Here it is, the long awaited 2nd part. I'm really sorry about the delay. I just started school back last week, and I've been a bit busy. The material contained in this story is completely fictional and has nothing to do with the actual sexuality of anyone involved. As always, if reading material about homosexual relationships disturbs you, then get a life and go away. :) I'd like to thank my buddies Rob, Matthew, Sean, and Shannon :) (In no particular order) You've all been so supportive. And just a reminder, I moved Orlando to another part of Florida. So don't freak. And so without further ado . . .on with the show.
Lucky Me -2-
Lance's heart was beating a million miles an hour. His mind was racing as he pictured me lying dead in a gutter somewhere. After Lance could collect his thoughts, he ran to the phone without hesitation. Knowing he couldn't call Justin's home number, because he was afraid of waking up Justin's mother, his fingers trembled as he struggled to dial JC's cell phone. It seemed to take hours as Lance impatiently waited for the call to go through. It rang one . . .two . . .three . . .four times until JC finally picked it up.
"Mmmmppphhhhh?" JC grunted into the phone.
Ignoring JC's non-greeting Lance stumbled over himself to get the words out as he said, "JC, listen it's Lance. You need to wake up. Wake up so I can tell you something. It's really important." Hearing the urgency in Lance's voice, JC bolted upright in his bed, listening intently. "What's up, Lance? What's wrong?" "It's Luke. JC, he's gone."
"What do you mean, gone?"
"I mean gone, as in not here. As in his bed's empty. Gone, he's gone." Lance was going into hysterics.
"Okay, Lance calm down. It'll be all right, we'll find him," JC said trying to keep cool as his head filled with his own pictures of me in a hundred different, fatal situations.
Lance took a deep breath. "Really you'll help me find him?"
Lance's question startled JC out of his morbid prophecies. Instead his mind switched to a picture of me on the bus. He saw me with my knees bent to my chest. He saw me wiping away stray tears. He remembered feeling my incredible sadness. His mind eventually wandered back to his conversation with Lance, and he snapped out of his melancholy reflection. "Of course we will, Lance." He paused. "I saw how worried you were about him. I know you want to see him safe. It's okay Lance, really. I'll get the other guys up, and then I'll call Joey. You get over here as fast as you can, and we'll go from there."
"Okay . . .okay I'll . . .I'll be right there," Lance said as his hands began to shake.
"All right," JC said. "And, Lance . . .?"
"Yeah, JC?"
JC paused again, "We're gonna find him. I swear it."
Lance stayed silent for a moment. "Thanks, JC. I'll see you in a minute." Lance hung up the phone, grabbed his keys, and flew out the door. He ran to his car, jumped in, and tried desperately to put the key into the ignition, but his hands were shaking too violently. He had to stop and take several deep breaths before he could go on.
JC ended his call with Lance and hurriedly dialed Joey's house.
"What?" Joey grunted into the phone still half-asleep.
JC laughed, "Morning, sunshine. Get up and get over to Justin's house as fast as you can. It's important."
"JC?" Joey asked. "What's happening? It's 3:30 in the morning. What's so important?"
"You remember that guy, Luke?" JC asked.
"Yeah, of course. Why? Did he kill Lance or something?" Joey half-laughed half-asked.
"No," JC's voice became more serious, "he's disappeared. We're going to help find him. Just get over here, okay?"
"Of course," Joey answered quickly. "I'll be right there."
JC snapped his cell phone shut and hopped out of bed. He left his room to go wake up Chris. He figured he should wake Chris up first because it would take the strength of two men to get Justin up at this hour. He laughed to himself as he opened Chris's bedroom door. He walked over to the bed and shook him lightly. "Chris, wake up. It's important."
Chris groaned and rolled away from JC. He shook Chris harder, "Come on, Chris. You really need to get up," JC said a little louder.
Chris mumbled something but remained comatose. Finally deciding this wasn't going to work, JC flicked Chris's earlobe. Chris bolted awake. JC couldn't help but laugh.
"What the hell are you doin', JC? It's only," Chris looked over to his clock, "3:40 am. What's going on?"
"Luke's gone. We need to find him," JC said as he started for the door.
"Why should we find him?" Chris grumbled. "We don't even know him."
JC turned around and glared angrily at him. "Get dressed," he said slowly and left the room.
He opened the door to Justin's room. He went over to the bed and thought about how to wake him up. JC tried shaking him. He tried flicking his earlobe like he had Chris. He even tried smacking him. But after all attempts failed, JC had to resort to rolling him out of bed.
As Justin hit the floor, he finally woke up and looked up at JC, perplexed. "What was that for?" he asked as he got up.
JC chuckled, "Fine, YOU try to get you up at quarter to four in the morning sometime, Curly."
"Quarter to four? Shit, why did you wake me up?"
JC sighed, "It's Luke. He's gone. We're gonna go find him."
Justin looked at JC and, in his eyes, saw the concern that he'd been trying to hide. Having known JC for as long as he had, Justin knew this was important. So he quickly agreed. "Okay, I'll hurry and get dressed."
JC walked into his room, put on some jeans, a t-shirt, some sandals, and came downstairs. Just as he'd reached the bottom step, he heard a soft knocking at the door. JC went to open it and found Joey.
"Hey, Joe," he said as he stepped aside to let Joey in. They stood in silence for awhile. Both a little bewildered by the fact that they were going to such lengths to find someone they didn't even know , but at the same time understanding that they had to. They weren't blind, they saw how upset I'd been on the bus. People do crazy things when they're upset. Justin and Chris joined them in the hallway.
Suddenly Lance charged through the still-open front door and stopped, out of breath, in front of the guys. Justin laughed, "In a hurry, Lance?"
Lance looked up at him, "You don't understand, we've got to find him. You didn't see him out there. None of you saw him," Lance said glancing around the group. "He could be anywhere. He could be hurt, or . . .or . . ." Lance was afraid to finish his thought.
Justin walked over to Lance and pulled him into a hug. His arms wrapped around the shorter boy in a gesture of brotherhood. "It's okay, Lance. Calm down, buddy. You can't help anyone when you're hysterical. We'll find him. We will, I promise."
Lance's breathing slowed. "Okay, thanks Justin." He pulled away from the younger blonde and stared at the floor in a daze.
"Okay," JC said clapping his hands, "who goes where?"
Hearing this but not really listening Lance said, "Someone should go back to the auditorium. His car's there."
JC nodded, "Good idea, Scoop. Joey, Justin you go there. Hurry, it's a while away." Justin and Joey nodded as they headed out the door.
Chris said, "Shouldn't someone call the hospitals? Maybe the jails?"
JC winced, then nodded, "Yes, you and I will do that. Lance, you . . ."
Lance snapped out of his trance and interrupted JC. "I know where to look," he said.
"All right, call me if you find anything." Lance nodded and hurried out the door. "Lance, don't worry, we'll find him," JC yelled as Lance ran to his 4Runner.
Lance's foot was pressing the accelerator to the floor as he sped along the highway. The night's events kept replaying in his mind. How he saw me through the rain. How his heart ached when I latched onto him. How protective he felt over me when I'd said I hadn't anywhere to go. Now he knew where I was. He just had to get there.
Justin and Joey pulled into the parking lot of the auditorium. They saw the only car there, assumed it was mine, and walked over to it. I wasn't inside. They looked around, and they didn't see me anywhere.
"So what, now?" Joey asked.
"I guess we should wait here for a little. Make sure he's not here."
They had been standing by the car in silence for awhile when Joey said, "Hey Just, why are we going to so much trouble for this guy? I mean . . .why are we doing this?"
Justin shrugged, "I don't know, Joey. It just feels right," he finally said. "I mean, I know we don't know who he is, but just think about it. After seeing him on the bus . . .my heart just goes out to him. Ya know . . .?"
Joey nodded. "Maybe be we should call JC. Ask him what to do now. Luke's obviously not here."
Justin took out his cell phone and dialed JC's cell number.
"Hello?" JC answered.
"Hey JC, it's Justin. We're at the auditorium, and we found the car but no driver. What now?" "Damn," JC said under his breath. "Well, just head on back, Just. I can't think of anywhere else for y'all to look. But keep an eye peeled on your way back, will ya?"
"Sure thing, buddy. You found anything?"
"Nah, me and Chris have been calling hospitals and jails. But without a last name, we haven't really gotten all that far."
"You heard anything from Lance yet?"
"No," JC said. "I don't even know where he went. But he'll call soon." JC sighed deeply.
There was silence for a minute. "Luke's okay, JC. I know it. I just have a feeling. He's okay."
"Thanks, Justin. I'll see you in a few."
"Ok, buddy. Take care." Justin hung up his phone, and he and Joey started back to the house.
Lance turned off his car and got out. He saw me sitting on the sand, and smiled to himself. He pulled out his phone and called JC. As he slipped the phone back into his pocket, he walked up and sat down next to me. "So," he started, "why do you like the beach so much?"
The sound of his voice startled me, but when I looked to the person sitting next to me, and saw who it was, I calmed down. I sighed. "It's nice to look at the horizon and know there's something else out there. If I want it bad enough."
Lance nodded, "You scared the shit out of me, ya know."
I smiled, "I saw you sleeping on the couch, and I guess I figured I'd be back before you got up. I'm really sorry, Lance."
"Don't you think you need to tell me what's going on, now?"
I nodded but fell silent. I didn't believe in lying, and if I told him my story, I would have to tell him I was gay. The only person, besides Jason, who I'd ever told was my mom. I just didn't know if I could go through that again. But Lance was right, he deserved to know.
"Well . . .?" he asked.
I took a deep breath, stood up, and started walking along the beach. Lance stayed seated, and watched my moonlit form drift across the sand. He sighed and shook his head, but got up and trailed after me anyway. He approached me, and put his hand on my shoulder to make me stop.
"What is it, Luke? What's so horrible that you can't even talk about it?" His voice was low and soothing. For some reason, it made me trust him a little.
"I've only told this to two other people in the whole world." I stared at the sand. "One was my mother, and when she found out, she kicked me out of the house." I heard Lance gasp, but I pushed ahead. "Lance, I'm . . .it's just that . . .well . . ." I took a couple of deep breaths. "I'm gay." I could imagine Lance running away from me into the night, never wanting to speak to me again. But he said,
"I'm so overwhelmed that you trust me enough to tell me that." He stopped to take it all in, then continued. "But that can't have been what's made you so upset."
I looked up into his eyes and saw the look of concern there. The feeling of relief that came to me was immense. He really did care about me. It gave me courage. "This," I said as my trembling hands pulled the ring from the pocket of the pants Lance had let me borrow, "was Jason's." I took a deep breath. "Jason was my boyfriend. I proposed to him yesterday, and he accepted. But . . .but when I got to your concert last night . . ." those damned tears started again, " . . .he left me with this and a note telling me . . .that he'd been. . .cheating, and that . . .he couldn't . . .couldn't marry me." I thought I could get through it with a little composure, but at that moment it hit me like a ton of bricks. The reality of Jason's rejection washed over me like a wave, and I sank to my knees as the sobs coursed through my body.
Lance was stunned. Until now, he didn't know that anyone could be this sad. He watched me kneeling on the sand, weeping uncontrollably over the loss of a love. Something he'd never felt. He didn't know how to make it better. He knelt beside me and protectively put his arms around my waist. My arms wrapped around his shoulders for the second time, and I wept into the hollow of his neck. He kept repeating, "It's okay, Luke. I'm here, now. I won't leave you."
Eventually my tears stopped. I dried my eyes and stood up. Lance stood next to me. I looked down at the ring in my hand and I said, "I hate this thing. I wish I never had to see it again."
Before the words were sufficiently out of my mouth, Lance took the ring from my hand and headed towards the water's edge. As I stood and watched him walk to the ocean, I smiled to myself. When he'd reached the water, he threw the ring as hard as he could into oblivion. Soon enough, I heard a satisfying plop. And as I stood there looking at the place it had entered the water, Lance walked up to me and said, "There, gone forever."
I looked over to him and whispered, "Thanks."
He shrugged, "The least I could do. Come on. Let's go."
Joey, Chris, JC, and Justin all sat in the living room impatiently waiting for Lance and me to return.
"What time is it?" Justin asked.
"About 5:30," JC answered.
"How long ago did he call?" Joey asked.
"About an hour," JC said.
"How long does it take to get to the beach from here?" Chris inquired.
"About half an hour," JC said.
There was silence for a minute. "So where the fuck are they?" Justin blurted.
"How should I know? They'll be here soon," JC reassured them.
Right as JC finished his sentence, Lance and I walked through the door. Exhausted from my crying and the lack of sleep, I practically crawled over to the couch and sat beside Justin. I closed my eyes and soon felt Lance take his seat next to me. The silence was deafening. I decided to make an attempt to break it.
"So, what are you guys doing up so early?" I asked them all.
They looked at each other for a moment and then back to me. Justin said, "We were looking for you."
I lifted my head from the back of the couch where it had been resting. I stared at them for a moment before managing to say, "Oh, I didn't realize. I'm sorry I put you to so much trouble. I didn't mean to . . ."
"Trouble? It wasn't any trouble, Luke. We were worried about you. Did you really think that we wouldn't be?" Joey whispered in a low, hushed tone.
"Well I don't guess I thought about it, " I said quietly. "I don't guess I really thought about anything. I just sorta went. Guys, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. It was so rude of me. I mean to just . . ."
"Don't be silly, we understand," JC commented as his eyes studied the intricate designs of the carpet. "Just don't do it anymore all right?"
I smiled, "I think I can handle that."
"Good," Justin said, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm dead dog tired. Someone woke me up at 4 this morning." He mock-glared at me, and I laughed.
"Well, soooorryyy," I said.
Joey got up too. "I think Curly's got the right idea. I'm gonna head home. I'll see y'all later on." Joey walked out to his car and sped off.
"I'm off to bed too," Chris said leaving the room.
"Now I don't want an argument," JC started, "I want you two to go up and take my bed. You're both exhausted, and neither of you have gotten much sleep. Now go."
Lance and I looked at each other, and Lance started to say something in protest, but JC raised his hand denoting that he wasn't listening and headed into the kitchen.
"Well, what are we gonna do?" I asked Lance.
"One thing you have to learn is never to argue with JC," Lance said as he got off the couch. "You coming?" he asked me.
"I guess," I said as I followed him up the stairs.
When we got into JC's room I shut the door behind us. "Look Lance," I said, "if you want me to sleep on the floor, I'll understand. I don't mind. Really."
"Why on earth would I ask you to do that?" he asked me as he took his shirt off.
"It's just that . . .well I'm gay. And I didn't think that you'd be comfortable with me sleeping in the same bed as you."
"As long as you don't rape me, I think we'll be okay," he laughed as he slipped off his jeans.
"All right, as long as you're sure," I said beginning to take my shirt off.
"Don't be silly," he said slipping into bed. "Now get in."
I took off my pants and walked to the bed.
"Nice boxers," he laughed.
I blushed and got in.
I got up before everyone else that afternoon. I hadn't slept very well, and I had woken Lance up a time or two. I sat in the kitchen staring into my coffee and thinking about having to go get my clothes from Jason's house. The disgust I was feeling must have been apparent from my face because when JC walked in he said,
"What's wrong, Luke?"
I jumped a little and looked up at him. "Oh, nothing," I said as I looked back into my coffee.
"Looks like a pretty big nothing from here," he said as he sat across from me at the table. "You want to talk about it?"
I really did, and any hesitancy I had was over-powered by my need for companionship. "JC," I started, "I'm gay."
JC coughed as he choked on his coffee, and I looked up at him. "Sorry," he laughed, "don't say things like that when I'm drinking, all right? Go on."
I took a deep breath as I looked into my coffee and continued, "Jason, my boyfriend, kicked me out at your concert last night. And today I have to go get my clothes from his house." I looked up at JC, and he was nodding.
"And you're not really looking forward to seeing him again, are ya?" he asked.
"No, not really." I sighed.
"Do you want me to go get your clothes for you, Luke?" he asked.
"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that. I mean . . ."
"You didn't have to ask. I just offered," he smiled. "Do you want me to go?"
"Jason would have a heart attack," I grinned.
"Well then it's settled," he laughed. "Now where's this Jason's house?
I gave him the address, and as soon as he finished his coffee, he headed out.
There was a knocking at Jason's door. He put down his beer and staggered to it. When he opened it, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he couldn't speak for a moment. Before him was a greek god. The very same that sang the songs he made made fun for me for liking. His mouth hung open as JC's eye swallowed him.
JC made a mental picture of Jason's face to describe to me later. He smiled, "Hi, Jason?"
"Uh . . .yeah that's me. You're . . .you're you. I mean . . .you're JC."
JC put a sterner look on his face and said, "I'm here to pick up Luke's clothes. Can I come in?" When Jason didn't answer or move, JC pushed past him into the house. He turned to Jason and found him still staring at him. "Well, where's the bedroom?" All Jason could do was point up the stairs. "Thanks," JC smirked and walked up the stairs.
JC took out two of my suitcases and started to pack my clothes. As he returned from getting some things of mine from the bathroom, he found Jason sitting on the bed by one of my open suitcases. JC ignored him and continued to pack, when Jason spoke up.
"How do you know Luke?" he asked while cleaning his thumbnail.
JC glared at him and said, "We met last night," and continued packing for me.
Jason still didn't look up from his thumbnail, "He's a huge fan of yours, ya know."
JC didn't even bother to look up from the shirt he was folding as he said, "I figured that by the way he was at the concert." He added bitingly, "Alone."
Jason closed his eyes, but still didn't raise his head. "I guess he told you what happened, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess he did," JC commented as he walked over to the closet for more shirts to fold. Once he'd finished with my shirts, he checked to make sure he'd gotten everything I'd asked for, and he zipped up the suitcases and headed out. But just as he was about to reach the doorway, Jason blocked his path.
"Hey, Jason, if I were you I wouldn't mess with me right now. All I want to do is get out of here. I'm not doing anything to you, so please just get out of my way," JC said as he walked further, but Jason didn't move. JC looked back up into Jason's face and said, "Look, can't we just settle this like adults?"
The answer he received was Jason's lips coming down obscenely upon his own. Jason's tongue protruded into JC's mouth, and JC could taste the unmistakable flavor of beer on his breath. JC dropped my two bags and pushed away from the bigger man, wiping his lips thoroughly.
"Damn, Jason," he said while backing away from the man who was now approaching him. "I said `like adults', but I didn't mean X-rated." JC was now pinned against the wall as the taller man towered over him. Jason leaned down to kiss JC a second time, but this time JC was ready. He pushed Jason's chest as hard as he could, but it wasn't hard enough, and before JC knew what was going on, Jason's fist had connected with his eye.
As JC waited for the room to stop spinning, Jason once again approached him. He lewdly grabbed JC's crotch and glared into his eyes. JC had recovered just enough to realize what was going on. He regained his balance, and realized how much stronger this guy was than himself. JC knew he was in great danger, especially since this guy was drunk, but he also knew he had to do something or he'd get killed. So JC did the only thing he could think of, he threw a punch of his own. As Jason staggered backwards, JC mustered up all the strength he had and put it behind and upper-cut that connected with Jason's jaw bone sending him flying into the opposite wall.
JC walked over to where Jason was slumped on the floor and realized that he was unconscience. JC, being the intelligent person he was, got my bags and got out of there as fast as he could.
He put my bags in the back of his jeep and got in. He looked at his eye in the rear-view mirror and saw the beginnings of a good shiner. JC winced, turned the key, and drove back to Justin's house.
When he got home, all the other's were still asleep. When he came into the kitchen with my bags, I was sitting on the counter reading a magazine. He kept his eyes on the floor as he set the bags down and headed back out.
"Hey, JC, come back here, man. I won't bite," I chuckled. He came back into the kitchen, but he was still looking at the floor. "JC, thanks a lot for doing this for me," I said. "I don't know what I would have done if I had to see Jason again today."
"I'm glad you didn't go," JC whispered.
"Why do you say that?" I asked with my eyebrows furrowed. Then JC looked up at me, and I gasped at the sight of his black eye. "What happened?" I asked.
"Jason hit me."
"What? Why?"
JC stayed silent for a second before saying, "He came on to me, Luke. I pushed him away, and he got mad and hit me."
"God, JC, I'm so sorry," I said as I hopped off the counter to hug him. "I never should have let you go."
"Luke, you didn't know. It's okay." Then JC smiled, "I knocked him unconscience anyway."
I pulled away from him. "You what?" I asked.
JC looked up at me with fear and said, "I had to, he's so much stronger than I am, Luke. I never would have gotten out of there."
I stared at the ground in a daze, then I whispered "Was he drunk?"
"Yeah," JC said, "how'd you know?"
"Jason's always been violent when he's drunk," I said still in the daze.
JC nodded, but then quickly raised his eyes to gaze at me. JC lifted my chin so that I was looking in his eyes. "What do you mean `always been'? Has he ever hit you before?" I looked away from him, but he turned my head sharply. "Has he?"
I nodded slowly, "A few times," I said.
"That fucking bastard. I'll kill him. I'll kill him." JC's eyes burned with a rage the likes of which I had never seen.
I struggled to find the words to make it better. "JC, it's over. He's out of my life now. I know, it sucks what he did to me, and I'm SO sorry that I brought you into that. I should have known he'd be drinking, but it's over now. He can't hurt me anymore." I hugged JC tighter than I'd ever hugged anyone before. He cared about me. He hadn't laid eyes on me 24 hours ago. And he cared about me. I could see how huge his heart must have been.
As we released our embrace, Lance walked in. "Mornin' guys," he said. Then he saw JC's eye. "What happened JC?"
JC glanced at me for support. He didn't know how much Lance knew, and he didn't know what he should tell him. So I took over for JC, "Jason hit him," I explained.
Lance glanced at me, and I saw him remember who Jason was. "Why'd he do that?"
JC said, "He made a pass at me, and when I pushed him away, he hit me." JC was about to say something else, but I shot him a look that said I didn't want Lance to know about Jason's abusing me. JC nodded.
"Are you okay?" Lance asked him.
"Sure, a little black eye isn't the end of the world," JC grinned.
"Yeah," I agreed quietly, "life goes on."
JC, realizing what he had said, looked to me and tried to apologized with his eyes. But I just shook my head indicating it was all right. Lance, realizing he was missing something, went over to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.
Joey walked into the kitchen still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He gravitated to the pantry where he got out a box of cereal. Once he'd gotten himself a bowl, he poured in the cereal and added milk. It was only after he's begun to crunch away that he noticed. "Damn, JC!" Joey burst out. "How'd you do that?"
It was like the wind was knocked out of Lance, JC, and me all at the same time. Lance quickly looked towards me, and I hurriedly glanced to JC who was staring wild-eyed at Joey. I tried to hone my telepathic skills as I desperately thought over and over again, `Please, JC, don't tell him. Please, please, please!'
At that moment Chris walked in. Noticing the abundant silence, Chris glanced around the room and gawked at JC's eye. "What happened??" he shouted.
JC laughed at himself as he stared at the ground and began to tell his story. "Well, it happened last night," he started as he laughed again. "I guess I was having a dream or something, but I fell out of bed." He stopped to look up at the group and grin. "I hit my face on my bedside table on the way down. Really hurt too." JC tried to keep a semblance of lightheartedness as his lie spilled from his mouth.
It fooled Joey. He said, "Nice goin', man," and cuffed JC's shoulder.
Though Chris had a doubtful look on his face, he said, "Yeah JC, nice goin'." But Chris didn't believe him. He saw how JC had avoided eye contact with them. He saw that smile that was plastered on JC's face. It was the same smile he used for the photo shoots they did. That was his fake smile. JC was lying. `Why would he lie to us? How DID he get hurt?' Chris thought to himself. And not only that. JC had said he fell out of bed. Chris knew for a fact that JC didn't sleep in his bed last night. Last night, on the way back from the bathroom, he had seen me shut the door to JC's room. Now Chris was positive that JC was lying. And he suspected it had something to do with me.
To Be Continued . . . .
Okay, there is it guys. I know it took a long time to get out, and I'm really sorry. I would really appreciate comments on this one because I have no idea where to go from here. Feel free to e-mail me at Lauren2993@aol.com with question/comments/suggestions/rants/raves/praise/money/etc . . . . .I love you all, and thank you for reading. -Lauren