Only in Your Dreams: Chapter 2
�NO!� Joey screamed as he sat up in his bed with a sudden jolt, his eyes wildly looking about. As the nightmare remained fresh in his memory, Joey�s heart continued to beat frantically, as if it would leap out from his chest. His breathing was labored when at first he did not recognize his surroundings.
Shivering and bathed in a layer of sweat, Joey ran a trembling hand through his hair then across his face as he gradually realized that he was in his own bedroom and that he had just had another nightmare. However, this one had been much worse than the others. One of his best friends had been killed this time. He became nauseous at the thought and struggled to control the rising bile in his throat as he pushed his covers to the side then leaned over, holding his head in his still trembling hand. After several deep breaths Joey was finally able to control his rolling stomach and he sat up and rubbed his forehead in an effort to will away the lingering memories of the nightmare.
His next thought was to call someone�to hear a reassuring voice�to know that everything was okay. Remembering that Justin was sleeping over at Lance�s apartment, Joey switched on the nearby lamp and quickly picked up his cell phone sitting on the nightstand. With unsteady hands, he dialed a familiar number and waited for an answer.
The phone rang loudly in Lance�s ear causing him to startle awake. He rolled from his back to his side and glanced at the clock, then groaned as he realized it was only 3:00 in the morning. Turning on the nearby lamp, he blindly struggled to pick up the phone to answer it without dropping it.
�Hello?� he answered groggily as he squinted at the clock and watched as it advanced one minute.
�Lance. This is Joey. Listen, I�m sorry to be calling you right now, but is Justin there with you?�
�Wait. Joey? Do you know what time it is?� Lance asked incredulously.
�Lance, is Justin there?� Joey said in growing frustration at Lance�s lack of cooperation.
�We have to get up at 6:00 Joey,� Lance continued, seeming oblivious to Joey�s situation. �Do you know what time it is right now?�
Lance�s innocent question pushed Joey over the edge and he lost his temper.
�Shut up about the time, Lance and tell me that Justin is there with you NOW!�
Lance was completely shocked with Joey�s tone of voice, but decided not to get into with him. Apparently something was up and he knew that something had to be wrong.
�Yes, he�s here in my apartment in the living room on the couch asleep,� Lance answered with as much patience as he could muster so early in the morning.
�What�s going on Joey? Why did you need to know that at�3:03 in the morning?� he asked, glancing again at the clock before he laid his head back on his pillow with a small groan.
Lance heard Joey take a shaky breath before answering his question.
�I�I had a nightmare�Justin�he was murdered in my bad dream,� Joey stammered with tears in his shaking voice.
At Joey�s words, Lance sat fully up in bed as he suddenly realized how upset he would be if he were in Joey�s shoes at that moment and he decided to put one of his mother�s practices to work. Whenever he had had a nightmare about any member of his family while away from home, his mother would carry the phone to wherever that family member was and would allow Lance to understand that everyone was all right.
�Listen, this is going to sound kinda silly, but let�s go check on him, okay, Joey? I�ll take the phone into the living room and we�ll see that he�s safe and sound.� This was said without sarcasm, but with understanding as Lane stood up and made his way across the room toward his closed door.
Joey could hear Lance�s soft breathing as he walked out of his bedroom, down the short hallway into the living room where he stood at the back of the couch and looked down on Justin�s sleeping form. With a small smile, Lance saw that Justin was curled up on his side with a light blanket haphazardly covering him.
�Joey?� Lance asked as he reached down and straightened Justin�s covers without his waking.
�Yeah?�
�I�m standing right over Justin,� Lance said quietly as he stood back up from his bent position. �He�s asleep on the couch and he�s wearing his cowboy and Indian pjs.�
Joey nervously giggled into the phone at the description. He knew that Justin didn�t own any pajamas like that and knew that Lance was trying to lighten the mood�and it was working.
�That is not a good thing to picture right now Lance, but I can�t wait to pick on him about that!�
Joey�s quiet laughter was music to Lance�s ears. He knew that making Joey laugh in a stressful situation always seemed to make things better quickly.
�Better?� Lance asked, barely stifling a yawn as turned and leaned against the back of the couch.
Lance�s yawn caused Joey to feel regret in having called his friend knowing that their wake up call would be just a few hours away and they were all facing a very long day.
�Yeah. Listen, I�m sorry Lance,� Joey quietly apologized as he lay back down on his bed and pulled his covers back up over his body as the chill of the night caused him to shiver.
�It�s just that the dream was so real. I could see what was going to happen to the little fro man and I couldn�t do anything about it.� Joey wearily rubbed his forehead, relieved that the harshness of his nightmare was beginning to fade away.
�Hey, I understand. Don�t apologize for calling,� Lance reassured his older friend as he ran his free hand through his hair. �Sometimes my dreams are pretty vivid too and I don�t want you to hesitate to call me if it happens again�okay? That�s what best friends are for.�
�Thanks man. I�ll see you in a few,� Joey replied as he settled further into his bed not knowing if he actually wanted to fall back asleep or not.
�Night Joe.�
With those words said, both young men ended their phone call.
After turning off his phone, Lance again looked down at the sleeping figure on the couch. He felt sorry for Joey having such a bad dream. He, Joey, Chris and JC were especially protective of the youngest member of their group and of each other, for that matter. It would be terrible to see any one of them hurt in any way, even if only in a dream.
With a sigh, Lance once again tucked the covers in around his young friend before turning to leave the living room. Lance absent-mindedly scratched the back of his head as he walked to his bedroom then crawled back into bed. His head hit the pillow and he slowly fell back into a deep slumber.
Meanwhile, Joey�s last thought in the world was sleep. That dream had been all too real and he did not want to take the chance that he would return to it again. He once again pushed his covers to the side and swung his legs over the side of the bed and slowly made his way out of his bedroom and into the bathroom to take another hot shower to relax. He could already tell that this was going to be a long day.
By the end of the week, Joey�s nerves were completely frazzled, as were Lance�s. So far that week, Lance had received three more frantic phone calls in the wee hours of the morning from a frightened Joey. He remained patient with each one knowing that Joey would do the same for him if he were the one having the nightmares. But by Friday, the strain of lost sleep was beginning to show during rehearsals and recordings with both boys. Lance wanted desperately to speak to someone about what was going on with him and Joey, but he had promised to keep the nightmares between the two of them. As a result, JC, Justin and Chris had each tried to find out if there were any problems going on, but they only received evasive answers in return.
The weight of Joey�s problem was becoming heavier and heavier on Lance�s shoulders and he felt sure that he was nearing his breaking point. He needed to know that what he was doing to help Joey was the right thing to do, but with the secrecy issue, Lance�s hands were tied. Joey thought for sure that if the others were to find out about his nightmares they would tease him and then the nightmares would become even worse. Lance tried to reassure his friend that the others would be the complete opposite with their reactions and would want to help him also but, Joey would hear nothing of it and the matter was dropped. Lance did not think things could possibly become any worse, but he was wrong.