"Oh. Shit." Chris's words hung heavily in the air like smog on a hot Californian afternoon. The words were so thick and leaden that JC felt as if he was trying to breathe through a straw; he couldn't get enough air. What had he done? He had thought he could help his Jess; instead, he'd made things worse than ever. Right now she probably felt heartbroken by Chris's actions, and she most likely felt betrayed by his own.
"Oh. Shit." He felt the words close in on him and cloud his vision, making everything indistinct and blurred. He barely felt Lance roughly push him into a seat before he almost lost contact with reality.
~~~~~
"Oh. Shit." Lance saw JC blanch and start gasping for air. He was hyperventilating, so Lance took matters into his own hands and forced JC to sit. He shoved JC's head down between his knees. "JC, listen to me. Focus, Jace. You need to keep breathing. Come on, breathe in. Good, now breathe out." Lance was relieved to see the colour start to return to JC's face. "That's right, JC. Everything will be fine, but if you pass out, you're going to be useless, so keep breathing."
~~~~~
"Oh. Shit." Chris dropped his head onto his knees in complete and utter defeat. He had told her that he would try to never hurt her, and yet look what had happened. How could she think he'd be angry with her? Sweet Jessie, it was no wonder she had such a skewed view of life; it made sense that she didn't like to get her hopes up, but now how was he going to help her to see that he cared for her, that he truly loved her?
~~~~~
"Oh. Shit." Justin watched Chris fall to pieces in front of him. He wasn't sure how things were going to work out, but he knew that any solution had to start with Chris. He lowered himself down beside Chris and nudged him.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Chris lifted his head and gave Justin a look. His eyes were rimmed with red, and he had tears falling down his face. What did it look like he was doing? Justin grabbed Chris's elbows and pulled him up to a stand. "What you should be doing is getting your ass in there and talking to her. You have to tell her the truth, Chris."
"Oh, and just how do you propose I do that?" Chris asked sarcastically.
Justin gave Chris a shove towards the front of the bus. "Listen, smartass, just tell her that it's a misunderstanding, that you're not mad at her and take it from there."
"What if she doesn't believe me, Jus?"
Justin put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "She will, Chris. I know she will."
~~~~~
"Shh, honey, you've got to calm down for me. Please?" Joey rubbed Jess's back gently.
She snuffled and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. "I'm t-trying, Joe," she took a shaky breath. "I'm trying."
"I know you are sweetie," he kissed her temple and held her a little tighter.
"I just wish he didn't hate me, Joe," she whimpered.
Joey shook his head. He pulled her away from him, tugging her chin up so she had to look at him. "Jessie, look me in the eyes, sweetheart." She reluctantly met his gaze.
Joey wiped a tear from her cheek, "Jess, I know for a fact that Chris does not hate you."
"What makes you so sure?" She blinked, trying to hold back her tears. "H-how do you know?" More than anything, she wanted to be able to believe him.
"Because--," Joey started.
"Because, I could never hate you," Chris finished softly.
"Wh-what?" Jess was afraid to look at Chris, afraid to hope.
Chris knelt in front of the couch Jess and Joey were sitting on. He hesitantly reached out to touch her cheek. "My sweet Jessie-bear," he smiled softly as he stroked her face. "I am so sorry that I made you think I was angry with you."
Jess's breath came in gasps as she tried to stop crying. She tightened her hold on Joey's shirt, not willing to let go of her security just yet. "Y-you-you're not m-m-mad?"
"Not with you, sweetheart, never with you," Chris kissed her forehead gently. "I was so angry about that guy and what he did that I decided to leave so you didn't see me explode. I never dreamt that it looked like I was mad at you."
"Well, it did, you idiot!" She smacked him in the chest. "I can handle emotions, Chris, you didn't need to hide how you were feeling from me." It was hard to tell if she was angry or not. Chris was guessing she was.
"Just like you didn't need to hide your feelings from me?" he retorted.
"What are you talking about? When have I ever hidden feelings from you?"
"How about when you were willing to jump on a plane this week and run away? Or how about when I asked you what was wrong and you wouldn't tell me?"
"Uh, guys? Can I get up now?" Joey interrupted.
"No!" they both turned and yelled at him at the same time.
Jess turned back to Chris. "That's totally different. I let you know I was scared and confused. Just because I didn't want to talk about it doesn't mean that I hid it from you. I freely admit that I try to bury my feelings and run away from my problems, but I know it never works, and I'm trying to change. I'm sorry that you think I was sending you mixed messages or hiding from you."
Chris heaved a large breath, "No, honey, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry I just picked a fight with you. I don't know what is wrong with me. I guess I have felt like you were trying to hide from me."
"Aw, you two are so sweet, it's making me sick!" Joey chimed in. "Since I'm stuck here, let's get it over with. He's sorry, she's sorry, now kiss and make up already!"
Jess moved away from Joey's arms. "Joe, you know I love you, but I think it's time for you to go. We can handle this from here."
"Are you sure?" He wasn't going to move unless she was.
She smiled, "Yeah. But thanks for being here for me."
Joey bent down and kissed her, "Anytime, sweetheart, any time," and left the two alone.
Author's Chapter Notes:
For reasons which will become apparent, I've nicknamed this the "Oh. Shit." chapter. LOL. Trust me, it works. Feedback is of course always appreciated. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around. It's taken me a lot longer than I anticipated!
Story Tags: celebritysync jc chris
