Three 

“Justin!” Justin looked up from tying his shoes and saw Nick shoving his way through the crowded locker room. They were in Germany for a celebrity basketball game, about two weeks before NSYNC was to return to the States.

“Oh. Hello, Nick.”

“What's wrong?” Nick stared at him. “Didn't you get any of my notes or anything? I sent them home, and I called once, but your dad…”

“STEP-dad,” Justin corrected.

“Your step-dad said he'd forward them along to you.” Nick tilted his head to the side. “What crawled up your butt?”

“Look, Nick.” Justin stood up, his blue eyes even with Nick's. “You're a Backstreet Boy. I'm in NSYNC. We're not gonna be friends, okay? I've already learned that the only people I can trust are my own brothers.”

Disappointment flashed through Nick's eyes before they shut down and became blue steel. “If that's how you wanna be, fine. I felt sorry for you, you know, just starting out and all.” Nick's attitude became cocky and confident. “I thought I'd show you the ropes.”

“I don't need you to show me shit,” Justin snapped. “Leave me alone, okay? Quit stalking me, for God's sake. Damn girl.” Justin turned and headed over to talk to JC. Nick sighed and went to Brian, not looking back. 

They played the game, trying their best to avoid each other. Each group performed after the game. Nick made sure he was doing interviews when NSYNC performed, and Justin was in the locker room before Backstreet went on.

They were on their way out to the busses before Justin realized he had forgotten to throw his sneakers into his duffel. He called out to Joey to ask that they make sure and wait for him, then jogged back to the locker room.

“Mom, I gotta go. I'll be late and Kevin will yell!” Justin heard Nick say.

“I'm your mother, Nickolas. I'm your parent. NOT Kevin Richardson,” a woman snapped. Nick sighed loudly.

“Sorry.”

“You didn't even try out there. You messed up your dancing, and your voice was flat. What's going on?”

“Mom, I'm tired, okay? I just played a full game of basketball, and then I had to perform.”

“You don't get tired, Nick. You're a superstar. Act like one, understand me? There are a million blond-haired, blue-eyed boys out there. Mr. Pearlman could pick any one of them and replace you. Got it?”

“Okay, Mom,” Nick said, and Justin could hear the tears in his voice. Justin drew back into the shadows of the hallway as he heard Mrs. Carter come pounding down the hall.

Justin tiptoed into the locker room. Nick was wiping at his eyes, sniffling slightly. Justin bumped into a locker and Nick jumped. “Sorry. Uh, forgot my shoes.” Justin grabbed them and turned to go.

“Now you can have a good laugh,” Nick said, and Justin turned around. “You hate me, right? And now you can tell all your little friends that Nick Carter's a big crybaby.”

“I didn't say anything,” Justin said.

“You don't have to.”

Justin sat down at the end of Nick's bench, instantly grateful for the wonderful relationship he had with his mother. “Is…is she always like that?”

“Pretty much.” Nick toyed with his own sneaker. “She wants this more than I do sometimes.”

“Don't do it for her. Do it for you.”

“Why do you care? I'm just a Backstreet Boy, right?”

“True,” Justin said, standing. He put his nose in the air. “You're right. I don't care.”

“What the hell DID crawl up your ass, Timberlake?”

Justin whirled around. “You! You went to Europe and couldn't even tell me? You had to hurry over here and make it big before us…and you never even bothered to mention it that day!”

“Brian said it wouldn't be a good idea. He said you'd get mad.”

“Damn right I got mad. Chris was right…can't trust any of you.” Justin kicked at the bench, scowling.

“Do you always do what Chris says?” Nick asked.

“Do you always do what Brian says?” Justin countered.

“I wanted to tell you,” Nick said finally. “I was so excited, but I knew it would hurt your feelings. I wasn't trying to lie to you.” Nick sighed. “And it was hell the first few weeks.”

“Tell me about it,” Justin said. “I'm just glad my mom was along.”

“Your mom went with you?”

“Yeah. Lance's, too, for a bit.”

“That's so cool,” Nick said wistfully. “Mine was too busy with my brother.”

“I'm sorry, you know, that I said some of that stuff,” Justin said, sighing. Nick smiled a bit.

“Me, too.”

“If we're friends, it won't be easy,” Justin said. “No one will like it.”

“No one needs to know,” Nick said. “I'm getting my own computer soon…we're starting to do well at home.”

“JC has one…his parents give him anything he wants,” Justin said. “I'll make him let me use it.”

“So, we're gonna be friends?” Nick asked. Justin slowly smiled.

“Yeah. We are.”

Four