"Whoops," giggled Justin, "Uh....sorry Lance." The other three ran into him, not realizing he'd stopped. Their voices raised in annoyance until they noticed Lance, sitting on the bed, without his shirt and Whip facing the wall.
"Oh shit," Joey said, "Umm....we'll come back later."
"Yeah,"Chris grinned and started herding the others back out the door. JC looked embarassed and he was the first one out. "Just forget we were even here, we'll come back when you're done.......say, 15 minutes?" Joey snorted and Justin howled with laughter. Lance's face kept getting redder and redder.
"You might as well stay," Lance all but growled, "In fact, why don't you join us. I'm sure you'd just love that." Justin's eyes narrowed at Lance's tone.
"We said we were sorry," Justin said, "How were we supposed to know you two were in here doing that. The door wasn't even locked."
"You could have waited till we answered it," Lance bit back, "But no, as usual, you just bust in not caring about anyone else's privacy. So, you might as well tell me what the hell you guys want."
"We just wanted to see if you two wanted to go down to the pool," Joey said, his eyes downcast, "Wanted to see if you wanted to go swimmin'."
"As you can see, we don't." They all nodded, apologized again and filed out the door. Just before it closed, JC popped his head back in.
"Hey, did you get the notebook," he asked, making Lance cringe.
"No, he didn't," Whip finally spoke and Lance wanted to crawl under the bed. Damn. He didn't want her to know that he was planning on showing it to JC. Her voice dripping with contempt, she continued, "And he's not going to get it either. Ever." JC flushed and nodded quickly. As soon as he pulled the door shut, Whip let Lance have it.
"And why the fuck does JC know about that notebook," as her voice raised, the knot in Lance's stomach twisted itself a little tighter.
"I needed his help," Lance tried to explain, "I told you I wanted to have something made for you and I knew I could trust him not to spread it around." Whip's eyes widened and then narrowed on him.
"I told you why I don't want anyone seeing that Lance," the way she spat out his name made Lance feel like a knife had pierced him. He didn't say a word. He couldn't. Suddenly, Whip turned from him and grabbed her bag off the floor. She rummaged through it and pulled out her notebook. She flipped through the pages and when she came upon the last one, she ripped it out and flung it at Lance, dropping the notebook back in the bag. He looked at the crumpled piece of paper and slowly raised his eyes to her.
"Fuck it," she said flatly, "Do whatever the fuck you want with it, just don't expect me to be around when everyone starts in. I thought you were different Lance. I thought I could trust you, but you've proven me wrong. Keep the damn thing. I don't want to see it or YOU!" With that, Whip stormed out and slammed the door. Lance flinched at the sound and lowered his head, closing his eyes. Shit, he'd really made a mess of this.
~*~
Whip punched the button for the elevator and paced while it made it's way up. She just wanted to punch or smash something. Dammit, she'd thought he would understand. Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them back. She would NOT cry over him. The elevator chimed and the doors opened. JC was standing there, looking like he was caught in a trap and Whip rolled her eyes, waiting for him to move. She entered the car and visciously punched a button on the panel. JC watched until the doors closed and heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew she was pissed. Glancing down the hall, he decided to see if Lance was okay. When he got to the door, he knocked. No answer so he opened the door a crack. Lance was still sitting on the bed, staring at a piece of paper in front of him. His hands were running up and down his thighs over and over, causing him to rock back and forth. JC entered the room and shut the door behind him. He waited, not quite sure what to say.
"I really fucked up Jayce," Lance whispered and when he looked up, JC could see the shimmer of tears in his eyes, "I've got to get her back."
"Well, I know she's pretty pissed," JC answered, "I'd let her be for awhile." Lance shook his head furiously.
"You have to help me man," he pleaded, "I've got to do this NOW more than ever. She'll understand then. Say you'll still help......don't you dare back out on me now." Lance's eyes begged him and JC couldn't deny his friend. He nodded and walked over to the bed, sitting down beside him.
"Lemme see," JC said. Lance handed him the paper and stared at his hands while JC read through it. JC was impressed. He'd never read anything like it and he knew now that Lance wasn't lying when he said it would work. His mind already buzzing with ideas, he began talking. Lance listened and offered his opinion in between. This is gonna work, JC thought to himself as they got up and left the room. They were going to go to JC's room and see how their ideas could be put together. Lance followed slowly, but with intent. He just had to make Whip see how he felt and this was the only way he knew how.