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“Room Service!”
“What the hell, man?! I’m tryin’ to sleep!” complained Nick, though his heart wasn’t in it. He knew he really needed to get up. If they were going to make it to Florida in time for the meeting with management that they had today, they would have to get an early start. Dragging himself off his bed, he practically crawled to the door leading to the hallway. He launched himself to the doorknob with a grunt of effort. Nick hauled himself backward just missing the swinging door.
“Brian! Shithead! What was that?! You nearly knocked me over!”
“It wouldn’t have mattered, you lazy ass. You’re already on the floor. Too tired to walk?” Brian’s false sympathy only made Nick want to punch him even more. That was too bad, though, for he was feeling too lazy to even move his arm. He did, however, lift his head up to look at Brian.
“Whe’re the other fellas? It isn’t like Kevin to still be sleeping while someone else gets the pleasure of waking me up,” Nick commented, more awake now.
“They are all sleeping. It’s only 4:00am.” At that, Nick jerked his head to look at the clock and swore.
“Jesus, Brian! What am I doin’ awake then? We don’t even hafta leave ‘til 6!” Nick whined. Brian smiled, closed the door, and walked over Nick’s limp body. As much as he would have liked to, Nick wasn’t even up to tackling Brian as he passed. He slowly flipped over onto his stomach, though, to look at Brian and give him his full attention. “I wanted to talk to you about some stuff.”
“Stuff?”
“Jenny.”
Nick sighed and pulled himself to his bed. “Why do you wanna talk ‘bout Jen?” He seemed wary of Brian at the moment. His voice told how much he didn’t want to discuss the topic with Brian for fear of what he would be asked.
“Yesterday on the bus. What happened? I’m not trying to pry but-“
“Well you are pryin’!”
“-I noticed something must have been going on between you two and I noticed stuff that happened after we arrived at the hotel. I thought as your friend we should talk it over,” Brian finished, smiling all the while. If that smile was any indication, being Nick's friend was not Brian's big concern at the moment.
“We fell over. You know how she fell asleep? Well eventually I did too. And the bus woke us up…” Nick trailed off, not wanting to finish when another thought came to him. “Which reminds me, before I fell asleep, I noticed you were scowling at Jenny as she was laying…in my… arms…” he blushed but rushed on hoping Brian would dismiss what he'd just said, “What was that?”
Brian hadn’t expected any questions that would throw him off guard like that. He was supposed to be the one doing that to Nick! And he sure wasn’t going to admit that he had been thinking about how Nick and Jenny weren’t accepting each other or their feelings. What kind of lie could he say?
“I was just angry about how odd she had acted. I wasn’t mad at her, but I wish I understood what was wrong with her. Why she’s so afraid.” It wasn’t a total lie.
Nick wholeheartedly agreed with Brian. He wanted more than anything to understand why Jenny was so scared of them. He would do whatever it took if he could in some way help her. He would never admit that to Brian.
“I wonder about her, too. It’s pretty strange. It makes her all the more interesting, though!” Nick remarked, the last part really more to himself. He shut his mouth as soon as he spoke. I can’t believe I just confessed that to Brian! I will never hear the end of this!
Brian smiled inwardly at what Nick had just told him. The simple statement revealed more than Nick had meant for it to. The guy’s expression also said that Nick knew exactly what he’d just said. Brian had to really hold in his laughter. It would only hurt Nick’s feelings and piss him off at the same time. Hell, from the pain in his side, Brian could only assume that if he gave way to his mirth, it would be loud enough to wake Jenny in the next room. Brian moved closer to Nick and patted his shoulder in goodbye. Not a word was spoken. There was no way Brian was going to get out of the room without cracking up if he even tried to open his mouth. He did cheer silently to himself, though. Nick finally realized what was happening.
Nick refused to look at Brian. He refused to say anything, either. It was just as well, for Brian didn’t seem to want to say anything to Nick. Is he so shocked he can’t speak? Does he even realize what I said? I hope not! At the touch of Brian’s tap on his shoulder and the sound of the door closing, Nick thanked his lord. Whether Brian knew what was going on here or not, Nick did not have to discuss it.
“Fuck.” He sighed and rubbed his hand across his face. What was he going to do? He himself hadn’t even realized until now how intrigued he was with Jenny. Nick knew it was more than interest, though. He felt something else for her. He was sure of it. Great, he thought, just great. Just what I need. Feelings for a fan.
Flinging himself over the whole bed, Nick sighed again and tried his best to get back to sleep.
****************************
She came up with a start. Scanning the dark room through squinted eyes, Jenny wondered exactly where she was. She couldn’t remember why and didn’t know how she knew, but she was in a hotel room. Of that she was sure. Unwrapping her legs from the tangled covers, she hauled herself off the bed and started pacing the room. Then she came to a door.
Nick.
As soon as that thought crossed Jenny’s mind, she remembered what had happened in the last day. Her first instinct was to reach for the door handle. As a child she used to go to her mother that would always be sleeping on the living room couch, whenever she needed comfort. Reality snapping into her mind, Jenny jerked her hand back and scolded herself for forgetting that not her mother, but a man much larger than herself would await her in that room.
Nick.
Somehow, Jenny didn’t fear him anymore. She knew she should. She knew that foolish thoughts would only be her undoing and, in the end, her defeat. She was like a ball of string, tightly compressed together. Nothing could touch her heart, because it was covered on all sides with thick layers that shielded her from anything and everything. But now someone had gotten a hold of the end of the string and was slowly pulling her apart. She had to get away from him; he was doing this. Slowly backing away from the door, Jenny heard a knock on the other.
Staring wide-eyed at the door, she wondered who it was and why they were at her door this early in the morning. Then she looked at the clock. Five o’clock. It was probably the time to wake up so they could be on the road. Reluctantly, Jenny went over to the hallway door and pulled it open. A very cheerful AJ stood behind it.
“Jenny! Hey, we have to be leaving in an hour, so I thought you might want up now. Don’t worry though, you will have plenty of time to get ready. In fact, Kevin’s just waking Ni-“
“KEVIN! Get your damn hands off me! I can get up on my fucking own! Oh..no… Don’t you dare! Damnit, Kevin! Howie…oh Howie help me! Howie, you asshole! Don’t help him! How- AHHHH SHIT!!!” Nick’s pleas for help and scream of fury were cut off when the ice cold water of the shower poured over him. Jenny had been gawking at the door adjacent to her own, but then returned her gaze to AJ to see what his reaction would be. A gleeful grin framed his mouth.
“What are they doing to him…?” Jenny thought. She hadn’t realized she had spoken aloud until AJ answered her.
“Oh, Nick’s precious sleep was just interrupted, is all. He doesn’t like to get up early. We all try to think of different ways to wake him up,” AJ commented. Something about the delight marked all over his face just screamed that he had been the one to think up today’s particular torture. After what had happened to him and Howie the day before, Jenny couldn’t blame him. So while AJ had the idea, Howie’s revenge was to help carry it out? she wondered. Serves him right, Jenny thought with a giggle.
Broken Promises