"Anyone seen my sneakers?" Lance Bass popped his head out from the small room in the back on the N Sync tour bus and looked around.
"Nope, I didn't," Chris answered. "They're so freakin' smelly, they probably walked away!" Chris chuckled at the thought of it.
Lance rolled his eyes, and walked down the narrow aisle way back to his bunk. He knelt down and started tossing things aside, a book, some beanie babies, his cell phone, tee shirt. Nothing. He climbed out and walked further up on the bus to the kitchenette where Joey was busily preparing a sandwhich. "Want one?" he offered.
Lance picked up a slice of ham and popped it into his mouth, shaking his head. "Seen my sneakers?" he asked.
Joey took a big bite and nodded. "Justin kicked them out of the way this morning. Check under the couch."
"Cool, thanks." Lance absetmindedly ran his fingers through his hair and thought of the upcoming events. The group was on their way to a charity event where he would be forced, once again, to play basketball, a sport he didn't really accel at. He didn't like to think that he cared what his friends thought, but care he did. Athletics were never terribly important to him. Now acedemics, that was where he'd always done well.
He re-entered the small room in the back of the bus and shoved Justin's feet out of the way to get a better look under the couch. Sure enough, there were his sneakers. He looked up at Justin. "Why didn't you tell me they were here?"
Justin smiled and shrugged, never taking his eyes off the video game he was playing. Lance sighed in disgust. Sometimes he forgot just how young and immature Justin could be. Sitting next to him, he pulled his sneakers on and watched the video game for a minute. "You suck at that game," he teased.
Justin frowned, never liking critisism. "I don't," he defended himself, "I'd kick your ass."
Lance stood up and stretched. "Sure ya could." WIth that, he turned and walked out to the front of the bus. He flipped on his lap top and stared at the messages. He was feeling quite homesick, having been on the road for over three months without seeing his family, or friends. Touring was never easy, and with the explosion of their album, management wanted to extend the time they were on the road. Lance rubbed his eyes, and started to answer e-mails from family. He read them, smiling. There was one from his mother, worried if he was eating enough. She had seen him on television and complained he "looked skinny". His friend from high school also e-mailed him, letting him in on all the hometown gossip, who was dating who, and who did what stupid thing. He read it wistfully, wishing he could go home for a bit and just relax, be normal.
"Hey, you answering more e-mails?" Lance glanced up and saw a sleepy JC standing over him.
"Yup," he answered.
JC shook his head. "Ready for the charity event?"
"Yup," the reply came.
"It's gonna be really big this year," JC reminded him.
Lance stopped typing and thought about that for a moment. More fans to make a fool of himself in front of. He chewed on his lip and sighed. "I'll be fine."
JC put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know that, that's what I wanted to tell you. You're on my team this year, and you'll do great." JC knew that Lance hated basketball, and only played because he felt he had to. "We'll kick their asses this year. If you want to shoot some hoops when we get to the hotel, you know, to practice...."
Lance looked up at him gratefully. "Yeah, that would be cool."
JC smiled and sauntered down the aisle. Lance continued to answer his mail. He had a feeling that something was going to happen, a gut feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt himself grow slightly dizzy, and lightheaded. His stomach rolled a bit, and he closed his eyes. This charity event had him all nervous and he got up to get a drink. Suddenly, his vision blurred and everything went black.
When Lance opened his eyes, he saw his friends standing over him. Joey held a cool washcloth to his forehead. "Dude, you okay?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.
"What happened?" Lance asked, attempting to stand.
JC pushed him back down to the floor. "Don't try to move yet. Do you feel alright?"
Lance laid back down and closed his eyes. His temples ached and his stomach was in a knot. "I feel kinda sick," he admitted.
"Chris, get him some candy." Chris looked at JC, then flung open every cabinet door, searching for some. He came up empty handed.
He looked at Joey. "Candy?" he asked.
Joey nodded and retrieved his backpack, fishing out some gummy bears. "It's all I have," he said, handing the squishy candy over to JC.
JC took the bag and tore it open. "Here, Lance, have one of these. That should get your blood sugar up. Did you eat today?"
Lance took the bear, and put it into his mouth, chewing slowly. "No, just a piece of ham." The sugar from the candy hit his body, and he started to feel better. Justin sat nearby, playing with the string on his sweatshirt nervously. He didn't like when people got sick. He didn't handle it well at all.
Joey smiled at him. "He'll be fine, J. Don't look so worried." Justin nodded and took a deep breath. Lance didn't look fine to him, he looked pale and clammy.
JC put his arm around Lance and helped him up. "Come on, let's lie you down to rest." Joey cleared a path, and they helped their sick friend to the couch.
Lance felt better. "Guys, I'm okay, really," he commented, rubbing his eyes. The bus pulled off the exit, and Justin peered out the window.
"We're here," he said flatly, watching the highway turn into streets and houses that seemed to fly by. The huge bus pulled into the hotel parking lot, and a large crowd of N Sync fans awaited. Justin looked back at Lance, concerned that he would try to play hero to their fans and make himself worse. "Man, just wait until they go," he said.
Lance looked at him. "That's ridiculous. I can handle 15 year old girls. I'm not dying ya know." He stood up slowly and reached for his backpack. Justin's eyes met his and he realized his friend was just overly concerned. "J, I'm okay. For real." He nudged him slightly, and grinned. "Now let's go." WIth that, Lance lead the N Sync charge off the bus, and into the screaming group of eager fans. JC watched carefully as Lance bounded off, looking for any signs of another fainting spell. Security rushed them all into the arena, and deposited them safely in the backstage area.
Lance sat on the couch and Joey brought him a bottle of cold water. He drank it down quickly, surprised at how thirsty he was. JC made him a sandwich and he greedily ate it up. "Guess I was just hungry," he smiled sheepishly.
Justin tossed his duffle bag onto a chair and plopped down. "Yeah, well eat from now on, please!"
Lance raised his eyebrow, unsure if Justin was really pissed at him, or just worried.
The promoter entered the room and shook hands with them, chatting about the venue and city, and giving them a heads up on the evening's celebrity attendees. When he left, the group scattered, each doing his own thing until soundcheck, and hotel check in.