***This is a continuation of the story from Kiss: Casablanca High School, so read that first if you want! It's not necessary to but it would help***
It's been five years since anyone's heard anything from Gene Simmons, and at this point Paul Stanley...
Bruce rose to his feet with a yawn, setting down his glass of water with a sigh. "Alright I'm going swimming, I'll be back in an hour or so." "Swimming?! In the middle of the night?! Why?" I asked, knocking back a shot. He shrugged, already walking toward the door. "I like swimming. It's good exercise too. I'll see you guys later."
"You better not be...better not gone too long!" Eric slurred, pointing at Bruce with his glass. "And you better not get too drunk. Paul, keep an eye on them." I nodded, grinning. "Sounds like a plan! Have fun!"
The night went on and the drinks kept flowing and I accidentally ignored what Bruce said and definitely didn't keep an eye on them. Eric sat perched on the counter, swaying slightly and giggling at everything anyone said, mixer clutched tightly in his hand. "Hey Eric, how many vodka and orange juishes have you had?" Ace teased, knocking back his own drink. "3 million!" Eric cried delightedly, nearly sending the vodka crashing to the floor. Peter caught it as it fell, taking a sip. "Watch it, Foxy! This thing was $15!" he cried, which Eric found immensely amusing, nearly pitching off the counter as he dissolved into a fit of laughter.
"Seriously though, how many mixers has he had?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as he started to hiccup uncontrollably. "Uh..." Ace and Peter looked at each other before Peter shrugged, grabbing a joint and heading to the porch. "Imma be honest with you Paul, I've got no idea!" he called over his shoulder.
"I think...nine?" Ace said after a pause. "Aw, man, Bruce is gonna kill us when he gets back," I muttered, looking at Peter out the window. "Pshhh, it's not high school, Eric's twenty three, he can take care of himshelf! You think he and Brucie are gay for each other?" Ace said, words starting to slur together as he took a long sip.
"Nah, they're just really good friends. Like me and Gene." Ace laughed, pouring himself another drink. "Shh you're gay for Gene, doeshn't count. Imma ask him. Eric! Are you and Brucie dating?" Eric blinked, staring at Ace in confusion. "Who'sh Brushe?" Ace burst into laughter as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No more drinks, Eric," I said under my breath.
"Eric, stop!" Ace shrieked suddenly, and I jerked my head up to find Eric doing his damned best to chug the almost full bottle of orange juice. "No! Eric, no!" I cried, trying to tear the bottle from his hands. He scowled at me before leaning over and puking in the sink.
Figures it was at that moment Bruce decided to finally make it back from his late night swim. He stood in the doorway for a minute, mouth dropping open as he stared at Eric who was throwing up in the sink, Peter who was smoking on the porch, Ace who was slumped over the table laughing so hard he was crying, and me, who was just standing helplessly in the middle of it all.
Then he let out a long sigh, slowly closing his eyes. "Paul. Paul what happened."
"Okay I know it looks really bad but I promise that it's not as bad as it seems," I said, Eric immediately disproving my point by letting out a final retch and toppling off the counter. "Okay yeah it's pretty bad."
"Paul, we're renting this place. Renting it. And we have like a five hour drive tomorrow. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to deal with one or more of you being hungover. And Eric sucks when he's hungover," he grumbled, pulling Eric to his feet. "Clean out the sink, would you? And Ace, if you're hungover tomorrow I'm gonna kill you." Ace grinned, twisting the bottle of tequila shut. "No more drinking for me!" he said cheerfully.
"Peter! The motel is no smoking, indoors and outdoors! Put that out before we get thrown out!" Bruce called, throwing Eric over his shoulder and carrying him to the bathroom. "Pauuul he'shtealing me!" Eric wailed. "Aw, shut up, pipsqueak," Bruce grumbled, sitting him in the bathtub. "You get to spend the night in here. Goodnight."
Smiling in spite of myself, I washed out the sink and mopped up the orange juice that had been spilled. Peter walked back in from the balcony, shaking his head. "This is a mess," he said cheerfully. "That's because we're a mess," I retorted.
Bruce walked back into the kitchen, shaking his head. "I was gonna take a shower but since Eric's asleep in the bathtub I'm just gonna go to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said, heading into his room and closing the door behind him. "We're way too irresponsible for this," I said with a laugh.
"Yeahh, but it'll be fun!" Peter said, reluctantly extinguishing his joint and sitting on Ace's lap. "Mhm. It will be fun. Speaking of fun," Ace said, eyes shining before he leaned over and whispered something in Peter's ear. A huge smile spread across his face and he jumped to his feet, grabbing Ace's hand and running to their bedroom. "Okay night Paul we'll see you tomorrow!" he said, slamming the door shut behind them.
Shaking my head, I poured myself a glass of vodka, drinking it slowly and trying not to think of how much I missed Gene. There was the sound of shuffling feet and I looked up to see Eric leaning against the wall, giving me a huge smile. "G-gmorning Paul!" he said cheerfully, trying to unscrew the bottle of vodka. I rose to my feet, taking the bottle from his hand with a laugh. "No no, you're going back to the shower. You're very, very drunk."
"N-no! M'okay!" he slurred. "Absolutely not. Come on, let's go," I said, leading him back to the bathroom and sitting him in the tub. "Alright goodnight, I'll see you in the morning when you're hungover," I teased. He gave me a worried look. "T-tell m' hushband I love 'im." "Eric. You guys aren't married. You guys are both straight," I said with a grin. "Shhut up 'm 'is wife!" he protested, before rolling over in the bathtub and falling asleep.
I walked back to the living room after turning off the lights in the bathroom, sitting on the couch with a sigh and taking another long sip of vodka, blinking back tears. "Oh dammit Gene why the...why the fuck did you do this? Why'd you stop talking to me?" I whispered.
Maybe it wasn't him though, maybe it was me. Maybe I was the one who did something. I had screwed up our relationship before, and I had screwed up plenty of other ones too. Becca, Ava, Ace...makes sense I would've pushed Gene away too.
Makes perfect sense.
A/N: I went back and illustrated the other 6 chapters too and since this is gonna be a shorter book I'm gonna actually try and illustrate each part!
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