Back to the Dream Page
Chapter 1
"Yo Carrie! What's up?" Justin asked, as he exited the dressing room and swung his best friend around.
"Justin! Great to see you again! How are you?"
Giving a casual glance around to make sure no one was really paying attention to the two, Justin answered, "Not good. You?"
"Same," she said, understanding what he meant. "That's why I'm here."
"Figures," Justin said, giving a slight, unhappy nod.
"Carrie!" Justin quickly moved aside as Nick came out next. The two quickly wrapped arms around each other and kissed passionately.
"Please, guys! Get a room!" Justin joked as he watched them.
Drew and Jeff came out next, gave one look at the couple and rolled their eyes. The three walked down the hallway, calling for the two of them to hurry up so they could get back to the hotel.
Once there, the guys all settled in Justin's room and played catch up with Carrie. "So what have you been up to lately?" Jeff asked as he settled into his seat.
"Oh, not much. Just the usual stuff. Working behind a desk eight hours a day. Going home and finding all the usual fan mail. You know you guys are just getting weirder and weirder stuff."
They all laughed. "What can I say? It comes with the business," Nick joked.
Carrie just rolled her eyes. "The things I have to put up with for you guys. The fan club, the distance, the hate mail and death threats, you guys…"
"Hey! You know you love us," Drew replied.
"Yeah, I must. Otherwise I wouldn't even be here."
"Speaking of which," Justin spoke for the first time. "What exactly are you doing here?"
She shrugged. "Well I had some leftover vacation time and I missed you guys. I put two and two together and voila! Here I am!"
Soon, it was pretty late and the guys decided to turn in for the night. "So Carrie, you staying anywhere?" Justin asked.
"Nope. I guess that should have been the smart thing to do, but finding a room kinda slipped my mind."
"Well you know you could always stay with me," Nick smiled.
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose-"
"Aww, baby. You know you're always welcome," Nick said, drawing her into his arms and kissing her gently on the forehead.
"Thanks Nick. I'll meet you in your room in a little bit. I want to catch up with Justin."
"Sure thing. I'm in room twelve. We'll see you guys later, all right?" Nick asked as he led the other guys out of the room.
After the door had shut behind them, Carrie turned to Justin. "This is going to be something big."
Justin nodded. "I know. I got the feeling too."
"You think it's serious enough to involve the Council yet?"
"I don't think so. At least not yet. Let's just see what happens first though, all right?"
"If you say so…" She turned to leave.
"Hey Carrie!" She turned back around. "Have you seen anything yet?" Carrie gave a small, sad smile and shook her head. Then she left.
Justin went and laid on his bed, resting his hands underneath his head as he stared up at the ceiling. This is not good, he thought to himself. It's been some time since this world has experienced a major war. If only it didn't have to happen again but it looks like it must. Damn the Nica! When are they going to see that this whole thing is not worth it? Too many innocent people are dying because they believe in being selfish. Oh Tanek, won't you please help us?
No answer came for Justin that night, even though he spent most of the night awake and searching for an answer. He knew that Tanek had not abandoned their cause, but The Great One was not about to fight their battle for them. The Great One wanted Balance to restore itself, without his help. And so, Justin drifted off to a troubled sleep, hoping against hope that at least nothing would harm his friends or family. It was his job to protect the innocent and this was what he was determined to do, for he had the spirit of Li in him.