*N Sync. The Rock Show
Title: The Rock Show
Series: The Story of Us (V.2.0)
Rating: PG.
Pairing: Choey.
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do at all with *N Sync, Backstreet Boys, their families or associates. The following story is a fiction work, loosely based on their public personalities but any actual resemblance to them is just a coincidence. No harm intended, no profit made. The story is just for the fans enjoyment and not a single word of it is true.
Notes: AU. As always, a ton of thanks to milosflaca, who has done everything from hand holding to betaing and making sure this story gets finished this year, to pensnest who struggles mightly with my punctuation and to evilshelly, who doesn't mind the spoilers ;)
Summary: Chris-less *N Sync. Chris’ debut has finally arrived, but there’s still some troubles brewing in the horizon. Namely, what’s going on with Backstreet?
* * * * *
“Don’t tempt us, we could do it, you know?”
Everyone turned around at the new voice, surprised. Chris bit back a gasp as Joey’s embrace tightened for a second.
Standing near the edge of the stage, smiling warmly, were Nick, AJ and Howie, followed by Justin, who just shrugged at them as if that explained why three Backstreet Boys were standing on *N Sync’s stage.
“Howard, hi,” Chris was the first one to recover from the surprise, just as Joey let him go. “Nick, ah…”
“AJ,” AJ re-introduced himself, lowering his glasses to look pointedly at Joey, who still stood behind Chris. “You can call me moral support, too.”
“Moral support?” Joey repeated, not so subtly putting one of his hands on Chris’s shoulder.
“Didn’t Justin tell you?” Nick frowned, looking sideways at his friend before returning his attention to Chris and Joey. “We wanted to see Chris’ first show.”
“Justin didn’t say anything.” JC came up from the other side of the stage.
Suddenly, Chris couldn’t help but feel that he was in some sort of stand off. All that was missing were the other two Backstreet Boys. He could see that the tension between both groups hadn’t disappeared.
“Yeah, well, I kind of wanted it to be a surprise for Chris, you know, to make up for all the things I did.” Justin said that with certainty, but Chris couldn’t help but wonder if that was all there was to the story.
His relationship with Joey was too new, and he had barely said goodbye to Howard just a couple of weeks ago. He thought that this particular meeting could have waited a bit longer.
“Well, I am surprised,” he said, smiling, while moving closer to the others, to greet them.
Joey stayed close behind him, and Chris could feel the tension coming from the other man. Chris was going to strangle Justin, if this was yet another of the younger man’s plans to get him to join *N Sync. Not because it could really affect him, but because it was hurting Joey. And probably Howard, once Howard realized that he and Joey were together. “I thought you guys were on your own tour.”
“We don’t really start until September,” Howard explained softly, and Chris knew that Howard had seen the way Joey had been hugging him, and now knew the truth. But there was something in the way he looked at them, smiling warmly, that told Chris that Howard was coming to terms with it.
It felt strange, being the one with a new life instead of the one left behind after a relationship ended. Chris wanted to tell Howard that things would be better in time, but that was an empty phrase. When Howard had left him, Chris had been devastated. He had needed six years, one abusive boyfriend, the sudden re-appearance of Howard, Justin and music coming into his life to finally let go of the pain Howard had caused him by leaving. He couldn’t tell Howard that the pain would pass, eventually. That was something Howard had to discover on his own.
“I’m glad you guys are here.” Joey surprised Chris by grinning and offering his hand to Howard. “This way, you can help us block the exits, in case Chris decides to try to run away before he has to perform.”
* * *
Joey didn’t usually pay attention to the opening shows at their concerts. He was too busy making sure everything worked perfectly, especially things like getting into his harness safely. This time, however, he just stood on the edge of the upper railing to hear Chris.
It was still a little more than 45 minutes before they had to start their own show, so Joey wanted to relax. Chris was the last of three opening acts, and even though everyone had told him that things were going to work out fine, he was still nervous. Joey knew he wasn’t the only one; they all were anxious for different reasons.
After the show, he was going to find out just what Justin had been thinking when he invited Howie to come see the show.
Chris’ set started with a fast, upbeat song called Choosing Life. Joey had heard it a couple of times, and he knew it was something Chris had been working for the last two years, between school and his gigs in the Cauldron.
In a way, Joey envied Chris a little, because from the first moment that Chris sat down to talk with Johnny, it had been clear that Chris was going to be working mostly with his own material. Chris had recorded a couple of slow ballads written by someone else, and one song written by JC, but the rest of the album was just Chris’ own songs, the ones he had composed during those six years.
Then she left, words unsaid,
I was alone facing a choice,
Living for me, living for her.
That, however, was different. Joey had heard that song before, and now he wondered if Johnny had asked him to change the pronouns in the love songs, or if Chris had been the one who made the change.
Choosing Life ended to a huge round of applause, and under the lights Joey could see Chris letting out a relieved sigh.
“Hello, everyone.” Chris’ clear voice rang across the stadium. “I’m Chris Kirkpatrick, and I’d like to thank you all for being here. I know that you’re here to see *N Sync, and I don’t blame you; their show is something to see. Oh, and the music is good, too.”
The audience laughed and Joey smiled. Chris was nervous, he had stammered a couple of times, but he kept going. By the time the four song set ended, Chris had them all in his pocket.
Joey looked at his friends, smiling; JC and Lance, who were already getting into their harnesses, seemed happy for Chris. Justin’s smile was a little forced, but Joey didn’t blame the kid. Justin was finally realizing that his dream was never going to come true.
But Joey didn’t had much time to consider that, as the lights went out and Chris left the stage to an amazing ovation. In a few moments, they would be lowered from the ceiling, and Joey had to concentrate completely on giving one hundred percent, just as Chris had just done.
* * *
Howie paid no attention to *N Sync’s big entrance. He was too busy waiting for Chris and he had seen *N Sync’s concerts before, and while he admitted that their rivals had outdone themselves in the props department, he wasn’t in the mood to start analyzing their act. That was Nick or AJ’s job. He was here to see Chris, and to see if his ex was happy.
He had talked to Brian about it, and Howie knew his friend was right. Even if he had lost his chance with Chris, Howie could still salvage their friendship. Or at least, he could try.
*N Sync were finishing their first song when Chris made his way to the VIP zone where Howie, AJ and Nick were seated, along with Dre, from *N Sync’s security. He had changed his sweater, and was now wearing a simple white t-shirt and a denim vest. Although Howie thought he looked incredibly good, he didn’t dare say it out loud. After all, he was trying to keep Chris’ friendship. He didn’t want Chris to believe he was hitting on him.
“Did I miss much?” Chris asked, standing between Howie and Nick.
Nick wasn’t listening to them, he was too busy gawking at Justin. Howie knew that there was a lot more to the discussion Kevin and Nick had in the aisle of the recording studio. No matter how much Nick denied it, he was in love with Justin.
Howie knew what a man in love looked like.
“No, you… ah, they’ve just sung one song,” Howie muttered.
He was going through opening lines in his mind, trying to figure out what to say, but every single opening line sounded to him as if he was trying to pick up their relationship from where it had ended.
He was sure Chris was going to hate him by the end of the night.
“I’ll have to go and see one of your concerts one of these days,” Chris yelled into his ear.
Howie guessed he had tried to whisper, but with the screams of everyone around them, it was hard to speak normally. He figured they were lucky no one had recognized them. He looked back at the stage, and *N Sync was finishing the first song, and launching into the next one, no pauses in between.
Now, Howie didn’t kept track of *N Sync’s songs, so he couldn’t be faulted for what happened next. He just turned get Chris’ attention; pretty sure that he knew how to answer without sounding as if he was trying to seduce Chris.
“Well, Chris, I…” he didn’t get further than that. Because in that precise moment *N Sync sang the first line of the song.
I Want You Back.
Howie blushed, deep red, hoping that in the darkness, Chris wouldn’t notice. “I think we can get you tickets, whenever you’re free,” he finished, quite aware that it was a pretty lame rescue.
Chris studied Howie carefully, but then he just smiled and turned his attention to the stage.
“I’d like that,” Chris said. “Are your concerts like this?”
“The fans scream louder!” Nick said, laughing, before Howie could answer. AJ didn’t say anything. He just lowered his dark glasses and looked pointedly at Howie, as if Howie was to blame that they were here.
Which, granted, was the truth. But still, Howie didn’t see why AJ was complaining. Nick and AJ had never seen an *N Sync concert live, it could be a good experience.
“Johnny was our manager first,” Howie explained, trying to keep any rancor from his voice. “So, you know, the styles are similar. It’s the music that’s different, but most of the things *N Sync do, we did them first in some way or another. Their management, their record label, it’s like us, just a couple of years later…”
Howie trailed off, horrified when he realized what he what he was saying could also be applied to Chris, Joey and himself. He had been Chris’ lover before Joey.
Behind Chris, Nick shook his head, snickering. It was just a good thing the fans were so loud, or Chris would’ve heard.
Howie was pretty sure he was digging himself a hole so deep it would be necessary to call a rescue team to get him out, but he couldn’t help it. Every little thing that came to his mind came back to the fact that he still wanted Chris.
“It’s ok, Howie, you can relax,” Chris said suddenly, when the song ended. “I know you don’t mean it in a bad way.”
“What do you mean?” Howie asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“We were friends before we started dating,” Chris explained, his eyes still focused on the stage; on Joey. “And if we want to keep our friendship, we can’t walk on eggshells around each other, can we? So don’t worry, relax. Things will be easier for both of us like that.”
Howie smiled. It was not easy to forget that Chris had minored in psychology, not when he sometimes let out such pearls of wisdom. And he was right. If he kept trying to figure out what to say that wouldn’t be misunderstood by Chris, their conversations would be very short.
It was easier to just have faith that Chris wouldn’t purposely misunderstand him. That Chris would understand that, no matter what, Howie respected his choices.
He glanced back at the stage, just in time to watch *N Sync being raised to the sky on small, individual platforms.
“Ok, that? We never did anything like it,” he admitted and was rewarded by Chris’ clear laughter.
Brian had been right, all along. If he worked hard enough, Chris’ friendship would be the best reward for his efforts.
It was just a matter of time.
And Howie was surprised to find that deep down, he really thought that Chris’s friendship was good enough.
* * *
“Lance, can we talk?”
Lance nodded at JC, and hung up his cellphone.
It had been a week since the almost cataclysmic argument among them, since Chris had joined the tour, and Joey’s happy announcement that he and Chris were dating. According to Lance’s calculations, it was about the time for the next crisis.
“Sure, JC. What’s wrong?” he asked.
He was pretty sure that JC was not going to go on about Chris’ devious plan to join *N Sync. A week had been more than enough to convince JC that it was not going to happen, but knowing JC, it could be anything.
“Justin,” JC said. “He’s been quite depressed since Chris talked to him.”
Lance nodded. It wasn’t obvious right away, but JC was right. Justin was putting up a brave front for everyone else, but he kept a lot to himself when they were on the buses. He joked with everyone, he still talked to all of them, but there was something bitter behind everything he did.
“Well, how would you feel if your goal of years simply vanished?” Lance asked, after a while. “He was dead set on making us a five member group. I don’t blame him for being disappointed it didn’t happen.”
“I never thought he would take it this badly.” JC sat down next to Lance. They were alone in the bus, since Justin shared the other one with Joey. Chris traveled with the crew, but more often than not, he was with Joey and Justin.
“How would you take it, if it had been your dream?” Lance asked, looking thoughtful. “Justin really wanted to sing with Chris. We took that away from him, so he’s obviously depressed. He’ll get over it.”
“You think?” JC looked out the window. Lance could practically see the wheels in his head turning. “I guess you’re right. But what will we do if he doesn’t?”
And that was a very good question. As angry as they had been with Justin, he was still their friend, and none of them liked to see him depressed.
“We’ll see,” Lance said, finally. “If he doesn’t get better in a week, we’ll talk to Joey and Chris.”
* * *
“Howard wants to invite us to a Backstreet Boys concert,” Chris said, suddenly, one day when they had gone back to the hotel after yet another successful show. While the room arrangement still called for Joey and JC to share a room, JC usually switched rooms with Chris, after the staff had left.
“Their tour starts as ours is ending, so I guess we could arrange that,” Joey said, trying to keep his voice neutral.
They had been officially going out for three weeks now, or at least, as officially as they could with only Chris’ sisters, and the guys, knowing about it. Joey figured that their bodyguards knew, since it was hard not to notice that Chris was always with him. To everyone else, it was a secret.
“Has Howard said anything to you?” Chris asked, hugging him from behind. Joey leaned into the embrace, smiling. They hugged and joked around outside, where everyone could see them, it wasn’t until they were completely alone, that he could honestly relax, and let himself enjoy Chris’ affection.
“Not really,” Joey said, half-truthful. “He just asked me not to hurt you.”
That was a lie, of course. When Howie and the other Backstreet Boys had come to see Chris’ debut, Howie had asked Joey for a private talk after the concert, while everyone was congratulating Chris.
Joey was never going to forget that little conversation.
“What do you want, Howie?” he had asked.
“What are you doing with Chris?” Howie hadn’t wasted time, getting straight to the point. That was to be admired, Joey supposed. “He doesn’t like to be played with.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m dating him, not playing.” Joey wasn’t looking for a fight, but he wasn’t going to let Howie lecture him. Not when Howie had been the one who had caused Chris so much pain in the past.
“Well, excuse me for not believing that the self-proclaimed womanizer of *N Sync, all of a sudden, decides to explore the joys of gay sex. I’m not going to let you hurt Chris.”
“Not everyone is like you,” Joey had been ready, right then and there, to punch Howie. The only thing that stopped him was the knowldge that, probably, neither Chris nor PR would appreciate it, if the next paparazzi headline read, “Backstreet’s Out of Sync” or some other lame pun like that. “I love Chris, and I’m not going to do anything that hurts him.”
“If you say so,” Howie had finally accepted. “Just let me tell you something, if you ever hurt him, if you ever let him go, I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. And if Chris gives me a second chance, I won’t be so stupid as to ruin it again.”
“I don’t believe you,” Chris’ voice brought Joey back to the present. Chris was smiling, kissing his neck softly. “I’m pretty sure he told you something more.”
“Maybe,” Joey finally relented. “But it’s ok. We won’t be dueling at dawn for your honor, I swear.”
“You don’t mind that I still want to be Howard’s friend, do you?” Chris asked, and Joey could hear a bit of the old insecurity back in his boyfriend’s voice. He knew Daniel had hated the mere mention of Howie’s name, and he knew that Chris had been in love with Howie’s memory for a very long time.
But he also knew that he couldn’t be bothered by his boyfriend’s past. Chris was with him now. Not only that, but when presented with the choice between a, possible relationship with Joey and something sure with Howie, Chris had chosen Joey.
That was more than enough for him.
“No, I don’t,” Joey said, turning around to kiss Chris. And while there were a lot more things to be said about the subject, Joey preferred to distract Chris. The less he tried to explain why he wasn’t jealous of Howie, the better. Because he had no way to explain to Chris that, while Joey was sure that Chris was no longer in love with Howie, he wasn’t that sure about Howie’s feelings regarding Chris. And discussing Howie’s feelings, or, what Joey thought were Howie’s feelings, was not fair to the other man. More importantly, it was not Joey’s business, unless Howie chose to share their conversation with Chris.
Instead, Joey chose to wait. If Howie said something else to the effect of Joey leaving Chris, then Joey would talk to Chris. But if Howie let the matter lie, Joey could try and work to be Howie’s friend, for Chris’ sake.
* * *
Two weeks after his debut, opening for *N Sync, Chris’ single was aired on the radio for the first time. After a lot of meetings, Johnny and Chris had decided to promote Choosing Life, and Chris was still surprised when he heard his own voice while flipping through stations on the road.
He had gotten used to his new routine, the one that included calling his sisters every three days, no matter if he was on the road, or staying at a hotel, just to hear the latest news. He missed them terribly, and they missed him too, so every three days he spent as much time as he could, getting up to date with everything. Kate’s new boss at the store, Emily’s grades, Taylor’s growing vocabulary, and Molly’s daily adventures as the newly appointed head of the house. They also kept him informed of how things were going at school (‘Everyone misses you; Mr. Murgia is an ass’, Emily happily reported), and at the Cauldron, where apparently they kept a close watch on *N Sync’s concerts, to know when Chris was opening for them. He also figured out that Molly and Lance’s relationship had progressed somehow, as, according to Kate, Molly got a daily phone call from Lance. It was hard to notice that, because Lance was always talking on the phone whenever they were not at a concert, or at an interview, and Chris had figured out, fairly quickly, that at least fifty percent of the time, Lance was talking to Molly.
He, Joey, and JC had a betting pool going about how long it would take Lance to realize that he was dating Molly. Chris still didn’t like the idea of his sister dating anyone, but he figured Lance was a better prospect than most.
His first interview was a complete surprise for him. He knew Theresa was working on getting him publicity, he knew that sooner or later he would have to do an interview. The actual interview, done a couple of hours before *N Sync’s concert in Houston, caught him so unaware, that even hours later he still wasn’t sure it had actually happened. When, after the concert, Theresa came in smiling like a shark about to eat a small fish, he was as surprised as the rest of the group.
“I want everyone to listen to this,” Theresa said, putting a CD into the player she had brought with her.
Theresa’s sudden announcement took them all by surprise. After the concert, they went to the hotel, before making plans for the night. Usually, Chris and Joey chose to stay in, maybe watch a movie on PPV, but that night they had been thinking of going out with the others.
“What is it?” Justin sat on the edge of his bed. He seemed happier now, but Chris still saw him frowning at times, when people congratulated Chris for the way things were going.
“Just listen, then you may ask questions.” Theresa shushed him with her hand, and hit play.
“And right here in the studio with us we have a very special guest; he’s Chris Kirkpatrick, who is just launching his first single this week. Hi, Chris.” Hearing the voice of the DJ, Chris turned, in alarm, to look at Theresa. He didn’t think he had said anything too bad- so why was she playing the interview for everyone to hear?
“Hi, everyone,” his own voice answered. He sounded more nervous than he remembered having been, and he supposed it showed, as Joey simply hugged him tighter.
The first questions were easy, about the single, about how he had ended up opening for *N Sync. Chris still remembered how they had lured him into a false sense of security, right before the DJ threw the first bomb.
“It’s a big step going from teacher to singer, isn’t it, Chris?”
“A little, yes. I kept wanting to ask girls at concerts if they’ve finshed their homework.”
“And that would be your only interest in girls,” the DJ kept going. Chris sighed. He remembered thinking that had been the worst way to introduce the subject, but Theresa had warned him that something like that could happen. “Rumors around you say you’re gay.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed there was a need for rumors,” Chris chuckled, hearing himself. Now that it was over, he could laugh, but he supposed that was why Theresa wanted them to hear the interview’: crash course on how not to answer sexuality questions. “I’ve been very open about whom I prefer to date, since I was in college.”
“So you are gay? You think it’s wise to say that when you’re just starting?”
“I think it would’ve been worse to lie from the start, don’t you? Now people know that I have no secrets, at all.”
“When you put it like that, it sounds like a good choice,” the DJ had laughed. Later, Dre, who had been acting as Chris’ security for the afternoon, since the guys weren’t going to leave the hotel, told Chris that some DJs tried to embarrass the new comers in their first interviews. At the time, Chris had found that his experience with know-it-all students had been helpful when he needed to divert the subject. “So, what is it like to be touring with four of the most sought after bachelors in America?”
“I don’t know. This is my first tour, so I don’t know if there are any differences from touring with other people.”
Next to Chris, Joey laughed at that, making Chris relax a little more. Until he remembered the next question the DJ asked.
“Well, then tell us, are you on the market, so to speak, or is there a Mr. Kirkpatrick waiting in your tour bus?”
Chris had laughed then, sincerely amused by the DJ’s absolute lack of tact. “That depends. Are you fishing for a date or just honestly curious? Because you have cute eyes, what are you doing after this?”
That had been the end of that particular line of questioning, as the DJ had become flustered and gone back to songs and future releases.
“What have we learned today, class?” Theresa asked, turning off the CD player.
They all looked at each other, puzzled. Chris was a little embarrassed, since he knew he didn’t have the guys’ experience in dealing with annoying questions.
“Flirting with the DJ makes them change subjects quick?” Justin ventured, only to receive Theresa’s angry glare.
“Justin, you’re not going to flirt with any DJ if you know what’s good for you,” Theresa said, sharply. “But yes. That’s the lesson. Turn the tables on them, and don’t answer anything you don’t want to answer. I loved that, Chris. I love your style, don’t ever change. I’ll be getting you in OUT before the year is done. I swear.”
“I won’t,” Chris promised, dubious. After she left, he turned to see the others. “Did I really do well?”
“Well, that DJ is probably going to be defending his manhood against you for the rest of your career, but it went well,” Lance smiled. “You didn’t let him make you say if one of us was gay, or deny yourself.”
Chris turned to look at Joey, really serious. That interview had been the first time when he had actively denied one of his partners. They always did it to him, and he had gotten used to it, even if it infuriated him. “I didn’t really mean it when I flirted with him. It was the only thing I could think of to make him drop the subject.”
“I know, Chris.” Joey kissed his neck, softly. They were still taking things slow, and when they were around the others, they rarely kissed. “Actually, I’m impressed. We still get stumped by some reporters when they start asking questions about our private lives, right, Justin?”
“Jerk,” Justin threw a potato chip at him from the bag he was opening. “It was just that one interview when I said I was dating Britney. And she didn’t deny it, so we’re in the clear now. It wasn’t a mistake.”
“Except that you hadn’t told your mom, or her parents, about it,” JC said, looking amused. “Who did know, anyway? Besides us?”
“Nick,” Justin muttered. “Nick always knew.”
* * *
They were in Ohio when Johnny informed them that they would be recording one of their concerts, at Madison Square Garden, for a special HBO presentation in just a month and a half, which made everyone really excited. From the crew, who had really worked hard to make the tour one of the biggest shows of the year, to the guys, who knew that having their very own HBO special was a huge step in their careers, to Chris, whose only care was, that, since his single was doing fine, he could bring his sisters to New York to watch the show and spend four days with them.
The only one who didn’t seem that excited was Justin, which led to many discussions among JC and Lance, in one of the buses, and Chris and Joey in their hotel room. They all were worried about Justin’s mood swings, but no one knew what to do about them.
“Maybe, if we recorded a collaboration song?” JC suggested to Lance one day.
It was surprising coming from JC, since he had spent so long making sure that Chris’ career wouldn’t cross paths with *N Sync’s, more than necessary.
“For his album? Then we’ll have sung together, at least, once and Justin will have gotten his wish, sort of.”
“That could help.” Lance nodded.
It wasn’t a bad idea, all things considered. Justin would have at least one song with his dream five member group, and the publicity would only help both *N Sync and Chris in the long run. On the other hand, if they didn’t sound terrible together, Justin could get it in his head that the five member thing could still work.
The buses had stopped for fuel, a couple of hours away from Cleveland. Justin had taken the chance to talk to Britney, since now that their relationship was more in the open, they could actually plan for dates at awards shows together. On any other occasion, Lance, JC and Joey would be ready to tease Justin about it, since they had been witness to the romance since Justin was 14, but this time, it was a perfect moment to discuss the other problems they had, without Justin listening.
“I would love that, guys, but I don’t think Johnny will agree,” Chris said, sighing. “He has pretty much all the tracks planned, so it would take a lot to convince him otherwise.”
“Maybe we could…” Whatever Joey was going to suggest was interrupted by the loud ringing of Lance’s cell phone. Getting ready for the inevitable teasing, Lance looked at the small window and frowned when he saw that the call wasn’t coming from the Kirkpatrick’s house or the cell phone he had given Molly at the beginning of summer.
“Hello?” he asked, cautiously.
“Fuck, thank God it’s you!” Lance recognized Nick Carter’s voice instantly, and inwardly decided to have a talk with Justin about sharing his phone number with his friends if he was going to have his own phone occupied.
“Hi, Nick, do you want to talk with Justin?”
“Hell, no,” Nick shook his head. “I’ve talked with Justin long enough, thank you! He’s calling me every day and that’s no way to convince Kevin that there’s nothing going on!”
Lance raised his eyebrow, confused about this new information. While he knew that Nick and Justin were close, there was nothing in their friendship that hinted toward anything more than just that. Unless of course, one took in account the way in which Nick practically draped himself around older guys, like Kevin, or Brian, or actually, all of the Backstreet Boys. This was an interesting development.
“So you want to talk to me?” Lance ventured. “How did you get my number?”
“Kevin gave it to me,” Nick said quickly. “He thinks I’m asking you about your schedule so I can give Justin a surprise visit. Which is kinda true, but not for the reasons he thinks. Is Justin with you?”
“No.”
“Cool. Look, we aren’t starting the tour until, October, I think, what with Kevin gone to Italy, and Brian being all a newlywed so, can I hang with you guys for a while? Justin is driving me insane, and I think I have an idea of how to help him. But I really don’t want to go over it by phone. Please? I promise I won’t bring Howie with me.”
“Wait a second,” Lance covered his phone and quickly relayed the whole conversation to the others. Joey only shrugged at the mention of Howie, which made Lance feel proud of his friend. He had taken quite well the fact that Chris and his ex were still friendly with each other.
“Nick could help us with Justin,” JC said. It obviously hurt him a little that Justin trusted Nick more than anyone in the group. “Justin said Nick knew everything about him, didn’t he?”
“Good point,” Lance answered, before turning his attention back to the phone call. “Nick? We’re about to reach Cleveland, and we’ll stay there for a couple of days. You think you can join us there, or do you need more time?”
“No, Cleveland is fine. I only have a week or so before we’ve got to go to Sweden, so I’ll see you there,” Nick answered quickly, before he hung up.
To be Continued...
Series: The Story of Us (V.2.0)
Rating: PG.
Pairing: Choey.
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do at all with *N Sync, Backstreet Boys, their families or associates. The following story is a fiction work, loosely based on their public personalities but any actual resemblance to them is just a coincidence. No harm intended, no profit made. The story is just for the fans enjoyment and not a single word of it is true.
Notes: AU. As always, a ton of thanks to milosflaca, who has done everything from hand holding to betaing and making sure this story gets finished this year, to pensnest who struggles mightly with my punctuation and to evilshelly, who doesn't mind the spoilers ;)
Summary: Chris-less *N Sync. Chris’ debut has finally arrived, but there’s still some troubles brewing in the horizon. Namely, what’s going on with Backstreet?
* * * * *
“Don’t tempt us, we could do it, you know?”
Everyone turned around at the new voice, surprised. Chris bit back a gasp as Joey’s embrace tightened for a second.
Standing near the edge of the stage, smiling warmly, were Nick, AJ and Howie, followed by Justin, who just shrugged at them as if that explained why three Backstreet Boys were standing on *N Sync’s stage.
“Howard, hi,” Chris was the first one to recover from the surprise, just as Joey let him go. “Nick, ah…”
“AJ,” AJ re-introduced himself, lowering his glasses to look pointedly at Joey, who still stood behind Chris. “You can call me moral support, too.”
“Moral support?” Joey repeated, not so subtly putting one of his hands on Chris’s shoulder.
“Didn’t Justin tell you?” Nick frowned, looking sideways at his friend before returning his attention to Chris and Joey. “We wanted to see Chris’ first show.”
“Justin didn’t say anything.” JC came up from the other side of the stage.
Suddenly, Chris couldn’t help but feel that he was in some sort of stand off. All that was missing were the other two Backstreet Boys. He could see that the tension between both groups hadn’t disappeared.
“Yeah, well, I kind of wanted it to be a surprise for Chris, you know, to make up for all the things I did.” Justin said that with certainty, but Chris couldn’t help but wonder if that was all there was to the story.
His relationship with Joey was too new, and he had barely said goodbye to Howard just a couple of weeks ago. He thought that this particular meeting could have waited a bit longer.
“Well, I am surprised,” he said, smiling, while moving closer to the others, to greet them.
Joey stayed close behind him, and Chris could feel the tension coming from the other man. Chris was going to strangle Justin, if this was yet another of the younger man’s plans to get him to join *N Sync. Not because it could really affect him, but because it was hurting Joey. And probably Howard, once Howard realized that he and Joey were together. “I thought you guys were on your own tour.”
“We don’t really start until September,” Howard explained softly, and Chris knew that Howard had seen the way Joey had been hugging him, and now knew the truth. But there was something in the way he looked at them, smiling warmly, that told Chris that Howard was coming to terms with it.
It felt strange, being the one with a new life instead of the one left behind after a relationship ended. Chris wanted to tell Howard that things would be better in time, but that was an empty phrase. When Howard had left him, Chris had been devastated. He had needed six years, one abusive boyfriend, the sudden re-appearance of Howard, Justin and music coming into his life to finally let go of the pain Howard had caused him by leaving. He couldn’t tell Howard that the pain would pass, eventually. That was something Howard had to discover on his own.
“I’m glad you guys are here.” Joey surprised Chris by grinning and offering his hand to Howard. “This way, you can help us block the exits, in case Chris decides to try to run away before he has to perform.”
* * *
Joey didn’t usually pay attention to the opening shows at their concerts. He was too busy making sure everything worked perfectly, especially things like getting into his harness safely. This time, however, he just stood on the edge of the upper railing to hear Chris.
It was still a little more than 45 minutes before they had to start their own show, so Joey wanted to relax. Chris was the last of three opening acts, and even though everyone had told him that things were going to work out fine, he was still nervous. Joey knew he wasn’t the only one; they all were anxious for different reasons.
After the show, he was going to find out just what Justin had been thinking when he invited Howie to come see the show.
Chris’ set started with a fast, upbeat song called Choosing Life. Joey had heard it a couple of times, and he knew it was something Chris had been working for the last two years, between school and his gigs in the Cauldron.
In a way, Joey envied Chris a little, because from the first moment that Chris sat down to talk with Johnny, it had been clear that Chris was going to be working mostly with his own material. Chris had recorded a couple of slow ballads written by someone else, and one song written by JC, but the rest of the album was just Chris’ own songs, the ones he had composed during those six years.
Then she left, words unsaid,
I was alone facing a choice,
Living for me, living for her.
That, however, was different. Joey had heard that song before, and now he wondered if Johnny had asked him to change the pronouns in the love songs, or if Chris had been the one who made the change.
Choosing Life ended to a huge round of applause, and under the lights Joey could see Chris letting out a relieved sigh.
“Hello, everyone.” Chris’ clear voice rang across the stadium. “I’m Chris Kirkpatrick, and I’d like to thank you all for being here. I know that you’re here to see *N Sync, and I don’t blame you; their show is something to see. Oh, and the music is good, too.”
The audience laughed and Joey smiled. Chris was nervous, he had stammered a couple of times, but he kept going. By the time the four song set ended, Chris had them all in his pocket.
Joey looked at his friends, smiling; JC and Lance, who were already getting into their harnesses, seemed happy for Chris. Justin’s smile was a little forced, but Joey didn’t blame the kid. Justin was finally realizing that his dream was never going to come true.
But Joey didn’t had much time to consider that, as the lights went out and Chris left the stage to an amazing ovation. In a few moments, they would be lowered from the ceiling, and Joey had to concentrate completely on giving one hundred percent, just as Chris had just done.
* * *
Howie paid no attention to *N Sync’s big entrance. He was too busy waiting for Chris and he had seen *N Sync’s concerts before, and while he admitted that their rivals had outdone themselves in the props department, he wasn’t in the mood to start analyzing their act. That was Nick or AJ’s job. He was here to see Chris, and to see if his ex was happy.
He had talked to Brian about it, and Howie knew his friend was right. Even if he had lost his chance with Chris, Howie could still salvage their friendship. Or at least, he could try.
*N Sync were finishing their first song when Chris made his way to the VIP zone where Howie, AJ and Nick were seated, along with Dre, from *N Sync’s security. He had changed his sweater, and was now wearing a simple white t-shirt and a denim vest. Although Howie thought he looked incredibly good, he didn’t dare say it out loud. After all, he was trying to keep Chris’ friendship. He didn’t want Chris to believe he was hitting on him.
“Did I miss much?” Chris asked, standing between Howie and Nick.
Nick wasn’t listening to them, he was too busy gawking at Justin. Howie knew that there was a lot more to the discussion Kevin and Nick had in the aisle of the recording studio. No matter how much Nick denied it, he was in love with Justin.
Howie knew what a man in love looked like.
“No, you… ah, they’ve just sung one song,” Howie muttered.
He was going through opening lines in his mind, trying to figure out what to say, but every single opening line sounded to him as if he was trying to pick up their relationship from where it had ended.
He was sure Chris was going to hate him by the end of the night.
“I’ll have to go and see one of your concerts one of these days,” Chris yelled into his ear.
Howie guessed he had tried to whisper, but with the screams of everyone around them, it was hard to speak normally. He figured they were lucky no one had recognized them. He looked back at the stage, and *N Sync was finishing the first song, and launching into the next one, no pauses in between.
Now, Howie didn’t kept track of *N Sync’s songs, so he couldn’t be faulted for what happened next. He just turned get Chris’ attention; pretty sure that he knew how to answer without sounding as if he was trying to seduce Chris.
“Well, Chris, I…” he didn’t get further than that. Because in that precise moment *N Sync sang the first line of the song.
I Want You Back.
Howie blushed, deep red, hoping that in the darkness, Chris wouldn’t notice. “I think we can get you tickets, whenever you’re free,” he finished, quite aware that it was a pretty lame rescue.
Chris studied Howie carefully, but then he just smiled and turned his attention to the stage.
“I’d like that,” Chris said. “Are your concerts like this?”
“The fans scream louder!” Nick said, laughing, before Howie could answer. AJ didn’t say anything. He just lowered his dark glasses and looked pointedly at Howie, as if Howie was to blame that they were here.
Which, granted, was the truth. But still, Howie didn’t see why AJ was complaining. Nick and AJ had never seen an *N Sync concert live, it could be a good experience.
“Johnny was our manager first,” Howie explained, trying to keep any rancor from his voice. “So, you know, the styles are similar. It’s the music that’s different, but most of the things *N Sync do, we did them first in some way or another. Their management, their record label, it’s like us, just a couple of years later…”
Howie trailed off, horrified when he realized what he what he was saying could also be applied to Chris, Joey and himself. He had been Chris’ lover before Joey.
Behind Chris, Nick shook his head, snickering. It was just a good thing the fans were so loud, or Chris would’ve heard.
Howie was pretty sure he was digging himself a hole so deep it would be necessary to call a rescue team to get him out, but he couldn’t help it. Every little thing that came to his mind came back to the fact that he still wanted Chris.
“It’s ok, Howie, you can relax,” Chris said suddenly, when the song ended. “I know you don’t mean it in a bad way.”
“What do you mean?” Howie asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“We were friends before we started dating,” Chris explained, his eyes still focused on the stage; on Joey. “And if we want to keep our friendship, we can’t walk on eggshells around each other, can we? So don’t worry, relax. Things will be easier for both of us like that.”
Howie smiled. It was not easy to forget that Chris had minored in psychology, not when he sometimes let out such pearls of wisdom. And he was right. If he kept trying to figure out what to say that wouldn’t be misunderstood by Chris, their conversations would be very short.
It was easier to just have faith that Chris wouldn’t purposely misunderstand him. That Chris would understand that, no matter what, Howie respected his choices.
He glanced back at the stage, just in time to watch *N Sync being raised to the sky on small, individual platforms.
“Ok, that? We never did anything like it,” he admitted and was rewarded by Chris’ clear laughter.
Brian had been right, all along. If he worked hard enough, Chris’ friendship would be the best reward for his efforts.
It was just a matter of time.
And Howie was surprised to find that deep down, he really thought that Chris’s friendship was good enough.
* * *
“Lance, can we talk?”
Lance nodded at JC, and hung up his cellphone.
It had been a week since the almost cataclysmic argument among them, since Chris had joined the tour, and Joey’s happy announcement that he and Chris were dating. According to Lance’s calculations, it was about the time for the next crisis.
“Sure, JC. What’s wrong?” he asked.
He was pretty sure that JC was not going to go on about Chris’ devious plan to join *N Sync. A week had been more than enough to convince JC that it was not going to happen, but knowing JC, it could be anything.
“Justin,” JC said. “He’s been quite depressed since Chris talked to him.”
Lance nodded. It wasn’t obvious right away, but JC was right. Justin was putting up a brave front for everyone else, but he kept a lot to himself when they were on the buses. He joked with everyone, he still talked to all of them, but there was something bitter behind everything he did.
“Well, how would you feel if your goal of years simply vanished?” Lance asked, after a while. “He was dead set on making us a five member group. I don’t blame him for being disappointed it didn’t happen.”
“I never thought he would take it this badly.” JC sat down next to Lance. They were alone in the bus, since Justin shared the other one with Joey. Chris traveled with the crew, but more often than not, he was with Joey and Justin.
“How would you take it, if it had been your dream?” Lance asked, looking thoughtful. “Justin really wanted to sing with Chris. We took that away from him, so he’s obviously depressed. He’ll get over it.”
“You think?” JC looked out the window. Lance could practically see the wheels in his head turning. “I guess you’re right. But what will we do if he doesn’t?”
And that was a very good question. As angry as they had been with Justin, he was still their friend, and none of them liked to see him depressed.
“We’ll see,” Lance said, finally. “If he doesn’t get better in a week, we’ll talk to Joey and Chris.”
* * *
“Howard wants to invite us to a Backstreet Boys concert,” Chris said, suddenly, one day when they had gone back to the hotel after yet another successful show. While the room arrangement still called for Joey and JC to share a room, JC usually switched rooms with Chris, after the staff had left.
“Their tour starts as ours is ending, so I guess we could arrange that,” Joey said, trying to keep his voice neutral.
They had been officially going out for three weeks now, or at least, as officially as they could with only Chris’ sisters, and the guys, knowing about it. Joey figured that their bodyguards knew, since it was hard not to notice that Chris was always with him. To everyone else, it was a secret.
“Has Howard said anything to you?” Chris asked, hugging him from behind. Joey leaned into the embrace, smiling. They hugged and joked around outside, where everyone could see them, it wasn’t until they were completely alone, that he could honestly relax, and let himself enjoy Chris’ affection.
“Not really,” Joey said, half-truthful. “He just asked me not to hurt you.”
That was a lie, of course. When Howie and the other Backstreet Boys had come to see Chris’ debut, Howie had asked Joey for a private talk after the concert, while everyone was congratulating Chris.
Joey was never going to forget that little conversation.
“What do you want, Howie?” he had asked.
“What are you doing with Chris?” Howie hadn’t wasted time, getting straight to the point. That was to be admired, Joey supposed. “He doesn’t like to be played with.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m dating him, not playing.” Joey wasn’t looking for a fight, but he wasn’t going to let Howie lecture him. Not when Howie had been the one who had caused Chris so much pain in the past.
“Well, excuse me for not believing that the self-proclaimed womanizer of *N Sync, all of a sudden, decides to explore the joys of gay sex. I’m not going to let you hurt Chris.”
“Not everyone is like you,” Joey had been ready, right then and there, to punch Howie. The only thing that stopped him was the knowldge that, probably, neither Chris nor PR would appreciate it, if the next paparazzi headline read, “Backstreet’s Out of Sync” or some other lame pun like that. “I love Chris, and I’m not going to do anything that hurts him.”
“If you say so,” Howie had finally accepted. “Just let me tell you something, if you ever hurt him, if you ever let him go, I’ll be there to pick up the pieces. And if Chris gives me a second chance, I won’t be so stupid as to ruin it again.”
“I don’t believe you,” Chris’ voice brought Joey back to the present. Chris was smiling, kissing his neck softly. “I’m pretty sure he told you something more.”
“Maybe,” Joey finally relented. “But it’s ok. We won’t be dueling at dawn for your honor, I swear.”
“You don’t mind that I still want to be Howard’s friend, do you?” Chris asked, and Joey could hear a bit of the old insecurity back in his boyfriend’s voice. He knew Daniel had hated the mere mention of Howie’s name, and he knew that Chris had been in love with Howie’s memory for a very long time.
But he also knew that he couldn’t be bothered by his boyfriend’s past. Chris was with him now. Not only that, but when presented with the choice between a, possible relationship with Joey and something sure with Howie, Chris had chosen Joey.
That was more than enough for him.
“No, I don’t,” Joey said, turning around to kiss Chris. And while there were a lot more things to be said about the subject, Joey preferred to distract Chris. The less he tried to explain why he wasn’t jealous of Howie, the better. Because he had no way to explain to Chris that, while Joey was sure that Chris was no longer in love with Howie, he wasn’t that sure about Howie’s feelings regarding Chris. And discussing Howie’s feelings, or, what Joey thought were Howie’s feelings, was not fair to the other man. More importantly, it was not Joey’s business, unless Howie chose to share their conversation with Chris.
Instead, Joey chose to wait. If Howie said something else to the effect of Joey leaving Chris, then Joey would talk to Chris. But if Howie let the matter lie, Joey could try and work to be Howie’s friend, for Chris’ sake.
* * *
Two weeks after his debut, opening for *N Sync, Chris’ single was aired on the radio for the first time. After a lot of meetings, Johnny and Chris had decided to promote Choosing Life, and Chris was still surprised when he heard his own voice while flipping through stations on the road.
He had gotten used to his new routine, the one that included calling his sisters every three days, no matter if he was on the road, or staying at a hotel, just to hear the latest news. He missed them terribly, and they missed him too, so every three days he spent as much time as he could, getting up to date with everything. Kate’s new boss at the store, Emily’s grades, Taylor’s growing vocabulary, and Molly’s daily adventures as the newly appointed head of the house. They also kept him informed of how things were going at school (‘Everyone misses you; Mr. Murgia is an ass’, Emily happily reported), and at the Cauldron, where apparently they kept a close watch on *N Sync’s concerts, to know when Chris was opening for them. He also figured out that Molly and Lance’s relationship had progressed somehow, as, according to Kate, Molly got a daily phone call from Lance. It was hard to notice that, because Lance was always talking on the phone whenever they were not at a concert, or at an interview, and Chris had figured out, fairly quickly, that at least fifty percent of the time, Lance was talking to Molly.
He, Joey, and JC had a betting pool going about how long it would take Lance to realize that he was dating Molly. Chris still didn’t like the idea of his sister dating anyone, but he figured Lance was a better prospect than most.
His first interview was a complete surprise for him. He knew Theresa was working on getting him publicity, he knew that sooner or later he would have to do an interview. The actual interview, done a couple of hours before *N Sync’s concert in Houston, caught him so unaware, that even hours later he still wasn’t sure it had actually happened. When, after the concert, Theresa came in smiling like a shark about to eat a small fish, he was as surprised as the rest of the group.
“I want everyone to listen to this,” Theresa said, putting a CD into the player she had brought with her.
Theresa’s sudden announcement took them all by surprise. After the concert, they went to the hotel, before making plans for the night. Usually, Chris and Joey chose to stay in, maybe watch a movie on PPV, but that night they had been thinking of going out with the others.
“What is it?” Justin sat on the edge of his bed. He seemed happier now, but Chris still saw him frowning at times, when people congratulated Chris for the way things were going.
“Just listen, then you may ask questions.” Theresa shushed him with her hand, and hit play.
“And right here in the studio with us we have a very special guest; he’s Chris Kirkpatrick, who is just launching his first single this week. Hi, Chris.” Hearing the voice of the DJ, Chris turned, in alarm, to look at Theresa. He didn’t think he had said anything too bad- so why was she playing the interview for everyone to hear?
“Hi, everyone,” his own voice answered. He sounded more nervous than he remembered having been, and he supposed it showed, as Joey simply hugged him tighter.
The first questions were easy, about the single, about how he had ended up opening for *N Sync. Chris still remembered how they had lured him into a false sense of security, right before the DJ threw the first bomb.
“It’s a big step going from teacher to singer, isn’t it, Chris?”
“A little, yes. I kept wanting to ask girls at concerts if they’ve finshed their homework.”
“And that would be your only interest in girls,” the DJ kept going. Chris sighed. He remembered thinking that had been the worst way to introduce the subject, but Theresa had warned him that something like that could happen. “Rumors around you say you’re gay.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed there was a need for rumors,” Chris chuckled, hearing himself. Now that it was over, he could laugh, but he supposed that was why Theresa wanted them to hear the interview’: crash course on how not to answer sexuality questions. “I’ve been very open about whom I prefer to date, since I was in college.”
“So you are gay? You think it’s wise to say that when you’re just starting?”
“I think it would’ve been worse to lie from the start, don’t you? Now people know that I have no secrets, at all.”
“When you put it like that, it sounds like a good choice,” the DJ had laughed. Later, Dre, who had been acting as Chris’ security for the afternoon, since the guys weren’t going to leave the hotel, told Chris that some DJs tried to embarrass the new comers in their first interviews. At the time, Chris had found that his experience with know-it-all students had been helpful when he needed to divert the subject. “So, what is it like to be touring with four of the most sought after bachelors in America?”
“I don’t know. This is my first tour, so I don’t know if there are any differences from touring with other people.”
Next to Chris, Joey laughed at that, making Chris relax a little more. Until he remembered the next question the DJ asked.
“Well, then tell us, are you on the market, so to speak, or is there a Mr. Kirkpatrick waiting in your tour bus?”
Chris had laughed then, sincerely amused by the DJ’s absolute lack of tact. “That depends. Are you fishing for a date or just honestly curious? Because you have cute eyes, what are you doing after this?”
That had been the end of that particular line of questioning, as the DJ had become flustered and gone back to songs and future releases.
“What have we learned today, class?” Theresa asked, turning off the CD player.
They all looked at each other, puzzled. Chris was a little embarrassed, since he knew he didn’t have the guys’ experience in dealing with annoying questions.
“Flirting with the DJ makes them change subjects quick?” Justin ventured, only to receive Theresa’s angry glare.
“Justin, you’re not going to flirt with any DJ if you know what’s good for you,” Theresa said, sharply. “But yes. That’s the lesson. Turn the tables on them, and don’t answer anything you don’t want to answer. I loved that, Chris. I love your style, don’t ever change. I’ll be getting you in OUT before the year is done. I swear.”
“I won’t,” Chris promised, dubious. After she left, he turned to see the others. “Did I really do well?”
“Well, that DJ is probably going to be defending his manhood against you for the rest of your career, but it went well,” Lance smiled. “You didn’t let him make you say if one of us was gay, or deny yourself.”
Chris turned to look at Joey, really serious. That interview had been the first time when he had actively denied one of his partners. They always did it to him, and he had gotten used to it, even if it infuriated him. “I didn’t really mean it when I flirted with him. It was the only thing I could think of to make him drop the subject.”
“I know, Chris.” Joey kissed his neck, softly. They were still taking things slow, and when they were around the others, they rarely kissed. “Actually, I’m impressed. We still get stumped by some reporters when they start asking questions about our private lives, right, Justin?”
“Jerk,” Justin threw a potato chip at him from the bag he was opening. “It was just that one interview when I said I was dating Britney. And she didn’t deny it, so we’re in the clear now. It wasn’t a mistake.”
“Except that you hadn’t told your mom, or her parents, about it,” JC said, looking amused. “Who did know, anyway? Besides us?”
“Nick,” Justin muttered. “Nick always knew.”
* * *
They were in Ohio when Johnny informed them that they would be recording one of their concerts, at Madison Square Garden, for a special HBO presentation in just a month and a half, which made everyone really excited. From the crew, who had really worked hard to make the tour one of the biggest shows of the year, to the guys, who knew that having their very own HBO special was a huge step in their careers, to Chris, whose only care was, that, since his single was doing fine, he could bring his sisters to New York to watch the show and spend four days with them.
The only one who didn’t seem that excited was Justin, which led to many discussions among JC and Lance, in one of the buses, and Chris and Joey in their hotel room. They all were worried about Justin’s mood swings, but no one knew what to do about them.
“Maybe, if we recorded a collaboration song?” JC suggested to Lance one day.
It was surprising coming from JC, since he had spent so long making sure that Chris’ career wouldn’t cross paths with *N Sync’s, more than necessary.
“For his album? Then we’ll have sung together, at least, once and Justin will have gotten his wish, sort of.”
“That could help.” Lance nodded.
It wasn’t a bad idea, all things considered. Justin would have at least one song with his dream five member group, and the publicity would only help both *N Sync and Chris in the long run. On the other hand, if they didn’t sound terrible together, Justin could get it in his head that the five member thing could still work.
The buses had stopped for fuel, a couple of hours away from Cleveland. Justin had taken the chance to talk to Britney, since now that their relationship was more in the open, they could actually plan for dates at awards shows together. On any other occasion, Lance, JC and Joey would be ready to tease Justin about it, since they had been witness to the romance since Justin was 14, but this time, it was a perfect moment to discuss the other problems they had, without Justin listening.
“I would love that, guys, but I don’t think Johnny will agree,” Chris said, sighing. “He has pretty much all the tracks planned, so it would take a lot to convince him otherwise.”
“Maybe we could…” Whatever Joey was going to suggest was interrupted by the loud ringing of Lance’s cell phone. Getting ready for the inevitable teasing, Lance looked at the small window and frowned when he saw that the call wasn’t coming from the Kirkpatrick’s house or the cell phone he had given Molly at the beginning of summer.
“Hello?” he asked, cautiously.
“Fuck, thank God it’s you!” Lance recognized Nick Carter’s voice instantly, and inwardly decided to have a talk with Justin about sharing his phone number with his friends if he was going to have his own phone occupied.
“Hi, Nick, do you want to talk with Justin?”
“Hell, no,” Nick shook his head. “I’ve talked with Justin long enough, thank you! He’s calling me every day and that’s no way to convince Kevin that there’s nothing going on!”
Lance raised his eyebrow, confused about this new information. While he knew that Nick and Justin were close, there was nothing in their friendship that hinted toward anything more than just that. Unless of course, one took in account the way in which Nick practically draped himself around older guys, like Kevin, or Brian, or actually, all of the Backstreet Boys. This was an interesting development.
“So you want to talk to me?” Lance ventured. “How did you get my number?”
“Kevin gave it to me,” Nick said quickly. “He thinks I’m asking you about your schedule so I can give Justin a surprise visit. Which is kinda true, but not for the reasons he thinks. Is Justin with you?”
“No.”
“Cool. Look, we aren’t starting the tour until, October, I think, what with Kevin gone to Italy, and Brian being all a newlywed so, can I hang with you guys for a while? Justin is driving me insane, and I think I have an idea of how to help him. But I really don’t want to go over it by phone. Please? I promise I won’t bring Howie with me.”
“Wait a second,” Lance covered his phone and quickly relayed the whole conversation to the others. Joey only shrugged at the mention of Howie, which made Lance feel proud of his friend. He had taken quite well the fact that Chris and his ex were still friendly with each other.
“Nick could help us with Justin,” JC said. It obviously hurt him a little that Justin trusted Nick more than anyone in the group. “Justin said Nick knew everything about him, didn’t he?”
“Good point,” Lance answered, before turning his attention back to the phone call. “Nick? We’re about to reach Cleveland, and we’ll stay there for a couple of days. You think you can join us there, or do you need more time?”
“No, Cleveland is fine. I only have a week or so before we’ve got to go to Sweden, so I’ll see you there,” Nick answered quickly, before he hung up.
To be Continued...