Sooooooooooo sorry to the people who are reading this for taking so long to post this! Really! I had computer problems and internet problems that kept me from posting this AND from replying to the e-mails I got... I had a very pleasant surprise with the amount of e-mails I got since the last time I posted :) Thank you all so so much for the feedback and I really am going to reply to your e-mail!
Wasn't crying supposed to be some sort of sleep-inducing method? Like, you hear the "and they cried themselves to sleep" all the time. So, why didn't it work like that for him? JC had cried for what felt like hours before he'd taken a shower and then he felt so exhausted and sleepy he could swear that he'd be out cold in a matter of seconds. But apparently it had the opposite effect on him. Probably just because he loved sleeping. He had gone to bed some time around 10pm. Now the clock on his bedside table read exactly 11:57pm and he was wide awake. Normally in a situation like this he'd call Justin and they'd hang out until they both passed out from exhaustion, but this alternative was obviously out of question. Justin and Chris now shared a room and, really, that was the last place he wanted to be at the moment. He couldn't call Joey either 'cause he had Kelly and Brianna over for the rest of the tour and disturbing the little time Joe had with his adorable daughter was the last thing JC wanted to do. He could call Lance. He might actually be awake since he was a workaholic freak who only needed 3-4 hours of sleep a night to be rested. But then he was probably working on his Freelance stuff and JC didn't want to disturb that. Only problem was that he was a step away from hitting the minibar and drinking himself into a coma. That gave him two alternatives: disturb Lance or hit the minibar. Lance or coma. Lance or coma. His fingers were dialing the number before he even registered he had picked up the phone. ~~~~~~ His phone was ringing somewhere and wasn't it always like this? The times you have both of your hands full of papers and your phone is somewhere under the other huge amount of papers on your desk are the times said phone decides to ring. And then you can't decide if you drop the papers to look for it or if you put them neatly aside and risk not being able to get it on time. Seeing as Lance hadn't talked to his family in two days he chose the first. "Hello?" "Hm... Lance... hm... it's JC." "What's wrong?" "Can I... Are you busy?" "Not really," Lance lied, eyeing the scattered papers and the laptop laying around on his desk, "You need anything?" "I... Can I come over there?" "Sure." "OK, be there in a few," JC said softly and then they hung up. Lance hurried around gathering into a somewhat neat pile the papers that were scattered all over, turned off his computer, grabbed a book he had been reading on the bus ride and plopped down on his bed, trying to calm down after all it was just JC coming over in the middle of the night. Yeah, right. As if JC would ever be "just JC". Still, there was no need to get his hopes up or anything. JC was clearly (and very much) in love with Justin. That wouldn't go away that easily or that fast. And telling him about how madly in love he had been for the last two years with the brunette right at that moment would just torment JC even more. And probably ruin everything. Not that there was anything to be ruined. For all Lance knew, he'd never tell JC how he felt. And even if he did, it's not like JC would just stop loving Justin and suddenly realize he was madly in love with Lance. So, no hope there. He'd actually like it if he could make his heart believe that. And also convince his heart that there was no need to beat right out of his chest just because there was a knock on his door and the person knocking was most probably JC. Shit, could he be any dorkier? Wasn't he, like, too damn _old_ to have a highschool crush? Shaking his head at himself, Lance got up from the bed and went over to open the door, coming face-to-face with JC. Really, no need to get his hopes up. "Come in." Lance smiled and stepped aside to let JC in. "I'm sorry to, you know... I just... I couldn't sleep." JC stepped into the room surrounded by what appeared to be all the blankets he had found in his room. "What's wrong?" Lance asked, feeling JC's forehead. JC? Not being able to sleep? It had to be a joke or something really serious. "I just... I was laying on my bed and I got tired of staring at the ceiling after two hours, ya know? Then it was calling you or hitting the minibar." "Thanks for choosing me over the minibar." Lance chuckled as he guided JC into the bedroom, "You wanna talk?" "I guess," JC mumbled as he sat down on the bed and Lance sat beside him, "It's just overwhelming sometimes. I mean, the tour is almost ending, my life is this *mess*, I have to watch Justin and Chris nearly 24/7 being sweet and all that shit and, really, I'm trying to be noble about it but it fucking hurts." JC closed his eyes and Lance didn't think he had ever seen JC look that exhausted, "I can't write unless Justin is doing it with me and now I can't sleep." "I'm really, really glad you picked me instead of the minibar then." Lance smiled as he rubbed JC's back, "The tour is nearly over, C. And then you won't really have to watch them all the time. That will give you more time and space to heal, to get yourself together. You'll have more time to try and write. I know that it's hard to see what you want right in front of you and knowing you can't just reach out and get it," Lance said before he could stop himself. Luckily JC wasn't looking at him and didn't see how furiously he was blushing. "I just want it all to be over. Going some place cold and hibernating or something." JC smiled and Lance chuckled. "That's a nice idea, actually." "That coming from the man who needs nearly no sleep at all." JC smirked at Lance. "I don't need it but I like it very much." Lance stuck his tongue out at JC. "Can I sleep here?" JC asked suddenly and Lance nearly jumped with joy. "'Course you can, C. I'm not sleepy and I was reading some so, would you mind it if one of the bedside lamps was turned on?" "No, I wouldn't. Hell, I'm invading your room, Lance." JC smiled a bit and Lance chuckled. "Don't worry about it." "Thanks." "Anytime." Lance messed JC's hair before standing up, "Go ahead and get comfortable. I gotta use the bathroom, K?" He said, heading for the bathroom, "Get a grip, Bass," Lance muttered looking at himself in the mirror. He shook his head and made a face at his reflection before doing what he had to do in there. When he was done, he went back into the bedroom to find JC curled up under a mountain of blankets, causing Lance to chuckle at him, "Cold much?" he asked as he laid down beside JC, pulling some of the covers over himself. "I can't seem to get warm enough," JC whispered as he rested his head on Lance's chest, "You mind?" "Nope." Lance smiled as he picked up his book with one hand while the other rubbed JC's back softly. He didn't know if he should feel flattered that JC felt good and comfortable enough that he had fallen asleep that quickly or if he should feel stupid that he was that boring. Well, he had JC in his arms, did the reason really matter? TBC... P.S. I personally loved this part *grin* Tell me what you guys thought, K? :)