So Justin liked Lance, a lot, that's what they noticed first. It wasn't entirely clear when they start having sex, but one day Joey got on the bus and Justin was pressing Lance against the back of the couch, kissing him, with Lance's hands slipped beneath the waistband of his pants. Justin jerked his head around and glared at him.
"Sorry," Joey said, but then Chris crowded onto the bus behind him, saying
"What's the hold up, here, anyway?" and saw them, too.
At first he'd been glad for them, because Lance seemed really happy, but then it got kind of annoying, because he couldn't do anything with Lance, hang out with him alone, touch him at all, without Justin showing up and saying, in a fairly nasty voice "What are you doing, anyway?" Lance tried to talk to him about it, but it only made things worse.
"He's being a fucking punk," Chris said once, after Joey had stopped saying anything, because it made Lance look strained and sad.
"I know, I know," Lance said.
"So what the fuck?" Chris said.
"He'll get over it," Lance said.
"Yeah, he better," Chris said, "because I can't take much more of this 'Sleeping with the Enemy' bullshit, okay?"
So maybe he was a little jealous. Lance was cute, and in Europe, when Justin thought he wasn't cool enough to hang out with, really, he'd been all Joey's, and they'd done a lot of stupid sight seeing that the others wouldn't do. Justin couldn't really, anyway; he always spoiled everything by getting recognized. So it was a pain in the ass now that Justin was always stuck right up against Lance, leaning on him, kissing him. They spent a week at Johnny's house, ostensibly to work out some stuff for the new album, but all Lance and Justin did was fuck, doing it on the long lawn that led down to the pond, and every night, kissing each other kind of ostentatiously in front of the others, Lance's head in Justin's lap when they were lying on the couches talking about arrangements.
"Dude, don't go out there," Chris said one morning when JC came down in his swim trunks.
"What, why—oh," JC said. "ew."
Chris nodded grimly.
Then there was one time at a club when he'd had little too much to drink and he kissed Lance. It was late, he was horny, it was a mistake, it was just that Justin was off someplace for once, and he and Lance had been goofing off, just like old times, and they'd been roughhousing a little, Lance poking him the stomach and laughing, so he leaned down and kissed him quickly on the cheek, even though Lance jerked his head so it was more like the corner of the mouth. It wasn't a big deal. Until, of course, he felt Justin's hand on his shoulder, jerking him around, Justin screaming "what the fuck" and clocking him hard in the jaw. "Fuck," he said, stumbling backwards.
"Justin, cut it out—" Lance said, catching Justin's arm as Justin stepped towards him.
After that, he really couldn't hang out with Lance, because Justin would pitch a fucking fit. Chris shook his head,
"Dude, they have their heads up their asses," he said.
"I know," Joey said, but he missed Lance. Also, he was kind of horny, so it wasn't too much fun to know that Justin was getting laid whenever he wanted. Also, they fucked loudly, Justin whimpering, Lance grunting, and had obnoxious endearments for each other.
"Pass the bread, sweetcheeks," Joey said to JC, who looked startled for a moment, before answering, sardonically,
"There you go, sugarlips."
"Shut the fuck up right now," Justin said.
Then someone had the brilliant idea to go stay in some godforsaken cabin out in the woods. It was one of those committee decisions, where they all ended up compromising until they were doing something no one wanted to. Justin and Lance would disappear in the afternoon to fuck, and Joey twisted his ankle badly when they went for a walk and ended up spending most of the week in a fusty recliner.
"Fun, huh," Chris said, one day, coming in from pool in his swim trunks.
"Oh, yeah." Through the open door, he could see Justin and Lance in the swimming pool, Justin nuzzling Lance's neck,
"Wanna make out?" Chris said.
"What?"
"Kidding, Jesus," Chris said, but maybe he wasn't really, because that night he came into Joey's room and said he couldn't sleep, and then, after that, he muttered something that sounded like "I'm lonely," and then, after that, two days later, he kissed Joey.
He noticed Justin and Lance a lot less after that, even when Lance bought Justin an extravagantly ugly ring that Justin loved, and when they screwed loudly on the bus, and in the hotel room next to them, and held hands at a party, and wouldn't shut the fuck up in the bunks, whispering 'I love you' back and forth, because he had Chris, a little, anyway. Chris liked to make out with him on the couch, and although it took them a while to work up to the sex, when they finally did, he realized it had only been him working up to the sex, that Chris had been ready all along.
"You should have told me," he said, pulling Chris back against him afterwards, kissing his neck.
"Yeah, well, I had to make sure you didn't like Lance, anymore," Chris said.
"Dude, I never liked Lance."
"Whatever, Joe."
"Well, he's clearly looking for someone who's a little more—"
"stalkerish," Chris said. "seriously, if they ever break up, we're screwed. Justin's gonna leave dead animals on his doorstep. He'll have to change his name and go on the lam."
"Maybe he'll calm down," Joey said. "Maybe," Chris said.
"Whose fucking idea was it to rent a house together, anyway," JC said when he walked in on them halfway to fucking on the couch, back in Orlando. Chris face was pink, and he was breathless, and he made a soft disappointed sound and flopped back on the couch when Joey buttoned his pants back up.
"You don't want to have sex there," JC said.
"Why not—oh, they didn't," Joey said.
"Yeah, it's probably best if you don't ask me about the kitchen counter," JC said.
"Gross," Chris said.
"Like you two are any better," JC said, and stomped off to his room. He was writing a lot of songs, lately, Joey knew. He nearly finished a notebook in the week they did a series of benefit shows in Massachusetts. Reading surreptitiously over his shoulder, Joey saw that most of the songs were called things like "Alone" and "Lonely" and "Inconsiderate Bitch Friends".
Justin even noticed. Lance had taken him home and introduced Justin to his mother and it must have gone well because Justin came back in a benevolent mood, and even apologized to Joey. One day Joey overheard Chris yelling "None of your fucking business, dude," and came into the room to find both of them bright red, Chris with his face in his hands.
"So, um," Justin said, changing the subject, "JC's kinda crabby lately, huh?"
He and Lance still held hands a lot, but they weren't all over each other all the time, and once he and Lance even hung out and went to the mall or something, and Justin didn't freak out.
"Now, if they just stop calling each other 'baby', we'll be all set," Chris said.
"Baby," Joey said.
"Shut up," Chris said, turning around in his arms and sliding an arm around his neck.
It was too bad about JC, though, when Justin started to get along with all of them, and even loosened up enough to make a few stalker-boyfriend jokes of his own, and didn't seem to need to be in physical contact with Lance at all times, and even bought Joey a box of novelty condoms (Condoms From Around the World) as a "thing. whatever. now that you and Chris are together," he said, smiling a little, making a vague gesture with his hands.
"Also, because you were a jerk."
"Yeah."
Joey squinted at him.
"Okay, okay. I was a jerk, fine."
"A big jerk."
"A big jerk."
"A bastard."
"Oh, fine, look, do you want me to go hit on Chris so you can punch me?" Justin said, and then Joey shoved him a little and got him in an unbreakable headlock until Justin started to tickle him.
JC started drinking a lot, and keeping weird hours and stopped talking to them and once when they were going out to dinner, he said
"Look, I don't wanna interfere with Gidget's dream double date, here," and stomped off out of the house and drove away before they could stop him. Justin broke the silence. "It's not our fault we're getting laid," he said, which was true.
JC came home with a shiner that night, when Joey was in the kitchen getting a drink of water. He reeked of beer.
"Whoa," Joey said. "How much did you have to drink?"
"Someone spilled one on me," JC said, rubbing his face. Joey handed him a glass of water, which he drank, and then said "okay, c'mon," and half carried him to his room. He put JC down on his bed and had just gotten his shoes off when JC said "Joey—" in a choked low voice. When he tilted his head up, JC kissed him, sloppily, one hand clenching in his sweater.
"Hey—" he started to say, pulling away, and then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris in the doorway. Chris left. JC burst into tears.
"Oh, god, oh Christ," he said, and hugged JC for a while, while JC said "I'm sorry," which he was and "I'm fine," which he wasn't. Finally, he just tucked him under the covers and sat there until he fell asleep. It didn't take long.
"so," Chris said when he came in, looking up at him, sitting cross-legged on the bed.
"yeah," he said, sitting down heavily. Chris put one hand on the back of his neck and squeezed a little, comfortingly. "He's pretty messed up," Joey said. "ah, do that," he said, when Chris started to rub his shoulders.
"So it would be a bad idea for me to go all Jerry Springer you-stole-my-man on him tomorrow," Chris said.
"Yeah, probably," Joey said.
He thought they were going to have to do some kind of intervention, but that turned out to be unnecessary. JC apologized to both of them the next morning, kind of non-specifically, and said "You probably hate me now, and all—"
"Dude, this ain't the Young and the Restless," Chris said, crunching busily at his cereal.
"I just—"
"If you're really sorry," Chris said, "You could do my laundry."
"Forget it," JC said.
That night, he went out again, and didn't come back.
"Do you think someone kidnapped him or something," Chris said, a little anxiously, at ten the next morning.
"Don't say shit like that," Joey said, knocking on wood, right as JC came in.
"Hey," he said, and went straight to his room.
"huh," Chris said.
JC went out again that night.
"Looking hot, man—" Chris said, because JC was wearing some very tight leather pants.
"Yeah?" JC said nervously.
"You got a date?" Joey said.
"No," JC said, too quickly.
"C'mon," Chris said. "details."
"It's no one you've heard of or anything," JC said.
"Oh, heard of? What, is she famous or something—"
"No," JC said, and left.
He had beardburn on his throat the next day, but he wouldn't say anything. It was Justin who finally figured it out, screaming, loudly one night, while they were making dinner
"Get the fuck in here—" He was watching some local news, and they had a lame little celebrity segment, which, more often then not, featured grainy film of Justin refueling his car at the AM/PM. This time, it was JC and AJ—
"The fucking Backstreet Boys?" Chris said, throwing his hands in the air.
"Wow. JC has weird taste in guys," Lance said, sitting down next to Justin. They watched while JC and AJ ate brunch at an outdoor table, JC smiling up at AJ a little dreamily.
"Fuck," Chris said. "He has the toughest boyfriend of all of us."
"Fag," Steve said to Chris when he found out.
"That's right, baby," Chris said, a merry, ugly grin on his face, "and I'm givin' it to your little brother every night." Then Steve punched him, and Chris broke Steve's nose, and that was the end of that. AJ came over a lot and ate their food, and washed JC's car, and JC shrieked like a girl when AJ showered him with the hose.
"How you doin'," Joey said once, going outside to have a smoke and finding AJ out there, sucking on a cigarette.
"Okay," AJ said. "He's a little nervous about puttin' out, to tell the truth."
"yeah, well," Joey said, not really certain what to say.
"Hell of a cute ass, though," AJ said.
Joey made a non-committal noise.
Lance and Justin got matching rings. They were very large.
"I will dump you on your ass if you ever make me wear anything that hideously ugly," Joey muttered to Chris, after they had expressed appropriate approval and felicitations.
"I'll get you a cock ring instead," Chris said soothingly.
That was that, though, except for the time when Joey ran into Kevin at the supermarket and they ignored each other until it got too weird, and Joey finally said "hey—" in the frozen foods aisle.
"Hey," Kevin said. Joey nodded a little, and put a carton of ice cream in his cart. Kevin shook his head, tiredly. "So, we're having this barbecue or whatever, if you guys want to come."
"What?"
"Well, AJ already brings your guy everywhere anyway."
"Really," Joey said. He was curious about AJ and JC, a little. Chris said he'd walked in on them having sex and claimed to be scarred for life, but he had smiled when JC said "now you know how I felt, anyway," but Joey hadn't really seen them together.
"It's on Saturday," Kevin said. "Two o'clock."
"If you tell Jive, they might pitch in for the hamburgers or something," Joey said.
It was a pretty good barbecue, all in all. Kevin and Chris had a drinking competition which ended when Chris decided that he wanted to beat up Nick Carter, just on general principles, and Joey talked to Howie about time share condos, and AJ and JC disappeared halfway through
"—to have sex," Brian said in disgust. "God, all they do is screw."
"Whatever, they're in love," Kevin said.
"Yeah," Brian said.
Somewhere behind them, Nick yelled "Get off me, you little freaker."
All I Ever Needed
by Helen
[petty larceny]
[stories]
[front]
[e-mail]