Title: A Sixth Sense

Author: Black_Wingedbird

Rating: PG-13 (Language)

Author's Note: this is my spin off of Final Destination. I hope to not copy the movie too much, but alas, the main idea is the same.

"This is gonna be cool!" Joey exclaimed happily. The guys of Nsync hurried off the bus and ran towards Disney World, flashing their complementary passes as they went through the gates.

"This is the best part of our job," Justin smiled. "We should be professional ride-testers for amusement parks."

"Just as long as it doesn't go too high," Chris said, swallowing the lump of nerves that had risen in his throat.

"Oh please," J.C. teased. "I thought you were over that."

"You don't just 'get over' your phobia," Chris replied, following the others through the near-empty park.

The guys had been chosen by Disney's owners to be the first to ride 'Rush', Disney's newest roller coaster. The guys agreed eagerly and were flown down the next day. The park was closed to the public unless you were lucky enough to win a pass from a radio station. Photographers had already swarmed the amusement park and followed the guys on their walk to the ride. The bright, warm summer sun made perfect conditions for picture taking.

But Chris had doubts. There was a nagging feeling inside him, and it was destroying his insides in attempt to be heard. Any other day Chris Kirkpatrick would be his normal, high energy self, bouncing along beside his friends. But today his brown hair wouldn't stand right, he cut himself while shaving around his goatee, and his stomach was in knots. He walked like a puppy about to get hit, and the others sensed his uneasiness.

"You don't look so good," Lance noted, walking beside Chris.

"Something's not right," Chris replied as they walked by a row of Bleeding Hearts. "I can't explain it."

Lance spared Chris a sympathetic glance then turned his green eyes to the path. "Cheer up," he smiled, talking in his deep, southern voice. "You love near-death experiences."

Chris's stomach tightened at Lance's words, but he ignored it. They finally reached 'Rush'; a towering 200-foot roller coaster that had more loops and turns than a clump of steel wool. They stood in awe, admiring the long metal track as cameras went off around them.

Joey turned and smiled at the others, his anticipation building. His Italian, teddy bear smile eased Chris for a moment. Joey Fatone was so photogenic it was almost impossible for him not to look good, Joey was a hands on person, and the group's 'cheerleader'. Always looking for a good time, Joey was first in line as the guys started towards the ride.

Justin was right behind Joey, smiling excitedly as they walked up the slight hill. The kid had finally cut his hair after constant teasing by the others. Justin's blonde Afro turned out to be less than what he expected anyway and it took attention away from his sparkling blue eyes.

J.C. followed Justin, rambling something Chris might have listened to if he had not been so preoccupied. J.C. was the serious one in the group, but he still liked to have fun with the guys. With his brown hair and blue eyes, he looked fairly normal, but his voice was far from it.

The five guys reached the sheltered waiting area where people would be split into lines. The management was running the car to test it once more, but Nsync would be the first to ride it. The cars screeched to a halt in front of its passengers, then some part of it hissed.

Chris swore he heard the track groan under the car's weight. He grew lightheaded and numb, stumbling back against the rail separating the lines. The metal's groans grew louder, echoing painfully in his head. His stomach tied itself in knots, forcing Chris to his knees.

Lance tried to help his friend while cameras began flashing around them. Chris's surroundings faded, pounding the weak metal sound his head. A cracking sound accompanied it, then a loud crash, forcing Chris to cover his ears.

He felt the other's hands on him but couldn't hear their voices. His head felt ready to explode when it suddenly stopped.

Chris looked up confused and saw the worried faces of his friends around him. The pain in his stomach eased and his normal hearing returned. Unsteadily, Chris picked himself up off the concrete floor, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Joey's question finally broke through Chris's confusion. "Are you okay?"

Chris sighed and nodded, trying to pull himself together. "I don't know what happened," he whispered.

"But you're okay now, right?" Justin asked.

"I think so but-"

"Well let's go then!" Justin exclaimed, stepping towards the waiting roller coaster. "No!" Chris yelled. When Justin moved to the roller coaster, the awful groaning returned, threatening him. "We can't ride it. It's not safe."

"Chris, relax man, they just ran it and it's fine," Joey said, moving beside Justin. Black spots danced in front of Chris. "Don't go near it," he pleaded, holding onto the rail again.

Lance studied his friend. "I'm with him," Lance said, stepping back.

"You guys," J.C. started, but ended with a sigh. "Fine, I won't get on either."

The management stepped forward to see what was going on. Seeing Chris, they asked, "Is everything okay?"

Chris eyed them suspiciously. "'There's something wrong with the ride," he said.

The older man laughed. "There is nothing wrong with this ride, I assure you!"

Chris ducked his head as Joey said, "See? There's nothing to worry about."

Joey took another step towards the waiting roller coaster, making the awful groans ricochet in Chris's head again. "Joey, don't," Chris said, stepping back. "Just go with me on this, please."

Joey studied Chris skeptically. At last he sighed and joined Chris and Lance. "Fine. I'll listen to you just this once."

The older man in a suit grew red. "What are you doing? We didn't fly the five of you down here just so you could stand here!"

"We're not standing here," Justin replied. "We're leaving."

The group started back down the path and back into the park. "Get back here!" the man yelled after them. Cameras flashed again and the photographers followed them, asking questions.

"I hope you're right," Justin whispered to Chris as they kept going.

"Thanks for believing in me," Chris replied.

Suddenly a scream sounded behind them, and the guys jumped and spun around to face the direction they had come from. The ride had started moving, and it held three teenage girls in the front row. As the ride approached the front hill, the chain that was pulling it started slipping, jerking the cars. The car started rolling back down the hill after it reached half its intended height. Then the heavy chain snapped, and the cars fell straight back. They screeched back through the loading area, creating a big gust of wind as it rolled freely.

The girls screamed as they rolled backwards with incredible speed. They approached the last hill and made it over the top, momentum carrying it half way up the next hill. But it didn't make it the whole way up, and the car rolled back down the hill forwards. It rushed through the waiting area again, then dropped out of sight with a crash.

The five guys ran to where they had last seen the roller coaster, accompanied by the photographers. The ride's technicians were already there, gathered around the deep trench that held the track. As they reached the hole, they could see where the track had broke, driving the cars about six feet to the ground as they rolled by. Smoke was rising from crash, and the guy's realized the screams had been silenced.

Nsync risked a quick look at the crash and wished they hadn't. A small fire had started at the front of the destroyed cars, and blood was splattered on the sides of the trench. Immediately, the park workers had grabbed fire extinguishers and attempted unsuccessfully to put out the fire. The manager was on the phone with a 911 operator, and the photographers used the rest of their film on the awful scene.

Lance looked to Chris, who stood frozen at the edge of the concrete ledge. Smoke billowed up from the cars, nearly gagging them. Within minutes, fire trucks and ambulances had arrived, pushing Nsync out of the way. As the guys stood off to the side, they remained silent, each of them blaming themselves for what happened.

~o0O0o~

Chris stared out the hotel window and watched the rain plummet from the sky, watering the city of Orlando. He had barely spoken a word since the 'accident' a few hours ago. The guys had been returned to their hotel by way of police protection while the fire fighters put out the fire, getting rid of the awful, flesh-burning smell. No one had said a word about Chris's prediction…yet. The owners of the park were busy doing their best to avoid a hefty lawsuit, and the police thought the guys were merely witnesses to the unfortunate accident.

But Chris could sense the fear he had instilled in the others. His major personality change had them weary, and he felt terrible inside. Why hadn't he stayed and prevented anyone from getting on that ride? Instead he acted selfishly and got himself and the others out of danger, forgetting about everyone else. Now three young girls were dead, and it was his fault.

Lance sat down next to Chris, interrupting his thoughts. "Look," he started, "I've known you less than anyone, and I know you aren't responsible for those girls. You acted on a feeling. How could you have known?"

"I did know," Chris replied. "That's why we're sitting here instead of burning with those girls."

"Chris, knock it off man," Joey said from his spot on the couch. "You had nothing to do with it. It was pure chance."

Chris felt tears begin to sting his eyes and turned back to the window. 'Then why do I feel like shit?' he wondered.

Joey saw his friend's hurt action and sighed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just that this whole thing is a little freaky, you know? But no one is blaming you for it."

"It's okay," Chris replied, his tightened throat raising his voice a little. "I'm glad you guys listened to me."

"Well I for one am going to listen a lot more," Justin smiled.

~o0O0o~

Chris sat on the couch, watching an old episode of the Mickey Mouse Club. A strange feeling came over him, but he brushed it off. He'd been feeling strange all day, so what was the difference now?

To get his mind off things, Chris got up and went to the kitchen part of the hotel room. Justin was in the bathroom drying his hair as Chris dug through the leftovers in the refrigerator.

He pulled out a pre-made sandwich and took the wrapper off before setting it on a paper plate. Chris read the name of the company, Autumn Farms. 'Never heard that before,' he thought, shrugging.

Chris could hear Joey and J.C. through the walls as his two friends got in an argument. Chris strained to hear, but only heard a few words.

"…My shirt!"

"No…"

"God, you drive me crazy!"

Chris smiled and headed back to the couch. The Mickey Mouse Club was still on, and it showed a young version of Justin and Britney Spears. The knot in his stomach became more painful, but he figured he was just hungry and began eating the sandwich.

Justin opened the bathroom door and Chris could see the steam billow out. "How can you stand it that hot?" Chris asked.

"I like it hot," Justin smiled. "Your turn."

"Oh thanks," Chris mumbled, getting up. "Now halfway through my shower, the hot water's gonna turn ice cold."

Justin just shrugged his shoulders as he threw his clothes on his bed. When he saw what Chris was watching, he groaned. "Don't watch this crap," he said, changing the channel.

"But you were so cute," Chris teased, going in the bathroom.

Justin rolled his eyes but silently agreed. Then he saw Chris's sandwich and picked it up. After inspecting it, he sat on the couch and ate the rest of it.

~o0O0o~

Chris stared at the floor. Shakily, he reached down and picked up the 'Danger, Electrocution' tag Justin had dropped from his hairdryer cord. Something was going to happen; the feeling was too strong to ignore now.

A cold tremor swept through his body as he grew dizzy for a second. 'Oh shit,' he thought. 'Here we go again.'

As he contemplated what to do next, he heard Joey yell through the wall. "That's a bunch of BS J.C.!!"

Chris's knees gave out as a horrible feeling of anxious dread came over him. Someone was going to die. But who? The signs were there, he could feel it. Chris wracked his brain trying to put the pieces together.

He heard Justin knocking on the bathroom door. "Chris? Hurry up, we gotta go in fifteen minutes! Sometimes you are too slow!"

Chris's heart pounded as he sat on the bathroom floor. Sometimes. BS. Mickey Mouse Club. Britney Spears was next.

~o0O0o~

Chris looked up and knew he had to call Britney and warn her. He reached up and pulled himself up by holding onto the cold sink. He then knew how she was going to die. The faucet was dripping steadily, and the drops splashed on the metal prongs of Justin's hair dryer plug.

"Justin!" Chris yelled, turning white.

Instantly, Justin opened the door. "What?" he asked.

"Call Britney," Chris whispered, forcing himself to move.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked, following Chris out to the phone.

"We gotta stop Britney," Chris said. "What's her phone number?"

"I don't know, let me find it…"

"Hurry," Chris said, out of breath. He felt like the walls were closing in and time was running out. He could almost feel Britney getting out of the shower and reaching for the hairdryer. A part of him was slipping away with her, and his energy was draining fast.

Chris decided to sit on a chair before he fell on one. Justin returned with the number and handed it to Chris. Chris picked up the phone and clumsily dialed the number. His heart pounded as he listened to the phone ring once. Justin had left to get the others, so Chris was alone when he felt the sudden surge of electricity that slammed him into darkness.

~o0O0o~

Justin banged on J.C. and Joey's door with unhidden urgency.

"What?" Joey snapped as he opened the door.

Justin took no offense as he said, "It's happening again."

"What is?" Joey asked.

"Chris says Britney's gonna die."

"Your Britney?"

"Yeah."

Joey called for J.C. then ran next door to Justin and Chris's room. J.C .was right on Joey's heels when they ran to the unconscious Chris.

"Do you smell smoke?" Joey asked, looking around.

Justin watched as J.C. tried to rouse Chris and saw faint wisps of smoke rising from Chris's hair.

"Chris, wake up," J.C. said, smacking Chris around. Getting no result, he turned to Justin. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He just started freaking out and said he had to stop Britney."

"Doesn't look like he did," Joey noted.

Chris slowly opened his eyes and saw the others standing around him. "She didn't make it," he whispered.

"What happened?" J.C. asked.

"She was electrocuted," Chris said, tears welling up in his soft brown eyes. "With her hairdryer."

Justin laughed. "Sorry," he said, quickly sobering.

"So what happened to you?" Joey asked, hitting Chris on the head and causing Chris's hair to crunch.

"I felt it," Chris replied.

"You were electrocuted too?" J.C. asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I feel like it."

"How would you know what it feels like, you done it before?" Joey teased.

Chris glared at him. "It was an accident."

Joey stopped laughing. "Oh."

"Should we call someone?" Justin asked.

"And tell them what? That our friend was electrocuted and so Britney Spears is dead?" J.C. asked skeptically.

"Just wondering," Justin replied.

Chris sighed. "I don't care. They will find out soon enough."

Joey looked Chris in the eyes. "Chris, you better knock it off before you kill one of us."

It was meant to be a joke but fell flat instantly. Chris's eyes dropped to the floor, hiding the tears that were threatening to fall. "Don't you think I want to stop?" he asked. "I hate this. I feel like the angel of death here. I'm scared who's going to be next. And I swear to God if it's one of you, I will do all in my power to protect you."

Joey felt so guilty. "I know you would," he replied softly.

~o0O0o~

"Fan mail!" Joey exclaimed as he set the four huge bags on the floor in front of the couch. They had ten minutes to kill before a concert, and they were all in Lance's room because it was the nicest. The TV was on, along with the small TV in the kitchen, which Chris had expertly set up in record time to play with his Play Station on. He and Justin were playing Tomb Raider while the other guys were checking email or watching TV.

It had been an hour since Chris's 'prediction', and there was still no word on Britney. They had tried calling her again but got no answer. Chris tried to get his mind off it because he knew that in his heart she was dead. The other still held a glimmer of false hope as they watched the news.

"Is there anything for me?" Lance asked hopefully.

Joey looked in the bag quickly and said, "Nope."

"Aw. How come I never get any lovin'?" (That one's for you Brandi)

"I was just playin' with ya," Joey said. He dug through the bag and handed a handful of letters to Lance. "Here."

"That's more like it," Lance smiled.

Joey continued going through the first bag and pulled out a few for J.C. and handed them to him. J.C. took them and looked through them until he found an interesting one. He loved the funny looking letters; ones with lots of color that grabbed his attention. It showed him that the person put a lot of time into it and he felt he should at least read it.

Then Joey grabbed Justin's mail and tossed them at him. They twirled all over the place, and only one actually made it to Justin. Justin glared at Joey as he picked it up. "Oh thanks," he said sarcastically. "This one's not even mine, it's Lucky's." Justin handed it to Chris, or rather, set it on Chris's lap since the older Nsyncer was too involved in the game to notice the world around him.

Joey smiled and went back to sorting the rest of the mail. Once he had five stacks each two feet high, he announced, "Well, one down, three to-"

He stopped when he glanced at the TV.

"…And our top story this hour, pop music sensation Britney Spears has been reported dead. Her vocal coach found the teen in her bathroom, and she was apparently electrocuted when she plugged in her wet hairdryer. The accident happened around nine this morning; Britney had been dead an hour by the time her body was discovered."

It took every ounce of strength they had for the guys not to look at Chris in shock. They knew he was watching too and felt terrible enough without having them gawk at him. "It happened," J.C. whispered.

"Told you," Chris replied.

For some reason unknown even to himself, J.C. snapped, "So what? Is this something you're proud of?"

Chris was stunned. And hurt. "No-I…I…never mind," he stuttered, his throat tightening. How could J.C even say something like that? Chris hated the fact that he knew when someone was going to die. It almost made him want to…no, he couldn't think like that. If people killed themselves just because they were going through a rough time, the population would be a lot lower.

J.C. regretted it as soon as he said it. But he wasn't going to apologize. This whole deal was getting under his skin; it was too much too handle. Everything was bothering him today, and he felt like the world was breathing down his neck. He turned back to the TV and changed the channel. He could feel the others looking at him, waiting for his apology. Well they were shit out of luck.

Justin turned to Chris, who had started fumbling with the envelope, trying to open it through blurry, tear-filled eyes. "You okay?" Justin asked.

"Yeah," Chris replied, not daring to look up and reveal his feelings. "Just leave me alone before you die too."

Justin remained silent and turned to glare at J.C. J.C. turned back to the TV in the typical stubborn male way.

Chris had finally gotten the letter open and wiped his eyes in frustration so he could read it. He read the colorful letter to himself.

'Dear Chris,

Hi! You are my favorite member of Nsync, and I just wanted to let you guys know how much I love No Strings Attached. It is your best CD, and way better than the Backstreet Boys. So how's Busta? I have a Pug too, and I love him. I love seeing the pictures you take with Busta; you two are so cute!

Well, I imagine you're busy right now, so I'll let you go and get back to your important Nsync stuff. Bye Bye Bye!

Love,

Ali'

Chris was touched by the letter and it's simpleness. He never ceased to be amazed at the loyalness of the fan. This girl would probably faint if she ever met him in real life, but here she was talking to him like he was a normal person and they were long-time friends.

He was suddenly aware of Justin leaning over his shoulder and reading his mail. Chris turned to Justin, his emotions calmed from reading the letter. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. How come you get all the normal ones?" Justin asked with a smile.

"Because I'm special," Chris said.

"Right," Justin teased, messing up Chris's hair.

"Don't touch me!" Chris yelled, ducking to get away from Justin.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. One of the stage crew leaned in and announced, "Four minutes 'till show time! Hurry up!"

The guys sighed as they all got to their feet. Chris sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't do a concert tonight," he said. "I don't want anyone else to die."

"You aren't causing this," Joey said. "You're just sensing it. The only way someone would die is if it was their fate, in which case you can't control that."

"I guess," Chris mumbled, following the others to the door. He looked to J.C., but J.C. just looked at the ground.

"Come on, let's get this concert underway!" Justin said cheerfully.

They all followed him out into the hall, not sure of what the night's events would hold.

~o0O0o~

The guys anxiously waited back stage, reading the posters girls were holding up. No matter how many times they preformed, nothing could take away from the excitement of going onstage. Although the butterflies that once flew wildly in their stomachs had calmed, they were still there.

As they waited for their opening group to sing their last song, Chris took a drink, hoping to drown his 'butterflies.' Something was going down tonight, of that he was sure. "Okay, this is it," J.C. said, crouching down behind the curtains.

"Guys?" Chris said. "Be careful tonight."

The others looked at him sympathetically as the DJ called them out. "We will," Joey mouthed, his voice drowned out by screams.

The guys ran onstage and started 'Space Cowboy'. Flashes went off from a hundred different directions and the screaming increased. Chris was tense throughout the whole dance, and he kept looking up to make sure nothing fell on them. 'That would be the most likely thing to happen,' he thought. He felt cold, like a shadow was constantly over him.

A couple times during the dance he flinched, thinking something was going to fall. The others kept an eye on him, treating him like a guard dog for their lives.

The concert was wearing Chris out. His attention was everywhere at once, plus he had to keep up with the others. He was starting to wish it would just get over with. He was tired of the horrible nagging feeling and the fear of death.

Chris was about to go insane when something finally happened.

Chris didn't have asthma, but he knew this must be what it felt like. His throat tightened and he had to fight for his breath, pulling air into his needy lungs. He stopped dancing and put his hand to his throat, signaling to the others. Chris took his ear peice and mic off as he wheezed for air. He searched the audience for the person that was really having the asthma attack.

The others ran over to Chris, not understanding the problem. "What is it?" Joey asked, his voice echoing through the arena.

Chris fell to his knees, unable to answer. His breaths grew painfully shallow, despite the burning in his lungs. 'Why doesn't she use her inhaler?' he wondered, still searching the audience. Finally he found her, about fifth row back and off to the side. Her friend was screaming and trying to get the attention of a nearby medic.

The audience grew quieter as they tried to figure out what was going on. Chris saw a paramedic approaching him and started pointing to the girl in the audience. His throat felt like it was swelling shut and his energy was draining fast. He kept pointing as he sat on the stage, and finally the medic signaled to his partner, who went for the dying girl.

The girls around the two that were the center of Chris's attention backed away in confusion. The girl's friend cried over her as the medic started tending to her. Chris was barely aware of the other medic that had begun treating him as he watched the scene in front of him. The last thing he saw was the medic desperately trying to perform CPR on the young girl. Then he grew dizzy and things grew black as the stage rushed up to meet his face.

~o0O0o~

Chris woke up in the dressing room, breathing normally. The last thing he remembered was seeing the girl dying of an asthma attack right there in front of him. 'Guess that's over with,' he thought sadly.

As he struggled to sit up, Joey saw him. "Look who's up," he smiled.

"It's about time," Justin teased.

"Sorry," Chris relied, giving a fake smile. "What happened?" he asked.

"That's what we should be asking you," J.C. said.

"I don't know. All of a sudden my throat tightened up and I couldn't breathe. I guess it was like an asthma attack. I saw the girl that died," he added.

"She died of an asthma attack," Justin said. "Her inhaler ran out and she didn't have an extra. It was a severe attack and the paramedic couldn't save her."

"What was her name?" Chris asked. That was the only thing he couldn't figure out. He hadn't gotten any clues. Or had he?

"I talked to her friend, Denise," Joey said with a sexual hint in his voice as he raised his eyebrows. Chris rolled his eyes as Joey continued. "The dead girl's name is Ali."

The note. It was the girl that wrote the note. "I can't believe it," Chris whispered. "How much more in my face could that have been?"

"Better open your eyes," J.C. mumbled.

Chris thought about 'his latest victim' while Lance continued, "Well anyway, after you passed out and confused the hell out of the medic, we brought you back here because he couldn't figure out what was wrong with you."

"Of course nothing's wrong with me," Chris said, standing up. "That girl just died, and I only felt her pain."

"That's nice and all," J.C. said, "But are we gonna finish the concert or not?"

Justin, Joey and Lance all shot him cold looks. "I don't think we should," Joey said. "Everyone's too nervous."

"We'll have it tomorrow night," Justin said. "Right now, I say we take advantage of our night off."

~o0O0o~

Once the guys left the arena, they hit a local nightclub. At first nobody bothered them, but once people got word that Nsync moved the concert to the next night, all the girls searched the city to find the guys. Thankfully the girls that did find them were older and mature. Joey was the first to dance with a girl, while the others sat back and watched Lance quietly charm another. Justin stuck by Chris's side for most of the night, mainly because he was worried for his older friend. Chris usually hung out with Joey and got friendly with Joey's girl's friends. But tonight Chris just sort of slumped at the bar, staring into his mug of beer. Justin understood what Chris was going through, but if no one else would try to cheer him up, then Justin would have to.

"Hey Justin, I think there's a girl over there that wants to meet you," J.C. said, nodding towards a red head in the crowd.

"She is pretty hot," Justin said, smiling at her. "But if she wants to talk to me, she'll have to come over here."

Chris looked at Justin in shock as J.C. said, "You? You're turning down a girl?" "I'm not turning her down," Justin said. "I'm just playing hard to get."

"Okay, whatever," J.C. laughed, getting up. "Well, I'll be over there, hitting on the brunette if any one needs me."

"J.C., don't you know by now that nobody likes you?" Justin teased, throwing a peanut at the back of J.C.'s head.

J.C. rubbed his head and kept going. "Hey, thanks man," Chris said. "You didn't have to stay here though. I don't need a baby sitter."

"I know," Justin replied. "I just figured since no one else cares about your feeling then I will."

"Thanks," Chris said. "But I'm fine. I'm just a little upset about all this I guess."

"Who wouldn't be?" Justin asked. The strobe lights flashed through his hair, making it sparkle. "It's a pretty terrible curse to be able to see deaths and not do anything about it."

Chris sighed and turned back to his beer. "I think I'll go outside for a while," he said, pushing the mug to Justin. "If you get caught with this, you don't know me."

"Hey thanks!" Justin grinned, taking the mug. He watched as Chris slid through the crowd and disappeared out the doors. Then he turned back to the drink, smiling. None of the others ever got him beer, and he had only drunk it a couple times before anyway. Just as he was about to take a drink, a hand snatched it away from him.

"Sorry," Joey said. "You're underage and all we need right now is for someone to see you with beer. The rumors would fly, and we'd get in trouble for giving it to you. Try again in a few years."

"Joey…" Justin whined, leaning against the bar. "Chris gave that to me- oops."

"Well then we'll be talking to him also, now won't we?" Joey smiled, taking the beer with him as he went back to the girl he met.

~o0O0o~

Chris breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned against the building's wall. The people were starting to get to him, and it was getting too hot in there. Outside the night air was cool and there weren't many other people hanging around. He felt like crap despite what he just got done telling Justin. His father's death had affected him so much, and even though he wasn't that close to these people, it still hurt. Deep inside he still felt responsible for them. 'Why did I even get this stupid curse in the first place?' he wondered, rubbing his hands together. 'Which god did I piss off now? Is this the humor god's way of punishing me for bad jokes? Or the animal god for forgetting about Busta's dinner that one night?'

Chris's cell phone interrupted his thoughts as the shrill ring pierced the quiet air. Startled, he pulled it out of his jean pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Chris?"

"This is me. Who are you?"

"This is AJ. You know, McLean…"

"The Backdoor Boy? That AJ?"

"Fuck you," AJ mumbled. "Yeah, that's the one."

"Well AJ, how's it hangin'?" Chris asked, trying to sound overly cheerful. "I'm fine gay boy," AJ shot back. "I heard about you killing Boob-job Spears. Good job."

"I didn't kill her," Chris said, turning serious. "Who told you that?"

"Oh, nobody," AJ teased. "Listen, you weren't planning on killing any of us were you, because if so I'd like to go ahead and screw these five young ladies."

Chris felt like throwing up. "I didn't kill anyone!" he said louder.

"Really? That's not what I heard. You better go and hide somewhere really good because if the cops get you, you'll be in jail for life, easy." AJ sneered.

Chris started pacing, fear rising within him. "I did not kill anyone! Who told you that?"

"Pearlman."

"Lou? He told you that? How the hell did he find out?" Chris asked. His heart was racing, threatening to burst out of his chest and fall to the ground.

"I don't recall," AJ said. "I think he said J.C. told him. But anyway, how does it feel to kill someone? Do you like it? Oh, I know, you were abused as a little kid and this is your way of revenge, right?"

Chris was almost in tears when Justin came through the doors and approached him. "They took away my- what's wrong?"

"Listen you asshole," Chris threatened, his voice shaking, "None of that shit is true! I didn't kill anyone!" He wanted to say so much more, but his emotions broke loose and he was unable to finish. Instead he handed the phone to Justin and walked off into the shadows.

Justin saw Chris's eyes sparkle with unshed tears and asked, "Hello?"

"Hey, who's this?" AJ asked. "Is this diaper boy? Have you learned to drink from a 'big person's' cup yet?"

"Oh, hey AJ, how nice to hear from you again," Justin said sarcastically. "Get any more STD's?"

"Listen kid, put Chris back on the phone. I wasn't done tormenting him."

"Uh, yeah, I kinda think you were." Justin felt a slight pain in his abdomen and got an idea. "Hold on, I got someone that want's to talk to you." Justin held the phone down behind him and let out a guy-sized fart. Laughing, he hung up the cell phone and went to find Chris.

~o0O0o~

"I have no idea what he said, but I'm sure it was stupid. Just forget about him."

"But he's right," Chris said quietly. "He said that J.C. told Lou about me, and now Lou is telling everyone that I'm killing people."

"That's a bunch of crap," Justin laughed. "You're not killing anyone!"

"I know, but I might as well be."

"Knock it off," Justin said. "I believe you when you said all you can do is sense these deaths. Besides, you would never have the guts to kill anyone anyway."

Chris glared at Justin as they sat on the cold pavement. "What should I do? Why did this happen to me?"

Justin looked at the ground, not knowing how to help Chris answer those questions. "I don't know." He replied simply.

They remained silent for a few minutes, then Chris picked himself up. "We look like a couple losers sitting outside like this," he said, smiling. "Let's go back in."

"Sounds good to me," Justin said. Then he remembered something. "Oh, uh, you know how you told me not to get caught with your drink?"

"Yeah," Chris said as they walked to the door.

"Uh, I kinda did."

"Oh. Well that was smart."

"Sorry."

"Who caught you?"

"Joey."

Chris didn't answer at first, then said, "I think we can take him."

"Yeah."

~o0O0o~

The guys weren't able to stay at the club for much longer, because word that Nsync was at a local club had spread so rapidly that the parking lot was filling up with teenage girls and cameras. They had decided to leave while the getting was good, and made it back to the hotel in one piece. They had to run up the hotel stairs to avoid being mobbed by more girls, and they quickly ducked in their hotel rooms.

Lance was once again in a room by himself, Joey was with J.C., and Justin was with Chris. The guys were all tired and since it was 12:30, they all decided to go to sleep. After mumbling goodnight to each other, they went in the hotel rooms and shut the doors behind them.

Justin looked at Chris as they each threw their jackets down on the floor. He could tell something was bothering Chris, and that AJ's phone call probably had something to do with it. "Don't let him get to you," Justin said, pulling his shirt up over his head.

"He's right. If this gets out, it'll look like I killed everyone," Chris said, mimicking the action.

"You have four witnesses saying you didn't," Justin replied, unbuckling his belt.

"I don't know about J.C.," Chris sighed. "I don't blame him, but I don't think he's on my side for this one."

"No, Lou's the one that's not on your side," Justin said, stepping out of his jeans and nearly tripping.

Chris laughed as Justin caught himself on the corner of the bed. "At least I got you," he said. "Even if you are pretty stupid sometimes."

"What?" Justin smiled, standing up again. "Just lost my balance."

"Whatever."

"I did!"

"K. Goodnight."

"Fine, don't believe me."

"Yeah." Chris pulled off his pants and got in bed wearing his boxers. Justin stuck his tongue out behind Chris's turned back before he got in his own bed on the opposite wall.

"I saw that."

"No you didn't," Justin argued.

"Sweet dreams, sugar."

"I hate you."

They each smiled to themselves before Chris reached over and turned off the lamp that sat on the bedside table.

~o0O0o~

The next morning, everyone found their way into Joey and J.C.'s hotel room. They had some time to kill before they had to be anywhere, and going through fan mail was the best way to kill it. Justin always went through his bag of mail and picked out all the light blue envelopes and opened them first. The others tried to read them all, but the more outstanding ones got read first.

Lance pulled out a rainbow colored envelope that was decorated with tons of stickers and pictures. "Look at this one," he smiled, holding it up.

"I need sunglasses to look at that," Joey teased.

"I know. Ain't it cool?" Lance replied.

Chris had opted not to open any of his fan mail for a while, in case he cursed someone else. Instead he sat in a corner by himself and spun records, trying to relax. He took his record player with him everywhere and was now a perfectionist at setting it up in record time.

J.C. was going through his never-ending list of emails, and Justin sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV with his bag of fan mail. The news was droning in the background, going over yet another story on the death of Britney Spears.

"They need to lay off already," Justin said, opening a letter.

Joey was about to answer when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. "Oh, hey mom. What's going on?"

Chris watched as Joey and his mom got in to their conversation from his spot behind his record player. A familiar sense of dread crept slowly through his veins, freezing them as it went.

"Yes mom, I have clean clothes…"

"Um, Joey…" Chris started softly.

"They stopped teasing me about that a long time ago…"

"Joey…" Chris repeated louder.

"But it was an accident…"

Lance looked up and saw Chris, white as a ghost, trying to get Joey's attention. He looked to Joey, then back to where Chris was sitting with a frightened look on his face.

"Joey," Lance started, getting Joey's attention. "I think Chris wants to tell you something."

Joey looked at Chris and his smile immediately faded. "Don't tell me you're getting that feeling," Joey said, almost threateningly.

Chris just nodded his head, feeling his throat tighten.

"No, you're wrong," Joey said, shaking his head.

"Joey, I want so much to be wrong-"

"How do you feel mom?" Joey asked, cutting Chris off. "Okay, just checking. No, nothing's wrong. Chris is just jacking me around," he smiled falsely.

Chris looked at Lance through blurry, tear-filled eyes. The others looked at him as if they were waiting for him to announce he was joking. The knot in his stomach tightened and he felt his blood run impossibly colder. This was getting to be too much. It was hard enough being the angel of death, but when it turned personal the feeling was unbearable. Chris's whole body ached and he felt like the poor kid in school that nobody liked.

"Okay, goodbye mom," Joey said, interrupting the silence. "And be careful today."

Chris started to rise. "I'm gonna go," he said quietly.

"Freeze," Joey said as he hung up. "So my mom's next?"

Chris nodded once then started for the door again.

"How's she gonna die?" Joey asked softly.

"I don't know," Chris said. "Didn't get that far yet." "You tell me as soon as you know," Joey said. "We will beat this thing. You have this gift for a reason. Maybe we can cheat death for once."

"You can't cheat death," Chris said. "It just sits there waiting for you to stop squirming then pounces when you least expect it."

"Well I sure as hell am gonna try," Joey replied.

~o0O0o~

Chris sighed and searched for something to do. He wasforbidden to leave the room so he would be sure to tell Joey as soon as he knew what was going to happen. He grabbed a pen and a napkin and started doodling. The first thing he drew was the FuMan Skeeto symbol. He admired it with pride, then started drawing again.

Suddenly he felt someone pressed against him, although no one was there. He closed his eyes and saw the blurry image of a tall, unshaven man grinning wildly and leaning inches with in Chris's face. He opened his eyes quickly, feeling his heart accelerate its steady rhythm. The others took no notice of him, and Chris took a deep breath before closing his eyes again. The image of the man was once again in his face, almost above him. In his hand he held a knife, and the other was pressing hard on Chris's shoulder, as if to pin him down.

Chris accidentally inhaled louder than he wanted to, and the others turned to look at him. Joey recognized the look of fear in his friend's face and knew what was wrong. "What's happening?" he asked, grabbing his cell phone.

Chris shook his head, not wanting to close his eyes again. "She's getting attacked," he said quietly.

"Can you tell where she is?" Joey asked as he dialed the phone.

Chris hadn't noticed before and he didn't want to watch again. He reluctantly closed his eyes in hope of helping Joey save his mom, but all he could see was the dirty face of the grinning man. Chris could feel the man's body pressed against his and suddenly realized what was happening. His breath caught as he felt a sensation from his manhood and tried to back up in his chair. He could feel Phyllis's fright and felt hopeless. She was being raped and there was nothing he could do but watch through her eyes. The man pressed the knife to Chris's neck to prevent his victim from squirming.

"Chris!" Joey yelled, forcing Chris to open his eyes. "What's happening?"

Chris wiped a tear from his face and squeaked, "She's being raped."

Joey froze with the phone pressed to his ear. He jumped up and began pacing, listening to the phone ring. To his surprise, his mother answered. "Mom?"

"What is it Joey? I'm grocery shopping."

"I- Chris…are you sure you're okay?" Joey asked. He looked to Chris, who looked equally surprised.

"I'm fine sweetie," Phyllis replied. "Were you watching a scary movie?"

"No, Chris, he can…never mind. I don't really care as long as you're safe."

"Joey, it's her, I know it," Chris said, pleading with Joey to do something. "Maybe not now but-" Chris was cut off when a sharp stab of pain ripped across his neck. He couldn't breathe, and felt his own warm blood flowing down his neck and chest. He closed his eyes and saw the man grin cruelly, then walk away. Then he fainted.

~o0O0o~

"You think he's okay?"

"I have no idea."

"Should we call an ambulance?"

"We don't even know what happened."

Chris heard voices before he opened his eyes. His throat no longer hurt, but he could still imagine seeing the man tear the knife through his throat. 'He didn't even kill me,' Chris thought. 'He killed Phyllis.'

Chris opened his eyes and winced, letting his eyes adjust to the bright light of the hotel room. Joey and Justin were standing over him with worry etched in their faces. "Hi," Joey said, attempting a smile.

"Hi," Chris replied, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"So, uh, what happened?" Joey asked, glancing at Justin.

"Nothing," Chris mumbled. He felt bad enough and didn't want to have to describe everything to Joey.

"Well something sure as hell happened," Justin said, shifting his weight to the other foot.

"You owe me that much," Joey said. "If she did die, than I want to know how."

'No, you don't,' Chris thought. He sighed, knowing Joey was right. The poor guy looked like he was standing on the line of heartbreak and hysteria. "She, uh…" Chris started, looking at the floor. "She was uh," his voice cracked and tears threatened to spill down his face. "She was raped, then the guy slit her throat."

Chris looked up just in time to see Joey's heart visibly break. A single tear ran down his cheek, as he stood by the couch, stunned. "You sure?" he whispered.

Chris rubbed his throat as he replied. "Yeah. I'm so sorry Joey," Chris started. "I told you as soon as I knew…"

Joey didn't reply, but turned and went out the door, presumably to his own room. Chris felt his heart go with his friend. This was too much. He couldn't handle it anymore. 'I'd be better off-'

"Great job," J.C. said coldly as he passed Chris. "He'll never forgive you for this." Chris remained silent, agreeing with J.C. 'I can't even forgive myself,' he thought. He watched J.C. follow Joey out in the hall and fell back against the couch. The soft cushions felt good to his body, but they did nothing to ease his soul. He heard Lance approach and sit on the chair across from him.

"It's not your fault you know," Lance said in his deep, caring voice.

"Is that the best you can do?" Chris replied. He didn't mean to be so harsh, but he knew it was his fault.

Lance remained quiet except for a sigh. Chris stared at the ceiling, going over all the known methods of suicide. Justin, who was uncharacteristically quiet, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

"This is the beginning of the end," Justin said quietly as he changed the channels. "Justin, shut up," Lance snapped. "We're not breaking up over this."

"Tell that to J.C.," Justin said.

"I have no idea what his problem is. He has no right to be acting the way he is." Justin rolled his eyes and stopped on a local station that was showing Baywatch. As soon as he set the remote down, the program was interrupted and the news came on. The three men turned to watch it, holding their breaths.

"We're sorry to interrupt this program, but we just got some breaking news. Police have been called to a murder scene that was called in by a pedestrian half an hour ago, and police investigation reveals the victim to be Janine Fatone, pop group Nsync's Joey Fatone's sister. It appears that Ms. Fatone was raped first, then had her throat brutally slashed. The police currently have all units out looking for the suspect, and we'll keep you updated on the story. Now back to your regularly scheduled program."

"It was-" Lance started, but was interrupted when Joey stormed in the hotel room. "My sister!" He yelled, going straight for Chris. His eyes were red from crying, and it looked like he wasn't done.

Chris looked at him with surprised eyes as Joey advanced. "I-"

Chris was cut off when Joey punched him in the face, hard. "You asshole! How could you do that to me?" Joey yelled, getting ready to hit Chris again.

Lance jumped up and grabbed Joey before he could hit Chris again. Justin was at his side, helping to hold Joey back. "What the hell is your problem?" Lance asked, getting in between Joey and Chris.

"He lied to me!" Joey yelled, tears streaming down his face. "He let Janine die!"

Chris ignored the stinging pain in his cheek and looked at the floor.

"He was close enough!" Lance replied. "At least you got some kind of a warning!"

"If he had told me my sister was going to die and not my mom, maybe she would still be alive!" Joey cried.

"And how would you have stopped it, flown down there to help her and only make things worse for her?" Justin asked.

Joey remained silent and angrily wiped his tears. He pulled himself loose from Lance and Justin's grip and walked to the door. He gave Chris one final look before he left. It wasn't Chris's fault, he knew, but Joey didn't feel like apologizing right now either.

~o0O0o~

Chris sat at the small kitchen table, moving the knife around and watching the light bounce off it. The light flashed in his eyes, and he held it there, staring into the bright reflection. 'So this is it,' he sighed. 'So much has happened in too short of a time and I can't live with it anymore.' Death sounded warm and inviting, unlike the reality in which everyone blamed him for other's deaths. The death of Janine proved to him that things would be better if he were gone. He had a nightmare last night, in which Joey's sister came back to haunt him and blame him for her death. Chris couldn't live like this. He didn't ask for this curse, yet somehow it found its way to the sunny Nsyncer.

'Better hurry,' he remembered, breaking his thoughts. 'The guys should be back soon with breakfast.' He pulled up his sleeves and slammed his arm on the table, wrist exposed. He looked at the silver steak knife once more before closing his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. "I love you guys," he whispered, then drug the sharp knife through his wrist, cutting through the skin and slicing the precious veins below.

~o0O0o~

"I feel really bad about last night," Joey said to the others as they walked up the stairs.

"I feel bad because the elevator is out of order," Justin said.

"Seriously though, he didn't know who it was going to be," Joey said. He had calmed down somewhat since last night, but what put his soul at rest the most was the fact that the police had caught the freak that killed his sister. Joey was due to fly home later that night to be with his family, and he was going to drag the others along with him for support.

"I've probably been acting like a dick too," J.C. said as they approached the last flight of stairs.

"No probably about it," Lance replied quickly.

"I just don’t do this possessed crap," he said. "It's a bad childhood experience," he mumbled.

"Who would have thought we eat this much," Justin said, changing the subject. "God this is a lot of food."

"You're a growing boy," Joey teased as they reached the last step.

"Damn right," Justin smiled. "In more ways than one."

The others rolled their eyes as J.C. fished around in his pocket for the card that unlocked the hotel room. "Food's here!" he yelled, hoping Chris would open the door and save them a lot of trouble. "For someone with so much energy, you'd think he could get up and open the door for us," J.C. mumbled.

"Then what kind of man would he be?" Justin asked.

J.C. silently agreed with his blonde friend as he opened the door. The four guys walked in the hotel room and dropped the containers of food on the counter. "Thanks for your help with the door," Joey said sarcastically when he saw Chris out of the corner of his eye.

Justin laughed and started over to tease Chris. "Chris!" Justin yelled, seeing his friend slumped over the table in a pool of his own blood.

The others ran to see what was wrong and were stunned to see the sight that welcomed them. "What the hell happened?" Joey asked, already seeing the answer.

J.C. ran to the bathroom while Lance pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. Justin was frozen to his spot, and a lump started to rise in his throat as he watched the blood slowly drip to the floor. Chris's arm was stretched out before him, revealing the deep slash in his wrist. The side of his head rested on his arm and the back of his head was sitting in the blood. He had turned a sickly white color that made the blood look even redder.

J.C. came back in the kitchen with a towel just as Lance began talking to the operator. J.C. lifted Chris's arm off the table and Joey and Justin couldn't help watching the blood drip down to the table. The side of Chris's head was also resting in the massive pool of sticky blood as J.C. wrapped the towel tightly around Chris's wrist.

When J.C. saw the disgusted look on Justin's face, he pulled Chris's head back to rest on the chair and quickly wiped away the blood that began to drip down his face. "Lance hurry with the ambulance!" J.C. exclaimed, noticing the towel slowly turning red.

"What do you want us to do?" Joey asked, feeling useless.

J.C. felt for a pulse on Chris's neck and was relieved to find one, even if it was incredibly weak. "I don't know what you can do," J.C. replied. "Just pray that he lives."

Lance hung up the phone and turned his attention to the others. "He looks really bad," Lance said quietly.

J.C. continued to hold the towel tightly around Chris's wrist as he replied, "I know."

A small groan caught their attention and they looked to see Chris open his eyes slowly, his eyes adjusting to the light.

"Hey Chris," J.C. said softly. "We caught an ambulance on the way, just hold on okay?"

Chris went slightly cross-eyed before he closed his eyes again. "Sorry," he whispered. He was barely breathing and his breaths became audible.

"Chris, come on, stay with us," Justin pleaded. "Damnit, where the hell is the ambulance?" he cursed to himself.

The stench of blood had filled the room and the guys could almost feel death lingering in the air also. "Chris, what about Busta, you just gonna leave him behind?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, you have someone who needs you know," J.C. added. "Not to mention a whole damn clothing line."

Chris remained unresponsive as the ambulance sirens grew near.

Chris fought to pull air into his lungs. Breathing used every once of strength he had, but for some reason he sensed he was needed. He had fought hard to open his eyes, but the relieved looks on his friend's faces made it worth it. He did not regret what he had done, but now he felt as if his friend's needed him and Chris put his faith into them to not let him die.

He felt a warm hand on his cold wrist, and it comforted him. Chris couldn't understand what they were saying, and he didn't even have the strength to, but he felt they were there. Breathing became harder and he was going numb. He would have shivered if he could, but his life had spilled out on the table when he cut his wrist. His life was now up for grabs, and he could live or die.

Suddenly Chris felt the warm hand leave and felt more replace it. He was lifted up and laid on the floor. 'Paramedics must be here,' he thought, then he slipped into unconsciousness.

~o0O0o~

Lance, J.C., Joey and Justin sat in the waiting room and stared at each other. Off to the side stood three body guards. Doctors jogged by constantly, and the guys looked up every time to see if one of them had news about Chris. By the time the paramedics had got Chris to the ambulance, he had already crashed once. He had left behind a huge puddle of blood that dripped from the table to the dinner plate size puddle on the floor. The guys had prayed that the hotel had a good cleaning service.

After the paramedics retrieved Chris's heartbeat in the ambulance, they had to fight to keep it. Chris was inhumanly white. The last thing the guys heard from the paramedics was how desperate the young man was in need of blood.

Lance glared at J.C. to the point where J.C. grew uncomfortable. "What?" he asked defensively.

"This is all your fault you know," Lance snapped.

"Lance, it wasn't my fault. I didn't think he would take everything I said so seriously."

"How the hell did you think he would take it?" Lance replied. "You and Joey beat him down the whole time, and all he wanted to hear was that someone was on his side."

J.C. looked to the ground. "He could have saved Joey's sister," he replied. "But he lied."

"He did not lie!" Lance almost yelled. "He didn't know! He gave you all the warning he could! Do you realize he's felt death four times in the past two days? He's been there when those girls died on the roller coaster, he was electrocuted with Brittany, he was nearly suffocated with Ali, and then he was raped and stabbed with Janine. It takes an amazing person to make it as long as he did. And you did nothing to help."

The four remained silent, listening to 'I turn to you' by Christina Aguleria over the radio. Joey never said anything but began wiping his eyes and sniffing. He was about to go to the bathroom to be alone when the doctor stopped in front of them.

"You're here for Mr. Kirkpatrick?" the doctor asked.

"How'd you guess?" J.C. replied, void of emotion.

"Just by the look on your faces every time I come out of that room and walk past you," the doctor smiled. He got no smile in return and continued, "My name is Doctor Toidi, and I'll be in charge of your friend while he's here."

"Is he okay?" Lance interrupted.

"For the time being, yes," Dr. Toidi replied. "He lost four pints of blood before he got here, and he crashed in the ambulance and once again in the ER. We repaired the arteries and did a blood and plasma transfusion and he seems to have stabled. He's currently in ICU, but things are looking good for that young man. It's almost as though something was keeping him from dying." Dr. Toidi saw a shadow pass over the other's faces and asked, "I hear it was a suicide attempt?"

"No," Lance said. The others looked at him in confusion and he continued, "Well, yeah, but it was a misunderstanding. He's not depressed."

"Well, just the same, I'd like to admit him into therapy as soon as possible," Dr. Toidi replied.

"No!" Lance almost yelled. "He doesn't need any of that. Making this public would hurt him more than anything," he said. "I'm only thinking of Chris when I say this, but he'll be fine. Just let us talk to him."

Dr. Toidi looked skeptical. "The best I can do is wait to see how he is when he wakes up," he said.

"That's fine," Lance sighed. "When can we see him?"

"He's still asleep, and he'll need all the rest he can get. I'll let you know when you can go in."

"Thanks," Lance mumbled, then sat down again.

Joey looked down at the milk carton he got from the cafeteria. "So he lost eight of these?" he asked, holding up the half pint carton.

"Yeah," J.C. sighed.

"He should be dead," Lance said. "You can't lose that much blood and…like the doctor said, something kept him from dying."

"But that's a good thing," Joey smiled.

The guys remained silent. They sat in the waiting room for another half-hour before Dr. Toidi came back. "You guys should go home," he said. "Mr. Kirkpatrick is still out of it and I doubt he'll wake anytime soon."

"We're not leaving," J.C. said.

Dr. Toidi looked at the four red-eyed faces that stared back at him stubbornly. "I'll let you know when you can see him," he said, then walked off.

The guys went back to reading waiting room magazines and staring out the third floor window to their left. They watched as people came and went, ambulances screamed to a halt and dropped off bodies in stretchers, and they felt the pain when teary eyed family members cried as they left the building with out the last person in their family. Justin went down to the cafeteria and bought them each several bags of chips and cans of soda. Joey went to another waiting room and traded out all the magazines, only to discover each waiting room has the same magazines. When he sat down again, his cell phone rang. "Hello? Oh, hey mom."

"Hi sweetie, how are you?"

"I'm…I'm at the hospital," he said, his throat tightening as he looked to the floor. "Are you okay?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, it's not me," Joey said. "It's uh…its Chris…" Joey started, getting up as tears threatened to fall.

"Is he okay? What happened?"

"He tried to kill himself because I blamed him for Janine," Joey blurted, not daring to look at the others as he wiped his tears.

"Why would you do something like that?" Phyllis asked.

Joey could tell his mom was getting upset again. "It was stupid mom," he started. "He tried to help-"

"Will he be okay?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, I think," Joey replied. He sniffed and turned around to see the doctor approaching them again. "Listen mom, I gotta go, I'll be there tomorrow," he said.

"I love you and tell Chris the same," Phyllis said quickly.

"Love you too," Joey said, then hung up.

Dr. Toidi stopped in front of them. "He's awake now, but he's still very weak," he announced.

"Can we-"

"Yes, but only for a few minutes," Dr. Toidi replied.

For the first time in hours, the four flashed a smile. "Thank you," J.C. said.

The four crept into the hospital room and saw Chris, still extremely pale but the sparkle was back in his eye. "Calvary's here," he said quietly, attempting a smile.

"Hey," Justin smiled, standing next to Chris. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Chris replied.

"Good because when you get out of here, I'm gonna kill you." Lance said. Chris couldn't tell if Lance was kidding or not, but his smile faded when Lance continued, "I'm serious. What the hell were you thinking?" Lance said. "I can't believe you would be that stupid!"

"You try seeing nothing but death every time you close your eyes!" Chris replied. "And to know you could have stopped it…" he quickly glanced at Joey then his gaze fell to the floor.

"Chris, I didn't mean it!" Joey said. "I am so sorry. I was upset. I still am. But it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Chris yawned. "Lance is right. I was being stupid…"

The four found themselves looking at a sleeping twenty eight year old. "We better go," J.C. said.

The others nodded and headed for the door. Justin started to push it open but had it yanked out of his grasp. "What the-?" he started, finding himself standing front of the Backstreet Boys.

The groups looked at each other for a few seconds before J.C. stepped up beside Justin. "What do you want?" he asked.

"We heard about Chris and were driving by so we decided to check things out," Howie said.

Lance groaned. "It's out already?" he asked.

"Well, you were staying the most popular hotel around," Nick said.

"What did you hear?" J.C. asked.

"That Chris Kirkpatrick of Nsync has just attempted suicide," AJ said, reciting the radio. "Fuck," Lance sighed.

"There goes that," Justin added.

"Is he okay?" Howie asked, looking past them.

"Yeah, he will be," J.C. said. "Let's go out there," he said, pointing to the waiting room. "He fell asleep again."

The Boys obeyed and they all took seats in the waiting room. "So what really happened?" AJ asked.

"What are you talking about dickead?" Justin snapped. "You know damn well what's wrong, seeing how you already harassed him once."

"I was just teasing," AJ said. "I didn't know you guys were serious about all that."

"Neither did we," Joey said.

"You mean he really can sense death?" Nick asked. Lance nodded. "Well that sucks."

"What do you care?" Justin snapped.

"He's my friend too," Howie said, getting defensive. "We did go to the same school together."

Justin rolled his eyes.

"How long have you guys been here?" Kevin asked, sensing a fight.

"I have no clue," Lance said. "Since eight."

"You've been here almost five hours?" Brian asked, looking at his watch.

"Mind if we wait with you?" Kevin asked.

"I don't care," Lance said. "Just don't say anything stupid."

"That won't be hard," Nick mumbled.

Dr. Toidi walked through the room, doing a double take. "You multiplied," he said.

"We're friends," Kevin said.

"So far," Joey added.

Dr. Toidi smiled and walked into Chris's room. He returned a few minutes later and smiled. "He seems to be coming along very good," he said. "His heart rate is almost back to normal, along with his blood pressure."

"When can he go home?" Lance asked.

"I want to keep him here for observation overnight," the doctor said. "Then we'll see."

"Okay," J.C. said as Dr. Toidi left them.

"He must have been pretty bad if he's just now getting back to normal," Brian said.

"He lost four pints of blood," Justin said.

"And he's still alive?" Howie asked. "Wow."

"Someone's looking out for him," Kevin added.

Lance offered a little smile. "Someone has to. He can't look out for himself."

Joey started laughing. "Remember when he fell on his face in the airport?"

A smile crept over all their faces. "And he fell out of the bunk," Justin added.

"And he fell onstage," J.C. said.

"Is there a place where he hasn't fallen?" Nick asked.

"Probably not," Joey said. "You'd think he likes to fall or something."

"Half the time he's so hyper he doesn't even realize he fell," Justin said.

They remained silent for a few minutes, thinking about their hypo-glycemic friend. AJ glared at Justin the way a wolf glares a fat moose. Justin began to feel uncomfortable and inched his way over to Joey. Nick saw Justin's reaction to AJ and smiled. "He doesn't bite," Nick said, petting AJ on the head.

"I'm not scared of that tattooed freak," Justin said, unsure of himself.

"Boo!" AJ yelled. Justin jumped back in his chair and blushed.

"What was that?" Nick smirked.

Justin looked away and flipped him off.

Kevin looked at J.C. and rolled his eyes. "We can't put them within three feet of each other," he said.

"I know it," J.C. agreed.

J.C. looked back down the row at his 'children' and found Justin and Joey sticking out their tongue at Nick and AJ. He sighed and looked back to Kevin. "Do you want to come back to our hotel?" he asked.

"I guess we could," Kevin said. "I don't know about the rest of them, but Howie and I would like to see Chris."

"He should be sleeping for a while and I haven't gotten a shower yet," J.C. said. "I-"

"I thought I smelled something!" Nick yelled.

"Anyway," J.C. said, making a disgusted look at Nick, "You leash yours and I'll leash mine," he finished, looking back to Kevin.

"Deal," Kevin smiled.

"Road trip!" Justin smiled, giving Joey a high five.

"Shotgun!" AJ said, grinning at Justin.

~o0O0o~

"Don't touch me you hairy freak," AJ said to Joey as they went around a corner.

"I can't help it when your fat ass is in my way," Joey replied, pushing AJ.

"GUYS!" Kevin yelled. "Shut up! You have been going at it for the past half-hour!"

There was a scared silence that echoed on the back of the limo. They all had stopped moving and even slowed their breathing.

"Thank you," Kevin sighed.

"So AJ, how's the tour coming?" J.C. asked, breaking the silence.

"Fine," AJ replied.

"Lance, you had a birthday?" Kevin asked.

"Twenty one," Lance replied.

"That's legal you know," AJ whispered.

"Good job, are you a detective?" Justin replied, getting little louder.

"Shut up astro-puff," Nick shot back.

Kevin groaned and let his head fall back on the seat. "I give up," he sighed.

"Touch me again and lose a testicle!" AJ yelled, hitting Justin on the head.

"What makes you think any one would want to touch you?" Justin asked, rubbing his head. "That would be wrong."

"I've had just about enough of you little boy…" AJ said, tipping his head down so he could look over the top of his sunglasses.

"We're here," Brian said, interrupting the others.

"Thank God," AJ grumbled. "They are starting to smell up the limo."

Justin silently mocked AJ as he followed the older man out of the limo. "It's you breath blowing back in your face," he whispered.

AJ either didn't hear Justin or just chose to ignore the teen but he kept walking to the hotel, Nick at his side. Justin and Joey followed behind them, making obscene gestures and faces to the other men's backs.

"Remind me why I thought this was a good idea," Kevin sighed, watching his band mates.

"Because I want to be there for Chris," Howie said. "And you do too. They will just have to live together for a few hours."

"I appreciate you guys doing this," Lance said. "I think I will help Chris recover faster. Hopefully."

"No problem," Kevin said, walking beside his cousin. "It'll be fun for us grown ups," he smiled. They reached the revolving doors that gave access to the hotel and stopped to wait for the others to get through.

AJ smiled at Nick as they felt Joey and Justin get in behind them, then together they pushed as hard as they could on the glass, swinging the door around and making Justin and Joey fall into each other. AJ and Nick gave each other high fives and laughed as they stood inside the hotel, watching Joey and Justin pick themselves up off the floor as they continued to rotate with the door.

Joey and Justin finally got out of the door and charged straight for AJ and Nick, who took off running for the elevator.

Kevin looked at J.C. and Lance. "Isn't there some kind of medicine for them?"

"Somewhere, in some far off, distant galaxy," Lance replied.

The five walked through the doors normally and walked to the elevator, getting on right as the doors started to slide shut. They stood in between AJ and Nick and Justin and Joey so the four couldn't touch each other.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, letting the nine young men out into the hall. Lance and J.C. glanced at each other as they approached their room. Their tenseness filled the air but it went unnoticed by the Backstreet Boys. Joey stood beside J.C. as Lance opened the door, hoping that it got cleaned. They went inside, immediately looking at the kitchen table.

"You guys okay?" Howie asked, seeing Joey in near tears.

Joey nodded and walked past the table, not looking at it. The room smelled of bleach and cleaners, but the haunting, underlying smell of blood still lingered. "It's just gonna take some time to get used to all this," he said.

Howie turned to Lance. "He must really be upset about Chris," he said, watching Joey plant himself in front of the TV.

"It's not just Chris," Lance said quietly. "The last person Chris saw die was Joey's sister."

"Well that must really suck for both of them," Kevin said.

"Joey's been really calm so far," Lance said. "I know it hurts him, but he won't let it show."

"Do you guys want something to eat?" J.C. interrupted.

"Don't feed them, then they'll never go home," Justin whined.

"What makes you think I'd want to look at your ugly face any longer than I have to?" AJ shot back.

"You know you want me," Justin said. "Just like all the other girls."

"Excuse me while I puke," Nick said, rolling his eyes.

"I want something to eat," Brian said, walking over to J.C. The two dug through the refrigerator while the others sat on the couch and chairs that surrounded the TV.

"I'm gonna get a shower," J.C. said, walking to the bathroom.

"Please do," Nick grinned.

"So we can go the hospital sooner," J.C. finished. "You kids be good."

~o0O0o~

J.C. turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed his towel and began to dry off, saving his feet for last. The mirror had already steamed over, and J.C. grabbed his boxers off the counter, wiping the mirror with them.

He stepped into his bowers, feeling better from the hot, relaxing shower. J.C. rubbed his head with the towel then slung it over his shoulders as he got his jeans.

"Stop looking at me or I will shove this pen so far up your ass the ink will quench your thirst!"

J.C. jumped, becoming tense again. "Can't you shut up for one minute?" he yelled. "I swear to God if I have to, I WILL tie you four up and make you look at each other all day!"

Silence from the other room made him proud, and he sighed. "It's about time," he said to himself.

When he was done dressing, he went back out into the living room. AJ, Nick, Joey and Justin stared at him, watching his every move. "What?" he asked. "You four act like little kids. It's about time you knocked it off."

"Power to ya," Kevin seconded, raising his can of Pepsi in agreement.

J.C. smiled in return, then went to get his cologne.

"I'm next," Lance said, getting up. "You didn't use all the hot water did you?"

J.C. looked at him innocently. "It's a hotel. I couldn't use all the hot water if I left it on for three days." He looked to AJ, expecting a smart comment, but AJ just glared at him through his sunglasses.

"Whatever," Lance smiled, going in the bathroom.

J.C. was glad Lance was talking to him again. He hated having Lance hold him for something he did on accident, even if it was a ligitiment reason. They didn't need to be fighting on top of all the other emotions running right now. "You hungry Joey?" J.C. asked, glancing back at Joey.

Joey looked away from the TV. "What's that suppose to mean? You think I'm fat, don't you?"

"Freak," Nick coughed, making AJ laugh.

"That's not what I mean," J.C. replied, holding up his hands. "I just meant because you haven't eaten anything all day, and I know I'm hungry…" The truth was he was getting worried about Joey. Of course Joey was upset about Janine, and now Chris. But they didn't need him getting depressed and hurting himself. They each had to look out for each other, and if they didn't get Joey talking, that would only leave him open for depression.

"I'm fine, thanks," Joey replied, looking back at the TV.

"Okay, well if anyone needs me, I'll be over here, eating by myself," J.C. said, trying to sound pathetic.

"The way it should be," AJ mumbled, smiling.

Howie sighed. "AJ, no one is making you stay here. If they bother you that much, you can always go some where else."

AJ looked hurt. "I'll stay," he sighed.

"You need us to do anything?" Kevin asked, looking around the room.

"Not really. We're already packed, so once every one's done getting a shower we can head back down to the hospital," J.C. said.

"Shit!" Justin yelled suddenly, jumping up.

"What?" the others echoed.

"I forgot Busta!" Justin said, running to the kitchen table and grabbing some car keys. "He's at the boarding kennel I'll be back!" Justin said, slamming the door behind him.

"What?" Brian asked, looking at J.C.

"We dropped Busta off at the kennel before we went to Disney because it was too hot for him, and I guess we kinda forgot him," J.C. explained. "Chris is gonna have one hell of a bill," he said, giving a slight smile.

Then the Boys looked at Nick. "Speaking of forgetting something, aren't you-"

"My dogs!" Nick yelled, jumping up. "I'll be back!" Nick was out the door and gone before any one could say anything.

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" Nick asked again, leaning on the counter beside Joey.

The groomer looked nervously among the two men. "I…uh…there's been a slight mix up."

"How?" Joey asked.

"When we took the collars of to clip them, the dogs jumped off the table and before we knew it, we had five pugs running around." The groomer looked at her feet. "I'm sorry."

"Well did you try calling them?" Nick asked, looking at the small pen that held the five collar-less dogs.

"When I call them, either none of them come or all of them came," she sighed.

Joey walked to the pen and opened the gate. "Here Busta!"

All five dogs ran for Joey, jumping on his legs and licking his fingers.

"Houston, come!" Nick commanded.

The dogs remained vastly interested in Joey's pant leg.

"See?" asked the groomer.

"Well let's just pay for them and try to figure this out with the others," Nick suggested.

"Yeah, there's got to be a way," Joey said. "One of your dogs must be flawed or something."

"I'll have you know all my dogs are pure bred and flawless!" Nick exclaimed. "Your ugly little dog should be easiest to spot because he stands out compared to my excellent Pugs."

"My ass, gay boy," Joey mumbled. "All the dogs look the same or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"How much do I owe you?" Nick asked, glaring at Joey.

"A hundred and ten dollars," the woman replied, looking at Nick's bill.

Nick handed her a credit card and turned back to the dogs. "Willy, Mikey, come!" he tried again, still getting no response.

Joey walked to the counter, all the dogs following on his heels. "I'll pay my bill now too," he said, watching Nick sign the receipt.

"Twenty six," she replied.

Joey paid her while Nick waited, watching the dogs for any sign of recognition. He thought he recognized Nicky, but the squirming Pugs quickly mixed themselves up again.

"I'm so sorry," the woman repeated, blushing slightly. "I hope you get things worked out."

"We will, one way or another," Joey smiled as they turned to leave.

~o0O0o~

"You what?!"

"It wasn't our fault," Joey replied, ducking a play hit from J.C. "The kennel lady mixed them up!"

"Great. Now what are we supposed to do, guess?" AJ asked.

"I know one person who could tell them apart," Lance said, looking at the others.

"It's pretty sad when you can't recognize your own dog," Justin whispered to Joey, loud enough for Nick to hear.

"Hey! I don't see them that often, okay? And my mom put collars on that had their names on it."

"Isn't that sweet," Justin teased, elbowing Joey in the ribs.

"His mommy loves her little baby," Joey teased also.

"Shut up!" Nick yelled. "At least I'm not from Mississippi!"

"Hey asshole, I'm from Mississippi!" Lance replied. "He's from Tennessee!"

"That's what I said," Nick blushed.

"Riiight," Justin mocked. "Raise your hand if you heard him say that."

"I'm leaving," J.C. interrupted.

"Oh, what's that? Nobody did? Imagine that!"

"Bye," Howie said.

"Shut up! At least I act like a white person!"

"I'm with them," Lance said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Bye guys," Kevin waved.

"Look at yourself!"

"See ya," AJ mumbled.

"What's wrong with the way I dress? At least I got style!"

Brian started to say something but turned and left.

"You call that style? Just like I suppose you call that whining you do singing?"

"You wanna take this outside?"

"Sure! Let's go!"

The two looked up to find everyone gone, including the dogs.

"Let's go," Justin sighed.

"Yeah."

The guys piled the dogs into the car and took off for the hospital. Nsync took one car while the Backstreet Boys followed in theirs. After much arguing by Joey and Nick, a coin toss determined that the dogs would ride to the hospital with Nsync.

"Hey guys, I think I figured it out!" Joey exclaimed from his spot in the back seat. "What?" Lance asked.

"This dog- wait, this dog…yeah, that one is Busta!"

"How do you know that?" J.C. asked skeptically.

"Because Busta's ears were slightly different sizes," Joey replied.

"What did you do, measure them?" Justin asked.

"No, I just noticed it one day. Unless I was just dreaming."

"Which you very well could have been doing," J.C. teased.

Joey rolled his eyes as they pulled into the hospital's underground parking lot. The guys parked nicely and began getting out of the car when the Backstreet Boys screeched to a halt beside them, parking crooked.

"Nice parking," Justin teased as AJ stepped out of the driver's seat.

"Shut up queer," AJ shot back.

"Guys, chill," Kevin warned as the group of guys walked to the hospital. The reporters had given up hope of getting any information out of hospital staff and returned to their blind hunt for Nsync. Everyone was grateful for the peace and quiet, and stubborn reporters had been driven away by police due to doctor's requests.

The guys crossed half of the street and reached the median, making sure all the dogs had caught up. Traffic wasn't too fast, and despite the Pug's short legs, they kept up pretty well. Once the guys had regrouped on the median, they stepped out onto the next three lanes.

Up ahead at the hospital's entrance, a nice display of trees and flowers had been set up, complete with a concrete bench and an old woman feeding doves. The doves cooed and pecked at the ground, then were startled into flight by the old woman's husband. The doves rose in a mass of flapping wings and feathers, making a great commotion.

Before any of the guys could do anything, the dogs took off into the road after the scattering doves. The Pugs formed a line as they slowly made their way through the traffic, the guys running after them. The first Pug made it to the side of the road, followed by the second, but the third never made it.

Out of nowhere, an ambulance screamed around the corner, causing cars to pull to the side of the road in a hurry. It's flashing lights bounced of windshields and the siren echoed in the tall hospital buildings, but it wasn't enough of a warning for the third dog. The ambulance tried to swerve, but the driver's first priority was to not kill any- person. The Pug's life was cut short with a yelp, then a sickening thump as the ambulance drove right over the small dog, sending the two Pugs behind it scampering back to the guys in fear. The ambulance continued on it's way to the ER, leaving confused motorists and teary-eyed singers behind.

Slowly, as if they realized what had happened, the other Pugs crept over to the still body in the road. Cars slowly began driving again, and although the guys couldn't hear the conversations, they knew people were talking about them. Nick picked the broken body up off the road and led the way to a semi-private place. Not a word was spoken, because no one could muster a comforting thought to counteract this sudden loss. The Pugs gathered silently at their feet, not making a sound and looking at the ground. Nick turned red eyes to the others, who were feeling the same things. This was so sudden. They had no warning whatsoever and nothing could be done to take it back. They weren't even postive on whose dog it was.

~o0O0o~

After tears had been dried and feeling brought under control, the guys carried the dogs into the hospital, holding them tightly. Joey had pointed out that the dead dog had slightly different size ears, put the guys tried to bury the feeling. They put on cheerful faces before entering Chris's room, greeting him happily.

"Hey guys!" Chris exclaimed. He was still pale and weak, put his sparkle had returned, feeding the fire in his soul.

"How you feeling Tricky?" Justin smiled, walking to the head of Chris's bed. "A lot better actually- what are they doing here?" he asked, nodding towards the Backstreet Boys.

"We were just kinda passing through and wound up here," Kevin said.

Howie smiled. "We just had to check on you. I know how easily you brake."

"Are you calling me a baby?" Chris replied, trying to hide his smile.

"Of course," Howie teased.

"Did they tell you when you can leave?" J.C. asked, trying to avoid the situation with the dogs. He hoped Chris didn’t hear their nails clicking on the floor.

"He said something like, as soon as possible," Chris smiled. "I get the feeling he doesn't like me."

"Who does?" AJ teased.

"Set myself up," Chris mumbled. Suddenly a ball of brown fur flew on his lap. "Busta!" he exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here- I forgot him at the kennel!"

"I picked him up for you," Joey mumbled, not wanting to tell Chris the truth.

"Thanks! I missed him so much!" Chris said, letting the Pug lick his chin.

"Um, there's something we gotta tell you," J.C. spoke up. Nick sat in a chair in the corner as J.C. proceeded, "The woman at the kennel got Busta mixed up with Nick's Pugs when she was grooming them and now we don't know which one is which. We were walking to the hospital just now and…" J.C. swallowed. "The one we think was Busta got hit by an ambulance."

Chris looked hurt for a minute, studying the faces of the others for the punch line. "You serious?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry," Kevin spoke up.

A huge smile spread over Chris's face. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed, hugging the wriggling dog in his lap.

The others looked at each other. "What kind of medicine are you taking? I don't quite think you understand," Lance said.

"I do understand! It means I'm cured! I didn't feel it!" Chris smiled.

"What-"

"I didn't see it! I didn't know that his dog was going to die! I can't see death anymore!" Chris said, kissing the dog on the head.

"Damnit Chris, it was your dog, not mine!" Nick snapped, clenching his fists in annoyance.

"No, this is Busta," Chris argued. "Look," he said, turning the dog on its back. "See that spot that looks like Mickey Mouse?" he said, pointing to a gray colored spot on the dog's stomach, close to it's manhood. "That's Busta's mark. This is Busta. I'm sorry Nick."

A guilty smile of relief spread over Nsync's faces as they recognized the marking. "It is Busta," Joey smiled, looking at J.C.

"I thought Busta had different sized ears," Lance said.

"He does," Chris said, pulling the Pug's ears straight up. Indeed, one was slightly shorter than the other. He let go of the dog with a yawn.

"Well that was a huge relief, and we're glad you feel better," J.C. said, taking the hint.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better," Nick said, getting up. "Glad you're okay," he snapped, then left.

Chris looked after him with concern. "He didn't mean it," Kevin said. "You'll be getting a 'Get Better Soon' card from him shortly, once he gets over his dog a little more."

"Tell him I'm sorry," Chris said. "I know how he must feel."

"We will. Well, We better get going," Kevin said, sighing.

"Thanks for coming to see me," Chris yawned.

"Anytime," Brian replied. "We'll catch you guys later."

The guys each shook hands as the Backstreet Boys left, leaving the others alone with Chris.

"I hope you realize what you put us through," J.C. said, glaring at Chris.

"J.C., we already went through this, remember?" Chris whined.

"Well, trying to take your life is not something I take lightly," J.C. replied.

"I'm sorry I did what I did and scared the hell out of you and I will never do it again," Chris said in one breath. "Now please go so I can rest and will be able to stand and get out of here."

"Yes master," Joey teased. The guys left quietly as Chris quickly fell asleep with Busta curled up on his chest. The guys had grown stronger through all this, and felt as a family even more now. They had proved to themselves nothing would tear them apart and their bond would last forever, thriving in each other's hearts.

End

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