In between doing New Kids, Maurice had founded another group, much along the same lines, called Star's Comet. This one also consisted of people from around Boston, including Jordan's friend, Chris Hannon, from Dorchester.
About six months later, New Kids started their tour. With them went Star's Comet, as an opening act. Jordan was glad. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Chris, really, since before Theresa's death, and wanted to do so. The first chance he had was at dinner at their first concert. He sat down next to Chris, who as sitting across from Danny and Sam. Chris looked at him, then stood up.
"Excuse me," he said coldly, took his plate, and moved. Jordan watched him go, really confused.
"What was that all about?" Sam asked, looking in some concern at Jordan. He shrugged.
"I don't know. We were friends, and his sister died a while ago." His voice had an odd catch to it. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him, and I was hoping to."
"That's odd." Sam smiled at him, and he checked behind him, where Chris sat with Jonathan and JJ, his back to Jordan.
After three weeks of such treatment, Jordan quit trying to talk to him so constantly. He still tried occasionally. Chris then took to observing Jordan. Where could he get him best? He noticed how close Jordan and Jonathan were, especially in the banter in the green room just before the concerts. The brothers teased each other and the rest of the band mercilessly. The target of his hate was definitely Jordan, but what if he tried to get Jordan to feel some of the same feelings he'd had? That meant he had to ruin his brother. He had about four months of agony and hurt to give, so it would have to be slow. Slow and painful.
Once that was decided, he began to observe Jonathan. Most of the others times, when not waiting for a concert to begin, he hung around with JJ. They weren't as... obvious as Danny and Sam, but they were definitely close. He started talking to Joe about the brothers, and accompanying him to the library when he had to go for his classes. He also mentioned to him, and word got to Jordan, that Jonathan wasn't happy about Sam and Danny. Jordan couldn't understand it, and began to watch his brother.
It had begun, but there was more to be done. What? A couple of weeks later he arrived at the idea; Donnie had worn his "Drugs Suck" T-shirt for a concert when he remembered. New Kids were against drugs; what would happen if one became a drug addict? He began doing research, asking questions about Jon, and going to the library with Joe when he had to go for his classes. About three months into the tour, he had a plan. He'd see what he could do about causing Jordan to lose his brother.
The question now was how to get Jon hooked on the drug, and Chris decided that maybe a good fight... Yeah. Split them up, get Sam, JJ and the rest of the group in on it, and everything would fall apart. Especially if JJ were involved.
He began to watch Sam and Danny and found himself wondering at times if they were sleeping together. That was an idea: make Jon think that he had come to this conclusion himself, and everything would go up, and a huge fight would be the perfect result.
Jon started to notice that Sam and Danny did tend to stay away from the others for long amounts of time. They had become closer since Jordan had been shot, and originally Jon had liked the idea. They were a perfect pair. But now he began to wonder. He didn't think Danny would go that far, but the evidence piled against him. Jon just watched for a while, slightly suspicious, then very suspicious.
Jordan noticed the suspicion. "Jonathan, what is with you? You're watching Sam like a cat watches a mouse it plans to eat."
Jonathan opened his mouth to say something, and Chris, who was never far away, stumbled and dropped some books with a crash. Jordan and Jonathan both bent down to help him gather them, but Chris gave Jordan such a look that the younger Knight handed the books him he'd gathered and walked away. Jonathan finished helping, then turned to answer Jordan's question, only to find him gone. "Where did he go?" he asked. Chris shrugged.
"I didn't notice. Thanks for the help." He turned and walked back to his room. He grinned to himself; this might turn out to be easier than he thought. Now was the time to get Jonathan really confused.
"Doesn't it bother you that Jordan is so popular?" Chris asked one night at dinner. Jonathan looked at him.
"No, not really. I mean, I don't think that he's any more liked than the rest of us."
"Why?" JJ asked.
"I don't know. I guess I didn't notice it before, but he seems to be really stuck up, proud. He's got an ego, you know?"
"Why do you say that?" JJ asked. "I've never noticed."
Chris grinned. "You're dating his brother. He must like you, too, or think you're a good couple. Maybe he doesn't care that you're dating Jonathan because you aren't pretty enough for him."
"Just a minute," Jonathan protested angrily. Chris put his hands up to ward him off.
"Just thinking. I don't know. He seems really... like he holds himself above us. And maybe it's just me. We are, after all, less than you guys."
"I wouldn't say that," Jonathan said.
"No, but he might." Chris checked his plate, then sighed. "I'm done. I'll talk to you later."
"Bye," JJ said as he got up and left. Jonathan stared at his plate, a contemplative look on his face. "What, you're taking him serious?"
"No, but what if?"
"Jonathan, there has been nothing like that in any of Jordan's behavior. I've never seen it. Even around Star's Comet."
Jonathan nodded, but looked unconvinced.
He wasn't the only one Chris worked on to raise suspicions. JJ also noticed (the same way Jon did; with Chris' help) how much time Danny and Sam spent together. She started getting worried but didn't know how to bring up the subject, but she wasn't quite as openly hostile as Jon.
JJ watched her roommate, and began to think that Chris was right. Sam and Danny were always disappearing into corners, whispering together. She couldn't think of a good way to bring it up to Sam, and she had never really ever tried to talk to Danny. But she did bring it up to Jonathan, who joined her in observing the couple, and he began to get worried, too.
Jonathan finally cornered Sam away from Danny and tried to talk to her; she just looked at him blankly and nodded. "Whatever," was usually what she said. It made him angry, and he then started snubbing her.
Jordan walked around a corner into one such confrontation, and stopped to listen.
"What is wrong with you?" Sam finally asked. "There is nothing going on, okay?" She turned and walked off.
Jordan walked over to Jon, who stared after Sam, a stormy expression on his face. "What is with you?" he asked, not quite demanding because Jonathan did look upset. "There is no reason for you to dis Sam like that."
Jonathan turned on his brother. "How do you know?" he asked, and Jordan could tell he was quite upset. Then he waved one hand in a dismissive gesture. "You're too blind to see anything. JJ can see it, too."
"Blind?" Jordan asked. "What has that got to do with it? You're diss'n Sam big time, and I want to know why."
"Blind. As in too wrapped up in yourself to notice anyone else. It's none of your business." He turned to walk off, and Jordan grabbed his arm.
"Wait. What is all this all of a sudden?"
Sam, on her way back to try to talk to Jonathan again, heard them yelling, and drifted closer to them. Something was up, and she wanted to know what it was.
Jonathan turned on his brother. "Look, if you can't see what's going on with Sam and Danny, then forget it."
"Sam and Danny? What about it?" Jordan let him go. "They're friends."
Jonathan nearly laughed. "Friends. Yeah, but are you sure they aren't closer than that?"
"Stop right there," Sam said, coming around the corner. "You think Danny and I are lovers?"
He turned on her. "So you deny it?"
"Of course I deny it." She looked at him belligerently. "And even if we were, it is none of your business. But we aren't."
Jonathan nodded. "Sure. Whatever." He shrugged and turned away again. Jordan grabbed his arm again.
"You aren't making any sense," he said flatly.
"Actually, I'm the only one making sense. Let me go." Jordan looked at him flatly, then released him. He could tell Jonathan was much more angry than he was letting on.
"I don't understand you," he muttered.
Jonathan laughed bitterly. "You never will."
"What is this, pick on family day?" Sam demanded. "Look. I'll talk to you when you are in a better mood. Until then, don't even look at me funny."
Jonathan clenched his fists. "Fine." He turned and walked off.
Jordan looked at Sam. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into him."
She shrugged, and the belligerent front dropped. Now he could see the tears that she'd been holding back. "You don't need to apologize. I'll talk to you later."
He nodded, and watched her walk down the hall. She walked to Danny's room, still upset, saw Jon on the way and noticed how he watched her. Now angry and nearly in tears for the third time that day, she knocked on Danny's door.
"Hey! What's wrong?" he asked as soon as he caught sight of her face.
Sam shook her head. "It's too dumb. I'm getting outa here. Do you wanna come?" she asked. He looked closely at her.
"Sure. Let me grab a jacket."
Jon saw them go, but didn't say anything in his anger. His hazel eyes still blazed when JJ found him, leaning against the wall, hands clenched at his sides. She paused, watching him, then turned away. She didn't want to try to talk to anyone in a mood like that. It usually had little or no positive outcome. He noticed her go and it made him angrier, so he stalked out of the hotel and went for a walk. He didn't notice Chris follow him, a pleased and maniacal smile on his face.
That evening after dinner, they dressed for the concert in an uncomfortably silent dressing room. Jon remained basically apart from the others, pacing in agitation. The concert was strange, and everyone had to do some major adjustments as Jon said nothing, putting all his energy into the dancing. Afterwards, Jordan cornered him, trying to ease the breach between them.
"Look, Jon," he started, reaching out to catch his brother's arm. Jon spun and stared at him.
"Don't even try to talk to me right now," he growled. "Just leave me alone." He turned away and stalked off across the room. Jordan stared after him, his brown eyes injured. Chris watched, trying to contain his excitement. It had actually worked!
The next morning, Jon woke very sluggishly and joined everyone for breakfast. He remained silent, but it might have been because of his exhaustion. He hadn't felt like sleeping until about three o'clock, and that was really late. He still didn't speak to Jordan, or to anyone else.
After breakfast, Chris met him in the hall. The younger boy had a bruise on his face and a cut on his lip.
"Hey, you feelin' better?" Chris asked.
Jon looked at him, confused, trying to clear his head. "Actually, I feel like the bus ran over me a couple of times. Why?"
"That might be the after effects of the stuff you took last night," Chris said easily.
"What stuff?" Jon asked, his head clearing momentarily. The effect didn't last.
"You were really upset last night, so I followed when you left. You went to a drug store and bought some stuff. I didn't see what it was, but when I tried to keep you from taking it, you hit me a couple of times." He indicated his face.
"I hit you up? and took some drugs?" Jon asked, even more confused. He'd considered drugs once in his life, when his father had walked out on them, but after a couple of tries had given them up as useless. He also didn't think he was that violent. True, he'd noticed how much Chris disliked Jordan, but... and now drugs?
"Yeah. You were high as a kite," Chris explained. "I never expected that from you, of all people."
"I don't remember takin' anything last night," Jon protested.
"You really were upset," Chris said.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm really sorry about your face," Jon mumbled, walking unsteadily to his room. He sank onto the bed, but resisted the impulse to go back to sleep, knowing they would be leaving soon, and he wanted to try to remember the night before. He did remember going for a walk, but not stopping at a drug store, and certainly nothing about hitting Chris. That bothered him. He packed his suitcase, still thinking, and was ready when Peter gathered them to go.
Go on to Next Chapter | Grounds for Vengeance
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