Home Sweet Home (REVISED)

Chapter 26

Since Vince had already left, Tommy and Nikki had to get to the show on their own, and that could very quickly become a problem. Tommy didn't have a car, and Nikki's black Ferrari was two blocks away. But that didn't really matter, since Tommy couldn't drive and Nikki was probably already drunk. "Bus?", Nikki suggested. Tommy shook his head. "No, it's too far", he said, "And we're too broke". Bus wasn't an option as there were millions of cheaper ways to get there. Tommy looked over at Nikki. It looked like he was thinking, or maybe just pretending to think. It was hard to tell; he was lying over the armrest of the couch. "Do you have any alcohol?", Nikki asked. "Sure, help yourself", Tommy replied. Nikki had changed a lot over the years, even though he was still pretty shy around new people. It just didn't show that well when he was drunk or high all the time. Nikki stuck his head into Tommy's fridge, but immediately stuck it back out as he realized that Tommy only had half-empty cans of beer that were expired two months ago. "You don't have any Jack Daniels?", he complained, "You suck". Tommy just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, don't you have a car at your place?", he asked. "Yeah", Nikki replied, dumping back down on the couch next to Tommy, "Doesn't matter though, it's two blocks away". Tommy sighed. "We could walk there", he suggested, making Nikki start laughing. He fell down on the floor, laughing harder that necessary. This tour that they were doing, it was called the "Girls, Girls, Girls tour". Tommy started considering changing the name to "Booze, Booze, Booze" or something. At least that fit Nikki. "I'm not joking", Tommy said in all seriousness. Nikki sat up on the floor, wiping a tear, the laughter slowly starting to fade. He just stared at Tommy with an empty look in his greenish-blue eyes. He was so stoned right now, and the lack of alcohol didn't make it any better. But somehow Tommy managed to get him into walking there to get the car.

Finally arriving at Nikki's place, the two of them walked over to the car. His black Ferrari was the only expensive thing Nikki could afford. "You drive", he said, pushing Tommy closer to the car. "No way, dude, it's your car", Tommy responded, trying to hide the fact that he hadn't gotten his drivers-license yet. Nikki gave him a look that told him that he was acting like an idiot. "I'm high", he said, as if it wasn't obvious. It kind of was obvious anyway, his eyes were all red. "So what?", Tommy asked, "You drive when you're drunk all the time, what's the difference?" Oh, he knew the difference too well already, but Nikki didn't have to know that. "Yeah, you're right", Nikki said, getting into the drivers-seat, "I am drunk. I'm driving". Nikki wasn't an idiot, even though it could seem like it sometimes. When it came to drugs and alcohol, he just couldn't resist it. That's what made him so uncontrollable. Being surprised by Nikki's stupidity, Tommy got into the car. Hey, they had to get there somehow, right?

When they were about halfway there, Nikki asked: "Hey, when was it that we had to be there?" Tommy had to think a while back. First, he woke up, pushed Nikki off of his stomach, fell back asleep, got woken by Vince, Vince annoyed them by singing, and then left to pick up Mick. No, nobody had told them when to be there. "I have no idea", he answered, "We'll find out when we arrive. Didn't the show start at like ‪10 P.M.‬ anyway?" Nikki looked over at him. "Yeah, I think so", he said. Tommy turned to Nikki. "Dude, don't look at me! Look at the road!", he yelled, as the car started spinning off the road. They both screamed as Nikki took a big turn to try and get back on the road, but he was too late, and they spun into a tree. Tommy's heart was beating faster than ever before, and Nikki's eyes were tearing up. Both of them were OK, but the car was smashed. Tommy got out of the smashed Ferrari and slammed the door behind him. "Goddamnit, Nikki!", he yelled, "How the hell are we gonna get to the show now!?" Then Nikki started crying, and rested his head on the steering-wheel, which was covered in pink fur. Tommy didn't understand what was going on; he hadn't seen Nikki crying in ages, and this was nothing compared to what he had gone through in high school. Normally, he'd tear the door off and smash it into the tree, and start yelling all kinds of shit to everyone and everything. But the tears just kept flowing down his cheeks, ruining his makeup, which still after all these years, he borrowed from Vince. "Come on, dude, don't be such a crybaby", Tommy said, trying to calm Nikki down. But actually, he was doing the opposite; it sure didn't help calling him a crybaby when he was already crying. Tommy got back into the car. "Hey, dude, what's going on?", he asked, trying not to sound too pissed off. Nikki was just sobbing against the fuzzy pink steering-wheel; he didn't even get to answer before they were interrupted.