I Lie Awake

Chapter 10: Save Me

The rest of the day passed by quickly, the guys joking around and having fun. As it was a Saturday, they invited Joey over for dinner. They were all outside playing basketball while the sun started setting, slowly. Lance wasn't really a fan of playing basketball, he wasn't really that good at it. After a while of playing, he got tired and went to sit in the bench swing that they had by a tree in the backyard. He sat down and watched the sun set slowly. He was lost in thought when suddenly he felt a weight next to him. He looked to his left and saw Chris sitting next to him, breathing heavily. "Maybe Justin is right, I am turning into an old man." Chris chuckled. "Of course you are, Chris. Soon you're gonna get your senior discounts at the store." Lance joked. Chris smiled at him and punched his arm lightly. "I'm not that old yet, country boy." Chris countered. They joked around for a while before Chris asked, "Lance, this morning... why were you and JC...?" he trailed off as he saw Lance's face turn red. "I-... well-... we-" Lance started, he didn't know what to say, "Last night, I got more nightmares than normally and then JC accidentally fell asleep on my bed." "Wait, what do the nightmares have to do with JC falling asleep on your bed?" Chris asked skeptically. "Oh, well... whenever I have these nightmares, JC is there for me. And, honestly, I'm glad he's there because I don't know what I'd do without him." Lance answered truthfully. "You really like him, don't you?" Chris turned to face Lance. "I do." Lance nodded. They continued talking for a while before Lance said, "Can I tell you something? Promise you won't laugh." "Go ahead. But I make no promises." "Sometimes, when JC is singing on stage, I feel like he is singing to me." "Awww, Lancey is in love." Chris teased as he nudged his younger friend in the arm. "Leave me alone, Chris." Lance laughed.

"We should go back inside. They're gonna start making dinner and I want to watch JC and Joey fight over who is gonna be in charge." Chris said as he stood up, Lance followed him and they went inside. When they sat on the couch to watch some TV they could hear JC and Joey arguing about who would be in charge. "They're stupid." Chris laughed. "Hey, they're not stupid, well, Joey might be a little stupid, but not JC." Lance said as he slapped Chris in the arm. They had their dinner and then they went to bed. Lance, as per usual, just stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. The nightmares haunted his dreams every night, he could no longer sleep peacefully. He lied awake for hours until sleep seemed to carry him away.

Lance sat by the edge of the pool, his legs hanging in the water. He seemed to be lost in thought when suddenly he fell in the pool and was snapped out of his thoughts when he hit the water. As much as he struggled, he couldn't get up for air. He was drowning. From under the water he could see JC standing by the edge. Lance started going upwards and was able to breathe, before he could do anything, he started getting pulled back down. "JC save me! Help m- " Lance was cut off, he went further down, he started losing oxygen. "I'm right here, it's okay. Lance. Lance!" JC's screams started sounding muffled, until he couldn't hear them anymore.

JC woke up as he heard someone call for him. He looked over and saw Lance tossing and turning on his bed. 'Another nightmare' He thought. He stood up and walked towards Lance's bed when Lance started talking in his sleep. "JC save me! Help m-" He said, but cut himself off. He sounded distressed. JC frowned, "I'm right here, it's okay." he said as he shook Lance gently to wake him up, "Lance. Lance, wake up." Lance opened his eyes and took a deep breath as if he had been holding his breath for a long time. "Save me." he said, still waking up. "Shhh. It's okay now. I'm here." JC whispered as he held him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Lance's breathing came back to normal as he snuggled into JC. A moment passed when they were in silence. "How can I help you stop having these dreams? I hate to see you like this. Maybe if you tell me about them, I can help you." JC said softly, his voice above a whisper. Lance thought about it for a second, gathering his thoughts. "If I told you, maybe you would never think of me the same." Lance confessed sadly. "I would never think any different of you, you're my best friend. You know you can always count on me, that's what friends are for." JC said encouragingly. 'Well, I guess there is no turning back now. Here I go.' Lance thought. He took a deep breath and looked at him. "The reason I have these dreams is because I can't tell anyone my secret." Lance pursed his lips and then continued, "The secret is that... I'm gay." He looked up to see JC open his mouth to say something and then close it. Lance interrupted him and said, "There's more," he took a deep breath and looked JC straight in the eye, "I like you."

..................

JC looked up from the screen where he and Joey were playing video games. He stood up and shook a shorter, blonde boy's hand. "Hey, I'm JC." he said as he introduced himself. "Lance." The younger boy introduced himself. From that moment on, JC knew that their friendship was gonna last. Whenever they did their first performance, JC always sang the songs to Lance in his mind. He would always look out for him, he would be there for him. Their friendship turned into much more than that, more than a brotherhood, it turned into love. When Lance got sick, JC was there to care for him, because he loved him. When Lance fainted at rehearsals, JC got worried for him and would check up on him every once in a while to see that he was okay. When Lou screamed at Lance, JC defended him because he couldn't allow someone to speak to his best friend like that. When Lance got the nightmares, JC felt his heart shatter at the sight of the boy he loved being torn apart by his own dreams, he felt the need to be there for him and comfort him, whatever the price was. He didn't care about losing his sleep, or being tired during the day, all he cared about was being there for Lance, not giving up on him, and always loving him. The day he broke his arm, he felt bad for not being able to be there for Lance. Every time he held him in his arms, comforting him, every time he ran his hand through his hair, every time he sang him a song. Every time, he fell more in love. He felt that it was more than words what he did, to tell Lance that he loved him.

...............

Lance looked up to see JC's face, expecting to be rejected and pushed aside. Instead, JC smiled and said, "I don't like you." At this comment, Lance looked down, tears forming in his eyes. JC reached his hand out and placed it on Lance's cheek, turning his head to face him. "I love you, Lance." He said as he removed his hand from Lance's face and moved it to hold his hand. He could see tears start to form in Lance's eyes, but this time those tears weren't of sadness. They were tears of happiness. JC hugged Lance tight as he heard him say, "I love you too, Josh." They stayed like that for a while until JC asked, "So, is that the reason you were having those nightmares?" "Yeah, and now that I told you, I hope I won't be having them anymore." Lance said with a yawn. "Are you tired?" JC asked with a smile. Lance nodded. "I'll let you sleep then." JC said as he got up from Lance's bed and started tucking him in. When JC was about to head for his own bed, he felt a hand grasp his wrist, stopping him. "Stay." Lance said as he moved to the side to make more space. JC nodded and laid down next to him. He held Lance until they both fell asleep, no more nightmares haunting their dreams.