Eight

 

“I have an idea,” Lance said, grabbing Justin and yanking him into a closet.

“What the hell?” Justin cried, rubbing his arm.  “Lance, what are you doing?”

“I think we need to talk to JC,” Lance said. He looked around the closet and caught a broom just before it hit Justin on the shoulder.

“I can’t believe you know where the BROOM closet is in our freaking rehearsal studio,” Justin mumbled.  Then Lance’s words sank in.  “You want us to WHAT? No!”  Justin said immediately. “It’s been a week, can’t it just blow over?”

“Justin, it’s been a weird week.  I can’t hardly look at him, and I know you feel the same way. JC’ll be cool about it. I mean, he coulda just yelled and brought the other two back in.  I wanna talk to him.”  Lance put a hand on Justin’s arm.  “Please?”

Justin shivered at the touch.  Nothing had been done in the week since everyone had burst into the room.  Lance had crawled back to his bed and they had eventually fallen asleep.  “But he won’t think I’m the Little Mouse anymore,” Justin said unhappily, then slapped his hand over his mouth.

“Uh, what?” Lance said, wondering if he had misheard.

Justin sighed.  “Okay…when we started to realize this group might actually GO somewhere, I got really freaked out.  I was afraid.  And JC…he helped me.  He said that because of the whole Mousketeer thing that he was the Big Mouse and I was the Little Mouse.  And it was my job to do the best I could at what I knew, and it was HIS job to protect the Little Mouse.”

Lance couldn’t help himself. “That is so damn cute, Justin.” Then he thought about it.  “Great.  The Big Mouse is gonna kick this Little Bass’ ass!”  Lance moaned.

“No, he won’t, JC likes you too much,” Justin said reassuringly. “But I know he won’t look at ME the same way again.”

“Let’s just corner him tonight and talk to him.  We need to get over this or things will get REALLY weird, and Joey and Chris will notice,” Lance said finally.

“And that’s the LAST thing we need,” Justin said, frowning.

 

“Uh, JC?” Justin asked, sitting down next to JC at the restaurant.  Lou was doing one of his rare “dinners out for the boys” things, and they had picked a halfway decent restaurant.

“Yeah, J?” JC perused the menu. “Oh…I wonder if I can get this. I’ve never tried it and it sounds great.”

“Are you going out tonight?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. Probably.”

Lance met Justin’s gaze across the table and nodded.  “Uh,” Justin stammered.  “Do you have to?”

JC finally looked up from the menu.  Lance suddenly found HIS menu very interesting. “Why?”

“I…I need to talk to you. I have a problem,” Justin said finally, and JC immediately jumped into “Big Mouse” mode.

“Of course I can stay back. That’s all you had to say, J.”  JC put an arm around Justin’s shoulders and squeezed quickly before turning back to his menu.  Lance sighed with relief.

 

“Hey, Lance,” JC said in surprise. “I thought I saw you go out in Joey’s car.”

“I did…needed pens,” Lance said sheepishly, holding up the box of Bics.

Joey and Chris were long gone, and Justin had asked JC to meet him in the room Justin shared with Lance.  Lance was on his own bed when JC finally showed up.  “I wanted him here, too,” Justin said nervously.

“Ah. This is about that night,” JC said, sitting down on Lance’s desk chair.

“I just wanted to explain about it, Jayce.  I…”

JC stopped Justin’s rambling with a raised hand.  “It’s okay, Justin. No explanation needed.  You do what you want, just be careful.” JC looked Lance in the eye.  “Have you guys fucked yet?”

Lance blushed. “Jayce!”  Justin yelled, burying his face in a pillow.

“No,” Lance said quietly. “There’s no way we’re ready for that.  Justin’s only fourteen…and I’m not ready, either.”

“Almost fifteen,” Justin pouted into his pillow.

“Good.”  JC turned the ice blue eyes onto Justin’s pillow.  “Justin, look at me.”  Justin peeked out.  “Like I said, I’m fine with this.  But I have a question.”

“’Kay,” Justin whispered.

“Are you gay?”

“Me?  No!” Justin shot up from the pillow. “I’m just…curious. Yeah.  Experimenting. And Lance said…he said that was normal…and I just like it. Experimenting. With Lance.”  Justin gave Lance a tiny smile and Lance blushed again.

“Okay. I was just wondering.  Kids your age aren’t real sure about what they are or what they want. It’s cool that you’re doing that…just be careful. I don’t want either of you hurt.”  JC smiled at them both. “And I won’t tell Joey or Chris.”

“You’re the best, Jayce,” Justin said. Then he looked at Lance.  “Why…why didn’t you ask if HE was gay?”

Lance squirmed in his chair.  “Well…he already knows the answer.”

“You’re gay?” Justin gasped.  “You never said…”

“You never asked.  JC found out kinda by accident.  I’m not trying to seduce you or anything,” Lance said, but he looked at JC.  “I never expected you and I to…fool around.”

“You’re gay.”  Justin tried to digest the information.  “Wow.”

“On that note of epiphany,” JC said, standing.  “I’ll roll. I’m not freaked out, Justin. I was just a bit shocked.  I trust Lance.”

“Don’t you trust ME?” Justin said indignantly.

“Of course,” JC said, but there was a teasing tone to his voice. He left the bedroom.

“I didn’t mean to lie to you or anything,” Lance said quietly.  “We…I mean…”

“I know. It was crazy for me, too.”  Justin looked at Lance, hugging his pillow to his chest. “I like it, though.  But I don’t want to be gay.”  He winced immediately. “I can’t believe I just said that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Lance shrugged.  “You’re not gay, Justin. You love women.  This is…what it is.”  Lance waved a hand in the air.  “And when we’re ready, we’ll fool around again.  Or maybe not.”

“Right.”  Justin nodded but still looked confused.

“I, uh, need to write some letters.”  Lance picked up his box of pens and waved them a bit.

“Right.”  Justin stood. “I’m gonna watch TV or something.”  Justin stood as Lance went to his desk chair.  Justin followed Lance and stood behind him.  “I like fooling around with you,” Justin repeated softly in Lance’s ear, then went out of the room.

Nine