Rachel stood at the front of the stage in the pit. Her ear plugs were in and the screams still made her ears ring. The concert had been wonderful, even Justin's almost seven minute solo so the guys could get changed and the set could be done different for the next round of songs. They'd sang all the songs from the Celebrity album and now it was on to some of the old ones, fan favorites and some of their personal favorites.
“Have you ever had someone come into your life that was your everything?” Justin asked the audience as girls screamed louder as he worked the crowd, going first from one side and then the other, picking up a water bottle and getting a drink, grabbing a towel and wiping his face with it. “You have,” he smiled, waving to a girl in the audience. “So being a guy, you might ask yourself, Justin..what would you do if she got away? If she got away, was it because she didn't know how you felt? Or that you thought she knew...”
Rachel heard the harmonies and smiled, tears coming to her eyes. She mouthed the words and caught Lance's eye and gave him a small wave, receiving a grin in return. Her eyes met JC's and she gave him a smile, getting a wink.
The five men got to the stools that were set out and sat in the usual arrangement. Joey was anchoring the end, then it was Justin, Chris, JC and then Lance. Justin started off the song and it was all going well until it was Joey's turn to sing.
Joey sat there, one of his legs propped up on the stool rail the other foot on the floor. He knew the words to the song, knew he should be singing but his emotions threatened to get the best of him. The mistake he'd made was the look at Rachel, an empty seat next to her. He swallowed hard, opening his mouth but the words didn't come. Every other time they'd sang 'I Thought She Knew', the audience had been full of fans, strangers. Now with Rachel standing there, it hit Joey full force. He swallowed and felt like he was in a vacuum, the crowd screaming sounding far away.
“Joe, you okay?” Justin asked, trying to smile and not panic since he was the one sitting next to the man. Joey's eyes met his and he sucked in a breath. It was like Joey had slipped away and they were looking at someone else. Justin looked helplessly at the other three as Joey still sat there with a glazed look in his eyes.
Rachel watched the men on stage and held her breath, not sure of what was going on. The band kept looping the song and she knew it would only be a matter of minutes before someone came to see about Joey from backstage. She'd suspected something when Joey gave her a look and then his face pinched up before the panic stricken look had happened.
“I...” Joey said, swallowing hard, his thoughts a mess and he shook his head. “I can't do this tonight,” his gaze went to Rachel and then looked over at the other four men on stage with him. His voice sounded raspy. “Justin asked before the song started what a guy would do if she got away...” he licked his lips and closed his eyes. “I had a best friend. A best girl friend that isn't...” The rest of the words wouldn't come and he shook his head. “This was her favorite song and it hit me all tonight.” Joey stood up and looked at the crowd, not caring that a couple tears had slipped down his cheeks. “A heart full of words left unspoken, now that we're through....”
JC turned to look at Lance, his eyebrow raised as Joey sang. It was better than he'd sang all night or in the last two weeks. When the song was over, Joey was the first one to leave the stage, all but sprinting towards the dressing rooms.
By the other time the rest of NSYNC had caught up to him, they heard the fan on in the bathroom but it couldn't cover up the sound of Joey being sick.
“What happened?” Chris asked Kristen who was sitting there reading a fashion magazine.
“He ran in here and slammed the bathroom door and locked it. I hope whatever it is, I don't get it.”
The sound of Joey heaving again made the four of them look at each other silently, then over at Kristen.
“You're going to check on him, right?” JC asked, concerned that Kristen didn't seem to care that her husband was in the bathroom getting sick.
“I don't do the whole throw up thing,” she replied. “It's nasty.”
“Then what are you going to do with a baby?” Lance asked her, going over to the door and knocking on it softly. “Babies get sick and do things...”
“What?” Joey croaked, his throat burning, hearing voices talking outside the bathroom door. “I'm fine..just some stomach thing.” He hoped the lie would work, turning on the sink to get some water to wash his mouth out. He splashed some water on his face and wiped it off with a paper towel, balling it up and tossing it in the trash. He opened the door and stood there looking at his friends. “I'm fine,” he said, ignoring the glances. “I'll be back before the bus leaves in a few hours.”
“You can't just go with no security, man!” Justin yelled after him, then looked at Kristen and the other guys. “Does anyone know what he's going to do?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.
“He was calling tattoo places earlier today...” Kristen said, putting her magazine on the couch. “You guys need to calm down about Joey,” her mouth slid into a smile. “He's fine.”
“I call the bullshit flag,” Rachel said, having come in the door when Kristen said Joey was fine. “Anyone of us that really knows Joey knows that this is not like him.” She folded her arms and glared at Kristen. The woman made her sick, that she had Joey's last name and there was nothing she could do about it.
“Well maybe you just think you knew him. People change,” Kristen told Rachel, letting her eyes wander over Rachel's designer clothes and giving her a real smile. “You have some good taste in clothes.” She got up to go stand by the other blonde.
“Yeah, I buy them with my own money,” Rachel spat, taking a step towards Kristen. “You're not fooling me. I'm not your friend.”
“Yes, but I'm yours...” Kristen said quickly, putting a hand on Rachel's shoulder. “I'm not looking for this to get nasty...” her eyes met the blonde's and she gave her a wink. “I'd like us to try and get along. For the guys' sakes...”
Rachel bit back a venomous spew. It was worse than what she thought. Kristen had not only Lance, but her as well. Joey was in his own personal Hell and she knew it couldn't keep things from happening once word got out about everything. “You breathe a word and I will own your life and everything in it. If I go down, so do you.” Rachel's smile bested Kristen's and she watched the other blonde's falter slightly. “I could buy and sell NSYNC like we were clothes shopping. So all I want you to do is worry about your husband.”
The four men watched the women talk, each of them praying it wouldn't turn into a cat fight and relieved when Kristen backed off. Rachel Weatherly had brought out her claws and wasn't about to let them be torn apart. Which was all fine and good, other than the fifth member was missing.
“You think Joe's okay?” Lance whispered, his eyes going from his friends to Rachel.
“We'll give him an hour and call. I think he left his heart on the stage,” JC said, blowing out a breath. Tonight looked to be a long night on both buses holding the core of NSYNC.
“No dawg. It's in California.”
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
“You look lost,” Lance told Rachel, sitting down beside her as the bus rolled towards their next destination. Salt Lake City, Utah. He, Rachel and JC had gotten on the bus and breathed a sigh of relief. Joey had come back just as they done eating dinner and ambled onto the bus he was on after smoking a cigarette not really talking to anyone. “Wanna talk?” he wound his fingers through hers, watching her face change, her eyes meeting his.
Rachel sighed and leaned on Lance's shoulder. “You don't think Mel will hurt herself do you? I mean, on purpose...” her voice trailed off and she shook her head quickly. “Don't mind me, I'm overthinking. Just with Joey freaking out and your sister in California by herself...”
“Mom and Dad are worried too,” Lance told her, “speaking of my parents, I need to call them before they go to bed. And JC's up at the front table, scribbling away in his song notebook. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you interrupted.”
Rachel leaned in and kissed Lance on the lips softly. “That's a nice way of saying go away,” she told him, getting up. She'd since changed from the clothes she was wearing to some pajama pants and a layered tank top, her hair up in a messy pony tail and some fuzzy boot slippers on her feet. It had been a feat with her arm in the sling, but she'd done it. She made her way from the back through the bunk area to see JC writing. She slid into the booth across from him and started to speak but he held a finger up.
“Let me finish this phrase before I lose it,” he said, writing faster before shutting the notebook. “Now,” JC gave Rachel a smile and reached across the table and taking her hand, “how can I help you? Do you want something to drink?” his eyes studied hers and he was thankful that he'd gotten to be on this bus. Not that the other bus wasn't good, but he knew he and Rachel needed to talk away from prying ears.
“Why do you have to think you have to take care of me?” Rachel asked him, giving him a grin as he got up to retrieve a couple waters out of the fridge.
“That's what a man's supposed to do right? Take care of the people he cares about?” JC questioned, taking a drink. “I like your boots,” he told her, messing with the toe of the slipper since she'd put her feet on the other side of the bench.
“Mel got them for me at Christmas. Told me I needed to have something so I wouldn't gripe about my feet being cold all the time,” Rachel told him, smiling. “You look high fashion too,” she said, looking at JC's faded Miami Heat shirt and some mesh shorts, his feet in some ankle socks.
“Don't tell anyone, but we hate getting dressed. Other than the fact it's cold outside, I wouldn't change out of this to eat breakfast later,” JC smiled, thinking of what a silly conversation this was to have. It was also the kind of conversation he could have with a girl who was his friend. “So...about us,” he started, loving it that Rachel blushed, “are you okay with this? I mean, I can't exactly kiss you in public. We'll have to lie to people.”
Rachel played with Josh's fingers, nodding. “I don't like lying, but in this case...I'm willing to tell a few untruths. I'm not throwing Lance to the sharks, but if it was reversed...If he met someone, I wouldn't make him stay with me. I'd keep the cover going.”
“What if someone blows the cover?” JC asked. He wasn't trying to be the pessimist but he wasn't going to pretend that someone that knew about them wouldn't slip up, or that he or Rachel wouldn't get tired of pretending not to be together.
Rachel bit her lip and them moved to where she was sitting next to JC in the small booth, her arm in the sling against his body. “We'll just have to be careful. Kristen knows Lance is gay. There's no way I can make her believe otherwise...unless we keep up hot and heavy in a relationship. If Lance is dating me, if we're together then she can't go blabbing he's gay and have it be believed by everyone if all of our stories match.”
JC nodded, his mouth setting into a thin line. “So Kristen knows he's gay, but what about us?”
“I think she just thinks we like each other. That there might be something more there... Justin picked up on it and I don't know how much she found out, ya know? If we keep it under wraps from everyone else...”
“So what you're saying is keep it from our family and friends. How long do we have to do this?” JC asked, not mad but curious. It was almost worse that they'd have to be this way. On tour and in contact but unable to be together unless it was in secret. “Lance will obviously know something. And I know you and Mel can't keep a secret from one another. It might be good if she knows...” a grin crossed his lips as Rachel reddened slightly. “She already knows..”
“Actually no. I haven't had a chance to call her. She won't say anything though. It might be better just to keep everyone but the Bass siblings in the dark. That way we're not worried about as many mouths opening and slipping up,” Rachel told him. “Have to get in our PDA on in private,” she grinned as she looked up at him, wondering why she hadn't fallen for him until now.
“That sounds like a plan,” JC replied, turning in the booth to where he could hold her and pressed his lips on hers. No one was going to protest if they were kissing. He could kiss Rachel and know that he wasn't making Lance mad. He felt her hand kneading his neck and grabbing the hair at the nape of his neck, making him groan a little in appreciation. His hands moved of their own accord, one to cup the side of Rachel's face, his thumb stroking her cheek as his fingers splayed in her hair. His other hand moved to the back of her neck, holding her head gently as they kissed.
Rachel let out a whimper as JC pulled away just slightly to change the position of his mouth on hers. She'd kissed Lance plenty of times. This was so different than that. There was nothing in the back of her mind that told her she was just doing this for show. With Lance, no matter how real the feelings were, she'd known that it would end between them. Now kissing JC, she realized that she wasn't scared about those feelings, of getting hurt. She was scared of not getting to see what would happen, to see if the feelings would be deeper. When she felt Josh's tongue at her mouth, she opened and let him in, caressing his tongue with hers, letting out a moan. When they finally broke the kiss off, she looked at him with a silly smile on her face. “Are you always going to kiss me like that?”
“Maybe not always like that,” JC told Rachel, slipping an around around her as they sat there together. “But yes, I'll kiss you anytime you want..circumstances permitting for now.”
“You aren't going to sing one of those cheesy boy band songs to me are you?” Rachel asked, trying not to chuckle at her attempt at teasing him.
JC shook his head. “Never. Won't you be my girlfriend? I'll treat you good,” he sang softly, then raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean those songs?”
Rachel rolled her eyes dramatically at him. “Whoever thought those songs would make girls swoon is crazy.”
Josh barked out a laugh. “So do I need to get a new job or something?” he asked, knowing she was teasing, loving that she didn't take life so seriously.
“Nah, I kind of like the one you have now. You're like the Pied Piper of boy band members.”
“As long as I don't have to wear tights and play a flute, I'm good.” He grinned as the conversation turned to other things, individual likes and dislikes on an array of subjects. It wasn't until quite some time later that JC looked at the clock on his phone. “Holy shit, it's almost four in the morning,” he told her, sighing. “We could go sit in the back and watch some television if you aren't tired yet.”
Rachel shrugged, getting up. Her muscles protested sitting in one position for so long and she gave him a smile. “I'll go to the back but I'm not promising anything. I'm not on NSYNC time yet. I'm still on L.A. Time.” She loved the feel of JC's hand on her back, pausing when she saw Lance's hand reach out through the curtain of his bunk and take her hand.
“Just thought I'd tell you,” Lance's voice was soft, since he wasn't quite all the way awake, “that my parents are going to stay with my sister for a week. She's not happy about it...” his voice trailed off. “You better take care of her, JC. I'd hate to kick your ass like Bruce Lee.”
“She's all yours when we get off the bus,” JC said, watching Lance grimace at the light coming into his bunk.
“I feel like I'm a custody case,” Rachel teased both men. “I guess I should feel special.”
“You got two fifths of NSYNC claiming you. What more do you want?” Lance asked her.
“A pony,” Rachel told him, laughing at both men groaning. “Love you, Lance,” she leaned in the bunk and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, loving the smile he gave her.
“You deserve it, Rach,” Lance whispered back. “Love you too. Go to bed. I'm not listening to you bitch later about being tired.”
“You sound like JC now,” Rachel told him, looking at the dark headed man still standing there.
“Hey, what's wrong with that?” JC asked, fiddling with his phone, looking at his text messages.
“Just come on,” Rachel grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the back, “I might could stand two of you. If there were two of Justin, I'd run screaming down the road.”
JC chuckled as he sat down, patting the empty couch next to him. “If there was two of Justin we'd all run screaming down the road.” He sighed as Rachel snuggled into him, her hurt arm on the other side away from his body so he wouldn't jostel it. JC would have to say this was the best time on the tour bus he'd had in a very long time.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Part 2 of this chapter. My muses seem to getting longer winded. LOL
Story Tags: joey
