Sins & Saviors by DCG
########### DISCLAIMER ###########
Don't know them...yet (evil grin...) moohahahaha !! Only kidding, don't know them, don't know if I ever will, but ha-ho, we can all dream...and I don't want to, therefore, insinuate anything about them or anyone connected with them...and if you aren't meant to be here, then please do us the greatest of courtesies and bugger orf!! lol
Author's Notes: Hey there...soz about the short previous chapter...but this is also a bit on the short side as it deals with one occurrence...one event...and the start of something else...Thanks go out to Christoph, the madman, for inspiring me to write with such fever and ferocity...cheers mate! This chapter is dedicated to Cricket (you know who you are!)luv ya all, and get back to me to shout at me for not writing enough or to praise me (plez) on my unbelievable (yeah, right!!) skills and per Nash! See ya all laterz...
Suggested Reads: Of course it goes without saying that you should all go and gander at Christophs masterpiece's that are 'Something Like Justin' and 'Building Dreams'... cause they are most certainly the best stories of recent times!! Also, go and read the ever intriguing and extremely well written 'JC's Hitchhiker' cause I only wish I could last that long and still have a story that engaged me at every turn...well done to ya both! Also go read a story that continually keeps me glued to the seat, and that is 'Guess who Ran into Me Today' by the fab...Squall Thrawn'...
Oh and before I vacate the box and stop talkin' I have a little taskett for ya all...I have chapter 5 done and dusted and chapter 6 is also burning a hole in my hard drive and so will chapter 7 in a while longer, so the more emails I get, the quicker they get posted for everyone to (hopefully) enjoy!
Oh, and the awards are upon us again...I just want to send out my best wishes to all the authors out there...and the best of luck to you all...
Enjoy and get back to me...I can talk forever! (grimstone@btinternet.com) (MSN messenger - ujemeflip@hotmail.com)
Last Time on 'Sins & Saviors'
"I think you should go and get some rest JC...It's starting to get light...and..." said Lonnie, but as he turned back to JC he heard the tell tale signs of someone in the land of nod...fast asleep...and looking peaceful as well.
Lonnie smiled and sat back, resting his head against the wall, and closing his eyes. 'This is just the beginning...' said Lonnie...knowing full well that this was indeed the calm before the stormy weather ahead...his cell phone ringing in the distance...
and now...the continuing story...
'Sins & Saviors' by DCG
Chapter 4 - 'Public Debut'
The air drifted silently over the hue of the room. The occasional cloud of tobacco smoke glided over the silent and still crowd.
A long covered table. The occasional passing of someone blew the delicate and deep red material softly into the air and allowed it to cascade back down to rest.
Rows upon rows of chairs lined the room engulfing the table.It seemed an endless array of chairs,as if the end, the horizon was just one point in the distance, but too far to be tangible.
Bright, artificial lighting illuminated the table from afar as the seats in the `auditorium' were filling.
Voices could be heard around and about as groups of people, notebooks and cameras in hand chatted and laughed to themselves about the latest hot news story, or piece of gossip.
The room didn't take long to fill to capacity. The humid and intimidating atmosphere of the makeshift arena reverberated throughout everyone. A knife could have cut the tense nature of the silence that ensued. The silence became deafening.
Suddenly, a man appeared, through a curtain to the right of the table and he walked to a podium positioned centrally atop the table. He looked confident and assured of himself.
"Can I have your attention everyone.My name is Johnny Wright of WEG as most of you I am sure will have already assumed." Said Johnny as he finished with a smile.The smile encapsulated the room and lightened it tenfold. This was indeed a press conference, but now it was one that felt better to all.
" Thank you for turning up in such numbers.I take that as testimony to NSync's enduring popularity.But we are here today for more serious matters." Finished Johnny as he shuffled some papers on the podium and composed himself inside. A raft of flashing cameras followed this. The fingers that triggered the button, and that hovered over them until the right moment knew that as soon as he lifted his head, they would get the shot that would grace the front page.
"Last Night Justin Timberlake was the subject of a brutal and unprovoked attack. His resulting injuries have meant he has had to undergo treatment in this hospital and he will be a resident here for the next three days." finished Johnny in a professional and clean manner. They were easy words for him to say,it was his job, he hadn't been there,he didn't know the truth. He only knew `his' truth.the truth he had been told, and the truth that he felt would help him the most. But those words were empty. They would indeed grace the front pages of every newsworthy paper in the world tomorrow, and grace the screens of every TV station live now. But in the end they were false, a lie,something that could send a man that wasn't there to defend himself, behind bars,for a very long time.
The white facade that surrounded Jonathan continued to pierce a hole in his eyes. The bright light contrasted completely with the blackness of before. Jonathan had immediately taken it as a good sign...a sign of hope. In the darkness had come hurt and betrayal, and hidden truths... The darkness symbolized everything cast in shadows in Jonathans life. It symbolized the death of his parents, the gradual loss of his sister, and his loneliness... but the man had brought the light, and the freedom from pain, both emotional and physical. He no longer had to see Patrick because of this man, whose name still evaded Jonathan. He was without the pain of a foreign object impaled in his torso, and the blood that stained his skin had disappeared as well...
But he didn't have any knowledge of the fate and circumstance that would face him when he opened his eyes. He was completely oblivious to that, being in this other space, this unconscious world. In Jonathan's eyes, the events of the past evening, which seemed like a few seconds ago, were a defining moment in his life. Little did he know that the outside world had conspired against him...That a single voice, with every word, was at this moment destroying his name and his achievement, and if they could, his life. Little did he know that when his eyes fluttered open, that he would be greeted by questions and no answers. That he would be greeted by the faces of strangers, and no friends, and that he would be greeted by something that he would never want to ever have woken up for...
"I brought you your coffee..." spoke Cath as she entered the bright and inviting room, but to no answer...
"I know...he's not here...but he will be. He had an accident last night...a bad one" finished Cath as she rounded the central bed and sat down, after pulling up a chair for herself. She smiled, a positive and genuine smile. She needed to do that, even if the feelings inside betrayed the exterior. She needed to put on a front, a mock front to desway peoples fears over her. It seemed only Joey could see past the exterior...something that played on Cath's mind continually as she continued...
"I can see why he comes here so often now..." said Cath but she was quick to allay any fears of misinterpretation... "but I didn't mean that as it came out! I meant, he always spends so long in here with you, and yet it's got to remind him of all the bad things... It's been three months now. That's a long time for anyone, let alone Jonathan, he's impatient, but you already know all about that!" finished Cath as a smile started to grace her face...
Cath suddenly lost all ability to continue conversation. Her mouth became a veritable desert, free of moisture, words or thoughts... She had done this, sacred thing, for Jonathan. This cup of coffee was a symbol to him... 'It IS a symbol to him' reprimanded Cath as she tried in vain to maintain that he was going to survive this...saga. He had done this everyday for the past 13 weeks...A cup of steaming hot coffee, with a dash of milk and one sugar, brown. In his eyes the perfect morning coffee. In his eyes the only way to cope. In Cath's eyes the perfect excuse the avoid the truth...
"Do you have any leads on the attacker?" probed an unnamed reporter as she stood up amidst the flashing cameras and distant conversations...
"As a matter of fact we do...He is under guard as we speak. I can't go into the details right now, but let me just say this...Jive, WEG, and NSync will stop at nothing until he is brought to justice...Now...if there is nothing more I will take my leave, thank you again for attending, and NSync send their thanks for the show of support they have received over all of this..."
And with that it ended. Johnny walked briskly away from the podium he manned moments earlier and the rafts of media began their slow and monotonous journey home...And that was it. Just a few words from one man, representing five others would grace the front pages tomorrow morning. It was a media coup. To Jive it would no doubt represent an advertisement killing. Sales would rocket, interest would balloon, someone may go to jail!
"I'm feeling better, thanks..." finished Justin as Carl stood at his bedside.
"Good to hear, now get some more rest and we'll see about getting you out of here sooner rather than later, cause I can see your mother getting a little agitated!" laughed Carl trying to at least inject some sort of smile in Justin, and it worked. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked at Carl for a split second before looking away. Carl wasn't Justin's doctor but he had to see him nevertheless. He was sure Jonathan would be ok, eventually, but he had to be sure that what 'happened', did actually happen, and for some reason, seeing Justin was going to help... 'Something's bothering him' pointed out Carl as he looked on for a moment...an obvious fact he then retorted as he mentally slapped himself... 'Of course something is bothering him you blithering idiot...' But even after standing there, watching a distant looking Justin, for several minutes, something looked awry. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Justin kept looking away, distantly, then looked back at Carl, straight through his own eyes, as if he pleaded with him for something. Something Carl didn't know how to give, or what to give for that matter.
Carl turned and made his way out of the room, only to be passed by JC on the way out. They simply smiled at each other as they passed by, JC assuming that he was Justin's doctor, and Carl noticing JC's apparent insecurity...
"Hey..." commented Justin as JC sat down with a thud next to the bed. JC felt slightly lighter of worries this morning. Lonnie had brought him that. At least one person knew he was gay, and that was one person more than the day before, and one person closer to telling the most important people / person.
"Hey..." followed up Justin as he leant forward and waved his hands in front of the glazed eyes that owned JC's stare. But he quickly stopped when he felt a resurgent pain in his side, and he quickly fell back to his comfortable bed clutching his aching side...
JC quickly returned to the world of normality upon realizing Justin's painful expression...
"Justin, Justin...are you ok? I zoned out there...do you need anything...? blurted out JC as he leant out of his chair and hovered over the edge of the bed...desperate to assist...
Justin took a brief moment before taking a deep breath and responding.
"Calm down man, don't put yourself in here too..." said Justin as he forced a single laugh out of his lungs...He was ok, the pain, even after a short time as this was something he had grown used to. The pain relief he had been receiving had numbed the overwhelming tightness in his chest... But it didn't stop everything. 'I have to see him...' 'Soon' echoed Justin as he waiting for JC to laugh or at least smile...
JC could only sigh in relief. He knew Justin would be ok, his injuries being far from life threatening. But he couldn't shake the new feeling he had building up in him... 'That' Police Officer had questioned him as he expected. But she had planted a seed out doubt in his mind. He no longer felt extreme anger towards the 'supposed' man who did this. He only felt anger at himself for not being there when he should have been, and for acting as he did...Because 'If he didn't go it, and he dies...I could never forgive myself...' was the prevailing thought as he put out a fake smile that Justin saw and could see straight through it with ease. JC could never hide too much from Justin, they had been best friends for too long...
They both existed in silence for the next few moments, neither knowing quite how to broach the subjects they were both thinking about... Justin wanting to find out what was troubling JC, and JC wondering what truly happened last night...
Cath had left her visitation a few minutes ago and was in the process of composing herself. She had gone through the motions, a la Jonathan, and it felt weird. It sent a shiver up and down her spine as she thought of Jonathan doing the exact same thing. Brewing the coffee, adding the milk and one sugar and placing it down softly on the bedside cabinet as if not to wake someone. She looked out through the glass door she was faced with. It didn't take her long to decide what she wanted to do next. The air had become stifling inside and she needed refreshment... 'I need a spot of fresh air before I explode' is all she told herself...plus she needed a small dose of the outside world to take her away from her own little one.
She opened the door and was greeted by a wave of refreshing winter air. She closed her eyes and reveled in it for a moment as she paused...
When she opened her eyes she glanced upon a haggard figure. She cocked her head to the side as she looked at the man. 'Typical' thought Cath as she looked upon yet another member of NSync... 'If Jonathan was here to see me right now' she smiled as she contemplated the prospect of Jonathan clasping his hand over his mouth to stifle the echo of glee coming from inside... 'Ever the keeper of the peace' was Cath's final thought as she strode off through the fresh air towards one of the five. The shy one, the conservative one, the one who knew all...
As Cath approached she could see he would be un-responsive. People were passing by and he didn't flinch an inch. With his head hung low, people didn't recognize him. His blond spiky hair was all that could be seen, but that even looked dour and sad right now. 'Perhaps he hasn't slept' was Cath's conclusion.
"Those are going to cost me more than a penny." said Cath, putting in the line to hook Lance into the conversation...
"More than a penny for what?"
"Your thoughts...I bet there's more than a pennies worth in there..." smiled Cath as she looked into Lance's eyes for a moment until he responded in like and then she looked away...
"Probably..." was all Lance could say as he let his head fall backwards against the wall...
Cath paused for a moment...She wasn't one for advice, and she would probably say just that, but she was gonna give some. She had seen Lance during the night, alone and with some heavy issues weighing on his shoulders...Nurse Ogawa had even told her that he was there when Jonathan nearly slipped away during the night...And throughout it all he had never been with anyone for moral support. He had probably, in Cath's assumptions, spent some time with Justin. But with Justin asleep until recently, the conversation possibilities were limited to say the least.
"You like being alone Lance?" questioned Cath out of the blue.
Lance snapped his head forward and frowned his response... "And what do you mean by that?"
"I just wondered why you spent most of your time alone. And in your car, sleeping, when you could have been in bed." said Cath, but she wasn't finished... "But I suppose that's because you don't want to be interrupted by anyone you know..." assumed Cath. It was the only assumption she could come up with. For some reason, Lance didn't want to see Justin, and he didn't want to see the others...
"I do not spend all my time on my own...I've just got here...I was just giving Justin a bit of a break..." stammered Lance as he tried to cover up his obvious avoidance of the others...
"Look, I'm not big on advice, and I don't expect you to break down and confess all your secrets to a stranger, but all I suggest is that you at least tell someone. Joey was good with me...He knew exactly how I was feeling about all of this...everything. He maybe able to help you with yours...You know Joey, he lets things go in one ear and out of the other some of time and sometimes that is exactly what you need. Someone who has no inhibitions, no hang ups and definitely no preconceptions about anything. But then again, you probably know that already seen as he's one of your best friends..." finished Cath. It went on abit longer than she'd hoped but she got out the message she intended...She just hoped that whatever it was, assuming it was trouble coping with Justin being attacked, would be sorted out soon, for the good of everyone.
Silence prevailed for a moment until Lance, for the first time in the conversation, lifted his weary head up to meet Cath's eyes. He had spoken to her without really knowing who she was. When she said Joey's name it clicked. It clicked that she was Jonathan Harrison's best friend. She was the one Joey had gone off with to talk...
"I haven't seen Joey since last night..." said Lance as he looked away and into the distance... "I haven't seen anyone since last night...apart from you in the cafeteria though..." he continued as he took a brief glance down to his own hands as he clasped them shut... "Don't worry...it won't last long. I'll take your advice and talk to Joey..." resigned Lance as he stood up and looked back down to Cath. "You sure know what to say for someone who claims to not know us very well..."..."I'll take that as a good thing I guess." and with that he produced a genuine smile to Cath. An appreciative smile. But it was also a guise. His troubles were still there and still confusing him, and destroying the willpower he needed to do what what was required in the end.
As he looked towards a silent JC, another questions graced Justin's mind. All this time he never once questioned what happened last night. But then JC entered the room. 'JC was there' ... 'He knows what happened to that man'. And with that Justin's attention became removed. His gaze clouded over for a moment as he thought back to what he could at least remember. The face, the words, the help, the eyes...Everything about the man, Justin remembered completely. He could remember what happened as well, the car, the accident, the savior at his side. But nothing was as vivid as his features. Justin could feel something well up inside himself as the thoughts ran through his mind, but it was something different, something he had never felt before to this magnitude. 'This is it... I have to admit it now!" admitted Justin to himself. He echoed it aloud with a sigh...
JC heard the sigh and turned his head... "What is it?" he asked, concerned
"Tell me what happened last night...you know...after I...passed out!" asked Justin. His voice was pleading, and insistent at the same time. At no time did he look at JC for a sign that the information was forthcoming.
JC looked away immediately...He knew that he needed to hear what happened to Justin before he arrived before he spoke. He needed to know that what he did was the right thing, was the decent thing, was the thing a true friend would do. But Justin had asked him the question...and he had no way to avoid answering it...
"Only if you tell me what happened before I got there...I need to know!" pleaded JC, who attempted to veil his plea, but failed miserably, and it showed as Justin turned and gazed at him.
But Justin couldn't go against that plea. The look of uncertainty and longing in JC's eyes was overwhelming. 'He'll tell me what I need to know...after.' thought Justin as he composed himself.
"I was looking for you in the rain...I was really wet and this guy asked me if I was ok, cause I'm sure I looked stupid being out in the bad weather an all." said Justin as JC listened intently. "But I turned around and hit him and I don't know why I did. I guess I was really pent up." he continued. A lump started to form in his throat as he continued to recall the evenings events... "I started rambling, and I must have walked out in the road, cause the next thing I remember is, he pulled me off the road, and I didn't know what was happening..." he took a deep breath. 'Shit, I didn't know it would affect me like this...' Justin paused and closed his eyes for a second... "I felt this ripping pain in my back and I saw him hit the parked car beside me...I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even stop myself from falling to the floor...It all seems so real..." choked Justin as tears began to lip out of his eyes and make their way down his cheeks... JC saw this and went to comfort, but Justin just raised his hand... "No...I need to say this, you wanted to know. And I need to get it out of my system..." Justin paused as JC sat back down. "The next thing I saw was his eyes, peering down at me. He looked in pain, but I couldn't move my lips, or say anything. The words were there, but I couldn't say anything...Then that was when I blacked out...I must have collapsed or something..." finished Justin as he let out a harsh breath and rested his head back against the bed head as he sniffled up the last remaining tears... "I thought I was dead..." Added Justin as JC's face contorted into one of pure fear. 'That god he's alive...' was all JC ran through his thoughts. He felt selfish thinking about himself when it was Justin who was in pain, but he had to have that re-assurance...He needed to know the truth, and now that he did. It didn't make it any easier to handle. It was the truth he never wanted to know. But upon hearing Justin murmur those last words, JC's heart nearly shattered. Here he was, listening to Justin but thinking about himself, and all the time, Justin thought he could have died. It was a feeling JC was not familiar with and hoped he never would be...
Throughout this, Justin looked down from his sniffling and saw a JC deep in thought. He had recited it for the first time of what he knew would be many more. 'But I'm ok...I'm ok...I'm ok' he repeated as he continued to look down until JC's head popped back up.
"Tell me what happened then Josh...Tell me what happened to that man..." asked Justin. He had no clue what was about to be told. And JC had no idea what the repercussions would be. 'Yeah, Justin doesn't know who he is...but I do...I know what I did...and so will Justin. He'll hate me!' screamed JC within the walls of his thoughts...But this was it. He said he would tell, and he would stand by his word, whatever the outcome.
There we have it folks,yet another disgustingly short and empty chapter to feed on.yum yum.
The next chapter will also be this sort of length but will be out within the next 48 hours or so.
From then onwards it on and up as the chapters return to the lengths in chaps 1 & 2 (30 - 70K) as the story leaves the confines of the hospital and enters back into the real world.
A special thanx to Christoph as he is my main inspiration for this story as he keeps advising me and coaching me on the way forward,he's also on of the funniest people I know! (got get him Chris)
Keep emailing me,and the more the better (even if it is to chat about the weather!!)
Take care, luv ya all loads! Lol
DCG