“Oh my god. I think I found the winner for L.A. Guys, come look at this.”

*NSYNC’S manager, Johnny Wright, was going through the entries for the contest when he came across one that couldn’t be ignored.

“What is it?” they asked, walking over to him.

When they saw the pictures they couldn’t believe their eyes.

This fan had a picture with Lance, emails exchanged between him, Justin and JC, including a picture they’d apparently sent him of them holding up signs he’d made, and photos of his bedroom which were plastered with posters of Justin everywhere they looked. Then Johnny read the letter:

Dear *NSYNC,

HI. I’m not really sure how to start this. I became a fan of yours through my best friend, Kristen. She loves you guys and kind of dragged me into the fandom with her.

We’ve been friends since kindergarten and have been through everything together. When I was ten I was diagnosed with leukemia and lost most of my friends because I was in and out of the hospital so much. I went into remission, but four years ago I relapsed and needed a bone marrow transplant.

No one in my family was a match, but Kristen was and she donated her bone marrow to me. She’s literally my lifesaver. I would do anything to pay her back.

That included watching your Disney Special with her over and over again. After awhile, I began to fall in love with your music, too. When you decided to leave Transcontinental we flew down to support you during the trial.

That’s where we met Lance and gave him the signs to give to Justin and J.C., our favorites. As you can see from the pictures of my room, Justin is mine, however, I’ve been mistaken for J.C. several times.

I was even asked by a fan for an autograph outside of the courthouse. I didn’t want to give it to her, but didn’t want to disappoint her either. Sorry, J.C. I promise I won’t do it again.

When you were on TRL the day that No Strings Attached came out, Kristen and I were there. We were sitting behind you, but it didn’t matter. That was the closest we’ve gotten to you so far.

Music and her friendship are what have gotten me through both the good and bad times, but especially the bad ones.

It would mean the world to me if I could meet you even if it’s only once. I’m an only child and like I said to J.C. in one of my emails, you’re like brothers to me.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read and consider this.

Sincerely,

Jake Matthews

“I remember meeting him and Kristen,” Lance said. “They were so upset. They’d just missed you.”

“That was who I saw that day at TRL. Remember I told you about that JC?” Justin asked.

“Yeah. Unfortunately, he’s not eligible.”

“Why not?” asked Joey and Chris.

“He’s my brother.”

“What?”

J.C. looked at Justin.

“Remember when you asked me if I could ask Kathleen about his adoption records? If she’d had them unsealed? I did and she said she had. So I searched for him and found a Jacob Scott Matthews who was born on August 8, 1976 in Bowie, Maryland, but grew up in Los Angeles, California with his parents Elizabeth and Ronald Matthews.”

“I told you he’d enter the contest.” Said Justin.

“Yeah, but . . .”

“But nothing. Right now he’s not your brother. He’s a fan of ours who entered a contest wanting to meet his favorite group.” Joey responded.

“J.C. this is the chance for you to meet him in an informal setting without any expectations. I’m his favorite anyway remember? Let Kristen fawn over you and afterwards you and Jake can get to know each other better, if that’s what you want.”

Chris cut in then. “Johnny, send Jake a letter informing him he’s won the contest. J.C.’s been vetoed. Jake deserves these tickets.”

J.C. tried to object, but Chris wasn’t having it.

“I’m the oldest here. What I say goes and that’s final.”

JC nodded in defeat. “Okay.”

Jake stared at the envelope in his hands. The name on the return address read Jive Records. That could only mean one thing. *NSYNC. Either he’d won or lost the contest. Regardless, at least he tried. Too nervous to open it himself, he called Kristen over for moral support.

“Here, open it for me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Please? I’m too nervous.”

“There’s no need to be nervous.”

“Yes there is.”

“Okay. Okay. I’ll open it.”

Dear Jake,

Congratulations! You’re our winner for the Los Angeles, CA Concert and Backstage Pass Meet & Greet! Here are two front row tickets and V.I.P. passes for you and a friend. Can’t wait to see you at the show!

Thanks for your support!

Chris, Lance, Joey, Justin and JC

“You’re taking me with you, right?” Kristen asked.

“Of course, I’m taking you! Who else would go with me?”

“Uh, Jake? I think there’s something else in here.”

“What is it?”

“It looks like a letter.”

Handing it to him, she was going to leave so he could read it alone, but he stopped her.

“No. Please stay.”

“Don’t you want to read it in private?”

“No.”

Jake’s hands began to shake as he started reading.

Dear Jake,

Wow. I don’t know how to start this letter anymore than you did writing yours to us, or the emails you sent to me. I remember you saying that you were an only child and hated it.

I went to bed the night I read that, thankful for my relationships with my siblings, because I had begun to take them for granted.

I’m going to tell you something that I don’t talk about a lot with the media or our fans. Like you, I’m adopted and until recently had no interest in looking for my birth family.

 Around the time I got your first email I had begun to get curious and started looking. It was hard for my family to accept and I felt guilty for hurting them.

However, they were supportive and helped me in any way they could. That ultimately led me to finding my birth mother and the twin brother I never knew I had. You.

I know this is a lot to take in, so I’ll end it here, but I wanted to give you a heads up before we meet at the concert. Please bring Kristen with you. We’re all anxious to meet her.

 Oh, and I have tickets and passes for your parents under my name, in case they want to come, too. My parents will be there as well.

See you soon.

Josh

Neither one of them could believe it. Not only had J.C. been adopted, but he and Jake were twin brothers. Suspecting it was one thing; finding out the truth was something completely different.

Jake brought it to his parents’ attention at dinner that night when he told them he’d won the contest.

Though they wanted their son to have his time with his favorite group, they were also anxious to meet his extended family and were grateful for the invitation to the show.

J.C.’s jitters were getting to him more than usual. Not even their pre show ritual of hackey sack was helping clear his mind.

“It’s just another show. He’s just another fan.” JC tried to convince himself. Only it wasn’t. Not to him.

“Shake it off, Josh. You can do this.” He thought to himself.

That’s when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He turned around to see Heather and Tyler.

“What -? I thought you weren’t coming?”

They’d been hurt when he’d told them he’d found Jake; even more so when they found out Jake had won the contest.

“We changed our minds. If there’s any time you needed us to be there for you it’s now. We couldn’t let you go through this alone. Not after all the times you’ve been there for us.”

“Thanks Tyler. That means so much to me.”

“Now go out there and kick some butt!” Heather laughed.

J.C. laughed at his sister before hugging her and his brother as he went to take his place on stage.