Chapter 36

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Chapter 36

"Joey! Chris!" Justin whispered, squatting down next to the couch.

"What?"

"Come here and look at these two," he said.

"Aww," Joey cooed. Lance had his head leaning on the back of the couch and one of his hands was in JC's hair. JC had his head in Lance's lap, and his head was turned towards his chest. "I don't care what they say, there's something going on there," Joey said.

"Yeah, but I don't think they know that," Justin said with a grin.

One of Lance's eyes opened. "Welcoming committee?" he asked.

"You live!" Chris exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorta," Lance winced, feeling the bump on the back of his head.

"We should probably put ice on that," Joey commented.

"Maybe...just maybe..." Chris replied, rolling his eyes.

"You all right?" Justin asked. "You were out of it when that guy brought you in last night."

"That guy, huh?" Lance asked absently, using his hands to push himself back on the couch without disturbing the still sleeping JC.

"Yeah, said his name was...Nikolas."

Lance's head shot up. "Really?" he vaguely remembered JC telling him that the night before, but he hadn't really been thinking about it.

"Yeah," Justin said, a little confused at Lance's reaction, but brushing it off. "Nice guy."

"I hope he was. I wouldn't want a mean guy dragging my butt home," Lance said with a small smile.

"I gave him my number," Justin continued. "In case he wanted to check on you or something."

Lance smiled wryly. "Yeah, if someone's nice enough to bring me back here, I'm sure they'll wanna see how I'm doing."

"What's going on?" JC asked sleepily, beginning to wake up.

"Nothing," Lance said. "We're just talking." He bounced a leg up and down, causing JC's head to bounce with it. "Now move, I'm hungry."

"Hey!" JC said indignantly, raising his head. Lance grinned and got up, going into the kitchen and rummaging around for something to eat. They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Justin ran to go get it.

"Hello? Oh hi! Who?...oh, okay, hold on..." Justin pulled the phone away from his mouth. "Hey Lance!"

"What?"

"Phone. It's Lou."

Lance groaned and finished chewing on his bagel before wiping his hands on his pants and reaching for the phone. "What did I do now?" He paused and blinked. "Well good morning to you too, yes I'm fine, sir, I have a bit of a headache, but that's not...okay, I'll shut up, but that wasn't very polite...I told you already, yes, I'll shut up." He listened again, and his eyes widened. "Today? But..." He stopped and groaned. "Yeah, I understand that, but...Well, no, I don't. Uh uh. Well...no, hold on a second..." he tried to say. "Wait, stop...SHUT UP FOR A SECOND! THANK YOU!" He took a deep breath. "I was trying to say OKAY, but if you really don't want me to, then please, by all means, continue talking about nothing. You've failed to mention the dirt under your fingernails, or the piece of hair you found in your cereal...or the way your cheap toupee still shows your rather huge bald spot...all right, you don't wear one. If you say so. But what time are we talking here?" He paused and his eyebrows shot up. "Two hours? Why...well couldn't you tell me sooner? I mean...yeah, but two hours isn't exactly a lot of notice," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I understand. Uh huh. Yes sir. Yes...uh huh. Right. Are you done lecturing me yet, or can I...oh I'm sorry, please continue." He sighed and after a few minutes, put the phone on the countertop.

"What's he want?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "For whatever reason, he wants to--"

"LANCE! LANCE?! WHERE ARE YOU? IF YOU HUNG UP ON ME, I SWEAR--"

Lance's eyes widened and he picked the phone back up. "Sorry...yes I know that was rude, and...uh huh." An eyebrow shot up. "Right. Are you done talking to me about manners? I learned all about those little things when I was about five years--" He stopped and started chewing on his lip. "Yeah, I see what you mean. But should you really be calling me those mean words, Mr. Lou? They hurt my feelings! You hurt my feelings! I want my--" Lance stopped abruptly, and they could all hear Lou bellowing something, they just couldn't figure out what it was. "All right. And yes, I can have a serious conversation with you, Lou, but when you start going all dictator like on me...Right," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "As I was saying, I could have a serious conversation with you if I wanted to. But right now, I have to go get ready. So come back and talk to me AFTER you get that stick pulled out of your ass. Goodbye Lou." He groaned and hung up the phone.

"What was THAT all about?" Justin asked.

"Oh, Lou decided that for whatever reason, I need to go visit Danielle today. I have a flight to California in two hours--" he was interrupted by the ringing phone again. He groaned and picked it up. "Hello? What do you want now?" His eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" JC asked.

Lance shook his head and held up a finger. "What do you mean something's wrong with the plane? Uh huh. Yeah, but...You're asking me to go from Orlando to California on a midnight flight? Are you crazy? That'll keep me up all night!" He sighed in frustration. "You know I hate flying, I can't sleep on planes. All right, I understand," he sighed again. "Uh huh. Yeah, I got it. Yup. Bye Lou."

"What happened now?" JC asked, worried.

"Something's wrong with the plane and the only available flight is at midnight tonight," Lance said, rubbing his still throbbing head.

"Oh damn."

"Yeah, that's gonna keep me awake the whole night," Lance said with a sigh.

"I'm gonna go pack, I'm going for like, five days or a week or something."

"That's a long time," Joey said. JC frowned. It was a long time. He wished Lance could stay so they could...well...do something together. Talk. Or something.

"Yeah," Lance said. "But I don't think it's enough time."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked, confused.

"Don't you know?" Lance asked, his voice a monotone. "We've been together for three months and I haven't seen her at all and I miss her so much and I wish I could see her more often."

Lance sat on the plane, his head in a magazine. "Well don't you look excited to be here," he heard a voice next to him say.

Lance recognized the voice and didn't look up. "Sh," he said. "Mrs. Johnson is sleeping," he said mildly, jerking his head towards the older woman next to him. "Probably dreaming about her twelve brothers and her forty-six grandchildren."

"Aww, how sweet. But we have other important matters to discuss."

"Discuss away," Lance said, still not looking up. "I'm not going anywhere, even though it's three in the morning, and I've got a few hours to kill. And how better to keep myself occupied than talk to you?" He asked sweetly, finally looking up and seeing Nikolas in the seat next to him. Nikolas frowned and took the magazine out of Lance's hand. "Hey, I was reading that," he said.

"And I don't care," Nikolas said bluntly. "We've got a problem."

"Do we now?"

"Stop," Nikolas said. "This is serious." Lance sobered up. "Okay good. Now, you do remember that slight possession problem we had? The one that had them doing who knows what to you?"

"You mean you don't know what happened to me either?"

"No, nobody does. We don't even know who was behind it. But we do know that someone is after you, James. Someone or something. Probably something...something bad."

"Why, though?" Lance asked. "I don't understand it...I'm just one angel, what do they want with me?"

"That, we don't know. But we DO know that you're special, James."

Lance's eyebrows shot up. "In what way?"

"We're not completely sure of that either. But you've lasted down here longer than any one of us ever has. That may have something to do with it, but it also puts you in danger."

"For a high angel, you sure don't know much."

"Cute. Anyway, we're assuming it's evil spirits for now, so we've put up a type of...shield to protect you from them...it also protects you from much more. Your bones won't break or anything, bullets still don't hurt you, of course, and they can't fight you without it draining them more than it does already."

"Why does it drain them though?"

"Because you're good and they're bad," Nikolas said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They can't hurt you without it hurting them too."

"Um, okay..." Lance said, still a bit confused.

"One more thing. That shield will take up your energy as well. So it's imperative that you rest, or it will do more harm than good."

"Got it."

"No more flights like this, that means," Nikolas said.

"I didn't exactly choose this," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "I hate flying in planes," he said with a frown. "I like flying my way better."


	Inner Reflection \| home back to Sent From Above Chapter 36 "Joey! Chris!" Justin whispered, squatting down next to the couch. "What?" "Come here and look at these two," he said. "Aww," Joey cooed. Lance had his head leaning on the back of the couch and one of his hands was in JC's hair. JC had his head in Lance's lap, and his head was turned towards his chest. "I don't care what they say, there's something going on there," Joey said. "Yeah, but I don't think they know that," Justin said with a grin. One of Lance's eyes opened. "Welcoming committee?" he asked. "You live!" Chris exclaimed. "Yeah, sorta," Lance winced, feeling the bump on the back of his head. "We should probably put ice on that," Joey commented. "Maybe...just maybe..." Chris replied, rolling his eyes. "You all right?" Justin asked. "You were out of it when that guy brought you in last night." "That guy, huh?" Lance asked absently, using his hands to push himself back on the couch without disturbing the still sleeping JC. "Yeah, said his name was...Nikolas." Lance's head shot up. "Really?" he vaguely remembered JC telling him that the night before, but he hadn't really been thinking about it. "Yeah," Justin said, a little confused at Lance's reaction, but brushing it off. "Nice guy." "I hope he was. I wouldn't want a mean guy dragging my butt home," Lance said with a small smile. "I gave him my number," Justin continued. "In case he wanted to check on you or something." Lance smiled wryly. "Yeah, if someone's nice enough to bring me back here, I'm sure they'll wanna see how I'm doing." "What's going on?" JC asked sleepily, beginning to wake up. "Nothing," Lance said. "We're just talking." He bounced a leg up and down, causing JC's head to bounce with it. "Now move, I'm hungry." "Hey!" JC said indignantly, raising his head. Lance grinned and got up, going into the kitchen and rummaging around for something to eat. They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Justin ran to go get it. "Hello? Oh hi! Who?...oh, okay, hold on..." Justin pulled the phone away from his mouth. "Hey Lance!" "What?" "Phone. It's Lou." Lance groaned and finished chewing on his bagel before wiping his hands on his pants and reaching for the phone. "What did I do now?" He paused and blinked. "Well good morning to you too, yes I'm fine, sir, I have a bit of a headache, but that's not...okay, I'll shut up, but that wasn't very polite...I told you already, yes, I'll shut up." He listened again, and his eyes widened. "Today? But..." He stopped and groaned. "Yeah, I understand that, but...Well, no, I don't. Uh uh. Well...no, hold on a second..." he tried to say. "Wait, stop...SHUT UP FOR A SECOND! THANK YOU!" He took a deep breath. "I was trying to say OKAY, but if you really don't want me to, then please, by all means, continue talking about nothing. You've failed to mention the dirt under your fingernails, or the piece of hair you found in your cereal...or the way your cheap toupee still shows your rather huge bald spot...all right, you don't wear one. If you say so. But what time are we talking here?" He paused and his eyebrows shot up. "Two hours? Why...well couldn't you tell me sooner? I mean...yeah, but two hours isn't exactly a lot of notice," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I understand. Uh huh. Yes sir. Yes...uh huh. Right. Are you done lecturing me yet, or can I...oh I'm sorry, please continue." He sighed and after a few minutes, put the phone on the countertop. "What's he want?" Lance rolled his eyes. "For whatever reason, he wants to--" "LANCE! LANCE?! WHERE ARE YOU? IF YOU HUNG UP ON ME, I SWEAR--" Lance's eyes widened and he picked the phone back up. "Sorry...yes I know that was rude, and...uh huh." An eyebrow shot up. "Right. Are you done talking to me about manners? I learned all about those little things when I was about five years--" He stopped and started chewing on his lip. "Yeah, I see what you mean. But should you really be calling me those mean words, Mr. Lou? They hurt my feelings! You hurt my feelings! I want my--" Lance stopped abruptly, and they could all hear Lou bellowing something, they just couldn't figure out what it was. "All right. And yes, I can have a serious conversation with you, Lou, but when you start going all dictator like on me...Right," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "As I was saying, I could have a serious conversation with you if I wanted to. But right now, I have to go get ready. So come back and talk to me AFTER you get that stick pulled out of your ass. Goodbye Lou." He groaned and hung up the phone. "What was THAT all about?" Justin asked. "Oh, Lou decided that for whatever reason, I need to go visit Danielle today. I have a flight to California in two hours--" he was interrupted by the ringing phone again. He groaned and picked it up. "Hello? What do you want now?" His eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me." "What?" JC asked. Lance shook his head and held up a finger. "What do you mean something's wrong with the plane? Uh huh. Yeah, but...You're asking me to go from Orlando to California on a midnight flight? Are you crazy? That'll keep me up all night!" He sighed in frustration. "You know I hate flying, I can't sleep on planes. All right, I understand," he sighed again. "Uh huh. Yeah, I got it. Yup. Bye Lou." "What happened now?" JC asked, worried. "Something's wrong with the plane and the only available flight is at midnight tonight," Lance said, rubbing his still throbbing head. "Oh damn." "Yeah, that's gonna keep me awake the whole night," Lance said with a sigh. "I'm gonna go pack, I'm going for like, five days or a week or something." "That's a long time," Joey said. JC frowned. It was a long time. He wished Lance could stay so they could...well...do something together. Talk. Or something. "Yeah," Lance said. "But I don't think it's enough time." "What do you mean?" Justin asked, confused. "Don't you know?" Lance asked, his voice a monotone. "We've been together for three months and I haven't seen her at all and I miss her so much and I wish I could see her more often." * Lance sat on the plane, his head in a magazine. "Well don't you look excited to be here," he heard a voice next to him say. Lance recognized the voice and didn't look up. "Sh," he said. "Mrs. Johnson is sleeping," he said mildly, jerking his head towards the older woman next to him. "Probably dreaming about her twelve brothers and her forty-six grandchildren." "Aww, how sweet. But we have other important matters to discuss." "Discuss away," Lance said, still not looking up. "I'm not going anywhere, even though it's three in the morning, and I've got a few hours to kill. And how better to keep myself occupied than talk to you?" He asked sweetly, finally looking up and seeing Nikolas in the seat next to him. Nikolas frowned and took the magazine out of Lance's hand. "Hey, I was reading that," he said. "And I don't care," Nikolas said bluntly. "We've got a problem." "Do we now?" "Stop," Nikolas said. "This is serious." Lance sobered up. "Okay good. Now, you do remember that slight possession problem we had? The one that had them doing who knows what to you?" "You mean you don't know what happened to me either?" "No, nobody does. We don't even know who was behind it. But we do know that someone is after you, James. Someone or something. Probably something...something bad." "Why, though?" Lance asked. "I don't understand it...I'm just one angel, what do they want with me?" "That, we don't know. But we DO know that you're special, James." Lance's eyebrows shot up. "In what way?" "We're not completely sure of that either. But you've lasted down here longer than any one of us ever has. That may have something to do with it, but it also puts you in danger." "For a high angel, you sure don't know much." "Cute. Anyway, we're assuming it's evil spirits for now, so we've put up a type of...shield to protect you from them...it also protects you from much more. Your bones won't break or anything, bullets still don't hurt you, of course, and they can't fight you without it draining them more than it does already." "Why does it drain them though?" "Because you're good and they're bad," Nikolas said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They can't hurt you without it hurting them too." "Um, okay..." Lance said, still a bit confused. "One more thing. That shield will take up your energy as well. So it's imperative that you rest, or it will do more harm than good." "Got it." "No more flights like this, that means," Nikolas said. "I didn't exactly choose this," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "I hate flying in planes," he said with a frown. "I like flying my way better."