Chapter 55

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Chapter 55

"Yes?"

Lance stood up straighter. Stuttering, he tried to talk.

"But...you...but...you said...but...Hold on. You...you're...you said...you didn't..."

His father laughed. Then he sobered up. "Listen, James," he said. "I know what I said back then. But...I was wrong."

Lance's head snapped up in shock. His father NEVER admitted he was wrong...at least not to his children or his wife. The issue was simply forgotten about and the family moved on...but this...

"I know that surprises you, James," he continued. "However, we had no right to cast out like that; nor did we have a right to tell the town...we didn't tell many people about you, but we suspect Sarah did." He paused, noticing the way his son flinched at the name. "After you...died...we still didn't...Well, someone carved your name into...that tree. We could tell which one it was because of the bullet holes." Lance turned his head away and looked over the world. "There was a small marker next to it...we think that your sister put it there." Lance tilted his head but didn't say anything. Jim cleared his throat. He knew that there was a lot to take in. "Well...um...I just wanted to let you know...maybe we could clear things up, or...start to..." Lance turned around with a smile on his face. Jim smiled in return. That was his son, so forgiving...He stuck his hand out and Lance grabbed it, shaking it firmly. "Now, if I'm not mistaken...there's a certain someone you'd like to see?"

"Thank you sir," Lance said, then, finding the conversation more than a little odd, he disappeared.

*~*Joey's POV*~*

I looked into the mirror and yawned. It's way too early to be awake. Okay, so 10:00 isn't really that early, but I didn't get in until about 3:00 last night. At least we had this morning off...until 12. I can't even remember the last time we had a morning off. Lou is really starting to grate on my nerves. And I'm not even the one the man talks to most. JC is. Poor JC. He just takes what Lou throws at him, never really offering his opinion, though he's done it more often now. Doesn't mean he gets listened to, but it's a start. JC...He's been having a few weird dreams too. Dreams where Ken is replaced by some blond guy. They can't be that important, right? The only guy we had before was Jason, and there was only one appearance with him, the one at the nursing home. Where that woman died. That was weird. Whatever. I'm tired. I look into the mirror again...and jump about three feet into the air. "Hello again!" I say, when I finally calm down a little bit. The blond that has suddenly appeared in the mirror behind me waves in response with a smile. He's leaning against my shower door. "What are you doing here? I'm fine." He shrugged, but then pointed to the open door. "Huh?" He rolled his eyes, then made little circles with his index finger near his ear. "I'm not crazy!" I said.

He shook his head, and counted down with his hand from three. Three. Two...One. "YES YOU ARE!" That was Chris. "WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?"

"NO ONE!" I yelled back, shutting the door. "How did you..." I stop when I see him leaning against the shower door again, arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised. "Never mind."

"That's what I thought," he mouthed.

On impulse, I ask him something. "What's your name, anyway? Unless you want me to refer to you as that guy who randomly shows up in my mirror, Angel Boy, or--" I stop, seeing his stricken look. "You ARE an angel, right?" He nods quickly. I laugh at him and he smiles in return. Joking with an angel...something I never thought I'd do, that's for sure. But this seemed okay, he didn't seem to mind, and even joked back.

"Wanna guess?" he mouthed, eyebrows arched in a question. I shook my head. "I can't say real name," he mouthed.

"Why not?"

"Rules," he mouthed with shrug. "Think sword. For middle name." I think that's what he said. I'm not a bad lipreader, if I do say so myself.

"That's your name?"

He shook his head. "Another word."

"Another word for sword? Umm...Saber?"

"You think my name is Saber?" That was the gist of it, anyway. He shouldn't mouth so many words. Gets confusing.

"Well, fine then. And slow down when you...talk. Umm...what's it start with?" He made an extravagant L with his hand. "L...L...Umm..." He shook his head and looked at the floor. Suddenly, his head shot up. "What is it?" I asked. He looked up, then off to the side, and mouthed something very quickly. Then he pointed to the door again. "What?" He looked at me with worried eyes and he put a finger over his lips, as if to tell me to be quiet. What in the world...? Then I realized what it was.

"Joey, you okay?" It was JC. I couldn't help but notice the blond behind me get a sudden mask of sadness over his face..."You've been in there for a while man...you talking to someone?"

Mr. L behind me made a motion with his hands, as if he were talking on the phone. I looked on the counter, and then my phone was there. "How..." He shushed me and pointed at the door, face still sad. "Yeah," I called to JC, "I'm just on the phone."

"In the bathroom?" JC asked, voicing his disbelief. "You're nuts, man."

"No, that's a job for Chris. And Ken." Did the angel I'm calling L flinch? Maybe I am nuts.

JC knocked on the door, and the angel seemed to get a little more nervous.

"Can I come in?" he asked. I cast a glance in the mirror over at the agitated angel, and he nodded, saying something that I managed to catch only a part of. Something about JC not being able to see him, I think, though there was more. "Sure, come on in," I said, making it a point to shut the magically appearing cellphone with a snap as JC entered the bathroom. I looked up and saw Mr. Blond Guy sitting on top of the shower door. He flashed a cheeky grin and waved. My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You okay?" JC asked.

"Fine...saw...a bug," I said, and the angel glared at me. I had to stifle a laugh.

"Bug?"

"It was a big one," I defended.

JC looked at me like I was nuts. Then he turned around, and in the mirror I saw the angel stiffen, staring at JC. What was really odd, though, was that JC stared at where the "bug" was supposed to be for a good few minutes before turning back around. "Yeah...a bug," he said. Angel Boy's eyes widened, and the sadness returned to his face. He didn't look away from JC's back. Still staring, he gracefully jumped down to the floor. He walked closer to us, until he was directly behind JC. Then he looked at me, and motioned around his neck. I touched my Superman pendant, eyebrow raised in a question. "You ready to go?" JC asked absently.

The blond nodded, and pointed to JC. "Yeah," I replied. JC didn't seem to hear me, though, and started fingering that weird cross necklace. I looked at the angel again, then back at JC. "Why do you still wear that?" I asked. The blond nodded excitedly, then resumed staring at JC. Again. Yeesh.

"Hmm?" he asked. "I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to take it off." There was a hint of a smile on Angel Boy's face. JC turned it around slowly. "No one else has seen the back yet," he said.

I looked curiously at the inscription, and saw Mr. L do the same. "Those are your initials," I pointed out.

"I know," he replied, still looking at it.

"But what would the JLB mean?"

"I dunno," he said.

I noticed the angel jump a little. L...sword...L...sword...the writing on the back..."Who's Lance?"

The angel jumped again, pointing wildly to himself. "That's ME," he mouthed.

"I don't know," JC said. "That's what's so weird...I don't know where I got it from, but it was obviously important to somebody, you know? But I feel like I'm not supposed to take it off."

"Lance, huh?" I asked softly, looking into the mirror and into the green eyes. The blond head nodded in response. Suddenly, he jumped again, and looked up, saying something. Then he rolled his eyes. He started talking again, then looked at me.

"I gotta go," he said, already starting to fade. I saw him reach out and touch JC's shoulder sadly one more time, before completely fading out of view. JC let go of the necklace and suddenly snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in. "You feel that?" he asked.

"Feel what?"

"That breeze..." he shook his head. "Let's go, we're late," he said, almost automatically, and walked out the door.

*****

(Regular POV)

"JACE! Wake up!"

"What?" JC moaned. Then he swatted at the figure above him. "Leave me alone, Ken. Go find Bar-- I mean Shari."

"Funny, Chasez."

"I try," JC said dryly.

"But why wouldn't you want to be Barbie?" They heard Chris saying, his voice getting louder as he entered the room with Shari. "Barbie's got everything...you know, the pink car, the mansion, the hot boyfriend..."

"She's got that last one, too," Ken said, coming over and kissing Shari on the top of the head.

"I said HOT. You aren't hot," Chris said.

JC rolled his eyes and ignored them, thinking back to when he'd been in the bathroom with Joey. He didn't even know why he'd wanted to go in...then Joey'd mentioned a bug...so when he went to look there... JC shook his head, rubbing his temples. There had been SOMETHING there, he was sure of it, he just couldn't figure out what it was. Something fuzzy, something on top of the shower door...

*****

"Just WHAT did you think you were DOING?"

Lance didn't think he'd ever seen Nikolas this mad. He cringed. "You know what? I'm not in the mood. You're the one that told me to stop crying all the time and leave the room once in a while. I did, and now you're yelling at me? I didn't break any rules, I just found some loopholes. Now leave me alone, please?"

The pleading tone in Lance's voice mad Nikolas take another look at him. He saw the sadness that had never quite left the angel's face. He turned away and sighed. "You're a rebel, James. A rebel."


	Inner Reflection \| home back to Sent From Above Chapter 55 "Yes?" Lance stood up straighter. Stuttering, he tried to talk. "But...you...but...you said...but...Hold on. You...you're...you said...you didn't..." His father laughed. Then he sobered up. "Listen, James," he said. "I know what I said back then. But...I was wrong." Lance's head snapped up in shock. His father NEVER admitted he was wrong...at least not to his children or his wife. The issue was simply forgotten about and the family moved on...but this... "I know that surprises you, James," he continued. "However, we had no right to cast out like that; nor did we have a right to tell the town...we didn't tell many people about you, but we suspect Sarah did." He paused, noticing the way his son flinched at the name. "After you...died...we still didn't...Well, someone carved your name into...that tree. We could tell which one it was because of the bullet holes." Lance turned his head away and looked over the world. "There was a small marker next to it...we think that your sister put it there." Lance tilted his head but didn't say anything. Jim cleared his throat. He knew that there was a lot to take in. "Well...um...I just wanted to let you know...maybe we could clear things up, or...start to..." Lance turned around with a smile on his face. Jim smiled in return. That was his son, so forgiving...He stuck his hand out and Lance grabbed it, shaking it firmly. "Now, if I'm not mistaken...there's a certain someone you'd like to see?" "Thank you sir," Lance said, then, finding the conversation more than a little odd, he disappeared. **~Joey's POV~** I looked into the mirror and yawned. It's way too early to be awake. Okay, so 10:00 isn't really that early, but I didn't get in until about 3:00 last night. At least we had this morning off...until 12. I can't even remember the last time we had a morning off. Lou is really starting to grate on my nerves. And I'm not even the one the man talks to most. JC is. Poor JC. He just takes what Lou throws at him, never really offering his opinion, though he's done it more often now. Doesn't mean he gets listened to, but it's a start. JC...He's been having a few weird dreams too. Dreams where Ken is replaced by some blond guy. They can't be that important, right? The only guy we had before was Jason, and there was only one appearance with him, the one at the nursing home. Where that woman died. That was weird. Whatever. I'm tired. I look into the mirror again...and jump about three feet into the air. "Hello again!" I say, when I finally calm down a little bit. The blond that has suddenly appeared in the mirror behind me waves in response with a smile. He's leaning against my shower door. "What are you doing here? I'm fine." He shrugged, but then pointed to the open door. "Huh?" He rolled his eyes, then made little circles with his index finger near his ear. "I'm not crazy!" I said. He shook his head, and counted down with his hand from three. Three. Two...One. "YES YOU ARE!" That was Chris. "WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?" "NO ONE!" I yelled back, shutting the door. "How did you..." I stop when I see him leaning against the shower door again, arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised. "Never mind." "That's what I thought," he mouthed. On impulse, I ask him something. "What's your name, anyway? Unless you want me to refer to you as that guy who randomly shows up in my mirror, Angel Boy, or--" I stop, seeing his stricken look. "You ARE an angel, right?" He nods quickly. I laugh at him and he smiles in return. Joking with an angel...something I never thought I'd do, that's for sure. But this seemed okay, he didn't seem to mind, and even joked back. "Wanna guess?" he mouthed, eyebrows arched in a question. I shook my head. "I can't say real name," he mouthed. "Why not?" "Rules," he mouthed with shrug. "Think sword. For middle name." I think that's what he said. I'm not a bad lipreader, if I do say so myself. "That's your name?" He shook his head. "Another word." "Another word for sword? Umm...Saber?" "You think my name is Saber?" That was the gist of it, anyway. He shouldn't mouth so many words. Gets confusing. "Well, fine then. And slow down when you...talk. Umm...what's it start with?" He made an extravagant L with his hand. "L...L...Umm..." He shook his head and looked at the floor. Suddenly, his head shot up. "What is it?" I asked. He looked up, then off to the side, and mouthed something very quickly. Then he pointed to the door again. "What?" He looked at me with worried eyes and he put a finger over his lips, as if to tell me to be quiet. What in the world...? Then I realized what it was. "Joey, you okay?" It was JC. I couldn't help but notice the blond behind me get a sudden mask of sadness over his face..."You've been in there for a while man...you talking to someone?" Mr. L behind me made a motion with his hands, as if he were talking on the phone. I looked on the counter, and then my phone was there. "How..." He shushed me and pointed at the door, face still sad. "Yeah," I called to JC, "I'm just on the phone." "In the bathroom?" JC asked, voicing his disbelief. "You're nuts, man." "No, that's a job for Chris. And Ken." Did the angel I'm calling L flinch? Maybe I am nuts. JC knocked on the door, and the angel seemed to get a little more nervous. "Can I come in?" he asked. I cast a glance in the mirror over at the agitated angel, and he nodded, saying something that I managed to catch only a part of. Something about JC not being able to see him, I think, though there was more. "Sure, come on in," I said, making it a point to shut the magically appearing cellphone with a snap as JC entered the bathroom. I looked up and saw Mr. Blond Guy sitting on top of the shower door. He flashed a cheeky grin and waved. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You okay?" JC asked. "Fine...saw...a bug," I said, and the angel glared at me. I had to stifle a laugh. "Bug?" "It was a big one," I defended. JC looked at me like I was nuts. Then he turned around, and in the mirror I saw the angel stiffen, staring at JC. What was really odd, though, was that JC stared at where the "bug" was supposed to be for a good few minutes before turning back around. "Yeah...a bug," he said. Angel Boy's eyes widened, and the sadness returned to his face. He didn't look away from JC's back. Still staring, he gracefully jumped down to the floor. He walked closer to us, until he was directly behind JC. Then he looked at me, and motioned around his neck. I touched my Superman pendant, eyebrow raised in a question. "You ready to go?" JC asked absently. The blond nodded, and pointed to JC. "Yeah," I replied. JC didn't seem to hear me, though, and started fingering that weird cross necklace. I looked at the angel again, then back at JC. "Why do you still wear that?" I asked. The blond nodded excitedly, then resumed staring at JC. Again. Yeesh. "Hmm?" he asked. "I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to take it off." There was a hint of a smile on Angel Boy's face. JC turned it around slowly. "No one else has seen the back yet," he said. I looked curiously at the inscription, and saw Mr. L do the same. "Those are your initials," I pointed out. "I know," he replied, still looking at it. "But what would the JLB mean?" "I dunno," he said. I noticed the angel jump a little. L...sword...L...sword...the writing on the back..."Who's Lance?" The angel jumped again, pointing wildly to himself. "That's ME," he mouthed. "I don't know," JC said. "That's what's so weird...I don't know where I got it from, but it was obviously important to somebody, you know? But I feel like I'm not supposed to take it off." "Lance, huh?" I asked softly, looking into the mirror and into the green eyes. The blond head nodded in response. Suddenly, he jumped again, and looked up, saying something. Then he rolled his eyes. He started talking again, then looked at me. "I gotta go," he said, already starting to fade. I saw him reach out and touch JC's shoulder sadly one more time, before completely fading out of view. JC let go of the necklace and suddenly snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in. "You feel that?" he asked. "Feel what?" "That breeze..." he shook his head. "Let's go, we're late," he said, almost automatically, and walked out the door. *** (Regular POV) "JACE! Wake up!" "What?" JC moaned. Then he swatted at the figure above him. "Leave me alone, Ken. Go find Bar-- I mean Shari." "Funny, Chasez." "I try," JC said dryly. "But why wouldn't you want to be Barbie?" They heard Chris saying, his voice getting louder as he entered the room with Shari. "Barbie's got everything...you know, the pink car, the mansion, the hot boyfriend..." "She's got that last one, too," Ken said, coming over and kissing Shari on the top of the head. "I said HOT. You aren't hot," Chris said. JC rolled his eyes and ignored them, thinking back to when he'd been in the bathroom with Joey. He didn't even know why he'd wanted to go in...then Joey'd mentioned a bug...so when he went to look there... JC shook his head, rubbing his temples. There had been SOMETHING there, he was sure of it, he just couldn't figure out what it was. Something fuzzy, something on top of the shower door... *** "Just WHAT did you think you were DOING?" Lance didn't think he'd ever seen Nikolas this mad. He cringed. "You know what? I'm not in the mood. You're the one that told me to stop crying all the time and leave the room once in a while. I did, and now you're yelling at me? I didn't break any rules, I just found some loopholes. Now leave me alone, please?" The pleading tone in Lance's voice mad Nikolas take another look at him. He saw the sadness that had never quite left the angel's face. He turned away and sighed. "You're a rebel, James. A rebel."