Chapter 37

"Lance?" Lance spun when he heard a girl's voice, and came face to face with Danielle Fishel.

"Hey," he said with an easy smile. "Are we supposed to hug or something now?" he asked, glancing discreetly at the photographers gathered around.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, apparently. It's a big happy reunion!" she said, opening her arms. Lance laughed and hugged her, then bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "Let's get out of here."

"Sure." Lance grabbed her hand and walked out. "By the way, that evil thing back there is Dre, my bodyguard."

"Yeah. Don't worry though, he's harmless. Although, he gets big and bad on the ten year old girls when they start scratching him."

Danielle laughed. "I heard that, boy," Dre called out. "Don't go to sleep tonight!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Something was wrong with the plane on the earlier one, apparently. But that's okay, I don't need sleep."

Lance shrugged, glancing back to make sure they hadn't lost Dre. "Doesn't matter. I've never been here long enough to see what they have."

Danielle looked over at him curiously. "Really?" she asked.

Lance smiled wryly. "Yeah, really. If we ever stayed more than one day, we had interviews and radio shows to do. It's like that everywhere we go."

"In Entertainment news, *NSYNC's Lance Bass met up with girlfriend Danielle Fishel in a California airport today...Rumor has it that--"

"Turn that crap off," JC said, stealing the remote and pushing the power button.

"But they were just about to kiss!" Justin whined, turning it back on. They caught it just in time to see Lance pull away from Danielle's cheek. They saw them hold hands and walk towards the exit.

"...Haven't seen each other in almost three months, you'd expect more of a reception from the two, but maybe they wanted to keep it quiet..." the anchor laughed.

"You know what, I think we get recognized more when we have this huge MOUNTAIN behind us," Lance said, tossing his head backwards towards Dre. Dre folded his arms across his chest and growled. "Isn't that cool? All you have to do is insult him and he growls! Just like magic!"

Danielle laughed. "Yeah, I'm scared." She licked her ice cream. "So why'd they put you in a relationship?" she asked.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

Danielle shook her head. "All they told me was that I'm suddenly your girlfriend. I found that out three months ago."

"Lucky," Lance muttered. "They told me a few weeks ago. And that was AFTER I mentioned that you had been talking about it." He sighed. "But anyway, they apparently think it's weird that I've never had a girlfriend, so they gave me one."

Lance licked at his ice cream and swallowed before answering. "Because I'm gay," he said bluntly, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Really? That's cool! My cousin is gay, maybe we could hook you guys up, and..."

"Whoa," Lance laughed. "I'm dating YOU, remember? I can see the headlines now...'Pop star breaks up with TV star girlfriend for her gay cousin.' That's Springer material."

Danielle laughed. "Right. You know, you're completely different from what I expected."

"I thought you'd be shy," she admitted. "You never say much in interviews. But you're not. You've got a good sense of humor and everything."

"I am shy," he said. "Just when I first meet people, or in big public places, or whatever. With people I don't know. But I'm not the Mr. Shy Country Boy everyone makes me out to be. Ask the other guys, and they'll tell you. I'm far from it. But you're different too."

"What did YOU expect?" she asked, a hint of teasing in her eyes.

He smiled. "Oh, I don't know, some stuck up bimbo that wanted me to further her career."

"Danielle!" They both laughed. "Seriously, though, why do you need a boyfriend?"

Danielle tossed her hair over her shoulder in disgust. "They don't like the one I already have," she snorted. "Apparently, he's not good enough for my image, or something."

"You mean you aren't secretly in love with Ben Savage? Damn. Everyone thinks you two should get together anyway."

Danielle smiled. "No, his name is Jordan. He's such a sweetie..." Lance marveled at the way her eyes lit up when she started talking about him. Dre came over.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt the lovefest, but you two have to get back."

"I am NOT Lou's minion, boy! I protect your skinny white ass, so unless you want me to toss you into an elementary school at dismissal tomorrow, because you KNOW I could, I suggest you watch your mouth."

Lance rolled his eyes. "See what I have to put up with? I get no respect...no re--HEY!" he yelled, suddenly finding himself thrown over Dre's shoulder. "Excuse me? You're making me look like a wimp in front of my...ahem...girlfriend."

Danielle just laughed. "Some help you are," Lance said, trying unsuccessfully to kick his way free.

"I know that," Lance said. "How are you guys? Miss me?"

"Course we do," JC said, absentmindedly stirring his drink with a spoon.

"How's Danielle?" he asked, bitterness lacing his tone.

"Surprisingly good," he said. "She's actually really nice."

"We were?" Lance asked. He'd seen the photographers, but no video cameras. He wondered where they'd come from.

"We didn't kiss!" Lance exclaimed. "I kissed her on the cheek to give the press something to talk about!"

"Look, I'm sorry, JC, but they're making me do this. I hate lying too, but it's only for a little while."

"You guys always go into the same hotel room," JC pointed out. "Apparently her apartment isn't enough."

"Yeah, they're watching that too, are they?" JC could hear the frustration in Lance's voice. "We knew they would. The second I go into her room, I go through the connecting door to my room."

"Look, I'm sorry," JC said. "But it just doesn't seem right...you're gay, yet you have a girlfriend."

"And my girlfriend has a boyfriend besides me, JC. She was forced into this as much as I was. We're gonna let this go on for a few months before we break it up. But we have to do this."

Lance furrowed his brow at JC's choice of words, but brushed it off. "They don't think he's good enough for her to go public with. So they gave her a choice of a few celebrities, and she chose me."

"Look, JC, I don't like it anymore than you do. But I guess I have to do this, for the sake of the band. So that's what I'm going to do."

"The band is fine without you having a girlfriend! The rest of us our fine, except for Chris, but that relationship is REAL!"

"Jace, I don't understand why this is bothering you so much," Lance said.

JC fell silent, thinking about that. He didn't know why it was bothering him so much either. "I don't know either," he said.

Lance's tone softened. "Just gotta deal with it," he said. "I've been here for three days, I'll only be here for another two or three, all right? Then I'll come back and we can do whatever you want for a day."


	Inner Reflection \| home back to Sent From Above Chapter 37 "Lance?" Lance spun when he heard a girl's voice, and came face to face with Danielle Fishel. "Hey," he said with an easy smile. "Are we supposed to hug or something now?" he asked, glancing discreetly at the photographers gathered around. Danielle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, apparently. It's a big happy reunion!" she said, opening her arms. Lance laughed and hugged her, then bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "Let's get out of here." "Sure." Lance grabbed her hand and walked out. "By the way, that evil thing back there is Dre, my bodyguard." "Oh, special treatment." "Yeah. Don't worry though, he's harmless. Although, he gets big and bad on the ten year old girls when they start scratching him." Danielle laughed. "I heard that, boy," Dre called out. "Don't go to sleep tonight!" "Which reminds me...I am SO exhausted," Lance sighed. "Yeah...what's with the midnight flight?" she asked. Lance rolled his eyes. "Something was wrong with the plane on the earlier one, apparently. But that's okay, I don't need sleep." She laughed. "What do you wanna do today?" Lance shrugged, glancing back to make sure they hadn't lost Dre. "Doesn't matter. I've never been here long enough to see what they have." Danielle looked over at him curiously. "Really?" she asked. Lance smiled wryly. "Yeah, really. If we ever stayed more than one day, we had interviews and radio shows to do. It's like that everywhere we go." * "In Entertainment news, NSYNC's Lance Bass met up with girlfriend Danielle Fishel in a California airport today...Rumor has it that--" "Turn that crap off," JC said, stealing the remote and pushing the power button. "But they were just about to kiss!" Justin whined, turning it back on. They caught it just in time to see Lance pull away from Danielle's cheek. They saw them hold hands and walk towards the exit. "Good acting," Joey mused. "...Haven't seen each other in almost three months, you'd expect more of a reception from the two, but maybe they wanted to keep it quiet..." the anchor laughed. JC rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's it." "You DO like him, don't you?" Justin asked. "No!" JC said. "Uh uh." "You know what, I think we get recognized more when we have this huge MOUNTAIN behind us," Lance said, tossing his head backwards towards Dre. Dre folded his arms across his chest and growled. "Isn't that cool? All you have to do is insult him and he growls! Just like magic!" Danielle laughed. "Yeah, I'm scared." She licked her ice cream. "So why'd they put you in a relationship?" she asked. "You mean they didn't tell you?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up. Danielle shook her head. "All they told me was that I'm suddenly your girlfriend. I found that out three months ago." "Lucky," Lance muttered. "They told me a few weeks ago. And that was AFTER I mentioned that you had been talking about it." He sighed. "But anyway, they apparently think it's weird that I've never had a girlfriend, so they gave me one." "Why haven't you?" she asked curiously. Lance licked at his ice cream and swallowed before answering. "Because I'm gay," he said bluntly, trying to gauge her reaction. "Really? That's cool! My cousin is gay, maybe we could hook you guys up, and..." "Whoa," Lance laughed. "I'm dating YOU, remember? I can see the headlines now...'Pop star breaks up with TV star girlfriend for her gay cousin.' That's Springer material." Danielle laughed. "Right. You know, you're completely different from what I expected." "Really? What did you expect?" he asked curiously. "I thought you'd be shy," she admitted. "You never say much in interviews. But you're not. You've got a good sense of humor and everything." "I am shy," he said. "Just when I first meet people, or in big public places, or whatever. With people I don't know. But I'm not the Mr. Shy Country Boy everyone makes me out to be. Ask the other guys, and they'll tell you. I'm far from it. But you're different too." "What did YOU expect?" she asked, a hint of teasing in her eyes. He smiled. "Oh, I don't know, some stuck up bimbo that wanted me to further her career." "Lance!" "Danielle!" They both laughed. "Seriously, though, why do you need a boyfriend?" Danielle tossed her hair over her shoulder in disgust. "They don't like the one I already have," she snorted. "Apparently, he's not good enough for my image, or something." "You mean you aren't secretly in love with Ben Savage? Damn. Everyone thinks you two should get together anyway." Danielle smiled. "No, his name is Jordan. He's such a sweetie..." Lance marveled at the way her eyes lit up when she started talking about him. Dre came over. "Hey, I hate to interrupt the lovefest, but you two have to get back." Lance rolled his eyes. "Yes, oh minion of Lou." "I am NOT Lou's minion, boy! I protect your skinny white ass, so unless you want me to toss you into an elementary school at dismissal tomorrow, because you KNOW I could, I suggest you watch your mouth." Lance rolled his eyes. "See what I have to put up with? I get no respect...no re--HEY!" he yelled, suddenly finding himself thrown over Dre's shoulder. "Excuse me? You're making me look like a wimp in front of my...ahem...girlfriend." "I don't care." Danielle just laughed. "Some help you are," Lance said, trying unsuccessfully to kick his way free. * "Hey, Lance, it's JC." "I know that," Lance said. "How are you guys? Miss me?" "Course we do," JC said, absentmindedly stirring his drink with a spoon. "How's Danielle?" he asked, bitterness lacing his tone. "Surprisingly good," he said. "She's actually really nice." "You guys were on the news," JC commented. "We were?" Lance asked. He'd seen the photographers, but no video cameras. He wondered where they'd come from. "Yeah. They showed your kiss at the airport and--" "We didn't kiss!" Lance exclaimed. "I kissed her on the cheek to give the press something to talk about!" "It worked," JC said. "Look, I'm sorry, JC, but they're making me do this. I hate lying too, but it's only for a little while." "You guys always go into the same hotel room," JC pointed out. "Apparently her apartment isn't enough." "Yeah, they're watching that too, are they?" JC could hear the frustration in Lance's voice. "We knew they would. The second I go into her room, I go through the connecting door to my room." "Look, I'm sorry," JC said. "But it just doesn't seem right...you're gay, yet you have a girlfriend." "And my girlfriend has a boyfriend besides me, JC. She was forced into this as much as I was. We're gonna let this go on for a few months before we break it up. But we have to do this." "If she has a boyfriend, why does she get you too?" Lance furrowed his brow at JC's choice of words, but brushed it off. "They don't think he's good enough for her to go public with. So they gave her a choice of a few celebrities, and she chose me." "Don't you feel special?" JC said, sarcasm evident. "Look, JC, I don't like it anymore than you do. But I guess I have to do this, for the sake of the band. So that's what I'm going to do." "The band is fine without you having a girlfriend! The rest of us our fine, except for Chris, but that relationship is REAL!" "Jace, I don't understand why this is bothering you so much," Lance said. JC fell silent, thinking about that. He didn't know why it was bothering him so much either. "I don't know either," he said. Lance's tone softened. "Just gotta deal with it," he said. "I've been here for three days, I'll only be here for another two or three, all right? Then I'll come back and we can do whatever you want for a day." JC smiled. "Is that a promise?" "Course," Lance grinned.