nsync in black and white

Fiction by Pen . . . . . not real, made up, purely intended for entertainment

What You See... (b)

(b) in which Chris is bitter, Lance is blithe, and Justin is successful

The second leg of the tour had been a lot less fun than the first. Lance had been deliberately keeping away from the two of them, or making sure Joey and JC were around at the same time. Justin hadn't had a chance to ask him why, at least, not a chance he'd dared grab. It was shaming, not having the courage to ask one of your best friends something, but he didn't. The idea that it was his fault, that he'd been, that he wasn't, that Lance didn't want him, was too frightening, Justin absolutely could not bring himself to risk having it confirmed.

And this Space Thing. Lance was going to go into space. There was no doubt that he'd get through, because Justin didn't know anyone with more determination than Lance, anyone who could work harder. Hell, he even had his heart fixed. So he'd be the first boybander in space. The youngest person ever in space, they said, didn't they? And a TV series all about him.

Meanwhile Justin, and he hadn't mentioned it to anyone except Mom, was a bit worried that his album... no, it didn't matter if it wasn't huge, it really didn't matter, what mattered was he was doing it for himself, proving that he was more than just a teeny idol. Didn't matter what the critics said or whether people bought it.

It didn't. But.

And Chris wasn't around to reassure him. Chris had gone off on his weird driving across America thing, and Justin was going touring soon, and they just weren't... He called, of course he did, whenever he had the time and energy, but recording on his own was a lot more stressful than he'd anticipated. He'd actually thought it would be kinda better, not fighting with JC or, sometimes, the other three, over every trackā€”but it was awful hard to be sure what he wanted when he didn't get to argue like that, and his producers were so cool he didn't always like to go that way, because he was lucky they wanted to work with him, whereas when it was 'C...

It was going to be fine. Of course it was. The album would be great, and he had fans, didn't he? Of course it would sell. Not like Strings, obviously, but it would be fine. It didn't need to go straight in at number one, or break records, to be a success.

* * *

He'd always known this would happen. Always known J would realize he could do better than a so-so looking guy with only weirdness and a freakishly high voice to recommend him. Selling out a tour on his own (like there'd ever been any doubt of that) and even getting the critics on his side.

Chris shouldn't wish the kid back, the one who thought Chris was cool and funny and a prize, but he couldn't help it.

If Lance hadn't blown them off, maybe, maybe Justin would have stayed. The three of them would have been strong enough to fill each others' needs, had been the plan. Turned out Lance didn't need them. Even when his Space Thing didn't work out, he just shrugged it off and went blithely on to the next thing. There'd never be an empty place in Lance's bed, if he wanted someone there. Or Justin's, either. Hard to pick out the facts from the rumors, what with Janet Jackson and Alyssa and whichever the hell Minogue sister and now Cameron Diaz. Didn't matter anyway. He'd found his own level now.

And Chris... was on his own. Like he should have known he'd be.

 

 

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