The next morning, Jon woke up feeling the same way he had the morning before. He went down to Chris and asked him about it.
"Yeah, you went out again," Chris said, looking out at him sleepily from the door. "I watched you, but I like staying in one piece, so I didn't try to stop you."
Jon stared at him. "I did it again?" he asked.
"Yeah," Chris said uneasily. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Jon said, quick to cover himself. Chris hid a smile. "Why can't I remember going?" he asked, wondering out loud.
Chris shrugged. "I dunno, man," he said. Jon walked back to his room, trying to remember the night before. The second attempt was as futile as the first one.
JJ noticed Jon pull away from the rest of the band and wondered why. He fought often with Jordan and Sam, although Sam tried to avoid him and he tried to avoid Jordan. The arguments always began with Jordan trying to close the gap that had come between them, but Jon never responded, throwing more and more suspicion on Sam and Danny, which widened the gap between him and Jordan. JJ knew Jon and Danny had once been best friends, but now Jon would have nothing to do with his friend. He often ignored him, but was too restless not to do something, and JJ could see that it really hurt Danny. So he spent more time with Sam, which made Jon and Jordan fight even more.
She tried to talk to Jon, and got very confusing messages. One day he was as he used to be, caring and probably in love with her, and the next he'd push her away in irritation. She resisted as best she could, though she frequently spent evenings in her hotel room in tears, and Sam never said how often JJ cried over how he treated her. Of course, she couldn't say anything to Jon without him blowing up at her.
Jordan noticed how little Jon ate, although it was usually from across the room. He felt a little grateful to Chris as he continued to urge Jonathan to eat, or at least drink some juice. He managed once to even tell Chris thanks for that, although he didn't hear the hysterical laughter that came from Chris' room later that night. He also didn't understand why Chris would start to laugh every time he saw Jordan, and Jordan finally decided it was just part of the hate he felt, although he couldn't figure out why Chris hated him.
Chris couldn't believe the success of his plan. He never imagined to have created a rift that would send Jordan into something like he'd felt when he'd found Theresa dead in her room that morning. The memory still hurt, but every time he remembered, it pushed him to continue to ruin Jon. He had decided how to end the scenario he'd created and could hardly wait, but he had to, because Peter wasn't quit suspicious enough, and he wanted everyone to believe it was a suicide. Just like Theresa.
He decided to try to confuse Jon, and began leaving the empty medicine bottles in Jon's luggage. Then, just to be mean, and to see how far over the edge he could drive him, he began leaving syringes with the medicine bottles. He could sometimes hear Jon's frustrations as he tried to remember where they had come from. He muttered distractedly a lot. Chris noticed the worried looks everyone was giving him, and smiled smugly. He knew his plan was working, but didn't find out until later just how well he'd planned.
One day, they arrived at the city early. Jon unpacked, trying to find something to do, and came across an empty pill bottle and sone hypodermic needles. With a furious cry, he threw them across the room, then began to throw anything he could get his hands on. His suitcase quickly emptied, so he began on the beds.
"Where are these coming from?!" he yelled angrily. "I don't remember doing any of this! Why can't I just go back to how I was supposed to be?! How much of this do I have to take?!" He finally stopped and slowly crumpled onto the bed at his right, sliding down the side of it to the floor. He stared blankly at the wall in front of him, knees against his chest and arms wrapped around them.
He didn't hear the pounding on his door or someone yelling his name, or even notice when they finally got the door open and gathered around him.
"Jonathan?" Jordan asked. No answer.
"Get him in bed," Donnie said, and stood Jon up. Danny, Sam, and JJ watched from the doorway. Jon moved easily, but his eyes didn't change, staring blankly ahead of him. They sat him on the bed, then made him lay down. Donnie swung his legs onto the bed and removed Jon's shoes, then Joe pulled one of the blankets from the floor and put it over him.
"Will he be okay?" Jordan asked, more disturbed by his brother's blank look than he wanted to admit.
"I don't know," Peter said. "Leave him alone." They filed out, and Donnie brought up the rear. As he left the room, he heard a soft sound and turned. Jon had moved, turning his head to the side to look at the window. After a minute, he turned onto his side. Donnie let the door close, staying in the room, as Jon curled up into a ball.
Two hours later, there was a tentative knock on the door. Donnie opened the door to see Jordan.
"How's he doing?" he asked softly.
"He moved when you guys left, and not since," Donnie said.
"I'm fine," Jon said, sitting up a little shakily, his back to them and his head bowed. "I'm sorry if I scared you. You guys go on: I'll clean this place up."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Donnie asked. Jon nodded.
"I'm fine." He still hadn't turned to look at them, and he sounded and looked defeated. Donnie shrugged and left, pushing Jordan out before him.
"Why is he pushing us away?" Jordan asked as he and Donnie walked down the hall.
"I don't know, man, and I sure wish I did. It bugs me, too. It's real weird."
Jon sat on the bed, staring at the wreck of his room, very glad he had his own room. With a sigh, he began to pick up his clothes. When he found the bottle and needles, he crushed them and threw them away, his eyes burning.
Go on to Next Chapter | Grounds for Vengeance
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