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Title: The One Where They’re In A Bizzaro World
Author:
Pairing: TimberNick, TrickyFish, JuKe (kinda), CarTrick (kinda)
Part: 1/1
Rating: R
Series: Part of 'The One' series
Disclaimer: Fiction for entertainment purposes. Not to be intended as truth. I make no claims on the sexualities of any of the mentioned people.
Warnings: Slash warning. AU warning
Notes: Okay, so this is where I explain a few things. So it’s an AU, but then its’ an AU from the AU. They’re not the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC, so that in itself is an AU, but then it goes AU from there. When you read, you’ll know what I mean. And if you don’t, then email me and we’ll talk. LOL. So I got this idea about six or seven months ago and thought it was the coolest idea for a story. But then my muses got all mushy on me and where it was supposed to be this insanely funny folly of a story, it kind of drifted away from that. Not entirely, because there are points that I still think are pretty damn funny, but there’s a ‘deeper meaning’ or whatever. I nearly didn’t write it because I thought it would be too intense and difficult to do, but then today I got out my fic journal and saw a half a dozen half finished ideas in there and thought ‘why the hell not’ So a few hours later, I'm done. LOL. But yeah. So that’s all I have to say about that.

~*~*~*~*~

The alarm clock was ringing. Loudly. In his ear. Nick growled and burrowed further under the covers hoping that it would stop sometime relatively soon. He knew he hadn’t set the alarm before going to bed the night before, so it must have been Justin. Justin, whose body was curled tight against his chest, their bodies so close that they could have passed for one person. The longer the alarm clock sounded, the more frustrated Nick was getting. Clearly, since he didn’t have to be up until at least noon and Justin had set the alarm, then his lover should be waking his ass up and doing what it was that caused him to set the alarm. And if he wasn’t going to get out of bed, he could at least turn the god damned thing off.

Finally, it was getting enough for him and Nick blindly shut the alarm off, smacking it a few times. When it sounded again, ten minutes later, Nick unplugged the whole damn clock and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a satisfying crack and Nick’s lips curled into a still sleepy smile. "Fuck," he mumbled, rubbing at his still closed eyes. He was up for the day now and was fighting the bad mood that was threatening because of the harsh wake up he’d received.

The night before they’d had some of the guys over, both his and Justin’s, to celebrate their two year anniversary. What had started off as a rocky friendship, had turned into a relationship that both men had fought very hard to maintain, especially since their careers weren’t exactly designed for anything deviating from healthy and heterosexual, and the heterosexuality was what deemed it healthy. Nick had gone to bed first, somewhere between two and three in the morning, while he’d felt the bed shift at five when Justin joined him. Opening his eyes, they talked for a few minutes about how lucky they were to have such amazing and supportive friends and continued to fall asleep in each other’s arms, smiles decorating their lips.

Nick sighed as he felt Justin curl up tighter against his chest. He instinctively burrowed closer and blindly, his lips sought out Justin’s neck. Feeling goose bumps under his lips, Nick grinned and continued his kisses until he reached Justin’s mouth, taking his lips in what was meant to be a sweet, gentle good morning kiss.

Except there was something wrong. These weren’t Justin’s lips, it wasn’t Justin’s taste. Not to mention that there was stubble scratching Nick’s face, stubble where there shouldn’t be stubble since Justin hadn’t had any sort of goatee or facial hair in months. Nick’s eyes opened in shock and he pulled back, screaming at what he saw.

He saw the other person’s eyes fly open and Nick screamed again, nearly falling off of the bed.


Chris’ screams echoed Nick’s. He screamed until he was out of breath stopping for just a second to pull the covers up to his chin, look under the covers to see that no, he wasn’t clothed, and started to scream again, this time louder than the last.

"What the FUCK are you doing in my bed?" Nick screamed from the foot of the bed. His hair was sticking up at a million different angles and his once sleepy eyes were now open wide, alert and bright blue in confusion. He missed the fact that he was naked and blushed when Chris averted his eyes and pointed to his very awake and alert morning erection. Frantically, Nick grabbed a pair of boxers which were on the floor and slid them on, trying to hide the shame bubbling under the surface of his skin.

"What the fuck?" Chris asked. "What are you doing in MY bed?"

Nick looked around. No, this was his room. Everything was exactly the way it had been the night before, except for the other person in his bed. "Uh... Look around Troll, you’re in my house. My bed."

Chris looked around. Nick was right, this was Nick’s room. Nick and Justin’s room. He fought to remember what had happened the night before and shook his head in confusion. They’d been celebrating Nick and Justin’s two year anniversary and they’d been up pretty late partying. Everyone had decided to stay over and he and Lance had taken their usual room at the end of the hall.

Lance.


Where the fuck was Lance? And why the hell was he in Justin and Nick’s bed?

"Shit."

"Yeah, shit. What the fuck?" Nick asked. Before he could say anything more, the door opened with enough force to hit the wall behind it, effectively scaring the daylights out both Nick and Chris. Both of which were still sitting on the bed, naked and half naked respectively, Chris obviously in Nick and Justin’s bed, while Nick was perched on the end. It looked suspicious and that was why when Nick saw Justin standing at the door, he made a move to get off the bed. Except this time he DID fall and was sprawled out on the floor.

"Shit ... J ..." Chris gasped, jumping off the bed as well. "Let us explain."

"What the fuck is going on in here?" Justin asked, one eyebrow raised. He had a smile on his face, but neither Chris nor Nick knew what to make of it.

"I don’t know," Nick said desperately, rushing to Justin’s side. "I’m sorry.. I woke up and he was there ...in our bed."

"And?" Justin asked.

"Nothing happened, I swear nothing happened. You have to believe me."

"You want me to believe that you and Chris were in that bed together," Justin pointed to the bed. Chris and Nick followed the line of Justin’s finger and Nick growled. "...and nothing happened? I don’t believe it."

Nick gasped and Chris covered his face with his hands. Justin cocked his head to the side.

"Chris, you don’t even have drawers on."

Nick gasped and Chris groaned in embarrassment. He quickly slipped on a pair of boxers, not realizing that they weren’t his. At this point, anything would do.

"Nothing happened last night," Nick tried again, hoping that Justin would forgive him and they could look into figuring out what the hell happened.

"If nothing happened," Justin said with a chuckle, "then what the hell was all that noise last night?"

Chris and Nick exchanged looks of complete and utter disbelief. The morning was getting worse with each passing minute and neither knew what the hell was going on. Nick wracked his brain. He’d had a bit to drink the night before, but was far from drunk. In fact, he could only remember having two glasses of wine, the expensive stuff that JC felt the need to share. They sat around talking and playing cards, there was swimming, but Nick hadn’t felt like going in the pool and then he went to bed. Justin came to join him. He woke up with Chris in his bed.


There was no recollection of what had happened between five am and whatever time it was now.


"What time is it?"

Justin checked his watch. "Eight thirty."

Three and a half hours. What the hell?

"J, I’m sorry. I don’t know what the noise was all night. Hell, I can’t remember anything after three a.m. when I went to bed. One minute I'm in my bed the next I wake up here in Nick’s."

Both Nick and Chris were too worried and frantic to see the look of confusion on Justin’s face.

"I can’t for the life of me remember what happened last night," Chris reiterated.

"Me either."

As Justin was about to comment, Joey entered the room. "What the hell is going on in here?"

Nick and Chris exchanged more frantic glances between them. "NOTHING." They said in unison. There was a hint of panic in their voices.

Chris knew that Joey was going to kill him. He’d warned him when he and Lance got together that Chris had better treat Lance well and not fuck around on or with him like he did everyone else. Chris had been offended because Lance was different and he was Chris’ future, his life and he would never play him like that. Except now Chris thought maybe Lance wasn’t different and maybe he was just an asshole.

"You’re sure making a lot of noise for nothing," Joey said, winking at Justin who chuckled along side his friend.

Both Chris and Nick were utterly and totally lost.


"They say that nothing happened last night either," Justin offered, amused by the whole situation.

Joey’s laugh caused for Nick and Chris to cringe. They were so focused on trying to figure out what had happened, that they failed to question why neither Justin or Joey weren’t ready to kill and maim them. "Yeah right," Joey snorted. "Nothing! I didn’t get any sleep last night because I’m the sucker who got the bedroom next to you two and you say nothing happened."

Nick watched in horror as Justin and Joey turned out of the room, laughing at their expense. He flashed Chris a worried glance and scrambled to chase Justin down the hall, grabbing his arm desperately. "Wait.."

"What’s up?" Justin asked. He turned around and smiled politely in Nick’s eyes. Nick didn’t see any of the usual heat or love in their blue depths. They looked almost ...vacant. That thought chilled Nick to his heart.

"So you’re not mad?"

Nick got a shrug in response. It was like a slap to his face. "Why would I be? It’s not like I haven’t seen or heard it before. Why would last night be different?"

Nick and Chris exchanged curious glances. Both men shook their heads to clear them.

"What?" Chris asked. Justin shrugged again.

"It’s all good guys..."

"It’s never happened before J," Nick tried to convince his boyfriend. "Really, I don’t even know how it happened this time." Nick looked up to see Joey standing in the hall as well, watching the whole interaction take place with a smile on his face.

Justin on the other hand, rolled his eyes. "Please Nick. In the two years that you and Chris have been together, you’ve had more sex than anyone I know."

"God, you two get more sex than JC does, and we know how fucking horny he always is, so what’s the deal? What happened last night?"

"NOTHING ..." Nick started to scream in frustration. He took a calming breath and closed his eyes for a second. "Nothing happened, that’s what we’re trying to tell you."

"What do you mean the two years that we’ve been together?" Chris asked. Nick must have missed it when Justin said it, but Chris’ stomach lurched on those words. He looked at Nick and winced. As much as Justin loved Nick Carter, Chris had never been able to see what the attraction was. He tolerated the blonde for his best friend’s sake, but for the most part, Chris could barely stand him. He was confident that Nick felt the same way. They’d come to an agreement to try to pretend that the other didn’t exist, except for when necessary.

Nick’s jaw dropped. "Who’s been together for two years?"

Joey and Justin exchanged another set of amused smiles. "Uh what is with you two? Yeah, actually, next month is two years, isn’t it?"

Nick’s jaw dropped. His stomach followed soon after. Justin looked completely serious, like he believed what he was saying. "Uh, I'm not with Chris."

"Oh..." Justin said, laughing as if it were the funniest thing he’d ever heard. "Then who are you with?"

"You," Nick whispered, tears in his eyes.

Justin was laughing until he saw how serious Nick was. He could see the confusion and sadness in his eyes and he stopped laughing. For a second.

"That’s a good one," Justin patted Nick’s shoulder before doing the same with Chris.

"What’s a good one?" Nick asked, slowly. Cautiously. "We’ve been together for two years Justin. Last night was our anniversary."

Joey and Justin both stopped for a second and regarded their best friends before bursting into laughter again. Justin was holding his stomach while Joey was banging his fist against the wall. Neither noticed how uncomfortable Nick and Chris were, or the tenseness in the air. Beyond the confusion and the frustration lay hurt, Nick couldn’t believe that Justin would find the thought of them together so funny. Funny to the point of hysteria and tears he was laughing so hard.

"Are you sure you didn’t crack your skulls last night?" Joey asked, wiping tears from his eyes. "I mean, it’s not like you two haven’t physically hurt yourself before, fucking."

"Remember Nick’s broken wrist?" Justin laughed.

Joey nodded and high fived Justin. "That wasn’t Chris’ fault though, they didn’t know the table was going to break."

"Or that Brian and Leighanne were going to walk in and find them still going at it, broken wrist and all."

"And remember when they fell out of the bunk...? Chris still has a scar on his leg." Joey pointed out. Chris and Nick were still staring at one another, dumbfounded.

"Broken wrist?" Nick mouthed to Chris, flexing his both wrists, neither of which had been broken. Ever."

"Fell out of the bunk?" Chris asked as he checked out his legs. No scars.

"And..." Justin moved to continue telling phantom stories of Nick and Chris’ romance, stories that they had no recollection of.

"Why is that so funny?" Nick couldn’t help but ask. Joey and Justin stopped laughing for a second.

"Pardon?" Joey asked, trying to catch his breath.

Nick focused his attention to Justin. "Why is the thought of us being together so funny? I’m curious." Nick was fighting the urge to be angry. He knew there had to be a reason and would wait until he found out everything before getting mad.

"Oh I don’t know, maybe because we tried to get together."

Nick’s jaw dropped and Justin nodded. His forehead furrowed as if he were trying to gauge Nick’s reactions. This wasn’t news and Nick looked like it was the first time he was hearing it.


"What?" Nick asked. His pulse was racing and he felt Chris’ hand on his back in a comforting movement. Nick couldn’t help but lean back into Chris’ touch needing any familiarity that he could find.

"We tried.." Justin paused and scratched his head thoughtfully. "Nick, this isn’t news. You know all this. We rehashed it a hundred times."

"Lets rehash it again, just for kicks," Chris suggested. His tone was warm but there was a sharpness that Justin knew not to argue with.

"Well," Justin and Joey exchanged confused looks. "We tried to get together and it was good, until it wasn’t. We didn’t really click and ...well we’re both too much of a bottom for it to work between us."

There was a feeling of anxious tension sitting in the pit of Nick’s stomach and he could feel it churning sickly. With a look around the hall, he noticed familiar pictures decorating the walls, the rug that Kevin had given them when they moved into the house a year ago sat at the top of the stairs and ...as Nick’s eyes landed on a picture frame next to the bathroom he saw a picture he’d never seen before.

One of him and Chris. Together. Arms around one another.

If this was a practical joke, which he greatly suspected it was, they’d really done their homework. They’d taken care of even minute, details that Nick wouldn’t have even thought of. Justin and Joey were doing a fabulous job of pretending that they had no idea what Nick and Chris were talking about. If it had have been Nick, he would have cracked by now but Justin and Joey were still in character.

At least Nick hoped so, because he didn’t want to think about the alternative. Mainly, because he didn’t even know where to start.

Justin’s words processed in Nick’s Brian and he coughed. "We’re both what?"

Justin looked at Joey then at Nick. "We’re both too much of a bottom..."

"Ummm," Nick’s cheeks darkened and he looked down at his feet. He looked back up into Justin’s eyes and shook his head. "I’m a top. J, you know I’m a top." The sickly sensation in his stomach worsened at the genuine laughter echoing in the hall.

"Uh Carter, I hate to point this out," Joey started, clapping Nick on the shoulder gently. "But we’ve walked in on you and Chris enough times to know that you are not a top."

"I’m a bottom," Chris whispered weakly, which brought on another round of laughter.

That there was when Nick realized that they were fucked. He looked around frantically, noticing other little things that he’d missed before. They were subtle differences, but differences none the less. The colour scheme was off, knick knacks decorating the various rooms, which Nick could see in as the doors were mostly open. He’d been on the receiving end of one of Joey’s practical jokes before, and damn it if it wasn’t pure evil when Joey, Brian and AJ got together to do some scheming, but never were they THIS good.

And Justin was not this good of a liar, in any case.

"So you two aren’t together?" Joey said, laughing as he pointed at Chris and Nick.


They both shook their heads.

"Right," Justin said taking a deep breath. This game was starting to get old. Chris and Nick were legendary when pulling practical jokes on people, which was why they had all been slightly afraid when the friendship that had spurned from Justin breaking Nick’s heart had turned into a romantic relationship for Nick and Chris. As friends they were deadly, but as lovers and soul mates, they were unstoppable and no one had been spared a prank or joke. And at first, Justin had assumed that this was Chris and Nick’s way of paying them back for the huge party they’d thrown at their house the night before. But now the fun was over and it was too damn early for this much drama. "So what," he asked, turning to Chris. "Next you’re going to tell me that if you two aren’t together, you’re with someone else."

Chris nodded. That’s exactly what he was going to tell them. "Yes."

"Oh," Justin took a second to think. "Let me guess, you’re with Lance."

Chris’ jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. "Actually, yeah. Four years. Why the fuck are you pretending that you have no clue Joey?" Chris asked, smacking Joey’s arm. "And you, asshole. What the fuck do you think you two are doing? Trying to out prank the kings of pranks."

As soon as what Chris had said registered in their minds, Justin and Joey burst into hysterical laughter

"Oh, what’s so funny?" Chris spat out, exhausted and frustrated with their theatrics. "Is Lance not a top?"

"Uh, yeah C, he is."

"See, I’m a bottom, he’s a top..." Chris started to say, cut off by Joey.

"He’s definitely a top. Like, the ultimate top, seeing that he’s fucking straight."


It was Nick and Chris’ turn to stop everything, look at each other and burst into laughter. They let the tension of the morning get lost in the delicious feeling of relief and laughter, not stopping until they were both gasping for breath, bent over and crying profusely. Justin and Joey watched from the sides, not sure as to what was so funny. Nick paused for a moment to speak, but when he saw the look on Justin and Joey’s face, he started again. This time he did fall to the floor, followed shortly by Chris.

Ten minutes passed before either were capable of standing up on their own or speaking. Chris did a bow of respect and clasped his hands together as if he were praying. "I bow down to you both. You guys win, we can’t even compete with this one."

Nick nodded, wiping at his tears.

"You totally had us going there," Chris gasped. "I mean, I was starting to think we were crazy and ...then you said Nick and I were together ....and ...you had such straight faces ...but ...Lance? Straight? You lost me right there boys." He watched Justin and Joey exchanged confused glances. "You can stop now, game’s over."

Joey shrugged. "Uh, we’re not joking. NO game. Lance is straight."

Nick was still giggling. He felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from his chest and his shoulders and that everything was going to be okay. They had him going as well, trying to convince him that he was crazy and that they’d woken up in an alternate universe, but he knew that one thing was certain, no matter what world, what universe they were in, Lance was gay. There were just some things that were absolute."

"Baby," Nick whispered as he pulled Justin close. "That was fucking classic. You are the champion, this beats anything I have ever done." Slowly, Nick leaned in and pressed his mouth against Justin’s, kissing him slowly and passionately. Justin was so shocked by the action that he froze, unable to breathe, let alone move.

"Does anyone want to tell me why Nick is molesting MY boyfriend in front of HIS?"

Chris gasped at the look of pure fury in Kevin’s eyes as he stepped around the corner, into the main hallway from the back stairs. He must have come up from the kitchen, Nick’s back was to Kevin and he barely registered the older man’s presence.

"Carter," Chris yelped, pulling Nick off of Justin. It was then that Nick pulled away to see the dreamy expression on Justin’s face and the look of pure shock on Joey’s. It was nothing compared to the rage on Kevin’s.

"Or, does anyone want to tell me why my boyfriend is standing there with a grin on his face after being molested by Nick? Because that’s another question I have."

Kevin’s boyfriend? Nick’s mind switched into overdrive and he froze. Justin had a guilty smile on his face and he backed away very slowly, moving his way to where Kevin was standing. There was something definitely off here, because it was one thing for Justin and Joey to joke around, even Brian, JC and Howie were known to get involved sometimes, but for Kevin to actually participate, was unheard of.

"Apparently," Joey said, trying to diffuse the situation. "Nick and Justin are together, they’ve been dating for two years and Chris and Lance are dating."

Kevin’s jaw dropped and a look of disbelief covered his face. It was quickly replaced with booming laughter which cut through the tension. "Oh, in that case, have at him."

Nick was frozen to the spot, the blood was rushing through his ears. He looked at the only face he truly recognized and frowned. Chris shook his head, he had no more answers than Nick did.

"I’m going to go lie down," Nick whispered softly. He saw a look of concern flash in Justin’s eyes and stupidly felt hope. "You want to come J?"

Justin looked at Kevin with wide eyes filled with surprise. "Yeah, I don’t think so. Sorry ...I should ..."

"Oh, right. Uhhh..."

Chris took a deep breath and rubbed his face tiredly. "Lets go downstairs, all of us. And talk about this. Something is definitely wrong here, on too many fucking levels."

Joey nodded, biting his lip thoughtfully. "You guys freshen up, put some damn clothes on and meet us downstairs in ten."

Nick and Chris nodded. Joey, Kevin and Justin headed to the kitchen.

"What the fuck?" Nick asked softly as he pulled on a pair of pants. Chris sat on the bed, trying to work things out in his head. "Are you going to get dressed?"

Chris nodded and immediately went to the drawers where Justin’s things had previously been kept. Without thinking about it, he pulled out his favourite blue shirt and khaki shorts. It was when they were both dressed that they realized the lengths to which the joke had been taken.

"How did they put my things in here without me realizing it?" Chris asked.

Nick shook his head. There were too many variables and not enough answers. "I don’t know. And that’s what scares me. The fact that I think they believe what they’re saying.."


~*~*~*~

"They seem to believe what they’re saying," Joey explained to Kevin. The first thing they had to do was cool Kevin’s temper just slightly so that he didn’t see red whenever Nick was anywhere near Justin. Even Joey was surprised at the depth and emotion behind Nick’s kiss with Justin and had wondered if Nick really was that good an actor.

Justin nodded. His lips were still tingling from where Nick had been licking and tasting them. Kevin growled and pulled Justin close, kissing him hungrily. Justin mewled and fell instantly into Kevin’s arms. Kevin smiled, any memory of Nick would be erased and Justin could stop fucking smiling like a teen aged girl when Nick looked at him.

"I agree. I mean, they’re good, but they’re not usually this good," Kevin said with a sigh. "And Lance? Gay? Who are they kidding?"

Justin frowned and picked at a thread on his jeans. "I don’t know. Nick looked really hurt, so did Chris. They look so lost, so confused."

"Well, what we’re going to have to do is sit down, listen to what they have to say and try not to laugh, no matter how absurd it is."

"I don’t know Kev," Justin said with a wince, "you haven’t heard it all yet."

Two hours later they were exhausted. The rest of the guys had been called and dispatched to Chris and Nick’s house. They sat in the backyard, around their giant patio table with pitchers of lemonade and iced tea, knowing that alcohol would only make the situation worse.

The longer they talked, the more crazy Nick and Chris sounded. Lance had been mildly offended at Nick and Chris’ insistence that he was gay. Flaming. Gay. Brian sat in the corner, upset that his best friend was so confused and lost. JC, Joey, Justin and Howie were convinced that it was all a ploy for Chris and Nick to regain their title as the best practical jokers of all time, yet somewhere in the backs of their minds, they were afraid to think the alternative. They didn’t want to believe that Chris and Nick had officially gone crazy, or worse yet had some type of amnesia that they couldn’t remember anything. AJ thought it was funny and Kevin was reserving judgment. But when it all boiled down to it, they had proof, sound, hard proof of Justin and Joey’s ‘claims’.

Chris and Nick were together. Had been for almost two years.


There were pictures.

Videos.

The house, bought and signed for by Nick and Chris.

Nick watched Justin with Kevin, recognized the look in those blue eyes he loved so much. Justin couldn’t fake that. No one could.

Chris watched Lance, he couldn’t believe that Lance had barely even looked his way. No more than he did any of the other guys, and he’d spent most of the afternoon with his blackberry in his hand. Emailing his girlfriend.

Something was seriously fucked here.

As much as they didn’t want to leave Nick and Chris alone, it was necessary. Everyone had to go home, to their own lives, and with promises to talk soon, one by one everyone left.

Chris felt awkward in Justin and Nick’s house. Being there as a guest was one thing, but being there, being told that it was HIS house, that was something entirely different.

His stomach growled, Chris was hungry. "Carter, I’m going to make something to eat. That okay?"

Nick shrugged from where he was laying on the couch playing his X-Box. "They say it’s your house too, help yourself."

Chris nodded. The sickness hadn’t fully left the pit of his stomach, but he was adjusting. Somewhere in the past few hours, he’d realized that this was like every movie he’d ever seen where characters switch bodies, or lives or whatever. Something must have happened while he was asleep, so when he went back to bed, in the morning he’d wake up in his own life. When he’d sufficiently made himself a bowl of cereal, he went into the living room to share his theory with Nick.

"What’d you make?"

"Count Chocula, want some?"

Nick winced and wrinkled his nose. "Where the fuck did you get that?"

Chris shrugged. "Cupboard. Right next to the Froot Loops."

Nick frowned, neither he or Justin ate Froot Loops. If he wanted sugary cereal he ate Corn Pops or Sugar Crisps, but not Froot Loops."

"Any Cheerios?"

Chris shook his head. "Nope."


"What about Apple Jacks?" Those were Justin’s cereal. Nick frowned when Chris shook his head. "No?"

Chris shook it again and when he had swallowed the mouthful of cereal he spoke. "No, a box of Froot Loops, a box of Count Chocula and some Corn Flakes."

Nick was alarmed. Justin always had at least three boxes of cereal at all times and none of them were the brands of cereal that Chris had named off. He wondered what else was different and jumped off of the couch. When he got to the kitchen door, he paused and looked back. "Do you eat Count Chocula?"

"Not usually. But they were there."

"Don’t you think it’s weird. If we both live here, like they claim we do, that we buy cereal we don’t eat?"

"And even cereal that you and J don’t eat.." Chris added, finding it suspicious.

An hour later, Chris and Nick had effectively gone through the cupboards to find that for the most part, there were the staples that every kitchen kept. But oddly enough, the extra treats and so forth, were all foreign to them. They were sitting at the table, heads in their hands trying to figure out what to do.

"Well," Chris started. He told Nick what his theory was, pleased when Nick seemed to be in agreement.

"Yeah, like ...maybe we just need to go back to sleep and when we wake up, bam, real world again."

Chris nodded. "Good. So we won’t panic. This is just temporary, I mean, we are so not meant to be in this world."

Nick had to agree. Spending more time in this world than necessary would be detrimental to his mental health.

They opted for pizza that night, figuring that if they were going to be back in their real world by morning, they wouldn’t need to do grocery shopping. As they both slipped into Nick and Justin’s bed, they relaxed against the pillows and turned to face one another.

"So I think we need to both be in bed together for it to work," Nick whispered softly. "Like we woke up this way, so we have to go to sleep this way."

Chris nodded. "Okay, good night Nick."

"Night Chris."

Nick allowed for sleep to claim him. He couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning, in Justin’s arms where everything was normal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a body pressed against his back, an arm thrown over his waist. Nick slowly, gently, turned around so that he was facing the person behind him. His heart was racing and his stomach churning. It was the moment of truth, and slowly, Nick opened one eye. He instantly frowned.


Chris.

Snoring softly.

Nick groaned and pulled out of Chris’ embrace, slightly startling the older man.

"It didn’t work."


Chris took a deep breath and stretched. "I know. I woke up an hour ago to pee, and saw we were still in bed together."

Nick felt his world crashing around him. Nothing had changed.

They didn’t call anyone for at least a week. The second night they got completely drunk, hoping that their intoxicated state would jar them both back to the real world. No such luck. Every night was the same, while every morning brought the same results.


They had somehow managed to get themselves stuck in an alternate universe. And their first realization was that as much as the others loved them, as much as they loved the others, they were alone.

So for that reason, they holed themselves up in ‘their’ house and didn’t talk to anyone. Realizing that Nick didn’t know what Chris liked to eat, they both headed out on the fifth day to get some food. Food they liked, not food that ‘podNick’ and ‘podChris’ liked.

A week after they’d woken up together Chris decided it was time to stop hiding. They’d spent seven days talking to just each other, going over every possible reason, scenario and explanation for what had happened to them. They were starting to talk themselves into circles.

"So we have to move forward," Chris suggested. Nick nearly choked.

"What are you talking about?"

"We’re stuck here, at least for now. Until we can figure out what type of lesson it is we’re being forced to learn."

Nick snorted and threw a Cheeto at Chris. "What fucking lesson?"

Chris shrugged, popping the Cheeto into his mouth. "I don't know. But in the movies and in books there is always a ‘lesson’. A reason why they were put there. So lets fucking learn it, so I can go back to my regularly scheduled life."

"Yeah, because here, with you is where I so desperately want to be."

They glared at each other for nearly an hour until finally relenting. "Okay, so what should we do?" Nick asked. Chris grinned.

"Lets have a barbeque."

The barbeque was for the ten of them, only the ten of them. Chris and Nick weren’t ready to see anyone else, for fear of finding out more than they already knew and more was just more they would have to deal with. They were still dealing with the realization that this wasn’t a practical joke and that things were seriously fucked. The others, on the other hand, weren’t so sure it wasn’t a practical joke. They were convinced that it was just Nick and Chris, going the extra mile to ensure the win.

They all stuck to ‘safe topics of conversation’, but as the night wore on, Chris watched through narrowed eyes as Kevin and Justin curled up in a chair on the far end of the patio, occasionally kissing and whispering into each other’s ears. He then would look at Nick who watched with unabashed sadness and regret, mixed with confusion as to why God would punish him like this and why his lesson had to be him being forced to watch the love of his life and his best friend, happy in each other’s embrace.

Chris didn’t even want to think about the fact that Lance barely acknowledged him anymore. As if Lance was afraid that Chris would forget that they were in ‘their’ world now and Chris couldn’t have Lance, not the way he wanted him. So Chris had in effect, lost his lover and his best friend. A blow that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to come to terms with. In any world.

~*~*~*~

Chris and Nick had begun talking about things in terms of Real World and Bizzaro World. There was BBW, which was Before Bizzaro World and ABW, After Bizzaro World. Slowly, the others had picked up the lingo, if not just to humour the two.

It was a month and a half ABW, Justin, Joey, Kevin and Brian were sitting at Justin and Kevin’s kitchen table.

"So Nick asked me something the other day," Brian brought up. He’d meant to bring it up when it happened, but had forgotten. The other three looked at him and he continued. "He asked if Kevin and I were cousins in this world. We were out by the pool in the back yard and just talking about the game we’d watched the night before..."

"And?" Joey asked, feeling goose bumps. As time passed by, he was starting to think that it wasn’t exactly an issue of Chris and Nick playing a joke on them, but fate playing a joke on all of them.

"And so in the middle of me saying something, Nick gets this totally confused look on his face, as if he’d just had a thought right that second and he cocked his head to the side and said ‘Rok? Are you and Kev cousins in this world?’ As if it was the most natural thing for him to ask."

"Rok?" Justin asked. Brian simply shrugged.

"I think it’s a nickname that they had for you in the ‘Real World’", Joey said offhanded. He’d heard Nick use that nickname for Brian quite a few times since that morning when their worlds had been thrown upside down. He looked up to see surprised expressions on the three men’s faces and blushed.

"Real world?"

"That’s what they say. Real World and Bizzaro World."

"Chris does that with me," Justin said softly. "He calls me Jup or Juppy sometimes and ...he says it like it’s the most common thing in the world."

"They’re not the same ..." Joey admitted. "I don’t know what it is, but ...it’s them but not them."

Kevin nodded, he had to agree. He’d spent a lot of time studying Nick in the four weeks prior, since that morning they’d woken up and claimed that things weren’t how they were supposed to be. At first, Kevin wouldn’t listen to anything, he thought it was just Nick and Chris needing attention as they always did, but he couldn’t help but be curious. He’d known Nick since the blonde was twelve years old, and never had he known Nick to be like this. This was a completely different Nick, but at the same time, he was the same. It was seriously creeping Kevin out.

"We went out for dinner last week, Nick and I," Kevin admitted. He knew that even Justin hadn’t been aware of his dinner plans with Nick and blushed as they all gave him looks of surprise.

"You did?"

Kevin nodded. "He’s just been so ...cut off lately. He doesn’t see anyone except Chris, and even those two together ...something’s off. For a while, they were like complete strangers, and now it’s getting better, closer to what it was before that night, but not even close. So I called him and asked if he wanted to get together."

"And?"

Kevin shrugged. "We went to dinner, talked about nothing really. It was relaxed and calm, but ..." Kevin looked at Brian and frowned. "When have you ever known Nick to really like seafood?"

Brian thought hard, before shaking his head. "He doesn’t really."

"Allergic?" Joey asked. Brian shook his head.

"No, just doesn’t really like it. Why?"

"He ordered surf and turf. Steak, which I understood, but it had shrimps, scallops and calamari on the plate. And I thought it was weird, but he ate the whole thing commenting on how good the seafood was. Plus, he got mussels for an appetizer."

Brian’s jaw dropped. "What did you say?"

"I asked him when he started to like seafood and he said ‘I don’t know about your other Nick, but I love fish. I love seafood,’ and that was it."

"I was at the house the other day to see Chris, and got hungry. They said to help myself and when I went through the cupboards ...it’s all stuff they don’t usually eat. So I figured I’d make myself some cereal, but there was ...Cheerios and Apple Jacks in there."

"Don’t you eat Apple Jacks?" Joey asked. Justin nodded.

"Yeah, but they don’t. And I haven’t had Apple Jacks in years."

Brian frowned and took a deep breath. "How many years Justin?"

It was a weird question, causing the table to go silent. "What?"

"How many years has it been?"

Justin shrugged and looked at Kevin. "I don’t know, two? Maybe three?"

"Why?" Kevin asked.

Brian shook his head. He was starting to believe that it wasn’t a matter of them being right or Nick and Chris being right. Maybe they were both right, maybe something had happened and they were in the Bizzaro World. Or maybe Nick and Chris were from the Bizzaro World, and if that was the case, then where the hell was ‘their’ Nick and Chris?

"I’m just thinking, maybe they’re not joking. I don’t think that they would take the joke this far, I mean Kevin, it’s been over a month."

Justin and Joey both nodded. They’d long since believed that Chris and Nick were still joking.

"And have you seen the look on Nick’s face, the misery there when we’re all together and he’s watching you and Justin together. I know it was hard on him when things didn’t work two years ago, but he got over it. He was with Chris for the longest time.."

"He’s still with Chris," Joey argued.

"Not this Nick. Not this Chris," Brian voiced softly. "You can’t deny that something is off with them. They’re not themselves. It’s not just the seafood or the cereal, it’s everything. It’s Nick asking me questions that he already should know the answers to. And not just asking them to be a pain in the ass, but asking them because he’s trying to figure things out. I’ve seen him writing in a journal, trying to keep facts straight, from what he knows and what we’re telling him."

"What do we do?" Kevin asked, slightly offended. He hated how guilty he felt when he was forced to see Nick’s reaction to seeing him with Justin. It wasn't his fault that in another world Nick was with Justin, they were in this world now and Justin was his. "Do we change everything because they don’t feel comfortable?"

"No..." Brian sighed. It was too difficult. "But ...have they spoken to anyone about it for a while? Has anyone talked to them, found out what things were like in their world?"

It was surreal talking about this world and that world, as if it were possible. That it was possible that Nick and Chris had come from another existence, another universe and was being forced to adapt to theirs. But as time wore on, Brian was starting to believe it. Believing it and explaining it though, those were two entirely different issues.

"They won’t," Joey said sadly. "We ridiculed them so much that first day ....hell, those first two weeks that they won’t talk about it at all. When they do, they ask a question and then when we answer, they shut up about it, apologizing for asking in the first place."

"Maybe it’s time we bring it up again and this time, be open to what they’re saying," Brian suggested.


The other three nodded. It was worth a try.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was two months ABW and Nick was stunned at how much he and Chris really had in common. The first month was spent adjusting to a whole new way of seeing things. Or pretty much, a whole new way of doing things. The first thing he had to remember, which seemed to be the hardest was that his best friends, while being his best friends, were not his best friends. His new best friend was Chris, and that was a damn, scary thought. Real world Justin would have been tickled fucking pink to know that Chris and Nick had finally become friends and gotten over any resentment and jealousy that they harboured for one another, but Real World Justin was but a memory, one that Nick refused to forget.

Not a day didn’t go by without Nick and Chris sitting together in the gazebo at the back of their expansive back yard and talking about the Real World. They rehashed old memories, discussed any issues they had outstanding with one another and merely reveled in the knowledge that they weren’t the only one that remembered how things had been. How they were supposed to be.

"I think I would have been really fucked up had it just been me that morning," Nick admitted softly. The sun was setting and he looked over at Chris who was smiling at him.

"Me too. I was so scared, even though I kept telling myself that it was a joke. And then when you were as shocked as I was, I felt ...good. I mean, not good because, damn Nick, this is truly fucked up, but good because it wasn’t just me."

"Sometimes I’m afraid," Nick admitted. "I’m afraid that I'm going to just forget, just go with what they’re telling me and start to remember things."

"But you won’t be remembering anything," Chris pointed out. A few weeks earlier, Chris and Nick had been visited by Justin, Joey, Brian and Kevin who had wanted to ‘talk’. They as much as Nick and Chris tried to refuse them, and convince them that they didn’t want to talk about it, the four friends were stronger and demanded they sit down and rationally go over everything that they were afraid to hear.

Chris and Nick told them everything, in perfect clarity, without skipping a beat. It was too perfect to be rehearsed, too emotional. Nick had gotten up midway through and left the room. He couldn’t stand to fill in the blanks to Justin about their relationship. It was slowly breaking his heart.

When Chris and Nick were finished, the others told their stories. Details were getting mixed up in the flow. Nick wondered if his mind would be able to tell the difference anymore, of things he remembered, or things they’d told him.

All he knew was that whenever he saw Justin, he felt a pain in his chest, sharp, unyielding. He would love Justin until he died, no matter what universe he was in.

"I know, but ... I’m just afraid that I’ll forget who I am. Who we are."

Chris moved so that he was sitting beside Nick and wrapped his arms around the blonde. It was a position they’d found themselves in quite frequently lately, both needing the moral and emotional support of the other. "You won’t ever forget Nick, because I won’t let you."

"I’m sorry that Lance won’t be in the same room with you," Nick whispered softly. He knew how much it hurt Chris every single time they were in the same vicinity, that Lance would avoid him like the plague. The situation was very awkward, and Lance had taken to avoiding it at all costs, rather than talking to Chris about it. And he knew that with each passing day, it was killing Chris just a little bit more.

"Thank you Nicky."

"You still love him..."

"More than ever."

"Why did this happen Chris? I don’t understand," Nick’s voice wavered and he trembled slightly.

Chris could only shake his head. "I don’t know Nicky, I don’t know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At three months ABW Nick and Chris stopped feeling that familiar feeling of hope when they woke up in the morning. They’d long since realized that it wasn’t going to happen, so sleeping in the same bed, doing the same routine before hand was unnecessary. When they finally resigned themselves to living in the Bizzaro World, they found themselves slowly relaxing, both around each other in general. Still, their friendship hadn’t progressed past that, friendship, but they were finding things easier to deal with than they originally had.

They were supposed to be going over to Kevin and Justin’s house for dinner. A double date. Although Nick and Chris had tried to convince their friends on many occasions that they weren’t ‘like that’, no one would believe them. Judging from endless stories from everyone, they were indeed ‘like that’ and had been ‘like that’ since their first date which had been four days of them holing themselves up on Nick’s boat and screwing until they were sore and had to come back to the main land for food and provisions.

Nick had been relieved that even in this world he had a boat. Some things were just universal.

The message had indicated that Nick and Chris be at Kevin’s for six, they would be having a barbeque. "We’re going to have to leave early, I have to stop by Johnny Wright’s office to sign a few things before we go. I should have done it earlier this week, but I’ve been too lazy."


Chris nodded. It wasn’t like they had anything better to do.

The meeting with Johnny took about fifteen minutes and just as they got to the elevator to go back down, Nick remembered he’d left the folder on the other man’s desk. "Shit. I have to go back. I’ll meet you in the car."

Chris frowned. "I’ll wait."

"No, we’re double parked, and if we get a ticket I’m going to fucking scream. The last time I got a ticket here it was like two hundred bucks. So go ahead," the elevator doors opened instantly and Nick chuckled. "Go ahead and I’ll meet you down there."

Chris nodded and stepped into the elevator. Nick sprinted back to Johnny’s office and knocked softly. "Sorry Bro, forgot the folder."

"I was just about to bring it down to you." Johnny held up Nick’s folder as well as a brochure. "And I meant to give you this. I know you have your heart set on the cabin in Tennessee, but you should really look into real estate in the Keys Nick.."

"I had a house down there, I just ...."

"Like LA, I know. But just something to think about. Land value is going up, and you know..."

"I know, but with the house here in LA, and then the cabin in Memphis.... We were talking about a condo in New York, Florida isn’t what we want right now."

"Just think about it."

Nick snorted and rolled his eyes. Johnny was just as pushy in this world as in the other it seemed. Nick was relieved for the familiarity. "Will do, if it gets you off my back, then fine."

"I’ll keep in touch Nick, take care. Have a good time tonight."

Nick nodded and sprinted towards the elevator. He had made plans to buy a piece of Land in Memphis months and months ago, BBW, but hadn’t gotten around to it. He and Chris had spent a lot of time talking about what Nick would do if he finally got back and they came to the realization that he might not get back. So rather than wait, he decided to put plans in motion for this world. This life. So he’d looked into buying land in Memphis, just as he’d planned. If things went well, he still might buy a condo in New York. Having a place on each coast was something Nick was excited for. New York and California. As much as Johnny had been trying to convince him to get a place in Florida, that was his past. He was moving forward.

Nick jabbed at the button a few more times. Looking at his watch he cursed. They were going to be late. Fifteen minutes later the elevator finally arrived and he stepped in, growling at how long he’d had to wait. Granted, there were fifty floors in the building, but he’d never had to wait that long for an elevator before. Especially at this time of day.

Nick’s mind was on Justin and what he would say if and when he found out Nick had bought land in Tennessee. He knew that except for the biggest difference, Justin being in love with Kevin, this Justin was the same as his Justin, and he was from Memphis. Sometimes it hurt Nick’s head trying to wrap his mind around the fact that this was Justin, but it wasn’t. Sometimes he wondered if he had gone crazy, and no one had told him. His only sane counterpart was Chris, which was saying a lot.

The elevator lights flickered for a few seconds and the car jerked. Nick grabbed onto the handle lining the small car and held his breath. It continued on with it’s decent without another incident, stopping safely at the Main Lobby. Nick held his breath and stepped out, smiling at the woman behind the desk who he’d passed not an hour earlier on his way in.

The car was exactly where Nick had parked it and Chris was standing beside the passenger door, a look of confusion and fear in his eyes. Nick felt his heart in his throat as he rushed over. "What’s wrong? Are you okay?"

Chris could only nod his head, in Justin’s direction. Justin was there. Nick looked at his watch and saw that it was even later. Kevin was going to kill him.

Kevin was going to kill him for even more than being late for dinner. Kevin was going to kill him because the second Justin saw Nick, he rushed over and threw his arms around his neck, kissing him hungrily. Passionately. Desperately.

Nick was so surprised that he was instantly frozen. But the memory of Justin’s mouth on his, the way he felt in his arms and the way his scent invaded his senses caused for him to immediately lean towards the other man and kiss him back. With just as much hunger and passion and desperation as he received. It had been three months, three months of watching Justin with Kevin, knowing that they were in a world that they didn’t know or recognize and it all hit Nick at once. His mind focused on Kevin and he pulled back quickly in shock. "Oh my god."

"Carter?" Chris asked, slight panic in his voice. "What the fuck?"

"I ...don’t know. What happened?"

Chris simply shook his head. His eyes were wide and his face was a pale white.

Justin moved in to kiss Nick again and Nick whimpered and pulled away. "Oh god, Kevin is going to kill me."

"Twice," Chris agreed.

Nick looked at Justin who was smiling at him and shivered. "Ten times."

"Why would Kevin care?" Justin asked, pecking Nick on the lips. Nick whimpered and pulled Justin close, kissing him hungrily. He felt Justin’s knees give away as he kissed him like he’d never kissed him before. Like it was the first and last kiss, all rolled up into one. Nick wondered if that was actually true though, if Kevin would break his legs and arms if he found out what happened.

Nick and Chris exchanged a confused look, they had no idea what they’d walked in on and needed to be alone to discuss it. Justin thread his fingers with Nick’s and all thoughts of leaving Justin alone fled his mind.

"Oh, fuck," Justin said, digging into his pocket. "I almost forgot." He pulled out a grey cell phone and handed it to Chris. Chris looked at it recognizing the cell phone he hadn’t been able to find since they arrived in Bizzaro World. "Lance said to give this to you. You left this morning and forgot it."

Chris’ eyes widened to comic proportions and his pulse started to race. "Lance? This morning?"

"Yeah, you two left in such a rush this morning and he found it on the night stand."

"I was at Lance’s this morning?" Chris asked in wonder. Justin gave his best friend a strange look.

"No, you were at Nick’s."

Chris felt his stomach fall. He knew it was too good to be true.

"You both were." Justin felt Chris’ forehead for a fever, pleased when he found none. "And you," Justin said, leaning in to kiss Nick again. "What time did you two leave this morning? I woke up and you were already gone." Justin pouted playfully. "You didn’t even give me a good bye kiss."

Nick’s eyes were wide and he could hear the blood pumping in his ears. "I ...I was at your place?" He asked slowly. Justin shook his head and frowned.

"No, I was at yours. Well ours, but yours. Mine’s still being fumigated. Remember ..."

Nick couldn’t stop the fluttering in his stomach. "We ...we’re together? Like ...dating?"

It looked as though Justin had been slapped across the face and Nick cringed at the result his words caused. Justin looked between Nick and Chris, stunned. "Uh... Yeah. I mean, I thought we were. Unless there’s something I don’t know."

"And you’re not dating Kevin?"

Justin’s grimace was all Nick needed to know. It took less than two seconds for Nick to pull Justin in close and kiss him passionately, licking as far into his moth as he possibly could. He could tell that he’d thrown Justin off guard, but Nick didn’t care. All he knew was that they were finally in the real world. Their world. Where everything was how it was supposed to be.

When Nick finally let Justin go, he was breathless. And dizzy. And all sorts of confused. Nick was kissing and touching him like it was the first time and he seemed slightly confused as to what was going on. They both did. Cupping Nick’s face in his hands, Justin saw tears in his boyfriends eyes, tears of gratitude and he couldn’t help but kiss them away.

"Nicky, what’s going on? What happened?"


Nick could only shake his head and hug Justin close, pressing his face into his lover’s throat. It took one look at Chris who was in the same emotional state as Nick for Justin to really begin to worry. He looked up to the office where he knew Nick’s real estate agent and business advisor worked and frowned.

"What happened up there?"

He received no response. Only that of Nick pulling away and stepping close to Chris, hugging him tightly. They stood in that position for nearly ten minutes before Justin really became concerned. Never had he ever known Nick or Chris to be that affectionate with one another. Never would they be caught dead touching, let alone hugging.

Nick pulled away and kissed Chris’ forehead softly. "We’re back."

Chris nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Yeah, we are."

Nick’s eyes flickered to the phone in Chris’ hand. He smiled warmly and nodded towards it. "Call him. Hear his voice. Have him tell you he loves you." Nick knew how badly Chris needed just that. Just like he needed reassurance that Justin was his, and not Kevin’s.

Justin watched Chris dial his boyfriend’s number and nearly break down in tears at whatever Lance was saying to him. He afforded himself another glance up, at the building before them.

"When Chris gets off the phone we’ll tell you."

Half an hour later, they piled into Nick’s car. They would come back for Justin’s at some point, whenever. Nick wasn’t letting Justin out of his sight.

"So, does anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Nick and Chris exchanged a look in the rear view mirror.

"First, tell us what happened last night." Nick asked softly. He squeezed Justin’s hand and smiled as Justin squeezed back.

"We had our two year anniversary party. You, Joey, Kevin and Howie played poker all night, AJ, Chris and I played video games for a bit, but then we ended up swimming. I think you went to bed early ....like at three. And then at five I came in and we talked for a bit.." Justin felt a little awkward telling Nick and Chris information that they already knew, but he decided to humour them. He figured that he’d find out more if he played along. "I fell asleep and then when I woke up, there was a note that you and Chris had some business to do today and that you’d be back for dinner."

Business. Nick looked down at the manilla folder on his lap and slowly, carefully opened it. Inside were ....he shut it quickly and felt his pulse accelerate. He opened it again to make sure he saw what he thought he saw.

The deed. To a piece of land in Tennessee. The land that he’d wanted to make their house on. His two year anniversary present to Justin. It was there. His signature, Johnny’s signature and all of the information he needed.

Justin’s eyes flickered down to Nick’s lap and his forehead creased. "Is everything okay?"

"Not at all," Nick said weakly.

"Hand it over Carter," Chris demanded.

To Justin’s surprise, Nick followed Chris’ instruction. Yesterday Nick would have told Chris to fuck off. Justin watched as Chris’ eyes widened.

"Holy fuck."

Chris and Nick’s eyes met in the rear view mirror. Justin felt lost.

"So that was last night? Our party was last night?" Nick needed clarification. Justin nodded.

"Yeah."

Almost instantly Chris and Nick started to laugh. Side splitting, hearty, belly laughing hysterical laughter. To the point where they both had tears in their eyes and Nick was forced to pull over and stop driving. When they were done, Nick leaned over to kiss Justin softly. They stayed in that position for a few moments until Nick could drive again.

It was then, on their way back to Nick’s house that they told Justin the entire story. By the time they got to Nick’s house, Justin was laughing hysterically. One detail after another, all less believable than the last.

"Lance was straight?"

Chris winced and nodded.

"Kevin and I were together?"


Nick winced. He nodded.

"And you two? More sex than JC?"

Both Chris and Nick nodded.

Justin laughed so hard that he was crying. And snorting. And nearly wet himself.

"Together?"

Chris and Nick both shuddered and then started to laugh. "Yeah."

"That’ll be the day," Justin said as he climbed out of the car.

"Lance is inside?" Chris asked. Justin nodded and Chris tore off for the house, needing to see his boyfriend, leaving Nick and Justin behind. Justin tugged on Nick’s arm to stop him from going in. They stood in the driveway, staring at one another.

"You must have been so scared," Justin said softly. The thought to not believe them hadn’t crossed his mind. He could see how shaken up Chris had been to see him there, especially when he’d asked where Nick was. And Nick’s reaction when he’d kissed him. Both of their reactions.

"Terrified."

"And hurt."

"I wanted to die."

"I’m glad you didn’t," Justin said honestly. He kissed Nick deeply and tenderly, needing to let his lover know he was okay. "But you’re back now. God, that makes me so scared, to know that an afternoon away from you for me, was three months for you. Three months of watching me with someone else, of not knowing anyone..."

"It was you and the guys..."

"But we weren’t the same. You weren’t the same."

Nick nodded, Justin was right. They held each other for a few minutes until Justin started to snicker.

"What are you laughing at?"

"How offended you probably were when I said you were a bottom."

Nick blushed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Or, even better, the looks on your faces when Joey told you Lance was straight."

"It was probably as funny as the look on yours when we told you Lance was straight."

"Well, you’re back home now," Justin reassured him. "It must have been awkward, just you and Chris." Justin was fully aware of how his boyfriend and his best friend felt about one another and knew that if they were to be stuck anywhere, they would prefer it to be anyone but each other. Surprisingly Nick shrugged.

"I don’t know. It wasn’t too bad."

Justin shook his head in amazement. "You know, I never thought I’d see the day."

Nick smiled and kissed the tip of Justin’s nose. "Me either, but I’ve learned that some things just can not be explained."

FINIS

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