Maze of Moments

DISCLAIMER, WARNINGS, ETC:

This story is fiction. I do NOT know Lance Bass or the other members of N'Sync, and the content of this story should not imply anything regarding their sexuality. While the locales and historic events contained in the "Maze of Moments" series are real, all other characters (with the exception of N'Sync of course) are products of my imagination.

This work is copyright by me. Any post or reproduction without my consent is prohibited...so there! Nyah!

Lastly, an apology. With the intro to chapter one, you may have seen the dedication to my "guru" Gabriella Morrison. Well, I guess all the excitement got to me when I mistakenly called her great work "My Secret Romance" when it is in fact "My Surprise Romance." My bad! In any event, this work is still lovingly and respectfully dedicated to her.

Please tell me what you think so far! Feedback to KandLStories@aol.com

Thanks for waiting, and now, on with the story!

---Tony

The Maze of Moments - A Kevin and Lance Story

From the end of chapter one.....

Kevin then looked around to make sure no one was looking at him, and picked up one of the magazines. He flipped through the pages, and saw dozens of pictures of the young man he had just met.

"Yep, definitely cute," he said to himself.

As he began reading one of the articles, he failed to notice someone walk quietly behind him.

"Aren't you a little old to be reading those?" he heard a now familiar voice say....

Chapter Two - Knowing Me, Knowing You, part one

"The story of my life, is very plain to read..."

-from "The Story of My Life" by Neil Diamond

Now, Kevin Douglas was many things. Somewhat of an athlete, a musician, a student. He typically gave his all at everything he set out to do. Whether it was throwing the winning touchdown during a high school game, learning new chords, or even attempting to figure out the significance of William Jennings Bryan as Secretary of State during the early years of the Twentieth century, he was passionate about the things he wanted to accomplish. He wasn't exactly what one might call a 'Renaissance Man', but he always tried to do different things. Kevin was also something else....jumpy.

Very jumpy.

So, when the voice of Lance Bass interrupted his intense study of the latest issue of "Bop", his reaction was...well...pretty much what you'd expect from a jumpy person.

"Ahhh!! Shit!"

Lance, still wearing his dark glasses and cap took a step back as Kevin dropped the magazine and pivoted to see who had just scared the living daylights out of him, and perhaps belt them in the nose if necessary. When he realized that the same person whose pictures he'd been looking over was the owner of that voice, he exhaled, and stated the obvious.

"It's you!"

"Shhh!" Lance put a finger to his lips. "Well, of course it's me...nice to see you again too, Kevin. Try to keep it down, huh? I'm supposed to be discrete here, remember?" He couldn't help but grin at the reaction of the young man in front of him.

"Yeah, and sneaking up on people is really discrete! What're you doing here?" Kevin asked, much more quietly than before.

"Well, this is a mall...what, I can't come and kill some time?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean...oh, forget it. I thought you had a call to make?"

"I did. I used my cell...comes in handy sometimes. Actually I made two calls, one to my folks, and one to some friends of mine. We were supposed to go do something tonight, but my plans sort of got canceled. You know, you guys and your finals...I'm kinda glad I don't have to put up with this, you know?"

"You poor baby," Kevin said dryly. "Hang on a second, let me go pay for this and we can continue this conversation outside." He held up the book for Lance to see.

" 'Woodrow Wilson'....you know, there's some really good stuff on the Civil War over there...."

Shaking his head and sighing, Kevin moved over to the cash register to make his purchase, while muttering something under his breath, leaving Lance to wonder if he had said something wrong. When he made his way back, Lance was flipping through the same magazine he had been just minutes before. Kevin feebly attempted to explain his choice of reading material that was now in his hands.

"Um....I was....well...I just wanted to find out...uh...oh hell, never mind."

Lance laughed as he continued to scan an article. "You know, they make up half this stuff anyway. We're interviewed and all, but they include a lot of things on their own. Gotta sell issues I suppose. So...who do you think is the hottest member of N'Sync?"

Lance looked over the top of his glasses at Kevin, who had now turned a really pretty shade of red.

"Uh...can we go now?"

"Sure, lead the way," Lance replied, putting the magazine back in its' proper place, and following his friend outside of the store.

Outside the mall, Lance and Kevin slowly walked through the parking lot towards Lance's 4- Runner.

"So, big plans got called off, huh?"

"I don't know if you could call them big or not. We were just going to hang out for awhile, you know. Maybe rent some movies, get something to eat. Speaking of which, I'm hungry, what about you?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Wanna go grab a burger or something?"

Kevin thought for a moment and looked at his watch.

"I have a better idea. How about we make you dinner."

"We? Who's we?" Lance asked.

"Me and Eric. We kind of have a tradition on Friday nights. See, sometimes our schedules are pretty crazy, so we agreed to set aside Friday night to have dinner at the apartment together, and then go do whatever, either with each other, or friends. Care to join us?"

Lance thought for a moment. "Well, if you don't think Eric will mind..."

"Nah, he'll be cool with it. Besides, it's his turn to cook, he'll love the attention."

"Okay...sure, why not. You got a car, or do you need a ride?"

"My jeep's over there," Kevin said, pointing in the general direction. "Let me go get it, I'll drive back over, and you can follow me."

"Okay, sure."

Lance got in his SUV and started it up, immediately turning on the air conditioning. Damn heat, he thought to himself. He watched Kevin jog over to the far side of the lot, until he was out of view.

'Well Bass,' he said to himself, 'he may be culturally ignorant, but he is kinda cute. I wonder what he thought of those pictures in the magazine?'

Kevin's jeep pulled up behind Lance, and left enough room for him to pull out. Shifting to reverse, Lance backed out of his space, and then began to follow Kevin.

"I wonder if he's....nah. Looks too much like a fratboy. Oh well, wishful thinking I guess...."

Arriving at the Park Villa Townhouses, Lance parked next to Kevin and got out of his car. He locked it, and walked over to Kevin, who was waiting for him.

"Nice place. Kinda quiet for a Friday evening though."

"Finals man. You know, all those papers and things you don't have to worry about," Kevin replied with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah." Lance smiled and followed his new friend to his apartment. Unlocking the door, Kevin turned to Lance and put a finger to his lips.

"Let's surprise Eric."

Lance just shrugged as if to say "okay" and followed him inside.

Eric was not in the living room, but the distant sound of music indicated that he was upstairs, in his bedroom. Kevin stood at the bottom of the stairs, and said in a loud voice, "Honey, I'm home!"

Eric responded with "Hiya sweetie...have a good day at work?"

"Yeah, not too bad. Hey, I found a stray on the way home...can we keep him?" Kevin asked in all seriousness.

"Ha ha. Funny."

"No, for real. I found this cute puppy on the side of the road and picked him up. I wanna keep him Eric....please?"

Lance smiled at the choice of Kevin's words, but tried not to read too much into it.

"You aren't serious, are you Kevin?" Eric said, sounding a little agitated.

"Yeah, totally. Come on down and take a look at him, he's adorable," Kevin said, while looking at Lance and smiling. He really is, he thought.

Eric was moving towards the direction of the stairs, and judging from the heaviness in his footsteps, was not too happy.

"Dammit, Kevin, the last time you brought home a dog it fucking pissed all over the place! I am not going to clean up after another dog!"

Lance was biting the insides of his cheeks, trying his hardest not to laugh. Kevin, on the other hand just had a huge grin on his face.

Eric was now making his way down the stairs. "I mean it Kev, we are not keeping another...." the rest of his words were cut off when he saw the look on his roommate's face. "What? What's so funny? I'm serious man, I don't want another damn dog!" Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he turned to his left and practically ran down Lance.

'Whoa... Lancelot! Lancelot? What're you doing here?"

"Do you have to call him that?" Kevin muttered under his breath.

"Hey, you were the goof that said it was his name, not me."

Lance laughed. "It's okay Kevin. Better than some other names I could be called I suppose."

"There, you see? He even likes it. So back to my original question...what are you doing here? Kevin didn't kidnap you did he?"

"No," Kevin said in mock defensiveness, "I did not kidnap him. I invited him over for dinner. We get to be in the presence of super stardom tonight."

"Cool. You guys wanna order out?"

"Well, Kevin did mention something about it being your turn to cook..."

Eric slowly turned to his roommate with a smirk. "He did, did he? If I recall correctly, our friend Mr. Douglas here is up to bat for this evening. And I happen to know he grills up one mean steak."

"Damn," Kevin said while snapping his fingers. "And here I thought I could get away with it. I even brought home someone famous and everything...don't I at least get credit for that?"

"Nope. You just get to wear an apron. Make mine medium, please. How do you like yours Lance?"

"The same."

"Cool. So, while Chef-Boy-R-Kev gets to work, I'll give you the grand tour. Come on upstairs."

Lance took off his glasses for the first time, squinting a little as his eyes became readjusted to the light. As he rubbed them a little, Kevin couldn't help but notice how hauntingly beautiful they were in color. Before he could notice anything further, however, his new friend was following Eric up the stairs. Dropping his book on the coffee table in the living room, he heard Eric from the top of the stairs:

"Hey, Kev?"

"What?"

"If you need any help with dinner....I think the neighbors are around!"

"Fuck you too," Kevin said with a laugh, and, shaking his head, made his way into the kitchen.

The 'grand tour' that Eric took Lance on wasn't all that involved. The upstairs consisted of two bedrooms of roughly the same size, a bathroom, and a linen closet. They only peeked into Kevin's room, out of respect for his privacy, and then stepped into Eric's.

"Well, it isn't much, but it's home."

"I like it." Lance had also taken off his cap, and straightened out his severe case of hat head as best he could. He looked around the room, which contained pretty much all of the typical things one would expect to be there: a bed, desk, two chests of drawers, no big deal. The walls had a few posters on them, some certificates and awards. He looked over to the desk, and saw that next to the computer a framed picture of Eric and Kevin. This had been taken apparently at a football tailgating party of some kind, Kevin picking up Eric and the two of them laughing.

"Looks like you guys had a good time at this one," he said, while holding up the framed print.

"Yeah," Eric replied with a laugh, "that was before the game with State last year. God, were we drunk. I'm still not too sure who won that game."

Lance laughed along, and then got quiet. After a minute or so, he looked at Eric and asked, "Are you sure this is okay, I mean, my being here? I don't want to intrude or anything..."

"It's fine," Eric reassured him. "I think it's pretty cool actually."

"Okay, if you're sure. If you guys had plans or something..."

"Lance....or do you prefer James?"

Lance smiled at the courtesy that Eric was showing him. "Either way is fine. Like I said, my friends call me Lance."

"Okay, Lancelot," Eric said grinning. "Listen, it's totally fine you being here. I don't mind one bit."

"Thanks Eric, I appreciate this. It's not often that I get to just be normal, you know? Just hang out with friends, be a regular guy. I kind of need this."

"You're welcome. Shall we go back downstairs and continue the tour?"

"Yeah....but can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Are you and Kevin...I mean...are you guys..um.."

"Together?" Eric filled in the blank for him.

"Uh...yeah."

"No," Eric laughed, "not hardly. Just friends. I'm about as straight as they come. Why?"

"Well, you guys seem awfully close, I just thought....oh, never mind. It was rude of me to ask, I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay..not the first time someone has wondered about that. Now, let's make our way back down before the chef of the future ensures that we eat pizza tonight."

"Okay," Lance said, and followed Eric down the stairs. Halfway down, he paused for a moment. Wait a second, he thought. Eric said that he was as straight as they come....he never said anything about Kevin...maybe he is.....nah.

Kevin was on the deck that led out from the kitchen, beer in one hand, tongs in the other, watching three good sized steaks sizzle on the grill. "Well," he said to himself quietly, "coming along nicely. Maybe I should have gone to culinary school instead..."

The door from the kitchen opened, and Eric stepped outside with a beer of his own.

"Where's Lance?" Kevin asked.

"Using the bathroom and washing up. I told him we'd be out here. You wanna eat outside or in the house?"

"Considering who our company is, it might be a good idea to eat inside. I don't want to start a riot or anything."

"Cool with me. He's gay you know."

Kevin, at this point, had been taking a drink of his beer, and upon hearing Eric's words, nearly choked, spraying foamy yellow liquid on the ground.

"Do what??!!" he asked, coughing.

"He's gay."

"And just how do you know this?" Kevin asked, wiping his mouth with his arm.

Eric shrugged. "I can tell. Hey, I've known and lived with you for a good long while dude. If I can't tell when one guy is into other guys by now, I might as well quit. Besides, he asked me if we're gay." He paused, and took a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, but lots of people have asked us if we're gay before, so what?"

"Kev, trust me on this one, okay? It was the way he asked. He didn't ask it like he was trying to make sure not to say something stupid, or he would be pissed if we were. He asked because he's interested dude."

"You tell him you're straight?"

"Yes, but I'm not the one he's interested in."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

Kevin flipped one of the steaks. "What did you tell him about me then?"

"Nothing."

Kevin looked up at his roommate.

"Nothing?"

"Nope. Let him find out for himself. You know, Kev," Eric continued, growing serious, "you ragged me earlier today about getting a number, or getting lucky. What about you man? It's been, what, six months? Time to move on buddy. Here you go. He's cute, has a great personality...get to know him man."

"Eric," Kevin said, "we're not talking about just anyone here you know. We're talking about someone who's on the cover of "Bop" and appears on MTV, according to you anyway. Besides, we don't even know if he's gay, and even if he was, I'm bi, remember?"

"You read "Bop" magazine?"

"That's not the point. The point is, I go both ways, straight or gay people go one. If Lance is gay, which I doubt, how do you think he'd react to that?"

"I don't know, but let me ask you this...do you find him attractive?"

Kevin looked down at the steaks and waited for a moment before answering. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Alright then. I'm telling you, I'm getting signals. Talk to him tonight, get to know him. You never know. The past is the past bro. Kris is gone." Eric reached over to rub his friend's arm.

The door opened and Lance stepped out onto the deck, and judging from the silence that greeted him, felt as if he had interrupted something. Both of the guys were quiet, and he noticed that Kevin quickly looked back down at the grill the moment he had stepped outside. As the old saying goes, you could hear a pin drop. Finally, Eric broke the silence.

"You know, we're going to need something to go along with these. Tell you what Kev, since you're doing such a good job out here, I'll handle the rest in the kitchen, okay?"

Kevin looked up. "No, that's okay, I can..."

"I got it man, no problem. Besides, I think tonight really was my turn to cook anyway. I'll be inside if you need me."

"Need any help?" Lance asked.

"Nope, under control Lancelot. I brought out an extra beer if you want one."

"Thanks," Lance answered, while reaching over to the table and taking the bottle. Eric winked at his roommate and went back into the apartment.

Great, Kevin thought. Now what do I do? Okay, he's hot, we all know that. But I seriously doubt he's into guys. Hell, as famous as he is, he probably has a different chick in every city in the country. I'll bet he...

Kevin's thoughts were broken by the sound of Lance's voice.

"Hey, Kevin, did you hear me? You need any help?"

Kevin looked up at Lance, who was smiling at him. He tried not to read too much into that smile, nor to get lost in those eyes. However, this was a difficult task.

"Uh...no. Thanks though." He turned down the temperature on the gas grill and closed the lid, allowing the steaks to cook. He then turned around and leaned on the railing of the deck, trying to block out Eric's words from just a few minutes before.

He's interested dude.

Yeah, right.

Kris is gone.

Kevin sighed. Yeah, Kris was gone alright. Damn him anyway.

Lance walked across the deck and joined Kevin on the rail.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kevin looked out at their backyard. Well, it wasn't really a backyard, it was more like a row of parking spaces, behind which was a field. Still, one could imagine, right? "Yeah," he sighed, "I'm okay. I just have a few things on my mind, that's all."

"Like what?" Lance asked softly.

"Oh, you know. School stuff. Finals are this week, I have to get that paper done for this one class I'm in. It kinda gets to you, you know? Oh, wait, I guess you don't. Sorry."

"Don't be," Lance said. "It sounds like you have a full plate. You know, I joked before about not having the normal routine like you and Eric do, but you know what? There are times, I'd trade in everything I have right now to be in your shoes."

Kevin looked at Lance. "You would? God, why on earth would you want to do that? You've got it made."

"Have I?" Lance snorted. "Listen Kevin, I'd much rather be arguing with a roommate over a dog that pees everywhere rather than sleeping on a bus. Okay, yeah, I'll admit. I like what I do. Hell, there is nothing that compares to the rush you feel when you go out on stage and hear thousands of people screaming for you. But I miss being me sometimes, you know? When you asked me over here for dinner, I about did the happy dance in the parking lot!"

"I would have liked to have seen that," Kevin chuckled.

"I'm sure you would have. But listen, you've got it lucky, don't ever forget that. You can be you, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I can be me every once and awhile. So quit gripping about your finals, finish your paper, and everything will be fine," Lance finished with a smile.

Kevin smiled back. "I have a confession to make."

"You do?" Lance tried not to look too anxious, and did not want to get his hopes up, but you never could tell...

"I know your music. N'Sync's music, that is. Now, I didn't know who you were, but I know your songs."

"Why didn't you say something?"

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know. I have a reputation to live up to...you know, being culturally ignorant. Maybe I didn't want it known that I listen to a boyband. Who knows. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I think you guys are pretty good."

"Thanks, Kevin. That means a lot. So, does Eric know about this little secret of yours?"

"Eric knows many things, but I figure this one we'll keep him in the dark about. Now, let me see if dinner's ready."

They sat at the kitchen table, eating the steaks Kevin had prepared, along with a salad that Eric had put together. Once the meal was completed, Lance offered to help out with cleaning up, but his hosts would hear none of it. "That's what the dishwasher is for" was their argument. The table cleared and their stomachs full, they went into the living room. Eric claimed the recliner on one side of the rectangular oak table in the middle of the room, leaving the couch to his roommate and their guest.

"Thanks again guys, that was really good," Lance said.

"Anytime," Eric replied. "Judging by the fact that you haven't keeled over yet, I'd say Kev here hasn't poisoned us. That's a good sign."

"Shut up man, you're just jealous that I grill better than you do," Kevin said with a laugh.

"Do you mind if I ask you guys a question?"

"Sure, Lancelot, shoot."

"Eric, do you have to call him that?"

"Think of it this way Kev...remember to engage brain before mouth is in gear."

Kevin glared at Eric, who just grinned. Lance laughed while asking again. "Seriously, I want to know what made you guys come to Mississippi."

Kevin looked down at his hands and got quiet. Lance looked from him to Eric with a worried expression on his face. "Did I say something wrong? What?"

"It's part of a much longer story, Lance. I don't know if Kev here wants to talk about it or not."

"It's okay," Kevin said softly. "I can talk about it."

Kevin looked back up and smiled at his roommate, and then shifted on the couch to face Lance. He sighed, and then began:

"I'm originally from Chicago, like Eric mentioned earlier this afternoon. I still have relatives up there... my dad's mom, a couple of aunts and uncles, bunch of cousins. But I had to move to Kentucky in June of 1979, when I was still a baby."

"Why?" Lance asked.

Kevin continued. "On May 25, 1979, the worst airline disaster in United States history occurred when American Airlines flight 191 crashed near O'Hare airport. Shortly after takeoff, the left engine fell off. The plane rolled over, and went down less than a mile from the runway. Everyone on board was killed....passengers, flight crew, everyone. Two hundred and seventy one people died that day. Two of those people were my parents."

"Oh my God," Lance said softly.

"My mother was originally from Kentucky, and both of her parents were still alive. It was written into their wills that if anything was to ever happen to them, I was to go live with my Grandpa Ray and Grandma Helen in Bowling Green. And that's exactly what I did. That's how I met this guy." Kevin thumbed at his roommate, sitting behind him.

"I met Eric when I entered third grade, and we've pretty much been best friends ever since. We went through grade school together, high school, the whole nine yards. We've been pretty much inseparable."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Lance asked.

"Just Eric. He's the closest thing to a brother I'll ever have."

"Aww, come on Kev, you'll make me cry," Eric said with a smile.

"Here I am, pouring my heart out, and you're making fun of me. I see how you are. Shithead. Anyway, my grandparents died my senior year of high school, within a couple of months of each other. Eric had talked about going to Ole Miss, and I didn't really want to stay around Bowling Green by myself, so here we are. I sold my grandparents home just before our first semester started."

"So where do you live when you go home?" Lance wanted to know.

"Lance, this is home. Sure, I go back to Kentucky with Eric every once and awhile, and Chicago on rare occasions, but this is it for me. I rarely hear from my cousins or my other relatives, so this is it man. I am home, and I have all the family I really need living with me, right here. So that's it, that's my story. Now, I'm gonna go grab another beer. Anyone else want one?"

"Yeah," Eric said.

"Sure, why not," Lance agreed.

Kevin got up and left the room, leaving his roommate and his guest.

"Wow," Lance said quietly.

"Yeah, tell me about it. He's been through a lot. I can't imagine never knowing my folks. I guess he's turned out okay though. He did pretty well on the house sale, and my dad helped him invest a good chunk of that money, so Kevin is set for a good long while."

"He seems to be okay with it though."

"Yeah, more or less I guess. Losing his parents without even knowing them has affected him though. Let me tell you Lance...I love Kevin to death, I really do. On the outside, he's got it all going for him: the muscles, the music, everything. But inside, there's a very scared little boy. He tries not to show his emotions, but I can tell that it bothers him. I think he feels like he was abandoned."

"But it wasn't his fault, or his parents either for that matter."

"I know that, and so do you, and Kevin would probably agree with us. But on the inside....well, I think that's a little different. There are some things you still don't know about."

Kevin walked back into the living room and handed beers to his friends, and sat back down on the couch.

"Okay, you've heard my story, or most of it at least. What about you?"

End of chapter two...more to come!