Chapter Fifty Two

Chris drove down Eryn and Sasha's street. The rest of the car was in silence. Lance was beside him, and Joey, Justin and JC were in the back.

"Why is it so quiet?" he asked. No one said a word. "Come on, guys. Talk." Still nothing.

He glanced in his rearview mirror. Justin was asleep and so was JC. He looked beside him. Lance had on his Discman.

"Joey?" Chris asked.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll talk to you when we get on the bus," Joey said.

Chris coughed. "Okay," he said, between coughs. He coughed again. He realized the Tylenol didn't help his headache. His head was pounding. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to ease the pain. The car started to drift in the lane beside him, and a car honked it's horn. Chris opened his eyes, and straightened out the car.

"What are you doing?" Lance asked, taking off his headphones.

"Trying to keep my eyes open," Chris said.

"Are you tired?" Lance asked.

"No, I just have this pounding headache," Chris said. "I took a Tylenol at Eryn's, but it won't go away. I've had it since that dry ice at the concert. I don't know why."

"I'll drive, if you want," Lance offered.

"That's okay," Chris said.

"I don't want to get into an accident," Joey said, from the backseat.

"We won't!" Chris said. "Just let me drive."

A couple minutes later, the sharp pains returned. "Damn," Chris muttered.

"Are you okay?" Lance asked, concerned.

"Yes," Chris said. "Stop asking."

"Sorry," Lance said.

Chris leaned his head back on the head rest and closed one eye, still looking at the traffic out the other. He switched eyes. Then he quickly closed both, and opened them again.

"Keep an eye on the road for a second, Lance," Chris said. He closed his eyes.

Lance didn't answer. All he heard was the music coming through his headphones.

The car began to drift in the next lane.

"Chris, if you are going to switch lanes, go faster," Joey said. "There are two cars coming behind us."

"What?" Chris muttered, opening his eyes. "Oh, shit!" He yelled. They were going right towards the cement separator in the middle of the highway.

Chris turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, and the drove in front of a car. The car slammed on it's breaks and honked the horn. Lance leaned over, and when it was clear, pulled the car over to the side of the road.

"What are you doing, Lance?" Chris asked. "I was doing it alright by myself."

"Yeah, if you were trying to get us killed," Lance said. He looked in the backseat. Justin and JC were still asleep, but Justin had fallen over and was on JC's lap. Joey was sitting there stunned.

"Are you okay, Joey?" Lance asked him.

"Yeah," he said. "Are you?"

"Yeah," Lance answered. "Chris, what's up with you?"

"This headache," he said. "It feels like it's swelling my eyes shut." He looked at Lance. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Okay, how about me or Joey drive?" Lance said. "I want to get to Buffalo alive, thank you."

"Sure," Chris said. "I want to sit in the back, I need to try to sleep. My head, this is crazy."

"I'll drive," Joey offered. He opened his door and helped Chris out, then turned back on the car.

Joey turned back onto the highway. He glanced in his rearview mirror minutes later, and looked at Chris, who was sound asleep.

End of Chapter Fifty Two