Baby, This is Paradise

•16•

Claire's POV

I grabbed the drinks from the kind barista and thanked her, hurrying out into the crisp morning air. My sweatshirt was still wet, so I took it off, stopping to tie it around my waist. My shirt was wet too. Ugh.

When I returned to the hotel, everyone but Alex was asleep.

"Hey" she said, stretching and still sitting on the bed. I handed her coffee over and proceeded to tell her the events of the morning. She listened intently, her mouth gaping.

"DID YOU SHANK HER?"

"No, Alex. I did not stab her in the middle of Starbucks."

"WHY NOT? That's what I would have done!"

"Because I would be in jail right now, dumbass."

"Okay, true."

"But yeah, that was my morning." I said, pulling my shirt off. "I'm getting in the shower" I said, starting for the bathroom in only my bra and jeans.

Just then, I heard the door begin to open. Vic poked his head in.

"Hey Alex, is Claire- OH" His eyebrows shot up and he squeezed his eyes shut. "I am so sorry..."

I threw my damp shirt at his face, laughing, and ducked into the bathroom. I heard hysterical laughter from the other side of the door. I quickly stripped out of my wet clothes and got in the shower.

•••

Vic's POV

I woke up with warm Claire on top of me. Again.

"Good morning beautiful" I said, without opening my eyes. I began to stroke her back.

"Yeah. Good morning." Said a masculine voice, nestled into my stomach.

My eyes popped open, shoving a hysterical Jaime off.

"What the hell, Jaime?!" He was rolling on the floor now.

"Not cool!" I yelled. Wait- was I so drunk I slept with Jaime instead?

No, I didn't drink that much.

So where was Claire, if not with me?

"Hey, fag, where's Claire?" I asked, nudging him with my foot.

"I don't know" he said, beginning to calm down. "Alex might know, though."

I walked across the hallway, opening Alex's door and poking my head in.

"Hey Alex, where's Claire- OH"
She stood there, facing the door in her bra. She squealed in surprise. Damn. I've screwed up so much this morning and I've been up for five minutes!

I squeezed my eyes shut and felt a wet something on my head a moment later.

Alex was cracking up. She pulled me inside the room, and I tugged the wet shirt off my head.

"Why does this smell like coffee...?"

Her smiling face fell solemn, then morphed into anger as she handed me my coffee and relayed the story.

"Your bitch ex girlfriend tripped Claire this morning."

"She WHAT?"

"Yeah. She publicly humiliated her this morning. The poor girl hasn't said a mean word against that asshole."

I buried my head in my hands and groaned.

"I swear, if I see that bitch again..."

"Don't worry, I'll help you hide the body." Said Alex, laughing.

"She's been all over me since I've moved on. She cheated on me, she treated me like absolute shit. Then she left. And I got better. And now she's back. And if she thinks she's going to get away with treating my girl like shit..." I trailed off.

"I know. Claire is pretty forgiving, though. I think she'll be okay."

"Okay." I said, looking at her sadly. I wish I could have been there to fend for her, at least.

I leaned back so I was laying down on the bed.

"Mike is mad at me."

"Why is Mike mad at you?"

"Mike is mad at me because Mike doesn't want Alex and Claire to join us for our tour."

She furrowed her brow.

"Alex and Claire will make it a priority to be extra nice to Mike for the duration of our stay."

"Good plan. You might want to go give him his coffee. Claire fought hard for it this morning."

"Okay." She stood, smiling, and started for the door with the coffee.

•••

Alex's POV

I strode across the hall to Mike and Tony's room. I took a deep breath and knocked. A few seconds later, Mike appeared at the door. He had an annoyed look on his face, as if I was interrupting something.

I fought hard to contain the sass I wanted to throw at his smug little face.

"Here!" I said, offering the coffees. "For you and Tony."

"Um. Yeah. Thanks." He said, taking the drinks. Rude.

He began to close the door. Um, no. Prepare for wrath of sass.

"Hey." I said, stopping the door with my foot.

He raised his eyebrows expectantly. Okay, maybe I shouldn't be mean.

"I just... I wanted to say thanks, for letting Claire and I come along. This really means a lot. We love you all so much and this is really a dream come true so... Thank you."

His features softened a little.

"You're welcome. I'm... I'm glad you came along." He said, slowly letting the door shut and leaving me in the hallway.