Chapter 57

Inner Reflection | home

Joey turned on the water in the sink and started brushing his teeth. He looked up and almost choked on his toothbrush. "Oh my GOD! You've GOT to stop doing that!" The angel he now knew as Lance shrugged behind him with a grin. "What are you doing here now?" He saw Lance look down for a second, moving his hand. Then he held up a notepad. "Oh, you've got equipment, huh?"

Lance quickly scrawled out the word "Yes." Then he turned the paper around, and showed Joey the writing. "What, you don't want me to visit?"

"No, I'm fine with you coming...It's just ODD not seeing you for five years, and then yesterday you show up, and now you're back? And how are you writing that, anyway? It should be backwards to me."

Lance quickly wrote out something else. "I'm writing BACKWARDS, you idiot."

"Oh. You can do that?"

"Lemme guess, cause you're an angel?"

"Yep." He then wrote something else. "Knew how to do it when I was alive too. Have talent."

"As long as you think so. You were alive?" Joey asked, confused.

Joey left it at that. "So why are you here again?" Lance looked hurt, and turned around. "I didn't mean it like THAT!" Lance turned back around.

"How are the guys?" he wrote.

"Fine," Joey said slowly, watching the facial statements crossing Lance's face. "JC, Justin, and Chris played the funniest trick on Ken...see, his girlfriend looks like Barbie, so they played "Barbie Girl"...you know that song, right?"

"Yeah," Lance wrote, a wicked grin creeping onto his face. "I saw. He was mad. Sounds like something I would do."

"You do stuff like that?"

Joey laughed. "JOEY!" He heard Chris yell. "LOU WANTS US REHEARSING LIKE...20 MINUTES AGO!"

Joey frowned and shouted back, "HE'S WATCHING TONIGHT?"

"YEAH, WE'RE PRIVILEGED!"

Joey looked back to Lance, who had a scowl on his face. "What?"

Lance scrawled something else out. "Don't like him. Bad...has money...Get away."

"Get away from Lou? What are you, crazy?"

Lance scrawled something else, but he smiled while writing it. "Skip, skip, skip to my Lou, skip to my Lou my darling..."

Joey burst out laughing. "Bye Lance...you coming back?"

Chris collapsed to the ground. "I think I'm dying," he said.

Joey walked over and half-heartedly kicked him in the side. "He's dead." Chris moaned in protest.

"Come on, you guys! You can do it!" Lou yelled from below.

"Look, it's our own personal cheerleader!" JC said, pumping a fist in the air.

"The fat, balding--" JC kicked Chris in the side, effectively shutting him up.

"Get UP, Kirkpatrick!" Lou yelled.

"You get up!" Chris snapped back. "I'd like to see YOU try this."

"Ew...bad mental image," Ken said, wrinkling his nose.

"...Jack had to jump over the candlestick, so do you guys!"

"What the HELL? Where did that come from?" Chris muttered. He sat up.

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...Jack burnt his ASS on the freaking candlestick. AND I LAUGHED AT HIM."

The other four burst into laughter. Chris had just made about as much sense as Lou...which wasn't much, but it was still pretty damn funny. Lou just glared. "I'm going to say it again, Chris. Get up and dance."

"What are you going to do if I don't? We've been doing this for four straight hours!"

"And does it LOOK like I give a damn? All I WANT is for YOU GUYS to get off your ASSES and REHEARSE that SONG."

Chris scowled and jumped off the stage. "No, it doesn't, Lou. And THAT'S the problem." He walked away. He yelled one last thing over his shoulder. "I don't give a shit about what you want right now, Lou. Oops, maybe I should."

Joey watched his friend leave and thought about what Lance had written. To get away from Lou...but...how could they?

JC wasn't thinking much of anything, because another thought popped into his head. He wasn't thinking them, and he had no idea where they were coming from. --Yeah. Got it...yes. I get it. YES LOU I UNDERSTAND SIR! Happy? Oh darn. I guess I'll have to work on that. Uh huh, my sole purpose in life should be to make YOU happy, shouldn't it?--

Joey looked at him strangely. "You all right? You've been acting really weird lately."

"I mean you're having these weird dreams, and now you zone out all the time!"

"I'm fine," JC said. "Just...lay off a little." Joey sighed and rolled his eyes, but walked away. Just then, something else popped into JC's head. --Mississippi-- "What?" --I'm from Mississippi-- JC looked around wildly. "Who said that? Are you the one that keeps talking like that?" There was no answer.

"What is going on?" Lance wondered, looking at JC curiously. "What's he hearing?"

"Who said 'Mississippi?'" JC asked, head still darting around. "Hello?"

"Mississippi? What is he talking about?" Lance wondered to himself.

"Talking like what?"

"What is it?" Nikolas asked him, coming up behind him.

"I think he's going insane," Lance said with a slightly amused smile, the first Nikolas had really seen when the angel had been watching JC alone...even though he was supposed to be watching Joey. "You know," he said, "Sometimes I wonder if the only reason I'm so good at this is because you're always checking up on me." Nikolas opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and closed it.

"JC?" Joey asked, coming back into the room. "Who are you talking to?"

JC spun around. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear WHAT?" Joey asked.

"What about Mississippi?"

"Someone said Mississippi!" JC stepped closer to Joey, eyes wide. "Didn't you hear it? Didn't you?"

"Of course, Jace," Joey said, backing away. "Why don't we just go back to the hotel, and..."

"You think I'm crazy, don't you? I'm not crazy! Someone said MISSISSIPPI!" JC looked around. "WHO SAID IT?" Joey touched his arm, and JC turned back to him. "I swear, Joey, someone said that they were from Mississippi, I heard it. Right after you left!"

Joey nodded, looked at JC oddly, and led him out of the room. "James," Nikolas said softly.

Lance turned to him. "What?"

"You're from Mississippi."


	Inner Reflection \| home back to Sent From Above Chapter 57 Joey turned on the water in the sink and started brushing his teeth. He looked up and almost choked on his toothbrush. "Oh my GOD! You've GOT to stop doing that!" The angel he now knew as Lance shrugged behind him with a grin. "What are you doing here now?" He saw Lance look down for a second, moving his hand. Then he held up a notepad. "Oh, you've got equipment, huh?" Lance quickly scrawled out the word "Yes." Then he turned the paper around, and showed Joey the writing. "What, you don't want me to visit?" "No, I'm fine with you coming...It's just ODD not seeing you for five years, and then yesterday you show up, and now you're back? And how are you writing that, anyway? It should be backwards to me." Lance quickly wrote out something else. "I'm writing BACKWARDS, you idiot." "Oh. You can do that?" "Of course I can." "Lemme guess, cause you're an angel?" "Yep." He then wrote something else. "Knew how to do it when I was alive too. Have talent." "As long as you think so. You were alive?" Joey asked, confused. "Yep." Joey left it at that. "So why are you here again?" Lance looked hurt, and turned around. "I didn't mean it like THAT!" Lance turned back around. "How are the guys?" he wrote. "Fine," Joey said slowly, watching the facial statements crossing Lance's face. "JC, Justin, and Chris played the funniest trick on Ken...see, his girlfriend looks like Barbie, so they played "Barbie Girl"...you know that song, right?" "Yeah," Lance wrote, a wicked grin creeping onto his face. "I saw. He was mad. Sounds like something I would do." "You do stuff like that?" "All the time." Joey laughed. "JOEY!" He heard Chris yell. "LOU WANTS US REHEARSING LIKE...20 MINUTES AGO!" Joey frowned and shouted back, "HE'S WATCHING TONIGHT?" "YEAH, WE'RE PRIVILEGED!" Joey looked back to Lance, who had a scowl on his face. "What?" Lance scrawled something else out. "Don't like him. Bad...has money...Get away." "Get away from Lou? What are you, crazy?" "No." "JOEY!" Lance scrawled something else, but he smiled while writing it. "Skip, skip, skip to my Lou, skip to my Lou my darling..." Joey burst out laughing. "Bye Lance...you coming back?" "Soon." *** Chris collapsed to the ground. "I think I'm dying," he said. Joey walked over and half-heartedly kicked him in the side. "He's dead." Chris moaned in protest. "Come on, you guys! You can do it!" Lou yelled from below. "Look, it's our own personal cheerleader!" JC said, pumping a fist in the air. "The fat, balding--" JC kicked Chris in the side, effectively shutting him up. "Get UP, Kirkpatrick!" Lou yelled. "You get up!" Chris snapped back. "I'd like to see YOU try this." "Ew...bad mental image," Ken said, wrinkling his nose. "...Jack had to jump over the candlestick, so do you guys!" "What the HELL? Where did that come from?" Chris muttered. He sat up. "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...Jack burnt his ASS on the freaking candlestick. AND I LAUGHED AT HIM." The other four burst into laughter. Chris had just made about as much sense as Lou...which wasn't much, but it was still pretty damn funny. Lou just glared. "I'm going to say it again, Chris. Get up and dance." "What are you going to do if I don't? We've been doing this for four straight hours!" "And does it LOOK like I give a damn? All I WANT is for YOU GUYS to get off your ASSES and REHEARSE that SONG." Chris scowled and jumped off the stage. "No, it doesn't, Lou. And THAT'S the problem." He walked away. He yelled one last thing over his shoulder. "I don't give a shit about what you want right now, Lou. Oops, maybe I should." Joey watched his friend leave and thought about what Lance had written. To get away from Lou...but...how could they? JC wasn't thinking much of anything, because another thought popped into his head. He wasn't thinking them, and he had no idea where they were coming from. --Yeah. Got it...yes. I get it. YES LOU I UNDERSTAND SIR! Happy? Oh darn. I guess I'll have to work on that. Uh huh, my sole purpose in life should be to make YOU happy, shouldn't it?-- "JC! WAKE UP!" "Huh? What?" Joey looked at him strangely. "You all right? You've been acting really weird lately." "What do you mean?" "I mean you're having these weird dreams, and now you zone out all the time!" "I'm fine," JC said. "Just...lay off a little." Joey sighed and rolled his eyes, but walked away. Just then, something else popped into JC's head. --Mississippi-- "What?" --I'm from Mississippi-- JC looked around wildly. "Who said that? Are you the one that keeps talking like that?" There was no answer. *** "What is going on?" Lance wondered, looking at JC curiously. "What's he hearing?" "Who said 'Mississippi?'" JC asked, head still darting around. "Hello?" "Mississippi? What is he talking about?" Lance wondered to himself. "Talking like what?" "What is it?" Nikolas asked him, coming up behind him. "I think he's going insane," Lance said with a slightly amused smile, the first Nikolas had really seen when the angel had been watching JC alone...even though he was supposed to be watching Joey. "You know," he said, "Sometimes I wonder if the only reason I'm so good at this is because you're always checking up on me." Nikolas opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and closed it. "JC?" Joey asked, coming back into the room. "Who are you talking to?" JC spun around. "Did you hear that?" "Hear WHAT?" Joey asked. "Mississippi." "What about Mississippi?" "Someone said Mississippi!" JC stepped closer to Joey, eyes wide. "Didn't you hear it? Didn't you?" "Of course, Jace," Joey said, backing away. "Why don't we just go back to the hotel, and..." "You think I'm crazy, don't you? I'm not crazy! Someone said MISSISSIPPI!" JC looked around. "WHO SAID IT?" Joey touched his arm, and JC turned back to him. "I swear, Joey, someone said that they were from Mississippi, I heard it. Right after you left!" Joey nodded, looked at JC oddly, and led him out of the room. "James," Nikolas said softly. Lance turned to him. "What?" "You're from Mississippi."