In case you've just landed on the planet, or haven't read...oh...any other page on this site, this is Chris Kirkpatrick (left) from *NSYNC and Howie Dorough (right) from the Backstreet Boys. Two great tastes that taste great together. How well they knew each other before they made it big has been the subject of a lot of rumor and speculation. They went to Valencia Community College at the same time and sang in the choir. A few people told me they went to Rollins, which I found out wasn't true after I wrote a big fuck-off eight-part series that ended up being a throw-away after that. An eight-part, 30-page throw-away, because it was about them at school. But anyway.

Some people say they were roommates for a brief time, a rumor that I really, really like to think is true. I like to assume it because it makes good slash fodder. Given the Teen Beat quote below, it's probably not true. Although what I hear about the two of them changes faster than the weather. They are also close in age; Chris is 29 and Howie is 27. Chris is loud and obnoxious and Howie is quiet and shy. How can you not slash them?

Regardless of what's true and what's not, one thing is clear: they have history. And for lack of anything better to do, I love to speculate on the nature of that history. The quote below almost implies that there's some animosity there, which is even more fun. Whether they were friends, or they annoyed each other, or they just passed each other in the hallway, I dig the idea of using the time-honored method of slash to examine the possibilities. It's also interesting that one of the original BSB left to go join Chris's group, and *NSYNC eventually ended up on Howie's record label, behind the BSB's backs. It makes you wonder if someone was sharing contacts with someone who shared contacts with someone. Angst extravaganza!

Now that I've written that long-winded, lofty-sounding intro, here's the damn fiction already.

+ A Day in the Life +
A day in the life of a unique friendship and a romance that could have happened but never did. NC-17

+ A Month of Sundays +
The sequel to "A Day in the Life." NC-17

+ Love Lessons +
An eight-part series. Howie Dorough, young and eager college student, is looking for love in all the wrong places. Much like the song. NC-17
part one | part two | part three | part four
part five | part six | part seven | part eight

"With such obvious vocal gifts, Chris was granted a scholarship. It was at Valencia that Chris found himself in the same choir as Backstreet Boys' Howie Dorough, who, ironically was asking around to see if anyone was interested in joining his buddy group. But as Chris explains, their personalities were so different- "He was real quiet in choir and I was real obnoxious"- that he wasn't asked to try out. Meanwhile, a bandmate of Chris' auditioned for and won a spot in the newly formed BSB but he eventually quit to re-join another group that Chris had put together. What a small world!"

NOTE: I got the pictures above from somewhere on the Internet. I have no idea where they originated. If they're yours and you want me to take them down, e-mail me.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: The quote on the above graphic is from "Heart of Glass" by Blondie.