Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 16:14:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mighty Aphrodite <nsaphrodite@yahoo.com>
Subject: Small Sacrifices IX

Small Sacrifices:

Disclaimer: Completely fictitious.

Rating: NC-17 for content.

Website:  http://www.friendsnlovers.cjb.net

Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/friendsnluvrs

Author's Notes: Hi, all.  Aphrodite is back with a new chapter.  I
apologize it took so long. Life has been really tough lately. Plus, I'm a
new mommy! Yay!  Check out my new baby at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ndecent_pleasures

Feedback: nsaphrodite@yahoo.com - please. It will bring a smile to my face.

Misc: "Small Sacrifices" is a Slash Odyssey Nominee for Best Angst...to
check out other awards and nominees:
http://www.geocities.com/slashodyssey2001/



Small Sacrifices IX


JC cried out in rage at the sight of his beloved boyfriend lying on the
filthy ground. The blood that leaked out of him smeared over the floor on
which he lay.  JC approached Justin slowly, wiping away the tears in his
eyes. He crouched down beside Justin, reaching to touch him when the boy
cried out loud. Sobs wracked his broken body and JC was forced to return to
his corner away from his boyfriend.

He tilted his head, banging it a few times against the bars. He cried out
loud once more, letting the last ounce of anger seep through. Tears of
sadness now replaced his anguish cries. His eyes were misty over with tears
yet he still could see clearly Justin huddled on the floor, crying his eyes
out. Justin had since crawled his way from the middle of the cell to the
opposite corner. Still in an infantile position, he continued to cry. The
pain just would not go away. It would take weeks to heal if they were lucky
enough to escape this madness.

The trembling sobs began to subside and Justin began to suck on his thumb.
His eyelids closed over his eyes as the final teardrop found its way past
his lids. His breathing returned to a normal rhythm indicating that sleep
was just seconds away.  His eyes fluttered a few more times before his eyes
were bound shut.

Never leaving his eyes off of Justin, JC crawled his way toward his
boyfriend.  Once he reached Justin, he dipped his head down and kissed
Justin on the bridge of his nose. He brushed away the lose curl and wiped
the tears dry from his face.  Carefully, he shifted Justin's body on his,
holding him gently closer to his chest.  He removed his own jacket and
placed the garment over Justin's body. And together, entwined in the arms
of one another, JC joined Justin in their dreamland.


JC's peaceful sleep was interrupted by the creaking sounds indicative of
the cell gate being opened. Immediately, his eyes flew open and rage
coursed throughout his body as his eyes narrowed on the crystal blues eyes
staring right back at him. It was Brian Littrell. What the hell was he
doing here?

"Hi." Brian murmured, approaching the two lovers.

"Go away!" JC muttered under his breath. "Or I'll rip your dying heart out
of your chest."

"I mean no harm." Brian responded, showing JC what he hid behind his back.
"I've brought Justin some clothes and some pain killers."

"Oh. I'm sorry then."

"It's okay." Brian said, moving in closer to the lovers until he was
directly next to them. "Can I?" Brian asked, his fingers gripping onto JC's
jacket.

JC merely nodded.

Brian slowly lifted the jacket off of Justin's sleeping body. Hidden under
the garment was the damage Justin had suffered. So much damage. Brian was
surprised that Justin was still alive. He would have just given up and
die. He apologized to JC once more before leaving the cell to see his
cousin.

Upon reaching the second floor, he could no longer contain the tears that
were streaming down his frail face. How could someone put another person
through this much hell? How savage were those men? How inhumane was his own
cousin?

He stumbled into the office room where he found his cousin reading through
the bound book in which his ex-lover wrote the songs of his life on. A
smile plastered on his face as he pictured JC had written these songs for
him and not for that stupid Hollywood golden boy.

"We need to talk." Brian told his cousin.

Kevin reluctantly pried off his eyes from the book to look at Brian square
in the eyes.

"Yes. What's on your mind, Brian?"

"Justin." Brian said, almost whispering. "I went to see Justin. He looks
terrible.  There was so much blood on his body. I never thought I'd say
this but just looking him made me want to throw up."

"And..." Kevin said, as if expecting Brian to continue.

"Why? Kevin, why did you do it?"

"Because that was the only way." Kevin sighed deeply. "For me. For you. For
us.  That was the only way to get what we needed from JC. For that boy,
he'd do anything."

"Why couldn't you just threaten JC with Justin's life?"

"Because for someone who had been a victim of rape before, rape is worse
than death itself. I want Justin to suffer and I want JC to suffer even
more watching him suffer." Kevin explained without even flinching.

"But he could have died!" Brian grabbed his cousin by the collar, forcing
him to look him straight in the eyes.

The door squeaked open and Brian was forced to release his cousin back to
his seat.

"But he didn't."




After searching for Justin throughout the downtown area, Chris, Lance, and
Joey finally agreed to return to JC's apartment. Perhaps, they would find
more clues there. Perhaps, they would find JC waiting for them to enlist
their help. They were wishful thinking, praying for the latter scenario
more than anything.

They arrived to an empty apartment, again. JC was still nowhere to be
found.  And their search for Justin turned up nothing save for the bits of
information they had gathered from the jewelry shopkeeper. All three former
bandmaters convened in the bedroom, where they would try to be productive
and at least help JC put everything in his life back in order. However,
they were all painfully aware that without Justin, JC would rather
die. Life without Justin was like life without music and life without music
for JC Chasez was the equivalent of death. As they organized his books and
hung his clothes in the closet, Lance noticed the blinking red light on the
answering machine.  Abandoning the task at hand, Lance slowly walked over
the clothes piled on the floor to check the messages on the answering
machines.

"Good luck, hon, from mom and dad."

It was only JC's mother.

"Break a leg, JC. I knew from the first day I met you, you would be a
star."

It was only Peaches from his Mickey Mouse Club years.

"Where the hell are you?"

Johnny's angry words nearly deafened Lance as he covered his ears. Johnny
continued his slurs, damning JC if he did not return to the theatre. Lance
was about ready to simply turn off the machine when the next message struck
him.


"Hey! Hey!"

He heard JC's voice loud and clear on the machine as if he was calling for
him.

"What is it?" He heard an unfamiliar voice appeared on the machine. "What
do you want, boy?"

"I was wondering..." There was a long drawn out pause. "I was wondering..."

He could barely hear JC's voice over the turbulent sounds. Lance listened
more carefully. He even rewound the tape so he could hear every bits and
pieces of the conversation. Still, JC's voice was drowned out by,
by...Lance had to rewound the tape a few more times. The van was driving
over the railroad tracks, sending the van into a slight turbulence just as
JC was saying, "Can we stop by that Ice Coffee shop. I'm getting tired
already. You know me. I love to sleep. If I'm asleep, you'll never get what
you want from me."

He rewound the tape for the final time to listen to the message in it's
entirety.

"Hey! Hey!"

"What is it? What do you want, boy?"

"I was wondering..."

Long pause.

"I was wondering..."

Turbulence as the van drove over the railroad tracks.

"Can we stop by that Ice Coffee shop? I'm getting tired already. You know
me. I love to sleep. If I'm asleep, you'll never get what you want from
me."

A smile crept on his face as he finally put the pieces together.

"JC, you're brilliant," Lance smiled.

He turned around and called out for his friend and lover. His voice higher
than the usual bass. There was too much excitement in his voice that he
could not hide.

"I know where they are." Lance told them. "Wherever they took them, they
took them to a place past the railroad tracks preceded by an Ice Coffee
shop.  Wherever there is an Ice Coffee shop by the railroad tracks, they
will be near."

"Lance, you're brilliant." Joey enveloped his boyfriend in his arms,
kissing him on the lips, softly.

Lance wiggled out of his boyfriend's embrace and smiled widely.

"No. It was JC. He's the brilliant one. He left a message on the machine
for us, pinpointing exactly where they were taking him. And I'm almost
certain that Justin is with him, too."



AJ appeared in the doorway, casting a dark shadow in the room. He shifted
his body out of the doorway and entered the spacious room, stopping in back
of Brian, to playfully ruffle his blonde hair before taking a seat across
from Kevin.

"Justin's not dead yet." AJ repeated once again.

"I know." Kevin said. "But we have all the lyrics in this book."

"Ha! Are you that naive?!" AJ laughed out loud. He snaked out his hand and
before Kevin could react, he had already taken the bound book of lyrics in
his hands. He flipped through the pages of the book, nodding
satisfactorily.  "Looking good. But are you really that stupid?"

"Pardon me?"

"The lyrics are nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? Every song is written beautifully." Kevin
retorted defensively.

"Looks like someone still has feelings for our favorite pop star." Nick
said as he casually entered the room. He was closely followed by Howie who
greeted Kevin with a quick hello.

"Look, Kevin." AJ peered into Kevin's dark green eyes. "Of course, JC's
work is art. With such masterpieces, do you really think JC hasn't already
burned the lyrics through his soul? Chances are he probably commit the
lyrics to heart by now."

"Then what do you say we do now?"

AJ smiled devilishly. He got up from his seat and paced about the room
until he stood directly behind Kevin. He leaned closer to his bandmate and
whispered in his ears the inevitable.

"We kill him."

"What? I can't do that."

"That's the only way, Kevin." Nick responded.

"Howie?"

"Yes." Howie nodded weakly, avoiding eye contact with Kevin completely.

Kevin slumped into his chair. He rested his head in the palms of his hands,
rubbing his temple roughly. AJ took the opportunity and set a sheathed
sword before Kevin.

"Use this." AJ said, thrusting the sword toward Kevin. "You'll know what
do."

Kevin gazed sadly at the sheathed sword. He removed the protective covering
and immediately he was blinded by the glint of the sword under the natural
moonlight.  He sheathed the sword once more and held it close to his heart.

"Be strong. Have no mercy upon him." AJ added. "Just remember that he never
loved you the way you loved him."

"I will."

"Good. Now that we have that settled, we-"

"AJ." Nick interrupted his boyfriend. "I think Brian's gone."

"He's what?" AJ shrieked.

"Nick said that he's-"

"I heard what he said, Howie." Annoyance was evident in his voice as he
spoke harshly to his bandmate. "When did he leave?"

"Just a few moments ago." Nick answered his boyfriend.

"Bastard."

copyright Aphrodite for Friends & Lovers Site