1forWeather: you there?
Supermanzgirl: no, I disappeared ;) yes you dork
1forWeather: bite my ass, Bass! Doc said I have strep throat. So now I gotta wear a nice mask and no smooching
Supermanzgirl: Poor boys. Did they give you meds? Wish I was there...or you were here. Did you see the lovely pictures?
1forWeather: Yes, antibiotics twice a day. Looks like a damn horse pill. What lovely pictures? You're talking in half sentences, damnit. I hate that!!
Rachel figured she knew what pictures, clicking on the link when it popped up in her messenger screen. AJ and Melissa looked cozy as they walked and she sighed when she read the headline. Of course the paparazzi would make up some stupid headline to sell. And they would bring Joey back into it.
'Former Fatone love interest finds flame with Backstreet's bad boy'
1forWeather: Who makes up these shitty headlines? You know it's a load of crap, Mel.
Supermanzgirl: I know. AJ and I just hung out. We didn't 'do' anything. He's a cool guy...I told him stories about Thanksgiving with the Weatherly's in the Hamptons. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. It was nice.
Rachel smiled as she typed back to her best friend. The doctor had told her to rest as much as possible and to not leave the hotel room unless absolutely necessary. It had been fine with her, since Lance and JC both had come to check on her. Even though she couldn't talk, she'd made the most of her time with JC. Her smile became bigger as she thought of Josh's hands on her, working her pants down before bending her over the bed. There had been no kissing, doctor's orders, but she'd wanted him and JC obliged in other ways. It was a good thing that Rachel's voice was shot, because she was certain she would have been screaming JC's name. Her mind went from that back to the conversation, frowning at the next question.
Supermanzgirl: Did Joey see? :(
1forWeather: Unless he was struck blind, then my best guess would be yes. Lance texted me earlier and said Joey is 'in a mood'
Supermanzgirl: If he smokes any more, I am nicknaming him Train...as in, he smokes so much he looks like a freight Train.
1ForWeather: Real mature, Mel.
Supermanzgirl: better than fuzzy wuzzy ;)
1forWeather: Why are we even having this conversation? You're now a Backstreet girl.
Supermanzgirl: NSYNC hoe.
1ForWeather: Groupie slut.
Supermanzgirl: I love you, Weatherly. Xoxo
1forWeather: I heart you too, Bass. :*
Supermanzgirl: Guess I'll have to change my s/n now. Fuck.
1ForWeather: How about Ilovecheetahhats
Supermanzgirl: fuck you. Yours could be IbangSkinnyWhiteGuys...or Jcspenisinspector
1forWeather: Mine was nice, asshat.
Supermanzgirl: That's Ms. Asshat to you.
1ForWeather: I say leave it the same. Piss people off.
Melissa saw a new messenger pop up and smiled. Her other favorite person to chat with was on his phone.
Ckirk4Pres: What up, babygirl?
Supermanzgirl: N/m old man. Love ya.
Ckirk4Pres: Love you too. How's Cali?
Supermanzgirl: Too sunny. How's...wherever you are.
Ckirk4Pres: ha. Detroit. Eh, it's okay. Joey almost choked Justin for making a crack about the pictures floating around. Not seen Fatone move that fast since the Dominoes guy tried to run off with the pizzas. ;)
Supermanzgirl: :( What did Justin say?
Ckirk4Pres: Something abt his hat being tossed on the floor along with clothes... It wasn't pretty. We miss you, Mel.
Supermanzgirl: Miss you too, Christopher. Gonna get off here. Holly's coming over to teach me some chef stuff... I'll be on the five o clock news for setting my apartment on fire. :p
Ckirk4Pres: I'll call the locals for you. Tell Holly I said to wear the pink lacy ones and see how red she turns.
Supermanzgirl: Perv! Behave...take care of Joey for me.
Rachel and Chris both said their goodbyes via instant messenger and then saw Melissa's screen name go grey.
Rachel figured the name wouldn't change. It was a pain in the ass to mess with. And since Mel was sentimental about it, it would stay the same.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Joey sat on the couch in the dressing room, mindlessly flicking buttons on the controller. He didn't really care about the game. Lance had long since taken the lead in the game and he was just doing something to keep from smoking more. He knew he had to cut back. He was getting more winded and his voice starting to get gravelly, or at least more so than usual. The physician that traveled with them recommended that he cut it down from a pack a day to half to start out with. “Let's play another game,” he told Lance, who looked at him like he was crazy.
“I just handed you your ass,” Lance said, watching Joey shrug. It had been a while since they'd talked. Kristen was at the hotel and the rest of the guys were out on some tour thing of a car plant. It wasn't a group activity and Joey hadn't wanted to go, so Lance had stayed behind to spend time with his best friend. “You hate this game.”
“So the fuck what... You're having fun, right?”
“You're not,” Lance shut the game off and looked over at Joey as he threw the controller down. “I know you're pissed about what Justin said..”
“That little fucker has no idea how I feel! I know those fuckin goombahs write whatever will sell. And I know your sister. You know her! She wouldn't act like that!!” Joey yelled, his chest heaving as his emotions came out. “And I'm so fucking jealous I could choke that skinny bastard and Justin. And what's more; I'm married! And everytime I try to separate my feelings for your sister and my life, something always brings it back around. I have to let her go...I didn't think I'd have to,” Joey ran a hand over his face and groaned, trying hard to keep his voice from cracking. “And every morning I wake up and remind myself I can't call her or talk to her. I make myself live in this Hell, Lance.”
Lance sighed, looking at Joey. He took his phone out and messed with it, pulling up a screen. He'd promised his sister...and at the same time, Joey needed to hear this. “If I read you this, I'm going to Hell. Since Mel basically made me swear on a stack of bibles..”
'Last night was the first time since New Year's Eve that I have laughed. I mean, really laughed. And for once I wasn't worried about Joey. I felt guilty afterward when I got home. Who's going to worry about him if I don't? He still looks skinnier. I don't like skinny bastards...but here I am, hanging out with one. I can tell you this because you won't reply and try to fix it. As my brother, you are going to just ask me if I'm sure this is what I want. And tell me if someone hurts me that you'll kill them. Or at least maim them really good,” Lance smirked, his eyes flicking to Joey, who was standing there. 'I'm not saying I'll ever be over Joey. That is something I deal with in doses and there is not enough of anything in the world to make that go away. I keep it bottled up,buried so that it only leaks out in moments when it's quiet. I can still hear him sing me those stupid songs and when one comes on the radio, I cry. Don't tell anyone, but I still can't listen to ITSK. The first (and last) time I did, I made myself sick. Anyways, back to this rambling. I am not saying AJ is 'the one'..I don't even know if it will be anything more than what it is. But last night, it was good to have a friend that was a guy. And to laugh. I missed it. I miss you, big brother. Give all the guys a squeeze from me. Even Fatone. And tell him his nickname is Train. Cause he smokes so much and looks like he's gonna run something over. Of coure I end up thinking about Joey again. See how much help I need? 'Dr. Kravitz, you have a visitor in the main lobby'
Author's Chapter Notes:
I got a job and so now real life has taken over. what a major bummer. However, here is more of Between Friends. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love to hear what you think.
Story Tags: joey
