Joey was aware of the dirty looks that Wade was sending him. It was hard not to notice, since he had messed up in practically every single dance routine that morning. Eventually, he got them right, but in the first six or seven attempts there was always something off. Either he missed a step, or went to fast, or forgot the sequence… Once he had even managed to trip on JC, and it was Lance the one who usually did that.
But he really didn't care much for the dirty looks, or the confused looks that the rest of the group had for him.
It wasn't as if he didn't knew the reason why he was so off that morning.
It was all the stranger's fault. The brown-eyed, brown-haired stranger to whom Joey hadn't been able to talk to.
At first, Joey had entertained the plan of going back to the bar after the concert, see if he was lucky and he could find his mysterious brown eyed guy. But that plan had been vetoed pretty fast in his mind. Not only Loomie and everyone was under strict orders of not loosing him 'or else', after the concert, there was no way that no one would notice Joey Fatone from *Nsync sneaking away to a gay bar. That was the reason why he hardly ever went twice to the same place. It shortened the chances of being spotted.
And he really couldn't expect that the other man changed bars as easily as Joey did. No. Brown-eyes probably went every night or every other night to that bar. To that table. And maybe… maybe tonight Brown-eyes would reconcile himself with the guy who had broke his heart the night before, and then instead of sadness there would be happiness in those eyes… happiness that Joey would never get the chance to see.
They were leaving Albany in three days. Lance had told him that in the morning, right after management had threatened to chain him to the bus. So, the only thing he had left were the dreams, and those stolen moments in the bar.
"Damn!" he muttered under his breath. Because after playing the night events over and over in his head, he was almost convinced that brown eyes had turned to look at him a couple of times.
And now, he would never know.
* * *
Chris smiled as the bell rang
and practically every student on the last class ran out of the room. The
only ones left where Emily and two of her best friends, who also had managed
to get tickets, and whose mothers were delighted to know that he was going
to act as chaperone for the small group.
The day had been uneventful, except for the couple of times when the class had realized that he was not really paying much attention, as he had let go a couple of giggling girls reading teen magazines instead of the book they were supposed to be studying.
Truth to be told, Chris was still thinking about the stranger in the Superman cap. Superman, as he had dubbed him in his mind. After replaying the night's events in his mind, Chris had decided that Superman had not gone happily with the bouncer, not as if they were boyfriends, but more like if the bouncer was there to keep an eye on Superman… And maybe, just maybe, Superman had really been looking at Chris that night, and maybe he would go back to the bar… and if that happened, Chris wanted to be there, and not to try and outstare his beer this time.
Of course, first he had to take the girls to the mall, be sure they all had *Nsync posters or something in case they got lucky enough to get autographs, feed them, take them to the concert, and return them safely to their homes. That didn't left him with much time to go to the bar, but Chris was being optimist.
He had to try and see Superman again. If he didn't, he had the feeling that he would never see him again.
"Chris!!!" Emily shook him out of his thoughts, looking at him with a half-exasperated expression. "We're gonna be late!"
"The show starts in four hours, Emily. We have plenty of time." Chris said, smiling, as he picked up his notes.
"But we have to get good places!" Marcy, Emily's best friend, partner in crime and sometimes Taylor' babysitter, whined. "And if we go now, we might get a chance to see Lance!"
"You like Lance?!" Emily turned to see Marcy, shocked. "No way! Justin's cuter!"
"You both are blind! J.C. is the hottest!" Jeanette, Marcy's sister, interrupted. Soon Chris was in the middle of one of the most bizarre discussion he had ever witnessed.
Shaking his head, he closed his desk - even when no one could get in the classrooms at night, he really didn't want the other teachers finding out that he returned the magazines he confiscated - and walked out, followed by the still arguing girls.
"McDonalds is all right with you girls?" He asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Yeah!" The three girls said in unison, before returning to their more important discussion.
* * *
"Joey?" Lance asked, looking at his band mate with a worried expression. "Joey?!"
"I can hear you, Lance." Joey smiled, even when he didn't feel like it. "What do you want?"
"You didn't hear me the first three times. " The bass singer of the quartet was already in his first costume, only waiting for the last touch of make up, however Joey still was dressed with his normal clothes, watching through the window to the parking lot of the stadium. That in itself was weird, Joey was usually the first one to be ready. "You look bad, man. Wanna talk about it?"
Joey opened his mouth, ready to say no. His private life, what little of it he still had, was his and his alone. But this time… this time he really needed a friendly advice.
"I'm crazy." He finally said, smiling when Lance nodded. "I… you guys are going to hate me."
"Does this has to do with your night adventures?" Lance asked, sitting next to Joey, who was still looking through the window. "Johnny was just exaggerating. We would never hate you for that. I would do the same thing if I had your courage."
The older man laughed, then shook his head. "I wouldn't be so sure, Lance." Then he sighed, ready to grab the bull by its horns. "I think I'm in love. And it has to do with last night… I went to a bar…"
"You're always picking up dates in bars, Joey."
"A gay bar." Joey said, and waited for Lance's reaction. But the blonde brunette surprised him, only nodding and waiting for the rest of the story. "… and there he was… A guy, sitting by himself… with the most incredible brown eyes I've ever seen."
"And you fell in love after just a couple of beers?" The other singer asked, but Joey couldn't sense any kind of judgment or sarcasm in his voice.
"I never got the chance to talk to him. Loomie appeared before I could get near to his table."
There was a short silence before Lance spoke up again. "That's why you keep spacing out?"
The older man nodded, before looking out through the window. "I don't understand it, really. I just saw him for a couple of hours, and I cannot get him out of my mind. I keep seeing him, and…"
Joey trailed off, the words dying on his mouth as he looked through the glass again.
Because there, surrounded by three giggling girls, dressed completely in black, wearing some kind of dark glasses and looking far more happier than last night, was his mysterious stranger.
Brown eyes.
* * *
"C'mon, Chris!" Emily and Jeannette urged him as he closed the door of his car and activated the alarm.
In the course of the afternoon the arguing had evolved from who was the hottest (Justin, although Lance was the cutest), who sang better (J.C., although Justin had the sweetest voice), which song was the best (I drive myself crazy, although This I promise you was sweeter), and what rumor was more stupid (Justin's wedding to Britney Spears, although J.C. dating Eminem came a close second). The final result was that Chris knew more about *Nsync than what he wanted to know, and he still didn't know who was who.
While crossing the parking lot, Emily got the news that there would be no autograph session before the concert, because there would be a contest to meet the guys after the show. That, of course, led to a new begging session from the three girls to stay and try to catch a glimpse of their idols…
He reluctantly agreed. That meant he wouldn't have time to return to the bar, and he would miss his chance to see Superman again, but his sister' happiness was more important. Besides, it was more possible that she won the contest than him running into his stranger again.
They reached their seats, which made the girls hug him again -Chris had been lucky enough to get seats not that far away from the stage. Around them there were girls wearing *Nsync t-shirts, jackets, and caps. Some even had the names of the band members written on their faces and arms with magic marker.
The young man smiled, thankful that Emily, Marcy and Jeannette weren't that extreme. He turned to see his young charges, just in time to see how Marcy finished painting big letters in Jeannette's face.
J.C.
With Neon Green Magic Marker.
Marcy's forehead read "Lance" in bright glow in the dark pink.
Emily sported a "Justin" and 2 hearts, one in each cheek. In bright blue.
Shaking his head, more amused than shocked, he looked around, counting names. Apparently there was a popularity tie between Lance and J.C., while Justin was definitively in the lead. From where they were seated Chris couldn't see many 'Joey' signs.
"What's wrong with Joey?" He asked out loud, regretting the words as soon as he said them, because the girls bombarded him with information.
He has a beard. He doesn't sing as much as the others. He's not as cute. He reads comics. He's kinda fat. He's not the youngest, he's not the older. His hair is never the same color…
Finally, it was Emily the one who realized that her brother didn't know who Joey was, so she pulled out a magazine from her back pack and showed it to him.
"See? The cute blonde is Justin. The one with the green eyes is Lance. The brown haired one is JC… and this one is Joey."
But
Chris wasn't really listening to his sister. His eyes were glued to the
opposite page from where Emily was pointing the members of *Nsync.
Because there, leaning in a white background, dressed with a pair of jeans that looked a size too big, a white sweater with color strips, and a black cap with the superman logo, below a pink blurb that read "Joey Fatone" was the man who had stolen his sleep last night.
Superman
* * *
"What's wrong with Joey?" Justin asked Lance, trying not to point at their nervous friend. Since the moment the older man had put on his first costume, Joey had been jumpy. Even a little clumsy, every time they left the stage to get ready for their next number. It was just like in rehearsal, but ten times worse.
It didn't show on the stage, and for that Justin was grateful… and a little puzzled. During the show, when the public could see them, Joey was giving the best performance of his career. He was all energy, all synchronization… everything.
Which made things more confusing to Justin, because Joey wasn't like that. If he was focused on the stage, he was focused off the stage too.
"I'll talk to him." Lance smiled, going to where Joey was fighting his way into a hideous green sleeveless jacket for their 'Just got paid' routine. When he was sure that Justin couldn't hear them talking, he turned to his other worried friend. "Everything all right?"
"He's out there." Joey whispered, looking towards the stage. "I saw him in the parking lot. He's watching this show."
Lance nodded, adjusting his own bright green jacket. "That's why you're doing the one-man show bit?"
"What?" Joey looked at his friend, confused. He was giving his best, that was true, but he really didn't thought the others would notice.
"Justin just asked me what was wrong. You're jumpy off stage, and out there, you have energy enough to make for the three of us." The younger man explained, with a smile. "You know where he's sitting?"
"No." Joey shook his head, almost defeated. "He's not in the first three rows. That I know. But I can't see farther than that. Not even when we're hanging from the ceiling. The lights kinda blind me."
"Happens to everyone." Lance chuckled. "What was he wearing?"
"Black clothes, why?" The older man frowned. He knew for experience that when Lance got an idea, it was better to be prepared for the worst.
"Oh. Nothing." Lance smile grew into a grin, and Joey knew he had to worry. "I just thought of something."
* * *
Chris almost didn't see the concert. He was too shocked for words, too shocked to see anything past the picture in the magazine that Emily had shown him.
His stranger in the superman cap had a name.
Not only that, it was a name that Chris had heard in the school constantly, for the last six months.
Joseph "Joey" Anthony Fatone Jr.. Member of one of the most popular boy bands in the last decade.
"You sure know how to break your heart, Kirkpatrick…" Chris muttered under his breath as the group came out on stage again, this time dressed with the ugliest combination of yellows and greens that Chris had ever seen. Even so, Joey looked gorgeous.
And unattainable.
So,
even when it was not a sad song, Chris cried silently, wondering if he
would ever get the chance to pick up the pieces of his beaten and broken
heart.