*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next time my eyes opened, I was in a hospital bed. Chris was sitting in the chair.
"Hey," he said softly. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been run over by a truck," I groaned. "What happened?"
"You passed out," he said, still in that oddly soft voice.
"I. Oh," I said. "Where'd that guy go? Detective..."
"Jackson? He's in the other room. And the guys, they're on their way," Chris said, answering my next question.
"Okay," I said.
"You want me to go get the detective?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I guess. I don't remember very much," I told him.
"I know." He stood up, then turned at the doorway, his voice still eerily quiet. "It's never good to be a witness," he said.
I didn't like the way he said that.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"If you saw him again, would you know?"
"Definitely," I said immediately.
"It's that clear in your head."
It wasn't a question.
"Yes," I said. "Why you think I could forget the guy who said he was going to kill me--" I began.
"I'm just making sure," Detective Jackson said. "Calm down."
"I am calm."
"Uh huh. Did he actually say those words?"
"What words, that he was going to kill me?" Detective Jackson nodded. "Yes," I said. "More than once."
He wrote something down then looked back up. "Could you tell me what else you--"
"I don't remember a lot," I told him for what felt like the thousandth time. "It was dark," I added uncomfortably. "I couldn't see much."
"But you saw his face."
"YES!"
"Okay, okay. And."
"Where'd Chris go?"
"Outside. But--"
"Can I talk to Chris, please?"
"Well--"
"I want to talk to Chris."
He stopped. "Okay. Fine. But we're not done."
"Chris," I said impatiently.
"All right, all right." He rolled his eyes, muttering something about witnesses. I shivered, remembering Chris' words. It's never good to be a witness.
"Hey," Chris said. "He looks mildy annoyed."
"Maybe because he is."
"Are you giving him a hard time?" Chris asked. "Because, you know, you should really try to hel--"
"I know," I said. "But he was annoying me too."
"Oh." Chris shifted his weight.
I yawned. "What do they have me on?" I asked. "I'm so tired..."
He frowned. "Go to sleep then," he said. "We'll be here when you wake up."
"We?" I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Wait, we? The..."
"Rest of the guys? Yeah, they're here."
"But I...you didn't tell me...I want to see..."
"I know," he said. "Go to sleep. You can see him when you wake up."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I hadn't been asleep long before I started awake and my eyes flickered open.
Chris and Justin were sitting there.
"Welcome back," Chris said. "How are you?" He must have seen something in my face, because he frowned. "Hey..."
"That guy," I said. "He's..."
Chris looked at me. "He's what?"
I looked away. "He's gonna kill me..."
Justin's eyes widened. "Did he say that? Did you tell the detective?"
"Yeah..." I said vaguely. "I..."
"What'd he say?"
"I don't remember."
Justin frowned and looked at Chris. Chris' eyes narrowed. "When you saw that guy, what did he say?"
I turned my head to look at thim. "He said...he's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me, Chris. I don't want to die."
Chris immidiately jumped up. "You're not going to die," he said. "Everything's gonna be fine. We'll have tons of people protecting you."
"It doesn't matter," I said, starting to cry, but not caring. "He's going to find me anyway. And then he'll find you. I don't..."
"Shhh, we'll keep you safe," he said. Justin was on the other side.
"Where are the others?" I asked softly.
"They're." Chris paused. "They're outside. It was our turn to stare at you until you woke up."
I mangaged a small smile. "Can I...?"
"Of course," they said in unison.
The few minutes that passed between the time they left and the time the door opened again seemed like an eternity.
When it opened I almost bolted up in surprise. His head peeked in. "...Lance?"
He came in all the way. "Oh, God, JC," he said. "Oh God."
"Stay in here with me," I begged softly. "Stay here, Lance, I don't want you to go. Don't leave me." My voice caught in my throat.
"I'm right here," he said softly, sitting on the bed and holding my hand in his. "I'm not going anywhere, JC, I promise."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm going to find you, pretty boy. I'm going to find you no matter where you try to hide and you will pay for this."
"I know who you are."
"Make sure you spend as much time as possible with your friends. You can't escape. You can run from me, and I know you will, but you can't hide. I'll find you again. And then? You, my friend, will die."