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Justin pulled into the driveway of JC’s Hollywood home, coming up behind his friend who was loading a duffle bag into the back of his Jeep. JC, for his part, didn’t appear to know that Justin was pulling up behind him, and a mischievous grin spread across Justin’s face. He honked the horn, laughing when JC jumped and turned to glare at him.
“Don’t do that!” JC exclaimed. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Justin continued to laugh as threw the car into park and shut it off before getting out. He looked over at his best friend. “Hey, it’s not my fault my car’s so quiet you didn’t hear me pull up.”
JC crossed his arms, trying to appear more annoyed than Justin knew he actually was. “That was not a crack about my Jeep.”
“I could hear you coming from two streets over.”
“That was one time!” JC defended, his voice rising and taking on a slight whine. “And it was only because I’d lost my muffler somewhere on the 10.”
Justin chuckled, shaking his head. JC had been the only who hadn’t bought a new car since they’d gotten back to the States and had gained the fame they’d had while abroad. Then, a couple months ago they’d all received their share of the settlement from the lawsuit, which JC had just put into the bank. Justin was beginning to think JC was never going to give up his old, beat up Jeep.
“So what’s up?” JC asked, clearly ready to leave the teasing behind. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” Justin said seriously, but a smile tugged at his lips, ruining the effect.
“Not any more you don’t.”
Justin put a hand over his heart, pouting as he pretended to be hurt. “Ouch, man. You gonna kick me out on the street?”
“Hey, you were the one that left this morning,” JC pointed out, trying not to be affected by Justin’s humor, but his lips upturned into a smile. “So your place no good or what?”
Justin had been staying at JC’s for the last few days while his house was being fumigated. This morning Justin had gotten the call telling him that they were finished and that he was bug free. So he’d headed back to his place after eating a quick breakfast with JC.
“No, it’s good. Officially spider free.”
JC shook his head. “I still can’t believe you made such a fuss over a couple spiders.”
“A couple?” Justin repeated, incredulously. “There were a lot more than a couple. It was like they were convening at my house, probably plotting ways to attack me in my sleep.”
JC laughed. “Oh, c’mon, Justin.”
“Don’t laugh. I found a spider in my bed. My bed, JC!” That just made JC laugh harder and Justin huffed. “Bite me.”
When the laughter faded, JC looked at Justin. “So what are you doing here, J?”
“Feeling the love, JC. Feeling the love,” Justin said. “I actually heard about your little excursion and was wondering if I could come with.”
“Oh yeah? Who told you?”
“Lance,” Justin said simply. “And I talked to Chris too. He says he’s gonna kick your ass for doing this trip without him.”
“He’s the one who went back home. That’s not my fault,” JC replied.
They had been given a few weeks off to relax and recharge their batteries so they could finish the album and jump into the insane amount of promotion that would go with it. The other three had gone home to spend some more time with their families. JC had decided to stay in LA since he’d been busy writing and playing with mixing board, trying to get a feel for a producer’s role – something he wanted to take on. Justin seemed to be the only one without any definite plans, though he knew he’d see his mom before the break was over.
“So can I come?” Justin asked, trying to get them back on the original point of this conversation.
“Do you even know where I’m going?”
Justin nodded. “Yeah, you’re going to check out the Petrified Forest.”
JC stared at him for a moment before he laughed. “Uh, no. I believe I told Lance I was heading north to check out San Fran and the redwood forest. The Petrified Forest is in Arizona.”
“Whatever,” Justin said, waving a dismissive hand. “The destination doesn’t matter. It’s all about the journey, right?”
JC pretended to look impressed. “Why, Justin, that was downright profound.”
Justin shoved JC. “Jerk,” he said even though he was smiling. He glanced at his friend. “So can I come?”
“You really want to?”
“No. I keep asking just to annoy you,” Justin said sarcastically. He then nudged JC playfully. “Stop acting like road tripping with me would be torture. It’ll be much more entertaining with me than it would’ve been by yourself.”
“Yeah, but it would’ve been more peaceful,” JC mumbled. Justin gently punched him, and JC put his hands up as if to ward off attack. “Stop abusing the driver and go pack.”
Justin grinned. He’d known JC wouldn’t say no to him. “Who says you’re driving?”
“Uh, considering this trip was my idea and we’re taking my Jeep…me!”
“We could always take my Benz. At least then we know it won’t break down,” Justin suggested, grinning even bigger. He loved messing around with JC like this.
JC just laughed and shoved Justin back towards his car. “Good bye, Justin.”
Justin shared the laughter as he got back into his car, revving the engine and leaning out the window to yell, “Meet you at my place!” before pulling out of the driveway. He needed to get home and pack a bag real quick. It was easy to tell JC was ready to go and he wouldn’t appreciate Justin holding him up longer than necessary.
**************
A half hour later, they were on the road. They were cruising down the Coastal Highway and the Jeep was open, allowing for the sea air to sweep through the car. The air was warm, despite the fact that it was only coming on the end of January. Justin loved California.
He sat in the passenger seat, munching on a bag of Cheetos. JC was driving…for now. Justin knew that eventually JC would give into him and he’d be the one driving. Whenever they did random drives like this, there usually were mini arguments about who was going to drive just because they all got tired of being driven around and wanted to be the one behind the wheel from time to time.
JC glanced over at Justin and said, “Don’t even think about wiping your cheesy hands on my seats or you’re a dead man.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, man.” Justin waved a dismissive hand. “Besides, you’re the one eating M&Ms.”
“So?”
“So they’re chocolate, and chocolate melts. You could just as easily get chocolate all over the car as I could with cheese,” Justin pointed out.
“M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand,” JC recited the ad slogan.
“Yeah, but they’ll melt into your floor when you drop some.”
JC scoffed. “Oh please. That’s not going to happen. I’m very care-oh shit.”
Justin couldn’t help but laugh and smirk at his friend, giving him an “I told you so” look.
JC ignored him, keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead of him. Though, he did shift down in his seat slightly, one hand on the steering wheel while the other blindly groped around his seat. After a minute of aimless groping, he gave up as he straightened and returned the other hand to the wheel.
“You have to get it,” JC said, looking at Justin.
“What? Are you kidding? How am I supposed to find it?”
JC shrugged. “It shouldn’t be too hard. It’s yellow, I think.”
“You think,” Justin repeated, frowning doubtfully. “Can’t you just wait until we stop? It’s probably under your seat somewhere.”
“I don’t want it melting into my floor.”
Justin let out a heavy sigh as he rolled his eyes heavenward. He regretted putting that idea in JC’s head and knew that if he didn’t find the little candy, that he’d be hearing about it for the next few hours. “All right, fine. I’ll try, but I make no promises.”
Justin put the bag of Cheetos on the floor by his feet and quickly licked the cheese off his fingers. He was about to reach his hand down into the space between the center console and JC’s seat when JC’s voice stopped him.
“What are you doing?”
Justin shot him an annoyed look. “You’re kidding, right?” JC didn’t answer so Justin continued, “I’m going to look for your lost M&M.”
“Not with those fingers your not,” JC said.
“Well, it’s these fingers or no fingers. I don’t exactly have another set.”
“You’re not getting cheese all over my car.”
Justin cried in exasperation, “I licked all the cheese off!”
“Which is disgusting. Not to mention unsanitary,” JC said. “And you probably didn’t get all the cheese off.”
“I don’t know. I think my tongue was very thorough,” Justin replied, smiling at the dirty connotation.
JC’s lips upturned a fraction, but his face remained serious otherwise. “Will you just wipe your hands please?”
“With what?” Justin was getting beyond annoyed.
Without a word, JC pulled something out of the compartment on the side of his door and handed it to Justin. A WetOne. That figured.
“Oh my god are you anal,” Justin said, taking the small packet and opening it. He quickly cleaned off his fingers and stuffed the used napkin into the ashtray.
Fingers finally clean, Justin lowered himself down into his seat and reached out his arm, forcing it in the small gap between JC’s seat and the center console. His hand ran over the carpet under JC’s seat as he blindly searched for the lost M&M, thinking all the while that the color was completely meaningless since he couldn’t see where he was looking. Finally, Justin’s hand located the small candy and he grabbed it before removing his arm and throwing the M&M out the window.
JC didn’t say anything, but Justin could tell he was amused. He looked at his friend and said, “I have control over the radio for the next hour.”
Another half hour passed before Justin couldn’t take it anymore.
“Oh my god, JC. Could you go any slower?” he complained.
“I’m not going slow,” JC objected. “I’m doing the speed limit.”
“Yeah, and you’re the only one. It won’t kill you to speed up, you know.”
JC glanced at him before looking back at the road. “We’re going a comfortable speed. It’s not about trying to get there as fast as we can anyway.”
“Yeah, but we’d still like to get there before our break’s over,” Justin said, laughing at the annoyed look he received from JC.
“Just because we’re not doing eighty-”
“JC!” Justin whined as they were being passed by yet another car. “Go faster! We’re being passed by old people!”
JC shook his head, pretending to be appalled by what Justin said. “Just because they’re old doesn’t mean they drive slow.”
“Obviously! They’re passing us,” Justin said.
“If anything,” JC continued as he if he hadn’t heard Justin’s outburst, “old people drive fast and cut you off because they have zero patience left after driving fifty years.”
Justin looked over at his friend amused. “Who’s stereotyping old people now?”
JC smirked and did press down on the gas a bit harder so they were going five miles over the speed limit. Justin groaned as he sat back in his seat, knowing the next couple hours weren’t going to pass as fast as they would if he was driving.
**************
They stopped a few hours later for lunch, having found a little city that had lots of choices since neither of them had been comfortable with stopping in a small town. It was another forty-five minutes before they pulled out of the Burger King they’d eaten lunch at – Justin driving this time. It hadn’t taken much to convince JC either because on a road trip, it’s more fun to share the driving with friends to allow for the other person to relax and enjoy the scenery.
JC was sitting the passenger seat, looking out at the town as they slowly drove through it. The speed limit was only thirty-five and they kept hitting every red light. Leave it to JC to want food from the place on the opposite side of town from the highway.
“Can you hand me a Coke?” Justin asked.
“If you were thirsty, why didn’t you get one out of the cooler before we pulled out?” JC returned. “Or better yet, why didn’t you refill your cup before we left Burger King?”
“Because one, that was Pepsi and I want Coke. And two, I wasn’t thirsty when we first pulled out.”
JC shot him an “are you kidding” look, but he reached his arm into the backseat only to find that the cooler was no longer in reach. Sometime during the drive, the cooler had slid so it was behind the passenger seat and hard to reach from the front with a seatbelt on. So JC slid off his seatbelt, and Justin looked over at him surprised.
“Dude, what are you doing?”
“Getting your drink,” JC said, the unspoken “duh” hanging between them.
JC climbed into the backseat and opened the cooler, fishing out a Coke and handing it up to Justin. Then, to Justin’s surprise, JC kicked his feet up and laid back, stretching out on the bench seat.
Justin glanced at his friend through the rearview mirror. “What do you think this is? Driving Mr. JC?”
JC immediately giggled, and Justin sighed, realizing how dumb that just sounded.
“Shut up, Jace. I was playing off the movie. Daisy was her first name, so it wouldn’t have worked if I used your last name,” Justin defended. JC just continued to laugh and Justin rolled his eyes even as he found himself starting to chuckle.
They were sitting at another red light – the last one before the onramp to get back on the highway. The light had just turned green and Justin was about to switch his foot from the brake to the gas when suddenly someone jumped over the side of the jeep and landed in the passenger seat. A gun was pressed against his side and a harsh voice said, “Go!”
Justin stepped on the gas, the car lurching forward and leaving behind the fun, carefree attitude that’d consumed them just a minute ago. He got back on the highway in a hurry, not daring to look in the rearview mirror until then. There were no lights or sirens behind them, and Justin wondered just what this man had done. But as he spared a quick nervous glance at their road trip intruder, he decided that he probably didn’t want to know.
Glancing once more in the rearview mirror, Justin was able to see that JC was still lying across the backseat. He couldn’t see his friend’s face, but he was sure that JC was too scared to move at the moment. The tension in the car was thick, and Justin sent a silent prayer that they would both make it out of this situation unscathed.
The next thirty miles were driven in suffocating silence. Justin had taken to gripping the steering wheel with both hands instead of his relaxed position with one hand place at the top; he found that squeezing the rubber under his hands helped to squelch the urge to look at the man in the passenger seat. The guy, for his part, didn’t seem keen on looking at him or JC either as he stared ahead at the endless road stretching out ahead of them.
Justin’s eyes flicked upward to the rearview mirror and his brow furrowed when he saw JC move his hand towards his pocket, wondering what he was doing. Then it suddenly clicked. JC was grabbing for his phone, no doubt trying to sneak calling the police. It was risky, but Justin figured that JC must’ve noticed how their intruder never seemed to look away from the road and thought it’d be worth it to try.
But it quickly became obvious it was a bad idea.
Before either of them could really register what was happening, the guy spun around in his seat and removed the gun from Justin’s side to shoot at JC. The bullet struck his forearm and JC cried out, grabbing his right arm in pain. Justin stared in horror at the sight of his best friend’s blood, his best friend bleeding.
“Move over,” the guy growled, fierce eyes fixed on JC.
JC swung his legs over the edge of the bench seat and to the floor and sat up, moving so he was behind Justin. He glanced up and Justin met his terrified eyes in the rearview mirror, and after a few seconds, Justin tore his eyes away and focused back on the road, unable to take seeing his friend so scared.
“Other side.”
Justin looked away from the empty road and watched what was happening in his mirrors warily. JC slowly scooted to the other side of the bench, making it so he couldn’t exchange looks with Justin in the rearview mirror. Once he was on the other side of the car, the man climbed over the center console and into the backseat – much like JC had just before they’d taken on this unwanted passenger. The guy’s gun was now trained on JC, no doubt to keep him from even thinking about going for his cell phone to call for help again.
The car lapsed into silence again, and Justin drove on, all the while cursing the police. They were everywhere waiting to pull him over for speeding, but today, the day they were most needed, they were nowhere in sight. He wondered spitefully just what they did to deserve such a cruel fate.
Justin glanced into the passenger side mirror where he was able to see JC. At the moment, his head was turned so he was facing the passing scenery and away from the gunman. His breathing was erratic, and Justin figured it was probably a combination of the pain from his arm and the terrifying situation. Justin felt anger at this guy for hurting his friend, but what could he do? Nothing without risking JC’s life or his own.
“Pull over.”
Startled, Justin turned his head to look back at the guy. The guy had moved to the middle of the bench and now had the gun pressed against JC’s back since he was turned towards the door. Justin was completely baffled by the request to pull over. Surely the guy wasn’t going to hop out of the jeep and be on his way, so why?
Not wanting to piss the guy off any more than he already was, Justin slowed the car down, preparing to pull off onto the shoulder. He was half off the road and nearly had the car stopped when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The gunman had reached across JC to open the door, and instantly, it became quite clear to Justin what the guy’s intensions were. JC caught on quickly too.
“No, don’t,” JC pleaded as he tried to grab onto something to anchor him in the car. “Please.”
Biting his lip, Justin switched his foot from the brake to the gas. The car sped up, but Justin underestimated just how cold a criminal could be. The man forcefully shoved JC, whose hand slipped from door frame it’d found purchase on causing him to tumble out the car and hitting the unforgiving ground. Their speed had been no more than twenty miles an hour, but it was enough to give the fall extra momentum and prevent JC from landing on the asphalted shoulder.
Justin watched in horror as his friend went over the embankment. “JC!” he screamed.
He’d started to slow down again, only focusing on his need to check on JC. But he was quickly reminded that what he wanted didn’t matter as the guy turned the gun back on him after slamming the back door shut.
“Keep driving,” the man growled.
“You’re not going to kill me. You need me,” Justin said, trying to sound braver than he felt.
The barrel of the gun was cocked and pressed against the base of Justin’s neck. “You think so, huh? I’m putting up with you for the moment, but don’t press your luck. It’d be so easy to put a bullet in your brain.”
That truth was made real by having the gun held against his skin, and Justin was nauseous just thinking about the fact that his life could be over with one simple pull of the trigger. He looked into the rearview mirror one more time before he reluctantly pushed harder on the gas, speeding away from where JC had tumbled down the embankment.
The guy appeared satisfied, pulling the gun away from Justin’s skull. But he did keep the gun trained on Justin after he’d climbed back into the front seat. It wasn’t something Justin was worried about at the moment though. He was focused enough on the road to keep them from wrecking into any of the small amount of traffic that passed them, but his mind was on JC.
He prayed that JC was okay. Hell, he prayed JC was alive. While they hadn’t been going fast when the guy had shoved JC out of the car and the embankment wasn’t too steep, anything could’ve happened during the fall. For all Justin knew, he could be lying at the bottom with a broken neck. Justin quickly shook his head, trying to clear the image that thought had provided. JC was alive. He just had to be.
The next hour passed dreadfully slow for Justin. The man next to him didn’t say a word, and Justin was perfectly okay with that. The less he knew the better and honestly, Justin didn’t think he even wanted to know. He definitely didn’t want to talk to the man, but unfortunately he had to. He was driving blind with no idea as to where they were going, they were quickly losing daylight, and even more important – they were running out of gas.
“Um,” Justin started, his voice hesitant. “Can we stop at the next town?”
“No.”
Justin glanced at the guy nervously and said, “But we’re running low on gas. An eighth of a tank isn’t going to get us to wherever you want to go.”
The question of where they were going was unspoken, and Justin was sure that the guy had caught onto it. He hoped for an answer, but he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get one. The guy just told him to keep going.
“But-” Justin started to object, but the words quickly died in his throat when the hammer on the gun was pulled back and shoved into his face.
“I said keep going!” the man shouted.
Justin nodded shakily, keeping his eyes looking forward. The gun was removed from his face and the guy murmured to himself, “Risky. Too risky.”
The sudden nervous behavior from the man startled Justin. It was a brief moment of weakness where the man’s face wasn’t a cold, hard mask, and it almost made him seem like a normal guy who was just afraid and didn’t really want to hurt anyone. But Justin immediately dismissed that, thinking of JC. The guy was dangerous and a small glimpse of fear didn’t change that.
They made it another half hour before the car sputtered and died just as Justin steered it onto the shoulder. He cut the engine and watched the gunman through his peripheral, not knowing what to do. They’d passed a town at least fifteen miles ago, and the current stretch of road they were on seemed kind of deserted. And it was dark, causing the nighttime chill to set in.
“Let’s go,” the guy said, opening his door and getting out of the Jeep.
Justin was very reluctant to get out and leave the safety of the Jeep, especially since it was dark out and hard to see much of anything. But he was afraid of what would happen if he didn’t listen.
“C’mon.”
The voice caused Justin to jump slightly as he turned to see the guy had come up next to him, holding a flashlight that Justin recognized as JC’s. JC was all about being prepared and liked to keep necessary things in the back of his Jeep just in case.
But the flashlight wasn’t nearly enough to illuminate enough of their surroundings, which had Justin very uneasy. What had him more uneasy though was the gun that was once again pointed in his direction. Suddenly, he was shoved forward towards part of the forest that was on this side of the road.
Justin didn’t know what this guy had planned, but whatever it was, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.
**************
JC opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t as pain exploded in his head, causing him to groan. There was movement beside him, and he could hear footsteps. When they stopped, a voice reached his ears.
“It’s all right, Jace. Try to open your eyes now.”
JC’s brow furrowed as the pain in his head began to lessen, making it easier to comprehend. “Joey?”
There were more footsteps and then a hand squeezed his own. “Right here, C.”
Once again, JC opened his eyes to find that he was in a room with dim lighting. It took him a second to realize he was in a hospital, but he couldn’t remember how he got there. The last thing he clearly remembered was falling down the embankment after being pushed out of his Jeep.
JC slowly turned his head to right to look at Joey. “What are you doing here? What am I doing here?”
“You don’t remember calling Chris?” Joey asked.
JC frowned. “No.”
That didn’t seem to surprise Joey since he just nodded his head. “You’ve got a concussion. I don’t remember exactly what the doctor said, but he did say that it would affect your short-term memory for a little while.”
It was a little unsettling to think that he’d woken up at some point and managed to call Chris and who knows what else but not remember. JC looked at Joey expectantly.
“What happened?”
Joey sat down in the chair next to the bed and sighed. “Well, someone discovered you at the bottom of that hill and called for help. It was an older woman so she didn’t recognize you, but the nurse that was here when you brought in did. She was the one who called Johnny.”
“Why Johnny? Why not my parents or one of you guys? All the numbers are programmed in my phone,” JC said.
“Your phone broke as a result of the fall,” Joey said. “And Johnny’s number is much easier to get a hold of than ours or your parents.”
JC nodded slowly, taking it in and realizing it made sense. And he had no doubt that Johnny was in the hospital somewhere, taking care of things. “So I must’ve been out of it for a while before Johnny got here.”
“Not really. Johnny was still in LA when he got the call, so he hopped on the first flight he could get and was here in just over an hour. You woke up shortly after that and told him what happened, the police taking your statement.”
JC’s heart leapt at that. “Have they found anything?” he asked hopefully.
“No, not yet, but they’re cruising Highway 1 for anything unusual,” Joey said. JC’s stomach sank at that. He knew it was probably a long shot that they’d come across Justin and the crazy guy that’d hijacked their trip, but he’d hoped that the nightmare would be over and Justin was safe.
Joey seemed to notice his disappointment because he rubbed JC’s hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Jace. They’ll find him.”
JC looked away, praying that was true. He didn’t know what he’d do if they found nothing more than a dead body. Taking a shaky breath, he tried to clear his head. There were still a lot of holes that needed to be filled in.
“You said I called Chris,” he said, trying to get them back on track.
Joey nodded. “Johnny offered to call us for you since the doctor wanted you to take it easy with your head wound, but you told him you’d do it. So you called Chris who called me and then I called Lance on my way to the airport.”
It was very weird to hear that he’d had a conversation with Chris, but could hardly remember anything about it. Though, the more Joey told him, the more things were starting to come back to him, albeit a bit muddled. He had a vague memory of talking to his mom and convincing her that he was okay and that she didn’t need to come out.
“What about Lynn?” JC asked, suddenly thinking of Justin’s mom.
“Johnny called her, and she’s on her way in.” Joey glanced over at the large clock on the far wall. “She should be getting in soon actually. Lance is going to pick her up at the airport.”
JC’s brow furrowed. “Lance is here?”
“Well, technically he’s not here, but in Monterey, yeah. He rented a car at the airport and went to get us a couple hotel rooms booked since Johnny’s dealing with talking to the police and press.” Joey paused. “Chris should actually be about here too.”
JC’s head spun momentarily, a little overloaded as he tried to sort through everything he’d just been told. What his mind focused on was, “The press knows?”
“Yeah, it was kind of hard to avoid. But it might actually be a good thing for once. Might make it easier for Justin and the guy to be found since more people know about the situation.”
JC didn’t particularly share Joey’s optimistic point of view. He didn’t really want everyone in their business, especially since they’d had to deal with the press too much for his liking the past few months because of the lawsuit. But he would gladly put up with pushy press if that would lead to Justin being found quicker.
Suddenly, the door opened and two people entered. JC’s eyes immediately locked on the one person he was nervous about seeing – Lynn. He barely registered Lance walking in behind her. Lynn was the first to speak.
“Oh JC, honey. How are you doing?”
And just like that, tears sprang to JC’s eyes. Being concerned about him when her son was being forced to drive God knows where with some crazy guy with a guy – that was so Lynn.
“I’m sorry, Lynn. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let Justin come. I shouldn’t have let him drive,” JC rambled, the tears now falling down his face.
Lynn instantly moved to his side and gently wiped away his tears. “Hush, JC. I don’t blame you for what happened, and I know Justin doesn’t either. He wanted to go with you and he wouldn’t have listened to you even if you’d said no.”
“If something happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself,” JC whispered shakily.
“Stop it right now. You weren’t unaffected by this terrible situation, you know,” she said.
JC looked down at his bandaged arm that was in a sling. It throbbed, but the pain was considerably less than when he’d first been shot. He was honestly much more concerned with Justin than his injuries though, even though every little shift of his body caused pain to flair, signaling that he was probably covered in bruises.
The door opened again and this time it was Chris. He let out a breath like he’d been rushing. “Sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” he said, addressing everyone but his eyes were on JC. “As much as I love being home, flying out of Pittsburgh is terrible. They don’t have nearly enough flights.”
“It’s all right. Lynn and I just got here,” Lance said.
Chris just nodded and stepped closer to the bed, putting a hand on JC’s leg. “How you feeling, Jace?”
JC just gave a one shoulder shrug. Chris looked like he was going to say something, but was interrupted by Lance’s ringing phone. Lance quickly answered, his face serious as he listened. The conversation was short, and he hung up, thanking Johnny as he did.
“What is it?” Lynn asked.
“They found your Jeep,” Lance said, looking at JC.
JC tightened his grip on Joey’s hand. “Justin?”
Lance shook his head, and JC slumped back against his pillows. He wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he prayed that Justin was okay.
**************
Justin walked, the gun pressed against the small of his back as he cautiously stepped around tree stumps and other obstacles. The small amount of light splayed in front of him wasn’t enough to keep him from tripping over exposed roots though. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been walking, but considering how slow their pace was, Justin was pretty confident that they weren’t too far into the woods.
He still had no idea where this guy was taking him. Hell, he wasn’t really sure the man knew either. What Justin did know was that he had to make a move because for all he knew, this his captor could very well be leading him to his death. Take him to a clearing, make him dig his own grave before taking a bullet to the head. Justin quickly forced the mental image out of his mind and cursed himself for watching too much TV.
It was risky to try something, but Justin also had the feeling it was now or never. He had to do it before they got any deeper into the woods because it wouldn’t matter if he got away from the gunman if he couldn’t find his way out of the woods. Besides, it was pretty likely that the guy would kill him eventually, so he would have to take a chance to save his life.
Justin took a deep breath as quietly as he could, steeling himself for the moment when he’d make his move. The first thing he had to do was get the gun far enough away that it wasn’t touching his skin. It was a minute later when he saw his chance and knew this was it.
He let the toe of his sneaker hit the exposed root, causing him to stumble. Justin dramatized it by allowing himself to fall, but thanks to all his years as a dancer, he knew how to angle his body so it wouldn’t hurt or do any real damage. He lied still as he heard the footsteps come up behind him before stopping. Justin bit his lip and prayed that what he was going to do next would work.
Using as much force as he could muster, he kicked out behind him and was instantly rewarded with the guy crying out in pain. Justin jumped to his feet, not paying any mind to the man rubbing at his knee. He took off running in direction they’d come from.
Without the flashlight, it was impossible to see anything and it wasn’t like he’d remembered where all the tree stumps and other potentially dangerous obstacles were. Justin didn’t let that slow him down though as he heard branches breaking behind him and knew he was being chased. And when the bullets started coming at him, that just pushed him to run even faster.
He’d amazingly avoided tripping, almost instinctively jumping over problematic spots, but that luck had to run out eventually. It happened as the ground gently rolled into a small slope. The speed Justin was running at was intensified as his momentum was pushed downward and made his fall that much harder when he finally tripped. A bullet whizzed over his head as he went down, a sickening crack was heard a second later as his arm absorbed the shock of the fall.
The pain nearly overwhelmed Justin, but he forced himself to keep going. He pushed himself to his feet, using his good arm as leverage. The crunching continued behind him and he started to run again, but trying to be a little more cautious this time. Thankfully, a few steps later, his feet hit asphalt.
Anxiously, Justin glanced up and down the dark road, hoping a car would come by and save him. But of course, that would’ve been too perfect. The footsteps behind him stopped and Justin sighed, knowing he was stuck. Without a car, he couldn’t get away fast enough to shake off the gunman. If only the Jeep had gas…
That thought made Justin curse inwardly. Could it be that had been why the man had made him drive until the gas tank was completely empty? So that he couldn’t drive away if given the opportunity? Justin wasn’t sure if the guy was smart enough to have considered all that, but it didn’t really matter. It didn’t change the situation he was in.
The salt air from the beach whipped up over the road and blew past Justin, causing him to shiver. The sixty degree days were comfortable enough for a t-shirt, but the thirty degree nights weren’t. Justin looked beyond the other side of the road into the blackness where he knew the beach was and found another idea brewing in his head.
He spared a backwards glance at the gunman before he took off running again, this time towards the beach. All his mind was focused on was getting away.
“Stop, or I’ll kill you!” the man threatened.
Justin ignored him as he kept on running. He skidded to a stop at the edge of the asphalt, realizing at the last second that it dropped off. Below him was a small rocky cliff that led to the beach. Knowing there was only one option, he took a deep breath before turning around so he could slowly start to climb down the rocky wall.
He cried out in pain as his right hand closed around a rocky edge, a shooting sensation running up his broken arm. It was so painful he nearly let go. Only sheer determination and his left hand’s tight hold kept him from falling to the sand below. It wasn’t extremely high, but it was enough for him to worry about breaking his neck if he fell.
But he pushed on, gritting his teeth as he slowly maneuvered his way down and trying to ignore the pain his arms because it was only as he was climbing down that he felt pain flair in his shoulder. He didn’t remember getting hit while he was running through the woods, but it honestly didn’t surprise him. He didn’t know how he’d even managed to miss as many of the bullets as he did.
He was so focused on getting down to the beach safely that he barely realized the man was climbing down too. Though, Justin was relieved to see that the gun wasn’t in the man’s hands. Since both were needed to climb down, the gun was tucked in the man’s waistband. And just like running through the woods, it was nearly impossible to see what they were doing. But Justin managed by running a hand over the cold rocky hillside and finding pieces to grab onto.
When Justin was within a few feet from the ground, he let go and landed in the sand with soft “oof”. His arms felt numb, both from soreness and absolute pain. He felt so exhausted, but he knew he couldn’t stop now. Not after all that work he’d done to get down there.
So Justin took off running once again, making sure to stay in the surf since it was an easier surface to run on. As his feet beat against the sand, he instantly realized how crappy this plan was. The beach was just as open as the road. Really, his best bet might’ve been just hiding in the woods and hoping the guy didn’t find him. But the ship had already sailed on that, and Justin knew he had to find a cove to hide in. Something.
He was so focused on trying to figure out what his next move should be that he hadn’t heard the guy drop to the sand and quickly gain ground on him as he ran. Not until there was a loud bang and pain erupted in Justin’s side. Immediately, he dropped to the sand. Because he was still in the surf, the ocean waves came up, lapping at his side and forcing Justin to roll onto his back. He clutched his side, the grind of sand and the burn of saltwater on the wound making the pain that much more unbearable.
Once again, the man caught up to him and Justin could do nothing except lie there, panting heavily. This was it. It was over.
“You stupid kid. You honestly thought you could get away?”
Justin said nothing, swallowing roughly against the bile that began to rise in his throat. His head was spinning, making it seem like the stars in the night sky were actually moving. He found himself thinking that JC would love how clear the stars were out here.
Justin let out a breath. JC. He hoped his friend was okay. It was amazing how fast their trip had taken such a dramatic turn, and it was kind of a shame. He’d actually been looking forward to all the side trips JC had planned on their way up to San Francisco.
The guy didn’t seem to expect an answer to his question as he continued, “Well, doesn’t matter now, does it?” The gun was cocked and Justin lazily swiveled his eyes from the sky to the man standing over him. “I planned to kill you when you became more trouble than you were worth. Looks like we’ve reached that point.”
The gun was brought up and placed so the bullet would enter through the middle of his forehead. Looking at it just made Justin cross-eyed and aggravated his headache, so he returned his attention to the sky.
“Stop! Police!” a voice yelled suddenly, cutting through the sound of the ocean.
Even though Justin wasn’t really able to make out the police or see how many there were, he felt a bit of relief at knowing help had finally come. But as he looked back at the man standing over him and saw the dark look in his eye, Justin wondered if it was too late.
“Drop your weapon!” a different voice shouted.
There was a tense moment that felt like hours than just a few seconds. The guy was still staring down at Justin, his finger on the trigger. Justin struggled to keep his eyes open as his vision began to dim. Then, there was a gunshot and everything went dark.
**************
Lance was sitting in the living room of the suite he’d gotten them earlier. Currently none of the bedrooms were occupied, even though at least one of them should be. He glanced over to the couch where JC was leaning against Joey’s shoulder asleep. They’d just gotten out of the hospital about an hour ago, and as much as JC had fought it, he’d been unable to fight the tiredness his injuries had left.
They were just trying to kill time until they heard about Justin. It was hard waiting when they didn’t know how long it would be before they heard something, and they were all nervous it wouldn’t be good news. Of course they didn’t want to believe the worst, but they had to recognize it was at least a possibility.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Chris was sitting at the breakfast table across from Lynn, and they exchanged glances before Chris got up to answer the door. He opened the door and stepped back to allow Johnny and the police officer in charge of the case, Officer Ella Ballard, into the suite.
JC had been roused by the knock and immediately sat up when he noticed who had entered. Lynn stood up, her eyes on the police officer. “Have you found him?” she asked.
“Yes,” Officer Ballard said, nodding. “The officers in Hayward got to him just in time. He’s a little worse for the wear, but I hear he’s going to be just fine.”
There was a collective sigh of relief at that. Knowing that Justin was safe and alive was a huge weight off their shoulders.
“What happened to him?” JC asked quietly.
“He broke his arm and was shot a couple times. His right shoulder had been grazed, and the other bullet hit his left side. That’s the more serious wound, but I was told that he’s been stabilized and they’re taking him to San Jose since they’re better able to care for gunshot wounds there,” the cop explained.
“But he’s going to be okay?” Joey asked.
Officer Ballard gave him a reassuring smile. “He’ll be just fine, son.”
“How far is San Jose?” Lynn asked.
“About an hour, but I can probably get you there in about a half hour.”
Lynn shook her head. “Us,” she corrected.
“I’m sorry?” the officer said, confusion evident.
“You can get us there in a half hour,” Lynn said. She glanced at the four of them and looked back at the police officer. “These boys are coming with me.”
Officer Ballard nodded her head in understanding. She then looked over at Johnny, who’d been silent. “Are you riding with them too?”
“No, I’ll catch up,” Johnny told the cop. He then turned his attention to them. “I’m going to make a few calls and get everything settled with the press.”
“Thanks, Johnny,” Lance said, speaking for all of them. Johnny had been able to keep most of the press and fans at bay, and that was a great help.
“I’ll get a car and meet you out front in ten minutes, okay?” Officer Ballard told Lynn.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
They stayed behind long enough to make sure they got the important stuff like their wallets and JC’s pain killers. Johnny told Lance he’d make sure their luggage got to San Francisco. Lance had the idea to recover there since Justin and JC had been planning on going there and they still had those two weeks of their vacation left. He’d had a gut feeling that everything was going to work out and he and the others planned on springing it on JC and Justin as soon as Justin was feeling up to it.
Once they knew everything was taken care of, they jumped into Officer Ballard’s SUV and sped towards San Jose. They had a brother to pick up.
**************
Several days later, the five guys of Nsync found themselves poolside at a condo that Lance had rented for them in San Francisco. Justin had been released from the hospital after a day, the doctors pleased that there had been no complications. They’d told him he was lucky that bullet hadn’t hit any organs, and Justin had to agree. So much had gone wrong, but it could’ve been so much worse.
But that was in the past. Justin was now content to sit back and watch Joey and Chris splash around in the pool. Their antics were entertaining and he wished he could join them, but he couldn’t for at least another few days. His cast made it problematic, but the real problem was his side. The doctors said he’d have to take it easy for a while to make sure he didn’t pull out the stitches.
Normally Justin would gripe about that, but he honestly wasn’t bothered by it. Not after he’d thought he was going to die. The guy had been about to pull the trigger, and Justin had been so sure that was it, that he was still going to die even though the police had found him. But before the man had been able to get the shot off, he’d been shot. At least that’s what the cops told Justin. He didn’t actually remember seeing it since he’d passed out shortly after the shot had been fired. He was just happy it was all over and there would be no trial or anything since one of those cops had shot the man in the head.
Part of Justin felt he should feel a little remorseful about that guy dying, but he couldn’t. Not after what that guy had put him and JC through. It’d been a terrifying experience and he’d tried to kill both him and JC. So Justin felt the man had gotten what he deserved. Maybe that was a little harsh, but he knew he was able to sleep better knowing it was completely over.
“Hey, guys.”
Justin turned his head and saw JC and Lance stepping out onto the patio. He grinned at them. “Buy me anything?”
JC smirked slightly. “Maybe, maybe not.”
“JC,” Justin whined.
“It’s in the kitchen, J,” Lance said, sitting in the empty lawn chair next to him. JC took the one next to Lance, looking tired from their shopping trip. His right arm was still in a sling and it would take a little while before it could be removed.
“You guys will never believe what Johnny had sent over to us while you guys were gone,” Joey said, getting out of the pool.
“What?” JC asked.
“The new J-14,” Chris said in a squeaky, high pitched voice. He jumped out of the pool and sat in front of the three of them. Joey walked over to the patio table and grabbed the magazine before sitting next to Chris on the concrete.
Joey and Chris took turns reading out of it as it was tradition for them to sit down and poke fun of themselves when stuff like that came out. It helped to keep them from taking the whole thing too seriously and usually resulted in quite a few laughs.
“Oh, look. Some of J’s nicknames,” Joey said, scanning the interview and profile the magazine had for each of them. “Curly…Baby J…Shot…”
“Shot?” JC interrupted, leaning forward to look past Lance at Justin. “Care to explain that one, Justin?”
“Oh come on, JC. You know I drink,” Justin said.
“Technically you shouldn’t be drinking. You’re not even twenty-one,” JC replied.
Chris laughed at that. “That’s rich. Who was the one who first introduced him to alcohol?”
“I believe that was you, Chris,” Lance said.
Chris glared at him playfully. “Shut up, Lancesten.”
They all laughed before Chris felt the need to get them back on track. “And anyway,” he began, looking at JC, “you were the one who gave him beer in Germany.”
“Only because he wouldn’t stop whining about it-”
“Hey!” Justin objected. “I don’t whine.”
“It’s not like you guys helped any what with going out every night,” JC continued as if he hadn’t heard Justin. “But that’s not the point. Beer is nothing compared to shots.”
To an outsider it may have seemed like JC was lecturing them, but they knew better. Yeah, there might be a small lecture in there, but for the most part, it was playful because Justin had made a pact with JC that he wouldn’t drink too much. And really, it wasn’t like Justin would be drinking much for the next month or so while on his painkillers since mixing the two were a no-no.
“Chill out, Big Daddy,” Justin said finally, his eyes glinting with playfulness.
“Yeah, Sleepy,” Chris teased.
Lance frowned. “Do we even call him that? That’s more of an adjective than a nickname.”
“It’s a dwarf,” Justin said. “JC’s Sleepy.”
Joey laughed. “Someone knows their Disney movies. What are the rest of us, J?”
“You’re Happy, Lance is Doc, and Chris is Grumpy.”
Chris put on his best mean face, which was hard since he was fighting not to smile. “I’m not Grumpy,” he grumbled loudly.
“What about you, Justin?” Lance asked. “You’re certainly not Bashful or Sneezy.”
“He’s Dopey!” Chris said.
Justin recognized the crack at how he was affected by his painkillers and glared at his friend playfully. “Not right now I’m not. And you’re lucky I’m injured or I’d beat the crap out of you.”
“Oh yeah?” Chris raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, but for now I’ll get Joey to do it.” Justin gestured at Joey to go ahead, and immediately Joey grinned, picking up Chris and tossing him into the deep end of the pool.
Justin and Lance laughed before they both looked over at JC to share in the laughter only to end up sharing amused looks at the sight of JC slumped against the lawn chair, his eyes closed. Sleepy indeed, Justin thought even as he fought off a yawn himself. He caught Lance’s knowing look and smiled. He was glad they were all here, having fun together and that the unexpected events of the road trip hadn’t ruined anything.
And the best was yet to come…and possibly a new car for JC. Because even though the Jeep had been gassed up and returned to him, JC didn’t seem to care. Justin smiled to himself, thinking there was some car shopping in their immediate future.