Much to his own surprise, Chris was enjoying
himself. The talk around the table, mostly about his work at school and
the things he had done to make practically every other teacher at Emerson
hate him, had been a great ice breaker. Joey had talked a lot more, comparing
Chris' little mishaps with authority with his own rebellion in the group,
and Lance and Justin had thrown in a lot of amusing 
anecdotes
that the girls loved.
The only one who was still silent, glaring at Chris every time Joey or Lance talked to him, every time they smiled or laughed at something Chris had said, was JC. Thankfully, it was not obvious enough to make Jeannette feel uncomfortable, and, truth to be told, Chris was growing used to it.
Just to be close to Joey, to hear him laugh and hear him say his name, was worth the glares.
"Is there anything you haven't done to this Mr. Zeck, Chris?" Justin asked, suddenly. As far as Chris could tell, the younger singer was the one more amused with his stories.
"Well…" Chris began, trying to remember if he had actually carried on with glueing the drawers on Zeck's desk, or if that had been only a sweet dream, when Marcy interrupted.
"Oh, remember the choir thing?" She said, looking at her friends, who were busy between eating and laughing.
"I'm not sure that we should tell them this one…" Jeannette shook her head, pointing at the group.
For a moment, Chris was confused, trying to remember exactly what had been so wrong with the day he took charge of the choir… Until he finally caught on Jeannette's meaning, and he blushed bright red.
"I'll have to ask you guys to hold on that one." Joey interrupted, getting to his feet. "All this water and laughter, don't mix well. Be back in a second."
"I'll go with you," Lance said, getting up too.
And as they both walked to the men's bathroom, Chris noted something curious.
JC was now glaring at them, instead of at him
* * *
"It is him, right?" Lance asked, after making sure he and Joey were alone in the men's bathroom. "Your mysterious guy from the bar…"
Joey just nodded, trying to put words for the myriad emotions that he was feeling in his heart. "He's… he's everything I imagined him to be…"
"You saw this short guy in a bar and thought he would be an hyperactive English lit. teacher?" Lance teased, before getting serious. "Well, I must admit he's pretty amazing. I don't know that many people who can make you stay silent for long…"
"I'm acting weird, right?" Joey shook his head, defeated. "He's going to hate me… Between Justin and JC… they are going to make him hate me."
Joey let his head hung down as he remembered some of the things Justin had said about him out there: from the time he glued the door to the bus so he could get away from his bodyguard to god-knows-where, to the time he changed the tapes for their rehearsal for an old polka tape he had stashed somewhere. And those colorful anecdotes were only interrupted when Justin asked something embarrassing about Chris' job…
Although that seemed to amuse Chris. Brown eyes seemed to like Justin, as Joey had seen sparkles of enjoyment behind his eyes.
The real problem was JC. JC who had been glaring at Chris from minute one, who had been biting and sarcastic, who hadn't had a single nice word for Chris… Thankfully, the girls hadn't noticed. But Joey knew deep down that Chris had.
"I don't think he hates you, Joe." Lance patted his back, making him look up. "You two are too much alike."
"But… even so…" Joey sighed, and washed his hands. "I'm never going to see him again… I don't even know how to tell him I want to see him again. I cannot tell him that…"
"…That you saw him in a gay bar and haven't stopped thinking about him all week?" Lance's eyes shone with mirth. "You could try."
"Lance!" Joey laughed, despite of himself. "I don't even
know if he's 'out'. And I'm not ready to tell JC and Justin about me yet…"
* * *
Chris couldn't help but smile when he saw Joey and Lance return, even when it meant that he was going to be even more embarrassed when the girls told the guys about the 'choir thing'. Justin hadn't stopped asking about it, and he knew that Marcy and Emily were dying to tell.
Still, as dessert was served, the subject had been temporary switched to weirdest things to eat… And Chris couldn't be happier.
The girls were having the night of their lives.
Even if JC kept looking at him as if he were the next victim in a slasher movie.
Even if he knew, deep down, that those stolen moments were his only chance to see Joey Fatone from a close distance, the only time he would hear the Italian's voice without having to buy a cd.
He took another spoonful of his banana split, and in the sugar rush he wondered if there was a way to tell Joey that he remembered the night at the bar, without sounding like a crazed fan. He was almost sure that the other man remembered too… But he was completely sure that JC, Justin and Lance didn't know about those escapades…
As sure as he could be, that was.
Because he knew that what the group told them, no matter how funny, weird or personal sounded, had been scripted, rehearsed and checked at least twice by PR. And it was probably untrue. So he couldn't really believe that the joyful, smiling man at his side, with whom he seemed to have so much in common, was the real Joey Fatone.
Even when he wanted him to be.
Just as Emily seemed to remember the long forgotten issue of the choir,
Chris rose. "I'll be right back. Don't embarrass me while I'm gone."
In those moments, Chris hated his brain for making him think such grim
thoughts, such depressing ideas. He just wanted a few moments in the relative
privacy of the bathroom to clear his head and return to the table, to
enjoy the last minutes he would have at Joey's side.
The others nodded. "Don't worry. We won't run and leave you to wash the dishes." Justin joked, making the girls laugh. And hopefully, forget the choir thing. Once Chris was out of JC's line of view, he turned around again, just for a second, happy to see Joey laugh at something Emily said.
Distracted as he was, he didn't saw the other man coming behind him until he was too late and they crashed. Blushing, Chris turned around. "I'm sorry, I was…"
Whatever apology he had thought died in his throat, as he found himself
face to face with Danny again.
* * *
Joey stopped laughing, almost by pure instinct, and tried to find Chris. He saw the young teacher near to the men's bathroom, talking to a very attractive blond man. Chris didn't look particularly happy, all the laughter and joy had died from his body language. And he couldn't help but pry.
"Who's that?" He asked to Emily, who turned around. Unfortunately, everyone in the table did look towards where he was pointing, and saw Chris talking to the other man, who seemed to be apologizing for something.
"Oh, shit!" Marcy said quickly, before clasping her hands over her mouth.
"Danny…" Emily paled, then shook his head. "He's… was… a very good friend of Chris. I never thought we would see him again."
As everyone turned to see, the blond man shook his head at something Chris said. They weren't near enough to hear the conversation, but in Joey's eyes the meaning was very clear. Whoever this 'Danny' was, was upsetting his Chris.
Chris. He reminded himself, not 'his' Chris. He really had to stop his imagination and heart from running away.
"Chris doesn't seem very happy to see him." JC said, and for the first time of the evening, he wasn't frowning. He actually seemed concerned.
"They didn't part in very good terms…" Jeannette bit her lips, her good mood evaporating soon. In that moment, Joey had two epiphanies. First, he was sure that the girls knew that Chris was gay, and that they were very concerned for their teacher / brother happiness. Second, he was positive that 'Danny' had been the one who had caused Chris to be so alone and broken hearted back in the bar.
"Should we go and rescue him?" Justin offered, truly concerned. It warmed Joey's heart, that Justin had liked Chris so much. Maybe, if things worked fine, Justin wouldn't have any trouble accepting Joey… and Chris, together… If they ever got together.
"NO!" The three girls said, at the same time, startling everyone in the table. Finally, it was Emily whom regained her control. "It wouldn't be a good idea, Justin… Danny's…"
"A jerk." Marcy finished, looking at Chris and Danny from the corner of his eye. "He's the worst of the worst. And if he saw any of you guys with Chris… It wouldn't be nice."
Joey looked up at Lance, and they exchanged looks. Obviously the girls were talking about blackmail. Or something worse. Then Joey looked up at Chris, only to see the shorter man shaking his head, almost in defeat. And Joey felt useless, because he couldn't go and comfort his friend.
"I think it's time we leave." JC suddenly said, and got up. He signaled to Lommie to come closer, and whispered something to the bodyguard's ear that Joey couldn't hear. Then, as the girls got up and the check was given to Justin, Joey saw how Lommie went to where Chris and 'Danny' were talking and placed a protective hand over Chris shoulder.
Seconds later, Chris was turning around with Lommie, walking towards the table.
"I still owe you a beer, Elf!" Danny shouted, making Chris cringe.
In that second, Joey was sure he hated Danny. And that if he could, he
would make the tall blonde regret he ever hurt Chris.
* * *
JC watched the silent scene inside the limousine. A very different scene than the one he had been watching on the way to the restaurant.
Then, the girls had been nervous, and Lance and Joey had been trying their best to get to know Kirkpatrick, while Justin acted in his best 'dream date' behavior. JC would have enjoyed that normal, quiet ride, if it hadn't been for Lance and Joey being so… friendly with Kirkpatrick.
It unsettled the balance. It had always been like that, from the beginning of the group. Lance and Justin were best friends, JC and Joey were best friends. Perhaps it was not exactly true, more of a nice exaggeration for teen magazines and nosy reporters. Perhaps Joey kept to himself many things that JC didn't know, and maybe Lance and Justin weren't so close. Maybe JC kept a few too many secrets from his band mates. But in front of the public, no matter how small the public was, it was true. But with Lance and Joey talking so… nicely… with Kirkpatrick, the balance was no longer there. And maybe the girls wouldn't notice, but the paparazzi would.
And the rumors would start all over again.
That had prevented him from enjoying the meal. Just watching Joey break from the 'flirty, joyful troublemaker' mask he was supposed to wear in every public event was enough. But when Lance started it too… That was too much for JC. When Justin had started too, acting more like himself than like Justin Timberlake, lead singer for *Nsync… well, that had been too much. Sure, Kirkpatrick wasn't a bad person, and some of the stories were really funny… but that didn't change the fact that JC hated seeing Lance paying so much attention to someone outside the group.
But the trip back had been different. Whoever that 'Danny' was, he really had managed to destroy whatever good mood Kirkpatrick had. He had been silent the whole trip, only answering in short monosyllabic, telling everyone he was just a little tired. And although Lance and Joey kept exchanging looks, that didn't bother JC that much.
Even when it was still nagging him.
By the time they arrived back to the Kirkpatrick house, JC was ready to forget the whole night, sure that everything was going to go back to normal next day.
But suddenly, as they were in the door, the girls still looking at them as if they were gold or something, Joey got this weird look in his eyes, a look mirrored in Lance's clear green eyes…
"Shit! We forgot!" Lance said, before looking at Chris, who seemed very surprised. "Wait here, just a second."
And then Lance was back in the limo, and JC really didn't liked the whole
thing.
* * *
Joey watched, puzzled, as Lance went running back to the limousine. He had been trying all the way back on a way to make Chris laugh again, to no avail. He had also been thinking on how to contact the young man again, but somehow writing his phone and room number in a napkin and slide it inside Chris' jacket didn't sound like such a good idea.
So, he was feeling pretty miserable when the date was over.
And now Lance had gone insane. Joey was sure of it.
Because now he was seeing his friend back from the limo, carrying four big bags with the *N Sync logo, all of them full of merchandising.
"Here," Lance said, handing the bags to Chris. "We were supposed to give this to you guys before the date, but with everything... well, we forgot. As Emily told our PR who was which favorite, the bags and autographs are in that order… and… well… we added the fourth bag as a gift. You can sell it on e-bay if you want."
Joey saw as Chris picked up the bags, smiled again, even when the smile was just a ghost of the ones he had seen that evening, and thanked them for making the girls happy. Then, he excused himself and Justin and Lance were going back to the limousine, and Chris was closing the door, not even looking at Joey.
Feeling his chest thigh with pain, Joey returned to the limo, not understanding
the triumphant smile in Lance's face.