Under Management

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, this is my first submission to the Nifty Archive. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it. I'm trying to get as much realism as is possible in a story of this type, so the characters will need to get to know each other before there is any sex. It's also not exactly a 'two guys fall in love, and live happily ever after' story, there are going to be a few bumps in the road.

If you have any comments or constructive criticisms or whatever then e-mail me: mystories@btinternet.com

Disclaimer:

This story is a work of fiction. I don't know or own any of the celebrities mentioned in it. I also don't know anything about the personalities or sexual orientations of any of the members of *NSYNC, and the purpose of this story is not to imply anything about them. Secondly, this story contains adult themes and content as well as gay relationships. If you're too young to, or don't want to, read what's contained within, then leave now. Everyone else, enjoy...

So far in Under Management...

• Johnny Wright, a Jive executive, is looking for a new manager for his most prestigious group. - Their previous manager had been old and tired. Despite having experience by the bucket-load, he left the group with a pile of unfinished work and unpaid debts. - Johnny's idea is this - employ a young, fresh faced manager who is capable of befriending the individuals who make up *NSYNC. - Enter Alex. - Of course there is understandable tension at first, a 23 year old, in charge of one of the most successful pop groups ever? - Alex's intelligence and past career as a psychiatrist help him to ease into his new post. - Lance Bass, a member of *NSYNC, seems to Alex to be disturbingly quiet and introspective. Alex, uncertain of what to do, confronts him. - Lance is gay. - It isn't long before Lance's new found self confidence goes to his head and he comes out to his band mates. - Despite mixed reactions at first, all of Lance's band mates accept him. - All but JC. - Over time, Lance begins to open up to his new found confidante. - Alex is also gay. - Not wanting to withhold the truth, Alex informs Lance of this, resulting in a night of heated emotions and raised voices. The end product of which is a passionate kiss. - The following morning Lance and Alex decide that its best for all concerned if the night is forgotten. - Neither can forget it.

Under Management by Tris

Chapter 9

I stood in a small room, nervously awaiting my first appearance in front of the press. I checked my earpiece, which was to give me my queue, and later relay the press conference to me, while I was scurrying around behind the scenes. I then glanced down at my suit and straightened my tie. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, and peaked out from behind the curtain; which would, in time, open to allow me access to the conference room.

I saw the large table positioned to the front and center of the room, next to which was the podium where I would be standing. There were easily a hundred members of the press sitting in the rows of chairs; all facing the front of the room, each was holding a notepad and some sort of recording device.

"60 seconds to show time." A voice crackled in my ear.

I began to pace around the tiny side room, reciting my lines over and over to myself. I glanced repeatedly at my watch, and noted the lights dimming in the main room. I ignored the radio transmissions which I was hearing; they were mostly about camera and lighting.

"Hey Alex!" I heard Justin shout over my earpiece, followed by his giggle, "We heard you were nervous, so we thought we'd wish you good luck." I smiled at their thoughtfulness "Oh, and don't worry, we'll be good!" He laughed.

"*NYSNC conference goes live in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Alex, get out there!" a technical director ordered.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the media - Alex Michaels, manager of *NSYNC." the same director's voice boomed throughout the Jive press conference room. I slowly, apprehensively, made my way across the front of the room, towards my podium. All the time I was praying that I didn't trip and make a fool of myself. My agonizing walk to center stage was uneventful; I reached my microphone and firmly gripped the pedestal. I took a few deep breaths and began my speech.

"Thank you for coming today. As you probably already know this conference is about the announcement of groups activities over the next few months - no shock announcements..." I paused, before adding "...I hope." I gained a few laughs from the audience. "I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you of the contracts that everyone here today has signed. It was a standard 'stick to relevant and non-offensive questions' agreement. It also requested no personal video cameras - you'll be able to obtain the footage from us about an hour after this is over." I gestured towards one of the Jive-employed cameramen.

"In a few moments the group will issue a statement, in order to keep some semblance of order, could you please save your questions until they have finished." I stated, rather than asked. "So without anymore procrastination, I give you..."

"Alex, entrance order has changed!" I heard in my ear "It's now Lance, Justin then Chris."

"...Lance Bass, Justin Timberlake and Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC." I managed to finish, with only a short pause between my phrases. The three guys filed out onto the stage and were met with mixed applause and surprise. The audience were clearly expecting all five *NSYNCers to be on show. They sat in the same order that they were announced in, Justin waiting for the room to be quiet before speaking.

"Thank you Alex," he looked at me, which was my queue to leave "and thank you all for coming." He said to the crowd in front of him. I quietly walked out of the audience's view, although I could still tell exactly what was happening, as everything was being successfully relayed to the tiny speaker in my ear.

Backstage at Jive's purpose-built press conference suite bared many resemblances to a TV studio. There were dressing rooms, four in all, meaning there was one for each of us today. There was a make-up department, which doubled up as the make up-crew for photo shoots and any thing else that may require a little rouge, or a hell of lot of rouge in my case. There were also all of the technical aspects - a sound booth and a directing gallery, for example. The directing gallery was where I headed to when I was safely out of view.

I smiled to myself as I heard the guys messing around for the press, and gently pushed open the door to the room, full of monitors and mixing boards. I found that I was able to watch six angles of the three group members at once. I was glad that none of the questions posed too much of a problem for them, and even more pleased when the cameras stopped rolling and the press were slowly trudging out of the suite.

"Good job guys." I praised them, while the make up artists removed the gunk from their faces. "Chris you're free to go when you're finished here. Justin, PR have some things to discuss with you and Lance, I need to talk to you about something." I informed them of their duties.

Chris laughed, clearly happy that he could go home, whereas Justin and Lance groaned their disapproval. "Oh, there's one more thing. JC called, he wants to meet. Something about his song."

"Call him back; tell him to give us a day." Justin instructed.

"Wednesday" Lance stated, causing both Justin and Chris to eye him suspiciously.

"Wednesday it is." Chris shrugged after a few seconds.

"I don't think I can." Lance sobbed. He was sitting in the corner of his dressing room, his head supported by his hands.

"Lance if you don't tell Johnny about this then he wins. JC will beat you. Is that what you want?" I asked compassionately.

"This isn't a fucking competition Alex!" he yelled, "I don't give a damn about Josh, I just know that I won't be able to tell him...I won't..." Lance broke down, crying into his hands. This prompted me to crouch down beside him; I clutched his shoulder with my right hand, leaving my left free. I took his chin and lifted his head so that I was looking him in the eyes. I used my thumb to wipe the tears from his cheek.

"Lance. This has to stop." I said gently. "You can't let this go on any longer. Look what it's doing to you." His crying ceased; he looked at me with new found hope.

"Do you... do you think Johnny could do anything..." He asked, sniffing back the tears.

"Of course Lance," I allowed my arm to drop from his shoulder, and took both of his hands in mine. "But he has to know about it. You have a slightly... uh... unorthodox career..." I laughed slightly, and noted the beginnings of a small smile creep on to his face. "...That doesn't mean that you're exempt from employment laws. If co-workers are harassing you, then it's your superior's job to stop it."

"Can't you make it stop?" He inquired in a small voice.

"I can only make suggestions Lance, and I can't very well make a suggestion on this matter... it would only lead to me telling Johnny about you," I paused, squeezing his hands between my own, "It has to be you to tell him."

"I don't know..." He looked down at his feet.

"Just by telling Johnny, and proving JC wrong, maybe you'd gain a little of his respect back. Perhaps if you show him that you're not the stereotypical, limp- wristed, effeminate gay guy... if you show him that you can stand up to him... then he might back down." I suggested.

"Do you think so?" Lance asked, "Maybe I could tell him..."

"I know you could him Lance." I smiled.

"I'm going to tell him. I going to go up to Johnny and say 'Johnny, I'm gay, and JC is harassing me because of it'. That's what I'm going to do." He broke out into a grin, which caused me to do the same.

Lance stood from his position on the floor and I followed suit, we were once again standing face to face, close enough for me to see deep into his emerald eyes. "Well done Lance, you've got to try to ignore JC and move on. I think you've just taken the first step." I spoke softly.

"Thanks," he breathed, "It's down to you Alex. I couldn't have done any of this without you." I didn't respond verbally to his gratitude, I simply smiled appreciatively. "Oh, and you're right."

"I am? What about?" I was confused.

"About moving on," he tilted his head seductively, "I plan to." He whispered, and I could've sworn I noticed him glancing over my body, but it was probably my overactive imagination. I then realized that I had to respond.

"So... um... call me and tell me how it goes." I backed away from him, towards the door.

"I sure will." He grinned, as I turned and left the room.

The following day I was attempting to finalize some of the more basic tour details when I heard the front door open. I instantly knew that it was Susie, after all it had been all of four days since I had seen her. I sat in silence in my study awaiting the inevitable disruption. It took longer than expected, but happened nonetheless.

"What, no welcome for your first ever girlfriend?" She asked, peaking through the doorway as she tried to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Ugh..." I groaned "Don't you mean my only girlfriend?" I joked sarcastically.

"My, aren't we moody today?" She laughed.

"Busy." I stated. "This is way too much work for one person."

"So no time for me?" Susie asked.

"Nope."

"Oh, there's a shame. I suppose that means you've got no time for lover boy then." She giggled, catching my attention.

"Uh?" I grunted, finally turning to face her.

"Look who I bumped into in the car park." She grinned, yanking a disheveled Lance into view with a vice like grip on his collar.

"Hey Lance," I smiled stupidly, totally forgetting about the pile of work on my desk.

"Hey. I was hoping I could to talk to you. I... uh... had that chat with Johnny." He asked, careful to skirt around the major issue of JC.

"Of course." I answered him, "Susie, could you make Lance a coffee please?" I gave her my puppy dog eyes, which I knew she couldn't resist. She mumbled a few expletives before turning towards the kitchen and leaving. "She won't be here long, she has to get back to work by two. We'll talk then." I offered when Susie was out of earshot, knowing that he would be far too uncomfortable to discuss things in front of a stranger.

But wait, wasn't I a stranger? When I did move away from outsider status? Maybe I was just getting to know the guys a little better and as such becoming a friend to them. Although in this case, in Lance's eyes, I seemed to be more.

Come to think of it, not only would Lance have not been able to broach this topic with a stranger, I strongly doubt whether he would've been able to do so with anyone but me. The reason for this? To be truthful I wasn't entirely sure, all I knew was that I had only just begun to find out.

"Ok" he responded, putting an end to my thoughts.

"Now go have your coffee." I laughed, "I'll be out in a minute." With that Lance disappeared, doubtlessly wincing at the numerous grumbles and moans coming from Susie, on the other side of the apartment. I wrapped up the work that I had to do, it was nothing that couldn't wait I suppose, and shuffled out into the sitting area where Lance and Susie were getting to know each other better once again. Despite being the 'shy one' Lance seemed to simply click with Susie, the only reason I could think of was that she was the only female who knew of his sexuality. Perhaps she put a new spin on it.

"In a better mood now?" Susie asked as I approached.

"Yeah, sorry about that... work stress... you can leave yours at the office but mine follows me wherever I go." I explained.

"S'Ok... now get yourself a coffee and come sit with us." Susie said, and that's just what I did. On my return to the lounge I sat on the couch next to Lance, and opposite Susie.

"Now, what's going on in your world?" She began, which strangely enough Lance took offense to.

"We don't live in different worlds... This job isn't just about glitzy award ceremonies and shooting videos on a beach in the Bahamas." He said, irritated.

"Lance, it was only a figure of speech." I glared at him. After several seconds of silence he backed down.

"Yeah... um... I'm sorry about that. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment." He apologized.

"I saw the press conference on MTV yesterday." Susie chose not to dwell on Lance's surprising outburst. "My Alex's first TV appearance... you looked so cute in all that blusher."

"It's because of the lights." I folded my arms and pouted. "They make you look unnaturally white in front of cameras, isn't that right Lance?" I looked for his support, and I received it as soon as he had contained his giggling at my actions.

"The man's not lying." He agreed.

"Awww.... Lance!" She rolled her eyes, "My teasing is never gonna work if you keep sticking up for him."

"I know... but I can't help myself..." He whispered under his breath, only loud enough for me to hear. He stared at me longingly. This, of course, caught me totally off guard and caused me to gulp down a mouthful of boiling hot coffee that I was sipping at the time. I clamped my jaw shut in order to stop myself from yelping in pain.

"Something wrong Alex?" Susie noticed the change in my expression. I responded by shaking my head, no, however inwardly I was still screaming in agony. The speaker by the door buzzed, meaning that there was someone wanting to be invited up and distracting my friend from the situation.

As I was still so shocked I remained glued to my position. After a short time of no one responding to the speaker, Susie became impatient, and stood.

"Alright then, I'll get it..." she scurried over to the panel and looked at it in curiosity.

"The top button." I stated, and then looked back towards Lance. "What the hell was that?" I whispered so that Susie couldn't hear.

"I'm sorry Alex... it just sort of slipped out." He blushed.

"Did you mean what you said?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Well... I... uh... um..." He stuttered, only to be interrupted by a high pitched squeal from Susie, on the other side of the room.

"Wow! I mean... wow! Amazing! I uh... um... can't believe it!" She squeaked happily.

"Who is it? I asked, noticing Lance's sigh as my attention shifted from him.

"Justin Timberlake!" She screeched.

"Did you buzz him up?" I questioned.

"Oh fuck!" She exclaimed, and scurried back to the panel beside the front door.

"The red button." I answered her question before she could ask it. She pressed the button and fidgeted nervously at the door. "Do you need the bathroom or something?" I giggled.

"No, I'm excited! That's all." She huffed, continuing her nervous twitching. I grinned at her actions and turned back to Lance.

"Looks like we've got company. We'll finish this later though, It's important that it's out in the open." I told Lance, who simply nodded.

There was a knock on the door, but before I could even ask Susie to get it, she had done so. She stood, blocking the threshold, and was babbling, loudly, unintelligibly about something. I guessed her squeals of joy had something to do with Justin, who was mostly obscured from my view by Susie, although I could see the rather bewildered expression on his face.

"Maybe we should tell her to let him in." Lance chuckled.

"Let's let him sweat for little while longer." I answered. We remained in place, trying to suppress our laughter until my female friend's high pitched, excited voice began to grate on my nerves. "Susie! Would you let the boy come inside!" I attempted to sound serious but failed miserably, instead my voice quavered with stifled laughter.

"Oh yeah... sorry..." She finally stepped far enough from the door to allow Justin access. She scurried over to the side of the couch that Lance and I were still sitting on. "That's Justin Timberlake." She whispered, totally ignorant of the tears running down my face from laughing so hard.

I took a few deep breaths, and managed to form a sentence, "Suse, why don't you go and get yourself a glass of water or something to calm yourself down?"

"Ok." She nodded excitedly and took off towards the bathroom.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Justin frowned, when he was sure that Susie couldn't hear. Lance contained his laughter.

"Because..." He paused as another laugh escaped his lips, "Because it was funny!" He managed to complete his sentence before he doubled over once more.

"Yeah, really funny." Justin grumbled.

"So is this a social call? Or do you want to talk to me about something?" I asked before Susie returned.

"Uh... well... actually..." He glanced from me to Lance and then back again. "It's about JC, but it isn't that important, we can talk about it some other time." There was an awkward silence. I didn't want to fight Lance's battles for him, and if he wanted to let Justin's 'I can't talk about this 'cos it might offend him' tactic take precedence then I was going to let it. Fortunately, Lance put Justin in his place.

"We'll talk about it now." He stated forcefully "This involves me, I want to know about it." Justin appeared to be taken aback by Lance's sudden show of nerves. I, however, felt proud and couldn't help but think that I had had a small part in Lance's turn around.

Justin was about to speak when Susie emerged from the bathroom, I once again had to hide my amusement when I noticed that she had reapplied her lipstick. "Alex Michaels, you are a terrible host!" Susie scolded, "You have Justin Timberlake in your front room and I'll bet you haven't even offered him a drink!"

"No, no. I'm fine." Justin shook his head.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything?" Susie cocked her head to the side and fluttered her eyelashes while leaning on the arm of the chair that Justin was sitting on, giving him a good view of her cleavage.

"Well... since you're offering..." he growled, moving closer to her, "...a beer would be great."

"Of course." She smiled, casually trailing her hand over his arm as she stood and bounced into the kitchen.

"What is it with you and blondes?" Lance grinned.

"What?" Justin played innocent.

"Don't string her along like that Justin," I warned, "You don't treat my friends like that." I said sternly.

"I was only..." He started but just as quickly stopped when he saw how serious I was. "Ok. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." He held up his hands in defeat. Susie returned, handing Justin his beer and sitting as close to him as she possibly could have. She swooned over him for the next half an hour, but Justin kept his distance.

"Ok Justin, spill." Lance said as the front door slammed shut behind Susie. It was now much later into the evening; she had stayed longer than expected. Justin, of course didn't mind, however that was not because she was hanging on his every word. Susie was too smart for that. I think she realized that Justin was in fact human. That happened after the pizza that we ordered arrived and she took delight in correcting his table manners, which were as it happens, appalling. The actual reason why Justin was enjoying Susie's company so much after that incident was that her presence was delaying the grilling, that he was now going to be subjected to.

"Josh is not a happy man. He really didn't think you'd go this far Lance." Justin said.

"He deserves it." Lance huffed, and I couldn't say that I disagreed.

"He's losing two weeks salary and has received a written warning. Why did you do it Lance? He hates you more now."

"W... what?" Lance stammered, tears welling up in his eyes. I looked on with curiosity; I didn't expect his shell to crack that quickly. "Justin..." he sniffed "I think you should leave, I don't want to listen to any more of this."

"I... uh..." Justin looked to me for help, but I had nothing to offer. Justin crouched in front of his band mate and rested his hand on Lances'. "I'll see you tomorrow... we're looking forward to hearing your song." He said gently.

"Yeah. See you then." Lance held it together until Justin left the apartment, and then began to cry hard, streams of tears ran down his cheeks. I shimmied across the couch until I was sitting right next to him. I brought my right hand to his chin, and gently eased it up, so that he was facing me, yet he refused to allow his eyes to meet mine. My other hand took hold of his, I squeezed it gently.

"Lance, tell me what's wrong." I urged, "Surely you didn't expect things to go back to the way they were... this isn't like middle school when the naughty kid gets a telling off and then makes a miraculous turn around and actually studies for a few days..."

"No. I know that. I never expected that this would make JC like me, in fact I was pretty sure it would make him hate me even more, like it has." Lance wiped his nose on his sleeve and finally looked me in the eyes.

"So why the tears Lance?" I asked, slightly confused.

"I thought my talk with Johnny had gone well." I began, fresh tears causing his eyes to become glassy. "He accepted me, and promised to talk to JC, which he did, and he gave him a two week salary suspension... but... but..." his voice wavered. I reaffirmed my grip on his hand supportively. He continued, "Johnny said that he would give JC a talking to, but he also said that he would have to do the same to me if it ever got out that I was gay."

"Oh..." I sighed, thinking of how difficult the position that I was now in was.

"He threatened a three month wage deduction. Three months... that's over six times what JC is getting for harassment. I'm being punished for being me... it's not fair." He sniffed, trying not to allow any more tears to fall.

"I'm sorry to say this, but sometimes, life isn't fair Lance. The reality is that very often people will treat you differently because you're gay..." I allowed my voice to trail off.

Lance nodded his head solemnly, and looked down towards his lap for a few seconds. Suddenly, his demeanor changed. He grasped my hand with both of his and grinned at me, despite his tears. "Life sucks." He stated plainly.

"Yeah. Life sucks." I agreed, smiling back at him.

The rain poured from the dense, gray clouds above. In my peripheral vision I saw a flash of lightning and counted silently the time until I heard the thunder. I crouched by the front left tire of my dated Ford, trying clumsily to remove it. I cursed when I noticed the sound of another car speeding towards me.

"Fuck you!" I swore as the car drove past, soaking my back with muddy water. The storm raged on, the torrential downpour continued. I slammed the heel of my hand into the car in frustration, mumbling about how I should've bought a new one. That task had now moved directly to the top of my to-do list.

"Yesssss!" I hissed as I pulled out the final nut, and eased the flat out of the wheel arch. I shivered in the cold and then quickly got to work in putting the spare securely into place. Water ran down the back of my neck, down my shirt, which was now clinging to my skin. I ran my hand through my wet hair and shifted my weight as my legs were beginning to ache from crouching.

I saw another fork of lightning in the distance, which was followed by a clap of thunder. I heard a different noise and looked up to a see an eighteen-wheeler lumbering in my direction. I scrambled to my feet and scurried to the other side of my sedan. My efforts were in vain, the spray from the rig flew several feet into the air and drenched me. I groaned and wiped the grit from eyes. I returned to the task in hand, and eventually completed it.

As I sat back into the driver's seat and slammed the door I cursed my car, and the weather and then finally my job. If it weren't for me having so much paperwork to ferry backwards and forwards to the compound I would never have had to have made this journey in the first place. When I had finished my complaining, I sat back in the seat and felt my cold and wet clothing press against my back. I turned the heater up to full and pulled off the sidewalk.

When I was nearing my own home my cell phone rang, I reached across to the other side of the car, and felt for it on the seat, without taking my eyes off the road. I found the phone and flipped it open, and then held it to my ear. "Hello. Alex Michaels." I answered as chirpily as I could, given my dampness.

"Ah Alex. You do not sound so good." Jean Paul, my French club owning friend, commented.

"Le temps, il fait mauvais... and I got wet." I groaned, using partly his language and partly my own; a habit I had picked up when I was teaching him English.

"Mais oui, the rain, it'll do that to you." He chuckled.

"Yeah... I suppose it will." I laughed along with him, "So, what can I do for you?"

"Actually Alex I call to congratulate you on your television appearance. Very professional." He praised.

"Thank you Jean" I laughed, as I pulled up to a set of lights.

"I would be honored if you brought your friends to the club once more. Although next time I think you should give me some warning... and tell the famous one to bring some ID." He laughed heartily.

"I'll do that Jean." I chuckled, noting that I was just about to pass Justin's, or 'the famous one's', house. On the spur of the moment I decided to turn into his driveway, thinking that I should probably have some idea of their new songs. "I hate to cut this short, but I have business to attend to." I spoke into the phone, as I reached out of the window and keyed in Justin's security code to open his gates.

"Of course... there is, as you say, no rest for the wicked... eh Alex?" He laughed once more. I did the same as I drove slowly towards Justin's house.

"Au revoir, mon ami." I said my goodbyes.

"A bientot." As did Jean, who then hung up. I flipped my phone closed, and peered out through the drizzle as I switched the engine off. I waited for a few minutes in silence, to see of the rain would ease off. It didn't. I chose to make a run for it and hope that someone would answer the door quickly or else I would have to get wet once more.

I rang Justin's doorbell, and knocked at the same time. I turned to look back at the driveway, which now looked closer to a lake, as I waited for a response. The rain continued to fall and I felt the dampness return to my neck and slowly spread across my back. I pressed the bell once more, but this time heard the faint sounds of a piano being played. My shirt began to cling to my skin once more, and my pants became heavy with absorbed water. I turned back towards Justin's closed door and tried the handle. I turned and the door opened. I frowned and shook my head at the lack of security, but was glad to get out of the downpour.

I followed the sound of the piano music through the large house, taking in the elaborate and modern decor. As the music grew louder I found that I could make out the voices of the guys, singing along to the melody. I came to one room which was full of trophies, prizes and photographs of memorable moments. "So this is the band I manage..." I said to myself, gazing upon a wall of platinum discs.

I opened a door from the trophy room and was confronted by the faces of Chris and Lance. I saw Justin holding a guitar, and playing it softly, barely audible above the piano and JC playing the later instrument, both were facing away from me. The two guys who could see me broke into grins at first and then in between choruses, when Chris wasn't singing, he started to giggle. He was soon joined, despite his best efforts, by Lance.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" JC yelled and stopped playing, "Can't you be serious for just one second?" This caused them to giggle more, soon Chris was doubled over and had tears streaming down his face. I would hate to see how pissed JC would've been if Joey was in town and laughing along with them. Lance simple stood and pointed in my general direction.

Justin and JC swiveled around on their stools and grinned when they saw me. "What happened to you?" Justin asked.

"I got wet." I responded, running a hand through my hair which was plastered flat to my scalp. Then I looked down at my trousers to see that they were caked in mud from crouching at the roadside. "And I got a flat."

"Do want to take a shower, there are some towels upstairs... and you could borrow some clothes if you want... we're about the same size I guess." Justin offered.

"Nah. I'll get one at my apartment; it's only a few minutes away. I just stopped by to make sure that you were working..."

"Checking up on us?" Chris asked light heartedly.

"Yes I am... but now I can see that you're doing what you're supposed to so I'll be off home, before anyone else points and laughs at me." I turned and pretended to be offended.

"Since you're here, you may as well stay and listen to the tracks we've worked out." Chris suggested, not that I would've left without hearing them anyway. I nodded my approval. JC stood from his stool at the baby grand at the center of Justin's music room and moved towards an electric keyboard.

"You're gonna love this one." Justin stated as JC tinkled on the keys and adjusted the settings on the keyboard. After a few attempts he played the first few chords of the intro, and the other guys flocked towards him and formed a semi circle.

The song was an upbeat number, to be honest I couldn't really liken it to any of their previous songs, which I think was a good thing. There was an instrumental section towards the end that caught my interest, it was slightly more of a rock section. In fact it would've sounded more at home on a Nickelback or even a Linkin Park album but change was a good thing, and it sounded good, despite the electric guitar and drums having been synthesized by JC's set of keyboards.

After that surprise the guys went straight into the second song, which I presumed was written by JC himself. He changed the settings on the keyboard to replicate the piano that he was playing earlier and allowed the music to flow out. I marveled at how naturally talented he was. This second song was more like a traditional *NSYNC ballad, although it had much more meaning in its unedited, live form. For just a few minutes I allowed myself to forget all of the problems that I was facing and enjoy the song. When the guys finished singing and JC had struck the final chord, I applauded and whistled for all I was worth. Granted the new songs still weren't totally to my taste, but there was something about them that I really liked. Perhaps the reason for this was that I was involved in their creation in my own, small and unimportant way.

The guys smiled, bowed and cheered at my positive response. "So you really liked them?" Chris asked. I considered being absolutely truthful and airing my doubts but I chose not to spoil the moment.

"Sure they were great, I'm impressed." I grinned.

"You like the rock thing that Wade and I did?" Justin questioned.

"It took me by surprise but, yeah, it's more my style... that's not to say I didn't enjoy the second track... it was powerful..." I gave my abbreviated opinion, "They were both cool."

"Now mine." Lance shoved some notes in front of JC and handed a few printed sheets out to the other guys.

"I don't sight read." Grunted JC, his hostility towards Lance returning.

"Give it a go Josh." Chris prodded, but JC stood firm and folded his arms in protest.

"I'm not playing a fag song." He snarled.

"Josh, please play it, you're embarrassing yourself." Justin glanced at me, and then took the papers from JC and barged him away from the keyboard.

"No. I'll... I'll play." JC conceded. He pressed the creases out of the sheets and read over them. He placed them on the music stand in front of him and tried a few combinations of chords, repeating the introduction several times before he was satisfied. "Ok, are you ready?" He looked towards Justin.

"Lance, I'm not sure if I can go this high." Justin said.

"I've thought about that, but I want to try it as it is before I lower it." Lance explained shyly. You could see in his eyes that he was pleading with Justin to go ahead, for he knew that if Justin decided not to, then so would JC. Justin smiled and signaled for his friend to continue.

JC repeated the chorus, only slower, and then continued into the first verse. I had to admit that Justin was right, it was high pitched and I could see that he was straining at some points. I also felt as though JC wasn't giving it his all, as he did the two previous songs. Yet the song sent chills down my spine, it was sad, it had a sort of ghostly vibe and was about an unrequited love. I think the song was the first insight that the other guys had into Lance's mind. Although the situation was different to the one that Lance was currently facing, his feelings, his depression and all of his other conflicting emotions were conveyed by it.

The final line was sung by Justin, unaccompanied. When he allowed his voice fade to silence, I heard the others breathing hard and felt that my cheeks were slightly damp. I quickly wiped them with my cuff, not that that did any good, considering how wet my shirt still was.

There was a lasting silence; I think we were all plunged into thought by the eerie melody. Before anyone could say anything positive about Lance's track, and give it the praise that it richly deserved, JC spoke up.

"Huh..." he snorted, "Just like I thought, a fag song. That sure as hell won't be going on the album." He sneered. From that moment on, everything seemed to blur together as one. I noticed Lance's eyes become wide and glassy with unshed tears, he glanced down at his feet and attempted to put on a brave face, but found that he couldn't. He made dash for the door. I saw Justin shove JC and Chris shaking his head with disapproval, but I didn't have time to find out what they would do.

"I'm going after him," I blurted. I turned and ran towards the door, not taking note of the raised voices and stern words behind me. I sprinted through Justin's house towards the front door. When I reached it, I yanked it open and dashed out into the rain. I stopped when I reached the center of the driveway, I saw Lance scrambling to open his car door.

"Lance! Wait!" I yelled. He looked back towards me, and paused for a moment. His face was red and puffy, and there were probably tears running down his cheeks, although the rain prevented me from being able to see them. Lance opened his door and got in. He revved the engine and drove off quickly, tires squealing. I cringed as he reached the security gates but they opened automatically and were just wide enough to miss the sides of his 4 runner.

Without thinking I ran to my Ford and jumped in, I sped off down the driveway and headed to Lance's house, hoping that I would find him there.

I drove slowly towards Lance's house and breathed a sigh of relief as I rounded a corner and spotted his 4 runner. The rain continued to fall, although it was now dark. I stopped my car and walked towards the house, shivering in the cold wind. When I was closer I saw Lance standing under his veranda, struggling with his keys, attempting to open his door. "Lance!" I called. He looked back, pausing for a second, but soon returned to his lock, which evidently was stuck. "Lance!" I tried again. This time he stopped, and turned to face me, I closed the distance between us.

"Lance," I stepped up onto the wooden porch, he looked away from me. "Please look at me." I begged. He refused to do so, still looking at the floor. I crouched beneath him and cocked my head, grinning up at him. I looked into his deep green eyes, "I'm sorry about JC." I offered.

"Don't be." He said sadly, holding out his hand, which I accepted. He pulled me back to a standing position.

"You're song was beautiful." I didn't release his hand.

"Really?"

"It was haunting; it sent shivers down my spine... I loved it, and so did the others, I could tell." I smiled.

"Thanks." He blushed.

"You look cute when you do that." I whispered, bringing my finger to his face, tracing the tear stains that were found there. Lance moved closer to me.

"I don't think I can live like this anymore Alex." Lance sighed.

"Don't say that Lance, don't even think that." I raised my voice, my brow creased with worry, I brought my hands to his hips and pulled him closer, shaking my head.

"And you look cute when you do that." He giggled, and then took a deep breath. "I didn't mean it like that, and you need to stop worrying about me so much... I can take care of myself."

"Can you?"

"Yes." He breathed; the air flowed over my face, causing my lips to tingle.

"So what did you mean?" I stepped back slightly.

"I meant that I can't live, pretending that there is nothing between us. There is something Alex. Something powerful... and it scares the shit out of me." He said truthfully, closing the space that I had opened up between us.

"I can feel it." I whispered, my resolve failing.

"Now, what to do about it." He grinned and placed his palm on my chest, directly over my heart. He pressed my damp shirt against my skin. We stood there for several seconds, grinning at each other goofily, in silence.

I chose to make the first move and stepped towards him, and pressed my lips against his. I allowed my hand to run gently through his hair, whereas Lance's planted themselves firmly on my hips. It was a short kiss, a light peck, but it stood for more than anything that I had ever experienced before. When we broke apart, Lance was breathing hard and was flushed in the face. I stepped back from him, "Goodnight Lance." I said gently before turning and stepping out into the storm, beginning the walk towards my car.

"Wait, Alex!" Lance called after me; I turned around, "Does this mean we're together?"

"Yeah Lance," I grinned, nodding my head, "We're together."

End of Chapter 9

That should please a few people! Anyway, I have to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I was offered a plane ticket by my parents, and decided to take a last minute vacation.

Since there was a delay, I decided to do a little recap at the beginning, I hope it worked. Also, I guess I should say that this chapter signifies the end to the introduction of the story. But don't worry the next chapter will be out soon enough, although it is slightly different. Now that I've finally managed to form the main relationship in the story, I want to start to work on the others - both those within the group, and those between Alex and his family and friends.

Now that you've got some idea of the direction that the story is going to take, I would greatly appreciate some feedback regarding all of the chapters so far, as well as some comments on this one. If you care to oblige:

mystories@btinternet.com

Finally, thanks for all of the e-mails so far, keep them coming! Tris