"Have you seen him?" Chris asks Joey as they pass in the hallway.
Joey shakes his head, ‘no’. Chris walks further down to the last dressing room. J.C. is standing outside the door. "Lance is in here. I think he just wants to be left alone."
"Bull shit." Chris says as he opens the door. Lance is just sitting looking at his reflection in the mirror. "Hey, Lance."
Lance gives Chris a sideways glance. "Before that Meet and Greet, I want you to call that lawyer. Something’s very wrong with this picture."
Lance gave him the ‘duh’ look. "Do you realize I was only married for a week?" Lance started to crack up. "It’s not like I got drunk in Vegas one night, woke up the next morning and didn’t know who I had screwed and eloped with the night before. ONE WEEK!"
"Oh good you’re mad." Chris said plopping himself down on the chair beside Lance." If you’re mad enough to yell at the world, then I certainly hope you’re mad enough to hunt down your woman and drag her back home!"
"Like HELL." Lance said, "I’ve always given Mercedes exactly what she’s wanted. Now, she wants OUT."
"Lance, none of us believes for one minute that Mercedes really wants to end your marriage. It’s the stress of finding everything out."
"Finding out what? Oh like maybe, ‘my husband likes men instead of women?’" Lance interrupted sarcastically.
"In case you’ve forgotten Mercedes found out that...ONE: the first man she ever thought she was in love with cheated on her TWO: He poisoned her AND that killed the baby she was carrying, THREE: The man she IS married to and carrying on a hot and heavy midnight flirtation with, I might add, knew all about her lying bastard of a first husband and hid his infidelities and crimes from her.
Then, add to that the guilt I’m sure she feels over the abortion and even a very strong person...might be at a loss over how she might ever be able to make it better again."
Lance simply stared at Chris. "As true as all that might be..."
"Might be?"
Lance gave Chris an angry ‘look.’ "Ok, then why couldn’t she have run TO me" punching his chest, "...instead of AWAY from me?"
"Why do we do half the dumb ass things we do, Scoop?" Chris said. "Usually because we don’t stop and think, or we’re unable to think clearly at the time. Now, doesn‘t that sound like what Mercedes went through that day. Everything hit the fan all at once."
"What am I suppose to do NOW?"
"You better call Johnny. This thing is bound to hit the papers. If I were you I’d find out who her lawyer is and try to set up some kind of meeting. She must need you very badly."
"SHE NEEDS ME?" Lance starts to laugh, "Yeah right."
"Yeah, RIGHT. Have you forgotten everything you two have shared? I know that Mercedes must have a good reason to explain this action...and you should know that, too."
"I DO KNOW IT!" Lance screamed. "But, it isn’t anything I feel bent on sharing with the world."
"Lance..." Chris tried to put his hand on Lance’s shoulder.
"GET OUT!" Lance ducked and dodged Chris’ attempt to comfort him. Instead, Lance pushed Chris away. Then he put his own hands behind his neck and lowered his head.
"I don’t automatically do a sonogram on every patient, Mrs. Lambert, but given the miscarriage you had with your first pregnancy, I think it’s worth a
look see."
"Could we have a video tape of this?" Gwen asked.
"Of course."
After the gooey gel is poured on Mercedes’ abdomen, the doctor swirls around the "wand" and soon they see a picture. The moment of truth for Mercedes was finding the baby’s beating heart on the screen. Tears fill her eyes. She knew...at that very moment...that Lance should be there beside her.
And that she had made a terrible mistake in leaving him.
(July 10 Washington, DC RFK Stadium Starplex)
"Excuse me." Lance said to an attractive woman who was walking by him in the narrow hallway backstage at the Starplex. As he tried to allow her to pass by, he raises his arms in a mock stance simulating his being held up in a robbery and she cuddles up close brushing herself against his chest. Then she accidentally brushed her hand against his crotch. "Geez" Lance laughed.
The woman smiled at him and winked, hoping she had made an impression. Then proceeded on her way down the hall. Justin noticed what had happened and gave Lance a punch in the arm. "I think she’s trying to tell you something." Justin laughed.
Lance’s eyebrows did a little dance. "Like get out of my way?"
"Like ‘come inside the weather‘s fine‘!" Justin said. "I think Steve-O asked her to dance tonight in "Just Got Paid." He’s always checking out the local
talent."
"So I’ve noticed." Lance said with a tilt of his head watching the girl walk away.
"Lance, your cell phone’s ringing." Wes waved it at him.
"Take a message." He yelled in his deep, husky voice.
"Boy, it’s yer momma." Wes said, his hand over the phone.
"Take a message." Lance repeated.
"Rumor has it you haven’t spoken to your family for a couple of days now, Lance. Don’t you think..."
"J. " Lance said in a very noncommittal voice, "Two Important Lessons I Have Learned: AVOID Personal Involvements, AND CONCERNED PARENTS."
During the Klub Scene, the girl from the hallway gave Lance a hungry glance up and down. He dances closer to her and she "brushes" against him again.
Lance starts a bump and grind and her and "accidentally" grabs his crotch. As the brief encounter ends, Lance waves ’bye’ and still manages to dance across to the other side of the stage.
As the concert ends, and the guys leave on the tour bus, while Sheryl and her companions start their own trek for *N SYNC’s next tour stop. Albany, New York.
"Victoria, two of your major headaches have been eliminated. Dr. Westfall has performed the abortion and Mercedes, according to the latest Gossip columns, has filed for divorce from Mr. *N SYNC, Lance Bass."
"Oh, and won’t the teenies be feeling all betrayed over that ! What is that some sort of rock world record ? Married about a week, weren’t they?" Victoria started to laugh.
"Well, it’s amazing what a little piece of truth will do. I guess your sister felt pretty choked up over finding out Lance Bass knew about Liam’s affairs,
and knew about the drug he gave her. She may have even believed that it was Lance himself that wanted the baby out of the way...maybe that‘s what really convinced her to abort. "
"Oh, that and the serentil." Victoria smiled widely. "Poor Mr. Knight in Shining Armour. I wonder how he took the news?" Victoria asked. "Poor dear he
must need some comforting."
"Your shrink would say that you have some issues yet to be resolved with your sister." Dr. Fitzpatrick said.
"In more ways than one." Victoria laughed. "Now, how can Lance help us to find her? It used to be enough for me just to know that there was nothing
Mercedes possessed that didn‘t also belong to me. Liam included." She paused, "Eliminating her children was important to me, since I will never have children of my own. But, even when we had her isolated in the mental hospital, there was no satisfaction in that. That’s why I thought your plan to drive her to suicide would be so sweet. But, it failed. I don’t think I
will find resolution until my sister has, alas, left this world. If we have to commit her to Fall Brook again and play around with her meds...then that’s what we’ll have to do."
"I don’t think it’s wise to involve Lance Bass any more than you already have. Where he goes, media attention will follow. My advise to you..."
"MY advise to YOU, is to keep quiet and allow me to enjoy myself."
Dani had pretty much had enough of this already. The concert was over hours ago, but there they were partying in the back room of some club. This was a
club that some DJ told Steve was "the bomb." All Dani noticed was scantily clad women falling all over the guys. To top it off, she had never seen Lance drink so much before.
Chris was thoughtful, he had asked her at least twice already if she wanted to leave, but she felt protective of Lance. None of it made sense to her, but
Dani and Chris knew Lance was hurting badly. And sometimes people who are hurting like that, do stupid things. Dani knew there were a lot of women who
wouldn’t mind helping Lance find something really stupid to do.
Sheryl and her friends heard the word out on the street that some of the guys were hangin’ at this club tonight. She had been bummed when she couldn’t hook up with Steve-O again to get back stage. But, there was always tomorrow night if she could simply get seen by Steve again. Sheryl couldn’t believe her luck when some people outside the club told her that Lance had been seen going into the club that night, too.
The web sites and newspaper items had mentioned that Lance was flying solo these days after an emotional break up. There were hints that he had been
secretly married and now was headed for divorce court. But, there was some confusion over who had really gotten married. Some web sites said, the couple who married secretly was really Chris and Dani. There had been no Q&A at a Meet and Greet since the rumors began. And Lance had refused to answer any questions about his personal life on any media avenue. There were lots of questions he didn’t want to deal with in his personal life.
It felt better to numb himself.
Inside *N SYNC, the guys knew that Johnny was working on locating that purple-haired dude in the photograph before that rumor surfaced, as it surely
would. Chris and Dani felt it just as important to locate Mercedes. Johnny was feeling frustrated that Lance continued to refuse to cooperate with him
to deal with the inevitable marriage/divorce public relations fiasco.
Sheryl didn’t care about any of this. If Lance was vulnerable, so much the better. She had set her sights on claiming him as a prize over these three concerts she was attending and the second concert was already history. All she had to boast about for all her effort was knowing first-hand that Lance had a major package. Somehow, it wasn’t enough that she grabbed him. Sheryl
wanted a different first-hand experience. She wanted to experience ALL he had to offer.
As luck and good timing would have it, Steve and Joey were leaving the club by the same door Sheryl and her friends were camped out at. She yelled to him, and he noticed and remembered her. "Can you help me get inside?" She asked him. "I’ve driven up all this way."
Steve laughed and motioned to the bouncer that she could go in.
"Thanks you’re a doll." She winked.
Sheryl and her friends entered the club. Right away she noticed the guys who were remaining. J.C. and Bobbie, were seated at a table on the far side of
the room. Justin was dancing with a couple of local girls, and Lance was at the bar. Chris and Dani were trying to convince Lance to leave.
"He can’t leave yet." Sheryl said, although no one had been talking with her. "Because he hasn’t danced with me yet."
Lance smiled and replied with somewhat thick speech. "I remember you. I thought I’d never be able to finish that show, you practically rendered me
immobile."
"I‘m glad I made an impression."
"Oh yeah, I’d say you did."
Dani gave Chris a nod, "Let’s go guys."
"Wait, Dani, I have to dance with her first." Then Lance looked at Sheryl, "Are you a stalker? You came all the way up here from..." Then he turned to
Chris. "Hey, Chris where were we last night?"
"Why do we call you Scoop?" Chris asked. "We were in Washington, D.C."
"Yeah, I’m your own personal stalker." Sheryl grinned as she wrapped herself around Lance‘s arm. "You won’t believe everything I’m prepared to do to you when I finally get you alone."
"Is that so?" Lance stood up without any difficulty and Sheryl pasted herself against him. "Whoa. I need a little breathing room." He laughed.
Sheryl moved back a step and as they began to walk to the dance floor, she grabbed Lance’s butt. He just smiled and shook his head.
He leaned over to talk in her ear. "You better watch yourself or do you really want me to think you‘re this eager?"
Dani turned to Chris, "Christopher."
"They’ll have one dance, then I’ll talk to him again. I’m not his father, Dani, I can’t make him leave."
Sheryl put her arms around Lance’s neck and nuzzled close to him. "I’m very eager to make a more lasting impression." She whispered in his ear. Lance leaned into the sensation. Sheryl raked her fingernails through his hair. She backed her head up a bit and looked into his eyes, "I’ve come..." she wants him to hold that thought, then continues, "a long way
to make an impression on you." Lance’s hands take a downward route from her waist to her butt. She starts to grind with the music. Her hip massaging him until she feels him hard against her.
"A hem. I think you’ve made an impression again." Lance might have been blushing, but his face could’ve just been flushed from the alcohol.
"Is there somewhere we could be alone?"
Lance shook his head, "Oooo noooo, I don’t think that’s a very good idea."
Sheryl smiled. "Ohh, believe me this is a really good idea."
"Bad idea." Lance said staring at her hair and running his fingers through it.
"Very bad." Sheryl said, to which Lance said, ‘humph’ and smiled.
Lance looked over at Chris and Dani standing there. "Sorry, I have people waiting on me. I’m going to leave with them."
Not to be deterred, Sheryl asks, "So, do they keep you warm at night? Can they make you feel better?"
Lance leaned over and spoke above the noise in the bar, "Nothing is going to make me feel better."
"I wouldn’t be so sure about that." Sheryl said placing her hand on his chest.
Lance gave her another, ‘humph’ and a smile. "I don’t even know your name."
"Sheryl. If that matters."
Lance narrowed his eyes and was taken aback by the implication of her statement. "It should matter to you." He said.
"What if I said, I’ll see if my friends can clear out the ladies room?"
Lance laughed, "It sounds like you’ve given this some thought."
"I’ve been thinking about how to satisfy you for months now."
"So, you ARE a stalker." Lance said. Sheryl went to kiss him and as her lips touched his, suddenly he turned his head. "No. Kissing is a very personal
thing to me. Sorry."
"What ever you say, honey."
Sheryl saying ‘honey’ reminded Lance of honey bees which, in turn, reminded him of Mercedes calling him ‘Be’. His thoughts turn to her.
‘Though nights like these I would hold her in my arms and kiss her once and kiss her again under moonlit skies.’
His mind replayed a poem he had once read late at night on the tour bus.
‘My voice tries to find the wind to touch her hearing. My sight still searches for her in the crowds, as though to go to her.
Does it matter that my love could not keep her? My life is shattered because she is not with me. My soul searches for her, as though to go to her. My heart aches for her. Does it matter?
She will be another’s. Like my kisses before. Her innocent eyes, her bright body, her loving and calm voice. Her comfort and warmth all gone from me. They will be shared with another. I have lost her.’
Lance straightened up. How could Mercedes have done this to him? He was being a love sick fool.
To hell with her. The alcohol was suppose to numb him to these ridiculous sentiments. He’d find another way to block out her memories, her kisses and the nights they spent in each other’s arms. Wipe them all away. Don’t leave a trace of her memory to inflict any more pain!
"Whatever you said your name was," Lance said taking her hand, "Let’s just see what you had in mind."
Sheryl motioned to her friends. Before they were even missed by Dani and Chris, Lance found himself standing in a bathroom stall with Sheryl.
"Just lean back, honey." Sheryl said. He rested his back against the stall door. Lance ran his hands through her hair, as she knelt in front of him. It
wasn’t as silky, or curly. It wasn’t the same light shade that reminded him of the tea with milk Mercedes drank every morning. It smelled like too much perfume covering the odor of stale cigarettes before when he put his face in it as they were dancing. Mercedes hair would smell clean, like a breeze off the ocean they were sailing on. Sailing together. "Ahh." Lance groaned. He closed his eyes. He went with the feeling.
"Erase every memory of her." Lance murmured into her neck.
"Oh yeah, let me give it a try."
Lance pressed himself against her now, turning her around and pushing her back against the stall door. He ran his hands up her shirt.
"Oooo, honey who’s the eager one NOW?" Sheryl raised her short skirt up to her waist.
"No, I’m not having sex with you." Lance moaned.
"You’ve really needed some release, haven’t you honey?" She smiled. "You ever want to find a home some night for that big bad boy, let me leave you
my voice mail number."
"I hope I was able to help." Sheryl said with a wink as Lance stood throwing water on his face in the sink. She straightened around her skirt and top and
fluffed her hair a bit admiring her reflection over the sink. Then she wrote her phone number on the mirror.
She left the rest room, leaving Lance staring at the phone number written over the reflection of his face. Lance slammed his fist against it, cursing
her. Cursing himself.
