Devotion Chapter Thirty-Six: Emotion Without Motion
disclaimer: Fiction
notes: Okay, let's see... I have two things to apologize for. First off, I am deeply sorry for all the spelling errors in chapter 35. I guess that I was so eager to send it out that I forgot to run spellcheck. (This from the girl who spellchecks her e-mails >.<) I corrected it, but alas, it's too late, now =P Second, I want to apologize for not sending this out sooner. I thought that I was going to add to it - and I did, actually - but I ended up moving the edition to the beginning of chapter 37. The result? This chapter is short and I mislead all the people whom I told about the edition. (Did that even make sense?) Anyway, without further ado, here it is: Chapter 36.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Emotion Without Motion Justin sat down on the end of a row of plastic, blue seats, dropping his bag beside him. "I'm gonna go check us in," Lance announced, walking over to the counter and the two smiling stewardesses behind it. Chris sat down beside Justin. "We still have forty minutes before take-off," he pointed out. "JC has plenty of time to get here." Justin didn't say anything. Joey walked over and knelt beside the sullen teen. "Don't you worry about JC, Curly; he's a big boy. He can take care of himself." "Why do I feel like we've already had this conversation?" Justin muttered. Looking up at the New Yorker, he added, "And don't forget that *you're* the reason Josh is out there by himself." Chris and Joey collectively sighed. "Justin, you know Joey didn't mean-" the twenty-eight year-old began, but he was interrupted by Lance. "I checked us in," the Mississippian announced, rejoining the group. "And they're going to tell us when we can board the plane because it may be a few minutes." The other three just nodded silently. The silence grew as each man became lost in his own thoughts. /If JC doesn't get here by the time the plane's going to take off, Justin's probably going to stay, so we'll *all* probably have to stay. Except that we have that meeting with our Spanish coach at seven to begin work on `Yo Te Voy a Amar.' Great. That basically means we're screwed./ Lance mentally tried to work out scenarios, cursing JC for being so moody. Justin was cursing *himself* for not being able to understand JC better. But he was pretty angry at the twenty-four year-old as well. Chris was trying to figure out how to patch things up between all of his bandmates, and how he was going to make JC's return less awkward. So far, he hadn't been able to come up with anything. Joey was trying to think of a way to find JC without making an announcement over the PA system. He, too, was at a loss. Suddenly, it hit him. "Oh my God!" the New Yorker exclaimed, causing his bandmates to jump. "I just thought of something!" "Save it," Justin sneered. "It's probably nothing important." Joey ignored him, but Justin saw Lance give him a dirty look. The nineteen year-old frowned. /I thought Lance was angry with Joey, too./ "I know how we can find JC!" Joey continued, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. Even Justin forgot to be angry as he explained his simple idea. JC sighed and sat down. He didn't really know where he was, except that it wasn't where he was supposed to be. "I wish I hadn't given my ticket to Scoop," the brunet muttered, looking dejectedly at his feet. Looking back up, he spotted another set of monitors that were showing all the incoming and outgoing flights from the airport. "Or that I'd at least have learned our flight number," he added with a sigh. Standing up, JC prayed that no one would recognize him as he began to wander through the airport once more. He had been lucky so far, but in a place this big, it would take some kind of miracle for him *not* to be spotted. The longer he walked around, the more likely it was that he was going to run into someone who knew who he was. /I never should have run out of there,/ the twenty-four year-old scolded himself as he tried not to panic. /Then I wouldn't be lost and alone. I'm probably going to miss our flight... I don't think I have enough money on me to buy another ticket. Maybe the guys will have to wait for me. Great. *That's* going to make them happy with me. Haven't I disappointed them enough already?/ Finding another waiting area, this one almost completely empty, JC once again sat down. Suddenly, he heard a soft melody playing. A familiar melody. A melody that was coming from his pants pocket. "Hello?" "Josh?" Justin practically yelled into his phone. "Josh, where are you?" There was silence on the other end. Justin began to panic. "Josh?! Oh my god, are you okay? God, Josh, speak to me! Are you hurt, are you-" "Justin, I'm fine. I just," JC paused for a moment as he searched for an excuse. "I just couldn't hear you for a moment there. Bad connection, I guess." "Oh. Bad connection. Right," Justin echoed, his voice sounding empty. Lance, Joey, and Chris - who were all crowded around the nineteen year-old - looked relieved. At least JC was talking. "So, what do you need?" JC asked casually. Justin nearly dropped his phone. "`What do I *need*'?!" the blonde repeated. "Josh, what do you *think* I need? Where the hell are you?!" "Why don't you let me talk to him?" Lance suggested, gently prying the cell phone out of Justin's grip. Justin didn't struggle much. He sank into a nearby seat as soon as Lance had the phone. Joey went to sit next to him, gently rubbing the teen's back. Glancing nervously at Justin, who appeared to be going into shock, Lance said, "JC?" "Lance, that you?" came the reply. "Yeah," the Mississippian confirmed. "JC, where are you?" "Gate 32-N," the brunet responded, glancing at the gate number above the waiting area he was in. "32 *N*?" Lance repeated in disbelief. "Jace, that's like half-way across the airport." There was silence on the other end. Lance took a deep breath. "Look," he began, but just then one of the stewardesses approached the small group. "You can board the plane now," she informed them. Chris thanked her and began to gather his stuff. He then collected Justin's things since the teen hadn't made an effort to do so himself. Lance rubbed at one his temples with his free hand as he began again. "Look, Jace, I think you're going to have to make a run for it; we're boarding. Pretty soon the public's gonna start boarding, too, since there's only twenty-five minutes until we're scheduled to take off. Now, we're at gate A-17, so do your best to *hurry.* One of the guys from Sexual Chocolate will be here to make sure you get in, okay? He'll have your ticket, too, all right?" "Okay, thanks," JC replied before hanging up. Lance quickly hung up as well. He then turned to the other guys, which actually turned out to only be Joey. At Lance's curious look, the New Yorker explained, "Chris took Justin onto the plane. He's been sort of out of it since he talked to JC." "He's probably overwhelmed with relief," Lance guessed. "Anyway, would you go give this ticket to one of the bodyguards? Tell him to wait for JC out here. I'm going to go tell the other guys that they can call back the troops since JC's been found." Joey nodded and the two set off in opposite directions.Well, did you like it? I know, it was pretty uneventful... and it was short... but that's not what's important! Besides, I've already started ch.37, so you shouldn't have to wait long for something more exciting to come along. Or not. Anyway, feel free to send me feedback to tell me how stupid it was of me to not add to this chapter. I can take it ^~ (Angel1313@att.net) Thanks, Angel ^^