| Bell Continued... ~~~ Justin smiled at the memory, but his face grew drawn and sad again as he heard the phone begin ringing again from across the room. Nine� ten� eleven� - Justin made to get up - twelve� Justin rested his head against the pillow again. ~~~ They had been seeing each other exclusively for four months when Justin received that four am call. In his sleep-induced stupor, he reached for his bedside phone, noting it rang eleven times before he answered it. �Hello?� He mumbled sleepily but snapped fully awake when he heard JC�s voice on the other end. �I�m sorry, honey, if I woke you up. Did I wake you up? Oh shit�� JC muttered. �I didn�t realize it was so late.� �No, it�s okay,� Justin said. �When I told you to call anytime, I meant it. Now� what�s up?� �I had another epiphany.� JC said seriously. �I was asleep, dreaming about you, when I just woke up and decided to call you.� Justin smiled. He had gotten used to these epiphanies. JC was prone to having them. �Okay, JC, now what was so important you couldn�t wait to tell me?� �I love you, Justin,� JC bubbled. �I love you and I couldn�t wait to tell you.� Justin was quiet for a moment and then broke out in bright, clear laughter. �I love you too, JC. I think I always have.� As an afterthought, he added, �You are a crazy bastard; did you know that?� JC just laughed gaily. �Yeah, I think it�s rubbed off on me from you.� Justin was still giggling. �So, I know it�s late, but why don�t you come over?� JC laughed again. �Sure. We can do each other�s nails.� �Maybe you can tell me that dream you were having about me.� �Maybe. I�ll be there in a little while,� JC said before he hung up. JC�s dream, which he ended up telling Justin over ice cream, ended up coming true that night. ~~~ The phone rang, snapping Justin back to his present reality. �What the fuck!?� He yelled and covered his eyes with his arm. �I wonder what teenybopper got my damn number this time,� he growled. Nine� ten� eleven. On the twelfth ring, he screamed. He screamed until his throat was raw, and then he stopped and looked around the living room. Nothing had changed and the only difference Justin felt was that his throat hurt. He sat up, and then leaned over, his elbows on his knees. His shoulders slumped; he was remembering the third phone call. ~~~ JC had made it a habit of calling Justin at four in the morning. So when Justin heard the phone ringing he thought it was going to be JC with another one of his epiphanies. He smiled and answered the phone, expecting to hear JC�s pleasant voice. �Hello?� Justin asked, more as a formality than anything. �Is this Justin Timberlake?� A hard, unfamiliar voice asked. �May I ask who�s calling?� �I am Detective David Austin. Mr. Timberlake, do you know a Joshua Chasez?� Detective Austin asked. �Yes I do. Would you mind telling me what this is all about?� Justin inquired worriedly. �You were listed as Mr. Chasez�s next-of-kin.� Detective Austin�s voice softened. �I�m sorry I have to be the only to tell you this, but I�m calling to tell you that Mr. Chasez passed away. He was in a car accident.� Justin�s mind and body went blank and he almost dropped the phone. No, he thought. JC isn�t dead. Not his sweet JC, his lover JC, his shining star JC. �No,� Justin said, as if saying the word would make the fact go away. �I�m sorry�� Justin tuned David Austin�s voice out. His mind was reeling. Justin hung up the phone in a daze. He had heard enough. JC had gotten hit by a pick up truck that ran a red light going about seventy miles per hour. The truck had completely smashed in the driver�s side of JC�s black Camaro. JC had been killed on impact. JC was on the road that headed out to Justin�s house. Justin�s body was numb. Not JC. Not his JC. Justin spent the next three days sobbing and making all sorts of arrangements and withdrawing from the world. |