How it Happened is Irrelevant (Mabbell)

18

In absolute truth, I'd really been thinking over Ronnie's advice to me. A part of me wants to take it, and another part of me says that's the playboy's way out. Even when I was only having coffee and an exchange of previously-known information with TJ, I felt like I was falling down an abyss. Granted, a part of that may have been the fact that we'd just made out, but that doesn't change the point. How do people deal with this shit? 

"I thought we agreed we were staying sober on stage?" TJ asked me, eyeing the cup of clear liquid next to me. Currently, we were sitting in the green room. I was nervous as hell about Robert not being there. As a person, he's a pain in the ass. But as a drummer, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing. 

"It's water," I insisted. 

He picked the cup up and drained it, eyeing me doubtfully after. "It's vodka."

"You didn't have to drink the whole thing." I crossed my arms.

"That was a bitch shot!" He dropped the cup onto the floor. 

"It's still all the liquid courage I'll need to get on stage tonight," I mumbled. "And you're littering. For shame!" I shook my head and tutted. He was serving as a welcome distraction. Besides, I felt drunk already. The vertigo was actually enjoyable.

"I thought you had a thing for bad guys." He pulled on the collar of my shirt, bringing me closer to him as he bent down. 

"What gave you that idea?" I smirked. I could feel the blood rushing to my ears. I knew what was coming next. 

"Where the FUCK is MY BREAD?!" Max demanded, entering. Immediately, I jumped away from TJ. He looked upset, but returned to pretending to only be my friend. "Oh, get a room!" He complained. 

"What's wrong with your bread now?" I asked, frustrated.

"Ronnie stole my bread and hid it and no one's telling me where it is."

"Have you tried looking on the bus?" 

While I said that, TJ simultaneously asked, "Is this really important right now?" I wanted to agree with him, but decided against it. 

Max sniffed the air. "Who stole Falling in Reverse's vodka?"

"How do you even know who's it is?" TJ wrinkled his nose.

"We don't have any."

"We need to get some." I clapped my hands together.

"You stole their vodka? The whole damn bottle?!"

"I'm stressed out!" I complained, running my fingers through my hair. 

"And vodka is so well known for calming the nerves?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Not like kissing is any better," TJ mumbled. I don't think that Max heard what he'd said. 

Though I was terrified of a bad reaction, no one seemed to really mind that Robert wasn't there. A few people looked at Ryan strangely, but I guess that most of them got our Twitter message that Robert was out for a week. The wonders of social media. It worked out okay though. The crowd's energy was higher than ever. 

And then came the elephant in the room. Or rather, the TJ in my room. Our room? It was a relatively short flight from here to Virginia, so we'd definitely have to share a room. If he finds out about my insomnia, I'll have to lie my way out of it. And by that of course I mean I'll have to either get him really drunk, or I'll have to take Ronnie's advice and fuck him. It's amazing the things that people will do to keep a secret. 

But until that happens, we still have about a two hour flight ahead of us. I wanted to take first class, but apparently management is under the impression that that's a frivolous way of spending the already limited funds that we have. Or for short, management doesn't want to go that extra mile for comfort. So we took business class. Or at least, everyone except Max did. For some reason, someone recognized him, and only him, and he was upgraded. That lucky motherfucker. 

"What are you reading?" I asked Kevin as he took out a book. It was far too early to sleep, so I was bored out of my mind.  

"500 Thoughts of the Most Successful People," He answered. "It's a real page-turner."

(A/n: Not a real book)

"What are some of those thoughts?" I started to peak over his shoulder.

"Never become a musician," He sighed, turning a page. He sank lower into his seat and I read the book over his shoulder. After I read some of the names, I lost interest. All of these successful people were rich entrepreneurs. Someone tapped my shoulder from the row behind us. I looked back and saw that there Robert and TJ were still sitting back in their seats. Maybe I'd imagined it.