Chapter 7: Fear and Friendship
Chris worked to balance the tray of drinks in his hand as he made his way through the crowd. In her rush to start making money off the poor man Jade had insisted that Chris get to work right away, it was Lexi who has suggested he work as a waiter until his external injuries healed. After all, the last thing Chris needed were women putting their hands all over him right now.
It also gave Chris a chance to see what he would be dealing with down the road as he deliver drinks to JC and Justin’s tables, watching in horror as the women took advantage of his friends. It concerned JC that Chris always did as he was told, generally without hesitation. In the days that had followed Chris’s arrival he had said little about where he had come from and what had happened.
“Do you think Chris is alright?” JC asked as Lexi put her final touches on his appearance before sending his out on stage. She paused and looked at him, it seemed like an odd question to her. In just the few short days that Chris had been there she had already seen a big improvement in his overall health, which probably wasn’t going to last.
“I have not had too many long conversations with him, but he seems okay, all things considered.” Lexi said, not really sure what JC was looking for. His blue eyes were slightly dimmer now, but still incredibly sexy and currently not making contact with her. “JC… what is going on in that head of yours?”
“I am just worried; Chris is acting fine, maybe a little too fine. Do you think there could be something wrong with him? Like mentally or something?” JC said shrugging his shoulders and gesturing in the direction of the tables Chris was tending to. Lexi sighed sometimes dealing with these guys was like dealing with kids. She grabbed him by his shirt and shook him a little. He put his hands on top of hers and looked her in the eye. They were so close now; it might have made them uncomfortable had they taken the time to think about it.
“JC, I say this with love and respect. You got to go on stage in 5 minutes! Now is not the time to be stressing about Chris. I know that he is your friend. I’ll keep an eye on him, you focus on this because if you don’t Chris is going to see firsthand what that evil woman can do and I don’t think that he is ready for that.” Lexi stated, letting go of him. JC nodded, as usual Lexi was right.
JC left her to go up on stage and Lexi turned her attention to Chris. She watched him for a minute as he greeted a new table. He was trying so hard to do everything right, the guy was clearly afraid to mess up which in this situation his perfectionism wasn’t really a bad thing. But at this pace he was going to wear himself out. Lexi knew what Jade would do to him if he screwed up, though it probably wouldn’t be as bad as what had already happened to him, it wouldn’t be enjoyable.
Lexi tapped Chris as he rushed passed her. “What did I do something wrong?” He asked his eyes large with fear. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong, just slow down before you trip or something. It’s going to be a long night.” She explained trying to make is sound more like a suggestion than an order. Chris just nodded and slowly turned to head back to the bar. He knew that she was right at the pace he was going he would wear himself out and create some unrealistic expectations for Jade. No one could keep that pace up forever.
At the end of the night Justin slipped into their room and fell onto his cot and was almost instantly asleep. The young pop star was completely whipped. JC stopped Chris as he was about to enter their room.
“Are you okay? I am really worried about you.” JC asked. Chris stared at him for a minute a little puzzled by the question. Chris felt that he was doing great since he got there. His wounds were healing and he was almost ready to start performing.
“What are you talking about I am fine.” Chris asked.
“Exactly, you being fine is what has me concerned. I can’t believe you are okay with all of this.” JC said. He motioned around him as if to drive his point home. Chris glanced around, sure their surroundings weren’t impressive by any means and maybe it was Chris’s fault for not explaining sooner, this place was an upgrade for him.
“You don’t understand, and I don’t expect you to because this is the only place that you have been besides the reform camp. So of course you think this is bad. But I can tell you that I have seen worse.” Chris explained then pushed past JC and into their room. He sat on his bed and took his shoes off, he sighed before taking the time to remove Justin’s as well. The man hadn’t even bothered to do so in his rush to fall asleep.
Chris’s eyes were fixed on Justin but he knew JC had followed him in. Justin didn’t even look like the same guy any more. The pressure was taking a toll on the young man. That did scare Chris a little, if Justin couldn’t handle it then what chance did an old man like him have. But the only thing Chris could do was try.
“So tell me what happened, help me understand why you think this place is so great.” JC begged.
“I didn’t say that this place was great, I just said I had seen worse. God knows this place is going to have some challenges.” Chris corrected. JC groaned and kicked his shoes off, hoping that Chris could tell by his body langue that he needed to know more. “I am not going to tell you what happened. It’s not going to make you feel any better.”
“You don’t know that?” JC stated.
“Trust me I do. I don’t even want you to feel sorry for me. I am just glad it’s over.” Chris said.
JC took a seat beside Chris on the bed, like a child waiting for someone to tell him a story. It was clear that he wasn’t going to go away. “The first woman that bought me was… aggressive and demanding. Something happened that was out of my control and in no way my fault. She beat the crap out of me for something that I didn’t even do. Then she threw me down a flight of stairs and called the cops to come get me. The cops came and they beat the crap out of me some more because I was a guy so of course I was lying about the thing that I said I didn’t do. So now I just want to do the right thing and stay out of trouble. That is all you need to know.” Chris explained trying to control his anger.
Chris had been right, hearing this was not making JC feel better. He was feeling guilty for even asking but it was helping him understand, Chris was not happy to be there with Jade, he was just happy that she wasn’t beating on him for no reason.
“Please don’t ask me to tell you what happened to me in detail, I just can’t even think about it. But After a few days the person that accused me finally admitted to making the whole thing up. I was released from jail but the family didn’t want me back after what had happened. So the corrections office put me up for sale.” Chris sighed.
“I am sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” JC said.
“No, it’s okay. I can see how the way I have been acting would seem odd. I should have told you at least that much sooner. I want to be a free man just as much as the next guy but I also know what happens to guys that break the law or disobey orders. I hate to tell you but this prison is a whole hell of a lot better than actual prison.” Chris joked a little trying to lighten the mood, after all what was done was done, nothing was going to change what had happened to him.
“Right, I supposed that Justin had the right idea though, because in this prison you are going to need all the sleep you can get.” JC pointed out, Justin was so far gone JC wondered if he had heard any of their conversation.
“I do have a concern though.” Chris sighed.
“Yeah what would that be?” JC asked.
“Jade has 3/5’s of N Sync how long do you think it will be before she finds the others?” Chris asked. He knew that was the direction that Jade was going in, it only made sense. The group made the guys was worth more, since they had proven success, and Jade Gaillard wanted money. With the group back as a whole it would mean more singing and more dancing that ever before, as well anything else Jade could come up with. “I know Joey is in the system. I saw him at the reform camp in Orlando and I am sure Lance is too.”
“Joey, are you sure?” JC asked, though it didn’t surprise him too much. His faith in women lately was not as strong as it once had been anything could have happened between Joey and his wife. “It’s… unfortunate, but I think you are right. However there isn’t anything we can do to stop it. We just have to stick together and look out for each other; this friendship is all we have left.”
“What about Lexi isn’t she your friend?” Chris asked. He had noticed the two of them talking a lot and spending a lot of time watching each other when they didn’t think anyone was looking. JC stuttered a little and tried to think of a way to explain it.
“I am not sure what Lexi is. There is a honesty about her that I really do like, but I have a hard time trusting her completely.” JC explained.
“Because she is a woman?” Chris asked. JC just nodded, that had to be it. Lexi hadn’t done anything to him accept to be overly nice to him. He groaned and buried his face in his hands; he would have to talk to her tomorrow about it. He felt like a jerk again. “Relax JC; I am sure Lexi understands that you have trust issues. She is seeing everything you are going through first hand. But I think it’s in our best interest to bring Lexi into our inner circle. We don’t have that many friends here, besides each other of course. It might be helpful to have a friend that can actually help us, even if it is just a little bit.”
“Since when did you get so smart?” JC asked. Chris just shrugged.
A few days past and not much changed, but the guys were starting to put a plan in to action. They needed a friend that could actually do something for them. That friend being Lexi just made sense.
“Hey, Lexi!” JC yelled, running a little to catch up with her. He had been thinking a lot about what Chris has said. Maybe having Lexi on their side was a good idea. He was trying to look past his trust issues and give her a chance. Lexi smiled at him as he approached her, she carefully balanced the tray of dirty glasses that she was taking back to the bar to be washed.
“So…” JC started to say but paused. He scratched his head and tried to think of away to ask her, his question without coming across as using her. “I couldn’t help but notice that Miss Gaillard hasn’t been around for a few days. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?”
“Why don’t you just ask what you really want to know? You want to know if Jade is looking for Lance and Joey.” Lexi fired back, but kept her smile. She knew the guys were afraid of her but wanted to trust her and be able to come to her for help. JC just hung his head in shame. “It’s alright I like that you are pretending to be my friend. I wish my all friends looked half as good as you do.” Lexi teased.
“I’m sorry. I really do like you as a person. It’s just that you have an informative purpose for me as well. I have a need for information more so than friends right now, because if you haven’t noticed people around here tend to use my friends against me. But when I do make a new friend I would hope I will be you.” JC rambled.
“So, I am in the front running to be your new best friend? I’ll take it. But to answer your question, I noticed that she was missing as well. Though people don’t tend to tell me anything around here, they also don’t seem to notice me. I heard some of the other girls talking and it seems that Jade is in Orlando. So it’s a good bet on which one she may be looking for.” Lexi explained. The fan in her was excited to think about the group getting back together but the person standing there next to a thin and very tired JC Chasez was a little nervous. The look on JC’s face let her know what he was nervous too so she hugged him. At first he was tease but he slowly relaxed and lightly hugged her back.
“What is this for?” He sighed taking in the warmth of her body so close to his. There was something soothing about it. She wasn’t hitting him or yelling at him, this was nice for a change.
“You just looked like someone that needed a hug.” Lexi said softly, before releasing him.
“I need more than a hug, but thank you. That helped.” JC said afraid to make eye contact with her.
“I know you do, but I am limited on what I can do for you. I will promise you this much, when I find out something so will you. You can count on that just don’t forget that I am sometimes that last to know.” Lexi said, letting her smile fade a little at that last part. However sad that sounded it was true. She liked that JC was opening up to her.
Jade was missing for a few more days which had to mean that something was defiantly going on. This time around Lexi pushed harder to find out what was going on, so that she could have the honor of telling the guys beforehand. When she finally over heard the news that she had been waiting for she took off running down the back hall, jumping over boxes and dodging people.
By the time she got to their room she was out of breathe. She took a seat one of the cots, barely taking the time to notice that a spring from the crummy bed was poking her in the butt. The guys just stared at her not really sure why she was there. JC leaned against the wall ran his hand through his wet hair, wondering how long it was going to take for her to realize that he was only wearing a towel. The door to their room didn’t have a lock but it had been closed for a reason, they were all trying to get showered and ready to the busy night ahead.
“I heard that Jade is coming back tomorrow and she isn’t coming back alone. No one is sure yet who she is bringing but it’s defiantly a guy. I am thinking if she was in Orlando then if could be Joey.” She said, still trying to catch her breath. It was when she looked at JC for approval that she realized why he was smiling at her. As embarrassed she was, it was also kind of a turn on and that sly smile of his was not helping. “Oh my god, JC I am so sorry I should have knocked first, right?”
“Its fine, you seemed excited about sharing your news with us. It’s not a big deal. I’m covered.” JC stated. He held out his arms to show her more. At this point he was just teasing her but it was rare that he had the upper hand any more. After being violated on a nightly basis it seemed like only a matter of time before Jade turned the bar into a strip club, and he would be on display in all his glory. JC shook the thought from his head and tried to focus on the problem at hand.
“So you think Joey is coming tomorrow?” Chris asked, even he could see that the two of them were clearly distracted by each other. Lexi shook her head and turned to him, trying to figure out what he had said. Chris repeated it for her and smiled, it was clear that she was developing a thing for JC and JC might even have a thing for her.
“Yes, Joey should be coming here tomorrow. I can only hope there are no surprises like when Chris was brought in, no offense.” Lexi said, secretly hoping that Joey was at least unharmed.
“None taken, I know I was a mess.” Chris said waving it off.
“Thank you Lexi for telling us. It’s nice of you.” Justin offered. He had been filled in on the plan to bring Lexi closer to them and use her more to their advantage. After all it wasn’t hard to be nice to her when she was always nice back. Lexi smiled and then left so they could get ready. She paused outside of their room and leaned against the wall. As nice as it was to see JC like that, it would have been a little better if he wasn’t starting to thin out now. The man used to have amazing arms but now … they were just lacking something.
