When The Sun Rose Again

When The Sun Rose Again- Chapter Four

"I told you to pack your bags last night!"

"I forgot to!"

"You forgot? Really, Sean, that's the best you can come up with?"

"Shut up, and give me that back!"

Jerry woke up to arguing between Mike and Sean from the next room over. He blinked, and wiped the sleep away from his eyes. Looking around, Jerry saw that everything was just how it was last night.

Maybe I really am back in 1992, Jerry thought, as he climbed out of bed.

He noticed that sitting against the wall were a couple of bags, with a small piece of paper on top of them. It was neatly folded in half.

"Jerry, these are your things you need for the tour. Remember what you're suppose to do." Jerry quietly read the note aloud to himself. He crumbled the note up.

"Jerry, we got ten minutes." Mike said, poking his head through the doorway to make sure Jerry was awake.

"Only ten minutes? Fuck!" Jerry cursed before he took off into the bathroom to get ready.

* * *

The first place the boy's went on the tour bus was to the bunk room. When they got there, they noticed there were only two mattresses, meaning the boys would have to share them.

Of course, they were arguing with who slept with who. Finally, Layne came to the idea that he would share his bunk with Jerry, while Sean and Mike shared their bunk together.

"No way. I can't sleep with Sean!" Mike whined, stomping his foot. Sean chuckled, throwing his bags onto the mattress.

"There's a floor, too, sweetheart." Sean pointed out. Mike held his hand up, flipping him off.

Jerry bit his lip, trying to hold back his laugh that was trying so hard to escape. He missed these days so much.

"This is great." Mike sighed, rolling his eyes. He sat his bags down where Sean's were.

The day was long. Especially since all the boy's done all day was drive. They had took turns; Sean, Layne, Mike, and Jerry. They were over half way to their designation when Sean decided to pull into an empty parking lot.

"I say we call it a night." Sean said. He was tired, along with the rest of the band.

"We're just gonna sleep in the bus?" Mike asked. Which he really didn't care, but he would rather not get a ticket from the police, or possibly get arrested.

"Why not?" Sean asked. Taking the keys out of the inserter, he threw them into his pocket.

"I think I'm going to step out. Just for a minute." Jerry said, grabbing the pack of cigarettes off of the table. After taking one out of the box, he threw the box back on the table and stepped outside.

The air was warm, and the night sky was clear of clouds. The stars were shining bright, but there were no sign of the moon. Reaching into his front pocket, Jerry pulled out a lighter and lit his cigarette up.

"What are you doing?" Layne asked. Jerry turned around. He hadn't even realized Layne followed him out.

"Nothing. Just getting some fresh air." Jerry told him. Layne stepped up closer to him.

"You want to go walk around for a bit? I'm kinda tired from sitting in the bus all day."

Jerry nodded his head, throwing his cigarette on the ground that only had a few drags taken from it. The two began to walk side-by-side.

"I had this fucking crazy dream the other night," Layne sighed. "It's been... bothering me. I mean, I don't even know why. Maybe because it seemed... so real."

Jerry looked over at him. "Yeah? What was the dream about?"

Layne shook his head, looking down at his shoes. "It's stupid. I shouldn't even let it get to me."

"Come on. Tell me." Jerry said, playing nudging Layne with his elbow.

"Well... Okay. I had this dream that... you guys were playing live. But I wasn't there. Everyone else was there except for me. There was a man in my place." Layne explained. Jerry's eyes went wide.

He instantly understood the dream. It was William singing. That's who Layne saw in the dream. He opened his mouth to say it, but quickly shut himself up before he could let it out, because he suddenly remembered what Eddie told him.

"Well, uh, I'm sure it's nothing, Layne. Sometimes dreams just don't make sense. Don't worry about it, Layne. No one could ever take your place." Jerry said, his heart sinking in his chest. Layne smiled softly.

"I hope not." Layne said, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. For a moment, it was quiet, other than the sound of them walking. Jerry was just enjoying Layne's existence.

"So... have you found anyone yet?" Layne asked.

"What do you mean?"

Layne shrugged his shoulders. "You know, a girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever you're in to."

Jerry chuckled. "Oh. No, I haven't. How about you?"

Layne bit his lip, shaking his head. "Nah."

"But you have someone in mind." Jerry teased. Layne blushed.

"I do not."

"Sure, sure."

Layne giggled. "Okay, maybe I do."

"Who is it?"

"I can't tell you," Layne said. "It's not a secret if I do. Besides, I don't think he's really into me like that."

"Oh, so it's a guy. Hmm... Who is it? Mike? Sean?" Jerry guessed, figuring it was someone in the band. Layne shook his head.

"I told you, I can't tell you. But, it's neither of those two. And I don't think I have a chance with him anyway."

"Why don't you think that?"

Layne raised his eyebrows. "Really, Jerry? Look at me. I think that'll give you the answer to your question."

"Pfft."

"What?"

"Nothing." Jerry sighed.

Layne playfully punched Jerry on the shoulder, shaking his head. Jerry played along, but he didn't hit Layne. Instead, he grabbed Layne's sides, and began to tickle him.

"No, no, no! Jerry! Stop it!" Layne choked out through his laughter.

He squirmed to get away, but Jerry held a grip on him. Layne then fell into Jerry's chest, throwing his head back laughing, and Jerry couldn't help but laugh, too. He suddenly stopped, figuring he had gave Layne enough. That was when he realized he had both his arms wrapped around Layne; holding him.

Layne was still giggling a bit, trying to catch his breath. For a moment, just a moment, their eyes had met, and Jerry felt something inside him he couldn't quite explain.

"Umm... I guess we should be getting back. I'm pretty tired." Layne said, slowly pulling himself out of Jerry's arms. Jerry hadn't even realized he hadn't let Layne go yet.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so. We've got a long day tomorrow." Jerry said. And the two began the walk back to the bus.