HTTwo

CHAPTER TWO - OUCH

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself." Brian leaned sideways, looking past Nick, trying to see if anyone else was with him. "What are you doing here?"

Nick frowned irritably, ignoring Brian's question. "Jeez, didn't you see me on the road? You drove right past me. . . I was yelling at you!"

"Oops. Sorry, Nick. Really. So how did you manage to get past the security gate. . . " Brian took in Nick's disheveled appearance. "Oh."

"Oh, is right!"

Brian tried to hide a smile, seeing Nick's torn leather pants, the long-sleeved shirt that clung to him, heavy with sweat and dirt. Nick must have taken quite a spill hopping over the gate.

"Why didn't you use the gate's intercom?"

"What intercom? There was no intercom!"

Brian thought about that for a moment. It was rather difficult to find.

Nick leaned wearily against the stucco entryway. "So, are you gonna let me die out here or what?"

Brian grinned, noticing how Nick's hair was spiked stiff with sweat. He reached for Nick's scraped and dusty travel bag. "Nick. Hello. This is July, remember? Leather pants?" Brian waved Nick inside. "Come on. And don't touch the. . . "

Nick stared wide-eyed, his palm covered in tiny, fine needles.

"Motherfucker!"

Grabbing Nick's wrist, Brian pulled him away from the terra cotta pot. He inspected the damage and sighed. "Nick, whatever would possess you to pet a cactus?"

Nick eyed the soft and fuzzy-looking prickly pear. "It looked pretty?" he said lamely.

"You are blonde, you know that?"

"Hey! So are you!"

Brian smirked. "I dye my hair, it doesn't count."

"Funny."

"Come on, let's get this fixed." Brian led Nick inside, guiding him through the expansive interior and into the kitchen. Rummaging through a junk drawer, Brian pulled out a bottle of Elmer's glue and waved it at Nick.

"So?"

"So, here, give me your hand." Nick watched as Brian squeezed the plastic bottle, covered his palm with the sticky goo.

Nick stared at the mess. "And this is suppose to do what?" he asked skeptically.

"Wait. Once it dries, we'll peel the glue off. Along with the needles."

Nick looked at his palm again, impressed. "Wow. How did you learn that?"

Brian scratched his neck and turned red.

Nick laughed, understanding the embarrassment on Brian's face. "And you called me blonde?"

"Whatever," Brian snapped. "You want something to drink?"

"Yeah, gimme a beer."

"Can't. Don't have any." Brian twisted the cap and handed Nick a bottle of fruit juice.

"No beer?" Nick looked at the juice in disbelief.

"Nope. Against doc's orders. My kidneys and liver, remember? I've got to eat healthy, gain some more weight before we start touring again."

Nick took a swig of the juice, eying Brian. "Yeah. . . Skeletor."

Brian took a playful poke at Nick's stomach. "Looks like you can spare me some of that, Dough Boy. What gives?"

Nick swatted at Brian with his good hand. 'What can I say? Pringles and boredom are a deadly combination."

Brian looked at him, confused. "Boredom? Aren't you guys practicing? I'm surprised Kevin hasn't killed you about the weight gain."

"Uh, Kevin has other things to worry about right now," Nick muttered and began tugging at the edges of the drying glue.

"Huh?" Brian frowned, sensing trouble. "Hey, what's up? What's wrong?" Nick refused to meet his gaze, now attacking his palm with a vengeance. Brian reached over and grabbed Nick's hand. "Nick, no, wait a sec. Nick! Stop picking at it! Hold on. I need to go get something. I'll be right back. Then I want you to tell me what's going on okay?"

Nick nodded, keeping his eyes trained on his hand. Brian left the kitchen and Nick sighed, grateful for the short breather. He needed time to gather his thoughts. It wasn't going to be easy to explain to Brian what had just happened.

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CHAPTER THREE