Tangled Lines: a tri-fic [inevitably incomplete]

Chapter 3: "Never Been Better"

Part 1: Eddie

After days of hardcore work and no sleep, it was finally time for PAX. Aleks and I were packed up and ready to fly to Seattle, and the hype was all too real. Aleks had been jittery for the past two days, though, and I don't think I'd ever seen him eat so little. I had made a joke about all the people he would have to fight at PAX and he didn't even laugh! The kid was stressing out too much.

"Aleks, you need to calm down!" I exclaimed as he paced through the kitchen.

"I've got a video set to go out each day, uhh...the water is turned off...Cheffy is with the pet sitter..." He had been mumbling like this all morning.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay," I walked over to him and blocked his path, opening my arms. He was shaking at this point, so I pulled him in for a hug. I could feel him calming down within my embrace, and he even managed to hug me back.

"It's gonna be fun, don't worry, okay?" I whispered in his ear. He shivered a bit and pulled away, moving his grip to my forearms.

"I-I know I'm not usually like this..." he stammered.

"Shhh, it's okay, seriously, you don't have to justify yourself," I reassured him. He nodded in response before making his way over to the front door.

"You ready to head to the airport, then? We've still got another hour before we have to be there, man." I scratched my head while he pulled on his jacket, but he didn't respond. Instead, he tossed me my own jacket.

"Alright..." I slipped into the article and adjusted my hoodie underneath. Aleks and I grabbed our suitcases and backpacks and made our way down to the car.

"Oh and we have to pick up James, too," Aleks called back to me.

Part 2: James

A warm August breeze greeted me as I walked out the front door, suitcase and laptop bag in hand. I sighed as I placed them against one of the columns in front of the door, turning to lock the Creature House. Aleks was supposedly going to be here in a few minutes, so I was going to be ready. The last thing I wanted to do was make him any madder. I sighed and settled myself on the front step. I had spent the entire morning trying to figure out how to apologize to Aleks, and nothing seemed right.

Yes, I had left it for a few days. I hadn't needed to talk to him, so it wasn't like I was avoiding him. But it wasn't like I had gone out of my way to engage him in conversation just so I could apologize for the other night, either. Thinking about it just left a sour taste in my mouth, and I wanted to make sure the apology was done right. I needed Aleks to believe me 100%.

Aleks pulled up in front and honked the horn in greeting. Grabbing my bags, I made my way over to the trunk of the car and threw them in. I slid into the back seat and buckled up in the middle, greeting him and Eddie.

"How's it going, then?" I asked as we made our way towards the highway.

"Could be better," Eddie sighed as he glanced at Aleks. Our honorary driver seemed a bit tense, so I could understand why Eddie was keeping an eye on him. Eddie turned to me and mouthed, "He's freaking out," before slowly reaching out and rubbing Aleks' shoulder.

"Hey Aleks, how're you feeling, buddy?" I decided to try to calm him down, despite Eddie throwing me daggers.

"I'm great, just great. Never been better." I could hear him clenching his jaw. At this rate, Aleks was gonna end up barreling into a truck.

"Do you want me to drive instead? You don't seem to be doin' well," I suggested. Eddie twisted back and locked eyes with me, mentally yelling at me, probably.

"I asked him earlier, do you think we would be in this situation if he had said yes?" Eddie hissed.

"Well I don't fucking know, but we need to calm his ass down," I replied a bit louder than intended. Aleks moaned and turned up the radio, blasting some Katy Perry song.

Somehow, we actually survived the ride to the airport. Eddie led Aleks around like a kid, rubbing his back and whispering to him. If I had even tried to touch Aleks, Sly would've bit my head off. Instead, I just lagged behind them and pushed the luggage around. The other guys were waiting near the check in, and as soon as we joined them, we all lined up.

It looked like everyone was pretty tired, except for Hordan. He was talking to Monica in hushed tones; she was gonna be staying behind, but he probably wanted to be with her as long as possible. Their marriage seemed perfect at times, and I wondered how they managed it. In fact, I wish I knew how almost all the other guys managed having relationships. I was always the single one in the group, always had been, always would be, it seemed.

We checked our bags and made our way through security, and over to the gate. Aleks was passed out by now, so we all opted to sit. Dan had his camera out and was doing some intense zoom shots with Seamus, trying to get as much footage for the Hub as possible. He panned over to Aleks, sleeping like a log next to Eddie.

"Looks like the radiation baby is fast asleep," he commented to the camera. Sly giggled and waved, then picked up Aleks' hand and waved it, too.

"Say hi to Mother Russia, Aleks!" Jordan joked. Everyone laughed and Dan hit the record button, wrapping up the pre-flight vlog.

Part 3: Eddie

Aleks was heavier than he looked, man. I had to drag his ass onto the plane in the end, cause he refused to wake up. He must've been up late, stressing out. I still wasn't sure why this was all giving him a nervous breakdown, but if he hadn't been sleeping much, the lack of sleep could just be taking its toll on him. I walked him over to our spots on the plane and guided him to the window seat. I settled down next to him, adjusting our bags under the seat in front. His head lolled over to my shoulder, resting gently against me. I patted his head. His hair was always so soft, damn it.

The flight passed without much excitement, mostly because everyone ended up sleeping. Well, almost everyone. Having someone leaning on you doesn't make it easy for you to sleep yourself. I listened to my iPod for most of the flight, bobbing my head to the beat. Sometimes I missed the old days, back when Stuck in Your Radio was super active and making lots of music. It was fun, yeah, but stressful, too. But it's a package deal, y'know? I'd willingly go back to it if all the guys were ready to be in the band again.

"Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. We will be arriving in Seattle shortly, so please prepare for landing. The cabin crew will be around to assist you with anything," the intercom crackled. Aleks jumped back to life next to me as the captain spoke, still a little groggy.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty," I said with a giggle. He stared at me for a second before scrunching up his face and groaning.

"Look who's up," came a voice from across the aisle. I turned to face James, who had been re-watching Breaking Bad on his laptop the whole flight.

"Yeah, and not a moment too soon," I joked while elbowing Aleks. He huffed and leaned forward, scratching his head.

"Hey James," he sighed. James waved and smiled before slipping his headphones back on.

"Have you guys talked since...you know?" I whispered to Aleks.

"Nah, it doesn't matter, anyways," Aleks replied, pulling out the airline magazine and thumbing through the pages.

"I dunno, I think he would have a reason for asking you over that late." I shrugged and glanced at James. He wasn't acting any different, besides talking to Aleks less, so I had no clue what was up.

"Why is this such a big deal? I'm over it, Eddie," Aleks said monotonously. I huffed and leaned on him.

"It's just weird, I don't know!" Aleks wasn't listening to me, though. I wasn't objecting to this sudden change in their friendship, but I was worried that it was to blame for Aleks' recent...mood changes.

Part 4: Aleks

Sometimes I wished people would just get off my case. I had my own shit to deal with, and all the added stress wasn't helping. If the guys really cared, they would've left me in peace.