�I left, that girl is crazy. I don�t want to talk about it,� he said following me to the sitting area at the back. The buses were being refueled and everyone else onboard was asleep.
�You�re lucky we had to stop to get fuel. Otherwise, you�d have to endure the psycho queen for the rest of the night. Imagine my surprise in getting a text message from you at 2 o�clock in the morning,� I said taking a seat.
�I think I need to break up with her. She�s driving me nuts!� Well I could have told you that, I thought.
�I thought you didn�t want to talk about it.�
�I don�t! So. . . what�s going on with you?�
�Nothing at the moment. Just being dragged from my bed at 2am by a relationship conflicted boy band member is all�,� I said.
�Whatever, you must have been awake because you were all bright-eyed and bushy tailed when I came to the door. So, why were you up anyway?� he asked.
�I was talking to Joshua. He says, �Hi!� by the way. Now that you mention it, it�s a good thing I was awake when you texted me. You seriously would have gotten the cuss out for interrupting my beauty sleep,� I said.
�Your beauty sleep huh? Maybe I should let you get back to bed. I don�t think it worked yet,� he replied.
�Oh very cute,� I said swatting at him. �I don�t think you�re in a place where you can afford to make fun of me. You�ll end up sleeping on the roof.�
�Whatever, I�ll ask Cookie or Zeke or somebody else if I can stay on the bus. You don�t own this,� he said.
�Yeah I�d like to see you try that. Cookie is evil with a capital �E� when you wake her up and Zeke sleeps like the dead.�
�Oh yeah? We�ll see, I think you�ll be the one sleeping on the roof and I�ll take your bunk,� he said making a move of attack. I tried to dodge him when I noticed someone standing in the doorway.
�Look! I realize you two are friends now and all but some people are trying to fucking sleep. So, shut the hell up!!� Cookie said from the doorway. She was wrapped in her blanket, her hair sticking up all over her head and she didn�t even open her eyes when she spoke.
�We�re sorry. We�ll try to keep it down,� I said.
�Good,� she said turning and heading back toward her bunk eyes still closed. It was a good thing that her bunk was the first one when you left the seating area otherwise I was afraid that she would hurt herself.
�I�m pretty sure she wasn�t sleep walking,� I whispered. Nick started to laugh. �Ssshhh or she�ll come back then we�re really in trouble.�
�So now what do we do?� he whispered.
�I don�t know. . . let�s talk about why you�re spending the night here and not with your girlfriend on your own bus,� I said.
�Nooooo, I don�t want to talk about that or her. She gets on my nerves,� he said.
�Come on what happened? You�ve been hiding out here a lot for a couple of days now and you never really tell me what happened. Did you tell the guys?� I asked.
�Yeah, I tell them sometimes, but they don�t push me for information the way you do,� he said.
�Oh ok. Well didn�t I tell you that the best person to talk to was your stylist? So come on what happened?� I asked coaxingly.
�We got into an argument,� he said finally.
�What kind of argument?�
�It was silly. She wanted to go to bed I was still up and really just wanted to play video games.�
�I don�t understand. Why couldn�t she go to bed? The TV is nowhere near the bed on your bus.�
�She wanted me to join her. She claimed she couldn�t sleep in a moving vehicle unless I was next to her. I wasn�t and I�m still not tired. She got all mad and worked herself up into a fit and started yelling at me about how I never want to do anything she wants to, or I never want to sleep with her or I never pay enough attention to her. As if I didn�t warn her before that there would be times when I wouldn�t be able to be with her. This isn�t a fucking pleasure cruise, this is my job. Anyway, then she accused me of cheating on her and then in a huff made a grand exit toward the bedroom. It�s all a show to her, ya know? She�s not with me because she likes me, she�s with me because of who I am and what I can do for her and who I can help her meet. I don�t think I�d be this upset if she wanted to be an actress or get into the music business herself. At least then she�d be using me for something creative and productive. No, she just wants to ride me until the next more successful and more powerful boat comes along.�
This was not news to me. I could have told Nick this, in fact, I�ve tried to. I guess he really was getting tired of her bullshit by then. He was actually making sense and stuff. He was almost profound. I was kind of feeling sorry for Nick but at the same time I was having an overwhelming �I told you so!� moment.
�I�ll get us some drinks,� I said standing and heading for the mini fridge. This was definitely a time for some kind of liquor. I grabbed a six pack of Smirnoff Ice that I had bought earlier from the fridge.
�I really wish I could find a way to get rid of her without having her make a scene or something. I just know that she would want nothing more than for me to break up with her this time, so she can show her ass. Then there�s my mom� for some reason she thinks this chick is an angel on earth.,� he said with a heavy sigh when I returned. This was not the time for an �I told you so�, I thought. He sounded so hopeless. I don�t think I had ever heard him like that.
�Want me to beat her up?� I asked handing him a drink.
�Yeah would you?� he asked, the gleam coming back into his eyes.
�Maybe, for the right price,� I replied with a smile.
�How much?� he asked opening his drink and taking a swig.
�I don�t know. One million dollars,� I said doing my best Dr. Evil impression. He started to laugh a bit, hard.
�That was funny.�
�Well you�re the one who started to bring down the room. I almost wanted to leave this bus and go bunk with Ms. Jessica, myself,� I said.
�Ms. Jessica. Hhmm you know she knows you call her that, right?�
�She makes me feel like I should call her that. She talks to me� to everyone like we�re her lowly servants. I would never call her that to her face, though. I wouldn�t want to give her that satisfaction.�
�She doesn�t like you, at all. More than me when I first met you.�
�Oh I know and I�m not here for her to like. Believe me the feeling is definitely mutual. That girl is a grade-A B-I-T-C-H. Bitch! She got on my list when she practically ordered me to cut some bangs into her hair.�
�She ordered you? What did you say?�
�I said no. Then she kept at it and I said no again. Then she was like well you work for my boyfriend and I�m his girlfriend so in a way you work for me. I told her until she is signing my checks I don�t work for her. Then I asked her what she did for a living and she promptly answered by turning on her heels and storming out.�
�She likes making grand or dramatic entrances and exits. Her mom is the same way. How her mom and mine got hooked up I could never tell you, nor do I understand.�
�I�m not surprised,� I said. We started to unload on each other about our past relationship problems as we drank on into the night and the morning. We finished off the six-pack and then moved on to a bottle of Tequila that I found. With the Tequila we played Quarters. Now by the time we finished the Smirnoff we were each a bit tipsy. Not so drunk that someone might throw up or pass out but drunk enough that EVERYTHING was suddenly hysterically funny.
For those unfamiliar with the game, this is how it works: One person tries to flip a quarter into a shot glass filled with the drink of your choice, which, in our case was Tequila. If that person makes the shot then the other person takes a drink. If they miss then they take a drink. I went first and missed. Then Nick went and made his shot. He went again though and missed. So basically I can clearly remember the first four maybe five games. After that things get a little murky.
The next morning I awoke in Cookie�s bunk with Nick lying next to me. We were both thankfully completely clothed. Not that I�ve been known to sleep around anyway, drunk or not. I lifted my head to look at my surroundings and promptly laid it back down. A searing pain shot up through my head before making a return trip and then colliding with my stomach. I rolled over hoping to slow or stop the pain. I felt sick.
Before I put my head down I did notice how Nick and I were situated. We were laying shoulder to shoulder with our feet dangling over the side of the bunk. We looked like a couple of dead bodies that someone just tossed up there.
Nick started to stir beside me. I think he was noticing his unfamiliar surroundings as well. Suddenly I heard him turn towards me.
�Are you awake?� he asked.
�Yes I am although, I wish I weren�t,� I said.
�I feel like shit,� he said.
�Oh no, I feel like shit that has been stepped on by someone wearing cleats.�
�What the hell happened?� Nick said sitting up. That was a bad idea because he dropped back down with a gasp. Just as suddenly as he was down he was up again, hopping out of the bunk and making a beeline for the bathroom. I�m pretty sure it�s obvious what his problem was.
I sat up slowly and peeked out of the bunk. The light from outside made me want to curl into a ball in the farthest, darkest corner of the bunk. I looked down. Cookie had a top bunk and normally I�d just hop down. Today though, I had a serious hangover so, anything involving a lot of movement was mission impossible. As slow as possible I slid to the floor. Clutching the walls I made my way over to where Nick sat on the floor by the bathroom.
�You ok?� I asked.
�I think so,� he said.
�Do you think you�ll do it again?�
�Don�t know.�
�Well come on, we have some crackers that might settle your stomach.�
�Aspirin I need lots of aspirin. My head feels like someone�s been hacking at it with a rusty knife.�
�Don�t worry I got aspirin, too. Come on.�
There was no one on the bus so we both knew the ridicule would come later. The night before was coming back to me in bits and flashes as I looked for the crackers. I did remember how we ended up in Cookie�s bunk. I vaguely recalled talking to Cookie again that night. We had awakened her again and she came back there to confront us. I told her, with a few giggles, to go sleep in my bunk which was the farthest from where Nick and I were and that I would sleep in hers. She agreed. How Nick and I both ended up in Cookie�s bunk I wasn�t sure of.
Later, Nick and I walked into the makeup room. Zeke and Cookie were already there and working on AJ and Kevin.
�Oooohh I know what you two did last night,� AJ taunted.
�Whatever, nothing happened,� Nick retorted. AJ and Kevin exchanged a significant look. I could almost hear them saying, �Yeah right.� Nick climbed into my chair and I started trying to tame his wild hair which wasn�t acting right at all. Or maybe the hangover was messing up my performance.
�Well isn�t this nice and fucking cozy,� Jessica sneered from the doorway.
