JC Chasez looked carefully at himself in the mirror. His crystal, blue eyes had a shine to them and he realized that there had never been a time in his life where he had been more happy. He had friends that truly cared about him, he had a family that loved him more than life itself and he had the perfect job that didn't even stress him out. As far as he was concerned, he had everything.
Sometimes it worried him. If everything was so perfect, what was there left to strive for?
He sighed and then put a smile on his face as he straightened his collar and smoothed down a lock of hair that couldn't seem to stay in its place.
He stepped down the stairs, his hand trailing down the wooden banister as he whistled a tune. When he got to the bottom, he landed gracefully on the beige carpet and ceased whistling.
Sitting there at the dining room table with a glass of orange juice, a muffin and her latest read, sat his wife. He smiled. He had never met anyone like her and he doubted that he ever would. Rebecca was amazing and he felt like the luckiest man in the world to have her in his life.
"Good morning," he said with a smile as he approached her and planted a small kiss on her cheek.
"Morning, honey. I take it you slept well?"
"Perfectly," he answered on his way to the coffee machine. He got his favorite mug out of the cupboard and poured his coffee. "So what's on the agenda for today?"
It was a Saturday, JC's favorite day of the week. It was that perfect time between the busy week and boring Sundays that he just loved. It was his time to spend with Becca. Each Saturday, they took turns deciding on what they'd do. This Saturday was Becca's turn.
"Actually, I have some things I have to pick up at the mall first and then I was thinking that we could go to a movie. But first..." She looked over at him with a huge smile on her face as she brushed a few brown curls out of her eyes. "I have something to tell you."
JC stopped stirring sugar and cream into his coffee and turned to look at her. "Good news?" he asked with wide eyes. "I hope..."
"I think it's good news."
He quickly pushed the sugar and cream away from the edge of the counter so he could join her at the table. "What is it? Everything's okay, right?"
She laughed. "Everything is fine, sweetie. Don't worry!"
"Then what is it?"
She looked at him lovingly. She just loved that look that flashed in his eyes when he became excited. Sometimes he acted like a little boy at Christmas time just waiting to open his biggest present. "Well..." she started out slowly, just to make him even more impatient.
"Tell me!" he demanded. "I can't take it anymore!"
She gave another laugh. "You know how we were talking about starting a family?" When she looked at him to get a reaction, his eyes were bigger than she'd ever seen them. "Well... looks like we are."
"You, you mean..." he stuttered. "You're pregnant?"
She nodded and he practically fell off his chair. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"I can assure you that I'm not kidding, JC. You're going to be a dad!"
He leapt out of his chair, wrapped his arms around her and kissed every inch of her face. "Just when I thought I couldn't get any happier, you go and hit me with this. Oh my God, Becca, I couldn't be any happier than what I am in this very second." He pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. "I love you."
Becca placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you, too."
JC drove their navy blue sports car down the street as they headed for the mall. They were so excited about their new addition that they couldn't resist the urge to go shopping and start buying things for the baby.
"I can't wait to tell everyone," JC told Becca. "They'll all be elated... and if they're not, my happiness is bound to radiate. People will all of a sudden become happy by just looking at me!"
"They should be," Becca agreed as she looked at her husband while they turned onto a busier street. "When I look at you, I'm happier."
He turned his head to smile at her.
For a while, there was nothing but complete darkness. Then, without warning, the black faded into a large blur of color. His hearing echoed like a strobe light until the sounds became so close together, that it almost seemed normal. He kind of remembered the crash, but it was starting to fade, and when he slowly blinked his eyes, he was sitting in the middle of the back seat. He realized the sound he had been hearing was a siren and when he gazed up into the front seat, he felt bad for the couple with blood on their faces. It looked like... like they weren't alive anymore...
He wondered why he was there. Why was he sitting in a car that had just been in a horrendous accident? How did he get there? If he was in the car, then wouldn't he have been in the accident as well? Shouldn't he be hurt?
But he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't feel his fingers, his toes... nothing.
Just when he was beginning to become worried about his condition, his eyes fell on the woman slumped over in the passenger seat. Her head was resting not so peacefully on the dashboard; a deflated airbag as her pillow. He could see a large gash on her forehead and noticed her curly, brown hair hanging over the wound.
Suddenly, he froze. It was as if his blood were running cold, only he didn't feel it.
The woman in the front seat was BECCA. HIS Becca! Panic struck him as he leaned forward to try and wake her up. "Becca? Becca? Wake up!"
But, when he went to touch her face, he couldn't feel anything. It was like his whole body could move, yet he was completely numb.
He tried to touch her again, this time playing closer attention, but again, he couldn't feel anything. He pulled his hand away from her face and looked at it carefully. Although his fingers had clearly touched her cheek, there wasn't a trace of blood on them. What was going on?
"Becca," he said again. "C'mon, sweetie, you've gotta wake up!"
The sirens were getting louder and he prayed to God that they'd arrive soon. If he lost Rebecca, he didn't know how he'd survive. A thought struck him. What if she were already... dead?
Two ambulances pulled up to a screeching halt around the car and he opened the door to get out. Once outside, he struggled to get Becca's door open but he couldn't tell how hard he was pulling. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it open. It was stuck and he felt like crying, but the tears wouldn't come.
Five paramedics ran out of the ambulances and JC called to them. "Over here!" he shouted. "Please! You've gotta help us!"
They ignored him and approached the driver's side. After ripping the door off it's hinges with their tools, they started talking to each other. JC's eyes were glued to Becca's form, but he couldn't help listen to every world they said. "Please! Help!" he cried. "Damn it, why are you ignoring me?" He stared in shock over Becca's head at the paramedics who were trying to help the driver.
"Someone grab his wallet before we get him on the stretcher."
Briefly, JC saw one of them flipping through a familiar, brown, leather wallet. The man pulled out a license and squinted at it. By now, the injured man was on a stretcher.
"He's got no pulse."
The paramedic holding the license looked at the man and then back to the plastic card. "Says here that his name is Joshua Scott Chasez."
JC stumbled backwards in shock. When he tripped and fell into the snow, it still hadn't registered. It didn't make any sense at all. If he was on the stretcher, how could he be out in the snow?
He wasn't cold even though he was sitting in a snow bank. He felt like he was crying, yet when he put his fingers to his face, there were no tears.
Was he dead? Was he a ghost or something? What about Becca?
"JC?"
He looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn't see anything suspicious.
"JC," it said again. "Stand up."
He obeyed and when he went to brush the snow off his jeans, they were perfectly clean.
"Turn around and look closely."
He turned around and gazed into the trees. It was really bright and he had to squint in order to see anything at all. "What do you want?" he asked, shielding his eyes and taking a step into the snow.
"Come here."
"Where's here? I can't leave Becca. Don't you understand? She needs me."
"I understand, believe me," the voice told him softly. "And it's my job to let you know your options. You do realize what's happened, don't you?"
"I'm not sure I understand." He glanced back at the crash scene, which now seemed fuzzy. "I'm here, but I'm there... but that can't be me because I'M me."
"You're right. Everything you just said is right. In a way, JC, that over there, is you. However, it's only your body."
"You mean... I'm dead?"
"Close your eyes," the voice told him. "I'll explain everything to you in a second."
JC hesitated, wondering what would happen if he DID close his eyes, but for some reason, a feeling of rightness hit him. When he opened his eyes, everything was white. A man with bright blonde locks sat in a white chair.
"Who are you?" JC asked.
"I'm your guide to the afterlife," the man responded. "I'm here to help you make a decision."
"You said you would explain to me what this is all about... so, I'm dead?"
The man gestured towards an identical white chair opposite from himself. "Have a seat, JC." Once JC was safely in his seat, he continued. "As of right now, yes, you're dead. There are two options for you from this point."
"I need to be with Becca," JC interrupted. "I have to. I just CAN'T leave her. Please, sir, let me go back."
A gentle expression spread over the man's face. "Let me finish, JC. And call me Mike."
JC nodded as he waited in anticipation. Throughout his life he had never thought that he would get a CHOICE after he died. He'd always thought it was either heaven or hell... and you didn't get to choose.
"You can go to heaven," Mike told him. "I've checked up on you. You can go there and wait for Becca. Chances are, if she's as good of a person as you are, she'll be there after a while. The only thing is that in heaven, time as you know it is completely different. Things go much slower. It's hard to say how long you could be waiting."
"But I don't care about that. I want to be with her NOW. I don't want her to be alone."
"Okay..." Mike flipped through the book on his lap and adjusted his reading glasses. "Your other option is to go back to earth and-"
"Yes! That's what I want to do," JC said excitedly.
"Wait. You haven't heard the risks that go along with that option. If you go back to earth, then you won't be there in the physical sense. In order to live again, you must complete an assigned task. You'll be a spirit and only the person you'll be helping will be able to see you."
"Anything. Anything."
"But that's not all. If for some reason you can't do it, then you'll be sentenced to spend the rest of eternity there. You've heard about spirits, ghosts and all that other stuff?"
JC nodded.
"Well, that'd be you. You'll have a certain time limit."
"What's the task and how long do I have?"
"You seem like a guy who wants to get straight to the point." Mike smiled. "Well, according to your outline here," he looked down at a page in the book. "If you choose this option, you'll have three months."
"Three months? To do what?"'
Mike ran his finger over the page as he read. "Oh! Here it is. Well, if you ask me, it's kind of simple."
JC's eyes widened. "Simple?"
"Yes... it says here that all you have to do is make your friend Justin happy."
JC looked at him as if he had heard him wrong. "You're kidding me. If you knew Justin, then you'd know that he's already happy."
Mike shook his head slowly. "Trust me, JC. The person who wrote this knows everyone, inside and out. He doesn't make mistakes. And JC... there are rules that you need to know."
"Like what?"
"The only person you're allowed to contact is Justin. If Becca or anyone else knows about you, then the game is over."
"That doesn't sound much like a game."
"It's not." Mike looked carefully at JC. "Are you sure you wanna do this? It's taking a really big risk."
"I have to." JC knew that he needed to go back. If not to be there for Becca, he had to help Justin. "Just one thing first."
Mike nodded.
"Can you tell me how Becca and the baby are?"
Mike gave him another smile. "They'll be just fine."
"Thank God," JC breathed a sigh of relief. "When I saw her in the car, my heart just stopped."
"Um... JC, you don't have a heart anymore."
"Still..."
Mike stood up. "Do you remember everything I've told you?"
JC nodded, standing up as well.
"Good luck, JC, and I just want to tell you that you can come back here anytime to ask for advice. Whatever you do, don't let Justin tell ANYONE about you."."
"I won't. And Mike, thanks for giving me another chance."
"Don't thank me. I'm not the one giving it to you. I'm only telling you the message."
Before JC could say another word, Mike's form faded into nothing and the white walls blurred into another room. He was in an office... JUSTIN'S office.
Justin sat behind a desk, typing something into his computer while JC just stood there staring at him. He wasn't sure how everything worked. Could Justin just SEE him or did he have to do something to get his attention? "Justin?" he tried.
Justin's head popped up and he looked JC squarely in the eyes. "JC?" he said, "What are you..." his voice trailed off and he looked at JC with a confused look. "What's WRONG with you?"
"Don't freak out. Can you see me? Can you hear me?"
Justin stood up and stepped behind his chair. "What's going on? Am I seeing things? You're all... transparent."
"So you know?"
"Know what?"
"You didn't hear? No one called you?"
"I've never been so confused in my life. What are you talking about?"
"Justin... I'm dead."
For a second, Justin believed him. "No, you're not. I just saw you yesterday." He looked up at the ceiling some sort of a projector. "Is this a trick? You're an illusion..." He walked around his desk to try and touch the image.
"If you're looking for physical evidence, you won't find any here," JC said as Justin's hand went right through him. He moved away. "Justin, I need to talk to you."
Justin leaned back against the desk to steady himself. "This is a prank. A really GOOD prank, but it's CRUEL, JC... and not at ALL funny. So, stop pretending your some sort of ghost and come out from your hiding place." With that, he began searching the room. He looked under his desk, behind the curtains, everywhere... but couldn't find anything. "Where are the cameras?" he asked, looking into his book shelves. "Where's the speaker?"
JC sighed. "You won't find anything. I'm telling you the truth."
He wanted to find something so badly... but when he finally turned around, there were tears streaming down his face. "If this is some sick joke, JC, so help me God..."
"It's not, I swear... but before I explain everything to you, there's something I need you to do for me."
By now, Justin felt like his knees would collapse. "What?" he said, staring over at JC's image.
"You have to go the hospital. You have to be there for Becca because... well, I can't."
Chapter 2
Almost A Memory Now
JC {Fiction}
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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