| FATES 8 |
| Morning peeked through a small crack in the drapes, and the sun burst through, hitting Lance right in the eyes. He mumbled and rolled over, forgetting which side of the bed he was on, landing right on the floor. "Shit!" he grumbled, lying there dazed for a minute. His eyes opened and he focused on the drab white ceiling of the hotel room. Rubbing the back of his head, he sat up, sighed, and pulled himself up on the king sized bed. As his eyes closed once more, the shrill ringing of the phone startled him. He rolled and rolled across the vastness of the bed, and picked it up. "Hey, man. We're having breakfast in Mike's room. You up to joining us?" It was JC on the other end and in the background Lance heard the voices of the others already assembled. He peeked at the alarm clock, noting it was nine. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm coming," he said, still half asleep. Once he hung up, he flopped back down. "Exhaustion," he muttered, laughingly. The entire group was in Mike's room, sitting in various seats, munching food from a large room service cart. When Lance entered, the room grew quiet. "What's up?" Lance asked, curious as to why no one was speaking. "Do I have something in my teeth or what?" His lame attempt at a joke was hiding his uneasiness at the situation. JC forced a smile. "No, nothing like that. We were all just discussion how we're supposed to keep you rested with the hectic schedule we have, especially this week." Lance rubbed his eyes in exasperation. "Guys, I"m okay. I just need rest. I can still do interviews and..." "No, you can't," Mike reminded him. "Doc says you are to be completely rested. That means no autograph sessions, no television appearances, nothing but shows. No basketball, nothing!" He looked sternly at Lance, who was staring at his friends helplessly. "Can't he at least come along?" Justin asked, seeing the miserable look on Lance's face. Mike sighed. "Justin, he needs to rest. This is serious. I don't want him back in the hospital, do you?" Lance moved into the room and grabbed a bagel from the cart. "I can make up my own mind, and I won't play basketball, but I'm coming along. There are 5 of us in this group, and we stick together!" He looked at his four groupmates for support. "Right?" He hoped, no prayed, that they would back him. If he had to stay away he would go mad. Finally, Joey nodded. "That's good with me," he said, mouth full of danish. "I'm with you." JC rested his head in his hands. "I don't know. Man, you were pretty bad. If you get sick again..." His voice trailed off with concern. The previous events had proven to be terrifying, and the thought of a reoccurance sat bitterly in his stomach. Chris interjected roughly, having had enough unrest. Lance looked so lost and alone, and he recalled earlier days of the group when he had such a hard time fitting in and proving himself. "We'll be with him. He'll be fine." Lance smiled, grateful for the support. "Okay, then I'm in!" He looked at JC and Mike who still wore overworried looks. "Come on," he grinned. "What could happen? All I'm gonna do is sit there and answer questions and sign some autographs." He munched happily on his bagel, already forgetting his night of unrest. "Lance look! Looney tunes!" Justin scurried closer to the television, with Lance following. The two of them were quickly engulfed in the cartoon, causing Joey to chuckle. "How old are they again?" he asked, standing up. Chris jumped on the bed happily. "It's the one with the monster. I love this one!" Joey scratched his head and looked at JC. "Okay, like I was saying, how old are they?" Mike laughed, still a bit uneasy with the whole Lance deal, but he knew the rest of them would give their life to protect one another. He just hoped and prayed that nothing else would happen to the poor kid. His cell phone rang and he stepped into the hall to take the call. Justin cast a sideways glance at Lance. "Dude, you sure you're up for this?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. Lance groaned. "Come on, not you too!" He popped the last piece of bagel into his mouth and stood up. "For the last time! I'm fine. Really. I mean, sure, weird things happened, but like the doctor said, I'm just tired. I slept great last night." Justin eyed him suspiciously, and Lance lowered his gaze a bit, guilty about lying. Chris knocked him in the head with a pillow. "Shut up, this is the best part!" he frowned. Lance fell back a bit and laughed. "Okay, okay!" |