Chris Kirkpatrick sat beside the bathtub just staring at the door and wishing his phone would ring so he could hear her voice. Every once in a while, he'd hear the faint sound of a ring somewhere else in the hotel and he'd feel sick all over again.
Suddenly, there was a soft tap on the bathroom door and he jumped, his hands falling to the tiled floor to steady himself.
"Chris?" his best friend's voice came through the door. "Are you in there?"
JC gulped. "Before I tell you, You've got to promise to keep this between you and me. NO ONE else can know." He paused, dropping his backpack to the floor. "No one. Not even Joe."
Lance nodded slowly. "Okay. I promise. Now, what's up?" Before JC could say anything, Lance spoke up again. "Is this about..." he narrowed his eyes at JC, waiting for a reaction. "Justin and Chris?"
JC nodded. "How'd you know?"
"God, I'm not BLIND... I can tell that they're fighting about something. I can tell that whatever it that they're fighting about, you're getting dragged into it for some reason. Everyone's been acting so weird lately. Even JOEY is starting to get suspicious-"
"Joey can't know," JC interrupted. "I need to tell someone what I did, and please, Lance... promise me you won't tell anyone."
"JC, I already promised. What did you do?"
JC pulled off his socks and threw them on the floor next to his backpack. "I only did it to help things, but I'm not sure if it'll work..."
"What did you do?" Lance repeated his question.
"I don't even know if you know about the situation..."
"WHAT situation?!"
"Do you remember Justin's old girlfriend, Gracie?"
Lance sat down next to JC and nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, last year some things happened and now she's with Chris... that's why Chris and Justin have been fighting lately. Everything just blew up when we got to Gracie's hometown..." JC told Lance the entire story up to where he lied to both Gracie and Chris. "Lance, I told Gracie that Chris wanted to break up and then I told Chris that Gracie wanted to break up."
Lance was speechless.
"I had to do it. Justin and Chris were hardly speaking to each other and Justin even told me that he was thinking about quitting the group. I had to save Nsync, Lance... I had to."
Justin opened the door a crack and peeked in. He saw Chris sitting on the floor looking right back up at him. He sighed. "Are you ready to talk yet?" he asked, sitting down next to Chris.
Chris put his hands over his face and took a deep breath. He felt more self conscience with Justin watching him, so before the tears could roll onto his cheeks, he wiped them away.
When Justin looked at Chris' face, there wasn't a trace of a tear. "Chris... come on, man... talk to me."
"Okay," Chris said, finally saying something. "He took a deep breath. Remember when I told you that JC wrote me a note saying he was going to talk to Gracie?"
Justin nodded.
"Well," Chris continued. "When we were out on the golf course, and my phone rang, it was him... and he somehow talked her into breaking up with me."
"What?" Justin was shocked. After all of that neither of them got the girl? Something was wrong. "What in the hell did he say to her?"
"That's what I wanted to know. I guess..." he sighed. "I guess it's over."
Justin stood up and looked down at Chris. "No... No, Chris... something is wrong. Why was JC the one to tell you? Couldn't Gracie call you herself?"
Chris looked confused. "I think you're reading too much into this, Justin. I just figured she was too broken hearted to tell me... so she told JC to deliver the message."
"She loves you, right?"
Chris hesitated.
"Right?" Justin repeated.
"Right..."
"Well, then she should have called you herself. This is crazy."
Chris pulled himself to his feet, leaning against the sink as he stared over at Justin. "Crazy? This is DEVASTATING! Justin, I love her and now... now she's... GONE!" he shouted that last word louder than he had planned and regretted it. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to yell... it's just..." The tears finally came and he let them pour out freely. "You don't know how much this hurts..."
Justin couldn't argue with him. He knew for a fact that he had never been in love the way Chris was with Gracie. "This is my fault," he sighed.
Chris looked up. "What are you talking about? How is this your fault?"
Lance, still speechless, fell back onto the bed. "Wow," he gasped. "That's a lot to take in..."
"No kidding..." JC agreed.
"You've got to tell them the truth."
JC turned his head and looked at Lance like he was crazy. "What? I can't do that."
"Why not? You got yourself into this mess, and you have to get yourself out."
"But it won't be a mess if everything works out."
"But, JC... they're all going to hate you if they ever find out."
JC sighed. Lance was right... and it hurt to think of the consequences. He couldn't even imagine how much it would hurt if they ever found out about the lies. "They won't find out," he declared. "I won't let them."
Lance let out a chuckle. "And how are you going to do that?"
"I just won't."
Lance looked at JC's grim face. His expression looked as if it were set in stone... just like his how he was determined to make his plan work.
"I just won't let them find out," he repeated.
Justin sighed, running his hand through his curls. "I didn't have to fight. I should have just let you have her."
"Stop," Chris demanded. "It's over and done with. Let's just forget about it."
It was silent for a moment until Justin pulled Chris in for a hug, letting his friend cry on his shoulder. "Don't let this get to you, Chris. You'll forget about Gracie. You were right when you said it was over. It is."
Chris sniffed. He didn't necessarily agree with what Justin was saying, but a familiar phrase kept playing over and over again in his ears.
'Girls come and go, but friends are forever...'
Chris returned the hug and pulled away. "No, you were right," he said softly.
"About what?" He opened the door and Chris followed him back into the room.
"Our friendship," he answered as they sat on the bed. "I should have listened to you."
It was Monday morning and the guys were out to breakfast. They had a busy day ahead of them filled with interviews, meet and greets, and not to mention a sound check followed by their Boston concert.
JC looked across the table ant Justin and Chris and he secretly smiled. They were getting along just as planned... but when he looked again, his smile disappeared. Sure, Justin and Chris were getting along, but Chris looked depressed and Justin seemed... well, he seemed angry. JC looked again. Yes... that WAS anger on his face.
JC sighed, taking a bite of his blueberry pancakes and a sip of his orange juice.
Lance looked up at everyone. Why were they so quiet? "Big show tonight, huh?" he said, hoping to get a conversation going.
Joey was the only one who looked at him... but his mouth was so full that he didn't even think about saying anything. He just nodded before shoveling another forkful in.
Justin looked up at JC and narrowed his eyes. He could tell that something was going on. Guilt had been written all over JC's face ever since he got back from visiting Gracie. He wanted to come right out and ask JC about it, but didn't want to do it with Chris sitting right there. When JC's eyes met his own, he looked back down at his breakfast, making an enemy out of his French toast. He stabbed at it with his fork.
JC, alarmed at Justin's aggressiveness with his food, stood up and excused himself to the bathroom.
"So..." Lance mused out loud as he watched Chris push food around his plate. "I was thinking about a costume change for the show tonight..." he trailed off as he looked over at Justin and Chris. "Yeah..." he continued when Joey nodded, still shoveling in his food. "I was thinking that instead of wearing that white shirt, I could try the black one this time."
Joey gave him the thumbs up.
JC walked quickly to the bathroom. His conscience was eating him away and he felt that Justin was getting suspicious of his actions. He feared that the second Justin got him alone, he'd be forced to tell the truth.
He pushed the men's room door open and stumbled in front of the mirror. He examined his face and came to the conclusion that he was a wreck. He turned the cold water on, stuck his hands underneath the faucet, and splashed his face. He wiped his face with one of those scratchy, brown paper towels that reeked of chemically treated sawdust. When his face was dry, he thrust the paper towel into the trash, took a few deep breaths, and walked back out the door.
When he got back to their table, everything was just how he left it... minus the food on Joey's plate.
Joey smiled and patted his stomach. "So, who's up for that interview?"
Justin bit fiercely into his bacon, Chris groaned, Lance rolled his eyes and JC pushed his plate towards the center of the table.
"What?" Joey wondered, his smile fading. "Did I say something wrong?"
Before the interview, the guys were allowed some time to relax. They had nothing else to do, but wander around the local radio station's studio.
Chris and Justin were lounging in a waiting area of some sort just thinking things over when suddenly, Justin sat up straight.
"I just KNOW that something's wrong," he declared. "Don't you think JC's been acting funny?"
Chris sighed, not really listening. He was trying to forget about Gracie, and it didn't help him that Justin kept bringing up the situation every five seconds. "I haven't been paying attention," he murmured, keeping his eyes locked on a landscape painting on the opposite wall.
"How could you not notice?" he paused, feeling his face getting red. "I can TELL that something's up."
Chris didn't have to look at Justin to know he was upset. "Calm down," he said in the same monotone, unfeeling voice. "You're not helping anyone by sitting here and ranting..."
Justin gripped the arms of his chair and stood up. "You're right. I'm gonna go find JC, and have a little chat with him. See you in a bit." Before Chris could get another word in, Justin was gone.
JC sighed as he looked over at Joey and Lance. They were playing some sort of stupid, made up game where they tried to finish each other's words and sentences. None of it made any sense to him, but they were both laughing so hard that their faces were bright pink. JC shook his head and picked up the newspaper from a table
Suddenly, the paper was snatched from his grasp. "What the..." he started to say, stopping only when he saw Justin's angry face.
"We need to talk," Justin said so low so that no one else would hear him. "Now."
JC narrowed his eyes. "What is this about?"
Before he knew it, Justin had a hold of his arm and was pulling him up from the chair and down a hallway.
"You know what this is about," Justin said through clenched teeth, finally releasing JC when they reached a secluded area at the end of the hall.
JC found himself backed against the wall. This was exactly what he had been fearing. "Actually, Justin," he said, trying to play it cool. "I really DON'T know what you're talking about. Please let me in on your secret."
"MY secret? You're the one who's sneaking around here with the word guilt written all over your face. Your stupid story about Gracie wanting to break up with Chris sounded like a bunch of bull shit to me and I-"
"JC!" a familiar, booming voice called. "Justin! The interview is starting!"
Justin gave JC a shove even though he was pressed so closely to the wall, he didn't have anything to get shoved into. "We'll finish this later," he spat out before turning on his heels and walking briskly back to the lobby.
When he reached the end of the hall, Joey was standing there with a smile on his face. He nudged Justin's shoulder with his fist. "Ready to start?"
When Justin didn't answer he looked back down the hall to see JC walking slowly behind them; his hands shoved deep within his pockets and his eyes glued to feet. "What's up with him?" he asked Justin.
"Who cares?" Justin answered, gently pushing Joey away and walking off to find Chris to bring him up to date on the day's latest happenings.
The interview was slow, long and boring to almost everyone. The interviewer had even asked Chris if everything was okay because of the depressed look on his face. Justin had quickly responded that Chris was just tired. There was no doubt about it, the day was a hard one and everyone was struggling through it.
On the bus on the way to the venue, Justin opted not to approach JC again until after they arrived.
JC was too busy moping around in his bunk to realize when they were there.
"Justin," Joey said as the rest of the group prepared to exit the bus. "Since you're back there, can you get JC out of his bunk?"
Reluctantly, Justin nodded as he watched the others walk down the stairs and onto the pavement. He pulled open the curtain to see his newfound enemy writing in a spiral notebook.
The second JC saw him, he pulled the notebook protectively to his chest. "Haven't you heard of knocking?" he hissed, putting on his aggressive face even though he was scared out of his mind.
"Yeah," Justin rolled his eyes. "Next time I'll knock on the CURTAIN."
"You know what I mean." He shoved the notebook under his pillow and pushed Justin out of the way so he could exit the bunk. "Where is everyone?"
"That's what I came to tell you. They're already in the venue. It's almost time for sound check."
JC moved a few things around in the kitchen area, pretending he didn't hear what Justin was saying. When he went to leave the bus, he felt a hand on his arm and stopped. JC took off his mask and put on a new one. "What IS it that you WANT?" he almost shouted.
Justin didn't let go of his arm... he just held on tighter. "The truth," he said in a low, authoritative voice. "Now."
JC analyzed the tone of his voice and jerked loose of Justin's grasp. "I already gave it to you. Now leave me alone." He turned and exited the bus, leaving Justin to stand alone.
It didn't take long for Justin to realize that JC had walked out on him and he dashed out of the bus to catch up.
"Don't DO that!" he shouted after him. He caught up quickly, too quickly for JC's liking.
"If you're gonna grill me like that and not even listen to what I have to say, then I don't have time for you."
Justin walked backwards in front of JC and narrowed his eyes. "Too bad you don't have a choice."
JC pushed him out of the way, matching Justin's glare and picking up the pace.
"I want answers and I'm gonna get them!" Justin shouted.
JC stopped abruptly. "What's the damn question, Justin? How can I answer a question that you didn't even ask?"
"I don't care," Justin fumed. "Just do it."
Once again, JC pushed him out of the way and took the several steps to the door. He pulled it open and walked toward the other guys, completely ignoring Justin who remained at his heels.
Seeing them, their faces beet red in anger, Lance was alarmed. He wanted to rush over to them, but his feet were frozen. Besides, the enraged look on Justin's face scared him.
"We're not DONE!" Justin shouted so loud that it echoed through the entire venue and even the crew turned to look at him.
Chapter 2
Identities
Chris {Fiction}
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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