"Welcome back," AJ said smiling. "Excuse me for my manliness."
"Yeah, you're a real man, AJ." Howie said, laughing. "Hog!" He added.
"Hey, just be grateful it ain't comin' out the other end, D," AJ snapped back at him.
"You know, there IS a lady present, AJ," replied Howie.
"Oh," AJ smiled. "Sorry, Brian."
Brian put his hands on his hips and talked in a high voice. "AJ, I'm ALL woman, and don't you forget it."
"That's what Nick tells me." AJ said as he hid behind Howie.
Nick pointed at AJ. "You're just pissed cos all you hear at our concerts is 'Nick, Nick, Nick!' whenever you're soloing."
"Oh, puhleeze!" shouted AJ, moving from behind Howie. "All I hear is 'Nick, get your fat ass out of the way, you're blocking our view!' when YOU'RE soloing. " AJ didn't stick around for a reply to that one. Instead he went running into the kitchen and out the back door with Nick not far behind. Howie couldn't resist and ran after them as well, yelling, "Run, AJ!"
"I told him to lay off the fat ass jokes, but does he listen to me?" said Brian, walking towards the back door. He kept muttering to himself as he walked outside. "Nobody ever listens me."
Angela looked at Kevin, wide-eyed. "Are they REALLY fighting?"
"Nah," said Kevin grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the back door. He reached down and picked up one of the disposable cameras. "But if they are, I want some pictures."
Outside it was quite the event. Nick was trying to flush AJ from behind Kenneth's car to no avail. Every time he would go one way, AJ would go the other. They were both breathless and laughing out insults at each other. "You know, Nick," said AJ in between gasps of air, "this is really good for you. Just think about the calories you're burning right now."
Nick laughed as he lunged across the trunk end of the car at AJ. "Make your jokes, AJ, but when I get my hands on your SCRAWNY ass, you're gonna be hurtin', man."
"Sto-o-o-o-o-o-p," AJ said in a mock homosexual voice. "You're hurting my feelings." He ran to the front end of the car. Both were totally unaware that Kevin was snapping pictures the entire time.
Nick ran to the front end of the car and lunged at AJ once more across the car. AJ hopped back, out of reach. "This is too easy, man!" he taunted Nick. "You'd better slow down, Nick. Don't wanna have a heart-attack, there, buddy."
"That's IT!" Nick yelled as he leapt onto the hood of the car and stood there momentarily. He looked like a Ninja ready for attack. "Your ASS is MINE!" Nick pointed at AJ with each word and AJ took off running towards the port-a-pot. Nick bounded off the car hood and pursued closely behind.
"Nick!" Brian called out after him. "Nick! Don't kill him! Think of Denise!" He turned to Angela and Kevin. "Oh my God, he's gonna kill him."
"Who's Denise?" asked Angela.
"AJ's mom," answered Brian.
Howie, Kevin, Brian, and Angela hurried over to the port-a-pot, watching as AJ and Nick played hide and seek around IT, this time. Nick lunged around the side of it at AJ, and AJ jumped like a rabbit. He would've gotten away, too, but he tripped when he hit the ground.
Angela had to laugh as AJ scrambled frantically, to get away from Nick. Nick lunged onto the ground and grabbed AJ's foot. "Got ya!" he yelled out triumphantly. AJ shook his foot violently trying to get Nick to release his grip, but Nick was already working his way up his leg. "Let go of my leg, you fucker!" Yelled AJ, clawing at the ground in front of him. But then, hilariously, he turned his attention to Angela and talked almost normally. "Sorry for the language, Angela."
Nick rolled AJ over so he was facing him and pulled himself onto him and sat on him, holding his arms down. "Now who's the fat-ass, AJ." He was breathing heavily from the chase, but he kept his eyes on AJ while catching his breath. "You've got two seconds to say you're sorry or I'm gonna spit a hocker on you, man."
"You wouldn't DARE!" replied AJ, still squirming to get away, laughing.
"He won't do it," said Kevin.
AJ refused to apologize and Nick started working up a hocker up as a
threat.
"I swear to GOD if you spit a hocker on me, you'd better not EVER sleep
again.
I will KILL you." AJ yelled at him. He wasn't laughing anymore.
Nick continued snuffing up the hocker, ignoring AJ's forewarning. "I
mean it,
Nick!" AJ said, squirming in desperation. "Howie, can you HELP me
here,
man?"
"You're on you're own, AJ. You're the one who called him a fat ass,"
said
Howie, not budging.
"NICK!" AJ yelled one last time.
Angela couldn't take it anymore. The humor had left the situation and
she
didn't have the slightest interest in seeing Nick spit a hocker on AJ.
"Nick,
please. That's gross! Just let him go, okay?"
Nick made one last hack and AJ closed his eyes in anticipation.
Instead of
spitting it on AJ, though, he spit it past him and got up. He brushed
the
dirt off his pants and walked to the house. "Screw you, AJ!" he yelled
back
as he went inside.
Kevin walked over to AJ and as he stood over him, he snapped a picture.
"You
gotta be more sensitive, AJ."
AJ crawled up and brushed his clothes off, too. "Get that DAMN camera
outta
my face!!" He turned to Howie, Brian and Angela and shrugged. "I was
JUST
joking around. It's not my fault he can't take a joke."
"You know," said Brian. "You don't know when to quit, AJ. You're
supposed to
be his friend. He doesn't need that shit from you."
AJ looked at Brian, surprised at his tone of voice. "Shit, Brian," he
replied, "You know I was joking. Everything was fine until the hocker
crap.
HE should be apologizing to ME."
Brian moved two steps closer to AJ, "So you think."
Kevin, Howie and Angela held their breath, waiting for AJ's response.
Angela
could see Kevin and Howie poise themselves to break up a fight.
AJ backed down, defeated. "I didn't mean it B, things just got outta
control
there."
Brian backed away and his voice softened a little. "I think you're
tellin'
the wrong person."
"Whatever!" replied AJ. He mumbled something about "needing a cig" as
he
walked towards the house. Brian, Howie, Kevin and Angela stood there
speechless after he went inside, still shocked at the unlikely turn of
events.
Howie broke the silence. "WOW."
Kevin looked at him. "Yeah.....WOW. I thought there was gonna be
Backstreet
Brawl."
"Is he apologizing?" Angela asked. "I mean, he IS apologizing isn't
he?"
"He's apologizing." said Brian.
"I'm waiting outside until someone comes out alive," said Howie. "Man,
I
can't believe AJ and Nick got in a fight like that."
They stood there, silent after all the "Wow's" had been said that could
be
said, and waited for an "All's clear" sign of some sort.
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Fourteen
Story Index
