Fifteen
“I'm
sorry, Jayce!” Chris said for the seventieth time.
“Stop,
Chris,” Nick said gently. He rubbed JC's back.
“Please
stop doing that,” JC snapped. They were sitting in Joey and Justin's living
room. Justin had been out running errands when JC had called. By then, Joey had
heard everything on TV, and told JC to try and find his way over without being
followed. It took an hour to go about fifteen minutes away, but he finally got
there. Chris and Nick had met him there soon after.
“Sorry,”
Nick muttered, pulling his hand away. JC gave him an apologetic look, but said
nothing.
“I
just…I didn't think the whole freaking world would show up at our door,” Chris
continued. He stared at his shoes. For once in his life he was truly sorry and
truly speechless. “I…I…”
“Quit
apologizing, babe,” Nick whispered. “You're just kinda making it worse.”
“And
he just stormed out?” Joey asked, handing JC a bottle of beer.
“Pretty
much,” JC said. He stood and went to look out the back window.
The
door opened and they all jumped. “It's me,” Justin said. He dropped his bags in
the hallway and hurried into the room. “Jayce?”
“I'm here,” JC said, turning around. Justin
quickly found his way over and hugged him. JC finally let go, sobbing on
Justin's strong shoulders.
“You
can stay here as long as you want,” Justin whispered in JC's ear. They were
curled up on Joey and Justin's bed. The others had left for dinner, but JC
didn't feel like going out, for obvious reasons. He was curled into a little
ball, with Justin spooned up behind him. Justin ran his fingers through JC's
soft hair. “Really. Our casa is your casa.”
“Thanks,”
JC sniffled. “I feel like a teenage girl who was just dumped.”
“You
are a girl,” Justin said affectionately. “But you weren't dumped. He'll come
around.”
“Justin,
you're crazy. You see the good in EVERYONE,” JC said. “He's not coming back. He
ran to me to get away from all that…and instead I made it worse.”
“No,
you didn't,” Justin said cheerfully. “Chris did.”
“Stupid
Chris.”
“You
know him…his mouth runs on a totally different brain. He didn't mean anything.”
“I
know he didn't.” JC closed his eyes tight. “But God, Lance…if you could have
seen the way he looked at me.”
“I
know the way he looks at you,” Justin said softly. “I could hear it when he
talked to you that night.”
“He
sure didn't look at me like THAT,” JC said. “He looked at me like I was the
worst mistake he ever made.”
“I'm
sure it wasn't that bad,” Justin said. “Besides, JC…he's paying for my surgery.
How in the WORLD could someone who did that for one of your friends just turn
on you?”
“You
know about that?” JC turned to face Justin.
“I'm
not stupid…plus Joey kinda let it slip.” Justin smiled, but it was a trembling
smile. “I scheduled it, you know…next month.”
“I'll
be there for you all the way,” JC promised, then sighed. “If I ever leave your
apartment again.”
“You
have to,” Justin told him. “I'll need to shop, and do you think I'll trust
JOEY'S fashion sense?”
JC laughed, but his heart wasn't in it.
“Production
has finally wrapped up on the movie that has taken over our small town for the
last few months,” the newscaster said. “The crews are gone, the equipment is
gone, the celebrities are gone. Will our town ever be the same? How has this
all affected the lives of our residents? Tune in at six for a full update.”
