Justin couldn’t help grinning as he threw himself into the steps of We Can Work It Out. All of the nerves he’d been feeling since rehearsal disappeared as soon as he’d stepped out onstage. The excitement he felt coursing through his body made the choreography that much sharper. There was no doubt in his mind that he belonged onstage.

Glancing to his right, Justin saw the proud look on his mom’s face as she watched them offstage, and he knew that she felt the same. Everything they’d gone through to get here was worth it. The crowd was giving off an energy that was unlike anything Justin had ever experienced, and he loved it.

Chris watched JC mouth the lyrics to the first verse of Give Into Me, and he realized why Lou had been so insistent on their lip syncing. There was so much pressure with keeping the dance routines straight, that it was almost a relief to not worry how his voice sounded. Considering he still felt like he was going to puke, he was sure that if he had to sing live his voice would crack. Though, that didn’t mean that Chris wanted to get used to lip syncing. In the long run, it would be better to represent themselves as strictly live performers. For now, however, it was necessary. There was too much riding on how well this performance went.

When it came time for Lance’s solo during Tell Me That I’m Dreaming, he found that it wasn’t as uncomfortable as he’d thought it would be. As he knelt in front of the crowd, he smiled and reached out to grab the hand of a screaming teenage girl. He sung a couple of words to her before rising to his feet to move into position, his smile growing as he listened to the girls continue to scream.

Lance joined the guys in the center of the stage as the choreography picked up. He missed a step, but it didn’t affect him like it would’ve if it’d happened during rehearsal. Being onstage and in the moment, Lance found that he was enjoying himself too much to beat himself up about a mistake that no one probably even noticed. For the first time since they’d started rehearsing, he actually felt comfortable with what they were doing.

One more song, JC thought. Just gotta make it through this last song. JC repeated these words in his head as he stood in the background while Joey sang the beginning of I’ll Be Back For More. He felt absolutely drained of energy and had moments of lightheadedness, but he was determined to get through the demo. That was the only thing that seemed to keep him on his feet.

JC was running on pure adrenaline, but he still struggled not to give into the exhaustion he was feeling. He barely hit his marks with the choreography and almost missed his cues a couple times, but it was almost worse just standing there. So JC kept up his mantra and tried to subtly move. Anything to keep him going.

As Joey moved to the back, he eyed JC critically as he stepped forward to sing. JC still looked just as pale as he had right before they went onstage, but Joey wasn’t sure if it was performing or if there was something else. Though even if there was something wrong, there was nothing he could do right now anyway.

Joey sang the chorus with the other four and went through the minimal choreography the song had. He kept glancing at JC whenever he could, getting anxious for the demo to be over. It was still exciting, but how JC was doing was more important.

Finally after a very long minute, the song ended and the five of them took their bows as they thanked the crowd for coming out. Together, the five of them walked off the stage where they were immediately met by Lynn’s smiling face. She gathered Justin into a hug, while Chris slapped Lance on the back and they began to talk excitedly.

Joey grinned, reveling in the fact that they’d done it. The demo was done and now they could all breathe a little easier. It was one less thing to worry about, and hopefully something good would come out of it.

“Joey,” JC said, grabbing onto Joey’s arm.

JC’s voice had almost gotten lost in the commotion backstage, but Joey heard him. He turned, about to ask JC if he was OK when JC’s eyes rolled back and his legs buckled.

Joey’s eyes widened, but he reacted instantly. He managed to catch JC before he could hit the ground. Slowly, he lowered JC to the dirty floor of the backstage area and positioned himself behind JC, allowing his friend’s dead weight to rest against his chest.

“JC!” Joey said, trying to shake him slightly as he tried not to freak out.

What he’d said must’ve been loud enough to catch the others’ attention because they stopped talking when they turned and saw him and JC on the ground. Immediately, Chris rushed to his side, while Lance hovered by his feet.

“Oh my God!” Lynn crouched down, her eyes darting between Joey and JC. “What happened?”

Joey shook his head slightly, cursing himself for getting caught up in the moment when they stepped offstage and not checking on JC. “I’m not sure. He just passed out I think.”

“I thought he was feeling better,” Lance said.

“He was,” Joey replied. “I don’t know what happened.”

“C’mon, JC,” Chris said, his hand on JC’s shoulder as he shook him. JC continued to lie limp in Joey’s arms. “Damn it, JC. Wake up.”

Lynn slipped her hand into JC’s limp one. Joey looked over at her, wondering why she hadn’t said anything or tried to take charge of the situation. She chewed on her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes. An unsteady hand came up to wipe at them, and Joey realized she probably didn’t know what to do.

Joey frowned, realizing that he hadn’t seen or heard Justin. He looked up and saw their youngest friend standing a few feet back with a shocked expression. Seeing Justin so upset made Joey want to comfort him, but he could only deal with one problem at a time.

JC continued to lie still in his arms, and Joey was on the verge of panic when Chris started to gently slap JC’s cheeks. Joey wasn’t sure that was going to work, but after a few seconds, his eyelids started to flutter.

“That’s it, C,” Chris encouraged. “C’mon.”

Finally, JC slowly opened his eyes and blinked up at them. “Wha…”

“Are you OK, sweetie?” Lynn asked, rubbing her thumb over JC’s hand that she still held onto.

JC swallowed and blinked again. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.”

“We should take you to the hospital,” Lynn said with a frown, clearly not taking his word for it. “Chris, go pull the car around. Sand Lake is less than ten minutes away.”

“No!” JC objected, his eyes wide as he tried to sit up. Joey kept his arm across JC’s chest, not wanting him to move until they knew he was OK.

“You just passed out. You need to see a doctor,” Lynn said.

“No,” JC repeated, but it was weaker that time. He awkwardly turned his head so he was looking up at Joey. JC’s eyes locked with Joey’s as he begged, “Please don’t make me go.”

Joey’s frown deepened. Like Lynn, he was worried that something was wrong. Sure, JC had seemed pale and shaky before the demo, but it hadn’t seemed like anything serious enough to warrant him passing out. That was what was so concerning.

But Joey couldn’t force JC to go to the hospital, especially when he was pleading with him. Joey sighed softly, knowing that JC was hoping that he’d back him up. It probably wasn’t the best idea because they had no idea why he’d collapsed, but he’d woken up almost immediately and he seemed OK now.

“Let’s wait on the hospital,” Joey said finally, glancing at Lynn and Chris. The relief on JC’s face didn’t escape his attention.

Chris shook his head. “What if he’s really sick?”

“What if he’s not?” Joey countered. Chris opened his mouth to reply and Joey added, “He’s terrified of hospitals. Do you really want to put him through that if it’s not necessary?”

It was silent for a minute. Lynn looked at JC worriedly and reached up with her free hand to brush back his hair before she said, “Alright, we’ll hold off on the hospital for now.”

“And if he doesn’t get better?” Chris asked, frowning.

“Then we’ll take him,” Joey said simply.

“OK,” JC agreed quietly.

Joey glanced up at Chris and saw that his face was twisted with concern. For a second, he thought Chris was going to argue about it some more. But as Chris glanced over at Lynn, Joey realized that if she wasn’t forcing the issue then he wasn’t going to either. With a sigh, Joey glanced down at JC, hoping that he hadn’t made the wrong decision.

Lynn gently pressed her palm against JC’s forehead. She’d been checking on him periodically since they’d gotten home nearly an hour ago. Frowning, she removed her hand. He still didn’t have a fever.

It wasn’t that Lynn wanted him to have a fever, but it would make JC’s collapse backstage less alarming. If he hadn’t been feeling well or was getting sick again, there’d be signs of that. But so far there hadn’t been anything. That was what worried her the most.

The one good thing was that JC seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He hadn’t woken up at all since she’d put him to bed, and that made her feel a little better. Sleep was probably the best thing for him right now, and she hoped that was all he would need.

Lynn pulled the sheet that’d pooled around his waist up to the middle of his chest. She looked down at him once more before she left the room. Sighing softly, she walked down the hall and glanced briefly into Joey and Lance’s room as she passed.

She ended up in the kitchen, not knowing what to do with herself. There wasn’t anything she could do for JC right now, which she hated. Being the only mom there, she felt it was her responsibility to take care of all of the boys.

Knowing that she’d want to be notified if her son had collapsed, Lynn picked up the phone that was mounted to the wall. She held it in her hand, hesitating as she looked at the clock.

JC’s parents should know what was going on with their son, but it was late. If she called them now, it would only result in freaking them out. That was the last thing she wanted to do, especially if there wasn’t a serious reason for JC’s collapse.

Having made up her mind to wait ‘til morning, Lynn replaced the phone in its cradle. She decided to see where Justin was because she hadn’t really seen him since they’d gotten back. He had to be upset about JC’s collapse and probably needed to talk about it.

Lynn walked into the living room, thinking that was where her son would be only to find Chris turning off the TV.

“How is he?” Chris asked, looking over at her.

“He’s doing OK,” Lynn said, not at all surprised by his question. They’d all been pretty quiet ever since they left Pleasure Island, each wrapped up in their own shock and concern.

“But you’re still worried,” Chris replied.

Lynn sighed. Sometimes she forgot how perceptive Chris was. “He doesn’t have a fever. It doesn’t seem like anything’s wrong.” She paused. “There’s nothing to explain why he suddenly collapsed.”

“Well, you didn’t see him during rehearsal. He was pretty bad,” Chris said.

“What do you mean?” Lynn asked.

“He was messing up the steps and really beating himself up over it. So he was probably really feeling the pressure,” Chris explained.

Lynn frowned. She wasn’t really surprised by that because pushing himself was in JC’s nature. After all, that was what had happened when he’d gotten sick earlier that week. But she didn’t know if she was ready to accept that as the reason for the collapse. She was still going to be on the lookout for another reason.

“Do you know where Justin is?” Lynn asked, remembering the reason for coming into the living room in the first place.

“The music room, I think,” Chris said.

Lynn nodded and smiled her thanks. She left the room and headed for the front of the house, ready to provide Justin comfort.

Joey was lying on his bed, facing the wall. The quiet was unsettling and made it impossible to ignore the thoughts that raced through his mind. Thoughts about JC and the secret he’d promised to keep.

Initially, he had been willing to keep what Lou had done a secret since JC had agreed on telling everyone after the demo. Now Joey wasn’t sure that’d been the best thing he could’ve done for JC. He had been a mess during rehearsal with Lou watching them, and Joey wondered if the stress and anxiety of that had been what caused JC to collapse.

If that was the case, then Joey felt compelled to at least tell Lynn so she’d stop worrying and checking on JC in fifteen minute intervals. Not that that’d actually work. If anything, it would make her worry even more. Besides, it wasn’t like he even knew that the effect Lou had on JC had made him collapse. It wasn’t much of a stretch though considering what’d happened at rehearsal.

With a quiet sigh, Joey rolled onto his back and sat up. He slouched against the headboard, his knees bent. Joey spared a glance to the other side of the room where Lance was lying on his stomach with a pen in his hand and a crossword puzzle in front of him. Part of him envied Lance for not knowing what JC had told him because it weighed heavily on his mind, but it was better that way.

That didn’t stop Joey from considering telling someone though. He hated being the only one to know, especially since he’d seen firsthand the effect that Lou had on JC. But he wasn’t sure how JC would react to knowing that Joey had told his secret without him being there.

Joey hated that JC put him in this position. He hadn’t minded keeping it a secret when he knew that everyone would know once they’d completed the demo, but now everything was up in the air. But did JC really expect him to keep this a secret, especially after he’d collapsed?

As Joey stared at the white wall across the room, his eyes started to burn as he replayed the image of JC lying limp in his arms. He blinked back tears, willing himself not to cry. That wasn’t bringing him any closer to reaching a decision on what to do.

“Joey?”

Joey tore his gaze away from the wall, looking over at Lance’s bed and frowning when he saw that it was empty. That was when he noticed Chris standing near the foot of his bed. It made him wonder just how long Chris had been in there because he hadn’t even heard him come in.

“Are you OK?” Chris asked, bringing Joey’s attention back to him.

“Yeah,” Joey said, stiffly. He barely met Chris’s concerned gaze, looking over his shoulder at the wall.

Chris sighed, clearly not believing him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Joey said with a hint of aggravation.

“Don’t lie to me, Joey,” Chris replied. “It’s obvious something’s bothering you.”

“Nothing’s bothering me!” Joey cried, finally looking Chris in the eyes even as he felt his own start to water again. “Just leave me alone!”

Chris frowned. “Joey…” He lowered himself onto the end of Joey’s bed. “What happened to JC was scary, but you can’t let it eat you up like this.”

Joey exhaled heavily and lowered his head as he ran a hand through his tousled hair, unsettled by Chris’s inquisitive eyes staring at him. Chris had no idea what he was talking about. Not that Joey expected him to since he didn’t know what he did. But he could change that right here.

“I should’ve done something,” Joey said quietly.

“Like what?” Chris asked. “There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

“I could’ve said something. I wanted to say something, but I promised JC I wouldn’t.” Joey bit his lip, wondering if he was doing the right thing. “I know I shouldn’t have done that, but JC was upset and I didn’t know what else to do.” He blinked back tears. “Maybe if I’d told someone, JC would be OK. Or at least better than he is now,” Joey said, gesturing in the direction of JC’s bedroom.

“It’s not your fault that JC got so worked up over the demo. He pushed himself too hard,” Chris said.

Joey shook his head. Chris didn’t understand; he wouldn’t understand. He’d constantly fought with JC with how much he obsessed over things being perfect, and that was what he was attributing JC’s collapse to. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“I can’t do this,” Joey mumbled, closing his eyes to try to fight off another onslaught of tears. It felt wrong to do this without JC because it was his secret, not Joey’s.

“Do what?” Chris asked. “Joey, talk to me.”

“I can’t,” Joey repeated quietly.

“You’re kind of freakin’ me out here, man,” Chris said.

“Sorry.”

Chris sighed. “C’mon, Joey, talk to me. Maybe I can help.”

“You can’t. So just leave me alone,” Joey said, turning away from Chris.

But Chris was having none of that. He reached out to grab Joey’s shoulder, gently forcing him to turn and look at him. “I can’t do that. Not when you’re this upset.”

“I’m fine,” Joey mumbled, refusing to look Chris in the eye.

“Uh huh,” Chris said, disbelievingly. “Whatever it is, you need to tell me. It’s gotta be something serious to get you so worked up.”

“I don’t know how to tell you,” Joey said.

“The beginning’s a good place to start,” Chris replied. He tried to look encouraging, but the lines on his forehead showed hints of frustration.

Joey spared a glance at Chris before shaking his head. “It’s not really my secret to tell.”

“Then I’ll just have to talk to JC,” Chris said with a shrug. “I need to know what’s going on, especially if you think it caused him to collapse.”

Joey realized that Chris was determined to get an answer, and he would probably try to talk to JC when he woke up. Being badgered was the last thing JC needed. As horrible as it was to tell his secret while he was sleeping, maybe it was a good thing. If they already knew what had been going on, then maybe they wouldn’t worry and bother JC as much.

“Not saying something is only hurting JC. I don’t care what he’s told you. If it’s serious then we need to know about it,” Chris pushed, his agitation growing.

Joey paused before he said, “Lou’s been hurting JC.”

“What?” Chris stared at a Joey in disbelief. His shoulders stiffened, and he clenched his fists.

But before Chris could really process that, Joey looked down at the comforter and blurted, “He raped him.”

Instantly, relief washed over Joey. It felt good to finally have someone else know. He barely registered the weight that lifted from the bed. But his head snapped up as he heard Lou’s voice a second before heavy footsteps.

Chris flung the door open, fury evident on his face. Joey jumped up from the bed, hastily wiping the tears from his eyes as he chased after him. He had to get to Chris before he did something stupid.

“Chris!”

Joey picked up his pace as they entered the kitchen. He grabbed Chris’s arm, trying to stop him from going into the living room where everyone was talking to Lou. Chris turned, and Joey could see the anger smoldering in his eyes.

“Don’t do this, Chris,” Joey said.

Without a word, Chris roughly yanked his arm out of Joey’s grasp. He marched right over to Lou and pulled back his right fist before letting it fly. The punch landed square on Lou’s jaw, causing him to stumble backwards.

“Chris!” Lynn yelled in surprise. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t believe you!” Chris yelled, ignoring Lynn as he shoved Lou. “After everything you’ve done for us! Getting us this house, giving us spending money, setting us up with Robin and Dave…”

“C’mon, Chris. Not here.” Joey managed to take hold of Chris’s arm and tried to pull him away. But Chris rolled his shoulder, throwing off Joey’s grip.

Movement to the right caught Joey’s attention. He groaned when he saw JC standing there, rumpled from sleep.

“We trusted you!” Chris shouted, forcefully shoving Lou. “All this time we thought you were taking care of us, you were hurting JC! You bastard!”

Lynn frowned, glancing at JC before returning her attention to Chris. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

“He raped JC!” Chris yelled.

All eyes swiveled to JC, who was standing just in the doorway with a mixture of fear and embarrassment on his face. His eyes locked with Lou for a second before he turned and ran out the room. Joey muttered a curse and followed him.

Justin dropped heavily onto the couch that he was standing in front of, the sound seeming very loud in the silent room. Lance stood, staring at Lou in surprise and barely reacted when Lynn gently put a hand on his shoulder, offering him comfort even though she was just as shocked.

“I…” Lou cleared his throat. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. It’s probably just some ploy for attention.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed and was about to punch him again, but was stopped when Lynn spoke.

“Get out,” she said coldly, her arms crossed as she glared fiercely at Lou. Chris had never heard her sound like that, but he knew she meant business. And clearly Lou did too because he rushed for the front door, pulling it closed behind him.

Once he was gone, Chris swiped the clock off the end table and threw it against the wall. It shattered with a loud crash, causing Lance to jump. Chris breathed heavily, turning and seeing Joey reenter the room.

“How the hell could we have let this happen?” Chris demanded loudly before Joey could say anything, barely registering Lynn walking past him.

Joey shook his head sadly. “We didn’t know.”

“How could we not?” Chris countered. “Lou treated him like shit!”

“That didn’t mean he was raping him,” Joey said.

“All of the signs were there!” Chris argued. “I mean, the way that he criticized him over every little thing and the pressure he put on him…he didn’t do that to the rest of us.”

Joey opened his mouth to reply, but Lynn interrupted them.

“Would you both just shut up for a second?” she snapped.

Chris spun around, almost having forgotten she was there. He saw that she was standing in front of the patio door with her head bowed slightly. She ran a hand through her hair as she sighed heavily before turning away from the glass door.

“How’s JC?” she asked Joey.

“He doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”

Lynn frowned, but didn’t say anything else about it. Instead she looked at Chris and asked, “How did you find out?”

“Joey told me,” Chris said simply.

“How did you find out?” Lynn asked again, directing the question at Joey this time.

“JC told me everything last night,” Joey said.

“Alright.” Lynn rubbed at her forehead. Chris could tell that she probably wanted to know more, but she was probably afraid of losing control if she said too much. “I have some phone calls to make.”  She looked at both of them. “Try talking to JC again.”

Joey nodded, and Chris followed him through the kitchen and into the hallway. But instead of walking the entire length of it to get to the three person bedroom, Joey stopped in front of the bathroom.

“He locked himself in the bathroom?” Chris asked, frowning.

“Yeah,” Joey said and sighed. He knocked on the bathroom door. “JC? Are you alright?”

There was no answer, and Chris stepped forward to try. “C’mon, JC. We’re not mad at you. We just wanna talk.”

He and Joey tried for another minute or two to get JC to open the door, but nothing was working. Chris leaned against the wall and exchanged a worried glance with Joey, who merely shrugged. It seemed like there was nothing they could do to get him to come out.

“Any luck?” Lynn asked, stepping into the hall.

Chris shook his head. “He hasn’t even said anything.”

Lynn frowned. “Well, just leave him alone for now, I guess.” She looked over at Joey. “Joey, I need you to come down to the police station with me since you know what happened.”

“Where are Justin and Lance?” Chris asked, just realizing that he had no idea where they were. He’d been so blinded by his anger and then trying to coax JC to open the bathroom door that he hadn’t really thought about how this must be affecting them, Justin especially.

“They’re in the living room. Justin’s really shaken up,” Lynn said.

“I’ll talk to them,” Chris told her. He could tell that she wanted to talk to Justin and make sure he was alright, but she probably felt responsible for making sure everything was being done for JC.

Lynn gave him a weak smile of thanks. “We’ll be back soon.”

Chris nodded and watched as she and Joey walked away. He sighed, glancing at the bathroom door. Maybe Lynn was right. It was best to just leave JC alone for a while and try again later.

He pushed himself away from the wall, and headed for the living room. When he crossed the threshold, he noticed that Justin and Lance were sitting next to each other on the couch. Chris settled himself on the loveseat and turned so he was facing them.

“How are you guys doing?” he asked.

“How’s JC?” Lance countered.

“He’s…alright,” Chris said. “Or at least he will be.”

Lance nodded even though he didn’t look completely convinced. Chris looked over at Justin and frowned. He was sitting stiffly and lacked color in his face. As concerning as that was, it was more so that Chris couldn’t remember Justin really saying anything since he’d revealed that Lou raped JC.

“Are you OK, Justin?” Chris asked.

“Yeah,” Justin said, slowly raising his eyes to meet Chris’s. “I’m just shocked, you know?”

Chris nodded slowly. He couldn’t really relate because he hadn’t been nearly as shocked as Justin seemed. It wasn’t that he’d expected Lou to rape JC, but he’d always thought something was off with Lou. And that made it that much worse. Chris had been the one that’d introduced them to Lou. If he hadn’t, then JC never would’ve been raped.

The silence that had settled over them was broken when Lance asked, “What happens now?”

Chris sighed. “Well, Lynn and Joey are at the police station right now filing a report against Lou. He’ll probably be arrested. After that, I’m not sure. There’ll probably be a trial.”

“What if JC doesn’t want to testify?” Lance asked.

“He will,” Chris said. “That bastard will go to jail, I can promise you that.”

“I wish he would’ve said something,” Justin mumbled.

Chris could understand where Justin was coming from. He couldn’t believe that JC hadn’t told anyone sooner. But then he thought about what he’d do if it’d been him and realized that he probably would’ve done the same thing. Having something that horrible happen to you wasn’t exactly something you wanted people to know about.

“Me too,” Chris said finally, knowing that he had to say something. “But you can’t be mad at him for not saying anything. He was probably scared and didn’t know what to do.”

Justin didn’t respond, and the room lapsed into silence again. Chris frowned. “Are you sure you guys are OK?”

“Are you?” Lance countered, glancing over his shoulder at the clock that laid in pieces near the front door.

Chris followed his gaze. “Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to freak out like that.”

Lance shrugged. “You were upset.”

“Yeah, but you guys should’ve never found out like that.” Chris paused. “You never answered my question.”

“I’m alright,” Lance said.

Chris glanced at Justin. “Justin?”

Justin looked over at him and nodded. “I’m fine.”

Chris nodded as he settled back against the loveseat. Lance asked another question, and they continued to talk about what’d happened. Chris answered his questions as best he could, considering he didn’t know much. Occasionally, Chris would glance over at Justin wondering if he was going to say anything, but he never did. It was concerning, but he figured it was probably best to just let Justin be for the moment.

When there was nothing else to say, Chris noted the time on the VCR and saw that nearly a half hour had passed since he’d last checked on JC. He rose to his feet. Might as well see how JC was doing and see if he could get him to open the door.

Chris retraced his steps to just outside the bathroom door. He knocked on the bathroom door, hoping that this time he could get through to JC. “JC?”

A long ten seconds passed without an answer. Chris sighed, not really that surprised. Why would JC say something now when he hadn’t earlier? Unless of course he couldn’t say something because something had happened like he’d committed suicide. It was an extreme thought, but JC had been so upset when he’d first gone in that it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Images of JC lying on the bathroom floor dead flashed through Chris’s mind, causing his heart to race. He needed to get into that bathroom to make sure that everything was alright. Chris could pick the lock, but he’d need something small to pop it open.

With that in mind, he walked back into the kitchen and started to rummage through the junk drawer. After a few seconds of searching, Chris found a paperclip. He grabbed it and closed the drawer, glancing briefly at Lance who’d wandered into the kitchen before he walked back to the bathroom door.

Chris unwrapped the paperclip to straighten it and stuck it into the hole. He’d just started to carefully manipulate the small piece of metal in the lock when he felt eyes on him. Glancing over his shoulder, Chris saw that Lance standing there with a frown etched on his face.

“What?”

Lance bit his lip for a second before he asked, “Should you really be doing that? I mean, if JC wants to be left alone…”

“What if something’s wrong? He’s been in there for over an hour now and he still hasn’t said anything,” Chris said.

“Let me try,” Lance suggested.

Chris eyed Lance for a moment. He was impressed that Lance felt comfortable enough to get involved, and it wasn’t like it would do any more damage. It was definitely worth a try. So Chris pulled the paperclip out of the lock and rose to his feet, moving away from the door.

Lance crossed the width of the hall and gently knocked on the wood door. “Hey, JC? Chris is about ready to break down the door. So if you don’t want him in there, you have let us know that you’re alright.”

There was a pause, and Chris was sure that JC wasn’t going to answer. But after a few seconds, JC’s voice could be heard through the door.

“I’m OK.”

Chris sighed in relief and smiled at Lance. He didn’t bother pushing JC to open the door because he was happy to know that he was OK. If JC still wanted some alone time, then they’d leave him alone. At least for a little while longer.

“You wanna watch TV or something?” Chris asked Lance. He didn’t know how much longer Lynn and Joey would be gone, but he was going to wait up for them. So he needed something to do while he waited and figured maybe Lance did too.

Lance shook his head. “I think I’m gonna try to get some sleep.”

“OK, I’ll try to keep it down.”

Lance gave him a small smile before turning and walking into the bedroom he shared with Joey.

Chris walked back out into the living room and settled himself on the loveseat. He glanced over at Justin, who’d stretched out on the couch. Since he wasn’t sure if Justin was sleeping or not, he turned down the TV to make sure it didn’t wake him if he was.

He spent an hour flipping through the channels their cable provided, mostly being left to deal with infomercials since it was so late. Chris turned off the TV when he heard the front door being unlocked. Lynn and Joey walked in looking beat.

“How’d it go?” Chris asked.

“The police officer took down everything Joey said, and they’re going to send a detective tomorrow to talk to JC,” Lynn explained.

“How is he?” Joey asked Chris.

Chris sighed. “He still won’t come out of the bathroom, but Lance got him to at least let us know that he’s OK.”

Lynn looked over at the couch. “Is Justin sleeping?”

“Yeah, and Lance is too,” Chris said.

Lynn walked over and settled on the empty couch cushion near Justin’s head. Joey turned his attention to Chris and asked, “Have you tried again recently?”

“About a half hour ago.”

“I’m gonna try again,” Joey said, crossing the living room and walked through the kitchen.

Chris joined him outside the bathroom door for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Joey sighed and rapped his knuckles on the door. There was no answer, but they’d expected that.

“JC? Can I come in? I just want to talk to you for a minute,” Joey said.

It was silent, but then JC’s voice said, “Just you?”

“Just me,” Joey assured. “C’mon, JC. Open up.”

There was a slight pause before Joey could hear movement on the other side of the door and the lock popping. Joey glanced back at Chris and grabbed the knob, twisting it while pushing the door open. He walked in and closed the door behind him.

Immediately, his eyes fell on JC who was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest in front of the bathtub. He seemed so small and vulnerable, making Joey’s heart ache. It was like he’d rapidly approached his breaking point.

Joey offered him a small smile as he lowered himself to the floor and sat so he was facing JC. They sat there, neither of them saying anything. It was a little awkward because Joey knew he was the reason that JC had locked himself in the bathroom because he’d told Chris. And the last thing he’d wanted was to make JC uncomfortable.

“I’m really sorry, JC. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that,” Joey said.

“I’m not mad,” JC replied.

“Are you sure?” Joey asked.

JC shrugged and nodded slightly. “They were going to find out eventually, right?”

“Yeah.” Joey paused. “Lynn and I went to the police.”

“I know,” JC said softly, averting his eyes from Joey’s.

“They’re going to send a detective over tomorrow to talk to you and some guy to collect your sheets,” Joey told him.

JC didn’t say anything, but Joey knew he probably wasn’t happy about it. The way that he’d reacted to Joey suggesting it last night made it clear that he wasn’t comfortable with other people knowing. But it was too late to do anything about that now.

“Your parents are coming in tomorrow,” Joey said.

“When?” JC asked quietly.

“By ten I think.”

JC sighed and laid his head on his knees. He looked absolutely exhausted. It had been bad enough that he’d collapsed earlier, but all of this stress with everyone finding out certainly hadn’t helped any.

“You think you’re ready to come out now?” Joey asked, gently. “You’re really freaking everyone out.”

JC shook his head. “No, not yet.”

It was Joey’s turn to sigh. “C’mon, C. You need to get some rest.” He paused. “I’ll make sure that they leave you alone, so you don’t have to worry about talking to anyone.”

“No,” JC repeated, his voice still quiet but a little firmer than it’d been. Joey recognized that there was no way he was going to convince JC to come out.

“Do you want me to at least get you a pillow?” Joey asked.

JC paused. “OK.”

Joey gave him a weak smile and got to his feet. He stepped back out into the hall, closing the door behind him and wasn’t at all surprised to hear the lock click again. Barely looking at Chris who’d positioned himself against the opposite wall, Joey headed for JC’s bedroom.

“Well?” Chris prompted, walking beside him.

“I’m getting him a pillow,” Joey mumbled.

Chris stared at him in disbelief. “He’s not coming out?”

“He’s not ready,” Joey said.

“So, what? He’s gonna sleep in the bathroom?” Chris asked, frowning as Joey grabbed the pillow off JC’s bed.

Joey hesitated at the foot of the bed before he nodded to himself and grabbed the throw blanket too. He looked up at Chris and said, “That’s where he’s comfortable, and I’m not going to force him.”

“That’s weird,” Chris said, shaking his head.

Joey agreed, but he stood by what he said. There was something about being in the bathroom that made JC feel better, and Joey wasn’t going to take that away from him. Not when he was so vulnerable. Besides, his parents would be there soon and they could take care of him then.

Not another word was said as Joey returned to the bathroom and once again knocked. “JC, I got your pillow.”

He waited and a few seconds later, he heard the lock pop. Instead of going in, Joey just opened the door and handed the pillow and blanket to JC. The gratitude was apparent on JC’s face as he accepted them. Joey stepped out of the doorway, and JC closed the door and locked it again.

Having nothing more to do, Joey and Chris walked back into the living room. They entered to see Lynn still sitting on the couch, running a hand through Justin’s blonde curls. She looked up at them as they came in.

“How is he?” she asked.

“He doesn’t wanna come out,” Joey said. “I gave him a pillow and blanket so he’d be more comfortable.”

Lynn sighed. “Well, we’ve done all we can do. His parents will be here soon. Maybe they’ll have better luck.”

Joey nodded and joined Chris on the loveseat. It was late and they should try to sleep, but so much had gone on that Joey doubted he’d be able to, despite the tiredness he felt. He sunk into the cushions, feeling like he hadn’t done enough, but knowing there would be plenty left to do to make sure Lou was punished.