"Justin!" Chris exclaimed, finally catching up to his best friend and gripping him by the arm. He heard Justin's sobs, which only exponentially increased his concerns. "Justin, what the hell happened?!"
"Chris, I have to go! Please just let me go," Justin cried, his voice lowering as his bloodshot eyes raising to his elder's.
"Hey," Chris lowered his voice, his heart breaking at how devastated the younger male looked. "J, you gotta tell me what happened."
"Lance… Lance knows about my family… about my dad… he - he told Josh's parents," Justin broke down, throwing himself into Chris' embrace. Chris was shocked. He knew he was one of the few people that was aware of Justin's past life in Memphis, and he couldn't comprehend how Lance Bass, of all people, had found out.
"Oh my God, Justin. I'm so sorry," The 32 year old tried his best to soothe the crying man, holding him as tight as he possibly could.
"J - Josh is going to h - hate me," He sobbed, holding onto his best friend as if he was his lifeline.
"Hey, Josh is not going to hate you. He knows you, Justin. He knows you're nothing like that," He tried, but Justin just violently shook his head.
"He's going to leave me, Chris. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm going to lose him!"
"Justin, hey. Look at me," Chris spoke sternly, waiting for the younger to slightly calm down, raising his eyes. "You aren't going to loose him. JC loves you more than you know. He knows how hard you work for your own time, okay? You just need to talk to him."
"I just want to go home," Justin sniffled, slowly pulling away from Chris' embrace, spotting JC's driver. "I'll see you at work," He softly said, lowering his eyes as he walked towards the car and into the door JC's driver was holding open.
"Hey, Joe. Have you seen Justin anywhere?" JC questioned, approaching his own best friend, who was standing by the bar and observing the festivities.
"Yeah. Chris and I saw him running out of here, it looked like he was crying or something. Chris went after him," The 27 year old told him, as the elder's eyes widened.
"What?! Why didn't you come find me?!" Josh exclaimed, his worry skyrocketing.
"Because I thought Chris had it under control. I told you - he went after him."
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Joey. What the hell happened?!" He continued to question.
"I don't know!" Joey defended, just as his eyes caught Lance Bass, walking out of the same area Justin had. "Oh no."
"Oh no what?" JC questioned, his gaze following his best friend's, landing on Lance. "Joey -"
"That's where Justin just came from," He answered Josh's question before it could even be asked.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed, nudging the New York native and quickly rushing to where Lance looked as if he was trying to escape. However, the two urgently cornered him, JC's eyes flickering with anger. "What the fuck did you do to Justin!?"
"Woah. No 'hi Lance, how are you? Thank you for coming?'"
"Absolutely not. What did you do to Justin?" He repeated, his voice more strict, his teeth gritting as he tried not to make a scene.
"I found out who he really is, Joshua. I'm protecting you from him."
"Stop fucking talking in riddles and tell me what's going on!" Josh exclaimed, his patience wearing thin.
"Your innocent little angel isn't so innocent. His father was one of the biggest time thieves in Memphis," He smirked, and Josh's stare didn't falter.
"So?" He questioned, still confused, his voice low.
"So? What the hell do you mean so?! Josh, he's with you for your time! Nothing more, nothing less. He's a scam artist. At least that's what your parents said," The blonde spoke, the edges of his lips curling into a smirk as finally, JC's jaw dropped.
"You told my parents?"
"Of course I did. I told you, I'm the only one here for you, Joshua. I've always been the only one there for you," He said, and JC scoffed, taking a step towards the younger male, his eyes a dark, fiery tone of their normal blue.
"You listen to me, James Lance Bass. If you ever think of hurting Justin again, whether physically, mentally or verbally, I will personally make sure your parents get fired and banned from Chasez Banks for life. You can meddle in my life all you want, but don't ever include Justin in your sick, delusional games," He threatened, and Lance quickly decided that this was the most angry JC had ever been. The 26 year old sneered as he took a deep breath, clenching his fists as Joey slowly pulled him away from the situation, and out of Lance's vision.
"He isn't worth it, C."
"God, Joe. Imagine how awful Justin must feel. He told me he was terrified of not fitting in, and I promised him it would be okay...," The elder man sighed, feeling as if he'd let his boyfriend down. In the corner of his eye, he saw Chris slowly walk back into the house, and directly to where JC and Joey were standing, looking straight at Josh, his eyes sad.
"He went home," He simply spoke and could almost see Josh's heart break.
"Fuck. I gotta go after him!" JC panicked, ready to make a mad dash, only to be stopped by Chris' hand on his arm.
"He's stubborn, JC. He's going to try and convince you that you don't love him and that you deserve someone so much better than him," Chris told him, knowing his best friend all too well. And by JC's nod, he knew it too.
"He isn't getting rid of me so easy. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me and I refuse to let him go. I love him," The 28 year old confessed, appreciating when Chris smiled.
"Then go after him," Chris encouraged, smiling softly as JC nodded, before turning the other way and racing out of his parents' mansion. He reached the large driveway, immediately spotting his driver and rushing over to him.
"Kevin! Did you just take Justin home?!" He frantically exclaimed.
"Yes, Mr. Chasez. I took him to his address," The driver calmly explained, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
"I need you to take me there," He spoke, opening the door and sliding into the back seat before the driver could even respond. The 28 year old impatiently shifted on the way to Justin's apartment, unable to keep still, his heart racing as he thought of not only how Justin must be feeling, but how he was going to convince the younger that he didn't care about his family. He hadn't spoken to his parents, but he knew them better than Lance did. Yes, they were protective about their family's time, but they know Joshua well enough to know he would never introduce them to his boyfriend if he didn't completely trust him. Soon, the black SUV pulled up to the apartment complex's front door, and Josh silently praised himself for remembering the apartment number Justin lived in. He barely waited for the car to come to a complete stop before throwing the door open and rushing through the barely occupied lobby, figuring the elevator would have taken too long and opting to sprint up 4 flights of stairs. He reached Justin's floor, stopping briefly to catch his breath as he slowly made his way down the hallway, his eyes searching for Justin's apartment. He soon stopped outside of the door that read 416, taking a deep breath as he lifted his hand and knocked on the door. The raven haired male pressed his ear up against the door, hoping to hear Justin's shuffled footsteps making their way to the door, but he had yet to hear anything. Sighing, he knocked a little louder, letting out a breath when he heard some movement from inside. He felt his heart start to race, worried as to how rough his young, innocent lover must be feeling, thinking that Josh's parents hated him. Slowly, the wooden door opened, and there was Justin, his eyes bloodshot, the tears still running down his face, and not even changed out of his suit. The younger was shocked to see Joshua standing before him, convinced that he would want nothing to do with him.
"Josh?" He breathed out in a whisper, the tears still flowing down his tan cheeks.
"Oh, baby," JC softly replied, reaching forward and gathering his love in his arms. He felt Justin's tears start to soak his shirt, but he didn't care. All he cared about was that Justin, his Justin, was in his arms.
"L - Lance," Justin tried to speak through his sobs, but Josh continued to rub his back, placing a kiss in his light brown curls.
"Sh, I don't want to talk about Lance. I know what happened. I want to talk about you. Here, sweetheart. Let's go sit down," The slightly elder male said, gently pulling Justin's hands from around his torso and entertaining their fingers, leading Justin to his leather couch and sitting down next to him, still gripping his hand.
"Why did you come after me?" Justin whispered, his tired and swollen eyes raising to meet Josh's.
"Because I love you. Justin, I don't care about what your father did. You're not him. You work so unbelievably hard for your time, and you've proved that to me since the moment I met you. I trust you more than anyone that's ever been in my life," The 28 year old told him honestly.
"What about your parents? Lance told me they think I'm using you…," The Memphis native sadly spoke.
"I didn't get the chance to speak to them before I raced after you, but I know them. They know that if I'm bringing my boyfriend to a family event to meet my parents, I trust you. They know how cautious I am with my time, after Lance stole it all. It takes a lot for me to trust someone. But I trust you, Justin. Besides, my parents weren't born with million of years to their name either."
"They weren't?" Justin questioned, somewhat shocked that Karen and Roy weren't always rich.
"Of course not," JC lightly chuckled. "My grandfather is the founder of Chasez Banks, but he refused to give my father any time until he earned it for himself. He's worked for our company since he was 14 and made his way up to being CEO," The slightly older male explained. Justin felt himself completely relax, dropping his head to Josh's shoulder, exhausted from the night.
"I'm sorry I took off without talking to you first," He said, causing Josh to chuckle once again.
"Hey, don't be sorry. I would've booked it out of there if I thought my boyfriend's parents hated me… I'm sorry I let Lance get to you."
"Albinos are fast. You would have never been able to catch up with him," Justin shrugged with a slight chuckle.
"Especially ones that escaped from the zoo," JC replied, kissing Justin's curls gently. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying being with each other, offering the comfort and support they both needed. It was Justin who finally broke the silence and pulled away first.
"Don't you have to go back? I mean… it's your family's event. Shouldn't you be there?" He asked, but didn't loosen his grip around Josh's torso.
"I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to go back. If I saw Lance again, I'd rip him to fucking shreds. That isn't exactly allowed if you're the son of Karen and Roy Chasez," JC shrugged, bringing his hands to Justin's curls, feeling the soft hair run through his fingers. "I'm perfectly happy here with you."
"I'm happy you're here too," The Memphis native said, then sighed. "You know you deserve better than me, right? You could have anyone in the world…," He whispered, lowering his eyes once again.
"Hey," Josh started, bringing his hand to Justin's chin and raising it so their eyes met. "Don't say things like that. Don't let Lance get into your head. It's what he wants… I don't deserve emyou. /emYou are everything I have ever wanted in a partner, Justin. You're kind, you're sweet, you're caring, and it sure helps that you're by far the hottest person I have ever laid my eyes on," He said, and Justin blushed with a laugh.
"I love you," He honestly spoke, his eyes staring into Josh's.
"I love you too," JC whispered, leaning forward and kissing his lips. He smiled into the kiss when Justin wrapped his arms around his neck, grateful that in that moment, there was no Lance. There was nothing trying to tear them apart. When they pulled away, Josh smiled, hooking his arms under Justin's legs and lifting him up, all while Justin laughed.
"What are you doing?" He asked through his laughter.
"Putting you to bed. You're shot," He responded, moving his way to the head of Justin's double bed and gently placing him down on the grey sheets.
"Aren't you going to tuck me in too?" Justin questioned with a smirk.
"Smart ass," Josh responded, sitting down on the bed next to Justin, running a thumb down his soft cheek. "I'm gonna head back to the party and talk to my parents for a little bit, and also check on Joey and Chris… if they haven't been kicked out."
"Oh God, who knows what they've got into," The 23 year old said.
"Right? The bar is probably dry by now," He laughed.
"Your fault. You're the one that told them it was free," Justin sing-songed. Josh once again chuckled, but soon turned serious.
"Are you going to be okay?" He questioned after playing rolling his eyes at Justin's comment, his voice full of love and concern.
"Yeah… I'll be okay," Justin whispered, reassuring him.
"I promise I'll be back and I'll be here in the morning. I don't have any meetings tomorrow."
"Okay," Justin responded with a smile.
"You better be sleeping by the time I get back," JC teased, but Justin knew he was only expressing his concern for the younger male.
"Oh, trust me. As soon as that door closes I'll be out," The Memphis native said with a bright smile./span/p
"Good. You need your rest," He spoke, his hands running through Justin's curls once more.
"Yes Dad," Justin teased, sticking his tongue out. Josh chuckled, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Justin's mouth when it closed.
"I love you, Justin."
"I love you too, Josh," Justin whispered, already fast asleep by the time Joshua walked out of his room and closed the door, a smile on his face.