-10-

Each breath Lance held in his burning chest was expelled in a short burst as he rhythmically lowered himself to the floor before using his burning arms to push himself back up. Once in the air, he quickly timed a clap before gravity pulled his body back down and he repeated the process.

A slick sheen of sweat coated his body, sliding down the curved etched out in his back from his spinal cord, slipping down the slope of his nose, and down the sides of his face. His arms, legs, and muscles burned from his morning workout, his heart hammering in his chest to the beat of the song playing through his room, keeping time with what he was doing.

He blinked the sweat from his eyes, pausing in the push up starting position before settling back on his heels when he spotted a pair of feet in his face. “Dude,” he said with a laugh, reaching up an arm to brush the sweat from his face before peering up at Darren, putting his hands on his hips, “the next time you put your ugly feet in my face, give me a warning.”

“The next time you wanna show off your ugly body, give me a warnin’,” Darren replied in a slow drawl, rolling his eyes. “Woulda knocked, but your door was open.” Lance let out an airy laugh as he got to his feet. He reached for his abandoned shirt and used it to wick away the sweat.

Lance dropped his arms down by his side before sliding a hand over his stomach where he could feel the outline of abs poking through. He overall, felt like he was getting stronger, healthier while sticking with the new workout. He needed it after how much he had pigged out on food and cake at Gabriel and Annaleigh’s birthday party and that was only a few days ago.

Since starting training in kick boxing, he just felt better all around. He felt lighter and lithe; and almost had a spring to his step when he walked. Almost. With the extra muscle weight he was adding onto his legs, it also had more of a stomping feel to it. It was a different feeling, but one he wanted to feel at all times. What he noticed most was that he felt like he had more energy whether it was just in general or more energy to get things done during the day.

In short, he felt great.

But, something about the way his best friend looked at him, made a tight feeling reach his stomach.

“What’s up?” he asked, letting out a breath of air. He swallowed before blinking rapidly when his vision blurred around the edges. He reached out for his dresser, balancing himself, staring at the floor, breaking up the look with various blinks. Whoa. Head rush. He just stood up too fast; that had to be it.

“You ok?” Darren asked, taking a step closer to him. Lance put a hand in the air, nodding his head.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” he replied, slowly straightening, his fingers dragging off the edge of his dresser, tickling the dark wood. He straightened, letting out a short breath through his nose. “What’s going on?”

“Has Ace mentioned anything to you about her conversation with Wade?” Darren asked. “Or her parents for that matter?” Lance sniffed, putting his hands on his hips before shaking his head back and forth.

He pursed his lips just slightly before hiking an eyebrow. “That’s not part of your pillow chat?” he asked, an amused look on his face.

Darren clicked his tongue. “Shoot, we don’t do anythin’, you know that,” he said to his friend. Lance put his hands up defensively. “You really think that’d change by now?” He reached up a hand and scratched at his eyebrow with his thumbnail.

Lance pressed his lips together, all traces of amusement quickly seeping out of his body. It sucked to see his friend so smitten and pine after someone for so long and not make any progress with the object of their desire. And it wasn’t just one of his friends but both of them. He could preach to both of them about just taking the chance until he was blue in the face, but it was really up to them and God to put them in the right place at the right time for things to work out for them. Not only that, but he didn’t have the best track record with romance himself.

First he had harbored a crush on his own band mate, and then had Annaleigh pretend to be his girlfriend throughout the Celebrity Tour so no one would suspect a thing, then after the band went on hiatus (or broke up, whichever way you personally chose to see it) he had a few relationships that didn’t last long, before he met Jake and that all fell apart faster than a tower of Jenga.

He definitely wasn’t one in the position to say “I told you so” or to give any advice on relationships. But, he wanted to see his friends happy and he knew that they were meant for each other. He was amazed at how long Darren could hold on to his feelings for Annaleigh. But, ever since they were kids he always said, “She drives me absolutely crazy at times, but I’m goin’ ta marry her one day. I just know it, just you wait.”

 It was no wonder they had (and occasionally still did) argue a lot when they were younger; keeping their feelings for each other secret was hard. He knew what it was like to have to hold his feelings back and in a way, it was harder for him. Not that he would use that as an excuse to complain about it and not that he’d want to complain about it to begin with.

“If she wants anythin’ to happen she’s going to have ta make the first move this time,” Darren added and Lance gave him a pointed look. “Puttin’ my foot down on this one.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how long you’ll last on that one,” he commented, with a snort. He watched as Darren’s look of confidence cracked just slightly; the glimmer of worry appearing for a brief moment. Lance decided to save him and change the subject. “You think it’s anything we need to worry about?”

“Hard to tell, you know Ace,” Darren replied and Lance nodded his head. “Think it’s something we should talk to Gabe about?”

“At the risk of getting a tongue lashing from her?” Lance asked, a thoughtful look crossing his face. Darren merely shrugged his shoulders. He let out a sigh. “Yeahhh. I’ll ask him about it.”

“Cool,” Darren replied, giving a small thumbs up before leaving the room.

“I could also talk to him about—“

“You do and you’re a dead man, buddy,” Darren warned, lifting his hand in the air to give Lance the finger.

“I could take you, pal,” Lance replied with a grin as he reached up his hands and proceeded to pop his knuckles.

He chuckled before tossing his shirt over his shoulder, the material sticking to his skin immediately on contact. He pulled open his dresser drawer and reached for the t-shirt on the top, pulling out and tossing it onto his bed. He pushed it closed with his thigh and tossed it onto his bed before it was joined by a pair of boxers and a pair of jeans.

After a quick shower, he changed into his clothes, reaching for his shirt when he heard the doorbell ring. He let out a sigh through his nose when he realized that no one was going to go to the door. He grit his teeth just slightly when the door rang a second time, longer. Muttering to himself, Lance made his way down the carpeted hallway at a slight jog before hurrying himself down the stairs.

“Thanks for not getting the door,” he called to the banging pots and pans in the kitchen.

“You’re welcome,” Annaleigh called back.

Lance rolled his eyes before reaching for the door handle with one hand, sliding his other arm up through his t-shirt and through the sleeve. He let out a sigh, opening the door, stopping short when he spotted Michael standing on the front door step. “Oh,” he said, blinking in surprise. “Uh, hi.”

“Hi,” Michael replied, giving a half smile. His eyes shifted downwards just slightly before quickly flicking back up to Lance’s face. He felt his face, and chest, burn; a white hot line traveling down his torso, following Michael’s gaze.

“Oh! Sorry,” Lance said as he moved to pull his shirt down over his heard. Even if it was for a brief moment, he needed to break eye contact with him. From a quick glance through the neck hole of the shirt, he watched as Michael scratched at his jaw, muttering something that sounded a bit like, “I’m not complaining.” Trying to ignore the accelerated speed his heart was now beating, Lance grasped the hem of his shirt, pulling it down to his waist. He peered over at the man in front of him. “So, what are you doing here?”

Michael slowly blinked, lifting his gaze back up to Lance before he cleared his throat. “Um, Annaleigh had said that you had recently gotten into kickboxing and I told her that I knew a couple people that fought so…” He trailed off, reaching into the back pockets of his jeans before handing him an envelope. “Brought over a couple tickets.”

“Thanks, hon,” Annaleigh said with a sweet smile, stepping up behind Lance, reaching over to take the envelope from his hands. “You’re a peach. How d’you know these guys anyway?”

“Uh, well.” Michael rubbed his hands together before crossing his arms over his chest, rocking back and forth just slightly. “I model from time to time.”

He let out a small chuckle when Annaleigh muttered, being obvious with her looking him over, “That’s not surprising.” Lance’s eyebrows twitched. It wasn’t all that surprising to him either. In fact, it kind of made sense. Explains why you can’t stop looking at him, huh, Lance?

“Yeah, so some of them do kickboxing to help stay in shape and hone their physique between shoots…” he let his sentence trail off at the end and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Annaleigh thought it’d be a good idea for you to see a fight.” His eyes than narrowed slightly. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“No,” Lance replied simply.

“It’d ruin the surprise if I told you, wouldn’ it?” Annaleigh asked, clapping Lance on the arm. “How many tickets did you say you could get?”

“Four,” Michael replied. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I was hoping for more but…is that ok?”

“Uhh—“

“Perfect,” Annaleigh chirped. “Do you want to stay for breakfast?”

Lance watched as Michael blinked in surprise, opening and closing his mouth before shifting his gaze over towards Annaleigh. She gazed up at him, a smile on her face before lifting her eyebrows into a look of innocence. Lance twisted his mouth to the side, before taking a step back from the door, motioning him inside.

“Please, come in,” he said, putting a smile to his face.

Michael took a small step forward before stopping in his tracks. A light flush crossed his face as he suddenly remembered his manners.“Oh, I couldn’t impose,” Michael replied, with a brief shake of his head. “I’ve already taken up your time, dropping by unannounced and so early.”

“You’ve already come this far,” Lance said with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t let you leave after coming all this way without at least giving you something to eat or drink.” Michael gave a smile of thanks before stepping past him and into the house. Lance pushed the door closed with one hand and used the other to grab the back of Annaleigh’s shirt, stopping her from moving. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Do you?” Annaleigh asked, pursing her lips just slightly. She went to leave again, and Lance gently reached out and grabbed the end of her ponytail. Feeling the gentle tug on the back of her head, Annaleigh spun on her heels to face him, planting her hands on her hips. “You know, I’m not sure what kinda kinky things you and the ex mighta been into, but I don’ like it when my hair is pulled.”

Lance let out a short, mirthless laugh. I knew it was a bad idea for you to spend so much time with Chris and Joey. He fixed her with a look. “Is that only when I do it or is Dare fair game?” Annaleigh gave him an odd look before rolling her eyes.

“We were kids, he was just being annoying,” she replied.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself with that lie?” Lance asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Ace, it’s basic kindergarten psychology; you got on each other’s nerves because you liked each other.” She sniffed, lifting her eyebrows. Lance sighed before he lifted his hands, running them over his face, through his hair before proceeding to stretch his arms over his head. “Why won’t you give him a chance?”

“Why won’t you drop tha subject?” Annaleigh asked in reply. “And while we’re on tha subject of askin’ questions we most likely won’ get answers to; why won’ you jus’ ask Michael out?”

“I…what?” Lance asked, blinking rapidly as the sudden change of subject mentally unbalanced him. He glanced over towards the kitchen before training his green eyes on his old friend. Annaleigh gave him a look he couldn’t decipher; was it triumph or amusement? Knowing her, it was most likely both. He stepped closer towards her, lowering his voice. “You think he’s gay?”

“I know he’s gay,” Annaleigh replied. Lance’s eyebrows shift upwards so fast he was surprised it didn’t give him a permanent face lift.

“How?” he asked.

“At the risk of givin’ a stereotypical answer, I’m jus’ goin’ ta say, I can tell,” Annaleigh replied, reaching out a hand to pat Lance on the stomach as she sauntered past him. “Oh, by the by.” She turned back around to face him, starting to walk backwards. “The fact that you two were practically havin’ eye-sex when I got to the door was a giveaway.”

“Yeah, it was a really bad idea for you to be anywhere near Joey and Chris,” Lance said, reaching up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He let out a sigh through his nose and shaking his head from side to side, made his way back up the wooden stairs.

“I’m not complaining.”

He had to have misheard him. That was it. He barely knew Michael and Michael barely knew him. Well, apart from his *NSYNC persona…and what people knew about him in the media. But, that wasn’t really knowing him, not the real him. At one point he hoped to find that one person who he would fully open himself up to, but now…

Lance lifted a hand and massaged his chest with an open palm, trying to relax the tight squeeze encircling his heart. He closed his eyes, slowly breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, clearing the thought from his head before making his way up the stairs and over to the closer door directly to the left of the landing. He lifted his hand and curled his fingers, rapping his knuckles on the wooden door.

He heard a shuffling sound from behind the door and a hushed curse before the door was open and a bleary eyed Gabriel stood in the doorway, blinking at him. “Hey, Lance,” he said, practically shoving the side of the door into his skin as he pulled it closer towards him. “What’s up?”

Lance knew that move well; all the *NSYNC guys had used it at one point or another to hold their privacy. “Darren and I were wondering if Annaleigh had said anything to you about what she talked about with Wade,” Lance said. “She hasn’t said anything to us…not that that should be too surprising.”

“I was just about to say…” Gabriel replied with a hint of a laugh. “You know she’ll tell you when she’s ready. I’m only her half-brother, I can get things out of her half the time.” Lance let out a small laugh. “You’re always going to know her way better than me, so you know she’ll tell you when she’s ready to tell you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lance said with a nod of his head. He was the exact same way. It had taken him forever to be sure it was the right time to tell her about his sexual orientation. He saw how well that went; she practically spit hellfire into his face and he sent her to the hospital.

Yes, he had quickly learned that it was just appendicitis (not that a ruptured appendix was a just-anything) and his words didn’t have the power to physically harm her like she had stated in her pain filled delirium (amongst all the other hateful words she had hurled at him—words they both tried hard day in and day out to forget and move on from), but from that moment on, he had held back from telling anybody until he was sure they’d handle it.

Darren and Jasmine had rightfully been shocked, but they seemed to be more worried and curious about how he was doing but nonetheless accepted him for who he was. Justin, JC, and Chris had made a couple of lame jokes to help him be at ease when relaying the information, but they were all supportive over his decision to tell him. JC had asked a hard hitting question at the time, in short, wondering what they did wrong to fail him; to think that there was something he couldn’t tell them. Joey was the easiest as he didn’t seem to care at all; in a good way. But, that was good old Joey, his friend to the end.

“She also mentioned that your parents wanted to tell you something?” Lance asked. He had been dying to know how things between Annaleigh’s parents, Ryan and Caroline, and Gabriel’s mom, Elizabeth, had taken the two of them out for lunch not only to celebrate their birthdays but to give them some news.

Gabriel shifted his eyes upwards, letting out a short laugh. “Well, Caroline wanted to show her support, I guess, but my mom and her dad think it’s time they start dating again… each other,” he replied. Lance felt his eyes widen as the words bounced off his ear drums. Gabriel lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, that was one reaction we had to it…amongst many.”

Lance’s eyes shifted over towards Jasmine who stood behind Gabriel, peering over his shoulder, as she cleared her throat, announcing her presence. “Normally, I’d be happier than a dead pig in the sunshine to eavesdrop on y’alls conversation, but, and excuse my lack of lady-like behavior I’ve had engrained into my head over the years, I gotta piss.”

She ducked underneath his arm, giving Lance a finger wave as she passed. Gabriel used his thumb to scratch the side of his jaw, keeping his gaze away from his older friend. “We fell asleep talking. Nothing happe—“

“Dude,” Lance said, putting his hand up in the air, affectively cutting off his friend. “I shared a house with four guys and then proceeded to share tour busses and hotel rooms with them. I get it.” Gabriel opened his mouth. “Really. You don’t have to explain anything to me.” He tilted his head to the side. “So how long have you liked her?”

“I don’t know,” Gabriel replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “A while. Just never really noticed, I guess.”

“That sounds familiar, too,” Lance muttered, stepping away from the door. “Anna’s making breakfast, it should be done soon.” He went to head back into his room, but stopped for a brief moment, his fingers catching on the doorframe. “Oh, and turns out Michael’s joining us, too.”

“The painter?” Gabriel asked, hiking an eyebrow.

Lance let out a simple “Yep”, making a popping sound with his “P” before making a beeline towards his room, passing Jasmine on his way. At least someone around here is going after what they want.

“So if I said to you, ‘Mik Mouse’ and ‘Puto’ what would you think?” Annaleigh asked, turning towards Michael, setting a large skillet of scrambled eggs down onto the kitchen island next to the bowl of hash browns and the bowl of sliced fruit, on top of a cutting board. She turned back towards the stove and reached for the cup of plastic cutlery, grabbing a fork.

“Kind of scared to tell you, to be honest,” Michael replied after a moment of silence before he dropped his gaze to his coffee mug.

“That’s what I want to commission you,” Annaleigh replied, stabbing at the eggs with the fork before holding it out towards him. Michael lifted his head, blinking a few times.

“You’re going to have to run that by me a second time,” Michael replied, taking the fork from her, sliding the eggs into his mouth. A pleased look crossed his face as he chewed. “This is really good. Is that…tabasco I taste?”

“Not surprisin’ comin’ from a country girl, eh?” Annaleigh asked with a grin and Michael shrugged his shoulders. “It’s also black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Sounds pretty gross, but…”

“It’s good,” Michael said, putting his hand in the air. “So…what exactly am I painting for you?”

“Mickey Mouse and Pluto,” Annaleigh replied, letting out a tinkling laugh. “I want to give it to Lance. Kind of a…goodbye present.” Michael blinked, but didn’t say anything else. “I’m thinkin’ of movin’ back to Mississippi to focus on my music there. Well, more like I’m plannin’ on it.”

“Mind if I ask why?” Michael asked, his eyebrows sliding together.

“I jus’ think that’s where I should be right now,” Annaleigh replied, looking at him over her shoulder before facing the cabinets again, opening the cabinet door. She grasped the side of a glass bowl and moved to carefully set it on the island. “Plus, it’s not fair for Gabe to have ta keep shuttlin’ back and forth jus’ to work on music.” Michael’s facial expression stayed the same. “We have a band: Oath Haven. Kind of a play off my dad’s old band; Oath Keeper.”

“I think I’ve heard of ‘em,” Michael replied, leaning forward to rest his arms on the counter. Annaleigh peered at him for a moment, her lips curling up into a half smile. She let out a small sigh as she reached for the spatula, starting to shovel the eggs into the bowl.

“You don’t have to lie, hon” she said to him, “they’re not country, they’re Christian-Rock. I don’ expect a lot of people to know about ‘em.” She chuckled as she watched Michael’s face flush. “It’s ok, I’m jus’ saying.” She waved a hand in the air. “I’m helpin’ JC and Justin with their albums, but I can do that by computer an’ I’m starting ta miss home, I guess. Besides, I haven’ really been home since I left and I had promised my dad I wouldn’t do that to him.”

“What? Leave?” Michael asked. “If you hadn’t left you wouldn’t be where you are now. You wouldn’t have toured with *NSYNC and you wouldn’t have had a song on their album.”

Annaleigh reached for the napkin container and grabbed one. Pursing her lips she unfolded the napkin and set it over the bowl of eggs. “You already know about all of this, don’t you?” she asked. “You’re a fan?”

“My sister is,” Michael replied. He loudly cleared his throat, bowing his head to scratch the back of his neck. “And so am I…I guess...kind of. I mean, I’ve been to a few shows here and there...with her.”

“Mmmmhmmm,” Annaleigh hummed; an amused look on her face. She felt a smile come to her face as she watched him, shift uncomfortably in his seat before practically jamming his cup of coffee into his mouth to take a long sip. She clicked her tongue as she lifted her hands to brush her hair back from her face. “You’re different; I like you.”

She had watched him at her party; mingling with a few guests, saying a couple words here and there, otherwise keeping mostly to himself. Until Lance was around, anyway, then he couldn’t stop talking. And by the looks of it annoying him. Bless his heart it was cute to see.

Michael opened and closed his mouth, a smile on his face, unable to respond to her statement. “Um…thanks,” he replied, tapping his fingernails against the ceramic of his mug. “And thanks for letting me stay at your party.”

“Of course, hon,” Annaleigh replied, flicking her head to the side, brushing her hair from her face. “I wouldn’ want anyone to deny me cake, who am I do the same?”

“You’re funny,” Michael stated, a pleasant smile on his face.

“‘Sides, you probably jus wanted to see my gorgeous face when I opened the gift. It’s really pretty.” She let out a small sigh. It was easy for her to be confident in herself when there was someone out there, someone she could bring into her circle of friends, didn’t know about what went on with Wade.

“Anyway, I used to call him Mik Mouse to annoy him, or Poofu,” Annaleigh said, a fond smile coming to her face. He, without a doubt, has been the best friend she had ever had in her entire life. Throughout everything, their ups and downs, arguments, and make ups he was always there.

But, there had always been someone else there too; whether or not he could actually be there in person. She had resented Darren for leaving to college, in fact, she had basically pushed him to stay there, but when Lance was travelling and performing in Europe, both he and Jasmine had gone out of their way to make sure she was ok after her mom left.

He took trips back home on the weekends, called as often as he could, and much more. Something she came to rely on when her dad immersed himself in work and ridding the home of everything that had to do with his ex-wife. He was there for her when she needed someone; he took care of her. It was something she never wanted to admit she needed nor admit she liked the security he brought. Her mind had been made up at that point; it was her against the world from then on out.

How things had changed so quickly…

“I don’t really know how to tell him. He has a few acquaintances out here, but not a lot of friends and I don’t want to just drop him.” Annaleigh pushed her lips together, twisting her mouth to  the side just slightly, the skin around her mouth puffing up just slightly.

“So don’t,” Michael replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

“It’s not that easy,” Annaleigh said with a shake of her head. “It’s complicated.”

“From my experience, the only reason why things are complicated is because we make them complicated,” Michael replied, letting out a sigh through his nose. “We over think things and end up talking ourselves out of a lot.”

“And you don’t do that?” Annaleigh asked, lifting her eyebrows.

Michael fixed her with a pointed look, the corners of his lips curling up into a smile. A mischievous look came to his “You think I showed up here this early in the morning just because I just so happened to be in the neighborhood?” he asked with a wink.

Annaleigh laughed all the while thinking, that that was the answer she wanted to hear.