Chapter 9
"No, not yet. I'm not ready to go back."
The reaction varied among the four friends of James whom he considered his
brothers. Justin had on a face the simply said "stunned", complete with
dropped jaw and 'big as saucers' eyes. JC remained passive, but the edges of
his mouth curled slightly. Chris tried to speak but nothing came out to
react to the situation; in a word, he was speechless. Joey just closed his
eyes, as if he were praying silently, and held fast to James' hand. James
smiled. It still amazed him how funny looking his friends can be without
really trying.
"Guys, its not as bad as you think. It's just I want to have some things
out of the way before I want to get back into the Pop race. I want to settle
things with my family, tie up some loose ends, and other stuff. You know,"
James said with a reassuring tone.
"Whatever you need to do, Scoop," said JC with reluctant understanding.
"But can you at least tell us when are you okay to be back."
James thought for what seemed like a long minute, and then said, "I think,
probably, by the time the new year comes along. I want to start fresh, you
know. This year was so bad that I want to forget some of it and move on. I
have some doubts that my family wants me back and I don't think my company
is still floating. When I come back, I just want to be in it with a free
mind and, pardon the pun, no strings attached. I gained so much baggage that
I'm only getting rid of them now. I just want to get on with my fucking
life," he said with so much conviction that it left all of them in awe at
their very much-missed friend.
It started with Joey, who was beside him. He hugged Lance very tightly.
Chris followed with both JC and Justin in tow. They formed a ball of human
affection that seemed to stay for a long until someone spoke up.
"Guys, as much as love this and all, but can we all let go? I need to go to
the bathroom," said Chris who was caught between Lance and JC. They all
laughed as they let go of each other and saw Chris sprint towards the
bathroom door.
JC looked towards the electronic clock of the room and noticed the time.
Leaving Joey and Justin to talk with Lance, he decided to check up on the
rest of the conspiracy. Dialing a series of digits on his cell phone, he
waited for the person to pick-up while the phone continued to ring.
"Hello," greeted a female voice.
"Hey Dani! How are things going in the function room?," asked JC in a
quieter voice than his very loud band mates.
By that time, a flush could be heard from the bathroom and Chris came
bounding out. He took a seat near JC as he listened to Joey tell Lance about
the time Justin got stuck in his room for a better part of a day because the
door handle of his room broke. Chris smiled at the sight of Lance laughing;
he couldn't remember when was the last time he saw Lance laugh.
"Okay, we'll be down in about 30 minutes. Get everybody settled in for the
surprise. Oh, and tell Kelly to make sure that we have enough booze to last
us until God knows what time in the morning," ordered JC to Chris'
girlfriend.
Chris chuckled slightly. It was nights like these that he truly felt like
he was Rock Star. JC got off his cell phone and looked at Chris' face that
was full glee. "We have 30 minutes before we bring down Lance. You get the
ball rolling, Chris."
Chris rose up and asked everyone what they wanted to do tonight, knowing
that everything was already set up for a party downstairs.
"I say we just chill here and catch up on things. You know, we haven't all
been in the same city together for the about 5 months. I think we need to
reconnect or something," said Justin as natural as he can be, considering
that this was all scripted.
"I second that, but why don't we take this downstairs in the bar so we can
get out of this room. I don't know about you guys but I'm getting some
serious Cabin Fever," said Joey to the group.
"Okay, I'm down with that. How about you, Chris? Justin?," JC asked to the
pair. Both nodded and smiled slightly. "Lance?"
Thinking for a moment, he realized that he had nothing really to lose. He
could ditch his class tomorrow morning and get notes from his classmates.
With Kelly gone, he thought, he could do anything he wanted. And he had
tomorrow off from work anyway.
"Okay guys, I'm game."
"Cool! Now everybody, let's meet back here in 20 minutes so the rest of us
can freshen up. You can wait here, Lance while the rest of us get ready,"
said JC with a commanding air. Everyone nodded. All rose and left for their
respective suite, all except Joey who was just sitting down on the bed
smiling at Lance.
"What are you still doing here? Aren't you going to get ready?," he asked
the Italian who just smiled.
"This is my room, Lance. I was the first of us to get to New York. The
Hotel was fully booked that day so I took this one. I never got around to
changing my room to one of the suites," Joey explained to the young bass.
"Oh!" he said with a little embarrassment and looked at floor red-faced.
Joey stood up and placed his hand on Lance's chin, lifting it to face him.
"You know, you are so cute when you blush." This comment made James blush
even more furiously than before and Joey laughed at his reaction. This set
James laughing along with Joey.
After some considerable minutes to calm down, both were able to lull
themselves into a comforting silence. Staring into each other's eyes, Garnet
looking at Jade, they both got lost into a zone. Both didn't realize it but
their hands closed the small gap that was between them. Lance held on to
Joey's side and slowly moved them to meet them around his waist. Joey's
right hand stayed on chin then went on to stroke Lance's left cheek. His
other hand moved slowly upward to feel Lance's longish cap of dark hair.
"It's so soft, like silk," Joey said with much warmth. While his hand
continued to touch the smooth hair, Lance steadily moved closer and stopped
an inch away from Joey's mouth. After a moment's hesitation, Lance placed
his lips upon Joey's. The kiss was chaste and unsure, but surprisingly good.
Joey kissed back and all the love he felt for the younger man seemed to
focus itself in his reciprocation. Lance moved back and blushed a little,
turning away with a grin, feeling Joey's love for him.
"Yeah, you really are cute when you blush," Joey commented before leaning
in to kiss Lance again. This time, it was more urgent. Lance allowed Joey's
tongue to enter his mouth for him to taste his essence. Joey felt Lance's
tongue lap with his, feeding off each other's slowly rising passion. Both of
them gripped on to each other almost fearing that the other would leave if
them would let go. Somehow, their legs made them move to the bed as they
continued to make out. Short of tearing off each other's clothing, Joey and
Lance barely could contain themselves. They didn't hear the door open.
"HOLY JESUS MARY JOSEPH!"
Joey and Lance jumped in surprise. Joey, in his shock, landed on the floor
with a heavy thud. Lance, on the other hand, shot up and hit his head on the
headboard.
The effect of this scene took its witnesses through a range of reactions.
Mainly; surprise, then joy, then laughter, and finally pity for the two sore
lovers. Chris went around to Joey and helped him off the floor; Joey rubbed
his butt in pain and glared at Chris with disdain. Justin came on to Lance's
side and asked if he was okay. Using this as a distraction, JC got the ice
bucket in the room and slipped out to find an ice machine. As he closed the
door, he heard Joey shouting at Chris' Face. He got his cell phone out and
called Dani.
"Hello Dani? Nothing wrong, just running late. Give us 15 more minutes and
we'll be down. What happened? Oh, we caught Joey and Lance making out. Tell
you about it later. 'Kay, bye." JC replaced his phone into his pocket and
then headed towards the ice machine at the end of the hallway. After getting
a bucket full of ice, he went back into Joey's room. JC heard Chris ribbing
Lance.
"Gee, Scoop. You look so much better now. After all this time of trying to
get you some color, all we had to do was to get Joey to kiss you," Chris
joked. Lance smiled in embarrassment while rubbing the sore spot on his
head. JC took pity on the younger man and gave him some ice wrapped in a
napkin from room service. Lance took it graciously and placed it on his
bump. Looking around the room, JC noticed that Joey was gone.
"Guys, where's Joey?"
"He's in the bathroom taking a cold shower," Justin said with much
amusement. Lance reached over the gap between him and Justin and slapped
Justin behind his head.
"OWW!"
"You deserved that," said Lance with a shit-eating grin but still red in
the face.
The four of them continued with the small talk until Joey came out of the
bathroom in only his boxers and a towel slung over his shoulder. Lance took
a double take at the near naked state of Joey. Oh, the thoughts that were
running through his head.
When Lance didn't answer Justin's question, he looked up and saw Lance in a
mesmerized trance. He followed his gaze and did a face that was crossed
between smiling and disgust. Chris and JC saw this and both chuckled in
amusement. After some time hitting Lance on the arm with finger flicking,
Lance looked towards Justin in irritation.
"You know, Scoop. I'm glad that you and Joey are hooking up and all, but
what you see in Joey's big lard ass is totally beyond me," said Justin, and
as result of that comment, an orange streaked rubber shoe sailed across the
room and hit Justin on the chest. "OWWW!" he screamed again.
"Are you implying I'm FAT, Timberlake?" questioned Joey as he placed the
last article of clothing on himself and grabbed his cologne on the desk
table.
"I'm not implying. I'm saying."
Joey just shrugged, surprising everyone, figuring that he would retaliate
or something. He just went on with his business, leaving everyone,
especially Justin, on a disconcerting feeling. Grabbing his jacket off the
chair and spritzing himself with Hugo Boss Elements, he said, "Let's go,
people. New York is waiting."
Shrugging their shoulders, everyone got up and filed out with Joey hold the
door open. Justin, being the second to the last person out of the room, was
almost out the door before Joey placed his foot on his backside and kicked
really hard. The force of the kick sent Justin slamming into the door of the
room across the hallway and sliding down the hardwood with a sick screeching
sound.
It was like a car accident, all of a sudden and very interesting to watch.
JC, Lance and Chris saw what happened and dropped their jaws in
bewilderment. Out of the three shocked fellows, Chris was the first to let
loose with unrestraint laughter. Lance and JC soon followed Chris to the
floor, holding in their stomachs. All this time, Justin was still on the
door with shock. Joey just leaned on the threshold of his room and grinned like
it was winning the million dollars in Survivor.
Out of the blue, the door that Justin was on flew opened and a haggard
middle-aged man looked and gave a face at the guys. He looked down as Justin
quickly moved himself vertical and apologized profusely. He herded the guys
to the elevator as the man looked on with confusion. As the group got into
the elevator, Justin faced his friends and gave Joey an annoyed whiny face.
"What was that for? I could have broken something!" whined Justin.
"That, my curly haired friend, was for that stupid insult you made in the
expense of my ass. Ain't payback a bitch!"
Everyone, including Justin, laughed at that as the elevator stopped at the
ground floor. All of them moved out of the compartment with Justin shaking
his head in amused disbelief. They all moved towards the function room in
anticipation except for Lance, who didn't know where they were going.
Flanking just so Lance was the middle of the group with JC and Chris leading
and Joey and Justin in the rear, JC and Chris opened the double doors of one
of the function rooms.
"SURPRISE!"
James jumped at the large group of people inside the room. His jaw dropped
at the amount of people here. Some of his family, friends, bodyguards, and
old acquaintances were all about looking on with smiles and joyful gestures.
Lance went in the room and started to mingle and to open himself again with
these people. He looked back at his band mates and smiled a "thank you".
When he saw his Dad, he broke down in tears and rushed to give him a big
embrace. They held each other of a time, each saying words of familial love.
Lance decided to talk with Jim to clear the air and asked him to go with him
to a quieter spot. Moving towards outside the room, Lance saw Stacey give
him a thumbs-up while Ford was hugging her from behind. Going over to a
large sofa in the lobby, Lance and Jim sat themselves down and stayed
silent, almost afraid to break the awkwardness. Then Jim spoke up to break
the air.
"Son, what your mother did was inexcusable. If it's still okay and all, I'm
really sorry that all this had to happen to you."
Lance exhaled in relief. "So you're not mad or anything?"
"James, I love you no matter what you are. I have to admit though that for
quite sometime I was so confused by all this. In the long run, I began to
realize that you are my son despite your decisions in your "lifestyle". I
may not be comfortable with being gay yet but please give me time and I will
come around."
James smiled but frowned almost immediately as another thought entered his
head. "Dad, what about Mom? Won't this cause more trouble between the two of
you?"
"You know, despite all that happened to you, you still think about the
needs of others before your own," Jim chuckled. "Don't worry about her.
She'll come around. She's alone on this one in our family."
"I still miss her." As he said this, he hung his head low.
Jim felt pity for his son and held out his hand to rub on James'. "Son,
it's okay. Just let things be and everything will be fine. Just remember not
to let her bother you so much because that will only weigh you down more
than you know. It's like trying to go up a mountain or fishing, in some
cases. Sometimes it's the burden of things that affect your living. If you
allow this to burden your mind then you will go on continuing this pathetic
life in misery. Honestly, do you need anymore misery?"
James paused for a moment and answered. "No, I don't need anymore, Dad. I'm
tired and I want to feel okay again." With a smile, he reached forward and
hugged his father. Jim returned it with a pat on the back and some kind
words.
"Everything will be okay. Now it's time to stop running away and to walk
tall. You've already started your road to happiness again, starting with
forgiveness and acceptance. Now, all you need is to live with the people you
love. You'll need them."
Out of the blue, a gang of small children in black-spotted dog costumes
came running out to the father and son, and dragged them back into the
function room. The kids pulled them towards the stage and everyone clapped
at Lance's presence.
James looked down on the crowd of people that he has met along the way in
life and, for the first time in a long while, he felt blessed. His family
stood right in front him along with the rest of NSYNC and their families.
And all around, people he had the pleasure of being friends with and had
worked with, along with various artists in the industry. All of them
welcoming him back.
Joey approached him for the side and gave him a microphone. Lance whispered
something to his ear and Joey smiled at the request he made. Running to find
the Concierge of the hotel, he grabbed Justin to help him. Tapping the mic a
few times to see if it was on, James nervously began to address the party.
"Wow! I'm surprised by all this. I figured that you all would have
forgotten me after I disappeared. I guess some of you still remember the
money I owe you. By the way AJ, I already paid you that 5 grand I owe you.
Don't blame me if you lost the cheque and weren't able to bank it until it
was way past the encashment due date."
AJ flipped him the bird and made the crowd laugh.
"Bring it on, Alex. But seriously, I'm grateful that you guys care enough
to show your love and support for me. Five months ago, my world felt like it
was nothing. I was not looking for support and that was my mistake. If there
was someone who cared for me in those days, I never really gave them the
time of day because I was too caught up in my problems to notice. Well, it's
better late than never to felt like you are loved."
More applauding.
"I want to thank my NSYNC brothers who, after a time, came around and began
to help their own brother when he went astray. My family, who are here, for
not giving up on me. To you guys for not turning a blind eye on me and
showing me your support. And to my special someone who after all this made
me feel so much more than what I am."
The crowd of loved ones clapped. Just then, Joey came in with an amplifier
and electric guitar, and was followed by Justin who held JC's electric
keyboard. The people in the room became curious at the sight of the
equipment as the two NSYNCers began to set up the small stage with them.
Motioning JC to come forward, he whispered a few words and JC nodded. JC got
up on stage and sat down behind his keyboards.
"Everyone, I want to do something that only one person in this room has
seen me do for the pass 3 months. Kelly, I thank you for the opportunity to
do this. My brothers, except for Justin, have all seen me do this. Nothing
kinky so get your minds out of that particular gutter," James joked as he
tuned the guitar, and the crowd laughed. "Oh, a quick thanks to Nick, Jess,
and Janine for being there too. And a special thanks to my Superman, I love
you." The audience cooed at the dedication, and Joey blushed. James held out
a finger to cue JC to start. JC began to play the piano intro to Five for
Fighting's "Superman" and James started to strum the riffs of the song.
Soon, his powerful bass voice began to fill the hall.
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird...I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me
Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd...but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed...but won't you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me
Up, up and away...away from me
It's all right...You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy...or anything...
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
It's not easy to be me.
The people were surprised at the Lance's talent. All of them knew of Lance
amazing Bass voice but never really knew his full range. It started with
Janet Jackson, who was taking a break for touring to see Lance's return,
standing up and clapping with gaining fervor. Then AJ, Nick, and Howie of
the BSB followed along with Nick Lachey, Jessica, Christina and the rest of
the NSYNC family. Soon, Rob Thomas and the rest of Matchbox 20 joined in the
applauding and praising. The entire room became one big noisy barrage of
amazed individuals. Shouts of "more" and "bravo" came from all over the
room, especially from Rosie O'Donnell in a very loud and clear fashion, and
it made James felt very appreciated. He looked towards his family and saw
the pride in their eyes. He looked around some more and saw Kelly with a
bunch of "recruited" volunteers serving drinks. He caught her gaze and
immediately rolled his eyes at what she doing.
"Since you guys want more, my next song is dedicated to my current boss,
Kelly, and her unbridled need to make the world madly drunk."
Kelly heard this and shouted, "You know it. You want anything?" At this,
the crowd chuckled.
"How about a Midnight Cowboy?" he shouted over the crowd.
"Sure."
"Everyone! If you got any drink that you desire, go to Kelly and she's hook
you up with a fine alcoholic buzz. Just remember to drive safely and make
sure to have protection, sexually or otherwise." More laughter. "By the way,
before I forget, when I find out who put those children into those dog
costumes I will personally make sure you are arrested for Child Abuse." Even
more laughter. "Anyway, I see Nelly is here. Girl, come up here and help me
with a song."
From the back of the crowd, Nelly Furtado approached the stage and bounded
up the stage. She hugged Lance briefly, but lovingly, and talked softly as
to what song he had in mind. JC was quickly informed by Nelly to start on
the intro of Dave Matthews Band's "Crash into Me", and then she began to
sing.
You've got your ball, you've got your chain
Tied to me tight, tie me up again
Whose got their claws in you my friend?
Into your heart I'll beat again
Sweet like candy to my soul, sweet you rock
And sweet you roll
Lost for you I'm so lost for you
You come crash into me
And I come into you
I come into you
In a boy's dream
In a boy's dream
Touch your lips just so I know
In your eyes, love, it glows so
I'm bare-boned and crazy for you
When you come crash into me, baby
And I come into you
In a boy's dream
In a boy's dream
If I've gone overboardv
Then I'm begging you
To forgive me
In my haste
When I'm holding you so girl
Close to me
Oh and you come crash into me, baby
And I come into you
Hike up your skirt a little more
And show the world to me
Hike up your skirt a little more
And show your world to me
In a boy's dream, in a boy's dream
Oh I watch you there
Through the window
And I stare at you
You wear nothing but you
Wear it so well
Tied up and twisted
The way I'd like to be
For you, for me, come crash into me
Crash into me
Crash into me
You know, I'm the king of the castle
You're the dirty rascal, crash into me
Please crash into me, baby
Oh, no no no
Yes, I see the waves
Come and crash into me.
See the waves come and crash into me.
Crash into me
All the while Nelly sang, Lance kept on stealing glances at Joey. He caught
them and smiled at the how much love he was putting into his performance.
Joey didn't notice that Stacey came up beside him and startled him back into
reality.
"You love him, don't you?" she asked the blissful Italian.
He gave her a long-sided glance and smiled. "Yeah, I do. For the longest
time now."
She patted his shoulders, gave him a hug and leaned up to kiss him in the
kiss. She pulled him down to say something into his ear. "Just remember, if
you hurt him, I was personally make sure that you will have a sex-change
operation without any anesthetic."
Joey's eye got wide and nodded slowly.
The night wore on and the party continued. James gave the stage to however
decide to perform, acoustic style. Matchbox 20, Christina, the currently
present BSB, Nick and Jess, all members of NSYNC and other artists perform
with the limited instruments. The night just became one big jam session.
Kelly kept on pouring the drinks and pretty soon everyone one was buzzed.
By the time 1 A.M. rolled along, only about a third of the party stayed and
were going on strong. "Who knew the Britney was such a lush?," commented
Lance to Joey as they saw her cling on to Justin along with her glass of
Long Island Iced Tea. The rest of the girls gathered by the bar and
exchanging top secret information. (namely beauty tips) The guys divided
themselves into different cliques and traded banters. The jam session
eventually devolved into karaoke with the drunken duet of two of the NSYNC
bodyguards. It was at the moment that JC decided to send everyone home.
Seeing everyone off, all the members of NSYNC decided to continue along
with their own thing. Chris joined Nick Carter and AJ in a night in the
town. Justin managed to escape the clutches of Britney and went with them.
Nick and Jessica went up to their room for some quiet time. JC and Kelly
decided to go back to the Speakeasy, along with Howie, Christina and Ryan. A
very drunk and dejected Britney went along with Dani, and Janine to a nearby
diner to go get some coffee to drink. "JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE! You owe us fucking
big time!" shouted Dani to the fleeing singer. Lance and Joey stayed a bit
longer, waiting for everyone to leave.
After making sure the employees of the hotel got started cleaning up, Joey
told them to charge up any damage to the NSYNC rooms. Both of them left and
went up to Joey's floor. Holding hands as they walked to Joey's room, each
bashfully looked at each other. When they got to the door, Joey gave Lance a
light peck on the lips and opened the room for them to enter. Lance entered
to a room full of lit-candles. Touched so much by Joey's gesture, he gave
him the most passionate kiss he could ever muster. After some time, Joey
broke the spell and gasped for air.
"God, where did you learn to hold your breath like that?" asked Joey in
shallow breaths as he held on to Lance.
"Tai-Chi teaches breathing control," James said, and then leaned up for
another kiss. Tired enough as they are, they just stripped their clothes and
continued to make out until sleep came upon their consciousness. Only the
retreating light of the candles broke the contentment of the darkness.
Next Day...
The sun's ray crept through the curtains along with the faraway sounds of
New York's traffic. Vanilla and lavender scented the room from the
extinguished candles. The air seemed a little nippy even with thermostat set
on a comfortable level. This only served the couple to yearn more warmth
from each other. Despite having nothing to do that day but stay with Joey,
James woke up early and just stared at his lover with happiness, stroking
his brown hair as he slept peacefully. The magic of the moment caught James
in wonder and soon began to sing quietly as if giving thanks to the lord for
the amazing gift that was given to him.
My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be gray, but your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad
It's not so bad
I drank too much last night, got bills to pay
My head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today
I'm late for work again and even if I'm there,
They'll all imply that I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad
It's not so bad and
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life
Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and through
Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you
And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue
Because you're near me
I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life
Waking up but keeping his eyes closed, Joey smiled slightly at the song the
James was singing and whispered in his best bedroom voice "Thank You" to the
younger man after he finished. Lance leaned down and gave him a kiss, which
deepened in intensity, until the phone rang.
Joey cursed Alexander Graham Bell in his head as he lifted the phone off
the handle to his ear. James snuggled closer and lay down on Joey's chest as
Joey finished the conversation. Replacing the phone, Joey kissed James
forehead and put his arms arm the dark-haired man.
"Babe, we have to get up and go to the police station," Joey said to James
as he continued to lie on his torso.
"Why?" James said as he perked up in curiosity.
"That was just Chris on the phone. He and Justin, along with AJ and Nick,
got arrested a few hours ago for disturbing the peace. We have to go pick
them up," Joey sighed; frustrated at the fact that he had to give up his
comfortable position to bail his friends out.
James frowned but nodded in agreement. He got up and headed for the shower
but glanced back at his lover. "Care to join me?" he asked.
With that, Joey jumped up in excitement and pulled Lance into the bathroom.
"I guess Chris and Justin are going to have to wait a bit longer," said as
Joey stripped them both and started to kiss James up and down his neck and
chest.
Chapter 10
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