Even Now

Chapter 45: Rehearse This

June 27, 1994: Seattle, WA, USA

It had taken a lot of persuasion to get Layne to leave the house... and, unfortunately, enough pre-cooked heroin for him to bring so he could 'get high-and-by.'

Jerry knew he had to be strong for Layne, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn't exactly feel all that prepared to face the world again, either.

Yes, he'd missed the company of other humans, being the social person that he was- but he had just disappeared off the face of the Earth. He expected some awkwardness when he saw the people he'd left behind.

Jerry wondered how Mike Inez and Sean would react to seeing them again... he knew Mike Inez would start insinuating things, but at least he'd understand some of what had been going on. Sean would be clueless to it all, as per usual... Jerry knew Sean didn't like being left out of things. He always put his friends before himself; didn't matter what mood he was in, or what was happening in his life- he had always been there for Jerry.
A good enough reason as any for Jerry to feel guilty for lying to him for the past year.

***

Layne didn't say a single word, stubbornly following Jerry all the way to a cab. Once they were in that cab, though, Layne just put his head in his hands, not making a sound.

When they finally pulled up to the location they were supposed to be rehearsing in, Layne looked up, and then turned wide eyes to Jerry.

"It'll be alright," Jerry tells him, hand on Layne's knee as he smiles reassuringly. "They'll be happy to see us; and besides, if anything happens, I'll be there."

"Psh," Layne rolls his eyes. "I can handle myself."

Jerry frowns as Layne gets out of the cab, seeing straight through the singer's stubborn facade: it was clear how nervous Layne was about this... he would never say it, but he was relieved he had Jerry to lean on.

Susan was the first to come up to them, a wide smile on her face upon seeing Layne for the first time in months.

She'd basically checked in with them, asked them how they'd been faring all this time... to Jerry's surprise, Layne spoke for both of them, saying that Jerry had moved in with him, and was helping him 'fight this thing.'

Neither Susan nor Jerry knew what exactly Layne meant by 'fight this thing', whether that meant the addiction or... or his separation with Demri... the miscarriage...
Either way, Susan smiled and nodded, saying again how great it was to see the two of them.

Walking into the rehearsal room, Layne was practically glued to Jerry's side, the unfamiliarity of everything and everyone around them nearly too much for him to handle.

Mike Inez had been overjoyed to see Layne again, commenting on the length of his hair; a bit of Layne's feisty personality came out then, as Layne retorted that Mike wasn't one to talk, nicknaming him 'Rapunzel' for his own long hair.
Mike and Jerry had both laughed at that; Layne looked to Jerry for his reaction, relieved to see that he'd found it amusing.

But when Sean showed up to rehearsal, he barely said a word other than, 'hey,' to Layne, preferring to keep to himself. It was confusing, and extremely out of character for the drummer.
Jerry knew he had been hurt by their absence... but there was nothing they could do but move past it, now. Besides, what was Jerry supposed to do? Apologize for being there for Layne?

No, no... he knew Sean had spent time trying to find Layne, too... they both cared about their friend- not in the same way, of course, but both a great deal.

As they started playing songs, Jerry often found himself leaning in to whisper to Layne that everything was fine and that he was doing a great job. Layne had angrily accused Jerry of patronizing him the first time he'd done that, only accepting Jerry's supportive words once Jerry began to mess up some songs, too. It probably made him feel less alone in that regard.
It had been awhile. It was reasonable, and besides, they were only human.