Disclaimer: I don't know, own, associate with, or pretend to be friends with Nsync. To me they're just a group of guys who are kinda cute (with some dreamy eyes!) and that have nice voices. Please don't sue me! Please don't hurt me! Please write me! ;)

Justin was sticking especially close to Lance that day. Even Lance noticed, but he said nothing except make sure that Justin could keep up with him. The one time Lance disappeared from Justin's view, going into another room with JC to go over some dance moves, Lance and JC had rushed out of the room after hearing Justin shouting angrily at Chris. After that, Lance made sure to tell Justin where he was going, and while he tried to offer Justin a time that he'd be back, Justin simply stayed by his side, eliminating the middle problem. Lance was a little confused, but he chalked it up to Justin wanting to get in as much quality time together as possible before they left, and so he easily compensated for the shadow Justin had become. If he was perfectly honest, he didn't mind. He liked Justin hanging around all the time. Normally they were together, apart for never more than an hour, but today was never apart more than the few minutes it took one of them to use the bathroom.

Justin had actually begged Lance not to go anyplace while he used the restroom.

Lance was a little worried about Justin after that, but as soon as the curly headed blond returned, looking a little relieved to see Lance, Lance made sure he and Justin were sitting side to side at all times.

As soon as the concert was over, Justin was right by Lance's side again, and Lance actually felt a little relieved when Justin rejoined him. He had missed having Justin next to him, and that worried him. What was he going to do next week, when Justin was thousands and thousands of miles away?

Once they were safely back in their hotel rooms--Justin practically sitting on Lance's lap in the limo--they scattered into their separate rooms, except for Justin who followed Lance. They collappsed onto his bed together, their bodies tired but their minds racing. Almost as if the few inches between them were too much to bare, Justin leaned over and rested his head on Lance's elbow, which he had out as he tucked his hands behind his head. Lance glanced at him but said nothing, only compensated for him as he had been all day, glad for the nearness.

Eventually they must have fallen asleep, because Lance felt someone shaking him what felt like only a few minutes later. Slowly he opened his eyes and focused on Justin, who was gazing back at him from only inches away.

"What's wrong?" Lance asked, his voice still scratchy with sleep. He glanced over Justin's shoulder at the clock, which read 2:45.

"Let's go."

Lance's eyes met Justin's again. "What?" he asked unsuredly.

"Let's go. You and me. It's a midnight run."

Lance grinned. He and Justin went out occassionally after everyone was asleep, at least once every month or two, and snuck out without the body guards to an ice cream shop or some place where they picked up something to eat or drink. It always made them feel alive and exhilerated, and they'd never been caught yet. Though, there wasn't much that anyone could do to them, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but just the idea that what they were doing was wrong was enough to keep them doing it repeatedly.

Lance stretched and nodded, delighted to see Justin's blue eyes light up as he sprang up from the bed with Lance's agreeance, diving for their shoes. Lance shook out the kinks he had, his arm numb from where Justin had slept on it and yet knowing that it was worth it, before standing and grabbing for his shoes. He slipped them on, and together he and Justin silently made their way out into the hallway, down the stairs to the floor below, and then went for the elevator.

Justin leaned against Lance the whole time they were in the elevator, and as they discreetly made their way to the parking lot, where Lance's rented jeep waited, he kept so close to Lance that every couple of steps their sides would bump together.

As soon as they were in Lance's jeep, the doors were locked, and they were pulling out of the parking lot, they exchanged grins and blared the music so loudly that they were getting nasty glares from other drivers.

"You're just jealous!" Justin shouted at one, earning himself a smack by Lance, who couldn't help but laugh as well.

They had a great time, driving around and forgetting for a while that they were anything but two normal boys joyriding around in the middle of the night. Finally Lance found a Denny's and they climbed out of the car, laughing as they made their way inside.

"Two?" The 30-something year old woman asked.

"Yup," Lance confirmed, and she grabbed two menu's and led them to a booth. Justin sat close to Lance, looking as though he wanted to sit next to him and yet knowing that it would look a little strange if he did so, so Lance solved his dilemma for him. He put his legs up on the area of the seat between them, and Justin took his cue, adding his legs to the seat so that their legs touched, and Justin looked a little happier.

"What're you getting?" Justin asked, happily scouraging the menu.

Honestly, Lance hadn't even looked at the damn thing. He was too busy watching with an innocent astonishment and amusement as Justin practically bounced in his seat. He lived to see Justin so happy, which unfortunately in their line of work didn't happen very often. Justin was often happy, that wasn't the case. It was when Justin got this child-like wonder about him that Lance really just wanted to gaze at him and drink him in.

"Probably a milkshake," Lance answered off-handedly, still watching Justin, who had yet to look up from the menu.

"I think I'll get one too. And this chocolate cookie graham cracker strawberry volcano crunch."

Lance had to laugh. "I'm amazed you were able to recite all of that without taking a breath!"

Justin finally looked up, his blue eyes dancing. "I'm multi-talented," he announced proudly.

Lance only laughed again, and the waitress came over to ask for their drinks. They both ordered vanilla milkshakes, and she was gone again.

"So what else are you going to get?" Justin asked eagerly. "The sundae looks great! It comes with hot fudge and a brownie and three scoops of ice cream... Ooo! Maybe I should get that instead!"

Lance laughed. "Get whatever you want. It's on me."

Justin looked up, surprised. "But you paid last time."

Lance shrugged. "Well I'm paying again."

Justin frowned. "No, that's not how this works. We take turns, remember?"

"Consider it a thank you for today."

Justin eyed him in a wary confusion. "What do you mean?"

Lance couldn't very well say that he was glad Justin had followed him around, could he? Well... He could try and be nice about it. "I was kinda bummed out today and you kept with me through the whole thing. I wanted to say thank you." Actually, he hadn't been upset at all, but Justin didn't need to know that.

Justin frowned again. "I didn't stay with you today because I thought you were upset--" he started.

"Justin!"

Justin and Lance both looked up, surprised, as Britney appeared at the head of their table.

"Hey you!" Britney greeted, hugging Justin quickly before giving Lance a hug as well. "And you! Where did you run off to last night?"

"A movie," Lance answered, a bit annoyed that Britney had interrupted, and yet too gentlemanly to say anything. "Would you like to join us?" he offered, dropping his legs so that Justin could slide over and make room for Britney. He was surprised to see Justin glaring at him.

"Oh, I'd love to but I can't!" Britney sighed. "I've got an early flight tomorrow, I just couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a drive when I realized I was a bit hungry, so I stopped here and picked up a plate of fries." She put a finger to her lips. "But keep it on the d/l 'cause my trainer'll kill me!" She giggled and gave them both a hug. "I'll see ya'll next month at the awards, right?"

"Nah, we can't make it," Justin told her. "We're going to be in a concert."

Britney sighed and shrugged. "That's alright. We'll catch each other some other time." She smiled supportively at them. "Give me a call and we'll arrange it." She hugged them both quickly and then, after offering them goodbyes, disappeared.

Lance watched her go, and then slowly turned his attention back to Justin, who to his surprise was glaring at him again. His eyes widened. "What?" Lance asked, confused.

"You invited her to join us!"

Lance gave Justin a strange look. "Of course I did. She's our friend, have you forgotten?"

"This is our time," Justin argued. "Since when do we invite other people into it?"

Lance eyed him and carefully resituated his legs up next to Justin's. "Normally we don't bump into anyone we know at 3:30 in the morning," he reminded. "What was I supposed to do? She's a southern belle, she would have gone back to her table if she had been staying, never asking to join us."

Justin's jaw clenched. "I didn't know you went for the 'southern belle' type."

Lance sighed, exasperated. "I told you before, Curly, I'm not after your girl. She's just a friend. She's a nice girl. That's all. She's practically jail bait for me."

That cracked a small smile on Justin's mouth. "I'm sure she'd appreciate that," he assured Lance, now grinning.

"Before or after she finished popping me?" Lance asked, relieved that Justin had calmed down. That boys' jealousy temper sure did flare sometimes. Lance didn't want Justin's girl, he just wanted Justin.

No! No no no no no! He did not just think that! He didn't!

As hard as Lance tried to convince himself, he knew it was hopeless. He had thought it, and it had been completely unconscious. Damn it. Now he had to start watching what he said otherwise Justin was going to catch on quickly... And then Lance would be in real trouble.

"I'm going to be miserable for these two weeks," Justin muttered. "You're going to call me every day, right?"

With surprise, Lance glanced back at him. "Of course I will, Curly," he agreed.

Justin nodded slightly, more to himself than anything, and traced his finger over the table top. "I'm going to miss you," he told Lance, his voice low and his eyes not meeting Lance's. Lance had never seen Justin look so sad before, and it broke Lance's heart.

"I'll miss you too, Curly," Lance told him, hoping that his voice wouldn't break. "You're my best friend, and I'm going to be positively miserable without you. Devastated. My mother will be calling you, begging you to come pick me up because she can't stand my moping anymore."

That curved Justin's lips into a smile, and slowly his blue eyes came up and met Lance's again. "I'm glad we're best friends, Lance."

"Me too, Justin." After a quick hesitation, under the table Lance grabbed Justin's hand and squeezed it. "Me too."

The week passed by quickly; too quickly. Justin hung around Lance literally 24 hours a day, leaving his side only when one of them had to use the rest room. They were never apart, and now they were boarding separate planes, to go to their separate homes, in separate states.

"Bye," Justin whispered brokenly, hugging Lance as tightly as he could. Joey, JC, and Chris all watched a bit ackwardly as the two boys tried not to cry.

"Miss me," Lance teased weakly, trying to smile as he hugged Justin back tightly. He knew that the others were staring at them, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not right now. He'd be embarassed later.

"I will, trust me," Justin promised softly, hugging Lance as tightly as he could. Then he pulled back only far enough to look into Lance's eyes. "Call me as soon as you get home on my cell, okay?"

"I will," Lance agreed, and then smiled at the other three, who were staring at them. "See ya guys in a couple of weeks."

"Later Lansten!" JC carolled. "Have fun! Relax. Enjoy yourself. Be James Bass for a couple of weeks. Put Lance aside."

Lance grinned and hugged JC. "I'll do that," he laughed.

Chris was next, and he and Lance slapped hands before pulling each other into a hug. "Gonna miss ya, buddy," Chris told him, grinning. "But you'll be back. Call me when you get home."

"You know I will," Lance assured him, and he and Joey hugged. "Take care, Joe. Don't lose yourself in New York."

"New York won't know what hit it!" Joey announced loudly; proudly. Then he grinned. "Call."

"I will." Lance flashed a grin at him, and then brought his eyes back to Justin, who was gazing sorrowfully at him. Lance couldn't help but hug him again tightly. "Don't look at me that way, Curly," he begged. "I'll hop on your plane if you don't cut it out. I can't stand to see you like this."

Justin simply hugged him, burying his face in his shoulder. "Take care," he whispered. "Call me every day, and bring me lots of gifts."

Lance laughed out loud. "I'll do that," he promised, giving Justin a quick squeeze before the stewardess told him that it was time for him to go. He handed her his ticket, flashed the guys a grin, and then, meeting Justin's eyes one last time, disappeared down the ramp and onto the plane.

"Yeah it's me, uh?"

"They call me Lake."

"Timba Timba Timberlake!"

"How ya be, Curly?!"

"Lansten!"

Lance winced and pulled the phone away from his ear. Justin's shout could have been heard across the room. "Ow," he said into the phone when he finally brought it back to his ear. "Nice to hear you, too."

"You didn't call!" Justin yelped angrily. "I waited for two hours for you to call!"

Lance tried not to laugh when he heard how much like an angry girlfriend Justin sounded. "I'm sorry. My cell phone died and when I got home my family wanted some bonding time."

Lance could almost see Justin's scowl. "It's okay," he relented. "But don't do it again!"

Lance had to laugh. "So where are ya?" he asked, settling more comfortably into his bed.

"I'm at home. I've been home for a couple of hours already, still waitin' for your call, which never came." Justin cleared his throat pointedly and continued. "As soon as I got here my mom made this huge production and she's got this whole week planned out for us, and then she's going to let me relax. I tell ya, Lansten, I'm going to need a vacation from my vacation!"

Lance laughed. "You sound more southern!" he teased, finally putting his finger on why Justin sounded slightly strange. "Back in your natural habitat, right?"

"Me?!" Justin exclaimed. "You're the one who sounds southern!"

Lance's jaw dropped. "I do not!"

"You do too! Your voice got deeper and softer! I didn't think it was possible but it's true!"

Lance laughed again. "Well I'm not from 'Tennahassee,'" he reminded, throwing his voice into an imitation of Justin's. "Should I start talkin' in ebonics now, to really make it authentic?"

He could almost hear Justin sticking his tongue out at him. "You think you're cute but you're not," he warned.

"I never said I was cute," Lance protested, grinning to himself. "You did, on more than one occassion, but never me."

Justin sighed. "That's true, I suppose. But don't let it go to your head."

"I would never."

"So what're your plans for this week?" Justin changed the subject easily.

"Just relaxing. Everyone here calls me James and it takes a bit of getting used to. It's sort of strange, because before I became famous they all called me Lance, but now that I am famous they call me James. I'm a little confused."

"They want to call you something most people don't," Justin stated matter-of-factly. "I called you James for a while, remember?"

"Yeah. I always wondered about that."

"It's like a nickname I wanted to give you, only it was your real name. It's sort of a way of saying, 'Hey, I think you're pretty special, and I want you to know you're more than just your name to me, you're a special name.' There's a whole science behind nicknames."

Lance laughed. "So I'm discovering. Should I come up with a new one for you since everyone calls your Curly?"

"Sure. You can call me 'Sexy'."

"Yeah, 'cause... That's not going to happen." Lance had to laugh, shaking his head. Justin was so funny. He adored Justin. "I'll come up with something good for ya."

"God?"

"No."

"Umm... Amazing?"

"Nah."

"My Lord?"

"You wish."

Justin sighed. "Okay, I give up. Be creative."

Lance gave a mock cry of indignation. "Are you saying I'm not creative?"

Lance knew Justin was shrugging. "If the shoe fits..." he began teasingly.

Lance laughed and sighed. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

Justin nodded emphatically. "Very long," he agreed. "I feel like I've been hittin' the show 20 times in a row."

Lance sighed again. "Yeah, me too."

"It's the stress of traveling. And losing me. I recommend looking at a picture for a couple of hours, then listening to the cd for a while, and then, top it off with a video of our interviews. You should recover within a relatively short amount of time. Justin-withdrawl is bad for anyone's health."

Lance snorted derisively. "Yeah, that's exactly what's keepin' me out for the count, Curly," he teased, his eyes closing. "Seriously, I am exhausted."

Justin sighed. "This is where you say, 'Night Curly', isn't it?"

"The thought was occuring to me. Would you like to sit on the phone and listen to me breathe as I fall asleep?" Lance grinned slightly, teasingly.

When Justin hesitated and sounded like he was considering it, Lance let out a little yelp. "Justin go to bed and call me tomorrow morning!" he exclaimed, laughing. Justin was also laughing.

"Alright, alright," Justin agreed. "Night Lance. Sweet dreams."

"You too. Good night Justin."

They each hung up the phone, Lance replacing it on the cradle next to his bed, right along side the picture of him and Justin from a couple of weeks ago with their arms around each other, smiling broadly at the camera. It was one of his favorite pictures, and he had stuck it in the frame as soon as he got home, having purchased it at the airport while he waited for his mom to come pick him up.

In a completely separate state, Justin Timberlake put down the picture he held of himself and Lance Bass, closed his eyes, and tried not to cry as he forced himself to try and get some sleep.

Lance lazily meandered down the stairs to the kitchen, where he could already smell the beginning of a wonderful breakfast making on the stove. His mother was such a good cook. He missed this when he was on the road.

"Good morning Mom!" Lance carolled as he walked into the kitchen, giving her a kiss on the cheek, a hug, and then dropping onto the kitchen chair behind her at the table.

"Good morning James!" she returned sweetly. "How did you sleep?"

Lance shrugged. "Okay. You?"

"I slept beautifully." She turned around and glanced at him nonchantly. "Are you sure you slept alright?"

Lance glanced at her. "Of course I'm sure. Why do you ask?"

Her blue eyes pierced Lance's. "Because you said Justin's name in your sleep last night, and it sounded like you were pretty upset."

Lance's jaw fell, he paled, and then flushed a bright red. "I don't remember."

She shrugged. "You and Justin are close, huh?"

Lance hesitated warily. "We're best friends," he agreed, watching his mother closely as she continued stirring the hash browns, her back now to Lance.

"He's a nice boy," Mrs. Bass continued. "Very polite; very well-mannered. If I had to choose anyone for you, it would be him."

Lance's eyes widened in horror. "Mom, I'm not--"

"No, of course you're not," she assured him quickly, turning around. She shrugged slightly. "But if you were, I would prefer Justin over anyone."

Lance thought he was going to be sick.

"He called," she told her son. "We got to talking. He's very sweet, and he certainly adores you. I remember when he was younger, he always used to look at you like you were everything he wanted in a best friend. I remember the first time you said he was your best friend. I was so happy for him, and you, that you had finally found each other." Mrs. Bass's eyes refocused on her son, who was feeling rather horrified. "You should call him. I think he misses you."

Lance automatically stood and went for the phone in the kitchen, picking it up.

"Ah," Mrs. Bass interrupted. Lance looked over at her. "In the living room, darling."

So she couldn't hear.

With wide eyes, Lance started to protest, but she was rather insistant and finally he gave up, going into the living room and picking up the phone, dialing the number he knew from heart.

"Timba Timba Timberlake."

"Lansten!"

"Justin!" Lance yelped back teasingly.

"Hey! I called earlier and your mom and I--"

"Started talking. So I heard. What exactly did you say to her, Curly?"

"Huh?" Justin sounded confused. "Why?"

"Well, she somehow thinks that you and I are--"

"Who's that, baby?" Lance heard in the background, and he could have sworn his heart stopped.

"It's Lance, Mom," Lance heard Justin say. Lance relaxed against the seat in relief.

"Oh!" There was a shifting sound, and then Lynn's voice on the phone. "Lance? Honey? Is that you?"

Lance laughed. "Yes, it's me. Hi Miss Harless."

"Lynn, darling, call me Lynn. Must I always remind you?" She was teasing him and he knew it, and took it all in stride. "How are you?"

"I'm good. It's great to be home, but I miss the guys, as I'm sure you can probably tell."

"Oh, I sure can! This son of mine is moping, Lance! Moping! Can you believe it? 19 years old and it's killing him to be home for only two weeks with his poor mother!"

"Mom!" Justin yelped.

Lance laughed. "Aw, but can you blame him for missing us? We're just so awesome..."

Lynn laughed as well. "That you are! Justin won't stop raving about all the fun you two have together. Apparently you've pulled some wild stunts with this boy of mine. Though I get the feeling that most of these are his idea, and you simply went along to keep him out of trouble."

Lance burst out laughing and listened to Justin berating his mother on the other end. "Justin's a good boy," he assured Lynn. "Just a little crazy at times."

Lynn sighed and spoke to Justin happily. "He'll go out of his way to protect you, won't he?" she teased.

"Mom! Phone!" Justin ordered, laughing as well. There was a shifting sound, and then Justin's voice on the phone. "Sorry about her."

"Don't apologize for me, Justin Timberlake! I brought you into this world, and I'll take you out of it!" Lynn shouted.

Lance laughed again. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked.

"Nah, Mom and I are just driving to visit Jonathan and Dad. There's still another half hour or so before we get there, so you're good to go for at least that long."

Lance grinned in relief, glad that Justin couldn't see him. "Cool." He changed the subject. "So how is Jonathan, anyway?"

"He's doing great. Can you believe he's 6? Already?" Justin sighed. "The time just flies when you're not home."

Lance knew him too well to miss the sound of depression in his voice, so he spoke soothingly. "You're home right now," he reminded gently. "And you'll be there for two weeks to catch up. That's why you need to enjoy this time while you can, Jus. You will be gone soon, but when you come back, they'll all be thrilled to see you again and they'll center their lives around you for the short time your home, continuing the cycle until you're home all the time and they want you to go away again."

Justin was silent for a moment, and then returned with, "Thanks, Lance."

"You're welcome." Lance smiled. "Now how about you enjoy this quality time with your mother and I'll talk to you later?"

If Lance wasn't mistaken, Justin actually sounded slightly hurt. "Alright," he agreed. "Bye."

"Bye Justin. Have fun. Call me later."

Justin brightened. "I will. You have fun today, too. Bye!"

"Bye." Lance hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment before going into the kitchen and rejoining his mom.

"How's Justin?" she asked him as soon as he sat down.

Lance scowled slightly. His mom was certainly being more pushy than he was accustomed to her being. Had she changed so much while he was gone? Still, being the gentleman this very woman had raised him to be, he answered. "He's good. He and his mom are on their way to visit Jonathan and his dad."

"How lovely!" she sighed happily. "He's such a good boy."

Lance frowned, and stood. "I'm going to go take a shower," he announced. "I'll be back."

"Okay. Don't take too long."

"I'll try not to." Lance flashed a forced smile at her before turning away and going up the stairs, pondering his mother's strange attitude. Was he being transparent in his feelings? The only thing he mentioned about Justin was that they were best friends and that they'd had some crazy times. But he'd told his family all about the other guys, too, and he'd made it a point not to spend more time on Justin than anyone else. Was he broadcasting his feelings? Were they able to see the change come over him when he talked about Justin? Was it possible that his eyes lit up a little bit more? That he started to become more animated in the conversation? Oh Lord, what was he going to do?

"Hello?"

"I've called 8 times in the past hour! Where have you been? Why wasn't your cell with you?"

Lance wiped his hands over his eyes in an effort to wake up. "Justin?" he croaked, his voice ragged.

The person on the other end sucked in a breath. "Yeah, it's me, Lance," he said, much more gently. "Are you alright?"

Lance turned his mouth away from the phone as he coughed. "I think I caught a cold," he told his friend sadly. "Figures, right? I finally get to come home and I can't even enjoy it. Anyway, I've been sleeping." He glanced at his clock and read the gleaming number to say 8:32. He sighed. After a full day of shopping with Stacy and his mom, and then coming home and sitting and watching tv and talking with his dad, Lance had exhaustedly told them he was going to bed. He'd had a sore throat since lunch, and his head had started to pound with a headache, so he had just given up and called it a day.

"Oh, Lansten, I'm so sorry." Justin sounded so genuinely heart broken that Lance immediately set about comforting him.

"It's not so bad, really. My mom'll take care of me and wait on me hand and foot, and I'll get all that extra rest and relaxation that I wanted. And at least it didn't happen on tour. Then I'd really be in trouble, because I'd have to dance and jump around while trying not to throw up."

Justin laughed weakly, but he quickly turned serious again. "Would you like me to come?" he offered. "My mom is already sending me to my room, telling me that she's had all of me that she could handle."

Lance laughed slightly, which turned into a cough. "That's okay," he assured him. "But thanks anyway. I appreciate it."

"You sure, Lansten?"

"Yeah. I'll be okay. Hopefully it won't last long."

Justin sighed. "Hopefully. I'll let you go so you can get some rest." He sounded sad. "Bye Lansten."

"Hey, hey, wait a second," Lance protested. "Just 'cause I'm sick doesn't mean you can't talk to me. Tell me about your day."

Justin hesitated. "Are you sure? You've got to be tired and completely worn out--"

With sleep, defenses must go down, because Lance interrupted with, "I like to hear you talk. You've got a nice voice. So talk to me."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Lance was completely embarassed, but Justin obviously didn't seem to mind, because he spoke, and Lance could swear he heard a bit of a smile. "I will," Justin agreed. "Today we went and visited my dad and Jonathan, and we had a great time. We all went to the park and I played with Jonathan on the swings..."

Lance continued to listen as Justin spun him the tale of his exciting day, and couldn't help but be glad that his best friend was having such a good time. Slowly his eyes began to droop and then close all together, but he still listened to Justin talk, until he was no longer awake.

Lance woke up groggily the next morning. His head was pounding, he had an awful taste in his mouth, and he felt just icky. He was also a little sore, and lifted his hand up from next to his head.

His cell phone came up with it.

With wide eyes Lance stared at it, and then spoke into it. "Hello?" he asked. No answer. "Hello?" he practically shouted.

"AH!"

Lance jumped himself at the loud shout on the other end, his eyes even wider. "Justin?" he yelped.

"Lance?!" came back the astonished cry. "Oh my god!"

Lance groaned. "This bill is going to be huge," he moaned.

"Long distance? Hell yeah it is!" Justin began muttering unhappily. "You woke me up, too. So not only do I have a nasty phone bill to look forward to, I get woken up at... 7 in the morning. What's up with that, Lance? Who wakes up at 7?"

"I do," Lance muttered. "Especially when I'm--" he coughed and then snatched up a tissue, blowing his nose away from the phone. "Sick," he finished weakly.

Justin sucked in a breath. "You sound awful," he agreed matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, Jus, I love you too," Lance mocked, then scowled. "I feel like shit. I need medicine."

"Lance swearing?" Justin gasped. "You are in bad shape, aren't ya?"

"I'm going to pop you next time I see you," Lance warned, standing shakily and going into the bathroom with the phone, searching for any sort of cold medicine. He found Dimetapp and took one before going back into his room and crawling back into the warm bed.

"Are you okay, Lansten?" Justin asked softly, worriedly. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?"

"Jus, I know you miss me, but it's only a couple of weeks," Lance sighed. "I miss you too, but I think we're going to survive without each other for at least a little while."

Justin sounded curt. "Fine. Then I'll let you get sleep."

"Fuck. Justin, please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that--" Lance tried.

"Bye."

Before Lance could say another word, Justin hung up the phone. Lance immediately redialed Justin's number, but the curly headed blond had turned off his phone. Lance closed his eyes and tried not to cry as he ended the call and put his cell phone on the nightstand.

"Lance?"

Lance slowly opened his eyes to see his mother standing next to his bed, holding out a tray with chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwhiches, and a steaming hot mug of tea for him.

"Hi Mom," Lance croaked, hating how his voice sounded when he was sick. The clock said it was 1:35 P.M., and he was glad his mom had woken him up. Maybe now Justin would have calmed down and Lance could talk to him.

"How do you feel?" she asked, setting the tray down on his lap even as he sat up.

"Bad," Lance answered automatically. "I said some stuff this morning to Justin that I really shouldn't have. He was just trying to be nice, and I totally blew up at him. Having a cold is no reason to let my temper get out of control."

She arched an eyebrow. "Somehow I can't see you yelling at Justin."

He relented slightly. "I didn't exactly yell at him, but I think I hurt his feelings. I need to call him." He reached for his cell phone, but his mom put her hand over his.

"Honey, I'm sure he's forgiven you," she objected gently. "He knows you don't feel well. Eat now, and if you don't feel any better, then call him."

Lance started to protest, then sighed feebly and nodded. She watched him for a minute before smiling at him, turning on his radio to a soft volume, and then leaving. Lance watched her go before reaching out for his cell phone.

"That's really not necessary."

Lance nearly jumped out of the bed. As it was, he jumped so high his soup spilled onto the tray, though luckily not all of it.

"You-but-I-how--" Lance tried to form a coherent thought, but all he could do was feel joy at the sight of his best friend in his doorway.

Justin crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorframe on his side. "Well, after this morning, I knew that you were in bad shape, so I decided to go against your wishes and come be with you while you're ailing." He flashed a grin. "Be happy to see me, Lance," he almost begged softly.

Lance quickly moved the tray onto the table and literally threw himself into Justin's arms, closing the door as Justin entered the room, their arms still locked around each other. "I'm so glad to see you," Lance whispered softly, his head resting on Justin's shoulder. "I was so worried that you would be mad at me after what I said. I didn't mean it at all, Justin. I wanted you here. I want you here. Thank you for coming."

Justin hugged Lance almost tighter than Lance was hugging him. "I'm so glad you just said that," he told his best friend softly, a bit nervously. "I was worried that you wouldn't want me here, and that I'd just be imposing--"

"Never," Lance interrupted vehemently, squeezing him all that much more tighter, and yet Justin didn't protest. "You are my best friend and I want you with me at all times. I just wanted you to get a chance to be with your family. But hey, I'm selfish, even if I don't say it, and I want you with me."

Justin dropped his head against Lance's, and Lance tried not to shiver at the feel of Justin's breath on his neck. "I want to be with you at all times," he whispered back. "I missed you so much while I was at home. My mom actually suggested that next time we break we spend one week at your home and one week at mine."

Lance laughed slightly. "That's not that bad of an idea."

"I didn't think so." Justin ran a hand up the back of Lance's hair, holding them together. "I never thought I could miss someone as much as I missed you, and it's only been a few days."

Lance tried to laugh, but he felt like he was withholding tears. "Me too," he agreed softly, blinking away the wetness and swallowing against the pain in his throat. "Thank you so much for coming."

Justin kissed the side of his head, to Lance's shock. The small touch sent shivers radiating down his spine and crashing into his heart. Justin pulled away and smiled at his best friend. "I couldn't stay away," he said simply, and then nodded at the lunch on Lance's table. "Now you eat. I did come here with a greater purpose than to see you, and that's to make sure that you get better."

Lance grinned and settled back onto the bed, Justin picking up the tray and setting it back on his lap before pulling a chair up to the side of the bed, so close that he was actually resting his feet next to Lance's side. They talked and chatted and joked easily, as they always did, thrilled once again to be in the other's presense. Lance knew that he was in trouble... The feelings he had for his best friend had reached beyond platonic, and yet he didn't know how exactly to describe it. He found Justin attractive, but he wasn't sure he was attracted to Justin, and yet he felt this soul-bonding connection with him... He was so confused. But hoping that this distance would help him 'get over' Justin was a complete joke. The absence had only made his heart grow fonder of the curly headed blond. He couldn't help but stare as Justin animatedly began discussing everything and anything. Those blue eyes Lance loved were so lit up, from a fire so deep inside of Justin that Lance didn't even know what it was. He didn't really care. He loved his best friend with his whole heart, and would easily do anything for him.

Absolutely anything.

Justin stretched, yawned, worked out the kinks in his neck, and then shifted his head upwards to look at his best friend, who was still sleeping. Justin had fallen asleep in the bed by Lance's side, pressing against each other and resting his head on Lance's arm. He loved to lay on Lance's arm. It was so comfortable, and Lance somehow made just the right amount of room for him. Justin loved Lance's arm. He loved Lance's side. His side was very warm, and they just seemed to fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle. Where Justin indented Lance was out, and where Justin was out, Lance was in. They were the perfect match.

Lance's eyes were fluttering slightly with a dream that only he could see, and Justin watched the pale skin and soft, full eyelashes as they danced across it. Lance was beautiful, Justin had admitted that before. But it was like this when Justin really loved him. When Lance's walls were all down and he was completely vulnerable to him. That was what Justin loved, because he knew that even though he and Lance shared everything, there were secrets that Lance kept to himself, and that drove Justin crazy sometimes. Sometimes he wanted to know everything about Lance. Everything. Hell, sometimes he wanted to be so close to his best friend he wished to be him.

Justin snuggled up to Lance again, enjoying the way that Lance felt, and breathed, and sounded, and smelled. God he loved Lance's smell. The cologne Lance wore sometimes drove Justin mad.

Justin had known when he had hung up with Lance that morning that he was in trouble. He was calling the airlines before he knew it, demanding the next ticket on the plane to Mississippi, even if he had to buy the whole damn plane to do so. They believed him, and quickly got him onto the flight. He was packing before he realized why he was going. Yes, because Lance was sick, but it was more than that. He had wanted to be the one to bring Lance his soup. He wanted to make Lance laugh when Lance really felt like throwing up. He wanted to be the one Lance curled up to when he was panting and soaked with sweat from being so sick. He wanted to be the one Lance turned to. Period. And it was then that Justin knew his feelings for Lance passed beyond platonic. He cared deeply for Lance, so much so that he was scaring himself with the urgency to be as close as possible without scaring his best friend. Lance never gave any indication that he felt the same way about Justin that Justin felt about Lance, and that was slowly driving the curly headed boy crazy. He believed that if you loved someone, they had to love you back. You never fell in love with someone who didn't love you.

So did that mean that Justin was in love with Lance?

God, it did.

Justin considered dashing into the bathroom to throw up, but Lance was shifting and to Justin's shock, he mumbled Justin's name. Justin stared at his best friend for a long time, a slow smile creeping over his face. Maybe Lance cared a bit more than he was sharing.

Justin could only hope.

One of their cell phones ran from on the table next to the bed, and Justin snatched it up quickly to avoid Lance being woken up.

"Hello?" Justin whispered, sitting up and leaning against the wall behind their heads.

The person on the other end hesitated. "Justin?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm..." The person hesitated again. "Why are you answering Lance's phone?"

Justin glanced at it and found that he was in fact on Lance's phone. "Because he's sleeping and he's sick and I don't want him woken up. Who's this?"

"It's JC, Curly!" JC sounded hurt and exasperated that his friend didn't even know his own voice.

Justin winced. "Sorry J," he apologized. Then, a bit warily, "Why're you calling Lance?"

"To find out how his vacation was going!" JC returned with a yelp. "Damn, Justin, I'm not trying to steal your best friend from you! What is wrong with you, man?"

Justin considered getting angry, but JC was right, so he didn't. "I'm sorry, JC. You're my other best friend and you know it. It's just that, well, you're so awesome, dude, and I could see why you and Lance would become best friends, and Lance plus JC equals no Justin."

"Not going to happen."

The voice didn't come from the phone, though, and as Justin watched, Lance rested his pillow, then his head, in Justin's lap. Lazily he reached up for the phone, and Justin handed it over without another word, staring at how easily Lance laid there. Justin couldn't resist hesitantly putting his hands in Lance's hair, and to Justin's delight, the blond boy closed his eyes.

"Hey JC," Lance greeted tiredly, his voice scratchy. Justin listened to his half of the conversation, knowing that it was hurting Lance to talk, and yet Lance doing it anyway. Lance was such a good friend. Justin unconsiously ran his fingers through Lance's soft hair, his other hand resting on Lance's upper arm as Lance laid on his side.

"Uh huh," Lance agreed, then, "Bye JC. I will. Okay. Bye." He ended the phone call and handed it to Justin, who placed the phone back on the table. "JC sends his love to you," he told Justin, still not moving except to wrap his arms around Justin's legs.

Justin smiled weakly, glad Lance couldn't see his blush. "That's nice of him. Especially after how I've been acting."

"He understands," Lance answered, his voice nothing more than a mere breath. "If you want, you can go hang out with Stacy downstairs. You're her favorite one anyway. I'm just going to sleep."

"And I'm just here to see you," Justin promised softly, unable to resist kissing Lance's temple. Lance smiled gently and curled up impossibly tighter onto his best friends' lap. "I'll watch over you," Justin heard himself promise, his voice sounding broken even to himself. "You just get some rest."

Lance slept with a small smile.

Lance and Justin spent the rest of the week mostly sleeping in Lance's room, but they hung out in the living room and watched tv, too. Mrs. Bass loved Justin and fawned over him almost more than her own son, and Justin and Lance were getting along so well that it almost didn't seem possible that they were two separate people.

Still, the week had to end, Lance was almost all better, and Justin had to go home, and spend at least the next week with his mom.

"Come with me!" Justin begged one last time as he got ready to board the plane.

He looked so sad that Lance considered it, but he just couldn't. "I can't," he whispered, squeezing Justin's arm. "But we'll see each other again in just a week. Back in Orlando, in our own homes, and in the studio. Okay? We'll be hanging out again before you know it."

Justin sighed drearily, but he reluctantly nodded. "Bye Lance," he offered sadly.

"Bye Justin," Lance returned softly, watching his best friend walk onto the plane with a heavy heart. He considered running after him for only a minute before quickly spinning around and taking off, unable to watch the plane leave.

The next week passed like slow torture for Lance. He and Justin always seemed to be missing each other, even with their cell phones. They talked only once in the past three days, and it was a fleeting coversation at best, lasting only 10 minutes. Lance's cold was thankfully completely gone, though he almost wished it back just so that he could see Justin again. Still, there were only 3 more days, he reminded himself. 3 days wasn't so long.

Lance gave an exasperated sigh and ended the phone call of trying to call Justin. The damn line was busy again, and he didn't have the desire to talk to an answering machine. He called up JC, and settled into a long conversation with his other really good friend.

Lance was literally nervous when he got off the plane. He knew he was the last to arrive in Orlando, and the other guys promised to pick him up. He had only spoken to Justin twice all week, and he was actually scared about seeing his best friend again. He was a bundle of nerves, ready to shoot off at any second.

Lance forced himself to walk slowly and take his time coming up the ramp, unable to see his friends through all the people that had gathered. As soon as he stepped off the terminal, however, he was swept into a rather large hug.

"It's about time!" Justin gasped happily. "Where have you been?!"

"On the plane," Lance monotoned, to hide the relief he felt at being back with Justin.

"Hey Lansten!" JC greeted next, giving Lance a hug when he and Justin pulled away.

"Hey JC, how's it going?" Lance returned happily, so glad to be back with his friends that he could cry. He exchanged hugs and laughs with Joey and Chris, who he'd also talked to over the break, and they all made their way to the luggage carousel, Justin staying by Lance's side and telling him every little detail about his week. All the guys were trying to talk at once, and no one heard anyone else, but they didn't care because they were so glad to be together again.

"I missed you," Justin told Lance softly, sending shivers down Lance's spine. "We talked twice this week, Lance. Twice. I swear to god, it was like being away from myself."

Lance was amazed at how perfectly Justin had described his own feelings. "Well I don't have to say anything," Lance replied. "You just did it for me."

Justin grinned slightly at him, and then pulled him into another hug. "It's so good to have you with me again," he whispered.

"And you with me," Lance agreed, hugging him just as tightly.

The lights to the carousel went off, and they waited expectantly for Lance's luggage. Once they had it, they all went out to the limo and piled inside, talking again and exchanging stories. It felt good to have Justin's side pressing against Lance's again, and he felt better than he had in a week.

They all piled into Lance's house, as was the custom, all their cars stored there. They left and came home to and from Lance's house, and after piling their luggage into their respective cars, they went into Lance's house for some catch-up time.

Lance and Justin climbed into the arm chair together, which was larger than normal arm chairs and giving them enough room to be a tight squeeze and yet a comfortably nice fit. They weren't complaining, anyway. JC sprawled out on the couch while Joey and Chris claimed the love seat. They all discussed what they had done, and then expressed their joy at being together again. Then they talked about how they really didn't want to go into the studio tomorrow and learn new dance moves.

Eventually, around 10:00 P.M, they all decided it was time to go home. Lance offered to let them stay, but after considering it, they decided they needed to unpack and would stay the next night, with or without invitations. Lance laughed and agreed.

Soon it was only Justin and Lance, still in the arm chair, still talking quietly, and still glad to be with the other once again.

"I coined this as my 'hell week'," Justin told Lance, leaning his head on his shoulder. Lance was surprised, but after a hesitation compensated for Justin by putting his arm around Justin's shoulders. This seemed to make Justin happy, because he settled in even more comfortably.

"Why's that?" Lance asked, resisting the urge to wrap his other arm around Justin's waist.

"Because we only talked twice," Justin told him. "That won't ever happen again, Lance." He looked up very seriously into Lance's eyes. "Ever."

Lance found himself shaking his head before he knew what he was doing, captivated by the blue eyes. "Of course not," he agreed softly. "We'll never be apart like that again."

"We just won't be apart," Justin declared, shifting onto his side and throwing an arm over Lance's stomach, holding them tightly together. "It was too hard to be without you. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad we're back."

Lance wondered if Justin could feel how hard he was shaking. "Me too, Jus."

"Don't move tonight, okay? Can we just stay like this?"

Lance swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'd like that." He hesitated and then put his arm over Justin's back.

"Just you an' me," Justin mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

"Forever," Lance agreed quietly, trying not to cry.


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