Chapter Eight


    The Chasez household was filled with family and friends, people hugging, comforting, praying that JC and Angie were all right. The guys had all arrived, Justin being the last one because his flight was delayed.
    “Justin, you made it,” Chris said as he walked in the door.
    “Yeah, it was hell,” he said as he gave him a brotherly hug and then hugged Dani. “Glad you’re here.”
    “I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” she said as she returned the hug.
    He leaned back and looked at Chris. “Any word?”
    Chris sighed. “No, were still waiting. Supposedly they have a team right now looking for…for the plane.”
    “So…So it’s been confirmed that the plane went down?”
    Chris tried to fight the tears, but let ones slip away. He wiped it away. “Yeah, Justin. I’m afraid so.”
    “Here,” Dani said as he put an arm around Justin. “Come on into the den that’s were everyone is at.”
    Lance was leaning back the wall as he just took everything in. Justin had just walked in with a blank look on his face. He let out a sigh as he tore his eyes away and it came across Heather, JC’s sister. She was standing by the window, just staring out without the slightest expression. He watched her mom come up to her, mumble something, but Heather just shook her head and her mom left her alone.
    Lance pushed himself from the wall and made his way toward her. “Heather?”
    She turned her head. “Oh, hey Lance,” she said and then looked back out.
    “How are you holdin’ up?” he asked as he gave her a brotherly rub on her back.
    “My brother and best friend are probably dead,” she said blandly. “How do you think I’m doing?”
    “Hey,” he said softly as he slowly turned her around. “You don’t know that, so don’t even think that.”
    “Oh, please,” she said as she shrugged off his hands. “Don’t give me that crap, because you’re thinking the exact same thing.”
    He opened his mouth to say something, but when he realized she was right he just closed it again. “God, how could this happen,” he said as he ran his fingers through is blonde spiky hair.
    “I don’t know,” she cried. “But if anything happens to them, I…”
    When she started to cry, Lance slowly pulled her in his arms and let her cry. “It’s okay, just let it go…let it go.”
    When the phone rang everyone was quite. Soft murmurs turned to complete silence. Heather lifted her head up from Lance’s shoulder as she watched her dad walk to the phone. “Hello?” he asked. “Yeah…they did…okay…thank you, sir.” He hung up the phone and tears started to fall. “They found the plane, and three dead bodies. None of them were JC or Angie.”
    Every one busted into tears, tears of happiness and joy. Heather turned back to Lance and cried on his shoulder. “Thank God,” she cried. “Please let us find them. Please.”
    Lance continued to hold her as he stared out the window. They were alive, he thought with a soft smile. Thank God, they were alive. “It’s going to be okay, Heather,” he said in his deep voice. “If they’re out there, we’ll find them.”
    She let out a sniff as she slowly pulled away. “I hope so,” she said as she wiped a tear away. She then let out a laugh as she patted his shirt. “I got you all wet.”
    He waved it off. “That’s okay, I don’t like this shirt anyway.”
    She smiled. “Thank you.”
    “No problem,” he said as he put an arm around her and they walked over to the rest of the guys.
    “Hey, how are you doing?” Joey asked Heather.
    She smiled. “I’m much better now that I know they’re alive.”
    “We’ll find them,” Justin said with an encouraging wink.
    “I just can’t stand this waiting,” Chris said. “I wish we could do something besides just waiting here. I feel so useless.”
    “I know what you mean,” Joey said. “But they said the best thing for us to do is wait and pray.”
    “I just hope they survive,” Heather mumbled.
    “I’m sure they’re fine,” Lance said as he gave her a squeeze. “At least they have each other.”
    She let out a laugh. “That’s what I’m afraid of. JC and Angie alone together in the woods…..That’s just not a good thing.”

    They both slept in the next morning, but JC woke up when something rumbled. He sat up tiredly and rubbed his eyes and looked up at the gray clouds. He let out a curse when another thunder rumbled across the sky.
    “Angie, wake up.”
    She moaned tiredly as she shifted in her sleeping bag. “Not now.”
    “Angie, get up now,” JC said as he crawled out of his sleeping bag. “It’s about to rain.”
    “What?” she asked tiredly as she sat up.
    “Get up and get help me get all the stuff in the tent. Hurry up the wind is getting worse.”
    “Okay, okay,” she said and quickly got out and waded up the sleeping bag, and blankets, grabbed her hiking boots and grabbed one of the backpacks before slipping inside the tent.
    JC followed shortly after her and let out a breath as he sat down next to her. He smiled when he heard the rain hit the tent. “We made it just in time.”
    “That would not of been good if we were awaken by this,” she said as it rained harder.
    “Yeah, I hope you built this sturdy enough.”
    “It’s just fine,” she shot back and then grabbed one of the sleeping bags and crawled in it. “It’s freezing.”
    JC grabbed the other and slipped inside it. “Yeah, it…ahhh…what the hell is that?” he asked as he sat on something hard. He reached down the sleeping bag and pulled out a discman. “Is this yours?” he asked.
    Her eyes widened. They accidentally switched sleeping bags. “Yes, give it to me,” she said as she tried to lean over and grab it.
    He was too quick and pulled it out of her reach. He raised a brow. “What are you listening to?” he asked as he pressed play.
    “Nothing,” she said as she tried to grab it again but failed.
    He put the headphones to his ears and the biggest grin showed up when he heard himself singing his part of “Bye Bye Bye.” “Well, what do you know,” he teased.
    “JC, give it,” she said as she leaned over him.
    JC fell back and outstretched his arm so it would still be out of reach. “Looks like someone’s a fan.”
    “Not funny,” she shot back and didn’t realize the more she tried to reach for it the more she was on top of them.
    “Will you sing me a little?” he teased. “Come on, belt it out.”
    “JC,” she laughed and finally grabbed it but collapsed on top of him.
    He was still smiling as he looked up at her, catching his breath from laughing. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
    “And make that head of yours any bigger?” she teased. “I don’t think so.”
    He just chuckled. “I’m flattered.”
    “Don’t be,” she said and then moved her face closer to his and spoke softly. “Justin’s my favorite.”
    JC opened his mouth in shock as she scooted it off of him. “Ouch.”
    “The truth hurts, hun,” she said as she put the headphones on. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna go to sleep for another hour.”
    JC watched her turn her back toward him and pulled the sleeping bag over him. He smiled as he laid his head back. “Justin’s my favorite,” he said aloud knowing she couldn’t hear him with the headphones. “Yeah, right. And I’m not attracted to you.” But what JC didn’t know was that Angie had the song on pause and heard every word he said.



Next Chapter