< Chapter 13

Chapter 14

The week had gone by quickly as it was filled with things to do for everyone. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday found Justin at basketball practice after school. They would practice from three thirty until five thirty in preparation for their game that Friday night. Not all games would be at night, as some were also to be played during class time. For those games, players were to have written consent from their parents allowing them out of class, as well as periodic checks would be done with teachers to make sure that they were keeping up with their grades.

Nick arrived at school on Monday morning to find in homeroom that he had a note from Coach Griffiths. It indicated that freshman boys basketball try outs would be held during lunch on Monday and Tuesday since the Varsity team had the gym after school. By the end of the day on Tuesday, the team would be posted and they would be able to practice on Wednesday after school and Thursday lunch. It was suggested that they attend the Varsity game on Friday night to take pointers and get prepared for their first game which was to be played on the following Monday at three-thirty. It wasn’t a game during class but one to be held right after school so that the grade nines would be able to see their representatives play without missing class.

The aspect of assisting Coach Griffiths in picking their team was what interested Nick the most. He knew he would have to be there for try outs, but to actually sit down with Coach and go over each player made him feel even more important. Once again, Nick couldn’t help but be thankful that he had been cut from the Varsity team and put on the Freshman team as it was already giving him so much experience that he hadn’t expected to get. Upon looking at the schedule that he’d been given, they didn’t have games every week, but more so every second week. On weeks that there was a game, there would be three practices, two during lunch and one after school. Games were scheduled for one of three times. The first was eleven o’clock, which if played at Lincoln High, the grade nines and tens were often allowed out of class to watch to support the team. The second was at two, which again, they were allowed out of class to watch. And finally, the last time slot was right after school. Students
 with a free period during game times were often encouraged to check out the games in the gym, but for the most part, attendance wasn’t like it was for the Varsity Boys. On weeks that there wasn’t a game, they would meet once or twice for practice, which could be during lunch or after school, depending on when the gym was available. Their schedule for the whole season had been given to them at their first official practice, which had taken the various coaches and administration staff endless hours of headaches trying to sort everything out. At first, Nick had been worried that with basketball, his homework and his art portfolio, he wouldn’t have enough time to do it all, but once he sat down and devised a schedule, he found that it was enough to keep him busy but not overwhelmed.

Lance was proud of his two best friends for being athletic stars, yet at no point did he envy either of them. He didn’t mind watching basketball, but to actually play it, he couldn’t be less interested. It was the Lincoln Report which took up most of his extra curricular time, and he found that the more time he spent in the office, the more he enjoyed it. Chris gave him little tasks to do and Lance found that he was always trying to find more to do. One afternoon, he had gone to the school library and asked to see every issue of the Report that he could for the past few years. It was there he went through them, studied what others had done and made notes on what they could to do make that year’s paper better than any year before it.

A few days at lunch it was just him and AJ as they waited for Josh to join them. Now that Nick and Justin had so many things they were doing, places they had to be, Lance found that he was spending more time with AJ alone. Not only was he spending more time with AJ, he realized that he was liking him more and more each day. There would be subtle glances that Lance wished he could talk to someone about, to see if he was reading something that wasn’t there. But to talk to someone, he would have had to share with them his secret about liking AJ, and still, after all that time he wasn’t sure if he could. He missed Nick and Justin, and the way things were before basketball had started, but at the same time, he was enjoying being able to get to know AJ better. They found out that they had a lot in common and little by little, Lance was becoming more comfortable with AJ on a personal level. He was starting to be able to see him as a friend and on a deeper level than this amazingly hot boy
 who had the power to make his stomach flutter and his palms sweat.

Friday came and Justin felt anxious. He still hadn’t been told whether or not he would be playing that night and wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing if he didn’t play. From what he had heard, everyone in the whole school would be going out to see the game and he didn’t want to mess up in his first game. But at the same time, he didn’t want to be benched and not get to play at all. He got to school extra early that day and waited at Nick and Lance’s lockers for them to arrive.

"J, you ready for tonight?" Nick asked as he approached his locker to see his best friend leaning on it nervously. Their eyes met and Nick could see the tension there.

"I’m so nervous," Justin admitted breathlessly. "God, what if I suck!"

"Not gonna happen," Lance startled Justin as he came from behind him to open his locker. His tone was reassuring and he gently squeezed Justin’s arm. "You’re gonna be awesome!"

Nick nodded in agreement. "Totally. We’re gonna be there cheering you on, and then afterwards ...don’t forget we’re going to the Shake Shack."

Justin had overheard Brian talking to a few players about having a party at his house when they were at practice the night before, but he had been too nervous to ask whether the party included him. He knew by word of mouth that the whole team was always invited, but he didn’t know if that still applied since he was a freshman. Everyone else on the team were friends and had been going to school together for years, Justin was the only person who they didn’t know as well. They had stopped talking about it when he approached, so Justin had decided not to ask. Going to the Shake Shack with Nick, Lance, AJ and Josh sounded like exactly what he needed. As much as he would have liked to have been invited to Brian’s, he vowed not to stress about it Justin took a deep, cleansing breath. He knew that no matter what happened at the game that night, his friends would be there to support him. That took a bit of the edge off of his nerves and allowed him to breathe a little easier.

"Josh is driving," Lance informed them. "You’re gonna be here early, right J? You don’t need a ride?"

Justin nodded. "Yeah, we’re gonna have a last minute practice tonight before hand. Just to finalize the starting line up."

Nick was surprised that they still hadn’t decided on a starting line up. He assumed that they always had the same starters, not to mention that they’d been practicing like crazy all week. For the freshman team, their line up had already been decided and they’d been playing first string against second string to prepare for their game on Monday. It had been Nick’s idea to spend the first half of practice running drills to warm up, and the second half to actually get some game time practicing. Coach Griffiths had agreed that a successful team needed a balance of both and had implemented it in their first practice. He felt a pang of sympathy for Justin as he hoped that his friend would at least get a little bit of court time. Nick knew that Justin just wanted to play, and not knowing whether or not if he would was probably killing him.

"We’re doing lunch in the quad today, right?" Nick asked as he grabbed his math books. As a force of habit, he checked his watch to see what time it was. It was a few minutes before Kevin’s appearance in the hall and Nick felt a jolt of excitement flow through his body. He blushed at the knowledge that Kevin still had that affect on him and hoped that no one else had noticed. Thankfully, they hadn’t.

"Of course," Lance rolled his eyes. "Some of us haven’t NOT been doing lunch in the quad."

"I know, I suck," Nick apologized with a shrug. "I’m sorry..." Justin also offered an apologetic smile.


"Me too. But I’ll be there today. I promise."

"Good, because it’s not as fun when you guys aren’t there. Not that AJ isn’t fun, because he so is. I’m totally getting to know him better and we’re talking about so many things that we hadn’t talked about before ...and he’s such an interesting person. So much more than I ever would have thought..." Lance knew he was babbling but he couldn’t stop. He just had so many pent up emotions about AJ that once he started talking, nothing could stop him. It felt good just to talk to his two best friends who he had barely spoken to all week.

He missed the amused expression that passed between Nick and Justin as the two friends nodded knowingly. AJ had nothing to worry about, Lance was just as smitten with him as he was with Lance. Neither said a word.

"...but its’ been forever since all of us have had lunch and I really miss you guys."

"Well, we’ll be there." Nick said. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye and he looked down the hall at Kevin, Brian and Chris walking towards them. Joey was nowhere to be seen, but Nick barely noticed. All he could see was Kevin looking absolutely beautiful in a long sleeved tee shirt, a pair of faded blue jeans and his doc marten boots. Nick’s pulse began to race and he felt butterflies in his stomach. They only intensified as the trio slowed down.

Chris smiled and stuck his tongue out at Lance who only rolled his eyes at him in return.

"Bass!" Chris said in greeting.

"Christopher," Lance replied in his most official tone. They both stuck their tongues out at each ther before starting to laugh.

Nick couldn’t see anything except Kevin standing just a foot away from him. His heart was in his throat and he found his breathing was laboured. It was Brian who broke the awkward silence that fell upon them.

"J, ready for tonight?"

Justin nodded nervously. "I think so.. I mean, I guess I have to be right?"

"You’ll be fine. After a while it won’t seem like a big deal anymore. I just wanted to invite you to my place after the game. Well, we usually go to the Shack for something to eat and then my house. Since you’re a member of the team, you’re invited. You too," Brian nodded at Nick whose eyes nearly bugged out.

Nick looked quickly at Kevin who was looking at something down the hall, his attention was definitely elsewhere. He nodded silently, fully knowing that he probably looked stupid but didn’t care. He was being invited to Brian Littrell’s party and had to fight the urge to scream. Instead, Justin answered for them.

"Uhh, thanks."

"Feel free to bring whoever you like. Not a whole lot of people because my parents don’t like it too big, but people who will be okay, you know?"

"For sure, of course. Thanks," Justin said softly. "Umm... Should we bring anything?"

Brian gave a friendly chuckle and shook his head. "Nah, it’s just a whole bunch of us hanging out. Nothing too serious, and no alcohol.." At the mention of alcohol Nick gasped and Justin’s eyes bugged out comically. This time Brian did laugh. "I guess that’s not even an issue for you guys huh?"

Both Nick and Justin shook their heads. Brian grinned.

"Cool, so you’ll be okay getting there? I’ll give you directions before the game tonight."

"Yeah, my friend Josh usually drives us so I’ll let him know."

"Okay, see you guys later." Brian nudged Kevin who gave a distracted nod and followed his best friend down the hall. Chris trailed after, making sure to give Lance cut eye one last time before disappearing around the hall.

"What was that?" Justin asked Lance, nodding at Chris.

"Oh, it’s this thing we do. We try and intimidate each other, be mean and joke around. He always seems to win, he’s much more intimidating than I am and I always end up cracking first."

"You’re both weird," Justin commented as he turned to Nick who was still standing still in shock. "You okay?"

"We’re invited to Brian’s party!" Nick said, voice still evidence of his shock. He blinked at Justin and then Lance before opening his mouth again. "We ...are invited to Brian ...Littrell’s party. Us. At a party. With Kevin Richardson." His eyes opened wide and his lips curled into a giant grin.

"Here it comes," Lance giggled as Justin covered his mouth with his hand. They watched Nick jump up and down before shimmying his hips in an excited dance.

"And there it went," Justin laughed.

"We’re going right?" Nick asked his two friends. "I mean ..we CAN’T NOT go!"

Justin and Lance exchanged a glance and both shrugged. "I guess we could put in an appearance ...since Kevin’s going to be there and all." They received an arm full of Nick who was hugging them tightly.

"You guys are awesome! This is SO BIG!"

The rest of the day was spent on cloud nine for Nick. All he could think about was the fact that he was going to have the time of his life that night. He just knew that Brian Littrell’s parties were the best ever, mainly because Kevin was there and any time with Kevin would be the best time ever. Plus he always seemed to catch bits and pieces of conversations on days after Brian’s parties where people were always talking about how much fun they had and what an awesome house the Littrell’s had. Nick had often pictured himself being invited and having a great time, but never honestly thought he would ever be given the chance to go to one. Now he did and he could barely even concentrate on anything except Kevin and what on earth he would possibly talk to him about.

Nick couldn’t help but daydream about how he’d get a chance to talk to Kevin, maturely of course, and engage him in conversation to make the older boy notice him. It would be his big chance that night to show Kevin that they were meant for each other. They would bump into each other in the hall, or some other tightly enclosed space. At first they would try and pass one another, both moving to the same side before excusing themselves to move to the other. Nick would blush sweetly and Kevin would laugh while he made a corny joke about it being nice dancing with him. Kevin would then casually run his fingers through his hair and take a look at the blonde teen in front of him, so overwhelmingly gorgeous and sexy that he would have to know his name. Nick would coyly withhold the information and make Kevin work for it until Kevin was nearly dying with anticipation. Nick would introduce himself and Kevin would then ask if Nick wanted to go somewhere else to talk, somewhere more comfortable
 and quiet. Nick would and they would spend the rest of the night getting to know each other until Kevin realized that Nick was his soul mate and they were destined to be together.

He couldn’t focus on anything except that exact scenario in all of his classes. The location of the daydream often changed, as did the topics of conversations, but for the most part, the fantasy was the same, Kevin realizing Nick’s existence and his inability to live without him. The only class that he was even remotely productive in was art, but he’d simply pulled his supplies out and painted one line before turning to AJ and gushing for the duration of the class that they’d been invited to Brian’s after the game and fate was going to be working her magic that night.

"You want to come right?" Nick asked, hopefully. He knew that if AJ didn’t go, Lance might not go and Nick needed all of the support he could get. There was a lot of eyelash batting and pouting as Nick hoped that his friend would feel sympathetic to his task at hand in making Kevin Richardson fall in love with him.

It didn’t exactly sound like something that AJ was really into, hanging out at someone’s house that he didn’t really know, with a bunch of jocks that he had nothing in common with and most likely wouldn’t even recognize him if they saw him. But at the same time he knew how important it was to Nick and Justin, which made it important to him. Even though at the beginning of the year, he’d began talking to Nick simply because they sat together and he found the silence excruciating, he’d genuinely began to care about the blonde as well as his best friend. Nick and Justin had penetrated AJ’s hard outter surface and now were considered, along with Josh, two of his absolute best friends. Another thing he had to consider was that if Nick and Justin were going, Lance was probably going, and any time spent with Lance was worth while. Just the thought of that sent chills down AJ’s spine. Finally he decided to put Nick out if his misery and agree. "Of course I want to come. I have to be there
 when you finally tell ..." AJ looked around him, not wanting to say it too loud for Nick’s case, "KR how you’re destined to be together." Just as he’d predicted, AJ watched Nick’s face contort into that of pure bliss. If he hadn’t felt the same way about Lance that Nick did about Kevin, he would have laughed at the younger teen. But because he understood that desperate, exciting, nerve wracking feeling of liking them so much you wanted to scream, he didn’t.

"It’s going to be so awesome!" Nick clapped and grinned madly. "You’re the best Aje!"

AJ hoped it would be amazing, for Nick’s case anyways. He really didn’t want something to happen to crush the blonde’s image of Kevin, or anyone else that would be at that party. Nick, despite how mature he conveyed himself to be at fourteen, was very vulnerable and impressionable, and AJ hated the thought of someone doing something to hurt him.

The rest of the day flew by and before Nick knew it, Josh was picking him up at home with AJ and Lance in the back seat.

"You can sit up front," AJ offered. He was glad that the car was dark and that no one could see his blush.

"You never give up shotgun," Nick commented suspiciously. Very briefly, his gaze fell upon the seat between the two boys to see if there was anything going on there. When he saw Lance’s hands folded on his lap and AJ’s fiddling with his seat belt, Nick looked up to meet his friends’ gazes. "Why now?"

AJ shrugged, his blush deepened. He wasn’t going to admit to the whole car that he wanted to sit in the back with Lance so he could be closer to him. He could smell the soap that Lance used and it made his senses tingle, not to mention that every time Josh took a sharp corner, one or both of them slid across the seat and kept bumping into each other. Even that brief contact was enough to make sitting in the back seat worth it for him. Instead, he flicked Nick’s ear in hopes of deflecting the attention from himself. "Because. Now shut the hell up and turn around so we can get to the school."

Lance’s lips curled into a smile and he looked out the window so that no one would see it. It as one of the only times that they’d gone somewhere and AJ hadn’t sat in the front seat. The time they’d gone out for Halloween, Kyle and Billy had already been in the car, so shotgun had been called forcing AJ in the back seat, but usually when it was just them going out, AJ took the front seat leaving the ‘babies’ to fight it out in the back. When they’d pulled up at Nicks’ and AJ had gotten out to move to the back seat, both Lance and Josh had done a double take. Neither had spoken their confusion out loud, they had simply exchanged amused glances in the rear view mirror and waited for Nick to come out and join them in the car. Lance didn’t care what it was that caused AJ to sit in the back with him, he was simply grateful for it and hoped that it was going to be a regular occurrence.

They talked excitedly the whole drive to the school. Not expecting the lot to be full so early, Josh was taken off guard when he had to park just a bit down the road. When they stepped into the gymnasium, all four were once again taken aback when the bleachers were nearly full. It was still about forty minutes before the game was to start and they had expected to be there embarrassingly early. It appeared that they’d just gotten there in time if they wanted to sit for the game. Neither Josh or AJ had gone to any sporting events at Lincoln High before Justin and Nick had arrived, and so they were unprepared for the popularity of Varsity Basketball.

"Come on, lets get seats," Nick tugged on Lance’s arm impatiently. They found seats about midway up the bleachers in the middle. It was prime location to see everything perfectly. The forty minutes passed as before they knew it, the lights were dimming and the spotlight was roaming the crowd. There was an MC to welcome everyone to the first Varsity Boys basketball game of the year at Lincoln High and thanking everyone who had supported the team that night. After a few minutes of messages, the visiting team was announced. They ran out onto the court from the locker rooms to various cheers from the stands as well as boos. Nick simply clapped. He had nothing against these boys and wasn’t aware of any school rivalries with them.

When their team was announced, the gym erupted into thunderous applause. Nick stood up and cheered as Justin made his way onto the court. Instantly Nick could see a mixture of anxiety and sadness from his best friend. Nick felt his stomach lurch and he sat down to watch the game.

Four quarters later, Lincoln High had won by a narrow margin of 46-41. Justin had played a total of three minutes, none of which he was actually passed the ball. Nick watched as people filed onto the court to talk to the players, so he let the others know he’d be right back and slipped through the crowd in hopes of finding his best friend. When he finally did see Justin, he was pleased to see Lynn Timberlake hugging her son enthusiastically.

"You were so great out there baby," Lynn exclaimed. She ruffled her son’s hair as she pulled him in for another hug. "I’m so proud of you."

"I didn’t even touch the ball mom!" Justin’s voice was flat and Nick knew he was disappointed. Justin pulled away from his mother and crossed his arms over his chest. Seeing how upset Justin was, Nick felt disappointed on behalf of his best friend.

"It doesn’t matter. You were still great out there."

Nick stepped up and smiled comfortingly at Justin. When Justin nodded in acknowledgment Lynn turned around to see him standing there. Her grin became wider and she made room for Nick to join the conversation.

"Nickolas, don’t you agree that Justin was great!"

"Best player out there," Nick winked at Justin who only rolled his eyes and tried not to smile.

"You have to say that."

Nick took a moment and thought about it. Finally he nodded. "Yeah, I do." The group burst into laughter and Nick was happy to see some of the frustration leave Justin’s face.

Justin knew he shouldn’t really be upset, since he was on the team and at least got to be on the court, but at the same time he hadn’t been given much of a chance to show what he could do. He hadn’t been expecting to be on the starter list, but he thought that from the way Craig and the coach had been gushing about his skills, he’d be on second string. It had been a slap to the face when he’d shown up at practice that day after school to find that he was third string, only getting maybe a few minutes tops of court time.

"You’re fresh meat," Craig had informed him without guilt. "There are people who have been on the team for a year or two. They’ll get the start, you come in if we need you." It was the way things were and Justin had fought not to complain. Or run into the bathroom and cry. He’d seriously thought that he was going to be playing, and three minutes wasn’t playing. It was killing time until Brian had caught his breath and was ready to go back out on the court.

Seeing Nick’s encouraging smile brightened Justin’s mood. He’d been looking for Nick in the crowd, but kept finding himself riveted to the game in front of him, watching every move to study for the next game in case he did get a chance to play longer.

"So, we still on for tonight?" Nick asked gingerly. If Justin didn’t feel like going out, he would understand. He would be disappointed at not going to Brian’s party to see Kevin, but making sure that Justin was okay was much more important. And Nick wouldn’t go to the party without his best friend, so it was all up to him. Nick made sure to let Justin know that no matter what he decided, it was okay. "I mean, if you don’t want to ...that’s cool! We’ll just go to the Shack and then back to your place. Or we can just go to your place if that’s what you want."

"No way Carter," Justin grinned. "You promised me a root beer float! You’re not getting out of it that easily." Nick’s grin matched Justin’s.

"You sure ..you look..."

"I just want to go, have a float and not think about it. Then go to Brian’s and be able to say that we’ve partied with them."


"Well boys, have fun and remember, you have to be home by eleven thirty."

Both boys calculated the time in their heads. It was just after eight now. They’d go to the Shake Shack and be there for maybe an hour and a bit, which would get them to Brian’s at around tenish. That would give them an hour or so at the party before having to leave to get them all home in time for curfew. Since Justin had slept over at Nick’s on Halloween, it was Nick’s turn to sleep over at Justin’s, both boys grinned.

"Yes mom. We’ll be home by eleven thirty."

Lynn left and Nick shooed Justin towards the locker rooms. "Go change and we’ll meet you in front of the school. We had to park down the street a little, too many cars."

Before Justin dashed off to the locker room, he pulled Nick into a tight hug. "Thanks for being here, tonight." It amazed Justin how a few comforting words and a warm smile from his best friend could make him feel better. Before the game when everyone was in the locker room discussing plays for the game, all Justin had wanted to do was go home. Not even stay for the game but go home to cry and scream. It didn’t seem fair that he was on the team but couldn’t play, and for that reason he wanted to just up and leave without a second thought. It was the knowledge that Nick was going to be there that night cheering him on no matter what that kept him on that bench. And when he ran out onto the court and was forced to sit down only minutes later because Brian was ready to go back out there, he once again felt like going home to sulk in his room. Again, Nick’s face appeared in his mind’s eye and Justin felt strong enough to stay and play the rest of the game out on the bench.

"Thanks for wanting me here," Nick said, his voice thick with emotion. They were staring deeply into each other’s eyes and he knew that people who might be watching them would probably think they were a little strange, but he didn’t care. He needed Justin to know exactly how proud of him he was. He wanted to reassure Justin that no matter what ever happened, he would be there for him and thankfully, Justin nodded as if he understood.

Then, as quickly as the moment fell over them, it passed and Justin gave an embarrassed grin. "I’m gonna go get ready, see you in fifteen."

Nick nodded and snuck through the crowd once more to tell the others that Justin would meet them outside.

The Shake Shack was loud and in mid swing as they arrived. They grabbed a table as it quickly became available, thankful that they had gotten there just in time. Justin’s stomach growled loudly indicating how hungry he was. He had been so nervous that he couldn’t eat anything before the game, but now as his adrenaline rush was slowly diminishing, he found himself starving.

Conversation at their table was lively, as everyone talked about how their weeks had been. Josh talked about his co-op and how much fun he was having teaching, Lance discussed the paper and both Nick and Justin excitedly spoke about how their practices had been. AJ was simply glad to be pressed tightly in the corner of the booth against Lance’s side. Midway through their meal, Brian came to the table to let them know that his car would be leaving in about ten to fifteen minutes. Since Josh had been given a map to Brian’s house, they were free to show up whenever they were ready. Justin nodded and told Brian that they’d see him later. He was having so much fun at their table that he’d almost forgotten that they had been invited to Brian’s party.

Brian went back to his table and everyone at their table went back to the conversation that had been interrupted. While Justin was telling a story about practice earlier that day, Nick watched Kevin and Gretchen sitting in their booth, talking intimately with each other. He hadn’t been to a football game lately and thus, hadn’t been forced to witness the two of them together, all over each other. It was watching them occasionally kiss or giggle at something the other had said that made Nick realize that he hadn’t really missed it. He couldn’t help but wish that he’d have switched places with Lance who had his back to them.

Everything Nick was feeling amplified ten fold as Nick watched Kevin’s tongue trace the outline of Gretchen’s lips. His fingers were twirling effortlessly in her hair and Nick fought the urge to go up and rip every blonde hair out of her head.

"You’re scowling," AJ whispered. He caught Nick’s eye and shrugged. "Nearly growling actually."

"Well look at them, do they need to do that here?" Nick pushed the remainder of his basket of fries away with disgust.

"You gonna eat those?" Justin asked as he crammed a few fries into his mouth. He was still starving and had already eaten everything on his plate.

"Go ahead, I’m done." Nick kept one eye on Kevin and Gretchen, anxious about Brian’s party that night. He knew that Kevin was going to be there with Gretchen, but hoped that there would at least be a point where he was alone, which would give Nick a chance to make his move. Brian had already left with Joey and a few other players from the team. Nick figured that Gretchen and Kevin would be going separately in Kevin’s car, which was why they were still there when nearly everyone else at their table had already gone. Nick just wished that if they were going to make out, they would leave already so he wouldn’t have to witness it. It was so not what he needed to see, especially that night when he was planning to make his big move.

Their bill came and as Justin reached across the table to see how much he owed, Nick slapped his hand. "No!"

"No what?"

"It’s your big night, you’re not paying." Nick informed him. He put down enough for both of their meals and wouldn’t listen to Justin’s protests.

"You said you were just gonna buy me a float."

"I’m paying for everything!" Nick tossed Justin’s money back at him across the table and scooped up the pile of everyone’s money along with the bill.

"But I just played three.."

"I don’t care if you only played three minutes, you played. You have a varsity jersey..."

"That someone else wore last season!"

"That you’re wearing THIS season." Nick argued. He wasn’t going to let Justin belittle himself, no matter how hard he tried. "So you’re going to shut up and let me pay so we can get to the party! There is fate that’s waiting to happen. Destiny is hanging in limbo because you’re being retarded."

Had Nick not been serious, Justin would have laughed at the expression on his face. Instead, he scrunched up his nose and felt his cheeks heat with blush. A moment of startling clarity hit Justin and he couldn’t help but be thankful that he was lucky enough to be graced with the best friends that anyone could have. Justin sat back in resignation and let Josh, who was closest to the waitress, hand over their money for the bill, his portion paid for by Nick. He watched Nick and Lance laughing about something that Josh had said. He watched AJ watch Lance fondly, and Lance pretend that he wasn’t sneaking glances at AJ back. And he watched as Nick kept looking at him to make sure that he was okay, not fully enjoying the fact that they were going to a party at Brian Littrell’s house with Kevin Richardson in attendance because his best friend needed assurance that he was good enough to be on the team. Justin fixed a genuine smile on his face before he stood up to stretch. "Come on, the
 party’s starting without us. Besides, fate’s going to get pissed if we don’t get Nick there soon."

End Chapter 14


Chapter 15 >