~*Day 2*~
JC sighed and turned over, burrowing himself deeper into his pillow. It had taken a while until he fell asleep because he kept running the nights events over and over in his mind. He knew Chris wouldn�t do anything to Lance�s cross but then again how did it stay there on the wall? Finally he had fallen into a deep sleep and began dreaming the same dream he had every night for as long as he could remember.
He was onstage with the other four, right in the middle of their concert. Just like every other dream he started fumbling with his dance steps and stuttering over the lyrics. Then everything froze. The screaming fans, the band, the guys, everything but JC stopped in time. That had never happened before.
JC looked around the stage frantically. �What the hell! I know I�m dreaming but this is damn weird.�
Then suddenly the stage and the audience faded and he was on the dock in front of the old Dafoe house. It was during the day and the sun shone but he was still cold. He looked down and found himself in his sleep clothes rather than the concert outfit. He looked up towards the house and squinted.
A tall figure in white stood on the front steps of the house. JC made a move to walk but found his feet were planted firmly to the wooden boards and wouldn�t move no matter how many times he tried. The figure on the steps started walking and when it drew closer he recognized it was a woman.
�Who are you,� called out JC when the woman drew close enough to hear him.
�My name is of no importance,� she answered softly.
She was a slightly older woman with brown hair to her shoulders that had silver streaks throughout. Her cheekbones were high and well defined and she had this air of femininity and grace that he hadn�t seen in a woman since his mother.
�Why are you in my dream?� he inquired.
She smiled softly and took a step closer. �Oh, Josh, you�re quite the nosy young man, wanting to know the truth about everything. You don�t jump to conclusions as quickly as some of your friends. You wait till you have all the facts before doing anything. Never lose that trait.�
�How�d you know my name?� he asked, eyes wide. �How�how do you know about my friends?�
�I know everything about you, Josh,� she replied. �But what I know isn�t important. You need to leave.�
�Leave where?�
�Leave this house. Take your friends and leave and never come back,� she answered fervently, a slight tone of fear hanging on her words.
�Why? What�s going on? Why are you here? Who are you?� questioned JC, trying desperately to step closer to the woman only he couldn�t.
She simply looked at him sadly before everything around him faded and he shot up in bed, sweating profusely and shivering from being so damn cold.
JC looked around the room, his eyes taking their sweet time adjusting to the darkness. The first thing he did was look over to the other bed to see if Justin was ok. When he found him sleeping soundly he quickly got up to check on the others to make sure they were ok as well. By the time he finally reassured himself that his friends were just fine, sleeping in their beds where he should be, he was wide awake.
Since he knew he wouldn�t be able to go back asleep he quietly went up to his room and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, deciding to go for a morning jog. He grabbed his sneakers and padded down the stairs and went outside onto the front steps where he quickly laced his sneakers up and began jogging down the street.
The morning air was crisp and the sweats he wore did nothing to keep it from sweeping through his already too thin frame. Normally he was a bed of warmth but lately he couldn�t seem to stay warm. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore he was still freezing.
When he reached the corner he stood in place jogging, thinking of which direction he would take. Rather than get lost he took the route that would just lead him in a circle around the block and set off jogging. A few neighbors were out watering their lawns, picking up the morning paper, or going to their cars to scoot off to work. A few of them waved and he half-heartedly waved back, his thoughts too preoccupied.
Who was that woman in his dream? Why�d she tell him to leave and how the hell did she know his name was Josh? Normally he would chalk it up to nerves but there were too many weird things happening around the house lately. First the shadow in the window who he had assumed was Chris but when Chris so vehemently protested that it wasn�t he had to wonder. Then it was Lance�s cross that just seemed to float against the wall as if it had a mind of it�s own. Add in the fact that he just kept getting weird feelings whenever he looked or even thought about the house and he was starting to think that the house was really haunted although he really had nowhere to look or do research to prove it. From Justin�s experience with the town girl it seemed as if the people didn�t want to rehash the past and would get very nasty if you prodded too much or even not at all.
By the time he finished his fifth lap around the block he was mildly tired, his breath coming faster and his sweatshirt laced with perspiration. When he reached the driveway he cast his eyes downward rather than look up at the two windows that always sent chills down his spine. He had hoped the jog would help clear his thoughts but it only managed to make him more confused.
JC took a deep breath and walked in the house. The tv was on in the living room and he could hear Justin and Chris giggling. He made his way to the kitchen to grab some juice, which was where he found Joey and Lance talking quietly.
�Where were you, Jayce?� questioned Joey, his voice somewhat stern. �We were worried about you.�
JC gulped down his glass of juice before pouring himself another. �I had a funky dream last night and couldn�t sleep so I went for a jog to clear my thoughts.�
�Did it work?� asked Lance.
JC shook his head and continued to drink deeply from his glass. When he finished he rinsed his glass out before announcing he was taking a shower. When he came back downstairs he grabbed the keys and declared he was going into down and asked if anyone wanted to go with him. Lance quickly jumped at the chance and went to grab his coat.
�Joe, you wanna come with?�
�No,� he answered gruffly, not looking up from his book.
�You need anything?�
�Jesus Christ, no! Leave me the fuck alone already!� shouted Joey.
JC looked at Joey with wide eyes, shocked that he had just yelled at him. Joey mumbled a quick apology before brushing past JC and going upstairs. JC shrugged it off thinking that maybe he hadn�t had a good nights sleep and went to the living room.
�Hey, guys, Lance and I are going to go to town. Y�all need anything?�
Chris immediately tensed at the sound of Lance�s name but quickly relaxed as to not alarm JC and Justin. �Nope, I�m gonna stay here and spend some quality time with the boob tube.�
JC looked at Justin. �What about you? You wanna tag along?�
Justin thought for a moment before saying, �Hell no. I ain�t going back into town just so I can have people bite my head off.�
�Suit yourself,� said JC. �You want me to pick anything up for either of you?�
Chris grunted a no, too engrossed in some random episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Justin looked at his hands thoughtfully before saying, �A jigsaw puzzle.�
�A jigsaw puzzle?�
�Yeah!� he answered excitedly. �Please, Josh?�
JC looked at Justin one last time before reaching over to ruffle his curls, just like he had used to when they were on the MMC. He turned and walked out to the car, confused at what had just happened. Justin just called him Josh in the same boyish tone he had used so often when he was a boy of twelve and his sparkling blue eyes held a naivet� he hadn�t seen it years. Weird.
JC and Lance had spent all day in town, just wandering around and looking at the different shops. They had ventured into a children�s store where JC picked up a jigsaw puzzle that held a picture of a tiger on the front. Lance had picked up a sketchpad and some color pencils and when JC questioned him he had replied saying, �I just feel like drawin� for some reason.�
Throughout the day he had pondered asking one of the store owners about the house but ultimately decided against it. A small town meant that news traveled fast and JC didn�t want he and his friends to be seen as troublemakers and Hollywood reps looking for a horror movie plug. So instead he made small talk with Lance about this and that, the subject about his cross not once coming up even though JC had noticed that Lance wasn�t wearing it, which was quite odd because Lance never went anywhere without it but JC couldn�t blame him for not wanting to wear it now.
When they returned home JC had given Justin his jigsaw puzzle. Justin�s eyes lit up like it were Christmas morning and he had just gotten his first puppy. He squealed happily and sloppily kissed JC on the cheek and with a jubilant �Thanks, Josh!� he ran upstairs to begin working on it. Lance retreated to the living room with his sketching stuff. JC went to go hang out with Chris but changed his mind when he realized that he was in an anti-social mood and went to find Joey. Only to his dismay, Joey was still in a pissy mood and looked as if he were ready to rip someone�s head off so JC trudged off to the kitchen to make dinner.
~*~
Lance sighed and looked at the clock that sat on the table next to the couch, 1:45 AM. He pinched the bridge of his nose and yawned. He quickly marked the page in his Bible before closing it and setting it on the table along with his glasses. He wiggled down and flipped onto his side, pulling the covers up to his chin and sighed in comfort.
Just when he was about to nod off the tv turned on and the sound of static crackling across the screen jarred him from his slumber. Lance blindly scrambled for the remote and came up empty handed. He opened one eye and groaned when he saw that the remote was perched atop the tv.
�What�s the point of having a remote if you�re gonna keep it on the tv,� he mumbled sleepily before sitting up.
He pushed himself half-heartedly to a standing position before trudging over to the tv. He stumbled over something and caught himself before he went spilling onto the floor. Lance looked at the floor and cursed himself when he saw the open sketchpad littered with multi-colored pencils.
He turned the tv off and grabbed the remote before quickly retreating back to his makeshift bed. He tossed the remote onto the table before plopping down onto the couch. He groaned in protest when the covers fought to reach his shoulders and when he finally got back into a comfortable position he sighed softly before falling to sleep immediately.
The odd thing was that the tv had turned on by itself. They usually don�t do that. Especially when they aren�t even plugged in. Lance hadn�t noticed in the dark shadows on the floor that the cord that usually plugged into the wall lay scattered on the floor along with his colored pencils.