Nick looked up, thinking Kevin, Brian, and Howie had finally come home
but instead, AJ opened the door, laughing loudly with Natalie.
“ Oh, hey, Nick. You’re still up,” AJ greeted, taking a hold of Natalie’s hand as he
shut the door. Nick watched the scene disgustedly. He had watched them flirt all night
long and now he would have to listen to them have sex.
“ Ok, goodnight,” AJ called airily, leading Nat upstairs. Nick sighed and looked at
the clock. 3:56. He flipped the channels a few seconds longer and finally turned it off.
Big mistake, he could hear Nat’s giggles all the way from upstairs. Nick rolled his eyes
and got up, going upstairs to his room. The others had a spare key, they could let
themselves in. He slammed his door shut and went to the stereo. Popping in his old
Journey CD, he turned up the volume before turning off the lights and crawling into
bed...
AJ woke up at ten the next morning, not feeling as bad as he expected. He
glanced at Natalie still asleep and got out of bed. He slipped on a pair of boxers and
stumbled blearily into the bathroom. Standing up felt a lot worse than lying down.
After he washed his face, he walked downstairs and into the kitchen.
“ Nicky Boy, what are you doing up?” He asked, surprised to see him at the table
in front of his laptop. He merely glanced up.
“ Enjoy yourself last night?” He asked and AJ looked at him as he turned on the
coffee maker.
“ Damn straight I did...” Nick rolled his eyes again and continued with typing his
e-mail to one of his friends. AJ opened the refrigerator door, accidentally letting it slam
against the counter and Nick looked up again, glaring with annoyance.
“ Whoa, chill, Nick. What’s wrong with you? Did you drink or something last
night?”
“ Is Natalie gone?”
“ Nope, she’s still asleep,” Nick slipped his headphones back on and AJ glanced at
him before taking his coffee out onto the back porch. He sat down on the wooden
swinging bench and reflected on the night before...Before he got to the party...He had
dinner with Marielle before heading to the party and he had to say, he was surprised
over how little she had changed. She acted as if they were still together and out on a
date. He wasn’t quite sure whether or not he liked that but something intrigued him.
The same thing that intrigued him from the start. She gave off the impression of
someone who had traveled the world thoroughly and knew every secret throughout it.
He ran a hand through his hair, getting caught up once again in the whole reptitous
circle of whether or not he should get back with her. How many times did they have to
play these games? For AJ, it seemed that all the while they were together made up for
the heartbreak and lies that made up every showbiz relationship. There were the lies on
her part, her sleeping around while he was away, those long, tedious talks that took
them nowhere. There were the crazy parties where things would get out of hand and
he’d have to be the one to get things running cool and cleaned up or be threatened with
the thought of cops at his door, coming about the noise but finding the drugs and booze
all over the place. At one time in his life, he needed that sort of chaos, that kind of scary
excitement to exist but he wasn’t sure he was all about that anymore. When they had
broken it off, he thought everything through and realized he was sick of living like that
with someone who didn’t give a shit about him. That was before the move and here he
was, in Los Angeles, and Marielle had found a way to get to him. She was here to
upstart on her acting skills. Like she couldn’t start anywhere else in the world. She
insisted that things would be different if he’d give her a chance again. Hell, she was
completly adamant on him taking her back. As if it was him who’d left her. Instead, it
was quite the opposite. He had woken up one morning to find the bed empty, along
with half the closet bare and here little knick-knacks gone. He knew he should have
been surprised but he had seen it coming from the way she acted and he knew he
should have been remorseful but instead, he was relieved. And now, he was back to
where it all began. The door slid open and he looked up when Natalie walked out,
offering a smile.
“ ‘Morning...Sleep well?” He asked, his voice distant as his mind still lingered on
Marielle.
“ Yes...I gotta get going. I’ve got a coupla things today,” She informed him,
proceeding to slip on her shoes. He nodded and murmered a goodbye, still unsure of
the decisions demanding to be made. He rubbed his temples, feeling way too stressed
out for a morning, before finishing up his coffee and joining Nick in the house...
