| Send Feedback To: Emily at JaysMyRascal@cs.com |
'Dear Journal Chris set the worn tablet aside and looked out the window. The dread in his stomach was growing as he recognized more and more street names. After taking a deep breath, he worked on convincing himself that this would all be over soon enough and he could truly be at peace knowing he had done everything he felt capable of. Suddenly Justin's golden framed head appeared on his lap, on top of his journal. "Hey," he beamed. "Hi," Chris replied with a small smile. "Don't you have anything to do?" "Yup, and I'm doing it," he replied. "I can't express my gratitude," Chris mumbled, shoving Justin to the floor. "Come on old man, lighten up. You're ruining the mood." "Well excuse me," Chris retorted. "You just run along and play with you're Barbie doll girlfriend and ignore the real world. I don't mind." Justin glared at Chris then finally pulled himself up off the floor. His chest rose as he filled his lungs, then smirked at Chris as he shouted, "Guys! Chris is being mean again!" "You nasty little brat," Chris shot, bracing himself for the onslaught of affection that would be heading his way. You'd think that he was suicidal or something from the way the others guarded him. "You're going to die. I know where you sleep." "What's going on?" Joey asked. Behind him was J.C., and not far after him was Lance. Before Chris could voice his side of the story, Justin blurted out, "He is being a grouch again. And he's making fun of my girl." "Well everyone makes fun of her Justin," J.C. smiled. "Shut up," Justin replied. Joey sat next to Chris. "What's up?" he asked. "Nothing," Chris replied quickly. "Bullshit," Justin interrupted. "Justin, why don't you and the others go do something. Away from us." "Are you telling me to leave?" Justin questioned, glaring at Joey. "Yes, now do it," Joey ordered. "Fine," Justin huffed, brushing past J.C. and Lance, who laughed and followed. Once they were alone, Joey turned to Chris. "What's up?" he asked. "Nothing," Chris replied. "Okay then, let me tell you. You are nervous and probably scared shitless about telling your mom and how she will react. And I'm just annoying you. Right?" Chris nodded. "Pretty much." "Look, we're all going to be here for you, okay? Nothing's going to happen. You're mom will still love you. There's no question in my mind. Have you told Dani yet?" "No. There's not a point in it." "Well Chris, you did love her with all your heart and I think you still have some feelings for her. You really should tell her." Chris sighed. "I know. I will. But not now. She can wait." Joey patted Chris's leg in a friendly gesture. "Well," he said, getting up, " If there's anything you need to talk about, you know where we sleep, right?" Chris smiled. "You guys have been hanging around me too long, you know that?" "Yeah, but I still wouldn't have it any other way. You're my friend Chris." Chris flashed Joey a genuine smile before turning his gaze to the window again. Small tremors of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he realized he knew exactly where he was. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Here's your keys. You gentlemen have a nice stay." J.C. smiled at the young woman behind the hotel's check in counter before turning to follow the others to the elevator. They were staying in a nice hotel at the edge of Pittsburgh, about half an hour away from Clarion, where Chris's mother and younger sisters were still living. Chris had called his mother to let her know that they were in town, but used the excuse 'it was too late' to avoid meeting her tonight. His nervousness was beginning to rub off on the others. There would be no partying tonight, just a cool down night. J.C. stepped in the elevator as Joey pushed the third floor button. He cast a smile to Joey as the doors started to shut. Then they stopped. Joey watched in confusion as the doors slid open again. "What the..." Chris smiled and looked straight ahead. "What's wrong?" he asked. Lance cuffed Chris on the back of the head as Joey shook his head in confusion. "I don't know," he said, pushing the button again. Again the doors began to slide closed, but this time Joey saw Chris's small foot appear in the track and stop the doors. "Chris, come on, cut it out. That was funny like three years ago." Chris giggled and stepped back beside Justin. "He doesn't think I'm funny anymore," he whispered. "Joey doesn't think anything's funny anymore," Justin said, rolling his eyes. "That's because he's gotta play caretaker all the time," Lance mumbled, almost too low to hear. Joey glared at the floor, deciding not to waste his energy battling Lance's negativity. The little comments had been building slowly over time, almost too slow to realize. No one said anything, so the subject was never approached. The quiet, friendly bickering stopped at that, and the five young men stepped out into the hall. Two bellboys were pulling their bags down the hallway. After each member selected their room and put away their things, they all met up in Justin's room. With some small talk, the guys piled on the bed and the floor as Justin grabbed the remote and began channel surfing. "What does anyone want to watch?" he asked with a yawn. "Not anything on that Pleasure channel," Joey said, catching Justin's yawn. "Why not?" Lance asked. Joey met Lance's challenging glare. "Because for one, I don't feel like it, and two, I don't have a credit card. Is that enough?" Lance just huffed and stretched out on the floor. "What the hell is up between you two?" J.C. mumbled as he pecked at the keys on his laptop. "I have no idea," Joey shrugged, turning his attention to the TV. "I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling that good I guess," Lance apologized as he picked at the carpet. "Well knock it off. You're bothering me." "Look, I said I was sorry," Lance repeated with a little more force. "Guys, can we just watch TV for once?" Chris broke in. "Yeah, sure," Lance exaggerated. "If Justin would stop changing the God damn channel." Justin threw the remote in Lance's lap. "There asshole, you find something." "I don't have to take this. You queers sit here and have fun. Get me in the morning." With that, Lance got up and left. The others watched him go then looked at each other. "What's gotten into him lately?" J.C. asked. "I thought he was better than this." "He was," Joey said. "I suppose we'll find out sooner or later. Leaving him alone about it will only make it worse." "Hey! Look, it's Dumb and Dumber!" Justin exclaimed, pointing at the TV. Without another word, the four focused their attention on Jim Carrey. |
| Navigation: || Back | Main || |
| All works are Copyright © Their Authors, and may not be used without permission therof. None may be taken from this site without permission from the Author and the Webmistress. |