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"This place is almost as bad as New York," Justin commented, watching a third cop car scream down the road. "What the hell happened down there?" J.C. questioned. "I don't know," Justin shrugged, watching an ambulance race in the same direction as the police. "They're like, three blocks from here though. I can see the lights reflecting on that building over there- WHOA! What the hell was that?" J.C. jumped up and stood beside Justin at the large bay window. "What?" he asked, searching the dark street. "This white thing just went by. I think it was a UFO!" J.C. smacked Justin. "My ass. Come on, let's go check it out." "We're gonna go down there?" Justin questioned. "Why not? You got something better to do?" "But J.C., there's like, freaks out. I just saw these four guys go by a little while ago. One of them had a lead pipe! You'd have to be stupid to-" "Justin, that's why we hired bodyguards. Idiot. Now come on! We're missing all the action." J.C. stopped with his hand on the door. "'Fine…" Justin sighed. "Should we get Lance?" "There's no time, let's go!" "Jeeze, you'd think it was a man on fire or something. It's probably just a drunk that tried to rob some place," Justin rationalized. "We'll never know unless you get your ass in gear," J.C. said, dragging Justin into the hall. They grabbed a bodyguard and ran outside, jogging lightly to where all the commotion had congregated. A few other people had stopped too, most likely locals on their way home from the club down the street. J.C. and Justin pushed through to the yellow tape and tried to figure out what was going on. On the other side of the taped off area, a bloody body was being lifted into the ambulance. The smell of blood was faint, but strong enough to be recognized even by the two singers. A few drops of blood were splattered on the sidewalk. A small pool had collected further back in the alley. Blue and red swirled, lighting up the dim area. "Man, I'd hate to be that guy," Justin murmured as the ambulance doors closed. "JUSTIN! J.C.!" The two turned in the direction they had heard their names. "Joey?" J.C. questioned, taking a step towards the yellow tape. A police officer stepped in between them. Joey snapped his cell phone shut and took the ice pack down from the back of his head as he started for his friends. "I'm sorry, you can't cross the line-" "They're with me," Joey said, stepping beside the officer. "Ask him," he said, nodding towards the bodyguard. As the two moved aside to talk, questions were spilled. "Joey, what the hell happened? Are you okay?" Joey nodded, giving each of them a quick hug. "It's Chris, he…they…" J.C. placed a hand on Joey's shoulder. "Take a deep breath. What happened?" "These guys, they jumped us…they hurt Chris really bad- God it was terrible, he looks so bad!" J.C. and Justin looked towards the ambulance. "You mean that was Chris? Our Chris?" Joey nodded, wiping tears. The ambulance pulled away, screaming down the dew-coated street. Justin looked around. "All this," he said, motioning to the blood, "Is his?" Joey nodded once more. "I tried calling you…" he said softly. "Let's go guys," the bodyguard instructed, herding the guys to a police car. "Go to the hospital, I'll take care of everything else." Numbly, the three filed in the back seat of a cop car and watched as the door shut. A few comforting gestures were made. Their minds didn't clear until they had sat down in the waiting room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lots of screams. Flashing lights. Thundering doctors. Pages over the intercom. Blood. Medicine. Blood. Sights, sounds and smells were swirling around J.C., Justin and Joey. They had been sitting here for an hour now, at least. J.C. looked at his watch. Ten minutes. Damn. A nervous fist grabbed all their stomachs and squeezed tightly. What the hell happened? Justin was afraid to ask. The flash of this bloody best friend had sent his mind on a ten-day rock climbing adventure, and the return to sanity was late in coming. Joey hadn't volunteered any specific details, and the Justin and J.C. were sure that was for their own good. They'd find out later, in police reports. Time dragged on. Lance had arrived. Bodyguards showed up. News reporters showed up. Bodyguards kicked news reporters out. Doctors jogged by, some covered in blood. Police dwindled. Time dragged on. A police officer finally gathered enough courage to approach the shaken men. Joey looked up. "I'm sorry about what happened," the officer started, "But we're pressed for time. I need to get your statement now." Joey sighed. "You can't wait until we know how he is?" "That's not going to help anything. We can't find any leads. I need your statement now. We can do it here, if you wish." Joey squinted at the officer's nametag. "Officer Sullivan? I thought I gave you guys a description already." Eric, a bodyguard, nudged Joey gently. "Just give the statement. It's gotta be done." "Yeah, we're here for ya," J.C. said, attempting a smile. Officer Sullivan pulled out a notepad and pen as Joey looked to the floor and sighed. Then, softly, he began. "I don't really know what happened. He-" "He who?" the officer questioned. Joey glared. "Chris," he corrected himself, "came back to the hotel really depressed. He and his mom had a fight and she basically kicked him out. So I offered to take him to the club down the street." The cop nodded and continued scribbling. Joey felt J.C.'s hand on his shoulder. "So we were walking down the street…just talking you know, and this guy just appeared out of nowhere." He took a breath. "He said that…uh…Chris's ex-girlfriend Dani told her new boyfriend that Chris was…" Joey looked around, lowering his voice, "She told him that Chris was gay, and then her boyfriend sent these guys out to punish Chris." "So the victim is a homosexual?" Officer Sullivan asked, looking at Joey with not quite as much sympathy now. Joey nodded, not looking up. How clean the floor was… "Continue," the officer sighed. "Well I saw the guy go for Chris, but before I could do anything, I was hit from behind. I don't really remember much else…" "What about when you woke up?" the officer asked blatantly. Joey shot the others a questioning glance. He was starting to get the impression this cop didn't care as much anymore. Then his thoughts turned dark when he remembered the scene that greeted him. J.C.'s hand started small circles. "My head hurt," he started. "Then I remembered what happened and I looked for Chris. He was…" Deep breath. "He was lying beside me, real still…he was bleeding a little from the cuts, and there was bruises…I couldn't wake him up-" "That’s enough," the officer interrupted, closing his notepad with a snap. "I'll need the victim's statement when he wakes up." "That might not be for a while," a doctor stated, stepping up beside the officer. All four singer's heads snapped up. "Why? Is he okay?" J.C. asked. "He's in critical condition," Dr. Windsor replied. "He was beaten very badly. There was some swelling around his lower spine, which worried us, but it seems to be receding. He's very lucky. He has a mild concussion, several cuts, three cracked ribs and some horrible bruises. It'll be a long while before he's back to his normal self. Does anyone know why this assault occurred?" Justin looked up with sparkling eyes. "Because he was gay." The doctor made a note on his charts. "I'm afraid it's still to early for him to have visitors. I'll send someone for you when he awakens." "Thanks," echoed the guys. Dr. Windsor smiled. "It'll be okay guys. It's bad, but it could have been worse." "I can't believe this," Justin said as the doctor left. "It's so unreal." Then he turned to Joey. "Why didn't you take one of the bodyguards? You knew…" "Knew what, Justin?" Joey defended. "I knew that we were going to get attacked? No, sorry kid, but I had no clue. It's not like I wanted this to happen. I wish I could have done something, anything to prevent this. This is my fault." "It's not your fault," J.C. said softly. "It's nobody's fault. We just have to pray that he gets better." J.C. gently took Joey's hand and closed his eyes, lowering his head. The others mimicked the action, forming a chain of prayer. The police watched with a critical eye from the opposite corner of the waiting room. Rumors were starting and jokes were being traded. It was only some gay guy that got the shit beat out of him. Probably deserved it. These kids didn't belong here. The cops would pretend to work on the case until they left, then everything could go back to normal. After all, who cares about gays? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Are you the gentlemen here with Mr. Kirkpatrick?" Justin nudged Lance awake. "Yeah, can we see him now?" "Yes, he's about to wake up and his vitals are steadily improving. Follow me." The four singers followed the nurse, followed by Eric, then Officer Sullivan. They were led back a brightly lit hallway and around a corner. They passed many rooms along the way, and caught the stares of several patients. They were led to a room near the end of the wing before the nurse stopped. "He may be confused at first, just be gentle and use soft voices. I'll send the doctor in to check him over." "Thanks," J.C. nodded as they quietly stepped inside. Chris lay in the bed before them, thin white sheets drawn over him perfectly. An IV dripped steadily into a clear tube leading to the needle that pierced a vital artery. He had been taken off the ventilator but was still very pale. Stitch-closed cuts littered his body, along with ugly dark bruises. In short, he looked like the living dead. "Oh my God," Justin whispered as they approached the bed. "He looks really, really bad." Joey took the chair by Chris's head. He sighed sadly and took Chris's cold hand, not saying anything. "Uh guys," J.C. said. "All of us being here isn't going to make him wake up faster. Let's wait outside." At the other's questioning looks, J.C. nodded towards Joey. Understanding, Justin said, "Yeah, uh, Joey, we'll be right outside. Get us if anything happens." Joey simply nodded, his eyes not leaving Chris's still form. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Is this what you wanted?" Justin growled, shoving Lance against a wall. "Is this how you wanted him to end up? Aren't you proud now, Lance?" J.C. grabbed Justin's shoulder. "Justin, knock it off. He didn't have anything to do with this." "Well he's being awfully smug about the whole thing. Anything you'd like to get out in the open, gay hater?" Lance looked coolly into Justin's icy eyes. "Justin, I am in no way happy about what happened to Chris. I don't hate him-" "You do so!" Justin argued. "You're prejudice against homosexuals!" "Then so are you," Lance countered. "What?" "The word prejudice means to pre judge something or someone. It seems like you're prejudice IN FAVOR of homosexuals, mainly Chris!" "CHRIS is our friend!" "I know that," Lance replied, pushing Justin's hands down. "I can't explain it Justin. Chris is my friend, and always will be, but-" "But you hate the fact that he's gay," Justin finished. "Will you stop putting words in my mouth?" "Guys, please. Justin, Lance has a right to think whatever he wants. If you'd open your eyes, you'd see how hard he's trying. It's not easy to suddenly drop what you have held sacredly for all your life. And Lance, try being just a bit more compassionate. Honestly, would you act any different if it were me or Justin lying in there?" "Would you be gay?" "Oh my GOD," Justin groaned, turning away. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," Lance started. J.C. sighed. "Okay, lets just put this conversation on hold until Chris is better, okay? He needs all the strength he can get." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joey sighed and held back his tears. He couldn't help but feel responsible for this. He should have done something. Should have brought a bodyguard. Something. "Chris, please man, wake up. We're all worried about you. They got ya pretty bad, but the doctor says everything will be okay. I'm so sorry man. This shouldn't have happened. I'm gonna kill Dani and her boyfriend. This wasn't even her business. You were with her for three years man, you didn't deserve this. It's a shame, isn't it? This happens everyday. Even sadder is that nobody cares. People hating, killing other people for being different. It makes me sick." Joey gently rubbed Chris's hand with his thumb. "We're gonna get you through this. You just gotta wake up, okay? We're all here for you, nothing is gonna get you now." Then, ever so slightly, Chris's hand twitched. Joey blinked. "Chris? You there buddy? Come on, wake up." |
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