Chapter 2
“Man,
the vending machines here suck,” Nick complained. “I have got the serious
munchies.”
“Stuff
your sock in your mouth. That ought to kill your appetite,” A.J. replied. Howie
snorted, and Nick shot them both a killer look.
“Are
y’all picking on my poor little Frack?” Brian said, looking wounded. He walked
over to them and put an arm protectively around Nick’s shoulders.
“Thank
you Frick. It’s nice to know that someone… hey!” Nick was cut short as Brian
reached his hand up to Nick’s head and ruffled his hair, making him look like
what one could only describe as a banshee. Brian cackled gleefully.
“Whoa,”
Kevin said, speaking from the chair he was slouching in. “And I thought you
looked scary when you woke up in the mornings.”
Nick
looked back and forth at all of them, betraying his youth with a pouty lip.
“Feeling the love. I am feeling the love in this room. What did I ever do to
y’all?”
The
other four groaned in unison, grinning at him. Brian seized a pillow off of his
hotel bed and attacked his best friend. Nick let out a screech and tried to
defend himself, but wound up flat on the bed, begging for mercy while Brian
stood above him with a look of triumph displayed proudly on his face.
“Okay!
You win!” Nick yelped. Satisfied, Brian let him up, but as Nick stood he gave
him one more thwack for good measure.
“I
have to agree with him on something. We don’t have anything worth eating on us and
I am just as hungry as he is,” Howie said, his eyes sparkling.
“How
can y’all be hungry at 3 in the morning? You should be exhausted. Go to bed,
all of you. That’s where I’m going.” Kevin got up reluctantly from his chair
and stretched.
“You
are getting too damn old, Train,” A.J. said, clucking disapprovingly.
“I
know where you live and I see where you sleep,” Kevin said threateningly,
wagging his finger at him.
“You’re
too slow to catch me, old man.”
Like
lightening, Kevin sprang at him, and A.J. escaped his assault by the hairs in
his goatee. He actually stopped and checked to make sure Kevin hadn’t gotten
any of them.
“Okay,
so I was wrong about that,” he said, laughing nervously. Kevin gloated
shamelessly. It was Nick’s turn to laugh. Kevin narrowed his eyes at him.
“You’re
next, punk,” he told him. “Go to bed.”
“I’m
not a kid anymore. I’ll go to bed whenever the hell I want! We put on a good
show tonight and I’m still not off that high.”
“I
like to have a good time as much of you, but we were out all night last night,
and we have to leave at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow. And let me just say
that if we are late leaving for
“Remember…
don’t be late! I want to have as much time at home as possible. It’ll be summer
before we have our next break.”
As
soon as he was gone, Brian and A.J. exchanged glances.
“Food?”
A.J. asked.
“Food,”
Brian replied.
“Where
we gonna get it?” Nick asked. “Like I said, the ven…”
“The
vending machines suck,” Howie finished. “We heard you the first time.”
“There’s
a gas station on the corner with an all-night food mart. A.J. and I will go
pick some stuff up,” Brian said.
“You
gonna get a bodyguard?” Howie asked.
“Hell
no. Why would we wake someone up? Besides, who is going to be running around
trying to mob us at
“Stranger
things have happened,” Howie pointed out.
A.J.
waved him off. “You worry too much, D. We’ll be back in a few.”
Brian
grabbed his arm before he could walk out the door. “Do you have your wallet?”
“Why
do I need my wallet?”
“Because
we always end up paying for you. Get it.”
A.J.
looked wounded. “You can’t be serious.”
“Do
it,” Brian ordered. A.J. made a face, but complied with his wishes.
“Okay,
now we can go.”
Out
of habit, Brian grabbed a non-descript hat. A.J. did the same and put on a
light jacket to hide his tattooed arms. They could never be too careful.
***