At Odd's Ends (Bruce Kulick x Eric Carr)

Ch 14: Back On

Gene raised an eyebrow, nudging me as we walked down the street. "So what did you want to talk to me about exactly?" I scowled, taking a bite of the crepe I had gotten from the street vendor. "Mm that's good," I said to myself, before scowling again. "Right. I wanna keep going with the plan." "Eric--" "I know! I know he doesn't love me! I don't care! I wanna see you happy with Paul!" I snapped.

Shaking his head, he pulled me to a halt. "Eric, listen to me. You don't want to see me happy with Paul, you want to see Bruce miserable without him. You're really pissed at him because..." He trailed off, frown creasing his brow as he stared into the distance. I turned around to follow his gaze but couldn't see anything other than random people walking around. "What? What're you looking at?" I asked.

"Did he...did Bruce say why he said that? Like did something happen that made him feel like he needed to clarify he doesn't like you as anything more than a friend?" I shook my head. "No. I asked him and he sort of froze up for a second before saying that he didn't really know, that it was just nothing. Why?" Gene's frown deepened, brow furrowing. "When we were at lunch, Paul was talking about how Bruce had been saying your name in his sleep, like he was dreaming about you. Eric, I think...I think he told you he doesn't like you as anything more than a friend because he just figured out the opposite," he said slowly.

I took a step back, staring at him. "So you mean...you think he does like me?" I asked in disbelief, and Gene nodded. "I mean of course I don't know for certain, he didn't say it to me or to Paul but...I can't really think of any other reason why he'd so aggressively tell you that he didn't love you." Letting out a slow breath, I ran a hand through my hair. "Damn. That...makes sense," I said after a pause. "I've been super careful not to show any affection toward him more than I usually do, so it's not like he could think I loved him."

There was another pause as we looked at each other, slow smiles spreading across our faces. "So then the plan's back on?" I asked, and he nodded. "Plan's back on. What's the move?" "Hmm anonymous tabloid interviews?" I asked, and he grinned. "Ahh, ordinarily my least favorite thing, but I'll make an exception in the name of love. What do we want to say?" "Well, probably some 'Kiss guitarist tells all' because that could be like...six of us if we count you as a bass guitarist." "Smart, smart. What does said guitarist tell though?"

"That's where we have a problem. Got any dirt on Bruce or Paul?" There was a brief flash of panic in Gene's eyes but he shook his head. "Nah, not really. You?" "Nope. Guess we'll have to bluff. I mean it's tabloids, I have yet to find one say the truth about me. We'll just hit a low-budget, not popular one so it doesn't get too out of hand." "Sounds like a plan. Let's go back to my room and we'll get going on that," Gene said. With a grin, I finished off my crepe and walked with him back to the hotel.

He tossed me a notepad, fumbling about for a pen. "Alright let's jot some stuff down first. We can't make it just about them though, we've got to cover us too. Otherwise it's suspicious." "Right, right. But we have to keep it vague enough so that it could also be former members like Vinnie or Ace," I said. "Yeah. You know, I'm surprised Vinnie hasn't done something like this already," Gene said mildly, before squinting at me. "Let's see. Eric Carr- cheerful due to drugs, blackmails Peter. Gene Simmons- whore," he said, writing some notes down. "Hey that's not gossip! That's just true!" I teased. He punched me in the arm, rolling his eyes. "Shut up. Hmm, whore and secret alcoholic. That helps cement that this is bullshit. Let's see, let's see. Paul...what does Paul do?"

"Let's say Bruce is cheating for a change," I mused, and he nodded, scribbling that down. "Good idea. Bruce cheats and also...mm, can't play guitar. Paul...shit, what do we say about Paul? Oh, Paul can't sing and is oblivious to Bruce's cheating. That sounds good enough, it's obviously fake to any fans but should still get the two of them riled up. Figure out which one to call?" he asked. "Yeah, Star," I said, and he burst into laughter. "Perfect! They're the worst in the business!" he cried. "I know, I know, they're awful. Which one of us is calling though?"

"Hey, I'm the actor, I'll do the talking," he said, immediately shifting his voice so he basically sounded unrecognizable. "Then we're set," I said, handing him the phone number. "Dial away, my friend." I sat next to him as he waited for someone on the other end to pick up. "Hello? Yes, I'd like to request an interview. I'm a member of Kiss, you know, the band? Mm, no I'd rather not give you my name. I've got some secrets to tell and don't need bandmates hunting me down. No, I won't say if I'm currently in the band or not, but for the sake of simplicity I'll only talk about the current members. Maybe I'll call for a second interview. Well, I suppose we should just jump right into it, shouldn't we? I'm a busy man, my time is valuable."

I sat off to the side, barely able to stifle my laughter as Gene just poured out the bullshit, coming up with blatant lies about the four of us. "That's all I feel like disclosing today. Remember, I'm anonymous. When can I expect to see it published? Oh, that works perfectly. Thank you. Enjoy your day," he said, hanging up. There was a second as we looked at each other before we both burst into laughter.

"Oh man they're not actually going to run that interview, are they?! You're literally known for being irritatingly abstinent from drinking and drugs, they can't seriously believe you're a secret alcoholic!" I cried. Gene just shrugged, shaking his head with a grin. "There's only one way to find out. Give it three days and we'll have our answer." "I can't wait," I said, nudging him in the ribs.

It was going to be very interesting to see how Bruce and Paul reacted to the rumors.