Nice Guys Finish Last

“Aw, Gabey baby, again?” Victoria asked, taking a drag on her cigarette and sitting next to him. He was slumped outside of the venue they played at, long after the concert had ended.

Gabe groaned and leaned away from her. He then proceeded to empty his stomach’s contents on the pavement. It was mostly liquid and Victoria suspected that he had skipped dinner in favor of alcohol, which he said “loosened him up and made the show more fun.”

“C’mon, let’s go,” Victoria said, squashing out her cigarette and helping him up. “You need to brush your teeth and get some sleep.”

She assisted him in staggering over to the buses, which was tricky, considering he towered over her by a good half of a foot. When they managed to climb up the steps and into the bus, Ryland and Alex looked over, relief evident in their faces.

“Oh good, you found him,” Alex said.

“Slumped outside the venue. Not hard.” Victoria replied, still supporting Gabe as he made his way to the bunks.

“Hold on Gabe, you’re brushing your teeth first. You’ll thank me in the morning,” she said, guiding him into the bathroom.

After that ordeal, she helped Gabe take off his shirt and jeans and get into his bed. She then joined Ryland and Alex in the front of the bus.

“He’s a train wreck,” Ryland signed. “Can you believe that in a few months, he’ll be thirty?”

“We need to stage an intervention or something. He’s putting undue strain on the entire band.”

“Drinking every night to the point of becoming so piss drunk that he can barely function? Is he depressed?”

“I don’t know. We all drink, it’s just that the rest of us know when to stop. What are your thoughts, Victoria?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m actually pretty tired.” Victoria said, standing up and walking to her bunk.

Gabe wasn’t dumb. He could see the pity in everyone’s eyes. He knew that they were walking on eggshells around him, trying not to say anything to offend him. He knew they were silently asking why? He saw the fear in everyone’s eyes whenever he grabbed something with alcohol in it. He knew they were afraid that he’d get drunk to the point of vomiting again. And it drove him crazy.

The only person who still acted somewhat normally around him and acted like he was still normal was Victoria. She still joked with Gabe, she still watched Gossip Girl with Gabe, she still hung out with Gabe. She didn’t know why he drank so much every night, but she was determined to keep the band together.

The next day, Victoria wanted to buy some DVDs and Gabe volunteered to go with her. When they returned, Ryland, Alex and Nate were sitting on the couch.

“Yo, what’s going on?” Gabe asked, smiling.

“Gabe, sit down please,” Ryland said, gesturing towards the other couch. Gabe’s smile faded and he took a seat. Victoria joined him.

“Gabe, you’ve been acting really differently lately. You’ve been drinking a lot, and generally not giving a shit about anything. You’re alienating fans and botching up the lyrics in shows,” Nate said.

“You’re a hot mess. You’re addicted to alcohol. You need to go to AA,” Ryland jumped in.

“Are you depressed? Are you stressed about something?” Alex asked, curiously.

“We’re not trying to pry, but we’re concerned. The fans are concerned,” Nate spoke again.

“You’re bringing down the band,” Ryland added.

All three of them were talking at once and Victoria couldn’t take it anymore. “Shut up! What the fuck do you think you’re doing? If he’s depressed, you’re making it worse. C’mon Gabe, we’re leaving,” she said, taking him by the arm and leaving the bus. Alex, Ryland and Nate just sat there, stunned.

Gabe followed Victoria to a random alley where she leaned against a wall, pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“Sorry about that outburst,” she said, taking a drag. “They were being horrible! They made it seem like you’re acting much worse than you are.”

Gabe was silent as Victoria continued to smoke. When she dropped her cigarette and squashed it out, he finally spoke.

“Vicky-T, the reason I drink so much isn’t because I’m depressed. I…I’m nervous.”

“Nervous? About what?”

“Our new album. What if our fans think it’s too pop-ish? What if they desert us and we’re stuck with fans who don’t know Midtown from Motown!”

“Gabe, relax! When did you start to care what people think?”

“I don’t know. I guess once the album was completely done.”

Victoria took a deep breath. “You are Gabriel Saporta. You will have a horde of teenage girls following you and whatever you find yourself doing. It doesn’t matter if your albums sound like crap. Besides, you’re not the only one in this band, so stop being so selfish,” she said, smiling.

Gabe laughed a little bit. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“And you didn’t start Cobra Starship to care what other people thought of you. You started Cobra Starship to party and have a good time doing what you love. Alex, Ry and Nate don’t want you to stop drinking, they want you to stop getting too drunk to function.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Victoria, how’d you get so smart?”

“I’m a girl. Girls are always smarter than boys. Now let’s go, we’ve got a show to play in a half hour.”