Chapter 60

Inner Reflection | home

"What the hell happened?" Johnny roared, seeing Chris' bruised jaw and Ken's black eye. He looked back and forth between the two and his foot tapped impatiently. "Well?"

"Ken jumped Chris," Joey said simply.

"Who's side are you on?" Ken asked indignantly.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Not yours," he said with a snort. "Johnny, Chris was playing a joke..." Johnny sighed and rolled his eyes. "And Ken kind of took it to heart. I personally think he overreacted."

"And you're entitled to your opinion," JC shot in. "Except no one asked for it." Ken glared at him and JC raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"Johnny," Ken began, "Chris...well...all of them, keep making fun of me and Shari, and I'm getting sick of it." JC rolled his eyes and Ken continued to glare.

"Haven't you noticed that every fight we've had lately is because of her?" Justin put in.

"Name ONE where it wasn't." Ken was silent. A gleam entered Justin's eyes and a slow smile spread over his face. "See?"

Johnny sighed. "We'll have to get her off the tour then," he said, scratching his head.

"You can't do that!" Ken objected. "It's not fair! None of this is her fault...none of it's MINE either, but..."

"Until things smooth out between you guys, I'm going to have to. Sorry Ken..." Johnny trailed off and turned to Ken. "Do you want to tell her or should I?"

"I will," Ken snarled. He spun on one heel and started for the door.

"Oh, and Ken?" Johnny's voice stopped him a few steps in front of JC.

"What?" he asked, his voice angry.

"No more physical violence...with ANY of the other group members. That goes for all of you. We don't need fist fights and we CERTAINLY don't need the publicity that's going to come from your eye."

"Yes sir," Ken said sarcastically, then he looked over his shoulder defiantly. JC was whispering something in Justin's ear. He rolled his eyes and started past them, but suddenly, he doubled his fist and punched the younger man in the stomach.

JC doubled over, gasping for breath. Justin caught him before he fell to the ground. "Jesus, Ken! What the hell was that for?"

Ken just smirked and left the room.

"Shit," JC choked out.

Justin helped him sit down. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell just happened?" he asked.

"I don't know..." Joey answered, his voice trailing off.

Johnny was livid. "What the HELL?" He crossed the room in about three steps and slammed to door shut behind him.

"That was interesting," Joey commented.

JC glared at him and slowly stood up. "Damn," he said, squinting. "No holding back."

Justin cracked his knuckles and the others winced at the noises. "Right. Come here, dude."

JC swatted Justin's hand away. "I'm not an invalid," he said. His right arm was still across his stomach. "I'm gonna go into my room for a little bit, guys, kay?"

JC yawned and shook himself awake when he heard a knock on the door. "Housekeeping! You vant mint for pee-low? Extra tow-als? Pee-lows?"

"Chris, shut up," JC moaned.

"No Chris here, just housekeeping," the voice continued at a high pitch. "Vant mint for pee-low?"

"No," JC said, trying to stay in the warmth again surrounding him. It was weird, but he wasn't complaining. Whenever it was there, his stomach hurt a little less.

"Vat's dat?" the voice was muffled for a second. "Da groupmates say dat eef..." the accent suddenly disappeared and Chris' voice was heard... "You don't get your ASS outside RIGHT NOW, we're going to come after you...do you un-der-staand?"

JC rolled his eyes. "They said that, huh?"

"Yes, they dee-id. Do you vant da mint or not?""

"No," JC sighed, still not moving. The warmth was still there and he didn't want to leave it.

"JC, I'm serious this time," he heard Chris say. "You need to be down there in five minutes or Lou's gonna have your hide."

"To discuss the whole punching incident."

"No," Chris snorted. "He just wants to see how much I mangled that boy's face. Image. Then I'll probably get cussed out. And then--"

"I'll get yelled at for getting in the way of his fist?"

"Probably. Kenny Boy the Golden Boy. I think I'm going to puke. Get your ass up before I come in there and jump on you." Chris' voice trailed off as he walked away from the door way.

"Ugh," JC groaned to himself. He was still surrounded by warmth, but it seemed a little different now...like he could almost feel something pushing him up. "What the...all right, I'm up," he said. The pushing stopped. "You're nuts, Chasez. Absolutely insane."

"Chris, you're the oldest, you should know better than to instigate fights--" It was rehearsal, and Lou had come in while they were practicing. The others watched the discussion through the mirror.

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't instigate anything. He's the one that jumped on top of me," Chris argued. He knelt down to tie his shoe.

"God, ever since he picked up that Barbie he's banging, he's stopped being fun. She's got you whipped, dude, and you don't even REALIZE that the chick has more plastic in her than the doll herself. Sure, she's pretty, but...we used to be partners, remember? You've changed man, and I don't like the new you. The old Ken would never have sucker-punched JC in the stomach earlier. Coward," he muttered, still tightening the laces.

"I am NOT a coward. And I'm no different from the way I was when we all met. As for the stupid 'Barbie' comments? I've had enough of them."

"It only pisses you off cause you know it's true. Barbie's hot, dude, live with it. Everybody calls me a mouse and Justin gets called Ryan Phillppee all the time, but we deal just fine. Nobody's goin' around punching anybody else."

"What would you say if I said I thought your precious Dani was nothing but a whore, then, huh?" Ken said, disregarding the rest of the statement.

Chris stood up. "Excuse me?"

Chris stepped forward. His fists clenched and unclenched at his side. "You're walking a fine line, there, Brooks." Anger smoldered in his eyes. "Take that back."

"That example is no different from what you're saying about Shari."

"I'm NOT saying Shari is a slut, KEN. I never said that. What I'm SAYING is that you better take that the fuck back before I punch your face in. Clear enough for you?"

"No," Ken said simply.

Chris' fists were little balls now. "I'm giving you ONE more chance, Brooks."

Lou stood by with a slight smirk on his face. "Aren't you going to stop them?" JC asked incredulously. He stepped forward.

"No," Lou said. "It's getting interesting. Don't you stop them either."

"What the HELL is your problem?" JC yelled.

Ken and Chris were still staring each other down. Chris was standing with his arms at his sides, with his fists clenched and his eyes on fire. "Take that BACK," he said again. "I NEVER said that Shari was a slut. I never implied it, even. All I said was that the girl looked like a Barbie doll. Mattell or whoever never portrayed her to be hooker or nothing, shit, you think they would've sold any of the dolls that way? So you have one more chance to take that back before I hit you so hard your entire family tree will fucking FALL DOWN."

Ken tapped his foot impatiently and yawned, looking at his watch. "Oh, you're done? Good. Cute little threat there, considering the fact that I'm four inches taller than you. But sometimes, man, you have to face the facts. I ain't takin' nothin' back man, I said what I meant and I meant what I said. Dani. Is. A. Slut." He covered his mouth with his hand. "Oops," he said, looking around.

"FUCK YOU!" Chris jumped on Ken and the two started rolling around on the floor. When Ken had made fun of his size, he'd forgotten one thing. They'd never fought when Chris was angry before.

"Shit, Lou!" JC yelled. He ran over and tried to pull them apart. "Chris, calm down, man, calm down..." Joey finally came over and grabbed Ken away.

Joey held Ken by the shirt. "Dude, what the hell is your problem?" He looked at Ken in disgust. "We were so wrong about you...we thought we knew you, man. But that was a CHEAP and totally unfair, untrue shot. You know what pisses him off and you hit the big red button that says 'DON'T PUSH.' You pushed it and now you've got us all pissed off at you. Congratulations." He dropped him on the floor and walked over where Justin was still standing in shock. "You okay?"

"Surprised..." Justin said, shaking his head. "Wow."

"You said it." Suddenly Joey felt something hard hit his shoulder and he turned around to look in the mirror. He saw Lance the angel standing right behind him with wide, frightened eyes before he started struggling against something, it looked like. Joey couldn't see anything there. He furrowed his brow. It seemed like Lance had either hit him with something, or hit him by mistake during a struggle. Instinctively, he reached out to try to help, but he couldn't feel anything. He knew the others thought he was nuts. "Let go of me!" he saw Lance say. "Let go..." He turned to Joey again, eyes filled with fear. That unsettled Joey...angels didn't have anything to be afraid of...did they? "Go ahead and tell them 'bout me," he saw Lance say. He wasn't sure who that was directed to. "Let go..." Suddenly, he went limp and his struggling ceased. Then he disappeared.

And at that exact moment, JC screamed.


	Inner Reflection \| home back to Sent From Above Chapter 60 "What the hell happened?" Johnny roared, seeing Chris' bruised jaw and Ken's black eye. He looked back and forth between the two and his foot tapped impatiently. "Well?" "Ken jumped Chris," Joey said simply. "Who's side are you on?" Ken asked indignantly. Joey raised an eyebrow. "Not yours," he said with a snort. "Johnny, Chris was playing a joke..." Johnny sighed and rolled his eyes. "And Ken kind of took it to heart. I personally think he overreacted." "No I didn't!" "And you're entitled to your opinion," JC shot in. "Except no one asked for it." Ken glared at him and JC raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Johnny," Ken began, "Chris...well...all of them, keep making fun of me and Shari, and I'm getting sick of it." JC rolled his eyes and Ken continued to glare. "Haven't you noticed that every fight we've had lately is because of her?" Justin put in. "That's not true!" "Name ONE where it wasn't." Ken was silent. A gleam entered Justin's eyes and a slow smile spread over his face. "See?" Johnny sighed. "We'll have to get her off the tour then," he said, scratching his head. "You can't do that!" Ken objected. "It's not fair! None of this is her fault...none of it's MINE either, but..." "Until things smooth out between you guys, I'm going to have to. Sorry Ken..." Johnny trailed off and turned to Ken. "Do you want to tell her or should I?" "I will," Ken snarled. He spun on one heel and started for the door. "Oh, and Ken?" Johnny's voice stopped him a few steps in front of JC. "What?" he asked, his voice angry. "No more physical violence...with ANY of the other group members. That goes for all of you. We don't need fist fights and we CERTAINLY don't need the publicity that's going to come from your eye." "Yes sir," Ken said sarcastically, then he looked over his shoulder defiantly. JC was whispering something in Justin's ear. He rolled his eyes and started past them, but suddenly, he doubled his fist and punched the younger man in the stomach. JC doubled over, gasping for breath. Justin caught him before he fell to the ground. "Jesus, Ken! What the hell was that for?" Ken just smirked and left the room. "Shit," JC choked out. Justin helped him sit down. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell just happened?" he asked. "I don't know..." Joey answered, his voice trailing off. Johnny was livid. "What the HELL?" He crossed the room in about three steps and slammed to door shut behind him. "That was interesting," Joey commented. JC glared at him and slowly stood up. "Damn," he said, squinting. "No holding back." Justin cracked his knuckles and the others winced at the noises. "Right. Come here, dude." JC swatted Justin's hand away. "I'm not an invalid," he said. His right arm was still across his stomach. "I'm gonna go into my room for a little bit, guys, kay?" "Sure." * JC yawned and shook himself awake when he heard a knock on the door. "Housekeeping! You vant mint for pee-low? Extra tow-als? Pee-lows?" "Chris, shut up," JC moaned. "No Chris here, just housekeeping," the voice continued at a high pitch. "Vant mint for pee-low?" "No," JC said, trying to stay in the warmth again surrounding him. It was weird, but he wasn't complaining. Whenever it was there, his stomach hurt a little less. "Vat's dat?" the voice was muffled for a second. "Da groupmates say dat eef..." the accent suddenly disappeared and Chris' voice was heard... "You don't get your ASS outside RIGHT NOW, we're going to come after you...do you un-der-staand?" JC rolled his eyes. "They said that, huh?" "Yes, they dee-id. Do you vant da mint or not?"" "No," JC sighed, still not moving. The warmth was still there and he didn't want to leave it. "JC, I'm serious this time," he heard Chris say. "You need to be down there in five minutes or Lou's gonna have your hide." "Why is he here?" "To discuss the whole punching incident." "He CARES?" "No," Chris snorted. "He just wants to see how much I mangled that boy's face. Image. Then I'll probably get cussed out. And then--" "I'll get yelled at for getting in the way of his fist?" "Probably. Kenny Boy the Golden Boy. I think I'm going to puke. Get your ass up before I come in there and jump on you." Chris' voice trailed off as he walked away from the door way. "Ugh," JC groaned to himself. He was still surrounded by warmth, but it seemed a little different now...like he could almost feel something pushing him up. "What the...all right, I'm up," he said. The pushing stopped. "You're nuts, Chasez. Absolutely insane." ***** "Chris, you're the oldest, you should know better than to instigate fights--" It was rehearsal, and Lou had come in while they were practicing. The others watched the discussion through the mirror. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't instigate anything. He's the one that jumped on top of me," Chris argued. He knelt down to tie his shoe. "God, ever since he picked up that Barbie he's banging, he's stopped being fun. She's got you whipped, dude, and you don't even REALIZE that the chick has more plastic in her than the doll herself. Sure, she's pretty, but...we used to be partners, remember? You've changed man, and I don't like the new you. The old Ken would never have sucker-punched JC in the stomach earlier. Coward," he muttered, still tightening the laces. "I am NOT a coward. And I'm no different from the way I was when we all met. As for the stupid 'Barbie' comments? I've had enough of them." "It only pisses you off cause you know it's true. Barbie's hot, dude, live with it. Everybody calls me a mouse and Justin gets called Ryan Phillppee all the time, but we deal just fine. Nobody's goin' around punching anybody else." "What would you say if I said I thought your precious Dani was nothing but a whore, then, huh?" Ken said, disregarding the rest of the statement. Chris stood up. "Excuse me?" "You heard me." Chris stepped forward. His fists clenched and unclenched at his side. "You're walking a fine line, there, Brooks." Anger smoldered in his eyes. "Take that back." "That example is no different from what you're saying about Shari." "I'm NOT saying Shari is a slut, KEN. I never said that. What I'm SAYING is that you better take that the fuck back before I punch your face in. Clear enough for you?" "No," Ken said simply. Chris' fists were little balls now. "I'm giving you ONE more chance, Brooks." Lou stood by with a slight smirk on his face. "Aren't you going to stop them?" JC asked incredulously. He stepped forward. "No," Lou said. "It's getting interesting. Don't you stop them either." "What the HELL is your problem?" JC yelled. Ken and Chris were still staring each other down. Chris was standing with his arms at his sides, with his fists clenched and his eyes on fire. "Take that BACK," he said again. "I NEVER said that Shari was a slut. I never implied it, even. All I said was that the girl looked like a Barbie doll. Mattell or whoever never portrayed her to be hooker or nothing, shit, you think they would've sold any of the dolls that way? So you have one more chance to take that back before I hit you so hard your entire family tree will fucking FALL DOWN." Ken tapped his foot impatiently and yawned, looking at his watch. "Oh, you're done? Good. Cute little threat there, considering the fact that I'm four inches taller than you. But sometimes, man, you have to face the facts. I ain't takin' nothin' back man, I said what I meant and I meant what I said. Dani. Is. A. Slut." He covered his mouth with his hand. "Oops," he said, looking around. "FUCK YOU!" Chris jumped on Ken and the two started rolling around on the floor. When Ken had made fun of his size, he'd forgotten one thing. They'd never fought when Chris was angry before. "Shit, Lou!" JC yelled. He ran over and tried to pull them apart. "Chris, calm down, man, calm down..." Joey finally came over and grabbed Ken away. "Chris..." Joey held Ken by the shirt. "Dude, what the hell is your problem?" He looked at Ken in disgust. "We were so wrong about you...we thought we knew you, man. But that was a CHEAP and totally unfair, untrue shot. You know what pisses him off and you hit the big red button that says 'DON'T PUSH.' You pushed it and now you've got us all pissed off at you. Congratulations." He dropped him on the floor and walked over where Justin was still standing in shock. "You okay?" "Surprised..." Justin said, shaking his head. "Wow." "You said it." Suddenly Joey felt something hard hit his shoulder and he turned around to look in the mirror. He saw Lance the angel standing right behind him with wide, frightened eyes before he started struggling against something, it looked like. Joey couldn't see anything there. He furrowed his brow. It seemed like Lance had either hit him with something, or hit him by mistake during a struggle. Instinctively, he reached out to try to help, but he couldn't feel anything. He knew the others thought he was nuts. "Let go of me!" he saw Lance say. "Let go..." He turned to Joey again, eyes filled with fear. That unsettled Joey...angels didn't have anything to be afraid of...did they? "Go ahead and tell them 'bout me," he saw Lance say. He wasn't sure who that was directed to. "Let go..." Suddenly, he went limp and his struggling ceased. Then he disappeared. And at that exact moment, JC screamed.