Misery Loves Company

Track 26: F-R-I-E-N-D-S

Misery Loves Company

By: theinkslingerr

Track 26: F-R-I-E-N-D-S

"Oops. I didn't mention we were siblings?" Ji-Hyun's caricature of a frown almost had me and Sienna in tears.

"You said your brother worked for security!"

"No, Josh. I said my brother worked with security. And Jae does, so he and the fans can stay safe."

Josh groaned in the face of Ji-Hyun's twisted reasoning. "Come on guys," she continued. "We're going backstage!"

I found myself in the same dressing room I'd been in before the show. I was strangely nervous as Josh and Sienna wandered from poster to poster much like I had earlier. What kind of mood would the boys be in?

A screaming match out in the hallway answered my question.

"How could you lose focus like that, Roc?" The voice belonged to Jae. "I expect that crap from Dom not you!"

Ji-Hyun, Sienna, Josh, and I traded awkward glances as the argument heated up.

"Swear to God, I'm done with the disrespect! I'm ready anytime you wanna settle this!" Dom roared.

"Stop!" That was Rocco, sounding tired and defeated. "It's on me! I screwed up. It's just- I thought I saw-"

"No way, man. There's no way. It had to be someone else."

"I don't know, Eli..."

Ji-Hyun walked over to the dressing room door. "Excuse me," she said to us before yanking it open and stalking out. We heard a baffled Jae utter her name, to which she responded, "Shut up." There was mumbling and shuffling, then finally the soft thud of another door closing.

Sienna, Josh, and I couldn't hear anything now. We fell into an awkward silence as the seconds turned into minutes.

"So...how bout them Yankees?" Sienna drawled.

Josh laughed. "Baseball season's over."

After a while, the boys trailed into the dressing room, followed by a triumphant Ji-Hyun. I had no idea what she could've possibly said, but they looked ashamed- with the exception of Jae, who just looked pissed.

"Um...you guys killed it!" Sienna's praise sounded genuine, but tentative.

"This is Sienna." Ji-Hyun gestured to her. "And Josh. Misery's friends from school."

"Friends" wouldn't be the word I'd use, but it wasn't the right time to make that distinction.

"Why are they here again?" Jae grumbled.

"Because I invited them! And Josh saved me from getting knocked out!"

Jae sighed, eyes raised toward the ceiling. "How many times have I told you to quit trash-talking guys twice your size?"

"He crashed into me, Sienna, and Misery! Poor Misery almost got trampled to death!"

"What?" Dom growled. His eyes briefly flickered to me before settling on Ji-Hyun; the true object of his concern. "Are you OK?"

"I'm OK," Ji-Hyun replied sweetly. "We're all OK thanks to Josh."

Eli frowned, and Rocco who'd obviously been spacing out now looked interested in the conversation. "That's why Dex hopped over the stanchions. He threw that guy out, right?"