"Great guys, that will be all for today, great job all of you! Brian, good work!" our choreographer said as we finished rehearsals. I never thought I would be so happy to be done in my life, I was feeling fine and all, but the other guys kept asking me if I was okay, if I needed anything, etc. And to tell you the truth, it was getting a little annoying. I walked to the back room and plopped down on the couch next to Nick. AJ, Howie, and Kev all grabbed the couch across from us and began to open their water bottles.
"How you feeling Bri, you need anything?" came the immediate question from Kevin. See what I'm talking about?
"Nah, I'm all good Kev, I'm just happy to be back! I missed you guys, especially you Frack," I said to Nick as I slung my arm over his shoulders.
He looked at me as if he had just woken up from a dream. He had had that expression on his face all day, since I had first seen him and it was starting to bother me. "You okay Nick?" I asked him.
"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine Brian," he said looking away. He got up and began to walk out the door, "I'm getting on the bus," he said simply.
I looked over at the rest of the guys. "Is he all right? He seems weird today." AJ laughed.
"That's Kaos for you, he's always weird." Oooookay so maybe I was imagining things.
"Lets go get on the bus guys," said Howie. "I wanna relax at the hotel before the show tonight."
"Good idea D, I could use some rest myself," I replied standing up. Kevin grabbed me as we were walking out, "You sure you are okay now? I don't want you to go out if you feel tired or different or anything, you hear me?" he asked looking at me critically.
"I'm fine Kev, honest. They have the oxygen tanks and a doctor backstage in case I need it, but don't worry, I wouldn't have come back if I wasn't sure."
"Okay, I'm just asking, it's my job," he said, ruffling my hair. I knew he was still pissed that the old management had made me work until literally the day before the surgery and how exhausted I was. He made sure to tell them of that too.
"Lets go Dad," I kidded, running to the bus.
"Hey Nick! You wanna play Nintendo with me?" I asked him as I came into the main room. He was laying on the couch staring at the TV. He looked up.
"No thanks, Bri."
"Whatcha' watching there boy, infomercials?" I wondered glancing at the TV where an advertisement for 'tap light' was on. "This looks boring, why don't you play with me and you can tell me what's been going on in your life since I saw you last?"
He shrugged as I pulled out the Nintendo. "Nothin'."
"Oh c'mon Frack, what did you do in your time off? Did you go on your boat, or see your family?"
"Uh huh."
I looked at him. "Nick, is something wrong? You seem distant."
"I'm fine."
"You sure, because you've barely said two words to me all day? I missed you and I was hoping we could talk," I told him, just as Kevin walked into the room.
"Brian why don't you take a nap before the show? I think that would be a good idea."
Oh boy. Did he really think I was 5 years old?
"Kev, I'll be there in a second, I'm talking to Nick." Did he think Nick was invisible or something? Maybe he thought I was talking to myself. Nick stood up and started to walk out of the room. "Nick wait, I'm not leaving." He looked at me with that blank look.
"I missed you too Brian." He said as he left. I looked up confused and a little hurt. What was going on with him?