| Chapter 3 |
| The bus stopped and ended Nick's thoughts. He sleepily climbed out of the bunk and looked into the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were tear stained. He cursed silently. He viewed crying as a sign of weakness. I'm weaker than I thought. He shook his head and grabbed a can of coke from the fridge. The sound of the can opening woke Brian up. Brian sat up sleepily and yawned. You would have thought me crying would have woken the dummy up. Geez. "Nick, you all right?" Brian said as he caught sight of Nick's red eyes and tear stained face. Yes, I'm peachy. "Problems with the girlfriend?"Gee, he asks as if he expects Jas and I to be fighting. He probably wishes we were. Blah, keep yourself together, Nickolas. He's your best buddy. He's the frick to your frack, or..whatever. "No, man. Everything's cool with Jassy and me. I had the dream again, though." Nick rubbed his eyes as Jasmine walked up to join them. She put her arms around Nick's waist and squeezed him. "What dream?" Jasmine asked curiously. "Nothing, baby." Nick said reaching behind and hugging her. That's it. Make her see that there's nothing wrong. Well, except for the fact that you dreamt she died. Now where was I? "Oh, ok." She stood on her toes and put her chin barely on Nick's shoulder. Thank God for a girl who isn't nosy. The guys laughed. "I love you, Nicky." She purred as she kissed his cheek softly. o0o0o...raWr.... Nick blushed. "Hey what about me?" Brian joked as he pouted. Yeah, what about you Bri? I'm glad Jas and Bri hit it off immediately. I swear they're like brother and sister. Well, maybe Brian llikes her more than that. No...dammit there you go again, Carter. He's your best friend. Man, I really need to stop doubting him. "I love you, Brian." Nick said with a grin. There, now you're not left out. Brian cringed. Jasmine laughed. Nick laughed, too. "I love you too, Nicky." Brian said in a rather feminine voice, winking suggestively. Stop that, dammit. Hey, is he looking at her.... Jasmine's voice stopped Nick's thoughts. "Eh, that's lovely, boys." She said. "So, we're in New York, eh? She asked as she poked Nick's stomach, or as she liked to call, his "tummy" Ouch. "Yeppers." Nick replied grabbing her finger and bringing to his lips to kiss it. Yes, we're cute. "Manhattan. We're in Manhattan." Brian clarified. "And for the record, you two are sickeningly cute." He gagged jokingly. I told you we were cute. "We know." Nick and Jasmine replied at the same time. They laughed. Brian rolled his eyes. "I hear it's a pretty tough place." Jasmine chimed in. "My friend ALyssa used to live here..." She stopped. Nick nodded. He also noticed Brian nodding as well. Huh? I thought she only told me. Alyssa had been one of Jassy's close friends. She had overdosed on heroin and almost died. SHe was in a treatment facility. I guess she got out recently. Jas never wanted to talk about it when I asked her about it. Why was she telling Brian then? "I wonder if Alyssa's old boyfriend still lives in Pennsylvania.I can't remember the guy's name. Wasn't it Justin or something?" Nick wondered out loud as the three walked off the bus. "No, genuis. Josh was their old boyfriend. He live sin Manhattan. Duh." Brian said as he walked with Jas, talking. Wait a minute....THEIR? |