Standing By

In the Shopping Mall

(Tim)

One good thing about traveling with Greene and Diaz is that we had easy transportation. All eight of us piled into Diaz's limo and headed out to LensCrafters.

"Everybody here? We got Rob?" Diaz asked pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled as Austin leaned over to double check. He tapped him twice on the nose and gave his beard a tug. Rob did not look amused.

"Yep, we've got Rob," Austin finally confirmed.

"Think I'm gonna call him Rub, for Rubeus Hagrid," Avi decided, as high as a kite. I decided he was so out of it that it wouldn't hurt to laugh right in front of him, so I let it out. So did Chance, Adam, and Austin. Rob gave him another curious look.

"Oxycodone," Austin explained again, sending me into a frenzy again. I sat up on my knees and reached across Chance to smack him. He was expecting it though and reached out to block me, catching me slightly off-balance and sending me sprawling on the floor.

"Oww!" I yelled at him, grabbing my elbow I'd whacked on Chance's knee on the way down.

"Will you two behave?" Chance complained, rubbing his knee.

Austin smirked at me. "Serves you right."

"Do I need to pull this car over?" Diaz complained. "You all eight year-old boys or what?"

"Some of us are, apparently," Rob remarked, watching me crawl to my feet. Or my seat. I decided to smack Austin on the knee for his attitude and for knocking me over in the first place and reached a hand out to smack him just as the car hit a bump. I ended up falling forward again. I heard him start cackling at me again.

"Ah, shut it," I muttered, grabbing his knee to help me up. We hit another bump and I fell forward again—right between his legs. He yelped, then howled indignantly, making everyone else start laughing at both of us. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to do that."

Austin didn't grace me with a response, just leaned his head back against the seat. "Somebody... whack him... for me."

"I'm sorry, Austin, I really am," I apologized again. "I truly didn't mean to get you there."

Rob leaned over and issued a quick slap upside my head on Austin's behalf.

"Oww, I muttered, retreating to safety in my seat. "I apologized —what more do you want from me?"

"Want... my balls... to quit screaming at me."

"I can't do anything for you on that count," I pointed out.

"Well, you could sit in your seat and leave him alone," Rob informed me.

"It was an accident!" I exclaimed.

"You reached over to hit him!" Rob snapped at me. "Or did you conveniently forget that part? Hmm?"

"He apologized!" Change spoke up in my defense. "Now accept your apology and move on from it!"

"Maybe he should just keep his hands to himself," Rob argued.

"I need y'all to shut up about the you-know-what!" I hissed at Rob and Austin. "I'm not being stupid, I'm not being unreasonable, and I'm not trying to be mean."

"No. I don't know the you-know-what," Rob said pointedly, glaring at me.

"I do," Austin said. "Sorry I mentioned it—I'd forgotten—but you don't need to hit people."

"Sorry," I mumbled, sitting back and staring up at the ceiling.

"Next time I see you lift a hand to him, please be aware that I'm coming back swinging," Rob warned me.