Part Five

    Lance leaned over his bed as he lazily looked at the clock. He's been asleep for over an hour and they still had a good two hours until they had to be ready for the VMA's. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and his bare feet touched the carpet as he stood to stretch. He pulled up his gray pants over his hips that had slid down a little during his sleep and then ruffled his blonde spiky hair with his fingers.
    Him and the guys have spent so much time rehearsing for their performance, that he hasn't had a chance to visit with Heather. He picked up a thin white cotton T-shirt and pulled it over to cover his bare chest and grabbed his key card before he walked out.
    He shuffled his way over to Heather and Riley's room and knocked softly on their door. "Anyone home?"
    He heard someone walking around and then heard a sniffle and so he pressed his hear to the door. "Heather? Riley? It's Lance, is everything okay? I'm out here and...." He stopped talking and stood back when the door opened and his eyes softened when he noticed Heather's eyes were swollen from crying. "Heather? Sweetie, what's wrong?"
    She choked back the tears as she shook her head. "Lance," she whispered.
    Lance stepped in her room and closed the door behind him. "C'mere," he said softly as he put an arm around her and led her to the bed. "Here sit down."
    She sniffed as they sat down on the edge of the bed. Their hips were touching and he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. He felt so good sitting here next to him. He felt warm. He felt safe. Her tears started to fall again and Lanced cupped the side of her face and pushed her head slightly until it rested on his shoulder. "It's okay," he said in his deep voice. "Just let it go."
    And she did. She cried on his shoulder until they were no more tears left and her eyes were dry and his shirt was damp. "So..Sorry," she said shakily as she finally managed to sit up.
    "Hey, it's okay," he said as he rubbed her back. "What happened? Where's Riley?"
    She sniffed. "Riley just went to look around, she was getting ancy in here....Brad called me."
    Lance took a deep breath and now understood. "What happened?" he asked again.
    "He...He broke up with me," she sighed. "I...I mean I'm not upset because of that, I knew he wasn't right for me, it's what...it's what he said about me that made me upset."
    Lance reached up and pulled a strand of her hair out of her face. "What did he say to you?"
    She shook her head. "I don't want to bore you with it."
    He chuckled. "Heather, I've been giving you Brad advice for how long now? Come on, tell me."
    She sighed. "Well...I never told you this, but..."
    Lance studied her as she pit her lip nervously. "But what?"
    "Me and uh...Brad and I hadn't had sex until last month."
    "How long have you been with him? Since you're senior year in high school right?"
    She nodded. "Yeah...Lance, was it so wrong of me to make him wait that long?"
    He shook his head. "No, it's never TOO long. When you're ready, you're ready...end of story."
    She smiled softly. "Well, I never felt ready with him...I don't know what it was maybe I didn't feel comfortable with him. But I pushed it aside and made myself do it, I made myself believe that it was what I wanted."
    "And it wasn't?"
    "No," she said as her tears began to swarm. "I mean I didn't know what it was suppose to be like, ya know? And at the time I thought it was his first too, since we have been together for so long."
    "You mean it wasn't?" He asked angrily.
    "No," she choked. "He was tired of waiting and he told me just a second ago that he had been seeing someone for over a year now."
    Lance cursed softly. "Damn, baby I am so sorry."
    "And when... when we finally had sex I thought he would be happy, but...but he said I didn't satisfy him like the other woman did."
    Lance shook his head in disbelief as he pulled her trembling body in his arms. "Oh, sweetie I am so sorry you had to go through that. He never deserved you....never."
    She buried her face in his bare neck as she enveloped the feel of him against him. He smelled so good, she thought as he enjoyed the way his hand was moving up and down her narrow back. 'What was she doing?' she thought as clenched her eyes shut. 'This is Lance. Josh's best friend. She shouldn't be feeling this way towards him. But she did. He was everything he wanted in a man and more.' "Lance," she whispered as she leaned up until their faces were right in line with each others.
    He swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw her eyes travel to his lips. "Yeah?" he asked breathlessly.
    She reached up and cupped the side of his face and rubbed the pad of her thumb over his lips. "Kiss me."
    Lance looked into her eyes, which still shimmered from the fresh tears. A sign that told him that she was vulnerable and hurt from Brad's harsh betrayal. He knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldn't take advantage of her like this. She was hurt and she wanted the comfort he longed to give her. She wanted him to make the pain go away and he wanted to, but he knew that this was the wrong way. "Heather," he said as he looked away. "You're hurt and..."
    "Please," she begged as she cupped her chin and pulled him towards him. "Don't turn me down, too."
    His eyes soften. "I'm not Heather, I'm just trying to do the right thing." God, give me strength to put aside my feelings and do the right thing. "If I were Justin or Joey you'd ask the...."
    "No, I wouldn't," she said softly, yet forcefully. "Lance, I have feelings for you. Feelings that go way beyond friendship."
    His heart began to bang against his chest. "But..." He sighed. "Heather, you're JC's sister and I..."
    She quieted him by placing a finger against his lips. "For once look at me as a woman...not as JC's sister." She watched his eyes travel back and forth between her eyes and her lips. "For once look at me a woman in front of you...a woman who wants you....and a woman who wants you to ki..."
    She didn't get the last few words out of her mouth, because Lance's demanding lips swooped down on hers. She moaned softly against his lips as she relaxed against him and slowly put her arms around his neck. Their lips stayed together as they nipped and nibbled while getting use to the feel of them together.
    Lance gently cradled her face and pulled his lips inches away just long enough to breath her name and their lips joined in unison once more. He had dreamed of this...imagined what it would be like to kiss her for so long. Ever since she tripped and spilt spaghetti on him, he had longed for this moment right now. Lance turned his head slightly to the side and slowly pried her lips open with his tongue and he felt the vibrations of her moan that muffled in his mouth.
    Heather pulled him closer to her as she began to lean back on to the bed. Lance lifted off the bed softly and continued to kiss her as they scooted up onto the bed. Heather's fingers dove into his spiky hair as he released the tension in his arms and let his weight press her into the mattress. He plunged into her mouth over and over again with his soft tongue as the feel of her beneath him was sending him over the edge.
    He had to stop. He NEEDED to stop before everything got out of hand and he took things a little more farther than he should. "Heather," he mumbled against her lips.
    "Hmm," she moaned as she pressed her hand against his back to get him closer.
    "We..have to.." He moaned when she sucked lightly on his bottom lip before taking his mouth again.
    "No," she breathed, knowing what he was trying to say. "No we don't."
    He pulled away from her mouth and stared down at her in awe. She looked up at him as well and her head was half way up from the pillow. He smiled softly as he lifted one hand and traced his index finger over her swollen lips. "You're so beautiful," he said huskily and then leaned down and kissed her once softly and then kissed the corner of her mouth....then the tip of her nose. He kissed each of her eyelids and Heather closed her eyes and shivered when his lips traveled down her neck.
    She clutched his hair with both fists and bit her lip when his tongue and teeth barred her neck. "Lance," she sighed.
    He nuzzled her neck and took in her scent, before he ran his lips back up her neck and then kissed her again. He finally leaned up and moved away from her until he stood up at the end of the bed. "I...I need to go get ready." He knew what he did was wrong but a part of him didn't even care. He enjoyed ever minute of it.
    Heather sat up and crawled to him on his knees until she was kneeling in front of him. He had his hands on his hips and he was looking at her at eye level. She leaned up and cupped his face. "Lance...don't feel guilty, okay?"
    "I don't feel..."
    "Yes you do," she said and then smiled slightly and then kissed him softly. "What we did was bound to happen sometime, don't you think?"
    He sighed and then nodded as he lifted a hand and grabbed her wrist. He kissed the inside of her palm, before holding it tightly in his hand. "I know," he said and then leaned in and kissed her. "But let's keep this between us for now, okay?"
    She grinned. "Oh fun, I just love secrets."
    He chuckled and then cupped the back of her neck and gave her a long hard kiss that left her breathless. "Now, I need to go and get ready," he said and then walked towards the door and gave her a wink before he closed it behind him.
    Heather sighed as she fell on her back and looked up at the ceiling. "Damn what that boy does to me."

    "Oh my god," Bailey said with a smile. "That is so romantic."
    Lance chuckled and James rolled his eyes. "Get a hold of yourself, Winters," he said as he pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.
    Bailey snatched it away from him and then slapped him in the stomach. "Shut up," she said and then wiped the tear away. "I'm a sucker for romance, okay?"
    Lance patted her hand. "Most women are," he told her and then enjoyed her laughter that followed.
    "So, how long did you guys keep it a secret?" Bailey asked.
    "About a month," he said. "During Riley's birthday party and it was an accident."
    Her brows raised. "Accident?"
    "Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "Quite a story...but I have the feeling the nurse is going to interrupt soon, so we will talk about it on Monday."
    Right on cue, the door then opened and the nurse popped, told them the usual and then smiled at James before walking out. Bailey rolled her eyes. "Poor girl," she said as they walked out of Lance's room. "The girl doesn't have a clue how you really are."
    "And what's that, Miss Winters?" he asked with his arms crossed.
    "Hmm...a..hang on lemme think for a second here...I have to think of a good one."
    James just grinned as she thought and then when she looked up at him she sighed in defeat. "Oh, never mind, I can't think of anything bad about you.....ask me again in the car."
    He laughed as they made their way through the door. "Will do, Winters," he said and they both got in the car and headed towards Tampa.
    She got on the highway and wormed her way through the slower cars until she got to the fast lane and floored it. "Thought of anything yet?" he asked after a moment of silence.
    "Working on it," she said as she bit her lip. "This would be eaiser if this happened when I first met you."
    "Ah-hah, ya see? At first, you thought I was a jerk, but in the end no one can resist the Bass charm."
    "Oh please," she said with a sigh. "Who said anything about falling for a charm? I'm just saying that your not as bad as I thought."
    "Well thanks," he said with a smile. "You're not so bad either."
    "Thanks,.. oh wait! Thought of one! You're dating a witch! I mean, how could I have forgotten that."
    He looked out the passenger window. "WAS dating a witch. WAS is the key word there, Bai."
    Her smile faded and she looked over at him and he turned to her and gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry."
    He let out a laugh. "No you're not."
    She sighed. "Well, okay I don't think she was right for you, but if you were hurt in anyway then yeah...I'm sorry."
    He studied her profile as she kept her eyes on the road. She was something about her that intrigued him. He didn't know what, but he was attracted to it whatever it was. Maybe it was her kindness or maybe it was the dimples that forms when she smiled......or maybe it was just everything about her. "Thanks, Bai," he said softly and patted her hand that was resting on the gear shift. "But I'm better off without her."
    Bailey felt the heat that radiated from him when his hand covered hers. She looked down at their joint hands and liked the way his hand looked on top of hers. And she enjoyed the way he was now rubbing his thumb across the side of her hand. "Yes, you are," she finally said with a smile as she looked at him. "Who did the breaking up?"
    "Um...I did," he said while thinking he should take his hand away, but couldn't do it.
    She nodded. "What finally pushed your buttons?"
    He then took his hand away and looked out the window. "She overheard our conversation and forbid me to go....and I hate it when people tell me what to do."
    “So... So, it's my fault that you...."
    "No," he said before she could say it and put his hand back over hers. He was stupid to ever pull it away. "No, that just made me realize what kind of person she is." He started rubbing his thumb again on her hand, but looked back out the window. "I always made myself believe that she loved me for who I am, but deep down I knew."
    Bailey lifted her hand underneath his and turned it to the side so she could link fingers with his. James turned his head at her gesture and looked down at their joint hands that were resting between them. "Knew what?" she finally asked.
    James looked up at her. "That she loved my bank account more than me."
    "What? Are you like rich or something?"
    He shrugged. "I'm not poor."
    "What do you do for a living?"
    He grinned. "I paint."
    She looked at him in awe. "Paint?"
    He nodded. "Yeah, I sell my paintings for a living."
    "Wow," she said in shock. "So, do you like do Galleries and stuff?"
    "Yeah, all the time," he said. "I have a show next weekend if you want to come."
    "Do...do you want me to come?"
    He squeezed her hand. "Yeah...I do. I'd love for you to see my work."
    "Then I will," she said with a smile. "How long have you been doing this? I mean, our so young to be a successful painter."
    "I sold my first painting when I was sixteen," he explained to her. "For a thousand dollars."
    "Are you kidding me?" she asked in shock. "Holy crap, they must be just fabulous now!"
    He grinned at her excitement. "I'm proud of them."
    "You should be," she said. "That's great."
    "So...you're gonna come next weekend?"
    "Of course, what time should I be there?"
    "Actually, I'll pick you up," he said. "Now that Gina's gone I'm dateless."

    Seventy-four year old JC Chasez walked to the kitchen and rinsed off his bowl of yogurt before putting it in the dishwasher. He looked at the clock ticking over his stove to see that it was a little after five and he sighed for the hundredth time that day. He had never been so lonely in his life, he thought. These past two years had been the worst and the hardest. He didn't have anyone. Only God and his four legged boxer Gigit kept him company.
    He walked into the den and slowly sat in his chair and turned on the TV, before picking up his crossword that he had been working on all day. He would get visits from his neighbors every once in awhile and even get phone calls from his grandson who was too busy traveling the world to come to Tampa to visit him. He didn't complain. He had the best life in his younger days and he still lived in the past. He kept sane by going back in time, thinking of the guys. Thinking of the crazy times they shared.
    He thought about Riley all the time. She was his world. She was his everything. But now she was gone. He cursed softly, as he threw the crossword aside and stood up. He walked across the room and paused when he passed the piano. He didn't play it anymore. Ever since Riley died, he never had the motivation to play it. Her favorite thing to do was sit next to him, while he played and sang for her.
    JC took a breath and sat on the hard wood bench and scooted to the middle. He rubbed the spot Riley always sat. She straddled the bench and faced him with that breathtaking smile of hers as she watched him stroke the keys and serenade to her. He ran his fingers over the keys -- something he hadn't managed to do in a long time. He positioned his fingers over the right chords and took a breath before striking the first note of "I Drive Myself Crazy."
    His hands jerked back as if he had just touched something hot. It was her favorite song. She would always ask him to sing it to her. He took a deep breath and his hand trembled as he placed his wrinkled fingers over the keys once more.
    He was about to strike the chords, when his doorbell rang which caused him to flinch. He put a hand on his heart and sighed as he got up. "Gigit, hush," he said to the yapping dog as he walked to the door. He fiddled with all the locks, except for the chain and opened it to see who was outside. His blue eyes widened in shock. "J...James?"
    He smiled softly. "Hey, Papa C."
    His heart dropped at the name James and all the other grandchildren had called him as they grew up. God, how he missed that name. "What are you doing here?" he asked shakily. "I haven't seen you since...."
    "I know," he said. "I know you wanted us to stay away, but...I have someone I'd like you to meet...or well, she was determined to meet you."
    Bailey smiled at the older man. "Hi, JC....I'm Bailey."
    "I'm confused," he said as he looked between the two.
    "Um...well, Papa C, Bailey has been using my grandfather for one of her classes and..."     "No, Papa he's fine," James said quickly.
    "You see...I had to keep a journal and have interviews with an elderly person and I chose Lance and...."
    "What kind of interviews?"
    "He's been telling me stories of his life," she said. "I've heard all about you and the guys of NSYNC....but I wanted to come and meet you."
    "Does Lance know you are here?" he asked warily.
    James shook his head. "No, he doesn't."
    "Can we come in?" Bailey asked. "Please?"
    JC looked at her and then closed the door and undid the chain and then opened the door again. He should tell them to leave, he knew he should. But it felt too good to have James here to turn him away. "Come in," he finally said as he stepped aside.

    "Thanks," they both said as they walked into the big lonely house. He motioned them to walk down the narrow hallway and he slowly followed them.
    "Can I get you two something to drink?" JC asked.
    "Oh, no I'm fine," James said as he took a seat next to Bailey on the couch.
    "How about you, Bailey?"
    "No thank you," she said with a smile.
    JC nodded and then sat in his favorite recliner and patched Gigit's head which was laying in his lap. "So..Bailey. You wanted to meet me, eh?"
    She nodded. "Yes, I did." He was such a handsome man, she thought. He carried himself well and had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He looked very healthy for his age and looked more like 54 than 74. His hair wasn't thinking and gray like Lance's yet it was almost silver and thick. He stood up straight, just like her Grams and his smile showed off his perfect teeth. She had never seen anyone as healthy as Grams until now. "I've already heard stories about you and the guys."
    "I'm sorry," he said with a teasing smile.
    Bailey chuckled. "Don't be, you guys sounded like a great bunch."
    He sighed. "We were. I was lucky to have such great friends."
    "She's crazy about Lance, Papa C," he chuckled as he nudged Bailey playfully with his knee. “Already calling him Pops."
    JC laughed. "He tends to grow on you."
    "Yeah," Bailey said shyly as she smiled. "Um...that's one of the reasons why I came up here. He's lonely and..."
    "Bailey," James warned. "You said you were just gonna ask him to...."
    "What's wrong?" JC asked concerned.
    Bailey looked to James who was giving her a look of warning and then looked back at JC. "Um...well, I wanted to come here to take you back, but James didn't want me to ask you."
    "Take...take me back to see Lance?" he asked quietly and then sighed when Bailey nodded. "I don't know."
    "Papa C, don't feel pressured into this, okay?" James said. "You don't have to..."
    "Yeah, you don't," Bailey chimed in. "I still would like to talk to you about something else if you choose not to go, I just...."
    "When do we leave?"
    Bailey stopped talking and James' jaw dropped. "What?" James asked.
    JC shook his head. "I'm tired of being alone, too." He could have gone into that more, but he didn't feel like pouring his heart out to them now. He needed to talk to Lance. He was an idiot for staying away. "When do we leave?"
    "I..uh, whenever you want," Bailey said with a smile.
    JC nodded and then looked at James. "Can I stay with you?"
    James nodded. "Yeah, but there is construction going on near my place and I would hate it if it disturbed you....they start early in the morning."
    "You could stay with me," Bailey suggested. "I live with my grandmother, I'm sure she won't mind."
    "I don't want to impose."
    "That would be better, Papa C," James said liking the idea. "It's way too noisy at my house, even I'M getting sick of it."
    JC sighed. "Well, only if you're sure that your grandmother won't mind."
    "Are you kidding? She would love the idea of you staying with us, she was a big fan you know."
    JC let out a laugh. "A fan? Haven't met one of those in awhile."
    Bailey smiled. "Actually she's the other reason I wanted to talk to you."
    "Really?" he asked as he got up from his chair and picked up the empty tea cup on the table.
    "Yeah, she said that you saved her life in some way," she told him. "One day in New York."
    JC looked at her weird. "Saved her life in New York?" he asked still puzzled.
    "Yeah, her name was Margaret...Margaret Smith and she...."
    A loud clatter interrupted Bailey as the tea cup slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground with a shatter. "Oh..God, sorry," JC said as he started to bend down.
    "It's okay, Papa," James said as he put a hand on his arm to stop him. "We'll pick it up."
    He let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry...really, I don't know what.."
    "Don't worry about it," Bailey said as she started to pick up the pieces. "Happens to everyone."
    Why don't you get some things together, okay?" James said as he patted his back.
    JC nodded. "Okay, thank you...I'll be right out."
    James smiled at him and watched him disappear down the hall to his bedroom, before kneeling down and helping Bailey. "NOW, do you think it was just a typical fan encounter?" Bailey asked.
    He shook his head. "No, I don't. Did you see the look on his face when you said your grandmother's name?"
    "His face turned white," Bailey said and then sighed. "What happened with those two I wonder?"

Part Six