Act 2 , Scene 2

AJ smiled when he heard the hushed voices inside of Chris's
room, and decided to go and give the two friends a little more
privacy. So he fished Kevin and Brian out of their room, went to
find Nick, and convinced them all to go downstairs to get
something to eat.

        And didn't suspected a thing when the three gorillas they had posing as security let them go down, after they had been said that they were not leaving their rooms and their floor unless the hotel was burning down.

        He had other things in mind, like how to convince his other
bandmates that *N Sux didn't suck that much.

* * *

        Lance stretched in the chair of the almost empty dinning room, smiling at something Justin had said. It had been a good idea to leave the closed quarters of their rooms and floor to have dinner, and he was glad that Jhonny had called to suggest it. He, Howie, Justin and JC had been out immediately, although Joey hadn't been in their shared room.

        Joey…

        Lance worried a lot about Joey lately. At first, they all had been sure that Meredith's impending marriage to Di Caprio would hit their friend badly, but Joey had shrugged his shoulders, and
forget about the whole issue. Which was weird, and so unlike
Joey that Lance couldn't help but worry.

        So, he didn't even noticed when the Backstreet Boys entered the room.

* * *

        If AJ had been paying more attention to his surroundings and less to how breach the subject of Chris' new friend, he might have seen *N Sync first.

        But as fate willed it, it was Nick the one who spotted the rival band first.

        And before AJ could say or do anything, the younger Backstreet Boy opened his mouth.

"What a surprise. The copy cats choose the same dinner as us."
Nick said, calling the attention of the other band.

"We got here first." Justin answered, jumping to his feet. "Seems
like you're the copy cats."

"That wasn't too original, Fro-boy." Nick walked towards the
other singer, smirking. "Can't think of your own insults?"

"No need, Fat-man." The *N syncer grinned. "You guys are
enough of an insult."

        Upon hearing Justin calling him fat, Nick's face dissolved into a mask of pure rage, and without warning, he launched himself against the other band. He even managed to punch Justin straight in the face before Howie came in to help his bandmate and Nick found himself in a less than fair two to one fight.

        AJ didn't had time to think as Brian and Kevin joined in, and Jc followed their example. And even when before he would have
joined in for fun, or, seeing that Lance Bass wasn't throwing
punches either, just cheered, now he stopped to think. Because
the *N sux bastards were friends of Joey. And Joey was Chris'
friend. And he couldn't hurt Chris.

        So despite his first instinct was to join in, he took off his jacket and walked in, trying to make his voice heard over the fight.

* * *

        When Mike went to find him, Chris was huddled in the darkest corner of his room, his knees up to his chest. He even asked Mike to give him a few minutes before coming out, because he didn't want his bodyguard to see that he had been crying, and because he needed to untie the makeshift rope from the balcony.

        All his good mood had evaporated, around the same time when Joey had left.

        It had all been perfect. They had been talking, watching a stupid movie through Pay Per View, making fun of the actors, and of the things they had heard on the road.

        Two friends hanging out.

        And then…

        Then it had happened.

        Chris couldn't find a reason why it had happened. Why suddenly between his impersonation of Robin Williams and Joey's woeful story of the fan who climbed the *N sync bus it had happened. No reason at all.

        It had been right, at least for a second, and then it had been ugly. And then it had been painful because Joey had bolted out of the room, looking like a scared hare.

        Leaving Chris confused, and hurt. Hurt because Joey had ran away, and Confused because he still couldn't believe he had
liked it. Because he wasn't like THAT.

        So Mike's interruption had been a welcomed one.

        Nothing that his bodyguard told him could be worse than
remembering Joey's face as he ran away.

* * *

        Joey had not been in his room when Drew came to look for him.

        Joey hadn't been in the bus when Lomie had looked there.

        In fact, it seemed that Joey had disappeared from the face of Earth.

        Actually, Joey was in a rented car, well in his way to New York City. He didn't want to stay in the hotel, he didn't want to
perform, and he didn't want to see Chris perform.

        He needed time to think, and to freak and to breath and to forget.

        Because there was no way he could admit to his friends what had happened.

        He was not going to tell them he had kissed a Backstreet Boy.

        A guy.

        He was not gay. He was Joey Fatone, flirt and womanizer. He loved woman. If you were a woman, you were Joey's type.

        His type were not short men with brown eyes and contagious smiles. His type was not a Backstreet Boy whose laughter plagued his dreams.

        No.

        So he drove away, trying to run from his friends, his dreams, and the mesmerizing brown eyes of Chris, that appeared in his mind every time he closed his eyes.

        The hurtful, tear filled brown eyes that he had seen last, before running away.

* * *

From MTV News:

        The world of Pop has been shocked to the core when earlier this morning Jive management confirmed that AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys has been interned in the hospital -whose name has been withheld for security reasons- due to severe injuries occurred during a fight between the two famous Orlando quintets. McLean is reported to be stabilized, although there is no report on his exact health situation. Justin Timberlake, of *N Sync has been placed under arrest for attacking the Backstreet Boy. There are still no reports over if he will stay in jail or not until the trial. Neither groups were found available to comment.