The blue, sunny sky and white, fluffy clouds signaled another beautiful fall day in Orlando, and the five members of NSYNC were taking advantage of it. Lance had brought his laptop outside with him instead of sitting in the house. His attention was diverted from his computer when splashing and yelling could be heard. For a moment Lance’s heart stopped until he saw the smiles on Justin, Chris, and Joey’s faces and heard the boisterous laughter that followed.

 

“Watch it, Chris!” Justin yelled, holding his left arm in the air, so the cast wouldn’t get wet, and tried to scowl at his older friend. He wasn’t very successful, but it didn’t matter anyway because Justin lunged at Joey, missing but managing to splash him in the face.

 

“Hey!” Joey spluttered.

 

Lance shook his head at their antics. Though, he had to admit that it was nice to see everyone in a good mood, especially Justin. Things hadn’t gone their way last week with everything that’d happened, and Lance knew that it’d been especially hard for Justin since he’d been having visions of things happening before they actually did. But over the past couple of days Justin hadn’t had another vision, which probably attributed to the good mood he was in.

 

Lance’s eyes traveled downwards towards what he’d been working on when they stopped halfway and fell on JC who was sleeping on a lounge chair next to the pool. It was nice to see JC hanging out with them more. Things had been kind of awkward whenever he came out of his room because no doubt JC was still feeling guilty and kind of uncomfortable after what he’d shared. But Lance was pleased to see that JC was spending more time with them even if he was sleeping. The past couple of days were filled with JC sleeping and recovering from making himself sick, so it didn’t really surprise Lance that JC was taking a nap out in the sunshine.

 

Returning to his laptop, he continued to go through numerous search pages. While JC had been recovering, Lance had been dedicating his time to finding a way to stop the demons from coming after them. He’d started with a search engine on the Internet, figuring that would be the best place to start, but he was starting to rethink that decision. There were way too many hits, and it didn’t help that he had no idea what he was looking for exactly. Lance let out a frustrated sigh as he left a website with a black background and red text and return to the search results page.

 

“Problems?”

 

Lance looked up to see Joey standing next to him dripping wet with a towel around his neck. Immediately he pulled his computer closer to his body and said, “Take a step back.”

 

“Why?” Joey asked.

 

“Because you’ll get my computer wet,” Lance said.

 

Joey rolled his eyes, but took a step back. “How’s it coming?”

 

“Horrible.” Lance shook his head. He saw the doubtful look Joey was giving him and added, “Yes, it’s that bad. You wouldn’t believe what kind of sites I’ve visited. It’s kind of disturbing.”

 

“What?”

 

“There are some sites where people claim to have met all these different demons and that they helped them create their site,” Lance explained, gesturing to the website that he had up.

 

Joey laughed. “Obviously they’re nuts.”

 

“Probably, but who’s to say for sure? I mean, we have demons after us.” Lance paused. “But I’m not having any luck. Every time I think I’ve found something that will be useful, it’s actually about summoning them or using protective spells. It’s hard to figure out what’ll actually work and what won’t.”

 

“You’ll figure it out,” Joey assured.

 

“Yeah, maybe.” Lance tore his eyes away from the screen to look at him. “But what if I don’t? We have no idea how much time we have before they come to kill JC.”

 

Joey nodded. “We’ll just have to keep looking. Sooner or later we’ll find something.”

 

Lance sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”

 

“Hey, JC,” Justin called. Joey and Lance turned to see that JC was no longer in the lounge chair, but had just settled himself on the edge of the pool, letting his legs rest in the water.

 

“Have a good nap?” Chris asked.

 

JC yawned and nodded. “The sun’s warm.”

 

Joey turned back to Lance as Justin and Chris started splashing each other again with JC hanging out on the side of the pool. “He’s doing better.”

 

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. “He’s come a long way the past couple days.”

 

“It’s good to see him up and about instead of sleeping all day,” Joey said. “But he’s still not eating as much as he should be.”

 

“You have to give it time, Joe. He’s going from not eating anything to eating a couple meals a day. Right now it doesn’t matter that he’s still eating light, just as long he’s doing it.”

 

When JC had first started to eat after he’d woken up, Lance had been disappointed at how little he’d actually had. But it didn’t take him long to realize that after not eating for two days JC’s stomach must’ve shrunk and couldn’t handle digesting as much food as it used to. That was when Lance decided that he wouldn’t say anything to JC about it as long as he was eating because while he wanted JC to be one hundred percent better, he didn’t want him to push himself and make it worse.

 

Joey nodded. “You’re right.”

 

Lance watched as Joey took the towel from his neck and rubbed it over his legs. “You going in?”

 

“Yeah, I’m done for today.” Joey paused. “I think I’m going to call Kelly.”

 

Lance wasn’t surprised at hearing this. He knew that Joey would call eventually, just wondered when it would happen. “What are you going to say?”

 

Joey shrugged, throwing the towel over his left shoulder. “I’m not sure.”

 

“You’re not going to tell her the truth?” Lance asked.

 

“No. I’ll just…I want to check in, see how they’re doing, and let her know that I’m staying,” Joey said.

 

“Well, good luck,” Lance said.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Joey walked into the house and gently closed the sliding glass door behind him. He quickly deposited the wet towel into the laundry room right off the kitchen before he made his ascent up the stairs. Briefly he stopped in his room to grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to change into. With his clean clothes in hand, he entered the bathroom where he immediately stripped and jumped into the shower.

 

As Joey scrubbed his body clean from the chlorine smell, his thoughts raced with what he would say to Kelly. It was ridiculous that he was nervous about calling his wife, but he hadn’t talked to her in almost two weeks and knew that she must be pissed. He should’ve called her sooner, but with everything that’d happened last week there hadn’t been any time. But now that things had settled down it was the right opportunity to call. And while part of him was weary about what Kelly would say, the other part of him was excited to hear her voice and find out what’d been going on since he’d been gone.

 

Joey finished up in the shower and changed. Looking into the mirror quickly he ran a hand through his wet hair and left the bathroom, turning the light off on the way. He walked a couple rooms down the hall and into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him for privacy. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted the guys to hear, especially when he wasn’t sure how it would go.

 

Grabbing his cell phone off the dresser, he hit speed dial one and listened to the ringing. He could almost imagine what Kelly was doing at that moment. It was early afternoon, which meant that Brianna was still in preschool and Kelly was probably taking advantage of that by cleaning the house. Joey smiled as he pictured her dancing about the house to the radio as she washed the dishes or dusted. But he was pulled out of his thoughts by a click and a soft, “Hello?”

 

“Hi, Honey,” Joey said.

 

“Hi, Joey.”

 

“How are you?” Joey asked.

 

“I’m fine,” Kelly said.

 

“That’s good.” Joey paused briefly. “And Brianna?”

 

“She’s good.” There was a heavy sigh. “What do you want, Joey?”

 

Joey frowned. “I wanted to see how you were. I miss you.”

 

“It’s been two weeks. Two weeks that I haven’t seen or heard from you.” She paused. “If you really missed me, you wouldn’t have waited so long to call.”

 

“I’m sorry. Things have been crazy here, but I really do miss you,” Joey said.

 

“Then come home,” Kelly said, softly.

 

Joey shook his head even though he knew she couldn’t see him. “I can’t.”

 

“Why not?” she asked. Joey could hear the disappointment and frustration in her voice.

 

“Because I’m still needed here,” Joey said.

 

“You’re needed here,” Kelly corrected. “Brianna misses her daddy.”

 

“And I miss her, but this is something I have to do.”

 

Kelly sighed. “You’re still with the guys?”

 

“Yeah, and I can’t leave them now. We’re in the middle of something.”

 

“What?” Kelly asked. “What’s so important that you’re there instead of spending time at home with us?”

 

“I wish I could tell you. Believe me I do, but I can’t,” Joey said. He wished he could tell her the truth about the demons and everything, but he knew that she wouldn’t understand. Not right now anyway when she was upset with him for leaving.

 

“How come?”

 

“Some things have been going on here, and I don’t know if they want anyone to know,” Joey answered half truthfully. It was probable that they were going to keep this whole thing with demons being after them to themselves, but there were the other issues like JC relapsing and Justin’s visions that Joey didn’t know if they wanted anyone to know about.

 

“Is everyone OK?” Kelly asked. Joey half smiled. No matter how mad she was, she didn’t let it affect her concern for the people she cared about. It was one of the reasons he’d married her.

 

“Everyone’s fine, but I need to stay here for a while to make sure it stays that way.”

 

Joey could almost see her frown through the phone. “So are you ever coming home?”

 

“Of course I am,” Joey replied immediately.

 

“When?”

 

Joey sighed. “I told you as soon as everything’s settled.”

 

It hurt having Kelly not trusting him and his intentions. Joey wished he could go home and spend time with her and his daughter. But he knew that he couldn’t do that until this thing with the demons was resolved. And there was no way he could go home for a few days and then leave again because he would be right back to where he was with Kelly being mad at him for taking off. He was convinced that it was in their best interests if he stayed away until this was taken care of.

 

“I still don’t understand why the guys can’t take care of it,” Kelly said, repeating what she’d said to Joey when they had this conversation the first time that Joey left.

 

“They’re my friends, Kelly…”

 

“And we’re your family,” Kelly shot back. “Doesn’t that count for something?”

 

“Of course,” Joey said.

 

“Then come home.”

 

“Kelly…” Joey sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. He hated arguing with her. “I can’t.”

 

“Then I don’t want to talk to you. Not unless you’re calling me to tell me you’re coming home,” Kelly said, firmly.

 

“Kelly, I love you,” Joey started, but was interrupted by Kelly.

 

“And I love you, but I’m not going to sit here waiting for you to come home and have you calling whenever you feel like it.”

 

“Kelly…” Joey tried again.

 

“Good bye, Joey.”

 

Joey sighed, his heart heavy as he heard a click in his ear. He honestly hadn’t expected anything different, not really. But that didn’t stop it from hurting. All he could do now was help Lance find a way to get rid of the demons. The sooner that was done, the sooner he could go back to his family and fix things with Kelly.

 

 

  

“What’s first?” Lance asked.

 

Justin looked down at the box in his hand and read, “Brown the meat.”

 

Chris watched from his seat at the table as Lance nodded and took a large skillet out of one of his cabinets. The ground beef was placed in the skillet and the heat was turned up. They’d all decided they would try to cook a dinner together like they used to when they couldn’t afford to eat out every night. It’d been such a long time since they’d had home cooked food that they were all in the mood for it, but they didn’t want to go all out so they bought Hamburger Helper. They figured it would be an easy dinner to start out with.

 

“You should add some seasonings,” Joey suggested, leaning against the counter.

 

Lance looked away from the meat he was stirring to Joey. “Why?”

 

“To give it flavor,” Joey said.

 

“I thought it was already supposed to have flavor,” Chris replied. “That’s why it comes with everything pre-made.”

 

“Yeah, but it never hurts to have a little more.” Joey grabbed some spices off Lance’s spice rack and sprinkled them over the meat.

 

Once the meat was brown and no pink was visible, Lance dumped the grease out before he turned to Justin for the rest of the directions. “Uh…” Justin looked down at the box again. “Throw all the ingredients in and bring it to a boil before letting it simmer.”

 

Lance nodded and began to follow Justin’s instructions. He looked up as he was pouring the milk into the skillet and said, “Someone can set the table while I’m doing this.”

 

“I will,” JC volunteered, rising from where he was seated across Chris to grab plates and glasses. Joey went over to the silverware drawer to help.

 

Chris was glad to see that JC wasn’t holing himself up in his room. That afternoon had been nice and he was glad that JC hadn’t missed out on it. Even though he did sleep most of the time, Chris had been pleasantly surprised when JC woke up and sat by the pool while he and Justin goofed off. Sure he didn’t join them, but at least he made the initiative to sit and watch them without being asked. That was a definite improvement from the last few days.

 

“I talked to Johnny today,” Lance said, taking up Joey’s position leaning on the counter as he waited for the food to finish cooking.

 

“What’d he have to say?” Chris asked.

 

“He told us that we have two more months off.”

 

JC looked up. “Really?”

 

“Yeah, it’s not like we have anything to do. The tour’s done so there’s nothing scheduled,” Lance said.

 

“If there’s nothing scheduled, then why don’t we have more months off?” Justin asked.

 

“We have that meeting.” Joey looked up at Lance from where he was placing the forks next to the plates as he and JC moved around the table. “Right?”

 

“What meeting?” Chris questioned as Lance nodded his head. He couldn’t remember any mention of a meeting, but that wasn’t saying much. Normally he never knew when their meetings were. The only reason he never showed up late was because Lance would always remind him.

 

“The one where we sit down with Johnny and decide what we want to do next,” Lance said, turning the burner off and spooning the food into a big bowl. Joey and JC took their seats having finished setting the table.

 

“What do we want to do?” Chris asked. It was weird to think about something so far off in the future when they weren’t even sure if they would be able to get rid of the demons. There was a possibility that that they would have to go into hiding or something from the demons. Chris shook his head to get rid of the ridiculous thought. They would find a way to keep that from happening.

 

“I want to get back into the studio.” Justin glance at JC and added, “JC and I had been working on some new songs while on tour.”

 

“I didn’t know that,” Lance said, looking at JC as he placed the bowl Hamburger Helper in the center of the table. Joey started to dish some onto his plate first.

 

JC shrugged, scooping a smaller amount than what Joey got onto his plate. “You know me. Always writing.”

 

“Well, recording sounds good to me,” Joey agreed around a mouthful of food. “I’m tired of touring.”

 

Chris wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Manners, Joey.”

 

“So we agree about going back in the studio?” Lance asked.

 

“I thought we didn’t have to decide right now,” Chris said.

 

“Well, that’s true.” Lance gave Chris a curious look. “Don’t you want to go into the studio?”

 

“It doesn’t matter to me. I have no problems sticking around Orlando,” Chris replied, after taking a bite. His plate was almost empty already and he scooped some more onto his plate. Before he dropped the spoon back into the bowl he asked JC, “You want some more?”

 

JC shook his head. “I’m good.”

 

“What about you, JC?” Lance asked, focusing his attention from Chris to him.

 

“What about me?”

 

“Do you want to go back into the studio?” Justin asked, repeating Lance.

 

“If I’m still alive then sure,” JC muttered.

 

Chris and the others looked at him in surprise. They hadn’t expected him to say that. “JC!”

 

“What? It’s true. In case you’ve forgotten, I have demons trying to kill me,” JC said.

 

“Yeah, but we’re going to stop them. Nothing’s going to happen, and you better stop thinking like that,” Chris threatened. “We’re going to figure this out. Together.”

 

JC sighed, but didn’t argue. Chris was furious that JC had said what he did. He knew from their talk after JC’s relapse that he was feeling guilty about everything that’d happened, but he had no reason to be. They’d even told him so. But he must not have been listening then or when they said they were going to figure this out. This just made Chris all that more determined to get to the bottom of this and prove JC wrong.

Lance wiped down the kitchen table. It needed it after the dinner they just had. Chris and Joey had volunteered to do the dishes since he’d made dinner, and that he should relax. The sentiment was appreciated, but Lance liked to keep busy.

“J, can you get me the dishwasher soap?� Joey asked, taking the plate that Chris had rinsed off and putting it into the dishwasher.

“Sure.� Justin had been leaning against JC, who was sitting on the counter. He pushed himself off JC and walked over by the sink. Opening a cabinet, he sighed when he didn’t find it.

“It’s in the lower cabinet,� Lance told him, not wanting Justin to tear his kitchen apart looking for soap.

Justin nodded and bent down. He opened the cabinet and grabbed the bottle before closing it again. Standing quickly, the back of his head connected with the still open cabinet door above him with a loud thump.

“Ow!� Chris cried, the spoon falling out of his hand and clanging to the floor.

Lance had seen the whole thing happen out of the corner of his eye. He’d winced in sympathy for Justin, but was surprised when Chris cried out in pain. Justin closed the door with a laugh and didn’t look to be in any pain at all, which wasn’t right. Lance had done that before and knew how much it hurt.

“Chris, does your arm hurt?� Lance asked, remembering earlier in the week when Justin had broken his arm and Chris had complained of being in pain while Justin insisted it didn’t hurt. That situation was too similar to what had just happened.

“Why are you asking about my arm? My head freaking hurts,� Chris scowled, rubbing the back of his head.

Lance crossed his arms. “Just answer the question.�

“Yeah.� Chris shrugged. “It had gotten better, but I noticed it again this morning.�

“Did you take your pain killers today?� Lance asked, turning to face Justin.

Justin shook his head. “No. I figured I wouldn’t have to anymore.�

Lance nodded. He’d had a hunch that would be Justin’s answer when Chris said his arm hurt. It seemed like in some bizarre way Chris was feeling Justin’s pain. But he wanted to test his theory before he said anything to the others, so he walked over to Justin and poked him in the arm. Chris cried out in pain like he had expected.

“I think Chris can feel Justin’s pain,� Lance said.

“Really?� Smiling, Justin went to pinch his left arm, but settled for his bicep when he saw the white cast covering the majority of his left arm.

Chris glared at him. “Quit it.�

“I wonder if it works both ways,� Joey mused and reached out to slap Chris on the back of the head.

“Ow! That’s where I hit my head!� Chris complained.

“You didn’t hit your head. I did,� Justin corrected, laughing at the look on Chris’ face. Lance smiled in amusement.

Joey smacked Chris in the head again. “Yeah.�

Chris turned on Joey who was laughing and whacked him upside the head. “How does it feel?�

Justin smiled at Chris retaliating by hitting Joey back, but he noticed movement out of the corner of eye. He watched as JC silently slid off the counter and a flicker of emotion that he couldn’t place pass over JC’s face as he walked out of the room. There was no doubt in Justin’s mind where JC was going. Whenever there was something bothering JC he liked to seclude himself in his room. But Justin wasn’t going to let that happen. Without a word to the others he left the kitchen as silently as JC had.

“JC,� Justin called from the bottom of the stairs, stopping JC’s ascent halfway.

JC let out an annoyed sigh and turned around. “What, Justin?�

“Where are you going?� Justin asked.

“I need to be alone,� JC said.

“No.�

JC raised an eyebrow. “No?�

“No. You’re not going to lock yourself in your room.� Justin watched the same emotion flicker across JC’s face as it had in the kitchen, and he realized that it was anger. It wasn’t often JC got angry, but even when he did it was rare that he actually showed it. With this in mind Justin added, “I know you don’t think so, but you shouldn’t be alone right now.�

“I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions,� JC said defensively and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Your decisions aren’t always the best for you,� Justin replied, thinking back to JC’s collapse on stage and then, just recently, finding him asleep on the bathroom floor. JC hadn’t been doing a good job of taking care of himself and while he’d gotten better since then, Justin didn’t want it to happen again.

Justin watched as JC fought his emotions and struggled for something to say. After a minute JC turned his back on Justin and continued climbing the stairs. Quickly Justin climbed a few from the bottom. There was no way he was letting JC leave, and he was angry that JC thought he would let him. Justin put a hand on JC’s shoulder to make him face him and said, “Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you!�

“What’s your problem?� JC asked, glaring fiercely at Justin. It unnerved him because he wasn’t usually on the receiving end of JC’s anger. But he didn’t back down.

“You,� Justin snapped, his anger getting the better of him because he didn’t really mean it. Quickly he added more gently, “You always think you have to deal with everything on your own, but you don’t. You can talk to us. To me.�

“I don’t want to talk!� JC spat. “I want to sit in my room and process things by myself.�

Justin took a deep breath. He had to calm because both of them couldn’t be yelling or else they would get nowhere. “What’s there to process?�

JC shot him an incredulous look. “You know what!�

“Let’s go back downstairs and talk about it together. We haven’t had time to process it either,� Justin suggested.

“Of course you haven’t! You think it’s a damn joke!� JC took a step closer and this time Justin took a step back.

“No, we don’t,� Justin objected.

“Yes, you do. You guys were hitting Chris, purposely causing him pain and laughing about it! You should’ve been concerned with what’s happening.�

“We are--� Justin started, but was cut off by JC.

“Chris won’t only be feeling his own pain, but yours too. Every time you get hurt your pain will be passed on to him. Tell me, is it funny now?�

Justin was shocked and didn’t say anything, just stared at JC with wide eyes full of hurt. JC sighed heavily and looked down as he mumbled, “Just leave me alone.�

JC climbed the last few steps and disappeared around the corner. The echo of the door shutting filtered down the stairs and into the silent hallway where Chris was standing with Joey and Lance. They had heard the yelling and came out to find JC and Justin on the stairs fighting. It had been surprising to see them go at it like that because they hardly ever fought, and when they did it never escalated like that.

Lance walked over to Justin and gently put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. Justin jerked out of Lance’s grasp and walked past Chris and Joey towards the kitchen. They followed him and stopped when Justin suddenly turned around, his eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over.

“He’s right.� Justin gazed at Chris and whispered, “I’m so sorry.�

“It’s all right, J,� Chris soothed, pulling Justin into a hug. He felt Justin’s arms wrap around him.

Justin shook his head. “It’s all my fault.�

Chris pulled Justin back and held him at arm’s length so he could see his face. “None of this is your fault.�

“But if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t be in pain,� Justin objected, sadly. As Chris steered Justin over to the couch to sit down, he couldn’t help but curse JC for saying those awful things and making him feel responsible. He wanted to give JC a piece of his mind, but for now he had to take care of his littlest brother.

“Listen to me,� Chris commanded softly and waited until Justin looked up at him. “I would do anything for you, this included. And I would much rather it be me in pain than you. I’m glad to take away your pain.�

“But I don’t want you to,� Justin said quietly.

“Yeah, well, that’s what comes with being a big brother,� Chris told him, smiling slightly. “Even when his little brother is as annoying as you.�

Justin choked on a laugh before he sobered. “I’m sorry,� he repeated.

“Stop apologizing. You had no way of knowing, so there’s no way I blame you,� Chris said.

“You should,� Justin muttered, looking down at the couch.

“Well, I don’t.�

“JC said—�

“Screw what JC said,� Chris interrupted. “He’s being an ass right now, and I’m sure he regrets what he said to you.�

Justin sighed. “Yeah, maybe.�

Chris hated that Justin was upset. It was even worse that JC had been the one to cause it too because he was always the one that looked out for Justin all the time. There wasn’t anything else that Chris could say to make Justin feel better, and the only person that could was currently hiding in his bedroom.



JC steadily paced the length of his room alongside his bed. There was so much to deal with. The biggest thing was Chris feeling Justin’s pain. He hadn’t really been too surprised when Lance had said it aloud because he’d had his suspicions ever since Justin broke his arm and Chris was complaining about his arm hurting. But there hadn’t been anything else that would suggest that it was actually true. Until now that is.

This was horrible news in JC’s eyes. It was one more thing that they had to deal with and he was convinced that it was his fault because he just knew the demons had to be behind this. The demons were after him so that made it his fault. JC was even more convinced that when it came time to face them that he would have to leave the guys behind, especially now that Chris was feeling Justin’s pain because if something happened to Justin, he would be hurt physically but Chris would be receiving the pain. Who knows what would happen if Justin died. Would Chris die too? JC didn’t know and he didn’t plan on finding out because there was no way he was going to let anything bad happen to Justin.

Sighing, he raked a hand through his long hair as his thoughts led him to Justin. He knew that he’d said the wrong things to Justin from the hurt look that he’d seen on his face. His anger just got the better of him. But a small part of him said that Justin deserved it because he wouldn’t leave him alone. JC had known that he needed to get control of his anger. That’s why he’d left the kitchen because he knew that if stayed any longer listening to them laugh and continue to hit Chris that he’d start yelling at them. Regardless of that, JC knew that he was going to have to apologize to Justin.

JC’s attention was caught by his door opening. He turned to see Lance striding purposefully into the room with a dark, tense look on his face. That was a sure sign that Lance was pissed. Not that JC expected anything less because he was sure arguing with Justin had drawn their attention to them.

“Enjoying your alone time?� Lance asked, crossing his arms.

“Don’t, Lance.�

Lance glared at him. “Don’t what? You wanted to be alone so bad that you yelled at one of your best friends and pretty much told him he was to blame.�

“I know and I’m sorry,� JC said.

“Tell that to Justin, not me. He’s really upset,� Lance replied.

JC sighed, frustrated. “Don’t you think I feel bad enough without you harping on me? I know what I said was wrong and I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings.�

“Then why did you?� Lance asked.

“He wouldn’t leave me alone,� JC snapped.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You hurt his feelings because he cared about you?�

“That’s not what I meant,� JC said, glaring at Lance. He hated that Lance was trying to twist it so it sounded like he didn’t care about upsetting Justin because he did.

“That’s what it sounded like.�

“You know I would never intentionally hurt him,� JC said.

“But you did,� Lance replied.

JC hung his head, regretting starting that argument with Justin. He could’ve easy ignored him and just continued upstairs to his room instead of lashing out on Justin. The argument certainly wasn’t worth it, and he felt horrible. When JC had first met Justin and taken him under his wing, he’d vowed that he would protect him and never let anything hurt him. But he had, not physically, but emotionally, and it was by his own hand.

Lance sighed and leaned back against JC’s dresser. “What’s wrong with you, JC?�

“Nothing,� JC defended.

Lance gave him a knowing look. “Ripping up your notebook, yelling at Chris, yelling at Justin…Your temper is so easy to set off lately and it isn’t you.�

“I know. It’s just…� JC paused, lowering himself to sit on his bed. “I can’t seem to control it.�

“Well, you’re going to have to because you can’t keep taking your anger out on us,� Lance said.

JC nodded. “You’re right. It’s just hard with everything that’s happened lately.�

“I know you’re frustrated—�

“That’s not it.� JC saw Lance’s look of disbelief and amended, “Well, it is, but…This is my fault more than anything.�

Lance frowned. “Why would you say that?�

“Because!� JC jumped up and ran a hand haphazardly through his hair, making it stick up in odd places. “I’m the reason behind everything that’s happened. You getting the demon in your head, Joey getting attacked, and now Chris feeling Justin’s pain. The demons are behind it.�

“We don’t know that this stuff with Chris and Justin is the work of the demons,� Lance objected.

“They have to be. Why else would this be happening?� JC asked. “The only purpose it serves is to hurt them both. Chris’ll be feeling twice the pain, and Justin will feel guilty about it.�

“See this is why Justin didn’t want you to be by yourself. Because every time you are you get yourself all worked up,� Lance said.

“That’s not true,� JC denied.

“Oh yeah?� Lance challenged. “You collapsed on stage and you made yourself sick.�

“You don’t have to remind me,� JC grumbled.

“Yeah, JC, I do. You let your thoughts consume you and neglect to take care of yourself.�

“That’s not going to happen again,� JC said quickly.

Lance nodded. “You’re right. It’s not because I won’t let it.�

JC glared at him. “I don’t need to be babysat.�

“I know you don’t like it, but I refuse to go through that again, especially now that we’re trying to figure out a solution,� Lance said.

“I want you to trust me,� JC replied.

“Then give me a reason to.�

“I would if you gave me a chance,� JC said.

“OK.� Lance stood up. “I’m going downstairs and I want you to come down when you’re ready to apologize to Justin.�

JC nodded in agreement and watched Lance walk out of the room. He couldn’t believe Lance had said half of things that he had, but JC could understand where he was coming from. Neglecting his body to the point of exhaustion probably scared them, but that didn’t mean they could treat him like a child. Determined to prove that Lance could trust him, JC took a deep breath to prepare himself because he knew that if Lance was pissed then Chris would be ten times worse. Not to mention Justin might not even want to talk to him. But no matter what JC knew this was something he had to do.

Justin sat hunched over on the couch with his right hand propping up his head. Chris was still sitting next to him with a comforting hand on his back and was whispering more reassurances. But Justin wasn’t listening to him though he was glad to have him there. The things that Chris had said made him feel a little better, but he still felt guilty. Even though what JC had said was hurtful, he knew there was some truth to it. His first concern should’ve been about Chris and why this was happening.

 

It was just hard to believe that something else had happened again because the last few days had been so similar to how things used to be before all this demon stuff that it looked like everything was getting back to normal. That was probably why they’d acted like they had in the kitchen. They’d fallen back into their old ways, and it was almost like they’d forgotten that there were demons after them, trying to kill JC. He’d even been free of visions for the past couple of days, so it really sucked that something serious like this had to happen and send reality crashing back down on them.

 

Out of the corner of his eye Justin saw Lance shift to lean against the chair that Joey was currently occupying. Lance had his arms crossed and a frown on his face, which made it obvious that he wasn’t happy. Justin suspected that he had come from talking with JC since he hadn’t come into the living room until a few minutes ago and Joey had already joined him and Chris while they were talking. It wasn’t often that Lance was pissed, but, then again, it wasn’t often that JC got so mad that he fought with one of them. That really worried Justin because this whole ordeal with the demons was changing JC and not for the better.

 

There was a part of him that said JC was probably even angrier now because Lance most likely went upstairs to yell at him. And if he did come downstairs he probably would be on the receiving end of glares from not only Lance but Chris and Joey too. Chris was pissed at JC; there was no denying that. Even Joey had a frown on his face as he sat in the armchair clearly wanting to help, but he probably didn’t know how so he was leaving it to Chris. Justin wished that he could rewind the past few hours and do things differently because he hated fighting with JC.

 

A throat cleared and Justin looked up to see JC hesitantly standing in the doorway. “Can I talk to Justin?” There was a slight pause before JC added, “Alone.”

 

“Who says he wants to talk to you?” Chris retorted, glaring at JC.

 

“Chris,” Justin said softly. He appreciated what Chris was doing, but he wanted to talk to JC.

 

Chris silently acquiesced as he stood up, but continued to glare at JC as he left the room. Joey and Lance briefly hesitated before following him leaving the two of them alone. JC lingered in the doorway for a moment longer before moving forward and taking a seat in the chair Joey had just vacated. Justin waited for JC to speak because he knew that JC must have wanted to talk to him for a reason.

 

“Justin I…” JC let out a breath. “I’m sorry. I should’ve never said those things to you. You may not believe it, but I didn’t mean to hurt you—”

 

“I do believe it,” Justin interrupted. It was true. He did believe it because JC had never been one to really upset him and it was easy to see that JC was appalled by what he had done. If he had intended to hurt him, then he wouldn’t be feeling horribly for doing so.

 

“You do?” JC looked surprised as if he was expecting a different answer. Justin reasoned that JC had suspected him to be angry and unforgiving.

 

Justin gave him a small smile. “Yeah, JC.”

 

“I really am sorry, J. I just…” JC paused. “I need my privacy sometimes, you know?”

 

“I respect that, but there’s a line between privacy and locking yourself away,” Justin said.

 

“I don’t lock myself away,” JC protested.

 

“Yes you do,” Justin insisted. “And it always leads to you getting sick.”

 

“I’m tired of this conversation,” JC complained. “All you guys do is remind me of my screw ups.”

 

“Well, we need to because you can’t seem to get it through your thick head that you can’t keep neglecting yourself,” Justin said.

 

JC shook his head and said, “I’m trying.”

 

“Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it,” Justin replied, thinking about how JC kept everything bottled up instead of talking to them which led to his collapse on stage and making himself sick.

 

“But I am.” JC leaned forward. “I’m getting more sleep.”

 

Justin nodded. That was true. JC had pretty much fully recovered from what’d happened earlier that week and was now almost getting back onto a normal sleeping schedule. It was starting to become less rare to see him up and about with them in the afternoon. “Yeah, you are.”

 

“And I’m eating again,” JC added.

 

“I know you are and I’m not saying that you’re not doing good because you are. It’s just…I don’t want you to let yourself go again.”

 

“I won’t,” JC promised.

 

“We won’t know for sure until you prove it to us,” Justin said.

 

“I know, and I’m working on it.” JC sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s just a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

 

Justin scooted down to the opposite end of the couch and placed his left hand on JC’s arm. His cast made it a little awkward, but it would still have the desired effect. “That’s what we’re here for. You don’t have to keep everything to yourself.”

 

Justin stopped and looked down, wondering if he’d said too much. He didn’t want to get on JC’s case and get him mad again, but he needed to know that he could share his problems with them. It was important to make sure that JC knew that and hopefully he would take advantage of it instead of constantly locking himself in his room.

 

“You’re right,” JC said softly, causing Justin to look up at him. “I’m going to try to do better.”

 

Justin gave him another smile. “That’s all I ask.”

 

They sat in silence for a minute. Justin didn’t know what else to say and was sure JC didn’t either. Everything was pretty much back to normal after their talk, but the air was still a little awkward. It must have been because they weren’t quite sure what to do. Quickly Justin came up with a plan to try to get JC to stick around with him.

 

“I was getting ready to watch a movie. You want to join me?” Justin asked, silently hoping that JC would say yes, especially after the talk they just had.

 

“Sure,” JC smiled at him, and Justin could practically feel the tension disappear. Silently he stood up and crouched down in front of Lance’s movie collection feeling victorious. Maybe things would be easier now that JC was going to try harder at taking care of himself. Their fight seemed to have done some good after all because JC probably wouldn’t have talked to him otherwise. As Justin popped in Silence of the Lambs, he couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face.

 

 

  

The next afternoon Justin gently pushed open the door and slipped in as soon as there was enough for him to squeeze through, so he wouldn’t disturb Chris from the light streaming into his room. The shades were closed making the room dark and cool. It had been like this since an hour ago when Chris claimed to have a bad headache and went to lie down to try to get rid of it.

 

“Chris?” Justin said his name softly in case he happened to be asleep.

 

“What?” Chris said equally as soft, probably so he wouldn’t agitate his headache further.

 

“How are you feeling?” Justin asked, coming closer to his bed.

 

Chris groaned and opened his eyes, blearily looking at him. “Like crap.”

 

“Is there anything I can do? Get you aspirin or anything?”

 

Chris started to shake his head no, but abruptly stopped with a grimace on his face and said, “No. I’m going to try to sleep a little longer before I take some more.”

 

“All right. Get some rest.”

 

Chris didn’t answer and just closed his eyes. Justin was sure that he would’ve nodded, but even moving his head seemed to cause him more pain. As quietly as possible Justin slipped out of his room and pulled the door shut behind him. It was odd that Chris had a headache, especially one that was this bad because he hardly ever got headaches. That made Justin believe that Chris must be having his headaches because he often had headaches like that. Of course he didn’t know for sure, but he had a feeling that he was right and he hated that because Chris shouldn’t be taking his pain away.

 

As Justin started to descend the stairs, he wished that they had never gotten into all of this because if they hadn’t then Chris probably wouldn’t be able to feel his pain. But regardless of how much he wished for things to be better, the truth was that they had somehow been dragged into this mess. Now, this new development was just one more thing to add to the list of weird things that had happened ever since this first started. The sooner they figured out a solution to this the better.

 

Justin suddenly began to feel lightheaded and his vision started to darken around the edges. He shook his head trying to shake off the effects, but it seemed to make it worse because everything turned dark.

 

 

  

Lance pushed himself away from his desk as he rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. It was almost quarter after two, and he’d been at this since noon so he figured now would be a good time for a break. Not to mention that if he were to continue looking at websites about all these demon lovers, he was going to destroy his computer. The frustration just seemed to continue to mount the more he tried to find an answer, but he was determined to find one because there was no way the demons were getting JC.

 

His break wouldn’t be long, just long enough for him to rest his eyes and clear his head. Lance walked out into the hallway and saw Justin walking down the stairs only to pause a few steps from the top. Initially he thought that Justin must’ve forgotten something from upstairs and was going to turn around, but that was before he started to sway.

 

“Justin?”

 

Lance watched as Justin shook his head and pitched forward a moment later. He immediately tried to run forward to help, but by the time he made it to the stairs Justin had already landed at the bottom in a heap. Crouching down over Justin’s body, Lance tried to check him over for visible injuries and winced when he noticed a cut across his forehead that was bleeding freely. Before he could even assess how deep it was, the sound of feet running from both above him and beside him echoed through the house. Joey abruptly stopped at Lance’s right while JC stopped a few feet from the bottom of the stairs.

 

“What happened?” Joey asked, his eyes fixed on Justin.

 

“I think he fell down the stairs,” Lance answered before he suddenly remembered that Chris must’ve felt that, especially if Justin hit his head off one of the stairs. He turned to Joey. “Go check on Chris.”

 

Joey’s eyes widened and he nodded. Lance was sure that he must’ve forgotten too since this was such a new thing and they hadn’t had to deal with it much yet. He felt bad for Chris since this probably made his headache worse. But he didn’t have time to think about it anymore as JC’s voice pulled him back to reality.

 

“How’d he fall?” JC asked.

 

Lance frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“Did he trip?”

 

“What kind of question is that?” Lance replied.

 

“Just answer me,” JC demanded.

 

“I think he fell forward,” Lance said.

 

JC raised an eyebrow. “You think? You mean you don’t know for sure?”

 

“It all happened so fast!” Lance defended. “But I’m pretty sure he fell forward.”

 

JC nodded and it seemed like he was thinking. Lance wanted to know what he thought happened and asked, “Why? What’s it matter?”

 

“I think he’s having a vision,” JC said.

 

“But he hasn’t had one in days,” Lance protested.

 

JC shrugged. “There’s no other explanation for him falling down the stairs without tripping.”

 

“I guess.”

 

“Let’s get him to the couch and we can clean up that cut,” JC said.

 

“OK,” Lance agreed, as he helped to lift Justin’s limp body off the floor and carry him into the living room before gently lowering him to the couch. Once he straightened up, he looked at JC. “So we’re waiting for him to wake up?”

 

JC nodded. “Yeah, he seems to always wake up by himself.”

 

“But what if he doesn’t?” Lance asked. He was worried about Justin because they didn’t know for sure how hard he’d hit his head and how that would affect his wellbeing after he woke up. “What if he has a concussion?”

 

“We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it,” JC said. “But I don’t think he does because he probably didn’t hit his head that hard since the cut’s pretty shallow.”

 

“I hope you’re right.”

 

Lance watched as JC left the room only to come back a minute later with a wet rag to wipe the blood off, peroxide, and a bandage. He stood back, letting JC take of Justin’s head wound. Before he could say anything else, Joey came walking into the room, a look of worry on his face.

 

“How is he?” Joey asked, gesturing to Justin.

 

“He’s…all right.” Lance paused. “How’s Chris?”

 

“He’s really freaked out. He was ready to come down here and check on Justin, but I forced him to stay in bed and take some more aspirin. His head’s really killing him,” Joey said.

 

Lance nodded. “I figured it would.” His eyes landed back on Justin and he came to a realization. He looked back over at Joey and asked, “How’s Chris’s arm?”

 

“Fine, I guess.” Joey frowned in confusion. “Why?”

 

“I just thought Justin might’ve broken it again from the fall,” Lance said. “But if Chris didn’t mention his arm hurting then I think we’re fine.”

 

“We need more peroxide,” JC said a minute later as he cleaned out Justin’s cut and set the empty bottle on the floor next to him. Lance just nodded, dismissing it because that was the least of his concerns right now.

 

JC finished bandaging Justin’s forehead and the three of them sat back, watching Justin and waiting for him to wake up. Minutes passed and Lance was getting worried. “I think it’s time we consider him having a concussion,” he said.

 

“Why?” JC asked.

 

“Because he’s been out longer than last time,” Lance replied.

 

“He’ll come out of it. Just give him a few more minutes,” JC said.

 

Lance sighed. “JC, that’s not the point.”

 

“Then what is?”

 

“Even if, when,” Lance corrected himself quickly, “he wakes up, who’s to say that he’s not going to be affected from this?”

 

“What do you mean?” Joey asked.

 

“Passing out all the time can’t be good for his body. You would think there would be some after affects,” Lance clarified.

 

“He seems fine when he wakes up,” Joey said. “Kind of tired, but OK.”

 

“So what? You want to take him to the hospital and have them run a bunch of tests?” JC asked.

 

“If that’s what it takes to make sure that he’s really OK, then yes,” Lance said.

 

“But he’s fine,” JC stressed.

 

“These…visions are happening more frequently. What’s going to happen when we’re out in public or performing onstage and he passes out?” Lance replied.

 

“Who says we’re even going to be performing?” JC asked.

 

“JC--” Lance warned.

 

“What? I was just going to say I thought the plan was to go into the studio,” JC said.

 

Lance glared at him. “You meant if you’re even around to perform with us.”

 

“It’s a realistic thought,” JC mumbled.

 

“No, it’s not,” Lance countered. “You’re not going to die.”

 

“He’s right,” Joey added when JC opened his mouth to protest. “Lance has been doing a ton of research and we’re going to find a way out of this.”

 

“Even if you do find a way you don’t even know if it’ll work,” JC said.

 

“Quit acting like you have a death sentence. Your attitude isn’t helping,” Lance replied, daring JC to refute that. He was really getting sick of JC thinking so negatively because he had to know that they would do whatever they could to save him. There was no way they would just sit idly back and do nothing to stop the demons from coming for him.

 

JC didn’t answer and shifted under the scrutiny of Lance. But before Lance could add anything else Justin shifted slightly on the couch and opened his eyes. There was collective sigh of relief, and they all moved closer to him.

 

“Hey, buddy,” Joey greeted. “How are you feeling?”

 

Justin shrugged. “OK.”

 

“You took a nasty spill down the stairs,” Lance said.

 

“Oh yeah.” Justin nodded in remembrance then looked at them worriedly. “How’s Chris?”

 

“He’s all right,” Joey assured.

 

Justin nodded and fell silent. Lance could almost see the wheels turning in his mind and couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about what he’d seen. He was sure he was, which led him to ponder about what Justin saw and was going to ask, but JC beat him to it.

 

“What did you see?”

 

“Nothing,” Justin said.

 

“Justin, we need to know what you saw so we can stop it from happening,” JC insisted.

 

Justin sighed. “I saw myself…uh…get kidnapped.”

 

“The demons?” JC asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Do you know where?” Lance asked, dread filling him. It wasn’t that he was expecting Justin to say something good because his visions seemed to be related with bad things, but it was still hard to hear. He could only imagine what Justin was feeling.

 

“The garage,” Justin said.

 

“OK, so the garage’s off limits,” Joey said. “Problem solved.”

 

JC frowned. “I don’t know if it’s that easy.”

 Lance had to agree with him. Nothing was ever that easy. They’d tried that last time, but they still ended up in the basement, the very place that Justin had told them they had to stay out of. But he couldn’t help hoping that maybe this time it would work even if it wasn’t very likely.

JC sat on his bed with his legs crossed and was hunched over his laptop. He’d brought it with him, but hadn’t touched it since he’d arrived at Lance’s house. Originally he had it so he could mix songs on his computer without having to go into the studio, but now he was using it to do a little research of his own. Yesterday he’d heard Lance telling Joey about the kinds of things that he’d found like summoning demons, and that’d given him the idea to look into it.

 

Summoning the demon seemed to be the only thing that would work in getting the demons to stop hurting the others. JC appreciated the effort that Lance was giving to finding a solution, but he could only see one solution, and that was for him to summon the demon that was after him and give himself up. Earlier that afternoon he’d found a couple different websites that described some summoning rituals, and he ended up settling on one that sounded the easiest because there were some that involved rare herbs that he wouldn’t be able to get easily. Currently he was going over the notes that he made of the ritual to see what ingredients he would need when he went to the store and was crosschecking them with the information on the website that he bookmarked to make sure that his notes were correct.

 

It originally hadn’t been his intent to look into summoning rituals so quickly, but after Justin’s latest vision he knew that he must do this as soon as possible. There was no way that he was going to let those demons kidnap Justin and since he had no idea when it was going to happen he was going to get his supplies and do this ritual tonight. It sounded simple enough so he figured it wouldn’t take more than a half hour. All of the pain and trouble they’ve been put through, especially the guys will end tonight. JC was nervous about what he was going to do. Dying scared the hell out of him, but it would be worth it to know that nothing bad would happen to his friends anymore because of him. That was the only thing keeping him from backing out of it.

 

JC sighed as he closed his laptop and set it on his desk, mentally going over the list in his head. Chalk and candles. That’s all he needed to finally put an end to all of this. JC glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly eight o’clock. Time to go because the sooner he got this over with the better it would be for everyone. He knew the guys would be pissed when they found out what he did, but it was better than them dying.

 

JC walked out of his room, turning off his light on his way out. He made it downstairs and into the foyer without running into any of the other guys. It would be a lot easier for him to go shopping for the things he needed if they didn’t know because he didn’t want to answer the questions that they would ask him about why he was going out. His plan was to be gone and back before they even knew he left. Opening the closet by the front door he bent down and slipped on his tennis shoes.

 

“Where you going?” a voice above him asked and JC’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up surprised to see Justin standing there. Quickly he rose to his feet.

 

“God, J, you scared the crap out of me,” JC said. “What are you doing sneaking around in the dark?”

 

“I wasn’t sneaking. You were the one who didn’t turn on any lights.” Justin paused before he repeated his question, “Where are you going?”

 

“Out,” JC said simply.

 

“Out where?” Justin asked.

 

JC sighed. “I need to pick up a few things.”

 

“Can I come?”

 

“I don’t think so, J.”

 

Justin frowned. “Why not?”

 

“Because you can’t go into the garage,” JC said.

 

“I won’t have to if we take my car. It’s already in the driveway,” Justin replied.

 

It was JC’s turn to frown. He really didn’t want Justin to come with him because he knew that Justin would ask him questions about what he was buying and that was why he’d been trying to sneak out. Not to mention it would be hard to ditch him after he got back and would want to return to his room to do the ritual. But part of JC did want Justin to come because it’d be one last thing he could do with Justin before he summoned the demon. As much as he wanted it and to say goodbye to the rest of them, he knew he couldn’t because it would make them suspicious. They had been his friends for so long that he considered them more like brothers than anything, and it hurt that he was leaving them like this even if it was for the best.

 

“You should really stay here. I won’t be gone long.”

 

“But I’m bored.” Justin paused. “Besides, it’s supposed to happen in the garage, right? So I’d be safer away from the house.”

 

JC wanted to argue some more, but he couldn’t disagree with what Justin had said. Logically speaking he would be safer away from the house, and that was what was important. It didn’t matter that Justin would be asking him a bunch of questions because he would know that he was safe with him.

 

As if Justin could sense that JC was leaning towards giving in he added, “I’ll even let you drive my car.”

 

“You can’t drive anyway,” JC said.

 

“Like my cast hinders my ability to drive. Most of the time I drive with one hand anyway.” Justin smiled and held up his keys. “C’mon, C. You know you want to.”

 

JC sighed pretending to be annoyed, but couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at his lips. Justin hardly ever let anyone drive his car besides him, and he understood how excited Chris had been last week when Justin had given him permission. “All right. Let’s go.”

 

Together the two of them walked out the front door and down the walkway towards the driveway. As Justin walked around to the passenger side of the car, he tossed JC the keys, which he caught with one hand. With a press of a button the doors were unlocked and they slid into their seats. JC buckled his seatbelt and checked to make sure the driveway was clear before he started to back out.

 

“So where are we going?” Justin asked, snapping his seatbelt into place with a click.

 

JC brought his head back forward and threw the car into drive. “Wal-Mart.”

 

Justin nodded and started flipping through his CD collection before settling on Cold Play’s debut album. The melodic, rhythmic sounds poured out of the speakers as JC drove down the main road that would take them into the heart of Orlando. They were nearly halfway there when Justin groaned and said, “God, how long does it take to get to Wal-Mart?”

 

“It’s only been ten minutes,” JC replied.

 

“That’s how far I  live from Wal-Mart. Why does Lance have to live so far?” Justin complained.

 

JC rolled his eyes. “We’re almost there, Just.”

 

Sure enough almost ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot. JC barely killed the ignition before Justin jumped out of the car. He shook his head as he got out and locked the car with the remote before shoving the keys in his pocket. If it wasn’t obvious earlier that Justin was bored, it was now. Together they walked across the parking lot and into the store. Justin went to get a cart and JC grabbed his arm.

 

“We don’t need a cart,” he said.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because we’re not getting that much,” JC answered.

 

“So what are we getting?” Justin asked.

 

“Candles,” JC said, leading the way to the aisle with house décor where the candles would be.

 

“Candles?” Justin repeated with a disbelieving look on his face. “Why do you need candles?”

 

JC shrugged, looking for black candles because that was what the ritual called for, but he didn’t see any. But they did have dark blue, which the website said could replace the black ones if they couldn’t be found. “They’re good to have in case the power goes out.”

 

“So are flashlights,” Justin countered.

 

“I like candles,” JC said, grabbing six of the dark blue candles off of the shelf and tucking a few under his arm.

 

“You want me to get a basket?” Justin asked, gesturing to JC’s full arms.

 

JC shook his head. “No, I’m good. I just need chalk and I’m done.”

 

“What do you need chalk for?”

 

JC sighed as he walked over to school supplies. It was frustrating having to come up with a bunch of answers to satisfy Justin’s curiosity, but he had expected this. “I’m teaching a class,” he said sarcastically.

 

“Good one, JC.” Justin laughed. “Tell me the real reason.”

 

“No. It’s none of your business.” Before Justin could reply JC held two candles out to him and said, “Hold these for a sec.”

 

Justin accepted the candles with a sigh and JC picked out a box of white chalk with his free hand. With his supplies in hand he turned to Justin and asked, “Do you need anything while we’re here?”

 

“I think we need some more aspirin,” Justin said, heading towards the pharmacy part of the store. He stood in front of rows of aspirin and adjusted the candles to sit in the crook of his left arm so he could grab a bottle with his right hand. “We should really buy a share in Tylenol.”

 

“Why?” JC asked.

 

“Because we use so much of it. There’s no way our stock would go down,” Justin said.

 

“Let’s go checkout.” JC motioned with his head towards the front of the store, changing the subject. He knew Justin was only half kidding because it was true. Over the last couple of weeks, a lot of aspirin was consumed by Justin, Lance, and now Chris. It would be nice when this would be all over and none of the guys would be stressed or feeling pain anymore.

 

Waiting in line they didn’t talk much as they were trying to keep a low profile. Normally they didn’t get much attention when they went shopping in the evening or early in the morning, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious. As much as they loved their fans, they wanted to try to be as normal as possible. A few minutes later their purchases were paid for and they were on their way out without any incident.

 

JC carried the bag of purchases in one hand while the other fished for the keys in his pocket. He’d just managed to pull them out when one of the bag handles that was on his hand slipped off his fingers causing one of the candles to fall out of the overfull bag. Groaning, JC shoved the keys back into his pocket and silently griped about lazy baggers who threw everything into one bag as he chased after his runaway candle. There were footsteps behind him and he knew that Justin was following him.

 

“C, just leave the candle. You got like five more,” Justin said.

 

“It’ll just take a second,” JC replied, still chasing after the candle, but starting to slow as it rolled to stop into one of the dark, empty garages of the auto care center. In the back of his mind it registered that it was weird that it hadn’t been closed up, but he shrugged it off.

 

He’d just bent down to pick up the candle when he heard Justin mumble, “Oh shit.”

 

“What?” JC asked concerned at the scared face Justin was displaying when he turned around.

 

“We need to leave. Now,” Justin said.

 

JC nodded and immediately stood up, the candle forgotten. Justin seemed freaked out and that tipped him off that something wasn’t right. He was going to trust Justin’s instinct and get out of here before something could happen. They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when all of the sudden the darkness seemed to thicken. But when he noticed two pairs of red eyes he realized that it was demons.

 

Justin’s eyes widened as the two demons on each side of him grabbed his arms. “JC!”

 

“Justin!”

 

JC ran forward, his bag slipping from his fingers as he reached out to grab Justin away from the demons. But just as his fingers skimmed the fabric of Justin’s shirt, the demons disappeared taking Justin with them.

 

 

  

Lance let out a frustrated sigh. He was starting to lose patience with the research because he still wasn’t finding anything that would be really useful. But he wasn’t going to quit, not until he found a solution. Sitting in the living room with Chris and Joey, he looked over at the movie that they’d managed to find on TV.

 

“You want me to take over?” Joey asked, gesturing to Lance’s laptop.

 

Lance shook his head. “No, that’s OK.”

 

“You sure?”

 

“Yeah,” Lance told Joey. “I’ve got a rhythm going.”

 

“Let me know if you change your mind,” Joey said, turning his attention back to the TV.

 

Lance looked back down at his screen and hit the back button to send him back to the search results page. But before he could see another website he heard someone call his name. It took him a minute to realize who it was.

 

“JC?” Lance had heard the front door close about an hour ago and knew that JC and Justin had left because he’d heard them talking before they left when he’d gotten up to get a drink.

 

“Lance!”

Lance frowned at the panic he could hear and the anxiety he could feel from JC. “What’s wrong?” 

“Justin…gone…couldn’t stop…demons,” JC said.  

Lance paled as JC’s words sunk in. They’d tried to prevent it from happening. Justin had stayed out of the garage and yet he still had been taken. Immediately Lance closed the lid and set aside the computer by the phone. He knew they would have to leave right away to pick up JC because it sounded like he was in no state to drive back.

 “JC, where are you?” Lance asked. 

“Wal-Mart…garage.” 

“All right. Go stand out front and we’ll come get you,” Lance instructed. There was no answer from JC so he added, “OK?” 

“OK,” JC agreed, shakily. 

“Lance!” Chris cried.

 

Lance blinked and stood up. “What?”

 

“Joey asked you a question like ten times,” Chris said.

 

“We need to go,” Lance told them, brushing off what Chris said.

 

“Why?” Joey asked.

 

“We need to pick up JC,” Lance said.

 

Joey frowned. “What happened?”

 

Lance sighed. “Justin was kidnapped.”

 

“What? How did that happen?” Chris asked.

 

“His vision must not have been in my garage,” Lance said. “But we can talk more in the car. JC’s freaking out right now.”

 

“I’ll drive,” Chris volunteered as he grabbed Lance’s keys off the key hook in the hallway.

 

The three of them entered the garage with pretty much no hesitance because it hadn’t been the location where Justin was kidnapped. They quickly got into Lance’s SUV and backed out of the garage. There was no time to lose. Once they got back with JC they’d have to figure out a way to get Justin back.

 

“Where are we going?” Chris asked, looking in the rear view mirror at Lance.

 

“Wal-Mart,” Lance said.

 

Joey turned around from the passenger seat with a questioning look on his face. “What were they doing there?”

 

“Shopping.” Lance shrugged. “I think JC needed some things.”

 

“And Justin went with him?” Joey asked.

 

Chris glared at him. “What the hell do you think?”

 

“Chris!” Lance admonished, seeing the hurt look on Joey’s face. He knew that they were all on edge, but that was uncalled for. Joey was just trying to figure out what’d happened. For Chris’s credit he sighed, but didn’t say anything else.

 

The rest of the drive was very tense. Lance wondered where Justin was right now. He could only imagine how terrified Justin must be. But from what Lance heard when JC was talking to him, Justin wasn’t the only one who was scared. With that thought in mind, he reached out in his mind and couldn’t feel JC like he had before. That worried him.

 

Lance leaned forward in his seat and said, “Drive faster, Chris.”

 

Chris didn’t say anything, but pressed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. It only took a few more minutes and the car pulled up in front of the store. JC was standing right by the front door off to the side. Lance unbuckled his seatbelt and told Chris, “Keep the car running. I’ll get JC, and Joey will drive Justin’s car back.”

 

Lance opened his door the same time that Joey did. They walked over to JC and Joey put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Jace.” When there was no answer Joey continued, “Do you have the keys?”

 

Silently JC dug into his pocket and pulled out Justin’s keys. Joey took them and turned to Lance. “I’ll follow you guys.”

 

Lance nodded, watching Joey go out of the corner of his eye as he turned his attention to JC who hadn’t really said anything. Looking around he noticed there were some shoppers coming in and out of the store and decided that he should at least get JC in the car before he tried to find out exactly what happened. The last thing they needed was to be recognized or for a fan to overhear them on top of what they already had to deal with.

 

Gently he rested his hand on JC’s back to guide him to the car. Lance pushed him into the backseat and scooted in next to him. Once he pulled the door closed, Chris threw the car into drive and moved forward. Turning so he was facing JC, Lance focused all of his attention on him.

 

“JC, are you OK?” When there was no answer Lance commanded gently, “JC, look at me.”

 

Slowly JC tore his eyes away from the carpeted floor to meet Lance’s green eyes. “Are you OK?” Lance repeated.

 

“Yeah,” JC said quietly.

 

“What happened?”

 

JC took a shuddering breath and looked down again. “I…we…Justin…demons grabbed…too fast…”

 

“All right. Calm down,” Lance said, putting a hand on his shoulder to try to calm JC and stop his stuttering and heavy breathing.

 

“But…Justin…” JC’s breathing continued to speed up and tremors started to wrack his body.

 

Lance frowned as he ducked his head and saw that JC’s eyes were a wide, shocking blue. “Chris, pull over,” Lance said, meeting his eyes in the rear view mirror.

 

Chris put on the right turn signal to let Joey, who was driving behind them, know that they were going to pull off to the side. A minute later the car stopped on the side of the highway, and Lance jumped out of the car, pulling JC with him. Once they were out of the car JC’s knees buckled, forcing Lance to wrap his arms around JC and gently lower him to the ground. He gripped JC’s shoulders and tried to get JC to look at him.

 

“JC? You with me?” Lance asked, but didn’t get an answer. Not that he expected one because JC was panting with effort to breathe and his lips were still moving as if he were trying to talk but no sound was coming out.

 

The sound of a car door closing could be heard and Joey walked over to them asking, “What’s going on?”

 

“He’s hyperventilating,” Lance cried.

 

“What are we supposed to do?” Joey asked, worriedly.

 

Lance sighed and taking one hand off JC’s shoulder to run it through his short, spiky hair. “We need to calm him down.”

 

“How are we supposed to do that? I’m barely calm myself,” Joey replied.

 

“I know, but we need to get his breathing slowed down.” Lance was freaking out himself, but was trying to stay calm because someone needed to try to keep everything under control. He turned his attention back to JC. “C? You need to take a deep breath and calm down.”

 

They waited a few seconds with baited breath to see if he would, but he didn’t. Joey knelt down next to JC and put a hand on his back, rubbing it gently. “You’re OK. We’ll get Justin back.”

 

“Son of a bitch!” Chris yelled and kicked the tire well of Lance’s car. Lance frowned at him briefly before he turned his attention back to JC. He knew that Chris was pissed and frustrated at what was going on, but right now their main concern was getting JC to breathe regularly again.

 

Lance gently forced JC to look into his eyes and said, “We’ll figure something out. Justin will be all right. You’ll see.”

 

The wild look in JC’s eyes was starting to dim a little and Lance continued to comfort him with the help of Joey. After a few minutes, JC’s breathing had finally slowed and he was out of danger from asphyxiating himself. They both sighed in relief and got back into their cars. When they were pulling into Lance’s neighborhood he noticed that JC’s breathing had slowed to an alarming rate.

 

“JC?” There was no response even when Lance reached out and pinched him. He frowned for what seemed like the tenth time in the last half hour.

 

Chris groaned from the front seat. “What now?”

 

“His breathing’s really shallow and he’s not responding,” Lance said.

 

“Figures,” Chris muttered as he pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.

 

Lance shook his head and glared at Chris’s back as he got out of the car without offering to help with JC. “C’mon, let’s get you inside.”

 

Lance pulled on JC’s sleeve and exited the car. He led JC into the house through the front door that Chris left open. As he sat JC on the couch, he could hear the front door close and knew that Joey must’ve come in. That thought was confirmed when Joey walked into the living room and looked concerned when he saw JC sitting on the couch blankly staring at the wall.

 

“What’s the matter?” Joey asked.

 

“His breathing’s too slow.” Lance paused, thinking back to his first aid class. “I think he might be going into shock.”

 

Joey took a seat on JC’s left since Lance was on his right. “So what do we do?”

 

“We need to snap him out of it somehow,” Lance said.

 

“What’s the point?”

 

Lance’s head snapped up at Chris’s snide comment. “What’s the point?” he repeated. “JC could die if we don’t get his breathing under control.”

 

“And Justin could be dead already,” Chris shot back.

 

“So one friend means more to you than the other?” Lance asked, glaring at him.

 

Chris was momentarily stunned, but it didn’t last long. “No, but you’re acting like you don’t care about Justin. Like he just went out for a walk and will be back in an hour.”

 

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Lance said, lowly. He couldn’t believe that Chris was capable of saying something like that to him considering the circumstances. “My mind is spinning with the possibilities of what’s happening to him right now, and I’m scared shitless. But I’m trying to keep it together because we can’t all be freaking out.”

 

“We need to help Justin,” Chris objected.

 

“We can’t help him right now, but we can help JC. And I’m not going to sit back and let him die while we try to figure out a way to get Justin back, especially when we have no idea where to start,” Lance said.

 

“But we’re wasting time!” Chris protested.

 

Lance glared at him and said sarcastically, “Sorry JC’s health is such an inconvenience.”

 

“Well, we wouldn’t even have this problem if he hadn’t gone to the store for God knows what,” Chris replied.

 

Lance shot a concerned glance at JC, worried about how much he heard, before he roughly grabbed Chris’s arm and dragged him into the kitchen. Once they were in he immediately let go of Chris’s arm and crossed his over his chest. “How could you say those things in front of JC like that?”

 

“Like he even heard me,” Chris muttered.

 

“And what if he did?” Lance challenged. “You know he has a tendency to blame himself for everything, and you have to go and make it worse.”

 

“Well, excuse me for saying what’s on my mind.” Chris paused slightly before adding, “You know you’re thinking the same thing, so I don’t know why you’re ragging on me.”

 

“I am not thinking that. That thought never crossed my mind,” Lance objected, icily.

 

“Think about it. If he hadn’t left then Justin would still be here right now instead of wherever he is with the demons hurting him.”

 

“Are you in pain right now?” Lance asked.

 

“No--”

 

“See?” Lance interrupted. “He’s fine.”

 

“Yeah, but for how long? We could lose him,” Chris replied.

 

“We could lose JC too,” Lance snapped. “We should be thankful that he wasn’t kidnapped too.”

 

“And why is that?” Chris stepped closer to Lance. “I want to know what happened exactly. Why the demons took Justin and not JC too.”

 

Lance sighed in exasperation. “We know that Justin was kidnapped. What good would it do to find out the exact details?”

 

“It would make me feel better,” Chris mumbled.

 

“Yelling at him isn’t going to get Justin back any sooner,” Lance said.

 

“But this wouldn’t have happened if JC had stayed put,” Chris objected.

 

Lance rolled his eyes. “Oh, come off it, Chris. He had no idea that was going to happen because we all thought it was going to happen here.”

 

“What do you suggest we do then?” Chris asked. “We have no idea where they took him.”

 

“We’ll just…have to sit down and try to figure out what our plan of action’s going to be,” Lance said. “But first we need to help JC.”

 

 

  

Joey could hear Chris and Lance arguing in the kitchen about JC and whether or not Justin was in pain. Chris admitted that he wasn’t in pain, but it made Joey wonder what exactly the demons were doing to Justin if they weren’t hurting him. He knew from what had happened to him last week what they were capable of. It’d been almost an hour since Justin had been kidnapped and he may not be in pain right now, but Joey wasn’t sure it was going to stay that way because he couldn’t see the demons taking Justin and then not doing anything to him. Unless Justin was already dead. Joey shook his head. Surely if he was, they’d know about it because while Lance and JC were telepathic with each other one of them would’ve sensed if Justin died because of their psychic ability. But maybe JC did sense it and that’s why he was so freaked.

 

Joey turned his head to look at JC and didn’t like what he saw. JC’s lips were starting to turn blue, probably from the lack of oxygen since his breathing was still so slow, and his eyes were half open with a glossy, glazed over look to them. It was scary to see him like that, and he knew that he had to continue to try snap JC out of it.

 

He leaned closer to JC and said, “JC? Can you hear me?”

 

Joey snapped his fingers in front of JC’s face, not really expecting a reaction so he wasn’t disappointed when there wasn’t one. But he didn’t give up. “C’mon, JC. We need you here. You need to help us find Justin.”

 

Sighing, Joey leaned back against the couch. He’d been hoping that talking about Justin would’ve made him come out of it. Now he was at a loss as how to help JC. Silence filled the room again making it easy to hear Lance and Chris’s continuing argument. Joey wished they wouldn’t fight because who knew if JC could hear it. And really this wasn’t the time to fight. It was the time when they were supposed to ban together and figure out a way to help Justin. Joey was scared as to what was going to happen and wanted a hug, but since Lance and Chris weren’t in the room he reached out, threw an arm over JC’s shoulders, and pulled him close. He was surprised when JC actually responded by weakly hugging him back and moaning, “Justin.”

 

“Guys,” Joey called as he held onto JC who was crying on his shoulder.

 

Both Lance and Chris came back into the room and turned their attention to the couch to see JC crying in Joey’s arms. Lance let out a quiet sigh of relief, and even Chris looked a little less tense. After a couple minutes of crying, JC leaned back against the couch, but didn’t pull away from Joey. That was a good sign. One crisis was averted, but now was the hard part. They needed to figure out a way to get Justin back and they had no idea how to go about it. Joey now understood how helpless the guys must’ve been feeling when he was being strangled and prepared himself for a long night.

 

 

 

Justin opened his eyes and noticed that he was lying on something soft. Realizing he was on his bed in his bedroom, he sprung into a sitting position. He wasn’t supposed to be here. The last thing he remembered was being in the auto garage of Wal-Mart and an intense feeling of dread before he was grabbed by the demons. Was it a dream? Justin didn’t know because being at Wal-Mart had felt so real, but it could’ve been a dream. What other reason would there be for him being in his bedroom? Surely the demons wouldn’t kidnap him just to bring him back to Lance’s house.

 

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he stood and stretched. There was one way to know for sure if he had been dreaming. He would go find JC and ask him if they’d gone to Wal-Mart. But maybe they had gone to the store and he’d decided to take a nap when they got back. Justin shook his head at that thought because there was no way he would’ve taken a nap so late in the evening. Not to mention it was nearly ten o’clock now and they’d only gotten out of the store around nine, which would mean that they would’ve only returned at nine thirty. That wasn’t long enough for a nap even if he were to take one.

 

Although, he was in his room, which suggests that he had gone to bed, but he didn’t remember falling asleep. But if he assumed that they really did go to Wal-Mart then maybe he’d had another vision in the garage. That would certainly account for why he didn’t remember going to sleep because his visions always drained him and made him really tired, and it wasn’t unrealistic to think that JC had put him to bed. Justin sighed in frustration, running a hand roughly over his face. It really unnerved him that he had no clear idea as to what was real and what wasn’t.

 

The only way to know for sure was to ask JC, so Justin walked out of his room and down the hall to JC’s room. He was surprised to find that the door was open and the room was dark. It seemed that JC wasn’t in his room, but maybe he was sleeping. Justin stepped into the room and flicked on the light only to be disappointed when he saw that JC’s bed was vacant. Stepping back into the hall, Justin thought about where he would be. A loud gong from downstairs made him jump, and he chuckled at himself for being so jumpy. It was only the grandfather clock from the dining room. However, it occurred to him that it was rare that he ever heard the clock from all the way upstairs. Normally the TV or stereo was blaring or the guys were making a lot of noise. It was then that he realized the dead silence that settled over the house as the clock finished its gonging.

 

Slowly he made his way down the stairs feeling that something wasn’t right. Once he reached the bottom he turned right to enter the dining room and wasn’t surprised to discover it was empty. He was about to move into the kitchen when he heard the front door open. Justin sighed in relief and walked into the foyer and saw that Lance and JC had just walked in, so he followed them into the living room.

 

“JC, can I talk to you for a sec?” Justin asked as his friend sat on the couch with Lance next to him, but there was no reaction from JC.

 

“What’s the matter?” Joey asked, having just come into the room.

 

Justin frowned. “JC’s ignoring me.” JC had never ignored him purposely unless he did something to piss him off, but as far as Justin knew he didn’t. Justin realized that Joey wasn’t looking at him and followed his line of sight to where Lance and JC were sitting. He must’ve been talking to Lance. “Oh, you meant him.”

 

“His breathing’s too slow.” Lance paused. “I think he might be going into shock.”

 

“What? What happened?” Justin glanced back and forth between Joey and Lance wanting one of them to answer him. “Why’s he going into shock?”

 

Joey took a seat on JC’s left since Lance was on his right. “So what do we do?”

 

“We need to snap him out of it somehow,” Lance said.

 

“Someone tell me what’s going on!” Justin shouted and growled in frustration. He didn’t appreciate them ignoring him, especially when something serious was going on with JC. If he knew what was making JC act like this, maybe he could help.

 

“What’s the point?”

 

Justin and Lance’s heads snapped up at Chris’s snide comment. “I deserve to know,” Justin said. “I don’t know why you guys won’t tell me.”

 

“What’s the point?” Lance repeated as if he hadn’t heard him. “JC could die if we don’t get his breathing under control.”

 

“And Justin could be dead already,” Chris shot back.

 

“Very funny, asshole,” Justin snapped.

 

“So one friend means more to you than the other?” Lance asked, glaring at Chris.

 

Chris was momentarily stunned, but it didn’t last long. “No, but you’re acting like you don’t care about Justin. Like he just went out for a walk and will be back in an hour.”

 

“Guys, this isn’t funny,” Justin said, silently pleading with them to stop ignoring him and talk to him. He thought that maybe this was some kind of practical joke, but it hit him that they wouldn’t joke about something as serious as him being dead.

 

Justin paled and took a step back, the thoughts in his mind racing. Was he really dead? Was this a dream? And if it was a dream, then was Wal-Mart a dream too? He couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t be. But it would explain why the guys weren’t talking to him, hell, even looking at him. Maybe he hit his head and was unconscious, but he didn’t think that would be enough to make JC go into shock unless he was in a coma. Justin winced at that thought because it wasn’t much better than being dead.

 

Shakily he ran a hand through his short curls. It barely registered through his mind that Lance and Chris passed him and now could be heard arguing from the kitchen. What if he really was dead? Maybe he was a ghost, forced to haunt Lance’s house for eternity. Justin shook his head at the ridiculous thought. If he was a ghost he had no reason to haunt the guys because it wasn’t like they killed him.

 

He critically eyed his friends. Other than JC looking deathly pale and his lips tinting blue, they looked all right considering. Maybe he wasn’t dead after all because if he was, surely they would be a lot more upset now than they were acting. Unless they didn’t care. Justin immediately put that thought out of his head because he knew that the guys cared a lot about him as he did them, and it explained why JC was like this in the first place.

 

Justin mentally ran Chris and Lance’s words back through his head and realized that they weren’t speaking about him in past tense. Chris said he could be dead, not that he was. Relief flooded through his veins, but it didn’t last for long. If he wasn’t dead then why couldn’t they see or hear him?

 

“What the hell’s going on?” Justin asked himself softly, knowing it was pointless to try to get the guys’ attention because he would just be ignored again.

 

“They can’t see you.”

 

Justin spun on the spot and saw two smoky, transparent demons with red eyes in the doorway of the living room. He barely managed to stop the instinct to cry out a warning to JC and Joey who were still on the couch. Instead he glared at the two evil creatures. “No shit. What the hell did you do?”

 

“Nothing compared to what’s going to happen,” the second demon said.

 

“Pity about your friend.” Justin followed the demon’s eyes to JC who was still sitting there blankly despite the fact that Joey was talking to him. “You should’ve seen him right after you were taken. Pathetic.”

 

The second demon tsked and looked at its buddy. “Never saw someone so weak. We should put him out of his misery.”

 

“You son of a bitch!” Justin yelled and charged at the demons. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t help the anger that had filled him when they talked about JC like he was some sick animal because he was one of the strongest people he knew.

 

Before he reached them Justin disappeared and reappeared in Lance’s basement. He barely moved to try to get away from them when he was slammed up against the wall. The impact hurt his head and even his left arm felt a spark of pain despite it being in a cast. Justin tried to push himself away from the wall, but he couldn’t move. It was like there was an unseen force keeping him there.

 

“What the hell do you want?” Justin asked, trying to act tougher than he was feeling. He didn’t want to give the demons the satisfaction that he was afraid of them.

 

The main demon that seemed to be in charge turned around. “We want information.”

 

“Does this look like a help desk?”

 

“You’re either very foolish or just plain stupid,” the demon said.

 

Justin glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“You falsely believe you can change what happens in your visions.” The demon moved closer to him, its red eyes boring into his own. “Don’t you?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Justin said, looking away. It was scary having such red, demonic eyes stare at him.

 

“You knew we were coming. Yes,” the demon interrupted Justin before he could even ask how they knew, “we know about your…abilities.”

 

“You can’t know too much if you need me to give you answers,” Justin replied.

 

“We know more than you think.” The demon moved so it was next to Justin’s ear. He tried to stop the shiver that ran down his spine when it whispered, “Every day you wake up praying the visions are gone and your life can go back to normal. You don’t realize what a gift you have.”

 

“Gift?” Justin repeated. “If having horrific visions is a gift, then I want to return it.”

 

“Return them to whom? Who gave them to you?”

 

“No one,” Justin said.

 

“Liar!” the demon yelled and stepped away from Justin, much to his relief. “Your friend, JC, may have the ability to acquire gifts because of where he comes from, but you,” the demon sneered, “you are just a too tall, average kid who has more luck than talent and incapable of receiving those visions yourself.”

 

Justin frowned in confusion. Why the hell was the demon bringing JC into this? “What do you mean ‘where he comes from’?”

 

“So he didn’t tell you,” the demon mused. “I’m not surprised. You humans reject anything you don’t understand.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Justin shouted. There had to be a reason the demon said what it had about JC, but it didn’t seem to want to answer his question because it changed the subject.

 

“How did you do it?” the demon asked.

 

“Do what?”

 

“Get the visions!” the demon shouted. “Did you make a deal? Participate in some ritual?”

 

“I didn’t do anything. They just started happening,” Justin said.

 

“So naïve. These things don’t just happen. Something had to be done to acquire them and you’re going to tell me.”

 

“Shouldn’t you already know since you gave them to me?” Justin snapped.

 

“Why would I give them to you? Seeing you suffer is satisfying, but not reason enough to give you a way of alerting you about our plans,” the demon said.

 

“Well, then you’re shit out of luck because I don’t know anything.”

 

The demon didn’t say anything, but nodded to its partner that had been standing off to the side. Its partner moved closer so it was right in front of him and just when he was starting to wonder what it was doing he felt a wet patch growing at the bottom of his shirt. Justin looked down and paled at the blood that he saw seeping through his t-shirt, but his attention was diverted when he could hear screaming coming from upstairs. Immediately he knew that Chris was feeling the pain.

 

“Stop it!” Justin cried.

 

“How did you get your ability?” the main demon asked, stepping forward.

 

“I don’t know!”

 

Justin looked down at his shirt and saw more blood before he had to look away. It was making him sick looking at it, but hearing Chris yelling in agony made his stomach turn even more. “Please, quit it! Please!”

 

The demon smirked. “What’s the matter? Can’t stand to hear your friend crying out in pain while you stand there feeling nothing?”

 

“Stop! Please!” Justin pleaded, hating it, but knowing that he had to get it stop for Chris’s sake. He couldn’t even imagine the amount of pain that Chris must be in right now.

 

“Tell me where your abilities came from.”

 

“I told you I don’t know!” Justin yelled.

 

“I’m not leaving here without an answer,” the demon said and gestured for the other one to continue. This time there was a particularly large gash that ran from one end of his stomach to the other, and his shirt, now drenched in blood, dripped onto Lance’s pristine carpet.

 

“No!” Justin shouted so loud his throat was starting to become raw and he started to choke on the blood that filled his mouth, causing it to run down his chin. He started to breathe heavily and continued to choke as he pleaded for the demons to stop. Chris was upstairs screaming in pain and there was nothing he could do about it.

 

 

  

Chris walked into the kitchen to find Lance at the sink filling a glass with water. When Lance turned around with the full glass in hand Chris shook his head at how he looked. Lance looked so stressed and tired, but that was understandable. There wasn’t a lot of sleep to be had when one of your friends was kidnapped and another had a panic attack before going into shock. Not to mention he had really fought it out with Lance, which he felt bad about now that he’d actually stopped to collect himself.

 

“Thirsty?” Chris asked, gesturing to the glass.

 

Lance shook his head. “No. This is for JC.”

 

“Let me take it to him,” Chris said.

 

“I don’t think so, Chris.”

 

Chris sighed. “Look, man, I’m not going to say anything. I know I haven’t been handling this the right way. I’m just worried about Justin.”

 

“And I’m not?” Lance paused briefly. “I was going to try searching online for some possible solutions. I doubt I’ll find anything, but it’s better than sitting here doing nothing.”

 

“Well, give the glass to me, and you can get started,” Chris suggested.

 

“All right,” Lance reluctantly gave in and handed over the glass. “I’ll let you know if I find something.”

 

“Good luck.”

 

Chris watched as Lance walked out of the kitchen before he too left. Slowly he stepped into the living room, not wanting to freak JC or Joey out. The last thing they needed was to freak each other out, which wouldn’t be hard to do since they were all on edge. He gently set the glass on the coffee table in front of the couch before he nervously cleared his throat. It was time to try to apologize to JC even though Chris had his doubts that it would be received because while JC did seem to have a little more color, there was still a faraway look in his eyes.

 

Joey was the one to look up at him. “Yeah?”

 

“Can I talk to JC?” Chris asked.

 

Joey looked like he was going to argue, and Chris wouldn’t blame him. Thinking back he really had been an ass with the things that he’d said. But Joey didn’t say anything and nodded as he started to rise from the couch only to have JC grab onto his hand and pull him back down onto the couch. As Chris watched Joey put an arm around JC, he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt that JC didn’t want to be alone with him, but he understood why. That made him feel even worse because he had been convinced that JC was so far gone that he hadn’t heard anything he’d said. Guess he was wrong.

 

Chris took a seat in the arm chair next to the couch and looked over at JC, who was avoiding his gaze. “I brought you some water,” Chris said and gestured to the glass that was sitting on the table in front of them. He didn’t know how was he going to start this, but knew that it was necessary.

 

“I…You know I don’t blame you for what happened,” Chris said. “I’m sure you did everything you could, and we’ll get Justin back…somehow. I’m sorry for being such a prick.”

 

There was no real reaction from JC. Chris wanted him to accept his apology and say that it was OK, but he didn’t say anything. The only sign that Chris had that JC had listened to him was that the hand that had been holding Joey’s in a death grip had loosened. A few minutes passed in silence before Joey looked over at Chris and asked, “Where’s Lance?”

 

“He’s on his computer trying to figure out something for us to do,” Chris said.

 

“What’s he going to find online?”

 

Chris shrugged. “I don’t know, but he might find something. I mean, there are a bunch of crazy people on the Internet.”

 

A more comfortable silence fell in the room. Chris stood up to go put some coffee on because he had a feeling that they were going to be up for most of the night and it would be a lot easier if they had some caffeine. He’d only just made it out of his chair when a sharp pain stabbed at his stomach and he doubled over in pain with a loud hiss.

 

“Chris?” Joey walked over and put a hand on his back. Even JC crouched next to him and gripped his hand. “Are you OK?”

 

Chris tried to answer, but ended up screaming instead as another intense pain sliced through his stomach and sent shudders up his spine. He tightly squeezed JC’s hand, waiting for it to stop. There were footsteps before they stopped abruptly.

 

Lance ran into the living room to find Chris on his knees with both arms wrapped around his midsection and screaming in pain as it wracked his body. Kneeling down next to him, Lance knew there wasn’t really anything he could do to help. What made it even worse that the demons must be hurting Justin now for Chris to be in pain and from the sounds of it, it was really serious.

 

“What are we going to do?” Joey asked with a grim face, as he continued to rub Chris’s back to try to ease some of the pain.

 

“There’s nothing we really can do,” Lance said. It hurt to admit that, but it was true. The only thing was to stop the demons from hurting Justin, but in order to do that they had to find Justin, which wasn’t something they were able to do right now.

 

Lance sat heavily on the couch. He’d thought about moving Chris to the couch, but figured it would be safer for him to stay on the floor instead of having him fall off and hurting himself even more. Even though he hadn’t been looking on the Internet for long, there wasn’t anything that suggested a way that would help. There were no other options and it was beyond frustrating.

 

As much as Lance hated to admit it they would probably lose Justin and maybe even Chris because they couldn’t come up with a way to find Justin. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about, but there wasn’t anything he could do. Lance sighed and rested his head in his hands.

 

“Lance.”

 

Lance raised his head and his eyes widened in surprise at who he saw in the doorway. “Katrina! What are you doing here?”

 

“You need help,” Katrina said knowingly, coming closer.

 

“You know about Justin?” Joey asked from the floor where he was sitting next to Chris, who continued to yell in pain.

 

“Yes, and I know where he is,” Katrina said.

 

Lance stood up. “Where?”

 

“He’s in the house.”

 

Joey and Lance looked at her shocked. JC’s eyes even widened. “What?”

 

“Why haven’t we seen or heard him then?” Lance asked.

 

“Because the demons made him invisible,” Katrina said.

 

Joey frowned. “So where is he now?”

 

“In the basement.”

 

The words had barely left Katrina’s mouth before JC let go of Chris’s hand and sprinted for the basement. “JC!” Lance yelled and ran after him with Joey and Katrina right behind him.

 

They were right behind JC and hit the floor just as he started yelling. “Leave Justin alone! You want me? Then take me!”

 

Before their eyes the demons appeared with Justin pressed up against the wall. Lance and Joey immediately ran over to Justin and caught him just as he fell. The demons started to make their way to JC, but before they could reach him Katrina grabbed each one and disappeared with them. Lance assumed that she was going to drag them back to hell like she had last time when Joey had been attacked.

 

“Justin, are you with us?” Lance asked, noticing the blood soaked t-shirt and carpet, which was now soaking Joey’s clothes as he sat behind Justin to keep him upright. He was worried because it looked like he lost a lot of blood, which wasn’t a good thing.

 

Justin groaned and blinked at them. “Guys…”

 

JC gripped his hand and said, “You’ll be all right. You’re safe now.”

 

There was another groan accompanied by a creak, but it came from behind them. Lance turned around to find Chris stumbling down the stairs. “Chris! What the hell are you doing?”

 

“You assholes,” Chris said. “You left me up there.”

 

“And you were supposed to stay up there. You could hurt yourself worse,” Lance replied.

 

“Justin needs help more than I do.”

 

Lance wanted to argue, but he couldn’t disagree with that. Justin was the one who needed medical attention, and Chris couldn’t be helped until Justin was treated. Who knew how bad off Justin was because he was so weak and out of it even though he wasn’t feeling any pain. “We need to call 911.”

 

“I’ll do it,” Joey volunteered and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He hung up a minute later. “An ambulance will be here in five minutes.”

 

Lance sighed, glad that Justin was going to get help, but was appalled that he’d been hurt bad enough to need it. But regardless he was thankful that Katrina saved Justin and that he was back with them. They weren’t out of the woods yet though because the lashes on Justin’s stomach looked bad. He could only hope that Justin came out of this OK for not only his sake, but for all of theirs.

JC sat forward in the uncomfortable hospital chair with his forearms resting on his thighs, watching Justin as if he were afraid Justin would disappear right before his very eyes. And part of it was because the image of his best friend lying against Joey bleeding to death with blood all down his front and being so still riding to the hospital was burned into his brain. It’d scared the hell out of him to see Justin like that. The ambulance ride had been tense with the flurry of activity.

 

One of the paramedics pulled the doors closed and the ambulance immediately sped off with its loud siren wailing. The paramedics set about preparing an IV to inject into a semi-conscious Justin who was propped upright on the stretcher. They inserted the small thin tube into his right wrist since the left was surrounded by thick plaster. JC flinched and had to look away, but Justin hardly moved. JC wondered whether it was because he was so out of it or if his lack of movement was in some way a favor to Chris, hoping less movement would equal less pain. He figured it was a mixture of both. 

“JC…” Justin gurgled, blood dribbling down his chin. 

JC stared, horrified. He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew that wasn’t a good sign. While he’d seen the blood in the basement, he didn’t really comprehend how serious it really was until now. Fear constricted his chest because he didn’t want Justin to die, especially knowing it was because of him. 

“Sir!” the voice of the paramedic tore him away from his thoughts. “Are you OK?” 

JC cleared his throat. “Yeah.” 

“We need you to help keep your friend from talking and stay calm. Do you think you can do that?” 

JC nodded and turned his attention back to Justin. “JC,” Justin groaned, reaching out the hand that didn’t have the IV in it. 

“Shh, J.” JC took a hold of Justin’s left hand, ignoring the roughness of the cast against his own skin. “Don’t talk. We’re almost to the hospital. Everything’s going to be fine.” 

JC glanced over at the paramedics and they nodded their approval. He let out a small sigh of relief, glad that he was managing to say the right things and stay calm even though he wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. Justin shouldn’t have been kidnapped and tortured. If he could’ve, JC would’ve traded places with Justin in a heartbeat. 

“BP’s 100/50 and falling,” the one paramedic said into a walkie-talkie. JC assumed to give the doctors at the hospital time to prepare for Justin. “Has an IV drip and…” he let go of the talk button and looked at JC. “Is he allergic to anything?” 

“No, not that I know of,” JC said, shaking his head. 

The paramedic nodded and went back to speaking into the walkie-talkie. “Now administering morphine intravenously.” 

At that the other paramedic grabbed another needle from the cart that was pushed off to the side to inject the pain medication into the IV. Almost immediately the drugs began to take affect as Justin’s eyelids fluttered before drooping closed sleepily. The paramedic met JC’s worried look with a reassuring one. 

“The medication made him sleepy. Your friend will be fine.” 

JC didn’t say anything, but wondered how many times this guy had told family or loved ones that and really meant it. Before he could let his thoughts get away from him any further, the vehicle came to a stop and the doors opened. The paramedics jumped out, and they carefully pulled the stretcher Justin was on out. JC wasted no time getting out; being in the ambulance was starting to freak him out and he sincerely hoped that he would never have to be in one again. Quickly he caught up to the paramedics and followed them into the ER until a hand was pressed against his chest to stop him from entering the operating room. 

“I’m sorry, sir. You’re not allowed back there,” a petite, brunette nurse said. “I’ll show you to the waiting room.” 

Once Justin disappeared behind white double doors with doctors and was no longer in sight, JC silently allowed her to lead him to the waiting room. He couldn’t help but keep looking back over his shoulder at the room that Justin had been wheeled into. The nurse gently deposited him in an empty seat in the blissfully empty room before she went back to making her rounds, but JC paid her no mind. Staring in the direction he’d just come and ignoring the footsteps of the guys as they came into the room, he prayed that Justin would be all right. 

Thankfully his prayers were answered because JC didn’t think he could live with himself if Justin hadn’t been all right. They had waited for an hour and a half before the doctor came out a little after one thirty in the morning with news on Justin. He’d said that there hadn’t been complications stitching up the gashes across Justin’s stomach, and that he was resting comfortably. That had been about fifteen minutes ago. The room had been pretty silent because no one wanted to chance waking Justin up even though the doctor said he would be out of it from the surgery and pain medication.

 

JC glanced up at Chris, who was sitting on the opposite side of Justin’s bed with his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked better now that Justin was on pain killers. It was odd how Chris’s pain could only be alleviated if Justin took something, but at least there was something they could do instead of Chris having to live with the pain. Subconsciously JC winced as he thought back to just a few hours ago before Katrina showed up and they found Justin, Chris had been in what looked like excruciating pain. Now knowing how bad Justin had been injured, it was understandable, and JC thought they were pretty damn lucky that Justin didn’t end up dead.

 

“God, JC…”

 

JC looked to his left at the opposite wall where Lance was sitting and saw him shaking his head. He had an idea of what Lance was going to say, and he was surprised that it hadn’t been brought up earlier, especially while they were waiting for news on Justin. But then maybe that was why. Everyone was too concerned about Justin that they figured it could wait until later. Patiently he waited for Lance to say what was on his mind.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lance paused briefly before continuing, “What did you think you were doing telling the demons to take you?”

 

“I thought I was putting an end to all this,” JC said, sweeping his hand out in front of him.

 

“Don’t be such a smartass,” Chris replied.

 

JC looked over at him and back at Lance. “I’m not. I was being serious.”

 

“JC, the only thing you would’ve ended was your life,” Lance said.

 

“Exactly!” JC exclaimed. He’d been fully aware of what he was doing when he goaded the demons into coming after him. Getting Justin back had been his main priority, and he figured that it would’ve been the easiest way.  After all, he’d originally planned on summoning the demon before Justin had been kidnapped. While he was glad that Katrina got rid of the demons, a part of him wished she hadn’t so bad things would stop happening.

 

Joey glared at him from where he sat next to Lance. “That’s not something to want.”

 

“I don’t want to die,” JC said.

 

“That’s not what you just said,” Chris replied.

 

“I don’t,” JC repeated. “But how can I live knowing this is my fault?”

 

“This isn’t your fault,” Lance said, firmly.

 

JC stood up quickly, sending the chair back a foot. “It is my fault! The demons are after me, not you. Me! So excuse me for being realistic instead of living in some fantasy.”

 

Chris crossed his arms. “So you’re just giving up? You’re just going to let the demons take you and that’s that?”

 

“Yes!” JC exploded, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “You guys don’t seem to get that I’m doing this for you, so back off.”

 

“Oh, well,” Chris let out a humorless laugh, “If you’re doing it for us, then I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

 

“You’re not going to die, JC. We won’t let you,” Lance said.

 

JC glared defiantly. “You guys can’t tell me what to do. It’s my life.”

 

“We can when you’re about to do something stupid,” Joey countered. He jerked a thumb in Lance’s direction. “Lance is scouring the Internet to find a way out of this.”

 

“And what do you expect to find? ‘101 Ways to Get Rid of Demons’?” JC fixed each of them with a hard look. “There’s no way out of this, and you, Lance of all people, should know that because you’ve been looking for days and haven’t found anything.”

 

“I will find something, so you better stop being stupid and accept that we’re not giving you up without a fight,” Lance said.

 

JC shook his head. “I’m so tired of you guys constantly being pissed at me. You have no right.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about? Of course we do!” Chris exclaimed.

 

“How would you feel if you were in my position?” JC paused briefly. “I know that any one of you would give up your life to save the rest of us, and that’s what I’m doing.”

 

JC sighed heavily as he let his body drop back into his seat. He glanced down at Justin and said softly, “None of this should’ve ever happened.”

 

The room fell silent. JC was sure that the guys must be thinking along the same lines as him. It was only a couple hours ago that they’d been sitting in the waiting room not knowing if Justin was going to live or not. He would give anything to make sure nothing like this happened again. Just then there was a knock on the door before it opened and the doctor that they’d met with earlier entered the room.

 

“How are we doing in here?” the doctor asked as he walked over to the end of Justin’s bed and looked at the chart.

 

“Fine,” Lance said. The doctor pulled out a needle. “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m administering the last transfusion.”

 

“So he’s going to be all right?” Joey asked.

 

The doctor nodded. “As long as infection doesn’t set in.”

 

“Infection?” Chris repeated.

 

“It’s a possibility when a patient undergoes blood transfusions, but he’s young and healthy so there shouldn’t be a problem. For now we’re going to keep an eye on him and if all’s well then he should be released by the afternoon tomorrow with instructions on how to care for his stitches to keep them from tearing,” the doctor explained.

 

Lance nodded. “Thanks, doc.”

 

The doctor smiled. “I’ll be back to check on him tomorrow.”

 

JC couldn’t help but feel relieved as the doctor left. Knowing that Justin was going to be fine took a great weight off his shoulders. While he blamed himself for what’d happened, he never would’ve been able to forgive himself if Justin had died because of him. Silently JC vowed to make sure Justin recovered completely.

 

 

  

Chris sighed in his sleep and rolled over. He jerked awake when his body hit the floor with a loud thump. Blearily he looked around and up at his bed as he rubbed his head. “Son of a…”

 

Groaning, Chris pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water filled the bathroom with steam as it soothed the tense muscles in his neck from sitting in the hospital chair for hours. Justin had been released around one in the afternoon and once they got home everyone had gone straight to bed since no one had gotten a lot of sleep at the hospital. Even Justin had been tired, but the doctor said that was to be expected with the pain medicine that he was on. The doctor had told Justin that his stomach would probably be tender for a while, and that he had to be careful not to stretch his arms over his head or bend over too much because his stomach would still be sore.

 

Within a matter of minutes the water was shut off and he was dressed. Chris stepped out into the hall and walked down to Justin’s room to check on him. He slowly opened the door so he wouldn’t wake him up if he was sleeping. Once the door was open he saw that JC had moved the desk chair over to Justin’s bedside and looked like he was dozing. It was kind of surprising to see that he was still there because while Chris knew that JC would probably sit with Justin for a little bit, he didn’t expect to find him still in the room six hours later.

 

“JC.” Chris reached out a hand and shook JC’s shoulder. Almost immediately JC’s eyes opened and he looked up at Chris.

 

JC blinked and yawned. “Time?”

 

“A little after eight,” Chris said, glancing down at his watch that he’d thrown on after his shower.

 

“What are you doing in here?” JC asked, rising from the chair to stretch. Chris winced as he heard his bones pop and wondered how on earth JC’d been able to stay seated for so long, especially after the long wait in the hospital.

 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Chris looked closer at JC and noticed the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. His clothes were rumpled and his hair was a mess. “Have you gotten any sleep, man?”

 

JC hesitated before he said, “A little.”

 

“C’mon,” Chris grabbed onto JC’s arm to stop him from sitting back down in the chair, “You should get some sleep.”

 

“I’m not tired,” JC objected even as he rubbed his eyes that were tinged with red.

 

Chris gave him a disbelieving look. “Bullshit. You look exhausted.”

 

“But Justin—”

 

“Will be fine,” Chris finished. “Seriously, man, you need to sleep, and you’re going to even if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you to bed.”

 

“All right,” JC relented and allowed Chris to put the chair back in front of the desk.

 

Chris watched JC leave the room, but didn’t follow right away because he still wanted to check on Justin. He turned his attention from the doorway to Justin lying in bed, sleeping peacefully. That was a good sign, and made him feel a lot better. It didn’t matter that he could feel Justin’s pain as long as Justin healed properly. That was something that he’d really thought about after the fight he and the guys had with JC. It was so nice to be back at Lance’s and not have the possibility of Justin dying hanging over them.

 

Quietly Chris walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He walked down the hall and saw that JC’s door was now closed, which he took as a sign that JC was finally going to get some much needed sleep. As Chris walked down the stairs, he wasn’t too surprised to hear the TV going in the living room because as exhausted as all of them had been when they got back earlier he knew that they wouldn’t be able to sleep long since their bodies were used to being up during the day. Chris shook his head, thinking about how now their sleeping schedules would be all thrown off for a day or two.

 

The smell of pizza hit his nose as he entered the living room where Lance and Joey were sitting on the couch with a couple of boxes stacked on the coffee table in front of them. His stomach growled because he hadn’t eaten anything since that crappy lunch at the hospital because the doctor had insisted that Justin eat before he left. He’d gotten a lunch from the cafeteria so Justin wouldn’t have to eat alone, but never again. Next time he’d leave eating crappy ass tasting hospital food to his friend.

 

“Hey,” Joey greeted, looking up from the program they were watching. Chris didn’t recognize it at first, but then a large picture of The Beatles popped up on the screen. He concluded they must be watching some Behind the Music thing.

 

“Geez, Chris,” Lance said, watching as Chris piled four pieces onto his plate. “Save some for the rest of us.”

 

“But I’m hungry,” Chris whined before he took a bite and sighed in content. It’d been a while since he’d eaten pizza. He swallowed a piece before he asked, “Did you know that JC hadn’t gone to bed?”

 

Joey nodded, setting his empty plate down on the table. “I tried to make him, but he wouldn’t.”

 

“He refused to leave Justin’s side,” Lance added.

 

“Well, I got him to go to sleep,” Chris said, smirking. “You just have to be forceful.”

 

“Did you check to see if he was?” Lance asked.

 

Chris shook his head. “No, but he really looked wiped so I’m sure he’s dead to the world.”

 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them. Chris mentally winced as he realized his choice of words weren’t really appropriate considering what JC’d said at the hospital about letting the demons take him. Luckily Lance broke the awful silence by saying, “We need to do something about him.”

 

“Yeah, but what?” Joey asked, taking a sip of his soda.

 

“We could try therapy again,” Lance suggested.

 

Chris’s eyes widened. “Are you nuts?”

 

“There’s no way we’re doing that again,” Joey said.

 

Lance frowned. “Why not?”

 

“We told you what happened last time. There’s no way it would go differently,” Joey told him.

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

Chris fixed Lance with a knowing look. “Yeah, we do. He totally spazzed, so no, it won’t work.”

 

“All right.” Lance sighed. “But we still have to do something.”

 

“Do something about what?”

 

The three of them turned to see Justin coming into the living room. “How are you feeling, J?” Joey asked.

 

“Don’t you start too,” Justin said, shaking his head. “I’m already getting enough of it from JC.”

 

“He’s just worried about you,” Lance replied.

 

Justin sighed and nodded. “I know.” Justin slowly sat down in the armchair and his eyes met Chris’s. “Are you OK? Need me to take any pain killers?”

 

“No, I’m good, J.”

 

“All right, but let me know if you do. It’s no big deal,” Justin said.

 

Chris smiled. He really wasn’t surprised by what Justin said because he knew that Justin would be taking it to heart that he wasn’t feeling any pain. Hopefully Chris wouldn’t need it because that could mean that Justin wasn’t getting better. “Thanks.”

 

A few minutes passed in silence before Justin cleared his throat and said, “I’ve been thinking…” Lance reached over to grab the remote and turned off the TV. Justin frowned. “You didn’t have to do that.”

 

Lance shrugged. “It’s not like we were watching it anyway.”

 

“Well, I’ve uh…been thinking about what happened to me…and my visions,” Justin said.

 

“What about them?” Joey asked.

 

“I think…” Justin sighed. “I think they’re from JC’s eyes.”

 

Chris frowned. “Why do you think that?”

 

“I was thinking back and I realized that I’ve been seeing all of my visions through JC’s perspective,” Justin said.

 

“All of them?” Lance repeated.

 

Justin nodded and looked over at him. “When I had the vision of you…you know…I saw you in the bathroom after I ran into Chris in the hall. But I wasn’t there when it happened.

 

“Then the one where Joey was attacked…” Justin looked at each of them. “You remember how vague I was?”

 

“Yeah, you wouldn’t say what was going to happen,” Joey said.

 

“That’s because I didn’t know. All I’d seen was myself beating on the basement door and hearing you guys yelling, but we were all down there when it happened…except JC,” Justin explained. “And now…I saw myself get kidnapped and the only person that was with me when it happened was JC.”

 

Chris frowned. “But why would you see it from his point of view?”

 

“I don’t know,” Justin said, shaking his head.

 

“Maybe the demons know,” Lance suggested.

 

“They don’t.” Justin paused as they all looked at him. “While they…uh…they wanted to know how I got these visions.”

 

“So they don’t know anything about them?” Joey asked.

 

“All they really seemed to know is that I have them, but they kept asking me how I got them or who gave them to me,” Justin said.

 

Chris leaned forward a little in his seat. “Did they say anything else?”

 

“Well…” Justin hesitated briefly. “They said…they were surprised that I had visions because I wasn’t special. But they mentioned JC and said it was understandable why he had abilities because…because of where he came from.”

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Chris asked.

 

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know. They didn’t really talk about it more. Just that it wasn’t surprising that JC hadn’t told us because we reject things we don’t understand.”

 

“Well, there must be a reason they said what they did,” Lance said.

 

“I was going to ask JC about it,” Justin replied, nodding. “And tell him about my visions, but I didn’t want to make him feel worse.”

 

“You can’t tell him,” Chris said quickly.

 

Justin frowned. “Why not?”

 

“Because he’s made it perfectly clear that he’s not going to help us figure this out,” Chris explained.

 

“I think he should know, Chris” Lance objected.

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “And what good would it do? There’s no reason for him to know. Not right now anyway. At the very least we should give ourselves some time to come up with a solution before we go asking him all these things.”

 

“But if he already knows then it would help speed our research along,” Lance said.

 

“If he knew, wouldn’t he have told us by now?” Joey asked.

 

“Yeah, but that was before he told us that he’s accepting his fate. He could be keeping information from us just so we can’t stop him,” Chris said.

 

Justin shook his head. “No way. JC wouldn’t do that.” There was a brief pause before he continued, “He’s going to have a coronary if he finds out that we kept this from him and went behind his back.”

 

“So we don’t tell him,” Chris said simply.

 

“But what good is that going to do honestly?” Joey asked and continued before Chris could interrupt. “We’ve tried a bunch of different things with him. Therapy, giving him space, forcing him to talk and none of it has worked. How are we supposed to handle this?”

 

There was a moment of silence. Chris thought about it and realized Joey made a valid point. They had tried a number of different techniques and yet, they still had the same problems repeat themselves with JC stressing himself out and making himself sick. It was hard to say for sure what they should do, but Chris still believed that what Justin had just shared with them needed to remain a secret for right now. If JC found out before they were ready for him to, then they’d just have to deal with it then.

 

“I stick with what I said. It’s our best course of action right now. We don’t want to upset him in case he goes off the handle and makes a rash decision,” Chris said.

 

Lance sighed and looked at Joey and Justin who both nodded. “All right, fine. We won’t tell him. For now. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

 Chris didn’t feel victorious that they’d agreed with his plan because now they would have to deal with more research, which was going to be difficult. But he had this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach that things would get worse before they got better. Though, he hoped that he was wrong and that his plan would work.

Joey set another empty soda can on the dirty plate he was carrying that was already littered with empty cans and pizza stained napkins. He glanced down at the coffee table again to make sure that all of the garbage had been cleared off and saw that Lance was grabbing the leftover pizza. Walking into the kitchen to throw away the trash, he stopped in surprise. There sitting at the table with his head resting on top of his arms on the table was JC. Together Joey and Lance glanced at each other concerned before they set the dirty dishes and garbage on the counter.

 

Lance stepped next to JC and reached out a hand, shaking his shoulder. JC stirred, pulling out of Lance's grip before looking up at him, blinking as his eyes adjusted. “Yeah?”

 

“What are you doing down here?” Lance asked.

 

“I wanted some water,” JC said, gesturing to the glass that was still on the table.

 

“Looks like you got it, so you should go back upstairs,” Lance replied.

 

JC shook his head. “I’m not tired.”

 

“You fell asleep at the kitchen table,” Lance said.

 

“Why don’t you go upstairs and get some sleep?” Joey suggested.

 “I don’t want to,” JC said. 

“C’mon, let’s go.” Lance wrapped a hand around JC’s bicep and started to pull him out of his chair. “Time for bed.”

 

“Wait a minute,” Joey said, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder to stop him from dragging JC out of his chair and upstairs. He looked down at JC. “Why don’t you want to sleep?”

 

Joey knew that Lance forcing JC to go back to bed wasn’t going to help because no one liked to be told what to do, especially JC. The best way to get JC to talk without him lashing out was to be calm. They had to show that they were on JC’s side and stop trying to make him feel like a scolded child.

 

“Well, OK, it’s not that I don’t want to. I do,” JC said. “I just can’t.”

 

“Are you having nightmares again?” Lance asked.

 

“No, it’s nothing like that,” JC said.

 

“Then what?” Joey asked, pulling out a chair and taking a seat so he was facing JC.

 

“I just can’t sleep. I lie there, but I can’t get my brain to stop.” JC sighed. “I know I need sleep, but it’s just not coming.”

 

“Have you taken anything?”

 

Joey looked at Lance, confused for a moment as to why he was asking. It was obvious that JC hadn’t taken anything because if he had, they wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. JC would be fast asleep, so Joey wasn’t surprised when JC shook his head.

 

Though, Joey wondered why JC hadn’t taken a sleeping pill. He’d mentioned before that he’d bought them for just this reason, way back when Justin was having trouble sleeping.

 

“What about your sleeping pills? You could take one of those,” Joey suggested.

 

“No,” JC said vehemently. “I don’t want to.”

 

Lance frowned. “Why not?”

 

“Because.” JC caught Lance’s look of mingled frustration and disbelief and shot back his own angered expression. “Because maybe I don’t want to be drugged! Those pills would put me out for hours, and if something happened…I’d sleep right through it.”

 

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Joey said gently, trying to reassure him.

 

“Nothing’s going to happen?” JC repeated with an incredulous look on his face. “So what, the demons are just gonna decide, ‘Forget murder and torture, let’s go play cards’?

 

“As long as I’m alive, this stuff is going to keep happening, which is why—”

 

“We’re not here to talk about the demons. This has nothing to do with them. We’re talking about you and why you’re not sleeping,” Lance interrupted and looked at JC condescendingly.

 

“Quit acting like I’m doing this purposely! I’m exhausted! I want to sleep.”

 

Lance crossed his arms. “Obviously not bad enough if you won’t take a damn sleeping pill!”

 

“Dude, shut up!” Joey snapped at Lance. He softened his features and looked at JC. “What can we do to help?”

 

Joey felt sympathetic to JC. With everything that’s happened recently they wouldn’t have put it past JC to purposely avoid sleeping because he’d done it before. But Joey knew this time was different because JC really did look beat with his hair sticking up in odd places and bloodshot eyes that were accentuated by the dark circles below them.

 

There was a pause before JC brought his eyes up from the table to look him in the eyes. “Can I sleep on the couch?”

 

Joey shrugged and nodded. He hadn’t known what JC was going to say, but he hadn’t expected that. However, he didn’t have a problem with JC sleeping on the couch if it meant he’d get some much needed sleep. “If you think it’ll help.”

 

“Go get some rest,” Lance said. JC nodded and rose from the seat before walking into the living room. Joey watched as a look mixed of surprise and frustration crossed over Chris’s face when he saw JC. Chris said something that Joey couldn’t hear, and JC said something in return. Immediately Chris’s expression softened and he stood to drape the blanket from the back of the couch over JC who was now lying down. Hopefully JC would get some sleep or else they’d have to come up with another solution.

 

Joey tore his eyes away from the living room and met Lance’s eyes. “Take it easy with him, huh?”

 

“I was easy with him,” Lance said.

 

Joey shook his head. “No, you weren’t.”

 

“Well, I shouldn’t have to be. There’s too much to deal with right now without having to worry about all of JC’s crap. I thought all his problems with sleeping were fixed,” Lance said.

 

“Did you even listen to him? He said he’s not doing this purposely,” Joey replied.

 

“Of course he’s doing this purposely!” Lance countered. “He hasn’t slept in over 56 hours. When you’re exhausted your body crashes eventually no matter what’s on your mind.”

 

“Doesn’t that show how much all this stuff bothers him?” Joey countered. “Maybe we shouldn’t get on his case about it.”

 

“Why are you defending him?”

 

Joey looked at Lance in disbelief. “He’s my friend. That’s what friends do.”

 

“I am his friend,” Lance said.

 

“Then start acting like it,” Joey replied. “We’ve tried everything with no results, so if we’re going to talk to him then we’re going to have to be sympathetic to what he’s going through. It can’t be easy knowing that your friends are being hurt and the only explanation is that it’s because of you.”

 

Lance nodded. “You’re right. I’ve been going crazy trying to find a way out of this that I almost forgot I was doing it for him.”

 

“We’ll get it. We just can’t take it out on him,” Joey said.

Lance nodded again and Joey really hoped that what he said was going to happen. He wanted nothing more than to believe that they would find a solution and come out of it without any further incidents, but they didn’t have a very good track record as far as that was concerned. It certainly didn’t help that they had no idea how much time they had until the demons came for JC or even when they would strike again. For now all Joey could do was help research and pray that nothing gets any worse.

 

Justin yawned as he walked down the stairs the next day. He was still a little drowsy. Most likely a side effect from the pain killer that he’d taken before bed last night. The four of them had stayed up until three in the morning quietly watching TV so as not to wake JC who was sleeping on the couch. They’d stayed up late in hopes that they’d get tired and could get their bodies back on a regular sleeping schedule. Justin wasn’t sure if he’d really been tired or if it’d been the medicine, but he had a feeling it was the latter since he’d done so much sleeping the day before.

And now his cast was making his left arm itch like crazy. He desperately wanted to scratch it, but he didn’t have anything on him. Realizing that he still had another month of this thing on his arm, he let out a long groan. It was such a pain to take care of it, and it was even worse now that he had stitches in his stomach. On some level it was kind of funny how battered he was, but he immediately sobered when he remembered that Chris had been the one to feel all of the pain.

 

As Justin walked past the living room and into the kitchen, he glanced to his right to check on JC and found that he was still sleeping. It wasn’t really surprising because he’d seen how beat JC had looked when he came in to lie down last night and figured he was catching up on his sleep. Justin reached into the cupboard and pulled down a glass before filling it with water to quench his thirst. His mouth was really dry and he attributed it to yet another side effect of the medicine. He looked out into the backyard as he drank and saw that the others were standing outside by the grill. With a satisfied sigh, he left his empty glass on the counter before joining the other guys outside.

 

“Hey,” Justin greeted.

 

Joey looked up. “Hey, J. How you doing?”

 

“Fine,” Justin said, shrugging. “What’s up?”

 

“Making dinner. Hotdogs and hamburgers,” Chris replied, gesturing to the grill.

 

“Is it that late?” Justin asked, looking down at his cast impulsively even though he wasn’t wearing a watch.

 

Lance glanced down at his watch. “Almost four.”

 

“Was JC still sleeping?” Joey asked.

 

Justin nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“What are we going to do about him?” Chris asked, flipping a burger over.

 

“Why are you asking us? You’re the one with a plan,” Lance said.

 

“I never said I had a plan,” Chris objected.

 

“No, but you won’t let us tell JC anything,” Lance replied. “So we assumed that you had an idea.”

 

Chris sighed. “All right. Well, the demons said something about where he came from, right?” He waited until the others nodded and added, “Then maybe we should start there.”

 

“We already know that, and I highly doubt Karen and Roy were involved with demons,” Lance said.

 

“Yeah, that’s not very likely,” Joey agreed.

 

“No, that’s not it.” When the guys looked at Chris blankly he added, “Don’t you remember? JC was adopted when he was five. We have no idea who his birth parents are.”

 

“So we look them up?” Justin asked.

 

“Basically, yeah,” Chris said.

 

Joey frowned. “Well, we’d have to ask JC since we don’t even know their names, which would kind of defeat the purpose of keeping this from him. And you know he’d be pissed at us for even asking, let alone why.”

 

“We don’t necessarily have to tell him,” Chris said.

 

“So you do have a plan,” Justin replied, seeing the coy look on his friend’s face.

 Lance turned his attention to Chris. “How could we get around asking him?” 

“We could ask Karen,” Chris suggested.

 

“And tell her what?” Lance asked. “We can’t just tell her what we’re looking for. It’ll make her suspicious.”

 

“So we come up with a convincing lie.”

 

Justin looked at Chris in surprise. It wasn’t that Chris had suggested lying because out of the five of them he was the best liar, but to suggest doing it to a mom? They’d all grown close to each other’s moms since they’d spent so much time together over the years, and all the moms knew them well so that they’d know if one of them tried lying to her. He decided to voice that aloud.

 

“Like what? She’s not going to believe just anything,” Justin said.

 

“I don’t know.” Chris shrugged. “We’ll say he lost his driver’s license or something.”

 

Lance crossed his arms. “She won’t believe that. JC’s a good driver.”

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean got it taken away. I meant as in he lost the actual ID and needs her to send him his birth certificate so he could get a new one.”

 

“JC never loses his stuff,” Joey said.

 

“And why wouldn’t he call her?” Lance asked.

 

Chris shrugged. “Maybe he’s embarrassed.”

 

“I don’t think so, Chris,” Joey said.

 

“Why don’t you come up with something then instead of shooting my ideas down?” Chris suggested.

 

“Maybe we could just out right ask her,” Joey replied.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure that’d go over real well,” Chris said sarcastically.

 

“There’s no way that we could ask her without her wanting to know why,” Justin said, echoing what Lance had said earlier.

 

“Well, I don’t know!” Joey threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “I’m no good at lying to the moms.”

 

“But it’s not just getting the information. We need to come up with an idea that won’t get her suspicious and make her call JC asking why we wanted to know about his birth parents,” Lance pointed out.

 

“What if we mixed his birth certificate with other important documents so it’s not obvious what we’re looking for?” Justin suggested.

 

“What would he need that stuff for?” Joey asked.

 

“He lost his passport,” Chris said.

 

Joey raised an eyebrow. “What’s with you and JC losing things?”

 

“He’s clumsy so maybe it carried onto objects. You know, dropping stuff all the time,” Chris said.

 

“For the billionth time, JC’s responsible and doesn’t lose stuff like some people,” Lance replied, giving Chris a knowing look.

 

“That was one time!” Chris cried in defense. “God, you’d think I lost your cat instead of your credit card.”

 

Joey cleared his throat to get their attention and stir the conversation back on track. “So what if we went with him needing that stuff for his passport?”

 

“Well, we’re back to what I said before. Why wouldn’t he just call her himself?” Lance asked.

 

Justin paused and then said, “I can call my mom and say that we all need that stuff for something. And I could ask her to pass it on to the other moms.”

 

Lance sat there for a moment before a look of realization passed over his face and he immediately jogged back into the house. Justin shared a look of confusion with Joey and Chris who merely shrugged. However, they didn’t have to wait long to find out where Lance had run off to and why because he came walking back out, phone to his ear.

 

“I’m good, Karen. How are you?” Lance asked.

 

Justin looked at Joey and Chris. “Why’s he talking to her already?”

 

“He must have an idea,” Joey said.

 

“I hope it works,” Chris mumbled.

 

Lance glared at them, silently telling them to shut up, and went back to the conversation. “Well, the reason I’m calling is that I need to ask you a favor. You see, Jive just hired this new secretary and she accidentally shredded JC’s personal files.”

 

There was a pause as Karen probably asked some question before Lance said, “She confused his files with the artist that Jive just terminated. Their files were right next to each other.”

 

At that Justin burst out laughing and Chris and Joey weren’t far behind him. He’d tried to hold it in, but he couldn’t handle it. The mental image he got of some girl standing over a paper shredder and feeding JC’s confidential files as if she taking pleasure out of it into it was too much. It didn’t help that he pictured her laughing evilly even though he was sure she would’ve been mortified at what she’d done. Lance’s glare intensified, as if that were possible.

 

“No, that’s just the guys. They think the whole thing’s hilarious. Personally I feel bad for the girl…fired on her first day. But anyway, I need you to fax over his birth certificate, medical records, and anything else you can think of. No, don’t send it to Jive. They’re closed already and I’m going in tomorrow morning anyway.

 

“Yeah, that’s it,” Lance said. “Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell JC about this. We haven’t told him and there’s no reason to get him all worked up over something that’s already been dealt with. Yeah, I will. Thanks, Karen. Bye.”

 

“God, you guys make it impossible to talk on the phone,” Lance complained after he hung up the phone.

 

“You managed just fine,” Chris said.

 

“I can’t believe she bought it,” Justin said in amazement. It wasn’t often that one of them could lie and get away with it. He had been certain that this wasn’t going to be one of those times.

 

Joey laughed. “Where did you come up with that story anyway?”

 

Lance shrugged. “It just popped into my head after Justin offered to call Lynn.”

 

“Well, good going, Lance,” Joey said, clapping him on the shoulder.

 

Justin couldn’t help but feel they were finally making progress. Before the day was over they’d know who JC’s birth parents are. The only problem would be looking at it and discussing it without JC finding out what they’d done and planned on doing. Regardless Justin felt a little apprehensive about learning about JC’s birth parents because JC never really talked about them or his adoption and maybe there was a reason for that. He was afraid that they’d stumble onto something that they didn’t really want to know like that JC’s mother had mated with a demon. It was doubtful, but how else could JC have gotten his psychic abilities? The demons seemed pretty confident that it had to do with where he came from and that was worrisome. There was the chance that they were wrong and he was hoping they were.

 

But even if the demons were wrong and his abilities weren’t connected with where he came from, they could still come across something they wouldn’t want to know. Justin had always heard horror stories about what happened to kids whose parents beat them before the state intervened and they were placed into foster care. It made him especially uncomfortable that they were doing this behind JC’s back because he would’ve preferred to ask him, but he knew that wasn’t an option because there’s no way JC would want to share that information with them. That was if he even remembered. Justin wasn’t sure if it would be worse to not remember what’d happened to you as a kid, or to remember something that could possibly be hurtful.

 

“Hey, JC,” Lance greeted, bringing Justin out of his thoughts as he saw JC come over to them.

 

“Hey,” JC said, his voice sounded kind of rough. Justin reasoned he’d probably just woken up.

 

“How are you feeling?” Joey asked.

 

“Better.” JC looked over at Justin with a critical eye. No doubt trying to see if there was any change in his appearance since he’d last seen him. “How are you holding up?”

 

Justin smiled. “I’m good.”

 

JC’s eyes then trailed over to where Chris was standing and Chris held up his hand. “Don’t bother. I’m fine except that I’m starving.”

 

“Are the burgers nearly done?” Joey asked.

 

Chris nodded and Lance went back into the house to grab a plate to put them on. JC followed to set the table and help get whatever else they were having on the table. As Justin watched him leave he felt guilt pass over him for keeping all of this stuff from his best friend, especially since he shared everything with him. But hopefully it would all work out and he wouldn’t have to worry about JC anymore.

The five of them sat around the living room later that evening watching a rerun of South Park, and they all laughed when Kenny died in some unnatural way for what had to be the hundredth time. It was killing Lance to sit there doing nothing instead of researching, and it looked like he wasn’t the only one because Justin’s right leg bounced up and down repeatedly. Normally Justin wasn’t one to fidget like that, but they probably had some important documents laying in the fax tray in Lance’s office right now that might hold some answers they’re looking for. If it’d been up to Lance, they’d be in there right now, but they couldn’t while JC was awake because they didn’t want to chance him walking in on them and blowing up at what they’d done.

 

Glancing over at JC, whose attention was on the program, Lance couldn’t help but feel frustration and anger. He was upset that JC was willing to give up so easily, especially since it was his life at stake. Though, honestly Lance wasn’t surprised at this behavior because he’d always known that JC looked out for them, and this time wasn’t any different. But it was infuriating that he wouldn’t fight for his life. That wasn’t going to deter Lance though because with the help of the guys they would find something and figure out a solution. Proving JC wrong fueled his desire even more than before.

 

“I’m hungry,” Justin complained, snapping Lance out of his thoughts.

 

“I’ll see if we have anything,” Lance said, rising from the couch and walking into the kitchen. He opened the cupboard that held the snacks and frowned when he saw that it was nearly empty. They needed to go food shopping and soon. The only thing that looked edible was a mostly full package of cookies.

 

“How about cookies?” Lance called into the living room.

 

“And milk!” Justin yelled back in agreement.

 

Lance nodded to himself and placed the cookies on the counter. Just as he was getting the milk out, he heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Joey. “I figured you could use some help,” Joey said.

 

“Thanks,” Lance replied.

 

He watched as Joey pulled down five glasses from an overhead cupboard and started to fill them with milk when his attention was diverted by loud laughter coming from the living room. Lance saw Justin and Chris exchange looks before busting out laughing again, and even JC was chuckling. JC didn’t look tired at all, which wasn’t surprising considering that he slept all day, but Lance knew that JC needed to stay on a regular sleeping schedule so they wouldn’t have any more problems not sleeping. If only there was a way that they could force JC to get some sleep. Just then Lance remembered something that would help.

 

“I’ve got an idea.”

 

Before Joey could ask, Lance turned and left the kitchen before jogging upstairs. At the top he made a left into his bedroom and grabbed the sleeping pills off his nightstand that had been left there since a couple of weeks ago when Justin had administered them to him. Lance punched out a pill before replacing the package on the nightstand and heading downstairs. Once he was in the kitchen, he took one of the full glasses and used the bottom to crush the pill.

 

“What are you doing?” Joey asked.

 

“I’m crushing a sleeping pill into JC’s milk,” Lance said as he grabbed the glass and held it just below the counter while the other hand swept the white powder into the glass.

 

Joey’s jaw dropped in surprise. “You’re what?”

 

Lance glanced behind him at the living room to see if Joey had attracted the attention of the others, but there was no sign that they’d heard anything. He leaned closer to Joey and said quietly, “He needs to sleep, and this will guarantee that he does.”

 

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Joey disagreed, frowning.

 

“You and I both know that he won’t get any sleep tonight since he slept all day. Then in a couple of days we’ll be right back to where we started,” Lance said.

 

“You don’t know that,” Joey replied.

 

Lance crossed his arms. “Didn’t he say that he couldn’t help it? If that’s true, then he needs something to help him fall asleep.”

 

“But he fell asleep last night without anything,” Joey pointed out.

 

“Of course he did. His body probably finally shut down.” Lance sighed. “Look, I don’t really want to do this, but I don’t want any more health problems either.”

 

Joey was silent for a moment before he shook his head. “He’ll be so pissed when he realizes what you did.”

 

“I can live with that,” Lance said, picking up JC’s drugged glass with his right and holding his own in his left, balancing the package of cookies on his arm. He glanced to his left and saw that Joey had grabbed the other three glasses with the one in the crook of his arm.

 

“’Bout time,” Chris groused, taking the cookies out of Lance’s arms as he and Joey entered the living room. Silently Lance handed the glass in his right hand to JC who accepted it with a nod of thanks before he sat down in the chair.

 

“You weren’t the one to complain of hunger,” Justin replied.

 

Chris shrugged. “So?”

 

“So you shouldn’t be complaining. You wouldn’t even have cookies if it weren’t for me,” Justin said.

 

“Well, your cookies are stale,” JC said, swallowing with a grimace and immediately taking a drink of his milk.

 

“Aw, man,” Joey groaned, joining Justin on the floor in front of the TV since he’d finished passing out the milk. “There’s nothing worse than stale cookies.”

 

Justin turned to look at Lance. “Way to go, Lance.”

 

“It’s not my fault. You guys were the ones who bought them, ate like two, and put them in the cupboard,” Lance said.

 

“Did not,” Chris denied, crumbs falling out of his mouth.

 

Lance shook his head in disgust and turned his attention back to the TV while watching JC out of the corner of his eye. He wondered how long it would take for the sleep aid to take effect because he’d read that it differed for everyone. Back when JC had given them to Justin, he’d fallen asleep within fifteen minutes. After JC finished his milk, nearly a half hour passed when Lance caught movement from JC out of the corner of his eye as his body relaxed into the couch and his eyelids fluttered closed.

 

“How can he possibly be tired?” Chris asked, looking over at JC who was sleeping with his upper body lying on the couch and his head resting on the arm. “He slept all day.”

 

“I slipped something in his milk,” Lance said, nonchalantly.

 

Justin’s eyes widened and unknowingly repeated Joey’s earlier sentiment, “You what?”

 

“Makes sense.” Chris nodded in understanding. “He probably wouldn’t have fallen asleep otherwise.”

 

“Yeah, but drugging him? Was that really necessary?” Justin asked.

 

“If we don’t want any more relapses, then yes,” Lance said. He didn’t feel any remorse for what he’d done because he knew that it was in JC’s best interests. A week ago he’d vowed to himself that he wouldn’t let JC get to the point where he made himself sick, and he had every intention of following it.

 

“So is this your new solution for him?” Joey asked. “Because you can’t keep giving him sleeping pills.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were OK with this?”

 

“Just because I let you do it doesn’t mean I totally agree with it. I don’t want this to become a common thing,” Joey said.

 

“It’s not going to,” Lance replied.

 

“So what now?” Chris asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

 

“Well, I was thinking we could get started researching JC’s birth parents since he’s not going to be waking up anytime soon,” Lance suggested.

 

They all agreed and shut off the TV before following Lance into the study. Immediately Lance walked over to his fax machine sitting on his desk and grabbed the stack of papers that Karen had faxed over. It was odd to think that the answers they were looking for were potentially in his hands, but he didn’t pause for long before he sifted through the papers to find what he was looking for. Before he could read the names on the birth certificate aloud, he felt someone leaning over his shoulder.

 

“Alison Weston and Thomas Ahamay,” Justin read and straightened up. He looked up at the others. “They didn’t get married?”

 

“Not everyone who has a kid gets married, J,” Joey pointed out.

 

“I know, but I just figured his would’ve, you know?”

 

Lance couldn’t blame Justin for thinking that because he had too. He didn’t know what it was, but he just imagined that JC’s birth parents had gotten married and loved each other. Though, he guessed if that was true then he wouldn’t have been adopted. There was this pit in his stomach telling him that they wouldn’t like finding out what’d happened to JC’s parents and how he came to be up for adoption. This was definitely uncharted territory for them, and Lance wondered how much JC knew about his adoption and birth parents.

 

“Who do we want to look up first?” Chris asked, taking the birth certificate out of Lance’s hands and looking at it closer.

 

“Let’s look up his father,” Lance suggested, pulling out the computer chair and sitting down in it as he waited for his computer to boot up.

 

Joey moved closer and half sat on the desk next to Lance. “Do you think we’ll find anything?”

 

“We’re about to find out,” Lance said.

 

The next three hours crept by slowly. Researching JC’s father was a lot harder than Lance had expected, which made going through numerous websites tedious. He knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but he figured that it would’ve been at least a little easier since so much information was accessible through the Internet. But so far they hadn’t really found anything that could be useful. Lance tiredly rubbed his eyes; they were really starting to hurt from staring at the computer screen for so long.

 

“I think we should call it quits for the night,” Justin said.

 

“No.” Lance sat up straighter. “I’m good.”

 

Chris shook his head. “J’s right, Lance. We can pick this up tomorrow.”

 

“All right,” Lance gave in with a sigh after pausing for a moment. He’d thought about refusing, but really did need a break. Together the four of them left the study before going upstairs to their respective rooms. As Lance got ready for bed, he hoped that when he woke up tomorrow and felt more rested that they’d get something that would bring them closer to figuring this all out.

 

 

  

JC pushed himself to his feet, wincing when his back popped. His whole body was sore from sleeping in such a weird position all night. Slowly he rolled his neck and shoulders to loosen the kinks that had accumulated there overnight before he started to stretch. He glanced over at the clock on the entertainment stand and felt anger course through his body. It was nearly ten o’clock in the morning, and he shouldn’t have been asleep that long since when he’d fallen asleep he’d only been up for about six hours. The only explanation as to why he had fallen asleep and slept that long was that he must’ve been slipped something.

 

It took him a minute to realize that a sleeping pill must’ve been crushed into his milk because the cookies couldn’t have had anything in them since everyone had some. From there it wasn’t hard to conclude that it’d been Lance’s idea because he’d made it very clear the other night that he thought he should’ve taken one. JC was pissed that Lance had gone behind his back like that to force him to sleep.

 

There was a part of him that could understand where Lance was coming from because there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to make sure that the guys were taking care of themselves. Just three weeks ago he’d given Lance Nyquil under the pretenses that he was taking Dayquil, and shortly after that he’d given Justin a sleeping pill once he found out about his nightmares. However, that didn’t stop him from feeling betrayed because one of the things he hated most was when people went behind his back and lied about it. Not that he would’ve taken the pills willingly if Lance had offered them to him, but that was beside the point.

 

JC heard a low bass voice resound in the kitchen and knew that Lance was in there. He walked into the room to find Lance talking to Joey who was leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in his hands. Joey looked up and greeted him, “Hey.”

 

“I can’t believe you,” JC hissed to Lance when he turned around to face him, ignoring Joey’s greeting.

 

“I’m just going to…watch TV or something,” Joey excused himself from the room. JC felt bad for putting Joey in a position where he had to leave the room to avoid his friends fighting and being pulled into it, but he couldn’t contain the anger that he held towards Lance.

 

“What?” Lance asked innocently once Joey was gone.

 

“Don’t act like you don’t know.” JC glared at him. “You drugged me.”

 

Lance sighed. “I didn’t have a choice.”

 

“You had plenty of choices. Like letting me run my own damn life,” JC retorted.

 

“Well, if you would actually take care of yourself, I wouldn’t have to do it for you, now would I?”

 

“You had no right to drug me,” JC said after trying to think of something to say. He knew that Lance was kind of right because he hadn’t been taking care of himself before. But now he was trying to, and Lance seemed to overlook that.

 

“You’re such a hypocrite. You did it to me…to Justin,” Lance replied.

 

“That’s different!”

 

Lance shook his head. “You’re the only one allowed to be worried?”

 

“No, but you should let me at least try to handle it before you slip me sleeping pills,” JC said.

 

“You wouldn’t have bought them if you weren’t going to use them,” Lance replied.

 

“Which means it should’ve been my choice,” JC shot back.

 

Lance crossed his arms. “I think the past couple weeks have shown your decision making skills suck.”

 

Just then JC’s phone began playing Beethoven’s ninth symphony, preventing him from saying anything else to Lance. He dug the ringing phone out of his pocket and glared at Lance. The back door opened and Chris and Justin came in from the backyard, so JC walked into the hall to answer his phone.

 

“Hello?” JC answered.

 

“Hi, JC. It’s Kelly.”

 

“Oh, hey. How are you?” JC asked, walking from the hallway into the living room where Joey was relaxing on the couch with the remote in his hand as he watched some classic black and white film.

 

Joey looked up from the TV. “Who you talking to?”

 

“Is that Joey?” Kelly asked. JC figured she’d heard him. “Don’t tell him it’s me.”

 

“My mom,” JC answered.

 

“Oh. Tell her I say hi,” Joey said and slowly rose from the couch. He headed for the kitchen because he knew that he’d have to let the others know that JC was talking to his mom. His heart was racing so fast that Joey was surprised he wasn’t having a heart attack. This wasn’t good. There was a good possibility that JC would know about what they’d done to get his birth certificate and then all hell would break loose.

 

“Guys, guys,” Joey whispered harshly as he entered the kitchen, glancing behind himself to see if he’d attracted JC’s attention yet.

 

Chris frowned as he leaned against the counter. “Why are you whispering?”

 

“We have a problem,” Joey said, ignoring Chris.

 

“What?” Lance asked, still sitting at the table.

 

“JC’s talking to his mom,” Joey said.

 

Justin immediately pulled his head out of the refrigerator and stood up straight with a worried expression on his face that Joey was sure mirrored his own. “Seriously?”

 

“How do you know?” Chris asked, rubbing his stomach lightly. Joey frowned, but quickly realized that it must’ve been from when Justin had straightened suddenly. Justin probably pulled on his stitches a little, but must be all right or else Chris would’ve said something.

 

“He told me.” Joey looked at each of them. “What are we going do?”

 

Justin held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I knew lying to a mom was a bad idea.”

 

“We need to listen in on his conversation,” Chris said.

 

Lance frowned. “What good would that do? She could’ve already told him.”

 

“We need to know for sure,” Chris replied. He crept towards the living room where JC still was only to be forced to lean casually against the wall as JC walked into the hallway. Chris nodded at him and JC gave him a funny look before continuing down the hall by Lance’s study with his back to the kitchen. The others joined him and together they leaned their heads into the hallway and fell silent to listen to what JC was saying.

 

“No, he hasn’t said anything to me.” JC paused briefly. “Why?”

 

There was a moment of silence before JC said, “He called you?”

 

The four of them exchanged wide-eyed, uneasy looks. It sounded like his mom was going to tell him about Lance calling her yesterday and there wasn’t anything they could do about it because JC turned and walked out of the sight before they could hear the stairs creak signaling that he was going upstairs to his room.

 

“Let’s follow him,” Chris said.

 

“We can’t. That’d be rude,” Lance replied.

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “I think we’re past that stage.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t think it gets any worse than going behind his back,” Joey added.

 

“Still we can’t go up there and stand outside his door. It’d be suspicious,” Lance said.

 

Chris sighed. “What are we going to do then? She’s probably telling him what we did.”

 

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and she won’t tell him,” Lance said hopefully.

 

“We’re screwed,” Justin groaned and Joey silently agreed. Shortly JC would know all about what they’d done and what they were up to, and he’d be pissed about it. The only thing they could really do now was prepare for the anger JC would unleash on them when he got off the phone.

 

 

  

“So you wanted to talk about Joey?” JC asked, sitting on his bed with his legs tucked underneath him. He’d gone up to his room to ensure he would have privacy because he didn’t want the guys, especially Joey, to walk in on this conversation.

 

Kelly sighed. “I’m worried about him, so I called you because I knew you’d tell me what’s going on.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I know something’s going on because otherwise Joey’d be here right now.” Kelly paused. “Unless he doesn’t want to come home.”

 

“Don’t say that. He’s crazy about you and Brianna and misses you both,” JC said.

 

“Then why doesn’t he come home? Is he drinking again?” Kelly asked.

 

JC shook his head even though he knew that she couldn’t see him. “No, no. We’ve been keeping an eye on him. You don’t have to worry about that.”

 

“Then what’s going on?”

 

“How much has Joey told you?” JC asked. He didn’t want to say anything if Joey hadn’t told her anything because if he hadn’t done so then he must not be ready to tell her. Plus he didn’t want to get in the middle of this and cause even more problems between the two of them. It was bad enough that he was the reason Joey’s family life was messed up, he didn’t want to make it worse.

 

“Not much,” Kelly admitted. “But I was hoping that you could tell me.”

 

“I’m sorry, Kelly, but I can’t. If Joey didn’t tell you then there must be a reason, and I don’t want to go behind his back like that,” JC said, wincing. The reason was because there were demons after him. It was such a crazy reason that JC didn’t blame Joey for not telling Kelly because if he hadn’t lived through it, he probably wouldn’t believe it either.

 

“I understand. You’re such a good friend, JC.”

 

“Look, Kelly…” JC sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I promise you that you’ll get your time with Joey before we go back in the studio again. You’ll see him so much that you’ll want to send him back to us.”

 

Kelly laughed softly. “Thanks, JC. I appreciate it.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“Well, I have to go pick up Brianna from a friend’s house. Take care of yourself,” Kelly said.

 

“You too. Tell my favorite niece I said hi,” JC replied.

 

“I will,” Kelly promised. “Bye, JC.”

 

“Bye.”

 

JC hung up his phone and sighed. It’d been hard not to tell Kelly what she wanted to hear, especially since she called him because she trusted him to tell the truth. And he could tell that she’d been disappointed when he told her that it wasn’t his place to speak for Joey. However, he didn’t regret his decision because he knew that Joey would tell her when he was ready.

 

Tossing his phone on his dresser, he left his room and headed down the stairs only to find Joey and Lance straightening from their bent positions at the bottom while Chris and Justin ducked into the study. Slowly he descended the rest of the stairs.

 

“How’s your mom?” Joey asked.

 

“Good,” JC said, eyeing him and Lance warily. It was obvious that they were up to something and that Justin and Chris were probably in on it. Nothing was coming to JC’s mind, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to keep his eyes open from now on.

Justin scanned article after article. He’d arrived at the library with Lance about a half hour ago. Shortly after JC had gotten off the phone, Lance had said that he was going to the library to see if they would have better luck finding information about JC’s birth parents since the Internet wasn’t helping them much. Immediately Justin jumped at the chance to get out of the house and asked if he could go. At first the guys had said no because they didn’t want something to happen to him. But then Justin had pointed out that they couldn’t keep him inside forever, and they’d relented.

 

He was really worried about JC and him finding out what they were up to before they had a solution. They’d really thought they were screwed when JC was on the phone earlier talking to his mom because they were afraid that she told him about the crazy story Lance had come up with and how they needed his birth certificate and other important documents. But in the end it they’d been freaking out for no reason because JC hadn’t found out what they’d done or else he would’ve come downstairs yelling and pissed off. Now it really put a rush on them to find some information because it would be worth it to have JC screaming at them if they had the information they needed and at the very least a working solution.

 

Glancing to his right at Lance, he was sure that Lance probably appreciated the help. They hadn’t really been able to help at Lance’s house since Lance was using his computer and they hadn’t brought their own. Justin had a feeling that they would find something before they left today, especially since they’d split up the work. Both of them were using databases to do a nationwide search through old newspapers, but Lance was looking up JC’s father while he was looking up his mother.

 

“I’ve got something,” Lance said as if he’d known what Justin was thinking.

 

“Yeah?” Justin asked, abandoning his computer to look over Lance’s shoulder.

 

Lance nodded and gestured to the screen in front of him. “May 28, 1981 a tractor trailer on I75 lost control and collided with a car that 33-year-old Thomas Ahamay had been driving.”

 

“He die?”

 

“Killed on impact,” Lance said, turning to look at him. “Maybe that’s why they didn’t get married.”

 

Justin shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”

 

“What about you? Find anything?” Lance asked.

 

“Actually…” Justin repositioned himself in front his computer. “There’s a bunch of articles about her. Apparently she’s a very talented musician. She plays a bunch of instruments and has performed in different music halls across the country.”

 

“Must be where JC gets it from,” Lance mused and Justin nodded. He’d thought the same thing whenever he’d first discovered her advanced musical ability. It was kind of weird researching JC’s parents, especially when they didn’t know if he even knew anything about them. But at the same time it was interesting because they were learning something new that could possibly bring them closer to stopping the demons from killing JC.

 

“It also says she composed a bunch of different pieces.” Justin paused briefly, trying to think if the name sparked anything in his mind because he thought it’d be cool if he’d come across something of hers in the past but didn’t know it. “For all the great reviews she got, I don’t remember hearing about her.”

 

Lance gave him a knowing look. “Well, first off, you weren’t even born when she was composing. And second off, I’m sure a lot of people don’t know who she is unless they’re into classical music.”

 

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

“Is there anything else?” Lance asked, peering over his shoulder and squinting at the screen.

 

Justin turned his head slightly to look at him and frowned when he saw him squinting. “Where are your glasses?”

 

“I forgot them at the house,” Lance said.

 

“You’re going to screw up your eyes,” Justin replied.

 

“I only need them for reading.”

 

Justin raised an eyebrow and gestured to the computer and surrounding books. “What do you call this?”

 

“Researching,” Lance said simply.

 

“You’re going to give yourself a head—”

 

“Justin,” Lance interrupted and tapped at the screen.

 

Justin rolled his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t really surprised at Lance’s behavior because he’d thrown himself into research ever since they’d had that group discussion a week ago after JC’d made himself sick. But Justin was concerned that Lance might be overdoing it. The rest of them were partially responsible for Lance taking on the majority of the load, but now that they were helping it was easy to see how irritable this was making Lance. Earlier he and Chris had seen Lance fighting with JC from where they’d been talking on the patio. Normally JC and Lance got along well and hardly ever fought, and Justin was afraid that they’d cause a rift between the group which would be damaging since it was important that they all stick together and prepare for what could happen.

 

“That’s all I’ve really found so far. Though, I have noticed that there seem to be less articles about her the closer it gets to the year JC was born.”

 

“She probably wanted to take a break once she got pregnant,” Lance reasoned. “Why don’t you fast forward to 1981, the year he was adopted?”

 

Justin nodded and skipped ahead until he landed on January of 1981. From there he slowly scanned through the newspaper articles. Nothing caught his eye until he reached the beginning of June. “Whoa,” Justin whispered.

 

“What? Find something?” Lance asked.

 

“A lot more than something.” Justin paused and read, “’Oakwood Cabin Rental has temporarily closed their camp in Southern Florida, just 120 miles outside of Orlando, due to a string of deaths that took place this past weekend. The first, and probably most tragic, occurred on Friday the sixth when two children were swimming in a lake. Young Amanda, age five, accidentally drowned after hitting her head while horsing around with her friend. Her family was devastated, especially her mother who was found the next morning hanging from the ceiling fan in the room her daughter stayed in.’”

 

Lance frowned. “Is there more?”

 

Justin nodded. “’But the final death that took place later that evening has coroners puzzled. Thirty-one year old Alison Weston was thought to have committed suicide as well, but after the autopsy, no cause of death can be determined. Her five year-old son, Joshua, who had been present while the little girl drowned, was found wandering the woods surrounding the Oakwood property. He currently sits in foster care until other family members can be contacted, or else he’ll remain there until he’s adopted. Oakwood Cabin Rental said in a press conference that they’re in no way responsible for what’d happened, and that they’ll use the time that it’s closed to do some much needed remodeling.’”

 

“I think we found a big piece of the puzzle,” Lance said.

 

“Yeah, but there are still too many questions. Like how JC’s mom died,” Justin replied.

 

Lance read over the article and said, “Well, the coroners don’t even know.”

 

“So…you think it was the demons?”

 

Lance shrugged. “It’s certainly possible considering what we’ve dealt with. And if they were after her, it would explain why the demons are after JC now.”

 

“But why would they be after her? She seemed like a good person,” Justin said. In a way it’d been a relief to find out that JC’s mother had been killed because that meant she took good care of JC and that none of those horror stories they’d all heard about happened to his friend. But now there were even more questions about why the demons would be after her, and more importantly, why they decided to go after JC too.

 

“I don’t know, J.”

 

“Maybe we should ask Katrina,” Justin suggested.

 

“Why?” Lance asked.

 

“Because she was there. Maybe she knows something or noticed something weird about JC’s mom,” Justin said.

 

“If she did, don’t you think she would’ve told us?”

 

“She refuses to help us, so I wouldn’t put lying past her,” Justin said.

 

Lance narrowed his eyes. “She’s an angel. She wouldn’t do that.”

 

“Well, she’s not helping us either.”

 

“Because she can’t get in the way of the devil’s plans,” Lance defended. “She wants to help us in any way she can, but we need to find a solution ourselves.”

 

“And how the hell are we supposed to do that? We barely managed to find out what we did,” Justin said.

 

“We?” Lance repeated. “I’ve been the one doing all of the research. What have you been doing?”

 

Justin was momentarily stunned before anger took over. “Screw you, Lance. Between being kidnapped and having visions, I haven’t exactly had any time to help research.”

 

Lance sighed heavily and looked down at his watch. “I think we’ve found all we’re going to today. We need to get back and fill in Joey and Chris.”

 

 

  

Joey pulled the covers back and climbed into bed. It was nearly one o’clock in the morning, but he wasn’t that tired because he had too much on his mind. A lot had gone on earlier that day, and things weren’t the best between them and JC. It’d started that morning when JC had yelled at Lance for drugging him the night before, but it got even worse later when JC’d found out that Lance and Justin had left the house. JC had been mad that Joey and Chris had let Justin leave the house considering what’d just happened to him. They’d argued with him saying that they couldn’t do anything about it now and eventually JC left in a huff.

 

A couple hours later Justin and Lance returned from the library, but before Joey or Chris could ask them how it went JC came back into the room. Immediately he launched into a similar rant that he’d expressed earlier while Lance and Justin were gone. It was understandable why he was so upset over it because he’d watched Justin get taken right before his very eyes, but he needed to accept that they couldn’t stop Justin from going out. Justin had reiterated that point and promised that he’d be careful, which had been enough for JC to let it go.

 

After JC’d left the room, probably to seclude himself in his room, Justin and Lance had filled them in on what they’d found out about JC’s birth parents at the library. They’d told him and Chris about the tragic death of JC’s father and the mysterious death of his mother. It hadn’t been as surprising as Joey had thought it would be. He had a feeling that it was because he found it hard to believe that JC’s adoption would’ve been caused because the state had to interfere. But still it was a lot of information to take in and process. Since both of them had died it wasn’t like they could hunt down his mother and ask her why the demons were after her. Some of their questions had been answered, but it’d also brought up new questions that seemed even more impossible to answer than the last ones. And before they could even figure out what their next plan of action should be JC had come walking back into the room, effectively cutting off their conversation.

 

Joey tiredly shook his head. There was so much drama already, and it would only increase when JC found out what they’d learned by going behind his back. To Joey it wasn’t a matter of if JC would find out but when. Overall he felt terrible about it, but at the moment it was their best option since asking JC was out of the question. He dreaded the day when JC did find out because it would only make the tension worse. It had first appeared when JC had told them that he didn’t want any part of looking for a way out, but it only seemed to mount as the days passed, especially after last night with Lance drugging him. The sooner all of this was over and they saved JC, the better.

 

The racing thoughts in Joey’s mind started to slow, allowing haziness of sleep to creep in. After lying there for a minute, his eyelids closed of their own accord. It didn’t last long though because he sensed someone had entered the room, which shook him out of the light doze he’d fallen into. He opened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat when he saw someone at the foot of his bed, but quickly realized that it was Chris.

 

“God, Chris,” Joey complained, putting a hand over his heart. “You scared the crap out of me.”

 

Joey expected Chris to laugh and make a joke about how he was such a girl for being so jumpy, but he didn’t joke or laugh. He just stood there staring at him. It unnerved Joey, but figured that maybe Chris couldn’t sleep and didn’t know what to say.

 

“Can’t sleep?” Joey asked. There still was no answer so Joey added, “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“There’s so much you don’t know,” Chris said finally.

 

Joey raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

 

“I can’t tell you.”

 

“Thanks a lot.” Joey rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in exasperation. He didn’t know what was up with Chris and he waited a few minutes in silence to see if he would say anything else. Finally he couldn’t take it and said, “You know what? I’m going to try to get some sleep now, so I’d appreciate it if you got out of my room.”

 

“You need to keep a better eye on JC,” Chris said as if he hadn’t heard him and they hadn’t just been sitting in creepy, awkward silence for the last couple of minutes.

 

Joey shook his head. It was just like Chris to randomly blurt out what was on his mind. “We are.”

 

“Not good enough,” Chris replied.

 

“Why are you blaming all this on me? You’re supposed to be watching him too.”

 

Joey thought back to the last week and realized that maybe Chris was right. They weren’t keeping that great of an eye on JC because he’d been having problems sleeping. If they weren’t careful they would have yet another relapse on their hands, and they couldn’t let that happen. It’d already happened too much.

 

Joey sighed and looked down as he rubbed at his eyes. “What are we supposed to do then?”

 

There was no answer and Joey looked up to find that Chris was gone. It was like he hadn’t been in his room at all, and it really freaked him out that Chris was able to enter and exit his room without making any noise. Joey slowly lied back against his pillows feeling more awake than he did ten minutes ago. There had to be some reason that Chris would come into his room in the middle of the night and say that stuff, and he had every intention of finding out tomorrow morning.

 

 

  

“Let’s go clubbing.”

 

Chris looked up from his coffee and smirked. “I don’t think the clubs are open at nine o’clock in the morning.”

 

“Very funny, smartass. You knew what I meant,” Justin said, shoving Chris lightly from his seat next to him at the kitchen table.

 

Lance frowned. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

 

“Why not?” Justin asked.

 

“Because JC about had a coronary when we went to the library for a couple of hours. How do you think he’d feel about you going clubbing?” Lance explained.

 

Chris raised an eyebrow. “You siding with JC?”

 

“No. I’m just saying what his reaction’s going to be when he finds out,” Lance said.

 

“What if we all go out?” Justin suggested.

 

Lance shook his head. “I don’t think he’d want to go out.”

 

“But it would do him some good. Do us some good. Things have tense lately, and this could be our chance to relax and ease some of it,” Justin insisted.

 

“It worked last time,” Chris said, cutting off Lance before he could object. He was with Justin on this one. Clubbing didn’t sound like a bad idea, especially if it could return things to normal, at least for a few hours. Last time it’d been successful and JC had been smiling and laughing, so it was possible it could work this time too.

 

“I still don’t think he’ll go for it.” Just then Joey walked in and Lance asked him, “What do you think, Joe?”

 

Joey poured himself a glass of orange juice. “’Bout what?”

 

“All of us going clubbing tonight,” Justin said before Lance could.

 

Joey shrugged as he put the juice back. “Sounds good to me.”

 

“But do you think JC would agree?” Lance insisted, standing straighter against the counter.

 

“I don’t see why not. I mean, if he goes then he has no right to be pissy, right?”

 

“Right,” Chris agreed with Joey. “Besides, there’s four of us and only one of him. We can force him if we need to.”

 

Silence filled the room with only sounds of the four of them eating their breakfast. Joey drained his glass and set it in the sink before he focused his attention on Chris. “What was up with you last night, Chris?”

 

“What do you mean?” Chris asked.

 

“You came into my room in the middle of night and scared the crap out of me. Do you realize how quiet you are when you want to be?”

 

Chris gave Joey a look mixed with amusement and confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was sleeping in my bed.”

 

“You’re sure you weren’t in my room last night?” Joey asked.

 

“Yeah, I think I would know if I had been.” Chris paused. “What did I say? Anything?”

 

Joey nodded. “I’m not really sure what though. It was pretty cryptic. Then, you just disappeared.”

 

Justin choked on the milk that he’d been drinking as he started laughing. “You can disappear?” he asked Chris.

 

“Let me try.” Chris closed his eyes and squeezed his face in concentration. After a minute he opened his eyes and looked around, laughing at the crazy idea Joey proposed. “Nope, still here.”

 

“This isn’t a joke!” Joey exploded, his face contorted in anger.

 

“We wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Justin soothed.

 

“Maybe you were sleepwalking,” Joey said, after a moment silence.

 

“I’m telling you, dude. We both went to bed at the same time and I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow,” Chris replied.

 

“Maybe you were dreaming, Joey,” Lance suggested.

 

Joey shook his head. “I wasn’t. I’d started to doze when I thought I felt someone in the room staring at me, and sure enough when I opened my eyes Chris was there.”

 

“And I said ‘cryptic things’?” Chris asked, eyebrow raised with a small smirk tugging at his lips. It sounded kind of funny.

 

“Yes!” Joey yelled in exasperation before he looked around and lowered his voice. “You said that we needed to keep a better eye on JC because we weren’t doing a good enough job.”

 

Chris raised his right hand in the air. “I swear to you, Joe. I never said that.”

 

“What if you have a demon in your head and that’s why you don’t remember?” Joey suggested.

 

Instantly the mood darkened as the lightheartedness that been caused by their laughter was zapped from what Joey said. Chris felt bad about making fun of Joey and not taking what he’d said seriously because considering what they’d been through it could be a possibility, especially since it’d already happened to Lance. The thought that he could have a demon in his head or possessing him made him uneasy, and as he looked around the kitchen at the others he could see he wasn’t the only one.

 

“Do you think it’ll happen again?” Justin asked Joey.

 

Joey shrugged. “It’s possible I guess.”

 

“We’re going to have to keep an eye on you tonight after we come back from clubbing,” Lance said to Chris. “So we can know for sure.”

 

Chris nodded in acceptance. He wasn’t going to fight them on that because he wanted to know for sure, so that if he did have a demon in his head they could try to get rid of it. Though, Chris wasn’t even sure how they’d be able to do that because it’d been JC who had gotten rid of the demon in Lance’s head, but he’d been able to get into Lance’s head since they were connected. While he hoped that he didn’t have a demon in his head, a small part of him wanted it because if it turned out that he wasn’t visiting Joey in the middle of night then that meant something else was. And that wasn’t something they were equipped to deal with.

Lance sat on the porch swing outside as he sifted through the articles that he and Justin had printed out before they left the library yesterday, making notes where necessary. He was trying to dig deeper and find something that maybe they’d missed the first time. There had to be something they were overlooking because Lance knew that a solution existed somewhere; they just hadn’t found it yet. They just had to find and utilize the information they’d found correctly. But so far he was coming up empty and starting to lose his patience again.

 

There wasn’t really anything else to find in the articles; they were pretty straight forward. Lance wasn’t giving up though because as far as he was concerned that wasn’t even an option. He looked down at some of the notes he’d made on the articles, especially the one that talked about the deaths at the cabin since that was the biggest article. However, his notes were more questions than anything else.

 

How did JC’s mom die? And for that matter, why did she have demons after her? Is that why the demons are after JC? Lance knew that he told Justin that it made sense that the demons would be after JC if they’d killed his mother, but the truth was that he didn’t have the foggiest idea. It was an educated guess because it made the most sense right now based on the knowledge that they had. But the thing that was eating at Lance was if the demons had been after JC’s mother and killed her, then why go after JC? It didn’t make any sense unless somehow JC had been involved too, which Lance doubted because JC had only been five at the time.

 

Lance sighed and let his mind drift back to what Justin had told them about what the demons had said because that’d been what drove them to research JC’s parents. Where he came from. It was pretty easy to see that they hadn’t meant it in the literal sense like a place, which brought them to his parents. But his parents seemed like normal people, or at least that was the impression he got from the articles. So what else was there?

 

Lance continued to repeat the demon’s words over and over in his head. Abruptly he sat up straighter when he realized that maybe he should think about what the demons said about JC being special. They’d been so focused on finding out where JC came from that they didn’t even stop to really think about what the demons had said. Sure, where JC came from was important, but what if why JC was special in the demon’s eyes was even more significant?

 

Suddenly Lance got an idea and immediately flipped open the notebook that he’d been using as a hard surface to take his notes on. As soon as he stopped on a clean sheet, he began to jot down what was in his mind because he knew that it would be easier to visualize if it was sketched down. After a couple of minutes, Lance sat back and eyed the diagram critically, looking for answers.

                                                   

They were all connected with each other somehow. He and JC had telepathy that had started when he, Joey, and Chris had been attacked in the woods a couple of months ago. Then there was JC and Justin, which wasn’t as clear. Justin’d had JC’s nightmares for the longest time, and now his visions were through JC’s point of view. Lance wasn’t really sure when Justin first started having JC’s exact nightmares, but he figured it had to have been sometime after JC’s collapse.

 

Now the latest one was between Chris and Justin with Chris feeling the pain that Justin was in while Justin got off scot-free. That happened right around the time that Joey was attacked, as far as Lance knew anyway. Looking at his diagram and going along with the flow of it, next there should be some connection between Chris and Joey. But as of right now there was nothing, which raised so many questions.

 

Why was Joey the only one who wasn’t connected? Would there be something to connect him with Chris? If so, would some terrible event happen to cause it? And from there would it come full circle with Joey connecting back to Lance?

 

Lance didn’t have the answers, but thought it was pretty likely considering the pattern the diagram showed. It seemed like every time something bad happened, one of them connected to another, which didn’t bode well for the future. That left Lance unsettled, but that feeling didn’t last for long as it was replaced by confusion. Based on what’d happened, it didn’t add up to what the demons had said.

 

They’d claimed that JC was special, but the diagram showed the he wasn’t the only one. He, Justin, and Chris had abilities too, and Joey could possibly in the future. And he was right back where he started. JC was special because of where he came from, but what about the rest of them? Why were they getting these abilities? And for that matter, how? Justin had said that even the demons didn’t know.

 

So if the demons didn’t know, did that make their abilities a product of something good? Lance wasn’t so sure. His and JC’s was probably the most useful out of the ones that existed so far because it gave them a way to communicate without speaking or using a phone when they were separated. JC and Justin’s and Justin and Chris’s on the other hand were a different story. Initially what he thought about JC and Justin’s was that it would help warn them, and it did, but so far they hadn’t been able to stop them from coming true. And to top it off, the visions made Justin pass out for periods of time and left him tired when he did wake up.

 

While there could be a good benefit to JC and Justin’s, there wasn’t any good to Justin and Chris’s that Lance could see. Chris was going to feel double the pain from now on since he took Justin’s away from him. It didn’t even help Justin that much. Sure, he didn’t feel any pain, but that didn’t mean that he was suddenly invincible and couldn’t bleed or have any other physical affects of the injury. Not to mention that Justin had to deal with the emotional pain of Chris hurting because of him, and Lance knew Justin took that to heart.

 

As far as Lance could tell, their abilities caused more grief than helped them. It wasn’t even like they could really use any of them when they were in trouble except for his and JC’s. And Lance really doubted that if Joey did get an ability that it would help them since none of theirs really did, and it would fit the pattern. Thinking about Joey just brought up all of his questions again. If Joey was going to get an ability, then Lance was pretty confident that something bad was going to happen, and unless Justin had a vision about it, they wouldn’t have any idea what would happen or when.

 

“Ugh!” Lance cried in frustration, throwing his pencil down onto his notebook, causing it to roll off the paper and onto the ground below.

 

Lance sighed heavily and sunk back against the cushions, closing his eyes. Having so many questions with no answers was grating on his nerves more than it had when he’d first started researching. He wasn’t going to quit just yet, but he needed a break. Just then he felt a light weight on his shoulder. Immediately Lance opened his eyes to find Katrina standing in front of him.

 

“What’s happened?” Lance asked, a hint of panic in his voice as he threw his pile of papers onto the cushion to his left, preparing to get up. Normally he only saw Katrina when one of them was in trouble.

 

“Nothing. Everyone is fine,” Katrina assured. “I’m just here to talk.”

 

Lance sat back in relief. He’d really been afraid that something else had happened to one of the others while he’d been out here trying to make sense of everything that’s happened to them lately. “About what?”

 

“You look frustrated, so I’m here to give you some answers,” Katrina said, sitting down next to him.

 

Lance paused. “Do you know what happened to JC’s mom?”

 

“No.” Katrina shook her head. “I didn’t know her that well and didn’t get along with her.”

 

“Why?”

 

“After what happened to Mandy…” Katrina paused. “I blamed her for it because she should’ve been watching Mandy and JC while they were playing. The next morning your father wanted to leave you with her while we made the necessary arrangements, but I didn’t think it was a good idea after what’d happened. I tried to put my foot down, but your father insisted.”

 

“You committed suicide then, didn’t you?” Lance asked, remembering how the article said she’d been found dead the morning after Mandy drowned.

 

“When your father left to take you over there…that was the first time I’d been alone since it happened. All I could think about was how I’d lost my only daughter.”

 

“You still had me and dad,” Lance said, quietly. “Weren’t we worth sticking around for?”

 

“Oh, honey, of course. I just wasn’t thinking clearly. When a mother loses a child it’s…it’s worse than dying. And if I could go back, I wouldn’t have done it.”

 

Lance nodded slowly. While it was still a little weird to think of Katrina as his mother when he’d been raised with Diane as his mother, he still felt some emotional attachment to Katrina. He didn’t remember her, which was understandable since he’d been so young when she died, but he did wish he’d returned the love she had for him a little more. There was no doubt that while he might not ever love her as much as he did Diane, he felt grateful for the constant help she provided him.

 

“So you don’t know why the demons were after her?” Lance asked.

 

Katrina shook her head. “No. I didn’t spend much time with her, so I didn’t know if there was anything that didn’t fit the norm.”

 

“Do you know anything that you didn’t already tell me?”

 

“Yes,” Katrina admitted. “There is something that I think will make you understand why the demons are after JC.”

 

“What is it?” Lance asked. This could be it. Another part of the puzzle that was missing, and that could ultimately lead them closer to a solution.

 

“JC is marked,” Katrina said.

 

Lance frowned. “Marked? Like physically?”

 

“No. It’s something that only supernatural beings can see. His soul is essentially tainted.”

 

“His soul’s tainted?” Lance repeated, staring at her in disbelief.

 

Katrina nodded. “Yes.”

 

“How?” Lance asked.

 

“A person’s soul gains a mark when a deal is made with a demon or a spirit wants revenge. Basically, it’s created by something evil,” Katrina explained.

 

“Are you saying that JC made a deal with a demon?” Lance asked.

 

Honestly it had been something that’d crossed his mind, but it’d been dismissed almost right away because there was no reason that he could think of that JC would make a deal with demons for. Now he wouldn’t put it past JC to make a deal for the demons to stop hurting them because that was what’d been bothering him the most, but the demons had been after him long before they realized what was happening.

 

Katrina shook her head in disagreement. “The first time JC came to the cabin over a year ago was when I’d noticed that he had the mark. I thought it was from me since I wanted revenge on him for what happened to Mandy, but when I saw him again a year later to help you guys in the woods, the mark was fainter but still there.

 

“It should’ve been gone by then. That was when I realized that it must’ve been caused by something else.”

 

“The demons,” Lance said and Katrina nodded. “But then how do you know for sure he didn’t make a deal?”

 

“Because of how faint the mark was. You see, the mark is strongest for the person who the demons or spirits were originally after. And since JC’s is so faint it leads me to believe that the mark was passed down to him through a family member,” Katrina explained.

 

“That can happen?” Lance asked. The idea sounded kind of crazy, but then crazy was relative right now considering they had demons after them.

 

“Yes. It could go as far back as his great grandparents if one of them made a deal, and as long as they have children while under contract then it gets passed along to the next generation,” Katrina said.

 

Lance frowned. “So there’s no way to know if it started with his mom?”

 

“No. You would’ve had to ask her yourself.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Lance asked.

 

“I wasn’t sure until a couple of months ago, but even then I didn’t think it would make much of a difference. You’re determined to save him, and I thought that this would only discourage you,” Katrina said.

 

“I’m not giving up,” Lance replied, determinedly. “But I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do anymore, or even how much time we have before the demons finally decide to collect.”

 

“I can’t give an estimate as to when they will come, but what I can tell you is that they are waiting for the right moment to take JC.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow at Katrina. “How do you know that?”

 

“There are certain rules that all supernatural beings have to follow, demons especially, when killing someone. I’m sure the demons have to wait for something to happen before they can take JC, but in the meantime they’re hurting you and the others to torture him since they can’t touch him yet,” Katrina explained.

 

“So,” Lance sighed and ran a hand over his chin, “there’s no way to know when they’re able to take him.”

 

Katrina shook her head. “I’m afraid not.” She paused. “I wish I could help you more.”

 

“You’ve helped a lot,” Lance assured. “We’d probably be dead by now if it weren’t for you.”

 

“And I’ll continue to help you in any way I can.” Katrina glanced behind her. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” She turned her attention back to Lance. “Take care of yourself.”

 

“You too.”

 

Katrina smiled at him. “Good luck.”

 

Lance watched her vanish into thin air and sighed as he rubbed at his forehead. He’d learned so much information, but none of it was really useful. It helped him get a greater understanding of what was going on and why, but unfortunately they still weren’t any closer to finding a way to save JC. Lance wasn’t sure where to go from here, but hoped that he’d at least stumble upon something that would bring them to a solution before their situation got any worse.

 

 

  

The beat of the club was pulsing, and Joey’s body moved in time with the music along with everyone else. He glanced over at Lance who was dancing a few feet away. They’d arrived about an hour and a half ago, and Lance hadn’t left his side since.

 

“You can go hook up with some chick. You don’t have to hang out with me,” Joey said.

 

Lance scoffed. “Like I would do that. Besides, I swore I wasn’t going to leave your side.”

 

Joey groaned. “I don’t know why you won’t let me drink. This is the time when you’re actually supposed to drink.”

 

“You’re not ready yet, Joe,” Lance said.

 

“How do you know? I haven’t drank in a long time,” Joey replied.

 

“Which makes you more susceptible to overdrinking,” Lance said.

 

Joey sighed. “Whatever,” he gave in. He didn’t want to get into it in the middle of the club, but that didn’t mean that he was going to let this go.

 

On the other side of the club, JC sat in the VIP section much like he had on his previous clubbing trip with Chris. He drummed his fingers on the wood finished table, letting beads of sweat condensate on his Screwdriver. JC didn’t want to be there. The others had approached him after dinner with the idea and coerced him into going clubbing with them when he’d refused. This wasn’t something he was in the mood for right now because he didn’t want to pretend that everything was all right and it was a normal night when it wasn’t.

 

“Hey,” Chris greeted, startling JC who hadn’t seen or heard him coming. He watched as Chris slid into the other side, wincing.

 

JC frowned. “Are you OK?”

 

“I’m fine. My stomach just hurts a little,” Chris said.

 

“Stomachache?” JC asked and Chris shook his head. Suddenly it hit him. “It’s Justin, isn’t it? Is he overdoing it?”

 

Chris didn’t answer and JC took that as a yes. He stood up only to be pulled back down by Chris tugging on his arm. “Don’t.”

 

“Why not? If he’s pulling his stitches out, then it’s up to you to let him know,” JC said.

 

“Look at him.” Chris gestured to the dance floor where Justin was dancing with a pretty brunette. “He’s having fun, and I don’t want to ruin it just because my stomach hurts a little.”

 

“But it’s not worth it if he’s causing harm to his body,” JC said.

 

“If he was really pulling his stitches out, I would be in a lot more pain,” Chris reassured.

 

JC’s frowned deepened as he noticed Chris rub at his forehead. “You got a headache too?”

 

“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal,” Chris said. He motioned to the drink sitting in front of JC. “Aren’t you going to drink that?”

 

“Well, Lance got it for me, so I don’t know if I want to,” JC said with a bitter expression on his face.

 

“He meant well, C,” Chris replied.

 

JC glared at him. “I don’t care. He shouldn’t have done that.”

 

“I’m not saying that what Lance did was right, but you can’t blame him. You have a tendency to neglect taking care of yourself when you’re stressed,” Chris said.

 

“Did you ever stop to consider that maybe, just maybe, I’m stressed because you guys are always breathing down my neck?” JC snapped, gripping the table in anger.

 

Tense silence fell over the table for a minute before Chris said, “You know, you wanted us to stop worrying about you and the demons. Here we are clubbing like we always used to and having a good time except for you.”

 

“Yeah, having your stomach hurt and a headache is loads of fun,” JC replied, sarcastically.

 

“I still—ugh!” Chris cried, clutching his head in his hands. After a minute, he looked up at JC with pain still etched on his face, but clearly the worst was over.

 

“Are you all right?” JC asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Chris said, waving him off.

 

JC eyed him critically, concerned. It was odd that his headache suddenly got worse. At that thought, the color drained from his face when he realized why Chris’s headache had gotten worse. Before Justin would always have really bad headaches right before he had a vision, which meant that now Chris was feeling the pain that Justin should’ve been feeling.

 

“We need to find Justin,” JC said, standing up.

 

Chris stood up too. “Dude, leave him alone. Let him have his fun.”

 

“He’s about to have a vision,” JC said.

 

“How do you know?” Chris asked.

 

“Because his headaches used to always intensify right before he had one. We need to get him out of here before it happens,” JC said in rush.

 

Not another word was said as Chris led the way to the dance floor towards the area where they’d last seen Justin. As they made their way through the crowd, they kept their eye out for Lance and Joey too. They were halfway to the spot where they’d seen Justin when they ran into Lance and Joey.

 

“We have to find Justin!” Chris shouted, trying to be heard over the loud music.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

 

“He’s having a vision!” JC yelled.

 

Joey and Lance looked surprised, but quickly nodded before joining him and Chris in their search for Justin. A couple of minutes later they’d scoured the entire dance floor, and couldn’t find Justin anywhere. There weren’t any people standing around in one spot, possibly crowding around an unconscious Justin, which led them to believe that Justin wasn’t on the dance floor anywhere. They looked around wondering where he could’ve gone when Joey pointed to the bathroom and led the way.

 

The four of them entered the bathroom and the sound of the club became muted as the door closed. Immediately their eyes were drawn to the floor. Justin was propped up against the wall with his eyes closed. He looked like he was asleep, but JC knew better.

 

“Great,” Chris groaned, sitting on the bathroom floor and pulling Justin’s head into his lap so he wouldn’t have to wake up in an awkward position. “No way we’re going to be able to get him out of here without a bunch of people noticing.”

 

“We’ll just have to wait until he wakes up then,” Lance said

 

“What if someone comes in?” JC asked.

 

“I’ll keep watch,” Joey volunteered before stepping out of the room.

 

Lance sighed as he leaned against the opposite wall next to the sinks. “God, did we get lucky.”

 

“What do you mean?” JC asked.

 

“He could’ve passed out in the middle of that huge crowd and caused a scene,” Lance said.

 

“But he didn’t,” Chris replied.

 

“He must’ve felt it coming on,” JC said.

 

Chris raised an eyebrow. “You really think so?”

 

“Well, sort of. I mean, he’s not bleeding from the head and the way he’s sitting makes me think he sat down before it happened,” JC explained.

 

“Do you think he’s getting to the point where he’ll be able to tell when it’s going to happen?” Lance asked.

 

JC shrugged. “Maybe, but if he doesn’t we’ll know when Chris’s headache gets worse.” He turned to look over at Chris who staring down at Justin. “How’s your head?”

 

“It’s fine,” Chris said, distractedly. He didn’t take his eyes off Justin, and JC understood his concern. Justin’s visions seemed to become more and more frequent, which was alarming because overall it meant that more bad things were going to happen. That just furthered JC’s determination to end all of this as soon as possible so they wouldn’t be put through anything else.

 

“I don’t think so,” Joey’s voice floated through the door. “Go have sex in the girl’s bathroom.”

 

Chris chuckled lightly. “He’s like our watchdog.”

 

“I’m sure Joey would love to hear you say that,” Lance said.

 

Joey peeked his head in. “How’s Justin doing?”

 

“Still out,” JC said.

 

Joey nodded and disappeared behind the door again. They sat in tense silence wondering when Justin was going to come to. It seemed like he was out longer for each time, which was worrisome by itself, but factor in what his visions were about…Finally about twenty minutes after they’d first entered the bathroom, Justin started to stir before he opened his eyes.

 

“Hey, buddy,” Chris greeted. “How you feeling?”

 

“We need to keep an eye on Joey,” Justin said, ignoring Chris’s question.

 

“Why? What did you see?” Lance asked.

 

“A fire.” Justin paused and looked up at JC. “In one of the bedrooms.”

 

“C’mon,” JC motioned for Chris to push Justin into a sitting position, “We need to get out of here. You can rest at home.”

 

“All right,” Justin agreed easily.

 

JC nodded because he knew that Justin wasn’t going to fight him on it since his visions left him pretty tired. Besides, it was getting kind of late. Nearly two o’clock in the morning. He watched as Chris carefully pulled Justin to his feet. Justin and Chris had been close before, but they were even more now that Chris had Justin’s pain to deal with. JC suspected it was because they had to be so conscious of each other and whether or not they were in pain.

 

Together the four of them opened the door, and Joey looked at them in surprise. “What’s up?”

 

“We’re going home,” Lance said. “He needs to sleep it off.”

 

“We’ll fill you in once we’re in the car,” JC told Joey before he had a chance to ask.

 Joey nodded and the five of them carefully maneuvered through the club to the exit. Once they were outside it was easy to get across the parking lot to their car. Chris got himself and Justin situated in the backseat with Lance joining them while Joey and JC got up front. As JC looked in the rear view mirror to back out of the space, he glanced at Justin who was falling asleep with his head resting on Chris’s shoulder, looking so innocent. It was moments like that when JC could pretend that they didn’t have demons hurting them and making their lives hell, and JC had a feeling that new level would be added to it before tomorrow was over. He knew that he’d have to do the ritual as soon as possible now before the fire could happen, and that meant that he’d have to go out to get his stuff again since he’d left it behind after Justin had been kidnapped. By tomorrow night all of this would finally be over.

Lance sat just outside of Chris’s room with his back resting against the wall. When they’d first gotten back from the club an hour and a half ago, they’d immediately put Justin to bed. It wasn’t long after that they all decided to go to bed. Lance was the exception because he remembered that one of them had planned on keeping an eye on Chris to see if he really did sleepwalk and visit Joey. Justin wasn’t up to doing it since he was in bed sleeping off the effects of the vision, which only left him since JC didn’t know anything about what was going on with Joey. So he’d settled himself in the hall with the articles and a flashlight, using that time to see if anything new jumped out at him now that he had more information.

 

A low creak made him look up, and he found that JC’s door was slowly opening. Lance frowned wondering why JC was awake. His frown deepened when he saw JC make a left out of his room, towards the stairs.

 

“Where are you going?” Lance asked, shinning his flashlight onto JC.

 

JC jumped and quickly turned to look at him with wide eyes. “Uh…the bathroom.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow, lowering the flashlight a little, but enough that he could still see JC. “In your jeans?”

 

“I fell asleep in my clothes,” JC said with a shrug. “I must’ve been more tired than I thought.”

 

Lance wasn’t convinced. It wasn’t as if JC never fell asleep in his clothes because he did, especially some of the nights while they were on tour as he waited for one of the showers to open up. However, Lance felt certain that JC hadn’t fallen asleep at all because he knew how JC got after Justin had a vision of something terrible that was going to happen. He would get himself all worked up over it because he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

 

But before Lance could call him on this, JC asked, “Why are you up?”

 

“I got an email from FreeLance that I need to make a decision about this contract by tomorrow morning, so I’m going over it again,” Lance said, thinking quickly. He figured that was a good excuse. Sometimes it was good to have the reputation of a workaholic.

 

“And you’re in a dark hallway with a flashlight instead of your study because…”

 

“I was tired of being in there,” Lance said. JC didn’t say anything, but nodded in understanding.

 

After a brief pause, JC started walking down the hall in the opposite direction he had originally been going before Lance had startled him. The flashlight coupled with the little light they kept on in the hall at night so they wouldn’t have to blindly stumble to the bathroom allowed him to take in JC’s appearance as he walked down the hall towards the bathroom. His hair was sticking up all over the place, which gave the illusion that he had been asleep, but Lance knew that it was more than likely because he’d been messing with his hair, something JC did when he was upset. Not to mention his eyes looked a little red, which could be from tiredness or crying. Either way Lance knew that he couldn’t let JC go back into his room without getting him to talk.

 

“I don’t believe you,” Lance said, voicing his earlier thoughts.

 

JC stopped and looked down at him. “What?”

 

“You didn’t fall asleep in your jeans,” Lance told him.

 

“I’ve done it before,” JC replied.

 

“Yeah, but I know you, JC, and I know that you weren’t sleeping. You’ve probably been up this whole time obsessing over Justin’s vision,” Lance said, giving JC a knowing look.

 

JC lowered his eyes to the carpet, but didn’t say anything to deny it. Lance sighed, knowing that it was going to be damn near impossible for him to get JC to talk about it, but he was going to try. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“No,” JC said, quietly but with a hint of firmness.

 

“I want you to talk to me, JC,” Lance replied. “It’ll help you sleep, which is something that you need. Otherwise, I’ll have to give you a sleeping pill again.”

 

“You shouldn’t have even done it in the first place!” JC snapped, his voice rising in volume.

 

“JC, the others are trying to sleep,” Lance said quietly.

 

“Well, you’re the one who brought it up,” JC replied, lowering his voice a fraction, but it was still too loud in the deadly silence of the hall.

 

“Do you honestly think I got satisfaction out of drugging you?” Lance asked.

 

JC crossed his arms and said coldly, “I don’t know. Did you?”

 

“Of course not! I didn’t want to, but I was looking out for you.”

 

“I don’t need you to look out for me. I’m not some little kid who needs his mom’s hand to cross the street,” JC said.

 

“Then stop acting like it!” Lance shot back. Inwardly he recoiled, not believing that he had just said that because JC was so far from being a child. If anything, it was the other way around. Normally JC was always the one to look out for the rest of them, which had earned him the nickname ‘Big Daddy.’ It sucked when they fought and Lance hated it, but he couldn’t stop his anger at JC being so secretive and stubborn about getting help from pushing the conversation further.

 

While Lance hated it when he and JC fought, Joey hated it even more. Joey lied in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn’t been able to sleep because he was terrified about the fire. When the guys had filled him in while they were in the car, he almost couldn’t believe it, but so far all of Justin’s visions had come true. That was what made them so scary because so far there hadn’t been a way to stop them. Joey knew that the other guys would do everything they could to prevent it from happening, but he couldn’t stop the pit in his stomach that formed at the thought he might die.

 

But his thoughts about the fire and death were interrupted by the fight between Lance and JC out in the hall. It wasn’t hard to hear them because he was just a few feet down the hall and his door was open a crack. Joey sighed as their angry voices carried down into his room.

 

“You can’t go into your room. We’re not done talking yet,” Lance said.

 

JC let out a humorless laugh and hissed, “Watch me.”

 

“If you do, I’ll just go into your mind and continue it there,” Lance replied.

 

“I’ll just block you,” JC retorted. “I’ve gotten pretty good at that.”

 

Then suddenly a door slammed, causing the noise to reverberate through the quiet house and bounce off the walls before an eerie silence settled. Joey let out another heavy sigh. It was starting to worry him that JC and Lance were fighting so much. Although he guessed he should’ve expected that because with the growing tension, it was hard not to let it interfere with their relationships. And it had only gotten worse since Lance had drugged JC. Joey didn’t figure that their fights would stop anytime soon, no matter how much he wanted them to because their fights never got resolved, which made it easy for them to just jump right back into it again.

 

Joey let his eyes flick from the ceiling to the doorway and back again only to bring his attention back to the doorway. He thought he’d been seeing things, but no, there was Chris. Or rather something that looked like Chris because Joey was confident that it wasn’t his friend; he trusted Lance to do his job and knew that Lance wouldn’t let Chris out of his bedroom. Wearily, Joey eyed the…whatever it was.

 

“I know you’re not Chris,” Joey said.

 

“Yes, I am,” the Chris look-a-like replied.

 

Joey shook his head. “No, you’re not. You’re a…figment of my imagination…or a…an apparition.”

 

Despite what Joey said, he didn’t really think he was imagining it. He might’ve a couple of years ago, but after everything that’s happened, it wasn’t hard to believe that he might be seeing a ghost or something similar. After all the demons were after them, what was one more supernatural being?

 

The apparition didn’t seem to want to argue though because it said, “You haven’t been doing your job.”

 

“What job?” Joey asked.

 

“You need to keep a better eye on JC.”

 

Joey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’ve said that before.”

 

“He’s up to something and you must stop him before it’s too late,” the apparition said.

 

A look of confusion crossed Joey’s face. “What? What’s he up to?”

 

“A way to end it all.”

 

“What?” Joey repeated. This was all very unsettling and he wasn’t even sure what to take at face value because he didn’t know what the thing’s intentions were.

 

“There is a way. Something that JC’s not seeking,” the apparition repeated.

 

Joey leaned forward a little, curious. Was it possible that there really was some way to stop the demons? He hoped so. “How?”

 

“You must go back to the cabin.”

 

“The cabin? What’s so significant about that?” Joey asked.

 

The apparition didn’t answer, but disappeared right before his eyes, leaving him staring at the spot where it had been. “Damn, that was creepy,” he muttered to himself as he rubbed at his eyes.

 

There was too much to process. The apparition hadn’t said much, but it had said enough to get Joey wondering about JC and if going to the cabin was really the solution to making it all stop. One thing Joey did know was that he had to go tell Lance, so he wouldn’t have to wait in the hall to watch Chris anymore.

 

Joey slid out of bed and stepped out into the hall. He quietly walked over to Lance and put a hand on his shoulder. Immediately Lance jumped, but sighed in relief when he looked up and saw Joey.

 

“God, Joey. Don’t sneak up on people in the dark.” Lance paused. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“I need to talk to you,” Joey said and motioning for Lance to stand up.

 

“What about Chris?” Lance asked, pulling himself to his feet.

 

“It’s not him,” Joey said.

 

Lance looked surprised. “What? How do you know?”

 

“Because it showed up again and vanished into thin air. It must be a ghost or something.” Joey glanced around the hallway. He didn’t want JC to overhear any of what the apparition had said, especially since voices in the hall seemed to carry if you talked over a whisper. “Can we talk in my room?”

 

Lance nodded and Joey led the way back to his room. Once Lance crossed the threshold, he closed the door with a soft click. Joey walked over and sat on his bed next to Lance.

 

“So it came?”

 

“Yeah. It just appeared out of nowhere,” Joey said.

 

“Did it say anything?” Lance asked.

 

Joey nodded. “It brought up the cabin.” He glanced over at Lance. “It said that we had to go back there to end all of this.”

 

There was a moment of silence as Lance absorbed it before he looked over at Joey. “Anything else?”

 

“It talked about JC again and said that we need to watch out for him,” Joey said.

 

Lance frowned. “That’s what it said before.”

 

“I know, but it seems to think that JC’s up to something. It told me we have to stop him before it’s too late,” Joey said.

 

“Too late for what?”

 

Joey shrugged. “It didn’t really stick around long enough to let me know.”

 

“Well,” Lance hesitated briefly, “I could go into his head and find out what he’s doing.”

 

“No,” Joey disagreed quickly. “He’s already pissed enough at you. No need to add fuel to the fire.” He paused. “Maybe…maybe if we snoop through his stuff.”

 

“Someone would need to distract him,” Lance said.

 

“So you agree with going through his stuff?” Joey asked, a little surprised. Normally Lance made sure to respect JC’s privacy, which really made his suggestion about going into his head out of the norm for him. Joey didn’t really want to go through JC’s stuff, but if this apparition was right and JC was up to something, they needed to know what in case he planned on doing something stupid.

 

“Yeah, we need to find out why this ghost keeps warning you about JC,” Lance said. He glanced down at his watch. “But that won’t be until tomorrow, so I’m going to get some sleep since I don’t have to keep an eye on Chris now.”

 

“Wait,” Joey demanded as Lance stood up to leave. “What are we going to do about the cabin?”

 

Lance sighed and faced him. “We’re going to wait because I don’t know if I trust this thing yet.”

 

Joey nodded and Lance left the room after bidding him good night. He fell back onto his bed with a sigh. Why was it that everything had to be so complicated? They shouldn’t have to alienate each other and go through each other’s stuff because they were suspicious. Joey wished that things could go back to the way they’d been before all of this stuff started happening, but he knew that wouldn’t happen for a while. At least not until they found out if the apparition wasn’t feeding them false information.

 

 

  

The next day Justin and Joey walked down the hall before entering JC’s room. Right away they started opening drawers as they searched his room for anything that might tell them what JC was up to. Earlier that day Lance and Joey had filled him and Chris in on what the apparition had said to Joey when it visited him for the second time, and that they had decided to go through JC’s stuff to see if they could find out what the apparition might’ve been alluding to.

 

Justin hadn’t really wanted to at first because one of the worst things anyone could do was go through JC’s personal things. But in the end he’d agreed because he was afraid that if JC was up to something then it probably wasn’t good. Chris had been volunteered for distracting JC while he and Joey went through JC’s things since Chris was the most firm with JC and would keep him busy. Lance was just going to sit in his office, so it wouldn’t seem suspicious like it would’ve if all three of them had been in JC’s room.

 

“This is so wrong,” Joey said, shaking his head as he sifted through one of JC’s drawers.

 

“Weren’t you the one who suggested it?” Justin asked, knowingly.

 

“The sooner we get what we came for, the better,” Joey replied, not answering Justin’s question.

 

Justin knelt down and looked under JC’s bed. “Aha!” He reached under before he sat back up, holding JC’s laptop in his hands. “I’m going to take this to Lance,” Justin told Joey.

 

Justin carefully carried JC’s computer down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom, he quickly glanced in both directions to make sure there was no sign of JC. Satisfied, he walked into Lance’s office and set the laptop on the desk. It’d been decided earlier that if they found JC’s computer they would give it to Lance to look at since he knew the most about computers and could possibly find something useful.

 

“All right.” Lance opened the lid of the computer and pressed the button to turn it on. “Let’s see if JC put anything on here.”

 

Justin stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do with himself. He still felt uncomfortable with this because it felt so wrong. However, he knew that they had to see if there was any truth to what the apparition had said. Moving forward a couple of feet put him right behind Lance and in perfect view of the computer screen. Justin watched for a few minutes as Lance opened different folders and documents before he found something.

 

“Well, it looks like he has some files that are locked. Maybe there’s something in there,” Lance said.

 

“Do you think you can get into them?” Justin asked.

 

Lance made a face. “I’m not a hacker, but…I can try some passwords and see if anything works.”

 

Justin didn’t say anything, but he just knew they were going to hell for going through JC’s stuff and trying to hack into his computer.

 

 

  

JC sat curled up on one end of the couch, while Chris was on the other. His attention wasn’t on the TV like Chris’s was, but on the notebook in his lap. He was putting the finishing touches on the letter he was going to leave for the guys. When he performed the ritual later, it was going to sit in plain sight for them to find. There was no way he was going to be able to say good bye properly to all of them without making them suspicious. But he knew he had to say something, so he wrote a letter to them explaining why he did it and that he loved them.

 

A few minutes later he finished and sat back against the couch. It’d been really hard to write, but he knew that it was necessary because the guys would want an explanation. Now all he had to do was get his items at Wal-Mart again since they’d been left behind last time.

 

JC had tried to sneak out last night after they’d gotten back from the club and everyone went to bed, but he’d been caught by Lance who had been sitting in the hall. It’d surprised and frustrated him at the same time because he had planned on leaving and being back long before any of the guys would’ve noticed that he’d been gone. Instead he had ended up fighting with Lance, which had been so depleting. He hated fighting because it made him feel so tired and emotionally drained. But it especially bugged him now that he’d been fighting with one of his best friends considering that he was going to die before the day was over.

 

Though, no matter how he felt, JC knew that he couldn’t dwell on it because there were still things that needed to be done. He quickly glanced over at Chris, who’d been sitting with him for the last half hour. Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t have been weird, but JC hadn’t been left alone at all today so he knew that he was going to have to figure out a way to sneak out of the house without any of the guys knowing.

 

JC pictured his room, trying to see if there was a safe way to sneak out of the window. There was a small ledge beneath his window, but from there it was at least a ten foot drop, which he didn’t like the idea of. With that idea dismissed, he came up with a slightly better one. He could go out back and when none of the guys were looking, sneak around to the front where the driveway was and leave that way. After a moment of contemplation, he decided that was the best idea he had. But first he needed to get his wallet from his room and put his notebook away, so he stood up.

 

“Whoa!” Chris said, standing up too when he’d seen JC stand up. “Where you going, man?”

 

“Upstairs,” JC said, simply and started to walk towards the hallway.

 

Chris stood in front of him. “You can’t go upstairs.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because…because you have to play a video game with me.” JC opened his mouth to decline, but Chris quickly cut in, “C’mon, man. I haven’t had a chance to try my new game yet. I’ll even let you win.”

 

JC smiled slightly. “Maybe next time, Chris.”

 

“Baywatch is on,” Chris blurted.

 

“I don’t watch Baywatch,” JC said.

 

“Well, you should,” Chris replied. “I mean, c’mon Jace, hot chicks running half naked on a beach? It doesn’t get any better than that.”

 

JC sighed and shook his head as he walked down the hall before turning to go up the stairs. He heard footsteps behind him and knew that Chris was following him. “I don’t know why you want to go upstairs to your room!” Chris shouted from behind him.

 

JC turned to look back at him and give him a curious glance. “What’s all the shouting about?”

 

“Nothing! I’m just in a shouting mood!” Chris yelled.

 

JC gave him a funny look, but continued up to his room. He turned the corner and stopped in the doorway when he saw Joey closing one of his drawers. “What are you doing?” JC asked, slamming the notebook on the dresser that was inside next to the door. The sound of his voice and the loud slap of the notebook caused Joey to whip around to face him with a guilty look on his face.

 

“I…uh…I’m…”

 

“You’re what, Joey?” JC stepped forward into the room only to have the door slam shut behind him. Immediately he turned and tried the doorknob, but it wouldn’t turn. His anger disappeared as fear started to set in. “Oh, God.”

 

“What?” Joey asked.

 

“Joey,” JC started, hearing pounding on the door and Chris yelling for them to open up, “It’s happening.”

 

It took Joey a second to comprehend what JC had meant, but when he did, his face paled. There wasn’t any time to wonder what they were going to do though because suddenly a demon appeared behind Joey. JC stepped forward so he was right next to Joey when the demon laughed, the sound causing chills to run down JC’s spine. Before he could say anything the demon’s smoky body moved up towards the ceiling where it dispersed itself. The black smoke quickly turned to red hot flames that spread across the ceiling and down the walls, so that the whole room was engulfed.

 

“What are we going to do?” Joey cried.

 

“I don’t know!” JC yelled.

 

JC and Joey watched as the fire continued to spread all around them and move closer to the center of the room where both of them were standing. Thick, black smoke filled the room from all the fire. There was no escape.

 

 

  

“Joey! JC!” Justin shouted as he pounded on the door.

 

“Would you quit pounding on the freaking door? It’s not doing anything!” Lance shouted.

 

Justin turned to look at him. “What the hell can we do?”

 

“We should call 911,” Lance said, motioning to the smoke that drifted out from underneath the door. He dug his phone out of his pocket and looked up when he saw a body collide into the hard door. “Chris! What the hell are you doing?”

 

“Trying to break the door down.” Chris backed up and rammed into the door again, muttering, “What does it look like?”

 

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” Justin said as Lance talked on the phone with an emergency dispatcher.

 

“I don’t care!” Chris shouted. It’d been several minutes since the door first slammed shut and he’d called for Justin and Lance. Who knew exactly what was going on just on the other side of the door? All he knew was that there was a fire, and as he threw himself into the door again, he desperately prayed that he wouldn’t be losing two friends today.

 

 

  

JC knelt on the floor; Joey’s back resting against his chest. The room had become so thick with smoke that he wouldn’t have been able to see a thing if it hadn’t been for the flames, which continuously licked their way closer to him and Joey. He felt Joey’s weight sag against him even more and knew that he was getting worse.

 

The smoke had gotten to Joey rather quickly from the rapidly filling room, which caused him to breathe it in and make him cough. His coughing had gotten worse and worse with barely any time for him to get a breath in before another round would start up again. The lack of oxygen made his legs give out on him. JC caught him to prevent him falling and getting burned by the steadily approaching fire.

 

That’d been a couple of minutes ago, and JC knew that he had to do something to stop the fire from spreading further so he could Joey help before it was too late. But he quickly realized there was nothing he could really do, especially since Joey was resting against him. If he moved, then Joey would surely fall into the fire. As the flames came another foot closer, JC reached around Joey to pull his legs in trying to make sure he didn’t get burned.

 

“Why don’t you leave him alone?” JC shouted. It was the only thing his panicked mind could think of. “Hurt me instead you bastard!”

 

A set of red eyes in the middle of ceiling became brighter and the fire moved even closer. JC was horrified to see that the fire was mere inches away from Joey, so he did the only he could. He threw his body in between the fire and Joey’s left side. It barely registered in his mind that he was about to touch the fire. Not that it would’ve made a difference even if he did since he didn’t seem to be affected by the fire. The proof was that he wasn’t weakened like Joey. However, when his left leg fell onto the flames, his entire body felt like he’d just jumped into a frozen lake. JC gasped at the intense cold feeling, but it disappeared along with the fire.

 

Not even a second later, the door flew open and JC looked up to see Chris rushing into the room with Justin and Lance right behind him. The three of them crowded around him and Joey, who was half lying against his chest. “Are you guys all right?” Lance asked in a rush.

 

“Joey needs help,” JC said quietly. “He breathed in a lot of smoke.”

 

“It’s all right. The fire department’s on their way,” Lance replied.

 

Chris glanced over at him. “Doesn’t really matter now, does it?” He looked over at JC. “What the hell happened?”

 

“Chris, leave it alone for now,” Lance said.

 

“Leave it alone?” Chris repeated and gestured to the room. “Look around. There’s not a trace of fire damage, yet we know there was one. Care to explain that?”

 

Joey hissed in pain as Justin gently ran a finger over his right arm, drawing their attention back to him. “Looks like he burned his arm,” Justin said.

 

JC momentarily blanked out at that. He’d failed; he hadn’t been able to keep Joey safe. Sure, he’d stopped the demon from killing him, but his arm was burned and he couldn’t seem to breathe properly. That was failure in JC’s book. It was even worse that he hadn’t been affected by the fire at all because at least then he wouldn’t be feeling as guilty. JC reasoned that it was because the demons weren’t able to hurt him. At least physically because constantly seeing his friends in danger and hurt was worse than anything the demons could do to him.

 

“JC!”

 

Justin’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he slowly brought his eyes up to meet Justin’s. “Are you OK?” Justin asked.

 

JC nodded slowly. “I’m fine.”

 

“Are you sure? Chris is taking Joey to the hospital to get checked out. Maybe you should go with him,” Justin suggested.

 

“I’m fine,” JC said more firmly this time as his mind cleared.

 

“C’mon, Joe,” Lance said putting an arm around his shoulders like Chris who was on his other side. Together they pulled him to his feet and they left the room with Justin close behind them.

 

JC stared at the doorway they’d just walked through before he jumped into action. He knew that it was now or never. The ritual was going to be done tonight. To hell with escape plans. He was just going to leave and the others weren’t going to stop him. With that thought in mind, he grabbed his wallet and roughly shoved it in his back pocket before he rushed downstairs. His shoes were on in a matter of seconds and he was just putting on his coat when Justin and Lance walked back into the house.

 

“Where are you going?” Lance asked.

 

“Out,” JC said, shortly.

 

“Out where?” Lance pressed.

 

“For a drive.” JC paused. “I need to be alone.”

 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Let me come with you,” Justin said.

 

JC shook his head. “No. I’ll be back soon.”

 

“JC, you can’t just leave. What if—”

 

“Something happens to me?” JC finished for Lance and laughed bitterly. “The demons can’t hurt me, so I think I’m safe.”

 

“JC,” Justin started.

 

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” JC said stiffly and walked out the door. Quickly he got into Lance’s car that he swiped the keys for and pulled out of the driveway. As he drove away from the house and towards Wal-Mart for the second time that week, JC knew there was no doubt in his mind that he was doing the right thing. By the end of tonight he would cease to exist and the guys won’t be in any more pain.

“I can’t believe him!” Lance exploded as soon as the door closed behind JC. “How could he just leave?”

 

“He’s upset,” Justin said. That much had been obvious when JC stormed out. Normally when JC was upset he’d lock himself in his room. But since his room had been where the fire had happened, it made sense that he’d go find solitude elsewhere. Lance should’ve recognized that.

 

“He’s upset? And we’re jumping for joy?” Lance started pacing. “If we can stay here and wait for news on Joey, then so can he.”

 

Justin watched as Lance paced the length of the room with an angry look on his face, ranting about JC leaving. This wasn’t normal behavior for Lance. He was usually always more worried than angry when something happened to one of them. That was especially true lately with JC not taking care of himself and refusing to talk. And now there was definitely more anger than worry.

 

Maybe there was worry behind that anger, but Justin was worried and he wasn’t pitching a fit like Lance. He supposed it was because he knew JC would be back once he spent some time alone to collect himself. After the fights he’d had with JC about this over and over, Justin realized that sometimes JC had to be left alone to deal with things and get all of his anger out. Just a few days ago when he had stopped JC from going into his room and they had ended up fighting on the stairs. Justin kept pushing him even though JC had kept trying to get away from him. JC needed time to deal with what’d happened himself first. Otherwise he’d end up arguing with one of them.

 

“It was selfish of him to leave like that.”

 

Justin stepped back in surprise. “I think he’s entitled. I mean, he brushed off his wellbeing for Joey and didn’t take off until he knew that Joey would be taken care of.”

 

JC was the least selfish person he knew. He always looked out for everyone but himself. JC refused to help them research a solution because he saw that as his way of looking out for them. In JC’s mind giving up and not looking for a solution would make them hurt less because he knew that he was going to die and didn’t want to fight it. It didn’t matter that they disagreed with his method because that was how JC’s mind worked, and it portrayed just how unselfish he was to do that for them.

 

“Like that justifies it.” Lance paused. “Why aren’t you more upset about him leaving? Don’t you want to know what happened? What he’s up to?”

 

“Of course I do, but I’m going to give him the time he needs.” Justin sighed. “Just give him a few hours and we’ll grill him when he gets back.”

 

Lance scoffed. “You’ll be waiting forever.”

 

“Is that what this is about? You’re pissed about him leaving because now you can’t get answers to your questions?” Justin asked.

 

“No! It’s about him taking off after what happened!” Lance countered.

 

“Why aren’t you worried?” Justin asked, rephrasing Lance’s question. “I mean, he just took off for a drive after he was locked in a room that was on fire. And he just brushed off going to a hospital. What if he isn’t OK?”

 

“The demons can’t hurt him. At least not yet,” Lance said.

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Katrina told me,” Lance replied.

 

“When did you talk to Katrina?”

 

“Yesterday.”

 

Justin temporarily pushed aside his anger that Lance had kept this from them and focused on the more important matter at hand. “So what did she say?”

 

“She said that the demons have to follow certain…rules when killing someone, and that they probably can’t do anything to him until some specific thing happens,” Lance said.

 

“Is there any way to know what they’re waiting for or how long?”

 

“Not that we know of, no,” Lance replied.

 

Justin sighed and ran a hand over his face. They still weren’t any closer to answer. “Did Katrina say anything else?”

 

Lance nodded. “JC has this…Katrina called it a mark, that only supernatural things like her and demons can see. She doesn’t think it’s because of anything he did though because apparently it can be passed down through other generations.”

 

“How does she know JC didn’t do anything?” Justin asked. None of them wanted to believe that JC had made some kind of pact with the devil, but if Katrina had some kind of proof, it would make Justin feel a lot better.

 

“She says his…mark is faint, so it didn’t start with him. But there’s no way to know for sure if it started with his mom,” Lance explained.

 

A moment passed in silence before Justin shook his head and crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? We’re all on the same side here.”

 

Lance glared back at him and said, “When would you have liked me to tell you? While you were unconscious in the bathroom at the club? Or how about when we were trying to beat the door down to get to Joey and JC?”

 

“What about when we were just laying around watching TV? Or when we were trying to decide what to have for dinner? There were plenty of opportunities for you tell us before now,” Justin shot back.

 

“Did you expect me to go up to you and say ‘I talked to Katrina, but it didn’t make any difference because JC is still going to die’?”

 

“No. I expected you to say ‘I found some information that might be useful and I want to keep you in the loop,’” Justin replied.

 

“Can we stop with all the hypotheticals?” Lance snapped and turned to look out the window.

 

Justin let out another sigh. “I don’t want to fight with you about this.” He looked down at the carpet of the study and muttered, “There’s certainly enough of that already.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lance asked, turning around to face him.

 

Justin looked up at him. “You know what it means. You and JC can’t go two seconds without fighting, and it’s always about the same thing! Though, I guess that’s to be expected since your arguments never settle anything! Why is beyond me!”

 

“We don’t fight that often,” Lance objected.

 

Justin scoffed. “Please. You do too. It feels like every time I turn around you two are at each other’s throats.”

 

“There’s no other way to get through to him!”

 

“You’re delusional if you think that you yelling at JC is getting through to him. All your yelling does is piss him off and make him even more distant,” Justin said.

 

“I wouldn’t have to if he’d talk to us instead of keeping secrets that jeopardize his health,” Lance replied.

 

“JC isn’t the problem here. It’s you, Lance.”

 

Lance’s eyes narrowed. “What gives you the right—”

 

“You’re different,” Justin interrupted. “Normally you’d be more worried than mad that JC just took off, and you would never volunteer to go into his mind without permission.”

 

“How do you know about that?”

 

“Joey told me. Did you think I was the only who noticed? We’re worried about you,” Justin said.

 

Lance shrugged off the comment. “I’m fine.”

 

“No, you’re not,” Justin insisted, feeling like he was talking to JC. “For you to suggest…You were the one who always respected JC’s privacy and were telling us to give him space, but lately you’ve been pushing him so hard that he’s fighting back.

 

“And I’m afraid that if you two continue like you are that we’ll have a lot more problems than the demons. JC’s probably at his breaking point, and I’m sure you are too,” Justin said.

 

Lance heavily sat down on the couch that he’d been standing in front of and fell silent. Nearly a minute passed before he said, “I just…I can’t control it. I see him lying to us and not taking care of himself, and I just…snap, I guess.” He looked up at Justin. “I can’t lose him.”

 

“We won’t.”

 

Justin wasn’t really surprised by Lance’s confession. Anyone could see that he cared about JC, which was the only reason Justin hadn’t confronted him sooner. It had never really occurred to him before that there might be some negative consequences to Lance throwing himself so deeply into research. But he was certainly seeing them now. He was sure that the stress Lance was feeling had a lot to do with him constantly getting on JC’s case and yelling at him and the worry that lay beneath the anger. Hopefully now that Lance’s attention had been drawn to what he was doing, he would stop fighting with JC so much.

 

Just then his phone rang. Justin pulled it out of his pocket, looked down at it and over at Lance before he stepped out into the hall. Lance watched him leave out of the corner of his eye and sighed as he leaned back against the cushions.

 

He couldn’t believe how he’d been acting towards JC. Lance was glad that Justin had never been one of those people who was afraid to be honest with their friends for fear that they’d get all pissed at them. If it wasn’t for Justin, he probably wouldn’t have realized how he’d been treating JC. It made him feel horrible that he was so angry that he had to have someone point out to him what an asshole he was being.

 

But now that he knew he could change back to the way he was where he was more concerned than angry and gave JC the space he needed. Lance knew that was easier said than done, but he was going to make an effort. The last thing he wanted was to cause a rift between himself and JC because that wasn’t why they were trying to save his life. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be though since JC didn’t want them to, and Lance figured that was a main part of why he was so quick to jump on JC. He didn’t want to believe that he was giving up so easily.

 

Justin came back into the room, causing Lance to look up at him questioningly. “That was Chris,” Justin said, as he put his phone back in his pocket.

 

“How’s Joey?” Lance asked.

 

“They’re waiting for a doctor to look at him. Chris was complaining that their celebrity status wasn’t getting them in any sooner, but he says the waiting room’s pretty empty so he thinks they should be up next,” Justin said.

 

“So probably a couple more hours until they’re home then?”

 

Justin shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”

 

Lance stood up. “You want to watch a movie or something?”

 

“Doesn’t it feel like that’s all we do?” Justin replied, following Lance into the hall.

 

Lance chuckled and shook his head. “You’re the TV junkie, not me.”

 

“Hey!”

 

 

  

Chris fumbled with the keys trying to find the right one as Joey leaned against the side of the house. It’d been a few hours since Chris had called Justin, and he couldn’t wait to get inside and relax for a bit. But he knew that wasn’t possible because no doubt the other three would have questions for him about what the doctor said.

 

“C’mon, Chris,” Joey complained. “You grab the key and stick it in the hole. Not that hard.”

 

“What’s the hurry? It’s not like you’re getting rained on or anything,” Chris said.

 

“No, but it’s cold out and I’m tired,” Joey replied.

 

“Wuss,” Chris teased good-naturedly as he finally got the door unlocked and pushed it open. They’d barely walked in the door before Justin and Lance came running into the room.

 

Chris exchanged a smile with Joey and said, “Look, Joe. The dogs have come to greet us.”

 

“Ha ha,” Lance replied sarcastically and rolled his eyes.

 

“How are you feeling, Joey?” Justin asked.

 

Joey shrugged. “Better, I guess. They had me on oxygen for a while.”

 

“It was to clear the smoke out of his lungs,” Chris jumped in when he saw the worried looks on their faces. “The doctor kept him there for another hour to make sure that everything looked good. He wouldn’t have let us leave if Joey was in any danger.”

 

“What about his arm?” Lance asked.

 

“They put some ointment on it and bandaged it,” Joey replied and held up his right arm, which had white gauze wrapped around it. “They said it wasn’t even that bad and the bandages aren’t even really necessary. It was just to let the cream get soaked into the skin.”

 

“See? He’s fine. Everyone can stop worrying now,” Chris said.

 

“I’m going to go lie down,” Joey told them after a moment of silence passed in the foyer. He held up a hand when he saw Lance open his mouth. “I’m just tired.”

 

Lance nodded. “Yell if you need anything.”

 

“I will,” Joey promised. The three of them watched as Joey disappeared upstairs.

 

“Where’s JC?” Chris asked, having just noticed that JC wasn’t standing among them. “Upstairs?”

 

Lance and Justin exchanged a glance wearily before Lance said, “He took off after you and Joey left.”

 

“What?” Chris yelled in surprise.

 

Justin pulled Chris into the study with Lance right behind them. “Joey’s trying to sleep.”

 

“How could you let him leave?” Chris asked, shaking off Justin’s arm roughly.

 

“We tried to stop him,” Lance said.

 

Chris scoffed as he crossed his arms. “Obviously not hard enough.” He paused. “Do you know where he went?”

 

“All he said was that he was going for a drive and that he’d be back in a few hours,” Justin said.

 

“Did either of you call him?” Chris asked.

 

“We were giving him some time,” Justin replied.

 

“To hell with that.” Chris dug his phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial five. He listened to it ring and ring before JC’s voice mail picked up. The beep sounded and he said, “JC, answer your damn phone. You better come back before I decide to go looking for you. Because I will find you and drag your ass back here.”

 

Lance crossed his arms. “You think that’s going to make him return faster?”

 

“It’s more than you two have been doing.” Chris paused. “Have you tried to contact him…you know?”

 

“I can try.” Chris watched as Lance stared into space for about a minute before his eyes blinked and refocused. “He’s blocking me again.”

 

“Sounds like we’re going to have a little while to wait,” Justin said.

 

Chris nodded and moved towards the living room to relax for a bit while he waited. Justin and Lance followed him. It hadn’t been that surprising to hear that JC had left like that, but he was still mad that Lance and Justin hadn’t been able to stop him. But now there wasn’t a whole lot they could do but wait. Though, one thing was for sure, JC was going to get bitched out when he got back.

 

 

  

JC drove down the highway towards Lance’s house. He had gone to Wal-Mart shortly after he’d left earlier and picked up the candles and chalk that were necessary to perform the ritual. After that he hadn’t been exactly sure what to do because he knew that he wasn’t ready to go back to Lance’s yet. Eventually JC ended up at his own house to give himself some time to prepare because he knew as soon as he got back to Lance’s he’d do the ritual.

 

Originally he’d considered doing it at his house so he wouldn’t have the possibility of one of the guys walking in on him while he was in the middle of it. But he dismissed that idea because he wanted to see them one more time and find out how Joey was feeling. Even though the guys would probably be less than happy about him running out like he had.

 

JC knew that he was worrying the guys because he’d been gone since almost two-thirty and it was nearly eight o’clock now. For the past couple of hours his cell phone had been going off every half hour or so. Eventually he had grown tired of it vibrating against his thigh in his pocket, so he threw it onto the dashboard. His phone lit up as it began to ring for the fifth time that night, and JC sighed. He thought about answering, but decided not to because he would be there in a few minutes and they could talk then.

 

Turning the knob on his radio to increase the volume, JC tried to let the soft jazz music take his mind off what he’d be doing very shortly. But it didn’t help. His body hummed with nervous energy at the thought of what he was going to do within the hour. JC’s eyes wandered to the passenger seat where his duffle bag held the items that would be needed for the ritual. He’d shoved it all in there so the guys wouldn’t be able to question what he’d bought like they would’ve if he walked in there with the Wal-Mart bag.

 

As JC pulled into the driveway and shut off the ignition, he heaved a deep sigh to try to calm his nerves. He couldn’t go in there looking as freaked as he felt because the guys would be all over him. And it would already be bad enough with them getting on his case for leaving. Finally after a few minutes of sitting in the car, he grabbed his duffle bag and got out. It was a short walk up the driveway to the front door and he mentally steeled himself before unlocking the door.

 

“Where the hell were you?”

 

JC looked up to see the angry faces of Lance and Chris and the worried one of Justin staring at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. He ignored their question. “How’s Joey?”

 

“Why would you care?” Chris snapped. “You left.”

 

“Because he’s my friend, and I love him,” JC said quietly.

 

“He’s fine. Upstairs sleeping,” Justin supplied, effectively cutting off whatever Chris was going to say. JC nodded, not surprised by that. He figured it might’ve been a side effect of the fire.

 

“So where were you, JC?” Lance asked.

 

“And what’s with the bag?” Chris added, gesturing to the blue duffle that his right hand was still holding.

 

“Clothes,” JC lied. “I stopped at my house.”

 

“Is that where you’ve been all this time?” Justin asked.

 

JC shrugged and nodded. “Pretty much, yeah.”

 

“Then why didn’t you answer your damn phone and let us know? You could’ve been lying dead in a ditch for all we knew,” Chris said.

 

“Because I knew you’d react like this!” JC snapped before sighing heavily. He didn’t want the last moments he had with the guys to be fighting, especially about something so stupid.

 

Without waiting for a reply JC headed for the stairs. He resigned himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to get a nice moment with them and that he should leave before it got even worse. Halfway up the stairs he heard Chris say, “That’s right. Go run up to your room and seclude yourself. God forbid you actually talk to us.”

 

By the time he reached the top his eyes had filled with tears. While JC hadn’t expected hugs and easy conversation, he hadn’t thought that leaving them like this would hurt so much. Turning around to face the guys for the last time, he had to blink back tears. “Why did you guys have to make it like this?”

 

Before any of them could say anything JC walked into his room and locked the door behind him. He was sure that one of them would follow him to make sure he was OK. JC leaned back against the door as he dropped his bag to the floor and banged his head against the hard wood. Then there was a soft knock that startled him even though he’d been expecting it.

 

“JC?” It was Justin. “Are you all right?”

 

JC wanted to scream that he wasn’t. He wanted to say that he didn’t get to say good-bye to any of them properly, which was heartbreaking since he would never see them again. It was unfair that he couldn’t spend the rest of his life with his friends because he had done nothing to deserve demons trying to kill him and hurting the others in the process. A tear fell down his cheek and JC hastily wiped it away because he knew that once he started crying, he wouldn’t be able to stop and would really worry Justin.

 

“C’mon, Jace, please open the door.” There was a pause. “We were just worried. We love you and we don’t want anything to happen to you.”

 

JC choked back a sob, but that didn’t keep silent tears from streaming down his face. That was what he’d wanted to hear downstairs even though he knew it wasn’t going to happen because they didn’t know what he had planned. He wanted to rip open the door and pull Justin into a tight hug. But he stayed where he was because he knew once he did that, it’d be over; he wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Instead he breathed deeply to try to get the crying to stop and make his voice not quiver.

 

“Just leave me alone.” JC paused briefly and added quietly, “Please.”

 

There was a sigh before Justin replied just as quiet, “You know where to find me if you want to talk or…whatever.”

 

JC listened as the footsteps moved away from his door and down the hall. Once he was sure that enough time passed for Justin to be out of earshot, he let out the sobs he’d been trying so hard to hold in and slid down the door so that he was sitting on the floor. A deep ache settled in his chest as he thought about how he was going to die with them pissed at him, but he knew he wasn’t going to be the only one feeling pain. When they found out what he’d done he knew that they’d be upset, and that thought did little to comfort him. But what did was the fact that he knew the guys would be able to move on after grieving and live a normal life, free of worry about the demons, which made what he was going to do worth it.

 

That didn’t mean that he wasn’t terrified because he was scared as hell. And that fear seemed to constrict his breathing even more, making his sobs increase. It was hard to believe this was how he was going to die. JC had always imagined dying after he had lived a full life with the others and they had taken on the world, changing music along the way. Now he wasn’t going to get any of that, and it hurt like nothing else he could ever have comprehended.

 

JC struggled to take deep breaths, and after a few minutes he managed to get his breathing under control. Shakily, he raised his hands to his face to wipe away the tears. No more stalling. It was time to put his plan into action. Slowly, he rose to his feet and picked up his notebook off the dresser. He flipped until he found the note he’d written for the guys and tore it out before gently placing it on his bed.

 

Then he crossed the room to where his duffle bag still sat and pulled out the necessary items he’d need. JC took the box of chalk and opened it. But before he could use it, he needed to know exactly what he was drawing. He thumbed through the notebook until he found the notes he’d taken and a picture of the sigil he was supposed to draw. Using that as a point of reference, JC drew the sigil as carefully as he could.

 

Once that was finished, he grabbed the candles and placed them strategically around the sigil. He fumbled with the matchbox and it took four tries before he was finally able to light the match because his hands were shaking so bad. But he managed to get all six candles lit. Now came the hard part.

 

JC gingerly picked up the stainless steel knife off the floor and stared at it, jumping when a loud crash of thunder was heard followed immediately by a sharp crack as lightning struck nearby and lit up the entire room. In order for the ritual to be complete, he needed to drip some of his blood into the center of the sigil. This was the part he’d looked forward to the least and knew it was going to hurt, but he knew that pain would be nothing in comparison to what he’d felt watching the demons hurt his brothers.

 

 

  

Joey jerked out of a dreamless sleep by a loud crash of thunder. He’d just opened his eyes when the thunder was followed by a sharp crack of lightning that lit up the entire room exactly like it’d done in JC’s room. The room faded to black and Joey’s eyes adjusted only to land on the apparition standing next to his bed.

 

“You should’ve kept a better eye on JC,” the apparition said before Joey could ask why it was there for the third time. “But it’s too late now.”

 

“What do you mean?” Joey asked.

 

“It’s too late,” the apparition repeated and disappeared without another word.

 

Joey’s stomach churned nervously. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t know what, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t good. Quickly he threw back the covers as the urge to check on JC grew stronger. Without a second thought as to what he was doing, he ran down the hall and pulled up short when he reached JC’s room.

 

Immediately he tried the doorknob because he knew that knocking was pointless since JC probably wouldn’t open it. It was locked. Blood pounded in his head as he stepped back and forcefully kicked the door open, not paying any attention to the pins and needles feeling in his feet. His eyes landed on JC who was kneeling on the floor and was dragging a knife across the palm of his left hand. Without thinking, Joey tackled JC to the floor and knocked the knife out of his hands as it clattered to the hardwood floor. He didn’t have any idea why he’d done that exactly, but he trusted his instincts.

 

“Guys!” he shouted as loud as he could.

 

Joey slowly sat back on his heels to allow JC to sit up, but kept himself ready in case he would have to pin JC again. JC sat up and slouched against the wall. “You should’ve let me finish,” JC said quietly.

 

“Finish what?” Joey asked. But before he could attempt to get an answer, footsteps could be heard rushing down the hall and Joey looked up as Justin, Chris, and Lance came in.

 

Lance frowned as his eyes caught sight of the candles and sigil on the floor. “What the hell…”

 

“Someone get me a towel!” Joey shouted, taking JC’s hand and inspecting it. It was bleeding freely and he knew that they had to staunch it somehow. His shout seemed to drag their attention to him and JC across the room, causing them all to spring into action.

 

Chris ran out of the room, but Lance stayed where he was in front of the candles. “What the hell happened?” Lance yelled. His eyes landed on JC. “What did you think you were doing?”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Joey saw Justin rush forward towards him and JC and knelt down next to them. Justin frowned and reached out an arm to grab a piece of paper off JC’s bed.

 

“Lance,” Joey warned, glancing up at him, “Now’s not the time.”

 

“Justin…” JC moaned and tried to reach out to grab the note out of his hands. Justin was quicker than JC in his weakened state and easily held it out of his reach.

 

“Answer me, JC!” Lance shouted, ignoring him.

 

Joey glared at him. There were more pressing issues to deal with at the moment. “Lance!”

 

“I can’t believe you,” Justin said quietly, tearing his attention from the note to JC.

 

“What?” Lance asked, coming closer.

 

“He...” Justin’s eyes filled with tears and he had to look away from JC. “He was going to kill himself…summon the demon.”

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lance shouted. “Of all the stupid, selfish…”

 

Chris came running back into the room at that moment and immediately knelt down on JC’s left side. He grabbed JC’s left hand and pressed the towel down on the open wound, causing JC to wince in pain. Quickly he glanced around the room and asked, “What’s going on?”

 

Lance let out a humorless chuckle. “You want to know what’s going on? JC was going to bring the demons here to kill him! That’s what’s going on!”

 

Joey looked over at Chris and saw the anger that was reflected back. He knew that he had to get their attention away from what JC had done right now and focus on the fact that JC was hurt instead. “Did you see anything we can wrap his hand with?” he asked Chris, cutting off what he was going to say.

 

It took Chris a few seconds, but he snapped his attention over to him. “No. We need gauze and hydrogen peroxide.”

 

“I guess we need to go to the store then.” Joey stood up and glanced over at Justin who was standing a foot away from where JC was sitting, but refusing to make eye contact with anyone other than the floor. “How about you come with me, J?”

 

Justin nodded silently. “You too, Lance,” Joey added. He knew that it would be a good idea to get both of them out of the house and away from JC for a little bit. Justin was upset and Lance had let his anger take hold of him.

 

Lance raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Three people to go to the store?”

 

“Yes,” Joey said firmly and turned back to look at Chris. “You’ll take care of him, right?”

 

Chris looked at Joey and nodded. “I’ve got him.”

 

Joey could see the anger smoldering behind his eyes, but knew that Chris wouldn’t let it cloud his judgment when it came to taking care of JC. “Call if you need something. We’ll be back soon.”

 Chris nodded and Joey gently pushed Justin ahead of him to lead the way out of the room. Joey grabbed a hold of Lance’s bicep. Lance looked like he was going to fight him, but shook his arm out of Joey’s grasp and followed Justin. Walking down the stairs, Joey couldn’t help but wonder how he was going to fix Justin and Lance’s moods in the short time they’d be gone. But one thing he did know was that it was essential because it would make helping JC easier if he didn’t have everyone yelling at him.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Joey asked. They were driving down the highway towards Walgreens to get the medical supplies they needed to fix up JC’s hand.

 

“Don’t start, Joey,” Lance warned.

 

“Don’t start?” Joey glanced over at him in the passenger seat. “You freaked on him in there.”

 

“And for a damn good reason too. Or did you forget that he was going to kill himself?”

 

“I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve a good ass kicking. Because he does. But you could’ve at least checked to see if he was OK before you went flying off the handle,” Joey said.

 

He was upset at what JC had tried to do too, but concern took precedence over anger. The most important thing was making sure that he wasn’t severely injured. It seemed that Lance forgot that and let his emotions take hold. Joey wanted to yell and freak out too, but he knew that there’d be time for that later.

 

“He’s fine,” Lance said.

 

“No, he’s not. His left hand is sliced open.”

 

“Which was entirely his fault,” Lance replied. “He’s the one who felt the need to cut his hand.”

 

Joey sighed. “That’s not the point.”

 

“Then what is?”

 

“You’re not supposed to jump on him right away.” Joey paused briefly. “You seem to be doing that a lot lately.”

 

Lance held up a hand. “I’ve already heard it from Justin.”

 

Joey glanced up in the rear view mirror to Justin in the backseat, but Justin was staring out of the window. He had talked to Justin the other day about Lance’s offer to go into JC’s head without permission and the many fights that had broken out between Lance and JC. They had shared how concerned they were about all of the fighting, and Justin seemed especially bugged by it. So it wasn’t surprising that Justin had confronted Lance about what they’d talked about.

 

“Well, clearly it didn’t sink in,” Joey muttered.

 

“And apparently telling JC that we’d figure something out didn’t either,” Lance replied.

 

“Stop making this about JC. We’re talking about you.”

 

“Well, we should be talking him. He’s the one that tried to summon the demon to kill him.” Lance paused and mumbled, “Not that it would’ve worked anyway.”

 

Joey took his eyes off the road for a second to frown at him. “What do you mean?”

 

Lance sighed. “The demons can’t hurt JC. Not yet, anyway. There are rules they have to follow, which means they have to wait until a certain thing happens before they can touch him.”

 

“How do you know?” Joey asked.

 

“Katrina told me.”

 

Joey looked at Lance surprised. “When did you talk to her?”

 

“Yesterday,” Lance said simply.

 

Joey saw Justin roll his eyes in the rear view mirror. It seemed that he was agitated about it. Not that Joey could blame him because he would’ve thought Lance would’ve told them if he’d gotten any new information right away.

 

“Did she say anything else?”

 

Lance glanced over at him. “She said that he has this mark that only supernatural things like her and demons can see. But she doesn’t think he had anything to do with it.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because his mark is faint and she says it can be passed on through other generations. The only problem is that there’s no way to know for sure if it started with his mom or not,” Lance explained, a hint of annoyance creeping up into his voice. It sounded like he’d already given this explanation and didn’t really want to do it again.

 

“But how do you know for sure that summoning the demon wouldn’t have worked? What if that was the thing they were waiting for?” Joey asked.

 

Lance hesitated for a minute before he said, “No, that doesn’t make sense. If they’ve been after JC ever since his mother died then how would they have know that he’d meet us? It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that they even started to hurt us, so they couldn’t have possibly known that it would bother JC enough to make him want to summon them.”

 

“Then what are they waiting for?”

 

Lance shook his head. “I don’t know, Joe.”

 

Joey glanced at him briefly. Lance seemed calmer now, and Joey could only hope that it’d stay that way. He was sure that a large part of the reason why he was calmer was because he was probably thinking about JC could die if they don’t find a way to stop the demons. But then again Justin probably was too. That was when he realized that Justin had been really quiet.

 

“Are you OK, J?” Joey asked, looking up into the rear view mirror.

 

Justin, who’d gone back to staring out the window, briefly locked eyes with him. “’m fine,” Justin mumbled.

 

Joey knew that wasn’t true, but didn’t want to push it. Justin would talk when he was ready. And he didn’t want to bring it up, especially now that they’d just pulled into the parking lot of Walgreens. They couldn’t be talking about anything that’d happened once they were inside in case someone overheard them. Joey killed the engine and sighed. Hopefully they could get in and get out with the necessary supplies without being recognized.

 

 

  

Chris sat next to JC on his bed with the towel still pressed against JC’s bleeding hand. He lifted the towel and searched for a side that wasn’t saturated with blood. When he found one he folded the towel over to that side and pressed down hard. Both to staunch the bleeding and out of anger.

 

JC grimaced in pain and Chris briefly looked up at him. “That’s what you get for cutting up your hand.”

 

After a moment of silence, Chris asked, “Are you all right?” He wanted to make sure JC didn’t need to see a doctor and that he wasn’t in too much pain or losing the feeling in his hand.

 

“I’m fine,” JC said softly.

 

Chris eyed him critically to see if he was lying. He had black circles under his eyes, which were starting to become a common thing again. His face looked a little pale, but it was probably from the very idea that he’d cut himself with a knife. Chris knew how queasy JC was when it came to stuff like that. But overall, he looked relatively fine.

 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Chris exploded. He’d been waiting to do this ever since Lance had announced what JC had planned. It hadn’t seemed appropriate until now. Before it had been chaotic with everyone speaking at once and their worry for JC’s wellbeing. Now, he could scold JC guilt free since he appeared to be all right.

 

“Let’s forget for a second that you were going to offer yourself up on a platter to the demons even though we’ve sworn to you that we’ll find a solution.” Chris shook his head. “Forget that. You were going to kill yourself.”

 

Chris glanced up at JC and wasn’t surprised to find that he was avoiding eye contact, choosing to stare at his comforter instead. But Chris continued, “I know you think you were doing this for us, but the only thing you would’ve done was left us a mess. There’s no way we would’ve been able to carry on without you and it probably would’ve torn us apart. Is that what you want?”

 

There was no response, but Chris saw JC’s shoulders hunch forward and his head lower out of the corner of his eye. He was almost finished. There were a few more things he needed to say and get across to JC.

 

“And I don’t know why the hell you had to cut your hand and I don’t want to know. But you’re never pulling something like this again. You hear me? It’s not happening so you might as well accept that we’re with you to the end.”

 

Silence fell over the room, leaving both of them to their thoughts. Chris didn’t feel as good as he thought he would after he was done yelling at JC. It wasn’t that he wanted to yell at JC, but he thought if he let out some of his anger it would help clear his mind so he could give focus on taking care of his friend. Instead, he was tense and had a headache. He figured it was probably from the stressful events of the day with the fire, taking Joey to the hospital, and now dealing with JC.

 

With a sigh Chris looked away from JC and let his eyes wander around the room until they caught something white laying on the floor. Chris reached out with his left hand to pick up the sheet of paper since his right was still applying pressure to JC’s wound. He read the note and looked up at JC when he’d finished.

 

“This was how you were going to leave us? A note?” he asked in a low voice.

 

Chris was done yelling. JC might deserve it, but he certainly didn’t respond well to it. They needed to talk about what happened, so Chris was trying to keep himself calm. Part of him was even more pissed at JC, but another part of him wasn’t surprised. It sounded like something JC would do.

 

“I didn’t have a choice,” JC said quietly, still refusing to look at him.

 

“Of course you did. You chose to lay down and die instead of keep on fighting,” Chris replied. “And that’s not you, Jace.”

 

JC finally met his gaze and Chris couldn’t help but notice how defeated he looked. “I couldn’t say good bye,” JC said as if he hadn’t heard what Chris had just said.

 

“So you left a note.” Chris paused. “Do you have any idea how pissed and upset we would’ve been to find you dead and the only thing you left behind was a note?”

 

“I was doing it for you.”

 

Chris sighed and rubbed the tense muscles in the back of his neck. “Look, C. I know in that whacked out mind of yours you thought you were doing the right thing. That we’d be better off without you.” He stared into JC’s eyes to make sure he got his point across. “You’re wrong.”

 

“But—”

 

“No.” Chris shook his head. “If we didn’t want you around, we wouldn’t be fighting so damn hard to keep you alive. I want you to promise me that you’ll never try something like this again.”

 

Chris was looking at JC expectantly when the pain in his head intensified, causing him to grip his aching head. After a minute the sharp pain dulled to a continuous throb that was more manageable. When Chris raised his head he was met with the worried gaze of JC.

 

“Chris?”

 

“Justin’s about to have a vision. You need to warn Lance,” Chris said, remembering what’d happened at the club last night after his headache had gotten worse.

 

JC nodded and for the second time that night, Chris saw just how Lance and JC’s connection caused them to retreat into themselves and stare unblinkingly at nothing. Twenty seconds later JC’s eyes refocused and landed on Chris’s. Worry was just radiating off of JC.

 

“Justin’s already passed out,” JC said.

 

“Shit.”

 

This wasn’t good. Chris had no doubt that Joey and Lance would be able to take care of Justin, but he was worried about other people. Were they still in the store? He hoped not because that would just open another can of worms. But even more upsetting was the fact that Justin was having another vision when he’d just had one the day before. The visions had been happening more and more frequently, which meant one thing. They were running out of time.

 

 

  

The three of them walked into Walgreens. A quick glance told them that there weren’t many people shopping at nine o’clock at night. They started walking towards the aisle with first aid supplies when a girl with a red vest came up to them.

 

“Can I get your autograph?” she asked, smiling at them. “Normally I wouldn’t ask, but it’s such a slow night.”

 

Lance was the first to recover and returned a smile. “Sure. We’d be happy to.”

 

“I just love you guys. Your music is amazing,” she gushed as Lance scribbled his name across the paper.

 

“Thank you,” Joey said, taking the notepad Lance offered for him to sign.

 

“I’m Ashley,” the girl told them as if she just forgot she hadn’t introduced herself.

 

Joey subtly elbowed Justin in the side to snap him out of his gaze. Immediately Justin took the proffered notepad with the pen and forced a smile at her. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

 

“What happened to your arm?” she asked, just now noticing the cast on Justin’s left arm.

 

Joey and Lance exchanged glances. This wasn’t something they’d thought about before, probably because they didn’t expect to run into fans while Justin had his cast. Justin wasn’t offering any explanation so Joey jumped in, “He was horsing around with Chris. You know how they get.”

 

“But how did you break it?” Ashley pressed, looking at Justin, who was signing his name.

 

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Justin lied. “I’d rather not say.”

 

She smiled at him. “You can tell me. I won’t say anything.”

 

“I’m sorry, but we need to go,” Lance said, trying to wrap this up and avoid any more awkward questions.

 

“Thank you so much,” Ashley said as Justin handed the notepad and pen back to her. Thankfully she didn’t push the issue about Justin’s broken arm any further.

 

Lance nodded and smiled. “You’re welcome.”

 

“We’ll see you around,” Joey said, winking at her, causing her to blush and giggle.

 

Together they walked away from the fan. Lance glanced back over his shoulder to see that she had returned to her station at the check out counter. He mentally sighed with relief. That hadn’t been as bad as it could’ve been.

 

They made it to the aisle they were looking for without any more interruptions. Lance spotted the gauze at the end of the aisle. “I’ll get the gauze,” he volunteered.

 

Lance walked to the other end and grabbed a package of gauze without really looking. It was all pretty much the same. He walked back down to where Joey and Justin were to find that Joey was holding two different brands of peroxide in his hand.

 

“Which one?’ Joey asked, turning around to face Lance.

 

Lance glanced over at Justin to see if he had an opinion, but Justin was just standing there staring at the floor. Probably still upset about what’d happened. It was understandable, especially since Justin was so close to JC.

 

Knowing Justin wasn’t going to offer an opinion Lance turned his attention back to Joey, who was waiting for an answer and shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

 

“I don’t know. I mean, there has to be some difference. Why else would they price them differently?”

 

“The brand names probably,” Lance said.

 

“Well, do you recognize one?” Joey asked.

 

Lance rolled his eyes. “I don’t buy peroxide that often.”

 

“Clearly or else we wouldn’t be here,” Joey muttered.

 

“Just pick one, Joey,” Lance said, annoyed.

 

“Guys,” Justin moaned softly.

 

They turned around just in time to see Justin stumble before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body pitched forward. Lance barely managed to catch him before he could crack his head off the linoleum. Before he could think about what he and Joey were going to do, he got a message from JC.

 “Justin’s about to have a vision.” 

Lance rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Thanks for the warning,” he returned sarcastically.

 

“What are we going to do?” Joey hissed, bringing Lance back to the matter at hand and breaking the connection with JC.

 

Lance looked around and was relieved to see the aisle was still empty. “Well, it doesn’t look like anyone saw.”

 

“Yeah, but we have to get him out of here,” Joey said.

 

Lance nodded and stood up from his crouched position. “I’ll distract the cashier and you carry Justin out.”

 

“No,” Joey objected, shaking his head. “You suck at distractions.”

 

“Then you do it and I’ll carry Justin to the car,” Lance said.

 

Joey snorted in disbelief. “You’re not strong enough to carry him.”

 

“Fine.” Lance sighed. “Get Justin to the car. I’ll pay for the stuff and meet you out there.”

 

Joey nodded and bent down. He placed one arm under Justin’s shoulder and the other one under his legs before he slowly lifted him off the cold floor. Lance exchanged a concerned look with Joey before he led the way to the front of the store. Immediately he walked up to the cashier in hopes of catching her attention, so she wouldn’t notice Justin.

 

“Hello again,” Lance said, trying to smile at her, but her attention was on Joey carrying Justin out of the doors they’d entered less than a half hour ago.

 

“What’s wrong with Justin?” Ashley asked.

 

Lance cursed inwardly. “Oh…he’s just…not feeling well.”

 

“Is he going to be OK?” She frowned as she rung up his purchase. “What’s this for?”

 

“He’ll be just fine. Probably just the flu or something,” Lance said, trying to reassure her and not sound extremely rude at the same time. It was sweet that the fans cared so much, but at times like this it was very inconvenient.

 

“Well, I hope he feels better,” she replied as she handed him his change and a bag that now held the gauze and peroxide.

 

“We appreciate your concern and I’ll be sure to pass along your well wishes to Justin.” Lance forced a broader smile. “It was nice meeting you.”

 

He ducked out of the store before she could say anything else. Quickly he walked across the parking lot to where they parked the car and jumped in, tossing the bag onto the floor at his feet. Lance turned around in his seat to check on Justin and was satisfied that he looked all right sprawled out in the backseat. The car moved forward as Joey threw it into drive.

 

Now that he was out of the store he could let his thoughts wander to what’d happened. It came on pretty suddenly, but then again, his visions usually did. Lance sat up a little straighter when he remembered that JC had sent him a warning and was probably worrying about Justin. He needed to at least let him and Chris know that they were on their way back.

 

“We’re on our way home,” Lance said.

 “Is Justin OK?” JC asked immediately. Lance sighed. He didn’t really want to talk about Justin like this, especially since they’d be home in ten minutes. “We’ll be home shortly.” 

“Are you OK?” Joey asked, glancing over at him. “You look tense.”

 

“Gee, I wonder why,” Lance said sarcastically. He ran a hand over his face. “Sorry, Joe. It’s just…we’re so screwed.”

 

“She see?” Joey asked.

 

Lance nodded. “And she was asking me all these questions.” He sighed again. “It’s going to be all over the place by tomorrow.”

 

“Maybe she won’t tell,” Joey suggested, hopefully.

 

“I don’t know what world you’ve been living in, but when people see a celebrity pass out they don’t keep quiet. They tell anyone and everyone,” Lance said.

 

“Let’s not jump the gun just yet,” Joey replied. “We’ll wait and see what happens.”

 

“All right,” Lance agreed grudgingly. He knew what was going to happen. It would be all over the news before tomorrow was over. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind.

 

A minute passed in silence before Joey said, “Stop it.”

 

“Stop what?” Lance asked.

 

“Thinking about it. It’s going to get you all riled up.”

 

“So?”

 

Joey took his eyes off the road for a second to look at him. “I don’t want you getting all on JC’s case when we get back.”

 

“Why not? He deserves it,” Lance said.

 

“Because we already have enough to deal with without you adding a fight to it,” Joey replied.

 

Lance crossed his arms and gave in, “Fine.”

 

Five minutes later they pulled into the driveway. Immediately Lance jumped out of the car and went around to the other side to help Joey. Together they managed to get Justin in Joey’s arms. Lance ran ahead of them to unlock the door and hold it open for them.

 

Once they were inside, they headed straight for the stairs to put Justin to bed. Lance led the way to make sure it was clear. They passed JC’s room and out of the corner of his eye Lance saw JC and Chris start to rise off the bed.

 

“Stay put,” Joey instructed with a grunt as he shifted Justin’s weight in his arms. “We’ll be back in a minute to explain everything.”

They reached Justin’s room and Lance pulled back the covers. Joey gently lowered Justin to the bed and covered him with the blankets. He glanced up at Lance who was staring at Justin with a frown on his face.

 

“Stay with Justin.”

 

Lance looked up. “Why?”

 

“Because I don’t trust you with JC just yet. And Justin should have someone here when he wakes up,” Joey said, grabbing the bag out of Lance’s hand that he’d brought in with him.

 

For a moment it looked like Lance might argue, but instead he nodded and sat on the edge of the bed at Justin’s feet. Joey glanced at them briefly before he walked into the hall and down to JC’s room. As soon as he walked in, he was met with worried gazes from both Chris and JC.

 

“How’s Justin?” JC asked.

 

“He’s…still out,” Joey said, taking JC’s hand into his and nodding at Chris to remove his hand. “Lance is sitting with him.”

 

“What happened?” Chris asked. Joey removed the towel and winced at the look of the gash across JC’s palm. He reached into the bag and pulled out the bottle of peroxide.

 

“We were trying to decide what peroxide to get when Justin stumbled a bit and then just…passed out,” Joey said, dumping some of the peroxide onto JC’s hand. JC hissed in pain and tried to pull his hand away, but Joey held it firmly. He leaned forward and gently blew on it to alleviate the burning sensation.

 

“Did anyone see it?”

 

Joey nodded in response to Chris’s question as he tried to wipe away the blood. “There was this chick that worked there and came up to us and asked for our autograph as soon as we walked in the door. Lance said she saw me carrying Justin out and was asking a ton of questions.”

 

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Chris said.

 

JC winced slightly as Joey wrapped the white gauze around his hand. “She’s going to tell. It’s going to spread like wild fire,” JC said.

 

“That’s what Lance was saying, but I told him we should wait and see. It might not work out like that,” Joey said.

 

Before JC could protest, Lance came walking into the room. Lance glanced at each of them briefly before he said, “Justin woke up.”

 

“How is he?” Chris asked.

 

Lance shrugged. “Tired. He went right back to sleep.”

 

“Did he say anything?” Joey asked, throwing the bloody towel in the bag and standing up.

 

“Yeah.” Lance looked at JC and Chris. “He said that you two get into a car accident. So neither one of you can leave this house.”

 

“That sounds easy enough,” Chris said.

 

“I mean it, Chris. You’re not allowed to drive. And JC,” Lance glanced over at JC, “You’re not allowed to be a passenger.”

 

“We got you,” Chris assured. “You know, there’s no way we can screw this up. I mean, the other stuff couldn’t be avoided, but not leaving the house?” Chris waved a hand in the air. “Piece of cake.”

 

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Joey said before he let out a yawn.

 

“I’m worried about Justin,” Lance said, leaning against the dresser. “He’s passed out longer and longer with each vision he has.”

 

“How long was he out this time?” Chris asked.

 

Lance glanced down at his watch. “Twenty-nine minutes.”

 

Joey looked at him in surprise. “You counted?”

 

“Yeah.” Lance nodded. “I’m afraid this could end up being something serious. I mean, passing out all the time can’t be good for him.”

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” JC muttered, shaking his head.

 

Lance narrowed his eyes at him. “Got something you want to say?”

 

“You bring this up every time Justin has a vision,” JC said, meeting Lance’s eyes.

 

“Not every time,” Lance replied.

 

“Well, it feels like it,” JC mumbled.

 

Lance opened his mouth to reply, but Joey stepped in. “What do you want us to do?” he asked, his attention focused on Lance.

 

“Take him to the hospital. Get tests run. Something.”

 

“And tell them what? That he’s passing out all the time? Because we know there’s a reason behind it that doctors won’t understand,” JC said.

 

“Well, we have to do something. We can’t just keep assuming that he’s going to be fine,” Lance replied.

 

“So we should make him miserable and freak him out by running a bunch of tests?” JC shot back, glaring at Lance.

 

“Guys.” Joey stepped forward with his right hand in the air, signaling them to stop. They didn’t need JC and Lance fighting right now. “We all just need to calm down. There isn’t really anything we can do right now.”

 

Lance sighed. “So what do we do?”

 

“We keep an eye on him for now. If he gets worse then we’ll figure out something,” Chris said.

 

“But it’s already gotten worse. This is the second day in a row that he’s had a vision,” Lance pointed out.

 

It was Joey’s turn to sigh. “So far he’s woken up on his own after each of them, so I think he’s all right. But right now all we can do is take care of him.”

 

There wasn’t any disagreement and the subject was dropped. A heavy silence fell over the room until it was broken by Joey yawning.

 

“Why don’t you go to bed, Joe?” Lance suggested, seeing the movement. “You’ve had a long day.”

 

Joey eyed them wearily. He didn’t really want to leave both of them alone with JC without anyone to act as a buffer and step in if need be. “I don’t know…”

 

“We’ll be fine,” Chris said. “Get some sleep. You look like crap.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Joey replied sarcastically before he sighed. “All right, but yell if you need something.”

 

Chris and Lance nodded and watched as Joey left the room. Once he was gone, Chris turned to Lance. “You should get some sleep too. I can watch over Jace.”

 

“That’s not necessary,” JC said, overhearing them. Chris glared at him and JC sighed.

 

“What about you?” Lance asked.

 

“I’m cool,” Chris said. “Besides, there’s no point in both of us being awake.”

 

Lance nodded. “But I’m going to come relieve you in a few hours.”

 

“OK.” Chris glanced over at JC as he pulled up a chair once Lance had left the room. “You should get some sleep too.”

 

“Chris—” JC tried to protest.

 

Chris shook his head. “You won’t be spending any more time alone. And,” Chris added when he saw JC open his mouth, “If you have a problem with that, then you shouldn’t have tried to kill yourself.”

 

JC sighed again, but slid underneath his covers. Chris watched as he struggled to fight sleep, but eventually his body gave in. He wasn’t surprised. His hand had to hurt like a bitch and from what Lance had told them earlier that day when they planned on snooping through JC’s stuff, he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before either.

 

Chris rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about everything that’d happened since then. The fire, JC, and now Justin having a vision. About him and JC getting into a car accident. It made him anxious to think about it all because everything seemed to be happening at a quicker pace than before. He wondered if the demons were behind that. It would make sense because it would be too late for Chris and the guys to save JC. Hopefully it wouldn’t happen that way.

Lance’s eyes snapped open, abruptly pulling him away from sleep. Blearily, his eyes wandered around his dark bedroom as he tried to process why he woke up so suddenly. Another shrill ring sounded and immediately Lance knew what’d woken him. Reaching out, he grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand.

 

“’lo?” Lance asked, voice heavy with sleep. He’d thought about just letting it go to voicemail, but figured it could be something important. It wouldn’t be the first time he got a call from FreeLance about a problem.

 

“Lance?”

 

Hearing that familiar voice, Lance pushed himself into a sitting position. “Johnny? What’s up?”

 

“I just heard about Justin,” Johnny said.

 

“How’d you find out?” Lance asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. As soon as he’d heard Johnny’s voice, he had a feeling that was the reason he was calling. He wasn’t really surprised because he figured it’d get out, despite Joey’s optimism.

 

“It doesn’t matter. This needs to be dealt with.” There was a slight pause before Johnny asked, “But first…how is he?”

 

“He’s fine,” Lance said.

 

“Are you sure? He passed out,” Johnny replied. “Sounds pretty serious.”

 

“It’s not. He just…wasn’t feeling well. Migraine that just came on suddenly,” Lance lied. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed, hoping it sounded believable. It was the first thing that popped into his head that was at least semi-logical.

 

Johnny sighed. “Well, this still needs to be dealt with. It’s going to be all over the news, and people are going to want to know how he’s doing. I think it’s better to try to squelch this thing before it gets too big.”

 

“We’ll do whatever,” Lance said.

 

“Then I’m going to schedule a press conference at noon to let people see that Justin’s OK for themselves. But I want to see you, Justin, and Joey at the Compound at eleven so we can go over what’s going to be said,” Johnny instructed.

 

“We’ll be there,” Lance promised. “See you then, Johnny.”

 

Lance hung up the phone and sighed. Even though he’d expected it, he wasn’t looking forward to explaining to the public what’d happened. Not to mention it would take away from researching a way to help JC, but it couldn’t be helped. Slowly he stood and stretched before he walked down the hall to JC’s room so he could send Chris to bed. If he, Justin, and Joey were going to attend this press conference, then Chris would have to keep an eye on JC, which would be better if he got some sleep.

 

Pausing in the doorway, Lance could see that Chris was slouched down low in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. At the moment his eyes were closed, but Lance knew that he most likely wasn’t sleeping. A few hours of sleep would do him some good, so Lance softly rapped on the door to avoid startling Chris before he walked into the room.

 

Chris immediately opened his eyes before bringing up a hand to rub at them. He sat up straighter and looked over at Lance. “What are you doing up?”

 

“I just got off the phone with Johnny,” Lance said.

 

“He call about Justin?”

 

Lance nodded. “He’s scheduling a press conference at noon, so we have to meet him at the Compound at eleven.”

 

“I’m staying with JC,” Chris stated more than asked.

 

“There’s no point in you guys going because you weren’t even there,” Lance said.

 

“So I guess you’re here to relieve me?”

 

“You need some sleep. You’re really starting to look like crap,” Lance jabbed with a small smile.

 

“Always with the compliments, Bass,” Chris said sarcastically.

 

A soft sigh shifted Lance’s attention from Chris to the bed. Lance’s first thought was that JC was awake, but his eyes were closed and his breathing still even. He was satisfied that JC was still sleeping because he’d always been horrible at pretending to sleep. But then again, he used to be horrible at lying, and he’s certainly gotten better at that.

 

“He’s been doing that all night,” Chris said, gesturing to JC.

 

“What?” Lance asked.

 

“Sighing,” Chris said simply. “Every once in a while he’ll sigh. And he’s been waking up every couple of hours all night. A couple of times I asked him if he was all right and he gave me his typical ‘I’m fine’ routine before rolling away from me.”

 

“You think he’s having nightmares?” Lance asked.

 

Chris shook his head. “I just think he’s over thinking everything that happened yesterday.”

 

Lance nodded. That definitely sounded like JC, and Lance was sure that he was beating himself up for not completing his ritual. Eventually Lance would like to be able to sit down with JC and talk to him about what he was going to do, but knew that wouldn’t be for a while. There wasn’t time right now, but even if there was, Lance wasn’t sure he’d be able to talk to JC without yelling at him.

 

“Well,” Chris stood up from the chair he’d been sitting on, bringing Lance out of his thoughts, “I guess I’m going to hit the hay.”

 

Lance glanced over at the alarm clock on JC’s dresser and noted that it was nearly six o’clock. “I’ll probably wake Justin and Joey sometime after eight, so that gives you a couple of hours.”

 

“Oh goody,” Chris said sarcastically before he left the room. Once he was gone, Lance placed himself in the seat Chris had just vacated.

 

Lance fixed his gaze on JC who was sleeping on his side facing him. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that nearly twelve hours ago he’d tried to take his own life.

 

And to make it even worse it had set off another incident. If JC hadn’t cut his hand for the ritual, then they wouldn’t have gone to the store where Justin passed out from a vision. Lance knew that it probably would’ve happened eventually because they had really lucked out at the club, but now they were forced to handle it sooner. He just hoped the press conference would go smoothly and they could refocus their attention on the demons.

 

 

  

Justin walked into JC’s room a quarter after ten that morning. Lance had woken him up at eight thirty saying that they had a press conference about what’d happened and had to meet with Johnny an hour before that. He’d gotten a shower before Joey, so he figured he would go check on JC since he hadn’t really seen him since they interrupted him last night.

 

Once in the room, his eyes immediately fell on JC lying in bed facing the wall. Justin stood there for a minute trying to decipher if he was sleeping or just lying there. Normally he would be able to tell because he knew JC so well. But after discovering that he was going to kill himself by summoning the demon, he was left feeling like he didn’t really know his best friend after all.

 

Justin turned his attention to Lance. It wasn’t surprising to see Lance sitting there. He’d figured that the guys would be protective of JC and refuse to leave him alone. “Is he sleeping?”

 

Lance opened his mouth to reply, but a voice behind Justin softly said “no.” Justin turned around to see JC had rolled over and was looking at him before lowering his gaze to the floor. It was obvious that JC felt as awkward as he did.

 

Justin turned back to Lance. “Can you give us a few minutes?”

 

“Just remember we’re leaving in fifteen minutes,” was the only thing Lance said before he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

 

“Where are you going?” JC asked, pulling himself into a sitting position. Justin took advantage of the space at foot of the bed to sit down.

 

“We have to meet with Johnny before the press conference at noon,” Justin told him.

 

JC sighed and nodded. “How’d he find out?”

 

Justin shrugged. “One of his sources, I guess.”

 

“What are you going to say?” JC asked.

 

“I’m not sure. Something about migraines, I think. At least that’s what Lance told Johnny when he called,” Justin said.

 

There was a slight pause before JC asked, “Are you sure you’re ready to handle this?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll be all right.”

 

“It’s just…” JC sighed and ran his right hand through his hair. “They’re not just going to ask question about you passing out. They’re going to freak when they see your cast.”

 

“Well, I guess that’s what the meeting with Johnny’s for. To prepare for that,” Justin said after a few seconds passed. Honestly he had completely forgotten that no one knew about his cast, but then again that fan in Walgreens had mentioned it. Normally that would be all over the Internet by now, which made Justin wonder if Johnny even knew since Lance hadn’t mentioned anything about Johnny asking him.

 

JC didn’t say anything, but nodded. An awkward silence settled between them. Justin wasn’t quite sure what to say. There was so much he’d wanted to say to JC, but now that he was actually face to face with him, he couldn’t think of one thing. He let his eyes bounce around the room before movement caught his attention. JC was rubbing the back of his left hand, trying not to disrupt the gauze that was wrapped around it.

 

“How’s your hand?” Justin asked.

 

JC dropped his right hand back into his lap and looked up at Justin. “Fine.”

 

Justin knew that he was lying. A cut like that had to hurt, but that was JC. He always felt like he needed to hide his pain from them so he could continue to look out for them. That was just another reason to add to the list of how unselfish he was. Suddenly with that thought, Justin felt the words come to him.

 

“I wish you were more selfish.”

 

“What?” JC asked, his head tilted to the side, clearly not understanding.

 

“I know that…” Justin sighed. “That you did…what you did for us. I just wish sometimes you would do things for you.”

 

“I was doing it for me,” JC defended. “Do you think I want to keep watching you guys get hurt?”

 

Justin shook his head. “You were doing it for us. I know you, JC, and I know that your reasons for doing it had absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with us.” He paused briefly, lowering his eyes before bringing them back up to meet JC’s. “If you had thought about you, then you wouldn’t have gone through with it. You want to live.”

 

“What if I don’t? What if I want to die?” JC asked softly, his attention focused on pulling a loose thread out of the comforter.

 

“I don’t believe that, but even if I did…you can’t die,” Justin said.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because I need you.” JC brought surprised eyes up to look at him and Justin nodded. “My visions are becoming more and more frequent. And with everything new that I’ve learned about them…I’m scared.”

 

JC swallowed hesitantly before he asked, “What did you learn?”

 

Justin sighed as his mind raced. The guys had deemed it a bad idea to tell JC anything about what the demons had told him, but Justin knew that he had to finish this now that he started it. And to be completely truthful, he wanted to tell JC.

 

“Justin?”

 

JC’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, signaling that he’d been silent for too long. At least long enough to outlast JC’s patience. “When…when the demons kidnapped me…they…” JC put a comforting hand on Justin’s thigh and Justin took a deep breath before he continued, “They tortured me for information about my visions.”

 

“What did you tell them?” JC asked, quietly.

 

“Nothing. I mean, I don’t really know anything about them. Where they came from or anything. At least I didn’t until I realized…” Justin stopped. He knew that he had to finish getting this all out, but at the same time he knew that JC wasn’t going to take the new bit of information well.

 

“Realized what?”

 

Justin made eye contact with JC. “They’ve been through your perspective.”

 

JC’s eyes widened considerably as he breathed, “What?”

 

“Every single one I’ve seen through your eyes. Lance’s suicide attempt, the attack on Joey, the kidnapping…everything,” Justin admitted quietly. He wasn’t surprised by JC’s reaction. It’d been expected because he knew that JC would take it to heart.

 

“This is my fault,” JC mumbled so low with his head down that Justin almost hadn’t heard him.

 

Justin shook his head and put a hand on JC’s arm, causing him to look up at him. “I don’t want you to feel guilty because none of this is your fault. And that’s not what this is about anyway.”

 

“Then what?”

 

“You’re the one I go to when I’m scared and need to talk. The guys…they’re so wrapped up in helping you that they don’t talk to me.” Justin paused as he began to pick at his nails, knowing how that sounded. “But it’s totally understandable. Your life’s in danger. Mine isn’t, but I need someone to talk to.

 

“I can’t do this without you. I know you don’t always have answers to my questions, but it’s nice having someone to just listen. And I’ll especially need you once this is all over because I have a feeling my visions aren’t going to quit,” Justin confessed.

 

Justin brought his head up after a minute or two passed in silence. He realized JC hadn’t said anything yet. “JC?”

 

“I’ll always be here for you, J,” JC said softly. Justin could see the sincerity in JC’s eyes and closed his eyes in relief. It was comforting to know that JC wasn’t going to leave him to deal with all of this alone.

 

“Now,” Justin said as he opened his eyes and looked at JC, “You can’t tell the guys about what I’ve told you.”

 

JC frowned. “Why not?”

 

“Because they didn’t want me to tell you.” Justin saw the anger flash in JC’s eyes and added, “Please don’t get on their case about it. It’s not worth another fight.”

 

JC sighed, but nodded. “OK.”

 

“Are you sure your hand’s OK?” Justin asked, frowning as he watched JC absently massage his left hand. He hadn’t moved it much while they were talking either.

 

“It’s fine,” JC said, brushing off Justin’s concern, but Justin wasn’t going to give up that easily.

 

“Have you taken anything for the pain?” When JC shook his head, Justin rose from the bed. “Let me get you some aspirin.”

 

“You don’t have to do that,” JC said.

 

“You’re in pain,” Justin argued and JC reluctantly gave in. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall to walk towards the bathroom to get some aspirin. It didn’t take him long to reach the bathroom and dump two pills into his hands before placing the bottle back in the medicine cabinet. Walking back down the hall, he was nearly to JC’s room when he ran into Lance.

 

“We’re getting ready to leave,” Lance said.

 

Justin nodded. “I just need to give JC some aspirin first.”

 

“I tried that like ten times and he refused every single time,” Lance groused with a sour expression.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t take anything from the person who drugged me either,” Justin replied.

 

Lance threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”

 

Justin didn’t answer, but gave Lance a knowing look. Lance sighed and turned to walk back downstairs. Five minutes later Justin was locking the front door behind him after he’d given JC some aspirin to ease the pain and he threw on some shoes. He slid into the backseat just like he had a little over twelve hours ago only this time Lance was driving and Joey was in the passenger seat.

 

“How’d it go with JC? You guys good?” Joey asked a few minutes into short ride it took to get to the Compound.

 

Justin nodded. “Everything’s good.”

 

Joey nodded in acceptance and Justin let his thoughts drift back to the conversation he’d just had with JC. He thought it went well considering at the beginning he didn’t have a clue what he was going to say. The best part was that JC agreed to always be there for him and thereby agreeing to live. Justin was grateful that he’d be able to talk to JC, especially now that he knew what was going on with his visions. And hopefully now JC was getting some rest because Justin was sure that he hadn’t slept well the night before.

 

“How did you know what JC was up to?”

 

The question startled Justin out of his thoughts and he leaned forward in his seat with a confused expression while Joey turned his head sharply to the left to look at Lance. “What?” Joey asked.

 

“What made you check on JC last night? I mean, if it wasn’t for you he might’ve…” Lance glanced quickly at Joey before turning his attention back on the road to change lanes. “We wouldn’t have found him until it was too late.”

 

“That’s what it said to me,” Joey said quietly as if he were talking to himself.

 

“What?” Justin asked, frowning.

 

Suddenly Lance’s eyes grew wide and he locked eyes with Joey. “The ghost?”

 

Joey nodded. “I woke up and it was just standing at the foot of my bed. It kept saying ‘It’s too late’ and that we should’ve kept a better eye on JC.”

 

“Did it say what JC was doing?” Lance asked.

 

“No. I just…had this feeling that I needed to check on him,” Joey said. He paused for a moment before he continued, “It didn’t even register in my mind what he was doing. I just saw him cutting his hand and knew I had to stop him from doing what it was he doing.”

 

“So do we trust this thing?” Justin asked. “I mean, I know we were uneasy, but it was right about JC being up to something.”

 

Lance glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “So you think it’s right about the cabin too? That that’s where it has to end?”

 

“I don’t know.” Justin shrugged. “But it’s probably something worth thinking about.”

 

“Well,” Joey watched as they pulled into the parking lot of the Compound, “That’ll have to wait until later because right now we have a meeting and a press conference.”

 

Justin knew that Joey was right, but that was the very last thing he wanted to do right now. From what they’d found out, it sounded like they could trust this ghost that visited Joey and told them to go the cabin. It was the first thing that really pointed them in the direction of a solution, and Justin wanted to dig deeper and develop a plan. Because there was no way the demons were going to get JC.

 

 

  

Chris shifted uncomfortably in the desk chair he sat on in JC’s room with his legs propped up on the edge of the bed. Briefly he glanced over his newspaper before returning to the article he’d been reading. It was testament to how bored he was because he usually only liked to read the comics and a few choice articles that interested him. But now he was reading an article about the effects of people relying too heavily on astrology. Definitely not something he’d be reading on a normal day, but he was dying for something to do. He knew he couldn’t leave JC alone while he watched TV downstairs.

 

A rustling sound quickly captured Chris’s attention. He folded the newspaper down to see over the top of it and saw JC shifting in his sleep. More specifically he was kicking off his covers. Chris frowned and folded the paper before lowering it to the floor. It was unlike JC to do that because he normally complained that he was cold.

 

On closer inspection, it was easy to see the beads of sweat that were forming on JC’s forehead and starting to run down the side of his face. Chris reached out to put a hand on JC’s forehead and frowned at the heat radiating off his friend. How the hell did he get a fever? He was fine a couple of hours ago when he was talking to Justin.

 

Chris began to search JC’s body for any obvious signs of what might’ve brought on a fever like this when his gaze stopped on JC’s left hand that was flung over his chest. It was red, which was a huge contrast to the stark white gauze wrapped around the middle. He gently unwrapped the hand and frowned deeper when he realized that JC’s hand wasn’t only red but swollen too. All signs that pointed to infection. At least that’s what all those medical dramas he watched said.

 

Knowing he had to find a way to treat this himself since he wasn’t allowed to drive, Chris ran down into Lance’s office and grabbed his laptop before hurrying back up the stairs. He didn’t want to leave JC alone in case he got worse. As soon as he sat in the chair with the laptop balanced precariously on his legs, Chris punched “infection treatments” into Google and hit search.

 

Quickly he browsed through the top ten search results and felt his stomach clench. Every single page he looked at told him to take JC to the hospital because it was too risky to attempt to care for the infected area himself. Chris roughly slammed the top of the laptop shut and rubbed at his eyes. He wished there was something that told him how to take care of this himself because he knew that if he drove he and JC would get into an accident.

 

Abruptly he opened his eyes and jumped to his feet, pulling his cell phone out of the pocket as he did so. Chris flipped his phone open and pressed speed dial four. He listened to the ringing as he waited for Lance to answer, but a few seconds later his voicemail picked up.

 

“Damn it!” Chris cursed, roughly pressing the end button, effectively severing connection. He thought for sure that Lance would’ve had his phone on. Mr. Business couldn’t go five minutes with his phone turned off, but couldn’t put it on vibrate while he was in a press conference. And the kicker of it all was that the press conference probably only started like five minutes ago, so if Chris had figured it out sooner then he’d probably be talking to one of the guys right now.

 

Chris decided to try Justin and Joey because maybe one of them had left their phone on. A minute later, Chris let out an aggravated growl of frustration.

 

“They are so hearing it from me later,” Chris grumbled to himself. He glanced over at the bed and sighed heavily. JC needed a hospital, and Chris was determined to get him there.

 

Lance’s words were clear in his head. He knew that Justin’s vision was about him and JC getting into a car accident, and doing just that was a recipe for disaster. But Chris knew that there wasn’t any other choice. If he waited for the others to get back to take JC to the hospital, JC would get sicker as the infection would spread and there was a real possibility he could lose his hand. That was if the infection didn’t kill JC because he knew that JC’s neglectful behavior towards his health would help the infection progress. Chris didn’t want to be responsible for any of that.

 

But on the other hand he didn’t want to be responsible for getting them into an accident and seriously injuring JC or maybe even killing him. Chris tousled his hair as he sighed heavily. Either way the situation wasn’t good and could possibly lead to death.

 

Maybe the accident wouldn’t be that serious. Chris knew that wasn’t rational because Justin’s visions were always about terrible things happening, but if he focused on the possibility that it could just be a fender bender it might not be as bad. And if he kept his eyes open for crazy people swerving or cutting him off, then maybe it could be avoided all together. Mind made up, he left the room and ran downstairs to grab the keys to get the car open so it would be easier to get JC into it.

 

Chris left the passenger door open and ran back into the house to get JC, knowing that the sooner they got to the hospital the better. He reentered JC’s room to find that he hadn’t really moved in the two minutes that he’d been gone. It was unclear whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. But Chris didn’t think about it anymore as he strode to the side of JC’s bed and reached out a hand to shake him awake.

 

“Jace,” Chris said, shaking JC’s shoulder. “C’mon, you need to wake up.”

 

JC moaned and tried to roll away from Chris, but he was held in place by a restraining arm from Chris. After a moment JC blearily opened his eyes and squinted up at him. “Chris?”

 

“You need to get up. We’re going for a ride,” Chris said, pulling on JC’s arm. He sighed in relief when JC didn’t fight him and sleepily complied with the upward motion Chris was forcing on him. It was now that Chris decided JC still sleeping was a good thing because a sleepy JC was very compliant since he wasn’t fully awake to comprehend what was going on.

 

Chris led them out of the room and carefully down the stairs with his right arm wrapped around JC’s waist. JC rested his head sleepily on his shoulder, barely awake but enough to move without Chris having to carry him. He’d almost forgotten how affectionate JC was when he was tired. When they were on tour, especially in the early days it hadn’t been uncommon to find him curled up next to one of them on the couch.

 

They made it to the passenger side of the car where Chris helped JC in and buckled his seatbelt. Satisfied that JC was secure, he closed the door and hurried over to the other side. Quickly, Chris slid into the driver’s seat and fastened his own seatbelt. He checked his mirrors to make sure it was clear to back up and he reversed out of the driveway before throwing the car into drive. They’d just made it onto the main road when Chris saw the traffic light suddenly turn red and nearly had to slam on the brakes to stop in time. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the motion jerked JC awake and withheld the sigh he wanted to let out. He knew what was coming.

 

“Chris!” JC looked over at him with more focused eyes, but they still had a glassy look to them. Probably from the infection and fever. “What the hell are you doing?”

 

“Taking you to the hospital. Your hand’s infected,” Chris said firmly. He was doing the right thing. Even though he knew JC was going to fight him on it.

 

“I don’t care! Pull over!” JC yelled.

 

“JC—”

 

“Pull over, Chris. We can call an ambulance or something. Just pull over!”

 

Chris sighed, but nodded. “All right. As soon as we make it through this light,” he said, gesturing to the light ahead of them that just changed from red to green.

 

JC didn’t say anything, but relaxed in his seat a little. The car just passed under the traffic light and reached the middle of the intersection when a car coming at a fast speed from the left slammed into the driver’s side. Chris and JC’s bodies were jarred from the impact as the other car’s momentum caused theirs to slide twenty feet across the intersection. A pileup started to form around the accident that left the two members of NSYNC unconscious.

 

 

  

Lance followed Joey and Justin out of the room where the press conference had been held and let out a mental sigh of relief. It had gone as well as could be expected. They’d stuck with the migraine story saying that Justin had a headache when they went into Walgreens, but hadn’t thought it was that bad. There had been questions about how long Justin had migraines and the cast on his left arm, but they had been prepared for those.

 

Once it was settled that Justin was indeed fine and nothing was seriously wrong, questions started popping up about what their plan was once their break was over. They’d been prepared for it, but it was still hard to answer because they didn’t know. A lot of it depended on what happened with JC and the demons. All of the personal questions had been dodged and the press conference was wrapped up.

 

“Can you believe they asked if I was seeing someone?” Justin complained. “I mean, I just passed out in Walgreens.”

 

“I don’t think that has anything to do with your love life,” Joey smirked.

 

Lance listened to them marvel at the questions that’d been asked while he turned on his phone. He frowned when he saw that he had a missed call from Chris, but no voicemail. “That’s weird,” he said.

 

“What’s weird?” Justin asked, abandoning his conversation with Joey as he looked over at Lance.

 

“Chris tried to call me, but didn’t leave a message,” Lance said.

 

“That is weird,” Joey agreed. “Why would he be calling when he knew he would be in a press conference?”

 

The three of them barely exchanged worried glances before Justin and Joey both dug into their pockets and pulled out their phones. After turning them on, they saw the same thing Lance had.

 

Justin swallowed nervously. “Do you think something happened?”

 

“There’s one way to find out,” Lance said. He called Chris only to frown when a female voice answered. “Who’s this? Where’s Chris?”

 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Joey and Justin exchange worried gazes. Lance tried not to focus on them as the woman started talking again.

 

“My name’s Elizabeth. I’m a nurse at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Chris Kirkpatrick has been in a car accident.”

 

Lance inhaled sharply. This couldn’t be happening. Not after he made Chris and JC swear they wouldn’t leave the house. “How is he?”

 

“He’s currently in surgery,” Nurse Elizabeth said.

 

“For what? How serious is it?” Lance asked, his voice rising a little. Joey and Justin leaned closer as if they would be able to hear what was being said on the other end.

 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that over the phone. It would be better if you came down here,” she said.

 

Lance sighed and ran his free hand roughly through his hair, causing it to lay flat in places. “What about JC?”

 

“JC?” There was a slight pause. “Was that the one who came in with him?”

 

“Yes. JC Chasez. Do you know how he is?” Lance asked.

 

“Just a moment. I’ll check.” A moment later she said, “He’s got a mild concussion and a few cuts and bruises, but he’ll be fine.”

 

“Can I talk to him?”

 

“I’m sorry. He’s getting his hand stitched right now, but you can come down here and see him,” the nurse said.

 

“We’ll be there,” Lance replied and hung up the phone, not waiting for a response. He turned to Justin and Joey who were wearing grim expressions.

 

“Car accident?” Joey asked.

 

Lance nodded. “Chris is in surgery right now, but JC’s fine. Concussion and a few cuts and bruises.”

 

“Where are they?” Justin asked.

 

“Orlando Regional Medical Center,” Lance said.

 

“I’ll drive,” Joey volunteered. The three of them hustled out of the Compound and into the parking lot. They jumped into the car and Joey squealed tire as he pulled out at a faster speed than necessary.

 

“Why the hell did they get into the car? I told them what would happen if they did, but here we are. Left the house even though they knew what a bad idea it was,” Lance ranted.

 

“I’m sure it was a good reason,” Justin said.

 

“It damn well better be. For their sakes.”

 

“Can you at least wait until you know they’re OK?” Justin muttered.

 

Lance sighed and nodded. It was good to know that JC wasn’t severely injured, but he was scared for Chris. They had no idea how serious it was or why he was in surgery. Maybe a nurse told JC and he knew. Mentally Lance reached out to JC, but frowned when he couldn’t feel him just like right after Justin had been kidnapped. He frowned deeper, thinking that maybe JC wasn’t as fine as the nurse claimed.

Joey rushed down the hallway that was almost glaringly white from the florescent light bulbs overhead. His eyes bounced back and forth across the hallway, frantically searching for the room the nurse said JC was in. Briefly he glanced to his right and saw that Lance and Justin were doing the same thing. Returning his attention to the room numbers, Joey mentally ticked them off in his head as he passed them. 105…107…109…111…

 

Pulling up short so he wouldn’t slam into the back of Justin, Joey looked at the little plate on the wall next to the door Justin had stopped in front of. Room 113. They’d found it. JC was just beyond the door. Joey stepped forward to open the door when the metal doorknob twisted on its own accord. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged nurse that was dressed in purple scrubs.

 

“Are you here to see Mr. Chasez?” she asked.

 

Joey nodded. “We’re his friends.”

 

“Well, if it’s all right, I’d like a word with you before you go in to see him,” the nurse said.

 

“Is everything all right? Is JC OK?” Justin asked, his forehead creased with worry.

 

“Physically, yes,” the nurse assured as she motioned for them to move a few feet to the right so they weren’t blocking the doorway. “We’re more concerned about his mental state.”

 

Lance frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“He came into the ER with a three inch laceration across his left palm that’s not consistent with the car accident. The infected cut was treated and he’ll need a tetanus shot, but currently we’re concerned that he purposely inflicted the wound on himself. In which case, we’d have one of our psychologists come down to evaluate him,” the nurse explained.

 

“That’s not necessary. JC isn’t a cutter,” Joey said.

 

“Sometimes it’s hard to believe those closest to us could do something so horrible,” she replied.

 

Justin shook his head vehemently. “It was an accident. He was washing the dishes and accidentally grabbed a hold of a knife.”

 

“Why didn’t you just bring him here then?” she asked.

 

“Because we didn’t think it was that serious,” Lance said, going along with Justin’s story. But Joey noticed the corners of his mouth turned down in a frown and knew that he didn’t appreciate Justin trying to help by making up a lame excuse.

 

The nurse frowned at them, clearly not believing it. “A psychiatric evaluation still might be a good idea.”

 

“Thanks, but we’ve got it covered,” Joey assured. “We’re living together, so we’ll keep an eye on him.”

 

Joey couldn’t help but think about the irony of that because they wouldn’t be in this situation if they’d kept an eye on JC to begin with. Next to him, Justin began to bounce impatiently on the balls of his feet. They’d been delayed from seeing their friend long enough and it was clear that Justin was out of patience.

 

“Can we see him now?” Justin asked.

 

“Sure,” the nurse smiled at him slightly. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to give him his tetanus shot.”

 

Lance nodded and together the three of them walked into JC’s room. Immediately their eyes fell on their friend who was sitting on an examination table. JC was leaning forward with his arms resting on his thighs and was staring at the floor. Just like the nurse said, the palm of his left hand was wrapped in brown gauze. There also was a scratch under his right eye and a few nicks across his cheeks, but nothing that looked serious.

 

“Thank God,” Justin breathed to himself before rushing to JC’s side. Joey felt the same relief as Justin because while they’d known beforehand that JC was fine it was easier to believe when they could see for themselves.

 

“Are you all right?” Justin asked.

 

“Have you heard anything about Chris?” Joey asked, coming up to stand on JC’s left, directly opposite from Justin.

 

Joey noticed Justin frown when ten seconds passed and there was no answer from JC to any of their questions, and he did the same. It was worrisome that JC hadn’t said a word to them, but he hadn’t even raised his head or even acknowledged them either. It was disconcerting and the worry lines on Justin’s forehead increased.

 

“JC?” Justin asked, cautiously. As Joey waited with bated breath to see whether or not JC would respond, he mentally berated himself and Justin bombarding him with questions. He couldn’t even imagine how terrifying that car accident had to have been.

 

“He’s not in any condition to answer questions,” a voice said from behind them.

 

The three of them turned around to see a man in a white coat, presumably the doctor, standing in the back. They’d been so focused on seeing JC that they hadn’t realized there was someone else in the room.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked, standing in JC’s line of vision but a few feet back. Joey figured it was probably to make him feel less crowded and with that thought in mind, he took a step to his right to put more distance between him and JC.

 

“He’s suffering from a mild case of shock,” the doctor explained.

 

Justin frowned. “From what?”

 

“Most likely the car accident. It’s not uncommon for patients to experience some form of shock despite the severity of their injuries. Shock is the body’s way of dealing with unexpected events.”

 

“So he’s going to be OK?” Joey asked. His attention was diverted from the doctor when the nurse they’d talk to earlier came back into the room carrying a syringe filled with a clear liquid.

 

The doctor nodded his approval to the nurse and she stepped up to JC. Joey backed up a little further to give her room to work. He watched as she rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt and wiped the area with a damp cotton ball.

 

“He’s going to be just fine,” the doctor assured, causing them to glance back at him before refocusing their attention on JC. “Once he has received his tetanus shot, he’s free to go. I’ve already got the release papers prepared and a prescription you need to get filled for antibiotics to kill the infection in his hand.”

 

Joey nodded and watched as the nurse pressed the needle against JC’s skin until the tip was no longer visible. Involuntarily he winced for JC, knowing how much JC hated needles. But Joey was shocked to see that JC hadn’t even flinched or squeezed the hand that Justin had placed into his own. That wasn’t normal behavior for JC and it was then that Joey recognized how similar this situation was to the time JC’d gone into shock after Justin had been kidnapped. Hopefully this time it wouldn’t become as dangerous.

 

“All done,” the nurse said with a small smile as she patted JC on the shoulder and unrolled his sleeve.

 

“What about our other friend? How’s he?” Lance asked.

 

“The name’s Christopher Kirkpatrick?” the doctor asked and Lance nodded. “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss his condition since I’m not the attending doctor. However, I’ll take you to a private waiting room.”

 

“Thank you,” Joey said.

 

The doctor nodded. “But first, one of you needs to sign this release form since Mr. Chasez isn’t up to it at the moment.”

 

Wordlessly Lance stepped forward and accepted the clipboard and prescription that was handed to him. He signed his signature on the line indicated and gave it back to the doctor while pocketing the slip of paper that had the doctor’s messy scrawl of the prescription they’d have to get filled. The doctor glanced at the release form briefly before he nodded and gestured toward the door.

 

“If you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to the waiting room.”

 

Justin put a hand on JC’s back and gently helped him off the examination table he’d been sitting on. Together they walked out the door behind the doctor while Joey and Lance brought up the rear. It was a short walk down the hall before they entered a fairly small room with two couches, a small coffee table, and a couple of oversized chairs.

 

“Someone will be in to fill you in on your friend’s condition,” the doctor said before he left the room and closed the door behind him.

 

 

  

Time elapsed so slowly that Lance was sure that it must’ve been moving backwards. He glanced down at his watch and sighed, letting his body sink even further into the oversized chair. They’d been waiting in this room for over two hours and he was getting worried. When he’d first found out about Chris’s condition just before one in the afternoon, he’d been informed that Chris was in surgery. And since they hadn’t heard anything, Lance was left to assume that Chris was still in surgery. That concerned him because it meant that things must be worse than he initially thought.

 

Glancing to his left, he felt the knot that had formed in his stomach twist. JC was tucked into the end of the couch by the window with Justin sitting next to him, but he’d yet to say a word. Lance couldn’t really say that he was surprised because he’d had an inkling that JC wasn’t completely there from the feeling he’d gotten on the way to the hospital in the car. Not to mention that JC had a habit of blaming himself and was probably doing just that.

 

A thump sounded and seemed to echo throughout the still room. Lance looked across the room to see Joey had just thrown the magazine he’d been rifling through onto the table in front of him. The waiting was really starting to grate on their nerves. Whoever said that no news was good news had never experienced sitting in a waiting room to learn the condition of a friend or family member.

 

The door clicked before it swung open. Lance immediately snapped his head in that direction and felt his heart rate increase at the sight of a doctor in green scrubs with a white mask hanging around his neck. It looked like he just came out of surgery.

 

“You’re here for Christopher Kirkpatrick, right?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” Justin replied.

 

“My name’s Matt Shrike and I was the lead surgeon in the operating room.”

 

“How’s Chris?” Joey asked.

 

“I wish I didn’t have to tell you this,” Doctor Shrike said, sighing. Lance could swear that he felt the knot in his stomach tighten to the point that he thought for sure he was having an ulcer. Good news never followed words like that, and Lance noted through the doctor’s graying hair that he probably had a lot of experience breaking bad news to families and friends.

 

“Just say it,” Lance said, softly.

 

Doctor Shrike nodded. “Mr. Kirkpatrick received a severe impact to his left side, which resulted in internal bleeding. We rushed him into surgery where we managed to repair the damage. However, he also suffered a serious blow to the head.

 

“Individually both of the injuries are dangerous, but together they are extremely so. As a result, Mr. Kirkpatrick has fallen into a coma,” he explained.

 

“A coma?” Lance repeated, shocked.

 

“I’m afraid so.” Doctor Shrike paused. “At this moment, there is no way to tell if or when he’ll wake up.”

 

Lance felt his world fall away. He didn’t even register that Joey got up and swiftly left the room. All he could focus on was the doctor’s word resounding in his head. A coma. It was hard to wrap his head around because while he’d expected bad news, he hadn’t figured it was going to be that bad.

 

Suddenly he felt anger rise up in him and his shock melted away. If Chris and JC had just listened to him and not left the house like he said, then they wouldn’t be in this position. Chris shouldn’t have driven. Lance had given him explicit directions not to and he didn’t care what his reason was. Nothing warranted putting his life in danger.

 

But JC was just as much to blame. He should’ve stopped Chris. Forced him to stay home. Talked him out of leaving. Something. JC knew what the dangers were just as much as Chris did. And even if he did fight Chris, he should’ve fought harder. A pissed off Chris would’ve been better and easier to deal with than a comatose one.

 

Lance took a deep breath and felt the anger subside, leaving him feeling empty. He couldn’t believe that he was just blaming his comatose friend and feeling angry at him. As far as Lance knew, he might never see Chris awake again.

 

And he couldn’t even bring himself to continue to feel angry at JC because he was in what seemed like a deep shock. Lance wasn’t even sure if JC would snap out of this one because he couldn’t begin to imagine how JC must be feeling. He knew how JC took the littlest things that happened to them to heart, so he could easily believe that feeling had been multiplied tenfold. The last thing he wanted was to lose two of his friends, but right now it wasn’t looking too promising.

 

A loud, gut wrenching sob snapped Lance out of his reverie. His eyes flicked over to his left and saw Justin with his head in his hands, his whole body shaking from the force of his sobs. Lance wanted nothing more than to join Justin, but he realized that he had to keep it together. All of them couldn’t fall to pieces. One of them had to be rational and in control.

 

With that in mind, Lance rose from the chair and moved over to the couch. Gently, he gathered Justin into his arms so his head was resting on his shoulder. “Chris is a fighter. He’ll pull through this,” Lance said, running a hand through Justin’s curls to try to soothe him.

 

As Justin continued to cry and clutch at the back of his shirt, Lance looked over his head and glanced around the room. His heart skipped a beat when he didn’t see Joey. He didn’t remember Joey leaving, but then again he didn’t remember seeing the doctor leave either. Lance briefly wondered if he should try to find Joey, but quickly decided not to. Clearly Joey was upset and probably wanted some time alone to deal.

 

As Justin’s sobs quieted, Lance gently pulled them to rest against the back of the couch. He kept his arms wrapped around Justin and wondered how long it would be before someone came back in. Lance wished he’d paid more attention to the doctor before he left to see if he’d said anything about Chris being placed into a room and when they could see him.

 

It turned out that Doctor Shrike came back into see them after time had dragged on for what felt like years rather than the hour and a half it’d been. Doctor Shrike had explained that Chris had started to crash. They’d caught some internal bleeding that they’d missed. The second surgery had gone a lot quicker than the first, and now they knew for sure that internal bleeding would no longer be an issue.

 

That knowledge hadn’t made Lance feel any better though. Chris was still in a coma and he’d only feel better when he came out of it. Doctor Shrike had cautioned that there was a 50/50 chance that he would, but Lance felt that he had to hang onto some optimism. If he didn’t, then it would be a lot harder to hold it together. As long as there was a shred of hope, he could keep going.

 

“Lance!”

 

Lance looked up at hearing his name being called. He was momentarily surprised to see Johnny, but quickly realized that news must’ve gotten out and he just heard about it. Justin sat up a little straighter, but didn’t make any move to get off the couch and greet Johnny. Squeezing his shoulder briefly, Lance eased himself out from the edge of the couch and Justin settled himself against JC’s shoulder. Once Lance was standing, he strode across the room to meet Johnny.

 

“I just heard what happened. Is everyone all right?” Johnny asked.

 

Lance sighed and ran a hand over his face. “JC’s fine…for the most part. Nothing too serious. He’s got a concussion and some cuts and bruises.”

 

“And Chris?”

 

“Chris is…” Lance sighed again. “He’s in a coma, Johnny.”

 

Johnny frowned. “What happened?”

 

Lance shrugged. He didn’t know the exact story. “His doctor says that the impact caused some internal bleeding and a severe head injury. Combined they forced his body into a coma.”

 

“Have they let you in to see him yet?” Johnny asked.

 

“No. He just came out of a second surgery. They’d found some more internal bleeding, but think they got it all fixed up this time,” Lance said.

 

“Bev needs to know about this,” Johnny said.

 

Lance groaned. “I totally forgot about calling anyone.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get a hold of her. It might take a while though because she’s on a cruise with Chris’s sisters.”

 

“Thanks,” Lance said, relieved. He’d completely forgotten about trying to contact Chris’s family.

 

Johnny paused and eyed him critically. “How are you doing?”

 

“I’m…all right.”

 

“What about them?” Johnny asked, inclining his head toward the couch on the far side of the room where JC and Justin were still sitting.

 

“JC’s gone into some sort of shock, and Justin…he’s really broken up over it,” Lance said.

 

Johnny nodded understandingly and glanced around the room. “Where’s Joey?”

 

Lance sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “He took off a couple of hours ago. I’m starting to get worried, but I don’t want to leave JC and Justin alone.”

 

“I can sit with them,” Johnny volunteered. “If you want to check on Joey.”

 

“That’d be great. Thanks,” Lance said, fishing his keys out of his pocket. “I’ll be back soon.”

 

Johnny nodded and fixed him with a stern look. “Be careful.”

 

“I will,” Lance promised and left the room.

 

It didn’t take him long to get back out into the parking lot and jump back into his car. As soon as he was on the highway, he dialed Joey’s cell phone. When he got his voicemail Lance hung up and tried calling his own home phone in case Joey had gone back there. But there wasn’t any answer. That didn’t deter Lance though because he began to alternate between his home phone and Joey’s cell phone, hoping that he’d pick up.

 

Lance began to wonder if he should try to call Joey’s house to see if he went back there. It wasn’t a hard thing to believe because Joey would want to be with his family. The only problem was that he didn’t want to freak Kelly out by asking her and finding out that Joey wasn’t there. That was the last thing she needed, especially since she wasn’t happy with Joey at the moment.

 

But maybe she deserved to know what was going on. After all, she was Chris’s friend too and would probably want to know that he was in a coma. As Lance made a left to turn into his driveway, he swore that if Joey wasn’t in the house then he’d call Kelly and let her know what was going on. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to do that though because he wasn’t sure if he could handle that right now.

 

Lance hurriedly threw the car into park and yanked the key out of the ignition before he ran into the house. It was dark, but maybe Joey just hadn’t turned on any lights. Continuing his way to the living room, Lance turned on the kitchen light and looked into the living room. The light from the kitchen filtered into the room just enough for him to make out Joey lying on the couch.

 

“God, Joey, you had me worried sick,” Lance said, stepping into the living room and turning the lamp on that sat on the end table next to the couch.

 

But as he got closer he noticed that Joey was asleep. Lance looked down at the coffee table and saw a large bottle of whiskey. He picked it up and frowned at the empty bottle. Joey had come back to the house and gotten so drunk that he’d passed out.

 

Lance felt anger rise up in him, but he pushed it down. First he had to take care of Joey and make sure he was OK. He could release it on Joey after he woke up. It would serve him right. But right now Lance’s main priority was getting Joey into bed.

 

After a minute of struggling, he managed to get Joey to his feet. Joey was barely awake, but it was enough to get him upstairs. Lance set him on his bed and pulled out a chair before sinking his exhausted body into it. He watched Joey sleep for a minute, making sure that he didn’t need medical attention of any kind before he wearily closed his eyes. This day just kept getting longer and longer with no end in sight.

 

Two hours later Lance was still sitting in the desk chair, waiting for Joey to wake up. He’d called Johnny shortly after he’d put Joey to bed to let him know that he found him, but wouldn’t be coming back to the hospital for at least a couple of hours since he had to take care of Joey. It was then that Johnny informed him that Doctor Shrike had been in to see them and said that Chris was now settled into a room on the ICU floor. They could visit him whenever they were ready.

 

Johnny had offered to go in with Justin and JC, but Justin refused. He didn’t want to go in to see Chris. When Lance had heard that he felt even more anger at Joey. It was obvious from his conversation with Johnny that Justin was terrified to see Chris alone, and Lance was pissed that he couldn’t be there to go in with Justin.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Joey shift on the bed. Lance sat up straighter. It was about time. The sooner Joey woke his ass up, the sooner they could get back to the hospital.

 

Joey opened his eyes and immediately put a hand to his head. He sat up a little and squinted in Lance’s direction. “Lance? What are you doing here?”

 

“That’s what I’ve been asking myself for the past two hours,” Lance said.

 

“You’ve been here two hours?” Joey asked.

 

“What? Did you think you could just take off and we wouldn’t come looking for you?”

 

“I was going to come back,” Joey defended quietly, still clutching his head.

 

“Yeah, on a stretcher,” Lance muttered.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lance glared at him. “You know what it means!”

 

“Dude, could you not yell so loud? My head is freaking pounding,” Joey said.

 

Lance let out a sigh of exasperation and said sarcastically, “Gee, I wonder why.”

 

“Why are you making a big deal out of this? I had a drink. So what?”

 

“You’re going to kill yourself, that’s what,” Lance shot back.

 

“Hey, I’ve never tried to kill myself. That’s you and JC,” Joey replied.

 

Lance stared at Joey in surprise. He couldn’t believe Joey just said that to him. It was easy to blame it on his hangover, but Lance was done making excuses for him. Joey had to face up to what he’d been doing.

 

“How dare you,” Lance hissed. “You know I had no control over that.”

 

“Well, maybe I don’t have any control over how much I drink,” Joey said.

 

“Don’t hand me that. You know your body’s limitations. You know when you’re supposed to stop.” Lance sighed. “You have to stop doing this.”

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Drinking yourself into a stupor!”

 

“I don’t—”

 

“Yes, you do!” Lance interrupted. “You drink so much that you pass out. Do you know how dangerous that is? You could die of alcohol poisoning.”

 

“Thanks, Mom, but I’m a big boy. I can handle it,” Joey said.

 

Lance shook his head. “You keep telling me that, but every time I’m ready to trust you again, you pull something like this.”

 

“What the hell was I supposed to do? Chris is lying in a hospital bed in a coma.”

 

“Exactly!” Lance stood up, sending the chair back a foot. “There’s already so much to deal with without you adding to it. Chris is in a coma, Justin’s devastated, and JC’s so far gone who knows if we’ll ever reach him again.”

 

Lance sighed and looked at the floor, briefly before bringing his gaze back up to Joey. “I’m not supposed to worry about you. I’ve never had to before and I don’t want to start now, especially when everything’s falling apart.”

 

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Joey protested.

 

“Apparently I do. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here.” Lance paused. “One of your best friends had an unfortunate accident. When that happens you deal with it. You don’t go hiding yourself in booze.”

 

“I’m not hiding,” Joey protested, but Lance continued on as if he hadn’t heard him.

 

“Did you know I could be at the hospital right now going in to see Chris with Justin who’s too petrified to do it himself?” Lance’s glare intensified. He was so caught up in his anger that he didn’t notice Joey’s eyes start to water. “Instead I’m stuck here taking care of your sorry ass that ran out on us when we needed you the most.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Joey said quietly, tears streaming down his face.

 

Lance’s anger left him at the sight of Joey’s tears. He stepped forward and sat on the bed to envelop Joey in a hug. Joey started to cry harder and Lance felt his own tears run down his cheeks. But he just let them come, not having enough energy to hold it together at the moment.

Joey rounded the corner and stepped into the private waiting room with Lance in tow. Immediately Johnny looked up and rose from the chair that Lance had occupied hours before. Briefly Joey’s befuddled mind wondered what their manager was doing there because Lance hadn’t mentioned it to him, but he figured Johnny must’ve heard about it. And knowing Lance, he hadn’t wanted to leave JC and Justin alone, so Johnny probably offered to stay.

 

“Hey, Joey.” Johnny stepped closer to the center of the room. “How are you holding up?”

 

Joey hesitated briefly, glancing back at Lance. “I’m all right.”

 

Johnny just nodded and Joey took that opportunity to join Justin and JC on the couch. As he sat down, he watched as Lance and Johnny spoke in hushed voices across the room. But Joey didn’t pay any attention to it as he let his mind wander and his eyes scanned different parts of the room.

 

He didn’t really want to be back in the hospital. Being there made it more real and inescapable than sitting at Lance’s house. At least there he could pretend the car accident had never happened and that one of his best friends wasn’t in a coma. And as long as he was disconnected with reality he could pretend that demons didn’t exist and JC’s life wasn’t in danger.

 

A weight on his shoulder brought Joey out of his thoughts. He glanced down to the right to see Justin’s head resting on his shoulder. Justin’s eyes were red rimmed, which contrasted against his pale skin. Joey knew that he hadn’t been taking it well, but he didn’t think he was that bad.

 

“Are you all right, J?” Joey asked.

 

Justin didn’t answer his question, but asked, “Where’d you go?”

 

“I…” Joey paused, not wanting to tell Justin the truth. At least not yet. “I just needed some time.”

 

“Are you going to leave again?” Justin asked.

 

“No, I’m staying,” Joey assured, draping his right arm across Justin’s shoulder.

 

“Good,” Justin said quietly.

 

Joey felt his heart clench painfully. He’d gotten the impression from Lance that Justin hadn’t been handling the news about Chris well, but it was even worse to actually see it. Justin hadn’t been this emotional or vulnerable in a long time. And when he was, Joey never had to deal with it too much because JC always took charge and comforted Justin.

 

Glancing over at JC, it was easy to see why Justin needed someone else to cling to because it looked like he hadn’t moved at all during the couple of hours Joey had been gone. Joey tried to dismiss that idea because surely JC had snapped out of it, but then why did he still have that emotionless expression on his face?

 

“See ya, Johnny,” Lance’s voice said, bringing Joey’s attention to focus on him and their manager who was walking out the door.

 

“Where’s he going?” Joey asked when Lance got closer, gesturing at the door.

 

“He needs to take care of some things,” Lance said. “Apparently the media is in a frenzy, so he’s going to try to do damage control.”

 

Joey nodded. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to do a press conference again. There was too much to deal with at the moment, but Joey was confident that Johnny had recognized that and wouldn’t schedule anything. The whole situation was kind of ironic. Earlier that day they’d smoothed out Justin’s collapse with the press only to have JC and Chris end up in a car accident not even an hour after that. So they were pretty much right back to where they’d started that day.

 

“You guys ready?” Lance asked.

 

Joey looked up at him in confusion. “For what?”

“To see Chris. I got his room number from Johnny.”

 

Joey didn’t say anything, but removed his arm from around Justin. “C’mon, J.”

 

“I can’t.” Justin pulled his head off Joey’s shoulder and looked up at him and Lance briefly. “I want to, but I can’t.”

 

“Why not?” Joey asked.

 

Justin sighed softly and focused his attention on picking at his fingernails. “I’m scared. I don’t want to see him like that. He’s not supposed to be lying on some hospital bed.”

 

“It’s OK to be scared. I’m scared too,” Lance admitted as he sat down on the coffee table in front of Justin. “But I’m not going to let my fear stop me from seeing him.”

 

“I can’t help it. I can’t see him like that when I know that he might never wake up,” Justin said.

 

“Hey,” Joey nudged him gently in the side, “Don’t talk like that. What would Chris say if he could hear you?”

 

“Doesn’t matter because he can’t.”

 

“Everything’s going to be OK. Chris’ll wake up and laugh at us for being so worried. You’ll see,” Lance said.

 

“That’s not what the doctor said!” Justin objected, leaning forward so he was practically sitting on the edge of the couch. “He said that only three out of every ten comatose patients actually come out of it. And even if he does there’s a good chance that he’ll have brain damage.”

 

Lance sighed. “Justin…doctors don’t always know everything.”

 

“That’s right. They only went to school for like ten years, so they know nothing,” Justin replied sarcastically as his eyes watered. It was easy to see how hard he was fighting not to give into his tears.

 

Joey reached out and placed a hand in the middle of his back, rubbing small circles. “I don’t think that’s what Lance meant, Just.” He locked eyes with Lance. “Right?”

 

“Right,” Lance agreed. “I just meant that they don’t know Chris. They don’t know how much of a fighter he is and that he’s too stubborn to give up on us.”

 

“But what if he does?” Justin asked, his chin quivering and tears leaking out of his eyes.

 

Lance leaned forward and rested a hand on Justin’s knee. “Do you know how many times I believed that we weren’t going to make it? Back in the forest I thought I was going to die. I really thought that was it. I’d never felt so alone and was ready to give up…to let myself die. But then you and JC showed up and I was saved.

 

“And when you were kidnapped, I felt the exact same thing you’re feeling now. I was so sure that we’d never see you again, but even if we did, you wouldn’t be alive. That wasn’t how it happened though. We always get ourselves into these situations that look so damn bleak, but we always make it out alive.

 

“Chris is going to pull out of this.” Lance forced Justin to meet his eyes as he firmly said, “Do you understand me?”

 

Justin nodded slowly, his face wet with tears. Lance squeezed his knee and smiled slightly before pushing himself to his feet. What he’d said was true in every way and Joey hadn’t realized it until Lance had said it. They had certainly lucked out by escaping life and death situations without much damage, but Joey had to wonder if that luck would run out.

 

“Let’s go,” Lance said.

 

Without a word Joey and Justin rose from their seats in sync. Joey wrapped his arm around Justin as Justin wiped at his tears with the back of his hand that didn’t have the cast. He watched as Lance walked over to the other end of the couch and gently pulled JC to his feet. Together the four of them left the waiting room and traveled down the hall until they reached the elevator.

 

A minute later they stepped out onto the third floor. Joey hung back with Justin to let Lance lead since he was the one who knew what Chris’s room number was. They moved down the hall at a steady pace before Lance turned right into a room with JC.

 

Joey glanced over at Justin and hesitated just outside the doorway. “Are you OK with this?”

 

“Yeah,” Justin said softly.

 

Joey nodded and he led the way into the room. His eyes immediately landed on Chris lying in the hospital bed surrounded by a bunch of machines that made him look smaller than his 5’9” frame. Looking closer, he realized that the white clip on his right pointer finger was hooked up to a machine that kept track of his heart. In addition, to the nasal cannulae and an IV was inserted into his wrist.

 

It was hard to see Chris so still and weak because both were the complete opposite of him. Lance had filled Joey in on the second surgery that Chris had needed so Joey knew it wasn’t going to be good, but seeing him like this was harder than he’d thought. It was enough to leave him feeling ill, which only increased his discomfort with being in hospitals.

 

Joey glanced at Lance who had seated himself and JC in chairs next to the edge of Chris’s bed on the far side of the room by the window. Lance had an uneasy expression on his face, clearly sharing in Joey’s discomfort of seeing Chris like this. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused Joey to turn and see Justin moving a chair to the other side of Chris by his head.

 

Sighing softly to himself, Joey pulled a chair out for himself and set it next to Justin. His eyes landed back on Chris as he sat down in the chair. All he wanted was for him to wake up, so they could go back to their normal lives, or as normal as they could with demons attacking them. Most of all he just wanted his friend back.

 

Joey reached out a hand and set it on top of Chris’s left. There was nothing that he wouldn’t do for his friend, but in this case, there was really nothing he could do, and that killed Joey. He wanted to do something, to feel useful instead of just waiting for Chris to wake up. As he squeezed Chris’s hand, he couldn’t help but wish that he could heal him and bypass all the waiting. It would certainly be easier that way. But Joey knew that wasn’t going to happen, so he settled himself in for a very long wait.

 

 

  

“Justin, stop playing with your food.”

 

Justin looked up at Lance, but didn’t acquiesce with Lance as he continued to swirl his cold fries in ketchup. “I’m not hungry.”

 

“You need to eat. You haven’t eaten anything all day,” Lance said.

 

“I’m not hungry,” Justin repeated.

 

Joey sighed. “Justin, you’re going to make yourself sick. You probably have a headache already.”

 

“It’s not like I’d know since Chris feels my pain,” Justin said bitterly.

 

It was Lance’s turn to sigh. He wanted to press the issue because he was fairly confident that Justin hadn’t eaten since breakfast if he’d even done that. But Lance knew that now wasn’t a good time to push him because he was emotional and on edge with everything that’d happened.

 

They’d come down to the cafeteria after spending a little over an hour in Chris’s room. Lance wasn’t really hungry either, but knew that they had to eat something since they’d been going all day on nothing but the stress of the situation. He and Joey had gotten food for the four of them while Justin kept JC company at the table.

 

At first they’d tried to get JC to eat or at least refuse to eat, but he continued to stare blankly. Seeing that it was futile to even try, they’d turned to their own food. And it’d been quiet while they ate until Lance noticed that Justin had only taken a few bites of his sandwich and had started playing with his food.

 

“He hasn’t even moved,” Justin said, snapping Lance out of his thoughts.

 

Lance immediately knew who he was talking about and let out another sigh. “Justin, he’s in deep emotional shock.”

 

“You don’t think I know that? I was the one who sat with him while you went looking for Joey, and he didn’t move. Not once. Not to stretch his legs or go to the bathroom. Nothing. And it’s been over nine hours,” Justin rambled.

 

“There’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to wait for him to come out of it,” Joey said.

 

“But what if he doesn’t?” Justin asked.

 

“Well, he should once Chris wakes up,” Lance said.

 

“We don’t even know if Chris is ever going to! He could be in a coma forever and then what? What happens to JC?”

 

Joey frowned at him. “He’s not going to be like this forever, J.”

 

Justin shook his head. “There has to be something we can do.”

 

“Like what?” Lance asked. “JC’s impossible to reach on any given day, but it’s ten times worse when he’s in shock.”

 

“You should be trying to get through to him. I mean, what good’s your damn connection if you never use it?” Justin replied.

 

Lance let his fork clatter loudly to his plate in anger. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do all day?”

 

Justin glared at him. “Well, then, you need to try harder.”

 

“You’re not listening, Justin. I’ve been trying and I’m not feeling anything. There’s no thoughts. No emotion. Nothing.”

 

“But there’s got to be something,” Justin insisted. “If the situation was reversed, JC would be doing everything in his power to fix it.”

 

“Well, I’m not JC,” Lance snapped.

 

Joey looked at him in surprise. “Lance…”

 

Lance just averted his eyes. He hadn’t meant to snap at Justin like that. It just built up inside of him and he couldn’t take it anymore. All day he’d been working so hard to keep up good spirits and hold everything together, which was a challenge even before Justin brought up all the thoughts that had been running through his mind all day.

 

“We can’t give up on him,” Justin said a moment later.

 

“We’re not. JC will come out of this. It’s like Lance said. Chris will wake up and everything will go back to normal,” Joey replied.

 

Justin shook his head. “That’s not good enough.”

 

“There’s nothing we can do. We can’t force JC to do anything, especially when he’s like this,” Joey said.

 

Nearly a minute passed in silence. Justin looked at JC on his left before he dropped his eyes to the table and said quietly, “We should’ve been quicker.”

 

“What do you mean?” Joey asked.

 

“We should’ve been researching a way to stop the demons 24/7. All the free time we had should’ve been dedicated to helping JC instead of laying around watching TV or playing basketball or…or…”

 

“We’ve been doing the best we can,” Lance said.

 

“It wasn’t enough. If we’d figured out a way to stop them, the car accident wouldn’t have happened. Chris would be awake, JC would be fine, and…and free from demons torturing him and us,” Justin replied.

 

“We don’t know that the car accident was caused by the demons. It could’ve been—”

 

“What?” Justin interrupted Lance. “Just an accident? A fluke?” He paused. “You’re telling me that after everything we’ve been through with the demons attacking Joey and kidnapping me that this was just a coincidence? I mean, what are the odds?”

 

“I know this is hard for you to believe since we’ve been dealing with the demons for a while now, but this kind of stuff happens all the time.”

 

Justin glared at Lance. “Is that supposed to comfort me?”

 

“I’m just saying…” Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if this was a demon attack.”

 

“It has to be. They’ve been trying to kill us and JC for weeks now.”

 

“But JC was hurt,” Joey objected.

 

Justin scoffed. “Of course he was hurt. Everyone gets hurt in a car accident. It’s kind of hard to avoid.”

 

“Yeah, but so’s being locked in a room that’s on fire. But JC didn’t get hurt. He just got up and walked away while I had to be taken to the hospital for that burn and smoke inhalation,” Joey explained.

 

“That’s different,” Justin protested weakly.

 

Joey shook his head. “It’s not. The demons aren’t behind the car accident.”

 

Justin’s eyes filled with tears and threatened to fall. “They have to be.”

 

“Why?” Lance asked, frowning.

 

“Because…” Justin gazed down at the table before looking back up at them. “Because it means I’m going to have these stupid visions even after the demons are gone.”

 

Lance and Joey exchanged concerned glances. “What are you talking about?” Joey asked.

 

“All of my visions…every single of them…the demons have been behind them. So if they’re not behind this, then I’m cursed with seeing these horrible things play out in my head and then forced to watch them happen again since there’s no way to stop them,” Justin explained.

 

Lance watched as Justin bowed his head, while trying to come up with something reassuring to say. He knew how much the visions freaked Justin out and finding out that they wouldn’t stop after it was all supposed to be over wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. But his mind was drawing a blank on what to say. What do you say to someone who has horrific visions about his friends? Lance didn’t know, but he was going to try to say something.

 

“Justin…” He paused, still not sure what he was going to say to put Justin’s mind at ease, if only for a little bit. Lance glanced at Joey, but all he got was a shrug. It looked like he was going to have to comfort Justin himself. But Justin looked up at him before he could come up with anything.

 

“I need JC,” Justin said in a quiet, broken voice as he finally gave into the tears that he’d been fighting.

 

 

  

An hour had passed since they’d eaten a late dinner in the cafeteria downstairs and Justin had brought up JC and the accident. Joey really felt for what Justin was going through. First he finds out that two of his best friends had been in a car accident with a high probability that Chris might not wake up and JC might never snap out of his shock. Then he comes to the realization that his visions would stick around long after the demons were defeated. It’d definitely been an emotional day.

 

Joey and Lance had done their best to comfort Justin, but there was only so much they could do, especially since they didn’t know what the outcome would be any more than Justin. Looking at Justin with his head resting on JC’s shoulder broke Joey’s heart. It hadn’t surprised him that Justin had wanted JC because JC had been taking care of him ever since he’d met the scrawny twelve year old on the Mickey Mouse Club. But at the moment JC wasn’t able to fulfill the position of protector, so he and Lance were trying and not quite succeeding. There was no denying that JC had a way of making them all feel safe and that a solution could be reached even when he was scared out of his mind.

 

“Well, everything looks good.”

 

Quickly Joey’s eyes focused on the nurse that had just replaced Chris’s chart at the foot of his bed. He’d nearly forgotten that she’d come in a few minutes ago to check Chris’s vitals. It was a relief to hear that he hadn’t gotten worse, but Joey wanted to hear that Chris was getting better despite how unlikely it was.

 

“You can try talking to him. Comatose patients can usually hear you. Sometimes it’s even resulted in them recovering quicker,” the nurse said.

 

“Thank you,” Lance said.

 

She nodded and smiled at them softly before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Joey sighed as he settled back in his chair. He glanced briefly at his watch and noticed that it was going on eleven o’clock. Almost twelve hours since the accident. Though, it felt much longer than that.

 

“Maybe you should lie down.”

 

Joey looked over at Lance to ask him what he was talking about when he realized that he’d been talking to Justin, not him. And for good reason. Justin’s eyes were starting to close on their own accord, but he kept shaking himself awake.

 

“Lance is right. You look exhausted,” Joey said, knowing how hard the entire day had been on Justin and how draining it had to have been.

 

Justin tiredly shook his head, forcing his eyes open again. “Just need caffeine,” he mumbled.

 

“Want to go get some?” Lance asked. “I have a feeling it’ll taste like crap, but it’ll do the trick.”

 

Justin didn’t say anything, but nodded and stood up from the chair he’d been sitting in. He walked over to where Lance was standing by the door. “We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Lance said before disappearing behind the door with Justin close behind him.

 

Once they were gone Joey scooted forward on his chair and cleared his throat. He was going to take the nurse’s advice and try to talk to Chris. It would definitely be less awkward with the others out of the room because he’d find it uncomfortable since he’d be essentially talking to himself. JC was still in the room, but Joey wasn’t concerned about that since he hadn’t shown signs of awareness all day.

 

“Chris…” Joey sighed heavily as he rubbed at his eyes. “You’ve gotta come back to us, man. It’s not the same without you. Everything’s falling apart. JC’s gone into some kind of mental shock, Justin’s…devastated…he’s afraid that you’re never going to wake up, and Lance is trying to hold everything together.

 

“And I…I’m not handling it well either. When…” Joey swallowed and looked down at the white bed sheets. “When I got the news and the doctor said you were in a coma…I couldn’t take it. I took off.”

 

Joey paused. He could almost hear Chris’s pissed off tones as he got in his face about leaving like that without regard to the others and how they’d feel when they found out he was gone. It made his heart ache for his friend back.

 

“I went back to Lance’s and went through the liquor cabinet. I know it wasn’t the best idea, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. All I could think about is how you were lying defenseless in some hospital and that you were never going to wake up. If I could go back, I wouldn’t do it.” Joey let out a humorless laugh. “Lance was livid. I’ve never seen him so mad in all my life. Though, I’m sure you would’ve been right there with him.

 

“There’s no way we can do this without you. You’re our number one big brother and we’re not complete without you. We still need to save JC, but the best way we can do that right now is for you to wake up. Otherwise, it just makes our job harder, doesn’t it?”

 

Joey wiped at his eyes briefly before he grasped Chris’s hand tightly in his own. “I know you’re in there, and I know that you’re not going to leave us like this. You’re going to fight this because that’s what you always do. You look out for us.”

 

Watching Chris’s face, Joey secretly hoping for a reaction even though he knew he wasn’t going to get one. He wondered if talking to Chris had actually done anything in terms of helping him. At the very least it made Joey feel better to get some stuff off his chest about how wrong this whole thing was without him.

 

Stifling a yawn, Joey blinked in surprise. He knew he was tired, but it’d seemed to set in a little more than it had five minutes ago. Without a second thought he dismissed it on the fact that he was still hung-over. Joey placed his head on the edge of the bed and decided to rest his eyes briefly as he waited for Justin and Lance to come back.

 

He didn’t have to wait long because a few minutes later the door opened and Lance and Justin entered carrying three cups of coffee. Joey’s tired eyes took in Lance’s concerned expression, but didn’t say anything. They were all exhausted. It’d been a very long day and they’d be crazy not to be tired.

 

“Are you all right?” Lance asked him.

 

“’m fine,” Joey mumbled against the sheet, eyeing the coffee that Lance held in his hand greedily. He definitely needed a pick-me-up.

 

Joey slowly lifted his head off the bed and pushed himself to his feet. He took a step towards Lance to accept the coffee that had been wordlessly offered to him. But his legs collapsed from underneath him causing his knees to hit the cold, linoleum floor. His vision started to darken, but after a few seconds he realized that the darkness he was seeing was from his eyelids.

 

“Joey!”

 

The next thing Joey knew, a pair of arms wrapped around his middle and settled him on the floor with his back resting against the wall. He pried his eyes open and saw Lance and Justin on either side of him with panicked expressions on their faces.

 

“What the hell happened? Are you all right?” Lance asked.

 

Before Joey could answer a voice behind them said, “Guys?”

Lance and Justin turned, mouths dropped in shock. Chris’s eyes were open and he was struggling to pull himself into a sitting position, looking like he just woke up from a nap rather than a coma. The sight almost made Lance believe that he was imagining it because it’d only been a minute earlier that Chris had still been in a coma. Glancing back at Joey whose eyes were half closed, Lance had never felt so torn. He wanted to go over to Chris, but Joey had just collapsed for apparently no reason.

 

“Go check on Chris.”

 

“But Joey…”

 

“I’m fine,” Joey said, groggily. “Just check on Chris.”

 

“What’s going on?” Chris asked, from the bed where he was propped up on his elbows.

 

Lance frowned at Joey, but got up off the floor and moved to the side of Chris’s bed. “How are you feeling?” he asked, as he hit the call button. It was best to get a nurse or a doctor in there right away to make sure Chris was all right.

 

“Fine,” Chris said. “Great actually.”

 

“Really?” Justin asked with a hint of skepticism.

 

“Yeah.” Chris looked at both of them. “What happened?”

 

Lance frowned. Maybe there was some brain damage despite the fact that Chris looked completely fine. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

 

“I remember that jerk smashing into the side of the car before everything went black,” Chris said.

 

“You were hurt pretty bad,” Justin told him softly.

 

“Well, I feel fine. In fact, I don’t think this is necessary anymore,” Chris said, reaching his left hand out to pull off the white clip on his right pointer finger. Lance, however, intercepted his hand.

 

“Leave it,” Lance demanded.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you’ve been in a coma for the past ten hours,” Lance snapped before he sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. He hadn’t meant to yell at Chris like that, but he wanted to make sure Chris was given a clean bill of health by the doctor before he shrugged off treatment.

 

“You took a bad blow to the head and had some internal bleeding from being crushed against the side of the car. That’s what caused the coma,” Justin said before Chris could ask.

 

“How’s JC?” Chris asked, letting his hand drop onto his lap.

 

Justin and Lance exchanged a quick look before Justin said, “He has a mild concussion and some cuts and bruises, but he’s all right.”

 

Chris pushed himself up higher and his gaze fell on Joey on the floor. “What’s wrong with him?”

 

“We don’t know. He just kind of collapsed,” Lance said.

 

“From what?” Chris asked, frowning.

 

“You woke up before we got a chance to find out,” Lance replied.

 

“Well, what are you standing here talking to me for?”

 

Lance rolled his eyes and sighed, but knelt back on the floor next to Joey whose eyes were closed. It was possible that he’d passed out, but he was awake and lucid a minute ago. That gave Lance hope that he was just sleeping and therefore not serious enough to cause him to pass out. As he placed a hand on Joey’s shoulder to shake him awake, Lance looked up briefly at Justin who’d just joined him on the floor.

 

“Joey.” Lance shook his shoulder. “C’mon, Joe. Wake up.”

 

“How you doing, JC?”

 

Lance felt his grip on Joey’s shoulder loosen as he looked over at Chris who had managed to pull himself into more of sitting position and leaning towards JC. He knew that he and Justin should’ve told Chris about JC being in shock, but they didn’t want to bring it up right then. A part of Lance even hoped that JC would snap out of it in the next minute or two, and then they wouldn’t have to worry about it at all. But even that wasn’t what required his attention. Joey was Lance’s main concern at the moment. Everything else would be dealt with later.

 

There was movement under his left hand and Lance glanced down at Joey who had shifted. He glared over at Justin who’d removed his finger from Joey’s side. “Poke my side one more time and I’ll rip off your finger,” Joey mumbled.

 

“Are you OK?” Lance asked, forcing Joey to focus his attention on him instead of Justin.

 

Before Joey could answer the door opened to reveal the doctor walking swiftly into the room only to abruptly stop. Lance watched as his eyes traveled from Chris awake in the hospital bed to Joey on the floor. After a few seconds, he started to step forward towards Chris.

 

“Don’t.” Chris put a hand up and gestured to Joey on the floor. “Check on him first.”

 

“I’m going to call for a nurse to check over your friend while I examine you,” Doctor Shrike said, stepping next to Chris’s bed to hit the call button. A minute later, a nurse came into the room.

 

“What can I do to help?” the nurse asked.

 

“Check on that young man,” Doctor Shrike said, pointing to Joey who was sleeping slumped against the wall. The nurse nodded and she knelt down as Lance and Justin stood up to give her room to work.

 

Lance’s eyes bounced back and forth between Joey and Chris both getting their separate examinations. A lot rode on what the results would be because if there was something seriously wrong with either of them then that would be another hurdle they’d have to get over. He sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

 

The doctor straightened up from where he’d been listening to the rhythm of Chris’s beating heart. He replaced the stethoscope around his neck and said, “I can’t explain it. Your vitals are good, which isn’t normal for a person who just came out of a coma.”

 

“So he’s going to be OK? No brain damage or anything?” Justin asked from where he was still standing next to Joey.

 

“No, he’s perfectly healthy. He doesn’t even seem to be feeling the effects of the internal bleeding. I don’t know how, but I’ve always been told not to question things we can’t explain, especially the good ones,” Doctor Shrike said.

 

“Are you going to unhook me from these machines then?”

 

The doctor shook his head at Chris. “I want to keep you in a recovery wing upstairs until morning for observation just as a precaution. If everything still looks good, then you’ll be released by early afternoon.”

 

Lance let out a mental sigh of relief, and a quick glance at Justin showed that he shared in that relief. He’d been so afraid that Chris wouldn’t pull out of the coma despite the reassurances he’d said to Justin all day. But he was glad that he’d at least held onto a glimmer of hope that he’d pull through because it’d paid off.

 

“How’s our other patient?” Doctor Shrike asked the nurse who was taking Joey’s pulse.

 

“His heart rate’s on the slow side and his reactions are pretty sluggish. I’d say he’s suffering from exhaustion,” she said, looking up at the doctor.

 

Doctor Shrike nodded. “I’ll set up a bed for him in your room,” he looked over at Chris, “so he can get some rest. I have to get a few things set up first, but I’ll be back shortly.”

 

“Thank you,” Lance said.

 

The doctor smiled at him before he said to the nurse as he gestured to Joey, “Go ahead and get him set up in a room upstairs.”

 

The nurse nodded and they both left the room, but the nurse returned a minute later with an orderly and a bed with wheels to move Joey upstairs. Justin helped the young male orderly get Joey up onto the bed before following them out the door. Lance sighed and sank into the chair across from JC next to Chris’s bed.

 

“Exhaustion,” Chris muttered to himself before he looked over at Lance. “How did you not catch that?”

 

Lance shook his head. “I don’t think it’s exhaustion.”

 

“That’s what the doctor said,” Chris said.

 

“The doctor also said you probably wouldn’t wake up from the coma,” Lance retorted.

 

Chris sighed. “So what caused it then?”

 

“I don’t know,” Lance confessed. “I mean, he was fine. We ate like an hour ago, but I guess his hangover could’ve been part of the reason.”

 

Chris’s eyes narrowed. “What hangover?”

 

“He took off after we got the news about you. We gave him a few hours to deal before I went looking for him and found him at the house passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of whiskey.”

 

“Damn it, Joey,” Chris said softly, shaking his head.

 

“I got rid of all the alcohol in the house,” Lance replied. After he’d called Johnny and had been left waiting for Joey to wake up, he’d gone downstairs and threw away all of the alcohol in his house. He figured it would be the best way to prevent a repeat.

 

Chris nodded and said, “So you think that might have something to do with it?”

 

“It could be. Like I said, we came back to the hospital and had a late dinner. He looked pretty tired before, but it was even worse after Justin and I came back from getting coffee,” Lance said.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“He just…looked so exhausted. His head was resting on your bed and he went to stand up when his legs gave out on him,” Lance explained. “That was about the time when you woke up…” his voice trailed off.

 

Lance couldn’t believe he hadn’t made the connection before. It seemed so obvious now. Though, he wasn’t sure if he was even right. But it fit perfectly into the chain and that had to be more than coincidence, which was something he couldn’t ignore.

 

“Lance?” Chris’s voice pulled Lance out of his thoughts and realized that Chris was staring at him expectantly. “You want to share whatever it is you’re thinking?”

 

“Joey suddenly becomes exhausted at the same time you suddenly wake up from a coma.”

 

“Thanks, but I thought we already established that,” Chris said.

 

“Don’t you think that’s weird?” Lance asked.

 

“No, but apparently you do.”

 

“Think about it. You’re one hundred percent better, which is amazing considering the condition you were in. But Joey’s so weak, it’s like his body’s completely depleted of energy. You really don’t think there’s a connection there?”

 

Chris smoothed out his sheet before he looked up at Lance. “So you think that Joey…what? Healed me?”

 

“That’s exactly it,” Lance said, nodding. He saw Chris’s skepticism and added, “I’ve been waiting for this.”

 

Chris raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been waiting for us to get some freaky power?”

 

“It fits perfectly into the chain,” Lance said.

 

“There’s a chain?” Chris asked.

 

“It starts with JC and me. We’re connected with telepathy. Then it moves onto Justin and JC. The nightmares, eventually turned visions, connect the two of them since they’re from JC’s perspective. You and Justin is the next one with you feeling his pain. I’ve been waiting for the rest of the chain to appear,” Lance explained.

 

“And you think whatever happened is the next link?” Chris scoffed. “That’s not even possible.”

 

Lance crossed his arms. “I think that’s a relative term. Nothing’s out of the realm of possibility lately.”

 

“Why do you have to read into everything? What can’t you just take this as a medical marvel or something equally as amazing?”

 

“Because it’s not,” Lance insisted.

 

Chris looked like he wanted to continue their disagreement, but just then the door opened to reveal Doctor Shrike coming back into the room announcing that Chris could be moved into the room with Joey. The doctor unhooked the machines from Chris’s body and said that he was going to leave them off because he was so stable.

 

It’d only taken five or ten minutes to get Chris moved into the recovery room with Joey on the fifth floor. Joey was sound asleep in the bed over by the window while Chris had been set up closer to the door. Lance gently led JC into a chair next to Justin before turning his attention to the doctor.

 

“Now I suggest you try to get some sleep. A nurse will come in every few hours to check on you. If everything goes smoothly and I’m happy with the results, you can be back home by dinner time tomorrow,” Doctor Shrike told Chris, standing at the foot of his bed.

 

“Thanks, Doc,” Chris said.

 

“What about Joey?” Lance asked.

 

“He just needs some rest. Come morning he should be back to his normal self,” Doctor Shrike said. He glanced at each of them briefly. “There’s always a nurse on duty, so just hit the call button if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

The doctor turned to head for the door when Justin spoke up, “Doctor?”

 

“Yes?” Doctor Shrike asked, turning around to look at him.

 

“What about JC?” Justin asked, gesturing to him sitting in a chair in between the two beds.

 

“What about him?”

 

“He’s been like this for nearly eleven hours now,” Justin said.

 

Doctor Shrike frowned and removed the stethoscope from around his neck as he stepped forward to check over JC. After a few minutes of checking his vitals, he looked up at Justin. “There’s been absolutely no change whatsoever since he first fell into this state?”

 

“No, he’s been like this ever since the accident.”

 

“Well, his vitals are strong. Right now I think the best course of action is to wait for him to come out of it on his own. Shock is usually brought on by tragic situations, but now that things are better it’s more likely that his body will correct itself,” the doctor said.

 

Justin chewed on his fingernail worriedly. “But what if he doesn’t?”

 

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t, but if he doesn’t within twenty-four hours…” Doctor Shrike pulled a small notepad out of his pocket that he wrote prescriptions on and jotted down something before handing the paper to Justin. “Here’s a list of specialists. I would highly recommend giving them a call. They could help you out.”

 

“Thank you,” Justin said softly as he folded the sheet of paper in half and shoved it into his jean pocket.

 

Doctor Shrike nodded. “If you have any more questions, feel free to let me know.”

 

Without another word, the doctor left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. As soon as he was gone, Chris said, “I can’t believe he’s been like this for that long.” He glanced at Lance and Justin. “Have you tried to snap him out of it?”

 

“No,” Justin admitted quietly.

 

“Why the hell not?” Chris asked.

 

“We thought he’d come out of it by himself,” Lance said.

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “Well, clearly that’s not working.”

 

“Got any bright ideas then?” Lance asked.

 

“Actually…” Chris threw his blanket off his legs and started to get out of bed only to be pushed down by Lance.

 

“Can you just take it easy? Just relax and let us handle it,” Lance said.

 

“Then handle it.”

 

Lance sighed, but nodded, fixing his attention on their friend. “JC.” Lance moved to sit on the end of Chris’s bed in front of JC and had to duck his head to meet JC’s blank eyes. “C’mon, JC. Everything’s fine. Chris is better.”

 

Chris kicked him, causing him to fall forward slightly. “That’s not doing anything. If all you were doing was talking to me, then I wouldn’t snap out of it either.”

 

Justin slid out of his chair and crouched down in front of JC, putting a reassuring hand on his knee. He squeezed it gently. “JC.”

 

“JC,” Lance said, reaching out a hand to shake his shoulder. He and Justin kept on saying JC’s name while touching him in various places, trying to jar him out of the place he’d retreated to inside himself. After a minute or two of trying, Lance relinquished his hold on JC’s shoulder and sat back. Even Justin had lowered his gaze and looked defeated with his shoulders hunched.

 

“What are you doing?” Chris asked, kicking Lance again. “Keep trying.”

 

“But we’re getting nowhere,” Lance said.

 

“Well, of course not. Not with that attitude. You gotta keep at it.”

 

Justin raised his head so he was looking up at JC and squeezed his knee again. “C’mon, C.”

 

Nearly ten seconds passed with no response and Justin looked like he was about to give up when JC lowered his head. He locked eyes with Justin and Justin sighed in relief.

 

“Are you all right, JC?” Justin asked, his voice heavy with relief. He waited for another response only to have his face fall. Lance couldn’t blame him. Getting some kind of reaction out of JC had been so promising, but now they were practically back to the beginning.

 

“Keep trying,” Chris repeated as he leaned forward in bed while incessantly kicking his foot into Lance’s hip. “We’re finally getting somewhere.”

 

Lance glared at him and snapped, “Dude, stop with your annoying cheerleading charade. It’s not working.”

 

“What do you mean it’s not working? He reacted, didn’t he? You’re going to quit when he finally looks like he’s coming out of it?” Chris asked, crossing his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow.

 

“He wouldn’t even be like this if it wasn’t for you!” Lance shot back. “I mean, you ignored my warning and got into a car with him knowing what the consequences would be.”

 

Chris unfolded his arms as he leaned forward and glared at Lance. “I didn’t ignore you. I had no other choice.”

 

“Why? What was so damn important that it was worth risking both of your lives?” Lance asked.

 

“His hand was infected,” Chris said. There was a slight pause. “I tried calling you guys, but none of you had your damn phones on. Maybe if you had you could’ve told me what to do. But you didn’t, so I did what I thought was best.”

 

Lance let his eyes fall onto JC’s bandaged left hand. He’d almost forgotten that the nurse had mentioned that his hand had been treated for infection. Chris had been perfectly within his rights to try to get JC help even if he should’ve sought out an alternative to driving himself. At least he’d tried to call them first. Based on that and how bad JC had been, Lance didn’t blame Chris for taking matters into his hands to do whatever he could to help his friend. If put in that position they all probably would’ve done the same thing.

 

“Well, he might’ve reacted, but he didn’t answer Justin’s question. I think maybe we should just leave him alone for now. Maybe we’ve jumpstarted the process and he’ll come out of it on his own now,” Lance said, trying to get their conversation about JC in shock back on track.

 

“Are you really willing to bank on that? He could just sink back into his mind or wherever the hell he goes,” Chris replied.

 

Lance sighed, but knew Chris had a point. They had to be sure that JC was starting to come out of this or they might be calling a specialist before the day was over tomorrow. With that thought in mind, Lance let his eyes focus on JC and let his surroundings blur in his mind’s eye as he tapped into JC’s mind.

 

He still couldn’t sense any strong emotions or thoughts, but there was something. Lance wasn’t sure what, but there was definitely something different from the last time he’d been in JC’s head. It gave him hope that maybe JC really was coming out of this. Maybe they really could come out of this relatively unscathed.

 

“He’s coming out of it,” Lance said.

 

Justin looked up at him in surprise. “What?”

 

“How do you know?” Chris asked.

 

“His mind. It feels different than when I was trying to get through earlier,” Lance said.

 

“Then that’s even more reason to keep trying,” Chris persisted.

 

Lance sighed again. “Later, all right? I still think he’ll come out of it by himself.”

 

“Fine.”

 

Justin sighed and stood up. He took a few steps before heavily dropping into the seat next to Chris’s bed on the right of JC. It was easy to see how disappointed he was that JC still wasn’t back to normal yet. Lance leaned over to pat his arm reassuringly. “It’s OK, J. You got through to him and that’s what counts. It means that he’s starting to come out of it.”

 

Justin didn’t say anything but nodded. Nearly a minute of silence passed before Justin glanced over his shoulder at Joey who was still sleeping peacefully on the other twin bed with the pristine white sheets. “What about Joey?”

 

“He’s going to be fine, J,” Lance said.

 

“I guess, but how did he let exhaustion get to him? I thought we all learned our lesson with JC,” Justin said.

 

“Joey’s not exhausted.”

 

Justin turned his head to look at Lance. “Then what? What other explanation is there?”

 

“We have a theory,” Lance started.

 

“You,” Chris corrected, interrupting him. “You have a theory. I’m staying out of this.”

 

Lance narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know why you refuse to believe it. It makes perfect sense.”

 

“No, it doesn’t,” Chris objected. “You’re reaching and you know it.”

 

Lance furiously shook his head. “It fits perfectly into the chain. You just don’t want to except that there might be something else going on.”

 

“You’re damn right I don’t. We shouldn’t have to deal with this shit. We’ve already gone through enough without adding ridiculous stuff like this,” Chris said.

 

“Guys!” Justin called, raising his voice a little but not so much that it’d wake up Joey as he stepped in their line of sight. Once he had their attention he asked, “Are you going to explain to me what the hell you two are arguing about?”

 

“Chris refuses to believe the facts about what happened,” Lance said.

 

“Only because it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie,” Chris shot back.

 

“Guys!” Justin said again before he let out a frustrated sigh. “Just tell me. Preferably without arguing the entire time.”

 

“Lance thinks Joey healed me,” Chris said gruffly, rolling his eyes.

 

Justin backed up a step in surprise, forcing the chair to slide across the floor with a short screech. He lowered himself into the chair. “What?”

 

Lance glared at Chris. “Way to ease him into it there,” Lance said sarcastically. He sighed and looked over at Justin. “I know it’s surprising, but it makes sense. Joey collapsed about the same time that Chris woke up. Don’t you think that’s more than a coincidence?”

 

“I guess.” Justin paused. “But I don’t understand how this could happen. It just came out of nowhere.”

 

“Well, it’s not like we had any warning with your visions. Or even with Chris taking your pain. The elf that he is,” Lance said, smiling slightly.

 

Chris’s foot connected with his hip again. “Cute, Bass,” he said sarcastically.

 

“But seriously, so far with all the…connections between us, it’s formed a chain.”

 

Justin frowned. “A chain?”

 

“JC and I were the first with telepathy. Then you and JC with you having nightmares and visions through his eyes, and you and Chris with him taking away your pain. The natural progression suggests that Joey and Chris are next and I believe that Joey did heal Chris,” Lance explained.

 

“So then why did Joey collapse?” Justin asked.

 

Lance shrugged. “Maybe it’s the aftereffect. You know, like healing Chris took a lot out of him.”

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Justin said slowly, most likely processing the information. “But how do we know that it’s not exhaustion?”

 

“We don’t,” Chris said quickly.

 

“Yes we do,” Lance countered, glaring. “Joey’s been fine all day. It’s not like he didn’t eat because we had dinner. And he was tired, sure, but we’re all tired. For him to turn so worse in such a short amount of time isn’t logical. If it’d been exhaustion, we would’ve noticed the signs sooner.”

 

Justin nodded. “You’re right.”

 

“Oh, come on! He’s pulling this out of left field,” Chris complained.

 

“I don’t think so, Chris. With everything that’s been happening lately, it’s not out of the realm of possibility,” Justin said.

 

Chris scoffed. “Fine, but I refuse to believe it. At least until I have some solid proof.”

 

“All right, fair enough,” Lance consented. “We’ll prove it tomorrow when Joey wakes up.”

 

“Fine,” Chris repeated.

 

Lance let his eyes land on Justin and saw him with his right foot in his lap, playing with his shoelace. The look on his face appeared to be one that was in deep thought. He was probably considering everything Lance had said. Sure it was out there, but it was totally justified with how surreal their lives have been lately. And the idea of Joey collapsing gave Lance mixed feelings because on the one hand he was relieved exhaustion wasn’t the cause. However, if this was how Joey would react every time he healed Chris, then that was certainly a cause for concern. But for right now Lance was going with relief. He just hoped he wouldn’t live to regret it.

Joey walked into the living room with Justin just as Lance sat JC on the end of the couch closest to the door. He took a few steps before heavily sitting on the loveseat that was angled perpendicular to the couch that JC was on. Glancing over at JC, he frowned at his friend. It was a little after eleven o’clock, which meant that nearly twenty-four hours had passed since the accident when JC first fell into shock. In a couple more hours, they might have to call one of the specialists on the list the doctor had given them.

 

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, but as much as he didn’t want to admit it, Joey didn’t think it was very probable. Lance shifted on the couch before he fell against the cushions with a sigh. Judging by Lance’s grim expression, Joey wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Justin’s worry about JC staying like this forever from yesterday came to him, and he couldn’t help but reciprocate that feeling.

 

None of it made any sense. According to the doctor, JC should have come out of it now that Chris was better, but so far there hadn’t been anything. Why was that? Was JC really that far gone that he wasn’t able to bring himself back? Joey hoped not because that would certainly complicate things. Even more so than they already were.

 

Justin yawned from the other end of the couch, resting his head against his hand that was propped up on the arm. The small exhale of air cut through the silence that enveloped the living room, but only for a second, allowing everything to become still and quiet once again. It was so quiet that Joey could hear Chris in the hall talking on the phone to his mom. He’d been on the phone with her ever since they’d left the hospital nearly forty-five minutes ago, trying to convince her not to fly out to see him. And from the sounds of it, he was really having a rough time with it.

 

Joey didn’t blame Bev though because his mother would’ve pitched a fit if something like that had happened to him, demanding that she see her son. It seemed that no matter what the situation, mothers would always worry about their children. Though, she was definitely within her rights as his mother considering he’d been in a coma.

 

How Chris even came out of it was a mystery to Joey. He’d just been sitting with Chris and talking to him about how much they needed him, only to have him wake up just minutes after that. It’d nearly shocked him to his core hearing Chris call out for them after he’d collapsed. There was nothing that Joey could use to describe what’d happened to either of them.

 

His collapse had been almost as surprising as Chris waking up because he hadn’t seen it coming at all. He’d just stood up to take the coffee cup out of Lance’s hand when his legs gave out on him. At the time he was too concerned with making sure Chris was all right to consider what’d happened. But now that Joey stopped to think about it, he had no idea. It couldn’t have been too serious though because the guys hadn’t acted too worried when they woke him up earlier that morning to leave the hospital, and he’d felt better after getting some sleep. The important thing was that Chris was better and he wasn’t going to argue with that.

 

As if Chris knew that Joey was thinking about him, he stepped into the room, pocketing his phone in the process. No one made a move to greet him or even acknowledge his presence. Joey felt eyes on him and briefly met Chris’s gaze before Chris looked away and glanced around the room at the others.

 

Chris turned and covered the couple of feet of carpet so he stood directly in front of JC. He stood there for nearly half a minute before he brought his left arm up and slapped JC across the face. The action caused a muscle in JC’s cheek to twitch in a half wince.

 

“Chris!” Joey cried, jumping to his feet at the same time as Justin and Lance.

 

Chris didn’t say anything, but raised his arm again only to have Lance forcefully grab hold of it. With a furious expression on his face, Lance dragged Chris the few feet it took to be in the hallway just between the kitchen and living room. Joey followed with Justin wanting to know what caused Chris to do such a thing because he wasn’t typically someone to hit people for no good reason.

 

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Lance demanded angrily.

 

“Nothing.” Chris yanked his arm out of Lance’s grip. “I was trying to snap him out of it.”

 

Lance crossed his arms. “By slapping him?”

 

“It got a reaction, didn’t it?” Chris replied, knowingly.

 

“So did touching him and saying his name last night,” Justin pointed out. Joey was kind of surprised to hear that they had tried to pull JC out of his shocked state, and that it’d worked to some extent. It sounded like they’d tried to something while he was sleeping after all.

 

“Which was like twelve hours ago. In a couple of hours, it’ll have been twenty-four hours, and you know that we can’t call a specialist. It wouldn’t do anything. Hell, it’d probably make him worse. Not to mention he needs to take his medicine, which is damn near impossible when he’s practically catatonic. It’s up to us to snap him out of it,” Chris said.

 

“There’s got to be a better way than hitting him though,” Joey replied.

 

“Well, if any of you have a better idea, I’d be happy to hear it,” Chris said. “But we’ve got to do something.”

 

There was a pause before Lance said, “We should leave him be.”

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “’Cause that’s really been working in our favor so far.”

 

“He’ll come out of this. Like you said, he’s reacted, which means he’s still in there and probably fighting for control again,” Lance said.

 

“So what do we do then?” Justin asked.

 

“We need to come up with a plan for getting rid of the demons because you know that when JC comes out of this he’ll be blaming himself even more for what’s happened and want to end it the quickest way possible. So it would be useful if we were a step ahead of him and at least had a plan in the works,” Lance suggested.

 

Joey nodded. He agreed with Chris that they should do something to help JC, but Lance did have a point. Keeping the demons from killing JC had been their main concern until they got sidetracked by the car accident. But now was time to focus again. It was another way to help JC. And if Lance believed that JC would come out of it on his own, then Joey was going to trust him.

 

“Fine,” Chris relented and headed for the kitchen. Joey watched him go, knowing that Chris just wanted JC back to normal. But sometimes his intentions weren’t the best even though he meant well. He could relate to wanting to do something to help though and hoped that coming up with a plan would make Chris feel like he was accomplishing something.

 

“All right,” Lance began once the four of them were sitting around the kitchen table. He glanced at each of them. “We should probably start with what the demons are waiting for. If we can figure that out, it’ll be a lot easier to come up with a workable plan.”

 

“How do we know they’re waiting for something?” Chris asked.

 

“Lance talked to Katrina a couple days ago,” Justin said.

 

Chris turned his head to the left towards the head of the table where Lance was sitting. “You did.”

 

“Yeah.” Lance sighed before glancing at Justin and Joey. “Will one of you tell him? I’ve already explained it twice.”

 

“The demons have certain rules they have to follow before they can kill someone. Typically they target people who have a supernatural mark,” Joey explained, trying to remember everything that Lance had told him when he’d first found out.

 

Chris frowned. “And JC has this mark then?”

 

“Yeah.” Joey nodded. “And it’s pretty probable that he got it from his mom since it most likely started with her.”

 

“Is there any way that something related to her is what they’re waiting for?” Chris asked.

 

Lance tilted his head. “Like what?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe something that happened before she died that could happen again,” Chris suggested.

 

“I guess it’s possible, but there’s no way we’d be able to find that out,” Lance said.

 

There was a slight pause before Justin said, “What about the cabin?”

 

“What about it?” Joey asked.

 

“Well, the ghost had said the cabin was the way to end it. I know we were weary about trusting it, but it was right about JC,” Justin said.

 

“So you think we have to go back to the cabin to get rid of the demons?” Chris asked.

 

Justin shrugged and nodded. “It’s the best thing we have to go on right now.”

 

“All right.” Lance sighed. “Let’s say we do go to the cabin. We can’t just go without some way to kill the demons or at least slow them down.”

 

“How are we supposed to do that when we don’t even know how JC’s mom died?” Joey asked.

 

“Well, from what we found at the library it sounded like she just kind of dropped dead,” Lance said.

 

“There has to be something we’re missing. I mean, with how weird her death was it has to give us some kind of clue.” Justin glanced around the table. “Right?”

 

Chris sighed and rubbed at his chin. “It’s not that I don’t agree with you, but there’s no way we’ll ever really know what happened. You guys even said the cops couldn’t find anything.”

 

“The cops weren’t exactly looking for demon involvement though,” Joey pointed out.

 

“Yeah, but any evidence that might’ve been there is long gone. As cheesy as it sounds, she died with the truth,” Chris said.

 

Lance nodded. “You’re right. We’re not going to find anything out from the time after her death, but maybe there’s something we missed from before she died.”

 

“No way.” Joey shook his head. “You and Justin were at that library for hours and barely managed to find out what you did. There’s no way you could’ve missed something.”

 

“Maybe it’s worth checking again. We’re going to have to do more research anyway to find a way to stop the demons,” Lance said.

 

Chris raised an eyebrow. “You really expect to find something like that in a book?”

 

“It wouldn’t hurt to look. There could be some protection spells or rituals that we could do when we get to the cabin,” Lance said.

 

“Guys,” Justin interrupted with a slight waver in his voice. Immediately their attention swung over to him. “Where’s JC?”

 

Joey turned to look into the living room and sure enough, it was empty.

 

 

  

JC watched as Lance dragged Chris away from him with Justin and Joey following them out into the hall. There was some residual stinging in his cheek from when Chris’s hand had connected with his face. He couldn’t believe that Chris had slapped him, but he knew that it had to have come from desperation.

 

It had to have been a long time since he’d retreated into his mind. JC remembered when Justin’s contact with him had managed to break through the haze. He’d been able to see his surroundings, but that was the extent of his awareness. That was why he hadn’t answered Justin when he talked to him.

 

But that felt like so long ago. JC had no idea how long it’d been since he first got the news about Chris being in a coma and holed himself up in his mind. Though, if his exhausted body was any indicator, it was probably at least twelve hours. Which meant that Chris’s actions were completely understandable. There was no doubt in JC’s mind that the guys had to be worried.

 

It killed him to think that they were obsessing over him because he hated making them worry. That was why he’d always made it his job, so they could just relax without stressing about everything. JC wanted to come around, but it was hard. His mind felt cloudy and heavy. He wished there was some way to speed up the process, but knew he’d just have to let it run its course.

 

“Demons…rules…kill.”

 

JC slightly titled his head as he heard the voice. It sounded like Joey, but he couldn’t be sure because it felt like he was underwater. He wasn’t surprised that he was growing more aware, but he pushed to continue. If the guys were talking about the demons, he wanted to know exactly what was being said.

 

“The cabin?”

 

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. JC had no idea why they would be talking about the cabin, but there had to be some reason. He tried to clear the fog out of his mind, so he could focus easier.

 

“You think…have to go back…to cabin…get rid of demons?”

 

JC’s eyes widened. They thought they had to go back to the cabin to get rid of the demons? It still didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him. Though, he supposed it was a possibility since they wouldn’t even be in this situation if it hadn’t been for them taking a vacation at that cabin over a year ago. As he worked his mind furiously trying to keep up with their conversation, his mind continued to focus and dissipate the haze that had settled there.

 

“How are we supposed to do that when we don’t even know how JC’s mom died?” Joey asked.

 

JC was so confused and surprised at the seemingly randomness of the question that it barely registered that he’d heard it as good as he had before. What were they doing talking about his mom and saying that she was dead? The last time he talked to his mom she was expecting a visit from Heather. That led him to wonder if the guys knew something he didn’t, but he quickly dismissed that thought. His mom was fine.

 

“Well, from what we found at the library it sounded like she just kind of dropped dead,” Lance said.

 

The library? When had they gone to the library? And what did his mom have to do with the demons? JC felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized they had to be referring to his birth mother. He’d been too young to really remember her when he’d been adopted, so he hadn’t known anything about her or his birth father. Wanting to know exactly what the guys had found, he focused his thoughts on Lance and started with trying to pull up memories of him researching.

 

JC saw Lance and Justin in the library searching databases about his birth mom and printing out news articles they’d found. He also saw flashes of different memories where the guys researched and discussed his birth parents. Then there was an image of Lance on his cell phone conning his mom into sending his confidential documents, most importantly his birth certificate, to Lance’s study.

 

As JC watched these memories and took in all of the information that the guys had been keeping from him, he felt his anger spread throughout his body. Finally he pulled out of Lance’s head, not believing that they’d gone behind his back like that. If he hadn’t witnessed it through Lance’s memories, he wouldn’t have believed it because they normally always respected each other’s privacy. And to hear that they researched his birth parents, something he knew pretty much nothing about, had him fuming with anger.

 

Suddenly he stood up with a purpose and swiftly but silently strode down the hall and into Lance’s study. Immediately he began to open drawers, searching for the papers that Lance had printed out about his birth parents. He wanted to see it for himself. There was nothing in the desk drawers, but JC found what he was looking for in the third drawer of the filing cabinet at the bottom.

 

JC scanned the articles, reading about his mother being a well-known classical musician up until her sudden death. There wasn’t nearly as much on his father, but reading about how he tragically died in a car accident was more than enough. It was only after he’d read through the articles that he’d noticed the notes and questions that Lance had made in the margins. That just fueled his anger even more.

 

It was bad enough that they went behind his back to research his parents, but they purposely kept him out of the loop. Taking notes showed just how long they’ve known about it, and that they had never had any intentions of telling him. JC gripped the papers so tightly that the edges crinkled. What they did was inexcusable and they were about to be very sorry that they kept this from him.

 

 

  

“He couldn’t have gone far,” Lance said, rising from his chair. Almost simultaneously the other three rose to their feet and turned to follow Lance into the living room. They hadn’t taken more than two steps when they heard a voice.

 

“Looking for someone?”

 

Instinctively they jumped at the sudden appearance of the voice in the quiet kitchen that almost seemed to reverberate off the walls. They pivoted on the spot and saw JC leaning in the doorway that led to the dining room with his arms crossed tightly against his chest and his left foot crossed over his right. While his posture looked relaxed and casual, his face was the exact opposite. His expression was stone cold, almost emotionless except for the occasional tick in his jaw, and his eyes were so icy that they were a brilliant shade of blue.

 

However, Justin didn’t really notice because of his relief at seeing JC walking, talking, and looking relatively normal. He’d been so afraid that JC wouldn’t come out of it, despite the small amount of progress that they’d made in getting him to react. Justin stepped forward to hug his friend because the past twenty-four hours had been such an ordeal that it was a huge weight off his shoulders to know that it was finally over.

 

Justin sighed and could practically feel all of the stress about JC leave his body. He smiled and said, “JC.”

 

When Justin was within a foot of JC, he reached out an arm to grab onto JC’s shoulder and pull him into a hug. But that gesture wasn’t received well because JC took a step back out of Justin’s reach, his eyes narrowing in anger. The smile on Justin’s face slipped into a wince almost as if JC had hit him or said some biting barb. Justin barely registered that he’d taken a step backwards and lowered his eyes to the floor. He couldn’t look at the angry man that seemed to have replaced his levelheaded, easygoing friend.

 

“What the hell’s your problem?” Lance asked, glaring at JC. It was a little surprising to see Lance jump on JC right away, but Justin knew that he probably hadn’t liked the way that JC just treated him.

 

Justin dared to take the briefest glimpse of JC out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see what his reaction would be. He’d expected a fight to immediately break out, but there was nothing. JC hadn’t even so much as flinched at Lance’s accusation.

 

“What’s a matter, Jace?” Joey asked, calmly. No doubt he was most likely hoping that being calm would have a better effect on getting JC to talk to them because clearly something was up. JC didn’t get this angry for no reason.

 

But again there was no response. JC just continued to stare at them icily as he leaned casually inside the doorway. Justin could see Chris’s leg bouncing with impatience as they waited for an answer. Finally after almost another fifteen seconds had passed, Chris lashed out.

 

“Would you freaking say something?” Chris snapped.

 

“I can’t believe you guys,” JC finally said, his voice dripping with barely controlled anger and a hint of disbelief. He pushed himself off the doorjamb and took a step, so that he was actually standing in the kitchen instead of in the doorway.

 

Justin pulled his head up to look at JC, trying to gauge what they could’ve possibly done to put JC in such a state. It wasn’t often that anger this intense arose in JC, and when it did, typically it wasn’t directed at them. Justin glanced over at the other three, worriedly.

 

“What?” Joey asked.

 

In the blink of an eye, JC had moved so that he was standing in front of the table and unfolded his arms before slamming the stack of papers that he’d had in his hands forcefully against the table. “Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked.

 

The loud noise made Justin jump for the second time that evening before his eyes traveled down to the papers. A familiar article title caught his eye along with Lance’s handwriting, and Justin swallowed so hard that he felt like he had a golf ball lodged in his throat. He slowly looked up at each of the guys and could tell that they were as stunned as he was.

 

However, Lance’s expression didn’t stay that way for long. His shock quickly changed over to anger. It was his turn to narrow his eyes and cross his arms over his chest. “What the hell were you doing going through my stuff?”

 

“Finding out the truth since clearly I can’t trust my friends to tell me themselves,” JC said.

 

“You had no right to—”

 

“To find out about my birth parents? I know nothing about them. You guys find out, but decide not to tell me. I mean, did it ever cross your mind that I might want to know what happened to them?”

 

“We weren’t sure if you knew anything about them or not, but it wasn’t like we could ask you,” Lance replied.

 

JC glared at him. “So you drag my mom into it and make her do your dirty work for you?”

 

Lance frowned at him in confusion. “Why are you just bringing this up now?”

 

“What are you talking about? I just found out like five minutes ago,” JC said.

 

“How?” Lance demanded.

 

JC smirked at him. “You might want to learn how to block your mind better.”

 

Lance’s jaw dropped. “You’re such a hypocrite! You got all pissed at me when I invaded your privacy, but then you turn around and do the exact same thing to me?”

 

“It’s not my fault that you can’t block me worth a shit,” JC replied, his smirk growing.

 

“Because I don’t know how!” Lance snapped. “I don’t even know how you figured it out!”

 

“Well, it’s a lot easier when someone,” JC glared at him, “won’t ever leave you the hell alone constantly asking if you’re OK or want to talk.”

 

“So you’re pissed that I care about you?”

 

“I’m pissed because I can’t ever have two seconds to myself! I get enough of you guys constantly riding me about every little thing without you doing it in my head too!”

 

“What about the promise you made that you wouldn’t block me as much?” Lance asked.

 

JC pointed an accusing finger at him. “I never said that. You must’ve not been listening.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lance said sarcastically. “I thought I could trust my friend to stop keeping secrets from us, especially with the track record you have of ending up sick.”

 

“Who’s being a hypocrite now? I shouldn’t have had to go digging into your mind to find out what the hell you’ve been keeping from me over the past week!” JC shot back.

 

“We didn’t have a choice,” Chris said, loudly as he stepped forward. He had just been standing there along with Justin and Joey watching Lance and JC go at it. Justin wanted to say something to stop the fight, but he was afraid of JC right now. It was scary to see him so pissed and direct it at someone who was close to him. “You didn’t want any part of the whole researching a way out.”

 

JC crossed his arms over his chest again and turned his glare on Chris. “That didn’t give you the right to go behind my back.”

 

“We were just trying to help,” Joey said.

 

“Well, it doesn’t exactly qualify as help if the person you’re doing it for refuses it,” JC replied.

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “What did you expect us to do? We’re not going to let you go without a fight.”

 

“I expect you to tell me the truth!” JC snapped before he paused. “And by the way, did you ever stop to think that maybe I’m not the only one who needs your help?”

 

Joey frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“You’re so focused on saving me that you blow Justin off every time he wants to talk.”

 

“That’s not true,” Lance denied.

 

“Well, that’s what he told me,” JC said.

 

Immediately three pairs of eyes swung to meet Justin’s. “Is that true, Justin?” Chris asked.

 

“That’s…not exactly what I said,” Justin said, averting his eyes to look down at his feet as he toed the tile.

 

Chris looked at him expectantly. “Then what exactly?”

 

“Sometimes it’s just nice to get some stuff off my chest,” Justin said.

 

“You can talk to us,” Joey replied. “We listen to you.”

 

“If that’s true then why did you make him lie to me?” JC asked.

 

Lance frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

 

“He came to me wanting to talk about his visions. Told me how he’s been seeing them through my eyes. Apparently he’d wanted to for a while, but you guys wouldn’t let him,” JC said.

 

“Justin!” Chris hissed. “You weren’t supposed to say anything.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Justin apologized meekly.

 

“Don’t get mad at him. He didn’t do anything wrong,” JC replied. “And, you know, this is the second time that you’ve done this to him.”

 

“Done what to him?” Lance asked.

 

“Ignore him! Back when he was having nightmares you didn’t even realize it. I had to tell you guys what was going on,” JC said.

 

“Because we were looking out for you!”

 

JC took a step forward. “Exactly! You’re never concerned about anyone but me. Don’t you realize what Justin’s going through? How scared he is?”

 

“Oh and you do?” Lance replied snidely.

 

“Yes because unlike you, I actually listen when he wants to talk. I don’t force him to lie.”

 

“But we had an agreement,” Lance said, frowning at Justin. “It was part of the plan.”

 

“You mean the one meant to keep me in the dark? I saw all those secret meetings you guys had.” JC narrowed his eyes. “That’s the real reason you drugged me, isn’t it? To get me out of the way?”

 

“No!” Lance protested loudly. “I did it because you weren’t sleeping.”

 

“You mean that’s the excuse you’ve been going with.”

 

Lance rolled his eyes. “It’s not an excuse! It’s the truth!”

 

“So you’re saying that it was just coincidence that I was conveniently knocked out for hours allowing you guys to research my birth parents?”

 

“What the hell does it matter why I drugged you?” Lance fired back.

 

“I want to know what type of person I’m dealing with,” JC said.

 

“The type who’s got a plan to save your life!” Lance snapped.

 

JC scoffed. “Great plan.”

 

Chris glared at him. “Like you had a better one.”

 

“At least mine had a definite way to end it.”

 

“Yeah.” Chris nodded. “By killing yourself.”

 

“And where have you guys gotten besides looking up my family history?” JC glanced at each of them. “Nowhere.”

 

Lance shook his head. “You’re a selfish bastard.”

 

Joey and Justin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lance…” Joey started.

 

“We’ve been busting our asses researching a way to make sure you live through this and you are just so ready to give up and kill yourself,” Lance continued as if he hadn’t heard him.

 

“If anyone’s selfish, it’s you guys. You want it all to be over, but when I come up with a way to end it, you won’t let me go through with it.”

 

“Because it’s ludicrous to kill yourself for no reason!” Chris exclaimed.

 

“You guys keep saying how crazy I am for trying to summon the demon, but put yourself in my shoes. You know that you’d sacrifice yourself in order to save the rest of us,” JC said.

 

“Only as a last resort. We wouldn’t do it prematurely just because we aren’t patient enough to wait for a working plan,” Lance replied.

 

“Excuse me for not wanting to watch my friends get hurt continuously because a bunch of demons are after me! If you would’ve let me finish the ritual, it would all be over!”

 

“So would your life!” Lance yelled.

 

“Well, maybe that’s what I want!” JC snapped.

 

Lance’s eyes narrowed. “You know what? Maybe you should.”

 

JC frowned in confusion. “What?”

 

“If you want to off yourself so bad, then who the hell are we to stop you? Clearly you’re going to fight this every step of the way, so maybe you should kill yourself! It certainly would be a lot easier to deal with!” Lance yelled, taking a step closer to JC.

 

“Lance!” Joey threw himself in between Lance and JC.

 

Chris grabbed onto Lance’s arm and pulled him away from JC. Lance shrugged his hand off, but moved forward as Chris forcefully pushed him towards the sliding glass door. The two of them walked outside with Joey right behind them.

 

Once they were gone Justin immediately turned his attention to JC who was standing with hunched shoulders and a dejected expression that was still mingled with some shock. What Lance said had been shocking because of the harshness, but Justin knew that there was no possible way that Lance could’ve meant it. But by looking at JC, it was clear that he didn’t feel the same way.

 

“He didn’t mean it, JC. You know he didn’t mean it. You could even check if you wanted to. He’s probably thinking about what an awful thing that was to say to you. There’s no way he said that intentionally,” Justin rambled.

 

“There has to be at least some truth to it,” JC said quietly, slowly lowering himself into a chair. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have said it.”

 

“If he really believed that and wanted you to kill yourself, then why would he go to such lengths to research a way out? He’s been the one really pushing the whole research thing. That’s not something he would do if he didn’t care,” Justin said.

 

JC sighed and shook his head. “He’s right.”

 

“No.” Justin took a few steps forward so he was standing directly in front of JC. He put a hand on his shoulder, the contact forcing JC to look up at him. “He’s not right because he didn’t even mean to say it. You’re not leaving anyway. You promised me that you’d stay and you never break a promise.”

 

“Justin…”

 

Justin really looked at JC and wasn’t surprised at what he saw. JC looked weary and exhaustion was prominent in his slumped form. There was pain in his eyes that Justin knew wouldn’t go away on its own because it was the kind that cut deep and lived deep inside of JC since he refused to share it with anyone. He looked so defeated and Justin knew that he had to convince him that everything would get better.

 

“JC,” Justin sighed and sat down in a chair facing him, “I know that things haven’t gone our way lately, but you have to believe that we’ll make it out of this all right.”

 

“Why?” JC asked.

 

“Because we’ve come out of every attack alive. That’s got to say something, right?” Justin saw JC’s skepticism and continued, “I didn’t believe it at first either. When we first heard about Chris being in a coma I thought that was it. There was no way he was going to pull through. But he did. So you gotta believe that we’re going to make it out of this too.”

 

“I don’t want to lose you guys,” JC said quietly, his eyes in his lap as he picked at the hole in his jeans at the knee, making it bigger.

 

Justin leaned forward and put a hand on top of his, stilling the action and causing JC to meet his eyes. “You won’t.”

 

“But—”

 

Justin shook his head. “It’s not going to happen. We’re not going to just go after the demons without any way of making sure we come out of it together. That’s what the research is for. Give us some time to come up with a plan before you give up completely.”

 

“I don’t know if I can,” JC said.

 

“Yes, you can. You keep saying that we need to put ourselves in your shoes, but you should put yourself in ours. You’re our best friend and losing you isn’t an option. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you and that includes protecting you from demons,” Justin said, firmly.

 

“I don’t want you to.”

 

Justin sighed. “JC, I know it’s hard for you to let go of the role as protector and accept help, but to be honest…it would be a lot easier to find a solution if you didn’t fight us so much. We’re doing this the best way we know how, but we could really use your help.”

 

“OK.” JC nodded slowly after a minute of silence. “I’ll help.”

 

Justin straightened up in his seat, his eyes wide and hopeful. “Really?”

 

“Yeah. I didn’t want any part of it before when you guys didn’t have any direction and were just looking up bogus websites. But if you actually have a plan, then I want to be part of it,” JC said, looking down at the hole in his jeans before raising his head to look at Justin.

 

Justin smiled and clapped JC on the back. Things were finally looking up. JC had come out of his shock and, even better, onboard with researching a way out. He never thought they’d get to this point, but now that they have, he could finally let himself relax. They would have an easier time with everything now that they had JC’s cooperation.

 

 

  

“What the hell were you thinking?” Chris demanded. “You don’t say something like that to someone who’s suicidal!”

 

Lance winced at that. “I didn’t mean to. It just kind of slipped out.”

 

Chris crossed his arms. “You don’t just let something like that slip.”

 

“Like you would’ve been able to control yourself. You have a worse temper than I do,” Lance said.

 

“Not lately,” Chris replied. “And I know how to bite my tongue when it’s necessary, especially when I know that saying something like that will just make JC want to kill himself even more.”

 

Lance sighed and rubbed his forehead. He looked up at Chris. “Do you think he’s going to?”

 

Chris paused as he took in Lance’s features. He looked genuinely upset that he’d said such a horrible thing, and Chris knew that he hadn’t meant it. There had been too many times when he’d said something out of anger, so it was easy for him to understand why Lance had said it. JC had gotten very good at pushing Lance’s buttons.

 

“No. He knows you didn’t mean it, and I’m sure that Justin’s trying to smooth it out,” Chris finally said.

 

Lance nodded slowly. “I can’t believe I said that.”

 

“It was an accident,” Joey said, placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

 

“He just gets me so mad sometimes, you know?”

 

“JC can have that effect on people,” Chris half-joked with a small smile.

 

Lance sighed again. “Everything’s screwed up.”

 

“It’s not that bad,” Joey said.

 

Lance shot him an incredulous look, but Chris jumped in before he could say anything. “He’s right, Lance. JC might be pissed now about being kept in the dark, but he’ll get over it.”

 

“He’ll probably hold it over my head. Just like with the sleeping pills,” Lance said.

 

“This isn’t your fault,” Joey replied. “We all made the decision to not tell him.”

 

Chris glanced over at Lance. “And that didn’t give him the right to go through your mind like that.”

 

“Yeah, well, clearly he didn’t agree,” Lance replied bitterly. He paused. “I think the thing that bothers me the most is how damn smug he was about it. I don’t understand how he can block me, but I can’t do the same to him.”

 

“I’m not really surprised he figured it out,” Joey said.

 

“Why not?” Chris asked.

 

“He kind of,” Joey looked at Lance, “hates your connection.”

 

Lance frowned. “Really?”

 

“It’s not about you. I think it’s just the idea of it. He hates that you always have access to his thoughts. You know what a private person he is.”

 

“So you think that’s how he figured out how to block me? Because he wanted to?” Lance asked.

 

Joey nodded. “His privacy’s always been very important to him.”

 

“How long has he felt like this?”

 

“For a while now.” Joey saw Lance’s frown deepen and quickly added, “He didn’t want to say anything to you because he knew you couldn’t do anything about it.”

 

“So then he just dealt with it himself.” Lance sighed heavily. “It used to be such a cool thing at the beginning. We talked to each other all the time. Now I’m lucky if he doesn’t block me, let alone actually say something.”

 

Joey squeezed his shoulder. “Give him some time. Maybe once everything’s kind of died down he won’t do it as much.”

 

“He shouldn’t be doing it all,” Chris said. “I mean, him blocking Lance just makes it even harder to know exactly what he’s thinking.”

 

Just then the back door could be heard sliding open and the three of them turned to see Justin and JC stepping out into the backyard. Chris glanced over his shoulder at Lance who had averted his eyes to the grass before he looked back at JC. It seemed that they both were a lot calmer than before, which gave Chris hope that another fight wouldn’t break out. Watching them go at it was unsettling because they never usually fought like they had in the kitchen.

 

“I’m sorry,” JC said quietly with his hands in his pockets.

 

Lance nodded his head, raising his eyes to meet JC’s. “Me too. I never should’ve said something like that. I didn’t mean it, you know?”

 

“I know,” JC said, giving Lance a wan smile, which he returned.

 

The backyard lapsed into silence. There was a slight buzz as a bee flew past, and off in the distance they could hear someone mowing their yard. Joey glanced at Chris who shrugged. It wasn’t surprising that no one volunteered to say anything, especially JC and Lance. Just because they apologized didn’t mean they were ready to necessarily hold an entire conversation.

 

“What now?” Joey asked, breaking the awkward silence.

 

“We should finish talking about our plan,” Justin said.

 

Lance glanced over at JC before returning his focus to Justin. “I don’t know, Justin…”

 

“No.” Justin shook his head, having seen where Lance was looking. “It’s cool. JC wants to help.”

 

Three heads swiveled to JC in surprise. “Really?” Chris asked.

 

He’d expected JC to answer, but Justin jumped in instead, nodding his head enthusiastically. “He said that he didn’t want to before since we didn’t have any idea what we were doing. But now that we have a direction and are coming up with a workable plan, he wants to be part of it.”

 

Joey and Lance exchanged doubtful glances. They didn’t say anything, but just nodded. Clearly they didn’t know if they should really believe JC, but they didn’t want to vocalize it. If JC was really in this, then they most likely didn’t want to piss him off by accusing him of lying.

 

“I guess we should sit down then,” Chris said cautiously, his eyes still on JC who had yet to say a word about it. He was going to go along with it like Joey and Lance, but he was going to keep an eye on JC. Something about this felt funny and Chris wanted to figure out what.

 

The five of them walked the few feet over to Lance’s patio furniture and settled themselves around the table. Chris sat down across from JC since it would give him the best vantage point to watch him. Once they were all sitting, Lance sighed and glanced around the table.

 

“Well, the last thing we were talking about was what we’re going to do when we get to the cabin,” he said.

 

“Did we come up with anything or were we just trying to come up with ideas?” Joey asked.

 

“Weren’t you saying something about looking up rituals or protective spells?” Chris asked Lance.

 

Lance nodded. “I figure it couldn’t hurt, but I was also going to,” He paused briefly glancing over at JC uncomfortably, “I wanted to see if there was something else we missed about JC’s mom’s death.”

 

“Like what?” JC asked, looking up at Lance briefly before returning to running his finger down the curve of the armrest.

 

“Honestly, I don’t know. It just feels like we’re missing something,” Lance said.

 

Joey leaned forward a little in his seat. “But we still need an actual plan of action, right?”

 

“Yeah, but we don’t know what’ll work,” Justin said.

 

“I still say that in order to get a working plan that’ll kill the demons we have to know what exactly happened at that cabin rental place,” Chris said.

 

“Let me go get the papers and we can see if there’s something Justin and I missed the first time,” Lance suggested, rising from the table. He turned and jogged back into the house only to return a minute later with a stack of papers in his hands.

 

Without a word, Lance sat back down and began to read over an article. Chris leaned to his left, so he could read over his shoulder. After a little over a minute, Lance snapped his head up, connecting with Chris’s forehead.

 

“Geez, Bass. You trying to kill me?” Chris griped, rubbing his now sore forehead.

 

“Sorry,” Lance apologized halfheartedly before he smacked the papers he was still holding. “I think I’ve got something.”

 

Justin tucked his left foot underneath himself before he leaned forward anxiously. “Yeah?”

 

“I think I was there,” Lance said.

 

“Seriously?” Joey asked, eyes widening slightly.

 

Lance nodded. “It doesn’t mention last names, but it talks about Mandy’s drowning and Katrina committing suicide. We must’ve been there for a vacation or something.”

 

“OK, but that doesn’t mean you saw anything,” Chris pointed out.

 

“I think I did,” Lance insisted. “Katrina told me that she committed suicide after my dad took me over to JC’s mom, so she could watch me while they made arrangements. And Alison,” Lance looked briefly up at JC before down at the papers, “your mom, died sometime after that.”

 

“How old were you though? Like a year?” Joey asked.

 

Chris firmly planted his feet and took a second to line up his shot before he released the basketball. It hit off the backboard and went right through the hoop. As he hustled to grab the ball and get it bouncing again before it could roll into the grass, he glanced around the yard. The sun was setting, which meant that it was probably going on eight o’clock.

 

They’d had dinner nearly two hours ago and shortly after Lance and Justin had gone upstairs to get some much needed sleep. JC had gone to bed earlier, begging out of dinner. Chris had wanted him to have dinner with them because he figured that was JC’s way of getting out of eating, especially since he’d barely eaten lunch. It was just enough for him to take his pill. But JC insisted that he was exhausted. After that, there was no further protest because one look at JC showed that he was dead on his feet.

 

But that didn’t necessarily mean that JC would actually sleep. Chris remembered with remarkable clarity all of the instances that JC looked beyond tired, but didn’t sleep. On the occasion resulting in him collapsing. With that in mind, Chris went upstairs to peek into JC’s room to see if he really was sleeping.

 

He’d opened the door very slowly and saw that JC at least had his eyes closed. JC was normally a horrible faker, but Chris had watched him for nearly a minute before he was satisfied that JC really was asleep. It was a pleasant change from the norm, especially since they’d expected JC to layer on the guilt again because of the car accident.

 

Chris had left the room and quietly made his way downstairs. He’d briefly stopped in the living room where Joey had just set himself up in front of the TV with the remote in his right hand. After Joey refused his invitation to shoot some hoops, Chris walked into the backyard and picked up the basketball that’d been left there since the last time they’d played.

 

The physical activity made him feel good. It felt so stimulating to have the warm, fall breeze blow past him as he lightly jogged down the court, switching between dribbling with his left and right hands. Chris had a new appreciation for it, probably because of the close call he’d had in the past twenty-four hours. It could’ve turned out that he never would’ve woken up again let alone do the things that he enjoyed.

 

And the only reason why it hadn’t happened like that was because of Joey. He’d healed him. Chris had still been very skeptical, but after he’d watch Joey heal the scratches on his arm from the grill fork, there was no more doubt. It was pretty amazing when he stopped to really think about it. Really all of their abilities, or whatever they were, were impressive, but Joey’s took the cake. Besides JC and Lance being able to communicate anytime anywhere without a scrap of technology, Joey having the ability to heal him could turn out to be the most useful of their connections.

 

As Chris ran down the court, dribbling the ball as he went before trying to shoot a lay-up and missing, he sighed at the thought of their connection. Like most of their connections, it came at a price and his and Joey’s was no different. Joey could get exhausted if the healing was extensive like his coma has been. It’d been something he’d concluded after Joey’d said he was completely fine from healing his scratches. The severity of the wound must have a lot to do with how much it’d take out of Joey.

 

Chris wondered if they would’ve ever found out about it if the car accident hadn’t happened. And did Joey getting drunk have anything to do with it? It was unlikely that it was the reason, but maybe it’d been a stimulant in what’d made Joey so weak that he’d collapsed. Chris frowned at that and missed his shot again.

 

It honestly hadn’t been that surprising to find out that Joey had once again drunk himself to the point of passing out. Chris had talked to him about it right after Lance’s suicide attempt when Joey had been seriously considering grabbing a drink out of the liquor cabinet. They’d been interrupted by JC, but Chris had seen that Joey still felt he had a need to drink. It was time to finally finish their conversation and hopefully put an end to the excessive drinking.

 

Chris released the basketball one last time and half smiled as it went right in before bouncing on the asphalt below. He didn’t bother to pick it up or bring it in because they would play again eventually. Glancing around, Chris noticed that he’d chosen a good time to go in because the sun was almost completely hidden behind the trees. A minute later he was walking towards the living room where Joey was still sitting in front of the TV. After watching him and the program that he had on for a few seconds, Chris stepped forward and grabbed the remote off the coffee table before pressing the power button causing the TV to go blank.

 

“Hey!” Joey protested. “I was watching that!”

 

Chris raised an eyebrow. “You were watching a documentary about bears hibernating?”

 

“There was nothing better on,” Joey said, shrugging.

 

Chris nodded and silence fell over the room for a minute. He’d planned on talking to Joey about the whole drinking situation, but now that he was standing there he wasn’t sure how to start off. Anger seemed like a good place to start, but Joey probably wouldn’t listen to him if he just started yelling at him.

 

“So…” Joey broke the silence, looking at Chris expectantly. “What’s up?”

 

“I want to talk to you about that little stunt you pulled with a bottle of whiskey,” Chris said.

 

Joey’s eyes widened. “You heard me?”

 

“What? No. Lance told me,” Chris said.

 

“Then I’m sure you know that Lance already laid into me about it,” Joey replied.

 

“Well, you haven’t heard it from me.” Chris crossed his arms as he stared down at Joey. “What the hell were you thinking?”

 

Joey sighed. “I wasn’t, all right?”

 

“No, it’s not all right,” Chris said, shaking his head. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

 

“Why not? It’s my body. I should be able to do whatever I want with it,” Joey replied.

 

“So does that mean that we should’ve just let JC sacrifice himself to the demon since ‘it was his body’?” Chris asked with a knowing look.

 

“That was different,” Joey protested. “I’m not going to kill myself.”

 

“Maybe that’s not your intention, but if you keep drinking so much that you pass out then it’s bound to happen sooner or later,” Chris said. He was afraid that it really would happen. That was why he had to shake Joey of this. They still had to save JC from the demons, which would probably be the hardest thing they’d ever have to do. And they couldn’t have Joey getting so upset that he ended up with alcohol poisoning.

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

Chris sighed, but nodded. “You’re right. But I do know that if you start drinking again you’re going to turn out to be someone you’re not. You’re a completely different person when you drink.”

 

“No I’m not,” Joey objected.

 

“Yes you are. You’re more irritable and you let your misery cloud your judgment.” Chris paused. “We don’t want to watch you go through that again. It’s not right to see you miserable and snapping at everyone.”

 

“I still don’t understand why you’re making a big deal about this. I can’t be happy all the time,” Joey said.

 

“I’m not saying you have to be, but you have to realize that it doesn’t affect just you. It affects all of us.” Chris shook his head then. “You’re lucky that JC and Justin don’t know about what you did.”

 

“What difference would it really make?”

 

“They’re your friends and they care about you,” Chris said.

 

Joey nodded. “OK, but why am I lucky that they don’t know? You and Lance know.”

 

“Because Justin and JC take things more to heart, especially JC. You know that if he were to find out about this he’d be blaming himself and saying that it could’ve been prevented if it wasn’t for him.”

 

“He feels too strongly about us,” Joey said.

 

“But Justin’s the same way. He may not be vocal about it, but he looks up to you. It may not seem like it anymore since he’s gotten older, but he does. He looks up to all of us.” Chris moved forward and sat on the arm of the couch. “But if that’s not enough. Think about Brianna. That little girl loves you to death and thinks you’re the greatest dad in the world.”

 

“That’s all I’ve been doing. I can’t stop thinking about her and Kelly,” Joey said quietly, eyes lowered to the unfinished crossword puzzle that’d been left on the coffee table.

 

“Then why, Joey? Why start drinking again?”

 

Joey sighed and ran a hand roughly over his face before looking over at Chris. “There’s too much to deal with. And then the car accident…I really thought we were gonna lose you.”

 

“You didn’t,” Chris reminded.

 

“I know, but it was all I could think about. I wanted to go home so bad and be with my family. But I knew I couldn’t and that killed me.” Joey paused briefly. “I needed to numb the pain. All of it.”

 

“You’re allowed to go home whenever you want, Joey. We’re not keeping you here against your will,” Chris said.

 

“I know and I’ve thought about it, but I can’t leave. Not until we know for sure that the demons are gone and JC’s safe.”

 

“You don’t have to worry about JC though. Not if you want to go home. You know that we’ll keep you updated,” Chris said.

 

“But you guys need all the help you can get. There’s not even a plan yet,” Joey replied.

 

“Stop thinking about us. You’ve got to do what’s right for you.”

 

Joey scoffed. “Even if I did go home all I’d be thinking about is you guys and worrying about what’s happening.”

 

“But if you want to go home then you should go be with your family. I’m sure Kelly and Brianna would be so happy to see you,” Chris said.

 

Joey sighed again and dropped his head only to bring it up a few seconds later. “What should I do, Chris?” he asked.

 

Chris shook his head. “I can’t tell you that, Joe.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because it’s not my decision to make. This is something you have to decide for yourself,” Chris said.

 

Joey frowned and dropped his eyes to the floor. Chris knew that he was trying to figure out what the best thing would be while leaving himself out of the decision. It was rare for Joey to give himself something that he wanted. Although, it seemed to be a trait that they all had, especially when it came to looking out for each other.

 

Finally Joey’s eyes met his and he said firmly, “I’m staying.”

 

Chris nodded. “OK.”

 

He thought about fighting with Joey about it. Going home would make Joey so happy, but Joey did have a point about how he’d just be worrying constantly about them if he did. And that wouldn’t be fair to Kelly. Chris just hoped that this whole demon thing would end soon, so Joey could go back to his family and things could get back to normal.

 

 

  

Joey was bent over with his head in the fridge looking for something to eat, but he hadn’t found anything. He was about to give up when he spied a half gallon of orange juice. Sighing in relief, he pulled out the carton before grabbing a glass out of the cupboard. His relief turned into frustration as he tipped the carton and nothing came out.

 

“Damn Justin,” Joey griped to himself. “Knows I like to have juice in the morning and puts an empty carton in the fridge. Can’t throw it away like normal people.”

 

He angrily swiped the carton off the counter and started to cross the kitchen to throw it away only to abruptly stop when the kitchen faded. The sudden change of scenery caused him to stumble slightly. Joey saw Lance unlocking the front door like he’d done yesterday, but instead of taking the keys out of the lock like he normally would, they were left behind. Then the image dissipated as fast as it’d appeared.

 

Joey was left standing in the kitchen, confused. He had no idea what’d just happened. Why had he seen Lance unlocking the front door? It was very strange, especially the way it just came on suddenly. Part of Joey felt that it was almost like the visions that Justin got. But that sounded crazy. Why would two of them have visions?

 

Absentmindedly Joey threw the empty half gallon of orange juice into the garbage before he walked down the hall towards the front door. He wanted to know if there had been any truth to what he’d just seen. Joey turned the deadbolt to the right before he opened the door, and his eyes widened as he saw Lance’s keys sticking out of the lock. Unsettled, he slowly pulled the keys out of the lock and closed the door.

 

“You found my keys,” Lance said, walking out of his study and into the foyer where Joey was still standing.

 

“Uh…” Joey looked down at the keys in his hand. “Yeah.”

 

Lance took them from Joey and asked, “Where’d you find them?”

 

“You left them in the lock,” Joey said, pointing over his shoulder at the front door.

 

“What?” Lance stared at him with a horrified look. “Someone could’ve just walked right in and stolen all of our stuff.”

 

Joey raised an eyebrow. “We’re being attacked by demons and you’re worried about your stuff getting stolen?”

 

“Very funny,” Lance said sarcastically, punching Joey lightly in the shoulder. Joey laughed, knowing that Lance had caught on that he was joking. It was refreshing to see that the demons weren’t the only things they worried about because it’d become such a huge problem within the last few weeks.

 

“So where you going?” Joey asked after a few seconds passed, gesturing to the keys in Lance’s hand.

 

“The grocery store,” Lance said.

 

“Good thing. You have like nothing to eat, dude.”

 

Lance rolled his eyes and laughed. “Well, that’s why I’m going.” He paused briefly. “You want to come?”

 

“Sure,” Joey agreed easily. “Just give me a minute to change.”

 

Lance agreed and Joey quickly made his way up the stairs. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, which was what he normally slept in. When he woke up nearly twenty minutes ago at six o’clock he’d been so hungry that he hadn’t bothered with getting dressed, especially since it was so early.

 

It didn’t take him long to get dressed and grab a clean pair of socks. He slipped on his shoes by the front door and together he and Lance got into the car. Lance didn’t say anything, which allowed Joey’s thoughts about what’d happened earlier to occupy his mind.

 

Lance didn’t seemed too bothered by the fact that Joey’d managed to find his keys even though he hadn’t known that Lance had been looking for them. But it freaked Joey out. It was very weird that Lance had been looking for his keys, which he’d just so happen to find through some sort of vision.

 

Joey knew whatever it was he saw couldn’t have been a vision, but he didn’t know what else to call it. Justin’s visions foretold what was going to happen, but what he saw was something that’d already happened. But the most confusing thing of it all was why it happened and with Lance.

 

That’s when it hit Joey that maybe this could be their connection. He hadn’t known what to make about the whole idea that there was this chain that connected all of them in some way, but it made sense, especially after his and Chris’s had been proven. The only connection that hadn’t happened that could was his and Lance’s, and it was possible that this was it. But Joey didn’t know what the purpose of this connection would be.

 

And he wasn’t sure if he should say anything or not. Lance clearly didn’t think what’d happened had been too weird, but if this somehow was their connection then he probably should say something. At the very least it would help to talk it out with Lance and they could figure it out together, but Joey didn’t want to bring it up if it was nothing.

 

“Joey!”

 

Joey turned his head to the left to see Lance with an impatient look on his face. He must’ve been trying to get his attention. “Yeah?”

 

“You coming in or going to sit in the car?” Lance asked.

 

Joey glanced out the window and saw that they were in the parking lot of their local grocery store. He hadn’t even realized that the car had stopped. “I’m coming,” he said, opening the door and getting out.

 

The two of them strolled into the grocery store, pausing only briefly to grab a cart. They moved at a leisurely pace as Lance pushed the cart and Joey walked ahead of him. The store was nearly empty, but that was to be expected since it was so early in the morning. It was nice to not have to worry about fans, especially after what they’d had to deal with just two days ago.

 

“What’s up?” Lance asked as they turned down the first aisle they came to.

 

Joey glanced back at him questioningly. “I don’t know. What’s up with you?”

 

“You were pretty quiet in the car,” Lance said.

 

Joey sighed. “I don’t know if I should say anything.”

 

“OK, now you definitely have to tell me.”

 

“I just don’t want to say anything if it ends up being nothing,” Joey said.

 

“Joey.”

 

“It’s kind of weird…”

 

“Joey, just tell me,” Lance demanded, grabbing a loaf of bread and placing it into the cart.

 

“I didn’t just find your keys earlier. I saw you leave them there,” Joey said.

 

“Well, then why didn’t you bring them in with you yesterday?” Lance asked.

 

“No.” Joey shook his head as he put five cans of soup in their cart and glanced up at Lance. “I saw you leave them in the lock like…how Justin sees things.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow at him and said in disbelief, “You saying you had a vision?”

 

Joey sighed. “No. He sees things that are going to happen. What I saw already happened.”

 

“So you think you can see the past?” Lance asked, confused.

 

“I don’t know,” Joey said honestly. “It’s really confusing.”

 

“All right. Take me through exactly what happened and what you saw,” Lance said, stopping to compare two different types of paper towels.

 

Joey grabbed one out of his hand and tossed it into the cart, leaving Lance to put the other one back on the shelf. “I was in the kitchen looking for something to eat when the kitchen kind of…faded away or something. The next thing I know I’m seeing you unlocking the front door and leaving your keys in the lock.”

 

“That’s it?” Lance asked after waiting a minute.

 

Joey looked back at him as he shrugged and nodded. “Pretty much.”

 

They turned down the breakfast foods aisle and Lance said, “That is weird.”

 

“I think it might be our connection,” Joey said as he added a box of Cookie Crisp to the rest of their groceries.

 

Unbeknownst to Joey, Lance frowned, reaching into the cart and putting the sugary cereal back on the shelf. “What makes you think that?”

 

“Because of what happened. I mean, you’re looking for your keys and I just happen to find them through some vision thing or whatever the hell it was.”

 

“I don’t know, Joey…”

 

“But what if this is the final link in the chain? Everyone has some kind of connection except for us,” Joey persisted.

 

“Yeah, but so soon? I mean, we just found out about yours and Chris’s yesterday. All of the other ones had more time between them,” Lance pointed out.

 

“I know, but what if this really is it?”

 

Lance sighed again. “Let’s just wait and see if anything like it happens again. OK?”

 

“OK,” Joey agreed reluctantly. He wanted to push the issue some more, but it was clear that Lance was kind of skeptical about the whole thing. Not that he could blame him because it was a hard thing to comprehend even with all of the weird things that’d been happening lately. And for now there was no harm in waiting to see if another instance occurred.

 

 

  

JC stepped out of the shower with a cloud of steam. He immediately dried himself off with a white, fluffy towel before he pulled on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers. His hair was towel dried before he lifted his arms and pulled a blue t-shirt over his head. It clung to his still damp chest, which was sore from the angry diagonal bruise the seat belt had caused during the accident. Quickly but carefully he wrapped his left hand with some clean gauze he’d found in the medicine cabinet knowing it was necessary to help it heal.

 

After he shut off the light, he stepped out into the hall. He peaked into Chris and Justin’s bedrooms as he passed them and saw that both of them were still sleeping peacefully in their beds. But Joey and Lance’s beds were empty. JC walked down the stairs, figuring that was where they’d be since it was still early.

 

A quick glance at the clock on Lance’s answering machine on the table in the entryway told him that it was almost eight o’clock in the morning. JC’d gotten up almost an hour ago feeling more rested than he had in a couple of days. Last night after he’d begged out of dinner was when it really hit him how exhausted he felt, but sleep hadn’t been something that came to him easily anymore. However, it was necessary to make sure the guys didn’t get on his back about not sleeping.

 

That was when he’d remembered that there must still be some sleeping pills left and had searched for them before he found them in Lance’s room. He’d fallen asleep shortly after he’d taken a pill and slept through the night for the first time in a long time. But JC’d felt even better after he took a shower since he’d gone nearly as long without a shower as he had without sleep.

 

JC poked his head into the study thinking that maybe Lance was in there because that’s normally where he always spent his free time so he could work. But it was empty, so JC walked further down the hall. He’d made it into the living room when he heard the front door open and the voices of Lance and Joey drift down the hall. Turning on the spot, he retraced his steps until he met them in the foyer.

 

“Can you get the rest?” Joey asked when he saw him. “There’s only a few bags left.”

 

“Sure,” JC agreed, slipping on his sneakers. He walked out to the car and grabbed the four bags that were left in the trunk. At first he tried to grab a couple of bags with his left hand only to cry out in pain when closing his hand pulled on his stitches, so he managed to switch them over to his right. Once he had a hold of them, he shut the trunk before making his way into the kitchen.

 

“Thanks, man,” Joey said. “We went a little crazy.”

 

JC nodded as he started to unload the bags that he’d carried in. “I can see that. What’d you guys do? Buy the whole store?”

 

“We had to get enough food to last us for a while. Lance had nothing, dude,” Joey said.

 

Lance rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored Joey. “How’d you sleep?” he asked, glancing at JC.

 

“Good,” JC said simply, barely looking up from his task of putting cans of Pepsi in the fridge. He could feel Lance’s eyes on him and knew that he was analyzing him to make sure he wasn’t lying. It was satisfying to know that Lance wasn’t going to be able to get on his case since taking a sleeping pill the night before had helped him get a good night’s sleep.

 

“Where the hell is it?” Joey muttered to himself as he started rummaging through bags.

 

“Where’s what?” Lance asked.

 

“The Cookie Crisp,” Joey said. “It should be in here.”

 

“I put it back,” Lance told him.

 

Joey stopped his search and looked at him. “You what?”

 

“It’s just cereal. Besides, it’s not good for you anyway,” Lance said.

 

“If that’s true, then why do they tell you it’s part of a well balanced breakfast?” Joey asked.

 

Lance sighed in aggravation. “Because they want you to buy their product.”

 

“Which is what I was going to do!” Joey started to unload the rest of the groceries they’d set on the table and grumbled to himself, “Can’t believe you wouldn’t let me have my cereal.”

 

JC just shook his head at the exchange. It was kind of childish, but it was refreshing to witness a normal, silly conversation about something so meaningless. They had certainly decreased in number ever since they found out demons were after him. That was something that gave him hope that they would make it once he was gone.

 

They continued to put away all of the food in silence moving around each other as they needed access to different parts of the kitchen. Nearly all of the bags were off the table and the food put away when Lance said, “JC?”

 

JC looked up at him as he picked up the empty bags off the floor and threw them away. “Yeah?”

 

“We never meant to ignore Justin,” Lance said.

 

JC sighed and leaned against the counter. “I know you didn’t, but that’s how Justin feels.”

 

“I don’t know why,” Joey said. “I mean, I don’t ever remember him trying to talk to one of us. Do you, Lance?”

 

“No, but I mean he has to feel that way for a reason,” Lance said.

 

“Maybe he figures you guys should’ve noticed that he wanted to talk,” JC replied.

 

“We’re doing the best that we can,” Joey said. “It’s not like we were doing it intentionally.”

 

“I know, but I want him to talk to you guys. I don’t want him to rely on me so much to listen to him, especially since I’m not going to be around forever,” JC said.

 

“JC!” Lance and Joey cried in unison.

 

“You’re not going to die,” Joey added.

 

“No, I know. I was just saying that just in case—”

 

“Just in case you don’t make it?” Lance finished for him. He crossed his arms. “You’re not really onboard with this, are you?”

 

JC rolled his eyes. “Yes, I am. I’m just being realistic.”

 

“More like pessimistic,” Joey replied.

 

“Can we focus on the matter at hand here? I was just saying that I might not be around forever. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. The point is,” JC looked at Joey and Lance, “I want Justin to talk to you guys more.”

 

“It’s not like we don’t want to talk to him. He just always goes to you,” Lance said.

 

“Which is what I want to break him of,” JC persisted.

 

“Why are you making a big deal about this now? You’ve never had a problem with him coming to you to talk before,” Joey pointed out.

 

JC knew that what Joey said had some truth to it. When he’d decided to go ahead with his own plan of sacrificing himself, he’d first thought of Justin. Especially after the promise he’d made to Justin that came up again. It was then that he’d realized he couldn’t have Justin depending on him to be there forever to help him get through his visions. That’s why he wanted the guys to get comfortable with listening to Justin and helping him through them.

 

“After what happened with the car accident…I wasn’t able to help him deal with any of it. I don’t want to have to worry about him if something were to happen to me,” JC said.

 

“All right,” Lance said, nodding. “We’ll keep a better eye on Justin and be more open to listening to him.”

 

“Well, I’m going to make breakfast. I’m starving,” Joey said, breaking the silence that’d settled over the kitchen.

 

JC pushed himself off the counter to give Joey room to cook and sat down at the kitchen table. He watched as Joey started making scrambled eggs while Lance fried the bacon and sausage. They kept on running into each other, which was pretty comical, especially when Joey had accidentally spilt some eggs on the floor. The toast had just popped up in the toaster when Chris came walking into the kitchen with his arms above his head as he stretched, and Justin was right behind him.

 

“You guys are just in time. We made breakfast,” Lance said, as he began to dish out the food into bowls and set them in the center of the table.

 

“We could smell it from upstairs,” Justin said.

 

“Personally I was surprised the smoke alarm wasn’t what woke us,” Chris joked.

 

Joey rolled his eyes. “Hardy har har,” he said sarcastically. “I’ll have you know that I didn’t even burn the eggs.”

 

“Well, it looks good,” Justin said, sitting down at the table next to JC.

 

Lance set a plate of toast on the table before he joined the other four at the table. Immediately they began to pile food onto their plates. Except for JC. Chris looked up at him and frowned.

 

“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Chris asked JC.

 

JC shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”

 

“You have to eat something,” Lance said, frowning. “You barely ate anything for lunch yesterday and completely skipped out on dinner. Besides, you need to eat something, so you can take your medicine.”

 

“All right,” JC agreed reluctantly. He put some food onto his plate and ate a few bites. It wouldn’t have done any good to fight with them about it.

 

“So where’d the food come from?” Chris asked.

 

“Lance and Joey went shopping this morning,” JC said.

 

“Did you get me my donuts?” Chris asked, glancing up at Joey and Lance from his plate.

 

Lance shook his head. “You don’t need donuts.”

 

“He wouldn’t let me buy Cookie Crisp either,” Joey said, seeing the disappointed look on Chris’s face.

 

“Dude, what the hell?” Justin asked. “You have something against sweets?”

 

“I don’t think sugary foods for breakfast are good for you,” Lance said.

 

“You’re such a freak,” Justin said. He looked around the table. “Did you get juice?”

 

“It’s in the fridge,” JC told him as he pushed his eggs around on his plate.

 

“That reminds me. I have a bone to pick with you, Justin,” Joey said, pointing at him accusingly with his fork.

 

“What did I do?” Justin asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

 

“You drank all the juice and put the empty carton back in the fridge!”

 

Chris burst out laughing at that. “Oh, God! That’s awful, Justin. Sometimes I forget how bad you are in the kitchen.”

 

“I’m not that bad,” Justin protested as he sat back down in his chair.

 

“Dude, you always have month old leftovers sitting in your fridge when I come over,” JC said.

 

Justin’s jaw dropped before he said, “You do too!”

 

“But yours has expired so long ago that it’s growing mold on top of mold,” JC said.

 

He smiled a little at the affronted expression on Justin’s face. Sometimes it was just too easy to get Justin worked up. JC was certainly going to miss moments like this when he was gone.

“What the hell is wrong with this person?” Justin asked, looking at an amateur website with a black background with orange flames and red text. There were also sketches of demons.

 

“Well, apparently he thinks he’s the Prince of Darkness reincarnated,” JC said dryly.

 

Justin laughed and shook his head as JC went back to the search results page. They’d been researching for nearly an hour for some way to get rid of the demons through protective spells or whatever else they could find. After breakfast, the five of them had decided to start looking into getting a concrete plan, so they’d broken up the tasks to make it easier. But so far he and JC weren’t having any luck.

 

A laugh turned Justin’s attention to Chris who was leaning back in the recliner with a smile on his face. He’d been working on calling some of the people he went to college with to see if they could help with pulling Lance’s memory from the cabin when he was young. It was an unspoken agreement that Lance would be the one to have his memory of the cabin recovered because they were wary to try something like that with JC again considering how he’d reacted with Derek.

 

But so far it hadn’t seemed like Chris had been successful either. Though, if the smile on Chris’s face was any indication, he was enjoying catching up with old friends.

 

Justin looked at Chris expectantly as he hung the phone. “Nothing?”

 

“No.” Justin sighed heavily and Chris added, “It’s all right. We’ll find someone. I still have like five more people I haven’t tried yet.”

 

“But what if they changed careers?” Justin asked.

 

“I guess it’s possible, but there’s this one chick, Nicole. She was the most dedicated person I knew. No way she would’ve switched,” Chris said.

 

Justin watched Chris flip through an old faded orange notebook that apparently held the numbers of the people he knew from college. “You calling her?” Justin asked as Chris punched numbers into his phone.

 

“Might as well,” Chris said.

 

Justin just nodded and sat back against the cushions on the couch. He glanced to the left over JC’s shoulder occasionally. There wasn’t much for him to do since JC was on his computer and Chris was on the phone, so he was getting bored and antsy. They needed to find a solution and Justin felt so useless just sitting there not doing anything to help.

 

Absently he scratched at his side until he felt JC’s hand cover his, stilling the motion. Justin looked over at JC confused. “What?”

 

“Don’t scratch,” JC said, not even taking his eyes off the screen.

 

“But it’s itchy,” Justin whined as he continued to scratch at the stitches that were starting to irritate his skin from healing.

 

JC grabbed Justin’s hand again. “You’re going to pull your stitches out.”

 

“I just want them gone,” Justin said. “They’re really annoying.”

 

JC sighed and glanced over at him. “We’ll call your doctor later and set something up, all right? Just try not to scratch your side.”

 

“Fine.”

 

Justin paused and squirmed at the uncomfortable feeling of his side being itchy and not scratching it. He really wanted to, but knew that JC would just yell at him again. But then that feeling increased as his left arm started to itch beneath the cast. It was driving Justin crazy and he tried to look around the room for something he could use to stick in his cast to alleviate the itching. Sighing in relief, he spotted a pencil on the table and picked it up before trying to shove it into the narrow space between the cast and his skin.

 

“Give me the pencil.”

 

Justin turned his attention to JC who had his right hand held out expectantly with a stern expression on his face. He sighed as he pulled the pencil out of his cast and placed it in JC’s hand. “You’re so anal.”

 

JC didn’t say anything, but placed the pencil on the end table next to him before he went back to browsing websites. Justin leaned over his shoulder more, trying to get himself to focus on something else besides the itchiness in his arm and side. But his attention was diverted when he heard Chris begin to say goodbye.

 

“Thanks a lot, Nikki. You’ve been a big help.”

 

Justin sat up and tucked a leg under himself as he leaned forward anxiously. It sounded like Chris might’ve actually gotten somewhere. “She can help us?” he asked once Chris removed the phone from his ear.

 

“Well, she can’t help us with the whole memory thing because she specializes in clinical psychology. But she gave me the number of a guy that’s supposed to be able to help us out,” Chris explained.

 

“Aren’t you going to call him now?” Justin asked.

 

“I was going to talk to Lance and Joey first. See what they want me to do.”

 

Justin opened his mouth to volunteer to ask them since he wasn’t doing anything when there was a cry of frustration on his left. He turned his head to see JC pound the keyboard angrily.

 

“These damn people are freaking crazy! Anyone who’s had a real experience with demons isn’t going to devote an entire website to it! Why the hell are we even wasting our time with this crap?”

 

“We’ll find something,” Justin tried to assure him, putting a hand on JC’s shoulder.

 

JC shrugged off his hand. “You guys have been searching the Internet for how long? I thought you guys had a plan. I never would’ve volunteered to help if I had known we were just going to be screwing around.”

 

“Well, that didn’t last long,” Chris said.

 

“What?” JC asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“You’re already looking for an excuse to back out of helping,” Chris said.

 

JC rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m part of this?”

 

“A million, but even then it still wouldn’t be enough. Because I know that you’re not as committed to this as you say you are,” Chris said.

 

“Then why am I going through all these stupid websites trying to find a solution?”

 

Chris shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”

 

“And me actually wanting to help can’t be a reason?” JC asked.

 

“Not when you were so adamant about not being involved before.”

 

“C’mon, JC. Just ignore Chris.” Justin clicked onto a new website. “Look, this site looks promising.”

 

Justin hated watching JC fight and this was the second time within twenty-four hours. It added unnecessary tension and Chris was just adding fuel to the fire by making remarks that he knew JC would respond to. The best thing he could do was try to divert JC’s attention and let the argument fizzle out. But his attempt failed as JC’s eyes snapped from the computer screen back to Chris.

 

“Well, I was right to feel that way, wasn’t I? I’ve been sifting through psycho ramblings about how demons are so awesome and their best friend or whatever the hell.” JC shook his head and muttered, “What the hell was I thinking getting a summoning ritual off the Internet? It probably wouldn’t have worked.”

 

“Which is a good thing, JC,” Chris said, fixing him with a stern look that dared him to deny it.

 

“No, I know.”

 

“It doesn’t sound like it. Sounds like you’re angry about not being able to kill yourself,” Chris said.

 

“I’m not. This is my life we’re talking about and I want to be around to live it,” JC replied.

 

Chris leaned forward in the chair, his eyes narrowed. “You weren’t too concerned about that when you tried to give yourself to the demon.”

 

“That was before. I’m in it now,” JC said.

 

“So you say,” Chris replied dryly.

 

“You know what? I’m tired of you accusing me of not being part of this, so maybe I should just go back to dealing with this myself while you guys scramble for a solution,” JC told him and roughly set the computer down on the coffee table in front of him before rising to his feet.

 

“JC, you can’t go,” Justin said as he reached up to grab onto JC’s shirt. JC sighed, but allowed Justin to pull him back down onto the couch. “We need you. We can’t do this without you.”

 

“Why? It’s not like he’s doing much,” Chris mumbled.

 

Justin turned his head to glare at him. “Would you just shut up? Why are you purposely pissing him off? Do you want him to seclude himself like he used to do? Because that’s surely what’s going to happen if you keep pushing him. JC’s part of this and wants to help, so just back off.”

 

A tense silence settled over the room before Chris finally said, “I’m going to go talk to Joey and Lance. See what they want to do about that guy.”

 

Justin watched him go feeling a little bad for yelling at him, but it’d been necessary. Chris had been out of line continuously accusing JC of having ulterior motives and purposely getting him riled up. Sure JC’s turnaround on the matter was kind of sudden, but Justin wasn’t going to question it. He trusted JC and refused to believe he could be capable of deceit like Chris was suggesting.

 

 

  

Lance looked off of his library card as he typed the number into the textbox on the computer screen. He and Joey were responsible for finding more information on JC’s birth mother. Joey was currently reading over the articles that they’d gotten at the library earlier that week while Lance was trying to utilize resources on the Internet to find some new information. His first thought was to try to use the library’s online database since it’d helped them before.

 

Once his library card number was correctly punched in, he had full access to the database that Lance and Justin had used when they first found out about JC’s mother. But now that they knew what her name was he could use that to be more specific and hopefully get better search results. As he pressed enter, a new page loaded that showed he had ten results that contained her name. It wasn’t much, but it was more than Lance’d expected.

 

The first five results he tried weren’t much help. Three of them had been articles that they already had and the other two had just mentioned that she went to some charity event in New York City. But the next search result elicited something interesting.

 

Lance quickly read the article and his eyes widened. Apparently JC’s mother, Alison, had a little sister who died in a plane crash. She’d gone up in a small twin engine as a pilot, training to get her license when the engine just malfunctioned, causing the plane to fall in a downward dive. And this was just days before Alison died at the cabin.

 

“I think I found something,” Lance said, spinning his chair around to face Joey who was sitting on the couch over by the window. He figured this would be something important to share.

 

“What do you got?” Joey asked, looking up from the papers he had in his lap.

 

“Alison had a little sister that died in a plane crash. Days before the demons killed her,” Lance said.

 

“So? What’s so weird about that?”

 

“The demons might’ve been behind it,” Lance said.

 

Joey frowned. “What makes you say that?”

 

“Because of how close it was to Alison’s death. Think about it, Joey. We’ve seen what the demons are capable of. They could’ve easily fixed it so the plane would crash,” Lance explained.

 

“I guess, but that’s only one person. Maybe if someone else that was close to her died it’d be easier to believe the demons were behind it,” Joey said.

 

“What about the boyfriend?” Lance asked. “When did he die?”

 

Joey shuffled the papers until he found the article that talked about the death of JC’s father. “Uh…May 28th.”

 

“That was exactly a week before Alison was killed.” Lance paused and nodded. “I knew it. I knew the demons had to be behind it, and it’s starting to make sense now.”

 

“What is?” Joey asked.

 

“Don’t you see the connection, Joey? The demons killed those people just like they’ve been trying to do to us,” Lance said.

 

“Yeah, but we’re not dead,” Joey pointed out.

 

“Well, no, but we probably should be. I mean, the only real reason we aren’t is because we have Katrina helping us out.”

 

Joey nodded. “But that still doesn’t prove anything.”

 

“I know, but at least it’s a new theory we can kind of look into,” Lance said.

 

“I guess, but what I don’t understand is why. Why would the demons want to kill the people close to them if all they want is the person who made the deal?” Joey asked.

 

Lance shrugged. “Maybe it’s a thing where they want to cause as much pain as possible before they kill the person.”

 

“Yeah, but what if you hate your family and aren’t close to anyone?”

 

“Who knows, but I don’t think that was the case with Alison. Maybe I can try to see if anyone else who knew her died,” Lance said.

 

“How are you going to do that?” Joey asked.

 

“There’s got to be a list of people that went to her sister’s funeral. That’s a good place to start.”

 

Joey nodded and turned his attention back to the papers as Lance brought up a news archive site that he had membership to. He clicked on the link to login and immediately punched in his username and password only to find out that the combination wasn’t correct. Lance knew that it had to be the password that was wrong because he used the same username for almost everything, while he made a point of constantly changing his passwords. Normally that was a good thing since it protected his information online, but right now he was blanking on what the password was for this particular account, especially since he hadn’t used it in over a year.

 

His concentration on trying to remember his password was broken by Joey who blurted, “F23GP03.”

 

“What?” Lance asked, staring at Joey in confusion.

 

“That’s your password,” Joey said.

 

Lance eyed him warily as he entered the password Joey just said and it immediately gave him access to the member’s only page. Lance’s eyes narrowed as he realized that Joey was right. “How did you know that? You going through my stuff?”

 

“No.” Joey shook his head. “I saw it like how I saw your keys.”

 

“Just now?”

“Yeah. I was just reading about the car accident some more when the next thing I know I’m seeing you at the computer before it kind of zooms in on your hands. I saw you typing the password,” Joey explained.

 

“That’s really weird.”

 

“Do you believe me now that this is our connection?” Joey asked.

 

Lance nodded. “Yeah, I believe you. I mean, there’s no way it was a coincidence that twice in one day you get these weird vision things of me.”

 

“I know. It’s weird how sudden it came on.”

 

“Yeah and that you seem to know stuff that I can’t remember.” Lance’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said. “You can remember stuff for me. I mean, the key and the password. I was wracking my brain trying to remember and you get this…image or whatever of exactly what I was concentrating on remembering.”

 

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to want to test it out?” Joey asked, eyeing him warily.

 

“Because I do.” Lance took a deep breath. “I’m going to try to remember what happened that day at the cabin.”

 

Joey groaned. “I knew it.”

 

Lance nodded. “If we can figure out what happened, then that’s one more piece of the puzzle we have.”

 

“All right,” Joey agreed after a few seconds of silence.

 

Lance nodded and focused all of his attention on trying to remember what’d happened the day that JC’s mother had died. It was a weird feeling to sit there and wrack his brain while knowing that there was no way he was going to actually be able to pull up that memory himself. After nearly a minute or two of concentrating, Lance sighed and leaned forward in his desk chair as he let his attention fall on Joey who was sitting on the couch staring blankly in front of him.

 

Immediately Lance felt his stomach being to churn. What if he’d done the wrong thing forcing that memory on Joey? The other two times sounded like they’d happened so quickly and this one was already going on for a couple of minutes. Could Joey somehow get stuck in a memory? Lance hoped not, but couldn’t dismiss that thought as he began to fiddle with his watch.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Chris walk into the room. “Hey, man. You guys have any luck?” Chris asked.

 

“I think I did the wrong thing,” Lance said, ignoring Chris’s question as his worry for Joey consumed him.

 

Chris frowned. “What are you talking about?”

 

“I forced Joey to remember what happened at the cabin for me and now he’s just sitting there. It’s been a couple of minutes and he’s barely moved. Something gotta be wrong,” Lance rambled.

 

Chris took a step forward hesitantly with a concerned expression on his face and looked at Joey for a few seconds before he turned back around to face Lance. “He’s fine,” he assured.

 

“How do you know?” Lance asked, as he spun his watch around on his wrist.

 

“Because that’s exactly what you and JC look like when you go into each other’s heads,” Chris said, glancing back at Joey and frowning in confusion. “Though I don’t understand why Joey’s like that in the first place.”

 

“So you really don’t think something’s wrong?” Lance pressed.

 

Chris shook his head as he leaned against the desk. “No, but I do think you owe me an explanation. I’m confused as hell here. Since when can you force Joey to read your mind or whatever?”

 

“I’m not forcing him. Well, I guess in a way I am, but not intentionally…”

 

“Dude, can you just explain it without speaking in circles?” Chris asked.

 

Lance nodded and took a breath to calm his still jittery nerves. “Joey’s able to remember stuff that I can’t.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Because it’s already happened two times today. The first time was this morning before we left. I was looking for my keys and Joey got an image of me leaving them in the lock,” Lance said.

 

“Wait a minute.” Chris held up a hand. “Did you just say that Joey had a vision?”

 

“No, they’re not visions. It’s like a flash of an image or something,” Lance said.

 

“Well, judging by the state he’s in now I’d say it’s more than just a flash,” Chris replied, gesturing to the couch where Joey was sitting with a blank look on his face.

 

“Either way he sees memories that I’ve forgotten or are trying to remember.”

 

“You said there was a second time?”

“Yeah. I was trying to remember a password that I haven’t used in a long time when he just blurts it out,” Lance said.

 

“And he saw it?” Chris asked.

 

Lance shrugged and nodded. “He said he actually saw me typing it.”

 

“So this is your and Joey’s connection?”

 

“That’s what we’re thinking,” Lance said. “And that’s why I wanted to see if I could get him to see what happened at the cabin.”

 

Chris sighed. “Well, I guess there’s nothing more for us to do than wait for him to come out of it.”

 

“I just hope this isn’t all for naught,” Lance said quietly as he stared at Joey. He would feel so much better once he knew for sure that Joey was fine and no damage had been done. It would be a bonus if he saw the memory of the cabin, but at the moment Lance’s main concern was making sure Joey was all right.

 

There was no reason for Lance to worry though because Joey was fine. His sole attention was focused on the scene playing out in front of him. For the third time that day he had access to Lance’s memory only this time it was of what’d happened that day at the cabin.

 

Joey found himself in a bedroom that looked oddly familiar. Suddenly he realized where he’d seen it before. It was the room that JC had slept in when they went on that vacation and stayed at the cabin over a year ago. He couldn’t help the shudder that coursed down his spine at that thought. And knowing what was coming just made it even worse. 

There was laughter coming from the floor and Joey’s eyes fell onto a pair of small boys. One was sitting with legs tucked underneath and he absently brushed away the dark bangs that fell into his eyes. Clearly that was JC as he appeared when he was five. And Lance was lying on his stomach across from him as he scribbled more than colored a picture of a bunny. 

“How are you boys doing?” Alison asked as she knelt down beside them. 

“We’re coloring,” JC said. Then he held up his picture for her to see. “I’m coloring a puppy.” 

She smiled at him. “That’s very good, Josh. We’ll have to hang it up on the fridge.” 

“Look at my bunny!” Lance said and awkwardly held his picture with one hand raised as high as he could reach. 

“It’s very nice. You boys color beautifully.” 

JC looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. “Can we get a puppy, Mommy? My birthday’s really soon.” 

Joey saw her smile falter for a second before it was back in place. “We’ll see.” 

JC nodded and went back to coloring his picture, but stopped when Alison started to pull at the collar of his shirt. 

“Mom,” JC whined as his little body tried to squirm away from his mother. “You’re in the way.” 

“Just hold still for a second, sweetie,” she said. Joey watched as she fussed with JC’s shirt and pulled out a necklace that’d been hidden underneath. 

It took Joey a second before he recognized what it was. JC’s Leo necklace. Joey was amazed to see that JC’d had it so early. He’d always thought it was something that JC got when he was older. 

“Are you done with your juice?” Alison asked him. 

JC grabbed the glass of what looked like apple juice and took a drink from it before he offered it to her with a smile. “Yep.” 

Alison accepted it before she stood up and walked over to a desk in the corner. She held the glass in her left hand as she leaned over the desk looking at something. As Joey took a step closer he realized it was a journal. Her eyes scanned the page it was open to before she flipped it over. Apparently satisfied, she nodded and left the room with the glass in her hand. 

Joey crossed the few feet and stood in front of the desk, looking down at the journal she’d just been looking at. His eyes widened at what he saw on the page. She wrote that she couldn’t take watching her friends and family die and that she knew she had to put a stop to it. But she didn’t want to sacrifice her son’s safety, so she found this psychic named Sydnie who helped her gain protection spells to try to ward off the demons for as long as possible. He tried to flip the page, but let out a frustrated sigh when he discovered that he couldn’t. 

But then his attention was diverted by a loud crash that came from the hallway. Immediately Joey abandoned the journal, but stored the information in the back of his mind for later, knowing it’d be important. He got to the doorway just as JC did and what he saw startled him even though he knew what would happen. 

Alison was standing there with broken shards of glass laying at her feet, but she wasn’t alone. A dark wispy demon with red eyes stood before her. 

“Please, can’t I have more time? Just a few more days,” Alison begged. 

“You knew this was coming. You’ve been a successful musician for ten years and now your time’s up,” the demon said, closing the gap between them slightly. 

“Don’t kill my son. Please. I’m the one you want. Just take me and leave him alone.” 

“It’s your fault for having a child. You knew what would happen if you had children while under contract,” the demon replied. 

“Mom?” JC asked, timidly as he shifted his weight anxiously. 

Alison’s eyes widened in fear as she saw JC in the doorway. “Get out of here, Josh!” she ordered. 

She turned around only to gasp as the demon wrapped a skeleton like hand around her neck. Her face lost color and when the demon let go, she dropped to the floor. Joey knew that she was dead. 

“Mom!” JC yelled as he ran forward to Alison’s side. He reached out to touch her arm only to jerk his hand back as if he’d been burnt. Then he looked up and his eyes grew large as he saw the demon. It took all of two seconds for him to let out a terrified scream before he turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction. 

The demon immediately vanished while Lance stumbled into the hall after JC. “Josh! Where you goin’?” 

Joey quickly followed Lance out into the front yard with luscious green grass and tall trees surrounding the area. He watched as JC tripped, causing him to fall to the ground. As JC looked up the demon appeared in front of him and Joey felt his heart race. He obviously knew that nothing bad happened to JC, but it was scary to see the demon floating menacingly above him like that. 

JC whimpered softly as he scooted backwards, trying to put as much space between him and the demon as possible. The demon moved forward with a creepy hand outstretched only to suddenly stop as if it’d run into a brick wall. Then without another thought the demon disappeared. 

Joey watched as JC shakily got to his feet and his eyes dart around the surrounding area before he took off running. 

The yard faded away and was replaced with Lance’s study. Immediately his eyes focused on Chris and Lance watching him expectantly.

 

“Are you OK?” Lance asked, his forehead creased with worry.

 

“I’m fine,” Joey said.

 

“What’d you see?” Chris asked.

 

Joey looked at them both, knowing that there were so many questions and he actually had the answer to some of them. “We need to talk.”

Chris followed Joey and Lance into the living room where JC and Justin were sitting on the couch. As they entered Justin looked up from where his chin was resting on JC’s shoulder.

 

“What’s up?” Justin asked.

 

“We need to talk,” Joey said as he sat on the loveseat.

 

“OK…” Justin exchanged a concerned glance with JC and sat up straighter, allowing JC to lean forward and place the laptop on the coffee table in front of them.

 

“What’s going on?” JC asked, frowning slightly.

 

“Joey went into my mind,” Lance said from where he sat next to Joey.

 

Justin’s face wrinkled in confusion. “What? How is that even possible?”

 

Chris lowered himself into the recliner that he’d been sitting in earlier as he looked expectantly at Lance and Joey. He understood where Justin’s confusion came from because he’d felt that way when he’d first walked into the study. Lance sighed heavily and Chris figured he must not want to explain it again, but it was something that was necessary for Justin and JC to understand what’d happened in the study with Joey.

 

“I try to remember something and Joey gets access to a memory of whatever it is I’m trying to remember,” Lance explained.

 

“How do you know?” JC asked.

 

“This morning was the first time it happened. I was hanging out in the kitchen when I got this flash of Lance leaving his keys in the front door lock,” Joey said.

 

Lance nodded and added, “I’d been searching all over the place for them and found Joey by the front door with them in his hand.”

 

“Did you pass out?” Justin asked.

 

“No.” Joey titled his head. “Why?”

 

“Well, that’s what happens when I have visions,” Justin said.

 

“I’m not having visions,” Joey denied.

 

Justin frowned. “Then what?”

 

“It’s probably more like Lance and JC’s connection because as I see the memory it’s like I’m actually in his head,” Joey said.

 

“You’re basing this off one time?” JC asked, his frown deepening.

 

Joey shook his head. “It’s happened two more times.”

 

“Today?” Lance and Joey nodded. JC paused briefly before continuing, “Three in one day? Isn’t that kind of fast?”

 

“Yeah, I mean, we just found out about yours and Chris’s yesterday,” Justin said to Joey.

 

“Well, what other explanation is there?” Chris asked. “It’s not like we have control over stuff like this.”

 

“So were your other two like the first one?” Justin asked, leaning forward.

 

“Pretty much. Lance was trying to come up with an old password and I just got this image of him typing it,” Joey said.

 

Chris looked over at Joey. “And this last time you saw the cabin, right?”

 

JC’s eyes widened slightly. “Seriously?”

 

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you guys about,” Joey said, nodding.

 

“So it worked then?” Lance asked.

 

“Exactly like the other two times,” Joey affirmed.

 

Justin scooted forward so he was sitting on the edge of his seat. “What’d you see?”

 

“I was in a bedroom from the cabin that we stayed in,” Joey said.

 

“Really? The exact same cabin?” Chris asked. When Joey nodded he added, “Damn that’s creepy.”

 

“So I was in the bedroom and Lance and JC were on the floor coloring. Well, JC was coloring. I don’t know what Lance was doing,” Joey said, smiling.

 

Chris and Justin laughed as Lance’s cheeks tinged pink. Even JC managed a small smile. While Chris hadn’t seen Lance and JC as kids like Joey had, he could easily picture them coloring and it really was a cute image.

 

“And your mom was there,” Joey said, meeting JC’s eyes after the laughter had died down. “She pulled your Leo necklace out of your shirt. I didn’t know you’d had it for so long.”

 

JC fingered his pendant, looking down at it before returning his gaze to Joey. “I didn’t either. I just knew that I’d had it for as long as I could remember.”

 

“But then she walked over to this journal that was sitting on a desk and looked up something. When she left the room I walked over to read it.” Joey paused and looked over at Lance. “I think you were right.”

 

“About what?” Chris asked, glancing back and forth between the two of them. He had no idea what Joey was talking about. The only thing he could think of was that it somehow related to the research they’d been doing earlier because they were up to speed on everything else.

 

“Joey and I found out that in addition to her boyfriend dying a week before she did, her younger sister also died a few days before. I had this theory that the demons killed everyone close to her like they’ve been trying to do to us,” Lance explained.

 

“Did you find anyone else?” Justin asked.

 

Lance shook his head. “I was going to, but that was before I got the idea to try out remembering the cabin.” He turned his head to the right to look at Joey. “So you said I was right?”

 

“Everything you said was pretty much confirmed in her journal. She went on about how she couldn’t stand watching them die and that she knew she had to end it.”

 

“What else did the journal say?” Chris asked.

 

“It said that while she knew she was going to stop it, she didn’t want to sacrifice her son in the process. So she found this chick, a psychic I think, that helped her with protective spells,” Joey said. “I tried to turn the page to read more, but I couldn’t since I wasn’t really there.

 

“But almost immediately there was a loud crash from the hall and when I got to the doorway I saw Alison with a demon standing in front of her. She begged for her life and your life,” Joey met JC’s eyes briefly before focusing them on the floor at his feet, “When she saw you in the doorway she told you to run away, but I think you were too scared to move.”

 

Joey sighed and paused, frowning. After a brief moment he continued, “As soon as she turned around the demon was on her. It wrapped a hand around her throat and she fell to the floor. JC, you ran forward only to run in the other direction when you looked up at the demon.

 

“The demon disappeared and you ran outside. You tripped and the demon reappeared in front of you. It moved towards you, but it suddenly stopped when it got within a foot of you. It disappeared and you took off.”

 

The room fell silent as everyone took in what Joey had seen. It was a major step in the right direction towards a solution. They finally knew what’d happened at the cabin. And even though they knew the main outcome with JC’s mom dying, the details of what’d exactly happened were a lot to take in. But it all made sense now with the exception being why the demon hadn’t advanced on JC.

 

Chris frowned. “It just vanished?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t really understand it either,” Joey said.

 

“Maybe it had something to do with those protective spells,” Lance suggested.

 

Justin’s eyes widened in remembrance. “Hey, yeah. What’s the psychic’s name? Or don’t you know?”

 

“It was Sydnie,” Joey said after a few seconds.

 

“I’m sure she would know what’d happened. She might even be able to help us,” Lance said, rising from the loveseat to grab JC’s laptop off the coffee table before returning to his seat.

 

“You think you can really find her?” Chris asked.

 

“I don’t see why not. I mean, she has to be somewhere in Florida because I don’t think Alison would go out of state just to meet this person,” Lance said.

 

Chris couldn’t believe that they were finally getting on track as far as finding a way out for JC. It was a huge relief to finally be able to get their questions answered. He was anxious for Lance to find the name of this psychic chick because there was a good possibility that she could help them. She might even be able to fill in some of the missing pieces.

 

But Chris’s thoughts were torn away from the psychic when he heard Justin ask, “What’s wrong, C?”

 

Chris turned his attention to JC and frowned. JC’s eyes were adverted to his lap as he fidgeted with the pencil that Justin had been using to scratch his arm with earlier. Fidgeting was a bad habit of JC’s, especially when he was upset. At that thought Chris rolled his eyes. He should’ve seen this coming. JC hadn’t said much during Joey’s recount of what’d happened at the cabin and now he was letting the past eat him up inside.

 

“I’m a horrible person,” JC said finally after nearly fifteen seconds of silence passed.

 

“Yeah, but we love you anyway,” Chris joked.

 

“Chris!” Justin scolded, glaring over at him. Chris knew that what he’d said was a tad bit inappropriate, but he couldn’t help it. He liked to make jokes.

 

“I can’t believe I forgot,” JC said quietly, still avoiding eye contact as he twirled the pencil in his hand.

 

Justin’s face softened as he looked back at JC and asked, “Forgot what?”

 

“What happened to my mom. I mean, I must not have loved her very much if I can’t even remember her death,” JC said.

 

“Oh, JC.” Justin sighed. “You were only five. Most people can’t even remember stuff from when they were that age.”

 

JC shook his head. “I’m not talking about some stupid memory of the first time you ate jelly beans. I saw my mom die.”

 

“Exactly. That’s a pretty traumatic thing. Watching someone die is hard enough on adults, but you were just a kid. You didn’t know how to handle what you saw,” Chris said, trying to reassure JC through reasoning. It was one of the things he actually remembered with relative clarity from his psych classes in college. Probably because that’d been the kind of thing he wanted to do; help kids get through traumatic events in their lives.

 

JC scoffed. “Like that really matters.” There was a pause before JC continued, “But it’s not just that.” He finally raised his head to look at Justin and Chris. “I left Lance there.”

 

“JC, you were five,” Chris said slowly, trying to get that fact to sink into his brain. It was ridiculous that JC felt he always had to protect everyone and if he didn’t he felt compelled to give himself a major guilt trip over it.

 

“And Lance was only two. He had no way to defend himself,” JC replied.

 

Justin put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Neither did you.”

 

“Apparently I did or else I wouldn’t be here, and Lance wouldn’t be looking up some stupid psychic,” JC said bitterly, but didn’t shake off Justin’s hand like Chris thought he would.

 

“But Lance is all right. Aren’t you, Poofoo?” Joey said, leaning back a little from where he’d been looking over Lance’s shoulder so that he could bring his arm up and tousle Lance’s hair. Lance batted his hand away annoyed.

 

“Something could’ve happened,” JC insisted. “I took off with no regard for his safety.”

 

“You were frightened,” Justin said softly.

 

“I was selfish.”

 

“Which makes you human, especially when you’re five. You weren’t the protective freak then that you are now,” Chris said to JC, but he didn’t look convinced.

 

Chris was about to open his mouth to say more when Lance and Joey interrupted them. “We found her!” Lance announced.

 

“Where?” Chris asked, all thoughts of what he was going to say to JC gone.

 

“Off of Highway 17,” Lance said. “It’s just a few hours from here.”

 

“You driving?” Joey asked Lance and he nodded.

 

Justin looked at them in surprise. “We’re going now?”

 

“Yeah. It’s still early, so there’s no point in sitting around here,” Lance said.

 

Collectively the five of them rose to their feet. Chris saw Justin give JC a one-armed hug before stepping away from him. Following them into the foyer where they all put on their shoes, Chris couldn’t help the frown that appeared on his face despite the fact that they were about to find answers. He just couldn’t stop himself from thinking about JC and how he didn’t seem to care that they’d made a lot of progress, which only solidified his belief that JC would resist any solution they did come up with.

 

 

  

They pulled up a dirt driveway in Lance’s SUV. The vehicle stopped and when Lance killed the ignition, the rhythmic beating of the windshield wipers stopped. It’d been raining ever since they left the house, but as they stepped out of the vehicle JC noticed that it’d tapered off to just a light drizzle.

 

However, the sky was still dark from the heavy, black rain clouds. The gray sky coupled with the amount of dense trees that surrounded them made JC feel like the darkness was closing in on him. He took a deep breath to try to squelch that feeling only for the uneasiness to resurface when he looked up at the house.

 

As the five of them started walking towards it, JC could make it out better. It wasn’t a very large house, but it was big enough to make JC feel small as if it were a skyscraper looming over him. The pale blue paint that the house had once surely been covered in was peeling and the shingles on the roof shook as the wind blew. Clearly this psychic hadn’t done anything with her house in a very long time.

 

They reached her front door, which had a dark wooden one behind a screen door that looked like even the tiniest bit of force would cause it to fall off its hinges. JC stood off to the side, letting the others handle it. After all, they were the ones who wanted to come. All JC wanted to do was leave. It felt unsettling standing on some stranger’s porch that creaked and groaned with each step they took.

 

Lance was the one who took the initiative and outstretched a hand to rap on the door. After about a minute of standing there, the pine door opened to reveal an old woman that must have been Sydnie. From what JC could see, the gray hair that was pulled into a messy bun served as a good indicator that she was probably at least sixty. However, with the exception of her hair color, she didn’t really look like it. A long black dress that was probably in style nearly thirty years ago covered her thin body, while her face was wrinkled around the eyes and mouth, which were set into a stern expression.

 

JC was surprised at how normal she looked. He’d expected someone whose hair was a rat’s nest, had a wild look in her eye, and maybe missing a few teeth. However, she was nothing like that. That normalcy didn’t fool JC though because he knew that she was a force to be reckoned with.

 

“What do you want?” she asked.

 

“We’re here for some protection. We heard you were the person to see,” Chris said from Lance’s right.

 

“I don’t do that anymore,” she said after a slight pause.

 

“But—” Justin started to protest.

 

“I can’t help you,” she insisted. “Go away.”

 

The other four shot each other disappointed looks before they turned around. Lance led the way down the stairs, sighing as he did so. JC waited until Chris and Justin followed before he trailed behind Joey. As he passed the doorway he heard the old woman gasp, but he shrugged it off wanting to get out of there.

 

But a few seconds later when he had just stepped off the porch, he heard the screen door slap against the doorframe before the old woman’s voice asked hesitantly, “Joshua?”

 

JC immediately stopped before he slowly spun on his heel. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the others do the same. He eyed the woman warily. How the hell did she know his name? It was very unnerving, especially since he’d never seen this woman before.

 

She was staring at him in a mixture of disbelief and amazement. Then she started walking towards him. JC watched as she came closer and descended the stairs. He backpedaled, wanting to widen the gap between him and her only to abruptly collide into someone.

 

“Dude, she’s just an old lady,” Joey whispered in his ear.

 

JC wanted to turn around and glare at him, but he was too focused on watching the woman in front of him. He didn’t have to worry about her coming closer though because she stopped halfway down the stairs.

 

“Your mother would be so proud to know that you’re still alive,” Sydnie said. There was a pause before she continued, shaking her head, “I thought she was crazy for putting all of her faith in some backwoods magic like that, but I guess I was wrong.”

 

“That’s why we’re here,” Lance spoke up then as he stepped forward to stand next to JC.

 

She frowned. “What’s going on?”

 

“The demons are after Ja—Josh,” Lance said correcting himself mid-word.

 

“I’m not surprised,” Sydnie said.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chris demanded.

 

Sydnie sighed. “Why don’t you come inside? We have a lot to talk about.”

 

She turned around and they glanced at each other briefly before Lance followed her. JC felt Joey gently nudge him forward. Together the five of them walked back up the porch stairs and into her house. Sydnie led them to the living room and gestured for them to have a seat.

 

As JC sat down next to Lance on one of the two couches, he looked around the room. It was crowded with two couches and three big arm chairs that had big floral prints that peaked out from the holes in the throws on the furniture. There was no TV, which JC thought was weird. But he reasoned that it must be difficult to get cable all the way out there in the middle of the woods.

 

The most bizarre thing he could see was the glass jars that sat on shelves around the room. JC wasn’t sure what was in those jars, but figured that he probably didn’t really want to know. His attention was drawn to Sydnie who sat down in a chair that was angled towards the couch that he was sitting on.

 

“What do you know about what’s going on?” she asked.

 

“We know that Alison died at the cabin and that she went there to put an end to all of her friends and family dying. And we think that it’s happening all over again,” Lance said.

 

“We think that you had something to do with why Josh made it out alive and that it probably had a lot to do with the protective spells Alison got from you. And we’re hoping that you can help us so we can put an end to this,” Chris added.

 

“I don’t know if that’s possible,” Sydnie said.

 

Justin frowned as he leaned forward in the chair that he was sitting in across the room. “Why not?”

 

“Demon contracts are binding and cannot be void. Alison made a deal with a devil when she was twenty-one to be a successful musician for ten years. Once that deal was made it bound the devil to that particular place, which in this case is the cabin,” Sydnie explained.

 

“So how is the devil able to collect when it can’t leave?” Joey asked.

 

“It tortures the people that are closest to the one who made the deal before they’re supposed to die. Eventually it gets to the point where the person wants to sacrifice themselves by either committing suicide or going back to the place the deal was made,” Sydnie said.

 

Lance frowned. “The deal is still fulfilled even if the person kills themselves?”

 

“Yes,” Sydnie confirmed, nodding. “The devil doesn’t care how it happens because it still gets the person’s soul once they die.”

 

“So there wasn’t any way for her to survive?” JC asked quietly, running a finger down the seam of his jeans. Even though she had made the deal and knew what she was getting herself into, JC felt horrible for her. She must’ve suffered a great deal before she died.

 

“I’m afraid not. Since she was the person who created the deal she had to die. But there are loopholes for offspring since they weren’t directly involved. It just got passed onto them. Alison knew that and that’s when she came to me for protection for her son,” Sydnie said.

 

“What did you give her?” Justin asked.

 

“I performed some protection spells on Josh. His necklace in particular.” She looked over at JC. “Can I see the necklace?”

 

JC eyed her warily as his right hand instinctively clutched his Leo pendant. “Right now?”

 

“If you want,” she said.

 

“I’ve never taken it off,” JC protested weakly.

 

“JC…” Lance started, but Sydnie interrupted him.

 

“It’s all right. I can look at it later.” After pausing for a moment, she continued, “I warned Alison that it was risky to put so much faith into something that wouldn’t guarantee his safety. But she wanted to get his three attempts out of the way before she died so he wouldn’t have to deal with it later.”

 

Chris frowned in confusion. “Three attempts?”

 

“There are a maximum of three attempts on the offspring’s life. If they happen to survive all three, then the devil and demons can no longer go after them. Their soul is essentially free.

 

“As far as I know there’s only been one attempt on Josh’s life. Alison had called me hysterical that she killed an innocent girl that drowned in the lake instead of Josh. She blamed me for not properly warning her that the demons would kill anyone who got in the way of their attempts.”

 

“What exactly qualifies as an attempt?” Lance asked.

 

“Well, since the first attempt was in the lake all of the other attempts have to be in that exact lake. It’s part of the restrictions that the demons are forced to follow,” Sydnie said.

 

 “So you’re saying that surviving these…attempts is one of the loopholes?” Joey asked.

 

Sydnie nodded. “Yes, but the odds of him surviving two more attempts are pretty slim.”

 

There was a pause before Lance said, “He only has to survive one more.”

 

Justin glanced over at Lance in confusion before his eyes widened. “That’s right. He almost drowned in the lake over a year ago.”

 

“You went to the cabin voluntarily?” the psychic asked, frowning.

 

“Well, we didn’t know anything about what was happening at the time,” Chris defended.

 

“That tips the odds in your favor a little bit more, but it’ll still be very difficult to survive,” Sydnie said.

 

“Then how do we make sure the demons aren’t successful the third time?” Lance asked.

 

“The demons underestimated you and your friendship last time, which is probably the only reason he lived. But they’re not going to again,” Sydnie said.

 

“Can’t you just put some protection spells on JC’s necklace like last time?” Chris asked.

 

“Yes, but again there’s no guarantee that it’ll even work. Since the devil has existed for so long, it’s gotten stronger over the years and I’m not confident that any spells I give you can hold up against it,” Sydnie cautioned.

 

“Can you please just do it anyway?” Justin pleaded.

 

The psychic sighed but nodded. “Of course.”

 

“Is there any way that we can protect ourselves?” Joey asked. “We’ve had some bad luck when it comes to demons.”

 

“I have some special herbs that you can use to purify weapons, which will send them back to hell. I’ll go get the stuff now.”

 

Once Sydnie was gone Lance turned to JC and said, “OK, Jace. Time to take off the necklace.”

 

“No,” JC said, shaking his head.

 

“JC, she’s trying to help us. Take off the damn thing so she can put some protection spells on it,” Lance demanded.

 

“No,” JC repeated but firmer this time.

 

“What the hell’s your problem? Why are you so adamant against being protected?” Lance yelled.

 

“Because he doesn’t want to live,” Chris said, giving JC a knowing look.

 

JC’s face contorted in anger and abruptly stood up. “You know what? You’re right. I don’t want to live.”

 

“JC!” Justin objected, rising to his feet also.

 

“I don’t want to live knowing that you guys are going to die,” JC continued as if he hadn’t heard Justin.

 

“We’re not gonna die,” Joey objected gently.

 

“You don’t know that,” JC protested. “Mandy died because the demons were after me and they’ll do the same to you.”

 

“We’re going to have special weapons,” Justin pointed out.

 

JC rolled his eyes. “Which is going to do you a lot of good against the devil.”

 

“Stop being so stubborn and just take off the damn necklace already. I know you don’t want to die, so just let Sydnie give you some protection,” Lance said.

 

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Chris muttered.

 

JC’s eyes narrowed and he let out an aggravated sigh. “Fine. You want it?” He quickly reached up and untied the knot before he tossed it at Lance. “Take it, but don’t expect me to wear it.”

 

With that said JC stormed out of the house in a huff, letting the screen door slam behind him. He stepped down from the porch onto the grass and felt his sneakers sink an inch in the mud beneath his feet. Slowly he drew in a deep breath and held it for a second before letting it out.

 

JC absentmindedly fingered the collar of his shirt where his Leo necklace usually sat. He felt like he was naked without it. It’d always meant a lot to him, but it meant even more now that he knew his mother had been the one to give it to him. Now it was probably being looked at by Sydnie and encompassed with protective spells.

 

He’d finally given it to the guys when he’d realized that he was protesting too much, considering he’d sworn to them that he was in it to the end and wanted to survive. JC regretted that he hadn’t agreed sooner because he knew that his resistance put Chris on even higher alert that he wasn’t as compliant as he wanted the guys to believe. And as careful as he’d been with trying not to give Chris any opportunity to catch onto what he was doing, JC knew that he couldn’t be as forceful as he’d been in the future.

 

But that didn’t mean that he didn’t stick by what he’d said. It wasn’t fair that he got protective spells while the guys were pretty much defenseless. On the small chance that it did work, JC would rather go in vulnerable with the others than have an advantage over them.

 

Not that they were going to find out if it worked or not because JC was serious when he said that he wasn’t going to wear it. He knew now that the guys finally found solid proof of what they were up against and how to stop it that they were going to be in full preparation mode for ending it. But there was no way that he was going to let them make it to the cabin, especially without any protection.

 

“JC?” a voice asked from behind him and gently tapped a hand against his shoulder.

 

JC sighed and turned around to face Justin. He’d wondered how long it would be before one of them came out to talk to him. “What, J?” he asked, wearily.

 

“You weren’t serious back there, were you? You’re not going to refuse to wear your necklace?” Justin asked with pleading eyes.

 

“Why should I? You guys aren’t going to be protected,” JC said.

 

“We’re working on that,” Justin replied. “We’re not going to go after the devil and its demons unprepared.”

 

JC just nodded, but internally he was thinking that no they weren’t going to go after the devil unprepared because he wasn’t going to let them. And he knew what he had to do now. He’d have to go to the cabin on his own and give himself up. Clearly he’d have to sneak out because the guys wouldn’t let him go if they knew, but he could deal with that.

 

“C’mon, C. Please say you’ll wear the necklace and let us try to protect you for a change,” Justin begged after nearly a minute passed of them listening to the wind rustle the leaves of the nearby trees.

 

“All right,” JC sighed after pausing for a few seconds.

 

Justin’s eyes widened. “You mean it?”

 

“Yeah.” JC nodded. “I’ll wear it.”

 It hurt to lie to Justin like that, especially when Justin was looking at him with such trust. But JC knew this was something he had to do. Justin may be upset when he found out, but it was better than the alternative. JC refused to sit back and watch his friends die, so it was a weight off his shoulders to know that there was finally an end in sight.

Joey sighed as he pulled a chair out and sat down across from JC at the kitchen table. They’d just gotten back nearly fifteen minutes ago and decided to get to work purifying some weapons with the herbs that Sydnie had given them. Apparently it was a lengthy process, so they figured the sooner they got started on it the better. He glanced at the other end of the table where Justin and Chris were pulling smaller plastic bags out of a brown paper sack and setting them around the table.

 

There was movement out of the corner of his eye and Joey turned to see JC moving his Leo pendant back and forth across the thick black cord. Ever since he’d put it back on at Sydnie’s he’d been playing with it. Joey wondered if it felt different now that it had protection spells on it, but he quickly dismissed that thought. JC was probably just messing with it more because it brought to the forefront of his mind something that he never thought about.

 

“So what are we going to use as weapons?” Justin asked as he opened a bag and brought it up to his nose to smell it only to recoil in disgust.

 

“I figured we’d use knives,” Lance said, pulling his cutlery set out of a drawer and setting it in the middle of the table.

 

Joey leaned forward and reached out to pick up a particularly large knife. He held it up and looked at it as he slowly turned it with his right hand. “This is pretty nice.”

 

JC glanced up and immediately flinched before pulling away from the table. “God, Joey. Get that out of my face,” JC muttered, glaring.

 

“Someone’s moody,” Joey said, but acquiesced and set the knife back in its case. He hadn’t meant to freak JC out like that, especially knowing how he felt about sharp objects. But normally JC wouldn’t get such an attitude about it.

 

Joey wasn’t too surprised by JC’s behavior though because he’d been kind of miserable ever since he’d come back into Sydnie’s house with Justin. He didn’t say much, but he didn’t put up a fight about the necklace again when Chris had handed it to him either. JC just put it on without a word, so Joey knew that whatever Justin had said to him must’ve had some kind of impact.

 

They’d left shortly after that with a bag full of different herbs and instructions on how to purify the weapons. Joey ended up driving because Lance wasn’t ready to drive three hours again so soon. He’d driven nearly fifteen minutes before the silence became unnerving, and he turned on the radio to serve as a distraction. When they’d made it about halfway he’d exited so they could grab dinner, especially since they’d skipped lunch because of their impromptu trip.

 

He and Chris had tried to lighten the mood by making jokes about the hick town they’d ended up stopping in. Justin and Lance ended up smiling and joining in on the conversation about some of the weirdest places they’ve ever been to, but JC had just sat there quietly eating his food. When they were nearly finished Justin had asked JC if he’d taken his medicine at all, and JC admitted that he hadn’t and that he’d just have to skip it. But Joey had to resist the urge to laugh at the disgruntled expression on JC’s face when Lance pulled the bottle of pills out of his jacket pocket.

 

“So we have to peel all of these…things?” Justin asked as he reached his good hand into one of the small plastic bags, pulling Joey out of his thoughts about JC.

 

“That’s what the directions say,” Lance said, glancing down at the sheet of paper from where he was sitting on Joey’s right.

 

Justin groaned. “This is going to take forever.”

 

“Only for you gimpy,” Chris teased.

 

“Yeah, but that also means that I have to do less than you,” Justin replied, smirking as he saw Chris sober at that.

 

There were no further objections as they all pulled a bag of herbs closer to them and began to work on peeling the waxy green shells off the seeds. Except for JC who just sat back in his chair and watched them. Joey knew why JC wasn’t helping, but he still wished that JC would pull himself out of the funk he was in and pitch in.

 

A few minutes later JC muttered, “This is ridiculous.”

 

“What?” Lance asked, tilting his head. Joey figured he must not have heard JC. Though, he couldn’t see how because Lance was sitting just as close as he was. But then Joey realized he’d probably just been too focused on what he was doing to have heard.

 

“This is ridiculous,” JC said, raising his voice. “I mean, purification herbs? You really think if you douse some knives in them it’ll be able to kill the demons?”

 

“That’s what Sydnie said,” Lance replied.

 

“Well, then, hell. Why don’t we just soak ourselves in it? That way we can kill the demons with our bare hands.” JC cut his hand through the air as if to demonstrate. “It’d be like a karate movie.”

 

JC abruptly picked up the bag that Joey had been working out of and examined it. Before Lance could say anything he continued, “And what the hell is this exactly? I don’t know about you, but I don’t think oregano’s going to save you from anything. Except maybe bland spaghetti sauce.”

 

Joey couldn’t help but laugh at that and Justin quickly joined him. He knew he shouldn’t be laughing because JC wasn’t making a joke. But it was hard not to. Chris had even cracked a smile. The only one who wasn’t amused in the slightest was Lance.

 

“If all you’re gonna do is ridicule it, then just leave,” Lance said, glaring at JC annoyed.

 

“Fine.” JC rose from the table, letting the chair screech a few inches across the linoleum. “I need some air anyway.”

 

As soon as the sliding glass door closed behind JC, Chris said, “You see that attitude? This is what I’ve been trying to tell you guys.” The smile that’d been on his face was replaced with a scowl.

 

“He’s just frustrated,” Joey said.

 

“Why? It’s not like he’s been doing anything to help,” Chris replied.

 

Joey sighed. “He wants to protect us, which isn’t anything new.”

 

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t give him the right to be an asshole about it,” Chris said.

 

“He doesn’t mean to be,” Justin spoke up, sitting on Chris’s right. “Joey’s right. He’s just worried about us and wants to make sure that we’re protected.”

 

Chris shook his head. “Look, I know that he’s got you guys all twisted around to believe that he’s in this. But after what just happened and the fight at the psychic’s…how can you still believe that he’s in it?”

 

“But those were different than the other fights that we’ve had with him,” Lance objected.

 

“How?” Chris demanded.

 

“He’s arguing with us about how we’re gonna stop the demons, not why. It’s a good sign that he’s getting frustrated because that just proves that he doesn’t want to die,” Lance explained.

 

“And he doesn’t want us to go in without knowing that we’ll all come out alive,” Justin added.

 

Chris’s eyes narrowed slightly. “But how can you be sure? He could just be telling you what you want to hear.”

 

“He talked to me in the car,” Lance said.

 

“Uh…dude, we were in the car and he didn’t say anything.” Joey caught the exasperated look Lance was sending him and nodded in understanding. “You meant through your connection.”

 

Lance nodded. “I asked him if he was OK and he actually answered me instead of ignoring me or blocking me. He’s actually letting me back in.” He paused briefly. “That makes me believe that he’s coming around.”

 

Chris didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t even if he wanted to because the back door slid open and JC walked in from where he’d been standing out on the patio. Right away Joey noticed that JC looked a little more relaxed and less tense than he’d been all day. He still wasn’t in a good mood, but it was definitely an improvement. Getting some air had done him some good.

 

JC looked at each of them briefly before he lowered his eyes to the floor and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “I’m sorry for yelling,” he mumbled grudgingly. There was a slight pause and he looked up at them, eyes locking with Justin before settling between Lance and Chris. “I’m just really nervous. We’re taking a big risk by doing this and I want everything to go perfectly.”

 

“We know that you’re just being your normal annoying self,” Chris said dryly, but there was a teasing smile that belied his words.

 

A few seconds passed before JC asked hesitantly, “What can I do to help?”

 

“Pull up a chair and grab a bag,” Lance instructed. JC just nodded and moved forward to sit in the chair that he’d vacated minutes earlier. He reached out to the middle of the table and pulled a bag of herbs closer to him before he began to peel each individual one.

 

There wasn’t much to say to carry them through the next six hours. Occasionally they would talk about stupid stuff like the types of things they wanted to do for their next album. Joey had been slightly surprised to learn that JC had been working on some stuff by himself. For the longest time JC hadn’t seemed interested in music since he didn’t even think he’d survive the demons. It’d felt kind of odd to talk shop while they were doing something so bizarre, but Joey figured that’s why it’d been brought up; they needed something normal to take their mind off it.

 

Chris reached across the table to grab a few out of Justin’s bag. He wasn’t as close to being done as the rest of them since his cast slowed him down. But as Chris retracted his arm, it bumped into his can of Pepsi, causing it to fall over and the contents to dump right into Justin’s lap.

 

“Chris!” Justin complained loudly, jumping up and righting the can while glaring at his oldest friend.

 

Chris feigned innocence. “What’s the matter, Justy? Did you have an accident?”

“Not funny,” Justin growled as Joey and Chris laughed. He sighed and looked down at the large wet spot. “I think you ruined my favorite jeans.”

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “Don’t be such a diva. You have like twenty others just like it.”

 

Justin glared at him one last time before he turned and headed for the stairs, mumbling under his breath about assholes as he went. As Joey took his eyes off Justin’s retreating form, his attention was drawn to JC who asked, “Headache?”

 

At first Joey thought he was talking to him, but quickly realized that he was looking at the head of the table where Chris was sitting. He turned his head to the right and frowned as he watched Chris massage his forehead with his left hand. That couldn’t be good, and clearly JC agreed if his concerned tone was any indicator.

 

“Yeah, but it’s no big deal,” Chris said, dismissing it with the wave of his hand as he pulled it away from his head.

 

JC sighed in exasperation before he pushed himself away from the table and started down the hall. Just as he stood up Chris cried out and clutched his head as he leaned forward in his seat. It lasted for a few seconds before Chris’s features relaxed, signaling that the brief period of intense pain had passed. Joey opened his mouth to ask if he was all right when there was a loud thud above them.

 

Without another thought the three of them simultaneously shot to their feet and hustled for the stairs, taking them two at a time. JC was already almost at the top of the stairs since he’d left the kitchen sooner. Joey followed Lance into Justin’s room and sighed heavily as he spotted Justin out cold on the floor.

 

“Help me get him into bed, huh Joe?” Lance gestured to Justin as he bent down. Joey stepped forward and picked Justin’s upper body off the floor the same time as Lance lifted his legs. Gently they picked him off the floor and placed him onto his bed. They’d no sooner let go of him when he suddenly began to thrash about wildly.

 

“What the hell’s going on?” Chris asked, frowning.

 

Lance shook his head as he leaned over Justin and rested a hand on his leg. “I don’t know.”

 

Joey was just as concerned as the others were, but at the same time he knew that he had to try to get Justin to calm down. If nothing more than the simple fact that it would freak him out less. So he sat down next to Justin with his right leg hanging off the edge of the bed and began to run a hand soothingly through Justin’s curls while his right held down Justin’s right arm. They couldn’t have him freak out so much that he fell out of bed and hit his head or worse.

 

“It’s OK, J,” Joey whispered as he lowered his head so his mouth was next to Justin’s ear. Chris came on the other side of the bed to hold down Justin’s other flailing arm while Joey continued running a hand through Justin’s hair and whispering assurances to him, hoping that somehow Justin could hear him or at least feel more at peace. Lance gently squeezed his leg gently to aid in comforting him. After a minute, Justin finally calmed and fell still.

 

“What the hell was that?” Chris asked, sitting on the other side of Justin towards the end of the bed.

 

“It seemed like he was having a nightmare,” Lance said.

 

“Yeah, but he wasn’t. It was a vision,” Joey replied.

 

“I know, but that was a lot like the nightmare he had two weeks ago,” Lance said.

 

Joey stared at Lance in disbelief. “That was only two weeks ago?”

 

So much had happened in the past two weeks that it felt like it’d been a lot longer. But for how much time had passed, Joey could still remember getting the call from Chris telling him that something was wrong with Justin and that he should come over. Though, in comparison to what was going on now, Justin having a nightmare was nothing. And that was before they even knew that the demons were after JC or that Justin’s nightmares would turn into visions. Everything had seemed so normal then.

 

Chris’s eyes swiveled to JC who was leaning against the wall over by the window. “You got an opinion on this?”

 

Joey’s attention was drawn to him as JC pushed himself away from the wall and moved to stand at the foot of Justin’s bed. In the midst of trying to calm Justin down, he hadn’t really noticed that JC wasn’t helping. But Joey figured that he didn’t want to crowd Justin, especially since the three of them were taking care of him.

 

“His nightmares were pretty intense, so it only makes sense for his visions to be too,” JC said after a moment of silence.

 

“That’s just not natural though. I mean, he was completely out. He shouldn’t have been able to move like that,” Lance said.

 

Joey nodded. “It almost looked like he was having a seizure.”

 

“He wasn’t,” JC assured.

 

“But what if he was? Or if it happens again? We could just think he’s having a vision, but it’s actually something serious,” Lance said. “I mean, how do we tell the difference?”

 

“Well, who even says that he’s going to have these visions after we get rid of the demons?” Chris asked.

 

“His visions aren’t caused by the demons,” Lance said.

 

Chris frowned. “How do you know?”

 

“Because the demons can’t hurt JC and he was injured in the car accident,” Joey explained.

 

JC just nodded slowly. “I’m not surprised. The demons wanted to know where the visions came from. So why would they ask if they already knew?”

 

“That still doesn’t solve our problem about telling the difference between visions and medical problems,” Lance pointed out. “What if he faints because he’s sick and we don’t do anything about it because we think it’s a vision? What if he needs a doctor? How will we be able to tell the difference?”

 

“Chris’s headaches,” JC said simply. “If Justin passes out when Chris doesn’t have a headache, then we know it’s not a vision.”

 

Joey nodded and returned his attention to Justin. He’d almost forgotten that Chris’s headaches were connected with Justin’s visions, even though Chris’s head had started to hurt just before Justin’s vision a little less than a week ago. Lance had made some good points, but they couldn’t really take that into consideration just yet. There was so much more that they had to worry about and Joey had a feeling that it was only to get worse once Justin woke up.

 

Nearly a half an hour passed with the entire room encased in anxiousness and worry that seemed to radiate off everyone as they waited for Justin to wake up. It was certainly disconcerting that Justin was still out because in almost fifteen minutes an hour would’ve passed since they found him on his bedroom floor. Not to mention they had to worry about what exactly it was that Justin had seen to make him lash out like he had.

 

As if he knew that Joey was thinking about him, Justin elicited a soft groan as he started to come to. There was a collective sigh of relief as his eyelashes fluttered before opening to reveal blue. Justin’s eyes quickly glanced around the room before they widened and he abruptly flew into a sitting position.

 

“Oh my God!” he exclaimed.

 

“Whoa! Take it easy,” Chris said, gently pushing against Justin’s chest to get him to lie down again.

 

“Oh my God,” Justin repeated, but he let Chris push him back down.

 

“It’s all right, J,” Lance soothed as he leaned forward in the desk chair that he’d claimed while they were waiting to rest a comforting hand on his leg. “Can you tell us about what you saw?”

 

Justin swallowed roughly so that his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I…we…I think we were at the cabin.” There was a slight pause. “The demons were there.”

 

Joey looked up as JC came forward and knelt down next to Justin’s bed, reaching out to grip his right hand with his own. Justin took a deep breath and squeezed JC’s hand. It was times like these when Joey was able to see the strength that JC often gave to all of them, especially Justin.

 

“They…they broke…our bones. It just kept going on and on. They didn’t stop. And the…the screaming…it was horrible,” Justin explained brokenly, tears streaming down his face. He sniffled, but didn’t dare let go of JC’s hand to wipe them away with the hand that wasn’t covered in a hard cast.

 

“And they didn’t stop. At least not…not until they…broke…our necks,” Justin hiccupped as he tried to hold back a sob.

 

“Shh…” Joey began to run his hand through Justin’s hair like he’d done earlier. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” he suggested after a few seconds.

 

“No…” Justin moaned.

 

“You’re exhausted, J. Get some sleep,” Chris said.

 

“But—”

 

Chris shook his head. “Nothing’s going to happen. We’re not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, all right?”

 

Justin’s eyes sought out JC’s and JC nodded his confirmation. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

 

Justin seemed satisfied with that and his red tinged eyes began to close as Joey continued to stroke his curls. The four of them quietly watched as his breathing evened out, signaling that he’d relaxed and fallen asleep. JC gently slipped his hand out of Justin’s and straightened to grab the covers at the end of the bed, motioning for Chris to stand for a second to allow him to pull them over Justin. Once Justin was tucked in, JC turned his attention to the rest of them.

 

“You know you can’t go, right?”

 

“Neither can you,” Chris pointed out.

 

JC shook his head. “Justin sees his visions from my point of view, remember? He saw you guys die. Not me.”

 

“But he didn’t say that you lived either,” Lance said.

 

“If I died, then how would he have seen you guys die?” JC challenged.

 

“It could’ve happened after us,” Chris said.

 

“That’s not really the point, guys,” Joey spoke up, trying to steer the conversation in a better direction. He didn’t really like where it was headed. It was really morbid to talk about death, especially in such a cavalier way.

 

JC sighed. “You guys still aren’t going.”

 

“You have no right to tell us what to do,” Chris said.

 

“I have no right?” JC repeated with barely concealed anger.

 

“Well, you didn’t exactly include us in your decision to off yourself to the demon, did you?” Chris retorted.

 

“Chris!” Lance reprimanded. “We’re not going to fight about this.”

 

“Like you have any room to talk. You pick fights with him about the stupidest stuff. I think I’m entitled,” Chris said.

 

Joey glared at them. “Guys, knock it off. We have enough to deal with without you adding unnecessary drama.” He took a deep breath. “Now what if we tried to stop it from happening somehow?”

 

“You can’t stop it from happening,” JC said, knowingly. “Every single one of Justin’s visions has come true.”

 

“Well, we just won’t go to the cabin,” Lance replied. “If we don’t go to the cabin, then it can’t come true.”

 

“We always say that. We swore we’d stay out of the basement, out of the garage, and that we wouldn’t get in the car. But something always happens that gets us in those situations,” JC insisted.

 

“Yeah, but it’s not happening around here for once. The cabin’s like what? Two hours away? There’s no reason for us to go there on accident,” Joey said.

 

JC shook his head. “That’s not going to work.”

 

“How do you know?” Chris asked. “As long as you don’t go sneaking off to the cabin, then we shouldn’t have a problem staying away.”

 

“You’re not listening to me. It doesn’t matter what precautions we take because it’ll happen anyway.” JC paused. “And why can’t I go?”

 

Chris stared at him incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”

 

“There’s no point in all of us dying. And I’m not even saying that I will die. I can take those weapons and I’ll have my necklace…”

 

Chris scoffed. “Like you’d actually fight against the devil. You’ve been so adamant about giving up.”

 

“That was before,” JC said.

 

“You’re not going,” Lance replied.

 

“But if I don’t go then this’ll never end,” JC protested. “We can’t stay away forever.”

 

“Then we’ll go as a group and beat it together.” Lance looked JC in the eye and said firmly, “You’re not going by yourself.”

 

JC sighed and lowered his head defeated. “I just don’t know what else to do. We need a plan that’ll work.”

 

“What if we do nothing?” Joey asked after a second.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”

“Yeah, you know. We stay away from the cabin and just go on with our lives,” Joey said.

 

“So you’re saying you want demons to come after you the rest of your life?” JC asked with a sour expression on his face.

 

“Well, no, but no one would die,” Joey said.

 

“You don’t know that. The demons could actually be successful in killing one of you. What then?”

 

Joey let out an aggravated sigh. “I don’t know.”

 

“We should wait,” Lance suggested.

 

“Wait?” Chris repeated. “What good’s that gonna do?”

 

“Well, all of Justin’s visions have happened within twenty-four hours, so if we just give it a day then we should be OK,” Lance explained.

 

“What if the time’s gotten longer and it’s more than a day?” Joey asked.

 

“Then we’ll wait like three days,” Lance said.

 

“And what if Justin has another vision? It could be a never ending cycle,” JC pointed out.

 

“Well, waiting for at least a few days will give us a chance to come up with a flawless plan,” Lance said.

 

“All right,” JC sighed. “But if Justin has another vision…I’m going. Because there’s no way I’m going to let something else happen.”

 

Joey saw JC’s firm face and knew that he meant what he said. He just prayed that Justin didn’t have another vision. But even if he did, they wouldn’t let JC go. That was for damn sure. They weren’t putting all this effort into saving his life just to lose him in the end.

 

 

 

  

Chris walked up the stairs after JC and Lance. It was going on five o’clock in the morning and they had just finished purifying the weapons with the weird milky liquid they’d gotten once they boiled the seeds of the herbs into the water. After they’d decided that they’d stay away from the cabin for a couple days to wait out the vision, they’d left to finish the purification since they were so close to finishing. Except for Joey. He’d stayed with Justin because it’d gone unspoken that he shouldn’t be left alone.

 

Once Chris turned the corner he saw JC go into his room. He glanced down the hall and saw Lance just reaching Justin’s door. More than likely he was going to check on Justin and talk to Joey before he went to bed. Chris stopped just before JC’s door for a moment as he considered talking to him.

 

It was late and they were all exhausted, but so much had happened earlier that day. And JC had been miserable all day. Not to mention now that Justin’d had another vision he was probably going to obsess over it like he usually did and end up not sleeping again. He might even be planning to leave despite the fact that he agreed not to just a couple of hours ago in Justin’s room.

 

Without another thought Chris stepped forward and entered JC’s room, closing the door softly behind him. He paused and watched as JC, already dressed for bed, turned down his bedcovers. “Are you OK?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” JC said quietly, glancing over his shoulder at Chris as he moved one of the pillows to the trunk. The action was a usual bedtime activity for JC because he only liked to sleep with one pillow despite its size or how it was stuffed.

 

“You know we’re not going to let you go, right?” Chris asked, walking further into the room.

 

“I know,” JC said, nodding slightly as he sat down on his bed. “Hell, I want you guys to stop me.”

 

Chris raised an eyebrow in his direction, taking a few steps closer to JC. He hadn’t expected JC to say something like that.

 

“What do you mean?” he asked.

 

JC sighed. “I don’t want to sacrifice myself, Chris. But if you guys don’t stop me, I know that I’ll do it anyway.” 

 

Chris frowned. “Why?”

 

Instead of answering, JC said, “You know how long I’d been planning to summon the demon before I did it?” JC didn’t wait for Chris to answer as he continued, “I’d been thinking about it ever since you guys found out. Ever since you started researching.” 

 

Chris was surprised to hear that he’d been planning it for so long. Thinking about it he knew that it had to have required some planning beforehand because it wasn’t something that could be done spontaneously. But he’d never suspected that it’d been on his mind for days before he actually tried to summon the demon.

 

“But I didn’t do it until after Joey ‘cause I was scared. I didn’t want to die, but I knew that it was the right thing to do,” JC confessed. 

 

“Dying is never the right thing to do, Jace,” Chris told him firmly. “Never.” 

 

“Yes, it is. And I knew that it would be better for all of us if I ended it myself.” JC glanced down at the floor where some residual chalk had been left behind. He had a faraway look as if he were remembering before he snapped himself out of it and brought his eyes up to meet Chris’s. “But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t relieved when Joey stopped me.” 

 

Chris shook his head. “You’re not fooling me, man. If you didn’t want to do it, you wouldn’t have done it. You don’t try to commit suicide unless you want to die.”

 

“I don’t want to die!” JC cried, his voice rising in volume. But it wasn’t in anger like Chris had expected. It was full of anguish.

 

JC put his head in his hands. Chris was momentarily stunned. He’d figured that JC would get all pissed off with what he’d said instead of getting upset. Finally he shook himself out of his stupor and walked over to sit next to JC, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders.

 

“I don’t understand,” Chris said softly, trying to be gentle because it wasn’t often that JC got upset like this. “If you don’t want to die, then why have you been acting like you don’t care? Why do you want to give up?”

 

JC dropped his hands and drew in a shaky breath. “I just…I don’t see myself making it out of this.”

 

“Why? We’re closer now than ever to finding a way out for all of us,” Chris said.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” JC said, slowly shaking his head. “Justin’s visions always happen exactly the way he sees them.”

 

“Not this time,” Chris told him with conviction. “We’re going to stay away from there and figure out a way to end this for good without anyone dying.”

 

“I’d rather it be me,” JC said, staring down at his hands as if he hadn’t heard Chris.

 

Chris sighed in frustration. The last time he had seen JC like this had been nearly two weeks ago. He had tried to talk him out of the crazy notion he had that the demons were after them. It was one time Chris really wished he hadn’t been wrong. But, just like last time, he knew to tread carefully when JC was this emotional.

 

“I don’t want you guys to die,” JC added a few seconds later.

 

“We don’t want to die either. But we definitely don’t want you to die for us,” Chris said.

 

JC turned his head. His watery eyes met Chris’s. “How would you feel knowing everything that’s happened is your fault?”

 

“It’s not your fault,” Chris said, preventing the urge to roll his eyes. It was annoying to have to repeatedly tell JC the same things over and over again. “If you want someone to blame then blame your mother.”

 

“I can’t blame her,” JC replied, averting his eyes back to his lap.

 

“Why not? She’s the one who made that deal and started all this crap.”

 

“She was young,” JC defended weakly.

 

Chris shook his head. “Don’t hand me that. She was twenty-one. More than capable of making good decisions. I mean, hell, you were probably more mature at seventeen than she was when she made that damn deal.”

 

“She’s my mom,” JC said.

 

“No, she’s not. Karen’s your mother. She loves you and has taken care of you. Alison may have given birth to you, but she’s not your mother,” Chris insisted.

 

“Stop it,” JC requested quietly, but it wasn’t one that Chris was going to heed. At least not until he got it through JC’s head that he wasn’t to blame for what’d happened and that all of the blame lied with Alison.

 

“She wasn’t a mother. A mother would never put her child in danger, which is exactly what she did when she had you—”

 

“You’re saying I shouldn’t even be alive?” JC interrupted, still not looking at him. But Chris saw a tear fall.

 

“No. God no,” Chris assured quickly. “I’m just saying that it’s her fault you have this devil and its demons after you. And then she took you to the cabin…I mean, you heard Sydnie. It was risky, but she didn’t care.”

 

“Just stop it,” JC pleaded desperately as another tear fell.

 

“She got what she deserved, but you…You never deserved any of this.” Chris paused. “You need to realize that you did nothing wrong. She’s the one who started this, so she’s the one to blame.”

 

There was silence for a minute as Chris allowed JC to take that in. JC sniffled before he said, “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s going to end with me.”

 

“But ending it doesn’t mean you have to die,” Chris pointed out.

 

“If I don’t, you guys will,” JC said. “And I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened.”

 

“And you think we would?” Chris asked. “We’d be a wreck.”

 

“You’d have each other.”

 

“But we wouldn’t have you,” Chris stressed. “Justin would be devastated. He needs you.”

 

“He’d have you guys,” JC said quietly before he sniffled loudly.

 

“We wouldn’t be able to comfort him. We’d be falling apart right along with him.”

 

“Maybe at first. But after time, things’ll get better,” JC said as more tears ran down his cheeks with some splashing onto his cotton clad legs.

 

Chris stared at him. “Do you really have that low an opinion of yourself? You think you’re not important to us?” When JC didn’t say anything he continued, “Well, I got news for you. We’re always going to need you. You can’t expect us to just move on with our lives and act like we don’t care because we do.”

 

“I can’t do this anymore,” JC said brokenly. “I can’t sit back and watch you guys get hurt.”

 

Chris squeezed him tighter. “You don’t have to. We’re ready to kick some demon ass.”

 

JC raised a shaky hand to try to wipe his tears away, but there were too many. “I’m just tired. I’m tired of being afraid and not being able to sleep.” He raised his head to look at Chris and couldn’t squelch the tremor in his voice as he whispered, “I just want it to be over.”

 

Chris pulled JC closer so that his head was resting on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around his shaking friend’s back. The action must’ve severed the small amount of control JC had over his emotions because he let out a gut wrenching sob and cried even harder.

 

“It’s all right,” Chris whispered soothingly into his ear. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you or the rest of the guys. I promise.”

 

JC didn’t say anything, but continued to cry and cling to Chris. In response, Chris just held him even tighter, providing JC the strength and comfort that he offered to any of them when they needed it. It broke his heart to see JC like this.

 

Any doubts that he still had about JC wanting to survive were gone. The words of the guys from earlier that evening came back to him and he realized they were right. JC didn’t want to die, but he didn’t exactly know what to do about it either.

 

Chris felt horrible for suspecting JC of lying to them and being up to something. Everything he’d done over the past month was understandable after hearing about how much all of it bothered JC. He was going to make a point of being more sympathetic now that he knew the truth.

 

JC slackened against him and Chris realized that he must’ve cried himself to sleep. Gently he pulled away from his younger friend and lied him down on the bed. He pulled the covers over him and hesitated for a moment as he saw how vulnerable JC looked. Without another thought he lied down next to him and rested his left hand on top of JC’s right to show that he was there for him. As Chris’s eyes slid closed, he swore to himself that he’d protect JC no matter what.

Justin walked out of Orlando Regional Medical Center with JC on his left. He’d woken up earlier that morning to find out that he had a doctor’s appointment to get his stitches taken out, and he felt elated at the idea. His stitches had been driving him crazy the past couple of days, so he was glad that JC had followed through with making an appointment like he’d said he would yesterday.

 

JC had volunteered to drive and there had been no objections from Lance who had been the only other one up at the time since they’d had such a late night. Justin had suggested they take his car and JC hadn’t disagreed. When they’d arrived at the hospital they had gotten in to see the doctor almost immediately. The doctor had quickly examined Justin’s stitches to make sure that it would be OK to take them out and once he was satisfied he’d grabbed a nurse to help remove them.

 

The whole process didn’t take more than a half hour and once he’d finished the doctor said that Justin was free to go. But Justin had stopped him to ask when he could get his cast off. The doctor had chuckled good-naturedly and said that it wouldn’t come off for at least another week. That news made Justin frown because he couldn’t stand having his cast on anymore. It was becoming more and more itchy everyday. Not to mention it was a pain trying to do things one-handed, like when he was trying to peel the shells off the herbs last night.

 

Part of Justin felt bad that he hadn’t been able to help the guys finish the purification since they all looked pretty tired, but he hadn’t had a choice in the matter. He had no control over when his visions happened. Though, he often wished he did. Or at least had the ability to stop them from happening.

 

Lance and JC had assured him that they weren’t going to go anywhere near the cabin for a couple of days at least, and that they’d use that time to get a more solid plan. That made Justin feel a little better, but he couldn’t help feeling at least a little nervous because every one of his visions so far had happened exactly like he saw it. And he was afraid that it was going to happen again.

 

And what was even more unsettling was the fact that he’d seen his vision before. The first time he’d seen the demons kill them was a couple of weeks ago when he’d had that nightmare. Justin wasn’t sure what to make of that and whether or not it could’ve been an early vision, even though he was pretty sure it wasn’t. It just felt weird that his vision was the exact same thing that he saw in that violent nightmare.

 

No detail was out of place. Just like before, he stood frozen and was forced to watch the demons break every one of his friends’ bones. The screaming and the way everything around him fell quiet once the demons snapped their necks. It was just as violent and just as graphic. Almost to the point where it made Justin sick.

 

He wanted to talk to JC about what he’d realized because he knew that JC would understand. But at the same time Justin didn’t want to make a big deal about it by just bringing it up. However, if the opportunity presented itself, then he wouldn’t hesitate to bring it up.

 

Two loud beeps brought Justin out of his thoughts and he looked around. They were in the middle of the parking lot behind the hospital, walking towards his Mercedes that had just flashed its lights in response to JC hitting the button that turned the car alarm off. Justin realized that he must’ve been blindly following JC as he’d been occupied by his thoughts.

 

JC glanced over at his shoulder and Justin offered him a smile. He knew that JC probably recognized that he’d been lost in his thoughts, especially since he kind of unconsciously slowed, forcing JC to lead. But Justin knew that JC wouldn’t say anything to him because he probably figured that if he wanted to talk then he’d say something.

 

Justin pulled open the door and slid into the passenger seat once JC unlocked the car with the press of a button. He clicked his seatbelt into place as JC turned the key and the engine roared to life. As JC backed out of the parking space, Justin grabbed his CD case and flipped through until he found an old mixed CD. After ejecting the Coldplay CD, he put in the mix and sat back in his seat.

 

They’d been driving down the main road through Orlando with Justin’s mix playing in the background for nearly five minutes when JC glanced at him and asked, “You want to go back to my place?” There was a slight pause before JC added, “I have some songs I wanted to work on.”

 

“Sure,” Justin agreed readily, smiling.

 

Last night when they’d talked about the next album, it’d been nice to hear that JC had been working on some new material. But it was even better hearing JC say that he wanted to work on it because that meant that he’d gotten just as excited as Justin. JC was finally looking ahead, and that was a great feeling.

 

“We can even work on some of our stuff if you want,” JC said.

 

“Definitely,” Justin replied, nodding. His knee began to bounce in excitement. It’d been a long time since he and JC sat down to work on stuff together. They’d gotten some great ideas and it’d be fun to expand them. But then his face fell in sudden realization and he said quietly, “Oh.”

 

JC took his eyes off the road to look at him. “What?”

 

“We don’t have any of our stuff with us,” Justin said. He’d just remembered that all of the notebooks they’d been writing ideas in were back at Lance’s.

 

“Actually,” JC began, “I brought them with me.”

 

Justin frowned at him in confusion. “If you wanted to do this, why didn’t you just ask me sooner?”

 

JC returned his attention to the road and shrugged. “I’m asking you now.” He paused. “But if you don’t want to—”

“I do,” Justin interrupted, offering him a smile.

 

“OK,” JC said, giving him a small smile in return.

 

The rest of the drive was relaxed as they turned up the music and sang along to almost every song they heard. Ten minutes later JC turned into his driveway before he parked the car and grabbed a pile of notebooks off the backseat. They got out and crossed the short distance to the front door. JC unlocked it and let Justin in, pausing only briefly to turn the alarm off before he led the way to his private studio that was set up in his basement.

 

As Justin slowly descended the stairs, he couldn’t help but look around. He hadn’t been in JC’s house in months. Straight ahead was the mixer with the soundproof recording booth directly behind it. Through the glass Justin could see a guitar propped up against the wall and a baby grand piano sitting just below a microphone that hung from the ceiling.

 

On either side of the room was a book shelf, but holding books wasn’t its purpose. It held stacks of notebooks and rows of jewel cases that Justin knew were used for recording songs and laying down instrumentals. And there were large speakers nailed to the wall around the room for a surround sound effect. The last time he’d been in here it was messier, but Justin figured that JC must’ve tidied up the place before he left for tour since he hated leaving his house a mess.

 

JC sat down in the swivel chair that was placed in front of the mixing board while Justin sat down across from him on the couch that was pushed up against the wall. The couch was a really soft leather that Justin just seemed to sink into. He knew that was probably the reason JC had picked that couch because he needed something comfy to sit on since he spent so much time there. And on a few occasions Justin had actually found him asleep on that couch.

 

“Here.” JC threw a couple of notebooks and they landed in Justin’s lap. “We should probably pick one that we want to start with.”

 

Justin smiled at him and nodded. He grabbed the notebook that was on top while placing the other one on the couch next to him. Immediately he opened it and began to flip through pages looking for a good song to start off with.

 

A half an hour later found them with JC sitting on the couch next to Justin, their heads bent as they focused on the song they’d picked. They’d gone through a couple of notebooks looking for any that had a good start and the potential to expand on it. Eventually they’d pulled out a couple that they wanted to work on before the day was over, but settled on one to start off with.

 

“How about we move this verse up?” JC suggested as he drew an arrow from about the middle of the paper towards the top.

 

Justin nodded and grabbed the pencil out of JC’s hand. “Then we could have the chorus repeat before hitting the bridge.”

 

JC’s eyes moved down the page and he began to hum a melody. Justin tapped the pencil against the paper in time with it. When they reached the end of the song he looked over at JC and said, “I think that’s perfect. It has kind of a down beat, but then picks up in the chorus.”

 

“It’s a good start I guess,” JC said, shrugging. “Needs some work though.”

 

“It has some rough edges, but we’ll smooth them out later,” Justin replied, smiling. He loved working with JC and watching him work because he just got so into it. Everything had to be perfect or else he would obsess over whatever it was that was bothering him until it was fixed. It was always so rewarding to work with someone who felt as passionately about music as he did.

 

“I’ve got a song I’ve been working on and I want to run it by you.” JC looked up at Justin. “Is that cool?”

 

“Yeah, lay it on me,” Justin said.

 

JC nodded and got up to mess with the mixing board to prepare for the song. Justin watched as he grabbed an empty jewel case with a blank CD and popped it into the drive in the mixing board. He was curious to see what JC had come up with because normally he always shared his songs with Justin to get an honest opinion. The last time he hadn’t was when they’d first gotten back from the cabin. Justin could clearly remember when he’d found the songs that JC had written about what’d happened that summer.

 “JC?” Justin called out as he opened the basement door. He’d rung the doorbell, but there’d been no answer. So he’d just let himself in with the key he had, figuring that JC was busy in the studio, lost in his music and hadn’t heard it. But there was no answer. 

When Justin reached the bottom of the stairs he knew why. It was empty. They’d planned on meeting to work on some songs for the new album and had split up from Jive. But it looked like Justin had beaten JC there. 

That didn’t bother him though. He’d just hang out until JC got there and they could get to work. Justin took a seat in front of the mixing board and began to fiddle with some of the controls. It was then that he’d stumbled upon some tracks that had been recently modified. A quick look at the CD drive with the blinking light signaled that there was indeed a CD in. He figured JC must’ve accidentally left it in the last time he was there. 

Justin glanced over his shoulder to see if JC had arrived yet. He had a pretty good idea what he’d hear if he hit play because JC had been busy writing songs ever since they’d gotten back from the cabin nearly three weeks ago. But he’d yet to share them with anyone. Justin knew that he’d be in a lot of trouble if JC caught him, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to know what JC had been writing. So without another thought he pressed play. 

Immediately he was surrounded by JC’s voice with the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar. Justin was in awe at what he heard. This was amazing. He couldn’t believe that JC had been holding out on them. 

The fourth track on the CD just began to play when all of a sudden it stopped. Justin looked up and nearly jumped at the sight of JC. He couldn’t believe that he’d been so wrapped up in what he was listening to that he hadn’t heard JC come down. One look at JC’s sour expression and stiff body language told Justin that he was pissed. 

“You done snooping through my stuff?” JC asked, his arms crossed over his chest. “

I didn’t mean to. You weren’t here and I just—” 

“Thought you could go through my stuff,” JC finished for him. 

Justin shook his head furiously. “No. I just thought I’d mess around a little, you know? While I waited for you to show up. And then I found a CD you left in the board.” “

You had no right, Justin. If I wanted you to listen to that, I wouldn’t have kept it from you,” JC said, glaring at him. 

“You’re right, C. I screwed up,” Justin said. “But these songs are amazing. You’ve got to put these on the album.” 

JC hit a button that ejected the CD. “No.” 

“Why not?” Justin asked, frowning. 

“Because I don’t want them on there,” JC said. 

“JC, quit being so stubborn. These songs are the types of things we should be singing about. Not girlfriends and breakups. And we’ll finally get the respect we deserve,” Justin replied. 

“We’re already respected.” 

“Then we’ll be even more respected,” Justin insisted. “C’mon, C.” 

“No, Justin,” JC said firmly. “Now just leave it alone.” 

But he didn’t. Justin had continuously pushed JC to put those songs on the album and looking back now he regretted it. He was a horrible person for trying to force JC to put such personal songs out there for the public, especially to further their career. After everything that JC had gone through, Justin should’ve been more sympathetic about it.

 

“Are you ready?” JC asked, pulling Justin out of his thoughts.

 

“As long as you are,” Justin said, getting off the couch to sit in the chair that JC had vacated, so he would have easy access to the mixing board.

 

JC walked into the booth, closing the door behind him. He walked over to the piano and sat down on the sleek black bench. When JC nodded at him, Justin pressed the button and the red light bulb above the door to the booth glowed red, signaling that they were recording. Justin watched as JC’s hands moved gracefully across the ivory keys creating opening notes that were slow and beautiful in an almost haunting way before he started singing and his voice surrounded him.

Staring out, depressed about
What words I have to plead
So torn apart

Shattered by impressions of
Confessions in defeat
My broken heart 

Justin immediately recognized that this was going to be a song about what they’ve been going through. The first line had been a dead giveaway because JC had been battling with feelings of depression ever since he’d found out that the demons were after them because of him. He always knew that what had been going on affected JC a great deal, but he was sure that by the end of the song he’d have a greater understanding. Even though at the moment he wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the fact that JC was still feeling so depressed and what it meant for the future.

 

Photographs, the ghost of what we had
Come undone
Where did it all go wrong?

Justin leaned forward slightly in his chair as he watched JC belt out the notes, his voice almost breaking with the raw emotion that it held as his features tightened and his fingers continued to press down on the keys. His eyes were closed as he completely lost himself in the music. That was something that Justin always marveled over. JC was such a reserved person and didn’t like to talk to them about his feelings, but he let all of that go when he sang.

 

Singing was the one time when JC was completely vulnerable and poured his heart out, which was probably why a lot of the emotional songs didn’t make it onto their albums. Justin couldn’t help but wonder what JC’s intention was with this song. If it would be one of the few that went on the album or if it was just one that only he and the others would hear. Briefly he thought about bringing it up to JC when he was done, but dismissed it. If JC wanted others to hear it, then he’d say something.

 

Exhausted of apologies
In search of something comforting
But the days go by and
Things get better 

 

As Justin watched JC’s hands glide across the keys even though his eyes remained closed and only opened every few lines or so, he couldn’t help but think that JC was an amazing songwriter. It was something that he’d always known, especially from working so close with him. But when he heard songs like this Justin just had to take a step back and admire how JC managed to put all of his feelings into a song no matter what the subject matter and at the same time have it be so general that anyone could relate to it.

 

Justin stared transfixed as JC continued singing, oblivious to anything around him. Nearly two minutes later, the last note of the song faded and JC opened his sapphire eyes, meeting Justin’s own azure ones. They were watery with unshed tears that JC wiped away with the back of his hand. But Justin didn’t say anything because he’d been able to hear to the emotion in the song and knew that everything that’d happened as of late had been really hard on him.

 

Justin stopped recording and immediately flipped the switch that would allow JC to hear him and said, “That was beautiful, Jace. You really outdid yourself.”

 

JC smiled softly before he changed the subject, “You want to take a break? Get a drink or something?”

 

“Sure,” Justin agreed, shrugging before flipping the switch off. As he watched JC gather some music sheets and his notebook, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about that song.

 

After listening to the whole thing, he was left feeling kind of confused. There was still a huge part of him that believed the song was about everything that JC had been feeling about the whole situation with the demons. But at the same time it felt like there were other pain ridden moments from his life that’d been thrown in because at some parts of the song it almost sounded like he was singing about the terrible heartbreak of a girl leaving him.

 

One thing was for sure; JC had to have been very down when he wrote this song because it just radiated loneliness and helplessness. Though, the song repeatedly said that days would go by and things would get better, which showed hope. It was almost as though he felt like he was drowning in what was happening, but there was a realization that things would get better. Justin was sure that was a true reflection of what JC had been feeling, which made him feel at ease knowing that JC understood things would get better once the demons were gone.

 

The door to the booth opened and JC walked out with his papers in his right hand. Justin suddenly remembered something and asked, “Hey, what’s it called?”

 

JC deposited the stack of papers on top of one of the shelves by the door, his back to Justin. “Dear Goodbye,” he said.

 

Justin’s heart momentarily stopped. Had he been wrong about JC being hopeful and looking towards the future? It sounded like it. JC thought that he was still going to die, despite the fact that they’d been working ‘round the clock to take measures to prevent that. And this was his way of saying goodbye.

 

Immediately Justin shook himself as his mind desperately searched for what the song title really meant. Maybe JC wasn’t saying goodbye to them, but to how things had been lately now that they were so close to ending everything with the demons. Or maybe he was saying goodbye to the person that he used to be because changing was a hard thing to avoid with everything that they’d gone through. Either way it showed that he was ready to move on from this part of his life and really start living again without the constant worry and fear.

 

The song was about saying goodbye to everything that’d happened. That had to be it. JC would never give up. Not when it meant leaving them behind.

 

A soft creak alerted Justin that JC was walking up the stairs, so he pushed away his thoughts about the title and followed. Justin reached the top, coming into the kitchen as JC walked over to the fridge.

 

“Water all right?” JC asked, glancing at Justin over the fridge’s open door. “I haven’t been home in a while, so I don’t have much.”

 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Justin said as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. His eyes wandered around the room. JC’s kitchen was very clean and the afternoon sunlight seemed to make the white appliances glaringly bright.

 

JC walked over to him and handed him a bottle of water, while keeping one for himself before he casually leaned back against the island that had an empty wire basket sitting in the middle. Justin figured that was where JC probably kept his fruit because that was something he liked to snack on. But the basket hadn’t been refilled since he hadn’t exactly been home to do any food shopping.

 

They sat in companionable silence as they drank their water. Justin usually liked moments like this because it was comfortable and neither of them felt like they had to say anything unless they wanted to. And he did.  He wanted to talk to JC about his nightmares and now seemed like as good as time as any.

 

Sure, he would’ve preferred if JC had brought up last night himself so that Justin could just tack on what he wanted to say. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen. If he wanted to talk about his vision, then he was going to have to be the one to initiate the conversation.

 

Now all he had to do was figure out the best way to bring it up. The last thing Justin wanted to do was freak JC out by just blurting it out. But he wasn’t exactly sure how to lead into it with something else. That’s why part of him had been hoping that JC would say something about it.

 

But after a minute or two of agonizing over what to say, Justin decided to just go for it. “I’ve been thinking,” Justin started slowly, looking up at JC from peeling the label off his water bottle, “about my visions.”

 

“What about them, J?” JC asked, leaving his water on the island as he came closer and sat down at the head of the table.

 

Justin took a deep breath. He knew that it was now or never. This was his chance to talk to JC, who was willing to listen to him. That was one thing he could always count on and it made him feel a little better about bringing it up.

 

“I think they might’ve started sooner than the one I had about Lance,” Justin said.

 

JC frowned. “Why would you think that?”

 

“Because this last vision…it’s exactly what my last nightmare was. I mean, every little detail matched.” Justin paused. “It just got me thinking…what if that was an early vision?”

 

“I don’t know about that, Justin…”

 

“Well, couldn’t it have been some kind of warning then?” Justin leaned forward in his chair, his water bottle forgotten. “I mean, it would make sense, right? Why else did I get the exact same nightmares you had been having?

 

“It’s almost like somehow your nightmares transferred to me and then they morphed into these visions. It’s really kind of freaky, you know?”

 

JC looked down at his hands as he traced the grooves in the top of the table. Justin frowned as he could practically hear the wheels turning in JC’s head. He knew that JC was probably going to blame himself for Justin having these visions, especially now that they were pretty sure they had to have stemmed from the nightmares that JC somehow passed onto Justin. And that wasn’t what Justin had wanted by telling him.

 

“I don’t want you to think this is your fault, all right? Because it’s not, Jace. I mean it. I was just throwing it out there to see what you—” Justin broke off mid word as he looked over at JC and saw that he looked like he was a million miles away. “JC?”

 

“Sorry,” JC said after his eyes focused on Justin. “Lance wants us to come back.”

 

“Oh,” Justin said. If Lance was talking to JC through their connection, then it made sense why JC had zoned out there for a minute. He glanced at the analog clock that hung on the wall above the phone and noticed that they’d been gone nearly three hours. No wonder Lance contacted JC. They probably didn’t know anything about JC’s plan to stop at his house for a while.

 

They rose from the table and threw away their empty water bottles before they wandered back down into the basement to gather their things. Justin grabbed the various notebooks that had ended up scattered around the room, while JC ejected the CD that his song had been recorded on. Once they were sure they had everything, JC led the way back up the stairs.

 

Justin took one last look to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything before he climbed the stairs after him, feeling better than he had in a long time. They’d talked about his visions and even though JC hadn’t said much, it made him feel better to get it off his chest. But what was even better was that they’d gotten to work on some music together and it’d been JC that had suggested it. The future was looking brighter than it had in a long time.

 

 

  

Joey sighed as he watched Justin navigate his way through yet another demon related website. They’d been at this for a little over an hour now and Joey already wanted to take a break. He couldn’t believe that JC and Lance had managed to find anything out through the Internet because there were some crazy people out there, which made it a lot harder to find some factual information.

 

One quick look at Justin told Joey that he wasn’t the only one who was growing frustrated. But he would gladly take frustration over the fear and vulnerability that he’d seen on Justin’s face last night. Though, he understood why when he’d heard about how graphic the vision had been.

 

Joey had spent the night with Justin because of how upset he’d been, while the others had left to finish the purification ritual. Part of him had felt bad that he hadn’t been able to help, but he knew that he couldn’t leave Justin when he’d been so terrified. He’d watched Justin sleep for nearly two hours before Lance had come to check in.

 

He’d asked how Justin was and Joey had told him that Justin hadn’t awoken or even stirred since they’d left. Lance had suggested that they both get some sleep, but Joey hadn’t wanted to leave Justin alone. Eventually Lance had persuaded him that if Justin hadn’t been sleeping restlessly then he’d be fine, and that even if he wasn’t they’d be a few doors down. Joey still hadn’t wanted to agree, but he’d been nodding off throughout his watch over Justin and he’d felt exhausted.

 

As a result, he’d slept until almost noon. That’d been when he found out that JC had taken Justin to the doctor’s to get his stitches out, and after lunch they’d decided to get a jump on trying to fix the flaws that still existed in their plan. They’d been at it until Justin and JC had returned and they’d taken a break for dinner. And that’d been nearly two hours ago.

 

“Check this out,” Justin said, nudging him in the side and gesturing to the screen in front of them, effectively pulling him out of his thoughts. Joey leaned forward and saw that Justin had stumbled onto a quiz that would determine what kind of demon someone was.

 

Joey chuckled softly and shook his head. “People are crazy.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Justin click on the quiz and then another link that took him a main page with what looked like hundreds of quizzes to choose from.

 

“What are you doing?” Joey hissed, glancing up at the other three to see if they’d noticed they weren’t researching anymore.

 

 Lance had momentarily abandoned his laptop and was crouched down next to Chris and JC who were sharing Chris’s since Joey and Justin were using JC’s. The three of them were talking quietly as Chris pointed at the computer screen. It looked like maybe they’d found something, which would explain why Lance had gone over to them. But Joey couldn’t remember hearing JC or Chris say something. He rationalized though that they’d probably just motioned for him to come over when they’d caught his attention.

 

“I’m bored,” Justin said, simply, bring Joey’s focus back to him. “I just need a quick break.” He paused briefly. “I’ll let you do the first one.”

 

“All right,” Joey agreed reluctantly. He knew they should still be researching, but a small break might do them good. Besides, they might be able to get away with one or two since the guys were still talking amongst themselves.

 

Justin clicked on one and Joey smacked him in the arm, shaking his head. “No way, dude.”

 

But Justin chose not to listen and clicked on it anyway. He gestured to the computer screen that had five questions listed that would determine what type of fairy he was. Joey sighed, but pushed Justin’s hand off the touchpad so he could answer the questions. It was a stupid quiz, but exactly what he needed at that moment.

 

Joey hit the continue button and as they waited for the page to load, he looked up at the guys again and noticed that Lance had gone back to his chair. Apparently what JC and Chris had found ended up not being solid for one reason or another. But then the page loaded, and he and Justin had to hold back a snicker when they saw the result.

 

There was a huge picture of a blue fairy that was apparently the wish fairy. Beneath that was a sentence that described how hopeful and positive he was, which wasn’t far from the truth. But the picture was what it made so funny.

 

As Justin looked for another quiz to take Lance’s phone rang. Joey watched as he sighed and pulled it out of his pocket to answer it. Without a word Lance rose from the chair with one hand holding the cell phone to his left ear while his right balanced his laptop. Once he was gone Joey returned his attention to Justin and saw that he’d found a quiz.

 

He watched as Justin began to fill out the questions. One asked him to select a few adjectives that described himself. Justin immediately selected ‘fun’ and ‘intelligent.’ Joey unselected the latter and Justin glared at him.

 

“I’m smart,” he protested quietly.

 

Joey smirked at him. “Keep dreaming, kid.”

 

Justin’s glare intensified, but he otherwise ignored Joey, forcing his hand away from the touchpad and reselecting it. The next question asked to pick at most three hobbies. Justin immediately clicked on ‘singing/playing an instrument’, ‘listening to music’, but then he hesitated.

 

“Well, I don’t know what ‘haning out with friends’ is,” Justin mumbled to himself before he clicked on ‘sports.’

 

Joey thought he’d misheard Justin, but he looked closer and sure enough the person who created the quiz had bad grammar. Though, the real problem came when Justin reached the last question, which really wasn’t a question at all because while it asked if he would leave the person a message, yes was the only answer.

 

“But I don’t want to leave you a stupid message,” Justin whispered harshly.

 

Joey rolled his eyes. “Real nice, J.”

 

Joey glanced up to see if they’d grabbed Chris or JC’s attention, but JC’s eyes squinted at the screen as he frowned. Chris was still reading over his shoulder and reached out an arm, probably to scroll, causing JC to sigh and shoot Chris an annoyed look.

 

“I wonder what would happen if I didn’t answer it,” Justin mused to himself before he tried it only to let out an outraged cry when a page appeared, saying that there was a question that hadn’t been answered.

 

“Just let it go, J,” Joey said, laughing as he did.

 

“But I want to know who I am in the group!” Justin whined, clicking back to the page and refilling in all of his answers to get his result.

 

“What’s going on?” Chris asked, looking up from his laptop where he was sitting across the room on the loveseat with JC.

 

“Justin found this quiz site and nearly had a coronary when they wouldn’t let him skip a question,” Joey said.

 

“I won’t have a great day you bitch!” Justin exploded before he turned to Joey. “Maybe I should leave her a message telling her how crappy her quiz is.”

 

Joey sighed and pulled the laptop away from Justin. “I think that’s enough quizzes for you.”

 

“I want to do one,” Chris said, handing his laptop to JC before he came over and knelt next to Joey on the floor.

 

They found a quiz for him to do and Justin leaned over Joey to select the answers for Chris. The first question was to describe himself by selecting a list of adjectives and Justin immediately started picking some for Chris, who agreed with most of them except for the last one.

 

“I’m more smart and intellectual than angry and hot tempered,” Chris argued.

 

Justin scoffed. “Whatever. You have the worst temper out of anyone here.”

 

“No, I don’t,” Chris denied, but Justin ignored him as he started selecting answers for the next question. “Hey! I don’t yell at other people all the time!”

 

“Unless their name’s JC,” Justin countered. Joey looked up to see what JC’s reaction was to that and was surprised to find that he was smiling. It was nice to see JC smiling again even if he wasn’t participating in the fun.

 

“So what’s my result?” Chris asked, squinting at the screen. Joey figured he couldn’t really see it because Justin had turned it at an odd angle so that the light from the lamp that sat on the end table caused a glare.

 

Joey scanned it and said, “Apparently you have a lot of anger that you need to let out. Their advice for you is to go scream in a pillow and punch it around.”

 

“Well, I am angry after reading that,” Chris said. “I’m nothing like that.”

 

“That’s not what the quiz says,” Justin pointed out.

 

“Only because you guys tipped it that way, saying that I like to yell at people and I have a bad temper,” Chris replied.

 

“That’s because you do!”

 

“Oh yeah?” Chris raised an eyebrow as he grabbed a pillow off the couch and began to whack Justin in the shoulder with it repeatedly.

 

Laughter echoed through the room as Justin held up his right arm to defend himself and tried to ward off Chris. “Stop it!” he tried to command, but he was laughing too hard.

 

“What the hell are you guys doing?” a steely voice asked from the doorway, immediately stilling their actions. Joey raised his eyes up to see Lance standing there with his arms crossed, looking very pissed.

 

“We were…uh…just taking a little break,” Joey said.

 

“Well, break’s over,” Lance replied, coldly. “I thought you guys would take this seriously considering that our lives depend on it, but I guess that’s just too hard for you.”

 

“We are taking this seriously,” Chris said, tossing the pillow back onto the couch and rising to his feet.

 

Lance glared at him. “It sure doesn’t look like it from where I’m standing.”

 

“Then maybe you need to take a few steps back and pull that stick out of your ass,” Chris replied.

 

“Guys! That’s enough!” Joey interrupted before a major fight could break out. He looked at Lance. “We’re going to go back to researching, all right? But don’t think that just because we take a little break that it means we care any less than you do.”

 

Lance sighed and nodded before he said grudgingly, “I’m sorry.”

 

A tense silence fell over the room as Lance and Chris retook their seats. Joey glanced at Justin and noticed that he’d closed the quiz site and gone back to the original search results they’d been sifting through. Then his gaze traveled across the room to JC who was no longer smiling, but had a frown etched on his face as he looked at Lance out of the corner of his eye. It was obvious that JC was upset that Lance had come in yelling at them, especially when they’d been having some much needed fun. Because Joey had a feeling that it probably wouldn’t be something that they’d see again for a long time.

 

 

  

JC sighed softly, tucking his hands behind his head as he lied in bed. It wasn’t late. Only going on ten thirty, but the house was quiet. They’d researched for a few more hours up until nearly an hour ago. Chris had made a crack about how they must be getting old, going to bed before ten o’clock. But everyone was exhausted. The night before had been quite an ordeal.

 

Justin’s visions always unsettled him, but particularly the one from last night. He’d made the connection back to the nightmare that Justin’d had, but he hadn’t wanted to say anything because it’s not like it would’ve changed anything. It wasn’t something that the guys needed to know. But Justin had made the connection too.

 

While JC hadn’t wanted Justin to make the connection, he wasn’t surprised that he had. Justin always seemed to think about his visions, especially after one happened. After all, he’d been the one to point out that all of them had been from JC’s perspective. But JC had purposely avoided talking to Justin about anything that’d happened the night before with his vision because he didn’t want to encourage Justin always coming to him.

 

Though, last night had been the proof that he’d needed that the guys would take care of Justin. He’d purposely stood back and let the others get Justin into bed, calming him down when he’d started to thrash about. JC wasn’t worried about leaving Justin because he knew that the others would help him.

 

JC glanced at the clock and sighed again. Only a couple minutes had passed since he last looked. He was waiting for the right moment when he knew all the guys would be sleeping, so he could sneak out. The cabin was only a couple hours away, so JC knew that all of this demon stuff they’d been dealing would definitely be over before sunrise.

 

He’d wanted to leave last night, but he hadn’t been able to because Chris had fallen asleep with him. JC had been kind of surprised that he’d cried himself to sleep. That wasn’t something that he’d planned. All of his emotions that he’d been repressing just seemed to bubble to the surface. Everything that he’d told Chris was true, but he knew that’s not how Chris would see it once he found out that he’d left.

 

The guys were going to flip when they found out what he did, but JC knew he was doing the right thing. Even though he felt guilty for knowing that he’d be the cause of their pain. But he’d already made peace with what he was going to do because it was the right thing to do.

 

He’d said goodbye to the others even if they weren’t aware of it. This time made him feel more at peace about it all because when he’d been prepared to end it by summoning the demon he’d been upset that his last few moments with them had been spent fighting.

 

But not this time. JC had been so happy that he and Justin had been able to spend a few hours doing what they loved. He couldn’t have asked for anything better. And then watching the exchange between Justin, Joey, and Chris as they took quizzes. It’d been so nice to see them goofing around because it’d been a while since he’d seen any of them really laugh and enjoy themselves. The only downer had been that Lance had come in and yelled at them for having fun instead of joining in like JC would’ve liked.

 

But then he wouldn’t be Lance if he had because out of the five of them, Lance and JC were the ones to hang back, watching them joke around instead of joining in on the fun. At least right away and today had been no exception. Despite the yelling JC had enjoyed the time that he’d spent with them. It was definitely a better goodbye than last time. That was for sure.

 

JC looked at the clock again and noticed that five minutes had elapsed. Without another thought, he pushed himself to a sitting position before swinging his legs down to the wood floor. He was pretty sure that the guys should be sleeping by now, but even they weren’t, he was prepared. Sweatpants were pulled over his jeans and he was wearing a simple t-shirt, so it wouldn’t look like he was leaving. That’d been the problem with the last time he’d tried to sneak out to get his supplies from Wal-Mart because Lance had called him on wearing jeans.

 

Raising his hands to the back of his neck, JC undid the knot of the cord of his Leo necklace. The weight on his chest lightened as he pulled it away from his body and set it on the top of the dresser. He knew that he couldn’t go to the cabin with the necklace on just in case the protection spells on it would work.

 

JC walked out into the hall and made a right. He wanted to check on his friends one last time. The first room he reached was Justin’s and he was sleeping soundly. As JC lingered in the doorway for a few seconds watching his youngest friend and seeing the innocence that still existed after all these years, he could feel his eyes start to tear up. That was when he knew he had to get out of the house before he backed out of leaving, or started sobbing in the middle of the hallway and woke everyone up.

 

Turning around, JC made his way down the opposite side of the hall to check on Joey and Chris. A quick peek in both of their rooms found that they were sleeping with the occasional snore like he’d expected. But it didn’t ease the ache in his heart as he knew that this would be the very last time he’d be seeing them.

 

As JC approached Lance’s room, he wasn’t quite as sure that Lance would be sleeping because he was a light sleeper. But as he poked his head in, he had to hold back a sigh of relief as he saw that Lance had his back facing the door and deep even breaths could be heard, signaling that he was asleep. Though, JC knew that he wasn’t home free yet.

 

He slowly and quietly walked down the stairs, or as quietly as he could since the stairs creaked. Wincing, JC forced himself to try to walk softer and try to find a spot to step on that wouldn’t creak. Once he made it to the bottom he let out a sigh of relief before he grabbed his shoes that were still sitting next to the front door from when he and Justin had gotten back nearly eight hours earlier.

 

JC quickly slipped on his shoes and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. He knew that he’d be able to sneak out easier if he used the back door since the front door made noise because of how heavy it was. Very slowly and cautiously as to not make any unnecessary noise, he flipped the lock off the sliding glass door.

 

His right hand slid the door open just enough for his skinny body to fit through. JC sidestepped out onto the patio. He paused for a second to look up at the house one last time before he carefully closed the door behind him.

Lance awoke with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. He blinked rapidly as he tried to clear the sleep out of his eyes. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the pitch blackness of the bedroom, but when they did he realized that nothing looked out of place. So he hadn’t been woken from something falling.

 

But then what had? Lance let his head fall back against the headboard and tried to remember if he’d been having a nightmare. Nothing came to mind, but that didn’t put him at ease. An uneasy feeling had settled in his stomach in the few minutes he’d been awake, and it left him disconcerted.

 

He cocked his head to the side as he listened to the stillness of the house, trying to determine if something was wrong. There wasn’t anything that alerted him to danger that could be lurking somewhere in the house, but that did nothing to alleviate the pit in his stomach.

 

Without another thought, Lance eased himself out of bed and onto the plush carpet below. The silence of the house was comforting instead of suffocating like it would be if there was danger, so he wasn’t sure why he was feeling unsettled. But one thing he did know was that he had to check on the guys because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep anytime soon.

 

Lance walked down the hall and peeked into the first room on the left. It was dark, but he could make out Chris sleeping on his stomach with his arm hooked around his pillow. Satisfied that he was fine, Lance continued his trek down the hall to Joey’s room.

 

Quietly, he pushed the partially open door further into the room and had to stifle a chuckle at the sight of his friend. Joey was sprawled across the twin bed with the comforter twisted around his legs, and the room was filled with his light snoring. That was normal for him, and Lance was glad to see that Justin’s vision hadn’t freaked him out enough to keep him awake.

 

He didn’t bother returning the door to its original position as he crossed the hall to check on Justin. When Lance poked his head into Justin’s room and saw that Justin was sleeping just as soundly as Chris and Joey were, he was left feeling silly that he’d considered something had happened. Except that the pit in his stomach hadn’t disappeared. And it wasn’t until he got to JC’s room that he understood why.

 

The door was open, which was odd but not alarming. But the empty bed was. Lance felt his heart leap into his throat, but he swallowed roughly and forced himself to take a deep breath. Just because JC wasn’t sleeping in his bed didn’t mean that something had happened; he’d been having trouble sleeping lately.

 

With that thought in mind, Lance pivoted on his right foot and hurried out of the bedroom for the stairs. His bare feet barely touched the cold linoleum of the foyer before he quickly glanced to his right into the dining room even though he was sure JC wouldn’t be in there. And the dark room with the faint glow from the streetlamp outside proved him right.

 

Lance swiftly crossed over to the office and flipped the light switch. Disappointment clouded his features because he’d figured that if JC hadn’t been able to sleep, that he would’ve gone there. But that feeling was quickly replaced with fear and worry as he spun out of the doorway, walking towards the living room and kitchen.

 

“JC!” Lance called within feet of the kitchen. Again there was no sign of his older friend as he turned the light on. His eyes briefly landed on the basement door before he yanked the door open and called down the stairs, despite the fact that he was pretty sure JC wasn’t down there.

 

“Where the hell are you?” Lance yelled as he slammed the basement door. A couple of strides led him into the living room, which was as void of JC as the rest of the house. As a last resort, Lance tried to utilize their connection to reach JC only to be blocked. That just made him worry even more. It was unnerving not knowing where he was.

 

Glancing to the left, Lance noticed that the back door was unlocked. The suspicion that JC had snuck out was confirmed when he walked to the front door and momentarily stepped outside to find that his car was missing. Lance sighed heavily as he felt the knot that’d been in his stomach since he’d woken up tighten as realization set in. JC was gone. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, there was no denying it.

 

“What’s going on?” a groggy voice asked just as he reentered the house and closed the door.

 

Lance turned so fast that he almost stumbled from the sudden movement. He saw Joey was standing there, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Chris was behind him, leaning against the wall by the closet with his arms crossed as he yawned loudly. All of the yelling must’ve woken them up.

 

“JC’s gone,” Lance said grimly.

 

Joey abruptly stopped rubbing his left eye to frown at him. “What?”

 

“He’s gone,” Lance repeated, agitated. He took a few steps away from Joey and Chris towards his office before he froze in the doorway, tugging on his blonde spikes as he tried to get his scattered mind to focus.

 

There was no doubt in his mind where JC had gone. They should’ve been keeping an eye on him, but there was no time to dwell on that now. Lance knew that time was of the essence if they wanted to find JC before something happened. So he turned around to retrieve his shoes out of the hall closet.

 

As Lance slipped on his sneakers, Joey asked, “Where are you going?”

 

“Where the hell do you think I’m going?” Lance snapped as he stood up, glaring at Joey. He took a step forward and grabbed a pair of keys off the small table that was pressed against the opposite wall. The Tar Heels keychain told him they were Justin’s.

 

“Where’s Justin?” Lance didn’t even bother to wait for a response before he leaned over the railing and yelled up the stairs. “Justin!”

 

“Lance,” Joey began, but Lance ignored him as he swiftly moved toward the kitchen.

 

Lance could hear soft footsteps behind him and knew that Joey and Chris were following him. He could even hear Joey saying something. But he wasn’t paying them any mind. His attention was focused on trying to get everything together that they could possibly need for when they caught up to JC.

 

Grabbing the knives that had been purified the night before, Lance set them on the table as he suddenly remembered that they’d probably need flashlights. So that set him in motion towards his office where he kept them in case the power was to go out.

 

“Lance,” Joey tried again as Lance passed him, but Lance continued on down the hall without bothering to respond to Joey. He’d just reached the foyer when a hand caught his shoulder and spun him to face Joey.

 

“Lance!” Joey lifted his other hand so that he was gripping both of Lance’s shoulders. “Slow down for a second, will you? Tell me what’s going on.”

 

“I can’t slow down! JC’s probably already at the cabin by now, ready to sacrifice himself. We can’t waste time,” Lance said, trying to shrug out of Joey’s grasp, but his grip was firm.

 

“You don’t know that’s where he went,” Joey said. “Maybe we went for a drive. You know how he gets.”

 

Lance nodded. “Yeah, I do. And that’s why we need to hit the road. We can’t let anything happen to him.”

 

“Nothing will,” Joey tried to assure him, but Lance could see that he was just as freaked as him. “I mean, he has the necklace.”

 

Lance sighed and looked up, his eyes catching Justin standing halfway down the stairs with a blank expression on his face. Just as Lance was about to ask if he was all right, Justin turned and walked back up the stairs.

 

“We need to see if he’s OK,” Joey said, drawing Lance’s attention back to him. Though, his eyes were still on the spot Justin had been standing just seconds ago.

 

Lance rubbed at his eyes, feeling the stress continuing to build behind them. “Yeah, I know.”

 

Lance wasn’t blind. He’d been able to see how much Justin had thought JC was onboard with the whole thing, so he knew that it must’ve been a blow to Justin to find out that JC had gone against that. Justin had every right to be upset. Hell they all did. But at the same time, Lance knew that they’d have to get a move on, and the sooner they made sure Justin was all right and got in the car, the better.

 

Movement swept passed him and Lance shook himself out of his thoughts as he saw Joey leading the way up the stairs with Chris right behind him. Lance followed them into JC’s room. At first he wasn’t sure why they were going to JC’s room instead of Justin’s, but then he figured Justin had probably wanted to see that JC was gone for himself.

 

“Oh my God,” Joey breathed.

 

Lance stepped further into the room and saw what Joey had seen. Justin was standing next to JC’s dresser with something in his hand. More specifically, JC’s Leo necklace that’d been covered in protective spells. If Lance were honest with himself, it wasn’t that surprising, especially when he thought about how much JC had fought them on it.

 

Just then Lance was startled when Chris suddenly punched the wall just above the desk, throwing the weight of his body behind it. A muttered curse escaped his lips as he retracted his hand, leaving a medium sized dent in the wall in its wake. The action had caught Lance off guard because while Chris was a physical person, he hadn’t said two words since he’d found out about JC up and leaving.

 

“How long has he been gone?” Joey asked, breaking the silence that’d settled over the room.

 

“I don’t know,” Lance said. “I just woke up and saw that he was gone.”

 

Joey glanced around the room before his eyes landed on Lance with determination and a hint of fear in them. “We can still catch him.”

 

Lance just nodded. He was glad that they were finally going to go after JC. But the pit in his stomach grew. There was so much riding on if they found JC before he managed to reach the cabin because if they ended up at the cabin, Lance knew they’d probably run into the demons. And that was something they weren’t prepared for.

 

“All right. Everyone throw on some jeans and meet downstairs in five minutes,” Joey said.

 

Chris immediately left the room, and Lance was about to follow him only to stop in the doorway when he realized that the other two weren’t behind him. Lance glanced over his shoulder to see Joey gently pulling the necklace out of Justin’s hands. Then Joey wrapped him in a bear hug.

 

“It’s all right, J. We’ll get him back,” Joey whispered. He looked up and his eyes connected with Lance’s before he nodded, signaling that he would take care of Justin. Lance backed out of the room to go get ready and grab some flashlights along with the weapons that were sitting on the kitchen table.

 

Ten minutes later the four of them were piled into Justin’s car as Joey backed out of the driveway. Joey had grabbed the keys off of Lance, saying that he’d drive, which had probably been a good idea because Chris thought Lance looked kind of distracted. But Lance was sitting in the passenger seat, most likely to give directions in case Joey wasn’t sure where he was going.

 

A heavy sigh came from his right and Chris turned his head to look at Justin. Joey had managed to snap him out of his daze to get him to change, but Justin seemed to be spacing out again. As Justin anxiously chewed at his thumbnail, Chris could feel his blood start to boil again.

 

JC was going to have hell to pay when they caught up to him. What he did was inexcusable because he knew how close they were to coming up with a plan. And instead of sticking around and waiting until they could go together, he’d snuck out in the middle of the night.

 

But what made it worse was that Chris had suspected that he’d do that. At least until last night, which just pissed him off more. He’d suspected JC was up to something from the minute that Justin had said JC was onboard, but he’d let JC convince him that he wasn’t, only to do exactly what Chris had thought he was going to do. And it all could’ve been avoided if he’d just paid more attention. That was what sent him over the edge.

 

“I’m such an idiot!” Chris exploded, forcefully kicking Joey’s seat. The motion startled Joey and the car jerked slightly as he quickly straightened the wheel so the car wouldn’t veer into another lane.

 

“Chris!” Joey reprimanded.

 

Lance turned his head, looking back at him with a frown on his face. “Why are you an idiot?”

 

“Because I knew he was up to something! And what did I do? Nothing!”

 

“You couldn’t have done anything to stop it,” Lance said.

 

“I could’ve stuck to my guns instead of letting him manipulate us,” Chris replied bitterly.

 

Joey frowned at him through the rearview mirror. “Manipulate? JC didn’t do that.”

 

Chris leaned forward so he could see into the front and narrowed his eyes. “He made us think he was in it. It was never his intention to go along with our plan.”

 

“If that’s true, shouldn’t there have been warning signs? Like not sleeping or something?” Joey asked.

 

“No.” Chris shook his head. “JC knew just the right amount of sleep to get so it wouldn’t tip us off either way. And it was the same thing with food. He ate enough to get us off his back, but not enough that we suspected something was up. Hell, he even made sure he fought with us occasionally because he knew I was watching him and full cooperation would’ve been suspicious.”

 

“He fought with us on purpose?” Joey replied, doubt evident in his voice. “Why would he do that?”

 

“To keep us from being suspicious! It would’ve tipped us off that something was wrong if he’d just gone along with purifying the weapons or putting protection on his necklace right away.”

 

“But he agreed to all of that stuff eventually,” Joey pointed out. Chris growled in frustration. He didn’t understand why they were having such a hard time believing what he was saying.

 

“Because he knew we’d worry and push for answers if he didn’t! He was so meticulous. He knew exactly how we’d react to every little thing he said or did. You can’t tell me that’s not disconcerting and so damn creepy,” Chris said.

 

“But that’s not JC,” Lance protested weakly. Chris could tell that he was finally starting to get through to them.

 

“You’re right,” Chris agreed. “It’s not, but we’re not dealing with JC. At least not the one we used to know.”

 

Lance frowned. “What are you talking about?”

 

“You know what I’m talking about!” Chris exclaimed, growing agitated again. “All of this demon stuff has changed him. He’s become a better liar, better at keeping secrets, and manipulative. Not to mention he freaks over stuff he normally wouldn’t, his temper is worse than it ever was, and he’s so freakin’ obsessive over his privacy, it’s scary.”

 

“That may be true, but what can we do about it? He refuses help every time we try,” Joey said.

 

“Well, first we drag his stupid ass back home. Leaving was the final straw, so he doesn’t get a say in it anymore,” Chris replied.

 

Lance shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe he just took off.”

 

“Why the hell not? He’s been thinking about it for days!” Chris exclaimed.

 

“How do you know he was thinking about it?” Joey asked.

 

Chris rolled his eyes. “This is JC we’re talking about. When wasn’t he thinking about it?”

 

“But if that’s the case, then why didn’t he leave sooner?” Lance asked.

 

“Because he needed answers first, which he got through our research and that psychic chick. So he knew exactly what he had to do to end it. And then Justin had a vision. It was the perfect time for him to leave,” Chris explained.

 

There was a slight pause before Chris shook his head and muttered bitterly, “I should’ve known that sob story was full of shit.”

 

Joey glanced up in the rearview mirror to look at Chris, confusion evident in his expression. “What?”

 

“Last night he cried to me that he didn’t want to die, and I bought right into it. But then he just turns around and takes off to sacrifice himself to the same God damn thing we’ve been trying to protect him from!” Chris yelled.

 

“Chris, calm down,” Lance said.

 

“I will not calm down!” Chris yelled, punctuating each word with a kick to Joey’s seat.

 

“Chris!” Joey shouted as the car swerved again. “Do you mind? I’m trying not to kill us!”

 

“Well, we might die anyway because JC’s a sneaky bastard who can’t wait to sacrifice himself,” Chris muttered.

 

This time it was Lance that reprimanded him. “Chris!”

 

Chris didn’t say anything, but huffed in aggravation as he sat back in his seat. Part of him knew that he shouldn’t have said some of the things that he had, but he couldn’t help it. He’d never felt this angry before, especially because of something one of the guys had done.

 

A tense silence settled in the car. After a minute or two, Joey opened the center console with one hand and reached inside. He started rummaging through it, keeping an eye on the road as he did so.

 

“What are you doing?” Lance asked as Joey pulled out a CD.

 

“I can’t just sit here in silence for two hours. I need something to take my mind off it,” Joey said. He glanced down at the CD in his hand and frowned. “Dear Goodbye?”

 

Justin, who hadn’t said anything since they’d gotten into the car, let out a strangled “no” before he started crying. Chris’s attention immediately whipped to his youngest friend, and he slid along the leather bench of the backseat to sit next to him. He wrapped a comforting arm around Justin’s shoulders.

 

“What’s wrong, J?” Chris asked, softly.

 

“It’s all my fault,” Justin choked out. “I should’ve realized…”

 

Lance frowned. “Realized what?”

 

“JC was…saying…goodbye,” Justin said.

 

Chris looked at Justin confused before he glanced at the CD that Joey was still holding in his hand. “On the CD?” he asked Justin.

 

Justin nodded slowly as tears continued to run down his face. “He…recorded it…when I was with him. I…I knew it was about…what’s happened. But I didn’t…I didn’t think he would…”

 

“Joey, put in the CD,” Chris said. He wanted to hear exactly what Justin had heard.

 

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Joey said.

 

Chris glared at him and firmly demanded, “Put in the damn CD.”

 

There was a heavy sigh from the front before Joey passed the jewel case to Lance who opened it and inserted it into the thin slot. Lance adjusted the volume so that the opening notes of the song could be heard throughout the entire car.

 

Crying, desperate, fighting
Questions scared to let go

I'm weary from the war
I'm losing half my soul 

 

Chris could hear the agony and hopelessness as JC poured his heart out in the song. Hearing the raw emotion made Chris’s heart ache for JC, knowing just how much pain JC had been holding onto ever since this stuff with the demons started. It made him feel sorry for JC and what he was going through because it really did sound like he didn’t want to die.

 

But Chris’s anger immediately resurfaced as he remembered that JC had been the one to inflict that pain on himself. It’d been his decision to take off and sacrifice himself to the one thing that’d been after him for the past twenty years. JC could’ve spared himself the pain of leaving them if he’d just stayed put and waited until they went to the cabin together.

 

Past the point of reasons
I just want you to believe
That it's not your fault 

 

Justin cried harder, sobs wracking his body as Chris tightened his hold on him. Chris couldn’t help but think how selfish JC was for leaving like he did. Out of all of them, Justin had been the one to have the most faith in JC when he’d acted like he was onboard. And JC wasn’t stupid. He had to have known that Justin would be crushed when he found out that JC was gone.

 

But then he’d just done it anyway without any regard for Justin and his feelings. It definitely had to be one of the most selfish things that JC had ever done because he’d always been the one to take care of Justin and yell when Chris and Joey had taken things too far.

 

We're not the type to just give up
But I know that it's what's best for us 

 

How could JC dying be what was best for them? Chris let his eyes fall on Justin who was still crying, and it didn’t seem to have an end in sight. If Justin was this distraught now, Chris hated to think what would happen if JC actually died. But he knew that it wouldn’t be pretty because he could easily see Justin falling into a depression and refusing to leave his house. And he would probably cry all the time.

 

As Chris let his eyes drift to Lance in the passenger seat, he wasn’t even sure if the other guys would be able to support Justin if JC died. Lance was chewing on his fingernails, staring out of the rainy window with a distant expression on his face. Chris knew that Lance would react similar to Justin in that he’d become withdrawn and distant. When something bothered him he always threw himself into his work. And if that happened, Lance would end up being a hermit who rarely left his house, except to go to the office.

 

The car jerked forward as more pressure was applied to the gas pedal, drawing Chris’s attention to Joey. He was clutching the wheel tightly with both hands. Almost to the point where his knuckles were turning white, which was the complete opposite of the relaxed position that Joey normally drove in. It was easy to see the stress that Joey was feeling already, and Chris knew that it would increase tenfold if JC died, forcing Joey to go back to drowning his sorrows in alcohol. Last time he’d nearly become an alcoholic, so Chris had no doubt in his mind that it would actually happen if JC didn’t come out of this alive.

 

And Chris didn’t want to have to be the one to pick up the pieces, but he knew that he’d have to be the rock. However, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be affected by JC’s death. For as pissed as he was with JC at that moment, Chris knew that it would only get worse if JC succeeded in sacrificing himself. He would be bitter and resent JC, despite the fact that JC believed he was the doing the right thing for them. And that wasn’t how Chris would want to remember him.

 

Tuning back to the song, Chris felt some of that bitterness grow as he heard JC sing “the days go by and things get better.” It grated on his nerves to hear it yet again since it’d been repeated numerous times throughout the duration of the song, especially since it just reminded him of the conversation he’d had with JC the night before.

 

Chris had told JC that they would fall apart without him and JC had said, “Maybe at first. But after time, things’ll get better.”

 

And hearing it so many times in the song was such a slap in the face. It made him feel like JC didn’t truly understand how messed up they’d all be with him gone, and that he hadn’t listened to a word Chris had said to reinforce it. Because as far as he was concerned they wouldn’t be better off without JC, despite what he thought.

 

The fading notes sounded through the speakers before the CD began to replay the track. Immediately Lance reached out and turned it off. They certainly didn’t need to hear it again. Chris gently detached himself from Justin to give him some room because he seemed to have calmed slightly. At least compared to his sobbing earlier.

 

“We should’ve talked to him,” Lance said a few seconds later. “I mean really talk to him.”

 

“What difference would it have made?” Chris snapped. “He’s too damn stubborn to listen to us.”

 

“We still should’ve tried,” Lance insisted.

 

“It wouldn’t have worked. Once he gets an idea in his head, there’s no changing his mind,” Chris said.

 

“Are you OK, Just?” Joey asked, interrupting their conversation as he looked in the rearview mirror.

 

Chris turned to look back at Justin and saw that he shrugged his shoulders noncommittally even as tears streamed silently down his cheeks. Scooting closer to him, Chris said, “It’s all right to be upset. JC’s a total asshole for taking off like he did.”

 

“Chris!” Lance admonished before he turned to look at Justin. “I think what Chris is trying to say is that what JC did is horrible and it’s OK to be angry with him.”

 

“He promised me,” Justin said brokenly. He brought his blue eyes up to meet Chris’s brown ones. “He never used to break promises.”

 

Chris slung an arm over Justin’s shoulders. “But remember what I said? This guy we’re chasing isn’t JC. Because you’re right, our JC never breaks promises.”

 

“And we’ll get him back,” Joey added. “You can be sure of that.”

 

“And you can be the first one to kick his ass when we do,” Chris said and smiled slightly when Justin’s lips upturned a fraction as he tried to wipe away his tears.

 

Chris’s heart hurt as he watched Justin try to compose himself. This was already hard on him and they hadn’t even dealt with the demons yet. He watched Justin continue to wipe at his eyes with sleeve of his t-shirt and vowed that he was going to kill JC for putting Justin through this. If he wasn’t dead already.

JC rested his head against the steering wheel and held his breath for a few seconds before slowly releasing it with a heavy sigh, trying to calm the nervous churning in his stomach. It’d started shortly after he left Lance’s house and had steadily grown. And puking in that gas station bathroom hadn’t helped matters much.

 

He had originally stopped after being on the road for about an hour to take off his sweatpants and fill the car up with gas. There had been about a quarter tank left, but he had wanted to be on the safe side. JC had been pumping gas when a channel opened in his mind, alerting him that Lance was trying to contact him. He put up some mental walls to blocks him from accessing his thoughts.

 

It’d been something he’d been expecting, at least on some level, because Lance always seemed to know if something was wrong even before all their connections started appearing. But that didn’t mean blocking him hadn’t been a hard thing to do. Because while JC believed he was doing the right thing by sacrificing himself, he knew he was going to miss them. He wanted nothing more than to forget about all of it and go back.

 

JC’s heart had begun to ache as he’d thought about how Lance must have been going out of his mind with worry as he probably tore the house apart looking for him, waking the guys as he did so. For the first time since he’d left the house, it’d really hit JC exactly what he was doing. Dying was such a permanent thing.

 

It was something that he’d thought about, especially when he’d been ready to summon the demon. But as he’d stood alone under the concrete awning of that gas station, in some small town out in the middle of nowhere, it finally hit him. JC had never felt as alone as he did at that moment, and the thought of dying alone, probably in some unimaginable way, and without the guys was more than he’d been able to bear.

 

Without hesitating for a second, JC had run into the grungy bathroom and fell to his knees in front of the toilet. The image of the guys finding his dead body had made him retch harder, causing his body to tremble from the force of it. About a minute later, he’d managed to settle his stomach enough that he’d felt he could stand without starting another round.

 

JC had taken a couple of minutes to get himself cleaned up and had splashed water on his face before he’d gotten back on the road with the lingering taste of vomit in his mouth. The nausea had been made worse with the nerves that’d steadily increased. It made his foot put more pressure on the gas pedal so he’d ended up at the cabin within forty-five minutes.

 

But now that he was there, JC wished he hadn’t driven so fast because he wouldn’t live much longer. Slowly he lifted his head and stared out into the pitch black woods ahead of him that were broken up only by the cabin that sat in between. It’d rained for the majority of the drive, but it looked like the storm hadn’t hit there yet. Though, if the rumbling thunder was any indication, it was on its way.

 

Knowing that he was just prolonging the inevitable, JC took one last calming breath before he turned off the ignition and opened his door. He felt uneasy once he stepped out of the car and shut the door. Everything that’d happened over the past year was going to end tonight.

 

Thunder reached his ears and made him jump in surprise. It was spooky being back there in the middle of the night without anyone else around. And it didn’t help that nothing had happened yet. JC had thought for sure that the devil would show up as soon as he set foot on the property. But there was nothing. Nothing but JC and the deafening silence that was interrupted by the occasional roar of thunder and clash of lightning.

 

He rationalized that maybe the devil didn’t know he was there yet, or was purposely delaying his death as one last torture before it did the deed. But it didn’t matter either way because it was enough to know that it would be over and the guys would be safe once he was dead. What difference did it make if he died right then or fifteen minutes later?

 

JC started forward, lost in his memories as he remembered the last time he was there. It’d been a happier time that was for sure, especially at the beginning. Lance had brought them there for a two week vacation since everyone was stressing about the new album, and the first week had more than put him at ease. JC hadn’t felt as free as he had that week in months. There had to be something said about poetic justice because it would figure the one place he’d found peace would be where it’d end.

 

As JC walked around back, he couldn’t help but stare at the lake. That was where it had to happen. It chilled him, but, at the same time, washed happy memories over him. The guys had spent a lot of time in it the first week of their vacation.

 

He could almost hear the rambunctious laughter and splashing as they horsed around, dunking each other. A small smile crossed JC’s lips as he remembered Chris paying him that favor one afternoon that he’d joined their antics. But nothing surpassed the memory of Chris chasing Justin to repay the dunk and mouthful of freshwater he’d received.

 

As the wind blew, whipping past JC’s face, it was almost like Justin had just ran passed him like he did that day only pausing for a second to say a quick hello. Chris had still been right on his heels and eventually caught up to him, pouncing on him. The two of them had wrestled on the ground like they’d done many times before on the bus and in hotel rooms only to have rolled right into the lake. Laughter bubbled in JC’s chest as he could picture them sputtering as they resurfaced, eventually sharing in the laughter. But then as quick as it came, it was gone in an instant, leaving him empty and cold.

 

The wind picked up speed, causing JC to shudder. He glanced over his shoulder at the dark cabin before letting his eyes wander the surrounding area. It still didn’t look like anything else had joined him yet. But he walked forward to enter the cabin, knowing that it didn’t make much of a difference if he was inside or not. The devil would find him no matter what.

 

JC turned the doorknob and the door creaked open. It kind of surprised him that it’d been unlocked, but he figured the owners must not be worried about break-ins since it was so desolate up there. As he stepped inside, he closed the door behind him and paused to let his eyes adjust to darkness of the house.

 

Immediately he began fumbling around, looking for a lamp or a light switch. Just then his knee smashed into something hard. JC reached out to touch it and realized that it had to be an end table or something like it because it had a lamp sitting on top. After a couple more seconds of groping, he managed to turn the knob that illuminated the living room with artificial light.

 

His eyes slowly wandered around the room as he remembered watching movies with the guys as they ate popcorn and made a mess. That was when he noticed there was a pillow on the floor, so JC bent down to pick it up and put it back on the couch. He stared down at the pillow in his hand, recalling when he’d used one just like it to whack Chris with when he and Joey had started that pillow fight that’d escalated to tickling Lance.

 

Just like outside, JC could hear the laughter ringing in his ears almost as if Lance were still lying on the floor laughing uncontrollably as he begged Chris to stop. Chris’d had a mischievous look on his face, or at least he had until JC used the pillow to get him to quit tickling Lance. JC was brought out of the memory as the pillow landed against the couch.

 

A sad smile graced his lips. They’d had a lot of fun there just like they always did when they were together. But that was before they’d known that some devil and its demons were after him and torturing the others in the process just to get to him.

 

A heavy sigh left JC’s lips as he wished he and the guys could’ve had more fun like that while they’d had the chance. It was his fault that they hadn’t been able to, especially in the past month. They had done nothing but worry about him and how to get him out the whole situation. But by taking himself out of the picture, it would leave the guys to eventually gain that happiness again. They’d certainly gone too long without it already.

 

Suddenly there was a loud noise that reverberated through the silence of the house, interrupting JC’s thoughts as it did so. He quickly realized it’d come from upstairs, so he abandoned the living room to check it out. As he climbed the stairs, it occurred to him that maybe the devil had finally arrived.

 

JC reached the top of the steps and noticed that all the doors were open except for one. And it just so happened to be the bedroom he’d stayed in. He slowly turned the doorknob and entered to find that it was empty. The devil wasn’t anywhere in sight, and JC wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. Dying scared the hell out of him, but it was worse waiting. He’d almost rather he just got it over with.

 

A gust of wind sent another chill down his spine, making goose bumps appear on his arms. JC frowned in confusion, wondering why he got another chill. That was until he noticed the open window. He rationalized that the storm must be picking up and the wind had blown the door closed, causing the noise he’d heard downstairs.

 

JC moved forward to close the window. As he pushed the pane of glass down, he was assaulted by the memory of Katrina dragging him out of his bed after rousing him from an exhausted sleep and forcing him to jump out the window. He could remember how terrified he’d felt because he’d thought for sure that he was going to die, but he’d lived through it. Thanks to the guys.

 

But there was no saving him this time. There was a good probability that the guys would come for him, but JC was hoping that it’d all be over by then. He wanted to die knowing that they would be OK, and that the demon attacks would stop.

 

A bolt of lightning struck nearby, filling the room with bright light for a second as JC turned from the window. And in that second, he thought he could make out two little boys coloring on the floor in the corner of the room. But as the light faded, so did the image.

 

JC didn’t think much of it as he crossed the room to leave and go back downstairs where it was a little more inviting. He paused in the doorway for a second, and it was almost like he was five again. All he could do was stand transfixed as his mother’s death played out in his mind’s eye.

 

It was exactly like Joey had said. His mother had begged and pleaded with the demon even though she probably knew it wouldn’t do any good. She had turned to him with a scared, panicked expression as she tried to order him to run away.

 

As JC remembered the way the demon had snaked its hand around her throat until she fell to the floor, he subconsciously walked out into the hall and stood in the exact spot that he had twenty years ago. Reality broke through the memory, hardwood floor replacing the dead body of his mother, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the spot that she had died. He couldn’t believe that he’d remembered after suppressing it for so long.

 

Slowly JC backed away, but still kept his eyes on the spot. He didn’t stop moving until his back hit the wall behind him and his legs buckled from underneath him, causing JC’s body to slide down the wall. As much as he’d said to the guys that he’d felt horrible for not remembering, now he wished he hadn’t because he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

 

JC’s surroundings through his peripheral started to blur. It was like he had tunnel vision. He was so wrapped up in the image of his mother’s dead body that it only vaguely registered in his mind that the guys were calling for him.

 

 

  

“JC!”

 

Lance made his way towards the living room and could hear the hurried footsteps of the other guys as they followed. They’d arrived just minutes before and hadn’t been surprised in the slightest to see that JC was already there. It’d been something that Lance had expected, even though he’d had a sliver of hope that they would catch him before he reached the cabin.

 

But what he hadn’t expected was a soft yellow glow that illuminated a window at the front of the cabin. Lance had thought for sure that if they hadn’t been able to catch JC before he got there, then there was no way he’d still be alive, especially since he’d had such a head start on them. When he saw the dim light though, it gave Lance hope that maybe they weren’t too late after all.

 

They’d grabbed their weapons, just in case, and were out of the car in a matter of seconds. The door had been unlocked, which Lance had been grateful for. It was something that was actually working in their favor so far. But as he and the guys stood in the living room and realized that JC wasn’t there, Lance couldn’t help but feel that maybe JC had stopped in for a minute but was outside by now.

 

“JC!” Chris yelled, his eyes wandering around the entire downstairs area. His eyes narrowed and he muttered, “Figures.”

 

Lance’s eyes tracked their way to the area that Chris was staring at. The landing of the upstairs was dark, but Lance’s eyes widened as he saw a shape. There was no doubt in his mind that it was JC.

 

Immediately the four of them rushed for the stairs. Lance took two at a time and managed to reach the top first. Subconsciously, he flipped the switch on the wall that he was next to. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust from the pitch dark to the bright florescent light. But when they did, his gaze fell onto JC who was sitting on the floor with his back against the opposite wall and his legs stretched out in front of him.

 

Before any of them could do anything, there was a loud clanging noise as Justin let his weapon fall through his fingers to the hardwood floor. He ran forward and threw himself onto the floor next to JC before wrapping arms around his older friend tightly. Tears fell from Justin’s eyes, but Lance knew that they were out of joy, not pain like they’d been earlier.

 

But JC wasn’t hugging Justin back. Lance frowned as he watched Justin tightly hold onto JC, and JC just sat there with his arms at his sides with a blank look on his face. It almost seemed like he was in shock again, but Lance quickly dismissed that thought.

 

JC was still alive, so Lance didn’t know what could’ve possibly sent him in a state like that. Besides, he looked sick more than anything else. His flushed face was accented by his glassy blue eyes. But that still didn’t explain why he hadn’t even looked at them yet.

 

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Chris exploded.

 

Lance looked at him in surprise. The hall had been so silent as they watched Justin hug JC that his sudden outburst had startled him. It seemed to have startled JC as well because he quickly glanced at Chris before pulling his legs up to his chest.

 

“We busted our asses to get here! We thought we’d be too late, but here you are alive. And you’re just sitting there, refusing to even look at us!”

 

Lance glared at Chris. “Chris!”

 

Chris took a step forward and continued, “You’ve written us off, is that it? Or maybe, you can’t look us in the eye because you’ve become this manipulative bastard that we don’t even know!”

 

“Chris!” Lance shouted, stepping between him and JC. “Now isn’t the time for this. We need to get out of here.”

 

Justin gently pulled back from JC, but kept a hand on his shoulder. Heaving a heavy sigh, Lance knelt down on one knee next to JC. “C’mon, JC.”

 

Lance grabbed a hold of JC’s right arm and pulled on it as he started to stand to bring JC to his feet. On the other side, Justin was using the hand that was still on JC’s shoulder to help. But JC was dead weight. He continued to sit as Lance and Justin tried to pull him to his feet.

 

“This is where she died,” JC said quietly, staring at a spot on the floor.

 

“And we’ll die here too if we don’t get moving,” Lance replied, not really comprehending what JC was saying. His mind was solely focused on leaving before the devil and the demons showed up.

 

“Broken glass.”

 

Lance sighed as his grip on JC’s arm slackened, but remained there as he continued to kneel at JC’s side. “What?”

 

“She dropped the glass,” JC said.

 

There was movement out of the corner of Lance’s eye before his attention was focused on Joey. He had just crouched down next to Lance, in front of JC. “He’s remembering, Lance,” Joey said, matching the quiet tone JC had been speaking in.

 

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked, frowning at him in confusion. He wasn’t sure what Joey was trying to say.

 

“He’s remembering his mom’s death,” Joey clarified.

 

Lance released another sigh, but nodded in understanding. It made sense, and honestly, he wasn’t that surprised. He’d kind of figured that JC would remember eventually. But right now was a bad time for it.

 

“JC,” Lance started, moving so his head was in JC’s line of vision, “I want to talk to you about this, but not here. We can talk once we’re in the car, all right?”

 

There was no answer from JC, but Lance hadn’t really expected one. He nodded at Justin who still had a hand on JC’s shoulder to signal that they were going to pull him to his feet. It was hard because JC still didn’t move to help make the process easier. But after a couple tries, they managed to get him on his feet.

 

Lance looked over at Joey and Chris, making sure that they were ready. Nodding, he said, “Let’s go.”

 

Lance tugged on JC’s wrist and only made it a foot before his hand was shook off JC’s arm. He glanced over his shoulder to see that JC had done the same with Justin’s hand. “JC…”

 

“No,” JC said softly but firmly.

 

“JC, we need to go,” Lance said.

 

JC shook his head. “I can’t. I have to stay. It has to end with me.”

 

“To hell with this,” Chris muttered before he handed Lance his weapon. Both hands free, he stepped forward and roughly grabbed onto JC’s bicep.

 

JC tried to shake his arm free, but Chris had a firm hold. “What the hell are you doing?” JC asked, glaring at Chris.

 

“You’re leaving. Even if I have to drag your skinny ass out of here,” Chris said. He glanced at Joey, keeping his hold on JC’s arm even as he continued to struggle against him. “Help me out here, Joe.”

 

Joey didn’t say a word, but moved to JC’s left side and grabbed onto his arm with his right hand as his left still held his weapon. Lance didn’t even object as he watched the three of them move down the hall with JC struggling against them. He felt bad, but getting JC out of there was the most important thing.

 

Lance dropped an arm around Justin’s shoulder, and together they followed the other three towards the front door after stopping for a second to pick up Justin’s knife. JC continued to fight against Joey and Chris the whole way. They didn’t seem to be too fazed by it though because they easily lifted JC off his feet, causing him to kick at air as they carried him down the steps.

 

“Let me go!” JC yelled, punctuating each word with a kick. Not that it did any good. Joey and Chris were strong separately, but together…JC didn’t stand a chance. It was very easy for them to overpower him.

 

They finally made it out the front door and were about fifteen feet away from the car when a bony figure with red eyes appeared in front of them. Lance couldn’t help but stare at the being. Instinctively he knew it was the devil. It had the same eyes as the demons, but almost looked human.

 

He was forced to look away as he and the guys tried to make a run for it. Almost immediately the devil snapped its fingers. Before they realized what was happening, they were surrounded by four demons, halting them in their tracks.

 

“No one’s leaving here alive,” the devil said.

 

JC finally managed to shrug off Chris and Joey’s hands since their hold had slackened. He started to run forward, pulling Joey out of his shock.

 

“JC!” he yelled as he reached out a hand to grab the back of his shirt. But his fingers skimmed the material, and JC slipped through a gap between two demons towards the devil.

 

“JC!” Justin cried, trying to follow him. Chris had been watching the demons and saw one move in front of Justin. Without thinking, Chris pulled Justin back by the tail of his shirt just before he ran into the demon.

 

“Don’t hurt them! Please!” JC pleaded.

 

“It never ceases to amaze me that you humans can sell your soul for success and still care about other people,” the devil said, ignoring him.

 

“Leave them alone!” JC stepped forward. “Take me! I’m the one you want!”

 

Lance glared. “JC…”

 

Lance was tired of JC throwing himself in the line of fire. It’d been something that he’d done almost every time they’d run into the demons over the past few weeks, so it was to be expected. But Lance wanted it to stop. JC deserved to live as much as the rest of them, and he wished JC could see that.

 

The devil chuckled as its red eyes glanced down at JC. “Seems your friends don’t agree with you. But they can relax,” the devil said, its eyes moving to where the four of them stood. “I’m not going to kill you until I’m good and ready. I’ve waited too long, and I want to savor the moment.”

 

“You son of a bitch,” Chris growled.

 

“I’m just claiming what’s mine,” the devil said. “I should’ve just done it in the first place instead of getting that stupid woman who couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity I gave her.”

 

“You’re just mad that she wasn’t someone you could drag to Hell,” Lance said.

 

“But that doesn’t apply to your friend, does it? He’ll be going back to the pit with me,” the devil replied.

 

Lance glanced at JC who flinched at that, but didn’t say anything to contradict it. Not that he had expected JC to because it was clear that he felt that he was doing the right thing. He knew that JC was probably terrified to go to Hell, but was trying not to show it.

 

“You shouldn’t have risked your lives for some talentless idiot,” the devil said, drawing Lance’s attention back to it.

 

Joey exchanged a confused look with the others before asking, “Talentless?”

 

“He doesn’t have natural talent. It was given to him by me,” the devil said. “But look at it this way, killing him allows you to find someone who actually fits in.”

 

“JC does fit in. We’re nothing without him,” Justin objected, speaking to the devil, but staring at JC with compassion. Lance’s eyes snapped to him because he’d been pretty quiet throughout everything so far. But he figured he couldn’t stand there and let this devil belittle JC.

 

“Oh, come on. We’re all friends here,” the devil said with a smirk. “It’s OK to admit it.”

 

“Admit what?” Chris snapped.

 

“That you’re only here because you feel obligated. That’s the only reason you’ve put up with him as long as you have,” the devil said.

 

Chris crossed his arms as he scoffed. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he said sarcastically. “We’d risk our lives for someone we hate.”

 

The devil smiled knowingly. “But you do hate him.”

 

“No I don’t,” Chris protested vehemently.

 

“You’re angry at him. Even now I can feel it. You called him…what was it?” The devil paused as if it were thinking. It smiled as it saw JC lower his head. “Manipulative bastard? Sounds pretty hateful to me.”

 

“I was pissed, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care.” Chris’s eyes landed on JC’s face since his head was down. “JC, you know you’re like a little brother to me.”

 

“Does he? Is that how you treat your siblings? You don’t care about him, and you know it.”

 

Giving up on getting eye contact from JC, Chris boldly met the devil’s red ones. “Why would I be here if I didn’t? We wouldn’t have risked our lives if we didn’t care.”

 

“You hear that, JC?” the demon asked as he started to slowly walk around JC. “You’re the reason your friends are going to die. They’d be at home in their beds if it weren’t for you.

 

“Joey would be with his wife and beautiful daughter. But instead, he’s had to lie to them so he could stay and take care of your pathetic self. All of them did. And how did you repay them?” The devil stood in front of JC and an unseen force made him raise his head. “You took off in the middle of the night, knowing they’d follow you.”

 

There was a slight pause before the devil got in JC’s face and said, “It’s your fault they’re going to die here tonight.”

 

“That’s not going to happen,” Chris replied, finally meeting JC’s eyes. After nearly ten seconds, JC looked away.

 

The devil resumed circling JC. “That’s right. Don’t listen to him. You knew they were going to die. That’s why you tried to distance yourself from them and sneak out, isn’t it?

 

“You probably never once thought about what was going to happen to you. Selflessness like that is dead, but then, you will be too.” The devil paused just over JC’s shoulder and said, “Tell me, how does it feel to know that you’re sacrificing yourself to an eternity in Hell for four people who don’t care about you? At least not as much as you care about them.”

 

“Shut the hell up!” Chris shouted, fists clenched at his sides.

 

The devil nodded. “You’re right. We’ve wasted enough time.” Its glaring red eyes met JC’s terrified, sorrow filled ones. “You might want to take one last look at your friends. This will be the last time you’ll see them alive.”

 

Lance watched as JC’s watery gaze fell on each of them before locking with his. JC looked as terrified as Lance felt. It looked like the moment they’d feared was finally upon them.

 

“I’m sorry.” JC’s voice echoed in Lance’s head as a tear tracked its way down JC’s cheek.

 

Lance didn’t have time to respond because lightning struck nearby with a loud crack, opening the rain clouds as the demons closed in around them.

Justin’s heart pounded against his chest, his eyes wide with panic as he watched the red eyed demons come closer. He unconsciously took a step backwards only to collide into Chris, stumbling slightly. A hand grabbed onto his shoulder to steady him. Justin glanced over his shoulder to see Lance wordlessly handing Chris his weapon. Though, neither of their eyes left the approaching demons.

 

As Justin returned his attention to the demon that was closest to him, his eyes managed to catch a glimpse of JC through a narrowing gap. JC was watching them, fear evident on his face. When Justin met his gaze, JC quickly averted his eyes.

 

JC’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he blinked rapidly. The action made it apparent that the continuous downpour from the sky wasn’t the only contributor to his wet face. Seeing JC vulnerable snapped something inside of Justin.

 

He pushed his fear and anxiety down to the pit of his stomach. Now wasn’t the time to let it determine what he was going to do. It had already caused him to believe that JC was already dead during the ride to the cabin. But now JC was standing in front of him. Alive. And that was how it was going to stay.

 

Justin adjusted the knife in his right hand, gripping it tighter. The rain began to fall harder, but he was determined not to lose the only weapon he had. A quick glance at the guys showed that they were just as determined.

 

The four of them stood as close as they could without losing sight of the demons. It went unsaid that there was safety in numbers, and it would probably be best if they stuck together. But that was a lot harder to follow through with once the demons got within a foot.

 

Justin made a swipe at a demon, but the knife only cut air as the demon easily dodged it. Before he could try again, the demon surprised him by grabbing onto his left arm and pulling him forward, jerking him out of Chris’s grasp. As Justin continued to swipe at the demon, hoping to connect with its smoky makeup, he struggled to get his arm free.

 

But the demon held firm with one hand as the other made a slashing motion across his left arm. His cast had been severed somehow. Justin continued to struggle, knowing that he had to get out of the demon’s grasp. As he did so, pieces of his cast fell to the ground with the added help of the demon stripping the plaster away from his arm.

 

The cast was off after he’d just been complaining about it days before, leaving his left arm bare for the first time in weeks. But relief was the last thing on his mind. Justin knew that his arm wasn’t completely healed yet, and the demon would probably try to exploit that. With that in mind, he pulled on his arm, trying to slip out of the demon’s hold.

 

The demon tightened its grip to compensate for Justin’s added resistance before it sharply twisted his forearm. There was a loud crack, and Chris let out an agonizing scream before dropping to his knees. The knife he’d been holding landed on the ground beside him. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Justin’s arm had been broken for a second time.

 

“Chris!” Joey yelled as he tried to move towards Chris.

 

But the demon that had been advancing on Joey, swooped in closer. The movement forced Joey to change his direction as he had to duck the demon’s black hand.

 

Lance had just as much luck as Joey getting to Chris. Several times he tried to sidestep the demon he was fighting. But every time the demon would glide back in front of him, preventing him from reaching Chris.

 

It wasn’t until he was dragged a half a foot that Justin realized the demon still had a hold of his arm. Another agonized scream could be heard. Justin looked over at Chris who continued to clutch his left arm with his right hand, his face contorted in pain.

 

Immediately Justin resumed his struggling as he tried to backpedal away from the demon, trying to ignore Chris’s yelps of pain as he did so. His sneakers couldn’t find purchase on the now saturated grass, causing him to slip and fall onto his back.

 

Justin was left gasping for air. The sudden fall had knocked the wind out of him. It barely registered in his mind that the demon had let go of his arm. But he did notice that Chris had stopped crying out in pain.

 

Justin slowly turned his head to the right, wanting to make sure that he was all right. His eyes took in Chris lying on his back with his left arm resting across his chest. “You OK?” he asked.

 

Chris opened his eyes and let out a puff of air before grunting, “Yeah.”

 

A bolt of lightning hit suddenly, lighting up the yard. Just before the light disappeared, Justin caught a blob of black smoke heading towards him. He patted the grass on his right, looking for the knife that he’d dropped when he fell.

 

As the demon steadily grew closer, Justin’s search became frantic. As did his heart rate. The demon was over his legs and moving up his body. It was nearly to his chest before Justin’s hand found purchase on the wooden handle.

 

He tightly wrapped his fingers around it and thrust the weapon up. It didn’t meet any resistance. Not that it should’ve considering the demon wasn’t a solid thing. But regardless, the purified weapon did the job. Just like Sydnie had said it would. The demon had disappeared.

 

Justin let out a sigh of relief as he rested his right hand at his side. His heart was still racing. That had been too close of a call.

 

“Chris!” Lance shouted suddenly, barely audible over the roar of the thunder and the howling wind.

 

Justin quickly pushed himself up on his right arm to see what the commotion was about. His eyes widened as he realized what Lance was yelling about. There was a demon that was quickly advancing on Chris.

 

Chris had sprung into action at Lance’s warning. He pushed himself to a sitting position as he began to run his hands through the grass that was surrounding him. But the lack of moonlight and the raging storm in conjunction with the dense trees made it difficult to see anything much less the weapon he was searching for.

 

Lance ran towards Chris, but he wasn’t chased by a demon like Justin thought he would be. He must’ve killed it already, which left him open to help Chris.

 

A quick look in Joey’s direction showed that he was still busy battling his demon. Justin grabbed at the grass, trying to use some leverage to push himself to his feet. Two demons might be gone, but there were still two more.

 

As Justin was trying to get off the muddy ground, Lance had made it just a little over a foot away from Chris when the demon that was after Chris abruptly altered its course.

 

“Shit,” Justin mumbled, his legs churning faster, trying to get to his feet to help. But the added speed only made him slip even more.

 

Lance, not aware that Justin was fighting against the elements in an effort to reach him, raised his knife so that it was in front of him in a defensive gesture. But the demon went low. The smoke moved around his leg before there was a sickening snap.

 

It almost seemed like everything was in slow motion as Lance fell to the ground. His body crumbled to the muddy earth, his broken leg not able to support his weight. Justin couldn’t help but wince in sympathy as Lance’s leg hit the unyielding earth first, further aggravating the injury.

 

Lance gritted his teeth as he tried to get to his feet. It was obvious there was only one thing on his mind, and that was helping Chris. But as soon as he tried to put any weight on the injured leg, he screamed in agony as he fell back down.

 

“Stay put!” Justin shouted to him.

 

Lance didn’t say anything, but his head dropped against the wet ground. His eyes closed tightly as he gripped his leg in pain.

 

Justin focused his attention on Chris and the demon that was nearly on top of him. His feet continued to slip on the grass. Knowing that he didn’t have time to waste, he used both hands to push him to his feet.

 

Chris let out another scream, and Justin felt his stomach turn. It was difficult to remember that something was wrong with him when he couldn’t feel the pain.

 

But now that he was on his feet, Justin rushed forward towards Chris with his weapon in hand. It took a matter of seconds to reach his oldest friend. As he pulled up short, his sneakers slid a couple of inches across the slick grass.

 

The demon had just started to lift Chris off the ground. Chris struggled against it, but the action didn’t do any good. Without a thought, Justin plunged the knife into a part of the demon that had the least risk of hurting Chris.

 

Almost instantaneously, the demon faded into nothing. Chris dropped to the ground like a rock, and took a shuddering breath. He seemed to be winded, but no worse than he was a couple minutes ago.

 

Justin sighed. Three down. One to go.

 

 

  

“Isn’t it amazing how a little bit of pain can bring someone to their knees?”

 

JC tried to ignore the devil as it whispered in his ear, but he couldn’t help the chill that traveled down his spine. The devil continued to hover over his shoulder, while JC’s attention was focused on the scene in front him.

 

His ears still rung with the loud crack that’d sounded when Justin’s arm had been broken and had Chris falling to his knees as he cried out in pain. JC wanted nothing more than to run to him and make sure he was all right. But he couldn’t.

 

Every time JC tried to move, he was met with some invisible force that held him in place. It made his heart race, and his eyes darted among his four friends that were fighting off the demons. He couldn’t even warn them if a demon was about to get the upper hand. JC’d found that out when he’d tried to cry out a warning that a demon was moving towards Chris.

 

All he could do was stand by and watch the demons advance on them. JC had never felt so useless.

 

“Your friend talks a big game, but it seems he can’t back it up,” the devil said.

 

JC wanted to turn his head to glare at it, but he was met with the same resistance as before. So he turned his attention on his friends instead. He silently willed Chris to get up, or for one of the guys to notice the demon that was steadily approaching their oldest friend.

 

His gaze drifted to Lance who had just stabbed his demon with the purified knife, causing it to disappear and leaving him free to help Chris. JC mentally sighed in relief. But that quickly changed to fear when he saw the demon that was after Chris change direction and charge towards Lance.

 

Instinctively JC tried to yell out a warning and rush forward, even though he knew that it was impossible at the moment. But a small part of him hoped that maybe whatever hold the devil had on him would loosen.

 

“Stop trying to fight it. You won’t win, so you might as well enjoy the show,” the devil whispered to him.

 

But all of JC’s attention was on Lance as a loud snap could be heard. He wanted to be there to break Lance’s fall, but since he couldn’t, he was forced to watch Lance land on top of his now broken leg. Lance’s agonizing scream was almost more than he could bear and made him want to look away, but he couldn’t.

 

JC couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the spot where his friends were experiencing indescribable pain. It wasn’t easy to watch them get hurt with the possibility of more. But not knowing was almost worst.

 

The demon that had attacked Lance returned to its original target. It had just lifted Chris a few inches off the muddy ground when Justin slid up next to him and stuck the knife into the demon. When JC was sure that Chris looked to be all right considering, he let his eyes wander for Joey.

 

Joey was a couple feet from where Chris was lying on the ground where he was still battling his demon. His movements were almost graceful as he dodged the demon’s advancements, the agility they’d all picked up from dancing all the time paying off. Finally he managed to stick the weapon in his hand through his own demon.

 

JC could hardly believe his eyes. They’d managed to get rid of all the demons. Albeit with some injuries, but they were alive and that was what mattered. He felt hope rise in him for the first time in weeks.

 

“I’d rethink that if I were you.”

 

JC’s forehead crinkled in confusion at the devil’s words before his gaze landed on Joey who was kneeling on the ground next to Lance, trying to shake his shoulder. From where he was standing, JC could see that Joey was saying something, but he couldn’t make out what. What he could see though made his stomach turn.

 

Lance wasn’t moving. He hadn’t responded to Joey’s shaking. It didn’t even look like he was breathing. Not wanting to believe that he could be dead, JC mentally reached out for Lance only to feel nothing. There were no thoughts. No feelings. Nothing.

 

And as quick as it came, JC could feel the hope leave his body only to be replaced with despair and guilt.

 

It felt like he couldn’t breathe. His heart clenched tightly and his lungs burned from lack of oxygen, but JC couldn’t bring himself to care. Lance was dead.

 

A sob erupted in his chest, forcing JC to gasp for air as tears streamed down his cheeks with the rain. It was all his fault. Nothing was supposed to happen to them. But it did, and at that moment JC wanted nothing more than to die.

 

“All in due time,” the devil told him. “I want you to beg for it.”

 

Suddenly there was a bony hand on JC’s shoulder, and he felt a sharp intense pain in his stomach. He let out a loud yelp as the pressure that’d kept him in place fell away, causing him to collapse into a heap.

 

JC shakily pushed himself up on his right elbow only to fall back into the mud. Lying on his side, he wrapped a protective arm around his stomach. The pain made him feel nauseous and dizzy, but at the same time, seemed to suck what little energy he had left out of him.

 

Above him the devil laughed at JC as he continued to try to push himself up. He’d never felt so weak in his life.

 

But the pain he was experiencing was nothing compared to the gaping hole that Lance’s death left in his heart.

 

 

  

Joey leaned back, his weight resting on his left foot as the demon flew past him. It abruptly turned around, ready to knock him off his feet. But Joey was expecting it.

 

The demon swooped towards him, close to his midsection. But before it could do anything, Joey drove his knife down into the demon. It vanished from sight, and Joey quickly glanced around to see if there were more.

 

He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that all of the demons were gone. As his eyes landed on Justin, he could tell that he wasn’t the only one to feel that way. But then there was low moaning.

 

Immediately Joey’s gaze traveled from Justin to Chris and Lance who were still lying on the ground. Justin bent down from where he was standing to help Chris sit up, even as Chris tried to shrug off his help. But Lance didn’t appear to have moved.

 

Joey wasn’t surprised because he’d heard the sound of bone shattering as he fought his demon before he’d seen Lance fall. He had wanted to run over to him and make sure he was all right, but at the time the demon he was battling hadn’t allowed for that. But now he was free to help, so he quickly crossed the foot that separated them and crouched down next to Lance.

 

Lance’s eyes were closed. As Joey’s gaze traveled down Lance’s body, he noticed the denim fit loosely around his left leg, while the denim on his right was stretched tight, leading Joey to believe that it was swollen. He winced in sympathy, knowing that the pain must be excruciating.

 

“Lance,” Joey reached out an arm to shake his shoulder, “are you OK?”

 

There was no response, so Joey shook him harder. He wanted some kind of indication that Lance was all right. But he couldn’t seem to get Lance to wake up.

 

Joey sat back on his heels, watching Lance critically. His chest rose and fell, and that was enough to put Joey at ease. At least for now.

 

The pain had probably been too much for Lance to handle, causing him to pass out. Joey wasn’t happy about it, but he knew that it could be a lot worse.

 

“Is he all right?”

 

Joey looked up at Chris who was now sitting up with Justin kneeling next to him. His face was pinched, but that was the only sign that he was still hurting. “He’s fine,” Joey assured.

 

Before anything else could be said, a yelp sounded to the right. Joey’s head jerked up, and his eyes widened as he watched JC crumble to the ground.

 

“JC!” Justin shouted, on his feet in an instant as he started to dash for JC.

 

“Justin!” Joey yelled. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was trying to stop Justin, but he had a bad feeling that something wasn’t right.

 

And that feeling only intensified when four demons suddenly appeared in front of Justin, creating a smoky wall between him and JC.

 

“No!” Justin cried out in anger as he lashed out, the knife in his hand cutting into one of the demons in the middle.

 

There was one less demon, but the other three advanced, forcing Justin to take a step back. They continued to move forward, and Justin’s determination slipped slightly. He was probably realizing that he couldn’t take on three demons at once.

 

And Joey wasn’t sure how to help. He didn’t know if he should leave Chris and Lance alone to help Justin. Because they would be vulnerable if he did, which wasn’t something they were capable of handling, especially since Lance was unconscious. But at the same time, he couldn’t leave Justin to take on the demons by himself.

 

Before Joey could make a decision, Justin picked up Chris’s weapon before straightening to face the demons. Joey leaned forward to grab Lance’s knife, and threw a quick glance at Justin to make sure he was all right. Justin caught his eye and nodded, the determination back in place as he stood protectively over Chris.

 

Joey picked up movement out of the corner of his peripheral, but he wasn’t quick enough. A demon swooped down, a gust of wind blowing past Joey’s face as the demon pushed against his left shoulder. There was a loud pop, and his shoulder felt like it was on fire.

 

Staring up at the dark sky, Joey was barely aware that he’d landed on his back as the pain in his shoulder thrummed through his arm. The sharp steak knife dropped out of his left hand, barely making any noise as it hit the saturated grass. But Joey gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet, trying not to aggravate his dislocated shoulder.

 

He squeezed the handle of the other knife in his right hand as he managed to get to his knees. Joey looked up to find a pair of red eyes glaring at him as the demon glided towards him for another attack. But he brought his right hand up and slashed the demon, causing it to dissipate.

 

Joey sought out Justin to see how he was faring only to feel his stomach plummet as a demon knocked into Justin’s side with a resounding crack, forcing him to fall. Chris let out an anguish yell as he doubled over, clutching his side in pain.

 

But Joey’s attention was torn from Chris to Justin as he cried out. Joey paled as he saw the demon that’d knocked into Justin, wrap its transparent hand around his neck and lift him off the ground.

 

Justin immediately began to claw at the hand, but, as expected, nothing happened. Joey was so focused on staring at the scene in horror that it barely registered that the other remaining demon was quickly approaching him and Lance. But it did, and he had to make a decision.

 

Joey’s stomach turned at the thought that he had to choose one friend over the other. Either he helped Justin and left Lance susceptible to further injury. Or he stayed with Lance and Justin died.

 

How the hell was he supposed to choose?

 

 

 

JC had managed to prop himself up, so that his head wasn’t so close to the ground. He watched in horror as three more demons advanced on Justin before dispersing and going after Joey as well. Just when he’d thought the guys wouldn’t have to fight any more demons.

 

“Did you honestly think I wasn’t going to send more?” the devil, bent down low, spoke softly into his ear. “Your friends don’t stand a chance.”

 

As if in direct parallel to its words, Joey’s shoulder popped out of place with a nauseating crack. Joey lied on his back, temporarily dazed. JC felt a desperate need to get to his friends and help them, but he couldn’t move even if he wanted to.

 

Except this time it wasn’t because of the devil’s invisible hold on him. His body was so weak that he knew he was lucky to be in the semi-upright position he’d pulled himself into. So crossing the ten feet that separated him from the guys would’ve been the equivalent of doing a four hour concert.

 

His relief at seeing Joey pull himself off the ground and kill the demon that’d hurt him was quickly replaced by fear for Justin and Chris. His oldest friend’s new suffering shout stabbed at his heart. But Justin crying out as he was roughly lifted into the air in a chokehold was like twisting the knife that resided in JC’s chest.

 

“I think we know how this is going to end,” the devil said, forcing JC to his feet.

 

“No,” JC protested weakly, refusing to tear his eyes away from the shadowy shape that continued to choke Justin, even as he kicked and clawed at it.

 

But the devil ignored him as it turned him around, shoving JC forward. He stumbled, his legs almost giving out on him. The only thing that kept him upright was the devil’s bony arm around his shoulder.

 

They paused as the demon whispered, “You hear that?” There was a sudden snap, bone grinding against bone, that had JC cringing. “You’ve just lost another friend.”

 

“No,” JC choked out, collapsing to the ground, his knees slamming into the unyielding earth. But he couldn’t feel the pain. His entire body had gone completely numb, except for the gaping hole that completely took over his heart, leaving him empty and hollow.

 

Another friend. Chris and Joey had just lost another friend. They would have to deal with losing not only him, but Justin and Lance too. And it was all his fault.

 

“We can stay if you want. I know how much they mean to you,” the devil said, the smirk evident in its voice.

 

JC shook his head slowly as tears poured in steady streams down his cheeks. “Make it stop. Please just make it stop.” He took a shuddering breath. “I can’t…I don’t want to live.”

 

The devil smiled. “You know where we have to go.”

 

JC raised his head a fraction of an inch and could see rain pelting the lake water in the distance. As he was dragged to his feet once again, he let himself be led towards the place where he would die. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. Two of his best friends were dead, and the heartache was intolerable.

 

 

  

Joey started to rise from his crouched position. He was going to help Justin. It killed him to leave Lance vulnerable, but Justin had less time. Hopefully he’d be able to save Justin and still be able to help Lance.

 

He’d only risen a couple of inches when there was another gust of wind. Joey looked up, afraid that more demons had shown up only to have his heart momentarily stop when he saw Katrina.

 

Before he could blink, she was grabbing the demon that was choking Justin and pulling it away. Justin crashed to the earth, causing Chris to yelp for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

 

Satisfied that Justin was no longer in immediate danger, Joey quickly turned back to the demon that was reaching out for Lance’s neck. Not hesitating for a second, Joey thrust his knife into what he would guess would’ve been the demon’s chest if it’d been human.

 

This time the replacement of demons was almost instantaneous, and Joey groaned. It was becoming harder and harder to fight them off without receiving more injuries. But Katrina appeared again, making Joey wonder where exactly she’d gone in the first place.

 

He quickly realized it didn’t matter though because while she managed to grab hold on two of the four demons that’d appeared, there were still two more to deal with. Joey finally got to his feet to prepare himself for the demon that was coming towards him.

 

It took him only a second to glance over at Justin to make sure that he was OK. Justin’s chest was still heaving from the lack of oxygen, but he was on his feet, facing his own demon.

 

Joey was tired of waiting on the demon to come for him and, in a split decision, lunged with his weapon waving through the air. It’d barely nicked the demon, but it was enough to do the job. Once the demon was gone, Joey looked for Justin to see if he needed help only to see him run by.

 

“Justin!” Joey yelled in surprise. He didn’t know how Justin had managed to get rid of his demon so quickly, but his determination to get to JC was probably the driving factor.

 

At the thought of JC, Joey frantically looked around for his friend. The last time he’d seen him was when he’d suddenly collapsed before the second set of demons had shown up. But now he was nowhere to be seen.

 

Knowing that there was only one place where he could be, Joey’s eyes traveled to where the lake was in the distance. Dread filled him as he saw the devil hover above the still water before disappearing. There was no doubt that JC was in the lake, probably drowning.

 

Another tormented cry forced Joey to look for the source, quickly recognizing it as Chris. His gaze landed on a figure that was lying on the ground a few feet from where he’d been for most of the fight. Joey ran over to him to see if he could help.

 

As Joey knelt down in the mud next to Chris, he spared a glance over his shoulder to see how Lance was doing. He was only mildly surprised to see that Katrina had returned from wherever she’d gone and a soft glow was surrounding her and Lance. Joey remembered the last time he’d seen that was when she’d healed Lance’s leg when the tree had fallen on it.

 

And that reminded him of his own healing power. Without a word, Joey reached out a hand and rested it on Chris’s thigh, hoping that there were some injuries that were his own. He couldn’t feel anything, and the connection was broken by Chris pushing his arm away.

 

“It’s all Justin,” Chris mumbled, his voice thick with pain. He looked up, brown eyes locking with Joey’s own. “Gotta get JC.”

 

Joey nodded and moved his hand to Chris’s bicep to help haul him to his feet. He was surprised when it was made easier by Lance grabbing onto Chris’s other side.

 

“Are you OK?” Joey asked, frowning in concern, even as he felt relief course through him at seeing Lance conscious and moving. He’d been too still before.

 

“I’m fine. Katrina healed my leg,” Lance said, shrugging it off. Just then they managed to get Chris to his feet. “We got to hurry.”

 

Together the three of them hurried as fast as they could towards the lake, but it felt like they were moving at a slower pace than they really were. Finally after a few minutes, they’d made it to the lake.

 

Lance and Joey gently lowered Chris to the ground. His face had grown considerably pale, and his eyelashes fluttered as he struggled to stay awake and alert. And all it took was one look at Justin to understand why.

 

Justin was in the lake with his good arm wrapped around a limp JC, leaving his newly broken arm to help keep them afloat as he tried to swim to the shore. Not to mention he was breathing raggedly, probably due to the broken rib.

 

Lance barely glanced at Joey before he jumped into the lake to help. He quickly swam to where Justin was treading water as fast as he could, trying to keep them both from sinking with JC’s dead weight. Once Lance took on some of JC’s weight, the two of them swam to the shore as quickly as they could.

 

Joey reached into the water and grabbed onto Justin’s arm, pulling him out of the water. Justin had tried to resist at first, mumbling about JC, but Joey hadn’t relented. And Justin had given in, allowing Joey to help him out.

 

Then Lance pushed JC out of the water as Joey placed both of his hands under JC’s shoulders. He tried to lift him out of the water only to have his left arm quake under the pressure and nearly drop JC back into the water. So Joey settled for dragging him out instead, gritting his teeth as he did so.

 

Once JC was lying on the soupy ground across from Chris, Joey allowed himself to sit back and collect himself. The pain in his shoulder had become inflamed when he pulled JC out of the water, and it was making him see spots. But he quickly blinked to clear them. He had to stay focused because they weren’t out of the woods yet.

 

Lance dropped himself onto the ground next to JC and immediately felt for a pulse. Joey glanced at Chris and Justin, noticing that their pain filled gazes were fixed on Lance. After what felt like a minute but what Joey knew was actually more like a few seconds, Lance looked up at them, panic in his eyes.

 

“He’s not breathing.”

Lance barely registered the fearful expressions on his friends’ faces before he immediately returned his attention to JC. Not hesitating for a second, he rested his right hand over his left and began to press down on JC’s chest. He only stopped the compressions to pinch JC’s nose and breathe into his mouth.

 

As Lance continued the compressions, memories of the last time he had to do this came flooding back. He and Chris had been coming back from a walk when they’d heard someone yell. It hadn’t taken them long to realize that it’d come from where JC had been earlier that day.

 

Chris had jumped in and pulled him out of the water, and Lance had started CPR. The feelings of fear and panic that he’d experienced then were making his heart race and forming a lump in his throat now. The helplessness weighed him down just as much as it had over a year ago.

 

But that was when Lance remembered he had access to something that he hadn’t last time. JC’s mind. So as he continued to go through the motions of pressing down on JC’s chest and blowing air into his mouth, Lance opened the channel in his mind that would allow him to connect to JC.

 

Lance wasn’t sure if it would work if one them was dead, but he knew that he had to try. There were no thoughts, but overwhelming feelings of misery washed over Lance. The unexpectedness of strong emotion caught him off guard, causing him to falter in the middle of a cycle.

 

But almost immediately Lance refocused his energy on the lifesaving technique. Knowing that JC wasn’t dead yet gave him hope that maybe they’d make it out of this after all. There was still time. The devil hadn’t won yet.

 

“He’s alive,” Lance said, glancing up at the other three for a second. He could hear Justin gasp, but his focus remained on trying to get JC to breathe again.

 

“How do you know?” Joey asked with mixture of hope and disbelief.

 

“I felt something. He’s still in there somewhere,” Lance said.

 

“Then go talk to him,” Joey told him, moving closer so that he was on his left. “I’ll take over here.”

 

Justin frowned. “Joey, you’re hurt.”

 

“I’ll do it,” Chris said firmly even as he weakly tried to push himself to a sitting position. His limps shook from the weight.

 

Joey rolled his eyes. “You’re on the verge of passing out. And,” his gaze landed on Justin, “your arm’s broken. I’m the only one who can do it.”

 

“But your shoulder,” Justin protested.

 

“I can do it,” Chris insisted, still trying to sit up, but not having a lot of luck. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

 

Lance frowned at him. “I don’t know about that, Chris.”

 

“Well, Joey shouldn’t have to do it,” Chris said.

 

“Enough!” Joey shouted, an annoyed expression on his face. “We don’t have time for this! Lance, move so I can take over and you can go talk to JC.”

 

Lance eyed Joey critically for a second. It was easy to see that he was in pain, but there was also determination in his set jaw. Joey was ready to fight him on this, so Lance just sighed heavily as he moved out of the way for him to take his place. He hated putting that responsibility on Joey, especially when he was hurt, but, at the same time, it was necessary for him to try to reach out for JC.

 

Glancing at Justin and Chris with trepidation, he realized he had no idea what he was doing. How had JC done it before? Lance couldn’t remember if Joey or Chris had ever said since they’d been the ones to witness it when JC had done it to him.

 

Knowing he was wasting valuable time, Lance just focused all of his attention on a too still JC and how much he needed to be inside his head. He tried to imagine himself in JC’s head and was surprised when a tingling feeling suddenly spread throughout his body.

 

Whatever he did must’ve done the trick because his surroundings had changed. He was no longer sitting next to the lake in thick mud, but standing in a doorway in the cabin. More specifically the bedroom that JC had stayed in when they’d been on vacation.

 

Lance looked down to see a five year old JC standing beside him whose eyes were wide with horror. Turning his attention to the hall, Lance wasn’t surprised when he saw Alison standing there with the demon in front of her.

 

It wrapped a smoky hand around her neck, and her eyes widened before rolling into the back of her head. Her limp body fell to the floor.

 

“Mom!” JC cried as he ran to her.

 

Lance’s heart ached for his friend. It was worse actually seeing it instead of hearing about it. JC had every right to be upset. Losing his mother in such a horrific way and having to witness it was more than any kid should deal with.

 

The sound of a door closing caught Lance’s attention. He turned his head to the right to look down the hall and saw JC coming towards him. A taller JC who looked to be about twelve. Lance’s eyes followed him as he walked passed him before he stepped out of the doorway to follow JC into a kitchen.

 

“I’m ready to go.”

 

Karen looked up at him in surprise as she braided Heather’s hair before a look of realization passed over her face. “Oh, Josh, honey. I’m sorry, but I can’t take you to the movies.”

 

JC frowned. “Why not?”

 

“Heather’s gymnastics class got moved to today, and I have to take her,” Karen explained.

 

“But Mom,” JC whined. “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks, and I’m supposed to meet my friends there.”

 

“I’ll take you tomorrow,” Karen said.

 

“My friends aren’t going to be there tomorrow,” JC mumbled bitterly. He glanced at Heather before looking up at his mom. “Why can’t she just miss her thing instead?”

 

Karen sighed. “Because hers is more important.”

 

“Why?” JC asked, his frown deepening.

 

“My stuff’s always more important because I’m her real kid,” Heather cut in before Karen could say anything. She looked at JC smugly. “That means she loves me more.”

 

Karen looked at her in surprise. “Heather!”

 

JC’s face contorted in anger before he reached out and roughly shoved his little sister. She stumbled and fell backwards, her head connecting with the edge of the counter. Heather started to cry, and Karen glared at him.

 

“Joshua Scott Chasez!” Karen scolded. “I don’t care how upset you are. You don’t push your sister!”

 

JC hung his head, a guilty, hurt expression on his face. His shoulders hunched as Karen continued to scold him, while she inspected the back of Heather’s head.

 

Seeing JC and Heather fight reminded Lance of the ones that he and Stacy used to have. It was something that siblings did, but it was clear by looking at JC that he felt horrible for pushing Heather and having her hit her head. And it must’ve been something he took to heart because he always hated when someone got hurt, especially if he was the cause.

 

Lance didn’t take his eyes off JC and was surprised when his features became more chiseled. It was understandable considering JC looked to be in his late teens now.

 

JC’s head was still bowed, but Lance realized it was from exhaustion, not guilt. Tony and Dale were sitting across from him on the floor of a dance studio. The change in scenery caught Lance off guard, but he watched JC, knowing that he had to be seeing this stuff for a reason.

 

“Man, what’s with you, JC? You were all over the place today,” Tony said.

 

JC sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. “I know. This day just keeps getting worse and worse.” He paused. “I should’ve known today was going to be a bad day.”

 

“Why?” Dale asked.

 

“’Cause I woke up late, which gave me all about five minutes to get ready.” JC looked up at them. “You know how much I hate mornings.”

 

“About as much as Dale likes cats,” Tony said, laughing.

 

“Their claws are sharp!” Dale defended.

 

JC smiled at them only to have it fall when Justin sat down next to him. He exchanged exasperated looks with his friends. “What’s up, Justin?” he asked with just a hint of annoyance.

 

“Nothing,” Justin said, shrugging. “I just thought I’d hang out with you guys.”

 

JC glanced at Tony and Dale who rolled their eyes before he turned his attention back to the curly haired twelve year old. “Why don’t you go see what Ryan’s up to?”

 

“He’s busy reading lines,” Justin said.

 

“Then why don’t you practice with him?” JC suggested. “You have that skit with him later, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Justin admitted slowly. “But I want to hang out with you. I haven’t gotten a chance to see you at all today.”

 

Tony and Dale snickered as JC sighed. “I’m not very good company right now, Justin,” JC mumbled.

 

“Why?” Justin’s forehead crinkled in concern. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Just leave me the hell alone!” JC snapped, shaking Justin’s hand off his shoulder. Tony and Dale’s snickering ended abruptly as their eyes widened in shock.

 

Justin frowned, the lines on his forehead increasing. “What did I do? I thought we were friends…”

 

“You’re not my friend!” JC yelled. “You’re just this little kid that follows me around! It’s like every time I turn around, there you are! Just leave me the hell alone!”

 

“Oh,” Justin said softly, his watery eyes focusing on a spot on the floor in front of him. He looked completely crestfallen. “OK.”

 

Without another word, Justin got to his feet and slowly walked away with his head down and his hands shoved into his pockets. JC watched his retreating form, his features clouded with regret. Once Justin was out of sight, JC groaned and banged his head against the wall that he was leaning against.

 

Lance couldn’t believe that JC had yelled at Justin. He’d always thought that they’d gotten along well, but obviously they’d worked it out. It was just surprising because JC hardly ever yelled at any of them, especially Justin.

 

But then maybe that was the reason; he remembered how hurt Justin had been and didn’t want a repeat of it with anyone. It certainly made sense. And it could’ve even possibly been the driving force behind the protectiveness that JC felt towards Justin since he knew from experience what it took to upset him.

 

Lance’s eyes were still fixed on the door that Justin had gone through. He knew that Justin was probably more hurt over the fact that JC had said those mean things to him than the actual words themselves. They all knew that Justin had idolized JC for the longest time, so it probably stung that the guy he looked up to didn’t appreciate it.

 

Lance had been so wrapped up in his thoughts until a voice asked, “What do you want for lunch, Lance?”

 

Immediately Lance’s head jerked up as he frowned in confusion, wondering who was asking him. Only to realize that the question wasn’t directed at him. Or not him in present time anyway.

 

The MMC dance studio that he’d been in just a minute ago had been replaced with a slightly smaller one that had an open ceiling with a couple of fans slowly spinning in a pathetic attempt at cooling off the occupants. Right away he recognized it as the studio they’d used at the beginning of NSYNC when they first got together and before they went overseas.

 

Lance could hear himself telling Joey, who was standing beside his younger self, what he wanted to eat. There was a loud bang as Justin threw his empty water bottle into the metal garbage can before coming over to them.

 

“We leaving now?” he asked.

 

“Did you get what JC wants?” Joey asked in return.

 

 “Cheeseburger and fries,” Justin said, waving a dismissive hand.

 

“Let’s go!” Chris called from the other side of the dance studio, bouncing impatiently on his feet as he waited by the door. “Our break’ll be over before we ever make it to McDonald’s.”

 

Joey rolled his eyes as Justin ran forward towards Chris, knocking into him. He looked at Lance. “We’ll be back soon.”

 

Lance just nodded and sighed as the door closed behind him. He took position before he started counting under his breath as he went through the routine they’d been learning for the majority of that day. But he stumbled when he got to the part where he had to cross his feet before spinning.

 

JC, who’d been watching him, pushed himself away from the wall that he’d been leaning against after setting his water down on the floor. He approached Lance and said, “You almost got it. The thing that’s tripping you up is you’re treating it like two separate moves when it’s one smooth motion. Let me show you.”

 

JC then proceeded to do the routine flawlessly, slowly going through the steps to demonstrate the move Lance was having difficulty with. Once he was finished he looked over at Lance. “Now you try.”

 

Lance didn’t say anything as he put himself into the first position again. His face was scrunched up in concentration as he went through the routine. It was better, except that he stumbled again when he had to cross his feet and spin. He groaned in frustration.

 

“C’mon, Lance,” JC said, sighing. “You can do this. You just need to focus.”

 

“I am focused,” Lance ground out.

 

“You’re too tense. Just relax,” JC said.

 

“You know, some of us aren’t perfect and born with God given talent. We have to actually try at what we do before we succeed,” Lance snapped, glaring at JC. “So excuse me if I can’t hit the steps perfect every time like you.”

 

“I was just trying to help,” JC said quietly.

 

“I didn’t ask for your help. But you felt the need to come over here and show off anyway.”

 

“I wasn’t—” JC tried to defend, but Lance interrupted him.

 

“I’m sick of people like you who butt into other people’s business when they never asked you to. You think you’re helping, but all you’re doing is showing off!” Lance yelled. “Just mind your own business for once and try not to be bothered by the fact that there are people who have to work harder than you!”

 

Lance shook his head as he watched the memory play out. He remembered that day with amazing clarity even before seeing it again just now because it was something that he’d felt horrible about for days afterwards. The crushed look on JC’s face was burned into his mind.

 

He hadn’t meant anything by trying to help, but Lance’s frustration at himself had caused him to lash out. Before the day was over Lance had apologized profusely for what he’d said, knowing that he hadn’t meant it. It was just something that came to him easily in anger. JC had accepted his apology, but Lance could tell just by looking at him that what he’d said was playing over in JC’s head.

 

A click and a slight creak of rusty hinges made Lance turn his head towards the studio door only to find that it wasn’t the same. It was a standard white door that he’d seen in every hotel he and the guys had stayed at while on the road. Joey walked through the door and closed it behind him.

 

JC, who had been curled up in the middle of one of the queen beds, briefly looked up at his entrance before looking back down at the notebook in his lap. But his head snapped back up almost immediately.

 

“What happened?” JC asked worriedly, throwing his notebook onto the nightstand in between the beds as he stood up. Joey’s clothes were damp and smeared with dirt. There was an angry red bump on his forehead that almost matched the color of his hair.

 

“I almost got mugged outside of this strip club,” Joey said, wincing in pain as he sat on the other bed next to Chris.

 

Chris started to ask if he was OK when JC cut him off saying, “What were you doing at a strip club?”

 

“I would’ve thought it’d be pretty obvious,” Joey mumbled.

 

“Is that what you’re going to say when a reporter asks you?” JC asked.

 

Joey frowned in confusion. “What reporter? No one probably even recognized me.”

 

“You’re not a nobody anymore, Joey. People are going to recognize you. There were probably at least a dozen people that knew who you were, and they’re going to talk.”

 

“So?” Joey said.

 

“So you tell me how well the media’s going to react when they find out,” JC replied.

 

“They’re going to think that Joey’s an adult who can go out if he wants,” Chris said, glaring at him.

 

JC crossed his arms. “What about the fans? How do you think they’re going to react?”

 

“I don’t care,” Chris said.

 

“Well, you should! They’re the ones who buy our albums. They made us who we are.” JC paused briefly. “Most of them are just kids who have their parents approve their music. And they won’t like that their kid’s a fan of a group of guys who hang out in strip clubs. Imagine what’ll happen to record sales.”

 

“Not all of our fans are kids and teenagers,” Chris replied.

 

“The majority are, and we owe it to them to be—”

 

“Fake people with no personalities?” Chris finished for JC.

 

JC’s glare intensified. “I never said that. We just need to be good role models, and that means no midnight rendezvous with strippers.”

 

“Did you ever think that maybe that’s why we have fans? Because we’re real people that they can relate to since we screw up like everyone else?” Chris retorted.

 

“Guys…” Joey tried to interrupt, but they didn’t even look at him. Both of them were staring each other down, their jaws set.

 

“That’s not how the music business works,” JC objected firmly. “Especially pop music. We’re supposed to be clean-cut guys that don’t get into trouble, but all of that goes out the window if we’re found partying every night of the week.”

 

“Tonight’s been the first time that Joey’s been out in nearly a month,” Chris pointed out.

 

JC shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Chris. A lot of our success is based on our image, and all it takes is one night to mess it up. Something the media isn’t afraid to exploit, which is something we can’t afford right now. ”

 

Chris’s eyes narrowed. “Stop lecturing me and acting like you know more about this business than I do. You think that the Mickey Mouse Club gave you experience, but they kept you in a bubble.” He rose from the bed and stepped closer to JC. “I don’t know what your problem is with criticism, but you’re going to have to deal with it. ‘Cause we’re going to be criticized and it’s not always going to be good.”

 

“Joey has to realize that his actions not only affect him, but the rest of us too,” JC said.

 

“I think he got the message,” Chris said coldly. “So you can get off your high horse and start acting like a friend.”

 

“Chris, man, let it go,” Joey replied, weariness apparent in his expression.

 

“I am!” JC defended, ignoring Joey. “A true friend lets someone know when they screw up so they don’t do it again.”

 

Chris shook his head. “A true friend doesn’t blame someone for something that hasn’t even happened yet. You’re being a jackass.”

 

JC flinched at the insult, but Chris kept on going. “You care so damn much about what this could do to our careers, but what about Joey? He could be seriously injured and you wouldn’t even know because you decided to jump on him instead of making sure he was OK.”

 

JC was flabbergasted as he lowered himself back onto the bed. “I just thought…I didn’t mean to…”

 

“To be such a prick?” Chris finished for him. “Well, you were.”

 

An awkward silence fell over the room allowing Lance to remember how that ate away at JC for days afterwards. He apologized to Joey repeatedly even though Joey had accepted his apology the first time. But that wasn’t even enough. JC had tried to make it up to Joey by doing things for him like volunteering to run back to the hotel once they were at the venue just to grab his favorite baseball cap.

 

Joey had finally grown so annoyed that he pulled JC aside one day and told him that what he was doing wasn’t necessary because he didn’t hold any animosity towards what JC had done. And JC had backed off like Joey had wanted. But Lance was sure that JC held onto it as one more situation he would try to never repeat.

 

Knowing that JC eventually dealt with it and moved on didn’t stop Lance’s heart from aching at the remorse that was reflected on JC’s face once Chris had finished yelling at him. Even though Lance knew it was a memory, he stepped forward, wanting to comfort his friend. But when he did the hotel room faded and it was replaced with woods.

 

Lance groaned when he recognized it as the first time they had been at the cabin and Katrina had taken JC. A bolt of lightning struck the base of the tree, causing it to fall forward. He watched as the memory version of himself ran forward and pushed JC out of the way only to have the tree land on his leg.

 

Closing his eyes at the crack that signaled his leg had been broken, Lance winced as he remembered how excruciating the pain had been. When he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t sure what to expect since everything seemed to change so rapidly. But he was still in the woods.

 

There was some soft mumbling from behind Lance, so he turned around to see JC was kneeling next to Lance’s still form as he performed CPR. He went through the cycles for what felt like ten minutes, but Lance was sure it’d only been half that. Finally, Justin pulled JC away and pulled him into a hug as he started to sob.

 

Lance expected to see himself wake up like he knew he had. But his body continued to lay there as Justin and JC cried just a foot away. He quickly deduced that this must be the nightmare that JC’d had right after it’d happened. Lance remembered JC confiding in him that he’d died, and Lance had assured him.

 

But seeing it actually play out, Lance understood now why JC had a hard time letting go of this nightmare. The reality of what could’ve happened was the most troubling thing about it, and that was what probably bothered JC the most about it.

 

Lance’s attention was drawn away from his dead body when he heard voices to his left. He turned to see JC was standing in the middle of an opening in the woods, talking to something.

 

“What…what are you talking about? I didn't do anything!” JC shouted as he clenched his fists at his sides.

 

“Yes, you did. You got Lance to try to commit suicide,” the voice said.

 

“No!” JC yelled. “That was you!”

 

The voice let out its haunting laugh that bounced off the hundred year old trees. “I knew you were smarter than I gave you credit for.”

 

“Why?” JC asked. “What did he ever do to you?”

 

“Nothing. Wish I could say the same for you though.”

 

JC furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What?”

 

“Not so smart after all,” the voice said with amusement. “I used him to get to you.”

 

“Get to me?” JC repeated.

 

“I know how much your friends mean to you. I know how you look after all of them and feel responsible for their safety.” A smirk was apparent in the voice. “I know how guilty you feel about all the bad things that have been happening to them, and you should. It is your fault.”

 

“Wh…what?” JC choked out. He whipped his head around in all directions, his eyes bouncing around the area.

 

“I never would've messed with Lance's head if it weren't for you. He was quite easy to manipulate once I weakened his defenses.”

 

“But why?”

 

“To hurt you. We figured it would affect you a lot more if we hurt your friends.”

 

“We?” JC said weakly.

 

“You didn't think I was the only one, did you?”

 

“Every…everything that's happened…”

 

“All because of you,” the demon finished.

 

Lance stared in disbelief as JC dropped his head into his hands. JC had mentioned what the demon had said to him, but hearing it for himself…Lance wasn’t surprised that JC believed everything was his fault and continued to harbor that belief. The demon said some pretty hurtful things and played right into JC’s mind, knowing what he was thinking.

 

Just then a blur ran past him, and Lance’s stomach churned as he saw Justin chase JC into the auto care center of Wal-Mart. He knew what was coming and, as much as he’d wanted to know exactly what’d happened, he didn’t really care to see right now. Not that he had much of a choice.

 

JC had just bent down to pick up a candle when he heard Justin mumble, “Oh shit.”

 

“What?” JC asked concerned at the scared face Justin was displaying when he turned around.

 

“We need to leave. Now,” Justin said.

 

JC nodded and immediately stood up, the candle forgotten as he joined Justin. They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when all of the sudden the darkness seemed to thicken. Except for two pairs of red eyes that belonged to the demons.

 

Justin’s eyes widened as the two demons on each side of him grabbed his arms. “JC!”

 

“Justin!”

 

JC ran forward, his bag slipping from his fingers as he reached out to grab Justin away from the demons. But just as his fingers skimmed the fabric of Justin’s shirt, the demons disappeared taking Justin with them.

 

Lance had forced himself not to run forward to try to stop the demons from taking Justin. He had to remind himself that everything he’d seen had already happened, but it was easy to forget with how real it felt. It was almost like he was there. Except that he wasn’t. He was just a bystander watching JC’s memories.

 

The garage morphed into a bedroom. JC’s bedroom at Lance’s house to be exact. It was torment for Lance knowing what he was about to see and not having the ability to look away.

 

A demon appeared behind Joey and JC immediately put himself between it and Joey. It laughed at him before it moved to the ceiling where it dispersed, its black smoke turning into red flames that spread across the ceiling and down the walls. There was panic in their eyes as the fire moved closer, engulfing the room.

 

The room filled with smoke, and Joey began to cough. His chest heaving with the effort to breathe in between coughing fits from the oxygen that was being consumed by the fire. It weakened him to the point where he collapsed, forcing JC to catch him to save him from falling into the surrounding flames.

 

In desperation, JC shouted at the demon, but only seemed to make the fire move faster. Lance watched horrified as it closed in on his friends and JC tried not to panic. But suddenly the scene changed again, and Lance felt a little miffed. Even though he knew that JC and Joey had made it out alive and with hardly any injuries, he’d never found out exactly how the fire had been stopped.

 

Lance forced himself to put that out of his mind though as he found himself in the backseat of Chris’s car. His sole attention was on his two friends that were sitting up front. JC was in the passenger seat, yelling at Chris.

 

“What the hell are you doing?”

 

“Taking you to the hospital. Your hand’s infected,” Chris said firmly.

 

“I don’t care! Pull over!” JC yelled.

 

“JC—”

 

“Pull over, Chris. We can call an ambulance or something. Just pull over!”

 

Chris sighed, but nodded. “All right. As soon as we make it through this light,” he said, gesturing to the light ahead of them that just changed from red to green.

 

JC didn’t say anything, but relaxed in his seat a little. The car just passed under the traffic light and reached the middle of the intersection when a car coming at a fast speed from the left slammed into the driver’s side. Chris and JC’s bodies were jarred from the impact as the other car’s momentum caused theirs to slide twenty feet across the intersection.

 

Lance closed his eyes, trying to get the image of an unconscious Chris and JC out of his mind. They’d almost lost both of them, and that wasn’t something Lance wanted to relive.

 

It was something he was granted when he opened his eyes to see the yard behind the cabin. JC stood in place as the devil stood just over his shoulder, whispering into his ear as JC watched Lance and the rest of the guys fight against the demons.

 

“Stop trying to fight it. You won’t win, so you might as well enjoy the show.”

 

A loud snap sounded as Lance crumbled to the ground in a heap. The demon that’d attacked him moved back towards Chris. It had just lifted him a few inches off the ground when Justin came sliding up to him and stuck the demon with the knife, causing it to disappear.

 

Then JC’s attention shifted to Joey who was dodging his demon. It nearly got the upper hand, but Joey was ready for it and stabbed the demon with the knife in his hand. The hope was almost visible on JC’s face once the demons were gone.

 

“I’d rethink that if I were you,” the devil said.

 

JC’s forehead crinkled in confusion at the devil’s words before his gaze landed on Joey who was kneeling on the ground next to Lance, trying to shake his shoulder. But the Lance in the memory didn’t awaken, which Lance had expected since he hadn’t regained consciousness until Katrina started to heal his leg.

 

Lance glanced at JC whose face had fallen, tears brimming in his eyes, and that was all he needed to know that JC hadn’t known Lance was unconscious. Then a sob escaped JC’s lips, forcing him to gasp for air. Even though the devil couldn’t see Lance since it was just a memory, he glared at it for causing JC unnecessary pain.

 

The glare only intensified when the devil put a hand on JC’s shoulder and he cried out in pain before he collapsed to the muddy ground. JC tried to get up several times, but his body couldn’t seem to hold itself up. He finally managed to prop himself up when four more demons appeared between him and the other guys.

 

“Did you honestly think I wasn’t going to send more?” the devil, bent down low, spoke softly into JC’s ear. “Your friends don’t stand a chance.”

 

As if in direct parallel to its words, Joey’s shoulder popped out of place with a nauseating crack. Joey lied on his back, temporarily dazed for a minute before he pushed himself to his feet and killed the demon that’d hurt him. But then Chris cried out in pain as a demon knocked into Justin’s side with a loud crack.

 

Justin had no time to recover before the same demon lifted him off the ground and wrapped its hand around his neck, choking him.

 

“I think we know how this is going to end,” the devil said, forcing JC to his feet.

 

“No,” JC protested weakly, refusing to tear his eyes away from the demon that continued to choke Justin, even as he kicked and clawed at it.

 

But the devil ignored him as it turned him around, shoving JC forward. He stumbled, his legs almost giving out on him. The only thing that kept him upright was the devil’s bony arm around his shoulder.

 

They paused as the demon whispered, “You hear that?” There was a sudden snap, bone grinding against bone, that had JC cringing. “You’ve just lost another friend.”

 

“No,” JC choked out, collapsing to the ground, his knees slamming into the unyielding earth.

 

Lance felt anger course through his veins. JC was forced to believe that he and Justin were dead. The heartache and misery just radiated off of JC in waves, which just caused Lance’s anger to boil even more. He knew that while JC wasn’t going to fight the devil when it went to kill him, he’d beg for it knowing that two of his friends were dead. It was even worse when he calculated JC’s tendency to blame himself for everything.

 

Determination filled Lance’s body as he looked around wondering if he was going to have to watch any more memories because all he wanted to do at that moment was find JC. He stood there for a minute waiting for the scene to change again, but it didn’t.

 

Lance wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he figured maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was probably the last horrible thing JC had seen before the devil had thrown him into the lake. That made Lance’s eyes widen in realization. All of the memories he’d seen were meant to torture JC. No doubt the work of the devil.

 

It was time to find JC and bring him back, but Lance wasn’t sure where to go. He started walking towards the lake since that was the last place JC had been. Lance had just reached the still water and was debating where to go from there when he heard crying. His eyes narrowed as he searched the surrounding area wondering where it was coming from.

 

It sounded like it was originating from inside the woods. Lance wasn’t sure if that was right or not, but it gave him a direction to go in. Without another thought, he walked into the woods, trying not to trip over anything in the darkness.

 

Rain continued to pour from the sky, and the dense trees only made the darkness that much more suffocating. The crying was hard to hear over the rumble of the thunder, but it did grow louder, which gave Lance hope that he was on the right track. Finally after nearly five minutes of walking through the woods as he ducked under tree branches and avoided tripping on roots, his eyes landed on a figure that was curled up in a ball.

 

“Thank God,” Lance breathed in relief. He frowned as he watched JC’s shoulders shake, his body wracked with sobs. His knees were pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them protectively, while his head rested on top of his knees. It seemed that JC wasn’t even aware someone else had joined him.

 

Lance slowly approached JC and put a hand on his shoulder. Both to get his attention and to comfort him. The contact got JC to lift his head off his knees only for his eyes to widen in disbelief and anguish.

 

“No, no,” JC protested, weakly pulling away from Lance. “Not you too.”

 

“What are you talking about, JC?” Lance asked softly, crouching down in front of him. He reached out to touch JC, but JC tightened his hold around his knees. So Lance dropped his hand to his side, not wanting to push JC when he was in such a fragile state.

 

“You’re not supposed to be here. You’re…dead,” JC choked out. “But you can’t be here. Not in Hell.”

 

Lance sighed softly. He had expected this once he saw that JC believed he and Justin had died, so he knew he had to tread carefully. It wouldn’t do him any good if he got JC even more freaked and he refused to leave with him. And the first step was to convince JC that he and Justin were alive.

 

“This isn’t Hell, and I’m not dead,” Lance said. He paused to let that sink in before he added, “Neither is Justin.”

 

“You’re lying. I saw what happened.” JC swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his breath hitched. “I saw…you were so still…”

 

“You saw me unconscious, JC,” Lance said, gently.

 

JC’s tear filled gaze met Lance’s clear green one. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.” JC looked away as he wiped at his tears, even as they continued to cascade down his cheeks. “Or Justin.”

 

Lance refrained from rolling his eyes. Typical JC. Always felt responsible for everything, no matter what it was or if it was actually his fault. But after seeing all those horrible memories, it was easy to see that guilt was part of who he was since it started at such a young age. Though, Lance was determined to alleviate some of that guilt.

 

“You don’t have to apologize because—”

 

“It’s not my fault,” JC interrupted, his voice monotone.

 

“No, it’s not your fault,” Lance agreed. “But I was going to say you don’t have to apologize because we’re not dead.”

 

“This is some kind of trick,” JC mumbled to himself, resting his chin on his knees. “It has to be.”

 

“It’s not a trick. Think about it. What was the last thing you saw happen to me?”

 

“You died,” JC whispered.

 

Lance shook his head. “Before that.”

 

JC raised his eyes to meet Lance’s. “You broke your leg.”

 

“That’s right,” Lance agreed, nodding. He felt like he was talking to a kid, but he knew JC was just trying to cope with everything that he saw. “There’s no reason for me to be dead. People don’t die from broken bones.”

 

“Justin did,” JC objected quietly, his eyes fixed on his knees again.

 

Lance reached out to put a hand on JC’s arm, and this time JC didn’t pull away. “No, he didn’t.”

 

“But I heard…”

 

“The devil tricked you,” Lance said. He saw the doubt in JC’s eyes and added, “Katrina showed up before the demon could kill Justin. She saved him, and she healed my leg.”

 

“I tried to reach you…but there was nothing. I couldn’t feel you anymore,” JC said quietly.

 

“I don’t know how that happened, but I’m pretty sure the devil was behind it. He wanted you to believe that I was dead. He’s been messing with your mind.”

 

JC’s eyes slowly took in Lance’s appearance. Lance didn’t remove his hand from JC’s arm as he waited for his friend to realize that he and Justin were still alive. There was no way he’d convince JC to leave with him otherwise.

 

Finally after a minute JC’s eyes locked with Lance’s as he asked, “What are you doing here?”

 

“I’m here to bring you back,” Lance said.

 

“To what?” JC asked, frowning in confusion.

 

“To us, JC.” Lance let out a heavy sigh before locking eyes with JC. This was harder than he thought it’d be. “You’re not dead.”

 

“But I’m in Hell,” JC protested.

 

“No, you’re not. We’re in your head, and you’re still alive.” Lance paused. “I don’t think I could be here if you weren’t.”

 

That was certainly one idea he’d never entertained, and it unsettled him to think about it now. They’d learned more about his and JC’s connection over the past few weeks, but there was still so much that they didn’t know. And while he wanted answers to all of it, this was one particular thing he didn’t want to know.

 

“But…the memories…” JC said. He took a shaky breath and looked down. “It felt like I was in Hell.”

 

Lance shook his head. “The devil’s been controlling what you see, but you’re not dead yet. I think Hell will be worse than this.”

 

“Worse?” JC asked, his voice cracking.

 

Lance rubbed his hand up and down JC’s arm in what he hoped was a soothing manner. It killed him to see JC like this. He was normally so strong, which was a testament to how hard all of this was hitting him.

 

JC blinked rapidly as he tried to fight another round of tears. Lance wanted nothing more than to leave with JC, so this all could be over. It was time for them to put all of the terrible things that’d happened to them behind them and move onto better times. And all Lance had to do was look at JC, who was so broken, to know that he didn’t want to die and spend an eternity in Hell. But he was too stubborn to admit it, so somehow Lance had to break through that.

 

“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to die, and you don’t have to go to Hell,” Lance said.

 

“Yes, I do,” JC protested weakly.

 

“No, you don’t,” Lance insisted. “You’re not dead yet, JC. All you have to do is come back with me, and it’ll all be over.”

 

JC pulled his arm out of Lance’s grasp. “It’ll never be over.”

 

“Yes, it will. This was the last attempt, JC. The devil can’t hurt you or the rest of us ever again,” Lance said.

 

JC shook his head. “I can’t.”

 

“JC,” Lance ducked his head so his eyes met JC’s, “you don’t want to do this and you know it. So just come back with me.”

 

“I can’t,” JC repeated, a little more firmly, but still so broken. “This is where I’m supposed to be.”

 

Lance shook his head. “You’re supposed to be with us.”

 

“You’re wrong,” JC said sadly. “I was never supposed to survive. I’m just making things right.”

 

“God damn it, JC! This isn’t right!” Lance snapped.

 

At JC’s flinch, he forced himself to take a calming breath. Anger wasn’t going to get him anywhere with JC. He had to stay calm and gentle.

 

“You can’t leave us like this JC.” Lance paused. “If you come back for anything, come back for Justin. He was devastated when he found out you left. He thought you were dead. Don’t make him go through that again.”

 

“He can handle it. He’ll have you guys,” JC said softly.

 

Lance bit his tongue to keep himself from snapping at JC. All he wanted to do was shake him to make him see that what he was doing to himself was unnecessary. But it didn’t surprise him that even though JC was being tortured, he still thought he was doing the right thing for them.

 

JC was so damn stubborn, especially when it came to their safety. It’d be flattering even if it wasn’t so aggravating. But that’s how JC was. He would do anything to keep them safe, even if it cost him something in return. The only way to deal with JC when he was like this was to turn the tables to make him realize what he was doing.

 

That thought suddenly sparked an idea, and Lance refocused his gaze on JC’s face. “It’s your decision, but I’m not going to let you die alone.”

 

“You can’t do that,” JC said. “What’ll happen to you?”

 

Lance shrugged. “Once you’re dead, your thoughts will no longer exist. I’ll probably just disappear. I’ll probably be catatonic for the rest of my life.”

 

“You can’t do that,” JC repeated, staring at Lance in disbelief. “The guys…”

 

“They’ll have each other,” Lance said, an icy edge to his voice.

 

The only way for JC to understand what their lives would be like without him was for JC to imagine what life would be like without one of them. He didn’t understand his own importance, but he understood Lance’s.

 

“No.” JC shook his head. “No. You can’t do that to them. Just leave.” JC looked up at Lance desperately. “Please.”

 

“I’m not leaving,” Lance said, firmly. “Not without you.”

 

JC locked eyes with Lance. There was a small flicker of hope behind the agony and desperation. Lance latched onto that. It put him at ease knowing that JC wasn’t completely lost in the pain he’d been experiencing.

 

Suddenly everything blurred as Lance felt himself being ripped away from JC. Lance blinked to clear his vision, and his eyes fell on JC’s body lying in front of him. JC’s lifeless body. Joey finished the chest compressions before blowing two puffs of air into his mouth.

 

There was no response, and Lance’s heart clenched painfully as he let his eyes fall to his lap. This couldn’t be happening. But before he could really wrap his head around the fact that one his best friends was dead, there was a sharp intake of breath immediately followed by coughing.

 

Lance’s head shot up to see Joey helping JC to a sitting position as he continued to cough up the water that’d filled his lungs. Relief flooded over Lance. He’d really almost thought that they’d lost JC, despite everything they’d gone through.

 

Joey sat back on his heels to give JC some space as the coughing subsided, leaving JC panting. But as soon as Joey backed off, Justin flung his arms around JC and held him tightly, tears mixing with the still steadily falling rain. It took a few seconds, but JC weakly brought his arms up and wrapped them around Justin’s back.

 

A loud sigh of relief came from behind the pair and Lance saw Chris fall back to the grass, his lips slightly parted. Lance then turned his gaze to Joey who looked exhausted and offered a weak smile.

 They were a little worse for the wear, but they were alive. And that was all that mattered.

Joey walked up his driveway, his stomach churning nervously. His nerves had been gradually building since that morning when he’d first woken up. This was the first time he’d been home in nearly a month, and he didn’t know how Kelly was going to react. But he was prepared to work things out with her.

 

It helped that everything with the demons was over because he could tell her with confidence that he wasn’t leaving again. Chris had promised to keep him updated because Joey felt wary about leaving them, especially since everything had nearly gone to hell two days ago when they’d nearly lost JC at the cabin. It put him more at ease knowing that Chris was going to keep an eye on everyone and let him know how they were doing.

 

Joey sighed softly as he paused in front of his door to dig his keys out of his pocket. His fingers wrapped around the cold metal, and he found the right key before sticking it in the lock. It took longer to open his front door than it normally would since his left arm was in a sling.

 

They’d stopped at a hospital on the way back to Lance’s that night to get everyone checked out. His shoulder had been painfully popped back into place before the nurse had wrapped his arm in a sling to prevent him from agitating his shoulder as it healed. It still hurt, but it was more tolerable now.

 

He’d just shut the door when he heard footsteps. Joey’s face lit up when he saw his daughter running towards him. She looked like she had grown even though he knew that he hadn’t been gone long enough for that to happen.

 

“Daddy!” Brianna squealed, a smile on her face as she threw her arms around Joey’s legs.

 

Joey smiled as he bent down to give her a one-armed hug. “I missed you, Bri,” he whispered in her ear.

 

“I missed you too, Daddy.” Brianna pulled away a little and she frowned in confusion. “What happened to your arm?”

 

“I hurt it, but I’m OK,” Joey said, running a hand through her thick curly hair.

 

“Brianna.” Joey looked up with his daughter to see Kelly standing there, her expression neutral. “Why don’t you go upstairs and play while Daddy and I talk?”

 

“OK,” Brianna agreed easily. She kissed Joey on the cheek before she pulled out of his embrace and ran up the stairs.

 

Once she was out of sight, Joey slowly straightened from his crouched position. He stared at Kelly, not sure what to say. She was as beautiful as ever, and it really hit him how much he’d really missed her.

 

“I missed you,” Joey said.

 

Kelly stared back at him for a few seconds before she closed the empty space between them. She gently kissed him before wrapping her arms around him, mindful of his shoulder as she whispered, “Me too.”

 

After nearly twenty seconds, Kelly pulled away. She frowned in concern. “What happened to you?”

 

“It’s kind of a long story,” Joey said. “I’ll tell you in a bit.”

 

“C’mon,” Kelly said, tugging on his hand, leading him to the living room. When Joey sat next to her on the couch she asked, “Are you here to stay? Because I don’t want you here just for you leave again.”

 

“I’m here to stay,” Joey assured.

 

“What’s changed?” Kelly asked.

 

“Everything’s finally settled down,” Joey said.

 

“But what exactly happened?”

 

Joey sighed. “There was just some stuff we needed to deal with. But we got it under control now.”

 

“No.” Kelly shook her head. “You’re not doing this. I deserve to know what happened. What kept you away for so long.”

 

Joey knew that she was right. She did deserve to know what happened, but he couldn’t exactly tell her the truth. Not that she’d believe him anyway. That’s why he’d decided on the ride home that he wasn’t going to tell her the truth about the demons. It killed him to have to lie to her, but he knew there wouldn’t be any way that she’d understand.

 

“Kelly…”

 

“I know about the car accident and Justin passing out in Walgreens.”

 

Joey’s eyes widened in surprise for a second before he nodded in understanding. They’d had a press conference about Justin passing out, so of course she would’ve heard about it. And Johnny had been handling the press with the car accident. It’d just never been something that’d crossed his mind.

 

“I should’ve heard about that stuff from you, not MTV,” Kelly said. “Do you know how much that hurt? My own husband couldn’t pick up the phone and let me know what was going on.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Joey said. “There was so much going on. It was chaotic.”

 

Kelly sighed. “You still should’ve called me. They’re my friends too, and I deserve to know if something happens to them.”

 

“I’m really sorry, Kel,” Joey repeated. “You know I would never intentionally keep something like that from you.”

 

“Well, is Justin OK?” Kelly asked after a few seconds of silence.

 

Joey frowned, confused. “Yeah, he’s fine. Why?”

 

Kelly stared at him incredulously. “He passed out in the middle of a store! Not to mention he was the reason you left in the first place.”

 

Joey had almost forgotten about that. It seemed like ages ago that he’d gotten the call from Chris that something was wrong with Justin. Was that really how all of the demon stuff had started? With Justin having nightmares? So much had happened in the past month that it was hard to remember the original reason he’d left.

 

“Well?” Kelly prompted, signaling that he’d been quiet for too long. “Is Justin all right? And I want the truth.”

 

“He’s fine,” Joey assured. “He was just sick for a while.”

 

Kelly frowned. “And that’s why he passed out?”

 

“Yeah. He’d been having trouble sleeping and just hadn’t been taking care of himself,” Joey said. It was still a half truth because the only problem Justin really had was the nightmares turned visions. But it made Joey feel a little bit better about lying to Kelly, telling her about some stuff that’d actually happened.

 

“Why?” Kelly asked.

 

Joey shrugged. “We think it was stress from everything that was going on with JC.”

 

“What’s wrong with JC? He sounded fine when I talked to him on the phone.”

 

Joey’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “When did you talk to him?”

 

“About a week ago,” Kelly said. “I called him to talk about you.”

 

That wasn’t surprising. Usually if something was wrong and you wanted to know what, you could count on JC to tell you if it was serious. Not saying that JC couldn’t keep secrets because he could. But when it came to their wellbeing, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell someone about it. So it made sense that Kelly would call him.

 

“Joey,” Kelly said and he looked up at her. “What was wrong with JC?”

 

“He…” Joey paused, running a hand roughly over his chin. He met his wife’s eyes. “You remember when JC collapsed about a month ago?”

 

“Yeah, of course,” Kelly said. Her forehead creased with worry. “Did it happen again?”

 

“No,” Joey said immediately. Then he remembered JC on the bathroom floor, not able to even sit up by himself and amended, “Well, not really.”

 

The lines on her forehead increased. “Then what?”

 

“He’d been really stressed ever since the end of the tour. He hadn’t really been eating and was having nightmares a lot. That’s actually how this happened,” Joey said, gesturing to his shoulder. It was the most believable thing he could come up with.

 

“I was trying to calm him down from a nightmare, and he kind of lashed out at me since he was still caught up in it. My shoulder caught on the dresser, popping out of place,” Joey explained.

 

“Are you all right?” Kelly asked, eyeing his arm critically.

 

“I’m fine,” Joey said dismissively.

 

Kelly nodded and sat back against the cushions. “Why was JC having nightmares? He must’ve been upset for a reason.”

 

Joey shrugged. “I don’t know. He refused to tell us.” He sighed then. “But that wasn’t even the worst of it.”

 

“What? What happened?”

 

“He uh…” Joey hesitated, looking down and noticing one of Brianna’s toys under the coffee table. “He tried to commit suicide.”

 

“Oh my God,” Kelly breathed in shock. “What happened?”

 

Joey thought quickly. Obviously he couldn’t tell her the truth, but it had to be something believable. Then he remembered Chris describing what it’d been like to find Lance when the demon had tried to make him overdose.

 

“We found him in the bathroom. He overdosed on aspirin, but we managed to get him to throw up the pills,” Joey said.

 

“Did you take him to the hospital?” Kelly asked.

 

“No.”

 

“Joey!” Kelly reprimanded. “You should’ve taken him to the hospital!”

 

“We got all the pills out of his system,” Joey defended.

 

“He should’ve been checked out by a doctor. What if there were some underlying complications?”

 

“But there weren’t,” Joey said. “He’s fine.”

 

Kelly sighed. “Have you at least tried to get him some help?”

 

“We tried therapy,” Joey told her. Another half truth since it’d happened before the fact. But Joey was certain that if they tried it again, it would still have the same effect as it did the first time. JC was too private a person to divulge his thoughts and feelings to some stranger.

 

“Tried?” Kelly repeated. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It did more harm than good. I mean, JC freaked,” Joey said.

 

“Did you try again?”

 

Joey stared at her in disbelief. “Why would we? He didn’t react well to it at all. If anything, it made him worse.”

 

“You can’t expect him to get better after one session,” Kelly said.

 

“You weren’t there.” Joey shook his head slowly. “I’d never seen him so upset in all my life.”

 

“Well, what did you do then?”

 

“We talked to him,” Joey said.

 

“And did it work?” Kelly asked.

 

“I’m not sure,” Joey admitted honestly, thinking about how tormented JC still felt after the numerous talks they’d had with him. “I mean, we talked to him about what he did. I’m just not sure if it actually sunk in or not.”

 

Kelly sighed. “That’s why stuff like that should be left to the professionals. I mean, you said it yourself, he wouldn’t talk to you. JC needs to talk to somebody.”

 

“He’s all right now. Putting him through therapy would only upset him more,” Joey said.

 

“Joey, he needs some real help. Just because he hasn’t done anything since, doesn’t mean he’s not thinking about it.” Kelly paused. “He probably should be put on suicide watch.”

 

“No,” Joey objected. “That would only make him worse.”

 

“Joey…” Kelly started, but he interrupted her.

 

“You don’t understand. Therapy and all that other stuff that most people go through…it doesn’t work with JC. He’s too private to talk to people he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t want to upset us either,” Joey explained.

 

“I just don’t want anything to happen to him,” Kelly said.

 

Joey rubbed at his forehead, sighing. “We’re handling it the best way we know how.” He glanced up at her. “I wish you’d trust that we wouldn’t put his life in jeopardy.”

 

The room was filled with silence for a moment before Kelly asked, “Does Johnny know about this?”

 

“It’s not his business,” Joey said.

 

“And apparently it’s not mine either,” Kelly muttered.

 

Joey hung his head, his expression weary. “Kelly…”

 

“No,” she objected, standing up suddenly. “I’m your wife, and you don’t get to treat me like this. You can’t just take off, have all this stuff happen, and then not even tell me.

 

“We’re supposed to talk to each other. And if you would’ve told me about all this sooner, I probably could’ve helped with JC. Especially since none of you seem to know what the hell you’re doing!”

 

Joey knew that Kelly was probably right, but he didn’t think she could have done much better. She continued to yell, but it now sounded distant as he thought back to everything they’d gone through to help JC. It’d been a never-ending puzzle trying to figure out why they were being attacked by demons, but they never once gave up. Failure had never been an option for them. Not even when they were forced to chase after JC to the cabin.

 

From the get go they’d known that it’d be risky and the outcome probably wouldn’t work in their favor, but they’d gone anyway. Because the only thing that’d mattered was JC and protecting him. And to think they’d been so close to losing him…

 

Joey felt his eyes burn with unshed tears and pressed two fingers against them, trying not to cry. He was vaguely aware that the yelling had stopped mid-word and the couch cushions shifted. Without another word, Kelly wrapped a comforting arm around him and pulled his head to rest on her shoulder.

 

The comfort of those arms was enough to break Joey. After everything they’d gone through, this was something he needed. So for the first time since everything had happened, Joey let his tears fall as he tightened his hold on his wife.

 

 

  

Chris stared up at the ceiling as he lied in bed. He’d been lying there for a little over an hour, and sleep continued to evade him. But it wasn’t surprising considering he couldn’t stop thinking about the past couple days.

 

Friday night had been such a long night with having to chase after JC to the cabin and fight off demons. Not to mention they’d stopped at a hospital on the way back. Thankfully none of their injuries had been serious enough to warrant spending the night, but it did take several hours for the doctors and nurses to tend to their wounds.

 

So by the time they’d arrived back at Lance’s, it’d been early morning. Without a word, the five of them had gone to their rooms to get some sleep. And that was how the majority of yesterday had been spent.

 

There hadn’t been much said between them since they’d gotten back, and it wasn’t just due to tiredness. It was obvious they were all trying to deal with what’d happened, or almost happened as the case may be. You’d think that now that they didn’t have to worry about devils or demons anymore that there’d be less to worry about, but Chris was as concerned as ever.

 

Chris let out a heavy sigh and threw back his covers as he sat up. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and walked out of his room. There was no way he was going to get to sleep anytime soon, so he might as well check on the guys.

 

Justin’s room was his first stop since it was almost directly across the hall from him. Chris peeked his head in and frowned when he saw a bed with rumpled covers, but no Justin. But then Chris noticed a yellowish glow leaking out from under the closed bathroom door and figured that’s where Justin was.

 

Though, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t worried about Justin because he hadn’t really slept since they’d been woken up from Lance’s yelling on Friday night. Even with the pain medication that the doctor had given him for his newly broken arm and broken rib, he hadn’t slept. Justin had taken the medicine, but Chris knew it was only because he wanted to alleviate his pain.

 

Hopefully Justin would try to get some sleep instead of watching JC. It was something he’d done ever since they’d gotten back. Chris could understand that Justin was clinging to JC because they’d almost lost him, but it wasn’t healthy to go without sleep. If Justin was still awake whenever Chris decided to try to get some sleep, then he’d talk to him. So Chris continued down the hall, reflexively glancing into the dark bedroom Joey had been staying in even though he’d gone home.

 

Earlier that morning, Chris had just gotten out of the shower and had been heading downstairs when he saw Joey packing. Joey had told him that he was going home to work things out with Kelly, but that part of him didn’t want to leave because he was afraid something else would happen like last time. But Chris had assured him that he would call him with updates, and that he should just focus on spending time with his family and making things right with Kelly.

 

“It’s over now,” Chris had told Joey. “You should go be with your family.”

 

It’d definitely been time. Joey had spent enough time away from them. He’d taken a day to recoup before he’d headed back. And Chris was glad he did. The sooner they got back to normal the better, and that was certainly a step in the right direction.

 

Continuing down the hallway, Chris paused in JC’s open doorway. He was happy to see that JC was sleeping. JC had been withdrawn and distant ever since they’d gotten back, and Chris was keeping his eye out for any possible relapses in the destructive behavior JC liked to indulge in so much. But so far it looked like it wasn’t a problem.

 

Chris finally made it to the end of hallway and took a step into Lance’s room only to notice that he wasn’t in bed. It wasn’t that odd since normally Lance would be up late into the night working on stuff for FreeLance, but Chris knew that wasn’t the case this time. Considering what they’d gone through, it wasn’t hard to understand why.

 

So Chris descended the stairs, and as soon as he turned the corner, he saw light from the end of hallway. He walked down the hall and found Lance sitting at the kitchen table with his elbow on the table, propping his head up as he stared off into space.

 

“I thought JC was the spacey one,” Chris joked lightly as he pulled out a chair and sat down across from Lance.

 

Lance blinked and slowly looked up, offering Chris a small smile. “Yeah, well, it was bound to rub off eventually.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Chris asked, his expression serious. It was obvious there was a lot on Lance’s mind, and he wanted to do whatever he could to put him at ease so he could get some sleep.

 

“I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened,” Lance admitted after a moment of silence.

 

“You can’t dwell on the what ifs,” Chris said. “We made it out alive, and we don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore.”

 

Lance shook his head slowly. “You don’t understand. You didn’t see what I did.”

 

Chris leaned forward slightly. “What? What’d you see?”

 

Nothing had been said about Lance being in JC’s head. It hadn’t mattered what’d happened in his head at the time since it’d done its purpose in bringing JC back. But it did now if it was causing Lance so much grief. And Chris would be lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit curious.

 

“JC’s memories,” Lance said. “Only they weren’t good ones. Most of them were from everything that’s happened to us ever since our first trip to the cabin.”

 

“Most?”

 

“Some were from his childhood and MMC. Stuff like that.” Lance sighed. “But they were horrible. And I can understand now why JC’s the way he is.”

 

“What do you mean?” Chris asked.

 

“All the memories were things that he felt responsible for. He’s felt guilt since an early age, and I think it just stuck with him and built over the years,” Lance explained.

 

“But why those memories? Why was he seeing them?”

 

“I think the devil wanted to cause him as much pain as possible, so it was using his memories against him,” Lance said.

 

Chris nodded even as he felt his blood boil at the thought. Knowing how much blame JC placed on himself for even the little things, it wasn’t hard to believe that he would take seeing his mistakes to heart. JC had enough problems without being reminded of past mistakes that were just that – in the past.

 

“And it worked,” Lance added, pulling Chris out of his thoughts.

 

Chris frowned. “How bad?”

 

Lance looked down at the white tabletop. “Bad.” He raised his eyes to meet Chris’s. “I’ve never seen him that upset.”

 

“But you got him out of there,” Chris pointed out.

 

“I almost didn’t though.” Lance sighed. “He thought he was in Hell.”

 

“Oh, God,” Chris mumbled. He figured JC hadn’t responded well to seeing the memories Lance mentioned, but he never imagined JC had thought he was in Hell. That really said a lot about what his state of mind had been.

 

“I can’t even imagine what he would’ve gone through if I hadn’t succeeded. If he was wrecked after such a short amount of time…I can’t even begin to comprehend how he’d react after being tortured with it for all eternity,” Lance said.

 

There was a slight pause before Lance added, “I don’t think I could’ve lived with myself if he’d died, knowing what he’d be experiencing from now until the end of time.”

 

“You don’t have to worry about that though because he’s alive. It’s over,” Chris said.

 

Lance shook his head. “No, it’s not because now we have to deal with it.”

 

“Yeah, but we can handle that,” Chris said. There was no doubt in his mind that they would all pull through this. They’d come too far and survived too much not to.

 

“Can we really?” Lance asked, skepticism in his voice.

 

“Yeah. We just need to get back to normal,” Chris said. “Once we get back into a normal routine, it’ll be easier to put it all behind us.”

 

Lance frowned. “I don’t know about that. I mean, JC’s pulling away from us again.”

 

“We’re not going to let what happened last time happen again,” Chris assured.

 

“We say that every time he does this, but it always happens anyway,” Lance said.

 

Chris knew Lance had a good point, but there was no way he could let JC get away with making himself sick. Again. It’d happened way too many times for his liking, and it was time for JC to learn how to deal with things without hurting himself in the process.

 

“Well, not this time. We’re giving him his space for now, but he’s going to talk to us whether he likes it or not,” Chris said.

 

Lance sighed. “But he’s not the only one. Justin’s been doing it too.”

 

“I know.” Chris rubbed tiredly at his eyes. “I never expected this from him.”

 

“Well, I’m not surprised. You saw the way he acted when we found out JC took off. He thought he was dead,” Lance said.

 

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he has to keep a vigil over JC while he sleeps. I mean, he’s not getting any sleep doing that,” Chris replied. “Especially since he’s supposed to be letting his body heal.”

 

“I don’t think that’s what he’s worried about right now.”

 

“Well, it should be,” Chris said.

 

“He’ll realize he’s tired eventually,” Lance replied. “This is Justin we’re talking about. He’s not like JC.”

 

“Thank God for that,” Chris muttered. “One of him is more than enough.”

 

Silence fell over the kitchen for a minute before Lance pushed back his chair and said, “I think I’m going watch some TV. Maybe it’ll distract me enough to get some sleep.”

 

“I guess I’ll head back up to bed,” Chris said, rising from his chair as Lance crossed the room to pull a glass out of the cupboard.

 

Chris just pushed in his chair and was about to walk out of the room when he heard Lance say, “Hey, Chris.”

 

“Yeah?” Chris stopped in the doorway and turned to look at Lance, who was standing in front of the sink with a full glass of water.

 

“How do you think Joey’s doing?”

 

“Well…” Chris hesitated. That was a good question. “He’s still over there, so as good as can be I guess.”

 

Lance nodded and sighed. “Try to get some sleep.”

 

“You too.”

 

Chris left the room, hoping that sleep wouldn’t evade him and Lance anymore tonight. It was a good thing they were still on break, or they’d be having difficulties. He made his way up the stairs with every intention of getting back under his covers and trying to get some sleep when he noticed Justin sitting in JC’s room.

 

With a sigh, Chris walked into the room. Justin briefly looked up at his entrance before returning his eyes to the bed where JC was still sound asleep. Just like he’d been when Chris had checked on him earlier. Just like Justin should be.

 

All it took was one look at Justin for Chris to see how exhausted his friend looked. He had dark circles under his eyes that Chris had come to associate with JC over the past month, and his pallor made him look like he was sick. The lack of sleep was obviously catching up to him.

 

“C’mon,” Chris whispered to Justin as he reached across his body to grab a hold of his right wrist since he didn’t want to touch his left arm that was in a brand new cast. He pulled Justin out of the desk chair he was sitting in.

 

Justin sighed, but didn’t resist. Chris walked down the hall and into Justin’s room. He sat down on the bed, pulling Justin with him. His brown eyes met Justin’s exhausted blue. “Are you OK?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

There was a pause before Chris asked, “Trouble sleeping?”

 

Justin shrugged noncommittally.

 

“Aren’t you tired?”

 

Justin shrugged again, and Chris growled in frustration. It grated on his nerves that Justin wasn’t talking to him. He had enough of him not getting any sleep. They needed to talk, so Justin could get to a place where sleep would come easier for him.

 

“Would you freaking talk to me?” Chris snapped.

 

“He promised me,” Justin said after a couple seconds.

 

Chris frowned. He didn’t know what he was expecting Justin to say, but that wasn’t it. “What?”

 

“JC. He broke his promise,” Justin said.

 

“What promise?” Chris asked. He remembered Justin saying something similar in the car on the way to the cabin, but he still didn’t know what exactly the promise entailed. It was obviously important to Justin though.

 

“He promised he’d stay because he knew how much I needed him,” Justin said. “And he just took off anyway.”

 

Chris sighed. He didn’t condone JC leaving like he had and running off to the cabin even though he’d sworn not to, and Justin had every right to be upset. But, at the same time, he knew that JC had his reasons. Not matter how skewed they were.

 

“He thought he was doing the right thing,” Chris said, trying to defend JC. “You know how his mind works. He got it in his head that the only way to save us was to sacrifice himself.”

 

“But I never asked him to,” Justin said. “I wanted him to stay.”

 

“I know, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t regret what he was doing.”

 

Justin looked up at him. “How do you know?”

 

“Because he told me how scared he was of dying, but that he would do anything for us. It didn’t matter to him that he would die as long as we live,” Chris told him.

 

“That’s stupid,” Justin mumbled.

 

“Believe me I told him that from the get go, but no one ever listens to me. Especially when their name’s JC.”

 

“He almost died,” Justin whispered.

 

“Is that why you’ve been watching him? Because you’re afraid that he still might?” Chris didn’t wait for an answer before he said, “Well, don’t be. The devil can’t hurt JC anymore.”

 

“That’s not it,” Justin objected quietly.

 

Chris frowned. “Then what?”

 

“He snuck out when he was supposed to be sleeping,” Justin said. “I need to be prepared in case he does it again.”

 

Chris stared at Justin in surprise. He’d never once thought that Justin was keeping such a diligent watch over JC because he didn’t trust him. This was huge. Justin always trusted JC. There were no instances that came to mind where Justin hadn’t trusted JC. Until now anyway.

 

“Justin, he’s not going to do it again,” Chris tried to assure him.

 

“But how do you know? We thought he wouldn’t go to the cabin himself and look how that turned out,” Justin pointed out.

 

“There’s no reason for him to sneak out. It’s over, so he doesn’t have to sacrifice himself anymore,” Chris said.

 

Justin sighed and pulled at a loose string on his sweatpants. “He might not think it’s over, and want to go back to be sure.”

 

Chris thought back to nearly three weeks ago when JC had told him about how he didn’t think it was over. He’d believed that the demons were coming back to finish what they’d started, and, essentially, he’d been right. But Chris believed with one hundred percent certainty that JC was wrong this time if that was what he was thinking.

 

“I’m not letting him run off again,” Justin said, pulling Chris out of his thoughts.

 

Hearing Justin’s reasoning, Chris understood why Justin had been keeping an eye on JC, but that didn’t mean he agreed with it. Justin needed to know that nothing like that would happen again. Chris opened his mouth to tell him that he was going to do his damnedest to keep JC from taking off. But before he could, moaning could be heard from down the hall.

 

Justin was on his feet in an instant, and Chris followed him back down the hall to JC’s room. He groaned when he saw JC thrashing about, getting tangled in his sheets as he mumbled unintelligible words. Though, Chris knew he shouldn’t be surprised because nightmares were kind of normal for JC.

 

Chris stepped forward to help only to stop when he saw Justin sit on the edge of the bed and whisper reassurances to JC as his hands gently restrained JC’s flailing limbs. After nearly thirty seconds of JC fighting against the confines of his nightmare, his eyes flew open. They were wide with terror that had Chris frowning.

 

Justin continued to whisper comforting words to JC as he ran a hand through his hair. It took a few seconds, but JC’s body started to relax and his eyes grew heavy. As Chris watched his youngest brother take care of JC, it was easy to see that while Justin was pissed at JC, there was still so much love there.

 

With JC’s eyes closed and his erratic breathing even, Chris pushed himself away from the dresser and walked over to the bed. He untangled the sheets from JC’s legs and gently pulled them up to his chest so that they were actually covering him, Justin standing up so he could do so.

 

Chris stared down at JC and said, “I’m kind of surprised this hasn’t happened sooner.”

 

“It has.”

 

Chris raised a surprised eyebrow at Justin. “Excuse me?”

 

“Four times,” Justin said.

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Chris asked. It was a little disconcerting to hear that JC already had four nightmares, and he hadn’t even been aware of them.

 

“Because you guys would just make it worse,” Justin snapped, his voice rising slightly. JC shifted in sleep, but didn’t wake up.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chris asked defensively. Justin accusing them of not being able to take care of JC seemed to come from nowhere, and Chris didn’t appreciate it.

 

“It’s your fault that he’s even like this,” Justin harshly whispered so as not to disturb JC. “If you guys hadn’t pushed him away, then he wouldn’t have tried to sacrifice himself.”

 

Chris crossed his arms. “How did we push him away?”

 

“You yelled at him every time he did something wrong,” Justin said.

 

“What were we supposed to do? Coddle him?”

 

“You were supposed to talk to him instead of attacking him. Maybe if you had he wouldn’t have felt like such a burden,” Justin replied.

 

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Chris said, shaking his head. “Why would he feel like a burden?”

 

“Because he doesn’t think we love him.”

 

Chris scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. He knows we love him.”

 

“Does he really? I mean, why else would he be so willing to sacrifice himself if he thought otherwise?” Justin pressed.

 

Chris paused, letting Justin’s words sink in. JC had never once fought against the idea that he had to sacrifice himself. It was something that he’d mentioned when Chris had talked to him after Justin’s latest nightmare. And he’d been so adamant that the rest of them would be all right without him.

 

But why was that? Did JC really think that they wouldn’t be affected by his death? That he was expendable? It was then that the devil’s words to JC echoed through Chris’s mind, saying how JC was a burden and that they didn’t really care about him. JC hadn’t once fought back. It was almost as if he’d been thinking exactly what the devil had said to him, which would explain why he’d been so affected by its words.

 

And that made guilt rise up in Chris. Maybe they hadn’t been handling JC and his problems very well. In fact, Chris knew they hadn’t. But that was going to change.

 

“So you’re not going to let us help?” Chris asked, refocusing his attention on Justin.

 

“No,” Justin said, firmly. “You had your chance, and you blew it.”

 

“Yeah, well, that was before. Things are different now.” Chris paused. “Besides, you’re going to need our help.”

 

“No, I’m not,” Justin denied.

 

“At the rate you’re going…yes you are,” Chris said. “I mean, look at you. You haven’t slept in days, and it’s going to catch up to you sooner or later. My money’s on sooner.”

 

Justin looked down at JC before meeting Chris’s gaze. “What if something else happens?” Justin asked.

 

“Nothing will, but if it does, you’re just down the hall, right?” When Justin nodded Chris continued, “I know you want to help him, but you can’t do anything if you don’t get some sleep.”

 

Justin sighed reluctantly. “All right. I’ll try.”

 

Chris clapped him on the shoulder and let him lead the way out of the bedroom. He glanced over his shoulder once more to make sure that JC was still sleeping. Satisfied, he stepped out into the hallway, watching as Justin made his way towards his room. With a heavy sigh, Chris headed for his own room wondering how long it’d be before Justin went back into JC’s room, especially considering how easily he’d given in after they’d just spent the past few minutes fighting about it.

 

As Chris slid under his covers again, he knew he was in for a long sleepless night. He’d hoped that getting out of bed would take his mind off things and allow him to sleep when he returned, but it was worse now. Justin was worse off than he’d originally thought, and Chris wasn’t sure how to help him.

JC gasped for air as he jerked awake, his chest heaving. It didn’t help that his heart was fiercely pounding. A tear fell down his cheek when he closed his eyes and tried to focus on taking deep breaths. He reached his right hand up to wipe the tear away only to realize that his face was wet from many more tears.

 

As his breathing returned to normal, JC noticed that Justin wasn’t sitting beside him like he had with the previous nightmares. JC glanced to his right and saw that the desk chair was facing the bed instead of pushed under the desk like it should be. It made him wonder if Justin could hear when he was having a nightmare, or if Justin knew he was having a nightmare because he was already in the room. JC hoped it was the former.

 

Not that he wanted Justin to know that he was having nightmares because he didn’t. He didn’t want any of the guys to know because there was no point in worrying them about something so stupid. Though, he had to admit that it was kind of nice waking up to Justin being there. It helped to pull him out of his nightmare quicker and made it easier to fall back asleep.

 

But JC didn’t want any of that if it meant that Justin was watching him. Justin needed sleep just as much as he did, if not more. JC had a sneaking suspicion that Justin wasn’t sleeping like he should. And it was all because of him.

 

JC sighed and ran a hand through his hair only to grimace when he felt that it was wet. Glancing down at himself, he realized that his t-shirt was soaked in sweat. Disgusted, he got up to grab some clean clothes before walking out of his room and towards the bathroom.

 

He turned on the water, sticking a hand under it to feel for the right temperature. Once he was satisfied, he pulled the lever up and the showerhead suddenly sprayed warm water. JC stripped, leaving his dirty clothes on the floor before he stepped into the shower.

 

The warm water beat against his chest and cascaded down the rest of his body. It was supposed to make him feel better and forget about his nightmare, but JC couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to the bad dreams he’d been having.

 

Unlike the last time he’d had nightmares regularly, these ones weren’t always the same. They were usually about the same thing, but there wasn’t a particular one that was recurring. And JC couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.

 

The first nightmare he’d had was about what could’ve happened at the cabin, which made sense since it was the thought that plagued his mind the most. That one most resembled the one that he’d had over a month ago because he was forced to watch the guys die by the demons’ hands. It’d played off what he’d seen before the devil had dragged him to the lake, and even in remembrance, JC winced as if he could still hear his friends’ bones breaking.

 

But that wasn’t even the worst part. Once they were dead, their spirits appeared and told him that it was his fault they were dead. That he should’ve done something to protect them. JC had begged for their forgiveness, but they’d just continued to blame him. When he’d finally woken up, he’d been such a mess that it’d taken Justin longer to calm him down.

 

JC had thought that nightmare would be the worst and nothing else would come close to being as bad, but he was proven wrong every time he had another one. A couple were similar to his first one, but even when they were different, they hurt just as bad.

 

One was the media’s reaction to all of them dying at the cabin. It was one of the few dreams where he hadn’t outlived the guys, but it’d still been horrible just the same. His body had been pulled from the lake, while the guys had been found just yards away with broken necks in addition to other injuries they’d sustained.

 

The world had been in shock because it’d seemed so sudden since no one besides the five of them knew about what’d been happening. But the thing that’d hurt most was seeing their families grieve. In all of his attempts to sacrifice himself, JC had never once thought about how his family or the guys’ families would react if he and the guys hadn’t made it out of the whole demon thing alive.

 

JC sagged against the cool tiled wall of the shower as he remembered how many tears had been shed in that dream. Their fathers had been upset, but it’d been obvious they were trying to hold it together because their mothers were bawling their eyes out. He’d never seen any of them so upset, and it killed him that there was a good chance that it could’ve happened. And he would’ve been the cause of it.

 

That reminded JC of the all those horrible memories that he’d been forced to relive after the devil had thrown him into the lake. To make it even worse, that’d been what one of his nightmares had been about. The agony he’d felt came back full force as he’d watched the memories play again in his nightmare.

 

Caught up in recalling the horrible memories he’d seen, JC was barely aware that he’d slid down the wall and was now sitting in the tub, crying as the water continued to hit him. JC was a perfectionist, which made watching his mistakes over and over again that much harder. Some of those memories he’d pushed to the back of his mind to try not to dwell on it and move on. But now that they were brought back to the surface, all of the guilt he’d felt came rushing back.

 

And it just increased when he thought about how he’d put the guys in danger and how it could’ve ended disastrous. It was his fault they’d even been involved, and JC knew they’d been lucky to make it out alive, especially with injuries that weren’t life threatening. Despite that fact, he wasn’t sure that it was over.

 

For some reason he had a feeling in his gut that the demons would return and continue to torture him by trying to kill the guys. JC knew that the guys believed that it was over, but it wasn’t as concrete for him. The devil had been after him for so long that it was hard believe that it would stop just because JC had survived the third attempt on being drowned in the lake.

 

It was ridiculous to think that a devil and a bunch of demons would stop torturing people just because some contract told them to. They were evil, and didn’t evil things break rules just because they could? If anything, you’d think their attack would intensify since JC had managed to escape spending an eternity in Hell.

 

That was something that terrified JC. The devil had to be pissed that he’d gotten away and would send even more demons after the guys as a way to punish him for escaping. And that was something JC wanted to avoid at all costs. They’d already gone through too much for everything to start back up again.

 

JC’s body shivered and he realized that the warm water had now turned cold. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, bracing a hand against the wall to help. Reaching out, JC turned off the water and opened the shower curtain to grab a towel from the bar. Another shiver wracked his body, and JC hurriedly dried off before he got dressed.

 

He’d just pulled a clean t-shirt over his head when he caught his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were red from crying, and his wet curly hair looked wild and unkempt. The thing that JC noticed the most was how scruffy he was. Normally he stayed pretty clean shaven, but there was probably about a week’s growth on his face.

 

JC opened the medicine cabinet to get out the shaving cream and a razor because he knew the guys would get on his case for not taking care of himself if he just left it. His hand paused from grabbing the shaving cream can when he saw some gauze sitting on the shelf next to it. It was then that he looked down at his left hand, which was still wrapped in a thick white bandage that was sopping from the shower.

 

He sighed as his right hand grabbed the gauze instead. Before he could shave, he had to change the dressing on his left hand. It’d been rebandaged at the hospital, and he’d been given even more antibiotics because his stitches had gotten infected from the lake water.

 

A minute later, a new clean bandage had replaced the saturated one. With his healing hand tended to, JC focused his attention on pulling the shaving cream and a razor from the still open medicine cabinet. It took him a few minutes to go through his usual shaving routine, making sure he got all the hair without nicking his face in the process.

 

When he finished, JC cupped some water into his hand from the running faucet and splashed it onto his face to get any residual shaving cream off. He patted his face dry with a hand towel that was hanging next to the sink. As he looked up into the mirror, he frowned.

 

Shaving hadn’t made him look any better. If anything, it made him look worse. His face was pale and his cheeks more sunken than usual. And that just seemed to be highlighted by his gaunt body. The t-shirt hung loosely on him and his jeans settled lower on his hips, showing JC just how much weight he’d really lost over the past couple of months.

 

He was finally able to see what the guys had been able to all along, which made him more understanding to why they’d gotten on his case so much about not eating. The person staring back at him in the mirror almost wasn’t recognizable. All this demon stuff had turned him into someone he didn’t want to be.

 

JC let out a frustrated sigh as he slammed the towel down against the counter. The force of it knocked the razor to the floor. He bent down and picked it up. When he straightened, he stared down at the sharp object in his hand.

 

If he was dead, then he wouldn’t have to live with the person he’d become. The person who willingly lied to friends and put them in unnecessary danger. JC hated the person he’d become. So much that he almost wanted to take the razor and slash his wrist just below the stark white bandage. His right hand tightened around the razor and he heavily sat down on the toilet, tears building in his eyes at the thought of suicide.

 

There was no certainty that it was over, but killing himself would end it for sure. It didn’t matter how he did it or where because the devil would get his soul regardless. And it would put everything right. He wasn’t supposed to have escaped, and JC knew that he should’ve fought Lance harder because he was doing the right thing.

 

This was his second chance, and he was going to take it. He blinked and tears fell down his cheeks as he stared at the razor in his hand and his left wrist. JC didn’t want to die, especially this way. His fear of needles extended to sharp objects, and the thought of cutting his wrists made him shudder.

 

But this was how it’d have to happen since he’d blown his chance at the cabin by letting Lance bring him back. With that thought in mind, JC took a deep breath before he brought the razor down on his wrist. His breath hitched as he pressed down on the soft sensitive skin, tears streaming down his face.

 

There was a fiery sensation in his wrist, and JC lifted the razor. He stared at his wrist and had to swallow the bile that rose in his throat. It was a small cut, but it burned even as it bled. Biting his lip, JC wondered if he could do this after all.

 

If he didn’t do it now, then he probably wouldn’t go through with it. And now was the perfect opportunity because it wasn’t like he’d be interrupted by the guys. They’d gone through so much for him. It was time for him to return the favor.

 

JC looked back down at the razor with his blood on it and his stomach turned again. The small cut was angry red against his pale skin, and he knew that slashing his wrists wouldn’t be a pleasant sight. By the time the guys would find his body he’d probably be dead even as blood would continue to flow from the gashes on his wrists, staining the white linoleum beneath his feet.

 

Another shudder wracked his body. He didn’t really want them to find him like that because it’d be a pretty traumatic thing to see. JC took another deep breath, trying to psych himself up to do it. He brought the razor closer to his wrist only to pause in hesitation, his fear of sharp objects rearing its head again.

 

As JC hesitated, he wondered if he really was doing the right thing. What if it really was over? He’d be killing himself for nothing. If that was the case, would he still go to Hell? JC wasn’t sure, but he didn’t really want to find out either. Going back to Hell and seeing those memories again wasn’t really something he wanted to do.

 

And it was going to hurt. Not only physically but emotionally too because the last thing JC wanted to do was leave his friends behind. The only reason he was going to do it was because he felt like he had to in order to make sure that it was over. But if it was over then it’d be stupid to.

 

There was too much uncertainty. It would be one thing if he knew for sure that it wasn’t over, but he didn’t. And he wanted to be one hundred percent sure either way. JC’s grip on the razor slackened as he let out a sob at what he’d almost done.

 

 

  

“Bad answer, bad answer,” Chris mocked from where he was sitting on the chair watching TV. He glanced at Justin. “Can you believe these people? ‘Besides America, name a country that starts with the letter A.’ Asia! Because I’m too stupid to know the difference between a continent and a country,” Chris said in a high-pitched voice, imitating the girl who gave the answer.

 

“It’s Family Feud,” Justin mumbled into the pillow his head was resting on as he lied on the couch.

 

Chris frowned as his attempt at making Justin laugh failed. He’d dragged Justin out of JC’s room nearly an hour ago to try to get him to at least relax. It was a new tactic that he thought he’d try since telling Justin to get some sleep didn’t do anything. So instead Chris thought that if they watched some TV and got Justin to relax enough, then he’d fall asleep.

 

But so far no luck. At least Justin was lying down though, so Chris still had hope that his plan would work. Justin needed sleep. No matter how much he tried to deny it. Chris had no problem forcing it on him, but he wanted Justin to sleep voluntarily. The last thing Chris wanted was to drug him like Lance had done to JC, but if he didn’t get some sleep soon it might come to that.

 

As the show went to a commercial, Chris let his eyes slide closed. He was exhausted. Last night had done a number on him. There’d been enough on his mind when he’d first gone to bed, but it’d gotten worse after he’d talked to Lance and Justin.

 

Chris had lied in bed, wrapped up in his thoughts for almost another hour before his phone had sprung to life. He’d jumped and scrambled to answer it before it went to voicemail or woke anyone up. It’d been Joey, which had been concerning considering how late it’d been.

 

But Joey had denied there was anything wrong when Chris had asked. He’d just wanted to call to check in and hadn’t wanted to do it while Kelly was awake in case she overheard some of it since he hadn’t told her everything. Chris had been curious as to what exactly Joey’d told her.

 

Joey had told him that he’d explained to her what he could, like JC being sick and his suicide attempt, except that he’d fudged the details on why exactly. Chris wasn’t surprised that Joey hadn’t told Kelly the truth because it was the same situation they’d faced when they’d brought in Derek to talk to JC. No one would believe them. He was just happy that Joey had told her something because it was important that he set things right with her.

 

Chris had then asked Joey how the rest of the day had gone, and Joey had said that they’d just hung out together as a family and watched some of Brianna’s favorite movies while eating some pizza. It’d been a relief to hear that things were already starting to improve at home for Joey, and that things were getting back to normal. Joey deserved to spend some real time with his family.

 

But then Joey had asked asking how everyone was doing. Chris had debated on lying to him about the nightmares that JC’d been having because he didn’t want Joey to worry about it and think that he had to come back. He’d ended up telling Joey the truth though because Joey would’ve been pissed if Chris had lied to him, especially since he’d promised to keep him updated.

 

Justin had been brought up too as Chris relayed what he and Justin had discussed earlier that night to Joey. Concern had been evident in Joey’s voice, but Chris had insisted that he got it all under control. Once Joey had been assured that Chris would call him if something else came up, they’d hung up.

 

It’d taken Chris another hour to fall asleep after that, so he was totally spent. Just then a loud buzzer could be heard, signaling a wrong answer and jerking Chris out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and glanced to his right only to let out a quiet sigh of relief when he saw that Justin had finally fallen asleep.

 

Knowing that Justin was getting some much needed rest put Chris at ease. He gently pushed himself out of the chair so as not wake Justin. Stepping towards the coffee table, Chris reached out to grab the remote to turn off the TV only to pause. If the TV had attributed to Justin falling asleep, then turning it off would probably wake him. So Chris just left it go and walked out of the room.

 

As he was passing by the kitchen, he glanced out into the backyard. Lance was still sitting out on the patio with his laptop. He’d been out there for a couple hours now, saying that he was going to try to get caught up on reading through some contracts for FreeLance and A Happy Place. It didn’t surprise Chris because Lance had thrown himself into his work last time when he’d tried to take his mind off things. And after finding out what’d been plaguing him last night, Chris couldn’t blame him.

 

But Chris wasn’t concerned. At least not yet. He’d keep an eye on Lance, but right now it was all right for him to get back into work. It was something that was routine and normal for him, which would help put what’d happened at the cabin behind him. Chris would only pull him aside if he felt that Lance was overworking.

 

He continued walking down the hall before turning right to climb the stairs. When he reached the top and rounded the corner, he peeked into JC’s room only to find it empty. Chris frowned, wondering where he’d gone because he’d still been sleeping when he’d pulled Justin out of the room. But as he continued down the hall, he noticed that the bathroom door was closed.

 

Satisfied that he knew where JC was, Chris kept walking only to freeze when he heard sobbing. Immediately he took a few steps back so that he was standing in front of the bathroom door. He listened to JC cry for a second before he knocked the door.

 

“JC?”

 

Without waiting for a reply, Chris turned the door knob and stepped into the bathroom. JC was standing awkwardly by the toilet like he’d just stood up with his hands behind his back. Chris moved closer so that he was further into the bathroom.

 

“Are you OK?” he asked, frowning.

 

“Yeah,” JC mumbled as he wiped away his tears with his right hand while his left remained behind his back.

 

Chris eyed JC suspiciously. Something was up. He rationalized that it could be that JC was embarrassed that he’d been caught crying, but Chris had a feeling that it was more than that.

 

“What’re you hiding?”

 

“Nothing,” JC said.

 

Chris’s eyes narrowed and he moved forward to cross the foot that separated them. He was nearly standing directly in front of JC when something clattered to the floor behind him. Craning his neck slightly, Chris’s eyes widened as he saw a bloody razor on the floor.

 

Bringing his attention back to JC, Chris glared fiercely at him as he roughly grabbed his right arm. He turned it over and looked at the wrist. When he saw that there was no cut, he threw JC’s arm down and firmly grabbed his left.

 

What Chris saw made his heart stop. He knew that there’d be a cut somewhere because of the bloody razor, but a large part of him hoped that it hadn’t happened. Chris inspected the wound and felt relief wash over him when he realized that it was a shallow cut that’d already begun to clot.

 

But relief was quickly replaced by fury. His left arm reached out to slam the open medicine cabinet closed. The sheer force caused the door to bounce against the magnet and return to its open position.

 

Chris couldn’t believe that JC had tried to kill himself. And he probably would’ve done it too if Chris hadn’t walked in on him. After everything that’d happened and what they’d risked to save JC’s life, he was just going to kill himself anyway?

 

“I can’t…how could you.” Chris couldn’t find the words to describe how angry he was at JC. Finally he settled on yelling, “What the hell were you thinking?”

 

“I wasn’t going to do it, Chris,” JC said, taking a step back to put some space between them.

 

“The hell you weren’t!” Chris shouted, stepping forward. “You cut your freaking wrist!”

 

“But I changed my mind,” JC insisted.

 

Chris shook his head. He couldn’t believe that JC was trying to lie to him, especially if he thought he’d really believe it. Thinking about what could’ve happened if he hadn’t walked in got Chris’s blood boiling as his anger intensified.

 

“God, JC! I could just kill you right now!” Chris exploded, unaware of his poor choice of words.

 

JC flinched and backed away from him. Chris abruptly turned his back on JC and took a deep breath. He held it as he counted to ten before he let it out. Yelling at JC wasn’t going to do any good. The only way to find out what the hell made him even think about committing suicide was to calmly talk to him.

 

Chris saw movement out of the corner of his eye through the mirror. JC was trying to sneak past him. Probably to go to his room and avoid the conversation that he had to know was inevitable. But there was no way Chris was going to allow that.

 

In one smooth motion, Chris reached out to slam the door closed as he spun on his heel to face JC. “You’re not going anywhere. Not until we talk about this.”

 

JC didn’t say anything, but took a few steps back as Chris passed him. Chris sat himself down on the edge of the bathtub. He watched as JC shifted his weight from foot to foot while his eyes darted around the room, looking at anything but Chris.

 

Finally Chris had enough and gestured to the toilet that was directly across from him. “Sit down,” Chris said calmly but in a tone that meant business.

 

JC slowly lowered himself onto the toilet, but continued to look down at the floor. Chris knew that this was the last thing JC wanted to deal with right now, but it was necessary. If he let this go, then he wasn’t a very good friend.

 

“Why would you want to kill yourself?”

 

JC sighed. “Chris…”

 

“No, I’m really asking this time,” Chris said, knowing that JC probably thought he was berating him again.

 

“Can’t we talk about this later?” JC asked, still avoiding Chris’s gaze.

 

“No.” Chris shook his head. He remembered back to nearly two months ago when JC had been having nightmares and told them he’d talked to them later. But later always translated to never for JC, and Chris wasn’t going to let him get away with that again. “We’re not leaving this room until you talk to me.”

 

JC didn’t say anything, and the room lapsed into silence. Chris sat there, waiting for JC to say something. But silence continued to reign over the room and after nearly a minute, Chris’d had enough. He’d given JC some time to get his thoughts together and he’d yet to say anything. They were there to talk, and they were going to whether JC wanted to or not.

 

“Would you freaking say something?” Chris snapped.

 

“You shouldn’t expect me to talk when you yell at me like that,” JC said.

 

Chris sighed and rubbed at his forehead. JC was right, and it was something he’d already known. Yelling wasn’t something JC responded well to, so Chris had to keep his temper in check. That was the only way to find out what was really bothering JC.

 

“I just want you to talk to me,” Chris said, his voice calm and even.

 

“Well, I don’t want to talk to you,” JC replied.

 

“Why not?”

 

JC raised his eyes to look at him. “Because it’s impossible to talk to you. Your mind is already made up, so you won’t listen to me.”

 

“That’s not true,” Chris objected, feeling a little hurt. It would be one thing if JC didn’t want to talk period, but hearing that JC felt he couldn’t come to him stung.

 

“Yes, it is. You won’t understand. You’ll think I’m just being stupid.”

 

Chris leaned forward a little. “Then make me understand.”

 

“I can’t make you understand when you don’t want to,” JC said.

 

“What if I do?” Chris countered.

 

“You don’t. All you want to do is tell me that I’m wrong and scare me into never doing it again.” JC paused. “Sometimes I feel like you don’t…”

 

“Feel like what?” Chris asked as JC stopped himself. They were finally starting to get somewhere. JC was going to open up to him, and Chris didn’t want to stop that. “Talk to me. I swear I’ll listen.”

 

JC sighed and hesitated slightly before he said, “I feel like you guys don’t listen to me anymore.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

“You guys yell at me whenever I do something wrong because you think I’m doing it on purpose, but I’m not. I know the way I handle things isn’t good, but yelling at me to stop acting like that doesn’t help,” JC explained.

 

“I know we probably haven’t handled things as well as we should’ve, but it’s not like you come to us to talk either,” Chris pointed out. Over the past month it’d been very rare to see JC outside of his bedroom since he spent so much time keeping to himself.

 

“Because you don’t listen!” JC exclaimed. “Even now you’re not even…you never try to look at things from my perspective. You just say that I’m wrong and think that I’m over it.”

 

“We try to look at it from your perspective, but usually the way you see things is jacked,” Chris said.

 

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” JC said, gesturing in front of him with his hand.

 

“Well, what do you expect us to do?” Chris asked. “If you want to talk, then you should come to us.”

 

“I can’t just come to you.”

 

Chris frowned. “Why not?”

 

“Because it’s hard for me. I need you guys to come to me and be supportive,” JC said. “All I need is a push.”

 

Chris silently regarded JC. He seemed earnest with what he’d said. Thinking back to how they’d been dealing with JC and his problems, Chris knew JC had a point. He and the guys hadn’t tried really talking with JC, but there’d been so much going on that there hadn’t really been time. But now that it was over, it was time to finally have a serious conversation with JC and get him back to normal.

 

“All right.” Chris took a deep breath and let it out, his posture relaxing a bit. “We’re going to talk now, and I mean really talk.” He paused for a second before asking again, “Why would you want to kill yourself? After everything we’ve been through.”

 

“I just…I can’t handle it anymore,” JC said, quietly.

 

“Handle what?”

 

“You know what.”

 

Chris nodded. “I want to hear you say it.”

 

“Everything, all right?” JC replied exasperated. “Everything that’s happened…it’s too much to handle.”

 

“Why?” Chris asked.

 

“Because I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened.”

 

“You can’t dwell on that, JC.”

 

“I can’t help it. I try not to think about it, but somehow my thoughts always return to it. It consumes me and leaves me feeling depressed.”

 

“What do you think about?” Chris asked.

 

JC stared at him in disbelief. “I just told you.” He shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to me.”

 

“I am listening, JC,” Chris assured. “But I want to know specifically what you’re thinking about.”

 

“Why? What difference would it make?”

 

“I’m trying to help you. If I know what you’ve been thinking about I can—”

 

“Tell me that I’m wrong?” JC interrupted.

 

“Understand what you’re going through,” Chris corrected.

 

JC sighed. “I think about how you guys could’ve died, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it. It was just like the nightmares I used to have. I keep seeing you die in my head, over and over.”

 

“But we didn’t,” Chris objected gently.

 

“Yeah, but we’re not any better off than we were before.”

 

“Of course we are! How can you say that?”

 

“None of you guys are sleeping really, and Justin’s injured again. Lance’ll probably throw himself into his work, and who knows if Joey’ll ever work things out with Kelly.”

 

“What about you?” Chris asked.

 

JC frowned. “What about me?”

 

“You’re not any better off than the rest of us. Your left hand’s still infected, you’ve lost a ton of weight, and you’re having nightmares again.”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?” JC asked.

 

“You’re upset about what’s happened to us. I get that. But what’s your reason for committing suicide that is just for you?” Chris paused. “What are your nightmares about?”

 

“Everything.”

 

“Like what?” Chris asked.

 

JC hesitated slightly before saying, “I’ve dreamt about you guys dying, all of the demon attacks, people reacting to our deaths…just everything.”

 

“But that all has to do with other people,” Chris pointed out. It wasn’t surprising because JC always seemed to obsess over what could’ve happened. But for him to do something as extreme as trying to commit suicide, he should have some personal reason that was just for him and no one else.

 

“What do you want from me, Chris?” JC asked, sighing wearily.

 

“I want you to think about yourself for a change,” Chris said.

 

“I have.”

 

Chris shook his head. “No, you haven’t. You’ve been thinking about what happened to us. What could’ve happened to us.” He locked eyes with JC. “Tell me one bad thing that’s happened to you, JC.”

 

“Well…” JC paused before reluctantly admitting, “The devil tried to kill me.”

 

“Exactly. Tried to, but didn’t. The devil failed, JC. You survived. We all survived, and that’s all that really matters. You know why?”

 

“No,” JC said quietly.

 

“Because as long as we’re alive, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can handle everything else,” Chris told him, repeating the words he’d said to Lance the night before. He still believed in what he’d said and stood by it.

 

“That’s a lot. I mean, you guys—”

 

“You shouldn’t worry about us, JC,” Chris interrupted. “You should worry about you.”

 

“I’ve made my peace with the devil trying to kill me. But you guys…it’s all the other stuff that hurts me.”

 

“Why does it hurt you?” Chris already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear what JC would say. If he would tell the truth, or make up some reason.

 

“Because you guys are my friends. I don’t like to see you hurt,” JC said.

 

“And the fact that you feel guilty about what’s happened has nothing to do with it?” Chris asked.

 

“No.”

 

“Don’t lie to me.”

 

JC sighed. “You don’t understand, Chris. It’s always been my responsibility to look after you guys, so if one of you gets hurt then I wasn’t doing my job.”

 

“That’s not your job,” Chris protested, frowning. “You are many things, JC. Singer, dancer, songwriter, musician. But you are not a bodyguard. You don’t have to look after us.”

 

“I want to.”

 

“Well, I don’t. Not if it means you’re going to make yourself feel guilty if something happens that’s out of your control,” Chris said.

 

“What do you want me to say? That I don’t care about what happens to you guys?” JC didn’t wait for an answer before he continued, “Well, I can’t. I care about you guys too much.”

 

“I wouldn’t ask you to stop being you,” Chris assured. “I just want you to say that you’re not to blame for what happened.”

 

“But I am,” JC objected.

 

“JC…”

 

“No, listen. None of you guys would even have been involved in this if it wasn’t for me.”

 

“If it wasn’t for your mom,” Chris corrected. “She’s the one who started all this, remember? You were just an innocent bystander who got screwed over.”

 

“Doesn’t make me feel any better,” JC mumbled.

 

“Well, it should. You’re placing all this unnecessary blame on yourself when you should be placing it on her.”

 

JC groaned. “Don’t start this again.”

 

“I just don’t want you to blame yourself. None of what happened is your fault,” Chris insisted.

 

“You’ve told me this a thousand times.”

 

“Well, you don’t listen,” Chris replied.

 

“Yes, I do. I just can’t help how I feel,” JC said. “Do you want me to lie? To say what you want to hear? I could tell you I don’t feel guilty, but it wouldn’t be true.”

 

“You have no reason to though.”

 

JC sighed and ran a hand through his now damp curls. “Look, I know it’s not my fault. At least not directly. I know that it’s irrational. But none of that changes how I feel.”

 

“Is that guilt enough to make you commit suicide?” Chris asked. It’d always been common knowledge that JC had felt guilty, and that it was just part of his nature. But hearing that JC knew what he was feeling was wrong and couldn’t help it was new. And more than a little disconcerting because guilt shouldn’t be the main reason he tried to commit suicide.

 

“I didn’t go through with it. I changed my mind,” JC reminded.

 

Chris leaned forward. “Why? What made you stop yourself?”

 

“I just…I couldn’t go through with it. I knew it was going to hurt and I didn’t want to cause myself that much pain.”

 

“And yet you do it all the time,” Chris said.

 

JC shifted and averted his eyes. “That’s not the same.”

 

“Yes, it is,” Chris insisted. “The only difference is that now you’re causing yourself unnecessary pain with no regard to how it’ll affect us.”

 

“I thought I was doing it for you,” JC said, quietly.

 

“Thought?” Chris repeated. “You don’t know?”

 

JC shook his head slowly. “I just…I don’t know anymore. I’m so confused.”

 

“Well, I can tell you that killing yourself would’ve been selfish. I mean, how could you possibly commit suicide for us?”

 

Suddenly Justin’s words came rushing back to Chris. He’d been watching JC to make sure he didn’t sneak off to the cabin to end things. But what if suicide was his way of ending things? To make sure that it was over?

 

“Justin was right,” Chris mumbled to himself as he rubbed his jaw.

 

JC looked up at him, confusion evident on his face. “What?”

 

“You don’t think it’s over.” Chris met JC’s confused gaze. “Do you?”

 

“I don’t know,” JC admitted softly, his eyes filling with tears.

 

Chris stared at him in disbelief. “How can you not know? It’s over. You survived the three attempts on your life, so the devil’s gone. End of story.”

 

“How do you know?” JC asked. “How do you know it’s over?”

 

Chris shrugged. “I just know.”

 

“I can’t just know. I need proof.”

 

“We’re alive, JC. That should be proof enough. We never would’ve been able to leave the cabin if it hadn’t been over,” Chris said.

 

“I know it’s stupid to think that it might not be over, but I can’t help it,” JC replied, a tear falling down his cheek. “I want to accept that it’s over, but I don’t know how.”

 

“You have to trust me when I tell you that it’s over. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

 

“I know.” JC sniffled as more tears started to fall. “I just don’t how to get rid of this feeling I have.”

 

Chris’s frown deepened. “What feeling?”

 

“That there’s something watching me. Trying to kill me. Trying to kill you guys.” JC lifted his hand to wipe away some tears even as they continued to make their way down his face. “I’ve just gotten so used to it.”

 

Chris sighed. He had no idea that some of JC’s problems ran so deep. But he should’ve expected it because JC had fought them a lot last time on whether or not it was over. Seeing how upset it made him now made it easier to understand why he’d been having such a hard time with it all.

 

“JC…”

 

“I know it’s stupid, and I’m probably wrong. But I can’t change that. I’ve always been like this…protective, paranoid, guilty…but I don’t know how to change.” JC looked up at Chris, giving up on wiping away the steady stream of tears and said brokenly, “I need help.”

 

Chris was on his feet in an instant. He closed the gap between them and gently pulled JC to his feet. JC didn’t fight him and wrapped his arms around Chris as he pulled him in for a hug.

 

“We’ll figure something out. You’re not going to go through this alone,” Chris said.

 

JC’s chest heaved as he cried, and Chris rubbed his back soothingly. Chris hated seeing JC upset. This wasn’t as bad as last time had been, but it was still hard to see JC like this. But then Chris suddenly remembered that shortly after JC had cried to him that he didn’t want to die, JC had taken off.

 

Gently he pulled away from JC and eyed him warily. “Can I trust you?” Chris asked.

 

JC sniffed as he looked at him in surprise. “Of course.”

 

“We’ve been through this before,” Chris reminded. “The night before you took off. You had me believing that you didn’t want to die, but then you left anyway. So you obviously just told me what I wanted to hear. Is that what you’re doing now?”

 

“No,” JC protested. “I want your help.”

 

“I don’t know if I can trust you. I mean, you knew exactly what to say and do to get us off your back,” Chris said. “You manipulated us into believing what you wanted us to believe, especially Justin. He was so happy to have you being so cooperative, and you used that against him.”

 

“I didn’t mean to.”

 

“Yes, you did. Otherwise you wouldn’t have done it. You knew exactly what you were doing. But we’re not going to fall for it anymore.”

 

“I thought I was doing the right thing,” JC said.

 

Chris let out a frustrated sigh. “JC…”

 

“I can’t help it,” JC repeated. “I don’t like what’s happened to me and the person I’ve become. I hate myself for what I’ve done. I hate myself so much I just want to…”

 

“Commit suicide?” Chris finished for him.

 

JC shook his head. “I don’t even know why I wanted to anymore. I don’t know what’s going on in my head, and I’m just so confused and scared. I want it all to go away.

 

“I’ll even do therapy if I have to,” JC added desperately. “I just want it all to go away.”

 

“Want what to go away?”

 

“All these feelings. I want to stop feeling responsible for everyone and everything. I want to stop feeling guilty. I want the nightmares to go away.” JC locked eyes with Chris. “I want to know for certain that the demons are gone.”

 

Chris searched JC’s eyes for any hint that he was lying, but all he found was sincerity and desperation. JC wanted help, and Chris wasn’t going to turn that down. It was a huge improvement from where they had been.

 

“All right,” Chris said. “I believe you. The guys and I’ll help you, but you have to listen to us.”

 

“I will,” JC said, and Chris could tell he meant it. He looked closer at JC and saw that his shoulders were hunched. His face was haggard and pale. No doubt everything that’d happened had taken its toll.

 

“You look exhausted,” Chris told him. “Maybe you should lie down and try to take a nap.”

 

“OK,” JC agreed easily. Chris nodded and gently steered JC out of the bathroom. They walked down the hall before entering JC’s bedroom.

 

Without a word, JC slid underneath the covers and lied down. Chris watched as JC’s eyes drooped sleepily. It amazed him that JC was already so close to sleep, but he wasn’t going to fight it. JC needed sleep, and it was refreshing that he actually was trying to take care of himself instead of ignoring it like he’d done before. With that in mind, Chris left him alone to sleep, closing the door softly behind him.

Lance sighed as he lifted his glasses to rub at his eyes, barely registering the breeze that swept over him. He’d been outside working for a few hours, and his laptop’s battery was nearly dead. But he felt productive because he’d gotten a decent amount done in the time that he’d been out there.

 

The only downfall was that he felt more tired now than he had before. It was his own fault for pushing himself to work, but it helped to take his mind off everything that’d happened. And did he need a distraction from that.

 

Talking to Chris last night had made him feel a little bit better and had lifted the weight off his shoulders. At least temporarily to allow him to get some sleep. It’d been nice to tell someone about what’d happened while he was in JC’s head. But Lance still wanted to talk to JC, and that wasn’t going to happen for a while. If at all.

 

Chris had said that they were going to give JC his space for now, but that he’d have to talk eventually. But Lance had his doubts. JC knew how to avoid talking to them, and he doubted that a threat from Chris would really do anything.

 

A balloon popped up in the lower right hand corner of his screen, catching Lance’s attention. It alerted him that his laptop’s battery was reaching a critical point. He sighed again and closed his laptop, knowing that he’d have to return to his office if he wanted to get any more work done. After gathering his papers, he tucked his computer under his arm and stood up.

 

Lance slid the back door open and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He walked down the hall towards his study. It was then that he heard creaking, and he glanced to his right to see Chris hustling down the stairs.

 

Frowning, Lance wondered why Chris was moving at a faster than normal pace. Immediately he thought something must be wrong, but he quickly shook that thought from his mind. If something was seriously wrong, Chris would be running down the stairs yelling for him. Still it was strange, but not alarming.

 

“I need to talk to you,” Chris said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

 

“What’s up?” Lance asked, continuing into his study. He could hear footsteps behind him and knew that Chris was following him.

 

“There’s no easy way to say this,” Chris began.

 

Lance set his laptop on his desk and plugged the adapter into it. He carried his papers over to the file cabinet and opened it to file the contracts in his hand. Looking over his shoulder briefly at Chris, Lance said, “Whatever it is just say it.”

 

“JC tried to commit suicide,” Chris said after a brief hesitation.

 

Lance had been looking for a folder to file the contract in his hand only to stop when Chris’s words hit him. “What?” he asked as he turned, his shocked expression meeting Chris’s serious one.

 

“No,” Lance said, shaking his head before Chris could say anything. “He wouldn’t do that.”

 

“I hate to say it, but he did,” Chris replied.

 

Lance searched Chris’s face for any sign that this was just some cruel joke, but there was nothing. The lines of worry and stress across Chris’s forehead made him look older than he really was. It was then that the seriousness of the situation hit Lance like a ton of bricks.

 

Never had he imagined that JC would try to commit suicide. Sure, JC had tried it before with the summoning ritual, but that had been when the demons were after them. There was no reason for him to want to commit suicide now, so it was hard for Lance to wrap his head around the fact that JC had tried it.

 

“Lance? You still with me?”

 

“Yeah,” Lance said, shaking himself out of his thoughts. His eyes locked with Chris’s. “Is he OK?”

 

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Chris assured. “He barely broke skin.”

 

Lance’s eyes widened in disbelief. “He cut himself?”

 

“On his wrist,” Chris said, nodding.

 

Lance couldn’t believe that JC had tried to kill himself in that way. Out of all the ways that existed to commit suicide, Lance never would’ve imagined that JC would choose something that he was so squeamish about. Not that he would’ve imagined that JC would even want to commit suicide, especially now that everything was over.

 

“Where is he now?” Lance asked.

 

“In his room. Taking a nap,” Chris said.

 

“You left him alone?”

 

Lance wasn’t sure if that was the smartest thing to do at the moment, considering what’d almost happened. What could still happen. And that wasn’t something he wanted to worry about. Let alone think about. So he’d feel better if one of them was with him.

 

“He’s all right.” At Lance’s skeptical look, Chris added, “I cleared out all the medicine and razors. Anything that could possibly be dangerous.”

 

“You think he’s going to try it again?” Lance asked.

 

“No. I’m just trying to be on the safe side,” Chris said.

 

“What happened?”

 

Chris frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“I would’ve thought you’d be watching him like a hawk. So what happened when you caught him?” Lance asked.

 

“We talked,” Chris said simply.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t that Chris was incapable of talking because it was actually just the opposite. Chris was wise in ways that the rest of them weren’t, and they’d all had serious conversations with him at one time or another. But, at the same time, he had a temper that was easy to set off when something serious happened, especially to one of them.

 

“Believe what you want, but we did,” Chris said, seeing Lance’s skepticism. “We talked about a lot of things.”

 

“Did he tell you why he was going to commit suicide?”

 

As far as Lance was concerned, getting to the bottom of that was the most important thing at that moment. It was good that JC talked to Chris, but Lance wanted to make sure that the matter at hand was taken care of. JC had a habit of evading their questions, so while he might’ve talked to Chris, he could’ve been leaving some stuff out.

 

Chris sighed. “It’s complicated.”

 

“Well, you’re going to have to uncomplicate it because we’re going to have to tell Justin and Joey,” Lance said.

 

“I don’t think we should tell Justin,” Chris objected.

 

Lance frowned. JC tried to commit suicide and Chris wanted to hide that from Justin? It was impossible to hide something like this, especially considering that Justin hadn’t really left JC’s side since they’d gotten back.

 

“Don’t you think he’s going to notice when he goes to take some aspirin and there’s nothing in the bathroom?” Lance countered Chris’s objection.

 

“It’s just…he’s screwed up enough already.”  There was movement behind Chris where he was standing in the doorway. Lance felt his heart race as he saw that Justin was just behind Chris in the hallway. But before he could warn Chris, Chris finished, “He doesn’t need to know that JC tried to commit suicide.”

 

“What?”

 

Chris’s eyes widened in realization before he spun on his heel. Justin was staring at them with his jaw slackened. Lance’s heart continued to beat heavily against his chest. He hadn’t agreed with Chris wanting to keep JC’s suicide attempt from Justin, but he hadn’t wanted Justin finding out like this either. It was too late to do anything about it now though.

 

“It’s not…I didn’t mean,” Chris stumbled. Probably trying to take back his words. He looked at Justin. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

 

Lance had to refrain from hitting Chris upside the head. What difference did it make if he wasn’t supposed to hear it? He did, and all that mattered now was talking to him about it. Because if his reaction was any indication, he wasn’t taking it well.

 

“Justin…” Lance began, reaching out a hand to put on his shoulder. Justin pulled away tersely and his fists clenched as his face clouded over in anger. Before Lance could say anything else, Justin turned and ran up the stairs.

 

“Shit,” Chris muttered as he took off after him.

 

Lance was right behind him, matching him step for step. There was no doubt in his mind where Justin was going. That anger would be unleashed on JC, which was something they didn’t need just then. Chris hadn’t said, but Lance was sure that JC was too emotional to take Justin yelling at him.

 

He’d just reached the landing when Chris grabbed onto Justin’s arm just as Justin yelled JC’s name and was about to walk into his room. Chris pulled Justin away from the door, and Justin struggled against him.

 

“I could kill him!” Justin yelled as he continued to fight against Chris who was trying to pull him towards his room.

 

Lance stepped up on the other side of Justin and placed a hand firmly on his back to push him forward. Chris was having trouble keeping his hold on Justin compared to the death grip he’d had on JC’s arm back at the cabin. But Justin was stronger than JC, especially since JC lost so much weight.

 

Together the two of them managed to get Justin down the hall and into his room. Lance shut the door behind them as Chris shoved Justin onto the bed. He walked over and sat next to Justin on the edge of the bed.

 

“Just take a deep breath and try to calm down,” Lance said. He wanted Justin calm so he and Chris could try to talk to him about what’d happened.

 

“Calm down?” Justin repeated incredulously. “JC tried to kill himself and you want me to calm down?”

 

“Justin, we need to talk about this,” Lance tried again.

 

Justin sprung up from the bed only to be pushed back down by Chris. He glared at Chris and said, “I don’t want to talk.”

 

Lance sighed and looked over at Chris. It was his turn to try to get through to Justin. They needed Justin to be calm before they could really talk. Seeing him angry like this was strange, especially since it was directed at JC. Justin was normally always compassionate and knew where JC was coming from since he tended to know his thought process from them being friends for so long.

 

“Look, I know you’re mad and you have every right to be. But—”

 

“You’re damn right I do!” Justin interrupted Chris. “My best friend was going to leave me. Again!”

 

“But he didn’t,” Lance assured, placing a hand on Justin’s arm.

 

Justin shook off the hand. “Yeah, this time. What about next time? What do I have to do to get him to stay?” He glanced up at them. “Why does he want to leave so bad?”

 

“He doesn’t,” Chris said.

 

Justin scoffed and said sarcastically, “Yeah, that’s why he tried to off himself.”

 

“You need to let go of this anger,” Chris said.

 

“Why?” Justin mumbled.

 

“Because you were right. He needs our help. He needs your help.” Chris paused. “And you can’t do that if you let your anger consume you.”

 

“I can’t do it anyway,” Justin said.

 

Lance frowned. Justin seemed less angry, but something still wasn’t right. It was almost like he felt defeated. But why? It wasn’t like he told JC to attempt suicide. Though, that seemed to be along the lines of what Justin was feeling. Helplessness and guilt.

 

“Why not?” Lance asked.

 

“JC doesn’t care about me,” Justin said, his voice taking on an almost monotone quality. “He doesn’t care about any of us.”

 

“That’s not true, and you know it,” Lance told him. Justin was starting to freak him out. This was a side of him that he’d never seen before, and it just made him realize that he was just as affected by what’d happened at the cabin as JC.

 

Justin glanced over at him. “I’ve been with him, helping him with his nightmares. But he obviously doesn’t appreciate it.”

 

“JC didn’t try to commit suicide because of you,” Chris said.

 

“How do you know?” Justin mumbled around a fingernail that he was biting.

 

Chris pulled out the desk chair and sat down on it. “Because I talked to him.”

 

That got Justin’s attention.

 

“What’d he say?” Justin asked, raising his eyes to meet Chris’s. Lance leaned forward slightly too. Chris hadn’t really talked about what’d been exchanged between him and JC. But it looked like he was about to find out.

 

“He wants our help,” Chris said.

 

Justin’s face was a mixture of skepticism and hope. “He does?”

 

Chris nodded. “That’s what he said.”

 

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Lance asked, thinking back to the past week and all the lies that JC had fed them before taking off.

 

They had trusted him completely when he said that he didn’t want to die and was going to help, which allowed him to do what he had. It killed Lance that he had to be cautious when trusting his friend now, but they needed to know for sure if JC was serious about wanting help or if it was just another ploy.

 

“He seemed sincere,” Chris said. There was a slight pause before he added, “But I still took everything out of the bathroom that could be harmful. Just in case.”

 

“You don’t trust him,” Justin replied.

 

“Yes, I do. I’m just taking away temptation,” Chris said.

 

“So why does he want our help?” Lance asked, getting back to what they were originally talking about. “He’s refused he even has a problem any other time. What’s changed?”

 

Chris sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pulling on the ends slightly. “He’s realized that the way he’s been thinking and acting is wrong. He wants to change, but says he can’t. At least not without help.”

 

“And his suicide attempt made him realize this?” Lance asked.

 

“I guess,” Chris said with a shrug. “He’s really confused by it all.”

 

Justin frowned in confusion. “Confused about what?”

 

“He’s not exactly sure why he was going to kill himself,” Chris said.

 

Lance sat up alarmed. “Do you think something’s wrong with him?”

 

“You mean like physically?” Chris asked.

 

“There are some illnesses that can cause confusion,” Lance said. He knew it sounded ridiculous, but the thought that JC wasn’t sure why he was going to kill himself scared the hell out of him. Usually if you were going to commit suicide, you were sure of the reason. And it was more than alarming that JC wasn’t.

 

Chris shook his head. “I don’t think he’s sick. There’s just so much going on his head that it’s probably too much for him to sort out.”

 

“That still doesn’t really make any sense,” Lance said.

 

“I told you it was complicated,” Chris replied, his lips twitching upward slightly.

 

“What’s he confused about?” Justin asked after a few seconds, pulling them back into it.

 

“Well…” Chris hesitated, looking at Justin before continuing, “For one, he’s not sure if it’s over.”

 

Lance’s frown deepened. “Why not?”

 

“He says that he can’t get rid of this feeling that there’s something watching him. Something that wants to hurt us,” Chris said.

 

“Did you tell him that’s not possible?” Lance asked.

 

“He knows it’s not rational. That’s why he’s asking for our help,” Chris said. “He even said he’d do therapy again if he had to.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Really?”

 

Therapy hadn’t gone well last time. For any of them, but especially JC. So he must really be serious about wanting help if he was willing to put up with therapy. That gave Lance hope that maybe JC wasn’t as far gone as he’d thought.

 

Chris opened his mouth to answer Lance when there was a knock on the door. The three of them exchanged uncomfortable glances. There was only one person that could be, and it was the very person they were talking about.

 

A few more awkward seconds passed before Justin got to his feet and opened the door. JC was standing there looking a little timid and unsure, but obviously there for a reason.

 

“Can I talk to you?” JC asked Justin.

 

“Sure,” Justin agreed.

 

JC stepped back into the hall and motioned for Justin to follow him. Justin stepped forward and glanced over his shoulder at Lance and Chris. But then he was gone as he headed towards JC’s room.

 

Justin walked in the room just as JC lowered himself to sit on the edge of his unmade bed. He sat down next to him and stared at the wall, much like JC was doing. They sat in silence, but Justin was OK with that. JC might’ve sought him out, but his mind was probably racing with what he should say first.

 

Finally JC said, “You’re mad at me.”

 

Justin turned his head to frown at JC in confusion. JC caught this and added, “You weren’t exactly whispering, you know.”

 

Justin looked away from JC and turned his gaze to the plush carpet beneath his feet. At the time, he’d been so caught up in his anger that he just wanted to yell at JC. And he probably would have too if Lance and Chris hadn’t stopped him. But it didn’t surprise him that JC had heard him and brought it up. JC couldn’t stand to have anyone mad at him.

 

“I was mad,” Justin said. He glanced briefly at JC before looking back down at the carpet. “When I found out that you tried to kill yourself…I just couldn’t believe you would do that. I mean, I knew you’ve been having problems, but I didn’t ever think it’d get so bad that you’d want to commit suicide.”

 

“Justin…” JC started, but Justin didn’t let him finish. He didn’t want it to sound like he was blaming JC because he wasn’t.

 

“But I realized it wasn’t your fault. Chris told us that you’re confused and want our help.” Justin paused briefly. Thinking back to when JC had tried to summon the demon, Justin remembered that Chris had been livid. Even though he hadn’t said it a word, it was all in his face. But there wasn’t anything like that this time. “Chris isn’t mad at you, and if he’s not, then I shouldn’t be either.”

 

“If it’s not my fault, then whose is it?” JC asked quietly, staring down at his clasped hands as his forearms rested on his knees.

 

“No one’s,” Justin said. “Why does blame have to be placed on someone every time something happens? Sometimes bad things just happen.”

 

“You think it’s your fault,” JC replied.

 

Justin shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

 

“Yeah, you do. You’re blaming yourself for everything. Not just the suicide attempt,” JC said.

 

“No, I’m not,” Justin repeated.

 

JC continued as if he hadn’t heard him, “Me collapsing onstage, passing out in the bathroom, tearing up my notebook…you blame yourself for all of it.”

 

“You’re wrong, JC,” Justin insisted. “I don’t feel guilty.”

 

“Don’t deny it. I mean, look who you’re talking to. I know the signs.”

 

Justin frowned. “Signs?”

 

“You want to rip your heart out of your chest because the guilt just eats away at you,” JC said. “And you try to spin it a thousand different ways, but the only one that makes sense to you is the one that puts you at fault. It’s irrational, and it’s stupid. But in some twisted way it makes you feel better. It makes you feel like you’re in control. Like you can change something.

 

“You can’t sleep because your thoughts won’t let you, and you can’t eat ‘cause everything makes you sick. Even if you’re exhausted or starving, and it’s frustrating.”

 

JC paused and glanced at Justin before continuing. “I know how you’re feeling. I feel it too. But what I want to know is why?”

 

“Why what?” Justin asked, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. Sometimes it was hard to follow JC when he rambled.

 

“Why do you think it’s your fault?”

 

Justin sighed. There was no point in trying to deny it anymore because JC was right. He did blame himself. It’d been something that had been building for a while, but just really started to get to him recently. The past month or so had been so crazy, and they hadn’t had any time to really deal with anything. Now he felt like he was getting hit with it all at once.

 

“I let it happen. After what happened in the woods with the others…I knew you were upset and hurting. I swore I’d be there for you.” Justin looked at JC. “I wasn’t going to let you self-destruct because I knew you’d be heading in that direction if you didn’t deal with what happened.”

 

Justin paused and hung his head. “I did everything I could to help you, and you collapsed anyway. You did exactly what I thought you might do.”

 

Justin let out another sigh. He hated thinking about that night. It’d scared the hell out of him to see JC like that. But it’d just been a precursor of things to come because things had gotten worse. A lot worse.

 

“I thought you’d be OK. You stopped having nightmares, and everything seemed to be getting back to normal.” Justin shook his head. “But then all this stuff with my visions started. I was scared and going to you seemed like the best thing to do.”

 

“You can always come to me,” JC said.

 

“I know,” Justin agreed. “But I think the more you tried to help, the more I regressed to when we were kids and I thought you were superhuman or something because you could fix anything. I think I wanted to go back to a time where things were easier and more comfortable.”

 

Justin stopped to get his thoughts in order. It seemed that he was like JC in that he had a tendency to ramble too, and his thoughts got all jumbled. He wasn’t sure exactly where he was going with this; it just seemed to pour out of him. But JC didn’t say a word like he understood and was giving Justin time. And he probably did.

 

Collected, Justin continued. “You know when I stopped thinking you were perfect?”

 

“No,” JC said softly, shaking his head.

 

“It was in the middle of the lawsuit. Despite everyone saying that we’d lose everything, I wasn’t afraid because I knew you’d fix it. But then when you got sick in the courthouse bathroom after the first day of the trial I realized you were terrified and all the stress was getting to you.

 

“And over the past month, I’ve lost sight of that. I went back to seeing you as indestructible.” Justin glanced at JC. “You needed help, and I couldn’t see it. I wanted you to be OK, so I thought you were OK. I only saw what I wanted to see.” He shrugged. “That’s where I went wrong.”

 

As Justin watched JC struggle to come up with something say out of the corner of his eye, he realized that this conversation hadn’t gone like he’d wanted at all.

 

“And we’re talking about me again. This is supposed to be about you,” Justin told JC.

 

“It doesn’t have to be,” JC replied.

 

“But JC—”

 

“It can be about both of us,” JC said. “And I’m not going to talk you out of feeling guilty because it won’t do anything. Not if you truly believe it’s your fault.”

 

JC paused briefly. “But I want you to know that I don’t blame you. I take full responsibility for the things I’ve done, and I know it’s my fault things are like this.”

 

“I don’t want you to blame yourself,” Justin said.

 

“Then we’re at a stalemate because we both blame ourselves and there’s nothing neither one of us can say to convince us otherwise. So maybe we should just drop it,” JC replied.

 

Justin shook his head. “I don’t want to drop it. Not if this blame you put on yourself made you want to commit suicide.”

 

“I’m not talking about the demons. These are things that I did, so I am responsible.”

 

“It wasn’t your fault. You were just pushed into it—”

 

“By you?” JC interrupted. “You think you pushed me to be a bastard?”

 

Justin blinked in surprise. “You’re not a bast—”

 

“I did all that because I was…er…am screwed up,” JC said, his voice filled with sadness. “I’m confused and terrified. And the things I think about scare me sometimes because I don’t know where they come from.”

 

“You need to talk to us when you feel like that,” Justin replied.

 

“It’s hard for me, but…” JC paused. “I’ll try. I’ll try to talk to you guys more.”

 

“You have to be honest with me when you do though. And I don’t want you to try to be strong for me. You have to tell me how you really feel and stop lying to me.”

 

“I didn’t lie. I tried to make you feel safe.” JC paused. “Like, if I’m not scared, you won’t be scared. Like I did with your visions.”

 

“You were scared about my visions?” Justin asked.

 

“I guess it worked then, huh?” JC said, offering a small smile.

 

“JC.”

 

Justin didn’t appreciate JC’s attempt at humor. No matter how small it was. All he wanted was a straight answer.

 

“Of course I was scared,” JC admitted. “I watched you pass out so much that I started to get used to it, which freaked me out. I didn’t want to get used to it, but there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it either. And knowing that you had to see all those horrible things happen twice and how terrified you were…it scared the hell out of me. I had no idea how to help you, and I knew that you had to feel powerless to stop them.”

 

“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Justin said.

 

JC frowned in confusion. “Why not?”

 

“Because I have hope they can be stopped,” Justin told him. JC’s brow furrowed and Justin added, “My last vision didn’t come true. We lived.”

 

JC nodded slowly. “That’s good.”

 

“I don’t want you to hide your fear from me,” Justin said, trying to get them back on track. He wanted to get across to JC that it was OK to show his fear. That he didn’t have to be strong all the time. “I know now that you’re not superhuman. You have to talk to us.”

 

“I will,” JC replied.

 

“You better.”

 

Silence fell over the room for a few seconds before JC said, “I’ll try. I’ll really try.” He looked over at Justin. “But you have to do me a favor.”

 

“What’s that?” Justin asked.

 

“I want you to get some sleep,” JC said.

 

Justin sighed. “JC…”

 

“I told you. I know what it’s like. You want to be here to keep anything from happening.” JC locked eyes with him. “But Justin, please don’t be like me.”

 

“I spent so much of my life trying to be just like you,” Justin said, a hint of sadness in his voice. It’d started when he first met JC on MMC, but it’d carried on over the years. He’d only stopped right after the lawsuit when he was being hit with so many different things like his public relationship with Britney. But he never stopped looking up to JC.

 

JC laughed lightly. “Yeah, you stole my jeans and my catch phrases. But don’t steal this.”

 

“There’s something different though,” Justin said. “I’m not doing the same thing you did.”

 

“What do you mean?” JC asked.

 

“All those times you checked on us, you were never afraid that one of us was going to take off in the middle of the night,” Justin explained.

 

JC’s eyes widened in surprise. “You think I’m gonna leave?”

 

“I knew you would probably doubt that it’s over, so I had to make sure that you’re not going to sneak out again.”

 

“You know, I don’t have to go to the cabin. The devil would still get my soul no matter how I die,” JC pointed out.

 

“Man, I don’t want to hear that,” Justin complained, raising his hands. Then he sighed and let them drop to his lap. “And that’s beside the point.”

 

“I’m not going to leave,” JC said seriously, turning his head to meet Justin’s gaze.

 

Justin shook his head. “Don’t make promises that you don’t intend to keep.”

 

JC was silent for a moment before he said, “Fine. I won’t promise you. I’ll prove it to you.”

 

“It’s not going to be easy,” Justin warned. “But I’m not gonna let you give up. You will get better.”

 

Justin was determined. This was his chance to make things right and pay JC back for always taking care of him. And he meant what he said to JC. They would get him through this and get things back to normal.

 

“You should get some sleep,” Justin said, rising from the bed.

 

JC looked up at him. “You too.”

 

Justin nodded. He wasn’t going to fight JC on it because he felt more at ease with him. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to continue to be watchful, but maybe it didn’t have to be as excessive. JC was honest with him, and Justin had to start trusting him again.

 

As he moved towards the door, Justin noticed JC’s Leo necklace lying on his dresser. He picked it up and looked back at JC, who was watching him.

 

“You think you’ll ever wear it again?” Justin asked.

 

“It was for protection. I don’t really need that anymore, do I?” JC replied.

 

“You never needed protection,” Justin said. “You were always safe with us.”

 

JC offered Justin a smile, and Justin returned it. He stepped out of the room feeling better than he had in a long time, despite the fact that his body was exhausted. Based on what they’d talked about, Justin had no doubt that JC was going to get better.

 

Lance sat quietly in his study, staring with unfocused eyes at the open contract on his computer screen. He’d gone in there nearly two hours ago with every intention of continuing where he’d left off when he’d first reentered the house. It hadn’t exactly worked though because his mind kept drifting to JC.

 

Every time he tried to read through a contract, he’d never get farther than a few paragraphs before his worry for JC pushed itself to the forefront of his mind. Normally work served as a distraction, but not this time. And Lance decided to stop fighting it. He obviously wasn’t going to get anything else done today, so there was no point in trying.

 

But to be honest, work seemed so insignificant compared to what’d happened earlier, or in JC’s case, almost happened. And his mind was still reeling from it all. It was hard to wrap his head around the thought that JC was going to kill himself. Even knowing JC wanted help didn’t make what he’d almost done easier to swallow.

 

That’d definitely been the case with Joey. Lance and Chris had called him shortly after they’d gone downstairs. It was something that’d needed to be done and since Justin and JC had been talking, it’d given them the opportunity to do so.

 

Chris had done most of the talking with Lance interjecting things here and there. Naturally, Joey had been shocked when they’d told him what JC had tried to do. So much so that it’d gotten uncharacteristically silent on the other end. But it’d been understandable considering all of them had trouble believing it.

 

Lance had felt bad that Joey had to find out that way because that was definitely something that shouldn’t be told over the phone. But there hadn’t been any other options. Joey had just gone home, and he couldn’t come back without disrupting what he’d started to fix with Kelly.

 

That was why Chris had made him promise that he would stay home and let them handle it. And to Joey’s credit, he agreed and had kept that promise. So far anyway. But since he couldn’t be there, Joey demanded to know exactly what’d happened.

 

Chris had explained everything the best he could with Joey interrupting with his own questions. It’d been difficult to explain why exactly JC had tried to commit suicide, especially since it was so complicated. Lance was still kind of confused about it, but it almost made him understand JC better. If Lance was confused, then JC must be feeling ten times more confused.

 

But Joey had seemed to take it in stride. Probably trying to process everything they were telling him. Except for the mention that they were thinking about putting JC into therapy again. Almost immediately Joey had voiced what a bad idea it was.

 

Lance had objected, saying that it might be worth a try. But Joey had been very adamant, pointing out that the last session had been nothing short of a disaster. He’d insisted that putting JC into therapy again would only further aggravate him and could possibly push him into trying suicide again.

 

So they’d talked for a while about what would happen if they did put JC in therapy. Joey had asked him who they would get and what they’d even tell them since the truth was obviously out of the question. Both of which were good points.

 

They’d discussed bringing Derek back because he’d already been there once before. Chris had objected. Not because he didn’t think they should put JC into therapy, but because he didn’t trust Derek. But in the end, nothing had been decided when they’d hung up with Joey after promising to call him once they figured out what they were doing.

 

Lance had a long talk with Chris afterwards, picking up where they’d left off on the decision of whether or not to look into therapy. Chris had been just as adamant as Joey with his opinion, only he strongly believed that JC needed professional help. But Lance didn’t agree because while he’d originally thought that therapy might be a good idea, talking to Joey had made him realize that it shouldn’t be their first course of action.

 

At the time, JC had just tried to kill himself not even a few hours ago. It was too soon to be making such drastic decisions. Lance had explained to Chris that they should wait on therapy and try some other things first. They were going to help JC in any way they could, and therapy would always been an option. But it shouldn’t be their first choice.

 

Chris had reluctantly agreed, but had immediately wanted to figure out what they were going to do. Lance had understood the need to feel like he was doing something, but not a whole lot could be accomplished while Justin and JC were upstairs. He’d known that they had to be done talking by then and had to be sleeping.

 

Lance had explained that to Chris and had even suggested that he get some sleep too. Chris had looked exhausted, which wasn’t surprising considering they all had been lacking in the sleep department. There hadn’t been any real acknowledgement from Chris that he’d try to get some sleep when Lance had left for his study.

 

But he’d heard Chris moving around the house. There had even been a few times that he’d seen Chris pass by the doorway. Lance had thought about saying something to him about it, but left it go. Chris hadn’t known what to do with himself because he always needed to be doing something, especially when he felt a plan of action needed to be established.

 

The house had been completely still for the last half hour though, which led Lance to believe that Chris had finally fallen asleep somewhere. His money was on the couch in the living room because he hadn’t seen Chris pass by his door again to go upstairs. Lance was glad that Chris had managed to stop thinking enough to let himself rest.

 

Not that he had any room to talk because here he was sitting in his study unable to work because his thoughts were consumed with a way to help JC. But Lance couldn’t help it. Just like he knew Chris and Justin couldn’t either.

 

He’d taken JC’s plea for help to heart. It seemed like a step in the right direction that he was finally admitting that he needed help. There was no easy way to help JC, but Lance wanted to come up with something. The responsibility weighed Lance down because he didn’t want to do something that could ultimately make JC worse. It was hard to know for sure what could have a negative impact because he didn’t really know what JC’s true feelings were.

 

That was when Lance remembered the song that was still sitting in Justin’s car. JC always expressed everything he was feeling through music. He never held anything back, so it could help Lance get a good read on just how JC was feeling. The only possible fault was that whatever he felt in the song that he’d left for them might not apply now. But the only way Lance would know that was to listen to it again.

 

With that thought in mind, he pushed himself out of his chair, groaning as the movement stretched muscles that’d stiffened over the past couple of hours. Lance stepped out into the hall and quietly grabbed Justin’s keys off the small table. He opened the front door and walked over to Justin’s silver Mercedes that was still sitting in the driveway.

 

A minute later, Lance had the CD in hand as he walked back into his study. He ejected his CD drive and popped the disc in before grabbing a pair of headphones from his desk drawer. The last thing he wanted was to wake anyone up.

 

Lance slipped the headphones over his ears and pressed play through his music program. Immediately sorrow filled notes came to life before being followed by JC’s voice. Closing his eyes, Lance allowed himself to focus on the song and only the song, looking for something that would give him an indication as to what JC was feeling.

 

Already Lance could hear so much more than he’d been able to the first time he’d heard it when they’d been racing towards the cabin. He was able to focus more on the lyrics and the emotion that JC poured into them. And it made his heart ache.

 

The song dripped with depression, desperation, and helplessness. Despite Lance’s worry that it wouldn’t be relevant any more, it still seemed to fit with how JC was probably feeling at that moment. Obviously he had to be depressed and desperate if he’d been willing to kill himself. But there had to be something more to it.

 

Lance pressed play again as the song ended. It was through his third listen that he realized what he hadn’t noticed before. For as depressing as the song was with talking about giving up, there was a small bit of hope that peeked through.

 

JC had gone through a lot, but apparently he still believed that things could get better over time. Otherwise he wouldn’t have written it because Lance knew right away that this was a song purely for him and the guys. There was nothing for him to hide, and it didn’t matter if his feelings were contradictory because no one but them would see it and understand what it meant.

 

And Lance did. He latched onto the hope that was an underlying layer in the song. JC felt so desperate to make sure that it was all over that he could go to any lengths to ensure that. But at the same time, he wanted to believe that time would fix everything.

 

The song stopped again and this time Lance ejected it. He placed it back in its clear jewel case. It was too depressing to listen to anymore. But he knew more than he had fifteen minutes ago, and it was enough to push him into action.

 

Lance realized that time was probably what JC would need the most. At least at the moment. And the first step was to get him back to a normal routine, which meant getting him out of Lance’s house and back to his own.

 

Too much had happened there that it just served as a reminder to all of the horrible things that’d happened over the past month. JC couldn’t get better if there were constant reminders because he would surely let that guilt continue to weigh him down. He needed to be at his own home where he could get back into his normal routine.

 

But that didn’t mean that he could be alone. That would be a foolish thing to do, especially when JC was feeling so depressed and confused. And no matter how much JC may want their help, there was no way he’d willingly go along with all of them staying at his house with him just to watch over him.

 

That was why Lance was going to stay with him. If they all stayed with him, JC would probably just feel like he was being smothered. And that certainly wouldn’t help him get back into a normal routine because while they did spend a lot of time together, they weren’t used to living together under one roof. They hadn’t done that since they’d first formed the group and left for Europe.

 

Knowing that it would be better if he had a real reason to stay with JC, Lance picked up his phone and dialed his real estate agent. He was going to sell his house. If he had nowhere to live, he could easily use it as an excuse to crash at JC’s house because JC would never deny any of them a place to stay if they needed it.

 

The phone rang several times before a familiar female voice answered. He told her that he wanted to put his house on the market by the end of the week. His plan was to set up a storage space for him to keep his furniture at until he found a new place to live. She could do her walkthrough to appraise the house on Thursday to give him enough time to get all of his smaller things moved over to JC’s place and the rest of the guys to go home.

 

There was no objection from her, but she did want to know why he was suddenly selling his house. Lance told her that it was because he wanted to move closer to the city. His house wasn’t exactly in the country, but it was far enough away from the city that it made it a pain to drive into town. It was something that had always kind of bothered him, but he’d never had a reason to move once he’d settled. Until now anyway because he didn’t want to live in a place where a bunch of horrible things happened. It made him shudder just thinking about how much had happened in his house, and he just wanted out.

 

Once he hung up with her, Lance immediately set about making the arrangements that he’d mentioned. His first call was to a local storage place that was about ten miles away. It’d only taken him a matter of minutes to secure a container.

 

With that taken care of, he moved onto calling a U-Haul to move all of his stuff over to JC’s. He also hired a group of movers to transport all of his furniture from there to the storage container. His furniture was heavy, and it was something that was best left to the professionals. The last thing any of them needed was to throw their backs out or break a foot while trying to move his furniture.

 

Nearly twenty minutes had passed by the time he’d first picked up the phone to when he finished making all of his calls. Lance sat back in his chair with a sigh. He was glad that there was some kind of plan, and it was one that the guys wouldn’t object to.

 

Lance just hoped it would work as well as he pictured. It was going to be hard. There was no doubt about that, but Lance figured this arrangement would make everything easier on JC. Getting back to normal included not being hounded by all of them. So instead, he’d only get hounded by Lance, and that would be only if it was really necessary.

 

The whole objective was to get JC back to normal, but to not leave him alone either. Lance would be there if JC needed to talk and make sure that he was eating and sleeping again. He wouldn’t push, but at the same time, he would have no problem saying something to JC if he did start to relapse and neglect his health again.

 

At the very least the next month or so would be a struggle. But Lance was confident that it would all be worth it in the end. JC was going to get better even if his plan didn’t exactly come through, but Lance had faith that it would. Or at least start to help JC heal.

 

“What are you working on?”

 

Lance jumped in surprise and spun his chair to face the door. JC was standing in the doorway with his hair tousled and his clothes disheveled. He stifled a yawn and blinked blearily at Lance. It was obvious he’d just woken up.

 

“You scared the hell outta me,” Lance said.

 

JC gave him a small smile. “Sorry.”

 

“I guess I just got used to the quiet,” Lance said. He hesitated slightly before he asked, “Are you and Justin OK?”

 

“Yeah. We talked things out, so we’re good now,” JC replied and Lance nodded. It honestly didn’t surprise him. He figured they’d work things out.

 

“So what are you working on?” JC repeated and gestured to the screen behind Lance, breaking the brief silence that’d fallen over the room.

 

Lance turned slightly and saw that he still had his contract up on his screen. He turned his attention back to JC. “Nothing.” At JC’s raised eyebrow he amended, “Well, I was reading over a contract, but I decided to take a break.”

 

JC just nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. Lance watched him and noticed that he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. He wasn’t sure if JC had come to see him for a reason, or if he just wanted to see what Lance was doing. But since JC was there, he might as well start setting his plan to help JC into motion.

 

“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you,” Lance said.

 

JC looked up at him, his face curious. “What?”

 

“What do you think about me selling my house?” Lance asked, staring at JC, waiting for his reaction.

 

JC frowned. “You’re moving?”

 

“Yeah.” Lance shrugged and nodded. “It’s about time I think.”

 

“Why?” JC asked.

 

“I want to move closer to the city. I feel kind of isolated out here,” Lance said.

 

JC crossed his arms. “And the fact that a bunch of horrible things happened here has nothing to do with it?”

 

“Guilty,” Lance admitted. He honestly wasn’t surprised that JC had picked up on it because he knew when one of them wasn’t being completely truthful. “But I really have been thinking about selling my house.”

 

“Well, you don’t need my approval,” JC said.

 

“No, but I do need a place to stay.” Lance paused briefly. “Would it be all right if I stayed with you?”

 

There was barely any hesitation before JC said, “Yeah.”

 

“You sure? I don’t want to put you out. It’d just be until I can find a new house,” Lance said.

 

“You know you’re always welcome at my house,” JC told him with a knowing look.

 

JC wasn’t fooled for a second. That much was obvious. He must know that Lance was using the excuse of selling his house to stay with him so he could keep an eye on him. But he wasn’t objecting to it like Lance thought he might. It was almost as if JC wanted one of them there.

 

“Well, thanks,” Lance said. “I’ve got a U-Haul set up for tomorrow morning. Is that all right?”

 

JC shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I haven’t been home in a while, but it’s not like I left it a mess. I’m not Justin.”

 

“Thank God for that,” Lance said and chuckled. He smiled at JC. The slight smile in return made Lance feel that maybe they’d be OK after all. It wasn’t much, but the jab at Justin was something that was normal for them. There would still be a lot of work to do before JC was one hundred percent better, but it felt like they were already off to a decent start.

 

The room lapsed into a fairly comfortable silence. Lance wasn’t sure exactly what to say now. He hadn’t expected JC to come walking into his study. But glancing at JC, it looked like he didn’t know what to say either. It seemed like he wanted to say something, though. Why else would he still be standing in the doorway?

 

JC’s eyes lowered from Lance’s to the desk behind him. They widened in shock and nervousness. Lance turned to follow his gaze and saw that he was staring at the jewel case that held the CD labeled ‘Dear Goodbye.’

 

“You listened to it?” JC asked with an anxious look.

 

“Yeah, we all did,” Lance said.

 

JC frowned. “When?”

 

“On the way to the cabin.”

 

“Oh,” JC said quietly. He shifted uncomfortably in the doorway and his eyes wandered around the room. They never once met Lance’s own green ones. Lance had to put JC at ease before he bolted out the door.

 

“It’s a beautiful song,” Lance told him. He was going to stay away from talking about the actual content of the song unless JC brought it up. Because it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with the idea of them having heard the song. And there would be enough time over the next month or so for them to talk that Lance didn’t feel he had to push.

 

JC finally met Lance’s gaze in surprise. “What?”

 

“I’ve never heard anything like that before,” Lance repeated.

 

“You’re not mad?” JC asked, eyeing him warily.

 

“I can’t be mad if that’s how you really feel. I may not like it, but I know that’s not going to change why you wrote it.”

 

And Lance truly believed that, especially after listening to the song more. There were such heavy feelings in the song that it wasn’t likely JC would’ve changed. But that was something that he’d work on with JC to change later. Right now he was focused on putting JC at ease.

 

Lance paused. “But I meant what I said about it being really beautiful. I didn’t know you could write that like.”

 

JC shook his head sadly. “I’m a fraud.”

 

“What are you talking about? You’re one of the most talented people I know,” Lance said, frowning. He wasn’t exactly sure where this was coming from, but he didn’t like it. JC didn’t need something else to make him feel worse.

 

“But I don’t work for it. I never have,” JC replied.

 

“That’s not true. No one works harder than you.”

 

“You’re wrong,” JC denied, his voice taking on a monotone quality. He looked over at Lance. “You once told me that some people have to actually try to be successful, and that I wasn’t one of those people.”

 

Lance’s frown deepened in confusion before realization hit him. JC was talking about that time at the dance studio that he’d seen while he was in JC’s head. It’d hurt him at the time to see how horribly he’d treated JC when he took his frustration out on him. But seeing the effects of it and that JC believed the things he’d said made it hurt even worse.

 

“So you’re saying that just because you don’t struggle as much as some people that you aren’t as talented as them?” Lance asked.

 

“It makes sense. You had to work at your talent, and I’ve done nothing to deserve what I’ve got,” JC said.

 

“Are you saying that Justin doesn’t deserve what he’s got?”

 

JC’s eyes widened. “What? No, of course not.”

 

“Then how can you say that you don’t deserve the recognition you’ve gotten from your fame if Justin does? Justin’s naturally talented at everything, especially music,” Lance said.

 

“That’s not the same,” JC replied.

 

“How?”

 

“Because Justin’s talent didn’t come from a devil!” JC exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air, clearly growing frustrated with the conversation.

 

Lance crossed his arms over his chest. “Neither did yours.”

 

“Yes, it did,” JC insisted. “I’m nothing but a fraud. A talentless fraud.”

 

“JC, you didn’t make a deal with a devil. You’re not held accountable for what your mom did.”

 

“I know, but that doesn’t mean that my talent is my own. I’ve had an unfair advantage,” JC said.

 

“You have not,” Lance objected. “You got your talent from your mother just like any other kid. The deal didn’t directly involve you, so stop thinking you have some artificial talent because it’s real.”

 

“But—” JC started to protest, but Lance cut him off.

 

“Obviously you don’t agree, but I want you to know that you are talented. You may think it’s tainted, but to write a song like Dear Goodbye and sing it with as much emotion as you did…it has to be pure. And that’s not something you could get from something so evil.”

 

JC didn’t say anything, but the lines on his face seemed to relax a little. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Lance wasn’t sure if JC actually believed what he’d said, but at least he was willing to go with it. For the moment anyway.

 

Lance knew a major reason JC had a hard time believing that he was naturally talented was because of what the devil had said to him back at the cabin. It’d gone on about how talentless JC was, and JC took it to heart, believing every word it’d said. But hopefully what Lance had said would sink in eventually.

 

JC was silent and Lance watched him carefully. He wondered what JC was thinking about at that moment. If he really did believe him, or if he was just going along with it because he didn’t want to fight with Lance about it anymore.

 

But Lance could know what he was thinking. Their connection provided him with a channel into JC’s mind, but he didn’t want to go there. He’d always prided himself on managing to respect JC’s privacy with that one exception where he’d gone into his mind to find out what his nightmares were about.

 

At first their connection had seemed like a good thing. And it was…to a certain extent. The downfall to it was that it’d caused a rift between him and JC. Lance wasn’t sure when exactly JC had turned against their connection, but he wanted things to go back to normal.

 

“I wish you’d told me that you hated our connection,” Lance said.

 

“I never said I hated it,” JC replied.

 

“That’s not what you told Joey.”

 

“I just…It just gets annoying sometimes.” JC saw Lance frown and added, “You’re just always there even if you’re not saying anything. I’m never really alone.”

 

Lance rubbed at his head before letting his hand fall to his lap. “Why didn’t you just tell me that before?”

 

“What good would it have done? It’s not like you can make it go away.”

 

“No,” Lance agreed. “But it’s probably not going to just disappear. We have to figure out how to live with it without pissing each other off.”

 

“I don’t know if we can,” JC said quietly.

 

“We did before,” Lance pointed out.

 

JC shook his head. “It was different then. We were still learning about it and getting used to it.”

 

“So what are you suggesting we do? Just ignore it?”

 

“Sure.” JC shrugged. “Why not?”

 

“Because that’s not going to solve anything,” Lance said.

 

“What are you talking about? If we don’t use it, then we don’t have to worry about it anymore,” JC replied.

 

“But I don’t want to just stop.” Lance sighed. “Look, JC, I know you’re afraid that I’m going to invade your privacy again. But I couldn’t even if I want to. I mean, you block me anytime I try to talk to you.” He paused slightly. “And maybe that was our problem.”

 

JC tilted his head. “What?”

 

“We shouldn’t use our connection to talk,” Lance said.

 

JC’s forehead crinkled even further in confusion. “So we are going to ignore it?”

 

“No.” Lance shook his head. “I’m saying that all of our problems started when I tried talking to you about you. It was something I tried to do to get you to talk to me, especially when the guys were in the room. So I think from now on we should actually talk to each other if we have something to say.”

 

“What if I don’t want to talk? You could just go into my mind anyway,” JC pointed out.

 

“I wouldn’t do that, JC, and you know it.”

 

“And yet you have.” JC narrowed his eyes. “Or don’t you remember?”

 

“Of course I remember!” Lance exclaimed. “You won’t let me forget it, and I feel just horrible about it.”

 

“Then you shouldn’t have done it,” JC said.

 

“I was trying to be one step ahead of you,” Lance told him.

 

JC blinked in confusion. “What?”

 

“You scare the hell out of me, JC. I never know what you’re going to do, especially when you’re upset,” Lance explained. “I wanted to know what your nightmares were about because I wanted to try to anticipate what you were going to do.”

 

“That still didn’t give you any right to go through my mind,” JC said.

 

“Well, I wasn’t the only one. You did it too,” Lance replied.

 

“Because you guys were keeping secrets from me!” JC paused briefly. “It’s one thing when I’m keeping secrets from you guys, but it’s a completely different thing when you four are keeping a secret from me. You alienated me.”

 

“I’m sorry, but you weren’t the only one alienated. You made me feel like I did something wrong because every time I tried to talk to you, you would push me away.”

 

JC sighed again. “I’m sorry about that, but I hate when you ambush me like that.”

 

“I know, and that’s why I’m saying that we won’t use our connection to talk about serious stuff anymore. We’ll go to each other if we have something to say,” Lance said.

 

“So then what are we going to use it for?” JC asked.

 

“The little stuff. You know, like when one of us forgets something or whatever. But all serious conversations we’re actually going to sit down and talk about.” Lance paused. “That should probably extend to the guys too. It’d be kind of rude to talk about them behind their backs.”

 

“Well, it’s not like they’d know.”

 

“JC!” Lance pretended to scold. He could see the corners of his mouth twitching upward and knew that he was kidding.

 

JC offered him an innocent smile. “What?”

 

There was a slight pause before Lance asked, “So are you all right with that? Just using our connection for small stuff, I mean.”

 

“Yeah.” JC offered him a genuine smile. One that he hadn’t seen in a long time.

 

Lance smiled back at JC. He hadn’t been sure what they were going to talk about when JC had first appeared in the doorway, but he was glad they’d talked. It seemed as if they were already moving in the right direction.

 

A minute passed in silence and Lance realized that JC was still standing awkwardly in the doorway. He was fidgeting like he’d done earlier, which further increased Lance’s belief that JC wanted to say something. Lance was about to ask him what he wanted to say, but that was when JC finally spoke up.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

 

Lance knew immediately that JC was talking about his suicide attempt. It’d been something that they’d avoided talking about. And it made sense why it’d taken JC so long to say it because it was obvious that it took a lot for him to work himself up to admit he was sorry.

 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Lance replied, and he meant it. From what he’d heard from Chris and through the song, JC couldn’t help it.

 

JC stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before he turned to leave. He’d gotten one foot into the hallway when Lance called him back.

 

“JC.”

 

JC took a step backwards and turned to look at Lance. “Yeah?”

 

“You know we care about you, right?”

 

There was a brief moment of hesitation before JC nodded, saying, “Yeah, of course.”

 

Lance offered him a small smile and JC weakly returned it before finally stepping into the hall. As Lance listened to JC’s retreating footsteps, he let out a heavy sigh. The hesitation seemed to contradict JC’s agreement, and it left Lance with an uncertainty that his plan might not work. One thing that was certain was that JC’s recovery was going to be a long hard road.

Justin sat behind the studio’s mixing board with JC on his left who was currently adjusting the equalizer’s settings. They’d just wrapped up vocals on a song for their new album and had broken for lunch. The other guys had gone across the hall to the lounge where greasy bags of fast food were waiting for them.

 

But he and JC were caught up in smoothing out the vocals with the instrumentals that they’d created a few days ago. They’d been back in the studio recording for nearly a week now, and things seemed to be getting back to normal. JC was as much of a perfectionist as ever, and it made Justin smile as he watched him fiddle with the controls. For a while part of him had thought they’d never make it to this point.

 

“Too much,” JC mumbled to himself, pushing one of the controls down to a lower level. Justin grinned and pushed it back up to where it was, causing JC to sigh and look over at him. “Justin.”

 

“What?” Justin asked, innocently.

 

“You know what,” JC said. “I just fixed the bass and you moved it back to where it was.”

 

“I was just trying to give the song a little extra kick,” Justin replied, still grinning. He loved to work with JC, but sometimes he liked to play with some of the controls. Just to see how the song would sound with something different. It normally drove JC crazy when he did it, but he could get away with it once in a while.

 

“I’ll give you a little kick,” JC muttered, turning back to the mixer, but he was smiling. Then he paused briefly to reach into his bag that was sitting by his chair and pulled out a jewel case. He held it out to Justin with one hand while his other tapped out the beat against the side of the mixer. “Here.”

 

Justin took it off of him, knowing what it was. “Been writing again?”

 

“Yeah.” JC shrugged and nodded. He glanced at Justin before returning his attention to the playback on Joey’s vocals. “It helps.”

 

Justin just nodded, knowing that was true. This was something JC had been doing for the past couple months. He would fill a CD with songs that he’d written and recorded about his feelings about what’d happened before giving it to Justin. The first time JC had given him a CD full of songs, he told Justin that he could either keep it to himself or share it with the guys. Justin usually listened to it before passing it off to whoever he saw right after because the guys deserved to hear what JC had been writing about.

 

That was definitely improvement from before when JC refused to even show them the stuff that he’d written about with the demons, and Justin was glad. Writing was helping JC by letting him get it all out, but he wasn’t keeping it a secret anymore. He’d certainly grown a lot in the past few months.

 

Justin remembered when Lance had first told them about his plan to sell his house and stay at JC’s. Lance had also explained that they were to give JC his space and not constantly bombard him with questions. There’d been no objections from Chris or Joey. They both had felt that Lance’s plan seemed like a good idea, especially since they hadn’t wanted to try therapy right away.

 

That was something Justin agreed with, especially since he’d fought with the guys last time they’d brought Derek over to talk to JC. But he hadn’t exactly agreed with all of the details about Lance’s plan. He hadn’t brought it up then because they’d seemed pretty set on the idea, and there hadn’t seemed to be any major flaws with it.

 

So the four of them had moved out of Lance’s house. They’d helped Lance move all of his clothes and other small stuff into JC’s house before Chris and Justin returned to their own homes. Justin had sat in his house for two days not knowing what to do with himself. He’d gotten so used to having the guys around that it’d been weird going back to not seeing them every day.

 

Just after lunch on the second day Justin had been bored out of his mind and had called Chris to come over and shoot some hoops with him. He and Chris had played a few games of Horse while they’d talked about how JC was doing. And it’d been then that Justin had told Chris his feelings about Lance’s plan.

 

“I just don’t understand why it had to be Lance. I mean, why couldn’t I take care of JC?” Justin asked.

 

Chris hadn’t looked up from where he’d been dribbling the ball. “Because Lance is the better choice.”

 

“But why?” Justin pressed.

 

“He’s got a real reason to be there,” Chris said.

 

“JC knows why he’s there though,” Justin pointed out. “So I don’t understand why I couldn’t have done it.”

 

“Because we’re too emotionally involved when it comes to him.”

 

Justin stared at him. “What?”

 

“Oh, c’mon. You know Lance is the best one for this because he has the most patience.” Chris paused. “And why are you so worked up over this? I mean, Joey’s not as bad as you and he wasn’t even around for everything that happened.”

 

“Well, maybe Joey doesn’t care about JC.”

 

Chris narrowed his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

 

“You’re right. Joey’s amazing with the way he can give people space, but I don’t know how he does it. I’m going crazy thinking about JC,” Justin said.

 

“Then stop thinking about it.”

 

“Haven’t you thought about it?” Justin asked. “Don’t you want to know what’s going on?”

 

“Yeah. That’s why I talk to Lance two times a day,” Chris said.

 

“You what?”

 

“Just to check in. I even talked to JC once.”

 

Justin had stared at Chris in surprise and anger because he’d thought they weren’t supposed to be bugging JC. Chris had insisted that he only really talked to Lance, and that when he had talked to JC, it’d only been for a minute. But Justin didn’t care. If Chris had been checking in, then he was going to do the same.

 

So the next day Justin had driven over to JC’s house and had rung the doorbell. The door had opened a minute later to reveal Lance, and right away Justin had been able to tell that something wasn’t right. Lance had tried to deny that there was anything wrong, but it’d just further reinforced Justin’s belief that there was.

 

Justin told Lance that he knew something was up, and that was when Lance had admitted that he didn’t know what to do about JC. Lance had confided that JC had spent a lot of the past couple days in his basement studio. But Lance hadn’t gotten any farther than that because Justin had abandoned him to bring JC out of his studio.

 

As soon as he’d walked down the stairs, he’d been able to see the toll that spending a couple days in the studio had had on JC’s body. He’d looked exhausted, but he’d smiled slightly when he saw Justin. They’d exchanged a few words and Justin had managed to coax JC to go take a nap. But before they’d left the studio, JC had handed Justin a CD full of songs that he’d recorded. And that’d been when the receiving of CDs had started.

 

Once Justin had put JC to bed, he’d gone back downstairs and argued with Lance about how he’d handled JC. He’d accused Lance of lying to Chris because Chris had thought that everything was OK. Lance had insisted that he hadn’t lied; he’d just downplayed JC being in the studio, but that he’d been prepared to do something if it’d lasted much longer.

 

Justin had gone on to say that he’d thought Lance was doing a pretty shitty job of handling JC. He’d demanded that Lance call him next time something was going on with JC. When Justin had left, he’d felt bad for yelling at Lance. But he hadn’t been able to help it because he’d wanted to help JC and had been frustrated that he’d pretty much been told to stay away.

 

Though, Lance had heeded his request because a week later Justin had gotten a call from him saying that JC had a freak out. Justin had immediately dropped what he was doing and raced over to JC’s. It hadn’t been serious, but he was still glad he’d been able to help JC work through some of the stuff he’d been feeling.

 

That’d happened a few more times over the next month and a half. But now it seemed to have stopped. JC had come a long way in such a short amount of time. It was easy to see now that they’d made the right decision to hold off on therapy. Justin shuddered to think what might’ve happened if they’d tried to force that on JC, especially considering that Lance’s plan had worked out pretty well.

 

“Are you guys going to come eat or what?”

 

Justin jumped, startled out of his thoughts. He turned in his swivel chair to see Lance standing just inside the door. JC looked up at him too.

 

“I could eat,” JC said, turning a few dials. Once he was finished, he stood up and walked across the hall to the lounge.

 

Justin and Lance exchanged smiles as they watched JC sit down between Joey and Chris before grabbing a burger and fries. It was nice to see JC eating like he used to, and it definitely showed. He’d gained some weight over the past couple of months so he didn’t look as gaunt and weak as he used to.

 

Tearing his eyes away from JC, Justin looked over at Lance and said, “He looks good. But how’s he really doing?”

 

“Actually, really well,” Lance replied.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Lance nodded. “The nightmares have all about stopped, and he seems to have reached a point where he doesn’t need me there anymore.”

 

“So are you moving out then?” Justin asked.

 

“I was thinking about it, but I changed my mind,” Lance said.

 

Justin frowned. “Why? What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing,” Lance said.

 

“Something,” Justin insisted. “Why’d you change your mind?”

 

Lance sighed. “It’s JC.”

 

Justin’s heart rate increased. It was stupid because if it was something serious Lance would’ve told him before now, but he couldn’t help it. They’d been through so much with JC that even the small stuff seemed like a big deal.

 

“What happened?”

 

“I told him I was going to start looking for a new house, and he didn’t really take it well,” Lance said.

 

“What do you mean?” Justin asked.

 

“He went on about how there was no rush. That I could take my time and to not worry about feeling like I’m mooching off him,” Lance explained.

 

“And that’s what changed your mind?” Lance nodded and Justin said, “I don’t understand. I mean, that sounds like something he’d say to any of us if we were staying with him. How is that alarming?”

 

“I never said it was alarming,” Lance corrected.

 

“You didn’t have to,” Justin replied. “Now what’s the big deal? Why don’t you want to move?”

 

“Because JC doesn’t want me to.”

 

Justin’s forehead crinkled. “He told you that?”

 

Lance shook his head. “I could just tell.” He paused. “I think JC’s afraid of being alone.”

 

“Why?” Justin asked. That didn’t sound like JC. He usually liked to be alone, so it was odd to hear that Lance thought he was afraid of something he was so used to.

 

“I think he’s afraid what he might do if no one’s there to stop him,” Lance said.

 

“But I thought you said he was doing better?”

 

“He is,” Lance assured. “But he still has the occasional nightmare and days where he gets depressed. And I think he’s afraid that he might hurt himself if he’s left alone.”

 

“You can’t stay with him forever,” Justin pointed out.

 

“I know, but not that much time’s passed. I mean, he’s starting to believe it’s over since three months have gone by without anything happening.” Lance sighed. “Look, it isn’t permanent. I’m just going to stay a bit longer while he’s still getting used to everything.”

 

“Hey, I don’t have a problem with it. I just want what’s best for him, and if you think he still needs or wants someone around then I’m fine with it,” Justin said.

 

Lance just nodded and a few seconds of silence passed before he said, “C’mon, let’s go eat. It’s probably getting cold.”

 

They crossed the hall and entered the lounge to hear JC saying, “You just said it was a smiley face.”

 

“Well, then it’s a smiley face Frisbee,” Chris replied.

 

“But it doesn’t even look like a smiley face!” JC cried in frustration and Joey laughed at him.

 

“What doesn’t look like a smiley face?” Justin asked as he and Lance sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table across from the other three.

 

“Chris’s ketchup drawing,” Joey said, pointing at the round blob that sat on the white napkin.

 

Justin scrunched up his face as he looked at it before he grabbed one of JC’s fries and swiped it across the ketchup drawing.

 

“My drawing!” Chris protested with a bit of dramatization.

 

JC rolled his eyes. “It was just ketchup Chris.”

 

“I’d like to see you do better,” Chris said. He reached into the McDonald’s bag and pulled out a ketchup packet before offering it to JC. “Here.”

 

“I’m not drawing with ketchup,” JC objected.

 

“I have a pen,” Joey volunteered, swiping one off an end table that had some magazines and crosswords stacked.

 

JC accepted it wordlessly and pulled a clean napkin towards him. He just put the pen down on the rough material when Justin put a hand down to stop him.

 

“If we’re going to do this, we should do it right,” Justin said.

 

“Yes!” Chris pumped his fist into the air. “J, you’re on my team.”

 

They divided into two teams. It was Justin, Joey, and Chris against JC and Lance. JC was supposed to go first, but Chris had demanded that his team go first since it was their idea. So Joey was currently drawing. The category was things you’d find at the zoo.

 

“Tree!” Chris shouted.

 

Justin looked at him as if he just sprouted another head. “No way. It’s clearly an ice cream cone.”

 

“You’re both wrong,” Joey said.

 

JC scrutinized the picture and exclaimed, “Oh! I know it!”

 

“C’mon, guys.” Joey waited and when all he got was blank stares he sighed and added some musical notes.

 

“A microphone!” Justin said, confidently and Joey nodded his affirmation.

 

“I like that none of you stuck to the category,” Lance said.

 

Joey frowned at him. “What are you talking about? Yes we did.”

 

“Trees and ice cream I can see, but a microphone? C’mon, Joey,” Lance replied.

 

“They use them in their shows!” Joey defended before he shook his head. “Whatever. Your turn.”

 

JC and Lance glanced at each other for a second before JC started to draw something onto his napkin. He’d just drawn a circle when Lance shouted, “Turtle!”

 

“Yep,” JC confirmed and high fived his partner.

 

“Cheater!” Chris accused, pointing at them. “How the hell did you get turtle out of a circle?”

 

“Well, it’s found at a zoo,” Lance said, shrugging.

 

“So’s a table and a rock,” Justin pointed out. “It could’ve been a million different things.”

 

“Yeah I mean for you to be able to know what he was drawing just from a circle you’d have to be a psych—” Chris stopped abruptly before he stood up and cried incredulously, “You used your connection, didn’t you?”

 

JC and Lance didn’t say anything, but smirked at him.

 

“You dirty rotten cheaters!” Chris exclaimed again.

 

JC laughed. “You asked for it, man.”

 

“Yeah, well, I call do over since you had an unfair advantage,” Chris said.

 

“Fine, but I’ll still kick your ass,” JC replied, a smile still present on his face.

 

Justin watched his two older friends argue about how they were going to resolve this so it was fair and smiled. Seeing JC smile and laugh was a far cry from when he’d wanted to kill himself just months ago. It looked like he’d finally decided to put what’d happened behind him and enjoy living again.