| DON'T THINK I'M NOT TWELVE |
| Lance laid on his bed, ignoring JC as best he could. The guy had followed him into his room, not relenting with the insane questions. He was trying very hard to keep his cool, very hard. He rolled over, burying his head in the pillow and wished that voice would just go away. When there was a knock at the door, Lance practically ran from the bed, just to have someone else there. "Joey!" Lance cried, happy to see him. "Come in!" He moved aside, letting Joey enter. "What's up? No female comany?" Joey shook his head, his brown eyes listless. "Guys, I need to talk to you." He moved across the floor and took a seat on the generous sized chaise near the window. "I think that I'm being cheated on." His words were careless, spilled with the ease of someone who'd consumed more alcohol than needed. Lance froze, his heart stopped. JC sighed. "Aw, man. Why do you think that?" He sat across from his distraught and drunken friend, concerned for his happiness. "Did she tell you?" "Naw, nothing like that. It's just, things aren't the same." He paused to look up. "When she left this last time, she was so distant, and she didn't want me to hug her or snuggle or..." Joey searched for answers in his mind. Finding none, he leaned back, resting his head on the back of the chaise, closing his eyes. JC glanced at Lance, then back at Joey. "Maybe she's just getting cold feet?" he asked, trying to reason things out. "It happens, I think." The throbbing of his heartbeat was drowning out all else, and Lance absently chewed the inside of his cheek. Guilt was beginning it's assault on him, and he cursed it. He had nothing to feel guilty about. Joey cheated on her, she cheated on him. It was the way of the world. It just was. He grabbed the remote and clicked the television on, wanting to get rid of that annoying sound of his pulse. A consious was not what he needed right now. The volume was down so low, he hit the little arrow, making it louder. Soon, JC was snatching it from his hands, angrily. "You asshole!" he hissed, flipping it off. "Listen to him!" "Huh?" Lance stared at JC, his mind wandering. How could she be so stupid, not cuddling and acting normal. Of course he would suspect, and if Justin didn't keep quiet, they would all know and once again, he'd be the odd on of the group. That was a place he hated so much, he never wanted to return. "I'm sorry," he said sheepishly, looking over at Joey's miserable face. "Maybe she just needed some time away. This life is really hard for a lot of people." There, that should help. "Man!" Joey cried, slamming his large fist on the table. "I fucked up. I think I'm loosing her." His big eyes filled with tears and Lance resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Tears were too late. If they were truly breaking up, that might just be a good thing. She'd be gone, then it would be over by default. "Well, I'm changing my tune. I'm going to call her and beg her to come back so we can talk things out. God, I'd freak out if she left me, let alone cheated on me." His face changed, his expression turned black. "I'd fucking kill any man who touched her." He nodded, looking at Lance. "Kill them." The gulp that Lance wanted to let out stayed still and he nodded in agreement with him. "I hear that," he said, sensing the rage inside the fiery Italian. Briefly, Lance wondered if Joey's family had ties to the mob. He shuddered, thinking about a mob death. JC caught the look in Lance's eyes, a look that revealed too much. He frowned, ushering Joey to the door. "Call her," he said gently. "Tell her you love her and talk it all out." JC walked Joey to the door, and when his friend was gone, he shut it behind him, spinning around to face Lance. "You have exactly on fucking minute to tell me what the hell you're doing." "I don't know what you mean!" "You do. You are hiding something major, and I think you need to tell me." JC's blue eyes were steel, and his fists clentched at his side. "Lance!" No amount of innocent looks could save him. Lance pressed his lips to one another and flared his nostrils. He'd be damned if JC was going to intimidate him, not this time. The days of that were long gone. Silence was the best policy. "Bass! I'm going to kick your ass back to Mississippi if you don't come clean now. You're acting too fucked up for your own good, and I swear to God..." "You swear to God what?" Lance challenged, grabbing a magazine off his table. He pretended to look at the pages, but truthfully, it was all a blur. "Oh Lance!" Justin called from the hall, banging on the door. Lance jumped up and swung it open, catching the sight before him. Justin had two women, one on each arm. "We just wanted to say hello." "You little shit," Lance hissed, spotting the girl he'd been dancing with at the club earlier. This night was going from bad to worse, and there was nothing he could do about it. Turning to face JC, he pointed. "Out! Get your high and mighty attitude and get the hell out of my room!" Justin backed up a bit, letting go of the two girls. He had no intentions of actually bringing them to his room, only using them as a slap in Lance's face. But he could see hate in his eyes, hate that was being tossed in every direction. JC slowly crossed the room. "You and me? We ain't done. Not by a long shot." He glared at Lance before pushing past Justin into the hall. Justin shook his head as Lance slammed the door. Guilt was consuming him as well. He motioned for security to assist with getting rid of the girls, and headed down to Joey's room, planning on admitting the whole thing, everything he'd seen and done, all of it. Then he could just face Lance's wrath, hope it wasn't too bad, and get on with life. Since the whole thing, he'd been so off, it was bound to show. "Joey?" he called, rapping on the door with his knuckles. Joey pulled the door open, tear filled eyes, and a dead phone in his hands. Justin stared at him, unable to move. "We have to talk," he stared, raking his fingers through his curls. "You fucking son of a bitch!" Joey screamed, landing a fist dead on Justin's jaw, sending the 19 year old sprawling to the carpet. "You fucked my girlfriend? You piece of shit!" He threw the phone hard against the wall and pounced on the stunned singer, his face dangerously close. "I hate you!" he screamed, jabbing him in the ribs. Justin squirmed beneath him, and hollered. JC poked his head out, as did Chris and Lance. The three of them ran down the hall, breaking it up. Lance held Joey back with Chris' help, while JC knelt down near the bloody face of his friend. "What the fuck are you doing?" he screamed at Joey. Joey tugged and pulled, but Lance and Chris held him tightly. "He slept with my fiance. He fucked her. That piece of shit! Lemme go," he grunted. Chris slammed him against the wall, face first, bending his arm behind his back. "JC, get Justin to your room! Now!" Chris demanded, leaning all his weight against the struggling figure. "Hurry! I can't hold him." Justin rubbed his jaw, tears of pain floating down his swollen cheek. "Joey, you don't understand," he gasped, letting JC guide him away. One hateful glare at Lance, who's own eyes were wide with fear, and he felt anger, so much anger and resentment, he wanted to let it loose on him. "You asshole!" he seethed, watching as Lance assisted Chris. "Tell him! You tell him now!" Lance held Joey's hand down and motioned for JC to hurry. "Tell me what?" Joey growled, pushing as hard as he could manage. "Tell me what?" "I don't know what he's talking about," Lance lied, careful to watch as JC shoved Justin into his room. Lance was caught, truly fucked. Why she hadn't told Joey about him was beyond his comprehension. As soon as things calmed down, he was calling her so they could get their stories straight. The madness was too much! |