my room to answer it. It was SO awesome to hear his voice! We chatted for almost 3 hours about... well, NOTHING. It was great, but even 3 hours wasn't enough for us. Well, it wasn't enough for me.

Lance and I finally worked out a dialogue over the next few weeks to where we could talk every other day or so. He'd call me most of the time. He wouldn't even let me call him, for fear of running up my phone bill. I didn't really have any excuse though, since it was ME that didn't have a job! Sometimes, he'd call me late-around 11pm-and we'd talk for a few hours. It was REALLY late for him, so we would both just lie in bed, chatting away. We always joked about the fact that each of us always managed to get a really good looking guy in bed with him every night. Too bad the 'beds' were 3000 miles away from each other! Man, I missed his smile.

Lance was still being a pill by not telling me about his grand and glorious 'plan' of togetherness. I got so livid a few times, I was ready to reach through the phone and rip his nipples off because he wouldn't tell me. Ahhh! But I didn't lose faith. I couldn't. I wouldn't. Not with Lance. That trust was too strong. I just had to be patient. I remember once, a long time ago, I prayed that God would give me patience in life. Man, I didn't know He'd do it like THIS!

"What do you think, Billy?" I shook my head, realizing I had been addressed.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, what do you think? About going skiing this year during Christmas vacation?" My father said, as he directed the question and a curious glance my direction. I must have been totally spacing out about Lance, but my dad's question brought me back to reality. We had been sharing vacation plans over the dinner table.

"Um, yeah. That sounds great. I love skiing," I answered, hoping it would be adequate for my dad's question. He paused for a second, nodded, and reached for another dinner roll.

"Hey mom, can Adam come over and spend the night tonight? We want to play Nintendo... he got a really cool new game," Scotty asked. I couldn't help remembering the humorous first encounter between Scotty, Adam, and Lance. I only hoped there would be more just like it!

"As long as it's okay with Mrs. McGee, it's fine with me," my mom answered.

"Cool!!!" With that, Scotty was off to fetch his best buddy.

"Billy, is everything alright? You seem sorta down lately," my mom directed to me. Without a pause, I responded,

"What? Me? Nah. I'm fine. I'm just bored, that's all. It's hard to stay energized when I don't have a job and I'm not in school." Ah, Billy the liar.

"If you wanted, I could find you some work at the office," my dad suggested.

"We could always use somebody to sort files or something." Dad's offer was kind, but I KNEW that getting a job wouldn't be the solution. However, I kinda needed something to do, so I took him up on it.

"Thanks, dad. I don't want anything permanent... just something while I look for another job."

"Ha! Like I'd want you around the office that much!" he joked, and for the first time in a while, a genuine smile and laugh came out of my mouth. We chatted a bit more about it all, and decided I'd work a few days in the morning, giving me the afternoon to job hunt or just mess around. A few trips to the beach were sounding pretty nice, too.

After helping clear the dishes, I went to my room and booted up my computer.

I checked my email, then popped into a little story archive I came across a year or so ago. Of course, this is one I wouldn't ever tell ANYBODY about because it's got stories about... well, 'alternative' lifestyles. I checked the latest stories update, and sighed because a few of the ones I regularly read hadn't been updated. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. I was JUST about to check out some online pictures of MY baby Lance, when there was a knock at my door. My browser was immediately closed, and not a second later, Scotty and Adam came waltzing into my room. Scotty had Adam's N64 underarm.

"Billy, can you help hook this up for us? I can't remember how to do it." I exhaled a sigh of relief that I narrowly escaped having some explaining to do. I shook my head of the cobwebs, and thought about what Scotty was asking me. I smiled, because it felt really cool that Scotty came to me when he needed help-it felt like I was fulfilling my role as big brother. NEAT!

"Sure, dude. But I get first game!" There were muffled complaints, but it was quickly agreed that the arrangement would work. We went to the den and hooked up the game, and within minutes I was kicking my little brother's butt in Tekken 3.

"That's not fair!" my brother screamed.

"Whatta ya mean?" I asked while still playing.

"You can't do that move on me!"

"Oh yes I can. And I'm gunna do it again!" With that, I performed this cool triple spin upside-down kick thing and knocked him out. Adam was sitting on the couch behind us, and was nothing but giggles about Scotty getting spanked.

"Ha ha!" Adam said. "You got your butt whooped!" Scotty wasn't happy about his buddy-turned-enemy, so I decided to even the score.

"Think you can do better?" I asked Adam.

"Bring it on! I'll whoop your butt any day," Adam said. The game was on. For a minute, I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew, but I quickly realized that there could never be a match for the great Nintendo Billy. I effectively buried them both in a few more rounds of Tekken 3, and in an eternal round of Mario Carts. Would the torture of the young ones ever end? The answer was yes. Scotty finally gave up and convinced Adam to watch a movie. I didn't want to quit-mostly because I was winning! But I succumbed to the majority vote, and agreed. "Face Off" was selected from the archive, and we all settled down in the den to watch the flick. Adam sat hugging a pillow on the ground, and Scotty and I were on the couch. It was getting late, and the guys were getting tired. Scotty wound up propping a pillow against my side and falling asleep on my leg. I looked down and smiled, totally thinking that THIS was what being a big brother was all about. These are the memories I'll keep for a lifetime.

I decided to let the guys sleep in the den, but got them both blankets. After making sure they were all set, I went back to my own room and crashed on the bed. I was beginning to like going to bed. I knew that when I woke up, the days might actually start getting better. I had this same hope for tomorrow as I drifted off to sleep.

RING RING. The ringing of the phone shook me from my sleep. I didn't care what time it was, I just wanted to answer the phone, in the hopes it was Lance. I shot up in bed and reached for the portable, which was sitting on the bed stand. My heart was racing as I fumbled for the ON button.

"HELLO?" I said, trying to sound as awake as possible. PAUSE. "HELLO!?" An unknown voice began to speak.

"Good morning, this is an automated message to tell you about the wonders of the Flex-o-Life home workout center. Flex-o-Life has been endorsed by the Ameri..." CLICK. Freakin' telephone recordings! What the heck are they doing calling so early in the morning? I wondered if I was going to get to talk with Lance that day, or if he'd be too busy to chat. I'd just have to wait, I guess. I tossed the phone back on the table and sunk back under the covers. I still felt my heart beating quickly, and I knew it would take a while for the adrenaline to get filtered out of my system.

I glanced back over at the alarm clock. 8:15am. It was a sunny day outside, I think a Saturday, but I still wasn't ready to get up. I knew I had to face the day eventually, but Mr. Sandman still had his grip on me, and wouldn't let go. Besides, my REAL inspiration was over 3000 miles away.

I decided to check out the insides of my eyelids again, and I fell back to sleep.

DING DONG. A little later, the doorbell rang, but I was way too out of it to wake up. My mom went to answer the door, wondering who could be calling on a Saturday morning.

"Billy? Billy?" I was awoken this time by my name being spoken. I was totally groggy, and simply moaned a barely-awake response. I felt the bed shift, and I knew somebody was climbing in with me. 'SCOTTY!' I thought. I'd have to teach him once and for all to stop doing that! I felt a hand on my shoulder, another on my back, and a closeness forming by this quickly approaching body. Before I knew it, there was a body pressed next to me, following my form perfectly, and two arms wrapped around me (as well as could be expected with the blankets) in a hug. I began to wake up a bit, thinking it was odd that Scotty would get my attention in this fashion. It was at that point I picked up a scent that had been foreign to me for the last two weeks. Before this person spoke, before I saw what this person looked like, I knew who it was. I immediately knew at that point that I HAD to be dreaming!

"Good morning, Billy. This is your wake up call." And wake up, I did! A flood of emotions raced through me as I quickly turned around, despite the grip, and found myself in Lance's arms. I quickly inhaled, and freed my arms up from under the blankets to grip him for all I was worth.

"No way. This isn't real! You're not really here. No way. No way. No way!" I choked out, trying to breathe while tangled in the blankets and Lance's arms. I had figured out by this point that I was awake, but I couldn't figure out why Lance was there, or how he had gotten there, or anything. What I did know is he was there. Instantly, I became silent and held my boyfriend close, enjoying what I was sure would be an all-too-short moment of closeness. After about a half a minute, Lance loosened his grip, looked me in the eyes, dazzled me with his smile and said,

"Penny for your thoughts?" I was still floored.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?"

"Ha. I thought you'd never ask. I felt like taking you to breakfast, so I came out to grab a bite to eat." Lance had this mischievous grin on his face, and I knew there was more to his explanation than hunger pangs.

"What are you talking about? You're making me insane, Lance. You show up at my house, flying in from who-knows-where, you say you just want to take me to breakfast, which has GOT to be a load of bull, and you won't tell me why you're REALLY here. You drive me crazy!" I said in mock exacerbation. Lance responded by singing a familiar tune,

"...I just can't sleep. Baby thinkin' of you keeps me up.. all.. night." We both broke into hysterical giggles at the terrible corniness of his joke.

When the laughter subsided, I said,

"Okay, you're really killing me here. I know there's more to your story. Please tell me why you're here!" Lance's face got serious, and he slid into a sitting position with his legs off the side of the bed. He rested his hand on my legs as he said,

"Well, okay. What I told you before was true... but only part of the truth.

Billy, I promised you that we'd find a way to be together. I'm here today to prove that promise. I'm here to take you to breakfast. At breakfast, you'll find out how we can be together." My face brightened up, and I sat up to grab Lance's hand tightly. I was so excited, I was bouncing a little bit in bed, but Lance just looked and smiled back.

"Oh boy, I can't believe this. I need to get ready!" I leaned over to kiss Lance, and he responded back, however he broke the kiss quickly, stating,

"Down boy! I better go back out to the living room, or else your mom might wonder why I've been in here so long." He got up, released my grip and walked towards the door.

"Hey Goof," I said. Lance turned around. "I love you," I whispered to him.

He smiled, nodded, and walked out of my room.

I took the quickest shower in my life! I had grabbed all my clothes from my room and darted down to the bathroom so I could change in there. I got completely ready, including hair and teeth, in less than 10 minutes. For me, that's a miracle! After one last check in the mirror, I darted out the door and headed for the living room. I heard voices, so I approached.

"...a great opportunity! Oh, he'll just love it." That was my mom's voice.

What opportunity? I popped around the corner, and a strange silence fell over the crowd. I did a quick inventory, and saw my mom, my dad, Lance and... Peter? What the heck was Peter doing there?

"Hi everybody." I said with an enthusiastic, yet uneasy tone. Peter stood and approached me to shake my hand.

"Hi Billy. It's good to see you! You ready for breakfast?" Knowing that breakfast equaled the culmination of Lance's little surprise, I knew my answer. However, I was really curious and concerned about why Peter was there. Did he know? Did Lance tell him?

"Um, I guess. It's not every day that NSync comes to take you to breakfast, so I'm a bit interested, to say the least." I glanced over at mom and dad, and they had these grins that wrapped around their faces. What did they know that I didn't?!? Mom, Dad, and Lance all rose and walked over to me, and it seemed natural that we walk towards the door. I exchanged quick goodbyes with mom and dad, and we got into what I assumed to be a rental car, and drove off.

I didn't know what to say, or what to think, or anything. I had just been whisked away by my Prince Charming, off to share some intimate secret with... Peter? There was just something not quite right here. I guessed I'd figure it out soon enough, but I was never one for patience!

"So what have you been up to the last few weeks?" Lance turned around from the passenger seat to face me. He acted as if coming to San Diego and kidnapping me from my home was a normal, everyday thing!

"Uhm, well, er... not a whole lot, really... I've been sleeping, and hanging out around the house and with Scotty, and I went to the beach a few times..." I wasn't sure why Lance was asking me this, since we'd discussed it ad nauseum on the telephone. I just figured he was trying to avoid the fact to Peter that he and I had been quite frequent users of the long distance lines since the band left. We chit chatted back and forth for a while until we arrived at a steak house downtown. It was a pretty nice restaurant that served breakfast, but I had never eaten there... one of POSH places to which I was never privy when I was growing up. We parked and headed in, Pete in front and Lance and I a step behind. It was at that point as Lance stepped out of the car that I noticed it.

"You're growing a goatee!" I said. Sure enough, there was this growth of hair sticking out of Lance's chinny chin chin. It wasn't totally obvious, because Lance's skin tone and his facial hair color were so similar, but he definitely hadn't shaved that region for a while. Lance perked up and said,

"Sure am! What do you think?"

"I think you have some dirt on your face, that's what I think!" He got this sourpuss look on his face, and I could tell it wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. "So, uh, what inspired it? Did your razor break or something?" I was having a ball poking fun at Lance, and he was just pouting.

"Shut up! I think it looks good! It's just a change of pace. Cut me some slack!" Peter was walking ahead of us, not paying attention, so I leaned close to Lance's face while we were walking and whispered in a very seductive tone,

"I LOVE it. It's VERY sexy..." With that, Lance promptly blushed. Peter spontaneously turned around at that point to ask a question, but stopped when he saw Lance's face. He gave us a puzzled look, shook his head, shrugged, and turned back around as he walked. Both Lance and I busted up at the fact that Peter was totally oblivious.

We got into the restaurant and were seated as soon as Peter informed the hostess of our reservations. I guess the restaurant was pretty nicely decorated and stuff-I wasn't really paying a lot of attention. I had my mind on other things, namely finding out Lance's little secret. But the question still haunted me-How is Peter part of Lance's secret? I'm so confused!

"Orange juice, please," Lance said.

"Same here," I said to the waiter who was taking our drink order.

"How about a Bloody Mary and an orange juice, please," Peter requested, and the waiter was off to fetch our beverages. We were in a semi-circular booth that was pretty segregated from the rest of the restaurant. As busy as it was in the restaurant, it was still very comfortable and relatively quiet. Whether by chance or by design, I was seated on one side of the table, while Lance and Peter seemed to congregate towards the other side. Needless to say, this made me a bit uneasy, sorta like a nasty performance review or an interrogation. As soon as the waiter left, silence fell over the table, and no one really knew how to start, least of all me. Peter decided to take the first step.

"Well Billy, I'll bet you're curious why you're at breakfast with us today," Peter said while I nodded. He continued, "I can understand that. I'm going to get right to the point, rather than beat around the bush. We meet a lot of people when we're touring, and many of them are awesome contributors and supporters of the band. I'm sure you can understand that without the supporters, 'Nsync wouldn't be where it is today!" Again, a round of nods came from me.

"We had the opportunity to hang out with you for a whole week," Lance spoke up, "and all the guys, and Peter totally appreciated everything you did for us. The tour guide, friendship and companionship, and especially taking control in the whole mess on the basketball court that one day." Lance pointed to his nose, which looked as if it had healed quite well.

"We've got many supporters and fans, but occasionally someone comes along that totally grabs the band's attention," Peter said. "It's those people that we really need on our side, and on our team." Where was he going with this? Lance broke up my thoughts.

"Billy, we're all a big family in 'Nsync. Everyone from the band to the dancers to the road management to the crew to the production folks to PR... everybody. We all work together. ............Well, we've been talking with all the guys, and we've unanimously agreed..." Lance paused and looked over to Peter. Peter gave him a slow nod, so Lance looked back at me. He wasn't showing it, but I knew there was a beaming smile inside his face that was screaming to get out. My heart started racing in anticipation-what have they agreed? What what? Should I understand something here? Am I that dense? I swear I'm a blond!

"...we've unanimously agreed... if you'd be interested, of course......... that we'd like you to become a member of the 'Nsync family." There they were. Peter and Lance. Staring at me from across the table, looking at me so intently you'd think they were expecting my head to turn around 360 degrees or something. Me? I didn't know what to say. I mean, I didn't even really know what exactly Lance had just said to me.

"A member of the family? What exactly does that mean?" I asked in an excited, yet curious tone. Peter stepped in.

"What Lance is trying to say is that the management and band all believe you'd be a great addition to the production staff. We'd like you to come work for 'Nsync." Well, there it was. The plain naked truth. I think I was just offered a job with 'Nsync. Was this really happening? All of a sudden, it hit me like a brick. OHMIGOSH! THIS was Lance's secret! This was his grand prize! This is what he was working so hard for! I looked at him with totally excited, loving eyes and could see the same emotions sent right back. After a grand pause while I chewed on this, I spoke up.

"WOW." I know, I KNOW, I could have probably thought of something else, but hey... what do you expect in those circumstances? "WOW. I'm.........totally in shock. I don't know what to say. Um...... yeah. Uh........." I was speechless as I shook my head. Peter and Lance both smiled, and Pete said,

"It's alright Billy. Just think about it all for a few moments. I know it's a lot to take in." After a minute, I gathered my thoughts.

"I'm still in shock, but... wow. I'll have to think about it. This is a pretty big deal. Um, why did you choose me? What...... would I be doing?" I was expecting some pathetic offering of a charity position. Lance answered my questions.

"Well Billy, let me start answering that with a confession I need to make..." UH OH. This can't be good! "The day you lost your job? I felt totally bad, feeling guilty about causing you to loose your job." I began to protest, but Lance continued. "Wait wait, Billy... hold up! I know what you're going to say, but I still take responsibility, at least partially, for the whole job thing. Anyway, my confession? Well, uh er,... I made a call to Peter, seeing if he knew of any job openings with the band." I KNEW it! Charity! As much as I wanted to be with Lance, I didn't want some hand-out because he felt sorry for me! Lance continued.

"Peter said he could maybe make a position in costuming or program services or someth..." I cut Lance off, speaking as sincerely as possible, despite this feeling of degrading patronization that was coming over me.

"Wai wai wai wait wait...... As flattered as I am...... I don't want some hand out! I mean, I feel bad about my job, too. But as much as I'd love to be working right now, especially for the band, I don't want someone to hire me because they feel sorry for me!" I was starting to get a touch hurt by the words Lance had said. He was such a sweetie by making all this possible, but the question remained: would this only be a band-aid for the situation? Glancing at Lance, I saw a look of frustration come over him, as if he wasn't quite getting the whole point across.

"Um, why don't I step in," Peter said. I was hoping a fresh perspective would help. However, little did I realize the bomb that Peter was about to drop on me. "It's true, I did look into creating a position, or squeezing here or there to make something work because I believed that you'd be a good addition to the team. But reality kicked in for both of us when we realized that we'd have to justify the whole proposal to upper management, and they'd probably say no." Peter continued.

"Billy, things totally changed the day of the basketball accident. We all saw a side of you that we hadn't seen before. You showed aggressive, determined, focused leadership. And these were all shown in the midst of a stressful medical emergency. Billy, you've told both Lance and I that you once aspired to be an EMT. Now, you've completed at least some portion of your training. Is that correct?"

"Uh huh..." My jaw was slightly gaping.

"Okay, great. Now, this might be a total long-shot, and it's completely your decision, since it does have the potential to change the direction of your life, at least temporarily." Peter took a breath. "Here's what we're willing to do, Billy. We are willing to pay for the completion of your medical training and certification, and hire you into a work-study internship with the tour as the medical technician. Once the internship is completed and you've paid off the training, you can decide whether you'd like to stay on regular paid staff as the EMT on tour." Peter paused, then added, "What do you think?"

"Alrighty, here are your drinks. Three orange juices, and one Bloody Mary."

The waiter delivered the beverages with patented friendliness, oblivious to his uncanny timing. Peter thanked the waiter, and told him we'd need another while until we were ready to order. I glanced over to Lance, who clearly couldn't contain his exuberant smile any longer. His face was glowing! I slowly shook my head, dazed and utterly amazed at what I'd just been told, plus the fact that Lance had managed to pull this thing off. I'll tell ya what, angels show up just at the right time. My angel's name was Lance.

"Sorry about that, so what do you think?" Peter said, restarting the conversation.

"Uh... I'm still amazed. I am so shocked that you'd pick me for this... that you'd select me for such a position! I don't know what to say, or if I can say yes, or no, or what I'd tell my parents, or how to change my school plans or anything!"

"Just say you'll think about it," Lance said, with nearly pleading eyes. Awwwwwww...

"I will... oh I will... this will take some time, though. This is a big decision." Although I KNEW I'd have a long road ahead of me, I was sure of what my final response would be.

As dazed and confused as I was, I was able to select an entree from the menu. Throughout the breakfast, Peter and Lance went over details of research they found about accelerated EMT courses over 2-3 months, rather than 1-2 years. To help me make an informed decision, they also went over some highs and lows of life on the road. I tried to absorb as much as possible, though the main thought that was going through my mind was how much I admired and respected that guy on the other side of the table with the hair on his chin. How did I get so lucky to bump into him? What great thing could I have possibly done to deserve such an awesome guy like that? I stretched my foot out and gently pressed it on Lance's shoe. He felt it, looked up, and smiled. I don't care if there were a few layers of leather and material between us-I wasn't giving up this contact with him!

We finished our meal and chatted a bit more at the table before taking care of the bill and heading back out to the car. The meal was great, and we all had a lot to physically digest, but I also had a lot to mentally digest. Snap judgement seemed to point one direction, but I knew I had to make the proper decision for my life. Thing is, Lance seemed to become a bigger part of my life each and every day. What was I to do?

"So what are your plans now?" I asked as we began to drive away. I had simply assumed they were going to drop me off and head back to the airport to fly back to who-knows-where they came from.

"Funny you should ask that," Lance piped up as he turned around to face me. "Peter has a dinner meeting in Orlando, so he'll be taking the car back as soon as we drop you back off at home."

"OH, I see," I said, my face and tone dropping slightly as I came to grips with the seeming reality that this visit with my angel was to be short-lived.

"However, my return flight is booked for TOMORROW afternoon, so I guess I'll just have to find a hotel back near the airport." Lance said the last part as he turned back around in his seat with a very strong "pity pity woe is me" tone of voice. I became mock-infuriated, and tried to hide my excitement.

"TOMORROW??!!?" YIKES!! Calm down, Billy! "I mean...... tomorrow, eh?......... Well hey, uh, I could probably ask my parents, but It'd probably be cool if you wanted to stay at our house. It sure is cheaper than a hotel!" Just looking at Lance from the back, I could see the muscles in his neck move ever-so-slightly, and I knew that he was smiling. He slowly turned around and made eye contact with those perfect eyes. Slowly and deliberately, without breaking his stare OR his smile, he said,

"Yeah...... >PAUSE< That'd be cool...... >PAUSE< I'd like that......" Although there were words between us, there was a contact greater than any verbalization could create. We were reading each other's minds, which was both freaky and exciting at the same time. Lance turned back around to face the front, and the remainder of the driving conversation consisted of oblivious topics Peter brought up about this and that. Lance never turned around again, but I could tell he was still smiling.

"I'm home!" I yelled as I walked through the door. At this point, the freakiest thing to date in my human existence happened. I started walking down the hall, when both my mother and father appeared at the end of the walkway from completely different directions, seeming to appear out of nowhere. They both had plastered smiles on their faces, and their eyes followed me like one of those weird paintings in the museums. "Hi mom... dad... what's up?"

"Oh nothing, honey," my mom said with curious enthusiasm, "we just wanted to see how your breakfast went." She was all smiles, and I started putting pieces together-Peter and Lance must have been talking about this whole sha-bang when I came into the living room! "Come tell us all about it!" My arm was nearly ripped out of my socket as my mom dragged me into the living room. I swear she's on drugs sometimes! I was followed by my dad, Lance, and Peter.

We discussed the whole morning in detail with mom and dad. Apparently, Peter and Lance had only mentioned that there was a possible position available for me in the next tour, but went into no more detail. Suffice it to say, this was enough to whet the appetite of my a bit too nosy parents. That's cool, though. We chatted about it for at least a half hour, and I received nothing but support from them. I really hadn't expected that from them. Weird.

After an exhaustive Q&A session, Peter informed us all that he had to go, and we quickly got to our feet to bit him farewell. We all walked to the front porch and took care of all the normal goodbye handshakes and what-not.

Lance had taken off to get his luggage out of the trunk, and Peter indicated that he wanted to talk with me as we walked to the car.

"Billy, you obviously know how I'd like you to answer this proposal-I wouldn't have offered it to you otherwise! Here's my card and email address. I've... um, included my personal number on there, too. If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to call me any time. Be sure to think about this well... but keep in mind that it's not everyday that you get an opportunity like this. Hope to hear from ya soon." His words rang in my head-'it's not everyday somebody gets an opportunity like this'. Boy, is that the truth. WOW! By that point, we had arrived at the car, and Peter and I shook hands. He flashed me a smile, said his goodbyes to Lance, and hopped back in the car. With a thumbs up, Peter was gone.

After Peter left, Lance, my parents, and I walked back inside and hung out a little more. However, as much as I tried to ditch mom and dad, they were stuck to my side like a pair of remoras to a shark. We cleared up the details of Lance staying the night, and his flight out the next morning. Finally, either by divine direction or dad's intuition that they were bugging the CRAP out of us, my parents retreated to the kitchen. Lance and I finally had a moment of quiet time to ourselves.

Touche.

"LLAAAAAAAAAAANNNCCCCEE!" Is this God's sense of humor, or what? Scotty came flying in from the back door, and almost toppled Lance as he ran in greet his new celebrity friend. If that wasn't bad enough, Adam was RIGHT behind him. They must have been riding bikes or something, because they were all hot and sweaty, and Adam still had his helmet on.

"HiLancewhaddayadoinhere?" Scotty blabbered out, both excited to see Lance and out of breath from running. Lance just started laughing and said,

"Hey Scotty. I'm just here to hang out with you guys for a while. Is that alright?"

"Yeah!" "Totally!" "Cool!" "Rock on!" It was hilarious to watch the chorus of responses from these two wide-eyed, nodding star-struck fans. After the guys cooled down a bit, they crashed on the couch and we chatted for a while. Well, Scotty and Adam talked for a while. It was actually amazing to see the transformation from awed fan to chatterbox. They totally got comfortable around Lance, and starting spouting out everything they'd been up to the last few weeks. Riding bikes, going rollerblading, burning ants with a magnifying glass, sleep-overs, Nintendo, swimming, blah blah blah... Lance just listened and nodded, totally absorbing these guys' rantings, responding now and then to help make the conversation more two-sided. I sat back and watched as Lance really took an interest in these guys' lives. He really was a caring person. Not just for me, but for my family, my friends, and probably for any Joe or Janet on the street. It's who he was, his foundation, the stuff he was made of. Oh how I wanted to be a bigger part of that.

"......and we got a brand new diving board, and I did this cool spinning dive off of it," Adam said. "Hey, you wanna go swimming? I'm sure my mom and dad'll say yes when they hear it's a celebrity!" Both Lance and I looked at each other and smiled. It was a hot summer day, and the temperature was rising rapidly outside. The thought of a dip in the McGee's pool was very tempting indeed, but not as tempting and enticing as a swim with my boyfriend. Lance must have been reading my mind, and he answered Adam.

"Um, that'd be cool. I brought a swimsuit, too!" It was agreed that Lance, Scotty and I would meet over at the McGee's in 20 minutes after getting ready. From the living room, we all broke to our respective changing places and got ready for the swim.

"BOMBS AWAYYYYYYYY....." >SPLASH< Scotty and Adam did simultaneous cannonballs into the pool, temporarily creating chaos in the once still black-bottom pool at the McGee's house. Lance, being the smart blond he was, stayed back, knowing this would probably happen. Me, being the slow brown-head I was, decided to stand on the first step of the pool to test out the water. DUH. Instantly, I was completely drenched with water, without having more than my feet in the pool. After the tidal wave, I shook my head only to find that the other three in the area were laughing their heads off.

I glanced over to Lance, and he had sat down on one of the lounge chairs, slightly bent over in laughter. I thought it only fair that he experience the pool too, so I splashed a generous helping of water his direction. Suffice it to say, his attitude quickly changed from giggles to revenge.

"That's it, I'm opening up a can of bootie whoopin' on you!" His towel flew to the right. His shirt flew to the left. The last thing I saw before being hauled down into the water was this very attractive young man with a goatee running towards me, wearing a green/blue iridescent pair of board shorts, his skin a few tones tanner than I remembered, and his pecs bouncing ever-so-slightly as he ran. They say revenge is sweet... in this case, I think it was sweeter for me.

OOOOOF! When was it declared "Pick on Billy Day"? I had Lance, Adam, AND Scotty on me, and there was no way I was getting out of this one. Every second, I felt more like a rag doll as I tried to stay afloat despite the attempts of my giggling attackers. All of a sudden, Lance yelled,

"Dunk the munchkins!!"

"NOOOO!" was the collective scream from Scotty and Adam as the roles were reversed, and they were under our control. I took care of Adam, while Lance did a pretty effective job of taming Scotty. This went on for a few more minutes, until we all got our frustrations out and decided to shift to a calmer game of Marco Polo. At the end of the game, Lance had to use the restroom, so Adam pointed him to the outside door that lead to the facilities. My my, did those board shorts fit well! OH, bad thoughts! Moving right along...

As soon as Lance left, I had some unfinished business with our younger co-swimmers, so I called them over. "Hey Scotty, Adam. There's something I want to talk with you about. I know it's totally cool to have Lance here, but we all have to remember that he's a normal person just like you and me! Just because he sings with 'NSync and his face is on a CD cover, doesn't mean you should be scared of him, or think you have to act differently around him, or treat him a certain way, or anything. Treat him like you would any of my other friends. Deal?" They both nodded as if they understood, so I was content with that. I mean, HEY, I had to keep that fact in my mind as well... I knew it wasn't going to be easy for Scotty and Adam, but I was sure they'd try.

Now, Adam's mom was one of those 'adopt the whole neighborhood' type of moms. She baked for the school bake sale, she drove everyone around for little league, she would ALWAYS buy girl scout cookies and fund raiser candy bars when cornered at the front door, and she made sure people knew they were welcome in her home. Today was no exception. Mrs. McGee came out with a big tray of sandwiches, chips, grapes, cookies, and drinks for all to enjoy, and she fussed around and made sure everyone was totally happy before she disappeared back inside the house. Man, she was awesome. Lance popped back out right as she set the tray down, so he immediately joined us for a very filling lunch.

Rather than going back in the water right after eating, we all decided to lay around and worship the sun. What was summer for, anyway? Each of us took a lounge chair and settled in for a nice bake. Of course, I knew with every fiber of my being that I couldn't look over at my half naked boyfriend, lest I create a very undesirable and embarrassing situation. The remedy? I stared at the sky and thought about the usual arousal killers: bulldozers, palm trees, dead puppies, old nuns... You know the story. I closed my eyes and thought about how wonderful it would be if everything worked out and I was able to go on tour. I mean, this was a life-changing decision I was faced with! 'Would I be okay if I became separated from my friends? My family? Everything I know as home? Can I go do a job that I'd LOVE, but isn't 100% my passion? Can I really make a life work professionally and personally with Lance? Is it ALL worth it?' I decided to break the rules and glance over to Lance, who had his sunglasses on, and seemed to be staring at the sky. He had such a peaceful smile on his face. 'YES. Yes it is. Yes, it IS all worth it.' I stared back at the sky, closed my eyes, and smiled, knowing that I had made my decision.

"Billy! Oh my gosh..." I awoke with a start, folding at the hips as was my tradition when awoken suddenly. Lance leaned out of the way just in time to prevent a headbutt. Smart guy. Where was I? What's going on? "Billy! We fell asleep! I don't know how long we've been here, but we fell asleep in the sun!" I looked at Lance, who was noticeably pinker than he was when he first took off his shirt that afternoon. However, I saw a distinct line between VERY pink and natural white on his shoulders, arms, and side where he had been baked on one side only. He forgot to turn! I started to giggle, but quickly realized I had endured the same fate. CRAP!

"Oh nuts, where is everybody?" Scotty and Adam were nowhere to be found, and we simply assumed they had gotten up and left us for the vultures. I was really hot, but I wasn't in any pain from my pink skin, so I decided to take a dip in the pool again. Lance joined me, and we both agreed that the calm swim felt refreshing for the body and the skin.

"SMILE!" We both turned at the unexpected voice. SNAP! The flashbulb popped, and Adam got a picture of the two of us swimming.

"Hey! That's not fair! Where have you been? You left us sleeping out here on the chairs, and you just took off?" I asked Adam, to which he responded,

"I didn't know you were asleep! Me and Scotty wanted to play some Nintendo, so we went inside."

"Eh, don't worry about it. Where is Scotty?"

"He's inside, watching TV. Wanna come in?" I thought for a moment, and decided we had exhausted our welcome at the McGee's house. Lance and I instinctively slid out of the pool and grabbed our towels, dried off, thanked Mrs. McGee, and headed back home, which was right down the street.

We did, however, wind up watching TV at my house. After changing and taking a quick shower-separately, of course-we plopped down in front of the tube and watched some weekday cartoons. It was great! We both felt like kids again, and we were sure acting like it, too. Granted, there probably aren't a lot of kids out there today that want to sit and CUDDLE while watching cartoons. But hey, what can I say? It'll be a long time until I grow up! Obviously, we avoided the urge to be physical there in the living room. In fact, we both were content just to sit there and enjoy each other's company, with no pressure or expectation for a darn thing more. It was just an awesome feeling.

Evening time rolled around, and we knew we were in for a treat when dad lit up the grill and mom pulled a few HUGE London broil steaks out of the freezer. Lance and I both licked our chops when we saw mom start the dinner preparations.

"You will not believe the London broil my dad makes. He's got a great marinade, and he slices it sooo thin, it melts in your mouth!"

"Must... have... steak... me... eat... steak..." Lance put his hands up in front of him like a sleep-walker and waddled towards the kitchen.

"You Goof! Hey, you're such a gourmet chef, why don't you help her?" Lance thought about it, and nodded in agreement. In a flash, he was off to the kitchen. 'Not bad', I thought. 'A boyfriend that can cook, and LIKES to cook.' I smiled as I headed into my room to check my email.

Sign on. Dial. RING...... RING. Garble garble squish squish... CONNECT. GET MAIL. Connecting to server... Retrieving message 1 of 3 ...............DONE. '3 messages?' I thought. 'Cool. I wonder who they're from?'

#1. "Earn a $100,000 savings bond simply by filling out THIS QUESTIONAIRE!!!" Spam. DELETE.

#2. "DO NOT open an email called 'HERE'S A PRESENT'. It has a virus that will crash your computer, erase your hard drive, melt your screen, set fire to your house, get your girlfriend pregnant, and give you acne. This is important! Send this to everyone you kno..." Freakin' idiots. DELETE.

#3. "Thanks for your subscription to our free mailing list! Here's the latest from NSyncPix. Enjoy this week's selections." COOL! I had signed up a few months ago to receive automatic picture sends of the guys in the band, and I guess today was the day. I clicked on the download, and I was immediately rewarded with a pic of the band. Man, they sure look good these days. Some of their older pictures were... well, not the most stylish. Yeah. What else? The second picture was a surprise, but quite welcome. Who was it? Lance, of course. It was a shot of him wearing a brown plaid shirt, leaning over a chair, with the softest smile on his face. It was precious! I instinctively reached up to the screen to brush my fingers over his hair, which had bleached tips and was spiked at the time.

"HEY! Don't mess up the hair!" I jumped in my seat and nearly wet my pants when I heard that voice. 'I'M CAUGHT!' was the first thing to go through my mind. I started to turn my head around, but there were suddenly two arms wrapping around me and giving me a nice healthy squeeze from behind. I exhaled and closed my eyes, leaning back to put my head on Lance's shoulder.

We sat there for a moment and just enjoyed a moment of US time. It was nice. "That's a pretty good lookin' guy you got there on your computer," Lance finally spoke up.

"Yeah, he is. Too bad he's already taken. Sorry!"

"Oh, I don't' know about that... You know how these entertainment industry-types are... that guy's probably dating a bunch of people, each thinking they're the 'only one'."

"HEY!" I said as I turned around. OOOOH! I'd have to get him back for that one. Lance let go and was all in stitches. That jerk.

"DINNER'S READY!" My mom's voice rang through the hall louder than a cow bell, and we both knew we were not long from enjoying our feast. Lance got up and proceeded to the door first, but I took my opportunity to strike before he got away.

"Hey Lance," I said. I grabbed one of his shoulders, spun him around, grabbed him by the flaps of his open button-down shirt and forcefully pulled him into a puckered kiss. Quickly breaking it, I passed him up to the door, exclaiming, "YOU'RE IT!", leaving him with a dazed look and a growing realization that he'd been had. Ah yes... revenge IS sweet.

"Anyone want desert?" my dad asked. A unanimous response came up from Scotty and Adam, while Lance and I looked at each other and pondered. Hmmmm... well, you only live once!

"I do!" we BOTH said in unison. We looked at each other and laughed, while the rest of the people at the table just stopped and stared.

"JINX! You both have to be quiet 'til somebody says your name!" Scotty yelled. I gave him a "that is sooo 8 years old of you" look, but he was persistent. I didn't feel like playing, so I just yabbered with Lance, ignoring the complaints from across the table. Mom quickly quieted them down, and I just gave Scotty a silent look of victory. Haha. Big brothers rule!

Mmmmmm... mud pie. My favorite! Dad brought out the desert and some plates, and we all divvied up our share. It was so rich, I couldn't even finish my slice. Of course, I COULD have taken a smaller piece, but my eyes DO tend to be bigger than my stomach.

"So what do you guys have planned for the rest of the night?" my mom asked, and for the first time, I was aware that I had both a free evening AND Lance within reach. Hmmm... the possibilities.

"I......dunno. I hadn't really thought about it," I answered, looking at Lance. He gave me a goofy look and shrugged his shoulders, but I had at least an idea of what was going through his mind. "I was thinking of hitting a coffee shop and chatting with Lance about this whole tour thing-I still have a decision to make here." Mom and dad both nodded, and Lance seemed to agree it might be a good idea. However, none of them knew I had something else up my sleeve for the evening.

After helping clear the patio table and loading the dishwasher, Lance and I both retreated to my room. He took the bed, while I sat in the chair. We just stared at each other.

"So whatta ya want to do?" Lance asked. I popped my eyebrows up and down a few times in a suggestive fashion. "Huh..? NO. Not that! Gross. You pervert."

"WHAT? What were YOU thinking? I just had a twitch in my eyebrow. I think YOU'RE the pervert here. You're the one with all the little boyfriends all over the place. You're just the 'NSync slut, that's what you are." The comment could have been taken really badly, but Lance just busted up, and we were nothing but haha's for a minute or so. PHEW. We goofed around for a while listening to music and stuff, until a convenient lull popped up in our activities. The room was silent, so Lance repeated his previous question.

"Sooo... whatta ya wanna do?" I looked at him, paused for a moment, and decided what I was going to do.

"I want to show you something." Lance gave me a confused look, until I clarified a bit. "It's not here. I need to take you to see it. It's very cool, and I know you'll like it." He still looked bewildered, but he'd understand soon enough. I grabbed his hand and guided him off the bed, towards the door. We released our grip as I opened the door, but we were still walking close.

"Hey, we're going out to do something. We'll be back sometime," I yelled to my parents.

"Okay, honey. Have fun." With that, I dragged a skeptical Lance to my car, and headed out on the road.

"Sooo... where are we going? Is it me, or is civilization leaving us behind?" Lance asked, as he noticed the landscape changing from billboards and buildings to bushes and boulders.

"I'm not telling. You'll like it, though. It's a place I found that sparks some memories for me," I said, still looking forward. I could see Lance turn away from me in the passenger seat, and look back out the window. There was a long pause, and I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind. "How did you do it?"

"Wha huh? Do what?"

"How did you work out the job thing? I mean, that's absolutely amazing." Lance thought for a second, and said,

"Billy, you'd be surprised how little work I put into it. I mean, it's like it was SUPPOSED to happen or something. I brought up the idea to Peter on the phone, and he asked the guys at the hotel. They were totally stoked about the whole thing, and it pretty much snowballed from there. Justin and Chris actually went to Roger and the tour company and argued and fought when they didn't want to offer to pay for your training." I was dumbfounded.

"Are you serious?"

"Yup. The guys must really want to see you touring with us. You must have made a real impression on them. I know you did on me." I shared a quick, warming smile with Lance. He really knew how to make a guy feel good.

The off-ramp approached, and I exited the freeway. The looks from Lance got even more confused, but I assured him that his patience would be rewarded, and that I wasn't some freaky freaky that was going to chop him up and leave him in the wilderness. Lance popped on some music as we climbed into the mountains, although it was getting a bit fuzzy from reception problems. We talked for a while about all the pros and cons about me going on tour, which helped to both solidify and make me doubt my decision to pursue the job.

After about 20 minutes of climbing, I slowly pulled into the mountain turn-out spot I had found just two weeks ago after saying goodbye to Lance at the airport. The car pulled in, and the most spectacular image of a west coast sunset came into view through the windshield. There were some mid-level clouds painted lavender and red, with a soft gradient of orange-to-yellow-to-blue extending up from the skyline. The sun had turned into a fiery orange, and was dangling precariously above the horizon. As I turned off the engine, I looked at Lance and found him staring at the perfect image with his jaw ajar.

"Here's what I wanted to show you, Goof. I painted it myself." Lance opened the door and walked to the front of the car, never taking his eyes off the sky. I followed suit and met him on the bumper.

"It's......... beautiful." I paused for a moment, looked at him, and said,

"Nah... the sunset is okay. YOU'RE beautiful." He looked over with eyes of gold, and reached for my hand, and our fingers were instantly intertwined. I sat up on the hood, and pulled Lance gently towards me to lean on the car in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his chest and we both watched the sunset. There we sat, better-than-best-friends, sharing physical contact, a beautiful sunset, and a memory that would not soon be forgotten. As we watched the sun start to dip below the horizon, I gently rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. There is no other feeling better than that.

"I'm scared," I suddenly said, and I'm sure I surprised Lance by my random comment.

"Why? What's wrong?" Lance immediately perked up and turned around to face me, his eyes full of concern.

"I dunno... it's just that... well, I've been at the edge of insanity the last few weeks waiting to see whether this was going to fizzle, or if you were going to make it all work out. You've been awesome, and now I have an opportunity to work in a great job AND be with you! I totally want to do it, I'm ready to take that step, but I'm so scared that something terrible is going to happen or it's not going to work out, or it won't be what I expected it to be, or something..." Having all these realizations coming to my mind caused my mood to swing from elated to depressed. Lance immediately reached over and grabbed my other hand, holding both of them tightly and squeezing.

"Hey hey hey... I've gotten us this far-don't start thinking about what MIGHT happen. Remember, we've got to take this one day at a time! What ever happens, happens. If things need to change, we'll change them. If something works out great, we'll keep doing that thing. Billy, you gotta have faith in yourself that you're strong enough to control your own future.

I KNOW you have that strength-I admire it a lot. You just need to see it in yourself..." Geez, Lance was right. He was always right. I let go of his hand and reached up to his face, caressing his cheek.

"Man, I love ya, Goof."

"Right back at ya, Billy." Lance released his grip as I retracted my hand, and he swapped roles by holding my neck as he moved his face into mine. Lance's eyes began to close, and I knew I was about to enjoy my first real kiss from Lance in a long time. Just before our lips met and my eyes closed, I saw the last ember of the sun disappear below the horizon. As our lips made their peaceful embrace, I knew that the sun might be extinguished for another day, but the flame of our love was only beginning to spark.

We probably should have been concerned about traffic driving on the nearby road, but we were totally lost in each other's touch. Just closing my eyes and being near Lance took me to another world. My fingers were woven together along the small of Lance's back, and I was keeping him close with the gentle force I was applying. Lance had this amazing ability to stimulate my cheek, chin, and neck every time we kissed, simply with a touch and caress of his hand. His lips, his tongue, his eyes, his hands-these all brought both calmness and excitement into our quiet times together.

Who knows how long we sat and kissed? I do know that the sky had become noticeably darker when I finally opened my eyes again. I didn't complain, though. I could do that all night! When we finally broke our kiss, Lance tilted my head down and gave me a soft kiss right in the middle of my forehead. As childish as that sounds, it was probably one of the most heart-warming physical expressions of love and caring he's ever shown me. He used his finger to tilt my head back up. Looking into my eyes, he said,

"Always know that I love you." After a pause to really absorb what he had said, I responded,

"I will, Lance...... I'll always remember that!" Lance turned back around to face the darkening sky, and we enjoyed a few moments of silent embrace. The air was warm, the breeze was minimal, and the traffic was non-existent. It was as if we had made reservations for this perfect spot in time.

After a while, I noticed Lance begin to fidget, but dismissed it as if he were just trying to stay comfortable. However, he said something that made me realize he had something on his mind.

"Hey Billy, I'm gunna tell you something that I haven't told you on the phone yet. I don't know why I didn't tell ya, but it just never came to mind, or something. Well, maybe it did, but...... I just hope you don't get mad. Anyway, this thing happened about a week ago. I...... uh,......" Lance was hesitating, and I squeezed him close.

"Lance! Don't worry about it. You know you can trust me with anything! I couldn't get mad at ya!" Lance tilted his head to the ground, apparently in thought. I was curious what this 'thing' was, but I knew I'd find out soon enough. Looking back up and still looking at the sky in front of us, Lance said,

"I um, ......... I told somebody." There was a grand pause as I tried to figure out what he was trying to say. His statement was so broad, he could have meant anything!

"What do you mean? What are you saying?" Lance turned around, but didn't reach for me or anything. He actually took a tiny step back as he looked at my face. Was he scared I was going to haul off and deck him or something? He pressed his lips together in thought, and finally blurted out his statement...

"I............ told one of the guys...... about US."

• • • • • *Visine drops are available on aisle 4-I know I need it just from doing my last proof! Sorry the chapter was so long, I just had all these ideas I wanted to include. *Any comments or suggestions are welcome at: kaiser_goof@hotmail.com ~Jeff

*See you all next chapter!