The three waited, Paul at the kitchen window with Tim, and Jerod at the door. Coats lay piled on the kitchen table, evidence of a hasty entrance.
"Here they come!" Paul announced, catching sight of the group. They heard a laugh in response, and recognized it as Jason's.
"Girls?" Jerod asked, abandoning the door for the kitchen window where the other two were.
"Oh, yeah," Tim breathed, moving to the side window as the seven walked to the door to enter the building. "Except one looks glued to Jason's side, and the other is sticking real close to someone else." They turned as the door opened and Jason ushered everyone in.
"Hey Jason!" Paul grinned, high fiving his roommate as soon as he could reach him. "Great concert. Do you do that all the time?"
"Not here. It's dangerous," he grinned. "Okay, introductions! Fellas, this is Paul, Tim, and Jerod. This is Joe, Donnie, Danny and Sam, my brother Jordan, and JJ. Peter's talking to Mrs. Foster."
"What are you doing now?" Donnie asked.
"Going home. I decided it was a good Christmas present for mom."
"You weren't planning that this morning," Danny said, grinning.
"No. I've tortured mom enough over the last year and a half, so I'll try to make up for it. I kept waiting for her to tell me the police were looking for me."
"Just visiting her will be enough," Jordan told him.
"Maybe. I'm glad you found me, though."
"Me, too," Sam said, moving from Danny's side to give him a kiss. "It seems college agrees with you."
"Yes, it does, but I think I would have gone crazy eventually," he said softly.
"Everyone does," Paul said, grinning.
"I'm not surprised," Jason said, and everyone laughed. "I missed you, though. Especially being on stage."
"How did you keep from being recognized?" Donnie asked.
"Didn't go anywhere," Jason said. "Paul did all the shopping and I did all the cooking. If nothing else, I can cook now."
"Good," Jordan laughed, then someone knocked on the door. Tim answered it and Peter impatiently brushed him aside. "Time to go," he announced, and began ushering people out the door. Jon gave JJ one last kiss, then Peter pulled her away from Jason and sent her towards the door.
"When you get back, you won't be able to hide again. Get used to the idea of singing lead on stage," he informed Jon.
"No, Peter," he protested, but the door closed behind them. He sank down in a chair, staring at the door. Then he realized that the numbing panic hadn't attacked him. He grinned slowly. Maybe he could. Just maybe.
"Jason? Where did you find those girls?" Jerod asked.
"Sam's my cousin, JJ's her roommate," Jason grinned.
"You avoid girls like the plague for a year and a half, then in one evening, you get a phone call from one girl, start a riot, and kiss another girl," Tim said. "What is going on?"
"A riot?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, that's what it looked like. We got out before it got ugly, and I guess you did too," Tim explained.
"Who's Jonathan Knight?" Jerod cut in.
"One of the New Kids on the Block," Jason said, glancing at Paul. "Why?"
"Everyone was sure you were him," Tim said. Jason sighed.
"I am. That's classified information, though."
"You are?" Jerod asked, Tim's jaw nearly hit the floor. Paul nodded.
"Yes. My brother, Jordan, is the one you two don't like so much, the one who sings 'higher than Julie Andrews and not quite as pretty'," Jason grinned. "I'd appreciate it if this doesn't get around. I'm planning on staying for another semester."
"Wait a minute. You said that you grew up with the New Kids on the Block," Tim said.
"I did. The only one I didn't grow up with is Joe." Jason tried not to laugh.
"Well, that explains why you like the group," Jerod finally said. Jason grinned. "And you don't want anyone to know. Well, my sister will kill me if she ever finds out, but okay."
"Thank you. Now, I'm going to sleep my plane leaves tomorrow morning. See you after Christmas." He went into his room and got ready for bed.
Jon's arrival at home sparked off quite a bit of excitement. His mother, tired of not knowing where he was or what he was doing, was very glad to see him. They spent much of Christmas vacation looking for a house for him, though his mother protested that he could stay with her when he got back.
Christmas day was quiet and happy. He explained then what had happened from the time Jordan got shot, the parts she didn't know. He told her of his suspicions, though they made him blush, and what had happened just before he came home, explaining that JJ's "rape" had been the main reason he'd come home, but the withdrawal had been a part of it. He told about his years at school, reminding himself then to give his mother his phone number and address.
"They found me through a magazine, I guess," he told her. "I don't think they trust me, though. It's like I'm a monster. I felt like one, for a while. Sam and Danny both seemed a little wary of me."
"That's okay," she said when he finished. "Just take it slow."
"Mom, why did you give Maurice the stuff from the hospital and the rehab center?" he asked later, sounding very confused.
"Because he asked for it," she smiled.
"Huh?"
"He knew you wanted to be left alone; I told him what you'd said when he asked. He just shook his head and asked again. When he had them, he explained that Jordan wasn't looking for you, but the two girls had ignored my instructions or hadn't been told, and were doing their best to find you. I told him not to tell them, because we could never figure out why you'd left," she said, smiling at him.
"They forgot to tell you to tell me that I didn't hurt JJ," he said.
"Jordan told me, but you were still in the hospital, and I didn't remember."
"Oh," he grinned.
Later that evening, they got a call from Jordan and talked to everyone. It was, all in all, a satisfying Christmas. The next day, though, they were back to house hunting.
They found a perfect house for him, two bedroom with about four acres around it. It was already furnished, and the price was reasonable. He bought it just before going back to school.
When school started again, he returned to the life of a fairly normal student, which was occasionally interrupted by phone calls from odd places. The calls were mostly from Jordan, and the two grew closer as they spoke over various things. His room mates, listening, sometimes had to laugh.
This semester was slightly more hectic than the last ones had been. He wasn't taking as many classes; in fact, he dropped two to keep his time out of the apartment to a minimum, including the show choir. It was, after all, what had blown his cover. It was hard on him, but he stuck it out. He had a harder time remaining anonymous, which he had expected, but his roommates did their best to help him out. He actually made it to finals, then somehow someone found out. He didn't know if it was coincidence, or if Jordan or one of the others had let it slip where he was. It didn't really matter. He'd known he didn't have much time, so as soon as his last final was over, he left.
He spent most of the summer puttering around his house, planting a garden and fixing the lawn. He had a lot of the yard done, including a small flower garden, by the time New Kids came off tour. His mother had never seen him so happy. At least not until the others came home. He spent the next few months with them, learning everything and trying not to get in their way, knowing he was behind them in a lot of things. It saddened him that his yard work would be wasted, but he shrugged it off. He'd have the rest of his life after the group to fix his yard.
Go on to Next Chapter | Grounds for Vengeance
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