| Chapter 11 |
| Lance tossed and turned in bed, trying to fall back asleep, but it was no use. Rubbing his eyes, he rolled onto his side and stared at the alarm clock. '6:00,' he thought, sighing as he got out of bed. 'So much for sleeping in on the weekends.' Grabbing his robe, he put it on and tied it tightly around his waist, leaving the room without so much as throwing the other man in bed a second glance. He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he started a pot of coffee. Sighing, he sat down at the kitchen table and laid his head down on the cool, wooden surface. 'What the hell is going on around here?' he asked himself. 'Did I miss something? Justin's been weird lately, he won't talk to me at all, and JC...' Lance sighed as he remembered the look of anger on JC's face when he had hit Justin. Now that he really thought about it, he remembered the look of hurt, too. 'What happened?' Lance jumped slightly when the coffee pot started making noises in the otherwise quiet room, and he got up to pour himself a cup. Adding his usual amounts of cream and sugar, he watched as he slowly stirred the steaming hot liquid with a spoon. 'You know what you have to do Lance,' he told himself. 'It's either this way or being kept in the dark. And dammit, you have a right to know what's going on. Justin's your... boyfriend, and JC, well, he's...' Lance shook his head, not willing to go there at all. 'He's your friend. Yeah, that's it. So do it. Now, before you lose your nerve.' Nodding, Lance set down his coffee and walked into the living room. Reaching down underneath the coffee table in front of the couch, he pulled out the large, yellow phone book and sat down to flip through the pages. "Charvat, Chasen, Chase... here we go, Chasez. Joshua." Taking a deep breath, Lance grabbed the cordless phone from beside him and slowly dialed the number printed with his thumb. Listening to it ring, Lance closed his eyes and prayed JC was home. ~*~ Over in his apartment, JC was stirring underneath the warm covers of his bed. He growled and pulled them down to just under his nose, glaring at the ringing phone that sat a few feet away on the nightstand. He wanted so badly to ignore it, especially since there was a chance it might be Justin, calling to argue, or his mother, calling to chat. He sighed because he really wasn't in the mood to speak with anyone. When the phone still kept ringing, he rolled his eyes and scooted over in bed, grabbing it off its cradle. 'I really need a damn recording machine,' he thought silently. "Hello?" ~*~ Lance inhaled sharply at the sound of JC's voice. 'Shit, he answered. Now what?' 'Say something moron! You called him.' Lance cleared his throat and hoped he didn't sound nervous. "Um, JC?" There was silence over the other end of the line for a few minutes. Just when Lance had thought JC had hung up, he heard a soft, incredulous voice. "Lance?" He smiled slightly. "Yeah, it's me. Um... how are you?" JC was in shock. Why would Lance be calling him? He shrugged slightly, and then rolled his eyes because Lance couldn't see him. 'Dumbass,' he chided himself. "I'm, okay," he said quietly. "You?" Lance nodded. "Okay." There was a long awkward pause that left both men thinking about what to say next. Lance was growing more uncomfortable, and strangely enough more *nervous* with each passing second, so he decided to skip the chit-chat and get to the point. "JC, what happened last night?" he asked cautiously. "Why did you hit Justin? And why did you leave?" JC inhaled sharply, suddenly wishing he hadn't answered the phone at all. He wasn't ready for this yet. If he explained it all to Lance, he would end up having to explain his feelings too. He felt himself getting angry again as he thought of how Justin had betrayed him, whether he meant to or not. "Listen Lance, I don't think this is the best thing for us to be talking about." "Come on JC, please," begged Lance. "Justin won't tell me so-" "So you thought you could ask me and I would just spill everything to you, right? Is that it Lance?" He was angry now, although he wasn't exactly sure why. Was he mad at Justin? Lance? Himself? He didn't know. "No, no, JC, God no," Lance said quickly, "I just- I want to know." JC sighed. When he spoke again, his voice was low and quiet. "You seem like a smart man Lance," he said quietly. "You deserve the best that life, and love, has to offer you. Some people have a lot more to offer than others I guess." He snorted bitterly. "I had a boyfriend about a year ago. We didn't last, but I was there for him. And guess what Lance? I never forgot *one* fucking anniversary." He paused. "Bye." And hung up. ~*~ Justin woke up late morning, his body covered in goosebumps. He shivered and yawned, stretching in bed. The sheets were kicked down by his feet, and since he was only wearing a thin shirt and boxers, he was cold. Reaching his arm out beside him, he felt it hit the bed instead of a warm body. Opening his eyes, he sighed when he saw that Lance was all ready up. Climbing out of bed, he ran a hand through his messy curls and decided to take his shower later. 'Thank God today is Saturday,' he thought. 'If I had to go to work and face JC...' He sighed and tried to push JC put of his mind as he stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. He found Lance sitting at the table, his hands folded in front of him as he stared out the window. "Morning," said Justin. Lance didn't answer, didn't turn around or even acknowledge that Justin was in the room. Justin watched him for a few seconds, before sighing and pouring himself a cup of coffee. As he was taking a sip, he heard Lance speak up behind him. "Did you forget our anniversary?" |