Chapter 2

When Lance finally finished dressing, he picked up his hotel key from the dresser and walked over to the door and out into the hallway. Looking to make sure Joey was no where to be found, Lance thought about writing him a note. Turning back into the room, he picked up a piece of paper and jotted down a quick note.

'Joey...I went with Justin to the charity event. I'll more then likely be gone all day. I'll be back tonight though. Love you always...Lance'

Laying the note on Joeys' side of the bed, Lance again walked out the door and down to Justins' room, wrapping on the door quietly.

Justin had just finished getting dressed when Lance knocked on the door. Running a comb through his unruly curls, Justin reached for the door and opened it. "Hey Lance...I'll be ready to go in a few...Come on it and have a seat." Justin opened the door all the way and turned to move back to the bathroom.

Stepping into the room and closing the door, Lance looked around the room and started towards the chair in the corner. Walking past a mirror that hung on the wall, he looked at his cheek where Joey had hit him the night before. It was still puffy and the makeup he had applied wasn't helping any. He just hoped Justin wouldn't notice it, but he figured his swollen face wouldn't go unnoticed.

When Justin finished combing his hair, he came rushing out of the bathroom. "Okay Lance, ready to get this show on the road? We're already late."

Turning to face justin, Lance kept his face turned to the side and replied, "Yeah." Mumbling under his breath, he said, "Don't want Joey to find out where I'm going..."

"Great, we got time to stop for something to munch on the way. Any good vending machines downstairs?" Justin asked, grabbing his wallet and shoving it into his back pocket.

"Downstairs? Um..." Thinking quickly, Lance made the mistake of turning so he faced Justin. "Um...I don't know. I haven't been downstairs because Jo..."

"Joey what?" Justin asked, then noticed something for the first time. "What happened to your face?"

"Um...he um...um..." Lance stuttered, thinking quickly. "He um...he got drunk last night...and...you know how he gets. I made the mistake of trying to get him to change. And in his state, he um...hit me..."

Justin was one who always did by an excuse. "Okay. You gonna be okay or anything? Want some ice for it?" Lance just shook his head. "Okay, lets just get going then. We can stop on the way so we don't run into him, if he's up, incase he's got a hangover. And we certainly don't want to wake him up if he's still sleeping."

"Oh, he's up, and he has a hangover," Lance commented, walking towards the door. "I'll be fine, he alwa..." He almost said 'He always hits me,' but this time caught himself.

Justin tried to get everything straight. "So, he's up?" Lance nodded again. "We'll just avoid him. Let's go down to the limo."

"Alright," Lance agreeded. "But if you want to stop and get something to munch on from the vending machine, go for it. I don't mind."

"Why don't you run out to the limo and tell them I'll be right there while I grab something. Do you want anything?"

'I don't think they have non-abusive boyfriends in the vending machines for fifty cents Justin,' Lance thought. "No I'm fine thanks."

Shutting the door behind them, Justin said, "Okay, go back down to the limo and I'll meet you there."

"Alright," Lance said simply, walking down the hall with Justin at his side. When the reached the lobby, they parted, Lance going towards the door to wait for the limo that had yet to show; Justin walking over toward elevator bay that held a few vending machines.

When Justin stood in front of the vending machines, he popped in some money and bought a few packs of gum, a few candy bars, a bag of chips, and a water to wash it all down with. Then walked back to wait for Lance to wait for the limo.

When Justin finally came to stand next to Lance, the older blond didn't notice his band mate next to him. Lances' green eyes were looking back over his shoulder on the other side of Justin. Bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, Lance was obvious thinking of something, or watching for someone to emerge from the hotel lobby.

"You going to be okay?" Justin asked, following Lances' gaze. Then, to try and lighten the mood, with a child-like gesture, offered him a stick of gum. "Want a piece?"

"Uh?" Lance asked, looking back at Justin then to the gum. "No thanks...just thinking about something..."

"Yeah, I'm sure..." Lance replied, then his eyes filled with fear as he saw Joey emerge from the resturant. His first reaction was to duck behind something, but what? There was nothing for him to hide behind.

Joey didn't even notice Lance standing next to Justin and just continued on his way to his room.

When Justin noticed Lances' tention, he asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong? I won't offer you any gum again, sorry."

When Joey was out of sight, Lance let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall. "I'm fine, just...I saw Joey and I thought he was going to throw a fit if he saw me or something," he explained, knowing only too well that it was the entire truth.

Giving him a funny look, Justin replied, "Um...okay, whatever you say Lance." He also shot his band mate a confused look, thinking he had lost it.

When finally the limo pulled up, Lance almost considered telling Justin about the relationship he was having with their band mate. But how was he suppose to tell him? 'Hey Justin, did you know that Joey and I have been fooling around for about 4 or 5 months?'. 'You know how some guys have girlfriends? Well, I have a boyfriend, and he's in this group.' 'You know how you always think Joey is the sweet teddybear? Well, he's not, I've got the bruise on my shoulder to prove it.'

Climbing into the limo after Lance, Justin eagerly took his seat and closed the door, caught up in his own thoughts about seeing the kids.

"Hey Justin?" Lance finally asked. "If you knew someone who was being hit all the time by someone they cared about, I mean, they really really cared about, what would you do?"

"Why? Do you know someone who's being beat? It's just wrong," Justin started explaining. "Go to the police, or confront that person and tell them that if they don't stop hitting, you'll go to the police, no matter how much you care about them."

"I um...I was just wondering. So...go to the cops...but what if the person doing the beating won't let you out of their sights even for an instince?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess it's just someone you shouldn't be hanging around with, or even caring about. And if they care about you too, they shouldn't be doing something to someone they care about." Shooting Lance a confused look, Justin asked, "Why? What brought this on?"

Walking up into his room, Joey searched in vain for Lance. Finding that he wasn't there, he screamed at the top of his lungs. "LANCE!!" Punching a hole through the wall, he quickly grabbed his cell phone, dialing Lances' at the same time.

"He...hello?" Lances' deep voice asked once he answered his phone. His voice was semi-nervous, it was obvious from the way he stuttered.

Joey screamed into his receiver, "Where the hell are you!? I thought I told you to stay here!?"

Shooting a cautious glance over at Justin, who was obviously concerned about his friend, Lance turned his back slightly to him and replied, "In...in the limo...going to the...the charity event with Justin..." Lance had only told Justin about he and Joey being an item, he still kept the painful secret about the abuse to himself.

Justin noted the concern on Lances' face. Whispering, he asked, "Do you want me to take the call for you?" Lance only shook his head and continued to listen to Joeys' ranting and raving on the other end. "If it's bothering you so much, just hang up."

Again Lance shook his head. "Joey, really, I'm sorry. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can, and then we'll talk about this? Okay?"

"NO IT'S NOT OKAY...I GIVE YOU AN ORDER AND YOU FUCKING IGNORE IT...IT'S NOT OKAY LANCE..." Joey screamed at the top of his lungs.

Shrinking back into the plush leather interor of the limo as it continued to drive away from the hotel, "Joey, please, I said I'm sorry..." His voice was already shaky with the impending tears. God, he hated crying, especially in front of someone else. "I'm sorry..."

Justin looked oddly at Lance for a moment, not being able to put two and two together. "You sure you're okay man? What's going on? Is that Joey?" Lance only shook his head, his back still turned to Justin, Joeys' voice shouting in his ear. "So if it's not Joey, then who is it? You know another Joey?"

Holding the phone away from his ear, Lance turned around and lipped, 'It is Joey...' then returned to the phone call, his voice now starting to show the tears that stained his cheeks. "Joey...ple...please, I'm sorry..."

"ARE YOU CRYIN NOW??? GOD LANCE I SWEAR YOU'RE SUCH A PUSSY... SOMETIMES I WONDER WHY I EVEN WENT FOR YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE..." Joey snapped, getting angrier and angrier by the moment.

Sniffling and trying to stop the tears, Lance choked, "I'll...I'll have the driver turn around...and bring me back to the hotel...if that's...that's what you want..." Closing his eyes, Lance tried to mentally prepair himself for the beating he knew he'd get once he and Joey were in the same room.

Justin sensed Lances fear. Reachving over Lances' shoulder, he whispered, "Lance?? Let me take the call."

"YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT'S WHAT I WANT...DO IT NOW... OR YOU'LL PAY..." Joey shouted, his anger now boiling over.

Lance only shook his head again and asked the driver to turn the limo around. He didn't acknowledge Justin, Joey already knew he was in the limo. "We're coming...coming back Joey..." he said simply.

"Fuck, no we're not," Justin said, instructing the driver to turn around again. "We're going to be late."

"Nothing you can do anything about," Lance whispered, forgetting to hold the phone away from his mouth. "Please Justin, just forget it..."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU FUCKING IDIOT??? WHAT ALL HAVE YOU TOLD JUSTIN??? OR ARE YOU TELLIN EVERYONE WHAT'S GOIN ON WITH US??? OUR RELATIONSHIP IS PRIVATE LANCE, AT LEAST FOR NOW...WE BOTH DECIDED THAT..." Joey shouted, hearing Lances' whispers.

Justin complied with his friends' request however, asking the driver to turn back around. He was still wondering about Lances' mental state though.

Joey started to finally calm down. Grabbing a watch off the dresser, he said, "You better pray you didn't. I want you back here in 15...and I'm starting the stop watch now." Before Lance could say anything, Joey had hung up the phone, leaving Lance and Justin on the other end.

Sniffling again, Lance pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the 'end' button, before totally loosing it, collapsing into the seat next to him, burying his face in the leather. Justin scooted closer to his best friend, trying to comfort him. "You okay man? What's going on? Or do you want to talk about it?"

Lance only shook his head no. "You have to promise me," he started to say, his voice muffled by the seat. "Not to tell anyone, not a soul. You have to take it to the grave with you Justin. No one can know about this...promise me."

Course I promise...Cross my heart and hope to die... Stick a needle in my eye...I'll do anything Lance... Just what is it??? I'm worried about you...You just seem different lately...What's wrong???

"Joey and I...we're having...problems right now..." Lance said simply. He had already told Justin about them being a couple. He just left out the part about the beatings. He didn't want to break the group up, he had to start taking care of things his way.

"If it's anything like what Brit and I dealt with last week then I know how to help out...I just won't tolerate her sleeping around on me...I talked to her and told her how I felt...Wound up breaking up but at least she knows how I feel..." Justin said, then scrunched his nose up at seeing the look on Lances' face. "Okay bad example...But just know I'm here for you okay??"

Sniffling again, Lance looked up and tried to smile bravely for his friend. "Thank you Justy," he whispered, using the name most of the female fans used. Catching his words, Lance blushed slightly and looked down at his sneakers as the limo made its final turn and pulled up slowly to the hotel curb.

Lance shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. Just...tell the others at the charity that I couldn't make it. I was sick or something...please?"

"Sure," Justin answered, still looking concerned. "I'll leave my phone on incase you need someone to call though, okay???" Lance shook his head when he felt Justin rest his hand on his shoulder looking directly in his eyes. "Trust me, everything will be okay..."

Nodding again, Lance whispered, "I know...thank you so much Justin..." Breaking eye contact, Lance looked out the window to see Joey storming out of the lobby and out to the curb. He was obviously upset with Lance, his facial expression proved that. Reaching for the door handle, Lance gulped and opened the limo door, stepping out right in front of Joey.


	Inner Reflection \| home back to When Love Hurts Chapter 2 When Lance finally finished dressing, he picked up his hotel key from the dresser and walked over to the door and out into the hallway. Looking to make sure Joey was no where to be found, Lance thought about writing him a note. Turning back into the room, he picked up a piece of paper and jotted down a quick note. 'Joey...I went with Justin to the charity event. I'll more then likely be gone all day. I'll be back tonight though. Love you always...Lance' Laying the note on Joeys' side of the bed, Lance again walked out the door and down to Justins' room, wrapping on the door quietly. Justin had just finished getting dressed when Lance knocked on the door. Running a comb through his unruly curls, Justin reached for the door and opened it. "Hey Lance...I'll be ready to go in a few...Come on it and have a seat." Justin opened the door all the way and turned to move back to the bathroom. Stepping into the room and closing the door, Lance looked around the room and started towards the chair in the corner. Walking past a mirror that hung on the wall, he looked at his cheek where Joey had hit him the night before. It was still puffy and the makeup he had applied wasn't helping any. He just hoped Justin wouldn't notice it, but he figured his swollen face wouldn't go unnoticed. When Justin finished combing his hair, he came rushing out of the bathroom. "Okay Lance, ready to get this show on the road? We're already late." Turning to face justin, Lance kept his face turned to the side and replied, "Yeah." Mumbling under his breath, he said, "Don't want Joey to find out where I'm going..." "Great, what time's the limo picking us up?" "Um...in about 5 minutes..." "Great, we got time to stop for something to munch on the way. Any good vending machines downstairs?" Justin asked, grabbing his wallet and shoving it into his back pocket. "Downstairs? Um..." Thinking quickly, Lance made the mistake of turning so he faced Justin. "Um...I don't know. I haven't been downstairs because Jo..." "Joey what?" Justin asked, then noticed something for the first time. "What happened to your face?" "Um...he um...um..." Lance stuttered, thinking quickly. "He um...he got drunk last night...and...you know how he gets. I made the mistake of trying to get him to change. And in his state, he um...hit me..." Justin was one who always did by an excuse. "Okay. You gonna be okay or anything? Want some ice for it?" Lance just shook his head. "Okay, lets just get going then. We can stop on the way so we don't run into him, if he's up, incase he's got a hangover. And we certainly don't want to wake him up if he's still sleeping." "Oh, he's up, and he has a hangover," Lance commented, walking towards the door. "I'll be fine, he alwa..." He almost said 'He always hits me,' but this time caught himself. Justin tried to get everything straight. "So, he's up?" Lance nodded again. "We'll just avoid him. Let's go down to the limo." "Alright," Lance agreeded. "But if you want to stop and get something to munch on from the vending machine, go for it. I don't mind." "Why don't you run out to the limo and tell them I'll be right there while I grab something. Do you want anything?" 'I don't think they have non-abusive boyfriends in the vending machines for fifty cents Justin,' Lance thought. "No I'm fine thanks." Shutting the door behind them, Justin said, "Okay, go back down to the limo and I'll meet you there." "Alright," Lance said simply, walking down the hall with Justin at his side. When the reached the lobby, they parted, Lance going towards the door to wait for the limo that had yet to show; Justin walking over toward elevator bay that held a few vending machines. When Justin stood in front of the vending machines, he popped in some money and bought a few packs of gum, a few candy bars, a bag of chips, and a water to wash it all down with. Then walked back to wait for Lance to wait for the limo. When Justin finally came to stand next to Lance, the older blond didn't notice his band mate next to him. Lances' green eyes were looking back over his shoulder on the other side of Justin. Bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, Lance was obvious thinking of something, or watching for someone to emerge from the hotel lobby. "You going to be okay?" Justin asked, following Lances' gaze. Then, to try and lighten the mood, with a child-like gesture, offered him a stick of gum. "Want a piece?" "Uh?" Lance asked, looking back at Justin then to the gum. "No thanks...just thinking about something..." "You sure?" Justin asked, offering him the gum again. "Yeah, I'm sure..." Lance replied, then his eyes filled with fear as he saw Joey emerge from the resturant. His first reaction was to duck behind something, but what? There was nothing for him to hide behind. Joey didn't even notice Lance standing next to Justin and just continued on his way to his room. When Justin noticed Lances' tention, he asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong? I won't offer you any gum again, sorry." When Joey was out of sight, Lance let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall. "I'm fine, just...I saw Joey and I thought he was going to throw a fit if he saw me or something," he explained, knowing only too well that it was the entire truth. Giving him a funny look, Justin replied, "Um...okay, whatever you say Lance." He also shot his band mate a confused look, thinking he had lost it. When finally the limo pulled up, Lance almost considered telling Justin about the relationship he was having with their band mate. But how was he suppose to tell him? 'Hey Justin, did you know that Joey and I have been fooling around for about 4 or 5 months?'. 'You know how some guys have girlfriends? Well, I have a boyfriend, and he's in this group.' 'You know how you always think Joey is the sweet teddybear? Well, he's not, I've got the bruise on my shoulder to prove it.' Climbing into the limo after Lance, Justin eagerly took his seat and closed the door, caught up in his own thoughts about seeing the kids. "Hey Justin?" Lance finally asked. "If you knew someone who was being hit all the time by someone they cared about, I mean, they really really cared about, what would you do?" "Why? Do you know someone who's being beat? It's just wrong," Justin started explaining. "Go to the police, or confront that person and tell them that if they don't stop hitting, you'll go to the police, no matter how much you care about them." "I um...I was just wondering. So...go to the cops...but what if the person doing the beating won't let you out of their sights even for an instince?" "Well, I don't know. I guess it's just someone you shouldn't be hanging around with, or even caring about. And if they care about you too, they shouldn't be doing something to someone they care about." Shooting Lance a confused look, Justin asked, "Why? What brought this on?" "Well Justin, there's something I need to tell you..." ----- Walking up into his room, Joey searched in vain for Lance. Finding that he wasn't there, he screamed at the top of his lungs. "LANCE!!" Punching a hole through the wall, he quickly grabbed his cell phone, dialing Lances' at the same time. "He...hello?" Lances' deep voice asked once he answered his phone. His voice was semi-nervous, it was obvious from the way he stuttered. Joey screamed into his receiver, "Where the hell are you!? I thought I told you to stay here!?" "I...I know you...you did..." Lance continued to stutter. "But...I had to go..." "That doesn't answer my question? Where the fuck are you?!" Shooting a cautious glance over at Justin, who was obviously concerned about his friend, Lance turned his back slightly to him and replied, "In...in the limo...going to the...the charity event with Justin..." Lance had only told Justin about he and Joey being an item, he still kept the painful secret about the abuse to himself. Justin noted the concern on Lances' face. Whispering, he asked, "Do you want me to take the call for you?" Lance only shook his head and continued to listen to Joeys' ranting and raving on the other end. "If it's bothering you so much, just hang up." Again Lance shook his head. "Joey, really, I'm sorry. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can, and then we'll talk about this? Okay?" "NO IT'S NOT OKAY...I GIVE YOU AN ORDER AND YOU FUCKING IGNORE IT...IT'S NOT OKAY LANCE..." Joey screamed at the top of his lungs. Shrinking back into the plush leather interor of the limo as it continued to drive away from the hotel, "Joey, please, I said I'm sorry..." His voice was already shaky with the impending tears. God, he hated crying, especially in front of someone else. "I'm sorry..." Justin looked oddly at Lance for a moment, not being able to put two and two together. "You sure you're okay man? What's going on? Is that Joey?" Lance only shook his head, his back still turned to Justin, Joeys' voice shouting in his ear. "So if it's not Joey, then who is it? You know another Joey?" Holding the phone away from his ear, Lance turned around and lipped, 'It is Joey...' then returned to the phone call, his voice now starting to show the tears that stained his cheeks. "Joey...ple...please, I'm sorry..." "ARE YOU CRYIN NOW??? GOD LANCE I SWEAR YOU'RE SUCH A PUSSY... SOMETIMES I WONDER WHY I EVEN WENT FOR YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE..." Joey snapped, getting angrier and angrier by the moment. Sniffling and trying to stop the tears, Lance choked, "I'll...I'll have the driver turn around...and bring me back to the hotel...if that's...that's what you want..." Closing his eyes, Lance tried to mentally prepair himself for the beating he knew he'd get once he and Joey were in the same room. Justin sensed Lances fear. Reachving over Lances' shoulder, he whispered, "Lance?? Let me take the call." "YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT'S WHAT I WANT...DO IT NOW... OR YOU'LL PAY..." Joey shouted, his anger now boiling over. Lance only shook his head again and asked the driver to turn the limo around. He didn't acknowledge Justin, Joey already knew he was in the limo. "We're coming...coming back Joey..." he said simply. "Fuck, no we're not," Justin said, instructing the driver to turn around again. "We're going to be late." Lance only shot Justin a pleading look, his eye scared shitless. "GOOD...I'LL BE WAITING!" Joey hissed on his end. At the look on his friends' face, Justin mouthed, "Why? What's going on?" "Nothing you can do anything about," Lance whispered, forgetting to hold the phone away from his mouth. "Please Justin, just forget it..." "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU FUCKING IDIOT??? WHAT ALL HAVE YOU TOLD JUSTIN??? OR ARE YOU TELLIN EVERYONE WHAT'S GOIN ON WITH US??? OUR RELATIONSHIP IS PRIVATE LANCE, AT LEAST FOR NOW...WE BOTH DECIDED THAT..." Joey shouted, hearing Lances' whispers. Justin complied with his friends' request however, asking the driver to turn back around. He was still wondering about Lances' mental state though. "I...I didn't...didn't tell anyone Joey..." Lance lied. "Hone...honest I didn't..." Joey started to finally calm down. Grabbing a watch off the dresser, he said, "You better pray you didn't. I want you back here in 15...and I'm starting the stop watch now." Before Lance could say anything, Joey had hung up the phone, leaving Lance and Justin on the other end. Sniffling again, Lance pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the 'end' button, before totally loosing it, collapsing into the seat next to him, burying his face in the leather. Justin scooted closer to his best friend, trying to comfort him. "You okay man? What's going on? Or do you want to talk about it?" Lance only shook his head no. "You have to promise me," he started to say, his voice muffled by the seat. "Not to tell anyone, not a soul. You have to take it to the grave with you Justin. No one can know about this...promise me." Course I promise...Cross my heart and hope to die... Stick a needle in my eye...I'll do anything Lance... Just what is it??? I'm worried about you...You just seem different lately...What's wrong??? "Joey and I...we're having...problems right now..." Lance said simply. He had already told Justin about them being a couple. He just left out the part about the beatings. He didn't want to break the group up, he had to start taking care of things his way. "Okay well what kind of problems??? Like what I have??? Or like what???" "Just...just problems that...Joey and I need to work out on our own..." "If it's anything like what Brit and I dealt with last week then I know how to help out...I just won't tolerate her sleeping around on me...I talked to her and told her how I felt...Wound up breaking up but at least she knows how I feel..." Justin said, then scrunched his nose up at seeing the look on Lances' face. "Okay bad example...But just know I'm here for you okay??" Sniffling again, Lance looked up and tried to smile bravely for his friend. "Thank you Justy," he whispered, using the name most of the female fans used. Catching his words, Lance blushed slightly and looked down at his sneakers as the limo made its final turn and pulled up slowly to the hotel curb. "You gonna be okay??? Want me to go in with you???" Lance shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. Just...tell the others at the charity that I couldn't make it. I was sick or something...please?" "Sure," Justin answered, still looking concerned. "I'll leave my phone on incase you need someone to call though, okay???" Lance shook his head when he felt Justin rest his hand on his shoulder looking directly in his eyes. "Trust me, everything will be okay..." Nodding again, Lance whispered, "I know...thank you so much Justin..." Breaking eye contact, Lance looked out the window to see Joey storming out of the lobby and out to the curb. He was obviously upset with Lance, his facial expression proved that. Reaching for the door handle, Lance gulped and opened the limo door, stepping out right in front of Joey.