After trying to fall back asleep and failing miserably, he rolled out of his bunk to find Joey standing there, rubbing his eyes sleepily. �Why�d we stop?� he mumbled quietly.
Lance shrugged and scrubbed at his eyes, making at a face at the crustiness at the corners of his eyes. �Dunno. I�ma go ask because we can�t already be there.�
Joey nodded and crawled back into his bunk, burrowing his face into his pillow and letting out a big sigh. Briahnna was with Kelly, visiting her family, and he was enjoying the luxurious privilege of sleeping a whole night.
Lance shuffled towards the front of the bus in his boxers, scratching absently at his stomach, to see a brightly lit Wal-Mart sign. He yawned. �Why�re we stoppin�?�
Hank, their driver, jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion. �The other bus is having some engine trouble so we�re going to see if Matt and I can fix it. If not then the others will come on here while Matt takes it in to the shop.�
Lance nodded and walked back to the bunk area. �Figures,� he grumbled. He pulled his duffle bag out of the storage area and pulled out a set of clothes. �The one night we decide to leave early to get a head start on the schedule and the fucking bus decides to break down.�
He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a faded, red hoodie, the Ohio weather cooler now that it was fall. He forwent gelling his hair and stuffed a baseball hat over his unruly spikes instead. He sat on the edge of his bunk and pulled his sneakers on.
�Joey,� he whispered. Joey mumbled and shifted, still asleep. �Joey, wake up. Come on, man.�
He tugged his laces tight and leaned over and grabbed Joey by the shoulder, shaking him. �Joey, wake up.�
Joey batted at Lance�s hand and rolled over until he was facing the wall. Lance rolled his eyes. Whenever Bri was around he was the lightest sleeper around, a whisper jarring him from his sleep. Any other time and he slept like the dead.
Lance grabbed his pillow and whacked Joey on the back of the head. He jumped, disoriented, and turned around to glare at Lance. �The hell, man?�
�We�re stopping.�
�Well, no shit sherlock,� he grumbled, sitting on the edge of his bunk. �Why the fuck did you wake me?�
�Would you rather have Chris coming in here and jumping on you like an over excited pixie or me hitting you in the back of the head?� asked Lance.
Joey thought for a minute before answering, �You.� He yawned and scratched at his groin. �Why�re we stopping?�
�Engine problems with the other bus. Hank and Matt are going to see if they can fix it. If not then the others are coming on here while Matt takes it into the shop,� replied Lance, making a face at the idea of Chris and Justin joining them.
Joey groaned and stood up. He stretched and yawned widely. �All right then,� he said, more awake now. �I�ll be dressed in a second.�
Lance nodded and left the bus to see Chris, Justin, and JC standing outside. JC leaned against the bus, eyes closed, while Chris and Justin stood a couple feet away, laughing and talking loudly.
When Lance walked closer he saw that they were still in the same clothes they had worn when they had parted ways at the venue. �You guys slept in those clothes. Gross.�
�No, they didn�t sleep,� called JC, pushing himself up and walking towards Lance. �They haven�t been to bed yet. They�ve been playing video games. All. Night. Long.�
�Oh be quiet, C, you got to sleep eventually,� retorted Justin, grinning wickedly.
�Yeah, after listening to you banter back and forth for an hour. And then to be woken up because we have to stop at Wal-Mart,� grumbled JC, shivering at the cool night air.
Chris walked over and put an arm around JC�s shoulder, squeezing. �Buck up, C, its Wally World. You love this store.�
JC shoved Chris away, who laughed loudly and went back over to talk to Justin. JC walked over and draped himself over Lance�s back. He nuzzled his face into the plush hood, and wrapped his hands around Lance�s waist until they were buried in the front pockets with Lance�s.
Lance grinned over his shoulder and JC smiled back sleepily. �Hi.�
�Hi yourself,� answered Lance, laughing softly.
�My hands are cold,� mumbled JC sleepily.
Lance caught them in his and began rubbing. JC made a content noise in the back of his throat and Lance grinned. �Better?�
�Mmmmhmmm,� JC hummed, pressing himself closer into Lance. JC kissed the back of Lance�s neck, a hot press of lips against soft skin, and whispered, �Thanks.�
Lance linked their fingers together. �No problem, babe.�
�Awee, lookit the two lovebirds,� called Chris. He smirked and threw himself at Justin. �Oh Justin!�
Justin followed suit and clung to Chris, swooning and crying out, �Oh Chris!�
�Hush up,� said Lance, voice firm but a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Chris laughed and pushed Justin away from him. Justin pushed back and they were soon scrabbling to gain control of the other, heads bent close together and hands grabbing and pulling.
Joey clambered down out of the bus dressed in the tattered sweatpants he slept in, a ratty old sweatshirt, and his sneakers. He hadn�t bothered to brush his hair, let alone put a hat over it, and it stuck up all over his head. He noticed Lance looking at him and he stopped. �What?�
Lance chuckled. �Nothin�.� Matt came over, whipping grease off of his hand with a handkerchief, and dodged Justin�s flying legs as Chris twirled him around. �Knock it off, guys,� called Lance.
Chris spun Justin around a few more times before setting him down. Justin put his hands out to steady himself and stumbled around dizzily.
�Is it fixable,� asked Lance, desperately looking from Chris and Justin to Matt.
Matt nodded and Lance sighed in relief. �Yep, it�ll take us an hour but we can fix it. Why don�t you boys go in and mosey around.�
Chris whooped in delight and punched Justin on the shoulder, shouting, �Tag, you�re it!� and tearing off into the store. Justin rubbed his shoulder and quickly gave chase, shouting after Chris. Joey rolled his eyes and shuffled behind, huddling in his sweatshirt.
Lance shook his head and looked over his shoulder. JC was fast asleep, his body warm and pliant against his back. He gave JC�s fingers a soft squeeze and whispered, �Jayce, wake up, baby.�
JC snuffled into Lance�s neck and Lance bumped his elbow into his stomach lightly. JC lifted his head off Lance�s shoulder and opened his eyes slowly, dreary with sleep. �Five more minutes, please.�
�Make that an hour,� answered Lance. He uncurled JC�s arms from around him, forcing JC to stand on his own, but kept his right hand linked with JC�s left. JC groaned and Lance tugged him forward toward the store. �Look on the bright side, at least you get to look around Wally World.�
~*~
The store was completely empty, save for a few employees working the graveyard shift, seeing as how it was around three in the morning. Justin and Chris had run off toward the entertainment section while Joey went to infants clothing, no doubt looking for another outfit to add to Briahnna�s growing collection. JC and Lance opted to walk around the store, hand in hand, enjoying being �together� in public.
�I like this,� exclaimed Lance.
JC blinked sleepily. �Huh?�
�This,� repeated Lance, squeezing JC�s fingers. �I like being able to do this.�
�Mmmm,� replied JC, smiling. �Me too. It�s nice.�
They walked around in content silence for a while until Lance asked, �You reckon we shoulda let Chris and Justin go off on their own?�
�Sure, why not. How much trouble can they get into in Wal-Mart.� There was a loud crash. Then Justin�s shout and Chris� gleeful laugh. �Spoke too soon.�
Lance made a nervous sound in the back of his throat and began walking toward the noise, tugging JC along behind him. Lance groaned and rubbed his face with his free hand. Chris sat atop an electric, toy motorcycle, while Justin sat scrunched up with his knees to his chest in a Tonka truck.
Justin mockingly swung his fists in the air. �You�re going down, man. I�m gonna kick yo ass!�
Chris poked Justin in the side and tried to push him off the car. �You�re going to eat my dust, Infant, as well as your words.�
Joey was at the other end of the aisle waving a pink frilly dress as a start up flag. �On your mark. Get set. Go!�
Justin took off before Joey yelled �go� and Chris quickly followed after, yelling and calling Justin a �dirty cheater�. They drove down the aisle, slowly, swerving and bumping in to one another, trying to knock the other onto the floor.
Joey stood at the end of the aisle, commentating. He cupped a hand around his mouth and said in an announcer�s voice, �In the lead is Tonka Timberlake followed by Hog Chris.�
Chris looked up at Joey, shouted �Hey!� and was promptly smacked on the back of the head by Justin. Joey made a face and hissed, �Oooo, Timberlake�s getting a bit catty. Mreow!�
�Go Chris!� shouted JC suddenly, pulling Lance down the aisle and waving his hand encouragingly.
Justin turned around and frowned. �Hey, man! You�re supposed to be cheering for me. What gives?�
JC shrugged. �I like Chris better.� Justin flipped JC the bird. Chris shouted and Justin swerved, crashing into Chris and sending them into a pile on the floor.
Lance�s eyes widened. He and JC ran down the aisle. The Tonka truck was upside down and Justin had landed on his butt. Chris was on his side with the motorcycle half strewn across his legs.
Chris moaned from the floor. He kicked the toy motorcycle off of his legs and grabbed his stomach. �Fuck, I think you broke my spleen.�
�I think you broke my butt,� whined Justin.
�What but,� asked Joey. Justin swatted at his legs and Joey backed up, laughing.
�Fuck, kid, how the hell did you get a license,� grumbled Chris. JC reached down and hauled Chris to his feet while Joey pulled Justin up.
�What the hell is going on here?�
Lance quickly pulled his hand from JC�s, and they all turned to see a middle-aged woman standing behind the crashed toys, hands on her hips, staring at them. Joey grinned and gave his best innocent look. �Wal-Mart Speedway?�
Chris and Justin covered their mouths, snickering, and Lance smacked Joey in the back of the head. He looked over at the woman and said, �We�re really sorry. We replace them if they�re broken.�
Chris and Justin pulled their respective vehicles off the floor and the woman looked them over. She shook her head. �That�s ok. They�re not broken, just well used.�
The guys laughed nervously, and Justin said, �We�re sorry, ma�am, we just got a bit out of hand.�
�It�s no problem. Just make sure you guys behave yourselves,� she replied, before leaving them on their own.
Chris clasped his hands over his chest, batted his eyelashes, and gave his best puppy dog look. �We�re real sorry, ma�am, we promise never to do it again.�
They all burst out laughing and Justin flushed, smacking Chris in the back of the head. �Fucker.�
Chris punched Justin in the shoulder, shouted �Tag! You�re it!� again and took off running. Justin dashed off yelling, �Hey, man, that wasn�t fair!�
Joey looked at JC and Lance. �I�m going to make sure they don�t get into any more trouble.�
They watched Joey run off and Lance sighed, shaking his head. �Those guys are nuts. We need to get them some tranquilizers or something.�
JC hummed in response. He laid his head on Lance�s shoulder and yawned, �How much longer.�
Lance looked down at his watch. �About half an hour.� JC groaned and Lance wrapped an arm around his waist. �Not that much longer. Don�t you need anything?�
JC thought for a minute, eyebrows crinkled together in thought. �Yeah. Batteries for my cd player and an ink cartridge for my printer.�
Lance grabbed JC�s hand, tangling their fingers together, and tugged. �C�mon then. Maybe you�ll stay awake if we keep you moving.�
�Fat chance,� mumbled JC, laughing softly.
It took the whole half an hour to get it. The batteries were easy to find but the printer cartridge was another story. They were locked up in a cage and it took ten minutes to find an employee to unlock it for them. Then it took another fifteen minutes to find the key to open it.
Reluctantly, they untangled their fingers as they walked up toward the cash registers. By the time they reached the registers the others were in line to check out. Joey had the pink dress along with a box of twinkies. Justin was carrying a case of surge soda, and Chris had a family size bag of pixie sticks.
JC groaned and bumped his head in frustration against Lance�s shoulder. �Don�t make me go with them. Let me bunk with you tonight. Please!�
Lance laughed. �I don�t blame you. With all that sugar they should be going all night.�
�I just want some sleep,� whined JC softly.
Lance checked to make sure the cashier wasn�t looking before quickly kissing JC�s forehead, smoothing away the stray curls, and whispering, �I know, me too.�
Chris and Justin clung to one another, making kissing noises, and Lance flipped them the bird. They both laughed and turned back around.
When it was just he and JC at the checkout, the cashier looked up and smiled. She looked like she was in her mid fifties, with graying hair and soft brown eyes. �You two make such a handsome couple.� JC blushed and Lance stammered to answer. She patted his hand. �It�s okay, sweetie, your secret is safe with me.�
Lance tangled his fingers with JC�s again and beamed. �Thanks.�
She handed JC his bag and change. �You boys have a good night. No more racing kids toys in the aisles any more.�
Lance laughed and shook his head. �No, ma�am, we wont.�
JC took his bag from her and gave a small wave before leaving to join the others outside. Matt and Hank stood there, cleaning their hands off with antibacterial wipes.
�Well, boys,� said Matt, �it�s all fixed so we can get back on our way.�
Justin and Chris whooped in excitement, glad to get back to their video game marathon. Justin punched Chris in the shoulder, shouted �Tag! You�re it!� and took off, only to trip in a crack on the pavement and fall face forward.
Chris doubled over laughing and hauled Justin to his feet. Justin pushed him away, pouting, and limped to the bus, mumbling about evil midget men that would die in their sleep. Chris howled with laugher and followed after Justin, asking if he was still learning how to walk. Matt groaned and followed after.
�You don�t mind if JC bunks with us,� asked Lance, turning to Joey.
Joey shook his head. �Naw, I don�t care. It�s better than being on the bus with those idiots.�
JC threw himself at Joey, squeezing. �Thank you thank you thank you! Blessed sleep, here I come!� He unlatched himself and grabbed Lance by the hand, tugging him on to the bus. Joey laughed and followed after.
The buses revved to life and slowly pulled out of the parking lot, the bright Wal-Mart sign becoming smaller and smaller the further away they drove. By the time they were back on the highway, Justin and Chris were loudly playing video games, Joey was surfing the net, and Lance and JC were huddled together in Lance�s bunk.