Devotion Chapter Thirty-Seven: "Traffic Control"
disclaimer: Fiction
notes: Here it comes... Sorry this is so late! I wanted to be finished with this chapter by last night, but at least it's not too much later. Let's see... It should be better then last chapter (but that wouldn't take much, ne?) but it's still not quiet what I'd said it would be. You'll get that when you get to the end of the chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! I've only gone over it once or twice, so if there are tons of mistakes, I apologize. At least I remembered to spellcheck it this time! ^~ Oh, and feedback is always appreciated. It gives me a reason to write quickly ^^ Thank you to those who do send feedback, you mean the world. -Angel ^_^
Chapter Thirty-Seven: "Traffic Control" "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us on this beautiful day here on United Airlines. If you'd please buckle your seat belts and turn your attention to the flight attendant in the aisle in front of you, then we can begin to prepare for take-off..." "Where's Josh?" Justin asked, looking across the aisle at Joey. "He should be here by now. Where's Josh?" "Look, he'll be here, don't worry," Joey reassured the blonde. "Then why isn't he here *now.* We called him-" "I know," Joey replied. "But you just have to trust him on this one. JC will be here." Justin tried to accept the answer, turning to face foreword once again. He couldn't help but glance at the empty seat next to him, though. Just as Justin was going to start bugging Joey again, there was a small commotion at the entrance of the plane. Lance soon appeared, and with him, JC. "Thank god," Justin whispered, closing his eyes and leaning back against his seat. "Hey, look who decided to join us," Joey called, smiling at his two bandmates. JC said nothing and Lance gave the New Yorker a warning look. "Aw, man. He's still pissed off?" Joey asked, once Lance had gotten settled next to him. The blonde sighed. "Yeah, I guess. He didn't talk much when we were outside. But don't worry," he added, patting his companion's hand. "He'll come around." JC, meanwhile, moved across the aisle to where Justin was sitting in the window seat. The brunet stood there a moment, until the stewardess informed him that he had to be seated. JC promptly sat down. Justin swallowed nervously, not sure what to say. He knew that he wanted to say *something,* though. In the time that he had been away from JC, Justin had realized what was throwing his morning off. JC hadn't been physically affectionate with him. At all. Not a kiss on the cheek, not a pat on the back, not even an accidental brush of the hand. Nothing. Justin knew that he and JC couldn't really do anything on the plane. After all, it *was* a commercial aircraft. But at this point, Justin would be more than happy just to be able to lay his head on JC's shoulder when he slept. Justin also knew that to do *anything* with JC he'd have to talk to him first. "Hey," the blonde whispered, glancing at his companion. JC didn't meet his eyes. "Hey," he echoed. Justin frowned. "Josh? You all right?" Finally turning to face the younger man, JC forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." Even if Justin hadn't known JC too well for the smile to fool him, the brunet's eyes gave him away. They held a mixture of fear and sadness. "Josh?" Justin questioned again, this time more anxiously. The idea that something could make JC afraid put fear into his own heart. "Mmm?" JC murmured, pretending to fiddle with his seat belt. "Are you sure you're all right?" the blonde finished lamely, wishing that he could think of a better question; one that would force a truthful answer from his companion. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired, that's all," JC lied. He knew that Justin would see through it, but JC *was* tired, and he didn't feel like talking. Justin could feel his eyes fill with tears. "I'm sorry," he whispered, turning away. "I was just worried about you. I'll leave you alone now." As he closed his eyes, Justin felt himself being pulled away from the window gently. "Aw, Jus," JC soothed, taking a deep breath. "It's all right, don't cry." Justin allowed himself to be cradled against the older man's chest. Trying to hide his tears, the blonde buried his face into the soft fabric of JC's sweater. JC absently toyed with Justin's curls, listening to the muffled sobs guiltily. Sighing, the brunet closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to fix things with everyone - but especially with Justin. Lance felt a dull ache in his neck. Sitting up, the blonde realized that he'd fallen asleep with his head resting on Joey's shoulder at an awkward angle. Yawning, he rolled his head around a few times, trying to loosen the muscles. Once he felt a little better, Lance glanced at his watch. They still had two hours before they were going to land in L.A.; and that was only if they kept on schedule. Suddenly, Joey snored loudly. Lance jumped and instinctively laid a hand over his heart. "Damn, Joey," he muttered, looking at the New Yorker with amusement. "You're even louder then the engines!" Knowing that he had work to do - for *NSYNC and otherwise - Lance tried to distract himself so he wouldn't have to get started. Looking across the aisle, the Mississippian found JC sitting up with his head buried in his hands and his elbows propped up on his tray-table. "JC," Lance called quietly. His bandmate didn't answer him. "JC," the blonde tried again, this time a little louder. When there was still no answer, Lance decided to let it go. Either JC didn't want to talk or he was sleeping. Regardless, Lance had work to do. With a sigh, he got his laptop from under the seat in front of him. Joey let out another snore, and Lance smiled. Replacing the laptop under the seat, Lance snuggled up against his companion. A few more hours of sleep wouldn't hurt. "Josh?" Justin asked quietly, shaking his companion's shoulder gently. Sitting up, JC rubbed at his eyes wearily. "Hmm? What? Justin?" "Oh, sorry, were you asleep?" Justin asked sheepishly. "I thought you just couldn't hear me." JC turned to Justin. "Right." The nineteen year-old began to blush. "Okay, *maybe* I knew you were asleep." JC continued to stare the younger man down. Justin turned away. "I was bored! You've got the aisle seat! I didn't have anything to do!" "So you thought it would be fun to wake me up?" JC asked sarcastically. Justin turned back to the brunet. "No, I thought you would make good company." "Right after you woke me up you thought I'd make good company?" JC repeated skeptically. Justin smiled brightly. "Yep!" JC couldn't help but return the smile. Leaning his arm on his tray table, he supported his head in his hand as he twisted to face Justin better. "So," he said, yawning a bit. "What would you like to do?" Justin mimicked the brunet's position. "Talk." Looking down, JC tried to keep his voice light as he asked, "What about?" "Anything." "Jus, come on. I just woke up," the brunet protested, sitting up. Justin sat up as well. "Okay, then. How about we talk about... the Latin Grammys." JC stretched his arms over his head. When he was done, he replied, "How about we don't?" Justin tried not to look disappointed. /Clearly he doesn't want to talk to me,/ the teen thought to himself sadly. /Maybe I should let him go back to sleep./ "If you don't want to talk right now, you can just go back to sleep. I'll find some way to entertain myself," Justin mumbled dejectedly. JC laughed. "Just, stop being so cute. I'll talk to you." Justin turned back to the brunet, smiling from ear to ear. Abruptly, his grin was gone. "What?" JC asked, confused. Justin ignored him. "Hi, Scoop. What do you need?" Justin asked, looking just beyond JC to the Mississippian. JC turned around and found himself face-to-face with the blonde. "Lance!" he exclaimed, startled. "So, you're finally awake?" the blonde replied. JC yawned. "Yeah, barely." "So, what do you need?" Justin asked again, peeved that he and JC had been interrupted just when things had started going well. "I'm just here to give you guys the rundown on what's going to be happening when we land," Lance explained. "You mean we actually have stuff to do today?" Justin whined. Lance rolled his eyes. JC laughed and reached over to ruffle the teen's hair. Justin immediately stopped pouting to smile at the brunet. Lance shook his head. /I wonder if JC knows what kind of power he holds over Justin,/ he thought to himself, watching the two interact. "Anyway," Lance said loudly, to get his bandmates' attention. "When we land, we're first going to head over to the hotel. We'll then have a couple hours before we have to go to rehearsal. After that, we're home free, but don't get too excited. The reason the rest of the night is open is because learning `Yo Te Voy a Amar' should take a while." Justin groaned. "We're going to be practicing all night!" "Yeah, but you like that song, Justin. It means the same thing in Spanish as it does in English," JC pointed out. Lance laughed. "Well, I'm off to talk to Chris," he announced. "Oh, and I'd try to be more discreet about cuddling. One of the stewardesses is a fan." With that, Lance left the two stunned men alone. "We weren't cuddling!" JC exclaimed, the first to recover his voice. Justin looked hurt. He turned his head away and remained silent. JC groaned mentally. /*Really* smooth there, Chasez./ "Just?" He asked gently. The younger man still wouldn't look up. "Just, you know that came out wrong, right?" JC tried again. "I only meant that we actually *weren't* cuddling. I wouldn't have had a problem if we had been," he explained apologetically. At his companion's silence, JC asked quietly, "Please look at me Justin. Please?" Justin finally did look up. Once again, his clear blue eyes were swarming with tears. "Oh, Jus, don't cry, sweetie," JC breathed, moving to take the younger man into his arms. "Don't," Justin said, his voice thick with tears. "You wouldn't want that stewardess to see us cuddling, now would you?" "Justin-" "Save it, JC," Justin interrupted him. His voice was soft, but his words were cutting. "JC?" the brunet repeated in disbelief. "It's been a while since you've called me that." "Yeah? Well, it's been a while since you've called me `sweetie,'" the younger man shot back. "Justin," JC said softly, clearly taken aback by the blonde's accusation. "I didn't - that is, I..." the brunet trailed off, realizing that he didn't know what to say. Justin shook his head sadly, tears rolling down his cheeks. "What happened to us?" "Justin..." "No, Josh, what happened? I - I miss you, Josh," Justin pressed on through his tears, now falling rapidly down his perfect face. "I'm right here," JC countered, predictably. "No, Josh, you're not. You might be sitting next to me, but you're not *here.*" Justin pointed to his heart. "You're still in my heart," JC replied, his voice tight with emotion. "That's not what I meant..." Justin began, but JC turned away. Unbuckling his seat belt, JC mumbled, "I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." With that, the brunet got up and walked to the front of the plane. Justin watched him leave before turning to the window, his tears now full-fledged sobs.I know, I know! I said I'd cover the entire plane ride - and I was going to, honest! - but I just got to the part that's right after this one, and it just seemed to fit better at the beginning of the next chapter. On the plus side, that means that I've already started chapter 38 (even if I only have a paragraph finished >.<), so it shouldn't be too much of a wait. Thanks for sticking with the story, and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Thanks, Angel ^_^