Sal was backstage waiting for his time to go on stage. He laughed and talked to his friends and did not worry about his problems with Brian. At 9, he went out and did his set. The crowd laughed at his jokes which was a plus. After his set, he decided to walk around for a bit to clear his head. He was thinking about Brian all of a sudden after his set. Sal walked down 3rd Ave. He didn't have any places in mind to go to. There were lights in some places, but not many. He didn't want to get kidnapped or hurt. He made sure to keep an eye on people as they passed him. It was a bit warm out and he was thirsty so he figured he would get a beer or two. He walked until he saw Gramercy Ale House. He smiled and went over to it. He went inside and looked around then went to the bar and ordered a Bud Light. The bartender got a Bud for him and Sal thanked him then went to a corner and sat down. He got out his phone and looked through it as he took a sip of his beer. He took a pic of himself with the beer and put it on IG with the name of the place he was at. He sighed and looked around the bar. He wondered what Brian was doing. He probably wasn't even thinking about him at all. He took a long swig of his beer.
Brian drove home from New Jersey. He put the radio on and listened to some music. He looked around at his surroundings and thought about Sal. Brian didn't want to think about him, but he kind of missed him. He frowned a bit then remembered that he needed to talk to Simmy about taking a few days off. He would call him later at his parents' house. A song came on that reminded Brian of Sal. He didn't know what it was called.
"Hold on, I still want you
Come back, I still need you
Let me take your hand, I'll make it right
I swear to love you all my life
Hold on, I still need you"
Brian frowned and wiped at his eye that had a tear in it. Did he still want Sal back? "Dammit Sal. I want you back," he whispered. He just had to get through to Sal that he didn't want to get married. Brian licked his lips and drove on to his parents' place.
The next day Sal woke up with a splitting headache. "Fuck," he said as he put a hand on the side of his head. He didn't feel good either. Suddenly he ran to the bathroom and threw up. After he was done, Sal flushed the toilet then rinsed his mouth out a couple of times. He looked at the mirror and saw his tired eyes looking back at him. "Uh...what happened last night?" he asked himself then went back to bed. He laid down and thought about what happened. He remembered drinking at a bar, but how many did he drink? Was he drunk? How did he get home? Sal groaned and held his stomach as pain hit again. Maybe he could go and ask around at the bar when he could get up and go out. Suddenly he got up and went to throw up once more.
At Q's parents' home, he woke up and took a quick shower. His mom had breakfast waiting for him. He went to the kitchen wearing his TESD shirt and shorts. He thanked his mom for breakfast as he sat down and began to eat. They didn't have to film that day so he would just go to Manhattan and browse around. Maybe he would see about getting a hotel near work although he could stay here for free. Also he might head to Sal's to talk to him. He looked at his dad who was sitting down at the table reading the newspaper. "Hey, I am going out and will look for a place to stay," he said. "Why though? You can stay here as long as you want and for free," he said. "I know. I want to be closer to work," Brian said. "Alright if that is what you want to do," his father said. He nodded then continued to eat until he was done. Brian thanked his mom again for breakfast then left the house. He drove towards Manhattan. He was going to look for a hotel near work that he can stay in for a while. Maybe he would go to New Jersey to be near the store for when they do the podcast. He wouldn't mind being near there although it would probably be better to be near work that he went to everyday.
At Sal's house, he was lying down on the bed. He called Joe and told him he was sick. "Oh. Well luckily we weren't filming today. Get some rest buddy. Have you talked to Brian lately?" Joe asked. "No I haven't. We haven't spoken since filming," Sal replied. "Oh...well you should talk to him soon. It's awkward on set and in the office, ya know," Joe said. Sal frowned and looked up at the ceiling. He knew he and Brian needed to talk, but he tried last time and Brian wasn't having any of it. "I know. We'll talk when he wants to," he replied. Joe smiled a little. "I hope it's soon," he said. Sal nodded. "Yeah," he said. They talked for a while until Sal told Joe that he was going to take a nap. "Okay buddy. I hope you feel better. I'll come over and check up on you later if ya want," Joe said. "Yes please. Thank you," Sal said and smiled. "Okay. I'll text you when I am heading over. Bye Sal," Joe said. "Bye," Sal said and hung up. He coughed and covered his mouth then used sanitizer. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he closed his eyes. He was miserable when he was sick.
Brian parked his jeep on the side of the road by Whitehall Street Subway Station. He looked around the area then got out his phone and looked up all the hotels around Broad Street. He found one that was within walking distance. He smiled and put his phone away once he got the directions. He looked at the street nearest him and saw it was Stone Street. He smirked and walked towards it. He walked towards the hotel that would be on his right. As he walked he thought about what to say to Sal when he went to see him later. Brian sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. There was no question that he still loved Sal. Always would. Just had to sort though some things before getting back together. Soon he came up to the hotel called DoubleTree by Hilton. He glanced around then went inside to find out if he could stay there for a week.
Sal heard the door bell rang and wondered who that could be. Joe said that he was going to text before coming over and he didn't. So it must be someone else that wanted to see him. He went down to the front door, looked out the peephole and was surprised to see him at the door. Sal looked down then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He opened the door and saw Brian standing in front of him. "Hey," he said and waved. Brian smiled a little and waved back. "Hi," he said. There was an awkward silence between them. Brian looked at Sal and noticed he didn't look good. "Um...are you sick?" he asked. Sal nodded. "Yeah," he said and coughed into his arm. Brian noticed he was sweaty and frowned. "Oh Sal. You are sweating," he said. "I am sick Brian, that is why. Now why are you here?" he asked. Brian ran his hand through his hair. "I am here to talk to you about this...problem that we are dealing with before I go back to my parents," he replied. Sal nodded and coughed again. "Ugh. Sorry about coughing. Is this the only thing you did today?" he asked. Brian shook his head. "No, Sal. I actually went to Manhattan to look for a hotel that I can stay in for a week and be near work. I decided to come over afterwards," he replied. Sal glanced at the floor then looked back at Brian. "Okay. Well, hey, I need to use the bathroom. Come on in," he said and let Brian in then went to the bathroom. Brian went in and shut the door then took his sneakers off. He looked around at his things in the living room. He should bring them with him back to his parents'. Brian sat down on the sofa and waited for Sal. He sorted out in his mind what he wanted to say to Sal. After a while, Sal came back down and went to the kitchen. "Want a drink Brian?" he asked. "Sure. I still have iced tea in there?" Brian asked. "Yeah. Haven't touched it really," Sal said and got an iced tea for Brian. He went to the living room, gave the bottle to Brian and sat down on the other end of the sofa. "Thanks," Brian said and opened the bottle then took a sip. Sal nodded then looked at the blank TV. Brian glanced at Sal and frowned a little. He hated that Sal was sick and he wished he could take care of him, but he probably didn't want his help. Sal noticed Brian looking at him from the corner of his eye. He wiped his hand over his forehead and wiped his hand on a towel he was holding. Sal coughed then blew his nose on a tissue that he got from the box on the table. "Hey, why go all the way to Manhattan to look for a hotel when you can just stay on Staten Island," he said as he looked over at Brian. He looked out the window and nodded. "I could do that. I'll check it out later. Right now we need to talk about this problem that I have been dreading for a long time," he said and looked at Sal. He turned to Brian and shook his head. "What dreadful thing are you talking about? Because marriage is not dreadful. I know that you do not want to get married, but I do, Brian. I always wanted to get married and have kids running around...well maybe walking around...the house," he said. Brian took a sip of his drink then bit his lip. "I know it's not dreadful, but I don't want to be tied down and I know what you want Sal. I just can't give it to you," he said. Sal made a face. He didn't know that Brian would feel tied down in a marriage. He cleared his throat. "Tied down? Really Brian? Marriage is supposed to be about commitment and love," he said. Brian looked at Sal and listened to him. He was right. "I know that it's about commitment, but I can't commit to marriage Sal. I'm sorry. I do still love you though. That will never change," he said. Sal stared at Brian and he stared back. Brian wanted to stroke his cheek, but was afraid that Sal would pull away. Sal coughed into his arm again and looked over at Brian. "Same. I never will love anyone else as much as I love you," he replied. Brian smiled a little and looked down at his feet. Sal watched him for a minute then looked away. Brian looked at his things as Sal just thought about what to do. After a moment of silence, Brian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "I'm going to go check out the hotels here," he said and looked over at Sal. He looked over at Brian and nodded. "Okay. Talk to you later then," Sal said. Brian got up and glanced around the room. He was going to take some things, but he might be back so he figured he would get some more clothes. "I'm going to get some clothes from the closet upstairs," he said. Sal got up and went to the stairs. "Sure. You got a bag?" he asked. Brian followed Sal. "In the closet," he replied. Once Brian got some more clothes to wear, he thanked Sal and told him he would see him later then left the house.
