Chapter Text
SPEECHLESS
One
Your love is magical, that’s how I feel…but I have not the words here to explain…gone is the grace for expressions of passion…but there are worlds and worlds of ways to explain, to tell you how you make me feel…
“Justin, you coming?” Chris knocked on Justin’s hotel room door. “J?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Justin opened the door. “What?”
“You coming along with us? We’re doing dinner and going out.” Chris looked at Justin’s flannel pajama pants and raggedy Tennessee sweatshirt. “I’m guessing no.”
“No,” Justin said, smiling apologetically. He shivered as JC approached them.
“You okay?” Chris asked.
“Yeah…I’m, uh…not feeling too well,” Justin stammered. He shivered again.
“Hey, Justin. You staying in?” JC played with a fringe on his brown suede jacket.
“God, JC, that fringed jacket look went out YEARS ago,” Chris said in disapproval.
“Am I embarrassing you?” JC asked with a grin.
“Yes.”
“Good.” JC turned back to Justin. “You okay?”
“I’m, uh, sick.” Justin gave a weak sniffle. “I’m just…I’m gonna write or something. Stay in and rest.”
“Don’t sit in front of the computer for too long,” JC advised. “If you have a headache it won’t help.”
“Right.” Justin nodded. JC put a hand on Justin’s arm and Justin shivered again. “Want me to call down and get some soup for you or something?”
“JC, we’re leaving. Are you coming or not?” Chris asked, tapping his foot as Lance and Joey breezed by on their way to the elevator.
“I’m coming.” JC gave Justin a look of concern.
“Go,” Justin said, smiling. “Dance for me.”
“I will,” JC promised. He squeezed Justin’s arm and walked away. Justin watched them go, looking at the monstrosity of a brown suede jacket and smiling. His eyes wandered down the long legs, sheathed in tight brown pants, and he shivered once more. He slowly went back into his suite, closing the door.
“I’m, uh, sick,” Justin mimicked himself, groaning. He sat on the bed, staring at the laptop. Yeah, right, he was gonna write. Not one word would come out of him that made any sense, not one note that sounded any good. He had writer’s block, and someone who was getting on the elevator even as he sat there caused it.
Lance poured honey into a cup of tea and handed it to Justin. “It helps,” he promised. Justin gave him a smile.
“Thanks, Lance.” Justin sipped at the tea to be polite, though he wasn’t sick.
“You know…there are other people out there,” Lance said suddenly, and Justin’s head shot up. Lance knew.
“What?” Justin whispered.
“Other than Britney. I know you guys have been together for a while, and the breakup was hard to deal with. But you can find someone else.” Lance rubbed Justin’s back. “It will get better.”
Lance didn’t know. Justin could breathe again. “Right. Thanks, Lance. I appreciate that.”
“Hi.” JC fell into a chair across the table, his long legs unwinding gracefully under the table. His foot hit Justin’s and Justin shivered. “Still sick?” JC asked sympathetically.
“No. I’m just…tired. I…don’t know what it is.” Justin shrugged, cursing his lack of intelligence whenever JC was around. He looked up at JC’s blue eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
“Do you wanna hang after the interview?” JC asked. The waitress walked over, and JC ordered pancakes and bacon. He turned back to Justin. “I was gonna hit the art museum quick…there’s a new exhibit of landscapes. You could come along.”
Lance snorted. “Yeah, JC. THAT will make Justin feel better.” Justin’s heart sank. True, he wasn’t one for museums, but Lance didn’t have to make him look like an idiot.
“Well, I…uh…I kinda have writer’s block…and landscapes make me inspired for some reason,” JC said, blushing. Justin wanted to shove Lance’s coffee up his nose. He had embarrassed JC.
“I want to. Come along, I mean. I want to,” Justin told JC. “Honest. I’m having writer’s block, too. Maybe it will help.”
“Okay.” JC smiled happily. Lance rolled his eyes and Justin did finally punch him.
“What was that for?” Lance asked angrily.
“Because you’re being a dick,” Justin snapped, and got up without another word.
Justin stared at his closet, wondering what to wear. They were doing a radio interview, so it didn’t really matter for THAT, but he wanted to look good for JC. Not that JC would notice. Justin sighed and sat down on a chair, clad only in boxer briefs and socks. He couldn’t understand this sudden infatuation with his best friend. Okay, it wasn’t THAT sudden…just since he had grown out his hair and gotten this wacky fashion sense and become all Continental and artsy. Chris thought JC was weird. Lance thought he was going through a “phase.” Joey thought it gave him new ammunition for teasing JC. Justin thought it was sexy as all hell…sexy enough to make him give up on his farce of a relationship with Britney Spears. Let Lance think he was depressed. He was. But not for the reasons Lance thought.
“Justin, you ready? Limo’s downstairs!” Joey yelled. Justin looked down at his attire and had to grin. THAT would go over well with management.
“Be right there!” Justin yelled back, hurriedly pawing through his suitcase.